- Location
- Earth
Oh my, you're right.
Let me just throw in my +15 to that; I add it to my previous post so everything is still in one place.
Edit: There, all done.
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Oh my, you're right.
Let me just throw in my +15 to that; I add it to my previous post so everything is still in one place.
Edit: There, all done.
NIghtmareNursery
Scheming Spectator
- Location
- Earth \ AU
What's with these shitty rolls?! 
Maybe the people whom didn't get their shiny Ebon Knights made a sacrifice to the rng to sabotage the parts of the winning plan that they didn't like? Sounds like something some of them would do, what with how they literally stuck their proverbial fingers in their ears and said "LA LA LA LA, I'M NOT LISTENING TO YOUR REASONABLE ARGUMENT ON WHY WE DON'T NEED THEM RIGHT NOW. LA LA LA LA LA!"
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Maybe the people whom didn't get their shiny Ebon Knights made a sacrifice to the rng to sabotage the parts of the winning plan that they didn't like? Sounds like something some of them would do, what with how they literally stuck their proverbial fingers in their ears and said "LA LA LA LA, I'M NOT LISTENING TO YOUR REASONABLE ARGUMENT ON WHY WE DON'T NEED THEM RIGHT NOW. LA LA LA LA LA!"
...
But in all seriousness we don't really need either one. Nor do we need an army of Ebon Ninjas.All we need to to keep creating and improving our shadows and golems.Enough upgraded shadows and golems, backed up by our couple hero units and monster personal combat abilities should be more than sufficient against any conceivable threat and be fairly unobtrusive.
It really comes down to the fact that Knights mad of super strong evil magical living metal are way cooler than Monsters of the Week from Power Rangers.
Yes, reasonable. ... Anyways, it was a sarcastic comment largely suggesting that negativity may have influenced the dice rolls... or you know, could have been entirely up to chance. Polite? No. Funny? It's been an hour and no one's laughed, so apparently not. Sorry, I don't subscribe to Sienfeld's (how do you spell that arsehole's name again?) school of how not to tell a joke. I have a hard enough time trying to make humor without purposefully being as rude, and as offensive, to as large a group at once as possible, and still end up not telling a joke.
...
But in all seriousness we don't really need either one. Nor do we need an army of Ebon Ninjas.All we need to to keep creating and improving our shadows and golems.Enough upgraded shadows and golems, backed up by our couple hero units and monster personal combat abilities should be more than sufficient against any conceivable threat and be fairly unobtrusive.
It really comes down to the fact that Knights mad of super strong evil magical living metal are way cooler than Monsters of the Week from Power Rangers.
Sorry, almost started ranting on a has been, washed up political commentator that presented themselves as a comedian. Wasn't my intention. Point was, I struggle with humor, sometimes I time the comedy right, most of the time I don't.
Any rate, issue is moot point, we took shadows and beasts, and nearly tanked both even with a guaranteed success anyways.
TwistedJester
Tired Lurker King
- Location
- Hell
Welp.. too late too vote
- Location
- I think somewhere. I might be nowhere though
Ouch. That was some absolutely horrendous voting. We need to sacrifice some sheep to the dice gods!
- Location
- Earth
I heard they prefer kittens.
- Location
- I think somewhere. I might be nowhere though
Ey, over in SB, I got many crit. successes after sacrificing sheep. I got dis
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Ey, over in SB, I got many crit. successes after sacrificing sheep. I got dis
Sacrifice the QM's liver to the holy altar of alcohol built resting in front of a throne made from the barren remains of empty wine bottles. It's the only way to appease the dice.
No, no, you're thinking Dionysios, totally different deity. As far as I know he was never involved with gambling, or playing games, and this is both. I believe Apollo was the deity for both gambling and games... don't remember what sacrifices he demanded though.
Goat, Pig, Cow, Deer.
Also human I think, though it's a symbolic sacrifice thing where you trash the poor guy half dead and drive him out of the city
Week 6 - Results
shibosho
The Face of Procrastination
- Location
- The Land of Oz
Week 6 - Results
Martial: Your forces are growing but they are still essentially small fries in relation to other factions' combat strength. While you could be considered a one-man army, capable of taking on large groups of combatants with ease, you are still one person and one person can not do all the things you need to do alone. (Choose 2)
[X] Beasts of the Black Kingdom: You realized that before you try making monsters out of people, you should try making loyal monsters out of ordinary animals. There are lots of stray cats and dog as well as wild animals out in the city that you can use. PETA would be on your ass for using animals to test your powers but you're a villain so screw them. Cost: 200 EP. Chance of Success: 100% Reward: New Minion Type – Beast.
Roll: 16 + 10(Ebon Saviour): 26
A stray cat that was in bad shape is what you use to create your first "Black Beast". This was the first time you used Ebon Power to directly alter another living thing rather than heal like you did with Aestia. After healing the cat had been restored to full health thanks to good food and some healing magic from Evetta, you went to work infusing Ebon Power into the feline's very existence.
Through your energy sense, you watch as the Ebon Power that you're forcing into the cat face resistance from the cat's soul. However, as the cat's soul was worth less Ebon Power than the amount you were putting in, it was quickly swallowed up. Somehow, the Ebon Power was converting the cat's soul into Ebon Power before turning back. It is a transmutation of energy that only you could tell. Soon, the cat's entire existence had been replaced with transformed Ebon Power.
It was here that the cat's transformation into a Black Beast truly began. With more Ebon Power than its current form could handle, the cat's body began to shift under the influence of Ebon Power. It's previously white and brown fur turned black tinged with violet. Its entire body structure began to grow larger and larger until it was the size of a horse. Bony protrusions began to grow out from under its skin, acting as both natural weapons and armour.
The entire process takes about ten or so minutes by the time it's done. Cutting off the flow of Ebon Power, you took a step back to take a look at your handiwork.
Now resembling something more along the lines of a sabre-tooth panther with bone armour over parts of its body, the Black Beast stands before you, ready to do your bidding. It follows your commands like a trained animal, doing the best it can to complete your orders, but when left to its own devices, it returns to acting like a regular cat.
Its claws and fangs, as well as its bony spike protrusions, are capable of cutting through stone and damaging metal. It was also capable of firing a ball of purple energy that exploded with lethal force upon impacting something. No matter how you looked at it, this former cat was now a monstrous beast that could easily kill a person or five with ease. Interestingly enough, it had the same energy draining capabilities as your Shadows.
Not too bad for your first Black Beast.
Further attempts with dogs and other cats yielded similar results. However, when you tried to turn a bird into a Black Beast, it exploded.
Welp, looks like you're gonna need to do some more experimenting if you want giant flying birds of doom later on.
Reward: Ability to transform any small animal into a Black Beast. 5 Black Beasts.
[X] Shadow Army: The Shadows are your most numerous combat assets. While they seem to multiply on their own, as things stand, you're going to be needing a hell lot more of them, both the regular Shadows and Neoshadows. Thankfully, it seems that your regular Shadows have also developed the ability to hide in other people's shadows and drain their energy though only the Neoshadows can drain enough energy to be a threat. Time to make some more Shadows. Cost: 500 EP. Chance of Success:70%. Reward: 200 Ebon Shadows. 40 Neoshadows.
Roll: 24 + 10(Ebon Saviour) + 15: 49
Creating Shadows is a fairly easy endeavor for you. You were, in fact, successful in creating more than your original target number. In fact, you also ended up creating a new type of shadow minion by complete accident when Yuudai came to ask you about some things on Ebon Power.
Standing about seven inches tall, a small shadow creature was born when you accidentally over charged an Ebon Shadow, causing it to explode. Most of its Ebon Power had dissipated but what was left resulted in this little fellow.
Unlike your Shadows, this little guy appeared to be intelligent.
Of course, being as small as it was, you didn't really see how useful it was. At least it was cute though so you left it in the care of your golems.
Reward: 240 Ebon Shadows. 24 Neoshadows. 1 Diminutive Shadow Thing.
