Take of this what you will. I'm not confirming your theories and I'm not denying your theories but at this point, you should have realized that things aren't the same as the source material.
Greg's power is not Han-Jee Han's power.
Earth Bet is not Earth-Gamer(?).
Greg is not Han Jee-Han.
What that means exactly is still up in the air.
Take of this what you will.
Next Chapter (Aggro 4.9) is tomorrow morning at 9 AM - 11 AM EST.
(Roughly 11 to 13 hours from now)
She didn't jump right to "conceptual bullshit". Especially because Shards don't work on Concepts all that well.
My guess as to how it all went down ( a hypothesis, sure, but one think is pretty good):
She takes a look at Greg and Taylor. She doesn't really need Inference Engine to confirm that these two are the culprits behind Lung's defeat, but it's nice to have confirmation. The short chat verifies that they are both relatively green, and that Lady Bug was responsible for stuff at range, and somehow, Prodigy engaged Lung in melee to deal the damage, but suffered in turn.
Inference Engine kindly informs Tattletale that Prodigy is not only a low-level Brute, but that by all rights he shouldn't be standing. Lisa assumes this is due to Prodigy's Brute power being at work, keeping him operational even if a normal body would have simply collapsed.
Then she takes a look at Lung. What she got was that she saw Lung had taken serious damage. She noticed a lot of it was consistent with being carved up by a freaking sword, but there were so many inconsistencies with normal sword wounds that neither the sword nor the wielder could have been normal. She understands this, and Inference Engine makes no complaints.
But some things aren't adding up. She moves from Lung's wounds to realizing that some of Lung's wounds aren't healing properly. As if the "killing blows" had been exceedingly more damaging, and Inference Engine tells her they were delivered with Prodigy's sword.
So she locks onto the sword. The sword is glowing... under it's own power. Inference Engine makes its scan, and deduces that it suddenly became much more effective against Lung in moments because it managed to meet some activation criterion before. But the sword... is not Tinkertech in ways Inference Engine is capable of understanding. Yet the sword still glows. Without any technology, according to her power.
Wait, what?
Inference Engine postulates the scenario which lead to the activation criterion based upon Lisa's observations of both Lady Bug and Prodigy, of Lung, and of the remnants of the battlefield. Lisa's mind connects it to the stories she was told in her childhood about gallant knights defeating dragons (and other monsters) in defense of a maiden. Could the activation criterion for Prodigy's apparently Striker-based sword be reliant upon acting within the bounds of such scenarios? It worked because Prodigy held a concept for it's working that way?
She made her guess, but when she asked for confirmation, Inference Engine started having troubles. Beyond Trigger Events, Shards have absolutely no room for understanding things like "concepts". The only time the alien supercomputers come close to the idea is when they scan their hosts' brains upon Triggering to figure out how everything is categorized. And once those categories and understandings are mapped from the target's brain, it's turned into data, definitions, and parameters for the Shard to operate on. Trying to understand something on a Conceptual Level is alien to the Shard.
So it tries its best, but has to use a deep-scan for an in-depth look at Prodigy and the sword to figure it out.
...
That's when everything goes wrong.
Something happens, the Shard delivers the information, but it's been deceived somehow. It did its job, but it's wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong, alien geometries and space-whales shedding infinite radiance as they danced in the emptiness of the void between dimensions, crystals and clouds of possibility as they sank beneath the depths where they lay sleeping until the end of times, the firmament shatters and reality is swept away by the cosmic deluge as the world is shattered and remade over and over and over and over and over, the stars become demons that eat at the tapestry of all things as they chase the sun across the stretches of reality between the uncountable universes before descending upon each other in a cannibalistic frenzy that births new stars, worlds where all life is made from silicon and those from which they spawned in fractal dimensions that grew and lived as they stretched and pierced the veil of dimensions to embrace each other in unity, the philosophers that lived in the hearts of dead stars that had turned upon themselves who created music with the cosmic rays that came from the Big Bang whose arts were only understood in their silence and nothingness, the vast reaches of time and space laid bare before her where the only question that could truly matter and be queried had no/one/infinite answers and had been/is being/would be answered if only she had/did/would have the means to even ask.
But then she realized that she was wearing the completely wrong kind of underwear, and thus, all of this meant, had meant, and would mean absolutely nothing. And that it didn't matter, never mattered, and would never matter. Not to mention all those matters in between that rendered everything ever learned, being learned, or possibly learned useless and nothingness.
She didn't jump right to "conceptual bullshit". Especially because Shards don't work on Concepts all that well.
My guess as to how it all went down ( a hypothesis, sure, but one think is pretty good):
She takes a look at Greg and Taylor. She doesn't really need Inference Engine to confirm that these two are the culprits behind Lung's defeat, but it's nice to have confirmation. The short chat verifies that they are both relatively green, and that Lady Bug was responsible for stuff at range, and somehow, Prodigy engaged Lung in melee to deal the damage, but suffered in turn.
Inference Engine kindly informs Tattletale that Prodigy is not only a low-level Brute, but that by all rights he shouldn't be standing. Lisa assumes this is due to Prodigy's Brute power being at work, keeping him operational even if a normal body would have simply collapsed.
Then she takes a look at Lung. What she got was that she saw Lung had taken serious damage. She noticed a lot of it was consistent with being carved up by a freaking sword, but there were so many inconsistencies with normal sword wounds that neither the sword nor the wielder could have been normal. She understands this, and Inference Engine makes no complaints.
