NIGHT

really? was this man more worried about the state of his low quality shack than his own life? the same way dazia had wanted to scoff, so too did night wish to roll her eyes. except, the mess she'd made was more important for a conducive fight. she'd expected the plunge her way, definitely, and yet hadn't expected to take another hit. now growling, reckless, and with a leniency to roam, night darted back to a spot where she was certain to avoid the pirate's next attack. not that it mattered, but having room in her vicinity also allowed her a charge forth to his location. one swing, a

no, the better question for night upon watching nari crouch and pick at the dust was -- why would you taste that? the player pulled a scrunched expression and shriveled up in response. from the corner of her vision, koga's shift stole her attention for a brief moment, giving her more food for thought. it was true that this floor was full of caverns, and hence it wouldn't make sense for any one of them to be noted as the cave unless it was regarded as incredibly important. the only outlier she could remember was from braso, which was on the other side of the floor, so... night sighed,

a specific dungeon and boss, with an inherent motive. almost disturbing imagery. night perished the thought the moment it gave her shivers, turning back on the conversation in earnest. how hirru had avoided talking about his past still seemed odd, mostly in part due to their statuses as players on the front. usually, one would begin talking about it at length when prompted. tight lips? if anything, it earned her admiration for the man, being able to be silent about it. in a way, it was contradictory, how she was trying to claw at something private, yet understanding it should remain that

it was in shifting out of the way that she found herself caught at the other end of the pirate's blade. and night stumbled backwards, swearing there was still space to move -- yet for some reason all her back could feel were tables that had failed to be knocked over from their earlier brawl: the clatter of mugs, playing cards and trashy weapons all causing more disarray than the players ever needed to face. she hissed, arm brushing over everything else she'd knocked over, trying to shove them all aside. it wouldn't matter the moment she landed a strike on the quartermaster. but, as chaos

night followed hirru through the threshold, knowing not to switch off oathkeeper at his behest. the scenery around her weaved itself from flat ground into a hilled forest. as the man paused to take in the view, so too did the player, eyes drifting from the sides of their makeshift room to take note of the tiny rolling cones that raced to the lands behind them. fuzzy colours at the edges of her periphery -- almost like sprites, if she'd focused. and it took the woman much longer a moment to come to the same conclusion as her companions; when asked, she merely replied with a distracted, "h

she would've hid, the moment dazia had suggested the entry of a different personnel. and yet, the kicking of weapons scattered across the floor made it difficult to do so. night dropped the one she was holding in haste, and it clattered upon the wood. upon realizing its volume, she rolled her eyes and readied her blade instead. the captain? at least, whoever it was seemed like it. and in the banter between her party member and the enemy, the player only found herself stiffening, almost being ignored. not that it mattered. perhaps it was impatience, the reason why she was so eager to

night's gaze shifted upon noticing the raw meat that had formed on the ground. and almost instantly, orsyn dove towards it, claws clutching at the corners of the food, maw and teeth sunk into that offering at once. the player huffed, smiling, pacing closer to observe the dragonling. when they were ready, the two rose from the field, drake in nari's arms, and as a party they started their way back to the mountains. it was to ormi's delight that her broodling was safe. orsyn near jumped out of the player's hold with a cry of laughter as the familiar figure of his mother came into periphery,

"yeah," night breathed, a glance to her sword from her companion, still in shock. "well, neither did i." because she'd heard rumors about the enhancements themselves, yes, but to wield something so powerful to begin with felt... impossible. something in her stomach churned at the thought of it, and she set that aside as nari addressed the returning party members. gianna, sheepish, was looking about to the dragonling still flying through the air, zipping around with chuckles and plumes of fire through its breath while untethered to their tamer associate. a hand ran through her locks as she

her gaze shifted from the dragon to her partner. 'take it back' to deliver it to the demon before them. got it. gaindogrig stood, large and imposing, and night's dive towards it only spoke of the height difference between the players and goliath. they were barely up to its forearm. and yet, he could barely raise a claw to swipe at her location. in two sweeps, her edge cut through scale and skin, the dance of her blade digging into the reptile's sides, and despite the loose stances from her actions, the weapon had decided upon death being the creature's verdict. how fast the dragon's

she wasn't going to ask if it was in wariness of gianna, the dragonling or the goblin chief. night obeyed either way, falling into step behind her tank, eyes set to the dual-wielding foe that chased after the fleeing pair. out from the brush they'd intercepted the runners, only to meet the war leader as he readied a frenzied charge. "new opponents?! better match for ubwaba than chasing babies!" and night chased those falling axe blades, the edge of her sword catching them mid-air as she shifted in front of her tank. the chieftain pressed down against its side, the force of which call

