Pinball

Pinball was in the market for potions. He was fresh out. He needed healing crystals, a few crafter's respites, and most importantly, toxic venoms. He had been out for a while, and he no longer felt like missing out on the extra damage was acceptable. And there was really only one alchemist that he knew, that wouldn't freak out about him suddenly appearing out of thin air in his shop. "Oz," Pinball greeted. He took a moment to familiarize himself with the shop, and Oz's stock. After a few moments mentally tallying the damage, Pinball began picking out each item that he needed. He spared n

To his surprise, Acanthus threw herself at one of the ghasts despite being tapped out on energy. She destroyed the spectral mob in the process, but ended up collapsing herself. Pinball wasted no time in finishing the other mobs off, then. He was the one drawing aggro, but he wasn't going to risk Acanthus taking a hit. They exploded into fragments of light in rapid succession, and Pinball stood over Acanthus as she struggled to her feet. "Don't push yourself." The words came out sharper than he'd intended. He softened them. "You're doing great." He'd step away and give her space to

How long had she been gone? Long, by the sound of it. Or not long at all. Time in Aincrad was weird, and that went without saying. On some days, he could have sworn that a decade has passed. On others, it felt more like two. From what he understood, everyone experienced it different too. Nobody seemed to have the same answer, but the common consensus was just that: time in Aincrad was weird. Pinball let the two of them talk. After freeing Cordelia, Pinball had backed up, giving the two space to talk. His head was down now, his arms crossed as the two women embraced. He was glad, he

"Not a problem," he said. There was another pack though, and they were getting closer. It didn't matter too much. Acanthus had said it herself - she was surprised they got any loot from them. He threw his knives at range. They were still drifting slowly towards them, and as his knives connected they faltered. "Let your energy recover. I'm sure there will be more on the way back." He let the ghasts hang suspended there, stunned. Soon they began to move again, but Pinball turned. He flicked his head in the direction of the safe zone. "Let's go," he said. The ghasts hovered behind the

"Hm?" Thought it was what? Pinball had turned to Mishiro after staring at Cerberus writhe about the cavern floor in its death throes. That sort of thing had been happening a lot more often -- mobs, in their last moments, wailing in agony. He wasn't sure what that was all about, though he assumed that this time it was because of the quest's requirements. Mishiro continued, and Pinball couldn't help but feel as though he had missed something important. But all of that worry faded when he saw her smile. "Alright," he said. "Let's do that." He hurried to her side as the cavern became t

Pinball's eyes flicked from Oz, to Morningstar, to Mishiro, and back to Morningstar. He shook his head. He didn't need any of the drops, and if Oz didn't take them, Pinball usually let his loot fall into Mishiro's inventory anyway. The sands stretched out endlessly around them. Pinball was amazed he'd made it this far without being discovered. He was amazed nobody seemed to care, either, though he was more thankful for that part than not. "Nice to see you," Pinball replied. He opened his mouth to speak and then shrugged. Pinball didn't know what else to say. He wasn't the best at c

She seemed pretty confident for a player alone with a Player Killer. Pinball almost snorted. She went so far as to accuse him of having nothing better to do than sneak up on people minding their own business -- his lips quirked at that. "Right," Pinball agreed, sure. He was very tempted to leave at that moment, but he instead stood quietly watching her as she picked her herbs. His gaze wandered elsewhere. If he truly did have something better to do, wouldn't he be doing it? His eyes settled on the Town of Beginnings, and Pinball frowned. He did have something better to do. He'd just forg

"Sure, well," Pinball glanced to the river, and flipped a knife into his palm. "I don't think we'll have to scout for one, though." From the river, a new group of undead emerged. These were more ethereal than the Leech Lich and its kin, and they drifted out from the river's dark waters without disturbing its tranquil surface. Well, Pinball had experience fighting ghosts and the like, on this floor and others. Luckily, they could be killed just like everything else. The group that emerged from the waters reached soundlessly towards them, spectral limbs extended in what seemed like a mixtu

