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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 20, 2018 6:03:13 GMT
"I might be able to pull them with a solid surface to cling to, but they're a lot heavier than me." Gianni had really been aiming to contain their spinning arms, but his poor aim at range had left them free. Those bullet-deflecting machines might not be contained by his threads anyway. Gianni was ready to dodge, but they weren't attacking. Was this position just a defense, or were they building to something? Gianni saw Percival rounding the corner and raised a hand. "There's two more!" He yelled, holding up two fingers just in case Percival couldn't hear from his distance.
He really, really didn't want to get closer to either of these things. He flicked out threads and grabbed more rocks. He whipped them off the ground, whipping them around his head one by one before releasing them, using the string and rock like a makeshift sling. He didn't have much in the way of aim, but he wasn't going to run out of rocks. He aimed for their legs, seeking to break bones and stress dried-out tendons until they collapsed. He kept his eyes on the spinning arms the whole time, ready for some strange attack to come from them at any moment.
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Post by othus on Feb 21, 2018 2:20:02 GMT
Ann knew she would run out of bullets at that pace, she stopped firing as soon as she noticed her weapon was no longer effective.
"this thing is pretty useless against that monster, I have to get closer and pack a bigger punch!"
Ann dropped her M16 which then pixelated into thin air, 10 points were added to her store, perhaps a refund?.
then she began getting closer and closer to the target. when she was again on Gianni's side she used a voice command:
"buy, shotgun"
Ann knew how risky that move was. If some crappy small game shotgun appeared she would be screwed, but she took her chances. after all the shotgun was 20 points, the same as the M16.
as simplified as that command was, the shotgun appeared on her hands, a beautiful Remington 870 Marine, an American classic. Ann smirked at the sight of the gun, it was one of her favorites.
"that's what I'm talking about!" There weren't too many shells on the weapon so she had to make them count. a 7 shell refill with slugs would cost her 10 points again so she had to aim carefully.
a satisfactory load sound came as she cocked the gun, she then aimed at the legs of the creature in the same fashion Gianni was doing.
she unleashed all the rounds one after the other hoping the stopping power of the shotgun would be enough.
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Post by Kuma on Feb 22, 2018 2:01:20 GMT
The spinning arms were a really tight defense, but not impenetrable. Both Ann and Gianni soon realized that the creatures legs were unprotected. Gianni’s rock weren’t affecting them, hitting the rigid legs and bouncing back, they hit the rotted leather restraints that kept both legs sticking together. Ann moved closer to unleash the fury of the twin-barrelled weapon, that spewed a load of slugs directly at the beings legs. The first shot managed to blow one of their legs clean off, the injured Jiangshi tilting to the side, like a tree falling down, leaning against the wall as his arms jolted back into their usual frontal position. The one besides him did the same, releasing the same strange screech as the one they faced before. Now aiming at the Virtual Warrior, both Jiangshi shot their artificial extremities directly at her. 4 heavy pillars of stone, spinning like drills, flew towards Ann, as fast as arrows. At this close range, they would be quite difficult to avoid, but thankfully something landed in-between her and the incoming attack to lessen its strength.
When Ann was surely re-considering her life choices up until this moment, a sword pierced the floor a couple of meters in front of her. Percival, who had been observing the situation from afar, grabbed his sword from the base of the blade and chucked it with all his might in front of the incoming attack. As he did he proclaimed, once again talking with a chorus of voices and then a different set of voices. The first shout seemed more disciplined, like a church choir aiming together for the same note. The second set of voices were like whispers overlapping each other, buzzing like a beehive.
Bord Sylfum Créda
IMDEGAIL! His sword radiated bright golden light as it landed and a large phantasmagorical shield suddenly appeared from the hilt, blocking two out of four attacks, which crashed against the construct with a loud GONG! sound. -Careful lassie, don’t get too close or you’ll get burn.- He tried to sound relaxed but he was actually really worried, trying to dispel his unease with a cheeky one-liner.
