Additional IC

[Azure Sky]

<p>


<strong>Note</strong>: The second 'In Character' tab of this RP will be used for plots and/or character interactions, which, in most cases, have nothing (or very little) to do with the main storyline and/or cast. In this tab the High Rankers, FUG members, RED members, most Regulars/Irregulars which are higher up the Tower (in contrast with the main cast, of course), Wolhaiksong members etc. have more 'space' for interactions, so to say.


</p>

 

[QuirkyAngel]

The Galleon

Location: Ophidian - 20th floor

​

“Boss! You’re back!”


Evelyn surveyed his shop on the twentieth floor. Called Ophidian, the building wasn’t large, but well-known nonetheless. Rare items from all over the tower could be found here. Some were collected by were himself, when he explored the tower, but a majority were supplied by the rankers he’d hired as treasure hunters—or rather, rare item hunters. Ophidian also doubled as a pawn shop, since Evelyn was always looking for rare, shiny things to add to his collection. After Prime blinded him, Evelyn mellowed somewhat, keeping his hands generally free of FUG’s unscrupulous affairs and stayed mostly in the twentieth floor tending to Ophidian’s business. He’d felt the consequences of playing with fire, and while he didn’t regret it, he wasn’t eager to get burned again—no matter how tempting the heat may be.


However, that didn’t mean all of Evelyn’s tendencies were curbed. There was nothing in the tower that could hold him. Nothing. He was still a freelance guide, offering his services to those that amused him, and he still wandered wherever he liked—whenever the urge hit him. Just as it did a couple of days ago.


“What’s that you’ve got there?”


Evelyn’s serpentine gaze flickered over to the clerk he’d hired to tend to his shop when he was away. The boy was one of those talentless failures that had given up on climbing the tower, but he was at least a diligent worker. Evelyn had seen that, which was why he had given the boy the job. Reading people and seeing their potential…that was a skill he excelled at. It was the skill that kept his business booming.


“Oh this?” Evelyn lifted up a container filled with amniotic fluid. Inside was a small, single floating orb. Evelyn’s voice betrayed his humor. “The eye of cat sidhe. I picked it up while wandering the outer tower.”


The clerk didn’t bother question as to why his boss picked up an eye. He was used to the Galleon’s random, often nonsensical, impulses. Instead, the boy simply peered at the container curiously. “Why is it changing colors?”


“Cat Sidhe eyes are special. They are always connected to their owner, a reflection of their souls” Evelyn explained. Then he chuckled. “She must be feeling emotionally unstable at the moment.”


“Do you think it’ll sell well?”


“Hmm, I don’t know about that,” Evelyn mused. “It’s not a weapon and not a very useful item in terms of battle or climbing the tower. I suppose a collector might want it…but I’m reluctant to part with it. I plucked it from a very unique cat sidhe, you see. And I like to keep the rare, one-of-kind items for myself.”


“…speaking of rare items, you got a call from the Workshop.”


False, serpentine eyes shone a brilliant green. “Did they say what it’s about?”


“No. Just that you should call back whenever available.”


Evelyn nodded, a smirk dancing across his olive features. “I’ll do so after storing away my newest acquisition. Watch the shop and deal with customers appropriately. If anything needs my attention specifically, you know how to contact me.”


“Of course,”


Then Evelyn disappeared through a door behind the counter and was out of sight.

 

[Rantos]

Ran


20th floor: Ophidian
​

All was quiet, for a good bit. It was an otherwise silent day. Of course, being the tower, someone somewhere was crying for one reason or the next. But Ran didn't have to listen to it, which made him happy. Ran walked to the tune of his own little song. Whistling and using a spine to make the sound of bones shackling as accompaniment. Not the most conventional way to make music, but Ran was something of a trail blazer. In good time the brunet found himself before his destination. Before Ran, a shop, a small looking shop. Above the shop doors, a sign that read "Ophidian"


The doors to the Ophidian swung open with great force, almost enough to send the doors flying off their hinges. Before Ran entered, his loud voice fill the entirety of the shop. "Ring a ling! Ring a line! It's Ran time! Ring a ling! Ring a dine! Yo, how much can I get for a spine?" Ran threw the spine onto the floor. Not out of disrespect, but rather because he was sick of carrying it, and it was starting to smell something fierce despite looking clean. Ran had never been in this shop before. He had heard that it was a pawn shop, which to Ran meant he could drop off anything and get money for it. But he had never been in before. Now looking at it, there was a lot a cool things. Jars filled with this and that, old dusty trinkets, a cute clerk working the desk...


