[May 3,12:45 pm, in the real world]
Marlowe, the Cerulean saintess' fate shook the player's souls in shock. Her passing had varied reactions. Some had their heartstrings plucked, some were strummed but most, if not all, were tugged. Yet, all played the same note: Grief, added with blurry visions and slurred speeches of lament. Even Danōki stepped away from the crowd, trying to wipe his tears away.
'Man, who wrote those backstories? I wanna meet'em and thank'em!' Dan was teetering between his appraisal for the stories and his itchy nose, when he heard a sunny greeting beside him.
It was the bystander who helped him with the first-aid. She gestured his injury with concern by tapping her nose.
"It's fine right now. You did a great job, by the way! Only it itches though..." Dan assured her.
"Glad to hear it, thanks!" She smiled brightly, taking pride in her little deed. "By the way, that Seoi-nage was pretty good. Almost made me shout 'Ippon!!'. Where did you learn it?"
"Se-wha'?" Dan tilted his head aside in confusion.
"Oh, that shoulder throw?" The bystander gestured the judo technique, to which Dan understood immediately.
"Oohhh... my cousin taught me that." Dan shone with pride for his cousin Junkitsu, albeit with mixed emotions.
"Oh~, that's great! Which level is he in, then? Ikkyū (1st Kyū) , Shodan (1st Dan) , Nidan (2nd Dan)? What is it~?" Her burgundy eyes kindled curiously. Although Dan was initially hesitant for smothering her excitement, a few memories from the past jolted him to change plans.
"Godan (5th Dan). Weight class, height, age--- nothing matters to him, for all are equal under his throws and blows. He's basically undisputed in our dōjō back in hometown." Dan set up a snare for Jun for a payback with interest.
"Knew it! I can't wait to spar with him!" The Judoka pumped her fists in the air with enthusiastic anticipation. "By the way, take this. I'm free in the weekends, so call me beforehand, okay?" Dan accepted her visiting card and was about to glance on the details when the Judoka pulled him to the V-Sphere for Junkitsu's gameplay.
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[May 3, 12:55 pm, in the game world]
[Mokkun/Kingumo's POV]
"Okay, brother, one last--- OOWWW!!!" One of my tail feathers was in between Jun's fingers, his frown spoke for what he did to me. "Why did you do that?! It hurts, y'know?"
"That's the point. Besides, this is the 14th time you're about to explain the strategy and I'm sick of it!" Brother Jun's annoyance was pretty valid, and I can't blame him for my nuisance.
"Sorry for being too careful but, we've come too far to lose it all. You do remember that you can't return to this dungeon, right? Right?!"
"Jeez, kid. As far as I can understand, this level is pretty easy. I say we can cruise through this boss fight!" His optimistic smile does not help my nerves in the slightest.
'Haha, he basically jinxed us... Hahaha, we're going to die...'
"Hey, King, we got this. Now, let's go!" After cementing the omen, Brother Jun entered the portal like the happy-go-lucky daredevil he was, leaving me behind. With few deep breaths, I mustered my courage and entered the next floor.
Before me spanned a wide, sandy plain of clouds with thick, rotating cloud walls arranged in congruent circles. At the centre of this level stands the Spire of the Cathedral, where it's easy to get lost, flying above the clouds invites danger and the platform would dissolve, leaving no chance to retrace your steps. Basically, this is a foggy labyrinth in the sky, where Death kicks you in the gut without rhyme or reason.
After carefully gliding across the plain, I found the key of our first Task: a turquoise-shelled egg. I hope Jun found his egg. The eggs act as compasses that will help players including me get to the Spire, the only safe zone in this floor.
Injecting the egg with aura will make the shell glow, lighting up the path. But this is also a double-edged sword as this process also functions as incubation. Once the threshold has been crossed, the egg will hatch into a chick, thereby alerting the bosses lurking in this floor. In short, Jun and I must be careful in stealthy navigation.
After following the lit path, I found a gap in the cloud wall in front of me and wasted no time moving through it. One second late and I'd end up in a different place as the cloud walls fold space itself, making them act as portals too.
Blowing the cloud walls with my wind was not an option. I learnt it the hard way when I broke the floor and my teammate fell through, costing us a past run. That time, my reward was a pile of degrading insults over that mistake for about 20 minutes and low pay.
Halfway towards my destination, the worst-case scenario came true. The egg hatched, leaving me with a little Quetzal chick, chirping loudly, maybe for food, I guess. This attracted the boss nearby and pushed me into a chase.
Gales of wind blew me away, disturbing my bearing and breaking the floor beneath as a giant, green Quetzal was tailing behind me, with frenzied hunger. I barely juggled with evading the boss's attack and lightning bolts, while protecting the chick. My luck ran out after getting tightly cornered.
