>>5306089
>Log into Jade-Sworn Quest.

>>5306089
>Log into Jade-Sworn Quest.

Fuck the real world

>Log into Jade-Sworn Quest.
>Sell you phone, use the cash to buy items in Jade-Sworn Quest.
>Never go downstairs, pee in a bottle.

>>5306089
>Log into Jade-Sworn Quest.

>>5306089
OH BOY! Another Wuxia/Xianxia quest. Nice to see you again, my martial brother. Loved records of honor

>Log into Jade-Sworn Quest

and as we wait for it to load

>Grab something to eat

ART OF MULTITASKING

>>5306089
>Log into Jade-Sworn Quest.

Let's work off that stress by crushing some chumps in PvP.

>>5306089
>Log into Jade-Sworn Quest.

>>5306089
>Log into Jade-Sworn Quest.
Time to cyber bully.

>>5306093
>>5306098
>>5306101
>>5306118
>>5306135
>>5306138
>>5306221
>>5306247

>Log into Jade-Sworn Quest.
>Grab something to eat while it loads.

Just woke up, anons. I'm liking the multitasking idea.

>>5306098
Fuck the real world indeed.

>>5306135
Glad you liked RoH! Hoping to run a longer quest this time, but not as long as KMQ was planned to be.

>>5306101
JSQ is non-p2w, and there's a toilet right next to our room actually.

>>5306138
>>5306247
You guys are in for a treat.

>>5306370

While I write the update, I'll just post some general info about the game.

RSQ is a open world Wuxia MMORPG with full-loot PVP and a player driven economy. It features a classless progression system where, in addition to your character level, you have proficiency levels for your equipment (see Albion Online destiny board).

The game is first person with a highly skill-based combat system with directional attacks, blocks, parrying, etc. In theory, it would be possible for a level 1 character beat a level 90 character, but this is assuming absolute perfect play with surgical precision.

Skills are not bound to classes and are learnt from [Skill Tomes] which can be acquired from trainers in cities and in the open-world, or from dungeon/raid drops. Some skills require certain weapon configurations, e.g. Sword with no off-hand.

Character Levels are as follows:
1-30: Qi Condensing (凝气)
31-40: Foundation Establishment (筑基)
41-50: Golden Core (金丹)
51-60: Nascent Soul (元婴)
61-70: Initial Ascension (前仙)
71-80: Immortal Ascension (成仙)

To ascend from one realm to another, a player needs to gather the requisite resources and attempt a breakthrough.

In addition to losing gear, death results in a 20% loss of experience, but your level can never drop below that of your realm. e.g. A Golden Core player can never fall below level 40.

File: Episode_1.png (603 KB, 970x544)

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>>5306370

Without much thought, you open the Jade-Sworn Quest launcher and key in your login details. A small patch seems to have been rolled out today, probably to fix some minor bugs you’ve never encountered before. Though the internet at Old Deng’s is pretty fast, it’ll still take a few minutes for the download to finish, so you head downstairs to grab something to eat. It’s pretty close to dinner time, anyway.

“The usual?” Jiang Yurong asks, holding an unopened box of spicy instant noodles in her jade-white hands.

“You know me too well.” You respond with a slightly embarrassed smile. This doesn’t surprise you given that she’s been working here for a few years already, even before you made this place your residence.

As you scan the payment QR code, you feel a slight prick in your heart, like a piece of you has faded away. From now on, you’ll have to be even more frugal with your spending, but fortunately, the amount you’ve saved over the years should keep you afloat for at least a year. A year and a half if you decide to be even more stingy.

Moments later, Jiang Yurong passes you the paper bowl, now filled with the perfect amount of steaming hot water, and a pair of disposable wooden chopsticks. After saying your thanks, you head back up to your room, eager to lose yourself in a world of martial heroes.

File: city.png (554 KB, 720x480)

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>>5306500

By now, the update has finished installing. You set aside your noodles to let them cook for a while and hit the big red [Play now] button in the launcher. The game’s melancholic yet hopeful menu theme promptly begins playing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_mVgLarN44

[Character slots taken: 1/3]

[Select your character]

Distant Cloud, your other self for the past six years, manifests its virtual form in the character selection screen, standing valiantly with his long dagger-axe and flowing Daoist robes, embroidered with azure clouds over a pale snow-white.

[Logging into the lvl 70 character: Distant Cloud (邈云)]

As you materialise in the world of Jade-Sworn Quest, the menu theme fades, and in its place comes a grand piece of Chinese orchestration that is the soundtrack of Ximen City (西门城). Out of habit, you open your character sheet along with your inventory to check that nothing is amiss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECYlA8RoPxM

>>5306502

Health: 12098/12098
Stamina: 4279/4279
Qi: 3765/3765

Reputation: Reputable (1561)

Headgear: Headband of the Solitary General (孑将之帹) [Light][lvl 70][Epic]
Chestpiece: Azure Sky Robe (青天道袍) [Light][lvl 65][Rare]
Leggings: Azure Sky Leggings (青天裳) [Light][lvl 65][Rare]
Shoes: Azure Sky Boots (青天靴子) [Light][lvl 65][Rare]
Main Hand: Tyrant’s Will (霸志) [Dagger-axe][lvl 70][Epic]
Offhand: n/a
Artifact: Hongyu’s Lament (红玉之哀) [lvl 70][Epic]
Storage: Superior Void Crystal Spacering (高级虚晶空间戒指) [lvl 60][Epic]

>>5306503

Your current equipment can be said to be a bit on the pricey side. [Headband of the Solitary General] and [Hongyu’s Lament] are rare drops from dungeons, both fetching a hefty amount of spirit stones on the auction house. However, they pail in worth when compared to Tyrant’s Will, a dagger-axe made using Jade-Sworn Quest’s unique crafting system which allows players to customise whatever you can imagine goes into forging weaponry. Everything down to the composition of materials that goes into the weapon’s creation, its dimensions, and much more is possible, courtesy of an incredibly powerful deep learning algorithm responsible for balancing such a dynamic system.

Of course, you have more powerful items stored in the city bank, but only a fool would bring out his most valuable possessions in a full-loot PVP game.

In the bustle of this thriving city, the struggles of today and tomorrow fade away. In this land, you are a powerful cultivator. Everyone here is set on an even playing field, where only the best succeed - a far cry from the real world. There are no pay-to-win mechanics and no premium currencies that can be converted into in-game currencies. The only things that money can buy in this game are cosmetics. Perhaps it’s this aspect of absolute fairness that has kept you coming back for the greater half of a decade.

Six years is a long time. That’s practically a third of your life. Even so, you’re only level 70, the very peak of the Initial Ascension (前仙) realm. Progression in Jade-Sworn Quest is a slow and gruelling process of resource gathering, levelling, and increasing your stats. And even after all that grinding, you have to prepare for the Heavenly Trial that awaits you at the end.

You’ve been hovering around level 70 and 69 for the past year or so, slowly gathering materials needed for your breakthrough. You are confident that with your current skills, the Heavenly Trial will be but a slight inconvenience. The only thing you’re lacking is a [Soul Severing Pill (斩灵丹)]. Though recipes for the pill have been discovered by a small handful of the server’s top alchemists, prices to concoct one are astronomical even for large guilds with mountains upon mountains of spirit stones. The only other way to obtain it is from the dungeon: Ancient Apothecary, located in The Outlands up north.

>>5306504

What do you do?
>Travel up north to The Outlands. You’ve run through Ancient Apothecary many times, you know it like the band of your hand. What remains is for heaven to bless you with its fortune. [Note that you will be entering an unrestricted PVP zone, PKing will not be penalised.]

>Run some dungeons near the city. You’re not sure if you want to commit to another Ancient Apothecary run today, it’s peak hours and the chance of running into a group is high. You’ll solo some instances around the city and head to The Outlands another day. [The zones surrounding Ximen City are PVP enabled zones, but players need to flag up to be able to attack non-flagged players. PKin non-flagged players will result in a loss in reputation. Note that if your reputation falls below Neutral, you will be unable to return to the city.]

>Fight in the arena. What you need right now is to blow off some steam. [No items or EXP will be dropped upon defeat.]

>>5306505
>Head to the outlands
Just need to keep with the grind

>>5306505
>Travel up north to The Outlands. You’ve run through Ancient Apothecary many times, you know it like the band of your hand. What remains is for heaven to bless you with its fortune. [Note that you will be entering an unrestricted PVP zone, PKing will not be penalised.]

>>5306505
>Travel up north to The Outlands. You’ve run through Ancient Apothecary many times, you know it like the band of your hand. What remains is for heaven to bless you with its fortune

>>5306511
>>5306519
>>5306532

Votes will run for a bit longer while I work on a map and plan out some other characters.

>Travel up north to The Outlands. You’ve run through Ancient Apothecary many times, you know it like the band of your hand. What remains is for heaven to bless you with its fortune.

Do we have a weapon better than 霸志 in the bank vault? I'm a bit afraid to drop it in the PvP area, but it's OK if it's not our best weapon.

>>5306560

We do have other Dagger-axes in our city bank, the danger lies not in losing 霸志 itself, but in having its construction uncovered by whoever picks it up (granted, you'll need to have a very high crafting level to do this). We also have the schematics for 霸志 itself, so if we ever lose it in PVP, we can gather the materials and commission a crafter to forge a new one for us.

For story reasons that will be revealed in the next post, I'll explain why dropping our weapon is not the end of the world.

>>5306505
>Travel up north to The Outlands. You’ve run through Ancient Apothecary many times, you know it like the back of your hand. What remains is for heaven to bless you with its fortune. [Note that you will be entering an unrestricted PVP zone, PKing will not be penalised.]

>>5306505
>Travel up north to The Outlands. You’ve run through Ancient Apothecary many times, you know it like the band of your hand. What remains is for heaven to bless you with its fortune. [Note that you will be entering an unrestricted PVP zone, PKing will not be penalised.]

Let's deal with IRL frustrations by being somewhat good in game.

>>5306511
>>5306519
>>5306532
>>5306560
>>5306572
>>5306590

>Travel up north to the Outlands.

Looks like we'll be going dungeon diving tonight. I'll begin working on the post after dinner. In the meantime, enjoy this scuffed map I just made, proportions are probably off but you get the idea.

The continent that JSQ takes place on is called Shiya (世涯), which roughly translates to World's End.

File: JSQ_map_done.jpg (1.79 MB, 2048x1536)

1.79 MB JPG

>>5306594

>>5306595
odd river behavior.
odd names

>>5306505
>>Travel up north to The Outlands. You’ve run through Ancient Apothecary many times, you know it like the band of your hand. What remains is for heaven to bless you with its fortune. [Note that you will be entering an unrestricted PVP zone, PKing will not be penalised.]

Time to fight in the wildy.

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>>5306594

Dungeons in Jade-Sworn Quest are unlike other MMOs. Rather than being a linear instance where you clear trash mobs to fight a series of bosses, they are more akin to large labyrinths, with multiple passageways and entrances leading to set locations for boss rooms. PVP is always enabled in the confines of a dungeon and since instances are global, competition for bosses, loot, and mobs are extremely fierce. Raids are structured in much the same way, the difference being that they are much bigger in scale.

It’s been about two months since you’ve started doing regular runs of Ancient Apothecary. Due to the aforementioned [Soul Severing Pill], it’s a highly contested dungeon with many parties running it at all times, especially during peak hours. One might ask how anyone could solo such an instance? Well, that’s where your build comes in. After much experimentation in your first two years of playing, you’ve settled on something wholly unique, something that would be considered completely unorthodox to the average player, that is - a DPS Dagger-axe build.

