NIGHT

new entrants, but mostly leavers. night eyed the team sheet, watching nari shift to talk to star, before her sights drifted over to iris. did she leave her post?

eh. what was she, a nark?

@Zandra's apparent arrival meant the last support field would be filled up – late or otherwise, it was better to have someone on paper for cohesion's sake. and if she was asked about the meeting information, all night could do was scrolling her notes and try to recall in summary – "to put it simply, the boss room needs to be opened still. and it has a system of elemental strengths, weaknesses, or phases, but we'd need to sit down and figure out our points better in the coming days."

her fingers pressed against the bridge of her nose in thought – after having gone on auto-pilot for the while, especially, it made better sense to let bistro do the thinking, because her own brain felt as though it was going to burst.

all orders.. for demonic equipment. if night didn't know they had a floor boss raid coming, she would've wondered what the boom in upgrades was about.

instead, she took the slips of papers out of nyanko's mouth, and started working on freyd's order before moving onto the tiara. what she couldn't stuff into a neatly-folded paper package, she made sure to get a box from bistro's messy cabinets, covered it in packaging before piling in decorative tissue, sitting the tiara nicely at the gift box's heart when she was done.

then came the emails, and night spared no expense to send a nice, elaborative:

night: d

night: red hair?
night: start the quest without u?

night was down. she just wasn't so sure nari was. the only thing puzzling was the declaration of 'black leather' – because the player was sure lilith was endowed in cloth. shrugging, she took off towards the city gates instead of waiting for a response, interface out in front of her.

it was only when she got close did she send another reply.

night: oh wait

red hair? why? not that she had a say in any of this – but it kind of reminded her of some idol game that she'd seen while they were not trapped in an mmo. her strides slowed once she'd passed the walls, and tapped her aid's shoulder briefly with a non-chalant, "hey," as she walked by. there was a pre-requisite to the quest, she remembered, and just as she approached the skirmish, the cue of the red cloak's leader retaliating against their enemy spoke enough of how much time they'd have to wait to get his attention. night counted the seconds, impatient – approximately 22 – before waving to the man whose name she could not remember.

"who the hell was that," she started, absent minded and unobservant, feigning ignorance to the story... just to watch the npc react with some interest.

'neither of them were hurting for loot.' so what, pray tell, was it that drew them to the random shiny sword that was found lying on the floor in the middle of a depreciating room? the oddness of being able to uncover anything tangible, much less something that looked holy?

one peek, and the moment she caught glimpse of the sword, night wanted to approach it. if it was a trap, too bad, because the player hadn't even considered entertaining the thought. the blade simply looked out of place, its edges glowing, the air around it unstable, causing it to look undefined. almost like it was on fire.

night just ogled it up close, a looming pervert. and after a moment, she had her fill.

"no thanks," she declared aloud, waving her hand about the room, to a hypothetical someone (not koga). "not my thing. the only sword that's devout is here in my hands." the player turned to her companion with a dip of her head, expectant. "you though? maybe it'll benefit you." and then she laughed, tempting fate. "maybe it'll be a cursed weapon and it'll stick with you forever. wouldn't that be nice?"

and how did she feel, now that cerberus was brought to its knees...?!

... nothing. not much, really. but this lack of emotion for its demise was probably for the better. if night had to hazard a guess, most of her feelings were stored in the sword that shook with fervor once the beast was slain. the player remained quiet as she found the etching in her inventory. when she looked back up to assess the party, she swore she noticed an unusual item, but promptly thought nothing of it.

because the boss fight was the more important consideration at hand.

so long as dazia was willing to converse with bistro, night was sure she had her bargain met. "of course. and if you're not showing up after tomorrow to get it, i'll see if i'll be able to find you somehow. to pass you adjudicator, i mean."

she gave the assassin a curt nod, watching her dart off into the distance. family issues with whoever this 'princess' person was – night figured it would be best for her to stay out of it. although, "well, i'm sure it's none of my business, but i think it's a little questionable that some parts of your circle are out for each others' blood." the player shrugged, slowly strolling out of the cave. "to each their own, though. i hope you're able to repair that sword soon."

as though she had been clairvoyant, night waved to vigilon as she left. a look over her shoulder, and a failure to elaborate – "i'll see you at the raid meeting," she said, and then with a shatter of a crystal cuboid, she was out of the heat.

