Koga

Damn that smile.

Sometimes, somethings were just a little too bright and you had to look away. And so Koga looked away again, his eyes finding the floor as he smiled sheepishly. "Thanks," he said, secretly hoping he sounded a little more confident than he actually felt.

A sudden flurry of movement had Kasumi up and prowling around the kitchen again, pulling out a copper pot and pan from one cupboard, worn with use. A quirked brow and tilted head followed her around as Koga watched with a hint of confusion up until the girl rummaged through her bags to pull out a few vials. While it was difficult to make out their exact contents, knowing Kasumi, they were flowers of some sort. And the colors, a pastel pink and lush violet. Koga wasn't as well versed in horticulture, but he only knew of two flowers with those colors. Cherry blossoms, and nightshade. One of those he knew was deathly poisonous.

'Is she going to kill me now that I've seen her like that?'

The thought lingered long enough for Koga to almost miss Bacon somehow having clambered onto his chest and sniff at the man's face. "H-hey, quit it," the boy frowned at the pig before a delicate hand waved the pig away and a not so delicate upward force cut off his airways via his shirt. The man audibly gagged and coughed as Kasumi got him onto his feet, fixed his collar, and guided him towards the pot, now on the stove and filled with a pink liquid. "Uh, o-okay?" the man said, still unsure of what was going on and whether or not he was about to be killed via poison.

Nonetheless, the boy bent over the pot, and inhaled the steam, trusting Kasumi and her expertise. The first whiff did nothing, save fill his nostrils with a rather pleasant, if strong scent. They second began to lessen the pain, and by the third it had faded into only a dull ache.

"Huh?" Koga looked back at Kasumi as she asked about...rice? "Oh, yeah, lemme grab it for you," he said, moving towards a cabinet, hardly having noticed the now near transparent shirt she wore. "What is that stuff you just made me smell?" he asked curiously as he opened (well, opened the rest of the way) a cabinet and reached into grab a burlap sack, heavy with grain. He turned with it in hand, as if expecting some direction from the girl. "My face doesn't seem to hurt as much." Or maybe that was the system slowly starting to heal him?

@Kasumi

More and more people.

Most of whom, Koga realized, he actually knew, even if it was only in passing.

Hirru, to name one for certain. Koga had not seen the man since the climatic end of the raid against Gabrandr, but stressful situations forged a sense of kinship, and the swordsman made a mental note to go and talk to him later.

There were more than a few people to speak to now anyways (when did Koga get so popular?) "Can't blame you," the man said to Arabelle, as she'd introduced herself as. "It's unusual for a raid meeting for sure, but," Koga pointed towards Wulfrin with his thumb, gently teasing as he confirmed that he was indeed the man of the hour, "seems like this guy wanted to make a good first impression."

As Freyd scurried off to greet, oh, so that's who the legendary Macradon was. Koga hadn't realized before. The swordsman felt slightly humbled to have fought beside such a legend before. "He is indeed," Koga nodded in response to Arabelle remark. Koga had never known an idle Freyd, if such a person ever existed.

 A couple of other people Koga knew approached, and he greeted them both in turn. "Star, how's it goin', man?" he said, followed by looking over at Astralin as she came over, bubbly and cheery as ever. "Where've you been hiding? I haven't seen you in ages," he smiled at her, before she launched into a short explanation. "Better not hold back then in the boss fight. Gotta show off the fancy new moves. This is Arabelle, by the way. New blood," he told the blonde. "Looks like we've got a few new people on the Front this time around-" and their numbers were still so few, "but I can't imagine it'll be any different than normal. Go over what the scouting party saw, theorize, plan, build parties, argue." Because what was a raid meeting without a bit of arguing? "All part of the process," Koga shrugged for the Arabelle's benefit just before he felt a hand clap his shoulder.

"Jomei!" Koga grinned at the ginger. "You look good as always," Koga assured the man. "It's been a while, good to see you again."

@Arabelle @Wulfrin @Morningstar @Astralin @Jomei

"Are you ok?"

The small voice heralded the appearance oh Kasumi hanging her head over Koga's, a hand tightly gripping the shirt she wore in the front in a near-futile effort to retain her modesty. "I'm fine," Koga reassured the girl with a half-hearted smile, letting his hand fall away from his face to reveal the already swelled shut eye. Fine was subjective in this case.

As Kasumi stood, moving towards the kitchen, Koga sat up from his prone position, propping himself up on an arm as his eyes followed the girl to-

Well, whatever modesty Kasumi was trying to retain by holding the shirt together was scoured completely by the view the boy was afforded as Kasumi walked away from him, and then rummaged through his kitchen cabinets. Koga debated whether or not he should look away, for her sake, but she'd also willingly walked like that...The uncertainty ultimately lead to Koga's eyes following her anyways as he tried to decide, before nervously flickering away as she came near again.

"Eh, it'll heal soon," Koga replied in a non-answer that would only really hold true if Cardinal deemed it so. Nonetheless, Koga took the makeshift cold press from Kasumi, their fingers brushing over each other as he did so, to free her hand to help the other keep the shirt from exploding further.

His house was a wreck, Koga noted as he looked around. Shattered cups, that chair needed its back replacing now, the cupboards had all sprung open. Bacon, somehow, had managed to sleep through all of it, and came through completely unscathed.

Koga began to snicker. And that snicker soon became a full-hearty laugh. Because, sometimes, when things went so horribly awry, what else was there to do but find the humor in it? C'est la vie. "Holy shit, we need to find that button," he said, turning to look at Kasumi in the eye, "we should just throw that thing at the boss next raid."

@Kasumi

Little by little, more people began to join the group of Frontliners, other raid participants no doubt, given NIGHT's appearance. And that was Yuki beside her. Er, other Yuki. Pink Yuki. Koga had never formally met her before, but maybe this time.The man nodded to both of them in silent greeting.

The clip clop of sandals were the next thing to draw Koga's attention, as a pretty blonde lady approached the growing group and congratulated the groom before introducing herself to them. "Koga," the swordsman said with a faint smile and a nod. "Good to see you again, Kat," likewise recognizing her from a raid.

Another woman approached as well, her more traditional attire making her easily spotted as she looked around and seemed to wait for the meeting to start. It was about then that Koga felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned with a raised brow, and came to face snowy-haired woman with read eyes. "Hey?" he'd respond before she asked her question. "That's right," he nodded, before looking around a little. Normally, there were at least a few more Frontliners present. "I think we're just waiting for everyone to show up right now. I'm Koga," the man offered his hand, not believing himself to be acquainted with the crimson eyed woman yet.

