Sweet gods above, isn't it always? Last time on
A Simple Transaction I, we fought an army of zombies while the Rotbeast hid shyly behind a paper fan, Gisena spent all day in a library, and Letrizia convinced her friends in high school to enter single combat with a foreign dictator!
But the fun and games are almost over. By harnessing the power of hot springs, beautiful women, and conspicuous spending, the Lord Hunger has achieved a level of strength never before seen. But will it be enough to conquer the Temple of the False Moon? Probably not, but that's not going to stop him!
It was a cool, clear, cloudless night, the moon pale and bare like carved crystal, crown-jewel of the skies presiding over the winds and realms beneath. They crunched through the snow-frosted path to reach the public baths, expansive panels of richly oiled wood towering menacingly to shield the occupants from onlookers.
Crown jewel of the sky, lol. Not if we have anything to say about it! We'll steal a Silmaril from the Princess Zelda and shake hands with Gangnam Style Bearic long before we ever tolerate the presence of something as circumstantially inconvenient as the Pearlescence.
Also, menacing wood paneling. That's an impressive display of woodcraft, to make people feel vertigo just looking at them. While already atop a mountain, where 3D dangers are expected and understood. Or perhaps that enhances the effect, the suggestion of a long drop turning a five-foot fall into the beginning of a life-ending descent? Fear can be such a strange subject.
"Let's get a private pool," Gisena said, flipping the jeweled key on her wrist. "There are some reserved for suite holders only!"
"Suddenly shy?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Of course!" Gisena clasped her hands meekly. "I'm just an innocent maiden, after all..."
It's weird, I saw "Gisena", "I'm", and "innocent" in sequence without a negative declaration somewhere in between, but all I read was NEWSPEAK CRIMESTOP DOUBLETHINK. I think the libraries may want to start selling their old dictionaries under the table, lest She-Who-Would-Be-Princess Regent find and alter their contents to suit her twisted worldview...
Or was this a hint at her Renaissance Woman enhancement? She already expects to become a Maiden, how bold of her. Arrogance befitting royalty, an empress even! Enough to also qualify herself as innocent by way of divine simplicity, by that measure...
And then there's that jeweled key. This Voyaging Realm has so many glimmering rocks I'm not even sure they would even be worth that much. Does the Elixir water wash away imperfections in gemstones, too? I guess a futuristic society could fabricate such things, provided one was able to pay the doubtless exorbitant fee for using a construction resource during a major long-running turf war.
"I'd like a private pool," Letrizia said, eyes darting to and fro. "You never know when there might be perverts lurking about."
"Fine, lead the way."
Right, right. This is anime town, where blood flows freely from the nostrils of indulgent wastrels. No force can spare the dignity of a fool caught without his pants, Accursed protection notwithstanding. Thankfully the power of slapstick comedy can prevent things from going any further...
...alright, enough shenanigans. The WUW and UWU are not idle trinkets to play with, and I worry the Apocryphal Curse has an entire folder set aside for people who dwell too long on the subject. The thought of some poor, dumb bastard actually trying to spy on the Devouring Armament's pilot, even in this rebel state's backyard, is rather embarrassing for all involved. She probably won't level your nation for the affront, but the mere fact you're not treating the nuclear target-painter with appropriate fear will likely not lead to good things in your future.
Y'know, keeping that government information control and willingness to murder your families for not serving their interests sufficiently plot point that came up later in mind. People do dumb things for hormones, but to commit treason in the name of exceptional appearance and charisma is a bridge too far. They're not (all) Larissa!
They entered a smaller pool inset to the side. Though thick wooden panels obstructed horizontal vision, the panels facing outwards could be lowered, allowing bathers to take in the view. Below them was the serene darkness of the mountain outside giving way slowly to the jewel-fire glow of the city beneath. It was a breathtaking vista, and Hunger spent a moment simply absorbing the sight before leaning the Forebear's Blade against a wall, then entering the bath.
Further foreshadowing, looking down upon the greater masses is a popular hobby among the entitled elite! I suppose in our current state we could also call them unwashed – for what is mere bathwater compared to an experience like the Kaguya's private bathing pool? Their services have clearly progressed along the Infinite Singularity Husk; as far above traditional bathing as bathing is to nothing at all!
Seeing the city's light described as being alike a jewel is interesting, though. Does it actually use gemstones for its lighting, or is it merely somehow flickering like the effect of a shifting one's perspective between facets? And if its lighting is truly a beautiful red-orange-yellow like fire... what? Is this just an empire thing? It's just weird to imagine a group of people who prefer to sleep under red light. Either that or this is their defense plan for if the Kryptonians invade.
Gisena pushed Letrizia in, then daintily slid in herself, carefully gathering her hair to twist into a water-resistant bun. Letrizia surfaced angrily, sputtering, and lashed out with a wave of water and Pressure that Gisena effortlessly dodged. Pouting, Letrizia sank beneath the surface, blowing bubbles at the two of them.
"Stupid nullification aura, let my Pressure through..."
The sword of will that brings mere physical law to heel vs. the absence of meaning that brings all things down to the earthly and mundane. Sorry Letrizia, this is a fight you just weren't made to win. Maybe if we gave you a nice necklace though...
Using Pressurization in such a petty way is a good sign, though. She's picking up its use in daily life fast; this is a good thing for if we want her to stop being purely a Verschlengorge proxy pilot, and even better if we can get her Rank to sync better with the Armament's internal operations. At the very least, perhaps it can help her better operate the Totality that makes her able to control the machine perfectly, like a plug-in or being Drift Compatible. That Gisena can passively neutralize her assault seems rather exceptionally impressive here in the Voyaging Realm, but then the Sharpbright is still small and weak. Perhaps once its been honed it will be less pliant to the depredations of the Nullity.
Speaking of Rank and Nullity interactions, I wonder if the Lady Gisena's own internal nullification aura would negatively or positively affect solo navigation on her part. Everything has a little bit of Astral shadow, but with hers nullified I'm can't tell if the Voyaging Realm would send her to objectively random places without any clear reason, or if there's a static physical geometry she could interact with beneath all of this mystical will-working non-euclidean funny business.
Gisena turned to him. "What do you think of our swimsuits, hun? Rather fetching, if I do say so myself!" Hers was a two-piece bikini of pale violet, with lace-like patterns adorning the sides.