"Well, well! Looks like Christmas just came early!" Ran exclaimed as he looked the boy up and down. Ran could not believe his eyes. "Lucky me. I have my hands on a solid eight. And I'm not even drunk... yet." Ran said this as he slowly brought a flask to his mouth. The flask was bigger then a normal flash would be. Despite this, Ran seemingly finished the whole flask in record time. "GHA! I need a bigger flask." With the drunk juice in his system, Ran practically danced to the clerk. He put his arm around the male clerk and spoke into his ear.


"Did you fall from heaven? And if you ever decide to fall again, maybe you could fall into my lap."


@QuirkyAngel

 

[St. Boethius]

Argeus had entered the twentieth floor just a few moments ago and admittedly the giant Satyr was a bit lost. He had never really socialized with anyone since his encounter with FUG and not many people were willing to go up to a 13 ft giant tree thing and talk to it. So Argeus just sorta wandered about thinking. Anyone with eyes could see him and frankly at this point he didn't care if he accidentally trampled a few people as he tried to find a place to use all this currency he had been getting since floor two. He had never really needed to use his money at this point so he was sure he had a bit saved up. Frankly at this point maybe he should upgrade his pocket or buy some actual clothing or armor at this point.


As Argeus walked he caught the scent of something dead and with a few sniffs and a little walking it lead Argeus to the Ophidian. Taking in a large amount of Shinsoo Argeus shrank himself and his weapon. Making himself about 7ft tall at least getting him through the door. He had to carry his spear in horizontally though. " Something smells.... strange." Argeus muttered as tried to place the smell ignoring the others in the store for a moment. He then noticed from the sheer amount of things in the place it must be a shop of some kind. Sniffing again Argeus found the scent of the person behind the count and walked up behind Ran awaiting his turn.


@Rantos @QuirkyAngel

 

[QuirkyAngel]

The clerk stiffened when he felt Ran’s arm wrap around his shoulder and the man’s breath against his ear. It was the first time a customer had tried to flirt with him, let alone a male one with a cheesy, somewhat vulgar, pick-up line, and the clerk wasn’t sure how to respond. The stench of alcohol and the putrid smell emanating from the spine didn’t help.


“U-Um, Sir? Are you sure you aren’t drunk…?” Evelyn had told him to deal with customers appropriately. But the boss hadn’t told him how to deal with this situation. What was the appropriate action? While the confused, straight, clerk pondered how to deal with Ran, another customer entered. This time it was a…tree.


The clerk’s jaw dropped. A split second later, it closed once again. There were all sorts of species living in the tower. It wouldn’t do to be rude to a customer. And it wasn’t as if the boy hadn’t seen stranger things since working for Evelyn. Ophidian’s customers were hardly the normal kind…nor its workers. The clerk smiled at Argeus. “Welcome to Ophidian! I’ll be with you in just a moment. Until then, feel free to look around.”


Ducking away from Ran’s arm, the clerk went over to where Ran had dropped the large spine. Despite its stench, he crouched down and studied it curiously. The clerk’s fingers trailed over the bone. “How much it’s worth depends on what species it’s from…,” He said to Ran. The clerk paused, his face scrunching in thought. Truthfully, he had no idea where the bones came from. Evelyn knew more about this sort of thing than he did. “I’ll get my Boss. He’ll be able to give you a better assessment of its worth.”


Straightening, the clerk walked behind the counter to where a T.V. sized, green cube made of pure suspendium sat. He rapped it twice. At first nothing happened. Then the cube brightened, seeming to come alive. Evelyn’s face appeared on the cube’s screen, the dark skinned man’s ebony hair tied in a loose ponytail and his snake-like eyes narrowed in irritation.


“This better be important, Derrick. I was in the middle of—” Ophidian’s owner stopped when he caught sight of Ran, blinking in surprise for a moment before a sly smile spread across his face. “Ohoho~What have we here?” Emerald eyes sparkled as they bore upon Ran. “If it isn’t the Mad Dog of FUG.”


They’d never met personally. However, having worked as a guide for FUG in the past—at least until Helios blinded him—Evelyn heard plenty of rumors about the man. It was around the same time he’d been working as a guide for Zahard. And Waihaksong. And whoever caught his fancy really. Evelyn smirked.


“F-FUG?”


Evelyn ignored his clerk. “To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”


@Rantos


@SleepyBuddha

 

[St. Boethius]

Argeus didn't find it oddl that Ran was trying to mate with the clerk. Of course Argeus didn't really concern himself with things like gender anyway considering he could reproduce Asexually. So when the clerk told him to look around that's what Argeus did.


