"Okay so that's everyone in a party and under Custody." Casey said. With the New Foundation helping in town, we had some free time to gather. Mainly, the Party consisted of myself, Casey, Jenny, Nanny, Arthur… and Mantis…
"I still have my reservations about Mantis being a part of our group." I said carefully. "He's still our baby boy."
"He's physically right but mentally of a twenty year old." Arthur brought up.
"He's just a baby." I repeated, my tone that of a worried mother than a seasoned fighter.
"I'm worried." Mantis spoke up, taking my attention. "From what Carver and my own research says, Stalkers are by all means a Monster entity in this reality. So… why does Stalker have it's own race based Skill Tree in my Assistant… and why is it intertwined with the Nokori Tree… I want to know."
"I…I know…" I sighed, gently patting Mantis's head. "There's a whole lot of unknowns and sudden things happening…"
"Which we will look into." Nanny nodded. "Now that constant survival and defense isn't a major issue, we have time to work on something more fundamental."
"Expansion." I nodded.
"Which I have plenty of experience with such things in hostile territories." Arthur brought up.
"Right. New Foundation is helping man the Church, construction and town defense but we still need land to expand too… 05-1 talked to me about some things last night and I have an idea that can work." Casey said.
"What's the idea?" I inquired.
"He told me that an Ability called Fast Travel when I also have Township, it creates a special Combination Ability called Frontier. With this I can create Outposts that act as both towns and a means of fast traveling around the Zone, as the Portals only allow Township Residents to travel through them and the Outpost come with a basic defense shield, all of thick can be upgraded with resources. This means we can create many towns all linked through safe to travel portals."
"That sounds rather interesting." Arthur hummed. "But how are we supposed to get Fast Travel for you? I doubt there's either an ability broker or some random chest that can just hand you that ability."
"He gave it to me." Casey said.
"Well…I suppose that works." Arthur admitted.
"Yeah, but considering it's O5-1 I'm sure he has many copies of Legendary Abilities." I admitted.
"I'm sad I couldn't talk to him, from what you said this O5-1 sounds like quite a scholar and scientist." Arthur said.
"Yeah, he's been a scientist before even this reality was created." I answered.
"More than likely he got them when the New Foundation raided a Nexus Ability Vault. I've heard horror stories about those places…" Nanny said.
Arthur sighed. "Another facility where the innocent are locked up and tortured till their nothing but meat sack's to obtain whatever their 'handlers' want…" The good doctor shook his head. "While I don't know the extent of what this Nexus is capable of…I have a good baseline for what I should expect."
"Nexus is… old." Nanny said. "They're an Organization that reaches way back, before even The Mother. Back in those days they were supposedly unmatchable. Led by a twisted being who only created the organization out of Boredom as his very existence brought a slow but sure end to the Machine our ancestors lived within. During the War, first The Family fought Against Nexus, then against a Mad All Maker who revived them, stronger and more deadly. When the war ended, remnants of their people hid and slithered along through the new reality until Armageddon came to be. Then they flocked here like moths to light. This planet has been their home ever since. While they're nowhere near their former might, they are still the Legacy of Evil, as far as the majority of creation is concerned."
The former Blood King shook his head. "No matter how thorough you are…Evil always finds a way to wriggle it's way back even on the brink of death." Arthur growled.
"That's life for ya…but hopefully there's some difference being made out there." I said honestly.
"How are they still so dangerous is they're not as powerful as they used to be?" Mantis asked.
"With age comes knowledge. Nexus is many things, but smart and patient are their most well known traits. They hide, pillage, steal, hoard and craft armors, weapons, they stockpile more supplies than Greed ever could hope to obtain. They also have the most numbers out of any of the chaos Guilds. While many are not as powerful as their predecessors, Nexus was the first to have a Hacker, a form of… alternative Admin, born or made, no one knows how but with that Hacker, a legacy of Code based uses and powers was born."
"And what is this 'Code'?" Arthur inquired. "I've heard it mentioned once or twice but never heard or seen what it really is."
"Well, in simple terms, it's the building blocks of this reality. You see, the original All Makers created the Machine to convert the raw and dangerous energy native to the infinity outside it. As the space outside was infinite so to was the energy, but while the All Makers were safe from it, even they could not hold back infinity from destroying what they created. So, they created something that sheltered their creations from the outside, the Machine. After the War, the Mother made the outside space safe with a barrier she maintains and expands constantly, it acts similar to The Machine, converting the raw and dangerous energy into Code and supporting all the life and all that happens in our reality. Without the barrier, the energy would simply… drown us out, and we'd all cease to exist truly."
"That's…a frightening thought." Arthur said carefully.
"And that is why so many hold her in such high regard." Casey added.
"Yeah…that is definitely a reason." Arthur nodded.
"Yep." I nodded. "So, where shall we head off to first?"
"Thanks to some map data you had Heather I used it to mark some locations down that could be very useful for us." Casey started. "There's five of you but two teams can work best."
"Are you not coming?" Jenny asked.
"Well I am pregnant, plus a feature of Township means I won't have to."
"I can assume you can create outposts wherever we are without needing to be there specifically?" I inquired.
"No. I can delegate roles to people within the Township. If I delegate the role of Security, it allows you to use the Frontier function of placing and upgrading outposts ."
