Pinball

They weren't even able to get close. One, two, three, four -- his blades were thrown in quick succession. He didn't aim at any particular vulnerabilty. He didn't need to, and he wasn't sure if they even had any in the first place. They seemed to be made out of some shadowy ghost stuff that could retain a solid form. It was kind of similar to Zomekko, his familiar. But he wasn't sure where they had come from, or why they hadn't been documented in the first place. Maybe this was something unique to him? He knew that there were some quests that had stuff like that. Calming the Soul, for exa

The shades were a nice respite from thoughts of more aggravating things. They rushed at him, surrounded him, and attacked ruthlessly with blades of shadow. Axes, swords and shields, a spear. He sidestepped the axe. It whistled past his cheek. As he dodged he caught the sword swipe with a knife, but the spearman was able to take advantage of that brief moment and get a nasty stab in. Didn't matter. He had a knife for each of them, including the fourth shade that had no space to attack, and when he was done he kicked the swordsman into the group with the rest of him, freeing himself from being b

He kind of liked the feeling of the rain on his face, so he didn't try to dry himself or put the hood of his cloak up. He walked in silence, partially because he had nobody to talk to, and partially because he was still processing the words of the king. What was there to process, though? To him, they sounded like nothing more than the ravings of an NPC programmed to be as disgustingly deranged and evil as possible. But then why did that whole encounter feel so pointed? Why was the monster so insistent on likening him to himself? And what was this strange feeling in his chest? The a

Pinball stood there for a moment as the last of its being splintered and exploded into nothingness. When the last of its spark was carried away and disappeared into the gloom, Pinball looked up. Above him, water still fell like rain. There were no clouds. He figured that, since he was so deep underground, that he was probably beneath a lake or similarly giant deposit of water. Floor 22 was above them. There was a lake there -- he'd fished there a couple of times when he needed to relax, or think, or just wanted a moment of quiet to himself. Maybe a visit to Floor 22 was in order now. He

Her company was undeserved. He wasn't an idiot -- he knew that. He was reminded of it every single day. It was twisted. It was unfair. But he couldn't ask her to leave. He didn't want to. He'd never asked her to stay, but she'd never left, either. And maybe it was sick, or demented, or whatever other choice adjectives had been used to describe him before, but the fact of the matter remained: he wanted her around. Pinball opened the door. "Good morning." She apologized for waking him. He shook his head. "No, I've been up for a bit. Here." He handed her a cup of hot tea.

Their walk to the gate was silent. Pinball didn't initiate conversation (he rarely ever did), and neither did Morningstar. He trailed behind him at a respectful distance, once again feeling naked without a hood over his head. He felt the eyes on him. Even if they were NPCs, the act of being seen set off alarm bells in his head. Run, run, hide. Wasn't that a depressing thought? But he didn't run, and he didn't hide. For one reason or another, he didn't want to risk incriminating himself in front of this person. The fact that he cared even a little bit about something like that was also a little

And that was it. The lightning was gone. The Forgotten Time King's form began to glow. Split apart. Break. Pinball let go of his blades and fell softly to the floor. The would-be conquerer fell with a thundering crash, flat on its back. Pinball watched silently as the 3D mesh that held his body together dissipated, turned to crystalline fragments carried away by an unseen wind. He'd killed hundreds of mobs the same way. Watched them disappear, reverted to the same fragments of code they were made of. Watched them to return to whatever digital weave had birthed them. This one, despite all of it

Whatever he was charging, he couldn't let it happen. Screw the range, he had to finish this. Pinball charged forward now, and this time his approach was unimpeded. Lightning sparked from the King's skin. Zaps, sparks, bolts. The room trembled and shook. Pinball's feet flew across the puddled floor, kicking up water as he ran. He was close enough and then he jumped. His knives shone in the gloom, reflecting the electricity filling the air. Pinball flew and flew, coming up to the face of the king that time forgot. He buried his knives in the fiend's skull and he twisted them. Violently. He

The challenge was clear. Pinball almost didn't want to answer it. But he didn't want to leave the guy alive a lot less. He was running for the King's flank, tossing knives as he went. The monster's attack patterns were different now. Instead of rushing forward with his spear, he was fighting at range, shooting bolts and arcs of lightning from his palm, from his weapon. Pinball dodged each and every one, though it was especially difficult to do so when each zap electrocuted the water in such a large area. He was hopping around as frantic as a rabit, throwing knives to match every stream o

