[C/P] Harvesting Energy Sources [MENTOR THREAD]

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

With a laundry list of things to do, Saber rumbled to himself with a bit of dissatisfaction. It was a little annoying to know that he had to go back to a lot of the places he had initially trained for a bunch of simple things. Yet, even though he was quite upset about it, he knew it would be interesting. He remembered struggling before to kill many of the smaller and weaker creatures, but now he steam rolled majority of them in heaps. In just a few weeks, he had flipped the tides and had aggressively leveled to an extent that he found himself staring at the limits of the virtual world with a pair of battle worn. He was level ninety now, and what came along with it was a beautiful feeling in his stomach. He felt light, invulnerable, and a lot happier than before when he was grinding for the levels. There was no need to grind anymore now, and he was able to focus on a lot of the things he missed. One of those things was a Guild, and he had started on just recently. Another thing was his research and crafting.

Now that he had a lot more time on his hands, Saber was able to put all of his efforts into his crafting abilities and began to detail the various research designs he planned to make. The next step was to get all of the ingredients he needed to actually create those things. In his travels, Saber had come across dozens of monsters and various creatures. There were some which lurked in the deep, dark undergrounds and many which traveled the lands above. Some hid in caves, others marched in the fields, but all of them shared one thing; they were alive. In addition, they all dropped various materials which Saber had initially thought useless. Now that he was able to put his brain to work rather than his muscles, he began to realize his mistake in thinking that. Those materials which he gladly had sold and traded away were necessary for many of his designs and ideas. Because of him emptying his inventory and eliminating the “dead weight”, he was now forced to retrace his steps. That was the part which aggravated him. This entire ordeal could have been avoided if he hadn’t been foolish enough to think gifts from the dead were “useless”.

Even so, he would not complain too much. Having to go back to the various locations would be fun, and Saber knew that he would enjoy it. For what it was worth, Saber would be able to put together a “before-and-after” sort of image. Before, he walked in a little hesitantly. After, he strolled through like a champion. However, he kept the same mentality that he had before. Saber kept his head up high as he walked, one hand on a blade, and his senses on their edges. He may have been a higher level, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other players just as powerful lurking somewhere. It also didn’t mean that he was overpowered, as there were plenty of higher level creatures skulking around the plains and in the underground zones. Many of them were quite irritating, forcing Saber to fight them even when he didn’t feel like it. It was part of the reason why he avoided some places, but he wouldn’t be so lucky this time.

One of the many places where Saber needed to go today was the catacombs hidden underneath Londonium itself, and he honestly hated that place. It was old, musty, full of dust, and confusing as all hell to navigate. For newcomers, it was very easy to get lost in the various tunnels and end up in a much higher leveled zone than expected. It was also very easy to come across wandering “Elite” monsters which lurked underneath the city. Saber had encountered two before during his personal expeditions, and had even fought an upset train. Both times when facing the Elites, he simply wished to pass through, but they wouldn’t let him. So, he was forced to take their lives. To think, he was going right back down and might see them again. Fantastic…

The man sighed at the thought of fighting similar beasts, but he pushed open the catacomb entry doors anyways. He let them close behind him and descended down the staircase towards the entrance tunnel. If he was forced to fight the same bosses, he would do so gladly. At least he would get some good materials from them. For now, he kept his eyes on the prize and his mind on the primary reason for him coming down here; the machine creatures. These creatures were rare above ground unless Saber went to the newly found city of Avon, but the ones in Avon were much stronger and more annoying. The ones Saber sought were smaller, and more manageable. They also had lower leveled materials, which Saber required because of his low crafting level. He was an Alchemist now, and all of the work he had put into Blacksmith was gone. He had no choice but to start from scratch, and starting from scratch meant going back to fight low level monsters. Yet… his level was going to be an issue.

After walking through the underground for a few minutes, Saber finally stumbled upon one of the many targets he would soon come across, and it actually looked quite entertained with what it was doing. The creature was a very small… lamp? Oh my god. Saber was going to have to fight a lamp? What kind of crap was this? The Assassin rumbled at the sight and strode over to the small thing, watching as it bounced around on top of various rocks. Upon hearing the footsteps of the player, the lamp turned its shade over and pointed the light bulb at the approaching shadow. After not seeing anything at first, it turned its switch on and blasted Saber in the face with the blinding light of the bulb. He hissed at the blinding attack and shut his eyes, using one hand to cover up his face. Opening his eyes a little to see, the Assassin walked forward and kicked the lamp over, knocking it into the wall and behind a few larger rocks. It wailed as it flew through the air, and the light went out as it hit the wall. Though… the light came back on a few seconds later and the lamp popped back up over the rock. Saber narrowed his eyes and stared at the lamp. It stared back.

“…why?” The word appeared on the bottom of Saber’s screen; the lamp was communicating with him. Saber raised an eyebrow and wiggled his nose.

“You blinded me.” He spat and closed his eyes a little to adjust to the light. The Lamp looked at Saber for a moment, then down at the ground, as if looking at the light it was projecting. A few moments later, the lamp clicked and its light dimmed a little. Once it did, it lifted its head back up and looked back towards Saber; he could see now.

“How is that?” Saber nodded, and the lamp popped up from behind the rocks. It managed to maneuver its way over the large stones and ultimately hopped back down onto the floor. It twisted a little on its secondary pivot, tilted up and down, and then spun around on its base as if to test all of its mobility functions. Once it was safe, it turned forward and looked back up to Saber.

“I apologize for the fright. I simply saw something move and could not see.” The lamp was… well-mannered… and didn’t seem aggressive in the least. Saber frowned at himself, a tab upset that he had kicked such a thing.

“No, I should be sorry for kicking you. I didn’t think I would be blinded by a lamp.” As he spoke, the Lamp tilted its light down and looked around itself for a few moments, but then hopped closer to Saber.

“That is quite all right. What brings you to this dreary place, Adventurer?” This Lamp was quite a curious fellow, and didn’t seem to fear Saber in the least. It was as if it had no clue who the man was, but that was okay. Saber could use that to his advantage, so he cast his Animal Tamer Skill, -Domesticize-, on the Lamp. A moment later, the little object was coated in a small glittery effect and it shivered slightly. At the feeling, the lamp looked around at itself.

“By god, what have you done to me?” A notification appeared on Saber’s display, alerting him of the successful taming attempt. The Lamp was named “Harold”, “Harold the Brilliant”. The name made Saber chuckle and the player stood up.

“That was one of the few magical abilities that I have available to me, Mr. Lamp. My name is Saber, and I request your assistance. I am searching these caves for fellows just like you because I need parts. Would you mind helping me find them?” As he spoke, Harold tilted his shade up and listened intently, but only responded with a humming noise. But, after looking around again, the little office-light nodded.

“I don’t have much else to do, so why not? If you will allow me to accompany you, it would be my pleasure. My name is Harold, Harold the Brilliant. It is an honor to meet you, Mister Saber.” The office light bowed his head for a moment and then began to hop down the tunnel, pacing himself as he escorted Saber down into the depths.

“There are many more like I, who have developed consciousness, but very few are as kind as I. Many are quite bully-like in nature, and it is just absurd how they treat the rest of us. For gods sake, I am just as smart, if not even more intelligent, then half of them!”

Oh boy… this one was a talker…

: Post Title :
-Meeting Harold-

: Word Count :
1680

: Skills Used :
Domesticize

: Tagged :
Saber, @sugarygiggles

: Notes :
Feel free to join anyway you wish. Harold is currently talking Saber's ear off.

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

Yesterday, while eating at one of her favorite spots, the petite Adventurer had overheard a group discussing their recent foray into the Underground. They had apparently had a rather successful run, coming out with several shiny new items which they were discussing excitedly at the table beside her. Curious, Artemisia turned her right ear towards them, eavesdropping on their conversation. As if it would somehow help her hear better, she brushed her blonde hair aside, twitching her tiny fox ear as she strained to hear. From the sound of it, they were several levels higher than her (it seemed like everyone was these days) but it didn't seem like the first area was too difficult. So long as she didn't get lost and stray too deep into the tunnels, even she would be fine. As the group got up to leave, she heard them confirm to meet again the next day at the entrance of the Underground to give it another run. Determined to finally set foot outside the safety of the city, Artemisia spent the rest of her evening mentally preparing herself.

Flash forward to today and she had done the one thing she shouldn't – get lost. When she arrived at the opening to the Underground, the party she overheard yesterday was nowhere to be seen. She had waited awkwardly near the entrance for some time, watching a few random Adventurers disappear into the cavern. She hadn't been invited, after all. She was simply planning to give them her cutest look, ask to tag along and hope it worked out. After some time, she decided they must have already gone inside. She was just going to peek in and see if they were in there... maybe they were still close to the entrance.

It wasn't the brightest decision she had ever made.

Artemisia was now fully and completely lost inside the Underground. She was sure she hadn't gone too far from the entrance but somehow she simply couldn't find her way back to it. "I know it's around here, I'll find it soon..." She whispered nervously to herself, her green eyes darting back and forth. Anxious, she twisted a piece of her long hair between her fingers, repeatedly curling it up and letting it loose again.

As if to make herself appear as small as possible, and hopefully as unnoticeable as possible, Artemisia was partially hunched over, her cheap staff clutched in her right hand, held tight across her non-existent chest. She was shuffling along quietly, peering around each corner she came to with wide eyes before proceeding. At one particular corner, her entire body froze as she caught sight of a small, little... something. It appeared to be some sort of tiny little... toaster? Maybe? She wasn't quite sure from this distance. It was several yards away and seemed to be occupied with something. As quietly as possible, Artemisia tip toed passed the little toaster-thing, desperate not to draw its attention.

Once beyond what she assumed to be its range of sight, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief and looked around herself once more. Just ahead of her there was a dim light reflecting off the tunnels around her, casting shadows on everything. "Oh...!" She ducked behind a large rock, which she was standing a few feet away from, and stared intently in front of her. Somehow, she had stumbled on another person...

She peered out from behind the rock, silently watching the man. He was talking to a... lamp? That was definitely what it looked like. It looked more like he was talking at the lamp instead of with it. The lamp was simply looking at him. She was pretty sure she had heard of a skill that allowed this but she, admittedly, was not very familiar with it. Well, that probably meant it was indeed a toaster she had seen earlier, then. She was certain he would eventually notice her presence but she wasn't sure what would happen once he did. He was sure to be a higher level than her given that he seemed completely at ease in this dark space. Curious, she focused on him and quietly brought up the information interface. It didn't tell her much, other than he was indeed a higher level than her and not a Person of the Land but an Adventurer like herself. It was probably rude to look without him even knowing she was there but she was still unsure if she even wanted to make her presence known.

As she crouched there, debating for a moment, she felt something twist around her ankle and slowly snake up her leg. "Eee!?" Artemisia screeched loudly and yanked herself away, falling onto her butt beside the rock she had been hiding behind. She half pulled herself up, and half crawled, frantically towards the man who she had been watching. In her panic she lost her balance and fell, landing face down with a dull thud, a few feet in front of him. Her staff clattered noisily and landed about a foot away.

“O-ow…” She pulled herself up with one arm, resting her weight on her elbow and rubbed at her now sore forehead. Hesitantly, she peeked over her shoulder. There, a few paces behind her, was a tiny little toaster… the same one she thought she had avoided before. Its power cord was extended in her direction and it seemed to be more… curious than harmful. It was making no further move to approach her.