With one last look at its black eyes of starvation, I steeled myself to protect the chick at the cost of my life, when a miracle shone upon us. The quetzal was blasted by a headbutt from a giant crow, the second boss of this level. It looked like it was struggling to get free from some sort of control. On a closer look, I saw Jun playing rodeo with the crow and forced the bosses into a brawl. Behind the brawl opened a huge path leading straight to the Spire.
"[Zero-D Arrow]!" Taking advantage of this and thanking him in my heart, I zoomed across the wreckage with all I got and shot myself into the Spire. 'Finally... Safe!'
The quetzal chick whistled happily on sensing the atmosphere around us. Even though the chicks are programmed to be a pain in the neck, I still can't bring myself to hate them. I mean, the quetzal looks so adorable! At times, I wished the quetzal could be my pet but all I can do right now is play until I'm satisfied.
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[Jōbun/Junkitsu's POV]
'Welp, time for a tactical retreat.' "Yaahhh!" I reined back the crow after thoroughly thrashing the giant quetzal and pulled into the sky. I returned to the Spire after forcing it to 'escort' me. Jumping down, I rappelled down using the water shawl I got from the previous level, I entered the Spire.
At one corner sat King, playing with a green chick like there's no tomorrow. In fact, he's so engrossed in his babysitting that he couldn't hear my calls.
"Ahh, brother! Glad to see you're okay!" King finally noticed me and tucked the chick away. His relief over this ordeal got him buckling under with fatigue.
Gaining a second wind, he shot me down with questions, rapid-fire style, to which I answered as quick as possible. It was about trivial things like surviving the boss, getting to the safe zone first, pitting the giant birds against each other and so on.
"Looks like you found another use for Marlowe's shawl, huh."
"Yeah, I never expected a cloth turning into a weapon. How did that happen?"
"Well, that's the beauty of the system. The items from the dungeons are pretty flexible, in the sense that players' versatility and ingenuity are taken into account. Even rookies and noobs can turn the tide of any raid with just scraps looted from the shittiest dungeon ever."
"Sweet..." Maybe I can dabble into some alchemy or crafting after this. If I play my cards right in the near future, I can kill two birds with one stone: custom items and cash.
"Brother, where's the other one?" King reminded me about the crow chick. It nearly slipped my mind.
"Oh, he's up somewhere." My caws are embarrassingly awful. Being a fox, my vocal cords aren't just built for it. Finally, black feathers drifted down like snowflakes as the crow chick zoomed down and landed on my head.
Suddenly, the quetzal chick became lively on seeing the crow and both of them started to dance on the floor. This scene looks peacefully wholesome with King and I enjoying it. Soon, the chicks engulfed in light and swirled around while they continued to dance happily until they went out in a bang. In their place lied two beautifully decorated ornamental rings. One is turquoise and the other is black opal or pearl.
King's face was fraught with distraught on witnessing the chicks' fate. Naturally, I also don't know if this has to take place. I guess this is something we understand in common, seeing that this is the first time he managed to survive to coop up in this safe zone.
"I don't understand... why did they... WHY?"
"I think you're overreacting for two chicks who are responsible for our near-death experiences."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Well, sorry that I can't give up on them! I was really looking forward to making them my pets or familiars..."
"I get about the familiars, but pets?"
"Haha, that's just outside lingo. The proper term within the game is 'Parent'. Yeah, I wanna be a dad..." I have neither words nor tact to perk his sulking feathers up. I mean, how can I do that when I don't know to express emotions in the first place?
Also, him wanting to be a parent is pretty weird, in my opinion. Maybe, there's a feature in this game that I've yet to know.
Still, I have to know what to do from here on out and picked up the rings. On a closer look, the rings share pretty intricate designs and endearing engravings addressed to each other. This means the birds outside are maybe related to each other that my teammate and I yet to uncover. This may be the key to draw out the true bosses.
"King, I have a question. Why do the birds try to eat the eggs or the chicks?"
"I don't know the reason behind it but, if either of the birds managed to eat them, then the entire level would blow up. Game over." He let out a huge sigh. I guess I can understand how he lost a couple of times. His teammates weren't fast or good enough to keep the babies safe. But the bosses exploding like a nuke by eating the chicks... this is interesting. Another clue found.
"King, I have a plan, and you won't like it."
"What do you mean?"
"You're gonna be bird bait."
"No! Absolutely not! Those things out there are humongous! Not to mention, the quetzal spits out lightning! I can't get near it without becoming a rotisserie!"
