#(though if so.. I guess it could also just pass as further Strange Magical Mutations lol)

[lucalicatteart]

 sculpted a strange shimmery two headed snail, speckled with wild flowers on it's shell~

[ofcloudsandstars]

I had a really colourful (but long) dream last night! I haven't had such a vibrant adventurous dream like this in a while. It was very vivid and somewhat thrilling. I used to get them more as I was younger but now the pop up every once in a while.

It is a bit long so I'm going to make a read more

It was sometime in the near/far future and I'd guess I was somewhere warm (yet not tropical??) in south east Asia. I was on a beach with a rich pink sunset, brown sands and castle ruins with this extremely attractive dark skin Indian guy. We were apparently investigating the castle ruins together, flirting, checking out the wildlife and showing off some talents. I had certain magic powers in this world like I could fly gracefully and control things with my will and he was impressing me with his skill of chemistry and showing me local nature I was deeply interested in. The space was beautiful it felt like another planet. The grass was tall and bronze and would glimmer in the setting sun, and the trees I don't know how to describe it but were slightly different with large brown circular leaves.

We were hunting for mutations which I was reading as natural unbalances. Like I vaguely remember it was us looking for strange animals we've never seen before cause nature survived some environmental crash and new species emerged to correct it but humans survived and were still living their old ways but the new creatures, society named mutants and put them of course in a bad light cause they often are the cause of why we can't continue living the same way now that there are 'monsters' lurking out there. Of course the big ones get battled off and killed (though even those are difficult cause some evolved to resist destruction) but the more troubling ones would be like small worms similar to electric eels that have an appetite for electrical wires that destroys cities power systems, or bugs that evolved to thrive in algae polluted waters that make new toxic ecosystems that humans and livestock can't be around.

I was trying to understand these new 'monsters' and was checking out this vibrant blue and neon striped scorpion/lobster crustacean on the beach (apparently locally referred to as tiger scorpion in case you want to know the local names of monster creatures in my dream world), that was threatening to puncture a highly toxic venom in us if we didn't keep away. We clung to the side of the castle as it menaced us but as I made sure we were both calm and sent it calming/friendly vibes it calmed down too and left us alone. I held the extremely hot guy and floated us down gently to the sand and I was trying to explain that maybe these creatures weren't bad it's just evolution. He was very VERY open minded I could tell cause apparently this belief was highly controversial for the future society we were living in but he somewhat agreed. He took me around the castle and off the beach towards some bronze grassy fields where cows were grazing. There was a pond with dark brown water and a few dead cows around it. Some had large holes in their heads. It was from one of the bugs that live in the toxic water. For some reason animals can be attracted to the water like flies to a pitcher plant and the bugs get to them. I had to agree that the site was very ugly and gruesome but we still shouldn't villanize these 'monsters' but see this as some grave imbalance. I kept asking 'how did this happen?' As if I knew deep down it was more than just humans being irresponsible with the environment but also governments not controlling something they've been keeping a secret and now it's karmic consequences humanity is facing.

Suddenly a very elegantly and luxuriously dressed woman emerges from a black car. She's upset yet too polished and elegant to show it outwardly. I could just feel her anger and disapproval. She had a long taffeta type iridescent wine gown that shone bright red, lots of onyx jewelry, a tight upbun with more black jewels in it and beautiful red shoes. She's clearly the guy's mother and is asking him what he's doing so far from the estate in some dangerous area (we were awfully too close to the pond and it was weirdly tempting to at least dip a foot in though your logical brain was screaming don't do it). She couldn't fathom why someone normal would want to be out in the wilderness, especially a space with wild beasts and monsters JUST to appreciate nature? Who even appreciated nature?¿? That was her expression. She looked me up and down and dismissed me as someone wayward and obviously lower class since I was dressed not in the most expensive gowns capitalism could buy. I don't remember my clothes, they were comfy and average as much as I could remember.

Anyway I thought it was the end. I hugged him goodbye and was going to be off but he asked his mom if I could come. She said of course and I was surprised? But excited! I got into the car, they took us to a train station where we saw more beautiful views of the landscape (and towering metallic iridescent neon city spires far away on the horizon), and then finally to an estate where the manor was like several huge black cubes stuck together in a mowed bronze grassy lawn that was expansive until the foresty horizons.

