no one is normal and sane here

[dissimulative]

Who • Oriade, Vogel, 0koto
What • Dungeon run!
When • August 26
Where • Great Superior Night Moon
Content Warnings • None for now. Will be updated later if there's any.

Your party heads off to Great Superior Night Moon in search of treasure and adventure. You gate in and find yourself in a snowy tundra stretching as far as the eye can see. Located within the heart of the field is a forest dungeon lush with treasure and crawling with monsters.

On your adventure, you encounter several strong foes, Sky Fish, Mugai Wyverns and Smiley Rays among them.

After carving a path through your foes, you finally make your way into the dungeon.

The dungeon run seems to be progressing quite smoothly. As you reach the end of your adventure, you hear a gentle, quiet voice whisper to you... "Welcome, weary traveler. Allow me to bless you before you depart."

The disembodied voice has blessed you! A pair of wings sprouts from your back! You'll enjoy the freedom of flight and be able to get to places in Areas and towns that no one else can. This blessing will wear off after 24 hours.

Comments

[dissimulative]

There really isn't a recipe, but you have to go to the Twilight Shoreline and find this pot to dump ingredients in. The ingredients are limited to that Area too, so we can't really make them wherever we want.

[ Some special pot or something. ]

[insinning]

[ still defrosting with his duck. He nods at Oria's explanation]

You can put in whatever you find in that area and it'll turn out the same way. It's a little strange.

[worldbent]

Oh? That is the beach area that was unlocked recently, is it not?

[He hasn't visited it yet, but that seems like something he'd like to try! And that way, he can test out his dabbling with Alchemy abilities, too....]

[He's never been a big fan of crafting and cooking mechanics in his dungeon battle games, buuuut... in an immersive sim like this, perhaps it's fine.]

I do hope that everything is fleshed out well enough by the time of launch, but it's fun to test these new mechanics, isn't it? [He brushes some drying algae off his duck.]

[dissimulative]

Yeah.

[ Says the profession maniac. He huddles a bit closer to the fire, but not too close. ]

It can even make the wildest dreams come true, like cooking decent food.

[insinning]

[Eyeing Oria. He's learned not to question people's ability to completely fail at cooking after an incident he doesn't care to recall at all (trauma)]

I'm more surprised meals made out of monster parts taste so...normal.

[worldbent]

[Sorry, Oria, Matoba can't help the sudden snort of a laugh that escaped him there.]

Wildest dreams, huh? [He raises an eyebrow.] That bad?

[Judging by Sinclair's expression: yes.]

It's only a simulation, after all. The devs can't make up flavor profiles out of nowhere.... Speaking of which, do either of you intend to partake in the little cooking contest?

[dissimulative]

Yup, that bad.

[ He'll own up to it. The two will also know to never let Oria actually cook anything other than game recipes. ]

I feel like if I entered, I'm basically begging to feel the Head Admin's wrath. It looks like it has to be based on creativity, and not just off game recipes. I only eat, not cook.

[ Shameless. ]

I'm not too big on having a pet anyway. Though...

[ Looks at Sinclair. ]

[insinning]

[ Yeah, he wont question Oria's cooking at all considering how confident he is about everything else.

He doesn't want to know!!

Also he's feeling called out here]

... the pomchi is really cute, okay...

[Mumbling. He's been practising. Just for the pomchi]

[worldbent]

I would really prefer if it were a cat.

[Matoba says simply, and keeps the other half of his thoughts to himself.]

I don't have any intentions of entering, but I think it will be fun to watch others struggle, [Matoba grins, eye landing on Sinclair. That's right. They'd had an interesting looking relationship- he'd grilled Sinclair about it a little before.] .....Don't worry, I'm sure he won't murder you in cold blood for serving him something a little bland.

...

Probably. [He tucks his duck away into his inventory! Ready to adventure when you are, guys! :)]

[dissimulative]

[ Oria looks at how Matoba is looking specifically at Sinclair and raises an eyebrow while getting up. They need to move on, but also: ]

Did the Head Admin threaten you??

[ Not Matoba. Sinclair. ]

[insinning]

Huh? [He glances between Matoba and Oria in confusion. Threatening? Hien? ]

...no. He's always been nice to me. He just wants people to enjoy themselves in the game.

