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.:: Iᴍᴍᴜʀᴇᴅ ::.. [Tsᴀɪʀ & Iʀᴏɴɪᴄ]

The boss's attacks were brutal and vicious, holding a power with each swing of its oaken arms. Raziel stayed one moment ahead of each attack as they whittled down it's health, his trust placed in Ziv and the other players to keep them safe from the dryads. One false step and these limbs could bring him instantly into the red, a very uncomfortable place to be. He noticed the other players that were dealing boss damage, among them Trystal and Vivi being the only ones to fight near him. He had become minorly familiar with their base movements, and could fight around them easily enough.

Then, he missed a movement. Arbre's massive trunk of a leg swatted him aside, and sure enough his health plunged deep into the yellow. The attention was drawn away fairly quickly, and Raziel rose to his feet with a wounded pride. He didn't want to worry Ziv, so he remained as quiet about his state as possible as he pulled out a potion and drank it. His health was nearly full once more as he renewed himself into the fight, climbing up the base of the boss in order to get free shots at it's head. It was a more dangerous position, but it was their best way to dish out damage in short order.

Sure enough, the second health bar of the ent dissipated, leaving one remaining. The dryads rattled and hissed, their forms changing into a more demonic shape as the ent let out a deep roar. His roots lifted, and he became mobile. Raziel quickly leaped off at this point, shouting to alert the other players. "He broke his roots! Watch out for the quake attack!" he warned, in reference to attacks they had learned about in the beta, and discussed beforehand. When the quake occurred, any movement would cause a player to lose balance. Raziel switched to monitor duty, focusing on keeping anyone who lost balance during these attacks safe.
 
Ziv’s health was quickly regained in the spare time, almost up to a fully stacked bar. Since she was so held up in her own dismay she didn’t realize the damage that Raz had taken, eyes twitching to see only the aftermath of his potion, health in green and in the clear. She sighed in relief, knowing that he was holding up decently.

The dryads halted in their tracks as Arbre freed himself from his binding site, furiously causing the ground to rattle from his displeasure. Tanks flew into battle, calculating the correct timing for when to initiate an attack and when to break away. Ziv whipped her head around to see Raziel by standing the attack and she would head over by his side, slashing through nymphs on her way over.

“How are you holding up?” She questioned him before she had to turn her body away from him momentarily. A dryad busted their bubble, Ziv whirling her hand around to graze her blade into its barky flesh, removing the nuisance from their presence to leave them alone by each other, the quake intensifying in amplitude.
 
Raziel searched his surroundings, watching as the other players dealt damage. Ziv found her way next to him, and he nodded lightly to acknowledge her presence. "I'm good so far, his attacks hit hard. Can likely take only one hit before needing to heal, maybe two for the high health builds... regardless, be careful not to get caught by the quake." Almost as though on cue, another quake shook the ground, one unfortunate player getting caught in it just next to arbre. Raziel sprung into action, launching over to take the aggro as he looked to Ziv to keep him covered from Dryads.

The other player finally got back got their footing, thanking the pair as they allowed him to reenter the fight. Raziel held position then, waiting for the next necessary involvement. "You seem to be doing your part. Been flirted with by dryads yet?" he said with a playful nudge to Zivs side. He felt very trusting and comfortable around her, able to remain calm even in this situation. The fight was going very well, and Arbre was almost defeated.
 
“He looks as if he certainly packs a punch.” Ziv replied as she watched Arbre take a hit on a nearby player, knocking their health down to red before they hurriedly gulped a potion to regenerate their health. In that moment she was grateful to be the one taking damage from the dryads and not the boss, knowing well that a hit from him would kill her. The fear of Raziel getting hurt would never leave her mind during a boss fight, knowing that he had to face the boss head on while she got the some-what easier route. “Yeah, I was swooned for sure, I would get jealous if it were you instead so I had to take the bullet!”

As fast as the quake tremored the ground beneath them, it lifted, everyone adjusted and reforming back into positioning. Ziv nudged Raziel in return, smiling at him before departing. “End this soon!” She hollered before turning her head to face a nymph, dodging her attempt in a snare before withdrawing her blades to plummet them into her chest. Arbre was close to his demise, his attacks growing stronger in a desperate attempt to rid of foes.

