Not-So-Silent Night

[Fletcher]

Halloween seemed to be the time of year where the costumes and clothes of people about town became more obscure and themed towards either gorey horror or just dressed up with embellishment in the forms of glowing pins or pumpkin broaches. It was no different here as well, where adventurers and Landers alike would dress up for the occasion, even if it meant throwing their usual looks to the wind. Fletcher never really understood the point, but didn’t mind the children having a bit of fun; it was the advantage of living in a pretty safe neighbourhood. Here, the relative age of the adventurers seemed to fluctuate and everyone had some form defending themselves from those that would take advantage, so stranger danger wasn’t much of an issue. The environment had a way of responding to this, and the decorations that made themselves known for the holiday stuck out from the normal goings on in the town. Themed lanterns, creepy statuettes, and what the dwarf hoped were fake cobwebs were in vast abundance.

There was something sinister in the air though, and there were a few people that were loitering in the streets just waiting for it to happen. Some were less obvious about it, but for those like Fletcher who stood out in the open, arms folded and almost looking like a dad keeping an eye out for the kids, there were those that feared the worst. Since starting their new lives, things like this had happened before. It’s as if they were still playing a game, and every seasonal event known to man had to be brought out in some garish attempt to sway people into the mood and advertise that there was another opportunity to spend money. That in itself was fine normally for the sake of economic stimulus, but when the world itself could theme itself, or rather the living things in it, those that were more prone to cause danger continued to do so.

So far things were fine, and Fletcher locked eyes with another, older adventurer who seemed to be fulfilling the same role he was. They nodded to one another, sharing some kind of unspoken understanding as to the situation. Fletcher took his leave of the place and wandered to the outskirts of town, standing at the threshold between where Londinium ended and the wilderness started, looking down the road to where the noises of the night called anyone daring enough to pursue them. Fletcher sighed, knowing full well that he’d be out there at some point in the evening when the moon was higher in the sky. ”Master!” Salamander fluttered in, clutching a bag with a few scraps of candy in it, something he’d instructed the dragon to do while he kept watch. The idea would be to drop sweets into the bags of children that were wandering around door to door looking for candy and came up short. ”How goes your vigilance, Master Fletcher?” The dragon cocked his head, hanging the bag over a stray branch on a tree nearby and fluttered back to his master, hovering at shoulder height next to the summoner.

The dwarf breathed out slowly, continuing to look down the road. ”I wish it were more quiet, Salamander. Everything seems fine inside the town, on the outside it’s a different story.” The dragon seemed confused at this comment and fluttered forward, taking a better look down the road. ”Do you want to head on out into the night and see what’s making a fuss?” The dwarf stretched, before stepping across the threshold without waiting for a response from the dragon. Salamander followed, and they were in the plains heading down towards the Windsor Greatwood. Dotting the landscape before them were the strange lights from creatures that only came out this time of year, weaker ones for those not as adept in combat, and generally ranged anywhere from levels one to five. These would be a breeze to deal with, and there were already some people out here already hunting. Was there the potential for a rare drop or something from killing these themed monsters? It was hard to say, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. All that he’d lose is a little bit of time.

Word Count: 708
Total Word Count: 708 (x1.1 Halloween Event Bonus)
@sayha @dumah

[Deleted]

Music: Beautiful Dead

---

Halloween. A time of year where ghosts roamed free and horrors rules the night. The blood red moon loomed high above the city of Londinium, almost as though it were serving as a warning of some tragedy to befall the city in the coming nights. As though upon the night of Halloween, the lunar satellite would crash down upon the city, leaving nothing but destruction and death in its wake. Taking a break from the large open hunt for the annual Halloween monsters, Dumah opened his menu.

Status

Inventory

Party

Friends

Guild

Dumah looked to the clock in the corner of the user interface, curious as to the date. October twenty eighth, three days before Halloween. 'Night of the first day - Sixty hours remain,' he thought to himself, remembering an old adventure game he had played as a child in which the player was given a three day time limit. The Swashbuckler smiled a bit as he reminisced, then closed his menu and got up from the ground where he had been sitting. Dumah drew his sword from its scabbard, running in and joining the large battle. The field was hectic as low leveled Adventurers were forced to share the event enemies.

After Dumah easily cut down a few level five Halloween monsters, he noticed a familiar man in his peripheral view. Dumah sheathed his sword in its scabbard on his left hip, walking over to the Dwarf Summoner and leaving his target for a lower leveled Adventurer to pick off with a well aimed Orb of Lava. Dumah smiled softly as he approached the Summoner, seeing a good excuse to move on to stronger game. "Hello, Fletcher. It is nice to see you tonight. Out hunting for the event? Perhaps you would like to join me, together we could surely take on stronger enemies, and thus earn higher quality drops and rewards from this event."

