Andromeda

Because Mishiro was still right in her guess that An said things she didn't mean in the heat of the moment. Because An didn't know what to do with herself and her friend who wouldn't leave her alone, then, and in front of her (beside her) was a party sized plate of sandwiches that she had unwittingly swiped from the table. She didn't think she had the energy to put them back. She had just yelled at a girl who was trying to help.

"All of them?" Mishiro suddenly sounded so intimidated that An almost laughed despite herself.

"Yeah." She didn't look away from the waves. "Come on. We've been through buffet experiences so much worse. I just don't think anyone would want food from a plate someone else has already touched."

An imagined Mishiro was still too polite to roll her eyes. She saw a vague movement in her peripheries and heard the rustling of paper as Mishiro peeled back a sandwich's wrapper, careful to not so much as graze any of the food with her bare fingers. An picked up the topmost one after, then she did a double take. Why was the center of the plate glowing a bright alien blue?

"Uh. Mish." An awkwardly spoke up. "I'm sorry. Please actually stop eating. Someone, uh, put a rock under the sandwiches."

-> Scavenger Hunt: 239692: BD 5: CD 9: LD 15: (1) Blue Crystal

Current Score: 1 Red Crystal, 1 Blue Crystal

Crystals Remaining
Red: 5
Blue: 4
Transparent: 3

They had to carry on.

Which in this context meant recognizing there was still somehow an entire day ahead of them. But, following NIGHT to the docks, taking in the sights of Tolbana and the observable routines of its inhabitants, people on the march of their day-to-day lives, An didn't feel tired at all. She also didn't mind that she had apparently just been roped into an errand, or at least providing NIGHT company while the woman conducted an errand, and she took in their first task with an ease that would briefly surprise her in hindsight. "Mm, okay! So keeping an eye out for big for-sale plots. Are we supposed to list them down indiscriminately or does she want anything in specific?"

Their second task barely felt like a task at all. Anyone on a day-off could have taken a gondola ride without a broker's behest. So as An stepped onto the boat, cautious not to rock it too much as she settled into the seat facing the stern, she had to wonder if there was something more. She propped her cheeks on her palms as NIGHT also got in and the waters gently lapped at the sides of their gondola as the NPC at the helm began to row.

"What does your broker want us to look into here, though? Is it just that this place is new?"

Back in the clear, An was now faced with something even worse: social interaction.

"Yeah," she said lamely. She regretted her lack of knowledge on giants or persons approximate to giants named 'Oliver' because otherwise she could have attempted a response of more substance. Stuck, taking no amount of solace in the fact that the person in front of her seemed just as clueless, An could only look at him in vague concern as he poked her. She had been in the 'helper' role a few times from her shop's services. But not like this. She had a feeling she should be projecting a more reliable air. "Yeah," she said again.

An desperately scrounged for something to say.

"Not hallucinating. I-I thought you were something else too, to be honest...? But you wouldn't have killed that Giant with me if you were. I think." And she nearly cringed because she had already called the poor, tired man a rock. Quickly, An amended, "I'm sure."

An took the hand offered to her and shook it once, then squinted as she drew back. Whoever this was had not left much of an impression if she had encountered him in the past. "I'm An. Um..." She gestured to the wall where the line of chalk had ended, shifting uneasily on her feet. "I was out here to try a quest but... you don't look so well...? I don't mind going back. Want me to walk you--"

THUMP.

The first massive footfall came from far in the distance but the two felt the ground beneath them shake. An stood perfectly still, listening and waiting for its source to pass.

THUMP. THTUMP.

No way.

The footsteps of the approaching titan only steadily drew closer. Fast and decisive enough that it was useless to try and outrun it. There must have been a solid number of walls between them and the place it had originated. They had been relatively quiet. They had dispatched of the first Umbral Giant before it could kick up much of a ruckus. Was it because it roared? Or that she had practically turned it into a beacon by setting it on fire? "Oh no," An groaned. She pulled out another axe from the air.

Then could not stop her shout once the mob's form resolved in the fog.

"Wait, that's it!! That's my rock!"

-> Endless Maze/Searching: 239127: CD 7: LD 17: Rock _{[Titanium Warden]} spotted.

Yoink.

Receiving:

accord | AA/FLN/FLN/VO
[T4 DEMONIC STRAIGHT SWORD] [238715]
a greatsword shattered and pieced back with liquid gold.

