Realistic or Modern Arabian Nights {Fyuri x XiaoLu}

[DeerPrince]

Ehsan
As per usual, Ehsan wasn't particularly sure what was going on around him. Like everything else, this whole... mess... had started innocently. It was supposed to just be a game, nothing more. Games were supposed to be relaxing. Fun. An escape from reality. And this sense, it was an escape from reality, literally. Games were a source of entertainment to relieve stress, not some life or death situation.

The NerveGear technology was the first of it's kind, and naturally, everyone had flocked to go and buy it. The first few months had been an absolute bliss. After work, the first thing the young man had gone to was his NerveGear. It was so real. Everything was so intricately and painstakingly decorated, and it provided a window from his bleak, mundane life. Ehsan supposed that was why so many others had bought it, and it certainly explained the VR's popularity. It had certainly helped him escape his own responsibilities as the big baby he was, when it had lasted.

The whole point of the game had been to level up on the dungeons and to find the genie. In the game description, the genie had promised to grant a single wish to whichever party or player reached him first. At first, everyone had been excited. Many had innocently dreamed of wishing for silly things like becoming the king of the VR, or to be able to fly. The first group of players that had reached the genie first had been a infamous group of PKers, and that was also when the plot hole was discovered. The guild, Laughing Coffin, (because I'm unoriginal, lolol) had wished to be the rulers of the VR world, and while that wish itself wouldn't have been out of the blue, it was the fact that they wished for everyone to remain trapped inside it. No one could get out unless they reached the top and beat Laughing Coffin.

When the announcement had first been made, Ehsan had laughed for a solid ten minutes, thinking it was some horribly twisted joke. And then, he had looked around and saw the grief stricken, consternated faces of the other players, and he realized laughing had probably not been the correct reaction to the system announcement. Then reality, which ironically was taking place in a virtual reality, set in. It was also in that moment that they realized they were completely and utterly pooped. How were they supposed to get to the highest floor? Laughing Coffin was a massive group, and they had many of the high skilled players, albeit, they seemed to be slightly mentally messed up if all they wanted to do was kill others.

It had only been a few months into this new development, but already hundreds of players had perished at the wave of an HP bar. No one knew for certain if these players truly did die in real life, but no one was desperate enough to take the plunge. But with all those deaths, they had barely even made it up to the first boss. It seemed everyone was just as clueless as he was when it came to beating this game.

But it seemed some older, more experienced players had decided to call together a volunteer army to try and beat the first boss. The meeting was supposed to be today at the market forms.

Arima

This was Arima’s first VR. Or first game in general. Arima was pretty sure this wasn’t how usual VR’s went. And she had been amazed to have survived this far into the game, though it wasn’t as if she did very much within the game. For the first few months of the announcement, the young woman had followed a group of older players and leveled up with them, but after one of them had tragically died, they had disbanded and dispersed. Now, she was back on her own.

Unlike other people, the young woman didn’t mind this change. It was different. Though it would be nice to get back to her old life, this was completely different from anything she had ever experienced before. The world building and the attention to detail was absolutely stunning. It was as if she were walking through a fantasy book or dreaming, and she would wake up any moment.

Moving past the main market place, the female couldn’t help but stop to admire some of the wares of the various red colored tents, clothes spread across the dank cobblestone streets, NPCs hawking out their wares as players pushed by. The warm sun basked her bare shoulders as Arima stood there, relishing in the artificial warmth, staring at the carved daggers, the little jeweled tassels dangling at her slender waist with the slightest brushings of wind.

It seemed as if everyone had settled into their own lives after the initial hysteria. Everyone had been terrified and confused when the announcements had just been made. No one knew what was going to happen or how they were going to cope, but it seemed that human nature had forced them to adapt and life continued on as normal. Each person went about their lives with the same routine, and everything just became…. habitual. Accustomed. There were days that passed when Arima didn’t even think about her old life, and it was as if it had become a lifetime away.