"Well, I suppose that works." I nodded. "So how should we split up? Cause we have an odd number here."
"Jenny and Nanny will travel together north towards a Dungeon in that area. They can set up the outpost there and the Dungeon according to the map data is very well knowledge for dropping weapons and medicine as loot." Casey started. "Heather, Arthur and Mantis, you three will head South to a large crater and set up an Outpost there. The crater goes down several miles and is perfect for setting up a mining operator the New Foundation to come in and start digging."
"Alright, works for me." I nodded.
"Would make sense to make sure both parties have heavy hitters." Arthur nodded. "I've looked into these Stats of ours and…ever since the bonus from Casey's Perfect Custodian, I am…shocked to say I'm kind of on par with Nanny."
"Wait really?" I asked in surprise.
"Well, on a strictly numbers value, I don't hold a candle to her in anything that would really matter, like experience or powers and abilities." Arthur admitted. "But if it comes down to a simple 'who has the bigger numbers' game I can…kind of hold my own."
"I'm sure you'll gain many various Abilities in no time Arthur." Nanny said.
"One can hope." Arthur nodded. "So when are we leaving for our missions?"
"Preferably as soon as possible." Casey said.
"Why don't we leave now then?" Mantis asked.
"Works for me." I nodded. "Let's get to that mine and start making Outposts."
With that, Mantis, Arthur and I headed out, following the Map Marker and driving there. It was faster and most of the vehicles around here are all gas powered.
The car we were in was a semi truck that Jenny armored. It was spacious enough, and driving it felt epic. Just wish the ride wasn't so quiet.
"Who wants to listen to some music?" I inquired.
"What kind of music is there in this world?" Arthur inquired. "Cause my taste in music might be…'classical' by your standards."
Mantis said nothing, he was just looking out the window.
"Well, I'll start with some Classics of my own." I said, turning on the radio and syncing my Assistant to it to start playing one of the best classics out there.
As the music played, the noise didn't help ease the awkward feeling. Arthur just looked confused by the music. Mantis seemed to be ignoring it as he was still looking outside the window.
"Alright, Mantis why are you just ignoring us and Arthur…what are you confused about?" I asked.
"I'm scanning out the vehicle around us, trying to catalog the hostiles we're passing by." He said.
"And for me…this is the first time I've heard this song and…it's nothing like I've ever heard…" Arthur said, looking more like a man trying to comprehend the song after hearing it compared to the other music he's listened to.
"That's fair…" I sighed. "I just…want to do something and not make this entire car ride awkward."
"Silence is awkward?" Mantis asked.
"Silence can be awkward, like someone wants to say something but is too shy to say anything." I explained.
"Yes…I didn't want to say anything cause I was concerned I might start off with a wrong conversation." Arthur said sheepishly.
"How is a conversation wrong?" Mantis asked.
"A conversation can be wrong depending on the topic." I answered. "It's like if I talked about doctors when you were still…upset about Doctors." I said carefully.
"Oh… I still don't like Doctors." Mantis said.
"And that's fair." I nodded.
"Well…I hope I'm one of the doctors you can at least tolerate." Arthur said carefully.
"I don't consider you a doctor." Mantis said.
"Really?" Arthur asked. "What do you consider me?"
"A child."
Arthur huffed. "I'm in my fifties thank you very much." He stated.
"Your biological scans say you're two thousand, four hundred and sixty three years old. Biologically at least."
The doctor blinked. "That's…impossible, I don't remember ever being in any Time distortions…"
"Gods are known to experience a phenomenon known as Temporal Dissociation, meaning your perception of time is slowed compared to other non divine beings. What you could experience as a year could in fact be a century. Many gods back home experienced this, thinking they only slept for a few hours but wake up centuries later long forgotten and without followers."
"But…how the hell would I have experienced that? Centuries didn't pace since I got here, I wasn't a god back home…" Arthur scratched his head as he looked…so confused as to how things suddenly got like this.
"Don't think about it too hard there." I said nervously, hoping the doctor won't have an aneurysm by trying to figure out how things are happening.
"Maybe your disease aged your biology." Mantis offered. "If you were using your magic to keep yourself alive all that time the stress alone would have aged you, where you not using magic you'd look far older than you are."
"I…suppose that makes sense…" Arthur hummed with some thought.
"But, why do you still see him as a child if you know he's older than one?" I asked.
"Because of his sense of wonder and curiosity. His tone shifts to excitement at learning something new and he views all he's been learning here, well, most all he's been learning with optimism and sense of wonder commonly found in children who know nothing about the world and are being told new information for the first time, and their curiosity and imaginations wonder and makes them want to explore or learn more." Mantis stated.
"...Yeah that's fair." I nodded.
"There's just so much to learn and study, explore and find all this new knowledge, how can someone like me not be acting giddy about all this?" Arthur brought up.
"I don't, and biologically I am a child." Mantis said.
"Yes but mentally you're a… something else."
"Technically I'd be considered a rogue AI, if you follow science fiction tropes."
"And you are also trying to figure out emotions from what I can tell." Arthur admitted. "So it'll take time."
"Yeah…it's a work in progress but it's going." I admitted.