He grunted. "Is all your clothing the same color as your hair?"
"Pretty much!" She splashed over to him, leaning onto the stones beside the pond. Looked out at the city, a slight smile graced her features. "It's hard to find shades that go well with purple. You're welcome to expand my wardrobe if you'd like..."
Even in the far-flung future of the Foremost's legacy, a good match for Gisena's hair color is still rare and obscure. Woman can't catch a break, can she? If she's a light shade I bet really soft colors like salmon or sky blue might be tolerable – but then those aren't exactly common either. What kind of dyes are compatible with futuristic synthetic clothing, now that I think about it. Wouldn't post-living matter like animal ink or ground-up plants ruin most of the effect of full-synth material?
Glad to see her efforts to extort Hunger haven't stopped entirely. This is the kind of dedication to scamming that you need to have when your best friends are rich and overpowered.
"Maybe after you pay off your debt," he remarked, slumping forward and briefly closing his eye. The waters held a steady, intense heat that felt almost as if they were massaging his muscles, gentle warmth that pervaded through to bone and marrow.
"Aw," Gisena brushed playfully against him, hauntingly beautiful in the moonlight. "Sure I can't take out another line of credit?"
Haunting beauties, in my personal space? It's
exactly as unlikely as you think Remittance Value, baby! Like when we slew the Tyrant, she's clearly burning off the dross of her dignity to empower her social machinations. Perhaps this power too can be learned? Or perhaps has that ship already sailed, our dignity spent on empowering companions and up-selling excuses like 'not having two arms' or 'near-total intellectual incompetence.' Said power must never be allowed near Letrizia besides – we sent her to animu high school, she's already one foot in the sewer.
The continued tyranny of moonlight over our superior blood-based relaxation time has been noticed. Perhaps it scents the Quickening and wants in on the action, or that the Blade is beyond arm's reach and may now shine freely without fear of being Cut Through. Does the Azure watch even now, or am I just being paranoid?
"It would be inadvisable. Debt can crush even a genius."
"But money is just a social construct!"
Of course. What else could crush a genius, but the spite and fury of a truly obscene number of random strangers? In the measure of ingenuity they are perhaps comparable, the directionlessess of the latter their only true weakness, but in the field of ruination there's nothing quite like sheer weight of numbers. The conversion ratio of land over time into food into population isn't good, but it works on a scale that's absolutely insane even in a mundane world. It's an escalation mechanic all its own, a cultivation system primitive and impersonal enough that even a field mouse can do it.
Letrizia swam over, nose upturned haughtily. "Miss Gisena, I still haven't forgiven you! Lord Hunger, do you want to review sparring partners for tomorrow?"
She's so dutiful, making a list for us. Just how many people did she steal blood samples from anyway? I would assume that was a separate mission from recruiting kids to beat up for
lunch money actually no it really is lunch money, isn't it? The Hunger Ring has a sick sense of humor, even if we're still shy a few Heartlessness to really lean into it.
"Oh my, the wrath of a duchess!" Gisena winked at him. "Her fury knows no bounds! I'd best retreat before she turns truly serious."
So saying, she dove and emerged on the opposite side of the pool, sighing contentedly as she lounged against the stones.
It must be nice being so powerful you can casually mock the displays of a hardened warrior like Letrizia. Sure she's young and wealthy, but she's also been under fire from around the same age Hunger started. Dead fates are far lesser allies than Verschlengorge of course, but still to have known the slaughter and become it before your eleventh birthday is a tad much for the mind to take. I wonder whether her warm attitude truly arose from social submission, or from realizing she'd hit the ally jackpot...
Also, Jeanne can swim? Her Grace and genius may make this a moot point, but her talk of knowing Angletierre in addition to Joanian makes me think she's from a coastal region. Possibly even not-England itself, which makes her association with Hunger the Once and Future King a bit ironic in retrospect. Man, Seram was not ready to end up roped into being Merlin when he resurrected her, was he?
Unless... oh Maiden, the elves were all British, weren't they? The orcs being the dubiously viking marauders, the french a plucky chivalric empire blessed by wise women of various stripes, and the elves being a pile of archaic blood-rune casting clan societies crudely held together by a shared parent culture. If [REDACTED] data is to be believed, there may even be parallels in their backstory with the ancient genocide of the druids and the adoption of Roman lifestyles and technology. This well goes deep, and I don't know about you, but I'm not quite ready to throw an eye down there to find out how far.
If the Voyaging Realm is literally a fairy garden, then the entire arc with the Temple of the False Moon and the Elixir Kingdom and the Realm of Myth... it's all going to look really silly in hindsight, eh?
"Only if you don't call me a lord. Now, sparring partners. Is your notebook waterproof?"
"I don't need it!" Letrizia said cheerfully. "Now with my Element enhancing my Rank, the information I need comes easily to mind with just a quick review."
Practical benefits. Memory is a complex science, so it's sure nice to be able to brute-force the process by hammering the Rank button and making causality retroactively preserve the memory for easy access. The implications upon earlier mentions of using Rank to win a debate against a more-knowledgeable opponent come to mind – does your mind actually fail you in battle against a foe with sufficiently overwhelming Rank advantage? I doubt as a Cursebearer we would ever see the fullest extent of such, but fundamentally if Rank 10 is an Astral singularity as I've come to expect, then why would perception or higher perceivable consciousness be any different to it than mere flesh and bone?
The [Soul] besides, of course. One more thing we never really understood, though in its case that's a tradition among fantasy writers. Much like Dr. Apocalypse refusing to modify his own mind if he could avoid it, the spirit of a living being reacts poorly to attempts to meddle with its underpinning function. Perhaps this diminishment is an underlying cause of the suffering brought on by wielding the Praxis without someone like Adorie on hand to bear a sliver of the cost. Though life is an easy enough thing to create for those with both godlike power and insight, the nature of the living seems to bring with it an overarching narrative guidewire whose presence is subtle enough for even those beings to miss, and yet obvious enough that even a child could tell you the rough parameters. Contravening the unspoken rules seems to lead to... hollowness. Accursed rest those poor bastards' souls who tread too carelessly upon the Aetherial heights, that they should lose hand and eye to brush alone, and find themselves bound forever to pallet and canvas, heart beating but to again remake the world in their own twisted self-image.
"I'm proud of you."
She preened. "Well, i-it's not that big a deal. T-this is just kids' stuff compared to what I'll ultimately be able to achieve."