The tanks increased their attacks as well, giving back what they were receiving. In the distance, Trystal snuck in from behind, blade raised over his head before bellowing out in fury. The sword glowed a vibrant shade of blue, initiating a special, yet powerful attack to Arbre. It did the trick, the health bar now grey as no health was left to show. He stopped his attack in mid-air, trembling before dispersing into snowy-like sparkles, a ‘Congratulation’ text hovering over where the vacant boss used to exist in.
 
The end of the boss left Raziel slightly miffed that he had missed the last hit, but it was probably for the best. He and Ziv had already had their chance, and dividing the loot amongst the runners would likely create the best odds for survival. He dropped to a knee to catch his breath, a smile crept across his face. Another floor down, with no deaths. It was likely this streak couldn't carry on forever, but while it lasted it would be very encouraging, and could even coax others into joining the front line; something that would help the trend of survival.

He found his way to Ziv's side once more as he looked to Trystal. The man was showcasing his drop proudly; it looked to be a headpiece made out of bark. The crowd that gathered around him was a bit too much for Raziel, so he opted to stay out of the congratulatory group. He looked to Ziv, saying, "Good job covering; let's head to the next floor, shall we?" with a soft smile on his face as he extended his arm to her, allowing her to lead the way.

They were the first ones on the next floor, using the portal and immediately feeling the heat. The air was tinged with red as the rock around their entry way seemed to indicate a volcanic zone. The air was almost stifling, and Raziel immediately moved to remove his skull mask. "The city is pretty temperate, but fighting here is really shitty..." he complained, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. His sky-colored eyes narrowed as he looked up towards the black, smoky sky above. Clashing with the forest smell of the previous level, sulfur and ash could be scented on the air here.

Raziel led them towards the city, eager to get some rest after the fight, and even more eager to spend what time they could out of the heat zines. They soon arrived at the city, which appeared to be dug into the base of a mountain. The blackened buildings and charred ground kept them familiar with the floor, but held a neutral scent that gave them relief from the brimstone of before.
 
Upon arrival to the new floor, Ziv choked on the smoky air, coughing as if someone blew cigarette smoke directly in her face before her lungs adjusted to the new zone, subtle throaty coughs popping up occasionally. “I’m not looking forward to training here.” She stated the obvious, shielding her eyes from the hotness that was felt above her. She wasn’t opposed to already finding a place to stay, anything to get away from the blistering heat.

Despite the uncomfortable air the scenery was still unique and neat to look at, even if she had to squint just to get a decent eye full of her surroundings. The cool air conditioning struck their face as they entered into the building, Zira sighing in relief before shifting the hair that laid on her back to the side, feeling sweat coat the nape of her neck.

Soon the receptionist gathered their keys and sent them off to their room, a standard one but nonetheless appreciative since it hid them from the stale hot air. “I hope the next floor is a lot better than this.” She heaved out before plopping down on her bed, both hands covering her face before dragging them downwards, as if just standing out there exhausted her.
 
Raziel followed Ziv into their room, sighing lightly as he landed on his own bed, elbows braced behind him so he could continue looking towards her as he declined. He spoke up after a moment, saying, "It'll suck, but there'll be other weather zones in all the floors, I'm sure... this is still early, so it's probably less brutal than later, unfortunately..." He began clicking through his menu, switching to his casual loadout as they began to relax. His skills were coming along nicely, and he was much stronger than he had been at this point in the beta. It was necessary as a precaution, and they were quickly approaching the floors that were completely unknown.

"We're almost past any knowledge of the game that came from the beta... soon we'll need to figure things out on the spot. When we do a boss fight after that... we might lose some players," he said, choosing his wording carefully but the implication was evident. They could die, and Raziel was a likely candidate as one of the main boss damagers.

The room had a window that could overview the city streets; not an illustrious view but it could be seen that other players were now entering the city. Trevor loved the feeling before any players arrived with them, as though he and Zira were the only ones on that floor, as though the world belonged to them.
 
