NIGHT

don't be stupid. don't play hero. the moment she noticed the health of her other dip closer to red, night immediately sprung to action. because not another one. because not again. because if it were in her hands, if she had a choice in the matter, she wouldn't let it happen. especially not in the face of forever -- not hers, not now, not anyone's-- "-- don't you dare!!" it was in her whirl around from the hench-hounds to the boss itself that her swing sent a sunder of light towards its central head. cerberus would've recoiled had it the chance to move, the blow tearing a ne

a shatter of the orb in her hands, and it still didn't feel like enough. night allowed her gaze to wander, a sense on her systems prickling -- was there an incoming threat somewhere? it sure felt like it. and her eyes narrowed, trying to figure what and where from, until she heard the growl a little aways. suddenly, as though in a queue, the minions that the party seemed to had put down earlier came rushing back in from the way they came, and night was quicker to move than to think. her side slammed into one of the running foes. blade undrawn -- somehow, why hadn't that been her first ins

"uh-- no, wait..." nari was quicker to rush off -- not that she could blame the woman, because night wanted to be done as soon as possible, too. but she'd been estimating her damage output as she'd went, eyes upon those curved health bars, serenity on edge. even a single strike on her weakest art would put the dog into the ground, and for most other scenarios this would've been ideal. here, it wasn't. and the player could only watch as her tank's health sank a little lower with each bite that came her way. to her side, she examined her shortcuts with a little gesture and a peep at a

already, they were playing with fire. the hell hound, their environment on the ninth, and now the racing health bars of cerberus himself. night darted to the last sibling that hadn't been touched by her blade just yet -- cut its life force almost in half, before scurrying back over to her tank, whom she realized had dropped her defenses. as much as she hated to speak, perhaps this was the most opportune time, because she couldn't lower the boss' health without placing their regulation clause in danger. already, she was using her weakest weapon. if anything, cardinal was teaching them more

nari's readying paid off. where night was from, the hound's thrown bite to her tank was aggressive, reckless. with enough force to slam a player unsettled towards the ground in a swipe of its head forwards, the single head's maneuver disrupted the plans of its other siblings. they whined and snarled in response. that a horrific gnash was an explosive force, cerberus' lone head pulling away with enough fire in its mouth dripping akin to lava, just as the rest of its system began to argue back for their will of purpose stolen. a sudden strike. it tore away at the center-most brethen. n

the request wasn't odd. in fact, it was that point that night understood the most. "yes ma'am." and as she joined koga's side to pour over the map, so too did day follow suit behind her, an invisible presence to the altercations before. one look at the paper, only moments after night had unveiled it to the other player, and there was already a gleam caught in the construct's eyes, form relaxed looking the plan over. "so, they're hidden across the mansion," night started. her fingers were tracing out the different wings of the mansion, while connecting the indicators for stairs up an

"she seems to care about everyone a lot," day corrected, arms folded in her half-sit upon the couch's backing, a hand extended towards nyanko. once her own fingers had been investigated by his sights, they traced over his fur, and his narrowed eyes and rumbling purr only indicated comfort despite the stranger at home. "she'll never say that aloud, though. and besides, it's not like i've seen the two of them interact to begin with." the entity swiveled her head as she paused to think back on conversations prior, coming to conclusions on chase's behalf. "i've heard stories about her, sure, but..

that sure was some chanting nari was performing. even in her focus towards one of cerberus' heads, she could hear the words from afar. and the player did bet, if she heard it enough, she may very well remember how to pronounce it the way her other did, too. not that she'd need to say it. not that the prayer was necessary for her own self in the heat of the moment. a dip backwards with a distracted snout, the dog pulled one way above the others -- its snarl and attention on herself meant more than the two bites taken out of her tank. night appreciated the sneer, the chuff of annoyance that

what. it was bi-pedal, now? night had barely begun to sink into the lovely tunes from her other, almost forgetting she was stuck in the depths of danger as a lack of obstacle preventing them from entering cerberus' lair had signaled a feeling akin safety as they trudged on. so the moment her gaze drifted around the room, barely even a step forward, to see the ambush of the beastman, the player was entirely caught off-guard. like. by its figure, rather than the attack. what happened to the quadruped she was so used to facing? why'd cardinal replace it with an actual furry? n

“Looks like my sources say it needs to have all three alive, but lowered…something about a howl." "not yours?" night tilted her head, leaning back with her arms folded. after all the talk of going through trouble in getting the skill, she was surprised not to have seen it immediately during battle. not that it mattered when they came to tackling small fry. as long as she could make quick work of the enemies, there wasn't a need to steal aggro. she did raise a brow at the agony of their kill, though. "that's a little morbid. would it even feel anger if we bring it to the last of its health

and three miniature hell hounds a cerberus would not make. with the dogs stunned in place, they were easy targets for night to have picked off -- not that she needed the boost in precision, from the look of it. a swing downwards as she jumped to the first hound, her figure was consumed in auxiliary fragments as she dashed towards the second, the pierce of her sword through its form returning it to cardinal. for the last, she delivered a back-handed swing, her front towards the back of the cave as a guttural howl from further within beckoned the players, just as the last minion was slain.

