They set out on vacation, at last departing the barren wastelands of the Temple exterior in search of a place to recuperate and unwind. With Gisena still meditating in Verschlengorge's cockpit, it was up to Hunger to man the Armament's shoulders and keep a lookout for incoming Astral denizens. Though Verschlengorge was considerably more powerful than it had been, still it was too wounded to be a match for Hunger himself, and that showed in the strength of its Astral beacon. Assaulted by mediocre monstrosities, Hunger did not so much as exert himself on the first day of the trip, each incoming wave dispatched before it had finished emerging from its portal.
This is actually somewhat interesting to me! Despite the fact that Verschlengorge outranks Hunger (4.3 vs 4.5), and masses considerably more than he does, it remains weaker. I suppose one must chalk it up to Agility and the Forebear's blade upgrades, as even if Hunger has the strength of 200 men (I think that was the most recently stated level?) Versch probably packs a considerably meaner punch -- purely literally, of course. The Astrals themselves, though, don't seem to have made much of an impression (on me or Hunger). Frankly, they seem more like they're just there to continue our rate of 1 pick/update!
It was curious that the Astral invaders were never dispirited by failure, their resolve apparently unbreakable. Though the beasts clearly weren't mindless, they attacked with suicidal vigor, even into so utterly hopeless a situation as this. Perhaps they weren't cognizant of the fact that Verschlengorge had bodyguards at all.
He wondered what dynamics governed the process of their attraction to the Armament, subsequent organization and transport to the physical realm. If Verschlengorge's Astral Beacon did not advertise the existence of any being around it, then he could understand their obliviousness at the presence of a bodyguard. If its presence was fundamentally antithetical to the values of the Astral beings, that would justify their heedless courage.
There's some interesting analysis to be done here, particularly on the motives of the Astral Invaders. It's important analysis, at that: given how much the Human Sphere's technology interacts with the Astral realm, I feel we've somewhat under-investigated this lead. This lack of information is only more pertinent given that we were the Bear-bait for an astral lord and that Letrizia's fight with an Astral Beast lead to her current predicament -- made all the more terrifying by the fact that wasn't even the strongest that realm has to offer, and it faced off against a Rank 10 Armament! Though it doesn't seem they can manifest everywhere trivially, they don't seem particularly cut-off, either: Bear-boy's musings on the Astral lord that gave him the quest indicated a somewhat remote and treacherous quest-giver, but not an unbelievable one. One interesting possibility is that they can manifest more easily near those with significant Astral Shadows. This would help explain both the connection to the Un-Bear-able gamer (he probably has a decent Rank) and the ability to manifest near Verschlengorge (we know he has a significant Astral Shadow). Their purpose in attacking, though, remains unclear -- it could certainly be attached to Verschlengorge's particular status as the Decimator, but given the Human Sphere's familiarity, I'd guess they're a more general problem. Perhaps the Foremost exploited the Astral Realm for power? The ability to make Armament's certainly didn't come from nowhere -- and the Armament's aesthetic is a closer match to Astral Beasts (remarked upon in the second update, in fact) than it is to the high-tech sci-fi of Letrizia's home.
Was there some way to exploit this? Could he incrementally increase his own power by slowly healing Verschlengorge and ambushing the steadily stronger creatures that came for it? Possibly, though the method was somewhat unreliable and slow. The former was tolerable, the latter potentially disqualifying. At all times the Apocryphal Curse loomed over them; speed of growth was critical to outpacing its relentless escalation.
Live, and grow strong. The very act of the former would necessitate the latter. In that sense it was a convenient yoke, one that impelled him ruthlessly towards his ultimate goal: vengeance against beings whose power was too great for his current mind even to fathom.
As Yong Liefang, that noted sage, once said of books, so it is about relying on Astral Beasts to level, "In moderation, they're pretty useful. In excess [...] a mediocre path to power. You can't have that, right?" Hardly a path to power befitting Hunger, whose furious will to power continually drives him into the arms of extreme danger.