NIGHT jumped, and shot him a glare. The man suppressed a chuckle in return. He didn't feel like getting stabbed. Yet. Who knew what their prey had planned for them. Hopefully Morningstar did, considering he was calling the pair over. Koga waved back and made a little bit of effort to quicken his pace over to the others.

Before Koga even had a chance to comment on the 'time-crunch' though, Freyd beat him to the punch. No matter, Koga was aiming to get all this over with before dinner time. Maybe even elevensies, if they were fast enough.

Skele-bois, spiders, the tower. If Koga had known this quest was going to be so involved he might've come a bit more prepared. But with a group like this embarking on the journey, the whole quest seemed to breeze on by. He couldn't help but take a quick glance over at NIGHT though, as she dispatched the creepy crawlies. Though he teased her about it often, he knew she had a very real fear of insects. Or maybe it was just a serious amount of discomfort. Either way, they things were dust now, and she seemed fine. Hell, she had even vouched for the orange player only moments earlier. Up until then, Koga had kept a cautious hand on katana. It was still there now, but at least not in preparation to defend himself against another player.

"Alright then, we're tower-bound," Koga said, looking up in the direction that Wulfrin had indicated. That'd been easy. The climb was not. "I swear to God, if I see another staircase in my lifetime, it'll be too soon," Koga had panted after they'd finally reached the top. Okami collapsed beside him. How many steps had that been? He'd lost count after about four-fifty.

"So...anyone see the lizard we're hunting?" Koga asked after catching his breath and lifting his hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

And the dust cloud that the dragon kicked up as it landed. Koga craned his neck upwards to look at the massive being as it spread its wings and looked down at the players with the menacing glare only a forty foot tall reptile could. "Found 'er."

The matron roared at them, and the battle began. Okami and Koga dashed forward together, each chasing after their own targets. The white wolf sank its teeth into the minimally guarded flesh of the dragon's heel while Koga launched himself straight towards the dragon's face, hammering the pommel of his katana into its snout as he drew the sword.

@Morningstar @Freyd @Pinball @Wulfrin @NIGHT

k o g a the elder wolf Spoiler notes: none Koga, Lvl: 33/59 | HP: 920 | EN: 126 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 2 | BH: 50/100 | HB: 20 | VD: 101 | FALN: 16 | BRN: 56 | LD: 3 equipped battle-ready inventory Tsuki no Hikari | Demonic T4 Katana | CRSD, BRN, FALN II Shuku-ro Coat | Demonic T4 Light Armor | EVA II, VAMP-D II Hirameku de Tatamu | Demonic T4 Trinket | ACC III, HB I none skills Spoiler | UTILITY Gathering: Fishing I | Successfully forage for materials on a LD 14+ | 42/49 EXP  Searching III | Passive | +1 LD per rank. +1 to Stealth Detection per rank. | 14 SP Night Vision | Passive | Ignores any penalties from low light or darkness. Negates the bonus Stealth Rating from low light or darkness. | 3 SP | COMBAT Combat Shift: Single Target | Passive | For the following Sword Arts, +3 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; ST-I, ST-II, ST-B. No other Shifts may be taken. | 10 SP Mastery: Damage III | Passive | Gain 1 * Tier Damage per rank | 13 SP Battle Healing V | Passive | Recover 5% (rounded down) of your maximum HP at the start of your turn | 30 SP Emergency Recovery | When non-fatal damage would leave you with 25% or less of your maximum HP, recover 10% of your maximum HP after the attack resolves. Effect cannot occur more than once per thread.  When activated if the player has lower than 10 energy remaining, simply reduce the player's energy to 0. | 6 SP 10 EN Energist | Passive | Increase Base Energy by 5 * Tier | 8 SP Charge | Action | Perform a single attack/Sword Art with +3 base damage. Charge attacks have a -1 Accuracy debuff and cannot be affected by any auto-hit effects. | 10 SP 2 EN * Tier, Cooldown: 3 Posts Howl | Action | Adds +2 Hate each against up to 4 targets. | 10 SP 2 EN, Cooldown: 2 posts Focused Howl | Action | Adds +4 Hate against a single target. | 5 SP 4 EN, Cooldown: 4 Posts | WEAPON Katana V | Passive | +7 DMG when equipped with a Katana | 30 SP Stamina | Passive | Reduces the energy of all Katana attacks by 2 EN | 4 SP Precision | Passive | Gain +1 ACC. | 2 SP Ferocity | Passive | +2 DMG when using Katana Sword Arts | 4 SP | ARMOR Light Armor V | Passive | +30 MIT when equipped with Light Armor, -2 Stealth | 30 SP Meticulous | Passive | +1 DMG when equipped with Light Armor | 4 SP Resolve | Passive | +1 ACC and +10 * Tier HP when equipped with Light Armor | 6 SP | EXTRAS Familiar Master: Rending | Free Action | You and your familiar attack in tandem, applying Rend [7*tier unmitigatable damage] to the target that lasts for two turns. | 10 SP Cooldown: 5 Turns Survival | Passive | Increases Healing effects received from all sources by 10%. Grants immunity to all damage dealing environmental attacks/effects. | 0 SP Parry | Action | Apply the energy cost upon proc, not activation. Reduces the final damage of the next successful attack against you by 50% (rounded down) and negates stun/paralysis effects of that attack. If hit by multiple attacks, only apply parry to the first attack against you. Parry lasts for three turns. Cooldown starts when the player activates the Skill. If the player is hit when using Parry, the cooldown is reset to 3 turns. | 10 SP 9 EN, Cooldown: 3 Turns Vengeful Riposte | Passive | A successful Parry also returns 50% (rounded down) of the raw damage that would be dealt to you back to your opponent. The reflected damage can be mitigated by the opponent. | 6 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Justified Riposte |  Passive | A successful Parry also stuns the target for 1 turn. | 5 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Frozen Hide | Free Action | As a free action, apply one slot of Frost Aura and one slot of Frost Thorns equal to your tier to yourself until the start of your next turn. | 0 SP 5 EN, Cooldown: 4 Turns Lady Luck | Free Action | Replace a single enhancement slot on your weapon with a random enhancement using the Appraiser’s Identification roll until the start of your next turn. | 0 SP 5 EN, Cooldown: 5 Turns Meditation | Action | Recover an additional (4 * Tier) energy. Cooldown: 3 Turns buffs Spoiler | PARAGON REWARDS Lv. 5 | Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to Looting | BUFFS <<Well Rested>> | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. <<Squeaky Clean>> | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). <<Filling>> | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. <<Item Stash>> | +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot <<Tasty>> | Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. <<Relaxed>> | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. <<Multipurpose>> | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll. <<Practiced Angler>> | +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts.