Words: 316 | Total Words: 316
Tags: Fletcher @shadowsaiph
Coding by Sayha of LH

[Deleted]

Sayha had been busy that month and busy was starting to feel like an understatement. She had been all over the place doing whatever she could to get her levels up, and she was starting to burn out. Thankfully though, Sayha hadn’t done a lot of the adventuring alone. Though that day she start off by herself in Sarum and was making her way back to Londinium on foot. She was hunting more of the Halloween mobs that had been literally sprouting up across all of the Unfounded Kingdom. She had already been on… two or three hunting parties so far, and she was kind of hoping to find someone to party with in Windsor Greatwoods.

As she was walking along the path, she saw two figures that she recognized. One was the Swashbuckler Dumah that she somehow kept running into. He was one of the guild leaders that Hiro had invited to the station for the guild leaders meeting. Also, she knew him from her first quest she had done when she finally decided to start leveling. Dumah was standing with another familiar face: the Summoner Fletcher. She had also quested with him a few times… actually almost every time she had seen Dumah she saw Fletcher.

Sayha decided to see what they were up to. “Well nice running into you guys here,” Sayha greeted them, “It’s good to know that there are actually people clearing out the mobs around here. Are you guys in a party together or just run into each other?”

Words: 255 | Total Words: 255
Fletcher @dumah
Coding by Sayha of LH

[Deleted]

Another one down! As the Shaman yanked, he removed his somewhat oversized soot iron scythe from the ground, having skewered it there after cleaving through a particularly nasty Jack. Twirling it in his hand, he stuck it upright against the grass beside him, holding it out like a staff with the large curved blade hooking over the top of his head. "You know, I'm starting to get scared that I might be enjoying this a little too much; maybe these monsters are starting to affect me too?" Dorian looked around at the area nearby, a few battles going on with the new Halloween creatures. With Adventurers finally taking the helm on slaying the beasts that now roamed the night, the heavy aura of darkness that had once loomed over almost all of Londinium and it's surrounding areas had become nothing more than a slight tingle on the back of his mind; but with more and more creatures popping up everyday, he was starting to think they were just shaking the hornet's nest.

But alas, his fears weren't unfounded; he was enjoying this... That was clearly evidenced by the instinctual smirk that played across his lips, almost malicious in it's intent. The inner scarecrow in his mind palace was beginning to affect him more drastically, his connection to Skrowe perhaps enhanced by the spiritual dark that was seeping through the midnight air. Staring up at the crimson blood moon that somehow stared back, Dorian gave a huffed sigh before swinging the blade of his scythe behind him to knock down upon the ground, dragging the two-handed weapon lazily behind himself. His new rags, courtesy of a fine Tailor friend, coupled with his enhanced level, were giving him a new sense of strength and speed; and he liked it. "Time for more then?" The chibi scarecrow nodded telepathically - if communicating with your inner self could be seen as telepathy - and the two of them trudged on, perhaps looking for a group of Adventurers to goad into hunting with him.

It was then that he spotted a familiar group of faces gathering together nearby; a certain friendly dwarf by the name of Fletcher, a particularly handsome Half-Alv known as Dumah, and... Skrowe almost did a double mental flip inside of Dorian's brain at the sight of the elven Assassin, easily remembering Sayha from their last hunt, albeit back when he was level 1. Becoming rather chipper at the sight of old friends - at least, he thought them to be - the Shaman happily skipped over towards them, dragging his wield-y scythe behind him, the sound of grass and dirt softly crunching following him from behind. "If you guys are going hunting, I'd be happy to come along!" Greeting the group with an offer of help, as he was want to do, Dorian halted to stand among them, his scythe stretched out behind him, blade resting on the ground.

---

Notes: Assumed to be at level 20 after AP Claim provisionally approved.
Words: 484
Tags: Fletcher @dumah @shadowsaiph
Party Buff: Heavenly Defense

HP: 100%
MP: 100%

SPOILER: Click to show

{Available Skills}

Leaping Apricot Technique: This spell will instantly transport the user to a location a certain distance away, leaving behind apricot flower petals from where the user stood. What seems like a powerful technique actually has some drawbacks, including a maximum range of 6 meters and the ability to travel within eight directions, not to mention the in-game restrictions for using this skill. However, it seems that these restrictions have been lifted following the Catastrophe, allowing more striving Shamans to learn this skill with less constraints. Also, using this skill post-Catastrophe also gives off an apricot scent, giving it an aromatic purpose outside of battle. This skill consumes about 20% of the Shaman's MP, has a casting time of 1.5 seconds, and has a cooldown of 40 seconds. The MP cost decreases by 5% for every 30 levels.