“Perverted toaster…” With an irritated sigh she turned her head away from the kitchen appliance and caught sight of legs. She had completely forgotten…! Frantically she yanked herself up and gathered herself. Her face flushed red as it dawned on her that she had chosen to wear her favorite light blue dress today… and it had not stayed in place during her fall. Unsure what to say to this stranger, who now had probably not only seen her underwear, but had definitely seen her falling flat on her face, she decided to go for a simple, “H-Hi…?” He, like so many before her, was certain to think she was half her age given her short, childish frame so perhaps he would take pity on her clearly in-over-her-head state.

--

Notes: First shot at this Log Horizon stuffs. Go easy on me if I do something stupid/not allowed, it's been a long time since I've done this. 

Words: 1045

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

“…And then the poor rabbit just looked at me. With those black eyes of his, he stared straight at me and begged me to give him my carrots. Of course, I had many carrots and I was a kind man then. So, I shared. I gave him one and nudged the little rabbit so that he could eat it with ease. The poor guy looked as if he was just skin and bones. There was very little muscle on his body and he couldn’t even hop. What is a rabbit that cannot hop?” The little lamp which spoke quietly to the black Assassin didn’t exactly know where to stop in his story, and Saber didn’t really know where to intervene. However, Saber didn’t exactly plan to. It had been a while since he had the chance to be the quiet one. In most parties and groups he was in, Saber was beginning to find himself in a much more forward role. He was a higher level now, and others seemed to expect more out of him because of it. Part of Saber hated this because it meant responsibility. However, the other part of him was content. With his level, Saber could protect people from majority of the enemies in the world and it was something he found to be quite useful.

Yet, as Harold hopped along in front of him, illuminating the tunnel in front of the two of them with his light bulb, Saber was happy. There wasn’t a single hint of that on his face but listening to Harold speak his mind in that ghastly tone of his made Saber very content. He was comfortable with this, and Harold didn’t seem to have much of a problem with it. The little lamp had been speaking constantly for almost ten minutes or so now and educated Saber on much of his past, or what he could remember. Much like Saber when his brain shattered and left his memories in shambles, Harold’s mind was spotty. He could not remember a lot of things and lived by putting together the pieces. One day, he was strolling along, returning from the fields to meet his family. The next thing he knew, he was awaking down here in the tunnels beneath Londonium, and he was no long man; he was now a lamp. Saber could not comprehend how he felt, but Harold had explained it in such a humble way that Saber could not help but respect the little being…

Harold was once a farmer, and lived with his wife and son in a distant village across the ocean in a place called Francia. There, he lived comfortably on his farm, which had been passed down through the generations. His days were long, hard, and unending as he tended to the lands he so deeply loved. He grew up in the same home he lived in, and hoped that his son did the same. But, he also hoped that his son had moved on and found a better way to live his life rather than live it out as a petty farmer. Harold did not have that choice, as his father did not save money like he should have, leaving Harold with no choice but to continue with his family’s legacy. Even now, as Harold hopped along in front of Saber, the Assassin could sense a sort of fatherly worry coming from the being. It stung because Saber had seen the same emotion in his father when Saber said he was leaving. The sad, but proud eyes… They were heart twisting…

“I took that rabbit home with me after I fed it a few carrots. Corine was furious when she first saw the furbal in my arms. But I would not let her scolding stop me! I took in that rabbit and I would have been damned if that woman was going to make me return it to where it would most likely die.” Saber grinned as Harold’s tone suddenly shifted to a much more serious voice. The Assassin tucked his nose into his scarf and tugged his cloak a little closer to himself as to help keep more of the heat in.

“OH!” The sharp shout made Saber jump, his hands instinctively moving to his blades. He stepped back and stared forward at where Harold’s light bulb was pointed, but… there was nothing there? Or maybe there was something that Saber just couldn’t see?

“What?!” Saber barked, obviously a little frightened by the Lamps sudden exclamation, his eyes immediately scanning the walls. As he did so, a loud shriek caught both of the men’s attention, well, the man’s and the lamp’s attention, causing them both to look to their left. Saber took a step back as a body emerged from the shadows along the wall and Harold cast a light on the being, also moving away while doing so. It was…! A woman? Saber’s eyebrows raised and he stared at her back as she faced away from him and his lamp. He then watched as she scurried away from the rock, right towards him. The Assassin narrowed his eyes and pulled his blades free slightly, but kept them hidden beneath the cloak which was draped around him.

In just a few seconds, the woman was in front of Saber and Harold and slipped, slamming down onto her face and chest right in front them. Harold’s lampshade twisted, Saber’s nose wiggled. The woman looked to be a young girl, or someone who could barely be considered a teenager, and she wasn’t exactly a high level either; she was level one. She didn’t look equipped to be down in the caves either, as she was barely armed with a staff and her clothing wasn’t exactly… good. It looked more like she had prepared herself for a night on the town because of the dress she wore. To make matters worse, her underwear choice wasn’t the best either! Seriously, if she was going to be going out, she should have packed a little lighter but that was beside the point.

“Harold.” Saber muttered, glancing down at the lamp for just a moment as the lampshade twisted back. It didn’t look at him.

“Yes?” He whispered back. Saber looked at the woman, and squeezed his blades. He considered slicing her head off because of her sudden appearance, as to remind her that sneaking wasn’t exactly a smart thing to do around someone like him, but he resisted that urge.

“What did you do?” The Assassin rumbled and averted his eyes up and towards the direction the woman had come. She had yelped, and had backed away in a state of fear. With that in mind, there was probably something which had done that… but what?

“I didn’t do anything. I had simply remembered that I had forgotten to grab milk on my way home that day.” God dammit, Harold. Harold aside, Saber rumbled. In the shadows beside the rock the woman had come from, there was a small object; a…. TOASTER! Perfect!

“EY! COME HERE YOU!” Saber gleamed beneath his scarf and his eyes narrowed. A moment later, he jumped to the woman’s right, nudged her staff back to her hands, and then dived at the toaster creature. It’s power cord straightened up and wiggled in fear as the level ninety player sudden invaded its personal space. It turned around and swiftly attempted to make a smooth escape, but its powercord trailed behind it, which Saber snatched up and yanked on. An exclamation point splattered all over Saber’s display as the toaster frantically squealed, but he didn’t care. He dragged the toaster back to him even as it struggled and lunged forward

“Gotcha!” Finally, Saber was able to get a hand on the thing, but he had no choice but to grab it’s slots. The instant he did so, the lever dropped and his fingers were pinched viciously by the clamps inside. The Assassin’s eyes shot open and he instinctively bashed the appliance into the floor several times and then against the wall. The hit on the wall did the trick, and the toaster’s lever popped up, freeing him. Immediately, Saber pulled his fingers free and pulled the toaster into his arms. Once it was secure, he wrapped it up in its own power cord and then tied the cord in a knot to keep it from coming free. Once that was done, he sighed, relaxed, and hung his head for a moment. Taking in a breath to calm himself, Saber collected his thoughts and then returned to his feet.

“You should work on your stalking skills, little one.” Saber said aloud, directing his words to his fellow Adventurer. Though, he didn’t look at her. He simply knocked on the edge of the toaster and rumbled at it.

“You play nice. Or I’ll turn you to scrap.” The threat was a whisper, and the toaster wiggled back and forth in agreement. Then, Saber placed the appliance down at his feet. The toaster shook in its frame and made its way slowly over to where Harold was standing, cowering beside his fellow appliance. Saber made his way over to the woman and assisted her to her feet, if she wasn’t already up.

“Are you lost? You don’t exactly seem to belong here…” As he spoke, he pointed to the woman’s dress and then her staff, curious, and a little confused on how she had got so deep into the tunnels.

: Post Title :
-Children and Toasters-

: Word Count :
1583

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, @sugarygiggles

: Notes :
One appliance captured!

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

She was angry and embarrassed but also a bit relieved. She had found another person who would hopefully give her clear directions on how to return to the surface. Maybe, if she was extremely lucky, this would be a breakthrough chance encounter leading to her finally getting her feet wet in this world. Yes, that was a possibility. This man, this random person in this random tunnel, would befriend her and introduce her to other skilled players and suddenly… things would be better! She would get a new weapon, actual armor, and, and, she would level! No longer would she have to hide herself away in the confines of the town!

As if it would be that convenient. She was snapped back to reality when the man in front of her suddenly jumped to her side and kicked her staff back to her. She stared at it blankly for a moment, still half sprawled on the cool ground. After a second of hesitation, she wrapped her small hands around the wooden weapon and pulled it toward her. She was surprised by how reassuring it felt to have it back in her hands, despite how little she could do with it. She pulled herself up onto her knees and turned to watch the scene happening in front of her.

The man leaped at the perverted toaster, which immediately attempted to back off, and yanked on its power cord. With little effort, he dragged the living appliance towards him. Artemisia watched with wide green eyes, full of curiosity. Once he had pulled the toaster to him, he made the mistake of placing his fingers into the slots to hold it. The toaster had apparently not given up the fight yet and immediately set about pinching and squeezing his hands. Surely irritated by its stubbornness, he smashed the toaster off the floor and a nearby wall until it freed his hand.

Artemisia couldn't help but giggle quietly as she watched him struggle to free his fingers. It was a simply ridiculous scene, one which made her feel slightly better about face planting it a few moments ago. Once he was freed, he wrapped the power cord tightly around the appliance, assuring it wouldn't pull anymore tricks on him. “You should work on your stalking skills, little one.” He didn't turn his eyes to look at her but he was clearly speaking to her. So he was under the misunderstanding that she had been sneaking up on him. She opened her mouth to correct him, hoping to keep things moving in the right direction for her, but quickly shut it again when he continued speaking.

He set the toaster down by the lamp and walked over to her, extending his hand to help her to her feet. Having forgotten she was still kneeling on the ground, Artemisia quickly took the offer and pulled herself up with his hand. Once standing, her small body was even more apparent. If you counted the two twitching fox ears on top of her tiny head, she would technically be into the five foot range. Otherwise, she was sadly hovering just below, holding steady in the four foot height bracket.

“Are you lost? You don't exactly seem to belong here…” He said to her as his eyes scanned her up and down once, taking in her obviously not combat ready appearance and cheap weapon. She quickly started brushing the dust off her dress and straightening her hair, her cheeks just barely tinted light pink. Even if he thought she was a little girl, the reality of it was she was a full grown woman in her twenties. Exposing her underwear and acting so clumsy in front of anyone, especially a guy, was not high on her list of things to do… pretty much ever.

“Yeah… I got a little turned around…” She admitted quietly, sneaking a peek at his face up close for the first time. He had a scarf wrapped around his neck, partial obscuring his face from view so she couldn't say for sure but perhaps he was… yes, it was definitely possible based on what she could see. Mentally, she praised her luck and hoped she could become friends with this person. Her eyes continued to look him over, but she was met only with disappointment. There simply wasn't much else to see. He was wearing a thick cloak, covering the rest of his body from her view. If she had to guess, he liked his privacy. Well, she certainly wasn't going to reveal that she had taken a peek at his information, then.

Her bright eyes moved back and forth between them, taking in the differences. She was wearing a cute, light blue dress with little flowers weaved through her oversized pig tails and he was wearing dark, simple and easy to move in attire. It was a clear distinction between their knowledge and skills. “I was going to meet up with these people but they never showed… so I thought I'd just peek down here and before I knew it I was lost…” She flicked her singular blonde fox tail back and forth, trying to keep her embarrassment from showing too obviously on her face.