"Got it." Mishiro took point -- more than half the full pack of Hellhounds descended upon them, their jowels alight with flame. No sooner had they spawned had Mishiro dispatched them, her sword aglow with the last embers of her sword art. Pinball rushed ahead. Two more Hellhounds jumped into the path in front of him. Pinball didn't stop, and he didn't slow. A knife took care of each of them, replaced immediately by a new pair. Pinball's eyes were on Cerberus, its three heads, and the magma bubbling in its jaws. This time, he got in close. Pinball's form flickered. First here, then

Pinball knew he'd been silly -- if he'd prepared the right blade before he'd entered combat, the lich would be dead with his next strike. But he hadn't, and it wouldn't be. He was being careless, and he knew that one day it would cost him. Quick Change was on cooldown, and while he knew that the lich posed no threat, he also knew that he shouldn't take any chances. It was easy to forget that these things could mean life and death when you did them every day. Still, he decided not to beat himself up about it too much. Acanthus worked quickly, spotting her opening, and taking it. The Leech

Knorlit came and went. There was nothing for them there -- MIshiro had already picked up the quest, so they didn't need to speak with anybody there. Pinball had done the quest a long time ago, and he still knew the way. Across cracked, steaming earth, noxious black smoke and rivers of lava they went. Pinball himself had fallen again into a fairly deep silence. The Ninth Floor had put him into a rather particular mood, and his otherwise plain expression was cracked by a furrowed brow. But he marched steadily onwards. As they left Knorlit behind and began their journey further into that ho

Acanthus pretty easily dispatched the initial group of Stygian Warriors. Pinball darted past her, flicking knives into his palms - a blade for every occasion - and launched them each at the undead monsters in quick succession. His blades, Tyrfing, cut through the air unfailingly. They almost seemed to curve towards their targets, such was his accuracy when wielding that specific weapon. Pinball's hands vanished beneath his cloak. The Leech Lich swung, and Pinball moved his head slightly to the side. The lich's bony claws caught nothing but open air, and seemingly frustrated, it unleashed

<<THREAD SUMMARY>> Oz Receives: Oz | [Word Count: 6414/10 = 641.4] * [True Tier: 1] * [Group Factor: 0.7] + 3000 EXP (Quest Reward) = 3449 EXP Pinball Receives: Pinball | [Word Count: 6414/10 = 641.4] * [True Tier: 8] * [Group Factor: 0.7] + 3000 EXP (Quest Reward) = 6592 EXP Laurel Wreath: 538 col [x2] Essence of Titanium

Oz drank. Pinball stared. He wasn't worried about poison. But even as his hand firmly grasped the mug's handle, he didn't lift it to drink, either. Eventually his stare dropped and his gaze fell to his cup, where he watched the drink stir and still. Honey mead. It seemed like such a long time ago... Finally, Oz spoke, and Pinball lifted his eyes to meet him. He thanked him. Pinball's frowned. That wasn't it, surely. Pinball was even more put off by what sounded to him like appreciation. He hadn't taken him for the type. He didn't respond. Oz continued, and finally the a

Pinball stopped. "There," he said. Just a bit further down the river, a congregation of ghastly looking specters seemed to mill about aimlessly. Aimlessly, or restlessly awaiting something. Them. They were awaiting them. As in the two players who'd taken the quest. All at once, the information he'd gathered on the quest came spilling out. He spoke in a rather hushed tone, but was that really anything different for someone like Pinball? Acanthus was certainly used to it by now. "Four Stygian Warriors, then the lich will appear. Another four with him. Kill the warriors first. The lic

Oz sent the item his way, as promised. Pinball would have sent it back -- he'd only come expecting the one -- but he also wasn't against pocketing something that'd make his life easier later. Pinball acknowledged the reward with a nod and dismissed his inventory. It was time for them to go. This time, Oz led the way. Out of the maze, back to the settlement, where Pinball clung to the shadows and watched carefully for wandering eyes. "I need a drink," Oz decided between drags of a fresh cigarette. A drink didn't sound too bad. - He didn't pay much attention to the thirtee

"Yes, it's normal," he replied. He walked otherwise quickly across the stone floor of the cavernous tenth floor. They passed glowing mushroom and crystal alike. There was stone above, stone below, stone beside them. Everything was echoey. Their footsteps, stones falling in the distance, the steady, lazy sounds of the river besides them. Pinball shrugged. After a bit of consideration, he added, "I think floor nine is worse." Pinball absolutely hated the ninth floor. Pinball otherwise continued quietly. The good thing about following the river was that there wasn't as big of a risk of gett