Unfortunately we'll probably have devoured the Empire and the Republic both before you get the chance to really study and implement the full range of abilities Rank can deliver. That True Sharpbright's been tabled is of course disappointing, probably because on some level it reflects how the majority of voters earnestly view you as a surrogate daughter and not as a warlord and conquerer fit to reside in the nightmares of her peoples' erstwhile enemies, but that's merely a single path forward. If we play our cards right, I expect any one of our high-end Panoply items will pay out enhancements for Verschlengorge towards their natural peak as a source of advancements.
They discussed tactics and likely opponents both for the spars themselves and the potential recruitment to follow. Hunger was uncertain if their party wanted another member to look after, especially one that would need to be protected as nearly all Elementalists did, but couldn't avoid the fact that the Elements she described had undeniable utility in breaching the Temple.
Oof. That foreshadowing. I guess we have no one to blame for how things are turning out... come to think of it, our giant gaping weaknesses became the three offered consequences, didn't they? We have almost no Protection, depending on speed and Praxis swordplay to overwhelm foes before they can kill us, thus the Runes of Mastery option. (Heavens above that name is savage...) We brought along numerous utility companions whose powers and personalities we grew attached to, but never bothered taking Vanguard or Outer Darkness in favor of accelerated progression, thus the Dearly Departed. And we didn't pay pretty much any heed to the implications of being in a magical, fantastical world that runs on its own semi-fairy tale logic, thus the Chains of Fate.
We get our wires crossed a lot when it comes to power, utility, and personality. I suppose that's human nature, to expect universal competence of things we perceive as 'real'. But it's dangerously close to wishful thinking – and in the character Hunger's case, perhaps evidence his lost memories included no shortage of horrible death scenes, which was probably a net positive for his mental health in the aftermath. Or not, magical amnesia is a confusing subject when put under the microscope.
"So, tell me about your own Element, Hunger! You said it helped you beat the Rotspawn today, but what does it actually do?"
"It's a force of indiscriminate enhancement that applies to anyone immersed within. As far as I can tell, it works on all faculties of body and mind, on foe as well as friend."
I wonder if it's possible to use Edeldross to give qualities to someone, by enhancing their potential to develop it past the point they can't fail to. Supposedly it can be developed in more specialized ways, but the perhaps the indiscriminate aspect would get in the way of that. Something to look into once the Research arc begins eventually.
That it works on friend and foe is distinctive and obviously thematic – but it brings to mind questions about how many magic systems d
on't work on friend or foe for some obscure or specific reason. Of the top of my head, Gamer-types tend towards drawing hard lines between the two as if everyone had a colored circle under their feet. It's the kind of thing even basic obfuscation magic can deceive, and an unlucky Gamer archetype might very well have his auras and attacks turned against him because of it if he's not careful. Seralize and Elizabeth were lucky they got as far as they did, in so many ways.
Since we killed both of them, is the Ring still carrying their souls? They didn't have an Evocation so it's probably irrelevant, but it's a question worth considering once we start enhancing Ennobling. Can we impart the qualities of our deceased foes into the most-favored of our allies, perhaps with some element of risk (see: free EXP) and a certain amount of compatibility (more convenient for us, really)? The hypothetical possibility of gifting the Soul Evocations of some of our slain enemies to our now-more vulnerable (and valuable!) than ever Companions is extremely worth pursuing, especially since we've done it once before when we seized Sten's for our own.
"Interesting!" Gisena appeared next to Letrizia, who startled as if jolted. "Fire a bolt? I'd like to take a look."
"I can't really fire bolts..." Hunger said. "The smallest blast is still the size of a car."
"Cars are fascinating!" Gisena replied easily. "It's translucent force, right? No one will notice!"
Hmm... Graces are unsurprisingly more refined than Surges. But perhaps similar enough to be comparable despite that. We saw a truly esoteric collection of abilities back in A Simple Transaction 0, but most Elements seem to reach similar degrees of complexity at high levels of Arete expense. I wonder if Gisena's Artifice could invent a means to trigger Coalescence in Surgecrafters, dragging their Imaginary Element up from basic to higher stages in piecemeal. Its not like they don't have wide pools of internal energy to concentrate down.
Also: Gisena the ninja. Ningisena? The Gisenja? The Nulljutsu Sorceress!
He loosed a blast at them. Letrizia cowered slightly before she exclaimed in awe, looking at her palms as if they held the secrets of the universe. Gisena adopted a contemplative expression before smiling smugly.
"This almost feels like findross!" She said. "Incredible, I think this is a precursor substance to actual findross itself. Blast us again, I want to test a theory..."
Shrugging, he did so. In response she raised a palm, intercepting his blast with her own Nullity.
"As I thought. The energy isn't being nullified - that is to say, the power of Nullity isn't rendering this Element mundane. Instead, they're actually cancelling each other out! I think this contains the parts of findross that uplift and restore, elevating the mundane to the supernal. In a sense, it can be considered the opposite of my own power!"
I remember at the time I didn't see this coming at all. In retrospect I should've expected the Accursed's plans to be so myriad and complex as this. His insight is in many ways the real power behind Remittance Value, enough to justify taking extra curses. The exception being the Quantified World – seriously I have no idea what Seram did wrong using that, I don't recall him ever getting any real value from it. Maybe if he'd ever been willing to run from a fight.
Speaking of needing to run away and never doing so: Gisena! Apparently
findross doesn't just look like something via Magesight, there's a certain feeling it gives to its vessels as well. How many years on the job does it take to learn something like that, anyway? I doubt Morgianna and the bread girl could tell a
findross infusion from warm bathwater.
And what would a mundanified version of the Edeldross be, anyway? It has no form, no texture, no weight, no color, no sound, and no material. Even Astral Rank connects to everything in an indirect way. On a philosophical level, that all potential is connected to something so mystical that it cannot be truly nullified is an interesting assertion. Perhaps it implies that all skill, in some way, could exceed the perceived limits of the world around it? Or that the Edeldross instead reflects some lower trait still, a will to power that elevates all things equally, for no mortal conceit could limit its ambition. In any case, the Elixir's description some time later would imply there's more to the Edeldross than even Gisena here's caught onto...
(Also, lol. Nulldross works by putting up limits. And now we know how she's still a maiden.)