There wasn’t an enjoyable way to put that soon everything will be perilous, and Zira gulped at the thought of something happening to them, especially Trevor. He would be facing the boss’s head-on, receiving the most harm if he took agro. “When that point comes, we’ll be more careful.” She shifted in her bed before giving him a serious expression, different than her typical cherry deportment. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.” She shook her head, as if the thoughts were too unbearable to wonder on.

“We’ll try to not think too much about it. Worrying will only cause stress, and I don’t want that to linger.” Her eyes glanced down at her fingers as they drew circles on the bedsheet, disrupting her thoughts as it wasn’t significant right now. They’d worry about it when the time comes. “We had a big day today, you did awesome, so what if we didn’t get the last hit.” Zira sat up and opened her menu, changing into her night attire before nestling into the covers, eyes placed back to his form.

“I’m not looking forward to fighting on this floor, but it’ll help our endurance.” She tried to think of the positives, not wanting to whine the entire time on the floor. “If this isn’t as bad as it gets then let’s enjoy the easier route for now!” Loudly she yawned before declaring herself too tired to stay awake. “Goodnight Trevor, I’ll see you in the morning.”


As fast as it took to fall asleep, it seemed even faster for them to be awake. Zira's eyes fluttered open, blurry at first but quick to adjust to her now conscious state of mind. Her limbs outstretched to loosen the tension in her aching muscles, feel relieved and refresh for the journey of the new day that lays ahead of them.

"Rise and shine!" Zira chirped before tossing the covers off from her form and standing on the tips of her toes, stretching again before resting on the balls of her feet.
 
Zira's optimism made Trevor smile after the dark discussion they had considered. Zira was generally safer than him, but that by no means meant she was safe. He had faith in her skill, and his trust in her allowed him to fight alongside her without worry. As they went to sleep, Trevor wondered where his body was right now. He had been worried that no one would be aware of him, and that he wouldn't last this long out of the game. Had they been moved into hospitals? He wondered what Zira's home life was like, having never considered it before.

He slept well, as well as any other night in this world. The sound of Zira's voice rang through his dreams, coaxing him into wakefulness once more. His eyes opened up, turning His head towards the upbeat Zira, a smiling touching his lips as he looked at her. Seeing her first thing in the morning had become a routine, one that he was happy to have.

"Good morning. It's going to be a long day..." he complained lightly as he slowly got out of bed. He stood, folding an arm across his chest to stretch it out. "We have a few quests we should do on this floor... We're still ahead of schedule for our levels, but we can't start slacking now. Gotta maintain our place as some of the top players,c he said with a proud grin.
 
“I’m not looking forward to it at all.” She grumbled before shifting through her screen to change back into her normal apparel, her hair bouncing after the clothes shifted its positioning. She strolled by a window before placing her palm against the glass, already feeling the heat of the day against them. She sighed before sucking up her distaste. “Okay, lets get going then.” Zira commanded before they took their leave. A hot wave of air grazed her face as they stepped foot outside, almost taking her breath away.

“I don’t know how useful it’ll be since we’ll only use it for this floor, but maybe there’s an item that we can get that’ll make this floor somewhat bearable.” She proposed the idea before shielding her eyes from the heat of the rising sun. Their saunter into town showed that not many players were digging the heat, only a few stepping outside to bare the rising temperature that felt like flames.

A NPC with a bright yellow mark above its head caused Zira’s footing to shift in that direction; a quest. It was an older woman, and despite the heat, hid her face underneath what looked like a hijab. Her eyes were shielded by the shadow of her cap, but that didn’t stir the curious girl away. As she approached the woman, she would speak with a bowed head, arms folded behind her as if she were hiding something from the public.

“Travelers, I need your help.” She whispered, only audible for the pair to hear. Zira stepped in closer to hear her better, understanding that her murmuring would stay this way throughout their meeting. “I have a molten core that needs to be delivered deep within the heart of this floor.” Her eyes looked from side-to-side, hoping no one would be standing near as she withdrew her hands from her back, presenting a small red/blue blazing orb.