Demon's Eye: This skill when activated will slightly increases accuracy rate of the user's weapons. It also causes the weapon to be immune to hit spirit-type mobs whom normally nullify incoming physical damage. Of course, a successful hit requires an active attack towards a desired foe regardless. There was one time when the developers received e-mails saying that "I've used the Demon's Eye and I still keep on missing on ghost mobs!" among others. For this reason, several balance changes were implemented. When used, this skill adds a blue radiance on one's eyes, a rather scary sight post-Catastrophe. This skill has a casting time of 4 seconds, a duration of 60 seconds, and a cooldown of 70 seconds.

Divine Subjugation: The Shaman's body is infused with the blessings of the spirits, increasing the damage of the user's physical attacks for the next 8 seconds. The Shaman's body glows a bright yellow at this time and all their attacks also contribute to an increased amount of aggro. It is oriented towards Battle Shaman builds that use swords or bows as primary weapons. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Damage Interception: A barrier skill known as the signature move of the Shaman. Forms either a stationary barrier or a barrier around a target that continues to exist until the "energy" of the barrier expires. Energy will decrease slowly over time and decrease from damage taken. This skill has a casting time of 1.5 seconds and a cooldown of 5 seconds.

Rebound Barrier: Affectionately known as “Pinball Barrier” by veteran adventurers, the Rebound Barrier skill casts a spherical barrier around the target. Upon hostile contact with the barrier, both the target and the hostile are tossed in separate directions. Any damage from the attack still lands. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Soulcutter: A good contender in terms of Shaman DPS, this skill transforms the summoned Shikigami's body into a violent stream of magic energy. The energy is concentrated into a material form, creating a cutting-wave projectile as sharp as a sword. The attack is then shot up to 5 meters forward, after which the familiar spirit travels back to the Shaman. This skill has a casting time of 1 second, followed by an animation time in seconds equal to 0.2 x distance in meters traveled. Its cooldown time is 3 seconds. If Shikigami Astral Seal is active when this skill is used, it is temporarily disabled for this skill's duration.

Exorcism of a Cursed Lotus: A self-cast barrier that boosts the caster’s attack speed against a specific target without boosting movement speed. Upon taking any damage, the barrier shatters and the caster lose all benefits. Since this leaves the caster vulnerable to attack it is often better to combine this with attacks from other party members or with another barrier level underneath so as to keep the target preoccupied. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Shikigami Astral Seal: This skill transforms the physical body of the summoned Shikigami into a ghost-like form, making it intangible to all attacks. Conversely, the Shikigami retains the ability to affect its environment, allowing it to move and control objects like a poltergeist. Many Shamans typically have their Shikigami control objects like weapons in order to make them appear as though they were possessed. Others tend to utilize the summon to grab an enemy's limbs and prevent their movement, but the generally low offensive specs of the Shikigami makes this strategy not quite as effective. The duration of this skill lasts for a full minute, but it will automatically cancel if the Shikigami's duration runs out. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds. There is a 30 second cooldown period after this skill's deactivation before it may be used again.

Pacifying Dance: A skill that allows the dancer to perform beautiful dances to momentarily captivate those who see it. For the next 30 seconds, monsters within 25 meters have their nature changed. Aggressive and Predatory monsters become Wary. Wary, Aloof, and Cowardly monsters become Docile. Docile monsters become Friendly. This effect does not work against monsters that are already engaged in battle when this skill was used.

[Fletcher]

Fletcher wandered down the road, seeing how some of lower levels were going fighting the monsters. As it turned out, the convenience of being so close to town while the hunt was on made the fields outside of Londinium brimming with people not just a lower level, but higher ones as well. It was clear as to which bracket the adventurers fell into based on how fast they were dispatching monsters; that said, they seemed to respawn just as fast, so the killing grounds were never without a target for someone. Amongst the crowd was a familiar swashbuckler, helping out some of the lower levelled people out by tagging out when things seemed to get too rough. Dumah wandered over and asked him what brought him out this way, and invited him to join in on the fun together.

Joining a party with Dumah was sure to let them take down stronger things, and the younger adventurers seemed to be taken care of, so there really wasn’t any excuse not to. Granted, thus far Dumah had been an interesting person to have around, leaving his opinions on the kid largely undecided. He seemed torn between liking his bravado and confidence in taking charge of a guild, and disliking his ineptitude when it comes to making combat calls. He was definitely more in favour of liking the guy, but it was still early days even after being in a fair few parties together. Before he could say anything, Sayha rocked up. Now she was in better graces, having proved herself quite capable, and every time they seemed to run into each other, they were meeting each other in strength, they both much had their eyes set on the stars in the ways of gathering experience.

