Nightmare Fantasy Online

After yesterday's race, I logged out to check the NFO official webpage for info on that giant bird monster who combusted Rolf and the gang in the race. Among the stuff I found, I also discovered that the current event is also an introduction to a new feature of the game. A little something called "Companion Creatures". 

In clear English, they are essentially creatures that come with a unique "Companion accessory". It allows you to have a little friend without needing any special taming-type classes such as my [Demon Invoker] class. 

They're not solely there for the fluffiness though. These creatures can also provide excellent support to the players in many different ways: transportation, support, acting as a tank, or even pure DPS attacks.

To keep it simple, they're juiced-up accessory effects that have taken physical form. The downside is that they have their own HP bar. If they're defeated, the player can't call upon their partner until the next day. 

It also seems that you can upgrade the pet by either clearing special quests, as part of an event reward, or simply by having a talented crafter upgrade the accessory that acts as the Creature's vessel. 

"Hey, what do you think your Companion will be like?" - Black Bone

"Has that anything to say for us? We already have 'companions' that are taking much of our gameplay to keep in shape." - Garami

"Damn straight it is! What if there's a female undead beauty Companion!?" - Black Bone

"Hmm..., there is nothing that says that there cannot be humanoids among the Companion Creatures. Alas, I doubt there is something that will fit Bones' 'distinct' tastes." - Palug

Bones' "tastes" aside, I can hear lots of excitement from the stands. The news regarding the Companion Creatures has taken them by storm. And not just the ones that are the explanations of the accessories' functions.

"Hey, who do you think will be the first to defeat those giant monsters?" - Audience A

"That must be someone from Race A yesterday. The management had gathered all the best teams there, no doubt." - Audience B

"Yeah. The other races were pathetic! The players weren't weak, but almost nobody had managed to get a decent vehicle!" - Audience C

"Speaking of which, there were some guys on Race A that were competing with only a wagon." - Audience D

"They were at least better than that 'Author' guy who blew himself up!" - Audience E

Ah, that guy. Seriously, what was his deal? If his goal was to be the race's comedy relief, then he achieved that with a bang. 

Moving away from that, some special conditions have been revealed regarding these races. One is that giant bird that messed up the race yesterday. It has friends. There are four different types of those giant monsters, and they messed up with all the races yesterday, which means there is more than 1 copy of each.

There are 4 different types of these monsters, and they represent one of the Four Guardians from Chinese mythology. The difference from the common idea is that they are also representing a holiday of sorts from the seasons the Four Guardians are known to represent. Their element seems to be leaning more on the holiday than the traditional elements the Guardians are said to be connected to. In all:

• The bird from yesterday represents the season of summer, and if its appearance is anything to go by, it also represents summer vacation. It has the Fire element, so it is the most faithful representation of the Four Guardians. 
• Beast #2 is the turtle. It is representing the winter season, along with Christmas..., or so you would believe, but it is representing New Year's Eve! It fired fireworks at the contenders that managed to reach its floor, while its shell is too damn tough to penetrate, according to the poor suckers who faced it on the BBS. Its attribute is Water, for some reason.
• The third guardian is the tiger. It represents fall and the Halloween holiday. The thing spawned undead upon undead while also blocking every attack with wind walls, or blowing people away with giant tornados. Its attribute is Wind.
• The last member of the gang is the dragon. It represents spring and the Easter holidays. Its element is Earth, and it uses it to generate trapholes (or rabbit holes) to keep people from advancing. Since the event is a race, people complain that it is the most difficult monster of the four due to its ability to alter the road.

Those giants are too tough! But defeating them will allow one to obtain a Companion Creature accessory of a higher rarity than normal.

On that note, all the participants of the event will be granted such an accessory for free based on how well they performed. Everyone else should be able to get one too by clearing new quests released after the event, but as it is now, the participants, and especially the miracle players who manage to defeat the "Season Guardians", will have a headstart compared to others.

As if the rumors about potentially obtaining Extra Medals by doing it well against the beasts weren't enough to stir the already volatile player base. The BBS regarding "anti-Season Guardian tactics" was flooded in a matter of minutes! I looked at it before logging in and they were already working on the 49th page already!

And as for the grueling task of defeating even one of those Guardians, the management is surprisingly merciful this time around. The event points that each team collects during each race alter the damage they take and inflict on a Guardian. The more points one has, the easier the fight. Therefore...

"You guys remember the plan for today's race?" - Garami

"Getting as many points as possible, while giving a damn about winning the race or defeating the kaiju monsters? A-okay!" - Dawn

"Hey, we ARE gonna win this thing! Doing so will give us a boatload of points!!" - Rolf-Prix

"I doubt it will be that easy. Let us rather focus on throwing everyone else off the course so they will not gain points." - Aino

"I will...do my best!" - Dusk

They're so out of sync that it isn't funny! You guys, teamwork is the key to victory! So team up and do some proper work!! And Bones, stop patting me on the back like that! You're part of the problems as well most of the time!

