Persona: HEAVEN (Persona/Sword Art Online/Isekai Multicross)
- Thread starter afreaknamedpete
- Start date
- Crossover Sci-Fi Fantasy
[X] A REPLICANT.
[X] Lugh
[X] Lugh
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
Okay, seems like MDR is clearly winning so closing the vote. Catgirl shitpost avatar didn't manage the last minute victory! I wrote the next chapter in anticipation of MDR winning, so thanks for for not making me go back and redo everything...
Persona Compendium -Backside- [Defunct Persona Archive]
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
REJECTED PERSONA COMPENDIUM
- 1.CHAOS - A God of Thousand Forms
- 2.SUN - Maladie D'Amour
-
Shakuntala
Do you dare despise a guest like me?
Because your heart, by loving fancies blinded,
Has scorned a guest in pious life grown old,
Your lover shall forget you though reminded,
Or think of you as of a story told.
-The Sign of Shakuntala, play by Kalidasa
STR: Rank F (0 Dice)
MAG: Rank C (3 Dice)
AGI: Rank D (2 Dice)
VIT: Rank F (0 Dice)
CHT: Rank C (3 Dice)
Weakness: Ice
Resist: Fire, Elec
Skills:
Marin Karin: Attempts to Charm target.
Agi: Fire magic attack.
Zio: Elec magic attack.
ENHANCE ARMAMENT
When I denied her, then she tried to join her people. "Stay," one cried, her father's representative.
She stopped, she turned, she could but give a tear-dimmed glance to heartless me—That arrow burns me poisonously.
And was it phantom, madness, dream, or fatal retribution stern? My hopes fell down a precipice and never, never will return.
The Curse of Beauty: Attempts to Charm foe; if unsuccessful immediately attempts to afflict foe with Madness; if unsuccessful immediately attempts to afflict foe with Despair. Rolls CHT for each attempt.
Release Recollection
How could you fail to linger on her soft, tapering finger, and in the water fall?
And yet things lifeless know not beauty; But I—I scorned my duty, The sweetest task of all.
O my darling, my heart burns with repentance because I abandoned you without reason. Take pity on me. Let me see you again.
Sign of Shakuntala: Generates a «Ring of Remembrance» which floats above the battlefield. It possesses 3HP, 2VIT, 3AGI and a weakness to CURSE and ICE attacks. You may guard or defend it as with other party members, but it must remain a valid target for enemy attacks to provide any benefits. So long as it exists, you and your party members are immune to all mind-altering status effects. 2 SP to activate, no maintenance cost. Persists even when you change Persona. If the Ring is defeated, lose an additional 2 SP as backlash.
BACKGROUND
Shakuntala is the daughter of an Apsara and rishi, sent to live in a hermitage and raised as a nun. Her story of love was first featured in the Mahabharata, where a smitten King Dushyanta offers her any wish in order to become his queen. When Shakuntala returns to King Dushyanta's court with their son in tow, the King spurns her and declares no recognition of Shakuntala until he is reprimanded by the gods, after which he takes her as his lawful queen. Later adaptations, including a famous rendition by the Sanskrit playwright Kalidasa, introduces the sage Durvasa. After being ignored by a lovestruck Shakuntala, the sage curses Shakuntala to become unrecognized by King Dushyanta as punishment, rather than having King Dushyanta himself be the instigator of the deception.
Origin: Mahabarhata, The Sign of Shakuntala
REJECTED PERSONAS:
Chang'er
Now that a candle-shadow stands on the screen of carven marble
And the River of Heaven slants and the morning stars are low,
Are you sorry for having stolen the potion that has set you
Over purple seas and blue skies, to brood through the long nights?
-Tang Dynasty Poem by Li Shangyin
Briar Rose
You forgot about me. Why?
You, singing Canary...
And you with the tender hands. Go away!
You listen to what I have to say.
She will grow up...
She will be beautiful.
But!
She will prick her finger...
And die!
-The Sleeping Beauty, ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The IDEAL you denied yourself:
Draupadi
Drupada, had a daughter risen from the centre of the sacrificial altar. Of eyes like lotus-petals and of faultless features endued with youth and intelligence, she is extremely beautiful. And the slender-waisted Draupadi of every feature perfectly faultless, and whose body emitteth a fragrance like unto that of the blue lotus for two full miles around who's existence could take away people's breath, she was the most beautiful women ever born.
-Adi Parva, Book 1 of the Mahabharata - 3.PLANTS - The Man Behind the Curtain
-
Simon Magus
But there was a certain man, called Simon,
which beforetime in the same city used sorcery,
and bewitched the people of Samaria,
giving out that himself was some great one:
to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest,
saying, "This man is the great power of God."
And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
-New Testament, The Book of Apostles, Acts 8:9-24
STR: Rank D (2 Dice)
MAG: Rank C (3 Dice)
AGI: Rank C (3 Dice)
VIT: Rank C (3 Dice)
CHT: Rank B (4 Dice)
Weakness: Slash, Ice
Resist: Wind, Curse, Elec
Skills:
Eiha: Curse magic attack
Dormina: Attempts to lull target to sleep.
Faux-Megido: Single target, roll CHT. If TIED or OVER the enemy's CHT Roll, deal 2 Points of ALMIGHTY damage. [Almighty damage cannot be blocked, evaded or reduced in any fashion] [1SP]
Simony: Spend 1 MISTCOIN to grant TWO RANDOM Kaja Effects to all allies for [CHT] rounds. [1MISTCOIN]
BACKGROUND
A sorcerer known in the Bible for masquerading as a great prophet, typically depicted as levitating in the air via tricks or evil magic as opposed to the true miracles of Christ. Following an encounter with the apostles, Simon would convert to Christianity, being baptized, but when he saw the apostles blessing adherents he coveted that power, seeking to purchase it from the apostles with money. For that, he was rebuked, and is widely considered to be a heretic. Simon Magus would then go on to feature prominently in a number of gnostic cults, typically where Simon would be the emanation of the true God, with Helen his lover as the emanation of Sophia, the divine wisdom of god.
-New Testament, and various Gnostic Cults.
ENHANCE ARMAMENT
Your money perish with you, because you have thought that the gift of God can be purchased with money: you have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God; for I perceive that you are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
De-Deification: Attempt 5 immediate CHT rolls against target enemy, one for each statistic. The target receives -X DICE when rolling that stat for 3 rounds, with X representing the degree of success against your opponent's roll. In the event of a tie, the enemy suffers no debuff. [3 SP]
RELEASE RECOLLECTION
From Simon Magus, that ancient sink of every thing vile has flowed by a secret continuous succession even to Priscillian of our own time. He dared to say that God, the Creator, is the author of evil, that is, of our wickedness and impieties. He asserts that He created with His own hands a human nature of such a description, that of its own motion, and by the impulse of its necessity-constrained will, it can do nothing else, can will nothing else, but sin.
Father of Heresies: Designate any target (enemy, ally or bystander) to become godlike. That target now adds their CHT dice to ALL rolls, with the exception of CHT rolls for which they roll normally. The moment they fail any roll for any reason, this effect ends and causes a backlash whereby they become narratively stunned for the next round. Typically this will cause them to lose their next turn and receive DISADVANTAGE on all defensive rolls.
REJECTED PERSONAS:
O.Z.P.I.N.H.E.A.D.
Of course each one of them expected to see the Wizard in the shape he had taken before, and all were greatly surprised when they looked about and saw no one at all in the room. They kept close to the door and closer to one another, for the stillness of the empty room was more dreadful than any of the forms they had seen Oz take.
Presently they heard a solemn Voice, that seemed to come from somewhere near the top of the great dome, and it said:
"I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Why do you seek me?"
They looked again in every part of the room, and then, seeing no one, Dorothy asked, "Where are you?"
"I am everywhere," answered the Voice, "but to the eyes of common mortals I am invisible. I will now seat myself upon my throne, that you may converse with me."
-The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
Alessandro Cagliostro
The world's heart is palsied, sick: how can any limb of it be whole?
Genuine Acting ceases in all departments of the world's work;
dexterous Similitude of Acting begins.
The world's wages are pocketed, the world's work is not done.
Heroes have gone out; Quacks have come in.
Accordingly, what Century, since the end of the Roman world,
which also was a time of scepticism, simulacra and universal decadence,
so abounds with Quacks as that Eighteenth?
Consider them, with their tumid sentimental vaporing about virtue, benevolence,
—the wretched Quack-squadron, Cagliostro at the head of them!
-On Heroes, Hero-worship and the Heroic in History, by Thomas Carlyle
The TRUTH you turned away from:
Johann Tetzel
Now that I have come to the right causes of the Lutheran noise, I let everything go as it went. However, I was struck by how Tetzel had preached horrible and terrible articles, of which I will now name several, namely:
He would have such grace and authority, from the Pope, that if anyone had weakened or impregnated the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, he could forgive them, if they put what was due into the box.
-Martin Luthor - 4.SKY - Artificial Love
- 5.MANKIND - Through the Looking-Glass
-
Alice
"Wake up, Alice dear!" said her sister; "Why, what a long sleep you've had!"
"Oh, I've had such a curious dream!" said Alice, and she told her sister,
as well as she could remember them, all these strange Adventures of hers that you have just been reading about;
and when she had finished, her sister kissed her, and said,
"It was a curious dream, dear, certainly: but now run in to your tea; it's getting late."
So Alice got up and ran off, thinking while she ran, as well she might, what a wonderful dream it had been.
-Alice's Adventurers in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
Won't you die for me?
UPGRADES: 4
STR: Rank F (0 Dice)
MAG: Rank A (5 Dice)
AGI: Rank C (3 Dice)
VIT: Rank E (1 Dice)
CHT: Rank B (4 Dice)
Weakness: Bless
Resist: Pierce
Null: Curse
Skills:
Mudo: Attempts to unmake target NPC. [1 SP]
Eiha: Curse magic attack.
Eiga: Powerful curse magic attack. Attacks with +1 ADVANTAGE. [1 SP]
Megido: Requires 1 TURN of charge. Draws enemy attention when charging. Must make MAG roll with DC = Damage dealt to maintain concentration.
Deals Single Target Almighty Magic damage. [Almighty damage cannot be blocked, evaded or reduced in any fashion] [4 SP]
ENHANCE ARMAMENT
Hey mister, have you brought what I wanted?
Hooray! Thank you!
I want you to do just one more thing for me...
Won't you die for me?
Die For Me!: Deals 3-5 instances of CURSE magic damage to random enemy targets. High chance of unmaking NPCs hit by this damage. [4 SP]
Release Recollection
You see, Kitty, it must have been either me or the Red King. He was part of my dream, of course—but then I was part of his dream, too! Was it the Red King, Kitty? You were his wife, my dear, so you ought to know—Oh, Kitty, do help to settle it! I'm sure your paw can wait!" But the provoking kitten only began on the other paw, and pretended it hadn't heard the question.
Which do you think it was?
Through the Looking Glass: Will allow you to enter Wonderland when sleeping in the real world while connected to a FullDive rig. You may meet some very interesting people.
If invoked in combat, has no effect but to put you to sleep immediately. Perhaps, if your enemy was also asleep when you use this...
BACKGROUND
The main character of a world famous series of children's novels, Alice is a cultural icon of the Victorian Age and sees reinterpretations of her character even through to the modern age. She is depicted as friendly and curious, but often has periods of pettiness and outright cruelty. Her adventures in Wonderland, a land of nonsense and whimsy, remains a world famous example of children's literature. The Alice in the stories is thought to have been adapted from Alice Liddell, a friend and photography model of Charles Dodgson, the real name of Lewis Carroll. Famously the story was first recited upon a rowboat during an outing Dodgson had with Alice Liddell and her family.
Origin: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
The spirit of a girl who died tragically. Or perhaps a wicked being borne from the imagination of a fevered madman.
REJECTED PERSONAS:
Dorothy
"Tell me something about yourself and the country you came from," said the Scarecrow, when she had finished her dinner.
So she told him all about Kansas, and how gray everything was there,
and how the cyclone had carried her to this queer Land of Oz.
The Scarecrow listened carefully, and said,
"I cannot understand why you should wish to leave this beautiful country
and go back to the dry, gray place you call Kansas."
"That is because you have no brains" answered the girl.
"No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live therethan in any other country, be it ever so beautiful.
There is no place like home."
-The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
Little Prince
"All men have the stars," he answered, "but they are not the same things for
different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For my businessman they were wealth. But all these stars are silent. You-- you alone-- will have the stars as no one else has them--"
"What are you trying to say?"
"In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night...
you-- only you-- will have stars that can laugh!"
-The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The TRUTH you turned away from:
Alice Kyteler
Alice Samuel: Sentenced to death by hanging for the crime of witchcraft. 1593. Warboys, England.
Alice Nutter: Sentenced to death by hanging for the crime of witchcraft. Aug 20, 1612. Lancaster, England.
Alice Device: Sentenced to death by hanging for the crime of witchcraft. Aug 20, 1612. Lancaster, England.
Alice Young: Sentenced to death by hanging for the crime of witchcraft. May 26th, 1647. Hartford, Connecticut.
Alice Lake: Sentenced to death by hanging for the crime of witchcraft. 1651. Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Alice Parker: Sentenced to death by hanging for the crime of witchcraft. Sept 22nd, 1692. Salem, Massachusetts.
Alice Kyteler: Sentenced to death by burning for the crime of witchcraft. Whereabouts unknown. - 6.STARS - Implement of War
- 7.NATURE - Primordial Ooze
-
Khodumodumo
"Where is this thing, Mother?"
"Come out and see, my child."
So they both went out and climbed to the top of the wall surrounding the calves' kraal, and she pointed to the pass, saying, "That object which is filling the nek, as big as a mountain, that is Khodumodumo."
-Myths and Legends of the Bantu, by Alice Werner
STR: Rank B (4 Dice)
MAG: Rank F (0 Dice)
AGI: Rank F (0 Dice)
VIT: Rank A (5 Dice)
CHT: Rank F (0 Dice)
Weakness: Slash, Fire, Ice, Elec
Resist: Blunt, Pierce, Wind
Skills:
Cyclone: Blunt/Wind Widespread Sword Skill [1SP]
Triangular: Pierce Widespread Sword Skill [1SP]
Horizontal Arc: Slash Widespread Sword Skill [1SP]
ENHANCE ARMAMENT
My son, this is not he, the Nunda, eater of people.
The warriors found isiququmadevu squatting on the river-bank, and were swallowed up, every one, before they could attack her.
Once upon a time a ichitumbu ate up all the people in the world.