"... What emotions do you understand, Mantis?" Arthur asked.
"Anger. Fear. Regret. Sadness… and Vengeance." Mantis said.
"So you…need to learn all the opposite emotions." Arthur nodded.
"Yeah, he's learning the positives bit by bit." I said.
As I drove, the conversation was kept to small talk and basic stuff. As time passed things were good thankfully.
"Stop the truck." Mantis said.
I pulled to a stop. "Something up or are we here?"
Mantis said nothing but rapidly jumped out of the truck and ran towards some buildings.
"Wonder what's got him in a hurry?" Arthur said as he and I hurried up to follow Mantis. We ran inside a mall of sorts and found… There were dead demons in here. Lots, all skillfully hacked into their limbs and body parts put into piles.
Mantis was standing in front of some thin, towering thing. It's body looked a mix of mechanical and organic, joints had exposed artificial parts connected to organic looking ones. The colors were a mix of silver, gray and black. It's arms ended in long shimmering blades that seemed to extend and shrink. It's head had one giant glass goggle built into the large portion of the that only some lights flickered within, no eye to speak of and whatever was once it's mouth was covered in a thick metal plate that was bolted from non existent ear to non existent ear.
"Is…that what I think it is?" I asked in surprise.
"It's blood… it's nothing like Mantis… but the foundation is there…" Arthur said. "That same taint… It's a Stalker…"
"That's what I was afraid of…" I said carefully, drawing Ol Reliable and prepared for a fight.
The Stalker and Mantis seemed to stare at one another for a time. The light's in the Stalker's large glass eye flickering and flashing… it's body then began to twist and convulse sporadically… then it fell over, collapsing to the ground.
"Uh… What happened?" Arthur asked.
I blinked, and looked down at Mantis.
"You…okay there Mantis?" I asked worriedly.
"Yes. We can go now." He said, turning around to leave.
"Wait, but what happened?" Arthur asked.
"Stalkers all come with receiver and transmission antennas built into our spines. This model was no different. It's not one I was familiar with but it was broadcasting on the same frequency that the Stalker Hive Mind does. So, it identified me as the same it is, admittedly compared to it I'm considered an outdated model. Thankfully it seems the Hack still worked." Mantis explained.
"So…you hacked into its mind and what? Made it brain dead?" I inquired.
"What I did was similar to what Matthew and I did back on our world. Stalkers are built from the corpses of the failed Nokori Fusions, so, somewhere in our minds is the mind of the person we are built from. I've searched mine but Matthew isn't with me, so I hacked into this Stalker's brain to check and see. You see, if the right sequence of errors happen, our AI is forced to put our Stalker OS into hibernation and boot up an available backup OS. That OS is the mind of the person we are built from. It's a failsafe of sorts. However, this unit here, designated Unit ADC 448921, Classification Collector, doesn't seem to have a backup OS. Based on my scans and it's own internal data I downloaded, it's made from scratch by 3-D printing cells into the organs and flesh and bones all around the metal frame and parts of our bodies. Like I said, I'm an antique compared to this model. But, yes Heather, the Hack sends in the errors into the target Stalker through the Hive Mind, in a model like my own, it would force it to boot up the person, but all it ended up doing was crash it's OS and send it into a 404 error loop."
"I got… most of that… I think?" Arthur said.
"In simpler terms, he tried to force a separate personality in the Stalker to replace it's current personality, but because it didn't have one it's brain fucked up and it's effectively brain dead." I explained.
"Ah, that's what that means." Arthur nodded. "I'm sorry, technology like this was still possibly decades of not centuries in my kingdom's world."
"That's fair, anything else that confused you?" I inquired.
"Not really, I understand the vat grown golem part with it's hive mind and 'programming', just…OS and other technical things are a bit out of my range of knowledge."
"OS stands for Operating System. Basically think of it like the basics that a mind is made from. Basic instincts and how to use your body for natural born beings is learned during infancy, but for beings like me and machines, we need to have some basic things placed into us. From there they add other programs, like my Biometric and Mana scans, programs to run and decrypt frequencies and data with my receiver, in a way it's a mass produced bare basic mind."
"Oh~, so like the runic systems the Wizard Kingdom was trying to perfect?" Arthur asked, seeing that bit of realization get a spark in his eyes as he was starting to learn something brand new and was getting a bit giddy about it.
"Hm. Curiosity and wonder of a child." Mantis smirked as he turned and looked over at Arthur, but then looked down at the Stalker, and then his own hand. "Hmmm I wonder…"
"What are you wondering about, Mantis?" I inquired.
He walked over to the downed Stalker, putting his one hand to it… I watched as the Stalker began to… dehydrate and shrink until it all seemed to be absorbed by Mantis. He then lifted his hand up and it twisted and turned from flesh to metal and turned into the same blade that Stalker had. "Hm, useful."
"Huh…that's interesting." I said.
"You assimilated it into yourself?" Arthur asked.
"Yes. While it's a more advanced model than I am, was, the control over my cells for absorbing biomass and mechanical components allow me to make use of its specialty designs and purpose." Mantis said.
Basically like when he absorbs tech and such.
"Yeah that makes sense." I nodded.
