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>>5324019

>You have a phone? You must be from the outside.
>Somebody is the source of this, but I’m not sure who exactly.
>You’ve got to find out, or else

<Or else what? I’ve hadn’t any idea what to look for or how’d you even got my number for that matter.

No response. Putting your phone away, you looked up on a whim at the many billboards lining the roofs, and happened upon one advertising a school girl for something. Whether or not the “V” is for victory or a play on her initials you’ve haven’t a clue. Someone like this might be what that guy was looking for, but there’s literally nothing to go off of other than a gut feeling. It changed not long after, advertising some energy drink.

Before pondering further on this, someone in the same uniform as her bumped into you, going off without so much as a quick apology and instead mumbling to themselves, back facing you. The crowd started to disperse afterwards, seeing as whatever they gathered for ended.

>I can go home now, and home I shall go.
I can ask someone from the dispersing crowd questions, but they look like they want to go back to their business. Seems like I’ll only be able to get one good question in before they want to go.
>Ask about what happened here.
>Ask about whoever was on the billboard.
>Write-In

>>5324020
>Ask about whoever was on the billboard.

>>5324020
>>Ask about whoever was on the billboard.

>>5324020
>I can go home now, and home I shall go.
Yea, nope. If we've truly been isekai'd then the goddess or fairy or whatever will come find us. We've got some video games to play!

>>5324019
Oh hey, it's you. I was the guy who bugged you about which quest you ran in the QTG. Interesting to see that you're taking a stab at it again, hopefully with better results this time.

>>5324020
>Ask about what happened here.
Think it's the more time sensitive question since we could ask another person later about the billboard but not about what happened here, although this may not be how this quest is gonna work.

>>5324020
>>Ask about whoever was on the billboard.

I'm going to bed, but I did put the thread up tonight instead of when I woke up, mostly to avoid "further refinement" or second thoughts, so I'll write this update before I go.

>>5324020
These people might know the answers to what you’re going to ask, assuming what they’re here for and the ads were related. This guy looks just as good as any, and you move to start a conversation.

“Excuse me, can I ask you something?”
“Hm? Go.” He cups his chin with his offhand, waiting for your inquisition.
“Ah, sorry then.” You almost left, but he clears up his intent.”
“No no, I’m listening. Go on.”
“The billboards, who was it that it was featuring? I’d like to know.”
He looks up quickly at a random ad, and then returns his focus back to you.
“Too vague as is.”

“It was a simple ad, black background with a small red segment. The red was the same as the uniform she was wearing, and she had twintails. All out for ‘V’ was the phrase on it.” That should be enough to get a clear answer.
“...Ning, Rookie League Rising Star. Pilot of Firefox. Top student. Currently contesting in the Vortex League.”
Well that’s a whole bunch of info that makes no sense to you. Some of these ads had mechs in them fighting, but you assumed this was closer to military recruitment ads. Apparently students can just get mechs and fight in these leagues, whatever they were. At least you can’t be too young to get one of those.

“What are these leagues for then?”
“Ran by the SMC. It’s sport. Pilots are tested in combat both in and out of mech. Mostly safe to watch.”
He looks over his wrist, and a holographic wristband appears. With a few gestures, he seems to read something to himself, then motions to leave.
“I’m leaving. Off break. Bye.”
And he goes off the way you came from. You might see him again, if he was on break, then he couldn’t have gone far from work at all.

1/2

>>5324235
It’s time for you to go home, but a figure flies overhead, before one of the rooftops starts ringing out shots aimed right at the flier. Everyone starts rushing to get clear, and in the chaos of it all, you end up falling overboard towards the water below. This wasn’t the end, as an automated flying drone swoops in out of nowhere, allowing you to grab it. It stopped the descent, before gently lifting you back up, and returning to whence it came.

“You there! Are you alright?” A police officer lowers her walking pod, the legs folding down to utilize the wheels
“I’m fine, thank you very much. What was that?”
“Vigilantes and hooligans making trouble. If anything like this occurs again, please call it in ASAP if nobody is on the scene, especially with these groups involved. ” Seeing as you were alright, she blasts off, presumably in chase.

Well, there certainly is going to be more excitement in your daily life if this keeps up. Sounds like this was a feud between two groups, so it’s best to educate yourself somehow in these matters so you’d know what to look out for.

>Go home. It’s right there and enough happened before you even got there.
>Be more proactive now and inquire about. There has to be a place these leagues give out information at, and awareness regarding these incidents has to be raised somewhere.
>Write in

>>5324236

>Go home. It’s right there and enough happened before you even got there.

This looks like the start of another great long haul quest like joker or body horror quest. Awesome

>>5324236
>Be more proactive now and inquire about. There has to be a place these leagues give out information at, and awareness regarding these incidents has to be raised somewhere.

This is a fresh start, whatever that may mean.

>>5324320
>start of another great long haul quest like joker or body horror quest.
I'm flattered that you think I'd last that long with only 2 updates so far.

Another half hour or so and if it's still tied I'll just flip a coin to decide which option to go with.

>>5324236
>Go home. It’s right there and enough happened before you even got there.

Writing

>>5324236

Yep, that’s enough for now, and there it is, the apartments you call home. Checking the mailboxes if the place even has the same layout, and sure enough, it does. Up some flight of stairs and a short stroll later, you come up to your door and unlock it the old fashioned way, with a key. The other doors looked up to spec, some of them forgoing a traditional lock for some unseen mechanism, while the ones that did use something a tad bit familiar were simply newer looking. In comparison, yours was a bit out of place.

