[F27 - PP] Ghosts of Ming Garden

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

“All I’m saying, is that people have been busy. It’s no surprise that things like these rumours go missed once in a while…” She popped another piece of fruit into her mouth, as she stared at Onóra sitting by the small wood stove in the kitchen. A true kitchen now, not the little kitchenette that her previous estate had. Although the house was smaller, it somehow felt more complete. Likely a bonus of the numerous additions she’d managed to add onto the place, including the extra bedroom.

“No, I get that. But…doesn’t it seem weird that no one else has taken it up yet? Doesn’t that worry you?” The voice held a slight tone of concern, the worry of a friend obvious. Nari gave a shrug, realising nothing she could say would change Onóra’s mind. Pulling up her menu, she instead prepared a couple of messages, quickly sending them off together.

To: NIGHT, Koga
From: Nari-Lanreth
Message: Hey, so I recently came across a rumour again – something about a ghost up on Floor Twenty-Seven, in the Ming Garden. If you two aren’t busy, did you want to check it out? Might help the frontlines prepare better for the floor boss, or so I hear. If you’re not around, I can see if someone else is available. But I’d love to have you two come along! And if you know a fourth, feel free to send them a query too?

A quick glance back at Onóra before she spoke again. “Besides, ghosts. What could be more fun than hunting down a ghost theory? It’s like…Ghostbusters, but real life!” She only received a groan in response, but it was enough to appease Nari. Popping another piece of what appeared to be a blueberry, but somehow tasted more like watermelon, she smiled at her friend, and housemate.

Spoiler

Nari-Lanreth | Lv. 32 | P. 32 | HP: 820/820 | EN: 94/94 | DMG: 8 | MIT: 147 | ACC: 3 | STH: -5 | Thorns [72 DMG] | Frostbite [30 DMG] | Battle Healing [+24] | Heavy Momentum | Paralyse | Taunt

Tier 4 | Tier 7

Laurel Wreath (Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread).

+1 LD (This bonus only applies to looting, searching for and opening chests).

 

Equipped Items

Póg Deiridh [Tier 4; Polearm [One-handed Assault Spear]; Demonic] A metre and a half in length, the short spear contains a shaft of polished wood with a twisting combination of light and dark violet, with a single line of black separating the colours. The thin blade itself is coloured lavender, with a heart of royal purple. Attached at the connection between shaft and blade, are twisting tassels of violet and ice blue.
Enhancement: Frostbite [2 Slots] | Effect: Natural critical attack rolls of 9-10 (1 slot) or natural successful attack rolls of 8-10 (2 slots) deal (10 * Tier) unmitigated Frost damage each enemy turn for 2 turns. In addition, anyone with Frostbite receives a -1 Accuracy debuff until the effect wears off.  Frostbite damage does not stack, but can be refreshed. The highest tier of Frost damage overrides lower tier versions; cannot be overridden by lower-tier versions. [Must hit to activate the status condition.]
Enhancement: Accuracy [2 Slots] | Effect: Gain +(1 per slot) to the BD when attacking. Cannot be used to cause a critical hit.

Glacadh Morríghan [Tier 4; Heavy/Plate Armour] Designed as form fitting half-plate armour, this piece has an open chest area, designed to adjust based on the wearer. Small pauldrons protect the shoulders and neck, while light greaves cover the arms. Coloured in a shifting of soft violet and ice blue, the bottom left front of the torso contains a small curled fox.
Enhancement: Frost Aura [2 Slots] | Effect: Prevent (4 per slot * Tier) damage per slot from successful attacks against you. Successful non-critical attacks against you deal (2 per slot * Tier) unmitigated Burn damage to the attacking enemy. Enhancement: Heavy Momentum [1 Slot] | Effect: After an unsuccessful attack, gain +(1 per slot * Tier) base damage until your next successful attack, at which point this bonus is removed. Another unsuccessful attack will reactivate this enhancement. Must be using the Heavy Armor Skill for this enhancement to take effect. [For Area of Effect attacks: This effect only activates if you miss all enemies targeted by the attack.]

Póg an Gheimhridh [Tier 4; Heater Shield] A smaller heater shield, this piece contains the typical heater shape, with a bouche edge on the left hand upper corner, and a tear drop tail that curls towards the right on the bottom edge. Coloured a shifting soft violet and ice blue, a small white fox appears on the forefront, the ideas staring outwards and the mouth pulled back in a snarl. Enhancement: Paralyse [1 Slot] | Effect: Natural critical attack rolls of 9-10 (1 slot) or natural successful attack rolls of 8-10 (2 slots) remove the enemy’s action on their next turn. Paralyzed opponents lose any evasion properties.
Enhancement: Taunt [1 Slot] | Effect: +1 Hate generated from Howl, Focused Howl, and successful attacks.
Enhancement: Thorns [2 Slots] | Effect: Successful non-critical attacks against you deal (9 * Tier) unmitigated damage to the attacking enemy. Only activates on damage dealing, melee attacks.

