A Simple Transaction I
- Thread starter Rihaku
- Start date
- Original
Rihaku
The Internet
Even if Hunger, Gisena and Letrizia run up to Procyon's viewing range and are lucky enough to trigger Nightmare Flight before it strikes, how would the Republic be sure that you're teleporting somewhere outside of Nilfel? It could be a bluff or double-bluff, so until their diviners locate her again the Armament is probably still going to try breaking in just in case. It's not like it would take substantial damage from Nilfel's defenders without your party there, so there's not much risk for the Republic in that scenario.
Lealope
Not yet invincible
- Pronouns
- She/Her
is this... shinji???
Hmm. I wonder if we could get in contact with him and have Letrizia enlist his help through Hunger's backing. If he's anything like Evangelion's Shinji, he probably hates his father's guts and seems incredibly pliable all around.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
Teleport right over to the Voyaging City and engage the Lunatic Arnament.
Lealope
Not yet invincible
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Could we go to the Shard dungeon and have Adorie immediately sell us out, or sell us out after a short period of negotiation. FIghting the Shard is one of those circumstances where our Charisma could really tip the scales, especially with Bastion of with lowering the difference between our Ranks and even more so if we're negotiating with her for the purposes of establishing a military alliance against this incursion into the Realm of Myth. That would then introduce the Shard as a problem to solve but we've got to take these things one at a time and I'm sure its nothing an EFB or three cannot handle.
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Of course, our single sample of Shard dialogue does suggest an... interesting possibility, if we want to indulge in problem alchemy:
What do you know, another Elder Implement just showed up! Time to ring the Final Vestige's dinner bell.
Lealope
Not yet invincible
- Pronouns
- She/Her
honestly, even telling us it's a 5 pick fight hadn't warned me away from Hold the Line as much as daylian giving it his official seal of approval as a Good Idea.
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Also, wow, Night's Ambition... actually won? Despite curtailing future Sign choices and providing no immediate power? Even if we pay the cost to attain the Seventh, the most relevant Sign might not be Evening-aligned, and then the bonus would go to waste. But I think I'd rather Fall Back than suffer anything even resembling another Shattering Blow, Hunger was just healed of his last lingering injuries.
- Location
- Pindorama
[X] Hold the Line
Pfeh. We were so eager to accept the favor of heroism before, but now that we must be encharged with its duties people would rather run away. Where did that resolution against could calculus go?
I'm not going to say fighting Procyon directly is the best idea. I can say it's the most expedient solution to the problem we face, and we are fighting just before our first Realm of Evening trip, something that could heal any Conditions we have and even revive dead Companions, meaning the consequences of an action like this have been lower than ever. And I will also say that using our teamwork to take down an Armament would be really, really cool.
The chance we could at least get OaF III with Call Up makes it somewhat acceptable in my eyes, but I don't want to give the Republic the slightest chance to harm Niefel's citizens just after we made an resolution to be more heroic; nevermind the fact that letting them have full control of Niefel might actually make the proc worse considering the existence of Foremost lore in the area; even if whatever they find doesn't strengthen Procyon directly it still may cause an strategic headache should the information make back to the Republic.
So I don't really want to Fall Back, and of the two remaining options Line speaks to me far more. So, I don't want any cowarding out here, all right!?
Pfeh. We were so eager to accept the favor of heroism before, but now that we must be encharged with its duties people would rather run away. Where did that resolution against could calculus go?
I'm not going to say fighting Procyon directly is the best idea. I can say it's the most expedient solution to the problem we face, and we are fighting just before our first Realm of Evening trip, something that could heal any Conditions we have and even revive dead Companions, meaning the consequences of an action like this have been lower than ever. And I will also say that using our teamwork to take down an Armament would be really, really cool.
The chance we could at least get OaF III with Call Up makes it somewhat acceptable in my eyes, but I don't want to give the Republic the slightest chance to harm Niefel's citizens just after we made an resolution to be more heroic; nevermind the fact that letting them have full control of Niefel might actually make the proc worse considering the existence of Foremost lore in the area; even if whatever they find doesn't strengthen Procyon directly it still may cause an strategic headache should the information make back to the Republic.
So I don't really want to Fall Back, and of the two remaining options Line speaks to me far more. So, I don't want any cowarding out here, all right!?
Rihaku
The Internet
If Fervenweirr is there, that could be far more dangerous than Holding the Line without much benefit, since communication across the Voyaging Realm is incredibly difficult...
[X] Fall Back
Actual vote time! My feelings on this decision are complex and evolving, I'm likely to be persuaded more than once.
