Adventures of Evpraksia Pavlichenko, Triste Winters, and Sinthia

Triste analyzed his stats before looking back at him. She stepped down the stairs she had climbed and approached him.

"It's fine." She said, giving a light shrug as she glanced at the door. When she looked back, her icy eyes locked with his and she gave a small smile, her body swaying a little. "How much money do you need?"

Razor smiled happily, and thanked her. "I just need enough for a room. I should be able to earn more COL tomorrow. I can't do it tonight because of the possibility of the event happening. I think it can only happen at night, and I'd rather not fight it." he said, and then his eyes widened. He just gave away that he was a beta tester. He scratched the back of his head again, as though it were a nervous tick. Why did he always get himself into these situations?

He felt like the world was pressing down on him right now as he constantly made mistakes. He stopped for a second as his eyes darted to the door, and his expression darkened for a split second before returning to normal, yet his arms retreated to his sides as he placed his hands in his pocket.

-

"No... Not yet." Evpraksia said, one knee bent and her eye on the enemy in front of her. Her health was low, at 232, and she knew that if she wanted to live, she couldn't get hit a third time. She pushed herself up, the beast in front of her laughing maniacally. She should have known beforehand to check, but she was too deep into thought to do so.

"Woof." she said, and the beast stopped, and then looked her in the eyes. Level six, elite enemy. Evpraksia rushed forward and swung with a sword skill, her blade hitting and dealing 150!(+13) damage. She jumped back, and then sprinted to the left to dodge the left-hand swipe. The beast turned to her, and she jumped back in for another swing, her sword skill ready as she prepared to swing at the beast. Upon releasing the sword skill, it cut clean through, giving her enough time to do another sword skill, and upon hitting the enemy, she jumped back and accepted her 114(+26) damage. The enemy charged forward, and Evpraksia didn't have enough time to react and took the direct hit, taking 202 damage. She used all of her crystals, and then waited for an opening. She had to be careful.

Health: 343/1000

Enemy Stats:

He is quite a talker. She thought as she opened up the trade window and inserted 15 Col, missing his sudden nervous habits. While she waited for him to accept, she noticed him look towards the door with a strange look. She was tired enough that she didn't want to bring it up and have to stay awake for the time it took to talk about it. Her curiosity, however, got the better of her.

"What's wrong?" She asked, pushing her bangs from her eye.

"Oh, nothing." he replied as he accepted the trade and smiled. "Thank you very much!" he said, and he walked toward the counter, and bought a room. He wanted to get out of the room quick, and as he took the key, he turned around, and before he knew it he heard her voice.

"You again?" the voice asked, it belonged to Lyliana.

"Yes, Lyliana. Please leave me alone, I don't want to fight, and you know it." he said, his expression slightly changing to show their relationship with each-other, familiar, yet with tension. She sighed, and then waved her greetings to Yukino.

"Yukino, right? Yeah, I'd stay away from him. He's mysterious, and instead of putting up a fight, which he could have, given that he has two S-Class items, he gave all of his money to us. Which, by the way, he can have back." she said, and she initiated a trade after getting her items. "The strangest part is that he still tried to greet us while being mugged..."

Trade:

-

Evpraksia dodged to the right, and then sprinted forward with a sword-skill swing, dealing 165!(+13), and then she jumped back, her eyes widening as it did a clean sweep surrounding it. She turned and sprinted, jump into a roll so as not to be hit by this attack, mainly because it was a grab, and it would do enough damage, regardless of how lucky she was, to kill her. Once she got out of its range, and the attack was done, she rushed back in with an upwards diagonal swing of her scythe, sword skill activated, and after hitting, she pulled the end of the shaft to pull herself closer, unhooking her Scythe, and then, and getting in a better position, she tugged hard on her Scythe to make it tear through the chest of the beast that she was fighting, dealing a total of 207!(+19) damage before she turned around and rushed back in.

I need to kill it now, before it uses its special skill again. She thought, and without hesitation she used a sword skill that cleanly cut through for another 168!(+13) damage. This should be enough to kill it. She dropped her guard, and turned around just in time to see it prepare to attack. She swore under her breath, and rushed forward with a swing that dealt 35(+6) damage, killing the creature, its swing stopping from disintegration.