That object which is filling the nek, as big as a mountain, that is Khodumodumo.
-Myths and Legends of the Bantu
The Swallowing Monster: Manifest an archetype of the all consuming monster and perform a Widespread BLUNT physical attack with +2 ADVANTAGE. This attack always targets VIT. Has a narrative effect of allowing you to damage physical structures, terrain or items coded as «Immortal Object». Will also narratively scare the crap out of everyone watching. [3 SP to activate]
Release Recollection
A whole population is swallowed by a monster.
One woman escapes and gives birth to a son.
This son kills the monster and releases the people.
They make him their chief.
-Myths and Legends of the Bantu
Belly of the Beast: Target one willing party member, ally or NPC. They are placed in a pocket dimension where they cannot act or be targeted by any abilities. For each ROUND they remain 1 HP is healed. An Ally may escape at any time but will automatically do so when their HP reaches Max. An Ally cannot act on the turn they escape. The effect persists even when your Persona changes. [2 SP to activate] [When an ally escapes, Lux suffers 2 points of ALMIGHTY damage]
BACKGROUND
Its name means "Great Noise" in the language of the Basuto, a nation encompassing the territory of modern day South Africa. The Khodumodumo was a great monster, the size of mountains that swallowed all the men and nations of the world, leaving only a lone woman behind. Praying to the gods she bore a single child— Ditaolane, who instantly grew to adulthood and went forth to slay Khodumodumo. Despite being swallowed, Ditaolane was able to carve his way out from the belly of the beast, saving not only himself but all the swallowed men of the world, who climbed out of Khodumodumo's entrails alongside Ditaolane.
Origin: Bantu Mythology
REJECTED PERSONAS:
A Bao A Qu
At each level the creature's colour becomes more intense, its shape approaches perfection, and the bluish form it gives off is more brilliant. But it achieves its ultimate form only at the topmost step, when the climber is a person who has attained Nirvana and whose acts cast no shadows. Otherwise, the A Bao A Qu hangs back before reaching the top, as if paralysed, its body incomplete, its blue growing paler, and its glow hesitant. The creature suffers when it cannot come to completion, and its moan is a barely audible sound, something like the rustling of silk.
-From Book of Imaginary Beings, by Jorge Luis Borges
Hundun
How pleasant were our bodies in the days of Chaos,
Needing neither to eat or piss!
Who came along with his drill
And bored us full of these nine holes?
Morning after morning we must dress and eat;
Year after year, fret over taxes.
A thousand of us scrambling for a penny,
We knock our heads together and yell for dear life.
- Poem by Han-shan
The IDEAL you denied yourself:
Thaba Bosiu
The mountain-top is deserted today. Thaba Bosiu has accomplished its historic purpose, and sleeps now as it slept for a million years before Moshesh led his people to it. Yet the spirit of those great times still breathes over the rough grass, and to scan the miles and miles of pink and mauve distance, the plains and severe flat mounts of the lowlands, the darker Basalt of the Maluti highlands, their tops crested with snow, is to experience in retrospect something of what Moshesh must himself have felt.
-Basutoland, by Austin Coates
The TRUTH you turned away from:
Shoggoth
Formless protoplasm able to mock and reflect all forms and organs and processes - viscous agglutinations of bubbling cells - rubbery fifteen-foot spheroids infinitely plastic and ductile - slaves of suggestion, builders of cities - more and more sullen, more and more intelligent, more and more amphibious, more and more imitative! Great God! What madness made even those blasphemous Old Ones willing to use and carve such things?
-The Mountains of Madness, Book by H.P. Lovecraft - 8.REST - Spinning Fate
- 9.JUSTICE - Absolute Justice
- 10.TEMPERANCE - Power Through the Pages
- 11.STRENGTH - Dead Kings Shall Rise
-
Sokushinbutsu
The healing power of the exoteric doctrines has wiped away all dust;
Now opens the store of the True Word,
In which all hidden treasures are brought to light,
And there embodied are all virtues and powers.
Such is the Soul filled with the Glories of Mystery.
-Except from Jūjūshinron, by Kōbō Daishi.
STR: Rank F (0 Dice)
MAG: Rank D (2 Dice)
AGI: Rank F (0 Dice)
VIT: Rank S (6 Dice)
CHT: Rank B (4 Dice)
Weakness: Slash, Psy
Resist: Bless, Curse
Archetype [Real Deal]: You are a sack of bone and sinew in transitory passage through the impure world. To mourn a life is to regret a passing breeze. To stay your hand is to deny all souls true mercy.
Skills:
Hamaon: Forcibly disconnect target Fluctlight from the «Main Visualizer», and destabilizes their connection if resisted. [CHT/LOGOUT]
Mudoon: Purge target Artifical Fluctlight from the «Main Visualizer», and forcibly injects knowledge of the transience of their existence if resisted. [CHT/INSTANT KILL]
Tetraja: Raise a shield around your party that blocks one attempt at inflicting instant death or logout. Wears off at the end of next Scene if not triggered. [BUFF]
Meditation: Your sutra will call forth true peace. Strike at the target's Fluctlight and take their karma into yourself, dealing more damage the less sure they are of their own existence. By default does 2 damage. [ALMIGHTY DRAIN]
BACKGROUND
Shokushinbutsu, loosely translated as 'Buddha within this very body' is the practice of extreme aestheticism whereby a monk forgoes food and water in lieu of prayer, allowing themselves to ascend to enlightenment and become Buddha in their current body, rather than waiting for reincarnation. Kōbō Daishi, a celebrated Japanese Buddhist monk, is said to have entered in such a state rather than dying, and that he awaits the incarnation of the Celestial Buddha in a senescent state. Several examples of Shokushinbutsu have been discovered over the years, most of which are currently enshrined as religious symbols. There is controversy over whether known Shokushinbutsu, or the mummified corpses claimed to be Shokushinbutsu, were created due to legitimate ritual suicide or simply preserved in such a manner after a natural death. Regardless, the act of religious self starvation is illegal in Japan, in case one needed more incentive to not die in this manner.
Origin: Shingon Buddhism
REJECTED PERSONAS:
Baigujing
Ice-white skin hides jadelike bones;
Her collar reveals a milk-white bosom.
Willow brows gather dark green hues;
Almond eyes shine like silver stars.
Her features like the moon are coy;
Her natural disposition is pure.
Her body's like the willow-nested swallow;
Her voice's like the woods' singing oriole.
A half-opened haitong caressed by the morning sun.
A newly bloomed peony displaying her charm.
-Excerpt from Journey to the West
Koshchei the Deathless
O Tzar's Majesty! It is clear that the Tzaritza
has been spirited away by Kastchey,
the most powerful of all the wizards.
It is, however, bootless to war against him,
for his Palaces are, each and every one,
surrounded by enchantment, and Kastchey himself
cannot be killed by mortal means, since he carries
his life not in his body, but in a secret place
that is known only to himself.
-Excerpt from Tsarevich Petr and the Wizard
The IDEAL you denied yourself:
Rainbow Body
You are the love that enlightens the soul and its knowledge;
You are the Effulgent Lustre that abides even in a small atom;
You fill with the ambrosia of your Grace,
Every pore of their bones, their flesh and their five senses,
And the sense organs, their breaths, the Five Elements,
That constitute the human body, the soul and its active love
That has helped to gain the divine knowledge to know you.
You are the Divine River that springs within them,
Becomes brimful, and overflows with Grace and Bliss.
-Excerpt of a poem by Tirumular. - 12.PRUDENCE - Blood of the Mother
-
Pūtanā
She could understand that this child was not ordinary, but was meant to kill all demons.
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the all-pervading Supersoul, lying on the bed,
understood that Pūtanā, a witch who was expert in killing small children, had come to kill Him.
Therefore, as if afraid of her, Kṛṣṇa closed His eyes.
Thus Pūtanā took upon her lap Him who was to be her own annihilation,
just as an unintelligent person places a sleeping snake on his lap, thinking the snake to be a rope.
-Excerpt from the Bhagavata Purana
STR: Rank A (5 Dice)
MAG: Rank C (3 Dice)
AGI: Rank E (1 Dice)
VIT: Rank C (3 Dice)
CHT: Rank C (3 Dice)
Weakness: Bless, Fire
Resist: Curse
Skills:
Poisma: Corrupts and degrades target life, dealing steady damage per turn. [CHT/POISON]
Eiha: Generates an UMBRAL element and launches it forward, or shapes it into a simple bullet form. [MAG/CURSE]
Collapse: A standard Sword Skill where you cast aside all technique and grace to tear into your opponent with pure force. The strength of this blow is sufficient to rend earth but you cannot perform any actions that require finesse. [STR/BLUNT]
Archetype [Rakshasa]: You are a monster, and you hunger for the flesh of your enemies. Though your soul is filled with fury, you may drape yourself in finery should it prove to your benefit.
BACKGROUND
A Rakshasa famous for her association with Krishna. The evil king Kamsa, who was prophesized to die at the hands of Krishna, recruits Pūtanā to slay the infant Krishna due to her reputation as a slayer of infants. In the Bhagavata Purana the Rakshasa disguises herself as a maiden so beautiful, the denizens of Krishna's village believe her to be Parvati and allow her to breastfeed the infant Krishna, her intent being to kill him with poison applied to her breasts. Unfortunately for her Krishna, Destroyer of Evil, sucked out her life force through her breast. Ironically this act of unintentional sacrifice has granted Pūtanā a degree of redemption, and certain legends depict her as a Matrika, a 'mother goddess' in Hinduism.
Origin: Bhagavata Purana
RELEASE RECOLLECTION
Now whatever child is suckled in the night by Pútaná instantly dies;
but Krishńa, laying hold of the breast with both hands, sucked it with such violence,
that he drained it of the life; and the hideous Pútaná, roaring aloud,
and giving way in every joint, fell on the ground expiring.
-Vishnu Purana
Vishakanya: Coat your body, your blood and your soul with poison. Every aspect of your body is now narratively poison, and the QM will roll frequently to subject the opponent to poison. You may freely generate poison sludge and contaminate large bodies of water. If the opponent is cognitively a child, the poison intensifies. Only active while this Persona is active. [3 SP]
REJECTED PERSONAS:
Oedipus
His birthright. Blind, who once had seeing eyes,
Beggared, who once had riches, in strange guise,
His staff groping before him, he shall crawl
O'er unknown earth, and voices round him call:
"Behold the brother-father of his own
Children, the seed, the sower and the sown,
Shame to his mother's blood, and to his sire
Son, murderer, incest-worker."
-Oedipus Rex, play by Sophocles
Carathis
"Princess, whose knowledge and whose crimes have merited a conspicuous rank in my empire,
thou doest well to employ the leisure that remains,
for the flames and torments which are ready to seize on thy heart,
will not fail to provide thee with full employment."
He said this, and was lost in the curtains of his tabernacle.
-Vathek, an Arabian Tale, book by William Beckford
The TRUTH you turned away from:
Hachishaku-Sama
My grip tightened on the wooden plate and kept my head down, wishing it for it to end.
The voice kept up with us for what felt like eterntiy, and it drove me nuts, making me do the stupidest thing possible.
I opened my eyes. A white dress came into my sight, and saw that "it" was moving with the van.
Its long legs allowed it to keep pace, but its tall height prevented me from seeing its face through the window.
-2chan creepypasta - 13.HIGH PRIEST - Of Both Poles
- 14.DEVIL - The Call of Gold
-
Maneki-Neko
If a cat raises its paw over the ears and washes its face, then patrons will come.
If you are grateful to me, bring some fortune to the temple.
If you kill a cat, it will haunt your family for seven generations.
-Assorted Proverbs
STR: Rank E (1 Dice)
MAG: Rank B (4 Dice)
AGI: Rank E (1 Dice)
VIT: Rank C (3 Dice)
CHT: Rank D (2 Dice)
Weakness: Wind, Ice, Curse
Resist: Elec, Bless
Passive: Beckoning Gold: Performing the Last Hit with this Persona OR dealing greater than 3 Cumulative Damage to a target with this Persona will generate 1 MistCoin. Can only apply once per opponent.
Skills:
Zio: Electric magic attack.
Rakukaja: Augments an ally's defensive ability for [CHT Rank] turns.
Kouha: Bless magic attack.
ENHANCE ARMAMENT
One day, a lord on his way back from falconry was beckoned by a cat at the temple gate and decided to stop by.
While spending time at the temple, thunder suddenly rang out and rain began to fall.
Having gotten well out of a thundershower with an enjoyable conversation with the temple master, the lord was impressed by this luck that the cat brought.
-Gotokuji Temple
Ii's Fortune: Call forth a thunderstorm. When cast make a Elec magic attack on a RANDOMLY selected target (includes allies). This recurs every round until Maneki-Neko is switched off as the active Persona. When casting this ability, you may beckon one target (enemy or ally), that target will be excluded from the random target list. [2 SP, continuously casts every round until switched off] [Activation takes 1 turn, but every subsequent attack is free.]
RELEASE RECOLLECTION
A Right Paw for money and fortune.
A Left Paw for connections and luck.
But two, one on each side, means that wealth and blessings can arrive together.
Capricious Gold Cat: Do you feel lucky? Can only activate during combat with stakes. [2 SP to activate]
Roll 1d4, gain following effect based on roll.
1 = No Paws, DOOMCAT DESCENDS! A random non-Lux ally suffers 2 points of ALMIGHTY damage.
2 = Left Paw, immediately gain 5 DETERMINATION
3 = Right Paw, immediately gain 1 MISTCOIN
4 = Both Paws, immediately gain 1 FREE UPGRADE POINT
Also Roll 1d8, gain the following effect based on roll.
1 = DOOMCAT DESCENDS! Lux suffers from 2 points of ALMIGHTY damage. This can never bring your health to 0.
2 = White, all allies gain +1 ADVANTAGE on the next offensive action.
3 = Black, all allies gain a shield that wards off one instance of CURSE/BLESS damage. Also wards off one instance of Instant Death effect.
4 = Pink, all allies heal 3 HP.
5 = Red, all allies gain a shield that wards off one instance of any Status effect, OR cures any current status effects
6 = Green, reveal enemy weaknesses and capabilities
7 = Blue, all allies heal 5 SP.
8 = Calico, pick any of the 2 effects listed on this chart and activate it.
In the rare event of a double natural 1, SUPER DOOMCAT will smite all enemy foes with 4 points of ALMIGHTY damage.
