Chapter 27
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Carmen opened her eyes to find herself in a different place than she had been when she fell asleep. She was sitting in a plush armchair in a rather inviting living room…or, at least, that’s what it looked like. The edges were fuzzy and the details of the pictures indistinct.
Not that she was really paying much attention to that; more concerning was the gaping hole where one of the walls should have been, a pitch-black void covering the space beyond. As she stared, tendrils of nothing speared out from within towards her, only to be blocked by some sort of unseen force.
“Don’t worry about that too much.” Kali said, causing Carmen to force her attention away from the wall and in on the woman who was suddenly sitting on a chair across from her. “It’s a sort of…representation of the separation I have you and Lilith under. We’re inside your…well, mind, for lack of a better word, so things are a little…abstract.”
“I…see.” Carmen said slowly. “How are Lilith and Mama?”
“Holding up well.” Kali replied. “The new system appears to be completely stable, so we’re moving on with the next phase of the plan. It’s going to entail some…changes for the two of you, and I want to get your opinion on the matter while Lilith’s under.”
Carmen raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got Lilith under, but want my opinion? I assume she already gave you her answer, right?”
Kali hesitated. “Well, yes, but…you know how she is. She’d say yes to just about anything, so I wanted to pass it off to the part of her that’s more…assertive.”
Carmen shook her head. “No. She’s in charge, what she says goes. In the end, this is her life, and I’m just…an extra.”
Kali gave Carmen an odd look, then sighed. “You’re not even going to hear me out?”
“I trust you.” Carmen replied. And she did; she had no reason to, but something within herself insisted that Kali was someone she could trust unconditionally. That bugged her, in a way, but she also couldn’t bring herself to shake the notion. It didn’t…feel like her emotions were being influenced by magic, it felt more, well, like it was intrinsic to her very being.
“I…thanks.” Kali said. “I won’t let you down, I promise. Um…I do need your input on another matter, though. I was…well, I was thinking of giving Lilith another Parallel, and as you know, both of you have to sign off on it for that to work.”
Carmen leaned forward. “I’m listening.”
Kali smiled weakly. “Well, it’s like this…”
Lilith awoke to a couple of windows in front of her face. The first was incredibly large, bigger than most she had seen before, while the other was small, practically nonexistent compared to the first. So, she took a moment to read that one to get it out of the way before she tackled the big one.
| You have gained the Mask “Computer”!
Carmen has accepted the Mask “Computer” as a Parallel!
Consciousnesses yet to vote: Lilith |
Lilith frowned. When had that happened?
“I see you’re looking a little confused.” Kali said. “While you were under, I used some magic to give you another Mask that we think you should make into a Parallel. I’ve run it by Carmen already and she’s fine with it, so I just need to tell you about it. Now, I know the name sounds…inhumane, but think of it more like…‘one who computes’ instead of an actual computer, so it’s – ” Kali trailed off as Lilith accepted the new Mask as a Parallel, and a voice rang out in all of their minds.
Hello, she said, I am the computation Parallel, you may call me Mae. Mistress, may I have an avatar?
Lilith was silent for a moment as she formed an avatar for Mae. As soon as it was done, Mae transferred into it and began to move, testing it out. Lilith cut the sensory connection they had, then spoke. “Why are you calling me mistress?” She asked. “We’re the same person. Equals.”
Incorrect. Mae replied, still using telepathy. Kali designed me to be completely loyal to you, and, as such, I cannot in good conscience view you as my equal.
Lilith frowned. “Can you at least treat me normally then? And why are you using telepathy?”
Physical speech is inefficient. I believe I can handle treating you “normally”, but I will still do my utmost to do obey your orders.
Lilith grit her teeth. “Fine, if you want to play that game, here’s a standing order for you. You are not allowed to listen to my orders, and are to act as you wish in all situations.”
Understood. As per the standing order, the standing order has been ignored. I await further orders. Mae replied, smirking.
“No, you know what I mean!” Lilith protested. “Come on!”
I am well aware of what you wish. However, understand that my desire to obey is built into my very being. This is one subject I refuse to budge on; if you wish for a compromise, however, I will offer you a deal. I will work on my own initiative towards what I feel is best for you, which, may I remind you, is also what is best for Carmen and I. But you will have the final say over all of my actions, and any instructions you give me will be top priority.
Lilith gave Mae an unamused look, but Mae held her gaze evenly, expression not changing an inch. Eventually, Lilith looked away. “Fine. If that’s what makes you happy.”
It does, thank you. Mae replied. I will begin my work immediately. She gave a small bow, and then left the room.
Lilith gave Kali an angry look. “What was that?” She asked.
“I was going to warn you.” Kali said. “But you accepted before I could finish talking. We could have worked to tone things down a little, but you jumped the gun.” She adopted a more serious tone as she continued. “You have to stop being so eager to please, it’s going to cause serious problems down the line. This only affects you, but the decisions you make in the future might affect the course of history, so you can’t just blindly listen to what other people say.
“In fact, it’s what I plan to spend most of our time here working on. We’re going to iron this bad habit out of you, one way or the other. That’s part of why I wanted to introduce Mae in the first place – she’ll be taking care of most of the level and Skill stuff for the time being.”
She sat down on the bed next to Lilith, gaze softening. “I’m not asking you to stop trying to be kind to people or anything, I just…need you to think about the potential consequences of your actions before you make your choices. But, that’s enough about that for now, we’ll talk about duty some other day. For now, I need to explain everything else I just gave you. Go ahead and read that other window, and when you’re done, I’ll go into a bit more detail, alright?”
Lilith gave a hesitant nod, turning her attention back to the remaining window.
| For gaining the High Arbiter Class, you have gained the special Racial Class Higher Being!
For gaining the High Arbiter Class, you have gained the following Skills:
Arbiter’s Arsenal
Level Max
Rank: Unique
As the High Arbiter, you have unrestricted access to the Sin and Virtue Skills, as well as their evolutions. In addition, you are immune to all non-positive effects (including damage) from Sin and Virtue Skills possessed by others unless you choose not to be.