”Literally just ran into each other, Sayha. Dumah was just mentioning the idea of teaming up to take out some of the bigger threats.” Fletcher scratched his chin, looking to Salamander for another opinion. The dragon seemed distracted though, looking at someone skipping towards them up the road. It was Dorian, another familiar face and someone actually from the Healer subset of classes. While if Dorian built for it, he’d be a better healer than he was, Fletcher had confidence in his own boosted abilities from equipment, and also from his own experience in playing the healer. ”With Dorian that makes four. What do you say, guys? Shall we wander into the night and take out some nightmares?”

Word Count: 412
Total Word Count: 1120

[Deleted]

Music: Beautiful Dead

---

Not long after Dumah and Fletcher had encountered each other, the duo was joined by another mutual acquaintance of theirs: The Elven Assassin, Sayha. She seemed to be in a rather chipper mood, and Dumah smiled a bit. She seemed interested in joining a party to hunt these Halloween creatures. Rather surprisingly, not long after Fletcher explained that he and Dumah had just ran into each other, the group of three was joined by another: The Shaman Dorian. "Well, it is truly a small world, it would seem." It was very surprising that this group kept finding themselves running into each other. If this were a play, the obvious theory would be that they were all destined to join forces, or perhaps that one of them was secretly the villain all along. But this was the real world, and Dumah was not much of a fatalist.

Fletcher asked the party what they thought, whether they were up for the idea of joining for another adventure to slay these creatures of the night. Dumah nodded with a bit of a grin. "Let us go forth into the night!"

---

Music: Beautiful Ruin

---

As the party walked on in search of adventure, standing in a typical party formation with the off-tank, Dumah, leading the party, Sayha, the main source of DPS following behind him, and the two supporters - Fletcher and Dorian - in the back of the party, Dumah spoke up to break the silence as nothing had been happening yet. "So, how have you all been doing as of late? I do hope you have all been well." Dumah made small talk as the party ventured forth, Dumah's Magic Light floating about and guiding the path. Occasionally one would see an Adventurer or two, either camping out, grinding, doing a quest, or waiting for Halloween enemies to spawn. The party left most of them alone, as they were still in the zone in which only low leveled monsters spawned, and they were after a stronger quarry.

Every so often the party would be confronted by a straying Mini Jack, though these creatures were nothing to the party, usually being killed in only a few basic attacks. The party could not bother to be concerned with these weak Jacks, as they were looking for a decent amount of Experience, as well as stronger rewards. Given the party's average level, Dumah presumed Fletcher and the others were on the hunt for Ripper Jacks, and Dumah would be in the same boat as them if this truly was their plan.

Words: 421 | Total Words: 737
Tags: Fletcher @shadowsaiph @serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH

[Deleted]

Sayha saw Dorian, yet another familiar face, approach the group. He was level 20 now so he was much stronger than when the two of them had last run into each other. Plus, he had a scythe instead of a katana. It seemed to fit him better though which was good. He asked if he could join the group to do some hunting.

Fletcher then explained to Sayha that Dumah and he and literally just run into each other, and he suggested the four of them party. Dorian had already suggested it, and Dumah was all for it. “I was getting ready to look for a party so I’m up for it,” Sayha nodded.

As the group of four began walking, Dumah did an attempt at small talk, asking how everyone was doing. Sayha shrugged, “Nothing new.” Sayha noticed as Dumah walked past some of the Jacks that were floating around. Granted, they were lower level, but she didn’t understand why he was passing them. There was no guarantee they’d run into other monsters. Sayha disappeared from the group and dispatched the lower-leveled ones easily and returned to her place in the formation.

“You shouldn’t pass monsters up just because they’re lower level,” Sayha slightly scolded Dumah, “If we attack the smaller ones, we can draw out the larger-leveled monsters. Also we’re in the Greatwood so the monsters are going to be lower leveled then all of us. If you want to fight every Halloween mob you see, then go to Sarum. Trust me, I was there nearly all day. No competition unless you want to count the regular mobs.”

Sayha paused remembering her adventure with Hiro going Halloween Hunting, “When I was here a bit ago, I ran into very high-leveled mobs even for the area. I think the highest was 50. No point in passing up free kills because we may end up retreating if we run into the wrong monster.”

---

((Personal Note: AP to here claimed))

Words: 323 | Total Words: 578
Fletcher @dumah @serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH

[Deleted]

Looking over the three familiar faces again, Dorian couldn't help but smile. Fletcher himself was a dear friend, their workings together always remaining fond memories of his level 1 days. Speaking of, his companionship with Dumah was a similar case, the Dungeon they had cleared, with his strategist mind birthing under the darkened ceilings of the London Underground. And of course, he could not forget Sayha, the elf Assassin who had set him on the straight path when it came to the rules of the world, and the best way to live by them; that and his brain was a mess of incessant babblings, Skrowe never being able to stop talking about her for more than a few seconds. "This should be quite interesting!" The Shaman bowed his head to the three of them, watching as they began their partied walk, trudging onward. As usual, Dorian took up the back alongside Fletcher, dragging his scythe along behind him against the grass, dirt and gravel.