"And... done!"

An collapsed back into her chair and slapped a hand to her forehead. "Whew."

It was a massive endeavor, requiring multiple days and negotiations over Mystic Essences. Arabelle was faithfully there through all of it, indulging her with company and conversation and occasionally napping with her arms folded atop the counter when the store was closed. One time, tired and hysterical at the cuteness in front of her, An wondered if, maybe, Arabelle had [Disguised] her cat and sent it instead. Regardless, An was happy.

And proud. An slid the finished pieces over to the other end of the counter, returned the customer's portion of the junk sale, and presented the demonic greatsword with a flourish.

"Thank you so much. Please come again!"

IDENTIFICATION | [12/10/2024]

Honing Steel-II | ACC/FRB/STC
[T4 PERFECT STRAIGHT SWORD] [238666] [238669, 238670: 19, 10-11-20]
Forging material.

• Melting the following from [here] into three (3) MYSTIC ESSENCES and applying to the third slot.

  Practice Blade-II | KEEN/BRN/PARA
  [T4 PERFECT STRAIGHT SWORD] [237505b] [238387, 238388, 238389: 5, 10-12-7, 12]
  Scrap metal.

  Bolt of Fabric-II | LM/REC/PARA IMMUNE
  [T4 PERFECT LIGHT ARMOR] [237483] [238463, 238464, 238465: 20, 10-12-8, 3]
  Excess.

  Bolt of Fabric-III | EVA/REC/PARA IMMUNE
  [T4 PERFECT LIGHT ARMOR [237490] [238466, 238467, 238468: 1, 10-9-10, 11]
  Excess.

JUNK SALE | [12/10/2024] [12/12/2024]

(2) T4 Perfect Weapons
| [ID: 238667, 238668]

(3) T4 Perfect Light Armor
| [ID: 238765, 238766, 238767]

+9,500 Col | (2 + 3) * 1,900

[12/12/2024]

[12/10/2024]

Another day, another haul.

As courtesy, she made all the necessary trips. Address in hand, she followed a crudely-paved path out of Coral to the Sentinel Armaments. Three sharp knocks and the sound of the shop bell as she swung open the door heralded her arrival. The blacksmith, busy hammering away at his anvil, would have looked over his shoulder as she shook off her hood.

"Hi!" An greeted once he had moved over to attend to her. From a wide sheath at her back and another at her hip, An drew a greatsword and a thin blade. She presented both to the blacksmith, holding them crosswise. "I do appraisals on Floor 1 and I need a quick fusion for a customer. I can provide the shard and the scale. Do you have time?"

IDENTIFICATIONS | [11/30/2024] [12/01/2024] [12/02/2024] [12/04/2024]

Honing Steel-I | ACC/VO/TAUNT
[T4 PERFECT STRAIGHT SWORD] [237490] [238335, 238336, 238337: 1, 10-12-12, 11]
Forging material.

accord | AA/FLN/PARA
[T4 PERFECT STRAIGHT SWORD] [237549b] [238398, 238399: 10-8-16, 8]
a greatsword shattered and pieced back with liquid gold.

• Applying three (3) MYSTIC ESSENCES on the third slot.
  [ESSENCE: 141804, 141302, 142553]: FLN

Honing Steel-II | FLN/VO/TAUNT
[T4 PERFECT STRAIGHT SWORD] [237581c] [238431, 238432: 6, 10-10-11]
Forging material.

• Applying three (3) MYSTIC ESSENCES on the third slot.
  [ESSENCE: 215566, 215566-1, 215423]: FLN

Practice Blade-I | DMG/BRN/BLD
[T4 PERFECT STRAIGHT SWORD] [237491b] [238343, 238344, 238345: 14, 9, 10-11-8]
Scrap metal.

Practice Blade-II | KEEN/BRN/PARA
[T4 PERFECT STRAIGHT SWORD] [237505b] [238387, 238388, 238389: 5, 10-12-7, 12]
Scrap metal.

Bolt of Fabric-I | MIT/REC/PARA IMMUNE
[T4 PERFECT LIGHT ARMOR] [237462a] [238448, 238449, 238450: 10-8-7, 5, 11]
Excess.

Bolt of Fabric-II | LM/REC/PARA IMMUNE
[T4 PERFECT LIGHT ARMOR] [237483] [238463, 238464, 238465: 20, 10-12-8, 3]
Excess.

