Astralin

Wandering it was, then. Not that Astralin minded that, she was perfectly fine as long as it got the two players back to the safe zone.

Upon Astralin's request, Koga would look at her with a stern, stoic expression and say no, but in mere moments he broke into a small smile and admitted he was kidding. Astralin let out a small chuckle as she brought the request back up and sent it to Koga. "You really had me there for a bit." She remarked.

She had some courage, and that led her to several encounters... She'd met a few good people, and started her path. She'd had a vivid dream, encountered a group, met her rival, enjoyed a celebration, had her first battle against an evil revenant organization, got involved in a conflict, and now here she was, finishing this whirlwind trip. Astralin actually began to wonder, what whirlwind adventures lay before her?

And where will they lead?

Summary:

Astralin Receives: 5 SP(2 Pages completed[2], Quest Completed[2], Quarantine Bonus[1]), 400 Col(2 Pages Completed), and <<Hoya of Minos>>

@Koga Receives: 3 SP(2 Pages Completed[2], Quarantine Bonus[1]), and 400 Col(2 Pages Completed)

Koga seemed relieved that the two players were going to leave unharmed. "Yup... right, we should leave before any other players show up or get any ideas." She noted. "But I will admit, it's kinda difficult to remember the way you came when combat caused one to forget..." Astralin admitted with a somewhat nervous smile. "I assume you know the way, or will we retrace our steps working together?" She asked.

She and Koga had been through an awkward meeting, a normal conversation, a run-in with the Knights of Avalon, an encounter with the Minotaurs that guarded this maze, and even the assault from the pendant's undead, previous owners. At the very least, she considered Koga to be a good ally. "I know it's only been one quest, but I think you're a good person, and it was actually kind of fun working with you." Astralin admitted. "Wanna be friends?" She asked, as she prepared to send a friend request, but waiting to send it so that she could send it only upon the answer of yes.

@Koga

Koga told Astralin to stand back, and he would unleash a powerful Area of Effect sword art, decimating the enemy, and leaving one severely damaged, not to mention struck with two status ailments.

Minos still remained, and Koga wasn't too happy about it. Of course, Astralin didn't like feeling helpless or useless, so she might as well give this a try. She began preparing her sword art as Minos raised his sword in preparation to attack Koga. Astralin's Sword Art activated. "Aerrakea!" She struck Minos in the arm, knocking the blade out of his hand. Minos grabbed Astralin by her outfit, and raised her up in the air as he glared at her. "No one makes a fool of me, girl." The undead king claimed. Astralin smirked, knowing what the icons over Minos's HP meter meant. "You don't need me to make you look like a fool. Besides, you're already dead." Minos scowled as the burning embers and the blight took him, crumbling his remains before he shattered. Astralin got up, and dusted herself off. "Whew, that was a bit close, thanks!" She said to Koga with a soft smile.

@Koga

ID# 183254 BD: 5+2=7(hit), CD: 10(Recovered 2 EN), MD: 1(Critical Fail)

(OOC: Forgot to add the monster's attack in roll purpose. Then again, their roll was a 1, so...)

Tornado Kick: 6x6-20=16 Damage to Minos the Risen

Burn Damage: Minos the Risen takes 24 DMG

Blight Damage: Minos the Risen takes 24 DMG

Astralin: HP 360/360, EN 27/36, 6 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 2 REC | PAR | T1 BLD

Koga HP: 740/740 // EN: 58/74 // DMG: 15 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 51 // ACC: 4 // BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10

            Enemies:

Revenant Minotaur 1: HP 0/75, 30 DMG, 10 MIT

Revenant Minotaur 2: HP 0/75, 30 DMG, 10 MIT

Minos the Risen: HP 0/150, 45 DMG, 20 MIT, [Burn 1/2] [Blight 1/2]

Koga became wary once he was told that there were other players nearby, and drew his blade. He strongly suggested that he and Astralin keep moving and don't stick around for longer than they needed to. Astralin nodded in agreement, then continued to follow Koga.