There were servants but they were mutated. Like it reminded me of brave new world where there were an epsilon class of humans. These guys were like mutated monkeys that could talk and were just aware of themselves and their surroundings so they can serve. They looked cartoony with huge watery blue eyes, white fur (she got the white fur breeds for the fashionable aesthetic) and dressed in colourful red vintage clothing like the uniform of an elevator man. It was really sad and unnatural but the wealthy class was happy they could buy something to work for free for them. I asked why she couldn't get AI since they have android servers (in this world apparently) and she listed all the reasons of them being faulty and breaking down and having to invest in new models every other year while these creatures live for at least 8-10. And I'm like: I remember reading they inject them with diseases on purpose so they die earlier and you have to buy another one and she gave me this Irritated look. You know that look someone gives you when you point out that their new iPhone was created by exploited child labour in Africa but they're the type of person who doesn't care cause they just want to look cool and show off their money? Yes that look of apathy towards capitalisms wrongs and irritations for you pointing it out.

Anyway the guy was so happy I was still there and was ready to show me around but his mom reminded him he had to spend time with (I forgot her name so let's call her Carmella since I remember it starting with a C.) Carmella was a beautiful yet terrifying woman who was my age and her beauty was also subjective but I'd guess she fit the beauty zeitgeist that was the standards of this future. She was south Asian too but her skin was pale like she bleached it until it was milky tea coloured. Her hair and eyebrows were a metallic platinum blonde and her eyes were the colour of greenish blue opals with the same opal like specs that flash. They were pretty but you could see they were artificial like implants. She wore Indian Jewelry like the bridal nose ring that connects to the ear and the hair jewelry that ran across her silvery blonde parted hair but they were both made from turquoise stones and fiery pink crystals that matched her bright hot pink iridescent gown with turquoise and goldfish orange accents on it. I think it was the style of the upper class to dress almost like Marie Antoinette royal court fashion that was modernised by the unnatural colours and blended with the local culture by mixing it with south/south East Asian jewellery, shoes and accessories. Carmella looked like a living doll but had the personality of a kardashian. We found her in her suite of the home surrounded by hypercolorful boxes filled with shoes and bags of all different colours and textures. She didn't really budge to say hello to him until she saw me with him then she smothered him in hugs and aggressive kisses and though I couldn't understand their language she said something to him that I could tell was dirty. She kept asking him in different ways if he wanted to spend time with her and was was sucking on some type of sweet loudly and suggestively and he did not want to but his mom was there and he felt pressured so the mom closed the double doors and ushered me away. I was confused but the mom explained that him and Carmella were engaged and that Carmella parents were some insanely wealthy oligarchs (clearly as well as this family and I could tell the marriage was arranged to keep money and power with the family) and she further mentioned that she would gladly liked to have left me dumped by the fields by the beach but she never saw her son so happy in years so I could stay as his servant (strongly hinted as concubine).

I was so confused, I tried to protest but she showed me my room which was very doll like and custard yellow. It was near the rooms where the white monkiesh servers slept. She forced me out of my clothes and wanted me to wear something fashionable which was a white lacy Victorian gown with a long lacy collar. I wore neon yellow boots and custard yellow and neon elaborate jewelry (like necklaces, a nose ring I was sure was a tracking device but was too painful to remove, chandelier earrings).

I was restricted from entering parts of the manor like there were no locks on the doors but the doors could read the details of your face and register if you were allowed to pass or not. I was stuck in the servants quarters unless the guy would visit me. I realized I was imprisoned but that didn't stop me from my investigation of where humanity went wrong with its experiments and disregard for nature. The mutated servants were a small piece of the puzzle. I was devising ways to escape as well but the mother scared me and has a personality similar to cersei so I was trying to be as sneaky as possible. Even though the doors wouldn't let me pass I'd sneak across the elegant black marble manor by using my powers to open the doors mechanical lock with telekinesis.

