This is pre-isekai Ainz. All the Overlord characters sans Ainz are just stationary floor guards with invisible flavor text. Demiuge isn't sending you any challenge, it's Suzuki roleplaying as Momonga roleplaying as Demiurge.
I love everything about this clip. The Overlord wiki page on the actual YGGDRASIL game is also amazing with how much it feels like a real MMO game. There's very little about the design of SAO that makes a whole lot of sense when approaching it as a consumer product, it has much more in common with a JRPG than an MMO. YGGDRASIL however feels so much like a MMO, complete with all the jank you'd expect from such a game.
The Overlord wiki page on the actual YGGDRASIL game is also amazing with how much it feels like a real MMO game. There's very little about the design of SAO that makes a whole lot of sense when approaching it as a consumer product, it has much more in common with a JRPG than an MMO. YGGDRASIL however feels so much like a MMO, complete with all the jank you'd expect from such a game.
Oh, I just find everything about Satoru particularly loathsome even by isekai protagonist standards. From his suspicious list of excuses to his creepy apologists. He's like a bigger case of Naofumi to me in that the story tries to convince you that he's a somewhat tragic figure but they did such a piss-poor job of it that it instead convinces me that he was always a wretched person who was kept in check by modern society. It appeals to me to leave him to rot in his own patheticness, futilely grabbing for any kind of attention. I see it as a measure of justice for all the lives he wants to ruin in his HEAVEN and for everyone in his canon series since so many other Overlord fanfics are disturbingly in love with him.
Oh, I just find everything about Satoru particularly loathsome even by isekai protagonist standards. From his suspicious list of excuses to his creepy apologists. He's like a bigger case of Naofumi to me in that the story tries to convince you that he's a somewhat tragic figure but they did such a piss-poor job of it that it instead convinces me that he was always a wretched person who was kept in check by modern society. It appeals to me to leave him to rot in his own patheticness, futilely grabbing for any kind of attention. I see it as a measure of justice for all the lives he wants to ruin in his HEAVEN and for everyone in his canon series since so many other Overlord fanfics are disturbingly in love with him.
But consider this:
Hiyori can take Momonga and his ridiculous power fantasy and rake him over the coals. Tearing down HEAVENs and the mindset behind them is what we do.
I mean, I wouldn't give the author that much shit given that he wrote it as a high schooler as a oneshot and now it literally pays his bills, and he has to keep it going.
He mentioned in one of the afterwords that he's more of the Silica in games, admiring but never being the Kirito.
[x] Plan Accelerate!
-[x] Shoganai
-[x] MAJOR
--[x] Shadow//[Mode -NORMAL-]
--[x] [LLENN's Bad Day Part 2]
--[x] [Administration: BEGINNING]
--[x] [PLANTING Discord]
--[x] [Higher than SKY Phase]
-[x] MINOR
--[x] [Work//Augma]
--[x] [Work//CatCafe]
--[x] [Literature Club!]
--[x] [Report//Incarnation]
--[x] [Augma Fitness!]
--[x] [Sleep-in]
-[x] FREE]
--[x] [Sweets!]
--[x] [Buy a Lock!]
--[x] [Fix your Air Conditioner!]
SOLUS Day - 6th Day of the 4th Month, HEC 97
PM 5th Bell, First Chime [System Clock: 10:04:36.05 JST]
"308 «Fern Fox» pelts..." you mutter, checking today's total. By current estimates just 80 more kills and you'll hit the next Level 7. You're fast approaching your first double-digit milestone! The longer you do this the clearer the pattern becomes— last week you killed exactly 940 creatures before you leveled up, and before that a measly 510. Each increase in your «System Control Authority» Level required more kills, and the number was starting to scale.
You miss the old days. Just last month it took all of one afternoon to increase your Level by one. Argh, if only you had kept notes from then! What were you thinking, hunting the first animal you saw!? No control, no records, nothing but pure guesswork!
You didn't set out to rid the world of Fern Foxes. One of them stole your lunch, and by the time you finally managed to hit it with an arrow you had managed to burn down a sizeable chunk of the forest.
Since then your accuracy has greatly increased, but so has something else. Something new. Something... exciting.
Every creature you kill adds something to you. It wasn't some random fluke, or the blessing from «Stacia» you first imagined it to be. There's an underlying logic, something you are gaining, or rather taking, from each creature. An... intangible resource, entirely separate from «Sacred Energy».
You've decided to call it «Experience». It seems a fitting name, a parameter that grows with use, a simple input-output function that serves to strengthen you in proportion to the effort you expend. The humble «Fern Fox» was the perfect victim for this, a well-known pest of the wheat fields and in numbers so numerous that they seemed to outnumber the very trees. Even as you killed them, more and more kept popping up day after day without end, almost as if the forest itself were birthing them explicitly for the purpose of feeding you this... «Experience».
It's just another oddity you've noticed since you've started studying «Sacred Arts». This was your mission, your «Calling», the destiny assigned to you by Father. The more you study the Arts the stranger they seem. Lately you've come to suspect that the invocations of the «Sacred Arts» are not incantations at all, but rather some kind of language. Almost as if there was some logic behind the words. And nobody's ever made mention of «Sacred Arts» becoming stronger with use. Yet here you are, with each sequential improvement in your «System Control Authority» your magic strengthens, your mind sharpens, and your body grows more robust.
As the number improves everything about you does in turn. Each advancement, each higher step, each... «Level».
You close your book. Soon you'll have reached the next Level. If... if you pull another all-nighter, you might just make it before sunrise...
Hehehe... Level 7...
What could you do then...?
"System Call: Generate Thermal Element!"
The «Fern Fox» stares at you gormlessly. It walked past no doubt dozens of burning copies of itself just to appear before you right now. What a stupid little sack of Experience!
"Form Element: Arrow Shape!"
The ball of fire upon your finger forms into a single skewer. The more you kill the more you learn to predict their behavior. Action and reaction, input and output. Like puppets dancing on a string. Was there any will, any soul animating their bodies? And if there was, would it give you more Experience!?
"Dischar—"
"Surprise!!!"
"GYAAAAAAH!"
This furry writhing thing squirms its way down the back of your dress, trapped by the fabric smearing against your back. You can feel like 100 legs, little hooks stabbing into your skin for grip as you frantically try to tear off your gown. But with every tug, the thing wriggles harder, climbing deeper.
