>>4000531
>Focus on analyzing how Edit played in that match - anything you can glean will be useful, no matter how big or small.
>Ask Cinder what she thought of the match - she seems incredibly put off by something about it.
>Walk over to Golden's console and congratulate him on the victory - you intend to let him know that you'll honor his deal.
>Walk over to Edit's console and start to slyly rag on him - you aren't above being petty whatsoever.
>Write-in.

Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Gun%20x%20Glory

>>4000533
>>Ask Cinder what she thought of the match - she seems incredibly put off by something about it.
Something something "that was only 20% of his strength." Won't be an accurate analysis if that wasn't Edit's usual play style.

>>4000533
>Ask Cinder what she thought of the match - she seems incredibly put off by something about it.

>>4000533
>Ask Cinder what she thought of the match - she seems incredibly put off by something about it.

>>4000533
>Ask Cinder what she thought of the match - she seems incredibly put off by something about it.

>>4000546
>>4000558
>>4000567
>>4000569
Writing now! I wonder what's got her upset?

>>4000574

The expression on Cinder's face really bothers you, so you turn to fully face your friend who's eyes haven't moved an inch from the screen.

"What's on your mind, Cinder?" You ask the girl, putting a hand on her shoulder to try and pull her from her thoughts. She opens her mouth to speak, but still doesn't move her head. That's a little bit creepy, you'll be real.

"The fuck is that asshole trying to pull?" Her voice is incredibly harsh, making even you flinch. Geez, you're not used to the pure scorn apparent in her voice, and you take a moment to be thankful that it isn't leveled at you.

"What do you mean? Seemed like a normal match to me."

"Well you'd be wrong there, Wolf. It isn't a normal match because he didn't use any of the bullshit he used to beat me." Her teeth are clenched, and you almost want to take a step away from her. "And not only that, but he went down far too easily...he even looked like he was finally going to do something at the end!"

Your mind is brought back to the moment before Golden finished him off. You can see what she meant - you recall his hand twitching, as if he was going to make an additional move to deter the boy...and he didn't.

"Well...it would make sense. I'm watching, after all." You shrug your shoulders, conceding that your first impression was wrong. If you knew that someone you were going to fight was right over your shoulders, you wouldn't go all out either.

"Even so, playing around like that is absolute bullshit."

"Cinder, calm down."

There comes a point where even you have to issue a remark, judging by some of the people eyeing your friend from throughout the crowd. Cinder is well-known at your arcade, and you don't want people to give her a hard time due to her emotions acting up on her.

You see her visibly struggle to contain her anger, but she takes a deep breath and runs her hands through her hair.

You look back to the machines and see that Edit and Golden have unhooked themselves - Edit is lounging in his seat and eyeing up Golden, while the blonde-haired boy is eagerly basking in all the praise being heaped upon him. You make out requests for matches, training, and everything under the sun...good for him.

"At least he got beaten, right?" You address Cinder again, to which she visibly bites down on the inside of her cheek.

"No, he didn't. Not the right way, at least."

You can't help but sigh at Cinder - her ideals of ettiquete apparently run much deeper than you thought, and she's still unwilling to compromise. Maybe it's just the fact that you've been out of the game for so long, but you struggle to see the issue with him being secretive - he may be a dick, but he's doing what you would have done.

>>4000608

>Attempt to console your friend while asking about Edit's style - maybe it'll help settle her mind.
>Beckon Golden over with a hand - even if he didn't fight Edit at his best, any information is valuable.
>Walk over to Edit and ask where his partner is - you don't want to waste time in getting this match over with.
>Take out your phone and dig up Edit's Warscape profile - some websites may have short clips, so you'll be able to see him for yourself. [This will require a roll.]
>Write-in.

>>4000613
>Attempt to console your friend while asking about Edit's style - maybe it'll help settle her mind.

>>4000613
>>Attempt to console your friend while asking about Edit's style - maybe it'll help settle her mind.
I'd be up for Golden coming in too, three heads and all that.

>>4000608
>Attempt to console your friend while asking about Edit's style - maybe it'll help settle her mind.

>>4000628
>>4000630
>>4000632
Console your friend - writing now!

>>4000613
>>Beckon Golden over with a hand - even if he didn't fight Edit at his best, any information is valuable.

>>4000649

You try and bring some softness into your tone, wrapping an arm around your friend's shoulder. She finallly breaks her stare from the screen as she turns to look at you, her eyebrow raising at the gesture.

"Even if it wasn't the right way, it still is a victory. We still can use that to piss him off." You give her a bit of a hammy grin, and she rolls her eyes at you. "Now tell me about his style - if I didn't see it just now, I don't want to be flying blind."

You look towards the man in question, and find that he's staring right back at you. His head is held in his hand, and a lazy smirk is plastered across his face. If you were to put words to that look, he would be saying, "Go on, let her tell you!".

For the love of god, you don't think you've met someone this irritating in your entire life.

"Well, the match was short - you know that." Cinder notices Edit's gaze and leads you away from the consoles, walking three rows down and moving behind a group of fighting game cabinets. You remember a kid convincing you to play him on them, and getting your ass handed to you spectacularly. Cinder looks around to make sure that you weren't followed, and you can't help but make a comment about it.

"Why all the secrecy? I just asked about what his style is. I doubt he gives a shit if you tell me in front of him or not."

"If he kept looking over here, I was going to punch him in the mouth." Cinder seethes before remembering your earlier words, trying to reign it in as best as she's able. "Anyways, the main thing that he can do seems like it's cheating, but it's not."

"...excuse me?"

"He can teleport. Seemingly at will."

"I...highly doubt that would make it into the game. Is it a homemade item?"

"That's what I thought! And yes, it is! I don't know how he did it, but it's apparently legal, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to enter half of the tournies he's been in!"

You feel a sudden sense of dread - you recall the discussion about people being to upload guns and gadgets to the game.

"Is there some sort of critieria to what can be submitted?" You ask Cinder, running a hand through your hair as you eye the rest of the arcade. Other than the noise coming from near the Warscape machines, the place seems relatively calm.

"You can submit anything to the game as long as it isn't sexual. When you upload it, though, it has to be manually approved by Auxilia. An item will usually be assigned different qualifications - if it's good for casual play, private games, ranked, you know the drift. I don't know what item allows him to do that, but it must be approved for tournament play." Cinder's voice raises as she continues to speak, and you have to shoot her another look to get her to chill out.

"Do you happen to know...well, anything else?"

"Maybe I would have learned more if the match wasn't so fast! I only saw him once, and that was when he moved right up to me and killed me."

Well, shit. That sounds like a major issue.

>>4000693

>Go and bring Golden over to your little strategy circle - he's an active player, and even more so he's an Auxilia member. Maybe he knows something about this?
>Ask Cinder to try and search up any items matching that description - an item like that has to be a hot commodity!
>Give your ol' pal Fletcher a call - he has a wealth of game knowledge, so maybe this is in his ballpark.
>Fuck it - who cares about teleportation? You're more than happy to face him down without knowing more than that - it's what you would have to do in ranked play, after all.
>Write-in.

>>4000698
>>Go and bring Golden over to your little strategy circle - he's an active player, and even more so he's an Auxilia member. Maybe he knows something about this?

>>4000698
>Go and bring Golden over to your little strategy circle - he's an active player, and even more so he's an Auxilia member. Maybe he knows something about this?

>>4000698
>>Go and bring Golden over to your little strategy circle - he's an active player, and even more so he's an Auxilia member. Maybe he knows something about this?
This fucking game, man.

>>4000720
The state of this game is wild.

>>4000704
>>4000713
>>4000720
Writing now! Finally home so no more phoneposted updates. Never writing on mobile again, even if it kills me.

>>4000743

Suppressing the amount of cringing that the idea of teleportation in Warscape gives you, you look around the machines and see Golden still happily conversing with his droves of fans that he’s gathered over the past while. You take a moment to mentally discuss if bringing him over is the right thing to do, but the pros of dealing with him outweigh the cons in this scenario.

“I’ll be right back, Cinder.” You say to the girl, scratching your head and moving away from her.

“Where are you going? Aren’t we gonna strategize?” She looks confused by your sudden antics, and almost a bit put out that you didn’t have a larger reaction to the news she just delivered.

“We have an Auxilia member standing over there. He might know something about this, if only due to how rigorous their training is. Hold on a second.”

You’ve heard horror stories about what goes on in the halls of Auxilia – brutal coaches that push the players to their limits, the quality of food based on how well they play, sometimes making players lose sleep…you’re more than certain that such things are only rumors, but you heard them at a young enough age that they still resonate in your mind. All you know for certain is that they hold a higher standard than most, and that’s why they’re renowned as the best team in the league.

Shaking off those thoughts, you walk around the set of machines and towards the large crowd of people. Edit has shifted from his sitting position into having his feet dangle over the side of the console, and you see his smirk grow as you approach.

“So, did she tell you the situation? Still think you can beat me, you failure?” You stonewall him completely even as his singsong tone grates against your ears, instead wading into the growing crowd of people and noise to place a hand on Golden’s shoulder. The boy looks up at you, his blue eyes widening in surprise – he must not have expected you to come and talk to him.

“Hey. Congrats on the win, I need your advice.”

The boy immediately gets up out of his seat, the sheer speed of the action surprising you greatly. The people around him try to capture his attention once more, but he gently shuts them down with promises to come and talk later. With him dealing with the throngs of people, the two of you make your way back over to the group of machines that Cinder is now leaning against. She’s idly going through her phone, and she looks up when the two of you come into sight.

“Hey there.” Cinder’s tone even takes Golden off guard, and he looks to you with a questioning eyebrow.

“Guy pissed her off at a tournament, he didn’t play against you with his usual style, and she’s upset about it.” You summarize it the best you can, causing Cinder to shoot you a glare.

“You left out a lot of details there, Wolf!”

“Then catch him up to speed.”

While Cinder begins the task of updating Golden on everything that’s transpired, you lean back and contemplate how to approach this question.

>>4000789

>Ask Golden if he knows anything about Edit – he’s been a consistent player over five years, maybe he’s heard the name in passing?

>Ask Golden if he knows about any items matching that description – he plays for the organization who gives those approvals, so something like that may not be foreign knowledge to him.

>Ask Golden if anything felt off in that game with him – you’re aware that Cinder noticed his different play style, but perhaps Golden picked up some information with his admittedly superior eye.

>Write-in any questions you think are worth asking or discussing.

(Popping off to dinner, hope you've enjoyed so far and thank you for reading! Be back soon.)

>>4000794
>>Ask Golden if he knows about any items matching that description – he plays for the organization who gives those approvals, so something like that may not be foreign knowledge to him.

>>4000794
>Ask Golden if he knows about any items matching that description – he plays for the organization who gives those approvals, so something like that may not be foreign knowledge to him.

>>4000794
>Ask Golden if he knows about any items matching that description – he plays for the organization who gives those approvals, so something like that may not be foreign knowledge to him.
>Ask Golden if anything felt off in that game with him – you’re aware that Cinder noticed his different play style, but perhaps Golden picked up some information with his admittedly superior eye.
I want to ask both of these two but if we can only ask one, then I'd rather ask about the item itself.

>The boy immediately gets up out of his seat, the sheer speed of the action surprising you greatly.
Cute

>>4000794
>Ask Golden if he knows about any items matching that description – he plays for the organization who gives those approvals, so something like that may not be foreign knowledge to him.

>>4000794
>Ask Golden if he knows anything about Edit – he’s been a consistent player over five years, maybe he’s heard the name in passing?

>>4000794
>Ask Golden if he knows about any items matching that description – he plays for the organization who gives those approvals, so something like that may not be foreign knowledge to him.

>>4000804
>>4000812
>>4000818
>>4000865
>>4000888
Hello, I'm back! Sus out the details about this item. Writing now!

>>4000972

You wait for Cinder to recite all of the details she sees fit to include – and it takes a few minutes due to her anger striking back up again – but you find yourself able to cut in and ask your question to Golden.

“…with that being said, do you know [i]anything[/i] about an item that sounds like that? I figured since you’re with Auxilia, you’d be more qualified than most to answer that…also, you’re a team competitive player, and I assume things are trickier there than they used to be.”

You recall plenty of insane maneuvers that people would use to get an edge on the other team – a stunning example of this is when you fought against a group that had access to a ghillie suit. Your team lost that fight because of an incredibly well-placed sniper – he had a rope tied around his leg and dangled from the side of a mountain, blending in perfectly with the scenery. By the time you all realized what was going on, the match had ended and the five of you were struck for a loop.