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 22, 2018 6:08:08 GMT
Gianni dumped the rest of the rocks he held when he saw them harmlessly bouncing off. "Ann, do you have a-" Before he could ask if she had a plan, the noise of her shotgun made him bounce nearly a foot off the ground. "Warn me before you go firing off stuff like that!" Gianni rubbed his ears, trying to clear out the ringing. He stepped away and saw the Jiangshi fire their arms. That was his chance! For just a second, they were vulnerable! He ran past Percival's shield. He couldn't worry about Ann. It wasn't like he could do much to block these arms for her anyway.
He ran for the entrance, but instead of rushing in, he jumped up. His feet tapped on the white stone and he scrabbled a second before getting a good foothold. He stood stock sideways, hair and clothing obeying gravity's pull the only sign he was defying it. Into the cavernous mouth of the tomb he flicked a whole web of threads, trying to cling to the damaged guardian. Any threads that connected would cling harder than instantly drying cement mixed with sticky glue, and he would begin to pull. Bit by bit he tried to reel the Jiangshi out into the sun, safe from its attacks over the lip of the entrance. His face strained purple from the effort, but he pulled anyway, looping the thread tighter and tighter.
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Post by othus on Feb 22, 2018 18:12:03 GMT
For a moment Ann felt relieved at the sight of Percival, he said something to her, but she couldn't quite understand what he was saying...
*huh? what are you saying? speak louder...*
Ann felt a warm sensation in her stomach, upon touch her hands were covered in blood.
Ann was barely able to take a slight look at her stats on the left, her HP bar read as follows:
HP:0/100
The warmth left her incredibly fast as a cold sensation enveloped her entire body, her vision began to blur as she collapsed on the ground face forward, the spear-like arm of the jiangshi went almost straight through, taking with it multiple organs and most of her torso, the kevlar vest got torn apart and only managed to stop the arm from exiting the other side.
Ann spent her last moments coughing blood from her mouth as her senses began to fade one by one, the darkness enveloped her sight and she understood she was gonna die.
her body vanished into thin air like her guns did.
-
Then out of nowhere, she woke up. she began to gasp for air as if she had held her breath for several minutes. she was no longer inside the tomb.
some plush stars were decorating the ceiling as she clumsily tried to get a grasp of the situation.
*Gianni's tent? how? what happened?*
a sharp pain went through her stomach, as she lifted her shirt a massive scar was displayed, which made her immediately remember what happened.
*that's right, I died!...but yet, I am alive??!*
the lives counter dropped to X8 with a beep sound.
"the extra lives were actually real??!" Ann was baffled but happy at the same time. the pain she felt almost made her cry from joy, but then a thought came to her mind:
*wait...how long has it been??!! Gianni and Percival must be still fighting those things!*
Ann got up and rushed back to the entrance, where she saw Gianni pulling the creatures as planned.
"let me help you with that!"
it was payback time.
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Post by Kuma on Feb 23, 2018 4:31:38 GMT
-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!- Percival, seeing the fists hitting Ann in the abdomen, fell on his knees. The Old Mercenary had seen many of his friends die across the year, many more that one could think when seeing him. His fist crashed against the ground, guided by a mixture of pain and fury. He barely knew Ann, but this wasn’t the first time somebody died around him and clearly it wouldn’t be the least, thanks to the affliction cursed on him long time ago. He was too grief-stricken to perceive his surroundings, not noticing that the mostly intact Jiangshi was retracting its arms readying them for another attack this time aimed at him. Percival was looking at the floor, tears swelling on his eyes as he mumbled. -Not again, how many must I see cut down before their time?- He lamented, as he kept punching the floor with impotence.
Meanwhile, Gianni was making his utmost effort to drag the limp Jiangshi out of the doorway. At first it almost seemed as a fool’s errand, as the being was, surprisingly, quite heavy. But soon, thanks to it moving to better receive the retracting arms, covered with crimson blood, it changed its center of balance, finally allowing the tensed up threads to move him. The tension being suddenly released caused a catapult effect, launching the creature into the air outside the White Jade Tomb. The Jiangshi bathed in the sunlight and exploded into a white dust cloud, its arms and chains falling on the ground beneath him with a loud THUD. This time it was effective, but maybe Gianni’s strength wouldn’t be a match for a fully functional Jiangshi, like the one that was still underneath him, aiming his powerful artificial arms directly at Percival.
