Nightmare Fantasy Online

Log in...or not?

That's weird. I tried to log into NFO, but instead of arriving at my Player Room, I'm in some fancy throne room...oh. This is the place where I created my character. So this means...

"It pleases me to see you again, esteemed Miss Garami." - D1-696

A black fog that takes the shape of a human man, sans the goat-like head, wearing a tuxedo. It's the support AI, D1...whatever. 

"What do you want?" - Garami

"It is my humble wish to congratulate you, Miss Garami, for finally having made use of the Sin Relic of Gluttony." - D1-696

"Sin...relic?" - Garami

"Your "lucky branch", as you referred to it. Again, congratulations, even if you had no inkling of its true identity." - D1-696

"...then you're gonna tell me what it is?" - Garami

"Of course not. That would not be interesting." - D1-696

What a nice character this AI has...

"However, I will give you a gift and some hints. First, I suggest that you look for the other 6 remaining Sin Relics." - D1-696

"And what if someone else has them?" - Garami

If it's named "Sin" and is related to "gluttony", then you don't need to be a genius to get that we're talking about the seven deadly sins.

"That is of no worries. The Relics are not limited to just one unit per sin. Taking a Relic from someone else will not make it follow your command." - D1-696

Then it means I won't have to worry about others attacking me. And are these "relics" equipped with AIs or something? 

"And now, for your gift," said the less-pleasant AI as he handed over something that fits in my palm...

---

"An Extra Medal!?" - Black Bone

"Yup." - Garami

I showed Bones my gift and got quite the amusing reaction from him. 

"And here we strived for so long looking for those things..." - Black Bone

"You know about them?" - Garami

"Yeah. Our party failed to discover even 1 during the 2nd event but failed splendidly..." - Black Bone

"That's too bad." - Garami

"...hey, what category does yours belong to?" - Black Bone

"Evil." - Garami

"Whoa... That's nasty..." - Black Bone

To translate: the gift I got from the support AI is something called an "Extra Medal". Collecting 10 of these things lets you obtain a super special "Extra Skill" for free~.

But the problem is that the medals are separated into different categories, and you can't mix the medals. So even if I got a "Justice"-type medal, I couldn't use it with my "Evil"-type. Not to forget that the "Extra Skill" obtained is of the same category as the medals~. So my skill-set will become even more vicious and Evil~~. 

...seriously, my rep is going straight to hell. Literally. 

"And I think we've arrived." - Garami

Huge, old, and half-destroyed buildings were starting to come into our line of view, and a huge pipeline was located close to it. It leads to the sewer system of the vampire-infested ghost town. 

"Okay, then we'll split up here. Be careful that nobody notices you." - Black Bone

"They wouldn't recognize me," I told him and gave my new, full-face mask a few knocks. 

"I'm talking about the Ghouls who can make zombie tokens out of us if they kill you! But the new gear is cool, I have to agree." - Black Bone

"Nothing is more important than fashion. Now, get going." - Garami

"Yes, ma'am!" - Black Bone

And with that, the Skeleton went into the sewers where he..., okay, NOTHING should belong down there! The place stinks! I wish my avatar lacked the sense of smell like Bones'. 

[Can you hear me?] - Black Bone

"Loud and clear." - Garami

Yesterday, Bones and I prepared ourselves with the greatest weapon of them all: our wallets. We bought tons of leadership-ability accessories. Enough so that I can be a Party leader with both Bones and Aino under my command, AND summoning both Nyx and Nala if they're needed. Bones got some necro-related ones for his bone fishes.

In addition to that, I got myself this cool black mask that not only hides my identity, it also makes my stealth moves a tiny bit better. And finally, we got these nice communicator-like earpieces that let us contact each other from long distances. Not even the ground can block out the signal! 

"Let's go over the plan one more time." - Garami

[Roger!] - Black Bone

"Today's goal is to "get used to this territory" without taking too many losses. You are going to travel through the sewers and see if there are any secret passages or treasures down there protected by that killer smell." - Garami

[And at the same time, ma'am's looking with a bird's eye's view from the rooftops to look for the hideout of the vampires.] - Black Bone

"While doing both these objectives, we're also making sure to clear quests from the Union to earn more cash and AP so we're prepared for when Aino returns." - Garami

[Roger! Over and out!] - Black Bone

He cut me off. I wanted to do that...

Storing the growing irk to crush some skulls, I released a hand-shaped bunch of black webbing at the roofs and dragged myself up to the roof. This is thanks to the evolved skill: [Demon Spider's Thread]. 

To summarize its effects, it can be used by consuming either SP, MP, or both. Both functions of the [Mystical Thread] and [Spider's Thread] skills. In addition, it is now possible to customize the thread to inflict status ailments or Element skill-based damage to creatures trapped in the web. For an extra cost, of course.