she supposed it was apt that between the two, the better player suited for volume was her other. and night followed along without complaint, footsteps light against the cavernous floor. with this time, voice utterance in song, even against the backdrop of the lava-burbling subterrain did it sound satisfactory to the quiet woman, even if it was a little strange to hear high notes in a dreary realm. night found herself smiling nonetheless, a pull of her lips obscured by shadows of the changing, shifting light. her silence paid off, it seemed, when the snarls of cerberus' minions alerted the

in her mind, she'd only pictured the thought of facing cerberus alone. and her mind hadn't taken her to noticing the rest of the terrain the floor was offering -- to that, at the sound of nari announcing their destination, even night found herself souring at the name. once the light had faded from view, she could only concur with the party's displeasure. "don't have to tell me twice." and she matched pace with her other, despite their speed feeling forced. "as much as i'd like to agree," she replied, "floor four and nine are both on the extreme ends. they're both hells in their own way."

"oh, hey--" at chase's coughing fit, night was first to move to rub at his back. she wasn't sure if it would do anything for the man in aincrad, but it seemed normal a reaction given scenarios in reality. even day seemed to freeze at the sudden bout of sickness, tide pools studying the player in blue analytically. "huh. that is a little weird..." and night glanced to the construct, raising a brow. not that they should be playing doctor and nurse, but, "it's not a status condition or anything, is it?" "not that i can tell..." a hand went to chase's forehead the moment

night squinted, eyes to the reddened skies. as odd as the point did sound -- the player was only human after all, despite her tendency for being meticulous -- "sure. you could call it that." and as distracted as koga was, so too was the woman at his push of his meal. her gaze was down at the pie dish, now partially filled with crumbs. "ew. no thanks. sometimes, i swear i can taste the staleness on them if they hadn't been touched for that long." "plus, why would i want your leftovers, anyway...?" the yell was enough to obscure the last of her complaints, and night's gaze shot up to t

well, between cerbi and nari both, the latter obviously won out at the metric of a cuter name. and night stood by that decision, watching the player stick her tongue out. she'd nearly reached out to press the flat of her thumb and index between puffed cheeks, before her tank shifted, ready for the duty. "it's more likely he's picking on the locals than otherwise. but okay." "If nothing else, the heat of the floor might make us need to tone down the clothing a bit.” "who, on you?" and the look she shot nari was one of incredulity. the better armor to have worn for the occasion wa

<<Gatekeeper of Fire>> “I’m bored. We should go do something.” "oh, we've gotten to that part of the relationship already?" night's eyes were better glued to the menus she'd been sifting through. messages from bistro were never-ending, and here she was being asked to consider the idea of a consumables hub for an expansion to her store. if only the alchemist could keep a steady pace in fulfilling orders and maintaining information streams both on top of whatever underhanded schemes she had on monetizing others' businesses. at least, when she pulled away from the inter

hostile? she hadn't taken koga to be the type. and though she'd wanted to stand by nari at the sound of it, the thought of running on empty was just as sour a thought. at best, she trusted her friend not to attack someone else like that, even if he was mad at them. the man wasn't the type. night wondered if she was, however. "five minutes," the player corrected, returning the embrace tightly, swearing she'd make it back sooner internally, just because she could -- and she didn't want to leave nari to fend for herself, even if she was capable alone. a step backwards and a flash of light; n

Hey Aincradians. NIGHT as PST GM here. Need an address today on two fronts. 1. 3.0 Conversion Compensation This is a change that affects a minority of our players. Also, to clarify, while this compensation was discussed and approved internally with staff, this is a move I am choosing to make as PST GM. At the start of 3.0, the Paragon Rewards table used to look as such: Lv. 25 | Gleaming Scale (3), Equipment Change Ticket (1), Free SP Reset (1) Lv. 50 | Custom Sword Art/Skill Creation. Lv. 60 | Paragon Tier Up Tickets (3), Demonic Shards (3) As time progressed, the

"this time?" so had there been others? even as she'd wanted to bring it up again, her words only got cut off by chase's appreciation for her concern. night shook her head at the notion of pay back. "no, don't worry about that. we're just looking out for each other is all." and the man's spirit was admirable, something the player felt she could get behind as she gave him a determined nod. they would see his condition better to its end, if they were lucky. upon the first, nothing much had changed since she'd left. but it was good watching her friend appear to warm to the city, figure seemin

day was still visibly disgruntled. and night found it difficult to make amends. what little time they had in the foyer was taken away as the party followed the attendant that allowed them inside. down the halls, towards a room; a knock, and someone called them inside. and fast work, it seemed. the trio shifted into the study as they were told, day seemingly unbothered by the instructions, though her expression seemed sullen. and with a wrap of her hand around her neck, night was only anxious by the orders given -- quests up till now had always seemed out of the players' own volition to a