The grieving Percival heard Ann’s voice and looked at her coming out from the tent. -WHAT THE HELL!? HOW’RE YOU ALIVE LASSIE!?- He shouted, pointing at her, still not realizing that the Jiangshi was moments away from shooting. -I SAW YOU DIE!- He pointed at the place she was killed. -RIGHT THERE!- His eyes opened from the shock, as he didn't see the body vanishing since he lowered his head. -WHERE IS THE BODY!?- He asked, absolutely dumbfounded, just as the arms shot on his direction. His reflexes kicked in, only allowing him to turn around and see the incoming stone fists. -Oh dagnabbit.-
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 23, 2018 7:59:15 GMT
Gianni didn't see Ann dye. He had locked in on one task, and it took all his effort until finally he completed it, the Jiangshi consigning itself to its fate by reeling in its arms. He focused on it until every wiggling length of chain and barren flesh was reduced to ash on the pebbles. Only then did he allow attention to anything else. He looked back and saw Ann coming out of the tent. What had she been doing in there? That didn't make any sense. He needed help if he was going to get this next one. He heard the click of the arms releasing below and looked back down to see them flying under at an unprepared Percival.
Time seemed to slow as the chains extended out. He could see them closing in, hear every click of the chain. Percival wasn't going to black in time. Ann didn't have any ability to stop them. What could Gianni do? They crept out, link by link. He wasn't strong enough to hold them back. He would just get his limbs ripped off trying. Strings flicked to the ends of his hands. He drew back, ready to swing them. The answer hit him. He flicked down threads, trying to link the arms together with thread. He instantly detached himself from the threads to avoid getting pulled into the mess he hoped to make. The spin of the arms should wind up the threads, pulling them tight and making the arms go out of control, crashing into each other and careening away from Percival. He knew they couldn't hear him from here, so he just waved his hand for them to move in case his trick didn't work.
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Post by othus on Feb 24, 2018 9:28:19 GMT
Ann was glad both were still fighting that thing, it seems she was only out for a minute at most.
when Percival shouted she immediately responded:
"sorry! it seems I can revive after all! but not too many times so let's not abuse it"
Ann gave some steps back to let Gianni make his move, her points were piling up little by little, so it was the wiser option.
"don't worry Percival! we will deal with that thing soon!"
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Post by Kuma on Feb 27, 2018 2:08:37 GMT
Gianni’s strategy worked, at least somewhat. The spinning fists clashed against each other as the Arachnid Archaeologist's threads entangled the chains behind them. They turned into high speed and uncontrollable clacker bolas. The erratic movement and the shift in direction were more than enough to grant the Old Mercenary enough time to react. From his kneeling position he strained into a side-dive, managing to only get a glancing blow from one of the fists after it bounced against the other. It wasn’t a direct hit, but the force behind it was enough to make his low dive turn into a mid-air screw, as Percival spun three times before hitting the floor hard, face down. For a moment it seemed as if he was dead, absolutely no movement, but suddenly he started shifting in the ground. His extended arm retracted to be underneath him and as he did before he placed inside his inner pocket. He got up to his knees and hand, blood was pouring from a large gash on his forehead, forming a small puddle, turning the white and ocrish sand into thick reddish mud.
He mumbled something, shaking his head, as if he realized a mistake and changed support from one hand to the other, using the hand he was just using to bridge, to rummage in the opposite pocket. As the chains attempted to retract, but were clogged by Gianni’s thread, Percival took out a dull golden canteen, it was kind of worn out. Upon closer inspection one could notice it was seemingly made from two pieces haphazardly welded together. He chugged a sip and groaned. He attempted to put it away but his body started shaking and convulsing to the point he couldn’t stay on his knees any longer. Once again the only sound around was the reel mechanism of the chains acting up and spinning without actually being able to retract the fists. Percival stood up his hand over the wound, obscuring it completely from view. He shook his head, lifting a hand. -I’m okay, don’t worry about me, just give me a second.- He said as he moved back, trying to get cover behind a rock. The Jiangshi, finally realizing the impossibility of retracting its arms, started hopping back into the Tomb, dragging its arms behind it.
