Time: 8:23:31
Time Till Server Shut Down: 3:37:29
Neburasuka sighed happily as he walked up the mountain path that lead to the Guild Base, at his side walked his NPC Ecx Specter, a Combat Automaton that Neburasuka designed to act as the bodyguard for when one of the guild members went on particularly dangerous missions. The NPC wore a form fitting dark green bodysuit, a breastplate that covers her chest and back and heavy dark green steel toes combat boots. A Camo scarf was always wrapped around her neck and she wore a pair of goggles on her forehead to keep her hair out of her face. Around her waist was a belt with two holsters, clips of extra ammo and two grenades. Slung across her back was a high powered sniper with scope. As not many of his guild-mates played anymore he had chosen to take Ecx as backup for the Raid Boss he was coming back from defeating.
Due to the game ending many of the Players were calling the raid The End Game Events. It was incredibly hard to fight a Raid Boss solo but with his combination of magic and fighting power, along with Ecx’s sniper skills he had managed to beat the boss, thought the fight was extremely close.
Most of the material dropped by the boss was useless to him but not his guild-mate Artificius. In Heroes of Heaven, only heteromorphic races, or as they’re better known inhuman characters, had racial levels. This meant Humans and demi-humans could not obtain racial levels and the skills they granted like magic only class levels however there was one exception to this rule. The material that the boss had dropped was known as the Eye of Gods and was the main ingredient in a potion that would allow a human or demi-human to choose any heteromorphic race and be allowed to gain the abilities that came along with those racial levels if they took levels in them.
Artificius was the only human among his Guild and as such it limited what he was capable of doing when the guild went on missions. Neburasuka had been searching for this item for a long time as he planned to gift to him. While may be a simple human he more than made up for his races shortcomings in that he was perhaps the best Alchemist in Yggdrasil. This also meant that he had the right skill set to brew this potion. Neburasuka smiled as he looked at the second item that had dropped and the one he had actually been after from the start, a glowing silver Data Crystal. Data Crystals were fairly common as they were what allowed for many of the games features however a Silver Data Crystal was the rarest version and the last piece he needed to finish his project.
As Neburasuka entered the guild base he stopped for a moment and simply gazed upon it, a sad look coming to his eyes. Yusei no jinja or in English The Shrine of Ascendancy, when they had created the Guild the aimed to be the best and through their determination they had succeeded in defeating this powerful dungeon and made it their Guild Base. After they had taken the Base they had changed the name of their guilt to Shoten Shita Guntai and became one of the top five guilds in the game. Shoten Shita Guntai had only one requirement for joining, the Player had to be a functioning member of society. Despite this fact in the time they had been active there had only ever been six members.
As Neburasuka entered the Shrine he turned to Ecx. "Go get your sister and bring her to the sixth floor Laboratory." He said. Ecx bowed and teleported in a flash of light. Once she left a golden light enveloped Neburasuka and the human façade he wore was ripped, as the light faded nine tails with rust red fur and white tips stretched out, his legs became degraded and his face grew out into a canine muzzle. Neburasuka sighed and shook himself as the transformation ended and he stretched his arms as his tails wagging happily.
"Oh god, it feels so good to be in my true form!" he exclaimed happily as he snapped his fingers and teleported to the Laboratory under the sixth floor causing a man inside to jump.
"SON OF A-" The man screamed in shock before doubling over to catch his breath as he clutched his chest. "Neburasuka, you asshole, you scared me half to death." He said.
Neburasuka chuckled as he pat the man's shoulder. "Sorry Artificius." he said with a smile.
"Damn trickster." Artificius said as he sat down on a chair. Artificius was a man with a moderate build standing at a slightly smaller height than most. He has a sharp but rounded chin, a mouth that could easily be drawn into a crazed smile and eagle like eyes that had the look of one who'd went insane. His hair was neglected, sitting as long bangs that always cover one eye. The man's clothes consisted of a pair of thick leather boots, brown pants with a black turtleneck. Artificius also wore a white lab coat that has a wide rim around the neck, the coat moves on its own accord and often act as a shield for him, at his side was a medium sized leather bag with a strap going over his shoulder.