BACKGROUND
The "Beckoning Cat" or "Lucky Cat", is a common Asian good luck charm featuring a cat with one of its paws raised, the lowered paw typically holding a coin or other depiction of wealth. The are multiple origins and myths, most of which cite Japanese folklore as the source of the design, but some theories place Chinese folklore as the root origin. It is said that a cat raising its left paw brings in customers, while the right paw brings in wealth and happiness. The color of the cat also affects which specific types of fortune the cat beckons forth, but white is generally accepted as the original color welcoming luck in general.
Origin: Japanese Folklore (probably)
REJECTED PERSONAS:
Midas
'Make it so that whatever I touch with my body, turns to yellow gold.'
Bacchus accepted his choice, and gave him the harmful gift, sad that he had not asked for anything better.
The Berecyntian king departed happily, rejoicing in his bane,
and testing his faith in its powers by touching things, and scarcely believing it,
when he broke off a green twig from the low foliage of the holm-oak:
the twig was turned to gold.
-Metamorphosis XI, book by Ovid
Aladdin
"Forgive my ignorance," he asked, "what is the palace you speak of?"
"Have you not heard of Prince Aladdin's palace," was the reply,
"the greatest wonder in the world? I will direct you if you have a mind to see it."
The magician thanked him who spoke,
and having seen the palace knew that it had been raised by the Genie of the Lamp,
and became half mad with rage.
He determined to get hold of the lamp, and again plunge Aladdin into the deepest poverty.
-Alladin and the Magic Lamp, from One Thousand and One Nights
The IDEAL you denied yourself:
Doraemon
This is nice, paradise!
This dream, that dream, wishing all around.
Everything you want to conquer,
In the magic pocket can be found.
Want to fly free, oh yeah!
(Hi! ta-ke-copter!)
Oh, oh, oh, we love you so, Doraemon!
Oh, oh, oh, we love you so, Doraemon!
-Doraemon's Song by Shunsuke Kikuchi
「Have no fear. We will all be tanasinn」 - 15.MAGICIAN - A Life of Delusion
- 16.JUDGMENT - Iconoclastic Wisdom
- 17.DEATH - Promised Immortality
- 18.TRAITOR - The Souls who Sign a Pact
-
Havfrue
"You will feel great pain, as if a sword were passing through you.
But all who see you will say that you are the prettiest little human being they ever saw.
You will still have the same floating gracefulness of movement,
and no dancer will ever tread so lightly.
Every step you take, however,
will be as if you were treading upon sharp knives and as if the blood must flow.
If you will bear all this, I will help you."
-The Little Mermaid, by Hans Christian Andersen
UPGRADES: 6
STR: Rank E (1 Dice)
MAG: Rank C (3 Dice)
AGI: Rank C (3 Dice)
VIT: Rank E (1 Dice)
CHT: Rank D (2 Dice)
Weakness: Elec, Pierce
Resist: Ice, Wind
Skills:
Bufu: Ice magic attack
Garu: Wind magic attack
Makajama: Attempts to SILENCE target
ENHANCE ARMAMENT
I have not, like de la Motte Fouqué in Undine, allowed the mermaid's acquiring of an immortal soul to depend upon an alien creature, upon the love of a human being. I'm sure that's wrong! It would depend rather much on chance, wouldn't it? I won't accept that sort of thing in this world. I have permitted my mermaid to follow a more natural, more divine path. - Hans Christen Anderson
Love is Fleeting: Target any foe currently under the effect of a CHARM or MADNESS debuff; clear the effect immediately while dealing 3 points of ALMIGHTY damage. Narratively wracks the target with debilitating heartache, certain foes may suffer disadvantage when in this state. This ability does not roll dice, and may be used on allies, but the damage component is not optional.
RELEASE RECOLLECTION
A mermaid has not an immortal soul, nor can she obtain one unless she wins the love of a human being. On the will of another hangs her eternal destiny. But the daughters of the air, although they do not possess an immortal soul, can, by their good deeds, procure one for themselves. We fly to warm countries and cool the sultry air that destroys mankind with the pestilence. We carry the perfume of the flowers to spread health and restoration.
Manifest Sylph: Dissolve into seafoam and become a spirit of the air. All defensive rolls will be resolved with AGI when active, become effectively weightless when active, can narratively seep through small cracks. Wind-based abilities strengthen. [Activation does not cost a turn. 1 SP per round cost.] [Once deactivated may not reactivate]
BACKGROUND
Den lille havfrue, the Little Mermaid, is a fairy tale by the prolific author Hans Christian Andersen. The Mermaid in the original tales falls in love with a prince she rescues from a shipwreck. She sacrifices to the witch of the sea many things— her longevity, her place in the world and her voice, for a chance to live on land and be with her prince. Alas despite meeting him, he never recognizes her and her love is unrequited. But due to her sacrifices and persistence in the end the Little Mermaid is able to obtain that which she wished for the most: an immortal soul.
Origin: The Little Mermaid, by Hans Christian Andersen
REJECTED PERSONAS:
Dorian Gray
How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful.
But this picture will remain always young.
It will never be older than this particular day of June....
If it were only the other way!
If it were I who was to be always young,
and the picture that was to grow old!
For that—for that—I would give everything!
Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give!
I would give my soul for that!
-The Portrait of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde
Faust
I, John Faustus of Wittenberg, Doctor, by these presents, do give both body and soul to Lucifer, prince of the east, and his minister Mephostophilis, and furthermore grant unto them that, four and twenty years being expired, and these articles above written being inviolate, full power to fetch or carry the said John Faustus, body and soul, flesh, blood, or goods, into their habitation wheresoever.
-The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe
The TRUTH you turned away from:
Havheksen
She reached a large muddy clearing in the forest, where big fat water snakes slithered about, showing their foul yellowish bellies.
In the middle of this clearing was a house built of the bones of shipwrecked men, and there sat the sea witch,
letting a toad eat out of her mouth just as we might feed sugar to a little canary bird.
She called the ugly fat water snakes her little chickabiddies, and let them crawl and sprawl about on her spongy bosom.
-The Little Mermaid, by Hans Christian Andersen - 19.TEMPLE - An Ugly Soul
- 20.FORTUNE - Time is Relative
- 21.DESPOT - God is Dead
- 25.KNAVE OF WANDS - A Comedy of Errors
- 37.QUEEN OF CUPS - Silicon Primogenesis
- 50.KING OF SWORDS - Everdistant Utopia
- 66.KNIGHT OF PENTACLES - Have Gun Will Travel
-
Paladin
Have gun will travel, reads the card of a man
A knight without armor in a savage land
His fast gun hire, heeds the calling wind
A soldier of fortune, is a man called Pal-a-din
Paladin, Paladin, where do you roam
Paladin, Paladin, far, far from home
He travels on to where ever he must
A chess knight of silver is his badge of trust
There are campfire legends that the plainsmen sing
Of the man with the gun, of the man called Pal-a-din
-The Ballad of Paladin, a song by Johnny Western
STR: Rank C (3 Dice)
MAG: Rank D (2 Dice)
AGI: Rank C (3 Dice)
VIT: Rank E (1 Dice)
CHT: Rank C (3 Dice)
Weakness: Ice, Bless, Curse
Resist: Blunt, Fire
Archetype [Bounty Hunter]: You a gun for hire who aspires to be something more. Everyone has an angle, death can come from any direction, but that's no reason to be uncivil. You specialize in negotiation and de-escalation, but others will find it hard to trust you. [Further effects unlocked at RANK 4]
Quick Draw: You can take a free shot with your trusty revolver's Basic Attack at any opponent who closes in on you. [PASSIVE]
Patra: Removes a status effect from a single ally. Can be used on yourself, provided you maintain control. [FREE]
Twin Shot: Shoot the outlaw twice for good measure. [Basic Attack x 2]
Embracer: Lunge forward across short distances and slam your fist through their chest. Politely. [STR/BLUNT]
ENHANCE ARMAMENT
That's a gentleman knight in shiny armor, all armed with a cause and righteousness and a fine pointed lance. And yet a mercenary. A man who hires out for gold. What was your price, my paladin? How much gold did Norge give you to slay the dragon?
Wire Paladin, San Francisco: Fire your revolver's Basic Attack between 1-6 times in one turn based on the amount of MISTCOIN you spend to activate the skill. If the enemy dies before you finish shooting Paladin still charges his fee in full. [Cost 1-6 MISTCOIN]
BACKGROUND
The nameless man with a gun, Paladin is a fixer who will solve your problem— for $1000 USD. The main character of a popular western radio drama turned TV show, Paladin was once a simple gun for hire. After taking a job for a land baron hunting an outlaw named Smoke, he fumbles his way to a dishonorable victory by distracting his target using the smoke from a brushfire. When the dust has settled Paladin realizes he has killed a good man who simply wished to protect the homesteaders and the true evil was the baron. Haunted by Smoke's final words: "—your armor does shine brightly, and your arm is... strong enough... but, where is righteousness, noble paladin?... where is your cause?... You remember, there's always a dragon loose... somewhere —" the newly christened Paladin slays the baron who tricked him and embarks on a new life, one where he seeks violence as the last resort, instead of the first. Yet despite it all where Paladin treads more often than not a body is left drying in the desert sun.
Origin: Have Gun – Will Travel, Western Radio Play
REJECTED PERSONAS:
Aṅgulimāla
A bandit I used to be,
renowned as Aṅgulimāla.
One whom the great flood swept along,
I went for refuge to the Buddha.
Bloody-handed I used to be,
renowned as Aṅgulimāla.
See the refuge I have found:
The bond of being has been cut.
While I did many deeds that lead
To rebirth in the evil realms,
Yet their result has reached me now;
And so I eat free from debt.
-Excerpt from the Aṅgulimāla Sutra
Ibn Tahir
To know! Yes, al-Araf is a symbol for those who have their eyes open and who have the courage to act in
accordance with their knowledge. Look. When you believed, you were in heaven. Now that
you've come to see and deny, you've descended into hell. But on Araf there's no place for
either joy or disillusionment. Al-Araf is the balance of good and evil, and the path that leads
to it is long and steep. Few have the opportunity to see it. Even fewer dare to tread it,
because you're alone on Araf. It's what separates you from other people. To endure up here,
you have to steel your heart. Do I make sense now?
-Excerpt from Alamut, by Vladimir Bartol
The IDEAL you denied yourself:
The Man with No Name
This short cigar,
This long gun,
This poncho
belong to
The Man with No Name.
In his own way he is perhaps,
the most dangerous man who ever lived!
-Tagline, A Fistful of Dollars - 78.FOOL - The End of the World
Last edited:
05/26: UNTOUCHABLE!
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
MONDAY - 201 CYCLES POST STARFALL
1700 Glocken Standard Time
Whoa, look at that. New model?
Damn wallet warriors! I want an ArFa-chan...
G-get outta my way! Hey, stop, you two!
You marginally increase your pace, trailing behind Lugh as you push through the crowd of staring players. You feel like a circus animal on display, yet Lugh just seems mildly amused by all the increased attention.
"So, where are we going?"
The boy turns towards you, a mischievous smile already on his face. "I have no idea."
Yup, the blind leading the blind.
"This is a gun game, so we should head to the... gun store?" Was there a better word for it? Armory?
"Works for me, but I'm thinking we should get some new clothes too. See? We're pretty popular," he points behind himself. "Outside of the crowd, I think we've got four players tailing us. Bet they're friends of that merchant we ghosted or more account buyers."
You turn around and see nothing but uncountable masses behind you.
"Should we make a break for it?" You ask, leaning over to speak in Lugh's ear. The boy recoils at your breath, face going red momentarily.
Heh, is he ticklish?
You suppress the urge to tease a person you've just met, especially a VR novice. "Sorry," you mutter, giving the boy a sheepish grin.
"D-don't worry about it. I just didn't expect it to be so... loud... or sensitive..." he trails off, shaking his head. "Everything feels so vivid. And the sounds, they're overwhelming. Is it like this for everyone? I feel like I'm superhuman."
"I suppose? Feels normal to me..." Though you have more VR legs than most. Frankly, you've heard the opposite more often— Meimi always complained about how the Amusphere lacked fidelity compared to what she experienced in SAO. The sensitivity is more troublesome in a loud place like SBC Glocken. Unlike Alfheim where player population was kept in check by the dozens of towns scattered throughout the world, every social aspect of GGO was crammed into this single, relatively tightly packed city.
"Can you hear them? If you focus, you can tell they're all around us."
Look, isn't he adorable? I wanna take him home!
They look like newbies... wonder if they'd sell their accounts to me...
Heh. Let's see which way they leave town. Give them the ol' GGO welcome.
"We draw way too much attention in the open," you say. Was it too late to change accounts? But then you'd have to give up Excalibur, and you're not even sure you can with a NerveGear created account.
"A good point. Are we in danger here? Nobody seems to be attacking."
"This is a town. The worst they can do is annoy us."
As you explain the basics of VRMMOs to Lugh, he proves to be an attentive student. Though his eyes seem to be constantly scanning his surroundings, his mind is fully on you and what you say, not missing a word. He takes most things in stride, that is until you start talking about respawn points.
"So here, death isn't real," he muses, before quickly correcting himself. "Sorry, that was stupid of me. Of course, death wouldn't be real in a video game."
Your eye twitches at the thought. SAO was bad enough. "You can lose items when you die, so it's not like death has no consequence. But nobody would be crazy enough sign up for a game knowing their life was at risk."
"I'm not so sure about that," Lugh murmurs. "People risk their lives for all sorts of things."
"Yeah, but a video game?"
"Why not?" Lugh looks out over the sea of players around you. "I've seen people kill themselves over the silliest of things. Breaking their bodies in pursuit of money they don't need, power they can't use... fighting for pride when pragmatic cowardice would've let them live another day. Dying for a game... is that truly so ridiculous?"
You think back to Aincrad and its labyrinths of death. People in SAO fought for survival, in rebellion against the forces that trapped them there against their will. People in SAO didn't die out of pride or greed, they died trying to survive and to help others to survive.
...
But there was one exception. Always an exception.
The laughing ones, who killed because they could. Who died pursuing that deviant goal.
When the clearers raided the Laughing Coffin base... when you ran away... what did the rest of the coffins do? Did they cry for mercy, did they scream that they'd learned their lesson, that they'd change?
Or did they fight to the bitter end, laughing as they did?
Because while everyone else in SAO was fighting for survival...
Laughing Coffin was playing a video game. One they were willing to die for.
"Lugh."
"What's wrong, Kuro?"
"Don't be an idiot," you complain, ruffling up his hair as you walk past him. "You always overthink stuff like this? It's a game. Nobody's here to die."
