[F20 - PP|PT] Whispers in the Canopy «SotW:PP»

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Jungle heat pressed like a sodden blanket, thick with the scent of rotting orchids and wet iron. Ariel ascended moss-choked stairs, vines thick as Darius’s forearms crushing stone moths under serpentine weight. Sunlight fractured through the canopy, dappling ruins that drank light.

Millicent adjusted cracked glasses, her scanner’s whirr muffled by the green weight. “N-No life signs... but the air’s got these... shiny bits. Like crystal wasp venom.” She tucked a loose grey-blue-trimmed ponytail behind her ear, avoiding eye contact.

Darius dabbed his brow with a monogrammed handkerchief, his butler attire immaculate despite the humidity. “Oh dear. Temples shouldn’t bleed scent.” His gaze lingered on Ariel—brief, respectful—before snapping away.

The blonde in question traced a defaced mural. Celestial moths, once graceful, were scraped into oblivion. Gouges—deep, savage—raked the mural. Not erosion. Hatred.

“Not abandoned,” Ariel murmured, her voice swallowed by the humid stillness. “Executed.”

Above, a nest pulsed in the keystone—papery, gray, coffin-sized. A rustling sigh echoed.

Dracul kicked a shattered terracotta shard, his dark emerald uniform trim flashing. “Charming decor. Did the interior decorator starve?” Oath’s holy light guttered weakly against the oppressive green, barely illuminating his boots. “Let’s gut this relic and find that overgrown cat.”

Ariel moved. Boots silent. Nihilim’s Wrath cold at her hip. The forest watched.

Vines snagged Millicent’s oversized coat. “A-Aggressive plants?” she stammered, tugging free.
Darius peeled thorns from her sleeve. “Or warning,” he said softly.

Splintered petrified doors loomed. Darkness beyond reeked of fungal decay. Ariel’s silver eyes caught movement—shadows shifting where light died.

Dracul shouldered past, Oath raised. “Quarry first.” Holy radiance speared the gloom, revealing—

Toppled pillars. Murals defaced: moth-priests blinded, altars shattered. Jagged graffiti screamed: SKY-DEFILERS.

Millicent traced the words, trembling. “They blame us... for Mortha.” Her backpack shifted. Inside, wrapped in silk, ≪Mothbrand≫ emitted a low thrum – like a moth beating against glass. The tribal graffiti seemed to pulse in response.

A low growl vibrated through the stone. Not from ahead. From below.

Darius stiffened. “The nest—!” Above the entrance, the paper coffin split.

---

Ariel | HP: 1053/1053 | EN: 132/132 | DMG: 35 | MIT:0 | ACC:5 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:12 | HB: 46 | REC: 8 | RISK: 8 | FLN: 16 | LD:3 | PROSP:3 | TXC-V: 32

Spoiler

Name: Ariel True Tier: 11 Level: 34 Paragon Level: 68 HP: 1053/1053 EN: 132/132 Stats: Damage: 29 Mitigation: -60 Accuracy: 5 Evasion: 2 Battle Healing: 12 Loot Die: 3 Stealth Rating: 5 AA PHASEHB: 46 REC: 8 RISK: 8 FLN: 16 TXC-V: 32 Equipped Gear: Weapon/Armor/Trinket: - ≪Nihilim’s Wrath#187490≫ T4: AA / Phase / Fallen / Fallen Armor/Trinket: - ≪Leonidas' Strength#151568≫ T4: HB / HB / RSKY / RSKY Shield/Armor/Trinket: - ≪Kurokō no Tamashii (黒鋼の魂)#190961≫ T4: Acc. / Acc. / Rec. / Rec. Combat Mastery: - Combat Mastery: Damage R3 Combat Shift: - ST Shift Familiar Skill: - Custom Skill: - Kaiso no Waza: Meikyo Shisui Skills: - Battle Healing R1 - Charge - Cloth Armor R5 - Energist - Katana R5 Extra Skills: - Hiding R5 - Concentration - Survival - Forgotten King's Authority Inactive Extra Skills: Addons: - Ferocity - Precision - Stamina Mods: - Athletics - Surprise Attack: Assassin - Untraceable - Vanish Inactive Mods: Battle Ready Inventory: - "≪Chocolate Truffles# [Dessert]≫ VITALITY II (+12 EN) IDs# 144486 / 144486-1 / 144486-2 / 144486-3 / 144770 " x5 - "≪Crystal of the Blood Dragon Horde[Crystal]: Mass HP recovery 10% IDs# 223185-1 / 223185-2 / 223183 / 223183-1 / 223181" x5 - "≪Flash of Rejuvenation# [Crystal]≫ Mass HP recovery 10% IDs# 144486 / 144486-1 / 144486-2 / 144486-3 / 144770 " x5 - "≪popcorn. [Snack]≫ VITALITY II (+16 EN) IDs# 144486 / 144486-1 / 144486-2 / 144486-3 / 144770 " x5 - ≪Glowstone≫ x - ≪Teleport [Crystal]≫ x Housing Buffs: - Basic Kitchen: 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. - Storage Closet: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot - Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. - Attic (Storage): +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests - Attic (Bedroom): +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. 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: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll - Guest Room: Players can have one «Amenity» in a «Guest Room» and the «Amenity» cannot be recovered. Players are allowed to change which «Amenity» is in the «Guest Room». Multiple instances of the same «Amenity» do not stack. This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members. - Master Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat - Master Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down) - Extended Workshop: +2 Crafting EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day - Ornate Fishing Pond: +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts. - Dining Hall: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed. Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. - Mega Slime Farm: +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. Guild Hall Buffs: - Treasury: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests. - Guild Rank 5: +5% Final Experience Gain, +5% Final Col Gain Scents of the Wild Totem: Wedding Ring: Crafting Profession: - Tailoring[3696exp] R9 Gathering Profession: - Fishing[191exp] R3

