Monstrous Compendium Ch 10 Ficbit – Timing

~ crossovercreativechaos

“We’re running out of time.”

“News flash,” Issin hmphed, checking over herbs and preparations. Trying not to look like he was staring at his guildleader, like everyone else in Fuurinkazan, Tae included. As who wouldn’t, when a weretiger was wearing a silver holy symbol and taking no damage whatsoever. “We’ve been running out of time ever since Opening Day.”

“Not what he’s talking about.” Klein fingered the Flame hanging next to the Fang, face for once utterly serious. “Demons… they don’t have permanent bodies on this plane, right? Kill them, they just respawn. It’ll be back.”

“Not that one.” Asuna looked up, still running her fingers down Kirito’s arm as if to make sure he was whole and breathing. “It takes them time to gather the energy for a body on this plane, if Caerulus’ library is right. That bebilith shouldn’t be able to come back for decades.” She shivered. “But they’re telepathic, and they love to hunt.”

“So it’ll just tell all its buddies,” Dynamm muttered, nudging up next to his girlfriend. “Great.”

“Demons don’t have buddies.” Tae shuddered. “But they love to hurt people. If others promised to bring it back some of the souls they ate… it’d tell.”

“So on top of Kayaba’s monsters, we get demons we can’t kill without heap big magic and… a little something else. Great.” Klein fingered a curve of silver again. “Um. Tae. Don’t suppose you know what’s going on with this? It’s silver, I can feel the heat. But it’s not… I mean, the text on it just says Symbol of the Flame, there aren’t any details. And it feels like it’s after evil, not youkai?” He flung up frustrated hands. “I don’t even know how I know that!”

Tae blinked at him, eyes wide as saucers. “Well, you would. I mean, you should, if the stories are right, we have more druids and rangers than paladins but every once in a while someone’s chosen as a Forest Defender, or even a City Defender, so… eep?”

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33 thoughts on “Monstrous Compendium Ch 10 Ficbit – Timing”

  1. Seems someone just realized that some things that are basic/common knowledge in their world are totally unknown in this. Especially if to limit divine influence, most of the lore is missing from the game. (You do not want people to start praying in case something that will not approve of your grand plan is listening…)

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    2. Oooh, and that hooks into one of the things I liked about Eberron– if folks are desperate enough, it doesn’t matter if there was Someone listening before they started praying.

      Even if folks were just talking to NRGeebus (RNG= Random Number Generator, Geebus= polite way to allude to the Christ without hitting the sin button) then there should be effects showing up.

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      3. Technically that might not apply…yet.
        They aren’t, technically /in/ Eberron so far. Merely..closer. Of course, the moment they /are/ some Pantheonic Revision may be needed for Eberron. Including the addition of Fandom!Ameterasu and Fandom!Susano.
        And you know. The Ben(Mal)evolence that is RNG. Amoungst other internet/gamer dieties.

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      1. I’m honestly surprised that there weren’t more people from religious backgrounds either lapsed or not, that didn’t start praying and/or using what they knew to start worshiping/praying. Even in Japan there’s got to be some people who are both religious and into gaming.

        Or did Kayaba magic up a way to prevent exactly those kinds of people from getting into SAO/dying early on as a way to prevent unwanted attention being drawn his way?

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      3. -Let’s just say Powers on Earth handle things a bit differently.-
        The Gods help those who can help themselves?

        Well that or they’re a fair bit more subtle than the D&D set. No obvious miracles or visitations (unless it’s really needed) and instead what occurs can be attributed to good luck, random chance etc by humanity.

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      5. -Isn’t it good luck that a demon happened to pop up where there were people who could (just barely) handle it? –
        Could they?

        While the entire fight hasn’t been shown yet, I got the impression that if it hadn’t been for the Silver Flame choosing Klein, they would have at least lost a couple of people and the demon might not have been killed.

        So if the Earth gods were involved, they either are in cahoots with the Silver Flame; or they set things up so that the Flame would be ‘forced’ to chose Klein to save himself/others.

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      7. I now have the vaguely terrifying image in my head of someone managing to accidentally get the attention of a certain merciful goddess. Who then of course decides to indirectly stick xir interfering nose into Beniryuu’s perfect plan.

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      9. If hir definition of “helping” involved sending in a certain set of Demon Slayers, Benryuu //would// have a heart attack. And it would be lethal because //it’s Sanzo.//

        Dang… Now I wanna read a Saiyuki crossover with SAO.

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      10. -No one said gods were nice.-
        Sure but this is the 21 century. Surely the gods involved have at least a passing understanding of the evil overlord’s list.

        Namely the notion that tricking the Hero into doing your bidding (and the Silver Flame would be in the hero classification) always ends badly for you.
        -….Argo. Would be my guess for that one, if se did decide to mess with people.-
        Unless se spots GGO Kirito’s look and behavior.

        Then the merciful goddess gets ideas.

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  4. Are “Earthplane” Gods/Entities going to directly “appear” or act as characters in the narrative, or are they going to be/remain enigmatic agents one assumes exist, because Eberron obviously has them? If you care to reveal it, Vathara. =)

    I expect Asuna is going to do some heavy snuggling with Kirito that night, to prove to herself/themselves that they are both still alive and in one piece, because that was once again, entirely too close.

    I hope we get some nice reactions from Suguha and Midori, over what kind of girl to managed to snare their RL social-contact-adverse Kazuto. Especially if she’s still draconic, in “game”/Eberron or RL…

    Obviously, Asuna gets the guy, Kazuto would never make that kind of move. 🙂

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  6. I find it quite interesting that it was Asuna of all people that knew about the《ethics code- off》option in the original material. I can only imagine there was some kind of off-screen Girls Night in Aincrad, presumably with Argo (because I figure she’d know), and likely Liz. Because teasing the hell out out of your besty over her boyfriend might ease the pain of your broken heart.

    Perhaps between the time that Liz had her adventure with Kirito, and figured out he was the reason Asuna was all ‘bright-eyed and bushy tailed’, and that notorious night where Kirito proposed that he and Asuna sleep together.

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  7. So, I read the second line of that snippet, and for a moment got some cranial wires crossed somehow, and thought that that was Isshin *Kurosaki*.
    Which… *that* Isshin as part of Furinkazen? The phrase “house on fire” comes to mind.

    The problem with briefing people in on “common knowledge” is that, even with plenty of time and effort, it’s almost impossible to figure out in advance *everything* they need to know but don’t. Especially when you can’t honestly anticipate sudden Out Of Context Problems like this cropping up.I imagine poor Tae is feeling slightly skewered by multiple “INFORMATION! GIB! NOW!” stares.

    And I know it’s been said, but it bears repeating: Klein as a Paladin? This is damn near typecasting. 🙂

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