[Invite] Residence Medieval: Second Hour

[Tyonis]

Power perceived is power achieved!

-Tyonis [Samurai]

"You might be right, my 'arrogant little friend,'" he reached down to her and playfully pinched her nose after mulling over her words. To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted this 'very long dream' to ever end. To return to the 'real world.' Despite all the pain he had suffered here in Elder Tale, Tyonis had grown to like and even prefer this reality over his old one. He closed his eyes in contemplation.

"I suppose people don't really change. They grow. The base is remains the same, but like the trunk of a tree, it thickens with age. Branches sprout and spread. Leaves and blossoms bud and grow. Man and nature may prune the branches and guide a tree's growth."

"But in the end, we will never truly forget who we am or where we came from."

Her childish laughter broke him from his poetic reverie and he chuckled as she wrote their names into the ground.

"Steven. Seven Barnett, that's my name." He whispered into her ear, as if afraid the monsters might over hear him.

----

Once they were fully recovered, Tyonis began the long and arduous task of single-pulling every single mob in the hallway. One by one, the pair methodically slew each monster in their path, Docile or not. One might have initially thought it over-kill to clear the whole floor, but as Tyonis looked back at the lifeless room, he had no regrets. Killing the Event Mobs netted a decent chunk of EXP for him and Franny which would be essential to their survival tonight and beyond. Moreover, it gave them a relatively controlled environment to hone their teamwork. Finally, it gave them the chance to safely search the hallway for hints into the next area.

The only thing of real note was a book titled the Celestial Events between 1900 to 2100 and a few notes regarding specific years. A quick glance at the decor over each door made the answer obvious. He wrapped his fingers around the doorknob leading into the next Hall. His other hand drew his longsword an inch out of his sheathe in preparation.

"This time, I'll go in first, Franny. Keep your skeletons close by in case you need to use them as makeshift meatshields err boneshields."

With one final nod at the Summoner, Tyonis swung the door open...

And frowned as the Hall appeared exactly the same as the previous one, save for twelve pumpkin monsters staring up a plague on the ceiling. Cautiously, Tyonis approached. But even as he entered their agro radius, they ignored him. Tearing his gaze away from the queer pumpkin dozen, the Samurai looked up and read the plaque out loud.

He motioned for Franny to approach and read the plaque for herself and make some sense of it when the pumpkins each began to speak. Once they finished Tyonis facepalmed so hard that his HP bar vibrated.

"I have no idea." He announced before she could ask him for help.

Level: 21 HP: 100% MP: 100%

Status Effects: None

Skills Used: None

Word Count: 501

Notes: Franny Stein

Made by Zirnitra of Elder Tale

[Franny Stein]

"Steven. Seven Barnett, that's my name."

It was the simplest gesture and yet somehow any relic from their previous lives came upon her as feeling somehow sacred. And like that it was time to move, she was beginning to notice a pattern here, and so for what felt like the millionth time she called over his shoulder some last word while scampering to join him.

“Cathlene O’Hara, Frankly, it’s a name I’ve never liked much. Cathlene. Franny suits me so much better, eh Tyonis?”

It was a rhetorical question as much posed to her partner as the world. It was true though, Tyonis was a worthy name, and it was what she would choose to mind him by. It already had to her a sense of history. How Irish, my people's need for history.

Franny pointed her staff forward to direct her rising skeletons in such a way that would ensure that Tyonis was able to focus primarily on his specialty of dueling. Her soliders guarded his flanks well enough as her meager 'heal' skill patched up the operation well enough to be satisfactory. Together, they were a well-oiled machine, and when Tyonis seemingly defeated the next riddle just as easily, her spirits were up as they ascended the next flight of stairs.

What met them was indeed another curve ball and Franny found herself pursing her lips. Opening her mouth to ask Tyonis his opinion, she quickly snapped it back shut like a fish out of water when he curtly closed that avenue with denial.

“Yeah well… we’ve made a good show so far we can probably afford to be patient. I don’t sense we’re under attack anyhow, well physically anyway.”

