Lake of Thorndis

[ ✓ ]

Cao Lu looked down from the shore into the lake and watch the leenha swim freely below her. This idea sounded good in her head and on paper, but it isn't looking too good now. Giving up before she even started trying, Cao Lu headed back north to go to Rithos valley and see what's there-and see how much gold she can accumulate like always. Cao Lu stood up and brushed the dirt and grass of her knees. She forgot she was soaking wet and the dirt she was kneeling on was now mud. Cao Lu sighed since she had just cleaned blood off them earlier. Cao Lu then had to make a long trek around the whole area of the lake while trying to avoid ugly frogs and hostile unicorns.

[8/8]

To: Rithos Valley

(When you've been posting for so long u don't know what ur doing anymore)

It’d necessitate another eighteen successful collisions to deplete the creature’s health in its entirety – an almost unfathomable amount considering the exertion required from him until this point. A demonstration of the unfortunate combative combination of the Dwyrain race and the Priest class, this skirmish to him imparted the impression of futility. Inefficacious in its continuation, unprofitable in its dubious conclusion, the altercation continued out of honor alone – his self-respect and perception of self-importance contingent on its conclusion.

Since his disruption of the campaign for the partial restoration of his health, the suction against his calf had restarted. Appending itself to the apparent ease his appendage presented, the leenha resumed the depletion of his health, siphoning him the same stamina points that contributed to the regeneration of its own.

[ r.i.p. concentration on the weekends ]

Cao Lu knelt down on the edge of the lake and squinted into the body of water. The fugu and leenha seemed to swim away from each other. Cao Lu could kind of understand since one was poisonous and the other would literally the life out of you if you let it. Instead of testing our her theory of trying to kill a leenha from the surface. Cao Lu pulled up a display map of the province she was in. If Cao Lu went back south she'd go back to Qytet City, obviously. But Cao Lu wanted to explore more and Rithos Valley was the closet region to her. Then there was Rithos Peak which was where Qytet was located and she didn't feel like climbing any more than she already has. So Rithos Valley it is, Cao Lu already passed through there on her way to Moonlight Beach because of a wrong she took. Cao Lu wanted to test her theory first before she left though and it would probably wouldn't work since these fish don't seem to want to come to the surface so easily.

[7/?]

(I think I made a typo in one of my Qytet posts and said I was going to north to Lake of Thorndis when I meant south)

Kangjoon reached for another potion, securing it in his grasp and clutching onto it as tangible encouragement and inspiration for his scheduled series of offensive maneuvers. Before effectuating his stratagem for the monster’s conquest, his sight sought the remainder of its stamina, depicted and indicated through a gauge underneath the reddened name and icon communicating combat against his antagonist. Earlier, he had triumphed two strikes against its figure until his assault met a premature end from the startling state of his character’s stamina – a quarter remaining in comparison to the less than a tenth endured by his enemy. Each hit inflicted an estimated one twentieth of a fraction to the monster, amounting to an inadequate ten percent reduction in the creature’s health to the seventy five percent sustained to his.

Cao Lu broke the surface of the water a took a deep breath. Then she realized she didn't have to take a deep breath and released all the air she had let inside of her. She floated for a little and contemplated using a potion or not but ultimately decided against it since she only had four left in stock and had about 74% left from the battle she just had. In the end she decided to float on her back to shore of the lake taking in all the beauty of her surroundings. Once Cao Lu's hit the earth, she had regenerated most of her health. She crawled back onto the shore and tucked a wet strand of hair behind her pointy elvish ears. She wanted to try that grinding tactic she thought of while she was in the lake but she always wanted to explore the land a bit more since she had a teleportation crystal just in case she needed to get back. She settled with trying to kill another leeha while above water since more gold wouldn't hurt.

[6/?]

Instead of swinging for the fish like she'd usually do if she was on land-even though she's only experienced ground combat once which wasn't enough for a "usually"-she reached for it's tail fin and tried to fight it from there. The fish was surprised at the physical contact and reacted almost immediately by flailing helplessly in hopes of getting away of its attacker while snapping its jaw sporadically. Cao Lu had to admit it kind of felt bad for the little guy and lost focus for a bit. The fish took this chance to squirm out of Cao Lu's grip and go directly for her left arm. Cao Lu didn't expect the bite and shouted in pain. This caused her to intake water and start choking. As Cao Lu expected she didn't have an oxygen meter so this choking didn't really effect anything but her health bar. Cao Lu reacted to this now blood fish by grabbing its head and beginning to squeeze. The fish didn't like this at all and let go of Cao Lu's arm, Cao Lu didn't let go of it's head though. She gave into her barbaric instincts and squeezed harder onto the fish until it went limp and lifeless. Cao Lu let go of the fish and let its lifeless body float upwards and turn into loot which she immediately grabbed.

