Actually pretty fitting for Hunger. When he thirsts for vengeance, he devours everything around him and turns the world into a wasteland. Should he give up vengeance, he becomes nothing and the very essence of his being is drained away. It's only when he finds measure of peace that he can put hold to hit vendetta, though he will inevitably take it up again in time.
Also, he's really good at fishing, I guess?
There were no prey for Gisena's blast-fishing experiment in the river, but scarce hours later they encountered a picturesque lake, freshwater glittering in the sun and spanning very nearly to the horizon. Lilies bobbed across its expansive surface as birds and bugs circled lazily about, the halcyon chorus of life uninterrupted.
"Well, this is downright idyllic!" Gisena exclaimed, spinning around to face the water. She skipped happily down to the shore, humming as she went.
I was going to comment the exact same thing but Gisena beat me to it. This place is obnoxiously nice, to the point that it feels like some kind of trap. They just happened to stumble lovely pond to ruin with high explosives the same day they desired to fish and found no prey? Pull the other one Apocryphal, it's got bells on it. That or maybe Versh led us here intentionally as a treat for its true pilot and companions. I would've appreciated that but anything it gives us seems intrinsically suspicious from something so obviously evil looking.
Maybe I'm mistaken and it'll turn out to be a totally innocent being fucked over by the Foremost, only starving because of psychosurgery or whatever. On that day, I might apologise for hurting Versh's feelings. Till then, I'm gonna keep a wary eye on it.
"It's downright suspicious." He followed, keeping his eyes peeled. They'd spoken of fishing, and a fishing spot appeared. It could be benign, the world yielding to his whims on this small matter - a faint echo of the causality-bending influence he'd once exerted by sheer power of spirit.
Long seconds passed. Nothing struck at them, from ambush or otherwise; he settled into a watchful wariness.
Nice to know Hunger is on the same page here. Really didn't expect the Accretion to have such relatively flexible fate manipulation, though I suppose it shouldn't be too much of a surprise. How else were they supposed to get beach episodes while in a guerilla war against an oppressive totalitarian state? Makes me really regret not taking Unshattered and even more eager to up our Accretion rank. Hopefully mercenary requests count for those purposes or maybe Letrizia can get us some referrals.
Letrizia had Verschlengorge extend a hand over the water, acting as a makeshift pier. He carved a rudimentary fishing rod from a branch and some wire, while Gisena tinkered with one of the Armament's dumb-fire munitions, its fuses safely set aside.
Damn Gisena, how hard have you been hitting the books? If you weren't so gorgeous and charismatic, I'd call you a total fucking nerd. Seriously, she went from "wow guns are real neat" to "hold my beer and watch me dismantle this mortar". Sure, her nihilism plays a role but for Zia to not be freaking the fuck out, she must have displayed some serious knowledge.
"You go first," he handed Letrizia the rod, and some processed meat for bait. "It's simple. Flick the rod to cast the line and wait."
"A-alright." Letrizia took the rod from him and cast the line with a determined expression. "How long does it usually take?"
"Depends," he shrugged. "Could be minutes, could be hours."
So cute.
"That long?" She asked petulantly. "Couldn't you hunt the fish with your physical power? You slew an Astral beast the size of a giant!"
"I'd rather rest for a time," he replied, settling in. "That bandit leader was well-equipped and skilled. I exerted myself more than I'd like. The well of my power has thinned."
God, what a contrast. I can really feel Accretion's agnosticism to its opponent's strength. It sounds so cool when you talk about blocking supernovas but those high expectations make it all the more disappointing when you struggle to fight a random miniboss. Talk about being tired all you like Hunger, Letrizia was the one who patched up the gaping hole in your stomach. You got fucked up by a chump.
I imagine he probably feels the worst about it. Does he remember anything about the heights from which he has fallen? I'm really glad we took repose because we need that old man energy or we'd seem even more pathetic.
"Hmph," She tossed her hair primly. "So, we're to wait your pleasure while you rest? You could just as easily sleep while Verschlengorge is moving."
"Yes, you're to wait," he said dryly. "And fish."
"A-ah."