Looking around, Koga was glad that he wasn't the only one who'd dressed down a little for the wedding. That wasn't to say he'd gone full sandals, shorts and no shirt, but he'd instead opted for some light blue pants, made of a rather light material, and a beige linen shirt. Very beachy, even with the more formal shoes he wore. As Masato, Koga had lived in enough places to know that he did not want to wear a full suit on the beach. Forget ruining the outfit, the humidity would kill him.

All in all, it had been a slightly strange affair for him. Namely because he had never met the couple before, but their offer to host the raid meeting at the reception had meant that Koga had crafted a shield for them. Not a real piece of armor, but rather something for them to hang on the wall of their home. White, with gold trim and engravings. Nothing too tacky. The man might've been sentimental, but he still had some taste. And his dignity.

The wedding went by, with all the joy that one might imagine. Freyd officiated, which nearly sent Koga straight into the afterlife, as the poor guy would have never imagined such a thing happening, but he'd survived long enough to clap and cheer with everyone else. Joy such as this was never a bad thing, especially not in Aincrad.

Soon enough, everyone began to filter towards the raid meeting, or the actual reception. Koga lingered behind the others for just a moment to nudge Kasumi in the side with his elbow before he departed. "I'll see you later then, yeah?" he asked with a hopeful note in his voice, despite Kasumi having never said otherwise before. Not even when Koga has asked if she wanted to walk to the wedding with him. Kasumi gave her usual farewell, and affirmation, but instead of leaving, Koga lingered for just a moment, one corner of his lip tugged back as he seemed to ponder something. He must've come to some kind of a decision in the next couple moments, most likely 'fuck it', because he suddenly stepped closer to the girl and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

As anyone who knew Kasumi might've expected, she turned beet red. "We can spar more when you get home," she said, somehow managing to keep her composure, despite the deep flush on her face. "I'll buy some ingredients to make curry."
"It's a date then," Koga winked with a cocky grin, pleased as punch that he hadn't ended up laid out on the floor. "See you after the meeting."

He waved good-bye as he joined the paltry crowd going towards the meeting.

It wasn't until he waved at Freyd, Morningstar, the happy groom, and another unknown player that he was struck with an echo in his head. 'We can spar more when you get home.'

Koga cleared his throat before properly greeting the others. "Congrats, man!" he said, clapping Wulfrin on the shoulder and giving him a broad smile. "I'm happy for you guys. Thanks for hosting the meeting as well, I feel bad breaking up the festivities for this."

There's that kind of joy one feels, when seeing someone they care about smile. The pure, innocent kind. Kasumi embodied it, fully. Putting aside the melodrama, that smile truly made that dark space in the back of Koga's mind just a little brighter every time he saw it.

Even in just some regular clothes, work clothes even, the boy could hardly take his eyes off the girl as he followed her into the back of the shop and leaned against one of the tables to watch her work, careful not to disturb anything. She had accepted the job in an instant, without any fuss or questions. Simple and straight forward, which was more than a little refreshing.

It was a little less than a flurry of movement, as the system did as it usually did. Flashes of light here and there, pieces appearing, disappearing, changing in instants. It might not have been quite like real-life, but it was an approximation that still allowed onlookers to admire craftsmen at their craft. Koga watching Kasumi was no exception. In moments, she'd managed to take the rather silly little wristwatch and turned it into a beautiful adornment.

When she held it out to him, Koga took the cable from Kasumi's hands and held it up, the ornament at the end dangling with Kasumi's face just beside it. 'Same color as her eyes.' He didn't know if that'd been intentional or not, but that private thought brought another soft smile to his face. "Thanks, Kasumi. It's perfect."

Koga obtains:

• Hirameku de Tatamu | Demonic T4 Trinket | ACC III, HB I

Oh, how Koga felt the urge to make a friendly jab at NIGHT for missing her attack, especially when she had just done the same exact thing only moments earlier. Sweet, sweet vengeance could have been his. Sadly for the swordsman, he was currently dealing with the fact that Lilith was trying to swipe at him with her long finger-claws, and man did that look like a back time.

Falling back, and lifting his sword into a high guard, Koga barely heard NIGHT's dual apology and quip. "Alright, alright!" the man grumbled, "I take it back, now could you hit this thing, please! Bitch is creepin' me out." Seriously, stop staring like that Lilith, the red glowing eyes were making Koga uncomfortable.

From behind his guard, Koga felt moderately safer in continuing the conversation he'd been having with NIGHT, in any case. "I mean do you want the whole list?" the man said with a raised brow. "We might be here for a while. A few platformers, puzzlers. Mostly RPGs and shooters," he summarized. Admittedly, Koga had played painfully few games for someone who wanted to become a game developer, but that was what happened when he grew up without access to the majority of game-playing devices.

@NIGHT

So, no obvious boss-level threats to worry about in Zero. That didn't sound so bad in that case. Koga made a mental note to attempt a visit to Zero himself one day. If he ever got through the myriad other quests he still needed to finish. Like the Dragon Hunting questline. One day he'd finish that one. Poor NIGHT, getting dragged around to slay overgrown lizards.

Well, she was the one who always said yes. It's her fault, really.

"I dunno about you, but the there is no amount of slime-killing that would make it all worthwhile to me," Koga countered, almost groaning. "In fact, the more samey the enemies become, the more of a drag it all is." But it was suffering through the grind that gave them the strength to survive the next Raid. So maybe NIGHT wasn't all wrong. Of course, that didn't stop Koga from saying: "If the next boss is yet another slime, I think I might just let it kill me. I'm so sick of those things..."

Analytical though they both were, their interpretations of data and experience seemed a little different. "I mean, everything is numbers in here, NIGHT." Koga pointed out, gesturing with his own chopsticks this time. "But the guys with the biggest numbers are the ones at the top, we both know that." It was the entire reason either of them were able to fight on the Frontlines, and why others couldn't. Why they lived through things that might kill others. It wasn't strictly their own skill, though that certainly played a part. But no amount of skill could save them from a one-shot. And that's what the numbers were for.

