[F01-SP] Summer Blue -- <<TFFLAF:IV>>

[NIGHT 0]

<<The Fourth Lesson Is Actually Free>>

She'd been sorting through her inventory when she'd noticed the parcel, buried between a handful of consumables she'd been wishing to clean out.

... That's...

With a tap, it was summoned. A square hollowed out with white formed in the air before her, and landed on her blanket comfortably with a puff. NIGHT pulled it close to her, wondering if she could rifle through its contents. Surprise surprise, the system wouldn't allow her to do so. <Access Denied>.

The woman sat with it, wondering what to do. It wasn't an item she could discard; the quest requirement stuck firmly in her inventory, like a gruesome, incurable blight. And yet, given her leveling procedure, she was absolutely certain she'd outgrown the quest's recommendations, a mere fifty levels to squash its fifteen experience-gaining cap.

This... was stupid. It was horrid, actually. NIGHT had entirely expected to run this quest with a couple of her friends; the box served as a constant reminder to that effort. In the end, all her plans had fallen to the wayside, given how quickly and easily they'd disappeared from Aincrad's scene. Going alone to complete it and mow it out the way would suck.

And the alternative...?

	NIGHT   | HP: 1175/1175 | EN: 112/112   | ACC: 3 | DMG: 20 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 99 | LD: 8   | PROSP: 6   | Stealth Detection: 3 | Stealth Rating: 7
- - -
[Examine] [Equipment] Black Steel Ring -- [ Loot Die II | +2 LD. ] -- [ Accuracy I | +1 ACC. ] Reinforced Steel Plate Armor -- [ Mitigation III | +81 MIT. ] Silver Ring -- [ Prosperity III | +3 PROSP. ] [Battle-Ready Inventory] [T1E3] Teleport Crystal (2) | Instant | TELEPORT [T3E2] Spherical Yam Ball (5) | VITALITY II [+12 EN] [T3E3] Cold Brew Coffee (5) | HP RECOVERY III [+180 HP] Skills Skills Mod Count: 7/8 Two-Handed Straight Sword | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Ferocity, Precision, Finesse Heavy Armor | Passive | RANK 3/5  > Athletics Searching | Passive | RANK 3/5 Hiding | Passive | RANK 4+1/5 > Blindside, Vanish, Surprise Attack: Trickster Extended Mod Limit | Passive | RANK 3/3  [Extra] Survival | Passive  Concentration | Active -- CD: 3 Familiar Mastery: Fighter | Passive | RANK 3/3 Consumed Buffs Spoiler Kumatetsu Statue | +1 DMG [T2E3] Fortune++ (1) | LOOT DIE III [T1E3] Golden Dog (1) | PROSPERITY III [T1E1] Super Sight Fancy Asian Cheetos (1) | ACCURACY I [T2E2] Speed+ (1) | EVASION II Misc. Buffs Spoiler Dimensional Backpack, Item Stash | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 EN for the first three expenditures of each combat.  Relaxed | +(5 * Tier) HP per out-of-combat post. Full energy restoration occurs after two turns out of combat. Squeaky Clean | -25% DoT damage taken from the first DoT applied to this player in a thread. Skylight: Hiding | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cooldown of 30 days to reassign. Multipurpose | +1 LD/Prosperity/Stealth/Detection to one post per thread. Can be applied after a roll. Filling | +1 T1 slot to a food consumed by this player in a thread. Can exceed Cook enhancement caps. Col Deposit | +5% col from loot-minimum mobs, +10% col from treasure chests.

[♫]

[NIGHT 0]

Bistro took a good five minutes to respond to her queries. The last message she'd received from her broker was a quick 'LOL' (which immediately sparked NIGHT's teeth-grinding irritation), followed by complete and utter silence on her friend's end.

She closed the menu with a huff. It wasn't as though she was taking the low-leveled player out on an expedition with her; NIGHT knew she wasn't a combat player, but neither was the experience a pittance for her informant to turn up her nose at. What was so wrong about asking for information? ... Even if it was on a quest she should've gotten out the way a good year or so ago...?

Grrh. She hoped her messenger's fit of laughter was well worth it.

