Monsters in the Deep [Cryptid- Hacker Event]

With the latest release of the Merfolk expansion, the front gates were booming. Players were flocking to explore the new underwater map. Upon entering, they would be greeted by a large brass sign labeled Welcome to Eathilin. The chatter and bustle made it almost impossible to stay still without bumping into others, and the density of newcomers at the front gate left no room to breathe.

Those who managed to squeeze their way out of the bustling gateway would find themselves in a less hazardous but still busy marketplace. The bright coral market stands containing items and characters just as bright as the surrounding material. Seaweed stretched from building to building, covered in living bulbs that seemed to glow, giving the market a dim yellow shine. Bubbles rose from sand on the floor whenever disturbed, further displaying the depth of the underwater city.

Thin beams of light had managed to make it down to the floor of the ocean, giving illumination to the top of the massive city. Coral buildings grew in all shapes, the glow of the plants beneath them illuminated the neon colors and bathed the surroundings in rainbows.

Throughout the city, temperature seemed to fluctuate heavily.  Vents of steam and bubbles dotted the landscape, giving of heavy amounts of heat, and covering the surrounding buildings with thin layers of algae. Small aquatic creatures could be found scattered around the vents, eating the contents and furthering the life of the city.

New NPCs sat at the ready, guiding new members through the city with introductory missions. The new DLC had really become it's own separate game, with its unique looks and very own mechanics.

In the crowd being shoved, was Meilin who was interested in the new aquatic map. Meilin set down a bag of chips, examining a nearby stall. The bag was quickly swept up in the commotion, as Meilin looked down trying to determine where it went. "Man, that's a waste, I was actually enjoying those."

Returning their attention to the large new map, Meilin continued to push and shove their way to the front to get a better look. Finally reaching the front, Meilin couldn't help but gaze at the beautiful masterpiece; their jaw dropped in awe. "I have never seen something so stunning." With confidence Meilin began moving forward once more. "Eathilin huh, I can't wait to see the rest of it."

Racing over to a food stand Meilin caught their eye on the lights coming into the marketplace but ignored it to turn to the employee at a nearby stand waiting for them to give them their order. "Hey, can I get two to fish sticks?" After receiving and paying for the fish they nodded thanks to the merfolk. Meilin turned and made their way over to the nearest bench to eat and relax. Looking around they were intrigued by the colorful and vibrant fabric of the clothes around them. Meilin found that they were lost in thought as they munched on the food in their hands.

Delilah couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. The new area was released, along with the new race and she has been waiting for it ever since they teased it!  As soon as the update landed she enter the game and into the new city. Literally diving in without actually reading up on how to get to the city proper. Still, getting unnecessarily wet did not dampen her enthusiasm at all. She still marvel at the ceiling of brilliant blue sea, still in awe at the wondrous fishes that swam through the crowd and still absolutely in love at the new npc that populate the new town.

She greeted each and every one of them. Took on all the quest, that doesn’t require her to kill because no. She also checked out all the shops, taking note of the new ingredients she could use in her potion experiments. She might need to make a lot of water breathing potion just so she could explore the ocean floor for much longer. For now she need to explore everything she could in this city.

Loads of screenshot was also taken of all the new merfolk. So many new players has entered the game, some probably old players and just have their character race changed, but they are still new! Some of them are already decked out in the most beautiful gears already. Plate mail with eyes that tracks and wiggling tongues lined with teeth! She can’t wait to craft some sets!

Delilah shook her head. Oh she was getting too carried away again. Today was the first day of the launch and so many new players are also looking for the new ingredients. Should let them have the first pick rather than fighting them for it. For now she is a little bit overwhelmed, so she went to the closest taxi – an adorable turtle with a taxi hat – paid the fee and let the turtle take her on a ride to look over the city. Where she is going to go? Well Mr Turtle will decide.

The vibrant life of the city was reflected above, as hundreds of small fish swam, trying to escape slightly larger fish. There was a commotion as a swarm of fish quickly dispelled as a light blue gateway appeared in the center of them. The frightened fish gave cover to the figure who passed through the gateway, only for it to close behind them. The figure was slow to fall, the water pushing up against them, causing the oversized cloak to fall slower. The green of the cloak seemed to glow off of them, as their sickening presence made itself to the bottom of the seafloor.

Looking down with their golden gaze, they looked around at the crowd, and attempted to swim slowly to reposition themselves as not to step on anyone's head. Landing in the market, the character attempted to catch the attention of everyone in the vicinity, their shouts inaudible over the chatter of the area. The smiling mask gave off an eerie feeling, Guy Fawkes's blank smile unwavering, and showing none of the wearers emotion. Their static smile surveyed the environment, as they pulled up an invisible window. Their fingers moved slowly over the keys as they typed, but it didn't take them long to finish writing.