The shop had quite the assortment of weapons, tools, and armor. From what he could see all of it was pretty expensive but he could tell the items were worth the currency. Argeus found a type of pocket that holds weapons that would he good for his spear. Then he could also store his seedlings in there too....


Argeus had been largely ignoring the two humans until he heard something, 'The mad dog of FUG.' This caught Argeus' attention and his head snapped over to the two men. He could tell it wasn't the clerk as he sounded just as surprised. "FUG...." Argeus snorted in anger. And walked over to the two of them and quickly grabbed at Ran's head intent to literally throw him out of the shop or through a wall.


@Rantos @QuirkyAngel

 

[Rantos]

Ran

Achieving the harem dream
​

Yes, yes, yes perfect! It was all so perfect. After playing with the young clerk's features for a moment Ran knew that this boy was destined to be within his cute boy harem. Now it was only a matter of time, or money, or a few broken bones. Ran was willing to pay any of those. It took Ran a moment to notice, but it seemed as though the clerk's attention was on something else. Something behind Ran made the clerk's jaw drop, something other then Ran! Ran let the Clerk duck under and out of his arm, and as the young boy took off towards the disembodied spine Ran turned around to face his rival.


What Ran wasn't expect was the sudden tree in his way. 'Did they, spontaneously grow a tree in here?' Ran ducked his head around the tree, trying to see what caught the clerk's attention. Only after circling around the tree five times did it dawn on Ran that this was no ordinary tree. It was an maple tree! What more, it had goat horns, and legs, and arms, and was moving! This was certainly a new sight for Ran. Now Ran didn't quite know how to rate the man before him. Sure, Ran is a lover of any man no matter what kind of body they had. But this, was something else entirely. Ran scanned the tree man up and down before making his final verdict.


"I'm sorry buddy, but I'm not a vegan. You have my condolences." Ran reached up to give the tree man a pat on the shoulder, but stopped about half way when a familiar voice rang though his ears.


“Ohoho~What have we here? If it isn’t the Mad Dog of FUG.”





Ran cracked the biggest of smiles before he even set his eyes upon the screen. Ignoring the tree man entirely, Ran sauntered his way over to the screen. He stopped, standing next to the clerk, wraping his arms around the boy again.


"Evelyn please! Cut the formalities, just Ran is perfectly fine! It's good to see you too baby boo~ I have two questions. First, how much for the clerk? Secondly, I have come to you today both selling a spine I ripped from some four eyed jerk. Aaaand, I need a gift for Helios Senpai. Something that will shine, something that when he looks at it all he can think about it me! Something..." The sentence was cut short as soon as Ran felt something grab his head, quite tightly too. After some basic reasoning Ran realized the one holding him was the tree man. Maybe he was mad about what he said earlier.


"If this is about the vegan thing I totally know a few nice guys who are vegans that I could introduce you to."


@QuirkyAngel @SleepyBuddha

 

[St. Boethius]

Argeus ignored Ran and reared back throwing Ran with enough power to break through the wall that would have stopped him and caused him to skip a few times on the ground before coming to a stop.


Argeus then exited the store he was on and breathed deeply as he began absorbing a large amount of Shinsoo within the area and his body and spear began growing again until Argeus was his original 13ft and his spear more than that.


Not impressed with this 'mad dog' Argeus didn't use his Baam yet and simply lifted his large leg the roots that make up the bottom of his feet pointed downward so the roots would impale Ran. Argeus then brought down his foot with tremendous force though it was slow.


@Rantos @QuirkyAngel

 

[Azure Sky]

Before the events at Ophidian, 29th Floor


"Moto Saka, I have a mission for you."


"Anything you wish, Lord Helios"


"While I do trust Ran as an assassin, and as a follower, I do think there are moments when he goes over the top. And that can be compromising, in many ways. Therefore I wish that you keep an eye on him. Just note down whatever suspicious things he does, then report to me. If he does something which he shouldn't, then attempt to stop him."


"I understand, Lord Helios."


"From what I understood, he will leave for the 20th Floor in a few minutes. Your mission starts now. Go and tail him. It should be easy with your stealth skills."


"As you wish. Then, before I go, I'd like to give you this book."


"Huh, what for?"


"It is a book that I have written, in case I'd have to leave your side for whatever reason. It has detailed knowledge about how to cook, clean, sew, and repair things efficiently. Since I will no longer be able to do those things for a while, think of the information in that book as my temporary replacement. I belive in you, Lord Helios. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave."


"Right...Ummm, ok."


