Duoya

UNFAIR MONSTERS [Spots Open]

Ken Ozawa

Staying back seemed like it was the smart decision - the others clearly showed that they were able to handle themselves, and didn't need Ken to engage this monster. Ken nearly used his Barrier generation ability to protect the man with chains from a surprise attack, but the man was able to pull himself from the danger at the last second, so Ken didn't need to follow through with that.

The monster was quick to be punished for this attempted attack - a girl with multicolor hair and a dress that Ken felt was a bit more formal than what most people would wear in a situation like this threw a ball of light from her palm, before immediately following up with a goddamn laser from her eye. While Ken trying to shield his eyes from the very bright burst of light, he wondered who the hell these guys were. After all, while Ken knew about his abilities, he only found this place on a fluke by following his power, his Invisible Hand - did the others have some sensory ability that led them here? Or did they just see the light in the sky and decide to investigate it? Ken didn't feel like he would have chased the light if not for his power, so he was leaning towards a combination of the two.

This line of thought was disrupted when the woman with the sword on fire rushed towards the monster, capitalizing on the Light girl's assault. She slashed at the monster, attempting to slash it across the stomach with her sword. And then another girl... found a crane? Ken wasn't paying attention and only noticed the monster being picked up and held midair via the newly created crane. Ken was surprised at how the group talked to each other - almost as surprised as the sudden manifestation of the crane. They were very relaxed about the situation, and one or two were even making jokes. Ken couldn't imagine they were experienced with this sort of thing - he had never heard of monster attacks before unless you counted fake ghost stories that his coworkers used to tell during break. Another one of them, a man with an ink brush, circled the dangling monster while slashing at the air with his brush. After running completely around it, the slashes moved through the air and seemed to physically cut into the monster.

At this point, Ken wasn't very surprised by the feats of these people - they displayed a level of power that disobeyed physics, and despite his nonexistent involvement in the fight, Ken knew that his abilities weren't natural either. That still didn't prepare him for when the monster, who had been previously restrained, managed to deliver an attack to the people fighting it. The spikes launched out of it - luckily, the man with the chains dodged it, as the tree behind him took a hard hit that probably would have left serious injuries. Ken felt that now was probably a good time to interject - the fighters had rendered the monster almost entirely inert, and Ken could stay safe as long as he faced the front of the monster and liberally used his barrier.

This was made even easier a task when the Chain man locked his chains around the monster, restraining it. Very smart - locking off its avenue of attack was the best chance of staying safe from its devastating assault. Ken decided to mimic this tactic, and a green barrier of light manifested in midair near the monster, covering the exposed parts of the monsters back that were not covered by the man's chains. It wasn't the best - Ken felt a few solid spines would destroy the barrier, and while he could remake it, he felt it would be draining to constantly make barriers. Ken simply prepared himself to use his final, restorative ability if he saw one of the fighters get injured - which, at least from when Ken arrived on the scene, thankfully hadn't happened thus far.

UNFAIR MONSTERS [Spots Open]

Will get a post out this Monday - probably sometime after I get off work.

Edit: Took longer than expected, sorry about that.

DanMachi: Alter Oration [DEAD]

Sorry for taking so much longer than expected - midterms are just finishing up where I am, and I had to deal with a big group project. Things are calmer now though, so that'll help me keep up with posts!

DanMachi: Alter Oration [DEAD]

Torran was pleased when he heard the dwarf compliment him - or, at least he believed the statement that Torran was big was a compliment. His size had served Torran well when he used to help his father forge, and Torran never really felt bothered by the fact he had to duck in most places. Even more than that, however, Torran was glad that the woman who led him here was speaking up for him - Torran got hungry fairly often, but even he knew that it wasn't okay to eat people!

"Oh-ho? That so! Gentle giant he is, then? Well, any friend of our dear laundry-lady is welcome here, put her there, son!"

The attempt to pat Torran on the shoulder wasn't even noticed by the large Boaz, who simply returned the handshake. Torran was very cautious about handshakes and hugs since his parents usually complained he did them too roughly - and the last thing Torran wanted to do was upset the people who could be his potential Familia. After finishing the ginger handshake, Torran finally decided to speak up.

