altimit | no one is normal and sane here

Entry tags:

dungeon

no one is normal and sane here

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.

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--right.

[That reminds him to pull back just enough to top up his HP again, but he's back in the thick of it, swinging his lance out in a harsh swinging arc]

[The Rays seem to finally be thinning out- and a swing of Sinclair's lance takes out the last one, the forest settling into an eerie, quiet silence.]

[Matoba waits, tension in the air, with his grimoire still open and another spell almost at the ready--]

Hoh? Is that the last of it......? I think we've won.

We did it!

[ Oria is so glad. Aiming speedy targets constantly was about to give him a headache. His trigger finger is also tired. ]

It shouldn't be too much left until we see what waits for us at the end~

[Why is his armor so blackened this run??? He sighs as he takes his HP potion, nose wrinkling a the sensation. But that tops up his health bar at least]

Mm. Just get to the end and we'll get the blessing.

[At least this one was guaranteed. Wings!!]

Well done, everyone. [Matoba deactivates his grimoire and rests it back on his hip; ahh, the feeling of camaraderie after a success! Such a nice sensation.]

[Don't worry about all the damage he did. Friendly fire isn't a problem as long as it's not doing damage, right?]

I am curious about this boon; I haven't managed to activate it yet. [Matoba did random rolls for his dungeons, most times- but he'd been convinced to come along and get wings, in light of the new root town.]

Oh, let's not forget the equipment chests. By the way, the both of you work in tech, isn't that right? And how are you enjoying what's on offer here, so far?

[Just slipping this on in at the end, when everyone is riding the high of victory :) Don't worry.]

[ Oria catches that immediately because his business senses are in frequent use from people always try to pry information out of him in meetings. Seriously, with the way they underestimate him, he'll pay them all tenfold. ]

You'll like it a lot, but I guess they'd call the wings cute too, if you like that sort of thing.

[ He also sends Matoba an inbox message since he can multitask while moving on in the dungeon.

Nothing is wrong! Though if Sinclair answers Matoba's question, Oria won't stop him... ]

[Sinclair doesn't let his gaze slide over to Oria in question, even if it's instinct. Oria had a lot more to protect with his identity than Sinclair did, after all. Sinclair bites his lip, busying himself with collecting his parts to make potions and other things]

Mmm...it's alright. I'm not sure if I'll be any good at it though.

Cute? ...Haha, I don't know if 'cute' really suits me, but...

[Ding. Matoba's inbox pings, and he glances to the side at his UI that the boys can't see before turning back to Oria with a smile.]

But I am asking normally? [What do you mean, friend? 🙂 He glances back to Sinclair and tilts his head.] Ah, are you perhaps not on the in-depth side of things? My mistake... There's all sorts of typical office jobs in any industry, isn't there?

Perhaps that is important too, though. A game like this appealing to more than just the maniacs will really change things. Don't you think so too, Oriade-san? [Can't help but notice you didn't answer! Teehee.]

[ Siiiiigh. Siiigh sigh. ]

You're soooo right, Koto.

[ He says it so sarcastically, but he means it. Virtual reality that feels so real with only very specific drawbacks would have people jumping on it. Now that Oria is experiencing the game himself and has seen/heard other things, he's incredibly sure that it would be a game changer for the sex industry once they lower the costs to make it more accessible to the public. And that's only one industry.

He huffs. Oria will go along then. ]

CES Tech has been keeping their eye on VR tech too. They're gonna jump on the first thing that will make the most money.

[ This topic is public, so he doesn't mind saying it. ]

... Then probably beg for funding as usual.

[ siiiiiiiigh ]

I'm just a clerk.

[ Typist. Something or rather. The person you send down giant drains to collect the remains of a poor person that died in there after a fit of brain crushing technology use left them raving mad.

Things like that!

He eyes Oria a little sympathetically, but he can't help but remember how he looked with his hair slicked back. It wasn't a bad look but...a little funny.

He'll keep looking for monster parts so he doesn't start smiling]

You would have to ask my seniors what they think.

[Oria's response has Matoba actually chuckling out loud.] Now, now. I'm serious, you know......

[The sex industry. "Sales". Matoba was thinking along the same lines; early on in the beta he had acted as though those were where his business interests lay, why he was here in the beta, the second layer beyond being here "just to play". There was a third, of course. No one knew about that one.]