But some things aren't adding up. She moves from Lung's wounds to realizing that some of Lung's wounds aren't healing properly. As if the "killing blows" had been exceedingly more damaging, and Inference Engine tells her they were delivered with Prodigy's sword.
So she locks onto the sword. The sword is glowing... under it's own power. Inference Engine makes its scan, and deduces that it suddenly became much more effective against Lung in moments because it managed to meet some activation criterion before. But the sword... is not Tinkertech in ways Inference Engine is capable of understanding. Yet the sword still glows. Without any technology, according to her power.
Wait, what?
Inference Engine postulates the scenario which lead to the activation criterion based upon Lisa's observations of both Lady Bug and Prodigy, of Lung, and of the remnants of the battlefield. Lisa's mind connects it to the stories she was told in her childhood about gallant knights defeating dragons (and other monsters) in defense of a maiden. Could the activation criterion for Prodigy's apparently Striker-based sword be reliant upon acting within the bounds of such scenarios? It worked because Prodigy held a concept for it's working that way?
She made her guess, but when she asked for confirmation, Inference Engine started having troubles. Beyond Trigger Events, Shards have absolutely no room for understanding things like "concepts". The only time the alien supercomputers come close to the idea is when they scan their hosts' brains upon Triggering to figure out how everything is categorized. And once those categories and understandings are mapped from the target's brain, it's turned into data, definitions, and parameters for the Shard to operate on. Trying to understand something on a Conceptual Level is alien to the Shard.
So it tries its best, but has to use a deep-scan for an in-depth look at Prodigy and the sword to figure it out.
...
That's when everything goes wrong.
Something happens, the Shard delivers the information, but it's been deceived somehow. It did its job, but it's wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong, alien geometries and space-whales shedding infinite radiance as they danced in the emptiness of the void between dimensions, crystals and clouds of possibility as they sank beneath the depths where they lay sleeping until the end of times, the firmament shatters and reality is swept away by the cosmic deluge as the world is shattered and remade over and over and over and over and over, the stars become demons that eat at the tapestry of all things as they chase the sun across the stretches of reality between the uncountable universes before descending upon each other in a cannibalistic frenzy that births new stars, worlds where all life is made from silicon and those from which they spawned in fractal dimensions that grew and lived as they stretched and pierced the veil of dimensions to embrace each other in unity, the philosophers that lived in the hearts of dead stars that had turned upon themselves who created music with the cosmic rays that came from the Big Bang whose arts were only understood in their silence and nothingness, the vast reaches of time and space laid bare before her where the only question that could truly mattered be queried had no/one/infinite answers and had been/is being/would be answered if only she had/did/would have the means to even ask.
But then she realized that she was wearing the completely wrong kind of underwear, and thus, all of this meant, had meant, and would mean absolutely nothing. And that it didn't matter, never mattered, and would never matter. Not to mention all those matters in between that rendered everything every learned, being learned, or possibly learned useless and nothingness.
That was the entire reasoning for my doubts on the scene.
I went through the same reasoning you just had, great job with that by the way, and the only thing odd about his sword was the color changing.
She herself said concepts before Greg even mentioned his power affecting it.
Yes we know the sword is preternaturally sharp via reinforcement, thus that would cause incredibly precise wounds.
But we also know that Taylor's bugs constantly aggravating his wounds with massive doses or paralytics and other venoms is the reason his healing is delayed.
Nothing to due with the sword itself there, and Interference Engine would pick up on the fact that there are clouds of bugs charred and otherwise dispersed throughout the area.
A large amount of which are of the stinging variety, thus feeding Lisa the information that his powers are being suppressed due to extreme toxic overload.
Back to the sword wounds. Greg, a self professed and easily identified brute(Covered in burnt Armour but mostly unwounded) is using a sword.
The Formula here is the simplest of data for Inference Engine to interpret. Super Strength + Sharp Light Object = Low Resistance High Output Swinging Speed.
Enough to carve up anything without sufficient durability, which coupled with Lung's aforementioned stalled out healing factor means his body can't just tank the damage as he normally does.
Has no way to lead into the subject of conceptual imbuing, Unless Earth-Bet have become an AU in the background and some of the more freaky Capes have been letting slip their secrets.
I'm not trying to be anal retentive about this. I just realllllllly Hate Exposition Shard.
Unless it's played for laughs with Lisa getting the short end.
Greg stumbled down the street in full costume, the gaping wound in his chest and the bite wounds on his shoulder seemingly held at bay by the massive amount of food he had shoved into his mouth. Flesh rippled on his torso, his skin literally shifting underneath his clothes as his health slowly ticked back upwards.
The fact that his health had a cap, an easily quantifiable number, felt so limiting. Ironically, now more than ever, he felt so weak. Still, with blood pooling on the inside of his costume and his skin literally flaking off in pieces, he continued moving.
His body was still in a state of limbo, really. With two major debuffs draining his recovering health and the food he'd eaten ticking it back up, his health constantly bounced between double and triple digits, at most gaining one or two points every minute or so. Greg couldn't help but be thankful for that small victory, despite how close he was to keeling over.
It actually took him a while to appreciate the irony. Almost anyone else would have died within seconds and here he was, nearly five minutes later, complaining about pain.
It was almost insane that he ran so far, really. A miracle that he was walking now, too, even with using all his Will this entire time to reinforce his legs enough to use. The least armored part of his costume, the part he had slipped up and forgot to reinforce as heavily as he did the rest of his suit, they had fared the worst. His shoes were basically non-existent at this point, the cheap boots overlaid with silvery plastic simply a burnt mess by now. Parts of his leg barely avoided being turned into a burnt mess thanks to the minor Reinforcement that he had managed to apply onto his knee and shin guards.
