You continue on your way through the tunnels, avoiding dead ends and taking down what stragglers you find along the way. Thanks to the woman's...less that subtle approach, most of the mobs near the start of the dungeon had been taken care of. Even so, you feel a sense of unease as you continue. The scale in your pocket makes your skin tingle. It feels cold and burns at the same time. Like a flame that threatens to freeze you but leaves your body burned and charred. In a way it was like a strange interpretation of the term freezer burn. Part of you worries that your body might freeze up once more or worse. If you could get visions while touching it then what other kinds of mental effects it could have on you. Could it mind control you? Or maybe kill you with some strange magic? You grapple with the possibilities.

>What do you do?
>Keep the scale for now. It doesn't seem to be causing any damage and you don't want to worry your friends. Your small bonus to damage reduction and debuff resistance might be enough to keep you all safe.
>Give the scale to Irene. Her class has higher defenses against magical effects as a caster. She might be able to resist any ill effects.
>Give the scale to Ryuji. He has a higher HP pool and higher physical stats. If the scale deals damage, he'll be able to withstand it longer than you and Irene.
>Write in.

>>6318305
>Give the scale to Ryuji. He has a higher HP pool and higher physical stats. If the scale deals damage, he'll be able to withstand it longer than you and Irene.

Dragon spear man? We have the opportunity for guan yu here, gotta do bro a solid

>>6318305
>Keep the scale for now. It doesn't seem to be causing any damage and you don't want to worry your friends. Your small bonus to damage reduction and debuff resistance might be enough to keep you all safe.
We'll shoulder this burden ourselves, no need to force it onto our friends. We're a Hero after all.

>>6318305
>Give the scale to Irene. Her class has higher defenses against magical effects as a caster. She might be able to resist any ill effects.

>>6318304
But also tell them about it so we can confirm the heretics involvement to them.

>>6318398
Dropped my vote
>Keep the scale for now. It doesn't seem to be causing any damage and you don't want to worry your friends. Your small bonus to damage reduction and debuff

>>6318398
+1

>>6318304
>Keep the scale for now, bit tell your friends what's going on.
No reason to keep it secret from our friends. It is alarming that we're considering mind control as a possibility, though... This is just a game, right? We aren't playing a vidya where a shady billionaire can actually control our speech and behavior, are we??

>>6318304
>Keep the scale for now. It doesn't seem to be causing any damage and you don't want to worry your friends. Your small bonus to damage reduction and debuff resistance might be enough to keep you all safe.
we should tell them, but not right now. i think irene already knows but i might be misremembering
>>6318508
i would be surprised if mind control can affect players. how could that realistically work? so at most the scale bearer would get some nasty debuffs i assume

>>6318333
Support, for the same heroic reasons

File: 20191115042929_1.jpg (150 KB, 1200x630)

150 KB JPG

>>6318508
"ZenSoft and the department of Health and Safety assure you, the public, that full dive VR is completely safe. There are a litany of laws, safety restrictions, and medical studies to prove this. Any stories or records of harm resulting from the use of the full dive VR systems was purely out of misuse of the equipment or anecdotal." - Some government announcement. We can trust the government...right?

>>6318568
If you want the full mechanics for how mind control works I can give post an explanation. Right now, John has no indication that such an effect could apply to him and his friend. His mind is kind of running all over the place because he knows it's an effect that the game has but it's been so long since he's played he's not sure if it's become more common or rarer. Not to mention the fact that both Roland and Irene who have been playing all this time have said that the game is being way different than what it's ever been. So John's kind of grappling with his end game experience kicking in and expecting crazy stuff from happening.

>>6318333
We'll shoulder the physical burden for our friends but share the burden of knowledge with them. Writing.


Board thinks the post is spam. Probably from me trying to include all the posts that voted. I won't include them but I did count them.

You slowly come to a halt and dig out the scale from your pocket. It glows dully with that same blue hue that you remember from the prison. The shine seems to avoid your direct gaze, flickering and running along the edges to hide in your peripheral vision. You expect the strange tingling feeling to do the same but it persists. The icy burn lingers where the scale once rested and soon begins to spread through your hand. You quickly stuff the object back into your inventory in another pocket. By now your friends notice you lingering behind and come to a stop. "Hey man, what's up?" Ryuji asks.

"Nothing-" You begin but the fact you're absentmindedly flexing your hand to try and get rid of the strange feeling makes you think otherwise. ""The scale started feeling funny." You begin before explaining the situation. "Might mean we're on the right track, though. Or it could be that the heretics know someone picked it up and we're walking into their trap."

"Seems a bit too roundabout to get the scale to fall into the wrong hands." Irene says. "Be easier to simply leave it laying around where the guards could find it. Why go through the whole process of sending a transforming monster man to rampage throughout the city?" She motions for everyone to follow her. "If we were an organization dedicated to helping dragons attack the city what would we gain by leaving something like this around?"

"But what if it does brain control you?" Ryuji asks. "Like you'd get some kind of powerful leader under your control." He pauses at that. "M-maybe we should drop the thing."

"That's the thing. If the guards even got a whiff that this is connected to heretics, they'd put the thing under lock and key so far and fast that no one would ever see the thing again." Irene counters. "I think it wasn't meant to be found. Maybe we weren't even meant to live through that attack."

"Then those visions...we weren't meant to see it." You wonder. "Obviously the game would want us to but for the owners...I don't see why they would want anyone to get a hint of their location."

"Wait then how about that npc? How'd she know about this place?" He asks. "If the city knew about this place then they would have stormed it, right? They didn't seem like the kind of guys to let this sort of thing fester. Especially those Inquisitor guys. They could have asked one of the big guilds to take care of it as a quest." Irene seems to think about it for a moment.

"That is weird...but we can't spend all this time speculating. We'll have to ask her once we get out of this cave." She says. You all pick up the pace and make your way though the cave system. A cold wind begins to blow through, leading you all to the exit. The bright light blinds you for a moment but you soon see the bridge before you full of scattered corpses. In the center of the dead, you see a makeshift campfire and the woman sitting next to it tying a bandage around her arm. She pulls it tight with her teeth before slowly getting up as you approach. "I appreciate the assistance. The Fury herself must have come through in my time of ne-" She stops midway just as a necklace begins to glow a faint blue...and you feel the scale in your pocket flare up with a wave of cold. A second seems to stretch for hours before the woman brings her weapon to bear, gun leveled against her arm. "Heretics! I should have assumed you'd turn against one another but you'll not find me so easily fooled!"

>What do you do?
>Sprint forward. Attempt to disarm the woman. With your speed, you might have enough of an edge.
>Try the diplomatic route. Explain what you're doing here and that you have a dragon scale.
>Keep the scale a secret. Try and turn the conversation around. Ask what she's doing here without backup in the middle of a blizzard no less.
>Argue that now is not the time to fight. Both parties are injured, you're deep in enemy territory, and you should find a better place to rest. For now, the enemy of your enemy is your friend.
>Write in.

>>6318878
>Try the diplomatic route. Explain what you're doing here and that you have a dragon scale.
I assure you the dragon man that rampaged in the city is quite dead, could you explain why this scale is so important to them?

>>6318878
>Keep the scale a secret. Try and turn the conversation around. Ask what she's doing here without backup in the middle of a blizzard no less.

>>6318878
>Try the diplomatic route. Explain what you're doing here and that you have a dragon scale.

>>6318878
>Sprint forward. Attempt to disarm the woman. With your speed, you might have enough of an edge.
i dont think shes in the mood to talk
that might change if we can disarm her and force her to hear us out tho

>>6318878
>Sprint forward. Attempt to disarm the woman. With your speed, you might have enough of an edge.
I think it'll be easier to negotiate with her when she's disarmed

>>6318878
>Try the diplomatic route. Explain what you're doing here and that you have a dragon scale.
She's a hysterical zealot, disarming her might just piss her off.

QM?

>>6318880
>>6318926
>>6319436
Apologies gents combination of a busy weekend and a bad cold knocked me out of it. We're trying the diplomatic route. Maybe the scale can give us the proof we need.

>>6321060
Glad you're back (and hopefully feeling better) QM!

"Hey! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" You shout, drawing back your helmet and raising your hands up. "We're not your enemy!" You say shifting slightly and adjusting your center of gravity to get ready to throw your self out of the way. The woman remains unconvinced.

"I'll not suffer your lies, heretic! You may have found a perch among the weak willed and desperate but you'll find no such leverage with me." The woman scowls as she prepares to fire.

"Waitwaitwait! We're here following a lead! Just like you! The attack on the prison! We were there too! We helped fight back the prisoners! If you ask any of the guards there they'd vouch for us!" You say quickly. You motion to your coat. "We found something there. Something that we think is connected to this place. Just...let me show you. I think it's what your necklace is reacting to." You say.

"He's telling the truth." Ryuji says behind you. "We didn't come here to fight you. We're on the same side. You know the saying, The enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

"He's right. Don't be stupid and think. If we were really enemies of Valford, it'd have been better off to let you die. More importantly, if we were lying how do you think I got one of these?" Irene adds and you hear the mechanical clicks of her weapon unfolding itself. "I doubt the city guards are the kind to give away their own equipment to their enemies. Especially during a prison break." A mixture of curiosity and doubt seem to soften the woman's eyes but only just. She slowly cocks the hammer on her weapon. More of a show of force than anything as you've seen that simply pulling the trigger would do the same thing or perhaps there was some hidden feature you weren't aware of.

"Just let me show you." You say as you slowly reach inside your coat. "I swear we're not up to anything."

"Not helping..." Irene says through her teeth. You fumble for a bit and pull out the scale which was now glowing furiously in your hand. Likewise, the woman's necklace was glowing just as brightly. "We found this on the body of one of the prisoners who transformed into a kind of dragon like monster. You must have heard of that at least, right?" You ask but the woman doesn't reply leaving an awkward silence. Her eyes, however, never seem to pull away from what lay in your hand.

"We figured that it must have come from somewhere close by but away from the eyes of the city. This seemed to be the only location that fit the description. We didn't expect to find anyone else here." You conclude. The woman's stance doesn't change but she does finally pull her gaze from the scale.

"Quite the tale if true. You'll forgive me if I find it rather difficult to believe 3 random strangers to brave a blizzard simply on a hunch." She says.

"Why else would we do it?" Irene asks growing annoyed. "Clearly we've come to get to the bottom of this. No one else is stupid enough to run through a blizzard and risk being disemboweled by the undead. Present company excluded of course." She adds, voice ripe with faux politeness. The woman narrows her eyes.

"Your glibness does you no credit Astrologian." She says as she slowly uncocks the hammer of her weapon and cautiously lowers it. "Enemy of my enemy indeed. I've heard tales of adventurers' eccentricities. Would that I have known The Fury would have my path cross the strangest of the lot..."

"So...we're cool?" Ryuji asks tentatively.

"For now, it seems we share a common ground." The woman says. "But know this, I'll not suffer your greed or ambition to stray me from my path. You may have whatever trinkets or treasures these abominations have stolen. I only care for the extermination of this filth that plagues my country but should your avarice get in my way, I'll not hesitate to cut you all down. In truth, I only ask one thing to prove your sincerity." She points to the scale in your hand. "We cannot allow it's existence to continue. If such an object truly has the power to transform a man into a monster, we cannot allow it to fall into the wrong hands. Or worse, allow it to return to it's owners."

You only half hear her what the woman is saying. Unbeknownst to everyone around you, your hud has been blinking red for the last second or so.

Warning: Item [Dragon Scale] has bonded with you and cannot be removed from inventory at this moment nor stolen from you by other players/NPCs.
Warning: Item [Dragon Scale] has bonded with you and cannot be removed from inventory at this moment nor stolen from you by other players/NPCs.
Warning: Item [Dragon Scale] has bonded with you and cannot be removed from inventory at this moment nor stolen from you by other players/NPCs.

New Quest Unlocked: Bound in Heresy
Assist the Inquisitor in clearing out The Frozen Gorge while bonded by Heretical item. Whether you choose reveal this bond to her, attempt to remove it, or keep it is up to you.

>What do you do?
>Try and convince the woman that you need to keep it. Say that as long as it's intact, the heretics won't unleash their full power. Like holding a hostage.
>Say that you won't keep it. Perhaps it's powers can be used against the heretics or crafted into a weapon against them. This could be an opportunity you can't afford to lose.
>Say that she can shoot it out of your hand. As proof of your sincerity or maybe devoutness, you'll let the gods choose what happens to you. Even if she can take you down in one shot, you still have you [Indomitable Will] effect which prevents your HP from going to 0 once per 24 real world hours.
>Be honest and say that you can't let the scale go of your own accord. It seemed to have been cursed on to you. Maybe the woman knows more about what's going on.
>Try and shift the conversation to something else. Maybe you can put off making a decision for now until you know more.
>Write in.

>>6321136
>Be honest and say that you can't let the scale go of your own accord. It seemed to have been cursed on to you. Maybe the woman knows more about what's going on.

>>6321136
>Be honest and say that you can't let the scale go of your own accord. It seemed to have been cursed on to you. Maybe the woman knows more about what's going on.

>>6321136
Oh, shit. I want to be honest, but this NPC will definitely fight us if we are, so...
>Say that you won't keep it. Perhaps it's powers can be used against the heretics or crafted into a weapon against them. This could be an opportunity you can't afford to lose.
Tell her we'll destroy it when we're done and know it won't be useful or necessary for stopping whatever they're doing.

>>6321136
>Try and convince the woman that you need to keep it. Say that as long as it's intact, the heretics won't unleash their full power. Like holding a hostage.

I agree with this anon >>6321145 about the likely outcome of telling the truth. I just don't think a zealot will be that pursuaded by repurposing a cursed item for our own uses

>>6321136
>Try and convince the woman that you need to keep it. Say that as long as it's intact, the heretics won't unleash their full power. Like holding a hostage.
for all we know, this isnt even a lie

>>6321145 is me, and I'll back these (>>6321172 & >>6321244) in a pinch.

>>6321132

>>6321136
>Be honest and say that you can't let the scale go of your own accord. It seemed to have been cursed on to you. Maybe the woman knows more about what's going on.

>>6321136
Ask the NPC if she could do you a favor and slice off your hand real quick. The scale seems to be unwilling to come off.

Seems like we're three for three on telling the lady we can't let go or skirting the truth a bit and arguing to hold onto it for insurance/using it against the cult.

>>6321145
Why would telling her the truth start a fight?

>>6321366
Just so we're clear, my vote here >>6321296
Is telling the lady the truth that we can't let the scale go, and showing a willingness to get a hand chopped off.

>>6321373
She told us that she would take us relinquishing the dangerous cult relic as a show of good faith. Going "uh, sorry, no, I can't, because it has low-key started to possess me" (to paraphrase) may set her off.

>>6321381
I am against playing the rest fo the game down one hand, so I'd need to know if losing a limb can even happen to a player character and how easy it is to get back, before I would commit to that.

