ToG In Character Chat

[OverconfidentMagi]

Nyra didn't move the whole time as the Ranker walked in and explained what the regulars would have to do for the next part of the test. She'd taken her hand away from her teammates the second after they'd been teleported just so they didn't feel it shake. Just like the last time, being teleported had hurt like hell. It was all she could do to keep herself still until Oisin moved away, when she promptly fell to her knees.


Dammit, why did no one else seem to have the same reaction to the stupid teleporting. Why wasn't there an option to take the stairs instead of hating her guts twisted inside out and head split apart. She was too focused on controlling her own breathing to ease the pounding in her head to notice that Oisin had turned back around and spoken to her.


When is became apparent that her headache had no plans of going away anytime soon Nyra cursed a few times under her breath and forced herself back onto her feet. She wasn't about to let a stupid bit of nausea get in her way.


After a series of unsteady steps she was at the barrier. She laid her hand against it. It felt solid, like a wall. She was not in the mood to deal with this right now. There was a thunk as her forehead hit the barrier. It held for a few seconds, and then she slowly pushed through. Strangely enough, the headache seemed to fade a bit as she forced her way through the wall. And then she was out on the other side, irritating headache back and all.


She walked over to her group members, only then realizing that she wasn't carrying the bowl that held Yazi. With a frustrated sigh she pushed turned back around to go back through the barrier to get it. The wall gave less resistance the second time through, and the third time it barely slowed her down... until she stopped and sat down halfway through the barrier. "What? It's more comfortable."

 

[Rantos]

Illiam

Defeated by success
​

Why do good things have to happen to those who only want pain and death and shark bites? Illiam pondered for a minute, what had he ever done to deserve the easy route? Surly it must have been just a fluke, it had to be. While in the middle of his crisis, a foreign girl stepped up to Illiam. She told him to cheer up, then brought Illiam to his feet like a truly supportive friend. Although there was one problem, Illiam had no idea who this girl was. He was not there to witness his kitty friend Selicity turn into a more bipedal form. So, in Illiam's eyes, he was receiving some much needed support from a total stranger. Although everything about her struck Illiam with a sense of familiarity. As she walked away to walk though the wall again, Illiam spoke aloud to himself.


"What a strangely soothing familiar voice..."


...


Illiam's eyes nearly popped out of his skull upon having the sudden revelation that the girl was indeed Selicity. His mouth hung agape as he tried to find the words to describe his exact feelings. The only thing that Illiam could muster was "YOU! YOUR! YA! YUUU..." there was so much Illiam had to now process. It's one thing to have a cat toy, but to have a cat toy that could morph. That was bonus points. Although it did make Illiam wonder if Seefi could do the same, or if he would ever be able to rub Selicity's heavenly tummy ever again. Illiam's mind could no longer handle trying to wrap around the situation with Selicity. So instead of breaking his brain any further, Illiam turned his attention to Seefi, just in time to watch her pass the wall.


Admittedly, watching Seefi pass the wall was funny at first. The way she bounced back after entering only a finger was slightly entertaining. But that entertainment slowly sapped away as Seefi struggled to get though. Illiam watched with a blank face as Seefi struggled and pushed herself past her limits in an attempt to pass the wall. At first it was really endearing, watching her giving it her all. But as soon as Illiam began to see her bleed, a buzz formed in the back of his head. Illiam stood, his blank face slowly broke away in anger as Illiam was filled with the desire to obliterate the wall, to decimate what was hurting his toy. Seefi belonged to him now watching something else cause her pain, well, it damn near enraged Illiam enough to strike Keylow. However more pressing matters concerned him, as Seefi finally passed the wall.


Illiam made the short walk to Seefi in only a moment. Without hesitation he ripped off the left sleeve of his shirt and began wiping whatever blood he could off Seefi. "I'm so pissed." Illiam could barely contain how this situation was making him feel. He was angry, gruelingly furious at many things, none of them being Seefi. Once a good amount of blood was off of Seefi, Illiam put a hand on her face, rotating her head and scoping it from all angles. "Okay, your good." Illiam stood, he gave his hand to Seefi to help her up. After she was up, he would assist her in walking, if she needed the help that was.


@The One Eyed Bandit @QuirkyAngel

 

[Azure Sky]

Len Lumiere and the blue woman passed through the barrier shortly after Nyra, and went towards Daz's position. "I'll let Feya answer those questions of yours" said Len. Feya Skyfall was the name of the woman. She belonged to the blue witch species. "Very well" she said. Feya then proceeded with giving Daz some of the explanations he needed. She didn't only tell him about FUG, but also about the structure of the Tower, the various tests, Rankers, Zahard, the Three Lords, the Ten Families, Wolhaiksong, and the Floor Guardians. "As for how you win...it's not that simple. For what you desire, specifically, you'd need to gain monstruous amounts of power and reach the 134th floor. FUG will help you with that" she added.


"Shinsoo resistance isn't related to muscles" replied Tok to Osin, on a calm, but rather cold tone. He saw that both Osin and Nyra's resistance was quite good. His team mates were better than he expected.


Meanwhile, some other Regulars passed through the forcefield. In the end, out of all the 250 Regulars, only 45 remained. Some of those who didn't manage to get through the barrier started to protest.


"Are you messing with me? There's no way that scrawny bastards like that blackhaired punk or that little runt with antlers are stronger than someone like me" said one man. He was very tall and muscular. Similar lines came from a few other people who stood behind him. Keylow looked at him with pity in his eyes. The Ranker's look caused the muscular man to become severly irritated. "What's with that look, you little insect? Why don't you come out of there and fight me like a man?" he asked, mockingly.


"You didn't get the point of this little event, did you?" asked Keylow rethorically, who was no longer within the barrier. Within the split of a second, he reached the point where the muscular Regular stood, by using Shinsoo to increase his speed. The Ranker had a calm expression, which made a funny contrast with the utterly shocked expression that the muscular Regular and those behind him had. He then slammed his right foot into the ground as he conducted Shinsoo through it. The result was a shockwave. Apart from falling the ground, the muscular man and the group behind him felt a great amount of pain, and started to scream as they felt the Shinsoo wave throughout their body. "With that insignificant resistance of yours, you would be crushed by the Shinsoo pressure in the next stage, within 2, maybe 3 minutes. It is harsh, but you need to face reality. You failed" said Keylow, before casually walking back into the barrier.


"Congratulations to those of you who made it this far. Tomorrow there will be another test held by the Director of this floor. So you may rest for the rest of this day. But before that, you'll all be teleported to the area of the next stage" said the Ranker. All the Regulars who passed were teleported to another area of the floor, with many rooms. Each team was given a key with a number on it. "As you see, each key has a number, which corrisponds to the number on the door. You'll find some food and drinks in each room. Enjoy your rest...for now" he added, with a smile. A rather sadistic smile. He then walked away.


