Hello everyone. Sorry it took so long I have a deadline approaching at work and it is crunch time. Not to mention I got sick last week. I'd like to say it will slow down, but my schedule is going to be crazy until the end of the year.
Having said that, I will try to post chapters when I can.
Also, I realized only after posting the character breakdown that the link to my p T Reon page wasn't posting…fun. Thankfully, I fixed that problem.
Speaking of breakdowns, I think I will post an updated version of the breakdown after every twelve chapters. So, look forward to an update after chapter 24.
"Talking"
Thoughts
'Mental Communication or using a magic item'
[Debuffs]
Skills/Systems
Chapter 13 – Into the Ruins Pt.1
Gunner, JAnz
Dryfe Imperium, North of Vandelheim
A mechanical ship akin to a hover copter shaped like a manta ray flew along the ground as its four passengers chatted.
Driving was a woman in a teal, divided Mage's robe with her purple hair swept to the side. Her blue elbow-length gloves with silver tracery held the wheel steady as she talked amicably with the young girl with silver eyes, red hair with blond tips in a red and white driver's uniform.
"Did you really have to fight Santa for the Christmas event?"
"Yeah, we did." The girl with purple hair said wincing slightly as though recalling something unpleasant. "I still can't look at Chris Cringle the same ever again."
"Ladies, as fascinating as this conversation is," said one of the women in the back. She was a lightly tanned woman in a lilac coat with blue-black hair.
She was also hugging the other back seat inhabitant who, unlike the other three passengers, did not have a crest on the back of her left hand. She was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed young woman in a black wolf costume with raven wings on the back and an eye patch…she was also trying to free herself from the embrace in a way that reminded all who saw it of a cat trying to get out of a bath.
"But we have more important matters to discuss."
"She's right," Crescent said taking a sip of her soda. It's so convenient that Kelly's Embryo has cup holders.
"Thank you." JAnz replied, "Now-"
"What did you do to the reindeer?" Crescent asked in genuine curiosity while JAnz sighed. It would probably be too late to find a party that would take her, but she could still try.
She felt the soft fur of the suit of the Maiden Embryo she had been cuddling for the last hour and a half.
…then again, they do seem…reliable(?)...useful(?)...like meat shields(?)
That was probably as good as she was going to get.
"No!" she shouted louder than she intended, getting everyone's attention. These girls are going to drive me insane.
"At best we've built this party ad hock, meaning we don't know what everyone can do and should explain our builds."
"""Oh.""" The other players and the Embryo said as one.
"Since it's your idea, you can go first," Kelly said as she navigated around the edge of a large forest.
JAnz knew she was right, but she still hated admitting that for some reason.
"You two must already know of me and my build, correct?"
"I've never heard of you until today," Crescent replied as she took out a plate of cookies from her inventory and began munching on them before handing a few to Wotan who ate them like an adorable chipmunk matching her Master.
SOOOO CUUUUTTTTEEEE! She screamed inside her head. Why hadn't she gotten such a cute Embryo?
Life just wasn't fair sometimes.
"I know you work in the crafting department but that was it," Kelly replied taking an offered cookie from Crescent.
When she was offered her own, JAnz, took it, just to be polite mind you. Not because she could enjoy all the junk food she could eat without worrying about gaining weight.
"I can understand Crescent being a noob and all."
"Hey"
"But we've been in the same clan since you joined." She looked genuinely surprised by that fact, "How do you not know the lead Bulletsmith?"
"Oh, that's what you do?" Kelly asked in genuine surprise.
JAnz just slapped her palm over her face.
They better prove adequate meat shields, or she might actually have an aneurysm.
Sighing, she continued, "I am level 300. My build is focused on making bullets and shooting them. Currently, my only high-rank job is Magic Bulletsmith which I am hoping to grind on this trip. My other jobs include Gunner for shooting skills and Shooter which focuses on extending my firing range. The rest of my jobs are either making bullets, guns, or Rear Soldier which is to prevent me from being insta-killed." She finished explaining.