Lord of Blood "OH, HOW THEY STRUGGLED IN VAIN! HOW EASILY THEIR HOPES WERE EXTINGUISHED! LIKE ANTS BENEATH MY BOOT! LIKE LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER! I WAS LIKE A GOD TO THEM. AND I RULED WITH ABSOLUTE IMPUNITY! AND FINALLY, I HAVE MET SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS." His voice trembled. It reached its thundering crescendo. It dawned on Pinball then that it was not regret he had earlier sensed in his voice, but pleasure. More blades peppered the monster's skin but the monster continued unfazed. "DOES IT NOT FILL YOU WITH GLEE, CHILD? TO WIELD ABSOLUTE DOMINION OVER LIFE AND DEATH? IT'

Maybe he was just deflecting, but Pinball was getting frustrated. He really didn't understand why every quest nowadays had to be a lesson in philosophy and morals. Who enjoyed this stuff? When he first ventured out of the starting city, quests were simple. Straightforward. "Oh no, my wagon is being attacked by wolves! Help!" Or, "There's a troll in the woods! If you kill him, I'll give you some of this sweet bread I made!" Lord, what he would give for some sweet bread right now. But Pinball didn't reply, he didn't flinch. He didn't let the creature's words cut him deep. They were meant to ratt

"YOU FIGHT FOR DEATH. YOU ARE LIKE ME. AND FOR THAT REASON ALONE, YOU ARE DAMNED." The black dagger sunk into the back of the king's head and he whirled around to face Pinball again, sweeping low and wide with his spear in a wild counterattack. Pinball deftly leapt out of the way, hurling three more knives into the soft, unarmored flesh of his enemy. The Forgotten Time King roared, and charged. Pinball was ready for him. The spear whistled overhead and Pinball slipped away, sliding across the water beneath the legs of the giant warrior. He twirled a new pair of daggers into hi

"Zomekko." Shadows enveloped him and carried him away. The Forgotten Time King stood alone, and yet did not seem confused, or angry, or bothered. He stood as still as a statue, relaxed, as if to say, "Go on and hide, and run, and use your little tricks. I will remain here." Quick Change was off cooldown. He swapped his knives again. He tried to find a better angle. The king spoke. "NO... YOU ARE DIFFERENT." God almighty, was this guy going to talk the whole time? If he wanted to be psychoanalyzed while he fought for his life, he would have gone and done Calming the Soul instea

The vibes shifted immediately. That was okay. He'd expected it. Pinball kept his eyes politely on Remington, only nodding politely at the other player in the room briefly. Pinball was only half listening. He was more interested in getting out and on his way again as soon as possible. It was the usual quest mumbo jumbo anyways. Some beast was rampaging in the countryside, disturbing the floor's natural ecosystem and laying waste to any passerbys. The man finished his speech by warning him that he wouldn't find the beast, the beast would find him. Pinball was quick to exit. "Understood. Th

Nevermind. If he was going to keep talking, Pinball was going to take the offensive. He gripped his knives in both hands and rushed forward at a blistering pace. As he got closer, he leapt several feet into the air, viciously hurling both knives into either shoulder of the forgotten king, where they found lethal purchase -- "AH... I UNDERSTAND." -- and as if punished for his recklessness, was gifted an opened stomach courtesy of Mr. Zombie's wicked spear. The force of the slash completely altered his trajectory, and Pinball was sent whipping backwards, the telltale red shards of an

The Forgotten Time King corrected his posture, maybe assessing Pinball as a threat. Pinbal twirled the knives in his hands, staring right back with an icy glare. Even though he'd come prepared, a few hits from a monster like this meant death. The knowledge was enough to start his heart hammering in his chest, ignite the blood roaring in his ears, have each and every atom that made up his very being hum with adrenaline. He waited for the King to move first. He stayed on the tip of his toes. He stayed reactionary. Instead, the ghoulish warrior spoke again. "YOU FIGHT UNARMORED... INT