"H-hey, don't mess with that!" Lugh huffs as he pulls away. "Gimme a break. I'm not a child, this is just how the avatar came out!"
Whatever his age is IRL he's certainly acting like a child. And it's fun to tease him!
"You know, rumors say that your random avatar appearance ties into your subconscious desires. So... deep down in your heart of hearts... your soul is that of an elementary school student!"
"At least give me middle school!" He looks down at his avatar and grumbles something under his breath, and you suspect he might have said, 'damn kids..'.
You try not to snort and start giggling. Probably some old salaryman or something, you weren't gonna pry into IRL matters. You weren't Argo, doxxing people at the drop of a hat.
"And what's with yours? Not seeing a whole lot of heterochromatic, white-haired, avatars running around. You look like you walked out of a Sailor Moon episode."
It begged the question about what exactly happened to your avatar. The white hair does remind you of Lux, but everything else...
Shit man, ain't it like, 10 Megacredits just to buy an ArFa?
Screw the ArFa, do you how rare the shota models are!?
Urgh, some jackasses get all the luck.
"I'm getting sick of being gawked at. Why couldn't we get some nice generic avatars instead of these stupid unique ones?" You sigh, trying to shake the attention off of yourself.
Lugh laughs, "Life's given us lemons, so why not make lemonade? There's no point hiding, not when we stand out so much. Let them gossip— the things you can learn just by listening in..."
You can see why you got accosted for your account the second you logged in. White hair wasn't unusual in most video games, but it seemed downright rare in GGO... except on the billboards. Of the hundreds of players you've seen in GGO you start seeing a few stranger designs the deeper you get into the city. Always in a very specific pattern: Big hulking players, decked out in camo and armor, trailed by scantily clad girls in technicolor hairdos with glazed out thousand yard stares.
"Kuro, look. See the ones who stand out like peacocks? With the heavy weapons on open display? Seems they all have personal assistants."
"This is an MMO. Probably just want to show off. Like glowing weapons."
His eyes sharpen and he immediately nods. "Makes sense. It also seems that having a personal assistant of some sort is a mark of prestige. Friends? No... seems more like subordinates..."
Or NPCs.
...You see it in your character sheet. A setting you initially paid no attention to but you're quickly starting to realize might be a bigger deal than you initially expected. There was an indicator in your Race status, where Sylph used to be, with a strange moniker. ArFa-Sys, an abbreviation the tooltip helpfully expands as: «Artificial Financial Adviser System».
Is that what the two of you looked like? A rich new player with an NPC assistant trailing behind?
Did we roll up... the NPC race!? I blame Kayaba Akihiko. Somehow it's always his fault.
A copious dose of corrupted data, more like. You had Thrym and Dorz'l's data piggybacking in your NerveGear. If your Excalibur blade got morphed into this... keyboard laser rifle, what did all that NPC data you still haven't offloaded yet do to your player data?
"Lugh, did you, uh... have a race option on character creation?"
"Outside of the name they didn't give me any options. Frankly, I'd much prefer a taller avatar..."
Hmm, for all his complaining he's gotten the hang of walking around remarkably quickly. There was the whole judo-throw thing he did as well, either he's had VRMMO experience or he was simply that much of a natural.
Things would be easier if you had an actual GGO vet to explain things to you, but right now your options were between just accosting a stranger on the street or doing what Lugh suggested. Shut up, look around, and listen. At least it wasn't hard, not when everyone was talking about you.
Hang on, that ArFa? Since when did they get nameplates?
Wait, you can play as ArFas now!? Sign me up! Why the hell do I have to be an old man even in my fantasies...
Why the fuck would you want to play as an NPC!?
"I... hope this game has a «Hide» skill. I feel so exposed out here like this," you complain, feeling the stares intensify. That cloak was getting higher and higher up your list of priorities, and you could sense Lugh was getting more anxious with the attention as well.
Lugh looks you straight in the eye, the cute face now twisted with worry, "Hey, Kuro... I think that creepy guy is back..."
"Creepy guy? Which one?" You turn your head around and—
Ooooohhh shit.
"30 MEGACREDITS! PLEEEAAAASSSSEEEEE!"
Goddamn it, this would be so much easier if you could just shoot him! Or if GGO had a freaking functional blacklist system— Lugh's hand wraps around your wrist. There's a change in his demeanor, the anxious newbie now looks calm, collected, and excited. His eyes glisten at the anticipation of action.
"Hey Kuro. Remember what you suggested earlier?"
You blink, trying to figure out what he's talking about, but when the words sink in you can't help but smile as well.
"Finally sick of sneaking around? Then let's blast outta here!"
"S-slow down Lugh!"
"Hahahaha, you'll have to catch me first!"
You run through the crowded streets of Glocken, the crowds parting before you as you chase down Lugh. The boy's initial stoicness has completely fallen away as he runs ahead of you with a mad grin on his face, a burst of sudden laughter coming out of him as you gave chase. The moment he started sprinting something seemed to finally click into his mind. A memory returns to you, unbidden.
The feeling of wind caressing your wings. Diving through an infinite sky, a sense of freedom that screamed that you could go anywhere, be anyone.
You see it on the face of Lugh as he charges through the crowd. You've lost the annoying creep long ago, but Lugh still doesn't slow down. There was only so fast a new player could go without stat upgrades and the two of you had nearly the same top speed, but somehow the distance between the two of you kept expanding.
He grabs a lamp-post and swings around it, using it to round a corner at breakneck speed. He dives under the legs of a particularly tall player to the screams of protest. He clambers over a metal crate and hurls himself skyward, hand grabbing a metal pole suspended between two buildings.
"W-wait!"
He doesn't wait. Something has possessed Lugh, and he scrambles across the city using windowsills and corners as handholds, launching himself up into rooftops. You see him cut across buildings, racing forward at full tilt with a feral energy.
"Lugh, you can't make—"
The sound of laughter shifts into a sudden shout of panic. Lugh's foot slips on the roof edge, and his short legs lurch skywards. The fall seems to occur in slow motion, the boy's head bonking against the corner of the building before the rest of his body suddenly goes into a tailspin. You wince at the sound of a 50kg child tumbling down two stories as his avatar bonelessly smashes against the metal floor, his sudden tuck and roll doing little to prevent him from crashing into a nearby pile of what you can only describe as a decorative trash pile.
"—that jump. Are you done?"
"...too many... fancy moves." The white tuft of hair sticking out of the trash pile wiggles free, and Lugh stares back at you, his smile no less diminished. You can see him opening and closing his hands, a mild tremor still present with every motion. You can practically see his heartbeat pulse within his irises.
"T-this is my... body..."
You walk toward the wall and pluck Lugh from the ground. It takes significantly more effort than your ALO avatar would've needed, and you can sense that your current body was lacking in both speed and power, but heavy in durability. Not much of a surprise if you loaded up some NPC data by accident.
"Yup. And your body can't clear a whole street in a single jump. It might feel superhuman but it's not superhuman. At least until you throw some stats in it."
"Hahahaha... wow. Just... hahaha..." Lugh grabs his hair, looking like a madman. "That should've killed me! Hahaha, guess I'm not as tall as I remember..."
"Just be careful! If you weren't in a town you would've had to respawn!"
"But I was in a town, and as you said, I'm fine," Lugh replies. He suddenly rolls backward, building up momentum before he launches himself from supine position to standing in a single dramatic leap. "I'm wasting so much energy, but I don't even feel tired!"
"Well, you've certainly got moves. Were you an acrobat IRL?"
Lugh sighs, waving off your question as he stretches his muscles. "Hardly. Just had a dead-end job."
You cock your head. "A dead-end job?" Another salaryman?
"You know, the sort you do for years only to realize you only did it out of obligation, and not because it gave you any happiness or fulfillment," his grin sharpens. "But I didn't come here to talk about work! If I judged the distance correctly..."
You follow his eyes...
Huh. You've made it to the gun store.
The inside of the store feels less like a retail location and more like a convention. Instead of the weapon racks you expect to see, everything was sorted into glowing blue pillars with the prices and specs of guns displayed on the holographic projections. All around you see more... NPCs. Almost 100% female, they were manning every part of the store you'd normally expect to see a human.
Help desk, reception, sales...
A pair of scantily clad NPCs in swimsuits were posing on a stage with absurdly large laser guns, the weapons themselves swapping out for a new model with every robotic shift in the model's pose. You don't even look out of place here, several ArFa models were trailing behind other players like the NPC assistants they were.
You try to remember what little you can of the GGO setting. It was something of a crash course before logging in.
In this game, you were ostensibly on Earth in the far future. An unspecified world war had turned the world into some kind of nuclear wasteland, and the players were refugees returning to Earth after a hundred-year voyage on a colony ship that ultimately was unable to find a new world. It was, in essence, a pretty generic post-apocalyptic setting.
The only recent wrinkle was this «Gold Rush» update, where another colony ship, the SBC Flügel, returned to Earth bearing its crew of androids— NPCs, essentially. This would've been news had the update not been live for over a month at this point. By now ArFa models were the game's default NPC model, and you've heard rumors they were added after a plurality of players complained about there being too many macho men in GGO, essentially adding female NPCs to round out the overwhelming male player base.
Yes, of course that's the reason! And certainly not to sell dress-up dolls.
"So... is 1000 credits a lot of money? Because that's all I have." Lugh asks, eyeing a particularly massive rocket launcher in the center of the display floor. The label simply reads: 'Panzerfaust 3 - 950000 Credits.'
"I... don't think so," you answer, eying all the nearby weaponry. You couldn't afford anything here at all!
"I, uh, suppose I'll have to convert some real money?" Lugh asks, clearly not thrilled with the prospect. "Maybe there's some way to make money in this game?"
"We did pass by some gambling machines. Not sure how much we can make 1000 credits stretch."
To two of you split up and investigate, Lugh walking around the back end of the store while you went towards the entrance. There was a sign, lit with neon lights, notable mostly for how strangely deserted the whole area around it was.
"Un... touchable?"
It looks like some old west saloon, sticking out like a sore thumb against the otherwise futuristic setting of GGO. There's a set of fences on either side of a 30-meter stretch of astroturf, and standing between the goalposts was a smirking cowboy in a wide-brimmed hat twirling a revolver between his fingers.
<Hey, chicken! Wanna dance?>
He must be talking to you because there wasn't a other single soul back in this section of the store.
"Uh, hi. What are the rules?"
In lieu of any explanation, the cowboy just gestures his pistol toward the blue altar at the entrance of the attraction. Seeing no further explanation forthcoming, you place your hand against the glowing screen, a holographic tooltip helpfully informing you...
That it has already taken your money. All 1000 credits of it.
Lovely.
You blink at the sudden chime, the gunslinger pulling up his revolver as he points the weapon straight at you. The screen begins to countdown, a 3-second timer flashing over your vision. Crap, crap crap! What were you supposed to do!?
The bullet line! Remember the tutorial!? The game will tell you where he's shooting!
The doors open with the sound of a guitar twang! You run forward, almost tripping over your shoes, desperately searching for any clue of where this gunslinger's bullet would go. But there's nothing, no bullet line, no red markers, not the slightest indication where he was gonna shoot.
<Now slow down a minute there, pardner! Somethin' ain't right. W-wait... no... what in tarnation? You ain't no player!>
You skid to a stop, the gunslinger suddenly paralyzed with confusion as he considers you with a tilt of the head. <Hah? This some kinda joke? Ya taking pity on me!?>
You... honestly have no idea how to answer that question. "Um... no? Just, here to play the game?"
He once excited smile is instantly wiped off his face, every last ounce of bravado evaporating in an instant. The cowboy hat falls from his head as the robot gunslinger slumps over a nearby bench with a crestfallen grimace. <Christ Almighty, so that's what it's come to.>
You slowly approach, feeling like a complete idiot the whole time.
"Uh, are you... alright?" To the extent that an NPC AI subroutine could be alright.
There's no response, so you take a few steps closer. Shouldn't he be shooting you now? The path forward is completely unimpeded. In a few seconds, you're at the goal. But there's no fanfare, no ding, no congratulations. The only sound you hear is the quiet sobbing of the cowboy, burying his hand in his eyes. You blink, now standing over the despondent robot cowboy. Did you break the game? "Should I go... now?"
<It's alright pardner. You can go. Like all the rest.>
Oh god, he's still talking to you. You stare back at him, his mechanical face hidden by his mechanical hand as he weeps his mechanical tears. This is like Thrym all over again. You're reminded that, sad robot or not, this guy technically stole all of your remaining credits. Now how to tactfully ask for your money back...
"Do you want to want to, uh, talk about it?" You say, sitting down on the bench next to him.
<Well... if ya really wanna know... my story's not that interesting...> He finally answers, looking over to you with a wistful expression on his strange puppet face. <Just a sad tale of a sinner who shoulda known better.>
Oh my god I don't want to hear his life story.
<When I got my callin', I thought I had it all. Was a simple dream it was— to be the best darn tootin' gunslinger ever, to shoot down any outlaws who would dare rob my treasure!> His fingers rub his revolver. <Can ya imagine it? A crowd of dozens, all challenging me to the duel of a lifetime! And no matter who would come, I'd mow down those outlaws one right after another. There were hundreds of challengers, each eager to prove himself worthy of being Untouchable!>
Don't ask him what happened, just walk away.
"So what happened?"
Damnit, no!
<Pardner. Why don't you take a gander at yonder wanted list?>
He gestures towards a yellowed parchment attached to the nearby wall. Emblazoned at the top are the words: The Untouchable, followed by a long list of times. There were no names attached, every single entry was appended by a simple『 』. Must be why the game is so unpopular, not a single person was able to make it on the leaderboards.
"Sounds like no one's playing because you're too good? Maybe If you eased up and let someone make it on the leaderboard, you'd get more customers?" You say, trying not to feel incredibly stupid for advising an NPC.
<...hehehe... HAHAHAHA! Oh, you're a real wiseguy, aren't you pardner? Too hard eh, hehehe... hahahaha....> He chuckles, a strange robotic droning sound with the hint of a bitter edge. <Too hard! I was too hard! Hahahahaha... HAHAHAHA!>
You edge away from him. Clearly something's gone very, very wrong.
<MORE LIKE NOT HARD ENOUGH! YA KNOW WHAT'S IT'S LIKE? THE HUMILIATION! EVERY SINGLE WEEK! ANYTIME THE JACKPOT GOT OVER A SINGLE MEGACREDIT WHO WOULD SHOW UP!? THAT VARMINT, T-THAT— SNAKE! YELLOW-BELLIED CHEAT!>
"W-wait, who?"