Home’s just as you left it, not having received a futuristic makeover by whatever event caused this as the number said. In its own way, it's disappointing not having the presumably updated QoL the technology brought. On the other hand, this is somewhere definitively familiar you can rely on here. You threw the bag of con souvenirs and merch over on the couch and started taking stock. Kitchen? Stocked as always. Your room? Nothing new that isn’t already on the couch. Guest room? Empty. Father’s bedroom? Well, it should be locked if he isn’t back, but it isn’t. He’s nowhere to be seen either, as he’s not inside. The window’s open, and the bed looks like it’s been used. The window hasn’t been broken, but the view from up here makes it hard for you to conclude if it was used as an entrance or exit. It might simply just have been left open by mistake, so you just close both it and the curtains and clean the bed up.

Nothing else sticks out, so you get your bag and start going through everything you bought. Posters and prints you liked, some keychains, kits you’ll probably won’t find the time to assemble, and uh, whatever this thing is from.
You were sure you didn’t buy it, as far as you recall, but here it is.

>An impressive looking prop blaster. Two triggers, two cylinders, but unfortunately, one barrel.
>A simplistic, rectangular handle with rounded edges and what looks like a port on one end. Does it attach to something?
>A bangle bearing the design of what appears to be a technological bird. The beak appears to be a button.
>A rounded gauntlet with two red lights on each side and a handle for your hand to hold it with.
>Something else (write in)

(I ended up splitting this update into two and made this part a character gen choice instead since I kept changing what I wanted to put in here. So the next update will come quicker, I swear on the name of video games.)

>>5324790
>Something else (write in)
A pretty long ¿blade? attached to a ¿six-shooter revolver?

>>5324790
>A simplistic, rectangular handle with rounded edges and what looks like a port on one end. Does it attach to something?

Color me intrigued!

>>5324790
>A simplistic, rectangular handle with rounded edges and what looks like a port on one end. Does it attach to something?

Videogames are stronger than me.
Writing.

>>5324790
Tucked away in one of the inner pockets of your bag was a matte white handle. Closed off on one end, the other had a narrower section jutting out, with a cavity going down to the point it originates from. You can hold it comfortably with one hand and maybe grip it with two hands if you really needed to by holding onto the rounded shape that closes the other end. Bringing out your imagination, you swing it upwards in a rising fashion. A trailing crescent wave flows from the end of it, hitting the underside of the living room table and sending it into a wall, before collapsing back into the handle at the end of the swing.

The table’s still in one piece, and after the suddenness of doing such an act, relief as you unpacked the contents onto the couch instead of laying it out on the table. Then the fact that you had one table still and not just two pieces. That too. This thing is blunt, so would it even be right to call this a saber? Until and if you get a proper name, Beam Baton works for now.

Something this simple you’ll get the basics on pretty quickly. How hard can it be?

A knock? Almost thought it came from the front door, no, it’s coming from the wrong direction. It happens again, but is it really a knock now? It’s methodical, deliberate, and not just a simple call to get the door. You close in on your father’s door, carefully opening it without a sound, and over to his window, certain that someone was trying to force it open now after you’ve locked it.

“Come on, open up…” They’re struggling to open the windows, apparently oblivious to the fact that it was closed by somebody, you, and didn’t do so by itself.
“… Phooey, where am I gonna crash at now?” Seems as if they’re giving up, the thought that they were caught squatting in somebody else’s room and were locked out hasn’t even occurred to them. Ignorance must be bliss.
Say, how are they doing this anyways? It’s too high up to nonchalantly try windows like this.

>Confront them. Something like this shouldn’t go unnoticed or unpunished.
>Wait and let them go. You’re gonna leave to get more familiar with the city, and trouble like this might bite later.
>Write In

>>5325136
>Confront them. Something like this shouldn’t go unnoticed or unpunished.
They don't seem malicious, just stupid. Let's give them the chance they can explain this.

It's a coming now.

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>>5325136
Whoever this is, they’re gonna hear it alright. The sound of the curtain being dragged back catches her attention, bringing you face to face, as much as the window allows for anyways. Something about her is familiar, the specifics being forgotten at the moment. You don’t know of any magical girls, as you presume from her dress and the wand in her off hand. Instead of a fantasy aesthetic, it exhibits the same simplicity as the baton you’ve found, being a handle with two C shapes making a circle at the end and a dock that slides onto something.

“Hello~ What are you doing in my place?” Her place? Eyebrow raised, you question the claim.
“It’s my window. In my apartment. With all my stuff in it? What are you doing here, breaking in?”
“That’s just complete imagination. I was here first, way before you. A perfectly good vintage space like this was begging to be occupied. Why else was this open before?” Her eyes dart past you, trying to see something else in here. Did you miss something cleaning up?
“So what if it was left open? It’s closed now and wouldn’t be an invitation to stay to begin with. If the place was really yours, why don’t you try the door, like everyone else does?”
“Pft. I’ll show you and come in the front door just fine.” Just after taking your challenge, she descended quite suddenly, but a further boast on her soon to be success assured you of her safety.