Franny crossed her arms allowing her staff to rest between them as she turned her head to its side. After a minute of two, she began drawing with mythic script as a means of sorting out the presented information. It didn’t make the logic problem any less daunting, but sometimes setting things in order can feel empowering in a crisis. “Are they trying to throw us off with these names?”


Looking at her partner, she surrendered an S.O.L. sort of grin.
“At the very least, so long as we use process of elimination, we can likely get through eventually. So there’s that I guess…. care to do the first honors? Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky.”

[Tyonis]

Power perceived is power achieved!

-Tyonis [Samurai]

Tyonis was a kinesthetic and visual learner, meaning he best disseminated information using his sight and his hands. It was why he was so video-game oriented - games fostered both of those learning types. When Franny began writing down the statements, the wheels finally began to turn. After some creative instruction, Tyonis had the small Summoner rearrange the information to resemble a gigantic arithmetic problem.

"So by process of elimination, we have these possibilities remaining," Tyonis pointed at the last set of Names and Classes. His arms were folded and his eyes closed in deep contemplation.

"All right, let's try this..."

Tyonis took a few steps back from the dozen pumpkins, motioning for Franny to do likewise. He drew his sword and pointed the tip at the Ripper Jack, his voice booming:

"The answer is-!"

Level: 21 HP: 100% MP: 100%

Status Effects: None

Skills Used: None

Word Count: 134

Notes: Franny Stein

Made by Zirnitra of Elder Tale

[Franny Stein]

There seemed to be a loud ‘behhhhhhhhhhht’ buzzer sound that meant that the first guess was no dice. As Franny saw the ripper hold up a goofy with a countdown timer, she simply crossed the first guess off the list. Tyonis had done good work, it was a pity that their first try had yielded no fruit.

“Down the list then, yeah? Let’s see if my luck is any better.”

In a playfully mocking gesture of Tyonis’ attempt, Franny twirled once before strike a winking ‘idol’ like pose. With one peace sign framing one of her eyes she pointed the other one toward the ripper right as his countdown sign hit zero.

“No! The answer obviously is-“

[Tyonis]

Power perceived is power achieved!

-Tyonis [Samurai]

TyTyonis cracked a mirthful smile at Franny's magical-girl pose. It was uncanny fit, considering her appearance. A strange vision about a ruby-colored magic wand, pink outfits, and seven corrupted reincarnations of legendary heroes suddenly filled his mind, but an aggravating buzz erased the vestiges of the unexpected daydream. He shook his head, focusing on the task at hand. Maybe he needed more sleep.

The Samurai ruffled his partner's hair, bending over to eye her at head level, one hand on his hip. "For what it's worth, I think that pose alone should've been enough to get us through."

The Ripper Jack laughed. "Are you going to guess again? You know, there are only 12 combinations of Names and Classes! At this rate, you might guess right in 133 hours! Get it! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

Tyonis sighed and pointed at one of the hallway doors. "Odds are, there will be a few clues laying around like on the previous floors. Just get ready to kill a few Quest mobs, Franny."

He tapped one of her skeletons on the head as he stepped toward the nearest door, pushing the undead thrall out of the way. Ironically enough, they were much taller than their gothic lolita master.

"Your minions are pretty light. If we get any Warrior-type loot drops I don't need, I'll pass them to you so you can equip them with something substantial. If you really are going to pretend to be a necromancer, you'll need to have a whole horde of menacing skeletons. You know, the more and more I think about it, the more viable that Build sounds..."

He trailed off as he kicked open the door, sword drawn an inch from its sheathe, ready to retaliate against any surprise attacks. As he anticipated, another pair of Castle Armors stood, poised on the inside of the doors. There were a few low-level pumpkins, but they didn't auto-agro and Franny's summons would easily take them out even if they did. Tyonis ignored them and turned to the room's real threats.

Tyonis smirked as the Armors began to awaken, quivering with building power.

Tyonis unleashed hell on the first Castle Armor before it could even respond, eradicating its HP while it was still in animation lock.

The second managed to lift its greatsword before being blasted into the wall with Holy Banishment. Ace Move: Go no Sen blocked the monster's first real strike and the Ace Move: Shunsen follow up brought its HP down to 60%. Unlike before, Tyonis was fully prepared and lashed out at the same exact spot where his two Skills hit, shattering the monster's chestplate and removing its Physical Resistance.