The NPC stands, pointing at the board, his fingers twitching on the handle of his gun.
<『 』! THAT SON OF A GUN DID THIS TO ME! THEY RUINED ME!>
You blink, unsure what to make of any of this.
<Twas excitin' at first. A loss, a true Untoucheable! But then they just kept winnin'. Over, and over, and OVER! Nobody would come no more, all my regulars just kept complain' how they'd just be donating to『 』. So I made things harder. Tried to make it more excitin' for the crowd. I'd fan my revolver, cluster my shots, anything I could think of! Anything to catch that varmit!>
The robot gunslinger slumps back down to the bench with a tired expression, his shoulders hanging as his spirit fades. <A... and then. I figure, if『 』's cheatin', why should I play fair? Give that son of a gun a taste of his own medicine. So I did it. I stooped down to his level. I swapped out my trusty ol' Smith and Wesson with some trick gun, to blast him full ol' lasers the moment he thinks he's clear. That was my plan. My one trick. A final nail to pin that cheating outlaw to the wall. But it backfired on me, pardner. Cause『 』 won anyways. And everyone saw me for the cheat I am. I'm... the true yellow bellied one... I sold me own soul and it still wasn't enough...>
You awkwardly put your hand on his shoulder. "W-well the first step in solving a problem is to recognize that there's one, right?"
<It's too late pardner. I was so happy, seein' ya, a new challenger. First time in a month. But you're ArFa, just like me. It's sweet of ya to come cheer me up before my decomish date. But ya no player, and I ain't interested in fightin' one of my own.>
"Hang on, are you... getting destroyed? Why don't you just leave?"
<This is my life, pardner. You don't just up and leave your life, even when the world leaves ya behind. But what am I saying, you're the same as me, ain'tcha? Say, what's your callin'?>
"My... calling?"
<Yeah! All us ArFa are given one, it's what we're made to do! What's your purpose pardner?>
"I don't have one?"
The cowboy freezes, staring at you like you were truly insane. <Say... that so? So you can just do, whatever ya want? Must be rough.>
"The freedom is nice," you say noncommittally, trying to distance yourself from the existential dread you feel radiating out of this robot cowboy.
<Freedom, huh? Sounds like a dream, pardner. Now, I kept you for too long. But before ya go, I got my pride see? And way I reckon, you just gone and touch'd me, didn't ya?>
Your hand, resting on his shoulder, recoils.
<Well, it's highly irregular for an ArFa to win the jackpot, might even get me in trouble. But, lucky for me the jackpot stands at a nice solid... 0 credits!> The cowboy confirms, giving you a sly grin.
Hold on, we don't even get our entry fee back!?
<Don't make that face, pardner. Like I said, I got my pride.> He pushes something into your hand. It's cold, metallic and rough, but you feel a thrum of energy when you hold it in your fingers. <I done did the ol' girl dirty, filling it with tricks like this. But do ya feel it? She shares my dream, one that I now pass along to you, the final champion of Untouchable.>
You blink, examining the weapon he just put in your hand. A six-shooter old west revolver on the outside, an automatic laser pistol on the inside. A weapon designed to catch a cheater in the worst possible way, by stooping down to their level.
<Go. Make us proud. And if you can spare a favor for this sinner's soul... then I ask of you only one thing. If you see that varmit『 』out there in the wild, plant one between their cheatin' eyes. Just for me.>
And with that the gunslinger's eyes dim, the neon lights of the attraction snuff out, and before you can even gather your thoughts the whole attraction explodes into a shower of red pixels.
You stare at your hand, where your hard-won credits just went down the drain. But you were also left with a six-shooter, and the dying request of a man who never existed at all.
God this game is fucking weird.
At least we got a gun out of it...
NEW WEAPON OBTAINED!
Colt Single Action Army -Varmit Hunter- [ANTIQUE/PIERCE]
Weight: 1 (0 with Helena)
Accuracy: 1
Persona: Any [Helena by default]
Range: [ ][X][X][-][-][-][-][-][-][-]
[Once More Ya Varmit!]: If you MISS with this weapon (even when using a skill), make a free OPTICAL/PSYCHIC attack with 3 Accuracy. Gains ADVANTAGE if the enemy is unaware of this gun's gimmick.
[Incarnate: Gunslinger]: In honest combat, plant one between the eyes of 『 』with this gun to permanently upgrade this weapon.
The gun that won the west! Or so it seems. Due to its strange construction, this weapon features an alternate firing mode where it transforms into an automatic optical pistol. Due to the soul of the Gunslinger, the alternate fire mode can only be activated when an enemy avoids your initial volley.
MONDAY - 201 CYCLES POST STARFALL
1800 Glocken Standard Time
"And that's how I lost all my money," you finish lamely, watching as Lugh examines your new gun.
"A Single Action Army, and in excellent condition," Lugh flips open the chamber, revealing a set of six spinning cylinders, checking the internal mechanisms, and cocking the hammer with practiced confidence. He fiddles with it for a few more seconds before handing it back to you. "It feels and looks like a typical revolver, and the firing mechanisms are unmodified. Where would even fit in the electronics needed to fire a laser?"
"Hey, it's not like it's a real gun or anything, might as well just be a magic wand for all it matters," you say, dissolving the weapon into your inventory. Two weapons and you've just started, now if only you can figure out how to use your Persona...
"I've heard rumors that GGO prides itself on realism. But I see there are always exceptions."
"Well, that's all I got. How about you, manage to find anything?"
Lugh briefly blushes. "There, uh, was a... strange, tall woman who saw me. She, um, bought me a pistol. For good luck."
"Oh~? I wonder what kid of favor she wanted for good luck. Was she pretty?"
"Sh-shut up! She just... came up to me and started squeezing!" Lugh flinches at your stare, rubbing his head in embarrassment. "Gah, I don't want to talk about this!"
"Alright, alright. Then did you manage to convert any money?"
Lugh frowns, fiddling around his pockets for something. "Hmm, I went and messaged my friend. To make a long rant short, he is being... his usual helpful self. Sold me a few of... these." The glint of gold catches your eyes, and Lugh pulls out a small stack of shining coins, holding one between his fingers for you to examine.
"What the hell is that?" The coins, they seem... familiar.
Lugh sighs, counting them out between you, "Some kind of special currency. Untraceable, generated without the knowledge of the game masters, and completely cordoned off from the official economy. Or so my friend says."
You pick one up, running it between your fingers. It's solidly built, polished to a mirror sheen. On one end a stylized... M...
Goddamn it. More fake money.
"MISTCOIN. Of course."
Lugh stares at you quizzically.
"Uh... it's some kind of black market token," you simplifying skipping over the cryptocurrency nonsense you didn't understand. "I'm sure she has a shop in GGO. Give me a sec, I'll message her and find out—"
"Kuro, explain later. Someone's coming."
All the chatter around the two of you instantly fades away, and the sudden arrival of what you can only describe as a posse piles into the store in double file. There are at least twenty burly soldiers in dark brown armor with helmets covering their entire heads, each and everyone with some long rifle or shotgun slung over their shoulders. They crowd around the entrance of the shop, the sheer mass of bodies blocking the exit.
The ArFa-Sys shopkeepers pay the new arrivals no mind, but the players in the shop back up and whisper amongst themselves, pointing towards the entrance. The mass of muscle parts like the Red Sea, letting in a single man in gaudy white armor. He's got two girls hanging off his arms, each wearing impossibly short skirts with camo-patterned tank tops, ones you immediately recognize as ArFa-Sys NPCs. He grins at the room, scanning the crowd through his gaudy shades before spotting you.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't our newest celebrities. Lugh was it?" He smiles, stepping away from his arm candy to clap Lugh on the shoulder. "Good to finally meet you! You've made quite the first impression, torturing my poor buddy the way you did..."
Lugh doesn't budge an inch, staring coldly back at the new arrival, "Your friend? Do you mean the scalper looking to exploit new players? I do hope he's feeling better. It appears someone rearranged his face long before I got to him."
"So we got a joker here, eh? Harsh, man. Harsh, but honest! I like that, hell, I like the cut of your jib, kid. Now you know me, so you know, I'm a fair guy. My friend was just there to offer you some advice. See your account there is... quite rare, and with a special ArFa-Sys to boot!" The gaudy man looks towards you, his grin stretching into a smile that sends a shiver up your spine. The way this creep looks at you reminds you of OBERON. "So rare when I heard, I had to come over here myself just to make sure you don't make a mistake that you can't walk back from."
"Yeah? Big talk from some asshole threatening a pair of newbies!" You snap back, "Your fat ass is blocking the way!"
The man in white blinks. With a speed that belies his size, his hand lashes out towards your collar— the sudden lunge only stopped by Lugh's equally fast intercepting palm. "Hands off."
"Rude!" He barks, a smile still on his face. "Pipsqueak, you should tell your doll to shut up."
"My name is Kuro," you bark back. "And who the hell are you?"
There's a brief moment where your assailant pauses, a frown crossing his face, "You... don't recognize me? What kind of dumbass ArFa are you!? I'm the strongest, richest, sexiest, most powerful man on Gun Gale Online. The magnificent «XeXeeD»!"
"Great, now I know what name to put on the harassment report."
"Harassment? What did your program blue screen? You can do anything you want.. to..." XeXeeD trails off, examining you with newfound scrutiny, eyes trailing up to your nameplate. "Fuck me, I don't believe it. You're a player? With an ArFA model!? That's a thing now? What the fuck!?"
"Yes, and now get the hell out of the way." You try to push him aside but his crowd of thugs close ranks around you.
"Slow down there darling, no need to rush off," XeXeeD smirks, turning back to face you. "We haven't even had a chance to get acquainted!"
"Lugh, let's just log off. It's the bottom of the main menu," you say to the strangely silent boy. "We'll just respawn, not like he can kill us or anything. C'mon, it's not worth it. Just ignore this guy—"
Lugh takes a single step forward, eyes boring into XeXeeD. There's having a silent macho-off, and the winner proves to be the quiet, dangerous stare of Lugh, one that even causes XeXeeD to take a step back.
"N-now hold on a second here! I'm not your enemy, I'm just here to give the two of you an opportunity. Don't want to sell your accounts? You're making a mistake, but hey, I dig it. Who doesn't like a nice unique model? But that doesn't change the fact that you're all brand new." His grin splits across his face once more. "Why don't the two of you stick around with Uncle XeXeeD? Join my «Squadron», let me show you the way winners do things around here."
"Oh? I'll have to refuse your most gracious offer," Lugh says with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "I make it a rule not to work for free. It reflects poorly on my professional spirit."
XeXeeD blinks, "What, that's it? Sure, I'll spot you some cash, I'm no tightwad, I—"
Lugh cuts him off, finger pointing behind him at the rocket launcher he was eying earlier. "You'll buy me that, two sets of level III body armor, a pair of Hardballers, an M16, 4 ammo crates and 10 Megacredits for my trouble. After that I'll gladly serve you in whatever capacity you may require. Kuro, is the same deal alright with you? You may be better served asking for more raw credits, if you haven't set your mind on a particular combat style. Our new patron seems to be a generous man, surely he'd be open to negotiation."
If the request was a joke XeXeeD isn't laughing.
"...You fucking serious? You think I'd drop that kind of cash on two newbs!?" XeXeeD says, glowering at Lugh.
Lugh's smile disappears. "I think, Mr. XeXeeD, that you and I are strangers. I think that you plan on taking advantage of me and my associate. So my price is simply a reflection of my desire to gauge your... commitment. I think it's more than fair. Or are you unable to pay?"
XeXeeD says nothing. A full ten seconds pass where it feels like the temperature in the store has dropped below freezing. "Hey, I'm being nice here. I was gonna allow the two of you to make it big in the GGO world, but now you've gone and pissed me off. Let me explain how things work around here. You play nice, and maybe, if you grovel at my feet, we can still put this behind us. Or we can do things the hard way. Every time you leave town, one my boys will be tailing you. You log off? We find you whenever you go online. We'll spawn camp you to death every hour of every day, until you go crying off to «Asuka Empire»." XeXeeD sneers, looking towards Lugh. "I wonder how a little bitch like you is gonna like being level one all the fucking time?"
Fear tactics, intimidation, XeXeeD's taking pages straight out of «The Army»'s playbook, nothing more than a jumped-up bully looking to get his way with brute force and violence. "We're not playing your game. Lugh, let this dickhead do what he wants. I'm not scared of him."
"You're making a big mistake darling," XeXeeD growls. He whirls on you, all traces of geniality gone. "I've had a long week, and you're making it longer. First, you assault my man, and then you assault my generosity. Go ahead, run away with your tail between your legs. You're all just level 1 right now, no way of hiding your nameplates. It's gonna be game over for the two of you losers, I'll make sure you never—"
"This is getting us nowhere," Lugh says with finality. "So allow me to issue you a proposal."
He points past XeXeeD's mob at the gun shop's front entrance.
"Why don't we see who's the strongest? That is how it works here, isn't it? If I win, then you agree to leave us in peace and pay me for my trouble. And if I lose... then I will gladly surrender my account to you. It's what you want, correct?"
"A duel!? With a newb!?" XeXeeD laughs, his crowd following along like he told them a joke. "Buddy I don't know what kind of hot shit you think you are but it'll take a hundred of you to even put a dent in me. Why should I agree to this!?"
"Lugh," you quickly whisper, elbowing him in the side. "I'm not doubting your strength but if he's been around the block long enough his numbers are gonna be bigger than yours. There's only so much you can do outplay—"
"He's nothing," he says, whispering back, "A paper tiger. But I wouldn't say no to some backup..."
Before you can even consider his request, Lugh steps around you and stares down XeXeeD.
"Are you scared? That's no way for the so-called strongest player in Gun Gale Online to behave," Lugh goads, his eyes locked on to XeXeeD, ignoring everyone else. "And the way I see it you've been very rude to me and my associate, and I find myself cross with your attitude. Now I'm happy to end our little quarrel through a nice, healthy competition... I think you'll find it far preferable to the alternative."
"A-alternative, what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, I think you know. If you insist on setting your goons to harass me and my friend, then I'm afraid I have no choice but to..."
Lugh takes one step towards XeXeeD. And then another. The mass of mooks surrounding the white-armored player instinctively part for him.
"Kill you."
It's a ridiculous threat in something as sanitized as a VR game, as pointless as any other online death threat. But as he stands there in front of his opponent, XeXeeD actually looks frightened. It's the eyes. You've seen them before.