But they needed to get out. Her parents were probably beside themselves with worry and so were her friends. There was no way they could sustain this lifestyle and stay trapped within the game for the long run. They all had their own lives to return to.

Brushing past other players, Arima stopped at the gathering mass of people as they waited for instructions on a volunteer boss clearing army. Arima had joined for the heck of it. If she could do something meaningful for others, she’d die trying, at the very least. She wanted to be able to fight for those who couldn’t and free them so they could at least go back and join their families.​

Fable

 

[Fable]

Sakina
The day the rules of the VR game changed, with the announcement that players could no longer log out and that death within the game now meant death in the real world, Sakina had initially doubted it was real. She believed that it was just a bug, or maybe an exploit some hacker had taken advantage of that prevented them from logging out themselves. She figured that once her family realized what had happened through the news they would have come and disconnected her manually. It never happened.

After the days turned into weeks, it was no longer an insane idea that they were all truly trapped within the VR of the game. The VR world was set to real time, so there was a true day and night cycle as well as seasons. As real as this world could seem at times, Sakina knew it was all just code. What she felt when she would touch a bolt of cloth, the warm breeze, even the taste of food, it was all just a bunch of code. At one point she even suffered from an existential crisis.

It had taken her some time to recover from the dark path her thoughts had gone. Eventually she decided that she would fight to regain control over her life. The fact that a group of horrible players had basically taken control of the game and become tyrants enraged her. She had always despised PKers in the other MMOs she had played, but this was a new low for them. Without access to GMs, it was up to the players themselves to overcome this situation, though now there was the very real risk that they could die.

She had gone about this as a solo player despite her class not being very effective alone. It was probably thanks to her experience in previous games that she managed to survive as long as she did. At one point she tried to take on more than she could handle and would have died if Basri hadn't intervened when he did. While Basri didn't seem like the friendliest individual, they ended up grouping together since that encounter.

When she had heard about others trying to form a volunteer army to try and take on a boss Sakina decided to check it out with Basri. She weaved her way through the crowd in the market area, trying to see who was trying to organize this whole thing. She had a bad feeling that such a meeting might attract unwanted attention.


Basri
Basri was severely pissed off the day the server announced the changes to the VR game. A part of him had hoped that the game developers would have prevented such a thing from happening, or would have at least tried to resolve the problem. However, there was only silence. The GMs had vanished entirely and no one was able to log out of the game. After a few days of being stuck logged into the game, he realized this was going to become his new reality, just as it would be for all the other trapped players.

He had to push aside worrying about the real world and focus on surviving this world now in order to return to his life. The game was vast and there seemed to be no real hope or answer to escape this game for a long time. Everyone was too busy trying to stay alive against The Laughing Coffin guild who had become the rulers of this world with a simple wish to an NPC of the game; the elusive genie.

He ended up deciding to be a solo-player since grouping up with others might hold him back from progressing quickly within the game. He needed to become a strong player. It was a chance encounter that he had come across Sakina. He believed she had a death wish taking on mobs as a solo-player of her class. However, she did surprisingly well for a low damage class. He intervened when he realized that she would die at the rate of HP she was losing. Ever since then she had followed him around, an ever stubborn companion he couldn't get rid of. She eventually grew on him though and they had been partying together since.

Now he was being dragged by Sakina to a meeting in the market place. The players who before had done nothing to help progress the game were now finally taking an interest in trying to work together to take on a boss. He doubted many would actually put themselves into danger, but he went with Sakina anyway. Maybe they would be able to share information about what each player had learned, find something of value to escape this world.

Sakina held fast to his hand as they weaved through the crowd, trying to get as close as she could to the ones who had called for this meeting. She politely apologized as they bumped into another player, a girl who appeared to be a magic user.

