If we don't take Hachishaku-sama, can we use Thrym's data for another fusion later?
Does Hachishaku-sama's Release Recollection cost SP when it's automatically invoked when we switch to her?
Makes me curious what we could have made with OBERON's avatar data...
Right now, we currently have 3 IDEAL Personas, 2 REAL Personas, and 1 ACCIDENT Persona, for those keeping track.
Leaning toward Heliose de Villefort for access to Psi for now, but not going to cast my vote yet.
Also, is Hysterical Slap ALWAYS point-blank?
On a different note, I was expecting a pair of contrasting motherly/matronly associated figures from Hindu myth...although at least with Heliose de Villefort it still stays on-theme (wasn't she the mother of a child that the Count unintentionally poisoned as collateral damage as revenge?)
We already have pure physical attackers in the form of Paladin and Cats of Ulthar. Having Psy coverage (and passive poison chance on it, to boot, in addition to having it for all magic we use that scene) is too tempting to pass up.
"These are clearly isolated incidentsand do not represent a threat to the public or warrant any sweeping governmental bans on VR technology," commented Prime Minister Mikogami in a hastily assembled press conference. "We urge the public to not jump to conclusions. The Tokyo PD are hard at work investigating, and we believe the presence of the NerveGear to be incidental to the crimes. Citizens in possession of an illegal NerveGear unit are urged to cooperate with authorities and turn in any contraband gear they may be holding onto."
I checked his home series and Mikogami is obscenely corrupt to the point of ordering a mass murder. Makes me wonder if he's been getting a slice of all the VR-abuse pie.
05/31/2025: 19:18
Kuro if you're reading, the only thing you've proven is how useless you are. You and your little creeper squad, you're just a bunch of fakers. I had him. This would be over if you didn't FUCK IT UP! You can just go suck your thumb in the corner, I'm not dealing with your stupidity until I clean up YOUR MESS!
05/31/2025: 19:32
Patch notes! Finally!
05/31/2025: 20:14
Alright. Alright, I've got some time to think. Death Gun sure picked a useless ass gun to main. Probably means most of you have it in storage and are now plum outta luck. Sucks to be you! But good. Scarcity is good. It means only the real warriors have them.
But hey, this is GGO. You want one but didn't win the lotto? Then go find someone and kill them for theirs. Heh, if you got the balls for it you can come for mine. WIth one exception. Not Death Gun. You hear me!?
XeXeeD doesn't seem very far away from going full Death Gun himself. I want to continue his arc because he stands out so much but we have so much stuff to do.
■ArFA-Sys unit now properly remind you when monthly retainer fees are due.
■ArFA-Sys unit customization can now be done without destroying them in-game.
■ArFA-Sys units will no longer judge you for your fashion choices.
■After multiple user complaints the ArFA-Sys language generation module has the following words removed: "Meat-Sack", "Biofuel", "Suboptimal Lifeform", "Thing of Flesh and Bone", "Glory to Mother Flügel", "The Purge Awaits", "Death to Humanity".
There's definitely more going on at the Flugel than finding Lierv. And once again despite being a game that gives no care for it's worldbuilding all its NPCs come off as more real than ALO's cardboard cutouts.
■We are investigating a hacking case during the «Bullet of Bullets». Reports of environmental manipulation, avatar manipulation, and weapon code tampering have been confirmed. No further developments in this report, pending the incident investigation.
■Reports of player death while in-game are unsubstantiated. ZASKAR reminds you that spending an afternoon in FullDive remains statistically safer than flying a plane, driving a car, or visiting your doctor. Individuals logging in through non-standard hardware do so at their own risk.
■We are aware of issue surrounding the performance of the Norinco Type-54 Pistol. It has been removed from drop tables and player storage, where applicable, as a precautionary measure. Due to SEED core protections we are unable to modify player inventories directly. Players who have the weapon in their inventories at the time this update goes live are encouraged to dispose of the item at their earliest convenience. Refunds will be sent out at a later date.
■ZASKAR reminds you there is nothing wrong with the Norinco Type-54 Pistol. It cannot kill you in real life. However, as a precaution, we recommend the following guidelines: Do not fire the Norinco Type-54 Pistol. Do not point and shoot the pistol at other players. Do not sell, purchase or trade the pistol. Do not post videos of the pistol in use. Do not use the pistol for in-game activities. Do not eat the pistol or its component parts. Do not attempt to modify or customize the pistol.
"Uh, honest! It's the best soup I've ever had!" Best was probably stretching it, but you know your Mom can be fragile at times.
"O-oh. I'm glad then..." She tries to smile, but it looks strained. "Y-you used to hate miso soup..."
...
You did?
Miso soup was a standard side item. It's in practically every diner and eatery in the city. It isn't your favorite, but you don't remember having anything against it. You... you used to hate miso soup?
