[f01-op] wuxing. | <<raid meeting thread>>

[iris 0]

witchfang. right – perhaps the monotony had worn over her own memory, as time in her makeshift cage went by. but she examined it all the same, in recollection of when she'd once held it for her duties. her introduction to appraisals had seemed harrowing – it was only now, after practice, that she'd managed to gain some familiar sense of confidence.

"tested," iris repeated, with a similar gentleness to her own touch from earlier. and her gaze fell back on @Alkor himself, because it was the knight that made the sword, after all. the blade was only the tool by which its user could unravel stories with, and iris gave him a smile. "then i'm satisfied, in hearing that. and if you're ever willing to share, i'd like to listen, one day. the pleasure of being able to lend aid to players like you is all mine."

and for what little she seemed to want to do, her intent in meaning every single word just meant that much more.

as the meeting started, she let her once-customer listen in on the conversation. a quick nod, a bright smile – curated politeness, delivered swift. perhaps they could talk more later, if time permitted, and she remained curious, further, to what might befall the troupe – and alkor – later.

in time, she would return to her position, ready to consider how best to prepare her stock.

[Morningstar 0]

Morningstar shifted in his seat. It was clear to him now that he was not in the same class as the rest of the front liners that surrounded him. They guessed and offered theories of the meaning behind the symbols and diagrams and he found himself at a loss for words. The things that they said made some sense, yet he had nothing of value to add. They spoke of items as well; he did not have many of those to offer either. He did not speak, instead opting to listen to the words of those with experience.

What he gathered was that knowing for certain what would unfold within the boss room was impossible. All they could do was develop strategies based on educated assumptions. It made him nervous but he trusted that they knew what was best. NIGHT spoke up again, this time about player distribution, and Morningstar felt the urge to join in on the conversation. He sat back a second longer, his words caught in his throat. Normally, speaking came easy to him—but here, he felt little, insignificant. He cleared his throat, hoping not to interrupt anyone's more important ideas.

"I'm not a front liner but I'd like to be—if you'd have me. I'm not as experienced as the rest of you but you can count me as a DPS."

The words felt foreign coming from his mouth. He had never felt the need for acceptance like he did at this moment. It was uncomfortable, especially with the silence between his sentences and the next. He was a house cat in a room full of grizzlies and lions.

[Freyd 0]

Leaning forward, seemingly still lost in his own cowl, Freyd absorbed every word being said.  It was @Morningstar who caught his attention most succinctly.  A simple tug and the cowl recoiled, like a cobra removing its own hood.  The man's had too much intensity for things like this.  It served its purpose, but also posed an obstacle at times, and needed to be dialed back.  People didn't respond well to things they thought of as killer robots - things like himself.  

"It take courage to offer to stand on the front lines."  A statement and recognition of the last speaker's declaration.  How many here had faced such a moment themselves not long before?  Blue eyes drifted to @Katoka and scanned across the rest.  "My thanks to those who are willing to face that challenge, and also those who've made it possible."  Olive branch extended.  @NIGHT could choose to take it or not.  It wasn't just anyone who could tackle a labyrinth guardian on their own.  She deserved respect for that and many other past efforts.  He'd admired her aloof demeanor and competence from their first meeting, but knew her little better than the average stranger and occasional party member.  In truth, he still wasn't sure what drove the growing sense of tension between them, but suspected it had something to do with secrets she feared would draw his attention.  Secrets like why she'd run from the Valentine's tourney so distraught, and the blonde woman he'd had followed in the aftermath.  Reputations have their down sides, and his involved finding things no one else wanted found.

He'd been to enough of these meetings now to realize that they drifted too easily out of focus, drawn by the baggage of old grudges, vendettas, egos and uncertainty.  With so few present, these were vulnerabilities they could ill afford. Maybe it was time to take a page from those in absentia.

"Success will require each of us to work as cohesive teams.  This discussion is a good beginning.  To that end, and if I may," he stood and wandered to the diagrams and notes scrawled on the easel.  "The theories to date all have merit.  Adding to them, I cannot help but wonder whether some other elements of wuxing might also be at play."  Drawings a series of additional lines, he connected the various elements on the back of one of the pamphlets they had all received.  "My grandfather used to try teaching me about this stuff when I was a kid, often during captive fishing excursions when I couldn't just sneak off to play video games."  Directional arrows added.  "I vaguely recall something about this pattern have multiple cycles: one running along the outer wheel, where each element leads to the next, but also internally, where tensions maintained a balance between them.  You mentioned the Yin and Yang.  Could it be that holy and fallen energies are the system's representation of tension within the ring?  Could they change their direction, like a switch card in a game of Uno?"  

Stepping back, the Whisper brought his index to his lips, as if to silence the myriad other distractions inside the bag of cats that was his brain.  "This whole puzzle reminds me of a simple tumbler lock, where we can turn the pieces," he gestured to the elements on the sheet, "by applying a repulsing or attracting force."  Returning to his seat, Freyd melded back in with the others.  He wasn't looking to take charge, as @Baldur might have done.  The shadows were his home and refuge and it was making his skin crawl to stand openly as one of several present centres of attention.  Better to focus himself on what he did best.

"We have a little time left before the raid begins, @Morningstar - and yes, I remember who you are."  A small smirk indulged.  "If you're serious about this, and this goes for anyone else here who still doubts themselves, I will commit to putting you through your paces to get you ready.  That includes lending whatever resources I can must to help our hosts' generous offers for the same."

A clatter and crash sounded from the far side of the room as a small, slender black shape darted away from an up-ended snack buffet, tarts and assorted other delicacies spilled across the floor, save one the culprit still had in her mouth.

Thank you, Persi.  Your timing was impeccable, as always.

By the time everyone's attention was restored, Freyd's cranial safety blanket was securely back in place.

***

Freyd's sketch:

Spoiler

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by Freyd

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

The others continued the conversation, speaking about the various impacts of foreign beliefs that Nari had heard of, and yet had limited understanding of, in actuality. She was familiar with the general concepts - the shift in elementals, and the impact that those would have on a cycle of sorts, but she found herself lost at the overall in-depth understanding of everything that was being proffered. She leaned back against the wall, eyes shifting to each speaker as they provided their own ideas, their own inputs. Mention of inclusivity, as well as general confirmations of their own intent to engage in the event, were minute in passing, where the conversation instead focused on solving the puzzle before them.

Although she had little to provide to the solution of the puzzle, a nagging question had been stirring in Nari's mind, and she couldn't help but raise a hesitant hand, before softly speaking her question in between the other's commentary. "If...elements are effected by the various types of enhancements...and they should be completed in order...then...is there a negative effect to having various enhancements strike all at once? Should we be worried about equipment that has both fallen and holy imbued in it?"