“Hmm…lemme think.” Golden sticks his hands in his pockets and looks to the ceiling, apparently thinking hard on the topic. After a few seconds, he looks back at the both of you and shrugs his shoulders.

“I…don’t think a teleportation device would make it into ranked, honestly. I’ve heard of items like that, but they’re strictly limited to modes where you can just fuck around.”

“But he had to have had one! He disappeared and reappeared in front of me within a second! Could he have cheated and forced it in!?” Cinder fires back instantly, causing Golden to take a step back and raise his hands up in the air.

“H-Hey, calm down! He couldn’t have possibly made it that far while cheating, especially not with an item! The anti-cheat sensors are a lot more well-tuned than they used to be…Nova, would you mind if I used your incident as an example?”

“Go ahead.” You shrug your shoulders even as you feel a shiver come over your body – seems that’s an issue that still is unresolved within your brain.

“Alright, let’s use Nova’s example. He used an aim bot in that tournament, right?”

“The final game.” You butt in, eyes trained on Golden. After the whole incident with Rock, you would rather not have any more misinterpretations of how you used that god forsaken hack.

“Doesn’t matter. The point is that you were caught as soon as you fired off a shot – nowadays people get pinched the moment they log into a game with a cheat. That incident really snowballed, because after you used one publicly, a bunch of other kids got the exact same idea. Ever since then we’ve really had to up the security in that regard.” Golden says bluntly, and you feel yourself wince at that one. Another thing you could probably expect in your inbox if you ever decided to delve down the rabbit hole of hate-mail.

>>4001008

“So, in conclusion, I’m willing to bet that whatever he’s using, it’s not teleportation. As thrilling as that would be, we aren’t stupid enough to include that in ranked mode – people would abuse the shit out of it.” Golden shrugs his shoulders, looking at Cinder apologetically. “Sorry about that.”

Well, you at least got some useful information out of that – you can rule out teleportation, but you find it worrying that there’s an item that can at least emulate what it looks like.

>Ask Golden if he knows anything about Edit – he’s been a consistent player over five years, maybe he’s heard the name in passing?

>Ask Golden if anything felt off in that game with him – you’re aware that Cinder noticed his different play style, but perhaps Golden picked up some tells that show how he plays.

>Write-in any questions you think are worth asking or discussing.

>>4001011
>Ask Golden if anything felt off in that game with him – you’re aware that Cinder noticed his different play style, but perhaps Golden picked up some tells that show how he plays.

>>4001011
>>Ask Golden if he knows anything about Edit – he’s been a consistent player over five years, maybe he’s heard the name in passing?

>>4001011
>>Ask Golden if anything felt off in that game with him – you’re aware that Cinder noticed his different play style, but perhaps Golden picked up some tells that show how he plays.

>>4001011
>>Ask Golden if he knows anything about Edit – he’s been a consistent player over five years, maybe he’s heard the name in passing?

>>4001011
>Ask Golden if he knows anything about Edit – he’s been a consistent player over five years, maybe he’s heard the name in passing?
Active tracking item? Speed booster? Cloaking gear?

>>4001018
>>4001052
>>4001064
Is Edit noteworthy enough to land in the sights of Golden, even in passing? Well, we'll see. Writing now!

>>4001068

“That’s sort of a bummer…have you heard of the guy before in any capacity?” You ask Golden, and that one seems to give him pause. He mimes the same gesture he did moments ago, and when he looks down, he doesn’t look pleased.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of him – all I even know about the guy is that he’s a piss poor player, if all of this is to go by. Insulting someone at a tournament to force them to play you, trying to get under your skin while he’s shooting at you…he’s a fucking farce of a player, let me tell you that.”

You feel yourself let out a long sigh at Golden’s words and how Cinder immediately nods in agreement to them. Since when are you the one tasked to deal with the rowdy ones? It feels like the only one who treats Warscape as a game is you – and you hardly even want to play the damn game!

“Is there any way you could do some research about him before the match starts up?” Cinder says, trying to fish for any information that she can. Unfortunately, Golden shrugs his shoulders, looking back at her with a dissatisfied frown.

“Sorry, mate. Auxilia specifically bans websites from posting much other than the win loss records of a player, and as well as that, a lot of places have started turning towards paid subscription methods in order to view match clips. The only reason Nova’s thing blew up is because he’s…well, him.”

You raise an eyebrow at the boy.

“I recall Rock being able to delve up my earlier tournament footage before that farce of an analyzer set him off with it.”

“The Invitational is a whole different ballpark than day to day matches, man. Maybe he streams? I’ll do what I can, but I highly doubt finding clips will be an easy task – hell, he could be one of those streamers who locks their content behind a paywall, and there isn’t any way that I’ll subscribe to that prick.”

Cinder visibly sags, and when you go to put a hand on her shoulder, you’re interrupted by a swath of cold air washing over your form.

You look over to the door of your arcade, and sure enough, someone entered. You’re surprised to find that it’s the girl from earlier – she still has her puffy purple jacket on, apparently – and she walks over to the counter that you’re usually behind. After a few seconds of standing, she begins to look around with a curious expression on her face, potentially searching for you or someone.

Your business owner senses are tingling mighty hard, but you do sort of have a lot on your plate right now. Sticking around to learn some more information may have its merits, but at the same time she was nice to you earlier – not to mention leaving her there is bad etiquette for an arcade owner.

>>4001112

>Walk over and take your place behind the counter – you will NEVER ignore a customer in need!

>You still have some questions for Golden, so stay put and ask them – all information is valuable in order to get an edge.

>Stay put and scour the internet for anything related to the name worldEdit – you don’t need clips to hear what other people have to say about him. [This will require a roll.]

>Write-in.

>>4001115
>>Walk over and take your place behind the counter – you will NEVER ignore a customer in need!
I don't think we've ever put the game above our business. Golden's looking into it anyway so we can still talk to him later.

>>4001115
>Walk over and take your place behind the counter – you will NEVER ignore a customer in need!

>>4001115
>>Walk over and take your place behind the counter – you will NEVER ignore a customer in need!

>>4001115
>Walk over and take your place behind the counter – you will NEVER ignore a customer in need!

>>4001127
>>4001132
>>4001133
>>4001143
Whenever a customer needs you, you will be there. You are the OWNER of a FINE ESTABLISHMENT. Writing now!

>>4001115
>>Walk over and take your place behind the counter – you will NEVER ignore a customer in need!

>>4001148

After a few moments of weighing the benefits of information versus the benefits of continuing to be the best owner you can be, obviously you choose the latter. At this point in your life, Warscape isn’t an all-consuming thing that hangs over your head – it isn’t your job to knock assholes down a peg in a video game anymore. Your job is to HELP THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO FREQUENT YOUR ESTABLISHMENT AS WELL AS YOU CAN.

You simmer down on your internal all-caps tirade and shift out of your slouch, standing as tall as you can. All of this is going to go on the back burner while you help this girl out – Edit hasn’t come out of nowhere to flag you down yet, so you’re assuming he isn’t planning to start this bout quite yet.

“Can the both of you look this up on your own? I really have to attend to the storefront – as much as I’m for giving him [i]everything[/i] he deserves, I have a business to run.” Cinder waves a hand at you after this, telling you to get going.

“No problem, man. I’ll let you know if shit’s about to kick off!”

“And DON’T forget that you have a match against me to fulfill at some point.” Golden points at your face, nearly touching your nose with the tip of his finger. “I’ll let it slide for now, but soon…I’ll finally prove that I’m better than you, Nova!”

You reach out and lower his hand for him, walking past Golden as you do. He may have risen a bit in your good books for beating down Edit when he had it coming, but you aren’t prepared to hear this whole spiel.

>Give him another congratulations for the match and sincerely tell him that you intend to honor the deal – what, he’s earned a bit of respect from you!

>Shoot off a teasing quip and pat his head with a smirk – you’re well aware that you’ve signed on to a match against him, and you’ll add just a little bit more fuel to the fire.

>Roll your eyes and walk on without saying anything – you won’t feed his excitement; you have a job to do.

>Write-in.

>>4001164
>>Give him another congratulations for the match and sincerely tell him that you intend to honor the deal – what, he’s earned a bit of respect from you!

>>4001164
>>Give him another congratulations for the match and sincerely tell him that you intend to honor the deal – what, he’s earned a bit of respect from you!
With the earnestness, it'll probably bother him more than teasing would. It'll be great.

>>4001164
>>Give him another congratulations for the match and sincerely tell him that you intend to honor the deal – what, he’s earned a bit of respect from you!

>>4001164
>Roll your eyes and walk on without saying anything – you won’t feed his excitement; you have a job to do.

Please don't encourage him

>>4001172
we did promise

>>4001175

that doesn't mean we have to congratulate him again.

he's a person not a puppy

>>4001164
>>Roll your eyes and walk on without saying anything – you won’t feed his excitement; you have a job to do.

>>4001166
>>4001168
>>4001169
Be sincere with the lad - surely he can handle that much. Writing now!

>>4001191

(With this, I’m gonna be heading off for the night! I’ll be running as consistently as I can throughout the week, so please look forward to it if you enjoyed this! Thank you very much for coming by, and I hope you had a great time reading – please leave any comments, complements, critiques, or questions that you have. It helps me make this quest not shit! Have a great night, anons!)

“I haven’t forgotten, Golden. We did make a deal, after all.” You turn and face the boy as you walk away, a small smile flitting across your face as you do. “You did a good job on showing that asshole what’s what, so I’m more than happy to take you on as payment. Congratulations once again!”

You see a multitude of expressions flash across the boy’s face, and you can make out Cinder having to force her fist against her mouth in order to stifle the laughter that’s so close to breaking free. Golden eventually settles on indignant embarrassment, and so he turns away with an irritated flush across his face as he digs into his pocket for his phone. Once he’s fully faced away from you, you pivot on your heel and stride over to your desk.

Nothing like killing them with kindness! Also, he did do a good job today, so you’d give him some compliments. It was what Fletcher used to do for all of you – every win was something great, and every loss was something to improve upon.

Shaking those thoughts from your head, you look at the girl out of the corner of your eye as you make your way around the counter. As stated earlier, her purple jacket is still as puffy as ever. As well as that., you notice that she’s wearing a pair of jeans and a skirt over them. This is an absolute affront to fashion, but you choose not to make any external reaction as you come into her sight. She was about to press the bell you had added to your desk repertoire, and immediately retracts her hand when you show up.

“Hello, miss! I’m sorry for the wait, is there anything I can help you with today?” You adopt a kind tone as you stand in front of her, your eyes flicking across the desk to the blank envelope situated at the very corner of your desk. The one remnant from your trials two weeks ago sits within, and you still haven’t looked at it – part of you is scared, part of you wants nothing to do with it.

“Oh! Good afternoon, No—sir. Thank you again for your autograph earlier, it really meant a lot to me! I came here because I heard that there’d be a match of sorts taking place this afternoon?” Her eyes are inquisitive, and her voice even more so. Your head immediately snaps towards the Warscape machines, and you see Edit still idly perched in the console as a kid tries to get him out of it.

You let out a long sigh – he must have posted it to social media, and this person might be a follower of his.

>>4001238

>Tell her that yes, there is a match happening this afternoon! You’re more than happy to invite onlookers – in fact, you’ll always welcome in a friendly face.

>Ask her if she knows who the match is going to feature - there’s no reason not to fish for information while you can, if only to know how much Edit spilled.

>Notice that your phone is ringing against your side – someone is calling you, and you’ll answer it before you say anything.

>Tell her that nothing whatsoever is happening this afternoon. You know, like a liar.

>Write-in.

>>4001240
>Ask her if she knows who the match is going to feature - there’s no reason not to fish for information while you can, if only to know how much Edit spilled.
Why, we're just being a good owner and making sure the match she's talking about is the same match that's being held in our establishment! We strive for utmost service here. Though honestly, I doubt Edit leaked anything important like the identity of his partner.

>>4001240
>Ask her if she knows who the match is going to feature - there’s no reason not to fish for information while you can, if only to know how much Edit spilled.

>>4001240
>Tell her that yes, there is a match happening this afternoon! You’re more than happy to invite onlookers – in fact, you’ll always welcome in a friendly face.

>>4001240
>Ask her if she knows who the match is going to feature - there’s no reason not to fish for information while you can, if only to know how much Edit spilled.
Don't want to jump to conclusions that this is our match with Edit.

>>4001240
>>Notice that your phone is ringing against your side – someone is calling you, and you’ll answer it before you say anything.