Differences aside though, he couldn't help but snort at the comment about their philanthropic nature. "Oh yeah? What would you call it then?" the man asked curiously.

The, rather vehement, denial of ever hosting another party at her house made Koga seem like the forgetful one this time. "Uh, you hosted a party at your house?" Koga asked confused. "Was I even there? The only time I recall being at your place was when Yuki and I crashed your Christmas eve date with DAY." To be fair the boys hadn't known they'd been doing anything to begin with, and wanted to deliver NIGHT's gifts personally. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and NIGHT had nearly sent them both there herself that night.

At the mention of Kasumi's name though...Koga wasn't sure if he should run for his life or not. "Uh, you know her?" he asked hesitantly.

The reaction was a stark contrast to the remainder of their conversation though. Koga had deadpanned in NIGHT's direction as she quipped about fear and horny being related. 'Speak for yourself'.

Not that any of it took away from the, perhaps a little too real conversation they'd found themselves in the middle of. NIGHT had physically reacted at some point whilst Koga had spoke, a missed tell, though the sigh had not been so subtle. The man finished his food as NIGHT responded, the box and chopsticks disappearing in an array of glowing blue shards.

He wanted to make a comment about how 'letting someone hurt them' was the key point Koga was trying to make, how it was not something he allowed 'anyone the opportunity' to do. Nor did he think NIGHT would open herself to those kinds of wounds either.

But he let the moment pass, and instead shook his head when she asked about the hedgehog dilemma. "No, I haven't." Laced fingers filled his vision, blocking NIGHT's face from view for but a moment. There was a deep breath somewhere in there as NIGHT came to her explanation, interpretation, of the dilemma.

He tried to mull over a response, but was interrupted with a light jab.

That physical contact NIGHT had just mentioned.
The first time in their years of friendship, if Koga had not forgotten another instance.

Koga smiled softly, as he eyes drifted away. First to the floor, kept pristinely, unnaturally clean by the machinations of Cardinal. Then up to the distant horizon. He wanted to say something. Something smart, or clever, or witty. Anything to distract from the fact that NIGHT wasn't wrong. Not about other liking him, that was an aside, but rather that she indeed knew him better than most. Nothing came to mind though. And so instead, Koga decided to address her request. "You can count on it," he said, "We'd be honored."

He leaned forward a little, whilst NIGHT still reclined, his fingers laced somewhere between his legs. "You're a good friend, NIGHT. I'm glad we met."

The man cleared his throat then and stood, "C'mon, it'd be a shame to waste our day off. There's still plenty to see."

@NIGHT

Koga knocked on the door of Kasumi's shop, as he often did these days. He probably spent just as much time here, on Floor 2, now as he did in his own home on 11. What that exactly implied hadn't been discussed. Wasn't. Frankly, it just didn't matter.

Rushing ahead had too often left Koga hurt afterwards anyways. And they were both content, he thought.

In any case, Koga hadn't come today for just one of his regular social visits. This time, it was raid-prep business, a fact he made known not long after Kasumi welcomed him inside. "Hey," he said, with his usual warm smile. "Got some business for you today actually," he went on, despite knowing that Kasumi's shop was usually closed. Or at least, it had been from most of the time he'd known her. "I was wondering if you'd make another kashira cable. For me." He produced a watch from his pocket. "Swapping some things around for the next Raid." He didn't mention that he could have asked NIGHT to do the same job, skilled as she was. "It's a paying job, obviously," Koga added quickly, in some poor attempt to hide how much it mattered to him that it be her to craft the little charm for him. "If you don't mind, that is."

Trade

"Anytime chief," Koga said with a grin, giving Morning star a mock salute as he back towards the shop door to leave. He gave one last wave behind him before the door shut, the chime of the bell hanging above disappearing entirely.

Koga didn't make it more than a couple steps before he realized something was missing though, and Koga patted his rear pocket with furrowed brows. Out came a sighed expletive, as he turned around and entered the store again.

"Sorry...forgot something. Lost. Whatever," it wasn't hard to spot the plain black wallet against the floor. "Got it now, thanks again."

Koga receives:

• Limited Edition Rolie Polie Olie Watch | Perfect T4 Trinket | HB, REC, LD

Koga stared at the item blankly. It was hard to make out what emotions were going through his system at the moment, at least right up until the point he said. "Holy fuck..."

What Koga stared at, a god-roll. Koga had never seen one before, let alone crafted one (not that that was in his cards to begin with). He sometimes struggled just to craft a rare weapon. Morningstar might be Koga's new favorite appraiser now.

Koga looked up at Morningstar. "I can't take this. Dude, this thing belongs in a museum. Keep it." The swordsman produced another trinket from his inventory, this one markedly less interesting. Hopefully it would also be useable. "Here, uh, try this one?"

@Morningstar

Trade

How did Koga end up here? That was a great question. He didn't know either. In fact, he wasn't entirely sure where 'here' was. Or even what floor he was on. None the less 'here' he was. Standing dumbly in the middle of a forest with a massive cabin standing in front of him. So, naturally, Koga did what anyone else would do, and went in.

To be fair, it was a very nice cabin from the outside. Inside was just as appealing. Homey, comfy, perhaps a bit cluttered, but what else would you expect from a witch's home?

Oh no, was Koga about to be turned into stew?

Wait, no it was just Morningstar's shop apparently. The man peeked out from behind some shelves. "Oh, thank god," Koga breathed a sigh of relief. "Uh, well, I dunno where the hell I am, but since you're here..." A trinket appeared in Koga's hand, who held it out to the shopkeep. "Would you mind? Lookin' for a Holy Blessing."