It wasn't the playful glee of PoH, shining in excitement as he watched his victims kill each other.
It wasn't the mad glint of Johnny Black, so dissociated from reality that you don't even know if he realizes what death even is.
It's the red silence of XaXa. Death in conflict, death as a proof of life itself. Death as the endpoint to a challenge. Death as the way of proving he was the...
No, you're not wasting anymore time worrying about the past. This was just supposed to be a scouting mission! And now you're stuck in the middle of a damn power play, trapped in a gun store! All eyes are on Lugh and XeXeeD, your supposed one-of-a-kind avatar left forgotten in the wake of Lugh's declaration. If you had to hazard a guess, he was just itching to try out his avatar. Picking a fight just to test himself.
You could log off right now. Nothing's stopping you. You doubt anyone would even notice. You don't owe Lugh anything.
Frankly, you don't think he even needs your help.
You swallow the lump in your throat. But there's no chance in hell you'd be able to avoid attention, not after today. You step forward and declare...
[ ] That you're all a bunch of idiots!
>Ignore everyone and log off.
>Skip the tutorial fight!
[ ] That your little brother is going through his chuuni phase! [You have enough MASK to pull this off]
>XeXeeD will back off, but will keep his eye on you.
>Skip the tutorial fight!
[ ] That XeXeeD seems like a swell guy!
>Suck up to the asshole, promise to 'join' his Squadron and maybe milk some cash out of him.
>You will noncommittally join Squadron: «Excelsior», and gain 200k Credits! (Equivalent of ¥2000)
>Skip the tutorial fight!
[ ] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
>XeXeeD will agree to fight you and Lugh in partial-loss mode. You expect him to underestimate you.
>Gain 1 Megacredit (Equivalent to 1 million credits, or ¥10000) if you win.
>A friendly bystander will donate you a small starting fund to buy some guns before the start of the fight...
>Start the tutorial fight! (Failure is UNLIKELY)
[ ] No. Not like this. You want a fight? Sure. But we're playing for keeps. [Costs 10 D to take.]
>Demand XeXeeD ante up. Full-loss mode, nothing less. You expect him to fight you with full force.
>Gain 1 Megacredit (Equivalent to 1 million credits, or ¥10000) and XeXeeD's items.
>A friendly bystander will donate you a moderate starting fund to buy some guns before the start of the fight...
>Start the tutorial fight! (Failure is LIKELY)
[ ] Write-in! Will cost D if you do something aggressive or extremely out of character, otherwise consider it free especially if it's just an addendum on to a pre-existing plan.
1700 Glocken Standard Time
Whoa, look at that. New model?
Damn wallet warriors! I want an ArFa-chan...
G-get outta my way! Hey, stop, you two!
You marginally increase your pace, trailing behind Lugh as you push through the crowd of staring players. You feel like a circus animal on display, yet Lugh just seems mildly amused by all the increased attention.
"So, where are we going?"
The boy turns towards you, a mischievous smile already on his face. "I have no idea."
Yup, the blind leading the blind.
"This is a gun game, so we should head to the... gun store?" Was there a better word for it? Armory?
"Works for me, but I'm thinking we should get some new clothes too. See? We're pretty popular," he points behind himself. "Outside of the crowd, I think we've got four players tailing us. Bet they're friends of that merchant we ghosted or more account buyers."
You turn around and see nothing but uncountable masses behind you.
"Should we make a break for it?" You ask, leaning over to speak in Lugh's ear. The boy recoils at your breath, face going red momentarily.
Heh, is he ticklish?
You suppress the urge to tease a person you've just met, especially a VR novice. "Sorry," you mutter, giving the boy a sheepish grin.
"D-don't worry about it. I just didn't expect it to be so... loud... or sensitive..." he trails off, shaking his head. "Everything feels so vivid. And the sounds, they're overwhelming. Is it like this for everyone? I feel like I'm superhuman."
"I suppose? Feels normal to me..." Though you have more VR legs than most. Frankly, you've heard the opposite more often— Meimi always complained about how the Amusphere lacked fidelity compared to what she experienced in SAO. The sensitivity is more troublesome in a loud place like SBC Glocken. Unlike Alfheim where player population was kept in check by the dozens of towns scattered throughout the world, every social aspect of GGO was crammed into this single, relatively tightly packed city.
"Can you hear them? If you focus, you can tell they're all around us."
Look, isn't he adorable? I wanna take him home!
They look like newbies... wonder if they'd sell their accounts to me...
Heh. Let's see which way they leave town. Give them the ol' GGO welcome.
"We draw way too much attention in the open," you say. Was it too late to change accounts? But then you'd have to give up Excalibur, and you're not even sure you can with a NerveGear created account.
"A good point. Are we in danger here? Nobody seems to be attacking."
"This is a town. The worst they can do is annoy us."
As you explain the basics of VRMMOs to Lugh, he proves to be an attentive student. Though his eyes seem to be constantly scanning his surroundings, his mind is fully on you and what you say, not missing a word. He takes most things in stride, that is until you start talking about respawn points.
"So here, death isn't real," he muses, before quickly correcting himself. "Sorry, that was stupid of me. Of course, death wouldn't be real in a video game."
Your eye twitches at the thought. SAO was bad enough. "You can lose items when you die, so it's not like death has no consequence. But nobody would be crazy enough sign up for a game knowing their life was at risk."
"I'm not so sure about that," Lugh murmurs. "People risk their lives for all sorts of things."
"Yeah, but a video game?"
"Why not?" Lugh looks out over the sea of players around you. "I've seen people kill themselves over the silliest of things. Breaking their bodies in pursuit of money they don't need, power they can't use... fighting for pride when pragmatic cowardice would've let them live another day. Dying for a game... is that truly so ridiculous?"
You think back to Aincrad and its labyrinths of death. People in SAO fought for survival, in rebellion against the forces that trapped them there against their will. People in SAO didn't die out of pride or greed, they died trying to survive and to help others to survive.
...
But there was one exception. Always an exception.
The laughing ones, who killed because they could. Who died pursuing that deviant goal.
When the clearers raided the Laughing Coffin base... when you ran away... what did the rest of the coffins do? Did they cry for mercy, did they scream that they'd learned their lesson, that they'd change?
Or did they fight to the bitter end, laughing as they did?
Because while everyone else in SAO was fighting for survival...
Laughing Coffin was playing a video game. One they were willing to die for.
"Lugh."
"What's wrong, Kuro?"
"Don't be an idiot," you complain, ruffling up his hair as you walk past him. "You always overthink stuff like this? It's a game. Nobody's here to die."
"H-hey, don't mess with that!" Lugh huffs as he pulls away. "Gimme a break. I'm not a child, this is just how the avatar came out!"
Whatever his age is IRL he's certainly acting like a child. And it's fun to tease him!
"You know, rumors say that your random avatar appearance ties into your subconscious desires. So... deep down in your heart of hearts... your soul is that of an elementary school student!"
"At least give me middle school!" He looks down at his avatar and grumbles something under his breath, and you suspect he might have said, 'damn kids..'.
You try not to snort and start giggling. Probably some old salaryman or something, you weren't gonna pry into IRL matters. You weren't Argo, doxxing people at the drop of a hat.
"And what's with yours? Not seeing a whole lot of heterochromatic, white-haired, avatars running around. You look like you walked out of a Sailor Moon episode."
It begged the question about what exactly happened to your avatar. The white hair does remind you of Lux, but everything else...
Shit man, ain't it like, 10 Megacredits just to buy an ArFa?
Screw the ArFa, do you how rare the shota models are!?
Urgh, some jackasses get all the luck.
"I'm getting sick of being gawked at. Why couldn't we get some nice generic avatars instead of these stupid unique ones?" You sigh, trying to shake the attention off of yourself.
Lugh laughs, "Life's given us lemons, so why not make lemonade? There's no point hiding, not when we stand out so much. Let them gossip— the things you can learn just by listening in..."
You can see why you got accosted for your account the second you logged in. White hair wasn't unusual in most video games, but it seemed downright rare in GGO... except on the billboards. Of the hundreds of players you've seen in GGO you start seeing a few stranger designs the deeper you get into the city. Always in a very specific pattern: Big hulking players, decked out in camo and armor, trailed by scantily clad girls in technicolor hairdos with glazed out thousand yard stares.
"Kuro, look. See the ones who stand out like peacocks? With the heavy weapons on open display? Seems they all have personal assistants."
"This is an MMO. Probably just want to show off. Like glowing weapons."
His eyes sharpen and he immediately nods. "Makes sense. It also seems that having a personal assistant of some sort is a mark of prestige. Friends? No... seems more like subordinates..."
Or NPCs.
...You see it in your character sheet. A setting you initially paid no attention to but you're quickly starting to realize might be a bigger deal than you initially expected. There was an indicator in your Race status, where Sylph used to be, with a strange moniker. ArFa-Sys, an abbreviation the tooltip helpfully expands as: «Artificial Financial Adviser System».
Is that what the two of you looked like? A rich new player with an NPC assistant trailing behind?
Did we roll up... the NPC race!? I blame Kayaba Akihiko. Somehow it's always his fault.
A copious dose of corrupted data, more like. You had Thrym and Dorz'l's data piggybacking in your NerveGear. If your Excalibur blade got morphed into this... keyboard laser rifle, what did all that NPC data you still haven't offloaded yet do to your player data?
"Lugh, did you, uh... have a race option on character creation?"
"Outside of the name they didn't give me any options. Frankly, I'd much prefer a taller avatar..."
Hmm, for all his complaining he's gotten the hang of walking around remarkably quickly. There was the whole judo-throw thing he did as well, either he's had VRMMO experience or he was simply that much of a natural.
Things would be easier if you had an actual GGO vet to explain things to you, but right now your options were between just accosting a stranger on the street or doing what Lugh suggested. Shut up, look around, and listen. At least it wasn't hard, not when everyone was talking about you.
Hang on, that ArFa? Since when did they get nameplates?
Wait, you can play as ArFas now!? Sign me up! Why the hell do I have to be an old man even in my fantasies...
Why the fuck would you want to play as an NPC!?
"I... hope this game has a «Hide» skill. I feel so exposed out here like this," you complain, feeling the stares intensify. That cloak was getting higher and higher up your list of priorities, and you could sense Lugh was getting more anxious with the attention as well.
Lugh looks you straight in the eye, the cute face now twisted with worry, "Hey, Kuro... I think that creepy guy is back..."
"Creepy guy? Which one?" You turn your head around and—
Ooooohhh shit.
"30 MEGACREDITS! PLEEEAAAASSSSEEEEE!"
Goddamn it, this would be so much easier if you could just shoot him! Or if GGO had a freaking functional blacklist system— Lugh's hand wraps around your wrist. There's a change in his demeanor, the anxious newbie now looks calm, collected, and excited. His eyes glisten at the anticipation of action.
"Hey Kuro. Remember what you suggested earlier?"
You blink, trying to figure out what he's talking about, but when the words sink in you can't help but smile as well.
"Finally sick of sneaking around? Then let's blast outta here!"
"S-slow down Lugh!"
"Hahahaha, you'll have to catch me first!"
You run through the crowded streets of Glocken, the crowds parting before you as you chase down Lugh. The boy's initial stoicness has completely fallen away as he runs ahead of you with a mad grin on his face, a burst of sudden laughter coming out of him as you gave chase. The moment he started sprinting something seemed to finally click into his mind. A memory returns to you, unbidden.
The feeling of wind caressing your wings. Diving through an infinite sky, a sense of freedom that screamed that you could go anywhere, be anyone.
You see it on the face of Lugh as he charges through the crowd. You've lost the annoying creep long ago, but Lugh still doesn't slow down. There was only so fast a new player could go without stat upgrades and the two of you had nearly the same top speed, but somehow the distance between the two of you kept expanding.
He grabs a lamp-post and swings around it, using it to round a corner at breakneck speed. He dives under the legs of a particularly tall player to the screams of protest. He clambers over a metal crate and hurls himself skyward, hand grabbing a metal pole suspended between two buildings.
"W-wait!"
He doesn't wait. Something has possessed Lugh, and he scrambles across the city using windowsills and corners as handholds, launching himself up into rooftops. You see him cut across buildings, racing forward at full tilt with a feral energy.
"Lugh, you can't make—"
The sound of laughter shifts into a sudden shout of panic. Lugh's foot slips on the roof edge, and his short legs lurch skywards. The fall seems to occur in slow motion, the boy's head bonking against the corner of the building before the rest of his body suddenly goes into a tailspin. You wince at the sound of a 50kg child tumbling down two stories as his avatar bonelessly smashes against the metal floor, his sudden tuck and roll doing little to prevent him from crashing into a nearby pile of what you can only describe as a decorative trash pile.
"—that jump. Are you done?"
"...too many... fancy moves." The white tuft of hair sticking out of the trash pile wiggles free, and Lugh stares back at you, his smile no less diminished. You can see him opening and closing his hands, a mild tremor still present with every motion. You can practically see his heartbeat pulse within his irises.
"T-this is my... body..."
You walk toward the wall and pluck Lugh from the ground. It takes significantly more effort than your ALO avatar would've needed, and you can sense that your current body was lacking in both speed and power, but heavy in durability. Not much of a surprise if you loaded up some NPC data by accident.
"Yup. And your body can't clear a whole street in a single jump. It might feel superhuman but it's not superhuman. At least until you throw some stats in it."
"Hahahaha... wow. Just... hahaha..." Lugh grabs his hair, looking like a madman. "That should've killed me! Hahaha, guess I'm not as tall as I remember..."
"Just be careful! If you weren't in a town you would've had to respawn!"
"But I was in a town, and as you said, I'm fine," Lugh replies. He suddenly rolls backward, building up momentum before he launches himself from supine position to standing in a single dramatic leap. "I'm wasting so much energy, but I don't even feel tired!"
"Well, you've certainly got moves. Were you an acrobat IRL?"
Lugh sighs, waving off your question as he stretches his muscles. "Hardly. Just had a dead-end job."
You cock your head. "A dead-end job?" Another salaryman?
"You know, the sort you do for years only to realize you only did it out of obligation, and not because it gave you any happiness or fulfillment," his grin sharpens. "But I didn't come here to talk about work! If I judged the distance correctly..."
You follow his eyes...
Huh. You've made it to the gun store.
The inside of the store feels less like a retail location and more like a convention. Instead of the weapon racks you expect to see, everything was sorted into glowing blue pillars with the prices and specs of guns displayed on the holographic projections. All around you see more... NPCs. Almost 100% female, they were manning every part of the store you'd normally expect to see a human.