( DeerPrince )

 

[DeerPrince]

Ehsan

Slowly Ehsan began to navigate through the heavily populated market place, pushing through players and NPCs alike. It was amazing to think that such an environment had simply been created through layers and layers of code. That everything he felt, tasted, sensed, was simply a reaction set off by a chain of different codes. Everything in the world had been created with such painstaking detail, and it was obvious that whoever had done the job had poured in much more than just time, but effort and heart. In a funny way, being here wasn't as bad as he had expected. In the beginning, Ehsan had been so homesick, he had barely been able to eat or sleep, and when he was awake, all his thoughts had been centered around not being in the real world. The more he thought about it, the more he worried and panicked, and the more he worried and panicked, the more he thought about it. It was as if his whole being had been consumed by that single worry.

But things weren't that different here and compared to real life. Ehsan didn't know what the fuss was all about. It was as if the thought of dying was a new concept, but it wasn't like they didn't die in real life. There was no philosophical insight within that observation. People died constantly in the real world, and no one baited an eye, so what made it different with a VRMMO? Was it the fact that they were all young, or the fact that they were unsuspecting victims that made it tragic? Or perhaps the announcement given at the beginning of the game that made the inevitable string of fate loom closer? Or it was the fact that there was seemingly no way out of this death trap. They were stuck here, wandering aimlessly like headless chickens (is that a saying? I swore I've heard people use it before....). For the first time, many people would have to take the current situation into their own hands instead of relying on the government to take any sort of action. That was probably the thing that caused the mass hysteria. But after a little while, the initial fear had died away for Ehsan. His mother had always said he was too lenient and relaxed for anything. He was too easy going and too accepting of situations and circumstances. But in this case, the young man didn't see it as a bad thing. This was what had allowed him to regain his wits and move on. Sitting there and just worrying wasn't going to rescue him or other players.

Now as the young man was pushing through the crammed marketplace, filled with various aromas of spices and incenses, taking care not to bump into any of the stalls, which were really just wooden boxes with a taller frame shield by vibrant and variegated cloth roofs, worn tables bowing under the weight of their sparkling goods and trinkets flooding the forum. Clearly some of the players were headed in the same direction as Ehsan, their character avatar displays armed with their weapons and gear, though no one paid him any mind. He wasn't remarkably big, or strong, or tall. The silvery haired male just kind of fit in perfectly with the crowd, his being blending in with the same unfamiliar, faceless avatar beside him. The class he had picked, Nahib, wasn't popular or noticed. It was very much a jack of all trades sort of class, where he had more learnable skills open to him, but he couldn't hone any ones, give one or two, which made it undesirable to most. And for many, it made him undesirable as a partner or party member, which would explain why the rambunctious player had mostly stuck to himself for the past few weeks they had been trapped inside the game.

But now, this was his chance to shine. This was it. This was his chance to play the superhero. The knight in shining armor. The time for him to fall flat on his face at the most climatic moment, and make a fool out of himself. Oh he had never been more ready. "Um.. Excuse me? I was wondering if you already had a party? We're supposed to get into parties of four for the boss raid.. and it seems like I don't have any friends...?" The young man perked up at the site of two more newcomers. (wink wonk your characters lol)

Arima

Arima was torn. She didn't know what to do. Was this a good idea? Was it a bad idea? In real life, the young woman was terrified of her own shadow, so why did she think it was a good idea to go on a suicide mission? Or perhaps it was the fact that this was a virtual reality that got her nerves pumping. Even though everyone could see her face, they knew her only through her avatar name, and through this, despite how real this whole virtual world had become, the young woman could still hide behind her mask of anonymity. In a very twisted way, perhaps, it was almost reminiscent to a fresh start. Most likely no one knew what she was like, no one knew who she was, and for the first time, she could craft herself into whoever she wanted to be. It gave her a sense of empowerment, almost. But beyond that, in simple human psychology, the fact that this was a virtual reality made the thought of death seem much less imminent. As if she could trump it and escape. It wasn't like in real life, where there were no monsters, but at the same time, the thought of death was still very real here. It just seemed further away. Like an indirect consequence of an action.