Oh my god, maximally adorable, trying to not seem childish towards an impressive and intimidating pseudo-authority figure despite that authority figure imposing a seemingly pointless timewasting task. She's weak against people answering her rhetorical questions though. I suspect between her position, rank and giant robot, very few people would dare.
They sat in silence for a bit.
"W-well, that's just totally unreasonable!" She finally said, turning to glare at him.
"I never told you I was going to be reasonable."
"That's true... Wait, I-I mean, you shouldn't have to tell people that! Reasonableness is the expected order of things!"
"Do as you like. I'm resting here."
"Mmh..." Letrizia slouched unhappily.
The cutest in the universe.
And yeah, when it comes down to it Letrizia doesn't have a lot of leverage here. As far as she knows, the Astral beings Versh detects are the greatest threat on this journey and leaving behind their strongest personal combatant would probably end with her dead, especially if Gisena followed him. And wow, watching Hunger talk with Zia is like seeing a lazy but mildly sadistic cat play with a mouse. Truly maximum booli. Not that I'm complaining, these conditions are ideal for Zee's appeal to shine.
He chewed on a stalk of grass. "Hey. What do you think our chances of getting out of here are? Eight out of ten? Nine?"
"At least nine, I'd hope! Both you and Miss Gisena are strong... maybe ninety-five out of a hundred times we should escape? As long as we don't have too many encounters like today."
Huh. Guess I was right in saying that personal combat enhancement is relatively rare is a scrub like Hunger is currently counts at strong. Wonder how she would have reacted if we'd been Unshattered. Gisena's ability to restabilise rifts would make her an invaluable asset too and even without that she's got a strong sense for battle. Plus, she's a genius.
And wow, those are some really optimistic odds. While our Arete generation gives us a serious edge, as does Progression, our general decision making hasn't been ideal so far. Gotta really fire up the omake engines if we want to survive; the Apocryphal would take 10 to 20 points off that estimation, easy. Wonder why he's even asking her though, she doesn't seem to have any significant experience with this place.
"I tend to attract trouble. So does this guy." He gestured towards the Armament with his head.
"Hmph! True enough. Maybe if you were a bit more reasonable, that wouldn't be the case."
"Fire me if you like. I'll retire and become a fisherman."
She laughed. "I'd like to see that!"
She laughs but little does she know that the hero's weapon of choice before he went graverobbing was actually a fishing rod. If we can reforge our legend, we could start dragging things out the Astral and into reality, providing a steady stream of enemies to grind on. Moreover, you've not heard true suffering until you've heard a human being with a fishhook in their ear. It's a genuinely deadly weapon. Just wait till he returns to full power, he'll start pulling ships out of orbit and fish in the eddies of fate for favourable conclusions.
What do you mean that seems a bit beyond Accretion? Why else would we have To Shatter Heaven if not to enable ridiculous gonzo bullshit like this?
"Point is, we don't know exactly what the future will bring, or if we're all going to make it. It's worthwhile to look around and enjoy this place every once in a while. Steal what joy you can."
Letrizia looked down, her expression conflicted. "You're right. You're right, of course, but..."
He closed his eyes, letting his instincts guide him. "You feel like you don't have time for that. That people are depending on you. That if you don't achieve what you've set out to achieve, it will all have been for nothing."
She gasped. "H-how did you-"
"I felt the same, once." He paused, thinking carefully.
Honestly, this is what I was really hoping for in their relationship. I was really not on board with waifu Letrizia, she's too young and too sheltered for that to be anything other than a painfully uneven relationship. Maybe after a few decades of timeskip we could see but even then it seems kinda sketch. To say nothing of how fundamentally different the lives of these two are destined to be, wandering multiversal murderhobo and Duchess of an interstellar empire.
Mentorship fits much better for their circumstances and even if the hero is vastly diminished from what he was, he's still acutely aware of what it was like being a fresh faced kid in over his head. If there's anyone who could teach her, it would be a guy who lived through that entire experience and came out completely burned out from his fuckups and failures.
Also, cool to see Accretion's social instincts in action. I was hoping for lots of stuff like this from Nightmare Praetor, being the Control to someone's Seram.