@Morningstar

Koga provides:

• Tier 4 Perfect Trinket [203872]

Receipt:

T4 Perfect equipment appraisal: 3040
  Service fee: 304
Mystic Essence x3: 3000
Total: 6344

k o g a the elder wolf Spoiler notes: none Koga, Lvl 33/59 | HP: 920 | EN: 126 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 2 | BH: 50/100 | VD: 101 | FALN: 16 | BRN: 56 | LD: 3 equipped battle-ready inventory Tsuki no Hikari | Demonic T4 Katana | CRSD, BRN, FALN II Shuku-ro Coat | Demonic T4 Light Armor | EVA II, VAMP-D II Kashira Cable - Wolf | Perfect T1 Trinket | ACC III IDK skills Spoiler | UTILITY Gathering: Fishing I | Successfully forage for materials on a LD 14+ | 42/49 EXP  Searching III | Passive | +1 LD per rank. +1 to Stealth Detection per rank. | 14 SP Night Vision | Passive | Ignores any penalties from low light or darkness. Negates the bonus Stealth Rating from low light or darkness. | 3 SP | COMBAT Combat Shift: Single Target | Passive | For the following Sword Arts, +3 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; ST-I, ST-II, ST-B. No other Shifts may be taken. | 10 SP Mastery: Damage III | Passive | Gain 1 * Tier Damage per rank | 13 SP Battle Healing V | Passive | Recover 5% (rounded down) of your maximum HP at the start of your turn | 30 SP Emergency Recovery | When non-fatal damage would leave you with 25% or less of your maximum HP, recover 10% of your maximum HP after the attack resolves. Effect cannot occur more than once per thread.  When activated if the player has lower than 10 energy remaining, simply reduce the player's energy to 0. | 6 SP 10 EN Energist | Passive | Increase Base Energy by 5 * Tier | 8 SP Charge | Action | Perform a single attack/Sword Art with +3 base damage. Charge attacks have a -1 Accuracy debuff and cannot be affected by any auto-hit effects. | 10 SP 2 EN * Tier, Cooldown: 3 Posts Howl | Action | Adds +2 Hate each against up to 4 targets. | 10 SP 2 EN, Cooldown: 2 posts Focused Howl | Action | Adds +4 Hate against a single target. | 5 SP 4 EN, Cooldown: 4 Posts | WEAPON Katana V | Passive | +7 DMG when equipped with a Katana | 30 SP Stamina | Passive | Reduces the energy of all Katana attacks by 2 EN | 4 SP Precision | Passive | Gain +1 ACC. | 2 SP Ferocity | Passive | +2 DMG when using Katana Sword Arts | 4 SP | ARMOR Light Armor V | Passive | +30 MIT when equipped with Light Armor, -2 Stealth | 30 SP Meticulous | Passive | +1 DMG when equipped with Light Armor | 4 SP Resolve | Passive | +1 ACC and +10 * Tier HP when equipped with Light Armor | 6 SP | EXTRAS Familiar Master: Rending | Free Action | You and your familiar attack in tandem, applying Rend [7*tier unmitigatable damage] to the target that lasts for two turns. | 10 SP Cooldown: 5 Turns Survival | Passive | Increases Healing effects received from all sources by 10%. Grants immunity to all damage dealing environmental attacks/effects. | 0 SP Parry | Action | Apply the energy cost upon proc, not activation. Reduces the final damage of the next successful attack against you by 50% (rounded down) and negates stun/paralysis effects of that attack. If hit by multiple attacks, only apply parry to the first attack against you. Parry lasts for three turns. Cooldown starts when the player activates the Skill. If the player is hit when using Parry, the cooldown is reset to 3 turns. | 10 SP 9 EN, Cooldown: 3 Turns Vengeful Riposte | Passive | A successful Parry also returns 50% (rounded down) of the raw damage that would be dealt to you back to your opponent. The reflected damage can be mitigated by the opponent. | 6 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Justified Riposte |  Passive | A successful Parry also stuns the target for 1 turn. | 5 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Frozen Hide | Free Action | As a free action, apply one slot of Frost Aura and one slot of Frost Thorns equal to your tier to yourself until the start of your next turn. | 0 SP 5 EN, Cooldown: 4 Turns Lady Luck | Free Action | Replace a single enhancement slot on your weapon with a random enhancement using the Appraiser’s Identification roll until the start of your next turn. | 0 SP 5 EN, Cooldown: 5 Turns Meditation | Action | Recover an additional (4 * Tier) energy. Cooldown: 3 Turns buffs Spoiler | PARAGON REWARDS Lv. 5 | Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to Looting | BUFFS <<Well Rested>> | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. <<Squeaky Clean>> | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). <<Filling>> | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. <<Item Stash>> | +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot <<Tasty>> | Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. <<Relaxed>> | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. <<Multipurpose>> | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll. <<Practiced Angler>> | +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts.

Dragons?
Hunting?

Well, sign Koga up, you didn't even need to state that it was an urgent request. The man had hardly registered that part of the message before heading out the door, his snow-furred companion right on his heels, eager at the prospect of hunting, despite not knowing what their prey was.

Their arrival to Floor 25 was met with about as much fanfare as usual. Read as: negligible. Sure the main settlement was somewhat crowded with players and NPCs, but nobody paid much attention to the lone swordsman. His arrival to the Labyrinth entrance was only slightly more exciting.

Koga recognized Freyd among the tiny crowd almost instantly, as well as Morningstar. The other two though, Koga didn't know. Especially not the orange player, who indeed gave him pause.

But more importantly...was that NIGHT?

The woman was creeping up behind the orange player. Quite carefully.

And so Koga crept up behind her. Even more careful.

"Why are we sneaking?"

Also don't mind him as he sneaked some food into his mouth from everyone's respective feasts. If they were offering, why not right?

@Morningstar | @Freyd | @Pinball | @Wulfrin | @NIGHT

Koga consumes:

• Gugnir's Shard: Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (2/6)
• T1 Rare Consumable <<Ceres>> [+2 DMG]
• T4 Meal <<Meat Bun>> [MIT III]

Koga, Lvl 33/59 | HP: 920 | EN: 126 | DMG: 23->25 | MIT: 30->75 | ACC: 5->7 | EVA: 2 | BH: 50/100 | VD: 101 | FALN: 16 | BRN: 56 | LD: 3

Mina grinned at Koga, crossing her arms as she made a comment about his sudden change in demeanor. "Well, you know what they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach," Koga replied with a grin of his own. "Don't think that's limited to just men though." Food was the way to anyone's heart, if you asked Koga.

Fast forward all of thirty seconds, and Jomei's weapon glowed like a beacon as he tore it from the giant's body, as Mina's attack engulfed the big bastard in both frost and ice. Despite their flurry of attacks burning through the boss' HP bar, taking it almost down to half in only a few moments, its attention was still in the wrong place as Oscar drew its attention with a mighty roar.

"Wow...I really should hunt with a party more often," Koga said, stretching and looking up at the health bar above the boss' head.