"Hey Arty got something from the Raid Boss for ya." Neburasuka said with a smile.
"Oh, and what would that be Nebura?" Arty asked curious. Neburasuka smiled slowly and tossed him what looked like an eye, the moment Arty caught it he gasped. "The Eye of Gods!" He gasped in shock. "Nebura do you know how much this is worth?!" He asked.
"More than we'll ever need." Nebura said with a scoff. "Use it for what you wish." He said with a smile. "You could finally have access to skills and abilities that are locked by the Human Class."
"Nebura I can't accept this." Arty said. "This could make enough money for the guild to last a thousand years besides, I like being human.” He said proudly. “I can find other ways to achieve the same results; you don't need to pass up such an opportunity for me."
Neburasuka chuckled. "I'm not we have plenty of gold. Tell you what, keep the item and do with it as you will. Sell it, trade it, use it, do what you think is right." Neburasuka said as he walked away.
"Fine, I may find a use for it later." Artificial said with a sigh as he set the item down on one of his work benches. "So what brought you down here anyway?" He asked as he followed Neburasuka down a hall to a chamber labeled Character Creator. “I’m sure you didn’t come just to give me such a gift.”
"I got the final piece and it has just enough data." Neburasuka said as he lifted up the silver crystal.
Arty's eyes widened. "Is that a silver Crystal!?"He asked shocked.
Neburasuka nodded. "That boss had some good drops." He said as he entered the chamber, stepped up to a console and typed in a series of codes. One of the walls opened up revealing what appeared to be a large stasis tube.
As Neburasuka walked up to the machine Ecx entered the room with another NPC at her side. This NPC was named Ariel Courier, she was a Skeleton Race and wore a pair of military cargo pants and camo T-shirt, leather WWII aviator jacket with a black silk scarf tied around her neck and she a set of aviator goggles on her head. Around her waist is a brown leather belt with two leather holsters and two swords sheaths.
"You brought Ecx and Ariel?" Arty asked.
"They should be here to see their little sister born." Neburasuka said with a smile as he and Arty approached the Stasis tube. Neburasuka wiped dust off the tube and revealed a young Kitsune girl in a Miko outfit. Neburasuka smiled and placed the Data Crystal in a slot and the Stasis tube activated. The lights on the machine changed glowed for a moment before the sound of a lock clicking open was heard and the door opened revealing the Kitsune slowly open her eyes. "May I introduce Aurora, the Head Shrine Maiden." He said with a smile.
Arty smiled as he knelt down and looked at Aurora. "Hello Aurora, I'm Artificius though everyone calls me Arty for short." The Kitsune bowed to Arty causing him to chuckle before a sad sigh escaped. "No matter what they're still NPC's.” He said with a sigh.
"We may be good at programming but were not that good." Neburasuka agreed sadly before shaking his head. "So will the others be here soon or are you the only one who chose to come?"
Arty smiled. "They are already here; they're waiting for you in the throne room."
"Well let's go meet up with them." Neburasuka said with a smile as they teleported to the 9th floor.
Time: 11:47:10
Time Till Server Shut Down: 00:13:40
The ninth floor, designed to act as the homes and houses of the guild members, Modeled after a feudal era Japanese village, the floor was designed to appear as life like as possible. Housing thousands of NPC's that the members of guild had made over the years there were markets, samurai warriors that served as guards and even civilian NPC’s that simply walked around or talked. However that was just the inside of the village, outside the villages stone walls was a great plains that surrounded it while to the south the plains lead into a forest that is stocked full of mythical creatures that are both passive and aggressive, to the north mountains that were capped with snow. At the heart of the village was a Shrine identical to the Shrine of Ascendancy however this one was actually a shrine and serves as the throne room of the Guild.
As Neburasuka and Artificius appeared on the floor Neburasuka smiled sadly. "It's a shame to see all we did here be destroyed." He said sadly before Ecx and Ariel pushed the doors to the Shrine open, as the doors opened Neburasuka froze in shock standing in the room was his Guild-mates and all the NPC's Guardians they had created. They had lined up in two rows flanking the path to the Throne of the shrine.