The idea had seemed silly to her at first, until she had stopped to realise just how nasty the Cardinal system could be. The fact that it may punish imperfect preparation seemed more than possible within her viewpoint of the AI's capabilities. It holds no reservations within the floors themselves, so why would it consider doing anything else in the more dangerous fights? She doubted that there was the possibility of it being kind to them - as much as the system may be fair, it was here to put a stop to their advancement, and it had shown that it was not afraid to do so by any means possible, given the chance.

"Unless there are any takers for the position, I can stand as a pseudo-tank for the second team, or general damager should there be anyone more fit for the role of taking the brunt of the strikes." She threw out the offer almost offhandedly, leaning back against the wall and folding her hands in front of her, her eyes locking onto a position on the wall straight ahead of her, refusing to look at certain individuals within the area. "Whatever position is best for reaping vengeance upon this world."

---

 

Party#1	Party#2
TANK | Freyd	TANK | Nari-Larnreth
HEAL | Hirru	HEAL | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A

[Lessa 1]

꧁༺Lessa༻꧂   Lessa, Guardian of Aincrad Level: 31 Paragon Level: 54 HP: 820/820 EN: 120/120 Stats: Damage: 28 Mitigation: 142 Accuracy: 4 Battle Healing: 45 H.M.: 8 HLY: 8 REC: 8 THRNS: 72 Equipped Gear: Weapon: Arcael's Might (T4 THSS - DMG DMG DMG HLY) Armor: Empress Armor (T4 HA - HM HM THNS THNS) Misc: Neutron Star Necklace (T4 TRINKET - ACC ACC REC REC) Skills: Straight Sword R5 Heavy Armor R5 Battle Healing R5 Energist Fighting Spirit Charge Active Mods: Impetus Emergency Recovery Justified Riposte Addons: Iron Skin Ferocity Stamina Active Extra Skills: Parry Survival Battle Ready Inventory: Teleportation Crystal x5 Mass HP Recovery Crystal x2 Housing Buffs: Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down) Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1] Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll Guild Hall Buffs: Helping Hand: Lowest-leveled guild member receives +10 bonus Exp at the end of the thread. At least half of the thread's participants must be guild members. Limit one use per month, per character. [1/1]

It was no accident that Lessa had positioned herself in the back of the room. Just getting to the meeting had been a Herculean task, given the emotional pit she'd called home for the past year. Even now, after talks with close friends and a few "coming to Jesus" moments, depression still nipped at her heels. She'd done her best to ignore it as she'd sped north across the Town of Beginnings, but the moment she entered The Scarlet Line, doubt crashed into her like a wave on the rocks. "Shit," she heard herself mutter, even as she flicked a quick, two-fingered wave in Oscar's direction. Then a nod for Alkor, and a flash of a smile for NIGHT. It wasn't until the Guardian's gaze came to rest on Jomei that some of the tension drained. Not all of it, of course, which was why she dropped into a seat in the back, and did her best to pretend that she didn't exist. Once upon a time, Lessa might have led a meeting such as this one. This time, however, she shuddered at the idea of any additional responsibility. The woman could hardly look after herself, let alone anyone else.

So she remained silent as the conversation flowed around her, fingertips absently tracing the edges of the card NIGHT had provided. Only when she'd read the words a dozen times did a question finally emerge. "Ah, sorry to interrupt," she began, tone and expression indicating that she was, indeed, truly sorry. "But I just had quick clarifying question. These words of power you mentioned - how did you get those? Did they just show up in your quest log or something?" Her eyes flicked to Jomei, then back again, before she'd continued. "I started the quest, but haven't finished it, so I'm not exactly sure on the specifics."

Suddenly painfully aware of the many sets of eyes on her, Lessa shifted in her chair, crossing and uncrossing her long legs. "If the whole elements leading to each other thing has showed up twice, I feel like it has to be important."

[Alkor 0]

As @irisconcluded her appraisal, Alkor carefully withdrew his blade and stowed it at his hip. Her smile was bright, small though it was. Positively radiant. And her words matched the brilliance with no small amount of magnanimity. She wasn't like Alkor- beyond being reserved and quiet, perhaps. He respected and appreciated the way she treated him.

Like he was a person.

"It's because of what you and others do that this sword can help protect people. I'd be glad to speak with you more later." Alkor gave a bow as they were quickly swept back up in the tide of the meeting, and he was able to catch up on the proceedings. The information was vastly overwhelming compared to what he remembered. There had never been this much detail in the first few boss floors. Not that he could recall. Everything was simplistic by comparison. Fire bad. Ice bad. Now, there were multiple conceptual elements, and corresponding possibilities. It was labyrinthine.

He leaned forward, one hand stroking his chin in fascination as his amber gaze fixated on the annotated brief. The others spoke back and forth, considering possibilities as quickly as they could populate in his thoughts. "I've played MMOs in the past," he spoke up, "and other games with puzzles and mechanics that shifted based on where a player stood at a given time, or a symbol that populated overhead. Solving for specific combinations, or penalizing people for solving something incorrectly, or being generally out of order. I recall one, it was called Intemperance- you would get either a fire or ice marker, and you had to stand on the opposite color- then you would get the opposite debuff. As that was happening, you'd have to generally dodge several AoEs that were immediately lethal, and there were raidwide damage spells between those. I'm not saying this is anything quite that intricate, but it would be worthwhile to consider that paying close attention to positioning might be important."

Alkor blinked. He had spoken frankly, not introduced himself, not engaged with the group beyond the general stream of consciousness. That was nothing new.

"Ah, right... I'm a damage dealer," he added.

 

Edited July 25, 2023 by Alkor

[Elora 0]

Elora raised the flyer up and squinted her eyes. First floor, huh? That shouldn't be too far. She'd already taken the heroic initiative to topple out of bed and get dressed for the occasion. A few carefully-planted footsteps later, and she had made it through the maze of passed-out NPCs that so often seemed to grace the floors of the ramshackled Hummingbard Inn. Challenge complete! Now, time to find this building. Elora wasn't entirely sure whether or not the invitation was broad enough to include her; however, it had been leftover from an ever-accruing pile of junk mail that seemed to manifest at the steps of Firm Anima each month. She figured the event would be fun to spectate, even if she was forcibly removed from the premises. Her pace stopped at the threshold of a bustling building. With vision scanning, she observed ornate craftmanship containing precious metals and fine silks. This can't be right, she thought with a whistle, On Floor ONE?  This degree of luxury was far outside of her lived experience. Frontliners and their money!, she chalked it up to be with a scoff. 

She was pleasantly surprised to find that the front door coasted open with little resistance. A PUSH DOOR!, she marveled internally. Antics aside, she slid into the restaurant to find it packed full of people, though maybe not as large of a crowd as she was expecting. By the looks of it, most of the attendants had already condensed into obvious cliques. Conversation was abuzz. Shuffling beside the wall, she grabbed whatever resources were being offered: a piece of paper, a marker, another piece of paper with a bunch of pictures on it, and a handsome plateful of various appetizers. At least she could get a free meal out of this uncertain interaction. It was difficult to shake the feeling that she was a fish out of water. That was at least, until she saw her. Another sardine!