>>6321384
Full limb loss is not a feature of Nevermore. Disabling limbs is possible but it's more of the cinematic kind of disabling such as slashing an arm and causing it to go dead. Such effects tend to be player skills for a guarantee on hit but can also be done without it though it's more rng dependent.

The effect lasts until someone trained in medicine treats the injury, a strong enough healing spell is used, or the affected person respawns. In universe, the company had to neuter the realism on that front to get past the censors and the fact that it basically became an instant win condition if you severed someone's limb.

NPCs don't have that luxury unfortunately. It seems like the censors only really cared about players losing their limbs and the mental effect that might have. Watching a life like AI losing an arm or leg is a-ok!

Long story short. You can't have your hand cut off but you can have your fingers broken and maybe you'll drop the item. Ryuji and Irene won't have any way to fix it though.

>>6321136
>Try and convince the woman that you need to keep it. Say that as long as it's intact, the heretics won't unleash their full power. Like holding a hostage
Allow me to break that tie

>>6321399
our lad and his friends live in a pretty weird world outside the game in some ways, huh?

>>6321416
They really do.

>>6321411
>>6321172
>>6321145
Alright, we'll argue to keep it for now. Writing.

"I think we should hold on to it for a bit longer." You say as you quickly slip the scale into your coat. Mercifully, you seem to be able to let go and leave it in your inventory. Unfortunately, it doesn't solve the issue before you. The woman's eyes narrow and the grip on her weapon tightens. "I just think that it could come in handy!" You blurt out.

"What are you doing?!" Irene hisses quietly. "Just do what the crazy lady says."

"What possible good could come from such an object?!" The woman says. "Nothing, that's what. To forsake one's humanity for power is the peak of hubris."

"Right! That's why I think we should hold on to it. It's probably important to them right? If they know we have it then they'll want to get it back. We can hold it like a hostage. They won't attack us at full force or else they risk that we might destroy it or they themselves do it in the crossfire." You explain, your tone probably more desperate than you would like it to be.

"Y-yeah! And we can probably use it against them too." Ryuji interjects. "They might have like spells or wards that only react to their own magic. If we have some of their power, we can use it to sneak by or circumvent it."

"It's actually a sensible idea." Irene agrees. "The less encounters we face the better. Unless you're somehow a cleric, we'd be better off saving our resources. Unless of course, dying is the list of things to do for your country." The woman gives you a look that seems to be a mix of a squint and a glare. After a few moments of contemplation she clicks her tongue at you and turns away.

"Tch...adventurers..." She mutters as she sits at her fire once more before motioning you all to join. Irene lets out a pent up sigh of frustration.

"We're not adventurers. We're just simple travelers." She says with a final jab before sitting across from the woman.

"Wait...we're not?" Ryuji asks in confusion. "Is this some kind of RP thing?" You blow out some air as you realize you were holding your breath just as your transformation's time runs out. You pat Ryuji on the back.

"It's...kinda a long story. I'll tell you about it tomorrow at work." You say and the two of you take your spots around the fire. The air is tense as you all huddle around the small fire. The woman quietly stares at the flame for a few minutes, her gaze unwavering, before she straightens up and digs through a small hip pouch hidden under her coat. She tosses what looks like a bundle of cloth at your group's feet. "Mend up. It'll be pointless if you end up dying before our work is done." She says.

Items Received:
10 Simple Bandages: Heals a moderate amount of HP (around 40%) over 30 seconds. User must remain in place as they tie their bandages up or lose the heal over time. Better quality bandages may heal more or require less time tending to oneself.

File: tough-crowd.gif (1.14 MB, 498x498)

1.14 MB GIF

"Thanks!" Ryuji says as he picks them up off the ground before dividing them up. "I'm Ryuji. That's Irene and that's...uhh..."

"I go by The Traveler." You say, taking your share of the bandages. "It's simple enough for people to remember." You lie.

"Right. What's you're name?" Ryuji asks.

"Eleanor. Inquisitor Eleanor Cadieux." The woman replies.

"Oh so we can call you Ellie then." Ryuji says.

"No. Only my parents can call me that and they're long dead." Eleanor says with a cold finality that cuts the conversation short. Ryuji gives you an awkward shrug and makes a tugging motion at his collar.

Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP:65%
MP:Full

Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP:60%
MP:25%

Ryuji Yamada (Roland)
HP: 45%
MP: Full


>Do you use the bandages? If so, how many?
>Yes
>No

>What else do you do?
>Ask Eleanor about the cultists. Maybe she has some information to share. (What do you ask?)
>Ask Eleanor about why she's here. Seems kind of strange to only send one inquisitor into a Cultist den.
>Ask about the Dragon situation. As an Inquisitor she might know more about it.
>Say nothing and rest.

>>6321543
Use all dem bandages

>Ask if they have a recommended attack or weakness to exploit for dragon men. We had to throw enough firepower to down dozens of men, and we don't have nearly as many people this time.

>>6321543
>Yes
One on Ryuji.
>Ask about the Dragon situation. As an Inquisitor she might know more about it.

>>6321543
>Yes
Get everyone back up to full, use 4.

>Ask Eleanor about the cultists. Maybe she has some information to share.
Does she know what exactly their objective is? Who leads them? Any mission-critical stuff?

>>6321543
>Yes, one each.

>Ask Eleanor about the cultists. Maybe she has some information to share. (What do you ask?)
Supporting >>6321557

>>6321543
supporting >>6321593

Winning choices are asking about the cultists and using bandage each. Writing.

You all take a bandage and start to heal up. Unlike first aid in the real world, all a player had to do was wrap the bandage around whatever injuries they had. The game would do the rest and the injuries would heal. The bandages would remain on for a few hours before disappearing giving other players enough to note an injured player and attack if they so choose. A player wearing bandages wasn't the best indicator of their status or level of resources. Sometimes it was just better to use bandages after a battle than waste potions which could heal in a pinch so a player covered in bandages could still have plenty of healing items and resources. Looking over, Ryuji was starting to look like a mummy with all the cuts and bites he had on him. Surprisingly, he was quite adept at cutting and applying the bandage with as little waste as possible.

Irene had fewer injuries that you could see. Most of her damage was due to the blizzard so the most she could do was apply it in generic areas such as around her arms and waist. There were technically some injuries there so the item would still take effect but it did look a bit odd seeing her using something for cuts on injuries that weren't bleeding or open. You turn to your own share and decide that using a single bandage would be worth it. Better to use it and be at max health than risk waiting for an emergency and simply die because of it. Unfortunately, your fancy clothing and layering made it a bit cumbersome to do so. You gingerly press the cloth to the area the scale was affecting you and to your relief the strange sensation slowly faded away. For a few moments all that could be heard was the crackling of the fire and the sounds of first aid.

"Can you tell us more about the cultists?" You ask Eleanor as you tie up a bandage's end. "What exactly do they want? Do you know who leads them?"

"As far as we know they are people who have sided with the dragons. They worship them, see them as the rightful heirs to this land." She says with a scoff. "Our people have been living in these icy lands since the dawn of time. It was our forefathers that learned to harness the power of aetherium, to fold steel, to fight back against the harshness of this land and temper it to our needs. When they dragons took note that we no longer feared the dark, they swooped down and began to attack. They made no attempt to parley, no attempt at peace. The war raged for generations until the Fury Herself was born and was raised to fight against out enemies that she lead us to push them back to the Wyvernlands. Now it seems like they are back, corrupting our people with their lies, using the fact that our people had not known the horrors of war to turn them against us. These Heretics seem to have forgotten that it was the Dragons that tried to kill us first, murdered our mothers and fathers, betrayed us when The Fury asked us to lower our weapons in hopes of a peaceful end and cut her down." She continues, her anger rising.

"Alright, alright." You say gently, as you motion for her to cool down. "They want to destroy all that you've built but..." You hesitate for a moment worried that you'd set Eleanor on a rant again. "Why? Or rather why now? From what I saw Valford is quite a fortress not to mention you're probably the country most known for ranged weaponry. I would think dragons are smart enough to know that this is probably a fight they won't win."

"I don't know. Maybe they think us complacent. Maybe they think their power protects them from our technology." She says as she starts to sharpen her weapon. "If so then it'll be their hubris that'll be their undoing. We repelled them once when they first came back years ago. Slew one of the great dragons, Aramith. We lost many in those first few years but that day was the day we turned the tide as our forefathers did. The Dragonkillers were a success and they paid the price for underestimating us." You and your friends share a glance. You were all thinking the same thing. A dragon slain, a vision of icy caverns and a dungeon with a known lich in it. Suddenly, the gorge didn't feel as vast as you would have liked.

"S-so do the dragons have a leader? Like an Elder Dragon? Maybe they're the one behind all this." Ryuji asks, his grip on his weapon growing tighter. Eleanor shakes her head.

"Our tales speak of the first born dragon, Zandred the Ancient. He was there at the beginning and he survived when we forced them back. Every battle against him cost us thousands and nary a scratch was left on him. We've not seen nor heard of him in centuries. The cultists we've interrogated have not mentioned him by name or alluded to him." She explain. "If he is was behind it, I doubt he would be relying on cultists and subterfuge."

"Then is must be some other dragon maybe a younger one." Irene says. "Or maybe someone is working with them? Convinced them to return and fight." Eleanor stops cleaning her gunblade and stares at Irene.

"Don't be a fool. Why would a dragon ever choose to work with a human as equals rather than simply destroy them outright?" She asks. Irene shrugs.

"Why would a human work with a dragon?!" She snaps back. "Clearly something different is happening here. We can't just ignore if there's some kind of...super heretic or whatever. What if the dragons are mind controlled with magic? Or maybe they're using your technology to control them like with the dragon scale controlling that monster guy?"

"If there's someone with power enough to control a dragon's mind why stop at a war? Why not simply dominate the minds of everyone?" Eleanore shoots back. You and Ryuji stop bandaging for a moment and watch as the two woman argue over the complexities of magic and war.

"Gloria's kinda...different in game isn't she?" He asks a bit flabbergasted at the scene before him. You give him a weak smile.

"Yeah...she kinda is." You respond in awe and get up. Better you get people back on track before the whole dungeon hears you again. "Alright that's enough." You say sternly and getting up and pulling the two, who were now face to face, apart. You've dealt with enough angry teammates and post match fights that you were basically on autopilot. "You can shout at each other once we're not in the lion's den. Eleanor, is there anything else you can tell us about this place? Why are you even here to begin with? This place is always crawling with monsters. Sending a lone Inquisitor seems suicidal." You ask, turning the attention away from the argument to you. Eleanor pulls herself free from your grip and goes to sit back on her side of the fire while you let Irene go.

"This was supposed to be a scouting mission. We received reports that patrols were being lost in the area. It was suspected that it was simply monster attacks nonetheless I received orders to come and investigate." Eleanor pokes at what remains of the fire.

"Is it normal for the Inquisition to look into these matters?" You ask.

"Not that I know of. This was not something I did during my training. Perhaps it is something they do once we are allowed to operate alone. This is my first year as a solo." She says.

"What?! You're telling me we're doing a dungeon with a rookie Inquisitor?!" Irene shouts.

"Maybe you're used to bumbling adventurers but even the most novice Inquisitor can handle 10 of your lot. But then again, it shouldn't surprise me given that you only have your own skill to compare." Eleanor shoots back. You sigh as the shouting starts up once more. You could finally say the game was just like you remembered it, years ago.

>What do you do?
>Head out and start rushing to the next checkpoint. Take anything in your way down.
>Continue on wards but take the stealthy approach. Avoid as many encounters as you can.
>Ask about something else before moving on. (What do you ask about?)
>Write in.

>>6322416
>Continue on wards but take the stealthy approach. Avoid as many encounters as you can.
If there really is an undead dragon down here, the smallfry won't mean much. Killing them will just free up control on the big dragon, and surely a big dragon will friendly fire if they swarm us.

We could also search for possible places for dragon riders to hide here. If they were to fly out, they'd have to navigate the gaps between bridges, limiting where they could actually be.

>>6322416
>Head out and start rushing to the next checkpoint. Take anything in your way down.

>>6322424
Counterpoint: we should grind a little to level up and get loot. We may need it for the boss fight. RPG logic, no?

>>6322416
>Head out and start rushing to the next checkpoint. Take anything in your way down.
the quest we got says we need to clear the dungeon out
avoiding encounters goes against that

>>6322416
>Continue on wards but take the stealthy approach. Avoid as many encounters as you can.

>>6322416
>Head out and start rushing to the next checkpoint. Take anything in your way down.

>>6322416
>Continue onwards but take the stealthy approach. Avoid as many encounters as you can.
I forget what we were doing before. I think we were sneaking

>>6322416
>Head out and start rushing to the next checkpoint. Take anything in your way down

Rushing to the next check point wins. Writing.

"That's enough!" You shout, your voice echoing throughout the gorge. "Guys, we're here to do a job and arguing isn't going to help us right now. We need to be on top form to do this. We have no real healer and our supplies are low. So for now, we have to put everything aside and just trust one another. Our success depends on it and if what we think is true then we can't afford to fail. The heretics are here and they're probably trying to amass an army of undead. What they intend to do with it we don't know but we can't let them complete their goals. So for now, we need to set aside whatever problems we got and focus on our task." You say almost by rote. "Now, we need to clear out the gorge and our best bet is to take out the big players first. We'll rush through the caves and take down whatever gets in our way. Better to do that than risk them hitting us from behind. Once we hit the bottom of the gorge, we'll need to be on our toes. By then, we'll be deep in enemy territory and not doubt it'll be where the strongest of them are." You look up from the drawing on the bridge you were making out of ash. "Anyone else got a better plan?" When no one speaks up you clap your hands to clear them of debris. "Alright, let's get moving. Ryuji take point, I'll take back and Eleanor can back you up. Irene will be in between us to serve as support."

---

The sounds of your team's footsteps echoes throughout the tunnels of the gorge. Team's. It's been a long time since you had been in one. Not just another extra person but a solid group of people who's skills you had to balance. You hadn't even intended to take the lead. In fact, you had hoped the others would have and almost expected it to be the case. Instead you found yourself at the center of the conversation, making decisions, directing tactics. But slipping back into the role feel...comfortable. You doing more than bossing people around. You were helping your friends win. It was because of their talents and skills that you were overcoming obstacles that you weren't expected to and you realize that it's this part of the game you always loved. Victory through team work or failure as a group. You either all celebrated or all commiserated. Whatever the outcome, you all did it together, as a team.

"We got incoming!" Ryuji shouts as you turn the corner. He hurls his glaive and it pierces an undead knight, pinning it to the nearby wall. A gunshot rings out and it's head explodes just as your tank rips the glaive free from the wall and thrusts it at the next nearest zombie. You're pulled from your thoughts and shift forward to cover Irene. The four of you work in concert cutting, punching and blasting your way through the group with ease. You cross the next bridge moments later and run into another group. You soon start to feel a few things off as you cut your way through the crowds of zombies.

