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[indent][indent][indent][color=gray][sub][right][color=#98A9B1][b]Location:[/b][/color]The Laughing Warg Tavern - The City of Thorinn, Aetheria[/right][/sub][/color]
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[color=tan]“Just trying to figure out why… why Kazuki’s magic didn’t work.”[/color]

She’d had the same thought both he and Kazuki had. Of course she did. She was [i]smart[/i] and that set her apart from many meathead players in Pariah. She went on to discuss her own theories and questions about why restorative magic didn’t work like it did before. Benkei was surprised that she’d even gone to look into similar books his brother had also invested in. Smart was too imprecise a word to describe her. 

[color=tan]“You must think it’s stupid of me to think like this…”[/color] The self-flaggelation wasn’t uncommon for Benkei or his brother. They were Japanese, after all, and dishonor and shame were always on the tip of any serious parent’s tongues. Especially theirs. 

[color=#98A9B1]“Stupid? No. [i]Brilliant[/i] is a better word. It’s something Kazuki and I have also been discussing. Why do we now feel actual sensations, like hunger, pain, and our actual senses. Why is everyone suddenly able to get drunk?”[/color] Benkei had a wild look in his eye as he pondered these existential questions. [color=#98A9B1]“It’s like this world is a living system, but before the glitch we were only observers and casual manipulators of the world around us. Now after this glitch, we’re a part of the system too. The rules that governed our magic don’t apply anymore. At least, that’s my theory.[/color] 

He looked around the room, nodding and glancing at those he knew. [color=#98A9B1]“How many players are still stuck in Pariah right now, I wonder. And of those players, how many of them have some useful skill or knowledge? I wonder how many players are in the medical field, or engineering field, or in a science field. We need to understand how this world works, but also we need to use the knowledge we have from the real world. If Pariah is a living system now, there are rules and laws. Laws for magic, but also laws for physics. Laws for biology. If we’re going to survive in this place until they can get us out, we need to use everything we have access to.”[/color] 

Maybe he sounded stupid. [i]Or crazy.[/i] 

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