But now, as she stood there amidst tens of other players, Armia could feel her new found confidence beginning to waver. Who did she think she had become? A superhero? Someone indestructible? She was going to die right here, but even now, in a moment of crisis, her desire to help others won over her fear. If she could help other players leave the game, or at least try to get one step closer to unlocking the level, the young woman didn't mind. At the moment, she was able bodied. She could do something about the current situation, but some other players might not be able to. If she and others didn't do anything about it, that would mean that everyone would remain trapped in this death game. If they didn't at least take the initiative to help, nothing would ever get done, even if it meant that they died. At the very least, they could set an example and inspire others to replace them.

Fidgeting with the curved dagger blade of her Kipan, Armia took comfort in the intricate designs of the blade's sheath. It had become a little habit of hers, running her slender fingers across the broad weapon to try and sooth her frayed nerves. It was the repetition and familiarity it provided. Startled out of her thoughts though as someone bumped into her, the young woman looked up, startled, cerulean blue cesspools open wide in surprise, "no, you're fine!" she managed to stutter out, face flushing in embarrassment.

"Um.. are you guys here for the boss party raid too?" It was a weak attempt at small talk, but then again, such an awkward potato was no good at such socially demanding things.


Fable

 

[Fable]

Health: 100%

Mana: 100%

Health: 100%

Mana: 100%

Sakina & Basri

"Um.. are you guys here for the boss party raid too?"

Sakina looked the girl she had bumped into over, taking in her appearance as well as the weapon in the girl's hand. While thet way it was being held didn't show a direct threat, with being in such close quarters, if this girl was part of the Laughing Coffin guild or an ally of theirs then they would be in danger.

She was fairly certain that the guild have probably overheard about this meeting. The question was if is they would be bothered by it or found it a threat. It was just a boss and was still a very long way from the final boss of the entire game, and even then they had probably made sure no one could get that far.

"Yes, are you here for it as well?"

"Um.. Excuse me? I was wondering if you already had a party? We're supposed to get into parties of four for the boss raid.. and it seems like I don't have any friends...?"

While Sakina was focused on the girl she had bumped into, Basri's attention was grabbed by another player who called out in their direction. He looked around trying to see if perhaps the guy was inquiring to someone else, but seeing the direct gaze at them, Basri deduced it was them he was speaking to.

"I'm already in a party with this one," he said pointing towards Sakina, "so if we need a four-person party we still need members."

Sakina turned her attention away from the girl to look at the other newcomer Basri was speaking to. She was pretty adept at identifying a player's class and this person looked like a rogue type class. Her eyes narrowed at him skeptically for a moment. Before turning back towards the girl.

"Are you in a party yet?" Sakina asked the magic user.

She wasn't going to trust either of these new players, not with the foreboding feeling she had. However, until they revealed they were an actual threat, Sakina would just stay on her guard.

Basri looked down at Sakina, then back towards the guy and then the girl and shrugged.

"Guess we'll form a party."

Basri sent out the party invitations to the unknown players since it'd be a quick way for everyone to learn each other's names.

( DeerPrince )

 

[DeerPrince]

Ehsan & Arima​

The young woman wasn't good with people, and for the most part of her life, she had hidden behind the shadows of others. Not many took notice of her because of how much she kept to herself in fear of messing up, but that wouldn't ensure her survival in this game. That was the first and foremost priority. There was no one to hide behind here, and if they all wanted the best chance at making it out of this game alive, she would need to be as big a help as possible. Perhaps this would be the first time she had been forced to change. Arima had wanted to push herself, expand her comfort zone, but during her work life, she had limited herself and essentially been locked into her environment.

The girl Arima had picked to talk to was breathtakingly beautiful, and had unforgettably striking features. And the young woman couldn't help but feel intimidated, her newfound courage slowly ebbing. This girl was completely out of her league. Of course she had picked the one player who looked like they had their shit together (lol, i'm on my mac, so no filter worries XD). There was no way someone like her, who looked like an expert, would ever want to party with a greenie such as herself. It was obvious how awkward and uncomfortable the female felt. She was gripping her weapon more like a teddy bear than something lethal that could be utilized to kill. How was she going to survive a boss raid like this if she couldn't even talk to someone close to her age? What sort of mess had she gotten herself into this time?

