OwO

From Oubliette to Oublioth [R.I.P]

---

Had Locke been a worshiper of a cruel god or a violent criminal, he may have assisted in the final push to gain freedom. He was, however, the exact opposite. He was a scholar first and foremost. Violence was a means of getting to an end. Unnecessary bloodshed—something that could be done by another, rather—was not something Locke cared for. Why would he attempt to rout his enemies when the others could do it for him? His support was all that was needed. So long as he maintained the smoke to protect the band of loosely associated adventurers, he could leave safely.

So he waited for the others to make their moves so he could escape. He put himself in a position to make a break for the gate. Not enough for him to be put in considerable danger in case something lurked outside, but enough to be one of the first out when they made a break. He caught his breath as he waited. A man from the mountain who spent most of his time on his two feet wasn't immune to exhaustion.

Cacophony Concord

HP: 77/160 SP: 75/100 MP: 30/30
^{STR – 12 | AGI – 11 | END – 13 | DEX – 10 | LUC – 10}

With an audible "Gwuh", Mags had been hit by the force of an unstoppable dumbass and collided with her more friendly teammate. Then, from above, the fool landed on top of her. Normally, she'd be incredibly mad about that sort of thing. A mix of having an instant meat shield and memories of rescuing her allies into mechanics tempered her instant rage. Rather than yell at Klein for being a massive idiot, she simply slid out of the miscoloured human Oreo. Thankfully, Amulak's magic missile protected Magpie from being skewered to the massive idiot that caused this issue in the first place.

Now free, she could figure out the situation. There was the spear wielding kappa and an unarmed Kappa that could probably wrestle her to kingdom come.

Well, she might as well go to the backline to try to help defend Amulak. He was the one person who seemed to be able to do considerable damage to the kappas, after all. Quickly sifting the ground nearby for hand-sized rocks, she put a nice one in each hand and went back to protect the useful mage alongside Ames.

From Oubliette to Oublioth [R.I.P]

small post because having locke cast more spells after that would be me having no balls and not committing

From Oubliette to Oublioth [R.I.P]

---

Locke could do little more than watch the slabs of meat smash the rank and file. For a lack of not trying on his part, mostly. There was no real reason for him to join the front line. He wouldn't be of any help, even if he could cast magic. His capabilities were best when he kept to the rear, away from the general harm of slings and arrows. The attempted assistance from the paladin was noted. Not acted upon or responded to, but noted nonetheless.

For now, he focused on ensuring his smoke didn't quickly vanish. It tired him, certainly, but the hard part had already passed. He had enough in him to sustain and move the smoke if needed. It wasn't exactly needed now, though, so Locke spent the moment catching his breath and biding his time to sprint. With his eyes, he could peer past the smoke and watch the actions of those above. Really, he was the most likely out of the makeshift party to have a complete grasp of the situation. Not that he relayed the information, though. He was a summoner who had burnt what mana he possessed, not an orator.

Cacophony Concord

HP: 80/160 SP: 100/100 MP: 30/30
^{STR – 12 | AGI – 11 | END – 13 | DEX – 10 | LUC – 10}

It was certainly a fight. The two kappas sized the entire party up and decided that, even if they were outnumbered, they could easily handle the new players. Either that or they were entirely foolhardy creatures.

As someone who was unarmed, opponents with weapons were a great threat to an early brawler. She had above average durability, sure. She also had half of her HP from the girl that boomed her. In hindsight, she should have also got one of those talismans. +5 to every bodily stat would be pretty good for her at level 1. Maybe not after she gets skill points from leveling, though. In any case, it was time to press the attack. Pretty much in every game, the number of people for a fight mattered hugely. The action economy was an insanely powerful thing, after all. For fights to be fair, the enemy they would have to face would have to be insanely strong. The kappas had to be not insanely strong, right? They were easier to find than frogs, after all.

Quickly, she barked out some orders.

"Amlak and Rai, pepper the free one with ranged and try to kite 'em." She had no actual idea if the enemies were smarter than simple MMO enmity. Worth a shot, though. Worse thing that could happen is that the two ranged characters miss and the kappas (and also Mags) laugh at the pitiful attempts.