"Does it take that long to get to level 300?" Crescent asked. Given how new she was it was possible she didn't know about re-specking builds.
"I'm changing my build and don't have both a job and school to deal with, so I don't have as much game time as I would like."
"What about your Embryo?" Wotan asked, still in JAnz's arms. "You know the one you cover up with a contact."
The dark blue-haired woman looked down at the Embryo. How did she know?
Not even the Clan Owner knew the true nature of her Embryo. She had joined only after having made a special pistol that blocked skills like Identification. Many had simply assumed that it was her Embryo and left it at that.
Crap, Kelly, and Crescent are looking at me, say something.
"I want to keep people guessing as to what my Embryo is, but Freischütz allows me to boost my accuracy." She replied mentally lamenting that she had told the truth.
"Wait, doesn't your Embryo have any other features?" Crescent asked.
JAnz blinked in confusion from the question.
Thankfully, Kelly answered that one, "Embryos are all about Resource allocation. There are those with different forms like my Punga who have more versatility, but aren't individually that powerful, those with a single skill they put all of their Resources into like JAnz making them OP at what they do, but only that one thing, and then there are those like Wotan who don't change their form, but instead gain more skills. While the skills fit your Embryo's theme, they are weaker than they would be if they focused on a single skill."
Her explanation gave JAnz enough time to rejoin the conversation, "Of course, that's not a golden rule, just a general guideline. Embryos evolve according to their Masters so there isn't a set path or formula."
"That's so cool." Crescent beamed clearly enjoying learning about Embryos. Then her face suddenly took on a confused questioning look before turning towards Kelly.
"Tinker told me over breakfast one day when I asked about the Embryo who kept tak-" Wotan started growling like an angry wolf, "I mean cuddling Embryos."
Letting out a hump, Wotan relaxed in her arms.
So soft.
"I guess I'm next," Crescent replied.
"I'm level 100 with jobs in Mechanic, Pilot, and I just got Appraiser today."
"Which I want to grind." She said somewhat nervously.
"And the Marshall I you bought?" JAnz asked.
"Wotan's skills are focused on letting me enhance my ability to use weapons," Crescent replied.
That was consistent with what she had heard about the new Maiden Master.
"Runic Script lets me hit with five times the damage of any weapon, but it inflicts that level of damage on the weapon too. If the durability isn't high enough, the weapon breaks."
Even with the risk, being able to 5x any damage was insane.
"Master the Swaying Weapon lets me use any weapon, and some things like Magingears with the same kind of skill like someone with a level 1 Piloting skill or Swordsmanship skill that stacks on top of any similar skills."
She hadn't heard about that, but it was interesting. The Pilot job's namesake skill Piloting only went up to level 5 and would only increase to level 7 for Gale Pilot or Armored Pilot and level 10 for High Pilot. Depending on what build she chooses she could be the most skilled Pilot out there.
Could she become a High Pilot with a level 11 Piloting skill? Was that even possible?
"Mastering the Weapon's Flow lets me spend SP to increase my STR, AGI, or DEX and Runic Scrawling lets me spend SP and MP as well as charge up the skill by not moving to up the parameters of any weapon...but the more I charge it, the more that parameter decreases after the skill deactivates."
So, she was a high-risk, high-reward type of Embryo. Interesting.
"Can we count on you to act as a tank?"
"A tank?"
"I don't know everything about Kelly's build, but I know she plays support and I'm more focused on DPS. So, that leaves you as our tank. Think you can do it?"
Crescent seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding. "It's a little different than what I pictured for myself, but I think it suits me in this case."
Nodding Kelly spoke up, "Okay, I guess I'm up." She said as she finished eating her cookie while driving with one hand.
"My build is focused on support like JAnz said."
"I'm level 190. I started in November, but had to stop playing due to some IRL stuff until a little before Crescent," she quickly added the last part, "I've got maxed jobs in Enchanter, Doctor, and Scout. And am trying to grind Pilot."
"That's an odd build." Crescent commented, "Aren't you worried about job inconsistencies?"