Food Buffs:

1. Filled* ≪ skewer roll. [Meal]≫  +3 DMG / -60 Mit 
2. ≪Titan's Strength[Potion]≫  +3 DMG
3. ≪crème brûlée. [Dessert]≫  +2 ACC
4. ≪smores. [Dessert]≫  +2 EVA

• ≪gelato. [Dessert]≫ +3 LD
• «Field Ration» +12%HP
• ≪mousse. [Snack]≫ +3 PROSP    

  
PT Skills: (235 SP Available / 175 Used / 60 PT Skills)

• 3x ► Biting (+2 Base DMG)

 

Edited 6 hours ago by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Dracul 0]

The nest vomited knives.

Wasps. Giant. Obsidian-armored, stingers dripping sizzling venom. Shrapnel in a tomb. I readied my weapon. Light flared—a guttering candle against a storm.

I struck down the first wasp to dare attack us. Chitin smoked. It shrieked like grinding bones.

Darius yanked Millicent behind an altar. Ariel flowed toward the swarm, blade bare. Cold steel. No shadowflame. Idiot!

"Fall back!" I roared.

She pivoted. Shink. A head tumbled. Ichor sprayed where her neck had been.

RAW-A. Thorns spat from my vambrace as another wasp slammed into me. The impact punched—pressure, not pain. Chitin shattered. My stamina bar thinned to yellow gossamer.

"Darius! The nest!" Ariel’s voice cut through buzzing chaos.

He scaled the wall like smoke, handwraps gripping stone vines. Effortless. Show-off.

Millicent peered over the altar, glasses askew. "U-Underbelly! The soft spot—" A wasp strafed. She ducked, dagger fumbling in her grip. "Thorax!"

I hacked a diver. Oath bit deep. Ichor splattered my visor—rot and burnt almonds. "Focus, geek!"

Ariel spun past. Gutted a wasp mid-lunge. Entrails steamed. Silent. Efficient. Annoying.

Darius tore the nest open. Paper ripped. Bones. Small. Polished. Strung on sinew like beads. A child’s ossuary.

The swarm froze. Screamed—raw grief—and shattered against the floor. Venom pooled. Silence fell.

Darius dropped down, cradling his reopened burn. “Oh dear,” he breathed, staring at the bone necklace. “We’ve desecrated a tomb.”
Millicent’s pack vibrated. She edged toward Ariel, face pale. Shadows behind the altar breathed.

Golden eyes ignited. Suterusu lunged—a bolt of liquid night. Ariel pivoted. Nihilim’s Wrath flashed cold silver. Shink! Not flesh. Something hard and obsidian clattered to stone. A scale, sharp as a dagger tip, glowing with faint gold veins.

The panther snarled, phasing into the temple wall like smoke.

Ariel scooped it up. The damn thing burned in her palm—I could see the faint gold pulse from here. Predatory arrogance.
Millicent’s scanner whirred. "I-It’s tracking us... and we’re tracking it."
I kicked the wall. "Cowardly furball! Next time, I’ll skin it myself."

---

Dracul | HP: 680/680 | EN: 80/80 | DMG: 1 | MIT:127 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:214 | BH:34 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA                                                                                                                            

Spoiler

Name: Dracul True Tier: 4 Level: 31 Paragon Level: 0 HP: 680/680 EN: 80/80 Stats: Damage: 1 Mitigation: 127 Accuracy: 1 Battle Healing: 34 Stealth Rating: -5 TAUNT REC: 4 HLY: 6 PARA Equipped Gear: Weapon/Armor/Trinket: - ≪Guardian's Oath#134013≫ T3: Holy | Paralyze | ACC Armor/Trinket: - ≪Azure Chevalier Armor#58994≫ T1: Mitigation | Thorns | Thorns Shield/Armor/Trinket: - ≪Memory Fragment#134713-2≫ T2: Recovery | Recovery | Taunt Combat Mastery: - Combat Mastery: Mitigation R3 Combat Shift: - Familiar Skill: - Custom Skill: - Skills: - Battle Healing R5 - Heavy Armor R5 - Howl Extra Skills: - Parry Inactive Extra Skills: Addons: - Focused Howl - Iron Skin Mods: - Justified Riposte - Vengeful Riposte Inactive Mods: Battle Ready Inventory: - ≪Glowstone≫ x - ≪Teleport [Crystal]≫ x Housing Buffs: Guild Hall Buffs: - Treasury: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests. - Guild Rank 5: +5% Final Experience Gain, +5% Final Col Gain Scents of the Wild Totem: Wedding Ring: Crafting Profession: - Alchemist[857exp] R7 Gathering Profession: - Forager[exp] R1