Ophidian, 20th Floor


Moto Saka was Helios's butler, and also a Ranker. He was extremely loyal to Helios and would follow his every order. He had seen many things, but what he witnessed right there, on the 20th Floor, was more unusual that he expected. Ran was singing, with a spine in his hand, entering a pawn shop. Then he started flirting with the shopkeeper. One thing left to another, and now a wood creature slammed Ran's head into a wall. One wouldn't know how to process such a situation, but Moto remained calm, and no emotion could be read on his face.


He knew that the wood creature was not a Ranker, nor did it have the power to fight one, therefore there was no need for him to interfere. All he did was observe, staying hidden in the shadows. If Cerberus were to use excesive force however, Moto would stop the fight, in one way, or another.


@Rantos @QuirkyAngel @SleepyBuddha

 

[Rantos]

Ran

Well that just happened
​

Well, this was most certainly new. Ran got attacked all the time, that part was nothing new. But the aggressor didn't even bother to address Ran. Nor had Ran ever seen this man in his life. Meaning that Ran had either killed his mother, a totally plausible explanation. Or he had something against FUG. As soon as Ran was thrown towards the wall, adrenaline kicked in, all of time seemed to slow down, granting Ran the option to stop himself midair and counter attack in the flashest of ways.


An option that he did not take.


Ran allowed himself to be thrown though the wall, and into the ground only a few yards away. Goat tree man had quiet an arm on him, Ran had to admit at least that much. Now then. Ran began thinking. There was a certain level of respect that Ran felt for the way this man went about trying to kill Ran. So much bravado, if he wasn't a tree Ran would have asked him five times over to be apart of his harem. The tree man came for his second attack, and Ran let it happen. The foot came down upon Ran, and phased right though his body. A moment before impact Ran turned himself invisible while also casting an illusion in his place. The illusion Ran rose though the tree man's leg, and walked though his body. Ran then dispersed the illusion and became visible again once he was behind the tree man.


"Okay big guy. Lets talk. What's your problem with me? Why are you trying to kill me? Jog my memory before you strike."


@SleepyBuddha

 

[St. Boethius]

Argeus snorted but managed to calm himself after he saw the strange illusion that this mad dog pulled. His stomp cracked the earth around it so imagine his surprise when his target walked through him!


Confused as this wasn't how the FIG members he had seen last time acted the giant tree goat answered, " Your organization tried to recruit me, make me your pawn. Held my friends hostage and killed them..." Argeus said his voice a very deep and bellowing considering his current height, " So I vowed the next time I saw a FUG member I'd kill them." Argeus explained still trying to figure this 'mad dog' out. He didn't act like he expected one with the title to act. Check given the current situation he was more eligible for the title than Ran. " Are you truly a FUG member? You don't seem like the others..." Argeus said sniffing about.


@Rantos

 

[Rantos]

Ran

A day in the life
​

As yes, one of these types. To think, that maybe, just maybe, tree man might have presented some new reason to hate FUG to Ran. But it was all the same stuff, like a broken record. The "FUG killed my family" excuse. If Ran had a penny for every time someone tried to kill him using that as there basis for doing so he could just buy his harem to completion. Although, the amount of times did not devalue the validity of the reason. Ran knew full well how many lives FUG has screwed over, mostly because he's usually the one tasked with the screwing. So, there was still a certain amount of respect Ran held for this goat tree.


"Ookay. I think I see where you are coming from now. But if you wanted a free shot all you had to do was ask. I'm sure I could have made arrangements for a cutie like yo-" Ran stopped himself mid sentence. His brow furrowed in frustration. "Look, I'm sorry but you are really hard to hit on. I mean, you understand right?" There was no man Ran could not hit on. But this was no man before Ran, this was a tree. "Maybe if I had something to drink..." Ran contemplated how he would go about hitting on the living tree as he rose up. He used Shinsoo to strengthen his body a bit before sticking his hands into his pockets and making himself an open target for the goat tree.


"Let me show you something. Hit me, hit me hard. I want to teach you a good lesson. Because I like you." Ran dug his feet into the ground, he had no intention of dodging this attack, but he also had no intention of budging an inch.


"Hit me baby one more time~"


@SleepyBuddha

 

[St. Boethius]

Argeus cocked his head to the side in confusion. If the goat skull he had for a face could make expressions he would be giving his best what the f*ck look right now.


"It is entirely understandable yes. This form isn't meant to attract a mate to begin with. There is an entire other form for such matters." Argeus said confused as to why he was explaining this.


