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Because Kiyabu had taken the ‘Sanity Tablet,’ his mind was shielded from the insidious influence of the Eldritch horrors lurking in the arena. This protective measure left him blissfully unaware of the bizarre tendrils that had ensnared his opponent, Vigilon, just moments before. Yet, in the chaos of battle, perceptions were skewed, and Vigilon, grappling with the phantoms of his own mind, misinterpreted Kiyabu's demeanor. To Vigilon, it seemed as though Kiyabu had no intention or concern for a fellow player's plight, a misjudgment born of desperation and fear. Had Kiyabu seen the tendril

Vigilon looked towards his opponent. The sanity tablets seemed to help him keep his head on straight. He could see without feeling like his mind was being invaded, and yet, he could still hear that second voice in his head. "̴̙͆O̶̢͆u̷̲̎r̸͙̂ ̷̰͝o̴̖͌p̶̖͘p̵͓̽o̷̢͒r̴̩̚t̷̪͊u̵͙̓n̵͇̾ī̸̝t̷̻̽y̶͉͂ ̵̱̔h̴͓͌a̷̹̿s̸̓͜ ̷̖͊c̶̜̈́o̸̤̓m̶̺̆ẻ̶͓.̴̙̔ ̶̬͆Ṡ̴̰t̷̡̋r̷̻̐ǐ̷̜k̵̗̈́e̷̛̹ ̷̮͝n̵̠̑o̶̯͌ẘ̷̬,̵̨́ ̷̙̽s̸̢̔o̷͔͂ ̴̬̽t̷̹̆ḥ̴̛a̶̰̍t̴̰̎ ̶̮͘w̵̭̓ë̶̖́ ̴̳̐m̵̛̭a̵̟̿y̵̯͊ ̸̝͝f̴̧̈́ḭ̶̽n̷͕̈́i̸̻͋s̸̲͝ẖ̴̈ ̶̰̉t̸̺̿ḩ̴̅i̴͚͗s̶̱͒.̸̤̊"̸̗͑ Vigilon nodded, then looked to his weapon. The "eye" on the hilt opened up to l

Iron Will (1) Applies BLOODCLOT to the user for a single thread. ID 243564

Thread Complete Jomei Wins! Total Words: 7992 Jomei | [Word Count: 7992/10 = 799.2] * [True Tier: 12] * [Group Factor: 0.7] = 6713*2 = 13426 EXP, Laurel Wreath: 1006 col Lessa | [Word Count: 7992/10 = 799.2] * [True Tier: 10] * [Group Factor: 0.7] = 5594*2 = 11188 EXP, Laurel Wreath: 839 col

"That's my girl." Three little words, but they ripped through her with the force of a nuclear bomb. She finished the string of attacks she’d already lined up, letting momentum and muscle memory carry her through the familiar steps, but she felt the fight draining from her like water through a sieve. She didn’t want it. And as hard as she tried, as much bravado as she could muster, she simply couldn’t convince herself otherwise. A cold wind whipped between them, sending their cloaks flapping wildly, and setting a fine layer of snowflakes spiraling around their ankles. Her hair tumble

Teion kept largely to herself while the gaggle of players seemingly converged on the redhead. Keeping to herself was her default setting, after all. It was Boreas’ pointed greeting that first got a word out of her, to which she exhaled a single chuckle through her nose, flashed a crooked smile, and nodded. ”Yeah, I remember you.” She rarely forgot the face of a customer. It was Kindling’s following commentary that wiped the smile off her face and drew a sharp glance back in his direction. What was this guy’s problem? She could only guess the sudden influx of company was cramping his style.

The climax the crowd was waiting for finally came. A clash rang out, metal singing as their blades bounced off of each other. Then the final strike. Telrenya felt every muscle in her body tense up. The intention to take a step back, to swing her stance wide and let his sword catch the air where she had been standing, it was right there. But she couldn’t do it. Whether her digital body was at its limits, or Cardinal would never allow her to move that quickly in the first place, she wasn’t sure why she failed to slip out of the way. She only felt the dull, buzzing feedback in the back of her hea

