SAO Remastered (Closed for Lucian_Devine)

[Lucian_Devine]

Zeke waited patiently as Parsley ordered what she wanted, happy that she was feeling comfortable enough to order not one, but three appetizers. She didn't feel quite comfortable enough to order any alcohol, but the night was young, and it didn't mean that he couldn't order a bottle of wine for them.

When Parsley finished ordered her drinks, and the waitress turned to him, Zeke smiled up at her. "I think I'll get both as well, and to drink, I think I'll get a Coke and..." he lowered his gaze to the menu, looking over the wine selection while also considering what kind of steak he planned to have. "...and a bottle of red Zinfandel please."

"Alright, I'll put those appetizer orders in for you, and get your drinks for shortly." The waitress said with a nod and a smile to each of them after she wrote everything down. She then took a small step backwards before turning around and stepping out of the out of the booth's aura.

Zeke waited until the aura turned blue once more before turning towards Parsley. The smile was still on his face, but it was admittedly a bit forced because of what he was about to say. "As much as I would like to say that this night is purely about celebrating, and me searching you out was purely out of curiosity, I have to come clean about something, Parsley. I do and did have an ulterior motive, though it's hopefully not what you think." His smile faded as he let out heavy sigh, meeting her gaze with his light brown one. "You talked about what you planned to do when the other higher-level players moved on, but you didn't mention the boss fight itself. I was wondering whether or not you planned to join the boss fight, or if there was anything I could say or do to convince you to join in the battle, if you'd decided not to. There is a meeting tomorrow, in Tolbana, to strategize for the fight."

After he finished speaking, Zeke fell silent, but held Parsley's gaze as his words hung in the air between them. they both knew what was on the line, and what they were risking if they went to the boss fight. Yes, she could say no, likely would...but he'd never know if he didn't ask.

 

[Poprockz]

She stiffened at the mention of ulterior motives, her gaze becoming more guarded. Though when he revealed what he was truly after, she felt a sinking in her heart. It seemed as though something inside her she had feared this possibility- that he was seeking her for the boss fight. It was only natural that the higher level players would seek as many reinforcements as they could find to have a better chance against the boss.

"I..." Her lip trembled and she broke their eye-contact, a hand coming up to cover her mouth and rub her face in a troubled manner. There was silence for a moment as she composed herself, and then she lowered her hand to nervously fidget with the table's napkins.

"I can't." Parsley cleared her throat. "When I started helping with the raids, they offered gold, rewards, and gear to Ballista in the hopes of drawing me out, but I didn't take them. I didn't take them because I didn't want anyone to know who I was. I thought that if they knew, they might rely on me more than they already did. I'm... not a hero. I'm just some cashier that ended up in this game by chance. I don't want to risk it- I don't want to risk dying when I know they have to be working on some sort of technical fix on the outside. We just have to be patient and wait it out." There was desperation in her voice, as well as a profound fear. Her hands had started to tremble as she continued to fidget with the napkin.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Zeke saw Parsley stiffen up when he mentioned having an ulterior motive, and he saw the shift in her gaze immediately. In fact, he could almost feel the atmosphere in the tiny aura of the booth, and between them as a whole change. He heard her speak her first word, her lip trembling before she broke eye contact and covered her mouth with her napkin. His hand reflexively reached for her, but he caught himself quickly, not quickly enough to not be awkwardly hovering over his side of the booth for a couple of seconds before he pulled it back, but enough that she wouldn't likely have to flinch away from his touch.

As Parsley composed herself, the pair sat in silence, awkward and devastated silence. Zeke knew there was nothing he could say or do in this moment to make it any better though, given that he'd caused it. So he simply tried in vain to swallow the massive lump in his throat as he waited. Eventually, after he wasn't sure how long she lowered her hand from her mouth, to fidget with the table's napkins.

When Parsley was finally composed enough to speak, Zeke listened. He didn't cut her off or otherwise interrupt her. He just listened, and only when she was done, but still fidgeting with her napkin, did he finally speak. "Everything you are saying...everything you are feeling...makes perfect sense, and if I were in your position, with the information you have, I'd probably be saying the exact same thing."