"Yep.. I'm here for the boss raid too... uh! Oh, I'm Arima, pleasure to meet you!" The dark haired female near squeaked, offering a hand for a shake. No one would be able to guess she was in her twenties. Arima had the social graces of a six year old at this rate. Everyone had simply told her she would grow out of this phase, that experience would help her improve her communication skills, or her inability to, but the female was still waiting for such a day to come.

Health:100%
Mana: 100%

Perhaps it was how naive Arima was, but she couldn't help but trust the two players before her. They both looked so cool and professional.. and so utterly natural in this setting, completely unlike her. Offering a small, hesitant smile at the girl before her, "Sorry this is my first boss raid, so I'm not really sure how things work yet."

Ehsan could feel the other player's scrutinizing gaze on his skin. The young man wanted to sigh inwardly. No one had told him playing as a rouge class would bring this much suspicion. This wasn't real life, anyway.. It wasn't as if he were a thief in society, far from it. He was a productive member in society, held a job, and had had a decent education. But alas, he did quite like playing this class. It didn't give him the sense of limitation, and it had a little more wiggle room compared to the other classes. However, with it's merits, Ehsan couldn't quite specialize in any particular skill like the other players, which meant, while he had access to multiple, there was no way to develop them any further than any given level. But for now, the blonde would keep his distance from the girl, especially with such a foreboding presence around her.

"That would be nice, thank you," The young man rubbed at his neck before offering a nervous chuckle. When the little invitation popped up on his screen, his amber orbs scanned the transparent screen quickly before selecting accept, listening to the little extra sound of the button being pressed. "Basri, Sakina, and Arima?" He echoed, reading the players names out loud from the invitation list.

"I'm going to take a wild swing and say you're Basri?" The younger player smiled, before looking up as a set of portal doors opened, his cat like eyes observing and memorizing each detail.

Health: 100%
Mana: 100%

"Welcome, players! I am sure you all are aware that this gathering is for a boss raid." A player began, decked out in shimmering silver armor, flanked by a few of his entourage members, dressed in a similar fashion.

Ah, everything would start soon. Ehsan could only hope they would all make it out alive.

Fable

 

[Fable]

Health: 100%

Mana: 100%

Health: 100%

Mana: 100%

Sakina & Basri

Sakina patiently waited for the other girl to reply. She looked like she found the conversation a bit uncomfortable, but she didn't emit a threatening aura. Sakina worried she'd seemed a bit mean in her tone or appearance. She'd been told often enough that she tended to make people want to avoid her with just a glance, even if it wasn't on purpose. However, the first impression had already been made, and as much as the girl seemed bothered, there wasn't much Sakina could probably do to make the girl be more at ease.

"Yep.. I'm here for the boss raid too... uh! Oh, I'm Arima, pleasure to meet you! Sorry this is my first boss raid, so I'm not really sure how things work yet."

Sakina blinked for a moment as she looked at Arima's offered hand before shaking it with just the right amount of strength, not to firm and not to soft. It was a business shake, one she had learned from her father.

"My name is Sakina. This is Basri. So, this is your first raid? If you're a magic user, they'll probably put you at a ranged support position. You have healing spells right? You probably won't be placed at the front if you have a decent casting range."

She paused for a moment and cleared her throat as she tried to halt herself from rambling on about possibilities of placement. She wasn't going to promise Arima that there was no risk involved in such a fight, but she did sort of try to imply that where she could end up would increase her chances of not taking the brunt of the damage when the fight was initiated.

"That would be nice, thank you, Basri, Sakina, and Arima? I'm going to take a wild swing and say you're Basri?"

Basri nodded affirmation at Ehsan's 'guess.' "Leaving your name as Ehsan, I assume. Have you participated in an event like this?"

Basri's questioning was interrupted as a portal opened and a booming and cocky voice called out.

