At this rate we are going to level up again by the time we finish talking to kira... actually it would be fitting in a way. Rei "leveling up" by trusting in someone new and changing as a person.
At this rate we are going to level up again by the time we finish talking to kira... actually it would be fitting in a way. Rei "leveling up" by trusting in someone new and changing as a person.
I'm planning on raising the EXP caps past level 5. So instead of 500, it's 650.
Edit: this doesn't take away from how much I love the Omakes— it's just that if Rei gets to Level 10 so soon before Arc 1 even ends, Dokuro's gonna be a joke.
Actually wait... has the exp we gained from omakes been applied yet? I honestly cant remember what it was post Labrynth fight.
Edit: Ah ok just checked it was 150/400 post labrynth fight. I think it was raised to 250/400 after my omakes?
Edit2:
Nvm Kermie is gonna update it soon, Bon appetit!
Edit: this doesn't take away from how much I love the Omakes— it's just that if Rei gets to Level 10 so soon before Arc 1 even ends, Dokuro's gonna be a joke.
[X] Plan A Honest, if Reluctant, Plea for Aid
-[X] Be honest about how that affected you- especially because you know what that was mostly related to.
--[X] And be honest- you... you don't know Kira very well but the fact that she tried? Tried to help you, tried to help Akemi? That means a lot to you. You don't know if you can at least begin to trust Kira's colleagues, but you can begin to trust her.
-[X] Offer Kira a choice: You know what that meant, and there is a lot more than that. Honestly, someone could make a Shonen based on all of it. Offer a choice, between giving her time to process this before you explain everything, telling her now, don't explain at all, or doing what she wants to do. You can see it in her expression. She at least deserves a choice in all of this.
--[X] No matter her choice... you want her help with all of this. You want to Trust her. Of course if she wants you to leave you will- that's her choice and you have no reason to be upset with that after all of that.
9:41 AM
Kira's Place, Somewhere in Kyoto
You take a deep breath, and try to get it together. If not for you, then for Kira. Purrson stands on your shoulder, silently supporting you as well.
>C'mon. You can do this.
[Kira's DC: 150]
[Rei (Social): 38+21+5 (Purrson)+25 (EP)=89]
[DC for Kira was reduced to 61.]
Doesn't seem like Akemi'll wake up for a while, so you decide to start slow. Kira is still freaking out, so…
"Kira. Thanks a lot for helping me."
She looks at you, confused. "I thought you'd be mad at me."
"...nah, I'm not. I don't feel like what happened to Akemi was anything more than an accident. And she'll be up in a few minutes, she's strong. What I'm really concerned about was the vision we just saw."
Why would you have gotten a flashback to that moment of Akemi's life specifically? If it was meant to be a warning from the Void, why would it show a moment where Akemi was arguably trying her best to be a good person?
The words spill from your mouth now. "That was genuinely freaky. It's not something that'll stay with me till the day I die, but it's definitely going to be with me for a while. I'm pretty sure that I might know what connects my case and Akemi's, what caused that vision. What I don't know is what the hell we just saw."
Kira taps the tips of her fingers together uneasily. "How much do you know?"
"A lot. But before I get into the complicated stuff, I just wanted to say that I'm really glad that you helped me out there. I don't know much about you.
"Hey, don't butter me up-"
"I'm serious, man. Thanks for trying to help me and Akemi. You've been one of the most capable people I've ever met in my life. I might not be able to trust the other Archmages as much, since they seem so high and mighty… but I can trust you."
…hm. Not as much of a monster on the inside, are you?
Kira nods, seemingly deep in thought. "I can definitely tell that your trust isn't something that you give out easily. Thanks. Now, tell me what you know."
Whoa- talk about a 180 turn! -Kizaru
Your eyebrows would be shooting up to your hairline if they could. "Wait, are you sure? This is definitely something that you should think about and process beforehand. You should consider your choice-"
You're cut off as she leans closer to you, an intense glare in her eyes. "Nope. Tell me what I need to know. I'm freaking tired of all these mystery cases about this Void thing. And my two best friends are superheroes. I can take it."
>How spirited.
Your mouth is agape, but you manage to recover. "Alright then. Let me tell you about this organization called the Assassin's Guild that I used to be a part of. And then, I can explain the long, long month I've been going through…" When you're done, Kira's furiously pacing around the room. Her wooden cane makes a thudding noise every time it hits the floor, and you're hearing an awful lot of thuds.
What is she doing?
You didn't tell her everything- there wouldn't have been enough time if you had told her about the whole Akemi search, the Himari redemption arc, and Purrson.
If that cat in question (who's crouching on the couch right now) can read minds, he doesn't seem to take offense.
But you told her the basics about Umbra, the Guild, and how you became a Masked Warrior recently. You also told her about Purrson, and what little you know about the Void. How it's a corrupting force- or rather, a devouring force that eats anything: humans, emotions, and limits.