She scooted happily over to him. "It's just as I said earlier. We're a perfect pair!"
"Hm..." Letrizia thoughtfully tapped the side of the pool. "Your Element's pretty cool, Lord Hunger, even if it's not as good as my Sharpbright. If it really is related to findross as Miss Gisena says, maybe we can call it edeldross? The prefix 'edel-' refers to ennobling or improvement, especially in the context of something traditionally bad becoming good. Don't you think it suits you?"
Wait, was I supposed to be writing it
edeldross and not Edeldross? Eh, whatever. It's still not as cool as the
Inksky.
In the definition she gives, the prefix 'edel-' is positioned against both antagonism and incompetence. The inability to do anything about a problem is considered indistinguishable from tacit support. Furthermore, while it's easy to perceive an inclination towards redemption as its greatest possible meaning, the act of equating ennobling with improvement straightforwardly posits that to be able to act is to be entitled – and responsible – to do so. A concept easily mistaken for Noblesse Oblige, but indeed the use of dross rather clearly tells that it has no favoritism, for it thinks of all things as able to become relevant. It offers not the warm certainty of perfection but the promise of power and potential: a terrible beauty perhaps even greater still.
While we were told the choice of Element would have little-to-no effect upon Hunger's characterization going forwards, there's a penumbral spectre of future developments here that I find intriguing. While the other Elements would likely have found a means by which to end up in a roughly similar place – the Panoply is 2/3 heavy combat focus and we're a scarred guerrilla veteran: we were going to end up a hardcore god of war – the less objective, slightly more personable and empathic quality of focusing on companions reveals much of what kind of friends he's made. Loyal, confident, adventurous, and filled-to-bursting with potential – possessed of motive and method, but not the tools to excel. In the face of such overwhelming might as a Cursebearer, the dream of rising above and finding similar glories as his own may yet pull free from the murky tomb of subconscious.
There's an invisible light that shines through a person when they feel true, unbridled hope, which illuminates nothing but itself yet seems to make the whole world brighter for its presence. Perhaps this is the
edeldross's true face. For if twilight's hour, fearful and cold, may yet bring rest to the weary; if a sword stained with ruin's tide may yet bear a king's dignity; if a ring profaned by mindless Hunger, may yet shine with honor's light...
Who's to say the dark knight of a fallen world can't remember how to be human in between all the revenge, campaigning, and impossible sword-fights with gigantic monsters?
"A fine name, but do I come off as evil?" All of his current panoply had been Abducted from one villain or another. The Forebear's Blade, the Ring from the Tyrant; even the Evening Sky had belonged to that pirate captain, though in a diminished form.
"Yep," Letrizia said obliviously, "but don't worry, it's kinda cool! And I'm sure no one would mistake your intentions once they see your work!"
The vote of confidence is sweet, but she really should know better. Sure we keep it clean now, but I don't doubt Hunger got up to some
skullduggery back when he was still living that full-on Isekai Deconstruction Protagonist life. Not that I think he did anything truly vile, but when needs must survival and resource preservation make for some pretty terrible choices. Then the Tyrant's Pressure kicks in and makes every second step as painful for his reputation as it is for his body...
On a lighter note, it continues to be amusing as all hell to put the Forebear and the Tyrant next to some nameless pirate captain we met on a weak jab from the Apocryphal Curse. But then I suppose that's just a day in the life of a protagonist in the sequel, you have to re-learn everything important with a bunch of new, weird additions the devs thought would be cool this time around. Also the enemies are way harder to beat for some hard-to-pin-down reason.
"I don't know," Gisena said. "I've seen plenty of Paladins and Knight-Captains with that color scheme, or at least similar ones! I'm sure people would mistake you as a hero if you smiled more."
"That part of my life is finished. I'm done with taking on requests for strangers with no expectation of reward."
Letrizia looked slightly disappointed. "But isn't that the best part of heroing?"
If that's the best part, I don't want to know what she thinks is the worst. How much messiah/martyr complex conditioning does the Artriez family put their children through? I could blame her starting so young, but that seems too easy. I would instead suppose a level of sincere noblesse oblige to be required among one's membership if the aristocracy is to survive the thousand-and-one populist revolutions that compose the history of mankind's imperial development. Giant robots or no, sentiment towards entitled elite is only good when food is plenty and gas is cheap.
I've seen mention of the Knight-Captain referring to the guy with the Twilight Sorceress's sword, but she says she's seen plenty. Was she the finest Graced artificer among the Joanian knights, the most popular, or merely the most prolific? I'd hate to imagine she was the only one. Would be superlatively bad timing with how far the scale of war between orc and man exceeded the efficacious productivity of any one woman, even a High Sorceress.
To further the point!: how much business did the paladins and knight-captains get up to in daily Joanian life? I imagine if we'd picked New Game Plus it would have come up much more quickly, but still. They were kind of weak without Grace, and even a dozen commoners with polearms could kill a skilled knight without enhancement. Was there unrest within the provinces we weren't ever made aware of? Perhaps the unspoken code of the land was even worse at maintaining collective unity than I'd expected, by this point a subterranean measure itself.
They discussed his choice of wardrobe for several minutes more, to his moderate dismay. Tired out from overusing her Element, Letrizia eventually trailed off, mumbling to herself as she slowly fell asleep.
Silly Hunger, you don't have a wardrobe yet. Maybe in a good three-hundred or so updates, once we've completely over-committed to the Panoply and reached peak Skyveil. We wouldn't even need a Halo upgrade, the sheer radiance of our profligate spending would outshine any mere collection of Charisma +s!
I do appreciate, once again, seeing characters actually suffer the effects of strenuous over-use of personal power. Breaking the conventional laws of physics can't be that easy, or everyone would be doing it! Not that MacGuffins can't change that, but... I dunno, it's cute though she hasn't figured out why every other Surgecrafter works in terms of combat-time active effects, rather than passive qualities. A rather subtle display of noble arrogance, the downside of being so used to an alternate paradigm one forgets to check the norm for insight before leaving it. Even more notable that Hunger is doing no such thing, training with the other Elementalists to capture some portion of their insight for himself. Sharpness works best with heft to carry through, and brightness with the widest view to illuminate.
"I'll carry her back," Hunger volunteered, but Gisena laid a soft hand against his arm, eyes gentle and green.
"Let her rest here for a bit. The waters may help with her Elemental exhaustion."