Suddenly all the food Koga ate before finally hit his stomach, and apparently was processed with lightning speed. Look at that, his stats went up.

@tricolor_mina | @Jomei | @Oscar

 Koga consumes:

• Potion of vicious Dragoon-Fang (DMG III)
• Potion of armoured dragon-scale (MIT III)
• Creme Brulee (ACC II)

>> Koga | HP: 910/910 | EN: 109/121 | DMG: 20->23 | MIT: 30->75 | ACC: 5->7 | EVA: 2 | BH: 46 | VAMP-D: 91 | FLN: 12 | BRN: 42 | LD: 3

What else was Koga going to do but frown at NIGHT at the mention of 'skill issue'. She wasn't exactly wrong. But she wasn't exactly right. In either case it irked him, but being such a gracious and well-mannered player, the swordsman let it go as Lilith collapsed into a crumpled corpse on the ground.

"That's it?" Koga couldn't help but question with a raised brow before he turned towards the strange man that seemed to act as Lilith's superior. There was a slight shrug before the swordsman looked towards NIGHT again and continued with their conversation. "Can't say I'm familiar with that one." For a game developer, Koga had been shockingly ignorant about many games, back in the real world. Not that that mattered to much now.

"Look at that. You managed to defeat one of my pawns. She'll come back after a little bit, but would that really be any fun?" the strange man smirked at the two players. "Hey, we're having a conversation here, do you mind?" Koga sniped at the man who frowned. "Fine then." The man snapped his fingers and-

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Koga recoiled from the now resurrected Lilith, his face twisted into a look of disgust aimed at the vampiress' new grotesque form.

"Ohhhhkay, time to go night-night," Koga said to the...thing, before slamming his katana over it's head with a burst of golden light.

"Hows that for skill issue?"

@NIGHT

A quick swish and suddenly the sound of a door slamming shut echoed through the house. Koga looked back at where Kasumi had been standing only a moment earlier, and then to his outstretched hand, now notable shirt-free. Damn, that girl was fast. "Don't worry about it," Koga said through the door, pausing just outside it to consider asking if she needed anything else. The sounds of swearing and rattling shower curtains brought that line of thinking to an abrupt halt. Best not poke the bear right now.

Instead Koga opted to go back to the kitchen, quickly washing and rinsing the dish that had served as Bacon's birdbath before placing it into the drying rack. Idleness wasn't going to help anyone at this point. Least of all them. Of course, that didn't really stop Koga's mind from running off on it's own anyways. Why did Kasumi make him feel so...nervous? Anxious? Whatever the right word was. He'd dated before, both in-game, out of game. None of this was exactly new to him, and yet...Koga glanced at the still closed bathroom door which had thankfully fallen silent since he'd turned the sink on. She did something to him that Koga couldn't describe. He wasn't sure if that should make him afraid or glad, or what. Just that it did.

Of course, what Kasumi walking out in his shirt did to him was an entirely different topic. "Its not...that bad," Kasumi said. Koga was inclined to agree. Putting aside the fact that it was comically tight on the woman, buttons threatening to snap, a hint of skin showing below the hem only bringing further attention to the fact that it was most  certainly not cut fit someone of Kasumi's figure, there was something about her standing nervously in his living room in his shirt that set the boy's blood aflame.

That lasted for all of two seconds though before a quiet snapping sound was following by a whizzing through the air. Koga's eyes tried to follow the rogue projectile as it bounced around the room, shattering a glassing, knocking over chair, until-

THWACK!

The all-too loud noise ended with Koga sprawled spread eagle on the floor, a sharp pain in his left eye, which was unable to open itself. The button, which had flown high into the air, descended and bounced off the boy's forehead. "Ow..."

Koga mad a serious consideration in that moment. Maybe it was  just better to stay here on his kitchen floor and die. The night was a complete an total wash. The party had been a disaster. Bacon had gone from the most precious of gifts to a demon-pig. Kasumi was even more embarrassed than usual, and now even his own shirt had turned against him. The gods had cursed him. Or maybe whatever budding relationship the pair had was fated to failure.

Death didn't seem so bad in comparison.

Oh, who was Koga kidding,  fuck gods, fate, and pretty much everything else that pissed him off.

He might not've been able to muster the strength or dignity  to get over being felled by a button, but at least he could speak. "I think you spoke too soon..." he said, lifting his head slightly off the floor to look at Kasumi before letting it fall back to the ground with a thunk, and put a hand to his swollen-shut eye. The slight pressure did that peculiar thing where it both sharpened and relieved the pain at the same time.

@Kasumi

"Not that-" Before Koga could finish the sentence, Kasumi had opened the storage closet, the broom someone had haphazardly thrust back into it whilst helping clean up the mess that had been the Christmas party viciously attacking her as it was freed from its cage. It tilted forward slowly and almost tapped the girl on her head. The audacity. Thankfully Kasumi managed to show it who was boss with a inelegant storm of  hands and feet before handing back to its owner sheepishly. Koga took the broom back silently, completely unsure of how to react. "Uh, that one," Koga finally settled on, pointing to the guest bathroom with the broom handle.

It wasn't long after Koga had put the broom back in the closet and the dish in the sink that he heard Kasumi, quite loudly and clearly, shout that she did not need a bath through the door. Maybe she finally saw the state of her dress, Koga thought, faint heat rushing up to his ears. Had she been wearing... The poor man had tried so hard not to look, keeping his eyes affixed to the redhead's face, but as with any young man, his eyes may have slipped a little too low on occasion. And what little he saw seemed far more daring than what he'd have expected from Kasumi.

Koga did his best to shake the imagery he'd conquered from his mind. Still, he was willing to admit he felt a bit bad. Forget what he felt or saw or didn't see, knowing Kasumi, she'd be remembering this not too fondly for...ever?

"Yes, please. Anything will do," Kasumi answered Koga's question. Instead of heading  immediately upstairs though, Koga knelt down in front of the sleeping piglet and pointed an accusatory finger at it. "You were supposed to make her happy, not embarrass her," Koga whisper-shouted at the pig, who opened one eye and closed it again. 'I'll do what I want,' it seemed to say. Okami, who had been sleeping next to the couch huffed his amusement. What else did Koga expect at this point?

