Disclaimers are the same for all chapters.
Xiin is mine.
Vocab:
Rez: Short for Resurrect, or Revive. (Revive is from an earlier chapter; Resurrect is the spell that restores 50% of experience lost in death).
Add: Short for addition, or additional. It is used as a noun most of the time. An add is when another monster decides to join in on the character killing fun, and was previously not expected to come to the fight.
Taunt: An ability given to warriors, knights, and dark knights. This ability has a set recycle time of a few seconds, and allows the user to generate more aggro, thus taking a monsters attention off of another player. It is especially useful for protecting spellcaster types.
Hybrid: A class that is actually a blend of two other classes. For example, a knight is a blend of a warrior and a dragon cleric, where as a dark knight is a blend of a warrior and an undead mage.
Tank: A fighter that has very high health and a good defensive rating. Warriors fall into this category, however, sometimes a well-played hybrid class, with good items to boost their statistics, can be considered a tank. The one problem with that is only the warrior class has the highest Taunt ability.
Info:
Pure spellcasters often have low maximum health points, and high magic energy. Their defense is not so good, because they aren't able to wear medium to heavy armor.
Warriors have the best max health, no magic energy, and a very high defense.
Hybrids are more of a support class. They can fill different roles when necessary, but don't have to adhere to one job, as the pure classes do.
"Yugi?" Jounouchi asked. It was eight in the morning, and the two boys had just opened their eyes.
"Yes, Jounouchi?" Yugi answered. The short boy was well rested, unlike Jou.
"I need to talk to ya about somethin' if it's cool," he sat up. He needed to brush the morning breath off of his teeth.
"Sure."
"I want to get washed up first, hang on," Jou said, taking off for the sink. Yugi followed him.
The boys returned to Yugi's room and sat on his bed before changing into their clothes.
"Okay, here it goes," Jounouchi inhaled, "I like someone, but I'm not sure what to do about it." If anyone could understand him, it would be Yugi. They were best buds, after all.
"Who is it?" the spiky-haired one asked.
"I can't really say…" Jou replied, feeling guilty. It seemed like he had just slapped Yugi in the face, making him believe that he wasn't able to be trusted. It wasn't like that at all, but it felt like it.
"It's Nymphe, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
"It's okay to like someone online, Jounouchi, you get to see their personality that way," Yugi paused to smile at him, "The good, and the bad. People can hide behind the monitor, so their actions are without real life consequence." He took Jounouchi's hand; "Nymphe is a really nice person…" He dropped his gaze of the blonde's brown eyes, and instead stared at the masculine hand in his grip.
"Yug? Hey, what's wrong buddy?" Jou shook his hand in order to get his attention.
"I have a secret." Jou blinked, hoping that his friend would continue. All he did was stare down. He mumbled, "It's not mine to tell, but I have to. Otogi…he has started seeing Bakura."
Jou ruffled his hair, completely bewildered. He said, "That doesn't make sense. They hardly knew each other outside of school."
"I know, but they have. Otogi says that he is the perfect person to experiment with. It's sort of sad. I asked him online why he chose Bakura, instead of someone that he was closer to, to confide in. He said that he didn't care."
"That's low, but it's Ryuuji Otogi we're talkin' about. And who has a clue what's goin' on in Bakura's head." Maybe it would be okay to talk to Yugi about his feelings for guys? It seemed like he could handle it, and it would certainly make Jou feel a lot better.
"I just know…That if it was me…" Yugi squeezed Jou's hand tightly. He felt a tear drop splash onto his knuckles, and it weakened his heart just a bit. Yugi was really that torn up over their friend's relationship? More tears fell, and Yugi sobbed, "If it was me, I would pick someone close to me!" He let go of Jounouchi's hand and pressed his head against his chest.
The taller boy wasn't sure what to do, or what had set this off. He just gripped Yugi, trying his best to console him. He thought about running his fingers through his hair, but figured that would be impossible. Instead he just patted his back and asked, "What's really wrong, bud?"
The weeping boy lifted his head, and sniffled, "I'm sorry, I got you all wet." He used the arm of his pajamas to pat Jou's chest dry; however, the patting soon turned to gentle stroking.