Heroism is noble, something to aspire to, and often foolish. The likely outcome when Hunger risks life and limb to defeat this terrible foe for the sake of his friends and subjects, is loss of life, limb, friends and subjects. Hunger isn't a rebel fighting against the Tyrant any more. He showed up to this land less than a month ago, for the express purpose of destroying a tower which he ended up absorbing. He owes them protection, as their lord, but Falling Backand returning with power achieves that aim.
This wouldn't be the first kingdom to lose a battle and end the war victorious.
Summoning a bigger fish is always tempting. Who doesn't love fish!? There is the need to catch it, which in this case may be a problem. This gamble is considerably less radical than Holding the Line, but still a gamble. This is a version of Hunger I could, and have in the past, vote for. It's a pretty blatant lean into our classic "powerlevel till the problems go away" call, complete with ??? chance of success and complications. The rewards are pretty tangible, with a ripe epic dungeon full of god-knows what, and a potential frenemy of a scale relevant to our foe. If you want to gamble while you gamble, you can also unlock those Signs, which may or may not be helpful, but are 100% guaranteed to have sick blurbs. They also come with sick price tags, but needs must.
I want to Fall Back. I've been going with the coward votes for a minute now, and the trend continues here. Hunger leaves, friends in tow, and Nilfel capitulates. Adorie takes a big hit in popularity. Damage is done, people are hurt and killed and kidnapped. War sucks. After a night, Hunger returns. Come in with the steel chair to take the belt back, kick the republic out, and start that Armament kill counter up.
It's not glamourous, it's not terribly heroic. It costs arete.
Hunger gets to live, as do his associates. He grows stronger, more capable of impacting the other battlefields across the cosmos where these same events are playing out.
You wanna be a hero? Help the Accursed win. Move the multiverse one imperceptible iota closer to that shining tomorrow. If you want that, then we have to play a long game, and stop these constant dice-rolls.
Actual vote time! My feelings on this decision are complex and evolving, I'm likely to be persuaded more than once.
Heroism is noble, something to aspire to, and often foolish. The likely outcome when Hunger risks life and limb to defeat this terrible foe for the sake of his friends and subjects, is loss of life, limb, friends and subjects. Hunger isn't a rebel fighting against the Tyrant any more. He showed up to this land less than a month ago, for the express purpose of destroying a tower which he ended up absorbing. He owes them protection, as their lord, but Falling Backand returning with power achieves that aim.
This wouldn't be the first kingdom to lose a battle and end the war victorious.
Summoning a bigger fish is always tempting. Who doesn't love fish!? There is the need to catch it, which in this case may be a problem. This gamble is considerably less radical than Holding the Line, but still a gamble. This is a version of Hunger I could, and have in the past, vote for. It's a pretty blatant lean into our classic "powerlevel till the problems go away" call, complete with ??? chance of success and complications. The rewards are pretty tangible, with a ripe epic dungeon full of god-knows what, and a potential frenemy of a scale relevant to our foe. If you want to gamble while you gamble, you can also unlock those Signs, which may or may not be helpful, but are 100% guaranteed to have sick blurbs. They also come with sick price tags, but needs must.
I want to Fall Back. I've been going with the coward votes for a minute now, and the trend continues here. Hunger leaves, friends in tow, and Nilfel capitulates. Adorie takes a big hit in popularity. Damage is done, people are hurt and killed and kidnapped. War sucks. After a night, Hunger returns. Come in with the steel chair to take the belt back, kick the republic out, and start that Armament kill counter up.
It's not glamourous, it's not terribly heroic. It costs arete.
Hunger gets to live, as do his associates. He grows stronger, more capable of impacting the other battlefields across the cosmos where these same events are playing out.
You wanna be a hero? Help the Accursed win. Move the multiverse one imperceptible iota closer to that shining tomorrow. If you want that, then we have to play a long game, and stop these constant dice-rolls.
HoratioVonBecker
Imperfectly Aligned
What happens if we leave publicly in Verschlengorge, then teleport?
Rihaku
The Internet
You can't outrun Procyon in Versch, Procyon is currently far stronger.
If you teleport in front of them, it's not really any different than teleporting outside their view, since in either case they'll continue attacking Nilfel until their diviners know where you went (several hours at minimum). You could try yelling a destination, but why would they believe you?
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
Bro, our chances of winning this are so astronomically tiny that an anemic churchmouse is the fucking Rotbeast in comparison. If that wasn't concerning enough, it says that strategizing can only "moderately" improve our chances.