I finally met up with the guy who I saw for the first time was wildly depressed. Something happened which he felt he had no control over his life (probably cause his parents controlled his life and his future) and he turned out to be a heavy drug abuser in effort to escape his reality. He was just very drugged when I found him and lounging in the corner of a room. He warned me that I couldn't use my powers in his home cause if his mother sees they'll think I'm some mutant/monster as well and will hand me over to the government that'll get me killed or worse, experimented with. I asked if he wanted to run away with me and he looked so sad I could feel pain in my chest. I understood it that he was just a very important person and no matter where he left to he'll be found. He just said that he'll never be free before doing another fat line. I understood he'd be no help and I'd have to escape the manor by myself.

I got a slightly interesting revelation from that final conversation. Maybe I was a monster too. Still in this futuristic world there were witches, even more powerful than before with powers of telekinesis. We evolved, and we evolved with nature. We could communicate with our emotions to other animals and monsters that could read our vibrations. We understand the earth and can understand her change and adapt to her, yet still the capitalist society that clings onto her like a parasite won't ever accept that and nature has to undo it with force. The monsters are only villanized cause they challenge that way of life and bring destruction to cities and resources humans depend on and I would be villanized since I still love and accept a changing environment and hate capitalism and have the ability to break through mechanical doors that oligarchs put up.

I can't tell you what happens after cause my FUCKING ROOMMATE WANTED TO PLAY FUCKING SHOOT EM UP GAMES AT 9 AM THANKS but that was my dream!

[asterisquebloomed]

Don’t mind me I’m just going to ramble a bit under this here Read More.

Thinking about how some Touhous powers interact has made me think about how the powers of others would interact with the Essence. So I thought I’d make a list of how my strange magical being would be affected by other abilities. Though keep in mind, the unique ability of each individual Essence bestows different benefits that could theoretically counteract some things.

General Essence Abilties: Improved strength, stamina, speed, Improved healing, Immunity to infectious diseases, improved biology, Generation of Magic, Manifestation of Essence Weaponry

Vessel Specific Abilities: Telepathic communication between host and Essence, Manifestation of an illusory form of the Essence inhabiting the body, Both souls can work together to attack in tandem with use of the previously mentioned ability, Essence can sacrifice their presence within the Vessel in order to save the human from fatal wounds that would kill them but only once and the human cannot become a Vessel again.

Incarnation/Essence Specific Abilities: Control of generated magic, Manipulation of their magic field, Extra sensory input received from magic field lets them feel whats around them, Consciously aware while in rest, Detection of magic

Domain Based Abilities: Incorporeal forms, Limited teleportation, Hallucination inducement, Flight, Invisibility

These are the abilities all Essence have in their various forms. Now, there is restrictions on each one of these, such as the Incarnation being limited by a physical body (No flight, teleportation, or invisibility) and the Domain Essence being limited by the exact opposite (cannot interact with physical objects)

Vessels can have the most benefits, gaining traits from both Domain and Incarnation based Essence, but only if both souls work together well.

Now then, Ability interactions!

Due to the aforementioned abilities, Essence may be strong or weak to certain things, and due to their nature, they additionally are strong against possession, parasitism, and mental manipulation, though the latter is more through practice than inherent skill.

Things like Yamame’s Infectious Diseases would not work on an Essence, though if she can use other diseases those would work. Things like illusions that are not physical, or visual hallucinations would be immediately saw through due to the Essence’s magic field, assuming said illusions were in it. This works in the same way as if you were to reach out and touch it.

True shapeshifting however will fool them however, since what they feel would match up with what they see.

And while they have better healing than an ordinary human does, there are things that cannot be healed. The typical human things of course, but in particular, Radiation is a huge bane for them because it destroys cells. So nuclear weapons would be as effective on an Essence as they would a human, and even more so because in the same way radiation destroys cells and makes them unable to reproduce, so does the radiation effect an Essence’s ability to generate their magic.

A Vampire’s ability to convert others to vampires does not work on Essence due to being similar in nature. Other parasitic entities also cannot take root in Essence host due to already being ‘owned’ by the Essence. Finally as Essence are possession based entities, they cannot truly be possessed. If a possessor were to attempt to possess them, the result would either be death, as another soul forcing it’s way into an Essence’s body would possibly sever the ties between the Essence and the body and kill them, or just would not work because there is no room for another soul to exist within the body.