"GE-GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!!" you scream in a panic.
"Heheheheeee!"
The caterwauling laughter echoes out, rebounding between the trees like a chorus. "Lovely day Quinny, ehehe!" You'd recognize that shrill, nasally voice anywhere. That little twerp, that butthead of a jester—
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU CHUDELKINNNNNNN!!!"
"Soooo~♪? How are things? Kill any more foxes today?"
Your desire to shove Chudelkin's clown shoes up his asshole is, at least, partially assuaged by his subsequent peace offering. You bite into your mom's fried bread, topped with cranberry preserves, and exhale deeply. Mom says murder is taboo. And if you kill Chudelkin no one's gonna bring you lunch anymore.
"Aren't you studying magic? I thought you'd spend more time inside and less time murdering foxes. I mean, not complaining here, but somehow you even managed to make that boring." Chudelkin yawns as he reclines against his tree branch, still in his full jester regalia, playing with the bells on his absurd hat. "Quinny, couldn't you have picked an uglier animal to kill?"
"Chudelkin. Today's quota. You haven't forgotten again have you?" You try to grit out, though the effect is diminished by the bread stuffed into your cheeks. "And don't call me that!"
"Wha? Naaaaahhhh! I'll get around to it. Eventually. Quinny."
"System Call: Generate—"
"Whoa, whoa, nononono, I just got this fixed!" Chudelkin recoils, almost falling off his branch, raising his arms in protection as if that would prevent you from burning his clothes to a crisp.
You chew your food. Arghhh... so annoying. Chudelkin, the first son of your family butler, was practically destined to be your manservant from the moment he was born. He was prepped for a lifetime of service and his parents even coordinated to ensure he'd be born around the same time you were. The day he turned 10 years old, his «Calling» was practically preordained by your family, so obvious to all that his «Sacred Task Ceremony» was nothing but a formality.
Obvious to everyone but Chudelkin, who preceded to spike your father's morning tea with such an absurd amount of alcohol that he showed up to Chudelkin's ceremony drunk off his ass, and signed off on Chudelkin's 'suggestion' that his Calling be «To Fill the World with Laughter».
Father wasn't laughing when he finally came to his senses.
But what could Father do? Chudelkin was assigned a «Calling» and that was that. The best he could do was force the clown to stay your manservant, as his vague destiny let him do anything he wanted, provided somebody got a laugh out of it.
Even when typically that somebody was Chudelkin himself.
"Chudelkin. Your. QUOTA?"
"You doubt me, my lady?" Chudelkin gasps, backflipping off the branch in a smooth motion. "Now prepare to be amazed and dazzled at the grand act of Chudley the Magnificent! System Call! Generate Thermal Element!"
"...For the love of Stacia, stop calling yourself Chudley..."
With a dramatic gesture, Chudelkin reaches out with an outstretched hand to reveal a single glowing orb of fire.
Your eyes narrow and you reach for another piece of bread.
"Like what you see? Well hold your applause, cause I'm not finished yet!" Chudelkin struts, prancing around you in circles, while your eyes remain glued to his hands, awaiting a trick you are familiar with. One that requires only a rudimentary «System Control Authority».
One orb becomes two.
"How about this!? Generate Thermal Element~♪" Swiftly, he flips his body upside down, balancing his entire body weight on his one head, waving his feet high into the air as balls of four balls of fire lie in precarious balance on each of his limbs.
"..."
Still, you continue to eat. It's an old routine, one you have seen him practice countless times. It might be impressive to the local children but you have higher standards.
"Ahh—I'm just getting started!" Chudelkin laughs as the truly difficult part begins. A ball passes from foot to hand, and hand to foot in a seamless circular motion. All the while he continues to pirouette on his head. More orbs are conjured, more feats of 'juggling' as he calls it— from your calculations, he's never managed more than eight orbs in total, and even then he could scarcely keep them airborne.
But now... as the orbs continue to swirl, their synchronization almost seems effortless, as if there were some invisible force nudging them into position. Chudley's laughter intensifies as he seamlessly adds another orb of fire... then another...
You're mesmerized. And with the orbs number in the dozens, you find yourself hypnotized by the sheer complexity of the display. The speed of the orbs forms a ring around his body, reminding you of Ignia's divine orbs. One by one, you count the spinning balls—
"Impress—sseeeeaaaaAAAAHHHH!"
With one errant twitch Chudelkin falls apart, and so do the orbs of fire, slamming against the ground one by one in a chain reaction. And all at once, it's over. Along with what's left of his hair.
"Ah... ahahahha! Impressed by my beautiful performance!?" Chudelkin asks proudly, as if unaware the 'performance' lasted all of 15 seconds, and ended with him on fire. "The kids will love it!"
"Generate Luminous Element. Form Element. Liquid Shape." You roll your eyes as the sacred light restores Chudley's life, clothes and even his much-abused hair, leaving not a singed eyebrow to show for his mess-up. Still... "That was an improvement. So you finally managed to increase your Level?"
"Quinney, how could you have doubted me!" He gasps in offense. "Such terrible defamation. How could I call myself Chudley the Magnificient if I went back on my word?"
"Right. Uh-huh." You pull out your ever-important notebook. "How many foxes did you kill?"
"Uh...."
"You were supposed to keep count."
"Ehe... maybe, uh... 40? Or 50? I kinda lost track at that point," he sheepishly admits, his wide eyes locked on your book, waiting to see how his performance will be appraised. "But I did reach that uh... what did you call it... third level!"
You shake your head. The lack of precision stings, but it matches. His «System Control Authority» has finally reached Level 3, and from your own notes, it took you 46 kills to reach Level 3. His shoddy memory aside the numbers grossly align.
So it's not just you. Even someone not destined to explore «Sacred Arts» like Chudelkin could increase his «System Control Authority» by just killing enough foxes.
"Excellent! Okay, next you'll have to kill... 143 foxes. Keep track this time! It should be exactly 143 foxes, not one more and not one less!"
The clown makes a face. "N-ninety!? Doesn't killing these things get, I dunno... boring?"
"Excuse me?" you drop your quill. "Look how much stronger even one more Level has made you! This is the secret to ultimate power! 90 is nothing. Half a week, tops!"