Bolt of Fabric-III | EVA/REC/PARA IMMUNE
[T4 PERFECT LIGHT ARMOR [237490] [238466, 238467, 238468: 1, 10-9-10, 11]
Excess.

Dragon Scales-I | LM/VO/REC
[T4 PERFECT LIGHT ARMOR [237506a] [238472, 238473, 238474: 15, 3, 10-8-11]
Forging material.

JUNK SALE | [from:]

(22) T4 Perfect Weapons
| [ID: 237473a, 237473b, 237480a, 237480b, 237480c, 237491a, 237491c, 237498, 237505a, 237543a]
| [ID: 237543b, 237549a, 237549c, 237551a, 237551b, 237573, 237574, 237581a, 237581b, 237584]
| [ID: 237629, 237644]

(18) T4 Perfect Light Armor
| [ID: 237462b, 237464a, 237464b, 237473, 237505, 237506b, 237541a, 237541b, 237543, 237551]
| [ID: 237567, 237568a, 237568b, 237575, 237576, 237627a, 237627b, 237629]

+76,000 Col | (22 + 18) * 1,900

[12/04/2024]

An accidentally fell and one (1) Crafter's Respite landed in her mouth.

[12/02/2024]

[12/01/2024]

[11/30/2024]

--They did go for another round because Arabelle refused to leave with the knowledge that she had accidentally taken An’s just reward. An, tragically, liked her even more for it. They took ten lamps from Dayanita the second time, just to be sure, realized that staring intensely at the inscriptions didn’t count, then talked it all through once again. By the end of the lamplighting activity, the horses safely returned to the stables, An was physically and mentally exhausted. But she was grateful.

Arabelle left first. “All this riding in the dark has left me feeling drowsy. Text me when you get home! …Though I might be asleep for it.” She floated off and hardly spared a glance over her shoulder at An, waving her goodbye with a smile.

An, for some reason, didn’t want to leave yet.

She wandered over to the pallankuli tables and had the rules explained to her. A group of friends had crowded this same stall earlier, sparking her curiosity for the game, but she had thought it was rude to peek inside while they were still playing. Thrice, she slid the shells into their respective counters, evening the count for both sides. She went to play a fourth time but a system notification barred her from accessing the board. In the end, she didn’t understand what made it so fun.

An went home.

GAME #1
Moving nine (9) crystals from Row #1:

400  651  [14]
133  124  [14]

GAME #1
Moving one (1) crystals from Row #1:

400  650  [15]
133  124  [14]

GAME #1
Moving two (2) crystals from Row #2:

400  650  [15]
133  105  [15]

IDENTIFICATIONS | [11/15/2024]

Novice’s Halberd | DMG/DMG/ACC
[T1 PERFECT POLEARM] [237370a] [237659, 237660, 237661: 18, 20, 14]
A simple polearm with an iron tip. You found this with your own hands.

Iron Pincer | ACC/BLD/BLD
[T1 PERFECT POLEARM] [237370b] [237662, 237663, 237664: 12, 16, 10]
Two-pronged. Light, but sharp.

Orange Bandana | EVA/LM/LD
[T1 PERFECT CLOTH ARMOR] [237535a] [237668, 237669, 237670: 16, 10, 5]
Keeps your hair away from your eyes. Alternatively -- replaces the handkerchief you misplaced by accident.

Awakening | +3 DMG
[TIERLESS PERFECT POTION] [237370c] [237665: 9]
A round bottle containing a mysterious fluid. The courageous are deserving of their just rewards.

Candy | +2 ACC
[TIERLESS RARE SNACK] [237535c] [237667: 8]
An oval gum drop. Peppermint flavored.

Bitter Tea | +2 OH
[TIERLESS RARE POTION] [237535b] [237666: 19]
Hard to swallow. It is a popular unscientific belief that things that taste awful are invariably the best for one’s health. It is true, in this scenario. Don’t count on it when you get back.

[11/15/2024]

Lounging behind the counter, An's mouth dropped open.

Oh, God. Here it was. The old building was finally falling apart. How was she supposed to explain this to the owner? With luck they would understand that this was bound to happen at some point.

But everything was fine. It was just some clumsy, flustered new customer. An wished their first introduction wasn't them testing the structural integrity of her establishment, but she did like seeing new faces. "Ten minutes, tops," she responded, carding through the unidentifieds. "Feel free to look around. Most of everything in here is for sale -- er, I'll tell you if it isn't."