Loot Received:
50 Col
Wolf Hunting Warrant (Quest Item)

Evpraksia was relieved that she survived, and she accepted the reward before standing up and slumping away, she had a long night of hunting, and with that out of the way, she should be fine.

Health: 356/1000

Triste's eyes flickered between the two, a small smirk on her lips. S class...

"Ah..." She mumbled, slightly uncomfortable due to Lyliana's presence.

She watched as she gave back the Col. Well, a moment earlier and I wouldn't have had to give him mine... She thought. Then again 15 isn't that much... and boy, the bed is calling me... She stepped back towards the staircase, not wanting to completely turn around without knowing whether the business there was completely done or not.

Razor's eyes looked at the money, this was only half what he gave, and he knew that she was the one holding all of their COL, kind of like a pack-mule. He dismissed the trade, and then gave a false smile, yet it was just as convincing as the ones he gave Yukino.

"It's fine, I can earn it back anyway." he said, and then he turned and walked past Yukino. "If you must, then give it to her." he said, and Lyliana looked toward Yukino. Though she had no problem with her, the fact that he didn't mention how much it was, and that he turned it away, was a very, very curious reaction. She hesitated, and then opened the trade with Yukino, and she put the same amount in the trade.

"Night, stay safe you two!" he said as he entered his room, and once inside of his room, he sighed...

Scythe girl... I know her.

-

Evpraksia ran toward her next target and her Scythe was charged with a sword skill. She did an underhand swing to the left, the blade slicing through its target as she backed up and prepared for it to attack, her 71(+15) damage taking a chunk out of the wolf's health. It pounced forward, and she bounced backward, her Scythe over her shoulder as she kicked herself back toward the creature, her Scythe charged once again as the dirt beneath her feet was pushed back and her feet dug into the ground. She swung down onto the creature and started to pull it prematurely, the blade hitting and sliding through. Tugging it out, she swung around and, as though it were a base-ball bat, she hit the beast with it again to deal a total of 180!(+23).

A few more hits! she thought, and she dodged to the right and, instead of swinging to the left, she spun right and, her back now facing the creature, she positioned her Scythe so that it'd cut clean through the side of the beast. The swing hit, and her blade cleanly cut the side of it, deeply, to deal 102!(+8) damage. The beast recovered from its missed attack, and then pounced again. Evpraksia didn't dodge in time, and instead took 190 damage. She fell backward, and caught herself by stabbing the end of her Scythe into the ground.

"One more hit like that..." she said, and then she pushed herself forward and into a swing, her Scythe's weight carrying her more than she carried it, and the moment it came in contact it cut clean through to deal 102!(+8) damage. Evpraksia let the Scythe go at the end, and kept hold of bottom middle, the Scythe swinging around her back as she grabbed the end with her other hand. The enemy disintegrated behind her while she put her Scythe away.

Loot Received:
25 COL

Health: 183/1000

Upon seeing the amount of Col being traded, the corners of her mouth twitched. She smiled widely . So much! she thought as she accepted.

"U-uh, thanks!" She called after the boy. She looked up awkwardly at the girl. "Hi again, by the way..."

Lyliana nodded lightly as she walked past and let out a sigh. She walked to the door of her room, which was to the left of Razor's, and walked in. With another exhausted sigh, she fell onto her bed and closed her eyes, not even bothering to put up her weapons and clothing.

-

Evpraksia sighed and took a seat on the ground. She brushed her hands through the grass, the cold, gritty texture of the dirt calming and soothing her mind. Her hands stopped and she balled them into a fist, grabbing the grass and pulling on it. It didn't budge, and instead made an error noise along with a interface saying "Immortal Object."

So even the grass in this world is to be untouched? she wondered, and she looked around. There were too many creatures around for her to take a rest here, and so she stood back up and walked toward the forest that was encompassing the left side of the city. If she could get into a tree when she needed to rest, she'd be safe, even from most players. She walked closer, but had to constantly change her direction in order to stay out of aggro range of the wolves. Her eyes scanned the area that was the edge of the forest, a few spots looked great for entry, but she decided to move toward the one that looked least secure. She'd rather not get too caught out if there was something behind the trees, and if she went to the most secure of areas, she might get cornered. Her eyes darted to the time on her HUD, and noted that it was about 23:45 Aincrad time.