The meal which was prepared for each team was not bad:

@Rantos @The One Eyed Bandit @QuirkyAngel @OverconfidentMagi @Chayliel

 

[Chayliel]

Daz stayed silent for Feya's explanation. He kept still and wanted to store all of the knowledge of this mysterious place that he could. However, once he was teleported to the next area, he began to adjust to the fact that he would be surprised very often. He nodded to Keylow when he explained their break and he turned to Feya and Len, speaking, "So. We are on the 2nd floor. And I need to get to the 134th floor to become even more powerful? That wait will be annoying... Is there anything I can do before that? I'm not at my full strength inside of this tower, most of my enhancements don't work in this environment."

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Oisin stuck out his tongue as the Regular cried out in pain.


What a sore loser. Throwing a tantrum because he'd lost the test? It wasn't like he had anything against that sort of thing, but, really? Couldn't he have at least been a little more interesting about it? Then again, normality like that had it's charms too. Nothing like the rage of the everyman, he supposed. "You know" He started, turning towards Nyra. "Don't you think he should be getting mad at you, instead? I mean look at you! You're practically laughing at him, sitting it the barrier like that!" He shrugged. "I guess that can't really be helped, though, right? Strong oppress the weak and all that, right? Though I suppose it's a bit too late for him to do that, isn't it?"


Seefi blinked. What was h- She flinched as Illiam dabbed at her wounds. What was he doing? Tending to her?


"H-hey.." She muttered, taken aback. Full of surprises, particularly intimate surprises, wasn't he? Not that she didn't appreciate his concerns, but... She looked over her wounds. They were hardly necessary. "Listen, I'm fine, see?" She held her arm- it's wounds barely any worse than scratches- up to her team mate. "Right, Selicity?" She turned towards her other partner for aid. "R-really, you don't need to worry so much. I won't let myself fall so early as this." Awkwardly, she gave him a smile of reassurance. Honestly, she had no idea what to do right now. It wasn't a stretch to say that there wasn't anyone remotely like Illiam- or Selicity for that matter- where she'd come from, and the transition was... Taking a little adjustment, to say the least.


As the Ranker drew to the end of his speech, Oisin closed his eyes, as the force of teleportation pulled him away.


"Hey, would you look at this!" As ever, he was poised and ready to open his mouth, as soon as they arrived. "Isn't this fancy! Is this how everyone in the Inner Tower lives? Man, sure beats the treehouses back home." Smiling, he paced his way up and down the hall, his eyes flicking from door to door. "Hey!" He held their key up- as luck would happen he'd have- and pushed it into a door. "I found our room!" Yelling down the hallway, he motioned towards the door, pausing for a moment, before backing away. "Actually, you guys can go on in on your own! I wanna check this place out! Don't trash the room without me!" Still yelling, he gave his team a wave, before setting off down the hallway.


Seefi, by contrast, hadn't nearly the luck he did. Teleported, she found herself both without the key- no doubt being given to her clearly more competent teammates- and being no less thrown off by her second experience with teleportation. The way the scenery shifted... If she knew the term, she'd call it motion sickness. Instead, she just knew she didn't like it. Even if the effect only lasted for a moment. She suppressed the urge to groan. For all she knew, Illiam would get angry at the teleportation if she did.


"Hey, which one of you guys has the key?" She decided it would be best to just try and steer the topic forwards. "How about we eat? Aren't you two hungry" Awkwardly she smiled. Almost as awkwardly as she spoke. Man, she'd started things off as seriously as she could, and now she was struggling to even organize her team mates...


...Disgraceful indeed.

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

"Congratulations to those of you who made it this far. Tomorrow there will be another test held by the Director of this floor. So you may rest for the rest of this day. But before that, you'll all be teleported to the area of the next stage."


Oh for crying out loud, again!? Without being given even a moment to prepare herself for the jump Nyra felt the odd sensation of her body being teleported. She really wished the teleport had messed up and left the contents of her stomach behind, because the second she was done being teleported it felt like all of it was fighting to escape back to freedom. No one had told her that being teleported sucked so much.


Nyra didn't feel up to the herculean task of responding to Oisin's spewing loudness, or bother listening to what any of the noise coming out of him might have translated to in words. So she didn't, and as soon as she was pointed towards the room they'd be staying in she shuffled right in and fell onto the bed with an unintelligible groan. She mumbled something into the bed, then turned her head and said it louder.


"I HATE teleporting!"


And with that declaration she reached up to grab a pillow to take with her as she rolled off the side of the bed and retreated into the relative darkness beneath it, leaving the glass orb sitting on the bed above her. She might have looked silly, what with her two thin wrapped legs sticking out from beneath a bed an all, but at least it was darker. She'd just hide out down here until she felt up to the task of not dying upon trying to stand back up again.

 

[Rantos]

Illiam

Adjusting to the new world
​

The thought only now occurred to Illiam. While he helped Seefi up off the ground, the thought came to the young Amu that he had more then just himself to protect in this tower. His toys, Seefi, Selicity, and anyone else he claimed while going up the tower were at risk. Illiam knew they both could take care of themselves, probably. But what good master lets his toys be used by others, certainly not Illiam. No, he would not permit anyone harming anything of his. Even just the thought of anyone using Selicity and Seefi... well, it didn't help get rid of the buzzing in the back of his head.


Before he was aware of it, Illiam again was warped. The sudden shift of surroundings invoked a reaction deep within Illiam's stomach. He did not listen to Keylow speak, for Illiam was too busy looking for a trash or something to puke in. His mouth closed, acting as the flood gates preventing the inevitable... if only for a bit. Illiam tripped and stumbled over himself, trying to get to the potted plant that would soon house his lunch. But he was all too late. Illiam stopped only a step before, unable to hold it back anymore. Much to his own surprise and luck, he only dry heaved, a short little reflex that really had no negative effects.


The actual vomit though came in the moment after.


After successfully upchucking the entirety of his lunch into the potted plant and not getting a single drop on him, Illiam walked his way back to his group as if nothing had happened. He nodded to the two animal girls. "Ah yes, food, important." Clearly Illiam was still slightly dazed. Seefi asked about something called a key, and Illiam did not know how to respond. What was a key? Upon checking his pockets he found a metal thing with a number on it. Ah, a key was the thing that told which room was theirs, and nothing else.


"Five. Five it is then!" Illiam led his group to the door with a big number five on it. Doors, now this was something that Illiam had only recently encountered. Very few times has Illiam actually used doors, his village never had them. He touched the door nob, gave it a twist, and discovered it was unyielding to his pull, it was locked. He looked at the key, then back to his teammates. "It's okay. This isn't my first locked door. I know what to do." Illiam gave his partners a thumbs up of assurance, before throwing the key in a wayward direction and plunging his first thought the center of the door.


"It's okay! It comes off better this way!"


Before anyone could utter a word of response, Illiam pulled the door right off. The door's metal hinges did little to resist Illiam's brash way of opening the door. With the door now removed, Illiam threw it into the hall and let it fall wherever. As soon as it was out of sight, Illiam forgot about it completely and entered the room. The first thing he did was swipe a bit of the free food, giving it a lick, then throwing it back on the plate in disgust.


"Amu cooking is better." Finished with the food, Illiam jumped into on of the three beds. "So, team... we need a name. I vote for Team Friendship."