“This molten core appears to be the mutated reminds of an elemental that consisted of both fire and ice. Slag elementals should not exist upon the plateau where the elements live in purity.” The icy heat from the orb grazed against her skin, fascinated by the impurity of it. “I need you to take it to Magmire, he will know what to make of this core. If it stays unattended, I’m afraid something awful will happen.” Sorrow tainted her words, ashamed that she couldn't do this herself. "I'm far too old to be traveling great lengths in this heat..."

Without prying the woman for more information, she would place the object into a small leather puch, fastening the top so it would not fall out before handing it over to Zira. “Thank you so much, young travelers.” She bowed in thanks before acting as if their meeting hadn’t happened, resting in her previous stance.
 
Raziel followed Ziv outside, a faint grunt of disdain coming from him as they left the air conditioned building. It was likely that Ziv was right; there was likely an item that would help the heat be less intense. There were likely more floors with weather hazards, so it wouldn't be unexpected to have an item to cope better. It would likely become a necessity later on.

They approached the NPC, and Raziel zoned out of the actual conversation, instead opting to read the quest notes as soon as they were received. Deliver the core to Magmire. Simple enough, and the quest marker directed them aptly towards the appropriate direction. He led the way, moving out of the town into the even hotter outskirts. "The heart of the world, naturally. Sure it's even hotter than out here. We better get some good experience from this," Raz grumbled lightly as he continued towards their quest marker.

After some walking, the pair found their way to the base of a volcano. The quest marker led upward. Trevor was visibly upset. "Oh. Oh. Of course, were going into a volcano. Why wouldn't we be? No, this is great, this is how I wanted to spend the day," he complained as he looked to Ziv as though to apologize for his attitude. He signed and began the trek upwards, still grumbling.
 
His apologetic glance only caused Zira to laugh, never seeing the agitated side of Trevor. “I believe I have just encountered your first enemy.” She responded before giggling at her own joke, trekking upwards on a rocky trail that would lead them to an opening. The heat from the lava within the volcano bubbled upwards, causing Zira to tug at her gauntlets to allow the trapped heat to exit. The entrance led them inside the volcano, the pathway now reduced in length that caused them to hug the lining of the ashy mass. The lava fizzed below them, foamy pockets floating to the top before bursting, expelling the confined heat to fly upwards.

“Be careful.” She commanded, though it went without saying as they stumbled to get across to the other side where a more forgiving entrance awaited. It was more like a cave, the thickened walls of the volcano being carved and hardened by lava cooling. With their careful footing and guidance, the pair managed to defeat the odds and land safely within the new path ahead of them. The somewhat cooler air was a relief to feel, even a few temperature changes made all the difference.

The cooling within the cave would soon subside as a trio of fiery elemental scouted the hollowed ash, alerted by the new intruders. Their hands lit with a fiery orb, burning hotter than the sun before casting it in their direction. Due to the narrowed hallways, it was hard to dodge the attacks, leaving Zira to use her weapon to deflect the bold move, damaging her blades over time from the heat.
 
Trevor smiled lightly towards Zira's comment, allowing it to lighten his sour mood a bit. He was uncomfortable, but having her around made it tolerable. He exhaled lightly as they continued past the lava, ensuring not to take any direct damage from an unfortunate slip. It wasn't long before they encountered the fire elementals. Their heat radiated obnoxiously, causing Raziel to grit his teeth in preparation.

Zira protected herself with her blades while Trevor moved forward with a small smirk on his face. He pulled out his gift from Zira, the sword made out of ice. The blade flashed as it cut through the flames with ease, allowing him to dart forward to carve through the trio, the element on his blade making short work of them. They vanished almost surprisingly quickly, leaving Raziel to turn and smile broadly to her. "Thank you for the wonderful gift of floor clearing."
 
Zira’s eyes widened in surprise, wondering why she didn’t think of Trevor using his iced sword. It was common sense, and she couldn’t help but feel baffled for the simplicity. “You’re welcome, I’m glad to be of assistance.” Her smile was just as big as his, knowing that they had this quest under their belt.