Ah, so her eyes are just naturally green. And here I was thinking Xiaoling was the only one with that option. But then... yeah, no that makes perfect sense for her. Magesight is a real slap in the face for a woman of her aptitude.
Could the waters actually help with that? Or perhaps with the damage the Affliction had done? Come to think of it, there's some thematic resonance between her decimated status and the Sharpbright. The dross of mortality washed clean, the light of spirit brought to bear against a world not fit to carry it. Perhaps for all Verschlengorge's might, her will may one day be yet greater still.
Maybe Fate's not the right Ring to saddle her with, but Essence...
"..."
"What?" She swirled around to face him directly, crossing arms beneath her cleavage. "You don't believe me?"
"...Are you trying to make her pruney again?"
Please don't bully the magelet Gisena! Once she gets to obscene Rank, she can use it to locate cool magical artifacts for you to exploit savagely. Or even give you someone to talk to that's vaguely near your intellectual level. Is this about her reminding you of Jeanne? That...
PTSD, right. Sorry. She covers it well. Is this the vaunted power of a Sorceress? I suppose if anyone were fit to hide something it'd be her. I wonder how it is
findross can coexist with nulldross, anyway? (Should I be italicizing that too?) I would assume from previous discussion it's because they're both a kind of
dross, that
findross is the perfection left after you finish cutting away the faults and fallacies of something. The Maiden was perfect in every way, but her heiresses are only perfect in singular ways that they slowly develop into Grace after Grace, until they cap out at their personal limit.
Which came first: the nulldross or the mundane? Are worlds like our own suffused with nullity, preventing the development and expression of mystical powers? Or does nulldross tie to worlds like ours, a mundane mirror projected onto the fantastical with the same aggressive dominion as the average reverse-Isekai does onto ours? And furthermore, are all forms of
dross compatible? Like color magic in Magic the Gathering, the separate components might not work anything alike each other but be derived from a fundamentally similar method. The mechanic of creating
dross might well be no harder than learning to hunt, cook, and self-sustain on a high conceptual level.
Gisena giggled. "Maybe I want you to carry me instead! You have two arms, so there's no excuse to skimp out on a full princess carry."
Feeling insecure, eh? I can't judge, one look at Verschlengorge and I'd be intimidated. I guess since she can see the Sharpbright better than any of us possibly could, she's upped her game on the social aggression. Either that or she's just so happy to see us patching up our body instead of walking around tapestry and all.
Would she have ever suggested we dealt with that, had our own progression not been enough? The Empire could likely at least spare us a prosthetic cyborg arm and eye. With how much magitech whatsis is going around I don't expect it's impossible, but if it's not common in the Voyaging Realm it either requires stability they don't have around here or carries consequences of some sort that haven't been elucidated upon for fear of mention.
Let's hope our girl doesn't end up running into Shadowrun-style Humanity loss from 'borg fever. Not that she might mind, if it reduced the density of Nullity in her insides. A sufficiently talented engineer could... nevermind, that's too far down the rabbit hole even for my tastes. With the fact any cybernetic advancements would likely incorporate some kind of Rank-based reinforcement, the fear of invisible forces altering the patient is more realistic than not. And Gisena doesn't have our Cursebearer mental insurance...
Wait, crap. Have
we been a magical cyborg this whole time?
That's so cool!
"Hmph. I do owe you one for the Magus fight. Here to our room is a pretty short stretch. You okay with that?"
"Good point!"
She leaned back, raising one pale, slender foot out of the water. "Perhaps you can give me a massage instead?"
"You slacked off the whole day, why do you need a massage?"
For a genius, nothing is hard work. Thus it's doing nothing which requires the greatest reward!
Not that her spending so much time studying technical manuals and exotic future machinery isn't useful anyway. Shit, that's more useful than anything I do in my spare time, let alone during a supposed vacation. All three of these people are so terribly productive, it's kind of scary. But then maybe it's the subject of magic that brings out that optimizer in us all. Those untold vistas of common sense-breaking powers just waiting to be explored in detail blur the line between adventure and indulgence so very rapidly.
Unless she's downplaying how hard she's working to keep up with the newly-minted wizards Hunger and Letrizia? I'm doing my best to expect deception from the noblewoman, but infinite recursion is a dangerous hobby for those who would tango with WITS scores in the low twenties. Does she even have to lie when expectation would do? Or can she read the mood so well that knowledge recurs onto itself naturally? Ugh, higher intellects are mentally disturbing to consider. Our party is full of people smarter than us and our plans still suck, is this the Tyrant's Doom acting up or just total psychological domination?
She gently kicked water at him, which the Evening Sky obligingly deflected. "Why not? It's a continuance of my relaxation!"
"Fine. Come here."
Another niche benefit to seizing the Evening Sky-Shroud. We always have Protection!
The next day they set out bright and early, though the hotel staff did their best to have them stay, even offering free nights if he would but fight the Rotspawn again. Despite the tremendous economic value of their proposal, Hunger had to deny them, though he didn't rule out attacking the Rotbeast if they happened to pass through this region again. Their vacation was drawing to a close - one last bit of training against Letrizia's classmates, and he would make for the Temple again.
With later insights into the Sovereignty's recruitment methods, I can't say it's surprising anymore they would make an offer like this. They probably don't even have a choice. They know exactly what everyone who leaves the Kaguya is, and I have no doubt they keep an eye on them and have more than a couple ways to keep them around once they've been inducted into the 'state secret'.
Verschlengorge kind of makes that look like the single dumbest possible idea imaginable in this case, but then Hunger showed up and made sword go swoosh. And Gisena could wipe their entire civilization by herself, one at a time with null bolts and high-speed assassination tech. This scheme was doomed to fail eventually, but I guess the possibility of easing up their economic straights – more cynically, lining their pockets – was simply too much to pass up. Anyone want to bet the higher-ups had escape plans for years before Hunger showed up?
How they thought letting a Republic Kill-Team into their resort waters was a good idea, though? That's some excitingly bad logic. Or... was that the escape plan? Help them recover X number of local magical assets and the Republic will give clemency to any elites in on the deal? I could see it. I could also see them swiping left and leveling the shitty backwards yokels with their Surges and discount Thors.
Apocryphal thinking. Never even once.
They'd gained much from this trip; in many senses it had been more productive than attacking the Temple directly. But every day delayed was unnecessary suffering heaped upon the Imprisoned Ring. Hunger would see to its rescue as soon as possible; other paths were unacceptable to him.