[Taught him a therapy technique and everything]

[worldbent]

[He was going to have some teasing remark about how Hien's 'always been nice' to Sinclair, but.]

[Snrrrrk. Pffffttttt--]

[Matoba can't hold it in, sorry. He's laughing out loud.]

[The boys are free to stare, or ignore him. He's coming, he's coming....]

[dissimulative]

[ Oria stops when he hears Matoba laugh so hard, and he's definitely one that's staring at him. He doesn't think he's ever heard him that loud? For anything? ]

You guys friends or something?

[ re: matoba and hien ]

[insinning]

Um...

[Sinclair is concerned. Did he say something weird? That is what Hien told him after the incident with the mirrors after all...]

[worldbent]

Ahahaha.....

Oh... [To Sinclair] Please don't concern yourself. I'm sure if he had any ill intent towards you, you would know it. It's just so funny to hear someone say that about Hien-kun with genuine feeling.

[The glance he passes over towards Oria has the brimming mischief of a cat.]

[Well.]

"Friends"? You have a funny way of interpreting things, Oriade-san. What about us seemed "friendly" when he came to fix that player glitch, hm?

[dissimulative]

I don't know?! I mean, I can believe you have friendships too, Koto, even if they're weird.

[ He's not going to bring up "friends with benefits" out loud either, if Matoba doesn't actually have friends. ]

[insinning]

[ Please don't make Sinclair log off mid mission. He glances between Oria and Matoba and just...nods. He'll accept this]

...is it really that strange?

[ Hien being kind and all]

[worldbent]

[Matoba raises an eyebrow at Oria, his small smile hiding any further hint as to his feelings.]

As far as that man is concerned, I don't think that you could say we are "friendly". Let's leave it at that, shall we?

[The look he turns onto Sinclair is.... pitying, perhaps. Matoba isn't really the sort of person who can or would hide such a thing. But he will give some advice here... Advice that he will deliver again, very soon.]

If you're going to allow my teasing to sway you, then your feelings towards him must not be that strong, hm?

Believe what you think you should believe. Other voices are not important.

[dissimulative]

[ Sus, but Oria won't chase after it. He'll just pick up some more materials on the way while they go. Yeah! Best way to handle things.

Though if he bullies Sinclair past a certain threshold: ]

[insinning]

[Uncomfortable again! Wow, that bonding moment over the duckies sure was over quickly. A tiny frown]

Mm...[He feels like he's being laughed at?]

I know.

[He wasn't letting that sway him to begin with]

[worldbent]

[Teehee!]

[No one ruins a good vibe like Matoba Seiji. He just smiles between the two boys; he's happy to let it rest at that.]

[And if they have any further questions about what's going on with him and Hien........... Maybe you should try asking straight from the horse's mouth, Sinclair? :)]

Shall we continue? [Matoba reopens his grimoire; still with that filthy, obvious boylove bookcover. Better than having to look at human flesh!]

[dissimulative]

[ He's not interested in Matoba's weapon skin, so he will just not look at it. Yeah! But he can see Smiley Rays coming over from a distance. And you know what they do? They take advantage of the little bodies of water that's here and there throughout the forest and they're fast. Their attacks are many, but less impactful, and definitely more annoying. ]

The wave is starting! Get ready!

[ Oria shoots at them, but he misses half of his shots because of their high dodging tendencies. No wonder this is the boss-type monster. ]

[insinning]

[Sinclair slides in with a brandish, eyes sharp and wild as he draws the aggro]

Let them go towards me-!

[These are annoying. But Sinclair has gotten better at holding it down and hitting back when they get close]

[worldbent]

Hmmm, they're pretty fast....

[How about an AoE spell to let them run into on their own, hm? Matoba casts a BiJuk Rom, and the flurry of leaves covers the area- the Smiley Rays dip through the air, but so do the leaves, cutting through them as they weave to and fro.]

[Good thing being partied up prevents friendly fire!]

Shall we try and group them together?

[dissimulative]

Alright!

[ Steam Gunner is a crowd control class, they said. Oria shoots several Thorn Shots to crit and stun several enemies so that they're easy for the picking under Matoba's spells and Sinclair's lance. It works really well to stop those pesky Smiley Rays from jumping into another body of water. ]