Soul stealers also wouldn’t be able to take an Essence’s soul due to it being like an over stretched rubber band. Once the thing pulling them away from their domain is removed (the body that their soul has fused to is killed), they will slingshot back to their domain just as a rubber band would return to it’s original shape.

An Essence’s power originates from their soul, and not their body, so power stealers would most likely be unable to steal an Essence’s powers either.

This is also true for inheritance as well. When an Essence host has a child, none of their powers are passed on, not even the generic ones. The child of an Essence is just a normal human. This extends even further in that the children of Essence do not retain the genetics of their Essence parent.

However, if a population is overexposed to an Essence, it can cause their genetics to mutate. This is how albinism originated. Dia Albis, the white haired and red eyed Essence, had their people imbibe their Essence as part of the rituals surrounding pregnancy, causing all of the children born to mothers who consumed the Essence to be born with white hair and red eyes, regardless of being the true vessel to Dia Albis. Over time, this degraded their genetics, causing a mutation that weakened the population and caused them to have the characteristic appearance. When their people realized their decline, some fled, spreading the genetic mutation. In the end, Dia Albis’s tribe died out, leaving their land abandoned. However the impact their abuse of humanity caused is still etched into the genetics of humans to this day.

...Oops I got a bit off-topic there. Sorry.

Other than that, whether certain abilities work on an Essence is further determined by their unique abilities themselves. Every Essence is immune to their own powers. Reiko is immune to explosives, Miradi is immune to detrimental effects of light such as blindness. Fayrrah cannot be harmed by fire, and Miere cannot be drowned. Each Essence has their own specialized resistances due to the nature of their abilities.

Note that these are unique to them. Reiko can be blinded, and drowned, and while she doesn’t burn, fire still hurts her. Miradi can be drowned, burned by fire, or damaged by explosives. Fayrrah can be blinded, drowned, and damaged by the blasts of explosions, but should they generate fire, the fire will not harm her in any way. Miere can be blinded, burned, and damaged by explosives.

Anyways I can’t think of much else to say on this topic so I guess that’s all for now.

[bestfriendforhire]

Entry 285

  I had forgotten how vile the lands looked when a demon inhabited them.  I was only human when last I fought one, and my eyes surely did not pick up on all the minute details.  Even knowing Aaliyah as well as I did now, I was deeply impressed by what she created.  The idea of even brushing up the sickly looking foliage was unpleasant, and I could imagine the faint odor of death all too well, having faced a real life necromancer.

 I could barely see Raine with how she had pushed farther and farther into her chair.  Cosette was still all cheer, untouched by any horrors in her past.  I worried about Raine.  I would never forget her cowering, hiding under a table from the screams of Mai and being surprised that the screaming wasn’t in her head.  I never asked her why, why would she think that the screams weren’t real.  Was she plagued by the voices of another place?

 “Yes, she is.” stated Aaliyah.

 Things were frozen again as Aaliyah casually lounged across my lap, resting her head on the arm of my chair.

 “What is she hearing?” I asked.

 “She feels the suffering of a god and the cries of his demons, so full of rage and despair that they have no concept of happiness or beauty.” she casually explained in a sing-song voice.

 “Have you been there, where they are?” I asked.

 She laughed and said, “Of course I’m there, silly.  Even demons die.”

 “Can you do something to help Raine?” I questioned.

 “I have.  I brought her to you.  You’re doing wonderfully, boss-man, sir.” she claimed.

 Shaking my head, I said, “Ha.  There’s so little I can do for anyone.  I’m just lucky Cosette isn’t holding a grudge against me for trying to keep knowledge of her parents’ deaths from her.”

 “You’re right about one thing: Cosette doesn’t hold a grudge against you, not even a little one.  I wouldn’t call it luck though.  You’re just too charming, boss-man, sir.” she teased.  “You do help people, all the time.  The ‘little’ you do helps in big ways.”

 I looked down into those big, blue eyes of hers.  She was too adorable.  “Why do you choose to look as you do?” I asked.