Jobs from groupings other than a person's main job didn't always allow them to use their skills. A Knight had a horse-riding skill so they could use the job Rider, but had nothing in common with Alchemist thus whichever job was not the main job wouldn't have access to its skills.
Of course, there were jobs so broad anyone could use them like Chef or Appraiser.
"I have a few Job Crystals which let you swap jobs in my inventory. I'm trying out what's known as a Switch Up Build. It's a little on the expensive side, but it gives me more versatility. Plus, when I switch to Doctor I can use some skills from Scout and Enchanter since Enchanters give buffs."
"What does Doctor do exactly?"
"Doctor is a job focused on buffing the effects of healing items and diagnosing debuffs. Since some debuffs like [Berserk] can be dangerous, it aligns with the Scout's Reveal and ability to perceive danger."
"So, it lets you use the buffs from Enchanter and since Doctor has analysis-related skills, it lets you use Scout in conjunction."
"Yep."
"Then why Pilot?"
Kelly seemed a little embarrassed by the question, "I can't drive Punga without my Piloting skill."
That made sense. Some people could use vehicles just fine without related skills such as someone who drove for a living would be better suited to handle a car than someone who never got behind the wheel before. simply she doesn't have the Sense Skill for it.
Understandable.
"Well, then we have our formation." JAnz spoke up, "Crescent is our tank who will draw aggro with buffs from Kelly while I snipe the enemy. When it's weakened enough Crescent goes in for the kill."
"Sounds like a plan to me."
"Yeah- uh, what about Punga?"
"Oh, Punga's three forms are a mechanical lizard for scouting, mechanical bats for redirecting buffs, and the manta ray we're in. He doesn't have any offensive power other than ramming into stuff." Kelly explained.
"Good. Based on the information from the DIN, we should be able to see the ruins soon. Whatever you do don't get separated, otherwise the party will fall apart."
"Right."
"Yep."
Just as they finished replying they saw the site. They could see what looked like construction equipment being used to excavate something.
There were also a few people setting up what looked like a base with tents, makeshift shops, and…food stalls?
That one kind of did make sense. People had to eat in this game.
As they approached they saw a giant metallic worm(?) burst from the ground and slam down toward the camp.
/-/
Dragner, Billy Flaming James
Billy had been playing ID for a few weeks now, and while he couldn't play as consistently or often as some other people in Coffee Lock due to his real-life obligations, life in Vacuo was never easy, nor evolve his Embryo as fast as some, he genuinely enjoyed his time.
It was an awesome game.
His Embryo, Odontotyrannos, had just made it to its third form and he couldn't be happier.
His embryo was a Type: Guardian Gear which combined various types of large machinery with a motif of a dinosaur. Its current form was a cross between a brontosaurus and a power shovel, allowing it to further expand the entrance to the ruins which had originally started as a narrow cave entrance leading down nearly ten stories of winding pathways which those with scouting jobs or Embryos had already confirmed led to the same location.
As such he was making it easier to get in and out.
Despite the success of the scouting party, there were numerous monsters down there. He had heard from a tian scholar named Dr. Mario, he figured the man was some kind of easter egg hidden in the game or an inside joke among the developers, that pre-ancient civilization tech after 'millennia' tends to go haywire. Like environment-controlling bacteria suddenly attacking living creatures or golems designed to protect people suddenly attacking…well everything.
Supposedly there was some kind of incident in Caldina a few months back due to the King of Libraries and the King of Corpses that destroyed an entire city.
With a few exceptions like the non-living/moving magic items sometimes found in them or things like the nanomachines in the soil in Dryfe which kept its land fertile.
Though he had heard someone say that they were acting buggy.
Whatever this place was originally intended to be, it was producing giant purple slimes. They dealt disease-based debuffs whenever they touched your skin and could dissolve just about any organic substance they touched.
Hence the reason Mages and those with elemental or non-physical long-range attacks were surrounding him as he dug.
It wasn't like they were immune to physical attacks such as bullets, but they were resistant. This meant for every ten to twenty bullets fired one slime would be taken out whereas a single spell of Fireball and four to six slimes were down for the count.