[5/?]

(Barbaric Cao Lu is best Cao Lu)

Now that Cao Lu was in the water swimming towards the fish, she realized she probably could've lured it to her while she was outside of the water to avoid getting her clothes wet. She was pleased with herself for thinking of a tactic to grind with and this would also allow her to see how the leeha was going to react so she would have an easier time with the species next time she came across one. Before going into attack one, Cao Lu examined one from afar. It had sharp rows of teeth that looked like they could really hurt if they were latched onto her. It would probably get stuck her flesh too, if you let it, and Cao Lu would probably have a hard time prying it off-it'd probably take a piece of flesh with it she did manage to pry it off, luckily she was in a lake with magical properties and the wound would probably heal if she stayed inside the lake. But Cao Lu was done with her not-so-extensive observation and was ready to make some sushi; Cao Lu probably couldn't make sushi though, since she's Chinese.

[4/?]

(Intense fish on cao lu action coming soon.)

(Forgot to put 2/? In my last post oops also meant C not B for the fugu description)

Cao Lu felt the cleanliness surge through her body, she felt like she just stepped out of a spa. The dirt and blood and small pieces of guts she didn't see earlier were instantly washed off due to the magical properties of the lake. It also removed the blood stains her robe and shoes had accumulated so Cao Lu was definitely going to come here whenever she needed to clean off her clothes. Cao Lu wasn't sure whether there was an oxygen meter or not, but it was virtual reality so she was sure there really wasn't a need for breathing. Cao Lu swung in front of her face just do see how she'd deal with those fish things. As expected, she just swung slower and less effectively, but that wouldn't be a problem if she could just strangle whatever she came across. She could also use if she was feeling even more barbaric than she already was. But now she was ready to have her first underwater combat and accumulate more gold.

[3/?]

Cleverly avoiding all the aggressive monsters that would probably rip her to shreds, Cao Lu finally made it to the actual Lake of Thorndis. It looked as crystal blue as it did from a distance and it wouldn't make a bad brochure for a camping getaway. Now it was sometime to wash all the grime off Cao Lu's skin so her radiance wit return once again; this made Cao Lu think a shooting for a skin care commercial wouldn't be bad because of how beautiful it was. Cao Lu put herself in a kneeling position and looked down into the water. Before cupping her hands and taking a scoop, Cao Lu noticed there were different types of fish swimming around. One was a B rank Mrs. Puff and the other was an N rank fish you'd see in a lake on a family outing. Cao Lu was excited from her find, she was eager to test out underwater combat. So instead of washing her face off regularly, Cao Lu dove into the lake.

Cao Lu hopped down the last three flights out of impatience and blood lust and greed for more gold. Before sprinting off to find the first N rank mob she could get her hands on, she took a look at her surroundings. The lake was gorgeous, with mint green grass you'd seen in an ad for tampons and a crystal blue lake that looked like it'd be placed right in the middle of a shampoo or deodorant commercial. There were unicorns that a scene kid would absolutely love but get wrecked by as soon as it came into its aggro range and a giant frog that reminded Cao Lu of a snot-nosed brat she met in real. It was a pretty beautiful place, minus all its hostile inhabitants, and if Cao Lu wasn't looking for things to kill she'd probably have a picnic here or something. Pushing all those thoughts out of her head, she put her mind back into warrior mode and set out to find an N ranked mob to kill for loot and self-glory.

[1/?]

(When u make a connection to off-game in-game.)

// all posts checked //

@misanthrope: since your character reached 50 points to rank up, please draw a gift item at the lottery before further proceeding.

Designed for convenience, his fingers slipped beneath the prerequisite protective covering and into the containment space of his bag, locating promptly enough one of the five potions graciously provided in the starter set of items. To a certain extent, it compensated for the absence of a weapon (though not comparable to a weapon in a contest of resilience or longevity), at least compensating for some of the compulsory effort and mitigating some of the aggravation of procuring one through regular procedure. It didn’t diminish his current irritation but at least ensured the continuation of his efforts, the aversion of exertion negation and the preservation of his pride in its consumption.