 "KATOKA!", Elora called out, perhaps a bit too brazenly. Within a few heartbeats, she had made her way from the snack table to seat beside her best friend. "Think I got here a little late. What'd I miss?" Before the blonde could answer, she had taken the due diligence to pop a pastry into her mouth and begin inspecting the itinerary.

 

***

Elora | HP: 700/700 | EN: 104/104 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 66 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 4 | BH: 35 | LD: 3 | AA | BLGT: 32 | FLN: 8 | REC: 3 | STK: 40

Spoiler

Elora
Level: 32
Paragon Level: 5
HP: 700/700
EN: 104/104

Stats:
Damage: 21
Mitigation: 66
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 4 
Battle Healing: 35
Loot Dice: 3
AA
BLGT: 32
FLN: 8
REC: 3
STK: 40

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Essential Verdigris (T4 Dem Polearm | AA | Blgt | FLN | STK)
Armor: Skirmisher's Garb (T3 Perf LA | MIT 2 | EVA 1)
Misc: Black Zephyr's Zeal (T3 Perf Trinket | ACC 2 | REC 1)

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Polearm R5
Light Armor R5
Battle Healing R5
Charge
Energist
Searching R3

Active Mods:
Meticulous

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Stamina
Precision
Focus
Resolve

Active Extra Skills:
Concentration

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
ITEM x1

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited July 25, 2023 by Elora

[Katoka 0]

Doing her best to copy the notes that Freyd had put up for everyone to see, Katoka did her best to keep up with everyone's input. They all had good points and relevant ideas that were worth exploring. "Is this what these meetings were always like? Trying to guess mechanics before going in?" She was impressed that they could all brainstorm so well under the circumstances, then again they have been doing this a lot longer than she had.

A flash of green hair caught her attention as she saw Elora plop down next to her with snacks and paper. "Elora! I had no idea you were coming, otherwise I would have waited for you." she snagged one of the foodstuffs from her plate, "Here, I have my notes if you want to jot them down." Kat turned the window around of her text document so that her elven friend could see.

While she let Elora look at her notes Katoka took a deep breath, stood up, and finally spoke, "I um-- I don't really have mush i can contribute strategy wise to this meeting. I'm mainly here to sign on the dotted line that I'm doing to be there with the rest of you." she nodded as if confirming to herself what she said. "Oh! Also I'm DPS as well." she patted her katana, "I'm fast and I cut things."

She sat back down and quickly added one more quick sentence, "Also I wanna be on Freyd's team!"

The small samurai was flush in the cheeks when she finished but was happy she finally managed to say something.

---

Party#1	Party#2
TANK | Freyd	TANK | Nari-Larnreth
HEAL | Hirru	HEAL | N/A
DPS | Katoka	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A

[Jomei 0]

The room filled up rather quickly. Under normal circumstances, it would be expected and relieving knowing that a large number of players wanted to play a part in taking down the floor boss. However, in this instance, in this small, back room of a shop, it was a bit uncomfortable. Jomei shifted in his seat, straightening out his back and resting an elbow on the back of his chair, opening up his cloak a bit to, hopefully, get a better airflow. Better, but not by much.

His eyes scanned the room once more, at the individuals in attendance, almost not recognizing Nari who had changed the color of her hair. A couple of new faces had joined, Morningstar included. The two had shared a couple of conversations and adventures, so he liked to believe he had a bit of an influence on his deciding to join the fight. He did not notice Lessa arrive at first, until she had walked past him and took her place a couple of seats away. He offered a small smile that peeked out from behind his hand that intuitively rested on his cheek and jaw, once he had caught her gaze. 

Back to the meeting at hand, Jomei pondered over all of the information brought to the table my NIGHT, as well as all of the additional information added onto this already heavy platter. The ginger furrowed his brow as he stared at a point on the floor, trying to piece everything together. What the others suggested was a lot. A much deeper understanding of the boss raid clues offered to them than they really ever have before. 

"What if.." he finally spoke up, hoping his simple understanding and explanation of thing wouldn't paint a negative picture of him, "What if we're looking at this a bit more than we need to?" Peering down at the diagram in his hands, he continued. "Now, I haven't had the opportunity to take part in a scouting mission.. so I haven't been in NIGHT's shoes, getting clues and info about the boss room. But, to my knowledge.. have we ever had to 'unlock' the boss room before? Usually, the door would unlock after a certain time had passed. Maybe, this is a similar situation." Flipping the card back over for a moment, he looked briefly at the five lines that created the poem. "These lines, while it may have some deeper meaning and use, it sounds like it describes the passing of time.. through the eyes of the elements. They wouldn't have given you this paragraph if it didn't have a use, but maybe its not for us? Lets not forget, during the last floor boss, player's were invited to explore and even take part in the Landonian rebellion.. a tie in event. And before that, as we fought the Shadow on Floor twenty five, there was the flood. These events that may or may not play a bigger role in the fight against the floor boss seem to be becoming a more common thing." His leg bounced, heel tapping on the floor, as he spoke, nerves beginning to well up. Memories of the last time he tried to play a bigger part in a raid meeting. "I-I don't know but-" he shook his head, "The poem aside, my initial thoughts were on this, the diagram. Maybe, rather than a clue to unlock the room, its a clue of what's to come.. as was mentioned. Different elemental effects that the boss can rely on and use against us." Letting out a small sigh, he concluded, "Not that I don't think all of these theories of wuxing and yin-yang aren't sound, I just thought I'd throw in my two cents that maybe it doesn't go that deep. Sorry." Was he apologizing for speaking up, or for thinking those ideas were 'too deep' he wasn't sure. Honestly, he didn't need to apologize, it just came out.

Jomei looked across at Nari, who seemed to be making sure not to look at anyone in particular. He knew that she had made a shift from being a Tank to a DPS.. so why was she stepping in to take the damage? "I'm also a damage dealer.. I don't have much in terms of elemental damage, but my sword has Holy and Fallen. I'll have Nari's back on Team 2"

Party#1	Party#2
TANK | Freyd	TANK | Nari-Larnreth
HEAL | Hirru	HEAL | N/A
DPS | Katoka	DPS | Jomei
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

More and more people were joining... as she predicted. The digital air was beginning to get stifling for the blonde who materialized an ivory fan with blue markings in her right hand and started using it as she shifted her weight in the chair, resting one leg onto the other. She peered over the additional notes she took for herself from the rest of the participants as well as factoring in Night's answer: "Then we only have a simple cycle.. a rotation, some good news at least. We'll only have to break the circle." she muttered. In her head she would already dread the amount of theory crafting they needed to do if the elements interacted like she initially though and  Freyd suggested. The arrows in his sketch was the exact patern she had in her mind when she asked their present scout, Night, for extra details. However her intuition told her that enhancements weren't particularly involved with the cycle, at least not in the way they thought.