"Yugi…" Jounouchi uttered, beginning to understand the situation. He made the mistake of not avoiding the next move. When he went to remove his short friend's hand from his chest, Yugi instead interlocked fingers with him.
"I would pick you, Katsuya…" he whispered, briefly pressing their lips together. He confessed, "Sorry, I've just wanted to do that for a while…Nothing has to come of it."
"Hey, I'm not going to play the game today," Jou told him, trying to get rid of the awkward tension, "I'm going to go to the park and relax. I haven't been outside in a while." He glanced at Yugi's violet spheres; "Do ya wanna come with me? I might just sit on a bench, or something." The sad boy nodded and they embraced for a bit longer.
It was sunny, and the rays of light felt warm despite the chilly breeze of the season. Yugi and Jounouchi were walking along the sidewalk in the park, before sitting down to relax on a wooden bench.
"Do you mind if I go look in that card store for a few minutes, Jounouchi?" Yugi asked.
"Go ahead, I'm just going to sit here for a bit," Jou told him. He watched Yugi run off into the store, and then averted his gaze to watch the people walk by.
That's when he noticed him. A tall person with a rippling blue trench coat was leaning against a guardrail no more than a few feet away. It was Kaiba, that was for sure. It seemed as if he hadn't noticed Jou yet, mostly because his stare was fixated on the people below him.
"Tch," Jou accidentally let out. Kaiba heard it, and turned his head slightly.
"Lost your master, puppy?" he asked, turning around fully to glare at Jou.
"Oh gee, figures, I come here to relax and see you," the blonde retorted.
"Funny, mutt, because I was just thinking the same thing." The grin on Kaiba's face made Jou want to wreck it. He and his friends had never done anything to hurt Kaiba, yet he still treated them like they were nothing. He was so cold hearted.
"I don't have time for you today, jerk," he said, "I'm outta here." Jounouchi got off the bench and went to the card shop to find Yugi.
"Okay everyone! Let's welcome Xiin, the black hand, to our ranks!" Otogi introduced a half-elf with black eyes, tight black leather armor, and long sky-blue hair. He held two ornate daggers in each hand.
"You look like a blue Nev!" Jou pointed out, causing everyone else to giggle a bit, including Xiin.
Nymphe tells you, 'We should find a weapon that looks like an old man's cane, and a helmet that looks like a fur brimmed hat. It would suit Duke.'
Jounouchi immediately burst out laughing at the desk. That was exactly what he was thinking, but he didn't expect someone like Nymphe to make such a joke.
Nymphe tells you, 'A black hand will be a good addition, though. They have an assassinate skill at level thirty-five which allows them to do an extremely high amount of damage. The only trick is that they have to be behind the monster, like a backstab.'
"Which means someone like myself or Renga has to keep the monster's attention," Jou replied, "Otherwise, when they use the skill, the monster will turn to face them. We not only lose control of the monsters, but the black hand can't use the ability again."
Nymphe tells you, 'I'm surprised. You are a lot smarter than you act. I'm sure that Zoerb will be pleased that he won't have to tell you how to work with the new guild member.'
"Now Jou…" Yugi's avatar began, "You know what this…"
"He is fine, Zoerb," Nymphe broke in, "We have grouped with a black hand before. It was a really good hunting party." Nymphe just lied in order to shut Yugi up, and it made the blonde laugh.
"Good!" the wizard smiled.
"Next weekend, I want to try going to the Magma Temple," Otogi stated.
"Seriously? Don't we have to be level fifty or higher to go there?" Honda inquired, speaking for almost everyone.
"Yes," Bakura answered, "However, by the time, we hope to be of that level."
"Why there?" Anzu asked.
"The mythical creature of flame dwells there," Nymphe replied, "He has only been defeated three times on this server since the game has come out. Guilds who have succeeded in slaying him have needed many players to raid the Temple. The record low on this server has been seventeen players, and a minimum of five deaths."
"Nice research, Nymphe," Otogi remarked, "She is right. I want to start studying this zone extensively. So I hope that we can all reach the proper level by then. If not, we still go in, just for the challenge. After a week or so of learning the mob patterns, spawn points, and aggro ranges, I really want to try killing that fiend."
"That will be impossible," Anzu said, "Only you guys are even close to level forty. The rest of us are still around thirty. And we only have me to dazzle and Nymphe to heal!"
