Marissa

  “Go.”

  When Kieran’s countdown hit 0, the team swapped strategies on a dime. Kieran opened with [Wild Swing], wanting to test whether or not [Knockdown] really worked, while Aleister and Mellody transitioned into damage phases, swapping out defensive skills for offensive ones.

  Marissa toggled [Snipe] back on, as it was thankfully off cooldown now, and let a filler skill go while getting ready to line up her [Critical Eye] [Master’s Shot] with Caoimhe’s actual stun.

  They knew from before that Cu’s attack pattern wouldn’t change until their burst damage hit some kind of threshold for damage - probably whatever amount broke his HP ‘shield’ - so they were safe long enough for Kieran to see [Wild Swing] fail again.

  “Knockdown immunity.” Kieran said aloud, as if confirming it for the group. “Stunning.”

  Caoimhe’s [Damnation] came out next, triggering the long stun. Marissa capitalized on it immediately, letting her fully charged [Master’s Shot] fly, followed by [Venom Fang] for the amplified DoT, and then [Perfect Shot], which was a 1500 [Might] skill with a very high critical hit chance. Finally [Easy Target], an 800 [Might] skill that was a guaranteed critical hit against enemies under some kind impairment rounded out her [Critical Eye] window, which would make it essentially 1200 [Might] with the 1.5x [Critical Hit] multiplier.

  As Cu was coming out of the stun, she hit [Pin], to see if he could be rooted. She smiled when she saw Cu turn toward her in that moment, and performed the animation for the piercing attack that he had used before to close gaps, but never left the spot he was rooted to.

  “Roots work.” She said.

  “Awesome.” Kieran and Jazz echoed each other.

  “Got another stun…now.” Kieran said, as Caoimhe swung the side of her massive blade into Cu. The sound effect on the attack was a solid thud, and very satisfying even to Marissa, who didn’t hit the button.

  Aleister was rotating through several visually impressive skills - her high damage attacks that had been held back in favor of saving MP for more mitigation. Shadows and dark spell effects struck Cu from a myriad of angles, running him through and smashing into him with clear force.

  Mellody had been dancing around the room applying her AoE songs to the whole team, amplifying damage and critical hit rates as expected, but also gave targeted buffs to each team member to help individually. Marissa could only see her own buffs, which were boosts to her critical hit damage and a buff that specifically boosted her [Dedication Skill] - in her case, [Master’s Shot].

  Honestly, that buff alone was probably a huge damage increase for her, given the 400% damage buff from [Critical Eye].

  Marissa went through her other damage focused skills as quickly as possible, trying to get in as much damage as she could while they had Cu under control. She hit [Heartstopper], despite knowing she wouldn’t get the bonus damage. [Silver Arrow], [Wingclipper], [Fae’s Bane], and [Quick Barrage] all went out in quick succession and found their mark. They weren’t all damage focused skills, but they still had a damage component that was better than her filler attacks.

  Marissa began to charge up another [Master’s Shot] as it came off cooldown; even without the [Critical Eye] buff, it was still one of her hardest hitting skills, and was meant to be used as often as possible. Her vision was split between the charging bar near the center of her screen and her target. She saw Caoimhe use [Devastation], followed by [Apocalypse], [Tyrant’s] single highest damage attack at 2600 [Might].

  And that was when Cu’s HP finally hit 80%. Marissa let [Master’s Shot] go at the same time Cu began to laugh. It overpowered the music, and his model flashed with an alternating red and black aura effect.

  “No way that means anything good.” She muttered.

  She saw Caoimhe smash Cu with another attack, only to hear Kieran say over the voice chat, “Stun didn’t work.”

  “Swap to defense.” Jazz called out. “Now.”

  With the decision simply made, everyone did as suggested. Mellody’s songs were swapped over to defense boosters as quickly as possible, and she layered on extra defensive skills on Aleister. Aleister threw on a few mitigation skills as well, and repositioned in front of Caoimhe, who slid over to hide behind Aleister.

  Marissa hit [Slitherstep], putting more space between Hibiscus and Cu, just in case. She may have been running away far more than necessary, but she wasn’t about to take any risks here if she could help it.

  “Well done!” Cu shouted over his own laughter echoing through the cave. “But this ends now!”

  Cu leapt into the air, nearly reaching the ceiling of the cave, as the red and black glow transferred entirely from his body to his spear. Then he came crashing back down in the same spot, slamming his spear into the ground. Thorns and barbed metal erupted from the spot, striking out in a huge circle around him.

  Aleister’s and Caoimhe’s HP was completely wiped out in an instant. Mellody had evidently seen Hibiscus high-tailing it out of the area and followed, because she was near the end of the AoE. But she hadn’t made the decision as quickly, or was still trying to give out mitigation too late to escape because she was also wiped out by the attack.

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  Marissa, it seemed, had gotten lucky with their accidental positioning. If they had tanked Cu in the middle of the room, it seemed likely to her that the AoE would’ve simply hit everyone. As it was, it nearly reached her but missed because they had pulled Cu a little to one side of the room, and she ran to the farthest side.

