"That was... EPIC!" Mercury was hopping with excitement as the time bubble disappeared. And then he stopped short and a mischevous smile streched over his face. He pointed at the stranger whose name he still hadn't thought to ask and said, "Village gates, five minutes. Tell people." before running off to stir up some new trouble.
"therebetterbepeoplethereorimsoscrewed!" A humanoid blur streaked towards the village gates, pursued by a small army of what looked like more than a few dozen pheasants. As he ran he yelled for anyone he passed to "followmeforfreeexp!" Mercury split his attention away from the ground beneath his feet to bring up the message menu. He hurriedly filled in "freeexp @vilgate" and hit SEND TO ALL. In a moment of distraction, his foot caught on a root and sent him skidding acorss the ground on his face. "Time's Backhand!" Mercury was puched off of the ground and into the air. He landed already running again, the pheasants now only feet away. Mercury kicked up a rock, caught it, and threw it behind him into the mass of pheasants. It would all be for nothing if he lost their agro now.
Eventually, finally, the village gate appeared in the distance. If he'd been in a desert, mercury would have assumed it a mirage, but it was really real. he snapped a stick from a tree as he passed and threw it behind him. And then he was at the gates.
Mercury skidded to a stop and spun around. "Time's Arena!" A bubbkle of slowed space enveloped him, the pheasant army, and a few unlucky players that had been standing too close. Mercury, and those unluckies, went down under a barrage of feathers and blows. "Time's Backhand!" A black cape, and the small magicion that wore it, blasted out of the top of the bubble. Mercury watched as the players figured out what they were supposed to do. It was a slaughter.
Even a small portion of the exp from so many kills added up, and a deep blue aurora poured from the Temporal Mage's eyes as he leveled up once... twice... thrice...
Mercury slammed into the ground just inside the village gates, dying on impact. Damn, no more free exp for him. "Hey cool, I'm a ghost!"
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Theoretically speaking, how doable would it be for a character to start an impromptu pheasant-killing raid event using the game's mass-messaging feature? ...Theoretically speaking. 
So where's the post that describes PvP and duels and stuff (that's the technical term)?
Mercury stood up tall and stared down at his dead attacker, then at the player that was talking to him. "Why of course I'm okay. I had it right where I wanted it, until you so rudely interfered." He grinned at the person who had come to his rescue and broke down into laughter. "Tell you what, I don't like the idea of owing you for saving me. If you're looking to level up, I'll help you for a few. " He checked his skill list to see if Time's Arena was off cooldown yet, and sure enough, it was ready for use. "Sit right here for a sec. Time's Arena!" A red circle spread out from where Mercury's sword touched the ground. "Ciou," he said as he activated his spell. Nothing happened, until he stepped backwards out of the bubble. He felt the same feeling of passing through water, and then he was out. Everything inside the circle was crystal clear, time inside the bubble moving much slower than that outside. From the inside, the only sign that anything was amiss was the blur as light hit the bubble's edge. And his own vanishing act. That would be pretty noticeable.
He clicked his tongue. "Not completely useless after all." Mercury had a great idea. When the bubble of slowed time dropped, Mercury was rushing towards the stranger. In a parody of his first entrance, a group of four more pheasants was hot on his heels. "Notimetoexplainfollowme!"
Mercury watched the cooldown timer for Time's Arena tick down. Now! He spun to face the charging pheasants. "Time's Arena!" The time magician ran out of one side of the bubble just as the last of the four pheasants ran in. The pheasants were still charging, but their progress looked unbearably slow from the outside. Mercury fell backwards and lay on the ground. "So what's the RoF of that cannon?" He twisted his head around to look for the stranger with the pheasant-killing toy.
He clicked his tongue. "Not completely useless after all." Mercury had a great idea. When the bubble of slowed time dropped, Mercury was rushing towards the stranger. In a parody of his first entrance, a group of four more pheasants was hot on his heels. "Notimetoexplainfollowme!"
Mercury watched the cooldown timer for Time's Arena tick down. Now! He spun to face the charging pheasants. "Time's Arena!" The time magician ran out of one side of the bubble just as the last of the four pheasants ran in. The pheasants were still charging, but their progress looked unbearably slow from the outside. Mercury fell backwards and lay on the ground. "So what's the RoF of that cannon?" He twisted his head around to look for the stranger with the pheasant-killing toy.
So we're giving peasant claws to the pheasants?