Each group seems to get smarter the farther into the gorge you go. Their begin to block attacks sluggishly, then quickly along with a back step to create an opening, before starting to snap their own limbs and bend them in awkward angles to parry attacks no normal human could. Others would shift around in the middle of a fight to look for a gap in your defenses and attempt to flank and surround your group. You soon find yourself more and more on the back line to keep them from breaking through and converging on your open flank.

Moreover, the scale burns more and more as you progress. It seems to pulse cold then steal it back leaving only burning behind. Sometimes it feels heavier for a moment before returning to it's regular weight. The scale had not dealt damage to you yet but the pain was becoming a distraction and it's seemingly random pulses often distract you long enough for an enemy to score a hit. Fortunately for your group the tight corridors of the caves helped keep the amount of enemies you faced at a manageable number. "Is this normal?" Ryuji asks as he cleaves through a trio of enemies. "I don't remember zombies doing this."

"We must be approaching their unholy lord." Eleanor says, her hands a blur as she reloads her weapon. "But we've seen no sign of the heretics. Only their undead slaves."

"Then they have to be at the end of this dungeon." Irene calls out. She rips a card free from her globe and hurls it a Ryuji. "Once we start to run into them we're going be dealing with opponents who can plan father than just attacking what they see. Assuming we even see them before they strike."

"We might be nearing the next big fight." You say with a wince as you kick an enemy's legs hard enough to shatter them. You weren't really sure how to word it for an NPC but your group was coming up to a boss fight. The only issue was whether or not you'd be fighting the Knight Captain, some new boss, or the secret Yeti boss. You weren't sure which one would be worse or which one you'd be able to take down. You mange to break through and run through the final tunnel. Up ahead you saw light and the floor of the gorge. You and the others come to a slow halt. Ryuji and Irene knew the dungeon well enough to know about the upcoming boss and it would be best to try and take a peek before making your next move.

"What are you doing?" Eleanor hisses. "The enemy could be upon us at any second."

"There's something big up ahead." Irene says blocking her way. "Call it 'Traveler's intuition'." You slowly sidle against the wall to the exit and crane your neck to peek. A chilly wind blows through and you strain your ears to hear something through the icy mist. Part of you hoped for the clanking armor of the undead Knight Captain, part of you hoped that you could hear whispering of heretics but a small part of you hoped to hear-

File: FLUnQfqUYAAMRt8.jpg (469 KB, 1482x1651)

469 KB JPG

The sound of crunching metal sounds out and from the mist you see a mass of steel and broken limbs fly by before slamming into the wall on the other side of the gorge. The remains of the Knight Captain lay in a heap mangled beyond recognition and a roar explodes dispelling the icy mist. A tall muscular figure stood at the far east end of the gorge. At 8ft tall, it looked as if it was carved from the very rock of the walls themselves. Twin horns portruded from it's head, a sign of it's eldritch origins or perhaps some devil deal gone wrong. It stomped around, sniffing the air and you can see the faint outlines of broken zombies buried in the snow. But just beyond that, at where your vision begins to fail you, you see something shimmering a familiar blue color. Focusing on it makes your eyes water and a funny feeling pricks at the back of your head.

"What in the Gods' name is that?" Eleanor whispers fiercely. "Another kind of abomination made by the heretics?"

"The Ancient Yeti." You say. "A monster far older than anything we've come across. Maybe as old as Valford itself."

"Shit...what do we do?" Irene asks. "You don't think we can take that thing down, right?"

"We have to try." Ryuji says. "We can't get to the end without fighting it."

"We can try and sneak by. The entrance to the second half of the dungeon is right behind it. We can use the mist to sneak by." Irene suggests.

"It might smell us." Ryuji counters. "We might not have a choice"

>What do you do?
>Attempt to sneak by. If you're very lucky, you might be able to avoid a fight. Your luck as held out so far though you can't say if rolling a secret boss while undermanned is lucky or not.
>Try and head for that blue thing. It makes you feel uneasy but clearly it wasn't here before. That seems like the right direction.
>Fight the thing head on. You'll have to play it smart. Real smart. But if you can take it down...well perhaps more fame can't be a bad thing.
>Send the group forward while one of you stay behind to hold the monster's attention. There's no doubt about it, they will die but at least the rest of the team can make it past. Whether or not they'll survive the rest of the dungeon is also unknown.
>Write in.

Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP:80%
MP:Full

Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP:100%
MP:55%

Ryuji Yamada (Roland)
HP: 65%
MP: Full

Eleanor Cadieux
HP:75%

>>6323687
>Try and head for that blue thing. It makes you feel uneasy but clearly it wasn't here before. That seems like the right direction.

>>6323687
>Try and head for that blue thing. It makes you feel uneasy but clearly it wasn't here before. That seems like the right direction.

>>6323687
Im guessing we can't bandage right now?

>Ask if Eleanor can see that blue thing and if her necklace reacts to it. We might need her to deal with it while we fight the yeti.

>>6323774
If we can, have Ryuji bandage like this anon suggested, before we fight. But if not...

>>6323687
>Fight the thing head on. You'll have to play it smart. Real smart. But if you can take it down...well perhaps more fame can't be a bad thing.
Just do this. It's a game, and taking down secret bosses is fun.

>>6323687
>>Fight the thing head on. You'll have to play it smart. Real smart. But if you can take it down...well perhaps more fame can't be a bad thing.
but before that we get everyone to 100% with bandages

>>6323687
>Try and head for that blue thing. It makes you feel uneasy but clearly it wasn't here before. That seems like the right direction.

>>6323687
>Fight the thing head on. You'll have to play it smart. Real smart. But if you can take it down...well perhaps more fame can't be a bad thing.
Also have Ryuji and Eleanor patch themselves up

Seems like fighting the secret boss is the winning option. I'll get to writing.

In the end, you really could help it. "Well if we can't go around it then we'll need to go through it." You say as you feel a bit grin spread across your face. "Ryuji, Eleanor. Patch up."

"Are you insane?!" Irene asks. "That thing is meant for a full party. With a healer!"

"Then we'll need to not get hit. Especially you. I'm sure that thing can one shot you." You say as you start to draw on the ground again.

"You're crazy. We can't have a normal adventure with you around." Irene continues, flabbergasted. "First dragon people and now this."

"Loathe I am to admit it. The Astrologian speaks true. I do not think that a whole squad of our best knights could fell such a creature and you expect us to do it with a motley crew of four?!" Eleanor says, her eyes almost bulging out of her face from shock.

"If it means anything, I think we can do it." Ryuji says tearing off some bandage with his teeth. He gives you a thumbs up and a smile. "I trust ya." You give him a nod and continue to draw on the ground outlining the rough area you had as an area.

"The Ancient Yeti will mostly stick to whoever has aggro." You say dropping all pretense of keeping within universe. If you were going to survive this you were going to have to lay out everything you knew about the boss, you could explain it away to Eleanor later. "However, after taking a certain amount of damage it will swap targets to the healer and attempt to use it's frozen breath attack to freeze them solid. The freeze deals damage upfront and then an ongoing DoT as long as the freeze keeps going. If we had someone with fire spells it can be ended early. Without a healer, it will simply target a random player so we all have to be on our guard. Any hit without a healer will simply burn us down so getting caught in it is not an option." You draw several lines through your map. "These are the bridges that run above us. The yeti also has a stomping attack. Anyone nearby will be a target of his stomps and they're fairly easy to dodge if you can see them. The tricky part is the aftermath. The stomps themselves will cause the built up ice on the bridges to rain down upon us all. Given that the bridges are not evenly spread out, the icicles will fall at random intervals. Ryuji, you're going to have to lead the boss away from the bridges so that the rest of the group can continue to attack while moving to a safe zone, here." You say pointing to a small gap on your map. "Some of the icicles will remain while others will simply shatter the ones that remain we'll need to avoid for now. The yeti will destroy them if he's too close with his wide swings. Once he hits 30% HP he'll begin to cast his ultimate power. He'll conjure a blizzard and send spikes of ice around before sending it flying out in an explosion. We'll have to hide behind one of the icicles to avoid the damage. If we have any bandages left, we can use them to heal. Once that's done, it's a simply matter of finishing him off."

The others nod along as you conclude you little lecture but you can feel Eleanor's gaze on you. "How do you know all this?" She asks warily. "I've never heard of such a creature and yet here you are giving a scholar's lecture on it's battle tactics and environment as if you've studied it for a life time."

>What do you say?
>Say that you've learned a thing or two as a traveler. It comes with the territory.
>Smile and simply deflect by asking who's to say you haven't lived a few life times.
>Tell her that it doesn't matter right now. All she needs to do is trust you.
>Write in

>How do you approach the yeti?
>Rush him down and strike before he can react.
>Attempt to sneak up for a devastating starting blow.
>Send Ryuji out first to bait him then strike while it's back is turned.
>Write in.

>>6325005
>Say that you've learned a thing or two as a traveler. It comes with the territory.
The legend grows! Well, albeit with a NPC this time, so that probably won't do anything.

>Send Ryuji out first to bait him then strike while it's back is turned.
Teach him our techniques. Trust in our team. We want our friends to play the game, too, not just stand around watching us be a pro gamer.

>>6325005
>Say that you've learned a thing or two as a traveler. It comes with the territory.
>Send Ryuji out first to bait him then strike while it's back is turned.

>>6325005
>Say that you've learned a thing or two as a traveler. It comes with the territory.
>Send Ryuji out first to bait him then strike while it's back is turned.

>>6325005
>Say that you've learned a thing or two as a traveler. It comes with the territory.
>Send Ryuji out first to bait him then strike while it's back is turned.

>>6325028
Support

>>6325028
>Teach him our techniques. Trust in our team. We want our friends to play the game, too, not just stand around watching us be a pro gamer.
Taking our old man's words to heart I see.

>>6325028
>>6325035
>>6325068
>>6325083
>>6325382
Unanimous decision. I'll get to writing.

"I'm a traveler. I've picked up a thing or two in my journeys. All part of the fun." You say with a grin. You stand up and start to limber up. "Alright, if there's no other questions then let's head out."

"Let us hope that what you say is true. Or else none of us will be participating in this 'fun' of yours." Eleanor says flourishing her weapon.

"You two are nuts." Irene says drawing a card. "But if we win..." She gives a noncommittal nod and a shrug. "Maybe I'll fire up the grill early and we can have burgers for lunch tomorrow." You feel Ryuji slap you in the back.

"Dude! We totally gotta win now." He says. "Free burgers!"

"Yeah." You chuckle as you rub the back of your head. You hope that your information wasn't too outdated but it was too late to worry about that now. You'd had gotten everyone ready. "Hey, by the way." You start, stopping Ryuji from exiting. "Don't block on this one. Even if your survive, it'll just knock you back and ruin your positioning. Use your glaive to manuver. Combining it with your Pin ability, you can stick it into the boss and use your weapon to vault or shift around the boss. With the momentum you get if you jump before grabbing it, it'll also rip it free and cause the bleed debuff." You say. Ryuji looks at his weapon and then at you.

"Huh, really? Never thought about it like that. I guess I can use it like a pole vault." He says. "Thanks!"

"Aim for gut or thighs. If you hit his arms or chest, he can easily move your weapon out of the way for you to retrieve it." You advise.

"Gotcha. Just hit and run. Keep up the aggro. Here I go." He says gripping his weapon and rushing out of the cave with a hoot and a holler. The yeti turns to face the source of the noise and the two clash with their voices long before they do physically. Both of them let out a roar as Ryuji activates his skill to taunt the boss. The yeti's body flashes red slightly indicating that the debuff effect on Ryuji's skill activated, lowering it's defenses.

"Now! Everyone go!" You shout as you break into a sprint into the cold open air. "Eleanor, Irene fire at it's face!" You order as your armor envelopes once your body once more. For the briefest of moments, you feel your body temp drop drastically in temperature and for that small moment you fear you'd had frozen solid before your transformation kicks in and regulates your temperature. You hear the sound of gunfire and a flash of light fills your vision for a moment. The yeti's head snaps back and it screams in pain as it swings it's arms wildly trying to hit whatever it could in a panic. Ryuji rolls out of the way of the first swipe, ducking behind the boss. After the second swipe, he swings his glaive upwards and cutting deep under the ribs. Another thrust and the glaive sticks before he swings on it, ripping out of the wound and causing thick blood to seep out and stain it's white fur.

"Fury take you, foul beast!" Eleanor screams as she reaches melee range. She cuts into the yeti's leg with her slashing recoil combo. It cuts and slides cleanly but like Ryuji's attacks it only left a shallow cut. Deep enough to cause pain but not enough to hobble the monster. It seems like you were going to have to slowly chip away at the monster.


Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP:80%
MP:Full

Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP:100%
MP:53%

Ryuji Yamada (Roland)
HP: Full
MP: Full

Eleanor Cadieux
HP:Full

>What do you do?
>Focus on kicking. Your spurs have a small chance to bleed. DoTs might be the thing that saves you all.
>Use your maneuverability to strike at the monster's face and upper body. You'll be in danger if he swats or grabs you out of the air but you'll be able to strike at a more vulnerable area.
>Ask for one of your party member's weapons. Mixing up your attack types might confuse and throw the boss if it starts feeling up similar pains from different sudden angles.
>Try and synchronize your attacks. Aim at a single spot. If the enemy's toughness is too high then focusing on a single point might break through. You're not sure if your team is coordinated enough to keep it up without losing focus on defense though.
>Write in.

>>6325566
>Focus on kicking. Your spurs have a small chance to bleed. DoTs might be the thing that saves you all.
Kite, bait, dodge, inflect bleed! Whittle it down! We'll cheese this boss.

>>6325566
>Focus on kicking. Your spurs have a small chance to bleed. DoTs might be the thing that saves you all.

What are our skills again?

Im thinking grappling the mouth to stick the glaive in, then using improvised to pull it out

>>6325754
https://pastebin.com/XLnJfzV1

Here you go. It doesn't have ryuji's stuff as I haven't updated it yet. But you have everyone else's.


Ryuji Yamada (Roland)
Class: Fighter
Level: 7

Skills/Spells:
Taunt: Goad the enemy into facing you, diverting the party's aggro onto yourself.
Warcry: Taunt now affects enemies in an area around you. Affected enemies have a chance to have their defenses lowered. Cooldown increased to 20 seconds.

Guard: Raise your defense momentarily, reducing damage taken for the next 5 seconds. Cooldown 20 seconds.
Endure: Brace your body to withstand the attack. Guard no longer requires a shield. Enemies have a harder time forcibly moving you with their attacks and spells while under the effect of Endure.

Power Through Adversity: While wearing Medium or lighter armor, gain extra attack power as your health diminishes. The lighter the armor, the greater the bonus per percentage missing.

Polearm expertise: Gain extra damage and attack speed while wielding polearms.