After taking the moment to replace the table and tuck away the souvenirs in your room, save the baton, the doorknob jiggles in an otherwise silent attempt to enter. There wasn’t any time to check the room again for anything she left, but you didn’t see anything the first time. The urge to gloat overwhelming, you open the door yourself only to be brushed aside.
“See! I’m in! Just as I said, in the door just fine.” The girl puts up a confident pose, and an amazingly smug face.
“In what sense? I opened the door, not you.”
“Shouldn’t have opened it if you didn’t want me in then.”
Well, yeah, that was kinda on you.
“So as I said before, I was here first, you were nowhere to be found, but since you so generously opened the door for me, I’ll be willingly to share with you~” Her wand is close to her chest, as if subtly threatening you with its presence. Or maybe you’re reading too much into it, it's hard to tell what she thinks.

>Whatever. Let her think she owns it, harmless enough as is.
>It’s your place, and if you’re gonna let her stay, then she’s gonna know it's yours. Hopefully, reason will prevail through that skull of hers, even though it hasn’t so far. [roll 2d100 pick highest]
>Kick her out. You don’t mess with that noise.
>Write In

>>5325818
>It’s your place, and if you’re gonna let her stay, then she’s gonna know it's yours. Hopefully, reason will prevail through that skull of hers, even though it hasn’t so far. [roll 2d100 pick highest]
Time to establish ourselves as the bet- I mean Alpha male.

>>5325818
>It’s your place, and if you’re gonna let her stay, then she’s gonna know it's yours. Hopefully, reason will prevail through that skull of hers, even though it hasn’t so far. [roll 2d100 pick highest]

we renting or owning this place? if this is the actual future, that might be problem.

>>5325818
>Kick her out. You don’t mess with that noise.
>Write In
>Call the landlord, inform them that a squatter has been breaking into our apartment and request their aid in removing her from the premises and keeping her out.

I can tolerate a squatter who admits they're a squatter, but her insistence that she would be doing us a favor by letting us stay in our own home has cost her my goodwill.

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>>5325869
It's yours, as in you live rightfully live here. For simplicity sake, stuff like rent wasn't really a factor when I wrote it, so for the time being, there isn't any need to worry about that.
>>5325877
Write in wouldn't work. I've tried to imply that phones have been antiquated, and that another device has taken it's place, so you can't contact anybody else without it, save for the unknown messenger at the start.

A little bit longer, and if the votes don't change, it'll be time to start rolling.

Also have a map, the thread is in dire need of more images anyways.

>>5325909
>Write in wouldn't work. I've tried to imply that phones have been antiquated, and that another device has taken it's place, so you can't contact anybody else without it, save for the unknown messenger at the start.
We don't have a landline, even? How are people expected to contact their landlord or apartment manager? Go in person? Ugh. Okay, fine, then. Change of vote:

>>5325818
>Kick her out. You don’t mess with that noise.
>Write In
>Retrieve the proof of residency letter that we would have received upon renting this apartment. Make sure we have our keys, as well. Then go to the apartment manager and ask them in person for their assistance in removing this woman from our home.

>>5325818
Oh, also, adding to >>5325916

>Retrieve any other documentation that can prove we live here, as well. Utility bills, driver's licenses, state ID, whatever. Don't give this woman a chance to destroy or hide evidence that could be used to disprove her claim to living here.

Rolled 98 (1d100)

It's 2 to 1, so its time to roll and convince this girl who's in charge.
Roll 2d100s, and get a 65 or above to succeed. Failure to do so will turn her violent, as will rolling a nat 1.
This is your place, and so the evidence is in your favor, resulting in a +10 to the highest value rolled.
Her sheer denseness however, flies in the face of Physical Evidence and Reasoned Logic. The result of the 1d100 rolled in this post will determine the negative modifier.
A value of 1 to 80 will simply reduce the +10 bonus to +5
An 81 to 100 will take the lower value of the 2d100s rolled, making it only count if its equal or above 45.
You can reroll twice, though previous results will have to be discarded.

Rolled 43, 37 = 80 (2d100)

>>5325958

Rolled 82, 45 = 127 (2d100)

>>5325958

Rolled 76, 40 = 116 (2d100)

>>5325958

>>5326012
Well, that was quicker than I'd expected. I just got back dining, so I'll write it up soon.

>>5326245
Shouldn't have said soon, but eventually. Irresponsibility meant I needed to pick up the slack for celebrating tomorrow.

>>5325869
Considering we have a magical girl squatting here because its abandoned I don't think rents a problem.

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I'm back.
I resolved my Range ban issue, which was keeping me from posting anything earlier. I only meant to hold off for a day after the 4th before I got hit with it. Update now.

>>5325818
Again, you explain that this isn’t her place to begin with, but as before, was only met by the same attitude so far.
“Hmph.” She confidently turns her head to the side, showing off her smugness. Feel free to prove it like I have then.”
Easy enough. That look isn’t gonna stay long on her face.
You reach over behind you and aside the door. There’s a little box hanging nearby for unread letters or junk mail, so you grab one addressed to you and show it off to her face.
“See this? Read that for me”, pointing over to your name and address.
“Blah blah blah, Waldron Figel, blah blah blah, apartment number 2F. I don't understand?”
You bring her attention to the label on the still open door, reading out 2F on the outside.
“It’s here, and that’s my name. Apparently you don’t even know where this actually is despite ‘living’ here before me.”
She ponders for a second, though whether or not it’s genuine wasn’t immediately apparent. “Whaaaat? It’s not like there isn't another explanation, such as you planting that there? Oh wait, that’s exactly it. Do you want a second go at it?” Nope. Reassured in her belief, you’ve failed to convince her yet.

