NIGHT

Oh, Koga. To host a party catering to so many different players of Aincrad, simply with a poster announcement on a bulletin somewhere. With cooking skills and speed as they were? Yukiro may have been missing, sure, but a gaggle of strangers could've matched his appetite, even more. NIGHT shook her head as she closed in on his estate's location, hands tucked into her tracksuit's pockets. No -- no celebration suits and no extra company today. Knowing the state of Koga's abode, it would've been barely enough to fit the gathering that was growing outside his front door. And if any o

Mind you, it wasn't attention to her accompanying individual that drew NIGHT's attention away from the display cases. Rather, the voice it belonged to alerted her of some familiar presence, and the twitch of horror once her eyes settled upon Koga's figure only exacerbated her renewed focus on the present. Sorry -- did one of her closest companions, in all that was holy -- fail to recognize her, the actual friend, person, player before her companion was picked from the crowd? How'd that even happen? And said player had failed to erase the distinguished look of disgust from her face in time

Stone bowls? Check. Premium short-grain rice? Check. Unagi? Check. Salmon Roe? Check. The base ingredients were covered. So why was the last part -- choosing the complimentary vegetables -- the hardest out of the entire routine? It was with a low and long sigh that NIGHT found herself toying with her locks again, fingers running down a single, isolated strand out of her combed, straight hair. And half of the time, between staring at the stock provided by the stalls at the player markets, she would glance over to her android companion, as though the artificial intelligence ha

There was a hint of a flinch; a shiver, from that cool night air as Hirru contemplated, and NIGHT had imagined his comment directed her way. Nerves steeled themselves as the man set his eyes back on the player, and she glanced his way. She hadn't made herself that obvious... had she? "What would I do with..." She'd paused, just as her companion shook his head. But the lack of an answer given was more so due to a similar sentiment from herself. What was there to do with such information? If anything, the woman did contemplate if any brokers had wanted that intel, and then set that tho

Distracted? Gabrandr should've been. She knew not what words he was exchanging with Sir Goop in the distance, but she knew she wanted none of what was to follow. And so a single swing was all she was capable of delivering. Never mind it wouldn't leave a scratch on the boss' armor. The rumble between her hands and the steel plating was what mattered, and NIGHT scampered away just as his speech was completed. To talk during battle was an act of lost focus -- battles were meant to only last seconds, and only rarely minutes. For any of them to be speaking at a time like this... Her eyes

is this an anime character in disguise

Specific. They were each being specific, on their own merits, to each other, NIGHT had observed. She took a gulp, watching Hirru considering her question, trying to hide a falter behind her searching eyes. Some anxiety -- was it her, thinking so? It must've been. Her companion's story had seemed concrete enough to fail giving away loose tension, amount from an unknown origin. The only one keeping secrets here must've been her, NIGHT would think. She followed his finger as he gestured towards the markers above their heads. Clueless. The woman understood not what Hirru had meant,

If she were asked about it at a later date, NIGHT would proclaim it bravely that it was a feint. In truth, it was nothing more than sheer luck. She had half the mind to follow the cannon in suit, toppling over onto the floor in that pile of rubble just as the parts began to disintergrate, signature Cardinal style. And the wave of heat that burned stronger over them, blue flames dropping and coalescing* off Gabrandr's form-- only an enticing target would make themselves shine and sparkle in midst of combat. Something about family, and losing people he'd loved. Something about what he was d

"That's a conflicting question still." (So it seems that it would be, huh?) "In the moment, I wasn't quite thinking straight." (That was funny. She wouldn't be thinking straight herself, either.) "After I betrayed my friends, or as they said, 'betrayed my oath'; I got tackled by a player, and stabbed by another." By some manner, there was a faint recognition returning to her sights. In reality, she couldn't help but play the simulation at the back of her mind, too, as Hirru elaborated further about the attack. Motive be damned, to have another player's dagger sunk

