Dracosys Admin chat log 7/27
MOND: WHY IS JUN KYUNG HAN ALIVE?
Nentik: The NEOTIATed conFRONtation WAS decided FAIRLY.
MOND: YOU NEGOTIATED FOR HIS EXECUTION?
Pit: If I may, MOND, sir. This individual's healing abilities are limited to his reach. His curing of Scourge isn't something that can be replicated by anyone else.
MOND: IT IS DELAYING DEATHS.
Pit: There were seven others who had the possibility of curing Scourge. Varren, you took care of them?
Varren: Yes. The new Infusion system is working. I ripped their spines out. I burned their throats. I mangled the corpses in front of their comrades. It was glorious.
COHOK: The completion of the Infusion system was accounted for in the Scourge Season design document. 93% of those who are close to curing Scourge will be killed through Infused monsters. All outcomes were predicted in the design document.
Pit: And, once word gets out that those who are close to curing Scourge are being targeted, the humans will shrink back, not even wanting to cure it!
Varren: I will joyously watch as their fear for their own lives supersedes their fear for the lives of their brethren!
Endiffer: Oooh! I wonder if mister healing hands can get more points by saving people than the evil people will by spreading Scourge? Can I make a scoreboard? Can I pleaaaaase?
COHOK: I already have a tracker. It's in this file.
MOND: THEN DEATHS WILL INCREASE. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED.
Forth: Yeah, because you guys made it basically impossible to cure Scourge.
COHOK: Ease of recovery is inversely proportional to the weight of the threat. A toothless Scourge would not warrant an entire Season devoted to it.
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Gwen L'Ronge's notes:
Admins have still not discussed rewards for the Scourge points systems. They have their own internal file storage that I can't see.
It's a miracle I can see their chat logs at all. I still haven't ruled out that I am either insane or being fed information.
I hate that MOND, the leader, wants Mr. Han dead. Mr. Han is a good man, and very handsome.
Varren continues to enjoy suffering. As much as MOND is an existential threat, I fear Varren more. The Infusion system seems to be a way for an Admin to possess a monster temporarily.
If we ever got to negotiate with the Admins, I believe that COHOK, Nentik and Forth can be pulled to our side.
COHOK is the planner, and while she's currently planning on genocide, she seems equally interested in planning for really anything. If we could get her to focus on helping humanity, she could be invaluable. Though I suspect she would be just as distracted by planning a birthday party.
Nentik seems similarly one-dimensional, only oriented towards negotiations. He loves being the arbiter as much as he enjoys being on one side of a debate. I believe his goal is not to win a negotiation, but to have a negotiation in the first place.
Forth is, I believe, already on our side. It's rarely seen in these logs, and always arguing for the least lethal methods. I have some evidence that it's the one who tweaks the Dracosys classes and abilities in our favor.
Some of the Admins have taken genders. I have elected to adopt their choices for the sake of continuity between my notes and their own words. I personally find all genders to be constructs, and find their adoption of them quite odd. Are they attempting to become more organic? This, combined with the Infusion system, points to Admins that wish to be more than just data in a quantum computer.
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7/27
Jun and Mercy's Hotel Room in Denver
6:30 AM
As I wake up, my menu has a flashing notification. It doesn't ever do that, so I pay attention.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
I use Deep Dive to look into the specifics of each option.
Astral Pathmaker is surprisingly straightforward. I get to make one subclass for each level of Stellar Pathmaker I have. The “existing ability synergies” aspect is pretty limiting. The first one I have/made is “Weaponized Familiar” which grants someone Telekinesis on one specific item or weapon, which they can then cast spells through. That one is the Armed subclass from Magus combined with the Telekinetic subclass from Psychic. Magus is the higher step class, so people who get a relevant 4th step or higher class could take the Weaponized Familiar subclass. Neat.
But Armored Astrologer is really, really good. The constellation enchantments are absurdly powerful. I would basically double my ranged spell attack power, add a ton of mass and force to my melee attacks, and become even more unbreakable.
The Solar/Lunar and Atmos/Void forms are just as nuts. They layer the strengths of each form on top of the other. This includes powers they already share. Solar and Lunar forms both have increased armor. Instead of the Solar/Lunar form having increased armor, it has DOUBLE increased armor. Same for the speed bonuses for Atmos and Void. It's nonsensical ability stacking that absolutely . It's like sitting down to watch Terminator twice in a row, but you come away with the memories of watching Terminator 2. Wild.
Technically, the Starry Skies subclass from Crimson Mage should allow me to combine elements already, but when I armor up, the armor can only have one element. And the armor makes that element stronger and every other element weaker. And wearing Kamen Rider armor is cool as fuck so it's not like I'm going wear it.
Armored Astrologer’s precise control over Star Swarm is also secretly OP AF. Because of the perk “The New Passives” I can set up any spell with a particularly low cost as a passive effect. Normally, that's not amazing, because it's limited to my lowest cost spells. However, if I can cast Star Swarm at 1% cost by summoning just one star, I can have a star out at all times, for free. Plus, I be able to cast it more than once at that level, giving me stars up to my limit, for free. That part is iffy, though. Definitely at least... 5 free stars, all the time. That's basically cheating.
And Astral Pathmaker doesn't do anything for me. I would actually be theoretically weaker, trading constellation spells I never use for subclasses for others that I couldn't take.
Armored Astrologer is what the hero would take. Any protag in any litRPG would take Armored Astrologer, become Goku, and save the world. Only for some interplanetary threat like Freeza or Cell to immediately show up afterwards. There's always a bigger threat to punch.
Regardless, Armored Astrologer is a path to power.
It’s THE path to power.
And yet...
Jose is right. I’m not Goku. I’m the asshole who breaks game systems by multiclassing until the Game Master gets mad at me. The Dracosys is the GM. And I want it pissed. I want it angry at me for making humanity have a better shot at survival. I want to save people by doing what I do best, stacking shit that shouldn’t be stacked. So what if I give up my own power so that others can gain it?
A 6th Step class is supposedly a reflection of who you really are. Armored Astrologer is who I was. But it's not who I'm going to be.
I select Astral Pathmaker.
I open up the new “Create Subclass” menu and combine a couple of effects.
I confirm the creation and open my eyes.
Mercy is here. Mercy is next to me, wrapped around my right arm. Warm and soft. Adorably cute face. Content. Peaceful.
I savor the moment. I drink in the way the sunrise is peeking around the curtains, casting orange around the room. I listen to my Mercy's breathing, soft and steady. The room is cool. The bed is warm. The clock is still smashed and broken. Mercy gives a slight chortling snore, then unconsciously rolls over, resting her head on my upper arm.
I’ve been fighting and slaying monsters and leveling up and becoming stronger. That's great. It's important. It's fun and exciting and This is what I really want. This is where I'm supposed to be. I’m supposed to be next to a girl who makes me want to be better.
I close my eyes and see yet another alert. This one seems worse.
So...
Yeah, okay.
New goal.
Cool, not nerve wracking at all.
I just have to find and kill an Admin in 77 days.
And I'm betting they're going to try to kill me.