Artificius quickly walked to a spot next to the two Guardians he had created as Ecx and Ariel also stepped forward and took their place at the end of the line and closest to the Throne. "You didn't think we would be simply saying good bye did you?" Artificius asked with a smirk.
Neburasuka smiled and slowly walked down the line toward the throne with Aurora at his side. As he passed his gild-mates and there NPC's he looked upon them with pride and sorrow.
The first in the line was Iago and his NPC Occhi they were the protectors of the first floor and Guardians of the seventh and eighth floor. Iago was a Rogue class Greater Doppelganger, while his NPC Occhi was a Rogue class Fallen Angel. Occhi was a frail looking woman with long stringy blond hair and black wings that constantly seem to shed feathers. She wore a dark red cloth over her eyes that had multiple ruins that glow faintly and loose fitting white clothes that are somewhat similar in appearance to those worn by a Pierrot clown. Slung over her shoulder was a bow.
Next was Seven-Souls-Lost and his three NPC's Bronze, Steel and Meteo. They were the protectors of the second floor, Mountains of Beginnings. Seven-Souls-Lost or Seven for short was a Warrior Class Half-Golem, while his three Bronze and Steel were warrior class and Meteo was Mage class. Each of the Golems were made from varying levels of material and quality. Bronze was the weakest of the three brothers. Built last using spare energy and parts bronze is as the name suggests made mostly of bronze with a simple core and a very simple mind, he only knew how to do one thing, smash shit and stand still. Bronze appears like a clunky suit of full body bronze armor with glowing red eyes and a metallic bronze 'skeleton' is visible where the joints of the armor are open.
Steal was the second of the golem brothers, and looked like a sleek human knight in form fitting armor and chain-mail, however if one were to try and look inside the armor one would realize that in most places it's completely hollow save for the metallic skeleton residing inside covered in glowing blue runes. Steal was far sleeker than his younger brother and far more intelligent steel with him even able to speak a bit though usually he just uses this to taunt his foes. Steel was capable of wielding a variety of weapons and was skilled with all of them but has a strong preference for a large morning star and shield combination.
Meteo was the first brother, carved from black rock and lined with red molten lines; meteo was forged from the heart of a fallen star and was the most powerful of Seven's guardians as well as the eldest. Unlike most golems meteo was smart enough to not only converse quite readily with sapiens, but also wields magic with the skill of an archmage, making him deadly at range and up close.
The next he passed was Vulcan and his two NPC's, Cain and Kreig. Vulcan was an Automaton while Cain was an Elemental Fighter class Lightning Dragon and Kreig was an Elemental Fighter class Wolf Lycanthrope. They were the guardians of the fifth floor, The Desolate Arena.
Next Neburasuka passed John and his NPC's Saer, Etidorhpa and Ladneaf. They acted in assisting the other guardians and provided cover for them. John was a Mage class Fallen Angel, while Saer was a Warrior class Dullahan, Etidorhpa was a Succubus Demon and Landneaf was a Mage class Elf.
Last was Artificius and his NPC's Red and Blue who guarded the sixth floor, The Forgotten Village. Artificius was an Alchemist though rather than choose a more powerful class he chose to go with the Human Race. Red was a Sword Fighter class Slime while Blue was a Gunner class Slime and despite what one would first think Red and Blue are actually one creature, though whether it had Multiple Personality Disorder or is actually two separate entities has never been determined. Blue is similar in shape to a small boy and is a transparent blue, he has two pointed blobs done up with a hair band and small blob rounded spins at the bottom-back of his head. Red was similar in shape to a small girl and is a transparent red; her hair is two large dropping blobs in the front and the same small rounded spike at the bottom-back of her head in a row.
Finally Neburasuka passed his NPC's Ariel Courier and Ecx Specter. Arial Courier was a Combat Caster class Skeleton tasked with guarding the Guild's Vault, while Ecx Specter was a Commando class Automaton.