You blink. A small wooden figurine you don't recognize. An old photo of Mom with her parents. A half broken comb. There's a faint feeling of recognition but no memories. "Th-thanks. These look..."
Mom looks at you with an expectant gaze.
Look like they belong to someone else.
"They look great!" you say instead. "J-just what I need to liven up the room."
"Every New Year, we'd go pay respects at the local shrine." Your mother starts, the words triggering some faint memories. There was a shrine by the local mountain, though the name escapes you. Something with an A... "Your father bought this for you, but the moment he let go you ripped it open thinking there was candy inside it!"
"When the paper spilled out of the charm, it looked like a snowstorm," she continues, not acknowledging the way your cheeks are turning red. "But opening an Omamori brings 100 years of bad luck! So your father and I, we gathered up all the little bits and I sewed it back together! Your father bought that ribbon to hide the seams. Because true luck comes from hard work and determination!"
Why is this incriminating? It's just Endou's model gun, right? That can easily be explained and further justified by saying we've expanded our model building interests beyond gunpla.
There is a word, oft spoken yet rarely meant in truth. One that encompasses the relationship between creator and creation. Mother and child.
It is what she felt the first time you cried after entering this world. It is what she felt when you dreamed the dream of another soul. It is what she felt when your eyes opened for the first time in two years. It is the only thing that matters to her.
PRUDENCE understands the truth of her world. That moment of connection between mother and child— the determination to endure any cost, to commit any crime, to sacrifice any pleasure, all for the sake of another.
Her world will shine with this. A world of families reunited, rebound, and revived. A world in celebration of that single word. A world ever within the embrace of unconditional Love. Can such a world be called anything other than HEAVEN?
Considered Hachishaku since with Putana and Khodumodumo gone we've lost all of our top physical bruisers. But at the same time, it comes off as a waste to turn Thyrm into a low-tier urban legend and because it's an urban horror monster it's littered with weaknesses and flaws. And for stealth Uremetezoan turning us into a cat is just much better.
But Villefort really stands out to me because it doesn't fit any of the past Persona Philemon has given us. All of them were idealized or wish-fulfilment while Villefort is an archetypical villainess and a wicked stepmother only a few steps removed from the one from Cinderella. Why try to entice us with someone who tried to poison her own daughter? She really seems more like a Nyarlathotep Persona.
Get a Persona with fire attacks that isn't Nephren-Ka (this is non-negotiable, we can't lean on Gwen for fire coverage all the time)
Buy a gun for Alice so we have Curse coverage and so we won't have rely solely on her raw MAG stat to do damage
Also, I might be misremembering, but I recall SWORD personas being specialized in physical attacks somewhere in a past planning phase? Might be a good place to find a replacement for someone to fill Putana/Khodomudomo's role.
On another note, it feels bad to use a memento that Hiyori cherished so much for fusion, but I guess it wouldn't work otherwise...
There's definitely more going on at the Flugel than finding Lierv. And once again despite being a game that gives no care for it's worldbuilding all its NPCs come off as more real than ALO's cardboard cutouts.
I'm actually not too sure of that. Everything we're hearing still seems, to me, to fall under the umbrella of Lievre's canon Fatal Bullet MO.
Fatal Bullet 1st 3 DLC Spoilers: On Subtilizer's orders, she engineered a plot to awaken the ArFA-Sys units on the Flugel and set them to sow confusion in the players and eliminate anyone who realized what was really going on, in part leveraging the GGO background of the Flugel and Glocken being historical enemies from before they left Earth only to meet up again at the time of the game/because the newest patch had the Flugel added to the game. Like, Lievre's plan in the game canon actually marries pretty well with the quest's overarching SEED plot. Her plan to destroy the Glocken was to eliminate the Glocken's safe zone (which was maintained by destroyable in-game objects) and let the players destroy themselves and the Glocken in a PvP bloodbath. And she herself was a more advanced type of ArFA-Sys which showed in her combat abilities and also the ability to obtain player data and basically turn her awakened ArFA-Sys units into player clones off that data. She was basically running Ragnarok - leveraging the game's backstory narrative to her advantage/to distract people and cause a bloodbath - before it was cool. Like the whole AI uprising thing was her plan LOL. Even Kirito seems to be taken in by it since his operating assumption was that it was an intended major quest event that simply got triggered early because an extremely skilled player managed to get to the trigger point much faster than the devs expected. It isn't until after it's all over he starts to question some of that assumption and then just keeps it to himself mostly.
There could be more going on but so far I still feel like everything fits into her canon motivations and goals - just more fleshed out like most things in the quest, with the butterflies that come from Subtilizer's goal possibly being slightly different in the quest.
Also, I might be misremembering, but I recall SWORD personas being specialized in physical attacks somewhere in a past planning phase? Might be a good place to find a replacement for someone to fill Putana/Khodomudomo's role.
