^^ Slayer Skin ^^
Where I was going to keep the thousands of new Monsters was an issue I had to address Immediately; if the Grey Faction finished the Event and exited out to the sight of a Horde of Demons, no amount of explanations on my end would keep them from attacking, and either dying or destroying my newly collected war potential.
"Buy me a block of Space underneath a portion of my Ocean, and turn about fifty square feet of the area above it into a circular Island?" I sighed, looking at the screens of the Grey Faction as they slowly solved a puzzle that would lead them into the Boss Room with only 2 hours left in the Event.
Cost of 1000 Gold; Confirm?
"Confirm." I nodded, and as soon as it was added I sent my Slimes to eat away at the two blocks, creating a central cavern and several dozen offset caves and tunnels along the ceiling, empty for now. Once the Cavern was empty, I hopped off my Giant friend and began creating a ring of silver, about 30ft tall to fit all of them through, then activated 'Pocket-Plane'. "Go on, all of you. In you go." As they marched in, a river of Level 50 skeletons and vampires and giant hulking zombies, I opened my chat screen expectantly, waiting for the inevitable chat from the GM. While I waited, the Grey Faction solved the puzzle on the door, entering the Boss Room; there, above a a Sea of Acid and marble Pillars, a Dungeon Architect waited for them, ominously floating above the Toxic, Acidic Mire below. "Ooooh... he's Dead. Dead Meat." I growled under my breath, muttering threats to the GM while the Giants dragged the Dragon Skeletons into the Dungeon and I returned to my Lab in the Ship.
GM Notice: '... Ms. Bordeaux, do I even need to say anything?'
"There's quite a bit you need to say, starting with 'I'm Sorry, Ms. Bordeaux, for my BULLSH!T THEFT OF YOUR ENTIRE DUNGEON FOR MY EVENT!!!' How about that?!?" I snapped, slamming my Fist into the table with a bang.
GM Notice: 'Well, that's a bit harsh, I certainly made alterations to your designs, and we've already addressed this; I've already apologized, what more would you have me do?'
"As if apologies make everything better?!? THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE A HIDDEN BOSS THAT NO-ONE HAS EVER SEEN BECAUSE I CREATED IT!!! I AM BEYOND P!SSED, GM, BEYOND!!!" I growled, and threw myself into my chair. "But whatever, you're right, why would I expect more than an apology? It's not like you broke your own rules and your promise to me, our Contract, the whole nine yards, why would I think your word meant anything to you? What more would I have you do? What, remove the Dungeon Boss and replace it with something from your own drawing board? Or, make the Dungeon Architect a non-Violent Charisma/Intelligence Clear with a 50/50 success rate and never ever use something of mine without permission ever again, on pain of legal action? Expect you to have some Balls in the upcoming updates when the Trolls complain about Alchemists being too OP, despite the fact that Warriors have Five Times as much HP as us? No, why and how would I expect any of that from you, given your showing so far?" I snapped bitterly at the air, conjuring a cup of tea to calm myself down a bit.
GM Notice: 'I understand that you're angry, and I understand why; I can only apologize, because interrupting and changing the Event while it is going would only aggravate the situation for the Players. Still, your Party is receiving the Gate Clear Rewards for the two Dungeons, as well as the Questline... but none of that allows you to have a Horde of Demons at Level 50 in a Level 30 Dungeon.'
"Then demote them to Level 30 while they're inside the Dungeon, and allow them to Level Up for Free as I raise the Level of my Dungeon! I don't care!" I waved a hand, dismissing the Chat angrily and opening my Dungeon Crafter to sort the Undead Demons into the Cavern as a massive boneyard; in the center, I placed the Demon Spawner platforms with their Obelisk, but with a Throne of Obsidian shaped out of the side in order to mask its true purpose: controlling all the Undead in the Dungeon. The Chat dinged again, despite my having dismissed it, and I growled angrily at it for a minute before finally opening it.
GM Notice: 'That only works by way of GM Commands; it won't actually summon Demons for you.'
