Cordelia

“No more secrets,” Cordelia repeated softly. It was an unspoken promise that she couldn’t help but feel emotional over. They had spent much too long running in two different directions that when faced with confronting their honesty, the simplicity of it struck a melancholic chord within her. It could’ve been so easy; the solution was within the grasp of her fingers, the tip of her tongue. But she supposed fate was a strange and fickle thing– forcing them apart, molding them into different people, before suddenly putting them back together again. It was a bittersweet feeling to know that they’d

After sending the image of a tied-up Jomei to a couple of her close friends, following a message along the lines of “who the fuck is this,” Cordelia finally turned her attention back to the elusive man she might’ve forgotten the name of. “Which side is your good side?” she asked thoughtfully, pulling up the image again. Her eyes narrowed as she squinted at the albeit, poorly taken picture. Yeah, she thought, grimacing as her fingers swiped it away, definitely didn’t get the good side. “Yeah, yeah,” Cordelia called, hand grasping the hilt of her katana before she pulled it out of its saya

The creak of wood and sudden weight next to her was more than enough to tell Cordelia that Oscar had come to join her in her miserable existence. She was stubborn. Reap what you sew, as they’d say. Though the phrase had little meaning when she was so weak for the man. Even if he was the reason she was suffering in silence in the first place, Cordelia could never say no to Oscar’s touch. She let herself be pulled toward him with a begrudging grunt, hands finally straying away from her flushed face to reveal an embarrassed pout. “You’re mean,” she said, simple and sharp, but very little bite. Ev

When Cordelia showed up to the supposed pre-raid meeting, she was almost sure that she had the wrong place. The setting felt a little too… festive to be considered an important meeting that was meant to determine their way out of here. Aside from a few outliers, most people were dressed casually– and while she’s seen her fair share of people in skimpy armor, this felt a step beyond that. No functionality whatsoever! That’s what I get for trusting some random people on the street, she thought, ready to turn on her heel and leave– until she caught a few glimpses of some familiar faces. NIG

Cordelia wasn’t really sure what was doing within the caverns of floor Twenty-Three, to be honest. Her messages with her info broker had gone dry, and she wasn’t really in the mood to go looking for another one on such short notice. From conversations she had passed by, it seemed like there was a pretty prominent questline on this floor, and she figured what better time than now to check it out for herself. She hadn’t expected someone to call for her from above. Any reasonable response died on her lips as she locked onto the ginger man’s visage. Her face flickered with recognition,

“Got it!” Plumes of smoke billowed behind her as Cordelia’s figure rushed towards the Forgotten Time King once again. She pushed herself for the final attack, whirling her body at a velocity that wouldn’t even reach the average eye. Red and white blurs danced and weaved through the king’s last attempt to attack as the swordswoman extended her katana one final time. It was only natural for Cordelia to immediately recognize the power that awaited her next attack. After so many grueling months of hard work and training, it was only fair to call Onimaru an extension of her body. Thus, w

“I think we’ll be fine,” she muttered as she passed Wulfrin. Cordelia weaved through the distance between the bandit and her, taking advantage of his aggro and blind spots with graceful finesse. Closing the gap, her fingers readjusted themselves around the blade’s handle as she prepared to deal the final blow. The bandit boss was still recovering from his previously immobilized state, too busy sputtering out various curses to notice Cordelia coming from the rear. It was only when the flicker of holy light catch in the corner of his peripherals did he notice her pursuit, but by the t

Cordelia huffed. Physical exhaustion wasn’t something that she ever had to worry about in this fuckass game, but the constant clashing of blade against blade was starting to wear down her mind. Diving straight back into a high-level boss fight so soon after returning from her… hiatus… was doing just wonders for her psyche. The hard boss actually being a hard boss? Shocker. Mumbled curses fell from her lips as she shook away the faltering thoughts. Steadied hands resumed their grip on her sword as she prepared for another assault. With the blade parallel to her face, she charged in for an