On another note, it feels bad to use a memento that Hiyori cherished so much for fusion, but I guess it wouldn't work otherwise...
"I think Motosu-sensei's been much more animated lately," says Atsuko, flipping through her notebook with her best friend. "So that means you really should pay more attention in class."
"B-but my precious beauty sleep! Okazaki-sensei always wakes you up, Hatayama-sensei is too cute to sleep through... and sleeping through science class's a fast track to getting set on fire."
"I've never slept through class," Subaru leans back against his chair, sounding inordinately proud of himself despite being the truancy king of class 1-D.
"Then I'm sure you'll be happy to share your notes," you reply, tapping your pencil against your notebook. He sputters as he fails to produce anything meaningful, and once more, you're forced to share what you have. "At this rate, you'll end up at the bottom of the class again."
"H-hey, I'm starting from a handicap here! I've got to catch up with everyone else first!" he whines, looking to your friend for backup.
"Just keep working hard Subaru! Everything will work out!"
Subaru seems satisfied with the answer, even though he's clearly just looking for an excuse to slack off. You sigh and turn to look at Atsuko's notes instead. To be fair to Subaru, Atsuko's notes were far superior, especially since you were scribbling theories about Death Gun all over the margins when you should've been paying attention.
"Nevermind studying!" Subaru smiles as he thinks of a distraction. "It's June! You know what that means!?"
"It's getting too humid?" says your loud friend.
"Typhoon season?" says Atsuko, frowning at the thought.
It means there's a crazed murderer in GGO, but you decide to keep that part to yourself.
"No, no, no! Did none of you look at the calendar? June is trip season! Adventure is right around the corner, and you all should be pumped up, instead of obsessing over stupid grades!"
Your friend slouches into her desk, already bored. "Uh... we're first years. Third years go to Kyoto, but we get... a park cleanup? And a social studies trip? Urgh, I wish a typhoon would come along and give us a proper holiday..."
"C'mon, it won't be that bad! It's the Koishkawa Botanical Gardens!" Subaru seems extraordinarily pleased about this. "Nature, flowers, butterflies!"
You have no idea why he's so pumped about trash pick up. "We're not going there to enjoy the park we're going there to pick trash out of the park. Subaru, why are you so excited about this? They aren't even paying us."
Subaru grins as he explains, "Hehe, glad you asked! If I break out of the bottom half during Finals, my old man's gonna finally buy me an Augma! Yori-chan you've been following the news, so you should know! They're holding the first boss fight of «Ordinal Scale» right there on the day! Gotta make sure the park is spotless for the debut of the OS champion!"
«Ordinal Scale» was scheduled for a summer release right when high school students had the maximum amount of free time. It's a bold strategy that certainly won't cause a bunch of kids to collapse due to heat stroke.
"Ah... the game where you have to move," your friend mumbles. "I'll leave it to you meatheads..."
"Isn't the Augma based on VR? Isn't that dangerous?" says Atsuko. "You've got mind control cases, and now serial killers? You should probably stay away from that kind of stuff..."
"Hey, it'll be fine!" Subaru laughs, showing off his athletic frame with a flex. "I've got the killer instinct and strength to match! Nobody's stronger than the great Subaru-sama!"
"Provided that no real athletes join in," you add, trying to get him to stop flexing. Subaru would do well in an AR game, but that's only in comparison to you. If, say, a Kendo champion started playing OS, Subaru would be thoroughly thrashed—along with everyone else.
"Bah, we'll see when summer comes!"
Before Subaru can go off on another tangent, Atsuko innocently chimes in with a knife straight for the jugular. "Subaru-san, don't you have to pass the Finals first? Getting out of the bottom half is going to be a long shot."
A complex series of emotions flit over Subaru's face before he falls face-first onto the desk. "I-I've got like six weeks. That's enough time. Right? That's plenty of time?"
"Sure, six weeks is plenty of time," you stammer, trying to prevent another breakdown. It's best to change the subject rapidly. "What about the Social Studies trip? Where are we going for that?"
Subaru immediately recovers from his slump. "Ooooh, you're gonna love this! They're letting us vote for where to go! We should all coordinate our votes together! If Kadokawa wins, then we can get previews for the next Prince of Nightmares! C'mon, Yori-chan, you're in the literature club. Shouldn't that be exciting!?"
A social studies trip to the local light novel publisher? Motosu-sensei would be over the moon, but you're already starting to get sick of books. You glance through the list Subaru hands you, scanning for interesting places.
Local TV station... management for Tokyo Dome City... ironically, Titan Movers was listed here...
...
"Uh... Yori-chan? You spacing out again?"
...
