[PP-PT-F17] RE: Hackman's Message

[Morningstar 0]

The message came at midnight.

Morningstar wasn't asleep. He should have been, and normally would have been, but the onslaught of Spectral Knights had kept him in the field long past bed time. He, alongside Freyd, Wulfrin, and Ciela, had been outside Donoghue's when the knights stopped spawning. No system message came through--no explanation for the suddenness of it all. They came and they left, and everything went quiet.

He was pleased when he realized it was over. For him, the workday rarely ended at 4:00, but midnight was a new late. The journey home was long, and the weary Morningstar only made it as far as the Ilridge teleporter before the message came through.

A message directed to every frontliner was rare to see. Who in the world was Hackman?

He read the message, and the words 'floor boss' burned in his eyes. The waypoint on his map led northward, to the edge of the Black. As much as he wanted to drop everything and follow it, he needed rest.

The following morning, he sent word for a few allies to join him at the Nemean Plain.

MORNINGSTAR: want to talk about last night's message. can kill some field bosses while we do. meet at noon?

---

Food:
Gungir's Shard (Smores Skewer) | EVA II, PROTEIN II

I will use tracking, 1 of you take this and use after Lion dies:
Grindstone | 3 Field Boss Post Count requirements; reduces this value to a minimum of 1 post. Stacks with Spyglass. Applicable for one Field Boss Spawn, after which the buff expires.

Hide contents Morningstar | Lv. 92 | P. 58 | True Tier: 10 HP: 900/900 | EN: 108/108 | DMG: 36 | EVA: 5 | ACC: 4 | LD: 4 | REC: 6 | FLN: 12 | AA | PARA-V notes: // equipped Dying Sun FLN 2, AA, PARA-V Inner Focus EVA 2, REC 2 Sapphire ACC 3, EVA battle-ready inventory Magdalyn's Cuckoo Teleport Crystal Bear Trap x2 skills   Hide contents STRAIGHT SWORD | RANK 5/5 precision, stamina, ferocity shift: tech COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 SEARCHING | RANK 4/5 tracking extra (active) SURVIVAL FORGOTTEN KING'S AUTHORITY LADY LUCK DISGUISE specializations BITING | RANK 7 data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== buffs data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==   Hide contents consumables Gungir's Shard (Smores Skewer) | EVA II, PROTEIN II (filled) Spyglass paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==   data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

♦ms.

[Acanthus 0]

Brrip.

Acanthus rolled over, shaking off a deep and dreamless sleep. Her head throbbed only a little. Groggily, she tried opening her menu once, then twice, and then finally managed on the third swipe.

MORNINGSTAR: want to talk about last night's message. can kill some field bosses while we do. meet at noon?

Acanthus startled, falling onto the marble floor with a solid *thwack*, and the reminder that she was presently in a safe zone. The message sent anxious chills all the way down her back. What message? What did I say to him? I don’t remember sending anything—did I send something? Maybe I missed a group chat? God dammit, and after we had that moment where I thought he wasn’t mad at me anymore… Maybe Morningstar decided to walk back his forgiveness? Or worse, he was planning an elaborate test to see if she could be trusted. It was the only logical conclusion. (She would arrive at the meeting point still uncertain, acting somewhere between a lost dog and a cornered one.)

Another unread message flickered in her inbox. Oh. That’s strange. Who was Hackman; and…

The Floor Boss. It was time. Acanthus bounced up and ran out the door, hastily grabbing weapons and items as she went.

Acanthus | Lvl  HP: 905/905 | EN: 104/104 | DMG: 23 | MIT:18 | ACC:4 | FL.AURA: 12 | HB: 40 | BLI: 24/-15  | ENV-O: 24

 

Spoiler

Equipment and Consumables

Spoiler

All enhancements reflected in the stat block unless otherwise specified.

Weapon. Wormwood, the falling star. Env. (O) 2 | Blight 2
Shield. Fractured Heart  Flame Aura 2 | Holy Blessing 2
Trinket. Vow of Return ACC III

Consumables
Skewer Roll | Protein II Filled!