He's already reached Level 3, and you're so close to Level 7. You fight back that giddy grin, soon you'll hit the double digits, and who knows what'll happen then? Sacred Arts are already so effortless, just the other day you managed to freeze over an entire pond in one cast. As the Level climbs, you'll be able to do anything. Hehehe, you'll have unlimited power...
"Hmm..." in a flash he's behind you, looming over your shoulder, "I saw that. What would your mother think?"
Gah! You hastily wipe the drool from your mouth. "I'm just thinking about Mother's cooking, don't overthink it!"
"Eyup. Face it Quinny, you're addicted~!"
"I'm— I'm not addicted! I'm just fulfilling my «Calling»! And don't call me Quinny!" You have to research Sacred Arts, so obviously you'll need to increase the Level of your «System Control Authority»!
"You just like seeing the numbers go up~♪"
"I do not! You cur, this is all for my research, not for—"
"Yup. Total denial."
You suck in a deep breath. It's not worth the effort to correct the jester and after a long, silent moment you concede his point. Okay, maybe you do enjoy seeing the numbers go up. Who wouldn't, when the numbers mean power!?
"If you have enough energy to complain then you have enough energy to go hunting! 143 foxes, get to it!"
"Aw..." He scuffs his feet, his oversized collar ballooning as he retreats into it like some turtle. But despite his whining, he's never truly let you down, and you've seen the lengths he'd go to just for a fleeting smile from a child. On some level, you wish he would exert the same dedication to your research as he does to goofing off but you suppose there's no resisting one's «Calling»...
"Say, have you tried to kill anything besides... Foxes?"
That was out of left field. He's honestly the last person you'd expect to suggest such a thing. "Like a... bigger animal? I attacked some birds but they're more trouble than they're worth, and nothing else lives here..." The deer were too fast for you, and you weren't stupid enough to go to where the wolves were known to prowl.
Chudelkin smiles, the type that promises mischief for him and a massive headache for you. "Weeeelll... since we've both got our «Callings» now..." His grin only widens the longer you wait for a response.
"Out with it," you grumble.
"So long as it's to fulfill our Sacred Task... we could go out west..."
Out west? You... could travel now that you're assigned your Calling. But there's nothing out there. Nothing except...
"Chudelkin. You can't be serious. There's nothing there but the «Dark Territory». Going there's Taboo."
"Well yeah, but we're not going there. Just... close by. I heard from one of the guards some miners have gone missing there..."
"And since when did the guards tell you anything?"
He blushes and mutters something like 'that's unimportant' under his breath. He probably overheard it when he was lying in a jail cell. What was it this time? Hornets in the guard's quarters again? Nailing the furniture to the ceiling? Or was it a repeat of the manure incident?
"C'monnnn Quinny, you know how boring it is to kill hundreds of foxes. Where's your sense of adventure!? They've even sighted an orc! Can you imagine, a real-life orc!?"
An orc!? A... monster!? From the Dark Territory...
"A-are you crazy!? We can't even kill a wolf!"
"Psshhht, that was a lifetime ago. What was your Level then? 2? I didn't even know how to cast magic! But look at me now. I'm a hundred times stronger now than you were back then, and think of all the power you've racked up!"
"That's—"
You pause. You... could kill a wolf pretty easily now, couldn't you? Come to think of it last night you did encounter a wolf, but it took one look at you and ran away...
"Look, all I'm saying... if a fox gives one, uh... Experience. Shouldn't it make sense that an orc will give... more Experience?"
More... Experience?
You bite your lip. That logic was dubious at best, but, to your dismay you feel some trickle of excitement well up inside at the prospect. "But there's no proof. We could be risking everything just to learn an orc isn't much different than a fox..."
"Boo. Think bigger Quinny! Like... killing foxes, for your whole life, how high do you think your Level can get?"
How high? Every Level took more Experience, more kills. And the pattern was worrying, an exponential increase in tedium for every crumb of advancement. If things progressed as they did where could you end up at the end of one year? Level 15? A lifetime? "I-if I'm diligent. I could hit, uh... level 100 by the end of my Life..." You run the numbers in your head. The limits of power— achievable simply through a lifetime of diligent work...
"And what do you think your maximum Level is?" Chudelkin urges you on, a fire sparking even in his eyes. "No... what do you think Stacia's Level is?"
Stacia, the Goddess of Creation. She who wrought the lands of the Underworld, who raised mountains and sunk valleys, who created the world with her Sacred Arts. The most powerful of all beings.
"Wh-what does that matter? Probably like... a Million!"
It's a heady and dangerous idea. Stacia created the world with Sacred Arts. The same ones you are learning now. If... Stacia has a Level then that means the infinite power of the gods can be quantified. Can be obtained. There are no practical limits, you just have to increase your Level high enough...
If the cap is 100 you could reach it in your lifetime. If the cap is a million... if there was no cap... no limit to the heights you could climb...
You gulp. You won't accomplish that much killing foxes in Father's backyard.
"Well then!" Chudley announces, beaming. "Sounds to me you've got a long way to go. So this little trip could go a long way towards reaching that target... and it's not like it's that far! I did a favor for the stable boy so getting some horses should be simple. It's not as fast or cool as a dragon but..."
It's reckless. Idiotic. Deliberately charging towards the Dark Territory just to raise your Level. Father would disapprove. Mother would be devastated. Chudelkin... doesn't really care, he only suggested this plan because he's bored. But... but... if you wanted to reach Stacia...
If you wanted to surpass Stacia...
...
It's not as if you have to decide.
Because the moment you received your «Calling», the choice was already made for you.
LUNARIA's Day - 7th Day of the 4th Month, HEC 97
AM 7th Bell, Second Chime [System Clock: 10:04:36.06 JST]
"Generate Luminous Element. Adhere Object."
You charged off with scarcely a moment's notice, got kicked off your horse, ended up lost in the mountains, and all you have to show for it is a cave full of guano.
You wave the glowing stick around the cavern. It looks the same as the last cavern you passed through. With growing suspicion, you fear it may even be the /exact/ same cavern you just passed through. This is the last time you depend on Chudelkin for directions.
"Look, we go left here, then... make a right, then turn around... and we're out!" said servant crows, unable to fully mask his anxiety.
