[ Right. He disabled PvP here. But in this relatively empty room, a little slime dummy appears on the other side of the room. Hien gestures over to Fandaniel that he can attack that thing. ]
[ What Hien wants is clear enough with the arrival of the lil' slime dummy. He flips the book open and turns to gesture sharply towards the slime, a bolt of lightning from a MeRai Kruz striking it with a... well, there is a crack of sound with that, though Fandaniel won't hear it.
What he does hear are the screams again. They wail through the spell and it startles him, him, of all people! It's unexpected. His sound is off. His sound is off. The book falls from his grip and he jerks away from it, hands going to his head, for without any other sound, the voices of his family are crystal clear and loud, louder than ever before.
Distress is not a normal look for Fandaniel and yet... ]
[ The fact that it's not a normal look only concerns Hien a little more as he frowns upon seeing his reaction. Hien can't hear it, but he's very inclined to believe Fandaniel now. He's not sure if Fandaniel still has the audio off, but he grabs onto his shoulders to try and get his attention. He keeps the grip very firm. If he gets Fandaniel's attention, he mimics a breathing gesture by pressing a hand to his own chest and doing just that.
[ His audio is indeed still off and it takes a moment of quick fumbling to toggle them back on when he feels Hien's hands on his shoulders. This has the total opposite effect of calming him down. Instead, thanks to how real it feels that he's being grabbed at in the midst of what feels like panic, he jerks away violently and strikes out at the offending hands with an arm. ]
Don't you dare touch me!
[ The only blessing here is that with him having dropped the book, having ceased casting, the screams do trail off for him. ]
Did you hear?! Did you hear them?! Where did these come from?!
[ Hien just grabs his lashing arm tightly, but not enough to hurt. He's still not letting go, his hold firm on his shoulder and arm. Hien knows he's bad at this, but he's trying so hard right now. ]
I didn't hear them, but I believe you.
[ He keeps his voice steady and his voice no longer sounds like the usual tired drawl-like tone he has. He actually sounds alert for once. ]
[ Ah, but he says he believes him. Does he, though? Or is he merely trying to calm a madman down? Is that what this is? Wasn't he done with this as an adult? Hadn't he outgrown the trauma? Why now?
Laughter bubbles up from his lips and while he lets Hien keep ahold of the arm he'd struck out with, his other reaches up to cover his face as he bows his head against it. The laughter is wild, even unhinged, a stress reaction he hasn't let loose with in a long time.
It wouldn't do, after all, for such a serious scientist to cackle like a maniac every time this horrible world became too much to bear. ]
See? I see only you and me and this awful gear and that awful book and this awful room!
[ That's a strange enough question to snap him out of the wild laughter for the moment. It trails off as he focuses on that instead, the hand at his face slowly lowered. He stares down at the room's floor instead, silent, considering. ]
I can feel your hand just fine. The room smells like nothing in particular. [ A pause, then he adds, asking, ] Should it?
[ Hien seems relieved when he sees Fandaniel calm down and snap out of the laughter. The senses tactic worked, and he sure as hell isn't going to ask him about what he's hearing. ]
No, it shouldn't.
[ His grip loosens on both his arm and shoulder, but he's still holding them. ]
You're fine. You're good.
[ He quietly breathes out. ]
You'll be okay.
[ He says that firmly like he really believes in it. Maybe he does. ]
Unfortunately, I can't do anything about that shitty tome right now. However, you can join another guild to deposit it in their storage and never go back there again.
[ Yes, he saw that Fandaniel made his own guild. He's not going to tell him to store the book in there where it's easily accessible in a place that he'd possibly frequent. Just dump it in Moon Tree, or something.
Even then, he can't guarantee that it'll work, but it's the only suggestion he has. ]
The reason why I'm telling you this is because I can't do anything about it. At least, not right now. Go run a dungeon with a different weapon and hope to get the second best weapon from the drops if you even care about the stats. Cover it with a weapon skin if you have to.
[ Dump it in another guild's storage... A good idea. Too bad Hien will have to be disappointed when Fandaniel decides to keep the terrible tome in his very own guild room. Will he obsessively cause the screams on occasion? Maybe, once he's gotten past the initial horror, but that will be a problem for future Fandaniel. ]
...you truly have no idea where any of this came from?