Battle-Ready Inventory

Teleport Crystal {3}
Pure Unadulterated Rage (Meals) | Tier 1; Mitigation 3
Starter Healing Potions {5} | Heals 50 HP
Blank Dungeon Map {4} | Tier 4
Immolation Potion {1} | Tier 4; When used, successful non-critical attacks against you deal (10 * Tier) unmitigated damage to the attacking enemy. Must be of the appropriate tier to use. Effect lasts for one thread.
Caribou Stew | Tier 4; Rare Meal | Protein II

Inventory

Monkey Agility {2} | Tier 1; Evasion 1
Super-Duper Anti Snake Sauce (Salve) | Tier 1; Antidote 2
Spyglass {3} | Use to reduce the number of posts required to search for a dungeon, familiar or field bosses by 5 posts. Effect lasts for one thread.
Uncommon Health Potions {5} | Tier 1; Heals 5% of Maximum HP
Uncommon Overhealth Potion {1} | Tier 1; Adds 5% of Maximum HP to users Maximum HP for a thread
Rare Health Potions {1} | Tier 1; Heals 10% of Maximum HP
Arrowhead Brooch | Tier 1 Perfect Trinket | Accuracy III
Music Box | Tier 1 Perfect Trinket | LD III

Combat Skills

Battle Healing
Rank 3
Passive
Effect: While in combat, recover 1% per rank of your maximum HP (rounded down) at the beginning of your turn.

Fighting Spirit
Passive
Effect: Attacking and using Howl or Focused Howl generates +1 additional Hate. (Ex. Generate 1/2/3 Hate on a Miss/Hit/Critical attack. Generate 5 Hate when using Focused Howl.)

Howl
Active: Post Action
Energy Cost: 2 EN
Effect: Adds +2 Hate each against up to 4 targets.

Weapon Skills

Polearm
Rank 5
Passive
Effect: +7 DMG

[Rank 5 Weapon Addon] Stamina
Passive
Effect: Reduces EN of all attacks by 2.

[Rank 5 Weapon Addon] Precision
Passive
Effect: Gain +1 ACC.

[Rank 5 Weapon Addon] <<Weapon Type>> Focus
Passive
Effect: Decreases minor critical threshold by 1. Also reduces DoT thresholds by 1. Players cannot use Focus and Ferocity at the same time for the same Weapon Type.

[Rank 5 Shift] TECH Specialist
Passive
Effect: For TECH Sword Arts, +4 to multipliers, +3 to EN cost. No other Shifts may be taken.

Sword Arts

[x12] ST-I (12 EN) | A single-target sword art.
[x15] ST-II (15 EN) | A powerful single-target sword art. Only available for use when ST-I was used and successfully struck an enemy the previous turn or if ST-II had been used and had missed the previous turn.
[x20] ST-B (20 EN) | A devastating single-target sword art. Can only be used if the sword art used the previous turn is not ST-B and had rolled a natural CD9+. When performing an AoE attack, use only the first roll.
[x11] AOE-I (11 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once.
[x14] AOE-II (14 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE | A powerful sword art that strikes multiple targets at once. Only available for use when AOE-I was used and successfully struck an enemy the previous turn or if AOE-II had been used and had missed the previous turn.
[x16] TECH-A (16 EN) | STUN | A single-target sword art that stuns an enemy.
[x16] TECH-B (15 EN) | DELAY | A single-target sword art that, on a successful strike, applies [Delay] on the enemy. [Delay] is a status condition that reduces the enemy’s ACC by 1 for one turn.
[x16] TECH-C (15 EN) | COUNTER | A single-target sword art that, on a successful strike, places [Counter] around the player. [Counter] reduces the final damage taken by its user by 25% (rounded down) for one turn.
[x16] TECH-D (15 EN) | SHATTER | A single-target sword art that applies [Shatter] to an enemy for 3 turns. [Shatter] is a debuff that can stack up to a cap of 3. Each stack of [Shatter] removes -20 MIT from an enemy, down to 0, if it has MIT.
[x12] TECH-F (11 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE STUN | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once. All struck targets are stunned for one turn.
[x3] RAW-A (10 EN) | THORNS | A single-target sword art that utilizes the [Thorns] of the individual against the enemy. Other types of enhancements that apply damage upon contact with the individual are also considered in improving the damage of this sword art (eg. Immolation Potion, Flame/Frost Aura, etc). Outgoing damage is considered mitigatable.  Must have a weapon equipped to activate this sword art.

Armour Skills

Heavy Armor
Rank 5
Passive
Effect: MIT + 35. You can only benefit from one armour skill at a time (the respective armour type must be equipped). Your evasion is capped at 1 enhancement slot and you take -1 to Stealth Rating per rank.

[Rank 5 Heavy Armor Addon] Iron Skin
Effect: Gain +15 Mitigation and +15 * Tier HP

Active Extra Skills

Block [Requires two Extra Skill slots]
Passive
Effect: Requires an equipped shield. User’s evasion cannot be greater than 0 (can still be negative). Grants additional mitigation:
Rank 5: 25 MIT

Frozen Hide
Active: Free Action
Energy Cost: 5 EN
Cooldown: 4 Turns
Effect: As a free action, apply one slot of Frost Aura and one slot of Frost Thorns equal to your tier to yourself until the start of your next turn.