Stewardship: Ebon Power is always in demand for your projects and so is money. A large chunk of money has disappeared just like that but you have plans to set up a proper means of income for your financial needs. Still, power will always be an issue and cash isn't something you desperately need right now. Right now, your group is more of a social thing than a proper group. (Choose 1)
[X] Energy Farm: The easiest way to get more Ebon Power is to increase the number of captives that you can drain energy from. With the number of Shadows you have under your control, it should be child's play to capture a bunch of people to act as your Ebon Power generators. You'll have to make sure that whoever you kidnap will not be missed anytime soon. Cost: 60 Ebon Shadows. 10 Neoshadows. Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Minimum 2d6+5 Human Captives. Increased Ebon Power Income.
Roll: 69 + 10: 79
The Shadows you sent out to collect new Ebon Power sources were successful in fulfilling your command. Fourteen random miscreants, punks, would-be criminals and homeless guys had been subdued and brought into your prison where they would spend the rest of their lives to fuel your growing forces and needs.
Every single person was in pretty good shape meaning they both had larger amounts of energy within them and would last longer from continuous draining.
Reward: 14 human captives. (Great Condition)
Diplomacy: There are problems all over your city that makes you wish you had more people on your side or at least several more officers to take care of things. Still, things have been cooling down in regards to the ninja clans, the mages have managed to collect another cursed artifact from its owner, exorcists have been taking out both regular demons and weird mechanical skeleton demons, and the Company has been fighting it out with Witches and Wraiths. The other magical girl groups haven't had anything concerning them this week though. Is this a breather or the calm before the storm? In any case, you need to make nice with all these people or at least tolerate you. (Choose 1)
[X] Magical Girl Mayhem: A Magical Girl fights for love, peace, and friendship. The means they do so are varied. Type A uses love-empowered magical elemental attacks while Type B uses empowered fists of love and justice. Both, however, don't really have a support network like the Company do. Thus, you find both types running themselves ragged fighting all these strange monsters. How about you go and take the pressure off them a little by destroying a bunch of these posers? How dare these magical villains try and home in on your energy harvesting schtick. Cost: 100 EP. Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Information on Magical Girl Factions. Support Link gained. ???
Roll: 5 + 10 + 10 + 15: 40
The Dazzle Valkyries, the Stellar Guardians, and the Astroscouts are just some of the groups of magical girls that you spent time this week helping out. Putting on a disguise reminiscent of one of those dark mysterious protectors from your little brother's show consisting of a really nice suit, cape and top hat ensemble, black wig, and a black mask over your eyes, you went out and did your thing. Several times did you swoop into the fray to rescue a magical girl from almost certain doom and every time you did you quickly left, leaving behind a cryptic statement about yourself that meant absolutely nothing.
After doing this a couple of times, you eventually stopped to at least introduce yourself as well as learn a bit more about these alternative magical girls. You learnt their team names, individual code names, who they fought and why, along with the fact that all of them are apparently under the supervision of this The Lady Celestial, regional chief of the Bureau of Magical Girl Affairs as well as leader and coordinator of magical girl teams in her district.
While some of these magical girls have been suspicious of your motives and your existence, your combat capabilities and powers have allowed you some leeway in avoiding answering more sensitive questions.
In any case, you've learnt some things and got some Ebon Power from killing weird monsters.
Reward: +100 Ebon Power Income. New options unlocked.
Intrigue: Yuudai has seamlessly integrated himself into his new role as your spymaster. Having given him authority to command the Seekers, you are certain that Yuudai will do his job well. As a professional assassin, spy and saboteur, Yuudai is sure to help you get things done in the world of backstabbing and back door dealings. (Fallback will be finished this turn)(Choose 1)
[X] Fallback: Anonymity is one of your greatest tools at this point of the great game. With the cash that you have, you can start making full use of it. You'll need secret identities to hide your civilian actions behind since doing Ebon stuff as Jacob is just asking for trouble. Your glamour needs an upgrade so that you can appear as more than just a guy in a black coat with glowing red eyes. You'll need to also make sure your base is extra secure since it's not actually that hard to break into. You need to truly hide all traces of your assets if you want to keep some nosy idiot from getting lucky and finding their way into your base. Cost: 300 EP, $20000. Upkeep: $1000. Time: 2 Turns. Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Base properly hidden and secure. False identities acquired. Better Glamour. Loose threads severed. (Will be completed this turn)
Roll: 15
The renovations on the base were finally completed after Yuudai threw in some of his own input on how to secure the base. Despite working with limited funds and manpower, the base was now safe from any accidental intrusions and the likes at the very least. Booby traps were in place for the possibility of any intentional intrusions. Several bank accounts under the name of several false identities were now used to store your group's funds as well as allow electronic transactions without being traced back to your civilian identity.
With this, the secrecy of your actions could now be preserved for a good long while.
Reward: Reduced chances of the base being discovered by outside parties. Stewardship and Intrigue options unlocked.
[X] Information Network: Yuudai's greater understanding of the world of espionage, as well as his own connections with various information brokers, has prompted him to set up a proper information network for you instead of trying to sift through hundreds of hours of Seeker Recordings of whatever seems interesting. Of course, he's going to change how the Seekers do their thing but he also needs more seekers to do so. Cost: 800 EP, $5000. Upkeep: $500. Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Information Network available. Weekly Rumour mill.
Roll: 15
Yuudai, using his connections and his own expertise in the matter, quickly sets up a network of informants as well as training some of your more intelligent golems in sorting through the pile of Seeker Records in order to uncover important information as well as keeping up-to-date on all happenings occurring in the city.
When Yuudai also asked you for more Seekers, you have them to him. Increasing the number of Seekers dramatically, Yuudai set them off to observe various VIPs all over the city.
Unfortunately, Yuudai's own lack of experience with groups outside of ninjas and the mundane side of the city, meant that it'll be a little while before your new information network brings you decent news about what's going on with the other supernatural forces in the city. Evetta has been helping Yuudai with the mage side of things but due to how magic has developed as well as changes in methodology and thinking, Evetta's help had little impact.
At least your Golems are able to brute force the issue so it becomes something of a minor issue but it still annoys you that you don't have complete information coverage on certain groups in the city.
Reward: Rumour Mill gained. Currently covering Mundane, Ninja Clans, and Mages.
Learning: The Power of Ebon does weird things to the laws of physics and normal science, even when you're not using it as a source of magic. The Science-dominated society that you live in is just something that you need to learn how to mess with using the power of Ebon. (Choose 1)
[X] Ninja Techniques and Ebon: Ninja uses a combination of their trained bodies and qi in order to pull off some of their more fantastical ninja techniques, the ones that you usually see in anime and movies. Turns out that a lot of them are legit but for most parts are usually held in reserves since they are usually too flashy for the usual stealth-based task ninjas do. Still, pulling off ninja skills as either Ebon or Jacob sounds like fun. Time for some experimentation! Cost: 400 EP. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Acquire ability to replicate Ninja Techniques. Increased intrigue.
Roll: 19 + 10(Ebon Saviour) + 10: 39
Ninjas are capable of many things. Stealth and espionage are their bread and butter but that isn't to say that their combat capabilities were in any way lacking. Older generations put an emphasis on stealth and assassination techniques while the younger generation put a bit more stock in combat skills and flashy destructive ninjutsu spells. In any case, a ninja needed to be prepared for any situation whether that be the need to escape from pursuers unharmed and without being tracked or face someone in combat in order to buy time of their allies.
Ninjas in the past and present use something called ki in order to power their more supernatural feats. Ki could be defined as the product of refining the body's natural energy into a more potent and powerful form. Through the refinement of their life energy, the body that is the container of life energy becomes stronger in order to contain the more potent life force.
Of course, you were able to replicate a ninja's ki using Ebon Power. However, using it to reproduce various ninja techniques was much harder than you thought it would be. It takes some half-assed coaching from Yuudai to give you the ability to speed up your movements to the point where you leave after-images or bushin as Yuudai calls them. Similarly, this speed also allows you to pull off the fabled substitution technique where you dodge an attack by replacing yourself with either something nearby or a log.
You had to make the log yourself while Yuudai was somehow able to pull a log out from somewhere when there shouldn't be any logs anywhere nearby.