Artemisia glanced at the scared looking toaster and then back to the Adventurer in front of her. “Thanks for taking care of that for me, it really caught me off guard. I wasn't stalking you… I just happened across you and I’m really glad I did… My name is Artemisia and I'm not sure if you can tell but I'm a Sorcerer. Still kind of on the weak side, but I was hoping to change that soon…” She flashed him a cute smile, looking up at him with wide inviting eyes, hoping she could get on his good side, “What about you, what’s your name? What’s down here that’s interesting for a guy like you?”

Inside, she was silently and desperately pleading that his man accepted her obvious invitation and she was able to spin this once terrible situation into one beneficial to her. Please, please let this work out for me…

--
Notes: She's trying super hard to make friends here, don't break her little heart!

Words: 1023

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

“Turned around…?” Saber’s curious face turned to that of doubt, and his eyes narrowed slightly on the woman in front of him. To reach where he was, it took a little more than turning around. There were several long tunnels, twists, turns, and even a small bridge connecting one zone to the next. He seriously doubted that the woman reached his location by simply getting “turned around”. Though, part of him believed her. It wasn’t because of how sincere she sounded either. It was mainly because without Harold, Saber would be lost too.

Without that little lamp and its talking his ear off, Saber would be wandering around the tunnels with very low visibility and would most likely miss a lot of turns and corners he normally wouldn’t have. He also would have ended up in a place where he probably could not get out of. Eventually, Saber would reach a point where he would either die from sleep deprivation, starvation, or would be forced to use his “Call to Home” skill. Two of those options required him dying and respawning on the surface, the third was him teleporting back. Without Harold, or some sort of guide, getting lost would probably be easy; unless someone also didn’t know how to use their map. Saber rarely activated that part of his inventory, but there was a small map available for Adventurers that gave them an overview of the area. New areas were covered by a black fog, or something called the “fog of war”, and required exploration before they were illuminated. In this case, even wandering around would get the map illuminated. If this girl was truly lost, she could have used either her own teleport skill or the map to get away.

Yet, as Saber listened to the girl’s story, he began to doubt if she even knew that she had a map. The woman had waited at the surface for a group of players and let her curiosity get the best of her. Many people did, and a lot of people ended up in the position this female did. They would tell themselves “just a few steps” or “one more bite”. The next thing they’d know, they would be lost in whatever place they went into or would be way too full and get sick. The woman in front of Saber didn’t exactly seem too patient, as she had bailed on the players she was waiting for, and didn’t seem too bright as she had taken “one more step”, rather than turn back and ask for help. Hell, she had jumped because of a toaster. The thought of her getting so easily lost actually didn’t seem so farfetched now… but that was okay. At least Saber had someone other than a lamp to talk to, sort of.

“Right…” Saber muttered as the woman declared that she wasn’t stalking him, but hesitated as she introduced herself and then asked him for one as well. The Assassin didn’t like to disclose what he was doing a lot of the time, as it generally wasn’t something flashy or amazing. For Pete’s sake, he was down here looking for things with energy storing capabilities, not dragons or treasure like someone would think his level would be doing. Although he didn’t exactly like to lie either. If this woman truly wanted to know what he was doing, then he would tell her. If she didn’t like it, then she could wander around some more on her own.

“I’m Saber. I’m here because I’m looking for power sources.” After he spoke briefly, extremely briefly, about his reasoning for being in the tunnels, he turned his head and pointed at the toaster. It quivered a little and cowered.

“Need the things that power the little appliances for some research I have planned. It’s much easier to take those things apart than it is to come up with something from scratch.” The man narrowed his eyes on the little bread heating appliance and thought of tearing it apart soon. A grin crossed his face, but slowly faded as he began to walk away from the collection of bodies, heading forward into the tunnel.

“Follow me if you wish. I’ll guide you out of here once I’m done too if you need help.” He patted the woman on her head twice as he passed her, and then used the same hand to wave at Harold. The little Lamp nodded its lampshade, hopped forward, and began to keep pace with the Assassin. The toaster obediently followed Harold, waddling along right behind the office light.

: Post Title :
-Intros and Toaster Threats-

: Word Count :
765

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, @sugarygiggles

: Notes :
BANG. BOOM. DYING HERE.

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

The man before her was quiet for a moment after she introduced herself, as if he was unsure if he wanted to be bothered making her acquaintance. She already knew his name, as she had peeked at his information, but there was still something to be said for someone taking the time to actually introduce themselves. It wouldn't surprise her if he, too, had looked at her level. She was actually kind of hoping he had, that way he wouldn’t have any ridiculous expectations about her fighting the monsters sure to be found in these tunnels. Then again, his eyes were probably sharp enough that he didn't need to see her information sheet to know she was way out of her league in these tunnels. Her clothing and weapon alone would tell the majority of people she encountered. It was like wearing a sign on your forehead that said EASY TARGET.

Inside the city, she was good at giving lonely Adventures a sweet smile, which kept her fed and housed. Almost everything she had ever owned or eaten was something that had been given to her by another Adventurer, usually a man, lured in by her playful looks and kind words. She knew how to play with their hearts, assuming either the role of the helpless child or, of course, the impossible to get but ever desirable woman. It was amusing how much a flick of her tail and bat of her eyes could accomplish. She had never done anything with any of the men she charmed, except drain their inventories of money and items. Until now, this had been enough to occupy her but lately, many of them had been inviting her outside the town to show off their prowess in the fields. It was simply unsafe for her to leave the safety of the town and her constant rejection was driving away the very men who kept her stomach from going empty. With that in mind, she had finally decided to venture out and immediately had landed herself in a mess.

“I’m Saber. I'm here because I’m looking for power sources.” He finally said briskly, seemingly uncomfortable even telling her that much. He didn't make eye contact with her as she spoke and she felt a little pang of disappointment in her chest. Her little fox ears drooped, flattening down on top of her head when he looked away. He turned his attention back to the toaster from before and pointed at it. The terrified appliance half hid itself behind the lamp. She really didn’t feel bad for it, given what it had tried to do to her.

She half expected Saber to ditch her at this point but to her surprise, he kept talking, “Need the things that power the little appliances for some research I have planned. It’s much easier to take those things apart than it is to come up with something from scratch.” He was actually looking for monsters like this toaster then so… he hadn't really been helping her when he intervened earlier, it was just convenient for him. And here she had been so hopeful, too… She couldn't help but feel disappointed. Her green eyes drifted down to the ground as she wondered how she was going to get out of here.

She heard his feet shuffle as he started to move, no doubt continuing on with his reasons for being down her. She sighed quietly and wondered how badly things would go if she followed him anyways. Whether he killed her or a monster killed her, it was beginning to look like her only way out was to see to see the inside of the chapel where she would revive. “Follow me if you wish. I'll guide you out of here once I'm done too if you need help.” She felt a hand gently pat her on the head not once, but twice. Her head jolted up in time to see Saber walking by her, gesturing at the lamp and toaster to follow him. Artemisia stood still for a moment, her lips slightly parted from her inability to find her voice. There was no one else here, so that had to have been his hand on her head… a faint pink color flushed across her face as she thought about it. There was something different about this brief encounter already. She didn't feel she could win him over as easily as the lonely men she met in the town. All of the tricks she had learned from countless successes and failures were no doubt going to be wasted on him. But, somehow, she also didn't want to go about it that way. As much as it surprised her, she wanted to build a genuine connection to this person.

Then the meaning of his words hit her and her green eyes opened wide, her face practically sparkling with excitement. Her blonde fox ears perked straight up and her long tail swished. She watched his back for a moment before sprinting after him, “O-of course I'll come with you!” She walked quickly to keep pace with him, her short legs needing a bit more effort to match his stride. Even still she was about a half step behind him. Artemisia glanced at him from the corner of her eye, grinned, and looked away. I can't believe it, so lucky! She was looking forward to going wherever he was going. Surely, it would be beneficial to her. Hopefully in lots of ways… She giggled quietly to herself. There was simply so much to be gained by following him. She was so excited about this chance she had to remind herself repeatedly that it would simply be a bad idea to grab on to his arm and hang off of him like a lost puppy. First, she needed to work on improving his opinion of her. She hadn't exactly made the best first impression... 

“So, Saber, how can I help?”

--

Words: 995

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

“You seem to be quite the kind man, Mister Saber.” Harold chimed in Saber’s ear, his animal communication skill keying automatically as the Lamp send a message through his display. The Assassin rumbled and glanced over his shoulder to see that the blonde haired lady was coming after him. He wasn’t being kind, per say, but it was more like a quite repayment. She had brought him the toaster. Since she was lost, and as long as she didn’t turn into a vocal problem, Saber was willing to give her a helping hand. It wouldn’t kill him to have some company either. He had just met Harold and the little thing was already running him up the wall.

“And how is that?” Saber asked, turning his eyes forward as the new addition to his small, and growing, group started to catch up. Harold laughed as he hopped up ahead of the Assassin, illuminating the tunnel ahead of them with his extremely bright bulb. At least one of his new partners found this funny. Saber wasn’t laughing, but instead was grumbling.

“First you take me in, a man who has been wandering around down here for god knows how long… and now you allow a woman you just met to follow you as well.” Saber wouldn’t call it following, himself. He put it more as guiding. She was lost, and didn’t seem to know how to use the teleport system yet, or she didn’t know it existed. From her level, as Saber had glanced at it momentarily, she didn’t seem very experienced with the game. Then again, neither did Saber at that level. By level ten Saber was at Windsor Greatwood duking it out there with the castle guardians. Most people waited until around twenty to do that.

“You are a kind man.” At the words which the Lamp spoke, Saber scoffed. Kind? He was not kind. Saber had slaughtered monsters by the bushel simply because he hated looking at them. He killed herds of creatures for experience, created traps to capture them so that he could turn them into food, and even drew his blades on even the most passive creatures to achieve his goals. Along the way, there was also human blood on his hands because of his many run-ins with Player Killers and overly-aggressive Persons of the Land. If he had to give a number, he had killed maybe thirty four Non-players, and fifteen players, all of which came at him without knowing his true level. Due to his outerwear, Saber didn’t look anywhere close to level ninety and he did that for the sole purpose of tricking the greedy. There had been a few whom had escaped his grasp and even fewer which had noticed the façade just before engaging the undercover killer. They were lucky, but those whom had attacked him and survived were not lucky enough to be spared. Saber was an Assassin, a hunter, and he paid his dues…

Paying his debts was the same reason he allowed the blonde to walk with him. Even if it was unintentionally done, she had brought the toaster to him. It probably had aggroed to her out of curiosity, but the end result was that Saber now had it under wraps. It submitted to him and was hobbling along just off to his right. Without her, he would be without that creature, so bringing her back to the surface wasn’t too much of a stretch to ask. If he was a lower level, lost and confused, he probably would have asked as well… maybe… probably not, as he would rather walk for days before asking someone for directions. Doing so just made him feel foolish, especially with so many technical tools at his fingertips now. Though, as she asked him how she could assist him, Saber’s nose wiggled; she couldn’t. Unless she was an Alchemist, that was.

“For the moment, you can’t.” Rather than hide it from her, Saber made it quite clear that she was pretty much useless for the most part. Though, he wouldn’t just leave her hanging. If she was going to use him as a compass, he was going to use her for a carrying pack, or at least a nanny.