"Teani is right," Yugi supported, "Healing a player that is high on a monster's hate list generates aggro exponentially."
"I never would have thought that someone so bad at math would say something like expo…exponentittally!" Jounouchi yelled into the other room. Yugi laughed loudly when he heard his friend butcher the word.
"Well, that is why we have to try," Otogi stated, "I want to beat the record. If we come across some more players by then, then of course we can go for it, and have a higher chance of succeeding."
"You're a pretty good leader, Duke," Honda said.
"Of course he is!" Bakura added in with a smile. Jounouchi watched them emote hugs to each other and cringed, because of what Yugi had told him earlier that week.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Jou asked, "Zoerb, you have that teleport spell now, right? Take us to that one desert zone!"
"The Kanje Desert? It's dangerous there!"
"So what?" Honda remarked. The wizard sighed and began casting a spell. It fizzled out after three tries.
"Sorry, I don't have a really high teleport skill yet," Yugi apologized.
A satchel materialized in Nymphe's hand, and she pulled out a swirling blue pendant with a gold chain. She offered it to the wizard; "This should help. You don't have an accessory in that equipment slot yet anyway."
"I wanna see!" the blonde said, swiping it quickly.
Pendant of AhknarWeight: .1
Size: Tiny
Race: ELF, DE, HUM, GNO
Class: WIZ
Effect: 20% to Transorcery
"Wow!" Jou exclaimed, handing the necklace back to his friend, "Where did you get such a cool item?" Nymphe always had the weirdest things in her inventory.
"Some perverted ogre gave me a rare item, that was for the monk class only. I traded it to a high level human monk for that."
"That's really nice of you, Nymphe!" Yugi cried, equipping the item. He began casting the spell over again, and warned, "Hang on! Here we go! I have no idea where the spell will land us, so be ready for a fight."
Please wait, Loading!
You have entered The Kanje Desert!
You have joined the group.
A Spirit Spectre starts to cast a spell.
Teani's skin boils, as flames encircle her body.
Teani has been slain by A Spirit Spectre!
"Whoa!" Jounouchi shouted.
"That was scary!" Yugi yelled from the other room.
"Bright idea, Joukatsu!" Anzu typed over the group chat.
"Um, add one," Honda said. Without an enchanter, Jou would have to focus on keeping one monster's attention, and Honda would have to take the other.
"Strange," Nymphe said, "These spectres are resisting my undead spells."
"Group heal, then," Otogi told her.
Nymphe tells you, 'I hope that you are ready to protect me.'
Nymphe cast a spell that she had never used before, and the group's dwindling health suddenly raised. She then cast it a second time, making everyone but Honda and Jou at full health.
"Rez me!" Anzu whined through group chat.
Jounouchi growled and typed back, "Wait a second!" He then watched as a Sandstone Giant joined in on the fun, and all monsters began beating up the cleric.
"I can't get aggro," Honda explained.
"Me neither," the other warrior stated. The fight was actually making Jou's adrenaline start flowing. He just couldn't get the monster's attention, and he wanted to protect Nymphe.
The fight continued. Nymphe cast a spell that surrounded her character in a sparkling yellow barrier. It was a spell only available to dragon clerics, and it granted invincibility for twenty seconds. It could only be used once every two hours, real time, and generated an extreme amount of aggro. During this time, if she did any sort of fighting or casting, it would automatically fade. She smiled and looked at the dark knight, saying, "Go for it, Nev."
The half-elf cast his own spell, causing the first Spirit Spectre to be surrounded in a thick mist of transparent skulls. It started attacking the other spectre immediately.
"You're one hell of a weird guy," Honda told Bakura as he slashed away at the giant.
"Where did Xiin go?" Yugi asked suddenly. All of his fire spells were being resisted, so he had to transfer to his ice spells, which weren't as powerful at his level. This allowed him to notice all of the work that everyone else was doing…or in Xiin's apparent case, not doing.
The undead ended up slaying each other. The giant, however, wasn't even close to the halfway mark. It continued to use its large fists to smash the cleric, making such wonderful grunting sound effects in the process. The invulnerability of Nymphe wore off, and she was close to death. There was only one pixel of red left in her health bar on Jounouchi's screen. It looked hopeless. He began smacking his Taunt hotkey, trying his best to save her, when suddenly the giant was the one left with hardly any health left. It started to slowly walk away.