Skill effects:
Absent Alarm:
You are able to temporarily spread your presence on this plane so thin that you are unable to be noticed by any form of perception. You may hold this state for up to 10 minutes, and after doing so cannot do so for a period of 1 hour. As one that has mastered Gluttony and Abstinence, you may instead choose to reverse this effect, making yourself such a center of attention that others cannot be sensed while you are present. Charitable Contribution:
You may choose to not earn any experience towards your Class or Racial Class while in a party. If you do, your party members gain 500% more experience. As one that has mastered Greed and Charity, you may choose to activate this effect and gain EXP. If you do, party members only gain 50% more EXP. Chastity’s Clarity:
You may spend 100 Mana to cleanse yourself or a party member of any mental effect. If you are affected by a mental effect, Chastity’s Clarity will automatically activate after 5 seconds. As one that has mastered Lust and Chastity, you may instead choose to spend 1,000 Mana and reflect the mental effect cleansed back to the source. Envious Elevation:
Spend 1,000 Mana to steal one Title, Achievement, or Skill of your choice from a target within visual range. Anything rank Legendary or below is automatically stolen, Mythic Rank things have a 90% chance to be stolen, Exclusive Rank things have a 60% chance to be stolen, and Unique Rank things have a 30% chance to be stolen. As one that has mastered Envy and Kindness, you may choose to instead copy any non-Exclusive or Unique thing. If you do this, you may take two things instead of one, and there is no chance of failure. This may be used once per day. Glutton’s Gullet:
If you reach the maximum level in a Class or Skill, experience gained for that Class or Skill is no longer lost. Instead, it is stored until you select a new Class or evolve the Skill. All experience put into the storage is increased by 500%. As one that has mastered Gluttony and Abstinence, you may choose to sacrifice all experience in your storage, permanently increasing the storage’s experience bonus by 1% for every 1,000 EXP sacrificed. At 1,000% bonus, the cost to gain 1% bonus increases to 10,000 EXP, then to 100,000 EXP at 10,000% and so on. Greedy Gallop:
Increases experience earned in Exclusive or Unique Classes or Skills by 500%. As one that has mastered Greed and Charity, you may choose to apply this bonus to any number of party members, increasing their experienced earned in Exclusive or Unique Classes or Skills by 50%. Humble Abode:
Increases the stats of allies in your current place of residence (be it the night’s campsite or your actual house) by 100%. As one that has mastered Pride and Humility, you have learned how to make this effect apply to yourself as well. Kindness’ Kiss:
You may spend up to 1,000 Mana to restore health to a target within visual range. For every point of Mana spent, the target recovers 10 HP, with a further 10 being restored over the next six seconds. As one that has mastered Envy and Kindness, you can instead spend up to 1,000 Mana to drain HP from a target within visual range, at the rate of 1 HP per Mana. Lustful Look:
You may spend up to 1,000 Mana to attempt to charm a target. Your Magic is tripled for the purposes of this effect. Targets charmed by this effect will follow any commands given, including those that would kill themselves or their closest friends, or otherwise be otherwise greatly out of character. This effect lasts for 24 hours. As one that has mastered Lust and Chastity, you may spend an additional 1,000 Mana to make this effect undetectable by any spell cast with a Magic Defense less than triple your Magic. Patience’s Payoff:
Every 1% of experience scaled in Classes increases experience earned by Skills and Racial Classes by 1%, and every 10% of experience scaled in Skills or Racial Classes increases experience earned by Classes by 1%. Extra experience gain from this Skill is capped at 1,000%. As one that has mastered Wrath and Patience, you may choose to hamper the growth of a target within visual range by sacrificing extra experience from this Skill. Experience decrease compounds every percent. This effect ends whenever you wish or whenever the target dies, and the extra experience sacrificed is returned to you. Pride’s Palace:
Increase your stats by 1,000% while in the place regarded as your seat of power. As one that has mastered Pride and Humility, you may increase the stats of subordinates within this area by 100%. Sloth’s Supper/Diligence’s Dinner:
As one that has mastered Sloth and Diligence, you have Managed to fuse their Skills, providing a constant experience increase of 250%. Should you gain experience from the actions of someone else, experience is instead increased by 500%. Wrath’s Will:
After killing an enemy, gain a 40% bonus to all stats for ten minutes. Killing another enemy will add another 40% to your stats and refresh the timer. There is no maximum status increase. As one that has mastered Wrath and Patience, the bonus lasts for 1 hour instead, and if you are engaged in combat where you are the only ally, your stats increase 40% every minute you are the only ally participating in your current fight. This bonus is separate from the one gained by killing enemies and resets after an ally joins your fight or the fight is over.
The law is always prepared. Judge, Jury, Executioner
Level Max
Rank: Unique
You can place a Geas on a target that can understand you, compelling them to follow a command or suffer penalty. When using this ability, you sacrifice as much HP, Mana, and Stamina as you wish. If the target breaks the Geas, they instantly lose that much HP, Mana, and Stamina. If they would die from this ability, you can instead choose to leave them at one HP. A Geas may be removed by fulfilling conditions you choose or whenever you please. A Geas may activate ten times before being dispelled. If any Worship is used to power this ability, the HP, Mana, and Stamina penalty of the punishment are provided at the rate of 10,000 HP, Mana, and Stamina per point of Worship, and the Geas may activate any number of times.
Guilty. Arbiter’s Manacles
Level Max
Rank: Unique
Once a day, you may spend Mana to lock a target’s Skills. Every 50 Mana spent will lock 1 level of a Skill. Levels may be unlocked by fulfilling conditions you choose, whenever you please, or by earning the EXP needed to gain that level. If a Skill would hit 0 this way, you may spend an extra 100 Mana to devolve the Skill if it has been evolved. Devolution cannot be undone. If any Worship is used to power this ability, levels are locked at the rate of 0.05 Worship to 1 level, and the lock cannot be undone by earning EXP. This ability may be used as additional punishment for a Geas, in which case all costs are halved.
Ordinary manacles shackle the body. Yours shackle the soul. Fall from Grace
Level Max
Rank: Unique
You may spend Mana to lock levels of a target’s Racial Class, at the rate of 100 Mana/level. If the target has multiple Racial Classes, levels are locked equally across all Racial Classes with no extra cost to you. Levels may be unlocked by fulfilling conditions you choose, whenever you please, or by earning the EXP needed to gain that level. If any Worship is used to power this ability, Racial Class levels are locked at the rate of 0.1 Worship per level, and the level locking cannot be undone by earning EXP. This ability may be used as an additional punishment for a Geas, in which case all costs are halved.
Those who falter and those who fall must pay the price Smite
0/1000 EXP (Gain EXP by passing judgement on a person)
Rank: Unique
You may smite a target, sealing a portion of their stats. For every 10 Mana spent in using this Skill, 1 point is sealed in each of the main six stats, and 10 points are sealed in HP, Mana, and Stamina. Seals may be lifted by fulfilling conditions you choose, leveling up 100 times, or whenever you please. Stats reduced in this way may not fall below 1. If any Worship is used to power this ability, stats are sealed at a rate of 0.01 Worship to 1 point in each stat (and 10 HP, Mana, and Stamina), and the seal is permanent. This ability may be used as an additional punishment for a Geas, in which case all costs are halved.
