Hi this is Benji Himura I am starting a new fanfic. I don't own Ragnarok online I also don't own the characters of that story or the plot; taking out the changes that I will make and the characters that I will create. I own Benji Himura and others characters that will show up in the story. It might be violence and sex in the story so if you are underage of seventeen are warned the content might be too improper to your age. Read by your own will and risk. In anyway enjoy the story.
Signed: Benji Himura
"Text" Talked sentences.
'Text' Thoughts.
-Text- Sounds effects.
(Text) Talked sentences in a foreign language
: Text: Messages show in an electronic screen or written.
Text: something being recalled, flashbacks, scenes being replayed.
Text: a detail found in a location, scene, person, recording and images that originally wasn't there.
Chapter seven: Dungeon crawling
"Uuuhhh…this place is hot…" Tsugumi complained hovering behind Benji as they walk in the middle of the Sograt Desert. Benji smiled, oddly enough his assassin's clothes even being dark and made of many layers made him very fresh and cool under the intense sun, the Sweet Gent that he is wearing also helps with the heat.
Benji takes his hat and puts on the Sohee's head. "We are getting close." Benji said to his pet. "I buy you some ice cream when we arrive in Morroc." "Once again why we went to that guild place?" Tsugumi asked wiping the sweat from her pretty face with her white hand.
"Because I am looking for information about a friend." Benji answered. "I don't have connections with the Order of crusaders so I have to get information from the assassin's guild since my friend is an assassin too."
………Very far from there……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
"Captain!" A young archer shouted running towards Mana, she is sited in a stone window gazing at the large number of adventurers blocking the passage of the castle, but not fighting at all, she is carelessly sharpening a stiletto.
The archer hands to Mana a letter. "Good job Cleo." Mana said taking the letter. "Go wash up and rest, you are drenched in sweat from running all the way here." "Yes ma'am!" The young archer replied beaming that someone of so high position knew her name.
"Any news?" Shina asked holding her sheathed sword over her shoulder in a careless way. Mana nodded laughing. "It is a bit of late news but our friend and distraction is making up for his words." Mana answered with a smile passing the letter to Shina. "He made his own guild after destroying one all by himself."
"You sins are impossible." Shina commented chuckling reading the letter. "Ramirez said that he is heartbroken that his Sakkat can't be repaired. Maybe we affected him more than we intended to."
"Come on Shina we fucked his brains out, we also like him and from the way that he did us is clear that he also like us." Mana replied stretching on the window frame. "You even sent him your sister..." "For protection and not sex." Shina shot back. "But his help would be welcomed; we are stuck here for five months now."
"Yeah it is boring and I am horny too." Mana commented scratching her nose. "But as usual we are holding the record of longest siege in the war and our guild is only getting stronger. It is a good thing that we have secret tunnels and high level priestesses to warp with our blacksmiths and alchemists to buy food, weapons, pots and other needed things."
"Considering that we dug them ourselves of course they are handy." Shina commented sitting next to her oldest friend. "Should we send him a message? Another helping force would be welcomed."
"Let's give him more time." Mana replied. "He is nearing my level now, soon he will be able to transcend, besides he needs to work on his guild, Ramirez said that Benji is famous and harsh with recruiting, he denies everyone who isn't indicated by members and that after he questions the person, so far he only accepted females."
"Another reason that I want to call him." Shina said. "I am sure that the general won't complain in being allies with his guild since we personally oversaw his training and his guild is nearly female only." "They need more time to grow." Mana commented. "I just hope that he is using those cat ears that I sent to him." "You told what they really are?" Shina asked.
Mana blushed and looks away. "You forgot?!" Shina shouted. "And you were expecting him to just wear those without telling what they are?!" "I forgot! I was sleepy when we wrote the letter; we had barely finished an all night battle to defend our home." Mana exclaimed embarrassed. "I am not even sure if I told that everything is +10."
Shina slaps her forehead shaking her head in disgust. "Next time I will check your letter before we send it." Shina said to her friend. "It doesn't matter what kind of things you write on it." Mana nodded defeated knowing that her friend's head is three times harder and thicker than her armor.
