A blank stare stretched the Lyorn's face. She spent a good chunk of time, looking for maps that could lead her to a good result for the rumor. A nice ship, with the fresh, salty air of the sea to fill her nose, the rolling waves to bless her ears, and the bright, warm feeling of the sun... Only half of that was true as the sun was there, but "warm" would be furthest from the truth. Instead, it beat down hard on the Lyorn as she swiped the sweat from her brow.

"Sand... of course there be sand... BUT WHY IS IT EVERYWHERE?!" the stretch of desert around her broke away any semblance of a normal beach adventure, but at least the rumor was true! Before her stood the massive vessel, perched high and still as the rough winds blew against its walls. A hole rested around the port bow of the vessel, as if inviting those who came in to hunker down from the sun or a possible sandstorm.

"Its alright... its alright. If it was a normal ship, then reaching the Captain's quarters would be too easy. Its to be expected! Its... to be... expected..." A flutter of feathers rang in her ear as a baby Clearsky Parrot landed on her shoulder, with the Elf Beast curling her finger to nuzzle its chin. "Its okay, Adina. All we have to do now is wait for the others."

Not long after the two arrived did the final member of the party appear and approach them, a look of confusion on his face. From Resin's BBS thread, he was under the impression that they'd be on a ship in the middle of the sea. While there was certainly a large metallic ship, they weren't sailing on it. In fact, it was rusted, dilapidated, and beached. In the middle of a desert, far from the oceans' waters. From the looks of it, the goal was to find their destination from the bottom up. An interesting image, for sure, but it still wasn't what was advertised to him.

"I see that I'm both fashionably late and fashionably mismatched." Annoyed as his tone was, his statement was made purely in light-hearted jest. Just as he said he would be, he was dressed in a now setting-inappropriate pirate captain's garb which he, in his words, 'procured' from Nifl Phant. 'Commandeered' through hacking, of course, would have been a more appropriate term, but he certainly wasn't going to tell anyone that. It was the same outfit he wore in its duration, and he got a little attached to it. So... he took it. Not like there were any immediate plans to bring that area or event back. And if anyone asked, he simply earned them through a hidden subevent. That was believable enough, right? "Seriously, dude, I feel overdressed now. You didn't check this place out beforehand, Resin? If I had known, would've opted to wear some sort of desert cloak or something." Vance lifted his shoulders in a shrug; it was far too late now, in any case. Might as well keep wearing the outfit, too; it was purely cosmetic.

"Well, enough about that. In any case, it's good to see you." At that, he turned from Resin to Mouse. She looked a little different from when he last saw her, but he could tell it was still her. "You as well, Mouse. Didn't take you to be a rumor chaser as well," he said with a polite smile. They still didn't know each other all that well, but hopefully, she'd be a bit more comfortable with him compared to last time.

Noticing the Clearsky Parrot accompanying its owner, the Crusader decided to call forth his own pet. "Thankfully, I think I have one that fits. Myfanwy." At the utterance of her name, a floating ball of light flashed beside Finiraldi, and soon appeared a violet-haired, child-like water nymph carrying what seemed to be an everflowing jar of spring water barely under her size to carry, despite showing no clear signs of struggle keeping it up. Vance's Spirt of the Springs glanced curiously at the two faces unfamiliar to her, before focusing her attention back on her owner. "There. Now won't have to worry about going delirious in this desert without--" He couldn't finish the joke before a blast of liquid doused him in the face and interrupted him. "...water." Not a minute too soon did the Spirit manipulate the water flowing from her jarVance pinched the bridge of his nose in restrained annoyance as Myfanwy giggled mischievously. No hesitation whatsoever.

Mongoose!? Mouse's nervous disposition shifted ever so slightly in favor of laughs. She shook her head and crossed her arms playfully in response to Resin's antics. So it seemed Resin was a student! Before the runechemist could wish her the best and good luck changing majors, the sound of Vance gating in stole her attention. It seemed he had, in fact, taken the pirate outfit thing seriously.

So, Resin and Vance must know each other. She couldn't help but grin at Vance's criticism of the map not fitting the mood of the posting or the attire and Resin firing right back at him. When Vance turned to face Mouse, she beamed up at him. "Ah, y-yes, actually! I find rumors within The World fascinating, who knows what we will actually find?" Her small voice held a tone of genuine excitement that took priority over her nervousness.

As the party invites were sent, Mouse quickly accepted. "Oh! So you have a little friend too, huh Van-?" Just as she was about to ask about Myfanwy, the little critter was dousing him with water! So as not to laugh aloud, she politely placed a hand over her mouth and turned to face Resin, who seemed to be more than ready to go. "Aye aye, captain!"