[Fighter/Ranger] Pin: Hurl your weapon at an enemy and pin them to the nearest object or surface for 5 seconds. If removed by you, deals extra damage and a chance to cause bleeding otherwise the weapon returns to you at the end of the pin duration. Cooldown: 20 seconds.

Steel Cyclone: Whip your weapon around in a 360 degree arc, striking everyone within your weapons range. Weaker enemies have a chance of being knocked down. 15 second cooldown.

Cooldowns are in a weird state at the moment. Trying to figure out how to tie them into number of posts or just leave them as a thematic thing.

>>6325795
>>6325566
Id really like to bleed the inside of its mouth to deter frost breaths, but i guess its too early

>Focus on kicks
>Use doublejumps to kick the face for bleed and bait grabs that you can jump out of.

>>6325566
>Focus on kicking. Your spurs have a small chance to bleed. DoTs might be the thing that saves you all.

>>6325566
>Ask for one of your party member's weapons. Mixing up your attack types might confuse and throw the boss if it starts feeling up similar pains from different sudden angles.

>>6325569
>>6325610
>>6325817
>>6325850
Kicks is the winner. Hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween or just a good day if you don't celebrate it. Had a nice BBQ with friends, myself. I'll get to writing.

https://youtu.be/ms1_fL1eJ-o?si=dCaT-QBkDlnoW8_4

You drop into a slide letting the icy and snowy ground carry you forward. As you slip between the yeti's legs you swing your legs up and spin on your back. You were a bit embarrassed at the amount of break dancing videos you had to watch to learn how to do the windmill properly in game but the Japanese Brawler mains swore by it back in your day as an offensive way to get back up from getting knocked prone. You wouldn't have believed it if you hadn't seen it in competitive videos overseas and you were always a bit sad that you never got the chance to try it out in pvp against them.

Your spurs slice into the monster's thighs making shallow cuts that were painful but didn't bleed. Just as you begin to lose momentum you kip up into a backflip then leap off of thin air to avoid the oncoming swipe. The yeti howls at you more in annoyance than pain and begins to turn towards you before Ryuji steps in. "Sorry bud but you're dancing with me!" He shouts as his ongoing taunt forces the monster to focus on him.

"Make him bleed!" You shout as you hurl yourself back at the monster. With another swift kick your spur drives a deep gas into it's cheek that begins to bleed freely. You land, drifting slightly from the momentum. "We can't beat him with sheer force, our weapons don't cut deep enough. We'll have to DoT him to death."

"And how do you expect us to accomplish that, Traveler? The beast's hide is too tough." Eleanor shouts from the other side as she unloads her ammo into the monster's back trying to keep her distance.

"We can aim for weak points we already made!" Ryuji shouts as he hurls his glaive like a harpoon right into the yeti's leg inches above a cut that was made before. "If we can hit the wounds we already made, then they'll just get deeper and bigger right?"

"Good thinking! Irene keep us buffed and keep aiming for the monster's face. We can pray that it goes blind eventually. Eleanor, try and avoid hitting the wounds with your shots we don't want to accidentally cauterize them. I'll focus on the head as well. I think with my mobility I can stay out of the yeti's reach." You instruct.

"Careful dude! This guy's faster than he looks." Ryuji cautions as he shift in to grab his weapon and rip it free. Blood begins to well up and drip freely. Eleanor snaps her weapon open and starts to shove another set of shells into the cylinder. She rushes forward and mimics your slide to avoid an attack before rolling to her feet, aiming her weapon at the ground behind her and fires. The blank goes off and she rockets forward to slash deep into the yeti's side with the momentum.

Eleanor Cadieux has learned from your aerial techniques in the heat of battle. Eleanor learned the skill [Sonic Break].

"She can learn?!" Irene shouts as she pulls a card. "Damn! Give me something better!" She growls as she shoves it back into orbit and forces another draw. The card snaps back into it's usual location in the orbit before they all begin to spin rapidly to randomize the draw. "Better! Look out, timing is gonna change!" She calls out.

"What do you mean I can learn, woman?! I'm not some kind of imbecile!" Eleanor screams as she twists in mid air to land next to Ryuji. The card flies right under her and strikes the yeti in the chest. Immediately the familiar ethereal chains spring forth and wrap themselves around it's limbs and hamper it's movements. "Now! We must press our advantage!" The three of you rush forward to strike. Ryuji flourishes his weapon into a downward swing and cutting cleanly into the monster's stomach just as Eleanor leaps over the weapon and fires off another round into a spinning slash. The gunblade cuts deeper into the flesh opening up the wound some more and causing it to hemorrhage, splattering Eleanor with hot blood.

The yeti's roar is cut short as a bolt of magic hits it in the face causing it to go blind and turn right into your kick. Your heel digs deep into it's forehead and blood pours forth into it's eyes. Another roar breaks out as icy mist begins starts to seep from the beast's mouth marking the start of it's icy breath attack. In it's desperation or perhaps due to it's programming it faces in a random direction and locks onto your Inquisitor who was stuck in her attack's animation. "Look out!" Ryuji shouts. He sidesteps and whips his weapon around, cutting into the monster again and striking Eleanor with the haft of his glaive. The impact sends her flying out of the attack's range but leaves him right in the firing line of the attack.

Skill: Steel Cyclone Activated.

Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP:80%
MP:Full

Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP:100%
MP:50%

Ryuji Yamada (Roland)
HP: Full
MP: Full

Eleanor Cadieux
HP:85%

Boss: Ancient Yeti
HP: 80%
Ongoing Effects: Bleed x3, Blind, The Shackles (Attack and movement speed is decreased.)

>What do you do?
>Let Ryuji tank the hit. With his defensive skill, he'll probably survive but you'll have to keep the boss away from him while you wait out the ensuing debuff and DoT.
>Try and get Ryuji out of the way. You might be fast enough if you burn all your jumps to get there but you'll take the brunt of the attack if you can't find a way to get out of the aoe yourself.
>Tell Irene to draw a card. If she can draw The Bole or the Chains then the damage will be reduced. If she can draw The Balance then she'll have a way to remove the ensuing debuff. Any one of those could drastically increase Ryuji's survival. It's a 3 out of 7 chance.
>Write in.

>>6327171
>Use grapple to wrench the head up
Wonder what freezing the ice spikes will do

>>6327171
>Tell Irene to draw a card. If she can draw The Bole or the Chains then the damage will be reduced. If she can draw The Balance then she'll have a way to remove the ensuing debuff. Any one of those could drastically increase Ryuji's survival. It's a 3 out of 7 chance.
We gamble in this household.

>>6327171
>Use grapple to wrench the head up

>>6327183
+1

>>6327183
+1
seems like that could work

>>6327171
>Tell Irene to draw a card. If she can draw The Bole or the Chains then the damage will be reduced. If she can draw The Balance then she'll have a way to remove the ensuing debuff. Any one of those could drastically increase Ryuji's survival. It's a 3 out of 7 chance.

>>6327183
Hell yeah, save the day and keep levellingnup our hero skills! +1

>>6327171
>>6327171

>>6327183
>>6327204
>>6327226
>>6327502
>>6327764
No gambling this time. Instead we're wrestling...of a sort. Writing.

>>6327966
And now I'm caught up.
I'm really glad to see you still writing Luo, and I really like the new world you've created. The action is still as crisp as I've come to enjoy and with all that gushing out of the way.

Lets kick this guys ass!

>>6327992
can we get a W for Luo?
all quests i follow always seem to die after a thread or two

>>6328016
W
great QM and very enjoyable story

"Damn. Damn. Damn." You mutter as you twist in the air and expend one of your extra jumps to rocket back towards the yeti. Your knee slams into it's nose and your plant your hand on it's head to vault over behind. You grab a fistfull of hair and use your momentum to effectively slingshot both your knees into the back of the beast's neck forcing him to look upward.

Ability: Grab Activated

The icy torrent of mist and ice shard burst forward into the sky. It collides and envelopes the bridges above causing the icicles to grow. The echoing sounds of creaking and cracking rain down upon you as a threat of what might come soon. "There! Aim for it's neck! He's given us an opening!" You hear Ryuji shout. You redouble your efforts and try to leverage your weight to keep the monster's head tilted back. The yeti tries to resist but its caught between your grip and it's attack's animation. Ryuji scrambles forward and swings wide as he puts his whole back into the attack. His glaive's blade glints in the light as it streaks across the yeti's neck with such speed it almost looks like it simply slips through. You feel the the monster strain against your grip but you hold fast long enough for Eleanor to attack. You hear a gunshot and see a blur of red and black rocket towards you. A bloodsoaked Inquisitor matches the beast's roar as she fires again and spins in midair. The yeti's roars are cut short and turn to gurgles as the sword cuts the neck again. The breath attack dies down immediately and the monster staggers back as it claws at the pain in it's throat. Adding to it's pain is the searing light to it's retinas as Irene continues to blast at it's already damaged corneas.

But a wounded beast is a dangerous one. Fueled by rage and pain it begins to swing randomly at opponents it can't see. Missing wildly, it goes for the one other it can feel besides pain. You feel it's massive hand wrap around your entire forearm followed by the fleeting feeling of vertigo as everything it turned upside down and suddenly your vision grows dark as you slam into the ground once, twice, three times. Though your grip was unbreakable, the fur you were clinging too was not. It rips away from the yeti's scalp as he pulls your free. Your vision becomes fragmented in one eye as the lens in front of it cracks from the first impact. The second dents and knocks your mouth guard loose causing snow and light to seep in before the third finally causes your armor to shatter breaking your transformation prematurely. You'd probably be wondering if your cheat death would buy you enough time for the others to save you if it wasn't for the fact you felt an icy fire burning in your mind as your concentration lapsed.

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---

Eleanor grits her teeth as she watches the white furred monstrosity swing around the stranger like some kind of toy. He was a strange man with even stranger, infuriating, companions but he was undoubtly a good man. Foolish, but good. Time and again, he prioritized the other's well being over whatever mission or goal his traveling band had. Case in point, only a good man would fling themselves at an enemy to save one of their own. Now he was paying the price. A burning rage builds in her chest, searing away the pain in her ribs, burning away any doubts and fears. She had made a vow. Swore an oath to the Fury herself on the day that inquisitor found her hiding under the corpses of her parents from the dragon attacks. To slay those that would dare bare their fangs against Her people. The ones who had no shield. To bring to light the evils that would dare skulk in the shadows. It was an oath she repeated at the feet of Her Holiness's statue when she were promoted to full inquisitor nearly a year ago.


To their trespass, I am witness.
Here to pass this final sentence.
No forgiveness! No deliverance!
Only justice! Only VENGEANCE!

"BARBARIAN! Throw this at the beast!" She screams as she shreds the tailcoats from her uniform. Stuffing the remaining ammo into the makeshift bag, Eleanor wraps the bundle tightly around her weapon and lights the a makeshift wick made of bandage on fire. Hurling at Ryuji, he catches it with a brief look of confusion on his face before it grows stern and he nods.

"Irene! I need a card! Any card!" He shouts as he begins to make a running start. Irene rips a card free as she wills all the luck she can into the draw.

Skill: Draw Activated.
Skill: The Shackles Activated.

"Order up, you icy fuck!" Irene screams as she hurls the card right into the yeti's chest just as the gunblade leaves Ryuji's hand and Eleanor screams a pray to the heavens.

Skill: Pin Activated.

"Guide us! O Mighty Fury!
Guide us to Victory!"

Be it divine intervention, Ryuji's skill, or a combination of both the Gunblade flights straight and true impaling the yeti in the chest. It staggers backwards from the force just as the first round goes off. The explosion knocks it off it's feet and the ensuing chain reaction of various munitions send it sprawling to the grown dropping The Traveler in the process. The yeti is concussed, set on fire, shot, hit with shrapnel and gunblade fragments all at once. At the same time the force of the explosions reverberates throughout the grotto. Already strained from the increased bulk, the icicles are freed from their perch and begin to fall upon the group below.

---

A few moments prior...

A roar rips through your mind once more in that brief moment your vision goes dark. Time seems to stretch forever as you feel the roar rip through you cold and ruinous. But it feels strangely distant, like a shout directed to someone behind you rather than at you. Almost like you're simply a bystander in an argument that doesn't involve you. Another roar ensues and this one feels directed at you, you sense that there is something comprehensible with in it. A language you don't understand and yet resonates with your mind. Comprehension is just at your fingertips when...

An explosion rips you free form whatever second of time you were frozen in, you feel heat envelope a side of you before you crash into cold snow. As you struggle to get up, your vision returns and you see a yeti with a smoldering hole in it's chest and a rain of large icicles raining down on you and your party.


Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP:25%
MP:Full

Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP:100%
MP:46%

Ryuji Yamada (Roland)
HP: Full
MP: Full

Eleanor Cadieux
HP:85%

Boss: Ancient Yeti
HP: 35%
Ongoing Effects: Bleed x3, Heavy Bleed (Permanent), Burning, The Shackles (Attack and movement speed is decreased.)

>What do you do?
>Book it to the safe zone. You've lost your increased speed and mobility but you might just make it.
>Try and dodge the falling ice. You're somewhat disoriented and the timing of the falling ice it off though. You're probably going to need to pull all your reflexes and knowledge together to make it work.
>Press your luck. You don't have time to think or strategize. Bunker down and see if you're hopefully in a safe spot. (requires a d100 roll. Higher the better)
>Write in.

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>>6327992
>>6328016
>>6328019
D'aww thanks guys. Always makes me happy to hear people are enjoying the goofy mishmash of media that are my quests. Not to mention hearing that people from my past quest are back and enjoying it too. Makes my day it does. Here's to the future guys!

>>6328092
>Book it for the safe zone

We can dodge a few icicles rather than all of them to get there.

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>6328092
>Press your luck. You don't have time to think or strategize. Bunker down and see if you're hopefully in a safe spot. (requires a d100 roll. Higher the better)
Roll now or once the vote is called?

>>6328092
>Jump up, all the way up. You might not reach the bridges themselves, but the spikes will hurt a lot less if they don't have speed and then you'll be safe on top of one.

>>6328092
>>6328161
Ah crap its not active while untransformed.

Are we good for a riposte? We can flowing palm strike icicles too.

>>6328123
Either is fine.
>>6328165
Riposte and the palm strike are still available while untransformed. So you can attempt them on the falling ice.

>>6328091
...Do NPCs in this game have interiority of experience? Oh no...

>>6328092
>Book it to the safe zone. You've lost your increased speed and mobility but you might just make it.
We.should slap on a bandage.

>>6328092
>>6328174
Then I'll vote for flowing palm strike to redirect the spike

>>6328092
>Book it to the safe zone. You've lost your increased speed and mobility but you might just make it.

>>6328174
Huh. . So if we Could flowing power palm ice into the snow bitch.

I'll chabge that to mine here >>6328121

>>6328092
>Book it to the safe zone. You've lost your increased speed and mobility but you might just make it.

>>6328092
>Book it to the safe zone. You've lost your increased speed and mobility but you might just make it.