  She survived by pure happenstance. Followed by the foresight to run the fuck away, she supposed, but still. Mostly luck.

  “Good god.” Ash breathed.

  “How much fucking damage do you think that did?” Jazz howled. “I had so much mit on that attack. I call bullshit.”

  Kieran laughed. “It was probably an actual one-shot mechanic. Gae Bulg and all that.”

  Cu was standing where he had landed, the aura gone. His spear was leaned up on one of his shoulders, and he no longer had the nameplate of an enemy - just a friendly NPC. Marissa sighed aloud and slumped in her chair.

  “I dunno if we would have failed if I died, but it looks like we made it.” She said, slowly moving back toward the center of the room where Cu stood.

  Dialogue began coming up while she walked, though this one wasn’t voice acted like before.

  “Well done. You four have proved to me that you’re indeed talented and worthy of forming a Clan under the Tuatha Dé banner. Congratulations!”

  And then, specifically for Marissa, as the party leader and the one who originally accepted the quest to create the Clan, a new window opened up. One that she absolutely dreaded.

  “Well, shit.” She said.

  “What?”

  “...They want me to choose a name for the Clan.”

  “Right now?” Jazz asked, chuckling.

  “Yup. I’m looking right at the damn entry window as we speak.” Marissa said, her mind utterly blank of ideas.

  “Well, leader,” Kieran said, really emphasizing the word as a dig, “go ahead and pick our name.”

  Marissa would have shot Kieran the most deadpan, aggravated stare she could muster if he could see it. As it was, she just ineffectually stared at the screen. “Any ideas?” she asked, expecting nothing of use from her friends.

  “I’m as bad at naming things as you are.” Ash said wryly. “You don’t want to ask me.”

  “Clan of Shadows.” Jazz offered. “Or…Riders of Death?”

  “Jazz…” Ash sighed. “What is it with you and your edginess in video games?”

  “Hey. In a game is the only place I get to be edgy. Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to be normal most of the day?”

  “Yes. I do. Everyone does. That’s life.” Ash said, clearly having had this conversation before.

  “I don’t have an issue with something edgy.” Kieran chuckled. “Though I will admit it’s not really my thing. I’d probably use something lore appropriate or at least mythology coded. Like ‘The Fair Folk’, or ‘Samhain’. Maybe something actually using Gaelic?”

  “Let’s stick to English.” Ash said. “I want something that people can pronounce, at least.”

  “Gaelic is pronounceable.” Kieran returned.

  “Kieran, your character name is c-a-o-i-m-h-e. No one would see that name and pronounce it correctly as ‘qwhui-va’. Ever.” Ash shot back.

  “...Yeah, that’s fair.”

  Marissa leaned back in her chair, listening to the other bickering over the potential names. She, personally, liked the idea of using something with a bit more mystical fae type flair, but also didn’t want something difficult to pronounce at a glance. With a sigh, she leaned forward again, her chair pushing her upright once more so she could grab her tea.

  She took a sip and stared down into the slightly dark liquid, holding onto the mug with both hands. Her mug warmer had done its job, and she delighted in the warmth it provided her cold fingers. Tense game moments always left her fingers cold.

  “What about nettle tea?” She asked aloud. A chorus of “What?” was the response.

  “Nettle Tea. For the name. It’s nature-y and feels like it could be kinda Fae…-y.”

  “Rissa, are you literally drinking nettle tea? Right now?” Kieran chuckled.

  “It may or may not be in my hands as we speak.” She said.

  “I’m not against it.” Ash said. “It’s as bad as everything else we’ve said so far, but at least it’s easy to work with.”

  “Isn’t nettle like a really mean plant?” Jazz asked.

  “Mean?” Marissa said, tilting her head in thought. “I mean, it’s often called stinging nettle because touching it gives you a rash. It’s not as bad as poison ivy, but it’s certainly not pleasant.”

  “And you drink it as tea?” Jazz said, sounding mildly shocked.

  Marissa just laughed. “Yeah, I do. It tastes good, but it’s also supposed to be good for you. It helps with gut health and joint pain, supposedly.”

  Laughter followed that. “Joint pain?”

  Marissa looked off to the side of her monitor. “Yes, joint pain. I walk up and down a lot of stairs and my knees hurt sometimes.”

  Harder laughter followed that one. “Gettin’ old over there, Rissa?” Kieran said.

  “You’re one to talk, old man.” She shot back.

  As Kieran joked back with something else, she angrily typed the name in and hit enter.

  As soon as she did, the Clan name and tag popped up next to each of their names. “And there we go.” She said, satisfied with the silence. “Clan Nettle Tea.”

  “Welp.” Kieran snorted. “I guess that’s that.”

  “That’s that.” Marissa repeated.

  “It’s really not that bad.” Jazz said.

  “...I actually kinda like it.” Ash added quietly. He sounded almost ashamed.

  “Well, that’s what it is. We’re now Clan Nettle Tea.” Marissa paused a moment before adding. “For real, though, guys. It’s good tea. You should try it.”