Fire elementals meant nothing to them now, easily taking them out, one-by-one. The cave was leading them to a more intricate part of the volcano, one where the walls were layered with torches, lighting the way to a wooden door. Not wanting to be rude, Zira knocked against the surface thrice before standing back to wait for a response.

Eerily, the door squeaked as it opened wide for them. An older man with glasses hanging on the bridge of his nose, answered the door. He looked confused and puzzled, until Zira pulled out the enclosed orb. His eyes sparkled at the precious item, quickly ushering them inside. It appeared to be some sort of laboratory/study hall, books and specimens stacked neatly in their designated areas.

“I can’t believe you traveled all this way to bring this here.” His words were in disbelief as he held the item in his hand. Using a magnifier, he would hover over his new toy, inspecting it carefully before nodding affirmatively. “Yes, fire and ice. I possibly could separate them.”
 
Trevor never really could get along with NPCs. Their prerecorded dialogue annoyed him, and he felt as though performing mini-turing tests as he went made things slightly more tolerable. "Yep. Volcano. Seperate the thing. Peace to all the land. Blah blah." He was looking around the room, making various attempts to remove books. None were proper items, so they weren't obtainable, which made Trevor even more annoyed. His attitude in this heat was much grumpier than usual, except when directed towards Zira. The old man began performing some sort of experiment on the item, using his lab equipment in ways that didn't quite make sense to Trevor.

The colors of the core oscillated violently as the experiment was conducted. Flashes of blue and red dominated the other colors of the room, an elaborate scene for such a minor quest, Raziel thought. As the core slowly separated, the man seemed to go further into focusing ad hard as he could. There were violent crackles coming from the core now, and shards of light could be seen from within. Raziel turned his attention to it now, becoming slightly worried.

"This... this isn't how this quest is supposed to go," he said as he watched. Normally the colors would flash and it would be over. Now, it looked as though the core were going to burst. Raziel darted to Ziv protectively just as a loud explosion burst from the core, though neither of them took damage. When the smoke cleared, the old man was nowhere to be seen. All the remained were two small gemstones; one blue and one red.
 
Zira was captivated by his intelligence and how his curiosity for the core spiked an inner-child in him. His passion could be noticed as she carefully spliced the tiny fragment, the light almost blinding, Zira oblivious to the uneasiness that sparked in Trevor. Before she understood, her body was pugnaciously seized before being tossed to the floor. Her head rattled as it bounced, but she wasn’t prepared for the explosion that engulfed the room, the light causing her to shield her eyes. As quickly as it approached, it ceased, leaving nothing but two different colored gems in its place, the man nowhere to be seen.

“W-what happened?!” She asked, knowing that Trevor didn’t know either. She rose to her feet, feeling the faux vibrations from the detonation raddle her body for a while longer. Zira grew fearful of the gemstones, not wanting to get any closer to them as they demonstrated their capabilities.

The orbs shimmered before slightly moving, but those movements grew more severe, rattling the room before haze, the same shade as the gems, spiraled upwards. The vapor, that was once disoriented and chaotic, slowly condensed in on itself, forming out two feminine shapes. Gracefully, the figures made their appearance, displaying their identities as the gems disappeared. A woman with fare skin and snowy tresses glowed after emerging from her frozen tomb. The other, a fiery woman with a heat more intense than the volcano, stood beside her.

‘The Crystal maiden of the 50th floor dropped alongside her crystal shards during the CrystalFall event, resulting in a chaotic disbalance of the elements as she descended onto the fourth floor. She was met with her sister, the Fiery maiden. As the Crystal maiden walked her lands, everything in her wake would turn to crystals, and would soon freeze the floor that was once surging with heat and warmth. In a desperate fight to return her sister back to where she belonged, the two met with an older woman, who promised that once they signed her contract, she would happily fix what seemed to be a curse. Instead, the woman merged the two elements, creating a core for herself. Legend has it that if two elements were combined, the one who held it would grow powerful, surpassing anyone’s magic due to the power of two. Albeit the woman had predicted a good outcome, the sisters grew infuriated with each passing day, causing the core to hold a power so overwhelming that not even a lifetime magic user could control. Unable to separate the two, she desperately searched for a way, leaning her towards Magmire. Though, the problem with this is, Magmire and the woman are on resentful terms, unable to toss her pride aside and approach him herself. That is where you, travelers, come into the picture.’​

The quest text displayed before them, the two sisters bowing in gratitude.