>>6328338
>>6328240
>>6328224
>>6328186
We need to run. Writing.

An icicle the size of a dining table slams a few feet away from you sending snow and rock flying and shattering on impact. Chunks of ice hit your back and adrenaline surges through you. "EVERYONE RUN TO THE SAFE SPOT!!!!" You scream as you scramble to your feet and break into a run. There is nothing elegant about what you're doing. No well trained dodges, no memorized patterns. Only luck and your desperation as you dash forward. Another pillar of ice slams into the ground, the impact knocking you off your feet and flying. The increased weight of the ice was, as characteristic for physics in a video game, making them falling faster than normal and throwing off whatever timing they would have normally had. Adding to the chaos was the face the ice attack has affected each icicle differently due to the aoe's size and pattern. There was simply no time to look around and try to find a pattern.

You scramble to your feet once more ignoring every instinct to look at your health and ignoring the red glare of the game desperately attempting to inform you of your condition. Glancing at anything other than your surroundings might make you miss what could be a vital clue. Another crash and you feel a pang of pain above your eye as something sharp gashes it. Your left eye stings and suddenly half your vision goes out as you instinctively shut it. You hear someone scream, "HURRY! THE REST OF THE ICE IS FALLING!" but you can't tell if it's Ryuji or Irene over the sound of crashing ice. You skid to a halt just in time to avoid getting hit. You roll away out of instinct and briefly feel a sense of panic as the rising fog of ice and show clouds your vision. There's more shouting but you can no longer make out what they're saying. In the din of noise and panic, you faintly hear, "...left..."

You throw yourself in that direction narrowly avoiding another chunk of ice and continue your mad dash. "Right..." Trusting your friend's judgement you follow their lead. "...right...left...left...left..." Each time you narrowly avoid death and soon enough you start to hear them more clearly.

"Is he dead?!" Irene asks.

"Can't be. I haven't seen his HP fall to 0." Ryuji says. "Maybe he's trapped under the ice!"

You break through the mist just as the last of the ice hits the ground and you crash into Eleanor sending the two of you sprawling to the ground. "Dude! You're alive!" Ryuji shouts pulling you off the Inquisitor and shaking the snow off of you.

"Yes. Quite." Eleanor grumbles as she gets to her feet. "Hopefully the ice was the last of out wor-" She begins before a loud gurgling roar breaks through the mist. You think you can almost hear the sound of the blood in it's throat splashing out of the wound in the yeti's throat. Eleanor lets out a series of swears that would have gotten you disowned if you had uttered them in the presence of your parents. "Of all the adventurers I could have gotten stuck with it had to be the ones cursed by the Gods themselves!" She concludes as she bends down to draw a hunting knife out of her boot. Irene gives her a smug look.

"Technically we're-" She begins before Eleanor cuts her off.

"I know! I know! You're just simply travelers." She shouts. "Only thing that's going to travel here, is my boot up your-" You hear her mumble before the sound of crunching ice rings out and the heavily wounded yeti lumbers forward. Rage and madness fill the beast's eyes accentuated by the blood pouring out of his neck and into the exposed ribs and charred muscle tissue in it's chest. Several of the ribs were visibly cracked and blackened from whatever explosion had knocked you free of it's grasp. It lets out another coughing roar as it's eyes lock on to your group, the source of it's pain, and it gets ready to return the favor a thousandfold. You glance at your hud for a moment.


Boss: Ancient Yeti
HP: 18%
Ongoing Effects: Bleed x3, Heavy Bleed (Permanent), Burning, The Shackles (Attack and movement speed is decreased.)

If things were still going to plan it was planning on using it's raid wide attack and all the icicles that you could use to protect yourselves against it were behind it. Given how damaged it was though, you weren't use if it would be capable of doing so. Whatever you were going to do would result in the end of the fight though who would be the winner in the end would be what your next plan determined.

>What do you do?
>Write in.

>What do you do?

>>6329386
Ryuji is full health. Have him taunt and pull away while we get to cover.

We can borrow the hunting knife to throw, or just grab some ice, but at this point priority is drawing cards that speed ryuji up or maintain shackle.

I don't have much ideas for a finisher. Just dumb stuff like lifting/pushing ryuji to use as an improvised weapon.

>>6329386
>>6329408 +1

>>6329386
Have him taunt and draw aggro. If it sticks to melee, we and Eleanor can emerge from cover and attack from behind. If it does the area attack, we stay in cover and then burst out to attack; if it goes for us, Riposte time.

>>6329420
Supporting

>>6329420
>Support
Ryuji needs to get really good, really fast at spot dodging.
But good job on doing 17% damage.

>>6329488
He's got a better build and more HP to tank a hit in the worst case scenario.

>>6329528
I'm not sure how much a level 7 build will do against this boss meant for 5.
BUT
we can always be built correctly.

>>6329566
This thing's bleeding out fast. He just needs to tank one or two hits.

>>6329420
>>6329448
>>6329488
Just gonna try and burn the boss down. Writing.

"Ryuji, how well can you spot dodge?" You ask getting ready to dodge.

"Uhh...I'm pretty good at it. I did a lot of practicing in the arenas." He says not taking his eyes off of the yeti.

"Right, well you're gonna be doing that. No more dodging around. We either kill it now or we die. It's gonna start to use it's raid wide. Block only when you absolutely have to. Keep it's aggro on you. Don't stop attacking." The yeti pounds the ground in rage and chokes out one more roar. Even with a few seconds gone, you could hear it be noticeably weaker. "He's on his last legs! GO!" You shout and break into a run followed by Ryuji and Eleanor.

You duck under the monster's giant fist as Ryuji screams out a taunt. You put your weight behind your next punch and you feel something pop as it collides with the creature's knee. Eleanor follows up with a series of stabs, each one sinking in deeper as she peppers the same knee with attacks. The yeti flails and wildly swings it's arms at your tank. He ducks, shifts, and swings at each one. With every strike missed, a glaive swung and sliced into the monster's side. You note that Ryuji's dodges were stiff. Each one may have avoided the attack but he had to reposition himself to follow up with an attack. More importantly, his dodges didn't flow well with one another. Each evasion was treated as a separate instance without consideration of another attack coming through and needing to avoid it. If he were fighting a faster opponent or multiple, he'd have been hit by any followup strikes.

Case in point, in one of the monster's wild swings Ryuji pivots to avoid it and swing only to move into the path of the boss's other arm. He raises his weapon and holds it sideways to block just in time.

Skill: Endure. Activated.

The two struggle for control as the yeti tries to put more and more of it's weight on the attack. Ryuji's heels slowly dig into the ground as the weight bears upon him but he remains unyielding. Eleanor rushes in and drives her hunting knife into the boss's eye. It rears back, clasping it's face in pain and driving the knife deeper into the socket. "Now's our chance!" You shout. "Hit it in the chest!"

"Give me a boost!" Ryuji shouts as he runs at you. You scramble to get into position and link your fingers together. As he steps onto your hand you throw him into the air. He soars, grips his weapon with both hand over his head, and lets out a scream as he plunges it straight into the yeti's exposed ribs. The glaive punches through and exits out the back. The monster struggles to decide between grabbing at the weapon in it's chest or the weapon in it's eye. It lets out a croak as it's wounded knee finally gives out and it collapses, dead. Ryuji crawls out from underneath the beast soaked in blood and after a moment of examining the dead creature raises his fists in the air and lets out a "Whooo!"

Boss: Ancient Yeti Defeated

"I can't believe it...we did it." Irene says walking over to you all. She nudges the corpse with her foot. "I'm starting to wonder if I should swap to healer. Or got back to swordmaster." She says.

"I doubt you'd make a good priest. The gods tend to dislike those fickle in their faith." Eleanor says as she digs the knife out of the yeti's eye socket. It comes free with an uncomfortable squelch.

"Come on. I think she could be a great healer. She's doing good with her buffs." Ryuji says grabbing some snow and trying to clean himself. You open your mouth to say something only to hear the sound of a server announcement. Once again the familiar text window appears with the same female voice.

Secret Boss: Ancient Yeti Defeated
Players involved:
Regal_20
Irene d'Ange
Ryuji Yamada
Congratulations for getting the server's first kill.

"Well...so much for keeping a low profile-" Irene begins before Ryuji pulls you and her into a huddle/headlock.

"YOOOO! SERVER FIRST!" He cheers. "Can you believe it!? We're part of Nevermore history! Man the guilds are gonna be sooo pissed." He says half laughing half sniffling, eyes watering. "I'd never thought I'd ever do something like this..." He lets you go and rubs his eyes. "You guys are great..."

"Hey uhh...yeah...it's great." You say unsure of what to say. You didn't think that you'd see your boss crying today. Still he made a good point. The big guilds weren't going to let this slide. The tutorial boss might have been one thing but a boss in the mainland was another especially if it's the same player. Especially E.V.O who basically owned the region. They had not only lost the world first on their territory but to a undersized party full of nobody players. The blow to their PR would be great. Still, you couldn't help but feel happy. Not because of the record but because of being able to do it with your friends. The three of you, technically four, had beat the odds and come out on top. Having the server announcing it was just the icing on the cake. Whatever came after was something you'd deal with later.

You open your mouth to thank whoever was shouting out directions while you were running through the falling ice when it hits you. Thinking about it, you don't recall the language being used. You just...understood the meaning. It wasn't any human language you recognized in real life.

"What are you three babbling about?" Eleanor interrupts, unable to notice the giant notification in the sky. "Lest you forgot, we still have a mission to do."

"And there it is..." Irene sighs. "Fine, let's loot the boss and decide what we should do."

"Don't forget to check the bodies in the snow. They'll have loot as well to compensate for the fact we're out the regular boss." You say shaking your head. "We might find some supplies as well." Your party spends the next few minutes searching through the snow and ice to pull the bodies free and search them for loot.


The Party Obtains:
3 Longswords
2 Maces
2 Shields

4 Lesser Healing Potions (10% heals)
2 Minor Mana Potions (10% Recovered)

Glacial Greatsword (Small chance to debuff target with frost build up on hit. Frost Build Up: Afflicted Player is slowed. After 5 stacks, stacks are consumed and afflicted player's legs are frozen in place.)
Rope Belt of Devotion (Increases damage resistance to magic damage. Use to increase healing received for the next 10 seconds. 2 minute cooldown.)
Sleet Scale Armor (Increased Ice resistance. Use to encase your armor in ice, increasing defense further. Increased damage reduction is reduced as ice is broken off. 2 min cooldown.)

Ancient Yeti pelt x1 (Rare Material)
Ancient Yeti fang x4 (Rare Material)

Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP:25%
MP:Full

Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP:100%
MP:46%

Ryuji Yamada (Roland)
HP: 70%
MP: Full

Eleanor Cadieux
HP:85%

>What do you do?
>Continue deeper into the dungeon. You should be close to the end.
>Say that you should all head back. You're really strained on resources.
>Check out the blue glow you saw earlier. It could be an alternate route.
>Write in.

>>6330372
>Camp in the boss room to restore some HP and mana.
>Then investigate the blue glow.

Use the bandages to put ourselves up to like 80%.
We can still go on, I think.

>>6330382
Oh and constructive criticism for the boss. His dodge gane could be improved by practicing with the advice fresh in mind.

God of Battle taking mentor role as well as shot taker.

>>6330372
>Check out the blue glow you saw earlier. It could be an alternate route.
iirc we have 5 bandages left so Regal should use 2, Ryuji can use 1 and Eleanor can use a healing potion. Irene can use both mana potions.

>>6330382
+1

>>6330372
>Check out the blue glow you saw earlier. It could be an alternate route.

Equip a shield and mace for now, we're nearly dead and we can quickly drop them for the improvised buff.

I guess we should be spamming the rope belt right now?

Although 2 fangs are what I'm pretty sure we should keep. Proper punching implements with enough space to hold stuff

>>6330372
we still kinda have some plausible deniability
they might think regal_20 is the traveler, but it could still be different people coincidentally being in the same area
so unless we come clean, denying is always an option

since no one even figured out what class we are yet, maybe we can get away with pretending to be a "self aware NPC"
that would make sense for other players no?
and that way we could say that we HELPED regal_20 kill the yeti and the boar (since NPCs dont get an in game shoutout)
which mean the yeti wasnt really killed by just 3 people, making that achievement less impressive, taking some heat off our party

so if asked if thats our name, just say he was a guy we traveled with for a time
or what do you think guys?

>Check out the blue glow you saw earlier. It could be an alternate route.
short rest first

>>6330382
>>6330383
+1

>>6330737
I think our cover is rapidly eroding, alas, but people don't need to knwo we're the OG God of Battle.

>>6330737
That is an interesting idea and could be done. At the moment, the big guilds would be focused on Regal_20 rather than someone going by The Traveler. But as you continue to play the gap between the two will more than likely grow smaller. Not to mention NPCs will also have things to say about you as well. You have a ship captain who you saved on your way to Valford, the guards who took you in and you helped fight off a prison escape and slew a monster, and your tailor to some small degree. Since E.V.O interacts a lot with the guards and there were some of their members who know you as The Traveler it'll be difficult for them to not know of you under that moniker. Keeping Regal_20 separate from your pseudonym won't be difficult but you also plan to open a Guild which will have your name on it's roster.

The biggest thing I think would be explaining this all to your friends. I can't remember if I mentioned that Gloria figured it out (I think I might have) but Roland certainly doesn't know you're the John Doe. I feel the more ways you try to keep your identity a secret then the more you're going to have to ask of them and the more they're going to want to know the reason behind it.

So you're right on the fact you have some deniability. It is and isn't a big stretch to assume The Traveler and Regal_20 are the same person. Right now people can be convinced either way given that no one has seen you enter a dungeon.

There's also Serena, who knows for a fact Regal_20 is a player since she added you as a friend and you were in her party. Not only that but she knows what you look like so she can identify you as the Traveler that situation arose. Unfortunately, she has no idea you keep things low profile.


tl;dr You can certainly pretend to be an npc and keep both the Traveler and Regal_20 as two separate identities but the longer you play and bigger things you do the harder it is to keep it going. Not to mention the added issues of keeping your friends in the dark and that there is a player who can definitively link both aliases together.

>>6330829
>Not only that but she knows what you look like so she can identify you as the Traveler that situation arose. Unfortunately, she has no idea you keep things low profile.
What are these typos?

She can identify you as the traveler if the situation arises and she has no idea that you want to keep a low profile. Sorry about that guys.

>>6330829
Hm. I don't suppose there's a DM system to let us be all "oi, keep quiet about that kthx" to Serena?

In any case, this was always an inevitability, it's more about how far we can string the act along before people notice and as an extra layer of identity masking. And for that matter, how long we can keep Regal_20 separate from John Doe as well.