Parry
Active: Post action
Energy cost: 9 EN
Cooldown: 3 Turns
Effect: Apply the energy cost upon proc, not activation. Reduces the final damage of the next successful attack against you by 50% (rounded down) and negates stun/paralysis effects of that attack. If hit by multiple attacks, only apply parry to the first attack against you. Parry lasts for three turns. Cooldown starts when the player activates the Skill. If the player is hit when using Parry, the cooldown is reset to 3 turns.

[Parry Mod] Vengeful Riposte
Passive
Cooldown: 4 Turns
Effect: A successful Parry also returns 50% (rounded down) of the raw damage that would be dealt to you back to your opponent. The reflected damage can be mitigated by the opponent.

Inactive Extra Skills 

Meditation
Action: Post Action
Cooldown: 3 turns
Effect: Recover an additional (4 * Tier) energy. 

Survival
Cost: Complete <<The Traveler>> with Unlock Conditions
Action: Passive
Effect: Increases Healing effects received from all sources by 10%. Grants immunity to all damage dealing environmental attacks/effects.

Combat Mastery

Mitigation
[Expert] -> Rank 3
Passive
Effect: Gain +6*Tier Mitigation per rank. Ranks of this Skill apply to Mitigation enhancement caps.

Familiar Skills

Protector Familiar
Active: Free Action
Cooldown: 3 Posts
Effect: The next time you would take damage, your familiar rushes to your aid, reducing the final damage by 10%.

Estate Buffs

Master Bedroom
Effect: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat.
Master Bathroom
Effect: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down).
Dining Room
Effect: Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread.
Basic Kitchen
Effect: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.
Living Room
Effect: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Attic (Storage)
Effect: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Storage Closet
Effect: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot

Spoiler

Word Count: 304

 

[Koga 0]

k o g a the elder wolf Spoiler notes: none   Koga, Lvl 32/55 | HP: 900 | EN: 124 | DMG: 23 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | FALN: 16 | VD: 99 | B.HEALING: 49/99 equipped battle-ready inventory Tsuki no Hikari | Demonic T4 Katana [ CRSD // FALN II // BRN ] Shuku-ro Coat | Demonic T4 Light Armor [ EVA II // VAMP-D. II ] lupine. | Demonic T4 Trinket [ ACC III // EVA ] none skills Spoiler | UTILITY Gathering: Fishing I | Successfully forage for materials on a LD 14+ | 0/49 EXP  Searching III | +1 LD per rank. +1 to Stealth Detection per rank. | 14 SP Night Vision | Ignores any penalties from low light or darkness. Negates the bonus Stealth Rating from low light or darkness. | 3 SP | COMBAT Combat Shift: Single Target | For the following Sword Arts, +3 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; ST-I, ST-II, ST-B. No other Shifts may be taken. | 10 SP Mastery: Damage III | Gain 1 * Tier Damage per rank | 13 SP Battle Healing V | Recover 5% (rounded down) of your maximum HP at the start of your turn | 30 SP Emergency Recovery | When non-fatal damage would leave you with 25% or less of your maximum HP, recover 10% of your maximum HP after the attack resolves. Effect cannot occur more than once per thread.  When activated if the player has lower than 10 energy remaining, simply reduce the player's energy to 0. | 6 SP EN Cost: 10 Energist | Increase Base Energy by 5 * Tier | 8 SP Charge | Perform a single attack/Sword Art with +5 base damage. Charge attacks have a -1 Accuracy debuff and cannot be affected by any auto-hit effects. | 10 SP Cooldown: 3 Posts Howl | Adds +2 Hate each against up to 4 targets. | 10 SP EN Cost: 2, Cooldown: 2 posts | WEAPON Katana V | +7 DMG when equipped with a Katana | 30 SP Stamina | Reduces the energy of all Katana attacks by 2 EN | 4 SP Precision | Gain +1 ACC. | 2 SP Ferocity | +2 DMG when using Katana Sword Arts | 4 SP | ARMOR Light Armor V | +30 MIT when equipped with Light Armor, -2 Stealth | 30 SP Meticulous | +1 DMG when equipped with Light Armor | 4 SP Resolve | +1 ACC and +10 * Tier HP when equipped with Light Armor | 6 SP | EXTRAS Familiar Master: Rending | You and your familiar attack in tandem, applying Rend [7*tier unmitigatable damage] to the target that lasts for two turns. | 10 SP Cooldown: 5 Turns Survival | Increases Healing effects received from all sources by 10%. Grants immunity to all damage dealing environmental attacks/effects. | 0 SP Parry | Apply the energy cost upon proc, not activation. Reduces the final damage of the next successful attack against you by 50% (rounded down) and negates stun/paralysis effects of that attack. If hit by multiple attacks, only apply parry to the first attack against you. Parry lasts for three turns. Cooldown starts when the player activates the Skill. If the player is hit when using Parry, the cooldown is reset to 3 turns. | 10 SP 9 EN, Cooldown: 3 Turns Vengeful Riposte | A successful Parry also returns 50% (rounded down) of the raw damage that would be dealt to you back to your opponent. The reflected damage can be mitigated by the opponent. | 6 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Justified Riposte | A successful Parry also stuns the target for 1 turn. | 5 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Frozen Hide | As a free action, apply one slot of Frost Aura and one slot of Frost Thorns equal to your tier to yourself until the start of your next turn. | 0 SP 5 EN, Cooldown: 4 Turns buffs Spoiler | PARAGON REWARDS Lv. 5 | Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to Looting | BUFFS <<Well Rested>> | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. <<Squeaky Clean>> | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). <<Filling>> | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. <<Item Stash>> | +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot <<Tasty>> | Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. <<Relaxed>> | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. <<Multipurpose>> | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll. <<Practiced Angler>> | +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts.