She looked at Freyd and tried to remember if he played a tank role in previous occasions that they meet. However her reminiscence was derailed by the second tank volunteer. Partially hiding her curious expression with the fan, she peered over the provisional teams and examined... Nari-Larnreth? from head to toes. 'Pseudo-tank' was also the role she had to fulfil during the last raid, not the most pleasant experience. 

She closed her fan with an audible *Snap* then stood up and went to write her name on the sheet of paper. "I'm a DPS but I have experience off-tanking in the last raid. I'll switch with you during the fight if the need arises." she said with a sheepish smile while making deliberate eye contact with @Nari-Lanreth. This was the way the blonde wanted to help reassure the newcomer, by already having some experience raiders backing her team up. "Only two teams..." she muttered, not finishing the thought.

The next focus of Ariel's attention was the ginger with a funny accent, seated in her close vicinity. She mostly nodded to herself throughout Jomei's exposition, especially the last part. Most theories were about enhancements used by the players. But he pointed out that the enhancements might be used by the adds and the boss itself, something that integrated well in her cycle theory. Plus she too thought they should keep things simple so everyone's on the same page. "Well said.." she mumbled at the end as she started fanning herself once more.

---

Party#1	Party#2
TANK | Freyd	TANK | Nari-Larnreth
HEAL | Hirru	HEAL | N/A
DPS | Katoka	DPS | Jomei
DPS | N/A	DPS* | Ariel
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A

*potential off-tank

[Krysta 0]

                      The trip here was done solely because Vigilon had notified Krysta of this meeting. Aside from the first floor's sights, Krysta had yet to see a flyer anywhere. She may have arrived a few minutes later than Vigilon, but she was still willing to attend and assist wherever necessary.

                 What Krysta was not expecting, was for the meeting location to be as extravagant as it was. As she entered the structure and looked around herself as she took her time walking down the glass steps, whoever had ownership of this place may have been fond of great wealth, even if it was only in an aesthetic sense. She soon spotted Vigilon within the gathering of players, and once she reached the marble flooring, she made her way over to sit next to him. It was time to see what this game had in store for those who sought to face Aincrad's current toughest forces.

          As Krysta should have expected, there would be something she had little knowledge on. She was more familiar with western concepts than eastern ones, after all. While she vaguely knew of an elemental system involving five elements such as the ones mentioned, Krysta found herself struggling to understand. Perhaps some of the more random facts could have been helpful here if she were able to have learned them...but alas, she lacked the time to do so, being prepared for a different purpose, after all. She did not seek the pedestal she used to be on for the sake of being special, she stayed upon where she was placed out of a personal sense of duty...
                   So why, why would fate deal her a hand that was poorly dealt in a crucial tactical moment such as this? There had to be something she could come up with... She stared at the elemental circle for some time, wondering if there was anything hidden within plain sight that practical or common knowledge might uncover.

                However, this thought process was disrupted when Vigilon spoke. If there was anything the pair knew about raid bosses, it was that they usually had immunity to common ailments and stun effects. Bleed would very likely be useless. She understood where he was coming from, however, and that he must have sought to provide hope to those without unique powers within their weaponry. Krysta would wait for the others to speak, to see if or how they would respond.

                   So far, they were all focused on chipping in, rather than breaking down ideas, which was a good thing so far, though there was one suggestion that did not seem very helpful, a thought that supplying each party with an element might work. Time was of the essence, and there were not nearly enough players gathered here for five parties with enhancements tailored to one of five elements. One player began scribbling on a paper, and Krysta did what she could to pay attention to this. From what she saw, she was able to etch the first note into her mind. The possibility of a self-resurrecting boss...what a terrifying thought that was, hopefully it was simply a reference to its phases.

 

          Freyd would write down notes that were from a player named Hirru, but when Krysta took a look at said notes, she only found confusion, if not more riddles to solve. She blinked a few times as she stared at the notes. Some of them made sense, and yet... Unable to fully understand one particular thing, she had to ask.... "I beg your pardon, Freyd, but is Hirru alright? Some of these notes, am I reading them incorrectly, or is this player suggesting we offer healing to the boss? Isn't that the opposite of what we are tying to do?" She questioned, worried about this player's sanity.

          The host seemed to have some notes about what the others had spoken, and even plucked out the part of Vigilon's attempt to offer that was the most viable. This was far better than the alternative that was shutting someone down entirely, so that was a good sign. Freyd would go on a bit of an explanation of multiple possibilities involving this concept that was foreign to her, and he'd even leave behind a sketch...
             Unfortunately, Krysta had as much luck understanding that as she did with the Hirru notes. There was a lack of supporting the enemy, though it looked like an attempt to surround a concept with questions. Krysta had read a variety of different fonts and handmade fonts for the English language, the second one she'd known. This, however, she had great difficulty making attempts to read. Cardinal's translative features offered nothing to help Krysta understand the words within the sketch either. She simply stared blankly at it, confused over what she was looking at. "Himmelens nåde, hva er dette?(Heaven's grace, what is this?)" She thought aloud in her native tongue. While her words were likely to be translated for the others in the room by the Cardinal, it mattered not to Krysta. After further staring at the sketch to no avail, Krysta looked over to Freyd. "Do you mind elaborating on this sketch here? I can hardly understand half the words you've written on it." She asked.

    @Freyd

 

                    After one player gave his thoughts on the matter, mainly regarding other situations that had occurred in boss raids within other MMOs, quite the helpful topic that would be...two other players seemed to make their presences known. One was friends with a white haired player she addressed as Katoka, to which the other would recognize her as Elora. Elora had only arrived recently so she was new to the situation. Hopefully others would fill her in on what she needed to know. As for Katoka, she seemed a bit flustered yet enthusiastic, and her cheeks flushed after she announced that she wanted to be on Freyd's team...hmm... "Katoka, are you all right?" Krysta asked her. "The timing of your current expression suggests something to me, though I may be wrong." She remarked, remembering the time when her own cheeks flushed over the uncertainty when she was making preparations to confess her newfound feelings toward Vigilon quite a long while ago. "It's alright if you wish to ally yourself with someone you are familiar or comfortable with, in fact, having ties with your party members might result in better teamwork." She added. "I know one thing for certain, and that is that Vigilon and I work better together because we are familiar with each other as of recent days." She then turned to look at Vigilon. "And I cannot help but think that the affinity we have with each other might grow even further." She noted with a warm smile. She then cleared her throat as she turned to address Katoka once more. "This is not to say that I believe there's more than familiarity or camaraderie between you and Freyd, I simply do not believe there is much reason to feel flustered for wanting to be by the side of someone you know." She claimed, putting off the crackpot theory and suggesting something more believable and simplistic instead. Just something to reassure her, regardless of what kind of positive ties Katoka has with the man.