When Ran said he wanted Argeus to hit him as hard as he could this threw him for another loop. Judging from the power he could feel from Ran he was a Ranker. Argeus cursed to himself, he knew he couldn't beat a ranker in terms of strength. Especially by himself, " Very well I will oblige." Argeus stabbed his spear into the group and summoned three Baam his max limit at the moment. The Baam formed into a green seedling which promptly fell at his command and burrowed deep into the group. First the roots dug their place and then the actual trees burst out of the ground combining with Argeus' own body bulking him up making him 16 ft tall and very bulky. With his new enhanced form Argeus brought down his massive fist with all his strength and weight behind it.


@Rantos<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_06/cardart_ORI_Gaeas-Revenge.jpg.7944a44f7a964a793e44d5c043b9f4cb.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="136909" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_06/cardart_ORI_Gaeas-Revenge.jpg.7944a44f7a964a793e44d5c043b9f4cb.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

 

[Rantos]

Ran

Baby hit one more time
​

From the get go Ran could tell this was no normal goat tree. The strong always have a way of recognizing one another. Something inherent, something instinctual within them. Ran was especially good at picking out the strong from the weak at a glance. Although, he was never one to judge a persons character on power alone, that's just dumb. Ran watched as the goat man, whose name he still did not know, formed three bangs above him. A smile crossed Ran's lips. Not the smile of a predator, the smile he usually wears. But rather it was a smile of nostalgic longing. Ran remembered the days when he could only summon up 3 bangs, he was so young back then.


First the goat tree grew, then he attacked. It was so... slow! In Ran's eyes at least, by the time the punch would actually make contact he would have enough time to tie his shoe and still dodge. All those years running after boys had made Ran quick on his feet. Ran was not here to dodge though, he was here to take the punch, and take the punch he did.


Bones cracking, blood flying, the horrible sights and sounds of something akin to a train crash filled the air. Ran, true to his word, did not move an inch... and that was the scary thing. Ran didn't falter, nor did he go flying from the impact, or even move an inch despite getting hit with a fist the size of his body. A moment passed. Silence. Then, from the other side of goat tree's fist, the sound of bones crack began again, but it seemed different this time. Ran walked from behind the giant fist, into tree man's view. His arm was dislocated, a few ribs were poking though the skin of his chest, somehow and his jaw was completely dislocated, hanging on only by the skin. All of that among many things were visibly wrong with Ran's body. But that all changed in only a matter of a moment. His body began to correct it's self, healing in an instant. As his arm healed, Ran took his jaw, and placed it back into place. It made a satisfying snap. Then, Ran opened and closed his mouth a few times, just to make sure it was working.


Ran was fully healed in only a matter of five seconds, he looked at goat tree with the cockiest of grins.


"Well. I hope that was a learning experience. Now sit down. Let me explain to you why you are a little too big for your britches. And why that is going to get you killed." Ran took a seat on the ground, prompting tree man to do the same. All the while, bangs slowly appeared high above the two, orbs of fire in the sky.


"Tell me honey... hehe... tree jokes. What's your name?"


@SleepyBuddha

 

[St. Boethius]

Argeus cocked his head to the side again as he listened to the mad dog talk after taking his punch like it was literally nothing and for a ranker like the mad dog Argeus wasn't surprised. The way his body healed instantly was... unsettling for Argeus as he watched the tiny person fix himself. When prompted to take a seat and listen to why he was ' too big for his breeches' even though Argeus wasn't wearing garments of any kind. Though Argeus did as he was commanded and released his Baams returning to his usually slim if a bit skinny wooden form and plopped down right in the middle of the street. " My name is Argeus. Do you go by Mad Dog or do you have a name as well?" Argeus asked watching the ranker closely.


@Rantos

 

[Azure Sky]

21st Floor


Hex had been descending the Tower for a while. He reached the 21sf Floor, but he didn't wan to stop there. What an A-Rank Regular was doing at those levels was unknown. Obviously, Hex was very famous within the Tower, and many of the people who saw him wondered why he was descending the Tower, but none of them had the courage to ask. For them, approaching Hex was like getting near a ferocious beast. He wasn't violent, though. In fact he was quite friendly and cheerful. The reason people didn't dare to go near him was that he was unreadable. One never knew what he thought, and staring into his eyes was like staring into a void of darkness. He was famous, but at the same time unknown, and most people feared the unknown.


"So boring. People who are afraid of the unknown are so boring" he thought as he was walking through one of the streets of the floor. He still had to walk a while until he'd reach his destination, so he decided to take a shortcut. Hex used Shinsoo to perform his most peculiar technique: Free Style. Using Shinsoo to bend some of the laws of physics, Hex started walking through the air.