It wasn't long before the room with the pendant's pedestal was found. "Congrats, you did it." Koga said to Astralin.

Astralin walked over to the pendant. It appeared to be a silver pendant in the shape of a Hoya flower, and in its center, was a gemstone. The gemstone was an aquamarine, in the shape of a star, and it complimented the rest of the pendant and its design pretty well. She slowly reached for the pendant and took it. When she turned around, ready to begin the journey out, she noticed a slip of paper sticking out of the stone wall. Maybe someone had left it there? She took out the note and began to read it aloud, just in case there was any information that would be helpful.

"He be warned, who has the power, to take the King's prized flower. The voice of mockery should not ring, lest you awaken the wrath of the fallen King."

That didn't sound good.

"What would this even mean...who even left it here?" Astralin wondered aloud. Before she could come up with a possibility, something started beating against the wall, pounding and pounding, as if to break something down...that didn't sound good either.

Suddenly, the wall that was the source of the noise had burst, flinging rubble and stone from the newly created hole. Three figures emerged, and when the dust cleared, Astralin would see Undead.

Right, this was a tomb as well as a labyrinth... The figure in the middle was almost entirely skeletal, save for some of his head, and seemed to have been an entombed human. This figure also wore ancient battle armor and a circlet. The two figures the center one stood between seemed to have been...undead minotaurs? Were those was a thing? 

"Um... Koga...what should we do?"

@Koga

[Spawned Three Monsters]

[0-0-0]Astralin: HP 360/360, EN 32/36, 6 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 2 REC | PAR | T1 BLD

[0-0-0]Koga: HP 740/740 // EN: 72/74  // DMG: 15 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 51 // ACC: 4 // BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10

            Enemies:

Revenant Minotaur 1: HP 75/75, 30 DMG, 10 MIT

Revenant Minotaur 2: HP 75/75, 30 DMG, 10 MIT

Minos the Risen: HP 150/150, 45 DMG, 20 MIT

"I happen to have heard of a place with some of the rarer materials that can be found on this floor, but they are not abundant as with many gathering hotspots...nevertheless, are you willing to take that chance?" Clerisse offered. "Sure, let's do it!" Astralin responded with a smile.

Such a lack of abundance would make sense, higher chance of finding something good, at a cost of generally finding anything at all. Good luck with that 30% success rate, Astralin, you're going to need it.

The two players would begin the trek to the specified place. Astralin would look around her along the way, but the effort turned out to be rather fruitless, as she found nothing that she recognized as an alchemy material. Maybe when she got there, she would find something...or maybe her luck would remain the same. It would be better for everyone if the result was the former.

ID# 183208 LD: 10(nothing found)

Well, with the battle over, it was time to move on to the next thing. Koga complimented Astralin on what she managed to do, then looked off to the direction the monsters came from.

"Well, your prize is over yonder. All yours, you ready?"

Astralin smiled. "Yup, let's go, the monsters are out of the way, so now it's just a bunch of turns and we'll have the pendant!" She remarked, ready to go.

As Astralin followed Koga, she would notice something, an indent in the wall. Clearly, something had been uncovered. It looked like...a crate that had been opened, its contents empty. It would seem that those two from the Knights of Avalon might have been here. "I think there might be other players nearby, this chest looks like it's only been opened recently. I can't guarantee that it was those two from earlier, but there's a good chance it might be them. They did go in before us, after all." She noted as she observed what she found.

@Koga

ID# 183205 CD: 12(recovered 2 EN), LD: 14(Nothing found...)

(OOC: Darn you, LD...)

Astralin: HP 360/360, EN 31/36, 6 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 2 REC | PAR | T1 BLD

Koga claimed there was nothing hurt, aside from a few bruised egos. A blue haired young woman remarked about Astralin's kindness between words said to Koga. The woman then stood up while helping another player back up, then told the heavy-armor clad player, who she referred to as Chad, to apologize. "He sure looks like a Chad to me...ugh, it's like that name bears a curse that makes people into rude jerks at least some point of their lives." Astralin thought. The blue haired woman then began trying to help the other one further, and she addressed him as Virgil. She told Chad to apologize, but the man simply threw up his hands and left with a petty, childish response.