Tyonis licked his lips, already tasting the EXP. He held his sword aloft, exuding an extraordinary amount of confidence mixed with killing intent.

"Now then, about that hint..!"

Level: 21 HP: 90% MP: 75%

Status Effects: None

Skills Used: Ace Move: Go no Sen (15.3s), Ace Move: Shunsen(18s), Holy Banishment (1.3s)

Word Count: 493

Notes: The party engages two Castle Armors!
Castle Armor #1: 0%
Castle Armor #2: 45%

Made by Zirnitra of Elder Tale

[Franny Stein]

And there he goes again…

Though to his credit, Franny decided he was doing much better this time. He had taken very light damage, but it occurred to her that it might be more efficient to just focus on ending the battle rather than spending time on support. She ordered her 5 skeletons forward to as an experiment to test something she had been wondering about. As directed, they arrived more or less in unison and fired their 5 queued attacks at the weakpoint Tyonis had revealed when he stunned the heap of iron. The enemy’s lifebar jumped quite a bit at once in response to the rapid succession of skeleton attacks before her forces were cleaved by the monster’s oversized sword.

Okay then…

The mechanics had worked as otherwise suspected. Monsters, hers or otherwise, could queue up attacks while in motion.

That’s why they are always ready to strike when combat starts, the ‘waiting period’ doesn’t exist at that point.

The theory was, she figured, that optimum control of mass summons would depend on manipulating their movement and attacks so that only just enough of her resources were put into slaying her objectives.

I’m technically losing damage when my guys have to move, so if I waste time sending two when one will do the job… it’s like I didn’t summon the second one at all, well aside from the mana I would have wasted. That’s the trick isn’t it? My advantage is that I can spread my damage as thick or thin as I want. And if I get everyone to hit at once… It’s kind of like one big hit, I could potentially end battles before they start. Isn't that how he does it?

“Well I think I figured out how to do what you refer to as ‘burst’ damage.”

With a wave of her hand, Franny sent three more skeletons for the weaker monsters without really focusing on them while imagining that the ‘graveyard walk’ skill would probably be nice to have for such scenarios. Tyonis would be more than able to finish what was left of their last larger opponent.

“Seriously though, you can give these things stuff?”

She pointed at her skeletons.

[Tyonis]

The samurai kicked the Castle Armor off his blade, sending it crashing to the ground where it shattered into tiny motes of light and raining gold. His attention was drawn to the sound of wiggling and squishing and he spun sharply, sword held at the ready when he saw Franny overlooking her skeletal minions pound the low level pumpkin monsters into thick paste. He stood next to the summoner, arms folded as her skeletons made quick work of clearing the room.

'Huh. I guess a necromancer build really is possible...' he thought, stroking his chin at the possibilities. When the gothic lolita posed the question at him, Tyonis replied with a nod.

"It should be in your Skill text. If you play around with your Interface, there might be a menu for equipping them. Maybe you haven't tried exploring the option because you only summon right before combat," he assumed with a shrug. "I know it's difficult to utilize the Interface while engaging in close combat. Maybe it's the same for casters. Since they are out now, try searching through your menus." Tyonis suggested as he meandered around the room for some kind of clue, taking care to steer clear of the puddles of pumpkin guts littering the floor.

He scowled when a few drops of paste landed on his red coat. He hoped that it wouldn't stain. He just bought this cloak!

((WC: 233 - Need to go do something, wanted to get this post out first. There's no template or format this time.))

[Franny Stein]

“I guess one wouldn’t know unless they knew to look, but it seems like you’re right. It looks like it’s mostly cosmetic though, unless per say you wanted to change their combat style to spears or possibly archery or something. Personalizing them a bit does sound enticing though…”

With a finger to her chin, she seemed to be considering this new information as her summons faded into aether. Though Franny’s race and class combination afforded the greatest possible base mana pool and regeneration, she had still gotten into the habit of despawning her minions to conserve her mana. Such practices would be dangerous while alone in the field, but for party play, the risk of being ambushed alone is far lower.