Either way, as NIGHT waited for her (former) comrade's reply, she'd paced herself out of bed to freshen up for the day. In the down time between now and then, she took the chance to think about what to spend the rest of her waking hours on -- all alone, perhaps, if she had to.

[NIGHT 0]

It wasn't until she'd stepped out of the shower did she find someone else to hassle into her daily plans.

Ugh, fuck. She really didn't want to have to ask. As NIGHT's finger hovered over Bistro's dismissal of the player's invitation for a free quest run, the Gemini stalking down the halls gave her a quick tilt of their head to the side, wide eyes curiously picking up on their housemate's shrinking interface. "Is something wrong?"

"Mm, yeah." NIGHT rubbed the towel against the back of her head, hand buried underneath her hair. "You're still living here, and I haven't been collecting rent."

"You've got to be kidding me..."

"That'll be 500 col per day, please."

"Maaaan..."

NIGHT descended down the stairs, wrapping the damp towel behind her neck. Her companion followed along, letting out a loud yawn, arms reaching out towards the ceiling as they'd leaned backwards in a stretch.

[NIGHT 0]

So this was their routine, now. NIGHT placated their daily rituals, sticking to them long enough so that she would obtain her breakfast. The player shrunk away from DAY's dicing of meat, averting her gaze from the sight of the knife. Instead, her eyes focused on the scramble of eggs they'd inevitably decided upon as their sandwiches' filling, in between round toasted buns slowly grilling on another pan. A sprinkle of pepper and spinach pieces to the yellowed mixture, and all NIGHT had to do was watch and wait.

When their food was ready and assembled, DAY insisted to slice their breakfast up into smaller portions. NIGHT shakily shot them a look of mild contempt, before shaking her head, watching the entity's expression morph into one of cartoonish disappointment.

"I mean, if its yours, I have no qualms about it." She reached out a hand to retrieve her own wrap, carefully watching the steel in the other's hand.

"That's not really the point here..."

Was it to show me up then? NIGHT wondered, as they'd finally called away the blade from their hold. They'd joined their original at the table, hands wrapped around their food with a sudden-shifted smile.

"Thank you for the food!"

"Thank you for the food..."

[NIGHT 0]

It was definitely scrumptious. Certainly, it didn't beat Yuki's nor Oscar's, but for what they could afford to do together, it was better than wet cardboard, or not cooking food at all.

NIGHT took charge of washing the dishes. Meanwhile, DAY found themselves humming thoughtfully, idly watching the player rummage about their chores. NIGHT could feel the piercing gaze from those doe eyes, and shot back a hesitant frown over her shoulder, noticing that DAY hadn't exactly turned away from her stare just yet.

"What is it?"

"Are you really in that much need for col?"

"...What?"

"That rent proposition from earlier. You said you needed some, right?"

Huh?

"So that comes out to about 3,500col a week... Nearly 15,000col a month..."

"O-oi, wait, wait." NIGHT set down the last of the plates onto the drying rack, wiped her hands off with a clean rag before turning around to face her housemate, leaning against the sink's edge. "You're... actually taking this seriously for once?"

[NIGHT 0]

"Hmm? Yeah -- of course," they'd confessed, a casual admittance to the player's wary concern. But while their sights had been trained to the ceiling, when they looked back towards NIGHT, their bright eyes were paired with a knowing, mischievous smile. "So I also know that a small pack monsters around your loot minimum would easily net you just the right amount for my debt to be paid off per month!"

--I mean, they're right.

"Therefore, I've concluded that it shouldn't be on me to pay off my rent!"

"Huh?!"

DAY made a fist in excitement, pounding it on their other open palm. "Rather, it'll be more efficient for you to head out and pay my rent for me! Wouldn't it be so grand?"

"How?!"

"This way, you can get both the experience you need to level up, and the col to pay off your debt."

The debt was yours to begin with...!

[NIGHT 0]

"Oh, no need to thank me, NIGHT. I know it was an ingenious plan." A bob of their head and a smug victorious smile, DAY folded their arms and leaned back into their chair with pride. Meanwhile, the player mirrored their arrogance with a vice grip hold on her forearms, the side of her lips twitching in pain. "Say, you know what? I'm feeling generous even today! The next time you're about to go on a hunting spree, I'll be your monsters' scout -- that way, you can keep chaining your moves in combat and watch the col free flow without issue!"