"i could draw him in," night figured, eyes still trained on the goblin chief. it still felt weird to be performing the maneuver away from nari, breaking the setup of their party thus far. and yet it was the quickest plan she could draft in her head, that reliability towards performing feats on her own. better she did it quick, then, and then duck out -- because while they needed chaos, yes, she wasn't keen on being swarmed with a number of creatures to overwhelm her position, either. so she rose, hesitant, a slight shake as her sword formed in her hand. stealth was only somewhat reliable,

night motioned with her hands, glancing to koga's coat. "do you think the game's really picky about what it considers 'in the sunlight'? your hood for example -- would it count if you just drew it over your head to keep you out of the sun?" not that the player was keen on finding out, either, but the thought of its novelty seemed intriguing enough for that temporary discussion. besides, even if the condition did seem to exist, she could think of one person who'd be genuinely delighted to know (bistro). the sight of an ancient battle laid bare before them. at least, it seemed ancient, from

nari was right -- their presence made known to the camp seemed likely to be loud enough to cause some disruption. and, for what it was worth chasing the runaway goblin she'd shattered, the path they were down seemed like an open view from her point towards the encampment's entrance. the player only glanced back to her partner, watching her eyes draw away towards gianna, curious to where her sights had lingered. if there'd been guards, perhaps night had been hasty, not noticing. so it was likely for the best that they started following their scout-turned-guide, weaving through foliage a di

it'd surprised night to find nari rushing back out of the studio as she'd headed towards it earlier -- something she forgot to address, perhaps? and the quip on her tongue afterwards, 'so jomei gets amazing, and i'm your companion?' though she'd wanted to say it, the jest might've only been humorous if it was only the two of them. she left it there, leaning into their host instead, because surely the player needed it, the way night's own arm was being held at the moment. and night was surprised to know that it was easter. because a while ago, it had been a big enough occasion that they sy

it had been a while since the twenty-seventh floor had opened up. every floor had its own set of challenges before the labyrinth could be found -- either a duration to wait through, a quest chain to be completed; somewhere, some condition had to be met. even if the players hadn't been keeping track of what it was. but that was what the eyes and ears of aincrad were for; brokers to alleviate their work. despite this, however, it was about due time they got off their laurels to push towards that exodus at some point. not for sake of placing their peace behind them, but rather, it was a nece

night exhaled, moving forward -- the gap she closed within seconds was just enough time for her to watch nari clear the path beyond, if only a straggler remained. oathkeeper set to her side, she let cardinal drift her towards the first target in a chain, the lunge forward barely grazing her partner's spear as it was pulled backwards. with the tip of her blade sated, then came her second attack, weapon drawn behind her as her hands searched the system for a tug. her eyes were set upon the back of the goblin still fleeing from before. a slight shift of her foot forward, and night knew she w

"Yer gonna pay for that one, lass." "Try me." the readiness to evade was probably important. for night's rush forward upon noticing the backdoor fly open was in the boatswains' introductions, and she hadn't thought twice about where her ally would've been before she struck. one slash downwards -- her first attack towards the burlier once he'd been slammed to the floor, the cut across his entire form was the man's death sentence before he disintegrated to the ether. following through her momentum, a rounded slash, curved horizontal, tore into more environment than opponents. woo

only a syllable long. it was efficient, so night nodded to the title. though, it was a blank look that met nari's gaze when the look was shot her way. the player tilted her head, raising her hand in a wave. whatever message her companion had wanted to relay was completely missed. past the mountainside, into the fields and forests -- they were closer to the goblin encampment than she realized, and night hadn't time to respond once her tank raised her shield. orders given, and the player was ready to follow through, had there not been another rustle from behind as nari's steps thundered dow

just one more, they'd figured, before checking in. through the way they came from, despite knowing the dangers of it. upon first peer into the corridor, night noticed the stationed group missing; a clatter from the opposite direction drew her attention as to why. because instead of listening in from the other side of the bedroom, two of the personnel were trying to barge in from the door the duo had left through earlier. and night thanked her lucky stars she'd remembered to hit the lock before she closed it, if only to buy them some time. that left the question of where the rest of the in

"huh?" caught off-guard, her shift gave the fight enough reprieve for hirru to charge in, culling the remaining elemental she'd yet to cut down. and given she hadn't the time to jump back into the fight after that call -- "yeah, and holy," was all she could return, watching the cedar figment disassemble into sparkling hues. though she didn't give either the enhancements much thought beyond their power, their make. night was surprised to even know their effects could've been made out after all, knowing how it varied between players, even weapons. some drew the night sky, yet hers had

stealth -- sure. night was keen on that route of action, too, had it just been herself alone. but it was easier to go in guns blazing, she thought, despite dazia's combat preference. "then you sneak in," the player commented, oathkeeper forging in her hands as her ally started to move. "where it counts, i'll play distraction." and where it counted was the first moment she'd walked in. the doorway was notably enough to fit a human about twice the size of either the woman, and hence there was enough space for the assassin to round the room had there been a need to. five targets in their per