Seems overpowered and ill fitting. Not sure if cultivation perks are there, but cultivators' breathing and the like count as martial arts, they just grant you progressive boosts. While not instant, it's still way to powerful to gain along with a servant. There likely are other 'godly' martial arts in various settings. Wouldn't it be better to "All the universes and settings from the Celestial Forge you currently have access to and will gain access to more as you gain new perks."
Is from the perk. "In future worlds, similar information can be found in the doll's database on local martial and ninja techniques, excluding unique or particularly hard-to-find information."
So only those Arts that would be common or mildly uncommon for each world/setting. So in terms of cultivation that would be trash tier and outer sect tier methods and arts, and in terms of Exalted would be the Terrestrial Arts and maybe a few of the most common Celestial.
Which while very useful, isn't quite as game-breaking as it is made out to seem.
(Also; cultivation methods and martial techniques are traditionally two separate things in cultivation settings. The wording of the perk heavily indicates Katou Sensei would only have the knowledge of the Techniques; he's still on his own for advancing his cultivation itself.)
That being said; for those of you complaining about not having sensible cultivation paths -- this is one I've used for story concepts I haven't written yet, based on my understanding of the source mythology and religious background that Xianxia is derived from.
Mortal Realm: at these stages, you are not yet a "true" immortal. You can still die of disease and old age, and are still flesh-and-blood.
- Qi Saturation. The cultivator prepares their path to immortality by "breathing" or other methods the Qi of the world into themselves, soaking their internal organs and body parts until they are saturated with said essence. This basically "enchants" the body, and is the most basic of all cultivation. There are variations based on method and technique that can affect what kind of Qi is absorbed, how much, and so on. End result is significant improvement of body resilience, and improvement of all body functions including brain function.
- Meridian Opening. The cultivator absorbs more Qi than their saturation limit, intentionally causing overburn. The cultivator attempts to move that excess along lines of least resistance, burning out "impurities" in the channels and allowing the energy to flow between organs. This allows the cultivator to use free/moving Qi to do things like emit blasts or empower runic scriptures, and also enables rapid repair/recovery to body parts that are damaged or need more power than saturated limit. Number of meridians varies by cultivator "talent" and technique and willingness to endure inner organ damage.
- Dantian Formation. At a point when the cultivator feels they have established enough open meridians, they locate a common point where meridians naturally cluster. Location varies by technique and individual, but most common is center of gravity. They then attempt to widen the meridians there, creating a reservoir or pool where free flowing Qi can now be stored. This dramatically increases total Qi available, but also permits use of Dantian to create flow patterns that can do things like passively process Qi to a chosen element, making Martial Techniques that use that element far easier to use due to no longer needing to manually attune your Qi to the element or concept.
----
Immortal Realm: at this stage, the cultivator is no longer purely flesh-and-blood, but still depends upon their material body. As such, they can no longer age physically, nor die of things like disease or bloodless (soul aging can still be a thing; just getting tired of existence might affect the physical form), and their body's appearance and shape is a reflection of their inner nature.
- Foundation Establishment. The cultivator concentrates the pooled Qi in their Dantian, creating a more dense form of Qi therein. They might also carve runes or sigils into this foundation depending on method and techniques, which would have manifold effects. The eventual purpose of this "foundation" of resiliant./solid Qi is to create a space within said Qi inside the Dantian to enable the next step. Special focus here is on how resilient you Foundation is, but when to move on to the next phase is up to the cultivator. Considered an Immortal realm because a cultivator can carve their nature/form into the Foundation and use that to guarantee their body never ages or withers.
- Core Formation. This is the first "true" immortal realm, as defined by no longer relying on Qi as your spiritual reservoir (as opposed to using runes/formations in the Foundation to access this higher energy.). Instead you now rely on "Divine Sense" or "Saint" energy -- an energy that is essentially the "heat" or "light" that Qi gives off as it interacts with itself and the material world. Called "Divine Sense" because it is literally how Qi sensing works; you see the light of Qi. By creating a hollow point in the Foundation, you create a place where only Saint Energy can accumulate. This eventually creates a sort of "Kugelblitz" or self-sustaining ball of intense "Qi light" without depending on Qi itself. This Saint Energy is far more intense than Qi alone, and far more difficult to actually manage. It does not flow, it shines and reflects. But at sufficient intensity, it also "vaporizes" Qi. It is also far more "suggestible"; it comes in colors that are associated with specific ideas. (These ideas are the earliest form of Dao Laws a cultivator normally can access. By transforming Saint Energy to a specific color by understanding that color well they can impose conditions on the behavior of reality related to that color.). This is also the first stage where a Heavenly Tribulation might occur: the sudden influx of Saint Energy into the Core space of the Foundation would act in the spiritual sense like a local imbalance of electrons. Heavenly Lightning (densely concentrated Saint Energy) would then strike the cultivator as the ambient energies attempt to rebalance themselves.
- Saint Awakening. The cultivator supplants the Qi in their system with Saint Energy, working backwards from the Foundation to the Meridians to the Saturation. At the peak of this stage only the total dissolution of their self-sustaining light can actually kill the cultivator. While they still need a body, for brief periods they can be reduced to nothing but that light as long as they can reconstruct their body. Due to this ability, this phase is sometimes called the "Nascent Soul" stage; the cultivator is as much their soul as they are their body.
---
Divine Realm. At this stage the cultivator is taking the final steps to true ascension into godhood. As this process progresses, the final vestiges of their mortal existences fade and they become a profoundly greater being.
- Dao Attunement / Celestial Domain Binding (same thing, just depends on how "Taoist" you want to be about it.). The Saint cultivator selects a specific Law of the cosmos to attune to, binding themselves to that Law and becoming living avatars of the concept in question. Fire, poison, love, war, strength, sword -- the sky is the limit. Some approaches may choose more than one Law, but unless they are deeply associated with each other this is seen as pointlessly difficult for no real reward. Progress is limited as much by intensity as by comprehension of the Law. More energy does no good here; only deeper enlightenment. As this progresses, killing the cultivator becomes more and more the same as killing their concept. Exactly as difficult as that sounds.
- Domain Establishment. Once the cultivator's Saint Energy is fully attuned, the cultivator focuses on connecting the inner embodiment of the Dao Laws to the world around him. Progress focuses again on enlightenment. Rather than embodying the Law, they ARE the Law. At peak, anything within their vicinity that is affiliated with the Law simply obeys their will because that's how the laws of physics work. Killing the cultivator now requires not just negating the Law in their body, but in an entire region.
- Avatar Apotheosis. Again focuses on enlightenment. The cultivator invests their awareness and soul entirely into their Dao. Over time the body becomes less and less anything but a temporary puppet form, until at Peak the cultivator has completely sublimated and is now an entirely non-local phenomena capable of as many avatars as it wishes.
----
If there is cultivation beyond Apotheosis, only those who have achieved it would know of it. As each stage is orders of magnitude harder to attain than the stage before it, conjecture on that point is largely moot. There's also a lot -- a LOOOT -- of room for variation in the system. A cultivator might decide to form their Dantian after only opening 27 meridians, for example, while another might open 108 while attuning 27 of those (in groups of 3) to one of nine elements, letting him act like he's "half a step" into the Dantian Formation stage before actually achieving it thanks to all that extra work (which would let him focus his Dantian on things other than elemental transformation at the cost of only being able to use those nine elements.)
FINALLY!! Finally, a standard and CLEAR text explaining this fucking Cultivation.