>>4001240
>>Tell her that yes, there is a match happening this afternoon! You’re more than happy to invite onlookers – in fact, you’ll always welcome in a friendly face.

>>4001240
>>Tell her that yes, there is a match happening this afternoon! You’re more than happy to invite onlookers – in fact, you’ll always welcome in a friendly face.
Oh shit your back

Rolled 1 (1d2)

Good morning, everyone! Got some breakfast and I'm ready to get started for the day! How are you all doing?

It looks like we have a tie between the following two, so that means we get to solve it with a good ol' fashioned coin flip! Whichever it lands on is the winner!

>>4001253
>>4001259

>>4001984

You almost answer her straight away, but reel yourself back in the name of gathering more information! There’s no harm in checking what Edit put out there – if you’re lucky enough to hear the name of his partner, Cinder would probably be able to run with that information. Anything is a boon at this point, if only to have a solid lock on Edit and his partner’s synergy!

“Hmm…could I ask what match you’re referring to specifically? Just to ensure that it’s the right one, of course. I know the arcade a few blocks over runs local exhibitions pretty frequently.” You say to the girl, leaning against the counter and looking up at her incredibly pale face. Her eyes seem to brighten a bit, and you see her do a little half-hop in place.

“Ah, of course! The match in question is you and Dragon versus editWorld and his partner ceruleansky. Oh, I’m the partner by the way, I just wanted to make sure I got the right venue.” The girl says happily, and you almost acquire whiplash from how hard that revelation strikes you.

[i]She’s…the partner? From what little I’ve seen, they seem like total opposites [/i]

“I-I see.” You try to recover, running a hand through your hair in an attempt to quell the weird and sudden feeling this information gives you. “You’re his partner? That’s incredibly surprising.”

You half expected her to have an adverse reaction to the statement, but she waves a hand and brushes it off with a bout of melodious laughter.

“Believe me, I’ve been told that more times than I could count.”

You’re about to respond when you catch Cinder moving over out of the corner of your eye, and when she catches sight of the girl, her eyes light up in surprise.

“Hey! You’re that girl from the tournament!” Cinder exclaims, offering a raised hand in greeting as she moves behind the counter with you. You take a moment to look for Golden, but he’s apparently made himself scarce – you know that he at least didn’t go through the front door.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Dragon. I look forward to facing you today.”

“Huh? You’re HIS partner!?” Cinder has a much more pronounced reaction to this, head immediately snapping to the right and towards the cocky prick that’s still stationed in the [i]same damn console.[/i]

“Yes, I am. Thank you very much for the autograph at the event, by the way. It meant a lot to me.” The girl says, bowing her head a bit as she does so.

“Hey, no problem! You’re the first person to ask me for one, so…guess I’m movin’ up in the world!” Cinder is immensely satisfied with herself, and you can’t really blame her – you remember when you had been asked for your first autograph, and that shit felt like an adrenaline boost straight to the heart. You recall Drifter giving you a hard time about it, but you’re still not ready to approach that mental minefield, so you stop that thought directly in its tracks.

Besides, you have something far more interesting to focus on right now.

>>4002010

>Ask the girl how she knows Edit – these two are total opposites, at least at face value. You’re far too curious to let it slide, especially when she seems to be aware of his traits.

>Ask the girl if she enjoys collecting player autographs – she practically gave the same response to the both of you regarding them, and something about it seems a little weird.

>Go over and fetch Edit – if she’s his partner, then you’ll get this shit rolling immediately. You really would rather get him out of your establishment as fast as you can.

>Turn to Cinder and ask if the two of them found any information relating to Edit – that’s still the number one priority in your head right now.

>Write-in.

>>4002014
>Ask the girl how she knows Edit – these two are total opposites, at least at face value. You’re far too curious to let it slide, especially when she seems to be aware of his traits.
Probably collects autographs of future victims or something.

>>4002014
>Go over and fetch Edit – if she’s his partner, then you’ll get this shit rolling immediately. You really would rather get him out of your establishment as fast as you can.

>>4002014
>Turn to Cinder and ask if the two of them found any information relating to Edit – that’s still the number one priority in your head right now.

>>4002014
>Ask the girl if she enjoys collecting player autographs – she practically gave the same response to the both of you regarding them, and something about it seems a little weird.

Didn't expect to start the day off with a four-way tie, so I'm gonna go make myself some lunch since my breakfast was tiny and weak. Be back soon, vote is open until I return! Thank you very much for reading, and I hope your day is going good!

>>4002014
>>Turn to Cinder and ask if the two of them found any information relating to Edit – that’s still the number one priority in your head right now.

>>4002014
>>Ask the girl how she knows Edit – these two are total opposites, at least at face value. You’re far too curious to let it slide, especially when she seems to be aware of his traits.

>>4002014
>Turn to Cinder and ask if the two of them found any information relating to Edit – that’s still the number one priority in your head right now.

>>4002045
>>4002053
>>4002142
Back from eating! Writing now.

>>4002190

You don’t really see much of a reason to enquire further, at least for now. Now that this girl has shown up, you have no doubt that Edit will probably come over here to get the match kicked off - might as well see if Cinder found anything of use!

“Hey, Cinder. Did you stumble upon anything worth noting?” You ask the girl, causing Sky to tilt her head at the both of you.

“No videos as expected, but I did find something interesting…probably shouldn’t discuss it in front of her, though.” Cinder says firmly, looking over at Sky as she does. The purple clad girl raises her hands up, giggling nervously as she does.

“That’s entirely fair, although I would like to say that we know an awful lot about the two of you – your odds of victory may not be as high as you think.”

The casual way she says this seems off to you, and you can’t help but exchange an uneasy look with Cinder as you digest that information.

“Now that I have a semblance of an idea about your partner’s weird item, it’ll be a cakewalk! I won’t fall for it again, and I’m not gonna let him get under my skin.” You reach out and put a hand on her shoulder as you hear her tone shift, trying to calm her down before she starts yelling at the girl. You’re once again reminded that you’ve never seen her this offended before.

“Hey, hey, don’t get mad at me for what he did. We are different people, after all.” You could swear that there’s a glint of something hard in her eyes, but it’s a fleeting thing at best. “And even if you do know about his loadout, may I remind you that there will be two opponents present.”

It would have been fine if she ended the sentence there, but with her next words you have to clamp down on Cinder’s arm to stop her from jerking forwards.

“Even if you kill him, I’ll still be around. As well as that, the reason you lost isn’t because of the item itself – you were just too slow to stop him. With better reflexes, you may have been able to escape, but that simply wasn’t the case.”

Despite the words being laced with a pleasant tone, the effect of them hits Cinder hard. Cinder’s reflexes are pretty on point for the style that she plays, and having them openly disregarded must not sit well with her, considering you have to pull her back from the counter just as she’s about to speak.

“Cinder!” You whisper harshly in her ear, your hand clutching her shoulder. “Go and find Golden and see if he found anything useful. I’m not going to have you losing your cool in the arcade, understand? We’ll convene in the game.”

Cinder looks over at you with cold eyes, but you know they aren’t directed at you – she simply nods her head and stalks off from behind the counter, going off into the depths of the arcade.

When you’re certain that she’s gone, you turn to face Sky, who’s watching her leave with a surprised look on her face.

“You and Edit are real good at pissing people off, huh?”

“I…wasn’t aware that I said anything bad?”

You don’t really believe that.

>>4002271

>Ask the girl how she knows Edit – these two are a bit more alike than you thought, and your curiosity is now at its peak.

>Ask the girl if she enjoys collecting player autographs – you want to diffuse this situation as best you can, as the air is incredibly tense.

>Go over and fetch Edit – with Cinder on an even further warpath, you just want this fiasco to end.

>Write-in.

>>4002272
>>Ask the girl how she knows Edit – these two are a bit more alike than you thought, and your curiosity is now at its peak.

>>4002272
>Ask the girl if she enjoys collecting player autographs – you want to diffuse this situation as best you can, as the air is incredibly tense.

Christ this new generation is full of autists

>>4002272
>>Go over and fetch Edit – with Cinder on an even further warpath, you just want this fiasco to end.

>>4002272
>Ask the girl how she knows Edit – these two are a bit more alike than you thought, and your curiosity is now at its peak.

>>4002277
>>4002338
Writing now!

>>4002360
sure you are, anon

>>4002404
Forgetting my trip is my one bane in life.

>>4002360

(Sorry for the wait!)

You shake your head and try to put Cinder’s mood in the back of your mind – you have other things to focus on right now. As well as that, you can see Edit move out of the console from the corner of your eye, and he appears to be making his way in your direction. Not a lot of time left to question Sky, so you’ll have to be pretty hasty!

“Hey, I have a question. How exactly do you know Edit?” You pose the question to the girl, already steeling yourself for whatever Edit has to say when he arrives. Whilst this girl seems to have the same potential for cutting words, Edit has a much sharper tongue when it comes to doling out scathing remarks.

Looking back up to the girl, she appears to be mulling over your words.

“That’s a fair question! I’d say…the two of us have similar circumstances, and so we bonded over that.” She shrugs her shoulders slightly, beginning to slide off her puffy jacket. “Even if he’s a bit of a trash-talker, he’s fun to play with!”

“I think a bit is understating it somewhat, miss. He’s said nothing but bad things to me and my friend since he’s entered this place.” You respond, offering a hand towards her to take her jacket. She looks at you funny for a moment before handing it over, and you secure it on some good old-fashioned jacket hangers that you got during the renovation. Quality of life is where it’s at, baby!

“Well, if he’s been going that far, he probably thinks he’s better than you. And if he’s so certain about that, then he’s probably right!” She smiles demurely at you, and you immediately sense a heavy layer of sarcastic intent within her eyes. Oh, she’s a trash-talker too – she just doesn’t curse at you while doing it.

You’re not sure if that makes it better or worse.

“Well, don’t count us out just yet. We have our own tricks up our sleeves, you know?”

“You may be smart, but you’re a bit underequipped to make that claim. You don’t really have a lot to work with, unless you’ve been hiding something across all of your recent matches!” You have to stop yourself from taking a step back. Though her tone may be sweet, the words are as sharp as a tack. “I’d wager that unless you do some stocking up before the battle, you may not have legs to stand on – both in terms of game experience and your overreliance on items.”

Well, she’s certainly laying it on a little thick, even if she may be right. It’s an interesting thing that despite all of the items that exist in the game, along with the fact that her partner seems to make use of them too, that the two of them are so keen to look down upon them.

>>4002482

>Politely tell her that you’ll see how the match plays out, and turn to Edit and listen to whatever he has to say. He’s the one orchestrating this rodeo, after all.

>Feed into the trash-talk – remind her that once upon a time, you were considered a pretty damn good player. She shouldn’t be so keen to judge a book by its cover!

>Turn away from both of them and make your way to the machines – you need a moment to think. He can get ahold of you in-game.

>Write-in.

>>4002485
>>Feed into the trash-talk

>not all of us have to substitute skill with gimmicks, and items

>>4002485
>Turn away from both of them and make your way to the machines – you need a moment to think. He can get ahold of you in-game.

>>4002485
>>Politely tell her that you’ll see how the match plays out, and turn to Edit and listen to whatever he has to say. He’s the one orchestrating this rodeo, after all.
We have the experience of being physically assaulted over this fucking game. Just plain trash talk's like a breath of fresh air. Might throw em off balance too if we act like that.

>>4002494
Support

Heck em’. They mean

>>4002485
>>Politely tell her that you’ll see how the match plays out, and turn to Edit and listen to whatever he has to say. He’s the one orchestrating this rodeo, after all.

>>4002485
>Politely tell her that you’ll see how the match plays out, and turn to Edit and listen to whatever he has to say. He’s the one orchestrating this rodeo, after all.

>>4002512
>>4002528
>>4002544
Be polite, because politeness is good! Writing now.

We can trashtalk all we want after we win

>>4002549

You try to let the remarks roll off your shoulders – you’ve not only been assaulted over this game, but you gave up your entire life for this shit. A little trash-talk won’t be your undoing, even if it’s really getting on your nerves! You try to ignore how satisfying it would be to viscerally and verbally serve them.

“We’ll see how it goes. No one really knows what will happen until the game is decided, after all!” You try your best to give a smile at the girl, and while she offers you one in return, Edit’s eyes are scathing as he reaches the counter.

“Met my partner, eh? Did you have a fun time looking up everything there is to know about me?” Edit slams his hand on the counter and smirks at you, making your spine crawl. “Hope you know none of that information will help you at all – you’ll fall just like the rest, motherfucker. It’ll be great seeing your friend realize how shitty of a player she actually is!”