Everything else, protected by flaps of cloth and a pair of blue pants, was most likely a mess.
He didn't dare to remove the partially melted plastic to actually see what lay underneath. He already knew that the [Second-Degree Burn]was the primary reason his health continued to occasionally dip, and that was bad enough
That and the[Moderate Bleeding V].
His wounds, though; The pain refused to vanish, the subtle balm that was reinforcement doing almost nothing at this point… why?
It didn't make sense to him. A lot didn't make sense to him right now, of course. The pain made it hard to think for the most part and Gamer's Mind wasn't taking the pain away like he expected, apart from a mild dulling. Why? He didn't know.
It had been almost fifteen minutes since he had escaped from Lung and just a few minutes after, he had managed to chase of the rest of those fucking Undersiders.
His chest and arm still hurt too, vaguely, but nowhere near as much as his legs. Still, he was healing… he shouldn't be hurting.
None of tonight made sense. None of it.
All he was out here for was to practice his powers near the Boat Graveyard but he didn't even get that far before he got caught up in a boss fight. A bug cape, who he tentatively named Lady Bug, had gotten it into her head to fight Lung for some reason, and somehow he had gotten caught up in the middle of that.
He couldn't let her die too, so he had to help. Had to.
Like a fucking spaz.
Despite being aware that it was damn near a death sentence, he helped her fight Lung and look what it had gotten him. They had won… well, he had won. She did help, though.
Oh sure, he had leveled up and that was almost worth the mental trauma of having claws shoved through your chest but then… Greg groaned slightly, his weak reinforcement no longer even easing his pain in the slightest.
Those fucking villains who apparently were Lung's targets in the first place had decided to let them fight Lung in their place. Then, they attacked him. Him, the guy who was retarded enough to help them, had been attacked simply because their shitty thinker decided to sperg out.
How was it his fault she had a seizure or what?
That wasn't even something he knew how to do!
Moments after escaping Lung, he had to engage some giant demon dogs, a literal Bitch, and a shitty asshole with a nerdy cape name and powers that were far too similar to Shadow Stalker for his comfort. His still-healing wounds had been agitated enough to get slightly worse, too.
All that stress, and not even a quest or XP for it.
It wasn't fair!
It wasn't right!
He just wanted to help regular people and he ended up helping villains!
And Lady Bug...
Well, she tried to help but the dogs didn't really respond the same way to her swarm as Lung did. One of the dogs tried to turn her into a meal, the one ridden by Bitch herself, forcing Greg to reinforce himself enough to shoulder check it out of the way. Another fight broke out then and there, Grue sending out a cloud of darkness as he tried to pick up Tattletale only to be overwhelmed by Lady Bug's swarm.
Regent didn't even bother getting down from his dog beast, so Greg didn't pay him much attention, his focus on avoiding the sharp teeth and spikes from Bitch's multiple dogs. Greg wasn't actually sure what the white wearing villain was trying to accomplish, considering all he seemed to do was wave that scepter of his for no reason. Even as Greg dodged, he kept his teeth gritted, nearly hissing with each single movement. Every motion pulled at his wounds, the pain causing his limbs to spasm on occasion the more he moved, threatening to increase both the pain and the penalty to his health.
Everything came to a head when a particularly strong spasm caught him off guard. His right arm had jerked to the side, allowing one of the monsters to nearly take a chunk out of him, its jaws grazing the plastic armor that covered his shoulder. Sword in hand, Greg cut a deep gash into the side of the dog with a gory spray of blood, the dog retreating as Greg advanced on it with an angry flurry that probably hurt him nearly as much as it hurt the Lung-sized demon dog. Rather than risk her demonspawn getting too hurt, the girl quickly recalled them back to her. Regent, clinging tightly to the back of his mount, had no problems escaping with Bitch, the white-masked cape letting out a dramatic and purposely effeminate scream as they took off.
The fight had left Greg with his wounds reopening, health dropping dangerously quickly as he tried to ignore the pain even while reinforced. Unwilling to risk another fight, Greg began to backpedal away from the scene as he spotted Lady Bug stabbing a downed Grue with some pen-like object in her hand.
He raised a hand to his mouth, about to call out to Lady Bug to leave Grue alone and follow him when he spotted something heading towards them and quickly turned the corner into an alley. It was a futuristic-looking and undeniably familiar motorcycle approaching the bug cape and the three prone forms of Grue, Tattletale and Lung around her.
As he peeked from around the edge of the alley, Greg's eyes widened as he realized who he had just seen, the blue Tinker armor of the rider in front and the military fatigues of the one behind him instantly recognizable to any Brocktonite with two working eyes.
Armsmaster, Greg mouthed to himself. And Miss Militia. A blurry figure in all red rushed up behind Armsmaster's bike, the scarlet form zipping around Lady Bug and the three prone figures on the ground. Velocity?
Shaking his head, Greg moved back deeper into the alley, doing his best to keep out of sight as Miss Militia hopped off the back of Armsmaster's bike and began to talk to Lady Bug, Velocity middling behind her as Armsmaster sprayed down Lung with a thick foam-like material before moving on to both Grue and Tattletale.
This wasn't how he wanted to make his debut to a couple of big-time capes like the three of them, costume covered in blood, soot and grime and the rest of him looking like hell. Not to mention being exhausted, dead on his feet and low on health, mana and will overall. All in all, he doubted he would make the best of first impressions. So, with reassurance that Lady Bug was in good hands, Greg took off again, using what little reinforcement his body could handle to keep himself mobile.