"There was a magic in my second world. Hard to quantify or explain. As you accumulated power you could do impossible feats. My enemy was very skilled in it. He'd spent centuries upon centuries gathering strength. Fighting him was like fighting the tide. Endless setbacks every week. Whenever we failed, people died. Whenever we didn't act, people died. I fought him for eleven years. If we hadn't taken what moments we could, however brief, we would have lasted... maybe five or six. That final stretch, it was only the strength that I'd gained in those moments which kept me going."
Centuries? Jesus Christ, no wonder the Tyrant managed to steamroll the world. The only thing that could have possibly let the hero take him on when he was a dumbass highschooler is fate doing all but wipe his ass for him. Did the Tyrant discover a journal of the Forebear detailing a step by step process on how to tell destiny to eat shit?
Given the wording on Rihaku's various comments (that the Forebear knows about the Hidden Ones, that he's "said to have died" and that having an instance of the Forebear in our brains would be overpowered), I'm guessing the Blade's owner actually underwent some form of ascension to the ranks of those secret gods.
She blushed. "I-I get it. You d-didn't have to make a whole speech and everything."
"Stupid."
"What?"
"'You didn't have to make a whole speech and everything, stupid.' Say it properly. What is the nobility coming to these days?"
"You! Aaah... I was trying so hard not to be a stereotype! Is this how everyone sees me, even you and Miss Gisena? That stupid Old Terra show..."
"I don't remember much. Bits and pieces. But you have to admit... the Armament. And you kind of look like her."
"Yeah. Neuron Genesis Cathedrelion, right? It's been a joke for almost as long as we've had the Armaments. I even got implants to change my hair..."
My skeleton is turning into pure light.
Amazed that a random anime survived long enough in the cultural consciousness to actually be a good. I gotta assume that her parents were just legendary weebs who genetically engineered and raised their daughter into an Asuka clone; the coincidence would be too much otherwise. It's gotta be to improving her suitability to pilot the Armaments, right? Trying to fit their daughter into the grooves of cultural consciousness already known to be compatible with biomechanical monstrosities.
"What?" He sat up. "So you're a natural redhead as well?"
Her hair shimmered for a moment, then shifted to a shade of fiery red. "Y-yeah. I thought white was more professional and would break the association, but everyone was like, 'That's exactly what she'd do!'"
"Don't fight it. Embrace it. Then people will naturally see the areas where you're different."
"Oh? L-like what?"
"You're childish at times, but on balance I'd say you're much more level-headed and mature than she was. She always acted like she had something to prove. You're truly comfortable piloting Verschlengorge. You and he have a good connection. Though not as good as mine with my sword."
"Well," She said quietly, failing to contain a smile. "I am five years older. Of course I'd be more mature!"
Well, "lean into it" is probably the best advice in this situation. Getting salty or embarassed is just blood in the water, a hearty laugh and a "I suppose so, yes" deflects this infinitely better. Also, wow Hunger, for a semi-amnesiac burned out husk of a man, you retained a fair bit of understanding to Neon Genesis Evangelion. Really didn't throw that weeb shit into the fire, huh? Very quick to put that advice into action though, its always a pleasure to teach a good student.
That said, anime white hair being more professional? What the hell is with the fashion trends of this century? Or is that her just being completely and utterly out of touch as a noble? Good to hear that she's actually got people willing to talk smack about her; she's not completely isolated.
He nodded, leaning back down again.
"Hey," She spoke up again. "That magic from your old world. It sounds a bit like the power of the Armaments. Have you ever heard of the concept of Astral Rank?"
"We didn't formally name it or anything. If you lived and did great things, you grew powerful. As your power grew, the world started to yield to you. First in small ways, then increasingly so."
"It's actually a field of study that I dabble in. A hobby of mine!"
She shifted to face him directly, tracing figures in the air with her index finger. "The most commonly used analogy is this. So, you know how objects within the physical realm have a property called mass?"
"Sure."
"Mass distorts physical space. Some say the curvature of that distortion is called gravity."
"Okay."
I can't tell if this is just her being a thorough explainer or if she thinks we don't know why rock fall down. I suppose it was to be expected we didn't know about Rank, though, not a whole lot of sophisticated measuring devices in isekai land. Really cool to see the confidence she gains while on familiar territory, it seems like she's either been mentally rehearsing this kind of thing or has complete faith in her expertise on the topic. You'd forget it looking at her but OG Asuka was a genius too, even if her interpersonal and intrapersonal skills left a lot to be desired.