"Woops, sorry... I'll get that," he muttered incoherently, giving an awkward grimace as he hoisted the weight of the blade off the ground; despite it's size he was easily able to rest it over his shoulders, the large curved blade hanging in the air between himself and Fletcher. "Don't worry, she won't get you. She may look feisty, but Harvester doesn't bite... Unless I tell her to, of course." He had acquired the scythe in a handy trade, spying the weapon during his travels through town; when he had compared it to his own pitiful katana, he had realised that the slicing blade just wasn't for him. His speed and agility were better utilised with the slashing cut that Harvester always landed. And yes, it had a name; it came with the trade.

As they continued their journey, Dorian heard the Half-Alv at their head asked the group of their adventures since the last time they had met; which for Dorian had been quite some time, back when he was a measly single digit. The Shaman merely gave a shrug and a smile, giving as much a detailed answer as Sayha did. "Besides the wardrobe change and the new... well..." He gestured his head across, pointing out the blade of his weapon. "Haven't done much lately. What about you, Dumah?" In truth, his days had been hectic, working to quell the tide of the Halloween monsters in an effort to keep them from affecting the land too much; not to mention the various troubles he had gotten himself into, such as the debacle with the Messier Order. But, despite all that, Dorian still answered the way he did. After all, he was never one to throw his dilemmas and his turmoil on others; he preferred to be the one depended on, the one people went to for help and a bit of joy. He liked being that guy.

It seemed as though Dumah and Sayha had different ideas about how to handle the lesser enemies they passed, Dumah opting to pass them up and leave them to other Adventurers, or in their case, pass them up to Sayha. Whenever she would dart off to cut down a few beasties, Dorian snuck a 'Damage Interception' on her, so as to ease the worries of his spirit friend dwelling in his mind. Let it never be said that he was not a man of support, no matter how stacked the odds were in the Assassin's favour. She did make a good point however; passing them up ran the risk of letting them overpower and overrun, and nobody wanted that. Alas, Dorian kept his opinions to himself... No point starting an unnecessary argument in the ranks before they had even gotten to the larger monsters.

---

Notes: N/A
Words: 626
Tags: Fletcher @dumah @shadowsaiph
Party Buff: Heavenly Defense

HP: 100%
MP: 90%

SPOILER: Click to show

{Available Skills}

Leaping Apricot Technique: This spell will instantly transport the user to a location a certain distance away, leaving behind apricot flower petals from where the user stood. What seems like a powerful technique actually has some drawbacks, including a maximum range of 6 meters and the ability to travel within eight directions, not to mention the in-game restrictions for using this skill. However, it seems that these restrictions have been lifted following the Catastrophe, allowing more striving Shamans to learn this skill with less constraints. Also, using this skill post-Catastrophe also gives off an apricot scent, giving it an aromatic purpose outside of battle. This skill consumes about 20% of the Shaman's MP, has a casting time of 1.5 seconds, and has a cooldown of 40 seconds. The MP cost decreases by 5% for every 30 levels.

Demon's Eye: This skill when activated will slightly increases accuracy rate of the user's weapons. It also causes the weapon to be immune to hit spirit-type mobs whom normally nullify incoming physical damage. Of course, a successful hit requires an active attack towards a desired foe regardless. There was one time when the developers received e-mails saying that "I've used the Demon's Eye and I still keep on missing on ghost mobs!" among others. For this reason, several balance changes were implemented. When used, this skill adds a blue radiance on one's eyes, a rather scary sight post-Catastrophe. This skill has a casting time of 4 seconds, a duration of 60 seconds, and a cooldown of 70 seconds.

Divine Subjugation: The Shaman's body is infused with the blessings of the spirits, increasing the damage of the user's physical attacks for the next 8 seconds. The Shaman's body glows a bright yellow at this time and all their attacks also contribute to an increased amount of aggro. It is oriented towards Battle Shaman builds that use swords or bows as primary weapons. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Damage Interception: A barrier skill known as the signature move of the Shaman. Forms either a stationary barrier or a barrier around a target that continues to exist until the "energy" of the barrier expires. Energy will decrease slowly over time and decrease from damage taken. This skill has a casting time of 1.5 seconds and a cooldown of 5 seconds.