"Ugh, what a Chad..." Astralin muttered with crossed arms. 

The blue haired player, who Chad and Virgil simply called Lish, told Virgil that she'll never understand that toxic masculinity garbage. Ah, yes, the stereotyping bull crap that Astralin normally didn't tolerate. "Stereotyping, am I right?" Astralin added. She did like how Virgil admitted that he, too, was wrong in whatever argument he and Chad were embroiled in. Everyone had their moments of disagreement and being reactive, even in hostile ways. Astralin was guilty of some reactive moments herself, so she could understand to an fair extent. Her arms returned to her sides, and then "Lish"(was that her name, or username? Nickname, maybe?) told the gathering of players that Virgil was going to be fine. Lish also smiled at Astralin, speaking some appreciative words about her willingness to heal the injured, to which Astralin smiled back. Of course, the bluenette seemed to trail off as if she felt useless, from what Astralin could tell. "We...all have our rough starts around here, you're not the only one who's felt a bit useless during the beginning...I know I've had my share..." She remarked, hoping to reassure the young woman. Lish then offered to buy drinks for the players who gathered. "Ah, don't worry about me, I can handle paying for my own refreshments, save your col! I'm not really that much of a drinker anyway." Astralin replied with a comforting smile. "Doesn't mean I won't join you guys in a nice conversation though, it would be nice to make another friend, anyway!"

@Lishuu @Koga

Astralin heard Koga call out for her to finish off the angered Minotaur. She nodded, but still hoped not to strike her ally, as this spell Sword Art was an Area of Effect attack like the last one. "Alright then, you might want to stand back, I don't wanna hit you by accident..." She said to her ally. She would then prepare her Sword art, and activate it. "Luarius!"

With the sword art, as well as the vanity effects tying with it active, she leaped over to her foe and let loose a kick spanning an area reminiscent of a moon during a crescent phase. The Minotaur turned around upon hearing the unusual phrase, and never did it anticipate to be struck down by such a seemingly weak young woman, she hardly appeared to have the strength to destroy him, and yet, here it was, perishing upon her attack. It groaned out upon the attack, then it collapsed to the ground and shattered.

@Koga

ID# 183178 BD: 9(Critical, +1 Base DMG), CD: 9(Recovered 2 EN), MD: 2(miss)

Crescent Moon: 7x3=21 Damage to Hoya Minotaur 2

Astralin: HP 360/360, EN 28/36, 6 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 2 REC | PAR | T1 BLD

Koga HP: HP: 740/740 // EN: 68/74 // DMG: 15 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 51 // ACC: 4 // BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10
[Regen 2/3]

            Enemies:

Hoya Minotaur 1: HP 0/45, 30 DMG

Hoya Minotaur 2: HP 0/45, 30 DMG

Despite that Astralin was starting to rise in level and opportunities, she still found herself roaming the Town of Beginnings from time to time, which wasn't a bad thing, of course. Soon she heard shouting, and saw a crowd, even. She quickly pulled out her Skillbook, and looked up her entries on healing. By the time she'd stowed away the Skillbook, tension seemed to be rising over something that might have ended, based on some of the things being said. Astralin would rush over and make her way through the crowd, with some difficulty, obviously. "Ah, excuse me, coming though!" She said as she waded through the crowd. some turned to look at her, some seemed polite, others were a bit agitated, judging by the looks they gave her for trying to get through them over to the situation, and there were even those who just stared at her...Astralin did what she could to give those individuals a wide berth, she'd rather not be close to what could easily be a common creep.

When she finally reached the scene, she was ready to- well, honestly, react. "Is anyone hurt? I can heal your injuries!" She offered. Then she noticed a familiar face in the scene. "Oh, hi again, Koga. ...Um, care to tell what just happened here?" She asked.

@Lishuu @Koga

With that, Astralin and Clerisse would leave the tent and make haste for the wilds. It would be a fair amount of time before they could reach their destination, however.