@QuirkyAngel @The One Eyed Bandit

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Unfair. Unfair, unfair, unfair. This was so unfair.


In the confines of her room, Areum groaned into her pillow.


What was this? What kind of luck? She'd passed her test with more ease than anyone, and her partners hadn't even been able to get a finger through! What kind of reward for her talents was that? Was this how the world worked now? Punishing the strong? The thought made her want to scream. So she did, almost loud enough for the echoes to swim out of her pillow and into the hallway. Punctuating it with a sigh, Areum rolled on her back. On the dimmest of bright sides, this did mean she had an entire room to herself. She'd even netted herself an extra large bed out of the ordeal, she noted, as she splayed herself out across the three jammed together beds she'd claimed as her own. Though that hardly compensated for not having two competent team-mates sitting atop them...


...Looking at the bright side of things was way too hard. Ha... What was she supposed to do from this point? Make her way through the trails of the floor all on her own? Well... Extending her arm, Areum eyed the bracelet loosely dangling about on her wrist. She supposed, with all the confidence she could muster, that wasn't too much of a stretch. After all, how many of the Regulars on a floor this low could really present a threat to her?


She took a random piece of food from her free meal- which had found its way onto the rightmost of her beds- and hoisted herself into a cross-legged position. For regular food, it wasn't too bad... Hmm... Chewing away, she contemplated her situation. Tch. Now that she thought about it, she really didn't need any losers like them on her side anyway, did she? This was, really, was just like offloading some unnecessary luggage. Maybe she was even fortunate to only have needed to have dealt with them for as short a time as she did. Pick them up for one test, and dump them for another. If she convinced herself on that, she just may have been able to quell her frustration at the whole situation.


Unfortunately, though, she wasn't nearly dim enough to indulge such a line of thinking.


Sure, she thought, she'd probably be able to get through this floor on her own, she'd have never been chosen as a Princess if she couldn't. But, the prospect of allies was never a bad one, was it?... Again, Areum sighed. Looking on the bright side of things really was too hard...


Maybe there were other stragglers like her? People who'd gotten themselves stuck with useless teams. Taking another snack in hand, Areum eyed the door. How was she supposed to find them, though? Just go knocking on everyone's door? Hope to bump into them on a walk? Ah, maybe she could offer them some of her food? There was no way she was going to get through all of it on her own, anyway. With a frustrated yell, she hopped off of her bed.


"Whatever!"


What did she need to plan out chatting for!? She'd just roll with the punches, or whatever! Half-angry at her overthinking, Areum strode over to the door, threw it open, and stepped outside. OK! Now. There were still some groups milling about. Just talk to someone. Anyone. Get them on your side. Make some allies.


Simple enough, she thought, approaching the first person that came into vision.


"Hey!" Approaching a peculiar looking man, Areum spoke with a friendliness that cast a stark contrast to the frustration that lay beneath. "Er, sorry to intrude-" Lying. "-But, I'd thought it best for me to introduce myself to some of the other Regulars. Areum, Areum Eurasia! Nice to make your acquaintance, Mister, er..." Extending her hand out to shake, Areum couldn't help but feel a little sick at how cheerful she was acting.


Tone it down with the next one, she noted to herself.


@Chayliel

 

[QuirkyAngel]

"That sounds stupid," Selicity replied bluntly, still licking at the fish bone in her hand. The armored gloves she wore was removed so she could pick up and eat what she chose without having to dirty the armor. Naturally, Selicity fluttered to where the seafood were at. She thought the food tasted fine. Then again, Selicity had never really been particularly picky regarding food. The fish tasted different than the ones she was used to in the outer tower, but it wasn't bad. A satisfied green eye flickered over to the opening where Illiam had torn the door off.


There went any form of privacy they had. Was it normal in the inner tower for men and women to share the same room?


"I think Team Foxy Kitty Wierdos suits us more," Selicity replied dismissively, simply combining words that described them together. Seefie had fox ears, she was a cat, and Illiam was a wierdo. She was growing used to it...Illiam's wierd-ness. Either way, Selicity didn't really care what they called themselves. Names mattered little to her.


The Cat Sidhe tilted her head at Seefie. "Are you sure you're okay? You were bleeding a lot back there...,"


Selicity picked up a plate of caviar, sniffing it at it cautiously, before gulping the fish eggs down in single motion. Licking her lips, Selicity scoured the table for anymore fish. From the corner of her eyes, through the door-less opening, she saw girl across the hall from them leave her room. "I wonder where she's going?"


They probably had to fix the door later. At some point. Otherwise people might wander in to steal their things while they slept. Then Selicity would have to kill them.


@The One Eyed Bandit


@Rantos

 

[Chayliel]

Daz had waited for his teammates to follow him, since he was apparently their leader, to their room. His lucky number, 9. Before he had reached his room, he was stopped by a little girl, one of the regulars, he presumed. When she introduced herself, Daz looked down to her and stared her straight in the eyes with an emotionless face.


"Daz." He said with a low voice. He had recognized the name she introduced herself with. Eurasia. Freya said something about them. One of the Great Family names. Hmm. I should get close to her. I could use her to my advantage. Daz gave a forced smile. He continued speaking, gesturing to Len and Freya, "These are my friends, Len and Freya. Nice to meet you too, miss. Are you all alone? No teammates?" Daz sported a face of concern for the young looking girl.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Taking a random piece of food from the platter and biting into it, Seefi was surprised. This was bad? Just how good was Amu cooking supposed to be? Because, by all means, this was actually quite exciting. At least, by her standards they were. Seriously, these salty green things? What kind of tree grew a fruit this odd? The question left her perplexed. Though maybe that was just because she was trying to figure out the thinking behind Selicity's naming direction. Wasn't it a bit too... On the nose? And Illiam was hardly weird enough to justify his portion of it. Or at least, she thought so.


"Ah, I think I prefer Illiam's suggestion..." She hesitated for a moment, as she fished for an excuse. "...Flows off the tongue a little better, don't you think?"


Daz, huh. A nice name. An easy name to remember. A nice easy way to seem friendly. "Aha... Was it that obvious?" Areum forced a smile of her own, creeping an awkwardness into her expression. "I feel really bad for my teammates... You know? They were pretty strong, but they beat each other up really bad before the first test ended... And..." She lightly gestured to her sides. "Well, you can see what happened." After a brief pause, she let herself smile fully. "But I won't let them be in vain! I wouldn't be here without them, so I can't give up!" How convincing was that? Convincing enough to make her desire to puke even greater. Tch. If he didn't buy into this she didn't know what she'd do. Jumping off a cliff, maybe, for botching such an easy performance. Maybe that was a bit extreme.


Either way, she was definitely deserved to get angry if this didn't end up going her way.


Seefi was surprised. "No no, I'm fine!" Didn't she already tell them that? "It was just a new experience... I've never seen something like that before is all... I'm sure it'll be fine next time, so don't worry, really!" A little flustered, Seefi did her best to reassure her teammate. She really didn't need her worrying about her like that. Though... She did appreciate it, a little.