“But, what you can do for me is keep an eye on the creatures I tag and… coerce… to come along with us. I’ve only got Harold up here under any influence coming from me. Anything else I nab up or tie down could run off at any moment. If they do that, then I have more work on my hands and we’ll be down here lon….” The words which fell out of his mouth were almost like a warning, as he glared down towards the hobbling toasty angrily. It quivered a little and the power cord on the device tightened up some. Saber rumbled and turned his eyes forward as Harold came to a halt. At the sight, Saber’s mouth paused midsentence.

“…ger… Holy crap.” Just beyond where they were standing, the tunnel curved into an open arch and expanded beyond it, darkening due to the lack of light. The Assassin wasted no time standing by and whistled sharply at the toaster and Harold, his body moving at the pace of a light jog as he slipped under the arch and waved the group along. Upon entering, Saber found himself on a ledge overlooking a small pit. Said pit was filled with dozens of monsters, and a handful of the various different creatures that Saber needed. There were around thirty things walking about, but there was also a pile of both dead, and incapacitated, appliances scattered all around the room. As Harold hopped up beside Saber, it gave the Player a much better look at the room.

Where they stood was a raised ledge which once had a bridge that connected one door to another one, that was about thirty feet away on the opposite side of the pit. The pit was about a hundred meters in length, thirty feet in width, and dropped down at least twenty feet. It was square, perfectly carved, had torches illuminating its sides, and a few sets of stairs leading up out of the pit and down into it. Though, Saber wasn’t worried about the collapsed bridge or the stairs. No, his eyes were set on the various appliances and broken equipment pieces on the floor. The sight made Saber grin beneath his scarf.

“Change of plans… I think I see all the things I need right here…” The Assassin released a chuckle and placed his hands on his waist. As he did so, he stood up tall and scanned the pit much more diligently. This place was a gold mine.

: Post Title :
-Finding the Mine-

: Word Count :
1126

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, @sugarygiggles

: Notes :
So that this took forever. orz

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

There was not as long of a delay this time between her question and his answer, so she was willing to give herself a point in the ‘making progress on friends’ tally she was internally keeping. However, his responses were straight forward, lacking any amount of sugar-coating whatsoever. Without so much as an ounce of remorse, he effectively called her inadequate, only good enough to be the babysitter of a terrified toaster. Minus one point... but at least she was still ahead of things. Being allowed to tag along in the first place was a giant point in her favor. Probably. She stuck her tongue out at his back – she wasn't useless and she was going to show him!

Artemisia trailed after Saber, keeping herself a few steps behind him as they ventured deeper into the tunnel. The toaster and the lamp (she was pretty sure it had a name… Harold, was it?) were also there, keeping in line with the man. The lamp, which was illuminating the area, was just slightly in the lead so they could see where they were going. It was hard to tell but it seemed as if Saber and the lamp were communicating with each other, as he kept looking at the appliance every so often.

She had gathered very little of Sabers goals but so far he had given her no reason to distrust him. Until such time, she was perfectly content with his company. Well, if he wanted to her keep an eye on the creatures he rounded up then that was what she would do. There would be time for him to recognize her potential later. Her green eyes drifted back and forth, lingering on Sabers back a while before switching to the walls of the tunnels to the ground in front of her feet. Every so often she would glance down at the toaster, making sure it was still there. It was. It was way too afraid of Saber to try and make a run for it right now, she figured. Artemisia spun her long staff between her fingers, twirling it around beside her absentmindedly.

It was then that Harold, the lamp, stopped suddenly in front of them. She stood on her tiptoes, trying to see ahead but it was dark. She wasn't sure what they were seeing but it had apparently piqued Sabers interest. Almost immediately, he moved forward, the two kitchen staples following after him. Not willing to be left behind, Artemisia also quickened her pace to keep up. Once they were beyond the arch, Saber stopped and waited for Harold to turn his light on the scene in front of them. Artemisia slipped up behind Saber to get a better look. She placed her small hands on the middle of his back, pressing herself into him lightly to keep herself from somehow falling forward, and peeked around his side, her green eyes wide. They were standing on the edge of a rather large pit. A pit filled with various monsters and creatures.

Still gripping onto him, Artemisia turned her face upwards to look at Saber. He seemed pretty excited about finding this hole. Her right fox ear twitched as she listened to his words. “So… is that what you--,” she stopped and corrected herself, since she was a part of this now, “we're looking for?” She felt slightly queasy… he wasn't expecting her to go down there too, was he? “I know you're a high level and all but you wouldn't really just jump in there, would you?” She had no true concept of just what it meant for Saber to be the level that he was. The only spells and attacks she was familiar with were her own weak ones and while she knew he was definitely stronger, an entire pit of monsters still seemed like a bit much for one guy. She stared at his face for a second, her eyes filled with most likely completely unnecessary concern.

Regardless of how he would respond to her worry, she moved one hand off his back (assuming she hadn't been brushed aside already), and navigated through a few screens on her display. “In case we get separated?” She pushed one last button. A notification window would certainly have appeared for Saber, asking for him to either accept or deny the friend request she had just sent him.
If he accepted it, she was giving herself +50 points.

--
Tags: Saber
Words: 740

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

Down below and in the pit which was there, Saber watched as a small collection of Kobolds and monsters with the labels of “Primitive Tech GR-1”, or household appliances and electrical objects, hobbled around like zombies. The Kobolds whined and wailed into the darkness, gathering up pieces of scrap metal while also herding the appliances into groups. Said appliances resisted, snapping and clanging their metal bodies loudly to try and frighten the Kobold creatures. However, their attempts to defy the subhuman beasts were pretty much closed to completely ignored; the Kobolds simply thwacked the appliances with their clubs and rusted tools, punishing the rebels with violence. Some of the appliances had been bludgeoned to death and were being thrown in with the scrap metal at the center of the room. Those that were living still seemed to be getting herded into the corners of the small pit, and the Kobolds didn’t look as if they were going to simply pin them there either. The sight made Saber uneasy, and he sneered angrily as he listened to a few of the “Leader” Kobolds shout orders and point their bony fingers.

Out of nowhere as he watched, he felt the body of his fellow adventurer press against him. At first, he thought Kitty had randomly appeared out of the darkness and his heart skipped, the thought of her saying something to him about even thinking about jumping making him uneasy. Because of it, he froze up, but after a swift investigation he saw that it wasn’t Kitty. Instead it was Artemisia who was being bold. The sight made him a little more comfortable and his heart returned to its normal routine of keeping him alive, even though it probably wanted to give out at this point because of how much stress the Assassin had put it under. Well, it seemed that Kitty didn’t even need to be around him to bother him. That was interesting, but something he would deal with later. The sound of another yelping made his eyes turn forward again. It was at that same moment that Artemisia decided to speak, questioning him twice. Her first question made him smirk, but the second caused him to grin beneath his scarf like a murderer.

“Oh yes, this is exactly what I was looking for…” He didn’t answer the second question right away but instead pushed his cloak away from his blades, revealing their blood thirsty sheathes to the world. Just after he did so, a notification appeared on his screen. His eyes shifted away from it and he glared down at Artemisia. She asked him to be her friend, yet she had not given him any reason to do such a thing. Such people made him uncomfortable and he ignored them for the most part. This one, he could not ignore but he could deny her, which he did. With a gentle tap of the red mark on his display, Saber removed the notification from his screen.

“If we get separated, you will be on your own… so that leaves you with one option…” His voice trailed off sharply and he took a step to his left. With one arm, he swept the little lady up off her feet and lifted her over his shoulder, her head facing behind him. Then, he reached down and grabbed both Harold and the toaster with his free hand, keeping the woman away from the floor so she couldn’t kick away from him.

“...You’re coming with me!” Immediately after he spoke, he did not hesitate any longer. His left foot moved forward first and was quickly followed by the right; he stepped off the ledge and hopped down into the pit. Wind whipped at his body, lifting his cloak and exposing his armored torso and his arsenal of reaping tools; throwing knives on his thighs, two heavy blades on his waist, and two daggers on his lower back. All of which were begging for the blood feast which was about to begin.

Though, as he plunged into the dim pit, dragging Artemisia down with him as he held her on his shoulder, he was no longer grinning. His eyes sharpened and a plan developed rapidly in his head. Within the five or so seconds it took to fall, he scanned the entire area within a twenty foot range in front of his predicted landing point. Within that range, he sighted every enemy and calculated their distance from him, examined their weapons if they had one, and glanced at their armor if there was any visible. In doing this, Saber ranked them in his mind by their threat level. As his feet touched the solid, cool, rocky floor, the Assassin could already see blood splatters. Of course, they were just predictions, but not for long…

The moment Saber’s toes touched the ground; the Assassin lowered himself into a crouch and set his luggage onto the ground; Artemisia, Harold, and his friendly neighborhood Toaster prisoner. Once his hands were free and as he began to stand, he hooked four throwing knives with his fingers, two in each hand. Just before he was fully raised, his cloak fluttered and the Assassin moved elegantly around Artemisia, twirling around her on the toes of his boots in silence. The only noise was the whipping of the blades as they shot out into the air. A moment later, the thudding of four impacts rang in Saber’s ears and those sounds were quickly followed by angry gurgles. Two Kobolds hit the floor, dead. One other dropped, clutching its throat as blood rushed from the wound. A fourth staggered forward, a knife stuck in its forehead. It took three steps before another throwing knife lodged itself beside the first, killing it.

“Either fight or die, Fox Lady. Earn your keep.” The Assassin spat as one of the Kobold leaders looked over its shoulder, spotting the two Adventurers and the two smaller companions at their feet. It snarled and let out a loud roar into the pit, calling out for the aid of the remaining group of Kobolds. Saber scoffed and drew his pair of daggers, their edges glowing red as their reforge effect kicked in, activated because of the combat situation.

“Harold! Lights please!” In response to his order, Harold flicked his lampshade on its highest setting, illuminating the area in front of Saber and around the two Adventurers. The moment the little creature did so, a smaller Kobold leaped towards Saber from the Assassin’s left. It yelled loudly, its battle cry ringing in the man’s ears very, very painfully. The club in its left hand came down hard, whiffing and striking stone as the Kobold landed on the ground; Saber had side stepped it. In a flash, Saber’s left hand moved. Blood splattered on the floor and the small monster’s left arm was sliced, the center of its bicep splitting it two as the limb was removed. The little beast shouted in pain and fright, but another blade came down on the back of its neck. A heavy swing from the high level player effectively severed the head of the Kobold, causing its health bar to instantly plunge down to its empty setting. However, as it dropped, Saber snagged the head with his fingertips, turned, and launched it towards the leader of the Kobold group. It took a step back, but just before impact the head exploded into a flurry of digital pixels and glitter…

This was the end of the line for the Kobolds. This pit would become their tomb.

: Post Title :
-Into The Pit-

: Word Count :
1260

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, @sugarygiggles

: Notes :
Saber's brutal side is showing~

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

The response to her friend request had been the expected, but not desired, outcome. Saber had glared at her and quickly denied her. She smiled up at him innoccently in response. Well, at least he hadn't pushed her away when she got closer. That was worth a point, at least. What hadn't been expected was what her new companion did next. Seconds after denying her friendship and telling her she would be on her own if she couldn't keep up, he scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder. She couldn't help the surprised squeak that managed to escape her as she was handled so roughly. Artemisia glared down at his back while Saber also took the time to grab the lamp and toaster. There was almost no point struggling, it wouldn't have done her any good anyhow.