Dagger-axes were mainly used during the Shang Dynasty before their use began to decline during the Zhou, after which they were mainly found in the tombs of aristocrats and nobles, leading some to believe they also served a ritualistic purpose as symbols of authority and command. In Jade-Sworn Quest, the devs took a more romantic interpretation of the latter, designing the Dagger-axe as a low damage support weapon with skills that buff the user and nearby party members. Eventually, it solidified its place in the current meta in tank builds.

As a result, the Dagger-axe has been firmly planted in the psyche of the player base as just another tanking weapon, leading many to overlook its other possible uses. In truth, with the right build, stats, design, and mechanical skill, Dagger-axes can dish out some serious damage in addition to the utility provided by its buffs, giving it some real huge 1vX potential. The same could probably be said for all other weapons though.

The versatility afforded to you from such an unconventional build, in your opinion, is second to none. You can’t even begin to count how many times you’ve gotten out of sticky situations or come up on top despite the odds stacked firmly against you.

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>>5306834

So, with all this in mind, you head north on a cheap but decent flying sword, assured of your skill. Along the way out of Ximen, the chat box on the bottom left of your screen suddenly begins scrolling wildly.

“MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL …”

“what? this has to be fake right?”

“MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL …”

“lol about time.”

“(ノ °益°)ノWTFFFFFFFFFFF (ノ °益°)ノWTFFFFFFFFFFF (ノ °益°)ノWTFFFFFFFFFFF (ノ °益°)ノWTFFFFFFFFFFF (ノ °益°)ノWTFFFFFFFFFFF”

“stop spamming you fucking retards.”

“how do i turn off pvp? i keep diyng to poepel ”

“MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL MOONPIERCER (贯古月) HAS LEFT ABYSSAL …”

“[User XYZXYZXYZ has been muted for 1 hour for spam.]”

Moonpiercer, a swordsman worthy of receiving the title of Sword Saint (剑圣) and one of the star players of Team Abyssal (深渊). Last year, they shook the entire Jade-Sworn Pro League by holding on to their champion title in the nationals for a second year in a row. For many, including yourself, these two names are inseparable.

Filled with an inexplicable sense of loss, you exit the city. It’s a little crazy to think you’ve been following Moonpiercer for about as long as you’ve been playing JSQ. For the longest time, you looked up to those in the pro scene, to those that distinguished themselves through sheer skill. It was your dream to go pro, but alas, life had other plans. Unlike the novels, dreams sometimes remain dreams. You can’t even comprehend what kind of circumstances could compel someone like Moonpiercer to leave a team as accomplished as Abyssal.

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>>5306836

As you near the border of The Outlands, you descend to the ground, carefully scanning your surroundings. Unless you’re looking to get swarmed by a group of gankers, continuing by foot is the way to go. You take your usual route through The Ashen Forest (死灰之林) to the Ancient Apothecary, finishing up the rest of your noodles before arriving.

You’re about to leap through the final thicket of trees, but upon spotting a lone figure standing at the entrance, you swiftly flick your mouse and cancel your momentum by holding down ‘S’, abruptly changing the direction of your dash.

Did he spot you? You’re unsure. He certainly isn’t reacting though. On closer inspection, he seems to be a swordsman clad in mostly light armour. Attempts to pry into his cultivation indicate that his level is roughly equivalent to yours.


What do you do?
>Strike while you still have the element of surprise. This is The Outlands, it’s kill or be killed.

>Lie in wait. For all you know, he could be baiting you to attack only for his friends to come and ambush you.

>Approach him. Standing by the entrance of a dungeon in The Outlands of all places is incredibly dangerous. Perhaps there’s something more to this person than meets the eye?

>Write in

>>5306839
>Approach him. Standing by the entrance of a dungeon in The Outlands of all places is incredibly dangerous. Perhaps there’s something more to this person than meets the eye?

>>5306839
>Approach him. Standing by the entrance of a dungeon in The Outlands of all places is incredibly dangerous. Perhaps there’s something more to this person than meets the eye?

>Time to indulge into one of our greatest pleasure : Role Play!

>"Standing by the entrance of a dungeon in The Outlands of all places is incredibly dangerous"
>"The usual scoundrel of this places think this is Kill or Be Killed around here"
>"So, tell me stranger. Will you let me follow my way inside dungeon or will blood be spilled on this nice evening?"

>>5306839
>Strike while you still have the element of surprise. This is The Outlands, it’s kill or be killed.

>>5306839
>Strike while you still have the element of surprise. This is The Outlands, it’s kill or be killed.

Fuc dat guy

>>5306839
>Approach him. Standing by the entrance of a dungeon in The Outlands of all places is incredibly dangerous. Perhaps there’s something more to this person than meets the eye?

big chillin

>>5306849
+1

>>5306910
Don’t count this guys votes please.

>>5306839
>Lie in wait. For all you know, he could be baiting you to attack only for his friends to come and ambush you.

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>>5306916
snitches get stitches foo
and haters get tomaters

>>5306916
>This guys
>Implying I'm at the same time samefagging and namefagging.

I understand your concern as i'm 1PBTID. if that ease your pain, >>5306590 was also me. But I beg you to believe 2 different people can have an idea you don't like.

>>5306929
No it’s because Wuxian is a known faggot not samefags

>>5306930
Understandable, sorry for the confusion, and have a good day.

>>5306849
+1

>>5306839
I support >>5306849.

We have played for 6 years, we have to have indulged in RP at some point.

>>5306849
>Time to indulge into one of our greatest pleasure : Role Play!
>"Standing by the entrance of a dungeon in The Outlands of all places is incredibly dangerous"

>>5307463
>>5307054
>>5306975
>>5306917
>>5306910
>>5306878
>>5306852
>>5306850
>>5306849
>>5306846

>Approach him.
>RP

It's not really in-character for Wei Rudan to be an RPer but I've thought of a way to incorporate it into the post. Writing!

>>5307519
>It's not really in-character for Wei Rudan to be an RPer but I've thought of a way to incorporate it into the post.
It is now. This might even be the reason why we're a solo player, as nobody can stand our bullshit h24

>>5307541
Probably not. RPing takes a long while in comparison to quick and ti the point messages.

Not good for grinding, just good to fuck around with.

>>5307519
You OK QM?

>>5307708

Yes. Just reworking a lot of things.

>>5307745
Boss I just wanted to say that you are not obligated to give in to all people's requests, if you are not comfortable or happy with the result of one of the votes just say so, I honestly prefer a quest with limited options than something you don't want to continue.

What I mean is that you can say"NO" whenever you want, and no one can say otherwise.

>>5307745
>>5307767
Am >>5307708

Seriously though, >>5307767 is right.

>>5307767
>>5307781

Don't worry guys, it's a completely separate issue. I'm rewriting the introduction for this lone swordsman we're about to meet.

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>>5307519

There’s gotta be something wrong with him if he can stand in front of Ancient Apothecary without a care in the world. That’s just asking to be ganked. Granted, this is one of the less popular entrances, but there’s still quite a bit of risk involved.

In the dense cover of the forest, you wrack your head as to what you should do. Maybe he’s one of those hardcore roleplayers, you think. Those types have existed in every MMORPG since the dawn of gaming. If so, maybe you can try approaching him. In any case, it would be good to avoid any unnecessary battles before entering the dungeon itself.

Steeling yourself with the confidence of a chuuni that’s read too much Xianxia, you slowly emerge from the trees, fully expecting for blades to be drawn.

“Greetings fellow Daoist, for what reason do you stand alone in front of the Ancient Apothecary? 道友为何独自待在古老炼丹室之外?” You toggle on your mic while quickly typing in “/salute” to cup your fists. “The Outlands are a dangerous place, no? 此地北荒,不亦百危万险乎?”

The lone swordsman’s name tag appears as you get closer - Skyfrost (天欲雪). To your surprise, he simply glances at you silently. If JSQ had facial tracking, there would probably be a slightly confused expression on his face right about now.

“I’m waiting for companions. 正等战友。”

Hearing his reply, it looks like you were right on the mark, but the word “companion” sets off alarms in your head. His meaning is a little vague, is he waiting for his party? Or is he looking for a party? If it’s the former, there is a very real chance he could turn on you once his friends are here.

“What about you? Are you here to hunt for the riches of the Ancient Apothecary? And by yourself no less. 你呢?是否来取内之宝?独也。”

“Indeed. 确实。“ You answer, a little uneasy.

“I see… In that case, I believe my waiting is over. 既然如此,吾待之时到终矣。”

Suddenly, a brilliant silver flash erupts at a single point on your screen, and in a matter of milliseconds, the glistening steel of Skyfrost’s sword is but a few inches from your neck.


3 players please roll a 1d20

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>5307801

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>5307801
Whelp!

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>5307802
>>5307819

I'll do the last roll to speed things up. I want to finish up this update before I sleep.

>>5307802
>>5307819
>>5307821

Holy fuck this gonna be rough.

>Be me, Wei Rudan
>Life sucks, lost job, at least I'm good at vidya
>Starts playing aforementionned vidya
>See one suspicious player, standing around alone
>Either bait or rpfag.
>Seeing his gay avatar and suboptimal, non-meta-but-looking-cool-shit-tier equipment
>Definitely rpfag
>Try to cameleon as a rpfag to avoid fighting, maybe the faggot got a full party and I don't wanna get camped tonight
>MFW his stuff is actually top-tiered cosmetised as RPFag things
>MFW I fell in his 5D chess bait.
>Really considering uninstalling rn

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>>5307825

There isn’t enough time for you to ready your dagger-axe. Skyfrost’s blade strikes a portion of your neck before you’re able to deflect the rest of the attack, shaving off an eighth of your health.

[Flash Step] > [Quickdraw].

A common initiating combo for sword users. Yet, you’ve never seen anyone pull it off with such finesse. He leaves you with no respite, taking two steps back before lunging at your throat. Sidestepping the attack, you execute a series of key presses before repositioning a few metres away with your own [Flash Step].

[Warrior Soul] activated, physical attack and attack speed increased for 60 seconds.
[Blessing of the Wind] activated, movement speed increased for 60 seconds.

You launch yourself off the ground with the shaft of Tyrant’s Will and take to the air, diving point first towards Skyfrost like a bird of prey.

Dagger-axe skill: [Iron Descent].

The screech of metal on metal rings out in all directions as he counters with a precise slice, knocking you back a few paces. However, it seems as if Skyfrost underestimated the weight of your attack, losing a small portion of his health in the backlash. Just who is this guy?!?! To be able to accurately target the small point of your dagger-axe with such a thin blade… Still, this is no time to be in awe at your opponent. Quickly gaining your bearings, the rhythm of your keyboard clicks increases in tempo.

[Ordained Harmony] activated, magical attack increased for 10 seconds.
[Raging Phoenix Talon] activated, for the next 3 seconds, all attacks will send out a wave of fire qi.

While strafing to the left, you frantically swipe your mouse from left to right as fast as humanly possible. In total, you manage to cover the entire width of your mousepad five times, effectively sending a large arc of blazing fury towards Skyfrost.

“Beautiful!” He roars, unafraid of the coming assault.

Very well, you think. If he’s chosen death, then so be it!

Yet, before Distant Cloud even reaches the ground, a silvery glow envelopes Skyfrost’s blade.

Sword skill: [Rending Wind]!

A powerful gale pierces your ring of fire, creating a gap large enough for a single person to pass. A brief moment later, Skyfrost’s avatar appears just below yours, slashing at your abdomen. Your attempts to parry fall short in the sudden chaos and in an instant, you're left with only two-thirds of your health.

As you see a white radiance cloak your opponent, you know that you’ve completely and utterly lost this battle.

Skyfrost’s figure fades into a stream of white particles that surround Distant Cloud. A second later, his body rematerialises at its initial position as you’re pinned to the ground by five swords of light.

Sword skill: [Starlight Prison]

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>>5307927

“???” You type.

