[hr][center][h3]??? — Dilapidated Shack[/h3]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/JhorTIT.png[/img]
《 Level 1 Madlad 》
[@ERode][@TheMushroomLord][@PKMNB0Y][/center][hr]
[quote]“Ad̵d… con̴t̸act… ̸a̶dd… D̸ow̸n̵, U̷p̶… ad̸d…”[/quote] Connor glanced back at the slime as it spoke up once more. All it had done so far after he'd set it down was open its Status--although weirdly, Connor noted he couldn't see the image even though he'd heard the slime slap out the words. The elf, however, had been able to see Connor's own--was it because he'd presented it, directly? If they were all otherworlders, and recognized as such, then what if that "contacts" tab in the window...

[i]Is that like some kind of Telepathy? Or would it literally work like a phone call...or a text message?[/i] Did it only work between otherworlders or could they add anyone they wanted?

Also, of slightly less relevance to the current predicament, the elf claimed he had died before the election was over. Either he was dodging the question entirely--was the term "president" something a medieval world would be familiar with?--or they had died, and been reincarnated, at different points in their own native timelines. Which opened up another barrel of worms if it was possible to go back to their original worlds, [i]especially[/i] if they would be redeposited at their original time of death in some fashion to secure a new lease on life. That meant, if the elf went back to an earlier point than he did or vice versa, and they had learned something from each other they couldn't have known otherwise...

Connor hated time travel stories. He was going to assume that, if there were multiple otherworlders in one place, there had probably been more than one otherworlder in this particular world [i]before[/i] the three of them. And if that was the case, he was going to assume that if the multiverse hadn't paradoxx'd itself before now, it wasn't going to do so. And if it did, well...

The total cessation of all existence would at least bring some peace and quiet.

[quote]“So we need to leave after all. And trust that the ‘NPCs’ aren’t hostile when we ask things of them. Ok.” A shallow nod, then a turn towards slime that was once-more bound to the ground. “And ‘add contact slime, C’.”[/quote]

"N-no, w-wait, I meant--" But the elf was already stepping through the door! Dammit, he couldn't at least wait until nightfall?! Connor started to follow, but then looked back at the slime. Then he looked back at the swishing, raggedy curtain.

"...Um...Contacts...add Slime and...elf man?"

In the inner place where he usually heard his ears ring, he heard two bloops like a notification on an app. Once more, he glanced at the doorway--and now he heard another voice. Softer, feminine. He moved back, kneeling down next to the tarp and the slime, and kept his eyes on the window while his fingers adjusted the Status Window's position in the corner of his vision.

[i]That's--that's a catgirl! And she's wearing a two handed sword with a blade that's too wide, on her back instead of at her waist![/i] Connor felt his heart beating faster again. However, his brain could work even faster than that--as a wannabe writer, he was quite proud of both his typing and reading speeds, and he'd gotten to a point where he often watched videos on 2x speed so he could cram more dopamine into his doomscrolling.

[code]Contact: "Slime"
Guy who picked u up stepped out. Don't worry, won't leave u alone.
Vision, smell, sound, taste, feel, uh...kinesthetics? Y/N to any?[/code]

[i]She acts like this is a bad part of town--which is obvious--but she's not wearing what I'd call a "conservative" outfit or armor. With a build like hers there's no way she could use that sword realistically--so either upping STR doesn't affect your musculature, or physics just play out different here.[/i] It wasn't clear if she was genuinely just warning the elf man, or making some kind of veiled threat. Connor quickly looked all around the shack again, just in case some bandit backup might be climbing through another window somewhere while the neko kept the most combat-capable-looking person in their party occupied.

[code]Contact: "Elf man"
Ask smth like "what kind of enemies," keep her talkin. Don't tell her any of what I told you, or anythin bout us, plz[/code]

He went ahead and started to slowly, [i]quietly[/i] prize that board out of the wall.