altimit | catch all >> august

[Time to move into the mountains, Danny boy.]

[Fandaniel-san... He's a strange one, isn't he? But Matoba doesn't dislike his sense of menace. Whether it's due to a sense of resentment and striking back at the world for some belittled salaryman, or simply just a natural result of his personality, it's entertaining and fun to watch.]

[As long as he stayed in his lane, of course.]

Oh... How threatening. [Matoba stops to open his grimoire again as the Shield Men face them. They ought to have very high Physical Defense, but how about their Magic Defense? Matoba starts out by casting a BiJuk Rom to fill the corridor with sharp leaves swirling around the enemies, trying to hit them from the back behind their shields.]

I get the sense that he was able to mix and match and design-his-own, [Matoba demurs, as if Hien didn't tell him straight up when he asked.] As for me.... I think that it's more fun to do things in a game that you can't do in real life. Anyone could throw a punch, or pick up a knife and stab someone. [C-can they??] But magic? That is a unique experience.

[ If he could, he would...

Ah, but will Fandaniel stay in his lane? Only time will tell but for now, these two are on an adventure as allies and so there's nothing to fear for now. If anything, the Area's monsters are what should be fearing, and fearing them at that. A pity they don't have feelings like that.

Still, the Shield Men turn out to be laughably easy for two casters. Their shields don't deflect magic anywhere near as well as physical attacks, so they'll find themselves being made short work of. ]

I'll give you that. [ The knife part doesn't seem to even raise an eyebrow with him, hello? ] If magic were real, our actual lives would be so much more interesting.

[Honestly, even if Matoba would be quite annoyed with Fandaniel messing about his plans, he thinks it might be fun at the same time. Maybe the reason they could get along, and the reason they were interested in one another, was the same- they both liked unpredictability, to a certain extent. And a bit of a challenge, too?]

[Danny has obviously gathered up a bunch of unherdable cats into this guild, so it's bound to happen....]

[With the Shield Men disposed of, they're free to continue on their way deeper into the stone walls, overgrown with murky vines and mist that make the atmosphere quite mysterious and aesthetic.]

Haha, don't you think? [What sort of life would Matoba lead if he could control his territory with magic? If he fought monsters for a living instead of other men? Would it be more peaceful, or less...?]

[He can't really imagine a life of peace. No, it would probably be impossible. He looks to Fandaniel.] --What would you do? If you could use magic in reality. How would things change for you?

[ Unheardable cats, yes, but that's also why the guild itself has no rules. ]

Hmm, what would I do, how would things change... why, if we are to assume everyone has some access to magic, I have no doubt the rich will still have their foot on the throat of mankind.

[ Further into the dungeon they go, only to be greeted by the distant rustle of something plant-like. Interesting. ]

So how could I use my magic for anything short of removing them from the equation?

[ If he's bitter about something, it doesn't show in his face or his voice. He says it all lightly like it's one big joke because it is, isn't it? They'll never have this power out there, what they have in the game. It's an impossible dream. ]

Although, first I think I would burn down the orphanage that I was stuck in for far too long. I think that might be... cathartic.

I suppose that's true, [Matoba agrees, on account of the "level" playing field. Fandaniel's bias sure doesn't escape his notice, but hey, could he be blamed? He isn't wrong. The wealthy who controlled the ivory towers of the world over would use that advantage the same as they used every other; it wouldn't be a power that changed the balance of the world. It would only shift how control was maintained.]

[But...]

Who do you think would take their place? [He smiles instead, flattening his back to one of the cool stone walls and peering around a corner. There they are; the Pumpkin Kings were awaiting them at the end, guarding the glint of a treasure chest in the broken courtyard.] In the vacuum that opened up.

[He pauses, and turns his smile up at Fandaniel brightly.] Orphanages, huh? I've heard some of those get run as tax schemes for yakuza.

[Haha, you know. He's just heard.]

Oh, you know. Either better people who will become corrupt over time or worse people who already are. The cycle is endless, isn't it?

[ Fandaniel is no starry-eyed hero. He would be killing them on his own whims, not for some greater good. He hates them, he hates what they've done to the world, and he hates how the world has simply accepted it.

Ah, ahead is treasure, he can see that chest, but when Okoto pauses, so does he. ]

Hm? [ A curious glance is thrown Okoto's way, followed by a lopsided sort of smirk. ] You don't say. Well, then I suppose I would have to add them to the hit list for taking part in that.

[Isn't that fun? Matoba smiles at Fandaniel's cynicism... Or maybe it was realism. Yes, that was likely exactly what would happen- if you erased one echelon of power, the next would simply rise up and take its place. If not money, then might; if not might, then influence. No matter the resource, people would try to control each other.]

[Because, after all: a level of control was necessary.]

[Of course this world bred individuals like Fandaniel who would try to rebel, uselessly, against it.]

Oya? [He grins back as the Pumpkin Kings notice them, and charge to attack. He readies a GiVak Kruz from his grimoire; time to set the plants aflame!] Yes... I suppose you'll have to.

[ Fire isn't the most effective spell to use against the Pumpkin Kings but just as Matoba thinks it, Fandaniel is of the same thought. He summons up flames to launch at the first pumpkin-headed plant monster that comes wriggling out into the light, and again, and again. ]

Yes, them and then everything else. I would burn the whole world to ashes and then myself. If there is no one at all, then who can abuse that power?

[ Destroy everything, let God or the planet or whoever knows what sort it out. ]

[Boy. Gee. And Matoba thought he had issues.]

[But he gives the question its due, and thinks on it as he queues up his spells. He frowns as the fire doesn't seem to be doing a lot of damage. Ah, that's right. The previous enemies had been Darkness, right? So he cues up a MiRai Kruz instead, zapping the closest Pumpkin King.]