Once he had gathered them up, Saber continued his thought. Her entire body went stiff in his arms and her heart froze for a moment. Coming with you?! Down there?! Now was the time to struggle… she tried to pull herself free of him but it was no use, he was holding her too tightly. She was about to protest vocally when Saber easily jumped off the ledge and began a free fall into the pit. Oh my god...! She felt the wind rush around her as they began to fall and she immediately placed her hand on her behind, holding her dress in place as best as she could. Not feeling anywhere near as confident as Saber that the fall alone wouldn’t kill them, she latched herself onto him, gripping and grabbing at anything she could get her hands on, mostly his back.

It took only a few moments for them to land on the cool surface below but her heart, which was now pounding in her chest, thought it had been much longer. They landed easily and as soon as they did, Saber set her down, allowing her to stand on her own two feet. She wobbled for a second, taking a moment to get her balance. Her view of the pit as they had descended had been upside down and her long blonde hair had been in her face for most of it so it was only now that she was truly seeing the situation she was in. So far, she had seen more of Sabers backside than she had of the creatures he had doomed her to fight. If she hadn't of been so terrified of dying in that moment, it may not have been so bad. Now’s not the time to think about that… She chided herself, her green eyes scanning the area in front of them.

In the time it took her to find her footing, Saber was already preparing to launch his first attack. With a quick turn, he flicked four throwing knives in the direction of some of the closest creatures. Her eyes narrowed, trying to follow them, but all she heard was the dull thud when they connected with his targets. With the attention of the monsters drawn, Saber made it clear that she was on her own. Artemisia spun her staff around, pointing it forward and took a deep, nervous breath. She wasn't going to cower in the corner and hope Saber came back for her (she assumed he wouldn't, anyways). No, instead, she wanted to fight along with him. She knew she was weak by comparison, but certainly she could show him she wasn't useless.

Artemisia gripped her staff tighter, taking in the scene before her. She wouldn't have been surprised if her mouth was hanging open. Saber was violent, that much she was figuring out… but somehow, she couldn't help but be in awe. Without any hesitation, Saber decapitated a Kobold, destroying the creature before it truly even had a chance to fight back. She was both impressed and just a little terrified of the man in front of her now. She definitely had more respect for the fact that he hadn't killed her as soon as they had met. Her expression shifted to something much closer to a grin, her mind processing something. Not only had he not killed her but, even though he was being rough about it, he was taking her with him when he didn't have to. Plus one point. Any fear she may have felt quickly vanished when she realized this - he was actually kind of nice, in his own way. She was only delayed by a few moments due to her thoughts but now, her attention switched entirely to helping Saber.

Artemisia cast one of only two spells she knew, Orb of Lava. It wouldn't hit Saber or any of the non-aggressive creatures in the pit and it allowed her the most range to stay out of direct harm. She didn't expect Saber to be concerned about protecting her, so she thought staying back slightly might be the better plan. A small part of her thought he probably would just so happen to help her if she needed it, although she hoped she wouldn’t. He'd probably make it seem like he didn't know I was there or something… She thought while she prepared her fire attack. She wasn't completely sure but so far, this was the impression she was getting of him and it simply made her all the more curious to get to know him better.

Once the required casting time for Orb of Lava had passed, Artemisia hurled the small ball of fire at the nearest Kobold. The little ball of flame immediately began ping-ponging its way around, hitting the various enemy creatures in front of them. The damage wasn't much compared to Sabers, which allowed her to chip away at their health while they remained focused on the real threat – him. The cool down timer for her spell started ticking; she would have to wait 20 seconds before she could cast it again, assuming the fight would even last that long.

--
Notes: Poor Artemisia and her little level 1 fire ball...
Spells Used: Orb of Lava
Tags: Saber
Words: 1001

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

“Tally…” As his eyes narrowed on the lead Kobold as the glittery surprise appeared between them, his teeth grinded together and a low snarl escaped his lips. His body became heavy, his breath hot, and his vision darkened. Saber very quickly began to fell angry, pissed, and the grip on his twin daggers increased. It was a wonder what state he would be in if he had chosen to be a Wolf-hair for his class… Would he have morphed into one by now? He might have. Though, he had a feeling that he would have become something much worse; something much scarier. The blood which ran through his veins was thick, laced with the anger of a thousand generations of warriors, and with every fight; the battle-hardened heart which beat in his chest pounded against the cage that held it in. He could feel it now, that sensation of wanting to cut off the head of the Kobold leader, or use his fists to beat it into the floor. It was something he felt nearly every time he fought, and he was smiling beneath the cloth scarf that covered his face. He loved this part…

“Twenty total. Three dead. Seventeen remain.” Upon entering the room, Saber had counted the total number of moving creatures; thirty. Twenty of them were Kobolds, the remainder had been the appliances and angry machines. Three Kobolds had just burst into pixels, a fourth was…

…stomped on the chest and stabbed through its skull as Saber kicked it over onto its back. The Assassin hissed between his teeth as his metal tool of death split the hard bone of the Kobold’s head, exchanging a death by suffocation for a death by mutilation. The Kobold lasted only a few seconds longer before the puny level six creature burst into pixels, releasing Saber from the leaning position he had over the monster. As the Assassin stood, his body pulsed with madness, and his eyes scanned the room. Just as Saber returned to his feet, a raging fireball shot out from behind him, slamming into the line of Kobolds that was forming. It was a weak attack but it had caught many of the Kobolds off guard. The damage of the strike was low, but several of the Kobolds jumped at the sight of the attack and took a step back. Saber twirled his daggers around his fingers and snarled; he activated Malicious Intent.

Slowly, an overwhelming presence expanded from Saber’s body, filling the area over the course of four seconds as the skill’s effect was activated. His hatred for the monsters before him spread into the shadows of the pit, reaching all around him and grasping at the Kobold’s throats as if he was going to choke them with the same oxygen which they breathed. The more skittish of the bunch stepped away, while the more aggressive dared to step forward. The Assassin squeezed the hilts of his daggers, catching them in their forward held position as he began to march forward toward the group. Not another skill was activated as he walked straight up to the closest Kobold to him. It roared and ran at him, lunging with its pitiful excuse for a club. Following swiftly behind it were its allies, all raising and pouncing at the Assassin.

“hmpf…”

The Assassin shot forward, racing passed the first Kobold. The creature staggered, its jaw open and eyes wide; it burst into pixels. Behind it, Saber slashed at the next creature which had jumped up high into the air, his dagger cutting down its chest and causing blood to spray out into the air behind him. Three Kobolds jumped him at once, a forth coming underneath them. Saber stepped left, slashed the club wielding arm of the first to the left, removing the limb. His right arm slashed at the air infront of him, cutting open the stomach of the armless Kobold and the one beside it. His boot was then raised up before being swiftly kicked forward. The Kobold which rushed him on the ground raised its club to block, but the strength behind the boot was strong enough to send the little creature flying into the crowd behind it. Two of the three Kobolds in the air burst into pixels. The third, which had completely whiffed, turned around and swung at Saber from behind. The Assassin twirled on his heels, swatted the club out of the way, and then buried his left dagger right between the creature’s eyes. Brain matter and blood leaked out of the back of the monster’s head for only a second before it vanished into pixels.

“Nine…” Saber’s count was that of those whom were dead. Within five seconds, his tally increased from four to nine, and there was plenty more blood to go. The thought made him smile and his heart beat in tune with his hunger. This was a feast!

A loud squealing made the Assassin glance to his right, over his shoulder, and he sighted a brave little Kobold as it rushed him. It took the initiative as compared to its allies and dared to rush the Assassin alone. Saber grinned beneath his mask and his eyes focused on it, but then they looked passed it. Just as the smallest Kobold of the horde reached him, Saber jumped up into the air, evading its club as the creature swung at him with all of its might. The presence of his body lingered, and all of the Kobolds looked up as the shadow of death rolled over its own shoulders and plunged downwards into the middle of the crowd. His blades shimmered in the light as his boots slammed down onto the chest of an unlucky beast. They vanished a second later, disappearing into the torso of that very same beast. Light appeared beneath Saber’s feet as the body of the Kobold vanished, allowing him to drop the last few inches to the ground.

“Ten…”

The Assassin slashed quickly to his left, cutting the throat of another Kobold; blood. His right hand twisted, his elbow coming in to his chest, and then was jabbed outwards as he stabbed it into a Kobold’s skull; blood. The same hand twisted and then was dragged to the right, slicing another throat and caused blood to splatter into the eyes of another poor soul. Rather than let it suffer, Saber stabbed it between the eyes, sticking it with the metal of his dagger. Pixels began to fly as Saber stepped to his left, avoiding the crashing blow of a club. Reaching underneath his right arm and behind himself with his left hand, Saber stabbed his attacked in the side of its head. His right elbow shot backwards after the impact of his short weapon, knocking the creature off his tool. His eyes shifted forward, and his left hand followed. As a Kobold stepped forward to strike at him, his dagger cut a thin, bloody line from the middle of its stomach to its chin. The body of the Kobold burst apart, spraying blood over the unlucky bodies in front of it. Saber, knowing what would happen after his attack, stepped to the right and turned. The spurting bloody carcass was turned into a meatshield as Saber kicked it into the face of another brave Kobold that had decided to try and hit him; a solid roundhouse kick put the dead meatbag in between the two.

“Fifteen…”

The brave little Kobold returned, jumping over the dead body of one of its brethren just as it burst apart. The little guy shouted and cried out into the pit, its club held tightly between both hands as it flew at the Assassin. As it neared however, Saber stepped backwards and watched the Kobold drop in front of him. It squeaked in fright at the sudden movement and quickly took off in a sprint away to avoid the divine punishment that had befallen its allies. Saber huffed and looked to his right. Another club from a much larger Kobold came down on his position, and ultimately his blade as he blocked the swing. This caused the Assassin to snarl. With a hard shove, he pushed the club out of his face and replaced it with a dagger. The sharpened metal was thrust through the Kobold’s neck for a brief second, and then sliced to the left. With a quick cut following the stab and slice combination, the Kobold’s head was removed from its shoulders. Blood spurted out of the body like a fountain, spraying into the air all around it. Saber hissed before kicking the body away from him and into the arms of another Kobold, which was unprepared for the sudden hug. As the body burst into pixels, the Kobold was surprised once more as Saber stabbed it between the eyes, reaching through the light to strike his foe. Its jaw opened at the sight but it was far too late to move.

The final aggressive Kobold took a hesitant step forward, but stopped as Saber looked to his left and over his arm to glare at the creature. It stopped in its tracks, petrified as the last of its allies vanished into the abyss. Saber flicked his daggers to his sides and stomped forward towards the beast, staring it down as he approached. The Kobold trembled at the knees, ultimately dropping its club and falling into a submissive position. The pathetic sight burned in Saber’s mind and he considered leaving it, but there would be no mercy today, for they had shown none to the pile of dead machines in the middle of the room. Saber was no reaper, but today he did its work. With a hard stab, he pierced the Kobold through its forehead, burying his dagger into its head. The Kobold let out a shriek for just a second before it was silenced. The Assassin held the position, staring into the eyes of the creature as he watched it die. When all of its life was drained, he put his boot on the Kobold’s chest and slammed it into the stone floor, breaking its knees and its lower back before it shattered like glass.

“Eighteen…” With the herd dealt with, Saber’s eyes drifted to his right and he stared at the leader of them all; a Kobold Noble. It was a level twenty-three monster and its eyes burned with hate as it watched the Adventurer slaughter its underlings. However, it was not foolish. As Saber turned to face it, the Noble swiftly pulled its club off the floor and inhaled a deep breath. A skill appeared above its head and Saber stepped forward. A loud noise was just about to be emitted from the Noble’s lungs, but Saber’s blade struck first.

