ChaseR

If anything, Chase showed the same confusion when he heard that Bast was confused. "... I thought it'd put her more at ease. She was looking at me weird.", he mumbled to himself and let out a sigh, deciding that the props weren't hurting him any. It's not like he was going to be in any long or arduous combat. The lass he was helping out seemed to be pleasant enough, but he was here to help her grow in levels. A friendship wouldn't hurt, but it wasn't his main goal.

 "Right. This way.", he quietly began to lead the way, stepping out into the fields and opening his floor map to look through it. If he recalled correctly, it was somewhere before the second settlement where the woods got deeper- in some form of a cave in the ground? It was an odd place for sure, but... that's how it was in every game, right? "You were looking for someone to quest. What level are you? Did you get to here alone?", he tried to start a conversation, managing to throw the questions once after the other with the grace of a llama. "I know the start can be a bit tough when you're alone.". That was as much as he'd say as he began to realise he might have been rambling too much, and if it didn't make her uncomfortable, it did him. To think that even after all this time, he was still rough with words on the first encounter with someone was funny, honestly.

After wrapping everything up from his shop, having given his two comrades the armors that would help boost them to the upper floors, Chase decided to head on over to the teleport plaza of the first floor. That was of course, when he found the request that someone had posted. And at the end, was their name. A name that... holy fuck. "... Guess getting a workout won't hurt. It's just the dragon too. I should... probably not do too much to it.", he nodded to himself and looked behind him, where the entrance to the fields laid. Best start getting going.

Not even two minutes later, he was awkwardly standing in the distance, staring down with a black panther. "...", complete, utter, silence. He opened his inventory, looking through the full list of items and finding exactly what he needed- within seconds, a blue light above his head and the light blue cat ears he'd made to pair up with NIGHT emerged atop his head. Properly clipped onto his hair, these... Uh. Will they help? Chase quietly approached Nepthafthys or whatever her name was, standing before her and not even bothering saying her name. "I'm Chase. I saw your request. Uh. Can I call you Nep? I can't pronounce the full thing.". It was around then that it hit him; what a bozo he looked like. The atmosphere just got tenser for him, but maybe the lass before him would feel more at ease with... whatever the blue mess was, right now. "You wanted to kill the dragon. I know where it is.", he tried to continue with a nod, placing a hand on the hilt of the sword that was hanging by his left hip. A sword that was broken to something less than half what it should be, and made out of stone to boot.

Yeah, Are was already onto him so no point in trying to pretend that he knew what exactly DoTs were. With a shake of his head, he answered before diving right towards the behemoth of a monster before them. "... I-I've forgotten. Only heard it once before from NIGHT.". And like so, he was just a lunge away from attacking the boss. And what a lunge it was- a high jump and he raised his sword into the air, managing to grab the monster's attention and failing horribly at his attempt to attack it from the shadows.

A slash from the King that tried to swat him out of the air, but all he managed was to provide a better weak point. Chase's blade began to grow a bright green and slashing right through the monster, the combat had begun. Chase hadn't managed to get hit at all the last time they were fighting this hunk of bones and rotten flesh, but he knew already that something was off. He couldn't be afflicted with anything, no matter what, and that was already danger enough for everyone around. "You're up Are! Name's Chase.", he told him while he'd hogged the monster's attention, running around it to get its attention away from where he'd come from. That left Itzal a fairly large blind spot to attack, where the monster would fail to detect him almost certainly.

The fight raged on. That left Chase with little choices but to keep up the pressure. Every time the players' attacks landed on the boss, they got a step closer to finishing this battle and getting out of there, safe and sound as they were- for now. Another Shadow Horror emerged to assault Mac, and if Chase could pay any attention to the rest, he'd see the same, as well as players being bound by shackles. What the hell was this?

