Chương 46: 2.6 W.I.T.C.H - Devon Cole (2:12)

Craaazzzzy Just caught up with the story and gotta say… peak fiction. Absolutely perfect. Good tension. Solid payoff. 4 / 5 because I don't give any fanfic five stars. Gotta stick with my principles. It doesn't matter how good it is, it's a moral stance. Who do we all think ordered the hit on Zeke? Was it Corva? If he's still out there body-hopping and Zeke didn't kill him, it would make sense that he'd want to shut everyone up before they spilled the tea about his ankhs. StoryLeech Could be…

but my money's on Binary. Pretty sure my dood found some way to hack into Zeke's version of Frontiers and forced an NPC to attack him, all because he's still pissed about how Zeke is breaking canon left and right. SignalLoss HAAAA. Binary, is this true? Are you peanut butter and jelly about how much attention Zeke is getting for his fanfic? Did you hire an NPC to Tonya Harding Zeke? Binary_Arcana?? PixelBaron To be fair to Binary, the guy has chilled out on the story.

He's cut back on about 50% of his jackassery ever since Zeke discovered the House of Seasons. I was over on Lorem-Ipsum's thread, where they're shitting all over Zeke, and someone tried to drag Binary into the conversation and he just went "let's see where this fic goes first." That's some solid character development you got going on Binary. Proud of you. Blazer66 | Who do you all think ordered the attack on Zeke? | I bet that gangster he poked when he was getting supplies popped back up. DataDatum Oh snap.

I forgot all about him. He was just some throwaway character to show how Zeke has grown since he got plopped down in the world. Now that i think about it, the stuff that the guy who attacked Zeke was screaming didn't sound like it was coming from someone hired by Corva. It was less "rawr, don't tell people that Corva is a murderer," and more "you're in the wrong neighborhood brah!" GrayMain Can we talk about Zeke's Persona skill?

He finally dropped an example of the skill in his story and, to me, it sounds a lot like the Cool stat from Cyberpunk. It's got that same kind of vibe. ComradeCPT Yep. Been saying it all along. Classic Cyberpunk 2020 skill stuff, Charismatic Leadership from Rockerboys allows them to sway crowds equal to their CL level times 200, added to their cool stat, allowing them to control, incite, and charm large numbers of people through their performance skills. GrayMain Yea.

Cool is all about keeping your shit together when the bullets are flying and you're stuck in a dangerous situation. That's exactly what Zeke needs. Half his posts are basically "this is real and dangerous and I'm pissing myself over here." It's kinda wearing a little thin. Sure, make your first post in the story all about the danger so that we become invested in your MC's success. But at some point, your MC needs to pull it together. I'm hoping that Zeke stops whining and becomes more bamf in all his interactions.

LostDeviljho Called it! Persona = Kayfabe! It's an acting skill for selling a role, a persona! Like a stage persona for a… rockstar. SignalLoss Well, considering Zeke never breaks kayfabe, it's fitting that he would want his OC to have the Persona skill. HalloweenCandy I'm not sure it's going to be exactly like Cool from the Cyberpunk world. It seems more like it's how Zeke presents himself to the world. In the Cyberpunk games, Cool was all about keeping your cool.

But the Persona skill that Zeke talked about showed that he was still internally freaking out, he just wasn't showing it. It was more like he was giving off the vibes of a stone-cold killer without actually being one. I think Persona is more poker-face than anything else. LowOrbitYakuza Meh. We don't really know all that it's capable of until he levels it a bit more. I'm more interested in how it's going to interact with his other class skills. Picture it: Zeke's playing a hostile crowd in a bad neighborhood.

Tensions are through the roof. He's shaking in his little booties. But Persona is helping to suppress the fear, Instrument Mastery lets him play some killer song, and Performance takes it all and turns it into some kind of mystical influence over the crowd. I could see Zeke getting bikers to cry into their cups and call their mothers to apologize. Or he could have nuns shouting curses and getting ready to riot against the government.

SlothTurtleSnal It's definitely not a front-line combat class, but that could make it pretty interesting. We don't have a lot of fake it til you make it classes in fanfics. This could be pretty unique. I bet that, since it's not a combat class, Crush is disappointed. That's why he's pushing for him to head into the Under-MIZ. He was hoping for a bruiser class and instead got a bullshitter. This is Zeke's punishment arc. InnerMarrow | This is Zeke's punishment arc. | Shhh. Don't tell him.

