Abellio

Abellio thought it was funny how Oscar manhandled the NPC. He was a no-nonsense sort, it seemed. At least as far as it went with NPCs. He had a sharp tongue when it came to bullying Abellio. But he didn't mind. He could already see himself growing leaps and bounds in just two quests. And he had to wonder whether the improvement was simply because of the EXP or if it was because of Oscar's sage counsel. The man was clearly very good. And Abellio wasn't the type to argue with an expert. Outside of the man's extracurriculars, he seemed to be pretty willing to help out newbies. Something that Abel

After waiting for the poison icon to disappear off of his HUD, Abellio decided to head back to the quest guy to finish up. He was pretty sure that Oscar would be finishing up and heading back there too. Either way, it was probably a good idea to wait there anyway. He had to be careful. Even though the quest guy wasn't very far away, he was still outside of the safe zone and still very, very close to death. He gave the mobs a wide berth, having parsed out - more or less - their aggression ranges. It was a meandering path but finally, he made it. Oscar was nowhere to be seen, but somehow Abellio

He was fine, right? Even though he'd just taken a ton of damage, his health was still technically in the yellow. For about a second. White noise distorted his vision as the poison effect took hold. His vision turned red, as if someone had just dropped a bloody filter over his eyes. He first looked up to his health bar, then to the crystal in his hands. Abellio held it up to the sky and called out. "VENROUGH!" The Crystal shattered and Abellio was enshrouded in a white light. His surroundings twisted and then eventually faded to the light, whisking him away from the cove and the boss

Abellio wanted to put Oscar's words into practice. Once they had their special shiny weapons, Abellio wasted no time engaging the boss. He was rather hoping that he wouldn't hit, but beginner's luck, unfortunately, made his blade strike true. It was okay. Oscar could follow up and take the boss of his hands. The two of them could tango while Abellio hung back. Still, it was nerve-wracking to have the boss's attention right now. The pirate's beady eyes bored holes into his avatar. He was licking his chops at the opportunity to ruin Abellio's day. And Abellio didn't doubt his ability to do it. A

Abellio nodded at Oscar's words of wisdom. it was true. Even though he had a knife in his gut, he hardly felt it. Abellio pulled the blade out of his abdomen and let it clatter to the ground. They had some breathing room now. Abellio decided to look around. It didn't take long before he noticed some shinies on the ground. Upon interacting with one of them, it began to glow with a bright light. Abellio averted his eyes as he felt the item morph in his hands. He felt a handle and his fingers wrapped around it. When the light subsided, he saw that he had his very first weapon. The <<Blade o

If this was what tanking was like, Abellio didn't like it. It was stressful, watching blades enter and exit his body. It didn't matter what his HP said. Abellio didn't know how Oscar did it. Maybe he was just weird but having a front-row seat to someone stabbing you over and over again just messed with your head. It wasn't cool. It wasn't fun. Still, even Abellio could tell that he was being useful. If the mobs were all busy attacking him, it would be like shooting fish in a barrel for Oscar. Abellio held onto that fact. He was being useful. Being stabbed and sliced as he was helped.

It was miniboss time. Though Abellio wasn't prepared for the massive swarm that came with them. The two important-looking pirates hung back, which Abellio was thankful for. He had all that he could say grace over trying to keep the minions at bay. And he failed, tremendously. Especially when one landed a lucky stunning blow that stopped him dead in his tracks. Thankfully, if they weren't getting lucky with their hits, they didn't do a whole hell of a lot of damage. Armor Skills, all day, every day. He had never felt more vindicated in his choices. Even if he couldn't move, he was certain Oscar

Abellio arrived at the spot just in time to witness Oscar slap the ever-loving shit out of the NPC. He heard Oscar's command and watched as the NPC snapped to attention. In that same moment, the quest window propagated upon the screen. It prompted the two of them to accept, which they quickly did. Oscar turned on his heels and ran smack dab into Abellio, not realizing he was there for a moment. "Ah, damn dude. I know the air's thin up there, but shit," Abellio protested as he staggered backwards. He feigned being upset for a moment as he rubbed his forehead. Then that smile returned to hi

Abellio had’t been expecting to get a message from Oscar this early in the morning. Indeed, they hadn’t spoken since their last meeting - when he saved him from the Forgotten Time King. When Abellio watched the man feed those “pranksters” to the Black Iron Dungeon. It was still terrifying, even now. But he understood the man’s reasons. And he understood what the man was about. Even if he didn’t agree with it. He didn’t know what possessed the man to take a sudden interest in him, but he was certainly not about to pass up an opportunity for another - essentially free - Extra Skill. Abellio

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"GET YOUR FLIPPER OFF OF ME!" You could count on three things: Death, Taxes, and Abellio sticking his head right smack. dab. into the bear trap. Such was the case - and the reason - for his presence on Floor 29. The man couldn't possibly tell you what possessed him to take such a risk. But from the moment he set foot onto Floor 29, he was beset by monstrosities from all directions. Shambling masses, mutated freaks, all with a flipper or a fin or a set of gills they should not have. Perhaps the most ominous thing about them (other than everything about them) were the black crystals floatin

Kismet was a cute name. As she began her monologue, Abellio watched enraptured. Towards the middle, there was a brightness in his eyes as he hung on every word. And, at the end, when she was interrupted by the newcomer, Abellio was clapping his hands in front of his chest with a smile on his face. Some people might have thought such behaviors to to be juvenile. Lame, even. Most people, actually, might have considered it to be a little odd. But not Abellio. He thought it was cool that she had thought up something like that. He certainly could never. And as the matron made her threats, Abel