[Kira Social Check; DC 61]
[Kira: 9+14+5 (Sincerely Trusted Her)+5 (Was Almost As Freaked Out As Her)+28 (EP)= 61. Exact Success!]
But she isn't blowing up at you. She isn't saying that you're a lunatic. Instead, it's like she's…
>locked tf in?
Looking through all the info in her head?
Sure, you'll go with that. But what's definitely certain is that she's going to say something very important soon.
Kira turns to you. "When you were in that vision, what did you see? No, where were you looking from?"
"Uh, I was walking into a room, and that's where I saw Akemi cleaning up all those dead bodies. There was also somebody she was talking to, someone in a file cabinet?"
"We must have seen different perspectives of that day. I was in that file cabinet," Kira responds, something cold growing in her eyes, "My parents were in a meeting, and someone walked in to carry out a hit on them."
She readjusts her glasses, though it's more accurate to say that she furiously shoves them from the tip of her nose back onto her face. "It was about seven years ago. My family was in Eiganjo, and I had been taken with them into that meeting as the heir to the family company. I was just as sickly as I was now, arguably even sicker, but it didn't matter— they knew I could be more. You won't hear about it nowadays, but Akane-Kuromi Holdings used to be a huge venture capitalist firm."
She's walking a bit faster now. Through her shirt, you see an implanted spell glow a dim green. A tiny breeze hits your face, and you sputter.
"My sister had just gone away to boarding school, so I was in a slump. She's just like me and the rest of the family, y'know. Short, black hair, sharp as hell teeth… but that's unimportant! What's really important is this."
Is she in some sort of fugue state? -Fuma
Her other hand shakes as she speaks. You silently decide to shut up and let her talk. "Because of my slump, I didn't notice the signs that it was about to go wrong until it was too late. Some man came in with a suit on, and he summoned up a freaking gatling gun. My father… I remember him shoving me away and telling me to hide as the bodyguards were trying to fight the man off. I've always been short, so I barely managed to get in before the man spotted me. It's a miracle I lived."
She turns to you, and her eyes are ice-cold, almost empty. "Akemi was the one who spared my life years ago, but I didn't remember her voice since it's been so long. But what I do remember now was that the man who killed my parents had a pin on his suit. A knife stabbed through a heart. The "Guild" you spoke of."
She leans closer to you, and there's a dangerously low tone layered over her voice. "Is there even the slightest chance that Umbra, the Guild, and this strange Void are working together?"
You look to Purrson for some help. His feline eyes are opened a bit wider than normal. It looks like he's just as surprised as you are by this sudden turn in personality.
"Well," you stammer out, "as I told you, the Guild hires out their services to anybody who has money and can find them. There's a chance. And as for the Void, I fought one person from the Guild who was using those powers—"
Kira steps back and turns around. She begins to murmur to herself.
Oh, she's really focused now. At the very least, it doesn't look like she's holding your prior membership against you. -Hatsume
[INTERESTING]
Kira makes a sharp turn back around, and quickly sits down right next to you, legs crossed. "You know what. Fuck it. I'm gonna have to introduce you to my friends."
Still sounds weird to hear her curse. "Uh, wait. Who are your friends?"
"The other Archmages. I know that you said that they're "high and mighty", but if you like me, I know you'll like them more. Besides, two of them are… uh, "Masked Warriors" like you."
>That's like getting introduced to the people right below the president! You're getting introduced to the Secret Service! The heck?!
Kira continues, and, oh, you've just realized what you did. You've basically just given a burnt out child prodigy motivation again. This could end incredibly or very badly.
Kira continues, hands flailing around as she explains. "And in the meantime. You wanted magic, right? I did it for the hell of it before, but now? If you can help take down that Guild, I swear that you can have anything. Hell, I can even tutor you."
"You're going to tutor me? Are you sure that I'd be able to learn how to make spells on my own?" you ask, somewhat uneasily.
She nods, and there's a strange grin on her face. Devoid of mirth and without amusement, but there all the same. "Oh trust me, you'll learn fast. I only want you to use it responsibly… or use it on the Guild. Deal?"
She holds out her hand. This time, what's she promising you is much more dangerous. There's no scientific curiously from her this time— just a burning drive for answers and revenge.
She'll be a good fit with the rest of your crew, then. You take her hand and shake it.
Next Week, new actions have been unlocked:
-Spell Enhancement
-Buy Premade Spell
The price of Kira's Junk has been reduced!
Secret Mission [Missing Piece] has been unlocked.
Kira takes a deep breath, and finally seems to wind down. Thank god. "Alright. You said that Akemi's currently on the run and living with one of your friends, Jun. Let's get back to his house, and then we can figure out how to reanimate Akemi. C'mon, let's go!"