Z3ke (Original Poster) Wait… class skills can interact with other class skills? That's a thing? I thought class skills were only important because they could go past the human limit. Am I missing something here? SignalLoss Yea. Class skills can go past 7, but that's not all they do. You gotta realize that class skills don't exist in isolation. Your skills all interact with each other, but only if they're class skills.

Your Instrument Mastery + Performance + Persona combo is going to behave completely differently than they would for all of our characters, simply because you got the Rockstar class. That class was cut content, and none of us can even unlock the Persona skill because that too was cut from Shards. But hypothetically, if we could unlock those skills and we had them on a Blade Singer class, none of them would sync the same way that they would for you. Z3ke (Original Poster) Uh… what?

Can someone explain like I'm an idiot? 10161066 I got you. All class skills interact, but only when they're class skills. Venerated explained to you that the Rockstar class was content that had been cut out of Shards. Because of that, we don't exactly know how your skills are going to work together. We don't have a idea of what will happen, which means you get free reign to write what you want from them. BUT, I can give you examples of other class skills. Signal mentioned a Blade Singer.

It's a pretty good melee class where you're basically an anime swordsman. They've got three core skills: Blades, Parkour (a subset of athletics) and Perception. Now, you can unlock those skills and this forum has enough tips and tricks that we could get you to push them past the human limit of 7. BUT, those skills on you wouldn't be as impressive as how a Blade Singer could use them.

Blades would let you cut things, Parkour would let you move around easier and close the distance on your target, and Perception would let you spot hidden shit. But when a Blade Singer uses their class skills, they would be able to slap aside bullets with their sword, dash mid-air, and then slow time down with their perception so they could cut three people in half with one swing of their sword.

Both you and the Blade Singer would have the same skills unlocked, but their class would give them a completely different result. Zeke with those three skills = dangerous badass. Blade Singer with those three skills = coked up wolverine tearing through enemies. It's class synergy, and right now we're all wondering what kind of synergy you're going to get with Persona, Performance, and Instrument Mastery. Z3ke (Original Poster) Okay. So because I got the Rockstar class I don't get to cut buildings in half.

Kinda sucks but… whatever. I've got another question: what the hell is up with my Instrument Mastery? I've only been fiddling around with it for about a week and it's already hit rank 3. Isn't that absurdly fast? I mean, compared to literally everything else I've done, it's kinda ridiculous. Right? When I got my First Aid skill to rank 1, that was because I was able to horribly bandage Wren, Cole and myself. And when I fought a bunch of creatures and people, I was only able to get my melee skill up to rank 2.

But with Instruments, it's already my best skill. I'm not exactly complaining except… I kinda am. Why the hell am I so much better with them than I am with a gun or an axe? MushroomCleric That's an easy answer. It's because Instrument Mastery is your class skill, and class skills level much faster than other skills. You get a boost for the first four levels in your class skills because they're the most important ones you've got. Shootingblnks Most skills level somewhat fast up to rank 2.

That's the game letting you get a feel for them, and letting you practice with them so you can decide whether you want to put the effort into them. Class skills level fast up to 4. But after that, you're going to really need to push yourself or you need to find a teacher. StoryLeech Zeke, you're kinda slipping in your storytelling. You're supposed to be explaining everything that's going on with you, and then we give you advice. That was the deal.

So far, all you've done is mention that you got your Instrument Mastery up to 3 but you haven't told us the story behind it. So… chop chop. Make it good. MushroomCleric OOO. That's true. You're not upholding your end of the bargain. Z3ke (Original Poster) What the hell? Crush and Mushroom and 7 wanted me to prep for the excursion, so that's what I've been doing. I haven't had a lot of time to just sit down and update the forum on everything that's been going on.

That's not me skipping out on the deal, that's me following through with the Primary's advice. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. StoryLeech Nope. Not how this works. Crush and the rest put a bunch of effort to come up with a plan and now you've gotta pay for that plan. Tell your story. Z3ke (Original Poster) Jesus. You know what… not even gonna argue. Whatever. It's not all that interesting to say that I just sat around and worked on the skill.