Zeke still looked at Parsley, even though her gaze had dropped from his, and his hands clasped on the table. Yes, his profile was public, but people rarely looked at this particular part of it. "Hell...I was supposed to be in your position..." He continued slowly, his voice low as his eyes glazed over. He remembered the day like it was yesterday instead of almost a month ago. "I had the day off, had had it off ever since they announced the release date. I was waiting in line like everyone else, ignoring my phone, because nothing was going to stop me from getting this game and it's hardware. I was on my way home when I finally checked my messages. I'm an IT supervisor for a subsidiary for a major car company. The whole system went down, and our bank was going down. If the bank hits 0, the customer has nothing to make their cars with, and they are shut down on our account, and according to our joint contract, they charge us for every minute. It wasn't my problem, but they offered me double time to come in, then triple time. I got them up to triple time and a week of PTO before I finally agreed to go in. I figured one day wouldn't make that much difference, but by the time I solved the system issue and got home, the word was out about the game and it's deadly patch."

A big lump was forming in Zeke's throat, but he forced himself to swallow despite it. "They pulled the game off the shelves of course, and there were massive recalls, massive news covered tracking streamers and the first floor progress, but there was no good way to reach the people who'd already purchased a copy. I watched the news coverage, saw the floor, and figured out the sequence to trigger the boss spawn. I've always been pretty good at puzzles. There was just so many of you, and one person entering the wrong tower in the wrong tower would reset the whole puzzle. The bigger problem though, was that you were all stuck inside, with no way for me to help you. I watched the news for progress, over two-hundred dead the first day, over five-hundred the first week...After two weeks, I couldn't take it anymore." His hands slowly unclasped and reached across the table to wrap around hers. "My sister is a nurse. So I knew that she'd know how to take care of my body, or when to take me to a hospital. We grew up in an abusive household, so I knew that she'd understand why I felt I had to help if I could. I told the pattern to everybody I helped and traded with as I leveled up, hoping that the information would make it to the higher level players, and eventually it did. I doubt I'm strong enough to participate, but I'll be going to the meeting all the same."

 

[Poprockz]

Her brows furrowed in confusion at his first statement. It didn't make sense why he was talking as though the two of them were different in that regard.

As he continued though, the realization of what he was implying slowly dawned on her. Her eyes became wide in disbelief. No... it couldn't be...! Her hand came up slowly and she toggled his profile, checking his login date. It was two weeks after the release of the game. As crazy as his claim was, there was no way he could fudge the numbers on that. This man had actually volunteered to enter the death game. No one hired him. No one forced him. He had simply donned the gear with full awareness of the situation and put his own life at risk.

She didn't pull away from him, but it was hard to think of what to say. All she could utter for the moment was a question.

"But... they were working on helping us out, right? They have IT and tech people looking into it, right?" Her words were spoken as though she feared what his answer might be.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Zeke saw the realization dawn on Parsley's face as he spoke, and he made no attempt to hold her hand back when she lifted it to open the menu and do as he'd said, toggle his profile to check his login date. They all shared the same date, but he knew that his would be different, by a noticeable bit. Her first question, when it came, was an understandable one, but sadly, the answer he had for her, was not the one she wanted.

This time, it was Zeke's turn to break eye contact, his gaze lowering from Parsley's as his bottom lip found it's way between his teeth. He'd expected this question, practiced the answer, but that didn't make actually saying it any easier, especially after his hands reflexively tightened on her remaining hand within his.

"Yes...they are..." Zeke started at last, finally lifting his light brown gaze back to Parsley's. "...but...with a game this big, he briefly tore his gaze from her to look around them before returning it to hers once more, and an unexpected patch, they have to pour through every line of code...one by one...to find the one or ones that Kayaba altered delete the altered code. What's worse, is that they have to do it without one of their lead programmers, since he's naturally not helping." He paused there, inhaling deep and letting out a heavy sigh before speaking again. The real problem though, is that after they've done that, and even if they are sure that everything is perfect, they aren't sure that they can implement the update patch with the server running. They'd have to shut it down to patch the game, and if they shut it down with the server active and the current patch live...all of you...I mean us...die. Even if they thought they found a work around, I don't know if they'd risk it with so many lives on the line. I mean, this is Kayaba we're talking about. If he anticipated their move, and they try it..." He couldn't finish his sentence. He just slowly shook his head.