Her words leaving an air of awkwardness- or at least, she thought they did- Seefi scanned the room for a new course of topic, eventually following her concerned teammate's eyes to the door. Hm... Pondering it for a moment, she struck herself with an idea. Hopping up from her bed, and taking her spear up in hand, she paced over to the door and hefted it back up into the doorway. Continuing with her 'fix', she went on to place the blade of her spear onto the upper half of the door... And then forced it through. To anyone on the other side, it would have looked like she was trying to stab it to death. Seefi, though, only nodded to herself with satisfaction, letting the bottom end of the spear drop to the ground, before forcing it as far forward as she could. And as if by some miracle, it held in place. There, now they had some privacy.


Though she did feel a little bad for damaging the door.


"So what about you?" Areum clapped her hands together. "I mean, it's obvious you've got a team of your own, but... I'm looking for allies, you know? Not having any friends in this kinda test feels kind of... Treacherous? I guess?" To be honest, she wasn't telling a complete lie. It was obvious she wouldn't be able to form a team with the man- Though that arm of his made her almost curious enough to want to- but, even she had to admit it would be a bit of a pain to only have enemies in the tests to come. Whatever they would happen to be. "If you're er, hungry or something, we could discuss it over lunch or something... Myself being the only one in there, my room has more than enough for guests, haha!" Blissfully, Areum was ignorant of the other connotations her invitation could hold. "I won't hold you to it or anything... If we can't work anything out, you're free to go!"


"Oh." Turning her head for a moment, Areum directed her gaze towards her room. "It's just over there, too. Just a few steps away!"

 

[Chayliel]

Daz could tell that he was getting close to the little girl in front of him. She had invited him to her room. But she did ask him a question about his friends, not his teammates. However, Daz was a fabulous actor, how else was he able to rise to power and overthrow and entire kingdom? He spoke with a friendly tone, or as friendly as a cyborg could, "Well I'd like to say that my teammates here, are my friends. And you are my newest friend! I agree with what you have to say about the tests being difficult without allies, so that's why I'm friends with everyone that I meet!" Daz paused and sneaked a glance to Len and Freya, asking them, "Would you like to have lunch with this sweet gal? I know that I'm starving! And she can't eat enough food for herself and two teammates!" Even though Daz needed very little sustenance to stay alive, he was still able to eat, he was a very efficient cyborg, and best of all, he didn't have to use the bathroom ever!


@The One Eyed Bandit @Azure Sky

 

[Azure Sky]

Tok followed Osin and entered the room after Nyra. He watched as Osin went out of the room, hearing him say that he wants to check out some things. He also said some other things, but Tok didn't register all of it. The antler snail sure talked a lot. Thus, only he and Nyra were left in the room.


The accel-turle went towards the table where the food was stationed and started eating some of it. "Your name was Nyra, right? Even if you are not feeling well, you should eat something. Tomorrow is going to be, without a doubt, a harsh day" he said , in his usual calm, but cold demeanor, adressing himself to his female team mate, after a few minutes had passed. Contrary to what most people would belive, somewhere deep down, Tok actually found Nyra endearing.


@OverconfidentMagi


__________________________________________________________


Len and Feya looked at each other and had a silent agreement , as Daz simingly became friends with a member of the Eurasia family. Feya was not sure if Aerum could be trusted and was quite suspicious, while Len didn't buy it at all. Acting never worked on a someone with his skills. The change in heartbeat and scent were huge giveaways. Nevertheless, that didn't mean Len wasn't a good actor. He was actually an incredibly good one. And so was Feya. Both of them presented themselves, speaking on a friendly tone.


"It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Len Lumiere."


"Hello, pleased to meet you. My name is Feya Skyfall. The fact that a member of the Eurasia family actually bothered to speak to us makes me feel honored. Oh, I hope I didn't sound offensive."


Both Len and Feya were acting uncharacteristically, but only Daz would have realised that. Both were interested in Aerum's true intentions, and if she would be easy to manipulate. If she truly was one of the Eurasia, she could have become a very useful pawn. If she was not, then she would have still been useful as a meat shield.


@Chayliel @The One Eyed Bandit

 

[Rantos]

Illliam

Not in his house
​

Wanting to give the food on the plate a second chance, Illiam had a bit more. He picked up something yellow and flat, with holes, maybe this would taste good, or at least better. It didn't. Illiam spat out the small bite he took as soon as it touched his tongue. What kind of trash dressed as "food" were they feeding to the people of this tower? Illiam reached out one more time, this time to the meat. Meat, now there was something Illiam knew fondly. Maybe, just maybe this would be the food to redeem the rest. Illiam brought the food up to his mouth, took a bite, felt the juice run down his chin, let the nostalgic smells invade his nose. Then, he threw the meat on the ground and scratched his tongue in an attempt to remove the taste.


"Detestable! What kind of garbage do you people eat here! Gods I think I may just have to go take a jagged rock to my tongue just to remove the taste!" Illiam, giving up on life, took a few short strides before falling in the direction of his bed. He missed by a few inches though, and rather then falling on his bed he fell on the ground and shook the room. "Team friendship it is!" Illiam said. Illiam had the plan to just close his eyes and start resting there, but the sounds of makeshift construction coming from the entrance changed those plans. Illiam turned his head at an unnatural angle to get a look at what was going on. Seefi, was putting back the door that Illiam has so nicely removed only a moment ago.


The young Amu rose to fix this problem. Rather then just kick down the door, which was Illiam's first plan, he simply rested a palm on it and looked at Seefi. "Why did you put it back? The Herlaa's need no doors, and you are a Herlaa now." Illiam did this often, when he owned something it wasn't just a possession, it was also family. Illiam gave Seefi his best award winning smile, before pushing the door down again. "There. See. It's that just better over all? Really gives a feeling of community!" Illiam took a look into the hallway, half expecting everyone to have broken down there doors as well. But not a single door was broken, only theirs. Illiam was more disappointed then surprised really. "Should I go open the other doors too?"


@The One Eyed Bandit @QuirkyAngel

 

[Azure Sky]

Team Friendship Facing Hardship (because of Illiam)


Shortly after Illiam brought down the door again, and before he could leave, an old lady entered the room, while a few small levitating robots where reparing the door. The old woman had pink knot-tied hair, a wide wrinkled face and a very small, hunched body. She wore a pink sweater with orange pants, a white apron, and pink sandals with hearts on them. She was smiling.


Shortly after she entered, apart from the robots which were repairing the door, the granny used Reverse Flow Control over the entire room. She was a Ranker. The three Regulars which were inside would have probably felt that their bodies were like they were completely paralyzed. The old woman looked up at Illiam and started to speak: "Oh dear, I was once young too. I understand that you're excited and full of energy, but this place has rules, sweetie. So I'd like it if you could behave like a good boy, and not cause my blood pressure to go any higher". Her voice dropped on the last part, and her facial expression changed. She had a frightening and irritated look on her face. After all, this woman, Yaga Jeyen, did not tolerate lack of discipline. She also used one of her peculiar techniques to greatly raise the gravity around Illiam for a while. She then shifted her attention to Seefi and Sel. "Young ladies, I suggest you don't follow his example" said Yaga, as her smiley face returned.