@Katoka

 

                     Jomei would suggest two things. One, that the elemental system might be simpler than the players were thinking. Two, that there might be something similar to the chaos that occurred when the twenty fifth and twenty sixth floors were being cleared. Both of these points made plenty of sense, given what she knew, though there was more proof of the secondary point. "Your point is a sound one." Krysta remarked. "There have been numerous times where groups of people ended up overthinking a future scenario, and when the dreaded battle came to pass, they would realize that they overestimated that one particular aspect of their opponent, despite that it still had numerous tricks up its sleeve that they were unaware of." She added, mainly referring to TTRPGs. "There is much that we do not know, and therefore we will more often than not, run the risk of either underestimating or overestimating our enemy. Given that our lives will be on the line when we step onto the battlefield, I'd prefer the latter surprise if anything." She admitted with a slight chuckle at the end. "As for the events that occurred during and after the previous two raids you spoke of, I would not be surprised if the Cardinal had decided to keep this little trick, perhaps as a way to have more than simply the front lines involved, as I recall there being players of all stripes over in the Ladonian Rebellion." She noted. "Might I add, you were a considerably dependable ally as well." She noted with a light smile in hopes of encouraging Jomei.

          @Jomei

 

             Krysta continued to listen to the conversation that played out, and heard the thoughts of a woman holding a fan. If there was a time to add further thoughts, the time was now. "If I may," Krysta began as she got up, hoping the gathered players could hear what she had to say. "For those of you who do not know me, I am Krysta. My build specializes in two roles in battle, but in raids, I often fill the position of healer, rather than the damage dealer I would be without it. Recently I have grown accustomed to utilizing the Holy weapon I have in my possession, though I doubt I will be making use of it in a supportive role unless it were to become absolutely necessary." She explained, revealing her build to be one of damage and support, though she was volunteering for the more supportive position due to an apparent lack of supporters.
                                 Her eyes looked around at the gathering, she hoped that what she could bring to the table was good enough for them. She also noticed something was missing, a lack of weight on her shoulder. She then looked up to see her familiar, a small feathered dragon with beautiful ruby red plumage, up on the chandelier, staring warily at Freyd's little troublemaker, growling as she did so. The familiar's hope to intimidate was not out of a wish for dominion, however, but out of wariness, for the little one was merely shy. Krysta couldn't help but give a soft, suppressed giggle over the situation, despite the interruption that this basically was. "Come back down, Yolviinsil, you're fine." She reassured the small dragon. Yolviinsil would then look to Krysta for a few seconds before leaping and making a short glide over to her left forearm, which was reaching out for her to land. She brought her arm over to her torso, and started petting the familiar's head. "My familiar, Yolviinsil, has proven capable of assisting me in healing others, so I will be bringing her with me to the raid as to make my efforts to mend allies' wounds more effective." She noted, in which the small ruby red feathered dragon would return to Krysta's left shoulder, despite still looking towards Freyd's troublemaker warily. Now she needed to continue with what she was saying before, possibly adding onto the others' points as well.
           "Now then, I currently believe it is the boss that might carry the pattern, though it may have allies that are more effected by this cycle or assist it in terms of the elemental cycle. The pattern itself, while we are free to speculate, is very likely to be something that we may have to figure out within the battlefield." She noted. "If one was to find an opponent with armor they had never seen the likes of before, and seemed to guard the entirety of the foe's form, it might take trial and error to discover the armor's chinks. This will make the necessity of armored defenses and supportive assistance on our end a vital, crucial part of how the battle begins, for we only carry with us a portion of the knowledge, granting our enemy an early advantage that we must defend against until we can find a flaw in the foe's defenses." She explained. Considering the possibility of practical application of tactics not only on her end, but of this unknown adversary, she continued. "There is, however, still the possibility of the boss using the cycle offensively as well as defensively. If it were to have access to all five elements, probably not all at the same time, it might become difficult to be ready for additional effects that might ail us, though I suppose I could offer purify, in such a case..." She took a second or two to breathe, though not through her mouth. "In conclusion, The boss is likely to make use of this elemental system both defensively and offensively. Whether it utilizes one cycle for both offense and defense, or one cycle for each aspect is currently unknown, but I would suggest better safe than sorry, that it may be best to consider the possibilities, not only of how we could use the system against it, but that it might use the system against us." She stated. "Those are my thoughts for the time being."
                                         She then wrote her name and Vigilon's name onto the party sign up sheet, on assumption that Vigilon would be willing to join whichever party Krysta was in. At least she was right. "I happen to have a straight sword with the Freeze enhancement, if anyone here is lacking a unique weapon." She noted, accessing her inventory and pulling out a chilling longsword that appeared to be made entirely of packed ice that would be considerably difficult to break. "It is of rare quality, however, so if it is better to fuse it as to make the weapon more viable, I encourage this weapon's future owner to do so if they can." She added.

-Offering to give [T4]Zero Degree Icicle(Straight Sword, Freeze, ACC) to anyone lacking a unique who can use it

 

 

---

Party#1	Party#2
TANK | Freyd	TANK | Nari-Larnreth
HEAL | Hirru	HEAL | Krysta
DPS | Katoka	DPS | Jomei
DPS | N/A	DPS* | Ariel
DPS | N/A	DPS | Vigilon
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A

 

 

Stats and Equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 32

Paragon Level: 25(paragon stat bonus totals: +100 HP, +10 EN)

Paragon Rewards:

Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread.

Lv. 10 | +1 LD to Loot and Chest rolls

 

 

Battle Stats:

HP: 780(Base[740], Resolve[40])

Energy: 112(Base[92], Energist[20])

Base Damage: 23(THSS R5[7], Combat Mastery: DMG[12], SS Ferocity[2], Meticulous[1])

Mitigation: 78(Lumino Regalia[48], Light Armor R5[30])

Accuracy: 2(Alediel's Grace[1], SS Precision[1])

Evasion: 3(Gold Rings)

Loot Die: 0

Holy Damage: +8 Damage on BD 9-10

T4 Bleed: Inflicts Bleed on BD 9-10, deals 48 DMG per turn for two turns

 

Additional conditions:

-2 on all stealth rolls(Light Armor Rank 5)

 

Equipment:

[T4] Alediel's Grace(Holy, Accuracy, Bleed)[Equipped]

[T4] Lumino Regalia(2 MIT, 1 REC)[Equipped]

[T1] Gold Rings(3 EVA)[Equipped]

[T4] Zero Degree Icicle(Freeze, Accuracy)

 

Consumables:

Teleport Crystal x1

 

Skills:

Straight Sword Rank 5(30 SP)

Light Armor Rank 5(30 SP)

Combat Mastery: Damage Rank 3(13 SP)

Battle Healing Rank 5(30 SP)

Energist(8 SP)

 

Shift: AoE(10 SP)

 

Extra Skills:

First aid Rank 5(30 SP)

Familiar Mastery: Healing(10 SP)

Meditation

 

 

Mods:

Purify(4 SP)

Barrier(6 SP)

Field Medic(6 SP)

Meticulous(4 SP)

 

Addons:

Resolve(6 SP)

SS Ferocity(6 SP)

SS Precision(2 SP)

SS Stamina(4 SP)

 

[Morningstar 0]

Morningstar nodded to Freyd, thanking him silently. The tension in his gut had subsided now and he felt a bit of comfort from the man's words. Overtop them, more voices tossed theories and thoughts into the pool. Jomei was clear and rational with his, offering the idea that they may be overthinking the raid entirely. He hoped that was the case, to be honest.