You wonder if you’re weird for wishing that Rock was here to knock you out, if only so you’d be spared from the venom laced within Edit’s voice.

“May I remind you that if you continue to act like this, there won’t be a match at all.” You bite down on some nasty words, instead trying to remain as professional as possible. The people lingering around the Warscape machines have now dispersed around the arcade once more, and some of them are looking in your direction.

You’re not gonna be the one to cause a scene. There’s already been enough activity at your arcade to last you a lifetime.

“Of course, of course! My bad, mate.” His voice switches from sharp to sleazy immediately, reaching across the counter to pat you on the shoulder. “Sorry, I should be a bit more civilized than your partner – did you see her storm off? Absolutely disgraceful!”

You take in a deep breath. You exhale it just as quick.

“What are the terms and conditions of the match?” Barely managing to force it out through your gritted teeth, you instead shift your focus to thinking about what specialized weapons you have. A sniper rifle with burst fire, a shotgun, and a pretty damn good pistol. That might work for Edit, but you have no idea how Sky plays…hopefully Cinder can find out.

“Well, it’ll be a ranked fight, of course. Can’t deny you some levels, can I? I’ll be streaming it as well – I’ll be looking forward to how you perform on camera. Also, since all you have other than your basic loadout is a shitty rope, I’ll give you some time to shop beforehand!”

The combination of him speaking incredibly fast with his sleazy voice throws you off in a major way, but you think you get the drift. Looking over at Sky, she’s standing stock still and looking at you with that same smile plastered across her face.

Boy, this duo is really good at getting under your skin.

>>4002622

>Ask any questions you have – now’s the time to do it if you have them. (Write some additional questions - information is always useful!)

>Nod to Edit and go towards the machines – it’s time to get this show on the road!

>Send the two of them toward the machines – you want to convene with Golden to hear if he found anything.

>Write-in.

>>4002626
>>Send the two of them toward the machines – you want to convene with Golden to hear if he found anything.
If we lose this, I'm gonna understand going all Rock

>>4002626
>Send the two of them toward the machines – you want to convene with Golden to hear if he found anything.

>>4002626
>Send the two of them toward the machines – you want to convene with Golden to hear if he found anything.

>>4002626
>Send the two of them toward the machines – you want to convene with Golden to hear if he found anything.
They want us to make hasty decisions. We can't let them get to us.

>>4002626
>>Send the two of them toward the machines – you want to convene with Golden to hear if he found anything.

“I regret giving her my autograph.”

>>4002626
>>Send the two of them toward the machines – you want to convene with Golden to hear if he found anything.

>>4002641
>>4002643
>>4002653
>>4002661
>>4002750
>>4002954
Yo, I'm back! Thank you for your patience, got dinner and played a few board games. Writing now!

>>4003115

“Alright, I understand. How much time will I have to shop?” You ask Edit with a blank tone, already making a mental note to return to that cheap store Cinder had shown you. Most of the equipment within sold like hotcakes by the time you had shown up last time, but maybe you’ll get lucky this time around! If worst comes to worst, you’ll just bum some stuff off of Cinder if she’s willing.

“How about…an hour? You look like the type of guy who’s slow as shit when you’re shopping, so I’ll be nice to you. I’ll look forward to seeing what tricks you try to come up with…I’ll bet that it won’t matter in the end though. We’ve got a real fuckin’ good synergy, Nova. And I’m willin’ to bet you haven’t played with an ally in a very long time.”

Edit leans across the counter and flashes a scathing smirk, going to put a hand on your shoulder. You reach out and grasp his wrist, but it doesn’t seem to faze him whatsoever.

“I’m gonna beat you so bad that you’ll wish you stayed retired, reject. A life of obscurity is all that’s meant for a washed-up cunt like you.”

“Okay, that’s—”

You’re just about to raise your voice when Edit steps away from you, raising his hands in mock surrender as he turns towards the machines.

“Save it for the battlefield, Nova! Wouldn’t wanna cause a ruckus in your very fine establishment, right? Come on, Sky.”

The girl looks at you with what could be approximated as a ‘what can you do?’ expression, turning on her heel and following with her hands folded on the front of her skirt. You take a few moments to let the anger in your head cool, and after a few deep breaths you feel composed enough to step from behind your desk. With a fleeting glance towards the arcade-goers near the front, you set out to find Golden.

Your first stop is near the Warscape machines, and you’re surprised to find him absent from that area. Looking towards the consoles themselves, you notice that Cinder has beaten you to the punch and is already logged in – while her hair isn’t in view, her intricate tattoo is a dead giveaway. You’re about to turn around to examine the rest of the place, but Golden apparently saw you while you were staring at the others, because you feel a dainty hand jab you in the side.

“Where’d you run off to?” You ask the boy, turning to regard him. You see him brush his long hair over his shoulders, and he’s still staring at his phone while he speaks to you.

“Went to make a phone call. Want the good news, the bad news, or the even worse news first?”

You feel your blood cool a bit at those words – why the fuck does there always need to be two forms of bad news!?

>You want the good news.
>You want the bad news.
>You want the even worse news.
>Well, now you don’t want any news.
>Write-in (preferably about news.)

>>4003204
>You want the even worse news.
Maybe if we start off with the worse and get more positive, I won't want to bash Edit's head against an arcade machine by the end of it. Maybe.

>>4003204
>You want the even worse news.

>>4003204
>>You want the even worse news.

We need our brooding material

>>4003204
>>You want the even worse news.

>>4003211
>>4003224
>>4003244
>>4003287
We need that fuckin' brooding material. Writing now!

>>4003315

“…you know what, hit me with the worst news. Might as well start negative and go positive, right?” You say with the flimsiest smile you’ve ever offered, mind already racing over the possible scenarios that would accompany the moniker ‘worse news’.

Golden finally looks away from his phone, sliding the thing into his pocket as he gazes into your eyes. Shit, you’ve noticed it before, but they’re really fucking blue – this incredible onslaught of information and shitty words is making you focus on some pretty strange things.

“I don’t recognize him. I recognize her.” His face is solemn as he points behind you, to where ceruleansky has climbed into a console. “She is not one to be fucked with, Nova. She doesn’t go out looking for fights, but she gives a lot of people an incredibly hard time.”

“…well that’s not a lot of information to go off, Goldie.” A note of nervousness enters your voice.

“She’s just like Edit, only nicer about it. Do you want to see how she advertised your match?”

Golden plucks his phone from his pocket, and you’re left wondering why he didn’t just keep it in his hand at that point. One of your assumptions has already been undermined – you would have expected Edit to be the one raising hell about the match, considering how straightforward and vile he is. After Golden moves through a few pages, he thrusts the phone into your face.

>@CERULEANSKY
>Target locked. Be there.

Underneath the post lies two pictures. You easily pick out Cinder’s signature with a stylized dragon underlining it, and your hasty scribble from just this morning. A bead of sweat rolls down the side of your face as your eyes widen – what the fuck?

“That’s her hitlist. She’s well-known for doing this when she decides to try and hype up a match – she’s a sniper. A real fuckin’ deadly one.”

“…is there nobody sane left in this game?” You murmur, eyes trained on the pictures. Goddamn it, this is why you’ve had so many fucking trust issues recently! First someone gives up the address of your business, someone comes around and vandalizes said business, then someone uses your signature as a way to garner interest in a match…is NOTHING safe anymore?

“At least she’s not beating the shit out of you.” Golden casually remarks, making you glare at the boy.

“You make it sound like this is okay!”

“This is as non-malicious as it gets, my guy. Psychological warfare works well, and you’re proving that…regardless, you’re facing a real experienced sniper. From what I’ve recently learned about Edit’s playstyle, she’s practically a perfect compliment in a 2v2 game.”

Oh, joy.

>Acquire the good news now – you definitely feel like you need it.
>Acquire the bad news now – let the brooding train continue!
>Stop the news train – you want to get as much shopping time as you can.
>Write-in (maybe about news, maybe about any additional questions!)

>>4003359
>>Acquire the bad news now – let the brooding train continue!

>>4003359
>>Acquire the bad news now – let the brooding train continue!

>>4003359
>>Acquire the bad news now – let the brooding train continue!

We had an awful week, so we may as well keep up the record and go for a high score.

>>4003359
>>Acquire the bad news now – let the brooding train continue!

>>4003359
>Acquire the bad news now – let the brooding train continue!

>>4003359
>Acquire the bad news now – let the brooding train continue!

>>4003375
>>4003381
>>4003399
>>4003441
>>4003466
>>4003472
A unanimous vote for the BAD NEWS TRAIN...Wolfgang's gonna come out of this with the patience of a saint. Writing now!

>>4003480
If we could deal with the shitshow that was our scandal, then we can handle this. Maybe.

>>4003536
We dealt with it by running away and becoming a grumpy boomer though

>>4002622
i want to beat him using rope

>>4003674
you always need the fucking rope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRxvC3nV_ho

>>4003480

(Ending it here for the night because I’m really tired! Thank you very much for coming around to read, and I hope that you had a great time doing so! Please leave any questions, compliments, critiques, or concerns – I want to make this quest better, and all of the above fuel me. Have a great night, and see you tomorrow, anons!)

“…After this I am incredibly hesitant to ask, but how bad is this news compared to what you just told me?” You ask meekly, scratching your cheek as you ponder the information that you just learned. Not only were the psychological blows hitting at full force, you also have a potentially major threat now on your radar. With Edit’s reckless playstyle and her covering him…you can see how that would be a recipe for disaster, especially considering Cinder’s preferred loadout of two shotguns and a fucking sword.

That girl is a skilled player, but that loadout doesn’t sit right with you at all…although you recall considering using something similar in your match with 0phelia, so you won’t get on her case too hard about it.

“No, it’s not that drastic. Just wanted to tell you that the videos involving editWorld are locked behind hard paywalls. From what I’ve been able to discern, the guy relies heavily on the element of surprise and wants to keep his shit as secretive as possible. Apparently he goes through loadouts like a madman – this one is just a phase.”

“If there’s hard paywalls in place, how do you know that much?”

Golden gives you a blank stare.

“People talk, Nova. Don’t be a dummy. He’s not a very big guy, but people in minor scenes talk about how he’s a fucking annoying player who should be banned. Says he relies on sneak attacks, says he can fade away into the shadows quickly, and most recently…that he can disappear and reappear at will. Not to mention all of his shit talk…he’s a real basket case, this one.”

“So…you’re telling me that he’s stealth aligned?”

“If he uses the same loadout that lets him vanish, then most likely. I’m still incredibly certain that there’s no approved item that would let him teleport, but he could have a home-brewed item that no one else has that may be able to emulate that effect. Frankly, finding all of this out is super irritating, and you’re lucky that I don’t like him either.”

Geez Golden, what a real pal you are.

“And what’s the best news?”

“I just told you the best news – that I was able to drag up any information on him at all.” You only just stop yourself from facepalming, instead forcing a barely grateful smile towards your new info gatherer.

You glance back towards the machines, well aware that Cinder is waiting inside…but this could be an opportunity to take information from Golden. He’s an experienced professional, and even if he’s an annoying brat, you’re well aware that he could probably determine things quicker than Cinder can…but the longer you stay out here, the more your allocated time to prepare ticks away.

How do you approach this?

>>4003693

>Ask Golden for his advice regarding the known playstyles of Edit and Sky – how does he think that the two of you should approach the fight?

>Ask Golden if you could bum a few items off of him for the fight – you don’t want to have Cinder pay for your shit since she’s helped a lot already.

>Thank Golden for all of his help and march off towards the machines – now is the time to shop and lay waste to these assholes.

>Write-in.

>>4003696
>Thank Golden for all of his help and march off towards the machines – now is the time to shop and lay waste to these assholes.

>>4003696
>>Thank Golden for all of his help and march off towards the machines – now is the time to shop and lay waste to these assholes.

>>4003696
>Thank Golden for all of his help and march off towards the machines – now is the time to shop and lay waste to these assholes.

>>4003696
>Thank Golden for all of his help and march off towards the machines – now is the time to shop and lay waste to these assholes.

>>4003696
>>Ask Golden for his advice regarding the known playstyles of Edit and Sky – how does he think that the two of you should approach the fight?

>>4003696
>>Ask Golden if you could bum a few items off of him for the fight – you don’t want to have Cinder pay for your shit since she’s helped a lot already.
DO we have any in game credit to afford anything?

>>4004134
Yeah we got some in-game dosh. 10,000 if I can recall?

