Life

Life turned to watch as the dragon released its fire breath, Yuki running in to take the brunt of the damage on her own. Life grimaced as her health nearly dropped to half. This thing was far too powerful for her to deal with on her own. He'd have to put a stop to it before it could do her anymore harm. Life sheathed his katana, the blade glowing blue inside its saya as he prepared a special sword art. He dashed out from behind Yuki as he withdrew his blade back out from its sheath, the cobalt steel flying through its body and cutting into its wing in one strike causing its mass to fall to the ground with a loud thud. It struggled to move its now cut open wing and stumbled around to find its footing. Life re positioned himself in front of Yuki, if it wanted to attack her it'd have to go through him first now. "Heal up Yuki, I'll handle it." 

Life's ID: 138381 BD: 5+3-1=7 HIT SA: Iai 11*14= 154 Damage and STUN

Party:
@Life: [H:3]Health: 518/560 (-14 Thorns) | Energy: 28/56 (-14 SA Iai) | Damage: 14 | Evasion: 3 | Accuracy: 3 | Mitigation: 12
@Zajcica: [H:3] Health: 138/200 | Energy: 38/40 | DMG: 2 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 27 | ACC: 0 | Thorns: 18 | Regen: 5

Enemies:
 1. Ghidorah - the Opal Hatchling: MIT: 40 - ACC: 1 - EVA: 1 - DMG: 70 - Thorns: 14 STUNNED
  HP: 82/215 ( 154-40=114 Damage )

Life had had a rather interesting couple weeks on his journey back from his two year isolation, he had helped a couple inexperienced players find their feet, witnessed the return of an old friend he presumed dead, and ran into Mari on multiple occasions during his quest hunts. Things seemed to be okay between them, but a lot of that had to do with Mari just being a good person. Apart from that he had made quite a lot of progress in leveling, and now it was time for a break.

There was something about the cold on the fourth floor, he couldn't tell if it was due to his survival skill, but it offered a mild numbing sensation which he subtlety had taken to. Life sighed as he trudged through the snow, the condensation of his breath forming small clouds of vapor which puffed into the sky. Did he even know how to relax?  

Life kept walking until he could hear a ridiculous amount of laughter from a distance. Probably sounded like someone who was relaxing, so Life decided to check it out. As he got closer the faint sound of chatter grew louder, and the smell of ramen was potent. Huh a ramen shop outside a safe zone, should be interesting. 

Life pushed through the banners which hid the faces of multiple feminine figures, peering into the heart of the shop. "Good evening." Life said politely as he entered. His eyes met the shopkeeper initially, a young a pretty lady, before he took a glance at the other customers, also young and pretty ladies. He paused for moment and blinked as his eyes met Mari's. "Oh, fancy seeing you here. Promise I'm not stalking you." He repeated the familiar phrase once again with a joke, this time with no ramblings about fate. "I hope you all don't mind me barging in on your small gathering." He added while taking a seat at the end so he didn't get too in the way of what looked to be a girls night. 

He wasn't sure what to order, he hadn't eaten in two years and he was rather used to the constant hunger to the point of barely noticing. Life looked up at the menu and squinted, reading each ingredient in his head before deciding. "I'll have a Tonkotsu ramen. A small bowl if that's alright, first meal in a couple years." He said nonchalantly.

Life turned his attention to the black haired women "Couldn't help but overhear your question before I got here, but if you wanted to know how I found this place I just followed the sound of someone laughing their guts out. Name's Life by the way, nice to meet you all." 

Life shook his head with a smile. "Yes believe me I know what doing nothing for two years feels like. Lets continue then." 

Life walked past the thick of the forest into an open area, almost as if it were an arena where the barriers were trees and vines. "Well this area is... Nice?" Life walked ahead into the center, wondering why the boss hadn't spawned yet, or if it was even located here. As Life scanned the canopy above the sounds of dragging through leaves resonated just below him, a vine catching onto his leg and tripping him to the ground. The opal hatchling was camouflaged somewhere behind him and took advantage of the opportunity, summoning two elven dragon cultists by his side. 