………In Morroc……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
"This is so good!" Tsugumi exclaimed licking her strawberry ice cream, Benji is once again wearing his hat and looking around the north square of Morroc. Benji smiled at his pet's happiness and wonders were is the so called guild contact that was supposed to be there.
Stretching under the sun Benji sighs, it was hard to learn about Mana and Shina without knowing the name of the guild, or the location of the castle. He can't help on hearing two thieves discussing how hard is to get money in their level. He suffered from that when playing and recalled his basic strategy, and since the price of the yellow herb is fifty zenys on the vendors he decided to show them how to make some easy money.
"I can tell you two an easy way to make money but is a little slow." Benji said walking to them, he hid his guild symbol and name; he doesn't need to be harassed as he walks. "If takes long I am not interested." The male thief said walking away. "How easy it is?" The green haired female asked him, if he is an assassin it means that he were a thief so he has experience from being in the same situation, and knowing the price of sin's equipments she decided to take the advice.
"Rather easy." Benji replied. "You have to walk a bit on the desert and collect yellow herbs from yellow plants." "I don't know where to find them." She said embarrassed. "I don't know the desert very well." "If you don't know the growing spots it won't work." Benji commented. "I will show them to you."
She nods and follows him to the desert; Tsugumi sighed and follows her master. "You are better get a mask." Benji advised to the young thief as he puts on his assassin's mask. "It prevents you from breathing dust. A pair of shades protects your eyes from dust and the sun; it is a must when leveling in the desert."
She nodded hearing carefully at his advices. "You have steal?" Benji asked her when they reach one yellow herb. "Just enough to have hide." She answered. "Level it up." Benji said. "That after you get double attack and increase dodge maxed out. In any path that you take steal helps a lot to make money."
She nods again. "What is your name?" Benji asked. "I can't call you, you all the time." "My name is Alan." She answered bowing lightly. "I am Benji." Benji said. "I take that you are still in a low job level right?" Alan nodded confirming.
"Well this is how it works." Benji said using steal in the plant and getting a yellow herb. "Then you cut the plant and get the loot, in that way you can double the amount of herbs that you can collect. So you can make around one hundred zenys with one plant."
"That is why you said that it is a bit long." Alan commented. "Yes." Benji replied with a smile. "But if you can't kill anything with a good loot because you don't have enough level or good equipment is the best way to get something. And since the plants always grow in the same place you can go there three times a day to collect herbs. Now let me show the other spots that I know."
She nodded and follows Benji in the desert. "This area is dangerous." Benji said as she is stealing a plant. "There is a dragonfly around this place so run when you see it, you aren't strong enough to kill it. But if you can kill it in higher levels you can get some good drops, this hat came from one." Benji tapped on the sweet gent that Tsugumi is wearing again.
"The cactus things that roam around here also give many thorns and they sell for one hundred and fifty a piece so if you are strong enough you can kill them too." Benji added. "They also drop a spear; I just forgot which one it is." Alan nodded understanding.
"What is this sound?" Alan asked looking around. Benji grabs his hat from Tsugumi and puts it on. "It is a dragonfly." Benji said locating the monster. "Stay back and let me kill it." Alan nodded and moves away. "Don't hide, it is futile against insects."
Benji meets the insect with his blades and kills it easily. "You know I thought that they were harder than this." He said looking at the loot. "I am getting only this juice; you can get the rest including the gem." "Uuhhh…okay…" Alan replied shocked with the speed that Benji killed the mini boss.
"You are stronger than before." Tsugumi pointed out taking the hat from him. "True." Benji commented, when he killed dragonflies he was still a thief. "Anyway that is everything that I have to teach about making money here." Benji said turning to Alan. "When you get on base 50 go to Amatsu, the city not the dungeon. In there go to the field and steal and kill the umbrella shaped monsters, run from the green one with a fishing rod. The umbrella monsters give around fifteen hundred zenys each in loot."
