<Nocturnal Harmonia>

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah, I figured that at the start when he pulled the Bronze Saint card on us," Yugi said about that annoying Tanker. That one was either going to die on his way back into the fray, or survive and become a bigger annoyance for the group at large. Since he was an A-rank Tanker, Yugi figured the latter was more likely. Oh well; that was something to keep in mind, but be concerned about only when it became relevant. Before anything else, he scanned the field and confirmed the third centipede's survival and location. "We're gonna have to do something about that other centipede before we're swarmed. Nobody wants to deal with webbing, venom and thrashing," he said.

The team that came along with Miko had something else to learn. She'd been covering them in a veil this entire time, keeping them fresh. The swordsman noticed as much, but strangely the mage was none the wiser. "Sugei! I thought I was doing much better than normal. I normally take lower-ranked Dungeons because I don't have much stamina for long or tough raids," the mage explained while the swordsman silently judged his ability. Whatever the case, the swordsman had a plan that could now be executed semi-safely. "If I can at least have a severed limb kept from bleeding 'til I die, I can take down the centipede myself." As he spoke those words, his sword was sheathed. He'd be pulling a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his breast pocket, since his earlier smoke had been lost in that initial rush. Yugi watched the smoking male, tilting his head and observing his mana closely. "Can you not look at me with those freaky eyes? It makes me uneasy," the swordsman spoke while lighting. "Sure thing. Looking at you makes me uneasy too," Yugi replied. "But that sounds like a solid plan. We're gonna need as many bodies as possible for that spider army. I've got an idea for that..." He took a moment of thought there, considering Miko's mention of elemental magic combinations. She had an active water staff, he had lightning powers. They alone could make a massive impact on the spiders, but... "Special delivery!" Gojo Satoru announced as he stood in the sky above. He'd drawn hundreds, if not thousands of materials from the battlefield just to let them descend toward the Players. Of course, he and Maki were the only non-players currently able to see anything within the field. Everything from silk, to carapace fragments, to lesser Skill Runes had been dropped. "Nice! Inventory," Yugi said, letting all of those items fall into their shared storage. He kept an eye on the Inventory tab while materials were sorted, paying special attention to the Skill Runes. "Ho? Thread Bind is pretty weak, but useful. There are a few Carapace Bind copies too. Does that veil still have room to combine?" he asked Miko while the swordsman paused in confusion. "They're both actually insane, aren't they? Hell of a day I'm having."

[Apollymi]

"Yeah, he wasn't even trying to hide it. Hilarious mention by the way..." Maki commented while chuckling. She'd had to keep that one inside the first time he'd spoken, mostly as not to encourage someone into doing something bad for themselves. As they were joined by the others, he was doing regular scouting, which took a bit off Miko's plate as well. The idea that they should take out the centipede first was something Miko agreed with, "Hai, that was my thought as well..." Miko confirmed, as tension seemed to be releasing from her shoulders as she tried to find herself a bit more relaxation. Maki for her part in this had a spell cast on her, and she couldn't have said what it did from a magical perspective, but with Miko's explanation she was feeling less of the stress of battle on her person, like she'd not been fighting much at all before now. "Sou..."

At the point where Miko explained the nature of her abilities, it would seem that the Ice Mage hadn't been aware a spell had been cast on him. She figured most wouldn't notice, but it was odd to her that a mage wouldn't notice an active use of magic, "Box it," she murmured softly. As for his actual words. "Jobs aren't worth your life," Miko said firmly. From her perspective, mages, without any sort of extra sensory perception and no physical attributes would be suicide. She wasn't judging, it was still early, but she wouldn't encourage someone to do something so dangerous unnecessarily. And soon enough the top-knot swordsman was speaking again, this time, claiming that he could take the centipede on his own, so long as he wouldn't be allowed to bleed to death. "I mean I wouldn't let you bleed to death. Still, I'd rather not have you limbless..." Miko said carefully. Soon after there was an exchange between Yugi and this man which seemed to be a bit standoffish. Well, men were always a bit odd around each other, the kinds of powers they had led her to believe it was likely weird. "I like ideas..." Miko started only to be surprised by a drop of materials from Gojo. A smile came to her face, but there was nothing but shock on Maki's face, "Where the hell did all that come from?!" she asked without thinking. "Sou ka, that's some good progression~" Miko congratulated her partner. "Arigatou, Go-sei♪~" Miko chirped happily. Of course, the words of the top-knot guy were heard, by Miko she could only smile, but Maki was also now standing hear shaking her head. "I don't think I'm old enough for this level of crazy... I'm also having a day. Still good to see a familiar face," Maki offered. At the same time there were multiple things for Miko and Yugi to sort through so they would, she looked at her own skills and nodded. "Both of them have room for improvement. I think I'll get more defensive if it's added to Lumen and something a bit closer to camoflague if added to Miststep... What's the big idea though?" Miko asked having opened her own Inventory to begin work on a few changes to her skills.