One day, you will definitely work out the secret of the log.
You also learn how to use Ki to lighten your footsteps to the point where you make no sound nor do you activate any traps that rely on pressure plates or a person's weight to trigger.
Reward: Acquire ability to replicate Ninja Techniques. Learn Substitution and Bushin Technique. +1 Intrigue.
Piety: Evetta has finished setting up her magic workshop in the base as well as an area for working on her doll soldiers. Having now taken up the reins as your magical advisor, you hope that all magic related matters will now go more smoothly now that you have a magical doll assisting you. (Choose 2)
[X] Power of a Wish: The Wishing Stone is an object of great power that is capable of altering reality to grant wishes. You had originally planned to try and replicate this incredible power by absorbing the Wishing Stone. However, Evetta has informed you that such an approach would either result in nothing but a large influx of Ebon Power or you being bound by rules and compulsions beyond your current means to resist, essentially partially becoming a wish-granting machine. Instead, she has theorized that you might be able to create your own version of the Wishing Stone. It'll require a lot of effort but it'll be worth it to create your own magical girl army. Cost: 600 EP, 1 Wishing Stone. Chance of Success: 80% Reward: Gain the ability to create your own Wishing Stone variant.
Roll: 74 + 10(Ebon Saviour) + 15 + 15: 114: Critical Roll: 27 + 14: 41
For the last week or so, Evetta has been busy, working on a method for you comprehend the structure of the Wishing Stone in order to create your own version of the thing. While you had been busy working on other things, Evetta has been hard at work designing a magic circle meant to keep the Wishing Stone from activating while you examine it for its secrets.
Preparations takes only a few minutes. The magic circle is drawn on the ground with some kind of magical alchemical mixture of Evetta's own making. The Wishing Stone is placed on a pedestal in the centre of the circle with you standing right next to it. With a touch of magic, Evetta activates the magic circle and encloses you within its magical confines.
Taking a deep breathe, you place a hand on the Wishing Stone and begin infusing Ebon Power into the thing in order to scan it. For an instant, the power within the Wishing Stone surges before it stops and return to its dormant state, demonstrating the strength of Evetta's magical skills. Letting out a breath of relief, you return to scanning the thing. For the first few minutes, nothing unusual occurs as you burn the structure of the Wishing Stone into your mind.
However, something happens when you decide to go deeper into the stone.
…
You aren't sure what happened. One moment your senses are pushing through deeper into the structure of the Wishing Stone, the next thing you know, you're waking up with a worried Evetta fussing over you with a curious Yuudai standing nearby.
"Lord Jacob, you awake. Thank goodness that you have not fallen into eternal slumber." Evetta says in her usual motherly tone.
"Hmph, that was some lightshow you put on just now." Yuudai comments offhandedly, now looking bored since you are now awake.
Getting to your feet, you take a quick look around, finding yourself outside the magic circle. The magic circle is still intact along with the pedestal and the Wishing Stone on it so how did you get outside the magic circle? Yuudai thankfully explains what happened.
"Well, according to the doll here, during your examination of the Wishing Stone, you somehow triggered some kind of safeguard within the object or something. Kinda obvious in hindsight that whoever gave you the stone would have made sure that it couldn't be copied or something like that. Thanks to the circle, you weren't hurt physically. However, for a brief moment, your soul, again Evetta's words not mine, disappeared from your body before returning. Ebon Power Smoke then came out from you body and flowed into the Wishing Stone while you stood there like a zombie and barely a minute passed by before the Wishing Stone spat out the Ebon Power back into you. Then the Wishing Stone kinda went boom and threw you out from the circle."
Yuudai's explanation of the event was...interesting.
"Lord Jacob, have you succeeded in acquiring the conceptual structure of the Wishing Stone?" Evetta asked. Good question. Probably not considering what happened but the least you could do is take a look and - Woah. "Lord Jacob? Is something wrong?"
There, within your soul or mental blueprint archives, is a blueprint of the Wishing Stone or at least something like a Wishing Stone. Trying to look through the blueprint make your head hurt and your vision blank out. Whatever the actual structure of the Wishing Stone, it is beyond your capacity to comprehend. However, thanks to whatever had happened, it seems that regardless of your comprehension or not, you can still use the blueprint to create your version of the Wishing Stone.
Accessing the blueprint, you call forth Ebon Power within you and begin the transformation process. In a few seconds, you hold a black star-shaped crystal with an iridescent core in each of its point in your hand. You gasp as your senses go over the star-shaped crystal. It's has at least five times the power of a regular Wishing Stone but how?
Tentatively you look over the crystal and with a slight pull, remove a point from the crystal star. The Star shard holds the same amount of power as a regular Wishing Stone. Did this mean that you were holding the equivalent of five Wishing Stones!?
Instinctively, you know that a single shard can grant a person the same abilities as a regular Company Magical girl. However, by adding the other shards, new abilities and more power will be granted to the person. Reattaching the star shard back to its sibling shards, not unlike a magnetic link, you hold it up to the light, allowing you to see into its core of ever-changing colours.
Not only do you still have the original Wishing Stone, you now can create these star-shaped variants that held the equivalent of five Wishing Stones.
Now all you had to do now was actually find someone make a wish and become magical girl in service to the Ebon Emperor.
Now what to call these things…
Reward: Acquire ability to create Ebon Wishing Stars, powerful magical crystals that can be split up into five separate pieces, each with the power of an ordinary Wishing Stone.
[X] Teleportation and Transference: Being able to teleport from one place to another in an instant is one of your biggest fantasies. However, magic that messes with time and space, and playing with portals can be quite dangerous. Thankfully, Evetta is more than capable of teaching you the basics as well as the combat applications. You want to blink from enemy to enemy, slashing them as you pass them by, and continue enhancing your Reaper cosplay with a Shadow Step skill. Cost: 200 EP. 70% Reward: Gain short-range teleportation ability. Gain ability to generate portals and set them in places.
Roll: 15 + 10(Ebon Saviour) + 15: 40
Teleporting is not an easy thing. What you're essentially doing is telling reality that you're in a different location than where you currently are. According to Evetta, one could not simply teleport to a new location without holding a mental image of their desired location. Trying to memorise and picture a location, even if it's closeby takes you some time to do.
Definitely nowhere good enough to use in the middle of combat. At the very least, you could probably use it to teleport to another location within eyesight if you concentrated for about five to ten seconds, depending on how much detail you have to remember. The more unique landmarks the better since it reduces the amount of detail you would have to memorise.
Similarly, portal creation was also a difficult affair. Opening a hole within the fabric of time and space and connecting it to another location was easier said than done. Under Evetta's supervision, however, you manage to create a small portal, big enough to reach in and grab something with your hand. It's a trick that lets you grab things from a distance so there's that at least. Useful in a way but not quite what you want.
Still, you'll just have to practice more in order to obtain the more combat viable version of this magic.
Reward: Obtained "Shadow Step" ability. Obtained "Remote Theft" Ability. +1 Piety.
Personal: Your personal life has been getting a bit chaotic as of late, especially when ninjas are involved. You still don't really know that much about Yuudai or Evetta plus there's still the whole business with Ando and his ninja bodyguards as well. Still, with them helping out, you've got a bit more free time to yourself now. (Choose 2)
[X] Friends and Family: While you do have a clone doing the things that Jacob Anderson should be doing, not to mention you also gain his memories when you come and replace him with a new clone, it'd be nice to take a break and hang with your friends and family for a bit for real. Plus you may spot things that Jacob misses as well. Cost: 0. Chance of Success: 80% Reward: Increased Relationship with Friends and family. Lowered Suspicions from Friends and Family. ???
Roll: 42
"Jacob, I need your help with something, alright?" Roselyn asks you suddenly after classes were over for the day. Ando had headed home straight away for ninja training with Asuka and Katsuragi, the latter recently having transferred into your school as a 3rd year student and was milking the newly established senpai-kouhai relationship with her teammate and Ando for all its worth. Christina had something to do with her family, leaving you with Roselyn.