"Nice backstab, huh?" Xiin said, having appeared behind the giant, "One thousand two hundred damage. A new record for me." Nymphe was right earlier; a black hand would be an excellent addition to the guild. Jounouchi smiled when he thought about it.
"I'll avenge you, Teani!" the angry and frustrated wizard suddenly shouted out. He took out his staff, and smacked the giant in the knee, doing a total of one damage. The giant fell face first into the sand, dead.
"Wow, that was something," Otogi laughed, "Let's find a spot to rest up after we loot these corpses. Take Teani's body and we can rez it in a safe place."
"Do you think that we will be able to reach level fifty by next weekend, Impy?"
Seto pondered the question for a moment. Was it possible? If he and Jou grouped alone every night, and actually hunted like they used to, then maybe. Lately, all they've been doing is chatting in relatively empty zones. However, it still wouldn't help their guildmates get up in level with them. Duke and Xiin were level forty, and Nevaeh was level forty-two. Everyone else was stuck at thirty-four, except Teani, who kept dying, and was bumped back to thirty-three.
"We might be able to catch up to Nev," Seto typed. It struck him, then, how they would be able to gain experience faster than ever. He hadn't heard of this method used before, so it was risky. He typed, "Actually, we could level quicker than that. We just have to find one item."
"What item is that?" Jou asked. Was he a friend anymore? Or was he a boyfriend? Seto closed his eyes and exhaled.
"It's a quest item. If we have that, we can do the Energy Ring quest."
"Oh…No one has been able to solve that on any server, have they?"
"No," Seto explained, "The ring allows the bearer to regain magic energy points at twenty five percent of the normal regeneration rate. If I had that…" Seto smirked, thinking that this was the perfect plan for power; "Then I could be unstoppable against the undead."
He continued, "The only problem is the rumors going around. The developers are considering ditching the quest in the next two patches, because the item is too powerful for the game. However, if anyone obtains the item, they aren't allowed to take the item away, only the quest. We'd have to solve it soon."
"I don't understand," Joukatsu interjected, "Unstoppable?"
"I have a spell that isn't very popular among dragon clerics," Seto said, "Because it doesn't heal as much health as higher level spells do. However, if anyone bothered to use it, they would see that a cleric with a high healing skill level would be able to cast the spell in less than a second. There would be hardly any delay. The refresh rate of the spell is instant. I could chain cast it…" The thought of such an interesting loophole in a game like this began to excite him. He cackled to himself before continuing his explanation.
"Or I could weave it in between an undead damage spell, that was area of effect. Instead of resting in between every fight, which only had a single monster anyway…"
"We could fight three monsters at a time, and rest every other fight, or possibly every third fight," Joukatsu finished. They really did think alike. The warrior asked, "So what is the name of the quest item? Where do we find it?"
"If anyone knew where to find it, the quest would have been solved," Kaiba scathed, "The name of the item is The Tears of Jih."
"The Tears of Jih?" the human cheered, "I know where a monster named Jih is!" Seto gasped as Jou continued, "You never get to see the inside of the dungeon when I am pulling monsters to our hunting spot. Well, there is a named ghoul in the Undead Caverns called Lady Jih." What a good boy he was! Seto folded his hands together, content with the situation.
A bit of clarification for Chapter 4: Everything right up until "AHH!" he yelled was a dream. Only one line at the end of that little dream sequence hinted at who the real person that had a crush on him was. I had different plans for Ryuuji. =)
I hope that everyone's questions were answered with this chapter! Virtual candy to those of you who guessed right.
Thanks to Kioee Mansioso, Casey Katemara, Cherry-Wolf, Elusia, mandapandabug, joey baby, Umi no Oni, Magna Dragoon, Amarin Rose, Drakemar, Coley Carissa, Animefighter 6, Kumori Sakusha formerly Saelbu, and others whom I've missed that have reviewed. A big thanks to those of you who have added me to your author alert or fav author list as well!
I'm going to hold out on Chapter 6 - I'm aiming for more reviews before I release it, as I have already finished the story (on my computer), and want more feedback on the work. I'm not happy with how I've ended it (Ch 11), so obviously more feedback would help direct the outcome =).