Nari somehow continued to find ways to both amaze and infuriate Koga. While this completely paled in comparison to the entire strange murder?-love arc that had, and still was, occurring with NIGHT, sending him a message while he was in his forge trying not to set himself on fire was up there. And not for any other reason than the small little pinging sound drew his attention away enough that he slammed the hammer onto his own thumb.

It's probably best to omit the long string of expletives that occurred during this whole ordeal.

Fast forward to collecting his gear and grabbing an icepack, Koga steps out the door with Okami at his side, turning around to lock it. Once done, the man turned once more to start walking towards the teleporter when he found his way blocked. "Uh...Ghost?" the man asked confused, looking at the girl. "W-what are you doing here?"

Edited April 4, 2022 by Koga

[Ghostie 0]

Spoiler

 

Ghost 

[Level: 5 | Paragon 0]
[Total SP: 25 | Allocated: 0 | Remaining: 25]
[HP: 100/100 | EN: 28/28 | DMG: 1 | ACC: 1 |EVA: 1 | MIT]

Weapon: Scrying Dagger [DMG|ACC|EVA]
Armor: N/A
Trinket: N/A

 

How should I handle this?

Ghost paced back and forth, contemplating the decisions that led her to this moment. She’d been through a lot of things in her so-far short life, but nothing quite as intense and albeit simplistic as this. It shouldn’t be this difficult just to act like an ordinary human being, and yet she finds herself in a situation that she’d frankly never been in before. To her, the idea was even more terrifying than any kind of professional processes that she had dealt with in the real world. Taking a deep breath, she gradually calmed herself down.

I can do this, she thought to herself, bringing a hand to the button in her private menu. After all, it’s just a message.

But before she could press the button, she had heard that familiar voice. ("Uh...Ghost? W-what are you doing here?") Ghost spun her head toward the sound as quickly as she heard it, fast enough that it would usually give anyone a case of whiplash. There was Koga, coming out of his forge. The girl had considered knocking, but was thinking that it’d be rude to bother him over something informal if he was busy. The past thirty minutes consisted of nothing but her thinking of a way to get in contact, and thank him, and try to set up a day for them to do the Breaking the Unbreakable quest together. But now, they were face to face, and several moments of silence passed as Ghost’s entire casual resolve backfired on itself.

Keeping a blank look and not showing it, however, she quickly bowed apologetically before turning away, speed walking in the opposite direction. She could always try tomorrow, right?? Maybe Koga was busy? Thoughts battered her brain, talking her down as she walked.

Quote

337

 

[NIGHT 0]

night: why're you messaging me
night: cld just tell me to come downstairs

sleepy. was it already time to get up...?

nari's new home was smaller, sure. and night having not paid attention to the actual dimensions of the furniture, would've guessed the bed was smaller too. had it not been someone else's home, she would've skirted down the stairs with the blankets still wrapped around her form. a tired shambling down the steps -- it was the cold, she'd argue, that made her so lethargic today -- and the woman tried to stir awake upon noticing onora's presence.

sure, the player did try to clean up before stepping out the room, but...

"i can't believe i'm getting recruited to ghostbusters this way," she commented, pacing over to their host with a briefest peck to her cheek. and after a quick exchange of greetings -- "i mean, i don't think i can connect it to anything related to the floor boss or whatever, but it's worth a shot looking into."

better nari than bistro, after all. and better the quick meal outside should they be looking to meet up to address the rumor. her fingers ran through her menus, looking for her gear for preparation; never knew if the spectre would be dangerous, or if it even was a spectre at all. "i'll head out for something to eat real quick. need me to bring anything back at the meeting?"

| NIGHT  | Lv. 136 >> P. 104, Lv. 32  | Status: home's already haunted. what's one more ghost?  Notes:  //

