TEST DRIVE ; no. 1

[powergamer]

TEST DRIVE MEME

So first of all, welcome to Dyspros' very first test drive meme! We're happy that you're interested in the game, and we hope that you have some fun playing with the setting, regardless of whether you decide to join or not.

As a general reminder, we recommend that you look over the game information before jumping in. In addition, if you decide you're ready to join, you're welcome to put in a reserve, and applications will open on May 4th at 12:01 AM (EST). Finally, if you have any questions or concerns, please send us a message!

So now, without further ado, let's get to playing:

A ; NEW RECRUIT

Well then, welcome to the guild, Initiate! After some thought (or maybe the choice was obvious), you've finally settled on a guild, and you're ready to get started. You're welcome to check out your accommodations and see what kind of people you'll be living with for the foreseeable future. This is your home now, so hopefully you get alone with them. If not, then you can just spend all of your time sharpening your skills!

Whether you're just claiming your bed or you're jumping right into the thick of things to practice or sign up for a mission, a new recruit is unlikely to go unnoticed.

B ; MISSION TIME

It's your first mission, which is pretty exciting, right? You have all these pictures in your head of going off to fight a dragon, to come home with great riches and valor...

Too bad those missions are for the higher ups.

No, it's the middle of the night, and you're out guarding the small fields just outside of town from wild animals. Right now you're standing by the cucumbers, which are considered especially important to guard, for some reason. You have to fight off sleepiness somehow, so maybe an animal will come out for you to scare off, or maybe you'll just end up chatting with whoever is stuck doing this with you.

Or you know, if you're a dick, you'll steal the vegetables for yourself.

C ; STORM THE CASTLE

Okay, the missions for initiates are pretty lame, and you're ready for some real fighting. You can go alone, or you can go with some other people, but it's off to Castle Dyspros! You'll find a variety of creatures to fight, and the power of teamwork will help you make progress through the castle!

Or you'll die. There's that too. Good thing it's fairly inconsequential, if weird!

Either way, have fun fighting to your heart's content!

D ; PICK YOUR OWN

Just like it says, if none of the others appeal to you, feel free to make up your own prompt!

Comments

[skillshots]

[Ezreal smirks, knowing that with this barrier, he can make a risky move with little consequence.]

Six shots... I think I can make this six kills.

[And with that, he reloads his revolver and leaps at the group of creatures.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Each shot is deliberate, and each shot finds their mark - directly between the eyes. The monsters fall to the ground, dead.]

Hah! I've killed five in a row before, but never six!

[The few remaining monsters start to close in.]

Damn, I need to reload, cover me!

[kindhearted]

Whoa...!

[Roji watches in complete awe at the accuracy of those shots. Holy crap, six in a row! This guy is amazing! He's suddenly really glad and grateful that he was found and saved by this boy.

He has hardly any time to reflect on the situation though, because it's time for him to take the stage again. This time, he's going to need to use one of his offense abilities, and admittedly, he hasn't gotten much practice in with them yet.

He shakily takes a couple steps in front of the other blonde and holds his stave out, directed at the approaching monsters. He closes his eyes in an attempt to calm himself and concentrate, but it's obvious he's terrified because his hands are shaking terribly. He calls his attack just as the creatures start to pounce.]

L-Lumen Arc!!

[A laser sparks from his stave, although it's not nearly as powerful as it should be, and merely stuns the monsters for a couple seconds. They quickly return to their advance.]

Oh no...

[Frozen in fear, Roji can only watch in horror as the monsters are almost upon them. Hopefully he bought enough time for his partner to reload...]

[skillshots]

[Ezreal fumbles around in his pack, looking for the right ammunition.]

Let's see here... I should really organize more... Right, here we go!

[He pulls out a golden bullet imbued with runes, and quickly loads it into his revolver.]

I think it's time to get lucky. Elemental Roulette!

[The bullet exits the chamber, and as it pierces one of the monsters, it explodes - creating a giant ball of fire. The resulting blaze makes quick work of the remaining creatures.]

Woah! That was awesome! [He pumps his fist into the air.] I wasn't expecting such an... explosive result, but that worked!

[He turns back to the trembling boy, and gives him a thumbs-up.]

[kindhearted]

Aaaahhh!

[Roji stumbles back to avoid getting caught in the explosion, and ends up falling right on his bottom in the process. As cool as that attack was, he'd rather not be fried to a crisp on accident. When Ezreal turns to him, he's on the ground with his arms still out in attempt to shield himself.

But he slowly realizes that it's oddly quiet now, so he cautiously peeks out from behind his arms, eventually lowering them altogether.]

I-Is it finally over...?

[He nervously glances around and spots the remaining monster corpses. Or what's left of them from that firey explosion, anyway. He lets out a huge sigh of relief now that they're safe...for now, then smiles sheepishly at the other boy.]

Thank goodness... [He starts to get up.] And thank you for helping me. I think I would've been monster food if I hadn't run into you. You were amazing!