"I will remember it." Alan replied with a smile. Benji rummages on his inventory. "Here I have no use for this one but you might find useful since you doesn't have any hat." Benji said giving to the young thief an eggshell. "Thank you!" Alan replied with a smile, taking the offered armor. "Now be careful in here, keep your safety on all the times." Benji added.
"I will." Alan said cheerfully, she couldn't believe how nice Benji was, from what she heard from assassins they were supposed to be cold blooded murdering machines. "You have any B-wings?" Benji asked rummaging on his pockets. "No." Alan answered. "You should always keep a supply of them." Benji advised pulling three butterfly wings from his pocket and handing to her. "You never know when you need an emergency escape. The first rule in exploring and adventuring is to be well prepared."
Alan nodded feeling embarrassed with her lack of knowledge, she was so focused on saving money for her Damascus that she haven't thought much in anything else. "I will take you back to Morroc, you get few pots and a mask before you go collecting herbs, a flu mask is very cheap and does the job very well." Benji said leading her back to Morroc.
Alan nodded thanking him once more as he gives her more advices on the way to Morroc. "The weapon shop is down that street." Benji said pointing down to the south street along the wall. "You can't miss it is the store in the corner." "Thank you for everything." Alan said bowing at him. "I will add you on my friends list." "Okay." Benji replied with a smile. "Now hurry or the store will close for the day." Allan nodded and runs down to the weapon shop.
"Why you bothered?" Tsugumi asked fanning herself with the hat as they walk back to the north square. "I don't mind helping others." Benji answered. "Besides I also suffered from low money in my start." 'Well my in game start and not since I came to this world.' Benji added to himself.
Benji sits in a bench and waits for the contact. After half an hour a red haired assassin walks to Benji. After a quick chat the guy teleports away. Benji sighed running his hand on his hair; the guild doesn't have information on Mana's whereabouts. Benji sits on the bench looks at the darkening sky.
It has been months since the last contact with Mana and Shina, Tsugumi sits next to Benji with some distance between themselves seeing that he won't move for a while. The cooling breeze of the night starts to blow in the trees and streets. "Well I am not in the mood of going back." Benji said standing up. "Let's go to Niff, I feel like killing something."
Tsugumi sighs and follows Benji as they move to the south square of Morroc. Benji doesn't notices that a short blonde haired female monk was watching him and following him.
Benji talks to a Kafra and teleports to Nifflheim. "I don't like this place." Tsugumi said feeling the eerie air of the city of the dead. "Odd considering where you used to live." Benji commented. A new teleport marks the arrival of the blonde monk. "Want to party down here?" She asked to Benji. "If your level is around 90 we can share experience."
"Why not." Benji replied. "I am on level 95." "Good I am on 96." She said with a smile. "My name is Atsuko." "I am Benji." Benji replied. "And that is Tsugumi." Atsuko waved at the Sohee who nods a greeting. Benji changes to his Niff gear and they leave the city to face the monsters outside.
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Benji lowers his mask and spits on the ground. "That was a big one." Atsuko commented cheerfully. "I would have never guessed that you were a multi, but boy that was really handy." "Magnum break does help a lot on mobs like that." Benji said sheathing his blood stained knives. "Thanks for the buffs; it made much easier especially the healings since the break needs HP."
"My pleasure, if you fell then they would come after me and I don't have that insane dodging as you." Atsuko replied. "They would turn my ass in ground meat." "Come on you monk are supposed to be tough." Benji teased. "But not invincible." Atsuko commented drinking some grape juice. "At least you leveled."
"I have been a while." Benji said making the changes to his stats. "It is the first time in a long while." "When we get this powerful it does get hard." Atsuko commented. "But three more levels and we can transcend."
"So how we do it anyway?" Benji asked; he never bothered to learn that he were busy dealing with leveling up and then the guild. "Two ways." Atsuko answered showing him two fingers. "The first is in Yuno, there is a whole quest on it. The second we have to find this mysterious Valkyrie that wanders in this world, she is always in some city, if we speak to her being a level 99 she will transcend us without the quest, but then finding that Valkyrie is a quest itself; most people prefer using the traditional Yuno method."