Spoiler NIGHT | HP: 1060/1060 | EN: 144/144 | DMG: 21 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 44 | LM: 2 | HLY/FLN: 16 | LD: 5 | BH: 55 | Stealth Rating: 6 equipped oathkeeper. FLN II, HLY II (16) Tracksuit of Unfathomable Fashionability MIT (24), LM II Silver Crescent Necklace ACC II, EVA II battle-ready inventory Jack's Executioner BLIGHT (32, -20MIT), BLEED (48), FROSTBITE (40, -1ACC), STATIC (40, 24 SPLASH) skills Spoiler mod count: 5/7 2HSS | RANK 5/5 focus, stamina, precision shift: aoe CLOTH ARMOR | RANK 5/5 athletics, nimble COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 SEARCHING | RANK 4+1/5 reveal BATTLE HEALING | RANK 5/5 ENERGIST FAMILIAR: PROFESSION QUICK CHANGE CHARGE EXTENDED MOD LIMIT extra SURVIVAL CONCENTRATION HIDING blindside, untraceable, vanish, surprise attack-t buffs Spoiler statue BIALAS | +TAUNT MOTHRA | +1 EN Recovery TANOS | +25 MIT MORETSUNA | +50 HP OROCHI | +1 LD KUMATETSU | +1 DMG consumables - - - - - - paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting. sword arts Spoiler en cost matches multiplier unless stated otherwise. shift underlined. ST | x12 -> x15 | x20 AOE | x15 -> x18 TECH-A | x12 | STUN | 13EN TECH-B | x12 | DELAY TECH-D | x12 | SHATTER TECH-G | x12 | BURN misc. Spoiler housing Dimensional Backpack, Item Stash | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 EN for the first three expenditures of each combat.  Relaxed | +(5 * Tier) HP per out-of-combat post. Full energy restoration occurs after two turns out of combat. Squeaky Clean | -25% DoT damage taken from the first DoT applied to this player in a thread. Skylight: Searching | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cooldown of 30 days to reassign. Multipurpose | +1 LD/Prosperity/Stealth/Detection to one post per thread. Can be applied after a roll. Filling | +1 T1 slot to a food consumed by this player in a thread. Can exceed Cook enhancement caps. Col Deposit | +5% col from loot-minimum mobs, +10% col from treasure chests. gathering Greenhouse | +2 G.EXP, +1 CD&LD to gathering attempts. Familiar: Profession | +2 G.EXP Demeter's Cornucopia | +1 CD to gathering attempts.

 

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

Nari paused in her response – the attended recipient appearing before her, a look of wakefulness still some degrees outside of the realm of visibility. She cocked her head to the left, staring at NIGHT with a stoic impression. Did the girl truly just get out of bed? Nari was more surprised the girl was up and moving, while still somehow appearing to be half asleep - something that was some cute, and concerning all at the same time.

“I have food here, if you’re just looking for something to eat.” She waved a hand at the kitchen around her, pointing out the fridge and numerous appliances that she had watched Onóra use with gleeful joy.

“But if you are going out, make to bring back a nice, big smile.” She beamed a large grin at NIGHT as if to accentuate her point, before letting it fade away slightly. “If you’re determined to go out though, let’s say meet in Ronbaru in an hour or less? I’m headed up there now, figure I’ll hang out in the central pad until everyone arrives.”

She quickly finished her meal, determined to at least walk with NIGHT towards the teleporter pad. Gathering her vest, she made her way towards the front door, pulling on the ice blue tuque and gloves as she went. “Oh, and uhm…I invited Koga too. I figured…well, it’d be nice to see him again. I think.”

Spoiler

Word Count: 236

 

[Koga 0]

There was several moments of awkward staring after Koga had called out to Ghost. Eye contact. No words (or sign, in Ghost's case). A cat somewhere meowed angrily as the sound of a platter breaking came from down the street.

The awkward tension was so thick, you could cut it with a butter knife.

Then Ghost took off, but only after some frantic nodding (was it supposed to be bowing?) which left Koga both confused and concerned. "Oooookay..." Koga looked down at Okami, who was looking up at him with an equal measure of confusion. The wolf chuffed, the sound of moving on with no answers, and not being too concerned by that, before moving ahead of Koga towards the Taft teleporter.

---

Bright blue light signaled Koga's arrival to the Floor 27. Dimly lit by crystals only, as always, but lively, full of NPCs and players prepared to take on the floor's challenges (and some not prepared, poor sods). Looking around though, Koga couldn't see either Nari or NIGHT around. Opening his messenger, the man sent a quick message to them both.

where are you guys?

koga

Well, nothing to do now but wait.

[Ghostie 0]

Ghost’s heart stopped pounding as she walked far enough away from the situation, her breaths settling back down and her brow just barely curling from frustration. She itched the side of her neck, leaning against one of the shops through town. Why did she do that?? She was already at his place; she could’ve just had a conversation, or seen if he was busy?

Sighing, Ghost gave in and opened up her player menu, navigating to the friends page and looking at Koga’s pinged location, floor twenty seven. Biting the inside of her lip, she decided to send a message.

| To Koga:
Hey, I’m sorry for running away!! I just caught myself off guard, I wasn’t expecting you to walk out when you did. I’m fixing to head to the floor you’re on; I’d like to get some advice to you in person about armor and maybe help on leveling.
-Ghost |

Quote

151

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Ghostie

[NIGHT 0]

a glance towards the kitchen -- and sure, meals could be made in less than an hour, but she'd rather not expend the effort in their rush. it was that, and the idea of cooking only in privacy made night shake her head. "maybe another time. i've got a craving," she excused. and at that cheesy attempt at a joke, the woman couldn't help but snort, hiding her own bemused expression behind a hand.

dork.