"Sure. What do you need?" You ask. Things at home have been pretty normal and your friends were doing well if you ignored Ando's ninja problems.
"Nothing much, just need you to help carrying some stuff. There's this place that does special orders for some very important stuff and it'll be a pain to carry it back home myself." Ah so she simply needed a pack mule to carry her shopping. "What? No! I mean, not this time. Just shup up and follow me."
Cracking a smile, you follow Roselyn through your city, eventually ending up in front of a familiar shop.
"...Huh, didn't know you were into antiques." You comment as Roselyn walks up to the front door of Atticus' Antiques. You've got a feeling that Roselyn isn't just here for some antique.
"Er, sort of. The shopkeeper's a family friend and he managed to get this thing that used to be in my family before some asshole stole it. Contacted my family and dad sent me to come pick it up. Unfortunately, it's big so rather than waste money hiring someone to carry it back to my place, I'm having you do it for free."
"..."
"...Okay, I'll treat you to ramen next group outing, okay?"
"Deal."
"Now come on. The faster we get this done, the better."
The chimes on top of the door rings out as Roselyn opens the door. You quickly follow Roselyn into the shop, keeping your reaction neutral as you've found it easier to stick to a poker face rather than attempt to fake surprise. The place was still brimming with magic as always and a lot of artifacts that were on display have been replaced with different ones. Seems like business is going well at least. However, nobody was manning the counter at the moment.
Instead, you and Roselyn find three people, a blond haired girl who was being shielded by a japanese guy, both about your age, while standing off against a middle-aged man in a white suit and what is unmistakably a magician's cape. You recognise the japanese guy as one of your classmates, Yoshirou Shikoto if you recall correctly. In his hand was some book with a - Oh hell that's a lot of magical power. How the fuck did you not notice it before?
"Jacob Anderson?" Yoshirou immediately recognises you. Not surprising considering your reputation at school. The girl behind him simply tilts her head in confusion before noticing the girl next to you.
"Roselyn!?" The blonde girl cries out in surprise prompting the man in front of her to look towards you and your friend. "What are you doing here?"
"Er well I'm here to - " Roselyn starts before being interrupted by the man.
"Oh? A friend of yours Miss Atticus?" The man asked in a friendly tone. However, the spike of negative emotion that you sensed tells you his real feelings. "Dear me, it seems your grandfather's shop is doing quite a bit of business these day."
"Oi, I was talking and I've walked right into the middle of a magical robbery haven't I." Roselyn complains, trailing off the last part lamely with a tone of resignation. "Every goddamn time…"
After what had happened a couple of weeks ago with Ando, you could only share Roselyn's sentiments.
To be continued in upcoming interlude.
[X] My Little Slime: You've got a pet slime of magical ebon-fueled origins. Cuddles seems capable of eating anything organic and it can blow bubbles. It is also technically your first minion. Spend some time with it. Get to know it better. Build up your bond with the little fellow. Cute is justice and nothing's cuter than Count Cuddles. Cost: 10EP. Chance of Success: 80% Rewards: Increased Relationship with Count Cuddles. ???
Roll: 58 + 10(Ebon Saviour): 68
"Bobo-bo-bobo-bobobo-bo!" Count Cuddles cheerfully greets you one day when you were home alone, riding on its beloved roomba. Smiling, you give the weird ebon blob a gentle rub on the top of its head, slowly getting a feel of the velvety fur all over its body. "Bo~" Cuddles purrs in joy at the affectionate gesture.
It had been ages since you've hung out with the little fellow as yourself instead of Jacob. For whatever reason, Cuddles seemed to recognise that Jacob was not you and didn't seem to be as affectionate towards the clone as it was towards you.
"Seriously, man. What is up with this little guy?" Fury asks you from his perch on the sidearm of the couch you were watching TV from. "Don't get me wrong, I like the guy as much as the next golem does but considering what you have been able to create, this little fellow doesn't quite fit in with the rest of your other minions."
You couldn't argue with that. Your minions, despite whatever free will they had, were all inclined to follow your orders. If they were smart like Fury, then they would tell you that a stupid order was stupid and whether or not you really wanted to go through with it. The more less intelligent minions just did what you told them to do to the best of their abilities even if it wasn't possible.
Count Cuddles was different. It had a will solely of its own, unrestrained by any obligations or mental control that your other minions had towards you. Sure, it did what it was told to do sometimes but it was more like a pet that did things because it wanted to be praised, not unlike a playful puppy. However, if you were to ever mistreated it hypothetically, it would surely try to run away whereas your other minions would simply accept it and go on with their duties.
Just what was Count Cuddles?
That was a question that you've been asking since the first day. Evetta, despite her experience, had absolutely no idea what Count Cuddles was either. If the doll from an age of magic didn't know what the weird living black blob was, then who the hell could you ask to find out?
Honestly, there was only really two beings that might know the answer.
Padraidis and the Ebon Emperor.
Considering the current state of the Ebon Emperor, you'll have to settle for asking the titanic primordial dragon from a lost age if he knew what the strange black blob you accidentally create, or summon as the case may be, if you wanted answers.
Which reminds you that you eventually will have to go back into the Black Vault sooner or later. If your new powers and allies, you could probably not destroyed the moment you engaged the dragon in combat.
Reward: Increased affection with Count Cuddles. Increased relations with Household Golems/ Increased relations with Fury the Ruby Rose doll golem. Unlock Black Vault option.
…
…
The Ebon Wishing Star Shards are essentially Wishing Stones in themselves. With some assistance from Evetta, you were able to figure out how they would change a person that made a wish on them. In addition to gaining powers similar to a Company magical girl, they would also gain a portion of the abilities that Servants of Ebon were entitled to, specifically your energy draining abilities.
They would also have none of the limits or weakness of a Company Magical Girl either. You also sense that you would also be able to alter how the power manifest themselves in the future. Right now the Wishing Star Shards were set to give Company Magical Girl style powers but you could change with some effort on your part.
Still, the Ebon Wishing Star Shards or Wish Shards were useless unless you got someone to make a wish on them. Turns out Servants of Ebons, including yourself couldn't use them at all but that was a minor issue considering how powerful you and the others were.
So you set your Seekers to find appropriate candidates for wishing. Of course, as they were right now, your Wish Shards could only work on girls between the age of eight to seventeen. Still, there had to be lot of young girls out there who'd be happy to fight for you in exchange for a wish. And with your powers, you can give them as many as you wanted, as long as the supply of Ebon Power kept flowing.
Eventually your Seekers come back with a surprisingly small list of ideal candidates. Apparently Yuudai went through the original list and removed those that were too much trouble. In the end, you had three Ebon Magical Girl candidates.
Who do you make your first Dark Magical Girl?
[ ] The elementary school girl who is a fan of magical girl shows and wishes she could become one. Not just because of her fantasies but because she believes that she could help patch up her parent's gradually deteriorating relationship if she had magical girl powers.
[ ] The Middle school student who, beneath her friendly and outgoing facade, is desperately looking of a purpose in life. Having tried all kinds of hobbies, none of them really clicked with her despite her talent in many of them. Puts her all into whatever she's doing.
[ ] The High School Student who comes from a rather rich family but became a delinquent. Originally started in order to try and get attention from her parents, she got addicted to street fighting but got bored of them when she kept on winning without much effort.
[ ] Write-in
Martial: Your forces are growing but they are still essentially small fries in relation to other factions' combat strength. While you could be considered a one-man army, capable of taking on large groups of combatants with ease, you are still one person and one person can not do all the things you need to do alone. (Choose 2)
[X] Beasts of the Black Kingdom: You realized that before you try making monsters out of people, you should try making loyal monsters out of ordinary animals. There are lots of stray cats and dog as well as wild animals out in the city that you can use. PETA would be on your ass for using animals to test your powers but you're a villain so screw them. Cost: 200 EP. Chance of Success: 100% Reward: New Minion Type – Beast.
Roll: 16 + 10(Ebon Saviour): 26
A stray cat that was in bad shape is what you use to create your first "Black Beast". This was the first time you used Ebon Power to directly alter another living thing rather than heal like you did with Aestia. After healing the cat had been restored to full health thanks to good food and some healing magic from Evetta, you went to work infusing Ebon Power into the feline's very existence.