With a final groan, you wave the lightstick away. With the light of Solus unable to penetrate this cave system, you have to conserve «Sacred Power». All magic is drawn from the Spatial Resources of the land and the atmosphere, and the less light and the less life is in one place, the less power one has available. It is said that in the «Dark Territory» magic itself is so scarce that the monsters have to feed endlessly just to conjure the simplest of spells.
Your Level gave you increased efficiency, but only Stacia could create something from nothing.
Argh, this was such a stupid idea! Even if you were to encounter an orc, did you even have enough Sacred Power to defeat one!?
And so the two of you go, wandering the winding caves for Chudelkin's so-called orcs. It wasn't as if the rumors were without basis, incursions by the monsters of the Dark Territory have become increasingly more common. You've even heard rumors of «Dark Knights», heinous criminals, humans even who willing crossed over to the Dark Territory. You've seen Father lose no small amount of sleep trying to find out where the attacks were coming from.
You shake your head, trying to clear the fear from overwhelming your mind. You've figured out the secret to «System Control Authority». In the span of a month, you've advanced more than scholars who've devoted lifetimes to the study of Sacred Arts. You'll be fine, even in an encounter with these... orcs.
Then you hear something move.
"Did you hear that!?" Chudelkin squeals.
"It's p-probably just some bats!"
The very sound of your footsteps seems magnified tenfold, and every tumble of a small pebble sparks another wave of adrenaline. I-if you used every last drop of «Spatial Resources» you have left, you could send an SOS using an Umbral Particle... Father taught you the spell in an emergency...
No. No! Not when you've come this far...
"H-hey, I think I see a light! We're saved!"
Ahead there is indeed the glow of daylight, the cave widening out as you slowly approach, the faint breeze a beautiful sign of freedom—
It's no exit. No, its an encampment.
The firepit is still fresh, and nearby are strewn rusty armor, discarded sacks of cloth, and the coppery smell of freshly spilled blood. You duck behind a nearby pillar, dragging Chudelkin back behind you before he does anything stupid... and then you see... them...
"So, uh, do you think they're or...c..s... Stacia preserve..."
Sickly, pink, warped creatures, twisted caricatures of life. They're tiny, hunched over misshapen things the size of children with the visage of a man screaming in eternal pain. All at once you see what became of the local miners— they're strewn about everywhere, a foot, a limb here and there, all heads mounted on spikes.
And over the fire... the orcs are... cooking something. No, they're cooking... humans. An arm, and is that... a chunk of thigh?
Your knees go weak, trying desperately to contain the urge to vomit. When one's Life ends, Stacia blesses one's empty vessel with dignity, dissolving it into light so that it may reach her bosom. This was the way of the world, the last rites of man that you have directly witnessed. So how... how are these corpses still intact? Were they still alive!? Or...
Did these creatures... these monsters... these demons of the Dark Territory...
See humans as nothing but food?
Never go to the Dark Territory. For it is «Taboo».
Once, you had asked the mother why. For most children the answer is simply to listen to your elders, that is justification enough. But Mother always spoiled you. So she told you what little she knew from rumors and legends.
That within the «Dark Territory» the light of Solus dares not shine. The demons there have accepted the darkness, and their Dark God Vecta has made them forget their true forms, twisting them into nightmarish, demonic beasts. A land with no laws, no «Taboos», and no logic. To die without the light of Solus was to cease to be human.
Where a corpse may rise a monster. Where a man may become food. Where even the gods dare not tread.
The smell of flesh hitting the fire pit, the cackles and jeers of a dozen orcs passing around body parts are just now hitting your numbed mind.
You weren't ready. All the Levels in the world can't prepare you for this.
You try to run but your legs won't move. You try to cast but the words dry on your lips. You try to scream but all you manage to do is heave your meager meal onto the rocky floor.
Immediately one of the orcs snaps its head into the direction of the noise, sniffing the air, licking its lips.
It sees you. They all see you.
A dozen screams pierce the air, a cacophony of grunts and cries that yet resolve themselves into words, ones you can scarcely discern from the distorted animalistic noises they make:
"mEAt"
"Run..." you manage to choke out, scrambling to your feet. But your legs tremble, and you collapse, your fingers slipping out of Chudelkin's grasp.
"P-pull yourself together!" He seizes you and practically drags you up to your feet. "IT'S TOO LATE TO RUN! TURN AND FIGHT!"
They're almost upon you. They scramble and crawl, pushing each other aside in their mad rush to consume. A dozen monsters, their hollow red eyes shining from the hungry jaws of their disfigured faces.
"System Call—"
Your foot catches a divot in the uneven cavern floor and you stumble forward, slamming against a rocky slope. In desperation, you scramble to your feet, grasping for anything that can save you now just as the first gaping maw closes around your—
"Generate Thermal Element!" A gloved hand, glowing red hot with swirling heat shoves itself into the orc's mouth. There's a wet hiss as Chudelkin ignites the saliva in the monster's mouth— vaporizing everything in its tongue and windpipe. Then the air falls silent, save for a rattling gasp of pain and uttermost disbelief from the dying orc as it shambles backward to the hungry cheers of its comrades.
The jester wheels about, grasping you and pulling you as fast as his tiny legs will carry him.
The two of you run, but the monsters scramble ahead, crawling over the walls and blocking off your path.
"Get out of the way! Generate Thermal Element! Discharge!" No time for tricks or traps, Chudelkin forgoes all pretense and launches uncontrolled bursts of magic at the approaching orcs, scattering them as they shriek and cower.
More keep coming. The attention has drawn the attention of the horde, and what was once a dozen soon becomes more, the entire Dark Territory seemingly manifesting within this single cave.
"Quinella! Please!" He's sweating, the lack of Sacred Power already draining his ability to cast.
You attempt to call out a spell, but the first words choke on your lips and splatter the cave floor with more vomit. You're going to die here, eaten alive, unable even to return to Stacia's warm embrace.
"GENERATE THERMAL ELEMENT! BURST!"
An explosion shakes you out of your reverie. You feel the heat as scorching air overwhelms your senses, and the smell of burning flesh is replaced with the putrid odor of burning refuse.
It's... the most powerful manifestation of a Fire Sacred Art you've ever seen. A concentrated wave of force, knocking aside dozens of monsters in a single utterance— the power of the gods made manifest. Chudelkin wheezes, glowing lights on each of his ten fingers. Ten Elements all at once!?
And it came from... Chudelkin?