Though its animation may look a little gruesome, [Starlight Prison] doesn’t do that much damage. It’s a channelled CC spell that leaves someone rooted as long as the swordsman’s channel is left uninterrupted. You’re left with about 30% of your health while he’s barely taken any damage.

“What’re you doing?” You ask in a mildly irritated tone. “You could’ve used something like [Bladestorm] to instantly finish me.”

“Oh, so you can speak normally.”

“Hold on, I thought you were an RPer…”

“Uhh, I thought you were an RPer…” He returns, stifling some laughter. “I was just playing along.”

A moment of awkward silence passes for the both of you.

“Whatever, nevermind!” You sigh. “What exactly do you want with me?”

“I said I was waiting for companions, didn’t I?” He points to you. “I found one. Your skills ain’t half bad, your build is pretty good too. Unorthodox and effective, I like it. Wanna run AA with me?”

This is the first time anyone has thought of your build as anything other than a joke. If thoughts could be projected, there’d be a swarm of question marks coming out of your head. Is he actually for real?

“If you didn’t know, most of the big guilds have multiple groups currently inside right now. ” Skyfrost continues. “It’ll be hard even for me to do a solo run. So how about it? Wanna join my party?”


How do you respond?
>”I guess. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

>”Thanks for the offer, but I’ll just solo it anyway.”

>Write in

>>5307932
>>”I guess. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
What a goober. Just like us.

>>5307932
>”Thanks for the offer, but I’ll just solo it anyway.”

>>5307932
>”I guess. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
I'll write in something like
>"sure, you're not half-bad yourself" but that'll be out of character.

BTW now I want to start a running joke based on RP. Like, we're definitely not a RP guy, but we still start almost all confrontations with RP
QM, why are we playing solo? Personal preference? Never found adequate teammates?

>”I guess. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

>>5307932
>>”I guess. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

>>5307932
>”I guess. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

>>5307932
>”I guess. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

>>5307932
>”I guess. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

>>5307932
>Don't have much of a choice, do I?

>>5307970
Challenge? Don't have to pool and share cultivation resources? Less chance of pissing off an entire Sect ?

>>5307932
>”I guess. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”


In before Skyfrost is an alt for Moonpiercer

>>5308267
Or is a hot chick IRL

>>5308292
gross

>>5308267
>>5308292
Why not both?

>>5307970
>why are we playing solo? Personal preference? Never found adequate teammates?
Let's form a guild with Moonpiercer, jade-white beauties, and talented noobs who were snobbed by larger guilds.

>>5307932
>>”I guess. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

>>5308370
Before that I prefer knowing why we are playing solo.
Please try to not harass girl online. I don't want to play an harasser.

>>5308393
I don't think 魏如憺 is a harasser, bro. His MMORPG talent will naturally attract 仙女. 江羽嬫 doesn't think he's a creep.

>>5306916
You were right since the beginning. Wuxian is now for me a massive faggot.

>”I guess. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

Alright anons, sorry for the silence, been out all day. Thankfully, I wrote most of the update while I was outside, so it'll be up shortly.

>>5308445

Sorry boys, some stuff happened tonight and I'll only be able to get the update up by tomorrow. It's nothing serious, though.

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>>5308445

After a moment of deliberation, you sigh. “I guess. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

“Perfect.” Skyfrost cancels his channel for [Starlight Prison], throwing up a trade request as the swords of radiant light dissipate into nothingness. “Take this.”

[Player Skyfrost has requested to trade with you. Do you accept: Y/N?]

You accept the sudden request, unsure of what he wants to give you. A medicinal pill shortly appears on Skyfrost’s side of the trade interface; [Superior Vitality Pill] - one of the more expensive healing pills, but commonly used. In fact, you have some lying around in your space ring. He didn’t need to pass you one, though you guess it’s a nice gesture.

“Thanks.” You say as you consume the pill.

[3500 health points have been restored.]
[When out of combat, 3% Increase to passive healing for 5 minutes.]

[Player Skyfrost has invited you to join their party. Do you accept: Y/N?]

His player panel appears on the left side of your screen as you click “yes”.

“Well, let’s get going then.” Skyfrost turns, casually strolling towards the dungeon entrance. “You can tell me about your build while we’re inside.”

“Why?” You’re not really one to share about your playstyle or choice of skills and equipment.

“So I can figure out how to best synergise our playstyles, obviously.” The volume of his voice lowers as he continues walking - a result of Jade-Sworn Quest’s proximity voice chat. “I’ll tell you mine as well, so let’s get going.”

It’s gonna be like this for the whole run, isn’t it? All you can do is resign yourself. Tonight, your fate lies in the hands of this hidden master. Sighing, you catch up to Skyfrost, explaining the nuances of your build as you enter the dungeon.

[You have entered the dungeon: [Ancient Apothecary] with 2/5 party members, do note that this is a PVP-enabled zone. Items WILL be dropped upon death. Good luck.]


The familiar scene of cracked stone bricks and dark, fungal lit hallways fills your monitor after a short loading screen. This is probably about your 50th time running this instance. Every nook and cranny of this specific route is crystal clear to you, up till the first few boss rooms. Generally, the final boss is situated in the centre of instances, so as one clears more and more of a dungeon, the chance of running into another group increases. As such, you’ve only been able to delve just a bit further than the halfway mark before the sheer number of parties becomes too much to handle.

“Cast [Blessing of the Wind] and pull as many mobs as you can.” Skyfrost points ahead.

“Excuse me?” That’s practically suicide as far as you’re concerned.

“Just pull them to me, don’t need to fight.” He says, as if it’s an ordinary request. “Just get back before the movement speed buff runs out. Conserve as much stamina as you can as well.”

“We’re definitely gonna wipe.” You mutter to yourself.

[Blessing of the Wind] activated, movement speed increased for 60 seconds.

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>>5309305

Distant Cloud, under your skillful control, weaves across the narrow passages, drawing the aggro of every creature you can find. Before long, a massive horde of giant spiders, centipedes, and other venomous insects, begin scurrying after you. Glancing back, you think you might have overdone it a little, but with a measly 10 seconds left on [Blessing of the Wind], all you can really focus on is running back to Skyfrost. That bastard better have something planned.

“Look out!”

A wave of frost flashes through the entire width of the hallway.

You’re barely able to dodge it. “What the fuck, dude!”

“Quick. Use [Wave of Force]. Clump them towards the wall.”

You click your tongue, positioning Distant Cloud against one of the walls.

[Wave of Force] activated, your next attack will unleash a wave of air that will knock back all targets hit.

In an instant, the swarm of vermin smashes onto the left wall. Skyfrost’s figure appears to disappear, only to appear in front of you once more, his sword shining with a cold cerulean glow. As he swings it, an arc of frost shoots from his blade, shards of crystal clear ice sprout from where it hits the ground, entrapping the insect horde.

Sword skill: [Blade of Winter]

“Dump your cooldowns on them, now!”

You don’t even need him to tell you. In a matter of moments, you cast a series of spells while dashing forward.

[Warrior Soul] activated, physical attack and attack speed increased for 60 seconds.
[Berserker Soul] activated, physical attack, attack speed, and damage taken increased for 10 seconds.
[Ordained Harmony] activated, magical attack increased for 10 seconds.
[Raging Phoenix Talon] activated, for the next 3 seconds, all attacks will send out a wave of fire qi.]


A blazing inferno rages from every swing of your dagger-axe, consuming the pack of mobs in purifying fire. It’s damage is further increased from the effect of your headgear, [Headband of the Solitary General]; Gain a damage buff when outnumbered by enemies.

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>>5309308

Skyfrost launches his own barrage of attacks as well. His sword, now backed with the force of a gale tempest, soars through the battlefield from his hands.

Flying sword arts!

One of the hardest sword skills to master in Jade-Sworn Quest. There’s a saying, “If you want to determine the skill of a swordsman, observe how his sword flies.” And in this case, his blade masterfully with surgical precision. Upon reclaiming his weapon, Skyfrost goes in for the coup de grace, charging straight into the monstrous horde with blinding speed.

Sword skill: [Dragon Breaks the Cloud Lining (龙破云层)]

As he appears on the other end of the battlefield, the monsters’ bodies begin to disintegrate, leaving only spirit stones, a variety of mob drops (mostly low-tier crafting materials), and a speechless Wei Rudan staring at his screen.

Where do you even start? Normally, it would take about fifteen minutes to clear this many mobs, but you did it in just under three. That’s five times faster! Furthermore, his mechanical skill and knowledge of the game is clearly far above your average veteran player. Perhaps joining this lunatic was the right choice after all…

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>>5309309

Needless to say, the two of you move smoothly through the initial sections of Ancient Apothecary, repeating your strategy of pulling and creating a killing room. However, as you near the halfway mark of the dungeon, you begin to hear other noises of battle just ahead, and from the sounds of it, they’re pretty close.

“The inner ring is just ahead.” You say softly. “There’s players ahead.”

“Let’s check it out.”

You grunt in agreement, both of you crouching forward stealthily. The lower ring is located deeper underground than the first few portions of the dungeon. As such, there’s a bit of a drop from the entrance. The two of you look from the shadows above, spotting the group in question.

It’s a full party of five, with a dagger-axe tank, a swordsman, glaive user, archer, and what appears to be a guqin (古琴) wielding healer, their armour all dyed with similar shades of black and purple. The only people who would dare don such colours are those from the Ebonwill Sect (黟志宗), one of the top guilds in JSQ.

Typically, you’d stalk such a group until they find themselves in a conveniently perilous situation (that you definitely cause) before taking any action, but you look to Skyfrost to see what he thinks.

“I think we can take them.” He states confidently. “They’re not that good teamwork-wise. Probably a newly formed team.”

“Not that good, eh…”

“Well, I’ll leave it up to you. I don’t mind playing it safe either.”


What do you do?
>Directly engage the group. If Skyfrost says it’s possible to wipe the floor with them, you don’t see why you shouldn’t try.

>Tail the group. You can trust Skyfrost’s judgement when it comes to mobs, but players are a whole other ballpark. It’ll be better to play it safe.

>Take another path and avoid the group altogether. You still don’t exactly trust Skyfrost to save you in a PVP situation.

>Write in.

>>5309310
>Directly engage the group. If Skyfrost says it’s possible to wipe the floor with them, you don’t see why you shouldn’t try.

>>5309310
>Directly engage the group. If Skyfrost says it’s possible to wipe the floor with them, you don’t see why you shouldn’t try.

>>5309310
>Tail the group. You can trust Skyfrost’s judgement when it comes to mobs, but players are a whole other ballpark. It’ll be better to play it safe.
We need to demonstrate our own tactical acumen in this game of dominance.

>>5309310
>Write in.
>Wait until the group lost least 1 or 2 players before enaging them.

>>5309310
>Directly engage the group. If Skyfrost says it’s possible to wipe the floor with them, you don’t see why you shouldn’t try.
Let's vent some of our anxiety.

>>5309310
>Directly engage the group. If Skyfrost says it’s possible to wipe the floor with them, you don’t see why you shouldn’t try.

>>5309312
>>5309314
>>5309317
>>5309326
>>5309382

>Directly engage the group. If Skyfrost says it’s possible to wipe the floor with them, you don’t see why you shouldn’t try.

Gonna do one more mini update tonight. Writing!

>>5309482

“If you think we can beat them…” You move nearer to the edge of the entrance. “Then let’s just engage.”

“You’re not as normal as you seem.” Skyfrost chuckles. “No ordinary JSQ player casually agrees to a 1vX.”

“I’m used to it. But I must admit, I’ve never directly confronted an entire team before.”

“There’s a first time for everything.” He says, a slight eagerness apparent in his voice. “I have two plans…”

Both involve making a move when the enemy party is engaging a pack of mobs.