[Bloodedge]

"Really into Aeons works, huh?" Yugi wondered after Maki confirmed her knowledge of another familiar series. There weren't any disagreements about handling the centipede before they were set upon by a spider army. There was, however, an issue with the swordsman's plan according to Miko. She didn't want him bleeding to death, nor did she want him limbless. One of those two things wasn't avoidable. "Well do you think this is actually winnable without me taking out the centipede? Honest question," he asked. Yugi was already shaking his head. "Long-term? It's a limb or a life. We all go to the centipede, we get jumped by spiders. We all ignore the centipede, we get attacked by it. We try splitting into two more even teams, somebody gets picked off on the weaker side... and there will be a weaker side," Yugi mused. That was all the swordsman needed to hear as he stepped closer to Maki. He'd seen Satoru appear and announce some sort of delivery, but nothing was delivered even though the 'E-rank' Hunters thanked him and behaved as if they were looking at something. He and Maki agreed ─ something was wrong with those two. Of course, they also agreed on the relief of finding a familiar face here. "Agreed. Hope your house didn't also get ransacked by giant bugs this morning. Any idea what they're going on about?" he asked, only to realize Maki had also reacted as if something was given to the others. "Or... you're also crazy. Or maybe I'm crazy? Who knows anymore."

Meanwhile, Yugi was pulling a couple of Skill Runes from Inventory. He could make good use of something called Thread Bind, but he also saw the use of one called Venom Fang. Thread Bind was crushed immediately, but Venom Fang... he decided to save for something else. "This one started at 25%. Quickest climb so far," he commented regarding Maki's route. As for his idea, there were a few stages and a few 'ifs' about it. "For starters... I need a rinse. Got a bunch of that venom on me earlier. The plan is to take out the kids spiders in big chunks with water as a base. Maki here has a pretty sick bleed and weaken debuff on that naginata, so I was thinking it could be a good finisher for Queen Bitch over there... but now I'm wondering how much quality of life we're looking at here." As he spoke, Yugi held firm to the Venom Fang rune. He figured Miko would know exactly what he was getting at, but Maki... he'd gesture toward himself and Miko for a more private conversation.

[Apollymi]

"Isn't everyone?" Maki said almost sarcastically. Within a certain age range and for a few special cases beyond, Aeons works were peak fiction. Addictive reads, by whimsical writers who would have you reading their newest works, even while lamenting that your favorite hasn't seen a volume update in years. Beyond this point there was the issue of the plan of the swordsman which Miko would have done without as a point of sacrifice, but Yugi's opinion on the matter gave greater perspective. Miko wasn't so sure of herself that she'd demand her own plans be used, nor was she so stupid as to risk lives when none could be lost instead. She held her hands up in surrender. "Hai hai, if you're both sure. I'll go with it, and I guess I'll be figuring out if I can regrow limbs today. Before you go though, I want to try something... Nii-san," Miko said figuring she might have an easier time regenerating his arm if she got a feel for it as it was first. And with that she'd leave him to his cigarette and his point of relaxation while she and Yugi collected and planned. At the same time, Maki was discussing life with her technical neighbor, and shaking her head, "The house is mostly fine. The old man is probably already pitching a fit about it. But yours is a bit closer to here huh? Hopefully yours isn't a complete loss..." she pontificated. As for that pair and what they were on about she realized in that moment that he couldn't see the stuff that had been dropped in the area. "Sou ka, it's weird. I probably wouldn't have been in on it, but that guy has been odd to me. I don't completely understand what's up, but they aren't at all what they appear to be, but he's brilliant and about the action so if I'm a bit crazy for it too, I don't think I can complain," she said. 'Though what is different from the moment we spoke to now?' Maki felt like she'd get the rest of that explanation at another time.