"Welcome, players! I am sure you all are aware that this gathering is for a boss raid.

"Oh great... them" Sakina sighed irritably. She'd encountered a few players dressed in a similar fashion and found them to be extremely vain and boorish while trying to pretend as though they were important. Basri had KO-ed a few in a duel when they got rowdy in one of the village inns.

"Well, they do have the resources and numbers."

"We'll see. Sometimes I think they just like that armor because it's shiny rather than useful."

( DeerPrince )

 

[DeerPrince]

Ehsan & Arima

Nothing about Arima spoke of grace. If anything, she was perhaps the most socially inept person who had ever walked the Earth. Simply, she didn't really know how to express her emotions well enough for fear of coming off as "creepy". Arima admired the other girl, she seemed older, much more mature and put together. Sakina was probably the sort of kid her parents dreamed about having rather than their current scatterbrained daughter. It only took her a little bit to warm up though.

Arima was relieved that the other girl took her hand in a firm shake. In her own case, there was always an awkward moment that stretched far too long where she over contemplated wether the outstretched hand was a shake or a high five. Just the mere memories of those moments was enough to draw out her cringe.

With a small relieved smile, "I hope so," she chuckled. "I'm not much good at actually fighting.. Lending support might be the only thing that I'll be able to do that won't render completely useless. I'll have your backs then," the girl nodded along excitedly. Her worst fear was freezing up in the moment and ending up as being completely useless in the fight. "Basri? Nice to meet you!"

Ehsan paused for a moment, "sort of. I've done smaller scale boss raids. This is my first big and official one. You?"

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a portal opening, and the masses of players silenced into a deadly hush, expectant faces staring at the raised platform as an

Health:100%
Mana: 100%

arrogant voice called out to them.

Ehsan recognized them instantly. There were only a few guilds who dressed in such a flamboyant and ostentatious manner. Only cocky bastards like them with enough money could wear a full suit of amor, and for the most part, these players looked much more flashy than their actual abilities and purpose. They were, in some ways, like the athletes with the best equipment but the worst performance, but still had the most confidence.

Looking over, the young male could tell by Sakina's sour expression that she wasn't their biggest fan either. They had all probably had a few.. less than wonderful encounters with the guild. Most of the members thought of themselves as deserving, and more often than not, could be spotted around picking on younger, less experienced players. But it did make sense for them to arrange this raid. They were one of the biggest guilds, so by nature, they had the most resources and information, and this raid could help them access more boss drops.

"Please, for the boss raid, stay in the groups you have chosen. Each group will be responsible for a portion of the dungeon and any monsters within that square. Our guild members will head the attack. Should anything happen, please have your teleportation crystals ready."

Health: 100%
Mana: 100%

Beside them, Arima fumbled clumsily for her dark, sapphire blue transportation crystal, sliding it into the loop on her leather belt as Ehsan slide his viridescent green one into his pants pocket. "You guys ready, then? What are your ideas on a group formation?"

Fable

 

[Fable]

Health: 100%

Mana: 100%

Health: 100%

Mana: 100%

Sakina & Basri

Sakina noted that Arima seemed to relax somewhat after she explained the positioning. Since she herself was more of a support class, and Basri's class wasn't considered to have high DPS, they would probably be stuck dealing with trash mobs.

"Please, for the boss raid, stay in the groups you have chosen. Each group will be responsible for a portion of the dungeon and any monsters within that square. Our guild members will head the attack. Should anything happen, please have your teleportation crystals ready."

Sakina's aqua teleportation crystal was already resting against her hip. She had asked a craftsman player to allow it to clip onto her hip scarf for easy access because her class skills required too much movement to try and dig it out of her inventory. Basri's crimson teleportation crystal was attached in a similar manner. He had previously just shoved it into a pocket, but once when he was knocked over, it fell out so he opted to secure it.

"You guys ready, then? What are your ideas on a group formation?"