Closing the unseen window, they minimized the chat. Staff members in the area quickly realized that they could no longer breathe. Several staff were quick to vanish, leaving the game or traveling back to the surface as quickly as they could. Holding themselves high, the green figure began walking, the waxy cape somehow staying out of everyone's way while still billowing far from their back. As they walked towards the mass of people, their breastplate began glowing, drops of poison slowly leaking from the chitin plates and mixing into the water, slightly irritating the skin of whoever was touched by the solution. Passing through the crowd with almost no trouble, the petite figure appeared on the other side of the market, waiting for the crowd to quiet down once they noticed members leaving.

Overwhelmed with the beautiful bright neon fabric found in one of the shops, Meilin couldn't help but buy some of the bright material. Meilin struggled to not look like a kid in a candy store buying all the sweets possible. They excitedly purchased the textile from the well dressed merfolk, and after paying they returned to the bench from before.

Meilin had their nose buried in their newly bought notebook, already sketching new outfits for fun. After they ran out of ideas for the time being, Meilin spotted a large sea horse with a sign that read 'cab', happily Meilin sprinted over to the horse to speak to the them. "Hey can you take me downtown to the nearest dress shop please?"

The bright horse nodded in response and lowered their body into the sand, and Meilin mounted the aquatic animal. The sea creature rose up and and sped away to the designation that was requested. After reaching the shop, Meilin thanked the horse then turned to the shop.

Meilin stood in front of the neon blue store and took their first steps inside, and their heart almost missed a beat. They were filled with inspiration, and they wandered the store for some of time. Eventually they had to leave however, heading back out onto the busy street. Immediately they noticed that their skin felt itchy. Turning and rubbing their arms, they noticed that they weren't the only one being affected. Something odd was going on here.

The ride was as peaceful as it can be. Mr Turtle swam slow and gentle through the water, allowing her to pause as many as she liked to take screenshot of the beautiful scenery and the mass of crowds down below. Perhaps it was due to this high vantage point that allowed her to see a spot of trouble.

Delilah frowned as she noted some players swimming for the surface pods or just dive into the wild ocean and swim up. That was strange. They were giving away so many potions and it seemed to last a very long time. Or did they forgot something at the surface? It concerned her as it was quite a few number of players all leaving at once. She took a few screenshot of that. She could show it to her cousins later. They could probably work out better than her on what was going on.

It was then she noted a second strange thing. Some people seemed to congregate together, particularly around healers. Did someone played a mean prank? They don’t look too happy and seemed to be scratching at their bare skin. This won’t do!

“Sorry Mr Turtle I need to get off early now!” Delilah said, patting the taxi turtle and even giving them a quick hug. Then she jumped off their back and float all the way back down to the ground floor. When she landed she immediately went to the nearest player that seemed to be scratching at themselves. She walked to them quickly, “hello! I noticed you seemed to be a bit uncomfortable. May I take a look? I’m a shaman I maybe able to help.”

Failing that she could always activate her skill and literally take their physical ailment away.

Turning back to the crowd, the masked figure's smile remained unmoving. Grabbing at their cloak, they wrapped the waxy fabric around their chest, covering and stopping the leak of acid. With unexpected grace, they seemed to glide from one current to another, disappearing behind walls of coral only to appear elsewhere. The figure's fluid movements were extraordinary, and had they not been as stealthy as they had been, they would have been sure to attract a crowd.

With a flash, the figure appeared on top of the gateway to the city. Able to see the line of itching people the hooded person paused. The gathering below was crowded, and while plenty of the SCCO staff had fled, the hooded figure didn't seem quite satisfied. With their new vantage point, they reached into a pocket, pulling out the invisible window once more, and casually typing out their unseen prompts.

The being was now extremely noticeable, with the cape extending feet from their body, and the glowing green particles effects gathering around their midsection. Opening the chat window, they turned to read the messages. Only seconds later, they switched back to the concealed window, and submitted the string of code. Immediately, more members of the staff found themselves incapable of breathing.

Looking down at the chaos below, the figure seemed patient. While some people squirmed in the water, trying to escape or draw in a breath, some members began derezing. Swinging their feet beneath them, they watched the chaos down below while trying to contain the acid coming from their armor.

The SC.CO fled as if they were sheep running from a sheep dog. Some for those so unfortunate struggled to reach the surface, others scrambled to get their potions. It was chaos before everyone's eyes. The rest of them were itching way at their arms and legs like an insect was in their skin and they were trying desperately to get it out. Scratching their arms like the rest of the crowd Meilin panicked at the sight of this mad confusion.

" Excuse me."
Meilin was spooked to hear someone speak but turned to see a elven man fairly dressed standing before them. "Oh yes what do you need?" Meilin brought their hand out to shake the gentleman's hand but quickly brought it back to continue itching their arms.

"A thousand pardons my friend are you alright?" Meilin turned their head almost as if they hadn't been asked the question often, without any luck of seeing anyone possible they realized that the question was indeed to them. "Oh me? Um honestly sugar, I have no clue what is going on. Ever since I left a shop not to far from here I felt trebly itchy. Now that I am thinking about it the most commotion is over by the gate but I cant see what's over there, too many people are blocking the way. My name's Meilin, um... if you don't mind me asking but what's your name?