Demian

[16/07/23] | #e l/o: 213266 (r.dessert)

| 17/06/23 #e

"i'm here for the respites," demian announced, to a shop of nobody present. which was an odd sight, he believed; the info-broker usually seemed to be in, and yet here she was, missing. not that the cook seemed to mind. in fact, all the better that he didn't need to talk to anyone that day. the problem was in tracking down where the respites were stored in, and to leave a message about his pick-up long overdue. after some intrusive rifling, during which bistro still hadn't made it back yet (strange...) he found the stash, and left a calling card. Retrieving Dragon's Breath (108) from

with the final bit of health to chip off, demian figured it would be best to be efficient. he barely gave the other a glance as his sights set upon the dojo's exit, and he walked over the boulder like a stepping stone, making sure to emphasize his strength as he carried himself over the remains. it crushed and fizzled under him with the final impact, damage nowhere near overkill, and felt the gazes of both the stranger and the monk on his back as he left. he wasn't intending to race anyone down the mountain. no, screw that. being around someone who he wasn't used to was hell enough,

perhaps this was the monk's way of trying to make it up to them for having dual trainings instead of a focused effort on an individual student. that, or he was trying to get them to learn how to work together after their inherent showdown from earlier. that's what demian thought a different player would say, and he decided that the notion was foolish as it came to mind. he could see the rock's weak points, as easily as the two of them knew of its health, so he pierced it with a hard stomp at the top of the boulder, once the woman had reeled back enough, careful not to trip on the sli

enough to him was a different tale than enough for the master. somehow, yunxiang must've figured five minutes of meditation would be the most that players could stand, and with a small gong in his hands (cardinal entities had the funniest ways of pulling out random items from their inventory), he would rouse the individuals to pull themselves out from the water for their final task. the stranger seemed not to move. her breathing was ragged. it was as though she was being suppressed by something, but demian wasn't an exorcist, and neither did he believe in ghosts haunting players in t

demian was trying to be patient. slow, the other player, and finally she sat down beside him, the torrent of nature merciless upon their shoulders. he was perplexed by the nature of human hesitance, really, the nerve; but as the master closed his eyes at the far corner of the room, so too did he surrender to an ill-fated, false slumber. there was no way he was going to be able to reap the benefits of meditation. so he sat in the quiet, waiting for the moment to pass. and he thought. it was outside of his nature, to regard and consider others outside of the norms,

if there was tension in the air, demian would swear he couldn't feel it, even though he could spot the signals. now his own eye twitched, too, and he shrugged off his body trying to react in mimicry. micro performances weren't necessary, and neither was the hostility from the woman. yet, quiet, teeth set together as they passed the threshold of light into dark, there was a darker enclave with a ray of sunlight pouring in from the ceiling. the other winced beside him as his eyes adjusted to the contrast. humidity hit him hard, but it must've affected the other much more from her exhal

demian was sure he leapt first, charging into the fight a second or half earlier than the stranger did. his rhythm was mathematical, hits systemic – it was better to block, dodge and apply forces for the rotation of the dummy's parts to wind one way than the other, to ensure it locked sooner. yet, his combat ability wasn't to form, not as it once was, not as he should've been used to despite operating at this strength for quite a while – and his opponent was quick to catch up. linear progression was pitched against a frenzy; impatient, impractical, inefficient, and yet his alternative was solv

demian knew exactly why he was here. but he wasn't exactly aware, either, that there would be another player to be interested in the same trials he was intending to be put through. at the same time he would be undertaking them, no less. not only that, the relatively short woman from across the room was accompanied with a scowl, the bottom lid of one of her eyes twitching just as she spotted the dummies. behind the midpoint of two was an accompanying third, that the monk strutted towards, his hand behind his back. with a gesture, he beckoned them to pay attention, before leaping into

so did demian too, it seemed, because the moment the other had over taken him, so too did he push himself into a relative gear. if it was endurance, he had it. speed; he had that too. but a stopping point, that matched up to the other player... that, he wasn't so sure about. so he skid and stopped his jog after a certain point, once the mountain leveled out even. his breath was ragged, gaze to the floor – no pressure, trying to fit in to an audience of one, who was already a little stranger than he was. he watched the player skid, too; she slipped, while

sorry? was there someone else there? admittedly, it hadn't occurred for him to be bothered by other players, who were headed the same way he was. in fact, that clearly seemed like a normal things players would do, and never mind. yet, for some strange reason, with the eyes he felt upon his back, he had the strangest suspicion that he was being tailed. ... on purpose? when the woman snapped her head away, her walking pace accelerated, demian turned his to verify his assumptions. he figured himself wrong about the intent. and when his gaze returned to the road, he noticed the othe

| 04/01/23 #e

| 03/01/23 #e

demian? demian was busy doing jack all, that was all. ... no, not quite. in truth, there was no reason to go wandering about to whereabouts he was certain was lacking in ingredients. but the monsters had been stronger -- he'd hated to admit he'd been bested by some of them -- after the day the world was swallowed whole by emptiness. now how in the world was punching a rock supposed to aid players in their advancement towards the higher floors? demian wasn't sure, but he was certainly going to find out. the second floor felt awful on his skin, likely due to the humidity that made him

SKEWER ROLL (115) BENTO (45) LEMON BITE (12) BINGSU (2) Crafted by: Culinarian | Rank 10 skewer roll. | TIERLESS MEAL | PROTEIN II grilled meats. custom orders. tin foil. tasteless. [1/1/23] | +29 [2/1/23] | +25 [3/1/23] | +28 [4/1/23] | +33 | total: 115 bento. | TIERLESS MEAL | OVERHEALTH seaweed rice. two sides. pickled vegetables. tasteless. [1/1/23] | +12 [2/1/23] | +14 [3/1/23] | +12 [4/1/23] | +7 | total: 45 lemon bite. | TIER 4 DESSERT | VITALITY II whipped cream. tangy filling. crumbly crust. tasteless. [17/6/23] | +12 | t

| 2/1/23 #e

| 1/1/23 #e #l/o

| 31/12/22

| 30/12/22

| 28/12/22

[23/8/21]

[18/8/21]

SMORES (82) CREME BRULEE (77) GELATO (67) LEMON BITE (23) GELATO SAMPLER (1) CREME BRULEE TRAY (1) YAKI HATAHATA PLATTER (1) Crafted by: Culinarian | Rank 10 smores. | TIERLESS DESSERT | EVA II firm crackers. melted chocolate. toasted marshmallows. tasteless. [26/06/21] | +20 | [15/10/23 | ids issued to bahr.] [17/08/21] | +24 [28/12/22] | +13 [30/12/22] | +25 | total: 82 crème brûlée. | TIERLESS DESSERT | ACC II porcelain jar. custard filling. caramelized shell. tasteless. [27/06/21] | +28 [18/08/21] | +21 [23/08/21] | +28 | total

[17/8/21] Just as Daemien was about to start his day of cooking, too, apron still halfway tied behind his neck. At the collection of his wares upon what he would consider his makeshift 'front desk', the man simply called forth a dessert tower and two plates, with which he slid on two pieces of consumables each. Cardinal was quick to replicate what had already been made, and all the chef had to do in respond was gesture towards them for his customer to react in tow, hopefully without much fuss for his silent behaviour. Then, with a turn of his head, he set off to begin the rest of