"Like hell I'll need your help for that...!"

By this point, NIGHT found herself shaking with a bottled fury, piled onto from a few weeks ago. Speaking with DAY proved very well to be of much trouble, and NIGHT was wondering how she hadn't kicked them out of the house just yet. But a momentary exhale and a harsh blink helped her tap out of her own head space. As quickly as she had been flooded with anger, she was back to trying to be reasonable once again.

I mean, whatever. Her Gemini could take her kindness for granted all they wanted, she'd guessed. Asshole was lucky they were cute.

[NIGHT 0]

She'd shifted her hands to hide them in her pocket as she strode back over to the dining table with a scowl.

"... What?"

"Nothing. That rent request was a joke in the first place. I didn't actually expect you to take me up on my offer."

NIGHT collapsed into a seat at the table, pushing up her fringe with a palm. One long sigh, before she'd finally bring her sights up to study DAY's face. Their brows were angled, eyes narrowed, pursed lips behind a tightened fist. Just as perplexed as they had been about NIGHT's joke, so too was NIGHT about their reactions, their haughtiness behind their information spiel and concern. How comfortable had they imagined themselves to be in their position; enjoying the comforts of a player home while waiting for a call from the system that might never take her back?

Truthfully, DAY's conceited nature was the worst part about the Gemini. Everything else, NIGHT believed she could deal with. But on occasions like these, she wished they could tone their bluster down, even just a hint.

And so they sat there in relative quietness, the quiet easing in between them once again.

[NIGHT 0]

It was NIGHT who spoke up first. She thought she'd caught DAY expel a breath of relief, but maybe she was looking too much into it; a daring empathy for her other creeping into her everyday emotions.

"So," she began, pressing her back to her seat in earnest. "There's this quest on Floor 1."

A pause, NIGHT expecting a retort or a response from her duple. Instead, their clear ocean eyes seemed to suggest an innocence to the issue. Naivety, or was it an eagerness for the player to continue?

"I-- need to get it out the way."

"Mhmm."

"So, I was wondering if..."

"This is about the fourth beginner's quest, isn't it?"

--And it was all going so well up to that point. NIGHT swallowed, shocked, before nodding ever so slightly at her question. Following up on that, DAY hummed once again, gaze shifted elsewhere before returning back to her. "It's not about you being incapable of taking down the fish boss alone, right?"

NIGHT felt her eye twitch. "Definitely not."

"Then..."

[NIGHT 0]

As the word trailed from DAY's lips, it took them only a moment before giving NIGHT a proper response. A soft shift of cloth against marble marked their leaving of their seat, as they stood up from their position, their signature white robe collapsing around their form. "Well? C'mon," they said, knuckles pressing against the wood of their dining table. "There're only so many hours of the day left. We'd better get a head start now. Shall we?"

NIGHT couldn't help but concur with their statement, thankful that she didn't have to speak her request. The player rose, pushing back her chair, tucking it back underneath the table before making her way out towards the front door.

"Right."

The late afternoon sunlight was an all-encompassing beast. It drenched the world in a bright summer's warmth, while the environment itself was cloaked in a gentle white. On days like these, NIGHT truly appreciated the tenacity she'd built against the heat; some other players were more likely to complain than she in this weather, and here she was, freaky flexing on them with a dark jacket on.

[NIGHT 0]

Anyway.

The duo weaved through the crowd of players along the marketplace, their pace and dispositions matching old times. DAY took the lead with their exploration, and NIGHT let them, on the account that she'd entirely forgotten where'd they needed to go. Through quiet alleyways and shadowed paths the player did take them through; once they'd encountered the light, DAY locked her fingers with her partner, pulling the dark player along safely into the mass of people. It was tighter, a tad suffocating when she was mingling with others, but NIGHT had always ended up on the other side soundly, a proud grin structured back towards her and her alone.

NIGHT thought twice about investing into a face mask. With how well her Gemini was playing her, Cardinal might know she really, really needed one for the future.