The longer he kept moving, Greg slowly began to become more aware that he couldn't go home like this. Not yet, at least. Leaking blood and legs burnt to a crisp, the mess he would leave behind him would be insane, not to mention the smell of burnt flesh would pervade the house. How would he explain himself to his mom in the morning? What could he say?
With a shake of his head, Greg just continued moving, assuming that he'd figure out something when he got there. Either way, he wasn't too far from home at this point, at least in his opinion. Technically speaking, the entrance to his neighborhood, just a bit of distance from Captain's Hill, was about six miles away from the Docks, in a straight line. A normal person taking that path would make it in roughly two hours walking at about a normal speed. If Greg sat down and let his legs heal a bit, he could do it in about twenty minutes at his own leisurely pace.
Thing was, he didn't really feel like sitting down anywhere, considering the flames from the Docks were still visible from where he stood, orange flares lighting up the night sky in places. That was just asking to be spotted by a firefighter, cop or a Protectorate cape out on patrol.
As he walked down an empty side-street by the edge of the Docks, Greg kept his head down, his arms tucked by his sides so as not agitate his wounds even further with any sudden movement. Biting his lip, Greg bit back a groan as he felt a twinge from his leg, nearly making him stumble from the sudden burst of pain.
Bracing his arm against a wall, Greg let out a wince as he leaned against it, his chest wound protesting the sudden movement.
"Hey, there."
Greg froze, the hair on the back of his neck standing up as he heard the familiar booming voice. Eyes snapped up to the rooftops around him, searching frantically for the person that called out to him.
"Down here."
His gaze dropped, heart falling into his stomach as his head turned directly to the source of the voice. A moment later, a tall figure walked out of the darkness of a side alley, burly hands over his bare chest as his chains moved ever-so-slightly, pushed by the wind. "How's it going?"
"... Good." What now?
"You look kinda shaky there. You doing okay?" Stormtiger's grin seemed to widen, growing as Greg's remaining confidence waned.
"I'm good."
"You sure? You're looking a little unsteady from where I'm standing. Even Brutes needs a hand sometimes." The cape stepped forward, Greg's fists clenching as the villain moved just the slightest bit closer to him.
"I'm. Good." Greg almost bit out the words, his mouth turned down in a slight frown.
"Whoa, you can relax, kid," the villain replied, his smile openly predatory in Greg's eyes. "I don't bite."
That's like number 5 on the list of 'Creepy Things You Shouldn't Say to Minors.'Greg said nothing, simply staring at Stormtiger.
"Fine, you don't have to say anything. Just wanted to have a chat," the villain continued, arms still folded across his chest. "By the way, that's a nice costume. A little roughed up but… uh, better than some I've seen before, I'll tell you that."
A little roughed up? Greg raised an eyebrow behind his mask, wondering exactly why Stormtiger was lying to him. Apart from the breastplate itself and his hood, his costume was mostly a mess of soot and grime covered plastic and cloth, the two materials deformed by heat and covered in dried blood. "Thank you," he finally managed to get out. Is he trying to get me to put my guard down or something?
It was undeniable that Stormtiger was planning something. Greg knew that for a fact. The way the cape was eyeing him spoke volumes about his agenda. After all, how could Greg forget the last thing the aerokinetic had said to him that first night out. I'm gonna make you an offer, huh?
Fighting the villain was an option. A bad one, but still, it was an option. What else could he do? Run? Give up? Join the frickin' Empire? Although, considering the Empire had those two giant hotties as members, that might not be the absolute worst move. Heh. German Waifus. Nazi Waifus… Luftwaiffus…
Greg blinked as the thought popped into his head. Wow, how much blood have I lost?
Blinking, Greg began thinking of what he could do to fight against Stormtiger. Even without any reinforcement at all, he was definitely stronger and without a doubt faster than him, but none of that would really save him from the nigh-invisible grenades the Neo-Nazi could make, especially with his speed advantage basically nullified by the burns on his legs. Offensively, he didn't think his aerokinesis was as strong as the villain's and defensively… well, Stormtiger could block bullets with his air. Greg really didn't see himself pulling that off anytime soon.
The option to turn and run was available but that would just leave his back exposed, and again, his legs as they were would get him nowhere fast. The pain wouldn't let him get far either before he stumbled and fell, leaving him as easy prey for the white tiger on the prowl.
Besides, all it would take was one air bomb ripping open his chest wound to have his health start plummeting dangerously again, leaving him stuck in another fight for his life. Part of him felt like laughing at the absurdity of meeting Stormtiger again, especially now.
The other part felt like punching that part in the teeth.
So, just cause my life's a game now, is it just fight after fight after endless fight now?
You have gained 1 WIS.
Oh, fuck you too.
"Look, uh," The younger cape stepped back involuntarily, swallowing a mouthful of nothing. "I gotta go. Things to do and stuff. You know how it is."
Stormtiger smiled at Greg, his mouth stretching into a wide grin as he stared down the cape in blue. "What's the hurry, kid? I just wanna talk for a little." Despite what he may have intended, the expression and the words that accompanied it were far from comforting, the sight enough to creep Greg far more than he was already.
Seriously, all these lines are from 'How To Be A Predator 101' or something.
Greg's hands tightened at his side, ready to pull out the sword from his inventory at a moment's notice. The blade had leveled up alongside him in the desperate scramble for survival he was dumb enough to consider a fight just moments before, the thing actually gaining a name, Gram. Apparently, pushing massive amounts of will and mana inside something could actually have some sort of an effect. Who knew?