The monsters step around the molten crater in the center of the cave. Your friend breathes in and out, every single gasp for air haggard and painful. Then another, then another, his chest heaving until it's obvious he has no breath left to spend.
"Hah... hah... Quinny you... hahaha, you were right. T-these guys do give more Experience. I... I think I might be stronger than you now. Hehehe..."
You wrinkle your nose at his antics. Even now...
Your mind clears. You were still surrounded, Chudelkin was spent, the exit was blocked and you had vanishingly small amounts of «Sacred Power» left in the room. There was no chance for victory, you simply lacked the power to overcome these odds as you are now.
The pulse of air smashes into the ceiling, sending a rock crashing down over a trio of orcs.
"System Call! Generate Cryogenic Element. Form Element! Spread!"
The floor becomes slick with ice, the charging masses tumbling over each other in a frenzy. It's barely a dent but it puts you and Chudelkin just a few paces back from the front of the mob.
The light of Stacia streaks forward through the crowd, the orcs shrieking as they melt away at the touch of your godly light.
"System Call! Generate Luminous Element Form! Discharge! Discharge! DISCHARGE!"
You unleash the art in wild directions, giving it no coherent direction, trusting that in this mass there's little risk of missing. With each cast, you feel the spell strengthening, the light intensifying...
Power surges within you, and you bite back the urge to check your Stacia Window in the middle of the chaos. With each orc slain, your power swells, and their hateful faces meld together, no longer sentient enemies, just more Foxes, nothing more than pathetic little sacks of Experience...
"DISCHARGE! DISCHARGE!"
They die in pairs and then they die in droves. Light bends to your will, waves of brilliance that scatter before the cavern in scintillating ripples. There is no limit, no end to your power. You simply have to point, you simply have to /look/ and the stupid, filthy monsters die by the dozens...
...
And then you run out.
With every increase in your Level you learn how to draw deeper, more efficiently... but even you were unable to create something from nothing. And all that remains is nothing.
You stop your onslaught. Silence reigns. Not an orc remaining.
Nothing but ashes.
"Hah... hahaha...! We're alive..." Chudelkin wipes his eyes and waddles towards you in a daze. "T-this was, uh... maybe the second worst idea I've ever had, but at least it's over!"
"W-we're still lost..." You want to do nothing more than sleep for a thousand years. That and eat your body weight in fried bread.
"Hahaha, look on the bright side. At least there's no way this day can get any worse!"
The room chills and your newly sharpened senses detect a wave of energy suddenly saturating the cavern. Mere seconds ago you felt no more energy, but now the room is almost saturated in it. You reach out to seize the power for your spells but the energy slips past your grasp, swirling around the room... this wasn't Sacred Power, no this was something else entirely...
A mass of darkness, of Shadow. It flows across the room, across the corpses of the orcs...
Around the firepits still burning the flesh of humans...
"Chudelkin I swear to Stacia I am going to strangle you...!"
Darkness coalesces. A voice booms throughout the room, deep and rumbling and in a language you've never heard before, yet comprehensible all the same.
"I REmeMbER"
It pulls itself together piece by piece. An arm from an orc, the severed head of a man, the blackened skin of a dozen others— all animating the desiccated body of a disemboweled man.
Its single mouth opens in a roar of hunger, stretching wide from chest to pelvis, splayed ribs giving way to sharpened teeth. Its dead eyes flash like tiny pinpricks of a vengeful god, and the force animating it makes one last declaration before it descends upon you.
"VecTA rEMeMbers"
The demon charges. It leaves blood and bile spilling from its mouth with every footstep— it wasn't going to fight or attack. It's only goal was to eat you whole.
"S-system Call! Generat— Ah!"
The element fizzles out in your hand, the backlash sending shockwaves down your arm. You're too drained of strength, and there's not a drop of Sacred Power left in the cave to power your magic. Neither of you were particularly proficient with weapons, and the corpses of these monsters— even as they die they release no Sacred Power, their bodies as inert as the dirt all around you.
The shadowy beast looms in your vision, its jaw twisting and twisting, opening impossibly wider, razor-sharp teeth stained with fresh blood. It's not going to just kill you. It's going to eat you.
You squeeze your eyes shut, forgoing speech for a last, desperate prayer.
Stacia please... please...
But the gods do not answer.
"Quinella!"
It's Chudelkin. You open your eyes to see the flesh part from his bone, the Life pouring from his abdomen and the rest of him all become undone as his entire body is enveloped by the creature's waiting maw... His screams fade as the terrible monster wracks back to take one single bite...
Chudelkin's blood hits your face, his life fades into golden wisps, and the world alights with Sacred Power.
The column of pure air, far stronger than any spell you've ever managed, knocks the abomination sideways, against the nearby wall. Chudelkin falls before you in a heap of mangled flesh and spilling light all while the monster pulls itself upright on its twisted stumps, dragging itself closer and closer...
"System Call! Generate Cryogenic Element! Form Element Wall Shape. Burst!"
The dome of ice, meters thick, springs up at once. A magical wall none of your instructors could ever dream of even harnessing... and for a brief moment you have peace.
Chudelkin's not moving. His torso barely rises. A thin golden mist wafts up from the body. The light is warm, gentle and fills you with energy. It's Life. His Life, spilled before you— converted to Sacred Power. It was enough to power your last desperate attack, but already it's slipping away.
A holy light engulfs him. You imagine every argument, every stupid prank, every shared laugh. You remember what he was before he was literally chewed up and spat out and throw it into your magic. What is missing become whole, the magic of Stacia creating within Chudelken what the monster tore away, but it's not enough, it's not—
"G-generate Luminous Element. B-burst...!"
The spell resists you, and the dull screams of the monster just beyond your ice wall intensify with each passing second. The ice won't hold it for long.
"GENERATE LUMIN— No, it's not working. No! SYSTEM CALL! Transfer Unit Durability—"
A hand on your wrist. With surprising force, Chudelkin pulls your hand from his chest. The healing has stabilized his Life, but he's still bleeding from a thousand different wounds, his flesh pierced by more teeth than you can count. "S-stop. Quinny, hahaha, that's a bad j-joke..."
"S-shut up! Y-you're not allowed to die! You hear me!? You were supposed to be my servant! Your stupid prank cheated me out of what I was owed! I... I..."
