In the world of Yvestell, a virtual cosmos birthed from the pinnacle of human ingenuity, the line between the fantastical and the tangible grows thin. Here, in the first VRMMORPG of its kind, the revelation of non-human players shatters the boundari...
In the shadowed groves of Ancladon, where Layla's screams clashed with Khirtis' silence, chaos unfolded. Loras, torn between action and inaction, stood beside his wagon.
"Loras, please!! Help!!" Layla's scream tore through the air, her desperation visible. Khirtis, on the other hand, was occupied with survival. "Of all souls, why is it targeting me!?" Layla cried, her tears shooting through her eyes.
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As the group journeyed to Ancladon, Loras recounted his battle with the toudaes. He described them as formidable birds with beaks large enough to crush their prey. Cloaked in feathers as dark as tar, with golden talons, and their gradient endowed beaks, they were the embodiment of beautiful terror lurking in the skies.
"They sound cute!" said Layla, a naive smile gracing her lips.
"Loras forgot a crucial detail - They're giants." quipped Khirtis.
The giant toudae drove its face into the earth, its massive beak a vertical hammer ready to crush anything on its way. In a singular, fluid motion, its beak swept the ground with a force that felled trees.
In unison, Layla and Khirtis leaped aside, narrowly evading a crushing end, but the sight of a tree, now sundered by the toudae's assault, sent Layla crying once more, all of it directed at Loras.
"I am dying, Loras, help me!"
Bound by the System's edict, "Quest Conditionals", Loras hesitated to act. The conditionals are enforced into NPCs, rendering them to the narrative of a quest they are part of. In this case, both Layla and Khirtis acted as guards, sworn to protect his carriage of goods which meant that Loras will automatically choose to be passive and be on the side lines instead of jumping in.
But there are levels to these conditionals, and that is why Loras armed his crossbow. Defying the quest's constraints, he prepared to intervene.
"Duck, Lady Layla!" he shouted, releasing a bolt, this time surrounded by a cerulean vortex. But as it neared its target, the toudae flapped its wing, creating a wind barrier, halting the bolt mid-flight.
[Helix's Insight]
Toudae used a skill! --> ??? (1/3)
Loras, Merchant of Byrales used a skill --> ??? (1/5)
Khirtis' keen eye kept track of the happenings during the battle. But he wasn't able to see through the toudae's level or details. In place of its level were questions marks, similar to how it was with Loras.
-Extremely high-leveled target-
Yet, Khirtis understood another aspect of his skill - his eye would unveil the secrets of his targets through observing them multiple times. "I must reason with Loras. We should wear it down until I figure out its weakness." he thought. His strategy was to discern a vulnerability with his [Eye of Helix] and conspire a method to victory. Even amidst the heat of the battle, his mind worked methodically.