Abellio watched as Oscar carted them away. From the reactions of the two men, he wasn’t taking them anywhere fun. He followed along from a distance, growing ever more concerned at the rising panic of the two men. By the time they reached the dark hole in the ground, the pair were apoplectic. They gushed apologies and promises. Pleaded to be let go. But as casually as throwing out the garbage, Oscar pushed them inside. There was a sinking feeling in Abellio’s gut. Something told him that this would be the last those two would see the light. But he didn’t want to ask. He knew better than to do t

Abellio winced as Oscar pointed out the obvious. If he’d not been so excited, maybe he would have questioned it. But they were on Floor One. Why would anyone try to get noobs killed? His shame began to turn to rage. Blazing heat ignited in his breast. Had they pulled this with anyone else? Before he knew it, Abellio was marching toward the pair as they started to retreat towards the alley. His feet moved on their own. He wasn’t even thinking about it. All he could think about was how their little prank almost got him killed. How their little prank could have gotten others killed. Someone

Abellio nodded intently. With Oscar at his side, the two of them headed back to the settlement. It wasn’t an easy trip. There were more monsters on the return trip. And they were drawn to him like a magnet. They seemed to be coming out of the woodwork. Descending from the ceiling, tunneling up from underfoot. How had he even made it this far in the first place? But Oscar was able to dispatch them quickly. The man cut a path through the hordes of mobs, sticking close to Abellio to make sure nothing slipped through. All the while, Abellio wondered just how in the Hell he could bridge the ga

Abellio caught the offered item. His gaze flicked between the piece of equipment and Oscar. Why was he giving such a high level item away? The question answered itself as soon as he thought about it. Clearly, this man wasn’t worried about equipment. Was this man one of those Frontliners he’d heard about? The intent had been to join the Frontlines at some point. But if this guy was one of them, he realized that he had a really long way to go in order to be able to stand with them. The difference between their skills was palpable. And it couldn’t all come down to simply equipment. Seeing th

Oscar’s admonishments hit Abellio like a ton of bricks. He’d already admitted that he was dumb. Did he really have to twist the knife? Of course he did. Abellio had forced the man into a boss fight without so much as a greeting or a request for aid. And Oscar had jumped into the fray to help him, no questions asked. Abellio had to be grateful to him for the assist. Still, the words hurt. Having them thrown in his face hurt. Abellio looked up in time to see the King looming over Oscar while his back was turned. He wanted to shout a warning, but there was something about the man’s gaze.

Stupid? Abellio’s chest puffed up at the man’s words. But much as he wanted to refute them, he couldn’t. Watching the fight with the boss, Abellio realized that he was walking right into his own death. If the man hadn’t shown up when he did, Abellio shuddered to think of the consequences. He would have died. Plain and simple. “You’re right,” Abellio said. “I should have done more research. I was really stupid, okay?” He paused, his ever-present smile wavering. “And I got lucky someone like you was around. But I was just so tired of being stuck in this fuckin’ rut. And the guys who to

The cascade of energy was so brilliant that Abellio had to avert his gaze. When the light finally subsided and his eyes recovered from the dancing spots upon his vision, the fiery-haired man looked awestruck at his new companion’s handiwork. “Holy shit,” Abellio muttered to himself. In just two attacks the boss was almost dead! Abellio’s mind swam with questions. How had he pulled that off? And, again, just who was this guy? His eyes were wide as he watched the man clash with the enemy. But something was off. The man had stopped moving. The King stumbled backwards and lashed out, but

Abellio nodded along as the woman regaled him - and their new companion - with her woes. It was a perfectly-justifiable stance. After all, he was in the exact same boat. He resonated with her trepidation. Logic didn’t matter. There was no telling her ‘it’s just the first floor.’ It never worked with him, after all. It required a certain level of resolve. Resolve that she and he seemed to have found. Sometimes it takes getting sick and tired of being sick and tired. Abellio was going to respond, but he didn’t really appreciate the chastisement from a stranger. His exaggerated bow and tone

Abellio had been caught off-guard by the sudden assault. He was about to open his mouth to protest when the boss turned to face them. It locked straight onto Abellio and as it entered into an aggressive state, its health bar manifested next to it. Well, health bars to be more precise. There were three of them. The crystal over the creature’s head was jet black. It loomed over them, slowly walking to their location. But the man who had him by the collar didn’t seem to be too phased by it. Who was this guy? And why was he jumping in? The party invite appeared in front of him. The man r

The further Abellio meandered through the winding tunnels, the worse his nerves got. Not only that, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. But he chalked that up to anxiety. This was the first time he had been out of a settlement. Much less somewhere so high up. But it was weird. The tunnels seemed to be abandoned. He could swear that he could hear the ambient sounds of monsters echoing through the mines. But every time he felt like he should have been able to set eyes upon a beast, he rounded a corner to find that it was gone. The sounds cut off. It certainly didn’t hel

<<Betrayal of the King>> Abellio came in hot! He stepped off of the Teleportation Platform and into the settlement of Tomoika pumped and ready for action. He was practically bouncing with energy, ready to finally make his first break into the game proper. His target? The Forgotten Time King. Everyone said it was a super scary boss, but he felt confident that he could take it. After all, he wasn’t bad at video games. Challenge runs hadn’t been anything new to him back when he played games religiously. And what better way to break out of his fearful funk than swinging on th

<<The Gemini>> ph

The fiery-haired young man tore through the Town of Beginnings at a frightening pace. How long had he been stuck here? Days? Months? Years? He was losing his damn mind. Everything had been a blur since the announcement. Panic set in. The Frontliners blazed their trail, but a fair few had been left behind. The town was still quite populated. It seemed, even now, the place was a major hub of sorts. Abellio couldn’t imagine why. But then again, it wasn’t anything he cared to think about. He just had to catch up. This wasn’t his first foray into an MMO. He wasn’t going to compete for res