Following along was easy enough, Mouse also appreciated Resin speaking her thoughts out loud. It was good for everyone to be on the same page. She looked around at what she could see in the somewhat darkened ship as the lyron theorized the layout. At the sight of the two large scorpions, Mouse instinctively pulled a weapon from her inventory. To her surprise, it was actually her broadsword, Yomi, within her hands. Hadn't she selected her staff..?

"Hey! You did say that, Vance!" Mouse grinned in agreement with Resin. For now, she would run with this. Theta was a harder difficulty than Delta, but it was about time the runechemist ventured out to more challenging areas. And getting in practice with her broadsword was important, too. It seemed it would be a fun day of new challenges all around. If things got too difficult, it was as simple as a switch of weapons. For now, she kept an eye on the scorpions- Just in case!

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Anger Gauge: ✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ HP: 100% SP: 100%

Vance certainly had his fair share of charming items! Never really expected him to be such a hoarder, but nevertheless, her choice was clear: The normal captain's tricorne. After all, she was a Lyorn, whose lore stated her to be a pack leader and it would be a shame to take the joy away from such an innocent spirit! "Now then, crew, I saw it's time for our morning exercises, and who better to give us a stretch than them?" Taking the hat in hand, she set it on her head before her hands flared up with golden fur, taking use of her Lyorn claws. After all, her class got a bit of a rework during the rework, so she had to test it out! It may be more of a support lean, but I'll still make good of it, she thought as she immediately activated her Awakened skill.

Status change:
Mouse: [Lyorn]
Vance: [Lyorn]
Resin: [Awake-[[ERROR]]

As soon as Lynn struck the key to the skill, everything felt wrong. Her eyes began to dilate. Her ears were met with a strange ring. And her head, oh her head! It was like a single needle poking a part of her brain, but it felt like a javelin being jammed in. All of this coming out of no where before finally her vision whiting out, her body falling limp in her chair, passed out.

"AAAAAAAAAaaaAAaaaAAaaAhhHHhHhH!!!" distorted from the Lyorn's mouth, gripping her head as she seemed to struggle with a mental being driving into her head, all the while the data around her beginning to distort. Her model was struggling to keep form as white noise seemed to have found itself attracted to her, swirling around her body until she was completely engulfed. The scream turned muffled before dulling down to quiet as the static simply swirled, visually unpenetrable until, at least a pair of red gleams broke through.

Status Change:
Resin: [Awakened] >> [Feral]

A figure flew out of the digital storm, quick to latch itself to the bac of one of the scorpions. Human in form, certainly, not not what anyone would expect. Skin now adhering a dull purple, hair flowing in long, golden locks town to her tail, red markings to help cover up her fairly exposed form, but most importantly, the sharp, red nails that dug into the back of the scorpion prey. It was as if Resin became a new entity, driven into a primal rage as she clawed and tore away, not caring about the scorpion claws or tail trying to get at her.

The choice having been made, the Candy-striped Coat was stashed away back into Vance's inventory, as Myfanwy almost immediately snatched the Candy-striped Hat from her master's hand in order to replace the tricorne that was taken from her, a pout on her face as she still struggled to wear it properly.

As the Crusader adjusted it properly for the young spirit, he immediately froze up as he was taken aback by an odd chime. One that, in the deep recesses of his memories, he was subconsciously familiar with. One that caused his player's hands to tremble as if he were fighting back against something he'd rather forget. Squeezing them tightly to calm his nerves, He looked up just in time to see the completion of the Lyorn's unusual transformation. Unsure of what to make of it, he stood back, wary, as he watched as she began her violent assault upon the enemy group, paying no head to her surroundings or the attacks directed at her.

He managed to catch Mouse's muttered words as his gaze was trained on the seemingly berserk Lyorn, who mauled away at the scorpion monsters with reckless abandon. He tried his best to think back to his duel with Resin long ago, back during the Sprite Festival Tournament. She already had her class extension back then, and the Crusader did vaguely recall a passive skill that was most likely the predecessor to the active skill she just used. What he was certain about, at least, was that the previous skill's effect was nowhere near as drastic. Whether or not the change in her now was an intentional, potential side effect remained uncertain.

He finally responded back to the Runechemist in the same hushed tones that she had spoken with moments before. "I'm only familiar with her class's kit from before the skill overhaul. Nothing I've seen her use back then made her like... this, though. So either this is new, or something happened. Go ahead and join the fray for now; I'll figure this out. Just give me a heads up if things go south," he whispered, giving Mouse the last-minute warning as he examined the UI and tried to make sense of the party's current status changes. 'Feral' was enough to give one cause to worry; the name alone carried the implications that she was out-of-control and berserk, liable to turn on the rest at any moment. If Mouse was going to continue to fight alongside Resin while she was in that state, the former needed to know the risk.