then surely some hound would need to get a better clue, because there was only one way this fight would turn out.

from where she'd landed, night flipped the flat of her blade upwards. it was difficult to tell from a third person's perspective – the sword was entirely white, after all, with minute details on its silhouette to tell where its different parts were. but in a conversation between a sword and its handler, especially after some practiced use, night knew of every inch, every word of her weapon's speech.

so with a running start, she cast its motive towards the fire. didn't matter of the ashes and debris. she would wonder later if it was the sword singing of home, or if the thought originated from herself. as her edge struck the central, remaining gatekeeper's head from a side angle, another chunk of health was gone from the dog.

good, the player considered, in tandem with her light's rumble. and she dropped to the floor, away from the fangs that were bent on whisking her up and away.

well, she wasn't planning on dropping the ball so soon. she noted vigilon's stumble as the hellhound decided to play, and one of its head wincing, yelping the moment dazia lunged out of the shadows. night paid attention to the amount of damage dealt to their target – enough to be eliminated within one strike from her blade, assuming she wasn't going to miss again.

so she went for it, curtailing the nips of cerberus from a potential toy or health snack. the third head had proved itself to be the most aggressive of the bunch either way, so shutting it down early would be best. the beast as a whole dove forward, two heads trying to grab a bite out of the party's main aggressor, but caught only air in their commitment to the attack. the final strike, a reared canine neck exposed, was instead laid upon by the player, cutting loose the threat as it was about to retaliate against dazia.

momentum, momentum. night had to keep it up.

when star had found her, night was already rooting through several books, realizing that most of them were either blank or lacking in organizational order. she'd made a mess around her, enough to have had drawn attention were there patrolling librarians nearby – but if no one had come forth to stop her, then perhaps her guess to find one was simply correct; a waste of her time.

the woman was surprised to see someone else in the grand library, however, especially if it was a player she'd recognized. arms stuck in between shelves, night pulled herself away from the gap, releasing the books she'd wanted to grab with her hands, and backing away carefully. "star," she'd started, wanting to follow up with a "what are you doing here?" but ultimately failing as she tripped over a stack of books, stumbling around before she found her grip on one of the pillars they were compacted between.

not a good start for an introduction.

"sorry," was all night had to say for herself. "uh, i'm here in search of information about the floor itself. but nothing much is turning up." she quickly brushed the awkwardness off herself with two hands, patting down her tracksuit and folding her arms. "forget what happened earlier. anyway... what about you? not everyone has a reason to visit the grand library... especially when some of these books have completely empty pages..."

maybe cardinal's interface allowed her to type with an unprecedented wpm; night wouldn't know. what she did recognize, however, is her capability to keep up with the conversation, despite her tendency not to.

(this meeting almost felt like a fight in itself.)

there were two questions she would answer, interrupting her note taking session. one was from @Lessa, about the words of power. "they were given to us upon completion," she clarified, making sure to look up from her logger. "i say us – i was working alongside koga to clear those quests. the settlements kept them secret, for one reason or another. i don't suppose that might be relevant to the boss fight... could it?"

then bistro tagged her in, and the player had to think fast. ideas for removing the boulder? "i was considering using the enhancements, too," night replied, though she did wonder if that strategy would even work at all. so she had a thought to return to the twenty-seventh at a later date, just to cover her bases. "yes, we could try shattering it when we gather up for the raid, then. and no, you support staff should not attend." @Jomei

then came @Morningstar's response. and night asked to take a quick look at the registration sheet. he was right – which night hated, in the way that she felt as though she should have anticipated this from the beginning. but more importantly, seeing @Nari-Lanreth's name as designated tank on one of the parties set a lump in her throat.

could she object? and what say would she even have over it? those were lingering feelings, suppressed apologies she had to squash down. no, night had a better idea – the horrible, human need to correct herself and set things right, the way star had suggested.

which meant –

"okay. sorry, excuse me."

night needed to cut through the noise.

"it looks like we might have a larger attendance for the fight. i'll jot down the names of players who haven't been assigned yet, either, for reference's sake."

and she made quick changes to the party organisation documents, scrawled over in terrible, upper-case handwriting. when night set it down, she was careful to avoid the gaze of her once closest companion.