Thankfully though, Zeke didn't have to finish that sentence, because the waitress arrived at that exact moment with their appetizers and drinks. He pulled his hands back from Parsley's hand as the aura turned green, looking up at the woman and forcing a smile to his face as she set everything down. He thanked her with as much politeness as he could force at that moment, especially when he saw that she'd brought them two wine glasses. When the woman asked if the two were ready to order, he told her they'd need a minute, figuring that that was either true, or that they wouldn't be staying, depending on Parsley. He then waited for the woman to leave, the aura to turn blue, and he happily popped the cork on the bottle of wine, thankful that it was chilled without him having to ask for it.

"Now, with all that said..."Zeke started as he poured himself a full glass of wine and started to pour Parsley a full glass of wine as well. "I could use a drink. How about you, Parsley?" He continued, holding his in his right hand, and offering her full glass to her in his left.

 

[Poprockz]

The full glass of wine was accepted and lifted to her lips, the glass tipped up as she drank one gulp, two, three... soon the glass was drained and set back down on the table with a dull clink. She didn't truly taste it, but for the fruity, bitter aftertaste on her tongue. Normally she wouldn't have indulged at all, but she was feeling particularly in need of comfort after what he had revealed to her.

"Yes, thank you." She mumbled.

There was something to be said for keeping one's head down, keeping constant vigilance, and ensuring survival until the fated day of rescue came, but now she knew that the day was not coming. They were all trapped there indefinitely while their real bodies became feeble from lack of use. It was akin to being told that one had a terminal illness, the woman practically feeling the limited time of her life pressing down on her.

He could be lying, of course. But why would he? The fact that it had been a month with no change from the outside supported his claims.

As she looked down at her appetizers, she wondered how many meals like this she would have until a giant crushed her under its club, or a tree spirit speared her through the chest? Once again she felt tears well up in her eyes, and despite her best efforts, they started to trickle down. They were immediately wiped away as she tried to control herself.

“Sorry,” she said quietly, looking toward the inner part of the booth to avoid people giving them funny looks. It would be awkward for him if people thought he made her cry or something. “I uh, I’ll be okay, just give me a minute and I’ll be fine.”

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Zeke was happy that Parsley took the glass, but surprised, though he likely shouldn't have been, when she took first one gulp from it, then two...then three, and kept going until she drained it and set it down with a dull clink. He of course couldn't blame her. He likely would have done the exact same thing if he'd been in her seat. "Any time, Parsley." He said softly before taking a couple swallows of his own glass and setting it down.

With her glass now empty, Zeke watched Parsley as she looked down at the appetizers. He couldn't really tell what she was thinking, but given what he'd just told her, and how she'd just gulped down an entire glass of wine, he could guess that they weren't particularly happy thoughts.

Zeke didn't see the tears trickle down Parsley's cheeks, but he saw her wipe them away, and of course heard her words addressing them and saw her turn a concerning glance to the side at the people who might see her crying and wonder what might have caused it, or what he might have said or done to cause it. His gaze lowered for a moment as he considered his options before he settled on one.

Taking his glass in one of his large hands and the bottle of win in the other, Zeke slid out of the booth and took a step towards Parsley's side of the booth. "If I may?" He asked softly and politely, making his intention to sit beside her known. A simple nod and slight shift later, and he settled beside her. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Parsley." He said as he turned a bit more fully towards her, his larger frame being more than enough to shield her smaller one from any potential prying eyes while she composed herself. "I mean, you'd have to be a psychopath to not feel anything after news like that." He said, half-joking, hoping to try and lighten the mood at least a little.

 

[Poprockz]

She tilted her head back and forth with a look that said, ‘that’s fair.’ How would the others react if they were given the same news? probably similarly, though many would get really angry, she assumed. As cheerful and boisterous as they were right now, on normal days griping about how unfair their circumstances were was a regular occurrence.