Meanwhile, Miko and Yugi were busy doing their own thing in a quiet space. As Yugi grabbed up a few runes, Miko took a few, as well. She immediately fed some of those defensive runes to her pre-existing skills. Making it so that the timing and strength of Lumen Veil increased and her Miststep Veil gained the ability to remain in place even when she moved. He spoke of a good starting marker and an easy climb, "That's good to hear. I was a bit worried you were being stuck with all the super challenging stuff all at the beginning," Miko commiserated. A rinse was required so Miko summoned that water staff of hers and did something she hadn't done since their time in their training Dungeon and prepared a gentle spray to clean him off. "Sound reasonable enough, I've been wondering about how hard the QoLs are going myself... definitely worth a shot." Miko said stepping around Yugi to rinse him off with a gentle rush of that water while Maki looked up. "Apparently I'm being summoned," she said stepping away from the swordsman to join the little huddle. "What's up?" she asked as she came closer to a girl showing poison off the young man she'd tentatively agreed to go on a date with later.

[Bloodedge]

"Everyone who's not boring or dumb," was Yugi's reply to Maki. The series produced by that group were total cult phenomena for anyone who bothered reading even one. In fact, to this day, Yugi had never heard of a person who could only stick to a single one of their products. Any of them counted as a gateway drug to the greater universe. Following that exchange, Yugi was with Miko... and Maki was left in the company of that swordsman, who Miko wanted to inspect for her future healing attempts. He'd leave her to do whatever she needed while addressing Maki. "Mine is right inside the field. It was wrecked beyond recognition when I got back today," he commented in regards to his own relatively new house. As for the strangeness about those two E-ranks, he could only shrug. Maki herself may have become weird being alone with that guy this whole time. Maybe he was the weird one for not seeing what the others could? It didn't matter. He'd soon enough be making some space between himself and the others, if only to prepare an assault against the centipede. "If it goes well, leave the first wave of spiders to me too," he announced along the way.

When the Players were alone, Yugi could be seen shaking his head. He didn't think the others were particularly difficult, but he did notice how different the challenges of routes could be. "I don't think it makes much difference. Seems like they just appear at the right turning point to make a big difference. This one just happened to be at that point when it became relevant. That's my running hypothesis at least," he explained. Beyond that, Yugi's thought process on the matter of Skill Runes was seemingly something Miko wondered about as well. They'd be finding out the truth together once Maki arrived. Yugi tossed the Venom Fang rune in one hand a few times, intending to draw attention to it before passing it to Maki. "I wanted to give you this. Hold it, squeeze it until it breaks, and... you should feel a surge of something. Don't worry; it's nothing bad. If it works, you'll be better for it. If it doesn't... then it shouldn't be a problem."

[Apollymi]

The cultism surrounding Aeons works was legendary. You couldn't choose just one, the greater universe was worth following and every new piece of media sold out within hours. Everyone was always waiting and always enjoying, "Agreed." Maki decided and Miko could only nod. After all, Aeons works managed to pull even her squeamish self and likely had a lot to do with her awakening degeneracy. No matter, for Maki and her passing conversation with the swordsman, it would seem that he lost his house while he was out today. "That's fucking terrible, they still aren't covered by insurance are they?" Maki questioned. She remembered hearing some complaints on a couple of different runs, especially around people losing cars and the like. "After a workday too? Are you not tired?" she asked the man knowing he was ranked high enough that he was likely clearing a Dungeon before coming here. "Hai♪~" Miko said while rinsing off the other man as the swordsman walked only after to realize she'd forgotten her intetions.

"Shit. I got too relaxed I'm going to end up doing something weird later..." Miko muttered to herself. As for Yugi's hypothesis Miko could agree to a certain extent, "Yeah, they do seem to be like that... my last few were strange but they seem to happen when interest is properly established towards us... maybe with something else as a criteria as well though," Miko thought about it, knowing that Sato Kenta had some interest in her but he'd not been one to pop a route seemed to imply it couldn't be a completely one-way thing. She had a pretty easy time having these routes pop but their did seem to be some underlying qualifications she couldn't quite tell what they were though. Soon enough though Maki was standing with them and Miko finished up her rinsing of the man in front of her. She was soon resting against that staff and watching with pure curiosity. That rock was being tossed and soon enough Maki was catching it and looking it over. "I've never seen anything like this before... weird," she concluded. But the instructions given on how to use it had some key words in it that gave her a bit of pause. "You really are just experimenting. Still..." she closed her hand around that odd rune and squeezed. There were lots of unknowns in this world, but one thing a teenager would always do, was be a bit reckless just in case something cool could happen. So she squeezed until the rock shattered in her hands. In so doing something that felt a bit like a surge of mana occurred from her hand and into her body. She felt it all the way around and her brows furrowed. "The fuck was that? It tickled like all over for a second," she stated as if she had no better way of explaining it. She figured if they really were early on they might not know how all of this stuff of theirs worked yet, and if it benefited her even a bit she was practical enough to go along with it.