Life swiped at the dragon, but it simply fly up away from his reach getting ready to fire a blast of concentrated energy from its maw as the two cultists closed in on his location. Life slammed his hand against the ground, quickly picking himself back up. One cultist came from his front making it easy for him to dodge, the other however he didn't notice coming from behind, piercing him in the back. Life winced and grit his teeth. "Alright then have it your way!" He grunted as he activated his sword art, turning and cutting down the cultist that stabbed him and then quickly spinning and cutting down the second with multiple blows. As the cultists fell to the ground, their bodies erupted into a frenzy of vines and thorns, cutting Life in multiple areas at once. Life lifted his arms to cover his face, leaving both arms completely shredded at the surface and with multiple deeper cuts where his leather armor didn't protect him. It was at this moment life was glad he had leather padding that protected his vitals and extremities. 

The dragon was close to finishing charging its blast.

Party:
Life: Health: 532/560 (-28 Thorn Damage) | Energy: 42/56 (Amatsu No Hamura: 8+2+2+2=14EN) | Damage: 14 | Evasion: 3 | Accuracy: 3 | Mitigation: 12 | 
@Zajcica: ?????

Enemies:
1. Ghidorah - the Opal Hatchling: MIT: 40 - ACC: 1 - EVA: 1 - DMG: 70 - Thorns: 14 
 HP: 215/215 [Life's ID: 138324 - BD:3+3=6-1= 5 MISS] 

2. Elven Dragon Cultist: MIT: 25 - DMG: 35 - Thorns: 14
HP: 0/50 (14*8=112-25=87 Damage)  [Life's ID: 138325 - BD: 4+3=7 HIT]

3.Elven Dragon Cultist: MIT: 25 - DMG: 35 - Thorns: 14
HP: 0/50 (14+1=15*8=120-25=95 Damage)  [Life's ID: 138326- BD: 9+3=11 HIT]

Accepting all

Life was finally accustomed to the lower floors again since his isolation, he was pretty much ready to start venturing to the higher floors now, though he'd need a good excuse to. As he walked the cobblestone streets, a bulletin board caught his eye:

Well that seems like a good enough excuse for me to go. Where was the guildhall located, floor 19? Life smirked and made his way over to the teleporter. "Lets see what you've got for me."

Floor nineteen was strange, an ancient city, littered by dilapidation, a post apocalyptic floor. If there were people here once they weren't anymore. Life continued through, he'd open the floor map if he'd been here before, but everything was new to him. Eventually however, he would find the guild hall.

A HUD window popped up with a selection of weapons for him to choose from, sword, axe, staff, warhammer. "Hmm, no choice for Katana huh. No matter I guess a regular sword is good enough." Life grabbed himself a regular straight sword, the other weapons seemed kinda crude for him and lacking elegance. Though he was eager to see everyone fighting together. I wonder what will happen with everyone here, he thought to himself. Surely there'd be enough people to defend the guild hall now, but it still remained to be seen at how powerful the boss monster was. 

She went down a list of people who treated her unfairly just as he did, he didn't believe he met lowenthal, nor did he understand her implications when she said that perhaps she was a liar. He didn't think she was a liar, or think anyone should be doubting her experiences... but he guessed distrust came with the orange crystal. Not that Zelrius should have been very trustworthy to others, considering his own. Life could tell it was hard for her, talking about her past, trying to share her injustices. She needed someone she could confide in eventually, no one can keep emotions like that bottled up for so long. She offered some words of encouragement. Twenty levels in a few months huh... well I guess It's doable then. 

It seemed now time for them to part ways, but why did she apologize? Life shook his head. "No, I'm sorry...  and I'll continue to be for a long while yet. Take care of yourself Mari, truly. You don't have to add yourself to the list of people of being a [censored] to Mari and nice to everyone else." Life offered a faint smile before parting ways, hopefully she understood what he meant. 

THREAD COMPLETED

Life gets: 5 SP (1 base +1 Quarantine Event +3 Quest EXP) | 200 Col | <<Snake Venom>> A coating which grants a weapon a poison effect which activates on a critical hit, dealing 4 damage for 10 turns to an enemy. Lasts for one thread. Takes a post action to apply.
@Marigets: 5 SP (1 base +1 Quarantine Event +3 Quest EXP) | 200 Col | <<Snake Venom>> A coating which grants a weapon a poison effect which activates on a critical hit, dealing 4 damage for 10 turns to an enemy. Lasts for one thread. Takes a post action to apply.
 