It was simple game development AI; behaviour trees, them. Computer scientists had known about it for ages, and it was only recently being applied to the field when the game they were trapped in was made. "Simple. I tried using their relationships against them." Conditional check. One of them died, and the others' behaviour would be altered. Relationships be damned, for they were faux. "Isaxi, Rori, and Ratar seemed to be the ones that had kept everyone in the dark upon the 23rd floor. They corrupted officials and other elves to keep the 'queen' alive." Intricate lore, to e

one thing was for certain the moment she saw the parties move into action. and it wasn't from the players' movements, from her observation of their rush forward. rather, it was the sudden explosion that erupted from one of the cannons, that warm rush of air that managed to ruffle her locks backwards, made her wince and turn her head away, if only to look back once the light had faded from existence. no. night was certain she was nigh unimpressed with the warnings the singular man had for their approach towards his setup. whatever it was, and whatever it involved. she was liken to fol

She didn't know these people. She'd imagined them as people, too, because from Hirru's speech alone, the enemy didn't seem to be of a different race. At the very least, if they were beastial of some kind, surely the other player would've mentioned it. Each individual reminded her of a caricature of archetypes in RPGs. That must've been how they were, now, players trapped in the iron castle, and yet even the names felt foreign enough for NIGHT to understand their differences. She nodded, noting the fact that they could've benefitted from something like consumables, to organize themselves i

"To start, keep in mind what Hidden had said during the meeting. It's essentially the heavily abridged version." That put NIGHT to no ease. Hidden was a person with her own flaws and faults-- "Remembering that we're up against a computer instead of creature's with real feelings is important." -- she never got the chance to realize that was one of them, either. Her gaze darted as Hirru took a beat before continuing. The recount seemed reasonable, a rest before the fight, but items gifted to the raid as a hint of what was to come. Surely it sounded like elements that they sho

Coral was but a short walk from the edge of the lake. She took her associate's hand in her own, stepping out of the vessel first. Day seemed to be fading fast, and though the sunset was a sight for sore eyes, so too did it melt the world in harsh colours of black and orange-red. "Careful on your way back," she muttered to her escort. The distance between them was close, too close for NIGHT's comfort, but away from prying eyes and the look of gods she was much more aware of her position as a warrior than a civilian. The grip on her companion's palm was tight. A smile neither of them c

And if she'd stiffened after receiving the missive, stare towards the dojo they'd just left from -- "Tch..." A dim look of confusion watched her hands graze the keyboard with some furious intensity. NIGHT: oh NIGHT: i'd just left NIGHT: lmao NIGHT: still mind if we head somewhere else? NIGHT: i'll cover for your crystal "Something wrong--" "No," NIGHT breathed, fingers tapping on air as her eyes remained on the message, trying to decide on an adequate meeting point. The first was the worst for this sort of discussion. The eleventh was nice, but she wasn't too c

She'd heard the meeting dismissal. Nothing else aside from it, the person she was looking for seeming to have sent her a missive out the blue. Still on calm waters was she being ferried out of the 23rd, gaze towards the horizon, that mix of red and yellow overpowering the blues. NIGHT looked back to the message, before her sights rested again on the sky. "What is it?" Silence, still. She'd let her eyes flick towards a different estate in the distance had she the care. Instead, she took it as her cue to send off her reply after a few beats, humming softly to herself, gauging thei

whispers in a corner. to no one was the player made visible. it was only at the issuement of a party invite that her position would be announced. huddled, executioner drawn, wrapped against her form night sat on the floor unperturbed. the interface was laid out ahead of her, missives from her informants, fleur knowing not to bother her when the hour was nigh. bistro knew better the seconds before her client's potential demise. bistro: so you can get your scout over here? to help? bistro: you still haven't told me their name. how am i supposed to know who to make contact with afterwards?

no fluff for you. thread closing. additionally, post minimum to acquire XP per page from this thread has been reduced to 2. everyone wrote a lot individually, didn't wanna leave anyone out in the lurch. Thread Closing [Total] EXP | multiplier base: 1.15 | 1 + 0.15 COL | multiplier base: 1.3 | 1 + 0.3 MAT | multiplier base: 1.5 | 1 + 0.5 ARIEL | t9 +16146XP | 3120 * 9 * 0.5 * 1.15 +3668col | ((XP*0.15) + 400) * 1.3 +62 seeds HIRRU | t7 +25116XP | 3120 * 7 * 1 * 1.15 +4897col | (XP*0.15) * 1.3 +62 seeds NIGHT | t10 +39000XP