At the very least, wouldn’t it be fun to make them look cooler?

“Thanks, I’ll take you up on your offer, these walking cans we’ve been fighting have left me feeling pretty inspired.”

Franny grinned.

“Shall we go fail the riddle again and check another room?”

Calling over her shoulder as she went back out the door she continued,

“Oh and don’t worry, it’ll wash right out, probably… either way, pumpkin’s in season.”

[Tyonis]

Power perceived is power achieved!

-Tyonis [Samurai]

[The samurai couldn't resist the urge to facepalm as both of their guesses were rejected. The entire hall vibrated with the Ripper Jack's laughter. When it began making puns about fishing for answers, Tyonis had great difficulty in resisting the urge to use it as a holiday-themed, DPS measuring tool. Instead, he chose to take his frustration out on a cowering Goblin Butler. Soon, the Ripper Jack's cackling was replaced by screams of pain and agony unimaginable as Tyonis methodically chipped away at the goblin's HP.

One finger. An ear. An eye. A foot. An arm. The nose.

Slowly but surely, his blade made mincemeat of the goblin, painting the wall behind it a grotesque shade of dark red. When it finally it evaporated into motes of light Tyonis shook his head, dissatisfied.

"When I played other MMOs, I used to grind on mobs whenever I was bored or frustrated with something. I butchered droves of monsters. Corralled them in a gigantic pile and slaughtered them like a herd of cattle. " He explained, more to himself than to anyone else. His tone was monotonous, distant. Now that he could feel the monster's life as he ripped it away, did it make the experience any less fulfilling? Did he garner some measure of amusement by killing monsters in this barbaric fashion?

Tyonis honestly couldn't tell. Or maybe, deep down, he was afraid of what the answer truly was.

'This world. Elder Tale... this power. It's intoxicating.'

He marched into the next room and repeated the action. Every single monster died slowly. Painfully. Their faces twisted into expressions of madness as their minds shattered before their bodies gave out. And yet, Tyonis still retained that dull, bored stare. It was one that many gamers wore when they grew dissatisfied or aggravated by some game mechanic or challenge.

He kicked a Goblin Maid off the blade of his sword, wrenching it out of its throat with a brutal twist that ripped off a large piece of its flesh. He didn't bother sheathing it. Unless something unique like a Castle Armor engaged them, there was no real need to resort to careful strategy.

No, all he needed to get to the next area was to relieve some stress and find the next clue was and-

Solve the riddle. Slaughter everything in this hall.

Level: ## HP: 100% MP: 100%

Status Effects: None

Skills Used: None

Word Count: 382

Notes: Developing psychosis..?

Made by Zirnitra of Elder Tale

[Franny Stein]

“……”

As Franny watched Tyonis unhinge, she found herself left alone in the riddle room. Franny paced back and forth meditating on the implications of Tyonis’ rampage as the riddle loomed before her. The boss' timer ticked the minutes away.
 
“This might be as far as we go…”

She muttered to herself.

“Which in retrospect was probably one hell of a try.”

Her face twisted into an unsatisfied frown, she could hear Tyonis advancing down the hall, as her growing experience bar confirmed her suspicions that he was now more or less lost for the time being.
She considered for a moment that the entire situation was probably her fault but decided not to dwell on it. Tyonis’ actions had raised what she felt was a question she must answer for herself before she would ever begin to take steps to advance herself in this new world scenario.

Are we murderers?

Monsters do respawn yes, but as adventurers we will continue to cut them down to advance. What are the implications of this? Does it matter what our intent is when we put an obstacle yet again to the sword? Do I really have any right to criticize his actions?

The words ‘civilized combat’ flashed through her mind. There was no such thing. There are no rules on battlefield. So, why should she mind how that man carried out his actions? But it did bother her, there was something wrong about it, she felt maybe there should be some kind of justification for one’s actions.

“This is a world without law.”

She muttered

“We shall not be held accountable for our actions.”

She heard another fall.

“So is that, this, power?”

But nobody would answer her, she was alone.

What is set in motion cannot be rectified. When all is said and done, we shall look and see if hindsight is truly 20/20.