Prayer won’t help you here. |
“Alright, I’ve…read it all.” Lilith said. “It’s…well, a lot. Um, what’s all this about Worship?”
Kali nodded. “So, to explain that, I’m going to have to talk about what a Higher Being is.” She said. “Think of them like…a step between Administrators and normal people. Where I’m from, those were the gods, but here…well, you’re the first one aside from me, so there isn’t really a good analogue.
“The important bit is that Higher Beings don’t follow all the same rules that normal people do. Most notably, if a Higher Being dies and they have enough Worship, it’s automatically used, and they get revived back in their Administrator’s rooms. Otherwise, they just sort of…get knocked unconscious until they have enough Worship to be revived, which is generally about two thousand, give or take some depending on how powerful the Higher Being in question is.
“Umm…let’s see, Higher Beings don’t age, but you didn’t age before so that’s not really a change…you can’t be affected by mind-altering effects from normal people unless you want to be, which is a big one, and…honestly that’s about it, aside from Worship.”
She stopped for a moment, studying Lilith’s face. “Any questions so far? Aside from Worship, that is, I’ll get into the exact details on that later.”
“Are you a Higher Being, or are Administrators entirely separate?” Lilith asked.
“Good question.” Kali said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “Um…yes and no. Administrators are like…buffed up Higher Beings. We use Worship too, we can just do a lot more with it. We still follow most of the same rules, we just…have more options.”
“I think that’s it, then.”
Kali nodded. “Good. So, Worship is generated by…well, as a Higher Being, you have a sort of…Dominion, something you’re in charge of. For you, that’s Justice and Law. When people act in continued devotion to those fields, or if they perform extraordinary acts in them, you gain a small amount of Worship. The same goes for if people are directly…well, Worshipping you.
“That’s the important bit for the ones you’re in charge of. There are Dominions where the actions of the Higher Beings in charge of them can directly earn them Worship, but that’s not important right now. Basically, just think of Worship as another resource like Mana, just much, much harder to come by.”
“I think I get it.” Lilith replied. “So, something to use sparingly?”
“Exactly. If you can avoid it, try not to use Worship. Right now, I’ve restricted you to only using Worship on the Skills you just got, but once you’re more comfortable with it and know, in general, how fast you’re going to be getting Worship, I’ll open up more of the general-purpose abilities to you. Stuff like teleporting or scrying anywhere, granting people powerful Skills, that sort of stuff.”
Lilith nodded. “Is it just going to be on my status or…?”
“Yeah, it should show up under your Mana and Stamina. Only you and I can see it, though, so don’t worry about it being found out.”
Lilith paused, checking her status. “Looks like I’ve got…a hundredth of a point?”
“Sounds about right. The amount of Worship generated is closely related to the number of people in the universe, and this universe is still small. That and, as Administrator, I get a small cut of all Worship generated, whether I want to or not.” Kali said. “I would love to do something about the population thing, but I’ve kinda been stuck sitting on my hands while I waited for more Worship to come in so I could give people enough of a powerup to safely let them resume growing in number.”
“Right, the new system.” Lilith said.
“Exactly. People grow in number, give us more Worship, which then lets us make them stronger, get them more planes, make their lives better, and let them grow in number again. It’s a cycle that benefits everyone. There’s…well, there’s one important bit to that I’m leaving out, but we’ll get to that later, I’ve put enough on your plate for now.”
“Alright then.” Lilith replied, moving to get out of the bed she was in. “What now?”
“Now we get started on some of your…etiquette training.” Kali said. “Go ahead and sit wherever, we’re going to start with some lessons on politics. Boring, yes, but essential to know since you’re going to be dealing with a lot of politicians in the future.”
Lilith got up and moved over to one of the beanbag chairs. “Ready.”
“Good.” Kali said, grabbing the TV remote and turning it on. Displayed on the screen was some sort of slideshow with a bunch of text on it. “Don’t worry if you don’t remember it all right away.” She said. “I’ll show you some magic to help enhance your memory later. For now, just pay attention, and it’ll be fine. Now, if you’ll look at the screen…”
Fighterman481 "...these words are for you alone."
I really wanted to fit that into the title but, alas, that would be far too wordy.
Um, this should be the last of the really large windows for a bit. There will probably be one bigish one coming up but that one's...different, so it doesn't really count? I'll talk about it when we get there. Anyway, hopefully that'll be all for super big windows for a long time. So...if you like that, sorry, I guess? But this one sort of was necessary since it ends up being a large part of Lilith's kit going forward, and I figured I could...well, sorta get it all out in one go here? I dunno, mighta been a bit much but oh well.
Not really much else to say, though, next chapter we'll probably see a bit of Mae's work, and maybe a bit from Carmen, and then...well, depending on how long those take that might be all, or we might get into other stuff, I dunno. Look forward to it, I guess?
And, as always, thanks for reading!
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Carmen opened her eyes to find herself in a different place than she had been when she fell asleep. She was sitting in a plush armchair in a rather inviting living room…or, at least, that’s what it looked like. The edges were fuzzy and the details of the pictures indistinct.
Not that she was really paying much attention to that; more concerning was the gaping hole where one of the walls should have been, a pitch-black void covering the space beyond. As she stared, tendrils of nothing speared out from within towards her, only to be blocked by some sort of unseen force.
“Don’t worry about that too much.” Kali said, causing Carmen to force her attention away from the wall and in on the woman who was suddenly sitting on a chair across from her. “It’s a sort of…representation of the separation I have you and Lilith under. We’re inside your…well, mind, for lack of a better word, so things are a little…abstract.”
“I…see.” Carmen said slowly. “How are Lilith and Mama?”
“Holding up well.” Kali replied. “The new system appears to be completely stable, so we’re moving on with the next phase of the plan. It’s going to entail some…changes for the two of you, and I want to get your opinion on the matter while Lilith’s under.”
Carmen raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got Lilith under, but want my opinion? I assume she already gave you her answer, right?”
Kali hesitated. “Well, yes, but…you know how she is. She’d say yes to just about anything, so I wanted to pass it off to the part of her that’s more…assertive.”
Carmen shook her head. “No. She’s in charge, what she says goes. In the end, this is her life, and I’m just…an extra.”
Kali gave Carmen an odd look, then sighed. “You’re not even going to hear me out?”
“I trust you.” Carmen replied. And she did; she had no reason to, but something within herself insisted that Kali was someone she could trust unconditionally. That bugged her, in a way, but she also couldn’t bring herself to shake the notion. It didn’t…feel like her emotions were being influenced by magic, it felt more, well, like it was intrinsic to her very being.
“I…thanks.” Kali said. “I won’t let you down, I promise. Um…I do need your input on another matter, though. I was…well, I was thinking of giving Lilith another Parallel, and as you know, both of you have to sign off on it for that to work.”