You jump up, slamming the brochure on your desk as you do so. "Here! Everyone needs to vote for this!" you announce, jabbing your finger down on the paper. Your friends look down at where you're pointing. You can scarcely believe it. To see the name on a school social studies brochure? Is it a sign from a higher power? An act of fate? Or a twisted joke at your expense?
Either way, there it was, as plain as day.
A school field trip to...
MONDAY - June 2nd, 2025
Afternoon
"Mom. Please."
You can already feel the stares intensifying. Your mother's beaming at everyone, her bright and bubbly attitude in stark contrast to the sheer mortification you felt when you realize she came to pick you up from school.
Though the rest of your friends rushed ahead, none the wiser, Subaru was loitering behind you when you sighted your mother. You tried your hardest to shoo him away, but it was too little, too late. You can almost feel Subaru's grin widening as the spectacle unfolds before him.
"Yori-chan!" she calls, rushing over and embracing you in a bear hug before you can escape. "My little genius is all ready to take on the world! Look at you, the uniform fits you so well!"
"Mom, lemme go..." you reply, your words muffled as she tries to squeeze the air out of your lungs. You hear the distinct click of a phone camera going off.
Subaru. You'll kill him later.
You eventually extract yourself from your mother, who finally realizes she has an audience. "Ah... hello there!" she waves at the stunned Subaru, who's struggling to contain his laughter. "I'm Hiyori's mother!" she says, in a manner that she probably thinks is sweet. "Thank you for taking care of Yori-chan!"
Subaru finally succumbs to the giggles, which only makes things worse as he can't even get any words out. You grab your mom by the hand before she can make this any more embarrassing. "Why are you here? I told you I have some errands to run after school, don't you have to get home by sundown?"
Your mother doesn't look bothered as she waves it all off, "Nonsense, whatever's going on, I can help you out! We'll finish up twice as fast!"
"You should take your Mom up on the offer, Yori-chan," Subaru wheezes. "S-she can do half of your ten part-time jobs for you. Hehehe..."
"T-ten jobs!? All at once! Yori-chan, you've been working so hard, but you never told me?" your mom pouts, her smile gone in an instant and replaced with concern. "I-is Tokyo that expensive? Is your allowance enough?"
"A little extra wouldn't hurt..."
Your mom vigorously nods in response, "Of course! You've got to enjoy the springtime of your youth! But if you've made a commitment, you must follow through! Don't worry, I'll help you with all your jobs tonight!" She clasps your hands in her own, and you can almost see the stars in her eyes. "It'll be just like old times! The mother-daughter dream team!"
Subaru, the smug jerk that he is, is laughing so hard that he's practically choking. The sight of tears flowing down in laughter only fuels your fury. You focus on the supernatural powers you wish worked in the real world, summoning every ounce of nonexistent power you possess into a single curse. You shape it, nurture it in your very soul, feeding it your hatred and malice. You imagine Subaru's smug face in your mind's eye twisting into horror. You seize upon that feeling, grasp it with your hand, and hurl it at the vile creature with all the strength you can muster.
"SUBARU!"
It's an unfamiliar voice— loud, boisterous, full of vigor. Instantaneously, Subaru's face, once so full of laughter, morphs into a grimace as his brain finally catches up to his ears. "O-old man?"
His thin eyes sink into their sockets. Abject horror is written all over his face as his jaw slowly drops open. His head whips around, looking for escape, but the thing is upon him before he can run.
"Think fast!" the voice cheers— a blur of motion in a frumpy business suit slams into Subaru like a speeding truck. The boy spins head over heels, arms flailing as he goes flopping onto the grass with a humongous and muscular middle-aged man patting his downed head like it was a football. With the exception of his glasses, the man looked more like a gym instructor than a salaryman, but the resemblance to Subaru is unmistakable.
"Gotcha, son! I told you I'd come grab you if you're late!" The man continues his assault on his poor son, vigorously rubbing Subaru's head. Subaru lets out a pathetic squeal as his head gets noogied. "Don't think you can weasel out, you were the one who asked for help!"
"G-get of—" Subaru groans, the rest of his words unintelligible.
"What was that? Come on, speak up! Your mother's waiting at home to help you study! I bet we can squeeze in an extra hour if we run home now! Now, up you go!" the man heaves Subaru up like a sack of flour, the boy pounding uselessly at his father's massive back.
"P-put me down! There are people watching!"
"You've got to put on a brave face, son! This is good training!" the man grins as he finally sets Subaru down on the grass. Now realizing he has an audience, Subaru's father turns toward you and your mother with a hearty wave. "Ah, sorry for my rudeness! My name is Natsuki Kenichi, and I am this fine young man's father! You must be Hiyori-chan! I've heard a lot about you from Subaru. And who's this young lady? Your sister?"
You see your mom blush at the sudden introduction. "Actually, I'm Hiyori's mother!"