Life smirked at her small jokes, though he could tell she meant some of it partly. Also, no bed or plumbing? Didn't seem like a very comfortable home, though he should probably keep that opinion to himself. Level 50-60 at least for the front lines right now huh... That's more than double my current level. I've got a lot of work to do.. Life drifted in thought for a moment before tuning back in to listen about her experience on the front line. "Wow... I didn't realize it got that bad for you. Also didn't realise Zelrius was such a dick... errr, not that I can really point fingers. I had a few experiences with him, didn't seem that bad from them. Though I'm glad you're still alive then. That dagger must have been a boss drop from one of those floor bosses then, right. It's pretty neat." Life did notice it earlier, though he didn't comment on it. A high damage weapon that also did high bleed seemed pretty good, though from his experience bleed weapons usually did less damage. It must have been a special item. He also found it pretty impressive she found two boss floors on her own, that takes some dedication. 

Life wondered if Zelrius was still alive, or any of the other front liners who made it through the hydra fight. To be honest thinking about it was still painful for him, but it was one of the things he had learnt to accept and move on from. The two made it into the shade of the forest, finding shelter from the sun under some trees, from here they could part ways one way close to the bosses floor for Mari, and the other direction the teleporter for Life. "I've got a long ways to go, and plenty more exp to grind before I can make it back there... I'll catch up to you some day Mari, and when I do I'll have your back. You can be sure of that." Nothing shall forestall my return. 

@Mari

Life watched as Yuki began to have a meltdown, it seemed the topic was a lot more sensitive than he had thought. He assumed that he did just that, take the information and move on with life, but he must have came across in a wrong way. Life reached out to her cried, obviously flustered as hell, and pulled her in for a hug. His arms wrapped around her, the fabric of his yukata almost covered her entire body and her face rested on his sternum. "Hey it's ok. You have Mari, and you have me. I'm sure you'll come across loads of players that will support you too. Sure we're not the same as your real family. But we're all we've got until we get out of this thing. Right? My father is probably struggling right now because he relies so much on me to help him run the farm.. let alone having to deal with his son in a vegetable state. Every day I worry if his crops are growing big and healthy so he has enough money to make it through the winter." Life sighed and rubbed her back. "Listen, we'll get through this. Maybe not everyone will come out of it alive. But we'll have to do the best we can. Starting with this dragon."

@Zajcica

Life nodded in agreement as she fussed about the wurm. "It definitely would have been a dick move by Kayaba to just make a boss that slobbered all over you as soon as you showed up." Though her next statement made him wonder for a moment. "You have plumbing in your house on floor four don't you?" Life joked and followed her as she gestured for them to start heading toward the forest. "Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think I've showered in two years. Good thing I can't stink or I'd be gross as hell right now." Life laughed at himself for a few seconds before letting out a sigh of almost contentedness.

As the quest clocked in its completion he watched his experience pool over to a level up, he was making good progress toward his goal. "I think If I keep going like this I could probably rejoin the front lines pretty soon. Though I don't exactly know just how powerful the current players there are, once I get around that level I should probably start asking for their experiences." Upon saying that Life realised that she probably had been on the front lines after him too. "Hey, you joined floor bosses after the hydra right? What was it like?" 

@Mari

Life watched as the boss immediately sprung from the ground and attempted to swallow Mari whole. That was much more abrupt than i thought it was gonna be. Life quickly grabbed at his Katana hilt, he said he'd get her back and he meant it. Just as he began to move forward to the serpent a flurry of strikes erupted from the beasts maw, being forced to let her go. Life smirked "Nice one." The boss now circled Mari, probably in some kind of attempt to constrict her, but that wouldn't fly. Life watched as the serpent circled and watched for the moment its head would face him.

He kicked off the sand and dashed forward brandishing his cobalt steel blade as its head now was coming past Life. Mari had weakened it significantly already, this next attack would be fatal. "That's as far as you go!" Life lifted his katana above his head as he moved and brought it straight down on the serpents nape, severing its head off clean before it could make another rotation. It's now lifeless body shot out to the side due to its momentum, and hovered over the sand as it traveled, its body dissipating before being able to hit the ground. He probably could have left it to bleed out and die, but he didn't want any risk of it harming Mari. 