"i'll tank for a third party. i'll be using an unorthodox method, so i'd appreciate it if i'd have some backup. bistro will front load all participants joining my squad with consumables. ... i hope that's alright with anybody getting involved on my team."

tl;dr

theories:

• freyd: fln/hly might be used to reverse cycle
• nari, alkor: stacked elements/enhancements struck out of order might not affect boss in intended way/have punishments
• jomei: there will be a debris clearance phase before the fight begins
• jomei: consider elements being boss attacks + applied ailments rather than as its weaknesses

party organisation:

unassigned dps ->  alkor, elora
unregistered players -> oscar, koga, crow

<<Cull of the Dead>>

NIGHT: ok
NIGHT: where at

floor 14 was a unique floor to night. it wasn't bad. it was desolate, and ruinous, and an eyesore in a good way, but it wasn't... fantastic.

not to think about the machine having done a poor job of the floor. far from it. but in lieu of the gothic imagery, night couldn't exactly see herself fitting in well with the setting. especially with the idea of the undead and its machinations. she put on her tailored garb still, of course, because at least it made her blend in with the scenery of the floor, and it was a good excuse to step out of her track suit just – if only to swap it for a cloak and a uniform.

(lilith, lilith... the vampire? yes, the uniform would work just fine.)

she'd brought oathkeeper along as she used to in the past. something in her mind suggested that she should work on an alteration soon – night hated missing, missed the tug and push of the system, handiwork that felt almost like cardinal did want her to succeed, sometimes; grip to hold someone she trusted. today would be the test of that, again, just to make sure her intuition was right.

so, checking her interface for any further messages from nari, the player waited at the teleporter, doing her best to remain alert to her surroundings.

NIGHT |  Lv. 146 >> P. 114, Lv. 32 | status: clearing inventory. |

Spoiler notes i'm finally removing an age old item from my inventory!!!!!!!!!! NIGHT | HP: 1242/1242 | EN: 146/146 | DMG: 27 | ACC: 7 | EVA: 6 | LD: 4 | BH+HB: 122 | FLN/HLY: 16 | DOTE (3/3) | PRB: -18 DoT equipped oathkeeper. FLN (16), HLY (16) signet. ACC III, EVA regards. EVA II, HB II battle-ready inventory Teleport Crystal (5) | TELEPORT imugi's inspiration. (5) | MASS HP RECOVERY imugi's inspiration. (5) | MASS HP RECOVERY skills Spoiler mod count: 7/7 STRAIGHT SWORD | RANK 5/5 focus, stamina, precision shift: aoe CLOTH ARMOR | RANK 5/5 athletics, nimble COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 BATTLE HEALING | RANK 5/5 emergency recovery SEARCHING | RANK 3+1/5 ENERGIST QUICK CHANGE FIGHTING SPIRIT CHARGE EXTENDED MOD LIMIT HOWL focused howl extra SURVIVAL CONCENTRATION HIDING untraceable, vanish, surprise attack-t buffs Spoiler statue KUMATETSU | +1 DMG consumables Liquor of Light | DMG III Breakfast Fry | PROTEIN IIIfilled Crème Brûlée | ACC II Smores | EVA II tiger's balm. | ANTIDOTE III Beef Stew | OVERHEALTH III Resistance++ | TIER 2 PROBIOTICS III | [143036-2] paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting. sword arts Spoiler en cost matches multiplier unless stated otherwise. shift underlined. ST | x12 -> x15 | x20 AOE | x15 -> x18 TECH-A | x12 | STUN | 13EN TECH-B | x12 | DELAY TECH-D | x12 | SHATTER TECH-G | x12 | BURN misc Spoiler housing Dimensional Backpack, Item Stash | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 EN for the first three expenditures of each combat.  Relaxed | +(5 * Tier) HP per out-of-combat post. Full energy restoration occurs after two turns out of combat. Squeaky Clean | -25% DoT damage taken from the first DoT applied to this player in a thread. Skylight: Searching | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cooldown of 30 days to reassign. Multipurpose | +1 LD/Prosperity/Stealth/Detection to one post per thread. Can be applied after a roll. Filling | +1 T1 slot to a food consumed by this player in a thread. Can exceed Cook enhancement caps. Col Deposit | +5% col from loot-minimum mobs, +10% col from treasure chests. gathering Greenhouse | +2 G.EXP, +1 CD&LD to gathering attempts. Familiar: Profession | +2 G.EXP Demeter's Cornucopia | +1 CD to gathering attempts.

admittedly, night too was an artist, but not exactly for landscapes. when she saw faux's drawings, she wasn't exactly certain of they were good, but they were different, and night was open to different. if anything, she had respect for the new-adventurer's gall to be able to record down his environment in such detail, though she did question his title usage the moment faux said 'broker in the making'.

what? and here night thought she'd struck gold.

no, that wasn't the way to look at things. she considered his capability in gathering information through the sketches, then the rumor about cerberus after that. the gap between her index and thumb cupped her lips as she thought about the difficulty of his truth. he was right – there was one quest like that, but it wasn't exactly for new players.

