Conversations in the Dark

[Arkice]

The laboratory had become her go-to place with her crafting and research. The location where it was located in was an abandoned house, nestled deep within the basement. It had obviously belonged to a scientist, or at least one interested in some kind of field of it. However, any information—whether paperwork or even just posters—were already gone by the time that she had found the place. Maybe the paper had just crumbled into dust from old age or stolen, or perhaps it had never even been there because of the game’s mechanics. It was hard to tell these days which could be from the world’s natural logic and which was from the game’s logic.

Nevertheless, it was a place reserved for herself. It was still as dusty as before, though she had cleaned it up a little. Well, at least a few workspaces. She had even set down several candleholders, each with their own candle that burned with a flickering flame. It was not as good as magitech items, but it was inexpensive, cheaper than even torches. The room was sealed off from the outside except for the door. Even the only ventilation came from the open doorway.

There were several desks, each with their own set of beakers, test tubes and their holders as well as a mortar and pestle. It was simple, nothing really advanced like what they had in the real world such as the Bunsen burner, but it was enough since crafting and research was definitely not as complex as the real world.

As for the girl-haired woman, she was sitting down at a desk, laying down the material that she would need for this project. Two impure tablets—tiny white box-shaped solidified powder with spots of black on them—sat on the table. Next to it was the impure solvent, a cloudy red liquid that sat idly in a glass beaker.

Taking the two tablets into her palm, she examined them. They were disgusting, not something she would have swallowed in real life. However, it should be fine here, in this virtual world. Death and disease weren’t exactly things to worry about, after all. She dropped the tablets into the mortar.

“So Bunji, you were asking about my purpose,” Arkice said, picking up the pestle. “I can’t really say. I suppose it is the same as when I had started Elder Tale, before the Apocalypse.”

Across the table, sitting in a chair that directly faced her, was her partner, Bunji. He was the red-haired samurai that she had just partied with a little earlier today to kill some slime.

“I want to become powerful.”

---

WC: 441

[bunji]

He had been sitting in this secret spot that was Ark's lab for quite some time now he found himself using up a small table where he had some materials of his own laid out in front of him he figured he would make a basic accessory this time around, it was unsure what he wanted to make really. Yet he would figure that out soon, for now his attention was pulled away from the crafting materials on his side of the table to settle on the familiar face of the green haired woman that he had partied up with earlier to slay some slimes. The day was still young, although down in this basement it was hard to tell seeing as the candles dimly lit the area he was surprised he could see anything at all but thankfully she had at least left the door open so the cool winds could sweep in very now, and then. "Stronger eh?" he would say to the girl who finally answered his question, if he had know it would take this long to get an answer he would have just asked her while they were idly relaxing as opposed to doing it during an adventure. Either way the answer was there, it was simple, but it made sense it was after all the goal that many reached in these uncertain times everyone wanted to be powerful.

Looking back down at his materials he would grab the cheap silk thread that he had looking it over he had an idea on what he wanted to make the male began to get to work he would roll up the silk until he had tightly rolled it into a think strand. "Well to be strong is always good, but to be alone really isn't" he would say to the girl as he continued to work on his little necklace, this time grabbing hold of the cheap thread as he stretched it out the young tailor guesstimating its overall length. "I think we should find a common ground Ark...you are a ranged fighter, I am a close ranged fighter. We work well together, at least in the past two hunts we took on we did well..." he would pause again this time his attention focused on the fabric which he began to tear up into little pieces. "Honestly speaking, the reason I ask is because I have an idea. These uncertain times are filled with a lot of chaos, there are current guilds right now recruiting every person they can into their ranks. Its pretty obvious that the more people you have on your side the better off you are. So why haven you looked into any guilds?" he would ask as he continued to work away at the fabric.

WC: 465

[Arkice]

Why had she not looked in any guilds? That was a simple question to answer.

“Because I’m not strong enough,” Arkice said as she pressed the pestle down on the inside of the mortar. She brought the pestle back up and down again several times, each time a little bit harder than before. It was necessary to crack the tablets first, so that it was separate into small enough pieces that she could grind down into powder. “Looking for a guild now is pointless. Many people are trying to get into guilds, to find a safe place, but what I want isn’t a safe haven.”