Life returned his blade into his scabbard, another boss made quick work of by their duo party. "Easy enough." Life jested, these bosses had been rather disappointing since he returned, perhaps he wasn't as weak as he thought. Though, he was yet to explore the higher floors yet. Probably better not get too cocky. 

ID: 138211 BD:10 (Natural)
Damage: 14+2=16*7= 112

Party - 
Life: 540/540 HP | 14 DMG | 12MIT | 2 ACC (3-1) | 2 EVA (3-1) | 47/54 EN
Mari: 1170/1170 HP |  11 DMG |  43 MIT | 5 ACC-1 | 3 EVA-1 |  98/114 NRG


< AMPHIS SERPENS>        
0/175 HP (112-45= 67 Damage) | 45 MIT | 70 DMG    BLEED -24 2/2 Turns

@Mari

Life stopped as Yuki threw herself in front of him, trying to get his attention. Wasn't the lecture she was giving him the same one he gave her not too long ago? I guess it stuck. Gotta take a taste of my own medicine. Life crossed his arm smiling slightly as she spoke. Though, then came the next part of her speech. She chose to become a girl? Life tilted his head, looking harder at her body. Huh, how about that. Life would have responded then, but she had already stormed off, probably embarrassed, nervous, upset, or a mixture of those. 

Life followed behind, he couldn't just ignore the matter. Two confessions to a stranger in the span of a day seemed like a rather awkward toll, but it was interesting to see someone so forthright and honest. "I wouldn't have noticed if you didn't point it out you know." Life smirked as they walked together. "You're braver than most, though I see what you meant about having a supportive family now. You didn't need to stress about it so hard you know." The example she gave him definitely went against the idea of fate, perhaps it was bullshit after all. He understood why she'd be nervous about opening up about something like that, but it didn't exactly bother Life. People were people at, their gender didn't matter. 

@Zajcica

Life stayed silent as she began to walk again, he followed slowly behind. Even after all that she was still considerate of him to bottling everything up. This isn't fair at all for you... I vented everything out and put it all back on your shoulders.. yet you haven't told a soul and continue to look out for me. How selfish can I continue to be? What is wrong with me? Even the fact she was already thinking of him and willing to take the aggro of the boss was testament to her willingness to keep making things work, to look out for him. Life held the side of his stomach, gripping tightly at his skin. He had to do better now, no more excuses.

"Thank you Mari. For everything. You're a good person, and I hope you believe that." 

It still bothered him that she didn't believe she had anything to go back to outside of the game, or that she thought her life was worth less than others. But he felt she had enough of his antics for now, and didn't want to bring up another heavy discussion. They were here on a quest after all. Life rested his hand back on his katana and picked up his pace so that he could catch up with Mari. "It shouldn't be too much further now. Once we get near the town it'll attack us on sight. If you're still ok with taking it on first I'll have your back in case something goes wrong." 

@Mari

Life knew this was the kind of reaction he'd face, which is why he had just taken the blame in the first place. Life tried to speak but it felt as though a lump in his throat took his words away. He swallowed hard, his voice strained. "I, I know. It is my fault. You're right. I take full responsibility for my actions I didn't have to do any of what I did, but I did it anyway. I guess.. I.." Life stammered. He thought she would have noticed something off. "I guess I must have just been more screwed out of my mind than I thought. When I was hurting you.. attacking you. I could have sworn remembering a little girl hitting you in my place... I think my mind has just come up with a bunch of defense mechanisms to deflect the blame. It was one of the things I had the most difficulty coming to grips with... none of it was made up in my head, It was all me." Life stopped, wondering if he should even be saying all this, she had already forgiven him, why push? Maybe he felt that he wanted his friend to understand him better, to help him deal with his guilt. But that wasn't something he could ask his victim for, what was he thinking? 

The truth was even though he boasted about spending two years reflecting, he still hadn't dealt with his own deflections. His ramblings about fate, just a way to rationalise what happened. Maybe the truth was that fate didn't exist, and that everything he did was in the name of chaos, a result of his actions, his poor judgement, his weakness. He didn't want to take anymore backwards steps. He had to accept it. "Even if there was an A.I and It wasn't just my messed up mind, you're right. I was in control and it's my fault, I just wanted to get that off my chest, I don't want it to consume me anymore." 