What Mags would do is assist the tank. He quickly got the enmity of one and they were locked in BRUTAL COMBAT. That meant the Kappa was too busy to counter her with its spear. Charging at the kappa's side that didn't hold the spear, Mags unleashed a brutal fist that was some kind of cross between a clothesline and a hook aimed at the kappa's skull. Yep, it was the Magpie special. Its accuracy didn't matter if the Kappa was standing still at a deadlock, after all. Well, that was unless the game cheated and made her whiff like it was a game of XCOM.

World Beyond the Lexicon

i accidentally boomed samakama

sorry 'bout taking over a week to reply

World Beyond the Lexicon

@samakama

Sanhan tugged at her bangs, pulling on the black hairs. Really, she never put a considerable amount of effort into thinking about her own hair. To her, her hair was just as it always was. The question gave her a brief moment of pause before she answered.

"Naturally white," she let go of her hair, "it's dyed black in certain ways to show one's lineage and class."

An honest question beget an honest answer. Had Sanhan been a funnier, more socially aware person, she might have joked about it in some way. No, I was spooked by a ghost as I rode to the city. That probably would have been a good joke, right? Well, it didn't matter. Sanhan dryly answered it. Seeing Misaiya like this, Sanhan's curiosity got the better of her. There was actually something she was curious about now.

"I never got to see what your magic was," she asked in earnest curiosity, "what is it?"

Before she could get an answer, Nyx had already ushered them onto the train. Perhaps it'd be an awkward ride on... whatever this thing she was being put onto was. What was it? To move such a large behemoth of steel... Was this a great mage's magic? Though, a skill of this scope was not relegated to the transportation of man.

She boarded and immediately felt out of place again. It was like a fusion of everything she didn't like. Enclosed spaces, exorbitant displays of wealth, and the slight rattling of the ground. She took a seat at one of the tables far opposite of Sekhandur.

Was it going to be an awkward few hours because of that question? Maybe. Maybe not. Sanhan was already sitting awkwardly with her hands on her knees and a look down at the ground.

From Oubliette to Oublioth [R.I.P]

---

Rather than follow Cecilia's plan, Serafaye got her wires crossed. She didn't actually realize that skulking around the alleys some more and getting the attention of every single soldier were two entirely different plans, did she? Well, no matter. That just meant that Locke was to blot out the archers. Easy enough for him to do, really. With a wave of his finger and clench of his fist, the fairy that flew above had been crumpled out of existence, leaving nothing but the sky in its place.

"I suppose sneaking is less of an option."

His chant this time was different. Rather was a simple shout of "sek omoz", it was a much more brutal and guttural chant. The words left his mouth with such nuance that it was hard to even spell out what he was attempting to say. It certainly wasn't the common tongue, that was for certain. It continued for some time as he prepared a great magic. Finally, a small ball smoke formed in his hand. No more than a wisp held safe against what little wind swept through alley.

Finally the chant stopped. With great force, he slammed the small smoke into his chest. A thick black smoke escaped from the seams of his clothing, filling the alley with a billowing smoke. Just as quickly as it filled the alleyway, it rose and settled above the head of the largest member. The thick black smoke from no discernible origin rolled forward, blocking off the sight of those above and below.

A winded Locke fell onto the ground, collapsing to a knee. Really, some mages burnt out with great fireballs and blasts of ice. Here Locke was, his body crumbling because of smoke. Through sheer will, he stood himself back up. He had some fuel left, but not much. The sooner he could get out, the better. With a quick shake of his head, he signaled for the rest of them to move.

Cacophony Concord

aмeℓιa

aмeѕ
 aмeѕ & Mags

and also Lugh (who promptly got bored)

"Well, you never know if those frogs are actually two meters tall and attack by reenacting Indiana Jones."

Before Mags even had the chance to say "old movie, don't worry about it", Ames had already turned the fight into a public brawl. Maybe. That depending if her goading actually brought in third parties. There wasn't really any time to spare between the invitation and Ames throwing the punch.

Though the punch came from someone of average ability, the technique of it was practically flawless as far as a simple blow went. Was this stylish mode, was Mags' first thought. Despite the technique, it was still just a mostly average punch. It was something that Mags had already commited to muscle memory. That also meant avoiding it was muscle memory. Even if she was rustier than the statue of liberty, the months she spent practicing (and playing Tekken) refused to leave her mind.