"We're close to killing it. The faster we do, the less trouble Mac will be in. We just have to pick up the pace.", he thought in the back of his head and began to charge the boss once more, feeling his sword get heavier. Was his Holy effect triggering? The light began to surround his blade and filled the rest of his form, until it dissipated at the very last second and resulted in yet another standard attack. The one time that the boss was fully made of darkness, the stupid light decided to stop working. How predictable. "Mac, are you holding up?"

All that Chase could give in return was a nod. The lack of a name bothered him, but there was nothing he could really do about it in the end. "Right. Your weapon's a..?", he asked with a hint of confusion, but that's not even where most of it came from. If anything, it had been so long that he'd completely forgotten what DoT stood for- only NIGHT had used it once before, so how was he even meant to remember? He had to note it down somewhere this time.

"So you mostly use stuns and paralyses? Since he's immune.", he tried to guess, completely missing the mark on the definition of DoTs. There was only so much he could figure out as someone playing his first game, even this far in. He was mostly alone or with the rogue, so he didn't get to see too many different playstyles. He was just glad Shay chose this one for him, and it fit like a glove. "I can try to surprise attack it as well though. Just never tried the skill before so don't expect much.". If only this was modesty and not an awkward confession. He quietly opened his menu and looked at his Surprise Attack (Assassin) skill, staring it down as if something would happen. "I'll keep you safe, so just chip away at him.", he instructed his unnamed partner, letting out a groan and trying his best to blend in with the environment around them.

Although he did a sloppy job, it was better than a job not done at all. Now to hope that the towering giant moving around the cave system was going to be just blind enough to keep Chase out of his sights. "Ready whenever you are.", he gave the signal to Itzal, silently waiting to begin the assault on the field boss.

@Itzal

Chase was ready to go right in. With a deep sigh, he unsheathed his broken, stone sword, looking at the runes by its side. And then he heard a voice from next to him- no, behind him? He quietly jumped to the side and pointed it right to the new arrival, quietly looking at him before lowering it. He didn't seem to have an orange crystal, so unless he'd finished Redemption and planned to remove all that effort... Hmph.

"... I've done it already but there is a drop, yeah.", he quietly muttered and looked at the special meal that he'd packed up just moments ago, letting out a groan. He opened his menu and forwarded a party invite to whoever this guy was, certain that he'd seen him at some point. Back when he met Zandra and Haine outside of that weird dungeon in the middle of nowhere, right? "We'll do better together than alone.", he quietly added and threw a piece of the meal towards him, wrapped up in what seemed to be like a paper towel. "Eat up. Not sure how much you'll like it but it's a buff.". If anything, he was remaining true to his self and keeping small with words and bigger with actions. Ah, right. Zandra's half truth, right? "I saw you with Zandra back then. What level are you?", he questioned the hooded man before opening his own menu and flipping it so that Itzal could see it clearly. 83 was already a good number, but not as high as his, just barely so.

"I know you're at least my tier.", he mumbled lowly and looked down at Blizz, who climbed up the boy's pants with his claws and ended up somewhere on his shoulder, trying not to roll off with his round form and whatnot. He wasn't unwelcoming of the vigilante, but he seemed to be wary if anything. Chase took another consumable on a whim, starting to munch down on the literal bunch of bananas that quickly disappeared.

[ChaseR uses Bunch of Bananas! (+2 PROT)]
ChaseR: HP: 1690/1690 | EN: 166/166 | DMG: 25 | MIT: 58 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 84 | V.(DEF): 84 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5

@Itzal

It had been a while and if anything, Chase was trying to spend his time making his day better, not worse. He got the message and opened it right away, as soon as he realised it was from Mari. Reading through it, it was... well, enough to make him smile a bit and relax for once. He told her not to, but the fact she still did meant a fair bit. He agreed though. They seemed to have some catching up to do after all this mess.

With his company noticing that he was a tad bit distracted, he gave a low chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, uh. Just a sec.". He quickly opened up his inbox and began to type away. By the time that he was done, he sent the message with no second thoughts and got back to getting his mind off of whatever had just happened a few hours prior. No need to stick to bad memories, especially when he was sitting with two of the people in Aincrad he felt safest with. The third would probably be Mari, right there with Shay as a close fourth.