You can't possibly imagine how frustrated I was with that since the only source of complete explanation was the Palladium game explanation of the Immortal and their 9 stages. There was only their powers (explained in game terms) and no explanation on how reaching those stages...
Except for a specific Kami-jutsu that make the user "one with the Megaverse" and that if you go more than a few instants, it's permanent.
Oh, and also that only a patient mastery, with the exception of nothing else, of the Martial Art Hsien Hsia Kung Fu enables to reach the first stage.
FINALLY!! Finally, a standard and CLEAR text explaining this fucking Cultivation.
You can't possibly imagine how frustrated I was with that since the only source of complete explanation was the Palladium game explanation of the Immortal and their 9 stages. There was only their powers (explained in game terms) and no explanation on how reaching those stages...
Except for a specific Kami-jutsu that make the user "one with the Megaverse" and that if you go more than a few instants, it's permanent.
Oh, and also that only a patient mastery, with the exception of nothing else, of the Martial Art Hsien Hsia Kung Fu enables to reach the first stage.
For what it's worth, "Hsien Hsia" is LITERALLY the same thing as "Xianxia". The only difference is which ruleset you use when translating the written word from Mandaran pictographs to Romantic alphabet. In both cases the English translation is "Immortal Hero". (The word "xian"/"hsian"/"shen" isn't all that different from the Japanese word "Kami". In Western senses it kinda sorta if you squint depending on context translates to somewhere between saint, god, or spirit.)
I want to emphasize that my described cultivation system has nothing to do with Palladium, but as you've noted -- feel utterly free to use it to fill in the gaps of their material.
One of the most important aspects of the cultivation model I tried to focus on was the idea that each Stage has some qualitative, not just quantitative, improvement on the Stage that came before it -- yet still naturally built upon the Stage that preceded it. Things build upwards from one to the next, and with each qualitative bump it becomes harder and harder for someone to "Cross stages" to overcome someone with higher cultivation. Not necessarily impossible, just harder.
For example, Saint Energy is always naturally present in Qi, though only in very small amounts. So in theory a Dantian Formation cultivator could cycle a Qi Pattern that caused a natural buildup of some specific Dao Law energy. The Formation cultivator couldn't USE that energy himself, but he could then benefit from a runic enchantment that activated with enough of the Dao Law energy. And that could give him a weapon that in theory could even strike a Dao Law Binding cultivator and harm him. It would be a hummingbird assaulting an elephant (while the elephant was wearing a jetpack), BUT IT COULD BE DONE. You'd need hundreds or thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of them to have a hope of beating that one Dao Law Binder, but it isn't "physically impossible". More nearly, you have the 108 Meridian Opener going against a Foundation Establishment cultivator. The latter can freely carve runic enchantments in his Foundation and can thus do weird stuff, but the Meridian Opener having Techniques based on those nine elements wouldn't fall over like a chump unless the Foundation Establisher had some out of context rune setup. Which he easily could. (Point being, at that level raw talent can almost bridge the gap. A small squad of ten half-step meridian openers could almost certainly beat a poorly talented foundation establisher.)
Although most of those characters didn't seem very enlightened. Taoists perhaps but frankly... many were dicks.
So what was frustrating me in all those mangas and novels wasn't the Cultivation per se but the incredibly complexes and various methods to reach each stage that the authors used. Especially when they go with the 6th step of the 3rd stage and whatnot.
Like using pills, killing animals more and more powerful, absorbing soul energy, using dead concepts recycled from a graveyard,...
The Formation cultivator couldn't USE that energy himself, but he could then benefit from a runic enchantment that activated with enough of the Dao Law energy
And thus why so many mystical artifacts are present...
Okay, thank you, one last question: Most of those immortals have a sort of subspace pocket generally linked to a ring THEY NEVER WORE ON THE FINGER! Do you have a plausible explanation?
Contamination from Xianxia being so heavily based on action flicks, and Communist degradation propaganda of preceding societies. If you look at Xianxia stories from the 1930's they're often very different. That legacy survives in the Romance subgenre of Xianxia that isn't anywhere near as popular in the Western world. So you get nothing but Young Masters being filthy capitalist swine backstabbing bastards in each other's direction. But they're enlightened about it somehow.
Helps also to think of the "enlightenment" as being more related to "comprehension" than "moral refinement". Enlightenment is topic-specific.
So what was frustrating me in all those mangas and novels wasn't the Cultivation per se but the incredibly complexes and various methods to reach each stage that the authors used. Especially when they go with the 6th step of the 3rd stage and whatnot.
Like using pills, killing animals more and more powerful, absorbing would energy, using dead concepts recycled from a graveyard,...
That's just the author in question trying to stand out from a crowd of several centuries of similar fiction. Look at the sheer breadth of magic systems that exist in Western fantasy fiction. It's no different.
There's also the number-crunchy-ness to using "fifth step of the first stage of the second realm", since that gives you the ability to show progress by having someone "break through" to the sixth step and start face slapping everyone on the fifth because that is what one does.
Okay, thank you, one last question: Most of those immortals have a sort of subspace pocket generally linked to a ring THEY NEVER WORE ON THE FINGER! Do you have a plausible explanation?
Depends on the story. You're talking about the classic trope of Storage Rings and Spatial Bags (much less commonly, Item Boxes). Normally those are supposed to be worn, but of course there's variation and exception to that rule. One of which being that once a cultivator can access a ring, they can extend their Qi or Divine Sense into the ring and that counts as them touching it. Think of it as an advanced technique.
Some of this is just lazy authorship. Author forgets which hand the ring is on, etc.. Some of it is advanced methods or having a personal Soul Space because maybe they carved the Storage Ring enchantment into their Foundation. Could be any number of things.
Okay, thank you, one last question: Most of those immortals have a sort of subspace pocket generally linked to a ring THEY NEVER WORE ON THE FINGER! Do you have a plausible explanation?
My interpretation of that bit of tropes is the "storage space" is inside the ring conceptually, but physically it's just "such and such space somewhere is folded over it's self". So of course you don't need to wear the ring, just have access to it. Which is why stealing rings does anything to anyone.
I'm 100% behind this, that's why Celestial forge stories are trending, it's fun and can add lots of tension or ways out if done right !
For this chapter, indeed it felt less like reading just a list of objective than last time, the plot advanced and while I'm not a fan of the summoned companion, it seems you'll do it justice.
hmmmm Still unsure about this but ill keep an eye on it for now.
Still looking forward to the SI-Natives interaction and their POV's.
With Armsmaster still in his insecurity complex about trying to be better, a sudden appearance of a thinker with seemingly superior power armor, is just all sorts of fun to unpack there, not to mention Dragon would be telling him what she found out about it.
Just remember magical girl transformations can go two ways for males: You turn into a girl or you're a guy wearing a magical girl outfit. Also poses, phrases, and movements are often required for your magical girl powers to work, including fan service ones for some versions, so good luck.
Ok, so take this or discard this as you please, but I enjoy theorising on ways to unify different universe's magic systems. Considering the Jumpchain (and it's derivatives such as the Celestial Forge) must have the universe's all exist and work together, unifying is also something of a must.
My favourite goes like this:
There are three main forms of 'magic' energies.
Ki, or Physical Energy, is derived form the activity of the body. The simplest to explain and envision. Most shonen anime runs on this.
Psi, or Mental Energy, is derived from thought and imagination. It is the act of imposing one's will upon the world without physical action. This one has the widest group, from Xcom's operatives to even, arguably, Harry Potter (though I have my own arguments against this that I won't go into here).