After the robots finished their reparations, Yaga dispersed her Shinsoo techniques and exited the room.

Spoiler

@Rantos @The One Eyed Bandit @QuirkyAngel

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

Beneath the bed was silent for a while before Nyra responded. "Don't worry, I'll do my part to get you and that boy through whatever group tests they come up with." That'd be enough, right? Her dark golden eyes were open in the darkness beneath the bed. Of course he'd want her to be at full strength so long as they were forced to be teammates. He probably just didn't want to work harder than he needed to. Oh well, at least the turtle seemed actually strong, unlike the other guy in their group, Oisin. He seemed like he'd be positively useless in a fight. At least he'd be easy to take out once they weren't forced to work together anymore.


Despite her words, it wasn't long before a small growl of an empty stomach could be heard from where she'd decided to hide, and a small bandaged arm reached out to grab for whatever food was nearest.


@Azure Sky

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Examiner Blink


A child wearing a demon’s costume floated alone in a space that was entirely pink. She was surrounded by screens, each one showing an image of the regulars’ rooms. It was necessary for Examiner Blink to watch—to ensure that there would be no cheating among the regulars. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time she’d seen regulars sneak into each other’s rooms, attempting to kill their competitors in their sleep. Not every chosen regular believed in fair play and the temptations of the tower were very great indeed.


Blink popped a piece of candy in her mouth, chewing slowly as her amber eyes roamed the screens. They had a rowdy bunch of regulars this time, including a member of the Eurasia Family. Yaga seemed to be handling the idiot group that couldn’t seem to keep their door closed. Therefore, Blink let her attention focus elsewhere. Hopefully team Friendship had enough common sense not to upset the old lady. Otherwise, their team may end up disqualified because of inability to continue testing due to injuries. And that would be a shame.


Widening the screen that showed a Stigaan wandering the halls, Blink narrowed her eyes. It was by no means against the rules for regulars to wander outside their rooms. But it was suspicious nonetheless. She’d have to keep her eyes open for potential troublemakers. The tiny examiner reached into her pocket, and pulled out a mysterious note left on her desk.


‘FUG is on the move. Stay alert~’


Blink glared at paper in her chubby hand. That was all it said. No instructions or even hints at what FUG was up to. Not even the name of the sender. For that reason alone, Blink didn’t trust the person who gave her the message. Yet, all the same, it succeeded in leaving the small demoness a little paranoid.


The Stigaan’s teammates where in their room, the female deep sea wraith refusing to leave her bed—seemingly upset by the teleportations. Tough. This was a test, not a cruise ride. The regulars would need to get used to feeling uncomfortable, to move outside their comfort zones, because the reality of the tower was that not everything would go the way you want it. Hardship. Betrayal. Teams don’t last forever. Those that could push on, despite all the waves, would be the ones to make it to the top.


“It’s my job to test their mettle. Simple as that.”


Blink crumpled the note in her hand and stuffed it back in her pocket. She tossed another candy in her mouth. Blink had no desire to reveal to the instant coffee addict about the message she’d received. Yu Han Sung may be the Director of the Second Floor tests, but Blink didn’t trust him. She answered to Evankhell-nim and Evankhell-nim alone.




Selicity Faars

Selicity’s iris glowed violet the moment Illiam knocked down the door that Seefie worked so hard to fix. She liked the door. However, just as quickly, it shifted to blue.


Calm Sel. Be calm. The cat sidhe repeated to herself. She didn’t want to show her new friends her ugly side. After that ranker stole her eye, Selicity had trained. Not only to strengthen herself, but her emotions as well. Besides, she didn’t think Illiam meant any harm. Selicity tilted her head, watching her new teammate curiously. Illiam was a weirdo. He liked hugs. He couldn’t handle the food in the inner tower. Yet he was also incredibly strong, strong enough to walk through the ranker’s barrier with no problem. Selicity wondered where he came from. Why was he even climbing the tower?


“What’s a herlaa—?”


Selicity suddenly froze, unable to speak. Then an old woman entered their room with a few small robots. The cat sidhe could only watch while the robots fixed the door. On one hand, she was happy the door was fixed. On the other, she was irritated at having to remain frozen the entire time it happened. Her eye turned red as the mean old lady created some sort of force that pushed downward on Illiam. Un-bidden, an angry hiss escaped Selicity’s throat.


Such power. It had to be a ranker. Selicity fought to resist whatever power was keeping her immobilized, but to little avail. Therefore the cat sidhe simply settled for glaring at the mean old lady, her red eyes reflecting her rage, until the old woman finally left. Her expression didn’t change even as the lady smiled at her and Seefie, dropping a little friendly advice. To her, it sounded more like a threat. Letting out a sigh of relief when the techniques were finally released, Selicity glanced worried at Illiam.


“Are you okay, Illiam?” The cat sidhe moved to help her teammate, should he need it. Her one eye narrowed as she watched the old lady and her robots retreat. Was the old woman an examiner for the second floor? Was it normal for her to walk in their room and discipline them for breaking a door? Selicity recalled her interaction with Ranker Keylow. Were all examiners stickler for the rules? “What a mean old hag, disciplining us like that. How are we supposed to know the rules if no one explains them to us?”


Shaking her head, Selicity returned her gaze to Illiam. Rankers were dangerous. Selicity should know. She fought one before entering the inner tower and lost her eye to him. From what she had seen, they were all jerks. The cat sidhe wasn’t cowed by Rankers. However, if she wanted to climb the tower and retrieve her eye, upsetting one of the examiners wasn’t a good idea. It would lead to unnecessary difficulties.


“Let’s keep the door fixed. I like it like that,” Selicity declared.


@Azure Sky


@The One Eyed Bandit


@Rantos

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

"Ahaha, good to meet you too!" Weird. This was a weird gang she'd picked up. A man with a metal arm, a blind person, and a... How many eyed woman? If they hadn't already made it past the second test, Areum almost would've just brushed them off as a bunch of rejects. The sort who didn't manage to make it into another team. "Well, I'm not sure if I'll have enough for four... But... We'll just have to make do!" Turning on her heel with a clap of her hand, she set off down the hallway.


She did her best to ignore the ruckus across the hall.


As the old woman stepped into the room, Seefi felt as if her hair was standing on its ends. Fight or flight. If she were familiar with the term, it would have come to mind. 'Danger, Run'. It was like facing down a dangerous predator. The feeling, or the message, ran through her bones. And it went without response. She couldn't move. Perhaps, that instead was the feeling that overwhelmed her. Regardless, as she so effortlessly pulverized the teammate she'd thought the strongest, the message rang through loud and clear. Be careful. Whether it was of any intent on her part, or if it was just Seefi's instincts sending her a message, she couldn't be sure. She just knew the woman was someone to be feared. Or maybe respected. Either way, she was strong.


Making sure to leave her door unlocked as she stepped into her room, and making an advance into it so to space out the bedding before anyone made their way inside, Areum couldn't help but wonder. A ragtag-looking group like them. Wasn't it a thing for weirdos like that to be especially strong? Or have so kind of plan? Maybe she just watched too many movies. It wasn't like they were doing anything suspicious, right? All around friendly, and all that. It almost made her feel bad, trying to use them like she was. Almost. In truth, she was just glad she didn't end up chatting with some sort of screaming psychopath.