If only reason worked the first time. Sighing, you improvise a way to turn around that notion to your favor.
“Alright then, come with me.” Not actually listening for a response, you grab her by the wrist. Dragging her over to your room’s door and opening it, you present to her your room.
“Guess I planted all these too huh?”
“Duuh. Just holographic projections. Didn’t think I’d see right through it? Let go of me already.” Breaking off from your grasp, she crashes herself onto your chair, rolling it along the floor until it hits the wall. As if expecting a retort from you, she preemptively responded as such.
“I-It’s the only real thing in the room! Bet the closet’s empty and the shelves a bunch of fakes.”

She probably never ventured out of the one room she does squat in, so maybe this inquiry will work.
“The other room, was it furnished when you found it?”
“Yeah. Couldn’t fit any of that into the window.”
“So the stuff there couldn’t have been yours when you found it.”
“It is! I found it first!”
“But you haven’t seen anything else outside of it, have you?”
“Didn’t find the door here until I opened it myself, didn’t find any of the stuff here, otherwise you wouldn’t accuse me of planting anything. Even if this place was willed into existence, you didn’t find any of it. I did, and I assure you, everything’s real. ”

[1/2]

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>>5339583
She tries to come up with a retort, but dissatisfied with anything she comes up with, she instead opens the window and prepares to leap out. “Hmup. I’ll be back.” And then, gone with the wind.
Making sure the window’s secured against reentry, you fall into bed. It’s nice to be able to relax for once. Lazily, you look over the letter used as evidence, it is after all, addressed to you. Huh. It’s from the SMC. Apparently, you’ve been scouted to participate, though there are zero details on why you’ve been selected, nor where to go or any dates on it, as all that is said to be sent to your Holo Register. The return address is the CBD, somewhere on the central island. It’s something to start asking about, so you muster up the energy to get out of bed and prepare once more to leave.

The doors are locked, windows secured and nothing’s out of the ordinary. If that girl was looking for something, you simply couldn't find it in the room she was in. Crossing the bridge, you wonder why you were even selected to begin with. Don’t have one of those registers, no relevant skills, and the biggest one of all, no Mech. Ning was said to be a pilot, and the M in SMC has to stand for something, so you assumed Mechs. Hopefully, things will clear up when you find the place or somebody in the know. Now, where to…

>School. Ning was also a student. Looks like you’re gonna go back on your claim to never return after graduating.
>CBD. The HQ of something prolific like this SMC shouldn't be hard at all to find.
>Nowhere in particular. Just get more familiar with the new lay of the land. Maybe you’ll find something new… [roll only 2 1d100]
>Write in

>>5339585
>CBD. The HQ of something prolific like this SMC shouldn't be hard at all to find.
Yeah, let's check this out. They'll probably have pamphlets about the history of their organization that we can use to figure out more of what's going on, too.

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>>5339585
The Central Island it is. Would be mighty convenient if the CBD was nearby, but that wouldn’t make it worth seeking out. Again at the station, the idea to take it around came across your mind, but ultimately was discarded, since there might not be a stop around it. The map there didn’t specifically label it, but just for future reference you took a picture of it anyways.
“Can I help you with anything?” A station employee took notice, and surprised you, but while they’re here it’s worth asking them about it.
“Yes actually. How do I get to the CBD from here?” You asked innocently enough, hoping for a straight answer and not a character as you just dealt with.

“We don’t have a stop close to it unfortunately, but if you’re willing to walk it from here you’d have to head upwards towards the Music Grounds, then go west through Central Square. You’ll be right in front of it after that, can’t miss the Arthur statue they put up there.” This was certainly helpful, but curiosity piqued, you followed up with another inqury.
“Arthur?”
“You don’t know? It’s the mech of the war hero Rom. Kinda too late to build it in honor of anything, seeing as the war was ages ago, but it makes for a good landmark.”
“What happened to this Rom then?”
“Dunno. Probably off drinking in peace and quiet. Not like there's any more threats to fight, so I guess that's a good thing..”
“Ah. Thanks for the help then.” You didn’t pry anymore, since a random Joe could only know so much, and you got the directions you needed anyways. Setting off, you head towards the CBD.

The compact mass of buildings here should be the Music Grounds he mentioned. It was actually immediately across the Bridge, so had you gone straight ahead you would’ve found the CBD eventually, though you might not have known what to look for to begin with, so the directions were still worth something. Other than the one main road that cuts though the domain, the space between the buildings is downright claustrophobic. There are elevated walkways to relieve the foot traffic, and to provide a means to cross over the road, but in the interests of exploration, you decide to use them as little as possible, though you’ve found nothing on the way to the CBD.

Eventually, the surroundings open up to the sight of highrise buildings, leading you to believe you’ve reached Central Square. It’s bustling with activity, even with the increase in space. Just people going around doing their things as normal. It’s not as if anything is inherently wrong, it’s just you that's the odd one out here, but let’s not think about that right now. Not interested in going the same pace as the crowd, so you detour a little off the main path just to get through quicker. The buildings house high end stores you can’t afford much in, or businesses you have no reason to be at, so without anything to look out for, you get through the square quite quickly.

[1/3]

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>>5340571
This should be it. The statue’s right there, overlooking an expansive plaza in front of the buildings. The plaza is sunken downwards, with ramps and stairs to facilitate access, but is otherwise decorated normally. Shrubbery, a fountain in the middle of it, benches and the aforementioned statue. The CBD itself is two buildings joined together by a skyway. The first one is closer to the plaza, and is the smaller one of the two. The second one in the back is the more expansive one, but is split in the middle. Seeing as it’s right in front of you, a rest wouldn’t hurt, so you take a seat to catch your breath.