>>6330836
We can keep Regal and Doe seperate until we meet one of our old squad or we get caught on camera in massed battle against a high skill enemy.

then every new time that happens, our odds get halved.
The truth will set us free with friends, but for the rest of the world, we can just keep going until it catches us

>>6330836
There is so players can chat outside the game or for guilds to communicate without needing to full dive. It's only available while logged off but you can access it via an ordinary PC or via a phone app. The PC version has more options for managing guilds and items making the phone app a bit of a glorified chat app.

>>6330829
>The biggest thing I think would be explaining this all to your friends...
i would think that being an introvert and not really liking attention is a good enough explanation. its not our fault the game decided to let the hero class actually work for us
>tl;dr You can certainly pretend to be an npc and keep both the Traveler and Regal_20 as two separate identities...
so what i meant was that regal_20 was a guy we (the traveler) helped out because (maybe we just felt like it) and thats why he got both server firsts
the only thing special about "him" is that he had our help

players arent aware of what the hero class is capable of. and that means its very believable to them we are some next gen NPC
also the fact all these "unusual" events keep happening around us. the only reasonable conclusion players could come to is that we ourselves must be an important story NPC on this server
>>6330841
lets catch up with serena after this session and brief her on the situation (on a need to know basis)

>>6330836
+1to asking her to keep it quiet

>>6330840
+1 to telling our friends, but nobody else yet

>>6330372
>>6330890 +1

>>6330829
I don't really care for hiding it THAT hard. Best case I can make is making the Traveler a lore focused identity and thus is known by npcs.

Then regal20 and everyone else gets all the combat achievements, and the cracks only form if people interview the actual npcs who fought alongside us.

Alright lots of discussion on hiding our identity. Winning vote for our current action is to take a small rest and look at the blue thing. Future goals is to get in contact with Serena and let her know to keep us on the down low. Maybe tell our friends about our past. For now, we need to make a campfire and patch ourselves up.

As everyone finishes gathering supplies, you make a small camp back at the cave you exited. At least there the wind wouldn't bother you as much. Soon enough a small pocket of heat forms bringing much needed warmth. "Man I can't believe we did it." Ryuji says with glee. "Server first...now everyone is gonna wanna join our guild."

"Yeah and then the other guilds will know who to nuke into the ground." Irene says. "We'd be public enemy number one."

"Not if we don't rock the boat anymore." You say as you begin to bandage yourself up.

"Right, we're really good at that." Irene cuts in. "We've been magnets for attention since day one."

"I'm just saying. If we keep a low profile, we can hopefully pass off as a guild that got lucky a few times." You insist.

"I'm more worried about keeping up our reputation." Irene continues. "People are gonna want to join but they'll probably expect us to keep pushing the envelope. They might want to join us for a chance to be part of a server first. Maybe even expect us to do it every time."

"That's just the risk every guild takes. We'll need to set boundaries and expectations. Besides, we're gonna be picking up newbies right? We'll make sure to let them know we're a guild that helps newcomers not set records. We can just use our records to show that we know how to play the game." Ryuji assures.

"I think Irene has a bit of a point. We don't want to make it seem like we're some kind of record setting group. Especially if we're recruiting new players. They're the most likely to come with unrealistic expectations of how easy records are set or their chances of getting one. But Ryuji is right, if just set the ground rules and not mass recruit like the the bigger guilds we can probably get a nice group going." You say as you start to use another bandage. "But right now, we should deal with this dungeon and we can hash out the details for a guild later."

"Where would we build our guild hall?" Ryuji says as he waits for you to finish up healing.

"Anywhere but here." Irene says now rubbing her arms for warmth. "I'm starting to remember why I hate the cold." You leave the two to that discussion. Building a guild hall was a pretty big step in any guild and an expensive one too. Nevermore allowed players to build their halls pretty much anywhere in the world with a variety of options. Most players would simply rent out a building in the major cities. They were the "cheapest" option in allowing small groups to have a building of their own to hangout with their friends. They were the smallest option though with a litany of restrictions. No possibility for npc servants, no ability to upgrade size or add rooms, the only decorations and stations that could be added had to fit within the dimensions of the rented building. The next best thing, and the all the big guilds chose, was to purchase land within the city to build one's own headquarters. This required to be in good standing with the city faction itself, get permission from the city, and the guild had to supply the materials and do all the work themselves to build it. On top of that there was a time limit to finish it all, otherwise the city would deem it an abandoned project and revoke all the privileges while keeping all money and materials spent on the construction.

The upsides vastly outweighed the conditions though. Guilds with proper permits could build and expand their halls to their desire within the plot allocated allowing for things such as elaborate crafting stations. They could hire npcs for labor from the city itself and had some help in defending their property from the guards. Guild members would get discounts on items within the city, get first dibs on quests, and could even set up caravans to guard for the city itself. Furthermore, they could set up their own instanced arena.

Every city owned it's own instanced area where players could duel or participate in tournaments. It was free to use and join with no limitation other than the fact arena maps were set in place with no customization. Guilds could build their own however and had the choice to either use the premade arenas or create their own. Keeping with the premade ones meant that there was no cost in repairs. Any damage done due to a fight would reset as soon as the instance owner chose. Custom arenas, however, had to be maintained by the guild itself but could contain any kind of set up including various traps, gadgets, or stations.

In the end, when a guild chose to buy a city permit it meant they were declaring ownership of the city for themselves especially if you were a big guild. In E.V.O's case, Valford was their turf and anyone who wanted to buy a permit had to contend with the fact that they either stepped in line with their rules or risk their wrath. It hadn't happened yet but sooner or later space in the cities would run out and the only way to get more was to either run the other guild out town or burn their home to the ground. Either way, a war would be inevitable and the city would suffer for it.

Finally, for those who didn't want to limit themselves with rentals or risk the wrath of a bigger guild, a group could build anywhere else in the world of Nevermore. All it required was large sum of gold to buy a building permit and go out into the world to find their own slice of land to own. There would be no fees to pay, no time limits for building and no restrictions on building size. All a guild had to do was supply and craft it themselves. After that, it was on them to defend their home and expand it. Should a wild monster or group of players choose to raid or attack the hall, it'd be up to the guild themselves to defend it and whatever was inside. Such was the price of freedom.

You tie the last of your bandage up and stand up. "Alright, breaks over I guess." You say and the others get up to follow you. You find Eleanor sitting on the remains of some armor as she's slowly sharpening a longsword. Her movements are precise, born of thousands of repetitions. She doesn't even look up as you approach but she snatches the potions out of the air as you toss them to her. "Drink them. They'll heal you up." You say. "We're going to need to be at our best if we're going to finish this." Eleanor stands up and sheathes her blade before slinging the belt around her waist. She pulls the cork free from the vials and downs them with a grimace.

"I'll never know how you all can drink this...liquid filth constantly." She says.

"Because if we don't we die." Irene says plainly. "Apologies if it's not up to par with the ambrosia the Inquisition gets."

"And my condolences to your sense of taste." Eleanor snaps back.

"That's enough you two." You step in. "I wanna check out that blue glow over there. It's clearly not natural." You point towards the glowing barrier several feet away. You shake the throbbing feeling in your had as you turn away from it. "Maybe the heretics set it up. It could react to your necklace Eleanor." The Inquisitor nods and makes her way towards it. The closer you all got to it, the more your head began to ache. Once you were right in front of it, your eyes watered from the pain and the scale in your pocket felt like someone had dipped your leg in liquid nitrogen and then wrapped it in boiling lava. Eleanor raises her necklace to the wall of blue light and it begins to burn brightly with the same blue hue.

"It's some powerful magic." She says as her hands visibly trembles from the force being exerted on her necklace. "Nothing a simple heretic can muster that's for sure." A cruel laugh begins to echo throughout the gorge.

"So the little humans have managed to make their way down to my lair. How quaint. How utterly grand to have some new puppets soon." The voice booms out. You and your friends easily recognized it as the necromancer boss. His taunts were nothing new but given everything that had gone on in this run it wasn't much comfort. Eleanor draws her blade and brandishes it.

"Show yourself, fiend! Let us cleanse the land from your taint and be done with it. You've nowhere to run!" She shouts. The laughter continues to ring out.

"And deny myself the joy of seeing you all torn apart? Nonsense. I'll enjoy piecing you all back together soon enough."

"His minions will be here soon." Irene says drawing her weapon. "If you can break that, do it now."

"Spoken from ignorance again. I'm no magician. This will take time. You three will need to guard me while I focus." Eleanor growls as she holds her necklace out and begins to channel magic through it. A beam of energy surges forward and slams into the wall. Eleanor grunts and redoubles her efforts as she pours her will into the barrier. The scale flares up and resonates with the magic flowing. The strange language sears through your mind once more. It comes in bits and pieces as comprehension is forced into your mind every so often.

"...use it...don't...die..."

>What do you do?
>Turn your back to Eleanor and prepare to defend her.
>Pull the scale out and try to use it on the barrier.
>Pull Eleanor away and head to the other entrance. Enemies will soon start pouring out but you'd rather fight your way through.
>Write in.

>>6331340
>Turn your back to Eleanor and prepare to defend her.
Nows the time to disarm and try different weapons

>>6331340
>Pull the scale out and try to use it on the barrier.

>>6331340
>Defend elanor

>>6331340
>Pull the scale out and try to use it on the barrier.
the voice DID help us dodge the icicles
so i'm inclined to take its advice here

>>6331340
>Pull the scale out and try to use it on the barrier.

>>6331340
>Pull the scale out and try to use it on the barrier.

>>6331447
It's a CURSED item, We really shouldn't trust it at all.

>>6331487
sure.
nevertheless, it doesnt compel us to do anything (other than carry it)
so earning its trust might be the smart thing to do
clearly it at least wants us to reach the end of the dungeon

>>6331340
>Pull the scale out and try to use it on the barrier.
I think the lich has resurrected the dragon buried here and the now undead dragon wants us to kill the lich and free it. I'm also starting to suspect that the heretics may not actually be allied to the dragons.

>>6332033
I can believe that, but the city hates the dragons even more than the heretics

Using the scale against the barrier. Sorry about that gents, been a pretty busy week. I'll get to writing.

>>6332552
forgot to post the update?

>>6332709
Let him cook, anon. I think QM's still working on it.

You hastily pull the scale from your pocket. It immediately reacts to the barrier and bursts into a small inferno in your hand. Had the game allowed it, you probably would have felt pain unlike any you could have imagined. However, your settings made it only ache as if you were feeling a massive cramp. Even so, it meant that the pain threshold was hitting your chosen maximum and still you could not let it go or drop it. "What are you doing?!" Eleanor shouts at you through gritted teeth. The beam shooting from her necklace wavers slightly before she can refocus.

"Saving our lives!" You shout back. At least, you hoped you were. You hold out the scale and the fires rage ever brighter. A thin layer of ice slowly begins to creep up your arm just as lager beam of magic bursts forth and collides with barrier. Both you and Eleanor's magic mix and the magic of the barrier begins to grow dull.

"We have incoming!" Irene shouts as she throw out a shower of starlight at the entrance to the cave. Dozens of bodies seemed to be struggling to get through as the zombies pushed and tried to claw their way out to you.

"We have to hold the line. I think they're doing something!" Ryuji shouts.

"Yes, please do. Struggle. Fight. Show me that grandiose ferocity all you adventurers do before the light leaves their eyes!" You hear the necromancer cackle. The barrier grows opaque, almost solid looking, before the center seems to burst into flames. The blue fire slowly begins to eat away at like a paper left to smolder. By now your entire right arm as encased in ice. Blue wisps of flame flow out of the ice like mist before dying out a few inches in the air. All the while you can hear the voice in your mind. Hearing it scream and roar. Meaning flits in and out of your conscious mind until you hear naught else.

"Child...Man I know not... cruel twist...fate has brought...unto thine...But I...place an...crueler task upon... Once we...speak.., ...then may I...it. ...of yours and...companions will be...great risk but verily... your nest will be in greater...should we..."

The barrier shatters into hundreds of flaming pieces of ice and with it whatever connection you had. "Everyone go!" You shout trying to wave your frozen arm. Your party rushes into the new entrance heading towards the unknown. As you flee, you attempt to pry the scale free from your icy grip to no avail and earning a few burns for your troubles. Even with the barrier gone, the scale is still alight and seemingly growing brighter as you continue.

"You utter fool! What in blazes where you thinking?!" Eleanor shouts, eyeing your arm with suspicion. "Lest you forgotten, you saw a heretic become consumed by that thing. Perhaps slaying that beast has driven you mad!"

File: ddyfcuo-ca96057d-3fc9-48b(...).jpg (1.27 MB, 1920x1080)

1.27 MB JPG

"Believe me, if I thought we had a different solution I'd have taken it." You say attempting to chip some of the ice off but it was as hard as diamond. The best you can do is get some mobility back into your shoulder and letting you rotate your arm. "But I'd rather one of us go down than risk us all over a pack of zombies."

"Hey at least we found a new passage." Ryuji says awkwardly. "We might be cutting through most of the necromancer's traps."

"He has been awfully quiet since we entered." Irene adds. "I think this might be a part of his lair he didn't expect us to enter. The ground is sloping pretty sharply we we're definitely heading underground faster than if we took the other route." As if on cue Eleanor's necklace, which had been glowing brightly ever since entering, nearly bursts into flames. It shines brilliantly nearly drowning out the light coming from the torches. "Turn it off!" Irene shouts. "I can't see!"

"One does not simply turn off the Fury's Light!" Eleanor shouts back as she too shields her eyes and tries to stuff the necklace into her shirt but the glow pierces through illuminating her form a bit too tightly. "We must be close." She says oblivious to the light. "I've never seen one of the Inquisition's necklaces react this brightly."

"You sure it's not because of our other light house?" Irene asks motioning to your arm.

"No." Eleanor says, now even more serious. "Whatever it's detecting is...is..." Her voice trails off and you all slowly come to a halt. Before you all was a massive cavern. The bodies of several guard squads were strewn about. Some were missing legs, others arms, and a few had no head. But what had caught your group's attention was the mass of bones and sinew at the end of the cavern. Encased in magic chains, it's wings pinned to it's side by large spikes of iron, was the corpse of a dragon. A spectral heart beat slowly in a hole as wide as a telephone pole. The sheer size of the body was mind boggling. As big as at least 3 or 4 airplanes, it almost looked like the body had to be cut up to be transported before being put back together.

"Is...that the dragon you were talking about killing?" Irena whispers.

"It...can't be..." Eleanor breathes. "That's not Amarinth.That's Misadir...Mother of all Dragons."

At that moment a loud cackle echoes through the cavern. "I see..you've found my favorite pet." The necromancer says as he steps forward. "I had wondered why I could no longer sense you. It seems like you little rats are a bigger pest than I had intended. No matter, you have only chosen the more painful death." He stamps is staff on the ground and a chill runs through your spine. The sounds of bones creaking and groaning fill the air as the dead slowly rise to face you. In the distance, the dragon's empty eye sockets begin to glow a bright blue and it's head slowly turns to face you.

"Any ideas guys?" Ryuji asks as he grips his weapon and nervously gets ready for a fight.

