Nightmare

To My Dearest Ebbie,

Now you know I've met lots of weird people, had a lot of weird experiences, and more weird encounters. But that dream I had the other night was too frightening and was almost too real. I really don't know what happened before I experienced that nightmare, but the last thing I remember was that this hooded woman in black left the pub at Libra where my friends and I usually hang out.

Well it probably wasn't liquor because I don't drink much. (Remember what happened the last time I got drunk?) Anyway, I remember the barkeep serving these peanuts as my buddies and I exchanged stories and other tales with each other. I'd normally wolf down these peanuts but for some reason, it was as if each peanut was worth a meal. It felt heavy as I ate one. I then started to feel sick, and so did my buddies. We decided to call it a night and I immediately went back to my room. Then I started to have this dream. Everything was dark, like that Dark World we go to. However, something was different. I couldn't find my paladin gear anywhere. I was dressed in a weird ensemble. A gaudy breastplate and an embarrassing manskirt similar to what gladiators would wear. A voice in my head then boomed all of a sudden.

"Thou who seeketh justice must find it. Thou who protects must do thy duty. Go forth."

I almost freaked out for a second, especially in my drafty attire. It was really breezy wearing that manskirt, you know? Anyway, that place was similar to the Dark World. It had glowing monsters and everything. These monsters were tough to beat, as my armor barely gave much defense, and my sword isn't as strong as it looked. When one of the monsters hit me with its axe, I noticed that my cheek started to bleed. I touched it and saw my own blood. Was this really a dream?

Nevertheless, I pushed forward, struggling wave after wave of monsters. It was really strange that these monsters kept muttering things. Things like "Go back to whence you came..." or "Dost thou seeketh truth?", it was driving me nuts and it made my head hurt. And their words, it almost sounds as if they were from the years of old. Are these the tormented souls of the Dragon War? I haven't seen so many spectral armors that many before.

When I got to the end of the corridor, I finally found the big boss. He exactly looked like Night Lord (the ancient war machine), but it spoke, surprisingly. It was the voice I heard earlier.

"Thou hast done well in thy tribulations. Thou must now face thy power, prepare thyself, seeker of truth and justice, or submit!"

It was hard to understand his ancient lingo but I had no choice but to fight this enigmatic being. He was tough. He kept teleporting from place to place and kept creating copies of himself, all while muttering things like "Return from whence you came..." or "Thou cannot protect when thou art weak...". Strange enough, those things somehow wanted to make me cry because it held some truth.

No matter how much I tried to hit him, it was as if he was invincible. All my attacks were being deflected back to me which in turn gave me serious injuries. It was really hard, I swore I was on the verge of death that moment.

I took a look at myself again. My sword looked nice but it wasn't as strong as the one I used, and without my gallant armor, I couldn't withstand as much hits as I could. My shield looked the same but it wasn't as durable as the one I always held. What can a person do to protect the ones he loves, when he cannot protect even himself. Teary-eyed, I still had to fight. Screw it if wasn't a dream or not, my point was that I wanted to protect people, regardless of what may happen to me!

With that realization, a flash of light enveloped me and I was surprised to find myself in my paladin armor again. Even Toby appeared, miraculously. With that, I felt as if I regained strength and my attacks were finally starting to hit this nightmarish thing. From that point on it became easy and the boss was finally defeated.


It broke into pieces and I heard the screams of a myriad of souls, wailing as they broke free from the machine. I then heard the voice again.

"Thou hast done well in thy trial and tribulation. Thou hast finally found meaning in thy self. May thou be blessed for the years to come. Farewell..."

A bright light then blinded my vision and I found myself in bed again in my underwear. Was it really a dream? I looked at a nearby mirror and found a small scar on my cheek. When I looked under my shirt, I found scratches and other bruises that hurt. I had them treated by Cailey.

Do I sound crazy Ebbie? No matter what happened, all of it just did. I don't want it happening to you, but from now on, promise me that you will find me when you are in trouble, alright?

Stay safe, and watch what you eat!

From Your Dear Brother,
Prawnt

Knight Combo-ing

To My Dearest Ebbie,

First of all, I'd like to thank you for those potions you sent me. Health potions have been in short supply lately and it has really been a great help. Anyway, in your previous letter you mentioned that your guild now finally has a knight within its ranks. However, he is still a novice and couldn't do much action, yes? I also remember being a novice knight, struggling to gain control of my skills, and trying to make the most out of it. While PVP is an entirely different story, fighting against monsters is still the easiest way to practice your skills. Now, I have attached a series of pictures showcasing some of a Knight's essential skills when fighting monsters. (Remember Ebbie, PVP is an entirely different story! You'd need reflective skills for that.)

Let's start off with something that I use as an opening move. If the enemy is within range, I use Sword Dance to lock them into place.


Next, I bring out my mighty Hammer and use Hammer Stun on them. Personally, I call this move the Tempura Tenderizer, but you get the point.


You use this move as well if I'm not mistaken. Us warriors do need to stun our enemies to gain an advantage. Anyway, close in quickly and then use the Broom Jab. It's a lethal weapon, yes?