Naturally, this meant disposable magic items like Gems with charges of spells like Fireball or Lightning Bolt were going to be in high demand.
Even if they were one-use items the few stalls that sold them were already price gauging.
He almost missed the Fire Bugs because they would have been so useful in these situations.
Almost.
He still couldn't believe they had been dumb enough to try and overthrow the entire country. Yeah, he could see how that might have been pretty cool to rule an entire country, but with how real ID was he couldn't see the other countries reacting.
Even excluding the tian Superior Job holders.
With Altar to the South and Caldina to the East, or more specifically their broken-as-hell Superiors and especially Altar's Pre-Superiors, he couldn't see it ending well for them.
Altar's Pre-Superiors scared him more than their sole Superior. Sure, the King of Agitation was supposedly an immortal zombie, but when compared to The Witch, Tartarus Princess, and Paradoxical Shadow, he seemed more…mundane. Yeah, that would be his best way of describing it.
Those three held the top spots in the Clan, Kill, and Duel Rankings respectively.
Something about the ancient Valean country seemed to draw the creeps. He dreaded running into them if they ever became Superiors.
Bun-Bun was already hard to deal with when she was angry and if what he heard was true, ALL Superiors were either headache-inducing, completely crazy, or just problem children.
At least he wouldn't have to deal with any of that.
Suddenly, the ground around him started to rumble as Masters began to move away from him. Recalling his Embryo to not have it tip over on a tian, or himself, he landed on his feet before moving away from where he had been digging…only for a giant mechanical worm to burst from the ground…and land on top of him, giving him the death penalty.
/-/
King of Libraries, Doctor Green Egg
"Qrow, if I ever think it is a good idea to let you drive again, please give me the death penalty immediately." The green-haired man said as he pulled himself from his place wedged between two of the seats.
"Hey, I thought we said to use our screen names in ID." His 'friend' replied as he picked himself off of the floor next to the driver's seat.
"This is why you wear a seatbelt." If we crushed anyone thanks to your driving we may end up having to leave Dryfe before we get put on the wanted list."
"It's fine." He waved off, cracking his neck."Besides, the boss lady said it herself, she'll take care of any trouble." He said before releasing a large burp that reeked of cheap alcohol.
"That was with regards to official business in apprehending Empress Cryoconite. Not visiting ruins or your bad driving." He said frowning.
While they had not been close, he still felt somewhat betrayed by the events of that day. She had seemed like such an intelligent young woman, hurt by someone close to her, if his bachelor's in psychology was of any use, but a good person underneath.
It still stung that not only had she done something so horrid, but he had been unable to fully comprehend what was happening and react to it.
Dryfe was the last place Empress had been seen. Granted it was about eighteen days ago, Dendro-time, and their search thus far had been relatively fruitless, but she could still be in the country.
With Empress on the loose, they couldn't relax. He and 4-Leaf had been dispatched to look into Dryfe while Kilowatt went to Altar backed by his constructs and Minos to Legnedaria. Reinhardt remained if she came back to Caldina.
While they couldn't send anyone to Granvalao, their Western Fleet had been notified and they had one of their two Superiors on standby. While he didn't know much about the man, he hoped the King of Pirates would be up for the job.
His moniker of Distorted Sea made him hope he would be enough against her.
Sighing, "Let's check on the damages."
As they exited the Prism Bug, Rose Breaker, and stowed it in his anti-theft inventory. There was a large hole and trench in the ground where the worm had tunneled up and landed…with a human-shaped imprint.
Given that, no body remained, and instead, what looked to be a pilot's uniform it was safe to say he had only landed on a Master who dropped a random item, in this case, the pilot's uniform- which 4-Leaf was already taking-…and a food stall.
"How are you going to pay for my food stall and all that beer?" a tian yelled as he came running up to him.
"You served beer in your food stall?" Doctor Green Egg asked absentmindedly.
"No, your friend just cleaned out my other stall of booze and said you'd pay for it."
He turned to see his friend already in the middle of a drinking game with a few others.