He wasn't sure what that meant for it, exactly, but Greg doubted the three-pound blade would be any weaker because of it. While it was designed for dragon slaying, he had no doubt that the sword wouldn't do just as well against a person, especially a non-Brute like Stormtiger. Gram, it's you and me, buddy. Don't let me down.
"I saw what you did with Lung, you know. You just let 'im have it. Didn't even pull back in the slightest. That brutality…" Stormtiger paused, chuckling slightly. "You know, you got a real killer instinct, kid. The Empire could use someone like you."
Greg stared for a long moment as Stormtiger finished speaking, blinking only once. His mouth moved just slightly, the word coming out like a hiss, "Observe."
Stormtiger Lv 28
Title: Gale Striker
HP: 450/450
A cape with a fistfull of wind and a hard-on for Hitler (Not literally. Don't be gross). Wants to recruit young capes to the Empire. Likes watching Women's Tennis. Can't stand the WNBA, though. Also, what kind of creep walks around shirtless at night in New England?
"No." Greg found himself saying, the fear trickling away from him as the stoic calm of Gamer's Mind pushed away everything else, leaving behind only raw conviction. He stood up straight, ignoring the persisting pain on his body and looked Stormtiger straight in the eye, his tone clear and calm. "Hell no."
Stormtiger blinked, obviously not expecting Greg's tone to shift so drastically. The younger cape seemed to have lost his geniality, leaving the Empire cape to wonder where he stood. "What?"
"I have…" Greg blinked, thinking back to exactly what his inventory held, "had an… eventful night."
"I know." Stormtiger remarked, the humor gone from his expression replaced by a slight frown.
Greg found himself frowning as well. "Good, and you know who I fought." When Stormtiger didn't say anything, Greg continued. "I went up against the Dragon of Kyushu, and I'm still standing. I read somewhere most capes don't last more than one minute. I lasted ten." At least, I think I did. Was it a full ten? Might not have been a full ten, actually. Not important, Greg. Focus.
A whispered "Equip" and Gram was in Greg's hand, fading motes of blue mana trailing from the weapon as it appeared. The blade was still slick with blood, the vitae of the demon-dogs and Lung's own ichor kept fresh by whatever means inside his inventory. Gram glowed a soft gold, his body's reinforcement flowing on to the sword, the glow on both intensifying as Greg readied himself for a fight.
"And the dragon lost."
Stormtiger tensed at the appearance of the blade. The fact that it was angled down and held in one hand didn't seem to ease the cape in the slightest. Now, though, there was an added layer of tension as Stormtiger stared at Greg.
All of his frustrations and annoyance at this entire god-damn situation surged through Greg, and for a moment he thought the sword responded in kind.
"Not gonna say anything?" He had to bite back the anger he could feel in his words. Based on the piercing stare he received, Greg assumed the racist cape noticed anyways.
"Now, this is the part where you're gonna make your pitch. You're going to say that 'cause I'm white and blond, I'd be a great fit for your little band of Nazi cosplayers. Or that you can protect me from the ABB when they're gunning for revenge. Or some other BS like money, fame or whatever, like I'm some five year old who'll climb into your creep-mobile because you pulled up next to me with candy."
Greg paused, letting out a huff of air to disguise a hiss of pain. "You'll say that it's to protect this city from undesirables like blacks and Asians and gays so honest, white folk like us can be safe. And if sweet-talking me doesn't work, you'll try and threaten me."
Greg stepped forward slightly, lifting his sword up to point it directly at the villain.
"Here's my rebuttal. I have a fucking magic sword, and I know how to use it. And if you doubt that, you can ask Lung who the hell cut out his eye and disemboweled his giant scaly ass."
Greg allowed the righteous anger to fill him, annoyance pushing against Gamer's Mind. He held onto it for a moment before letting it go, letting the emotion be overwhelmed by the oppressive calm of Gamer's Mind.
"So, I'll say it again... I've had an eventful night. And I'm just…" Greg took in another sharp breath, shaking his head as his chest ached with the motion, "not in the mood. Like, really not in the mood. Suuuper not in the mood. So, if you'll just kindly step aside and let me be on my way, I'll leave you to do… whatever it is you people do.
"Otherwise..." Greg paused, tilting his head as he prayed internally that the Nazi cape didn't call this outrageous bluff and blast him anyway. "l'll stab you. Like, really, really hard. In the face."
The tiger-themed cape backed up ever so slightly, almost stepping back into the alley. His arms fell back to his sides, the chains on them jingling just slightly.
What is he doing? The thought came to Greg with a slight trickle of suspicion and another helping of anger, Gamer's Mind quickly stamping it out before it could affect him again. He was thankful for that. Emotions aside, he needed to think.
After a few seconds of this, Stormtiger's hands rose again, folding themselves across his chest as his chains rattled with the movement. The cape was clearly displeased, the expression on his face not one that could be said to match the frown from moments ago.
"...You know what, kid?"
Greg tightened at those words, his hand clenching the sword tightly.
Fate/Prototype: Saber Costume (Home-Made) Sewn, glued and stapled together by your best friend Sparky with hours of his own personal time out of a desire to have you look your best. Despite being made from parts of other Halloween costumes and sports equipment, this costume still somehow gives off a somewhat regal appearance.