"Was it also because it was unconscious?" Arthur inquired. "Cause I have a feeling that your assimilation ability might not work against conscious opponents who are stronger than you." He pointed out, scratching his chin as he looked like he was in some thinking mode about Mantis's ability.
"It's more practical to have made use of it than to leave the body here to collect dust. I don't know if will or it's OS would have mattered." Mantis stated.
"Fair enough." I nodded. "Alright, so unless there's anything else in this place we should look into, we should get back on the road."
"No. The data from that unit says it's a Biomass collection unit."
"That explains the demon corpses here…" Arthur said as he looked around.
"Yes. Other than some location data…" Mantis started then stopped.
"And what's special about the location?" I asked carefully, having a feeling the location specifically was why he stopped.
"... It's four miles out of our way, but… if the data here is right, it's where it's programmed to go for repairs… meaning there's a Facility there…"
"That's…concerning." I admitted.
"But it can be used in our favor." Arthur said, as I looked over to him with a raised eyebrow. "If it's a facility made for repairing Stalkers, that means it would be full of all sorts of supplies we could…'repurpose' for our needs." Arthur explained.
"Well…you do have a point." I admitted.
"... Either way, I'm going." Mantis said as he took off running.
"Mantis wait!" I called out as I ran off towards him, Alex following along just as quickly.
We chased after Mantis, the little guy was fast, keeping ahead of Arthur and I, and using that new sword of his to hack apart Demons that tried to get close to him.
I spend years looking for one of those and he gets it just by sensing it's dark magic…
After some time Mantis stopped. We were outside what looked like a residential neighborhood. It was in ruins, some houses in ruble, others burned out, some still stood.
"Well…this is depressing…" I said carefully, wanting to focus on this instead of my small bit of jealousy at him finding one of the many swords I've been hunting and he just…finds it…
"That house, over there." Mantis said as he pointed with the sword at one of the standing houses. It was a weathered and old looking house, it's once white paint now all chipped and some parts were covered in old gore and dry blood. "There's a hidden facility in that house."
"Well then let's get ready to start our first raid." I said, holding Ol'Reliable a little tighter.
"Haven't been in a raid in a long time." Arthur said, bringing out The Crucible…which this bitch is still lucky for finding that damned thing. Stupid hilt costs a fortune and only appears in Doom style Demon Dungeon's that are Level 4 for fuck sakes!
We walked into the house, finding the basement had a door that was definitely not part of it's normal design. Arthur used his blood magic and ripped it open. Immediately some alarms went off from inside the now exposed room and Mantis bolted inside.
Me and Arthur rushed in quickly after Mantis bolted inside. "We gotta find the security and shut off that Alarm before any other Facilities send in Reinforcements."
"I'm surprised there's even a Facility here, I was told none of the Chaos Guilds would even dare encroach on Slayer territory?" Arthur questioned.
True… maybe they're getting bold? Or maybe even sneakier…
We turned the corner-
I jumped. There were dozens of huge metal tubes with some… limbs and such growing inside them. Body parts of Stalkers, all being grown in those huge things.
I saw Mantis looking at a small cat-like being with six ears and all black fur. There was a wire in the back of it's neck and it was slumped over in a chair like a doll.
"Mantis?" I asked softly, walking closer to him carefully and hoping he was alright.
"... This is a Nokori." He said, still looking at the six eared cat creature. "But… something's different. It seems to have a synthetic brain if the biometric scan is right."
"A synthetic brain? Why would they need a synthetic brain for this one?
"... One way to find out." Mantis said.
Suddenly, the Cat Nokori jolted and their eyes blinked and opened. They jumped up and stood before us. "Repair Unit PLY9855432-2 Operational." The cat said.
"Collector Unit ADC 448921." Mantis said.
"Unit ID Accepted." The Cat said. "Facility compromised."
"Override 000400404."
"Override accepted."
"Transmitting Unit Repair Needs."
"Transmission lines open. Accepting Log-" The Cat said, stopping as their body convulsed and their eyes twitched until their head leaned back… then they stood straight again, blinking several times. "Unit… OS corruption detected… Unit… Unit new directives installed. Hello. How may I help you?"
Arthur and I both blinked and looked at Mantis.
"What…did you do?" I asked carefully.
"This… Nokori is the only staff at this facility. Even it's just an extension of an automated system." Mantis started. "Since I absorbed that other Stalker and obtained it's data, I knew it's access codes to the facility. After that I just had to make it open the transmission to receive a repair needs log I laced with an altered version of the virus I programmed to corrupt the OS similar to mine and alter the primary directives. It will answer anything we ask of it within it's knowledge."
"That makes sense." I nodded. "So…do you have a name that isn't your ID number?" I inquired, curious if these people named the cat or not.
"This unit has no need for another designation." The cat replied.
"Right…" I muttered.
"How long has this facility been here?" Arthur inquired.
"Thirteen years, four months, nine days, fourteen hours and fifty three seconds." The cat said.
"Who created this facility?" I inquired, cause there's no way in hell they could have snuck this in thirteen…wait…
"The Y Labs Stalker division of the Y Labs facility of Violence."
"How did this place get past the Slayers Guild?"