The damage from the skill seems to be affected by my Karma Value, but I'm locked at the lowest level, so its power is constantly at MAX on that front.

Back to the spy job, there seem to be no monsters up here. Lots of ghouls in the streets. We'd need more than just Aino if we were gonna brute-force ourselves through that. 

As I jumped from one rooftop to another, I noticed a few human, non-ghouls down at the plane level. They are...vampires. No doubt about it. They got the same tacky clothing as the guy on the train, so it's almost for certain that they're his allies. 

So he was part of the Nobilis. I'm gonna enjoy putting those guys in their place...

[Garami? You there?] - Black Bone

"I hear ya," I replied as I hid from the vampires' view.

[There are lots of entrances to the surface from down here. Even if you ignore the places like the wells, there are tons of shafts that lead to the buildings above-ground.] - Black Bone

"Tons of them?" - Garami

[You heard right. Maybe they're expecting a raid?] - Black Bone

"...and did you find anything else?" - Garami

[You bet! I've found tons of stuff we can sell at the Union or the market-!] - Black Bone

"Then the possibility of those shafts being escape routes is low." - Garami

[Eh? Why?] - Black Bone

"Is it a good idea to have your final escape option be overpopulated with adventures looking for a quick buck?" - Garami

[Oh...oooooh. Now I get it. Plus there were lots of Sewer Alligators down here too. And they're WAY hostile to the undead. I even fought alongside some of the ghouls to beat those nasty reptiles!] - Black Bone

Ah, because monster players aren't seen as enemies by monsters of the same type unless you attack them, Bones could join forces with the ghouls to fight the non-undead alligators. It's mostly due to this trait that we decided that he should look through the sewers, despite its undead populace. 

"Maybe they're supposed for attracting instead of escaping?" - Garami

[So they're like bait? ...for people like us!?] - Black Bone

"It's just a hypothesis, but maybe." - Garami

[Damn. So the underground way is busted. How're things above ground?] - Black Bone

"Bleak. Vampire bleak. I see places the vampires frequently enter and exit, but nothing is telling me which one is good to strike." - Garami

[Guess we need to stake out for more than a few days... Rather, aren't there any maps you can steal from the vampires?] - Black Bone

"And where would that be?" - Garami

[Don't ask me~~.] - Black Bone

What a waste of calcium...

[Oh, now I got it! Are there any big bats nearby? With some huge jaws?] - Black Bone

"...I did see something like that..." - Garami

[Those are demons! You can tame them!] - Black Bone

"No, that doesn't mean I should-" - Garami

[They're part of a race called Nachzerers, a type of vampiric demons! Or is it demonic vampires? Anyway, if you can tame one, maybe it can show us where the vampires are hiding their stuff~.] - Black Bone

"You think it will be that easy?" - Garami

[Probably not, but the boards I looked at yesterday night in preparation for today had only high praises for those demons. And even if it doesn't know what the vampires are up to, it couldn't hurt having a flying demon as our ally.] - Black Bone

...that is true. And a demon with a vampire's ability does sound strong...

"Okay, I'll give it a go while looking for potential clues." - Garami

[It's just the first day, so take it easy~. Bones, over and out!] - Black Bone

...that bastard... He did it again.

After that, I started to look for clues by breaking into buildings with weak security, but there was nothing there that could tell me about the vampires. Not surprising. Those guys aren't complete idiots...maybe. 

But it's getting late. Bones should be heading back to town by now. ...maybe taming one of those vampire demons isn't such a bad idea?

I looked into the air and saw a herd of them flying above me. They look like dark-grey bats the size of eagles, but their face looks like a cross between that of a normal bat's face and a crocodile's. Forget sucking blood, these guys are gonna crush your bones! 

...my motivation went up by 30% now.

Okay, which one looks like a good catch...you!

I threw demonic webbing into the air and stuck it to one of the larger specimens. Then I used [Trap Expertise] to wrap the web like a cocoon on the unknowing bat and dragged him down to the ground (or the roof) while making as little noise as possible. 

"----!!?" - Nachzerers-type demon

"Hey," I told the bat while stabbing my Erebus...Dagger, into the roof in front of its big (and gagged) mouth. "You got two choices now, lucky punk. Join my team, or be my new leather coat. Which one?" 

The bat started to nod with a fanatic look on its face. Let's give it a try~. Wow, the taming skill worked in one shot~. It's a miracle~. 

But man, the new and evolved skills are damn useful. Even [Lurk]'s effect has been boosted thanks to the Element skill's evolution. Maybe I should start looking for high-rank demons now? But first, vampire hunting. With my new "friend".