"Yes, I do not eat people. My name is Torran, and I was hoping to join the Athena Familia."

Torran had to stop himself from smirking. He felt that he had nailed that interaction when in actuality it was kind of awkward when he put it that way. He waited for the dwarf to grand him permission to enter the building and was quick to enter. The Laundry lady followed behind Torran, and it took the boaz a few seconds to realize why she would be coming inside. Then he remembered - she had come here in order to bring laundry, so she probably came in to be paid! Torran gave himself a bit too much credit for that discovery, which any reasonable person would have realized instantly.

The dwarf, who had introduced himself as Brozar as the trio made their way inside the building, led them to what appeared to be the dining room - they stopped their, and Brozar led the laundry Lady to another part of the building after she took the laundry out of Torran's hands. Torran felt very nervous being left alone in the dining hall - well, there were other people there, but Torran didn't know anyone. That scared him somewhat, but Torran reminded himself that he was there to be an Adventurer. And Adventurers had to do things that made them scared sometimes.

Two figures really stood out to Toran - one was sleeping while sitting at one of the tables. He was gruff, was wearing an eyepatch, and was wearing armor despite being in a room meant for eating. Torran felt intimidated by him, despite the size difference, and really wanted to avoid being too close to him - but he had to lern to not be scared of things like that, if he really wanted to be an adventurer. Luckily though, Torran wouldn't have to talk to him - Torran's father told the Boaz that waking people up while they were trying to sleep was very bad. After that, Torran learned to go to the bathroom on his own, and no longer needed to wake up his parents!

Toran shook his head - he was getting distracted again. The other person was seemed much safer - the girl seemed around the same size as the girl that Torran rescued earlier that day, maybe even shorter. Was she a child? Toran knew about Pallum, and felt that it was reasonable to assume she was one - still, even if he knew she wasn't a child, she seemed much friendlier than the older man, if Torran went by apperances alone. He chose to approach her, hoping that she would be able to answer his questions while Brozar was with the Laundry Lady.

"E-excuse me, Ma'am, do you know where I go to join the Familia?"

Torran was very nervous - he never dealt with strangers much back when he worked with his parents, and the only reason he could deal with the people he talked to today was that he was acting the part of the hero. Now, he was asking questions from someone who could very well be a real adventurer - and the only reason he even managed that was because she looked so nonthreatening.

THE OUSAMA GAME | a Short-Term Horror

The situation was dire - but all things considered, it could be a hell of a lot worse. Luckily, Ryan could rely on one major thing, which was the fact that they had time to complete their orders.

"We have about seventy two hours before we die of thirst - probably even less for those already injured, unless we decide to start drinking blood, or unless the King decides to send us some supplies, which I find highly unlikely."

"It might also be true that someone... maybe even another player... is up the stairs, but it would mean sending one smaller person up there to check. If there is someone up there, they are likely to be armed. Let me know if any volunteers are willing to put their neck on the line for a shot in the dark."

Ryan didn't agree with the blond man, Number 7's first statement. How many orders was he expecting? Ryan honestly doubted that the king would give them more than a day to live - the place they found themselves in seemed pretty decrepit, and Ryan felt that by the time 3 days went by, they might be able to find an exit or make one. The King, if he had enough resources to kidnap them without notice, probably wouldn't give them the chance to live long enough to find an escape. A very chilling thought, that Ryan was eager to abandon in favor of the man's second statement.

The possibility of a weapon was there, and honestly, going up the stairs would almost certainly kill them. But the king had to have been up there - why would he be down here where he could be killed by the other participants? The girl that tore out her teeth said as much - they could simply draw ballots to decide who lives and dies, so that was a massive risk to take...

Then again, kidnapping 7 people was also a huge risk. He might just be crazy? Whatever the case, Ryan didn't feel like being paranoid and suspecting the other victims was a wise choice, considering they might just turn on him and kill him. Besides, he'd need them if he wanted any chance of even making it to the top of the stairs, let alone fighting the King if he was up there.