Curious his gaze circled the room, matching faces to the names on the piece of paper that held the roster. A few had yet to sign up for a team. Actually, about half of the players had not. He did a quick headcount, the numbers neglecting to add up. According to the sheet, it should have added up to twelve. He counted again in a hushed whisper. Either he was losing his mind or there were a few more players than anticipated. He sat there, hesitant to speak up again. They were going to have leftover players if this stayed the same.

He cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt," he started, his eyes scanning over the paper once more before meeting @NIGHT's, "but I think the numbers are off for the teams. There's room below Team Freyd and Team Nari for 5 players each. I'm counting a bit extra in attendance, though."

Morningstar marked himself down below Katoka on the list. "I'll join @Freyd for now but if things are changed down the line, I'm happy to go wherever you need me."

---

Party#1	Party#2
TANK | Freyd	TANK | Nari-Larnreth
HEAL | Hirru	HEAL | Krysta
DPS | Katoka	DPS | Jomei
DPS | Morningstar	DPS* | Ariel
DPS | N/A	DPS | Vigilon
DPS | N/A	DPS | N/A

Edited July 26, 2023 by Morningstar

[Bistro 0]

stay on top of everything. even if she was overwhelmed, she had to be. and this was nothing close to 'being overwhelmed' just yet.

"night, i hope you're getting all of this," bistro said, offhandedly. what the host was looking for at the moment were strategies they could take note of, because all things should be in consideration for the fight. she noted @Freyd's suggestion of a cycle reversal, and @Nari-Lanreth's caution towards the duplication of enhancements, though bistro was indeed curious about that idea. "well, maybe if that cycling order comes into effect, we'll get to see how to manage the effects we'd apply to it. after all, there's no overlap between fallen and holy. if the enhancement-stacking happens to be extremely detrimental to progression, it'd be best to tap out and reconsolidate our resources to accommodate. better to shoot for the moon and land amongst the stars upon missing, right?"

@Alkor's suggestion was duly noted by bistro, too, if only because she'd yet to seen a fight as complex thus far – but it did sound as though cardinal could generate something similar to that. it might be of importance in the future. and @Jomei's input was appreciated just the same. bistro levied her chin upon her index in thought. "unlocking it seems to be a necessary procedure. or, rather, debris clearance is the better term for it. with that golem in the way, i was wondering how you might be getting into that boss room. ...alternatively, i'm not too sure if it's a good idea if some of us support staff show up to haul it off using some of our discussed methods here. now, i'm straight forward, so i figure shattering it might be a good idea... but..."

she gestured to night for a follow-up. and afterwards, "if the elemental effects were to be considered as attacks towards us, that makes things a little easier to consider, though i'm not too certain how much these bosses like using ailments against us. i'll see how many antidotes i can get ready for you all, then, if you're considering using some before or during the fight itself."

[NIGHT 0]

maybe cardinal's interface allowed her to type with an unprecedented wpm; night wouldn't know. what she did recognize, however, is her capability to keep up with the conversation, despite her tendency not to.

(this meeting almost felt like a fight in itself.)

there were two questions she would answer, interrupting her note taking session. one was from @Lessa, about the words of power. "they were given to us upon completion," she clarified, making sure to look up from her logger. "i say us – i was working alongside koga to clear those quests. the settlements kept them secret, for one reason or another. i don't suppose that might be relevant to the boss fight... could it?"

then bistro tagged her in, and the player had to think fast. ideas for removing the boulder? "i was considering using the enhancements, too," night replied, though she did wonder if that strategy would even work at all. so she had a thought to return to the twenty-seventh at a later date, just to cover her bases. "yes, we could try shattering it when we gather up for the raid, then. and no, you support staff should not attend." @Jomei

then came @Morningstar's response. and night asked to take a quick look at the registration sheet. he was right – which night hated, in the way that she felt as though she should have anticipated this from the beginning. but more importantly, seeing @Nari-Lanreth's name as designated tank on one of the parties set a lump in her throat.

could she object? and what say would she even have over it? those were lingering feelings, suppressed apologies she had to squash down. no, night had a better idea – the horrible, human need to correct herself and set things right, the way star had suggested.

which meant –

"okay. sorry, excuse me."

night needed to cut through the noise.

"it looks like we might have a larger attendance for the fight. i'll jot down the names of players who haven't been assigned yet, either, for reference's sake."

and she made quick changes to the party organisation documents, scrawled over in terrible, upper-case handwriting. when night set it down, she was careful to avoid the gaze of her once closest companion.

"i'll tank for a third party. i'll be using an unorthodox method, so i'd appreciate it if i'd have some backup. bistro will front load all participants joining my squad with consumables. ... i hope that's alright with anybody getting involved on my team."

---

tl;dr

theories:

• freyd: fln/hly might be used to reverse cycle
• nari, alkor: stacked elements/enhancements struck out of order might not affect boss in intended way/have punishments
• jomei: there will be a debris clearance phase before the fight begins
• jomei: consider elements being boss attacks + applied ailments rather than as its weaknesses

party organisation:

Party#1	Party#2	Party#3
TANK | Freyd	TANK | Nari-Lanreth	TANK | NIGHT
HEAL | Hirru	HEAL | Krysta	HEAL | N/A
DPS | Katoka	DPS | Jomei	DPS | N/A
DPS | Morningstar	DPS | Ariel	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | Vigilon	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | Lessa	DPS | N/A

unassigned dps ->  alkor, elora
unregistered players -> oscar, koga, crow

Edited July 26, 2023 by NIGHT

[Koga 0]

k o g a the elder wolf Spoiler  notes: koga's been around so if you think you would've randomly seen him, feel free to mention that, or say hi   Koga, Lvl 32/56 | 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. <<Advanced Training>> | +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post. (Last Use: Apr. 4) <<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.

Koga had slipped into the familiar shop quietly, careful to shut the door with as little sound as possible. The meeting was already well underway by now, and were it not for Okami's insistence on chasing after some wild geese on their way there, the Elder Wolf would've maintained his unblemished timeliness record. Alas, that damned wolf was determined to make Koga's life difficult, of that the man was sure.