Through your energy sense, you watch as the Ebon Power that you're forcing into the cat face resistance from the cat's soul. However, as the cat's soul was worth less Ebon Power than the amount you were putting in, it was quickly swallowed up. Somehow, the Ebon Power was converting the cat's soul into Ebon Power before turning back. It is a transmutation of energy that only you could tell. Soon, the cat's entire existence had been replaced with transformed Ebon Power.
It was here that the cat's transformation into a Black Beast truly began. With more Ebon Power than its current form could handle, the cat's body began to shift under the influence of Ebon Power. It's previously white and brown fur turned black tinged with violet. Its entire body structure began to grow larger and larger until it was the size of a horse. Bony protrusions began to grow out from under its skin, acting as both natural weapons and armour.
The entire process takes about ten or so minutes by the time it's done. Cutting off the flow of Ebon Power, you took a step back to take a look at your handiwork.
Now resembling something more along the lines of a sabre-tooth panther with bone armour over parts of its body, the Black Beast stands before you, ready to do your bidding. It follows your commands like a trained animal, doing the best it can to complete your orders, but when left to its own devices, it returns to acting like a regular cat.
Its claws and fangs, as well as its bony spike protrusions, are capable of cutting through stone and damaging metal. It was also capable of firing a ball of purple energy that exploded with lethal force upon impacting something. No matter how you looked at it, this former cat was now a monstrous beast that could easily kill a person or five with ease. Interestingly enough, it had the same energy draining capabilities as your Shadows.
Not too bad for your first Black Beast.
Further attempts with dogs and other cats yielded similar results. However, when you tried to turn a bird into a Black Beast, it exploded.
Welp, looks like you're gonna need to do some more experimenting if you want giant flying birds of doom later on.
Reward: Ability to transform any small animal into a Black Beast. 5 Black Beasts.
[X] Shadow Army: The Shadows are your most numerous combat assets. While they seem to multiply on their own, as things stand, you're going to be needing a hell lot more of them, both the regular Shadows and Neoshadows. Thankfully, it seems that your regular Shadows have also developed the ability to hide in other people's shadows and drain their energy though only the Neoshadows can drain enough energy to be a threat. Time to make some more Shadows. Cost: 500 EP. Chance of Success:70%. Reward: 200 Ebon Shadows. 40 Neoshadows.
Roll: 24 + 10(Ebon Saviour) + 15: 49
Creating Shadows is a fairly easy endeavor for you. You were, in fact, successful in creating more than your original target number. In fact, you also ended up creating a new type of shadow minion by complete accident when Yuudai came to ask you about some things on Ebon Power.
Standing about seven inches tall, a small shadow creature was born when you accidentally over charged an Ebon Shadow, causing it to explode. Most of its Ebon Power had dissipated but what was left resulted in this little fellow.
Unlike your Shadows, this little guy appeared to be intelligent.
Of course, being as small as it was, you didn't really see how useful it was. At least it was cute though so you left it in the care of your golems.
Reward: 240 Ebon Shadows. 24 Neoshadows. 1 Diminutive Shadow Thing.
Stewardship: Ebon Power is always in demand for your projects and so is money. A large chunk of money has disappeared just like that but you have plans to set up a proper means of income for your financial needs. Still, power will always be an issue and cash isn't something you desperately need right now. Right now, your group is more of a social thing than a proper group. (Choose 1)
[X] Energy Farm: The easiest way to get more Ebon Power is to increase the number of captives that you can drain energy from. With the number of Shadows you have under your control, it should be child's play to capture a bunch of people to act as your Ebon Power generators. You'll have to make sure that whoever you kidnap will not be missed anytime soon. Cost: 60 Ebon Shadows. 10 Neoshadows. Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Minimum 2d6+5 Human Captives. Increased Ebon Power Income.
Roll: 69 + 10: 79
The Shadows you sent out to collect new Ebon Power sources were successful in fulfilling your command. Fourteen random miscreants, punks, would-be criminals and homeless guys had been subdued and brought into your prison where they would spend the rest of their lives to fuel your growing forces and needs.
Every single person was in pretty good shape meaning they both had larger amounts of energy within them and would last longer from continuous draining.
Reward: 14 human captives. (Great Condition)
Diplomacy: There are problems all over your city that makes you wish you had more people on your side or at least several more officers to take care of things. Still, things have been cooling down in regards to the ninja clans, the mages have managed to collect another cursed artifact from its owner, exorcists have been taking out both regular demons and weird mechanical skeleton demons, and the Company has been fighting it out with Witches and Wraiths. The other magical girl groups haven't had anything concerning them this week though. Is this a breather or the calm before the storm? In any case, you need to make nice with all these people or at least tolerate you. (Choose 1)
[X] Magical Girl Mayhem: A Magical Girl fights for love, peace, and friendship. The means they do so are varied. Type A uses love-empowered magical elemental attacks while Type B uses empowered fists of love and justice. Both, however, don't really have a support network like the Company do. Thus, you find both types running themselves ragged fighting all these strange monsters. How about you go and take the pressure off them a little by destroying a bunch of these posers? How dare these magical villains try and home in on your energy harvesting schtick. Cost: 100 EP. Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Information on Magical Girl Factions. Support Link gained. ???
Roll: 5 + 10 + 10 + 15: 40
The Dazzle Valkyries, the Stellar Guardians, and the Astroscouts are just some of the groups of magical girls that you spent time this week helping out. Putting on a disguise reminiscent of one of those dark mysterious protectors from your little brother's show consisting of a really nice suit, cape and top hat ensemble, black wig, and a black mask over your eyes, you went out and did your thing. Several times did you swoop into the fray to rescue a magical girl from almost certain doom and every time you did you quickly left, leaving behind a cryptic statement about yourself that meant absolutely nothing.
After doing this a couple of times, you eventually stopped to at least introduce yourself as well as learn a bit more about these alternative magical girls. You learnt their team names, individual code names, who they fought and why, along with the fact that all of them are apparently under the supervision of this The Lady Celestial, regional chief of the Bureau of Magical Girl Affairs as well as leader and coordinator of magical girl teams in her district.
While some of these magical girls have been suspicious of your motives and your existence, your combat capabilities and powers have allowed you some leeway in avoiding answering more sensitive questions.
In any case, you've learnt some things and got some Ebon Power from killing weird monsters.
Reward: +100 Ebon Power Income. New options unlocked.
Intrigue: Yuudai has seamlessly integrated himself into his new role as your spymaster. Having given him authority to command the Seekers, you are certain that Yuudai will do his job well. As a professional assassin, spy and saboteur, Yuudai is sure to help you get things done in the world of backstabbing and back door dealings. (Fallback will be finished this turn)(Choose 1)
[X] Fallback: Anonymity is one of your greatest tools at this point of the great game. With the cash that you have, you can start making full use of it. You'll need secret identities to hide your civilian actions behind since doing Ebon stuff as Jacob is just asking for trouble. Your glamour needs an upgrade so that you can appear as more than just a guy in a black coat with glowing red eyes. You'll need to also make sure your base is extra secure since it's not actually that hard to break into. You need to truly hide all traces of your assets if you want to keep some nosy idiot from getting lucky and finding their way into your base. Cost: 300 EP, $20000. Upkeep: $1000. Time: 2 Turns. Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Base properly hidden and secure. False identities acquired. Better Glamour. Loose threads severed. (Will be completed this turn)
Roll: 15
The renovations on the base were finally completed after Yuudai threw in some of his own input on how to secure the base. Despite working with limited funds and manpower, the base was now safe from any accidental intrusions and the likes at the very least. Booby traps were in place for the possibility of any intentional intrusions. Several bank accounts under the name of several false identities were now used to store your group's funds as well as allow electronic transactions without being traced back to your civilian identity.
With this, the secrecy of your actions could now be preserved for a good long while.
Reward: Reduced chances of the base being discovered by outside parties. Stewardship and Intrigue options unlocked.