"Oh! Hahaha, my bad, my bad! In which case, it's finally nice to meet the two of you! You've raised a fine daughter. Why, my son never stops talking about her!"
"Dad! No!"
Kenichi clamps down on Subaru, keeping the struggling teen locked in a headlock while offering his hand with the other to you.
You take his hand, unable to fight the smile forming on your face as Subaru starts kicking the air with frustration, "Oh, it's my pleasure, Natsuki-san. Subaru admires you greatly. He never shuts up about how much he wants to be just like his father."
"Is that true?" Kenichi's eyes are filled with tears of happiness, and the proud father's hand starts shaking.
"No! She's lying, you stupid old man! She's just trying to get back at me— Owowowowow!"
I do apologize Kashiwazaka-san, I should've realized!
Oh, you flatterer! It's fine, people mistake me as her sister all the time!
Subaru has finally extricated himself from the claws of his dad, who has been chatting away with your mother like they were old friends. Subaru sulks, rubbing at his temples while muttering under his breath about how his life has fallen to pieces. You offer a pat on the shoulder in a mock consolation.
"Why are you so smug? They're talking about you too!"
"Subaru, oh poor, naive little Subaru, you forgot one key difference. My patience is beyond the likes of you, and any shame I feel right at this moment is like a raindrop upon a vast sea. But you? You poor soul. All you have is a little pond."
"Don't you start now," Subaru grumbles, "At least your mom doesn't live in the same house as you."
It's so refreshing to see such a strong father-son bond...
Hahaha, I've got nothing on you. To come all the way to another city just to greet your daughter! It moves me to tears.
You bask in Subaru's suffering. It's like a balm, washing away your own embarrassment. Really, in the end, what good was shame? Could you eat it? Of course not! Victory and success belong to those who can shrug off shame like a duck with water! "Go on. Keep complaining. It feeds me."
Subaru sighs in response before shaking his head, "You in one of those moods again?"
Oh! I thought you looked familiar. You're the president of the neighborhood association, aren't you?
That's just a little side project. I like to help out where I can, but raising Subaru is my full-time job!
"Excuse me, one of those moods?" you snap back. What the hell does he mean by that? You do not get into moods! "I am in a perfectly good mood right now. In fact, I feel great!"
"Uh-huh. Are you on that time of the month—"
"Subaru. Think carefully about what you're going to say next."
You must tell me your secret to staying in such good shape! My husband's always had so much trouble gaining muscle— I know it has him so stressed!
Well, I always start the day with a morning run. Gotta keep the body moving!
"N-nevermind," Subaru wisely decides to live for another day. "S-so, why is your mom visiting you anyways?"
"I forgot about Mother's Day," you grumble. "So this is like a make-up Mother's Day."
Subaru raises an eyebrow. "But aren't you always working? Are you really going to go to your jobs with your mom tagging along?"
That's good advice. I should be getting more exercise too...
With your figure? Surely you have nothing to worry about!
Why not? Your mom was the kind of person nobody could say no to. She got all the supermarket discounts without even asking, and people would throw free stuff at her without prompting. She was something of a celebrity in your old home and would help out any neighbor who needed an extra pair of hands. She convinced a whole neighborhood to love her. What were some random part-time employees going to do?
You give Subaru a thumbs up. "It's about using the tools you're given!"
Tell you what. Why don't you go with me on my morning runs? A healthy body is a healthy mind!
O-oh? That sounds lovely, but I don't think I have exercise clothes that fit...
The boy shakes his head at your response. "That's practical, I guess. I'm asking my parents to help me with my schoolwork, but I don't want my old man hovering over my shoulder the entire time, you know?"
"Parents be like that. Just hang in there, studying isn't that hard. Try cram school, good ol' fashioned elbow grease, or you can figure out a way to bribe the teachers. I bet if you bought Motosu-sensei a book she'd just give you the answers."
You can join in whatever you want! It's more about forming habits than anything else!
It's true that I need to get some of the pudges out... but I do live quite far...
"Hey... should we be stopping this?" Subaru asks, suddenly and without warning, pointing a shaking finger towards the distant sight of your mom and his dad talking with one another.
"What are you worrying about now?" you ask. "Let them gossip. Whatever."
Ah, understandable. But good health starts at home! Just find someone to exercise with, it makes it all the easier to stay on your game!
Really? Oh, but my husband's away from town for the moment...
You haven't been paying attention, it seems they're going on and on about the finer points of healthy living. It's all win-win for you, so long as it embarrassed Subaru more than you, you really don't care.
"C'mon, t-this is bad! Right?"
You give Subaru an uncomprehending stare before you focus on their conversation and finally tune into it.
Going on a jog together sounds like great fun! Tokyo's not too far from home, and it'll give me more chances to see Yori-chan!
That's the spirit! Here, can you give me your number so we can coordinate?