As she pounded the tablets, she thought more on the subject. It was true enough. Beginners were just trying to find a place where it was safe, guilds that were friendly and helped them slowly get better. But she didn’t want that handholding. Indeed, it would actually be detrimental for her purposes.

She wanted to be stronger. That was and had always been the goal when playing a new mmorpg. It was to reach the level cap because that was when the real game usually began. The endgame content. That, in which, you raid dungeons for gear while participating in pvp—individual, group, clan-wide, or even server-wide. What was in between was merely filler, the stuff that those that always made new characters would have to go through.

However, she had rarely made alts. It was all to focus her efforts on one character, to be the best at it and prove her worth. It wasn’t necessarily for anyone else, but herself. The rush—the feeling of gaining levels at a fast pace, faster than the rest—was enticing and addicting. She didn’t know if the same could be applied in this world, where things were so different, but she wondered.

She wondered if it would feel even better.

“I want to find a guild that wants to become stronger.” It was a simple enough statement, but it was filled with something else. “One that will help me to become stronger.”

However, that was where the problem lie.

“I don’t want to look for a guild now because I am worried if I choose the wrong guild. The Apocalypse is still fresh, so everyone is floundering. If I choose wrongly, I don’t know if I would be able to leave.” Indeed. If she chose wrongly and got attached, then—even when she finds out the truth—there was that possibility that she wouldn’t want to leave anyways.

That was why it was necessary to be careful. To do the proper research and find the right guild for her was a difficult and long process, but it would be ultimately rewarding in the end.

However, at the same time, the world was in despair. It wouldn’t surprise her if a large guild disbanded tomorrow. That was the depth of the atmosphere since the Apocalypse.

Yet, she wanted to be in a guild right now.

In the real world, Rin—that was her real name—was a shut-in, a person that rarely, if ever, left her home. However, despite that, she could socialize and interact with those that she met online. It was difficult to be lonely when you were friends with people and spoke with them often.

Here, however, it was different. This was her real world now. Her socialization, ever since the Apocalypse, had dropped to an all-time low. There had been days where she had talked to no one except for one of the People of the Land.

Arkice stopped grinding the tablets with her pestle, staring dizzily at the powder. When did she stop smashing them and moved onto grinding? Was she so lost in her own thoughts?

She bit her bottom lip.

So that was what it was, wasn’t it?

Loneliness.

Clenching her teeth, she forced herself to resume grinding the tablets, smearing them against the ceramic wall of the mortar.

“What about yourself? Aren't you in a guild?”

---

WC: 667

[bunji]

Well the girl had solid reasons for not wanting to join a guild, he had to admit he agreed with her on the fact that those who were rushing towards the guilds where just looking to hide under the wings of the already established players that would be able to protect them. He himself had witnessed the things some of these desperate players were willing to do all for the sake of knowing that a powerful guild would take them, it was not uncommon for some guild members to take advantage of the weak for their own personal gain. It was these very things that drove Bunji to want to create a guild that was not like the rest, most guilds in his eyes were like a great beautiful castle hidden behind giant walls opening their doors only to let others swarm into the safety of their walls. He however, wanted to create not a castle but simply line up the soldiers in the front lines then have them charge head first into every fight they could taking on all the high risk missions, their name known all throughout this land. Yes, the Fox Tail had thoughts of grandeur, and glory the very things that had put many throughout history in a great deal of danger all for the sake of becoming known.

Continuing to work on his necklace he had finished tearing the fabric into the small pieces he wanted he would then begin to wrap individual pieces of the old torn brownish fabric across the surface of the silk strand. Once he had finished that he looked down at the necklace that was still in need of some work, so far the dark brown fabric contrasted nicely with the light colored silk giving it a nice color scheme very rugged would be how he would put it. "You know" he finally said after moments of silence having lost himself in his work, "I did try to join a guild once, but it was a disaster. The things they were making the recruits do, taking advantage of their desperation for their own amusement, needless to say I didn't stand for it. So when one of their members tried to stop me by force, I was quick to put him in his place...either way it did not go over well, four against one didn't end well for me" his story ended as he started to tightly wrap the thread around the overall necklace working his way from one to another.