[X] Information Network: Yuudai's greater understanding of the world of espionage, as well as his own connections with various information brokers, has prompted him to set up a proper information network for you instead of trying to sift through hundreds of hours of Seeker Recordings of whatever seems interesting. Of course, he's going to change how the Seekers do their thing but he also needs more seekers to do so. Cost: 800 EP, $5000. Upkeep: $500. Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Information Network available. Weekly Rumour mill.
Roll: 15
Yuudai, using his connections and his own expertise in the matter, quickly sets up a network of informants as well as training some of your more intelligent golems in sorting through the pile of Seeker Records in order to uncover important information as well as keeping up-to-date on all happenings occurring in the city.
When Yuudai also asked you for more Seekers, you have them to him. Increasing the number of Seekers dramatically, Yuudai set them off to observe various VIPs all over the city.
Unfortunately, Yuudai's own lack of experience with groups outside of ninjas and the mundane side of the city, meant that it'll be a little while before your new information network brings you decent news about what's going on with the other supernatural forces in the city. Evetta has been helping Yuudai with the mage side of things but due to how magic has developed as well as changes in methodology and thinking, Evetta's help had little impact.
At least your Golems are able to brute force the issue so it becomes something of a minor issue but it still annoys you that you don't have complete information coverage on certain groups in the city.
Reward: Rumour Mill gained. Currently covering Mundane, Ninja Clans, and Mages.
Learning: The Power of Ebon does weird things to the laws of physics and normal science, even when you're not using it as a source of magic. The Science-dominated society that you live in is just something that you need to learn how to mess with using the power of Ebon. (Choose 1)
[X] Ninja Techniques and Ebon: Ninja uses a combination of their trained bodies and qi in order to pull off some of their more fantastical ninja techniques, the ones that you usually see in anime and movies. Turns out that a lot of them are legit but for most parts are usually held in reserves since they are usually too flashy for the usual stealth-based task ninjas do. Still, pulling off ninja skills as either Ebon or Jacob sounds like fun. Time for some experimentation! Cost: 400 EP. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Acquire ability to replicate Ninja Techniques. Increased intrigue.
Roll: 19 + 10(Ebon Saviour) + 10: 39
Ninjas are capable of many things. Stealth and espionage are their bread and butter but that isn't to say that their combat capabilities were in any way lacking. Older generations put an emphasis on stealth and assassination techniques while the younger generation put a bit more stock in combat skills and flashy destructive ninjutsu spells. In any case, a ninja needed to be prepared for any situation whether that be the need to escape from pursuers unharmed and without being tracked or face someone in combat in order to buy time of their allies.
Ninjas in the past and present use something called ki in order to power their more supernatural feats. Ki could be defined as the product of refining the body's natural energy into a more potent and powerful form. Through the refinement of their life energy, the body that is the container of life energy becomes stronger in order to contain the more potent life force.
Of course, you were able to replicate a ninja's ki using Ebon Power. However, using it to reproduce various ninja techniques was much harder than you thought it would be. It takes some half-assed coaching from Yuudai to give you the ability to speed up your movements to the point where you leave after-images or bushin as Yuudai calls them. Similarly, this speed also allows you to pull off the fabled substitution technique where you dodge an attack by replacing yourself with either something nearby or a log.
You had to make the log yourself while Yuudai was somehow able to pull a log out from somewhere when there shouldn't be any logs anywhere nearby.
One day, you will definitely work out the secret of the log.
You also learn how to use Ki to lighten your footsteps to the point where you make no sound nor do you activate any traps that rely on pressure plates or a person's weight to trigger.
Reward: Acquire ability to replicate Ninja Techniques. Learn Substitution and Bushin Technique. +1 Intrigue.
Piety: Evetta has finished setting up her magic workshop in the base as well as an area for working on her doll soldiers. Having now taken up the reins as your magical advisor, you hope that all magic related matters will now go more smoothly now that you have a magical doll assisting you. (Choose 2)
[X] Power of a Wish: The Wishing Stone is an object of great power that is capable of altering reality to grant wishes. You had originally planned to try and replicate this incredible power by absorbing the Wishing Stone. However, Evetta has informed you that such an approach would either result in nothing but a large influx of Ebon Power or you being bound by rules and compulsions beyond your current means to resist, essentially partially becoming a wish-granting machine. Instead, she has theorized that you might be able to create your own version of the Wishing Stone. It'll require a lot of effort but it'll be worth it to create your own magical girl army. Cost: 600 EP, 1 Wishing Stone. Chance of Success: 80% Reward: Gain the ability to create your own Wishing Stone variant.
Roll: 74 + 10(Ebon Saviour) + 15 + 15: 114: Critical Roll: 27 + 14: 41
For the last week or so, Evetta has been busy, working on a method for you comprehend the structure of the Wishing Stone in order to create your own version of the thing. While you had been busy working on other things, Evetta has been hard at work designing a magic circle meant to keep the Wishing Stone from activating while you examine it for its secrets.
Preparations takes only a few minutes. The magic circle is drawn on the ground with some kind of magical alchemical mixture of Evetta's own making. The Wishing Stone is placed on a pedestal in the centre of the circle with you standing right next to it. With a touch of magic, Evetta activates the magic circle and encloses you within its magical confines.
Taking a deep breathe, you place a hand on the Wishing Stone and begin infusing Ebon Power into the thing in order to scan it. For an instant, the power within the Wishing Stone surges before it stops and return to its dormant state, demonstrating the strength of Evetta's magical skills. Letting out a breath of relief, you return to scanning the thing. For the first few minutes, nothing unusual occurs as you burn the structure of the Wishing Stone into your mind.
However, something happens when you decide to go deeper into the stone.
…
You aren't sure what happened. One moment your senses are pushing through deeper into the structure of the Wishing Stone, the next thing you know, you're waking up with a worried Evetta fussing over you with a curious Yuudai standing nearby.
"Lord Jacob, you awake. Thank goodness that you have not fallen into eternal slumber." Evetta says in her usual motherly tone.
"Hmph, that was some lightshow you put on just now." Yuudai comments offhandedly, now looking bored since you are now awake.
Getting to your feet, you take a quick look around, finding yourself outside the magic circle. The magic circle is still intact along with the pedestal and the Wishing Stone on it so how did you get outside the magic circle? Yuudai thankfully explains what happened.
"Well, according to the doll here, during your examination of the Wishing Stone, you somehow triggered some kind of safeguard within the object or something. Kinda obvious in hindsight that whoever gave you the stone would have made sure that it couldn't be copied or something like that. Thanks to the circle, you weren't hurt physically. However, for a brief moment, your soul, again Evetta's words not mine, disappeared from your body before returning. Ebon Power Smoke then came out from you body and flowed into the Wishing Stone while you stood there like a zombie and barely a minute passed by before the Wishing Stone spat out the Ebon Power back into you. Then the Wishing Stone kinda went boom and threw you out from the circle."
Yuudai's explanation of the event was...interesting.
"Lord Jacob, have you succeeded in acquiring the conceptual structure of the Wishing Stone?" Evetta asked. Good question. Probably not considering what happened but the least you could do is take a look and - Woah. "Lord Jacob? Is something wrong?"
There, within your soul or mental blueprint archives, is a blueprint of the Wishing Stone or at least something like a Wishing Stone. Trying to look through the blueprint make your head hurt and your vision blank out. Whatever the actual structure of the Wishing Stone, it is beyond your capacity to comprehend. However, thanks to whatever had happened, it seems that regardless of your comprehension or not, you can still use the blueprint to create your version of the Wishing Stone.
Accessing the blueprint, you call forth Ebon Power within you and begin the transformation process. In a few seconds, you hold a black star-shaped crystal with an iridescent core in each of its point in your hand. You gasp as your senses go over the star-shaped crystal. It's has at least five times the power of a regular Wishing Stone but how?
Tentatively you look over the crystal and with a slight pull, remove a point from the crystal star. The Star shard holds the same amount of power as a regular Wishing Stone. Did this mean that you were holding the equivalent of five Wishing Stones!?