"We fight." Eleanor says drawing her blade. "And die in Her name as we take down as many as we can. Every loss on their end is one less the city needs to deal with."

>What do you do?
>Charge at the necromancer. Hopefully it's too busy animating the zombies to be a threat.
>Fight the horde. You need to thin out the numbers.
>Try and think of something to deal with the Ancient Dragon zombie.
>Write in.


Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP:80%
MP:Full

Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP:100%
MP:56%

Ryuji Yamada (Roland)
HP: 70%
MP: Full

Eleanor Cadieux
HP:85%

>>6332857
What a pickle.
Luckily we have a shield in our arm, but the scale is somehow related to the case.
So here's my crazy idea.

>Run full sprint at the Dragon zombie, and try to ram the scale into her heart area.
This will either ressurect it. Or supercharge it.

>>6332857
With transformed air jumps, I don't think the necromancer can stop us from slapping the scale on. We COULD do the same thing carrying Eleanor and the necklace.

Hold on, is this a necromancer, or a lich?

>>6333009
Both.

>>6332857
realistically we cant survive this i think
without utilizing the scale at least
so my theory is that we have to reunite the scale with the dragon, since its consciousness seems to be inside of the scale
to do that we have to look for a spot on its body missing a scale... or >>6332902 has the right idea with ramming it into the heart

but i think we should look for a missing scale first and while doing so try to ask the scale about any useful information it may have

>>6332902
+1, it's just crazy enough to work.

>>6332857

>>6332857
>>6332902 +1

File: kamen-rider.gif (1.17 MB, 486x268)

1.17 MB GIF

>>6333197
>>6333059
>>6333019
>>6332902
>>6333009
You're running at an undead dragon with naught but a scale in your hand? An ancient dragon from times before times? How very rider like. Writing.

https://youtu.be/7FPjMy6crU8?si=Wcn3_ujO5qBH5v8m

You look at the dragon's corpse. If what Eleanor said was true then this dragon had to be at least an Ancient tier dragon. The highest tier the game had to offer and was relegated to max level areas. There was no way the game would have changed that much that they'd be throwing something like that in an early game dungeon like this. The key had to be the scale that was glued to your hand and that voice in your head. You glance back at the dragon and it's glowing heart. If the scale could bring the barrier down...maybe it could sever the connection between the necromancer and it. Before you can even think about you it, your legs are already carrying you towards the towering figure of the dragon. "Hey! Where are you going?!" Irene shouts.

"Cover for me!" You shout back. "I have an idea." You leap, transforming mid air, and twice more before landing in the center of the zombie pack. You slam your frozen arm into the head of a zombie, crushing it instantly then swiftly kicking another away. An axe bounces of your frozen arm as you instinctively raise it to block. You swiftly back hand the offending monster and kick off it to fly into the air once more and again for more height. Below you your friends try to cut their way towards the boss. Ryuji swings his weapon wide, cutting down swaths of zombies down as he tries to make an opening. Eleanor, bereft of her gunblade, still manages to keep up. She dances around the enemy, slicing and cutting limbs but without the extra fire power from her original weapon the damage she can do comparatively is quite limited. Lights flare and are refracted on the icy walls and floor of the cave as Irene's spells flash through, burning enemies.

A loud gunshot rings out and you spend your last jump to throw yourself back into the horde as a zombie gunner fires upon you. You fight in a frenzy to try and break free from the horde. Punching kicking, using your skills for every edge you can muster. "Muster all the strength you have, my little rodents! There is naught you can do against the horde!" The boss screams as he raises his staff high and rains dark magics upon you and your group. The necrotic orbs fall upon the battlefield, striking anyone in it's vicinity. Stuck in the mass of bodies, you can't see how your friends are doing but you know they'll be doing much worse if you don't get to that dragon corpse.

"If you have anything to tell me, now would be the time." You shout at the scale in your hand as you rip free from a zombie's grip and leap away. The scale remains silent yet you have the feeling that it did hear you. Was it waiting for something? Maybe it would speak when you focused it's energies on the body. Another series of shots forces you land once more into the sea of bodies. Another round of laughter echos over the fighting.

"A little one scurries about with purpose." The necromancer shouts. "What is a small rodent compared to a dragon!?" As you leap, you can see him casting another spell. You jump again, forcing your trajectory towards the ghostly dragon heart. It had to be that. That had to be the link. Another jump and you reach out with your frozen arm, the scale now sending it's spectral fire all across your arm. You can see the dragon's features fully, it's hide missing hundreds of scales, it's eye sockets empty. It's ethereal heart beating silently. Then you see nothing. The corpse's mouth creaks open and a gout of blue flame bursts forth engulfing you. There's a flash of pain and then...you die. Your body falls to the ground, your clothes charred and a layer of ice slowly begins to consume you.

Skill: Indomitable Will activated.

Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP:10%
MP:Full



You gasp as air fills your lungs but your body refuses to move. It's completely frozen solid and the fire continues to burn you.
HP: 9%

HP: 8%

HP: 7%

HP: 6%

HP: 5%

"Wake youngling! Thine fight is not over yet!" Your eyes snap open but all you can see is fractured images of the ongoing fight through crystalline ice. Time seems to have slowed to a halt and everything seems frozen in place. "Fate has not brought us together to simply fail." The scale's voice echoes through your mind.

"A bit late for that." You think as your frozen lips refuse to move.

"Thine problems are of my own creation. Had I more power. Had mine own strength not stolen for vile purpose I would have communicated with thou more promptly. Verily it seems thine own mental barriers are far more formidable than I expected as well. Having to wait for thine concentration to break to push a few words was quite troublesome. Nevertheless should you perish here, tis more than likely my own body will be moved and never found again. Should the foul necromancer unlocks the power to fully command mine own vessel then thine own nest will be brought to ashes but not before thine companions perish and are added to his army." The voice says.

"Well, if you got some kind of hint or ability to help. Now's the time to do it." You think and you hear a strange noise. You think the voice was chuckling.

"Tis strange to see one so unperturbed by mine own countenance. Most would seem at the very least shocked."

"Let's just say I'm well traveled."

"So I've heard countless times." The voice says. "But if thou seekest an answer to our current problem." The voice pauses as if thinking. "I would ask thee a favor. With thine last breath, channel thine power into the scale. Use it to absorb what remains in mine vessel and allow me to take control of thine own body."

"What?!" You mentally shout. "Why can't I just use your powers myself?"

"Thine mortal frame is too frail to handle such raw power on thine own without experience. Has thou forgotten thine own arm? Frozen solid by ice with only a fraction of mine own power. Imagine what damage thou can do to thineself if you were granted more? Verily, I have known the limits of mine own strength and can safely channel them through your frailer form. Thine own transformation device shall serve as a conduit lest we risk the raw energies utterly transforming you permanently." You remain silent. "If thine worries are that I shall utterly consume and control you, then worry not. I fear that this gambit shall consume me utterly instead, once the power is dispersed. With no magic left in mine vessel, it shall be naught but a useless corpse and my own essence shall have not to return too."

"There has to be a catch right? There always is." You ask.

"Yes...To preform such a feat I fear that thou will have to forsake thine own humanity. Channeling such powers, even through such a strange device, cannot be done without a cost. I'm afraid that such an act will leave thou tainted. Though thine form and mind will be unaltered, thine soul will forever be warped. The blood of dragons will run through thou and thine soul will resonate forever with mine own kind. Undoubtedly, thou will be hunted by the very people thou wishes to protect. Such is the cost for becoming a saviour. Such is the price even mine own kind paid long ago."

Warning: Channeling the power of the dragons and accepting this offer will permanently change your character. Any effects that are effective against dragons or react to dragonkin will also affect you equally. Such effects will be adjusted for pvp. Your attributes, character appearance, and class will remain unaffected. Please take these into consideration before making your choice.

>What do you do?
>Agree to what the dragon is saying. If there's any way to make it out of this dungeon alive then this would be it even if it means losing control for the duration. You just hope that you're not being lied to.
>Argue that you can handle the power. If the dragon is asking you to do this then it needs to commit fully. You'll be in control and you'll decide how to use them.
>Ask to split control. It's your body and you're not eager to give up control but you don't want to freeze yourself solid. Maybe the two of you can work together. One to control the body and the other to regulate the power.
>Lie and channel the scale but take control. If the dragon isn't expecting a betrayal then it might be easier to retain control and shunt them out of your mind. Not particularly heroic but you want to save your friends and you're willing to throw a dead dragon under the bus.
>Refuse and allow the dot to take you. You don't mind failing the dungeon and having to pay for gear repair. You just came here to have fun with your friends. You don't think Eleanor will make it out alive though if your party wipes.
>Write in.

>>6333605
>Argue that you can handle the power. If the dragon is asking you to do this then it needs to commit fully. You'll be in control and you'll decide how to use them.
Look dev team, this is a fun secret twist for this dungeon, but do you really expect us to go AFK for a whole boss fight, or to just watch it like a cutscene? Come the fuck on.

>>6333605
>Argue that you can handle the power. If the dragon is asking you to do this then it needs to commit fully. You'll be in control and you'll decide how to use them.
Fuck it, we ball.

>>6333605
>Ask to split the power.
You are willing to help younger, less powerful creatures and extinguish thine own life for their sake.

A soul of a hero, then let us offer refuge.
Hide in our spinner belt, or gather a piece of your energies to hide in our breast. It is not suitable that such a soul be lost forever.
>Preserve yourself amongst us. We're already accepting being dragon kin.

FOR JUSTICE!

>>6333651
If viable, I'll back this as well.

>>6333605
>>6333626

>>6333652
if our body can handle it, then it should be fine.
They have a massive amount of power to use, as evidenced by the ice and that our body will become draconic through exposure.

So just use some of that juice to form a little "soul gem" somewhere and stick the consiousness there, then use the rest of the power to fight.
It's not looking for a permenant upgrade, but it is gonna force Luo to write in olde timey english. The only way this fails is if the energy needed to keep their mind active is more than the body can withstand and contain.

>>6333605
>Ask to split control. It's your body and you're not eager to give up control but you don't want to freeze yourself solid. Maybe the two of you can work together. One to control the body and the other to regulate the power.
We carry our burdens together. If nothing else, you are owed the chance to speak your piece to the Fury, and to see the lands as they are now.

For Truth and Justice.

>>6333655
Even just taking the dragon zombie out of the fight is enough, so any form that can house its consciousness more fully is worth losing some or even most of this power.

>>6333651
I'll support this if it's possible

>>6333626
+1

>>6333605
>Ask to split control. It's your body and you're not eager to give up control but you don't want to freeze yourself solid. Maybe the two of you can work together. One to control the body and the other to regulate the power.

>>6333605
Ichigo berserk form? Hell yea
>Agree to what the dragon is saying. If there's any way to make it out of this dungeon alive then this would be it even if it means losing control for the duration. You just hope that you're not being lied to

>>6333726
>>6333732
>>6333869
Nobody else interested in offering the ancient mother of dragons to live in our body mostly rent free?

there could be a case for clearing up the history of the church and dragon grudge. . . sounds very heroic. . .

>>6333873
>offering the ancient mother of dragons to live in our body
Anon, that's gay. . . but sure, I'll support in keeping a Nijigon

>>6333655
>but it is gonna force Luo to write in olde timey english.
Oh dear. What hath I wrought?

>>6333960
Now I need to watch Gotchard. Well I'll finish Geats first.

>>6334062
Thou hath wrought nought but the weight fitted and cast for thine own back, saddled and borne with the grace and grimace one durst expect of so weighty a task as Atlas would wince upon sympathy

>>6334067
Truly Atlas's own words ring upon mine ears, "The most you can bear...plus more." Thus I shall endeavour to bear such a burden as thine QM. I shall write all that I can...plus more.

Now considering the votes, maybe I should go with a persona "I am thou, thou art I" kind of speech. I will tally the votes when I return from work but it seems like attempting to save the dragons conscious is the popular vote. Best I get to thinking on how to flesh that possibility out. But that's part of the fun of quests. Sometimes write ins are too cool to pass up.

>>6334094
We require to believe in something, to dream the impossible dream of glory and goodness.
Death should be impossible to cheat but that is no reason to accept that this is true when the corpse already harbours their mind.

So in the words of a very relevant manga, Won't you believe? Even if there is no God or Buddah, won't you believe in Him?

>>6333651
>>6333652
>>6333658
>>6333661
>>6333869
>>6333960
We are asking to share the power. Maybe even try to save the dragon. Writing.

"No." You say.

"What?! Dost thou understand that thee and thine friends will perish?!" The dragon shouts, it's roar reverberating through your mind.

https://youtu.be/3gjg3Ib-y54?si=dOYJ9hN6FN7sh1gu

"I said no." You repeat as you will your fingers to clench. They tremble and resist but slowly begin to curl. "I don't believe in in letting someone die. Especially not someone who is good."

"Now is not the time for idle philosophies!" The dragon protests but you cut them off.

"You choose to die to save a younger race. One you've been at war for generations. If that doesn't mean someone is good then I don't what does. But you forget, I have a say in this too." You grimace and begin to push against the ground as you force your will into the scale. The ice creaks and cracks, no longer feeling as resilient as diamond. Your body trembles as it fights it's way through the ice and above you the flames begin to die down.

HP: 3%

HP: 2%

"And I say...no one good dies tonight!" You shout out loud as you break free and stand. The ice clatters and shatters like glass on the ground as it falls around your body.

"WHAT?!" The necromancer screams. The fighting seems to stop completely as they all turn to watch you. You take a deep breath, filling your burning lungs with icy air.

"My father always told me that a man is one who uses their strength to lift those around him up. I choose to believe that anyone can do that. I choose to believe that we share our burdens! We share the weight of grief, of sorrow, of joy, and success!" You straighten your stance as you feel your resolve kick in. "So if you don't believe in yourself. If you can't rely on the Gods or Saints. Then believe in me!"

"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE DEFIED!" The necromancer shouts and slams his staff into the ground again but the dragon's corpse does not respond. Instead, the ethereal heart beats stronger and the scale in your hand begins to resonate with it, beating along side it. In desperation, the boss slams it's staff over and over to no avail.

"What...what are you?!" Both the necromancer and the dragon say in unison.

You raise the scale above your head. "I'm just a traveling Kamen Rider. But I'll be there when someone needs a hero." You say with a smirk. "Even if it costs me my humanity! I'll never stop fighting! For Truth! For Justice!" You squeeze the scale as hard as you can. It starts to cut into your gloved hand and into your flesh. "Misadir! I'm putting my trust in you! Regulate your power while I fight!"

You feel something strange in the back of your mind but it feel akin to something like a smile. "Thine words take me back to a time long ago. Very well youngling. If thou words sing true then I will share in thine burdens. Mine power is yours to wield and I will do mine utmost best to keep you alive. Verily, let us show our foes the power of both Dragon and Man!"

