[PP|F3] <<Treant Rivalries>>

[ChaseR 0]

The bluehead shook his head, frowning as he looked up at her own, green cursor. "Red is a monster's, green is a player's, orange is a criminal's. I hadn't noticed anything else with others, I always see humans and treat them as such.", he trailed off rather embarrassed, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. What she was about to go on about wasn't really that much on his mind, to be honest. Now considering the possibility that Calrex might be an NPC, it all glued together just a little bit better.

"Ariel, the frontliner, also added that... Well, he only appears in events nowadays. That's suspicious, right? He's a player supposedly, so why doesn't he help otherwise if he's the strongest tank?", Chase went on with his theory crafting, obviously quite engrossed in this little mystery the white-haired warrior had setup and handled him. He wouldn't get to the bottom of it now, especially this soon when he would be no match for Calrex if he even tried, but it was all good food for thought at worst.

@NIGHT

[NIGHT 0]

Is that what the front liners have been doing these days? Finding themselves completely reliant on NPCs that may or may not appear for a fight? It would explain why she'd hardly picked up on information distributed from them, but it hardly made any sense if the goal of the game was to keep them trapped until they managed to find a way out. Having an entity aid them in their own personal matters...

... Kind of felt like a kick to the face. A welcome aide, perhaps, but NIGHT thought it better of the players in the game to best the castle themselves.

"I'm more likely to question why anyone's barely seen sight of these 'frontliners' in the first place." She'd heard Yuki talk with them before, and they did show their faces at the boss meeting. Their lack of preparedness with regards to the labyrinth fight was already telling, but to know they might be spiced with interlopers was even more so jarring. NIGHT pulled a sour face for a beat before continuing. "That aside, if there's more to the story than first met the eye, we'll look into it. We can keep watch on things for now."

[ChaseR 0]

"How long did it take you to get to where you are now?", he asked almost right once she was done speaking with a small nod to her words. "Calrex is theoretically maxed out. So I have to know how long before I'm at his level.", the boy continued with his arms crossed once more, giving her a stern look as he awaited for an answer. He was on the same page as her, just as curious what the purpose behind everything surrounding the unique skills was this secretive and well hidden. Obviously, if it had gotten to him, it couldn't have stealthed past everyone, but perhaps it was that nobody put in enough effort to research them beforehand.

Maybe this was something he could deal with on his own, once he got stronger. Until then though, he had some digging to do and some training while he was at it. "Also... Is there anybody I can ask for more information? Like... a broker, of sorts?", he topped off, feeling like it was too awkward to even ask the last part. It began to feel like some cliche spy-film or anything of the like, to him at least.

@NIGHT

[NIGHT 0]

She'd tapped a few of her fingers in a count as her eyes snaked upwards across the greens, hoping as though the leaves would give her answers.

They did not. But math sure did. "A few months to clear Tier 2," she could at least recall, "I had a friend who'd drag me around aplenty and we'd knock out bosses together. Before that..."

Her gaze snapped back to the forefront. "I don't like talking about it. But I'd give or take about longer than that. In total... about a year. It makes sense if Calrex's an existing solider that he'd be besting most players who'd started somewhat recently." Memory served her well enough to remember the man's recollection on Floor 13. A long time ago -- but that only proved further the great disparity between the fighters of yore and now. "I haven't seen his girl before though. Didn't even know he had one -- until you mentioned it."

"If you're looking for intel, anywhere's good." NIGHT pulled open her contacts list and sent the other player her details. Once received, it was pushed up in the log by another's -- Bistro's. "A friend of mine," she elaborated. "People don't normally ask since they're easy to get a hold of. But since you have... I guess I'll need to make an exception. They're an alchemist too, on the first floor." Menu closed. "Just in case you need potions of any kind."

[ChaseR 0]

With a quick nod, the boy smiled for once without being in battle at her words. "I just reached Tier 2 and I started two days ago.", he almost proudly said, glad that he was making very good progress at a reasonable pace. However, he could already tell that leveling up the second tier would be nothing like the first twenty-five levels of his stay in this world. It'd probably need much harder and more gruelling amounts of quests rather than anything. "I want to see if I can dig up information on him. And his unique skill, if he's not an NPC.", he clarified his intent, happy to have received help even from the female.

This was a peculiar encounter to say the least. The two started off silently but ended up getting along just fine with their theory-crafting and sharing intel on the things they did. "Bistro, alright. I might need some potions, so I'll give him a look.", blue said going off of the name for their gender, holding a hand out towards NIGHT and even offering to shake her hand, which... yeah, it was a first from him. "I can keep you informed if you're interested."

[NIGHT 0]

Two days?

She had to stop herself from gawking at the man. No, he had to be joking himself, right? A progression rate that quick meant that she'd most likely see him sky rocket to the third in the blink of an eye. Nobody she knew had even advanced that quickly.

NIGHT hoped her wide eyes hadn't given away anything. Instead, when he'd expressed his desire for insight about the Unique Skills, she'd taken the time to shake off her surprise and keep a hold on her demeanor. And with his extended hand, NIGHT took it to shake -- a gesture that was more than welcome to the woman.

Finally someone else who shared the greeting! Hey, maybe she should be keeping count--

"Yeah," she replied. "If you've got anything, keep me in the loop. Or put it to Bistro," she added, hand returning to her side. "We keep in touch. And if you need anything knocked out with help, don't hesitate to holler for me. I'm usually around."

[ChaseR 0]

The boy took a deep breath, not noticing the faint hints of her surprise. Once the two had shaken hands, he pulled his own back and opened up his menu, making sure to send the girl a friend request. Once she'd accepted it, he offered a smile and stuffed his hands back inside of his jacket. He didn't even know that it was that big an accomplishment, simply having worked his hardest since getting off the inn to get into the groove of things and catch up. He'd been slacking for god knows how long, so he might as well.

"I will. It's better if I stick to myself and Shay though. I've still much to learn if I want to overcome-... No, even reach Cal's level first.", Chase mumbled as his glance averted to the side, his frown returning momentarily before he shook his head and looked back at the swordswoman. "I'm sure I could learn a trick or two from you though. We'll talk.", he finished, turning towards the town's direction with the assistance of his map data from the menu before he waved at her. "I'll be off to do a few more quests now.", he waved her goodbye and started to head away towards the teleporter.

[NIGHT 0]

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ChaseR
[Woodland Armor] MITIGATION III (3/3) | Item scales with player tier.

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+ ChaseR: [Woodland Armor] MITIGATION III (3/3) | Item scales with player tier.

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