Automatically, her body went to avoid the jab as she slipped outside the punch. Had this not been a friendly duel (and her hands were empty), she would have tried for a liver shot. She didn't and instead went to slap Ames' caboose with her sandal, hard enough to count for an attack. Probably. It was still a sandal, so wouldn't hurt as much as a fist.

"Hey!" Once again Ames found herself moving forward as a result of Mags' attack, though this time it was less violent momentum and more an effort to get away. The chancla-wielding warrior was quick and experienced however, leaving Ames with ... well, just a sting in the backside more or less. Ames swirled around to face Mags and let her feet carry her away from the other girl. She glanced down at her clenched fist. It was only one punch, but the feeling that her online body knew what it was doing even if her brain didn't was really interesting. A bit exciting too.

"We're officially brawling now!" Ames announced to the onlookers who'd paused to see what the earlier shouting was about. The whole situation was silly but it needed to be dealt with, preferably as soon as possible. So while the wary stood by and decided whether they'd join in or now, Ames moved again. Though she'd given the other girl ample time to reposition, she stepped into Mags' space and struck out at her again. Once, twice - the simple strikes and strategy of an untrained fighter, yet with finesse of years practicing those movements. This combat setting is kind of fun!

Mags may have had some experience, but she wasn't a super human. Had she spent years of her life practicing to fight, then maybe she'd be able to easily deal with a flurry of blows. She hadn't, however. Her years had been spent practicing rotations and mechanics instead. She was easily capable of moving a character through a bullet hell of mechanics while refusing to drop her rotation. That was with WASD and all of the surrounding keys, though. Her real body was much less trained.

As a result, the following blows actually had Mags at the edge of her natural ability. She was dodging the blows, but it required considerably more effort than dodging the simple blows. To Mags, it was like fighting a street fighter character. Well, someone that just figured out light punch and medium punch, anyways. Rather than dodge by the skin of her teeth, she just rapidly backstepped the blows. Couldn't react and counter every single one, after all. Since she couldn't get into range to slap Ames with a sandal (again), she instead opted for option two. With a mighty "Doryah!", she opted to hork the sandal at Lew's face.

Backpedalling would have been nice in an open space filled with ladders and such, but unfortunately, Magpie was right by the Keystone, one of Nyu-Taro's highest population density places, and they had already attracted quite a crowd. As she ran in reverse, she suddenly struck a pot-bellied man naked from waist-up, with a Noh mask hiding his features. The fat gave way, before rebounding, launching her back towards Ames with the force of a bowling ball dropped three hundred feet down onto a 10,000 USD trampoline in very slow motion.

The distraction of watching Mags' sandal fly and moments later watching her slam into another person didn't give Ames any time get out of the way. The two girls - in mind if not body anyway - collided and for the second time today the red head found herself sprawled on the cobblestone.

"Ugh, I was over this the first time it happened," she complained, shoving off the ground and getting back to her feet.

"That one was smart..." Was Mags' response to smashing into Ames. Her own body didn't count as an improvised weapon, right? She'd be at 2 attacks then. The butt slap and then the thrown sandal. Only three more. Shooting onto her feet, she found a nice little break point. No longer did Ames throw a fury of technically proficient blows. That meant that Mags had an opportunity to fight back. Plus, they both would get to see what the defensive actions of stylish looked like.

With chancla in hand, Mags dashed forwards and unleashed a flurry of swipes with the sandal. Rather than some technical mastery of shoe-based combat, it appeared more as a crude imitation of fencing.

"Ow! Ow!" the sudden sandal assault was upon Ames, and thought it didn't really hurt, she still cried out from reflex. She was being hit with something after all. After a few well placed smacks from her opponent, Ames got her act together and swatted away some of the attacks. She didn't want to crash into anyone a third time, so she grounded herself and her forearms came up automatically to block and deflect the deadly unusual weapons away from the rest of her body.

Lew stood there, dumbfounded, his expression stuck into one that would convey both shock and disappointment. Not even the slipper comically bouncing off his sturdy frame broke him from his bewilderment. Rather than the honorable duel he was hoping for, he instead found himself in some sort of embarassing excuse for a brawl. This was expected on their first day, but not this fast or early. Participating in this fight would end up giving him the wrong attention, after all.

With a tired sigh, Lew picked up the thrown flip-flop before making his way to Amulak, wishing to collect his swords and prepare to leave. As he passed by the two brawlers-to-be going at it, he nonchalantly tossed the piece of footwear over his shoulder. Whether it would land in the middle of their chaos or not was of no real concern to Lew, anyway.