Blood flowed from the Noble’s throat as the Assassin’s blade silenced the Noble, denying its ability to call for help. The eyes of the creature opened wide, and it gurgled as it attempted to breathe. The Assassin glared down at the primitive foe and pushed it down, forcing the creature onto its knees. It unwillingly collapsed, falling down in front of the Assassin. It reached up and clutched at Saber’s forearm, digging its claws into the Elven humanoid. Saber snarled at the beast and leaned down close to it, his eyes glaring into the pathetic orbs of the Kobold’s. He stared at it for several seconds, letting it realize the mistake it made by even existing. Before its health bar emptied, Saber yanked his dagger free and crossed his arms in front of him. Then, he uncrossed them. The motion was hard, swift, and deadly as his blade sliced the head of the Kobold Noble off. The body and dismembered skull both exploded into light a moment later.

“Nineteen…” The mental count Saber had was increased once more, but there was one more thing left… And that young Kobold ran towards him with tears and hate burning in its eyes. It lunged at Saber, jumping once more into the air towards the much more powerful opponent. However, it was futile just as its previous attacks had been.

Hearing the little one, as he had been listening for it, Saber sheathed one of his daggers and whipped around to his left. His right hand shot forward and he grabbed the little Kobold by the throat. It choked on his hand and its winded up arm loosened. The club it held was released and instead, the Kobold began to claw at Saber’s wrist, forearm, and tried to get the strong hand to loosen. Saber narrowed his eyes on the creature and kept his arm extended, not allowing it near his face. Though, he did not kill it. Instead, he watched it struggle for a few moments before turning his eyes to the group to his right.

“Artemisia, correct?” The Assassin spoke loudly, addressing the blonde haired woman whom had decided to tag along with him because she was lost. He wondered what she thought of him now.

“Should I spare him? Or kill him? If we spare him, we can make use of him and make him dig through the pile of the dead… but he could come back with more of his friends later. If I kill him, then I do things myself and the chances of us running into any more unruly monsters will be nearly zero…” His proposition was simple, and he would be content with either. However, what he cared about was the choice of his fellow Adventurer. Her decision would tell him the type of person she was, whether she was like him, or someone much better, someone much kinder.

“Choose…” After he spoke, he dropped the Kobold to the ground and put his blade to it, causing the creature to freeze rather than run. Its eyes stared at the dagger and a whimper escaped its lips. Silence fell on the room, all except for that high pitched whine…

: Post Title :
-Decisions Bathed in Blood-

: Word Count :
2329

: Skills Used :
Malicious Intent

: Tagged :
Saber, @sugarygiggles

: Notes :
That felt good....

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

If the cooldown on Orb of Lava ever came back up, she certainly didn’t notice. It didn't feel like enough time had passed but she really couldn't have said if it was seconds or minutes or even an hour. No, she was too absorbed in the scene before her. There wasn't a single wasted motion in Sabers actions. Although violent and lopsided in terms of power scale, it was an impressive display. As if performing some sort of murderous dance, Saber easily brought down the Kobolds, one by one. Each time he engaged another enemy, her green eyes followed. Even though none of his attacks were the same as hers, due to their varying class, it was still an opportunity to see a high leveled player in action.

Every so often, she darted her eyes down to the toaster to make sure it was still there. It was. It remained cowered behind her, seemingly growing increasingly more and more terrified of Saber as the seconds ticked by. Terror was not the feeling growing inside her as she watched the Assassin destroy the small horde of Kobolds. Respect, admiration, curiosity… those were the emotions bubbling inside her small body. Whether he liked it or not, Saber had just unknowingly gained a new shadow. There was way too much to be learned, too much to be experienced, by following him than she was willing to pass up.

The thought briefly crossed her mind that perhaps her take on it was unusual. Here she was, alone in a dark tunnel with a man she had just met and she was intensely watching him brutally massacre more than a dozen monsters after being forcefully dragged into a pit of said monsters against her will. Should she have been angry at this Adventurer? Should she be distrustful of him? Even after reconsidering it, she couldn’t find those emotions anywhere in her. Sure, the sight of the Kobolds bursting into pixels after being beheading, stabbed, and dismembered was not exactly pleasant… but it made sense to her. He was an Adventurer and an Assassin at that. To think he wouldn’t have a skill set that allowed him to easily dispatch his enemies would be foolish.

That was how it worked here… killing monsters gave you experience, it gave you items and money… it allowed you to live and flourish in this world. Even if she had not participated in the battle until now, she was not ignorant to the way of the world. One final Kobold, a rather low level and small one, rushed at Saber. He was not gentle with it, as he had not been with any of its comrades. Instead, he picked it up by its throat. It struggled there while Saber turned to address her. Surprisingly, he had even called her by her name.

The question, the choice, he presented her was obviously intended to be a test of some sort. She wasn't sure why he was giving her the option or what he hoped to learn from it but the choice was not something she needed to debate long. She had no reason to feel any pity or remorse for these Kobolds. To her, they were simply monsters in a dungeon, waiting to be farmed for experience. Perhaps if he had given her the moral dilemma of a Landers life, that would be different. But for Artemisia even the life of an Adventurer she did not know was of less importance to her than her own or that of someone she would call an ally. She was not cruel or heartless but there were certain facts of this world that remained constant. Everyone had an HP meter and if the choice was between hers or someone she cared about hitting zero and someone else’s, the choice would almost always be theirs.

Artemisia stepped forward towards Saber and the cowering Kobold. As one foot fell in front of the other, drawing her nearer, she lifted her staff and held it tightly in front of her with both hands. Once she was only a pace or so from the pair, she activated the only other offensive spell she knew – Inferno Strike. Her green eyes locked on the monster, displaying its current health to her. It was low, almost gone. Likely, it had been hit by her Orb of Lava before and had taken some damage from Sabers rough handling. The tip of her staff began to glow faintly red, slowly deepening in hue as the cast time of the spell took effect. It was not a strong attack but it would be enough, given what remained of the creature’s life.

The blonde fox tail spun her staff around in the air, which was now spitting out small little flames, and struck it down upon the captive Kobold. It stared at her with wide eyes but she felt no pity for it. She didn't do it to impress or disappoint the man beside her. But, he had given her a choice and this was her decision. They had started this fight… it was only fair to properly finish it. When the end of her staff made contact with the creature, one of the embers sparked and expanded, catching and spreading across the Kobolds body. The damage from her staffs blow may not have been enough, but the slow, steady drop in its ever fading health from the burn damage certainly would be. It took only another moment before the small monster screeched and burst, scattering into the data it truly was.

There was a moment of deep silence now that all of them had been taken care of. The red glow of her staff faded and the embers disappeared, returning it to the same boring wooden object it had been moments prior. Artemisia turned her green eyes onto Saber. She wasn't sure what type of reaction he would have to her decision. She had such a sweet, non-threatening appearance, after all. For all he knew, she was a child. But, as cute as she was, as inexperienced as she was, this world would not take advantage of her. She was going to be a part of it. She had already resolved herself to this but seeing Saber, seeing his strength and power, solidified her goals for her. Perhaps she would never enjoy it as much as he seemed to but she was prepared to do what needed to be done.

Before she could open her mouth to speak, a little notification appeared in the top right corner of her display. She glanced up at it and her eyes widened. There, next to her health and mana bars, was her level. Currently, it was glowing and flashing indicating to her that there had been a change. She had leveled. Killing the lone Kobold may have been enough on its own, but she must have received a tiny fraction of experience from each one her Orb of Lava had hit before Saber destroyed it. A wave of pure excitement rushed over her, filling her from head to toe with joy. This was how it was meant to be… Adventurers killed monsters and earned experience to level and progress. The way she had been doing it before was wrong, living only in a safe zone and tricking and teasing what she needed from people.

"Thank you," She looked at Saber and smiled at him. "for dragging me along with you. I'm learning a lot and I even leveled just now, too." Her eyes were practically sparkling at the thought of no longer being level one. "So, was this what you were looking for?" She was referencing the pile of broken appliances the Kobolds had been gathering. Did this mean the end of their adventure already? That would be disappointing...

--
Notes: Update - Last paragraph edited on 1/2/15, everything else should still be the same
Spells Used: Inferno Strike
Tags: Saber
Words: 1302

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

After asking his question, the Assassin could see the gears turning in Artemisia’s mind. What they turned towards or how they worked, he did not know. However, there was enough behind her actions to tell him that she was deciding. His blade stiffened in his hand and his eyes drifted down to the little Kobold. It looked at the sharpened edge of his dagger with pure fear and showed no signs of even thinking of resisting. It knew that any slight movement could end with its head being lopped off or just its throat being cut. It had seen how violent Saber was, how merciless he was content with being, and how unamused he was with the foolish attempts of its Kobold brethren. Saber was a player, and Adventurer, and one that the Kobold couldn’t even touch no matter how much it tried. Now that it was alone, there was nothing protecting it from Saber. Though, Saber had other plans for the little Kobold; two in fact.

As Artemisia considered her options, Saber put his in line and readied the correct response to Artemisia’s decision. If she chose to kill it, he would bury his blade into the creature’s skull. Yet if she decided to let it live, then he would pacify it and make the Kobold an ally for the time being until the two players were out of the cave. It would be used to carry parts for Saber, drag any other captives along, and basically monitor the location of Saber’s needed machines should he decide to bring more along with him. Once they reached the cave however, Saber would release the Kobold. There was no need to hurt the thing beyond what Saber had already done but its fate was no longer in his hands… It was up to the foxtail; the blonde female he had just found crawling around in the dark. Was she a killer, like him? Was she a regular player? Was she a coward? Or was she someone who had compassion in their heart?

On the outside and from what he had seen, she was someone who was fearful and much of the follower type, but she was brave enough to invade his personal space; a move which would have got her killed if he wasn’t dazing off. The only person he generally let within that close distance was Kitty, and she was nowhere in sight. This woman here was new to Saber. He had no previous experience with her and she was a face he had never even seen or heard of. That was the downside to being a higher level. Saber lost touch with all of the lower leveled players and further separated himself from the world. It was difficult as a Guild Leader to do such a thing, but if he didn’t then he wouldn’t level or get the equipment he needed. Yet he was starting to find time for the youngin’s, which was good. And much like now with Artemisia, he was learning how they thought about the world they were in.

As he stood there and stared at the Kobold, the time for judgment ticked nearer until the bell finally sounded. Off to Saber’s right, Artemisia stepped forward. She walked without a word and both of the frozen beings looked over to her. Saber raised his eyebrows, curious as to why she was moving. The Kobold whimpered. The woman took a decent number of steps to reach them, and she actually did, to Saber’s surprise. He half expected her to shout her answer to him. Seeing her walk right up to him and the Kobold was different, and he tightened the grip on his dagger to ensure the Kobold didn’t move. It squirmed a little and gripped onto the floor as Artemisia made her decision; death.

She lifted her staff, keyed a magical skill, and then performed a small scene before the two other beings. Harold, in the background, tilted his lamp shade and stared at Artemisia as she twisted the staff around. Saber wiggled his nose at the smell of the flames which had begun to burn at the bottom of the swirling staff. A moment later, the magical girl shoved the staff into the Kobold. It let out a hard cough upon impact and stared at its actual killer, the image of her face burning into its memory as its final moment passed. Within seconds, the Kobold was turned into pixels and the room fell silent. Saber waited for a moment, mostly for his rewards to come up, and watched as Artemisia turned to him. Well, at least she wasn’t a wimp.