The legacy of SAVEgang, in word and in deed. Possibly even its finest hour; no rise has been quite as incredible for me, at least, as getting Cut Through and
edeldross in quick succession. We went from near-death underdogs to Temple-reaving culture assassins in less than ten updates! Truly the pen is mightier than the sword, especially when you can convert superb penmanship into even more superb swordsmanship.
I like how it seems to imply the distance and newfound power is waking the Ring up. Possibly even the awakening of
edeldross has brought out the Lord Hunger's impulse to return the ravaged spirit of Azure to glory. To say nothing of Letrizia meeting Aobaru, which has got to be on the Voyaging Realm's checklist for either dying tragically or doing Interesting
tm things in the future.
---
[X] Infiltration with [X] Shadowcord has won. Gisena's Relationship EFB will be revealed later!
Subtlety? Is that something you eat?
Fun as it is, I probably shouldn't harp on the thread's rare impulses towards not-murder. It's good for the protagonist's mental stability, which seeing as we have less than no willingness to recuperate such when given the option, is functionally a limited resource. Though the relationship between sneaking and a sneaky ally are obvious in hindsight, I'm not sure why exactly we never chose options that put her to greater use. Was it just a matter of time-scale?
Then there's Gisena's 25-point Relationship Advancement. A waste, in my opinion. I hope recent events with the glowing blue lioness have made apparent the problem with hoarding trump items like a kid playing a JRPG. Power only compounds power if it's used while it's still relevant, people! This applies even to Advancements, though less overtly and probably spread across some infinite cardinalities of irony.
I am forced to ask what manner of glorious and terrible Artifice she could have worked for us if we'd let her take over. Would Verschlengorge have been fully healed? Would her conceptually superior insight have led her to begin work almost immediately on an item with an insanely long build time, but next-level synergy with the unfolding Trinity? It would have to be flexible, a thing whose finishing touches would define whether it enhances the Threefold, or becomes the fourth in the Core Panoply, or something perhaps she carries to personally manipulate the skeins of A Promise Kept.
Most of all, I wonder how she would have dealt with the Decimator's Affliction, given the power of an empire at her back. Would the Oracle have become our veneur, and the ennobled Silver Legion our hounds? Could Sten have recovered his mind or would her first deed as Azure ringbearer have been to avenge its ages of torture with horrific retribution?Come to think of it, trapping his spirit within a Ring would allow her to finally wield magic of her own... The Outer Shadow shares some practical similarities with Nullity, despite their very different densities and means of expression. Combined with the implications of the Penitent's 'non-magical' cosmic attribute, and I wonder if her insights into the unknowable boundaries of the soul wouldn't have opened gates for her even she thought forever barred...
Choose a bonus:
[ ] +1 pick below
[ ] +1 re-roll during Infiltration
[ ] +.75 Arete
From sparring with the (temporary) (false) classmates of Letrizia, Hunger receives 1 pick, or 2 if the appropriate bonus was chosen above. Choose wisely, this may or may not be your last chance before infiltration attempts begin!
Last-second upgrades, a constant din of power generated from flimsy and esoteric methods. That Hunger found a way to exploit his +Progression despite being in non-life-or-death conflict was of course a major advantage. Probably Nightmare Praetor paying its rent – late, but not so late it gets kicked out, like an obnoxious sitcom character.
If it weren't for the sheer scaling of these kids' powers, I doubt they'd be able to even command our notice. Would seventh-years at Hogwarts be able to give us EXP? Would the average senior at UA High? I can't say for certain, our stats are so bonkers in combat terms it's kind of absurd to scale them. Part of it's the Progression, but another's the reality of life in an Isekai as opposed to the more grounded superhero or dark modern fantasy genres. There the 'real world' has a kind of momentum that resists change, the divine aspirations of human hubris now turned against itself in an Ouroboros cycle. But in worlds of pure fantasy, where semi-alien institutions reign supreme and inspirations root themselves in flashy apocalyptic mythologies, no such protection can be afforded. The world can burn and be built anew a thousandfold, and nothing irreplaceable will be lost in the eyes of the timeless audience.
Shit's brutal. Where the perceived stability of a man in the modern world can be accorded to numerous factors, ultimately their lack makes for a horrifyingly realistic picture of nihilism. Not death constantly to prove some emotional point or tone to an uncaring audience, just tons of potential that never quite sees light of day. Worlds of dream and majesty pounded flat by the economics of time and distance, the fear of the uncertain a compulsory attribute stronger en masse than any spell or weapon. Where toeing the line may save a common fool from oblivion in the World of Darkness, the traditional adventurer in an Isekai world can expect to die before his 21st birthday simply because he doesn't matter enough not to.
In the face of such a
mindlessly belligerent world, which seeks seemingly to annihilate itself in whole and in part at every turn, is it any wonder a hero must fashion of this hearts a blade fit to shatter heaven? Perhaps a world so heartless deserves nothing better.
[ ] Forebear's Blade - Echo of the Forebear - Cloud-shadow of the Forebear's might.
Legendary strength and speed, and the resilience to exert them. Can be taken multiple times. [+Might, +Agility]
Speak of the Devil! (and the Accursed shall appear and tell you it's not him) At this exact point in time, saving points was a really good idea. If we went for the re-roll instead of the extra pick, this might have been the clincher for our diplomatic advance. Why were we being offered re-rolls, anyway? Was it a side-effect of To Boldly Go, or derived from the same source? We haven't seen this kind of participation bonus since that petered out back before the Rotbeast fight.
[ ] The Ring of Power - Dominion - 2 Arete
A ring of power does not exert influence casually. It has its own will, its own preferences, and if that will should be inseparable from its owner's, its sway thereby shall be greater for it.
The available domains for Hunger are: War
Dominion! What is it good for!? (A lot of things actually, but don't tell the Once and Future voters that...) At this point in time, a full +.5 to effective Rank (with a quick pitstop for Preeminence) when smacking fools in the face combined with our Blue sword tech might have let us make guys like Avecarn think twice about trying to Dohvakiin fight us instead of talking us down. Failing that, it might have let us justify taking Shameless (which I thought was utterly
precious) and given us some top-tier direct combat advantage against Sten and co. Don't need an army if you can solo the whole empire!