 “Prefer me like this?” she teased, suddenly older and wearing far too little.

 “As much as I enjoyed your company as Trix, no.” I firmly told her.

 She reverted back to the tiny girl in her mismatched clothes much to my relief.  Then she said, “I was born, I grew, and I became a cyborg.  You remember.  This is me.  I’m my daddy’s little girl.”

 “And so many other things.” I stated.

 Sitting up, she poked my nose, looked me in the eye, and said, “But always my daddy’s little girl.  He needs me, boss-man, sir.”

 “What do you think of this area?” I asked, nodding toward the game.

 “It’s gross!” exclaimed Cosette, sounding quite giddy.

 Aaliyah was gone.  Things were moving again.

 “T-the animals are m-missing.” stated Raine.

 “Ah.  Yeah.  They’ve probably been warped and are now following the demon, wherever he is.” I told them.

 “Is he as cute as Raine?” teased Cosette.

 I chuckled and said, “No, not even close.  He’s quite horrific to behold.”

 “That’s good.  I don’t think I could summon up the will to attack Raine, except for hugs.” claimed Cosette.

 “Att-attack hugs are qui-quite vi-vicious.” mumbled Raine, but she sounded like she was smiling.

 “Oh, you know it!” exclaimed Cosette, just before leaping out of her seat at Raine.

 There was much giggling, so I did my best to defend their characters.

 “You’re lucky she didn’t pull the smithing hammer like she did on that goblin.” I teased.

 “She uses the frying pan on me.  Doesn’t hurt nearly as much.” claimed Cosette.

 Giggling more, Raine said, “M-makes a n-nice sound.”  She abruptly went silent.

 I looked over at her in concern, realizing a moment later that she was hearing something.  There was movement around us.

 “C-Cosette!  En-enemies!” exclaimed Raine in a loud whisper.

 Cosette hopped into her seat with casual grace, instantly on the move as she landed.  Without a word, all of us started sneaking along.  We couldn’t talk.  Talking in real life would carry through into the game and alert our foes.  I made my character cast one of his few utility spells, further muffling the sounds of our passage.  I wished I had powerful illusion magic at the moment.  I might be able to incinerate the bears, but there was a chance the demon had granted these ones high fire resistance.

 Raine’s character uncorked some sort of vial and dropped liquid behind us.  Text appeared on my screen describing a pungent stench.  I hoped she knew what she was doing.  I caught sight of giant, mutated bears a couple times over the next couple minutes, but we continued avoiding them, not wanting to alert their master of our presence.  He might well remember me.

 The front doors of my home swung open, and I heard someone enter.  Portentia was home.  I could tell by her footsteps.

 “Oh wow.  Where are you, guys?” she asked shortly after walking into the room.

 I turned to her, explaining briefly in sign language.  The game had voice recognition along with other features to ignore extraneous sound, so Portentia’s voice shouldn’t alert enemies, though mine would.

 I rapidly signed to my screen, asking Mila to explain in more depth.  She was always watching.  I should’ve thought of asking her sooner.  Another of the large mirrors lit up, showing Mila’s avatar signing away.

 More minutes stretched by before the bears finally wandered off.  Cosette breathed out loudly before saying, “I never thought I’d feel so tense playing a game.”

 Portentia laughed and said, “The game is pretty awesome.  I never thought I’d get into a video game till I started.  Looks like you guys are too far away for me to catch up.”

 “Oh.  Go to the guild hall.  You can use the traveling stone to come straight to us.” I suggested.

 “Nice!” she exclaimed.  “I’ll be right there!”

 Glancing at the time, I said, “You’re home early.”

 “Quiet night.  Captured a mugger, but that’s it.” explained Portentia.

 I just nodded.  A single mugger would be a quiet night for her.  Feeling relatively safe where we were, we waited for Portentia to join us.  Once she arrived, the four of us continued toward where the meteor had landed.

 “Meteors can be pretty small.  How are we going to find it?” asked Portentia.

 “Cr-crater.” stated Raine.

 “Yeah.  I guess that makes sense if it’s a big one.” replied Portentia.

 “I think we’re almost there.” asserted Cosette.  “We’ll show you!”

