OctarineShrike
Avatar of Mandos
[X] Combat
[X] No
[X] No
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A Simple Transaction I
- Thread starter Rihaku
- Start date
- Original
- Location
- Earth
[X] Combat
[X] Hero-Defeating Stance
[X] Hero-Defeating Stance
Projectile
Thinking of Rabbits
- Location
- USA
Was idly musing about how having strong blood powers is convenient when we have a weakness to disease, and realized that having Edeldross is a -terrible- anti-disease power. Without more control, self-buffs would indiscriminately buff bad bacteria inside Hunger, forcing him to turn it off or eat buffed supereffective disease (assuming the Ring doesn't yeet it). We've basically outscaled Gondar, but Hunger should watch out for ridiculous cascading failures like that from the Curse as always.
- Location
- Philippines
FFFFFINally got this out.
1360 words.
1360 words.
Living felt different after having experienced death.
The world was no different from before, yet every breath and motion was far more vibrant. From the way he felt his muscles tighten with every leap, to the acrid scent of ozone that lingered. It was as if he had held the world with gloves and now, everything was just so much more.
Objectively, Nine understood that he was merely leaping forward. An action that, naturally, should have only gotten him a few feet further. Yet his experience, a definitive moment that tempered his essence, had him crossing greater distances with every bound. Of course, every motion took a toll on his very being. Not quite something he could make use of without consideration. But the ease in which the motion came to him was boggling.
It wasn't even the best part.
Where once his lance would have only bit against the flesh of the Rotspawn, now it completely managed to scythe through. The Lesser Rotspawns that necessitated prudence and caution to take down with his lonesome now fell like chaff. One proper sweep of his lance shaved away the Rotspawn's outstretched arm. The limb flew along an arc as the crude monstrosity froze in askance.
Nine's return swing decapitated it.
Flesh and blood; muscle and sinew. Factors that dulled a weapon's edge; aggravated by the Rotspawns' corrosive nature. But though experience and knowledge both told Nine to shift to one of his spare lances, reality assured that there was no need. Sharp upon the first encounter. Sharper, even, for the latest. There had been no decay in performance, no matter how miniscule.
The lance remained as pristine as unbroken promises.
Fights that followed were much of the same. As evening blanketed the skies, it would have been too generous to call them fights. Nine supposed that that was the power of Progression. Even the way his muscles burned felt different. Exhaustion clung to him regardless, but the output was noticeable enough that it became a worthwhile exchange.
When things were said and done, his destination in sight, the young mercenary fought down the blush. It was the height of irresponsibility, enjoying one's self when there was something that required his full attention. He would have had the chance to take down Rotspawns to his heart's content after he had made sure to let everyone know he was alright.
Red eyes took note of the current security. As he did, Nine took himself step by step through his breathing. He made no move to hide himself. A steady gait beneath artificial lights. Movement. Expected of the sentries that were in charge of protecting the base. Thus, Nine continued apace. Noise. Ozone. The young man felt his instincts screech like war-torn widows.
Red lights blinked to life atop the walls. Tens of them a ray of light. Nine's eyes tracked them, flinched when one passed across his eye. Eyebrows furrowed as his forehead creased. Fingers tightened around the grip of Promise; cold comfort with its heft. Toes curled as his whole body tensed. He had grown stronger but could he avoid a hail of bullets?
He had escaped from Death once. He wasn't keen on trying again.
"Nine...?"
The voice was distorted. But it was familiar. Concerned. Safe. Emotions bore down on Nine, thoughts ran miles to figure what was happening. Was what his Benefactor said true? Was there some aspect he just didn't think about? Slowly, Nine loosened his stance. Licked his dry lips as he opened the damaged communication piece.
"...Mercenary Nine White, reporting for duty."
Lights flashed. The walkway leading to the gates became flooded in light. No shadows to hide in. The soft whir of distance machinery echoed. More firearms were trained on him. Vague memories resurfaced as Nine realized the formation. From the lack of usable cover, to the amount of weaponry on display.
Subjugation.
Of Elite Rotspawns.
Yet no such monsters had breached the perimeter. No noxious gas billowing into the night sky. No buildings that trembled in its wake. No guttural howls that sent man and beast alike into heedless frenzy. What stood in front of the gates that had never been breached was not a Rotspawn in form. It was neither hideous nor deformed, hostile nor ravenous.
Nine grit his teeth, and tried to blink away the pain in his eyes.
There was a loud hiss. One that devolved into a growl. Steam and dust accompanied the gates being pulled open. Just wide enough to let one individual through. Nine could make out the sound of the person's gait, a familiar clang of steel. In the blinding light, the figure became clearer. The loose way the person held a stance. Confidence that spoke of countless excursions. And the weight of his presence even sharper than before.
Nine had always stood by their side. Had always followed their lead. Lessons and experience imparted, taken to heart. He felt his blood quake. His marrows shiver. Nerves fell into disarray. The strength he had been reborn with. Progression that baffled him. Even his undulling lance. All of it felt like mere pittance as the man stood in front of him.