Companions will die if we pick this. I can nearly assure you, and if this wins and it happens, I'll laugh in your faces smugly and then scream in rage and cry at Aobaru's death scene.
This option is recommended by fucking Daylian. Rihaku didn't have to write that. What he did by doing so was giving us a warning. If you don't know what that means, imagine the Grim Reaper himself offering you candy. That's what this is.
Konomena:
Rihaku-42342 said:
Inner Business
With a heavy sigh, Kazuma allowed himself to collapse on a wooden bench on the side of one of the larger Axelian thoroughfares.
There was a lot of movement on the street; costermongers' porters passing through with deliveries of fresh fruit and baked goods, people on their way to performing various daily errands. Watching them, Kazuma caught a glimpse of daily life in a fantasy world city.
It was relatively quiet despite that; only the chirping of birds and the streaming of water in a channel that ran through the middle of the street, with gangplank-long stone arched bridges and frequent greenery. It was the ideal place to sit down, breathe, and think.
Kazuma's second day - but first real, proper day - in Axel had been a tiring ordeal thus far.
Perhaps tiring wasn't doing it justice. If Kazuma was to be entirely truthful with himself, he'd admit the day exhausted him, like an emotional vacuum cleaner impeccably sucking up the crumbs of will and cunning he'd allocated for today's use. Already, there was a bone-deep sluggishness in him; that of a man twenty years his senior, who smoked regularly.
The leading cause for this wasn't that he'd never worked this hard before; Kazuma might not have attended school often, but he was no slouch when it mattered. He'd always put effort into things when they were of actual import. It would be more accurate to say that today's events caused the full extent of the shitpit he'd stepped into to finally unveil itself to him, like a disgusting sewer-monster covered in trash and seaweed that reeked of death opening the door to your room at three in the morning and finally revealing where those missing pets wandered off to.
A man coming from nowhere approaches you with a transaction? He offers curses in exchange for power? Kazuma wasn't sure if accepting the offer had been the correct choice anymore.
That wasn't to say that Kazuma believed the offer, or its acceptance, was a bad thing - he was ambivalent to the idea.
He could've lived an existence of relative bliss, either down here or in Heaven, with no curses making his daily life a complete pain or divine missions to slay the Demon King.
But like this? As a Cursebearer? He is confined to a life of incessant growth and conflict; a mission to ascend above the entire world he lived in and then strike down the offending elements from above, only to rise even higher. It wasn't going to be an easy life or calm one - he'd received the gifts of eternity and power, and in exchange, he needed to bear a terrible burden.
That was better, perhaps, but today's events had been a concise test - one that he thought he managed to narrowly pass.
Already, on his first mission and in the hours thereafter, he managed to scale almost a dozen levels: an achievement thought highly improbable if not impossible if his understanding of how experience gathering worked was correct.
It seemed like with every slain opponent, Kazuma gained far more power than he ought to rightfully do. Through a mere fistful of amphibians, he achieved the powers of a wrathful archmage; lightning that could soar from one opponent to strike another and char flesh to blackness, or blades of wind that risked to kill at once if they struck an unprotected throat. The channeled power of elemental wrath, and the constant blessing of a body that was peak-human in every aspect and superhuman in some; even more so, especially with the magic ring that he'd purchased for what amounted to spare change.
This was the power beyond logic or mercy that he'd bought at the cost of four curses: even at his current level, Kazuma found some of the things he could do unfathomable, but this wasn't even a step forward on the scaling journey of a million steps that was ahead of him, should he survive its beginnings and not tumble down the hill of betterment that led to heaven.
The idea of it filled him with an incredible dread and, at the same time, a bloodthirsty thrill. He'd promised himself to never be pathetic again; he'd promised himself to shatter the sky.
As he considered this, Kazuma hunched over forward and moved into a thinker's position; eyebrows slightly furrowed, gaze downcast, with his hand covering his mouth and supporting his chin at the same time.
Kazuma sighed, moved out of his musings by the sudden appearance of Subaru, with a basket of dead vegetables and fruit. The boy had changed into more era-appropriate attire at some point: a simple beige tunic with intricate traceries near the sleeves and collar, as well as dark cotton pants and leather boots similar to Kazuma's own.
"Hey," Subaru waved as he approached. "You're just sitting out here?"
"Ruminating," Kazuma answered. At the boy's clueless look, he added, "On my life."
Subaru's casual-friendly smile faded, replaced with a neutral look that was ready to shift into concern or cheerful joy at a moment's notice. He also looked ready to sit down on the bench at Kazuma's indication, if Kazuma judged those subtle looks cast at the empty spot next to himself correctly. "Something on your mind?"