The first plan Skyfrost suggests is to down the guqin healer as fast as possible, after which Skyfrost will isolate each player one by one using CC for you to beat them in a 1v1. The only downside is that focusing all the damage on a single target - the guqin user - makes it easy to counter with raw healing (since there’s only one target to heal), especially with a guqin that has higher than average burst healing potential. Moreover, failure to take her down will mean a large waste of qi and stamina, leaving you two at a huge disadvantage before the real fight even starts.

The second plan is to split the non-healers in half, then engaging them in a 2v1. The goal is to conserve your resources as much as possible while forcing the healer to continuously heal both groups. Once she runs out of qi, it’ll be easy to burst her down and subsequently finish off the rest of the already weakened party. Of course, sustaining, let alone gaining the upper hand, in a 2v1 is easier said than done.

“What do you think?” Skyfrost asks after his suggestions.
Which strategy do you choose?
>The first one.

>The second one.

>Suggest your own. [Write in]

>>5309528
>The first one.
Skyfrost got enought burst to take down the healer, especially if we plan to only use him as a CC master later. Our build is more made for drawn out, underdogged fight, so this would be better I think

>>5309528
>First one.

We just need them to be really focused.

>The first one.

>>5309528
>The first one.

>>5309535
Adding to my vote a write-in
>Let's discuss priority order. Just in case they have some mean of CC Cleansing.
>We should move from squishy to tanks.
>So... Archer, then glaive user then you release CC for our mirror matches ?

>>5309528
>The second one.

>>5309528
>The first one.

>>5309535
>>5309547
>>5309558
>>5309572
>>5309628
>>5309723
>>5309922

>The first one.

And...

>Let's discuss priority order. Just in case they have some mean of CC Cleansing.
>We should move from squishy to tanks.

Alright, sounds good!

>>5310172

3 people please roll a 1d20!

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>5310176
9, calling it.

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>5310172
>>5310191
You called it, alright

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>5310176

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>5310176

>>5310191
>>5310197
>>5310205
>>5310207

>12

Ah, unfortunate, the 14 roll came just a bit too late, but 12 passes the DC!

>>5310212
I was worried I screwed us over

>>5310277
Oh I didn't roll the twelve, thought I did lol. I'm blinder than those who cannot see mount Tai

>>5310277
I'm just glad critfails don't overwrite, my 1 would have cost us dearly

>>5310319
What would've happened? Our internet shits out and dies on us just as the fight begins?

>>5310385
Skyfrost loses their connection, we get killed and they steal all our equipment

>>5310385
>>5310393
Turns out Skyfrost was with the group since the beginning, he CC us. He's just a sadist.

>>5310385
We become the arrogant young master soundly beaten by the real protagonist who is in that party.

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>>5310212

“Nuking the healer sounds good.” You state. “After that, we’ll take them out from squishy to tanky.”

“That settles it.” The excitement in Skyfrost’s voice grows. “Let’s move out.”

The two of you leap down to the inner ring and begin tailing the party ahead. Observing their tactics gives you a general idea of their skill level. It seems that Skyfrost’s earlier judgement was on the mark. At times, you notice the DPS messing up their target priority, executing redundant attacks, while the tank pulls at an irregular pace, almost like he’s taking the time to make sure the whole party is ready before engaging each pack.

A few minutes later, the party encounters one of the stronger patrols consisting of four giant spiders. This is the chance to strike.

The dagger-axe tank, after casting multiple buffs, charges forward, drawing the attention of his arachnid foes. The DPS follow up shortly after he generates enough aggro. However, the glaive user, perhaps eager to pad his numbers, casts a hard-hitting AOE a bit too soon, causing two of the eight-legged monstrosities to target him.

Without the need to even communicate, the both of you know it's time to enter the fray!

One third of your qi dissipates as you activate a series of your own buffs in the short period it takes to close the distance to the healer.

[Blessing of the Wind] activated, movement speed increased for 60 seconds.
[Blessing of the Elements] activated, cast times reduced for the next 7 seconds.
[Warrior Soul] activated, physical attack and attack speed increased for 60 seconds.
[Berserker Soul] activated, physical attack, attack speed, and damage taken increased for 10 seconds.
[Ordained Harmony] activated, magical attack increased for 10 seconds.
[Raging Phoenix Talon] activated, for the next 3 seconds, all attacks will send out a wave of fire qi.

You fire a small wave of flames towards the pack of mobs to activate the effect of your [Headband of the Solitary General] (only activates when the number of entities aggroed by/number of players attacking your party exceeds the number of party members).

Finally, you unleash one of your big cooldowns, your qi pool dropping to 50%.

[Command of the Supreme Lord (太君绝令)] activated, all damage, attack speed, and movement speed increased for 10 seconds. Additionally, all party members gain the [Roused Spirits] buff; the next attack of all party members is a guaranteed critical hit.

A surging tide of flames roars towards the guqin healer, not unlike a raging beast charging towards its prey. At the same time, Skyfrost’s sword takes flight, purple starlight trailing along its path, drawing violet lines across the battlefield.

Sword skill: [Violet Star Formation (紫星阵)]

Both attacks strike at the same time. Both a critical hit. Both shaking the dungeon floor.

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>>5310599

In an instant, the healer’s health drops to half as she frantically activates a large defensive cooldown, an impenetrable bubble forming around her entire avatar. That’s when the other party members react.

“Move! Three o’clock!” Skyfrost shouts as his blade returns to his hand, a blockade of ice forming promptly.

2 seconds later, the bubble fades, restoring 10% of the healer’s health just as quickly as it’s withered away by the two of you. Skyfrost then activates the second effect of his [Violet Star Formation], the lines of purple converging on her. The healer’s health bar is reduced to a deathly grey just as the ice spikes break apart.

[Gathering Mist (集雾) has been slain by Skyfrost (天欲雪)!]

It’s immediately clear who your next target is. The archer. Skyfrost swiftly moves in to intercept the tank and glaive user. You, on the other hand, further separate the group by pushing your poor victim away with [Wave of Force].

“What’re you gonna do with that dagger-axe?” He jeers, leaping backwards away from you.

Underestimating you will be his ultimate downfall. Did he not see how fast you fucked up their healer? You say nothing to his insults, instead vaulting up high with your dagger-axe. With half your qi gone, you opt for taking him out with physical attacks. A moment later, you dive towards him.

Dagger-axe skill: [Iron Descent]

The archer dodges in the nick of time, firing an arrow towards where you’re about to land. Luckily, you’re able to deflect it before hitting the ground and dash right behind him with [Flash Step], continuing your assault with a series of four quick slashes - all of which hit their mark. As he tries to strafe away, you give chase, slowly overwhelming him with sheer mechanical skill. Every spell he attempts to cast is foiled. Every shot he desperately fires fails to hit their mark. It’s almost pitiful how fast he goes down. Such is the price for his hubris

“Fuck yo-” You hear him scream before he’s sent back to town.

[WSND* has been slain by Distant Cloud (邈云)!]
*His username is actually just WSND, which stands for 我是你爹, and means “I’m your father,” a common Chinese insult.

On Skyfrost’s side, he’s managing fairly well, continuously kiting each of them with unparalleled movement while dishing out a decent amount of damage. Noticing the kill notification, he knocks the swordsman, now with only 70% of his health remaining, in your direction before returning to terrorise the other two with a hellish amount of CC.

You only need a single glance to see that he’s running the standard sword DPS build - clothed in a full regalia of light and medium armour. In terms of skill, he isn’t bad, but doesn’t match up to you and goes down in much the same fashion as his bow-using companion.

[Goldy (金金) has been slain by Distant Cloud (邈云)!]

>>5310602

With only the glaive user and tank left, Skyfrost is able to finally let loose, throwing you the tank. The moment both your dagger-axes lock, he’s immediately taken aback.

“You…” He calls, retreating back a few steps. “What dagger-axe is that…”

“None of your business!”

A layer of golden light surrounds your heavily armoured adversary as you press the attack.

Heavy armour skill: [Golden Carapace], all defence increased for 10 seconds.

The ensuing brawl can only be described as a slugfest as you slowly chip away at his health. However, it’s clear who the winners of this battle are as the glaive user is swiftly dispatched by your partner.

“The Ebonwill Sect will remember this.” He declares as he is pummelled into oblivion with the combined might of Distant Cloud and Skyfrost.

[Iron Resolve (坚似铁) has been slain by Skyfrost (天欲雪)!]

You can hardly believe that you just won a 2v5, but the current surge of adrenaline in your blood vessels says otherwise. Time for the best part. Looting! Being a full-loot PVP game, player items either drop upon death or are destroyed with a 25% chance of this happening.

“Ebonwill is definitely a top guild for a reason…” You comment. “These guys were pretty loaded.”

Skyfrost sniggers. “If only their skill was as high as the prices of their gear.”

For the next hour, no other groups appear and the two of you are able to push through the instance unimpeded, even taking down some bosses you’ve previously avoided for difficulty reasons. As you’re about to enter the final ring of the dungeon though…

“Well, this is as far as I’ll go today.” Skyfrost sheaths his sword.

“You have something you need to take care of?”

“Something like that, but don’t you find it strange that we haven’t bumped into another group for a while?”

Come to think of it, he did mention that there were many parties from top guilds running Ancient Apothecary today. It’s quite the miracle you only bumped into one.

“Uh huh. What's your point?”

“They’ve been taken out.”

Behind your screen, your eyes narrow. “How can you be so sure?”

“Maybe you’ve never reached this far in AA as a solo player, but the final ring is never this quiet.”

That’s pretty much true. Right now, you’re three quarters through the dungeon, much farther than what you’ve been able to reach alone. Looks like there’s more to this than meets the eye. Whoever this mystery team is that’s able to make Skyfrost think of retreat, you want nothing to do with.

“Right…” You reply. “Well, I don’t mind leaving now. It never hurts to be less greedy. I’m running out of space in my space ring as well.”

With that, the two of you exit the dungeon and go your separate ways. While you operate out of Ximen city, Skyfrost resides in Wenduan - the only city in The Outlands. Before he leaves, however, he extends a friend request to you.

[Player Skyfrost (天欲雪) has sent you a friend request, do you accept: Y/N?]


Do you accept it?
>Yes.

>No.

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>>5310604

Back in Ximen, you dump your hard-earned rewards in the city bank. You’ll figure out what to throw up on the auction house at a later time. Right now, you just want to relax a bit after that exhilarating foray into Ancient Apothecary.

As you’re thinking of what to do, a notification pops up on the bottom right of your screen, not from any social media apps, but from the internet cafe’s very own staff-to-customer chat boxes where people can request for help with technical issues and whatnot.

“Old Deng is back.” It reads. Jiang Yurong often informs you of when Old Deng comes back like this.


What do you do?
>Head down to meet Old Deng. You need some life advice after being fired from your job again.

>Read up about Moonpiercer’s withdrawal from Team Abyssal. It’s been bugging you since you’ve left for the dungeon.

>Dig up some info on Skyfrost. It’s hard to believe you’ve never heard of such an exceptional player before.

>>5310604
>>Yes.

>>5310604
>Yes.
>Head down to meet Old Deng. You need some life advice after being fired from your job again.

>>5310607
>Yes

>Go and meet old Deng.

>Yes.
>Read up about Moonpiercer’s withdrawal from Team Abyssal. It’s been bugging you since you’ve left for the dungeon.

>>5310604
>Yes.
>>5310607
>Head down to meet Old Deng. You need some life advice after being fired from your job again.

>>5310607
>Dig up some info on Skyfrost. It’s hard to believe you’ve never heard of such an exceptional player before.

>>5310607
>yes

>Head down to meet Old Deng. You need some life advice after being fired from your job again.

>>5306089
looks like a king's avatar quest? or is it?