"Took you a while, kid."
"Viktor."
Ground out the youth. Red eyes firm, despite the tenuous grip he had on his consciousness. It felt like death stood before him once more. Wore the face of someone he idolized, with all the mannerisms that came along with it. The gargantuan axe that reaped away Rotspawn as if they were nothing rested upon his shoulder. Armor meant for Hunts had been worn.
"Heard quite a lot of things from Jennifer. Ambushed. Outnumbered. Outsupplied. Most people would have retreated then and there."
"But then, you all agreed to keep going. Of course, all of that went to shit. No supplies. No back up. I was sure I taught you better."
An axe swing. A stretch of his arm. The concrete beneath stood no chance.
"Then." A shake of his head. "Then you decided to be a hero. Had everyone retreat. Jennifer reported that there had been no other choice. That it was the only choice. Then there was a flash of light. Something out of a fantasy she said. Something she would not have believed had it not been something she saw through her lens."
"No corpse. No remains. No nothing."
A deep sigh.
"Not even the Rotspawn."
Through sheer force of will did the young man stand tall. Eyes unaverted from his Mentor.
"So, Mercenary Nine White. Explain. Before I make you pay for wearing his skin."
----
[9] HQ and [9] Promise has won! For having encountered a bunch of Lesser Rotspawns on the way home, Nine has accumulated 1 Pick and 0.5 Apostle Credits.
[ ] An Apostle's Strength: "My followers can't be this weak! Suit up. Prep up. Prove that you weren't a mistake!"
- Provides: +Might
- Costs: 1 Pick
[ ] A Lance's Finesse: "..."
- Provides: +Agi
- Costs: 1 Pick
Due to the unlikeliness of the situation, as well as the manner of understanding, (and mostly due to bad rolls), Viktor himself has found it unbelievable for Nine to have survived the altercation and had assumed the worst. To find someone walking up to base, wearing his face and using his voice? With the accompanying stick up his ass? One could only imagine how he must feel.
But, reality is what reality is. What will Nine do?
[ ] Fight: "Report, Mercenary Nine White."
- Nine doubles down on trying to convince Viktor through words and actions.
- Whether this comes to blows or diplomatic agreements is up to chance.
- Discussions on the approach may skew Nine's further actions.
- There will be consequences.
- Viktor Stands Resolute
- Provides +1 Pick at next Expenditure
[ ] Flight: "In memory of him."
- Nine will double down on trying to escape, through both words and actions.
- Viktor swears he will hunt you down if he so much as sees you.
- Discussion may impact the manner of escape, alongside any other factors that may result from this decision.
- There will be consequences.
- Viktor Stands Resolute
- Provides +1 Apostle Credit
Character sheet may or may not come eventually.
The world was no different from before, yet every breath and motion was far more vibrant. From the way he felt his muscles tighten with every leap, to the acrid scent of ozone that lingered. It was as if he had held the world with gloves and now, everything was just so much more.
Objectively, Nine understood that he was merely leaping forward. An action that, naturally, should have only gotten him a few feet further. Yet his experience, a definitive moment that tempered his essence, had him crossing greater distances with every bound. Of course, every motion took a toll on his very being. Not quite something he could make use of without consideration. But the ease in which the motion came to him was boggling.
It wasn't even the best part.
Where once his lance would have only bit against the flesh of the Rotspawn, now it completely managed to scythe through. The Lesser Rotspawns that necessitated prudence and caution to take down with his lonesome now fell like chaff. One proper sweep of his lance shaved away the Rotspawn's outstretched arm. The limb flew along an arc as the crude monstrosity froze in askance.
Nine's return swing decapitated it.
Flesh and blood; muscle and sinew. Factors that dulled a weapon's edge; aggravated by the Rotspawns' corrosive nature. But though experience and knowledge both told Nine to shift to one of his spare lances, reality assured that there was no need. Sharp upon the first encounter. Sharper, even, for the latest. There had been no decay in performance, no matter how miniscule.
The lance remained as pristine as unbroken promises.
Fights that followed were much of the same. As evening blanketed the skies, it would have been too generous to call them fights. Nine supposed that that was the power of Progression. Even the way his muscles burned felt different. Exhaustion clung to him regardless, but the output was noticeable enough that it became a worthwhile exchange.
When things were said and done, his destination in sight, the young mercenary fought down the blush. It was the height of irresponsibility, enjoying one's self when there was something that required his full attention. He would have had the chance to take down Rotspawns to his heart's content after he had made sure to let everyone know he was alright.
Red eyes took note of the current security. As he did, Nine took himself step by step through his breathing. He made no move to hide himself. A steady gait beneath artificial lights. Movement. Expected of the sentries that were in charge of protecting the base. Thus, Nine continued apace. Noise. Ozone. The young man felt his instincts screech like war-torn widows.
Red lights blinked to life atop the walls. Tens of them a ray of light. Nine's eyes tracked them, flinched when one passed across his eye. Eyebrows furrowed as his forehead creased. Fingers tightened around the grip of Promise; cold comfort with its heft. Toes curled as his whole body tensed. He had grown stronger but could he avoid a hail of bullets?