When they finally did so, Astralin had a question or two for her friend. "So, Pisces, Evangeline said we could feel free to gather and bring over special ingredients if we find any. Is it part of the quest, or is it just optional? Are there any you know about as of the moment?" She pulled out her Alchemical Research Book as she asked the questions. "I believe it's just optional... Though despite her talents and skill, she seems to be...on somewhat hard times. We should probably seek out unique ingredients anyway, just for her sake. We might be able to prepare ourselves more by helping her out further, if the system will let us." Clerisse answered. Well, there was an idea, as well as inspiration for a good deed.

Koga managed to draw in the attention of the two minotaurs, who immediately attempted to attack and missed. Koga continued his assault despite calling out to Astralin that the opponents were wide open for her attack. Nevertheless, Astralin had already planned which of her sword arts to use for the possible situations. Now was the time, it seemed. She brought her hands together, and began to activate her sword art. "Aerrakea!"

One of the vanity effects within her amulet would activate, as Astralin's eyes would glow upon the Sword Art's activation. She would rush forward towards her foes, and do her best to strike the minotaurs and not her ally. The result would be a focused spin attack that struck one, but Astralin didn't think she'd be able to reach the other target without someone else getting caught in the crossfire. Well, at least there was one down, now to finish off the other, which swung its heavy axe and barely managed to hit Koga's armor with no actual result, save for a tiny red mark that indicated fully mitigated damage. The minotaur that remained roared out in fury over its disappointing result. Despite its anguish, it really knew it should've stayed asleep today.

@Koga

ID# 183133 BD: 9(Critical, +1 Base DMG), MD: 9

ID#  183134 BD: 2+2=4(miss), CD: 12(Recovered 2 EN), MD: 6(hit)

Tornado Kick: 7x6=42 DMG to Hoya Minotaur 1

[0]Astralin: HP 360/360, EN 30/36, 6 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 2 REC | PAR | T1 BLD

[1] Koga HP: 739/740 // EN: 69/74  // DMG: 15 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 51 // ACC: 4 // BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10

            Enemies:

Hoya Minotaur 1: HP 0/45, 30 DMG

Hoya Minotaur 2: HP 30/45, 30 DMG

Astralin kept her mind on the present task. The opposing party had a head start, but as far as she knew, they were doing this for the first time. Astralin, however, had an ally who had been here before, allowing for an advantage, even though it was sort of small. She would follow Koga throughout the maze, and she would wonder what the pendant would look like, or even what kind of room it would be housed in. At this point, she'd lost track of time as she simply followed Koga until something strange happened...

Thump, thump, thump...

What kind of sound was that? Was Astralin starting to become fatigued and get heavy feet? no, that was unlikely.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...

Astralin stopped. "Wait a minute-" She said suddenly. She turned around to look behind her, and see two hulking, brutish Minotaurs, and the expression on the face of the one she saw first appeared as if to say "ahem", despite that it probably couldn't speak... One of them carried a warhammer and a shield, and the other wielded a heavy-looking, two-handed battleaxe. "Hey, Koga...I um...could use an aggro pull right about now..." Astralin said, knowing that both were currently looking at her.

[Spawned Hoya Minotaurs 1 and 2]

[0-0]Astralin: HP 360/360, EN 36/36, 6 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 2 REC | PAR | T1 BLD

@Koga

            Enemies:

Hoya Minotaur 1: HP 45/45, 30 DMG

Hoya Minotaur 2: HP 45/45, 30 DMG

The two players entered the tent, and the NPC would begin to show them a little on how it worked, assisting with the very basics. She did so very elegantly and precisely, and the two players watched very carefully, gleaning everything they could. However, the NPC would run out of materials during this process. "Now, I can teach you all about it sweeties, but I seem to have ran out of some of my precious materials to give you a how-to on crafting, would you both be a dear and run off to get me some? I think all I need is five for each of you, and I can help you on your way! Feel free to bring in any special ingredients if you can find any." She said sweetly to the two players, clearly happy that they were willing to take on her noble profession. Astralin smiled back. "Will do, we'll be back soon!" She responded.