Benji nodded understanding that Valkyrie sounded like a job changer from some servers. "Ready to continue?" Benji asked seeing a Loli Ruri moving at their direction followed by a pair of Bloody Murderers and a pair of Dullahans. "It is not like we have a choice." Atsuko replied putting on her Kaiser Knuckles and her buckler, and summoning her spirit spheres. Tsugumi sighed and draws her silver knife at least she could hit the monsters and not being attacked for it.
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"How much longer you can still keep going?" Tsugumi asked to Benji, she was already tired of fighting and she was the one doing less fighting in the group. "Your pet has a point." Atsuko commented. "We are down here have an while now I am five percent short to change to 97 but that amount takes a while to get and you just got on ten percent of level 96. What about we go to Payon and take a stay there for the night? I know a great restaurant there."
"Sounds good for me." Benji replied. "I am quite hungry after killing this much." "I will open a portal." Atsuko said casting the spell. "You go first." Benji nodded knowing that if she goes first the portal closes.
"The sky is looking really pretty tonight." Benji commented seeing the stars and the crescent moon in the clear sky. "Yeah, there isn't a single cloud tonight." Atsuko commented looking at the stars. "Well let's go grab a bite, we fought hard and we need to get ourselves some filling."
Benji nodded and follows the monk; it was good hang out with someone of his own level for a change. Stretching Benji takes out his hat and shades and stores them. "So you have a regular party?" Atsuko asked as they walk. "Yes, but they are in a much lover level so is more like I am tanking them than fighting together." Benji answered taking out his mask, the night's air is cool and fresh, delicious when comparing with the stale air of Nifflheim.
"Taking a break from it?" Atsuko asked chuckling. "You can say so." Benji replied. "It has been months since I last walked around without them tagging along, it is not like I don't like them but is a bit tiresome always to look over them in dangerous dungeons. I am sure that I am getting so stressed lately that I am hearing things in certain moments."
"Then let's relax a lot tonight and get ourselves some tasty food and wine." Atsuko said laughing. "Tomorrow we go to Niff and get ourselves more percents and who knows we might even learn where that Valkyrie is and transcend." Infected by happy mood Benji agreed feeling lighthearted for the first time in a very long while.
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"Benji-taisho I brought you some dinner." Haruka said entering on Benji's office holding a tray with food. "I thought that you…" The sentence dies as she sees that the office was empty. Moving to the desk Haruka sets down the tray, touching on the padded leather chair she feels the leather cold, without even a hint of warmth indicating recent use.
"He isn't here." Layla said entering on the office. "He left this on my room's door." Haruka sees a note on the knight's now unarmored fingers. : Gone recruiting. Returning sometime between now and three months. Himura. : Haruka looks confused at the note.
"You mean that he isn't anywhere in the castle?" She asked. "Nowhere in Amatsu." Layla answered. "And he activated the private mode so we can't see in the chart where he is."
Haruka pulls her own chart and opens her friends list; the list doesn't inform his general location as normally does. "Considering that his pet heard the meeting she must have told him about our decision." Layla added. "Since we became more independent he is taking some time to gather new members and a time for himself, as well showing us that he trusts on us with leveling up and the guild maintenance."
Haruka sighed and hands the note back to Layla. "Who is the second?" Haruka asked to the knight. "That happens to be me." Layla answered. "Erika refused when offered because she doesn't think of herself about to deal with everything here." "Then be sure of doing a good work because everyone will be watching you." Haruka said taking picking up the tray.
"I plan to show him that we can be trusted with our own wellbeing and responsibilities." Layla replied. "Why you are so angry at this?" "Because as I said my life is his." Haruka answered. "I live to serve him in any way that he might desire and want."
"And you told him that?" Layla asked pocketing the note. "I am not brave enough to say that directly." Haruka answered with a sigh. "But I am trying to convey that with my actions."
Layla scratches her short silver hair. "Well good luck for you." She said looking at the pile of documents to work on. "Because I think that unless you make yourself clear he might not understand your message."