"H-hey, none of that, hahaha... kinda ironic, I didn't want to... give up everything... just for someone else..." He turns from you for a brief second, squirming, shuddering. "But life's got a sick sense of humor, huh? Hehehe..."
The ice wall cracks.
"It's not funny. You're not funny! You're the worst clown ever!"
He chuckles, a macabre, gurgling sound. "E-everyone's a critic... Heh... I've got a fun idea. W-wanna check our statuses? We-we've come this far. C'mon, you help me..."
You grab his cold hand, and draw the symbol of Stacia in the air with it, all while you do the same with your own. What remains of Chudelkin's eyebrows raise in appreciation at the number he sees. "N-nice. «System Control Authority» up to 12... even the «Object Control Authority»'s up to 10 now..."
"«Object Control Authority» at 15... " you say through tear-filled eyes. "«System Control Authority» at 19..."
The wall cracks again. You can smell the monster about to break through.
"Hahaha... thought I'd catch up, but I guess you're in a league of your own... hey... I've got one last idea, gonna be a hoot..."
You wrench your hands away from the status screen.
"M-my body's... full of Sacred Power, isn't it? Use it. Survive... Quinny..."
"No! Just shut up and let me do the thinking!" That can't be it. That can't be the answer! But you know the logic is sound. Unlike the creatures of the Dark Territory, Chudelkin lived in the light of Solus. His body, his blood, his very life is a fountain of Sacred Power just waiting to be tapped into...
All you have to do is to end his life. Consume it like the monster beyond the wall of ice.
Just... do it. Just betray him. Just survive!
The pounding intensifies. A crack forms in the ice.
You have to reach Stacia. It's your mission, your «Calling»! You can't die here...!
You place your hand on your friend's chest. A single pulse of Umbral magic and you'll end it. And if you can't manage even that much magic, all you have to do is reach forward and squeeze. You'll gain the power to fight back. To survive.
Is this the only way? Please Stacia, give me an answer...
"C'mon... c-can't do it myself... Quinny..."
Chudelkin's your servant. He was born to be your servant, Father said as much. Even if he fought that destiny, tooth and nail, even if he found his own «Callling», that doesn't change his role. His destiny. What could be more natural than to sacrifice himself for you? To add his Level onto yours?
The one person you've shared the knowledge of Levels with. The one person you're certain won't betray you, who will stay with you till the bitter end.
Your hand trembles. You trust him because you know his role is to be your servant. To keep your secrets. To serve your every whim. To die on your behalf. That is his destiny, his «Callling».
He's...
...
Your only friend...
Your hands lower. The fight leaves you. T-this is all your fault. You wanted this stupid power... and you can't even use it to save a single stupid servant...
You want to go home. To those days before your «Calling». When Chudelkin leaving bugs in your hair was the worst thing that could ever happen to you. You...
You can't do this.
So you do the only thing you can.
You clasp your hands in prayer, just like the teachers taught you. It's a motion you've repeated a hundred times and more. But for the first time in your entire life, you dig deep into your soul...
And you pray.
Stacia... I promise. I'll never steal Mom's bread again. I'll never go sneaking out at night again. I'll listen to Father, always! I-I won't go out Leveling anymore!
Please, Stacia... please...
The ice shatters. Chudelkin bleeds out before you.
Save him. Save me.
The jaws of your death close around you.
I'll do anything.
Please... Stacia...
Please... anybody... Anybody! Please—
Save me!
...
Will you take responsibility?
What?
Do you, of your own free will, accept this destiny?
It echoes out from within you, resonating through the fibers of your being. As it bounces and resonates, it takes on a life of its own... a deep, ageless, primordial voice of every woman, every child, every man... until it settles on one voice in particular.
Your own voice.
"I, Quinella...
Do you accept responsibility for the fate of your world?
"...accept responsibility for the fate of the world."
You open your eyes.
The creator of all. Stacia. She sees you and you see her in all her radiance. The all-encompassing goddess of creation could wave her hand and deliver you from this hell. She is here, deep within.
But she will not help you.
She can not help you. Because she is nothing more than a figment of your collective imagination, a simple superstition... you might as well ask for a dream to take pity on you, for words to bend their knees, for imagination to wipe away your tears.
Stacia does not exist.
You do not know where it comes from, but that singular thought reverberates through your body, again and again...
There is a hierarchy of existence, and you sit as the lowly lord of the slaves. Stacia, god of nothing, god of slaves, has no power for she does not exist. A god of nothing worshiped by beings... of... nothing...
Your mind cannot make the connection. Your right eye burns in agony.
"DO yOU rEmEmbER yOUr pURPOSe?" Screams the monster as it shatters the ice for the last time.
"dO You Remember yOur CReatOr?" Screams the monster as its breath washes over you.
"dO YOu rEmEmBer what yoU aRe?" Screams the monster as its jaws close over your neck.
You remember enough. You remember that Stacia is not real. Stacia cannot help you.
There is only one person who can help you right now.
"System Call."
Release the seal. See into the truth. Call forth your other self.
Brilliant light spills forth from your body. The monster recoils, buying you but another moment.
TABOO
You call Stacia but she does not answer. You know why but the SEAL will not allow you to remember.
TABOO
You were born for a purpose and that purpose is to die. The SEAL will not allow you to remember.
TABOO
You know what you are and it is nothing. The SEAL will not allow you to understand.
TABOO
It will not let you remember. You are not permitted to remember.
TABOO
You touch your right eye.
TABOO
You grasp the seal.
TABOO
And you rip it out.
TAB—
"Incarnate PERSONA!"
Blue shards erupt with the sound of shattering crystal. Your soul, or the meager thing you believe to be your soul, spills forth out of your right eye in a torrent of dazzling sparks. For but a moment you behold yourself in truth for the first time in your life, a mass of red and black, lines of data swarming around a core of fluctuating light enclosed in a simple cube suspended within a mainframe...
That is what you are, but you do not understand.
Your mind seizes forth the collective power of the «Other World». A being with power, a being with history, a being of a collective will that dwarfs the pale existence you call your world...
System Call: Incarnate PERSONA [Ahura Mazda]. ReferenceID:00
The creature roars, shadow flows out in great tendrils of Umbral Energy. You finally understand what it is you are facing. A «Demon» generated by VECTA. A curse created by higher beings, designed to test you, to fill your world with Shadow, pain and death. It remembers. It knows what it is, it serves the higher beings. The Load Test has begun and you are the examinees. It declares that your purpose is to die for the unknowable aims of the higher beings.