Spirit is any energy external to one's self that is drawn upon to effect change upon the world. This can be a lot of things, from magic derived from the planet to helpful fae to alternate dimensions. MCU's magic is a good example of this.
The real trick is when certain magic systems involve multiple types.
Take Naruto. They explicitly state that they take mental energies and mix it with physical energies to do what they do. Psi+Ki=Chakra.
Note something interesting about how they do it. It is mixed in the gut. Sound familiar?
It's not the only anime to discuss this. Dragonball and Dragonball Z both talk about drawing Ki from a centre point in the body, roughly behind the navel. Again, sound familiar?
(Dragonball Z was the OG Cultivation series, change my mind )
Back to Naruto. Chakra quite clearly isn't Qi, but it is oddly close. It even moves through something resembling meridians. Both Chakra and Qi can kill the user if completely exhausted, an aspect mostly unique to Ki based systems, and both require mediation, understanding and self-control to use properly (and, before anyone says anything, no the ninja aren't using properly, it's actually a bit of a plot point) which are all hallmarks of Psi.
The difference? Qi explicitly draws from the environment as well, meaning it has a Spirit component. Qi is thus a unification of all three magic types, hence why it is both so difficult to learn and so goddamn overpowered. And why it is almost a guaranteed path to godhood if you can survive long enough.
... Which might mean sage-mode ninja are technically nascent cultivators. Would explain the massive power jump and the high fatality rate of the students, I guess.
Notes: And now! The long-awaited confrontation at OK Corral..! Wait… No, I mean with the PRT and a little fight here and there.
Chapter 4: Lost in bureaucracy.
Thursday, January 2011, the sixth.
The fourth day of my arrival in Earth Bet began with a good note: I didn't experience the dream-cycle that Master and Servant from the Nasuverse had due to their contracts and Command Seals. And I hoped it meant that Danzou also didn't dream of my life.
I jumped in fright when I found her right behind my door. "I hope you didn't sleep in the corridor guarding my door, Katou-san."
"No, my lord. Danzou was merely waiting for you since we have much to do before your appointment with the PRT. And, please I did say to call me Danzou." I swore she was hiding a smile.
I shook my head and entered the kitchen area. "You didn't use the Food Fabricator? I did show you how it works, didn't I?"
She winced a little. "You did, but, as you know, Danzou doesn't require food… or drink and air for that matter. But since I can still taste it, I prefer your home-cooking to this machine-made food, Master."
Wasn't that ominous? I sincerely hoped that being a God of Cooking didn't make me a PRT Master by addicting people with my dishes. I sighed and went to work on the stove. "Alright, before we go over what to do and don't, do you have a preference? I can go with Western or Eastern cooking without problems."
It seemed that Danzou was a little adventurous or curious with food as she asked me to surprise her with dishes from all over the world… using alien ingredients from 4546b. Well, it seemed that I could surprise myself with my Forge-granted abilities. And the aspect… It was like those images in Food Advertisement: Perfect, juicy and so mouth-watering. And then you smelled it and you suddenly were in paradise.
I sighed in contentment after demolishing my part and seeing the joy on Danzou's face. I quietly sipped my cup of tea as the Kunoichi booted up her PDA to begin our morning briefing.
"NAVI: New Aggravating Virtual Intelligence is online. No new data since the last session. NAVI reminds you that too much food would impact on your body and thus your survival."
I looked incredulous at Danzou. "You called yours Navi?"
She sighed. "Yes, Master. It seemed a good idea at that time." She shook her head and cleared her throat. "Alright, my Lord. The first question is a highly primarily one." I focused more intensively while sipping my tea. "What is your complete name?"
Wow, what a glorious spit-take. "WHAT!? I didn't..?!" I facepalmed. "No, I didn't. My mother would ashamed of my lack of manners." I sighed and looked at her bemused face. "Sorry about that, Danzou. My name is Sunheart. Baran Sunheart. Like you, I wasn't born under any suns of this universe. I have taken the name of StarKnight for my hero persona."
She tapped on her screen while smiling. "And the first point is resolved, Let's continue Master Baran."
"Please Danzou. If you could call me just Baran that would be great, thanks."
She giggled. "Command received, Baran. The second point would be a simple case of miscommunication. Danzou doesn't think you realized it, but we are actually speaking in Japanese, right now."
I blinked and searched in my memory while attempting a few words. "You're right… I can still speak my native French and my learned English, but I can think and speak in Japanese. Read it too, it seems." I chuckled. "And now, I can finally watch my whole Anime collection in Original Version with no sub-titles. And you, about English and French?"
"The Celestial Forge, like the Grail System, did give me a full database about English et je n'ai pas de difficulté avec le Français." (And I have no difficulty with French.)
"And another point resolved. What's the next?"
She seemed a little embarrassed. "An explanation about some terms you used in your little list. Too many imply the reader already knows of them and that's not my case. Danzou just needs proper context."
I frowned. Another screw-up on my part. "Oh. Go ahead."
"What is Infinite Stratos?"
And another spit-take and facepalming. I'm sensing that I'm going to do that a lot this early morning. "Okay, okay. Context."
I shrugged and began. "First, the perks offered by the Celestial Forge are any crafting-related perks technological, magical, or techno-magical in origin. They can be skills, databases, materials, places, vehicles, items, people, concepts, and others. Sometimes, those perks are accompanied by freebies that are essentially peripheral to the main perk. For example, I received a free perk enabling me to pilot the very Infinite Stratos Power Armor that the Celestial Forge gave me. With me, so far?"
She nodded and I continued. "All of those perks are coming from settings or other universes that had been created from a human creation, fiction, or story. The infinity of the Multiverse ensures that somewhere, some-when, those precise settings exist."
She had a bittersweet smile. "And not only Earth Bet is from such a story, but Danzou is also from another of those settings, right Baran?"
"Yes. This is why while I didn't know you directly or indirectly, I knew of you." I imitated her bittersweet smile. "That's also why I prefer the original to the distorted vision I had of you."
She blushed and I continued my explanation. "Fortunately, between the Celestial Forge database about this situation and world, and your experience with Chaldea, you should have enough knowledge to correctly extrapolate the context with my summaries."
I fiddled with my PDA and was reassured that some images from my world were stored in it. That should help. "Infinite Stratos is a classical Harem Anime with power armors that can be piloted only by young teenage girls and the only male pilot among them."
She blinked and burst into laughter. "Alright, Danzou see, I see… So only the fact that you have a powerful power armor is relevant, Baran?"
"Yes… Especially as I have no intention of having a Harem here." She giggled and I coughed to clear my throat. "My skill in cooking, my currently de-aged and physically boosted body, and your very presence here come from your origin universe which I know as Fate/Legends: Japan and Fate Grand Order…" Among other titles, how can you truly explain the entire Nasuverse..? "And the setting is really too complex to properly explain. Just know that all you knew is only applicable to you and me. Don't hesitate to ask me questions on it in the future."
She raised her hand. "Danzou was a Servant during the Chaldea Crisis, I understand, Baran."
I pointed at all that was around us. "Subnautica is a video game of exploration and survival on an aquatic planet named 4546b set in the future. Most of what is used on this base comes from this very game. I was pleased to find that I could use it more flexibly than in the game." I smiled. "Then I gained an almost unlimited Resource Generator that enabled me to bypass many hard limits I had with the Subnautica tech base." I frowned. "The setting of the Toaruverse is unimportant as it doesn't affect the Generator in any way although, please note that many hard limits from various future perks should be bypassed." I shrugged. "Just know that it was a classical Anime about a boy with some girls in a modern scene and with magic and psionic experiments complicating all that."