I played a pan flute and my skill is now rank 3. I will say this though. The thing that's messing with my head isn't the speed that the skill grew, it's how it feels. I can just… play music now. I've never really been good with music. Couldn't read sheet music and didn't know any of the notes or anything like that. When I was a kid I had to play the trumpet and drums in school, but I was equally shit at both.

When I got back to the city and got my pay from Cole, I decided that I should try and boost my class skills because that way I could get some form of magic. You all said that class skills become magical when they go past the human limit, and I'm a little curious what that means for my Instrument Mastery. So I went out and bought this cheap chunk of wood with some holes carved into it. The guy said it was a flute and… it was flute shaped. After playing around with it I got some levels and then knew how to play.

I knew the notes, knew how to hold it, knew the best way to breathe and make everything come out loud and clear. It was a bunch of muscle memory that just suddenly appeared. What's crazier is that yesterday I was at the Roaring Drake, drinking with Patch, and a bard came in and was playing to the room.

When he was done for the night I went over to him and asked to fiddle around with his guitar, and he looked at me like I was a jackass and he obviously wasn't comfortable with me messing with his instrument, but he still let me hold it. I picked up the guitar and instantly knew how to play different chords. Which is fucking insane. I've never played the guitar before. Ever. I mean, sure I played some Rock Band, but that and an actual guitar are completely different.

But when the thing was in my hands I just knew it. I knew how to tune it and play the chords and I knew a few songs like Hot Cross Buns. It's weird as hell and the feeling I get is kinda hard to describe. I talked about the weapon skill I got out in the Deadlands and how I was suddenly able to understand how to hold the axe and move my body. That was weird, but it was different from the guitar. I mean, normally if you're learning an instrument you start at the beginning, right?

Someone teaches you the chords or you watch a YouTube video and you spend a couple hours learning the basics like how to hold the thing and how to strum and hit different notes. Not so for me. It was like all these instincts were just injected straight into my brain and I have no clue where that knowledge comes from. There's no memory attached to them. I didn't have practice sessions that I can point to and say "that's why I know what an E Chord is." It's all just there.

It's like a part of me has been overwritten or something, and I don't exactly know how to feel about that. PaperSnakes Man, that sounds creepy as hell. Back when you were describing getting your melee skill, I remember thinking that there's got to be some kind of disconnect that would happen between you knowing a skill and when you actually use it. Good news is that I think that disconnect should go away soon. At least when it comes to playing the guitar.

Your leveling should slow down soon for you Instrument Mastery, which means you're going to need to put a hell of a lot of effort into each level going forward. Going from 4 to 5 is going to take a lot more effort than going from 1 to 3. I think, with all that effort, your skill should start feeling like it belongs to you. You'll probably forget all about that "downloaded" muscle memory.

You might still get that sudden rush of information when you rank up the skill, but it should happen only after you spent a lot of time using the skill, so you wouldn't be as freaked out about it. RandomAccess_77 Hey Zeke. Quick question. Are you down in the Under-MIZ yet? What's going on with that? Z3ke (Original Poster) Not yet. I'm still in the middle of my Pretty Woman shopping montage. I've been bouncing all over The MIZ grabbing everything that I might possibly need for this.

Once I head into the Under-MIZ, I'm not going to be able to pop out to a store because I forgot something, so I'm trying to be thorough. I don't really expect much to happen between now and when we actually head into the Under-MIZ. I'll probably stop updating unless something weird comes up. DataDatum Famous last words. Byte-Sized Seriously Zeke, don't you understand the power of the narrative? How are you going to just drop that sentence and walk away calm?

Z3ke (Original Poster) Goddammit Crush. You absolutely did not think this plan through as well as you thought you did. NullSigil OOO. Has the adventure started? Let me get my popcorn. CrushDaddyXx (PRIMARY) What did I do? Z3ke (Original Poster) You wildly underestimated the value of that glyph information you handed me. I was basically walking through The MIZ with a suitcase filled with unmarked bills. MushroomCleric HAAA. Start from the beginning Zeke. First, are you safe?

Or are you messaging us again right at the start of a fight, asking for help on what to do? Z3ke (Original Poster) No. I'm safe right now. I'm with my team ready to head into the Under-MIZ. We've got some time because we're waiting for the glyphwright to join us, and I decided to update you all on what happened because I don't think I'll be able to when I head below. CrushDaddyXx (PRIMARY) No fight yet? Kay. Mushroom, I delegate you as the "Zeke whisperer." Call me when the fighting starts.