She doubted they'd make the best allies, after all.


Yeah, sure, they were kind of ugly. But that didn't really matter. Well, it kind of mattered. The point was, just because they weren't the prettiest people in the world, didn't mean they weren't strong. Who knows, maybe they only looked so rough because they'd spent all their time training?


...Then again, that didn't exactly bode well either.


As the woman left the room, Seefi almost felt winded. What an intense presence. Regaining control of her body, she dropped herself back onto her bed. Sensations flowed back, that feeling of danger replaced by normality once again. Don't follow his example...?


...


Somehow, the words made her feel kind of offended, though she couldn't put a pin on why. Shaking her thoughts away, Seefi got back off of her bed. Now wasn't the time to be sitting around lost in thought. One of her teammates had just been flattened. Stepping over to his, and Selicity's side, a look of concern crept it's way across her eyes. Though she didn't say anything, Sel already seemed to have that base covered. She'd just help him up if he needed it. Once he'd recovered, a word about what in the world just happened. What exactly that strength she'd felt was.


Whatever their course of nature, Areum thought, it'd probably just be easier to ask them about it. They didn't exactly seem like the types to be offended if she poked into their origins a bit, right? She shrugged. Whatever. Even if they were, it wasn't she couldn't replace them, there was still a surplus of Regulars around, after all. Just, if she'd seen what she thought she'd seen, not the ones across the hall. Troublemakers like that... Well, she was probably better off just avoiding them.

 

[Rantos]

Illiam

Living without regret
​

All was again right in the world. The door had been broken down, hopefully for the last time now, severing the barrier between Team Friendship and the rest of the world. Illiam couldn't quite put his finger on why, but a room didn't really feel like home till the door was gone. With a job well done, Illiam was ready to take a seat on his own bead, hopefully catch some Zs as well. But before he could reach it, his legs stopped moving. As well as his arms, and his mouth which was half open and currently overflowing with spit. He was completely paralyzed, other then his salivary glands which were still producing spit, and with no control over his mouth to sallow the spit, it fell from Illiam's mouth like a sticky waterfall.


Illiam could only hear what was behind him. He heard the sounds of someone entering the room. An attacker? Illiam could barely budge to see who it was. The person in question spoke, her voice was old, slightly decrepit... okay very decrepit actually. She began talking about rules and being young, all of which Illiam tuned up purposefully, completely ignoring her words. But making full note of her actions. Illiam felt great pressure, enough so to flatten him against the floor. The sensation brought up many feelings, mainly a strange euphoric buzz that crossed his whole body. This power, unlike anything he had gone against before, was exciting! The boy, almost crushed, tried to let out a laugh, but the only thing that came out was a pained chuckle. This sensation felt all too familiar, similar to the sensation Illiam felt in the tank... only this hurt more, a lot more.


The pressure ceased, and so did the paralysis. Illiam's teammates rushed to his sides, and he took both there hands gratefully. He thanked both of them with a simple head nod.


"Seefi, Selicity... if you are going to travel up this tower with me then you should know it's going to be a bumpy ride. I don't follow the rules." Without another word, Illiam began to sprint at the door. Once he was close enough, he delivered a flying jump kick with both feet that not only broke the door off it's hinges again, but also snapped it in two. The two half's of the door scattered in the hallway. Illiam checked both ends and set his eyes upon an elderly lady leaving down one hallway. She had to be the one who just pinned Illiam without touching him.


"Hey Nana!" Illiam said referring to the old lady. "You have to teach me how to do that!" Illiam was just about as excited and giddy as a little boy during Christmas.


@Azure Sky @The One Eyed Bandit @QuirkyAngel

 

[Azure Sky]

Does Yaga Jeyen need to slap a noob?


Yaga knew some kids were harder to deal with than others. She was once young too, entering the tower at the tender age of 250. Thinking about it, she was pretty hard to deal with as well. But she learnt from her mistake and matured. That was probably the same for most people. But there were exceptions, such as the black-haired shitty brat. He seriously kicked the door down again, ran after her, called her Nana, and asked her to teach him her techniques.


Turning around, Yaga made another scary face. She then proceeded with walking towards Illiam, and with each step she became younger, straightened her back, and became around 12 cm taller. She had the appearance of a beautiful woman in her twenties, with medium-length wavy pink hair and big brown eyes.

Spiritus Cells, a technique unique to Yaga. One in which she manipulates her cells through the use of Shinsoo. Apart from body strengthening it also causes her body to return at it's prime state of power.


Yaga Jeyen looked at Illiam with cold eyes and moved at blinding speed. She was about to slap Illiam with her right hand, but as she came close she took a better look at his face. He was very happy and excited. A facial expression which Yaga was familiar with.


The Ranker stopped her attack and called one of the bots to come near her. Fine, it seemed like violence would only fire him up. Then she had no other choice. "So you want to learn, huh?" Yaga smiled smuggly as she asked the rethoric question. "You will get to learn more about Shinsoo over time. But first, what you need most is discipline and a powerful will. And I know just how you could train those aspects" having said that Yaga took out a toothbrush from her now visible Arms Inventory. "This toothbrush here is special. It applies pressure to your body as you use it. It doesn't mean much to me, but it will have a great effect on you" Yaga made a short pause and made a sign to the bot near her. It then went to one of the bathrooms and came back with a bucket of watter and some bars of soap. "Oh, silly me, you're probably wondering why you need this, don't you?" Yaga asked with a pseudo-concerned look on her face. "That's because you will clean this whole building with the use of this toothbrush, and the items which the robot brought" she said, happily. "You will start right now. It's not like you needed to sleep anyways. You look so full of energy" with that said Yaga gave Illiam the toothbrush and walked away, leaving him with the bots who acted as supervisors.


As she deactivated her Spiritus Cells technique Yaga gradually returned to her usual appearance. She turned around to face Illiam one last time, displaying her usual smile. "Have fun" she said, on a sadistic tone, as her voice dropped. Afterwards, she disappeared from sight.


@Rantos


@QuirkyAngel @The One Eyed Bandit

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Selicity Faars

“You—,”


Sel’s eye widened when Illiam crashed through the door with a flying kick, turning her silver head just in time to see the barrier that separated their room from the hallway splinter in half. Why did he do that? She couldn’t understand it. What did he have against a door? Was he trying to get their team disqualified? Her iris turned red and she hissed angrily. The cat sidhe watched as Illiam ran into the hallway. She could hear him call the old woman ‘Nana’. Illiam was challenging a ranker.


“You’re crazy! Absolutely crazy!”


Silence. She reached a hand towards her face, touching the black patch which covered an empty eye socket. An unconscious smile curved on Sel's lips as she drew Athlene from her arms inventory.


“…but it’s better than being boring.”