Carmen leaned forward. “I’m listening.”
Kali smiled weakly. “Well, it’s like this…”
Lilith awoke to a couple of windows in front of her face. The first was incredibly large, bigger than most she had seen before, while the other was small, practically nonexistent compared to the first. So, she took a moment to read that one to get it out of the way before she tackled the big one.
| You have gained the Mask “Computer”!
Carmen has accepted the Mask “Computer” as a Parallel!
Consciousnesses yet to vote: Lilith |
Lilith frowned. When had that happened?
“I see you’re looking a little confused.” Kali said. “While you were under, I used some magic to give you another Mask that we think you should make into a Parallel. I’ve run it by Carmen already and she’s fine with it, so I just need to tell you about it. Now, I know the name sounds…inhumane, but think of it more like…‘one who computes’ instead of an actual computer, so it’s – ” Kali trailed off as Lilith accepted the new Mask as a Parallel, and a voice rang out in all of their minds.
Hello, she said, I am the computation Parallel, you may call me Mae. Mistress, may I have an avatar?
Lilith was silent for a moment as she formed an avatar for Mae. As soon as it was done, Mae transferred into it and began to move, testing it out. Lilith cut the sensory connection they had, then spoke. “Why are you calling me mistress?” She asked. “We’re the same person. Equals.”
Incorrect. Mae replied, still using telepathy. Kali designed me to be completely loyal to you, and, as such, I cannot in good conscience view you as my equal.
Lilith frowned. “Can you at least treat me normally then? And why are you using telepathy?”
Physical speech is inefficient. I believe I can handle treating you “normally”, but I will still do my utmost to do obey your orders.
Lilith grit her teeth. “Fine, if you want to play that game, here’s a standing order for you. You are not allowed to listen to my orders, and are to act as you wish in all situations.”
Understood. As per the standing order, the standing order has been ignored. I await further orders. Mae replied, smirking.
“No, you know what I mean!” Lilith protested. “Come on!”
I am well aware of what you wish. However, understand that my desire to obey is built into my very being. This is one subject I refuse to budge on; if you wish for a compromise, however, I will offer you a deal. I will work on my own initiative towards what I feel is best for you, which, may I remind you, is also what is best for Carmen and I. But you will have the final say over all of my actions, and any instructions you give me will be top priority.
Lilith gave Mae an unamused look, but Mae held her gaze evenly, expression not changing an inch. Eventually, Lilith looked away. “Fine. If that’s what makes you happy.”
It does, thank you. Mae replied. I will begin my work immediately. She gave a small bow, and then left the room.
Lilith gave Kali an angry look. “What was that?” She asked.
“I was going to warn you.” Kali said. “But you accepted before I could finish talking. We could have worked to tone things down a little, but you jumped the gun.” She adopted a more serious tone as she continued. “You have to stop being so eager to please, it’s going to cause serious problems down the line. This only affects you, but the decisions you make in the future might affect the course of history, so you can’t just blindly listen to what other people say.
“In fact, it’s what I plan to spend most of our time here working on. We’re going to iron this bad habit out of you, one way or the other. That’s part of why I wanted to introduce Mae in the first place – she’ll be taking care of most of the level and Skill stuff for the time being.”
She sat down on the bed next to Lilith, gaze softening. “I’m not asking you to stop trying to be kind to people or anything, I just…need you to think about the potential consequences of your actions before you make your choices. But, that’s enough about that for now, we’ll talk about duty some other day. For now, I need to explain everything else I just gave you. Go ahead and read that other window, and when you’re done, I’ll go into a bit more detail, alright?”
Lilith gave a hesitant nod, turning her attention back to the remaining window.
| For gaining the High Arbiter Class, you have gained the special Racial Class Higher Being!
For gaining the High Arbiter Class, you have gained the following Skills:
Arbiter’s Arsenal
Level Max
Rank: Unique
As the High Arbiter, you have unrestricted access to the Sin and Virtue Skills, as well as their evolutions. In addition, you are immune to all non-positive effects (including damage) from Sin and Virtue Skills possessed by others unless you choose not to be.
Skill effects:
Absent Alarm:
You are able to temporarily spread your presence on this plane so thin that you are unable to be noticed by any form of perception. You may hold this state for up to 10 minutes, and after doing so cannot do so for a period of 1 hour. As one that has mastered Gluttony and Abstinence, you may instead choose to reverse this effect, making yourself such a center of attention that others cannot be sensed while you are present. Charitable Contribution:
You may choose to not earn any experience towards your Class or Racial Class while in a party. If you do, your party members gain 500% more experience. As one that has mastered Greed and Charity, you may choose to activate this effect and gain EXP. If you do, party members only gain 50% more EXP. Chastity’s Clarity:
You may spend 100 Mana to cleanse yourself or a party member of any mental effect. If you are affected by a mental effect, Chastity’s Clarity will automatically activate after 5 seconds. As one that has mastered Lust and Chastity, you may instead choose to spend 1,000 Mana and reflect the mental effect cleansed back to the source. Envious Elevation:
Spend 1,000 Mana to steal one Title, Achievement, or Skill of your choice from a target within visual range. Anything rank Legendary or below is automatically stolen, Mythic Rank things have a 90% chance to be stolen, Exclusive Rank things have a 60% chance to be stolen, and Unique Rank things have a 30% chance to be stolen. As one that has mastered Envy and Kindness, you may choose to instead copy any non-Exclusive or Unique thing. If you do this, you may take two things instead of one, and there is no chance of failure. This may be used once per day. Glutton’s Gullet:
If you reach the maximum level in a Class or Skill, experience gained for that Class or Skill is no longer lost. Instead, it is stored until you select a new Class or evolve the Skill. All experience put into the storage is increased by 500%. As one that has mastered Gluttony and Abstinence, you may choose to sacrifice all experience in your storage, permanently increasing the storage’s experience bonus by 1% for every 1,000 EXP sacrificed. At 1,000% bonus, the cost to gain 1% bonus increases to 10,000 EXP, then to 100,000 EXP at 10,000% and so on. Greedy Gallop:
Increases experience earned in Exclusive or Unique Classes or Skills by 500%. As one that has mastered Greed and Charity, you may choose to apply this bonus to any number of party members, increasing their experienced earned in Exclusive or Unique Classes or Skills by 50%. Humble Abode:
Increases the stats of allies in your current place of residence (be it the night’s campsite or your actual house) by 100%. As one that has mastered Pride and Humility, you have learned how to make this effect apply to yourself as well. Kindness’ Kiss:
You may spend up to 1,000 Mana to restore health to a target within visual range. For every point of Mana spent, the target recovers 10 HP, with a further 10 being restored over the next six seconds. As one that has mastered Envy and Kindness, you can instead spend up to 1,000 Mana to drain HP from a target within visual range, at the rate of 1 HP per Mana. Lustful Look:
You may spend up to 1,000 Mana to attempt to charm a target. Your Magic is tripled for the purposes of this effect. Targets charmed by this effect will follow any commands given, including those that would kill themselves or their closest friends, or otherwise be otherwise greatly out of character. This effect lasts for 24 hours. As one that has mastered Lust and Chastity, you may spend an additional 1,000 Mana to make this effect undetectable by any spell cast with a Magic Defense less than triple your Magic. Patience’s Payoff:
Every 1% of experience scaled in Classes increases experience earned by Skills and Racial Classes by 1%, and every 10% of experience scaled in Skills or Racial Classes increases experience earned by Classes by 1%. Extra experience gain from this Skill is capped at 1,000%. As one that has mastered Wrath and Patience, you may choose to hamper the growth of a target within visual range by sacrificing extra experience from this Skill. Experience decrease compounds every percent. This effect ends whenever you wish or whenever the target dies, and the extra experience sacrificed is returned to you. Pride’s Palace:
Increase your stats by 1,000% while in the place regarded as your seat of power. As one that has mastered Pride and Humility, you may increase the stats of subordinates within this area by 100%. Sloth’s Supper/Diligence’s Dinner:
As one that has mastered Sloth and Diligence, you have Managed to fuse their Skills, providing a constant experience increase of 250%. Should you gain experience from the actions of someone else, experience is instead increased by 500%. Wrath’s Will:
After killing an enemy, gain a 40% bonus to all stats for ten minutes. Killing another enemy will add another 40% to your stats and refresh the timer. There is no maximum status increase. As one that has mastered Wrath and Patience, the bonus lasts for 1 hour instead, and if you are engaged in combat where you are the only ally, your stats increase 40% every minute you are the only ally participating in your current fight. This bonus is separate from the one gained by killing enemies and resets after an ally joins your fight or the fight is over.