Thankfully, he'd caught enough of the conversation, and managed to find a stray handout, to put the situation together. Or, rather, the parts that he didn't know clicked into place. "You did most of the work there," Koga said with a chuckle as NIGHT mentioned his assistance with the Divide. "In any case, I'm not sure any speculation about the settlements involvement will lead us anywhere. We do know that there resistances, and therefore weaknesses. Even if we don't have all the answers right now, we should definitely be prepared to swap weapons, until we figure out something that works." Nothing that Koga had said was particularly new or groundbreaking. In fact, he'd only repeated what had been said before, but something seemed to itch at him for a moment before he opened his mouth again. "And we should be prepared for those weaknesses and resistances to switch between stages as well. There's no reason to believe that will be the case, but no reason to believe it won't be either." There was a good chance that Koga was just being overly cautious, but being prepared was half the battle.

"Sorry 'bout that," Koga quietly chuckled an apology to Morningstar, the first to apparently notice the little bloat of players they'd had. "I hadn't planned on being here originally, but...Here I am. I'll go wherever you guys need me though, just point me at the guy that needs stabbing."
"I'll tank for the third party," NIGHT piped up, adding in that she was going to be doing something 'unorthodox'. The swordsman lifted a brow in her direction, before looking around the room slowly. No one seemed to be jumping at the opportunity. Koga shrugged. "I'll DPS for ya if you don't mind putting up with me some more," the man said. Koga had put his life in NIGHT's hands time and time again. Why stop now?

---

Party #1	Party #2	Party #3
TANK | Freyd	TANK | Nari-Lanreth	TANK | NIGHT
HEAL | Hirru	HEAL | Krysta	HEAL | N/A
DPS | Kataoka	DPS | Jomei	DPS | Koga
DPS | Morningstar	DPS | Ariel	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | Vigilon	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | Lessa	DPS | N/A

 

[Jomei 0]

Jomei smiled back at @Krysta "Thank you. It was good to fight by your side." he added with a nod. "I definitely do not think we should underestimate the boss, that's for sure. The idea of elements being at play in some way or another is probable. I feel you can never be too prepared to fight for your life... On the other hand, overthinking this riddle.. if it even is one" Sucking his teeth, he would look back to the words again, "Why give us both a poem, and these symbols?" he would say to himself. 

Did his statement actually hold any merit with some of the more veteran frontliners? Possibly. However, the reassurance from both Bistro and NIGHT that this floor boss would have the players actually unlocking the door - contrary to waiting for a time limit to pass - was a definite. Back to the drawing board. Unconsciously, he sunk a bit into his chair, making himself seem much smaller, though his knobby knees poking out in either direction didn't help much. Olive eyes went back to the small sheet of paper, looking at the words.. then the diagram.. the words.. the diagram.

"What did you call them again?" Jomei chimed in, not taking his eyes off of the paper. "Words of power? Why would the quest givers keep these phrases a secret?" He pondered over it a short while longer, looking over the words again. Slowly, he sat up, the expression in his eyes changing. He read over each sentence, mumbling the words out loud to himself, before shaking his head. 

"Hold on. Something doesn't seem right." He pointed to the first phrase on the page " 'All things become dust' ... why would they start with this? If you wanted to start with creation.. you'd probably start-" his eyes moved down the page, pointing to the next phrase, "- Here 'The smallest raindrops nurture the tallest trees.' " Tapping his chin with his opposite hand, he would think again for a moment, the gears churning rapidly in his mind. "That first sentence could make more sense down here, after the one mentioning heat and fire. When fire consumes things, what's left? Nothing but charred dust that returns to the earth." Looking up from the page, he glances across to NIGHT, a curious look on his face. "How did you come up with the order on the sheets, if you don't mind me asking?" 

@NIGHT

[Crozeph 0]

"A cycle maybe" he muttered. Elements were usually believed back then too flow as a cycle in some culture. It was what he learned too in his dumbass days in college. it all starts with something raw and ends into nothing. Crozeph wasn't a fan of this kind of thinking but he preferred to keep his inner voices in check when it comes to this. There have been a lot of ideas being laid down in the meeting, he has to come up with something that may cater to the final set-up once this meeting wraps up. He nodded at BIstro at the mention of the manpower and agreed, quite shorthanded sometimes.

"Enough clay to make bricks" he thought.

There were a lot of new faces too, a guy who's got Lucifer's nickname, a girl who introduce herself as Kista or so he heard "that's some gangsta name" he thought, and a Vigimon. A clatter made Crozeph turn his attention somewhere else and saw someone spill the food. A if it triggered something in him, Crozeph darted and grabbed what was on the floor. Putting some on his arms and munching the other. It took a few seconds but he was back to where he was, delicacies on his arms.

"Five seconds rule."

As he continued to consume delicious snacks, he finally managed to recall that one game that had a lot going on, a bullet hell-RPG-resource management-JRPG game... Knights in the Nightmare. "A certain game I know had this 'Law and Chaos' mechanic. It basically means if the battle field was set in the fog of law and law-type weapons, attacks are very effective but as the combos drop; the boss or enemies begin to take less damage because they adapted to the attacks. Players then switch to Chaos type weapons and fog then beat the crap out of the enemies before they adapt. Rinse and repeat."

Cro then gobbled three tarts at once and continued "my point is, we can consider that the enemy will adapt on it's weakness. we hit it with Fallen it may hurt at first but it will adapt, then we may have to rely on something else to damage it until it is weak again to Fallen. This means even if we hit a weakness, it might just adapt to it and we're screwed if that happens. We gotta even out the extra effects of what the DPS can offer." Another set of tarts consumed and he looked at the list "as much as I'd like to see @Ariel - The Crowned Lion's beautiful swordsmanship or @Freyd in action again, I'll be a DPS on party 3 the easter bunny team. I'm suffering from being a really brittle glass cannon but nothing that evasion and overhealth buffs can't fix."

Notes:
- enemy boss may adapt to elements with continuous attacks, take caution.
- evenly spread out the DPS with extra effects on their enhancements for flexibility

 

 

Party #1	Party #2	Party #3
TANK | Freyd	TANK | Nari-Lanreth	TANK | NIGHT
HEAL | Hirru	HEAL | Krysta	HEAL | N/A
DPS | Kataoka	DPS | Jomei	DPS | Koga
DPS | Morningstar	DPS | Ariel	DPS | Crow
DPS | N/A	DPS | Vigilon	DPS | N/A
DPS | N/A	DPS | Lessa	DPS | N/A

[Vigilon 0]

                        The host of the meeting seemed to take note of Vigilon's guess on the Vampiric enhancement. There was no further remark, so it was clear that everyone must have known that Vigilon's guesses were really just grasping at straws.