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Benji sits on the edge of his bed holding his head. He had done mistakes in his past, he didn't denied them, he also have done insane things as eating a slime like monster to survive lost in a desert and jumping out of a window of the ninth floor of a building held only by a sheet and his belt to escape of a hormone crazed murdering girlfriend, his luck is that he landed in the open window of the apartment under the one that he was.
But Benji was thinking that the insane window jumping was going to lose the first place on his list of stupidest and insane things that he have done on his life. Benji sighed wondering why he haven't stopped drinking when he felt like and kept drinking as Atsuko refilled his cup.
The result of six bottles of Comodo's tropical grape wine, two jugs of Payon's rice wine and two bottles Alberta's spiced grape wine is that Benji and Atsuko were in the same bed. Benji knew by the scent as well stickiness of his body what have happened; he also recalled what happened as the fog of alcohol recedes and give place to the much hated soreness and tiredness that he feels when drinking too much.
'I wonder if cutting my own throat would end this quickly.' Benji thought seeing Tsugumi still sleeping drunk in the sofa, Benji couldn't understand how the Sohee could sleep sprawled like that, her left leg was hanging over the back of the couch, her right leg was hanging over the left arm, her back is on the seat and her head is hanging from the seat with her long black hair pooling under her head. Her robes bunched around her waist, arms and tangled between her legs.
'I don't think that I can give myself over twenty thousand points of damage just slashing my throat once.' Benji sighed looking at the discarded pile of clothes near of the bed. His only comfort is that Atsuko can't pack that much damage naked and unarmed, but he knew better than underestimating a monk's combo abilities.
"If you continue to let out such dark aura I will start to think that you are regretting what we did and I will get angry." Atsuko said turning over and lying over her stomach. "And if makes you feel better I was the one who started everything." "I remember that." Benji replied.
"Then remember that you were a very willing performer too." Atsuko commented with a languid smile. "You definitely have awesome techniques, they teach that to assassins?" "No they don't." Benji replied in a flat tone. "Come on don't be so moody after what we did." Atsuko said kneeling on the bed. "I admit that we hardly know each other and that the liquor really took our inhibitions, but you have to admit that we are a really good combination, why not see how things flow?"
"It is a bit more complex than that." Benji said turning to face the blonde. "So what?" Atsuko replied. "We are both strong enough to face complexity. Unless you love someone else, which if is that he case I can understand and accept this as a one night thing triggered by alcohol."
Benji sighed, it would be easy to just say that he loved someone else even thought he doesn't, but he is too much of a nice guy to lie to Atsuko and he isn't really sure of his feelings about Mana and Shina, sure the sex was great, mind blowing and intense, they also saved his life in the desert, but what he felt was really love or a deep friendship mixed with gratitude, he wasn't sure of the answer, all that he knew that he really liked them.
"Why we don't push this to the side and try to start out as friends first?" Benji asked to the monk. "As more temptating as it is to jump straight to sex without thinking on anything else." "I can accept that." Atsuko answered with a smile. "As long you think fondly about this subject."
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"My head…" Tsugumi complained holding her throbbing head. Benji recovered from the ill feelings on his system thanks to healing magic, lots of it, he still felt a little sluggish but he was way better than before.
"You aren't the only one." Atsuko said holding her head with her left hand. "I really should cut the spiced wine; I always get migraines after drinking it." "Dungeon crawling is out of the agenda today." Benji commented stretching on his chair on the restaurant.
"Why you aren't with a headache?" Tsugumi asked to her master. "I hold liquor better than you." Benji replied. "Anyway you two should eat something sweet, sugar helps to ease the effects of alcohol." Atsuko nodded and calls one of the waitresses. "Six strawberry jelly breads." Benji ordered. "Two mugs of warm milk, one dispenser of honey, and four pieces sugared dry peaches."
"That is all?" the waitress asked to Benji while writing down the order. "One beef special with seeds bread and orange juice." Benji answered. "I will be right back." She replied with a smile. "That is all for you?" Atsuko asked. "The first half is for the two of you." Benji answered. "The second is mine."