Mercury stared down a lone pheasant. “You have made a fatal mistake, my opponent. A lone enemy is no match for my skills.” The pheasant gave him an annoyed look, but so far he hadn’t done anything to attract the creature’s agro. Mercury’s radiant blue eyes narrowed. “Do you mock me, puny monster? I will strike you down!”
The moment his hand touched the hilt of his sword, the pheasant attacked. “Ow ow ow!” The amount of damage the beginner enemy was doing was ridiculous. A terrible thought popped into his head: had he accidentally wandered into a more difficult zone!? Mercury ran back towards the village, his level 1 enemy close on his heels.
He was nearly at the village before he thought to try using a skill. “Puny pheasant, you’ve activated my trap card!” He quickly scrolled through the very short list of skills that he could use. He spun and held up his sheathed sword between himself and the pheasant. “Time’s Backhand!” A circle of red light appeared, and with it a CAST command. Mercury cast the spell, the magic circle shattered, and the pheasant was sent flying backwards.
“Hell yeah! That’s what you get for daring to attack a superior opponent!” And then he noticed two things nearly simultaneously. First, that the pheasant was already back on its feet and ready to attack, and second, that his attack had done all of 1 damage. “Shit. Let’s try that again.” Bringing up his skill list again, Mercury saw that the skill he had just used was almost ready to use again. Time’s Backhand had a really short cooldown time, too bad the skill was completely useless. He selected the other skill that was available. “Please be a fireball, please be a fireball, please be a fireball. Time’s Arena!” Another red circle appeared, this time on the ground instead of in the air, along with another CAST command. This time he waited to see what would happen if he waited a second before casting, and sure enough, the red circle started expanding outwards away from him.
The angry pheasant charged, entering the magic circle, and Mercury cast the spell. Nothing happened. No fireball, no lighting, no anyth- wait. His vision appeared to be blurred. Everything beyond ten feet was fuzzy. No time to figure it out now. Mercury turned and ran. A sensation like passing through a waterfall passed over him, and then the pheasant slammed into him. How had that happened? The pheasant had still been five feet behind him, and he was faster! What the hell was going on?
“Time’s Backhand!” The pheasant was sent flying off of him, and Mercury scrambled to his feet and drew his sword. “Fine then, if my skills are useless, then I’ll just cut you to pieces.” The pheasant charged again. Mercury’s sword cut in an arc through the air, completely missing the pheasant and spinning him around. You know, he was starting to get the feeling that this game had something against him.
Mercury went back to running for his artificial life, screaming,”Somebody help me! This monster’s going to kill me!”
The moment his hand touched the hilt of his sword, the pheasant attacked. “Ow ow ow!” The amount of damage the beginner enemy was doing was ridiculous. A terrible thought popped into his head: had he accidentally wandered into a more difficult zone!? Mercury ran back towards the village, his level 1 enemy close on his heels.
He was nearly at the village before he thought to try using a skill. “Puny pheasant, you’ve activated my trap card!” He quickly scrolled through the very short list of skills that he could use. He spun and held up his sheathed sword between himself and the pheasant. “Time’s Backhand!” A circle of red light appeared, and with it a CAST command. Mercury cast the spell, the magic circle shattered, and the pheasant was sent flying backwards.
“Hell yeah! That’s what you get for daring to attack a superior opponent!” And then he noticed two things nearly simultaneously. First, that the pheasant was already back on its feet and ready to attack, and second, that his attack had done all of 1 damage. “Shit. Let’s try that again.” Bringing up his skill list again, Mercury saw that the skill he had just used was almost ready to use again. Time’s Backhand had a really short cooldown time, too bad the skill was completely useless. He selected the other skill that was available. “Please be a fireball, please be a fireball, please be a fireball. Time’s Arena!” Another red circle appeared, this time on the ground instead of in the air, along with another CAST command. This time he waited to see what would happen if he waited a second before casting, and sure enough, the red circle started expanding outwards away from him.
The angry pheasant charged, entering the magic circle, and Mercury cast the spell. Nothing happened. No fireball, no lighting, no anyth- wait. His vision appeared to be blurred. Everything beyond ten feet was fuzzy. No time to figure it out now. Mercury turned and ran. A sensation like passing through a waterfall passed over him, and then the pheasant slammed into him. How had that happened? The pheasant had still been five feet behind him, and he was faster! What the hell was going on?