Six Tier Ones, four Perfects and Two Rares, no special requests. The merchant finished the appraisal in the time provided and called the player back to the counter, if they had wandered off. She smiled brightly as the transaction completed. "All done. Thank you and please come again!"

--Two more random items fall into Arabelle's inventory!

(2) Dragon's Breath
CRAFTER'S RESPITE
|  [171063] [171066]

Was that Mishiro?

For some reason, An immediately ducked behind a stall. She crouched there for a good ten seconds, then she raised herself very slightly so she could peek over the counter. She waited, feeling embarrassedly like some weird subversion of a stalker, as Mishiro apparently changed partners, and the one that departed passed by her hiding place and tossed her a curious glance, and the new pair went off to the edge of the fair. Only then did she stand, apologize politely to the NPC whose business she had invaded (they were very nice about it), and make her way over to Dayanita’s station herself.

“H-hi…” She had heard about the EXP.

“Hello,” Dayanita greeted. She was very gentle and polite. “Would you like to help me deliver these lights?”

“Yeah.”

The woman bundled together a set of five diya lamps and a digital packet of coordinates. “Then please take these. My coworker is managing the lights outside of the plaza. Thank you very much, kind stranger.”

“Thank you.”

An walked off, smoke pouring out of her ears. Oh gosh. She did not mean to sound so stilted. She was going to take a turn around the plaza again so she could avoid another tremendously more awkward encounter.

-> Diya Lighting: Receiving the lights.

An thought herself on autopilot, reaching the refreshments table, picking up a random plate of sandwiches and a coconut topped with a tiny paper umbrella. She didn't know where to go next. She ducked behind one of the tables.

Then tripped on Stephen Star's kid brother, a rock.

"Ow, ow, ow..."

It jutted out from the sand, weirdly shiny and red. An picked it up and sat down, well out of view of everyone on the greater side of the beach. She set aside her plate and drink and placed her head between her knees, grasping the rock tightly in one hand. What was she supposed to do now? Should she just go home and pray that everyone forgot in a year or so? She stayed there, still and silent, hypothesizing what everyone back there could have possibly talked about after her abrupt departure, until she heard the crunch of sand beneath careful feet. Shoulders stiffening, An raised her head to see Mishiro turning the corner of the table.

The woman paused. Her searching eyes had fallen on her.

An did still think she was pretty.

"An."

She resumed her curled up position. Her voice came out muffled. "Go away, Mish."

-> Scavenger Hunt: 237235: BD 10: CD 3: LD 9: (1) Red Crystal

Crystals left in the area:
Red: 16/30
Blue: 12/15
Transparent: 3/3

An was here, too.

She was wandering around by herself – quite content – enjoying the pretty lights and picking her way through food stalls, one never-before-heard-of delicacy at a time. A fair amount of them were too intense and spicy for her taste but they were devoured with sparkly-eyed vigor all the same. (No one tell her she was eating a week’s worth of savings in a day). This was all too exciting! A floor-wide festival for players to enjoy themselves, and it seemed Cardinal was keeping it around for more than a week or so. In her mind, the appraiser was already drawing up plans to reduce her official shop hours.

She’ll explore every nook and cranny of this attraction before it goes away. Today, An went after the things that stood out the most.

And of course, what else would an appraiser-slash-unwillingly-retired-gacha-player be drawn to other than dice.

-> Gyan Chauper: CD 24 | Dragon's Jewel

The item ends back up in Arabelle's hands, somehow.

ode to endless time
ABSOLUTE ACCURACY, BURN, ACCURACY

[SHOP] | TIER 3 PERFECT AXE | [state]: identified/+5
the cogs beneath the glass layer do not move. the clock hands appear permanently frozen, for as long as the weapon is manifested. yet with every new summoning, the 'time' this scythe measures slowly inches forward.

REROLL

[>>]

ode to endless time
ABSOLUTE ACCURACY, BURN, BLEED -> ACCURACY

[SHOP] | TIER 3 PERFECT AXE | [state]: identified/+4 -> +5
the cogs beneath the glass layer do not move. the clock hands appear permanently frozen, for as long as the weapon is manifested. yet with every new summoning, the 'time' this scythe measures slowly inches forward.

reroll bleed (+5)
236259: LD 18: DMG/ACC

[total]: 16,000 Col

[Reroll.]