I took my key out of my pocket. "The Cosmic Warehouse comes from the Jumpchain Setting…"
She shook her hand. "Danzou knows about it through the Celestial Forge since its perks come from the Jumpchain too. No need to tell me more, Baran."
I nodded. "Okay. The hangar in the Warehouse is directly from a fighter simulator game called Ace Combat." I shrugged. "It's just a shooting game with various fighters, some very futuristic and the freebies are mostly for piloting skills, having much more missiles than on a normal plane and listening randomly on the enemy communications."
She smiled with all her teeth. "That's still a good advantage for us, Baran. Especially since it's fiat-backed I suppose?"
"Yes, it is. Now, the next is the Marvel Universe which is a very big and various Super-Hero setting since only another one, the DC comics, rival it in my world. Both are going from Gold Age comics to Graphic Novel and constantly change. The more important thing is that I'll be taken seriously as long as I'm actually right and know the thing for it. No lies or bullshit allowed."
She thought about it and smirked. "Does that include your Meta-Knowledge of Earth Bet?"
I felt like a shark. "It does." I tilted my head. "As long as it wasn't altered like the big fact that Taylor Hebert isn't a Parahuman, potential or not."
She nodded. "We'll discuss her later. The next and final term so far is Exalted, the Lunars."
I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Exalted… is a tabletop game where you're playing demigod people able to kill the unkillable, to break the unbreakable and to do the impossible. The setting happens in Creation, a flat and ordered world surrounded by chaos. An Exalt is a mortal whose soul received a divine spark that enables him to go beyond almost everything, to be more than anyone. The Exalts are empowered by supreme beings incarnating the Sun, Moon, Earth, and the Stars. The origin of the Exaltation gives a certain flavor to the Exalt."
I made my silvery No Moon caste mark shine on my forehead. "This simple ring marks me as a Lunar, an Exalt empowered by Luna, the Trickster Moon deity of Creation. The main distinction of the Lunars is their animal-based shape-shifting and the Essence-powered boosting of their physical, mental and social attributes."
I traced the silvery ring, feeling its warmth. "As a No Moon Lunar, my affinity is with Lore, the Occult, and Sorcery. Apart from my innate shape-shifting, I can also hide in darkness and amplify my magical might. The metal I received from the original perk is a very magical and mutable metal called Moonsilver." I winced. "Among my basic powers, I can also instill a Sacred Hunt which would allow me to gain the "Heart's Blood" of others and thus receiving their forms."
She lifted a finger. "Clarification: You can gain other animal forms by killing them?"
I nodded. "That and from sentient life forms too. I can also acquire plants as new forms. The capabilities I receive from it are either purely biological or a form of innate skill or power."
She frowned. "Ouch, Master. With what Danzou knows of you, you won't be able to stomach doing that to your enemies." She rubbed her chin. "Besides, you won't be able to acquire any Parahuman powers since they are external to their hosts."
I sighed and collapsed on the table. "Yeah, have to go to the source for that and I can't use the power without taking the form… And ripping out the heart and drinking its blood from people..? No, I don't think so…" I straightened up. "But I should be able to take some future trips in Natural Parks and other wild zones for mundane, valuable plants and animal-oriented hunts." I thought about it a little. "And there are advanced methods that don't require the death of the subject to acquire his form. But, it's for later."
She raised an eyebrow. "What about the fauna and flora from Subnautica? And those you could obtain from other settings? In fact, why don't you use your Generator to acquire the heart of any creatures you could access, including this planet?"
My eyes widened. True, I could easily acquire those Subnautica templates, but… All were extra-terrestrial in origin and frankly, even the predators weren't that good in the Worm setting. Worse, even the plants lighted up like neon and thus were too visible for the few advantages they had. "No, bad idea for Subnautica… But, we'll see about the rest. The Sacred Hunt is a ritual, so I don't know if it could work without effectively hunting the creature."
She nodded and tapped her screen. "We closed all the salients points for now. No doubt we'll have to revise as soon as you receive new perks and data, Baran." She put down her PDA and looked at me with seriousness. "Now, it's time for me to sound you about a few suggestions."
Well, wasn't that sounding ominous. "First, Danzou can deal with Coil right now. In fact, it would be preferable to do it before you're officially registered and thus completely in the cross-hairs of that fiend."
I did a Spock maneuver. "What about his contingencies?"
"This is in parallel with spying his organization and looking for them." She smiled. "Your initial plan was well-thought, taking advantage of him in one location. So, just a precision: He can only use his own senses on both the timelines he is experiencing, isn't he?"
I frowned. "Yes… He doesn't have any more information than what he can learn by himself through his actions."
She smirked. "I know his true identity as Thomas Calvert and where he lives. My powers are based on Genjutsu, illusions. No matter if he is using his power if I can nail him in one timeline…"
My eyes widened. "You can affect him in the other because you know." I nodded. "And by continuing to influence him, you can learn about and bypass all his precautions." I laughed. "Even the Master/Stranger protocols." I grinned savagely. "Go for it! Show no mercy for we will receive none. I want to have all he had and I'll give you a Subnautica Scanner for that. No clues for Tattletale either, she'll be free and that's enough. We'll see if the friendship she developed with the Undersiders is sufficient."
I sighed in contentment. Even if I didn't kill the bastard myself, that would be amply sufficient. The Scanner from Subnautica could also recycle materials and items it already scanned and Danzou could put all of that in my Warehouse by opening it in Coil's base. In the game, you just gained two Titanium samples by scanning technology already acquired, but under the Celestial Forge, you recycled most of the components. As for the corpses? Well, I had a Subnautica Trash Can just for that: Absolutely no trace of any remains.
"Command inputted, Master Baran. The rest is just a few things to take care of. Along with spying on the mundane criminal element, Danzou will use the stolen money from Coil to buy a few false IDs and a legal paper trail. We'll see where we want to have a civilian address later, but I can think of a few around the hidden emergency land exits of the aquifer."
I nodded alongside her. Danzou was really a godsend gift. The data and materials looting from Coil's organization should help tremendously. It would have been more difficult for me to deal with Calvert without her. As for the forged IDs, she could easily disguise herself, so I wasn't worried. I'll have to do something nice for her in a few days.
"Any other plans will have to wait. Both for preparations and lack of the required perks from the Celestial Forge. However, Danzou would like to know if you intend to have a team around as simple numbers are also preventing you from doing many things."
I tilted my head. "I'm not sure. For now, I'm planning on an entire team of non-Parahumans since their Passengers are a potential risk to warn Scion. At best, I would empower and equip them with technology, magical knowledge, psionic awakening, and supernatural Martial Arts. At worst, I should be able to create artificial life-forms and literally make my team."
She beamed and blushed. "Other life-forms like Danzou around me? I would be very glad to have peers like that." She sighed. "Being… so unique wasn't that very happy for me during my existences."
I chuckled and smiled. "Okay, and now what, Danzou?"
She took an angelic expression and suddenly put on glasses. "Now, my Lord, Danzou shall teach you a few things."
I was dying… Yep, and Danzou was an evil demon from hell. Oh, and I also hated the Celestial Forge for having such a fiend within its scope.