Once consumed, the potion disintegrated into a miniature fusillade of pixels ascending upward, replenishing in their dissolution about a half [ ??? IDKDK ] of his pathetic aggregate of stamina.

[ 3/3 | that it brother 2 disruptive to continue bUT MUHUEHUEHUEHU ]

Unfortunately, he overestimated his core strength out of the combination of the minor but disconcerting addition to his already substantial height and the apparent feebleness inherent to his race and class, resulting in the completion of two motions before his balance faltered and figure pitched. Reflexes refined through a childhood committed to an assortment of fast-paced games and coordination improved through rigorous training in a sport that amounted to no consequential accomplishment, Kangjoon had the competence in other physical specifications to compensate for his frailty in stamina, strength and composition.

Health hovering around a dangerous one third of his total, approaching a quarter, Kangjoon hesitated, too accustomed to the categorical organization of items in some form along his screen, and rectified the assumption in reaching for his waist, for the potions carried in the pouch reposing against his hip and sustained through the string across one shoulder.

[ 2/3 ]

Kangjoon found remote satisfaction in the increasing struggles of the fish, managing to loosen its indefatigable grip on his muscle and wrenching the first of the ferocious set of teeth from his leg. It brought some degree of relief – if a lessening in inflicted discomfort constituted relief – and a reduced rate of reduction to his health, rounding out to a concerning but sufficient half a bar left. Through another stomp, stronger than the last though not as forceful as the action should it have been performed in life, and a vigorous tow through the water, the monster detached enough for him to act upon the upcoming instinct: the pummeling of its figure underneath the heel of the shoe of his unbitten leg.

[ 1/3 ]

Combat. Hand-to-hand combat. His earlier deduction about offense had been correct. In their current forms, no one had the weapons to execute conventional RPG combat, instead left to assail or – in situations such as his where the monster had been the aggressor and instigator of the altercation – defend oneself using the procedures obtainable to them: confrontation at a short range, precluding the usage of items designed to restrict such futile and painful affairs.

An education in actual unarmed combat would prove beneficial at the moment the monster chose to convert position but Kangjoon had only his involvement in baseball and knowledge of its associated movements, his familiarity with the positions held in the strengthening and stretching exercises conducted at the gym and his instinct – the most reliable of the three as it compelled him to stomp his foot then swing his leg, dragging it back and forth through the water to the noncompliance of the fish.

[ hand-to-hand combat he ascertains
hands are not involved in combat ]

His robes presented minimal resistance against the increasingly irritating but not quite excruciating sensation of teeth tearing skin and puncturing muscle. Kangjoon hadn’t the breadth of attention nor the direction of thought to contemplate the discrepancies in graphic depiction (if the sensation of torn muscles, pierced skin and outpouring blood translated into the sight of it – perhaps better off undisclosed) among the multiple tiers of censorship and inclusion of more adult costumes, concentrated instead on the removal by any means this stupid creature.

As the initial stupefaction from the perception of both pain and temperature in close succession (and the most uncomfortable of them all: the unfortunate combination of them both) wore into pure action and reaction, redirection of the authentic escalation of adrenaline that PC gaming scarcely yielded and that this medium of gaming – complete immersion, realistic effects, genuine perception – lent itself to.

Just as water felt like water, having your blood forcibly drawn from you felt precisely like having your blood forcibly drawn from you, if Kangjoon could conjecture about that sensation being done unto someone. Not that he hoped it had been done unto someone for a sample of the sensation, but he’d rather it not happen at all.

Neither acceptable in the context of appropriate gaming content (but the children!) nor comfortable – or tolerable for more than a couple of more seconds of inaction, considering the rate of his depleting health – at the present moment, Kangjoon’s immediate impulse and subsequent reaction had been to heftily shake his leg, attempting to slacken the clamp of the fish’s mouth around his calf and achieving a partial release at the expense of a more unrelenting clench of its remaining teeth into his pliable flesh.