When and how did he get that going so quickly?
/-/
Appraiser, Crescent Rose
Crescent Rose looked around like her head was on a loose swivel staring at every object and person of interest she could find. (1)
Magic Popcorn Maker
Converts MP into heat to make popcorn.
She looked at a stall selling ice cream.
Ice Cream Dispensing Inventory
A customized inventory designed to store and dispense ice cream at the perfect eating temperature.
She looked at the owner of the stall.
Name: Roberto Green
Job: Merchant
Level: 45 (Total Level: 145)
She then randomly looked at some passing Masters.
A man carrying a wicked-looking spiked crossbow.
Name: Roch N Roll
Job: Shooter
Level: 44 (Total Level: 244)
A man with a rocket launcher slung over his shoulder.
Name: Mulberry Bush
Job: Assault Gunner
Level: 90 (Total Level: 390)
A woman with legs that were too tall for her and seemed to be made of crystal.
Name: Carolina
Job: High Dancer
Level: 70 (Total Level 470)
Ever since she got her Appraiser job, she had been using Reveal and Identification continuously. Surprisingly, the last one didn't work on Embryos.
That seemed like a weird kind of glitch in the programming. Or maybe it was intentional?
Hard to tell.
Regardless, it was like a little festival around the entrance to the ruins. There are food stalls, stalls selling camping supplies, magic items like flashlights or cameras, and even some combat-related items.
Thinking about that, she separated from the group and went over to a stall displaying several types of firearms.
"What can I do for ya lil' lady?" asked a tall round faunus with wolf ears.
"Do you have any ammo for the MG1-250?"
The man scratched his chin for a moment, before asking," Standard, hollow point, or explosive?"
She had bought several boxes of standard but didn't have any of the other two.
"What do the last two do?" she asked, already having an idea but wanting to double-check.
"Hollow points incorporate wind magic allowing them to go farther and have greater piercing power to get around more heavily armored opponents while explosives have a magic charge of fire magic that goes off when they hit. They're the most expensive of the three, but given that the slimes in the ruins have a weakness to non-standard rounds, I'd say it's a good investment."
He wasn't wrong. That made sense. But…
"How expensive is 'expensive'?"
"Well, since not as many people use Marshall I's since the Marshall II's came out, I'll give you a discount. Five boxes of explosive round ammo for 20,500 lir."
That had her hesitating. On one hand, it would definitely help her with investigating the ruins…on the other hand, she had 2,000 lir to her name after selling a few items and buying what she could equip for her Marshall I.
"Uh" Suddenly, someone grabbed her by the collar of the Driver's uniform and dragged her away from the stall.
"Don't waste your lir on such shotty merchandise," JAnz growled.
The faunus moved from behind his stall and moved towards them "HEY, my merchandise is top of the lin-" Whatever he was going to say was cut off by JAnz pointing a gun in his face.
"Back away now or I will report you to the Bulletsmith's Guild." She warned. The man raised his hands and backed away.
"You bought the mana shield function for your Marshall I, right?" JAnz asked before Crescent could ask what she was doing.
"Yeah."
"Then that's fine. Those bullets were not up to guild standards, anyone who used them runs the risk of them backfiring."
"Don't you think you're being-" Before Crescent could finish, a scream was heard from inside the entrance of the ruins, "Some guy's face just got blown off when he tried firing at the slimes."
"You were saying?"
"Never mind."
/-/
The entrance to the ruins wasn't hard to find. It looked like someone half excavated it.
Before going in, JAnz pulled them to the side of the entrance. "Let's have our strategy meeting before we head in." She said as the other three nodded.
"Okay, I've gotten some info about what's down there. So far, it seems like all paths go to the main chamber, but that was as far as the scouting team could get without getting overrun by slimes."
"Whatever you do, don't let them touch your skin."
"Right."
"Kelly, what's our status on healing items? Do you have anything for disease-based debuffs?"
"Not a lot, but I have some Elixirs, HP Recovery Potions, MP and SP Recovery Potions, a few healing items for burns, and a few rolls of Medicinal Bandages which increase the body's natural healing ability."