[He offers a hand for a hand shake.] I'm Roji. What's your name?

[skillshots]

[Ezreal accepts the shake, taking in all of the praise he's getting. Damn, does it feel good.]

Ezreal. [He chuckles.] It was nothing, really. I just did what anyone else with a conscience would do.

[He looks around the empty room, confused. Surely someone who isn't great at combat would come here with at least a companion or two. But no one else was around.]

It's pretty dangerous around here without grouping up. Did you come here alone?

[kindhearted]

[Roji smiles warmly after introductions are over.] Nice to meet you, Ezreal.

[When he sees Ezreal looking around, he does the same thing. A troubled expression appears on his face as he notes the emptiness of the room.]

No, I did have a group, but I don't know where they went. I remember being right behind them, and then all of the sudden they were gone, replaced with, well... [He shudders, recalling the initial pursuit.] all of those monsters. I wonder if some kind of magic was in play.

[skillshots]

Hm... [Ezreal ponders for a moment. Nothing.] I'm not sure. Identifying magic isn't really my thing, but exploring is. Why don't we take a look around, and see what we find?

[He takes a moment to reload his gun before walking slowly forward.]

We may have killed the monsters in this room, but there could be more on this floor. Stick close to me and be careful.

[kindhearted]

[Roji still seems unsure about the situation, but they're not going to learn anything if they just stand here. Besides, more monsters are bound to make their way here anyway. May as well not be sitting ducks.]

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. [He starts following right behind Ezreal with his stave held close to his body in case something jumps out of nowhere.] Maybe we can find out what happened to them, or even run into them. I'd prefer the latter, actually...

[skillshots]

I hope they're okay... Well, let's get going, shall we?

[Ezreal walks through the doorway leading out of this room, and peers around. This next room is massive and empty, with only a giant door sitting in the middle of it.]

This must be one of those mystic doors that they were talking about. I think it takes us a floor up. Do you think we should go through? [He continues eying every corner of the room, noticing another door leading out.] Or should we keep checking this floor?

[kindhearted]

Yeah...

[Roji follows close behind, cautiously glancing around as they go. When they reach the large room, he just gapes at the sheer size of the thing. This castle is way bigger than he thought, and his standards weren't exactly low because he had never been in a castle before.

He then listens intently to Ezreal's question, and takes a moment to mull it over.]

Well, considering how empty this room is, there's a good chance that my group has already gone to the next floor. You'd figure this room would be swarming with monsters to block you from getting up there. So maybe we should go u--

[But before he can finish, he's stopped dead in his tracks by faint screaming coming from behind the other door in the room. His eyes go wide with fright.]

W-Was that...a scream just now?

[skillshots]

I... think so. [Ezreal has a look of slight panic on his face - a rare sight. Hopefully they aren't too late..] We have to hurry. Now.

[He quickly bolts toward the door on the far side of the room. He can hear the screams slowly getting louder and louder as he approaches.]

I'm kicking this door down on three.

One... [He quickly checks over his gun again, just in case. Fully loaded.]

Two... [He gets into position.]

Three! [With one swift motion, he kicks open the door with all of his strength, and runs inside.]

[kindhearted]

[Despite still being terrified at the possibilities beyond that door, Roji's tone becomes more serious when Ezreal suggests going in to investigate.]

Right. Let's go.

[There's no way he can turn a blind eye to people in trouble. It could even be his group!

Chasing after Ezreal, he starts concentrating for spells in advance, because there's no telling how quickly they're going to have to act when they get in there.

And as soon as he catches up, the door is down and they're rushing in to check the damage.

...]

Oh...oh no...

[What they find is not pretty. Several brutally butchered bodies are scattered all over the floor, already fading to eventually respawn in the castle lobby. Despite already being aware of what happens when one dies in the castle, it doesn't make the impact any softer. In fact, Roji feels like he's been hit with a sack of bricks when he sees those bodies. All of the color is drained from his face and he starts trembling badly.

But dealing with seeing death is the least of their worries right now, because immediately after they enter, a snarling sound echoes through the room. Whatever killed those people is still in the room with them, and it's still got room for seconds.]

Ezreal...w-w-what was that?

[He holds his stave close and whirls around to find what they're up against. And that's when he sees it. Hard to miss a giant chimera with blood dripping from its maw, really. If he wasn't horrified already, he definitely is now, because it's right next to them.]

L-L-L... [He can hardly get any words out, he's so terrified.] LÖWINE!!

[They should probably do something or they're chimera food.]

[skillshots]

Only one? [Ezreal suddenly gets another burst of confidence.] Based on the screams, I thought there would be more than this.

[His gun transforms from a revolver to a menacing-looking shotgun.]

Well, time to strike! [He jumps forward and fires off a couple of shots. the pellets dig deep into the chimera's body, but it doesn't seem to be showing any signs of pain at all.] This doesn't look good. I'm going to try to strike from the sides. See if you can distract it- [But Ezreal doesn't get the chance to move before getting knocked to the ground.] Ah, damnit!