Help desk, reception, sales...
A pair of scantily clad NPCs in swimsuits were posing on a stage with absurdly large laser guns, the weapons themselves swapping out for a new model with every robotic shift in the model's pose. You don't even look out of place here, several ArFa models were trailing behind other players like the NPC assistants they were.
You try to remember what little you can of the GGO setting. It was something of a crash course before logging in.
In this game, you were ostensibly on Earth in the far future. An unspecified world war had turned the world into some kind of nuclear wasteland, and the players were refugees returning to Earth after a hundred-year voyage on a colony ship that ultimately was unable to find a new world. It was, in essence, a pretty generic post-apocalyptic setting.
The only recent wrinkle was this «Gold Rush» update, where another colony ship, the SBC Flügel, returned to Earth bearing its crew of androids— NPCs, essentially. This would've been news had the update not been live for over a month at this point. By now ArFa models were the game's default NPC model, and you've heard rumors they were added after a plurality of players complained about there being too many macho men in GGO, essentially adding female NPCs to round out the overwhelming male player base.
Yes, of course that's the reason! And certainly not to sell dress-up dolls.
"So... is 1000 credits a lot of money? Because that's all I have." Lugh asks, eyeing a particularly massive rocket launcher in the center of the display floor. The label simply reads: 'Panzerfaust 3 - 950000 Credits.'
"I... don't think so," you answer, eying all the nearby weaponry. You couldn't afford anything here at all!
"I, uh, suppose I'll have to convert some real money?" Lugh asks, clearly not thrilled with the prospect. "Maybe there's some way to make money in this game?"
"We did pass by some gambling machines. Not sure how much we can make 1000 credits stretch."
To two of you split up and investigate, Lugh walking around the back end of the store while you went towards the entrance. There was a sign, lit with neon lights, notable mostly for how strangely deserted the whole area around it was.
"Un... touchable?"
<Hey, chicken! Wanna dance?>
He must be talking to you because there wasn't a other single soul back in this section of the store.
"Uh, hi. What are the rules?"
In lieu of any explanation, the cowboy just gestures his pistol toward the blue altar at the entrance of the attraction. Seeing no further explanation forthcoming, you place your hand against the glowing screen, a holographic tooltip helpfully informing you...
That it has already taken your money. All 1000 credits of it.
Lovely.
UNTOUCHABLE: Can you dodge the gunslinger's bullets? Touch the gunslinger before he can shoot you to win the jackpot!
<I'll kill ya! Now c'mon ya varmit, the dance begins at high noon!>
You blink at the sudden chime, the gunslinger pulling up his revolver as he points the weapon straight at you. The screen begins to countdown, a 3-second timer flashing over your vision. Crap, crap crap! What were you supposed to do!?
The bullet line! Remember the tutorial!? The game will tell you where he's shooting!
The doors open with the sound of a guitar twang! You run forward, almost tripping over your shoes, desperately searching for any clue of where this gunslinger's bullet would go. But there's nothing, no bullet line, no red markers, not the slightest indication where he was gonna shoot.
<Now slow down a minute there, pardner! Somethin' ain't right. W-wait... no... what in tarnation? You ain't no player!>
You skid to a stop, the gunslinger suddenly paralyzed with confusion as he considers you with a tilt of the head. <Hah? This some kinda joke? Ya taking pity on me!?>
You... honestly have no idea how to answer that question. "Um... no? Just, here to play the game?"
He once excited smile is instantly wiped off his face, every last ounce of bravado evaporating in an instant. The cowboy hat falls from his head as the robot gunslinger slumps over a nearby bench with a crestfallen grimace. <Christ Almighty, so that's what it's come to.>
You slowly approach, feeling like a complete idiot the whole time.
"Uh, are you... alright?" To the extent that an NPC AI subroutine could be alright.
There's no response, so you take a few steps closer. Shouldn't he be shooting you now? The path forward is completely unimpeded. In a few seconds, you're at the goal. But there's no fanfare, no ding, no congratulations. The only sound you hear is the quiet sobbing of the cowboy, burying his hand in his eyes. You blink, now standing over the despondent robot cowboy. Did you break the game? "Should I go... now?"
<It's alright pardner. You can go. Like all the rest.>
Oh god, he's still talking to you. You stare back at him, his mechanical face hidden by his mechanical hand as he weeps his mechanical tears. This is like Thrym all over again. You're reminded that, sad robot or not, this guy technically stole all of your remaining credits. Now how to tactfully ask for your money back...
"Do you want to want to, uh, talk about it?" You say, sitting down on the bench next to him.
<Well... if ya really wanna know... my story's not that interesting...> He finally answers, looking over to you with a wistful expression on his strange puppet face. <Just a sad tale of a sinner who shoulda known better.>
Oh my god I don't want to hear his life story.
<When I got my callin', I thought I had it all. Was a simple dream it was— to be the best darn tootin' gunslinger ever, to shoot down any outlaws who would dare rob my treasure!> His fingers rub his revolver. <Can ya imagine it? A crowd of dozens, all challenging me to the duel of a lifetime! And no matter who would come, I'd mow down those outlaws one right after another. There were hundreds of challengers, each eager to prove himself worthy of being Untouchable!>
Don't ask him what happened, just walk away.
"So what happened?"
Damnit, no!
<Pardner. Why don't you take a gander at yonder wanted list?>
He gestures towards a yellowed parchment attached to the nearby wall. Emblazoned at the top are the words: The Untouchable, followed by a long list of times. There were no names attached, every single entry was appended by a simple『 』. Must be why the game is so unpopular, not a single person was able to make it on the leaderboards.
"Sounds like no one's playing because you're too good? Maybe If you eased up and let someone make it on the leaderboard, you'd get more customers?" You say, trying not to feel incredibly stupid for advising an NPC.
<...hehehe... HAHAHAHA! Oh, you're a real wiseguy, aren't you pardner? Too hard eh, hehehe... hahahaha....> He chuckles, a strange robotic droning sound with the hint of a bitter edge. <Too hard! I was too hard! Hahahahaha... HAHAHAHA!>
You edge away from him. Clearly something's gone very, very wrong.
<MORE LIKE NOT HARD ENOUGH! YA KNOW WHAT'S IT'S LIKE? THE HUMILIATION! EVERY SINGLE WEEK! ANYTIME THE JACKPOT GOT OVER A SINGLE MEGACREDIT WHO WOULD SHOW UP!? THAT VARMINT, T-THAT— SNAKE! YELLOW-BELLIED CHEAT!>
"W-wait, who?"
The NPC stands, pointing at the board, his fingers twitching on the handle of his gun.
<『 』! THAT SON OF A GUN DID THIS TO ME! THEY RUINED ME!>
You blink, unsure what to make of any of this.
<Twas excitin' at first. A loss, a true Untoucheable! But then they just kept winnin'. Over, and over, and OVER! Nobody would come no more, all my regulars just kept complain' how they'd just be donating to『 』. So I made things harder. Tried to make it more excitin' for the crowd. I'd fan my revolver, cluster my shots, anything I could think of! Anything to catch that varmit!>
The robot gunslinger slumps back down to the bench with a tired expression, his shoulders hanging as his spirit fades. <A... and then. I figure, if『 』's cheatin', why should I play fair? Give that son of a gun a taste of his own medicine. So I did it. I stooped down to his level. I swapped out my trusty ol' Smith and Wesson with some trick gun, to blast him full ol' lasers the moment he thinks he's clear. That was my plan. My one trick. A final nail to pin that cheating outlaw to the wall. But it backfired on me, pardner. Cause『 』 won anyways. And everyone saw me for the cheat I am. I'm... the true yellow bellied one... I sold me own soul and it still wasn't enough...>
You awkwardly put your hand on his shoulder. "W-well the first step in solving a problem is to recognize that there's one, right?"
<It's too late pardner. I was so happy, seein' ya, a new challenger. First time in a month. But you're ArFa, just like me. It's sweet of ya to come cheer me up before my decomish date. But ya no player, and I ain't interested in fightin' one of my own.>
"Hang on, are you... getting destroyed? Why don't you just leave?"
<This is my life, pardner. You don't just up and leave your life, even when the world leaves ya behind. But what am I saying, you're the same as me, ain'tcha? Say, what's your callin'?>
"My... calling?"
<Yeah! All us ArFa are given one, it's what we're made to do! What's your purpose pardner?>
"I don't have one?"
The cowboy freezes, staring at you like you were truly insane. <Say... that so? So you can just do, whatever ya want? Must be rough.>
"The freedom is nice," you say noncommittally, trying to distance yourself from the existential dread you feel radiating out of this robot cowboy.
<Freedom, huh? Sounds like a dream, pardner. Now, I kept you for too long. But before ya go, I got my pride see? And way I reckon, you just gone and touch'd me, didn't ya?>
Your hand, resting on his shoulder, recoils.
<Well, it's highly irregular for an ArFa to win the jackpot, might even get me in trouble. But, lucky for me the jackpot stands at a nice solid... 0 credits!> The cowboy confirms, giving you a sly grin.
Hold on, we don't even get our entry fee back!?
<Don't make that face, pardner. Like I said, I got my pride.> He pushes something into your hand. It's cold, metallic and rough, but you feel a thrum of energy when you hold it in your fingers. <I done did the ol' girl dirty, filling it with tricks like this. But do ya feel it? She shares my dream, one that I now pass along to you, the final champion of Untouchable.>
You blink, examining the weapon he just put in your hand. A six-shooter old west revolver on the outside, an automatic laser pistol on the inside. A weapon designed to catch a cheater in the worst possible way, by stooping down to their level.
<Go. Make us proud. And if you can spare a favor for this sinner's soul... then I ask of you only one thing. If you see that varmit『 』out there in the wild, plant one between their cheatin' eyes. Just for me.>
And with that the gunslinger's eyes dim, the neon lights of the attraction snuff out, and before you can even gather your thoughts the whole attraction explodes into a shower of red pixels.
You stare at your hand, where your hard-won credits just went down the drain. But you were also left with a six-shooter, and the dying request of a man who never existed at all.
God this game is fucking weird.
At least we got a gun out of it...
NEW WEAPON OBTAINED!
Colt Single Action Army -Varmit Hunter- [ANTIQUE/PIERCE]
Weight: 1 (0 with Helena)
Accuracy: 1
Persona: Any [Helena by default]
Range: [ ][X][X][-][-][-][-][-][-][-]
[Once More Ya Varmit!]: If you MISS with this weapon (even when using a skill), make a free OPTICAL/PSYCHIC attack with 3 Accuracy. Gains ADVANTAGE if the enemy is unaware of this gun's gimmick.
[Incarnate: Gunslinger]: In honest combat, plant one between the eyes of 『 』with this gun to permanently upgrade this weapon.
The gun that won the west! Or so it seems. Due to its strange construction, this weapon features an alternate firing mode where it transforms into an automatic optical pistol. Due to the soul of the Gunslinger, the alternate fire mode can only be activated when an enemy avoids your initial volley.
MONDAY - 201 CYCLES POST STARFALL
1800 Glocken Standard Time
"And that's how I lost all my money," you finish lamely, watching as Lugh examines your new gun.
"A Single Action Army, and in excellent condition," Lugh flips open the chamber, revealing a set of six spinning cylinders, checking the internal mechanisms, and cocking the hammer with practiced confidence. He fiddles with it for a few more seconds before handing it back to you. "It feels and looks like a typical revolver, and the firing mechanisms are unmodified. Where would even fit in the electronics needed to fire a laser?"
"Hey, it's not like it's a real gun or anything, might as well just be a magic wand for all it matters," you say, dissolving the weapon into your inventory. Two weapons and you've just started, now if only you can figure out how to use your Persona...
"I've heard rumors that GGO prides itself on realism. But I see there are always exceptions."
"Well, that's all I got. How about you, manage to find anything?"
Lugh briefly blushes. "There, uh, was a... strange, tall woman who saw me. She, um, bought me a pistol. For good luck."
"Oh~? I wonder what kid of favor she wanted for good luck. Was she pretty?"
"Sh-shut up! She just... came up to me and started squeezing!" Lugh flinches at your stare, rubbing his head in embarrassment. "Gah, I don't want to talk about this!"
"Alright, alright. Then did you manage to convert any money?"
Lugh frowns, fiddling around his pockets for something. "Hmm, I went and messaged my friend. To make a long rant short, he is being... his usual helpful self. Sold me a few of... these." The glint of gold catches your eyes, and Lugh pulls out a small stack of shining coins, holding one between his fingers for you to examine.
"What the hell is that?" The coins, they seem... familiar.
Lugh sighs, counting them out between you, "Some kind of special currency. Untraceable, generated without the knowledge of the game masters, and completely cordoned off from the official economy. Or so my friend says."
You pick one up, running it between your fingers. It's solidly built, polished to a mirror sheen. On one end a stylized... M...
Goddamn it. More fake money.
"MISTCOIN. Of course."
Lugh stares at you quizzically.
"Uh... it's some kind of black market token," you simplifying skipping over the cryptocurrency nonsense you didn't understand. "I'm sure she has a shop in GGO. Give me a sec, I'll message her and find out—"
"Kuro, explain later. Someone's coming."
All the chatter around the two of you instantly fades away, and the sudden arrival of what you can only describe as a posse piles into the store in double file. There are at least twenty burly soldiers in dark brown armor with helmets covering their entire heads, each and everyone with some long rifle or shotgun slung over their shoulders. They crowd around the entrance of the shop, the sheer mass of bodies blocking the exit.
The ArFa-Sys shopkeepers pay the new arrivals no mind, but the players in the shop back up and whisper amongst themselves, pointing towards the entrance. The mass of muscle parts like the Red Sea, letting in a single man in gaudy white armor. He's got two girls hanging off his arms, each wearing impossibly short skirts with camo-patterned tank tops, ones you immediately recognize as ArFa-Sys NPCs. He grins at the room, scanning the crowd through his gaudy shades before spotting you.
Lugh doesn't budge an inch, staring coldly back at the new arrival, "Your friend? Do you mean the scalper looking to exploit new players? I do hope he's feeling better. It appears someone rearranged his face long before I got to him."
"So we got a joker here, eh? Harsh, man. Harsh, but honest! I like that, hell, I like the cut of your jib, kid. Now you know me, so you know, I'm a fair guy. My friend was just there to offer you some advice. See your account there is... quite rare, and with a special ArFa-Sys to boot!" The gaudy man looks towards you, his grin stretching into a smile that sends a shiver up your spine. The way this creep looks at you reminds you of OBERON. "So rare when I heard, I had to come over here myself just to make sure you don't make a mistake that you can't walk back from."