Abilities (Skills, Shifts, Masteries, Add-ons, and Mods)

Spoiler

Combat Mastery and Shift
Combat Mastery: Damage R3 (13 SP)
TECH Shift (10 SP)

Skills

• Straight Sword R5 (30 SP)
  • Addon: Ferocity (4 SP)
  • Addon: Precision (2 SP)
  • Addon: Stamina (4 SP)
• Heavy Armor R3 (14 SP)
  • Impetus (4 SP)

Extra Skills

Inactive Extra Skills

Addons

• Ferocity
• Precision
• Stamina

Mods

87 SP Spent before specializations.

Specializations
Focused x5 (100 SP)
Biting (20 SP)

207 SP total.

Battle Ready Inventory (7 Slots)
Dimensional Backpack + Item Stash

Spoiler

1. Lama Sabachthani | 236687 | Consumable - Soundtrack | Hypnosis 2 | Lullaby 2 (Instant)
2. Pain deeper than words, engraved by a hand that does not know its own heart.
3. Edict's Threnody | 236686 | Consumable - Soundtrack | Perpetuate (Instant)
   If my suffering will not end, then neither will yours.
4. Bear Trap | Set enemy EVA to 0 for one turn.
5. [Empty]
6. [Empty]
7. [Empty]
8. [Empty]

Housing

Spoiler

House Name: Villa of Coruscating Flowers (The Villa)
Location: Floor 24 - Paradise Islands
Description: See above
Plot Size: Estate - PK Accessible
Rooms: Listed below. All rooms are assigned to Acanthus.

• Master Bedroom
  • Well Rested | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat.
• Greenhouse
  • Green Thumb | +2 Gathering EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to gathering attempts.
• Extended Workshop: Recording Studio (25,000 col)
  • Hard Working | +2 Crafting EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day.
• Mega Slime Farm
  • Advanced Training | +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.
• Living Room:
  • Relaxed | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
• Attic (Bedroom)
  • Skylight (Searching) | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill (Searching). Cannot boost a skill without ranks, or increase a skill past its maximum rank. Cannot boost a skill the user has not learned yet. Ranks obtained using this buff will make the mods of that rank available for purchase. Mods obtained this way are unusable if this buff is removed until the skill is returned to the appropriate rank by way of SP purchase.
• Basement:
  • Multipurpose | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll.
• Storage Closet: (10,000 col)
  • Item Stash | +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
• Master Bathroom: (25,000 col)
  • Squeaky Clean | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
• Basic Kitchen (15,000 col)
  • Filling | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.

Crafting and Gathering

Spoiler

Performer | Rank 5
Apollo’s Metronome | Crafting Tool | Meticulous: +1 CD when crafting in one’s workshop.

Forager | Rank 5
Demeter's Cornucopia | Gathering Tool | Bountiful: +1 CD to gathering attempts.

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Acanthus

[Arabelle 0]

arabelle took one glance at the message and sent it straight to her spam folder.

 

 

the next morning, morningstar invites her to hunt and talk, a prospect she would have found infinitely attractive were she not sleep-deprived and in the middle of reassembling dozens of her wounded pets. still, arabelle considers it over a cup of coffee, her chair turned toward the artificial sun, and sends back a prompt response. 

ARABELLE: Ok!

she returns to the infirmary and supervises a trio of skeletons in medic jackets reattaching another's leg. the patient stands, wobbly at first, and arabelle fixes its farmer's hat back onto its head. she watches it hop around in renewed delight and run back to the fields, then she leaves herself after ensuring that repairs would continue to run smoothly without her. she arrives at floor 17 an hour before their designated meeting, dressed in her usual loose and flowing white and refreshed from a short nap.

settling into an alcove visible from athenaia's gates, arabelle warms her hands with another cup of coffee.

---

stats

Edited 2 hours ago by Arabelle