Maybe some of them had guessed that help wasn’t coming at this point. How then were they able to celebrate so whole-heartedly? She held her wine glass by the stem and slid it towards him in a nonverbal request for more.

“Why take that risk?” Parsley finally asked. “You were safe on the outside, and even if your help means we defeat the first boss, it’s just the first. There are a hundred floors. The odds of you surviving… the odds of anyone surviving all the way to the top are low. It’s basically like throwing your life away. Did you really have nothing worth living for out there?” She didn’t mean it as a slight or anything; she was genuinely asking. Were their positions switched, she knew she wouldn’t have entered the game.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Zeke kept his gaze on Parsley as she thought over what he said and seemed to agree with it, given her head movements, though his eyes did flick down to the glass she lowered to the table and slid towards him. He let out a soft chuckle before taking a couple big swallows from his own glass, setting it down, and reaching for the large bottle of wine. He was just about to start pouring the wine when she voiced her question, but her words made his hand freeze in the air above her glass. He listened to what she said, not just heard, but listened to every word before he finally poured her another full glass.

"A fair question to be sure..." Zeke started, nodding as he slid the full glass of wine back towards Parsley and picked up his glass once more. "I'll start with your last question first." He took another swallow of wine. "I'm admittedly not married or in a relationship, though I did enjoy my job and the people I worked with. My parents got divorced when I was five, leaving my sister, Zyra and me with my mom. He paid child support on time, but that was the extent of his participation in our lives. As for my mom, well, she moved from one failure of a relationship to another before finding the grand daddy of them all when I was fourteen. He loved to drink, and when he got home from the bar, he'd pick a fight with the first person he saw. If I was home, and from every night after that first, I made damn sure that I was, I would say or do whatever I had to in order to make sure that he targeted me instead of my mom or my sister." He took several swallows from his glass before topping it off from the bottle, taking a long and deep breath before raising the glass towards her in a silent cheers and continuing. "I tried the cops, CPS, and so on, and they all told me the same thing. I could get myself out easily enough, but I couldn't get my sister out without my mom's signature or testimony. Hell, even if I did, there was no guarantee that we'd end up in the same place. So I didn't have much choice but to endure whatever shit he was going to dish out, be it verbal or physical, and just call the cops if it got really bad, since that tended to calm him down for the night. I got his license taken away twice for drunk driving, the second time for five years, which he naturally resented me for. I stuck it out for six years, until I was twenty. I could have left when I was eighteen and a legal adult, but I wasn't about to leave my sister Zyra in that situation all by herself. When she moved out at nineteen, I was gone the next day. I figured my mom was a grown woman, old enough to make and deal with her own mistakes. I stayed for Zyra and Zyra alone. She's the one taking care of my body, and when I showed up at her place with the box in my hand, she knew what I was doing. She knew why, and she even knew what my avatar's name was going to be. Video games were our outlet during those six years, one of the few things that we could do together during those six years and still get our mutual anger and frustration out. She always loved to be a damage dealer, but I was always the tank, standing in front of her so that she could just unload on the enemies. Zeke was the physical embodiment of what I couldn't be and couldn't do. Further more, whenever we encountered a puzzle, or if she was playing a game and had a puzzle she couldn't figure out, she'd always call me. I just have a knack for puzzles, patterns, and the like. She liked to joke about me having an elephant brain because of my memory and knack for puzzles, and a few years ago for my birthday, the first birthday after we'd started living in separate homes, she bought me a little stuffed elephant. It's sitting next to my head in the real world, right now, and likely will be until I have to be moved to a hospital."

Zeke paused after he finished talking about his sister, taking several drinks from his wine glass before he finally started to speak once more. "As for your first questions, and why I'd risk it, that's easy enough. I wouldn't be able to live with myself, let alone get a good night's sleep ever again if I didn't at least try. Yeah, there are one-hundred floors, with plenty more puzzles and bosses to come, but I'd rather try and fail than leave you all to your fate. Besides, if I can't solve the puzzles alone, there are tons of people here to bounce ideas off of and brainstorm with. Two heads are better than one and all that."