He had escaped from Death once. He wasn't keen on trying again.
"Nine...?"
The voice was distorted. But it was familiar. Concerned. Safe. Emotions bore down on Nine, thoughts ran miles to figure what was happening. Was what his Benefactor said true? Was there some aspect he just didn't think about? Slowly, Nine loosened his stance. Licked his dry lips as he opened the damaged communication piece.
"...Mercenary Nine White, reporting for duty."
Lights flashed. The walkway leading to the gates became flooded in light. No shadows to hide in. The soft whir of distance machinery echoed. More firearms were trained on him. Vague memories resurfaced as Nine realized the formation. From the lack of usable cover, to the amount of weaponry on display.
Subjugation.
Of Elite Rotspawns.
Yet no such monsters had breached the perimeter. No noxious gas billowing into the night sky. No buildings that trembled in its wake. No guttural howls that sent man and beast alike into heedless frenzy. What stood in front of the gates that had never been breached was not a Rotspawn in form. It was neither hideous nor deformed, hostile nor ravenous.
Nine grit his teeth, and tried to blink away the pain in his eyes.
There was a loud hiss. One that devolved into a growl. Steam and dust accompanied the gates being pulled open. Just wide enough to let one individual through. Nine could make out the sound of the person's gait, a familiar clang of steel. In the blinding light, the figure became clearer. The loose way the person held a stance. Confidence that spoke of countless excursions. And the weight of his presence even sharper than before.
Nine had always stood by their side. Had always followed their lead. Lessons and experience imparted, taken to heart. He felt his blood quake. His marrows shiver. Nerves fell into disarray. The strength he had been reborn with. Progression that baffled him. Even his undulling lance. All of it felt like mere pittance as the man stood in front of him.
"Took you a while, kid."
"Viktor."
Ground out the youth. Red eyes firm, despite the tenuous grip he had on his consciousness. It felt like death stood before him once more. Wore the face of someone he idolized, with all the mannerisms that came along with it. The gargantuan axe that reaped away Rotspawn as if they were nothing rested upon his shoulder. Armor meant for Hunts had been worn.
"Heard quite a lot of things from Jennifer. Ambushed. Outnumbered. Outsupplied. Most people would have retreated then and there."
"But then, you all agreed to keep going. Of course, all of that went to shit. No supplies. No back up. I was sure I taught you better."
An axe swing. A stretch of his arm. The concrete beneath stood no chance.
"Then." A shake of his head. "Then you decided to be a hero. Had everyone retreat. Jennifer reported that there had been no other choice. That it was the only choice. Then there was a flash of light. Something out of a fantasy she said. Something she would not have believed had it not been something she saw through her lens."
"No corpse. No remains. No nothing."
A deep sigh.
"Not even the Rotspawn."
Through sheer force of will did the young man stand tall. Eyes unaverted from his Mentor.
"So, Mercenary Nine White. Explain. Before I make you pay for wearing his skin."
----
[9] HQ and [9] Promise has won! For having encountered a bunch of Lesser Rotspawns on the way home, Nine has accumulated 1 Pick and 0.5 Apostle Credits.
[ ] An Apostle's Strength: "My followers can't be this weak! Suit up. Prep up. Prove that you weren't a mistake!"
- Provides: +Might
- Costs: 1 Pick
[ ] A Lance's Finesse: "..."
- Provides: +Agi
- Costs: 1 Pick
Due to the unlikeliness of the situation, as well as the manner of understanding, (and mostly due to bad rolls), Viktor himself has found it unbelievable for Nine to have survived the altercation and had assumed the worst. To find someone walking up to base, wearing his face and using his voice? With the accompanying stick up his ass? One could only imagine how he must feel.
But, reality is what reality is. What will Nine do?
[ ] Fight: "Report, Mercenary Nine White."
- Nine doubles down on trying to convince Viktor through words and actions.
- Whether this comes to blows or diplomatic agreements is up to chance.
- Discussions on the approach may skew Nine's further actions.
- There will be consequences.
- Viktor Stands Resolute
- Provides +1 Pick at next Expenditure
[ ] Flight: "In memory of him."
- Nine will double down on trying to escape, through both words and actions.
- Viktor swears he will hunt you down if he so much as sees you.
- Discussion may impact the manner of escape, alongside any other factors that may result from this decision.
- There will be consequences.
- Viktor Stands Resolute
- Provides +1 Apostle Credit
Character sheet may or may not come eventually.
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Edeldross doesn't seem quite that straightforward. It's part of findross, after all, and findross often made things as they should be. It's basically fairy tale magic, ascribing to its own logic and saying stuff like 'entropy is reversed for me' or 'a man's word is his bond'.
Well, not sure if Edeldross truly has the same properties, but I wouldn't worry for now.
It wouldn't be especially relevant, but it would increase our odds.