MushroomCleric Okay Zeke. Tell your story. NullSigil Popcorn. gif Z3ke (Original Poster) Okay. So when I decided to go all in on Crush's plan and head into the Under-MIZ to fight that Reclaimer creature, I realized that the best thing to do to plan my expedition was talk to people who've already done something like that. In short, I approached Patch and Cole. Patch knows everything about everything in The MIZ. And whatever he doesn't know, his Pathfinder class can help him figure it out scary fast.

He knows everyone in The MIZ, understands how the city works, can navigate all the factions and gangs of the city, and more importantly knows the people who are worth hiring. Cole… well he's led an expedition before so I thought he'd know what I was going through and could help me plan. In hindsight, he probably wasn't the best person to talk with. He's pretty shit at hiring people.

During his last expedition he hired a guy who didn't have a class and clearly had no clue what he was getting into, and he hired another dude who went full murderhobo on everyone and tried to off the entire group. All in all, not the best track record. Anyway, between the three of us - mostly Patch - we managed to put together something that resembled a functional team. Wren couldn't be my muscle because he signed on with another group. He's running security for a trader caravan that is leaving The MIZ tomorrow.

It's a pretty good job for him because it's decent money and low risk. So first I needed to hire some muscle. Patch got a guy named Daryl Dunne. He's solidly built and quiet and overall not a bad hire. All he needs to do is stand there and look intimidating and protect me from all the monsters in the Under-MIZ and any scavenger crew that wants to start some shit. All told, he's got that down pat. Patch also got a delver, this dude named Jared. Now… I don't really want to be ageist but Jared is old as hell. I mean…

really old. He's got to be pushing sixty. What little hair he's got is gray and he's filled with wrinkles and he's missing most of his teeth. But Patch vouches for him and the dude obviously has that old-man strength and whenever I look at him I'm reminded of that proverb of never underestimate an old man in a young man's profession. Just standing next to the guy made me feel about ten percent better about this plan. He kinda reminded me of Corva except, hopefully, not murderous.

We negotiated the price for their services and Patch stuck around to help me out, thankfully. Without him I would've screwed it all up. The deal we eventually settled on was an upfront payment for the both of them, and then early salvage rights in the Under-MIZ. They'd get first pick on a few categories of junk we'd come across, and they'd get a larger cash payout after I grabbed what I was headed into the Under-MIZ. They were told that they'd get the cash payout after I sold the loot through the Roaring Drake.

That last part was Patch's idea, and I gotta admit that it was pretty smart. Once I loot the Reclaimer, we'd all head straight back to the Roaring Drake to unload everything with Patch. He finds some buyers, takes a cut, but more importantly he's got skin in the game. Both Daryl and Jared know that if they want to get paid, I need to make it back to the Roaring Drake with all the loot. And if I don't, then Patch is going to come looking for them.

Hopefully that's enough to keep them honest and vested in my safe return. The upfront payments I made physically hurt though. All the money I'd saved over the past week has evaporated completely. After getting back to The MIZ, the first thing I did was get my payout from Cole. The money that was supposed to go to Corva was instead split between Wren and I, so we got a bit more cash than expected. Pell's money is going to his people. And we also divvied up the loot we found from the basement in the Valley.

Wren got the gauntlet, I got that vaultstone, and Cole got the compass that he was gushing over. My pay, along with the credits I got from a week of running around doing odd delivery jobs and small courier nonsense, felt like it would make a decent cushion. Turns out I was wrong. It was enough to make the two payments to both Jared and Daryl, and I had a bit more for essential purchases. Most of what I bought was boring survival stuff.

I got food that wouldn't spoil, water filtration tablets, cord, chalk for marking routes and hazards, and a basic med-kit. I also got these weird glow-stick things that everyone heading into the Under-MIZ swore by. I was told that they shined bright enough to see by, but not in whatever spectrum attracts the really dangerous creatures that live in the Under-MIZ. Patch also urged me to buy a few other small necessities that didn't seem all that important but that he said would make all the difference.

