Floor 3
Forest of Wavering Mist
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Two white and black blobs, shot through the forest like bullets, banging against the thick trees of Floor 3’s famous misty expanse.
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They screeched an inhumane screech, and on closer look, they would reveal to be mobs.
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Not just any mobs either.
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The holographic names floating above their heads would give away their statuses.
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These were twin field bosses.
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Rabbid Ragus to be exact. 195Please respect copyright.PENANAFuFJfNYhOF
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Apparently reuniting a lost bunny with another bunny meant both bunnies turned into hideous creatures and tried to chomp your head off.
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That, and they hated carrots.
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Saito rolled his eyes at the thought, currently descending from the treetops he was waiting in. If his plan was correct then they’d converge at the same spot, around-
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‘Now!’
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Saito glanced forward as time seemed to slow down.
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Falling, right across from him, a black-haired boy, equipped with a shortsword and a dagger readied himself.
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He caught Saito’s look, and as the two Ragus converged into the same spot, tongues, and fangs gnashing every which way, the players activated their skills.
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Falling Sword 195Please respect copyright.PENANAZ99p9ewusC
Fell Crescent
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Saito’s body seemed to elongate as he covered the final 4-meter distance within the span of 0.4 seconds. His eyes glinted wide as he swiftly plunged his luminescent, curved blade right into the White Ragu’s skull.
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Jyun was a tad later, however, he made his presence clear, whipping his sword arm through the air and slicing right through the spinal apex of the mob’s back.
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WR: 43% (-10%)
BR: 56% (-5) (+5% B)
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Saito grunted as he pulled for his weapon, now messily riding atop the White Ragu. Its skull felt like steel gnashing against Saito’s blade, and the curly-haired player growled with frustration.
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“How the hell was that not a kill shot?! I stabbed you in the flipping head! Are you just not anatomically corr- Wo-Woah!!”
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As if over Saito’s antics, The White Ragu crashed into a nearby tree and fell straight through, sending the player and a bunch of forestries every which way.
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“Cugh! Ack!” Saito coughed as his body skipped across the ground. He threw his free hand down to slow himself and forced his legs to stretch out and gain traction.
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Thankfully they’d now found a clearing in the misty forest.
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‘All the space they could ever need. Is this why they were running away from us?’ Saito thought tiredly, scanning the battlefield.
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The Black Ragu rushed into the clearing right after its buddy, and Saito saw no Jyun. His Searching skill confirmed it. His eyes returned to their regular brown, the green glow fading, along with his patience.
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However, he would barely get to express his annoyance as the White Ragu roared again, like the monster it was.
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The lovely sound deafened Saito and left him frozen. He grunted, yet still could not move. Eyes wide, he spied his health bar, and indeed, his worst nightmares were true.
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He’d been Stunned. The ten-second timer was already on 8, but it wouldn’t be fast enough, Saito was a goner, and it seemed the Ragu knew it too, a sickly smile coming to life on its hideous face.
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Saito grinned morbidly.
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“You’re one nasty bunny.”
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The Ragu raised its serrated claws, priming them for the slaughter.
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And with a final swipe, Saito thought he was a goner.
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CLANG!
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Saito’s eyes slowly widened as flecks of blonde flowed into his view. Slamming her pentagonal metal against those wicked claws, Kirie appeared out of nowhere.
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The green light emanating off her guard sputtered and burst through every moment of the clash and Kirie’s scarlet eyes bored daggers at the killer bunny.
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Suddenly her shield exploded in a furious flash of white and Kirie threw her arms up.
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“Ragh!”
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Like magic, the Ragu’s claws were instantly thrown back as if ricocheted by an unknown force. This was thanks to her skill, Push, and it had been heavily upgraded since her first use of it back on Floor 1.
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“Ren, pad! Go!”
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Saito looked back just in time to see a flash of red fly by. His head cocked back as his eyes took in the sight.
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Ren, the redhead Hellcat herself, rushed forward like an experienced javelin thrower, pumping her arms up and down as she swiftly neared Kirie.
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The blonde lowered her hands from her previous parry and hunkered down keeping her shield above her. Another skill began to load up as Ren launched herself at the glowing metal.
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As soon as Kirie felt Ren land, she flexed her muscles and ground her teeth, thrusting her body upward and throwing her arms into the air with, subsequently, Ren herself.
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Red locks flying through the wind, Ren struggled to aim herself right where she wanted, but with a downward angle of her liking, she was ready.
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“HEY FLUFFLES!” She screamed.
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The white bunny reared its head upward, red eyes glinting with glee.
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New prey had been acquired, and Ren grinned like the madwoman she was, reeling her arm back. Her spear suddenly ignited with a blue flare and she sucked in as much air into her lungs as possible.