Not even a second later after Saber’s rewards appeared, Artemisia’s body started to glow a little and her level went up a digit; from one to two. The Assassin nodded lightly, mainly to himself, in recognition of the fact that she had not only shown herself to him, but had become a little stronger in the process. With that in mind, Saber tucked his previous view of her into a box. Artemisia had first come off as a bubbly airhead, and she still was a little. However, at least she was willing to prove her worth and actually do stuff rather than sit back and just watch. What helped was that she also had the mindset and the will to kill; most newer players had trouble with that for they were more afraid of death and dying than anything else. Very few people were like Saber when he started. He embraced the world and ran solo, just like he does now. He had no fear of the world around him and immediately got to work leveling when he spawned in. “No rest for the weary” he had told himself, and now he was level ninety. Artemisia was a kind person, and he doubted she had the mental set and the physical drive that he had, so her leveling would be slower. But she would do well. She had a personality; he didn’t.

“Don’t thank me. I didn’t do a thing.” Saber huffed towards the blonde as she spoke to him and turned away from her, his feet already moving as he headed towards why he had come down from the cliff in the first place.. He sheathed his dagger and waved Harold, along with the toaster, over to follow him. Harold nodded and began to hop along to catch up with his owner, the toaster waddling right along behind it. As Saber began to approach the pile of appliances he noticed the other ones, which had been being herded, start to approach their fallen comrades. The Assassin rumbled a little in his throat as he expected confrontation, but was pleasantly surprised when he was not bothered by the oven, refridgerator, and crockpot that he walked by. They simply stared at him, their electronics fizzing with joy as their “savior” walked by them. Saber rumbled again.

“What I’m looking for isn’t the pile itself, but what’s in the pile.” Saber knelt down beside the appliances and looked at the huge collection. He sighed and looked over his shoulder towards Harold, waving the little lamp forward.

“Harold, light it up as much as you can.” As he spoke, the Assassin pointed at the pile. In order to not be blinded, he turned his head away from the little lamp after he gave his order. Harold nodded and hopped over to the left so that he could get the best angle on the pile.

“With pleasure, Mister Saber!” As he finished speaking, Harold activated the highest level of brightness on his bulb and brought the sun into the pit. The entire side of the pile was illuminated and gave Saber a great view of the contents. Now that he could see, Saber actually started to reach in and grab. First, he pulled out the little machines and started to break them open.

“If you wish to help me, Artemisia, start grabbing and breaking open the little toys and appliances. I need wires, circuit boards, heating coils, processor units, light bulbs, aluminum sheets, pilot lights, and power bricks. If you find an oven, look for its heating source; gas or electric. If it’s gas, find the tank. Don’t move it, just find it and remember where it is. I’ll grab it later. Avoid rust, please.” While he gave his instructions to Artemisia, Saber yanked apart the body of another, dead, toaster. Inside of the metallic carcass, he could see the exposed wiring and the warming coils which the object once used to heat food. Saber separated the internals from the wall and summoned forth his screw driver to remove the little bits he could not move by hand. Once it was in pieces, Saber deposited the heating coils, screws, and the wires all into his inventory. He marked all of the items and organized them as much as possible. Then, he slid the mutilated item out of the way and went on to the next thing… He had a lot to go through.

: Post Title :
-Getting the Hands Dirty-

: Word Count :
1515

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, @sugarygiggles

: Notes :
Time to actually get things~

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

The assassin she had met to had little to say about her decision to choose death for the remaining Kobold. She was, admittedly, curious about his thoughts on the matter but the little she had gotten to know him gave her the impression that he was not one to be overly verbose in regards to his thoughts and feelings. Perhaps one day, when they knew each other a little better, he would open up to her and let her in on things. As her heartbeat slowed from the excitement of leveling, Artemisia turned her head up towards Saber, who was walking away from her.

Curious, she trotted after him, listening to him as he spoke. When he reached the pile, he kneeled down beside it and explained it wasn’t necessarily this particular pile, but rather what the pile was made of. Looking at it closer, Artemisia could see it was a tower of discarded appliances of all sorts. Several of the appliances, like Harold and the perverted toaster were still alive, and we were watching the two Adventures with a cautious respect. The sorcerer and assassin had helped them but there was no promise that they would not turn on the appliances for some reason.

After a quick request from Saber, Harold illuminated the entire area, casting a bright light on the pile. The high leveled player spoke her name again, drawing her attention back to him. The first few words out of his mouth, an offer for her to help him, were enough to immediately pique her interest. Anyway she could be useful was something she wanted to know more about. As he spoke, he began dismantling a toaster. He quickly dissembled it, prying out the parts he felt were useful and discarding the rest. Honestly, she felt worse for the unmoving toaster than she ever had for the terrified Kobold from earlier. Artemisia nodded along with Sabers instructions, mentally chalking up the things he was looking for… she didn't know what all of it was, like power bricks, but she understood enough of it that she had a starting place.

The petite blonde stepped a few feet away from Saber, kneeling down next to a different section of the pile and grabbed the first items her little hands touched. She looked down at it curiously, it appeared to be a blender. The glass had been cracked down the middle and the top cover was missing. A bit of dust had collected inside on the blade. “Um… how do I….?” She didn't have any tools like Saber did and her strength stat was surely not comparable to his, so prying it apart without any assistance was unlikely. Artemisia shrugged, unscrewed the glass half and set it aside gently. Well, there was one option she could try… She raised the solid base a few feet into the air and brought it crashing down onto the solid ground at her feet. It clanked loudly, sending unpleasant vibrations back through her fingers, hands and arms.

Much to her surprise, the base cracked, splitting apart just enough for her to get her fingers in there. With a little effort, she managed to yank it in half, exposing the insides. I really don’t know what I’m looking for… She looked at the tightly compacted parts, her fox tail swishing back and forth as she debated on how to handle this. Without much to go on, she started pulling out everything she could, laying the parts down on the ground neatly. She would just pile everything up and allow Saber to go through it when he was done.

With the blender successfully separated, Artemisia reached out and grabbed another item. This time, it was a lamp. Feeling a little bad about it, because Harold was right there, the blonde unscrewed the light bulb and shook it lightly. It wasn’t burnt out from the sound of it so she added it to her ‘for Saber’ pile. “So, hey?” Artemisia leaned back a little to see Saber around the pile. She didn’t wait for him to respond or acknowledge her. It didn't seem likely she would get a verbal response to her calling out to him so she continued with her question. “What’s it like being a high leveled player like you?” She yanked on the power cord of the lamp as she spoke. “I mean, you must get to see so many things outside the city! Do you party up with people a lot or are you in a guild or anything?” Her ears were perked straight up, waiting to hear if he would answer her. Determined to keep her hands just as busy as her mouth, the sorceress continued to take apart the lamp, separating it out bit by bit.

----
Notes: ---
Words: 795
Tags: Saber

[Saber]

[attr="class","quest"]

-|-Quest-|-

Saber needs power sources and electrical equipment for research. Find "Primitive Tech GR-1" monsters and dissect them!

Party:
-Saber - 90 - Assassin
-@sugarygiggles- 1 - Sorcerer

Do you believe in ghosts?

The next item Saber snagged was a small cassette player; something that one couldn’t even find in the real world. It was such a rare and useless item because of technology that there was most likely a pile of them in some garbage heap somewhere on the planet. To see one here was quite surprising, but it didn’t bother Saber in the least. Though, it was also quite useless to him. Due to how the player was made, dissecting the device would prove useless to him. Yet, that did not mean it was one-hundred percent trash. To many other players and most People of the Land it would have seemed that way, like a useless object with no function, but for Saber it was something he could use. If not now, he could use it later. If his current plan for things went right, the cassette player would be a valuable item. So, Saber deposited the entire thing into his inventory. Then, he moved on.

As he did so, he heard a loud bang. Said bang caused Saber to sit upright and then he turned to his right towards the sound. Just on the other side of the pile, he could see Artemisia’s pig tails. His nose wiggled and he peaked over to see what she was up to. To his surprise, he saw that she was actually helping and was taking apart a blender. The bang must have been her trying to break it open or something, so Saber didn’t question what the sound was. Instead, he nodded and returned to his own objective; dig. With Harold providing the bright light, Saber dug through the pile of appliances and tossed much of the useless little toys and other petty things out of his way. A lot of the toys were pretty useless. Their joints were rusted, some broken off, and their wiring ends were going bad. A lot of the stuff Saber was looking for required protection from the elements, so he looked more for things with hard cases and sealed ends. Eventually, he found himself yanking open the door of an oven; he wanted the lightbulb.

As he was leaning inside, he heard Artemisia speak. The Assassin wiggled around inside of the dead oven and made himself comfortable before he started to work at the back of it, his screwdriver twisting at the plus-topped screws. Though, as he twisted and turned, he found himself grunting as he fought against rusted parts. He took a moment to breathe after he pulled one of the many screws out and was about to respond to Artemisia, basically to acknowledge that he had heard her, but she began to speak before he could. It made him grimace, but that was fine. It wasn’t like he was ignoring her or not paying attention. Though, her question made him pause.

He honestly never had thought about it, being a high level that is. He had reached level ninety so quickly that it didn’t really matter to him. Sure, he was able to fight big beasts and wander around without a care in the world, but it wasn’t like he was a celebrity or anything. He kept to himself most of the time and just enjoyed the world he lived in. Once he hit level ninety, he actually did the opposite of what Artemisia said; he stopped seeing things. With the need to level up out of the way, Saber was able to focus on his own health more, people he cared about, his Guild, and the world itself. Before he barely had time to do anything because he was constantly grinding, but now he was just living. Within a month, he was already nearing the top; the border of his leveling capabilities. It was so fast that he stopped thinking about it, until he finally hit it and could breathe.

“I guess you could say that it’s pretty comfortable, really.” Saber let out a grunt as he forced a screw to twist; causing rust to rain out of the hole it was nestled in to. The man rumbled a little and continued to work on it.

“I used to travel around London and fought for days on end. I hardly ate, slept, or really did much beside fight. I had a system for it and stuck to it. I kept to myself, never gave up, and never stopped. Once I got into the higher levels, I left London and went to other zones and cities.” As Saber spoke, he took out the remaining screws that he could see and started to take apart the inside of the oven, removing the heat shields from the coils on the other side. Once they were exposed to him, he started to work at taking them out as well. These he actually needed. The heat shields were just pieces of metal, so he threw those out of the oven and out into the room.

“I fought a lot of big scary things, saw creepy dungeons, ran around in caves, and performed some weird quests. I did get the chance to meet a lot of the NPCs that you would never find in the city too. I’ve actually been to a few villages where I was the first Adventurer to ever show—neep—up.” The head of a screw twisted in place as Saber spoke, causing the driver to slip. Though, he shoved the head back into the slow and pushed, hard. The pressure and the slow turning allowed for enough grip, and helped spin the screw. Saber rumbled, but kept talking.

“Some of the NPCs liked me, one thought I was some divine messenger because I killed a monster that was eating his Goats. You would honestly be surprised how little we matter in this world… It’s almost like we’re some kind of invading species. Made me question myself a little.” What Saber didn’t say, as he gave his little speech, was that Saber was seeing all of this while his mind was on the brink of completely shattering apart. Yes, he had indeed left London at a high level, but it was at a time where he was on the brink of mental shutdown. He was not in the right of mind. There were a lot of blank spots as he recalled his travels from his memory, and the things he did remember were but flashes. It made him frown.