Once they've been pummeled with the mighty broom, I would then perform a Shoulder Tackle followed by a Storm Blade. I call this the Tempura Combo.


I look flashy eh? Anyway, I usually perform a quick aerial combo after that and use Cutdown, or I would let the enemy fall to the ground first only to be crushed by Pressure.

Once they've been launched into the air again, I perform a quick aerial combo followed by Aerial Smackdown to finish them off.


Now I know it may look complicated, but it's actually a very effective chain of skills. There is no such thing as a canonical skill combo that we could live by. Us Warriors must be flexible enough in trying to determine what set of skills best suits our fighting style. I don't know if that novice knight of yours could practice these skills, but with you around, I'm sure he'll get stronger. So let me summarize the whole combo again:

Sword Dance -> Hammer Crush -> Broom Jab -> Shoulder Tackle -> Storm Blade

or

Pressure -> Aerial Combo -> Aerial Smackdown

You could also let him try:

Hammer Crush -> Shoulder Tackle -> Storm Blade -> Aerial Smackdown

And there are more combo chains you could figure out from there. That novice knight will shine, especially after I have given you this piece of advice!

So are we having a Tempura lunch later in Libra or what? I'm excited to meet you again!

Stay safe, and see you later!

From Your Dear Brother,
Prawnt

Raid on Farrell's Lab

To My Dearest Ebbie,

Farrell's lab has been under suspicion for quite sometime now, and who knew that the kind Dr. Farrell himself would be the perpetrator behind those pet kidnappings? Well, we've received an order from high command to search his lair and slay the maddened doctor, who has been releasing abominations into town recently. I don't want to even start describing what those abominations look like.

So us Bronze Drakes have been paired up with a support "buddy" from the Special Ops team of Rangers to aid us. I was expecting some boring dude with a crossbow to be waiting for me, but when I met her-- Time almost stopped as I could not help but stare at that beautiful ass. When she introduced herself (she's real cute) , I was immediately dumbfounded as my mind went blank and could only speak gibberish. She shrugged and lent me a gas mask because Farrell's lair has a lot of toxic chemicals abound.


We went through the laboratory, clearing rooms of monsters along with other pairs of knights and rangers. You should've seen all these weird skeletons, mummies, and bizarre man-made abominations frolicking the dungeon, fighting any of us that stands in their way. There were a lot of moving platforms, laser beams, and many ladders.

Don't get me started on those ladders. I let my partner go up first, so I could watch her move her ass up the ladder... literally! You know how I am, Ebbie. That will never change with your dear brother.

So after clearing this room, we finally reached Dr. Farrell himself! We thought we've cornered him, but it seems he had one last trick up his sleeve. He used this large device to transform himself into this large green monster. It took a while but he was no match for us. Our combined strength defeated the deranged doctor and his experiments. Guard Captain Colin and his regiment then cleaned up the job.

Yeah, then after that, I went with Milie (the ranger) around the Port of Winds for a bit of chatter. Guess what? She invited me to her guild! Now this is exciting, yes? I get to meet more people! We could do all sorts of adventures together and more! You may want to join me too but you've told me before, you want to be a strong woman and as your brother, I will honor that request of yours.

Stay safe, you know where to find me!

From Your Dear Brother,
Prawnt

Brooms: Lethal Weapons

To My Dearest Ebbie,

How have you been? I received your letter just now after I came back from a mission in the Dark World. Have you been to the Dark World? If you've encountered these monster drops called Devil Soulstones, you'd have to negotiate with Elga's Soul somewhere in town (Don't worry, that Elga is harmless.) and you must exchange these soulstones for certain items. At the very least, you'll need about twenty for the protective shield, because the Dark World has a time-space pressure whatchamacallit and you can only hit monsters once you've used that shield. It runs for a full two hours, so use it carefully! Also you'd need a certain number of stones to purchase a Chaos Scroll to enter this Dark World where you would find the same fields full of monsters we fight normally. Thing is, these monsters are stronger and they GLOW of all things!

I had to admit, I was kinda mesmerized at first when I saw all these glowy monsters, but these monsters are dangerous! Those 'normal world' Scrappies are wimps compared to these ferocious Scrappies I've encountered. So how do you think I survived this ordeal? It was easy. Aside from my trusty sword and shield, I always have a broom.



I know what you're thinking. How good is a broom in battle when I could use a sword or spear as a replacement? That's easy. A broom is light (Spears are too heavy) and it enables me to attack quickly and swiftly, it harasses enemies and makes them stop in their tracks in disbelief. Heck, I even defeated Chaos Toto (Toto's evil counterpart) in this world using a broom!


The next time you see a Knight with a broom, my dear sister, respect him or her. They may be key to winning your battles especially those that require endurance!

Stay safe, and try visiting the Dark World sometime!

From Your Dear Brother,
Prawnt

P.S. I found this thing during my venture into the Dark World. I had no use for it, so you take it. ;D

Attached:

Barbarian Helm x 1