Health: 473/1250

Triste sighed as she climbed up the stairs. She wished more people could be more light-hearted. Heck, she wished she could be light-hearted... She watched people get killed, and it would be scarring to anybody. Everyone was scared and depressed, even her. It was a feeling she had never felt before, or at least at such a degree.

She entered her room and glanced around. It was small, cozy, and most importantly: safe. She unequipped her cloak to make sleeping more comfortable and crawled onto the bed, flipping squarely onto her back. She stared at her ceiling for what felt like hours, processing what happened throughout the day. She tried her hardest to clear it from her mind, and eventually found herself drift off to sleep.

Evpraksia stopped at the edge of the forest, and then peered into it. She wasn't ready just yet to finish leveling, and so she turned her back to the forest and rushed toward the nearest enemy. Her blurred vision and sleepy stance causing her to stutter a bit too close to the enemy, but the sound of it attacking woke her up, and she dodged out of the way just barely. She took out her Scythe and used a sword-skill as fast as possible, the Scythe swinging at the wolf and piercing its side for 80(+17) damage. She quickly reacted to the situation with another sword-skill. She kept the momentum from her original swing to pull the Scythe behind, and then while spinning like it, she charged an overhead sword-skill, the skill landing point blank on the wolf for 53(+17) damage. Her eyes took a fiercer appearance as she noted how little damage she was doing, and she positioned herself in a defensive stance as she prepared for the attack that was coming toward her. The beast leaped forward, and Evpraksia took a step out of its way, and upon its landing, she charged another sword skill and swung for it, the attack dealing 56(+17) damage. She was starting to get angry.

I need to be stronger! she thought, and she rushed forward with a bare swing, the blade swiftly cutting from the top down the side of the wolf to deal 60(+8) damage. She gritted her teeth, and then pulled the blade out, her eyes set on the enemy in front of her. It rushed forward, and she rushed to the side and out of its way. With the enemy to her left, and her blade behind her on the right side, she kicked her right foot hard and spun on it to face the creature. Once facing the creature, she pushed her left foot to the ground and rushed forward with a sword-skill, the blade cutting through and lifted up. With the momentum of the blade in the air, she jumped up with it, and held it in place for a second to lower the momentum, before pulling down and toward the beast, the blade landing perfectly in place. She smiled after doing a combined damage of 208!(+25) damage, and the creature died in front of her.

Loot Received:
20 COL
x2 Minor Health Crystals (50 Health)

Evpraksia decided to use the health crystals the moment she got them, knowing that she'd better use them now over later.

Health: 573/1250

She put her Scythe away, the fight she just had making her wide awake. Her eyes darted around in search of a new enemy, and then she caught sight of one. It looked like an alpha wolf, which meant both a higher level, and a higher reward. Alpha wolves around this town are about level eight, but she was hoping that it was only level six or seven. She rushed toward it, and, with a sword-skill, she swung at it for 126!(+17) damage. She jumped back with a smile; all she needed to do was hit a few more of those attacks and the creature would be dead for sure. It slowly walked toward her: a confident, powerful creature. Evpraksia waited for it to make its move, and it darted in her direction. She dodged out of its way, and then prepared to dodge again immediately after, her feet planted in the ground and her mind ready to react. About a second after it hit where Evpraksia would have been, it turned and dashed to her new location. Evpraksia jumped out of the way again, and then rushed it with an underhand, right handed swing for the belly, the blade cutting through and then, with a little nudging from Evpraksia, landing behind her left Evpraksia's left shoulder, the shaft resting on it. She saw that it was still in its moment of attack stasis, and then rushed in with another sword-skill, this time over her head and down onto the creature, to deal a total of 144(+34) damage. Biting her lip, she prepared herself for the attack. Knowing that the only alpha wolves to know the double attack move was level nine and higher, she knew that getting hit by it at this moment would be fatal for her.