"Hm, two support classes and two medium DPS classes. Basri and you," she said pointing to Ehsan," can take front positions. I'll do both DPS and buffs. Arima can be support. We're going to get sent to deal with the trash mobs most likely since those shiny jerks want as much glory and loot as they can get. Basri, which pet are you using?"

"The desert puma. Not sure the environment of the boss room though, but she's the highest damage pet I have tamed right now."

Sakina nodded then looked at Arima and then Ehsan, "That plan work for you two?"

"If you've not in a party yet, come see Balthazar," the guild leader directed, pointing to the silvered armored man beside him, "He'll take solo players and place you into parties. No one should go solo into this raid. If you do not have health or mana pots, Jeanine our alchemist can provide you with some. They will be limited to 5 HP and 5 MP pots per person so we can try and ensure everyone has something."

"Well, at least they aren't being too stringy on the regen items. You two have pots?"

( DeerPrince )

 

[DeerPrince]

Ehsan & Arima

Arima was at the very least, relieved to know that the rest of her party at least knew what they were doing. Had they all been as scatterbrained as she, it would have been a very different disaster. Now, her only job was managing not to mess up. Arima didn't want to drag the whole team down as a burden, no matter how much the task daunted her.

This would be the first time she was fighting in such a small group, even if it would mostly just consist of lending support. Before this, she had always been surrounded by a large group of other, more experienced players, and from there, she'd still been close to the middle of the back of the pack. Merely there for numbers.

It soothed her frayed nerves knowing that they would mostly be dealing with the lower leveled monsters with the main groups taking down the boss. It meant their risk of dying would be slimmer, as cowardly of a thought as it was.

Bobbing her head in agreement, "I know a lot of healing spells, so I'll take care of that." At least she sounded confident, her voice betraying the anxiety she felt inside. Fake it till you make it, right?

Health:100%
Mana: 100%

It seemed so cool to the younger female, that Basri could tame animals. If only she had picked that role instead, but it was too late now. And there were aspects she adored about this class.

Ehsan consented too, "that sounds good to me as well, but I'm warning you that I'm absolute shit at long distance. All my weapons are gong to be short distance. But then Basri and I will be up at the front, Arima at the rear, and you at the middle?" He confirmed, eyebrows raised in the question.

There wasn't anything about the plan that he really wanted to change. "However, if something does go awry, or you need support, give us a holler or something... And just keep everything close? I don't want either of us to get spread out too thin.. I suppose if it gets to the worst of the worst, just teleport out? I don't want anyone getting unnecessarily injured."

Health: 100%
Mana: 100%

Looking up at the front of the crowd, amber toned eyes trying squinting in the bright light as it reflected off of the armor of the guild, "I've got a few pots, so I'm good."

Arima gave a small smile, rubbing her hand against her neck awkwardly, her features smoothing out, softening the edges, "What are those again..?"

Fable ​

 

[Fable]

Health: 100%

Mana: 100%

Health: 100%

Mana: 100%

Sakina & Basri

"I know a lot of healing spells, so I'll take care of that."

Sakina gave Arima a small nod to let her know she heard her statement. As long as Arima didn't try to flee when things got tough, they just might survive this whole encounter. Her own class had strong buff and healing abilities, leaving her as a weaker DPS class. However, since the girl seemed nervous, she figured delegating the healing role to her might work out better.

"That sounds good to me as well, but I'm warning you that I'm absolute shit at long distance. All my weapons are gong to be short distance. But then Basri and I will be up at the front, Arima at the rear, and you at the middle?"

Basri and Sakina both nodded at the question, almost in sync.

"However, if something does go awry, or you need support, give us a holler or something... And just keep everything close? I don't want either of us to get spread out too thin.. I suppose if it gets to the worst of the worst, just teleport out? I don't want anyone getting unnecessarily injured."

"What are those again..?" Arima asked.