Koga would give his own two cents on the matter, and Astralin did have some remarks of her own to add. "Well, hardly anyone likes to be wrong, so I guess I can understand why she'd try to defend her points like that...but...I do have a bit of a question about it...I really don't have a good feeling about this Adrisse woman, but it's probably just me, I'm still worried that she'd be on edge over what happened...and with what those two said earlier about her mood, well...I doubt it's anything good." She admitted.

Soon enough, Koga and Astralin would reach the labyrinth, and Koga would suggest a battle plan. "Sounds like a plan, Koga." She said as she pulled out her Skillbook. She took a quick look through it, before smiling and closing the book, proceeding to return it to her inventory. "Alright, let's do this." She said as she turned to face the maze.

@Koga

Clerisse looked a bit surprised. "Y-you want to be an Alchemist too? Ah, it must be for the sake of the mage aesthetic...makes sense, I guess..." She remarked. "I would like to see those notes though, at some point, it may help me with my own research. I-I'll tell you a realistic recipe for a healing salve though, so it won't be one sided..." She added.

With that, Astralin and Clerisse would begin moving towards where Evangeline was located together. Eventually, they would come across a humble tent. "I think this might be it." Astralin noted. This was indeed the place.

Cardinal's timing couldn't have been better, it practically knew why the two players came in the first place, as a wise-looking, aged woman would come out of the tent. "Hello Dears, I see you two are in need of a profession, may I interest you both in Alchemy?" She said with a sweet smile on her face, and a vial of rainbow liquid pulsating in her hand. "Now, I know it may seem very sciencey and scary, but I believe you can do it! And I hope you feel the same way." She said as she gestured for the two players to enter the tent.

Koga would ask Astralin what she'd said...exact words from memory were usually difficult to recall, especially if words like those were spoken primarily because her thoughts got away from her in the heat of the moment. She did remember how she started the conversation. What she'd said played out again in her mind...

After recalling what she'd said, she thought about how she was going to explain it. She hadn't said anything just yet for the time being...until this moment. "Well, I noted that I appreciated the pep-talk she seemed to be giving, then I asked what her intentions were for the speech, and brought up the possibility for courage to go too far and lead to disaster. There was silence as everyone stopped to look at me, both the crowd and the one speaking. Adrisse claimed that there was nothing to be concerned about, and began to press her own points. I told her that I wasn't one to judge, and that I was just bringing the truth and reality of the situation to the topic, adding a few examples to back up my words. Adrisse called my words a 'somewhat realistic, yet dangerously balanced point of view'. She soon wrapped up quickly and left. The players around then began to discuss what they heard rather openly...I can only hope that it helped in the end..." She explained.

@Koga

"Oh...right, you prefer to be a mage yourself. How have you been...um, handling it? W-without your magic, of course..." Clerisse asked. "Martial Arts skill. I imagine myself having a mystical energy coursing through my body, and I can channel and distribute it in Damage by physical contact. Healing? Often uses physical contact, but that's not necessary." Astralin explained. Clerisse seemed to understand. "You sure know how to come to a world without magic from one where magic was everything..." She remarked. "A-anything else you were hoping to do? I know I'm still considering taking up alchemy as I often did..." Astralin's eyes perked up. "Same here! We can search for Evangeline together, and even take the quest together! Who knows what we could find, and we can even share our findings with each other!" Astralin exclaimed. "I've got a self-written book where I keep my research notes, I hope it helps!" She offered.

Astralin appreciated Koga's honesty and reasoning. "Nice to know. People do say that honesty is the best policy, after all." She remarked. Koga would explain what will probably happen, and when the time came to get moving again, he asked her what happened that the two from the Knights of Avalon were talking about.