"That's why I'd handle the Quetzal and you handle the Crow. At the right time, you pop the ring into its mouth and escape."
"Then, what about you?!"
"No worries! My part will be done soon."
"Don't underestimate that creature! The longer the stalling, the more irritated it gets and lashes out stronger attacks! With that said, watch out and be careful!"
"Yeah, yeah, tell me something new..."
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[Mokkun/Kingumo's POV]
Man, this guy's really carefree and reckless and it's not doing good for my mind! Not to mention, about half of my strategies are gone with the wind, thanks to his stunt a while ago. Not that I'm not grateful for it. Still, couldn't he try to make some efforts to at least pretend he has caution?!
'Ugh, this is giving me a headache... I swear, I'll blow my damn lid off if he ruins my plans one more---'
"Yo, King, I'll repeat again. You get the Crow and I get the Quetzal. The crow's pretty stupid, since he is a windy brute. With your powers, you can give a run for his money. Chop chop, bro!" After finishing his bit, he jumped out with the green ring, while I'm staring at the black ring, contemplating about my situation.
But hold on... why do I feel threatened when Jun is just lending me a helping hand? Why am I being hostile to him? It doesn't make any sense...
'Ahhh, just forget it! Brother Jun needs me! I must play my part now!' With that said, I flew outside the Spire and saw Jun already engaging with the Quetzal. From what I can understand, he managed to gain the upper hand and is now standing his ground against it. There's no opening for the boss to dish out any counter at all!
Meanwhile, I need to check where the Crow is. Seconds later, a thundering caw boomed across the sky. The dark clouds could not even muffle the caw's loudness. Below me, a giant shadow gave away the Crow's ambush from above, which I dodged away.
Between its wing slaps and wind attacks, I painstakingly dodged and parried, injuring it to some extent. Fortunately, it got thoroughly mad. Now, the plan is ready.
Metaphorically speaking, I'm covered in berry sauce and made myself look appetizing. The Crow roared in hunger and started to chase me. After zooming around and tiring it significantly, I then lured it towards where Jun is stalling.
By the time I arrived, Jun was on the Quetzal's neck, riding rodeo and plucking feathers. It's safe to say that he's been doing this for awhile.
"Brother! Ready!"
My screams reached out to him and he became serious in an instant. He rappelled down from the Quetzal via the shawl, while throttling its neck down and stuck the landing. I threw the ring into its open beak, fulfilling my part. Finally, we're going to win or so I thought. The Crow which was hot on my tail had its beak open wide to swallow me whole.
The sudden shock paralysed my senses, shackling me in place, forcing me to accept my doom, when I was wrapped around with water and pulled back away from the Crow.
In a split second, Jun protected me from the Crow while shooting the ring into its throat, dodging away to safety. The birds collided into each other, which let out a big, bright light; dark clouds spawned and spanned around, swirling with increasing speed.
From the obscuring clouds, we could see the Karmic Beasts emerging out of the birds. Those things are pretty menacing to look in the eye. Not sure what's going to happen after this.
"King, puff out the smoke! I can't see a damn thing!"
"Got it, brother! [Gale Arrow]!"
I shot a big arrow to disperse the clouds, revealing the Beasts clearly, who are clearly not friendly toward us. The Crow shot a bunch of feathers at us, before Jun stepped in and blocked them with the shawl. He swiftly jumped in the air, threw the shawl's ends and lassoed the Beasts' necks, yanking them away from the unconscious birds.
"King, get those guys to safety! Pull them away!" Jun was struggling to free the birds from the Beasts, despite his strength. It's still not enough, they are still stronger. Rather, I forgot they're still superior in every way because of him. I grew complacent, dropped my guard down.
Ignoring my thoughts, I swooped in, grabbed the birds by the talons and slowly dragged them. Suddenly, Jun yelled out a warcry and yanked the Beasts away with his last bit of might, apparently. He knelt down in exhaustion, panting his fatigue out.
The birds and the Beasts are freed but it's not over yet. As I was helping Jun get back on his feet, the Beasts started to fuse together, prepping for the first phase of the true boss fight. But the visual aesthetics of their transforming is... fucking gross!
And that's coming from me, a guy whose tongue tingles at the thought of using foul language! Seriously, of all the things, an extreme French kiss?! Not only that, the tongues go through the holes in their faces, stitching each other together crudely and assimilating in a grotesque way. I hope the game company censors this atrocity, because this is... Ugghhh~
Jun and I can't help but rub our eyes in disgust, hoping to burn out the memory from our minds.
"I need some Holy Bleach for my eyes--- my god! That's nasty!!" Jun couldn't have said any better as he was rolling on the clouds. I wish I could curl into a ball somewhere.