"There was a three day delay between the new Zone protector and the old protector passing on the mantle and responsibility where the zone was unguarded. Violence sent out many automated facility drones into the zone and set up facilities like this around this zone. I am but one of millions they sent out. However I am unaware of how many are still functional."
"Can you get into contact with any of the other facilities?" I inquired.
"Negative. Unnecessary transmissions could lead to discovery. Transmission is only open when manufactured Stalker Units return to this facility for repairs or a KIA Transmission was sent out, forcing the receiver to activate and a new Stalker Unit is created."
"Is there a log of any…cross Facility work? Like a Stalker from one Facility needing to stop here for any reason?" Arthur inquired.
"Negative."
"What are you capable of doing?" I asked.
"This unit generates Stalker's in individual field units using recycled biomass and biomass printers as well as generating the mechanical components from recycled raw materials all gathered by the sole operating Stalker Unit at the time. This facility also records field data supplied by the active Stalker Unit once a month."
"Where are the refineries here?" Arthur asked this time, as knowing where the Refinery's for the biomass and all the other metals and machinery would be a good thing.
"All raw materials are kept in Matter-to-Digital Storage Drives linked to the 3-D fabricators."
"And where would those be in this facility?"
"Built into this repair unit."
I blinked. "So…all the material's collected are stored in you?"
"Correct."
"Right…that's gonna need some…thought put into it." I muttered.
"Are all these Stalkers Collectors?" Arthur asked.
"Correct. Collector Units are an upgraded form of the early Mantis Units, while Mantis Units are still in development at other facilities, this one specializes in the Collector Units as they are built for both reconnaissance, combat and if need be, test subject recapture."
"Right…" I said carefully. "So probably shouldn't tell Carver this…hmm, can we take command of this Facility?" I inquired.
"Unknown."
"What is your prime objective?" I inquired.
"My Prime Objective is currently to answer all your questions to the fullest of my capabilities."
Right, Mantis did hack them so…
"What was it before your current objective?" I corrected my little slip up.
"Repair Active Stalker Unit. Record data Active Unit delivers. Hibernate. Analyze data."
"I believe you also said you had data on locations, how far has the Stalkers gone?" Arthur inquired.
"Furthest map data currently have fifty thousand miles and multiple locations cataloged."
"That's a rather sizable distance." I said honestly. "Hmm…"
"Can you repurpose all the Stalkers in the tubes into workable biomass? I'd like to turn this into a proper med-bay." Arthur said readily.
"That is entirely within my capabilities. All this Unit would require is DNA samples of the subjects you would like to have spare parts for." The cat said.
"Alright." Arthur nodded. "But first…is turning all these Stalkers back into biomass." Arthur said.
"Understood." The cat said. All the tubed suddenly drained, the limbs falling into holes and then it looked like the tubes underwent some kind of self cleaning. "Conversion of Manufactured Stalker Limbs and Parts back into Biomass and Raw Metals completed."
"Great." I nodded. "Are there other Stalkers out and about from this facility?"
"Negative."
I nodded, deciding to make this place an Outpost cause this would be really helpful for us.
The whole Outpost making was neat. I set down a portal and now… what to do about this Cat…
"Well…right now I'm wondering what to do with our new cat friend." I said.
"Maybe take them with us?" Arthur asked. "If they are similar to Mantis then… maybe they can be saved?"
"Negative." The cat said. "This unit can not leave this facility."
"Why can't you leave the facility?" I inquired.
"This Unit lacks an internal Power Source to provide power to the internal mechanical components. All power to this unit is provided by the facility." The cat said, tapping on the cable in the back of their neck.
"Well that sucks." I admitted.
"Well…maybe I can figure something out." Arthur admitted. "Would take some time but I think I could figure out some way to give him the proper power source to be outside…though the lack of emotions is something of a concern."
"He might need a soul to help out…" I said carefully
"Are you certain?" Mantis asked, finally speaking up after Arthur and I spent the past ten or so minutes questioning the cat. "It's not like me. It's not like a Stalker or even a Nokori. It's a flesh suit with a computer for a brain made to run tasks over and over again."
"So just…let it be doing its thing?" I inquired.
"... I don't know." Mantis said. "I'm aware given it's situation and my prior one… I should be experiencing sympathy. Empathy. But I don't… Maybe it's because I don't know enough about emotions to experience them… or another reason. Would saving it be worth it in the end or would it be wasted effort?"
"From my experience in war, there is never a time where saving someone is a waste of time." Arthur said. "Acts of kindness, even in War, can have such astounding affects to everyone."
"Perhaps… I don't know much about acts of kindness… I can think of one I can remember…"
"And tell me, what was that act of kindness?" Arthur asked softly.
"... Once, Matthew learned I was capable of using our body. He was able to 'ride in the back' as Zena put it and… I was in control of the body. It had been some years at this point and… well, on the day where Zena shot me, er, us, when we were still Stalkers, Matthew said this would act as my birthday as… well, it was a significant day… and he let me control our body for the day. Zena was aware of this and… she let me pick things to do. I didn't know how to… enjoy things. We went to a bookstore. A cafe. Restaurants. For the first time I tasted the food and drinks… and by days end… Zena gave me ice cream… and hugged me. She thanked me for keeping Matthew safe when she wasn't around and… that was when I promised to always keep him safe for her…"
"And with that one simple act of kindness, you not only went against your programming but swore to protect the one you truly cared about." Arthur explained softly.