@The One Eyed Bandit

 

[Rantos]

Ran

Making new friends
​

Now this was nice, the tree man had sat down across from Ran, and they were on the fast track to good friends. Dare Ran even say, best friends. Assuming that Ran didn't have to kill him later. Then again, Ran's killed his best friends for FUG before, so really them being best friends was an option after all. Ran pulled out an overly large flask from the insides of his jacket. He opened it, then took a drink... and continued taking a drink... and didn't stop taking a drink. It wasn't until Ran had been drinking for a solid fifteen seconds did he finally stop to take a breath and a drunken burp.


Ran tossed the half empty, yet still far too full, flask over to Argeus. "Go ahead, take a drink." This was fantastic, only three minutes ago Argeus was trying to kill Ran, and now they were having a drink. Maybe Ran can show this to Helios later and get promoted to leader of diplomatic relations. Regardless, Ran had kept Argeus from his answer for long enough. The flaming bangs still hung suspended high above the both of them. If things went sour again, Ran was ready to carpet bomb the area.


"Okay. So, you wanna kill FUG?" He began speaking like a drunken informative video. "The best advice I can give to you, is don't..." Rant took a moment of pause, of silence. "You are without friends, or back up. You are by yourself and not even a ranker. Here's your problem, your not going about this smart. So you kill a few weak members? Cool, we got hundreds on the wait list. But when you kill enough, you get on FUG's radar. The moment you get on FUG's radar, you become my problem, and I take care of my problems. Ya catch? I'll let that sink in." Ran took out his smaller back up flask and again, took another drink from it. He waved over to Evelyn, beaconing him to come forward. "Yo Wicker baby! Come join us!" Ran turned back to Argeus.


"Any questions sweetie?"


@SleepyBuddha @QuirkyAngel

 

[St. Boethius]

Argeus carefully took the canister and took as little as possible from the tiny thing, which ended up being most of it and was literally knocked on his ass by how much alcohol was in that. He was almost instantly drunk and he handed over the flask, " I understand... if I'm going to stand against FUG I will need friends, allies...." Argeus said still laying on the ground.


@Rantos

 

[Azure Sky]

Moto Saka didn't really care about the FUG organization as a whole, but he was very loyal to Helios. Thus the fact that Argeus wanted to gather alies and attack FUG was like an alarm signal for Moto. If Argeus truly wanted to do so, then there was a possiblity of Helios being in danger. No matter how strong he was, Helios wasn't invincible, and even he could have been subject to a surprise attack or an elaborate ruse.


Argeus was a possible threat. Moto had to eliminate that possibility. "Oh well, I'll just have to kill him" thought the Ranker. But he couldn't afford to strike him directly and be seen, as he would have gotten into trouble. He had to try something else.


Moving silently, but stylishly, like a model on the catwalk, Moto generated a few dark Shinsoo butterflies which slowly flew towards Argeus. He then disappeared from sight yet again, hidding in the darkness. His Butterfly Effect was a powerful technique, and for someone of the Satyr's current level, those exploding butterflies were deadly. If he made the mistake of being masmerized by them, Argeus would have been in for a lot of pain.


@SleepyBuddha @Rantos

 

[QuirkyAngel]

The butterflies that floated towards Aregus would find themselves encased in small, cubes of pure green suspendium appearing out of thin air. Then, abruptly, the cubes vanished, taking the shinsoo bugs with them. Serpentine eyes zeroed briefly into the darkness where the creator of the butterflies was hiding. However, the Galleon simply shrugged his shoulders. Not his problem. As long as no one else made any explosions in or around his store, he was good. There was also the fact that Evelyn didn't want to see Argeus dead...at least until the vegetation paid for what it broke.


Emerging from the new hole made in his shop, Evelyn Wicker, guide extraodinaire, glared distastefully at the two troublemakers who were now getting drunk. Bosom buddies now, were they? While Evelyn mourned his beautiful shop and the clerk hurried to find a broom, they were drinking and making up?


“I don’t care if you two fight, kill each other, or even make peace. BUT,” Evenlyn pointed at the shapely damage to Ophidian’s northern wall. “Someone has to pay for that.”


The fact that FUG had enemies didn’t surprise him. What surprised him was the level of audacity it took to challenge the Mad Dog head on like that. Rolling his eyes at Ran, Evelyn knelt next to Argeus, examining the tree creature laying on his back intently. The presence of FUG’s Mad Dog at his shop had drawn most of his attention. So much, that he hadn’t paid attention to the other customer present. Yet Argeus seemed quite interesting indeed.