Arial Courier was Neburasuka First NPC and was programmed with a desire to protect the Vault as well as maintain the weapons, armor, relics and money placed in the Vault. She was the only NPC that has unrestricted access to all parts of the Shrine and was the most intelligent NPC in the shrine, she also has unrestricted access to the shrines defenses and traps and if something happens to the Leader of the Shrine Guardians she was set to take command of the defenses and protection of the shrine. Neburasuka designed Ariel Couriers to be a tall skeleton with light brown hair, and her skull was cracked around her right eye. She wore a pair of military cargo pants and camo T-shirt, a WWII aviator jacket with a scarf tied around her neck and she wears a set of aviator goggles on her head. At her waist was a belt with two pistols holstered in them however she also carried a pair of rapiers that were attached to the belt as well.
Ecx Specter was created as a Combat Automaton and acted as the Bodyguard for when one of the guilds members went on particularly dangerous missions. Ecx's personality was designed to be stoic and closed off, she is extremely quiet and hums rather than talk. When Neburasuka designed Ecx Specter he wanted to make her as life like as possible so he made her looks like a human female in her early twenties with long rust red hair and silver colored eyes. Her body was designed to appear human in every aspect meaning she even had a pulse, body heat, and oddly enough emotions. The only things that break the illusion of her being a human is the fact that she has metal wings appearing from her lower back and her eyes have a cybernetic appearance and instead of a pupil her left eye has what appears to be a targeting crosshair. Ecx wore a form fitting dark green bodysuit, a breastplate that covers her chest and back and heavy dark green steel toes combat boots. A Camo scarf was always wrapped around her neck and she wore a pair of goggle either around her neck or on her forehead to keep her hair out of her face. Around her waist a belt with two holsters holding her pistols, clips of extra ammo, two grenades and slung across her back was a high powered sniper with scope.
Neburasuka smiled as he approached the throne and slowly sat down, Aurora slowly walked to the right side of the throne and stood quietly. Neburasuka looked over his friends and guild mates before smiling sadly.
Time: 11:58:38
Time Till Server Shut Down: 00:2:22
"Thanks for coming back one last time." Neburasuka said sadly.
"We couldn't let everything go without saying good bye." Seven said his voice sad as well. "We spent so much time making this our home; it actually hurts to see it go." The other guild-mates nodded in agreement.
"Hey it won't be so bad; we still have the data for all our NPC's saved so we could recreate them again in another game." Vulcan said optimistically.
"But would you?" John asked as he looked at Vulcan." They are our children, we poured our hearts into making them and we love them. If we remade them it wouldn't be the same."
Vulcan moved to reply before stopping to look at Cain and Kreig. "No, no I couldn't, it would be like looking at a shell. We could remake them but the memories we shared with them would not be there it would only be a reminder of what was." He said with a sigh.
"We will all miss them but there is nothing we can do." Iago said with a sigh. "I'd love to stay but I got work in the morning." He said sadly before turning to Occhi and looking over her trying to memorize every detail, after a moment he turned to Neburasuka and nodded. "All my gear has been placed in the Guild Vault." He said sadly before bringing up the menu. "I'll see you all RL." He said as he logged out and his avatar disappeared.
[User Iago has Logged Out]
"I need to go to." Seven said as he turned to his creations. "Never was good with words so I'll simply say that I'll miss you three. Take care of yourselves." He said and turned to Neburasuka. "All my gears put up in the Vault. See you all RL, maybe." He said as he logged out.
[User Seven-Souls-Lost has Logged Out]
"I should probably go as well." John said as he turned to his creations. "Sear, protect your siblings and guard this place. Etidorhpa, behave yourself, listen to Neburasuka and Aurora. Ladneaf, I wish you luck and skill. I probably won't see you three ever again so know that I love you as my children and I will miss you dearly." John turned to Neburasuka and bowed. "It has been an honor to fight at your side, I've put my items are in the Vault as well. Farewell my friends and Guild-mates." He said as he logged out.
[User John has Logged Out]
"Well I guess I'm next." Vulcan said as he turned to his NPC's. "I honestly don't have anything that's not clichéd to say so I'll just say goodbye. My gear is in the Vault and I want Cain and Vulcan to have it."