"What are you so happy about, anyway...?" The player was sulking, her cheeks an auburn under the cool shades of the buildings around them. DAY merely glanced her way, eyes still glimmering with impossible sparkles, and NIGHT found herself captivated by them for a beat.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it~!"

Hard to believe, but...

"... Okay."

[NIGHT 0]

It was mostly a blur for NIGHT, how quickly their time at the lake had passed them by. It wasn't so much being on the water that she had forgotten; rather, it was the meeting with Ol' Pete, and their delivery of her long-forgotten parcel. When it finally made its way into the hands of the fisherman, the elderly man had unpacked with dexterity. Without it bringing up an issue, NIGHT found herself feeling a pinch of disdain for the system, but listened in close to his request nonetheless.

-- If only she could remember the words accurately. But the actions that had followed afterwards were more telling than mere phrases. The duo had made their way to the center of the lake with the man in tow beside them. Though, most of the time, Ol' Pete acted as though DAY wasn't even there.

So perhaps it wasn't just a trick of her eyes when she'd spotted a hint of sorrow on her double's glowing face...?

Spoiler

ID: 154540 | CD: 1 | Nothing is biting...

[NIGHT 0]

A few minutes passed, and nothing was found to be biting. NIGHT had found a nice corner at the far end of the boat to squeeze herself into, the back of her skull pressing on an elevated bowsprit that protruded upwards in an arc. This wasn't an every-day fishing boat, that much she could tell from its design, but if it was what the system had provided the players, then NIGHT thought it best not to complain about thematics and design.

It was, in truth, a relatively slow day. Perched to her side was a quiet DAY, this time silent due to the nature of not being noticed, their hood pulled over their head for the moment just so they wouldn't have to mess with their disguised appearance's ponytail falling apart. A don-on, don-off situation, NIGHT had come to realize, watching them shift the cloth over their head, before her lazy unentertained gaze fell upon the skies above.

At least she didn't feel lonely now.

Spoiler

ID: 154541 | CD: 4 | Nothing is biting...

[NIGHT 0]

Slow, but beautiful. That was how NIGHT preferred her time on the first floor to be.

"How're you holding up?" DAY finally piped up, voice indistinguishable and modulated in their current attire.

"Enough," NIGHT replied, her sights trained on the cumulus clouds above. Somewhere in the sky, she could make out a shape akin to a standing bear, with one raised paw, waving over the landscape before it. NIGHT would've been tempted to wave back just so, if she hadn't had her double by her side, seemingly looking to her for feedback. "I didn't think the quest would be this guided taken 'alone'." She'd raised her hands in a gesture, two fingers on each emphasizing 'alone'. DAY seemed to smile back, leaning back onto their covered arm, watching over the lapping waves of the lake as they waited for Pete to catch a snag on his rod.

"Same here, if I was being honest."

"Yeah..."

Spoiler

ID: 154542 | CD: 9 | Sword-fish has been caught!

[NIGHT 0]

What ticked her off about the catch finally being reeled in was the splashing of water as the sword-fish broke through the lake's surface. Instantly NIGHT shot upwards, blade summoned in her hand in a speedy maneuver, pulled over to her side. A feverish glow creeped its way up the sword's length -- all at once, she seemed to disappear.

In the air, she'd found herself visible again, just in time to dice the fish with a slash at the height of its jump.

Straight was a sword art that should've been able to be utilized as a gap closer. Unfortunately, given its downtime afterwards, it was less than ideal to have seen it as such. The best NIGHT could find herself doing was throwing the fish onto the boat after its initial form had shattered into pieces, before she was plunged right into the lake by gravity alone.

On the boat, DAY caught the boss while standing with minimal effort.

Spoiler

ID: 154584 | BD: 12 (9, +3)
<<Straight>> vs Sword-fish.
20 + 1 = 21 DMG | 21 * 2 = 42 DMG

Sword-fish | HP: -7/35 (-42) | DMG: 50

[2] NIGHT | HP: 1175/1175 | EN: 112/112 | DMG: 20 | MIT: 99 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 2 | LD: 8 | PROSP: 6

[NIGHT 0]

Thankfully, their water-borne vehicle had a tiny rope ladder with which NIGHT could use to haul herself back on. Dripping wet, the woman tussled the locks out of her vision first, brushing her fringe off to one side before looking upon their quarry.