 I stopped, catching something out of the corner of my eye.  I turned to look and saw the enormous demon walking toward the same place as us.

 “Guys, we need to run.” I insisted.

 “Noooo!” whined Raine.

 I could see that she had turned to face it as well.

 “Gather around, and I’ll use the stone.” I told them.

 “No!” exclaimed Raine.  Her character was shoving her backpack at mine, offering a trade.

 “What!?” I asked.

 “G-get my m-mats.  I-I’ll show him a r-real d-demon.” stated Raine.

 I accepted the trade and opened my mouth to talk her out of it, but she was gone.  Her character was far, far faster than mine.  I couldn’t believe how quickly she was gone.

 “Let’s go!” I exclaimed, running toward the meteor site.

 Portentia and Cosette followed.  We weren’t even halfway there when the sky became even darker.  I could see spells flying from the demon and explosions even after.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on Raine’s screen.

 The raid boss who wiped over twenty thousand people was getting hit by garden tools, smithing tools, kitchen tools, and a number of things I didn’t even recognize.  The damage was laughable compared with its health but impressive for a single person.  No doubt she had enchanted every last implement.

 I hadn’t doubted that Raine’s reaction time was far beyond what any character could manage, but the way her character moved was really bizarre.  She had strange sidesteps that moved her great distances nearly instantly, allowing her to avoid area of effect attacks that I could never dodge.  She had some sort of instant duck move that allowed her to dive under swings at her head with ease.  There was some roll move she used that ended in her character raising its arms as if presenting something.

 “James, that’s a tree!” exclaimed Cosette.

 Oops.  I hoped I hadn’t been running into the tree for long.  Bit distracted.  Incredibly, Raine was still alive when we finally reached the crater where the meteor had landed, though the demon had called in its minions for reinforcements.

 “Raine, can you make it to us?” I asked.

 “J-just g-go.” she ordered.

 I told the other two to hug the meteorite

 “It’s too heavy to come with us.  Give me a sec.” stated Cosette.  She used a spell to boost our strength.

 “U-use a p-potion too.  In m-my b-bag.” muttered Raine.

 I did as she said, passing out strength potions.  I needed to get Raine to make me a new bag.  Hers was vastly larger, mostly filled with crafting materials, but also holding potions, elixirs, and tools.  Still, we were lucky Portentia came home.  Cosette and I wouldn’t have been able to carry the meteorite without her, despite the boosts.  Only items carriable by the group being transported could be taken along.

 “I think that’ll do it.  Hug the stone.” I ordered.

 Nothing happened.  I quickly typed in guild chat asking who online had the stone from our guild hall.  I really should’ve given the guild a heads up several minutes ago.

 “No, I’m not mad.  I’m in a hurry.  Nekopawpaw’s soloing a raid boss.  We found the last of the demons, and I need to get her mats to safety.” I explained in guild chat.

 That was the first time I saw guild chat stop moving for any length.  There were several seconds with no response at all.  Then chat erupted back to normal with several people saying they were “on it”, and many more asking if I was messing with them.

 “Hey, Mila, could you put Raine’s fight on the guild’s magic mirror?” I asked.

 “No, master, but I can instruct you how to scry with it.” she replied.

 “Good enough.  Let’s do this.” I told her.

 Several of the nearby guildies were already staring at the meteorite, but Cosette and Portentia were guarding it.

 In guild chat, I typed “No one goes near the meteorite, or you’ll earn Nekopawpaw’s ire.  I’m putting what that entails on the magic mirror for any who doubt me.”

 I was pretty sure most people in the area had hurried over, since the hall was filling quickly.  Guild chat was alive with talk about our prized crafter facing off against a demon.

 “J-James, I-I’m almost… almost out of p-potions.” stated Raine.

 “I wondered what you were using to heal.  I would’ve given you mine had I known you needed some.” I told her.

 “I’ve u-used several h-hundred.” she mumbled.

 Ouch.  That was expensive.

 “Think you can run away?” I asked.

 “I-I… only had o-one speed p-potion, b-but I-I can… try.” she told me, weaving through enemies to dodge a giant fist.