None it was flashy, and every small purchase shaved a little more out of my rainy day fund. My third and final expense, and the one that completely zeroed out my balance, was my armor. Daryl came with me to the Tock & Spanner to meet with Riley. I'd already been jumped once on my way through the city and Daryl was there in case someone tried to mug me. He was a good deterrent. When I got to Riley's shop and saw what she had for me, I fell in love.

I already used Last of the Mohicans to describe Wren's ridiculous rifle, but I'm going back to that well because it fits. The guitar that Riley built reminded me of that club that one of the main characters uses. I can't remember his name. Chigachgook or something. The guitar was shaped kinda like his club, almost looking like a rifle with a thick, solid body that flared into something like a butt stock.

The Solaris Vaultstone I'd grabbed from the basement had been inlaid into the base of the neck, just under the strings. The whole thing was all black and silver with clean lines, and it looked like some kind of medieval mace. When I picked it up and strummed a chord, the thing felt right. Riley explained that it was fully playable and it was designed to work as a melee weapon. It should be tuned perfectly to my melee skill. Most guitars are awkward clubs at best.

They're too top heavy and too fragile, but Riley made something that wanted to be swung around and bash heads in. It was a weapon that Crush would be excited about. All told, it was probably the single best purchase I've ever made, and somehow it didn't cost me a thing. Working with the Vaultstone was enough to push Riley's skill to upgrade, and that was payment enough for her. The armor, unfortunately, wasn't free.

Her friend was this big, broad guy with a man-bun who looked me over with a snort of derision when I first stepped into Riley's shop. After we got done talking about my guitar, he reached into a bag and pulled out a black leather jacket. It was waist-length with sleeves that flared slightly at the wrists. Most jackets that I've bought have always had those stretchy bits by the hands, but not this jacket. Instead, the sleeves at the wrist were loose enough that I could roll up the sleeves of the jacket.

Looking at the thing, I was a little skeptical. It wasn't all that bulky and I didn't really see the use of it as armor. But he walked me through it and assuaged some of my fear. He talked about how it was made up of reinforced layers and treated layers and there were thin, flexible plates that had been sandwiched between the layers. I don't know all that he talked about, but it sounded pretty good.

"It's cut and abrasion resistant," he said.

"Knives and scrapes and that sort of thing. But it won't stop a bullet. It's better than nothing. You can move in it. But it's best that you don't make a habit out of getting hit." By the time I left the Tock & Spanner, I was all tapped out. All my credits had been converted into gear, food, supplies, and precautions. And I still needed to hire a glyphwright. Which brings me to the part where everything almost collapsed before I even headed into the Under-MIZ.

When Crush first gave me that pdf with all the information about glyphs, two things became clear pretty quickly. First, I'm not smart enough to understand a single fucking word of it. Second, the information in the pdf was incredibly valuable. It is the accumulated work of a forum filled with people obsessed with this game world. I'm not sure you all understand how much money that pdf would go for. Hell, I didn't really understand until I thought about it later on.

I knew it could get me some cash, but I didn't realize just how valuable it is. Null explained about magic in this world, and he told me that it was an incredibly dangerous prospect. There aren't any guardrails, and I remember him saying that humans didn't have enough mana to really cast high-level spells and if they tried they could accidentally kill themselves. What Crush handed me was basically the outcomes of thousands of unethical human experiments in a setting where magic has zero safety rails.

How much "death" of player characters went into writing that pdf? I read through it and it mentioned blood glyphs and mana amplification and stabilization techniques. How often did one of you guys completely screw up, accidentally kill yourself writing these glyphs, but still put all your findings down in this forum so you all could build off that knowledge? I mean… holy shit. I didn't have any of cash that would let me hire a glyphwright…

but I did have an entire book filled with information that people would sell their souls for. I say that, but I'm undercutting it a bit. It was worth more than some souls. The smartest thing I did was buy a blank journal and copy the entire PDF out by hand. I wrote down every diagram, every note, and every weird marginal aside that was in the thing. I felt like one of those 13th century monks, hunched over an illuminated manuscript, but instead of praising God I was slowly destroying my wrist. It. Took. Forever.

By the end of it, my hand was cramped and my eyes were all bleary and I was seriously questioning my life choices, but it was finished. I gave the book to Patch for safekeeping, and that was another good decision on my part. I kept only a few small slips of paper with just enough glyph information on them to act as proof of concept. And then he pointed me to where I needed to go. Up in North Coil there are these places called hiring halls.