[It's fine, maybe, if people figure out the second one. It's a good distraction.]

I'm sure there will be many copycats once this takes off. But imitations make everyone stronger. It's good to have a healthy market........ And then come out on top.

[His toothy grin turns back to Sinclair.] Will we be seeing your superiors testing things out, someday? That seems like it would be a fun chat. [Hey, he has cleaners too, Sinclair! If you ever wanna look at a different industry in the same line of work.... Nanase-san has to retire sometime....]

Mhmm. It's an untapped market, so there's going to be a lot of competition. I bet one of the companies is going to attempt to be a jack of trades and then fail.

[ That's how it always goes. People get too greedy... though Oria shouldn't be talking. That's the entire basis of his family's thing.

Also he sees you abruptly leaving, Sinclair!! What are you hiding!! ]

[Nothing!! Nothing!!! Let him flee to collect monster parts from a distance.

Back to Matoba:]

Ah...they're very talented, so probably. [They even have other things they've made] But they're not really interested in games...

Haha, well....... When you're peddling your "wares", it doesn't really matter where you bring them to, as long as there are customers and the space isn't bad. From the perspective of a "customer", wherever is fine.

But it's good to be an early adopter.

[Sinclair has the right idea, tbh; Matoba should start collecting stuff too, for future alchemy.... He wanders over to pick through the remnants of Rays.]

Not games, huh? Not even for what else this tech can do? [A sidelong glance.] Have you.... thought about it?

[ He'll just leave the collecting to them so that they have things to do. Oria can always collect them on his own later. ]

But Kotoooo, think of the expenses.

[ He's not being very serious right now and seems to be content just watching the two gather mats while rubbing his own hands. Cold... ]

[Glancing over at Oria. Oh, they should probably get moving, huh?]

They're more interested in how it all works to begin with, since the technology is so advanced.

[It's leagues ahead of everything else at an unprecedented level.]

I did wonder--I think that's all the materials in this area.

[Into the inventory everything goes. He's not deliberately avoiding the subject - he dissembles poorly - but Oria looks cold, and he is beginning to feel cold.

And because his clothes didn't entirely dry...he sneezes. Twice]

Yes, yes, there's a manpower cost upfront........ But that will pay off as dividends make themselves known.....

[You understand, right, Oria? His gaze slides back over to Sinclair, leaving the rest of the materials to him. Better to let the boys take most of these spoils; he's here for a different sort of spoils, after all.]

That's right. It's already being used for medical technology, and... just imagine what else you could use it for.

[He takes a step towards them, grin widening.] Not the virtual immersion....... The virtual notion. How you think, how you act... It's all connected to your perception. What do you think people can be convinced of when placed in an environment like this?

[Matoba's eye bores into them.] Have you found yourself questioning your thoughts since taking up this beta?

[ With the way Matoba says all that, he feels like he's in a press conference. But whether it's out of ignorance, suppression, or apathy, Oria shakes his head and simply says: ]

Nope! Have you, Koto?

[ He knows Sinclair has, but in a different way. god save us all ]

[...

...

...]

[And then Sinclair snaps out of it, completely unaware of the look that just passed his face]

Um. I guess so...? [He's always questioning himself. It does not count]

[It's a nice look. Just like the one he'd worn while tearing into the enemy.]

[Matoba, satisfied, steps back and flashes a smile to Oria.]

Nope! Not at all.

Haha, looks like we just need to open the chest with our rewards. Shall we be going?

Yeah! It's freezing. Let's get out of here real soon.

[ He'll even lead the way by lightly running past them. He's aiming for that treasure chest and they can finally leave!!!! AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa ]

[Oria, he has so many questions in your choice of friends. But out they go]

L-Let's go.

[Matoba chuckles, watching Oriade's energetic (frigid) sprint towards the chests. Time to open them up...!]

[Another dang Magic Nymph grimoire... Matoba sighs and adds it to his inventory for selling, and... Oh, this Protect Ring and Ceramic Anklet might be decent (and aesthetic!) equipment. He'll hang onto them to check out later.]

[Finally, the blessing...... Matoba glances at his back as they're all bestowed with wings, raising an eyebrow. Oria wasn't lying- they are "cute".]

Haha, can these tiny things really carry me...?

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