Instinctively, you know that a single shard can grant a person the same abilities as a regular Company Magical girl. However, by adding the other shards, new abilities and more power will be granted to the person. Reattaching the star shard back to its sibling shards, not unlike a magnetic link, you hold it up to the light, allowing you to see into its core of ever-changing colours.
Not only do you still have the original Wishing Stone, you now can create these star-shaped variants that held the equivalent of five Wishing Stones.
Now all you had to do now was actually find someone make a wish and become magical girl in service to the Ebon Emperor.
Now what to call these things…
Reward: Acquire ability to create Ebon Wishing Stars, powerful magical crystals that can be split up into five separate pieces, each with the power of an ordinary Wishing Stone.
[X] Teleportation and Transference: Being able to teleport from one place to another in an instant is one of your biggest fantasies. However, magic that messes with time and space, and playing with portals can be quite dangerous. Thankfully, Evetta is more than capable of teaching you the basics as well as the combat applications. You want to blink from enemy to enemy, slashing them as you pass them by, and continue enhancing your Reaper cosplay with a Shadow Step skill. Cost: 200 EP. 70% Reward: Gain short-range teleportation ability. Gain ability to generate portals and set them in places.
Roll: 15 + 10(Ebon Saviour) + 15: 40
Teleporting is not an easy thing. What you're essentially doing is telling reality that you're in a different location than where you currently are. According to Evetta, one could not simply teleport to a new location without holding a mental image of their desired location. Trying to memorise and picture a location, even if it's closeby takes you some time to do.
Definitely nowhere good enough to use in the middle of combat. At the very least, you could probably use it to teleport to another location within eyesight if you concentrated for about five to ten seconds, depending on how much detail you have to remember. The more unique landmarks the better since it reduces the amount of detail you would have to memorise.
Similarly, portal creation was also a difficult affair. Opening a hole within the fabric of time and space and connecting it to another location was easier said than done. Under Evetta's supervision, however, you manage to create a small portal, big enough to reach in and grab something with your hand. It's a trick that lets you grab things from a distance so there's that at least. Useful in a way but not quite what you want.
Still, you'll just have to practice more in order to obtain the more combat viable version of this magic.
Reward: Obtained "Shadow Step" ability. Obtained "Remote Theft" Ability. +1 Piety.
Personal: Your personal life has been getting a bit chaotic as of late, especially when ninjas are involved. You still don't really know that much about Yuudai or Evetta plus there's still the whole business with Ando and his ninja bodyguards as well. Still, with them helping out, you've got a bit more free time to yourself now. (Choose 2)
[X] Friends and Family: While you do have a clone doing the things that Jacob Anderson should be doing, not to mention you also gain his memories when you come and replace him with a new clone, it'd be nice to take a break and hang with your friends and family for a bit for real. Plus you may spot things that Jacob misses as well. Cost: 0. Chance of Success: 80% Reward: Increased Relationship with Friends and family. Lowered Suspicions from Friends and Family. ???
Roll: 42
"Jacob, I need your help with something, alright?" Roselyn asks you suddenly after classes were over for the day. Ando had headed home straight away for ninja training with Asuka and Katsuragi, the latter recently having transferred into your school as a 3rd year student and was milking the newly established senpai-kouhai relationship with her teammate and Ando for all its worth. Christina had something to do with her family, leaving you with Roselyn.
"Sure. What do you need?" You ask. Things at home have been pretty normal and your friends were doing well if you ignored Ando's ninja problems.
"Nothing much, just need you to help carrying some stuff. There's this place that does special orders for some very important stuff and it'll be a pain to carry it back home myself." Ah so she simply needed a pack mule to carry her shopping. "What? No! I mean, not this time. Just shup up and follow me."
Cracking a smile, you follow Roselyn through your city, eventually ending up in front of a familiar shop.
"...Huh, didn't know you were into antiques." You comment as Roselyn walks up to the front door of Atticus' Antiques. You've got a feeling that Roselyn isn't just here for some antique.
"Er, sort of. The shopkeeper's a family friend and he managed to get this thing that used to be in my family before some asshole stole it. Contacted my family and dad sent me to come pick it up. Unfortunately, it's big so rather than waste money hiring someone to carry it back to my place, I'm having you do it for free."
"..."
"...Okay, I'll treat you to ramen next group outing, okay?"
"Deal."
"Now come on. The faster we get this done, the better."
The chimes on top of the door rings out as Roselyn opens the door. You quickly follow Roselyn into the shop, keeping your reaction neutral as you've found it easier to stick to a poker face rather than attempt to fake surprise. The place was still brimming with magic as always and a lot of artifacts that were on display have been replaced with different ones. Seems like business is going well at least. However, nobody was manning the counter at the moment.
Instead, you and Roselyn find three people, a blond haired girl who was being shielded by a japanese guy, both about your age, while standing off against a middle-aged man in a white suit and what is unmistakably a magician's cape. You recognise the japanese guy as one of your classmates, Yoshirou Shikoto if you recall correctly. In his hand was some book with a - Oh hell that's a lot of magical power. How the fuck did you not notice it before?
"Jacob Anderson?" Yoshirou immediately recognises you. Not surprising considering your reputation at school. The girl behind him simply tilts her head in confusion before noticing the girl next to you.
"Roselyn!?" The blonde girl cries out in surprise prompting the man in front of her to look towards you and your friend. "What are you doing here?"
"Er well I'm here to - " Roselyn starts before being interrupted by the man.
"Oh? A friend of yours Miss Atticus?" The man asked in a friendly tone. However, the spike of negative emotion that you sensed tells you his real feelings. "Dear me, it seems your grandfather's shop is doing quite a bit of business these day."
"Oi, I was talking and I've walked right into the middle of a magical robbery haven't I." Roselyn complains, trailing off the last part lamely with a tone of resignation. "Every goddamn time…"
After what had happened a couple of weeks ago with Ando, you could only share Roselyn's sentiments.
To be continued in upcoming interlude.
[X] My Little Slime: You've got a pet slime of magical ebon-fueled origins. Cuddles seems capable of eating anything organic and it can blow bubbles. It is also technically your first minion. Spend some time with it. Get to know it better. Build up your bond with the little fellow. Cute is justice and nothing's cuter than Count Cuddles. Cost: 10EP. Chance of Success: 80% Rewards: Increased Relationship with Count Cuddles. ???
Roll: 58 + 10(Ebon Saviour): 68
"Bobo-bo-bobo-bobobo-bo!" Count Cuddles cheerfully greets you one day when you were home alone, riding on its beloved roomba. Smiling, you give the weird ebon blob a gentle rub on the top of its head, slowly getting a feel of the velvety fur all over its body. "Bo~" Cuddles purrs in joy at the affectionate gesture.
It had been ages since you've hung out with the little fellow as yourself instead of Jacob. For whatever reason, Cuddles seemed to recognise that Jacob was not you and didn't seem to be as affectionate towards the clone as it was towards you.
"Seriously, man. What is up with this little guy?" Fury asks you from his perch on the sidearm of the couch you were watching TV from. "Don't get me wrong, I like the guy as much as the next golem does but considering what you have been able to create, this little fellow doesn't quite fit in with the rest of your other minions."
You couldn't argue with that. Your minions, despite whatever free will they had, were all inclined to follow your orders. If they were smart like Fury, then they would tell you that a stupid order was stupid and whether or not you really wanted to go through with it. The more less intelligent minions just did what you told them to do to the best of their abilities even if it wasn't possible.
Count Cuddles was different. It had a will solely of its own, unrestrained by any obligations or mental control that your other minions had towards you. Sure, it did what it was told to do sometimes but it was more like a pet that did things because it wanted to be praised, not unlike a playful puppy. However, if you were to ever mistreated it hypothetically, it would surely try to run away whereas your other minions would simply accept it and go on with their duties.
Just what was Count Cuddles?
That was a question that you've been asking since the first day. Evetta, despite her experience, had absolutely no idea what Count Cuddles was either. If the doll from an age of magic didn't know what the weird living black blob was, then who the hell could you ask to find out?
Honestly, there was only really two beings that might know the answer.
Padraidis and the Ebon Emperor.