The law is always prepared. Judge, Jury, Executioner
Level Max
Rank: Unique
You can place a Geas on a target that can understand you, compelling them to follow a command or suffer penalty. When using this ability, you sacrifice as much HP, Mana, and Stamina as you wish. If the target breaks the Geas, they instantly lose that much HP, Mana, and Stamina. If they would die from this ability, you can instead choose to leave them at one HP. A Geas may be removed by fulfilling conditions you choose or whenever you please. A Geas may activate ten times before being dispelled. If any Worship is used to power this ability, the HP, Mana, and Stamina penalty of the punishment are provided at the rate of 10,000 HP, Mana, and Stamina per point of Worship, and the Geas may activate any number of times.
Guilty. Arbiter’s Manacles
Level Max
Rank: Unique
Once a day, you may spend Mana to lock a target’s Skills. Every 50 Mana spent will lock 1 level of a Skill. Levels may be unlocked by fulfilling conditions you choose, whenever you please, or by earning the EXP needed to gain that level. If a Skill would hit 0 this way, you may spend an extra 100 Mana to devolve the Skill if it has been evolved. Devolution cannot be undone. If any Worship is used to power this ability, levels are locked at the rate of 0.05 Worship to 1 level, and the lock cannot be undone by earning EXP. This ability may be used as additional punishment for a Geas, in which case all costs are halved.
Ordinary manacles shackle the body. Yours shackle the soul. Fall from Grace
Level Max
Rank: Unique
You may spend Mana to lock levels of a target’s Racial Class, at the rate of 100 Mana/level. If the target has multiple Racial Classes, levels are locked equally across all Racial Classes with no extra cost to you. Levels may be unlocked by fulfilling conditions you choose, whenever you please, or by earning the EXP needed to gain that level. If any Worship is used to power this ability, Racial Class levels are locked at the rate of 0.1 Worship per level, and the level locking cannot be undone by earning EXP. This ability may be used as an additional punishment for a Geas, in which case all costs are halved.
Those who falter and those who fall must pay the price Smite
0/1000 EXP (Gain EXP by passing judgement on a person)
Rank: Unique
You may smite a target, sealing a portion of their stats. For every 10 Mana spent in using this Skill, 1 point is sealed in each of the main six stats, and 10 points are sealed in HP, Mana, and Stamina. Seals may be lifted by fulfilling conditions you choose, leveling up 100 times, or whenever you please. Stats reduced in this way may not fall below 1. If any Worship is used to power this ability, stats are sealed at a rate of 0.01 Worship to 1 point in each stat (and 10 HP, Mana, and Stamina), and the seal is permanent. This ability may be used as an additional punishment for a Geas, in which case all costs are halved.
Prayer won’t help you here. |
“Alright, I’ve…read it all.” Lilith said. “It’s…well, a lot. Um, what’s all this about Worship?”
Kali nodded. “So, to explain that, I’m going to have to talk about what a Higher Being is.” She said. “Think of them like…a step between Administrators and normal people. Where I’m from, those were the gods, but here…well, you’re the first one aside from me, so there isn’t really a good analogue.
“The important bit is that Higher Beings don’t follow all the same rules that normal people do. Most notably, if a Higher Being dies and they have enough Worship, it’s automatically used, and they get revived back in their Administrator’s rooms. Otherwise, they just sort of…get knocked unconscious until they have enough Worship to be revived, which is generally about two thousand, give or take some depending on how powerful the Higher Being in question is.
“Umm…let’s see, Higher Beings don’t age, but you didn’t age before so that’s not really a change…you can’t be affected by mind-altering effects from normal people unless you want to be, which is a big one, and…honestly that’s about it, aside from Worship.”
She stopped for a moment, studying Lilith’s face. “Any questions so far? Aside from Worship, that is, I’ll get into the exact details on that later.”
“Are you a Higher Being, or are Administrators entirely separate?” Lilith asked.
“Good question.” Kali said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “Um…yes and no. Administrators are like…buffed up Higher Beings. We use Worship too, we can just do a lot more with it. We still follow most of the same rules, we just…have more options.”
“I think that’s it, then.”
Kali nodded. “Good. So, Worship is generated by…well, as a Higher Being, you have a sort of…Dominion, something you’re in charge of. For you, that’s Justice and Law. When people act in continued devotion to those fields, or if they perform extraordinary acts in them, you gain a small amount of Worship. The same goes for if people are directly…well, Worshipping you.
“That’s the important bit for the ones you’re in charge of. There are Dominions where the actions of the Higher Beings in charge of them can directly earn them Worship, but that’s not important right now. Basically, just think of Worship as another resource like Mana, just much, much harder to come by.”
“I think I get it.” Lilith replied. “So, something to use sparingly?”