A satyr. How rare. Evelyn had thought them all dead. His hand rested on the arm of the giant tree creature, feeling the texture of the wood. It would sell well. A smirk formed on Evelyn’s face. From what he could tell, Argeus was drawing the shinsoo around him and using it to empower himself. Potential. He could see it. And Evelyn wasn’t one to let opportunities sail by. It would be such a waste to see the last of Satyrs fall to FUG.


“You said your name was Argeus, yes?” Evelyn purred to the drunken Satyr. “You’re not going anywhere until my shop is fixed. Understand~?”


It was mostly Argeus’s fault that his wall was in such state anyway. Seating the giant tree creature upright, Evelyn continued. “How about it? Work for me in a bit, help me fix my wall, and I’ll help you find the friends you need to take down FUG.”


The spy was still there, probably listening to everything that was being said. How fun. First he found a cat with special eyes and now he found a rare, supposed to be extinct tree. His eyes gleamed and a thrill of adrenaline rushed through him. Yes. This was what Evelyn enjoyed. Playing with fire. Guides weren’t supposed to lead people down on paths they couldn’t walk, but what was the fun in that?


Besides, it wasn’t as if Argeus couldn’t walk it. Evelyn licked his lips, before winking at Ran playfully. “What better present to give to Prime than a little more excitement in his life? Don’t you think so, Mad Dog?”


@Azure Sky


@SleepyBuddha


@Rantos

 

[St. Boethius]

Argeus felt himself hosted up by the man he saw on the screen. He seemed to be the owner of the shop as he was very concerned about the build Argeus and Ran just came out of..... what were they doing again? Oh right Argeus damaged the man's property he supposed it was his duty to help the man however he could. Argeus was barely coherent at this point, trees don't do well with alcohol, but he thought he saw some dark butterflies a few seconds ago.... perhaps that was another hallucination?


Argeus looked down at the man when he said he would help Argeus take down FUG, after what he just told the mad dog he was surprised to be gaining an ally so quickly, " If you wish to aid me in my revenge then I will gladly assist you however I can.should you decide against helping me I will still assist you however I can. We Satyr were once a very proud and honorable race so my word is my bond." Argeus told the shop keeper before grasping his left arm firmly and with a grunt he ripped the arm out of his body and placed it beside the shop owner. The wood in his arm would easily patch the hole he made and still have enough wood left over to make a small fortune with. " Take that as an apology and a sign of our agreement." Argeus said before he began taking in huge amounts of Shinsoo from the area and the stub began growing his arm back from his gesture just a moment ago.


@QuirkyAngel @Azure Sky @Rantos

 

[Azure Sky]

Announcement: the events at Ophidian (20th Floor) and those regarding Hex do not take place at the same time. The Ophidian events currently take place before the main storyline, while those regarding Hex take place at the same time with the main storyline.


@QuirkyAngel


@Rantos


@SleepyBuddha


@The One Eyed Bandit

 

[Rantos]

Ran

Guess who's back!
​

Ran happily took the flask back from his new found tree friend and drank what was left of his backup emergency flask. He began laughing and clapping off rhythm, applauding Argeus for his quick understanding. This was the type of stuff that would get the common man fired from there job at FUG. He told Argeus how to better take down FUG, and that was while he was sober, imagine what horrible things he would say while drunk. Now, while the normal FUG lackey would get fired and killed fives times till Sunday for behavior like this, Ran was a bit of a different case. Argeus was strong, sure. But as he was, Argeus was just another weed in the garden compared to Ran the farmer. The only question now was, would Argeus grow big enough to cause FUG any problems, and would Ran have to be the one to pluck him...


But that was the future, and Ran would rather focus on the drunken present! A peculiarly familiar smell crossed under Ran's nose. The drunkard rose with whiplash inducing speed, he sniffed the air like a blood hound. He sniffed, and sniffed, until his nose found the origin of the sent. The suave, sexy, orgasmic sent. Ran gazed straight into the darkness, straight into the eyes of an unlucky lover.


"Moto Saka." Ran spoke under his breath.


Ran would address his male model lover later. Right now Evelyn had finally stepped onto the scene, mad about the whole "breaking the shop wall" thing. He began talking to the goat, a conversation that for the most part both uninterested Ran and did not involve him. At least not until Evelyn made a joke about Helios needing some more excitement in his life in the form or Argeus. Now, Ran was not exactly in his right mind. He was drunk. So he did not take Evelyn's joke in the intended way.