Mishiro rejoined him shortly. "We can," he replied absently. He was unable, at first, to tear his eyes from the foreboding horizon. With a bit of effort, he managed. "But no, I don't think we need to. Not yet, anyway. This should be a lot quicker than the last one." But a break, he thought, sounded nice. If only they'd thought of it after they'd already finished the quest -- now he was going to spend the whole time wishing he could take a break. Mishiro commented that she'd never really been here before, to which Pinball snorted dryly. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook

Lessa arrived quicker than he'd expected her to. Pinball stepped aside and let her have her space. He felt a bit out of place. Lessa seemed a lot more invested than he was in this strange discovery, but wasn't that why he'd messaged her? Pinball watched as she peered deeply into the slime, searching for anything she could use to identify the player's identity -- -- and with a start, she'd found it. Cord? Cord? Who was Cord? Pinball didn't remember anybody named Cord -- though the face trapped in slimostasis did seem mildly familiar -- but Lessa certainly did. She wasted no time dig

"Hello," he replied. He pushed himself off from the mushroom stalk he was leaning against and nodded. "Of course. Not a problem." He turned and started walking. Pinball said nothing about the last quest they had taken together -- but in hindsight, why would he? What was he going to do, ask if she was feeling better? It was a weird question and he didn't feel like having an awkward conversation about it. He'd see for himself if she was feeling better or not shortly. "The Leech Lich," he said, "is down by the Stygian River. It's going to be a bit of a walk to get there again."

“I’m not really a combat guy,” Oz admitted, coming as no surprise, “but I’m thinking now would be a good time to kill the thing." "Yeah," Pinball replied. The Titanium Warden, having briefly taken a knee, slowly began to rise. The magma bubbled and burst from its exposed chest, where Pinball had torn its armor apart. It spit steam through the glowing cracks of what armor remained, its eyes a boiling red. Pinball flipped his knives into his hand. He didn't close the distance this time. One after another, he let the blades fly. One landed heavy in its shoulder, sinking deep into its r

"Christ—jump scare much?" Pinball shrugged. He'd said he was going to help, but he ended up not having to. Morningstar's attack had been a little excessive, and put them in a pretty tricky position. If Pinball had to attack, he wasn't going to be able to use Sword Arts without risking killing it, and that could have lead to complications on its own. Thankfully, Mishiro bailed them out. Her attack was pinpoint -- precise. Pinball was impressed, though his expression certainly didn't show it. Terra Firma switched its stance and disappeared beneath the sands. All was silent.

The final showdown was over quickly, and Pinball was pretty happy for it. The bear stumbled forward, weak and defeated. It didn't seem to have a fraction of the vigor it was showing him just moments ago. Pinball flicked a knife into its face and called it a day. The beast burst into a cloud of dust and light, leaving Pinball alone on the broken forest path. He glanced down at the pop up menus on his interface. Standard loot rewards, dungeon rewards... good. Maybe now the bears would stop spawning. He dismissed the menus and checked his inventory. He was making pretty solid progress. Hopefully

That was his opening. The bear was slow, tired, exhausted -- whatever you wanted to call it, whatever a mob that was at the end of their rope could be described as. It tried to bite his head off his neck and Pinball rewarded it with a dagger through the bottom of his jaw. It swatted at him with a paw the size of him and Pinball jumped out of his range, hurling a pair of knives into its chest. It roared, but Pinball could tell by the roar that it didn't have much fight left in it. Pinball took another step back. Another. The bear lumbered forward, weak, its head drooping and its paws heavy. Pin

He held his dagger at the ready. The bear was getting impatient. It didn't seem to want to wait anymore. Pinball hesitated. The bear sense it and charged. Pinball took a wider stance. Again, it was fast -- faster than any other bear Pinball had fought, though probably not the fastest creature (or person) he'd faced in Aincrad. The bear practically leapt at him. Pinball tossed a knife up -- a bad throw -- but it was all he could do before he had to duck and slip out of the way. The ground where Pinball was once staying was instantly cratered, and the ground shook from the impact. Pinball let ou