File: dragoon-ready.gif (2.8 MB, 498x278)

2.8 MB GIF

The corpse's head moves once more, this time under your command. It opens it's jaw once more and another torrent of fire rains upon you just as the scale shatters.

[bold]"HENSHIN!"[/bold]/blue]

Your belt's turbine roars to life and winds begin to whip around you pulling in the flames. Ice begins to coat your body once more and your belt whines in protest as it attempts to save your life. There's a pop and a crack as spikes of ice burst through between the blades, jamming the fans, and burning out the motor. Your armor and forms around you, lingering long enough for scales of ice of form across your skin before everything snaps into place. The ice reinforces your armor and spikes jut out fortifying it further. Your scarf ignites in a blue flame and immediately freezes over taking on the form of a dragon's head.

Belt Affinity: 65%
Affinity has been unlocked

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862 KB JPG

The light in the dragon's corpse dies away and it's heart fades into nothing as the last of it's power fades. Simultaneously, the eyes on your dragon scarf glow and it begins to move independently of you. You extend your arm and grab a portion of misty air. It immediately solidifies into a blade of pure ice and you walk out of the dying fire.

"KAMEN RIDER! BLIZZARD!" The two of you shout in unison.

Temporary transformation activated. The following skills have been altered.

[Hero Skill] Transform has become Diamond Dust Armor. Armor values increased. You are now considered to be wearing heavy armor but no longer receive a bonus to speed.

[Hero Skill]Aerial Mobility no longer increases jump height and you may now only leap one extra time. Instead, you may now glide through the air for 5 seconds. Gliding does not restore your extra jump and you may not use your extra jump if you glide before using it until you land.

[Hero Skill] Finisher has been changed to Stardiver. Your finisher becomes an aoe capable of freezing weaker enemies that survive. Your finisher may only instantly kill the primary target of your attack. Thresholds have not changed. Regular Mobs: 30%, Elite Mobs 15%, Bosses 5%, Players 3%. Must be under the effect of the Transform skill to use. Cooldown 3 minutes.

Weapon Proficiency: Single Weapon Use has been upgraded. You may now conjure any weapon and become proficient with that weapon for a single attack. Only once weapon may be conjured at a time.

You gain access to the following spells:

Fire Wall: Create a wall of blaze to split up opponents or create an obstacle for them. Anyone who crosses it takes fire damage and is instantly light on fire and will take damage over time. Mana Cost: Heavy

Fireball: A powerful blast of fire that can catch multiple opponents in it's explosion. Enemies have a chance of catching fire if hit and causing damage over time. Mana Cost: Medium

"WHAT IS THIS!? WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?!" The boss screams. He swings his staff in a wide arc sending a wave of necrotic energy. You leap twice to evade it and a pair of wings made of ice explode behind you to carry you through the air. "KILL THEM! SLAUGHTER THEM ALL! THAT POWER IS MINE TO WIELD! I WAS PROMISED THAT DRAGON!" He orders and the masses of zombies begin to stir once more.



Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP:100%
MP:Full

Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP:75%
MP:56%

Ryuji Yamada (Roland)
HP: 60%
MP: Full

Eleanor Cadieux
HP:65%

>What do you do?
>Land in the swarm of zombies. You'll keep the adds away while the rest of your party handles the necromancer.
>Swoop in and begin to fight the necromancer. Ask your team to hold the horde off.
>Join your team and fight the boss together. As soon as he dies the rest of the horde will die as well. Work to keep any zombies that get in range away from your team.
>Write in.

>>6334210
>Join your team and fight the boss together. As soon as he dies the rest of the horde will die as well. Work to keep any zombies that get in range away from your team.

>>6334210
>Join your team and fight the boss together. As soon as he dies the rest of the horde will die as well. Work to keep any zombies that get in range away from your team.
Use Fire Wall to isolate him

>>6334210
>Land at the edge of the swarm. Use Firewall and alternate weapons on everything that gets through the wall.
>We can use the wall as a smokescreen to hide a jump glide straight to the boss later.

Sweet, full heal.

Everyone else can target the necromancer, we can keep taunting with cheesy lines

>>6334207
>turns out our boy was into Kamen Rider he whole time
Kek! he didn't recognize the belt, though?

>>6334248
+1, make the most of our new crowd control abilities.

>>6334210

>>6334210
>>6334246 +1

>>6334248
>Support

Glaves and spears are our friend

>>6334210
>Join your team and fight the boss together. As soon as he dies the rest of the horde will die as well. Work to keep any zombies that get in range away from your team.
We've been promoted from the Traveler to the Hero.

>>6334248
+1, this is more or less just crowd control

Also, hear that thumping noise? That's the sound of several jaws hitting the floor.

>>6334210
>Land in the swarm of zombies. You'll keep the adds away while the rest of your party handles the necromancer.

>>6334252
>>turns out our boy was into Kamen Rider he whole time
>Kek! he didn't recognize the belt, though?
I might have flubbed it a bit just to get a cooler entrance. But no, John didn't recognise the belts. His knowledge of tokusatsu is all second hand at best.

He's just a passing through Kamen Rider.

The fact the The Traveler was his voted pseudonym along with him being the hero class was pure coincidence. A great one at that. I'm just mixing in a bit of Doctor Who because of John's experience with the game.

>>6334537
doctor who is not a commonly refered to source material, nor is the learned wanderer a common quest archetype. So I welcome it wholsale.

We got a tie. Was a real back and forth too. The choices are to create a firewall and keep the horde off our friends. Or make a firewall to isolate the boss and fight with our friends. Unless I miss understood >>6334248
post.

>>6334665
then allow me to vote for the first option
>create a firewall and keep the horde off our friends

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6.34 MB GIF

>>6334671
Then I'll get to writing. Thanks for breaking the tie.

oh boy i wonder how roland will react to this...

You glide across the battlefield on wings of ice. Despite the material they're made of they're incredibly flexible, bending and turning at the slightest thought. It reminds you of the time you and your friends leapt of an airship to test out some homemade gliders. It ended about as well as expected but for a few fleeting moments you were all soaring through the air. A volley of bullets pulls you away from your thoughts and you barrel roll to get out of the way. "We need to cut the horde off from the others. They'll handle the boss." You tell your "scarf". It growls in acknowledge met.

"Well said! A beast without it's army is naught but an animal caught in a trap!" It replies with a glee of ferocity. You twist to avoid another volley of arrows and bullets and land right before your friends.

"Dude! That was...was...IT WAS AWESOME!" Ryuji screams. You aim your left arm towards your friends' direction. "D-dude? You...good?" Your scarf twists and slithers around your arm before latching on your fist and opening it's maw.

"He's gone mad! We must kill him before he slaughters us all!" Eleanor shouts.

"Just kidding." You chuckle. "You guys handle the boss! I'll keep the horde off of you all! Anything that gets past me will probably in one shot range!" You shout. Blue flames burst forth from the miniature dragon's mouth and you drag it across the space between you and your team.

Spell: Fire Wall cast.

The wall of fire rages behind you locking the necromancer and your friends within. "Thou has a strange sense of humor. Dost thou readily antagonize them outside of battle?" Misadir asks as you drive your blade into the chest of an oncoming zombie. You kick it away and pivot to another next to as you conjure a dagger, throw it into the zombie behind it and drive your elbow into the one in front of you. Your blade slices clean through the zombie's skull and your elbow instantly crushes the other's skull into mush.

"Huh...that's a lot of power." You say turning and sprinting to the next group approaching. Each step your take leaves a thin layer of ice that immediately bursts into a small ice cluster that bursts into flames. Despite the fire, the ice clusters never melt. As you conjure a spear of ice you add, "I don't. I'm...actually kind of quiet outside of fights." You say. "It's been a while since I've..erm.. traveled with others." You drive the spear of ice into the chest of one zombie and continue pushing impaling another, then another, and one more still. Snapping off the rest of the spear, you rear back and slam your palm into the chest of the first zombie. "Flowing Palm Strike!"

Skill: Flowing Palm Strike activated.

The attack, despite doing minimal damage, crushes the chest of your target causing it to cave in. As the mass of zombies are shunted backwards by your attack, the spear itself is flung out and it impales another zombie a few feet away in the leg causing it to explode and sending the monster sprawling to the ground. "Above thee!" Misadir roars just in time for you to see a volley of arrows rain down on your position. You jump and redirect your trajectory with another before gliding, your chest mere inches from the ground. The arrows clatter to the ground uselessly and you conjure a greatsword as you glide. With a single swing, you effortlessly cut through the ankles of nearly a dozen zombies before rolling on the ground and swinging your legs like in those breakdance videos your practiced to.

"Thine sense of battle is finely honed. Though a bit...unorthodox I must say. One could almost believe thou was born from the flames of war itself." Misadir says as you kip up into high kick tearing the torso off a headless zombie. You form a shield and parry an attack before hurling it at another enemy far away and embedding the shield in it's chest.

"It's nothing." You say delivering a series of attacks to bring down another group. Arms are broken in half, legs severed, some even have their own heads buried in their chests. "There are others who are far better than me. Me? I'm just a wash out." Almost to prove your point, a series of explosions occur behind the wall of fire.

"Irene! Use a card on Eleanor, I'll keep the boss off of you!" Ryuji shouts. "Then use Helios to keep both of you up! The aoes are letting up!" The sound of metal cutting through the air and hitting flesh rings out and the boss screams in frustration. You smirk.

"Like I said. Only those who work together will survive. I failed that simple ideal already. The fact that they succeeded despite my actions means I'm no longer needed." You said. "Now I just wander the world." A series of bullets fly past you, missing your head by inches. You shift and approach another group only for a second volley to burst forth and miss you by a wide margin. You and Misadir's head snap to the attack before scanning the battlefield. In the far back, several zombie gunners were firing wildly at the wall of fire. "They're trying to hit the others!" You both say together.

>What do you do?
>Glide into the back lines and start taking out the ranged units. The wall of fire can handle any who go through it.
>Conjure up ranged weapons and return fire. Fighting firepower with more firepower.
>Use your spells to handle the back line. You only have a limited mana pool but the spells you do have pack a punch.
>Write in.



Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP:100%
MP: 70%

Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP:70%
MP:49%

Ryuji Yamada (Roland)
HP: 65%
MP: Full

Eleanor Cadieux
HP:70%

Misadir
Status: Cool looking ice scarf

>>6334746
>Conjure up ranged weapons and return fire. Fighting firepower with more firepower.
It will be interesting to test the conjuration ability on guns. What counts as different weapons?

>>6334746
>Conjure up ranged weapons and return fire. Fighting firepower with more firepower.

>>6334746
>>6334754
Im thinking what we could fireball, but maybe its better saved for when the boss charges up a big aoe and we pop it

>>6334746
>Conjure up ranged weapons and return fire. Fighting firepower with more firepower.

>>6334746
>Use your spells to handle the back line. You only have a limited mana pool but the spells you do have pack a punch.
I'm down for fireball now. This transformed state is on a time-limit, right?

>>6334746
>Conjure up ranged weapons and return fire. Fighting firepower with more firepower.

>>6334754
Caught me just as I was going to bed. Let me list the weapons types so far:

Guns:
Gunner weapons are basically Monster Hunter Bow guns but can be broken down into two categories.


Heavy Damage types which are the run of the mill minigun/cannon styled weapons. They either shoot a big shot (cannon style) or unload hundreds of bullets (minigun style). They're meant for medium range confrontations.

Precision types which cover oversized sniper rifles or charged shot rifles. Both are meant for longer range and pack a serious punch but the downside is that their rates of fire are super slow especially in the case for charge shot rifles.

I am debating handguns/hand crossbows but at the moment I'm not sure if I want that to be a Hero only weapon or even in the quest. Yes I am toying with the idea of adding another Rider or Two. Can't be a Kamen Rider without a secondary and Villian Rider can I?

Bows follow a similar idea. Regular and Oversized.

Regular bows would be Longbows and Shortbows. Shortbows having a faster fire rate but shorter range and longbows having slower fire rate and longer range.

Oversized bows are your Monster Hunter style bows. Weapons as big as a person and shoot giant arrows. The drawback is that it requires the user to stay put and use all their effort to draw the thing ala Dark Souls and their giant bows.

The rest of the weapon types basically encompass anything that could fall under that category which so far I've thought of:

Polearms
Swords
Axes
Daggers
Hammers/Maces

Fist weapons are a unique category because they don't strictly involve fists. Generally anything that is used in martial arts fantasy are included in this. So stuff like
Claws
Tonfas
Nunchuks
Punching daggers (this would also fall in the daggers category)
Three section staves.

Exotic Weapons are rare weapons that require a player to undertake a quest and/or burn a level skill slot to be able to use. They generally require time and reputation before an npc is willing to impart the knowledge on how to wield them. Weapons like this include

Gunlances from monster hunter (Valford is well known for employing these alongside regular gunner weapons. It's their evolution of their ancestor's spears)

Eleanor's Gunblade (John has never seen anyone else wield this and none of the knights in Valford have one as far as he's seen. So it's either unique to her or maybe the Inquisition.)

Whips (not super rare but it's annoying to have to spend a skill slot for it.)

Double bladed weapons

The assassin's creed style hidden blade. (The Thief class get this as a level up option. All other classes must find a way to get proficiency in it.)

Basically that's my rough idea on how weapons proficiencies are kind of grouped. Now to the original question, for the purposes of your skill in combination with your conjuration ability. A different weapon would be something in a different weapon category or a weapon in the same category that requires a different fighting style.

So for example, if John is wielding a longsword and wants to swap another sword type he needs to choose either a two hander or a rapier. He can't swap to say a shortsword because in the fantasy sense they fight more or less the same. For ranged weapons he'd have to swap between Gun types. So if he has a Minigun/Cannon style weapon, he needs to make a sniper rifle/charge rifle kind of gun or any kind of bow. For the minigun, a single attack is a volley of about 7-10 bullets.

His original skill has a bit more leniency due to the fact he needs to procure it mid fight usually from someone else.

Weapon Proficiency: Single Weapon Use: Become proficient with all weapons for a single attack upon disarming an opponent, redirecting a weapon attack, or picking up an unattended weapon. Proficiency may be "reactivated" upon picking up a different unattended weapon, preforming another successful disarm/redirection, or being empty handed for set period of time (roughly 30 seconds). While proficient with a weapon, said weapon may be used with weapons skills/abilities as your unarmed attacks can be.

Sorry for info dumping. I'm kind of working on the finer details as they come up to keep the quest going.

>>6334776
You are on a time limit. Your transformed state lasts for a minute normally. Though you're due for an upgrade in that department soon. Right now, you've spent about 10 or so seconds mowing down zombies.

As my last post, I noticed I didn't put the Boss's HP.

Here you go:

Boss: Lich of the Frozen Gorge
HP: 88%

>>6334746
>Glide into the back lines and start taking out the ranged units. The wall of fire can handle any who go through it.
Regal and Misadir! A hundred years!

>>6334790
neato, so we've got around 3-5 free shots per transformation, which is quite a decent chunk for pvp.