[Bloodedge]

On the topic of Hunters Insurance, the swordsman hadn't heard any mention of it covering a destroyed home. He shook his head when asked, taking one more drag from his cigarette. After a long, deep inhale, he offered the remaining half to Maki. "Can't get that kind of break around here. Maybe in the cushy U.S. Association," he commented. Whether Maki accepted the cigarette or not, he wouldn't be holding onto it. He was ready to move, no sword drawn, no hands occupied, no worry about how much work he'd already done today. "I was. That barrier helps," he said before finding a clearing. Once he had ample space, he raised his right hand and looked over it toward that last centipede. His thumb pressed against the tips of his middle and ring fingers while the remaining two digits remained extended. Mana began to accumulate rapidly, even hungrily around his left hand. "Kai!" he exclaimed. Suddenly, his left arm vanished up to mid-forearm, as though it had been bitten off by something instantaneously. The swordsman wasn't a swordsman at all: he was a summoner. With that sacrifice, he called forth an oversized arctic fox. Its head resembled a giant fox's head with multiple giant eyes covering it, each full of concentric circles. The fox's arm was likewise monstrously large with oversized claws and was covered in multiple eyes, all aimed at the centipede as it lunged forward to devour the insect.

It seemed Miko had missed the opportunity to do something, strangely enough. She'd obviously been given the time and freedom to do whatever she was asking about, but it didn't seem to matter. She and Yugi were still discussing route mechanics. "I don't think someone like that would ever become one. He doesn't seem like the type to be compatible with... well, anyone really," he mused. Though Intimacy progression could easily be linked to how Bondmates felt about the Players specifically, he figured having them triggered came with the requirement of proper chemistry. Speaking of chemistry, they would soon find out if Skill Runes could be applied to their companions ─ if only after she came to realize this was all in the experimental phase. Even acknowledging the testing nature of the offer, Maki still crushed the rune. She described a... tickle. Beyond that, Yugi could see the surge of mana entering her body ─ melding into her own energies. "BUSTED!" Yugi announced excitedly before anything else. He was too excited to even look at that giant fox tearing through the terrain en route to the last centipede. "That was a hack. You've got a Skill called Venom Fang now. It's a stacking movement debuff that works to immediately paralyze anything weaker than you. Something at-level will take five hits and slow 20% each time, and something stronger than you will be a gambit... but it should combo well with what your weapon already does."

[Apollymi]

Hunter's Insurance in this country still didn't cover the housing situation. It was a shame considering this man had likely spent his life savings on that new house. "We really are behind, I didn't think the US would be the one getting the drop on us..." Maki stated. She wasn't into politics but still it seemed a shame that a country like Japan which was more focused on the society as a whole, wasn't covering it's members. "Box it." Miko was randomly hearing things and packing them away while actively conversing with Yugi about other things. At the same time, Maki was offered a cigarette while being informed of the true use of that barrier. "Sou ka, I thought I felt better," Maki said. "Haven't smoked since I was a punk back in middle school. But if this day had gone any worse I definitely would have taken it," she admitted almost absently.

At the same time, the conversation taking place between Miko and Yugi. That particular person didn't fit the criteria which was fine. "I agree. Besides that would have been my first absolutely not. He's gross," Miko confirmed shivering in outright disgust. She'd almost said 'ew' definitely she would say so if a route popped up, fuck completion. And beyond that Maki was willing to take a chance on the experiment and what she got out of it, was a new power. "Everyone's gonna be so fucking strong♪!~" Miko chirped.