Neburasuka nodded. "I'll try to get it to them." He said sadly.
Vulcan nodded before turning and walking toward the doors of the Shrine as he logged out giving a wave over his shoulder. "Well, see ya." He said as his avatar disappeared.
[User Vulcan has Logged Out]
Arty stared at where the others once stood before turning to Neburasuka. "I'm guessing you’re staying to the end?" he asked.
Neburasuka nodded. "I was the Guild Master of Shoten Shita Guntai, as the leader I shall go down with all we have done."
"Like how a captain goes down with his ship?" Arty asked. Neburasuka nodded and Arty chuckled. "It was an honor to serve under you, and you know where my gear is at this point." He said before turning to Red and Blue. "You take care of yourselves, you hear?" He asked as he looked at the two slimes.
"You know I never asked but are Red and Blue actually two separate entities or did you give your creation the most awesome Multiple Personality Disorder ever? Neburasuka asked curiously.
Arty smiled. "They are two separate NPC's that operate together, a perfect symbiotic relationship." He said proudly before the smile turned onto a sadder one. "Hey, Neburasuka I got a weird little request." Arty said as he scratched the back of his head.
"What is it Arty?" Neburasuka asked.
"If some ‘magic teleport to another world' thing happens to ya, think you could take care of Red and Blue." He asked his face turning red with embarrassment.
Neburasuka stared at Arty for a moment before chuckling. "That kind of stuff only happens in Anime but ya, I'll keep them safe."
"Thanks." Arty said.
"You know you could stay, there's only a minute left till shut down and honestly what will a minute hurt?" Neburasuka asked.
Arty hesitated before sighing. "Well, it's not I was going to do anything anyway." He said with a sigh.
Neburasuka smiled and the two waited for the end surrounded by all the NPC's that the members of the guild made and loved as children.
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"Every day was an adventure you know? It was fun." Neburasuka said with a smile.
00:00:06
"Yeah, it was a blast." Arty said
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Arty and Neburasuka closed their eyes waiting for the end.
00:00:03
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The two's eyes shot open in surprise as they waited. "Did the Devs push back the shut down?" Neburasuka asked confused.
"No, something wrong." Arty said before he was enveloped in a glowing blue fire and he screamed.
"Arty!" Neburasuka yelled in panic as he rose to help Arty only to gasp as Red and Blue shot forward without a command. The two slimes ran over to Arty panicking and confused in what to do and the other NPC's began to move as well though they all looked worried. Slowly the fire fades and as it did Arty rose from the floor however he had changed. Neburasuka hesitated but slowly approached. "Arty is that you? Are you okay?" He asked concerned.
"Ya, I'm fi-' Artificius gasped and clutched his stomach as if he had been punched in the gut and groaned. Slowly is features lost became smoother as his chest grew and 'his' hips widened. Arty groaned and fell over gasping. "Oh, that hurt!" She exclaimed.
"Arty are you ok?" Neburasuka asked concerned as he knelt down and examined her.
"Ugh, I'm fine I just feel like I was punched in the gut." She said.
"I'm going to take a guess that you were female in our world?" He asked cautiously.
Arty nodded her head. "Yeah...how'd you know?"
"I had a guess, you sometimes acted a little weird at least in the terms of a male but what actually gave it away was that you weren't too worried about suddenly becoming a girl."
Artificius groaned and slowly sat up rubbing her forehead, only for Red and Blue to jump on her in a panic. "Oh my gosh are you ok?" Red asked in a panic.
"We were worried, what happened to you? I mean you suddenly burst into flames and now you’re a girl!" Blue exclaimed as he panicked as well.
"Uh..." Arty said in shock as she stared at the two slimes her brain slowly trying to catch up. "Neburasuka what's going on?" She asked.
"Well I can't bring up the menu for the game, I can actually feel my magic, and you just randomly became a girl, welcome to our new reality in a new world.” Neburasuka said with a smirk.
Arty stared at Neburasuka for a moment before giving the appropriate response to the situation. “This is fucking bullshit.”