“Time’s Backhand!” The pheasant was sent flying off of him, and Mercury scrambled to his feet and drew his sword. “Fine then, if my skills are useless, then I’ll just cut you to pieces.” The pheasant charged again. Mercury’s sword cut in an arc through the air, completely missing the pheasant and spinning him around. You know, he was starting to get the feeling that this game had something against him.
Mercury went back to running for his artificial life, screaming,”Somebody help me! This monster’s going to kill me!”
Next Time on Dragon Quest Z!
Mercury tries to kill Shenron by beating it over the head with a sheathed sword! Why is his sword sheathed? How did he find the dragon balls so quickly? Just how badly will he die?
Find out on the next dramatic episode of... Dragon Quest Z!
Mercury tries to kill Shenron by beating it over the head with a sheathed sword! Why is his sword sheathed? How did he find the dragon balls so quickly? Just how badly will he die?
Find out on the next dramatic episode of... Dragon Quest Z!
Aaron leaned back in his chair and stared out the window. "Another sunny day," he sighed. "I almost regret not being able to go out." He looked down a the headset that he held in his hands. "Almost." And then he put it on, and reality faded away into a distant memory.
Welcome to Haven
Tabula Rasa
He barely saw the words as he fell through the darkness. His gleeful laughter echoed in the empty space. "This is what I'm talking about!" One, two, three somersaults before he landed on his back on a flat surface. "Whew, that was fun. I almost wish this game had loading screens if it would mean more of that." Looking up, he saw a mirror waiting in front of him. How convenient.
Rolling to his feet, Aaron waved at himself in the mirror, and unsurprisingly, he waved back. But then his reflection started blurring. He had a moment of panic before he remembered that he was in the game. Mirrors in real life didn't go changing on you.
An NPC appeared beside the mirror. "Hello, what is your name? I am here to assist your character creation process." She was pretty, tall and fair and dressed in a silver gown.
"Mercury. My name is Mercury." He didn't wait for her to start talking again, he just wanted to get to the game. "Hey, can you make the mirror go back?" His reflection returned. "Okay now, let's get to it." He peered closely into the mirror. "Blue eyes. Point the ears... Little bit less point... Perfect. Make me a half-human and half-elf hybrid." He looked at his half-elf child. It was perfect.
An impossibly long list of classes, all with different skills and playstyles, appeared in front of his created being. How was he supposed to know what he wanted to pick with so many amazing choices? Aaron, or Mercury, clicked his tongue in annoyance, and the majority of the long list collapsed. The first class on the shortened list said 'Temporal Mage'. He'd never heard of a class like that before. "Sure, I'm up for something new. Tabula Rasa, I accept your challenge. Temporal Mage confirm." He'd expected that to bring him to the game. Nope. Just to another menu. Mercury selected the outfit he wanted from another long list and then distributed his starting skill points. When the last of the option menu had closed, Mercury was once again standing facing the mirror. On the other side of that mirror, his avatar slept. Looking around, Mercury easily spotted the NPC standing a few feet away from the mirror. He asked the AI helper, "So what now?"
The NPC nodded and Mercury fell through the imaginary floor and more darkness. When his eyes again opened, he was blinded by the light of an impossibly real sun. He stood next to a fountain. That much he was sure of even before his eyes were adjusted. Other characters - or were they NPCs? - walked past him. It was hard to believe that this wasn't reality. It just felt so real.
Mercury checked himself out in the reflective waters of the fountain. Huh, he didn't look too bad. Then he checked his gear. The clothing was really well made. Why did he have a sword though, if he was a mage? Shouldn't he have a staff or a broom or some thing? Oh well, no use worrying about it.
A fountain would usually be in the middle of the town, which is where Mercury assumed he was. Picking a random direction, he sprinted away from the fountain. The real fun to be had was outside the village. Mercury wondered if he'd be able to fight a dragon. More importantly, how the hell did a "Temporal Mage" even fight in the first place? Only one way to find out.
Welcome to Haven
Tabula Rasa
He barely saw the words as he fell through the darkness. His gleeful laughter echoed in the empty space. "This is what I'm talking about!" One, two, three somersaults before he landed on his back on a flat surface. "Whew, that was fun. I almost wish this game had loading screens if it would mean more of that." Looking up, he saw a mirror waiting in front of him. How convenient.
Rolling to his feet, Aaron waved at himself in the mirror, and unsurprisingly, he waved back. But then his reflection started blurring. He had a moment of panic before he remembered that he was in the game. Mirrors in real life didn't go changing on you.