"less than an hour." she rectified it with a tap to nari's nose, once her gearing had been complete. only the zipper of her jacket was left to fumble with, and she did so with her front facing the door. "less than fifteen minutes, even. i'll be quick. i usually am."

the two stepped outside. that thought of an invitation to their friend didn't strike the player as odd. rather, the phrasing of nari's sentence was instead. "you make it sound like you hadn't seen him in a while," night commented, suspect. "but i don't mind. why the hesitation -- miss him already?"

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

“Miss him? No. It’s just…our last time out together things started off a little…hostile. I’m just hoping we’re past that now.” She shook herself, trying to force away the chill she’d felt running up her back – caused by neither the environment of floor four, nor her companion at her side. Leaning in towards NIGHT, Nari let a smile spread across her face. “Anyways, the focus here is on the ghost, and figuring out what that’s all about, right?”

The teleporter pad was empty as it usually was at this hour, and Nari let her companion head up first -taking a moment to give the girl a quick hug and a peck on the cheek before letting her go. Once NIGHT had disappeared, Nari took her own steps to the pad, calling out her destination, and closing her eyes as the shimmering took over her.

Opening them a moment later, she found herself in the darkness of Ronbaru, her previous home still shimmering like a gem. A small ache of homesickness, before her eyes were cast across the open area, eventually falling onto a familiar face.

Sighing to her and forcing her shoulders straight, she walked over to Koga, smiling as she approached him. “Hey, Koga…thanks for coming. NIGHT should be here in a few moments…have you uh…heard anything about this rumour at all yet?”

Spoiler

Word Count: 224

 

[Koga 0]

Nari was the first to arrive, and Koga had to admit he was a little surprised that NIGHT was not with her. Even still, the man gave her a polite nod, lacking the same vitriol from their last few encounters, though still a mite cautious. "Ey," he greeted as she approached. "Not much," he then answered back, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Same as you, I imagine. Just something about a ghost hanging around some gardens." The man shrugged, "not much to go off of. Hopefully we don't run into anything too big." Though he was confident in their little party's abilities, the floor was new. Unexplored in many ways. And that meant unknown dangers. Who knew what they might run into.

A notification then pinged into existence, drawing Koga's attention, and the man took a moment to open the delivered message. His eyes grew wide with alarm as he read the contents. "Fuck," he muttered, before beginning to type back a response.

ghost

person about armor and maybe help on leveling. no, don't, i'll come find you later. too dangerous up here, i'll find you later

koga

Hopefully she read it before she found a teleporter.

Edited April 7, 2022 by Koga

[Ghostie 0]

Ghost was pumping herself up, her face actually showing a small cheerful bubbly smile for once. She wasn’t going to let her anxiety get in the way this time; Even if it took everything she had, she was gonna make progress and be… A normal human being??

Thinking back on it, most people probably wouldn’t be nearly as excited about this sort of thing, but at the same time she was doing her best to take the initiative. As she stepped up and onto the teleporter platform, she selected her destination, but she heard her messages notify her, and she opened Koga’s message. Her eyes opened wide, going to cancel the activation, but the bright blue light engulfed her before she had a chance.

Koga and Nari could hear the sounds of the teleporter kicking up again, Ghost standing on the platform awkwardly with a blank face but wide panicked eyes. Glancing over at Koga, she hit the send button on her reply.

/To Koga:
Umm Too late
-Ghost/

Quote

Word: 169

 

[NIGHT 0]

hostile? she hadn't taken koga to be the type. and though she'd wanted to stand by nari at the sound of it, the thought of running on empty was just as sour a thought. at best, she trusted her friend not to attack someone else like that, even if he was mad at them. the man wasn't the type. night wondered if she was, however.

"five minutes," the player corrected, returning the embrace tightly, swearing she'd make it back sooner internally, just because she could -- and she didn't want to leave nari to fend for herself, even if she was capable alone. a step backwards and a flash of light; night found herself amidst the streets of taft soon afterwards, and began jogging down cobble to pick up something fitting for the morning.

a belgian waffle. and a couple more snacks for down the line at the same store. the player bolted out the bakery door with barely any regard for the shop's exterior -- despite the yelling that came from within. like a cliche, with that pastry stuck in between her teeth, a half-hearted, "sorry!!" shot back over her shoulder meant nothing to the one it was directed to. and she dove for the teleporter pad, weaving through the sparse passersby upon that lazy day. night nearly fell over stumbling up the stairs to that structure, fingers quick to her face just to pull her food from her mouth.

and, through her panting, the woman thought over and over about the best course of action in showing up. untidy wouldn't do -- she obviously wasn't worried enough to have sprinted off like that, despite night's reality. but waiting a few minutes wasn't a wonderful idea, either. not that she didn't trust koga, but neither was she sure what nari's definition of hostile had meant.

so she waited. until her breathing had slowed, at the very least. and the player took a bite out of her meal for the time being, chewing it methodically, as though to ground herself for the interaction. feet stepped on white stone, and she let herself be taken away to, "ronbaru."

night expected to have seen nari and koga first thing in the plaza. except, her vision was a little more obscured by... a different player. the woman had nearly toppled over in her surprise.