"sure," she answered, hand removed from her face and placed on her hip. "gatekeeper of fire. but that's no quest fit for a low-levelled player." if night hesitated, it was in contemplation of giving away information – for free! – in addition to the boots he'd picked up. well, if she wanted to ensure the safety of whoever was picking up intel from faux in the future, she'd better correct him with the appropriate details, fast. "the better alternative is it's pre-requisite, guardian of fire. note the difference. if you're going to be a broker, you'd have to be mindful of your rumors' accuracies."

night eyed thin ice, mind quick to the possibility that, had she not decided to take advantage of the situation to question faux further, he might've just gone ahead with trying to find the more-powerful cerberus instead, and if cardinal would've let him despite the requirements. the player closed her eyes, briefly, before opening them, looking to the novice. "if you're thinking of heading out for it, i'll accompany you. let's see... in exchange, you can tell me about the different places you've visited. i don't care how 'mainstream' your intel is, or otherwise."

(if anything, she was just trying to stave off the idea of having to go back through all eight floors to tear down her flyers... just in case.)

she totally needed to make up for her mistake. running headfirst into the next fight was her way to do it, and stealing cerberus' attention was her way of demonstrating her dedication to the slaughter. night dove in with the first attack, drawing the attention of all three heads – one strike was enough to bring a target down to the red, sending the other two on alert with their bites aflame. finally, oathkeeper was responding – and so too was her health reacting to the blazes, but the player would face worse tomorrow. getting through this fight would be simple, easy practice.

health down a third. no, she wasn't going to be shaken, she hoped. then she quickly remembered what was left of the fight, and turned to vigilon, speaking aloud so that the assassin, too, could hear, "you don't mind about meeting the art unlock condition, do you? it'd be easier to bring the weakened head down first!"

"Yes, Faux. Like a farse... or an adversary."

that made a little more sense. but even the danger implied by the man didn't seem to shake her, and not for lack of trying. there was something in the security of noticing that green crystal above this individual's head that made her snort, accepting his words at face value.

these were tier one shoes, for an unfamiliar face, who was a player. once the pieces fell into place, she knew very well what kind of person she was dealing with – which meant she hadn't had to worry about cardinal's underhanded tricks once more. "sure," night replied, returning her scarf to her inventory with a flash of light, and gingerly handed the kicks over to faux, absent minded. if she stared, it wasn't to size him up further – not completely, anyway. but it was curious to find an information broker outdoors and trying to gear themselves up, especially when it had been a while since they'd started the game. she was more familiar with the dichotomy of all into combat while selling their intel, or all out.

night folded her arms as she watched faux equip the item. with brokers, they were usually straightforward – tit for tat. that ease made her open to chatting up faux; she was just trying to help him do his job, and technically, bistro her's.

"so what brings you out to get your hands on these shoes? even better, what're you looking for that requires the fireproof on them?" another turn of her cheek, and she continued probing. "you mentioned low level players earlier. who're you in contact with then, if that information's up for grabs?"

Thin Ice -> faux.

where the player base's information fell short, perhaps something within the game itself would hold its secrets.

night was back, but only because she'd had the raid's puzzles at the forefront of her mind. and this time, in ronbaru, she was here for nothing more than its library... and maybe a short visit at a local restaurant, if only to mull over things, a compulsive urge to tear at mental scabs.

her entry into the building itself was proper, and quiet. it had to be, of course – she barely remembered to respect the books after her time away from such areas, and only held back on being brash at the last second, her usual behaviour with the rest of the realm. her next quandry, however, was in searching for the right book amongst the many others unwanted – and to seek out a librarian in this massive hoard meant she'd be lost in here for a long time.

so she paused, in her activities, as the door shut behind her. night folded her arms as she contemplated. how best should she approach her search...?