"Hm. Nothing major, no," Kazuma admitted; a statement that felt like a half-lie, or at least a response he didn't think too much about. "I've already told you most of it. I'm just taking a moment to myself." Hopefully, the other boy would take the implication for what it was, and leave him alone.
Subaru nodded, a light smile once again appearing on his lips. "We'll meet at your place in a bit over an hour for dinner. Don't forget." Subaru moved back and rejoined the flow of street traffic.
Kazuma smiled to himself grimly. "Hey, I'm not Aqua." The other boy laughed as he walked off into the distance.
---
After he came back into their apartment, Kazuma swiftly changed into his tracksuit and started doing push-ups at a rate so accelerated it would've terrified his old self, and probably raised some impressed eyebrows from expert athletes. Aqua was nowhere to be seen; the air-headed goddess was probably elsewhere in the city, drinking off her pay or dilly-dallying about.
It was the perfect moment for training, in other words. There was nothing else he could do with his time, and as someone stuck with the Affliction of Slumber, the vast majority of his days would be spent on sleeping; he'd surrendered half of his existence to the curse, and then slightly less with Aqua's help, but the hours that he needed to sleep were immense nonetheless. He needed to practice as much as possible, even if he didn't like it.
And that's when the anomaly appeared.
Kazuma usually detested physical exercise with a black heart, but not anymore. It didn't exhaust him as much as expected, and failed to produce that hallmark burn of exercise on his muscles even when he decided to step up the training gears; he hung himself upside-down from the ceiling and started to perform strenuous pull-ups against gravity.
This, he found mildly difficult, but not as straining as expected; it was only a couple of steps away from how it would've been if he did it on the ground back in his previous life.
Curious, he pulled off the magic ring he acquired and continued the exercise. It was difficult, now: straining, pushing him to the brink, but it was possible. Kazuma persisted for another twenty minutes until his forehead was caked in sweat, and he managed to grind out a decent amount of strength, constitution, and dexterity upgrades for himself.
After a refreshing bath, Kazuma got dressed and stepped into the kitchen.
He got started the process of cooking the dragon meat when Subaru came over with the rest of the ingredients. They continued together, and started arguing on how the spices should be handled when Aqua suddenly returned. The door creaked open and the goddess stepped in, cheeks flushed and barely able to walk.
"This one..." Kazuma clenched his fist.
For a moment, he felt a deep temptation to pick up the pan and throw it at her temple like a frisbee, but as soon as he thought that, a countervailing and intrusive feeling of mercy came upon him. He lowered both fists and breathed in, calming himself down.
Nonetheless, Subaru offered his aid to the goddess and helped her sit down at the dining table - as in her state, she was unable to pull the chair back properly, somehow. "Hey, it's not even seven in the afternoon. We only received our rewards a couple of hours ago. How can you get drunk this fast?"
Aqua's head dropped to the table. "I mefh a welly nice guy..."
"Hey, elbows off!" Kazuma ordered, bringing out the cooked dragon meat on a large plate and setting it down in the middle of the dining table. Next to the main dish, he set down the potatoes and greens, then sat down next to Subaru.
It was a monstrous, fried brisket covered in various herbs and spices, as well as buttered to make it go down more smoothly. Dragon meat was infamous for being tough and chewy, but Kazuma was confident his methods would've softened it up. To be safe, though, he also decided to cook it into more digestible pieces, each one smaller than a clenched fist.
As expected, the repast was delicious. Once the drunk Aqua managed to remember how to use a fork properly, she commented that it was absolutely delicious and would've liked for Kazuma to become her cook back in Heaven once this was over. Subaru appeared unsurprised that Aqua was casually revealing her nature as a goddess, and Kazuma was frankly, at this point, unsurprised that Subaru was unsurprised; he seemed to take even shocking and exciting revelations as if he'd heard them once or twice before at minimum.
Once their repast was concluded, Kazuma explained how Retinue worked. Aqua's head was mostly cleared by that point, so she understood the explanation and was able to swear the oaths involved when Kazuma initiated both her and Subaru.
---
Last time, the winners were [K] Ring of Rebellion, White-Bone Crossbow, Relax and Focus, Productive Work, Red Dawn, and Power Injection.
As a part of its nature, Progression is gradual and subject to the people it is invested into; nonetheless, in Kazuma's Retinue, it offers a minor remit to its new members. How did the Cursebearer's Retinue members benefit from the boons of Progression?
Pick a single option for each.