I will not die, I must make it to the end! her thoughts urged. It darted forward, and she dodged with a swing at it, the blade slicing through it as she stuttered to the ground. It turned and shot for her again, but she caught her balance and did a back-flip out of its way, but knowing that it'd reach farther than she could jump, she did a second one and landed on one foot and one knee, her hand stretched out to give herself more support. She pushed forward and used a sword-skill once from the right. She jumped in the middle of her swing and spun with it, another sword-skill charged, and lowered her aim so that she could it the beast before landing on her feet. This did a total of 327!(+34) damage as she let go of the Scythe with her right hand, the momentum of her swings causing it to naturally go left, where she spun it around in her hand and let the shaft hit her back. She waited in a defensive, stand strong kind of stance. It jumped upward a bit more this time, and Evpraksia's eye widened at its speed. She wouldn't be able to side-step this attack, and so she leaned back and fell, turning her Scythe in her hand so that the blade will fall flat to the ground. The wolf went over her head, and it bit downward in hopes of getting her, but alas, it failed.

Now! Evpraksia thought as she was still falling, and she pulled her leg back a bit, pushed her the Scythe into the ground, and kicked off the ground. All of this added up to her trying to spin, and it slightly worked as she was facing sideways when her left hand finally hit the ground. She pulled herself onto all four of her limbs before kicking forward, the Scythe held loosely. Before even preparing, she swung her arm out with the loosely held Scythe, it swinging around and hitting the creature as it landed. She swore under her breath before grabbing the other end of her Scythe with her right hand. If she didn't act fast, she'd die. Evpraksia pushed forward and slid her hand down the Scythe, bringing it down on the creature. The moment the Scythe hit, she pulled the blade out and spun it in her right hand like a baton. The Scythe stopped with the end of the shaft in front of her, and she quickly grabbed it and ran forward with a sword skill, the Scythe slicing through a clean portion of the wolf. In fear that it wasn't dead yet, she turned around to see it facing her, and her eyes lit up in fear. She did 269(+33), which made her end total of damage just shy of one-thousand. Was this wolf really level ten? She felt herself fear, and after a second of silence, the wolf exploded into particles, and Evpraksia breathed heavily from relief of the fear. She let out an anxious laugh as she fell to the ground, her heart pounding furiously. She looked at the time, it was nearing 1:00 in Aincrad time.

Loot Received:
35 COL
2x Minor Health Crystal (50 Health)
Alpha Wolf Hide (Crafting Material)

Evpraksia accepted her loot, but destroyed the Alpha Wolf Hide. She didn't need it, and she doubted anybody would get into crafting so early; it wasn't something that you could easily pick up until level ten. Making her way to the forests edge, she looked through it to find a suitable spot. After about twenty minutes of searching, she took out her Scythe and hooked it onto a tree, pulling herself up with it, and ignoring the annoying "Immortal Object" beep that kept buzzing her due to the Scythe. As she got into a comfortable position, she put her Scythe into her inventory due to its bulky size, and she rested peacefully in the upper branches of the tree. It was a rough material to sleep on, but what did it matter in this world?

It's not like this is real... she thought, her mind pushing the entire "death game" notion to the side, and instead treating it like a game that has a new plot-twist. She looked to the time before closing her eyes, 1:32 in Aincrad time.

-

"THAT BASTARD! SHE DIDN'T WAIT FOR ME!" Sinthia yelled in outrage as she woke up, her anger toward Lyliana for not waiting to fight. Sinthia looked at the time, 7:20 Aincrad time. Without a moment of hesitation, she ran to the Inn. She didn't know exactly where it was, but sur- oh! There it is. Sinthia burst through the door and looked around. Where could she be?

"Oh, hello!" said a friendly voice, and Sinthia looked over to the occupier of said voice, it was Razor.

"Have you seen Lyliana?" Sinthia asked, and the smiling expression that was on Razor's face soon faded.

"Yeah, you're the girl that killed those two bandits, aren't you?" Razor asked, and Sinthia smiled deviously with a nod. Razor looked at her smile with a bit of confusion, and she just giggled.

"They were boring, no fun to kill! I bet Lyliana would be a lot of fun to kill!" Sinthia said, and Razor's eyes reacted violently: widening before darting to the exit and back. He closed his hands into fists as the color drained from his skin, and he walked toward the exit. The thought of somebody being able to kill without regret, remorse, or anything of that nature, and to have FUN while doing it! It made Razor sick, but Sinthia enjoyed his reaction, and sat down at the table.

Razor didn't want to kill anybody, no matter the consequences.

Triste opened her eyes to see sunlight streaming in through her bedroom window. She looked around, seeing her bed and her desk and the television that sat upon her dresser. A wide smile spread across her face as she realized It was just... a dream! She threw off the covers and ran towards the window on the far side of the room, her bare feet pounding on the wood floor.