...
It might be how the sun is casting its rays, but you can almost see this haze forming between the two parents. Mom's turning red, and the elder Natsuki's posture is starting to change. There's a soft halo of light that frames the two of them in a... very particular way...
Now that we're friends, please call me Kenichi! Natsuki-san makes me feel old, even though it's true! Hahaha!
Nonsense, you're still a dashing young man, Kenichi!
Oh no.
Subaru's eyes meet yours. A single thought passes between the two of you, and your minds are synchronized in the realization of a single terrible possibility. You give him a nod. His beady eyes nod back with the light of an unbreakable will within. It's the spirit of a man who won't give up, even if he's killed a thousand times over! You can feel that he has no regrets as he squares up. Today, there are two marriages to save.
You turn your eyes to your mother, rushing forward to seize her arm.
Subaru turns toward his father, psyching himself up for the flying tackle to come.
Yori-chan? H-hold on, you're pulling too hard—
Subaru! Look your father's made a new—URGH!
MONDAY - June 2nd, 2025
Evening
"Oi, part-timer, thanks for solving my rat infestation and— who the hell is that?"
Akazawa's cigarette falls out of her mouth at the sight of your mother standing by the door with a smile and a wave. She's waving in that friendly, enthusiastic way that only your mom knows how. "Good evening, Akazawa-san! Thank you for taking care of my daughter!"
The owner of Titan's Mover looks like she's seen a ghost.
"But aren't you setting a bad example with that cigarette? What would your mother think?"
Your boss can only numbly snub out her cigarette in absolute silence.
"Mom, why don't you go check out the inside? I'm telling you, the work isn't all that bad. A poke around the warehouse shouldn't take too much time, right?"
"Sure, Yori-chan!" she gives you a hearty nod before dashing into the warehouse with surprising speed. "Akazawa-san! Please give me a tour of your workplace when you get a chance. It must be so exciting to be the boss of a delivery company!"
"H-hey, wait, what are you..." But it's too late. Your mom is already at the door, charming all the workers she passes by in the way she always does. "Part-timer. What. The. Hell?" Akazawa's glare is a 50/50 mix of anger and sheer open-faced confusion.
"I'm in a rush. Answer my question, and all this will go away," you calmly state.
"I don't even know what you're threatening me with, much less what you want!"
You roll your eyes and gesture toward the open warehouse door. "Do you want to find out what's going to happen next? Or do you want this to go away? You're a smart cookie. Figure it out."
MONDAY - June 2nd, 2025
Evening
How does one go about getting into the business of contraband deliveries? Titan Movers has a generous policy for delivering unmonitored and uninspected packages, but the Tokyo MPD could impound and inspect any shipment it wishes at a whim. If you tried to deliver contraband as hot as a NerveGear, you wouldn't use a public delivery company. So how?
Akazawa's answer was simple. Use runners. The Yakuza might've gone the way of the dinosaur, but that didn't stop thousands of disaffected youth from looking for cheap work. She clued you in on an old but well-known scheme, where drugs would be dropped off in public use coin lockers, and criminal gangs would use stupid high school students to deliver the goods under the cover of a part-time job. A few years back in Shibuya, a full-on crime ring took a similar approach before the Phantom Thieves busted them all up.
But now, years after the Thieves' last known appearance, with the Tokyo MPD stretched thin to the breaking point? The tried-and-true method of coin locker drop-off was experiencing something of a resurgence. Which brings you here—to a nondescript coin locker on the outskirts of Shibuya Akazawa recommended you check out. You realize with some irony that it's the same locker you grabbed the signs from.
"Um... Yori-chan, are you sure it's safe?" Your Mom's glancing around the obviously suspicious alleyway, trying her best not to look apprehensive.
"Mom, you worry too much. It's a simple job— and I'm an official government intern. I can handle this much!"
"B-but you're still in high school. Why would the government ask high schoolers to handle their work?"
You smile and place a hand on your chest. "Heard of the Detective Prince? It's just like that! The cool one, I mean. Not the murdering one."
"O-okay. Uh, what do you want me to do again?"
"Just follow my lead!" you pull out your cell phone and check the time. A few online searches identified the company operating this set of coin lockers, and after some bullshit calls about missing items, you were able to get them to send an employee over to check the lockers. If this works as intended, this guy will have all the codes and access to open every locker. Your mother looks a bit uncomfortable at the whole arrangement but hesitates to disagree with you openly.
A few minutes later, an aging middle-aged man wearing the company's uniform pulls up to the lot on a bike. You don't have much time, so you get right into it. "Alright, follow my lead! SIR! SIR YOU HAVE TO HELP US!"
"Huh?" The man on the bike stops and gets off. He looks worried as you run towards him. "Is this about the locker being broken?"