"...but thanks to that experience, and the experiences of others, I aim to create my own guild. A guild not of those who take advantage or the weak or those who hide behind great big walls, I aim to create a guild of fighters. Those who aren't afraid of a battle, who wont shy away from a challenge. What you told me here today, it seems to me like you might be interested...You do want to be strong don't you? Well what better way than to fight to your hearts content" his words were carried with quite the passionate tone, and his eyes were focused on Ark his work put on hold for the moment.

WC: 537

[Arkice]

She was not convinced.

Arkice was many things, but she was not naïve. A guild was a big responsibility, one that not everyone could handle. They could remain small or they could bloom into the thousands. Yet, it was also management of people. How could she so simply trust an upstart guild over an established guild?

She picked up the beaker with the impure solvent and poured a little bit of it into a test tube. Setting the test tube back into the holder, she took out a piece of paper. It was a standard that one could get at a shop, rough and cheap; the kind that wasn’t expected to last very long. It was fine here though. She folded it two times, such that it was now divided in halves from top to bottom and left to right. Unfolding it, she laid the paper flat on the table.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” she began. “It’s just that I find it hard that you can create what you say you will create. It is a big challenge, one that I am not sure you have the ability to do.”

In mmorpgs, many would make guilds because it was often just so easy to. All it usually took was getting through the prerequisite, having enough money, and sometimes an item. That was why many players would try their hand at a guild. However, most of them tended to fail. Whether it was from low recruitment, poor leadership, or even internal conflict, there were plenty of reasons that guilds failed.

How was she to believe that he would succeed where many faltered?

She upended the mortar, letting the finely grinded powder fall onto the paper. Once it was all out, she set down the now empty ceramic bowl and picked up the paper, bending it and using the folds to allow the powder to fall neatly on the line. Holding it over the test tube, she tilted it and allowed the powder to follow the folded line downward and fall straight into the test tube.

Putting a cork into it, she shook up the test tube, allowing the little bit of solvent inside to mixed thoroughly with the powder. Once that was set, she popped off the cork and brought out a plastic mold. It had indentations in the form of a tablet in its plastic. She tipped the test tube over and poured it into the small mold.

She would have to set it out to dry, but it was mostly completed. Once it had dried enough to solidify, it would be the medicinal tablet that she wanted to create. Small and portable, it was an ideal healing tool over the more bulkier potions. She just needed it to dry, but she was pretty much done. She placed the mold off to the side on a different desk so that it could dry without getting in the way of her next project.

“This probably isn’t your first mmorpg so I will spare you the details,” Arkice said. “Have you ever made a guild before?”

---

WC: 517

[bunji]

To say he was surprised at her reaction would be a lie, he was not he understood that doubt would come from her but he knew he would find a way to work around such doubt the young fox tail sat there working the necklace into the shape he wanted to as well as the appropriate length for his neck. His mind was already formulating the story he was going to share with this girl, the story that would reveal to her that he was no fool spouting wondrous stories form his mouth just because he could. Setting down the necklace having used the thread to tie the fabric pieces neatly into place he would reach for the black onyx stone he had obtained to hand from the center of the necklace. "Utopia" he would say suddenly, it was a random word but one that carried much important for Bunji, it was a story of his past, and one he would need to share in order to hopefully ease Ark's worries.

"In another game, I started a guild name Utopia they marched under the banner of the crimson lotus. The purpose of the guild was not to senselessly adventure, it was to unite players under a single banner to create a nation under which all of us met eye to eye. The world in that MMO was chaotic, it was unstable Player Killers ran amok, in the end me, and a small group of players banded together to crate Utopia. We met resistance, and many guilds opposed us, especially those that supported the Player Killers. In the end Utopia achieved a strong footing in the world of that MMO, we almost achieved our goal..." this is where his story would expose his own imperfections as a human, despite being in a game it was not denied that human mistakes followed them all no matter what face they took on.