She parted the deep purple curtains and peered outside. There was the Hale's house and the Irving house beyond it. Caught in a trance of joy and relief, she pressed her forehead to the glass and closed her eyes.

"Thank you..."

"Hey." A voice spoke up behind her. It was familiar, a voice that brought much comfort.

"Cia, I-" She spun around, expecting to see her friend. However, she found herself looking down at a small, dark skinned girl with a sword in hand. Triste blinked in surprise and her smile almost instantly disappeared. "...W-what?"

No reply. Andromeda simply thrust her sword through Triste's stomach, sparks bursting from the wound.

Pain seared through her and she dropped to the ground, a scream piercing the air. When she looked up, she saw nothing but a laughing child. Tears streamed down Triste's face as she watched her health bar drop rapidly.

It hit zero, and she bursted like a firework.


Her eyes shot open. She saw the wood-beam ceiling of the inn. Her heart was pounding in her chest and there were tears streaming down her face. She sat up quickly, wiping them away with her sleeve. She glanced through the window that sat above the bed-frame and saw that she was still within the game. She sighed, noting that it was morning.

There was a list of things she needed to do.

Inhaling sharply, she rose to her feet. She re-equipped her cloak and let the hood fall over her shoulder-blades. She stood in the middle of the room for a while before she finally moved her long braid to her left shoulder and opened the door. Peering around the hall before stepping out, Triste made her way back down to the base floor, her stomach growling like the wolves she defeated the day before.

She decided she should get some breakfast with her abundance of Col and turned to order some when she saw a familiar face. Just the one she saw in her dream. She hesitated, unsure if she should sneak out or stay and eat.

She let out a low groan and rushed to the counter, her mouth watering.

Sinthia's eyes darted to Yukino, and she twitched. Upon realizing whom it was, she stopped and smiled. Letting out a simple giggle. She leaned next to the door and stared at Yukino, her eyes both malevolent, and full of excitement.

"Yukino, I'm surprised you haven't questioned me as to where she went..." Sinthia said to make Yukino aware of the missing player. Who knew what she would say once she found out that she went missing, but Sinthia was really excited to find out. Sinthia's face devious and tyrannical; she wanted to see just how far she could push Yukino in this situation.

"Well... Do you want to know what happened after you left? I can fill you in on bits and pieces, but I won't go into details..."

Triste glanced at Andromeda as she took a big bite of the dumpling she spent 7 Col on. Did something happen to Grim? Did Andromeda kill her? She felt her cheeks heat up, and she swallowed quickly. "Fill me in..." She replied cautiously, her icy eyes eyeing the young girl's face.

Without faltering in her smile, she walked toward Yukino, her steps drawn it longer than they needed to be, as though she was adding a dramatic effect herself.

"She decided to play solo. The moment she saw that you were gone, she left the party and went on her own, during the night. Don't know what happened to her, but I do know that you leaving left a hard impact on her." she told her, and then she heard the voice of Lyliana speak.

"She's probably dead, honestly. Though I like how you left the part out about her slapping you around." she said, and Sinthia gritted her teeth, her expression changing swiftly as she bent her knees and got into a position to sprint, almost like a trained animal. "Yeah, it was funny. Scythe Girl slapped her around, and then left. You should have seen Andromeda's face."

"You didn't wait for the fight." Sinthia said, but her mind was on more than just that, now.

Triste looked down at her dumpling, guilt and worry welling in her stomach. Grim decided to go solo because of her. Grim might have gotten killed because of her. If only she had stayed and been a big girl, one that understood that what she did to those bandits was for the better. Instead, she had left them.

She took a small bite, glancing at Andromeda with mixed emotions playing in her blue eyes.

Grim wouldn't die. She's too strong to be killed by a mob. Triste knew that. Grim playing solo was a choice of her own, and she wouldn't have made it if she didn't think she could handle it.

Lyliana raised her eyebrow, and then sighed. She walked over to Sinthia put her finger to her forehead. Sinthia, in retaliation, went to knock her hand away, but she stopped mid-motion once she saw Lyliana's face. It was more serious than usual, and also showed a bit of her defiance toward others, kind of like Sinthia herself.