Still there was something odd going on, Miko's attention was drawn to the actions of the swordsman who wasn't actually a swordsman. "Waaah♪~ Mana and body parts why both?!" Miko chirped. That was horrifying as a cost. The idea of summoning was good but that kind of additional cost was terrifying. No wonder he committed to learning a physical kind of skill to go along with everything else, it would have been horrifying to do that sort of thing and not have a way to fix what was sacrificed. "Nii-san, coming to help♪~" Miko uttered while heading over, leaving Maki and Yugi to discuss her apparent power upgrade. "That's crazy. I am going to fuck so much shit up!~" Maki seemed overly excited and another 3 percent increase in her Intimacy was there to show for it.

[Bloodedge]

The swordsman's summon had quite a few ants to plow through en route to the centipede. The 'small' critters were quite easy to deal with for such a beast, but the centipede itself would take a little time. One colossus slammed into the other, only to be slammed in turn. The centipede managed a few bites, but its venom seemed to have no effect whatsoever on the beast borne of sacrifice. Its summoner, however, was officially working with limited time. Blood was pouring from his missing limb. He would have only been useful for a single summon, but luckily he heard Miko announce her approach. "Help with what? I'm... perfectly fine," he said a bit sarcastically. It seemed he was fine with the pain of limb loss by now, but he'd long since learned to make light of the sacrifice.

Meanwhile, Yugi was observing Maki rather closely. Her body reacted nicely to the Skill Rune-crushing, and there weren't any obvious negatives. In fact, he gathered she was actually much better off now than she'd been before. She even announced that she'd 'fuck so much shit up' in her own words... to which Yugi emphatically agreed. "That's the spirit! Also, I count as shit. Y'know, if you wanted to show gratitude and such. Anything with ass, tits or face in my lap is right up my alley," he said cheekily, readying for the coming wave of spiders. "But so is this. First date, cooperative extermination duty? I know we've kinda been doing that the whole time, but shut up~" he chimed. All the while, Satoru was watching from above. He'd also seen Maki take on that Skill Rune, and thought there was much to take interest in. There was no such thing as a dull moment around this pair thus far. "Makima-chaaan~ are you watching this yet?" he wondered aloud.

[Apollymi]

Now was the opportunity for another split. This time, Miko was going to help a man with his now missing arm. The beast he summoned seemed like quite the asset but the cost seemed a bit outlandish. Miko approached while ants were ravished and a battle between to large opponents started up. There was a bleeding arm stump and a missing forearm and hand. She sprinted offering help only to find herself on the receiving end of sarcasm. She was good at reading situations and went with his assertion while she approached placing one hand against his chest. "Oh? Must just be a normal day at the office then huh, Nii-san?♪~" Miko also questioned sarcastically. Her right hand found its home on his chest, while her left as held up. "Mirror me, Nii-san... also I didn't actually get your name, gomen... I've been forgetting normal people stuff today~" she added with a small smile. The healing pulses had already begun... he would feel the blood flow to his stump slowing rapidly as she worked to stop him from collapsing. Just the same if his remaining right hand met her left she'd begin a strange process, to try her hand at remaking his missing arm based on the feeling of his dominant hand.

Meawnhile, Maki was learning the oddities of Yugi and as another person of a youngish persuasion, finding them odd but endearing. He claimed, that he was shit too, and could be fucked up as well... and even listed some potential ways that could happen. Her eyes widened and the blush on her face intensified. Once again she was pushing glasses that hadn't moved an inch back up onto her nose in a habit of fluster which she not even known she had. "This is still a life or death situation. You can't just open with that..." she said quickly. Perhaps he was a bit too into the Aeons works, too flirty for normal humanity? Well, she didn't hate it. Ah but he moved on just as quickly sparing her exteme embarrassment in exchange for, their first date being cleaning up after the spiders. He even commented about how he knew they'd been doing this the whole time but for her to shut up... playfully. "You know what, can't say no to that part~" she said making herself ready, naginata ready to sweep as she stepped out in front practically refreshed by the veil that had been put on her. These two were definitely good teammates to have. No matter what she'd begin her assault again aiming to hold the line and keep anything from approaching the other pair. Just the same, Gojo's question to the world at large, would result in him receiving a phone call. When he answered the phone he'd receive an answer. "I've been watching for a while. I had two screens up when they were separate... what have you seen?" she asked seemingly amused watching the girl further test her skills and watching the boy carry on with another physical display.