Franny went to rejoin Tyonis. She took her time, counting her steps, it would be pointless to arrive before the floor was cleared.

[Tyonis]

After a certain point, butchering the monsters became so monotonous that Tyonis had simply lost himself in the grind. Essentially, that was what he intended to happen. To turn his focus away from whatever was frustrating him - the fundamental definition of escapism. That was what video games were, right? A piece of entertainment, a tool used to distance one's self from the harshness of reality. In that sense, it was no different from a TV show or a well-written book.

'Steven. There comes a time in everyone's life when you cannot turn your head away. All people, even I, endure life by ignoring some aspect of it or at least, pretending that it doesn't exist. It is how the human ego maintains its self worth in the face of defeat. But that is an delusion you must recognize. If you do not gain the power to see past your own hubris and accept your shortcomings, you will eventually commit an act you will regret for the rest of your life.'

Tyonis blinked and his sword halted a few centimeters from the Ripper Jack.

"Ain't ya' gonna dice me up, Adventurer?" It prodded, its tone mixed with both surprise and sarcasm. Objectively, Tyonis had a feeling no matter what he did, the Ripper Jack wouldn't die, but that didn't mean there would be consequences for attacking it. His gaze drifted to the Party Bar on his HUD and he saw Franny's name there.

Slowly, the Samurai retracted his blade and sheathed it, hearing her footfalls trail a few meters behind him. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"That was... my bad, Franny." He muttered without turning around. "I let my frustration get the better of me, there."

((WC: 289 - wanted to get this post out of the way real quick.))

[Franny Stein]

"That was... my bad, Franny." He muttered without turning around. "I let my frustration get the better of me, there."

Franny waved her hand as if to clear the air.

"That was in bad taste Tyonis, there's no merit in it, but you've made me think."

Franny looked down at her feet.

"Even if our actions were to be striking air, it is still no different from striking ourselves isn't it?"

She paused as if to gather her thoughts. She grinned as if tasting bitter medicine.

"Without the illusion of principles we are really no different from mobile dirt. After all, what are we to this world if not some kind of foreign element? I'm starting to imagine that this universe could by and get along well enough without us. That's a blow, isn't it?"

Sighing, she continued:

"I won't condemn your actions to my hypocritical judgement, you defeated the enemy and we're stronger for it. Just don't ever let me see you sacrifice your pride, it's one of your better qualities."

Listen to me go... like I know everything huh? That's a lark I don't know a damned thing.

Franny turned.

"What i'm trying to say Tyonis, is that i'm sorry. Most of the pressure you're feeling is because of me."

[Tyonis]

Power perceived is power achieved!

-Tyonis [Samurai]

Tyonis turned to the Summoner with a warm but distant smile. "It's not your fault, Franny. I'm the one who pushed you in here so-"

"Aw. Well, isn't that nice of the little lady? She doesn't mind your psychotic rampage through the Ha-"

That was as far as the pumpkin got before Tyonis spun and delivered a sharp roundhouse kick to its open mouth, sending it flying into the wall. Rather than splat into paste, it simply bounced off like a ball and rolled back to the Samurai's feet, it's mocking grin still plastered across its face.

"Well, since you didn't try and chop me into tiny little pieces, I'm going to let you guys get a pair of hints and guesses! I'm not expecting much from the muscle head though," the Ripper Jack's glowing eyes shifted toward the petite Summoner. "Your hints are-"

Level: 21 HP: 100% MP: 100%

Status Effects: Name (Duration)

Skills Used: Chuck Norris' Roundhouse

Word Count: 144

Notes: 12th Post for 2 Hints and 2 Guesses.

Made by Zirnitra of Elder Tale

[Franny Stein]

"Yeah, yeah, It's -XXXXXX- isn't it?" She looked at the remnant of the floor's scribbled mystic script which practically had no possible answers left. Somewhere very distant she thought she heard a sigh of relief from some poor figure, perhaps the one who was behind the whole scenario in the first place. In any way they finally advanced far worse for wear.

"Some night huh?"

She said to Tyonis with a sidelong glance.

Shrugging she walked forward to advance toward the next area.