The blond opened a door with a key that he had - where did he get that? One conclusion would be that he was the king, but there was no way he would do something so obvious as opening a door that was locked with a key. No, it was more likely that he saw it in the coffin when he woke up, like the teeth that Ryan could have used to spare the girl with the #1 carved in her hand. The others probably had similar items, but Ryan didn't feel like suggesting something like that - he already seemed suspicious for trying to dissuade the others from killing each other.

A few of the others, notably the girl who tore her fingernail off and the blond who opened the door, entered into what appeared to be a decaying kitchen. Ryan thought of following, but decided against it - the blond seemed a bit too eager to try and dismiss Ryan's idea of waiting before doing orders, and no matter how much Ryan rationalized it, he didn't feel comfortable about the whole key situation. Or the fact that he still held onto the glass shard... Instead, Ryan stayed in the Lobby they awoke in a few minutes ago.

That's when the dumbwaiter started again. Ryan chose to stay away, nervous - so far it had been different people each order, so he was probably going to be within the next 2 orders... and reading out his own fate was a little difficult. The messy haired girl was the one who chose to go for the cards when the dumbwaiter finally arrived - Ryan knew from her reaction that she was a part of it, but moved closer to read the card she held out for them.

He was part of it, but it would be a lie to say that Ryan didn't sigh in relief. He got off easy compared to the girls who self-mutilated themselves, and the messy haired girl might vomit the human parts up. Ryan was slightly envious of the girl who actually introtuced themselves, Riley, since they only had to inflict the harm, but he felt bad for the girl that was about to eat his eyelashes. Ryan would have dealt with that far better, since he was... you know, a cannibal - but still, eating hard parts like nails and teeth was quite unpleasant, and Ryan could only imagine the struggle if the one eating was a normal person.

"Oh how fun, eyelashes aren't that painful to remove. Hell, some people even do that for stylistic purposes. Number Four, Number Four, Number Four~ lets bust this out so we can clear this stage and move on to the next one 'eh?"

Riley walked into the kitchen as they said this, and Ryan found himself quickly appreciating the yeares of exercise he went through. He obviously couldn't handle Riley if she found some kind of weapon in the kitchen, but unarmed, Ryan felt confident he could keep them off of him. Unless Riley grouped up with the others to manhandle him, in which case he would lose instantly.

"J-Jesus Christ, no! We have three hours, right? Why would we rush an order then? W-we could use this time to find a way out, or find the King if he is... one of us. Losing track of time wouldn't even be a problem, right? One of us has a watch! I mean, I only know one person's name here!"

It was suprising that thought had just occured to Ryan. It was expected, considering the cirsumstances - why would they want to make buddies when they were tearing off bodyparts? Still, Ryan felt he was in hot water, so trying to humanize himself to the others might save his skin if they try and lynch someone. And he did mean what he said - there would be no chance of finding the King if they didn't even know each other's names - well, unless they did go through with the plan the girl who ripped out her tooth made.

"My name's Ryan Watts. I, uh, work as a Mortician - like, funerals and stuff. I'm pretty stresed right now so that's all I can really think to say right now, but I'll try and answer questiosn if anyone has any."

Ryan gulped. Losing track, stammering, he was getting nervous because of the situation. He had to keep focused on the Order, and delaying it for a while before these guys forcibly ripped his eyelashes out...

"O-oh, and I'd prefer it if we could cut my eyelashes off instead of pulling them, Riley."

There - hopefully now everyone knew he was going to go through with things, and his appeal for more time wasn't just to prolong his time before being injured. Hopefully, they could find a blade, or the Blond guy would be willing to part with the glass for a few minutes.

DanMachi: Alter Oration [DEAD]

Will probably post Friday, sooner if I finish one of my assignments faster than I think I will.

THE OUSAMA GAME | a Short-Term Horror

Will try getting out a post tomorrow, but if not it will be out by Friday.

Eden(Small-scale Space NRP)

@Sigma
Tough tossup between an AI Buracracy or a Buggy Agricultural people, but considering we have mostly only had Fleshies make up the demographics (except for the Cybe for Raygon), I'll probably go with AI.

Eden(Small-scale Space NRP)

There still room to join? I’m very interested!