The brawl continued on, though it was a very sad brawl that featured two level one players with hardly any stats beyond 'normal human' level. As it was, while the start was amusing, in a vaguely pathetic way, Ames and Magpie soon just became nuisances who were causing a scene right in front of the Keystone. Even if the guards (who were the guards in Nyu-Taro anyways?) turned a blind eye, Immortals were much less patient than their name may suggest. One of them, a particularly peevish pedestrian in full-plate armor imported from the high seas of Velonta, stepped up, her gorgeously effeminate features at odds with her words.

"Move, bitch, get out the way!"

With that incantation, a thunderous boom crackled out, sending the two troublemakers flying like a ragdoll in a physics simulator. They somersaulted a couple of times, bounced off the roof of a textiles shop, broke their fall on a pile of horse feed, rolled down the steeply sloped streets, and finally had their journey stopped after they bodychecked a water barrel. Covered in hay and dirt, whilst sporting more than just a couple bruises and featuring health bars that were only half of what they once were, they picked themselves up...and found themselves at the West Gate.

Which would be great, if Magpie didn't need to head all the way back to the Keystone to see if she unlocked her requirements and could take her class.

With a less than healthy crack of her bones, Mags rose from the shockwave-based travel. "Ourf. Well, that's one way to end it. Thanks for helping get the class unlocked. Promise I'll stop being a prat. For now, anyways. Meet the rest of you at the frogs or whatever."

Had she been in a real body, she'd be limping away, horribly wounded. Thanks to a low pain setting, she was already dashing back to the keystone, unlocking the class she got smashed for. Was it all worth it? Probably not. But hey, she was the first to unlock a new class out of the group.

WitchBlood

The arrivals of the others was heralded by the most basic of pleasantries from Sae. To the first to arrive after her, Sae gave a simple 'yo'. She didn't recognize the name or the face. Not that it was meant to be a slight of any kind, though. Pretty much every single face Sae could remember was that of an outcast. Mitsumi looked too prim and proper for Saw to know who she was.

The next one came with a mouthful of an introduction. Was he nervous or just born that way? Didn't really matter to Sae. His attire was overdone, but wasn't exactly out of place at Black Babel. Really, he wasn't the strangest person she saw all day. Hell, he was pretty normal by witch standards.

After that, the blue haired girl arrived with a prank and a hug. Yuta accepted it with hesitance, but he didn't fight back. Had she tried to hug Sae, she'd be met with a swift tiger drop. She was part American, was she? Not that Sae cared enough to ask, but a name like Smithe had to come from either a naval base or an expat. She did end up being some kind of embarrassed after hugging Yuta like that. Probably because her American sensibilities didn't mesh with the Japanese youth. At least, maybe? Sae didn't knew that Americans were brash (at least, that's what the family told her), but did they hug each other as a greeting?

The last to arrive came with a playful grin and a simple introduction. Not much that Sae could say about her, save for the fact that she felt like the type of person who'd also have ink on them.

"Oi oi..." Came Sae's instant response to being called Kaguya. "Who're ya ta me by my given name, eh?" While she wasn't entirely angry about being called Sae, she wasn't happy about it either. More peeved off, if anything. Besides a confrontational jab with the butt of her sheathed katana, she didn't press the issue further.

With the cat announcing that he'd be guiding them, he unintentionally dodged a bullet. For someone like Sae, having a simple cat, even if it was an experienced daemon, as her leader would have been too embarrassing for her. She'd probably get into an argument about it. With the words of temporary and guide, she wouldn't have to live with the shame of being lead by a cat. Well, that was assuming that the new squad captain flying in was not a cat. In other words, she followed that cat.

When they all reached the cafe, Yuta had the idea of getting coffee. It was something that Sae, however, was already getting. The second they arrived, Sae was already at the counter, ordering a simple black coffee. With cup in hand, she joined Nyx and Mitsumi at the table they were at. While Mitsumi was talking about everyone properly introducing themselves, Sae had taken a deep breath and took a quick swig of the coffee, too fast to taste it. The hot coffee burned her tongue, though she didn't show it.

"Saejima Kaguya. Just go by Sae, though. Saejima's what my father goes by."