As Zeke finished his story, the waitress approached the table again, and just as before, the aura surrounding it flickered from blue to green. "Have you two had a chance to look over the menu, or do you need another minute?

"I know what I'd like..." Zeke started simply, turning his gaze from the waitress to Parsley. "...You?" He asked her, both asking if she'd decided on what she wanted, and giving her the opportunity to order first.

 

[Poprockz]

That was… some deep stuff. It just went to show that one could never tell what someone else had gone through just by looking at them. He was tall and muscled, seemingly more than capable of taking care of himself and his sister, but perhaps his workouts had been a response to feeling helpless as a kid.

Parsley herself had 2 siblings, both of which didn’t talk to her much these days. They were never super close. She was the middle child and had been unplanned, unlike the other two. They were largely hands-off parents, but most of their attention went to her surgeon older brother, and her social media influencer little sister. As far as they were concerned, she was probably a failure. That was part of the reason she didn’t reach out to them more than the occasional holiday or birthday. They likely had no idea she was in the game, even a month after. If it hadn’t been for her friend Jenny, no one would have found her and her cat would have eaten her (not that she would blame him).

Telling him she was sorry he went through that didn’t feel like enough; at the same time she doubted her sympathies would change anything, let alone be meaningful to a man she had just met. It sounded like he hadn't had a very happy childhood at all. While her own childhood was hardly filled with love and warmth, she hadn't ever had to fear for her safety or the safety of her siblings. It occurred to her that maybe that was part of why he came into the game: he felt a duty to protect others, to use what power he had to prevent as much harm as he could.

“Your mom sure had a thing for Z names…” She thought aloud. If that wasn’t the dumbest response one could make to all that, she couldn’t think of one. She kicked herself for blurting out such an inadequate reply to such hardship.

She was just about to apologize for it when the waiter came over, thankfully saving her from further putting her foot in her mouth. Parsley cleared her throat awkwardly and quickly looked over the menu one last time.

“I’ll uh... I'll have the coffee-crusted duck, please," The menu was folded up and handed to the waitress. Upon doing so, she reached out and took her wine-glass in hand once more, deciding that this glass needed to be drained as well. She was starting to feel it, seeing as she hadn't been giving her appetizers the attention they deserved. Holding one's liquor wasn't her strong suit, being a shorter woman, but that didn't seem like an issue to her at the moment.

So what if she got drunk? It wasn't as though she had much to live for now. She could ask the waitress to spend the night at the inn's "drunk tank" which was basically a hostel for those too drunk to walk home. It wasn't free, but it wouldn't bankrupt her either.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Zeke was in the middle of taking a drink of wine when Parsley mused aloud about his mom liking Z names, and her words made him laugh, sputtering into his glass, which timed perfectly with the waitress showing up, making him look like a fool in front of not just one woman, but two. He didn't really mind it though, because it was a bonding moment if nothing else.

When Parsley finished her order and reached for her glass of wine, the waitress turned her attention to Zeke. "And I'll have the ribeye steak, medium-rare, with mashed potatoes and gravy." He said, passing his folded menu to the waitress.

"Okay, I'll put those in for you right away." The waitress said with a final smile at each of them, taking the folded menus, stepping back, and turning away.

Zeke once again waited until the waitress was gone and the aura around them turned blue before he turned his attention from the waitress' retreating form back to Parsley. "The Z names are only a part of the similarities." He started, bringing them back to their previous conversation. "With both of our birthdays being in September, that leads me to one simple conclusion." He paused, giving Parsley a moment to potentially come draw her own conclusion or more before saying what he believed. "Our mom REALLY loved to ring in the new year!" He finished, chuckling as he once again lifted his glass at her in a form of cheer before taking another sip.

 

[Poprockz]

While the waitress took his order, she finally tried the pot pie and it was insanely good. So much better than anything she had eaten this past month.

Her glass had already been drained well before he raised his own for a cheer, but she politely lifted hers regardless. Huh. So his mom felt frisky at the turn of the year, it seemed. It wasn't like she only had sex at that time, so it was still really lucky that the two of them ended up being conceived in the same month.