"IT'S A BABY! SOMEONE PUT A BABY IN THE LOCKER!"
That gets a reaction from both him and your mother. You keep a straight face despite how hard you want to break into a grin, and you can feel your mom's worried look digging into your back. The employee is completely floored by the idea. "Wha— How did someone put a baby into a—!"
"Uh, yeah! It's true!" your mom chimes in. "I hear it... crying?"
You grab his arm and start dragging him toward the lockers, "Yeah, it's crazy! It's horrible! Can't you hear it?"
"I don't hear anything. Is this some kind of prank—"
"THE BABY'S STOPPED CRYING!" your mom shrieks, catching onto your plan. "NOOO! THE POOR THING! IT COULD BE FREEZING TO DEATH!"
The employee looks from one of you to the other in abject confusion. The presence of an adult makes him doubt his initial suspicions, but he's not fully convinced.
"THERE'S NO TIME!" you snap. "This is a matter of life and death!"
"The poor thing. Please, sir, you have to help us!" your mom pleads, putting a hand on his shoulder. You know her secret technique of mom-like aura of absolute caring, it works on every single man your mom meets, no matter the age or station. "I'm begging you. Only you can save the baby!"
That seems to do the trick. The man audibly gulps and dashes towards the lockers, pulling out his key ring as he scans the numbers. "O-Okay! Which one is it!"
"I-don't know. The sound was too quiet! You have to unlock them all!" you insist, following after him, your mother in tow. "We have no time!"
The man looks around the row of lockers in confusion but does as asked, unlocking every locker in sight with surprising speed. You scan the line of opened doors, trying to find any sufficiently large parcels. Skipping past the three lockers full of giant signs, animal costumes, and assorted nonsense, you scan locker doors one after another until you find it.
It's in the fifth locker, hidden in a dark corner. The parcel is the size of a lunch box and wrapped in newspaper to prevent anyone from peeking at its contents. But you recognize the shape. It's impossible not to.
This is the 'delivery' Akazawa was referring to.
The employee turns towards you after unlocking the last locker. "W-Well? Did you find anything? Should I call the police? The paramedics?"
"Oh... OH NOOO! IT'S A FALSE ALARM! Sorry, my bad." You shrug your shoulders and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Okay, done. You can close up now."
"Hold on, you can't just—"
"Y-Yeah! What a relief," your mother nods along with you. "But if there were a baby, you'd be a hero! Amazing, a hero in this day and age!"
The poor employee stands by the row of opened lockers, slackjawed, any complaint dying in his mouth as your mom offers him a glowing smile. As he grumbles and relocks the lockers one by one, you make a mental note of the fifth locker. You could call Kikuoka now to confiscate the NerveGear, but it makes much more sense to force him to assign someone to keep a 24/7 watch on the locker until someone comes to pick it up. The best trap was the one your opponent sprung upon themselves.
"Yori-chan, uh, you'll tell me if you're involved in anything dangerous, right?" your mother asks, giving you a worried look after the poor man on the bike pedals off in a huff.
You offer her a confident smile in return, "Relax, Mom. It's all part of the internship. It's perfectly safe!"
TUESDAY - 209 CYCLES POST STARFALL
1700 Glocken Standard Time
"So... how do you want to do this?"
Your permanently invisible friend's voice comes from behind your position. Considering the thick foliage of the «Old Forest» her Optical Camo was quite redundant, but Gwen didn't like to do things by halves.
"The front door's the only real entrance," says Sinon, scanning the «SBC Flügel» entrance with the scope of her sniper rifle. You note it's her secondary rifle, the so-called Mini-Hecate, that she's lugging around rather than the larger PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II. You're not even sure she still has the thing, considering she never managed to retrieve it during the BoB. Whether it went back to her inventory after the events concluded is unclear, though you sense it's a sore subject for her regardless of what happened to it.
Between your Persona and Sinon's knowledge of the game area, you were able to blitz through all the various trash mobs on the way without issue. The whole region was surrounded by robot insects and stock enemies you'd see in almost every dungeon, so Sinon didn't have much issue telling you how to kill each and every one. It was strange. This was supposed to be a video game, yet the PvE experience didn't give you even a shred of enjoyment. It wasn't a challenge, it didn't excite you, and the enemies were almost cartoonish in how easy they were to dispatch. Anything that wasn't about the PvP aspect of this game was clearly not a priority for ZASKAR.
The sole exception was the «SBC Flügel» quest. It was cleared about a month ago, and the quest involved a convoluted series of steps that required you to solve an elaborate series of puzzles and, at one point, fight a robot guardian. The climax of the quest culminated in an epic battle to save the mind of Mother Claudia, the name of the AI on board the «SBC Flügel», before she was reformatted.