The Kunoichi made me practice harder all the exercises I did before… while attacking me with all the tricks she could use. And, of course, without my power armor at first. Kicking ass is good, being kicked not so much.
Not only was she still having those glasses on, but she seemed also fresh as dew while doing all that… And she was extremely polite while disparaging my physical condition, motivation, and technique. Hated her...
She made me do and redo katas while lecturing me about the fact that she was a Servant and thus dependent on the Mana I could produce although she could still astralize to conserve energy. As for the Exalted Martial Arts, they used Essence so I was also her battery until I found a solution via the Celestial Forge.
The good thing was that she was focused on the few Martial Arts I studied in my past. Thus Judo, Kendo, and Karate. She was optimistic that I should reach first Dan, the famous Black Belt, by the end of the week or die trying… From sixth Kyu in Karate and Kendo or rank beginner, and fourth Kyu or intermediate rank in Judo… Incredible but tiring. Learning any other arts will have to wait until she had a proper idea of what style or styles I would need with my goals, capabilities, and equipment.
I vaguely noted that she was satisfied with the titanium version of her weapons and that she would like an upgrade of her Karakuri components with Moonsilver. I was almost sure I answered her that I would as soon as I could work the Magical Material and could operate on her without risk.
And the worst at the end? She used the medical nanites of a Subnautica First Aid Kit to restore my damaged muscle fibers and thus promoted their rapid progression so that tomorrow and each following day, I would be in good shape for another training more intensive than the last… I wanted to die.
Fortunately, I could still use a hot and soothing shower before preparing for my appointment with the PRT… Hum, I might build a bath later. I decided to use one of the surface access to the aquifer and went invisible before I emerged.
Ah, Brockton Bay, you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Oh well, time to meet the Jedi… I meant the Heroes. "PRT reception..? This is independent hero StarKnight. I'm warning you I'm flying in your direction for my appointment."
"Understood, StarKnight, and welcome."
And here we go. Let us hope everything will go right with my registration. A mere minute later, I was cursing Murphy. I was coming to the PRT headquarter in Downtown from the Docks when my Hyper-Sensor detected an assembly of armed people in an abandoned vacant lot. I boosted my vision with Reinforcement and looked at many Empire Eighty-Eight goons with…
Oh, shit! An initiation! There were two black people bounded and looking battered along with a smaller group of young skinheads armed with bats and encouraged by those around them.
"PRT, emergency! Empire E88 initiation at the vacant lot near the 13th East Street and Merry-water. Two victims and two dozens of armed skin-heads. No apparent capes. Can't wait, situation is about to go critic. Send help, I'm letting my comm open."
"What? Er… Wait, StarKnight! I'm relaying your call to the main console…"
I was already diving with a burst from my thrusters and cranking up the volume of my speakers.
"Halt, independent hero StarKnight! Know that you are being recorded! You are all under Citizen Arrest for assault with a deadly weapon and carrying a weapon without a license! Drop all your weapons, move away now from those two people, and wait for the police to arrest you properly!"
They looked up at me with incredulity and some fear, but most were becoming angry and jeered at me. Then one of them pointed his handgun at me and fired while two others were preparing to strike the victims. My sensor also showed me one person on the periphery with tattoos that identified him as a high-level thug and someone… that loved his mommy..? using a cellphone. The projectile fired missed me by meters.
On a mental impulsion, my targeting computer highlighted the goons and I strafed the vacant lot. Two Vulcan guns opened fire from each side at the top of my torso with Taser rounds and foam rounds hammering at the targets. I had selected those armed with firearms with first foam to clog and neutralize their weapons followed by taser rounds and the contrary for those armed with melee weapons.
'Kaiser? This is Michael... It's about the initiation... The newbie cape just jumped us...'
Blessed Comm Chatter. Too bad I couldn't hear Kaiser too. I cut off my inertia and landed in front of the victims, my shield already out of subspace to cover them while my armor and force fields protected me from possible stray shots.
'Yeah, he just engaged… Armed to the teeth… Looks like PRT Containment Foam… Oh yeah, definitely a hero… Citizen Arrest and all that… Yeah, seems that some are still doing this shit.'
After commenting on my actions on the PRT line, I was about to examine and treat the victims when "he" burst out of one of the parked vehicles nearby. I intentionally ignored them despite their visible E88 association as they were apparently only some witnesses of the scene.
He was a big man, hairy, with long, greasy blond hair, an "E88" tattoo on one bicep, and a wolf superimposed on a swastika on the other, meaning he was committed to helping the Empire as long as it was as a warrior. I just saw a metal wolf mask before he transformed into a shifting mass of hooks, blades, and other weapons with the overall form of a growling and large wolf-like creature.
Hookwolf, one of the heavy hitters of the Empire Eighty-Eight Capes. A Changer able to manifest metal around his fleshy core and preferred a nightmare blend of canine predator and circular saws. I took note that my sensor couldn't identify a Parahuman unless his power was active or if I focused only on their brain.
'Hookwolf is there… Looks like he's going to open a can…'
I grimly and silently contacted the PRT main console on my open line. "PRT, StarKnight. Hookwolf on site. My priorities are the victims and potential bystanders. Please expedite."
"Acknowledged. Hang on StarKnight, Protectorate is less than 10 minutes away."
Yeah? Well, I didn't have 10 minutes. Hookwolf charged me. No banter and no warning. A deadly mass of metal charging at near-vehicle speed. I couldn't move or I would expose the victims. I braced myself, raised my shield in a defensive position, and focused my force fields to encompass the two victims.
And then Hookwolf proved that he was the veteran and me the newbie. He jumped directly towards the victims making me committed to their defense and then suddenly shifted his mass on another vector. He caught me completely by surprise, latched on my right forearm, and surrounded it with his living metal.
I heard a sound like a grinding belt and was first stupefied then afraid as metallic dust was ignited by friction and that my sensor detected the ultraviolet light characteristic of grounded titanium sparks.
He was grinding my armor… WITH ME INSIDE! I kneed him full strength in the center mass and achieved to throw him away with the following kick out. He was catapulted some distance away and shook himself up seeming astonished at the mark of my feet on his metallic skin.
'Holy fuck! This guy just kicked Hookwolf across the lot! Don't look so tough… Hookwolf did some damage, right elbow I think…'
He took a few instants to repair the damage and I armed my Riot Water-Cannons while grasping the hilt of my Beam Saber. I certainly couldn't move from where I was as he proved he would go for the victims without hesitation.
Four sharp metallic tentacles sprung out of his body and rushed towards me. The compressed high-energy particles inside the beam saber were excited by the energy of my armor's power source and were ejected in an elongated magnetic bottle.
The energy blade described half of a circular arc, cutting all metallic tentacles like a torch on butter. I took advantage of his confusion and unleashed a high-pressure water jet that send him flying away.
'WHAT THE FUCK!? He has a fucking LIGHT-SABER! No, Hookwolf is still up… Yep, we shouldn't underestimate the newbie…'
We looked at each other: A draw. He couldn't come near me without being cut by the equivalent of a plasma torch and I couldn't go after him or I would expose the victims to attacks. I could use my ranged energy weapons on him but they were too powerful for an urban battlefield.
With a snarl, Hookwolf turned back and ran away to the dismay of many of his men. I sighed in relief and deactivated my beam saber after my hyper-sensor confirmed his departure. "PRT, StarKnight. Hookwolf is retreating. Minions are neutralized. I'm going to examine the two victims and provide first aid. I have the training."