Sitting there without a care in the world, you almost lost sight of the surroundings, even if only for a second. People are crowding around as before on the bridge, but with you in the middle this time, sorta. They’re lining up around the incline, as if they’re expecting something to happen here. Realizing they’re watching someone behind you, you turn to see who it is that got their attention.
There’s a little boy in a white and red parka and an excessive amount of pouches. His hair is the same shade of white as his clothes, while adorning a black headband on his forehead. On his back is a bag fit to burst with whatever he stuffed within it, but weight doesn’t seem to be an issue as he nonchalantly plays with a yo-yo, all the while approaching the other.
Let’s see here, a girl, presumably a bit more your age. Dressed in a shoulderless dress with a two part skirt, the white sides extending longer than the red inner. A short cape rests on her shoulders while detached puffy sleeves run down the rest of her arm. Brown hair that was tied up on a single side pigtail, and now did you just realize this was the same girl you met squatting in your place.

[2/3]

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>>5340572
The boy was the first to speak up, having finished approaching.
“Right on time. Ready to lose?” Returning the Yo-yo up and over his hand, he puts it away in one of his pockets.
“Asking yourself that? You couldn’t land a good shot on me before, Cyrus. This time’s gonna be no different.” She procures her wand outta nowhere, readying it for use.
“Only one of your toys, Sparkle? You’re gonna regret going easy on me when you see what I’ve got in store back here.” Sparkle. That’s so obviously not her real name, but putting that aside, you’ve been noticed. Sparkle’s apparently a bit dumbfounded finding you here, so Cyrus again starts to address you.
“Hey! Haven’t you got the memo? A quick duel’s gonna happen here. Get back.” Meanwhile, Sparkle’s quickly gesturing around, with you in the center of it. Finishing at the end of his sentence, she spoke out.
“You’re a contestant too?” was all she brought up. Hearing this, Cyrus changed his tune, an idea coming to him.
“Well, duels aren’t allowed to go above two teams, and a 1v2 isn’t fair but I’ll take it. Like come on, when I’m packing this much heat, you’d need more than your boyfriend to take me on.”
“Hey! I hardly know him!”
“Whatever, I got my kick outta you. You up for this or nah?”
You’ve been dragged into this duel without so much uttering a single word yourself, and the CBD is right there. They’ll get on with the duel after your response, but obviously you can’t hold this up forever, there’s a crowd and all.

>Leave them and go into the CBD. It’s her fight after all.
>Participate. This kid’s too overconfident.
>Write-in

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I forgot to mention that choosing to fight is the more dice heavy of the options, though the choice itself doesn't have any tied to it.
Here's a picture of what the Arthur state is depicting since I'll otherwise don't have the chance to post it.
Also, >>5339589 thanks for actually coming back despite my whole vanishing act.

>>5340575
>>Participate. This kid’s too overconfident.

>>5340575
>Participate. This kid’s too overconfident.

>>5340575
>Participate. This kid’s too overconfident.

>>5340575
>Write-in
>Excuse yourself for standing too close, we didn't mean to interrupt. Then, stand back and watch.

Let's see what dueling is in this society before we take part in one.

>>5340575
“Alright, I’m in.” A thoughtless blurb really, but enough to get him going. Scattering the contents of his bag all over, weapons are now haphazardly littered about. Christ, where does a kid get all this stuff?
While he was busy with that, Sparkle decided to give her own input, having been left out of this herself.
“You know, I haven’t agreed to anything myself.”
“So do you want me in or not?”
A little bit of pondering, and she agrees. Time to spring the big questions on her.
“So, what do I do? Give it to me quick.”
“What?! Are you sure you’re qualified?”
“Wanna see the paper again?” You flash the letter you showed way earlier.
Obviously annoyed, she tries her best to summarize things, while Cyrus is still emptying out his apparently bottomless bag.

These quick duels are fought as 1v1s or 2v2s at designated spaces in the city. Handicap matches like these have more drastic rank changes for the smaller side, win or lose, which is probably why Cyrus does it, while a 1v1v1 simply isn’t supported by the format. The matches are recorded with observer drones, which also project the scoreboard, featuring Cyrus on one side, and you and Sparkle on the other. Curiously, there's a portrait of you available for display despite never giving them one. The duel is determined by hits, with Cyrus getting the usual 3, while you and Sparkle getting 4 shared between the two of you. Hits are only counted once within a short period, so you can’t lose all of them immediately. Anything short of lethal or otherwise unsportsmanlike is fine for getting these hits. Infractions should they come up anyways can be promptly given out by the observer drones.

That was everything important you took out of what she said, due to times when she went off on tangents of nonsense, and started instead looking at your surroundings with the context of a fight coming up. There are weapons everywhere, as previously noted, but also little cover to hide behind, so avoiding hits is up to him being a bad shot, or not being seen entirely.
“You two ready?! Kneel before superior firepower!”
Guns in each hand and strapped with gizmos you don't know what they’re for, Cyrus’ ready to duel.

[1/2]

>>5341553
You brought the handle with you, but what good is it gonna do if you can’t get close without being shredded? Sparkle can fly, but she doesn’t seem to realize you don’t have the same mobility advantage as her, instead preferring to keep her head in the clouds as she takes off on high.
The fountain, a few trees, benches and bushes in your immediate vicinity can cut his sightline off, but the weapons he placed about are still on his side, and thus you’d have to cross over his firing zone to be able to use them against him. Moreover, he could still maneuver around to get a better shot on you since the cover isn’t all that good, but this is all assuming he focuses on you.
Come to think of it, that might be why he wanted the 1v2 to begin with.