'New Year, new baby,' she silently mused to herself. Though she wasn't going to say it, she was glad his mother had stopped at two. More children would have just made things worse for the family and resulted in more people being subjected to his shitty step-dad.

"I have two siblings: Alecia and Robert. Robert's the oldest, I'm the middle, and Alecia's the "baby." We were kinda just... roommates growing up though, if that makes sense." There was a shrug before she continued. "Anyway, I'm sorry I dredged up some painful stuff for you. But... it sounds like you're more suited for this sort of thing. I'm not. I don't even really play video games normally. I'm a regular at the local arcade which is how I ended up winning this game, but those types of games are different. Being part of a team... I'd only let everyone down when it counted." She looked down into her wineglass, her gaze distant as though she was recalling something that made her heart clench.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Just as he'd truly listened before, Zeke continued to pay attention to Parsley now, his light brown eyes shining rather than glazing over as the eyes of many a man would. He nodded as she talked about her siblings and how they'd grown up as more roommates than siblings in her mind. "Yeah, that does make sense." He said before she continued and apologized for dredging up his past. He though, just chuckled at that. "Nah, you have nothing to be sorry for, as for me... I sadly wouldn't be the man I am today if I hadn't gone through all of it."

Zeke heard Parsley's comments about how she came to possess the game, why she was reluctant to join the raid, and generally be a part of the team, and the biggest problem with what she was saying was that it was hard for him to argue with her logic. His gaze wavered as his fingers fidgeted with his glass, his mind trying to think of something to say.

"What if you didn't think of it as being part of a team...?" Zeke asked at last, his gaze flicking back up to Parsley's, shining a touch brighter with his excitement. "You shot your best when you were alone, right...even when you were aiming close to somebody else, like the warg that was about to kill me when I was on the ground? What if you just tried to think of it that way, just you against the boss, for this one fight, and I will help you with the teamwork aspect afterwards. Does that sound acceptable?

Zeke's eyes shined bright as he posed his question. Yes, he ignored the obvious flaw in the plan, the flaw that one or both of them could be killed by the boss, rendering his payment for her services impossible, but it was truly the best he could offer her that anybody else hadn't. While he waited for her to answer though, it was his turn to reach for an appetizer. He started with a meat pie, picking one up and biting into it, letting out a low groan as his eyes closed at the explosion of flavor in his mouth.

 

[Poprockz]

Think of herself as separate from the group? It was an idea she hadn’t thought of, and she mulled it over while taking another bite of her own appetizer. Damn it was delicious!

Even if she came along with them and stated that she was coming along separately, it didn’t mean that she would be able to avoid people relying on her. In fact, she imagined that they might push her to work in tandem with the team regardless. It was the best way to ensure that they all survived after all, and she understood that. However, she still couldn’t palate the idea of anyone even slightly counting on her support in the wings.

Who knew how she would react in an actual bossfight? Who knew what the boss actually was? Furthermore, if she wasn’t part of the group, then there would be no-one there to support her if she herself got put in a tight spot.

“It’s not that I can’t work in a team, it’s that I’m afraid I’ll crack under the pressure. I’m not brave like Braam. What if I freeze up at a critical time, or someone dies because I couldn’t pull myself together? I don’t want to go through something like that again.” She took another bite of her food and sighed. How could such wonderful food exist?

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Zeke listened as Parsley spoke, one hand reaching for his Coke instead of his wine. When she said she wasn't brave though, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Aren't brave like Braam? Are you kidding? Did anybody force you to pick up the bow, Parsley? Did anybody force you to participate in that first raid, or the second, or the third? Yes, I know what happened during them, because I did my research." Zeke took another drink of Coke as he leaned close, his light brown eyes filled with intensity. "You surprised everyone during that first raid, but they counted on you the second time, and definitely this third time. They went into battle, not knowing that you'd be there, but hoping you would be. How many lives have you saved, Parsley? How many people have you inspired? What's more, how much harder do you think people would fight, just KNOWING that you were there. Even if you aren't at your best, even if you crack, your presence alone is enough to inspire people to greater heights. You're a hero, the Ballista.