“You set us free.” The flaming woman purred, Magmire showcasing himself from his hiding spot, unscathed from the damage that he had helped caused.

“If it wasn’t for these two, then it wouldn’t happen.” He nodded affirmatively, grinning to see his work paid off.

The Fiery Goddess took the gem that was now in her palm, though it didn’t shimmer like before, it still held its ruby shade. The same applied for the icy gem, still as beautiful as it was shining. “Please, take theses as a token of our gratitude.” The Crystal maiden chirped, handing what kept her imprisoned towards Zira. Reluctantly she took it, a message asking if she wanted to bind it to her account. She hesitated before clicking ‘yes’, the orb now in her inventory. The flaming maiden did the same but with Trevor.

“You’ll need to take them to a transmogrifier, they can be used to power up your weapons, clothing, or add unique affects.” Magmire spoke as he mixed up a liquid, handing it to the ice woman. “Sip this, and you shall return back.”
 
The quest ending had made Raziel uneasy. He looked to Zira as she bound the item to her account, and followed suit with the red crystal. He would be interested to see exactly what it allowed, and watched as magmire handed the potion to the maidens. It seemed a bit of a deus ex machine to get them to leave, but he wasn't about to question it. After all, it had to move them from the area with relative speed so that others could finish the quest... or so he thought.

After Magmire handed the potion over, he turned to the pair again. He wasn't resetting. "Thank you two again... I'm afraid we won't be seeing each other again for some time, I'm going to be leaving this floor. Perhaps we'll meet again further up? I can only hope," he said cheekily with a smile towards the two. He then ushered the two of them out the door. Once they were outside, Trevor turned to the door once more, only to see it digitally fade away. It was indeed gone, something that never happened with quests previously.

"...This is a one shot quest now? Thats... interesting," he said, now intrigued. It was a very unusual situation, the beta had only contained normal, repeatable quests. The transmogrifier... that wasn't something that Trevor was familiar with either. He was eager to try and figure out what these items could do, especially if they were exclusive to them.

They worked their way back to town rather quickly, Trevor eagerly getting them back to their room at the inn before closing the door and speaking to Zira. "Okay, this is really cool. So if we have the only pair of these items, should we use them right away... or should we wait for better gear?" he asked, seeking her opinion.
 
“I had no idea that there was such a thing as one-shot quests…” Zira was just as baffled as him, taking her core out to further inspect it. The possibilities that it could bring floated in her head, already getting ideas of what she could use it for. Enhance her blades, clothing, or even add certain effects to her movements, of course for aesthetic purposes with no real purpose.

“We should keep these a while longer and wait for some decent gear. In the meantime, it’ll help us to figure out what the hell just really happened.” She replied to his inquire, placing the orb back into her inventory before giving the hallway that they would exit towards a glance. “I don’t want to stay and see if anything else happens, so let’s go.” Zira suggested before taking the lead, carefully pacing her steps as they crossed the thin pathway, soon exiting the volcano and heading back into town.

Even the older woman disappeared, nowhere to be found. “I don’t like this floor even more now.” Trevor’s sour behavior crept up on her, even if it were the heats fault. “On the bright side, we’re almost leveled up from that quest.” She noted as she looked at her experience bar, only 1,000 more experience points before gaining access to the next level. “Maybe we can do one more quest before we head back to the AC?”
 
Trevor agreed that another quest would be fine, and it was a short time before the two were out to the battlefield once more. With their proximity to the next level, he picked up a quick hunting quest for the two to set out on. It wasn't very far from the town, so the heat wasn't extremely intense. News had spread of a drop from the flame beetles they were hunting that helped to raise the perceived temperature. Trevor found himself eager to acquire these items, in case of a cold floor in their future. It would've been nice to have a cooling effect on this floor, but none had been discovered yet. Still, preparing for the future would be important.