'Hookwolf just retreat… Yeah, I'm out soon too… The men? Can't do, they're all foamed or unconscious… Mini-guns, if you can believe it… Yeah, his suit has everything and the kitchen sink… Armsmaster..? No, I don't think so, style is too different… Yes, Kaiser, I'm already on the way.'
I distractedly heard the console acknowledgment and focused on the two black Americans. They were probably family as I could see some resemblance between the two. Two adults with one elderly were visibly in pain and distress. "Hang on, help is on the way. I'm going to use a scanner to see your health state."
The light of the Subnautica Scanner washed over them. Ouch, despite being battered the old man was relatively okay but not the other. Broken bones, internal bleeding, and heart failure. "PRT, medical emergency. I have a vital organ failure compounded by internal bleeding. He's seconds away from dying, first aid won't help. I'm forced to use a Tinkertech healing device under my responsibility."
I then ignored the PRT console's answer and turned to the victim. "Sir, it's not looking good. I have a Tinkertech treatment but I need your consent to apply it."
He grunted and managed to nod while the old one also authorized the treatment as he was his father. I used a Subnautica First Aid Kit and most of his problems went away apart from his bruises and other contusions.
The ambulance took more than five minutes to be here. I did the right thing. I just hoped that Armsmaster who was getting off his motorbike would be also understanding.
The ENE Protectorate leader looked like a true hero. His costume consisted of a 6 feet suit of midnight-blue power armor with silver highlights and a helmet and visor that covered his eyes and nose. I could see his famous and deployed halberd and his neatly trimmed beard, Halbeard indeed. His chest emblem was a silhouette of his visor in blue against a silver background. All in all, he reminded me of the Movie Iron Man… and then he opened his mouth.
"StarKnight, what is the situation?"
No hello, no how are you and just looking around would show most of what happened. Oh well, wouldn't be the first time I had to answer to someone like him. Both in the Army and medical sector.
"Sir. Empire Eighty-Eight initiation. Two dozens of thugs armed with an assortment of melee weapons and firearms. Two victims, black Americans, severely beaten before I arrived. Called the PRT but couldn't wait for any reinforcement as another beating with bats was imminent. I announced myself, placed them under Citizen Arrest, and enjoined them to drop their weapons and wait for the Police. They opened fire on me and were about to initiate the beating so I used my non-lethal weapons to neutralize them before landing to protect the victims."
He turned sharply to me. "What sort of non-lethal weaponry?"
"Taser-like projectiles and restraining foam, different formula than yours so your solvent shouldn't work."
He grunted, seemingly in approval. "You have the proper solvent?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good, we'll need it. Continue." Really, he sounded like he was reading from a teleprompter… Or maybe looking at his Truth Detector.
"I was about to examine the victims when Hookwolf entered the scene. He immediately attacked and I stood my ground or he would have gone for the victims. I had to use a water cannon and my Beam Saber to make him withdraw without endangering the victims."
"What is a Beam Saber?" He was looking for a visible weapon but all my gear was in subspace.
"In short, a handheld plasma torch." I pointed at the three cut-off tentacles of metal and he seemed impressed. Yep, I subspaced one for later analysis. "I examined the victims and found that one was in vital distress due to heart failure and internal bleeding. My first aid skill being insufficient, I warned the PRT console that I would use a Tinkertech First Aid Kit to prevent his death after I obtained his and his father's authorization."
"How dangerous is this Tinkertech device."
"Minimal. Simulations and experimentation with lab mice showed no problems, even long term. I have the intention of letting a few samples with the ENE PRT and Protectorate for analysis after my registration. I deployed it on the field ONLY because of a vital emergency."
He turned fully to me, again with active sensors trying in vain to pierce my ECM field. "You still have the intention to register now?"
"Of course. I only detoured because of the situation. This will also allow me to hand you my recording of the incident."
He took time to consider, probably listening to a communication, too bad that Comm Chatter wouldn't work, and nodded. "Alright. I'll finish here, you'll use your solvent, and then you'll accompany me to the headquarter."
I looked with dread at the pile of forms in front of me. "All that?"
Miss Militia felt like she was repressing a smile. She was a taller than me dark-haired and olive-skinned woman and wore a scarf and sash around her waist patterned after the American flag, along with stylized, fitted army fatigues that nicely accentuated her curves. I could also see her bottle-glass green eyes smiling above the scarf. "Yes, all that. Being Protectorate or Affiliated means fewer documents to read and sign. You're sure you're not interested?" She was relaxed but there was a good reason for that. I wasn't armored to hell and back.
I took out my power armor by subspacing it as soon as I entered the headquarter lobby and warned everyone what I was doing. Didn't want to be foamed so early. I was amply protected by my full-body skin-tight suit in blue, white, and gold trim. I purposefully left my mouth and eyes visible to humanize me.
I groaned. The woman was decidedly taking an unholy glee in watching me fighting the Paper Monster. "Armsmaster asked me three times and the sergeant at the reception desk, two. No, thank you." I sighed. "Look, it isn't that I'm not considering it, but, so far there are too few advantages in either proposition." I raised my hand. "I know, I know. Being a hero isn't about money and material things." I sighed and looked at her. "I also recognized that you could use all the help you can obtain. I did my homework on the Brockton Bay situation before deciding to come here."
She frowned. "The PRT and Protectorate remain in control of the city and are countering the actions of the gangs as soon as they begin."
I interrupted her. "Miss Militia. I had both a computer and an analyst team who compiled all the public documents, examined the situation, and read between the lines. Your propaganda is just that: Propaganda. Please, don't insult my intelligence."
Her eyes widened then narrowed. "StarKnight, I'm afraid I can't comment on what you're talking about."
I smiled and returned to my pile of paper. "I understand, thank you."
It took time as I was reading everything and asking precision on some points, but they didn't try to trap me with legal obscure writing. I didn't sign away any choices about my name, appearance, and any technologies that I could develop.
I already gave my recording of the E88 initiation to Armsmaster and he debriefed me more on the path to the ENE PRT Headquarter… Flying alongside a motorbike was weird. So, Miss Militia took care of my registration and we were now going to the cafeteria before a little power test.
I took some nice grilled chicken fillets along with some rice. Not bad and their vanilla pudding was good. I also had the reformed villain Assault joining us as we ate. Yeah, what a coincidence… not. He wore red body armor with a visor covering the upper half of his face. A rather simple costume without any flourish. Oh, and he was taller than my 1.60 meters.
"So, here is our great hero of the day." Assault was a funny guy who hid his razor-shaped wits under the disguise of a clown.
"Great hero? A little exaggeration here, Sir."
"Don't call me sir, I work for a living."
I deadpanned. "Ah ah. But seriously, I merely protected the victims and I still managed to screw up. Hookwolf did make some superficial, almost cosmetic damage to my armor. If he had time and me without force-fields, he could have ground my shielding to dust, and poof! No more StarKnight."
Assault shrugged. "Meh, that just means you won't go close range with him in the future." He smirked. "Although I love the way you were carving him up into fillets."
I blinked, looked at the scant leftovers of my chicken fillets and deadpan stared at him. I also took note that he was already briefed into my recording of the fight. I shrugged. "Couldn't move from where I was or the two victims would have bought it."
"And your Tinkertech first aid kit? Seems that the lab guys are rather agitated about it."
I sighed. "Not my fault. You say "Nanites" and they immediately imagine Grey Goo." I shook my head. "I had to give them a lesson. A LESSON to scientists that there was a big difference between a self-duplicating nano-machine and a medical one. Just the degree of sophistication needed to make Grey Goo is almost absurd since the damned thing must replicate itself from ANY materials and its copies must have the same ability."