Her remaining eye melted into a shade of gold and she darted out the doorway, heedless of the broken halves of the door. When she caught up to Illiam, she saw he was being handed a toothbrush by a young, pretty-looking lady who told him to clean the whole building. Selicity frowned. She’d been expecting a fight. Selicity opened her mouth to ask where the mean old lady had gone. However what came out of her parted lips was an awed gasp as the pretty young lady morphed into the mean old lady and walked away.


“Wooooah. Rankers can do that?” Pause. Her gaze flickered to the toothbrush in Illiam’s hand. “Don’t expect me to help you.” Selicity stuck her tongue out at Illiam. “You made the mess so you should clean it.” She put Athlene back in her arms inventory and stretched, letting out a yawn as she did so. The girl made her way back to their room. She might have helped him...if he hadn't broken the door. “All that eating’s made me tired. I’m going to take a cat nap. Wake me up if something exciting happens.”


@Rantos


@The One Eyed Bandit


@Azure Sky

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Meanwhile, on the 20th floor, trouble brews...


Seated on the edge of a king-sized bed, in the most luxurious hotel on the twentieth floor, Evelyn hummed merrily as he twirled a keychain around one finger. Attached to the keychain was a tiny container which held the eyeball of his favorite kitten suspended in amniotic fluid. Everything was falling into place. Unable to help himself, Evelyn giggled, throwing himself backwards into the soft sheets.


“I've found them. The ones we’ve been waiting for~”


It had all started that day in Ophidian when he’d met Ran and Argeus. The day he agreed to be Argeus’s guide and help the Satyr accomplish his goals. Evelyn chuckled at the memory. Destroying FUG? He hadn’t been very serious about it, not because he particularly cared about the organization, but because FUG was one of his few sources of entertainment in the tower. Their battle against Zahard created waves that threatened the iron-fist rule of the Tower’s King. They were the ones that intended to topple the perfect structure Zahard built. How could he remove them from the tower, knowing that the result would lead to the stifling boredom of peace?


Yet the mad dog’s reaction had been wonderful. The possessiveness oozing from Ran’s drunken threat had been utterly hilarious to the Galleon. Destroy the 20th floor? The boy was bound by a contract with the 20th floor guardian. There was no way he could follow through with such a thing even if he might have the power to…which he didn’t…not without extreme difficulty at least. Kill Argeus? Evelyn hadn’t really cared whether Argeus lived or died. If he did, he wouldn’t have offered to help Argeus in his quest for revenge. Ran's threat did nothing, but spur Evelyn on. Though, he would've agreed to be Argeus's guide regardless of how Helios's pet dog reacted.


After his wall was fixed, Evelyn trained Argeus by treating him as if he was one of Ophidian's hired Rankers. He had the Satyr scour the twentieth floor for “treasures” which Evelyn would use stock his store. They were rare items of significant value existing on the twentieth floor—some of which took years to find. Naturally, Evelyn considered Argeus's level before assigning the tasks. Nothing too difficult. However, the tasks were arduous and time consuming nonetheless, especially for an E-rank regular. It was a win-win situation for them both. Evelyn got a free worker and Argeus received "training".


Yet the time had come to set everything in motion, to keep his end of the bargain. Hence why Evelyn invited Argeus to a private suite he’d rented for such an occasion. Still laying on the king-sized bed, his long ebony hair splayed against the cream sheets, Evelyn continued speaking in a giddy manner to the regular he would guide up the tower.


“They aren't at your level yet though. Give them a couple more years and the friends you’ll need to defeat FUG will have reached the twentieth floor. Soon you’ll be ready to start climbing the tower once again.” Evelyn grinned, turning away from the canopy to meet eyes with Argeus. “But not yet. The time’s not right and timing is important if you hope to make it to the top. As your guide, I will show you the quickest path towards your desires. Of course, it's entirely up to you whether or not you take it.”


Pushing off from the bed, Evelyn strolled towards a black chest sitting at the corner of the room. The chest was tightly wrapped with thick chains. At the end of the chain was a single, silver lock. "While you've been searching for the items I've requested, I've been prepping the stage for you."


Evelyn fished through a bunch of odd-looking of keys until he finally found the right one. Lifting up the key, Evelyn caused the tiny container attached at the other end to dangle, shifting the eyeball within so that the currently red orbs glared at Argeus.


“Tell me, Argeus. Do you trust me?”


@SleepyBuddha

 

[St. Boethius]

When Argeus had agreed to help Evelyn in exchange for his help he didn't think he would be running around the twentieth floor collecting items for him. Though if Argeus thought about it he supposed it made sense given Evelyn's main occupation seemed to be as a shop owner instead of his guide. Though he didn't enjoy his collection jobs he could see the point in them. While nothing was ever too difficult each job presented its own dangers and challenges. It was through these challenges that Argeus received his 'training'. Depending on several factors like what the items were, who had the items, and where they were contained would present Argeus with a new problem. During the years of his training Argeus learned that many things. Such as the value of stealth or a more human appearance. He also increased his Baam output from 3 to 6(?).


When Evelyn invited Argeus to the hotel room he was a little confused, but he knew at this point that Evelyn was plotting something he would no doubt be caught up in. To blend in more with the crowds and to make everyone else more comfortable on the floor Argeus almost always stays in a human form. This form is usually only used by his people for mating but it would seem it holds different benefits here as well.


While this hotel was certainly luxurious Argeus didn't give it too much attention as he had a meeting with Evelyn to get to. Once inside the room itself Argeus made it a point to stand close to but never sit on the bed that Evelyn was on during their chat. Evelyn had teased Argeus with information about this group of people that would be great allies in his mission to take down FUG, but rarely did he elaborate further much to the Satyr's frustration. Argeus who had remained silent finally spoke up when Evelyn asked if Argeus trusted him, " I don't trust you. I don't trust anyone in this tower, but something tells me I'm going to need that key. So what does it open? Why is it important?" Argeus asked hoping to get a straight answer from Evelyn for once.


@QuirkyAngel<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_07/d943f80aa0edb5be607360d4b5760a33.jpg.0bc18b6df62ee949cd99691c2121b336.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="142925" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_07/d943f80aa0edb5be607360d4b5760a33.jpg.0bc18b6df62ee949cd99691c2121b336.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

 

[Azure Sky]

Tok Stonebreaker


It seemed that Nyra misunderstood his intentions. On the other hand, Tok understood why, given his behaviour and choice of words. He then saw that she wanted to grab something to eat, so he brought the table closer to her. "Help yourself" he said, but this time on a gentle tone, which seemed rather uncharacteristic.


Tok remained silent for a while simingly thinking about something. "It sure is quiet around here without the antler snail" he said, enjoying the brief moment of tranquility while it lasted. He didn't dispise, or look down on Osin, it was just that he was not used to someone who talked so much.


