Dennis LaMotte, like many of the players standing around the Guild meeting, was writing on a piece of parchment and carefully recording anything that was said. Thankfully, acting as the occasional secretary for the student government at his old high school had helped him immensely with shorthand and note taking... If only his handwriting wasn't so atrocious. The pen etched across the parchment's surface, only pausing the stream of cursive when he needed to dab the tool in the inkwell sitting at the table.

Nearly 300 people had died. 

Dennis had come to this fact a while ago, but it was always a surprise to see that in the newsletter. And, like always, it shook Dennis to the core. 300 lives pointlessly thrown away in some game, something that was supposed to be a fun pass time. He could have spent the last few weeks helping at the soup kitchen, maybe helping the various clubs on his campus with cleanup and maintenance - instead, he was watching dozens of strangers die every day. For a while, before he found his friends, Dennis was much more traumatized by the constant death - he was one of those who spent the first day freaking out and running around.

He was better now.

Dennis looked sternly at Datalink 66 throughout most of the meeting - they always were in his ire, and the only reason he owned a subscription to them was so he could tell anyone he met the news that was shared in the letter. The fact that they refused to share information for free was despicable considering this was life and death, but Dennis was just glad that even they weren't willing to stoop so low as to charge for info on the floor dungeon. When a scroll was placed in Dennis' hands he was almost shocked into making a sound.

Of course, the Astral Blade did it - unlike Datalink 66, they were actually kind and sought to guarantee survival. That was the smart thing in this situation, and Dennis couldn't help but admire them everytime they made an appearance. If he hadn't found his friends, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Dennis would have joined them. Placing the scroll, parchment, pen, and inkwell into his inventory, Dennis leaned further back in his chair.

The fact that there was an item that could spawn an infinite number of monsters was very interesting - it would make an invaluable farming tool, especially if a line of tanks could block off a small area for AoE spellcasters.

Well... Dennis wasn't really a big fan of video games - hell, the only real hobby he had outside of his charity work was his avid weightlifting. If these guys didn't think it was a good idea, then it probably wasn't. Instead, he turned to the rest of his guild and spoke quietly so as not to annoy anyone, not in their guild.

[color=a36209]"Thanks for placing your trust in me, Naomi - I'll work hard to be the best... meatshield? Oh, um, for when we get into the dungeon, could we stop after every fight or two to heal up and replenish mana? I'm not sure if I'm used to being a tank, but it seems like a lot of these aggro-thingies take a lot of mana."[/color]

Several seconds passed before Dennis spoke again.

[color=a36209]"Wait, wait - I also got this Living Wall thing, it's super cool. I can just step in front of one of you guys and take the hit if one is coming at you. So if you guys are low on HP, stay near Naomi so she can heal you like she said, and I can protect you guys."[/color]

Beyond knowing that the Tank was supposed to take the hits, and the healer kept people alive, Dennis' knowledge on MMO's was pretty limited. So, he just stuck to knowing what he did about his class abilities and hoping that the Aura of Confidence applied out of battle.

The last thing that was needed in this game was more negative emotions.