"Although I'm more of on a 'break' now lately, I can give you a hand. Tell me wehn you need me." - ChaseR
@Valentine

The modesty was appreciated, and although Chase wasn't used to giving gifts to just about anyone and last time ended up in NIGHT lashing out on him for being too pushy, he wanted to at least explain his position. Once they were all out of the arena, the group came to a halt outside of the Colloseum, and the bluehead turned back to the other two. "If I could use the item, I'd just let you turn me down- but you're using crafted armor right now, right? I've plenty that'd do you more favors, even if with a few alterations."

"I'd show you them right now, but I don't want anybody to overhear. Wanna head on to the shop and I can give you your options there. It's even more unnecessary for me to keep the armors I won't use either way though.", he tried to calm Koga down and make him accept the offer after all, especially hence he didn't need any items he had right now. Sure, he could... well, change into them, but that was more of a secondary thing he never had to do up to now. And he'd completed most quests. Unless a boss fight required him to, keeping these around instead of giving them to people he knows will get the job done was unnecessary. "Your choice, but you'll be doing me more good than bad staying safer and catching up to me faster.". He then turned to Alkor. The reason he hadn't responded was because by the looks of it, the two were on the same page. "I think you'll like yours. You better catch up fast though."

@Alkor

A good drop would help him get past any obstacle. He wouldn't replace his sword, because broken as it may be, its full form was enough to beat anything into a pulp with no more than a hit most of the time. The only exceptions were bosses, like this one. It wasn't the first time he was going to be fighting the King, and if things got horribly awful, he could always just pull out with a teleport crystal. Nothing to be scared or worried about.

"It should have been around here.", he grumbled lowly to himself as his armored familiar looked around, croaking softly. "I saw him come this way. Don't sweat it much Blizz. Worst case, I'll hand Alkor or someone else the drop and help them catch up to me faster.", he tried to reassure his pangolin, taking out food from his inventory and quietly beginning to eat up. He'd need all the buffs he could get if he was going to do this the way he worked best if it weren't for NIGHT- solo. He downed Bistro's potion, opened up the special meal that Sven had packed and kept a few more pieces for later, as well as a few more munchies that he'd bought from the blonde swindler. As soon as he was done, he let out a deep breath and kept on looking around, seeing noone but himself, and the King's towering figure in the distance. A nasty opponent according to his last encounter, but being hit was the least of Chase's problems. If there was one thing he was best at, it was being agile. That much he could do, with or without friends. Then, it just became a battle of will. And he definitely had what it took to beat down a mummy with a crown.

"Let's get closer to it before attacking, Blizz.", he advised his familiar and began to walk towards the boss, quiet in his footsteps to not grab its attention and crouched over. Nothing that was hard to see though. If anything, he was sticking out like a sore thumb to anyone not tall enough to completely miss whatever was sneaking behind the boulders tossed around. Probably fallen from the caves' ceiling. Thankfully, Chase was familiar with the environment. There was a pretty good reason he chose this place of all to build his house, if not for how comfortable he felt moving about in this environment.

[ChaseR uses Mega Slime Farm! (+2 SP)]
[ChaseR uses Liquor of Light! (+3 DMG)]
[ChaseR uses Chocolate Beans! (+2 ACC)]
[ChaseR uses T3 Roast Chestnuts! (+45 MIT)]
[ChaseR deploys Chase's Meal Special feast! (+2 EVA, 5 charges remaining)]
[ChaseR uses Filling on Chase's Meal Special! (+1 EVA)]

ChaseR: HP: 1690/1690 | EN: 166/166 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 88 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 84 | V.(DEF): 84 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5
@Itzal

And with Koga giving him the signal, Chase dove right in with his sword ready to slash, running right towards the monster who was about to start its assault as well. A skid to the side to dodge being rammed by the rhino's horn clean in the stomach, and with a slash to its side, Chase landed back on the ground as the beast fell on its side and shattered into crystals.