One might even hope that our original choice of build (the Apocryphal + Hunger) will be synergistic and wise enough to see us gain enough power to take Hunger's revenge.
Cutting through another group of Astral invaders, Hunger frowned. There was some disquieting symmetry to the whole situation. The invaders were driven by an inescapable need to destroy Verschlengorge and were blind to the strength of its defender. Was that not an uncanny mirror of his own situation with the Imprisoned Ring? He too was compelled to reach it, and similarly ignorant of its ultimate guardians. Was it even possible for him to prevail here, when the Temple had stood unconquered for millennia before? What if its final defender was simply so powerful that no amount of strength accumulated against its lessers would suffice to challenge it? He himself was the same to these beasts.
A simple massive discontinuity in combat strength would serve as a hard deterrant against invaders like himself or Ber, whose growth was rapid but fundamentally incremental in nature. A meta-contextual moat of sheer ability. The torment of the Ring was nearly unbearable, but even more unbearable was the prospect that he could fail.
And yet the prospect of unnecessary delay filled him with contempt. They who only challenged foes that were unquestionably weaker had discarded the most crucial strength of all. Stagnation of the self, a slow diminishing of the vital spirit, was their inescapable fate, for in their hearts they knew themselves to be cowards.
Hmm, difficult to tell how much of this is the ST giving us a hint on what awaits us and how much is Hunger's idle musings... my suspicion is that it's a mix. Clearly, the Inner Residents can't have this discontinuity in ability relative to the strongest Outriders, else Vanreir's POV makes no sense at all! He spoke of the day that, "One day, she would ensure that House Amarlt could stand on its own legs once more, without the First Sword of the Outriders looming over its foes" -- such a statement makes no sense if he himself wasn't a valid form of deterrence. Moreover, he would know! His father, who lived in his soul, actually
was an Inner Resident.
(I should also note that this analysis is predicated on the idea that the Inner Residents don't gain power from being in close proximity to the Ring -- if they do, this nicely ties up the conundrum: Vanreir himself would be benefitting from said buff at that point, rendering things an even playing field, whereas Hunger would still suffer a vast gap in capability.)
But here's the trick: the Inner Residents are not necessarily the Ring's Guardians (see the Knight-Commander vs the Outriders). I'm guessing that the Guardians themselves might be of much higher quality (necessitating an EFB), but the Residents themselves may not be.
I'd also say Hunger's being quite silly here! He ultimately hopes to tear down a vast monstrosity of a foe, having glutted on a whole world under their sway for uncounted ages: even with the power of Unbounded Progression, he has a very long way to go! This will necessitate
living through that long way, and constantly accepting > 10% odds of death is a very poor way of doing so. We really have to work on our boy's mindset...
"Doing some meditation of your own?" Letrizia asked. Verschlengorge's primary eyes turned in his direction, shimmering gold with fleeting specks of blue.
"Was it that obvious?" He propped the Forebear's Blade against a gun turret and rose to meet her gaze.
"It's good to be self-absorbed once in a while, but you can brood when we're not on vacation. Just take a look at this scenery!"
The Armament strode through high, sheer canyons of water-sluiced stone, rock of pale violet and ochre that gave way to densely-packed layers of compressed crystal, glittering like stained glass beneath the desert sun. The pulverized dust of stone and crystal formed great sloping lines through the ancient riverbed, sharp color against the stark barrens, the fingerpaint trail of some primordial colossus whose knuckles were the mountain-range, its glacier-sheets his nails.
Not substantive commentary, but I always really enjoy Rihaku's descriptions of scenery... from the vivid verdancy of Yong to the Voyaging Realm, it's always quite the pleasure to read!
He nodded. "It's pleasant. Shall we stop for lunch?"
"Hehe. You said it, not me!"
"The words of a woman on the precipice of an eating disorder."
