GetComfy 0 Posted May 23, 2020 #1 Share Posted May 23, 2020 (edited) Quote ~~ ~~ "... and as mortals watch and fall as they tasted the steel of this blade, they must tearfully bow as they meet their harsh demise. For each swing, for each death, the world was granted a cruel reminder - All things must end eventually." The writing is unreadable after this point, as if it had been smudged and dirtied by the passage of time for many ages. But, the last line is still visible, and it was the most important one. "... They called it Memento Mori; Destroyer of Worlds." ~~ ~~ Honestly, with lore like that and practically the promise of free loot, Mason could not resist trying his hand at acquiring easy equipment like that. So! Where should he start? He has a map to the supposed abandoned temple that would house such a weapon, but he's never actually been on the second floor so this is all new territory for him... Yikes. Is he gonna be underleveled for this? ... Naaaaah. It'll be fine. It'll probably won't go that bad and plus, all he has to do is do a bit of sneaky sneaky and [censored] the weapon, simple enough no? ... After asking around for some directions, he finally manages to pick out the route - with some assistance - that would easily take him there. Welp! Time for a field trip that can potentially life threatening, nothing new right? This is pretty much how it is every day now in this stupid game of death with stupid developers that like making stupid jokes. Spoiler GetComfy's Stats LVL: 5 | HP: 100/100 | EN: 10/10 | DMG: 2 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 0 LD: +3 Equipment Weapon: Vanity Curved Sword Armor: Vanity Rags Trinket: Wayfinder (+3 LD) Items Starter Healing Potion (50 HP) x 3 Passive Skills [Rank 1] Curved Sword (+1 DMG) Edited May 23, 2020 by GetComfy Link to post Share on other sites
GetComfy 0 Posted May 23, 2020 Author #2 Share Posted May 23, 2020 God. The mountains here are so pretty. I wonder if I can have something here that would be at the perfect height for maximum comfiness.. Nah, first floor is probably where it's at. Mason just provides shade for his eyes with hand as he tries to look around him on the path he's on. Now that he spent some time just standing there looking around... He realizes something. With all these mountains, it's so hard to tell which mountain he's supposed to be climbing! What- Why? This is the most tedious, time-consuming, annoying thing that can possibly be done to anyone. This is not comfy at all! This is bad vibes! Bad! Despite being totally upset, Mason calms himself down. It'll be alright after all! Go with the flow... Be like a calming sea... Tranquil and untouched... ... This does not solve the issue he has about finding which mountain he's supposed to be climbing. Link to post Share on other sites
GetComfy 0 Posted May 23, 2020 Author #3 Share Posted May 23, 2020 ... Mason is staring up at the mountain as it breaks the heavens. Hell, he can even see clouds starting to pass through the mountain and it doesn't even look like it's at the three-quarters mark. How tall is this thing? Is he gonna have to climb the whole thing? ... I could look for a path, but knowing the developers... Alright, well. Guess it's time to show my moves. The messy one rolls up his sleeves as to not get caught by anything because of loose material. Swinging his arms and stretching them, he firmly takes the first step, or well, climb. Right, left, right, left, right, left... ... He did not pack for cold weather! It's freezing and it's not a good time at all! This is definitely not comfy weather, who would even go up here for some tea? Nope, nope, nope! He's keeping his shop on first floor until further notice - there's no way first floor isn't the comfiest floor of them all, it's nonsense if it's not! He grits his teeth as he continue to climb despite the chill, and despite the chill, his grip is still going strong and his muscles hasn't frozen up yet. Thankfully the exercise he's done - and doing now - is warmed him up for this climb. Link to post Share on other sites
GetComfy 0 Posted May 23, 2020 Author #4 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Beyond the halfway point, there lies a cliffside that is partly covered as a cave. With in is clearly an abandoned temple with Shinto origins. How does one know that this temple is abandoned? Well, it' quite clear that the maintenance of it has gone away - the garden full of weeds, broken wooden pillars and gates that had collapsed in on itself as a result of the weather at that height, and the almost dusty appearance of everything. The paths itself is extremely cracked, which is not normal for a well kept shrine. Nonetheless, this temple has not seen anyone for the ages... Until now. A shivering hand comes up from the cliffside, pulling itself up to reveal one Not-A-Hobo, Mason! He's gritting his teeth to the point where it feels like they might shatter. However, his eyes widen with wonder has he gazes upon this broken down mess. Normally, one would be disappointed, but honestly, Mason is just happy that there was something at the end of all this. Plus, it's free shelter until he has to well, go back down. Alright! Time to explore! Link to post Share on other sites