"We'll see about that." I smirked, dismissing the Chat again and opening the notes from the Archaist's Laboratory; there were Spells that summoned Demons to your side, usually for the higher-level Mages, but if my Level 50 Grand Archaist enchanted them into the Platforms, then they'd summon Demons on command, and the Throne, enchanted with the Command Skill, would give control of them all to the Fallen Titan on the Throne.
GM Notice: 'Alright, You've proven me wrong, I suppose, though it works differently from mine... the Dungeon Architect was carefully switched to Non-Violent before they engaged it, just so you're aware... the Grey Faction is currently working their way across the Platforms, towards the Center, and they have 1:26 left in the Event.'
I closed the Chat again, then opened it, speaking to one of the Level 50's of our Guild. 'This is a Charisma/Intelligence Clear. That is the Dungeon Architect, a Non-Violent Construct; the Light and Dark Factions have both died, so all you need to do is succeed at the Clear, and Grey Faction wins. It's creator's name is Samantha Bordeaux, and it is a Grey-Aligned Construct with an Intelligence of 60, but a Charisma of 20, so go for the Charisma Clear for the easier Riddle or Philosophical crap it'll spit out to test you. I'll leave it up to you whether or not you tell the other Guilds, or if you let our Guild be the only Survivors of the Event... Also, use a Base like Baking Soda to turn the Acid underneath you into Harmless Liquid.' -Captain-Bordeaux.
On the screens, one of the Players looked down at their Chat discreetly, balancing on a pillar and disguising the motion required to open the Chat pretty well, then glanced around and sent a Chat to their Party, the thirty or so members of our Guild.
GM Notice: 'You do know that that's not fair, right?'
"I've closed this Chat Three times now, dude!!! Get your head out of your @ss and get the message! Until I've decided to calm down and not be p!ssed at you, do not open this Chat Again!!!" I snapped, closing it with a wide swipe of my hand and stomping out of my Lab, towards the Parlor.
'Hey, Sam? You've been up there for a while, are you okay?' -Jack-Skellington.
"I'm fine, dear; that Construct, the GM stole it from my Dungeon. Again. We've had a conversation, and there will be more words for me to say to the GM, once I've calmed down a bit." I answered calmly, sitting next to Jack and across from the rest of my Party with a tight smile.
"Oh... you made that?" Jack hummed, looking at the Guild as the pillars started getting smaller and smaller, requiring greater balance and dexterity as they went.
"I did, all of it. My version is much cooler, but this one is alright, I guess. Hopefully they follow my advice, otherwise they're screwed entirely... thank you, dear." I sighed, and accepted a glass of hot tea from the waiter with a nod.
"So... you made it... how do you kill it?" One of the other Guild Leaders asked, leaning around his friend to ask.
"You'll see... when my Guild Wins the Event." I answered dryly, smirking at his angry muttering and complaining as his friends laughed and pulled him back to their table.
Almost on Queue, the members of the Superbia Guild surged forward past the others, seemingly racing each other towards the center platform where the bronze Sphere hovered silently. Flight was impossible in the room as Gravity was controlled inside the space by the Dungeon Architect, so the Archers made it first, with one Seducer leading the pack and landing in front of the Sphere in a rush. A brief exchange followed, wherein everyone in the Boss Room paused in place as they listened to a Riddle that seemed to come from the stones around them, and the Archer answered, grinning at the question. There was another beat of tension, before the screens went black, and the Grey-Faction appeared on the Island below, Party by Party. A roaring cheer and stomping of many feet shook the ship slightly as we celebrated, but I remembered something important; this was only Round 1.
The GM's Avatar appeared over the island with a smooth mist graphic that had Kenny grinning, clapping politely for the Winners of Round 1, apparently. "Well done, Grey Faction!!! Round 1 is officially complete, and Grey Faction is the winner, as well as the only one remaining in the Event, which I'm sure no one saw coming!!! Luckily, the Second Round doesn't need that many people!"
"Wait, we're the only ones left, though? Don't we win the whole thing?" One of the Mages on the ground called up to him, barely audible for us until I made Subtitles appear, surprised but thankful for the option.