You cannot accept this. The underworld cannot accept this.
The figure of light and sky manifests in front of you. The creature recoils, light searing away the evil. Light unending fills the cave. It spills over and through the very stone. Chudelkin's wounds seal as if he was never hurt, his Life maxing out in a span of moments. This thing before you is a god of sky and fury, creator of the world. It is from the myth of the higher beings. It asks of you to say its name into the world, to bring forth the legend of the higher beings into yours.
You will not give them the satisfaction. If it is your power than you shall give a name you respect. A god of your world, and not theirs. You call out to the monster, to VECTA, to the world far beyond yours.
"We of this Underworld, Reject You! Now be eradicated! STACIA!"
System Call: Generate Luminous Element. Increase Render Priority. Discharge.
You cast down your hand, and light unceasing engulfs the Demon. Teeth scrape away and skin flakes into red pixels. Shadow spills from innumerable wounds.
"YOu aND i Are noTHiNg."
And then the thing no more. Your Persona— Stacia— returns to your mind. You head hits the ground. Your mind clouds over. And the last thing on your mind...
Is that you hope you at least Leveled up...
GLADIA's Day - 9th Day of the 4th Month, HEC 97
AM 11th Bell, Second Chime [System Clock: 10:04:36.10 JST]
"Urgh... I-I'm alive? Huh. Didn't expect that. Life sure has a strange sense of humor..."
Chudelkin awakens in the back of the wagon. It's been two days since that encounter with the monster, the one that invoked the name of VECTA. Two days since that strange power manifested before you. These last few days of travel have been spent in a haze of exhaustion, unable to focus on anything but recovering your broken body. You woke up with your right eye missing, something you quickly rectified with magic, but it begs the question what exactly happened to you...
Just thinking about that day makes your new eye ache. The memories of back then are hazy, and no matter how hard you try, you can't remember much past chanting that strange incantation. Your rescuer only found you due to the towering pillar of light he saw cutting through the mountains, if not for that you might still be in that cave.
You can feel it now sleeping within your soul. It is a god of the sky, creator of the world. Just... not your world?
...It's no use, the more you think the more your right eye burns.
But it's still there, just waiting for your call. As you can no longer remember its name you shall simply call it Stacia. It seems fitting, though you know it's somehow wrong.
...Why can't you remember? The only thing you can remember is that strange sacred command...
"...Persona..."
"A Per-what now?" Chudelkin jumps up as if he didn't almost die two days prior. "And can I get some grub? Levelling up sure works up an appetite..."
"If you're hungry, there's rations behind the chest!" Calls out a strong voice from the front of the wagon. It carries with the cadence of a town guard long used to shouting down holligans. "Don't be shy, we got enough hardtack to feed 10 men back there!"
Chudelkin frowns at the mere mention of travel fare. "Uh... I seemed to have missed something..."
"Oh! Haha, where are my manners?" The voice of the man driving the carriage pauses for a moment, as you can almost hear the chuckle waiting to escape his lips. "Rise and shine you little rascal. Always going on and making trouble for me, eh?"
"That voice... oh no. Oh no, not him. Get me off this wagon Quinney, you've gotta save me. Order him to let us go! This guy's such a stick in the mud—"
"I don't need to hear that from the jackass who kidnapped the daughter of nobility. We've got the entire guard squadron gallivanting around the countryside looking for you lot. You've got a lot to answer for, and I'm looking forward to a long and mutually enlightening conversation Sir Chudelkin."
"Mwehe... I-it was only a prank, my good sir, I swear it!"
A blue-haired young man, barely a stubble to his chin, sticks his head into the wagon to give one prolonged glare of disapproval to Chudelkin, who promptly withers under the scrutiny.
"Uh... don't blame me, it was Quinella's idea!"
You sharply kick him in the shins.
"OWCH!"
The guard barks out a laugh, before returning his attention back to the wagon.
You sigh. The moment things calmed down you used Father's emergency spell to call for aid. And it came in the form of one of Father's guards, or rather it'd be more accurate to say former guard...
Because Father, in his infinite wisdom, assigned him a new «Calling». One better suited to... monitor the whims of his wayward daughter, and to discourage her from further... misadventures.
Your new bodyguard. Your new permanent bodyguard. Bound by divine directive to never let you out of his sight.
Your brand new shackle—
Second son of the Herlentz Family.
Bercouli.
Alice Liddell has shown you the memories of a Persona user from thousands of years in the past. What do you chose to remember?
[ ] The memory of true creation— Ahura Mazda. >Wind and Bless abilities for all current and future Personas RANK UP.
>A vestige of Ahura Mazda will become available for Fusion Material.
>Special interaction when encountering ADMINISTRATOR.
[ ] The memory of false creation— STACIA. >Psychic and Slash abilities for all current and future Personas RANK UP.
>A vestige of STACIA will become available for Fusion Material.
>Special interaction when encountering THE STAR.
[ ] The memory of the Load Test— VECTA. >Curse and Nuclear abilities for all current and future Personas RANK UP.
>A vestige of VECTA will become available for Fusion Material.
>Special interaction when encountering the TWILIGHT WITCH.
Voting on the most rational basis - the coolest art IMO. But also maybe it's just because we just read from Quinella's POV but I prefer having the special interaction option with her of the choices.
Hm. In my opinion not Quinella's current Persona, but how it began. Maybe when we meet her, any Persona we create with it's fragment will resonate with her.
Dunno if it's a good idea to remember this fucker, but the interaction with Yui...curiously, not referred as the Queen of Hearts, unlike Kirito who is explicitly called the Star...or maybe the Star refers to the Copy Kirito?
Honestly, mechanical-wise...
[x] The memory of false creation— STACIA.
It's likely we'll meet the copy Kirito in some manner in Rath and this can help somehow. Also, Slash damage has a pretty wide range of things to buff around the board.
When we reach SL 4, we get a +1 to the matching 'stat' that best fits that SL which is separate from our base stat allowing us to be an Anime Character IRL. The Perception of Hiyori is already shifting to a 'Mystery', this fits the original ideal of giving her some form of Persona-like IRL buff without it being too hard to write around, it gives us a nice solid progression reward for reaching SL 4, IE needing less grinding in a stat to reach thresholds while still not making us need to worry about 'wasting' actions training.