>>4004147
But it's gacha and I don't think we have time to go shopping
>>4003693
>Ask Golden for his advice regarding the known playstyles of Edit and Sky – how does he think that the two of you should approach the fight?

>>4003696
>Write-in.
I would like to add.
Ask Goldie if short time invisibility or holograms are a thing.

>>4003696
>>Write-in.
Also
>you missed a call check it out

Cinder's match with that guy was 1vs1?

>>4004312
Yes.

Hello, everyone! Late start today, but I am here and ready to get this ball rolling.

>>4003718
>>4003731
>>4003780
>>4004071
>>4004261
This lot wins, and I feel like I can tack this question on in passing. Writing now!

>>4004147
You currently have $110,000 to spend in game! There is a gacha system for guns and items (thanks Auxilia), and Edit is specifically giving you time to prepare because he's a shitter.

>>4004312
Yep, it was a 1v1 tournament!

File: wolfganghouse.jpg (31 KB, 350x235)

31 KB JPG

>>4004503

“…well, thanks regardless for all the info, Goldie. Probably should get going now if only so I can strategize with Cinder…also I’d like to pick up a few tools, because fuck him for being hypocritical.”

You shrug your shoulders, turning on your heel and making your way towards the nearest machine. Halfway there however, you turn around just as Golden is about to follow you.

“Mind if I ask a really quick question?”

“Sure, it’s not like you have time to burn or anything, right?” Golden flashes a teasing grin at you, raising his hands when you cock an eyebrow in his direction. You’re aware that the remark was worded in jest, but you’ve had to deal with so many things over the past three hours that you really don’t care for it. “Y-Yeah, go ahead and ask it. I’ll answer if I can.”

“Are short time invisibility and holograms a thing in the current game? If so, can items matching that description be used competitively?”

“Nothing could make you truly invisible in this game. Maybe a cloak that matches the environment, but you wouldn’t be able to totally disappear. Holograms are a thing, though – decoys are a recent craze. Apparently some dude came up with a really good model and makes a lot of bank off of it in game.”

You make a mental note to inquire more about how exactly the selling of goods works in Warscape. Maybe you could have Cinder hook you up with someone who sells the HIPPEST items, sine TUBULAR weaponry, and the most truly RADICAL fashion choices!

You almost throw up in your mouth just using those terms, so you just move over to a console before you regress into an 80s kid rather than a 2000s kid.

As you get settled into the console, Golden walks up beside you and offers a fist out to you in encouragement. You take a second before giving an exaggerated roll of your eyes, reaching out and tapping your knuckles against his dainty ass hand.

“You better win! I want you to have a good streak going before we kick off our fight!”

“I’ll do my best, Goldie.”

With that being said, you pop on the helmet and begin the login process that you’ve slowly become accustomed to over the past two weeks, not sparing the golden-haired boy another word.

The room that greets you is the same that it’s always been – almost entirely empty other than the couch you’re sitting on, the table next to it, and the aquarium that stretches across the wall. You glance to the left and see that the robotic girl is still stationed next to the way out of the room, making you sigh. That’s a question you should have asked Golden; why the fuck did Auxilia feel like they needed to make the anti-cheat band be a weird robot girl thing?!

You adjust your newly acquired jacket and pull up your menu. Almost immediately, a friend request pops up from Cinder, along with an invitation to her home base.

Time to start making some good ol’ fashioned decisions.

>>4004547

>O-Oh my! You haven’t been inside a girl’s home base in so long…however will you cope, young Wolfgang? Accept her invitation before this bit can go on further.

>Focus on reacquainting yourself with your loadout first – god deleted your character sheet so you need some reaffirmation. As well as that, it would make sense to have an idea what you need to buy.

>Check to see if Fletcher is online – he came out of the woodwork to help you out before, so maybe you can rouse him and get some strategical tips from your old captain?

>Walk over to the robot and begin to question her – in the match with Rock, you recall that red light that occurred before the match and how you couldn’t aim properly for half of it. You ain’t letting it slide.

>Check out the glowing message tab – you still haven’t looked at it, and that 99+ is just begging to be opened. Also maybe Edit messaged you or whatever.

>Write-in.

>>4004550
>>Walk over to the robot and begin to question her – in the match with Rock, you recall that red light that occurred before the match and how you couldn’t aim properly for half of it. You ain’t letting it slide.

>>4004550
>O-Oh my! You haven’t been inside a girl’s home base in so long…however will you cope, young Wolfgang? Accept her invitation before this bit can go on further.

>>4004550
>>Walk over to the robot and begin to question her – in the match with Rock, you recall that red light that occurred before the match and how you couldn’t aim properly for half of it. You ain’t letting it slide.

We ain’t letting this slide, no sir.

>>4004550
>Walk over to the robot and begin to question her – in the match with Rock, you recall that red light that occurred before the match and how you couldn’t aim properly for half of it. You ain’t letting it slide.

>>4004558
>>4004577
>>4004591
You want answers from the robot if she can provide them. Writing now!

>>4004550
>>Focus on reacquainting yourself with your loadout first – god deleted your character sheet so you need some reaffirmation. As well as that, it would make sense to have an idea what you need to buy.

>>4004594

You stand up from the couch and brush off the front of your jacket, giving your barren room a once over. That ever present blue light casts a mellow glow around the place, distinctly reminding you of how you set up your arcade. Chances are that you used this place as mental inspiration at that point in your life – the lighting and the synthwave are clear indicators of that fact.

Shaking off the sudden bout of nostalgia, you add Cinder as a friend and pull up what appears to be a quick chat bar. You’ll get over to her place as soon as possible, but you definitely want to interrogate that robot. Calling that strange occurrence a glitch seems a little wrong to you, and if you have the opportunity to get some mental closure, that’s a higher priority than this match.

>FROM: N0v4_c43s4r
>Be there soon. Have something to check out first.

A response comes through only a few seconds after sending.

>FROM: Drag0n
>hurry, time is wasting. need momey for shop?

You raise an eyebrow at the typo, but quickly realize that she must be typing pretty damn fast.

>FROM: N0v4_c43s4r
>No. Not yet, at least.

There’s radio silence on her end after that, so you shrug your shoulders and cast your menu away, immediately homing in on the artificially still robot. As you approach, you can see that her eyes have been trained on you ever since you logged in – you step from side to side, and her head jerks around to follow you.

Fuck, that’s really creepy.

“Hey, bot. Got a question for you.” The disdain you hold for her is very clear in your voice – not only because of the recent incident, but because she’s a shining reminder of what you did to get cast out from this game to begin with. Once upon a time this space was filled with knick-knacks, decorative guns, and team memorabilia…Auxilia confiscated all of it except the fucking fish tank.

“I may have an answer.” Her tone is a cold monotone as her icy eyes bore into you. “What is your inquiry, Nova?”

“Do you have any idea about what happened during the match with Rock?”

“I’m not certain what you are referring to, Nova.”

“That whole red light when you morphed onto my fucking arm, that’s what. I could dismiss it as a visual effect, but then I couldn’t shoot correctly for most of the damn match! Makes me think you might have been tampering with my avatar.” You lean in close, face morphing into a scowl. “Get my drift? I don’t appreciate that shit. You’re supposed to be stopping me from cheating, not handicapping me when I’m playing!”

Even as your voice raises, she gazes coolly at you with no hint of being bothered by your words. However, she seems to be entirely silent…could it be by choice? Or is she trying to find the proper information?

>Roll a 1d20. Best of three wins, critical successes and fails apply!

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>4004634

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>4004634

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>4004634

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>4004634

>>4004659
I left for a bit to play some card games, and it seems this wins - writing now!

>>4004637
>>4004650
Which one of you anons in this thread was cursed by an ancient bloodline? We've had shit rolls for so long now.

>>4004889

The standoff between the two of you stretches on for quite some time, and the air grows very tense. You feel that if a pin were to drop, that’d be enough to spook you out of your skin, especially with the eerie way the robot continues to stare at you. Just as you’re about to turn away to teleport to Cinder’s home base, the robot goes to open her mouth.

“The incident in question was—”

Her body abruptly jerks forward, and she has to stick out a leg to distribute her weight. The sound of her boot crashing against the ground echoes throughout the chamber, and you take a hasty step back, bringing your hands up in a half-assed defensive pose. The robot’s eyes are now drawn away from you as she stares down at the floor, hands clenching to the point that her knuckles are visibly white even through the mellow lighting.

And then, just like it never happened, the robot stands up and returns to her still position.

“I am not aware of the incident in question, Nova. Please do not waste my time on irrelevant fallacies in your memory, thank you.”

You feel your heart hammering against your ribs as you stare at the blue-clad robot. Her face has shifted back to a neutral expression, and her hands are once again at her sides. You glance down at one of them and can make out the barest hint of sparks jumping between her digits…did she fucking rip through her hand? What the fuck was that? A second later, you see a little blue glow – it must have healed.

“…I…are you certain that you don’t know?” You ask tentatively, to which her eyes narrow.

“I am absolutely certain, Nova. Do you wish to play a match? Do you wish to play this game? If not, I would ask that you do not continue to speak.” Her frigid words make you wince, and you move away from her as quickly as you can.

So, that may have been a wash. You shake your head and try to process that – whatever just happened there wasn’t natural whatsoever, and you’re not quite certain what to make of it. You don’t know a lot about anti-cheat bots – in fact you know nothing about them – but you can make a relatively educated guess that whatever that was shouldn’t happen. You look over your shoulder, and she’s still staring.

You gulp. Whatever this is, you are not a fan.

>Accept Cinder’s invitation and try to get away from this room as fast as you possibly can – you have strategizing to do and you don’t want this robot to be around for it.

>Focus on reacquainting yourself with your loadout – you want to be certain of your armaments before you do anything else. It’ll allow strategizing to be smoother, even if it takes a bit.

>Check to see if Fletcher is online – he came out of the woodwork to help you out before, so maybe you can rouse him and get some strategical tips from your old captain?

>Write-in.

>>4004940
>>Focus on reacquainting yourself with your loadout – you want to be certain of your armaments before you do anything else. It’ll allow strategizing to be smoother, even if it takes a bit.

>>4004940
>>Check to see if Fletcher is online – he came out of the woodwork to help you out before, so maybe you can rouse him and get some strategical tips from your old captain?

>>4004940
>>Accept Cinder’s invitation and try to get away from this room as fast as you possibly can – you have strategizing to do and you don’t want this robot to be around for it.

>>4004940
>Accept Cinder’s invitation and try to get away from this room as fast as you possibly can – you have strategizing to do and you don’t want this robot to be around for it.

>>4004940
>>Focus on reacquainting yourself with your loadout – you want to be certain of your armaments before you do anything else. It’ll allow strategizing to be smoother, even if it takes a bit.

>>4004940
>>Focus on reacquainting yourself with your loadout – you want to be certain of your armaments before you do anything else. It’ll allow strategizing to be smoother, even if it takes a bit.

>>4004940
>Focus on reacquainting yourself with your loadout – you want to be certain of your armaments before you do anything else. It’ll allow strategizing to be smoother, even if it takes a bit.

>>4004942
>>4004981
>>4005012
>>4005013
Remind yourself what heat you're packin', while making mental notes on what you may need to pick up. Writing now!

>>4004940
>>Focus on reacquainting yourself with your loadout – you want to be certain of your armaments before you do anything else. It’ll allow strategizing to be smoother, even if it takes a bit.

Look up anti cheat bots once this match is over.

>>4005017

You run a hand through your hair and pull up your menu once more, fast traveling through the complex and up to your giant closet. There was once a shitload of clothes in here – back when you always wanted to show up to important matches with a new outfit each time – and the stark emptiness of it all still tugs on your heartstrings just a little bit. You walk over to a mirror and look at your avatar – basically unchanged from when you were a teen.

You were certain to get rid of the red eyes, though. You aren’t that edgy lad anymore…even if you did bring them back for your disguise during your romp around town.

Turning around and leaning against the mirror, you swipe open the menu and move over to your loadout. The nearly barren inventory stares back at you – other than the base guns that Auxilia provides to new players, you have nothing except for the shit you and Cinder purchased.

>SKF-03 – Skyfire. Classification: Sniper rifle. Possesses burst fire module.
>BPQ-19 – Silverdollar. Classification: Shotgun. Prone to jamming.
>OCE-01 – Ocelot. Classification: Revolver. Easy to handle. Accurate.

You find your eyes trailing across the Skyfire and the Ocelot, admiring the sleekness of the weapons. Your eyes catch glimpse of their creator’s name – Dahlia. Cinder seemed surprised to find the Skyfire at the store that she did, and you recall the price being pretty huge…come to think of it, didn’t a Dahlia comment on your profile way back during the Rock fiasco?