"... Maybe… I still don't get… emotions or… what it means to be alive and your own entity…"
"You're still young, with your whole life to experience…but tell me, have you been told what you need to feel with from Heather?" Arthur asked.
"A soul and a Heart. Carver managed to get me a soul… and my Heart, Heather got back when she unlocked my memories."
Arthur nodded. "So right now, you are learning to feel with your heart…tell me, what does your heart say when you look at Heather?"
"... confusion." Mantis answered.
"Why confusion?" I asked worriedly.
"... Sometimes, you remind me of Zena. Sometimes Hex reminds me of Matthew… And when that happens I feel… hurt… but there's no wound…"
"That's an emotional wound, it's not something physical." Arthur shook his head. "You miss your old family, wishing they were here when…they ultimately aren't…and seeing your new family reminds you of them and you get homesick."
"Homesick?"
"Homesick is a feeling you get when you're longing for home and loved ones…and currently, you're longing for your old life back in your old world."
"... Why? I know I can't have it back… can't go back… why would I miss it… That's illogical."
"Emotions, feelings…they aren't logical." Arthur shook his head. "As a man of science and medicine, Emotions are the one thing that can't be explained logically." He shook his head. "You cared for your family, you gave up your life to protect them…and now that you have this new life, with new emotions…you wish you could experience it with your original family "
"... Why?" Mantis asked, clenching his fist. "Why does being alive have to hurt? … Why does the first emotions I feel as my own being… have to be pain?"
Arthur sighed. "Life…can be a cruel mistress…" He admitted. "She can be cold, uncaring and spiteful, but she can also be a kind and benevolent being that gives us what we need when we truly need it." Arthur said. "Being Alive isn't about the pain…it's what we do with that pain that makes being alive mean something…" He looked up and seemed to get a thousand yard stare. "I…I've seen Death, countless numbers…of all ages and races…I was pained when I lost my first home, I was pained to be treated like an abomination when I wanted to help…I've been pained for all the lives I have reaped with my own hands and the lives I couldn't save…but I pushed past it, I pushed past all the pain because I had my friends, I had my family, and I had the people counting on me to make the world I fought for a better place." He sighed. "Life can be Cruel…but it doesn't have to be Cruel."
Gingerly, I kneeled down next to Mantis, and gave them a hug.
"So, looks like everyone's tasks were completed without issue more or less." Casey said as we returned home through the portal. It was so much faster than driving back here. Nanny and Jenny were both already here so Arthur, Mantis and I were all that was left to come back.
"For the most part." I said, gently holding Mantis's hand. "We also found a Stalker Facility and commandeered it to be a medical center for Arthur."
"Wow. That's useful. Well, while you were all gone O5-1 talked to me. He wants Nanny to help train the other Mother's Daughter, at least help them know some basics, and me to meet this other Perfect Custodian Title Holder." Casey started.
"I'm more than willing to help a fellow guild member. Did he say who they are?" Nanny asked.
"Yeah. His name's Gallon. He's a Nokori and isekai. Apparently he arrived in our reality in a zone far away petrified as a statue with his husband. His husband is the one of the same title as me, Micheal."
"That's interesting, also glad to hear there's another Mother's Daughter and a Perfect Custodian around." I admitted.
"Looks like." Casey nodded. "Once they build their main hub portal, he wants us to meet not only to compare our uses of the title, but also because apparently we both have Township, so he wants to know if something happens when two people have the same Legendary Ability."
"Well… From what I know, if two people in a party have the same Legendary Ability they resonate with one another, usually doubling their effect… but what would that do for one as unique as Township?" Nanny said, pondering that last part to herself.
Right, I remember hearing about that. Think it makes Generation faster and more powerful, Loop, less time for the loop to happen and even stronger, stuff like that I believe.
"Hmm…well, it might either make doing the Civ style stuff easier or something along those lines." I admitted.
"Maybe. Guess we'll find out when we meet." Casey shrugged.
"Well, this is going to be interesting meeting a new member-"
[Greetings! This is a direct message to all creation from The Mother. If you are receiving this, then there is a huge announcement that we in The Family hope you will not miss.
Starting New Years, or as some of you like to call it, Rest Day, The Assistant and Abilities System will be receiving a major update to certain functions. There will also be a Worlds and Reality Update issued at the same time.
For the Assistant and Abilities, the following will be updated.
Common Abilities will all be given a higher level cap.
Rare Abilities can now also level up.
Legendary Abilities can level up, with a few exceptions.
The Assistant can now keep track of slain enemies for records and personal score keeping.
The Assistant now registers EXP when killing enemies. This EXP will convert into Skill Points over time.
New Abilities and TItles will be added.
Some existing Titles and Abilities will be improved.
The following for World and Reality will be updated.
There is now going to be a Level 0 Dungeon. This Dungeon type will be meant for training eager youths seeking adventure. Death is impossible in these dungeons, but enemies can still inflict pain. Even the Void Level 0 Dungeons will not kill, but will hurt more than normal. Loot in these dungeons will be minimum as it's more for training and practice.