“Exactly. If you can avoid it, try not to use Worship. Right now, I’ve restricted you to only using Worship on the Skills you just got, but once you’re more comfortable with it and know, in general, how fast you’re going to be getting Worship, I’ll open up more of the general-purpose abilities to you. Stuff like teleporting or scrying anywhere, granting people powerful Skills, that sort of stuff.”
Lilith nodded. “Is it just going to be on my status or…?”
“Yeah, it should show up under your Mana and Stamina. Only you and I can see it, though, so don’t worry about it being found out.”
Lilith paused, checking her status. “Looks like I’ve got…a hundredth of a point?”
“Sounds about right. The amount of Worship generated is closely related to the number of people in the universe, and this universe is still small. That and, as Administrator, I get a small cut of all Worship generated, whether I want to or not.” Kali said. “I would love to do something about the population thing, but I’ve kinda been stuck sitting on my hands while I waited for more Worship to come in so I could give people enough of a powerup to safely let them resume growing in number.”
“Right, the new system.” Lilith said.
“Exactly. People grow in number, give us more Worship, which then lets us make them stronger, get them more planes, make their lives better, and let them grow in number again. It’s a cycle that benefits everyone. There’s…well, there’s one important bit to that I’m leaving out, but we’ll get to that later, I’ve put enough on your plate for now.”
“Alright then.” Lilith replied, moving to get out of the bed she was in. “What now?”
“Now we get started on some of your…etiquette training.” Kali said. “Go ahead and sit wherever, we’re going to start with some lessons on politics. Boring, yes, but essential to know since you’re going to be dealing with a lot of politicians in the future.”
Lilith got up and moved over to one of the beanbag chairs. “Ready.”
“Good.” Kali said, grabbing the TV remote and turning it on. Displayed on the screen was some sort of slideshow with a bunch of text on it. “Don’t worry if you don’t remember it all right away.” She said. “I’ll show you some magic to help enhance your memory later. For now, just pay attention, and it’ll be fine. Now, if you’ll look at the screen…”
Fighterman481 "...these words are for you alone."
I really wanted to fit that into the title but, alas, that would be far too wordy.
Um, this should be the last of the really large windows for a bit. There will probably be one bigish one coming up but that one's...different, so it doesn't really count? I'll talk about it when we get there. Anyway, hopefully that'll be all for super big windows for a long time. So...if you like that, sorry, I guess? But this one sort of was necessary since it ends up being a large part of Lilith's kit going forward, and I figured I could...well, sorta get it all out in one go here? I dunno, mighta been a bit much but oh well.
Not really much else to say, though, next chapter we'll probably see a bit of Mae's work, and maybe a bit from Carmen, and then...well, depending on how long those take that might be all, or we might get into other stuff, I dunno. Look forward to it, I guess?
And, as always, thanks for reading!
Carmen opened her eyes to find herself in a different place than she had been when she fell asleep. She was sitting in a plush armchair in a rather inviting living roomor, at least, that's what it looked like. The edges were fuzzy and the details of the pictures indistinct. Not that she was really paying much attention to that; more concerning was the gaping hole where one of the walls should have been, a pitch-black void covering the space beyond. As she stared, tendrils of nothing speared out from within towards her, only to be blocked by some sort of unseen force. Don't worry about that too much. Kali said, causing Carmen to force her attention away from the wall and in on the woman who was suddenly sitting on a chair across from her. It's a sort ofrepresentation of the separation I have you and Lilith under. We're inside yourwell, mind, for lack of a better word, so things are a littleabstract. Isee. Carmen said slowly. How are Lilith and Mama? Holding up well. Kali replied. The new system appears to be completely stable, so we're moving on with the next phase of the plan. It's going to entail somechanges for the two of you, and I want to get your opinion on the matter while Lilith's under. Carmen raised an eyebrow. You've got Lilith under, but want my opinion? I assume she already gave you her answer, right? Kali hesitated. Well, yes, butyou know how she is. She'd say yes to just about anything, so I wanted to pass it off to the part of her that's moreassertive. Carmen shook her head. No. She's in charge, what she says goes. In the end, this is her life, and I'm justan extra. Kali gave Carmen an odd look, then sighed. You're not even going to hear me out? I trust you. Carmen replied. And she did; she had no reason to, but something within herself insisted that Kali was someone she could trust unconditionally. That bugged her, in a way, but she also couldn't bring herself to shake the notion. It didn'tfeel like her emotions were being influenced by magic, it felt more, well, like it was intrinsic to her very being. Ithanks. Kali said. I won't let you down, I promise. UmI do need your input on another matter, though. I waswell, I was thinking of giving Lilith another Parallel, and as you know, both of you have to sign off on it for that to work. Carmen leaned forward. I'm listening. Kali smiled weakly. Well, it's like this Lilith awoke to a couple of windows in front of her face. The first was incredibly large, bigger than most she had seen before, while the other was small, practically nonexistent compared to the first. So, she took a moment to read that one to get it out of the way before she tackled the big one. You have gained the Mask Computer!Carmen has accepted the Mask Computer as a Parallel!Consciousnesses yet to vote: Lilith Lilith frowned. When had that happened? I see you're looking a little confused. Kali said. While you were under, I used some magic to give you another Mask that we think you should make into a Parallel. I've run it by Carmen already and she's fine with it, so I just need to tell you about it. Now, I know the name soundsinhumane, but think of it more likeone who computes' instead of an actual computer, so it's Kali trailed off as Lilith accepted the new Mask as a Parallel, and a voice rang out in all of their minds. Hello, she said, I am the computation Parallel, you may call me Mae. Mistress, may I have an avatar? Lilith was silent for a moment as she formed an avatar for Mae. As soon as it was done, Mae transferred into it and began to move, testing it out. Lilith cut the sensory connection they had, then spoke. Why are you calling me mistress? She asked. We're the same person. Equals. Incorrect. Mae replied, still using telepathy. Kali designed me to be completely loyal to you, and, as such, I cannot in good conscience view you as my equal. Lilith frowned. Can you at least treat me normally then? And why are you using telepathy? Physical speech is inefficient. I believe I can handle treating you normally, but I will still do my utmost to do obey your orders. Lilith grit her teeth. Fine, if you want to play that game, here's a standing order for you. You are not allowed to listen to my orders, and are to act as you wish in all situations. Understood. As per the standing order, the standing order has been ignored. I await further orders. Mae replied, smirking. No, you know what I mean! Lilith protested. Come on! I am well aware of what you wish. However, understand that my desire to obey is built into my very being. This is one subject I refuse to budge on; if you wish for a compromise, however, I will offer you a deal. I will work on my own initiative towards what I feel is best for you, which, may I remind you, is also what is best for Carmen and I. But