"We both know that we could fight all day for a spectacular battle, but there's a problem with that. While we decide to sit back and fight each-other, other players are fighting mobs to get stronger, and if they surpass us, who's to say that they'll think twice about killing you?" she said, and Sinthia's eyes widened. Though she didn't like it, she knew she was right, and with a smile dawning on her face, Sinthia grabbed Lyliana's hand.

"Well then. How about we party up and fight another time?" she asked, and Lyliana laughed, but accepted the request. Their eyes locked for a moment as though they were making some form of agreement.

"Well, Yukino, it was nice meeting you again. I wish you luck, and I hope to see you again." Lyliana said, showing a bit of her more caring nature. "Though, you might want to pick up a different weapon skill..." she said, her eyes glancing at the throwing picks at her side. With that, Sinthia left the door in a sprint, and Lyliana, reluctantly, follow.

"Andromeda! Wait up! You idiot!" Lyliana shouted behind her, and Sinthia laughed.

"Catch me if you can!"

-

Evpraksia awake with a start as she looked around. Suddenly she felt herself move upwards, as though she were falling. Looking down in shock and confusion she saw the sky, and then felt a hard thud as her head hit the ground. Her eyes closed and she held the back of her head as she realised she had woken up hanging off the tree. Without sitting up, she groaned and felt around, trying to get a hold of herself. With some effort she pulled herself up and sat with her back against a tree. She looked forward, and saw the figure of a man that she vaguely recognised. As she pushed her mind to figure out who it was they started to walk away, and, in her current condition, she could not follow him. Eagerly, but bitterly, she pushed herself up and went to follow, yet her mind was so disoriented that all she could do was manage to stumble into a tree. She leaned against the tree and tried to regain her senses. After a few minutes, she felt safe to walk again, and, knowing that the person was long gone, she decided it was best to make her way to the next city. Turning her back on the wolves that she had hunted last night Evpraksia equipped her weapon and walked through the forest.

So familiar... Where do I know them from? she said, and then she felt cold and uncomfortable. It was as though she was being watched by somebody.

Triste watched the pair leave, her face tired. "Tell me about it..." She muttered before eating the rest of her breakfast. She rose from the chair she had found herself sitting in and made her way out of the inn. She had to find a weapon shop. Her cloak gave her a boost to daggers, so maybe she should buy one of them. Small and quick; her kind of style. She could equip the dagger skill and get rid of the acrobatics skill...

First, she just had to find the shop. She inhaled and pulled the hood up over her white hair.

Sinthia made it to the edge of the city as she waited for Lyliana, and with a glance over at her battlefield she could see Razor exiting the forest, and making his way toward a wolf. Now she would be able to watch his combat style. With eager eyes, she watched as he went to attack the beast. Suddenly, he lifted his shield arm and let the attack hit. Without staggering, faltering, or hesitating, Razor dashed forward with a flurry of swings. It wasn't long before the beast had died, but Sinthia's eyes were fixed on Razor. Whatever weapon that was, it was stronger than Lyliana's, and his shield must also be strong.

Lyliana ran up to her side and punched her in the back of the head, panting as she tired.

"Listen, brat." Lyliana said as Sinthia pushed herself to her feet in a low growl, and she looked toward Lyliana with malice. "If we're going to party together, we have to stick together. You running off will get you killed." she continued, Sinthia's rage fueled even more by lack of acknowledgement. Without a second of hesitation she drew her sword and swung at Lyliana, but Lyliana's hand was already on her sword handle, and all she did was lift the blade from its sheath, Sinthia's blade meeting the middle and stopping.

With a slight bounce in her step, Triste made her way down the street. Dust erupted into the early morning air each time her feet scraped against the cobble street that belonged to the commercial area of Lupus. Her fingers tapped to an inaudible beat as her eyes scanned the tan buildings for any sign of a weapon shop.

Ting! Ting! She squinted far into the distance to see the sign she had been waiting for. A man was standing by an anvil, pounding away. The wooden sign above him wiggled in the breeze, slapping against the side of the shop as though to further make her aware of its location. A smile leapt onto her pale face, and with it, she broke into a run.

The vendor glanced up and flashed a smile that made white pop across his dirty face. She stopped short of him and got some money out. "I need a dagger." She said, looking up with a friendly smile. After a second of hesitation she added "Please."