[X] Plan Making Sense of an Upturned Life
-[X]
Search for Akemi. (DC 100, Mental)
-[X]
Work the cashier at Animate.
-[X]
Have a responsible talk with Arata and Mai and give them a suitable explanation for what you did.
-[X]
Make sure your internet security is good. (DC 45)
-
Search for Akemi.
Tuesday, February 6, 2080
6:00 AM
An Undisclosed Tokyo Apartment
You wake up early the next morning, immediately getting to work.
What the… hey, this is absurdly early for a kid like you.
"Oh hey, it's good to see that you woke up, Atry."
Hmm, you didn't expect that the voices in your head would have their own sleep schedule.
[EXPLAIN] [OBJECTIVE]
You reach down to turn on your PC. A Fire Glyph you bought and inscribed onto the machine last month burns to life as the PC turns on. An
Energizing Fire Glyph did require you to invest about 1400 more yen into the cooling system, but the one month with no plug needed battery charge was worth it.
(Considering the fact that you might need to go on the run with your desktop in your backpack someday, the 1 month long battery charge had also been a necessary precaution.)
You click through the startup screen, making sure to activate your secret fingerprint scan so that you don't get locked out of your own computer.
Then, after some more nudging, you go into the dark web.
…which to be honest, doesn't even look that different from the regular web. Sure, you put it on dark mode as a joke, but Tor just looks like a regular web browser to anyone that would or could look over your shoulder.
With a few searches, you eventually get to what you're looking for.
drk.find.com
…Are you actually fucking serious right now.
"Well, it's the best option for now! Besides, all the other websites have like, 100 different trackers."
[WE] [DEAD]
Ignoring the strangely concered voices in your head, you type in the words
Kaneko and
Akemi before putting in the keyword
Assassin in the next box.
The website loads. And loads.
You look over at the PC box. The cooling fans and Fire Glyph seem to be working overtime, as the website gathers data from all over Japan.
[61+17=78]
[Close enough. I'll lower the DC by 20.]
Eventually, the loading circle comes to a stop, on
Results for "Kaneko Akemi, Former Assassin."
…and absolutely none of the five small boxes down there show Kaneko's name.
Of course she'd take on a fake name.
For better results, buy our premium subscription!
…or hack us, but don't act surprised if you get malware.
And right below that, a Tor extension notifies you that:
75 trackers have been detected.
You start to feel a sweat drop appear on your forehead. Next time, you'll just go to investigate in person…
-Fixing your Internet (DC 45)
Once it becomes clear your dark web investigation won't bear much fruit, you clear all your data and swap over to Firefox.
It's about time that you got some new antivirus.
Now that you don't have to worry about your internet exposing you to 50 different criminals, thugs, and assassins, you scroll through a few tabs. You skim a few stores, looking for something you might theoretically be able to carry over to the dark web.
[
12+17=39. Near Failure.]
[DC halved for next attempt. (DC 22)]
After about an hour or two searching for reliable VPNs, you've settled on SharkVPN, partially because the reviews have been glowing, but also because sharks are awesome and funny.
(Which, on that note, reminds you of that time your handlers made you fight five sharks underwater by rotating them. It was honestly quite fun once you got your Air Breather Glyph on.)
Girl, that is not a normal childhood experience!
Ignoring the comments of the spirits in your head, for all its strengths, SharkVPN doesn't seem good enough to take into the dark web. Unlike some other security programs, it doesn't come with a robust antivirus. But the problem, unfortunately, is that the VPNs with antivirus either require Glyph support or aren't good with privacy.
You'll likely have to continue the search for better internet security next week, when you have more time.
Ah well, that's a problem for Future Rei. It's 7:00. Time to get to work!
-Animate Job (DC 35, Social)
Animate Akihabara.
7:30 AM
The cashier lane is going by slowly today. Some other kids are manning the other floors, but you and Arata are the closest, since the other employees are busy and don't come early in the morning.
You take a deep breath, as you scan a twenty-something's Gundam kit on the cashier. Almost on autopilot, you say thank you, and give your best "customer service smile".