>Play around cover, and see what everyone else is doing first. [3d100]
>Gun it towards his side for one of his weapons, risking a hit. [3d100 -20]
>Swipe towards him with the Beam emitting handle anyways. Maybe it does something you don't know about. [3d100 modifier unknown]
>Write-in

>>5341558
>Play around cover, and see what everyone else is doing first. [3d100]
These weapons probably have poor penetration, if they're used in public settings like this. Cover should be effective.

>>5341558
>Play around cover, and see what everyone else is doing first. [3d100]
Seems reasonable enough!

Rolled 10, 39, 66 = 115 (3d100)

>>5341558
>>Swipe towards him with the Beam emitting handle anyways. Maybe it does something you don't know about. [3d100 modifier unknown]

>>5342065
Rolls are only done after the choice is locked in, sorry since that wasn't explicitly written but it was that way in other quests I played so I did the same.

Tomorrow, I'll be more free starting at 4pm EST, so I'll try and speed things along then.

>>5341558
Vaulting over and behind a bench to start with, you are a short dive away from a grassy patch in one direction, and the fountain another. Technically, you and Sparkle should be on the same team, but acting alone, she brazenly soars head on towards Cyrus, intending to close the gap from above. Geez, if only she would mention her plans beforehand, in the spirit of cooperation and all. Not allowing for it, he starts wildly firing in her general direction, while backing up.

Instead of firing bullets, those guns fire visible tracers that zip on by around you, though not as fast as an actual bullet. Someone could reasonably dodge these, provided that this kid stops spewing them out as fast as he does. The spectators didn’t need to clear out of the way, as a forcefield materialized just before the projectiles would’ve escaped the bounds, before disappearing. As for yourself, the bench provided adequate cover, as these shots have zero penetrating power, leaving only a glowing mark where it hits.

Expending his mags, Cyrus forgoes reloading his current pair of guns and instead threw them at Sparkle, who dodged them as she did the barrage previously. Kicking up a rifle up to his main hand, he reaches along his belt for a gadget. Tossing it up in the air, it activates after a few shots. It floats in midair, darts in one direction, and leaves behind a point of energy where it once was.
Sparkle lands, unimpressed by his new toy, and slings energy from her wand while avoiding returned fire. Dropping the rifle, Cyrus procures a pair of single barreled launchers, and fires at an angle, peppering the vicinity around both you and Sparkle with mini grenades. You’re left with no choice but to abandon cover and brave the open, though you will get closer to Cyrus in the process.

Cyrus has 3 hits
You still have 4, shared with Sparkle

Roll a 3d100 and get a combined sum of 150 or above to avoid getting hit. No modifiers and only the highest one is picked. Each player is allowed to reroll twice, but must discard the previous roll to do so. Exceeding the DC by an undisclosed threshold will allow you to get much closer than expected, allowing you to utilize the weapons on the floor.

Rolled 10, 34, 33 = 77 (3d100)

>>5343528
Watch THIS

Rolled 63, 95, 71 = 229 (3d100)

>>5343528

>>5343528
Do rerolls only count per player? Want to make sure since we have a good roll already and I don't want to fuck it up to try seeing if we can get the DC.
Captcha:MMMMR4

>>5343910
Rerolls count only for your rolls, so you can't discard and reroll someone else's result.
Anyways I'll give it 20 minutes or so, then I'll start writing.

>>5343528
The goal is 150 and the highest roll, 229. 210 was what I had in mind as the hidden bonus and that’s clearly been met.

Dashing away, the bombs go off at separate delays, spreading the others on longer fuses around. Thinking quick, Sparkle swung her wand in a rising arc, redirecting the bombs in front of her with a wave back at Cyrus while taking off above them, just out of their blast radius. His attention diverted for a second, you ignored the closest safe bit to instead make it towards some unused weapons and got one at random.

The one you picked up was just really a rectangle with an oversized grip, with a single barrel and no visible magazine. Needless to say, when it’s done, it's done. Right now, this seems like a stalemate, with neither being able to land anything yet. Was he really defeated as easily as she claimed? Sure she’s doing a good job defensively so far, but there’s no timer to run out, so she’ll slip eventually. There’s still the matter of Cyrus’ drone, which is idling with the persistent points in the sky. Deploying another one of those, he only has one more left on his belt.

“Another one? Really think I’ll run into those like an idiot?”
“Yeah, I really do. It would save me trouble in the long run.”
The wave she sent out rises up into a wall behind him, stopping his backpedaling and taking him by surprise. His escape cut off, a bomb blows, breaking the wall immediately, but leaving him standing after recoiling back. The scoreboard rings, and deducts a hit from Cyrus.
“Lucky shot!” Picking himself up, he reaches into his pocket and prepares a comeback, presumably.
“Is that what they say when you finally hit something? Luck isn’t on your side then, huh?” Floating there, Sparkle seems confident enough to just talk, certain that you weren’t needed.
The first drone suddenly starts humming, before the points it deployed zoom towards her current location. She barely had time to register them coming, and descended suddenly to dodge. The drone then spreads its points out again above her, as if it was waiting for her to take off. As she flew without any regard to her surroundings, she has nowhere to hide from his firing zone. Picking up a mismatching set of guns, Cyrus takes aim.

