[PP-F2] Into the Dark

[Corvo 0]

Let there be Light

Corvo level 5

Of all the boring places to go, the second floor was one of the worst. 

Players who had already done their time rarely had a reason to come back. Since the overhaul of the System, the levels and strength of various mobs had streamlined. Drops were set to make it less lucrative for those high level Players to dip low and therefore incentivized quests and fights for lower leveled Players. It created a certain rift between the Frontliners and the weaker Players, but that had always been the case. Those Frontliners who did come down were mostly there to scout for prospective new talent. Guilds kept a steady influx of new blood in order to keep their numbers up and help with the clearing effort. So, essentially they were just numbers, some more valuable than others.

Corvo found all of that boring. He lazed against on of Urbus' many buildings, one shoulder reclined with the other arm holding an apple. He didn't much care for most fruits, and apples weren't an exception- but without much col to his name, whatever food he could buy would have to suffice. He took a bite and made a face, staring down his nose at the broken skin and assessing the mealy off-white innards for blemish. Those sorts of imperfections didn't usually crop up in the augmented reality, but he wanted a better excuse to toss aside his dinner than "I don't like how this tastes." His parents had taught him to be a bit more discerning than that.

Yet, somehow he was still able to justify pitching it. Sometimes in life, Corvo reasoned, it was safe to not like something and that was reason enough to take action. That was his entire reason for rebelling against the Cardinal System for keeping him trapped here. It only followed logically that he would start to manifest that more frivolous behavior. And in his mind, no one could say a word to him about that- because they would be wrong.

He pushed off the wall and glanced around, aware of various structures and people, how the crowd moved, and the vendors different patterns. Their outcries of sale, the pitches they made for their products, everything had a subtle (or not so subtle) way of flowing seamlessly. Or at least, it seemed seamless. Once you listened long enough, even the most structured parts of Aincrad were discordant. Corvo had successfully started to find chaos even where it didn't exist. He hated it.

"Um, sir?" A woman approached him while his back was turned, and he whipped around. "My daughter, it's my daughter. She's gone missing, and, well..."

Corvo looked her up and down for a long moment. The woman seemed uncomfortable, almost afraid, but if her daughter had gone missing then it made sense. He recognized her as an NPC immediately because of the way she moved and spoke. No girl trapped in Aincrad ever gave Corvo the time of day. Something about him was offputting, or at least, that's what he reasoned it was. He'd stopped caring, or looking for an excuse. He didn't need them anyway. "Yeah, so?" he asked "Get to the point."

"I was hoping to get some help..."

 

@Lessa

Spoiler

Corvo level 5

100/100 HP 28/28 EN 7 DMG 3 ACC 12 Bleed 2 Risky 1 Recovery

 

Item Name: - Reaver's Edge
Item Tier: - 1
Item Type: - War Axe
Item Enhancements: - 2 Damage 1 Bleed
Description: - An axe with a serrated edge, guaranteed to leave a wound that will continue to bleed after it strikes.

Name: The King's Lament
Your Profession: Tailor
Item Type: Cloth Armor
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: Risky | Risky | Recovery
Description: "Once the loose fitting vest of a great king. When he was killed by his enemies, his spirit would not be laid to rest. That rage and despair linger, fueling the wearer's killer instinct."

Item Name: - Death God's Favor
Item Tier: - Tierless
Item Type: - Trinket
Item Enhancements: - Accuracy 3
Description: - A talisman fashioned in the shape of a skull with a blade driven through it. It emanates a foul aura, said to ensure the lethality of the bearer.

 

[Lessa 1]

Spoiler Lessa, The Empress Level: 31 Paragon Level: 34 HP: 800/800 EN: 112/112 Stats: Damage: 23 Mitigation: 122 Accuracy: 2 Battle Healing: 40 H.M.: 8 HLY: 8 REC: 8 THRNS: 72 Equipped Gear: Weapon: Arcael's Might (T4 THSS - DMG DMG DMG HLY) Armor: Empress Armor (T4 HA - HM HM THNS THNS) Misc: Neutron Star Necklace (T4 TRINKET - ACC ACC REC REC) Skills: 2HSS R5 Heavy Armor R5 Battle Healing R5 Energist Fighting Spirit Charge Active Mods: Impetus Iron Skin Ferocity Stamina Vengeful Riposte Emergency Recovery Inactive Mods: Active Extra Skills: Parry Inactive Extra Skills: Battle Ready Inventory: Teleport Crystal: 5 Berry Crumb Bar (LD3): 2

 

♦Lessa
"Alright, another day, another low-level quest."