[Ahh, much more effective. And satisfying, to watch its body convulse as it's electrocuted.]

So you acknowledge that even you would not be able to resist the allure of power? [He's charging up another lightning as the rest of the Pumpkin Kings draw close.] An unfortunate byproduct of being a living thing; the drive to survive means surviving at the cost of others. Greed can't be stamped out of us.

[ Fandaniel has some, uh... issues. Yeah. ]

You said it yourself: an unfortunate byproduct of being a living being.

[ Fandaniel snaps out a MeRai Kruz of his own to follow up on Matoba's, leaving that first Pumpkin King to crumble. Briefly, he wonders if they'll ever be able to collect actual pumpkin drops from those. Hmm, monster pumpkin croquettes... pumpkin tempura... what else? ]

Although I would contest that greed is not a trait of a living being, only a human being. We are fully capable of deciding to help one another above all else and yet? We aren't allowed to, not to any useful extent.

Edited 2023-09-04 15:29 (UTC)

[Look at you, Daniel, thinking crafty already! Matoba has hardly gotten around to paying attention to monster drops still; he's not a very artistic-minded guy. But maybe once he notices Fandaniel gathering up the spoils, he'll think to join in!]

[Now with the rest of the Pumpkin Kings shambling forward, he lets loose a larger PhaRai Rom to do a good chunk of damage, while Fandaniel focuses on taking out the rest with his single-target attack.]

All living creatures compete for resources, no? I see... Is your argument that our evolved sense of morality should raise us above that base squabble for resources, then?

I wonder. Even if we have the means, could that knowledge still erase our natural instincts? Maybe... But all it takes is one marble to knock all the dominoes down.

[He says, timed with tumbling one of the Pumpkin Kings. Poetry!]

Should it not do exactly that?

[ Lightning, lightning, and more lightning, and soon enough, the last of the Pumpkin Kings fall, and even though Fandaniel is considering what kind of foods could be made using their parts, those drops have not yet been added to the game. Thus, it remains wishful thinking.

Ahead, beyond the slowly despawning monsters, the treasure chest, glinting away in the candlelight of the dungeon.

As to their... what is this now? A philosophical debate? ]

Why develop reason and morality and the idea of what's right and wrong if we will only ever resort to acting as beasts scrabbling in the dirt at the first sign of hardship? Why evolve at all in that case?

[If only they could collect some hefty pumpkins! It'd be just in season for pumpkin bread and pumpkin cupcakes. Alas. :(]

[Matoba waits in the wake of the fallen Pumpkin Kings, shiftily glancing about to listen for the sounds of any more monsters, but the clearing goes quiet. All done? He cautiously lowers his grimoire, bound by thickly-woven silk cords around his waist, and steps forward towards to cross the approach to the chest.]

"Why"... Hmm. [He crosses over the head of a fallen Pumpkin King as it despawns, barely regarding the monster's corpse.] "Why".... "Right and wrong"... Do you think that you have a well-developed sense of "right" and "wrong", Fandaniel-san?

[ They could do so much with pumpkins, so much! Fandaniel will have to send a complaint to Hien, noting to do exactly that when the Pumpkin Kings leave absolutely zero delicious pumpkins behind. ]

Do I? A fair question to ask. I would like to think that I do...

[ Ah, but there's a huge "but" in that sentence somewhere, left unsaid. He trails along after Matoba, following him along to the chest, though he isn't too keen to open it himself. That inevitably fruitcake discovery is aaaall yours, pal. ]

Only we all have different ideas of "right" and "wrong", don't we?

Exactly~

[And thus, you've stumbled upon the problem, Danny! Matoba cheerfully calls back as he runs his hand along the front of the digital treasure chest and hits the button to unlock it, thus revealing their spoils:]

[Ah, a fruitcake! Matoba will never say no to a sweet, no matter how hard it is. He sticks it into his inventory with a pleased hum. No armor today, but that's alright...]

And thus, if we cannot all agree on what is "moral", then it's not a real "law", is it? How can we humans place ourselves above the beasts that are loyal to what is factual? And what is factual is survival...

[He dusts off his hands as the treasure chest despawns.] ...And power.

[ A fruitcake. What a queer treasure to leave in a dungeon, Fandaniel thinks, watching from just around Matoba as he picks it up and takes it. There are, of course, multiple copies, so it isn't as if Fandaniel won't get one, too, but...

Well, maybe someone else will like it.

Or maybe he can surprise someone by dropping it on their head. Now that? That would be funny. ]

If that is the case, humanity is doomed to rip itself apart and become naught but beasts all over again. Not that it would surprise me. It's what we all truly deserve for our unending hubris...

[Weird indeed, but certainly not the weirdest dungeon "reward" Matoba has gotten or heard about! Now, if the devs saw fit to add some better sweets, he'd really have motivation to grind more dungeons...]

[Fandaniel's really got the right idea of it, though. Throwing weapon.]

You're probably right, [Matoba replies cheerfully, and steps back away from the treasure pedestal. Their work is done here.] If we survive at all.

Technology is just the constant advancement of that hubris, I think. Just like this game.

...So. Shall we? [Out of the dungeon and back into the rest of the game, to continue this march of hubris they're on.]

Isn't it just? Watch it be released and all those who can afford to while away the days here do just that, forevermore, leaving their cities, towns, and villages with empty, desolate streets.

[ Fandaniel should definitely say that with less good cheer in his voice and yet that's exactly how he puts it, as though he's happy by the sound of that outcome. Then again, that, too, is how he almost always sounds.

Life is a joke, Matoba, and all of them but the clowns telling it. ]

Mm, but yes, let us depart this place. I wonder if I can find a particularly obnoxious place to hide this fruitcake.

catch all >> august

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject