XelofBloom
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🕑 Added 2021-01-04 04:14:35 +0000 UTCEve worked to her way through the scrolls that Mudslide had given her, sitting in a comfortable custom chair made from paper. Her kitchen table was stacked high with scrolls that contained both history and information on Classes. They painted a picture of a benevolent Emperor that had been betrayed by those who he raised to assist him in the ruling. His wife’s father had provided the umbrella that allowed him to grow. When both of them were slain by treachery, Emperor Marcus had been too blinded by rage to notice the snakes closing in around him.
Meavan, Lanmas, Maildi, Leewstu, Aitmurn. Eve thought. Raven, Lion, Snake, Horse, and Rat.
“Yeah, they might have other names. That’s what they look like to me, though.” Eve muttered, staring at the noble house crests. “What a bunch of wankers. No wonder bro didn’t want me associating with garbage like this. If there weren’t System imposed limits on killing for experience within the same Race, humans, or pretty much any Race would likely be extinct from their own stupidity on this planet.”
The rest of the scrolls were various methods of gaining Classes that looked rather strong, a single scroll dedicated to Domains, and finally a scroll on Skill and Spell Synergies. Granted, those shown weren’t anything close to her Class, so she had no intention of switching, if that was even possible.
I mean, take the Domain. It is the size of a football field around me in a giant cubic square. Eve thought. I know that intellectually, yet grasping it in terms of fluid combat mechanics is still hard.
With no puppies around to salve her soul, Eve turned to the next best thing available. Moving the several small grey mice out of their paper cages, along with the sparrow, she grinned. She created a large paper box around her, so there was no chance of her cute little critters escaping.
Magic murder world versus Classless sparrow would not end well for the bird. Eve thought. On the other hand, could I give Classes to these creatures from my planet?
“Wilson, would it be possible to give Classes to these critters?” Eve asked as she watched the mice move through a maze she had created, searching for several food pieces within. The sparrow had decided to give up attempting to find a way out and was perched on No. 1 of the Samurai Six.
The System is happy to inform the User that this is possible. The Unknown Mice and Unknown Sparrow need to join in a Master-Servant Contract with a Sentient Entity.
“Like me?” Eve said, excited.
The System is sad to inform the User that the First Protocol Sentient known as Eve Smith has unfortunately used up all her available Contract Slots with the entities known as Kudzu and No. 1-6.
Eve’s mouth hung open before she twisted to look at the floating celestial iron sheets that had become almost invisible to her. She had grown so used to them; they were always around, always nearby, always helping without saying a word. Sometimes they would ride in her hair, and sometimes they would sit on her shoulders. They had slowly become part of the scenery to Eve.
It was a bit of a shock to realize they were actually Sentient.
Eve reached out with her mind searching for the feeling she had received before, the feeling of a small child burbling in the language of infants.
Her body went rigid as an overwhelming tide of emotional love swamped her mind. Six separate entities hummed into her mind, each one a distinct note separate from the rest. Their song was gorgeous, a melody that enchanted with a single vibration. Eve could feel Celestial Mind shielding her from the full forces involved to protect both parties from any harm.
“Oh, oh my.” Eve said, her eyes glazed as she felt the absolute love of her creations given life. They didn’t judge; to them, she was the most important thing in their entire world. For a moment, Eve felt an echo of what her mother might have felt at her birth. The Six broke into joyous songs as she connected with them, their vibrational humming that was always present out of combat, reaching a wonderful crescendo before going back to normal.
Eve slowly withdrew from the Song of her Six Samurai retreating into her own mind. She felt their presence now, a comforting balm that soothed her mind. Directing the information she got from the System at them. Eve attempted with slight success to give them the image of choosing. The small unnamed Sparrow, or the mice, and a request to join with them.
There was a pause in the humming as sharp notes flickered faster than Eve could make out. Suddenly a System message popped into view, and she read it with a smile.
The Samurai Six have chosen the Common House Sparrow as their servant. As a non-sentient species, the creature will only be able to Evolve with direction from their Masters.
“So cute!” Eve said as the tiny bird landed on her shoulder to rub its small head against her neck. After it finished showing affection, it flew off to perch on No. 6, one of the large celestial iron sheets of paper.
Eve’s enjoyment of the moment was interrupted by another System message that popped up.
The Kudzu has chosen all Common Grey Mice as their servants. As a non-sentient species, the creature will only be able to Evolve with direction from their Masters.
Turning quickly to the maze, she saw all of the mice scampering out of the maze onto vines waiting for them, each with a piece of food clutched in their tiny claws.
“Kudzu!” Eve exclaimed.
“Well, I wasn’t going to take a stupid bird as my servant no matter what you wanted! No one should make food into a servant. That’s wrong!” Kudzu said before saying, “The mice will be perfect, and they agreed when I offered them an endless supply of food along with escaping the heinous trap you put them in. How could you be so cruel as to make them run searching for food, barbaric!”