"Similarly, some entities have a property we call 'Rank.' Rank distorts the Astral realm as mass does the physical, and the curvature of that distortion is called 'Pressure.' By exerting Pressure, an Armament can accomplish great feats. It's an amazing ability! Rank gives you the power to achieve the conventionally impossible, to overturn the system of the world, to blast with awe and with fear, greatness undiluted like a blazing star! It cares nothing for stipulations or prognostications. It is the sharp bright sword of will that cuts to the heart of the matter, bringing mere physical law to heel!"
Finally, getting an explanation on our power. I wonder how things would have changed if we'd picked Seven Seals? Seems like Rank is the weird sci-fi equivalent of conceptual power, the AT field to the Armament's Evangelion. Strange that distortion in the Astral has such serious effects in the real, what does that mean for Astral beings? Are there ancient creatures slumbering with Rank 10 or greater?
Really love that last bit, how she got so excited while explaining her field of work. Definitely something she's been rehearsing. Would've been amazing if we'd taken Prosselarch actually, he's an intellectual titan and her research could benefit a lot from his analytical skills. Maybe he'd have been the one taking her under his wing, seeing the master-apprentice dynamic from an outside perspective would've been really neat.
"...I get it. You didn't have to make a whole speech and everything, stupid."
Before her shocked expression could subside, he gently raised a hand.
"Just kidding. It was a wonderful explanation. Did you write that? It sounds like more than just a hobby to you."
Our boy hits her with the hot and spicy social jukes.
"Mm-hm!" She grunted, her face still red. She cleared her throat. "I'm hoping to present it at a Symposium one day. The Armaments have been with us for millennia, but we still don't understand all their secrets. Even most pilots only know the basics! You compress your Armament's Pressure into a Shroud and that makes you unstoppable within its radius. But recent studies have shown that even humans can develop a Rank! If we properly apply ourselves, we can go so much farther as a species, and even as individuals! It wouldn't much surprise me if your powers operated off a similar principle!"
Huh. Well, first of all we'd be a pretty valuable test subject for these guys, especially if we can teach them about Accretion. It's clear they don't know all that much about the powers they're toying with. The Shroud is pretty reminiscent of the Monarch. If Rank is the primary relevant factor in these fights and humans can only reach Rank 3 at most, we might actually have the highest personal power among all humans, other than other weirdo outlanders. It'll become a lot more certain once we've gotten a chance to progress for more than a few days.
God, I really want to timeskip once we reach civilization and gone through the initial negotiations. Less time to generate Arete, sure, but Unshattered was absolutely right when it said this fledgling stage was not where the hero belonged.
"A shadow in the Spirit realm, huh... Let's test it. It sounds like your society has developed quantified measurements for this attribute."
"Yup. Rank is usually measured from 1 to 10 in a hyper-logarithmic scale, though values above that should be possible. An Ereadhihr - an Armament - at full theoretical strength is Rank 10. No amount of physical force can so much as impair their actions! We've made some Armor Prototypes that manage to reach the middle ranks, enough to outclass conventional weapons in dogfighting or ground combat scenarios, though no number of them could even compete with an Armament. Individual humans typically have a Rank between 1 and 3, with anything above 2 being exceptionally rare."
Hmm. So the Monarch would be Rank 10 or above then? Since he'd hit the point in the power tier gradient where physical harm just becomes entirely irrelevant. From that perspective, I'm guessing we're currently a 4, Unshattered with be low Rank 5, the hero at full power a mid Rank 5 and the Tyrant approaching Rank 6. Of course, all would get put in the toilet by an giant robot but that's to be expected.
Puts things into perspective when it was said we might be able to equal the power of an Armament, though it would take a long time. Probably still can't step to Nameless though, Act As Truth is just too strong. Zang Kong would be a bad matchup too, even without the Sky Above the Sky. I'm glad to hear that the majority of mecha in this world are well within our reach on foot, that makes me feel a lot better about how we'll have to get into the giant robot.
Just gotta work on raising our Rank first.