As if in response, Riker gave a low, guttural groan. Lessa, who had worked with many middle school students over the course of her internship, recognized the tone for exactly what it was - annoyance. "Come on," she shot back, looking down to flash her wolf companion a dazzling grin. If it didn't quite reach her eyes, and wobbled a little at the edges, that wasn't such a big deal. Right? "These are so stupid easy, so it shouldn't take us very long to get through them all. Then we'll be rolling in the experience, and more than prepared to join the Frontliners next time."

This time, it was skepticism that her familiar exuded when he looked up to meet her gaze. Or was she simply projecting? "Seriously," Lessa continued, waving her hands around for good measure. "This is definitely the best way to climb the levels quickly. Most people did these years ago, but I didn't. Why?" Of course, Riker had not actually posed the question, but she answered it anyway. "I have no freaking idea why. But here we are."

The woman looked as though she wanted to say more, but a sudden cry cut her off. Immediately, Lessa felt every muscle tense, and her hand flew automatically to the hilt of her weapon. The gesture was pointless, as she stood within a safe-zone, but some habits died hard. Distantly, she wondered if she would ever be able to shake those Aincrad reflexes, even if they eventually beat the game.

Following the sound, Lessa found a frazzled NPC begging a less-frazzled player for help locating her daughter. "Right on schedule," Lessa muttered out of the corner of her mouth, already aware of how the quest giver initiated contact. What she did not expect, however, was how the other player would respond.

With a sharp tsk of disapproval, the Guardian closed the distance between herself and the other pair in a few long strides. Despite being within the game for more than half a decade, the general disrespect toward NPCs still surprised and annoyed her. She had half a mind to tell the man that, but then she saw his face. Surprise disappeared, and understanding softened the hard edges of her face.

"Still just as charming as ever, I see."
 

[Corvo 0]

If there was anything more irritating than forced kindness, it was the expectation of empathy for strings of code. Aincrad itself mocked him with the illusion of a distraught mother and sought to illicit an all too human response. Instead, he listened with a measured expression that betrayed none of the contempt that he actually felt. Instead, he responded in a mechanical manner that made it seem like their roles had reversed, and he was the computer program. Deadpan. "She got lost in the mountains- the beast...!" Her words were broken, hysterical. His initial reaction was a wave of nausea that threatened to bring him to his knees. A machine didn't deserve sympathy or pity. Their relationship was words on paper, thoughts set in motion and played out according to a script. It didn't have the lifelong journey of parent and child, but to feign that- to show him exactly what this world had taken from him- only fueled his disgust. 

Yet in this world, to survive meant to stomach that malcontent and rise above it. At any other point in his imprisonment, Corvo might have given into his rage and spat back at the NPC. Instead, he took a shallow breath and started to respond. "You're being insane," he growled through clenched teeth. "I can't understand a word you're saying. You need to slow down."

Still just as charming as ever, I see.

Both Corvo and the woman turned to regard Lessa, one with renewed hope and the other with visible distress. It was the woman who looked overjoyed to see her. "Oh, yes, thank the gods, please tell me you've come to help?" she queried, triggering the quest prompt for the blonde haired woman. "My daughter is lost in the mountains and it's a very dangerous area. I'm not strong enough to brave it myself- I told her not to go, but she just wouldn't listen to me. Please, I'll do anything-"

His eyes would have rolled out of their sockets if they could have. "Normally if a woman said that to me it would feel like incentive, but this just feels pathetic," he muttered as he turned to glance sidelong at the woman. "Don't tell me you've got a soft spot for these fuckin' AI," his shoulders sagged as if defeated. Everyone else in this world had so much good, so much desire to help their fellow man- even when their fellow man didn't actually exist. Evan had squandered all of his empathy within the first damn year they were stuck inside the game. He felt like he wanted to scream; but Corvo suppressed it for the time being as he realized that the NPC had stared staring at him, almost as if she thought he was the crazy one.

There was a mad glint in his eye as he stared back.

"Careful, lady," he said in a much quieter voice, "I'll make sure you see your kid again, but if you look at me like that again, it might not be the way you intended."

She recoiled a bit toward Lessa, and Corvo smiled. "Yeah, that's better. Alright, mountains, kids, monster...?"