An NPC appeared beside the mirror. "Hello, what is your name? I am here to assist your character creation process." She was pretty, tall and fair and dressed in a silver gown.
"Mercury. My name is Mercury." He didn't wait for her to start talking again, he just wanted to get to the game. "Hey, can you make the mirror go back?" His reflection returned. "Okay now, let's get to it." He peered closely into the mirror. "Blue eyes. Point the ears... Little bit less point... Perfect. Make me a half-human and half-elf hybrid." He looked at his half-elf child. It was perfect.
An impossibly long list of classes, all with different skills and playstyles, appeared in front of his created being. How was he supposed to know what he wanted to pick with so many amazing choices? Aaron, or Mercury, clicked his tongue in annoyance, and the majority of the long list collapsed. The first class on the shortened list said 'Temporal Mage'. He'd never heard of a class like that before. "Sure, I'm up for something new. Tabula Rasa, I accept your challenge. Temporal Mage confirm." He'd expected that to bring him to the game. Nope. Just to another menu. Mercury selected the outfit he wanted from another long list and then distributed his starting skill points. When the last of the option menu had closed, Mercury was once again standing facing the mirror. On the other side of that mirror, his avatar slept. Looking around, Mercury easily spotted the NPC standing a few feet away from the mirror. He asked the AI helper, "So what now?"
The NPC nodded and Mercury fell through the imaginary floor and more darkness. When his eyes again opened, he was blinded by the light of an impossibly real sun. He stood next to a fountain. That much he was sure of even before his eyes were adjusted. Other characters - or were they NPCs? - walked past him. It was hard to believe that this wasn't reality. It just felt so real.
Mercury checked himself out in the reflective waters of the fountain. Huh, he didn't look too bad. Then he checked his gear. The clothing was really well made. Why did he have a sword though, if he was a mage? Shouldn't he have a staff or a broom or some thing? Oh well, no use worrying about it.
A fountain would usually be in the middle of the town, which is where Mercury assumed he was. Picking a random direction, he sprinted away from the fountain. The real fun to be had was outside the village. Mercury wondered if he'd be able to fight a dragon. More importantly, how the hell did a "Temporal Mage" even fight in the first place? Only one way to find out.
Name: Frey Varia
Age: 26
Appearance: A huge hulking knight wearing pure white armor. The armor is many layers thick on its own, and it has to have been made using skystone because no human could possibly move encased in such thick armor. The armor makes its wearer about three feet thick from chest to back, and almost eight feet tall. Beneath the armor -- a place of myth and legend that few truly know -- lays its wearer: Frey Varia. Though there's no way to know it through the armor, Frey is female. She stands seven feet tall, has a thin build, dark brown skin, pure white hair that reaches the small of her back, and blood red eyes. She has a white tattoo that covers her entire body. The left side of her face is the right side of an owl's face, with her eye also being the owl's eye. The bird's wing is outstretched across her chest, and its long, flowing tail feathers run down her left leg. In the owl's talon, right about at her pelvis, is clutched a snake. The snake's white scaled body covers most of the right side of her body, anywhere not occupied by the owl, and it's head covers the right side of her face. The serpent's open mouth stands poised to strike, teeth above and below her right eye. The entire thing is quite beautiful. It's a pity she usually covers it up with her armor. On the occasion she's actually not wearing her armor, her clothing of choice is usually a simple red dress cut into strips at the bottom to allow for freedom of movement.
Country of origin: Osmad, but she's Danlith
Background: Frey has lived a life without regrets. Everything considered, she'd say it's been fun. Born to a far-too-young prostitute, Frey never once met her mother, nor would she particularly care to. She quickly learned to protect herself as a young girl stealing food and water just to survive on the streets of Orunmila, but not quickly enough. She knows that she's broken, and she's never pretended to be anything else. And then once she was fully able to protect herself in her harsh little world, she sold herself into prostitution for the money. She seduced her way into the lives of countless wealthy homes, but that was merely step one. Come step two, she killed them all and took anything she could get away with. Nineteen wealthy men dead. She'd made herself known, and soon after the offers trickled through to her, asking for her to kill again. Her prices rose with each kill, until the only currency she accepted was skystone. They always paid, no matter how high her prices got because that was the only way they survived. Anyone who couldn't pay was an easy target for an enemy who could. Frey Varia was a bloody empire of one, and this was all before her twenty-second year.