+10% Damage Reduction
+5 to all [Swordplay] abilities
+2 to STR
+2 to SPD
+2 to VIT
+10 to CHA
Gram: Bastard Sword Lv Max Forged by the flames of a dragon's breath, molded in battle against a scaled demon, and cooled in the blood of the same dragon, this sword represents the ideal of a true dragon slaying knight.
+50% [Slashing] Damage
+50% [Piercing] Damage
+250% Damage to all [Dragons]
+25 to [Parry Ability]
+25% [Bleed-out] length
+25 STR Sword Skill: Dragon Slaying Shockwave
By calling out the name of the sword while fueling it with mana, you unleash a powerful shockwave that is only as strong as the power you put into it.
Nerd-Geek Hybrid: Your obsession with video gaming, computers, fantasy/sci-fi literature and 80's/90's pop culture has left you in the rare middle of two circles; the obsessive fandom-loving geek and the intelligent, knowledge seeking nerd. Sadly, your hobbies have left you with an aversion to physical exertion. (50% bonus to INT gains, -50% penalty to STR, SPD & VIT gains.)
Ambiguous Disorder: Ever since you were a little kid, you've always been a little bit off. Impulsive, obsessive, socially obtuse and emotionally needy, you're a bit of a weirdo. It was easily written off as normal behavior when you were younger but now you're fifteen. Yet, you still come off as someone over five years younger. Maybe Mom should have had you tested like Dad said? (-80% reduction to overall WIS, 90% reduction to overall CHA.)
Casanova Bloodline: As a Veder man, you have a great smile, natural charm and a confident approach to life that draws the ladies in like a moth to a flame. Your great cheekbones don't hurt either. It's how your dad got your mom to go out with him while dating at least three other girls and sleeping with two others, at least that's what he always told you - even when you didn't ask - all the time. (+ 9 CHA)
Dragon-Blooded Fire and fury flows through your veins, blood of the dragon.
The mythical hero Siegfried was baptized in the blood of a magical dragon and became nigh-invulnerable, immune to nearly all forms of damage. You, on the other hand, were splattered in the blood of a not-so-magical dragon. (+ 250 HP, + 10 STR, + 10 SPD)
Dragon-Souled For some, baptism by fire tends to be a symbolic term. Not for you, though.
Facing the heat of Lung's flames head-on has purified the strength of your will and the power of your soul. The beginnings of draconic power grow throughout your being. (+250 MP, +250 Will, +10 INT, +10 VIT)
Peak Human What is peak human, anyway?
Somehow, you have surpassed the physical threshold of humanity, surpassing those inherent limits man is beholden to. (Unlocks perks for STR, SPD, VIT and INT once a stat crosses a benchmark of 50 pts)
Baby Steps (1/3) [Ranked Skill] With Catlike Tread...
Allows very light movement across surfaces, allowing you to move or stand on surfaces that would normally not support your weight.
Bulwark Facing off against an opponent who far outclassed you has given you an ability to withstand impossible pain.
Takes 50% less damage from opponents over five times your level.
Danger Sense (2/10) [Ranked Skill] My common sense is tingling.
You gain a sixth sense that allows you to sense the presence of incoming danger.
Dragon Blood's Gift What is a knight without armor? A dragon without scales? A lion without teeth?
All equipped armor and gear is self-repairing at a rate of 1% a minute, so long as it is constantly being fed mana or will in some manner.
Fire Dragon's Aura (1/10) [Ranked Skill] "Bathed in Dragon Fire and Blood, I shall fear no flame"
At a rate of 1 MP per second per rank, draw upon your pyrokinesis to generate an aura of fire. Your equipment and body are immune to the heat, of it and anything cooler than it. It is, however, actual fire, so try not to burn down your house. In addition, you can literally breathe fire instead of air while this is active.
Lifegiver (3/10) [Ranked Ability] Health is more than just not getting sick.
Every time you gain a level, you gain an additional 5 HP for each rank of this perk.
Not Quite Dead People die when they are killed… usually.
Survive after your HP sinks below 0 and a harmful status effect is active.
10% Chance to recover with full health when HP drops to 0.
Quick Healer Don't worry, it won't scar. You heal rather fast, at a rate of a tenth of your VIT every fifteen seconds.
Transformation Sequence (1/3) [Ranked Skill] "It's Morphin' Time!"
By willing yourself to transform, you can equip any full outfit within your inventory, transforming in a flash of blue light, mana glitter and/or a whirlwind of aerokinesis obscuring you.
Gamer's Body (Passive) Lv. MAX
Allows you to live life as if were a game.
Sleeping restores HP, MP, Will and removes most negative status effects.
Gamer's Mind (Passive) Lv. MAX
Grants immunity to mental status effects, emotional and mental trauma and severely dangerous emotional states.
Basic Aerokinesis Lv 12 "Winds, guard me!"
Exert the force of your air control over a range of 35 meters. (140 mph)
Cost: 20 mp per second of sustained use at max range & power.
Basic Pyrokinesis Lv 1 Burn, baby, burn!
Generate flames and control them up to a range of 2 meters. Cost: 20 MP per second of sustained use at max range.
Dash Straight Lv 11 (XP: 35%) Force equals Mass times Acceleration.
You may suck at physics, but you know that much.
Through reinforcing the body, you smash your fist into a target while moving at high speed. Damage scales based on distance moved. (1.5x Damage Cap) Damage: 165 Cost: 25 Will + 2 Will for every meter power sprinted
Mana Glitter Lv 4 (XP: 65%) Sparkle like the pretty bishounen you were always meant to be. Or a princess. Or a pedophilic slightly-rapey vampire. Who's judging you?