“Now I pretty much just wander around and do whatever I feel like doing. I do a lot of crafting, research, and I do a lot of reading. I actually was reading before I came here. You would be surprised at the kind of knowledge some of the people had before we showed up.” The stubborn screw he was working at finally came out, and dropped into his hand. The Assassin threw it out the mouth of the oven as its head was far too stripped to be of use. He continued on to the next one without missing a beat.

“And I do have a Guild. I’m a Guild Leader, actually. It's not much of a Guild at the moment because of it having only a few members, but it’s something that keeps me busy. I’ve also got a few underlings that I’m trying to help along and I hope my guidance gets them to their own goals. Though, I’m not much of a teacher so it’ll be pretty difficult. I learned to survive by having it beat in to me. Can’t exactly do that to every person I meet…” Saber chuckled a little, the thought of smacking some random player upside the head while trying to teach him how to use a bow stuck in his mind. As he laughed at it, the heating coils began to come apart. One by one, Saber slid them out of the oven.

“Why do you ask? Curiousity?” The last coil came out after Saber tugged on it with a little extra force, but once he had it he was out. The man slipped down the bottom of the oven and sat up on the door. He sent all of the coils into his inventory and huffed, twirling the screwdriver he held. This was going to take forever if he went one by one. Though, it was a gold mine. He was finding a lot of useful things for future research. At the current pace, he could be here for a few days… He needed to find some way to focus himself.

: Post Title :
-Illuminating History-

: Word Count :
1423

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, @sugarygiggles

: Notes :
Conversation~

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

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[Deleted]

Her green eyes drifted over, peeking around the pile again as she set down the final parts of the lamp she was dissembling. She could just barely see the assassin struggling inside an oven. She couldn’t help but laugh quietly at the sight of such a powerful man rolling around inside a beat up stove in the middle of an underground dungeon of sorts. Somehow, the scene was amusing to the fox tail. She turned her eyes back to the pile and reached out, her fingers smacking off the first thing she touched. It was a plastic looking handle but the rest was partially buried. She brushed off a few bits of random scrap, unveiling the microwave bit by bit.

She yanked on the slightly large appliance and after a moment it came loose, almost causing her to tumble over herself when it suddenly released. Regaining her balance, she heard Sabers voice as he began to respond to her inquiry. In between his words, she could hear him struggling with the oven he had found. Artemisia turned her green eyes down to her own problem… how was she going to even begin to take apart a microwave? She had never even considered what the inside of a microwave looked like but she had to assume there was something of use in there. Frowning, she tapped on the hard outer casing and opened the door. As she continued to inspect the microwave for any weak point she could start from, Saber continued speaking. Her blonde fox ears turned in his direction, allowing her to hear him better.

His words were interesting to her because they were so different than what she had experienced up until this point. Where it sounded like he had immediately challenged himself and gone off to see what was out there, she had stayed inside the town and turned her eyes away from the potential out there and of herself. It was such a stark difference, his world and hers up until this point. It was a bit amazing to her that they had still managed to converge on this same moment, despite the differences in their pasts. Just goes to show you how one little choice can change your life forever…

Frustrated with the microwave, she picked it up and set it behind her, entirely intact. Without any sort of tools, there was nothing she could do with it. Maybe the assassin would be able to do something with it later, should he find it necessary. She allowed herself a peek at Saber again and smiled, what was probably just a passing encounter to this person was the beginning of everything for her. Her life in Elder Tale would never be the same, she knew there was no way she could go back to the town and continue with how she had been. Her fingers plunged into the pile again and this time she found something a bit easier to manage – a toaster. Given what the previous toaster had put her through, she didn't feel bad prying the metal apart and exposing the heating elements inside.

Saber’s story was longer than she expected and she was thankful he was willing to talk to her. She remained silent the entire time, taking in each word and considering it carefully. When he got to the part about having a Guild, her tail perked up and swished, betraying her curiosity and interest easily. She took a deep breath and focused herself, continuing to place the toaster into the different piles of parts she was creating. A Guild leader… She couldn't decide if this information was obvious or surprising to her. The assassin did not seem like the type to enjoy large groups or dealing with unnecessary trouble, so having to look after a guild seemed out of place… but at the same time, as gruff as he had been about it, he had never left her behind even though he easily could have. Even at the ledge of the pit they were in now, he had voluntarily dragged her down here and included her in the fight. He said he wasn't much of a teacher and in some ways, she could agree with this… but he had already opened her eyes to so many things, there was no way he wasn't influencing others, even without meaning to.

“I guess you could say its curiosity…” She moved on from the toaster and grabbed the next thing out of the pile, working on it as she spoke. “I don’t think you’re a bad teacher, by the way. Sometimes a bit of tough love is the best way,” She smiled in Sabers direction and then turned her gaze back to the appliance she was dismantling. “Your story is very different than mine, I think it's very interesting. Even though we've been in this world the same amount of time, this is my first time leaving the town but you probably guessed that. I want to go and see all of the things you have seen and more. I’m sure you have plenty you can share with the world and I want to be able to say that too,” She paused for a moment and bit her lip as she considered her next words. He had rejected her friend request earlier, so she had no reason to think any further requests to get closer to him would be accepted… but, she wasn't the type to just roll over and give up.

“If-” Her voice shook as she spoke the first word but she swallowed and continued, much more clearly this time. “If you’d have someone like me, I would be interested in this guild of yours… I want to join or at least learn more about it,” Her cheeks flushed lightly as she waited for the rejection that was sure to come. “I’m sure I can help out somehow and I think I can still learn a lot from you…!” She looked up and over to Saber, her green eyes determined despite the pink in her cheeks. “Would that be okay with you?” Hopefully she had shown him enough of her potential, enough of the inner strength she had that he wouldn't immediately just scoff and reject her without any consideration.

---
Notes: Better late than never~
Words: 1042
Tags: Saber

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

Saber opened up his menu and switched over to his inventory. Once it opened up and all of his crap appeared in front of him, the Assassin scrolled through it to quickly get a tally on the materials he had gathered so far. To his surprise, the few bits from the smaller items and the heating coils from the oven were quite expansive. The game piled a lot of the small things together and simplified Saber’s collection. He didn’t have much more to get, if anything at all. The object Saber was creating didn’t need a lot, but he would need a lot to work with if he wanted to replace everything he would use. Wires would be easy as long as he had the right material; copper for the most part. Due to its conductivity, copper would make a good choice for creating an electrical pathway. Though, in the future Saber would have to look into other materials. He needed flexible and sturdy cables that were extremely conductive. The less energy he wasted, the better.

Pushing himself up off the oven’s door, Saber turned around and rammed his screw driver into the top of it. With a hard bash and rip in a few places, the Assassin tore off the top of the oven and exposed the stovetop’s internals. A lot more wires and heating springs showed themselves to the player and he greedily sucked them into his inventory. As he did, Artemisia began to respond to him. She didn’t seem like the adventurous type, nor did she seem like a person who could keep their bearings. She had ended up lost and didn’t think to use her map. Though, Saber had done that a few times but that was mainly when he wanted to be lost. Losing his direction generally led Saber to new areas that he normally wouldn’t have gone to. His eyes were glued to maps usually when he had to be someplace, but in dungeons? In dungeons all he had to do was clear them. As long as he didn’t end up double tracing his steps, he was usually fine.

What he didn’t expect though, was Artemisia to stick herself out into the wind; she asked him to join his Guild. The Assassin paused for a moment and then glanced over his shoulder towards where she was sitting. He then looked back towards Harold. The lamp didn’t move, as his light didn’t wiggle or anything. After a few moments of staring, Harold’s status window appeared and Saber let out a rumble; he was asleep. The bastard had locked his bolts, froze himself in place, and went to sleep. He left the Assassin to his conversation and bailed. The player’s rumbling turned into a growl and he handed another cluster of wires out of the stove. It wasn’t much of a difficult conversation and Saber wasn’t extremely bothered by it, but a little advice from the lampshade would have been nice.

Though, it wasn’t up to Harold to make any kind of decision. As Artemisia finished speaking, Saber finished dismantling the stovetop. It was barren of wires, heating coils, and the copper rods which supported its walls. With that done, Saber hopped backwards off the pile of stuff and then made his way over to where the Sorcerer was. He noticed she was looking at him, but he only made eye contact with her for a few moments before kneeling down and glancing over what she had gathered. Much of it he could use, and he sent those items to his inventory. However, others were useless for the moment. He reorganized those items and cast a few pieces into the pile of junk. Some things he could find uses for, and he kept those. All the while, Saber considered Artemisia’s words. It was a pretty tough choice to accept her, but it wouldn’t exactly bother him if she was a part of his Guild.

In the battle, she had attempted to fight even with her low level and she was helping him dig. Though, she was quite useless beside that. She had ended up lost after attempting to party up with a group of other players and wandered into the cave even when they hadn’t shown up. She was impatient, lacked the knowledge to use her map, and probably could have used her Call of Home skill to get out of the tunnel. She could fight and had the will to kill if she was asked to do it, but the fact that she seemed like a bit of an airhead was the main concern for Saber. His Guild wasn’t large, probably one of the smaller ones, but he didn’t mind it. He enjoyed having a smaller group of people he could focus on and build up. Well, what did he have to lose…? Saber already had a bunch of resources and she had helped him.

“If you wish to join, then I won’t tell you no. You’ve helped me enough and I think I can help you along as well.” Saber returned to his feet and extended his hand towards Artemisia, expressing that he would help her back to her feet.

“We’re done. I’ve got what I need.” Once Artemisia was up on her feet, whether by his help or not, Saber turned towards Harold and kicked a small piece of metal at the lamp. It missed, but scratched the ground beside the lamp and caused it to stir. Harold jerked away and let out a wail of fright as it hopped back. Saber smirked as Harold ended up tripping himself over the toaster, which had nestled in behind the lamp. The lamp slammed onto the ground and lay there, its light burning at the ceiling. After a frew moments, words scrolled across Saber’s screen.

“I assume it’s time to leave?” Harold spoke, his wording flat and unflavored. Saber chuckled to himself and walked over to the two appliances. He unwrapped the cord he had tied the toaster up in and then placed the little creature down onto the ground. It let out a wiggle and then hopped a few paces back, but stared towards Saber. The Assassin waved the little appliance off and then lifted Harold onto its base. Once they were set, Saber opened up his menu and sent Artemisia a Guild Invitation, but not a friend request. Then, she shifted to his map. He rumbled a little at the sight of the distance to the surface and didn’t exactly feel like trekking it all the way.

“Let’s get going. I’ve got some other things I have to do today.” Saber addressed his lamp and Harold nodded his lampshade in response. The Assassin snagged the little machine by its base and lifted it up, tossing the lamp up into the air briefly before casting him away into the abyss, much like a summon. Then, he turned around to Artemisia.

“I’m going to be using my Call to Home skill to head back to the surface, and I suggest you do that same. It is the easiest way to get out of a pinch, or if you’re lazy like I am sometimes.” Before he hit the skill, the Assassin bowed his head slightly.

“Thank you for your help today, Sorcerer. I do appreciate it. Do you have any questions before I depart?” Saber stood back up and placed his hands on the hilts of his swords, resting back on his heels as he looked towards the Sorcerer.

: Post Title :
-Cleaning Up-

: Word Count :
1253

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, @sugarygiggles

: Notes :
---

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M