The crowd began to roar once more with excitement, as Chase glanced around and looked at his teammates with the faintest of smiles, giving a nod and sheathing his weapon. This seemed like a job well done. Before he forgot though, maybe it'd be about time to get to the main offer he wanted to make the other two. Approaching them, he stuck both of his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. "Yo. I've been wanting to give you an item Alk. I can find something for you too, Koga. I keep them at my shop, I've plenty of uniques laying about. They'll help you out when leveling. I don't want Col or anything in exchange. Guess that's my way of 'making it up to you' for leaving you alone in the fifth."

@Alkor

And the battle raged on. Through the complete chaos of tendrils flying left and right, some were bound down by the boss, others were facing the Horrors, and everybody else was giving it their all. That counted their newfound ally in Orgoth, who was cleaving away at the Shadow. Chase wouldn't let up either. This time, no missing.

He tightened his grip, hoping that his sword's holy attribute would kick in- if there was any time that stupid blinding light was necessary, it was now. But to no avail. He wouldn't count on his sword to do the work for him regardless. He still had his body, his strength, all his effort working up to this moment and the many others that would come. He had to keep his play up to speed. And so he did; with a swift dash right towards the Shadow, he slashed diagonally towards his form before landing two more hits back to back, almost in a star shape and then returning to his party. With a quick look to everyone's health, most seemed to be full. The ones that weren't, he wasn't really sure where they were amidst the chaos. "Keep holding the monster busy Mac. We're bringing him down."

It wasn't like he'd been grinding that much... This was his first game and it wasn't that much of a 'game' in the first place, so Chase was eager to dive into any quests he could. And that's what he'd done. "Past few days been lazy.", he plainly responded to Alkor, and it was true. He'd fought little and rested lots because of the whole feud with the guild... Blegh. Back to the fight- his name was being called.

He changed the grip on his short blade, quickly clenching his hands both tightly around it as he began to charge right in. A white light began to form what seemed like a much longer, sharper blade over the broken remains of the one in his hands, trying its best to flash bright and maintain its form. But just before the strike landed, the light dispersed and the broken blade landed instead, managing to still deal a hefty chunk to the beast- although somewhat misguided with his now lighter blade being held with both hands. The stun wore off the rhino who turned to face Chase and with a roar, its eyes began to glow red and its horn seemed a tiny bit sharper. "It's on its last legs, go. You're both pretty capable, by the way.", the boy tried to warm up to Koga, not so much because of pity but because he liked keeping things straight. He'd met a lot more dysfunctional people that he could fight with. Better not bring up any names.

Chase quietly looked at Alkor's fistbump for a few seconds before returning it, unsure what to do until that moment. With the gameplan now agreed upon and the rhino waiting for them in the arena, the bluehead thought to stretch his offer to the both of them, one in the back of his mind, but... not much confidence doing so. Maybe after the fight was over. "Ready. I've finished every quest by the way, Alkor."

Once all of them had agreed, they got into the arena after preparing and loud went the crowd, cheering as Piasuhon was released into the pit against the three of them. Chase quietly looked over his shoulder at the other two, starting to feel a bit embarrassed. If he wanted them unharmed though, it wasn't like he had any other options... Blegh. "I've had a rough day too. Ugh. D-Don't laugh. That's it.", he awkwardly blurted out and looked at the rhino, coughing to clear his throat. He stretched his head and arms a bit, watching the rhino charge straight at them and clearing his throat before he tried to... howl... Oh boy. If he managed anything with it other than embarrassing himself, he got the attention of the monster, who tried to ram him in. And with a swift jump to the side, he dodged the attack and let him run behind the group into the wall, failing to damage it and turning around, ready to assault the players once more. The one with the blue hair was his next pick- just like now. "Hit it, go."