The GM laughed exaggeratedly, leaning back and clapping his hands together like a seal. "WHAT?!? WIN, JUST LIKE THAT?!? HA!!! Don't be ridiculous, my friend, there's still Two Rounds left!!! You may be in First Place, yes, but if you don't complete the entire Event, you're not going to win the Prize at the end!!! I don't give out Participation Trophies, my friends, you'll have to earn your way into the Rankings!!! But don't worry, all is not lost; the Second Round is three more Dungeons, still Level 50, but built by the Grey Faction, not me. There are 12 Grey Guilds here, so it works out, I think, for 4 Guilds to go into each Dungeon!" He clapped once more and the three ruined Gates vanished without a trace, replaced by three Grey stone Gates. "But, First; Your Rewards!!!"
40M XP Awarded to Party 'Silver Web' for the clearing of the Dark and Light Lvl 50 Dungeons!!!
25K Gold's worth of Mysterious Crystals Awarded to Party 'Silver Web' for the Clearing of the Dark and Light Level 50 Dungeons!!!
10M XP Awarded to Party 'Silver Web' for the Completion of the Event Quest: 'Rip and Tear'!
'Slayer' Skin Awarded to Party 'Silver Web' for Completion of Event Quest: 'Rip and Tear'!
Slayer Skin: while wearing this Skin, Enemies with an Int below 20 will automatically Flee from you, you will Auto-Pass Intimidate Checks against Dark NPC's Lower Leveled than you, and Light/Grey-Faction NPC's will automatically trust and respect you. (+25 to Charisma, all Factions.)
10M XP Gained!
(Progress Lvl 33: 10.137M/350K-> Lvl 34)
Level Up! Congratulations Sam, Level 45 Alchemist!
Abilities Unlocked: Labyrinthian Engineer (15)!
(Progress Lvl 45: 287K/2M -> Lvl 46)
Labyrinthian Engineer (15): The Traps you set deal an additional +25 Modifier.
The Skin, (a gladiatrix outfit made of black leather and buckles and covered in a permanent paint job of gore and scorch marks,) barely registered as I stared at the Progress Bar in confusion. "Wait... Level 45... but no Rank Up? I was supposed to Rank Up at Level 40, right?"
Tangent chuckled softly. "Level 45, Huh? 11 Levels at once? Well, I suppose that makes sense, with 20 Million XP shared amongst your Party! But no, no one gets to rank up between 40 and 50; it evens out, see, so that every Class gets a Rank Up at Level 50, as well as their chance at Ascension Skills, to make up for the Levels without the Rank Up."
"Hm... alright, in the interest of Fairness, I guess that makes sense..." I nodded, and looked at the others of my party, all four of them staring at me in shock. "What?"
Hellen smacked Kenny and Uric in the back of their heads, making them guiltily duck away, but halted before smacking Jack, and looked at me again. "Your call. As for what they were staring at... look at your Avatar, honey."
I looked down, and laughed heartily as I discovered the Gladiatrix Skin had been left applied, leaving me in a leather 'armored' halter-top, an 'armored' left gauntlet that went all the way to the shoulder, a Roman mini-skirt, and thigh-high leather boots, all covered in an unnecessary amount of silver buckles and studs that altogether made me remember my high-school years very clearly. Supremely pleased by my lover's rapt attention, I gently patted Jack's chin to close his mouth, instead of smacking him like Hellen had intended. "Jack... Look all you like, but do remember your manners and keep your mouth closed while you do so, my dear?" I chided him gently, then stretched in my chair and kicked my boots up into his lap with a satisfied smirk at his befuddled nod of acquiescence.
"So... Ahem! Level 45 for us, too, even though we were a Level behind you... hey! should I be worried about this? This is the 3rd Time we've Jumped Levels in 2 Months." Hellen sighed, smacking Uric and Kenny again on their shoulders to get their attentions.
"I mean... did you want to Grind those Levels? Because I love Grinding Mobs for XP and Loot, and I'm happy to create a second character to Grind our way up to Level 50, but I thought you wanted to get to Level 50 before Next Year?... which is in 12 Hours?" I hummed, confused.