@OverconfidentMagi


___________________________________________________________


Len Lumiere and Feya Skyfall


"Anyways, Miss Areum, since I do know some things about you, given that..." Len paused and then said in a whisper "...I am a Guide" he paused again, and after a few seconds continued : "I belive we should talk a little about ourselves as well. There isn't much to say on my side. I never knew my parents. I was abandoned, and raised by a family with no prestige. I was blinded by a bandit when I tried to protect my adoptive mother. I thought I was done for. Depressed, you know? Never being able to see again. I know what you're thinking. How come I was chosen to become a Guide, despite being blind? After I lost my sight, I discovered that I had an unusual ability: extrasensorial perception. Through training I discovered it was Shinsoo-based. And thus I devloped a technique which enabled me to emit waves of energy which bounce back of things and return to receiving areas of my brain. The result is an analog of 360° human sight. Yes, I can see in all directions. The only downside is that I cannot see colors. Well then, I guess that's enough about me for today...Feya?".


Feya looked calmly for a few seconds at Lumiere, then shifted her attention to Areum, with a saddened expression on her face. "There isn't much to say on my part. I am a blue witch. I was born into a poor family, but I was happy, until I lost both my parents. Since then life had been hell for me. I wanted salvation, and it came in the form of a bunny-eared Guardian that we all know. As for Daz, he's pretty much an unfortunate guy as well, but I'll let him talk about it" she said, before looking at Daz.


Of course, both Len and Feya were mixing lies with the truth to create a belivable backstory, while also showing the right facial expressions for the job. They were talented actors.


@Chayliel


@The One Eyed Bandit


______________________________________________________________


Ningor Frostnova


Interesting, very interesting. Thinking back about what happened during the day, Ningor was quite happy, even if one couldn't tell because of his poker face. While he found the battle royale pretty boring, he saw something interesting in the Shinsoo barrier event. The black-haired guy and the cyborg past with no effort at all, while the turtle, bandaged girl, cat girl, haughty girl, multi-eyed girl, blind guy and antler guy passed with very little effort. That meant Ningor could have possibly found strong opponents to face. As for the fox girl...well, her Shinsoo resistance was low, very low actually, but she was Ningor's type, so it was all good.


The albion had no choice regarding his team mates, but boh were weaklings so they were eliminated. He was alone in his room. A feeling he was used to, but which he didn't particularly like, nonetheless. After eating a little, he went outside of his room, curious about the noise. Interesting enough, the first person he meet was Illiam who was sitting in the hallway with a toothbrush in his hand and a few robots around him. "Oh, would you look at that. It's one of my possible future worthy opponents" he thought. He looked at Illiam, keeping the usual poker face. He didn't know what the guy was up to, but after thinking about it, he belived it was better not to find out, or get caught up in the situation, so he continued his walk. Maybe he'd stumble upon someone else.


@Rantos

 

[QuirkyAngel]

The Galleon

“How cold,” Evelyn replied playfully. “After all the time we’ve been together? I’m your guide you know. How can you not the trust the person who’s showing you where to go?”


The questions were rhetorical and Evelyn didn’t expect an answer. Argeus’s response showed he wasn’t as simple-minded and honorable as he appeared when he offered Evelyn his arm. Evelyn was glad for that fact. It would make guiding him that much more interesting. Harder as well, though Evelyn had never really been one to turn away challenges.


“The key isn’t important. It’s what’s inside that’s important.”


Without another word, Evelyn stuck the key in the lock and turned. Instead of the lock opening, as one would normally expect, the chains simply vanished. Suddenly the chest burst open a black blur whizz past them. Reacting quickly, Evelyn trapped stopped the tiny shadow and trapped it in his lighthouse. He brought the green cube closer so Argeus could see what was inside.

​

“This is a dream fairy,” Evelyn explained. “A rare and dangerous creature that lives on the 108th floor. Dream fairies are parasites that tends to jump from host to host, feeding on the dreams of its victims, expounding their worst fears, and producing nightmares so realistic that even powerful Rankers can be driven mad should they be host to it for an extended period of time. Once they enter the mind of their victims, they are notoriously difficult to catch. Most aren’t even aware of their presence.”


The dream fairy inside the green suspendium, titled its head and pressed its hands flat against the wall that kept it confined. It pushed, its little wings fluttering, as it tried to break through its prison. After a couple seconds of useless effort, the thing pouted and flipped its hair. Evelyn smirked. “I’m going to release it in the second floor testing area.”


Green eyes flickered to Argeus. The Satyr’s humanoid form would serve him well. “I told you that I’m prepping the stage for you. This little beauty will do its part in reeling in the allies you want. I’ll make sure of that. The rest is up to you—whether they become comrades or enemies. Not trusting anyone in this tower is wise. However,”


With a single wave of his hand, the lighthouse disappeared, taking the dream fairy with it. “The path you walk on isn’t meant to be traveled alone. You’d do well to remember that.”


It would only lead to death. FUG wasn’t an organization to be taken lightly. And, if truth be told, he’d grown a little attached to the tree man he was nurturing. Only time will tell if his efforts would produce an entertaining fruit. Evelyn returned to his seat on the edge of the bed. Crossing his legs, Evelyn grinned at Argeus. He patted the spot on the bed beside him. Just a simple invitation really. What he had to tell Argeus was going to be long and it would probably be more comfortable for the Satyr to sit. Though whether or not Argeus decided to sit with him or not mattered little to Evelyn. He continued speaking regardless.


“FUG isn’t just a simple organization. It’s much more than that. It’s a religion. An ideology created by people who are dissatisfied with the tower as it stands. People who are dissatisfied with Zahard’s rule. They blame the king of the tower for their imprisonment. They believe that his death and the death of his family will free them.”


Having worked with FUG in the past allowed Evelyn to see the inner workings of its members. That was the conclusion Evelyn came up with. Even though FUG evolved and expanded over the years, gaining new members, the foundation from what it was still the same. “And because they are more than a simple organization, you can’t fully eliminate them by taking out their members. Not even cleaving off the head will do the trick. Take a tree for example.” Evelyn’s snake eyes glinted humorously. “You don’t remove a tree by cutting off the leaves or branches. It’ll only regrow. What you do is you pull it out from its roots.”


Evelyn licked his lips before continuing. “FUG is driven and kept alive because they have hope that the immortal Zahard can be killed. Their hope exists in the form of their gods. Have you heard of them? People who break the rules of the tower? People’s whose very existence threatens the tower’s stability? People like myself, Helios Prime, Urek Mazino, etc. who do not need the permission of guardians to manipulate shinsoo? We are the Irregulars. Our existence provides hope for FUG who hopes break the iron-rule of the ‘tyrant’ king. In order to truly eliminate FUG, to wipe it from the tower, you need to remove us. But, it just so happenes, that the allies you need to defeat FUG are irregulars as well.”


The irregular guide chuckled. “A hopelessly convoluted situation, right? That’s okay. I don’t expect you to understand. Nor do I have the time to get into such deep matters with. It would only confuse you and make things more complicated than it has to be. So I’ll keep things simple. The first thing you have to do to defeat FUG is to meet FUG's greatest enemy, King Zahard. And in order to that you have to make it to the to the ‘top’ of the tower. Focus on that for now and everything will fall into place.”


Uncrossing his legs, Evelyn leaned back slightly, his palms rested against the soft sheets and his ebony hair falling over his shoulders as he peered at the Satyr with half-lidded eyes. A lazy smile adorned his face.


“Anything else you want to ask before I tell you our next destination?”


@SleepyBuddha