>>5310607
>Yes
>Dig up some info on Skyfrost. It’s hard to believe you’ve never heard of such an exceptional player before.

>No.
>Read up about Moonpiercer’s withdrawal from Team Abyssal. It’s been bugging you since you’ve left for the dungeon.

>>5310604
>Yes.
>Head down to meet Old Deng. You need some life advice after being fired from your job again.

>>5310607
>Yes
>Dig up some info on Skyfrost. It’s hard to believe you’ve never heard of such an exceptional player before.

Votes will run until tomorrow, taking a break tonight.

>>5311448
its cool. it is Always worth the wait

>Yes
>Meet with Deng

>>5310602
I wonder what is the second [Violet Star Formation] effect is to deal more damage than two crits.

>>5310604
>Y

>>5310607
>Dig up some info on Skyfrost. It’s hard to believe you’ve never heard of such an exceptional player before.

>>5311919
>>5311731
>>5311412
>>5311384
>>5311205
>>5310990
>>5310969
>>5310690
>>5310634
>>5310630
>>5310624
>>5310608

>Head down to meet Old Deng. You need some life advice after being fired from your job again.

Looks like this won out. Writing!

>>5311062
This is inspired by The King's Avatar but it's not a TKA quest.

>>5311919
I decided to omit a more detailed description of the skill to keep the update more concise. Basically, activating [Violet Star Formation] gives one's sword a damage and speed increase. As it moves, lines of violet starlight will be drawn. The first enemy the sword damages while [Violet Star Formation] is active will be branded with a [Violet Mark]. After the [Violet Mark] is placed on a target, the sword will no longer draw violet lines. This is the first effect of [Violet Star Formation].

Activating the skill again causes the violet lines drawn to converge on the poor chud slapped with the [Violet Mark]. Any targets hit by the violet lines while they are converging will also be damaged.

>>5312613
That [Violet Mark] took 60% of that healer's HP. I imagine there's a lot of whining on the forums about it.

>>5312873

Perhaps I should've been more clear in my phrasing, but we continued to whack the living shit out of the healer until activating the second effect of Violet Star Formation would be an instant kill.

Also, in normal circumstances, those lines can be blocked, deflected, nullified, etc.

>>5312873

“Old Deng’s finally back eh…” You mutter to yourself, looking at the time - 2224.

Putting on your black hoodie, you exit your room and lock the doors. Don’t want some scrub stealing your JSQ account. Your thoughts return to the earlier events of duty. Even with all the victories you claim in the virtual world, the bitterness of life is hard to stave off once you return to the realm of flesh.

“I wonder what he’s gonna say…”


=== Meanwhile, somewhere else… ===

The voice chat channel, occupied by only two people, is deathly silent. Iron Resolve sits in his chair, nervous and shaking slightly, though no one would be able to tell with his mic and webcam turned off.

The other person in the call finally unmutes himself. “So you’re telling me that you got clapped by just two people in a direct confrontation?” His voice is cold and indifferent, yet exudes an authority that few can dismiss.

Who is this person, you may ask? His name resounds across the lands of Shiya (世涯), throughout the seven cities… He is known as Whitesteed (发白马), the Bloodsea Tyrant (血海霸), an elder of the Ebonwill Sect.

“Y-yes. Pretty much… They jumped on us after Lil Fei (小飞) messed up his threat.”

“How very interesting…” Whitesteed comments, reading through the brief battle report written by Iron Resolve. “Seeing as this is a newly formed group, and losses were minimal compared to our other parties tonight, I can let it slide.”

“U-understoo-”

“But don’t let it happen again.” The elder interjects sharply. “To think we also had to contend with some pros, in addition to these little-” He cuts himself off. “What’re their usernames again?”

“Skyfrost and Distant Wind.”

Whitesteed pauses for a moment “Skyfrost…”

“Do you recognise the name?”

“Not at all.” He answers. “As for this Distant Cloud… We’ve had a few run-ins with him before. He’s scored a few small victories against our parties, but nothing noteworthy, so we wrote him off as just a pesky ganker. A minor nuisance, if you will. However, it seems they may not be so simple…”

Iron Resolve gulps. “Should I get some people to look into them?”

“No need.” Whitesteed states confidently. “I’ll do it myself.”

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>>5313139

=== Back at Old Deng’s… ===

The cacophony of keyboard clacks and mouse clicks have gone down significantly since you came back. Most of the people with responsibilities have all gone home, the only people left in the cafe being those with nothing else going on in their lives. At the counter, you spot two people.

“Old Deng.” You call out, hands in your pockets to ward off the night-time cold.

By the side, Jiang Yurong is packing up her things. It’s near the end of her shift, after all. She waves you goodbye before leaving.

“Where have you been all day?” You ask.

“Checking out new shipments for keyboards. Took a lot longer than I expected.” Old Deng leans on the counter top. “What about you? How’s work? I heard they were handing out raises today.”

You grit your teeth. “Got fired.”

“The fuck did that happen?”

You explain how you got fucked over by one asshole of a colleague. How he downplayed your efforts and badmouthed you in front of your boss. How you were fired for sticking up for yourself… Just talking about it makes you furious.

“That sucks.” Old Deng takes out a stick from his pack of cigs. “Let’s go outside?”

Nodding, you follow him out. The rain from earlier has long ceased, leaving the roads glistening, reflecting the cold light of the surrounding street lamps. At this time, the roads are mostly empty, save the occasional car.

“I’ve known you since you were thirteen.” He pulls out his lighter. “You’re a hard worker, Rudan. Whatever you do, you do your best. If your home situation was better, you’d certainly be a top student.”

Perhaps. Who knows how your life would have turned if your parents didn’t abandon you three years ago.

You click your tongue. “What’s the point? Even if I work hard, no one recognises my efforts.”

“Take it from a forty-five year old that’s been through a lot. That’s no reason to quit.”

“So what should I do?”

He pauses for a moment, taking another puff of his cig. “Take a break. Then return to the search.”

“A break eh…”

“Yep. I can’t guarantee you’ll find some place or someone that’ll see your true worth, but giving up won’t get you anywhere.” Old Deng says as a cloud of smoke scatters to the nocturnal winds.

He’s been this direct for as long as you can remember. No sugarcoating, no deception, no giving false hope. It’s something you’ve always appreciated.

“Thanks, Old Deng…” For some reason, hearing his words makes you think of Skyfrost.

“Don’t mention it.”

The next day, you wake up earlier than your usual time. Without the stress of going to work, you feel exceptionally well rested after a good night’s sleep.


What do you do?
>Head out for breakfast, there’s a cheap stall you frequent that you’ve been craving for a while.

>Log on to JSQ, you’ll sort out last night’s spoils before grabbing some food.

>Head out for a walk to clear your head and do some thinking.

>Write in

>>5313142
>Head out for breakfast, there’s a cheap stall you frequent that you’ve been craving for a while.

>>5313142
>Head out for a walk to clear your head and do some thinking.
Physical condition and getting fresh air is important.
Then,
>Head out for breakfast, there’s a cheap stall you frequent that you’ve been craving for a while.

>>5313255
+1
This gentleman really is wise, that's the kind of advice my grandfather would give me.

>>5313407
Back in the day I why playing seriously LoL, I always took a fresh air break and glass of water between two games. I think this was the only stuff I choosed in my playing habit that propelled me from low silver to low gold. Also works admirably to prevent tilt.

>>5313142
>Head out for breakfast, there’s a cheap stall you frequent that you’ve been craving for a while.

>>5313255
+1, let's listen to grandpa

>>5313142
>>5313149 +1

>>5313149
>>5313255
>>5313407
>>5313418
>>5313445
>>5313857

>Head out for a walk to clear your head and do some thinking.
>Head out for breakfast, there's a cheap stall you frequent that you've been craving for a while.

Let's start our new day right. Writing!

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>>5313909

Outside the internet cafe, the sun's rays shine with a warm brilliance. Unlike the northern parts of China, it's mostly warm all year round over here in Xiamen, and being a coastal city, the occasional sea breeze makes touching grass a real pleasure. In fact, Old Deng's is located pretty near to the coast. In the past, you used to wander around the area after a good JSQ session just to spend more time away from home. That's almost 4 years ago though… You don't know when you stopped relaxing like this.

The distant call of the waves soothes your mind as you walk down a quiet street. Old Deng’s advice yesterday is still fresh in your head.

“What should I do now…” You think to yourself.

You’ve tried out all sorts of jobs so far since dropping out of school. Construction worker, waiter, washing dishes, multiple cleaning jobs, handing out flyers - all to support yourself. With your current qualifications (or lack thereof), there are a lot of better jobs and opportunities that are simply out of your reach, like a greyed out skill you have yet to obtain. Except the only way to unlock is with a shit load of money and time. One of which you can’t afford to spend at the moment. It’s a precarious position where you need to spend money (that you don’t have) for the potential to earn more money.

Oh how life would be so much simpler if it was a video game.

Alas, ruminating on these thoughts won’t get you anywhere. As you continue your short journey, a familiar fragrance fills your nose. Finally, the thing you’ve been craving for weeks is before you, just inside a small store. Youtiao (油条)! And cheap ones to boot. One stick costs only the equivalent of 0.50 burger dollars.

You buy a few sticks, some for yourself and some for Old Deng, before returning to the internet cafe.

Back in your room, you log onto Distant Cloud while indulging in your freshly bought meal, the soft, doughy texture of this delectable breakfast treat breaking apart in a storm of light bread-like flavours with each bite. You even managed to get some free coffee from the cafe from Old Deng.

The first thing you do is organise your bank, separating yesterday’s loot into things to keep and things to discard. The latter, you put up on the auction house. Almost instantly, you receive mail notifications for successful sales, though it’ll take quite a while for everything to sell out seeing as it’s off-peak hours. There’s also a backlog of stuff that’s been collecting dust on the market.. You’ll have to relist those sell orders soon.

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>>5314346

About an hour later, you receive an unexpected DM request.

[Skyfrost has requested to open a private text channel with you. Do you accept: Y/N?]

Seeing no reason to deny, you accept, taking a sip of your coffee.

[Skyfrost]: Yo, wanna run AA now? We’ll probably have the dungeon all to ourselves!
[You]: ?
[Skyfrost]: What? Did I say something off?
[You]: What’re you doing online at this time? Don’t you have work or school?
[Skyfrost]: Ah. Don’t have to worry about that, I just left my job.
[You]: You too?
[You]: That sucks…
[Skyfrost]: Whatever. It was my choice.

At least that’s better than being fired.

[Skyfrost]: Anyway! Wanna go?
[You]: Sure, gimme 15 minutes to get there.
[You]: Same place?
[Skyfrost]: Nope. Head to these [coords].

Clicking on [coords] creates a marker on your map.

[You]: Got it. See you there.
[Skyfrost]: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Once you meet up, the two of you head straight into the dungeon and clear it with the same strategy that Skyfrost showed you last night. Only this time, you’re noticeably more efficient with your pulls and speed through the first half of the dungeon like it’s nothing. The first few bosses fall like flies, dropping nothing of significance, as the two of you storm the dark hallways, eventually reaching the inner ring, and then the final ring. So far, you haven’t bumped into any parties, but further beyond, there’s probably at least one group present.

There’s visible excitement on your face as you stare below at the final ring. Unlike the previous two floors, its corridors are much wider, and exude an air of mystique and danger, as if harbouring the secrets of some ancient alchemy grandmaster. However, you can’t let this affect your focus. The monsters down there are much more dangerous. You’ll have to treat it like how you approach a new dungeon as a solo, that is, with extreme caution. Any of these mobs have the capacity to kill you in a few hits if you’re not careful. After all, they’re supposed to be for groups of five players.