A name to file away in your head, you suppose.

N-Not that you’re considering getting new weapons for the future or anything. The nostalgia still talks to you even two weeks later, it would seem.

You shake your head and give the other weapons a cursory glance – standard LMG, sniper, assault rifle, pistol, shotgun, submachine gun, knife. You click over to a separate tab and pull up your auxiliary items.

>Mk. I standard rope.
>Mk. II standard rope.
>Binoculars.
>Flashlight.
>Auxilia branded medical patches.

Huh, it seems like none of your grenades carried over from the fight with Rock…oh, that’s dirty. It seems they supply you with stuff like weapons and the bare basics, but if you want to stretch beyond that, you’re going to have to pony up some in-game dough.

“Weak.” You say aloud, scanning over everything.

This may be a good time to form a preliminary strategy to run by Cinder – you know that Edit is a close ranged fighter (unless his loadout changes like Golden suggested), and that Sky is well known for being a sniper. You have the weaponry to build around different scenarios, even if the weapons are basic and without augmentation – not only that, but Cinder may be able to help refine anything you think up. No matter how good you used to be at the game, compared to her, you might as well be a greenhorn.

>>4005066

>Focus on a long-ranged build suited around picking off Edit from a distance while Cinder engages up front. He’s the one you’re most worried about since he’s taken Cinder down with ease before, and with your eye on him from a distance, you won’t even give him the opportunity to do it again.

>Focus on a mid-ranged build suited for flexibility. You have no idea how fast the tides of battle could turn, so being able to have range or the ability to get in close could prove incredibly useful in the long run.

>Focus on a close-ranged build. You can easily use this to engage with Edit at the same time as Cinder, and then proceed to find wherever Sky is and root her out in close quarters combat. Hell, the two of you could split up while one deals with the other.

>Focus on a stylish build. Edit thinks that you don’t have the stones to go toe to toe with him? You’ll take dual pistols and your knife – Fletcher using this style once has embedded itself in your mind, and even if it’s incredibly risky, you’ll be able to live with the knowledge that you clowned on them hard.

>Write-in any additional suggestions to the build you choose – any discussion is welcome, especially regarding potential items that may go along with them! You may not know about a lot of them, but feel free to ask me any questions!

>>4005068
>>Focus on a mid-ranged build suited for flexibility. You have no idea how fast the tides of battle could turn, so being able to have range or the ability to get in close could prove incredibly useful in the long run.

>>4005068
>Focus on a mid-ranged build suited for flexibility. You have no idea how fast the tides of battle could turn, so being able to have range or the ability to get in close could prove incredibly useful in the long run.

>>4005068
>Focus on a long-ranged build suited around picking off Edit from a distance while Cinder engages up front. He’s the one you’re most worried about since he’s taken Cinder down with ease before, and with your eye on him from a distance, you won’t even give him the opportunity to do it again.
Someday, stylish build. Someday...

>>4005068
>>Focus on a mid-ranged build suited for flexibility. You have no idea how fast the tides of battle could turn, so being able to have range or the ability to get in close could prove incredibly useful in the long run.

>>4005068
>Focus on a long-ranged build suited around picking off Edit from a distance while Cinder engages up front. He’s the one you’re most worried about since he’s taken Cinder down with ease before, and with your eye on him from a distance, you won’t even give him the opportunity to do it again.

>>4005068
>>Focus on a long-ranged build suited around picking off Edit from a distance while Cinder engages up front. He’s the one you’re most worried about since he’s taken Cinder down with ease before, and with your eye on him from a distance, you won’t even give him the opportunity to do it again.

Lets do a mirror match. long-range + close-range vs long-range + close-range.

Going to go make some dinner since we're at a tie! Thank you everyone for coming around, and I'll be back once I've eaten. Vote's open until I'm back!

To add to that, how are you tonight, anons?

>>4005145
Quite well. I hope you enjoy your food.

>>4005068
>Focus on a long-ranged build suited around picking off Edit from a distance while Cinder engages up front. He’s the one you’re most worried about since he’s taken Cinder down with ease before, and with your eye on him from a distance, you won’t even give him the opportunity to do it again.
This seems to be Edit and Sky's dynamic. I wanna beat them at their own game.

>>4005068
>Focus on a mid-ranged build suited for flexibility. You have no idea how fast the tides of battle could turn, so being able to have range or the ability to get in close could prove incredibly useful in the long run.

>>4005068
>>Focus on a mid-ranged build suited for flexibility. You have no idea how fast the tides of battle could turn, so being able to have range or the ability to get in close could prove incredibly useful in the long run.

Back! Thank you for your patience.

>>4005078
>>4005089
>>4005108
>>4005258
>>4005441
This wins! Have a flexible build, just like you used to. Writing now!

>>4005209
Glad you're having a good night anon, dinner was great, thank you!

>>4005459

After jumping through quite a few mental hoops, you end up settling on a mid-range build. It would allow you to essentially be anywhere on the field that you need to be, whether that be suppressing Sky’s bullets from afar or keeping Edit away from Cinder. That would mean the assault rifle or SMG, a pistol and another weapon, and capping the build off with your trusty knife. Combined with whatever items Cinder can suggest to you…well, it definitely sounds like the start of something!

You move away from the wall and turn to face yourself just one more time. The coat Cinder had commissioned for you fits nicely over your form, strangely complimenting your simple jeans and shirt well. Your holster and utility sack is fastened to your waist, your hair is out of your face, and your boots seem to be only a little scuffed.

You try giving yourself some finger guns in the mirror, and you hate yourself for it.

Self-loathing and brooding are not the reason you’re giving this a little extra introspection, however. You’re wondering if there’s any merit in disguising yourself for the little romp that you’re going to have in the marketplace. While you may not be able to change your avatar’s facial structure – at least you don’t think that’s an option – some stealthy hair and eye edits could allow you to roam unimpeded.

With all of the press you’ve been getting recently, you’d rather be able to have the luxury of shopping without people pulling you down – you’ve paid attention to the news over the past week, and you’re well aware that you’re now firmly in the public eye. The slight pulsing of your menu confirms this – the only reason you’re not swamped in message notifications and friend requests is because they haven’t actually fought you in battle.

At least, that’s what you’re guessing. You can’t really think of any other reason why Cinder’s request went through and the other collective hivemind hasn’t.

>You’ll be fine! March through with your avatar on full display – you really could care less about privacy now that yours has been utterly trampled upon. Maybe you can make some friends!

>Alter your avatar’s appearance. You’d like to be able to move through the shops unimpeded, just like you were able to last time. Time is of the essence, because Edit only gave you a certain amount of it to spend. (Bonus points for submitting how you want it altered. Majority wins, otherwise your QM with impeccable fashion and design choices will choose for you!)

>>4005502
>Alter your avatar’s appearance. You’d like to be able to move through the shops unimpeded, just like you were able to last time. Time is of the essence, because Edit only gave you a certain amount of it to spend.
Same as the previous time.

>>4005502
>>Alter your avatar’s appearance. You’d like to be able to move through the shops unimpeded, just like you were able to last time. Time is of the essence, because Edit only gave you a certain amount of it to spend. (Bonus points for submitting how you want it altered. Majority wins, otherwise your QM with impeccable fashion and design choices will choose for you!)

>>4005502
>>4005543
Supporting. Just keep it simple, I don't want QM's taste AKA eye bleaching neon pink hair with vibrant green eyes.

>>4005585
That's hurtful, anon. Can't believe you think that low of me!

>>4005543
>>4005585
Keep it simple - it's worked before, after all! Writing now.

File: 1409542848562.jpg (52 KB, 1280x720)

52 KB JPG

>>4005587
You're right, my bad. I meant generic side character black hair and generic mob character black eyes.

File: anonpls.jpg (10 KB, 224x225)

10 KB JPG

>>4005621
That's somehow even worse than the first one.

>>4005619

You slide off your jacket and hang it up on one of the hangers within your fuckhuge closet, rolling your shoulders and pulling up your menu. After a few healthy adjustments to your hair and eyes, you are now staring at your now common disguise – a boy with blonde hair and red eyes. This is a multi-layered disguise, as when you first bailed out of the scene and started up this place, you had dyed your hair blonde in order to…well, not look like you.

Gotta love hurtful memories! They still work for you five years later, only causing you just a little bit of mental hurt.

Regardless of the sorry state of your past, you give yourself another once over and pull up the menu, navigating over to the quick chat menu so you can go over to Cinder’s base. Your eyes briefly glance over the menacing golden bubble displaying ‘99+’ one more time. Should you enter that rabbit hole? Should you crawl down the intense pit of scathing internet comments that will no doubt belittle your self esteem to the point where you’re questioning your merit as a person? AGAIN!?

Nah, you got better shit to do. You teleport to Cinder’s home immediately.

As you phase into the woman’s base, the first thing that hits you is the smell of cinnamon and burning pine. When your sight returns, you crack open your eyes and immediately begin to take in the expanse of Cinder’s personal area. As of late you’ve been curious as to what it looks like, as the arcade machines specifically forbid you from being able to see it through the screen.

The walls are painted a pleasant cream color, other than the large and red Chinese dragon painted across them. It stretches all throughout the room, ending with the dragon looking as if it’s about to bite its own tail. You seem to be sat upon a plush couch, and you spot a fireplace blazing hot over in the corner. With sun filtering through the virtual windows…well, it’s actually pretty soothing to your nerves!

“Hey! It’s about time you showed up, Wolf. Don’tcha know it’s rude to keep a girl waiting?” A cackle from your friend invades your thoughts, and you find yourself chuckling slightly as you turn to face her.

Cinder is leaning against a doorway with her arms crossed, looking at you with a smirk despite her clearly stressed blue eyes. They’re much more visible in the game, as her hair is much shorter – again, you know she did this because people kept using it against her in fights. You spot her tattoo peeking out from under her rolled sweatshirt sleeves, and you notice that she already has her sword buckled to her belt.

Damn, she actually looks kinda dope, you aren’t gonna lie.

>>4005678

>Start off by trying to ease her obviously frayed nerves – you’re well aware that helping your friend acquire a clearer mindset will be better for her in the long run.

>Start off by asking her about the information she wanted to tell you – she specifically agreed to convene with you in game about it, and you think getting to the point would be best.

>Start off by telling her about your strategy ideas – she can add whatever she needs to say in as she goes along, as you know she’s never been shy about keeping her opinions to herself.

>Write-in.

>>4005683
>>Start off by asking her about the information she wanted to tell you – she specifically agreed to convene with you in game about it, and you think getting to the point would be best.
I don't think she'll be able to calm down until she's said what she needs to

>>4005700
This

>>4005683
>>Start off by asking her about the information she wanted to tell you – she specifically agreed to convene with you in game about it, and you think getting to the point would be best.

>>4005683
>Start off by trying to ease her obviously frayed nerves – you’re well aware that helping your friend acquire a clearer mindset will be better for her in the long run.

>>4005683
>Start off by asking her about the information she wanted to tell you – she specifically agreed to convene with you in game about it, and you think getting to the point would be best.

Unfortunately, I don't think I have another in me for the night - I need to get my sleeping schedule back on track so I can get started early again. Gonna leave the vote open for the night, and I'll call it when I return in the morning!

Thanks a lot for reading, and I hope you had a good time doing so! Questions, comments, compliments, and criticisms are welcome as always - making the quest less shit is my number one goal.

Have a great night, anons! Hope all of you are doing well.

>>4005850
Good night cirno, thanks for running!

>>4005683
>>Start off by trying to ease her obviously frayed nerves – you’re well aware that helping your friend acquire a clearer mindset will be better for her in the long run.

>>4005683
>Start off by asking her about the information she wanted to tell you – she specifically agreed to convene with you in game about it, and you think getting to the point would be best.
Cum on yer toes partner

>>4006033
>Cum on yer toes partner
Please tell me what you mean by that

>>4005683
>>Start off by asking her about the information she wanted to tell you – she specifically agreed to convene with you in game about it, and you think getting to the point would be best.

>>4005850
g'nite Cir!

>>4005683
>Start off by asking her about the information she wanted to tell you – she specifically agreed to convene with you in game about it, and you think getting to the point would be best.

Good afternoon, everyone!

Sorry for radio silence all day, a bunch of stuff has happened and I don't think I'm in much condition to write at the moment. Thank you for understanding, and I'll be doubling my efforts tomorrow once I'm in a better state!