@Alkor

With a deep sigh, silence took over. Chase eventually turned to the side to look at Ozwald, before back towards the stairs they were meant to go up. Repetitive as it was, everything was eventually going to come to an end- quite soon too, maybe even sooner than they originally thought. "This has been somewhat uneventful. I'm sure the next floors have something more interesting in line for us though.", he tried to shake that feeling of boredom off, closing his eyes and leaning his head back on the wall for a moment.

"There should be... One left, and then whatever's at the very top. Right?", he turned to the side and checked in with Ozwald, sure that he must have been paying more attention. Because if anything, Chase just charged in, annihilated whatever he saw with the help of the brawler and then charged right into the next floor to do the exact same. "I'm starting to think I overprepared and that's bogging down the whole thing.", he mumbled lowly to himself and responded with a shrug, scratching the back of his head. "What's your plans after we're done with this either way? I'm not sure what I'll be doing."

It had been a fair while since Chase last talked with Alkor, but here he was, being messaged by him shortly after he left NIGHT's house to go back home and relax. Maybe he had one more trip on his way to home, a short and quick one. The Rhino again? The first time he did it, he was with Freyd and had no issue beating it about. The second one, he carried the newbies through it. He didn't see why Koga and Alkor would be any more effort, those two knew what they were doing as well.

It took him a while, but eventually, Chase showed up not too long after Koga had. He was met with both familiar faces, where one had left off rather gloomy after talking about his rather sad past, and the other just vanished out of nowhere- same could be said for the bluehead from Koga's perspective though. "Yo. It's been a while. And Koga. You good? I remember you disappearing when we were helping out Ali.", the boy casually approached the two and greeted them, stretching and fully geared up. His broken stone sword was by his left hip, hanging from the belt, and his azure overcoat was on as it always had been- as long as he knew those two at least. "Alkor, you said you wanted to do the rhino? You two won't need any buffs, as long as you let it hit me. Wear it down and we'll be done in no time.", he reassured his friend with a small smile, seeing Koga rather upset and deciding not to say much else.

@Alkor

The fight continued to rage on, only getting wilder as Orgoth made his move against his until-recently puppeteer, hitting him hard and even cleaving part of his defenses off. The perfect opportunity for the bluehead to strike. He began to run right towards the titanic shadow, charging for the strongest hit he could muster.

All of a sudden, one of these monsters shows up and begins to attack Hidden, causing Chase to stop dead in his tracks, and with him, stopped all of his built up momentum. Mac ended up howling, and grabbing its attention, before telling them to attack. If it weren't for everybody else running at the boss to beat him down, Chase would join once more, but his sword art had completely failed, interrupted by none other than its wielder. A fail on this attack. He began to move back close to his party, keeping an eye on this hellspawn that the Shadow made emerge. "Are you sure you got that one Mac?"

The boy listened to the two talk with a small grin, nodding his head. He was somewhat confused when the two just exchanged glances before speaking about the fourth, and then came talk of moving to the higher floors. "Your shop actually gets people? L-Like, mine doesn't at all so I thought artisans were just sorta... Y'know, done for? I don't know, you make two or three trinkets and then people are done buying them, right?"

Leaning forward and grabbing another piece of the sushi, he gave another nod in agreement with himself. "Mhm, I can't remember last I got someone... A-Although I don't tend to frequent around my shop all that much now that I'm thinking about it... Maybe if you make it in the safezone in the 24th more people will come, think about it~? It wouldn't hurt to have a nice view, would it?", Chase asked with a small smile, looking at DAY once more and then back at NIGHT. Honestly, a small break like this might have been exactly what he needed. If anything, maybe it had hurt him to have been sitting all alone in the same house for so long, with so little to do but read up on all the compiled knowledge in his database of a library. And that actually reminded him- he began to look through his inventory, before making a small cardboard box appear. "I just remembered, easter candy? We never started the real feast, right? DAY, you'll wanna try these, they're very nice.", he pushed the box slightly closer to her and grinned, looking outside the window before back at the duo and taking a handful of the sweets for himself. "... I'm glad I've met you two."