Projectile
Thinking of Rabbits
- Location
- USA
I'm worried that disease should be hardy and virulent, but yeah, the scenario doesn't seem particularly likely. Not like having to contend with the Wise Erii who'll be out for blood, anyway!
Inserted tally
Zampano
🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
- Location
- Simping for DSB
This is really insightful. Business is also compatible with thinking the existing stealth field will be sufficient for within-Voyaging Realm travel but that the boosted stealth field will NOT be sufficient for extracting her to the Human Polities. Business closes off Aeira's departure from the VR as a future avenue for Apocryphal attack.
Unfortunately, it isn't getting any traction. Apocryphal will be a problem for future Arete miners. Right now our focus has to be on Not Dying so I'm sending my
[x] formalAI
I see the infiltration as the casing/ social engineering stage of a heist. We spend time in the Inner zone talking to important people as we haggle over the mercenary and buffing services we can provide. In the course of this, we find out what the defences of the ring are, what the threats are, what non-ring loot might be available, who can be subverted as a recruitment prospect, who can get us close to the ring for any motive... Once we know all that we supply those motives until we have as much access as possible without a fight. Then we take the Ring with whatever force is still needed.
I don't think Hunger cares about depriving the Inners of their current longevity and security because as far as he's concerned those things aren't theirs to begin with and Tyrant says their opinion don't matter. Even if he Ennobles everyone he's still the guy who wrecked what they had before - there won't be goodwill overall, just a grudging acknowledgement that they need him now for now. He won't hang around long enough to permanently buff a 10 million population that will still dislike him without a massive incentive.
I don't think Hunger cares about depriving the Inners of their current longevity and security because as far as he's concerned those things aren't theirs to begin with and Tyrant says their opinion don't matter. Even if he Ennobles everyone he's still the guy who wrecked what they had before - there won't be goodwill overall, just a grudging acknowledgement that they need him now for now. He won't hang around long enough to permanently buff a 10 million population that will still dislike him without a massive incentive.
- Location
- Italy
To understand, do we have a clear idea of what the Middle Ring residents' benefits are compared to those in the Inner Ring?
- Location
- Pindorama
Jack shit it seems like. I mean, they calim the Ritual Grounds protect them from Incursions, but those are caused by the Inner Temple through the torture of the Ring; so...
It definitely does seem that getting the Middle to rebel against the Inners through the offer of Ennoblement is possible. I just don't know how useful that would be exactly; but at least they could power our Rank gains, I guess?
In exchange for serving as ablative armor for the Inner Ring, they're protected by the Outriders and get surplus star-stuff. The amenities seem lacking compared to what the Inners get, the agrarian lifestyle's not terribly impressive, but in some senses it might be a more stable existence than your average Voyager gets? When things are working as intended, incursions into the Middle are rare. Also, the reward of immigrating to the Inner Ring's likely dangled as a semi-mythical carrot for the greatest of their prodigies since when one of the prescribed ten million dies, a slot opens up. Most of those have to go to children of the Inners, I bet they've got all sorts of strict population controls.
Wait. Are there more than ten million people in the Middle and Inner temple? Because if the majority are in the Middle, then yeah, we might be better served Ennobling them to improve our fame.
So I was thinking, could we try to leverage the idea of a ruling ring having influence over the azure into making letting us just leave with it more attractive? After all that last bit about the ritual grounds seems to imply they are having enough trouble keeping it contained, just imagine how much more they would have if someone else held authority over it potentially to ends opposed to the goals of the inner residents and the immortals. This path seems like it could be especially workable if we could take advantage of Shadowcord to get a better picture of what is ting on with the ring and the ritual grounds currently.
- Location
- Brazil
I really feel you.
[X] Combat
[X] Guile-Defeating Stance
Personally prefer combat over stealth, but I'm fine with either honestly. Combat might help if things go sour.
It's not too late in the day to try and swing things toward Hero-Defeating, if you'd like to call in your marker.
- Location
- Italy
Honestly, the more I learn of this civilization's inner workings (pun not intended) the more I want to tear it all down... If we would not be dooming to their fate ten million people by doing so. But even if Hunger were to give them the means to hold themselves up on their two feet back again, I don't feel much sadness in their elite losing the privilege of living thousand of years at the expense of torturing an apparently sapient being.
That's something we could do, we certainly aren't going to find any allies in the Inner (unless things are really falling apart there) anyway. I would just like to avoid a thousand updates of socialing them up, especially since I feel that we're going to reach the strenght required to solo this civilization much sooner than we could ignite any serious revolution attempt.
The more I think about it the more I end up to the conclusion that A King Stands Alone is an absolute must as a pick, because as soon as we'll be openly declaring our intentions they won't limit themselves to just sending exp bags one by one to defeat us. Something that can defeat strenght in numbers, making conquering the Inner Ring just a matter of outscaling their strongest member and having the stamina (we will soon see how much Crimson Flare helps with that) to deal with a prolonged struggle feels like a must.
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Their default assumption about our intention is already correct - we want to steal their treasure. No need to declare anything.