"I should be able to keep each of us back up and running two full times before I start running low."
"No Cameo of Healths?"
"Do I look like I'm made of money? Those things are 3,000,000 lir a pop and trigger on any debuff, even [Hunger]."
"Had to ask." JAnz shrugged. "I've got some Elixirs, Antidotes, and a few HP Recovery Potions."
"What about you Crescent?"
"Two HP Potions, an MP and SP Recovery Potion, an All-Purpose Healing Elixir."
The two stared at her. "That's a pretty expensive item for a noob to be walking around with. I can understand the Magingear, but how do you have the cash for something like that on top of everything else?"
Crescent beamed, "I am really good at gacha."
Confused they turned to Wotan, "Master, despite all conceivable reason is rather gifted when it comes to gacha. She has played a total of ten times-"
Only because you won't let me play more-oof." Crescent was interrupted by a soft furry fist to the stomach.
"As I was saying" Wotan continued as her Master sank to her knees. "Master has never pulled anything less than a C-rank capsule. She has also managed to pull two S ranks and even an X rank."
The dark blue-haired and purple-haired girls blinked in surprise, "Good to know."
"Since you're acting as our tank Crescent," she directed her look to the woman still on her knees, "I'd like to see what we're working with. So suit up."
Crescent took out and then equipped her Marshall I. It wasn't anything fancy, just a simple grey and black power suit that let her use MP to float and fly with jet propulsion from the bottom of her feet and on her back.
It wasn't a customized model like she had wanted. Instead, it was the standard mass-produced model. Once she made some money, she was going to take her time and upgrade it.
She was armed with a large rifle some might expect to be the barrel of a tank rather than wielded by a person.
With the face covering she wouldn't have to worry about the slimes.
Wotan transformed into an energy cape adding a red tent to the power suit.
"Does it have any sensors we can use for scouting?" JAnz asked while Kelly seemed a little peeved by that for some reason.
"No, it's a standard model. I couldn't afford much beyond it and the basic weapons."
The armored girl to Kelly, "Can your bats use echolocation?" Crescent asked.
"Sorry dudette, but no. They're not actual bats, just bat-shaped." She replied using a crystal to swap jobs.
"Okay, Kelly you can use your Sout's skills through your Embryo, right?" JAnz asked.
"Yeah."
"Okay then, I want you to scout ahead first. When we start entering the tunnels." JAnz said taking the lead but then remembered something, "I know you want to grind Pilot, but let's wait until we get some treasure, then we can all level grind on the slimes since there doesn't seem to be a limit on their numbers."
"Fair" she replied, "But what about you?" Kelly asked.
JAnz grinned as she equipped bandoleers that wrapped up and down her arms, and legs, and acted as a belt in addition to the two crossing her chest in an "X".
"I'm going to shoot anything and everything that comes our way."
"Are they all magic bullets?" The armored Master asked.
"Yep."
"Wow, they don't call you the No Life Grind Queen for nothing."
JAnz's expression took on a dark look to it, "I do NOT have such a ridiculous nickname. And I have a life thank you very much." The Bulletsmith hmphed crossing her arms in front of her chest.
/-/
Most people assumed adventuring was charging into dangerous dungeons, but players who did that typically got the death penalty from the way JAnz described things.
They had spent the last hour walking down the metal tunnel that supposedly led to the main facility. There were numerous signs of battle from craters and scarring in the metal to sections that looked like they were burnt or melted.
Someone even went through the trouble of carving "777" nearly as big as Crescent in her power suit into the tunnel wall.
Who does that?
Someone else thankfully had been generous enough to plant light-producing magic items at increments along the path so they didn't have any trouble finding their way.
Despite so many Masters having already been there the number of slimes didn't seem to decrease much and while all paths seemed to lead to the main facility, they were long and curving which created maze-like passageways that ran for literal miles despite the main building being only ten stories down.
Crescent had wanted to fight some of the slimes, but JAnz insisted that they conserve their ammo since both of them had finite amounts and they should save them for emergencies.