It was only a quick jaunt upstairs, but actually finding something that might fit Kasumi's well-endowed figure proved to take quite a bit longer than anticipated. For one, things like oversized hoodies weren't exactly common in Aincrad, so that bygone era of an easy choice wasn't available. And on top of that, Koga wasn't much taller than the woman, and certainly with less going on in the chest area. And most of his shirts, while not form-fitting on him, were not exactly loose either, and would certain be straining themselves on Kasumi.

The best thing that Koga was able to find a dress shirt he kept for special occasions. This counted, he supposed, though not as he'd anticipated. One could only hope that Kasumi wouldn't have a heart attack.

"Welp, fuck it, it'll have to do," Koga muttered to himself, before heading downstairs. "Found something, hopefully it'll-" Kasumi stood at the foot of the staircase, holding a meager hand towel against her chest, doing her utmost to preserve whatever modesty she had. Koga, to his credit, made it a point to turn his head to the side and look up at  a corner of the ceiling, thrusting the white button-up towards the woman. "H-here...Best I could do..."

@Kasumi

"First Lessons was it?" Kasumi mused, a finger against her chin as Koga nodded. "That's the usual culprit, yup," the man confirmed, finally sinking deep into his chair with what could only be described as a great and welcome relief as the burden of entertaining was lifted from his shoulders.

The sound of porcelain miraculously not shattering on the hardwood floors drew his eyes to watch the offending platter roll almost comically on it's thin edge all the way to the dining room, beneath a chair and under the table before it took it's sweet time coming to a noisy stop. "Not really. The little  guy couldn't do more than chip damage if he tried," Koga replied carelessly. And he'd had all the time in the world anyways. Patience didn't play a part. But nonetheless, the little boar had seemed like a more fitting gift than anything else Koga could've come up with.

Of course, the loud burp and immediate snoring (seriously how did such a tiny thing make so much noise?) almost made Koga reconsider how good of a gift he was. Not to mention the-

Oh.

Oh.

Preferring more rugged clothing, the mess that Bacon had made mostly just darkened Koga's pants and shirt and with dark splotches. But Kasumi, who'd opted for a comfy looking white sweater...

"I'm gonna... go clean up," Kasumi said, having thankfully not seemed to notice the wide-eyed look (of shock, more than anything else) Koga cast her way, and set the sleeping Bacon down on the table.

"Uh, y-yeah, sure, sure." Koga abruptly stood as if to show Kasumi to wear she could clean herself up, although the actual efficacy of that... "Bathroom's right there, or you can use my bath if you need it," Koga said, pointing first to the door beneath the stairs, and then up them and slightly to the right. "Uhm, I could get you a shirt or a jacket or something outta my closet? I think something in there oughtta fit ya?" And possibly save them both from embarrassment.

@Kasumi

Someone waved in Koga's direction, drawing the raven-haired man's eyes. The swordsman recognized the much taller fellow from raids, and though they had yet to be acquainted, Koga waved back. There was only one person it could be. "Oscar, I presume?" Koga guessed, seeing as that would've been the only team member he didn't actually know. "I'm Koga," he introduced himself, offering a hand in greeting. "Mina and Jomei are our other two. Full stack of Frontliners so this should go along pretty quickly," he'd then answer, before one of the aforementioned raiders made their appearance.

Although...she looked markedly different than the last time Koga had seen her. "Mina," he greeted her with a nod. The reservation was not out of a distaste for the woman, but rather the fact he was still trying to wrap his mind around the general differences in her appearance. No matter, she brought food.

Koga eagerly scarfed the dessert down, and chased it with both potions (which did not taste as good), before grinning at her like the food-motivated idiot that he was. "Thanks, I hadn't even thought of that to be honest."

Last but not least, Jomei arrived, with his usual mirthful grin. Koga sketched out a deep, exaggerated bow in response. "For you, always," he said with a crooked grin.

"Seeing as we're all here now," Koga said, after ensuring everyone had gotten the buffs they needed. "Time to hit the big guy." It was Koga who opened up their attack, leaping impossibly high into the air to strike the titan on the head with his still sheathed sword, before falling to the ground and breaking his fall with another sword art.

@Oscar @tricolor_mina @Jomei

Koga receives:

• Potion of vicious Dragoon-Fang (DMG III)
• Potion of armoured dragon-scale (MIT III)
• Creme Brulee (ACC II)