"I can use ranged weapons, so I'll try and cover both you and Basri as needed since you'll both be doing melee damage. As far as teleporting, I'd honestly not trust that would work in the boss room. So, if that doesn't work, just be ready to flee. Oh Arima, if you get a mob on you, you know about the kiting method right? Just... run around in a circle leading it after you until we can kill it. The AI's on the trash mobs isn't the same as the mini-bosses and bosses. And... pots are potions... that regen your HP and MP."

"Sakina," Basri interrupted, "It looks as though the raid is teleporting into the dungeon." Without a word, Basri produced a few pots for both mana and health and offered them to Arima. Since Sakina had focused on alchemy crafting, she could make better regeneration items than those sold in the shops. So they always had a stockpile in their inventory.

Those that had gathered for the raid slowly made their way through the large open portal that would move them to the area right outside of the boss room. Sakina and Basri casually entered the portal, a flash of deep blue light and then they were staring at a large set of metal double doors with rusted spikes protruding from them. Basri whistled and a large desert puma spawned, almost large enough to ride on.

"Large doors, maybe a behemoth type of boss then."

( DeerPrince )

 

[DeerPrince]

Ehsan & Arima

Arima couldn't help the nerves that fizzed in her stomach. Everyone else seemed fifty times more composed than she. Why had she even thought picking up NerveGear would have been a good idea? She wouldn't ever flee though, abandon those who took her in? That would be beyond cowardly. Arima would always be a better follower than a leader, and she didn't mind whatever role they delegated her as long as she felt she would be able to handle it. Healing for the most part, or lending support, didn't require too much quick thinking and switching of weapons. Nor did it require too much self-assurance in movement. All Arima had to do was focus on the healing spells, something she had memorized since the beginning of the games, pouring through a thick index of worn parchment pages at the ancient library. Healer had been her role in her previous group as well, considering she had trouble thinking quickly on the spot. Each time they tried to give her a chance at the actual fighting, she had completely blanked, either from self induced pressure to do well, or from imaginary pressure of her group.

Health: 100%
Mana: 100%

Arima had heard of the "dead" zones, where in certain dungeons, they would get locked in until either the player died, or the boss was defeated. For the most part, Arima tried to keep her expression neutral, not wanting to be labeled as a chicken, since no one else seemed particularly fazed. Ehsan just took the information in stride, and it wasn't nearly as daunting a prospect, since he had fought in a few lower level dungeons where there had been dead zones. As long as no one was singled out or got separated from the group, Ehsan didn't have to worry about one of them not making it out.

"Right," Arima gave a small sheepish smile, a flush of embarrassment seeping across her cheeks, accepting the pots and setting them in her inventory. "Thank you." Fixing her gaze onto Sakina, the young woman nodded, "I'll be okay. I should be able to hold off some of the lower level minions." Despite the paradox of her usual personality, Arima had always been independent, even if she was on the quieter, shyer side. She despised troubling others, and when it came down to it, the female was as stubborn as an old mule in her convictions.

Both she and Ehsan's heads snapped up as Basri mentioned the raid starting. It did little to soothe Arima's rapidly beating heart, and she watched Basri and Sakina teleport, fluorescent azure light radiating from the teleportation crystals before they disappeared into the raid. Ehsan held up his own crystal, giving the younger girl a reassuring smile before he too vanished, leaving Arima scrabbling for the crystal and moving forward to join her group.

Health: 100%
Mana: 100%

The first thing that Ehsan noticed was the darkness of the room, and the musty smell of moist earth and wet rocks. It took his feline-like eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness before he could see anything. All around, there was sound of other players chittering nervously, discussing last minute strategies, and his fingers moved almost habitually to his Shamshir, the cool hilt of the curved, slender blade soothing even his own nerves. The thought of dying didn't bode well with him, despite its lackluster appearance on his face. The sight of the large desert puma, his amber eyes almost glowing in the darkness. Ehsan nodded in agreement at Sakina's statement, large observant eyes simply drinking in their surroundings, memorizing each detail.

It wouldn't be long before the doors opened, and it wasn't long before the chatter quieted down to a pin drop silence, waiting for the start of the boss raid.

Fable ​