It wasn't long before they found their targets, in an open plain that was charred by the heat of the land. The beetles were fairly simple to beat, and after a small discussion and explanation of tactics, Raziel and Ziv were farming them with relative ease. So much so, that he began to have casual conversation with her as they fought. "We never really discussed... what do you do outside of the game?" he asked before following up the question with another dead beetle.

"I was going into programming... wanted to do game design, partly because of how the future of things looked with games like this,"[/colors] he continued, seeming unsure of whether he should be asking. Still, if she didn't wish to answer, he wouldn't press the topic. He activated a sword skill, another beetle dropping in a flurry of pixels.
 
It was always a good idea to plan ahead of the game, even if the thought of raising the temperature right now wasn’t so appealing, but on a freezing floor she would’ve thanked her past self. The heat didn’t even compare to that of the volcano, able to bare it with ease as her wrists flicked upwards, dragging her blade into the exoskeleton of the beetle before hearing a satisfying crunch. It dropped, but another soon took its place.

Raz’s question caught her off guard, never really talking about their personal life from outside of the game. Zira almost forgot the life she used to live outside from the game, thinking more about if they could defeat the game to even have a life to live afterwards. Hearing about his aspirations perked her lips into a smile, knowing what he said was true as she could see him being a game designer herself.

“It’s definitely your forte, that’s for sure!” She commented before digging her weapons into the chest of the flame beetle, the first attack of many to follow. “I wanted to be a Microbiologist. Ever since I took Microbiology in college I knew it was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” She admitted her nerdy side, always fascinated with the microscopic life forms and their processes of growth, interactions, and characteristics. “Didn’t expect that one, huh?” She added emphasis to her words when she grunted slightly from her strength to strike down on her foe, ending its life.

His question sparked more to her mind, curious now as to get to know him better, hopefully not overstepping her boundaries if she asked something too personal. "Hopefully you didn't have any weekend plans before you got locked out of life."
 
Trevor didn't break from his fight to acknowledge her information, mulling over it in his head as he wrecked another beetle. He was surprised that she had such an aspiration, though that was why he was interested in the question. He'd had no idea previously what she might do. It was nice to know a bit more, wondering how similar to her real life this personality of hers was, or if it had just been something she adapted to out of necessity.

Regardless, when she followed up his question with one of her own, he let out a small chortle. "Scheme Online was coming out, I had an entire week off of work in order to play it. I was... honestly worried for the first few days that no one would find me, but I guess it's good that my family knew what I'd be doing. I assume they had me moved from my place to a hospital by now? It's hard to think about," he admitted with a sigh as he cleared out the last of the beetles. The quest was completed, leaving the pair standing alone amidst the fiery field.

"What about you? You don't seem the type to set aside a huge amount of time for a new game," he chided gently with a grin. It was weird for him to think that someone who wasn't an extreme gamer was stuck in this world as well. He turned to head back towards town, knowing that once they turned in this quest they would likely level.
 
“It really is hard to think about, since we’re so active and aware right now, yet we’re paralyzed and motionless in real life.” Zira imagined herself sprawled out on an uncomfortable hospital bed, hair messily sprawled out against her pillow. A feeding tube must’ve been placed through her abdomen to supply the nutrition she wasn’t receiving, fluids flushing in her veins, and yet, she had no idea what was being done to her outside of the game. Not a single prick of the needles could be felt, let alone the sounds of family by her if they did visit.

The thought taunted her mind before Trevor dug her out with a new question. “You’re right, I’m not the type to play games, but when there was an announcement of a game that allowed you to play inside of it… I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.” Steadily she paced beside him as she spoke, hands dangling against her side with each stride. “I was only going to play for a few hours until, you know, our lives got taken away.” Her lips turned into a frown as their reality was never truly discussed. It was saddening, leaving an empty feeling to reside in her stomach. Zira looked towards Trevor, and that once empty sensation replenished itself with just a simple glance.