While on one hand it was entertaining to watch the two, and if there was anyone that Chase could say felt very homey to him it would be DAY, he did feel somewhat put off by how she joked at NIGHT's expense- and it seemed to bother NIGHT that much more too as she went on and on. "H-Hey, come on, be kinder to NIGHT~..."

Before he knew it, the two were already spitting little comments back and forth and then DAY asked him directly again. Destinations though? Chase had been on a wild trip the past however many weeks around Aincrad finishing every mission there was to finish, but hell if he knew any good places to go visit. He could only talk about what left him most impressed compared to everything else. "Well, uh... The twenty first is very nice. It's a cave, but I made my home there because it's both cold and bright. It has these crystals with some very good looking lights that make it feel like it's not real. I-It's not but you know.", he nodded to himself quietly, coughing dryly and trying to crank out some more floors that left quite an impression on him if anything. "Other than that, um. The fourth is very cool, with all the snow it has and whatnot? I like snow so... It looks nice. It has this very uh... cool forest. With pine trees..? I think... I-It's got a lot of snow."... Maybe trying to sell any areas wasn't his strong suit. Perhaps this is why he didn't enjoy running a shop this much after all?

"The... I think twenty fourth? It looks nice. It has these floating islands that shouldn't be able to exist and they're connected with land bridges. It just looks incredible, one could be the town and the one right after is a forest or a small lake on the island? I love them. I met a nice NPC there too. A traitor, but he sounded remorseful. W-Well, not remorseful uh... He didn't... He had his moral code. He knew what he was doing was wrong though.". By this point, he kept nervously exchanging glances between the two, hoping that he didn't lose them during his rather drawn out and poorly put together explanations. The things of note were still there as ever though; the 21st's cave system, the 4th's snowy terrain and the 24th's bridged islands.

Chase quietly looked at the sushi upon being told to just use his hands, giving it an intense stare for a bit. "G-Guess I am a caveman after all... More like a house cat..? D-Don't say that to NIGHT. She'd kill me.", he rambled internally for a bit, hearing DAY agree to his proposal and reaching for the nigiri before swallowing it whole and chewing slowly, warily. It... didn't taste bad after all, huh.

NIGHT's words completely few over his mind as he began to hear the gemini talk about Japan. "H-How the fuck do you know about countries outside of Aincrad? You haven't even been...", he lowly muttered to himself before she finally added that she'd read it. And then he heard his host, looking to the side and giving a small smile and thumbs up. "I don't want to risk DAY's safety, I promise I'll take care of her... although I think I'm the one being cared for in the end...", he tried to reassure his friend for himself before hearing another question directed at him. "Oh, er... Maybe another day. It's been very long right now, y-yeah.", he nodded his head and leaned in to grab another piece of nigiri, stuffing it in his mouth again and laying back on the couch. "So what do you two do to relax and all? You do something together, right? Since you're... housemates? No?", the bluehead did his best to try and keep the conversation going, unsure if it was even interesting; at the very least it was. 

"I've these hot springs near my house and I sit there sometimes, or I just take walks around the caves. Monsters can spawn but... They're not strong enough to be a threat and they don't ever even try to attack us- well, me. I've also got a small farm with slimes at the back of my house that's fun to look at. The blobs that jump around and bounce all over the place?"

What DAY was saying was right. He wasn't sure about NIGHT but she was a higher level than him- probably even now, if just barely. Even if she wasn't, she was much better trained with the blade than he was, and actually used it conventionally. Unlike his broken one, she still used a two handed sword. That's when he got a bit of an idea though.