[ lv. 142  ->   l. 32 / p. 110 ] NIGHT | HP: 1080/1080 | EN: 146/146 | DMG: 21 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 4 | MIT: 44 | LD: 3 | BH: 59 | Stealth Rating: 6 Spoiler   Spoiler equipment. Silver Crescent Necklace ACC II, EVA II pretense.  VAMP-D II, HB II armilla. LD III, EVA   skills. Spoiler mod count: 5/7 2HSS | RANK 5/5 focus, stamina, precision shift: aoe CLOTH ARMOR | RANK 5/5 athletics, nimble COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 BATTLE HEALING | RANK 5/5 emergency recovery ENERGIST QUICK CHANGE SCOUTING FAMILIAR CHARGE EXTENDED MOD LIMIT extra SURVIVAL CONCENTRATION HIDING untraceable, vanish, surprise attack-t buffs. Spoiler paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting.

right. as soon as she heard her guard's voice, night immediately remembered how much of her guard she couldn't let down just yet. her shoulders stiffened, and though she'd sunk into her seat, she immediately righted herself to pull open her interface, beginning to type.

and fast. not thinking was the best thing for night to do, following instinct instead – though her expression changed several times as she realized bistro's different queries and call outs. no single-element teams. missing tanks. supply might be an issue, but it mightn't, either, depending on who was able to show up. and oh, she had to answer @Ariel - The Crowned Lion.

"there wasn't a space at the center from what i'd noticed." night considered the possibility again, before continuing. "the closest concept in relevancy i'd consider is the tai chi proposal. or, the different ways elements would interact with each other – the traditional thinking of fire beating water, for example, though i'm not too familiar with what else follows that train of thought."

when all was said and done, she looked up to notice the additional information that had been presented forward – in text, written by freyd – and she went over to take note of that, too.

"as phases, rather than as weaknesses..."

she wouldn't jump to conclusions that the boss would require healing itself, but hirru was a man with a different perspective, and she'd acknowledge it without complaint. "a sound theory. we did consider it, but without being able to peer into the boss room proper, it's difficult to draw conclusions from what it can do through speculation alone."

before night returned to her seat, she scanned the room to count the attendees. admittedly, this should've been done before they'd began, as were minutes standards, but night had to speak and had the jitters and forgot. "are all present today representative of the raid's turn out? hirru included. i'm hesitant to say yes, but we'd be filling two teams at maximum by the look of things. unless i'm mistaken. what's the best way to distribute ourselves, knowing we've got one support and tank thus far?"

tentative team arrangement consideration:
feel free to grab this and edit it as the conversation goes along.

oh bet. she should've been taking notes, like the fact that dazia's story had been about the thirteenth floor – night figured it was related to one of the older fights around the twenties. and so too was she considering the nuggets of information that didn't seem too relevant, at first; night remembered how absurd it was to hear the name hestia from hidden's own mouth a long time ago, and to hear that story only added salt to the fire. being haunted by a zombie was way less cool than being haunted by a ghost, night thought.

and then night had to contemplate the absurdity of the story, because now another name she could recognize was involved. baldur? no way. in fact, the entire conversation was to such an unbelievable degree that night was even willing to pull up her logger directly, just in case she'd distrusted her companions' words too much to be able to recall it later. she typed faster than she could register dazia's story. especially when she was considering...

"She wanted to be seen as invincible so that people would put their hope in her. ... She wanted to remove reality from the picture to be seen as unstoppable and loved by all."

... that despite not wanting to have that same imagery, she did want the same goal – to instill hope in the others that hadn't done jack for a year, just so they'd get out of here faster. night only realized the similarity in judgement, then, once she'd pulled her fingers away from the board, holding a newfound distress in her heart.

ew. she did not want to become another hestia, at all. and as for the deception... she had baldur to investigate next.

the error in processing her own thoughts had caused her, then after, to miss the strike against the hound. oathkeeper in hand. now she remembered why she thought it liable to trade away. but part of her also figured, through her grip on the blade, that the sword was just as justified in being mad at her for having abandoned it for a ship.

"you know what?" night growled, holding her sword ahead of her, trying to lead the hound's attention towards herself after her initial attack, "i think i deserved that one. vigilon, tag back in!"

ID213754 | bd1 | crying in da club fr.
ID213755 | md7+2-6 = 3 | -> NIGHT

-2 EN.