Cyrus has 2 hits
You still have 4, shared with Sparkle.
You picked up a gun for the moment, but you can’t reload it.

>Shoot at him with the weapons here. Even if you don't know what they fire, a barrage of your own should draw attention away from her. [3d100 modifier unknown]
>Shoot out the drone. Might be a hard shot from this far though, but she can fly again until the next drone is ready. [3d100 -25]
>Run at him and get in baton range. The audacity of it might just make him focus on you instead, and you can pressure him by shooting on the way. [3d100 +10]
>Write in

>>5344101
>Shoot at him with the weapons here. Even if you don't know what they fire, a barrage of your own should draw attention away from her. [3d100 modifier unknown]

>>5344101
>>Run at him and get in baton range. The audacity of it might just make him focus on you instead, and you can pressure him by shooting on the way. [3d100 +10]

>>5344101
>>Run at him and get in baton range. The audacity of it might just make him focus on you instead, and you can pressure him by shooting on the way. [3d100 +10]

>>5344101
>Run at him and get in baton range. The audacity of it might just make him focus on you instead, and you can pressure him by shooting on the way. [3d100 +10]

>>5344101
Holding the gun with your off hand, you bring it up to eye level and recall for a second. What was the advice you heard about aiming? Focus on the front sight and not the rear or target? Seems about right. Without any real sights to speak of, you improvise the best you can with the rails. The gun fires a burst of 3, but with this kind of kick, only the first projectile is on track to hit, the second maybe, and definitely not the third.

That got his attention, and he sees you coming right at him. In the middle of demolishing walls Sparkle put up, he inadvertently avoided that first burst. They both had something to say, but it was currently lost on you zoning out while rushing. Now dealing with two targets, Cyrus pointed one at you so he could continue on her with another.

The 3d100 will work differently this time.
Add a +10 to every number rolled.
The first number will determine if you get hit yourself.
The second number is for landing your own hit.
The third number is for seeing if Cyrus will get hit again, and thus immediately lose.
The total sum of all the numbers does not matter, unless someone somehow rolls a 3 or 300.
You only need to hit a 50 or above for the second one, and a 60 on the first for those to be successes in your favor, but the third needs 86 or above.
Successes for each number will be taken from separate posts. For example, one person can roll the 50, and someone else can roll the 86.
You can reroll your own rolls twice by discarding your previous roll.

[Sorry this took me so long, but I couldn’t pad out the scene this time, and before I knew it a few days past so I decided to just cut it and get into the rolls. I am experimenting with what exactly I want to do with dice roll choices, which is why this one’s different without notification. Then again, I already did this with a 2d100, but not a 3d100 so I’ll see how it works with the extra dice.]

Rolled 91, 41, 64 + 10 = 206 (3d100 + 10)

>>5346863

Rolled 88, 10, 70 = 168 (3d100)

>>5346863

Another hour, and I'll write in regards with the rolls we do have.

Rolled 72, 96, 86 = 254 (3d100)

>>5346863
Watch THIS

>>5348502
Congratulations, you've done it. Naturally too, I guess it's a clean sweep. Anyways, exposition's coming so if there's any questions you guys want answers to, now would be the time to ask.

>>5348574
How do we get one of those new devices that replaced phones? Seems like an important thing to have, especially since the details of our scouting got sent to "ours".

Good news, I wrote the update, bad news, I wrote it on my phone and not my computer since my PSU died. Everything else in it is fine as far as I can tell, so getting a new PSU is all I need to do to get up and running again since I'm not doing that on a phone. I'll be closing this thread off with most of it though and save the rest of it for a next thread, since this one lost a lot of momentum when I got rangebanned, and my general lack of urgency leading me to go on days between updates. I didn't think anyone minds since nobody is yet to call me out on that, and /qst/ is slow as is, but in hindsight it doesn't look good on me as a QM since I didn't communicate much at all outside of updates. Feedback would be appreciated on how I do write, I keep getting the impression when proofreading my stuff that it's dry.

>>5346863
His first few shots grazed you by a small margin, and running right at them towards Cyrus wasn’t making it any easier. Despite closing the distance, he made himself a hard target, and your general inexperience shooting showed. Tossing the gun after you emptied it, Cyrus pressed his ranged advantage and pointed both guns your way.

Glancing over at Sparkle, she would be no help, being busy dodging those drones and their points coming down on her like rain. It keeps her from staying still, and apparently that’s enough to prevent her from using the wand in any meaningful capacity. Something like that wall she projected would be really handy about now, as you’d doubtless run right into a bullet before getting close enough.

A hit for a hit, not a bad trade since he’s already down one but out of defiance, or maybe a little desperation, you swing the baton anyways. The beam it let out scraped the floor as you swung upwards, and an energy wave protruded upwards and forwards, receding as it trekked ahead of you. The timely discovery shielded you long enough to close in, and with the momentum from running, you spun around, beam extended, knelt down to his height and came to a stop beyond him.

The scoreboard ringing out confirmed the hit for you, leaving him down two while you remain untouched still. Slinging a gun over his shoulder, he discharges it behind and in your general direction, before fully turning around himself. Diving down to dodge, you look up, and stare down into a barrel.
“Where you gonna run to now?” Cyrus, despite losing, has no qualms with coming off as annoying, mocking you with his tone. Frankly, there really isn’t much you could do here. This close, you can’t move faster than a projectile, and you’re not even prepared to move. Just outside of melee range, you decide in the moment he gave you when taunting to just throw the handle itself at him. Hopefully, it should count as his last if it was long enough.