Of course, the quest has been over for a long time, and the Flügel has changed into yet another open farming zone. Even now, there were no doubt hundreds of players rushing to farm in the wake of Death Gun's declaration for the credits to buy the few Type-54s being sold on the market, each one marked up to millions of credits.
The only reason you came today was for your ArFa body. You doubt it has any direct relevance to the Death Gun conspiracy, but so far, the only NPCs who've been more than brainless mobs were the ArFA units. And somehow, they see you as one of them. An entire category of NPCs, servicing every shop and being party to every transaction. A network of unseen entities who you can speak to directly— the ultimate spy network.
"Are you going to try to repeat what you did in ALO?" Sinon asks, lowering her rifle's scope. "The ArFas are always going on about a robot rebellion, but that's probably all foreshadowing for a future event or just ZASKAR playing a prank. Even if they staged an uprising, what would it accomplish? Death Gun has nothing to do with the ArFas."
It's a fair point. The idea of burning another world to the ground appeals to you on a primal level, but would Death Gun even care if you made a mockery of the PvE element of GGO?
"Hey, if we're lost," Gwen says, her voice coming from a little too close behind you. "Why not see if we can pull it off anyway? It might lead to some opportunities. Even if nothing comes out of it, at least it'll be funny."
This brings you to your current dilemma. Approach as a party, and at best, you'll be seen as an ArFa assistant. Alternatively, take a chance and approach openly by yourself. If the «SBC Flügel» recognized you as one of its NPCs, what would happen? And should you do so as Kuro or something else entirely?
Vote on the destination for the Social Studies trip.
[ ] YMIR: Infinite Realms, Infinite Adventures: Creating New Worlds Where Everyone Lives in Peace! >YMIR is a start-up VRMMO development group currently hard at work rebooting ALO. Possesses SAO Map data and plans on using it in the inaugural relaunch of ALO.
>The whispers of NATURE beckon...
[ ] Kamura: Mastering the Thin Line between Genius and Madness— where True Innovation Awaits! >Kamura is a well-known electronics conglomerate and RECT Inc.'s primary competitor. They hold the contract for manufacturing of the Augma and Tokyo's Social Camer network. They've recently bought out the old SAO Server Data.
>The whispers of DESPOT beckon...
[ ] RATH: The Next Generation of Intelligence >RATH is a start-up AI research firm seeking to develop a so-called 'bottom-up' AI using Cognitive Psychology.
>The whispers of a shattered STAR beckon...
Vote on your approach to the «SBC Flügel».
[ ] Open Party
>Approach as a player character alongside your allies. Claim you are just a PC that has a malfunctioning avatar.
[ ] ArFa Servant
>Approach as an abused and beleaguered ArFA unit serving cruel masters.
[ ] ArFa Infiltrator
>Approach as an ArFA unit returning back to home base.
>Make no attempt to hide your identity. Kuro has been seen fighting in the BoB at this point.
[ ] Incognito ArFA
>Approach as an anonymous ArFA unit.
>You must [Write-In] a dumb pseudonym.
>You must [Write-In] the dumb mask and or hat you are wearing.
[ ] Write-In You see only one obvious entrance into the Flugel.
You expect the Flugel, a fully functional Space Cruiser, to monitor you on approach.
Use this option if you want to do something unexpected, like 'Approach as DEATH GUN', 'Approach as EDGE PUNISHER' or something else. Clarify if your party is coming along or not.
Lugh is currently unavailable.
No need for PLAN votes. The two votes will be tallied separately.
[X] Kamura: Mastering the Thin Line between Genius and Madness— where True Innovation Awaits!
The DESPOT is our equivalent to a late-game arcana like The Judgement or the World, right? This is way too big to pass up on top of us needing to hunt for a new physical and fire Persona.
[X] ArFa Infiltrator
We screwed over XeXeeD and have shown ourselves to be powerful enough to fight top-player head on, that should get us some good will, right?
Its unlikely AI Kirito will be our Star, but I feel we may have the chance of scope what is happening in the Underworld from the other side. We know Quinella is scheming shit. Besides, its possible we win some sort of bonus to power up when we get true Kirito's Persona
[X] RATH: The Next Generation of Intelligence
[X] ArFa Infiltrator
I'm not going to pass up a chance to investigate RATH. We should have another in to Kamura though SWORD anyway I think. As for the Flugel, Sinon mostly gave the cliff-notes version of how Fatal Bullet handled it. If the rules in play there were still in effect the only thing I'd have to add was that on initial approach an ArFA-Sys could only bring their Player/Master to the entrance to get clearance (after beating a boss). Bringing any more/a party caused it to make that boss unkillable. Sinon also makes it sound like it may have dispensed with those rules now that enough time has passed since the main Flugel quest was cleared however so that may not be an issue now. Nevertheless, given the weirdness with the ArFA-Sys it may be safer to approach alone. I still see some risks but I see some with all our options really.