"... What's this made out of?", Chase awkwardly blurted as he gave a rather intense stare at the meal, scouting the platter for a pair of chopsticks to use. If she was using chopsticks, so would he- he wasn't a caveman. "I think I remember how to use chopsticks.", he nodded to himself, shaking his head to take that stupid look off his face as he turned to the side at DAY. "Say, if you can't miss, DAY. Can you train me? You use two handeds just as NIGHT and I do, so... Can you teach me a few things?", he asked quietly. There was nothing he needed to be taught as far as he knew, but he would definitely appreciate being able to study someone else's moves and see just how well he could bastardize them into his own. With his blade usually being lighter than all other two handed ones, he'd be able to move faster. That's what he relied for with his build though. "If you move like NIGHT and fight like her, it's for the best to train with you if you can't miss."

And now that his proposal, or rather request, was on the table, he turned back to NIGHT, hoping she wouldn't be fuming as his lack of any culture. Just like back then with the pasta shop or what was it... 'ramen', right. "Is this related to rayman- rai-men... rai-men. Is this related to it at all?"

Silence for a bit as he processed what NIGHT had proposed, but... it wasn't long before a sigh sounded. He laid back on the couch once more, closing his eyes and trying his best to calm himself down. "... Sorry I've gotten you in this mess.", he huffed and raised a hand to pinch his nose bridge again, remaining quiet. Even in this digital body, all he could hear was his heart racing.

"... I won't let him get to you too. Both.", he tried to reassure the two sitting on the other side of the room, trying to relax and soothe his nerves. "I really don't know what I'd do without you.", he opened his eyes again and quietly exchanged glasses with the ceiling, keeping them half shut out of drowsiness. This was really one way to wear oneself out, wasn't it? Now the people he could talk with were genuinely much too few. Shay? She was gone. Yuki? ... Sure. NIGHT, DAY and Mari would be there. Grimm? He was part of the damned guild, so... Could he really rely on him? People he didn't expect to turned their back on Chase right now, so there were little ways to be aware. As far as he was concerned, anybody from Firm Anima he didn't know trusted him was now better off left alone. What a complete mess.

"Have you trained at all? I spent most days at home trying to relax from this great bonzana, but... Seems now it's finally over. I might take a few more.", he tried to switch the topic, although the growl under his voice remained for a bit. It'd take a bit of time for his anger to wear off, probably.

All four people at the hearing just so happened to be the same four with no changed opinions- Chase himself, Rai, Gaius and Eruda. And the worst part was that the other three just didn't make a 'sound judgement' even having heard what happened in full. "... The three at the hearing with me all think the same Freyd does. That I did something wrong. If that many people are definite, the rest of the guild won't listen.", he huffed and raised a hand to pinch his nose bridge.

"That's a good question nobody can answer.", he said tiredly and waved his hand dismissively, knowing it wasn't worth even thinking about them at this point. It was a mess that they devolved into what it was. And then NIGHT stopped, sounding... bothered. "What's-", he raised his head and as soon as he began reading, his eyes fixed on the name. The same look as back then came on, and he remained quiet. It was around then that his ears were also what felt like bombarded with that all too familiar 'Freyd'. He glared at the window quietly, his eyes losing focus for a bit. What was it, a minute of complete silence? Maybe it was a few seconds, but it felt like much longer to the bluehead. "...", Chase lowered his eyes to the floor again, leaning forwards and resting his elbows on his knees as he weaved his fingers together once more, wearing the same look. "... I'm the problem. Nice one Raidou.", he mumbled with venom coating every single word he spoke, averting his gaze to NIGHT. "... So now what do we do about 'the problem'?"