Dungeons levels will now be increased. Existing Dungeons may increase based on factors, but some new dungeons can spawn up to a danger level of 20. This included a Void counterpart.
Some of the new higher level dungeons may appear in areas of the world not explored or not inhabited by anything of note already across Reality.
Perma Death Monsters and Void Admins have been moved to the new Void Level 20 and Level Twenty Dungeons after the update.
Some Dungeons can now have trials that will increase it's danger level to increase it's challenge.
Dungeons can now come in up to triple the maximum prior size.
Dungeon Loot will now respawn Weekly, Enemies Daily, Bosses and Optional Bosses remain a Yearly Respawn.]
"... Holy fucking shit…" Casey voiced all our thoughts. Well, his, mine and Nanny's. Arthur looked confused and Mantis seemed indifferent.
"There hasn't been an update to reality this large in… since Era Two…" Nanny said.
"Uh…did you just say Reality just…updated?" Arthur asked in confusion, which I nodded. "That…that doesn't make any sense!"
"It's…it's a whole thing but…damn I didn't expect this to happen…" I said in surprise.
"Are these updates common?" Mantis asked.
"Yes, actually but usually not this large." Nanny said. "Usually they're very small, minor things that people barely notice, like new Abilities or changes in Skill Point Prices across the Skill Trees. But this… this is all a lot. Last time an update like this happened was in Era Two when Void Dungeons were introduced."
"I guess if anything the new EXP bar will make getting Skill Points easier." Casey said.
"Yeah, that will help." I nodded.
"Wait hold on…the Creator God just…adds thing's to reality post Creation Event? I thought Creator Gods just let the natural order take place after that?"
"The Family is…very different." I admitted carefully.
"The Family did not start off as Creator Gods. The vast majority of them were all mortals before The War and before they gained their power." Nanny said. "They took all they knew from before, about Gods and saw how gods active in the lives of their worlds and creations were compared to inactive gods who basically made worlds and life and let natural selection and nature do the rest. They have a form of middle ground. One could meet a member of The Family, usually one of the children, but the founders are rarely seen interacting in the world. Aside All Maker King's… vast adult videos, photos, toys… Diane is actually a sex bot replica in looks to All Maker King, another product and one of the few ways The Family's Founding Members interact in the world they made."
"Why don't the Founding Members interact more directly?" Mantis asked.
"No one really knows. Some think it's because they're too strong, or that managing reality as it is takes a lot of their time. Some think they just want to spend eternity resting after The War."
"All things considered…I would have liked to rest after the war I was in." Arthur admitted. "Also uh…that's…interesting to know…" The poor man's face was now pure crimson as he looked over and saw Diane, who gave an innocent and happy wave as he learned what they were based on.
"Yeah… Heather bought her immediately from the seller because they were a limited supply." Casey added, making me turn red.
"Yes, purely because it was a limited supply." I agreed carefully.
"Yes… your many, many, many shelves of All Maker King porn videos had no influence on buying her." Jenny chuckled.
"Excuse me?" Arthur asked in shock.
"Jenny, cease your nonsense, and Arthur…don't worry about it." I said quickly.
"Let's just say sex is rather… casual, in terms of this reality." Jenny chuckled, seeing the poor doctor's face turn red too.
"O-oh…" The doctor said sheepishly. "That's…that's good to know…yeah…Indra would love it here…" He muttered.
"Is that a friend of yours or a spouse?" I inquired.
"One…of my spouses." He said sheepishly. "See…relationship's like the one I had before wasn't…entirely normal, but…well, when you're a king and many other kingdom's believe in 'Strengthening Bonds by Marriage'..."
"And Indra was the one that was pushing for the polyamorous royal marriage?" I asked.
"Yes…a proud Beastial Lioness that wanted to be a part of a 'Royal Pride' and…well, her mate would need other 'suitors'..." The poor doctor scratched his cheek sheepishly.
"Good to know." I nodded, hearing his tone about one of his lovers and knowing his heart was in the right place for all that. "So…besides Reality getting a massive overhaul…now there's Dungeon's up to Level 20…which sounds both thrilling and…terrifying…"
"Yeah… but, Level 5 dungeons won't be a death sentence to explore anymore…" Casey hummed. "Meaning the loot they drop, and they drop a lot… can be more safely gathered."
"In other words, if we get stronger we can grind level five dungeons for resources." Nanny smirked.
"Sounds like a great time to me." I said readily.
"And what are Dungeons?" Arthur asked. "I've heard it brought up a few times and I'm curious as to why you'd want to go to a prison complex."
"Well…technically Dungeon's can be like that." I said. "But Dungeon's here are special areas that are filled with monsters, traps, and whole lotta loot if you can brave the dangers, ranging from Tower, Arena and Field Dungeons…I mean, Armageddon is one giant Field Dungeon but Tower and Arena Dungeon's do spawn from what I've seen on my resource runs." I explained.
"Yes." Nanny nodded.
"I wonder… What kind of dangers will all the new dungeons bring? At least the perma death is gonna be moved to level twenty once the update comes, but still." Casey hummed.
"Either they're upgrading monster's to fit the bill, or we're about to start seeing monster's that have never been seen before, like those Angel's in Prize Pod Memories."