Rebound Barrier: Affectionately known as “Pinball Barrier” by veteran adventurers, the Rebound Barrier skill casts a spherical barrier around the target. Upon hostile contact with the barrier, both the target and the hostile are tossed in separate directions. Any damage from the attack still lands. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Soulcutter: A good contender in terms of Shaman DPS, this skill transforms the summoned Shikigami's body into a violent stream of magic energy. The energy is concentrated into a material form, creating a cutting-wave projectile as sharp as a sword. The attack is then shot up to 5 meters forward, after which the familiar spirit travels back to the Shaman. This skill has a casting time of 1 second, followed by an animation time in seconds equal to 0.2 x distance in meters traveled. Its cooldown time is 3 seconds. If Shikigami Astral Seal is active when this skill is used, it is temporarily disabled for this skill's duration.

Exorcism of a Cursed Lotus: A self-cast barrier that boosts the caster’s attack speed against a specific target without boosting movement speed. Upon taking any damage, the barrier shatters and the caster lose all benefits. Since this leaves the caster vulnerable to attack it is often better to combine this with attacks from other party members or with another barrier level underneath so as to keep the target preoccupied. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Shikigami Astral Seal: This skill transforms the physical body of the summoned Shikigami into a ghost-like form, making it intangible to all attacks. Conversely, the Shikigami retains the ability to affect its environment, allowing it to move and control objects like a poltergeist. Many Shamans typically have their Shikigami control objects like weapons in order to make them appear as though they were possessed. Others tend to utilize the summon to grab an enemy's limbs and prevent their movement, but the generally low offensive specs of the Shikigami makes this strategy not quite as effective. The duration of this skill lasts for a full minute, but it will automatically cancel if the Shikigami's duration runs out. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds. There is a 30 second cooldown period after this skill's deactivation before it may be used again.

Pacifying Dance: A skill that allows the dancer to perform beautiful dances to momentarily captivate those who see it. For the next 30 seconds, monsters within 25 meters have their nature changed. Aggressive and Predatory monsters become Wary. Wary, Aloof, and Cowardly monsters become Docile. Docile monsters become Friendly. This effect does not work against monsters that are already engaged in battle when this skill was used.

[Fletcher]

Everyone seemed to be in agreeance to the notion of forming up into a party for the sake of hunting creatures of the night. This time, Fletcher would be the leader, or at least he was going to try. Sayha had proven herself capable, Dumah the same, but so far Fletcher had only stuck to the back and played Operator. Nothing would be different in terms of his role in the party, but seeing the little crown next to his name for once would be a nice boost to his ego for the night. Fletcher sent them all party invites, and when they were all in they began walking down the road.

Dumah asked the question of how they’d all been. He asked a little too formally for the occasion, but that was hardly a problem, just a little odd. He led the way with his Magic Light, Fletcher refraining from using his Mana Powered Flashlight through virtue of just not needing it. Sayha said nothing was new, whereas Dorian mentioned his new clothes and weapon before asking the same of Dumah back. The only one that didn’t reply was Fletcher, seemingly distracted by his thoughts. Salamander looked between the different members of the group, being the one only introduced to Dorian before; he’d not met the others back, but if it could, it’d have its claws poised on its sword, ready for knightly combat to defend its master. Between the errands of the Messier Sages, Fletcher took a vacation and wandered out into the Sarum Frontier to make a pact with Salamander, and all aside from Dorian had yet to meet his newest pact. Unfortunately with how the garbled tongue of the followers worked, Salamander started chirring and clicking at Dorian with a watchful eye, sizing him up. ”Are you a knight, sir? I believe you to be a knight. Do you have a lord? Who is your lord, sir?” The little dragon kept quizzing Dumah in oddspeak, ignoring the fact that no one else could understand him aside from his own master.

Sayha at intervals would disappear and reappear, taking her place back in formation and after a while, made comment to Dumah about him ignoring them. She was right, any experience was good experience, and it was better than just going for a night time stroll with nothing to show for it if they failed to find anything stronger or more level appropriate. Fletcher snapped back to reality when Sayha mentioned a level fifty monster roaming about the woods. ”Level fifty? Well that sounds like trouble. Let’s just head to the frontier and be done with it; higher levelled monsters than here and if what Sayha says is correct, then we have pick of the litter.”

Word Count: 465
Total Word Count: 1585
@dumah

[Deleted]

Music: Tour of Venice

---

The party walked on through the night, and as Dumah left the tedious task of slaying the monsters that were far lower level to other Adventurers, the other members of his party began to take it upon themselves. He sighed softly to himself remembering that he is not here to have fun, but to assist in a hunt. As Sayha dashed off to take care of the spared beasts, he watched her easily defeat her targets before returning to the group and slightly scolding the Swashbuckler. What caught Dumah's interest however was what she mentioned after, recalling an earlier hunt in which she encountered much higher level enemies, reaching as high as level 50, allegedly. Fletcher seemed a bit worried at the thought of encountering such beasts, and with the current party, Dumah could not blame him. This party could perhaps take on a level 50 enemy if they all worked together and - most importantly - worked well together, but to have a chance at felling such a beast, they would need a dedicated Tank. While Dumah could serve as the off tank, much like he usually does in the absence of a dedicated one, he does not have the means to keep aggro on himself, and thus while he could dodge around and keep an enemy occupied while its attention is on him, a single strong hit from Sayha would mean losing the target's aggro, with few to no ways of taking its aggro back.