Aqua
[ ] Grace of the Divine - Aqua's divine status will begin to rise steadily over the next month, and eventually, she'll break through to the Second Firmament. Once she does so, she'll auto-generate divine energy at a constant rate independent of her worshippers.
Certain types of gods - those on the First Firmament - can become vulnerable, sickly, comatose, and eventually die if they do not receive sufficient worship. Aqua is that kind of deity, but with this option, she becomes a deity of the Second Firmament and can subsist entirely on herself; if the Demon King discovers her existence and chooses to weaken her through the genocide of her followers, it'll only impact the level powers she can leverage, but not her life. In addition, Aqua gains the equivalent of +35 Magic Power which is not reflected via official stats.
Aqua's future Progression options will focus more on her growth as a deity.
[ ] Sacred Restoration - Aqua's wellspring of divine energy is restored at once, and she becomes ready and capable of mitigating another level of Kazuma's curses at once; two curses will be mitigated immediately, two more in less than a week. Why this is useful, I do not think I need to say.
Aqua's future Progression options will focus more on curse mitigation and restoration/healing.
[ ] Eversworn - Permanently double the effects of Dutybound on Aqua. At this level of potency, for example, she takes important tasks nearly as seriously as Kazuma and begins to understand the concept that personal sacrifices have to be made in the short-term to enjoy long-term benefits. In other words, she won't screw up important tasks but might do so for minor ones.
Aqua's future Progression options will focus more on raising her overall competence.
Subaru
[ ] Cardinal - One of Subaru's Authorities is restored and augmented explosively. It's his choice which one, but regardless of which one he picks, it'll be an incredible boon.
Should he pick the Authority of Sloth, he gains Invisible Providence at a level sufficient to produce five invisible forcefields in the shape of a hand which can extend up to the length of a tennis court and act with the force of an average human hand.
If he picks the Authority of Greed, he gains Cor Leonis, allowing him to buff allies in a large range by one-seventh of their holistic capabilities for an unlimited amount of time. Doing this places minimal strain on his heart, but is deeply unpleasant.
Subaru's future Progression options will focus more on his status as a Cardinal of Sin.
[ ] A Witch's Love - Subaru receives a low degree of control over Return by Death. He starts to comprehend where his current 'save slot' is, and he can sometimes force the creation of a new one when it would be appropriate, or warp further back to the original save point. He is also no longer forbidden from indicating that he possesses Return by Death.
With a heavy sigh, Kazuma allowed himself to collapse on a wooden bench on the side of one of the larger Axelian thoroughfares.
There was a lot of movement on the street; costermongers' porters passing through with deliveries of fresh fruit and baked goods, people on their way to performing various daily errands. Watching them, Kazuma caught a glimpse of daily life in a fantasy world city.
It was relatively quiet despite that; only the chirping of birds and the streaming of water in a channel that ran through the middle of the street, with gangplank-long stone arched bridges and frequent greenery. It was the ideal place to sit down, breathe, and think.
Kazuma's second day - but first real, proper day - in Axel had been a tiring ordeal thus far.
Perhaps tiring wasn't doing it justice. If Kazuma was to be entirely truthful with himself, he'd admit the day exhausted him, like an emotional vacuum cleaner impeccably sucking up the crumbs of will and cunning he'd allocated for today's use. Already, there was a bone-deep sluggishness in him; that of a man twenty years his senior, who smoked regularly.
The leading cause for this wasn't that he'd never worked this hard before; Kazuma might not have attended school often, but he was no slouch when it mattered. He'd always put effort into things when they were of actual import. It would be more accurate to say that today's events caused the full extent of the shitpit he'd stepped into to finally unveil itself to him, like a disgusting sewer-monster covered in trash and seaweed that reeked of death opening the door to your room at three in the morning and finally revealing where those missing pets wandered off to.
A man coming from nowhere approaches you with a transaction? He offers curses in exchange for power? Kazuma wasn't sure if accepting the offer had been the correct choice anymore.
That wasn't to say that Kazuma believed the offer, or its acceptance, was a bad thing - he was ambivalent to the idea.
He could've lived an existence of relative bliss, either down here or in Heaven, with no curses making his daily life a complete pain or divine missions to slay the Demon King.
But like this? As a Cursebearer? He is confined to a life of incessant growth and conflict; a mission to ascend above the entire world he lived in and then strike down the offending elements from above, only to rise even higher. It wasn't going to be an easy life or calm one - he'd received the gifts of eternity and power, and in exchange, he needed to bear a terrible burden.
That was better, perhaps, but today's events had been a concise test - one that he thought he managed to narrowly pass.