The Star-forge reaction 1977 words
[X] Stealth
[X] Guile-Defeating Stance
@formalAI with this I consider the vote marker repaid.
Finally the Inner Temple. We moved between the layers of the Temple and finally managed to be at the end of our journey in this god forsaken DLC area. Even Rihaku says it is the one of the foulest dens of sin and iniquity in the Voyaging Realm. So basically the perfect training after the idyllic spa resort.
Also, might I say that magitek societies are one of my favorite settings/areas? I love sufficiently analyzed magic trope. No magic mumbo-jumbo, just applying the scientific method to magic is cool.
There also the scammers that try to sell some junk to the idiots that come to the Temple. So just like real life.
Also the name of the inner Temple is not arrogant at all.
With a welcoming name like 'Ministry of Information' I think we all know where this thing is going right?
"My magitek, Ring enslaving society can`t be this fascistic" show is greenlit. And the pilot just aired to thunderous applause amongstdegenerates men of culture.
"Azure Ring enslavement, fascism is magic" title did not fare well in the 8-12 demographic and the forecast by the Oracle was eight percent less toys revenue.
Still, why these secret documents are conveniently left out, so that a teenage mercenary with no training could find them. This is weird anime logic or some trap by genre savvy lich inside. I was surprised Hunger did not find that suspicious. He was a generic isekai hero that actually had to learn that in the real world a teenager from modern society has almost no chance against medieval magical overlord. He expected a generic shounen but got thrust into deconstructive seinen.
At least our newest charge is smart and cautious. She knew her limits and managed to return safely. Unfortunately for her Hunger needs enemies in order to grow.
Aeira: Lord Hunger sir. I have managed to obtain these documents and returned from my stealth mission without attracting attention
Hunger: Next time bring back legion of enemies. Dismissed
Aiera: The Reckoner is weird.
Letrizia: You will get used to my super juggernaut undead chimera.
Aeira: The what?
Man, I can`t wait for us to get Pillars. I imagine he will be suicidal and train against all hard opponents he faced in his life and after dying be resurrected to continue again and again. Conclusion – Hunger is Ork from Warhammer 40k.
That is actually quite a nice find and Aeira is pulling her weight. I think it was the correct decision to actually take her with us. Humans have one of the best developed pattern recognition brain systems and when we have been literally trained our whole life to follow the customs of modern society or any society, we will be able to notice people that don`t follow them.
Imagine if you take person from the middle ages and dress him up like a modern person, he will still stuck like sore thumb. When I was in China the culture shock was huge and really could not understand what I was supposed to do in some situation and faux passes are to be expected.
But when the inner residents notice something off about a person that stick out I doubt they will be just mildly amused. With the whole 1984 and fascism vibe going on, I think we will have to chat with the nice men in uniform, which will undoubtedly cause Doom to proc and the rest will be history.
So 'O' means outriders that are grade five. I would consider these the middle managers that report to the higher ups, which in this case are the outriders that have been promoted to marshall.
Judge dredd vibe, how nice. Just what we needed to perfect our unholy trinity of clusterfuck society. The more we understand about this society, the more I want to just smash it and let the pieces sort themselves. How can you make a change in a society that has been so brainwashed and indoctrinated?
Minor reality manipulation, courtesy of the Star forges. The description is sick, I really like the yin-yang harmony. Still I think this happens is because they extract something that should not be extracted by reverse the polarity (don`t laugh) of the Ring powers and this causes the day and night cycle to be reversed as well.
Okay, the magitek technobabble explanation becomes cooler and cooler. I think that our idea of ennobling the population of the Inner Temple would not be accepted. We are removing ther power source, which is the power to capture the energy of the nighttime sky. Hmm, so the Azure ring hold domain over the night sky. Our cloak is the Evening Sky. I think I know where this is going – at the end of the temple will give us the Bioware (TM) choice – release the Azure ring for some feel good vibes or absorb its domain into our mantle for a massive increase of power. I will be ready for this vote, I will have markers for this vote, and I will have omake powers for this vote. The vengeance of the InkSky gang will be finally complete.
So the Inner Residents have a one thousand years of prescribed lifetime. I don`t know what is the average lifespan of the humans inside the Voyaging realm but if it similar to ours (around eighty years) I think Ennobling is a rather shitty deal. Ennobling quadruples the lifespan of a population but with a lifespan of one thousand years we are quite literally offering them seventy percent decrease of their current lifespan. We can try to spin it that they will be buff and swole but the nerds amongst them will moan about the lost Soul Evocation magic system.
Powergamers BTFO.
Calendar engine – probably some time dilation.
Dimensional Vortex – remember when we first saw the Temple and the moon was always in one place regardless of space? It is probably this things fault. I also think it twists space that there is only one entrance to the Inner temple and forces attackers to forget about attacking by air.
After reading all that, I got to be honest. Our offer of making the Inner Temple population swole and buff for releasing the Ring seems absolutely lame in comparison to the sweet gig they have right now. Time manipulation, better health benefits, access to magic and space manipulation vs what?