Infernal Hell Hound#1 | HP: 20/450 | DMG: 125 | MIT: 50 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | THORNS: 25/40 | MD9/10: +25/50 DMG | BURN ON ATTACK

[0] NIGHT | HP: 1242/1242 | EN: 144/146 | DMG: 27 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 6 | BH+HB: 122 | HLY/FLN: 16 
[0] Dazia | HP: 732/782 | EN: 61/86 | DMG: 28 | MIT: 104 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | FLN: 8
[0] Vigilon | HP: 847/897| EN: 87/112 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 138 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 4 | BLI: 32, -20 MIT | FLN: 16 

(and... bingo.)

night hadn't been expecting anybody to have approached her. cue her sluggishness for a reply faux did, the player turning her head slow to the stranger (npc?) that had stepped up to her, only to glance up at the cursor above him, just to make sure it wasn't some strange prank by her counterpart.

then she took a second look, and the expression on her face morphed from reticent to shock.

"i – sorry? you want to take up the offer." night blinked twice, before holding up the paper in her hand, those fake flyers. "these. i hadn't even gotten to floor ten yet. and you're telling me within the time i'd started on the first, till now, someone's wanted something from my inventory."

talkative. night wasn't usually like that. and in realizing so, she knew she'd lost. perhaps it was the heat of the floor, or her trauma from the location itself – but she didn't fight it. a pained sigh and a head hung, rolling to face the skies before returning to rest on... the new kid on the block.

she erased the flyers from existence with a thought, eyes bearing holes into faux as she brought out her equipment for discard. damn that bistro. "okay, which one do you want... ah! wait wait wait..."

as her scarf was looped over her forearms, and thin ice gripped upon two fingers, she pulled them closer to herself, discontent with allowing fate to have its way with this outcome. no, if she was going to be playing by its rules, she wanted something in exchange, too. so night tilted her head, eyeing up faux. "foe? like f-o-e? look, i haven't seen you around before. what do you want with either of these?"

<<guardian of fire.>>

bistro did not like hearing how adjudicator got traded away so soon.

it wasn't so much that adjudicator was simply that precious, night believed. although, to the discerning eye, any weapon with a 'legacy' behind it should be worth more than the usual enhancements it came equipped with. in any case, it was still night's own equipment to do as she wished – and from that, she realized how many other pieces she still had in her inventory that wasn't benefiting her, due to the clutter. so night's terrible logic was to junk those off instead to some other players, and somehow, by a stroke of luck, that worked.

all her broker expected of her, now, was to actually clean out her storage system.

and night didn't like that.

see, night couldn't have made those flyers for the boss meeting herself. because, if the player had anything to say about her own missives, they would more likely be formatted informally as above. and therein was the joke, too – no player was likely to come forward to claim said 'junk items', simply because the message looked too much like a scam, given the veteran's name tag attached to it.

so why exactly did night feel as though life was about to provide a twist to the narrative, just to spite her? on the ninth, she had been placing these notices up around yogan, casually minding her business... and blind to the machinations of the fates in hell.

even in her tracksuit, in front of her old friends, the player just felt small. how did baldur do this, again? night couldn't remember – it had been too long. still, she shuffled up to the front, taking one of bistro's passed cards and flipping it around – on its back was a polished diagram she'd sketched during her examination of the room before the floor boss.

because the door wasn't open just yet.

"right. thank you for your attendance, everyone." the player had to adjust her volume after speaking, realizing how soft her voice had sounded. "a few days ago, the labyrinth guardian was eliminated. it took the form of a giant golem, with a crystal core heart, that failed to dissipated after its defeat. presently, its rubble blocks the door to the boss room, appearing to be unmovable –"

and night expected a few complaints, so quickly continued, "– but inscribed upon it were another few sets of clues. if you haven't noticed the other side of these handouts, please turn them over. they indicate an elemental system, with its symbols corresponding to those described in the words of power."

"after some consideration of the present mechanics known to player, especially after the most recent system update, we have reason to believe that these elements have some commonality with the damage over time ailments on certain identified weapons. i understand that this is very much a stretch in theory, which is why we've hosted this meeting: to gather the opinions of the public, and to provide you with the clues so that discussion might occur; all this for an optimal strategy in removing the guardian barricade and confronting the floor boss afterwards."

the player paused, assessing the room before continuing. "our working theory requires the following unique enhancements: burn, frostbite, blight, envenom and static. more accessible alternatives under consideration include paralyze, paralytic venom, toxic venom, and thorns." as she spoke, bistro was nearby with her clipboard, jotting down and organizing the information night had relayed on a different piece of paper.