Down here, there’s only one thing that parties are gunning for - The Nameless High-Alchemist (无名炼丹大师), the final boss of the instance. It’s also the only mob in the entire instance that drops the fabled [Soul Severing Pill]. So unless you’re lucky enough to find it in some super rare chest, this big undead fella is your next best (and only) bet.

As expected, Skyfrost has completely different tactics and strategies ready for this level of the dungeon.

“From here on out, it’ll get much harder with just the two of us.” He takes a few steps forward. “For the most part, we’ll be taking out mobs one at a time, two if you’re feeling up for it.”

“Alright.” You’ve seen some videos, so you have a rough idea of what to expect. “Let’s go.”

Skyfrost nods. “Everything should be fine as long as we follow our single target rotation.”

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>>5314348

Into the dimly lit halls, the first few mobs you encounter are challenging to say the least. If you were solo, it’d probably take at least a day to accustom yourself to this new difficulty. Each minor slip up forces you two to leash pulls and progress is slow, but with each slain monster, you feel yourself getting better and better. It’s a greatly satisfying feeling.

Two hours later, you’re a decent way into the final ring. From all directions, you hear sounds of constant battle, some from PVE, others clearly from PKing. You can’t say you’re not exactly nervous right now. At any moment you could bump into a group. Your tension reaches its zenith as Skyfrost abruptly stops.

“The boss room is just ahead.” He points out. “It’s a wide open, circular space. We’re lucky no one ambushed us on the way here, but there will be many groups camping out, waiting for some suckers to initiate the boss.”

You thought as much. “What’s the plan?”

“Are you familiar with the mechanics of The Nameless High-Alchemist?” He asks.

“It’s a three phase fight. In the first phase, he periodically throws out explosive pills that leave a high damage acidic poison on the ground and leaves a DOT on players when stepped on. At 60% health, the fight swaps to the second phase. The boss consumes a forbidden pill and receives an increase in damage and attack speed. Moreover, a putrid miasma starts seeping from his pores that applies a strong DOT when inhaled. Finally, in the third phase, at 20% health, he swallows another forbidden pill. In addition to higher damage and attack speed, puddles of poison start to spew from his skin. The mechanic is identical to that in the first phase.”

“Very good, you know your stuff.” Skyfrost comments as an ear-piercing roar shakes the entire final ring. “It seems like a group has started the boss. If I recall correctly, you’re able to use [On Immortal Winds (乘罡风)] right?”

“Of course. It’s a mandatory escape skill.”

“Perfect.” He says, that eagerness from last night appearing once more. “We’ll be using it offensively. Depending on who’s fighting the boss currently, we might not have much time so I’ll explain during the fight. You up for it?”


What do you say?
>”Let’s do it!” Skyfrost’s plans haven’t failed so far. You have faith in whatever he has in mind.

>”Seems a little risky, doesn’t it?” Not only does he plan to use [On Immortal Winds], one of the few escape skills you have, but you’ll only know of his strategy in the heat of battle.

>Write in.

>>5314348
Yep, after that private message I'm completely convinced that Skyrost is an alt for Moonpiercer
>>5314351
>>5314351
>”Let’s do it!” Skyfrost’s plans haven’t failed so far. You have faith in whatever he has in mind.

>>5314351
>”Let’s do it!” Skyfrost’s plans haven’t failed so far. You have faith in whatever he has in mind.

>>5314351
>”Let’s do it!” Skyfrost’s plans haven’t failed so far. You have faith in whatever he has in mind.
Dude's a pro.

>>5314351
>”Let’s do it!” Skyfrost’s plans haven’t failed so far. You have faith in whatever he has in mind.
>>5314356
Let's ask him after the fight. Something like "Would the job you happened to quit related any way with e-sport?"

>>5314356
>yfw it's actually the former CEO of the company that made the game

>”Let’s do it!” Moonpiercer’s plans haven’t failed so far. You have faith in whatever he has in mind.

>>5314346
Now, I crave 豆浆油条. Everything is delicious in China.

>>5314356
In support.

>>5314356
>>5314367
>>5314369
>>5314373
>>5314385
>>5314566

This is gonna be one messy battle. Three people please roll a 1d20! DC is 15

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>5315008
okay, done.

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>5315008

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>5315008

>>5315020
>>5315023
Ez Peasy Lemon squeazy

>>5315019
>>5315020
>>5315023

>19

Holy fucking shit.

>>5315068
Not only 19, but 19 and 18.
Does that mean we get loot twice?

>>5315088
It better not, because then that 2 would have to count too.

got a feeling Skyfrost wants to use us to get the pill

>>5315173
If our collaboration is successful, it's more advantageous to work together than to take the pill for himself. Noobs who are competent enough to 2-man the Ancient Apothecary instance are not common.

Post will come tomorrow morning. Gotta fix my sleep.

>>5314385
Personally, I'm hankering for some Congee, jellyfish, and this stir fried pig intestines I had at this once chinese place I can't go to cause a friend I took out there shout some very loud racial slurs outside of it, cause it was too packed to get a table when we went

>>5315272
if nothing else, Skyfrost betraying us would be great setup for a villain and a personal goal for mc

>>5316285

Apologies, this is taking a while to write the whole fight. Finishing soon.

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>>5316577

You ready your dagger-axe, "Let's do it!"

"You're really a bloody lunatic." Skyfrost breaks out in laughter. "No more delaying. We need to hurry!"

After casting [Blessing of the Wind], the two of you charge straight into the dark halls ahead, very quickly reaching one of the many entrances to the boss room. It’s colossal compared to the narrow corridors of the initial and inner ring, constructed in the form of a large circular dome. This is the first time you’re seeing it in person rather than from a recording. On the walls are ancient Sinic runes whose meaning has long been lost to time. Pillars lining the circumference of the chamber are adorned with shimmering jade and gold. The sheer scale and architecture of the facility is simply breathtaking when viewed through the first-person perspective of Distant Cloud.

At the very centre is The Nameless High-Alchemist, a ghastly humanoid monstrosity. Its skin is a rotted, diseased blue, revealing portions of bone and sinew. The daoist robes it dons have long lost their refined elegance, torn and weathered by time, smeared and defiled by dirt and grime. It stands at a towering three metres tall, and in place of eyes, its hollow sockets hold two devilish green flames. By its sides are also multiple bags of holding, which function similar to space rings, containing immortal pills of a potency worthy of antiquity.

Left undisturbed, this undead alchemist would have stood here, unmoving for aeons, cursed by heaven to remain in the mortal world. Yet this is not to be, as various cultivators come to ravage its resting place, inciting its undying rage day in, day out.

Currently, it seems an amateur group is engaging the High-Alchemist. Their skills can only be considered average at best, teetering on the line between mediocrity and slight incompetence. This is most evident in the fact that the pools of pill poison have been scattered through the boss room rather than being collected in a single spot. Furthermore, it appears they didn’t even bother to check for the presence of other groups before pulling! Probably assuming the other parties were a ways away after being the first to reach the boss, or mistakenly thinking they were capable of bursting it down before more people arrived.

Unfortunately, a simple glance now reveals the presence of five other parties, biding their time at their respective entrances. Though if you were an amateur, you guess it’d be hard to notice when all your attention is fixed on a boss as challenging as The Nameless High-Alchemist.

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>>5316706

This brief pause to observe the general situation is the only respite you have as Skyfrost charges straight in, shouting, “Hit the boss and bolt for the nearest party!”

Their tank (also a dagger-axe user), noticing Skyfrost’s approach, scurries to cast a spell, anticipating a group of five charging towards him. A wide wall of wind promptly descends onto the battlegrounds, knocking back players and entities that come into contact with it.

Dagger-axe skill: [Wind Wall]

However, you manage to fire a single wave of fire towards the High Alchemist before this bulwark of wind could be erected while Skyfrost’s blade has long since left his grip, splitting the air as it flies towards it. Effectively, both of you are now considered combatants in the boss fight.

Your eyes scan for the closest group, just a few dozen metres to your right. As you sprint towards them, they too come out of hiding and seem intent on engaging you. Before they can gain much ground though, your dagger-axe glows a searing hot orange. Slicing towards the ground, a long narrow crack forms on the aged brick floor, from which a raging inferno shoots up.

Dagger-axe skill: [Flame Wall]

“Hold them there for a few seconds!” Skyfrost orders while contending with the party.

A moment later, the High-Alchemist reaches into his bags of holding, taking out seven pills. With another ear-piercing scream, the pills, like homing missiles, streak through the air towards the now seven players fighting it. As it strikes the ground beneath your feet, a large puddle of viscous acid forms, blocking the advance of the party right in front of you.

Ah ha! This must be Skyfrost’s plan. If that’s the case then…

“Now! Cast [On Immortal Winds]! Run to the other groups!”

You waste no time at all, performing a sequence of precise key presses with stunning alacrity.

[Blessing of the Wind] activated, movement speed increased for 60 seconds.
[On Immortal Winds (乘罡风)] activated, for the 5 nearest party members, movement speed greatly increased for 15 seconds. Additionally, falling speed decreased, and players gain the ability to jump in midair every 5 seconds.

>>5316716

Quickly, you dart to the next nearest group as the second round of pills is thrown out, then the next, and finally the fourth party, gliding through the battlefield unimpeded by gravity.

On the ground, Skyfrost dumps the puddles of poison on the five chuds that thought they were gonna score an easy boss kill. It's a complete massacre with the healer unable to keep up with the raw damage output.

[Dreaming Of Swords (梦有剑) has been slain by The Nameless High-Alchemist (无名炼丹大师)!]
[Spiritshaker (震灵) has been slain by Distant Cloud (邈云)!]
[Lil Drunkard (小醉) has been slain by The Nameless High-Alchemist (无名炼丹大师)!]
[Fluttering Soul (飘魂) has been slain by The Nameless High-Alchemist (无名炼丹大师)!]

Only the tank remains, but he too is quickly overwhelmed by the combined might of the boss and Skyfrost.

[Mushroom Head (蘑菇头) has been slain by Skyfrost (天欲雪)!]

TEAM KILL!

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>>5316718

Still, the battle is far from over. The High-Alchemist stands with 63% of its health left. However, the other groups, evidently more skilled than the one you just clapped, make no move.

It’s a reasonable choice. How could two people possibly solo the boss?

They’re right as well. Even with Skyfrost’s commands, it takes a while for you to get used to the rhythm of the fight, each mistake shearing more than half of your health. For almost any other player, this would be downright impossible. But you’re no regular player. Years of playing solo has developed within you the mental fortitude to get past these intense situations. You won’t let the pressure get to you.

A while later, you finally get into the groove of things. The High-Alchemist drops to 60% health and a transition animation begins to play. From one of its bags of holding, it retrieves a vile, obsidian black pill, glowing with an ominous purple aura. As the High-Alchemist consumes this demonic creation, parts of its skin begin to melt and emit a putrid miasma.

The second phase begins!

All around the room, the puddles of pill poison begin to evaporate. Yet, the groups still bide their time. Eventually, the boss’s health drops to 59%, then 57%, then 56%. If Skyfrost didn’t ask you to conserve your spells and resources, it would surely go down much faster.

As the minutes pass, the patience of the surrounding parties grows paper thin. It’s apparent that you two aren’t dying anytime soon. Finally, as the health bar of the High-Alchemist decreases to half. One of the groups decides they’ve had enough and rush out with gamer-rage fueled fervour. Similarly the four other parties come out of hiding, converging on the two of you like ravenous packs of wolves.

You swear you feel your balls shrink a little seeing a zerg of 25 sweaty gamers rush at you.

"What do we do now?" You ask, a little (just a little) freaked out.

Skyfrost simply laughs. "We kite the boss to them!"