70% reduced lifespan and muscles. LOL. I will be surprised if the Council members don`t laugh us out of the room.
The words 'harmonous existence' in a dystopian government fills me with rage. I will be voting to smash that farce and leave the suckers to dry.
Translation : higher ups but with no actual power have to tell the important people (native born residents) and the military guys what is going on.
What a madlad! You have to be a special kind of person to see the metaphysical anchor of the world and think to yourself 'I want to catch and exploit it'. Must be a capitalist.
Hmmm, I think if we steal the ring directly and wait for a couple of weeks, we can come back and the people would have lost access to their Soul Evocation. Interesting is that if we got Soul Evocation ourselves we did not suffer from the same limitations. So basically they are incompatible and inefficient for giving out magic systems to their population.
So, the true final boss of the 'Temple of the false moon' expansions have finally been revealed. The immortals themselves. We did not manage to become immortals in EFB right? Titans and immortals were mortal enemies. Probably Rihaku is reusing some of the concepts from that time (nothing wrong with that).
Also I am not native speaker and I could be wrong, but shouldn`t the power source be endless rather than infinite. I understand infinite as without bounds while endless as something that does not runs out.
Yep, yep. I think that the plan to steal the treasure and come back after two weeks will be extremely efficient way to topple their government. Remove all infrastructure and watch the ensuing chaos amongst the populace.
So, they have memetic censoring. So much for 'muh social' memetic hazard Gisena. Damn that would have been a bad call in hindsight.
Damn, I feel bad for the Librarian now and the wurms. Gisena is S ranked (no surprise there)waifu threat.
Damn, the Accursed protection against divination is no joke. Honestly I would be scared shitless if the passive defenses the attackers are enough to fry some of the Marshalls.
Time to plagiarize myself:
"I know what X-type are, but first some background.
Soul Evocation is powerful but extremely specialised form of magic. Vanreir was one thrust man, one trick pony. I think the other Soul Evocator have the same limitations - specialised one trick ponies, but like JoJo stands they can be versatile if applied correctly.
We killed the Librarian by a good synergy between Gisna and Hunger. Long-range support and melee fighter is a classic duo.
We know that the Temple inflicts the Doom of Anti-synergy on all who enter it, ergo all Soul Evocators have it.
X-type means synergetic build/threat. No wonder they thought it was purely hypothetical type."
Lol, suckers. X-type is upon them and they still think it is a mistake in their calculations.
So the progression is this: Outrider->Marshall->High Marshall. Are there only three High Marshalls? Or there are more but those three have good Soul Evocations that can deal with the threats. If that is the case, I can make an educated guess which are our next opponents.
Wyvernford sounds like a guy that is a Beastmaster (wyvern in the name) and the Capacitor dude is probably one of two possible builds:
Also at the end of the note we have a pretty much guaranteed Apocryphal curse avenue of attack. Deployment of the immortals. I want to get our build in order before facing the final bosses but this is also a great opportunity to get some information for the final fight.
Well, well, well. What do we have here, a prodigal diagram lich that could be recruited? Another male in the party would be good for Hunger`s mental health and I am pretty sure that we can learn diagram magic from this guy due to Evening sky.
I am torn on this. The power is nice but with no bonus it seems that it is wasted vote. Magnitude is nice and probably will improve our chances of stealthy infiltration of the inner temple.
+Progression, and healing our liver. Two hundred percent reduction in damage against poison is massive and with the Apocryphal curse inching ever closer this is a safe choice.
Remember kids, study theNecronomicon basic economics and you too would be able to exploit a massive living pocket galaxy. Become a better businessman and exploit everything in front of you.
SAVEGANG best gang. I have a mining pick and a safe tattooed on my arm.
King stands alone is better and this is anti-synergetic for ADS. Surprised that thread participants are not mass voting for it.
Fix issue in our build (magic defense) and is synergetic with ADS because it can be bought piecemeal. Due to the dreaded "S" word will never be picked
The SOCIAL gang still thinks that we can actually reach a peaceful solution with the magical fascists. Well, it is not that bad. It is relatively synergetic and provides some benefits in the long-run.
[X] Stealth
[X] Guile-Defeating Stance
@formalAI with this I consider the vote marker repaid.
Finally the Inner Temple. We moved between the layers of the Temple and finally managed to be at the end of our journey in this god forsaken DLC area. Even Rihaku says it is the one of the foulest dens of sin and iniquity in the Voyaging Realm. So basically the perfect training after the idyllic spa resort.
Also, might I say that magitek societies are one of my favorite settings/areas? I love sufficiently analyzed magic trope. No magic mumbo-jumbo, just applying the scientific method to magic is cool.
There also the scammers that try to sell some junk to the idiots that come to the Temple. So just like real life.
Also the name of the inner Temple is not arrogant at all.
With a welcoming name like 'Ministry of Information' I think we all know where this thing is going right?