Pain. Kangjoon registered pain as the source necessitating his attention and such a concept confused him. He had read – or again, had read to him – in the complimentary pamphlet that pain had been one of features and contentious selling points of the gear and adjoining games. It made decent sense – running into a tree should indeed engender an ache comparable to the actual act of running into a tree – but Kangjoon hadn’t thought the creators so malicious nor meticulous to incorporate common inconveniences as bothersome as debris on the floor of lakebeds.

Hissing and shifting his foot from the location that induced the pain, he found that the pain did not relent despite relocation. Finally in a position and a frame of mind to glance at his legs, irritation commanding the action, Kangjoon noticed (belatedly) the malignant monster that attached itself to his calf.

[ it's not a seashell dude it's a monster ]

Summoning the purpose and determination to obtain it, Kangjoon stepped deeper and deeper into the indented shelf encircling the shore and enclosing the lake, leading to the depths that he gradually approached. Feet shuffling along the sand of the shoal and generating small-scale clouds of sand and disturbances of liquid in each step, he kept his eyes on the nearest denomination as the water rose from his ankles to his calves then the seat of his kneecap before ceasing at its crest, closing around the joints of his legs and submerging the entire lower quarter of his outfit. It was still chilly and him still astonished (and a bit petulant – he hadn’t bought the game to undergo the cold showers he had been so prone to in high school) at the successful imitation and integration of temperature and his thought process more than moderately consumed in the comparison of his expectations against this reality (water should feel like water…) until a bite against his calf, distinct despite the cloth billowing around his feet, pierced his skin and required his attention.

The water was cold; and while cold water was something Kangjoon had encountered on countless other occasions, this instance of cold had not been anticipated. It breached the fabric of his shoes, dousing his toes and absorbing into the cloth to begin its measured ascent up the remainder of his once-comfortable and form-enshrouding robes, and raised the skin of his arms and legs. He tensed, a natural reaction to a rather unnatural phenomenon, and constrained himself from taking that step backward that’d remove him from this discomfort. Although unpleasant, the sensation was well within endurable levels. It soon became bearable enough and, as all past experiences with water validated, it was always better to take the plunge.

In this case, the plunge meant the additional fifteen or so feet to the location of the first leenha – username glistening red and attainable just several more strides away.

The consequences of this situation couldn’t compare to the consequences of his inconsistent concentration and irregular attention in life and academia (all those incomplete sections of notes despite his impeccable attendance record in college; all those reiterations of just-concluded conversations, necessitating the concerted effort of Ahyoung and Chanyeol in reenactment and the occasional staged performance, convincing him into discussions that had never happened for the purposes of eliciting the desired response), considering Kangjoon was a solid twenty five feet from the shore and at least forty from the first discernable label indicating the location of his first target and – if all proceeded as formulated – his first conquest.

One final cautionary look around him in all directions, left, right, behind then forward with the summoned resolution of the first step, and he approached the beach, stopping for multiple reasons: the intentional reason of caution and the unintentional reason of cold.

Admittedly, not all the in game mechanics were the most instinctive, nor the principles dictating and directing gameplay the most instinctive, but Dhana Zamina had still accomplished considerably more irrefutable rights than incontestable wrongs, contributing to an experience entertaining and gaining in its entirety. His current occupation in evaluation might connote the opposite but his disengagement from the moment and momentary ignorance of his environments and the events transpiring in his mental absence was a product of his character, rather than the game’s failure to appeal to him and his interests. It did appeal to him, attracted him and seduced [ HEHeheHEH i’m actually five ] him to the point of incorporeal dissection of its components and discourse on each module, and so the source of his all of academic difficulties and some of his social ones once again distracted him in moments of importance.

RPGs – and to a lesser extent, MMORPGs in their universal inclusion and incorporation of the individual into a collaborative effort, a reciprocal pursuit of something much greater, much grander and much larger than a singular person or purpose – were the most celebrated and cherished practice of exceptional, unconventional narration, including all its denominated categories and sub-categories. In most of these aspects – setting (and the necessitated components of a broad and engrossing world, and the judicious incorporation of a compelling, coherent, and comprehensible lore and culture), exploration (the deliberate admission or emission of it, the variation among regions), combat (such that its implementation is neither inherently infuriating nor uninteresting), progress (the natural and innate progression of the person and the people surrounding them), plot and the consequence of choice – Dhana Zamina flourished. The independent elements combined to create a universe rich in composition and profound in potential, neither liberating nor inhibiting in excess, nor cruel nor facile in impediments, requiring just enough from the player to tempt them further and remunerating them generously in doing so.