Her determination is clearly solidified, you can see it on her face. She rises to her feet, and—
"Uh, can you tell me where Jun's house is? I need some geographical coordinates for another portal. Also, ow that hurt my joints."
>…Why do I feel like we should have expected that?
For what seems like the first time in forever, you get to speak. "Let me call Jun so that he knows we're coming."
You take out your phone, and call Jun. After a few seconds of ringing, you hear someone pick up the phone. "Hey Jun. Could you ping me the coordinates for your house?"
But the voice isn't Jun's. It's Himari's. You didn't tell Kira about her much more recent turn to your side, at least not in too much detail. It would have sounded way too suspicious. This might get bad. "Uh… hey? Rei, why do you need that?"
Kira seems to perk up when she hears Himari's voice. Did you put it on speaker? She holds out her hand. "Oh, actually— wait up a minute. Let me talk to the person on the other end."
As Kira takes the phone and lays back on the floor, you take a moment to focus up.
Purrson gets back on your shoulder after he left it a minute ago. "Practically stunned me into silence there. I suppose we have a good ally on our side now, even if she's a bit batty."
As he curls up next to you, you think back to what she told you about her family. For some reason, you're stuck on one detail. They're all short people, with black hair, and sharp canines. Oh, and they're also all dead… except for her sister, who was at boarding school.
…there's one other person you know with all of those traits.
>...Hold up.
Kira answers the phone. "Uh, hey? Is your last name, "Kuromi", by any chance?"
THIS WAS SO GOOD- OH MY GOSH WE TOTALLY CHOSE RIGHT- WE WOULD HAVE BEEN MURDERED IF WE DIDN'T SAVE HITOMI- (Edit: Kuromi- I meant kuromi- I'm so tired ;~;
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 10/10 HATE THE CLIFFHANGER I'M GONNA GO WRITE SOME FLUFF GOODNIGHT!
"Uh, I was walking into a room, and that's where I saw Akemi cleaning up all those dead bodies. There was also somebody she was talking to, someone in a file cabinet?"
"We must have seen different perspectives of that day. I was in that file cabinet," Kira responds, something cold growing in her eyes, "My parents were in a meeting, and someone walked in to carry out a hit on them."
Kira continues, and, oh, you've just realized what you did. You've basically just given a burnt out child prodigy motivation again. This could end incredibly or very badly.
As he curls up next to you, you think back to what she told you about her family. For some reason, you're stuck on one detail. They're all short people, with black hair, and sharp canines. Oh, and they're also all dead… except for her sister, who was at boarding school.
…there's one other person you know with all of those traits.
>...Hold up.
Kira answers the phone. "Uh, hey? Is your last name, "Kuromi", by any chance?"
Ok woke up and.......
O-O.... Well... damn. Kermie should write scenes they want more often, that was really good. Those points were VERY well spent. Not much to say that hasn't been said already. I assume Himari wasn't told anything about her sister or in much darker twist the Guild took advantage of the hit to grab her, which paints a whole different picture to her relations in it.
That 96 back then REALLY changed a lot of Kermie's plans huh? I know we would have never known if not for that 96 back then, but oh boy Kirata would have been a coin flip away from manhandling us in that AU (great omake fodder actually. Masked Warrior Roze v.s Archmage Kirata).
Also yay more options and a new mission! We Need more AP!
But yeah, awesome as always Kermie, can't wait for more.
Kirata was always supposed to join up. With Himari (and her family), it was hinged on a few social checks or sequence breaks that I convinced myself would never happen!
Kermie already mentioned in the Archmage interlude that any one of the top 5 Archmages could KILL Rei in a single turn, even with Rei transformed. Or was it just beat Rei, not kill?
I know that, I meant it as a Late Game Rei vs Kirata. Act 1 Rei stands 0 chance, Act 3 Rei on the other hand...? Maybe? *Looks for anti spell fragrance*
Kermie already mentioned in the Archmage interlude that any one of the top 5 Archmages could KILL Rei in a single turn, even with Rei transformed. Or was it just beat Rei, not kill?
…you'd have to give them a real reason to kill you. Beat (them at 50% power) would be two-three or so turns. 80+ Magical is no joke.
Kira could just pick you up with wind and fling you through a portal back to Tokyo. Yuki could flash-freeze you and you'd probably only be able to dodge one of her attacks if you're lucky.
Akasuki and Sora are literally Kamen Riders and have been for much longer than Rei. I dunno what to tell you.
…you'd have to give them a real reason to kill you. Beat (them at 50% power) would be two-three or so turns. 80+ Magical is no joke.
Kira could just pick you up with wind and fling you through a portal back to Tokyo. Yuki could flash-freeze you and you'd probably only be able to dodge one of her attacks if you're lucky.
Akasuki and Sora are literally Kamen Riders and have been for much longer than Rei. I dunno what to tell you.