[ ] Fierce Quickening - The absurd violence of Blood unleashed. Let all that falls within its dominion be spilled, if it be in service to the Ringbearer. Adds [++Agility, +Wits] to the bonuses from Quickening, subject to the usual conditions. Can be taken up to 3 times.
All that falls within its dominion be spilled? Does that include the spaghetti of potential seduction targets? That's cold, Ring of Blood. Cold-blooded, even!
I'm currently convinced we massively underestimated the power of Wits as a stat back then. This option not only boosts our best stat, it makes us
generically smarter too. I've been told it's equivalent to a hardware upgrade. Seram would have eaten his own legs to get something like this. So would Apocalypse... Nameless probably wouldn't have though, that slacker!
Predilections of thread and questing culture aside, it's just damn good all the same. There's something to be said for the holistic improvement of mental stats as being even more important for maintaining psychological stability and real competence than with their equivalent physical or social stats. Being overly strong for your speed or endurance is embarrassing and potentially harmful to self and others; being beautiful but insufficiently charismatic or manipulative could lead to objectification and isolation; but too much intellect and not enough wits or wisdom? If the philosophies of man may indeed one day encapsulate all the things in heaven and earth, so too may the horrors unleashed by the mind that gropes luridly at all things swallow whole that human dignity which once it exalted so dearly.
[ ] Augment Dominion: Blood - The world-wielding will of the Ring.
Treat the wielder's Rank as if it were (.5 Low/.25 Medium/.1 High) higher for purposes of the [Ring of Power] effect applied to the Blood domain, increasing its potency and versatility. Repeatable, but costs 1 more pick each time.
[ ] Exalted Spirit - 2 Arete. Conjunctional [Hunger, Evening Sky]. Mind made vigorous as the body. Gain +Int, +Wits, +Wis, +Cha, -Heartlessness, while in a form with physical blood. Allies under blood enhancement gain +Int, +Cha. Blood enhancement requires physical blood.
The augment above is such a lovely thing, no? I'm increasingly convinced as time passes that we missed out by not hamhandedly stockpiling Augments to convert back into picks following the sack of the Temple. Had we been weaker the risk would have been higher (necessating a slower advancement or greater cost in human life) but also the rewards would have been greater too. Imagine stacking another three picks on top of the two we got from killing Sten. We could have stolen so much swag from that kill, and I don't think we properly optimized our boss loot tables at all.
Maiden, I'm starting to sound like Bearic, aren't I?
Quick, to the Exaltedmobile!
It's a good ability. Earlier I wrote about how higher holistic improvements to mental capacity were actually secretly stupid good and we've been missing out and possibly even gimping ourselves by assuming our own galaxy-brain quester minds could make up for piloting a dude who's still ultimately a human with godlike power. Oh well, quick-and-dirty power is both quick and dirty, what can you do? At least we didn't end up managing an amusement park.
[ ] Sublime Transfusion - 2 Arete. The restorative vigor of blood willingly given. The wielder may donate his blood to another in order to heal them. This applies regeneration at a rate triple the wielder's own, and this healing effect is treated as if possessing conceptual potency a full Rank higher than the wielder's baseline, minimum 7. Even organisms of different species can be revitalized through such means.
Same minimum value as the Supreme Enclosure. Hm, that's not ominous and in no way implies that conceptual power is a functional constant at the big-boy's table in this local Multiverse. Are the lower Astral organisms even living creatures, or just 'lower souls' like the Yozi have in Exalted? I have to presume the higher Astral powers are of greater than 10 Rank, if only because to exist outside of space-time whilst maintaining identity, you'd have to be able to maintain a gradient of some sort against the encroaching Lulz space.
If the above holds true, the nature of Rank distorting reality unconsciously may thusly give way to conscious manipulation of it at higher-than-10 stages. My reasoning being: the comparison between the casual 10+ Rank of the Forebear's Once and Future II even existing
plus the existence of the Companions of the King advancement to the existence of Astral denizens of lower rank and their (speculative) connection to their Astral Lords (or similar entities). If the comparison to Yozi souls is accurate, then Rank diffuses naturally across lower, affiliated life-forms as one rises. Specifically at 7 Rank, the highest explicit breakpoint before reaching the High Ranks themselves.
A less excessively front-loaded theory would be that it's a side-effect of the pattern previously displayed: 4th began the Mid Ranks (.5 = 1), and 8th began the High Ranks (.25 = 1). But that the Rank just below 8th allows for diffusion of selfhood and spirit across other distinct entities without personal loss of power, would imply the development of a similar but lesser capacity once one breaks into the Mid Ranks. Perhaps this is where the causal warping begins in earnest? Hunger was but Rank 3.5 upon seizing the King's Scepter, but I recall the King's Fish and its small pond was believed to be a result of his Rank. Perhaps an echo, a diminished variant available one whose might and experience were only circumstantially below their rightful place? Or was the Fish adding some Pressure to the mix?
I dunno, I'm probably asking all the wrong questions. Still, wrong questions are the grist of experience. Something we could always use more of, in my opinion.
[ ] Vigor Incarnate - 2 picks, 2 Arete. The glory of Blood triumphant. Let those who would stand against him cower, or be undone. A simple but exceptionally powerful option.
Adds [+++Might, ++Charisma] to the bonuses from Quickening, subject to the usual conditions.
Add your Charisma to your Protection.
Hitting hard is good, but looking good is hard. What's a conqueror to do? Try new CAPSTONE DX! Now in refreshing Mint and Dark Cherry flavors!
I expect this would have made Gondar a less painful pick. Not everybody with a weapon gimmick has the ability to punch through multiple layers of magical Protection. Also, it would have synced up really well with a last-minute Vanguard push if Gondar had taken the time to snipe one of our allies, since our ability to heal could have given us decent odds of saving them anyway.
But that would depend on how to unlock Vanguard, wouldn't it? I expect it requires an ally show tremendous dedication, at least by the scale of those who are not the Forebear, such as staying to fight despite crushing injuries or allowing themselves to be harmed to secure victory. A fragment of chivalry, a precious ember of honor to be nurtured and defended at all costs.