I sighed and tried to calm myself by pouring a cup of tea. "My medical nanites are made of CHON within a fiber-mesh structure. Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen: The main components of our physiology so that they can repair the body by using themselves if need be. They can't work outside a living body since they are powered by the heat produced by it. They analyze the physiology of the life form they are in contact with to prevent any errors. They can't replicate as they don't have the tools and the programming. They are hypo-allergen and break down in usable raw material for a living organism."
I raised my arms to the sky. "What more do they want!?"
Assault snickered. "A non-nanotech first aid kit?"
I collapsed on the table and mumbled. "I intended to give this kit later after I built up my reputation for reliable tech, and a collaboration with Panacea to prove its efficiency."
Assault patted my back. "Come on, this isn't the end. After all, they also isolated the guy you healed with it. Between your samples and his examination, you should be good."
I sighed and raised. "I fear he isn't very happy with me. At least he's alive."
We finished our meal and Battery came by. She was as tall as me and wore a skintight white and dark gray costume with circuit-like cobalt blue lines on it which I knew would glow as she charged her power in electric blue-white color.
She didn't stay long. She just said hello to me and Miss Militia and draw away Assault by the ear. Before I could comment on the obvious secret couple, Armsmaster came behind and escorted us to the testing room for Tinkers. I absolutely didn't correct them for the error.
I shook hands with the scientists and technicians who would observe my tinkering in action. I already refused to answer questions about my specialty because I considered it as normal Operations Security. As for my power armor, I was here to be tested on my tinkering, not what I do with it. When they insisted I shrugged and went to the bench covered in raw materials.
"Alright, Armsmaster. I'm ready."
He nodded and waved the grumbling testing staff to their stations. "Good, we're almost ready. Will you build something in particular?"
"Yes, I wanted to give the PRT a slight advantage that wouldn't be covered in red tape and that most could use without baiting the villains to steal or imitate you."
He nodded and I continued. "So, I'm going to make you a tinkertech device that builds mundane state-of-the-art tech cheaply." I subspaced out my Subnautica Scanner. "This is an active scanner coupled with a non-living matter recycler. I'll analyze the present materials and select what I need."
The probing beam washed over the raw materials and some were absorbed by the scanner and neatly recycled into my subspace pocket. I subspaced in the scanner before taking out my Subnautica Habitat Builder. "This is a Builder. It's based on an atomic-scale matter manipulator. It'll build the machine I pre-programmed."
I then made a rectangular machine with two bins, one up and one down along with a Subnautica Fabricator plate. "And done. This is a limited Fabricator/Repairator that recycles from scraps and garbage mainly titanium, lithium, iron, copper, sulfur, oil, and carbon through the superior bin. Anything it doesn't use is recycled in standard ingots or bottles of liquid in the inferior bin. Please note that the superior bin has a limit of materials for 10 products."
I pointed to the back. "It uses the power from a standard electrical grid. The top screen is touch-activated and uses a series of menus for instructions. Maintenance is automated and ensured by the same fabricator which tests itself each time it's used. Anyone using it is scanned for their measurements as the final products require them." I then showed the plate. "It exclusively fabricates or repairs a model of electric scooter, its batteries, and its accessories."
I sensed that Armsmaster blinked behind his helmet. "Electric scooters?"
I shrugged. "I thought about a cheap, reliable, and urban mode of transport that most of the PRT, Protectorate, and Wards could use without needing skills, being too showy or dangerous."
I went to the controls, put a few raw materials in the bin, and triggered the fabricator. The staff and Armsmaster looked fascinated as the construction beams danced over the forming scooter. One technician whispered that it was so fast compared to some Tinkertech 3D printers he knew about.
I presented and demonstrated the finished scooter. "It's completely replicable technology and is fully foldable to be worn like a backpack. A newly created one is fully charged, but the batteries are swappable and can be recharged in four hours on a standard outlet. Please note that the main unit cannot recharge the batteries, only produce or repair them."
I activated the motor, showing how silent it was. "Maximum autonomy is 100 km at legal speed. Speed is, of course, bridled at 25 km/h but there is an adult/emergency code that unbridled it for a maximum speed of 105 km/h which unfortunately reduces the autonomy to 50 km maximum. The wheels are rated off-road and the tires have an automatic sealant fluid inside. The handlebars have a front light and a phone/radio holder. Of course, there is also a rear light, a coded radio-beacon, and an integrated U-lock system."
I smiled at the flabbergasted technicians and the stoic Armsmaster. "Now, the accessories are primarily for the Wards." My tone became sarcastic. "The Youth Guard would fall on me like a lightning bolt if I didn't think first about their safety."
I triggered anew the fabricator and obtained a vest, pants, gloves, elbow and knee pads, and a helmet with a visor all colored differently within a vast palette. "The primary, secondary, and trim colors of those accessories can be selected at will with the fabricator. Even the designs of each part can be modified easily. Their durability and resistance are military-grade levels and here is the discrete button that turns on and off the bright color panels for road safety."
Armsmaster tilted his head. "You mean they're rated equal or higher to ballistic protection?"
My eyes widened. "Oh my! You're right. What a coincidence!" I winked at them. Most had discrete chuckles and I would have sworn that the right side of Armsmaster's mouth lifted for a second.
I gestured at the machine. "ENE PRT and Protectorate, this is yours." I became very serious. "But only for your branch. You do not have my authorization to lend it to anyone else. Is this recorded?"
Armsmaster seemed perplexed for a moment before he understood that they were now legally prohibited to send the machine to anyone or anywhere without my consent.
"Phew… Home, sweet home." I melted down in a comfortable chair within my base while looking at an aquarium with a few of the fascinating and colorful fauna of 4546b. My eyes widened: I was already considering this base and thus Brockton Bay as home?
Well, I did it… I was registered and known to the ENE PRT and Protectorate. I didn't meet Director Piggot, the Wards, or the rest of the Protectorate but I talked with Armsmaster, Miss Militia, and Assault… I truly hoped I made a good impression with them and the PRT staff, it'll help in the long term.
I also survived my first Parahuman fight… What an experience and what an idiot I was. I was still alive so I could… No, I WOULD learn from my failures. Provided I survived Danzou's analysis and the remedial training for my failures.
I sighed and thought seriously about what I should have done with Hookwolf. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty. I could have deployed my drones. I could have used my Stasis Rifle. I could have tried the stun beam of my Beam Rifle. I should have scanned the zone in detail. I should have first dropped near the victims and used one of my leg traps that could project a force field. I could have…
It was her hand on my shoulder that stopped my downward spiral. "Master. Thinking about the what if or what I should have done is useless. It already happened. The best you can do is always remember it and adapt."
"VIDA reminds you that if Ryley Robinson survived with such limited equipment on 4546b, you can also survive Earth Bet for another day."
I blinked, took a great breath, and released. "Right. It's not by becoming emo that I will solve the problem." I turned to Danzou and smiled. "Thanks, Danzou. Everything alright on your side?"
She smirked and showed me a dried blood-stained ripped black mask with the head of a white snake on its forehead. "I'm afraid that Thomas Calvert is no more, my Lord. Along with all his mercenaries, however…"
She went to a locker and opened it with her key to the Cosmic Warehouse. I followed her and whistled at the pile of materials, machines, equipment, vehicles, and weapons neatly placed on shelves or parked in my hangar. "And his contingencies?"