Cordelia’s nose scrunched up at the sight of the bandit boss that they had been working towards this whole time. How painfully anticlimactic. He just looks like a regular bandit but with less clothes. Also he looks like he smells. At least she got a bit of fun out of it by watching Oz hilariously miss a throwing knife. How does that even happen? She was pretty sure the guy was standing still for a solid minute. Regardless, she wouldn’t even bother responding to their antics. Cordelia’s been in this game long enough to know that these types of NPCs are yapping yappers who will not s

Her sword lit up brilliantly as she finally made use of her <<Charge>> skill, having saved it for when she could bust out her strongest sword art. One palm rested against the butt of her katana as she dashed towards the hulking king, using the momentum to propel her sword forward and deliver a devastating stab attack into his exposed abdomen. For good measure, she’d grab the hilt with both hands, twisting the blade downwards before ripping it back out. She fell back, satisfied that it dealt a good fraction of the king’s remaining health. Just a few more turns. She blew a sigh

“Well, what do you expect? We’re like three tiers above the recommended level,” she deadpanned. Maybe it was just another high-leveled player with their head up their own ass, is what she thought. Cordelia shrugged. Whatever. She sliced down another bandit that launched himself at her, his body exploding into a volley of blue fragments. Cordelia glanced at the corner of her of her vision, frowning when she realized how much energy she had already expended. She simply wasn’t built for this type of fight. Who the fuck is Solaris? Cordelia didn’t even bother asking, focusing her

Flashes of white and red washed across the bandit camp as Cordelia dealt lethal blow after lethal blow. Another group of bandits fell to her blade before they could even draw their dinky swords, with the last one seemingly imploding on himself as a bright holy light enveloped him. And then poof! The poor guy was no more. If it wasn’t so instant, Cordelia would’ve felt bad for how fast they were clearing this quest. She lowered her sword, glancing over at Wulfrin. Fortunately, he seemed to be keeping up pretty well, even managing to freeze one of the opponents. It’s not like he’d need it t

“Like I said, you decide the time and place,” Cordelia began, eyes following Oscar as he stood up. The kiss on her cheek was unsurprising. It wasn’t the first time he’s done it today and she’s certain it wouldn’t be the last. The lingering, however, was completely unexpected, and she tried to stammer out another response before her words were suddenly being put into reconsideration. “Oh.” Cordelia stared straight ahead, realization dawning on her in tsunami-like waves. “Oh,” she repeated in utter horror. His words echoed in her head, bouncing off those hollow walls like bees in a jar

Cordelia huffed a hot puff of air as she sheathed her sword. The battle-heavy air had come to a standstill. The pirates had been reduced to nothing but blue fragments after their synchronized attack, and what would otherwise be a thrilling sensation from fighting alongside Oscar again was instead reduced to thoughtless flustering on her end. “You’re unbelievable,” she sputtered, red-faced. “Absolutely incorrigible.” Surprise was missing from her features as he suddenly announced that it was time for a break and sat himself on some crate atop the ship. Right in the middle of the quest. In

“No, it’s fine.” Cordelia shot Acanthus a smile. “We already got almost a third of its health down, anyway.” Her eyes flickered to the king’s health. They’d manage to chunk down the boss’ health quite a bit for only being in battle for a few minutes. That was pretty reassuring. Cordelia launched herself back into battle with the newfound confidence. Her boots skid along the cavern floor as she narrowly avoided a cleave of the king’s spear, his undead body lurching forward from the force. She took advantage of the sudden opening, lowering herself along the ground before sprinting un

Oz’s sudden appearance didn’t surprise her. From what she knew, he seemed like the type to mooch off of other’s hard work. Regardless, it’s not like this would change much. So she ignored him, indifference crossing her features as she followed after Omen into the boss room. The familiar sight of the forgotten king rising from his throne sent a shiver down her spine, but she swallowed down her concerns for some rationality. You’re fast as fuck, she thought, mentally hyping herself up for what seemed like a Herculean task. You fucking got this. It helped a little bit. Cordelia lo

@Pinball >> PINBALL: Sorry for the sudden message. Would appreciate your help carrying a newbie through the Forgotten Time King on the 21st. He wants to join the frontlines. Probably not my place to help him. Location attached. >>> Pinball has shared a location with you. >> PINBALL: Let me know if you're able. CORDELIA: << K. Cordelia kept the message in mind as she strolled towards the tomb of the Forgotten King. While Pinball may be the reason why she’s not in some pile of