Eve’s mouth hung agape as she processed that Kudzuof all people had lines they wouldn’t cross. Suddenly her eyes narrowed, and she said, “You took them because the Six grabbed the bird, didn’t you!”
“Hectic, things to do, food supplies to handle, drugs to test, pollen to create. Busy, busy, very busy. Talk to you later when you want to move house. Bye!” Kudzu said, withdrawing the vines with mice on them back towards his corner of the garden.
Am I dealing with powerful sentient magic monsters or fourth graders here? What are we, picking teams for the dodgeball championships? Eve thought as she rolled her eyes. Whatever, as long as everyone got something, then it was fine. She could only imagine the fit Kudzu would throw if the Six got a pet, and he got nothing.
“My cuteness has all been stolen. There is no justice in this world! None!” Eve grumbled in a barely audible tone.
She moved back to studying the scrolls. While they were not a path that she would be taking, they did explain something she was interested in. Two of the scrolls explained things she was very interested in Domains and Synergizing. Eve had experienced both, and she was very interested in how it was seen by someone who had reached just below the peak of power in an Empire.
Reading the scroll on Domains caused her hands to shake as she realized that her Domain of Paper I was utterly broken. Pausing to fix herself a cup of spiced water, Eve took a sip while calming her mind. It had been obvious from the start that Matt had made preparations for if he could not stop her from being transported. She didn’t understand how valuable they were until now.
Her brother’s version of a basic Domain was equal to the top tier written in Emperor Marcus’s scroll. While the paper was never mentioned as an actual Domain, the things she could do with it was. The best Domain, like hers, were able to do a wide variety of things with absolutely crushing efficiency.
As the Domain rises in versatility is when it becomes an even greater force multiplier. Cutting the enemy’s power by fifty-percent is simply the start. Eve thought as she read on. Most of these are Elemental in nature. However, it mentions many Domains unknown to the world or spoken only in myths and legend.
Eve finished the scroll on Domains before moving to the one on Synergy. Unsurprising, the scroll on the synergy between Spells and Skills was closely linked to the scroll she had just read. It seemed that Domains grew in power by ‘eating’ Spells and Skills that synergized with them. As the synergy level rose, it was possible for a Domain to evolve from Rank I to Rank V. The scroll claimed that it might even be possible to go higher, perhaps even Rank X, although such a thing had never been proven.
Pausing at the idea of going higher, Eve had a sudden burst of inspiration, causing her to exclaim, “The world, the world is the limiter!”
Rank V for a Major World, Rank X for a Prime World. So obvious once I look at it in such a manner. Eve thought. Hah! Still have the brains to go with the beauty, like mother always told me.
When she had copied the scrolls from Mudslide, she had created scrolls instead of sheets of paper. Now that she was done reading what interested her, Eve decided to store them in her inventory. She hadn’t checked the Elemental stuff out, and there might be hidden gems to read later.
It definitely wasn’t due to having absolutely zero things to read around the house. Nope. Not at all.
Rising from the kitchen table, Eve stretched before manipulating the paper to start cooking like she had done when Mudslide visited earlier. Walking out of the kitchen, she entered her garden, covered in a plethora of vines containing a variety of flowers, herbs, saps, and more. Kudzu might sometimes be a bit of a pain, but the plant was most certainly one of the most valuable additions to her family.
Family, huh. Yeah, I really don’t see myself abandoning them when I find out how to get home or go to a Prime World. Eve thought she watched mice move industriously around the garden doing whatever mice do for sentient plants overlords.
Turning, she was moving back into the kitchen when Kudzu said, “Slicer. People are approaching the clearing. Do you wish me to turn them into fertilizer?”
Eve froze as her mind moved a thousand miles a second. She reached out to the paper sheet spy network that was still scattered around the clearing and said, “Which direction, how many, do you see any magic on them, what type of weapons, are they acting aggressive?”
“Den’s direction. Thirty-two. One is half as bright as you to me, and two are barely a tenth of your mana’s light. Cold weapons like you have described before, swords, axes, polearms mostly. There are two with bows. A large portion of them is moving with baggage.” Kudzu replied, keeping pace with her questions.
Eve looked through the part of the paper sheet spy network that faced the Den, and her eyes turned silver in a flash. The air around her took a noticeable dip in temperature, and the Samurai Six changed their tune to discordant vibration.
“They are carrying puppies,” Eve said, her voice somehow devoid of emotions. “Kudzu, let them enter. In fact, create a path for them that allows them to go past the front door. Just make sure they cannot see the house in your maze.”
Eve moved to the stove, storing everything at once that had been preparing her dinner. “Do you have anything that can help wounds?” Eve asked her Celestial Mind allowing her to focus the fear of what might have happened to the Den, turning it into action.
“I have three saps that will aid in recovery, although nothing that will regenerate as fast as your own body, Slicer.”