                          There was plenty of chatter as the meeting went on, and Vigilon actually had trouble keeping up. Maybe he should have tried to take notes, even if he was bad at it. With all that was going on, he almost zoned out for a moment there, simply overthinking. Krysta would have trouble understanding Freyd's physical input that was on paper, something about Hirru thinking it was a good idea to heal the boss. Which, obviously, would be a bad idea. Second sketch, however, Krysta spoke in another language. Now the accent made sense, it would seem that Krysta might be European. Now the question was, which of the many European nations was she from? He'd have to figure that out, and possibly learn that country's dialect, if he were to make contact with her in-person after escaping this game. "I stopped understanding the guy ever since he-" Vigilon received the sketch from Krysta, but he was just as confused as he was. "What the heck...? Did he combine the English language with the Doctors' favorite unreadable font or something? This on purpose or is it a habit? I can't freaking read it..." He thought aloud.

                 Players continued to speak. Yeah, he should have been taking notes. He'd played plenty of games before, but not nearly enough MMOs. Due to this realization, he was wondering if he was lacking in this regard. "That's a great point there. Not all MMOs are the same, but it wouldn't hurt to learn some things from either the traits they share or the way they handle their bosses." He remarked, supporting @Alkor's claim. "Plenty of bosses in various games tend to come up with their own little puzzles that players have to end up solving on the fly, so it's likely that even with speculation evening the odds slightly, this game is going to test our wit as well as our might."

         Vigilon saw a familiar face arrive, he hadn't seen her since Tanabata. "Hey @Elora! It's good to see you again, how have you been?" He said to her from where he was sitting. It was nice to know that Krysta, Night, and Jomei wouldn't be the only familiar faces in this raid...as long as they didn't get hurt too badly, that is. "I know I should have been taking notes, but it seems everyone else has, if you feel like asking around for a recap before this meeting's over." He added while scratching the back of his head. From what he knew, he and this player were acquaintances, but honestly, it wouldn't hurt to have more friends one can count on. 
                         Katoka would then give her words, before sitting back down with her cheeks flushed. Was she feeling embarrassed or something? Was this her first raid meeting? At least Vigilon knew he'd be able to relate to the latter, for this was his first time as well. When Krysta spoke to Katoka, Vigilon nearly spat out his drink when Krysta's words claimed that the timing of the player's cheeks flushing was suggesting some hidden emotion. Krysta then dragged Vigilon into this by making an example of herself with him, that their bond would surely grow further. "Of course. I haven't stopped loving you, Krysta, and I don't intend to." He said with a smile, while hoping his choice of words weren't sickly sweet or too cheesy. He just wanted to speak from the heart, he did love her, after all. Of course, his expression became slightly sheepish despite his smile as his brain screamed. "When and how am I going to tell her that my middle school friend Ayaka wants in on the relationship?" He thought. He really wasn't sure that she'd approve of another woman entering Vigilon's love life, and Vigilon still didn't know how he truly felt about Koharu.

                   When Jomei spoke, Krysta agreed with his point, and added her thoughts on it. Jomei appreciated her input. It was good to know that the players were all getting their thoughts in and theorizing on what they could be up against. Vigilon was starting to wonder if most of these players were new to the frontlines, almost as though a new frontlines was forming...not that Vigilon had any decent guess, of course, he hadn't been paying much attention to the frontlines, when he was already busy trying to deal with the many other things that took up his time. Of course, with the mention that there may be another big event going on outside of the raid, he figured that he should let someone know about it. He pulled up his messenger and sent a message alerting Astralin that there might be something occurring on the twenty seventh floor while the boss raid was ongoing. Hopefully she could handle the situation, with enough help, of course.

                 Krysta then got up, and boy, did she have a lot to say. He did his best to listen to every word, for her sake, if not his own. The thought of the elements being used both offensively and defensively...like, as in it could be more than one element? One offensive Elemental state, and one Defensive Elemental state? This was just confusing, and somehow it reminded him of a concept(or was it a gimmick?) within a game he never got to play due to this game. It was called...what was it, Tera Types? Since he wasn't able to play the game in question, the concept of Tera Types would remain a theoretical one until either if, or (preferably)when, he gets out of this game. "So like, Earth and Metal with Fire? No wait, it's probably not gonna have dual typing, um..." He muttered as he thought to himself, trying to find a way everything fit together so he could have better understanding of what he and Krysta, along with everyone else here, were getting into.

[Freyd 0]

"I beg your pardon, Freyd, but is Hirru alright? Some of these notes, am I reading them incorrectly, or is this player suggesting we offer healing to the boss? Isn't that the opposite of what we are tying to do?"

Still lost in his own analysis, and only half-listening, it took a few seconds for his lizard brain to catch up to Krista's comments.

"Hmm?  @Hirru?  Yeah, he's just wired funny, but it all works out in the end.  You have to admire his dedication as a healer, and his decency as a human being.  How many of us even give a second thought to the welfare of our enemies?"  He certainly didn't, or hadn't.  That had been changing of late, mostly due to... things.  "He's a good man, and I'd have him at my side any day."  Rare praise from the Whisper, whose standards and expectations were rarely low.  "And ignore what I sketched before.  I 'm leaning towards agreeing with the others that this is likely a simpler matter.  I was probably overthinking it.  Occupational hazard."

Watching Elora enter, anyone with eyes on him would have noticed a sudden shift in stance and posture.  He clearly hadn't expected her to appear and swallowed hard when she added her name to the roster.  Katoka will have her back.  And, he stared blankly at his own name in the tank's position.  Everything suddenly grew that much closer to reality.

"We have a lot of theories, but few practical facts.  A few ambiguous clues aside, at this point, we're really just speculating.  Best to be as prepared as we can with the widest array of options and see what we find when we get there.  This may end up being a simple case of trial and error."  

'And we might be in for a long haul if it is,' he added in his thoughts alone.

[Krysta 0]

                                                It would seem that there was some mild madness to the man's methods, as apparently usual. Krysta had only worked alongside Freyd once, and she still had trouble understanding him. He trusted Hirru to quite the degree, and as the conversation went on, he decided his sketch was obsolete, an excess of thought driven by "occupational hazard." Krysta had never heard such a term in her days. Vigilon also seemed to have a lack of understanding towards the enigmatic player.

                            As Krysta would have positive feedback for Jomei, Vigilon would be in agreement with another player, in regards to the potential in tactics found in MMOs to be present within the bosses of this game. The fact that this game was an MMO was the one that assured the theory was sound. It made plenty of sense, too.
                    Jomei smiled back at Krysta's words, and thanked her, before having more thoughts about the subject before moving on to the present.
         There were no direct responses to Krysta's words, though the chatter that came, including the repetition of points that she had made suggested that they might not have fallen on deaf ears...hopefully.
                             A third party would be added onto the sign up sheet, and the meeting continued. More chatter, most of the points had already been established before.

                There wasn't enough for Krysta to speak about for the current moment, but hopefully a few other thought-provoking theories could be spoken soon.