"oh-- hey...!"

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

“Yeah, that’s about all I’ve got as well. Seems like there’s very little known about it, beyond the fact that she recently started appearing…guess we’ll find out once we arrive-“ Her words were cut short as the teleporter activated, a white haired girl appearing on it, and freezing in place the moment she spotted Koga and Nari.

A ding from Koga drew Nari’s eyes away from the scene, the flashing icon clearly showing that he had a message. Returning her gaze to the girl on the platform, it took her a second before she managed to word her question aloud.

“Uh…someone you know? A fan, or something? She…seems to be either terrified of, or in love with you?” She had meant the words as a jest, but wasn’t entirely sure if there was some sort of truth behind them. She was just about to follow up on her statement when NIGHT made her own arrival, tripping over the girl still on the pad.

“NIGHT! Are you okay?!” Nari called out, rushing forwards to try and help NIGHT as she stumbled in response to the body on the platform that hadn’t been expected. As she reached NIGHT’s side, putting a hand on the already balanced girl, she glanced back at Koga, a sudden shy smile coming to her face as she realised the imagery that he was likely seeing. Refusing to withdraw her hand from NIGHT’s shoulder, she helped the girl off the teleporter pad, glancing between Koga and the newcomer, before speaking aloud again. “So uhm…Ghost?”

Spoiler

Word Count: 256

 

[Koga 0]

Before Nari could finish explaining what (little) she knew about the rumor, the bloom of bright light from the teleporter drew Koga's attention. Expecting NIGHT to materialize before the stone pillar, the man looked towards the pad only to stare, wide eyed at the one person he had not wanted to see on this floor.

Ding!

Koga didn't even need to look at the message to guess at it's contents. "Ghost?!"

"Uh…someone you know? A fan, or something? She…seems to be either terrified of, or in love with you?"

Koga's head slowly turned to look at Nari, a dull look of indignation and what-the-fuckery on his face. "Really?" the man drawled as he gave the woman a a questioning look before looking back at the silver haired girl. "Ghost, what are you doing here?"

Before the man got his answer though, the teleporter flashed blue again, and out stepped NIGHT, nearly running right into Ghost. Approaching the two, a pace behind Nari, the man took a deep breath and exhaled. "Nice of you to join us, NIGHT," the man said, clearly a little exasperated. "Uh, guys, this is Ghost. Ghost, this is Nari, and this is NIGHT," the man said, pointing to each in turn. "Again, Ghost, what are you doing up here?" the man inquired.

[Ghostie 0]

Ghost, as she had stood there like a deer in headlights, she felt the sudden pressure of being run into by NIGHT from behind, quickly catching herself as quick as she could and then turning around, bowing repeatedly in apology to her. She quickly stepped out of the way as Nari and Koga came up to check on NIGHT, standing there in a fairly awkward fashion. Her anxiety had started raising through the roof from the situation, especially from Nari’s ‘Love or Terrified‘ comment.

As Koga introduced her to the others, Ghost bowed again to each of them before analyzing them. Based on how Nari had reacted when NIGHT had ran into Ghost, she could assume that either they were very close friends, or… maybe more? The slight embarrassed expression on Nari’s face after the fact made her believe the latter more likely.. But she also didn’t know them at all yet.

Hearing what Koga had asked of her, she jumped back to attention and scrambled her hands together, activating her STS and beginning to sign. I didn’t get your message until I had already activated the teleporter! I’m sorry. I didn’t think about how high the level of this area would be! I was wanting to meet up, like I said in my message. I felt bad about leaving you at your shop without explanation, so I wanted to push past my nervousness and make up for it! But I can see you’re busy, and I’ve clearly made a mistake… It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nari, NIGHT! she ended as she looked toward the two, her face as blank and expressionless as ever but her eyes still vaguely showing a hint of awkwardness and panic.

Quote

Word: 287

 

[NIGHT 0]

oh, had the player the knowledge of being present earlier. she would've pulled a look, questioning, pulling her other in for a whisper -- "spoken from experience?"

instead, night settled for a wave of her hand at the apology given from the other player. this was why she was keen on moving away from the teleporter as soon as possible most frequently. and at the introduction, the woman found herself unamused. she'd only just gotten here. her gaze turned to the other player, tilting her head with narrowed eyes. "so the mystery just got solved, then? uh, weakest rumor ever." and motioning towards ghost-she-didnt-think-was-a-ghost, night looked to her friends. "tell me you're joking with the introductions. right? like, we didn't come here for nothing..."

but the moment ghost began signing, the player couldn't help but turn to look. and at the mention of meeting up, she directed her words towards koga, leaning towards nari. "you mean you didn't tell her you were planning to show up for ghost hunting today? rude much. wouldn't it help to have a medium along? just a thought."

jesting aside, she turned to ghost with a quick nod. "likewise. although... what were you two off about doing? i hope we hadn't interrupted something important." and night had a brow raised towards koga. "i hope you'd told her about your plans before the meeting."