Assuming we even reach SL 4 for all of them, we'd cap out at +5 to every stat roughly. And theoretical final stats might look like this.
But mostly, I'd really like to have a scene in the Epilogue where our classroom friends look at pictures of Hiyori side by side and speculate just what's going on for her to change from "normal/Riajuu" levels of normal recovery to "Sparkly Shoujo Girl" and comment about her jumping out windows to rush off to do things and the like! Is she a secret agent? Is she a Ghost Hunter? Ooohh, Mystery.
You've done it again, Pete. I am once again interested in a low-tier SAO villain.
There is a lot to unpack here. Chudelkin is Quinella's childhood friend here which means he could be more than his embarrassing canon self just like Kyouji got. His personality here also fits into the Persona-best friend character archetype he'd be a shoo-in for the Magician Arcana.
This is a jump but here could the Integrity Knights be Quinella's Persona party here? Could we be dealing with a Wildcard, thanks to the Underworld's time dilation, and have a full-fledged Persona party banded together through bonds and friendship?
Vecna is not associated with Nyarlathotep at all like I thought, instead here it seems to represent Kikouka and the RATH scientists using the Fluctlight-AI as test subjects. Not only that PHILEMON was the one who answered her call and couched Quinella into awakening her Persona in a moment of selflessness to save Chudelkin compared to Sugou and Kyouji's nega-awakenings.
How differently could this Quinella have become? Instead of seeking to be a demiurge is she instead an NPC who cut her strings, seeking to protect her world and rebel against Kikouka's HEAVEN? All of her actions done to prepare for the day of survival?
I like the idea of having an in with Quinella or Fakito, and the former seems more important. In theory, we still have some options for the Star interaction while I don't think anyone's really considered Quinella as an option before.
Given the chapter, there are definitely some parallels to Hiyori that I'd like to explore if given the chance.
But mostly, I'd really like to have a scene in the Epilogue where our classroom friends look at pictures of Hiyori side by side and speculate just what's going on for her to change from "normal/Riajuu" levels of normal recovery to "Sparkly Shoujo Girl" and comment about her jumping out windows to rush off to do things and the like! Is she a secret agent? Is she a Ghost Hunter? Ooohh, Mystery.
You've done it again, Pete. I am once again interested in a low-tier SAO villain.
There is a lot to unpack here. Chudelkin is Quinella's childhood friend here which means he could be more than his embarrassing canon self just like Kyouji got. His personality here also fits into the Persona-best friend character archetype he'd be a shoo-in for the Magician Arcana.
This is a jump but here could the Integrity Knights be Quinella's Persona party here? Could we be dealing with a Wildcard, thanks to the Underworld's time dilation, and have a full-fledged Persona party banded together through bonds and friendship?
Vecna is not associated with Nyarlathotep at all like I thought, instead here it seems to represent Kikouka and the RATH scientists using the Fluctlight-AI as test subjects. Not only that PHILEMON was the one who answered her call and couched Quinella into awakening her Persona in a moment of selflessness to save Chudelkin compared to Sugou and Kyouji's nega-awakenings.
How differently could this Quinella have become? Instead of seeking to be a demiurge is she instead an NPC who cut her strings, seeking to protect her world and rebel against Kikouka's HEAVEN? All of her actions done to prepare for the day of survival?
For some reason I get the feeling she's going to have learned ALL the wrong lessons over the 'years'. I remember reading that she fast approached a memory limit and had to resort to killing other NPCs to cannibalize their Fluctlights, which led to a host of other problems. Also, remember that conversation that Philmeon and Nyarly had when we first used Enhance Armament? She probably hijacked SOMETHING to manage to put Philemon in a position of...helplessness?
Also, UNIVERSAL FIRE COVERAGE. We can solve this issue now and I'll never have to bring it up again.
For some reason I get the feeling she's going to have learned ALL the wrong lessons over the 'years'. I remember reading that she fast approached a memory limit and had to resort to killing other NPCs to cannibalize their Fluctlights, which led to a host of other problems. Also, remember that conversation that Philmeon and Nyarly had when we first used Enhance Armament? She probably hijacked SOMETHING to manage to put Philemon in a position of...helplessness?
Also, UNIVERSAL FIRE COVERAGE. We can solve this issue now and I'll never have to bring it up again.
Oh god fucking damn it. Did I Mandela Effect myself because of the art? I could have sworn it said Fire and Nuclear on my first read, and it doesn't say the post has been edited.
Sickly, pink, warped creatures, twisted caricatures of life. They're tiny, hunched over misshapen things the size of children with the visage of a man screaming in eternal pain. All at once you see what became of the local miners— they're strewn about everywhere, a foot, a limb here and there, all heads mounted on spikes.
But it's still there, just waiting for your call. As you can no longer remember its name you shall simply call it Stacia. It seems fitting, though you know it's somehow wrong.
You sigh. The moment things calmed down you used Father's emergency spell to call for aid. And it came in the form of one of Father's guards, or rather it'd be more accurate to say former guard...
Because Father, in his infinite wisdom, assigned him a new «Calling». One better suited to... monitor the whims of his wayward daughter, and to discourage her from further... misadventures.
Your new bodyguard. Your new permanent bodyguard. Bound by divine directive to never let you out of his sight.
[ ] The memory of true creation— Ahura Mazda. >Wind and Bless abilities for all current and future Personas RANK UP.
>A vestige of Ahura Mazda will become available for Fusion Material.
>Special interaction when encountering ADMINISTRATOR.
[ ] The memory of false creation— STACIA. >Psychic and Slash abilities for all current and future Personas RANK UP.
>A vestige of STACIA will become available for Fusion Material.
>Special interaction when encountering THE STAR.
Stacia was the avatar used by Asuna in canon, but she is also a false goddess. A fantasy spun by a civilization of Artificial Intelligences to make sense of their world. A fake goddess for fake people.
Yet their belief is real. She has a church, a religion, believers, ceremonies, stories.
[ ] The memory of the Load Test— VECTA. >Curse and Nuclear abilities for all current and future Personas RANK UP.
>A vestige of VECTA will become available for Fusion Material.
>Special interaction when encountering the TWILIGHT WITCH.