"I am allergic to peaches." Atsuko commented. "Your pet can eat mine." "I never tasted that." Tsugumi commented. "They are quite good." Benji said. "Sweet and soft, they almost melt in your mouth." Tsugumi nodded eager to try the new food, it beated the mushrooms and raw fish from the cave.
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Benji feels his body heavy and weary, he is crouched in the middle of one of the paths of Nifflheim, nailed on his back are several knives and swords; blood seep from his wounds as he tries to breath.
His mask now destroyed hangs on a thin tread on his face, Benji drools a large amount of blood as he keeps a firm grip on the throat of a struggling Loli Ruri. Blood from a cut on his scalp burn his eyes as it seeps inside them dying the white orb red.
With a gurgling sound escaping from her lips the Loli Ruri fallen from her moon shaped stone hears her neck breaking under the pressure. With a sharp intake of air Benji tears open her throat with his fingers.
Benji bites her neck and rips an even larger chunk of flesh from the demon girl's throat; Benji swallows the warm demonic flesh and drinks of the gushing blood, almost dying from thirst because his wounds, he can feel the life pulsing back to him as he does that.
Benji tears a piece of cartilage and spits away, there wasn't enough flesh there. Ripping the shirt of the demon girl Benji harshly pokes her chest, there wasn't much there either. Aiming lower Benji tears a piece of her left thigh, the dying monster gurgles drowning in her blood, she let out her last attempt of a breath and vanishes.
Benji licks the blood from his fingers before reaching on his back, holding at one of the knives there Benji tears it from his flesh without a sound other than the sound of the knife against his flesh.
His inventory was locked because the witch's curse and Atsuko were force warped to another spot with a Wanderer, leaving Benji alone against a large mob. His usual weapons to be used on Nifflheim were damaged and sent to his inventory, but because the curse he couldn't take anything out from it or leave Niff until they completed the quest for some undead mushroom for that witch.
Atsuko spoke with the witch, actually trying to ask for the location of Main Square after they returned to the city after few hours in the fields; the witch shoved them that curse and quest if they wanted the curse to be removed, and then she led them to a secret path that led to the area where the mushroom grows.
Benji stands up and walks to the direction of the mushroom, the map was saying that Atsuko was on that direction. Dragging a sword from a killed Wanderer and the cleaver like knife from a Bloody Murderer Benji walks on unsteady steps.
'I am still alive…' Benji said to himself fighting the exhaustion. 'Making mine Conan's words…if I can deal death then I am still alive…' He were only able to survive thanks to his watch that gained some mystical properties on that world, activating the stopwatch function Benji would gain a huge bonus while it was active, but the price is that it takes a toll on his body and during the equal amount of time that it was active his healing would be denied.
Benji notices that the monsters aren't attacking him as he walks near them. 'Why they aren't attacking?' Benji asked to himself not stopping to see why. 'Is this torn appearance, this demon like state that I am in, bloodied, with blades in my back but still moving?' There aren't answers for his question other than the sounds of the monsters moving and the eerie sounds of the distant Nifflheim afterlife.
A Wanderer slashes Benji as he walked by; Benji blocks the slash with the sword and brings down the cleaver on the demon's head slashing it in two. Benji moves forward knowing that he must find Atsuko, the heal lock is still active and he needed her to heal his wounds.
The sound of battle draws more monsters close, while most of demon type monsters avoid Benji the undead type attack him. Benji is surprised in seeing a Loli Ruri attacking a Wanderer and a Dullahan that were attacking him. Benji breathes hard leaning on the demon's sword.
He sees the demon girl hovering near him, what surprises him is that she smiled at him. Benji tiredly smiled back at the girl, she helped him so why worry about it. Benji wonders why she wasn't hostile; it was the blood from a member of her race coating his body or something else.
"You saw a blonde human…" Benji said to the demon girl as he raises his hand to his nose height. "…this tall wearing monk clothes?" The demon girl scratched her chin as if trying to recall something. "Not so far on that way." She answered pointing north; it matched the location show in the map.