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

Nari gave a slight nod at the introduction, her eyes shifting between Ghost, NIGHT and Koga as she tried to figure out how to handle this sudden…change in plans. From what both Koga and Ghost were saying, it sounded like the girl was slightly out of her depth here.

“I’m sorry, but…what level is Ghost? I know we shouldn’t ask, but…how much do we need to worry about her being here?” She shifted her gaze towards Koga, knowing the irony of the next statement and knowing there was no way to avoid it. “I’d prefer not to have to worry about someone dying on us, especially when chasing down a rumour about a…ghost.”

Almost absentmindedly, her hand searched for her companions, fingers attempting to lock into it. Something about the whole situation had her on edge – she assumed it was the sudden fact that they may have to either send this girl off on her way, or find a way to ensure her safety.

“The walk to the Ming Gardens is…safe enough, if she wants to come along and…well, figure out whatever it was you two had going on before you arrived? I promise I won’t eavesdrop, but I can’t promise the same for Oíche.” She gave a nod towards NIGHT, her eyes somewhat distant as she considered the implications of…well, everything. Somehow, she hadn’t expected another unknown to appear – and although she was interested in the sign language, she couldn’t help but be focused on the rumour that they were supposedly preparing to chase down.

“I would say you’re welcome to join us, if you want. But I don’t know how dangerous this will be. Especially seeing as it is in preparation for facing the floor boss, eventually. But I also won’t turn away another set of eyes.” Her tone had taken on a calm, emotionless tone – neither truly welcoming, nor discouraging. A simple statement of fact, meant to be taken at face value as desired.

-------

Word Count: 327

[Koga 0]

Koga rolled his eyes at NIGHT's typical jests and jabs as he tried to simultaneously read the script appearing before Ghost. Though multi-tasking was not the man's strong suit, he made do. "I didn't even know she was looking for me until about-" Koga pretended to check the non-existent watch on his wrist, "thirty seconds ago. By then she was already here," he said crossly to NIGHT. "She's looking to pick up the Martial Arts skill, and I offered to help since, well, you and I both know the special kinda hell that particular quest is, NIGHT." So much punching that stupid rock...so much...

"She's...not very high level," Koga sighed in response to Nari's question, before looking over at Ghost with his lips pulled back into a thin line. "Do you want to come with us?" the man asked the silver-haired girl. "If you do, you gotta stick close to me, okay? I'm not doing this whole 'grieving over dead friends' shit again, it's not fun."

[Ghostie 0]

…Ghost had so many questions. They were going ghost hunting?!? She didn’t think that there was even such a thing as ghosts in Aincrad. As for NIGHT’s comments and humor at Ghost’s name, if it weren’t for her blank default expression from social distinction then she’d probably be stifling a silent laugh at that moment. A very small upward curve of her lips was, however, barely noticeable.

Listening to Nari’s comments, Ghost’s minimal smile faded, realizing even more so than before just how much danger she might’ve just put herself in. Tapping her fingers together, she tried not to focus on anything too specific as she weighed the pros and the cons. The pros include possibly gaining experience, learning more about the combat system from watching others, and most importantly meeting new people. The cons were dying, slowing them down, and most importantly.. meeting new people. 

Then, she heard Koga speak up, and she noticed he was more serious than before. She seemed confused about what he had said. Again?? Some things were starting to click in her head, and she chose not to dwell too much on it. It was his personal life, after all.. She stepped over to Koga, grabbing a hold of his arm gently and sticking close to him as he said (taking it more literally than necessary), Bringing up her other hand into a salute to him to show that she’d follow his lead.

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Word 239

 

[NIGHT 0]

"I promise I won’t eavesdrop, but I can’t promise the same for Oíche.”

"e-who?"

and night couldn't help but look towards nari for confirmation. the brief exchange they had only made her tilt her head towards her other, bumping the sides of their heads gently, the player pulling her in by the waist. her other hand was raised, palm open, fingers pressed close, as she faced the rest of the party. "i solemnly swear not to eavesdrop unless i was told to on purpose."

though never mind the fact that issuing the order to do so would have required her listening in the first place.

at koga's words, at least night was comforted that ghost hadn't been strung along on accident. but the martial arts skill in particular -- she winced. despite wanting to get along with a new acquaintance, her fingers grasped for the back of her neck instead. "yeah-- i'll pass. i'm hell'd out." not that she was being issued the invite in the first place.

the viability of a new player on a new floor became a concern. and night was silent, watching the two; never mind her own innate desire to have done the same when she was of a lower level in the past. she shouldn't be commenting on it, knowing full well the contradiction. when ghost stuck close to koga in a quick maneuver, the player hummed at the decision.

huh. talk about a little trooper.

and fingers toyed with an interface for a few items once she'd seen ghost's confirmation. "he's right, though. no one wants a life on our hands or anything, so you'd better come with us prepared." her empty palm gave way to a block of crystal with ocean hues, sparkling with stardust, and she tossed it over the newbie. "here. pop that in your hands when we tell you to, or when you feel like you're in danger. anyone else here got any objections to it?"

so long as the answer was no, night would turn to nari, finally meeting that hand-held connection she was looking for. "well? you're the one who'd heard the rumor, so where're you taking us?"