>>4005700
>>4005712
>>4005742
>>4006033
>>4006418
>>4006499
It appears this wins, so you can expect this first thing in the morning - I'm setting an alarm and everything!

>>4006033
Why anon. Why.

Thank you again for understanding, and have a great day!

>>4006511

(Guess alarms don’t work when you’re too tired to hear them, especially so if you oversleep - so that’s a lesson learned! I’m fed, however, so let’s get started for the day!)

“Then don’t be as impolite as me – what did you want to tell me?” You stand from the couch and notice how she gives your hair a discreet look. Staying undercover is key, especially in such a perilous situation! All the marbles rest on the fate of this match, you see!

Nah, you’re just fucking around. It’s just Cinder’s pride, as well as yours, on the line.

“I did some digging, and I managed to piece together what SHOULD be inside Edit’s loadout! Some of it, anyways.”

You immediately perk up and step forward, to which Cinder gives a little self-satisfied grin.

“How the hell did you find that out? Aren’t sites explicitly forbidden from listing that kind of stuff?”

“Indeed they are, my young Wolfgang – but do not fret! I have my ways.” She seems to break through her stressed shell for just a moment, casting a wink towards you. The deadpan look you give in response is enough to make her eye twitch, but she continues speaking regardless.

“Ahem. I don’t know the entirety of what he has now, but a few…less than reputable sites, we’ll say…do a bunch of information gathering by piecing through matches. I don’t know what he used against me per say, but I know he has some haste in his loadout – at least, it’s shown to be present a lot in his matches.”

The logistics of that whole thing confuses you greatly, so you note that down for future investigation. You don’t know if any sites like that existed back in your day, but you know that Fletcher ruthlessly studied the enemy’s patterns the hard way – by watching streams and junk. Back then it was free, but according to Golden there’s hefty paywalls now?

Still pretty fucking weak, you’d say.

“They allow you to start with that in your inventory?” You inquire.

“You can put any item in your inventory as long as you can find it on the marketplace – you get three weapons, a melee weapon, and five items if you have that much. As well as that, every time you use something you didn’t get automatically, you’ll have to go out and buy it again.”

The absence of those frag grenades are now apparent. Seems Auxilia is really relying on player economy nowadays!

>Inquire about how the player crafting system really works – you understand that they’re able to submit weapons and items that they made, but how the fuck can they sell haste potions if they already exist in game?

>Speculate with Cinder about your own strategy and Edit’s loadout – knowing that straight off the bat will help you get a more solid game plan for the battle itself, as well as determining how to counter his little teleportation farce.

>Ask Cinder if she’s come up with anything in particular – you vastly trust her experience in this game over yours at this point, and chances are she’s already got a few ideas, if that look in her eye says anything.

>Write-in.

>>4008082
>>Speculate with Cinder about your own strategy and Edit’s loadout – knowing that straight off the bat will help you get a more solid game plan for the battle itself, as well as determining how to counter his little teleportation farce.
Although I'd really love to know about that crafting system, we are on a time limit here.

>>4008082
>>Inquire about how the player crafting system really works – you understand that they’re able to submit weapons and items that they made, but how the fuck can they sell haste potions if they already exist in game?

We should ask how powerful an item can be. Are there certain power levels that can’t be passed? What are the rules for item crafting?

>>4008082
>Ask Cinder if she’s come up with anything in particular – you vastly trust her experience in this game over yours at this point, and chances are she’s already got a few ideas, if that look in her eye says anything.

No point speculating when the cause could be anything. Best just to assume he can teleport whenever and keep an eye out.

>>4008082
>Ask Cinder if she's come up with anything in particular

It's not the time to educate ourselves on item crafting, and narrowing down a loadout is pretty much impossible with player submitted items and blocked streams.

>>4008121
>>4008169
Writing now!

>>4008175

You shake your head, glad that Cinder was able to find something at least somewhat more useful. Now’s not the time to be learning about how the crafting mechanics work though, nor speculating on strategy when you’re not sure exactly what the man is packing. Focus on what you know now – the fact that he’s bringing haste potions to the fight, and that Cinder may already have something in mind.

However, you do file away a mental note to inquire about the crafting system. What can you say, even if it’s not like how the game used to be, it sounds interesting!

You remind yourself that it’s assuredly the curiosity of an outside observer.

“Well, methods aside, seems like we have some semblance of an idea now. I heard from Golden that he switches his loadout up often though, and what you just said confirms it further. If he uses haste often enough to have it land on those sites, we should take it into consideration, but he may just switch it out in order to fuck with us. What do you have in mind?”

You ramble as you pace around the room, the nervous habit taking over even when in the game. Edit’s too spindly of a player to craft a decent strategy against, and you hate it. Not to mention his partner, who according to Golden, is a pretty damn good player in her own right.

All of a sudden you’re pulled from your thoughts, realizing that Cinder has begun to speak.

“I’m thinking that if we both go close range, we’ll be able to overwhelm him in combat – doesn’t matter if he has haste or not, he’ll have to focus on one of us! While he’s attempting to wail on one of us, the other gets behind him and finishes him off!”

“Whilst Sky picks off one of us from a distance?”

You can see Cinder deflate at that, raising a hand to scratch at her cheek. You can’t help but chuckle at the sight, being reminded once again how Cinder’s primary wheelhouse is 1v1 matches. It makes sense that she was inclined to focus solely on Edit, considering how hard he slighted her – as well as the fact that he’s easily the problem player, if all the information is to be believed.

Finding a strategy that deals with both of them at once may be nigh on impossible – speculating beforehand seems to be useless, so strategizing will need to be saved for the battlefield.

Silence reigns the room for a few moments before Cinder changes the subject entirely.

“…hey, what items do you have again?”

“Rope, patches, universal flashlight, and binoculars. Our last foray didn’t go so well, remember?”

“And how much money do you have?”

“$110,000. You?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

You raise an eyebrow at that, having a flashback to where she bought you that insanely priced sniper rifle. You have no doubts that she has quite a bit of money saved up, considering her solo grind for the entirety of the time you’ve known her. She’s also apparently a frugal spender, if prior conversations have indicated anything.

>>4008250

>”Don’t you know that it’s rude to have me show you my wallet without showing yours?” You echo her sentiment from earlier with a smirk, the curiosity about the scope of her bank account overtaking you. [This will require a roll.]

>”I’m guessing you have an idea about what could potentially handle him?” You ask her with a curious tone, crossing your arms. You have no doubt that she may be focusing on Edit again, but you’re confident you can roll with those punches.

>”Remember to take Sky into account before you decide on anything.” You cautiously remind your friend, a bit irritated that she didn’t to begin with. You’re aware that 2v2 isn’t her normal venue, but it seems like a silly thing to forget.

>”We’re on a time limit right now. How about we discuss this later, after we’ve acquired some more suitable gear?” You ask your friend, pulling up your menu as you do. You’ve lingered around long enough, and you intend to make the most of the rest of your time.

>Write-in.

>>4008251
>”Don’t you know that it’s rude to have me show you my wallet without showing yours?” You echo her sentiment from earlier with a smirk, the curiosity about the scope of her bank account overtaking you. [This will require a roll.]

>>4008251
>>”I’m guessing you have an idea about what could potentially handle him?” You ask her with a curious tone, crossing your arms. You have no doubt that she may be focusing on Edit again, but you’re confident you can roll with those punches.
Shit, I really don't want it to be a separate 1v1 matchup against the other considering Cinder lost to Edit in the first place but if she has a plan to beat him, then maybe it'll be safe for us to focus on Sky.

>>4008251
>”Remember to take Sky into account before you decide on anything.” You cautiously remind your friend, a bit irritated that she didn’t to begin with. You’re aware that 2v2 isn’t her normal venue, but it seems like a silly thing to forget.

>>4008259
Supportoeing

>>4008259
>>4008301
This wins - please roll me a 1d20, best of three wins!

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>4008304

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>4008304

>>4008305
fuck...

File: 1427200762362.png (96 KB, 226x219)

96 KB PNG

>>4008305
Can't even ask a simple question without fucking up

>>4008305
Did you make your daily prayer to 0phelia, anon?

Still waiting for a third roll though, because if it happens to be a 20 I'll take it over the 1.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>4008328

>>4008328
Daily prayer, no. But I bet it's her fault somehow.

Fuck 0phelia!!
And Praise Auxilia!!

>>4008339
Remember anons, every bad dice roll is an Auxilia employee trying their best!

>>4008334
Unfortunately the 1 still wins. Writing now!

>>4008356

(Sorry for the wait, got some dinner and it was pretty high tier. How are you all doing tonight, anons? Have you taken the necessary measures to stop these cursed rolls?)

”Don’t you know that it’s rude to have me show you my wallet without showing yours?” You say to Cinder with a hammy smirk, hoping to impart a mere modicum of the sentiment that she had shown you a minute or so ago. She accused you of keeping her waiting, but this is surely the most direct action to turn the tables on her, proving without a doubt that you have returned the favor!

You see a slow grin creep across her face, and a sudden chill creeps down your virtual spine.

“I see, I see!” Cinder says, walking towards you with her hands in her pocket. The traces of stress that were apparent in her eyes seem to quiet momentarily, her irises now pinpointed on you rather than focusing on the stress of pride and the match. “Is that how this game is supposed to be? You show me yours and I’ll show you mine?”

You feel your face immediately heat up – looking back upon what you said, you immediately see the parallels between the two. You didn’t mean it like THAT! You find yourself backing up as Cinder approaches you, her grin widening like a shark’s. Before you can have a chance to spring away, she darts forward and wraps an arm around your neck, jerking you down to her side and applying a nasty headlock to your form.

Curse her! Even in Warscape, Cinder’s headlocks and teasing are constant. And just as it works in life, you find yourself unable to escape her grasp. You can tell she’s actually putting effort into it this time, if the sparking sensation down your neck and throat are anything to go by. This lasts for several minutes as she keeps you right where she wants you, Edit’s time limit forgotten as the two of you roughhouse and gallivant around her home base.

Well, you’re at least thankful that she’s seemed to cheer up somewhat.

The familiar routine is interrupted by Cinder pausing, keeping your head against her side as she opens the menu with a free hand. You see her eyes flitting across the screen, and a second later she waves it away in a huff, brushing her avatar’s short hair back.

“We need to get going to the shop, and fast. Dickhead got ahold of me – we’re running low on time.”

“Is it perhaps because you’re swinging me around?” You look up at her, raising an eyebrow. “We probably could have le—”

“We’ll be fine.” She cuts you off hurriedly, dragging you over to the Teleportation Obelisk Cylinder™. “After all, we’ll have this in the bag, items or not! Right?”

You catch that she’s almost trying to convince herself rather than you.

Hopefully you’ll have this in the bag – you’ve made do with worse as of late, after all!

As she begins the procedures to enter the marketplace, you find yourself a moment of respite to think of what area you might want to go to. You might not have a lot of time left, but you’re certain you can make it count.

Maybe.

>>4008508

>Ask to go to a low-end store – if a sniper rifle as good as the Skyfire could be found there, you’re hoping that you’ll be able to find more diamonds in the rough.

>Ask to go to a regular store – it may be middle of the road, but you’d rather go with something reliable than something too pricey or too cheap.

>Ask to go to a high-end store – you’re starting to realize that the best items may be the ones that cost the most, so you’ll go there and pray that something high-end is in Cinder’s ballpark.

>Ask to take a gander towards the Auxilia gacha system – if it still exists, then they have to have some things worthwhile! They may be basic, but you’re confident that you’ll have a little luck!

>>4008512
>>Ask to go to a regular store – it may be middle of the road, but you’d rather go with something reliable than something too pricey or too cheap.

>>4008512
>Ask to go to a regular store – it may be middle of the road, but you’d rather go with something reliable than something too pricey or too cheap.

>>4008512
>>Ask to go to a regular store – it may be middle of the road, but you’d rather go with something reliable than something too pricey or too cheap.

>>4008512
>>Ask to go to a high-end store – you’re starting to realize that the best items may be the ones that cost the most, so you’ll go there and pray that something high-end is in Cinder’s ballpark.
Dahlia!

>>4008512
>>Ask to go to a regular store – it may be middle of the road, but you’d rather go with something reliable than something too pricey or too cheap.

>>4008328
I have.

Not quite dead yet, thankfully! Apologies for the wait, I just got done reorganizing my room to fit a fuckhuge desk inside. One more for the night because I am bone tired!

>>4008520
>>4008522
>>4008523
>>4008556
Regular store is where it's at, safety and reliability is HIP with the YOUTH OF TODAY. Writing now!

>>4008779
Good, we'll need it.