GetComfy 0 Posted May 23, 2020 Author #5 Share Posted May 23, 2020 The temple's land was barren, holding not many buildings or sites to rest and look at. The only thing that stood out was one large building itself, standing proudly in the center despite all the disrepair. Surely, this must be where Mason's goal is? He walks through the massive entrance way, noting the dusty tatami mats and cobwebs that are constructed in many places. Tools of worship, as well as various pillows as to where the temple goers would sit at and pray. But more importantly... There was a gold altar where an old scroll lays. Quote ~~ ~~ "Though you may have tested your body, now you must test your mind. Yet not of knowledge, but of instinct. What makes a mortal different from another is their natural right to change the world." ~~ ~~ ... What? I don't- Oh. Ohhhh.... Oh no. What was initially confusion was soon replaced with a horrified realization. For on the scroll was not words but images. Images of stances. Images of swings. Images of combat... How is he supposed to learn this? Isn't this where you'd normally have a teacher, y'know, take your hand and guide you through it? This will be... This will be extremely difficult. How can he ever gain something as instinctual as this? Something that is ingrained into one's body! ... He can't give up here. He'll do it. Mason raises his curved sword - not quite like the blade in the images, but similar enough - and began to swing. Link to post Share on other sites
GetComfy 0 Posted May 23, 2020 Author #6 Share Posted May 23, 2020 There was no breaks. There was no giving up. Mason was determined to practically break his body into learning this way of combat. With each swing, he grew more precise. With each swing, he grew more accurate. With each swing, he was able to put his all into. Yet, with each swing, he grew more tired. And eventually, he will have to quit at some point because he would've reached his limit with what the scroll offered... But he had to keep going. After all, this way of fighting was actually kind of fun - plus free loot was something that swayed him over. So he kept going and giving it his all with every swing until he mastered what he could... Quote ~~ ~~ "Beyond the mind and the body, there is the spirit, for without spirit, one could not give it their all. Each swing. Each strike. All of it, must be beyond your best." ~~ ~~ ... The altar began to move back as what seems like a weapon pedestal began to rise. It was all too clear now! This was all a test! A test to see if one can go beyond and be worthy of acquiring this chosen blade! Gimme gimme gimme gimme... The blade that rested on the pedestal was a katana. But that was not what put that shocked expression on Mason's face. No. It was the fact that it was rusty. It was the fact that there was a cleaning rag perched in front of it. Polishing oil. Everything to properly maintain such a weapon... No, the final nail the coffin was the pop up in front of him. Quote ~~ M--en-o M--i; De---o--r of W--lds ~~ A rusty blade. It seems that this blade has been worn down through the ages. After all, what made this blade special is the fact that it was not special at all. A simple weapon at its creation, and a simple weapon at its end. Though perhaps that is why it symbolized what it was - a reminder that no matter who you are or what you were, death will come. Vanity Katana | Enchantments: N/A ... WHAAAAAAAAAAT? Quote ~~ ~~ "... Sometimes, one's spirit might be tested when the end they desperately sought after is not what they were looking for after all." The note placed onto the pedestal stands out, almost mocking the one that would be reading it. "A lesson to be learned perhaps." ~~ ~~ Link to post Share on other sites
GetComfy 0 Posted May 23, 2020 Author #7 Share Posted May 23, 2020 The pop up remains, still waiting for the supposed player to confirm that they wish to pick up the item. Unfortunately, that will not happen anytime soon as Mason is just laid back on the floor and staring into the sky defeated. All that time. All that learning. Wasted. All because the loot he was looking for wasn't even good. What will he do now? It's not like he's going to get anything out of this now. It's not like he can easily go back where he came from... Bah! Fine! It doesn't matter! Mason jams his finger into the confirm button as the katana quickly replaces the curved sword that he had in hand. At first, he held it up to get a feel for it. Even though it's rusted, he can tell that the weight was distributed in a way that would suit the way of combat he learned earlier... He stares back at the scroll. Then at the maintenance equipment... Alright. I'll bite. This will certainly take a while. Trying to bring this katana back into tip top condition despite how rusty and broken it is, then practicing with it? Well... It could be worse. Quote ~~ ~~ Katana Skill Acquired! "Perhaps the greatest reward is the ability to do more than you could've done before on your own... Not from a tool." You can now use katanas! ~~ ~~ ... Yeah. This definitely feels like a smug developer thing to do just to troll a random player because they thought it's funny... But... Yeah. At least he can use katanas now. Aren't those two handers? That'll be nice... ... Wait, how will he get back down? ~~ Quest End, Collect Your... Rewards...? ~~ Spoiler ~~REWARDS~~ Vanity Worn-down Katana Katana Weapon Skill Acquired! Link to post Share on other sites
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