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[May 3, 1:00 pm, in the real world]
Danōki was rubbing his eyes vigorously, screaming for bleach, just like his friends inside the game as the boss was transforming and the Judoka was trying to catch her breath, struggling to stop her laughter at this hilarious scene.
"Man, that was funny. Gross but funny." She was tittering, while helping Danōki get up from the floor. They seperated from the crowd and sat on a bench, soaking in the tranquility.
"I know it's late but I'm Beniken Kaede. Nice to meet you!" She introduced herself.
"Kobayashi Danōki." He extended his hand, to which she grabbed and shook with playful frenzy. Danōki was shaking from the aftermath but his blank giggles said otherwise.
Danōki and Kaede went on with their conversation about their hobbies and likes, developing their friendship. He learned about how she's a rising star in the Judo world and her daily life in Kogane Koen, the district which he's staying in. Kaede enjoyed talking with him and offered to take him on a sightseeing tour around the district.
"Is it okay if I invite my friend too? He's also new to this place as well." Danōki requested to extend her invitation.
"Oh, sure! The more the merrier. Besides, it's fun to have a chat with another big fish in a small pond, you know!" Danōki was grinning in his mind about his surprise for Jun. 'I can't wait to see the look on his face on looking what's in store for him, hahaha!'
"Even King should join us too."
"King? Who might that be?" Kaede felt confused on hearing the name. Being an outgoing resident in the district, she knew almost everyone here, so she felt a little bit awkward about leaving someone to be unknown.
"Kingumo! You haven't heard of him?" Danōki's eyes lit up on mentioning his name, showing his happiness for making his first friend outside his hometown. Hearing this, Kaede's mood turned sour.
"Kobayashi-san, I'd avoid him if I were you." She advised him in a stern voice. Her friendly nature turned cold and a bit defensive.
Being thoroughly confused, Danōki tried to pry further into her instructions. After a bit of nudging, Kaede spoke reluctantly.
"As a gambler, Kingumo tarnished the reputation of our place. He's also a lying cheat who has the audacity to plead insanity. That guy's the worst. I feel disgusted for being his friend." Her eyes burned with scornful hate for King, muttering with harsh words.
Danōki was filled with disbelief on hearing such news from her. He was tempted to disregard her claims and defend King, but he knew that there is always more than one side to a story and Kaede's personal boundaries may be breached with his prying, burdening their newly-formed friendship.
"I understand your anger but King's one of the only people my cousin knew so far in this place. So, I don't think I can agree with you yet. Still, I hope you can show us around in the weekend, if not tomorrow." He hoped Kaede calmed down with his diplomacy.
Kaede snapped out of her loathing on hearing the reminder of her invitation and relaxed. "You're right. I'm sorry for putting this on you. Even so, be careful. I hate to see you getting duped because of him." She pleaded with caution.
"Thanks for the heads-up. We'll meet again!" Danōki's tender smile cheered Kaede. She was anticipating to meet him again in her mind and wished him goodbye, going downstairs in the Hub.
'I don't like to dwell on this but, who are you, King? Why are you hated so much? What did you do to be called as a gambler?' Danōki was swamped with frustration and doubt about King's nature, wondering if it's okay to dig onto old wounds.
His thoughts got cut short when he heard gasps from the V-Sphere, squirming through the crowd to check what had happened. To his shock, Jun was plummeting through the air, unconscious and gashed across his chest as a large, wyrm-esque being set its sight on King. Jun's fur was charred, his jaw wide open and his body was flailing around helplessly before he disappeared into the clouds below, never to be seen again.
[To be continued]
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Name:Mokkun
Class: Guide/Mage
Lvl: 20
Title: Lesser Life
HP: 1030/1200
MP: 1350/1800
XP: 87%
Stat Points: 0
Passive Skills
Jet streamer
Raptor's Sight Lvl 10
Pathseeker Lvl 26
Guide's Breeze Lvl 8
Active Skills
Breeze Needle Lvl 16
Gale Arrow Lvl 15
Squall Shield Lvl 22
Gust Ballista Lvl 13
Zero-D Arrow Lvl 30
Second Wind Lvl 21
[Skills Used]
[Zero-D Arrow: Enshroud inside a sheet of wind-infused aura to assume the highest streamlined form possible and dash across the air like an arrow. The longer the charge, the faster the speed and longer the duration. MP: Min.200, CD: 90s]
[Gale Arrow: Conjure and shoot an arrow powered with wind aura, inflicting piercing damage on an enemy. The longer the charge, the stronger the piercing power. Slight chance of critical damage. MP: Min.50, CD: 60s]