The Forgotten King rose. Pinball watched, knife in hand. He was probably invulnerable for a moment as he stood, anyway. Pinball realized that he only came up to about the King's knees as he stood. But he'd cut down bigger and worse. Probably. The Forgotten King stared down at him, as one would an ant. Or a cockroach. Pinball flipped his knives in his hands, ready to throw another couple into his exposed chest -- but the sound of the monster's voice surprised him. "SUCH ANGER IN YOUR HEART." Jump. A little voice in his head told him to jump. Pinball leapt backwards, and it was

He tested the weight of the knife in his hand, bouncing it in his palm. It was still a little surreal, having two weapons in his hands. A dagger, a spear, a sword, a knife... he'd used a variety of different weapons throughout his life in Aincrad, but somehow, these felt the most natural. He remembered doing tricks with his daggers back on the first floor for pocket change, back when he'd never left. Back when Lucy was still alive. Back when things were simpler. Memories of Lucy, Mishiro, the Emerald Harbingers, and everything after that came rushing back. He stood there for a moment, hi

"Zomekko," he murmured. Ever loyal, his familiar emerged and enveloped him in suffocating shadow. Eventually the shadow sputtered out and dissipated, and Pinball was gone. For the moment, he was invisible to all those who weren't looking. Not that there was anyone who would be looking for him here. The rain fell. The water swirled at his feet. The throne, and the king for that matter, seemed to grow exponentially in size as he approached. Pinball was unfazed, but from an objective perspective, it was an intimidating sight. But he was totally confident in his abilities. That, and co

<<USING: Mega Slime Farm>> <<USING: x1 Yui's Grace>> He'd popped a squat in front of the boss room, chowing down on a whole feast of consumables as he went over his notes. No special abilities. No evasion. Decent mitigation. He had a couple things for that, though. He took a large bite out of his Tofu Burger (the faster he finished the nasty thing, the better). Pinball kept reading. Immune to disablements -- that was the fancy way of saying Freeze, right? Stuns, Paralysis, those kinds of things. That was fine. Just meant he didn't use that knife, but

[Demonic T4 TW] Hellfire: Bleed, Blight, Burn, Cursed Item ID#: 224193 Description: Nasty looking dark knives that shine crimson in the light. When held, black wormlike veins writhe from beneath the wielder's skin. USING: Ronbaru Crystal-A | | Removes one enhancement on a weapon and replaces it with Static. (This effect cannot override the Static enhancement cap. Consumed on use.) --->OBTAINED Here NEW ITEM: [Demonic T4 TW] Hellfire: Bleed, Blight, Burn, Static Item ID#: 224193 Description: Nasty looking dark knives that shine crimson in the light. When

Whoopsie daisy! Also forgot my crystal. Yoinking: Ronbaru Crystal-A | | Removes one enhancement on a weapon and replaces it with Static. (This effect cannot override the Static enhancement cap. Consumed on use.)

Pinball didn't even flinch as Bahr practically jumped out of his skin. He stared at him, unbothered, and figured that it probably had something to do with the weird chick who'd just scuttled out of his shop on all fours like an excited little cockroach. The order was placed and Pinball waited silently in the shop for it to be completed, seeing as he went straight to work on it. He didn't have any other place to be, and being indoors meant he didn't constantly have to be on the lookout for city guards who'd grab him and toss him out on his backside first chance they could get. Event

Throwing weapons were now a thing (thanks, Cardinal) and after some deliberation, Pinball had swapped over. He wasn't entirely sure why - a sword did him just fine anyway - but he had an idea. He remembered when he was stuck in the starting city, doing flashy tricks with a dagger had been his shameless little way to make a bit of extra cash. He'd made the swap over to a two-handed spear afterwards, and then a one-handed sword long after that. In a way it was nice to think about how some things came full circle. It kept him grounded. It was the little things that did. As he approached, he

Just as he reached for the door handle a young woman burst through the door on all fours, skittering about like an alleycat, leaping from a windowsill and bulldozing through an assortment of potted plants. He stood in the doorway for a moment, watching her disappear down the street. But if he was surprised, unnerved, or otherwise affected by the strange display, he did not show it. Pinball stepped inside and shut the door firmly behind him, stepping up to the counter and catching Bahr before he disappeared elsewhere. "I need a new cloak," he said, swiping the details Bahr's way. "Please.