Release particles of mana from your body in the form of iridescent sapphire sparkles. Max Range increases by 25% with each level. (2.5 meters)
Cost: 1 MP per second
Mana Platform Lv 1 I call it walking on air.
Using raw mana, you create semi-solid platforms under your feet that last only as long as you remain still. (.25 m)
Cost: 1 MP per 2 seconds
Observe Lv 9 (XP: 5%)
A skill to find out basic information relating to the chosen object. Cost: 1 MP
Raging Combo Lv 13 (XP: 15%) A blistering barrage of belligerent blows built to batter baddies.
By repeatedly using weaker forms of Angry Straight, you pummel your target with raw frustration and anger. (36 Hits)
Damage: 390 Cost: 65 Will
Reinforcement (Apprentice) Lv 13 (XP: 15%) A discount version of the Kaio-Ken for the squishy wizard.
Increases your effective strength, speed and health by 5% per level with this technique from a base of 50%. Does not increase actual points of vitality or willpower. Improved control means that weaker usages of Reinforcement is within your grasp for lower costs. (110%)
Cost: 5 Will every 2 seconds Warning: Overuse will lead to HP damage.
Subskill: Burst Cast from hit points. Yeah, it's one of those skills.
A short, yet extremely concentrated and focused burst of reinforcement applied to the extremities for an insane burst of ability lasting 1 second.
(x 2.5 top Reinforced SPD/STR)
Cost: 20 Will, 40 HP
Subskill: Layer Reinforcement
Increases the quality of non-living items, increasing their sharpness, durability, and hardness.
This form of reinforcement can be used on non-living substances for a base quality increase of 250% Each level improves this by 25%.
(550%)
Cost: 2 Will every 5 seconds.
Surface Adhesion Lv 9 (XP: 35%) You ever wanted to be Spider-Man? Don't lie. Of course you did.
This skill allows you to stick to walls and hang on to ceilings and vertical surfaces without a risk of falling. While not denying gravity, this allows you to adhere to surfaces unaided. Cost: 2 MP per second
Structural Analysis Lv 5 (XP: 35%) Judging the concept of creation, Hypothesizing the basic structure...
Grants the ability to gain a rudimentary understanding of the internal structure and functional design of simple, non-living objects. Cost: 2 mp per square half-meter of object.
Weapon Charge Lv 17 (XP: 75%) Conceptually do twice as much damage with a weapon. Broken?
What's that mean?
Boosts weapon damage x 2.
Length of charge increases by 1/2 second for every level. (8.5 sec)
Cost: 8 MP
Acrobatics Lv 21 (XP: 35%) Parkour!
An ability that enables you to pull off backflips, frontflips and any manner of jumping-based ground-movement technique with greater ease.
Awareness: Mana Lv 8 (XP: 25%) Mana, magic energy, magicka, prana, ether, thaum, spiritual energy, magatsuhi or even chakra… Call it what you want. It's all the same in the end.
You have gained awareness of Mana, the spiritual energy found within the human mind and soul. Gaining awareness of your magical energy has given you some semblance of control over it.
Awareness: Willpower Lv 6 (XP: 15%) Willpower, ki, chi, qi, stamina, aura, mantra, physical energy, life energy, od, or even hamon… Call it what you want. It's all the same in the end.
You have gained awareness of your Willpower, the physical energy found within all living organisms. Gaining awareness of your physical energy has given you some semblance of control over it.
Ballroom Dancing Lv 1 I wouldn't call it dancing yet. More like a full-body dry heave set to music.
Represents your skill in the art of dancing in a fancy, romantic manner when with a partner.
Basic Anatomy Lvl 5 (XP: 85%) Anatomy is to physiology as geography is to history.
Gain a basic understanding of the human body.
Increases [Critical Hit] damage by 10% per level. (50%)
Beginner Combat Lvl 4 (XP: 5%) I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.
The next level of combat, Beginner Combat is a fusion of fighting and footwork into the ability to learn new styles of combat, fusing them into a novice martial combat capability.
Increased bare-handed damage by 2% per level. (8%)
Blunt Weaponry Lv 5 (XP: 4%) Carry a big stick. Speaking softly is optional.
Measures your skill with using a blunt weapon.
Increases damage with a blunt weapon by 2% per level. (20%)
Breath-Holding Lv 13 (XP: 15%) Asphyxiation is a terrible way to die.
Increases time able to stay conscious without air by 30 seconds per level. (6.5 min)
Bullshitting Lv 6 (XP: 5%) First, you tell a lie; then you believe it; then you become it.
Increases chances that any lie you tell is successful by 2% with every level. (12%)
Disarm Lv 3 (XP: 55%) Take their weapon from their warm, living hands.
Increases chance of disarming the enemy by 2% with every level. (6%)
Driving Lv 4 (XP: 25%) NASCAR, here we come.
Measures your skill at operating a four-wheeled motorized vehicle.
Gunplay: Rifles Lv 3 (XP: 35%) Slightly better than a stormtrooper.
Improves aim/accuracy/stability with a rifle by 5% per level. (15%)
Improves damage with a rife by 2% per level. (6%)
Kissing Lv 5 (XP: 75%) Looks like practicing on a peach actually paid off.
Represents your skill in the art of smooching.
Language: Japanese Lv 7 (5%) Gratuitous Japanese indeed.
Reflects your speaking skill, and understanding of, the Japanese language.
Meditation Lvl 10 (XP: 30%) Breathe in the good shit. Breathe out the bullshit.