Watching, waiting. The time passed, the hot sun moved. Kindling shifting only to occasionally wipe the beads of sweat that formed just past his hairline and trailed their way down. Keeping them from interfering with his focus, and his vision. Keeping count of every single one that went in, or came out and joined the rest by the campsites to drink, and cook up the various versions of sea creatures that swam in the sand as opposed to any water. Some drank from flasks or waterskins. Meaning they had a source of something in there. Be it alcohol, or perhaps a well in there. It could easily be both

A somewhat familiar, booming voice called from the crowd. Caught Lessa's attention immediately, which, of course, triggered Jomei to turn his head in their direction as well. Like playing a game of 'spot the anime protagonist' in a sea of NPCs donned in plain town clothes. His monstrous frame and chiseled face that looked like he walked right off of the cover of Aincrad's Hottest Men magazine were impossible to miss. “When I kissed you-" He was reminder of their first round fight, probably one of the only ones he had a chance to sit down and watch that week. It was.. steamy.. to say in th

After fumbling his initial attempt to take the lead in this duel, Kiyabu quickly regained his composure, his eyes locking onto Hirru, who was now pointing the tip of their sword in his direction. The gesture was both a challenge and a declaration of intent, but what truly caught Kiyabu’s attention was the familiar glint of metal in Hirru’s grasp. “Hm?” he uttered, a sound of intrigue rather than surprise. As he focused on the object, Kiyabu recognized it immediately—a set of coins strikingly similar, if not identical, to those wielded by Wulfrin during their match on Floor 5. The memory o

Even though his actions might have seemed cowardly to an outside observer, Kiyabu was anything but. He faced a foe—Vigilon—who was grappling with some unseen, eldritch influence that threatened to overwhelm him. In contrast, Kiyabu's mind was clear, having momentarily shaken free from the ominous feeling that had sought to ensnare him. Around them, the arena's atmosphere was charged with tension, punctuated only by the rumbles of the ground and the watchful eyes of their single-digit audience. These spectators, perched from on high, were savoring the spectacle of two players battling not just

She turned and started the trek back through the underbrush, retracing her steps—or trying to. The forest didn’t look the same in reverse. Shadows twisted new directions, roots she could’ve sworn she hadn’t seen before now reached across the path like tripwires. Every branch seemed more brittle. Every breeze colder. The faint triumph of the fruit faded fast. Her breath misted in front of her with every step, and the damp chill of her soaked clothes had settled into her bones. The occasional snap of a twig or rustle in the brush kept her alert, but nothing attacked. No mobs. No sudden viol

She sat there for a moment longer, glaring up at the golden fruit like it owed her rent. Her breath still came in short bursts. Her ribs protested. One of her boots had started to rub raw against her heel and now every movement sang a little song of you’re not built for this. “Just one more...” she muttered. She rolled to her feet. Hands on her knees. Then pushed herself up, one painful vertebrae at a time. She squinted at the tree, this time, she didn’t go for a running jump or try to scramble up the bark. She circled it. Found a thicker root near the back - just high enough to step

-Both players have had their desperation for victory in this battle. What started off as a duel for the two to test themselves had become a struggle to stay afloat in the relentless crashing waves of competition. Telrenya was now feeling more severely than Vigilon was, based on her response to Vigilon and his words. He hoped to encourage Telrenya, as a close match like this one would surely be a sight for the crowd to see, regardless of who wins. In Vigilon's eyes, both had been tested, with neither opponent found wanting. He could only hope the crowd would see the same, for he couldn't read m

The little girl almost flinched at Ryo’s approach. But he wasn’t a big, screeching bat, or a giant spider, or an angry wolf. So she looked up at him with wide, scared eyes and her bottom lip quivered heavily before she could get any words out. Instead, her voice just sort of blubbered and she cried fresh tears at the prospect of being rescued. Koko reached out and grabbed at the sides of Ryo’s armor, throwing herself into his lap and wailing a bunch of incoherent thoughts and feelings. She would stay like that for as long as he would let her, small hands gripping tightly at whatever part of hi

"You there! Stop, please!" No, no thanks. Mana was on a mission: a mission to avoid quests. It'd been chaotic since the whole "hey, you're trapped in here glhf" ordeal. Everyone was either scrambling to grind levels to survive, curled up into balls of panic, or simply existing. Mana was part of the latter. "Pardon me, but I am in need of some assistance, and you appear quite capable." Unfortunately, a portly man interfered with her objective to do not a damn thing. He adjusted his monocle and ran fingers along his rather perfectly maintained moustache. Mana stared blankl

PH. -> MAIN ACTION: ST-I vs Kiru.