"Thanks." Benji replied straitening up and walking away. 'This is familiar…' Benji sighed looking back and seeing the cheerful Loli Ruri hovering a couple meters behind him, Benji was glad that Tsugumi was safe in their inn since she was still recovering from her hangover.
"You are curious, right?" Benji asked not looking over his shoulder. "Right." The girl answered. "You are a new demon? Your eyes are cool and red, those stack of blades on your back to be used in combat is also cool. You almost look like a human but you smell like me."
'I wonder how she would react if I said that I am a human and the only reason that I smell like her is because I am bathed in blood from her kind?' Benji thought. "So why the big demons with cleavers and the other ones aren't attacking me?" Benji asked, it was a good opportunity to learn why that is happening.
"They can smell that you are stronger." She answered with a smile. "Those guys are pretty dumb but they have good instincts to judge the power among our kind. Undead are usually stupid and attack anyone who they aren't familiar with, and well those skull guys with swords just like to fight. My kind can tell that you are one of us, you reeks death and blood."
'I wonder if that is a compliment…' Benji muttered to himself. "Other than your kind, the skull guys, the canned ones…" "Canned ones! That is great! My people are trying to get a name for those have a while now." Ruri exclaimed cutting Benji's sentence. "The trees and ghost what else lives down here?" Benji finished his question.
"The lord does." She answered cheerfully. "He moves around riding on his horse surrounded by a crowd of skull guys and ghosts." 'Sounds like the Lord of the Death.' Benji thought. 'I hope not to find him; I am not in shape to face him.'
Loli Ruri hummed softly a tune that Benji never heard as they walk towards what the map and the witch said that was a sludge pit before the place where the undead mushrooms grow. 'And there go my boots…' Benji sighed as the boots get damaged on the maggot filled sludge.
'I am so not walking on that.' Benji said taking few steps back. "Mind in giving me a lift to the other side?" Benji asked to the demon girl. "I only have this pair of boots and I don't want to lose it." "Sure hop on." She answered patting the moon next to her. Benji cringes as he removes the remaining blades from his back, he haven't removed them to not damage himself more and lose more blood but he wasn't going to risk fall on his back with those nailed there.
Sitting on the moon the demon girl flies over the pit. Benji throws a piece of armor from a Dullahan that he was holding to use as depth indicator on the pit, the speed that the sludge swallows the armor shard impresses Benji, since the stuff was thick. The armor vanished on the depths of the sludge.
"It is safe here." She said with a smile when they reach graveyard. "On this place forward only my kind and ghosts can reach, the pit swallows every one who walks there, you are very smart on realize it." Benji smiled back, actually he were grossed out by the maggot filled sludge.
The map shows that Atsuko was close, but he couldn't see her anywhere near the graveyard. Benji looks around for the mushroom and the monk. The demon girl continues to follow Benji around.
Benji finds the mushroom growing on the crack of a tombstone; he looks at it the mushroom really looks like rotting flesh. "Gross." Benji muttered cutting it out from the stone and putting inside his torn mask before pocketing it, if the witch wanted it she would have to uncurse them before getting it.
"Please tell me that I haven't heard the sound of hooves." Benji said looking at the demon girl. "Lord!" The demon girl shouted cheerfully seeing the Lord of the Death ridding at their direction. 'I am screwed…' Benji thought seeing the entourage of demons and ghosts.
End of the chapter seven:
Author explanation corner: (For those who don't know this is where I explain things from the story, I am taking this from the same section from my Ranma fic.)
Safety: this is a personal original addition to the story, as anyone who played the game knows no one really dies there even when turned into pate by a horde of monsters, in my story every adventurer has a magic safety that faint them when they can't fight anymore, that same magic makes monsters stop attacking them and they don't take more damage than the 0 HP that they reached.
The cost of this safety being active is that the experienced gained by the adventurers is halved, disabling the safety one adventurer 'doubles' the gained experience, for explanation's sake if Ami kills a Munak with the safety on and she gains 1000 experience points in the base level and 900 in the job level, with the safety turned off she would gain 2000 XP in base and 1800 in the job.