And then soldiers came for her and Frey went underground. The next year was when the White Knight started popping up, but no one connected the dots until he took off his helmet and someone got a good look at his face, or rather, her face. Frey Varia had gone from being an assassin for hire to a sword for hire. She’d gotten one thing right though: a bigger sword does make the soldiers less likely to want to chase you.
Weapon(s): Cataclysm - A ridiculously, unnecessarily, unreasonably MASSIVE blade, roughly in the shape of a giant executioner's blade. Barring the swords of legend, Cataclysm may be the most expensive sword that is actually used for what it was made to do. Cataclysm is nearly useless against a single, small opponent, but that wasn't what it was made for. It was made to bring armies to their knees, to reduce castle walls to rubble, to kill dozens in a single deadly pass. Frey refuses to divulge who made the blade for her, but it truly is a feet of engineering. A skystone core encased in layer after layer of steel makes the blade much lighter than it should be and is the only reason a human could possibly lift the huge blade.
Twin rapiers for when her opponent isn't Goliath or for some strange reason doesn't run at the sight of the completely-useless-against-a-single-target Cataclysm. And for when she's not wearing her armor.
Age: 26
Appearance: A huge hulking knight wearing pure white armor. The armor is many layers thick on its own, and it has to have been made using skystone because no human could possibly move encased in such thick armor. The armor makes its wearer about three feet thick from chest to back, and almost eight feet tall. Beneath the armor -- a place of myth and legend that few truly know -- lays its wearer: Frey Varia. Though there's no way to know it through the armor, Frey is female. She stands seven feet tall, has a thin build, dark brown skin, pure white hair that reaches the small of her back, and blood red eyes. She has a white tattoo that covers her entire body. The left side of her face is the right side of an owl's face, with her eye also being the owl's eye. The bird's wing is outstretched across her chest, and its long, flowing tail feathers run down her left leg. In the owl's talon, right about at her pelvis, is clutched a snake. The snake's white scaled body covers most of the right side of her body, anywhere not occupied by the owl, and it's head covers the right side of her face. The serpent's open mouth stands poised to strike, teeth above and below her right eye. The entire thing is quite beautiful. It's a pity she usually covers it up with her armor. On the occasion she's actually not wearing her armor, her clothing of choice is usually a simple red dress cut into strips at the bottom to allow for freedom of movement.
Country of origin: Osmad, but she's Danlith
Background: Frey has lived a life without regrets. Everything considered, she'd say it's been fun. Born to a far-too-young prostitute, Frey never once met her mother, nor would she particularly care to. She quickly learned to protect herself as a young girl stealing food and water just to survive on the streets of Orunmila, but not quickly enough. She knows that she's broken, and she's never pretended to be anything else. And then once she was fully able to protect herself in her harsh little world, she sold herself into prostitution for the money. She seduced her way into the lives of countless wealthy homes, but that was merely step one. Come step two, she killed them all and took anything she could get away with. Nineteen wealthy men dead. She'd made herself known, and soon after the offers trickled through to her, asking for her to kill again. Her prices rose with each kill, until the only currency she accepted was skystone. They always paid, no matter how high her prices got because that was the only way they survived. Anyone who couldn't pay was an easy target for an enemy who could. Frey Varia was a bloody empire of one, and this was all before her twenty-second year.
And then soldiers came for her and Frey went underground. The next year was when the White Knight started popping up, but no one connected the dots until he took off his helmet and someone got a good look at his face, or rather, her face. Frey Varia had gone from being an assassin for hire to a sword for hire. She’d gotten one thing right though: a bigger sword does make the soldiers less likely to want to chase you.
Weapon(s): Cataclysm - A ridiculously, unnecessarily, unreasonably MASSIVE blade, roughly in the shape of a giant executioner's blade. Barring the swords of legend, Cataclysm may be the most expensive sword that is actually used for what it was made to do. Cataclysm is nearly useless against a single, small opponent, but that wasn't what it was made for. It was made to bring armies to their knees, to reduce castle walls to rubble, to kill dozens in a single deadly pass. Frey refuses to divulge who made the blade for her, but it truly is a feet of engineering. A skystone core encased in layer after layer of steel makes the blade much lighter than it should be and is the only reason a human could possibly lift the huge blade.
Twin rapiers for when her opponent isn't Goliath or for some strange reason doesn't run at the sight of the completely-useless-against-a-single-target Cataclysm. And for when she's not wearing her armor.
*grins devilishly*
And.
Off.
We.
Goooooo!
And.
Off.
We.
Goooooo!
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