Dumah tapped at the air as he lead the party, opening the party menu and examining the levels of the party's members. "Our party's level average is twenty eight. I don't mean to offend nor doubt the capabilities of any of this party's members, but without a dedicated tank and a few more levels, I doubt we could handle anything above level forty or so easily. This is just my opinion on the matter; Fletcher, you are the party's leader. As such, I will trust your judgment and leadership."

Words: 335 | Total Words: 1072
Tags: Fletcher @shadowsaiph @serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH

[Deleted]

Fletcher was right to believe the level 50 would be trouble if they ran into it. The only reason Sayha had survived the encounter was because Hiro had been there… and he was level 90. Dorian didn’t say anything about where they should hunt. Sayha figured he would just go along with wherever the group decided to go. Dumah calculated that the party’s average level was 28 which was a close enough guess. Then again, Dumah was the highest level in the party at that point in time sitting at 35. Sayha personally was 30 with Fletcher right behind her at 29. Dorian was the lowest at 20, but that wouldn’t be a problem.

“Dumah, you don’t have to be so formal, you know,” Sayha sighed, slightly rolling her eyes, “Fletcher, I’ll follow you wherever you decide. Though I suggest making a decision sooner rather than later.” However, that was when she noticed movement on the right side of the road, but she couldn’t make out what it was, “We may have company. Right hand side of the road. It won’t attack us while we’re on the road, but it will probably follow us until someone attacks. If one of you guys don’t, I will be.”

Sayha activated <Hearing Aptitude> to see if she could hear the monster, but she couldn’t. At least not yet. It must be one of the stealth monsters Sayha had previously encountered. If she had to guess, it was probably a Ripper Jack. They were annoying to say the least, and she hated the idea of one just wandering around. They could be very dangerous if they got the upper hand.

Words: 276 | Total Words: 854
Fletcher @serenityspace @dumah
Coding by Sayha of LH

[Deleted]

Once the others began talking about various things, the Shaman focused his attention on his interface, toying idly with various menus and rearranging them into different places, trying out different looks; his main focus however, was on the party list, his eyes scanning the names and levels adorning it. His features seemed to drop slightly as he noticed, once again, he was the one being carried along by the rest of the group. When last he had worked with these three, he had been level 1, among them who had been in the higher range of the 20s; now that he was a solid 20 himself, they had reached their own heights, Dumah himself now a colossal 35. But, undeterred, Dorian gave a gentle nod to himself; this was his chance to show them he had grown as an Adventurer. Especially Sayha, as her mentoring was one of the key factors of his improvement to the fighter he was now. And yet, like any warrior, he knew he always had more to learn.

The Shaman's concentration was broken by the Assassin's words, his mind trailing back to reality as she pointed out a nearby disturbance. Dorian turned his head to look, his eyes drifting to a close as he walked, focusing on the area to their right where Sayha had gestured to; sure enough, with a bit of grit, he managed to pick out a darkened aura signal coming from nearby, a familiar dampening on the air. "Definitely something there; we should tread lightly, it feels like a nasty one." He bowed his head slightly towards the rest of the group, opening his eyes as he watched Sayha attempt to pick out the nature of the beast. "From what I'm sensing, it may be a Ripper Jack... Miss Sayha, what do you think? Are you picking up anything?" Posing his question, he wandered up slightly, moving into the middle of the group to stand with the elven Assassin and attempt to aid her in her focus.

---

Notes: N/A
Words: 336
Tags: Fletcher @dumah @shadowsaiph
Party Buff: Heavenly Defense

HP: 100%
MP: 90%

SPOILER: Click to show

{Available Skills}

Leaping Apricot Technique: This spell will instantly transport the user to a location a certain distance away, leaving behind apricot flower petals from where the user stood. What seems like a powerful technique actually has some drawbacks, including a maximum range of 6 meters and the ability to travel within eight directions, not to mention the in-game restrictions for using this skill. However, it seems that these restrictions have been lifted following the Catastrophe, allowing more striving Shamans to learn this skill with less constraints. Also, using this skill post-Catastrophe also gives off an apricot scent, giving it an aromatic purpose outside of battle. This skill consumes about 20% of the Shaman's MP, has a casting time of 1.5 seconds, and has a cooldown of 40 seconds. The MP cost decreases by 5% for every 30 levels.