you will have the final say over all of my actions, and any instructions you give me will be top priority. Lilith gave Mae an unamused look, but Mae held her gaze evenly, expression not changing an inch. Eventually, Lilith looked away. Fine. If that's what makes you happy. It does, thank you. Mae replied. I will begin my work immediately. She gave a small bow, and then left the room. Lilith gave Kali an angry look. What was that? She asked. I was going to warn you. Kali said. But you accepted before I could finish talking. We could have worked to tone things down a little, but you jumped the gun. She adopted a more serious tone as she continued. You have to stop being so eager to please, it's going to cause serious problems down the line. This only affects you, but the decisions you make in the future might affect the course of history, so you can't just blindly listen to what other people say. In fact, it's what I plan to spend most of our time here working on. We're going to iron this bad habit out of you, one way or the other. That's part of why I wanted to introduce Mae in the first place she'll be taking care of most of the level and Skill stuff for the time being. She sat down on the bed next to Lilith, gaze softening. I'm not asking you to stop trying to be kind to people or anything, I justneed you to think about the potential consequences of your actions before you make your choices. But, that's enough about that for now, we'll talk about duty some other day. For now, I need to explain everything else I just gave you. Go ahead and read that other window, and when you're done, I'll go into a bit more detail, alright? Lilith gave a hesitant nod, turning her attention back to the remaining window. For gaining the High Arbiter Class, you have gained the special Racial Class Higher Being!For gaining the High Arbiter Class, you have gained the following Skills:Arbiter's ArsenalLevel MaxRank: UniqueAs the High Arbiter, you have unrestricted access to the Sin and Virtue Skills, as well as their evolutions. In addition, you are immune to all non-positive effects including damage from Sin and Virtue Skills possessed by others unless you choose not to be.Skill effects:Absent Alarm:You are able to temporarily spread your presence on this plane so thin that you are unable to be noticed by any form of perception. You may hold this state for up to 10 minutes, and after doing so cannot do so for a period of 1 hour. As one that has mastered Gluttony and Abstinence, you may instead choose to reverse this effect, making yourself such a center of attention that others cannot be sensed while you are present. Charitable Contribution:You may choose to not earn any experience towards your Class or Racial Class while in a party. If you do, your party members gain 500% more experience. As one that has mastered Greed and Charity, you may choose to activate this effect and gain EXP. If you do, party members only gain 50% more EXP. Chastity's Clarity:You may spend 100 Mana to cleanse yourself or a party member of any mental effect. If you are affected by a mental effect, Chastity's Clarity will automatically activate after 5 seconds. As one that has mastered Lust and Chastity, you may instead choose to spend 1,000 Mana and reflect the mental effect cleansed back to the source. Envious Elevation:Spend 1,000 Mana to steal one Title, Achievement, or Skill of your choice from a target within visual range. Anything rank Legendary or below is automatically stolen, Mythic Rank things have a 90% chance to be stolen, Exclusive Rank things have a 60% chance to be stolen, and Unique Rank things have a 30% chance to be stolen. As one that has mastered Envy and Kindness, you may choose to instead copy any non-Exclusive or Unique thing. If you do this, you may take two things instead of one, and there is no chance of failure. This may be used once per day. Glutton's Gullet:If you reach the maximum level in a Class or Skill, experience gained for that Class or Skill is no longer lost. Instead, it is stored until you select a new Class or evolve the Skill. All experience put into the storage is increased by 500%. As one that has mastered Gluttony and Abstinence, you may choose to sacrifice all experience in your storage, permanently increasing the storage's experience bonus by 1% for every 1,000 EXP sacrificed. At 1,000% bonus, the cost to gain 1% bonus increases to 10,000 EXP, then to 100,000 EXP at 10,000% and so on. Greedy Gallop:Increases experience earned in Exclusive or Unique Classes or Skills by 500%. As one that has mastered Greed and Charity, you may choose to apply this bonus to any number of party members, increasing their experienced earned in Exclusive or Unique Classes or Skills by 50%. Humble Abode:Increases the stats of allies in your current place of residence be it the night's campsite or your actual house by 100%. As one that has mastered Pride and Humility, you have learned how to make this effect apply to yourself as well. Kindness' Kiss:You may spend up to 1,000 Mana to restore health to a target within visual range. For every point of Mana spent, the target recovers 10 HP, with a further 10 being restored over the next six seconds. As one that has mastered Envy and Kindness, you can instead spend up to 1,000 Mana to drain HP from a target within visual range, at the rate of 1 HP per Mana. Lustful Look:You may spend up to 1,000 Mana to attempt to charm a target. Your Magic is tripled for the purposes of this effect. Targets charmed by this effect will follow any commands given, including those that would kill themselves or their closest friends, or otherwise be otherwise greatly out of character. This effect lasts for 24 hours. As one that has mastered Lust and Chastity, you may spend an additional 1,000 Mana to make this effect undetectable by any spell cast with a Magic Defense less than triple your Magic. Patience's Payoff:Every 1% of experience scaled in Classes increases experience earned by Skills and Racial Classes by 1%, and every 10% of experience scaled in Skills or Racial Classes increases experience earned by Classes by 1%. Extra experience gain from this Skill is capped at 1,000%. As one that has mastered Wrath and Patience, you may choose to hamper the growth of a target within visual range by sacrificing extra experience from this Skill. Experience decrease compounds every percent. This effect ends whenever you wish or whenever the target dies, and the extra experience sacrificed is returned to you. Pride's Palace:Increase your stats by 1,000% while in the place regarded as your seat of power. As one that has mastered Pride and Humility, you may increase the stats of subordinates within this area by 100%. Sloth's Supper/Diligence's Dinner:As one that has mastered Sloth and Diligence, you have Managed to fuse their Skills, providing a constant experience increase of 250%. Should you gain experience from the actions of someone else, experience is instead increased by 500%. Wrath's Will:After killing an enemy, gain a 40% bonus to all stats for ten minutes. Killing another enemy will add another 40% to your stats and refresh the timer. There is no maximum status increase. As one that has mastered Wrath and Patience, the bonus lasts for 1 hour instead, and if you are engaged in combat where you are the only ally, your stats increase 40% every minute you are the only ally participating in your current fight. This bonus is separate from the one gained by killing enemies and resets after an ally joins your fight or the fight is over.The law is always prepared. Judge, Jury, ExecutionerLevel MaxRank: UniqueYou can place a Geas on a target that can understand you, compelling them to follow a command or suffer penalty. When using this ability, you sacrifice as much HP, Mana, and Stamina as you wish. If the target breaks the Geas, they instantly lose that much HP, Mana, and Stamina. If they would die from this ability, you can instead choose to leave them at one HP. A Geas may be removed by fulfilling conditions