@Mari

Life listened to her response, though she wasn't exactly correct about fate and destiny being the same, he expected a similar response to the one she gave. "Well, I guess that's one way to put it. Maybe there are different degrees in which it applies, or not at all. I hate to think everything is down to chaos and chance. What is my reason for being here? What is my responsibility? I don't think anyone has a destiny, something they were born for. But fate..." Life trailed off in though, shaking his head realizing he was being absurd. "I suppose I'm just finding it hard to deal with the consequences of my actions is all." Life's expression was solemn again, his eyes gazing into the distance. Taking responsibility for his weakness was something that ate him alive.

Was this really a world without order? Would chaos reign free simply by the whims of others? His own actions, for no reasons, tearing apart the lives of so many people. This was the weight Life had to bare. The death and heartache of many people, and many families. 

@Zajcica

 

Mari seemed apologetic, though he knew she didn't have to be. It seemed despite everything she still did want to make their friendship work, he couldn't blame her for any of her behavior towards him. He felt as though he still had a lot of explaining to do, and a lot more work ahead of him if he wanted to make things right. "If you want to have it when it shows up I've got no objections." Life almost added that he liked watching her kill things, but knew that would sound terribly wrong considering the past. "If you need them I could lend you mine, though they're not particularly that powerful, only fifty hit points a piece."

As they continued to walk Life wondering if it'd be the right time to get something off his chest, or if after the boss would be more appropriate. Life sighed, its not like this boss would last too long anyway, if Mari hit it he probably wouldn't have a chance to draw his sword. "Hey I... need to say something.." He paused trying to gather the right words. "I don't know if you knew, but the A.I that was manipulating me all those years ago... I found its source. A console deep in a dungeon, similar to the one we were in when... things got really messed up. I destroyed it. Even though its over, I feel so guilty about my own weakness. My inability to protect you or control my actions. It will haunt me every day, sometimes It whispers in my dreams, taunting me, but I've come to terms with the fact that its my own guilty conscious..." Life paused, a tear rolling down the side of his face opposite to Mari. "I try to be strong and act as though everything's fine. When I'm just trying to cover my shame. I know its hard for you, because if its this hard for me, I can't imagine what you feel." 

@Mari

Life followed Yuki out of the town, it seemed they would have a small trip to make before reaching the woods in which the dragon hid inside. This encounter in particular also seemed to have additional enemies which protected the dragon. Life was sure it'd be fine though, he could deal with the group and Yuki could keep the dragon pre-occupied for awhile, one way or another. He gave her a brief glance as they walked, she seemed rather happy for someone who was just rejected, it was a relief at least. He didn't want her to get bogged down about it.

"Hmm?" Life acknowledged as she began to talk. She explained how she refunded her skills for col and reinvested them elsewhere. Huh I didn't even know you could do that. "That's pretty cool, never knew. I'll keep it in mind." Life was pretty content with his current set up, as long he was careful to invest into some protection down the line he'd be set to keep focusing on dealing damage. 

As they walked the grass became thicker and a floral scent drifted through the winds, though it did not impede on their cobblestone path which would eventually patter out into a dirt trail. "What do you think of the word fate, Yuki?"

@Zajcica

The player in front of him accepted his party request almost as quickly as he had sent it. Alright lets get this done then. He reassured himself. He looked over at the top left of his HUD to see the players name <<Hidden>> It seemed like a rather fitting name for someone who walked around completely shrouded by their gear. Though upon closer inspection it appeared that they had a rather slender almost feminine frame, though he couldn't be sure. He watched as they jumped forward with their dagger, using an all too familiar sword art, something that he had seen Mari use multiple times though maybe with a little more grace. The beast retaliated with a flash of lightning which narrowly missed both of them and blinded their vision.

A soft thud on the ground beside him was his que to begin his attack. Life could hear through the waters that the lord of the sea was quick to come back and chase after the player, which was perfect timing for Life to utilize the boat beside it. Life threw his arm out to the side closing his eyes to give his eyes reprieved from the light, his blade an extension of this as he ran a few steps into the water before leaping out onto the boat. He bent his knees to brace the recoil and balance himself on top of the vessel before bringing his other hand over to grip his katana's handle, allowing the blade to glow a bright royal blue. A low rumbling from the beasts throat and the warm breath from its mouth spoke to him in words which screamed 'strike me'. 