“Grow more now. We need enough for at least twenty-three small puppies. I am going to assume the best-case scenario, and all of the ones I know about are alive with this group.” Eve said. Before she could move out, a note from her brother flashed across her vision.
You lost someone important, something valuable, a kid, a furry critter(Looking at you Eve), etc.
Now you tracked them down, found the perpetrator.
The Rules try to prevent this type of situation, but shit happens.
So what next?
I’ll be frank. It would be best if you made an example. No, you don’t need to leave some idiot crucified on a pole or put heads on spikes. None of that garbage. What would be the point of doing something like that that reveals your existence when trying to hide?
An example that leaves no traces of who you are, just what you will do if it ever happens again. You are Baba Yaga, the one who takes the silent specter that removes offenders without a trace.
The person, or persons, that have taken from you are no longer living. They are merely pieces of meat paper to write the message on. (Not literally. There are multiple ways to trace the dead, speak with them, or locate a piece of them. So make sure there isn’t anything physical left of them to find; understand Eve? Even the best Divination magic cannot work without something to go on.)
Before you dispose of them, though, it is a good idea to learn about the enemy.
Since most people that fall into your hands will refuse to talk, you will need to convince them otherwise.
There are two main methods for this, pain or pleasure.
Pain is what you should use if they have a weak will. Make sure they aren’t pretending, though.
Pleasure is what you should use if they are conditioned to resist pain. Depending on the species and gender, pleasure can have greater or lesser effects. However, unlike pain, it almost always has some effect.
“Kudzu, do you have anything that can cause pain or pleasure?” Eve asked.
“I may have been experimenting with a few things. Why?” Kudzu said, his voice distracted.
“Get some samples ready for me. I might come back with prisoners. It depends on how effectively these walking corpses resist me.” Eve said, her eyes unfocused as she tracked the group through her spy sheets. The group of puppy snatchers had paused at the entrance to Kudzu’s maze, clearly unaware this had existed before they chose this route. There was a short argument between the brightest mana user she could see and the other two before he overruled them. She quickly read the rest of her brother’s note before grimacing.
Be honest when you are using torture. It is very effective when you ignore their pleas for mercy and act professionally.
Specific areas to focus on for pain are the junk between a guy’s legs and a woman’s face/chest for most humanoid species. (Separate list of areas to focus on if those don’t work is on page 21250)
Like most things, it is best to start at the outside and work inwards, so fingernails, toenails, fingers, toes, arms, etc.
If you ever have trouble during a session, remember, these people stole something precious from you.
They didn’t care then.
They won’t care if you stop. If they cared, they would tell you what you wanted to know.
They will bring friends if you show mercy, probably friends that are much more powerful than you.
Ensure you set up a room for easy cleanup, which also doubles as a mental tool to break them further.
I hope you never have to do this, Eve, and if you do, try to find a way to dull the memory. If you are with a System that is willing to work with you, it is possible to Sell a Skill or Spell slot for something that can do this.
Eve didn’t know what chilled her more, the knowledge that her brother was practiced enough in something like this to have a list of what to target or the fact that Celestial Mind informed her it would shield her from the horror of doing such things.
“Fucked up magic world with fucked up puppy thieves.” Eve said as she moved to open her front door. Stepping out, Eve closed her eyes for a brief moment.
She had killed before.
This situation wasn’t the same as a compound dedicated to breaking female soldiers, staffed by sadistic little tinpot dictators, and hidden from the evening news.
There was no sergeant here handing her a silenced pistol as her squadmates filed out of the room, so they couldn’t testify against her if anyone else found out.
Still the same human garbage, though. Eve thought. I guess not even magic can change the darker parts of human nature.
Paper unfurled from Eve’s inventory in a widening swirl. This was going to be her first combat against humans in this world. She knew she was strong, but that might not be enough against those who had learned the System’s ins and outs from a younger age.
Eve looked at the Samurai Six that floated above her.
Help? Eve sent, and a torrent of power flowed back. The paper circling her split into six separate streams, like soldiers dividing to follow their general, each stream aligning behind one of her Samurai's celestial iron sheets.
Eve wrapped the paper around herself, crafting an outfit that screamed evil sorceress. It wouldn’t protect her from anything except identification magic, as she had pumped it full of so much mana it practically glowed in the dark.
“They will cross in front of you in around ten seconds.” Kudzu said from behind her as he covered the house from view.
“When they are directly in front of me, open a path, Kudzu. We strike as one. Leave only the weakest ones alive. No mana users live, only weaklings.” Eve said as she closed the bright silver eyes hidden within her cloaked evil ninja sorceress outfit. Breathing calmly, she started to countdown in her mind. As soon as she hit nine seconds, Eve’s eyes snapped open, seeing the confused group of enemies directly in front of her. She moved her mind, already picking targets as she blurred into motion.
