”I mean hey, I like the colors at least, it’s got that goin’ for it!” Argent appreciated a good looking weapon, and for as useful as her X-Caliber was, she wanted to start leveling up some of her other gear too. Figuring out what to even start with was going to be a headache, but surely she’d get there eventually.

Across the portal, Argent was surprised to learn about Dee Dee’s skill. ”R-really?! That’s so cool, it’s like, EXACTLY what we need!” Talk about convenience. Though, Argent’s smile twisted to a frown once a voice shouted out. It seemed Dee Dee’s skill wasn’t entirely without drawbacks… at least it would get them out of the damned labyrinth, though.

Despite the help of the British skill, getting around to the next place was still taking a while. Argent walked with her hands behind her head, stopping when they crossed paths with a loud noise. Andy, of course, was quick to volunteer her to investigate. ”wh- me?!” She feigned annoyance, before chuckling. ”No, yeah I gotchu. I hope it’s a snake, I love snakes!” The woman put up a peace sign with one hand, and held her Moonstone in the other.

The stone flashed three times: the first, Argent changed to [Full Moon], and her form shimmered with partial invisibility. The second, she switched to [Half Moon], gaining a bonus to her WIL and a solid form once more. After the final flash, she was in [New Moon] phase, and vanished entirely. It was extremely tempting to mess around with her allies, but she could always do that later. Taking advantage of the SPD buff her passive gave her for being stealthed, Argent rushed over to see just what exactly was waiting for the group up ahead.

Andy Larsen deedee

Hyperphase Moonstone x3: NEXT ATTACK +30% DMG/ IGNORE 60% DEF

Today, Argent wore her space helmet. She thought it was cute, almost like a biker helmet but with a full-face visor. The visor itself was made of a dark material, like a tinted window, while the rest of it was a dark metallic purple. ”Hey guys, think I’m overdoing it?” She had no idea what to expect from the Devil’s Triangle, but dealing with portals and weird dimensions gave her the slightest inkling of a feeling she should be prepared for anything.

She had black pants on today, with purple shoes and a denim jacket. All of her gear was hidden away in various places on her person, such as the three orbs that hung from her belt- with the exception of the large black lance that was slung across her back.

”Man, portals can be SO annoying… but I’m down if it means more loot. Ready when you two are!” She tossed her Lunar Knife from one hand to the other as she waited to make sure everyone was prepared.

Andy Larsen deedee

[ C-Rank Mission: C is for Catacomb ]

As Argent ran back through the Catacombs, she glanced over her shoulder to see if the dullahan was still on her tail. It was. Once she reached the chamber where she had fought the spiders and snake, She slowed down. The tombs in this room had been thrown open, and now two zombies stood blocking her path. Argent shook her head, waving her Lunar Knife at them. ”OUTTA MY WAY!” Of course, they… didn’t listen. With the dullahan hot on her tail, she didn’t have time to fight a bunch more enemies.

Argent ran up to the zombies, slashing one across its chest and kicking it down, only to have the other one… start chanting to cast a spell on her?! ”Wait what? Since when the hell do zombie’s use spells?!” She didn’t know how the hell zombie magic worked, but it seemed to be close to finishing the spell. Instead of attacking it, Argent pulled out her [Boook off Typeos], using it on the spell it was casting. As she did, she found out it was a slowing spell, meant to basically drop an enemy's SPD to 0. Once she saw this, Argent smiled. ”BOOK OF TYPOS, GO! CHANGE THE NEGATIVE SPEED TO POSITIVE!”

As the Zombie inadvertently cast a haste spell on Argent, its jaw dropped to the floor (literally) and it smacked itself in the face. “HAHAHAHAHA STUPID ZOMBIES CAN’T KEEP ME DOWN HERE THAT’S RIGHT BETTER KEEP RUNNING HAHAHAHAHA!” That dumb Haunt Skull shouted out as Argent escaped the chamber, leaving the zombie mage behind. Checking her place with the Dullahan, however, she scowled. ”Damnit! It used the edited spell on that dumb suit too!” The skull had been laughing maniacally, but hearing this news was enough to shut it up.

She couldn’t really just stab it while running away from it, so she used an ability before switching to her wand again. ”Moonlight Crash!” A series of piercing daggers shot out from her knife, all slinking into the dullahan’s chest along with the shatterglass. Her damage was starting to add up, but with the Zombie’s spell on it, the Dullahan was starting to gain ground against her- and fast. Holding the White Hare Wand in one hand, and the Haunted Skull in the other. Using a curve in the tunnels as her opportunity, Argent kicked-off against the wall, slinging a bolt of white energy at the Dullahan behind her as she did so. ”STOP FOLLOWING ME ALREADY RAHHH!”

[ C-Rank Mission: C is for Catacomb ]

A sudden twist in the tunnels led Argent into a bigger chamber. In this one, various tombs lined the floor, and the walls of skulls had places in between them where wrapped bodies had been laid to rest. It wasn’t long after she entered that a trio of spiders descended from the ceiling. ”Hehehe, more spiders huh? This game sure likes throwing spiders at me!”