"In the end...internal conflict brought the guild down, despite my own protest the senior members, and I decided to abandon our goal; leaving it to destroy itself, even if I had tried to fix it, there was no way to...I understand this may bring more doubt to root itself in your mind, but realize that from the mistakes of my past I will learn to change the future, and make it better. If I do succeed in creating this guild, I will work to make it strong, and our members will be a select few who share our ideals. You can hold yourself back, and never know where a partnership between us will lead, or you can take that step to take that risk towards a better tomorrow" his words were strong, and swelled with passion. Yet as he spoke his attention remained on his necklace he was adjusting the black onyx stone at the center once it was secured into place he would bring the necklace up to his knee, bending his arms at the elbows he would tie it into place to secure it there.

When he released the necklaced it hung loosely yet securely from his neck, the black onyx stone lingering over his collarbone. Looking down at it best he could, he could not help but smirk at his own handy work feeling proud.

WC: 549

[Arkice]

Arkice closed her eyes for a moment, listening to Bunji’s speech, before she opened them to begin work on her next project.

This next one was of the more dangerous type. It was an impure poison. Not that strong of a poison, but it would take a while to create nonetheless. The ingredients were one base herb and two impure solvent. As such, she had gotten two half-filled water bottles with the murky red solvent inside and a green plant on her desk. It was an offensive weapon that could be dripped onto a blade to provide status effects on an enemy opponent.

Or she could just “accidentally” feed it to a particularly annoying person. That could be a fun thing to do, though she would incur that person’s wrath afterwards. Though, she did know of some cases where the benefits outweighed the consequences.

After cleaning out the mortar and pestle in a bucket of water, she allowed it to dry and simply stole another set from a nearby table. She dumped the herb into her newly acquired mortar and began the process of turning it into mush with her pestle.

This was not to say that she was ignoring Bunji’s words. All throughout this, she had been thinking on those very words. The man had some experience, especially with the failure of his previous guild, Utopia. However, back then, it was simply a game. The situation was different now, though. It wasn’t simply a game anymore.

Arkice didn’t quite know if the man actually believed in his own words, but they were passionate enough. Could she really believe in his ambition?

The answer was in the fact that she couldn’t last like this. From the fights in the forest, she knew that leveling was more difficult than when it was just a game. That meant if she went the way that she wanted to do before, it would be a long time before she actually got in that guild. She was not that confident that she could stand being by herself for so long. But was it wise to rush like this?

Arkice paused in her grinding, looking down at the green mess in her mortar.

If she didn’t take the first step, out of fear, could she really trust herself to achieve her goal?

“Two people aren’t enough to start a guild,” she finally said. “Do you have anyone else in mind?”

---

WC: 404

[bunji]

The long silence that followed was a bit unsettling he would admit that much, but deep down he understood there he could not be so foolish as to expect this girl to believe in him so soon sure the two had taken part in a few hunts together, they had fought side by side; but ultimately in the end they were still strangers to one another. It was for this reason that he was being so patient, he had no reason to pressure Ark into agreeing with him or even going through with his plan, the young fox tail began to work on his next project all the while waiting for the girl to speak her mind. Separating the fabric he was going to need he began to cut it into more manageable pieces that he could work with, setting up the thread that would work to sew together his new piece of work he took hold of the needle picking it up from the table.

It was then as he was putting the thread through the needle that his eyes lifted from the two objects to rest on the back of Ark's head as she spoke, her deep feminine voice ringing into his fox ears that twitched at the sudden disturbance of the settling silence. Her question was not so outlandish it made sense, she wanted to make sure all grounds were covered before she stepped into the mud; "Not yet, these are the first steps. I can't lie, and tell you that I have someone who will join, but I do have some people in mind that could be of use. I of course have to approach her first, she's not so easy to find...you know the whole ninja sticking to the shadows thing, in case you're wondering she's my sister" he would add. Finally sticking the thread through the needle he would secure it in place, then gather up the patches of fabric that would make up the shape of his next creation. As he began to bring the pieces together he would glance up every now, and then at Ark, then back down at his work continuing to use the needle to stitch together the pieces of fabric the tailor skill coming into play as he manipulated it to the shape he desired.