The introduction of another four enemies had Cordelia leaning back on her heels, katana propped on top of her shoulder while she gave the group a look of disdain. Wave battles were stupid, she had decided. Strange that it took her all this time to figure that out considering she had to slice through dozens of zombies for a sword one time, but it was never too late for some character development, she supposes. Her attention was pulled by sparks and shrapnel that cut through the air like stray bullets, and Cordelia couldn’t help but stare in awe at the display. The impact in terms of healt

Cordelia had already zoned out of the quest dialogue two seconds after Arun had started speaking. She withdrew her katana from the elf’s face with a bored sigh, skillfully placing it back in her saya. She perked up at Acanthus' surprised awe. “I’m probably as close as you can get to a glass cannon,” was her best explanation. Kill them hard and kill them fast, as she would say. The elf queen's words was too tuned out as Cordelia offered her partymate a feeble shrug. “I was on…” she paused, tilting her head as if she was trying to find the right word, “... a hiatus for a while, so you could

Watching Oscar fall back beside her, Cordelia couldn’t help but gesture to Ryland with an incredulous look. “Can you believe this? Who in their right mind would make a mechanic like…” she trailed off, words tumbling out of her mouth as gentle lips pressed against her cheek. Red bloomed on her features as she spun to face Oscar, mouth agape as she stumbled with broken sentences. “I-I… why… you can’t just..!” In the middle of a battle?! Her hands came up to cover her embarrassed face, completely ignoring the massacre of NPCs not even five feet away from her. Hesitant eyes peeked from the g

It was already hard to be impressed with her employer. She got bad vibes. Bad, bad vibes. Not the kind of vibes where she felt she would be in danger, but the kind where she felt like she’d rather slice her ears off than spend more than ten seconds talking to him. Unfortunately, that didn’t change the fact that he was paying her, so she’d tough it out for now. Whatever pays the metaphorical bills, I guess. As for the other guy– well, he seemed okay for the most part. Maybe a little uptight for such a simple quest, but that was probably just the heat starting to wear down on her patience.

It’s not often that Cordelia decides to indulge the request board. Too much of a hassle– and while she had no trouble dealing with people, she’d rather avoid meeting the occasional weirdo or asshole if she could help it. Despite that, the request for help with the <<Bandit Camp>> quest had caught her eye. It’s one of the few lower-level quests she’s yet to do, and the pay wasn’t too bad. With her shop being out of commission for the time being, this is probably the best she’s going to get outside of quests and grinding mobs. So she took the job. Obviously. Unfortunately,

Cordelia blinked. Custom Sword Skill? “... That was just my most basic AoE sword art,” she stammered, growing red in the face, but it was hard not to smile at Acanthus’ attempt to mimic the enemy’s death. “Uh... I try to invest a lot into raw damage,” she explains, though not sure if that would clear anything up. To be frank, she wasn’t even sure what she had been building for the longest time; Onimaru (even though it was quite lacking at the time) came into her hands out of nowhere, and she just kind of rolled with it ever since. Approaching another set of doors, Cordelia would nod her

The King of Treants would point the pair in the direction of the city once he was eventually done talking, and Cordelia barely responded with an indifferent wave before she made a beeline toward Ellesmera. It would be a short walk to the grand city, and before they knew it, the two were faced with its open gates. Cordelia tilted her head. “You got nothing to worry about,” she reassured Acanthus with a smile. “But if anything does go south- which it won't, by the way- just make a break for it. I can handle myself. I’ve probably been in stickier situations anyway,” the girl joked, sticking

Cordelia gave a noncommittal hum, offering a smile of her own. "Pry however much you want," she replied, turning her head. "Lord knows how much I interact with anyone." Stifling a sardonic laugh, she shook her head to clear her thoughts before resuming down the path. The two would emerge in a lighted clearing, the sun beating down as the shade of trees finally gave way. To no one's surprise, there sat a lone but large treant upon a fallen log in the middle of it. The massive creature looked up, bark skin warping as it moved its mouth to form words. "Within you... I feel great resolve..."