I wonder if there are mental effects that the Vanguard causes? Are the beneficiaries' dreams protected against nightmares, the caster's willpower protecting them from doubt and regret? Should the power of another item be transplanted to an ally, would it be scoured clean before they receive it, or – for example – would the Vigor Incarnate gift them the untempered glory of Blood triumphant, at least on the defensive? It would imply quite a special kind of strategy, if one's habit of self-buffing was interwoven with the need to consider the implications of each buff once reflected upon allies, and the possible benefits of otherwise-useless defensive upgrades allowing for them to pursue riskier character builds than otherwise.
Who knows, with the defenses to walk amongst our foes undaunted, we might even have been able to take Aristeia instead of Larissa as our contact! Though I can't speak to the ideals of a glorious golden goddess like her, having demonstrable valor, loyalty, and integrity each beyond mortal reckoning is probably a good lead-in for getting her aid. To say nothing of possibly recruiting her... if her aid had given us the sheer charisma to bring low Sten and Evangeline without killing them, perhaps she would have considered venturing to reunite with her wayward cousin? Another companion of her caliber would have probably reduced the odds of destiny handing us Aobaru, but then leaving the Voyaging Realm early starts to look much more appealing when you have a convenient patsy to hand off babysitting the Chosen One for another couple decades to.
We could have even the been the overpowered-as-balls old friend who gets called in for unholy revenge when Aristeia inevitably died because idealists can't into genre savvy!
[ ] Edeldross Adept - 2 picks, 2 Arete. Conjunctional [Ring of Power, Evening Sky] Through a surge of genius, Hunger vastly accelerates the growth of his proficiency with Edeldross.
*Substantially improves the effects of Hunger's Edeldross training session, increasing Magnitude to +30% and imparting significant bonuses to control. He can now consistently form barriers, blasts, and basic shapes (spear, sword, boxing glove) from Edeldross.
*Hunger can now maintain close to 100% uptime on basic self Edeldross enhancement.
*Unlocks advanced Edeldross enhancement, a time-limited technique that increases his effective Magnitude by half again.
*Doubles the rate of pseudo-Grace creation in the future. This benefit is unique to the Advancement.
2 Arete for what is effectively +25% to all stats. Because when STATSgang comes to party, they come in force. That it's born of genius brought on combining the Ring with the Sky makes it sibling to the Exalted Spirit, though its focus and aggressive temperament make it very clearly of a different character entirely.
Could this process be replicated? We know we get more EXP for being risky, but to make true genius in any magic system available just by mixing experimentation with risk is another thing entirely. The Outer Sky was wholly of the Mantle, but was that but a taste? When we begin to create Graces, we should ensure Hunger has ample chance to exploit the Ring's power by incoporating some manner of danger – or at least distraction – into the process. Perhaps if we can muster a full month to spare, we can call up an Astral denizen and have them try to distrupt our magic while we work. Or just get Gisena to do it, but there are times I question if we're not asking too much of her already.
(Also: boxing glove. Green Edel too good for this world, too pure.)
[ ] Evening Sky: Shadowlord - 2 picks, 7 Arete. It's rare that such conjunctions occur, but the cloak of Evening has unusual affinity for the Elements of shadow. By absorbing the power of an Element willingly offered, some of its attributes may be infused into the wearer.
*+30% AGI, +30% Manipulation
*Gain +++++++Stealth, ++++Theft
*Weave of Silence: Immune to sound- and music-based attacks.
*Attention-Deflecting Shroud: +Protection from the Evening Sky now adds to Stealth.
*Assassin's Grace: 100% Critical Strike chance when performed from ambush.
Just you watch, I'll find some way to make Attention-Deflecting Shroud both overpowered and relevant. Got to find some sound-based Surgecrafters to recruit, and then let them carpet bomb everything in front of us...
Facetiousness aside, it's not the best pick. We're not a stealth specialist so Assassin's Grace isn't as nice as it could be. Without having taken Pearlescence, the Protection +s are still measured in single digits. If extra Agility were our highest concern we would be Quickwater and not
edeldross. But it's just so horribly flavorful, and
pretty besides! I wonder if having this would have let us disrupt the Outer Shadow holding the Azure Ring? Imagine stealing the Ring right out from under the nose of its age-old jailor, leaving an entire peoples decapitated without ever drawing our blade!
That Theft++++ amuses me deeply, though. Mostly because we've never even considered an enemy with sufficient talent for stealth and larceny exploiting our primary weakness – our Panoply is made of items, and separating us from them is no more difficult in reality than those of any other vagabond. Perhaps had we chosen no companions, and foregone the King's Scepter besides, we might have ended up relatively weak and without protection against common scofflaws who might seek to unman our no-doubt fearsome arsenal.
I do somewhat wonder why the Temple denizens never had anything like a dedicated Theft specialist. While for them Rank is an internal thing tied explicitly to Soul Evocation, surely they must have known that adventurers of any stripe grow more deadly if allowed to prepare themselves properly. A campaign of sabotage would have made their empire nigh-invincible... unless in their paranoia they feared their thieves would steal the Ring themselves. Was this the crime of Aristeia? It would be a departure from our expectations of a Fairbright, to have been the unscrupulous sort before her bloodline awakened. Those -s to Heartlessness stack up really fast.
*In exchange for paying Shadowcord a kingly sum of money, she will agree to let Hunger absorb her Element. This is not a permanent reduction; her ability to summon it will return slowly over the course of two years.
*Needless to say it's far more effective to have such capabilities present in Hunger himself than to rely on relatively-weak external sources
*Consumes one additional day as you farm the money needed.
---
It's a little odd going back and seeing her referred to by Imaginary Element and not by name, like a superhero or spy. I can't decide if that implies high school in Voyaging country to be a supremely interesting place, or an uncompromisingly boring one.
And... wait, we never even bothered with greedy Aeira memes? All these rich people in our party must have desensitized us to the price of such expensive company. Or was it the Heroic Passion of Nameless that did it? Here I was set and ready to make fun of finally having someone in our party who's even more savagely mercenary than us, and there's just no audience for it.
I'll just have to make due with Shadowcord Shogunate memes instead. And the Doom of Student Loans. I hope Aobaru knows what he's getting into!
Thanks to all my new
subscribers on Patreon! The amount of support has been absolutely amazing! Blurb Libraries I and II, featuring upcoming blurbs, are now available to patrons. There will be even more content coming in the next days!
This is a sentiment we can all echo as of late. Thanks aplenty to our glorious champions, without whose wordcount – and wallets – our seats would be flensed and toasty by now. More content, of course, is also always a plus.