"Sounds like fun. Wonder if this included more powerful weapons and weapon upgrades." Jenny pondered. "I'd love to shoot a cannon."
"Maybe I can get some of the more rarer sword's from them…cause I really want to get back to Sword hunting, it's my passion after all." I said happily.
"Like your passion is collecting King's porn series?" Jenny teased with a cheeky grin.
"Cease!" I whined, my face turning beat red again as many laughed at the tease.
"Well, when are you going to meet these two?" Jenny asked.
"Oh, Once they rebuild the town they live in, so in a week or so. Apparently it was attacked recently by some old members of a guild called The Majority."
"The-" Nanny started but covered her mouth.
"What's wrong?" I asked, seeing Nanny's reaction and fearing the worst.
"They… Once, they were the strongest Chaos Guild on Armageddon. When the War ended and all the different realities were merged into the one, many had yet to be cataloged or visited by The Family. The war kept them busy and there were so many. So, many vile and evil beings were brought into a world of unlimited possibility and… took advantage. Back in Era one Chaos Guilds were a lot more common, and not all of them were on Armageddon. The Majority was a guild of the most sadistic and evil, almost a predecessor to Violence in a way. They had one goal, to make death permanent again across all reality… and they had a tool to accomplish this task. Everyone knows this as the Morgan Incident."
I bit my tongue… Dexter…
"What's the Morgan Incident?" Arthur inquired. "And…The Majority sound horrible…"
"They were. Somehow they managed to capture a Void Admin, one of the few beings capable of permanently killing a person, and forced them into the shape of a blade. Their founder wielded this cursed tool, because every time he used it, the system registered that his target was killed by a Void Admin, and so the death was made permanent. They then unleashed a monster that marched across Armageddon, killing people, monsters and even Void Beasts alike that it met along it's march. The Mother herself put a stop to it and made it impossible to recreate the cursed weapon. The Void Admin within was freed but fell to Madness shortly after."
"That's…horrible…" Arthur said, as I felt myself chip a tooth at how hard I was clenched my teeth to keep myself from saying anything.
"The incident was Era's ago…" I said, opening my mouth and ripping out my chipped tooth, feeling a new sharper tooth immediately take its place. "But if the Majority are out and about, that means something's afoot and I don't like it at all."
"How are they even still around?" Casey asked.
"They had many members." Nanny sighed. "While many were captured when The Mother and The Family took out their founder, many still escaped and hid. I don't know if they've been gathering new members or if all that's left are from the original Majority but… it's concerning that they're active again."
"There must be a reason for their reemergence…" I frowned.
"Maybe the New Foundation has something they want that they didn't have before?" Arthur suggested. "Maybe the Foundation got some new item, ability or…maybe they somehow obtained one of those Hackers that Nexus has because having someone that can rewrite reality at it's base level would be something the Foundation, and this Majority, would definitely want."
"Maybe. Whatever the case, we're gonna have to work overtime to get stronger to better defend this place. I'm worried we might not have enough as is to fend off an attack from them." Nanny sighed.
"Which isn't something I like to hear but sadly it's going to have to be a thing." I sighed. "But with these Outposts we can start to do a lot more when it comes to getting stronger."
"Will make the travel to dungeons much easier. We can take some time preparing and fortifying. We have some time before new years…" Casey hummed. "It's September now so we have just over two months… Guess we're gonna have to break out the emergency coffee huh?" Casey chuckled.
"Never thought we'd have to break out the emergency coffee." I sighed.
"Triple espresso extra dark colombian dark roast with moca mixed in." Jenny hummed happily. "I'm so getting heart palpitations." She grinned.
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Arthur stated. "I have no idea what half of what you said, but that sounds like it has enough caffeine to cause terribly high blood pressure which can cause other health problems."
"But we need the caffeine to function here."
"Never said that, I'm just going to make sure your hearts don't give up or explode because of too much caffeine."
"... Doc, now that I have my memories back I can tell you for a fact that I legit drank nothing but Red Bull for a month and not even that killed me. Trust me, coffee for a little over two months at most might just make going to sleep tricky." Jenny said, earning a… stare… from Arthur.
"And tell me, how much caffeine would be in a Red Bull compared to your 'emergency coffee' blend?" Arthur asked, looking over at me.
"Red Bull has enough caffeine to keep someone going for quite a while…and for our emergency coffee blend…the amount of caffeine in it is Yes."
"So I doubt even your special blood can handle that much caffeine over extended periods of time, let alone your liver." He shook his head.
"... Bet!" Jenny said, taking off running.
Arthur facepalmed. "She's going to be a handful, I just know it…"
"Eh, could be worse." I shrugged.
"Yeah… could be you when there's a holiday event at a dungeon." Casey chuckled.
"Hey, I'm sorry that the Holiday event gave us three times the loot and higher chance at rare drops." I pouted. "I wasn't going to let the chance of getting the Winter's Shard slip past me…hunting that thing for two years."
"Right… and neither was the fact all the monsters in that one dungeon for Christmas were all living gingerbread, peppermint and other tasty treats." Casey added.
"I'm sure the Dentist had a field day." Arthur chuckled.
"Hey, when my teeth started to rot I ripped them out and grew back healthy and sharper teeth." I said. "Wonders of Shark Biology."