"Stay calm, GM. We're going to win this easy-peasy. But we need to select who's driving with me today. The race is about to start." - Rolf-Prix

Right, right. Tomorrow is the "D Day", so we need to scoop up as many points as possible to make the potential visit of a Season Guardian somewhat doable. All the other teams seem to be thinking the same, so they've yet to place their vehicles at the start-line yet...except for one team.

"Isn't that Crow?" - Aino

"Yup. Along with his crafter friends." - Black Bone

"They are dressed as if they're going swimming." - Dawn

Swimming...

"Hey, what are the odds of that Elf having obtained a Dungeon before the event?" - Garami

I turned my question to the one person on our team that may know something about the "Pirates of Craftsmen"'s cards they keep in their sleeves.

"Crow being a Dungeon Master? Hmm..., now that you mention it, the odds are pretty high." - Aino

"Eh!? That scrawny four-eyed elf is on the same level as Garami!?" - Dawn

"Utterly...surprising!" - Dusk

"The girls are right. You're trying to tell me that mantis bait is the boss of a Dungeon? Unbelievable! Foxy, you're not messing with us here, are you?" - Rolf-Prix

Ouch. Crow, your rep is in the gutter. 

"I am only hypothesizing here. But Crow did start to buy way fewer materials after the 1st official event. Maybe he obtained a Dungeon Core somewhere and started making one into his harvest ground for materials?" - Aino

"Sounds likely. Dungeons are costly at the start, but afterward, you'll be swimming in more materials than you can carry." - Garami

"Eh, I don't see the thread here. Why is it important that Crow=Wonderwood is a DM or not?" - Dawn

"Come on, girl. Don't you remember what the GM told us would happen tomorrow? And how she got her claws on that info?" - Rolf-Prix

Rolf asked Dawn with a low voice, which probably helped the fairy in realizing what we were getting at. This "Crow" guy has a Dungeon, and the management has given him information about when he would be in a race using that Dungeon as the stage.

We're in the same boat, as I've already gotten the word that tomorrow is when the Darkland Fort is gonna be used for our race then. The horny nun must have also gotten info about yesterday's race, considering how easily she traveled through that prison tower. The Season Guardian came outta the blue though, so we better make sure that doesn't happen to us tomorrow.

"If that's the case, then he's prolly prepped his crew with meta-gear that'll help him get the 1st place trophy." - Garami

"Now I get it! ...But, it's just swimsuits?" - Dawn

"That's got to mean we're going to a pirate island! One with a beach!" - Black Bone

"Their team's name is even named the 'Pirates of Craftsmen' after all." - Palug

"Crow did mention once when we were in the same Party that he loved pirates." - Aino

"In that case, it's almost 100% that we're having a sea-related race today." - Garami

"You're sounding confident, GM. Where are you getting that from?" - Rolf-Prix

"Simple. Think about it for a second. If you're given the chance to get your own fully customizable Dungeon, why wouldn't you make it into the gauntlet from hell that you've dreamed about your entire life?" - Garami

"I would!" - Dawn

"Me too...perhaps." - Dusk

"I'd make a haunted house filled with undead beauties!" - Black Bone

"Hmm, a castle guarded by loyal rabbit knights..." - Palug

"I would make mine into a fashion atelier~." - Aino

"And I would make mine into a racing arena-" - Rolf-Prix

"We know." - Everyone else

"Wha-!?" - Rolf-Prix

Let's ignore the mechanic-dressed slime who looks shocked to the point of his soul coming out (the management sure went all out implementing these visual gags). Selecting the racers is more important. And except for one gang, it seems like everyone else has noticed the strangeness of the pirate team's choice of equipment. 

"Those Crusader guys never bat an eye." - Black Bone

"They're the only ones actively trying to erase Dungeons, according to the rumor mill." - Aino

"I got it! They're just too bullheaded to look between the lines~." - Dawn

"Sis...you shouldn't be...so truthful about...this sort of thing." - Dusk

The "Crusader Paladins" have already put their chariot side-by-side with the pirates' "all-terrain ship"-thingy. The only other team we're having a rematch with today is Al Azif's team. I can recognize an all-too-familiar paring there, but for the sake of the male half, I'll try to ignore them as much as possible.

"The other teams seem to be making a last-second-change to their team build and equipment. What should we do?" - Palug

"Hmm..., it may be that those pirates are just bluffing with people here. Not that it will work. They're 100 years too early if they wish to trick us~." - Garami

With a hum, I registered today's race's members without further ado. To everyone's surprise.

"EEEHH!? Garami, why am I up again!?" - Aino

"Sending a Fire-user into a Dingeon that's bound to be water-based? GM, you're a sadist." - Rolf-Prix

"Rolf, people already knew that. No need to point it out." - Palug

"O-oh, sure..." - Rolf-Prix

"No worries~. I have a plan~. Listen...*blah-blah, yadda-yadda*." - Garami

My guildmembers' faces of disbelief gradually changed colors from disbelief, to surprise, before ending in vicious grins, except for the twins, who looks overjoyed for some reason. Hey, you guys are pretty nasty as well. Is maliciousness something that attracts more of itself to it?

Whatever. Let's get this operation "Darkland Fort Conquest Preparations" started!