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 27, 2018 4:34:26 GMT
Gianni peeked through his fingers at the wildly careening arms. He had slowed it down, but with how much they were darting around, he wasn't sure if that was any better. He saw Percival dive, but with the dust kicked up by the passing fists, he couldn't see if they hit him. He squinted through the cloud, only realizing he wasn't breathing when he saw Percival stand and let out a long sigh. He turned his attention back to the arms. He could hear their gears gumming up below him.
Threads extended again to grab the arms and Gianni pulled again, setting his feet firmly on the stone. He felt its strength at once, far above his own. He couldn't do this alone. "Ann! Percival! I need help!" Gianni jumped down onto the gravel where they could run up and grab the threads with him. He began sliding, pulled along easily without a solid surface to cling to. He didn't want to know what would happen if it got him into the darkness and noticed him.
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Post by othus on Feb 27, 2018 5:19:08 GMT
Ann quickly helped Gianni pull the threads, she used all the strength she had to stop the creature from getting away. she might look like a small girl, but she had strength comparable to that of a large man.
"Percival! are you ok?! we need your help!"
Ann kept gripping the threads and planted her feet against the gravel, she wasn't sure if they could pull it out but at least the creature was restrained for now.
the rest was up to the old mercenary...
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Post by Kuma on Feb 28, 2018 5:26:19 GMT
Percival was leaning against the rock, still pressing over the area were he was wounded. His shoulder went up and down as he composed himself with heavy, long breathing. He whispered something to himself. -I’m sorry, but is your turn to go, join your comrades beyond the veil of death.- His words were interrupted by Ann’s plea of help. He closed his eyes for a second and pulled out his hand from his head, placing the palm in front of his closed eyes. He could hear their struggle behind him rushing him to action. The Old Mercenary could hear his heart beating fast, his blood rushing through his veins, pumping adrenaline to his old body. He opened his eyes and let out a sad smile with a dangerous twinkle on his eyes as he noticed that the palm of his hand was clean. He turned around and rushed as fast as he could to assist Gianni and Ann. There was no sign of an open wound on his head, just a old scar, as if the hit happened decades ago.
The Old Mercenary picked his sword from the ground where he threw it and charged into the tomb, piercing through the creature’s shoulder with it. The tip came out from the side of it’s chest and without thinking it twice Percival grabbed the blade and started pulling, with the assistance of Ann and Gianni he managed to drag it outside to the sun, causing it to explode into white dust. Percival fell on one knee, agitated, huffing and puffing breath, trying to regain his composure and stamina. He pierced the floor with his blade, using the hilt as support. A line of blood was coming out of his palm, as he grabbed the edge of the blade. He breathed heavily for a while until he turned around to face Ann. -What the hell happened? I thought you died right there!- He had a mixture of relief, anger and confusion on his wrinkled and scarred face.
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 28, 2018 6:46:29 GMT
Gianni strained every muscle to pull on the rope. Ann seemed to be stronger than him. She didn't necessarily need to have powers she didn't reveal for that, of course. He was tiny and hardly built for strength. But with how much a difference she made, he suspected she had some level of super strength for her size. He focused on the shifts in balance with the Jiangshi and nothing else, feeling the zombie finally lose out when Percival's strength was added, tumbling it out into the sun. Gianni's threads lay in a tangled clump among white dust that quickly mingled with the sand that already lay on the ground. Gianni severed them and took a deep breath, trying to calm his thudding heart. He needed more exercise. Two fights and he was near falling over. He turned and frowned when he saw Percival's face.
Something was off about Percival's face, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He had just figured out that there was a scar he was certain wasn't there before when Percival spoke. "Died? What happened?" Gianni looked at Ann, worried he'd find some dreadful injury on her body. Instead, he saw nothing out of the norm. She seemed fine, not a scratch on her. What was Percival talking about?
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Post by othus on Feb 28, 2018 23:14:24 GMT
Ann somehow felt guilty about being still alive, after all, percival took a blow meant for her. she was extremely mad at herself, so much she bit her lip to the point of making it bleed.
