There may have been many thoughts going through Ari's head as she dove into the waters again. Or perhaps, there were no thoughts at all, and for all the terror of a dive into the unknown, she was perfectly at peace. No matter her thoughts, however, the end of her journey was punctuated by a [i]splat[/i].

The gaps between the rocks at the bottom of the fall, though large enough to let water flow further into the aquifer that Nyu-Taro's residents would purify and then draw from, were unfortunately not large enough to accommodate a petite catgirl. Thus, with a split-open skull and a broken body, Ari died her second death, and inadvertently stood up the vendor that had been so kind as to start a tab for her.
[sub][@GreenGoat][/sub][hr]
Klein had both levels and a Nuclei, but overconfidence was still the insidious killer that it had always been. His previous encounters with the goblins had been in a group, with both Amulak and Raime providing the ranged attacks necessary to take down the wolves, while everyone else worked in the frontline to spread the damage out. Here though? His intimidating posture and the small tree that he dragged around with him only worked to his disadvantage: there was no way that the goblins were ever going to engage him in close combat.

And so, as mounted archers peppered him with arrows while maintaining an ideal distance utilizing the speed of the wolves, Klein came to the realization that a tank without a backline or potent movement options was really just a sitting duck. Death came soon after, and the goblins ate well that night.
[sub][@Shovel][/sub][hr]
And then, there were three.

But what a perfect three they were. Two frontliners, one who had a Nuclei that made them impossible to budge, and a high-level backliner who was now motivated to max his level as soon as possible. Their rampage through the Thunderstruck Grove, whilst not legendary, was still impressive for such a small party. Banishing ghosts with fists and magic, smashing abominations with justice and avarice, dueling giants with sword and sorcery, the trio of Ames, Amulak, and Magpie grew steadily stronger, racking up loot and EXP as they ventured through the mist-veiled forest. With the mage's crowd control capabilities, Ames was easily able to crush to bloody bits what forest critters there were, racking up a nice body count of different species of rodents, and Amulak's Seeker Chains could even be used to hold the warrior down in a puddle of stagnant water to fulfill the 300 second requirement that Ames was working towards.

The usage of his ankle bells as weapons wasn't all too difficult either, even if more than a few of the bells were dented due to his reckless kicking, and if nothing else, it seemed to have worked out...

...at least until the exhausted party returned to Nyu-Taro's Keystone to check out the requirements, and Ames found out that he hadn't fulfilled any spellcasting requirements at all. Perhaps instruments didn't register as spellcasting implements when one wasn't a bard? It was an oversight, maybe, on the part of the warrior, but on the plus side? For some reason, the 'Die' requirement of the Animist class was filled up! That, of course, made Ames's plans of killing themselves a bit more questionable, but since they were all planning to log-off for the day anyways, a 24 hour timer on logging back in probably wasn't too bad.

And thus, Ames sought his death, hoping that self-murder still counted for the Kegare's murder requirement.

It didn't.
[sub][@Psyker Landshark][@Yankee][@OwO][/sub][hr]
[quote]Another day, another grind. Mondays were dreaded, regardless of where one lived, but time marched on into oblivion, and it was the small moments of happiness that got one up. A morning run through a nearby park. Coffee brewed by a lover you hadn't seen for some time. Opportunities to meet up with classmates who may be friends or something more. The promise of rising stocks, of a stronger portfolio. An hour or two of peace, as siblings file out of the house. A social media feed that contained new articles curated to your own interest. Perhaps a new serialization, or a morning talk show. Obligations woke one up and got one out of bed, but it was the small things that kept one moving through the day.

And once the day's humdrum settled down, once dinner was made and eaten, it was nice to recline and relax. Time dilation virtual reality, though harassed by niche researchers as harmful to the 'youth' of the brain, had the pleasant side-effect of lengthening one's leisure time, no matter how many [i]real[/i] hours they've put into their work. Friends were pinging friends, and last-minute bathroom breaks were made so accidents didn't need to happen afterwards. FDDs were booted up, the familiar instructions were read out in surround sound, the loading screen began to hum, and you...

...became someone else.[/quote]
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There was a strange buzz at the Keystone Plaza in Nyu-Taro, one that could be sensed immediately as the Immortals manifested. It had been one week since the Rinshan Annihilation Tournament, long enough now that everyone in Horogi knew of the power of the Flamebringer Princess. While the majority of low-leveled players within Nyu-taro had little grasp on the politics of the situation, that didn't mean that they weren't influenced by it. Ryoku-Jo, the clan whom the Flamebringer Princess was affiliated with, could sit pretty, after all, but the Tato-Ie, closest neighboring clan to the Ryoku-Jo and one whom was constantly at odds with the clan they had once split off from was feeling the pressure as a result; none of their Immortals were even in the Top 16, and though dueling ability wasn't the only demonstration of strength, it was significant nonetheless. In a grab for power then, a declaration was made.

The Tato-Ie will invade the Mora-Sho in one week's time. If the Mora-Sho will fight to the last, then so be it, but if they were willing to become a vassal clan to the Tato-Ie and add their Dead Soldiers to the military might of the Tato-Ie, then that would be preferable.

Such news was on the lips of every Rien, from the teashops to the markets. Merchants looked for Immortal escorts and packed up their wares, eager to sell high to the Mora-Sho clan who'd most likely be willing to pay premium for any supplies that could bolster their chances of surviving the invasion. The Tato-Ie were mustering up mercenaries too, not to engage in the invasion efforts themselves, but to serve as a bulwark against a possible attack by the Ryoku-Jo while the main army was southwards. Mora-Sho emissaries in Nyu-Taro were decrying the act as unjustified, but the nature of Horogi was rarely one that lead to righteous conflicts. San-Li had not yet acted yet, but there were whispers too that the Gakui-Re may be planning something before the battles began. Curious jobs that involved the capture, rather than destruction, of certain types of monsters within the Thunderstruck Grove had popped up amongst the wooden planks nailed to the wall, the tsuchigumo and ushi-oni being the most common. It was messy, undoubtedly, but there was a strangely festive energy in all this too.

For the Immortals, after all, this was an event that could do anything from make them famous to making them a profit, and for the Riens, this was much the same. An inter-clan conflict, if it didn't involve the clan that you were a part of, was simply another opportunity.

But for Ames, Amulak, Magpie, Klein, Raime, Lugh, and Ari, could the same be said?

Or were they preoccupied with other matters instead?