• fire = burn
• water = frostbite
• wood = envenom/blight/toxic venom/thorns
• earth = blight(?)
• metal = static/paralyze/paralytic venom

"we were operating under the assumption that the elements were akin to an eastern concept called the wǔxíng, 'the five agents'; of fire, water, wood, earth and metal, and that the enhancements would correspond equally to their respective elemental counterparts. however, pairing metal with electrical-based enhancements suggests that we should also consider operating in the reverse fashion – that the enhancements should be matched with their weaknesses instead. for example, frostbite to fire, instead of frostbite to water."

"then there's also the consideration of if we are able to activate these enhancements on the golem's body – or its core – in a timely manner, or in the right order expected of us."

night stopped, rubbing the bridge of her nose. if she was a little more familiar with her own cultural concepts from when she was outside of the game, perhaps things would be a little more clear cut now. if anything, this raid mechanic only highlighted to her a requirement to understand her culture better – if not for survival, then perhaps for her pride as an asian. a mental note to be stashed away for later. she gathered herself before continuing.

"then there's the mechanical observation i'd made during the fight. the weapon i'd carried inside had fallen on it, which the guardian appeared resistant to... after we'd checked our internal logs."

"in accordance with eastern concepts, there is also tai chi; the balance between yin and yang energies. though traditionally they are identified as feminine and masculine energies, under our enhancement theory, we believe they correspond to weapons bearing fallen and holy. we are not sure if the boss within will be susceptible or similarly resistant to these enhancements, and because of this, we recommend coming prepared to alter our weapons accordingly on the fly."

(they'd tossed out the idea of needing an equal amount of male and female players long ago; too specific and controversial. if cardinal did take that route, night wondered if yuki would count for two.)

"in conclusion: the guardian, stoneheart, had mentioned it was attempting to protect something. in its defeat, it had blocked the door to the floor boss, preventing us from starting the raid before we are able to clear its fragments from the entrance. i suggest that we take its precautions to heart, and consider all clues available to us to help us prepare for the floor boss, which may potentially have elemental immunities or a structured elemental-based attack pattern. if its weaknesses include requiring an elemental-based line up as we move forward with the fight, then so be it."

another shifted gaze from night, acting speaker, trying to discern if her speech had been worth any help to the players present. but, wanting to shed the attention from herself, she took a light bow instead. "that concludes what i've got to say. thank you very much for listening. if there are any other suggestions as to what the elements could be in accordance to, please bring them up now. i understand that our perspective on the situation may be skewed due to my-- er, our histories in analysis, so i will be opening the floor to what you might have to say."

from here, bistro would be their acting mediator. perfect. night took a deep breath and sank into her seat, weary, once she sat back down.

tl;dr

one by one, individuals would trickle in. oscar, then freyd and star and alkor. somehow ariel afterwards. familiar faces – though mostly veterans. despite the flyer discussing it's focus on new players, more old ones seemed to have popped up instead.

to freyd and alkor, she gave a curt nod, a brief acknowledgement of his presence amongst others. and for @Oscar and @Morningstar, she tilted her head. "is there something you two want to tell me, coming here together from the fourth?"

(no, she wasn't so much as interested in those matters herself.)

her second greeting to @Ariel - The Crowned Lion was with regards to the open invitation – "wasn't my plan." it was her suggestions for a smaller space, however. at this rate, if there were more front liners than otherwise, then they would be forced to end things quickly, so that the crowd wouldn't be too much for the players to bear for long periods of time. "but it's been a while," night justified, "so maybe we'll see some new faces for the fight. maybe not."

"Wait a sec. No offence, but where are all the heavy tanks?"

her head whipped to face @Freyd at the question. yuki was at the forefront of her mind, remembering that nari had already switched away from being a tank. "can't get in contact with mine. does firm anima have any on loan? i'd assume your military's got some enlisted." and for once she was afraid that she couldn't tell if her words were in jest – or not.

Lv. 142 | NIGHT | HP: 1080/1080 | EN: 146/146 | DMG: 13
 | equipped: no... i don't want to think about it...