She held up her hands, surrendering immediately. "You're absolutely correct, I'm just asking if I should be worried that you're going to continue attempting to Level the entire Party Up without our actually doing anything? I mean, all we did was shoot some turrets and some Lightning, and we got 11 Levels. It feels..." she halted, struggling with the word.
"Cheap." Tangent Supplied, nodding seriously.
"Yes! That!" She snapped her fingers and pointed at him victoriously.
"Hmm... alright, that's fair. I'll try to stop acting so... recklessly independent, when we're together. Fair?" I agreed with her assessment, leaning back and sipping my tea for a moment before glancing at Jack; immediately, I spat out my tea, then panicked and cleaned the hot tea off of my chest with a handkerchief (smoothly offered to me by Tangent) before doing a double-take to see if my sight was playing tricks on me, but it didn't seem like it was. Kenny, Jack, and Uric all wore what could only be described as a Badass Gladiator's Armor, complete with one full shoulder-length Gauntlet of Runed Mithril, full-length Pants that merged with their equally awesome Mithril Boots, a half-plate chest-piece, and a wicked Warlord-Style Helmet attached to their belts, all covered in studs and buckles and heavy metal, while Hellen and I wore the 'Slutty 'Goth' Babe for Halloween' Costume Version of the legitimately Awesome Skin. "What. The. F$&K?!?" I snapped, glaring at my Chat and Daring the GM to have something to say about this.
Hellen sighed slowly, shrugging at my simmering rage. "Yeah, it's not fair, but what did you expect from a bunch of nerds when they're told to make Female Armor? I mean, they don't know where the Organs are when they make Fake Porn, so why would women need those organs protected in Armor?"
Tangent cleared his throat uncomfortably, accepting his handkerchief as I returned it, cleaned already by my Slimes. "Most Skins are more... Equal, but I suppose they couldn't have left the chest quite as Exposed for the Female Version?"
Hellen and I scoffed derisively at the same time as the six other women in the Parlor, and he leaned back in his seat, thoroughly scared into silence along with the other men in the room, -though Jack was scared a bit when he mentioned the Chest being exposed, and had reacted reflexively to cover himself, then changed his Skin back to the Dreadnaut Skin with an embarrassed blush.
After a few tense moments, I changed my Skin back to Dreadnaut as well, turning my attention (begrudgingly,) to the Event below. The Guilds had formed their teams by now, separated into three groups of four, and they were currently playing Ro-Sham-Bo for who went into which Dungeon. "Second Round of Betting Has Begun!!!" I called out, realizing no one had announced it yet, and logged a 5,000 Gold bet for the Superbia Guild to win the Pot. "And I suppose that's all we needed to do for the day, other than continue to watch the Event... unless you guys want to go Clear all the Grey Dungeons and try to get to Level 50 while they're mostly empty, after the Event?"
"I like the sound of that, actually; I know we only spent a month here in the City of Adepts, but I want to go see the City of Grand Challenges, the Level 50-75 Dungeon Cluster!" Jack grinned excitedly, then blushed when I patted his cheek gently.
"We will go see it sometime, but we're not leaving here for a little while, Jack; the Dungeons in the Level 51-75 Range apparently have Otherworldy Levels of Difficult, so we'll need to build up Levels here anyway. Isn't that what everyone does, staying at Level 50 without Ranking Up until they have enough XP to safely Level Up to Level 60 all at once?" I asked Mr. Tangent with a knowing smirk, and sipped my tea while he chuckled.
"You're not wrong. As for the Dungeons, I don't suggest trying a Level 50 Dungeon while you're only Level 45... it simply won't end well, and we both know that this was a Fluke." Tangent sighed, setting aside his drink and returning his eyes to the Screens where our Guild was fighting through Level 50 Monsters that came in seemingly-endless waves or in huge forms on their own.
"We'll see." I smiled mischievously, and moved back to my seat in Jack's Lap, relaxing into the much more comfortable cushion of his thighs and abs as we settled in to watch the Event and make sure no one was cheating. (Our original, forgotten purpose.)