"it wasn't your imagination, I actually died back there..." she said while looking at the ground somewhat disappointed of herself.
Ann lifted her shirt to show the massive scar that covered her stomach and part of her ribs.
As ann was about to explain how she survived when she noticed blood was covering the hilt of his blade
"Are you injured?! let me help you out!"
Ann bought a medical kit from her VM.
"Gianni, can you patch Percival with this? it should have all the tools needed to sterilize and patch his wounds, but I'm afraid my body isn't fully recovered from the trauma, so I cannot do it myself."
Ann was truthful to this, having died mentally taxed her, her entire body was shaking and maintaining consciousness was hard enough.
a beeping sound came from the VM.
*Virtual Machine no.3 is now LVL 11*
-You have been granted 10 lvl points
-Quirk: Dictionary unlocked
"Tch, like I give a damn... allocate all points to agility, I'll read what this quirk is about later."
*Points allocated*
Her body immediately felt the kick of the agility points, her mental stability recovered almost instantaneously.
"I really have to thank you both... I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough."
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Post by Kuma on Mar 1, 2018 5:06:25 GMT
-I’m okay, just a scratch lassie.- Percival raised his intact hand to stop her and then rummaged through his inner pockets until he drew more of the strange liquid he used to fight, he rubbed it on the wound and it started to release a strong scent. It smelled like incense. He then proceeded to pull a clean bandage from his outer pocket and roll it around the wounded hand. When it was tight enough he stopped and picked his blade from where he pierced it, placing it back on its scabbard. The Old Mercenary then turned towards the pile of supplies he scavenged from the buggy. -I found some useful stuff in the buggy, we have another tent and some supplies, I'm going to take them to our camp.- Percival seemingly was trying to avoid them, going towards the supplies and moving them towards their makeshift camp. In front of the doorway the chains of 3 Jiangshi lied on the sandy floor.
The Old Mercenary started to set camp, trying to push away the feelings of concern and guilty swirling on his head. Too many years and lives were weighing over his shoulders. There were days that he wanted it to end, but he knew that dying would be dangerous, not for him, but for others, as even if he did Mercenary work, it was just a cover to hide his true purpose, protecting something from the eyes of the world, that wasn’t ready for it. As this thoughts slowly took over his head he kept planting the stakes for the tent, trying to dispel them from his mind.
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Post by HungryHunter on Mar 1, 2018 7:05:39 GMT
"You died!?" Gianni stared in horror at the scar. "Just... right now when I was over here!?" He looked at the chained fists lying in the dirt, not seeing the telltale blood. "But you're..." He numbly took the first aid kit, but Percival rejected help and walked off again. Gianni just handed the first aid kid back and rubbed the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up onto his forehead. "...I'm sorry. I'm good now. You don't need to apologize, you just need to be more prepared."
Gianni looked back at the chains. He felt like they were wrapped around his soul, compelling him to study them until he had etched every inch into his soul. He was about to ask Ann to help Percival, but he saw a distant look in the old man's eyes. "Ann, can you help me look for something? Jiangshi are supposed to have tags on their heads. We get bonuses for finding them and, well... if I get paid well here I can quit my normal job. I offered to work cheap so I would stand out among more experienced archaeologists, but, well, it was really cheap. With the tags I could hold out until I get my next job." Gianni didn't want to sound greedy, but he really did need money. "And I'll share with you of course. We can work out a deal when I find out how much they're worth." He knelt to look through the chains, taking the opportunity to examine them thoroughly.
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Post by othus on Mar 1, 2018 10:31:56 GMT
Ann took the kit back, she was somewhat lost as to what to do next. it was only until Gianni called her that she went back on track
"Oh, yeah it's ok, don't worry, you can have the money, I'm only in this because of this stupid machine, and you are right, I do need to be better prepared for the things to come"
Ann began searching for the tags, but her mind was again lost on what happened back there, she felt like throwing up just thinking about her guts and blood back there being splattered all over the place
*I guess there is no afterlife for me*
The thought of nothingness further terrified her, and she didn't know if she could ever get over it.