“But, regardless of what happened, I will never regret meeting you and being able to stand by your side as long as I can. You’ve helped me in ways I’m not too sure you understand, and your company makes this ordeal so much fun, almost enough that I never want to leave.” Slightly she blushed, but would lie and say it was from the blistering heat. "That's why you have to promise me that after we finish this game, we'll meet up, what do you say?"
 
Trevor cast a sidelong glance to Zira, listening to her response as he wondered at the drastic difference their lifestyles might have been. Would they have even met if this hadnt been a death game? It didn't seem likely, as without the pairing he would have probably played solo for the first few levels... the thought made him shake his head before listening to the rest of Zira's thoughts.

He smiled as she spoke of not regretting her time here, enough that she actually was enjoying her time. He couldn't deny feeling similarly, almost preferring this time than if the game had been normal. He stopped walking, turning towards her as she made her request. He smiled to her as he responded, "I... Would like that. I mean... it could be difficult. I mean... what would we do? We can't exactly go level up..."

He moved a hand to the back of his neck, now nervous. He was trying to word his thoughts well, not sure of how to put them. He liked how they were now, but he worried that if they met outside of the game... Would she still see him as Raziel? Or would they be meeting new people? The thought was difficult, but he sought to properly deliver his feelings. "I'm not some badass that drives forward and kills all the bosses in real life. I'm Trevor there, the old doesnt-get-out-enough, sleeps-too-much, probably-gets-old-after-a-minute Trevor," he continued, turning then to move towards the town once more.
 
Zira couldn’t help herself but let a few light-hearted laughs escape her. She admired his honesty, especially if he worded it in that way. “Of course, there are things we can do, we don’t have to kill bosses to have fun in real life.” Placing a thoughtful finger on her chin she would ponder at the possibilities, before excitedly gasping as some ideas sprung to mind. “Like, we could go go-karting, head to an arcade, an amusement park.” As she counted off the options she would stick a finger out for each one, proving that they could indeed figure something out.

“Don’t think too much about it now, though. We have to figure out how to end this first.” She stood closer by him, arms almost brushing as they swung to the beat of their steps. The quest that they had to turn in was just ahead of them. As she stepped near the NPC first she would turn in the quest to receive their item for future use as well as their well-earned experience. As predicted, Ziv leveled up, glowing a bright yellow before the sparkles subsided. The item stored away in her inventory was a red cloak with a flame-like effect towards the hem, increasing temperature in cooler levels. Just thinking of the added heat right now made her uneasy, but she would be grateful in the long run.

“I know it’s a little early, but since we’ve already done so much on this floor perhaps tomorrow we can try and find the boss? Or first look for an item that may help reduce the temperature? I heard that there was an area with lava that has cooled, and within that cooled lava there is a white rose that gives you a trinket to help stand the heat.” Zira would tell Trevor of what she heard, motioning for the duo to head back to the AC and rest for the day as they worked tirelessly.
 
Raziel walked back towards their room as he clicked through his stats, checking all of the updates the new level granted him. He nodded to Ziv as she spoke, responding, "It could be good to prepare. There might be a setting within the boss chamber that the rose could help nullify... Worst case, we don't feel as cruddy while fighting," he mused over the thought as he tapped his side lightly. It would be good to get off this floor sooner rather than later, but they couldn't sacrifice proper planning and preparation just because they were uncomfortable.

Once they were in their room, Trevor changed to his casual clothes, the lighter clothes making him feel better. He sprawled out on his bed as he let out a sigh. "We've been doing all the work. We should take a break soon, let someone else find the boss..." he said, only half joking. They had found the previous two floors bosses, and were currently leading the pack at finding the one on this floor. It was likely due to their high level, but they would need to break reliance from other players fairly soon. He turned his head to Zira, offering her a warm smile. "Next floor, let's do the primary quests, and then we'll take a few days of vacation. Go relax, maybe do some shopping... We won't lose our lead by too much, will just give the guilds a chance to work their members," he asked, wondering her opinion on the matter.
 
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