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“COME AND GET IT!”
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The White Ragu catapulted into the air, aggroed to Ren and her alone. What would follow Ren’s banshee-like screech would be an animalistic show of strength, as the redhead chucked her spear with reckless abandon.
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The polearm jettisoned through the air like a shooting star and when it impacted with the tip of the Ragu’s cranium, an azure, four-pointed shockwave blasted out from every which way.
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VWEEE!
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The spear spun at such a high velocity that Javelin Toss completely bored through the mob, blasting out the back of the boss and flying straight into the ground.
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WHOOM!
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Another shockwave ensued from the impact and Saito was left mouth ajar as all that remained were lightly sprinkled remnants of data.
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‘What the absolute-’
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“Saito get your ass up!” Kirie yelled running over and extending her hand. “We still got one more.”
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Saito blinked as the Black Ragu raged right behind them, now tussling with the newest members of the group, Tamashi, Jyun, and Irene.
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Saito flourished his curved sword as Ren landed in a roll next to them, and Calder jogged up on the opposite side. With Kirie leading the charge, the four would join their compatriots in taking down what was essentially indistinguishable from a homeless person’s fever dream.
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20 Minutes Later
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“Are you who they say you are…? The keeper of allyships and the crowning grace of u-unity? If so open your old heart to us, so that we can prove our worth as your… saplings? What the hell.”
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.
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..
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…
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“Okay is that really what it says on there?” Ren asked, red hair swaying as she walked up next to Saito. She squinted, looking over his shoulder.
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“You really think I’d come up with that extravagant mess on my own? Psha.” Saito snorted.
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“Exactly,” Trinity agreed, inspecting her nails, her other arm resting against the hilt of her slender rapier.
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The violet-haired teen smirked smugly.
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“Saito doesn’t have words like “allyship” in his vocabulary.”
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Irene, Tamashi, Calder, and Jyun all failed miserably at hiding their laughter and Saito’s subsequential glare aimed to pierce right through Trinity, who confidently smiled back.
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“Alright, alright,” Kirie said, clapping her hands twice. “Let’s focus up, people. This is the quest we’ve been waiting for.”
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“Exactly,” Tamashi agreed with a wry grin. “The guild formation quest!”
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Calder rubbed his chin with his free hand, his other crossed in his arms. “No one that we’ve talked to about the guild formation quest has ever given us the same answer.”
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Holi nodded. “That is true, the DDA said they had to secure a baby dragon, the ALS is rumored to have fought against a tribe of Blood Orcs, and the KOB won’t even release what they had to go through to complete the quest.”
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“Which means, either someone’s lying,” Saito said, staring right at the tree bark in front of him.
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“Or every quest is different.”
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Jyun nodded.
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“Argo herself stated that guilds never had matched up stories. Accessing the quest was different, as well as completing it. Which means our experience will be completely original. Finding the smallest tree bark in the Wavering Forest was our first clue from the quest giver, but others may have had different beginnings.”
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“I like that.” Ren popped her fist into the palm of her other hand. “Gunning down our own path from the start. I can definitely get behind that. Let’s hurry this up, Saito, I wanna get a move on!”
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Saito threw his hands in the air, parchment and all.
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“I would if I knew how it worked! I said the line, nothing happened.”
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“Well, maybe it needs someone else to say it. Gimme.”
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“Wait what? No, I'm the leader, I’m saying it!”
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“Saito we don’t have time for this, gimme the paper!”
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“Ren stop! We agreed! Guild leader gets to say it!!! WE AGREED!!!”
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“AGREEING DOESN’T HELP US START THE QUEST!!!!”
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FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
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Kirie’s deafening whistle would put a screeching stop to their antics, and Ren and Saito froze where they were. Kirie frowned and Irene covered her ears out of habit.
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They were about to get scolded.
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And boy did they, Kirie spent the next 30 seconds ripping them a new one, it was so bad even Trinity winced for them.
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However, she soon calmed down.
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“Come on you guys, let’s be serious about this. Saito try one more time, and if it doesn’t work, you give it to Ren.”
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The two looked at Kirie, then each other, before pulling themselves away and straightening out.
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“Mhm.”
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“Got it, Kirie.”
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Taking a deep breath, Saito was about to speak, before Trinity chimed in.
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“Saito.”
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“What?” He deadpanned, waiting for the telltale jab.
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Trinity paused for a moment, then spoke up.
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“How you phrased the statement last time sounded like a question. This time, say it like you believe it. Maybe it needs more conviction in the words, like those old Lord of the Rings characters do.”
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Saito looked at her oddly for a moment or two, then blinked back to reality.
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‘Wow, actual advice.’