Demon's Eye: This skill when activated will slightly increases accuracy rate of the user's weapons. It also causes the weapon to be immune to hit spirit-type mobs whom normally nullify incoming physical damage. Of course, a successful hit requires an active attack towards a desired foe regardless. There was one time when the developers received e-mails saying that "I've used the Demon's Eye and I still keep on missing on ghost mobs!" among others. For this reason, several balance changes were implemented. When used, this skill adds a blue radiance on one's eyes, a rather scary sight post-Catastrophe. This skill has a casting time of 4 seconds, a duration of 60 seconds, and a cooldown of 70 seconds.

Divine Subjugation: The Shaman's body is infused with the blessings of the spirits, increasing the damage of the user's physical attacks for the next 8 seconds. The Shaman's body glows a bright yellow at this time and all their attacks also contribute to an increased amount of aggro. It is oriented towards Battle Shaman builds that use swords or bows as primary weapons. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Damage Interception: A barrier skill known as the signature move of the Shaman. Forms either a stationary barrier or a barrier around a target that continues to exist until the "energy" of the barrier expires. Energy will decrease slowly over time and decrease from damage taken. This skill has a casting time of 1.5 seconds and a cooldown of 5 seconds.

Rebound Barrier: Affectionately known as “Pinball Barrier” by veteran adventurers, the Rebound Barrier skill casts a spherical barrier around the target. Upon hostile contact with the barrier, both the target and the hostile are tossed in separate directions. Any damage from the attack still lands. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Soulcutter: A good contender in terms of Shaman DPS, this skill transforms the summoned Shikigami's body into a violent stream of magic energy. The energy is concentrated into a material form, creating a cutting-wave projectile as sharp as a sword. The attack is then shot up to 5 meters forward, after which the familiar spirit travels back to the Shaman. This skill has a casting time of 1 second, followed by an animation time in seconds equal to 0.2 x distance in meters traveled. Its cooldown time is 3 seconds. If Shikigami Astral Seal is active when this skill is used, it is temporarily disabled for this skill's duration.

Exorcism of a Cursed Lotus: A self-cast barrier that boosts the caster’s attack speed against a specific target without boosting movement speed. Upon taking any damage, the barrier shatters and the caster lose all benefits. Since this leaves the caster vulnerable to attack it is often better to combine this with attacks from other party members or with another barrier level underneath so as to keep the target preoccupied. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Shikigami Astral Seal: This skill transforms the physical body of the summoned Shikigami into a ghost-like form, making it intangible to all attacks. Conversely, the Shikigami retains the ability to affect its environment, allowing it to move and control objects like a poltergeist. Many Shamans typically have their Shikigami control objects like weapons in order to make them appear as though they were possessed. Others tend to utilize the summon to grab an enemy's limbs and prevent their movement, but the generally low offensive specs of the Shikigami makes this strategy not quite as effective. The duration of this skill lasts for a full minute, but it will automatically cancel if the Shikigami's duration runs out. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds. There is a 30 second cooldown period after this skill's deactivation before it may be used again.

Pacifying Dance: A skill that allows the dancer to perform beautiful dances to momentarily captivate those who see it. For the next 30 seconds, monsters within 25 meters have their nature changed. Aggressive and Predatory monsters become Wary. Wary, Aloof, and Cowardly monsters become Docile. Docile monsters become Friendly. This effect does not work against monsters that are already engaged in battle when this skill was used.

[Fletcher]

Dumah spoke up first, immediately abstaining from making a solid decision on where they went, leaving the decision to Fletcher. Before the dwarf could slide a comment in edgewise, Sayha made comment about how Dumah had been a little too formal for the occasion and also deferred decision to Fletcher. True to her nature as an assassin and tracker, she pointed out that they were no longer alone. Fletcher was more than happy to let Sayha deal with this and hang back to patch her along with anyone else up if needed. Dorian seemed to have a theory on what it could be, but still deferred to Sayha for identification.

They were not in any high levelled area, so they should be fine. Surely the dangers of a level fifty monster wasn’t upon them so soon. Either way, Fletcher traced a circle in the air and buffed Sayha’s strength to increase her damage output just in case it was more resilient than all of them were expecting and declared what they’d be doing. ”Sayha, take care of that thing but stay safe; I’ll monitor your HP to be safe. Dorian, support until we know what we’re up against. Dumah, standby to grab hate off Sayha in case things go south. When we’re done here lets head on out to the frontier assuming we aren’t about to run into a level fifty monstrosity of bones and dragon breath.” Fletcher folded his arms and frowned, looking to the right side of the path that Sayha had mentioned that they had company from. It hopefully wasn’t a necro-dragon, but given how things tended to happen this time of year, anything was possible.

Word Count: 279
@dumah