By finding your inner focus, you push out all earthly distractions and enter a state of mental and physical harmony, allowing a greater understanding of your mind and body. While meditating, your Mana and Will recover at a rate of 10% faster per level into this ability. You retain this bonus for a period of ten minutes post-Meditation. (100%)
Parry Lv 8 (XP: 60%) To deflect an attack is a double-edged sword;
Risking more damage for the chance to inflict the same.
Increases the effectiveness of any attempt to divert or deflect a physical attack by 2% with every level. (16%)
Reflexes Lv 14 (XP: 15%) DODGE!
Increases your innate reaction speed by 10% per level. (140%)
Resistance: Blunt Force Lv. 56 (XP: 25%) Going from punching yourself in the face to actual self-mutilation?
Bold move, Veder. Let's see if it pays off.
Reduce all blunt force damage by 0.75% with every level from attacks less than 100% of your health. (42%)
Resistance: Cold Lv 6 (XP: 80%) The cold never stopped bothering you.
Increases resistance to cold temperature by 1% with every level from attacks less than 100% of your health. (6%)
Resistance: Electricity Lv 8 (XP: 25%) Everyone knows electrocution is harmless.
Increases resistance to electrical damage by 1% with every level from attacks less than 100% of your health. (8%)
Resistance: Heat Lv 46 (XP: 75%) "You have to respect anything that can just stand there, on fire."
Increases resistance to heat damage by 1% with every level from attacks less than 100% of your health. (46%)
Resistance: Piercing Lv 21 (XP: 50%) The thrust or stab is risky because it can kill and yet not stop
Reduces piercing or stabbing damage by 0.75% with every level from attacks less than 100% of your health. (15.75%)
Resistance: Poison Lv 3 (XP: 15%) I wonder what counts as a poison...
Reduces damage and effects caused by poison by 1% every level that will cause damage less than 100% of your health, in any way, shape or form. (3%)
Resistance: Slashing Lv 9 (XP: 90%) The cut will stop but not kill.
Reduces slashing or cutting damage by 0.75% with every level from attacks less than 100% of your health. (6.75%)
Seduction Lv 1 (XP: 5%) I didn't mean to turn you on… or did I?
Manage to draw the attention of a member of the opposite sex using your innate attraction skills. Increases chance of [Critical Hits] on enemies by .5% every level. (.5%)
Sneaking Lv 11 (XP: 20%) Ugh… stealth missions suck.
Allows for 2% quieter movement per level while trying not to be heard. (22%)
Stamina Lvl 11 (XP: 15%) Whatever I lack in talent I have in stamina.
Increase Will by + 5 with every level. (55 Will)
Swordplay: Single Blade Lv 25 All swords are the same.
Represents your martial skill with the art of a single blade.
Increases damage with a blade by 2% per level. (50%)
Taunt Lv 10 (XP: 10%) "And this! Is when I taunt you!"
Draw the attention of a target through nonsensical, idiotic, but occasionally piercing, verbal attacks. Increases chance of Critical Hits on enemies by 2% with every level. (20%)
Thrown Weapons Lv 4 (XP: 75%) Throwing your sword always works. Except, you know, when it doesn't.
Increases the skill, range and force by which items and weapons can be thrown by 2% with every level. (8%)
Just another thirty five wisdom before he gets ten which should be at least enough to not be significantly stupider than the average teen. And another 70 Charisma to get to normal human charisma. Of course by then he'd have something like 194 INT and probably enough medical skills to fix his brain. Does he train his debuffed stats as though they were what their effective level is or as though they were what their actual level is?
Well their canon plan wasn't actually that stupid. Armsy had a sleeping dart and sending only one person to fight him made him less likely to ramp up enough to ignore it before halbeard actually hit him.
The two he was thinking of can't fly though. That rather limits things to Rune, who totally qualifies as Luftwaiffu material, and Purity, who is Kaiser's ex-Luftwaiffu and should probably be avoided. Also she's old enough to be Greg's mother.
Because opportunity cost is a thing. He can train up his vitality by exercise. Put those points into something he can't train as easily, or save them for an emergency.
Fix his brain....... ha...heh.... HAHAHAHA!
Greg? Fix his brain! Knowing the kid he'll probably think that getting more int at the price of having zero wis is great idea!
Fix his brain....... ha...heh.... HAHAHAHA!
Greg? Fix his brain! Knowing the kid he'll probably think that getting more int at the price of having zero wis is great idea!
We know that it's a valid possibility given the Golden ending to the merchrnt fight the author came up with. He just needs to be wise enough to realize how much his AD is holding him back or share the status effect with someone that realizes he can probably cure himself.
The two he was thinking of can't fly though. That rather limits things to Rune, who totally qualifies as Luftwaiffu material, and Purity, who is Kaiser's ex-Luftwaiffu and should probably be avoided. Also she's old enough to be Greg's mother.
Wait really?
*checks wiki*
Huh. I could have sworn there was an HP Regen stat. Anyway, his fast healing isn't super useful in the short term. Both in the short short term and the long short term. It'll be useful once he triples his Vit and by that point it'll still be small potatoes due to the increase in overall health and likely access to better healing items. And it's not even ranked so he can't upgrade it unless there are other, synergistic perks.
I doubt it, the undersider came in before he could take it, then he got into a fight with them, then he left because the heros came and he looked like an absolute wreck.
Pretty sure she isn't that old, relatively speaking. She's kaiser's second (ex) wife and he seems to have married her while she was fairly young, like early twenties maybe.