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“Right… okay.”
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He then began again, this time, with a more deliberate tone.
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“Are you who they say you are?”
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That first line, spoken with confidence that time, sent a gust of wind breezing through the group, warm and inviting.
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“ The keeper of allyships and the crowning grace of unity?”
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Ren took a step back, staring weirdly at the tree trunk in front of them. It began to crack, little by little, and she could’ve sworn little specks of light were shining through.
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“Uhhh…”
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“If so open your old heart to us…”
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The winds picked up, and the light became brighter from inside the tree trunk. Calder and Jyun reached for their weapons, while Tamashi and Irene lowered their stances, Holi went to stand by Kirie who was now staring crazily at the shining tree.
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Saito spoke the end of the sentence…
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“...so that we can prove our worth as your saplings.”
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...and everything went quiet.
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The winds stopped.
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The light dimmed.
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The trees halted their rustle.
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No one in the group made a sound or a movement. They wouldn’t dare let a breath loose, for they could all sense this was the calm before whatever was going to-
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Phoosh!
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The tree suddenly split in half as a light beamed from within, then expanded. Saito and his friends were assaulted with a brilliant light, covering their faces and shrinking away from the marvelous shine.
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Saito tried to reach out with his other senses, relying on his Listening skill to hear anything outside of the curses and yelps of his group mates.
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Then he heard it, something very telltale to his ears. He’d played enough MMOs and heard enough corridor crystals break to remember that noise, and remember it well.
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“Is that-”
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“Woah, guys,” Ren spoke up over the others, prompting them to slowly lower their guards. When Saito dropped his arms and dared his eyes open, he would see Ren gazing forward, her brown orbs focused on something they couldn’t pry away from.
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So he decided to look too.
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And boy, did he empathize.
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There, encompassed within the circular construction of the old tree, a mass of golden energy swirled within itself, the humming of kinetic power tickled against Saito’s eardrums, and his mouth split into a big grin.
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Tamashi shot both fists into the air and roared.
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“WHOO!! GUILD QUEEESST!”
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“Let's goooo!!!”
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“Yayyy!!!”
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The group erupted into a cluster of cheers, hugs, and very weird dance moves.
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Seriously, Calder’s robot was horrible.
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However, the information was correct. The good Argo delivered once again. Before Saito could speak, Ren strode forward ahead of him and turned to the group.
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At that moment, the portal glistened behind her, its golden light accentuating the highlights of red in her hair, like the deepest flame you’d ever seen.
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Ren clapped her hands twice. “Alright team, this is where we do the thing!” She grinned.
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“I’ll take one group, and Saito will take another. Since we’re more than 6 we can’t all be in the same party, so we’ll work together in two groups.”
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She opened her menu with a downward swipe of her hand and began to equip her Labyrinth armor, as did everyone else. They were down on Floor 3 so they didn’t really need much protection from mobs.
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Saito saw the clear absence of talking as a chance and immediately stepped up next to her, turning to their group.
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“Okay, you guys remember the groups, right?”
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“Yes,” Jyun spoke up. “Holi, Tamashi, Inori, and I team up with you.”
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The tall assassin nodded his head of dark hair over to Ren. “And Ren teams up with Kirie, Trinity, and Calder.”
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Saito nodded as everyone naturally buddied up with those on their respective teams. “Correct. The-”
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“We’re only doing this for precaution. Considering this is a guild quest, the system may try us all as one party for this special occasion.” Ren interjected.
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Before Saito could utter a word, Kirie spoke up right after.
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“Remember, every guild has given us different answers about the quest. Assume nothing about this and stick to your groups, but beyond that, stay together.”
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She said seriously, staring each member of her party in the eyes.
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“Don’t worry about your backs, I got them. Just move forward.” She said, slipping her brand new heater shield to her arm, and tightening the strap, its surface hissing with forlorn. She then unsheathed her broadsword.
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She’d gotten it from defeating a Marauder Captain boss on Floor 5.
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Her blonde hair was done up in a ponytail and her scarlet eyes backed all the truth behind the words she’d spoken.
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“Aaaahhh!! Mama Kirie’s so cool!!!”
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“Yes ma’am’s!” Trinity saluted playfully, as everyone energized themselves off of their words, earnestly readying up.
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Saito gulped hard.
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With that swallow went his retort, his add-ons, and any facial hint of disagreement or qualm. He sucked it up and breathed it out, expending it slowly and surely from his system.
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When he opened his eyes again they were half-lidded, calm, and calculating. As Ren and Kirie continued with instructions and words of encouragement, Saito inspected his team silently. Said eyes flitted through the various members of this little group and his mind’s engine flipped on.195Please respect copyright.PENANA8mgWv0Gbz6