"My magitek, Ring enslaving society can`t be this fascistic" show is greenlit. And the pilot just aired to thunderous applause amongst
"Azure Ring enslavement, fascism is magic" title did not fare well in the 8-12 demographic and the forecast by the Oracle was eight percent less toys revenue.
Still, why these secret documents are conveniently left out, so that a teenage mercenary with no training could find them. This is weird anime logic or some trap by genre savvy lich inside. I was surprised Hunger did not find that suspicious. He was a generic isekai hero that actually had to learn that in the real world a teenager from modern society has almost no chance against medieval magical overlord. He expected a generic shounen but got thrust into deconstructive seinen.
At least our newest charge is smart and cautious. She knew her limits and managed to return safely. Unfortunately for her Hunger needs enemies in order to grow.
Aeira: Lord Hunger sir. I have managed to obtain these documents and returned from my stealth mission without attracting attention
Hunger: Next time bring back legion of enemies. Dismissed
Aiera: The Reckoner is weird.
Letrizia: You will get used to my super juggernaut undead chimera.
Aeira: The what?
Man, I can`t wait for us to get Pillars. I imagine he will be suicidal and train against all hard opponents he faced in his life and after dying be resurrected to continue again and again. Conclusion – Hunger is Ork from Warhammer 40k.
That is actually quite a nice find and Aeira is pulling her weight. I think it was the correct decision to actually take her with us. Humans have one of the best developed pattern recognition brain systems and when we have been literally trained our whole life to follow the customs of modern society or any society, we will be able to notice people that don`t follow them.
Imagine if you take person from the middle ages and dress him up like a modern person, he will still stuck like sore thumb. When I was in China the culture shock was huge and really could not understand what I was supposed to do in some situation and faux passes are to be expected.
But when the inner residents notice something off about a person that stick out I doubt they will be just mildly amused. With the whole 1984 and fascism vibe going on, I think we will have to chat with the nice men in uniform, which will undoubtedly cause Doom to proc and the rest will be history.
So 'O' means outriders that are grade five. I would consider these the middle managers that report to the higher ups, which in this case are the outriders that have been promoted to marshall.
Judge dredd vibe, how nice. Just what we needed to perfect our unholy trinity of clusterfuck society. The more we understand about this society, the more I want to just smash it and let the pieces sort themselves. How can you make a change in a society that has been so brainwashed and indoctrinated?
Minor reality manipulation, courtesy of the Star forges. The description is sick, I really like the yin-yang harmony. Still I think this happens is because they extract something that should not be extracted by reverse the polarity (don`t laugh) of the Ring powers and this causes the day and night cycle to be reversed as well.
Okay, the magitek technobabble explanation becomes cooler and cooler. I think that our idea of ennobling the population of the Inner Temple would not be accepted. We are removing ther power source, which is the power to capture the energy of the nighttime sky. Hmm, so the Azure ring hold domain over the night sky. Our cloak is the Evening Sky. I think I know where this is going – at the end of the temple will give us the Bioware (TM) choice – release the Azure ring for some feel good vibes or absorb its domain into our mantle for a massive increase of power. I will be ready for this vote, I will have markers for this vote, and I will have omake powers for this vote. The vengeance of the InkSky gang will be finally complete.
So the Inner Residents have a one thousand years of prescribed lifetime. I don`t know what is the average lifespan of the humans inside the Voyaging realm but if it similar to ours (around eighty years) I think Ennobling is a rather shitty deal. Ennobling quadruples the lifespan of a population but with a lifespan of one thousand years we are quite literally offering them seventy percent decrease of their current lifespan. We can try to spin it that they will be buff and swole but the nerds amongst them will moan about the lost Soul Evocation magic system.
Powergamers BTFO.
Calendar engine – probably some time dilation.
Dimensional Vortex – remember when we first saw the Temple and the moon was always in one place regardless of space? It is probably this things fault. I also think it twists space that there is only one entrance to the Inner temple and forces attackers to forget about attacking by air.
After reading all that, I got to be honest. Our offer of making the Inner Temple population swole and buff for releasing the Ring seems absolutely lame in comparison to the sweet gig they have right now. Time manipulation, better health benefits, access to magic and space manipulation vs what?
70% reduced lifespan and muscles. LOL. I will be surprised if the Council members don`t laugh us out of the room.
The words 'harmonous existence' in a dystopian government fills me with rage. I will be voting to smash that farce and leave the suckers to dry.
Translation : higher ups but with no actual power have to tell the important people (native born residents) and the military guys what is going on.
What a madlad! You have to be a special kind of person to see the metaphysical anchor of the world and think to yourself 'I want to catch and exploit it'. Must be a capitalist.
Hmmm, I think if we steal the ring directly and wait for a couple of weeks, we can come back and the people would have lost access to their Soul Evocation. Interesting is that if we got Soul Evocation ourselves we did not suffer from the same limitations. So basically they are incompatible and inefficient for giving out magic systems to their population.
So, the true final boss of the 'Temple of the false moon' expansions have finally been revealed. The immortals themselves. We did not manage to become immortals in EFB right? Titans and immortals were mortal enemies. Probably Rihaku is reusing some of the concepts from that time (nothing wrong with that).