k o g a the elder wolf Spoiler notes: none Koga, Lvl 33/59, T3 Locked | HP: 910/910 | EN: 121/121 | DMG: 20 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 2 | BH: 50 | VAMP-D: 100 | FLN: 12 | BRN: 42 | LD: 3   equipped battle-ready inventory Tsuki no Hikari | Demonic T4 Katana | CRSD, BRN, FALN II Shuku-ro Coat | Demonic T4 Light Armor | EVA II, VAMP-D II Kashira Cable - Wolf | Perfect T1 Trinket | ACC III None   skills Spoiler | UTILITY Gathering: Fishing I | Successfully forage for materials on a LD 14+ | 42/49 EXP  Searching III | Passive | +1 LD per rank. +1 to Stealth Detection per rank. | 14 SP Night Vision | Passive | Ignores any penalties from low light or darkness. Negates the bonus Stealth Rating from low light or darkness. | 3 SP | COMBAT Combat Shift: Single Target | Passive | For the following Sword Arts, +3 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; ST-I, ST-II, ST-B. No other Shifts may be taken. | 10 SP Mastery: Damage III | Passive | Gain 1 * Tier Damage per rank | 13 SP Battle Healing V | Passive | Recover 5% (rounded down) of your maximum HP at the start of your turn | 30 SP Emergency Recovery | When non-fatal damage would leave you with 25% or less of your maximum HP, recover 10% of your maximum HP after the attack resolves. Effect cannot occur more than once per thread.  When activated if the player has lower than 10 energy remaining, simply reduce the player's energy to 0. | 6 SP 10 EN Energist | Passive | Increase Base Energy by 5 * Tier | 8 SP Charge | Action | Perform a single attack/Sword Art with +3 base damage. Charge attacks have a -1 Accuracy debuff and cannot be affected by any auto-hit effects. | 10 SP 2 EN * Tier, Cooldown: 3 Posts Howl | Action | Adds +2 Hate each against up to 4 targets. | 10 SP 2 EN, Cooldown: 2 posts Focused Howl | Action | Adds +4 Hate against a single target. | 5 SP 4 EN, Cooldown: 4 Posts | WEAPON Katana V | Passive | +7 DMG when equipped with a Katana | 30 SP Stamina | Passive | Reduces the energy of all Katana attacks by 2 EN | 4 SP Precision | Passive | Gain +1 ACC. | 2 SP Ferocity | Passive | +2 DMG when using Katana Sword Arts | 4 SP | ARMOR Light Armor V | Passive | +30 MIT when equipped with Light Armor, -2 Stealth | 30 SP Meticulous | Passive | +1 DMG when equipped with Light Armor | 4 SP Resolve | Passive | +1 ACC and +10 * Tier HP when equipped with Light Armor | 6 SP | EXTRAS Familiar Master: Rending | Free Action | You and your familiar attack in tandem, applying Rend [7*tier unmitigatable damage] to the target that lasts for two turns. | 10 SP Cooldown: 5 Turns Survival | Passive | Increases Healing effects received from all sources by 10%. Grants immunity to all damage dealing environmental attacks/effects. | 0 SP Parry | Action | Apply the energy cost upon proc, not activation. Reduces the final damage of the next successful attack against you by 50% (rounded down) and negates stun/paralysis effects of that attack. If hit by multiple attacks, only apply parry to the first attack against you. Parry lasts for three turns. Cooldown starts when the player activates the Skill. If the player is hit when using Parry, the cooldown is reset to 3 turns. | 10 SP 9 EN, Cooldown: 3 Turns Vengeful Riposte | Passive | A successful Parry also returns 50% (rounded down) of the raw damage that would be dealt to you back to your opponent. The reflected damage can be mitigated by the opponent. | 6 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Justified Riposte |  Passive | A successful Parry also stuns the target for 1 turn. | 5 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Frozen Hide | Free Action | As a free action, apply one slot of Frost Aura and one slot of Frost Thorns equal to your tier to yourself until the start of your next turn. | 0 SP 5 EN, Cooldown: 4 Turns Lady Luck | Free Action | Replace a single enhancement slot on your weapon with a random enhancement using the Appraiser’s Identification roll until the start of your next turn. | 0 SP 5 EN, Cooldown: 5 Turns Meditation | Action | Recover an additional (4 * Tier) energy. Cooldown: 3 Turns buffs Spoiler | PARAGON REWARDS Lv. 5 | Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to Looting | BUFFS <<Well Rested>> | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. <<Squeaky Clean>> | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). <<Filling>> | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. <<Item Stash>> | +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot <<Tasty>> | Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. <<Relaxed>> | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. <<Multipurpose>> | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll. <<Practiced Angler>> | +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts.

Another Floor Boss, another round of farming. Koga couldn't exactly say it was something he was ecstatic about, farming for the consumables needed always became a chore, but it would be good for the swordsman to get out and stretch his legs again for a bit. Shake off the rust before they all went off to face what might very well be their deaths.

Such was life in Aincrad.

Koga approached the whole affair with his usual air of nonchalance, and would continue to do so until that red day dawned. In the meantime though, he and a few other players gathered on Floor Nineteen. Of the other three joining him today, Koga was acquainted with two, Mina and Jomei. The other, Oscar, was a known quantity at least. Seasoned veterans all of them, which hopefully meant this would be over quickly.

One by one, they each appeared, and Koga greeted them as they arrived, the boss looming over them placidly, unaware of its impending doom. "Alright, everyone set to go?" Koga asked once everyone had gathered and gone through the whole 'good to see you' ordeal.

@tricolor_mina @Jomei @Oscar

Item Name: A Really Sharp Knife
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 8
Roll ID: 223928 + 223929
Roll Result: N/A
Item Type: Dagger
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: DMG III
Description: It's really sharp. Really.
Post Link: 

Item Name: Barely Qualifies as Armor
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 8
Roll ID: 223927
Roll Result: nat11 +1
Item Type: Light Armor
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: EVA II | MIT I
Description: ...Who let this get through QA?
Post Link: 

Item Name: Stick 'Em With the Pointy End
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 8
Roll ID: 223933
Roll Result: nat12
Item Type: Straight Sword
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: DMG III
Description: This end towards enemy.
Post Link: 

Item Name: This is Just Arm(or)
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 8
Roll ID: 223932
Roll Result: nat11 +1
Item Type: Dagger
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: MIT II | Taunt
Description: At least your arm is safe!
Post Link: 

Sometimes Koga just had a feeling. Things he knew he needed to craft. Those feelings definitely did not come from a mysterious 'Writer' who had other goals. Okay, maybe they did, but at least the writer had mostly good intentions for the man, and his compatriots, all trapped in this death-game. It had been...far too long since Koga lit the fires of his forge, but nonetheless he stoked the flame with practiced ease and picked up his hammer. The weight of familiar, he almost thoughtlessly tossed it between his hands as he went over to the dusty pile of materials he had stacked somewhat neatly in the corner. Of course, some of them would fall over, as was customary, and the blacksmith would grumble as he picked them up and reorganized them. Hopefully it was a worthy sacrifice to the RNG gods that all players knew ruled their lives. Fires blazing, hammer in hand, Koga set to work, hoping his skills had not yet waned.

Almost like it was pre-ordained, a green-haired player strode into the shop the next day and made an order...which Koga happened to have perfectly filled out the day before.

Koga gifts A Really Sharp Knife to Caliburn
Koga gifts Barely Qualifies As Armor to Caliburn
Koga gifts Stick 'Em With The Pointy End to Caliburn
Koga gifts This Is Just Arm(or) to Caliburn

Skill(s) Being Dropped: Martial Arts I
Mod(s)/Addon(s)/Shift(s) Being Dropped: None
SP Incurred Towards Limit: N/A I think?
SP Refunded: 4
Cost: 4000

"No, no, not that," Koga said as he swung again at the demoness, his blade flashing by and slicing nothing but air before striking the ground at NIGHT's feet. Cracks spider-webbed across it's surface as it cracked, and Lilith, mockingly, smirked at him. "Stop moving around so much," the black-clad swordsman growled at her.

"I mean the spinny, dive thingy. Isn't that a move from an old game. Like a dragoon thing?" Koga carried on, slowly walking around Lilith to be at her backside, putting the demoness between the two players. Maybe if she could only focus on one of them, her exposed rear would be easier for Koga to strike. Or maybe the dice of Fate just hated him, and his writer had the worst luck in the world. Either way, Koga lazily twirled his sword as he found his place on the other side of Lilith. "Hot grey haired lady. Probably came from stuff earlier, but that's the one I remember."

@NIGHT