>>4009084

The familiar feeling of teleportation once again overtakes you as you move through the game world, senses being stripped and reapplied as you come to in the middle of the plaza. The temperature today is warm, but not sweltering – the breeze washes over your skin and inspires a sense of calm as you open your eyes, immediately soaking in the sights of the ever-populated plaza.

Maybe it’s just because you’re so new to this experience, but the amount of people and the sheer variety of appearances almost takes your breath away.

You can see people with technicolor hair and ridiculous outfits chatting at a roadside café, a group of folks with matching white emblems taking potshots into the lake, and in the distance you hear the hammering of metal followed by raucous laughter. You take a deep breath, and you breathe in the scent of the sea.

You vastly prefer this plaza to what used to be there, and for once, you find yourself fully appreciating the sheer depth that full dive VR has to offer. A distant part of your mind remembers news articles of people being so taken with it that they never leave, and maybe it’s just because of Cinder’s roughhousing clearing your mind for a moment, but you honestly could see why. It’s beautiful.

An exaggerated cough takes you out of the surroundings, and you turn to face your friend who’s observing you with a small smile.

“We should probably get going, eh? I know it’s pretty great to look at, but we’re on a tight schedule!”

“You’re the reason we’re on th—”

“Wanna finish that one, mate?” She steps forward, and you immediately raise your hands in surrender. You really don’t want to lose anymore time due to her headlocks, nor do you want to have people see you get teased by her in public.

You have a REPUTATION to uphold…even if you’re in disguise.

With a silent and teasing threat from Cinder, the both of you are off. She takes you through winding path after winding path, apparently already dead set on the location that she wishes to go to.

“Hey, what about that Dahlia girl? The one that made my rifle?” You ask Cinder as you duck through a crowd of catboys and catgirls, one of them making a provocative hand curl at you. You give a sheepish wave, to which the girl laughs before being pulled away by another of their group.

“She is waaaaay out of our ballpark. Her items are well known for being real fuckin’ good, but extremely pricey. You’d need to give up an arm and a leg for that – I mean, I could, but there ain’t no way in hell you’d find me doing it. I’m happy with what I got here!” She bumps her blade out of the scabbard for just a moment, enough to catch the sun on it’s sleek surface.

“Still don’t understand why they added those in.” You grouse, crossing your arms.

“Maybe you should try using one sometime!”

“No.”

“Your loss! By the way, what exactly do you want to look for? You’ve never said what you decided on for your loadout!”

Ah, a final decision point. You sincerely love those.

>>4009157

>You still want to stick with a mid-range build, meaning a solid array of defensive and offensive items. If you can find a rifle that looks good too, you’ll take it, but you won’t hold your breath.

>With all the information you’ve received, you think you might want to switch it up a little bit with some of the below builds.

>>You want to try a short-ranged build packed with offensive items. It’ll be good for taking out Edit despite his haste and getting in range of Sky, which means you may be able to end the fight quickly.

>>You want to try a long-ranged build focused around tracking your enemies. It seems that they may have the same dynamic, so you’d love to beat them at their own game in a mirror match – as well as that, you’ll be able to ensure Cinder gets her revenge.

>>You want something else. Maybe a mixture of any of the above builds? Maybe something original! You don’t know, but you’re feeling like it’s an eclectic sort of day. (Write-in!)

>>4009160
>You still want to stick with a mid-range build, meaning a solid array of defensive and offensive items. If you can find a rifle that looks good too, you’ll take it, but you won’t hold your breath.

>>4009160
>>>You want to try a long-ranged build focused around tracking your enemies. It seems that they may have the same dynamic, so you’d love to beat them at their own game in a mirror match – as well as that, you’ll be able to ensure Cinder gets her revenge.

>>4009160
>You still want to stick with a mid-range build, meaning a solid array of defensive and offensive items. If you can find a rifle that looks good too, you’ll take it, but you won’t hold your breath.

An m4 or ak copy with an under slung attachment (shotgun/grenade launcher) would go a long way with utility. If we can get a bullpup we could even hit at longer ranges and not be completely fucked in cqc.
Battle rifles lean towards the heavy/ long range side of things but they're still useful at closer ranges, as long as we can handle the recoil
Shotguns, at least irl, have decent range with the right ammo like slugs and flechette shells. Not to mention the candy store of other rounds. Don't know if the game takes the same approach though.

>>4009160
>>You want something else. Maybe a mixture of any of the above builds? Maybe something original! You don’t know, but you’re feeling like it’s an eclectic sort of day. (Write-in!)
Don't we have 3 weapon slots? What does a long range / short range combo look like? Was that just "flexbility" or was it "mid-range"?
We should have primarily
>a long-ranged build focused around tracking your enemies. It seems that they may have the same dynamic, so you’d love to beat them at their own game in a mirror match – as well as that, you’ll be able to ensure Cinder gets her revenge.
But throw in
>a good, powerful short-range backup weapon that can hold off Edit and support Cinder
maybe a sword

>>4009160
>Dual pistols so you can clown on him hard

He's gonna be so mad

>>4009160
>>>You want to try a long-ranged build focused around tracking your enemies. It seems that they may have the same dynamic, so you’d love to beat them at their own game in a mirror match – as well as that, you’ll be able to ensure Cinder gets her revenge.

>>4009157
>>4009258
Support

>>4009160
>>>You want something else. Maybe a mixture of any of the above builds? Maybe something original! You don’t know, but you’re feeling like it’s an eclectic sort of day. (Write-in!)
Flamethrower

>>4009288
What this guy said

Howdy everyone! Apologies for no update yesterday, had some stuff going on and it took up most of my day! I'm here now, though, so it's all good.

It seems that we have a tie between the following two options.

>>4009175
>>4009179


Normally I'd flip between the two, but I feel like this should be broken by someone wanting one or the other rather than random chance due to it's importance! So if anyone's looking and hasn't voted, please break the tie and I'll get started on writing for the day!

>>4009160
>You still want to stick with a mid-range build, meaning a solid array of defensive and offensive items. If you can find a rifle that looks good too, you’ll take it, but you won’t hold your breath.

>>4009175
>>4009258
>>4009769
>>4011085
Alrighty! Thank you very much for breaking this tie - stick with the mid-ranged build! Writing now.

>>4011089

“I think I’d like to go for something mid-ranged, if at all possible. It’ll give me the right amount of range so I’m never too far from the action, as well as allowing for flexibility. If Sky were to fire at us, I could shoot back with suppressive fire provided I know where she’s fired from. With Edit I can keep him pinned down this way.”

You bring a hand to your chin as the two of you hustle down the street, your mind instantly formulating new ideas that could go along with such a build.

“In terms of items, even if I have to stick with the Auxilia variant, I’d like some form of underbarrel attachment for the rifle – perhaps a shotgun or grenade launcher. A bullpup could be good too, although if this game really is ultra-realistic nowadays, the trigger might not be as precise. Would be good for close quarters due to the length, though…what do you think?”

You turn to seek your good friend’s council and find that she’s staring at you with a curious expression, a hint of excitement within her virtual eyes. You’re reminded again about how much this game has changed – sure you could make expressions in Warscape before, but to be able to pick out emotions in the eyes is, frankly, insane.

“Is something wrong, Cinder?” You ask your friend, to which she waves a hand quickly.

“Not at all, man! Sometimes I forget that you used to be a pro is all. It’s pretty neat to see you in your element!” Cinder flashes a smile towards you, and you find yourself looking away in embarrassment.

Some things just never change, you suppose.

“But yeah, I’d say it sounds like a good plan – I think if you wanna go mid, a shotgun will do you well. You got three weapon slots, and I don’t want you walking around with that rink-a-dink one you have. Seriously, why’d you even take that?”

“It was a gift from Fletcher!”

“Whatever, I’ll bug him about it later. He gave me his number in case I wanted consultation.”

“Y-You got my old team captain’s number!?”

“Yeah, while you were off recovering from getting drank under the fucking table my Golden! Still didn’t expect the little guy to have such a taste for alcohol.”

Your world has been rocked several times in quick succession, but you allow your beating heart to still as Cinder leads you further through the sprawling streets of the Warscape marketplace.

Eventually, you find yourself on a narrow street that’s strangely nestled away from everywhere else. It took several turns through many alleyways, and even then it was pretty well fucking hidden. Deep amber lights are strung up from the corners and ledges of the rustic buildings, and you can hear gentle conversation drifting through open windows. A breeze wafts over you, and you catch the barest hint of sulfur.

Huh. Seems like a cozy little hideaway.

>>4011128

>Ask Cinder what this place is – the gentle lights, the comfy vibe…you’d be hesitant to call this a true part of the marketplace, if only due to the lack of a crowd.

>Ask Cinder where you should start – you can see a few signs on the buildings, but they don’t seem to indicate what each place peddles. They’re just store names.

>Ask Cinder if this is affordable – you’re still very hesitant about taking her money, and these stores could be expensive. You wouldn’t blame them for ramping up the price just for a moment of respite.

>Write-in.

>>4011130
>>Ask Cinder where you should start – you can see a few signs on the buildings, but they don’t seem to indicate what each place peddles. They’re just store names.

>>4011130
>>Ask Cinder what this place is – the gentle lights, the comfy vibe…you’d be hesitant to call this a true part of the marketplace, if only due to the lack of a crowd.

>>4011130
>Ask Cinder where you should start – you can see a few signs on the buildings, but they don’t seem to indicate what each place peddles. They’re just store names.

>>4011138
>>4011163
Check out the surroundings! Writing now.

>>4011193

You find your eyes drawn between so many stores that line the pathway, your curiosity immediately piqued. Upon looking closer, while many are wooden and rustic, each have their own charms. One has little signs pasted onto the windows, one has quite a few digital sign boards that are announcing a 50% off sale…you won’t deny that you’re swept up in these little details for a moment.

“…this looks like a pretty cozy area, Cinder. Where the hell do we start?” You murmur, opening your menu and reaffirming your bank account balance. You don’t really have a lot, but if Cinder brought you here knowing your balance, you’ll trust that at least some things are affordable.

Maybe you should go and find that duelist lady again? Nah, that event has probably moved on by now.

“Yeah, it’s a nice little hole in the wall. Dunno how it came about! I like shopping here, namely because it isn’t a fucking scramble for everything.” She chuckles at her own words, suddenly pointing at the shops. “Judging on the time we have left, I say we’ll be able to hit up only one of these places.”

“Couldn’t we try to negotiate with Edit for more time?” You ask Cinder, to which her head snaps over with a scowl.

“I will not cede ANYTHING to him.”

Well, she’s certainly hellbent on that. You make a note to potentially message him later, although that might require friending him if he doesn’t accept public DMs. You’re still unsure why you kept all that on in the first place – probably for that sweet, sweet teenage instant validation.

“Putting that aside, the ones we wanna focus on are up here.” She gestures towards the front two shops, although you catch her eyes flicker towards one of the buildings towards the very back. You file that away as something to potentially ask about.

First, she points to the one with all of the weathered signs spread across the windows, blocking the view inside. The sign hanging from the ledge proudly displays the name – The Gallery.

“That place is a general store that sells all sorts of stuff, from weapons to items to cosmetics. Reason all the signs are up there is because the owner takes a ton of product placement deals. I also hear that he sometimes makes shit in his downtime, but he hasn’t let me see any of it.”

Her finger shifts to the store with digital signs everywhere directly across from it. All of the flashing colors makes your eyes hurt a little, and according to the electric pink font, it’s name is – Gravity Station.

“The one with all the discounts is an interesting one – their shit is cheap, but sometimes they don’t sell the best stuff. You could call it a pawn shop, but the owner mixes her own stuff in with the stock…I’ve gotten great things there, and plenty of bad shit too.”

“None of these stores sound very specific, Cinder.”

“Specific stores are the ones that cost more, Wolf. They’ve got attachments, items, and weapons – ain’t that good enough?”

Well, it’ll depend on your luck, you suppose.

>>4011379

>Agree to go towards the Gallery – it sounds like a menagerie of items await you, and you’re curious about any items the man crafts…maybe you’ll be able to snag some with a few words.

>Gravity Station interests you more – Cinder may have her misgivings about it, but if it’s like a pawn shop, you’ll only need to employ a keen eye. Cheap shit sounds great to you.

>Ask her about the shop towards the back that she cast a look at – you want to know about every option here, not just the two closest to you.

>Discreetly message Edit to bargain for more time – you’re honestly interested in checking out both of these places, and while Cinder has her pride, you have no qualms with negotiating with a dickhead. You've done it before, after all.

>Write-in.