[ misanthrope's ooc person abuses their experience with rpgs as an enabler to ranting: installation 2 part 7 ]

Although knowledge of the leenhas’ fundamental behavioral pattern and their principle pattern in attack and routine of coordination and structure in offense, Kangjoon had to endure ignorance – retribution in the form of contrition for his con revulsion to his native language and literature, be it the act of reading it, reciting it, required peering at it or prolonged exposure to it. All actions involving and all topics concerning literature dissuaded him through premise alone – one of the reasons Kangjoon found enjoyment in games, especially those capable of communicating a plot and depicting and developing the characters without immoderate amounts of narration or supercilious, ceremonial or incomprehensible dialogue. There was an art to narration, different dependent on genre but ubiquitous in impact and the profundity of it, and there were more methods than literal description or explicit presentation in its execution and elocution.

[ LEENHAS IT IS I PROCLAIM IT TO BE ]

Should he monitor their actions and sustain an established safe distance from them, then he should be fine engaging the leenha. Leenhas? – Kangjoon considered the probable plural form of ‘leenha’, even entertaining the existence of a term designating a collection of leenha(s), until he recognized the reality of the situation: he had neither the commitment to nor command of language to be able to commit the hypothetical label to memory, under the presumption he cared enough to concern himself. Considering his (hilariously brief) review of the distributed guide categorizing the monsters present in each area and elaborating on their appearance and basic abilities, and his present failure to recollect more than a singular classification of monster enumerated in the excessive list, Kangjoon found himself more favored in forgetting the entire name ordeal.

[ WAIT BUT IS IT LEENHA OR LEENHAS I MUST KNOW OOCLY ]

Drifting from the perimeter of the area, Kangjoon took the couple of steps closer that’d enable him a more inclusive and comprehensive apprehension of the area and an estimation of the enemies that inhabited it. Within the section pertinent to his combative purposes, he discerned the existence of multiple N-ranked monsters – leenha, belonging to some category of aquatic monsters if the rapid activity of their appellation above inactive water was an indication – and a sparse population of C-ranked monsters – fugus, though not nearly as prevalent near the shore, instead assembling in collections of three or four in the farther stretches of the shallows. The higher ranked monsters, were there any in the area, weren’t near enough to engender concern; he hadn’t seen forms along the shore nor movement in the lake in his approach, meaning nothing beyond the ominous looming of the fugus presented an immediate threat.

The unwavering presence of labels denominating monsters on the boundaries of his vision and the shores of the lake indicated as much, disrupting the serenity inherent in the admirable blue ensemble of the landscape. Shades in contrasting colors stretched on to encompass his entire perception, from the minor incongruities in hue at the nexus of the land and atmosphere to the more discernable dissimilarities between the distant indigo depths and the startling sky heights. Astonishing in its breadth and depth of lucidity and clarity, the wonder evoked splendor, broken only by the occupancy and relative proximity of the monsters that sought the opportunities provided through interruptions in attention.

Conscious of the potential for distraction and resolute in the correction of his error, Kangjoon lowered his exploratory looks and narrowed the scope of his observation – concentration on the location of hopeful intention, containing the confidence that’d soon be the source commanding his actions.

[ unfounded confidence honestly ]

// all posts checked //

Shimmering sapphire in digital imitation of noon, the lake caught and sustained his attention throughout his descent of the mountain and until the moment he reached its shores. Demanding in its cerulean enchantment, Kangjoon contained his compulsion to close the distance separating him from the marriage of the liquid to the land, the natural phenomenon embracing one another in the cause and the consequence of the wind whispering to the serene surface and generating the quavering movements along the boundaries. One could scarcely comprehend that such a spectacle was computer-generated – or perhaps that fact made it all the more intelligible, permissible in the comprehension that one’s surreal surroundings, that one’s entire unsubstantial existence and incorporeal interaction with this ethereal reality was nothing more than an induced perception of an impossibility. A fallacious interpretation and projection of what their world hadn’t been and couldn’t become, this reality became much more accessible and much less impalpable in the context of its purpose.

Dhana Zamina – before its aesthetical appeal and before its experimental allure – was a game – a platform for players to use for their recreational benefit.

[ doing this now so i don't have to do it tomorrow
is that procrastination or productivity ]