THE OUSAMA GAME | a Short-Term Horror

Number 7 turned out to be the blond, which Ryan was somewhat glad for. He felt that the blond was probably the person who could take the cut the easiest. Of course, that was probably expecting too much out of a stranger he hardly knew. Number 2, instead of taking the cut himself, simply grabbed the blade and started checking each of the group for Number 2. When he didn't find them, he elected to throw open the single, unopened coffin that remained in the room with the group. The wound was superficial, but it was certainly far too sudden for Ryan to feel comfortable with it.

Number 2 wasn't comfortable with it either. He looked defensive, as any sane person would be, and began talking to Number 7 in a low tone.

"I don't have any money, but you can tell me what you want, instead of hurting me again. I won't resist."

That was unsettling. If Ryan was suddenly being attacked, he would probably have yelled instead of calmly addressing the situation. It was clear that Number 2 was nervous, but he was very well-kept despite that. The messy-haired Asian girl, who Ryan now knew was Number 6, questioned Number 2 on his choice of staying in his coffin. It was odd, but considering his eyes were initially closed when 7 Opened it, Ryan assumed that he simply hadn't awoken yet. It made sense - some people were just more susceptible to drugs than others, so whatever substance the King used to kidnap them... Well, Number 2 probably didn't agree with it very well.

Another metallic Screech echoed throughout the room. This time, Number 7 answered the dumbwaiter. Ryan's blood ran cold when he saw the cards and rusty pliers. It hurt Ryan a little to realize how much relief he felt when neither of the players designated by the king were him. Number 5 was the first to begin following orders.

She screamed as she pulled her pinky nail off. Ryan wasn't disturbed in the slightest by the gore - although, it was nowhere near as appetizing when the owner of the flesh was still alive. Rather, he was pierced by her screams. They reverberated around he house violently, demanding the attention of everyone involved in this game.

Number 1 seemed to care much less about the ordeal. She picked up the rusty pliers that Number 5 threw at her feet, and began to talk to the others, the first time she had opened her mouth since awakening.

"The easiest way to win a game is not to play, the fastest way out would be to draw lots and just kill from there. One in seven the king ends up winning, one in seven that everyone else survives, five in seven that a few people survive. If I die from it, so be it."

What got Ryan however, was the final thing she said, before reaching the pliers into her mouth and pulling out a canine.

"You wouldn't get arrested for something like that, either. Extenuating circumstances."

Ryan was far from innocent. He ate human flesh regularly, whether recently deceased or buried or frozen a few weeks ago. He even had a freezer in his basement to make the whole process more efficient. But even then, Ryan had only ever thought of killing once - and it was to kill his recent ex, Jennifer. It disturbed him that he found killing these strangers, a group where he only knew the real name of one of them, was a more unnerving thought that killing someone he shared a bed with. Maybe because these people were the same as Ryan - innocent people stuck in trying circumstances.

Even with rationalizing things like that, Ryan still felt horrible that he didn't offer the tooth necklace he had to Number 1. He just couldn't risk contaminating it... If he got out of here alive than the only physical evidence that Ryan was kidnapped at all would be these teeth - especially if they had printed on them, or some were taken from Dennis.

"T-that's... That's Cruel!"

Ryan had to say something - some of these characters already seemed a little strange, especially considering they were so eager to carry out the commands. Didn't they read the rules? The players had three hours to complete an order! Unless 'all orders' meant every order until they were all dead, and not each one...

"L-look... I'm just saying, don't you think that's... a bit much? We don't even know if one of us is the King! The dumbwaiter comes down from above, so wouldn't that mean he's upstairs?"

Ryan turned towards the destroyed staircase. If it was possible to climb up there, it would take an incredible amount of time and effort... If it was possible at all. Ryan decided to continue, doing his best to try and not make himself look more like the King than he already did.

"I mean... We have three hours to complete an Order, right? L-let's say the King is down here - He probably wouldn't target himself, right? We have three hours until we need to do anything drastic, we can think this over calmly..."

He didn't like her suggestion very much, but Ryan had to admit - if he felt any people weren't the King, it would have to be Number 1 or 5. They both sacrificed a body part... Even if it's small, that's no meager feat. Ryan hoped the others weren't as disturbing as he was starting to think they were - would they think killing one another would be okay? Even if it risked an innocent person's life?