Already, on his first mission and in the hours thereafter, he managed to scale almost a dozen levels: an achievement thought highly improbable if not impossible if his understanding of how experience gathering worked was correct.
It seemed like with every slain opponent, Kazuma gained far more power than he ought to rightfully do. Through a mere fistful of amphibians, he achieved the powers of a wrathful archmage; lightning that could soar from one opponent to strike another and char flesh to blackness, or blades of wind that risked to kill at once if they struck an unprotected throat. The channeled power of elemental wrath, and the constant blessing of a body that was peak-human in every aspect and superhuman in some; even more so, especially with the magic ring that he'd purchased for what amounted to spare change.
This was the power beyond logic or mercy that he'd bought at the cost of four curses: even at his current level, Kazuma found some of the things he could do unfathomable, but this wasn't even a step forward on the scaling journey of a million steps that was ahead of him, should he survive its beginnings and not tumble down the hill of betterment that led to heaven.
The idea of it filled him with an incredible dread and, at the same time, a bloodthirsty thrill. He'd promised himself to never be pathetic again; he'd promised himself to shatter the sky.
As he considered this, Kazuma hunched over forward and moved into a thinker's position; eyebrows slightly furrowed, gaze downcast, with his hand covering his mouth and supporting his chin at the same time.
Kazuma sighed, moved out of his musings by the sudden appearance of Subaru, with a basket of dead vegetables and fruit. The boy had changed into more era-appropriate attire at some point: a simple beige tunic with intricate traceries near the sleeves and collar, as well as dark cotton pants and leather boots similar to Kazuma's own.
"Hey," Subaru waved as he approached. "You're just sitting out here?"
"Ruminating," Kazuma answered. At the boy's clueless look, he added, "On my life."
Subaru's casual-friendly smile faded, replaced with a neutral look that was ready to shift into concern or cheerful joy at a moment's notice. He also looked ready to sit down on the bench at Kazuma's indication, if Kazuma judged those subtle looks cast at the empty spot next to himself correctly. "Something on your mind?"
"Hm. Nothing major, no," Kazuma admitted; a statement that felt like a half-lie, or at least a response he didn't think too much about. "I've already told you most of it. I'm just taking a moment to myself." Hopefully, the other boy would take the implication for what it was, and leave him alone.
Subaru nodded, a light smile once again appearing on his lips. "We'll meet at your place in a bit over an hour for dinner. Don't forget." Subaru moved back and rejoined the flow of street traffic.
Kazuma smiled to himself grimly. "Hey, I'm not Aqua." The other boy laughed as he walked off into the distance.
---
After he came back into their apartment, Kazuma swiftly changed into his tracksuit and started doing push-ups at a rate so accelerated it would've terrified his old self, and probably raised some impressed eyebrows from expert athletes. Aqua was nowhere to be seen; the air-headed goddess was probably elsewhere in the city, drinking off her pay or dilly-dallying about.
It was the perfect moment for training, in other words. There was nothing else he could do with his time, and as someone stuck with the Affliction of Slumber, the vast majority of his days would be spent on sleeping; he'd surrendered half of his existence to the curse, and then slightly less with Aqua's help, but the hours that he needed to sleep were immense nonetheless. He needed to practice as much as possible, even if he didn't like it.
And that's when the anomaly appeared.
Kazuma usually detested physical exercise with a black heart, but not anymore. It didn't exhaust him as much as expected, and failed to produce that hallmark burn of exercise on his muscles even when he decided to step up the training gears; he hung himself upside-down from the ceiling and started to perform strenuous pull-ups against gravity.
This, he found mildly difficult, but not as straining as expected; it was only a couple of steps away from how it would've been if he did it on the ground back in his previous life.
Curious, he pulled off the magic ring he acquired and continued the exercise. It was difficult, now: straining, pushing him to the brink, but it was possible. Kazuma persisted for another twenty minutes until his forehead was caked in sweat, and he managed to grind out a decent amount of strength, constitution, and dexterity upgrades for himself.
After a refreshing bath, Kazuma got dressed and stepped into the kitchen.
He got started the process of cooking the dragon meat when Subaru came over with the rest of the ingredients. They continued together, and started arguing on how the spices should be handled when Aqua suddenly returned. The door creaked open and the goddess stepped in, cheeks flushed and barely able to walk.
"This one..." Kazuma clenched his fist.
For a moment, he felt a deep temptation to pick up the pan and throw it at her temple like a frisbee, but as soon as he thought that, a countervailing and intrusive feeling of mercy came upon him. He lowered both fists and breathed in, calming himself down.