The heat drew closer to his right and Life let his sword art explode from his side. Like a crescent the blade struck clean under the beasts jaw, causing it to recoil back. Life launched himself forward from his crouched stance, going straight for the sound of the throat, cutting deep into its thick hide and using the fixation onto the beast to push himself above, causing the blade to follow his trail and cutting 180 degrees from the bottom of its throat through to the top of its neck.  Life hovered momentarily above the beast and in that moment let out a flurry of strikes almost too fast to see and twirling gracefully on his decent to bring his blade straight down for the final strike through the myriad of cuts along its neck, severing its head clean off its length.

Life fell into the water, along with the head of the beast shortly after. The wyverns body and neck gyrating as it slowly dissipated into a stream of data particles. Life opened his eyes as he propelled himself back to the surface of the water, letting out a sigh of relief to see his vision was back, and that the beast had been defeated. The thunderclouds began to clear and the rain pattered out to a halt, gentle streams of sunlight breaking through what remained of the clouds and warmed his face. Life began a gentle swim back to the shores as the currents calmed. Upon reaching the shores he crawled out breathing heavily before picking himself up and sheeting his blade back into his saya. "Well that was slightly terrifying." He joked to himself. 

Life's eyes now met the player he was partied with, only now noticing the orange crystal above their head. Life's expression stiffened. Though he was no stranger to player killers and knew that some of them had their reasons and were misunderstood, he couldn't say the same about every one of them, especially strangers. It appeared that they were also significantly stronger than he based on the battle, he'd  be on his guard. "Thanks for the help, its appreciated."
 

ID: 138118 
BD: 8+3=11 HIT
       DMG: 14*15= 210

[1] @Hidden| 880/880 HP | 76/86 EN | 13 DMG | 61 MIT | 4 ACC | 1 EVA | 8 Holy
[0] Life  | 540/540 HP | 54/54 EN | 14 DMG | 12 MIT | 3 ACC | 1(3-2) EVA | 

<<Sea Wyvern>> | 0/300 HP | 300 DMG
                              On MD rolls of 9 or 10, its lightning strike will chain and strike the entire party for full damage.

The first man he caught the name of earlier, Rei, seemed pretty welcoming though he seemed to quickly become preoccupied with some kind of list he was given. While the man struggled with that, Life noticed the woman looking over their heads giving him a coyish smile. Life returned the gesture raising an eyebrow and onced over a twirl with his finger around his fringe that rested on his jawline before smirking and looking towards the other fellow feeling rather silly. He was terrible with flirting. The maturer gentleman gave him a polite bow, it seemed this group of players were quite friendly to say the least. Life returned a deeper bow to the man, as is customary from their country when dealing with superiors or elders. 

It seemed the list that was given was some kind of grocery list shoved at him by an NPC. So a boring fetch quest. "Well, go ahead and spill it. What do you need to get? Maybe we can help you out with it. More hands makes lighter work after all." If it were rare monster drops and gatherable material it would make more sense for a small part to go and try to hunt them down together anyway otherwise it could take much too long on your own. 

@Tsurei

Though his vision was impeded heavily by the rain, Life could still make out the dark figure which had gotten closer towards him. Their nimble foot work carved through the muddied dirt which bordered the waters like the hem on a shirt. Life awaited a response to his plea for help, hoping that the person hidden in the rain and dark cloak would comply. A response returned to him in the form of flashing orange light and direction towards the sail boat holding a frightened piscatorial man, a look of sheer terror painted across his face. Now that Life recalled, this was most likely the same man whom the hysterical woman was fretting for. Life nodded in response, they would save this fellow and return him to security in his lovers arms. 

To be quite frank, Life did not foresee this situation occurring and had assumed the man dead just like the old gruff back at the tavern.Though it was a welcomed surprise none the less. As the shrouded player leaped to his side aboard the vessel, Life made his way parallel to the two just before the player had hurled the fully gown man across the riverside and into Life's arms with a risky maneuver. Thunder roared in the distance as the mans body collided onto Life's, he braced himself as best as possible on the muddied coast as the loose gripping of his feet caused him to slide backwards from the tosses inertia. The fisherman looked up at Life with a mixture of emotions ranging from dread and trepidation to delight and hope. "It will be alright now sir. You're safe now." Life reassured the man, the intensity of the situation seemed to have fully immersed him into the game. 