God, you love Arata and Mai, but you also can't wait until you find a better job.
As you're daydreaming, Arata waves at you from his cashier aisle, before pointing down your lane at you next customer.
Oh no.
A somewhat chubby but not obese man saunters down the aisle, wearing both the generic stupid shirt and the shit eating grin that always signifies an otaku. And not a good one, either.
"Hello there, madam, I would like you to inspect my product for any signs of tamper." He holds up the product, which is a hastily opened figure of Generic Waifu #2963.
"…Why would you want me to do that?" You ask.
He grins, pushing the figure forward. "As a
woman working here in the biggest anime store ever, you'd obviously know about any product errors here, right?"
You grit your teeth and start looking for what he's talking about, and as you do, he keeps blathering on and on and on and on and…
[5+17=22. Complete Failure.]
You can't take this any more. Fuck it.
You leap over the counter and tackle the stupid otaku.
A few minutes later, Arata manages to drag you away from the counter and that loser.
The second he lets go of your shoulders, Mai gets directly in your face. She wastes absolutely no time with what she wants to say.
"Maruki. Explain. Right now."
-Saving Throw: Explaining to Mai (DC 65)
"Mai, I think I'm going insane. Have been since Monday."
Mai just does that old thing where she just stares at you. And keeps staring, and keeps staring…
Is she analyzing your face right now with her robotic eyes? Hold up, has she always done that?
Eventually, she sighs. "It didn't get out on the internet, so we'll just scrub the security footage."
[40+17=57. Near success.]
[Mai will not fire you, but this week's job action will only give you 1 Income. Next week, you MUST work at Animate, or get fired.]
Mai sighs. "But that talk we said we were having? Get in the back room. You, me and Arata are talking.
Now."
"What'd I do to deserve this?!" Arata squeaks (not speaks,
squeaks) over in the back.
Mai waves at some of the other employees, and types on a holographic screen on her arm so that she can tell all the floors to keep doing their jobs while she's away.
As she's doing that, you think about how you're going to explain yourself.
[ ] Say Everything
-Tell Arata and Mai everything. Your ex-assassin past, the fact that the Void Glyph may have temporarily reawakened your bloodlust, and Atry.
-
???
[ ] Don't Overdo It
-Tell Arata and Mai that the Void Glyph increased your bloodlust, and that Atry joined you and may be the source of your new Rider powers.
-Mai might believe you, but you have no idea how Arata will react.
[ ] Embellish The Truth
-Tell your coworkers just that being sucked into the void did
something to you, and you likely were succumbing to some sort of psychosis when you ran.
-Arata might believe you, but you have no idea how Mai will react.
[ ] Let The Intrusive Thoughts Win
-Punch Mai and Arata in the face and run away, and take 3 Income (for a total of 4 gained this week) while you're at it.
-You will be unable to come back to Animate Akihabara, but Sunshine Bar is hiring…
-
Rei, what in the Seven Hells and 6,660 Shades compelled you to even THINK about that idea?
-
[ABSOLUTELY] [NOT]
[ ] Something else? (Write-in)
-
Write ins should be formatted as a quote from Rei, or her saying something.
Gargoyle II's Advice:
(This spirit seems to be silent. It seems that they feel that they should not give advice here.)
Atry's Advice:
Remember, while Arata might still be a bit confused, Mai remembers both of your previous encounters in vivid detail. I'll leave it up to you to decide how to use that information.
Author's Note
A bit of a slower chapter. I had to do some cleaning in my house, so this one took a bit longer. On a good note, I've fleshed out the Magic and Tech systems that you'll be seeing next update.
Also, one more thing (and I promise it isn't another Summerfest plug). Another user I've been following on the Quest Idea Thread,
@ScorpioSting, just posted their first Quest,
Zodiac Squadron.
It's a new quest, still in chargen, but if you're a fan of anime, spies and psychics it's already showing a lot of promise. Don't forget to vote, on both his quest and mine.