you choose or whenever you please. A Geas may activate ten times before being dispelled. If any Worship is used to power this ability, the HP, Mana, and Stamina penalty of the punishment are provided at the rate of 10,000 HP, Mana, and Stamina per point of Worship, and the Geas may activate any number of times. Guilty. Arbiter's ManaclesLevel MaxRank: Unique Once a day, you may spend Mana to lock a target's Skills. Every 50 Mana spent will lock 1 level of a Skill. Levels may be unlocked by fulfilling conditions you choose, whenever you please, or by earning the EXP needed to gain that level. If a Skill would hit 0 this way, you may spend an extra 100 Mana to devolve the Skill if it has been evolved. Devolution cannot be undone. If any Worship is used to power this ability, levels are locked at the rate of 0.05 Worship to 1 level, and the lock cannot be undone by earning EXP. This ability may be used as additional punishment for a Geas, in which case all costs are halved.Ordinary manacles shackle the body. Yours shackle the soul. Fall from GraceLevel MaxRank: Unique You may spend Mana to lock levels of a target's Racial Class, at the rate of 100 Mana/level. If the target has multiple Racial Classes, levels are locked equally across all Racial Classes with no extra cost to you. Levels may be unlocked by fulfilling conditions you choose, whenever you please, or by earning the EXP needed to gain that level. If any Worship is used to power this ability, Racial Class levels are locked at the rate of 0.1 Worship per level, and the level locking cannot be undone by earning EXP. This ability may be used as an additional punishment for a Geas, in which case all costs are halved. Those who falter and those who fall must pay the price Smite0/1000 EXP Gain EXP by passing judgement on a personRank: Unique You may smite a target, sealing a portion of their stats. For every 10 Mana spent in using this Skill, 1 point is sealed in each of the main six stats, and 10 points are sealed in HP, Mana, and Stamina. Seals may be lifted by fulfilling conditions you choose, leveling up 100 times, or whenever you please. Stats reduced in this way may not fall below 1. If any Worship is used to power this ability, stats are sealed at a rate of 0.01 Worship to 1 point in each stat and 10 HP, Mana, and Stamina, and the seal is permanent. This ability may be used as an additional punishment for a Geas, in which case all costs are halved.Prayer won't help you here. Alright, I'veread it all. Lilith said. It'swell, a lot. Um, what's all this about Worship? Kali nodded. So, to explain that, I'm going to have to talk about what a Higher Being is. She said. Think of them likea step between Administrators and normal people. Where I'm from, those were the gods, but herewell, you're the first one aside from me, so there isn't really a good analogue. The important bit is that Higher Beings don't follow all the same rules that normal people do. Most notably, if a Higher Being dies and they have enough Worship, it's automatically used, and they get revived back in their Administrator's rooms. Otherwise, they just sort ofget knocked unconscious until they have enough Worship to be revived, which is generally about two thousand, give or take some depending on how powerful the Higher Being in question is. Ummlet's see, Higher Beings don't age, but you didn't age before so that's not really a changeyou can't be affected by mind-altering effects from normal people unless you want to be, which is a big one, andhonestly that's about it, aside from Worship. She stopped for a moment, studying Lilith's face. Any questions so far? Aside from Worship, that is, I'll get into the exact details on that later. Are you a Higher Being, or are Administrators entirely separate? Lilith asked. Good question. Kali said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Umyes and no. Administrators are likebuffed up Higher Beings. We use Worship too, we can just do a lot more with it. We still follow most of the same rules, we justhave more options. I think that's it, then. Kali nodded. Good. So, Worship is generated bywell, as a Higher Being, you have a sort ofDominion, something you're in charge of. For you, that's Justice and Law. When people act in continued devotion to those fields, or if they perform extraordinary acts in them, you gain a small amount of Worship. The same goes for if people are directlywell, Worshipping you. That's the important bit for the ones you're in charge of. There are Dominions where the actions of the Higher Beings in charge of them can directly earn them Worship, but that's not important right now. Basically, just think of Worship as another resource like Mana, just much, much harder to come by. I think I get it. Lilith replied. So, something to use sparingly? Exactly. If you can avoid it, try not to use Worship. Right now, I've restricted you to only using Worship on the Skills you just got, but once you're more comfortable with it and know, in general, how fast you're going to be getting Worship, I'll open up more of the general-purpose abilities to you. Stuff like teleporting or scrying anywhere, granting people powerful Skills, that sort of stuff. Lilith nodded. Is it just going to be on my status or? Yeah, it should show up under your Mana and Stamina. Only you and I can see it, though, so don't worry about it being found out. Lilith paused, checking her status. Looks like I've gota hundredth of a point? Sounds about right. The amount of Worship generated is closely related to the number of people in the universe, and this universe is still small. That and, as Administrator, I get a small cut of all Worship generated, whether I want to or not. Kali said. I would love to do something about the population thing, but I've kinda been stuck sitting on my hands while I waited for more Worship to come in so I could give people enough of a powerup to safely let them resume growing in number. Right, the new system. Lilith said. Exactly. People grow in number, give us more Worship, which then lets us make them stronger, get them more planes, make their lives better, and let them grow in number again. It's a cycle that benefits everyone. There'swell, there's one important bit to that I'm leaving out, but we'll get to that later, I've put enough on your plate for now. Alright then. Lilith replied, moving to get out of the bed she was in. What now? Now we get started on some of youretiquette training. Kali said. Go ahead and sit wherever, we're going to start with some lessons on politics. Boring, yes, but essential to know since you're going to be dealing with a lot of politicians in the future. Lilith got up and moved over to one of the beanbag chairs. Ready. Good. Kali said, grabbing the TV remote and turning it on. Displayed on the screen was some sort of slideshow with a bunch of text on it. Don't worry if you don't remember it all right away. She said. I'll show you some magic to help enhance your memory later. For now, just pay attention, and it'll be fine. Now, if you'll look at the screen Fighterman481 "...these words are for you alone." I really wanted to fit that into the title but, alas, that would be far too wordy. Um, this should be the last of the really large windows for a bit. There will probably be one bigish one coming up but that one's...different, so it doesn't really count? I'll talk about it when we get there. Anyway, hopefully that'll be all for super big windows for a long time. So...if you like that, sorry, I guess? But this one sort of was necessary since it ends up being a large part of Lilith's kit going forward, and I figured I could...well, sorta get it all out in one go here? I dunno, mighta been a bit much but oh well. Not really much else to say, though, next chapter we'll probably see a bit of Mae's work, and maybe a bit from Carmen, and then...well, depending on how long those take that might be all, or we might get into other stuff, I dunno. Look forward to it, I guess? And, as always, thanks for reading!