"Can't I fight them a little?" Crescent asked, her voice somewhat distorted by her face mask making her sound like a certain black cloak, red energy sword-wielding, villain. (2)
"Crescent, do I need to remind you we are here to get materials, and items to sell?"
"Yeah, but-"
"No buts." JAnz interrupted, "Unless we are suddenly attacked, I don't want you wasting a single shot." She said stomping her foot.
*crack*
"Huh?!"
*crack*
*crack*
*crack*
"Run!"
*crack*
*crack*
*CRACK!*
As they tried to run away, the floor below them collapsed.
Thinking quickly, Crescent flew to catch her friend- well…party members? Yeah, party members.
Grabbing Kelly Crescent used Master the Weapon's Flow to increase her DEX and AGI to better navigate around the falling debris and scoop up JAnz, princess carry.
Why is she blushing?
As they landed Kelly took out a magic item that functioned like a flashlight. Instead of a light bulb, it held a gem that shown with light magic.
That was one of the things she liked about ID, they didn't always just copy the real world one for one, but also had their own twists on things.
However, as the room lit up they soon realized they were in a large chamber and her musings faded, they all realized…they were floating over a chamber filled to near bursting with large purple blobs bigger than a full-grown man.
"You mean like right now?" Crescent asked, still hovering enough off the ground that they weren't in immediate damage, but how long would that last?
"No," JAnz said, "just fly us up."
"Uh, about that…"
"This is as high as this thing can go with us on it, isn't it?" JAnz deadpanned.
"Yep. Hehe."
"This isn't a 'hehe' moment." JAnz snapped.
"Um, guys…" Kelly tried to interject, but JAnz talked over her.
"Not now Kelly." JAnz shouted before focusing on Crescent, "Can't you use your skill, Runic -something to help us."
"Runic Scrawling would cause the thrusters to degrade after the skill runs out."
Wotan spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, "Master."
"Can't you just shoot them?"
"We don't know how they'll react and it might make things worse."
"GUYS!" "MASTER!" Kelly and Wotan shouted.
"What?!"
""DODGE!"" they said in unison only for a slime to strike Crescent's back thruster causing them to fall to the ground from the imbalance.
Crashing in the middle of the slimes, they realized just how many of them there were.
"Kelly, get behind me!" Crescent shouted as her rifle whirled to life releasing a rapid-fire spray of bullets as she attempted to make a circle around their group, mowing down a few of the closer slimes to make some breathing room.
JAnz drew both pistols, loaded with special magical bullets, and began firing in the opposite direction of Crescent to create a larger circle. For each shot fired, the bullets burst into blasts of flame or broke up into multiple rounds decreasing damage of each piece, but overall dealing more damage to more targets.
"Well, you got your wish," JAnz said as she noticed Kelly placing a buff on her.
[DEX UP]
"You know it!," said Crescent as she received a similar buff.
/-/
Center of the Ruins
In a room encased in ice so dense most would assume it was permafrost, red light glowed. Faintly at first, and then brighter and brighter as though reacting to something yet unseen.
Ice that had encased it for millennia began to thaw while ice in its surroundings began to grow.
It would awaken…soon.
(1) Identification and Reveal don't give you as much info when they are at level 1, so she can only see the name of the object and a brief description or a person's name, job, and level.
(2) All hail Darth Rose- I mean Vader.
We leave our heroes at another cliffhanger trapped in ruins surrounded by flesh-corroding slimes bigger than grown men with seemingly no way out. And that doesn't even compare to what is at the center of the facility.
Crescent Rose = Ruby Rose
Kelly Hawks = Reese Chloris
JAnz= Nebula Violette
Billy Flaming James = Roy Stallion
Doctor Green Egg = Bartholomew Oobleck
4-Leaf = Qrow Branwen
Roch N Roll = Roch Szalt
Mulberry Bush = Harold Mulberry. A teacher at Beacon Academy mentioned in After the Fall that taught Weapon Crafting and Upkeep.
Carolina = Caroline Cordovin
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