New Friends

The ship broke atmosphere into a world of jagged mesas and violet skies, the ground below fractured into canyons that glowed faintly with bioluminescent veins. The air shimmered with static, and Tanuki’s HUD immediately pinged: Quest Objective: Retrieve the Astral Alloy. Final component required for forging advanced armor.

They landed on a plateau overlooking a canyon where crystalline ore pulsed deep within the rock. Tanuki felt the shards in his inventory resonate, as though the planet itself was calling for completion. But before they could descend, two figures stepped from the shadows of a spire.

Both wore guild insignias Tanuki didn’t recognize. One was lean, armored in segmented plates that gleamed like a carapace, a wicked pair of hooked blades dripping with green venom. A true-to-form Scorpio. The other stood tall, bow already drawn, arrows glowing with starlight, a Sagittarius player.

Atlas hefted his hammer, eyes narrowing. “Of course. Couldn’t just be a mining trip. Arsenyx must have sent you. I can tell by those guild insignias.”

The Scorpio’s voice was low, almost amused. “Maybe, maybe not.”

The Sagittarius smirked, drawing the bowstring back until it hummed. “Makes no difference.”

Tanuki’s HUD flashed a warning: PvP engagement imminent.

NV stepped forward, her gauntlet glowing as her armor stats surged, crystalline plates forming across her shoulders and chest. “Tanuki. Go get the alloy. We’ll take care of these bozos.”

Tanuki hesitated. “But-”

Atlas slammed his hammer into the ground, the shockwave cracking the plateau. “She said go. Do you think we can’t handle this?”

Tanuki’s Tarot deck flared in his hand. He drew a card, his daggers shifting into twin climbing picks, perfect for scaling the canyon wall. He gave them one last look, then sprinted toward the glowing veins below as the battle erupted behind him.

The canyon air shimmered with static as the four players squared off. The Astral Alloy pulsed faintly in the rock below, but the two strangers blocked the path. The Scorpio twirled his hooked blades, venom dripping in lazy arcs, his grin more competitive than cruel.
“Not every day we get a real fight out here’” the Scorpio said, “Don’t take it personal, it’s just business.”

The Sagittarius drew his bowstring back, the arrow glowing like a falling star. His tone was calm, almost playful.
“And I’d rather test my aim on moving targets than ore veins. Let’s make this interesting.”

Atlas cracked his neck, hammer resting on his shoulder. “Finally, someone who gets it. No speeches, no curses, just a good brawl.”

“Don’t you want to know our names first?” the Scorpio asked sheepishly.

NV’s gauntlet flared, crystalline plates forming across her arms. “Minor bad guys don’t deserve names.”

“Fine!” The Scorpio lunged first, his blades a blur. NV met him head‑on, her gauntlet’s flaring as venom splashed harmlessly across its surface.

Sagittarius shot off a volley of arrows, each splitting into three mid‑flight. Atlas roared, spinning his hammer in wide arcs, smashing the projectiles from the air.

Tanuki climbed, his picks biting into the glowing rock. He drew another Tarot, his body flickering with phantom afterimages that let him move faster, higher. The Astral Alloy pulsed brighter the closer he climbed.

Below, the fight surged back and forth. Scorpio’s blades lashed in a blur, venom spraying in arcs. NV’s shield cracked under the onslaught, but after using a Tarot, her gauntlet reformed into a spiked barrier that absorbed the strike and countered with a burst of force.

“I swear all you Cancers play the same,” the Scorpio seethed, “Just be annoying and win.”

She slammed her shield into him, forcing him back, “If that was true you’d be winning right now.”

Sagittarius drew a glowing arrow, his voice calm even as Atlas closed in.
“Stars grant me the sight to slay this giant.”

Atlas hurled his hammer like a comet. “I appreciate the compliment.” The weapon collided with the arrow mid‑air, detonating in a shockwave that lit the canyon.

Sagittarius staggered, but drew again, loosing a rapid‑fire volley. Atlas discarded a Tarot, his hammer splitting into twin gauntlets that let him punch the arrows aside in a blur of molten fists.
But the flurry of constant arrows was enough to prevent Atlas from getting too close.

“Atlas!” NV shouted as the Scorpio came from behind him and stabbed him in the side of his torso.
“Agh.” Atlas swung his hammer but the Scorpio evaded and jumped away.
Atlas had become inflicted with Poison, and his HP was gradually dropping, as well as his energy.
NV leaped to his side and activated one of her Tarots; one that temporarily raised resistance to status ailments.
“You’re on borrowed time, so we need to finish this. No more messing around.”
“Got it,” Atlas said.

The Sagittarius activated a Tarot, and his arrow began to glow golden, and he unleashed another volley of arrows.
Atlas rushed in, and NV activated a Tarot that made her skin as hard as stone, to which Atlas chained his own Tarot to, causing his own Defense to skyrocket with hers. He was able to absorb all the arrows, and closed the gap and swung at the Sagittarius, causing him to collide with a wall, decimating his HP. He was still in the fight, but barely.
The Scorpio lunged at NV but swatted him away like a pest. She was far too lithe for him to get a direct hit on her.

Tanuki reached the alloy at last. He pried free a chunk of Astral Alloy, its glow weaving into the shards he already carried. His HUD flashed: Quest Complete. Rare Material Acquired.

He looked back down. NV and Atlas stood side by side, battered but unbroken. The Scorpio’s armor was cracked, venom dripping uselessly. The Sagittarius’s bow was splintered, his calm mask finally broken into a grin.

“This isn’t worth it,” the Scorpio said to the Sagittarius. “Arsenyx is going to have to pay us a lot more than ‘undying gratitude’ to let us deal with this. Let’s just get out of here.”

Tanuki climbed back up, the Astral Alloy glowing in his hands. Atlas clapped him on the back, grinning through blood and sweat.

“You got it? Good. Because I was about two swings away from breaking that archer in half. Arsenyx either grossly underestimated us, or was just trying to send us a message.”
NV’s eyes lingered on the alloy, then on Tanuki.
“Pretty sure the message is that he’s been watching our every move.”

The three of them stood together on the crystalline plateau, the violet sky burning above, the Astral Alloy pulsing between them. They made their way back to the ship and set their sights on Geminus.