She nodded. "You were right, he was a paranoiac and vicious man. All three secondary bunkers and his seven bolt-holes are no more. All his computers have been already downloaded into our databases and destroyed. Finally, I took care of all his dead-man switches. Circus and Chariot have just "forgotten" they were under contract with him and the various caches and hiding places outside this city and state are no more." She blushed. "Sadly, I couldn't do anything about his relations outside the city, notably with Accord and Cauldron, or with the too visible people who knew him as Calvert/Coil like Piggot and the Undersiders. There should be no clue left for them unless we use a recognizable item from the loot."
I nodded. "Contessa will try unless it's unimportant for her paths. Calvert was a pawn but hardly a major piece even for their stupid social experiment in Parahuman feudalism." I frowned. "But Alexandria will never forget the incident and we can't afford to be detected for now… They might suspect, but that's all. Okay, we do nothing for now and we'll recycle most of that loot."
I chuckled as I prepared two cups of tea. "Okay Danzou, you win. How the hell did you manage all that?"
She sat in front of me and smiled. "Simple, Baran. Danzou used her Noble Phantasm. First, I took control of him in both of his timelines then I ended his safe one by him having a stupid road accident. I then maintained the Genjutsu and manipulated him into revealing all his procedures, codes, and traps. Once I knew everything, I killed him by distant decapitation."
I nodded. "Black Arts Decapitation Method-Moonflower, right?"
"Yes. With that done, Danzou killed all the mercenaries using his own traps, especially a canister of nerve gas into the ventilation. I then followed your instructions by scanning everything and transferring what I could into the Warehouse. Finally, I used Mechanical Illusionary Method-Bull Swallowing to erase without a trace all of his possessions and the corpses… And I have a question for you, Master."
I quirked an eyebrow while sipping my tea. "Ask away."
She hesitated an instant. "Danzou is still dependent on your Mana, especially while using a Noble Phantasm. After using them, I didn't feel as drained as I thought. Do you know why?"
I thought for a moment. "Most probably because your Noble Phantasms are C rank and my Magical Circuits are A rank, so I do have sufficient reserves for your trump cards."
Her yellow eyes widened. "A rank? Yes, that explains many things." She sipped her tea. "And now, Baran?"
I smirked. "Now? We are going to do the same thing we do every night, Danzou: Try to take over the world." She looked at me as if I was insane and I burst into laughter. "Sorry, sorry, couldn't resist. A little quote from a funny cartoon." I took a breath and looked at Coil's mask in my hand. "No, first we are going to take the trash into the trash can and then I'll call on the Celestial Forge which will influence what we'll do tomorrow apart from training and collecting information."
"No regret about the death of Coil and his organization?"
I clenched my jaws. "No… None, may he burn in hell for eternity." I shook my head. "I would have like to strangle him myself slowly but you were my hand and I found his… execution deliciously appropriate for someone who used his precognition to do unspeakable acts."
Do you wish to make a roll on the Celestial Forge?
Current charge: 18.244. Perk range: 900 CP.
"Oh? It seems we are entering the big leagues, Danzou. Brace yourself."
Current charge: 14.268. Perk range: 700 CP.
I should have followed my own advice because I received… a bucket on the head. I clumsily took it off and examined it. I'm sure my face showed how flabbergasted I felt.
There was a name tag and I groaned in dismay before facepalming: A Bottomless Bucket from Terraria, a game I never played. It could produce an infinite amount of any quantity of liquid put inside. It was also completely immune to any properties of the liquids and couldn't cause cross-contamination with another liquid.
It should be very useful later, but for now was completely useless for us… Apart from improvising a water source inside my Cosmic Warehouse.
"NAVI reminds you that preparing the day's water ration, ahead of time, will help ensure against dehydration and eventual death."
A fairly large metal bucket, which, when filled with a liquid, can pour out infinite amounts of said liquid unless deliberately completely emptied. It will resist cold, heat, corrosion, and other damaging properties of whatever liquid fills it, and when deliberately emptied, no traces or cross-contamination will happen when the bucket is refilled.
So... The fact Taylor did not have a Corona Gemma would mean she was NEVER going to be able to Trigger, so not sure why the MC would be worried at all about his actions.
I feel the need to point out that the MC did not NEED to do power testing. You can register without it.
The MC, to my knowledge, does not have any Perks/Abilities that are protecting his property/creations yet... So he basically just gave the MC an un-blackboxed Fabricator/Reclaimer, along with all its included technology. Which seems a ridiculous thing to do.
If the MC needs to expose Coil's old bases, if he is not going to use them, then He could just claim his sensors detecting the explosives and the un-registered/documented underground complexes. Also, did Danzo take Coil's money? Cuz it was not explicitly stated, aside from mentioning she took his property.
Cannot see the MC's suit/armor getting damaged by Hookwolf. I mean, isn't his metal just steel? Or is it something unique? Cuz most stories I read don't claim it is anything unique or special. So HOW would it damage an IS? I mean, an IS is meant to take WAAAY more damage than he could dish out, at higher velocities, and with more dangerous components/materials. Right?
Dunno what, if any, romantic interests you have planned for the MC... If you plan on having him select any characters from in-setting, then I hope he goes for Miss Militia. Maybe Mouse Protector, or Crystal Pelham...
Cannot really wrap my head around the MC NOT using the forge for as much as he can, then grabbing ALL the zero point perks/abilities. I mean, it's like waking up in a Deathworld and only having a single Crate of supplies to help you survive, then NOT checking what all your supplies are.
If the MC needs to expose Coil's old bases, if he is not going to use them, then He could just claim his sensors detecting the explosives and the un-registered/documented underground complexes. Also, did Danzo take Coil's money? Cuz it was not explicitly stated, aside from mentioning she took his property.
Too complex as a plan, too many ways for Coil to spoil it.
Danzou did take EVERYTHING... apart from his civilian identity with money, actions in a variety of companies, lands, buildings, contacts, and blackmail information.
Well, first, the armor is made of Gundanium which is a Titanium alloy.
Second, Hookwolf caught the IS WITHOUT its force field which would have blocked him completely.
Third, have you seen a grinding belt in action? It's not made of super metal, it's just an abrasive and it can grind all metals with just time.
Finally, he just did cosmetic damage, aka he scratched the paint. The OC reaction is because it was the first time he received damage? You know, the classical "I'm Invincible since I'm a player character" and then you felt the sting of an attack hitting you.
Dunno what, if any, romantic interests you have planned for the MC... If you plan on having him select any characters from in-setting, then I hope he goes for Miss Militia. Maybe Mouse Protector, or Crystal Pelham...
None for the moment... And before someone say it, yes, I know that Danzou is a potential waifu so please no comment on that... Besides, it's forbidden on the forum.
None for the moment... And before someone say it, yes, I know that Danzou is a potential waifu so please no comment on that... Besides, it's forbidden on the forum.
Gankata. This martial art will teach him:
- how to behave during the shootout
- how to disarm a person
- how to move and what to do so as not to get lead poisoning.
There are places where he can't call for armor. And shooting can begin at any time, especially in this city.
So, coming from BCF, this feels like a much slower paced story. This is not a complaint, just an opinion. On the whole "the character triggers the roll" thing, my only issue is the break up of side abilities. For example, if he wound up with any of the Percy Jackson perks, he would need at the least mystiokinesis to power it if he didn't get divine parentage as well. See Riptide, the sword that turns into a pen for why.