Life transported the man on his back farther up the coast line briskly, though floundering each tramp into the soil, he veered further away from the danger and closer to the security of the village. He would stop halfway to the destination as he worried that the player now submerged in the water would be forced to face the boss alone and completely vulnerable to attack. Life stopped and let the man slide back onto their own feet. "This should be far enough, right? Return home to your wife, she is looking for you. You're alive, now cling to it." Life smirked, this was indeed an odd feeling of heroism, considering he was saving the life of an artificial intelligence which was shared with the same creature that desired to kill him. No, the actual life that needed to be saved now was the player potentially drowning or even being electrocuted. Their focus could now be turned towards the wyvern.

Life shot one last gaze at the man who stood equally drenched, dressed in nothing but a straw hat, linen shirt, and pants. What a terrible decision maker. "See you soon." Life assured the man, one last time before heading back over to lord of the seas. When everything was said and done he'd be able to return to see him and his wife, and secure himself the quests completion. Life shot a glance up at his HUD as he darted back through the shrubbery, checking to the elapsed time. Only a couple minutes, alright. "Let's do this then, lord of the seas." Life jumped off from a mud spattered mound of grass and slid down the bank of the river. His armored yukata becoming completely soiled and begrimed as his body partly sunk into the ground he glissade across. 

Quickly pushing himself back onto his feet he was now once again at the edge of the river, the player balancing themselves steadily on the boat. The boss now right in striking distance of the player. Life would have to follow their assault, piggy backing off the boat in order to strike just as they would, jumping onto the boat with the weight of two would be too risky and he wasn't interested in rocking it over and getting them both killed. He'd have to wait for an opening. "You lead I'll follow." Life sent the them a party request, hopefully they'd comply so that they could both share in the spoils of the kill. Life brandished his blade once again, signalling to them that he was ready.

@Hidden

Life examined the girl while she sat nervously in front of him, a mixture of disappointment and regret was potently expressed through her demeanor. He tried to let her down as best as he could, it seemed that she was at least taking it well enough. He words came short after, her explanation seemed rather innocent to be taken by his charm he didn't really know he possessed. Well, I guess it's not the first time. Though he didn't really know what exactly about him that people found charming. Come to think of it Maiyuri really was the only other person to take to him that way. "I'm flattered that you find me charming. That's never really been something I'd call myself. Either way I'm sure you'll find someone nice, you're charming in you're own way." Life chuckled, though he wasn't laughing at her expense. 

Life finished the rest of his water and stood up, it seemed she got what she came to the tavern for. "Yeah, let's keep going then I suppose." Life re-equipped his gear, he kinda was going to miss being in his comfy clothes under shelter that wasn't a log or tree branches. Oh well, he'll have time for rest later, if he wanted luxury he should have chosen a different path for himself long ago. "How about you lead the way, I'm kind of burnt out." Life spoke with a yawn.

@Zajcica

Life's eyes darted to the left and right when she began to snap at him, rather dazed by her response. He went silent as she continued, it seemed fate was a bit of a touchy term for her. All things considered he felt that it was probably fair. After all, who really would like accepting the notion that nothing they did mattered and they were simply on the receiving end of whatever would be dealt to them. Would searching for the reason why really be of interest anyway? Perhaps it was the wrong time and place to banter about philosophy. "Well alright then, guess I'll scratch fate off the menu." Life said light-heatedly.  

It seemed whenever he approached her with a jovial tone she was quick to shut him down. I guess I deserve that much.

Life took a deep breath letting it go and walked a few steps ahead as she continued to talk. "All I've got on me are a bunch of health potions, I could always make an opening for you and let you finish it. It almost worked out that way against that crocodile boss dude we went up against last time. Either that or you can lead, I don't mind either way." He was pretty carefree all things considered, with Mari in his party there wasn't really much that could go wrong. Life yawned and stretched before looking back. "Alright lets get going then. Shouldn't be too much further south down this path." 

@Mari

Life played with locks of hair which dangled beside his jawline, tangling his finger through it as he listened to her little rebuttal. "Fate isn't always illogical ya'know. Things happen for a reason one way or another, maybe our reunion under this nice spot on a smooth rock under a tree wasn't for any reason we chose ourselves. In fact the very reason in which we did sit in this lovely spot was all lead up to by events out of our control, none of us chose to be trapped in this death game after all." Life raised an eyebrow to her, knowing he had a valid point in that regard. 