In the ensuing chaos, players of all different builds and guilds brawl in a storm of daoist magic and martial might. Skyfrost pulls the High-Alchemist out of the taunt range of the tanks to prevent them from stealing aggro and leads it across the boss room in a circular fashion, spreading the poisonous fumes to as many enemies as possible. Pretty soon, most of the players present are afflicted with the DOT and slowly rot from within.

“Now we pick them off from the side. Fend for yourself till the third phase!” Skyfrost darts into the mass of battle. “Don’t die!!!”


What do you do?
>Play aggressively. Actively seek out low health targets while keeping yourself on the move. Fewer enemies now means less to worry about later.

>Play defensively. Keep yourself away, but close to the fights, using a variety of CC and displacement skills to keep yourself out of harm’s way and possibly knocking your enemies into unfavourable positions.

>write in

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>>5316720

In the end, I decided to split the update in two.
Look at this captcha lol.

>>5316720
>Play defensively. Keep yourself away, but close to the fights, using a variety of CC and displacement skills to keep yourself out of harm’s way and possibly knocking your enemies into unfavourable positions.
We're in a good spot right now. Let's not screw it up.

>>5316720
>>5316720
>Play defensively. Keep yourself away, but close to the fights, using a variety of CC and displacement skills to keep yourself out of harm’s way and possibly knocking your enemies into unfavourable positions.

>>5316720
>Play defensively. Keep yourself away, but close to the fights, using a variety of CC and displacement skills to keep yourself out of harm’s way and possibly knocking your enemies into unfavourable positions.

Soft style best style

>>5316720
>>Play defensively. Keep yourself away, but close to the fights, using a variety of CC and displacement skills to keep yourself out of harm’s way and possibly knocking your enemies into unfavourable positions.

>>5316720
>Play defensively

What are they going to do? Outlast their poision?

>>5316720
>Play aggressively. Actively seek out low health targets while keeping yourself on the move. Fewer enemies now means less to worry about later.

>>5316720
>Play aggressively. Actively seek out low health targets while keeping yourself on the move. Fewer enemies now means less to worry about later.

>>5316720
>Play defensively. Keep yourself away, but close to the fights, using a variety of CC and displacement skills to keep yourself out of harm’s way and possibly knocking your enemies into unfavourable positions.

>>5316720
>Play defensively. Keep yourself away, but close to the fights, using a variety of CC and displacement skills to keep yourself out of harm’s way and possibly knocking your enemies into unfavourable positions.

>>5316982
+1

>>5315705
I've never dared eating intestine

>>5317857
The texture took some getting used, but I powered through it, very chewy and rubbery. Helped that I liked offal. Tasted nice. Smelled exactly as you expect intestines of pig to smell like

>>5316728
>>5316776
>>5316797
>>5316982
>>5316986
>>5317527
>>5317627
>>5317829
>>5317857

>Play defensively. Keep yourself away, but close to the fights, using a variety of CC and displacement skills to keep yourself out of harm’s way and possibly knocking your enemies into unfavourable positions.

Solid choice. Three people please roll a 1d20. No DC this time, we're rolling. As >>5316982 puts it, what're they gonna do?

>>5317857
Intestine is pretty good, but how good it is depends on where you get it. If it isn't washed enough, there's a slight pungent taste to it.

>>5317863
Indeed it is quite chewy. I like my intestines either barbecued Dongbei (东北) style or in a soup.

>>5317872
I read need to fucking reread my posts so I don't end up with autistic shit like:

"No DC this time, we're rolling."

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>5317872

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>5317872
Taste our steel, foolish novices! We blood Brothers cannot be conquered so easily

>>5317899
How inauspicious

Rolled 16 (1d20)

Amituofo

>>5317906
>4 x 4

Incredibly inauspicious

Damn, once we fell the boss we are getting so many loot; Boss loot plus 30 players stuff

>>5318268
>"IF" we survive.

Alright bois, working on the update now.

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>>5319004

The lustre of AOE attacks consumes the immediate vicinity in a blinding spectacle of flashing colours, enough to make a Fengshui (风水) master gag at the sight of such an anarchic, unbalanced swirl of elemental fury. Fortunately, you’re nowhere near the centre of this deadly brawl and easily escape to its perimeter. You’ll play this defensively, counting on CC and displacement to survive till the third phase.

You circle around, taking a quick scan of the relative positions of the players, while paying close attention to where the healers are stationed. Right now, Skyfrost still has control of the boss, so most of your enemies are focused on him. Taking advantage of this, you make your first move, knocking a handful of players towards the High-Alchemist with [Wave of Force].

[I Like Eating Birds (我爱吃鸟) has been slain by The Nameless High-Alchemist (无名炼丹大师)!]
[WolkieTolkie has been slain by Gentle Snow (柔雪)!]

As you repeat this a few more times, a few players begin to take note of your presence and start to target you. From the left, two archers have their sights squarely on your head. From the right, a sabre user and spearman rushes towards you. In front, one well-geared Daoist spellblade, wielding a whisk and ritual sword, is preparing to launch a spell in your direction. This might be a bit much to handle…

“Skyfrost!” You call.

“What?”

“Get that spellblade!”

“Which one?!?!” Skyfrost looks around frantically before suddenly stopping on one player, interrupting his current incantation. “Oh. Gimme a moment…”

You hope that moment is quick cause you definitely don’t want some big array being fired in your face while you contend with four other guys. As you dodge a volley of arrows, you cast [Wall of Fire] within the mob of players, effectively cutting off the archers’ lines of fire and further disrupting the parties’ formations.

The sabre user - named, “Akiyama” - suddenly speeds up, his blade glowing a vicious red.

Sabre skill: [Steel Enmity]

With a single leap, this weeb is in your face unleashing a flurry of slashes. His APM is an absurdly high 200, making it quite difficult to keep up. Soon enough the spear user, Skysplitter (劈天), is also upon you, thrusting his weapon in quick succession.

Spear skill: [Forest of Spears]

Taking a bit of damage, you retreat a few steps, and retaliate with another [Wave of Force] which sends Akiyama flying back. On the other hand, Skysplitter narrowly dodges it, continuing to pursue you. In a 1v1, however, there are few that can outmatch you - a consequence of having battled against uneven odds for years. The duel seems initially even, but it’s clear in a few moments that you have the upper hand. Empowered with battle spells, he’s quickly run down by your dagger-axe in just a few seconds.

[Skysplitter (劈天) has been slain by Distant Cloud (邈云)!]

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>>5319722

Even after seeing you demolish that spearman, Akiyama presses the attack without fear. You take a quick glance at your metres.

Health: 8710/12098 (72%)
Stamina: 2866/4279 (67%)
Qi: 2221/3765 (59%)

A little low, but after matching his rhythm, it’s more than enough to take care of this high APM one-trick pony.

[Akiyama has been slain by Distant Cloud (邈云)!]

The spellblade from earlier is also dispatched at around the same time, unable to fire a single attack before his death.

[Flippy has been slain by Skyfrost (天欲雪)!]

With all immediate threats gone, you pop a few restorative pills and continue harassing from the sidelines until the High-Alchemist is whittled down to 20% of its health, beginning the third phase of the fight. Another animation similar to the previous one begins to play, causing the boss’s skin to melt even further. And in place of a miasmic vapour, pill poison starts spewing periodically from its foetid pores, gushing towards the seventeen players left at this point.

It’s a complete bloodbath.

[Silent Yearning (默望) has been slain by Skyfrost (天欲雪)!]
[Burger Saint (汉堡圣) has been slain by Drunken Night (酒淹夜)!]
.
.
.
[xX_DemonHuntar_Xx has been slain by The Nameless High-Alchemist (无名炼丹大师)!]

In but a few moments after the transition, the seventeen players are further reduced to a pitiful seven. Four are dressed in black and purple, clearly from the Ebonwill Sect. The other three bear robes of beryl blue accented with white - the colours of the Steelport Society (钢埔会), another top guild. With their superior players and equipment, it’s not much of a surprise that these are the only ones remaining.

>>5319725

You regroup with Skyfrost as all of them keep their distance. As it stands, aggro for the High-Alchemist is in the hands of the Ebonwill party who are lucky to still have a healer and a tank. However, that is no reason to be complacent. It’s not that uncommon to win a 3v4 in JSQ, especially for players from the Steelport Society. Therefore, the biggest factor in determining the victors of this battle is none other than you and Skyfrost. Seeing as both parties understand this, a battle of words soon breaks out…

“Brothers, I know we got off to a bad start, but how about we call a truce for this battle?” Deepspring Thorns (蒿棘深春), one of the Ebonwill players, offers. “We can split the boss and player loot fifty-fifty!”

“Hmph! Who are you calling your brothers?” A Steelport player, Stormgale (雷飙), loudly harrumphs. “Skyfrost, Distant Cloud, I recognise your skills for what they are and thus, advise you to reject that man’s offer. The Ebonwill Sect isn’t known for upholding agreements.”

“Slander! What do you green zone hicks know? For our allies, we treat them like brothers.” Deepspring Thorns clicks his tongue. “Assisting us here means assisting the Ebonwill Sect. I’m sure you know of our power and influence in JSQ.”

“How utterly shameless… There’s a reason the Steelport Society can’t stand you Ebonwill rats…”

While listening to their squabble, you receive a DM.

[Skyfrost]: Are these big guilds?
[You]: ?
[You]: Is that supposed to be a serious question?
[Skyfrost]: I’m not too familiar.
[You]: Uh… these are two of the biggest guilds in JSQ.
[Skyfrost]: Impressive. It sounds like they really don’t like each other.
[You]: You don’t say…
[You]: What should we do? Take up their offer?
[Skyfrost]: I don’t know, you know more about this than me. I wouldn’t mind making some allies.

Stormgale continues, “I will not force your hand, but know this, to slay these rats is to accomplish a great deed for all players of JSQ! The Steelport Society will forever remember your assistance!”

[Skyfrost]: He’s really into this…
[You]: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

>>5319727

What do you do?
>Side with the Ebonwill Sect. Given their reputation, they are vindictive and never forget a grudge. Seeing as you previously wiped out an entire party of them, perhaps this can make up for it and possibly score you a powerful ally. Their ranks and command structure may be ruthless, but with it comes brutal efficiency. They are a top guild for a reason.

>Side with the Steelport Society. They are well liked by much of the player base and have been opposed to the Ebonwill Sect since the launch of JSQ. They are known for offering their allies generous support and will come to their aid at all cost. Though they may be on the losing end of the conflict with the Ebonwill Sect in recent months, their strength is not to be spoken of lightly.

>Side with no one. Ebonwill Sect? Steelport Society? These are just fancy names as far as you’re concerned. The outcome of this battle will be decided with raw skill and the fortunes of battle.

>Write in.

>>5319731
>There is a simple solution to this.
>"Whoever agrees to permit us two first pick of the loot has the right of it."

We want that Pill, so this is the way to get it. From then it's only a matter of debating with Skyfrost over the pill itself.
But they are meant to be Daoists, so their word should be good for it, especially if we say we have recorded their agreement.

But if both agree, I say support Steelport society. They seem to really be the guys who will help us out, rather than get uppity with us.

>>5319740
+1, and I'd also rather take Steelport over Ebonwill.

>>5319740
+1

>>5319752
Same, steelport seem like some real cool dudes

>>5319731
>>5319740 +1

On one hand, better Steelport than Ebonwill.
On an other hand...
>Side with the Steelport Society. They are well liked by much of the player base and have been opposed to the Ebonwill Sect since the launch of JSQ. They are known for offering their allies generous support and will come to their aid at all cost. Though they may be on the losing end of the conflict with the Ebonwill Sect in recent months, their strength is not to be spoken of lightly.
>However, it would be a great shame if they happened to wipe in the conflict.