The 'Lyorn' status effect, meanwhile, seemed to be much more normal and was likely part of what Resin intended to do in the first place, rather than the uncontrollable state that was currently driving her aggressive rampage. It was a rather unique buff that, rather than boost the status holders directly, made the actual Lyorn more and more into a glass cannon based on the number of party members whose race she converted, and upon closer inspection with a switch to third-person camera mode, also seemed to alter an individual's racial traits for some. At least for Vance, he noticed the pointed ears that began to take shape. Did the Awakened skill alter his human blood to that of an elf's? And if so, did that mean that Mouse would also momentarily become an Elf Beast, like how Resin's class change had permanently changed the former Lei Tribe Beastman?

Claude decided against taking the time to look, feeling that getting answers took immediate precedence. Rather than try to talk to the now-savage Resin, however, he instead attempted to reach Resin's player directly through Party text chat, hoping that she'd be able to respond despite her character's state. Vance stepped a safe enough distance away from the battle, the clacking sounds of his player's mechanical keyboard leaking from his audio output, as he typed away in a rush, not realizing that he would not get an answer back.

Vance Finiraldi: Hey, is that an intended consequence of your skill? If so, you probably should have warned us.

Moments passed, and it became increasingly clear that he would not be getting a response. A look of uncertain apprehension was on Vance's face as he immediately switched out the Divine Popsicle for his actual primary weapon, the silver schiavona broadsword he named 'Saiorse'. Rushing forward and avoiding the scorpion that the Lyorn was directly engaging with, he drew his arm back and plunged the tip of the blade into the carapace of the one that Mouse was fending off, following up after the slash she made with her own sword. He hoped that his high level would be enough to help finish it off so that he and Mouse would have less to contend with while they tried to figure out what to do with Resin.

As Vance joined the fold to finish off the scorpion she was working on, Mouse couldn't help but notice his change in appearance- Obviously not as noticeable and flashy as Resin's, but- Wait. Lily toggled her own camera perspective and held a hand over her mouth to silence her gasp. With her free hand, Mouse felt at her ears, mimicking the motion Lily was making from behind the screen. It would seem part of the Lyorn's power was altering the race of her party as well, which was interesting. Doing a quick look over, nothing else seemed to change. For now, Mouse would have to put that on the back burner.

She shifted her focus back to her party, especially Resin. As the lyron looked at her and Vance, her eyes were so intense. Mouse wasn't sure exactly what was going on through her head, but she did leisurely lower her sword to her hip- though she would not drop the eye contact. Her posture tightened a bit as Resin finally spoke words.

It was.. Strange listening to her in the moment. At first, Mouse was sure she could not understand a word of what Resin was saying, but a burning sensation in the back of her brain caused her to wince. The sentence repeated itself again in her mind, but in a way Mouse understood- though it was a bit garbled with static. "E-eh? Hume-babes? What?" Her gaze flickered to Vance for only a moment before looking back towards Resin.

That fire remained lit in her brain, what exactly was this girl playing at? And why were her words unclear until Mouse went over them again in her head? There was no way that was part of her power, telepathy? Impossible. "Listen, Resin- You can hear me right?" She spoke softly towards the party leader while making sure to keep a respectable distance. "A-Are you good? When you activated your special skill it seemed- a bit strange. I've never seen it before, so maybe it's fine, but I just-" She paused. Was any of this getting through to her?

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Anger Gauge: ✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧ HP: 100% SP: 100%

Why... Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY?! echoed in the mind of the beast before them. Why do they smell like those traitorous gods? Have they affected their minds after what they did to our kind? Her claws scratched through the invading sand as she clenched her fist. Their guards were up, for sure. Were they taught to treat her as a threat? No. They're scared, not aggressive. And the tone of voice from the cubbed-one was worried. For what though?



"<<Who is this Resin you speak of?>>" left her lips bluntly before confusion began to wash over her eyes. Wait... Wait... My name? What is my name?! She clutched her head, as if trying to dig through the minds of her memory. "<<Damn it all, why can I not recall?! Ugh, don't tell me its because of their curse!>>" Her nose twitched again before her attention was drawn away. Her eyes were shifted back and up as a growl filled her voice. "Fol...set..." No doubt. The scent of the god came in strong, washing in to a part of the area before beginning to wash away. "<<DO NOT RUN, YOU DAMNED GOD! YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR WHAT YOU DONE TO US!>>" barked from her lips as she began to run deeper into the vessel.



It did not take long for Douken's name to go from Online to off, abandoning the dungeon he was in to hurry to the car. If what Vance said is true, then something must have happened. "Of all the time for her parents to go on vacation," he muttered under his breath as he began to pull out for Lynn's home.