"Let me know if you find one so that I can see what they look like"
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Post by Kuma on Mar 6, 2018 1:34:47 GMT
Gianni wouldn’t find the charms among the chains, as they were usually placed on the creature’s hat. Soon he surely remembered that fact and traced his way to the piles of ashes left by the vanquished Jiangshi. Underneath them lied extremely old parchment rectangles with Taoist words of power inscribed on them. They were pretty brittle, but somebody with his kind of experience would of course be more than capable of preserving and manipulating them without any issues. Percival kept his aloof demeanor, trying to bury the thoughts that kept surfacing on his head. “I shouldn’t have used that” He told to himself. “I made a promise to safeguard it, not to abuse of it.” Chastising himself as he built up the tent he scavenged from the buggy, while also preparing a series of rudimentary alarms around their improvised campsite, using cords and empty cans he fetched from the vehicle. The Old Mercenary was deep in thought, trying to keep his hands busy so his brain wouldn’t be weighed down by guilt, the kind of guilt that would have shattered the psyche of a lesser man, or maybe a smarter one.
Percival looked at his bandaged hand, his calloused and scarred fingers, evidence of years upon years of struggle. He had been feeling less and less like himself lately, reacting slower and having less grip with his fingers. Maybe age was finally catching up to him, a race that for him was more of a marathon than anything else, unknown to others, as he tried to keep his real age a secret. “This time around I bet I got 10 extra years from that one… damnit, at this point I will be around until the heat death of the universe…” He keep thinking, trying to dispel the negative feelings swelling inside him. The Old Mercenary finished the preparations and turned to the others. -I think we should have a meal before starting to explore the inside of the tomb.- He tried to sound normal, attempting to swallow his feelings. His hand gestured towards the center of the camp, he had started a bonfire to cook with.
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Post by HungryHunter on Mar 6, 2018 6:14:35 GMT
"Please, I insist. You're helping us, you deserve a cut." Gianni had partially used the chain inspection as an excuse to leave Percival alone and study the weapons of their enemies, but he was glad to eventually find the charms among the ashes. "I found them. Keep an eye out for these whenever we fight more of those things." He showed Ann before he took a stiff envelope from his backpack and slid the charms within. It wasn't the best solution, but it would keep it as safe as possible for now.
Gianni heard Percival calling, but he was looking into the depths of the tomb. He wanted to continue, but Percival was calling him back. Complaints were on the tip of his tongue, demands they carry on. Percival and Ann would probably comply too. He was technically in charge of this mission, as mind boggling as that still was. But he felt the strain in his muscles and remembered Ann's scar. "Alright." Gianni examined Percival's face as he passed in his approach to the campfire. He looked better now, less distant. He wasn't sure what to say, if he should say anything at all. He just walked on to the campfire and sat down. "Your powers are intriguing. How did you get them anyway?" He asked Ann, poking the fire with a stick.
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Post by othus on Mar 6, 2018 10:08:18 GMT
"so those are the charms!well if you Say it's ok i'll comply!"
Ann's quest progress updated to 25%, it would seem things were getting better for her despite having died once already.
something she read once came to her mind:
*I know of no better life purpose than to perish in attempting the great and the impossible...*
"huh, sounds about right"
Ann then heard Percival calling both her and Gianni.
"eating right now sounds like a great idea!"
Ann sat by the fire and a Mc Donalds bag appeared on her hands, inside it had a Big Mac and a large soda, why did it come with no fries? she always wondered, but she was too hungry to care right now.
perhaps it was the feeling of having a brand new stomach what made her so hungry in the first place.
"let me know if you want any, I can make these appear to no end," she said with a smile on her face, after all, that was the ability she liked the most about the virtual machine, perfectly made big macs that actually looked like the stuff on the ads.
As she was devouring her meal, she listened to Gianni's question, she took a sip out of her soda and replied:
"would you believe me if I say I got my powers from the internet? I ordered some tech from the deep web and this is what actually came."
Ann sighed at the explanation
"I have to say I have one of the lamest hero origins ever"
Ann took another bite of her meal which was almost non-existent by then.
"So, what about you two? I'm guessing Radioactive spiders and super soldier serum?"
Ann made another Mc Donalds bag appear, a single burger would never cut it.
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