One of the spiders was bigger than the other two, so Argent assumed that one was the strongest of the group. She flicked her dagger into one of the smaller ones, landing right between its many eyes, while a blast from her white wand fried the other tiny dude. Shoving her wand into a back-pouch, Argent unslung the Lance from her back. ”Just you and me now. Maybe I’ll get lucky and get another leg, hehehe!” She brought her Lance back, ready to charge at and attack the spider, only to feel it get caught on something.

”What the-?” Turning her head, Argent saw the end of her Lance had been coiled around by a giant snake, who now stared her in the eyes with venom dripping from its fangs. ”Aww, wait, you’re actually kinda cute!” Unphased by her compliment, the snake lunged. Activating her [Hotspur of the Moment] skill, Argent darted out of the way, releasing her Lance to the snake. Shit, she hadn’t been expecting another enemy–now her knife was across the room, and the snake had her Lance!

Looking over to the spider’s position, Argent saw it began to fade from view. Invisibility?! ”Oh no you don’t, only one of us can play at that!” Plucking one of the orange orbs from her belt, Argent tossed it across the room, where it exploded into a ball of glitter. Now turned into a dazzling glitter-ball, the spider’s stealth had been foiled. The snake lunged again for Argent, where she ducked around and grabbed her lance. ”Sorry for this!”

From the handle, Argent pulled away a thin, razor-sharp strand of silk. The snake might’ve thought it scared her off, but once the Lance started to glow, it was already too late. ”Here we go!” The Lance began to shake, and suddenly sprang into action. Using the string to control it, and empowering the attack with her [Sorcerer’s Pendant], Argent caused the Lance to turn into a laser, rapidly spinning in place and finally slicing through the snake. Poor creature… she really did love snakes, but she still had to find the skull!

Yanking the Lance back to her after the attack, Argent turned to the glitter ball. It reared back and spat a ball of poison at her, which she used [Dash] to avoid. With another quick [Dash], she darted behind the spider, and activated her favorite move. ”Crescent Slash!” Empowered by her [Full Moon] Phase, the Lance twisted upward in an arc of teal energy that looked like the moon itself, splitting the spider in two. With this room finally conquered, the woman plucked her dagger out of the fallen spider and once again pressed on.

[ C-Rank Mission: C is for Catacomb ]

In the busy streets of Paris, Argent stood in an alleyway. Before her was an old, decrepit wooden door. As she looked to the door, a mission presented itself to her.

[Escape the Catacombs with a Haunted Skull]

”Hmmm…” She tapped her chin in thought. The last time she had explored a place like this was with a party she made on the fly, with an Emir and Hana who she just happened to run into while exploring. This mission seemed more dangerous than that one, but she was also stronger now than she was then. There was always a chance that Argent could run into another group again and join up with them, but if that didn’t happen, was this something she could do on her own?

Not even giving any thought to the idea, Argent kicked the door open and marched inside. A dark staircase awaited her, descending into the depths below Paris. ”I can SOO do this on my own!” With the new gear she picked up recently, this mission should be a cakewalk! The catacombs got darker and darker as she made her way down, but eventually the stairs ended and gave way to a cave.

She had visited caves before, but this was different from any of those. It was manmade, with candles lining one side of the tunnel. The other side of the tunnel was a wall made of skulls, as far as she could see, vanishing into the darkness. ”Jesus, and to think this isn’t something Earth-chan made…” Humans could be so macabre, but putting those thoughts aside, Argent drew her Lunar Knife to one hand, her White Hare Wand to another, and began her exploration of the Catacombs.

Argent had a Haunted Skull to find!

The tiger leapt back, finally dispelling the icey haze to reveal its blue and white body once more. This was the first time Andy and Dee Dee got to see the monster for what it truly was, but even they would be able to tell how beat it was. Bloody and bruised, it backed itself up against the secret door, growling at its enemies.

"Nuuh, don't even try it! You're the one that attacked us!" Argent nodded to Dee Dee in thanks for her heal and extra SPD buff, and Argent activated another [Deep Breaths] to bring herself back to full. She held her katana to the side, letting it vanish back into her inventory as she picked up her lance once more.

"Ready?" She asked the tiger, who roared in response. Mounting her Lance forward, she activated [Dash] to charge the beast as it did the same. Argent was faster, and with the Lance's DEF ignoring ability, her [Full Moon] bonus, and an ability activation, the monster fell to the ground. "CRESCENT SLASH!" The lance twisted upward in an arc of blue energy, an attack that spelt the end of the tiger.

She flicked her Lance to the side to clean it off before slamming it into the ground as a crutch to lean on. "Phew, that thing came outta nowhere. What the hell are you guys doing here though? Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the help.. but this is kinda the middle of nowhere, yknow?"