"That fits my observations of your Armament as well. Its full potential is well beyond even that of my enemy at his height. Ereadhihr. The language of the Foremost?"
"That's right! You have good instincts for this sort of thing." She hummed happily. "Ereadhihr, the Elder Implement. They weren't just a weapon to the Foremost. The Foremost could harness them for countless tasks, bend realms both physical and Astral to their whims, apply the Interdict of Cognition that immunizes us from rampant intelligences, and so much more!"
The Interdict of Cognition? Given the context, I assume that's an Astral Law that prevents AI from hitting a singularity. Might something similar have prevented brain augmentation in Terrascape? Really interesting though, how would you create a law of nature that would even be able to distinguish an AI from random software? How would they even distinguish what qualifies as software and what's just random patterns?
Given how human beings possess a Rank, I suppose its clear that sentience has a natural influence on the Astral. Can we ask her what else possesses a Rank? Trees? Animals? Fish? That would illuminate a lot. Either way, the assumption that AI end up having souls would make this a lot easier to explain. Otherwise, if they're sophisticated enough to manage encoding the complexity of laws required to ID an AI, they'd have probably created a bunch more.
I want to learn more about these guys now. Hopefully we can go tomb raiding with the help of whatever organization she's working for.
He turned to glance at Verschlengorge. "Did they pull the ladder up behind them? Prevent anyone from making more?"
"Ah, no, we don't think they did anything like that. But... it's complicated. To create a true Armament, an entity with the potential to reach such elevated Rank, there's a special component involved. A sort of... Curse that's inextricable from its core essence. Verschlengorge has one as well, of course. It's called... the Affliction of the Decimator."
Mitigation, right? Gotta be Mitigation. We might be able to leverage this into aid from her civilization. If we can work with them to offload some of the transfinite power of our Curses, we'd have a lot of leverage in working together. Kinda regret not swapping out Champion for Tyrant, the purely transactional nature of the former would make this kind of thing a lot easier to manage. I suppose this is why our choice in Curses would change our point of insertion? We'd have been attracted to an entirely different Armament.
Makes Conclusion somewhat less attractive, our affinity for Vershlengorge is currently our best asset. Really don't know what to pick now, it'll depend heavily on just how much influence Letrizia actually has. She's really, really young though, can't be too much.
Now I'm really, really curious to see all the Armaments in existence.
[ ] Spill - There's no way this is a coincidence. The only question is, is this the work of the Accursed, or of the Apocryphal Curse? Whatever the case, you need answers. Tell Letrizia a reasonable amount about your own circumstances, the power you command and the Curses you bear. [+Letrizia]
[ ] Keep Your Own Counsel - See if you can get more information out of her without disclosing anything about your particular circumstances. It's good to trust; better to trust after you hold all the cards. You've barely known her half a week. You can always tell her more when she proves herself a reliable ally. [+0.5 Arete]
I feel like Spill might open up a lot of powerful opportunities for us but Tyrant means their ability to control us is limited, which significantly reduces the likelihood of being offered any interesting opportunities. Perhaps if they assign Letrizia as our handler while Gisena joins her retinue? Just keep a steady flow of cash going our way and give us an objective. It's not like they have any real alternative honestly. Maybe we could just tell them the Doom is also a Curse of similar magnitude, having a novel sample to experiment on might make them decide its worth working around.
Though you intend to rest, fishing is serious business. How much should you exert yourself in catching the fish?
[ ] None - You'll conserve your energy. You are already wounded, no need to become winded as well.
[ ] Substantially - Show 'em how it's done. [+Letrizia, +Improved Nutrition, Tired Condition]
[ ] Of Fishermen, A King - The sharp bright sword of will that cuts to the heart of these waters and brings their mightiest bounty to heel! [+???, +Legendary Fish, +Gisena, -1 Arete or Exhausted condition]
Oh my god its actually happening, our first step to being an Astral Fisherman.
I'm torn. Normally, I'd go all in on maximum overdrive but we really should be saving to get Conclusion. Rihaku's been nice enough to delay the vote to see how much Arete we can end up with before the next update and we should take advantage of that, not waste it on uncertain gains.
P.S: 2436 words.