"Ah, well... One player from their Guild, a woman going by Adrisse, seemed to be speaking to the general public, once a mass of players had gathered, that is. She seemed to be rallying players, but only in certain manners, and I was kind of concerned that it might cause players to take courage before caution, which would probably lead to some dangerous situations and close calls, if not actual deaths from those who had gotten too brave... I know that we need to take up courage, but we've gotta be aware of what we're up against, too. I overheard some of the chatter that followed some of Adrisse's words, and in the end, I had to say something..." Astralin explained. "After giving my thoughts on the matter, we began to go back and forth, and in the end she did note that what happened was more than she anticipated...but if those two we just saw knew that in reality, she wasn't happy about what I did..." Astralin continued, also revealing her latest concern involving them.

@Koga

Koga would direct the two towards a certain direction, a beaten path off the main road. He did let them know of the combat issues that might seem to happen, but if the hostile monsters were already being cleared out, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. So these two would be getting a head start. 

"Wait, seriously?" One of the two asked. "Actually, I think he's telling the truth..." The two looked to each other, then to Koga, and then back to each other. "I guess." The first one decided with a shrug. The two would take positions on the path, then charge off, saying in unison, "For New Avalon!!!!!" ...What a strange battle cry.

Astralin breathed in, then breathed out. At least this didn't end poorly. "Phew...I was pretty nervous there, but at least there doesn't seem to be anything between that group and I yet, so..." She remarked. "Well, just say when you wanna continue on...or did you mislead them?"

@Koga

Astralin placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Well, hey, we can keep in touch now, I'll send you a friend request! Oh, I go by Astralin in this game, by the way." She reassured. Pisces hesitated to reveal her own username, still shocked that she was actually talking with her long lost friend in a world like this. "I, um, I go by Clerisse...I...I'm taking the path of the Cleric, but with a...erm, a spear..." She revealed. Astralin would not hesitate to send the friend request, though it took three tries for her to correctly spell it as she was rushing. Clerisse was slow to accept. "You...really haven't changed much, have you, Libra?" Pisces remarked. "I could say the same for you, keeping up with your own preference just fine. Using a spear in place of a staff? I can understand...though it was difficult for me to find which offense skill I could make use of..." Astralin responded.

The girl, who was indeed one of Astralin's real world friends, Pisces, had trouble coming up with words to say at the immediate moment. After a few seconds passed, she spoke. "I- Um, I'm doing well, I guess... But...h-how are you happy to see me? We're both trapped in this place, and we...we can actually die...." The young woman shook slightly, terrified as she reminded herself of her situation. "Pisces, Pisces, it's ok, I'm alive and well, and so are you!" Astralin responded. She hoped to cheer her up. "You know what we say, especially when times get tough. 'The Stars bring The Light...' " " 'To both Day and Night', yes, I know the saying, Aries started it ever since her mother suggested it...I just...I'm worried, you know?"

After Pisces finished the saying and gave her thoughts, Astralin let out a soft chuckle. Same ol' cautious shy girl as she often was...

The Town of Beginnings really was bustling as usual, but all that foot traffic was unlikely to stop Astralin. She waded through the usual crowds, but eventually the size of the crowd lessened to a tolerable size as Astralin continued along...and then she saw someone who seemed very familiar... She began to walk closer as to get a better view of the individual, and she would indeed recognize the person.

Astralin's jaw dropped. "Pisces...?" She said as she exhaled in surprise. Without further ado, she ran over to her friend who she recognized. "Pisces!!!" She called out as she rushed over. The girl looked shocked upon seeing Astralin, contrary to Astralin's excitement of seeing a familiar friend, despite all the danger they were in by being trapped in a virtual prison like this. "L-Libra...?" She uttered out. Astralin hugged her, then jumped up and down with excitement after letting go of her. "It's been so long, I'm so happy to see you! How are you?" She asked. 

Astralin noticed that Koga had put his hand on his weapon. This wouldn't end well if those two saw that.

"Wait...yeah, I know you...you're that Astralin girl...disrupting a well-planned speech, you completely divided the crowd's thoughts!" The first of the two realized. "Oh, her, ok...it's not like I was there, but Adrisse wasn't too pleased about-"

The first of the two put his hand over the other's mouth, stopping him from speaking. "What are you doing? She's not supposed to know that..." He attempted to whisper.