[ How strange that something like cursed level cap rewards would go out without even the admins knowing about them. What game was CCCorp playing here? ]
[ Hien only said that he wouldn't tell Fandaniel in the initial email because he thought he was being trolled. And that Hien is a spiteful bastard, but it's fine.
He finally lets go of Fandaniel's arm and shoulder. ]
[ Don't worry, the next time will probably be for trolling purposes. Look forward to it but until then, Fandaniel will have to take Hien at his word on this. A sigh escapes him and the tenseness he'd been holding himself with drains away. Now he just looks tired. ]
I see. I think... I will put this away and log off for the evening.
[ He gives Fandaniel a small pat on the head before he sends him out of the room to reappear in Mac Anu where the view of the sunset is the best in the area.
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What he does hear are the screams again. They wail through the spell and it startles him, him, of all people! It's unexpected. His sound is off. His sound is off. The book falls from his grip and he jerks away from it, hands going to his head, for without any other sound, the voices of his family are crystal clear and loud, louder than ever before.
Distress is not a normal look for Fandaniel and yet... ]
I can still hear it?! How?!
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BREATHE!!! ]
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Don't you dare touch me!
[ The only blessing here is that with him having dropped the book, having ceased casting, the screams do trail off for him. ]
Did you hear?! Did you hear them?! Where did these come from?!
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I didn't hear them, but I believe you.
[ He keeps his voice steady and his voice no longer sounds like the usual tired drawl-like tone he has. He actually sounds alert for once. ]
Tell me what you see right now.
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[ Ah, but he says he believes him. Does he, though? Or is he merely trying to calm a madman down? Is that what this is? Wasn't he done with this as an adult? Hadn't he outgrown the trauma? Why now?
Laughter bubbles up from his lips and while he lets Hien keep ahold of the arm he'd struck out with, his other reaches up to cover his face as he bows his head against it. The laughter is wild, even unhinged, a stress reaction he hasn't let loose with in a long time.
It wouldn't do, after all, for such a serious scientist to cackle like a maniac every time this horrible world became too much to bear. ]
See? I see only you and me and this awful gear and that awful book and this awful room!
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What do you feel? My hand? Do you smell anything?
[ The room doesn't smell like anything at least. ]
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[ That's a strange enough question to snap him out of the wild laughter for the moment. It trails off as he focuses on that instead, the hand at his face slowly lowered. He stares down at the room's floor instead, silent, considering. ]
I can feel your hand just fine. The room smells like nothing in particular. [ A pause, then he adds, asking, ] Should it?
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No, it shouldn't.
[ His grip loosens on both his arm and shoulder, but he's still holding them. ]
You're fine. You're good.
[ He quietly breathes out. ]
You'll be okay.
[ He says that firmly like he really believes in it. Maybe he does. ]
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[ Yes, he saw that Fandaniel made his own guild. He's not going to tell him to store the book in there where it's easily accessible in a place that he'd possibly frequent. Just dump it in Moon Tree, or something.
Even then, he can't guarantee that it'll work, but it's the only suggestion he has. ]
The reason why I'm telling you this is because I can't do anything about it. At least, not right now. Go run a dungeon with a different weapon and hope to get the second best weapon from the drops if you even care about the stats. Cover it with a weapon skin if you have to.
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...you truly have no idea where any of this came from?
[ How strange that something like cursed level cap rewards would go out without even the admins knowing about them. What game was CCCorp playing here? ]
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[ Hien only said that he wouldn't tell Fandaniel in the initial email because he thought he was being trolled. And that Hien is a spiteful bastard, but it's fine.
He finally lets go of Fandaniel's arm and shoulder. ]
It's what I'll be looking into right after this.
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I see. I think... I will put this away and log off for the evening.
[ Gotta go touch some grass or something. ]
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[ He gives Fandaniel a small pat on the head before he sends him out of the room to reappear in Mac Anu where the view of the sunset is the best in the area.
Time for him to get to work. ]