>Side with no one. Ebonwill Sect? Steelport Society? These are just fancy names as far as you’re concerned. The outcome of this battle will be decided with raw skill and the fortunes of battle.
if we side with no ine, they will wipe each other

>>5319731
>Side with no one. Ebonwill Sect? Steelport Society? These are just fancy names as far as you’re concerned. The outcome of this battle will be decided with raw skill and the fortunes of battle.

>>5319731
Supporting >>5319740, but if they both agree choose Steelport.

>>5320129
I know I've switched IP. However, feel free to count that more to a
>Side with no one. Ebonwill Sect? Steelport Society? These are just fancy names as far as you’re concerned. The outcome of this battle will be decided with raw skill and the fortunes of battle.
With a dash of preference for Steelport society

>>5319731
>Side with no one. Ebonwill Sect? Steelport Society? These are just fancy names as far as you’re concerned.
>pretend to side with Steelport, engage Ebonwill then kill them all
Yeah fuck this shit and fuck all the big guilds. We dont need them.

OP how do loot mechanics work? whoever loots first gets the loot? is the boss tagged somehow?

>>5320355

The group that kills the boss has a 1 minute grace period where no one but them can loot the body. After that, it's free game for anyone as long as they can survive.

It's the same system as the one in Albion Online if you've played it before.

>>5320357
Thanks.

Yeah, gonna get that pill no matter what. 0 fucks given about reputation and not beyond betraying Skyfrost too if it were to come to that.

>>5320361
Won't go as far as betraying Skyfrost; really reliable mate. Might pause a bit solo playing to team with them.

>>5319740
+1

>>5319731
>>Side with no one. Ebonwill Sect? Steelport Society? These are just fancy names as far as you’re concerned. The outcome of this battle will be decided with raw skill and the fortunes of battle.
backstabbers aren't reliable, rpers are weird, just enjoy the game with your bro

Side with Steelport.

>>5319731
>Side with no one. Ebonwill Sect? Steelport Society? These are just fancy names as far as you’re concerned. The outcome of this battle will be decided with raw skill and the fortunes of battle.

>>5319731
>Side with the Steelport Society. They are well liked by much of the player base and have been opposed to the Ebonwill Sect since the launch of JSQ. They are known for offering their allies generous support and will come to their aid at all cost. Though they may be on the losing end of the conflict with the Ebonwill Sect in recent months, their strength is not to be spoken of lightly.

>There is a simple solution to this.
>"Whoever agrees to permit us two first pick of the loot has the right of it."
>If both agree, support Steelport.
>>5319752
>>5319758
>>5320087
>>5320238
>>5320403

>Side with the Steelport Society.
>>5321318
>>5321777

>Side with no one.
>>5320132
>>5320212
>>5320243
>>5320355
>>5320988
>>5321757

Counting votes.

>>5321849
Alright anons, honestly, I'm not quite sure how to count the votes for this because the write-in;

>There is a simple solution to this.
>"Whoever agrees to permit us two first pick of the loot has the right of it."
>If both agree, support Steelport.

has a lot of support and I'm not sure if I should count it together with.

>Side with the Steelport Society.

If so, then the write-in wins. However, in terms of absolute votes...

>Side with no one.

wins out. Thus, I'm not quite sure how I can come to a satisfactory conclusion since it's quite a close call.

The last thing I want to do is railroad, so please give me a little while more before I start working on the update. I'll probably write a small mini-update providing a little more info and a vote to more concretely decide on what to do.

Apologies for the delay.

>>5321905
Well it's simple QM.

do they agree to give us the first pick of the loot?
if they do, then the write in votes would support steelport and that should win.
if they wouldn't, because the loot is that valuable and really really don't want to give it over to some street rats [say they are all after the pill, which there is one of.] then they would refuse and we can support nobody.

If you did want to have cake and eat it too, then neither faction is willing to give up their first dibs. problem solved.
with the vote this close, either option is pretty satisfactory to the same amount of people.

>>5321957
I agree with this solution

>>5321957
+1

>>5321957
>>5321968
>>5321983

Thanks, anons. I'll roll with my original plan where Both offer first us dibs..

>>5321957
Belated but I also +1 this.

>>5322014

Working with people has never been something you've particularly enjoyed, but it would be much easier if there was one less group to fight. You already have an idea of who you should side with, but there still remains the million spirit stone question…

"How will loot be distributed? We want first pick of the boss loot."

Your reason for repeatedly grinding Ancient Apothecary - you have not forgotten. And since today looks like it'll be your first time slaying the High-Alchemist, you're not letting the chance of obtaining a [Soul Severing Pill] slip away.

"Not a problem!" Stormgale declares assuredly, devoid of any hesitation.

His Ebonwill counterpart clicks his tongue sharply, mulling over your request, but eventually acquiesces.

"The first pick is yours!"

With this, the choice is clear, and you relay your intentions to Skyfrost.

[You]: Merge our party with Stormgale's.
[Skyfrost]: :ok_hand:

Two notifications pop up in rapid succession in your chat window.

[Skyfrost has requested to merge parties with Stormgale]
[Your party has been merged with Stormgale's party.]

These new party members are around levels 63-65 with the exception of Stormgale who, like you, is level 70, but this doesn't matter that much. Jade-Sworn Quest is and has always been a game that prioritises skill above all else. Levels are just a number.

With their arrival, the previously unused party chat channel comes to life.

[Stormgale]: The Steelport Society thanks you for your assistance!
[Veiled Leaf (藏叶)]: The Steelport Society thanks you for your assistance!
[Eastern Fog (东雾)]: The Steelport Society thanks you for your assistance!

You keep quiet, not really sure how to respond to that. Skyfrost on the other hand…

[Skyfrost]: :salute:
[Skyfrost]: Are you guys okay with me shotcalling?
[Stormgale]: Not a problem.

To be quite honest, you're also a little nervous seeing as you don’t have much group PVP experience. Having Skyfrost be in command sets you somewhat at ease, though. With a single look, he’s able to determine the rough functions and playstyles of everyone’s builds. Stormgale - sabre and shield, heavy armour, a standard bruiser build. Veiled Leaf - battle axe, light and medium armour, frontline DPS. Eastern Fog - spirit brush, full light armour, backline DPS and support.

Amongst the silence, the Ebonwill players fight with even more vigour, likely feeling a sense of great unease. Their APM collectively rises to a point where you’re surprised that all four of them can still cooperate with minimal mistakes. Combos and chain attacks are linked almost naturally, clearly executed with instinct rather than verbal communication This type of cohesion is something only achieved through working together for a long time. It’s night and day compared to the Ebonwill scrubs you wiped previously.

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>>5323546

[Skyfrost]: Eastern Fog, cast [Great Swamp Array (沼泽大阵)]. Stormgale, [Shield Charge] their mystic orb healer. Veiled Leaf, Distant Cloud, pin down their DPS. I’ll handle the tank. Hold them there until the boss reaches 10% health.

The tension in the room reaches its zenith as the High-Alchemist’s health drops below 12%. Stormgale is the first to move, charging shield-first towards the enemy healer.

“You’ll regret this!”

Deepspring Thorns, the Ebonwill party’s tank, desperately moves in to intercept, drawing the boss along with him. However, he is abruptly stopped by a flying sword which curves through the air with a refined grace before returning to Skyfrost’s grip.

“Don’t get distracted now. Your opponent is me!” Skyfrost taunts, his figure blinking in front of Deepspring Thorns. “And… uh… That guy behind you!”

In a moment of carelessness, the Ebonwill party leader is clawed by the High-Alchemist’s now acid-soaked nails, shaving off a sizable chunk of his health. And unable to interrupt Stormgale’s advance, his charge connects, sending their mystic orb into an immobilised state with the [Stunned] status effect.

At the same time, the tip of Eastern Fog's ornate redwood spirit brush flows with a precise, yet nimble control, constructing the complex magical diagrams for [Great Swamp Array]. Unlike other weapons, spirit brush skills do not activate upon pressing their assigned key. Rather, the outline for a specific array appears on screen which players must then trace out for it to trigger. In effect, this means that cast times are determined solely by the skill of the player. Professional spirit brush players are able to draw the most intricate formations in under five seconds. With Eastern Fog’s current speed though, the array should activate in roughly ten.

It’s only when Veiled Leaf moves out that you finally react to these sudden developments, scurrying to cast basic buffs for the entire group which really should have come earlier. He leaps towards their crossbow user, a lightning-like crack forming where he strikes the ground.

Battleaxe skill: [Earth-Splitting Leap]

>>5323551

That leaves you with the last player of the Ebonwill party, a gauntlet user named, “Pighammer (猪锤)”. Quite an amusing name. Gauntlets in JSQ do not strictly refer to the plated armour that may come to mind when one first hears the term. It also includes regular leather gloves, bandages, and even items of a more spiritual nature like rings that engulf your fists in flames upon readying your weapon. Basically, all fist weapons are classified under the gauntlet name.

Around Pighammer’s two fists are bandages that glow a ghastly green. His fists blur with each strike like a disappearing phantom, almost like his hands are massless and incorporeal. Yet there is clearly weight behind his attacks. If you’re not mistaken, these are the Ebon Ghost Bandages. Like your Tyrant’s Will, these are custom crafted weapons. One of an extensive series known as the Ebon Ghost Armaments to be exact. They are given only to trusted, high-skilled players of the Ebonwill Sect, and their schematics are a heavily guarded secret. You’ve seen a few people carrying them in towns, but never out in the wild.

To think that you’d be able to face one in person today… You don’t know if you’re lucky or unlucky.

“Piggy, get the brush user!”

Deepspring Thorns’ orders are erroneously conveyed through JSQ’s in-game voice chat as he tries his damndest not to be completely overwhelmed by Skyfrost.

This sets you on edge. Your heart starts racing. The only thoughts that exist in your head are those telling you that you MUST stop him. Pighammer’s movement patterns shift noticeably after the fact. It’s nothing you can’t adapt to, but as you strafe to the left to dodge a seemingly innocuous jab, your heart sinks. He now has clear line of sight to Eastern Fog.

You’ve fallen into his trap.

A bolt of thunder bellows as it violently forks. Eastern Fog won’t avoid it in time.

Gauntlet skill: [Thunder Palm]

Remaining Boss health: 11% (At 10% another wave of pill poison begins to spew from the boss.)
Remaining cast time for [Great Swamp Array]: ~3 seconds.


What do you do?
>Attempt to cancel out the attack with [Raging Phoenix Talon]. Striking a thunderbolt… You have to be crazy to think that you can pull off a crazy stunt like this, but you’ve seen Skyfrost do similarly insane feats of precision, so why can’t you?

>Rush in to block the attack yourself. With some creative use of your skills, you can definitely make it. It’s your mistake, and you’ll be damned if you let it cost the team even if you die afterwards to the incoming pill-poison.

>Write in

>>5323571
>>Attempt to cancel out the attack with [Raging Phoenix Talon]. Striking a thunderbolt… You have to be crazy to think that you can pull off a crazy stunt like this, but you’ve seen Skyfrost do similarly insane feats of precision, so why can’t you?

>>5323571
>>Attempt to cancel out the attack with [Raging Phoenix Talon]. Striking a thunderbolt… You have to be crazy to think that you can pull off a crazy stunt like this, but you’ve seen Skyfrost do similarly insane feats of precision, so why can’t you?

>>5323571
>Rush in to block the attack yourself. With some creative use of your skills, you can definitely make it. It’s your mistake, and you’ll be damned if you let it cost the team even if you die afterwards to the incoming pill-poison.

>>5323571
>Attempt to cancel out the attack with [Raging Phoenix Talon]. Striking a thunderbolt… You have to be crazy to think that you can pull off a crazy stunt like this, but you’ve seen Skyfrost do similarly insane feats of precision, so why can’t you?