She rolled to her knees, spat a leaf out of her mouth, and glared up at the tree like it had insulted her family. The fruit swayed again in the breeze—mocking her. Keira backed up a step, stretched her arms overhead like it might help, and muttered a quiet curse for every game designer who thought vertical level design was cute. This time, she tried a running start. Jumped. Grabbed a higher branch. Caught it for exactly one glorious second... before her grip slipped on moss-slick bark and- “Oh fer f-” She crashed down a second time, this time flat on her stoma

PH *** Phoenix Souls: Activation The first time you would reach 0 HP immediately recover 100HP, 20 energy, and cleanse all negative effects. *** Morningstar | HP: 0/205 (-123) | EN: 49/59 | DMG: 9 | ACC: 4 | AA | EVA: 4 | REC: 2 | LD: 4 | FLN: 4 | PARA-V Kiyabu Hisao | HP: 100/200 (+100) | EN: 53/43 (+20) | DMG: 8 | MIT:30 | ACC:3 | KEEN: 1 | EVA:1 | BH:2 | LD:1

Her eyes went wide and her body twisted, but her reaction was too slow. She winced as his blade cut deep into her side and she was awarded another bright red, festering wound upon her avatar. Unable to force her own counterattack, she scrambled to leave his range. The color of her health bar shifted to red even before the lingering burn and blight stole away a bit more of it. Telrenya felt backed into a corner. Her opponent’s words edged on taunting in her ears. For every single strike he landed on her, Telrenya had to hit three, all while clawing past his armor and gritting her teeth thr

-- Main Action: Finale vs Kiyabu Swift Action: - ID243553: BD3 + 4 - 1 = 6 | 150-30=120 DMG to Kiyabu Morningstar | HP: 0/205 (-123) | EN: 49/59 | DMG: 9 | ACC: 4 | AA | EVA: 4 | REC: 2 | LD: 4 | FLN: 4 | PARA-V Kiyabu Hisao | HP: 0/200 (-116) | EN: 33/43 | DMG: 8 | MIT:30 | ACC:3 | KEEN: 1 | EVA:1 | BH:2 | LD:1

THREAD SUMMARY Experience. [Word Count: 8572/10 = 857.2] * [True Tier: 8] * [Group Factor: 1] = 6858 EXP (Note: I did not count the weird spammy code ChatGPT I wrote in the post #10. I *did* include the words that the binary spelled because those are actual written words :eyes:) Col. 400 (bonus page) + 1028 (Laurel Wreath) = 1428 col Other. The ability to get toasty, baby. (<<Lightweight>> debuff applied. Can now get intoxicated.)

Acanthus came to sprawled in the floor of the filthiest bar in Aincrad. Her head pounded without mercy—not a new experience, regretfully. Her eyes shot open. “Edict—” As she expected, he was gone. Not a trace of their conversation remained. The bar had been emptied, as if she had never been there or made a shipment. Instead, the same vile bottles from the bar’s initial selection graced the shelves. The only evidence that last night had been real were her memories and a strange status effect that refused to go away. Her memories. She bolted upright. Didn’t she try to kiss Edict? Oh, *

A Drink on the House 243551 | CD 4 | Peach Cider ----- Entering the bar one more time, she rubbed her eyes in shock. Her legs grew weaker with each heartbeat. “E… Edict? Oh my god. Edict. I thought you were dead.” “That’s funny. I don’t really feel alive.” He stared at the back of the bar, avoiding her gaze. She continued with trepidation, as if every question bore the risk of disintegrating her friend. “...I saw your name on the Monument. You’re dead.” “Different guy.” “Different?...” Edict cocked his head, still talking to the far wall. “In a game with 10

Vigilon got on his feet, only for Telrenya to alert him to her attack, which landed regardless of his attempt to defend. The crowd's noise flared to life as the true climax of the battle began. Vigilon's HP was definitely getting chipped away at, but so was Telrenya's. It was looking really close at this moment. In this battle, which had now truly become a close fight in which both combatants had a lot on the line; a lot to lose. Vigilon took deep breaths, and his focus dipped into the recesses of his mind, and he would find himself soothed by familiar voices deep within