"Now Evelyn." Ran was side by side, arm wrapped around Evelyn, faster then the eye could blink. Ran tightened his grip on Evelyn's shoulder before continuing. "You know that the only excitement Helios needs in his life, is me." Ran got closer, nearly pressing his lips onto Evelyn's ear. "We both know I would destroy this floor with the tree man inside far sooner then I would let him replace me." Ran backed away and took his hand off of Evelyn. Never before had Ran felt so threatened.


"Boy! That was out of character now wasn't it? I need to do something extremely homosexual to balance that out. Catch ya on the flip side Evelyn!" Now ran had a new mission, his prestigious Moto needed him. With no intention of letting Moto get away, Ran sprinted at full speed towards the darkness were he smelt his slick haired lover. Using Shinsoo to increase his speed to inescapable levels, Ran launched himself into the darkness. Ran had also happened to launch himself headfirst into a tree, only three feet away from his school boy crush. The tree cracked under the pressure of Ran hitting it at full force. Ran slowly slid down the tree, and upon reaching the bottom turned towards Moto and uttered his award winning words.


"I say we take this time to do something...n-a-u-g-h-t-y"


@Azure Sky @QuirkyAngel @SleepyBuddha

 

[Azure Sky]

20th Floor- [PAST]


Unfortunately for Ran, the Moto Saka he saw was merely an illusion generated by a device, which Moto placed on the tree the moment he realized that Cerberus spotted him. He then flew upwards at high speed using his special umbrella which he took from his Arms Inventory.


"Secret Technique: Mary Poppins Escape Arts"


As he was in the air, Moto put his umbrella back in the inventory and generated a pair of Shinsoo butterfly wings. He flew through the sky at high speed until he reached the residential area of the floor. He then quickly went to the appartment that he owned on that Floor and took a shower while using different products than usual, to change his smell. He then changed to causal clothes (t-shirt, jeans, snickers), changed his hairstyle to a messy one, and took off his glasses.


After he was done, Moto existed the appartment and immersed himself within the crowd. He needed a better plan and a different style of approach.


@Rantos

 

[QuirkyAngel]

13th Floor, Middle Area, Queen's Diner

“Is this it?”


“Yes, Mr. Wicker. It’s the item you requested.”


Evelyn ran his hand over the human-sized box laid on the table in front of him, as if caressing what was inside. His false serpentine eyes glowed in delight. Across the table from Evelyn, a hooded figure watched him closely though the person made no move to interfere with the Irregular’s actions. A cautious individual, Evelyn noted amusedly. They were both seated in a private booth of a fairly dim-lit restaurant, called Queen's Diner.


“So it’s finally completed. Excellent~” Evelyn lifted his gaze towards the hooded figure across from him. “There were no difficulties, I hope.”


“I am not at liberty to discuss the details, Mr. Wicker.”


“Really!" Evelyn huffed. "I’ve been a doing business with the Workshop for nearly a century now. Surely there are some details you can share with me. Satyr wood doesn't come cheap you know.”


The hooded figure stiffened noticeably. “We appreciate the materials Ophidian provides our researchers, but there are certain secrets that must be kept within the Workshop. Knowledge not even our business partners are privy to." Pause. Then the figure's pale hand clenched. "I've sworn an oath.”


Evelyn mentally rolled his eyes. He’d expected as much from a Disciple of the Workshop. Still, it didn’t hurt to ask. A playful smile adorned his face. “I know that~I was only joking with you, My Dear.”


The stony silence that followed told Evelyn that the Disciple did not appreciate the joke. Evelyn chuckled. With a snap of his fingers, his armor inventory floated beside him. The large, ancient head cracked its eyelids open, revealing glowing amber eyes.

​

Then it opened its mouth and sucked up the human-sized box, compressing it and drawing it into the inventory. Once the item was stored, the lips clamped shut and the head vanished.


“A pleasure doing business with the Workshop as always,”


The disciple nodded.


Then hooded figure got up and left the restaurant, leaving most her food untouched. Evelyn watched the Workshop Disciple’s retreating figure, his lips twisting into a smirk, before picking up his fork and knife to continue eating. He and Argeus were climbing down the tower at a fairly quick pace. They didn’t want to miss out on the floor test after all. But, even so, it was nice to take a break every once in a while. Relax. Enjoy a bit of good food.


Evelyn had had some business to take care of, so he told Argus that the Satyr could do whatever he wanted in the middle area until he was finished. And, now that Evelyn acquired his newest toy, he was finished. Therefore the dark haired irregular turned his pocket on visible mode and sent Argeus his coordinates, along with a single question: ‘Ready to go to the 12th floor?’


@The One Eyed Bandit


@SleepyBuddha