The handle flew in the air, and hit him square in the chest. At the same time, a point of light was flung over from Sparkle's direction, who had it redirected, and got him in the back. Either way, the scoreboard rang out for the last time, declaring you and Sparkle victorious. The handle didn’t land out of your reach, so you quickly reclaimed it.
“Aw, what! Not even a single hit, when I had you right there! I had you pegged as the heavy one, ya know.” He wasn’t taking it well, and he’s making it known from the ground he collapsed on.
“Skill issue.” Nothing better came to mind as you lay exhausted just now. At least this was quick, but man, were you tired. Tiredness came crashing down on you several fold after you snapped out of that focus, or maybe it was a trance upon reflecting on it. Never did experience anything like it before, and it all started when you wielded this handle in a fight. If he focused you instead of her, you probably wouldn’t have been able to keep up.

[1/3]

>>5352296
A shrill voice echoes out, and everyone is drawn to it, though they seem more familiar with it than you were.
“Heelllo everybody!~ Riko here. Normally, I don’t get involved with quick duel results, but seeing as this one was right on our doorstep, we might as well.” Her image popped up on the screen the scoreboard used to be. From what you see, she has a yellow dress top, short blue hair and a hair bow that gives off the appearance of cat ears. You doubt this is actually her, as her eyes close in what are clearly > < symbols.

“Let's start with poor old Cyrus here. Even being the one to want this match up, he still couldn’t break his losing streak. Seriously, you have nothing to prove, but maybe matching against someone else would work better.” His rank number below his portrait dropped significantly, reaching into the thousands, with two downward arrows beside it. A losing streak seems to amplify your losses, in addition to the risk he took with a handicap match.

“Sparkle is walking away as a winner, but not too far off from where she was previously. Still, we didn’t get to see how she would’ve dealt with those new toys of his without the sudden addition of her teammate here, Waldron. It could’ve gone either way then, but let’s see how he’s faring...”
Oh boy, your turn. Her face goes into one of inquisiting, trying to pull up your data.
“Huh. You’re actually still unranked! 2 more matches until it’s determined, let’s see if you got what it takes to keep up.”

Both you and Sparkle’s portraits are on display, and black out as she starts speaking again. The header reads out MVP, so this must be a post game award.
“Before we decide it, we gotta get down to the details. Sparkle made the first play, taking to the skies, though Cyrus countered that and forced a landing, at the cost of a hit. Aggression certainly makes for an entertaining watch, though so does desperation.”
“Waldron though bided his time, observing and scavenging in the background, dashing in, head on against gunfire before getting the second hit in a single stroke! Of course, he found himself in his own perilous predicament immediately after. Cyrus blew it, and got hit for the last time.”
“Now as for who we think the MVP is… undecided, sorry everybody!” Riko brought her hand up to scratch her head, as her eyes closed expressing her indecisiveness.
“We’ve got no idea who landed the final blow, as it was a simultaneous attack. Still, it would’ve just been our opinion, so feel free to vote on it!”

>>5352297
Is that it? You came here for some answers, and not a fight, so you speak up.
“Hold on, I got stuff to ask about!”
“You do? Well, since you’re here, come right in and good ol’ Riko will provide the answers. Everyone else, see ya!”
She goes with the board, and everyone disperses, the fight being over and all.
Still laying around, Sparkle strolls on over, getting to look down on you for the one and only time.
“Save your words, I could’ve taken him even with the new ordinance.”
“Could you really? Wasn’t looking to be carried anyways.”
“Uh huh, say, which one of us is downed again?”
“Not me, I’m relaxing, but on that topic, almost got your wings clipped back there.”
“Wings? Does it look like I have those?” She turns her back to you, looking over her own shoulder as if she’s unsure of it as well.
“Figure of speech, geez.”
“Whatever. I’m going home.”
“That better not be my place.”
“Pft, that was just a hangout-”

You cut her off, mildly dumbfounded at what you heard.
“Why do you squat at my apartment instead of your place then?”
“Too far.”
“Far? You can fly!”
“Gee, it's like I’m resting because, I dunno, I’m too tired to fly??”
“And you need my place for that, why?”
“Why not? I'm outta here, Waldron.” That last part came out as mockingly as possible, like your name was stupid. She totally dodged the question though.
“By the way, they’re white.”
“What’s white?” The realization soon followed, as did her response of hitting you while you were down. Not that it hurt.
“Perv.”

Rising after she left, you witness Cyrus cleaning up, packing all his guns away alone.
“So, uh, you want some help with that?” You kneel down to the ground, around the pile of weapons he has so far.
“I’m not a kid, I can do it myself.”
He comes across the gun you took for yourself, and upon further inspection, finds it can’t fire anymore.
“Damn, mom’s not gonna like this...”
“Didn’t you say you weren’t a kid?”
“Yeah, I’m no kid, I’m a teenager.”
“Thirteen, maybe.”
“Heeey, how’d you know? Know what, don’t tell me.” Huh. Didn’t think the age of entry would be that low.
“Sorry about that one.”
“Eh, it was on its last legs. Maybe she won’t notice it gone… You want it?”
You hesitate slightly, but elected to take it. It’s gonna need fixing before you can use it again though, but that’s a problem for later.
Leaving him be, you go up the steps, leaving the plaza and towards the CBD.