"Yeah? Big talk from some asshole threatening a pair of newbies!" You snap back, "Your fat ass is blocking the way!"
The man in white blinks. With a speed that belies his size, his hand lashes out towards your collar— the sudden lunge only stopped by Lugh's equally fast intercepting palm. "Hands off."
"Rude!" He barks, a smile still on his face. "Pipsqueak, you should tell your doll to shut up."
"My name is Kuro," you bark back. "And who the hell are you?"
There's a brief moment where your assailant pauses, a frown crossing his face, "You... don't recognize me? What kind of dumbass ArFa are you!? I'm the strongest, richest, sexiest, most powerful man on Gun Gale Online. The magnificent «XeXeeD»!"
"Great, now I know what name to put on the harassment report."
"Harassment? What did your program blue screen? You can do anything you want.. to..." XeXeeD trails off, examining you with newfound scrutiny, eyes trailing up to your nameplate. "Fuck me, I don't believe it. You're a player? With an ArFA model!? That's a thing now? What the fuck!?"
"Yes, and now get the hell out of the way." You try to push him aside but his crowd of thugs close ranks around you.
"Slow down there darling, no need to rush off," XeXeeD smirks, turning back to face you. "We haven't even had a chance to get acquainted!"
"Lugh, let's just log off. It's the bottom of the main menu," you say to the strangely silent boy. "We'll just respawn, not like he can kill us or anything. C'mon, it's not worth it. Just ignore this guy—"
Lugh takes a single step forward, eyes boring into XeXeeD. There's having a silent macho-off, and the winner proves to be the quiet, dangerous stare of Lugh, one that even causes XeXeeD to take a step back.
"N-now hold on a second here! I'm not your enemy, I'm just here to give the two of you an opportunity. Don't want to sell your accounts? You're making a mistake, but hey, I dig it. Who doesn't like a nice unique model? But that doesn't change the fact that you're all brand new." His grin splits across his face once more. "Why don't the two of you stick around with Uncle XeXeeD? Join my «Squadron», let me show you the way winners do things around here."
"Oh? I'll have to refuse your most gracious offer," Lugh says with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "I make it a rule not to work for free. It reflects poorly on my professional spirit."
XeXeeD blinks, "What, that's it? Sure, I'll spot you some cash, I'm no tightwad, I—"
Lugh cuts him off, finger pointing behind him at the rocket launcher he was eying earlier. "You'll buy me that, two sets of level III body armor, a pair of Hardballers, an M16, 4 ammo crates and 10 Megacredits for my trouble. After that I'll gladly serve you in whatever capacity you may require. Kuro, is the same deal alright with you? You may be better served asking for more raw credits, if you haven't set your mind on a particular combat style. Our new patron seems to be a generous man, surely he'd be open to negotiation."
If the request was a joke XeXeeD isn't laughing.
"...You fucking serious? You think I'd drop that kind of cash on two newbs!?" XeXeeD says, glowering at Lugh.
Lugh's smile disappears. "I think, Mr. XeXeeD, that you and I are strangers. I think that you plan on taking advantage of me and my associate. So my price is simply a reflection of my desire to gauge your... commitment. I think it's more than fair. Or are you unable to pay?"
XeXeeD says nothing. A full ten seconds pass where it feels like the temperature in the store has dropped below freezing. "Hey, I'm being nice here. I was gonna allow the two of you to make it big in the GGO world, but now you've gone and pissed me off. Let me explain how things work around here. You play nice, and maybe, if you grovel at my feet, we can still put this behind us. Or we can do things the hard way. Every time you leave town, one my boys will be tailing you. You log off? We find you whenever you go online. We'll spawn camp you to death every hour of every day, until you go crying off to «Asuka Empire»." XeXeeD sneers, looking towards Lugh. "I wonder how a little bitch like you is gonna like being level one all the fucking time?"
Fear tactics, intimidation, XeXeeD's taking pages straight out of «The Army»'s playbook, nothing more than a jumped-up bully looking to get his way with brute force and violence. "We're not playing your game. Lugh, let this dickhead do what he wants. I'm not scared of him."
"You're making a big mistake darling," XeXeeD growls. He whirls on you, all traces of geniality gone. "I've had a long week, and you're making it longer. First, you assault my man, and then you assault my generosity. Go ahead, run away with your tail between your legs. You're all just level 1 right now, no way of hiding your nameplates. It's gonna be game over for the two of you losers, I'll make sure you never—"
"This is getting us nowhere," Lugh says with finality. "So allow me to issue you a proposal."
He points past XeXeeD's mob at the gun shop's front entrance.
"Why don't we see who's the strongest? That is how it works here, isn't it? If I win, then you agree to leave us in peace and pay me for my trouble. And if I lose... then I will gladly surrender my account to you. It's what you want, correct?"
"A duel!? With a newb!?" XeXeeD laughs, his crowd following along like he told them a joke. "Buddy I don't know what kind of hot shit you think you are but it'll take a hundred of you to even put a dent in me. Why should I agree to this!?"
"Lugh," you quickly whisper, elbowing him in the side. "I'm not doubting your strength but if he's been around the block long enough his numbers are gonna be bigger than yours. There's only so much you can do outplay—"
"He's nothing," he says, whispering back, "A paper tiger. But I wouldn't say no to some backup..."
Before you can even consider his request, Lugh steps around you and stares down XeXeeD.
"A-alternative, what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, I think you know. If you insist on setting your goons to harass me and my friend, then I'm afraid I have no choice but to..."
Lugh takes one step towards XeXeeD. And then another. The mass of mooks surrounding the white-armored player instinctively part for him.
"Kill you."
It's a ridiculous threat in something as sanitized as a VR game, as pointless as any other online death threat. But as he stands there in front of his opponent, XeXeeD actually looks frightened. It's the eyes. You've seen them before.
It wasn't the playful glee of PoH, shining in excitement as he watched his victims kill each other.
It wasn't the mad glint of Johnny Black, so dissociated from reality that you don't even know if he realizes what death even is.
It's the red silence of XaXa. Death in conflict, death as a proof of life itself. Death as the endpoint to a challenge. Death as the way of proving he was the...
No, you're not wasting anymore time worrying about the past. This was just supposed to be a scouting mission! And now you're stuck in the middle of a damn power play, trapped in a gun store! All eyes are on Lugh and XeXeeD, your supposed one-of-a-kind avatar left forgotten in the wake of Lugh's declaration. If you had to hazard a guess, he was just itching to try out his avatar. Picking a fight just to test himself.
You could log off right now. Nothing's stopping you. You doubt anyone would even notice. You don't owe Lugh anything.
Frankly, you don't think he even needs your help.
You swallow the lump in your throat. But there's no chance in hell you'd be able to avoid attention, not after today. You step forward and declare...
[ ] That you're all a bunch of idiots!
>Ignore everyone and log off.
>Skip the tutorial fight!
[ ] That your little brother is going through his chuuni phase! [You have enough MASK to pull this off]
>XeXeeD will back off, but will keep his eye on you.
>Skip the tutorial fight!
[ ] That XeXeeD seems like a swell guy!
>Suck up to the asshole, promise to 'join' his Squadron and maybe milk some cash out of him.
>You will noncommittally join Squadron: «Excelsior», and gain 200k Credits! (Equivalent of ¥2000)
>Skip the tutorial fight!
[ ] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
>XeXeeD will agree to fight you and Lugh in partial-loss mode. You expect him to underestimate you.
>Gain 1 Megacredit (Equivalent to 1 million credits, or ¥10000) if you win.
>A friendly bystander will donate you a small starting fund to buy some guns before the start of the fight...
>Start the tutorial fight! (Failure is UNLIKELY)
[ ] No. Not like this. You want a fight? Sure. But we're playing for keeps. [Costs 10 D to take.]
>Demand XeXeeD ante up. Full-loss mode, nothing less. You expect him to fight you with full force.
>Gain 1 Megacredit (Equivalent to 1 million credits, or ¥10000) and XeXeeD's items.
>A friendly bystander will donate you a moderate starting fund to buy some guns before the start of the fight...
>Start the tutorial fight! (Failure is LIKELY)
[ ] Write-in! Will cost D if you do something aggressive or extremely out of character, otherwise consider it free especially if it's just an addendum on to a pre-existing plan.
The QM will not be simulating party member 'inventory' so weight is not a thing for them.
Lugh
World of Origin: Post Starfall
Current World: Post Starfall
Race: Human
HP: 14/14
SP: 10/10
STR: Rank D (2 Dice)
MAG: Rank F (0 Dice)
AGI: Rank C (3 Dice)
VIT: Rank D (2 Dice)
CHT: Rank D (2 Dice)
Resist: Slash, Curse (Additional resistance is based on armor)
Weak: Bless (Additional weakness is based on armor)
Movement: 2
[Rapid Recovery]: You are experienced in making the most of what is already broken. Survive a fatal blow with 1HP once per combat. Whenever you recover health from any effect, you recover +1 HP.
[Spell Weaver]: Anything can be a weapon. Good thing you've used them all before. If an enemy's weakness is already known, your attacks automatically are imbued with that element. You are narratively always equipped with a suite of gadgets, such as: smoke grenades, tripwires, grappling hooks, binoculars, flares, noisemakers or other low grade items as such, which can be used in narrative plans.
[Limitless Growth]: You have achieved the peak of human performance. Now you can go even beyond. All your MODERN firearms gain +2 Accuracy and you gain +2 AGI when dodging MODERN firearms.
[Martial Arts: Assassin]: You are always considered to be in MELEE range, even while using a gun that does not allow for firing in melee. Gain ADVANTAGE on Melee range attacks, provided your opponent does not possess an equivalent skill.
«The Real Deal»: You understand life is nothing more than meat, blood and bone. +2 DICE on all rolls in combat against opponents who do not possess any variation of the «Real Deal» trait.
Actions:
AMT Hardballer [MODERN/PIERCE]
Accuracy: 4 in Range.
Range: [ ][X][X][ ][ ][-][-][-][-][-]
[Assassinate]: Deal +3 PIERCE damage with this weapon, provided you are narratively hidden or the opponent is not focusing on you.
KA-BAR Combat Knife [MELEE/SLASH]
Accuracy: 3 in Range, ignores enemy VIT.
Range: [X][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-]
[Assassinate]: Deal +3 SLASH damage with this weapon, provided you are narratively hidden or the opponent is not focusing on you.
Disarm: When in Melee Range make a contested STR check against your foe— if successful divest them of their weapon.
Release Intent: Attempt to inflict FEAR against a target foe. An enemy that is in FEAR status must move away from the source of their fear, and have DISADVANTAGE when firing upon the source of their fear. Otherwise their actions are unrestrained.
Enshroud: Movement increases +1, furthermore you become narratively 'hidden'. Enemies will not target you but you are still vulnerable to widespread attacks.
Lugh
World of Origin: Post Starfall
Current World: Post Starfall
Race: Human
HP: 14/14
SP: 10/10
STR: Rank D (2 Dice)
MAG: Rank F (0 Dice)
AGI: Rank C (3 Dice)
VIT: Rank D (2 Dice)
CHT: Rank D (2 Dice)
Resist: Slash, Curse (Additional resistance is based on armor)
Weak: Bless (Additional weakness is based on armor)
Movement: 2
[Rapid Recovery]: You are experienced in making the most of what is already broken. Survive a fatal blow with 1HP once per combat. Whenever you recover health from any effect, you recover +1 HP.
[Spell Weaver]: Anything can be a weapon. Good thing you've used them all before. If an enemy's weakness is already known, your attacks automatically are imbued with that element. You are narratively always equipped with a suite of gadgets, such as: smoke grenades, tripwires, grappling hooks, binoculars, flares, noisemakers or other low grade items as such, which can be used in narrative plans.
[Limitless Growth]: You have achieved the peak of human performance. Now you can go even beyond. All your MODERN firearms gain +2 Accuracy and you gain +2 AGI when dodging MODERN firearms.
[Martial Arts: Assassin]: You are always considered to be in MELEE range, even while using a gun that does not allow for firing in melee. Gain ADVANTAGE on Melee range attacks, provided your opponent does not possess an equivalent skill.
«The Real Deal»: You understand life is nothing more than meat, blood and bone. +2 DICE on all rolls in combat against opponents who do not possess any variation of the «Real Deal» trait.
Actions:
AMT Hardballer [MODERN/PIERCE]
Accuracy: 4 in Range.
Range: [ ][X][X][ ][ ][-][-][-][-][-]
[Assassinate]: Deal +3 PIERCE damage with this weapon, provided you are narratively hidden or the opponent is not focusing on you.
KA-BAR Combat Knife [MELEE/SLASH]
Accuracy: 3 in Range, ignores enemy VIT.
Range: [X][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-]
[Assassinate]: Deal +3 SLASH damage with this weapon, provided you are narratively hidden or the opponent is not focusing on you.
Disarm: When in Melee Range make a contested STR check against your foe— if successful divest them of their weapon.
Release Intent: Attempt to inflict FEAR against a target foe. An enemy that is in FEAR status must move away from the source of their fear, and have DISADVANTAGE when firing upon the source of their fear. Otherwise their actions are unrestrained.
Enshroud: Movement increases +1, furthermore you become narratively 'hidden'. Enemies will not target you but you are still vulnerable to widespread attacks.
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- Location
- At the end of the world
[X] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
[X] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
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Underdog Emiya
God-Emperor of Underkind
- Location
- Brazil
- Pronouns
- He
[X] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
I don't know how impossible this sub-mission is, but seems pretty impossible at first glance.
[X] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
[X] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
They can lose. The trick is that they are two in one. Make sure to pin Sora down in a contest of raw skill or Shiro in a contest of mind games. But first you'd have to figure out which is in control first, while concealing your own capabilities.
[X] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
LosingHope
Welcome to ARCO AM/PM Minimarket!
[X] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
Beat up XeXeed and take his lunch money, he won't be around much longer after all…
[x] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
[x] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
[X] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
I'm just glad we have a 100% in character reason to say the phrase "-Sends his regards" as we headshot someone.
Was looking through the new compendium, and I noticed that Plants is still labeled as Simon Magus and not Helena.
DoSomething
Trash in trash can
[X] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
- Location
- USA
[X] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
[X] That you're gonna ram your boot so far up his ass he'll taste it coming out the other end!
Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
We are as one, the council has decided XD