However if she dies there then she is really dead, nothing can bring her back, but if the safety is on she can return to her save spot or be resurrected by someone. Greedy people or people wanting to level faster turn the safety off and end dead.
Siege: as show in this chapter Mana and Shina as well their entire guild is sieged inside their castle. In the game the WoE only last few hours, so in the game I making them last one day, and that day is from the dawn until the next dawn. In the case of Mana's guild the attackers camped outside to prevent the members from leaving and others from entering, and that is how a real siege is made.
In real war a siege is surround a location, let's use a castle as reference, one army or two is inside the castle, they have a stock of supplies for a certain period of time, outside we have the invaders that can be from any number from one army to one hundred if not more.
The invading army will capture or kill anyone leaving the castle or any one trying to enter the castle, capturing might allow them to learn of the defenses or even a secret way inside, but moving to combat, in a siege the invading force try to take over the castle for that they have siege machines as the battering ram, siege tower, catapult and others.
The defending force also have their own siege machines, the battering ram and the siege tower are useless but catapults, ballistae, stones, cauldrons of boiling oil, tar, sand, water and other liquids or substances, and several other weapons and strategies can be used to defend the castle.
It isn't uncommon for forts and castle has secret routes to get supplies, send messengers to allies and things like that. So I placed in the castle some secret tunnels not related to the castle's dungeon access to add in the ways of communicating with allies and getting supplies.
Back to the story, the guild is locked inside their castle by their enemies and they have to endure long days of wait until the time of the WoE when the enemies will attack. Some might be asking 'Why if they can go out using priests and tunnels they don't leave the castle and go relax or do something outside?' the answer is simple, the same reason that I added the private mode to hide if a person belong to a guild and his rank there, to prevent identification and capture.
While the invading force can come and go as they wish as long they leave an 'occupation' force outside the gate the defenders can't leave, there is a chance of then being identified by the invaders and captured, so they remain inside and only leave when needed to keep secrecy of the guild's secrets routes and defenses.
Private mode: I am sure that anyone who ever joined a famous guild or an 'in' guild we harassed by some hotshot wanting to join the guild. So I added this feature, which is nothing else than covering or storing the guild brand. Think on the brand as a personal ID.
Benji's money making strategy: That is nothing else than a strategy that I used in my early days playing RO, in the serves that I used to play the yellow herbs we bought by NPCs by 150z so it was a easy way to make money with out much of a risk, a slow but sure way. I admit that back then I was a rookie so money making and leveling were really hard.
The incident is also based on a 'real' incident in my first RO server, I now as an assassin was in Morroc, I was just walking around Morroc and ended in the north square where two thieves were taking a male and a female, they were chatting about money and we all know that the typing appears to everyone in the screen so I couldn't help on 'hearing' it.
As happened in the incident that I wrote the boy weren't interested in the strategy and either logged off or used a wing to move away. The girl was interested so I took her to the desert and show to her the spots where the plants always appeared and taught her how to make it work. The dragonfly incident also happened, it was a bit harder in the game than it was in this story, and anyway I just decided to add some real RO experiences in the story.
Hormone crazy murdering girlfriend incident: as unlikely as it sounds it did happened to me. That is PMS for you people; let's say that after that I was really following my now ex girlfriend cycle, thankfully that condition was solved by her starting to take the pill. It wasn't a fun thing to be chased for six rooms by a short sword armed girl.
I still don't know what triggered that I was there just to return to her a book that I had borrowed, the sword was part of the decoration, and needless to say that I only visited again once her mother stored all the sharp and pointy things of the decoration away.
When it happened it was everything but funny, now I laugh of it, but as I said it wasn't one of my brightest ideas to jump out of a window using a bed sheet and my belt to climb down one floor, but then the cheap wood door of the laundry area was giving up really quickly to the sword, I haven't much time to think straight.
Wines: Okay the booze is original, I mean based on real things and just making the regional, it will happen with other foods and drinks too.