Oops, it... seemed like there was a small misunderstanding. He opened his eyes again and shook his head, scratching its back and looking up at the ceiling. "N-No, no literal brainwashing... I just... don't get it. I love you, DAY and Ma like family. I know you don't want to hurt me and that you care for me. That's why I'd do anything to keep you safe. How can these idiots do the same for people they barely know? Knowing especially that they're pulling shit like this. He told the whole guild I assaulted him, and they listened to him... Is this fucking grade school or what? There's no reason for them to-"

Silence for a moment as he frowned and realised he wasn't doing himself any favors, as much as he wanted to keep self-restraint. "... Sorry. I just don't get it. Fuck I'll sound petty. Just... Why me? Why is it this important I become dangerous? I don't get why everybody wants me to be the villain. I told them again and again but nobody would have to 'suffer consequences', me neither. Forgetting that I was the one talked about in front of everyone, while the hearing I was invited to was me, Gaius, Eruda and Raidou. And Raidou told me that it's 'my responsibility' to tell his guild about my version of the story, the story that shouldn't even be one in the first place. He began to say that I demand stuff from the weaker ones that I protect and that I'm sorely mistaken for thinking they owe me something, which... You know that's not how I work. You've seen me, that's just not me. They kept hearing what they wanted to hear...". If there was one word for Chase's current mood, even he wouldn't be able to tell. Confusion? Disappointment? Fear for what was to come? A mix of all of the above.

"I've always thought that if I took the lead, I'd be able to protect others. I don't know how that makes me the dangerous one. How I'm the menace that used to lure among them when I've been poisoned, paralyzed and threatened on their behalf. I just don't get it. It... Just doesn't make sense. You understand what I mean?", he finally raised his eyes from the floor and looked at NIGHT like a scolded puppy, letting out a deep sigh and laying back on the couch again wearily. "And now, they're up Ma's case because they don't respect jack shit. I'm sure that's what's up. Raidou said 'Mari deserves to rest' but I know just how much he meant it."

The uncomfortable predicament that he had put her in wasn't really to his liking, but there was little he could do to change what he just said- she snapped out of it almost right away after all. "They didn't want to change jack, no. Raidou told me to not be surprised when he'd 'come to my rescue'. Because me and you are not unstoppable enough. Same to you DAY, you're... genuinely amazing. I can share with you, but uh. Give me a bit. O-Or actually, here, you take it.", he grumbled and opened up his menu, letting the record crystal appear and almost throwing it towards DAY before stopping himself.

"Eh, here.", he quietly sat up and offered it to DAY, seeming almost happy that he was going to rid himself of this stupid crystal. As if anything would change even if they heard anything. Then came the incident for Bistro. Chase's hand almost instinctively reached for his sword, but other than it not being there, he calmed down once he heard they were 'cleared right through'. For a moment, he thought she'd been coerced into giving all her materials away. "Internal conflict? With those sheep? Freyd does whatever he wants and gets away with it because noone is human enough to even stand up to him. He even threw Ma into this whole mess again. I left because they wouldn't listen. Eruda calls me yet Raidou and Gaius show up, of which only Raidou speaks. I even ask the other two and nothing, I'm worth silence and little else apparently. Katoka threatened to slice my head off because I told her to be careful of Freyd, but it's fine. Because everyone is going through tough times. But it's not fine when I am, since I'm not a sheep like the rest in Firm Anima. Freyd won't be punished either- but my reputation was fucked over already. Raidou won't do anything to fix it. They ignored everything I said and even Gaius, who was with me, ended up shaking his head or some shit. Bunch of hypocrites. I don't know what sort of brainwashing shit they do there, but I don't like the guild at all.", he ranted a bit, although it would prove little effective in giving a clear image of what had happened on the hearing.

And then, his eyes flared up as he looked at NIGHT. "... Who bought out Bistro's shop? Because Raidou is already an alchemist, and their guild vault is always stacked. It couldn't have been a newbie because it must have been costly. So who was it?", he quietly asked her with his weary look slowly transforming into a glare again, clenching a fist. He knew just the guy to pin the blame on, but... Mari said to not let feelings get the better of him. He shouldn't. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and put a hand on his temples, exhaling. It wasn't hard to see just how worn out he felt from all of this, being so on the edge and defensive about anything to do with the guild. It'd taken a toll on him and it definitely showed.