Life often wasn't something you could control. It was wild and constantly changing. You would never truly be able to say the everything In life happened because you deemed it to. There was an order in things perhaps, either that or chaos. But the idea of fate was something much more comforting than being simply held against the whims of others.

He slid off the rock tilting his head to the side a bit in acknowledgement for her statement too "But yes I'm here for the wurm quest." He put it simply. "I don't suppose you'd wanna tag team it up again?" Life sent her a part request. This boss couldn't to be too much more difficult than the ones they'd faced before. "I'd worry about the difficulty of the boss but with our teamwork I doubt I need to."

@Mari

Life took notice of Yuki's much more relaxed and happy demeanor, it was good to finally see her smile for once. She definitely looked a lot smaller without her armour, though her build did seem a little strange for a twenty two year old woman. "I suppose its good to finally be able to relax. Actually I don't think I've changed into these clothes for the past two years. Like I said before though, don't stress too much on what happened, I'm sure you'll do just fine in the future if you keep on practicing and getting stronger."

Life took a sip of his water as he continued to listen. His attention turning back on her as she decided to pick up where they had left off of earlier with their conversation, before the quartz dragon had attacked. As he listened her thought about her hesitation, what would bother someone so much?

Life didn't catch it at first, mostly because he wasn't expecting the words to come out of her mouth. Life paused with a mouth full of water, and then swallowed slowly. A confession definitely wasn't something that he was expecting so soon or suddenly. "Uhm.. Thank you, I think?" Life was confused as she did ask earlier if he had anyone special in his life and he told her about his situation with Maiyuri. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing. "I'm flattered, truly. But, we just met a few hours ago and like I said before.. I still have someone which I hold dear to my heart. I hope you can forgive me for not sharing the same feelings for you, Yuki." 

@Zajcica

Life switched out of his usual gear into something more comfortable, he rarely had time to just be himself and relax so it was nice to be able to just be himself for a change. He wore a white linen top which hugged the lean muscles of his body loosely, black cloth pants he rolled up to his knees which made them look like shorts, and a pair of wooden geta. He allowed his usually formed hair to hand loosely, his uneven fringe now just hanging messily to one side. Life walked down towards the dining area, stretching with a yawn as he walked down the stairs. After isolating himself for two years he had learned to grow accustomed the games hunger receptors, learning to just ignore them all together knowing eating in game wasn't needed. The only thing he couldn't stand was the feeling of dehydration, so whenever possible he'd drink rain water from ponds and river

Life sat down casually at the table in front of Yuki, he thought it'd at least be polite enough to keep her company while she ate. Life drifted away in thoughts about his skills and abilities, what he should consider taking next. He remembered his conversation with Yuki before and taking inspiration, that was right, more protection. 

Stats:

@Zajcica

Life continued out of nimbus through the south gate as instructed, the town of rig shouldn't be too far in that direction. The landscape of the floor wasn't anything too remarkable, just a bunch of grass and rocks with steep inclines and jagged footpaths. It was quite annoying to navigate through more than it was scenic, unlike most of the other floors. After a few hurdles of rough terrain Life was now on a more pleasant path laid out by paved dirt and rubble. Guess its not scorching heat or freezing cold. He thought to himself, there wasn't much to complain about or ride home to.

Life kept on until he saw an orange haze in the distance sitting on a nice spot on top of a smooth boulder under a tree. Surely, it couldn't be another run in with Mari? It wasn't like he didn't want to see her, things were just very difficult between them. In fact he did plan on giving her a lecture the next time he saw her, though he wasn't sure how well she'd take it. 

As he drew closer towards the figure it began to become clearer, and low and behold it was exactly who he thought it was. Life picked up the pace in his step, closing the distance between them. He raised his arm waving over to her. "Well hello again Mari, fancy seeing you here." He repeated the all too familiar phrase. Life's attention was immediately turned towards her noodles as the smell wafted his nose. "Those smell delicious. Promise I'm not stalking you, must be fate." Life took a seat on the boulder next to her, resting his legs. Hopefully she didn't mind his friendly intrusion on her lunch.

@Mari