 The demon had killed countless of its own minions just trying to kill Raine.  The thing was lucky her character couldn’t keep up with her in real life.  Watching her bonking heads with hammers, pans, and other non-combat implements was somewhat comical as she took off.

 “You’re heading the wrong way.” I mentioned.

 “N-no.  I d-don’t want it… f-following me h-home.” she stammered.

 I guess that made sense.  I had no idea how far this thing would try following her now.  I’d muster our army, but there simply weren’t enough of us on at the moment to kill it.  Most of our guild wouldn’t even be awake.

 “What have you guys been doing?” asked Alma just after running into the room.

 I nonchalantly told her “Raine’s been demonstrating how to solo a demon.”

 “I hardly believed the messages I was receiving, but seeing her… what are those moves?” she asked.

 Nearly at the edge of the demon’s horde with it on her tail, Raine started explaining where various things she was using were obtained.  The strange roll maneuver she had was “Present the Dish.” from cooking.  “Check the Oven” and “Stove Dash” were also from cooking.

 As she continued, every last move came from one type of crafting or another, but her crafting skills were far higher than even my combat skills, granting her huge boosts to the effectiveness of the moves.

 “For someone who abhors violence, you certainly understand it.” stated Alma.

 “W-why else would I ab-abhor it.” replied Raine.

 I chuckled even as Alma rolled her eyes.

 Cosette and Portentia were both standing by Raine, watching her screen and cheering her on.

  Several tense minutes later, Raine was still running, but the demon was too fast.  Luckily, all of its horde was left behind, allowing her to dodge more easily.

 “You should’ve stayed behind for her.” stated Alma, gripping my hand.

 “Then the meteorite couldn’t have gone through.” I told her.

 “Oh.  I see.” she replied.  “We could go meet her.”

 “Even if everyone drops what they’re doing and comes to join us, do you think we’d stand a chance?” I asked.

 She sighed and said, “No, we would not.”

 “I-it’s okay.  W-we have m-my mats!” exclaimed Raine.

 “You mean that I have your mats!” teased Cosette, trying to laugh villainously.

 “Don���t worry, Raine.  I wouldn’t let Cosette steal from you.” stated Portentia.

 Cosette lunged at Portentia, who easily dodged.

 “James!  Help!  My food is avoiding me!” exclaimed Cosette, fangs now evident in her mouth.

 I caught Alma’s mouth twitch while I started laughing.

 “Shh…  y-you’re startling Pufflewink.” warned Raine.

 A quick blast of energy partially caught Nekopawpaw, damaging her again.

 “A-all out.” muttered Raine.  Then she turned and attacked the demon with a giant frying pan.  “B-bad demon.”

 “It’s..” I started, hardly believing the stars now floating around the demon’s head.

 “You dazed it!  Run!” exclaimed Alma, gripping the back of Raine’s chair.

 Mila then said, “Wow.  There’s a less than one percent chance of that move ever effecting this demon at your current skill level.  If you dive into the cave northwest of you, the demon won’t be able to follow.”

 “There’s a cave?” I asked.

 “Oops.  Mother’s going to yell at me for giving away spoilers.” claimed Mila.

 Raine hadn’t hesitated at all.  She quickly veered northwest and took off into the cave, using some sort of charm to create light as she hurried deeper.  When she looked back, the demon was clawing at the entrance, ripping it apart and causing part of the cave to collapse.

 Guild chat was still busy with people talking about what just happened.  People were cheering her on.

 “What!?  You’re logging off there?” demanded Alma, upon seeing Raine hit the logout button.

 “I-I w-work soon.” she mumbled.

 “Oh.  I can try distracting your boss if you like, so you can call in sick.” offered Alma.

 “Th-thank you, but I-I’ll be okay.  We g-got it!” she exclaimed.

 “I’ll see that the meteorite makes it to your shop.” I told her.

 She got up, thanked everyone again, and headed off toward her room.

 “I must say that I am most impressed.” stated Alma.

 “Think you could really distract me?” I teased.

 She rolled her eyes before staring up into mine and saying, “You, my darling, are quite easily distracted.”

 I had to admit that I felt distracted already.