Also I am not native speaker and I could be wrong, but shouldn`t the power source be endless rather than infinite. I understand infinite as without bounds while endless as something that does not runs out.
Yep, yep. I think that the plan to steal the treasure and come back after two weeks will be extremely efficient way to topple their government. Remove all infrastructure and watch the ensuing chaos amongst the populace.
So, they have memetic censoring. So much for 'muh social' memetic hazard Gisena. Damn that would have been a bad call in hindsight.
Damn, I feel bad for the Librarian now and the wurms. Gisena is S ranked (no surprise there)
Damn, the Accursed protection against divination is no joke. Honestly I would be scared shitless if the passive defenses the attackers are enough to fry some of the Marshalls.
Time to plagiarize myself:
"I know what X-type are, but first some background.
Soul Evocation is powerful but extremely specialised form of magic. Vanreir was one thrust man, one trick pony. I think the other Soul Evocator have the same limitations - specialised one trick ponies, but like JoJo stands they can be versatile if applied correctly.
We killed the Librarian by a good synergy between Gisna and Hunger. Long-range support and melee fighter is a classic duo.
We know that the Temple inflicts the Doom of Anti-synergy on all who enter it, ergo all Soul Evocators have it.
X-type means synergetic build/threat. No wonder they thought it was purely hypothetical type."
Lol, suckers. X-type is upon them and they still think it is a mistake in their calculations.
So the progression is this: Outrider->Marshall->High Marshall. Are there only three High Marshalls? Or there are more but those three have good Soul Evocations that can deal with the threats. If that is the case, I can make an educated guess which are our next opponents.
Wyvernford sounds like a guy that is a Beastmaster (wyvern in the name) and the Capacitor dude is probably one of two possible builds:
- Handles the spike in damage/Rank and suppresses/filters them to something more manageable.
- Burst mage that could only fight in massive spikes of damage and has long time between discharges
Also at the end of the note we have a pretty much guaranteed Apocryphal curse avenue of attack. Deployment of the immortals. I want to get our build in order before facing the final bosses but this is also a great opportunity to get some information for the final fight.
Well, well, well. What do we have here, a prodigal diagram lich that could be recruited? Another male in the party would be good for Hunger`s mental health and I am pretty sure that we can learn diagram magic from this guy due to Evening sky.
I am torn on this. The power is nice but with no bonus it seems that it is wasted vote. Magnitude is nice and probably will improve our chances of stealthy infiltration of the inner temple.
+Progression, and healing our liver. Two hundred percent reduction in damage against poison is massive and with the Apocryphal curse inching ever closer this is a safe choice.
Remember kids, study the
SAVEGANG best gang. I have a mining pick and a safe tattooed on my arm.
King stands alone is better and this is anti-synergetic for ADS. Surprised that thread participants are not mass voting for it.
Fix issue in our build (magic defense) and is synergetic with ADS because it can be bought piecemeal. Due to the dreaded "S" word will never be picked
The SOCIAL gang still thinks that we can actually reach a peaceful solution with the magical fascists. Well, it is not that bad. It is relatively synergetic and provides some benefits in the long-run.
Hero-Defeating Stance was explicitly and directly stated by Rihaku to be the best pick, so naturally it is losing.
The "plan" so to speak is to briefly skim over the voting options, with various aesthetic preferences being paramount to the process of deciding which pick is best. If none of these pre-existing preferences apply, immediately pick whichever one looks coolest and have that be the core of a new aesthetic preference. Next, hop into the comments and immediately begin attempting to justify that aesthetic preference as being imminently rational, merely one step in a grand strategy that will result in Hunger being the best and having all the coolest toys. Rarely, the more weak-willed voters will be swayed by feeble arguments such as "pick this to not die". When the plan is inevitably revealed to be terrible, everyone just desperately earns arete until sheer raw power makes the plan somewhat workable in spite of numerous and repeated efforts of the thread to sabotage it.
To be clear, I don't have any problem with this "plan", as I find the randomness and salt and the chaos beautiful. Like preparing a garden and then tossing in a wildflower seed mixture.
The "plan" so to speak is to briefly skim over the voting options, with various aesthetic preferences being paramount to the process of deciding which pick is best. If none of these pre-existing preferences apply, immediately pick whichever one looks coolest and have that be the core of a new aesthetic preference. Next, hop into the comments and immediately begin attempting to justify that aesthetic preference as being imminently rational, merely one step in a grand strategy that will result in Hunger being the best and having all the coolest toys. Rarely, the more weak-willed voters will be swayed by feeble arguments such as "pick this to not die". When the plan is inevitably revealed to be terrible, everyone just desperately earns arete until sheer raw power makes the plan somewhat workable in spite of numerous and repeated efforts of the thread to sabotage it.
To be clear, I don't have any problem with this "plan", as I find the randomness and salt and the chaos beautiful. Like preparing a garden and then tossing in a wildflower seed mixture.