They're neutral ground where scavenger crews gather and post availability and get contracts. Most big scavenger guilds have their own halls, but the smaller outfits don't. Patch sent me to one hall that was the gathering place of a group called the PretWynn Family. He said that they were rough but professional and that they should have a glyphwright around that I could hire. Daryl came with me and we met with one of their glyphwrights, a woman called Milicent Pret. She was older than I expected.

I'd put her age around mid-forties. With both her and Jared the delver on my team, we'd look like I was running a field trip into the Under-MIZ for the AARP. She had grey streaks in her hair and was a little heavyset, but what stood out the most was how everyone else in the hiring hall treated her. People deferred to her. When she wanted a refill on her beer, there was a line of young guys who would race to the bar to get her a fresh cup. In short, she ran the place.

Daryl and I sat down across from Milicent at this long scarred table. People were hovering around us, talking about deals and making agreements and doing other hiring hall stuff. I told Milicent exactly what I was doing. I explained that I was putting together a team for a dive into the Under-MIZ, and that Patch had pointed me to her and said that she might be interested. She listened without interrupting, her hands folded on the table, and when I was finished she started asking her questions.

"Where are you headed?"

"Past the Crushed Skirt, through the Fossilized Factory Belt, and into the old research black sites." The room went quiet. Conversations tapered off and chairs stopped scraping and someone nearby let out a low whistle. Milicent stared at me for a long second, like she was calculating her price. I don't think she really liked the look of me, which was understandable. I carried myself like someone who didn't know what he was doing. Then she named a truly obscene price for her help. It was a ridiculous price.

Even if I hadn't paid Daryl and Jared and bought a bunch of gear and food and essentials, there was no version of reality where I could afford what she quoted me. Thankfully, Persona kicked in at that moment and didn't show any of my despair. Instead, I reached into my dimensional storage space and pulled out the slips of paper with the glyph information. I slid them across the table and told her, "I'm more interested in trade."

She looked down at the slips of paper and gave me a disinterested look before snatching them up and reading. Her eyes changed and I saw the pure hunger there. That's when I realized how badly I fucked up and how much I underestimated how much that glyph information was worth. Around us the PretWynn Family reacted to something that I didn't quite catch. They started shifting closer, repositioning themselves to hem both Daryl and I in.

Daryl clocked it before I did and he subtly angled his body, watching the room, his hand held loose at his side so he could grab the small sawed off shotgun he had at his side. I suddenly became very aware that I was standing in the middle of a professional scavenger crew, and I'd just shown them something that they would absolutely kill for. Milicent looked up from the paper and stared at me.

"Where's the rest of it?" Again…thank God for Persona. I forced my voice to stay level.

"Somewhere safe." I saw her calculating, and for a long moment none of us spoke. Then I pointed down at the slips of paper and explained.

"That's proof of concept. There's so much more where that comes from. As long as you agree to work with me, and if we make it down to the Under-MIZ and the research sites and then back to the Roaring Drake alive, you'll get the rest of it."

"And if not?"

"Then you get to keep what's on that paper, and nothing more." PERSONA MOTHERFUCKER! Milicent leaned back in her chair, her eyes never leaving me, like she was deciding what to do with me. Then she nodded and we shook hands and a small notification popped up in the corner of my vision. I didn't check it out until I got out of the hiring hall and Daryl and I were well on our way back to the Roaring Drake, but I still knew what it was going to say.

Persona - Rank 2 Now, Daryl, Jared and I are out near an entrance to the Under-MIZ. I've got my armor, and my guitar is stashed safely away in my dimensional storage space. And Milicent is going to be meeting us in about an hour and we're going to finally be heading down into the Under-MIZ. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update you all when I get down there.

I know the plan is to contact you all when I get the map for the Crushed Skirt and you can guide me to some of the unclaimed vaults so that I can pay for this whole expedition. Just to let you know… I really need that loot because otherwise I'm not sure how loyal Jared and Daryl are going to be. And I don't want to be headed through the Under-MIZ without their protection, hoping that Milicent keeps to her end of the agreement and doesn't just string me up and torture me for the information. Jesus…

why did I agree to all this?