WC: 388

[Arkice]

Satisfied with the green mess that she had made that was mostly liquid, Arkice began pouring out the contents of the mortar into an empty beaker, letting the green liquid and mush drip out. She took a metal scrapper—basically a small, metal instrument with a flat head—and began scrapping the contents from the mortar. Each time she did so, it made a screeching sound that moment the metal touched the ceramic, but it was unavoidable.

“Your sister?” Arkice scrapped the last bits out before putting the bowl off to the side. She would have to wash it later so the poison wouldn’t contaminate anything else. She didn’t quite know how dangerous it was, but she didn’t want to risk getting it into her potions. “That could work.”

She was not one to shy away from a challenge, though she did like to think it logically through. Still, without the first step, there was no gain to be made.

“I’ll second the guild’s creation,” she said simply, though the statement itself held a more momentous weight. “I’m still skeptical, but you have my support.”

She popped the cork on the last ingredient, a purplish solvent in a test tube. It was a dangerous material, one that came from failed potions with a high toxicity. When creating poisons, however, it was an added boon. She poured the contents of the test tube into the beaker with the smashed herb. Once done, she picked up a stirring rod and began to stir the concoction. The smell was slightly less amusing, but it wasn’t overpowering or anything. It was just annoying.

---

WC: 269

[bunji]

He continued working away at the creation he was working on, reaching nearby he would stuff the small plushie from the back using the cotton he had gathered to fill in the limbs, head, and torso when he was done he would begin stitching the back shit so none of the contents inside would slip out of the plushies body. When Bunji was done he began to fix up some final details on the small plushie, all the while his fox ears twitching yet attentive to everything that Ark was saying to him. He could not help but let a smile form on his features, she was agreeing to work with him in the creation of the guild; that was great! He had managed to get someone to at least stand by his side to help him get things started, now he just needed to find more people he was not expecting Ark to really recruit anyone she had not come off as the most social flower; he was sure she was more of those quiet keep to themselves type.

"I will try my best not to make you regret the decision" he would say as she pushed the chair back, standing from it looking over his plushie one last time he would set it down on the table facing towards the girl, "Take this as a symbol of our agreement here today, I will do my best to keep my word, and the guild will flourish..." he would pause as he reached for the scabbard of his katana which leaned against the table itself. Taking hold of the hilt of the sword he would bring it up to rest on his shoulder scabbard, and all; "Until next time Ark" he would say to the girl as he turned on his heel to walk off towards the exit the male was satisfied with the conversation, there was no more reason for him to linger around. Glancing towards the girl one last time then to the plushie he only chuckle as he made his way up the stairs that led out of this place.

If Ark turned to see the plushie itself, she would notice that it was a plushie version of herself, since she had turned her back he was working on making the small plushie of her. A more comical version of the girl if anything but the details were all there to make it easy to recognize it was Ark he had modeled the plushie after.

WC: 418

[Arkice]

The poison was about done. Arkice let go of the stirring rod, letting to sink and ding off of the edge of the beaker. However, that was not what her attention was on. Her eyes were on the back of the red-haired samurai as he walked out through the open doorway. She didn’t know very many things about her partner, but she knew that he was earnest in his desire. There wasn’t any one reason; it was a combination of tiny things. The way he spoke, the way he acted, the clearness that she could see in his eyes. Those all came together to bring about her impression of him. For now, that was favorable.

She picked up the poison-containing beaker and began pouring it into an easier to carry potion bottle. Once that was done, she corked it and let it sit on the desk, glowing its devilish purple color.

Her eyes eventually settled on the plushie that he had left behind. It was a comical imitation of herself, as if she had a super deformed chibi body like those in an anime. Yet, it was endearing all the same.

Reaching over a slender hand, she patted the doll.

It really was soft.

---

WC: 204