Considering the current state of the Ebon Emperor, you'll have to settle for asking the titanic primordial dragon from a lost age if he knew what the strange black blob you accidentally create, or summon as the case may be, if you wanted answers.
Which reminds you that you eventually will have to go back into the Black Vault sooner or later. If your new powers and allies, you could probably not destroyed the moment you engaged the dragon in combat.
Reward: Increased affection with Count Cuddles. Increased relations with Household Golems/ Increased relations with Fury the Ruby Rose doll golem. Unlock Black Vault option.
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The Ebon Wishing Star Shards are essentially Wishing Stones in themselves. With some assistance from Evetta, you were able to figure out how they would change a person that made a wish on them. In addition to gaining powers similar to a Company magical girl, they would also gain a portion of the abilities that Servants of Ebon were entitled to, specifically your energy draining abilities.
They would also have none of the limits or weakness of a Company Magical Girl either. You also sense that you would also be able to alter how the power manifest themselves in the future. Right now the Wishing Star Shards were set to give Company Magical Girl style powers but you could change with some effort on your part.
Still, the Ebon Wishing Star Shards or Wish Shards were useless unless you got someone to make a wish on them. Turns out Servants of Ebons, including yourself couldn't use them at all but that was a minor issue considering how powerful you and the others were.
So you set your Seekers to find appropriate candidates for wishing. Of course, as they were right now, your Wish Shards could only work on girls between the age of eight to seventeen. Still, there had to be lot of young girls out there who'd be happy to fight for you in exchange for a wish. And with your powers, you can give them as many as you wanted, as long as the supply of Ebon Power kept flowing.
Eventually your Seekers come back with a surprisingly small list of ideal candidates. Apparently Yuudai went through the original list and removed those that were too much trouble. In the end, you had three Ebon Magical Girl candidates.
Who do you make your first Dark Magical Girl?
[ ] The elementary school girl who is a fan of magical girl shows and wishes she could become one. Not just because of her fantasies but because she believes that she could help patch up her parent's gradually deteriorating relationship if she had magical girl powers.
[ ] The Middle school student who, beneath her friendly and outgoing facade, is desperately looking of a purpose in life. Having tried all kinds of hobbies, none of them really clicked with her despite her talent in many of them. Puts her all into whatever she's doing.
[ ] The High School Student who comes from a rather rich family but became a delinquent. Originally started in order to try and get attention from her parents, she got addicted to street fighting but got bored of them when she kept on winning without much effort.
[ ] Write-in
- Location
- Mists of Albion
[x] The High School Student who comes from a rather rich family but became a delinquent. Originally started in order to try and get attention from her parents, she got addicted to street fighting but got bored of them when she kept on winning without much effort
She's a fighter, that's what we want
She's a fighter, that's what we want
[ ] The elementary school girl who is a fan of magical girl shows and wishes she could become one. Not just because of her fantasies but because she believes that she could help patch up her parent's gradually deteriorating relationship if she had magical girl powers.
Lets see, relatively poor option, since she has no idea what she's getting into...though we could probably fix the relationship thing with some targeted emotional drain, nothing to keep them loyal.
Probably a big screw up in the making.
[X] The Middle school student who, beneath her friendly and outgoing facade, is desperately looking of a purpose in life. Having tried all kinds of hobbies, none of them really clicked with her despite her talent in many of them. Puts her all into whatever she's doing.
Dedicated minion in the making. Excellent!
She's diligent, and we have a grand purpose to match her desires.
She also knows how to fake being normal, which helps.
[ ] The High School Student who comes from a rather rich family but became a delinquent. Originally started in order to try and get attention from her parents, she got addicted to street fighting but got bored of them when she kept on winning without much effort.
Rebel without a cause. Pass.
Too much of a loose cannon.
Considering she's an attention seeker and adrenaline addict she's not someone we can trust to keep a low profile.
Maybe later in the recruitment before we go loud
Though does this mean if we appoint five girls they'd be able to combine powers?
Lets see, relatively poor option, since she has no idea what she's getting into...though we could probably fix the relationship thing with some targeted emotional drain, nothing to keep them loyal.
Probably a big screw up in the making.
[X] The Middle school student who, beneath her friendly and outgoing facade, is desperately looking of a purpose in life. Having tried all kinds of hobbies, none of them really clicked with her despite her talent in many of them. Puts her all into whatever she's doing.
Dedicated minion in the making. Excellent!
She's diligent, and we have a grand purpose to match her desires.
She also knows how to fake being normal, which helps.
[ ] The High School Student who comes from a rather rich family but became a delinquent. Originally started in order to try and get attention from her parents, she got addicted to street fighting but got bored of them when she kept on winning without much effort.
Rebel without a cause. Pass.
Too much of a loose cannon.
Considering she's an attention seeker and adrenaline addict she's not someone we can trust to keep a low profile.
Maybe later in the recruitment before we go loud
Count Cuddles gets a friend!Unlike your Shadows, this little guy appeared to be intelligent.
Of course, being as small as it was, you didn't really see how useful it was. At least it was cute though so you left it in the care of your golems.
Reward: 240 Ebon Shadows. 24 Neoshadows. 1 Diminutive Shadow Thing.
Black Stars?
Though does this mean if we appoint five girls they'd be able to combine powers?
We should take friends option more over. Free intro to factions.
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Oh look, a Black Kingdom update. It's been a while since I checked in, let's see...
Wow we got bad rolls...
Wow we got bad rolls...
ReaperofInterest
Herald of Disaster
[X] The Middle school student who, beneath her friendly and outgoing facade, is desperately looking of a purpose in life. Having tried all kinds of hobbies, none of them really clicked with her despite her talent in many of them. Puts her all into whatever she's doing.
I think this one sounds like the best of the three.
I think this one sounds like the best of the three.
- Location
- USA
[X] The Middle school student who, beneath her friendly and outgoing facade, is desperately looking of a purpose in life. Having tried all kinds of hobbies, none of them really clicked with her despite her talent in many of them. Puts her all into whatever she's doing.
Sounds like someone who would experiment a LOT with Ebon power just to see what she can and can't do. Which would be ideal for a first test.
Sounds like someone who would experiment a LOT with Ebon power just to see what she can and can't do. Which would be ideal for a first test.
- Location
- PLANT Earth
[X] The Middle school student who, beneath her friendly and outgoing facade, is desperately looking of a purpose in life. Having tried all kinds of hobbies, none of them really clicked with her despite her talent in many of them. Puts her all into whatever she's doing.
I gotta say that veekie's points about her won me over
and Basarin was right, she would experiment and might learn something we missed
I gotta say that veekie's points about her won me over
and Basarin was right, she would experiment and might learn something we missed
- Location
- Sydney
[X] The Middle school student who, beneath her friendly and outgoing facade, is desperately looking of a purpose in life. Having tried all kinds of hobbies, none of them really clicked with her despite her talent in many of them. Puts her all into whatever she's doing.
TheLurker
Random Omnipotent Lazy-As-Fuck Being
- Location
- The space beyond the stars
[X] The Middle school student who, beneath her friendly and outgoing facade, is desperately looking of a purpose in life. Having tried all kinds of hobbies, none of them really clicked with her despite her talent in many of them. Puts her all into whatever she's doing.
Zealots given purpose ALWAYS make the best servants
Zealots given purpose ALWAYS make the best servants
SoixanteZio
Dead man walking
- Location
- anywhere
[X] The High School Student who comes from a rather rich family but became a delinquent. Originally started in order to try and get attention from her parents, she got addicted to street fighting but got bored of them when she kept on winning without much effort.
Dark Magical Girls aren't supposed to be nice... until some good Magical girl comes along a shoots the friendship Lasser at them.
Dark Magical Girls aren't supposed to be nice... until some good Magical girl comes along a shoots the friendship Lasser at them.
[X] The Middle school student who, beneath her friendly and outgoing facade, is desperately looking of a purpose in life. Having tried all kinds of hobbies, none of them really clicked with her despite her talent in many of them. Puts her all into whatever she’s doing.
your gonna get befriended.
your gonna get befriended.