 

[Poprockz]

His eyes were rather nice to look at when they sparkled like that, she absentmindedly thought to herself as she listened. Though she had to lean back a little to put a little distance between them.

It wasn't that she was offended or anything, it was more than having a guy's face so close always made her feel self-conscious, being a more shy person herself. Well, having a guy close to her in general made her self-conscious. At the start of him sitting next to her, she had been constantly conscious of not relaxing her legs too much lest she let their thighs touch and make things awkward.

She didn't have much to say to that at the moment, so she simply took a drink of her ginger ale and contemplated. In her opinion it wasn't particularly brave to hide out on a tower taking cheap shots with the help of a ring she got by pure chance, but he wasn't wrong about what people thought of her. There had been more than one occasion where she overheard people excitedly talking about "The Ballista" and about how she was like a guardian angel. At one point she had even been witness to two people getting into a fight about her after someone had badmouthed her. The scene had surprised her tremendously, that someone would defend her with such conviction. She could still remember the words that mage had said:

"Who gives a shit if he or she shows their face or not?! They're actually there, actually doing something. Which is more than I can say for trolls like you who just badmouth them and hide away in the tavern when the horn goes off. You ought to count yourself lucky that you're in this city and not one of the others that don't have someone watching out for them!"

"I'll... think about it." Parsley finally conceded. "What do you know about the first boss, anyway?"

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Hearing Parsley finally concede, even if it was just to say that she'd think about it, made Zeke smile. "That's all I ask." He said, nodding his head in approval. Yes, he could push for more, but doing so could risk losing the progress he'd made with her, and with so many lives on the line, that progress was too important to risk.

Zeke picked up his Coke and a stuffed egg, and was leaning back against the booth, taking a sip and a bite when Parsley asked her question. "Mmm..." Zeke started around a mouthful of food. He took another quick sip and swallowed before opening his menu and giving it a few swipes. "That at least, is a question I CAN answer." He said, turning to her and giving her a wink before selecting an item from his menu and watching the guide book materialize in front of him.

"I got this guide book from one of the beta testers outside the weapon shop. I'm sure that you have one too. I don't know how much you've been keeping up to date with them, but the latest version of it actually does have information on how to defeat the first boss now that we've found him. They were waiting to confirm that it was the same first boss as in the beta before they put it in the latest version."

Setting his Coke down, Zeke held the small book between them, in case Parsley wanted to read it as well. "For starters, the boss won't be alone. He'll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. So we'll need at least 2 tanks for the fight, at least 2 healers, and AoE damage would help. Illfang himself, has a shield, a buckler, and four health bars. Most notably, when his last health bar gets into the red, he's going to switch to a tulwar, and that it's possible for him to change attack patterns."

 

[Poprockz]

She took a bite of her aligot and looked over the guidebook he was sharing. Of course she had glanced at her own every now and then out of curiosity and to make sure there weren't any upcoming surprises, but she hadn't lately. Nowadays she had been more focused on grinding and overcoming the raids to really pay it much mind. Part of her had assumed that no one would bother to make more updates to it.

God, those cheesy potatoes were like crack incarnate.

Not that she'd ever partaken in any hard drugs. She had always been too leery about such things to even try weed, seeing as the idea of being altered in a different way from booze gave her the willies.

"Hmm..." Parlsey thought to herself that the first boss should be pretty low-level as an introductory challenge, but there was really no telling. This wasn't supposed to be an easy game. There was no difficulty setting when one entered, just a steeper challenge the further you got in the game. Based on the trailers, it wasn't supposed to be a brutally difficult one as the developers wanted it to be accessible to more people. However it was supposed to be challenging, and playing a game like this without dying once was the sort of gaming challenge that more experienced gamers liked to try for bragging rights.

If there was a need for AOE attacks, she could see her arrow storm being handy... Not that she was going to be part of the boss fight. Probably.

"Does the boss get reset every time a party goes through, or are people from this floor going to be able to move on to the next floor if they want?" she asked absentmindedly.