Spread out on Letrizia's blue and white picnic blanket, they encamped for lunch with a few of her declining stock of genuine sandwiches. She also produced a clear yellow powder that, when poured into water, resulted in a pitcher's worth of fresh lemonade.
"Verschlengorge's refrigerator is almost empty," Letrizia remarked glumly, pitifully but dutifully enjoying her share.
He closed his eyes. "I was going to surprise you, but I ordered some specialty meats from a group of merchants I met in the Outer Temple. When we return, we'll pick them up."
"Really!?" She perked up. "You're the best!"
She leapt towards him, tightly hugging his neck. "I take back all the bad things I said about you! This is wonderful! You're the best bodyguard ever!"
He patted her head fondly. "I was right. You do have an eating disorder."
Well that was dark! I feel even worse about leaving Letrizia alone this whole time! Must be awfully sad, just hanging out with a Robot and slowly diminishing supplies... Really, isn't that a rather grim picture, especially since she had no way of knowing if we'd come out -- we
have been consistently dying/losing our fleshly form and acquiring conditions from barely scraping by.
On the bright side, this has reaffirmed my school vote! Good things for Letrizia ho! She bloody well deserves them.
"But you've never seen an eating disorder this cute!" Gisena was perched dangerously on the canyon's edge, legs swinging freely. "Too bad, if only I had some way to capture this moment forever..."
"I don't care what you say. Nothing can make me unhappy right now." Humming merrily to herself, Letrizia returned to consuming her sandwich, now with ravenous, uninhibited bites.
"Were you always like this, or did piloting Verschlengorge make you this way..."
We really have to get Gisena an iMango... think of the cute pictures! Think of the silly selfies! There is not better use for our cosmic power than this... Moreover, given the end of the update, she'd probably be thrilled to dissect the technology too!
"You are impinging on our northeast border," the armored figure replied. "With what appears to be a Imperial Armament. I apologize if we overreacted, but we came to the Voyaging Realm to break free of the Empire's reins. Even if you possess an Armament, if you seek to deprive us of our liberty, know that we will resist your incursion to the last."
"Your border means nothing to me," Hunger shrugged. "But I have no intention of killing you unless attacked."
Hunger seems to be in an amiable mood from his repaste -- what a nice way to have a little Tyrant proc! I am glad it doesn't reduce him to acting as a parody of himself, though.
I also have to commend the bravery of these folks... even under siege, even under the terrifying gaze of (what they assume might be) a fully functional Armament, they stand their ground! Much more valorous than I'd be in their situation, frankly.
"Hmph. These guys must have made it deep into the Voyaging Realm before I was stationed here. I've never even heard of them." Letrizia frowned. "Separatists. I'm surprised they're still alive."
"Enemies of yours?" Hunger asked, idly spinning the Blade.
She shook her head. "Not really. Technically I guess they're traitors to the crown, but they're harmless enough. Maybe we can trade with them? Could be a trial run for your mercenary work in the future."
"I see. Probably best for you two to negotiate, then. I'll stand behind you and look menacing."
"Of course, that's a bodyguard's job, after all."
Gisena walked over to the armors, disarmingly beautiful, the picture of wide-eyed naïveté. "Oh my, such miraculous devices! Excuse me, do you mind if I take a look? What an incredible rifle! I've used kinetic sidearms before, but this one appears to be plasma-powered. It must be tremendously more effective. May I see it? It's just that I've never encountered such advanced technology before in my life..."
Hunger blinked. He'd expected one of her usual ploys, but no. She really was just enthusiastically studying their machines.
One underrated part of this update, I think, is seeing these characters interact with folks outside of their little trio. Truth be told, Gisena was actually wearing on me a little, before this update. Seeing this side of her with others, though, is actually quite fun. I really look forward to seeing our cast interact in novel social environs.
My goodness though, Gisena with a plasma gun... what a terrifying thought!
[ ] Cut Through - 25 Arete
Look, I'd love to review the other options... but we all know what the winner here is.