Nonetheless, Subaru offered his aid to the goddess and helped her sit down at the dining table - as in her state, she was unable to pull the chair back properly, somehow. "Hey, it's not even seven in the afternoon. We only received our rewards a couple of hours ago. How can you get drunk this fast?"
Aqua's head dropped to the table. "I mefh a welly nice guy..."
"Hey, elbows off!" Kazuma ordered, bringing out the cooked dragon meat on a large plate and setting it down in the middle of the dining table. Next to the main dish, he set down the potatoes and greens, then sat down next to Subaru.
It was a monstrous, fried brisket covered in various herbs and spices, as well as buttered to make it go down more smoothly. Dragon meat was infamous for being tough and chewy, but Kazuma was confident his methods would've softened it up. To be safe, though, he also decided to cook it into more digestible pieces, each one smaller than a clenched fist.
As expected, the repast was delicious. Once the drunk Aqua managed to remember how to use a fork properly, she commented that it was absolutely delicious and would've liked for Kazuma to become her cook back in Heaven once this was over. Subaru appeared unsurprised that Aqua was casually revealing her nature as a goddess, and Kazuma was frankly, at this point, unsurprised that Subaru was unsurprised; he seemed to take even shocking and exciting revelations as if he'd heard them once or twice before at minimum.
Once their repast was concluded, Kazuma explained how Retinue worked. Aqua's head was mostly cleared by that point, so she understood the explanation and was able to swear the oaths involved when Kazuma initiated both her and Subaru.
---
Last time, the winners were [K] Ring of Rebellion, White-Bone Crossbow, Relax and Focus, Productive Work, Red Dawn, and Power Injection.
As a part of its nature, Progression is gradual and subject to the people it is invested into; nonetheless, in Kazuma's Retinue, it offers a minor remit to its new members. How did the Cursebearer's Retinue members benefit from the boons of Progression?
Pick a single option for each.
Aqua
[ ] Grace of the Divine - Aqua's divine status will begin to rise steadily over the next month, and eventually, she'll break through to the Second Firmament. Once she does so, she'll auto-generate divine energy at a constant rate independent of her worshippers.
Certain types of gods - those on the First Firmament - can become vulnerable, sickly, comatose, and eventually die if they do not receive sufficient worship. Aqua is that kind of deity, but with this option, she becomes a deity of the Second Firmament and can subsist entirely on herself; if the Demon King discovers her existence and chooses to weaken her through the genocide of her followers, it'll only impact the level powers she can leverage, but not her life. In addition, Aqua gains the equivalent of +35 Magic Power which is not reflected via official stats.
Aqua's future Progression options will focus more on her growth as a deity.
[ ] Sacred Restoration - Aqua's wellspring of divine energy is restored at once, and she becomes ready and capable of mitigating another level of Kazuma's curses at once; two curses will be mitigated immediately, two more in less than a week. Why this is useful, I do not think I need to say.
Aqua's future Progression options will focus more on curse mitigation and restoration/healing.
[ ] Eversworn - Permanently double the effects of Dutybound on Aqua. At this level of potency, for example, she takes important tasks nearly as seriously as Kazuma and begins to understand the concept that personal sacrifices have to be made in the short-term to enjoy long-term benefits. In other words, she won't screw up important tasks but might do so for minor ones.
Aqua's future Progression options will focus more on raising her overall competence.
Subaru
[ ] Cardinal - One of Subaru's Authorities is restored and augmented explosively. It's his choice which one, but regardless of which one he picks, it'll be an incredible boon.
Should he pick the Authority of Sloth, he gains Invisible Providence at a level sufficient to produce five invisible forcefields in the shape of a hand which can extend up to the length of a tennis court and act with the force of an average human hand.
If he picks the Authority of Greed, he gains Cor Leonis, allowing him to buff allies in a large range by one-seventh of their holistic capabilities for an unlimited amount of time. Doing this places minimal strain on his heart, but is deeply unpleasant.
Subaru's future Progression options will focus more on his status as a Cardinal of Sin.
[ ] A Witch's Love - Subaru receives a low degree of control over Return by Death. He starts to comprehend where his current 'save slot' is, and he can sometimes force the creation of a new one when it would be appropriate, or warp further back to the original save point. He is also no longer forbidden from indicating that he possesses Return by Death.
Enohthree
Hypersane
Oh cool, turns out buffing the source of 4 pick fights gives us a 5 pick fight with various flavors of 'how much do you want to risk or lose even if you win?'
Well the Sixth and Seventh signs are no goes due to us being locked into trying to get a themed buff with them, and if those aren't combat useful then we've lost something amazing for nothing.