"Hah!"

--Also, she desperately tried to avoid listening into DAY's cheeky jests with regards to her dip in the lake.

"We're going back to shore," she instructed the boatman, to which he nodded and began their trip back. In a swapping of clothes, NIGHT finally managed to come off the body of water dry, the towel from earlier now hugging her neck too. Her double followed along, quieter now, the large fish strung across both their arms in front of them.

At the shack, it'd been traded in. For another fish.

This one was still on the hook it had been caught on, too. NIGHT gave it a look over, confused when the quest had reached its completion, before looking over to DAY.

"Do... Do you want it?"

"N-no...?"

What a silly quest reward.

[NIGHT 0]

At least they'd managed to get it packaged in paper and stored in NIGHT's inventory by the time they'd left the lake. Pinkies locked, they started their trip back to town, taking in the serene day's view.

"Well, look on the bright side. I can whip up something nice with it at some point."

"It's... got an enhancement on it."

"I mean, I'm pretty sure it can carry over." A giggle graced the Gemini's lips, their hood unfurled on their journey home. "What, were you planning on taking a bite out of it directly on your next expedition?"

"With how things are going with the game, I wouldn't be surprised if I was expected to..." For what it was worth, NIGHT recalled a familiar image coming to mind, and banked her efforts in guessing that Cardinal was nigh inspired by the reference during its quest making process.

DAY scoffed at her mirror's quip, offering her a warm smile. "Possibly. But-- I'm here now. So it'll be fine!"

NIGHT dragged her sights over to meet her double's own, her temperament starting to recede into quiet contemplation.

"... Mhmm."

[NIGHT 0]

It was easy to have called their time quits there. But it was still noon, and they'd already eaten not too long ago. NIGHT thought it be a missed opportunity to head back home immediately.

After all, she had a great source of reference beside her for combat right now.

"Hey," NIGHT finally spoke up, turning over to DAY just as they'd reached the city gates. "About those monsters you'd offered to spot for me."

"Yeah?"

"You wanna go look for them now?"

An owlish look shot back at her. "Hmm? But I thought..." As their voice quieted, however, DAY's hesitance quickly waned off. The player barely had to mention another word before her other warmed up to the idea. A scatter of gold locks danced in the breeze as the entity shook their head, gaze shifting towards the sea of people ahead. "No, it's fine. Lead the way."

"Alright."

[NIGHT 0]

| FLOOR 24

[♫]

The laid back nature of their day had followed them all the way up to Paraneze. Instead of the sweltering heat as the players were packed like sardines back on the first, the twenty-fourth boasted cool ocean breezes and a dense amount of vegetation -- scattered across multiple isles, of course.

In the settlement, only a number of homes sat close to the water's shore, lined around the central island's perimeters. A circular boardwalk; that was mostly the town, though some buildings did dip inland to guide interested parties towards the Coliseum. As NIGHT stepped off the teleporter to guide DAY along with her hand, the Gemini followed in suit, pulled along towards the coast when their player beckoned her to do so. Down by the bay, their forms were reflected upon the waves' surface, muddied by its movements, though NIGHT's attention was set on rounding the island towards one of the smaller outcrops of land.

[NIGHT 0]

"Most of the creatures here are underwater, aren't they?"

"There's quite a few above the sea," NIGHT stated. "And some of the areas are better private for grinding parties, anyway."

Their gaze settled on one of the curved raised platforms that jutted out of the ocean blue. Curious as their forms were, the floating isles were rather stable, and NIGHT was somewhat eager to venture to one and look upon the distance for her own amusement. The matter of exactly how dense the monster packs were up there was unbeknownst to her -- but this was as close as she was going to get to the higher floors of Aincrad without stepping into the twenty-fifth's labyrinths alone. Surely they would make for a sufficient leveling spot.

"This way." She motioned her way down a long bridge towards a miniscule plot, gently tugging along at her companion's grasp. They joined in her steps, walking side by side, down the beach-coloured wood in silence, save for the rolling of waters beside them.