PT Skills: (185 SP Available / 115 Used / 70 PT Skills)

• 7x Reflective (Enemies take +7*Tier Thorns Damage on successful non-critical attacks made against you.)

 

Edited 6 hours ago by Dracul

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Thick jungle air swallowed them as they stumbled from the temple’s corpse-breath. Ariel’s fist clenched around Suterusu’s scale—obsidian shard torn from the panther’s flank during its ambush. Cold as river stone, yet burning with predatory cunning. Her ribs throbbed a dull echo of its pulse. Millicent shuffled behind, oversized coat snagging on vines. Darius pressed a monogrammed handkerchief to his weeping burn, carrot-orange uniform trim stark against mossy gloom. "Just a sting," he murmured, eyes flicking to Ariel—quick, concerned—before fixing on the emerald choke of foliage ahead.

Dracul kicked a strangler fig root, dark emerald sleeves smeared with wasp ichor. "Where’s the blasted cat? This green hell reeks of cheap theatrics." His stamina bar flickered like dying static.

Ariel’s silver eyes tracked movement in the canopy. A giant cicada whirred past, wings shivering light. Vines slithered across her boots like accusing fingers. Mortha-killer, the jungle hissed. Millicent’s scanner beeped. "G-Gold dust... phase-shift residue. Leading to water." She pushed up her glasses, mimicking Ariel’s stance.

Water... Waterfalls masked Suterusu’s phasing but grounded its lightning, masked its steps. The scale pulsed agreement. Clever hunter.

A crushed moth-shrine lay ahead – ochre idol shattered, claw-marks raking stone. SKY-DEFILERS graffiti bled crimson across ferns.

At that moment Ariel remembered:
Floor 20 Boss Raid. Mortha’s wings eclipsing moonlight. The antenna’s crack as she severed it – warm sap spraying her face. The cheer of raiders. Tribal screams from below the platform.

"Senses sharp," Ariel ordered, shaking off the memory. "The panther will strike from the shadows."

The roar of whitewater rapids vibrated through the stone underfoot. Mist from the falls kissed Ariel’s skin. 

Golden eyes ignited in the falls’ spray – Suterusu, coiled on moss-slick boulders.

Ariel used her new Hiding ability to go into stealth as her form dissolved into a heat-haze outline.

She locked eyes with Dracul. "Draw its focus then I'll strike."

Darius stepped before Millicent, hands raised in a KFM guard stance. Millicent nocked throwing daggers, knuckles white. Dracul’s weapon flared, thorns bristling along his vambrace. "Finally. Something worth my while."

The jungle held its breath. Water crashed. Suterusu’s growl vibrated in their teeth.
Ariel’s vanished form flowed toward the rapids like smoke.

---

Rec. ID# XXXXX  | CD:0 | +0 EN | +0 EN

1. Post Action: Stealth roll
   • ID# 247652 | LD: 8 +5+1 > 9 | Success!

 

• [0]Dracul | HP: 680/680 | EN: 80/80 | DMG: 1 | MIT:127 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:214 | BH:34 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA
• [0]Ariel | HP: 1053/1053 | EN: 132/132 | DMG: 35 | MIT:0 | ACC:5 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:12 | HB: 46 | REC: 8 | RISK: 8 | FLN: 16 | LD:3 | PROSP:3 | TXC-V: 32
   
• «Suterusu» | HP: 1300/1300 | DMG: 125 | MIT: 55 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 3

Spoiler

• That's Cute, Human | Debuff effects last half their normal duration.
• Stealth | Every three rounds, <<Suterusu>> will enter stealth as a free action following its attack. Using its LD, with +3 stealth rating. If the players are unable to keep track of <<Suterusu>>, it will leap from stealth on the following turn and attack, gaining a +25 damage for the attack. Also, if a 9-10 is rolled, it gains a Partial Phase, bypassing 25% Mitigation.
• Cunning Dodge | On a player's natural attack roll of 9, it is not guaranteed as a hit, and is still affected by Evasion and Accuracy.  If the attack included the Focus attribute, this effect ignores critical rolls on a natural 8 instead.
• Unsteady Ground | This fight takes place on treacherous terrain with many large stones, broken statues and fallen trees scattered, giving a -1 Accuracy to every player due to the area where they are fighting. Survival Negates this effect.

 

Edited 5 hours ago by Ariel - The Crowned Lion