Several things come to mind.
The first is that if they're going to be breaching the Walls of Myth, maybe we can use the broken chunks for empowerment?
The second thing is, uh, can we Fall Back with everyone? We have a people limit and we can't take all the kids plus Vershe with us. And leaving a single kid, even Aeria, behind is just asking for something awful to happen given that this is an Apocrypal proc.
Third is that I have a lot more faith in Hunger's Progression than much else. And while it's not the circumstances I'd have liked to spend it on, I think OaF III is going to be all of the worth it combat wise, considering the parameters already empowered. It's hard to imagine what's next, but at (what's supposed to be) 3 picks and 25 Arete I imagine its great.
Fourth is Call Up searches for the Shard. But you know what else we can 'Call Up' ? Astral Beings! Time to call one up. It's going to probably be useful to our short term needs. Excellent. Bring on the Spirit of Intellect that cost us 2 Arete last time, I'm willing to pay double today! Or maybe something with an exotic vector of attack that they won't be optimized against. Or, honestly, just an Astral Being that makes our trip to seek out the Shard more useful. I like that one actually. Call Up the Shard riiiiiight after Calling Up an Astral Denizen that would help us pay the telephone fees. Or points us to the exact nest of Chromal Beasts that we need to fight in order to unlock enough picks. Something along those lines.
Well the Sixth and Seventh signs are no goes due to us being locked into trying to get a themed buff with them, and if those aren't combat useful then we've lost something amazing for nothing.
Several things come to mind.
The first is that if they're going to be breaching the Walls of Myth, maybe we can use the broken chunks for empowerment?
The second thing is, uh, can we Fall Back with everyone? We have a people limit and we can't take all the kids plus Vershe with us. And leaving a single kid, even Aeria, behind is just asking for something awful to happen given that this is an Apocrypal proc.
Third is that I have a lot more faith in Hunger's Progression than much else. And while it's not the circumstances I'd have liked to spend it on, I think OaF III is going to be all of the worth it combat wise, considering the parameters already empowered. It's hard to imagine what's next, but at (what's supposed to be) 3 picks and 25 Arete I imagine its great.
Fourth is Call Up searches for the Shard. But you know what else we can 'Call Up' ? Astral Beings! Time to call one up. It's going to probably be useful to our short term needs. Excellent. Bring on the Spirit of Intellect that cost us 2 Arete last time, I'm willing to pay double today! Or maybe something with an exotic vector of attack that they won't be optimized against. Or, honestly, just an Astral Being that makes our trip to seek out the Shard more useful. I like that one actually. Call Up the Shard riiiiiight after Calling Up an Astral Denizen that would help us pay the telephone fees. Or points us to the exact nest of Chromal Beasts that we need to fight in order to unlock enough picks. Something along those lines.
Lealope
Not yet invincible
- Pronouns
- She/Her
A very interesting revelation about the nature of Heroic Progression and how it has functions beyond just giving us access to the Once and Future a tier above our current purchase.. How elegant on Haeliel's part: heroism is oftentimes costly and unprofitably but Heroic Upgrades would do a lot to change the risk-reward balance involved with such decisions, meaning that even the purely self-interested voters would have a decent reason to choose such options.
Real shame it's a 5 pick fight but perhaps Heroism demands no less.
- Location
- Pindorama
Most relevant to me now that I think about it, I really don't like Fall Back because leaving Niefel to bear the brunt of the consequences for something we caused is rather ghoulish. We already own Adorie a stupendous amount of Mythic Platinum and Hunger worries constantly about that, nevermind actual damage to its citizens! As long as we are here, I do think we have the responsibility of diminishing the harm Apocryphal prcos cause since we are the result they even happen anyway. I do not want to leave Niefel a worse place than when we arrived, that would suck.
Plus, Aobaru might even do cool things during the fight! Don't you want more cool Aobaru scenes?
Don't worry, now that Gisena has Renaissance Woman and we have the Realm of Evening, healing and resurrection is now easier than ever! Letrizia even gave us permission to do so, how convenient. I think as long as either Gisena or Hunger survive, it's something eminently recoverable.
Plus, Aobaru might even do cool things during the fight! Don't you want more cool Aobaru scenes?
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
If there's still corpses left over after Procyon turns them to meaty paste, sure.
Like his death scene? I'm sorry, but any fight is untenable here; we're fighting against a goddamn Armament at full strength. Procyon is more than capable of literally grinding our corpses into dust at hypersonic velocities. I'm not confident, even with rerolls.