"You do realize I could hear that, right? Maybe you could try using the messenger system next time?" Astralin noted. The two players looked at her as if they didn't anticipate that. Then the one who was stopped from speaking got wide-eyed as he spotted Koga's hand on the weapon. He tapped his ally and pointed over to Koga, and the ally would take notice and let go of his grip on the player. "Easy now, we're not itching for a fight...yet." he claimed. The other one would stand firm once released from his ally's hand. "We're the Knights of Avalon, a dedicated group seeking an ideal future. Astralin there disrupted an attempt to rally players and potential recruits, but it's not like I've got any beef with her...this guy might, I dunno." He explained.

Astralin looked over to the first of the two. "Well...do you?"

The player Astralin was speaking to looked at Astralin, then to Koga, then to Astralin again. "N-no...not yet. Besides, We're off to get a pendant from a labyrinth and we're already short on time, so if you'll excuse us..."

Astralin raised an eyebrow. "After the same thing as we are, hm? Guess it's a race then..." She then got an idea as soon as she said that. If Koga really knew some of the way around the maze, she already had an advantage. "So maybe you two can enter the maze first since you were already headed over before us." She suggested. She quickly accessed her messenger and began forming a message, and looked over to Koga. "Sound okay with you?" She asked, before sending the message...

Quote

To: Koga

Subject: This situation

I know that you've been to the maze before, and it's likely that they haven't, that would give us the advantage, right? Even if it's just a few turns or paths, I'm sure it's better than nothing!

-Astralin

Hopefully this would end without unnecessary fighting...

@Koga

Koga noted his thoughts on The Dream, primarily on his opinions of its occurrence. "Guess that explains the mushrooms, then. I had a hunch it was those, but now I can confirm it, I guess. I'm not sure what else could cause such a mass dream around here at the moment." Astralin remarked as she pulled out her other book, which contained Astralin's alchemical notes, going to a certain ingredient's entry and replacing "uncertain" with "somewhat confirmed".

Koga gave his thoughts about Astralin's words, and then he would ask her what she would end up doing if she didn't join the Frontlines. "To be honest, I don't know yet...sure, I'm pursuing Alchemy, but that probably wouldn't be enough on its own..." She admitted.

Surprisingly, there weren't many enemies around, save for the ones that only turn hostile when attacked, but it wasn't long before Astralin would learn the reason why...

"You sure it's this way?" A male voice from a short distance asked. "Of course it is, it was literally marked on my map, you can trust me." Came another male voice, probably directed to the previous one...

Other Players, that must have been why there were less monsters that attacked on sight. The two who the voices belonged to came into view as Astralin continued to follow Koga, and on their gear was a familiar symbol...

It was that group again, the ones that showed up that one day, trying to find potential recruits via a speech from one of their higher members, which Astralin had somewhat turned into a discussion...she didn't know if they would have a very good opinion of her after that, unless these two didn't recognize her.

Astralin stopped for a second as they looked at her....yup, they recognized her. "Wait...don't we know that girl from somewhere...?" One of the two asked. "I sure don't. Do you?" The other answered his ally.

"Um...hello...?" Astralin asked nervously.

@Koga

Astralin had learned of an NPC Alchemist named Evangeline Calora, who was capable of teaching players on how to become alchemists themselves. She wanted to make her own potions, she wanted to tap into this profession. Not all mages did so, but many would indeed tap into the mysteries of alchemy and potion-making. "I am SO excited about this!" She thought aloud. She would continue on the Town of Beginnings's streets, looking for the shop where she could learn to become an alchemist. She was really getting close to cracking down how far she could go, and how close she could get...once she had combat style, skill usage, and Alchemy down, the last would be to research Vanity effects, and the rest would simply be to keep on improving on all traits...and she could, in a way, see herself as a mage at long last. She currently did somewhat, but she knew she had a ways to go.

Stats and Equipment: