P-System Log

Awfully nice of Aster to thank me, especially if she still thinks I'm largely inanimate. She's a lot nicer than Jerome is. Smarter, too. Why couldn't i have been attached to her?

At least Jerome has stopped being actively mean to me.

That said, I wasn't lying when I talked to her. There's still two bandits left. They have got to be on low Health by this point, right? The third bandit--the one we just killed--tanked another [Magic Missile] before dying, but he also had capabilities significantly beyond what the one I pseudo-[Assess]ed had. Unless that first guy's abilities were also on the same level, I guess, but neither of the other two bandits have even attempted an [Obfuscate] or [Swift Strike].

Wait, I just remembered that I saw the first bandit's HP earlier. He started at like 130, I think? Might still be another hit or two before he goes down, then, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

P-System Message Remaining two enemies have been severely weakened. P-System Log That got him into motion. Party Chat

[Jerome Smith]: Can we coordinate another set of [Spear]-type attacks? It has some level of AoE, and my System just told me that the other two are pretty close to death. I think another combined attack will kill them both.

[Aster K'lon]: Good thinking, if basic. I can do that.

[Jerome Smith]: You see them running, yeah? Let's attack now.

[Inferno Spear] cast! [Blazing Spear] activating! Enemies defeated! Experience split and distributed! Party Chat

[Jerome Smith]: I didn't get any notifications.

[Aster K'lon]: 56, 64. My skill reached them before yours did. Your System was right, then. They were low enough that one of my skills could take them both out.

[Jerome Smith]: Ugh, wasted mana.

[Greater Assess] cast! Jerome Smith (abbreviated) Stat Current Maximum Mana 974 1037 Party Chat

[Aster K'lon]: Jerome, you have more than twice my maximum mana capacity. Stop worrying.

[Jerome Smith]: Right, right, just feels wrong to waste resources.

P-System Log Jerome didn't mention mana regeneration. That sounds like something that should've come up, but I guess he's too busy obsessing over his numbers to care about actual important shit. Pretty par for the course, at this point. Party Chat

[Aster K'lon]: If you are truly concerned about your mana supply, you will be pleased to learn that it regenerates naturally. After several hours outside of combat, the ambient mana will begin to flow into you.

[Jerome Smith]: Oh. Okay, that's good to hear.

P-System Log

Shit, am I supposed to facilitate that? He recovered his mana with a potion the first time, so I don't know if I'm supposed to get involved.

I got the W Inertia from the dead bandits, at least. I assume they gave roughly the same amount apiece as the first bandit, so that should come out to around 70 W Inertia overall. Enough to do a lot of little things, not nearly enough to make up for all the losses I got. If I calculated right, I should still be more than 600 points of W Inertia in the hole.

...I really shouldn't have leveled up his core stats, huh.

Well, he better be damn grateful for those stat boosts. I still don't know what they do, but he better be grateful!

Party Chat

[Aster K'lon]: There are a number of safe spots where we will be able to rest along the path, but the first is not for some kilometers yet. We shall continue on our way now.

[Jerome Smith]: Works with me.

P-System Log

On the road again~

The area around doesn't really have anything of note, but it's a decent enough trail, I guess. I did my fair share of hiking when I was younger and, y'know, possessed legs to hike with, and I have to say that this isn't the single most impressive trail I've seen, what with the rather generic ups and downs through mostly normal hills and woods.

One notable difference from any place we had back in real life--no, back on Earth, this place is my real life now--is that the areas we're traveling through have ambient mana. I can sense small amounts of it everywhere. It permeates the trees, the air, and even passes around and through Jerome and Aster themselves.

It's a crazy world we got dumped into.

Hero's Personal Log 047

Wow, Aster's life has been crazy. She said it was okay to start talking once we weren't in immediate danger, and we got talking about what happened in our pasts. I didn't have much to share, since I really didn't do much other than attend and barely graduate from uni after gaming way too much, but she had a load.

Apparently, the world was more in balance before Aster was born. The Eternal King only started making a push for more territory a few decades ago, and its push meant that monsters everywhere became stronger and more aggressive. Aster's been kind of like the city prodigy since she was young, which is pretty neat. Gonna try and mark down more of her past so I don't forget it later.

P-System Log

Jerome and Aster have been walking for a solid hour or two now, and they haven't run into another encounter like they did before. They've mostly been talking about the past, and while it's interesting there's not all too much information there that's super important. Aster's tales about her childhood were entertaining enough, but I don't think there were any details in there other than facts about the timeframe of the Eternal King's campaign.

I learned that Jerome attended a UC, at least, which is another similarity between him and me. Thank fuck he didn't attend the same one as me, I would've been pissed if I was even more associated with that man's intellect.

I mean, it's not like he's dumb dumb or anything, but aside from knowing how to kill things decently, he's been demonstrating a rather unfortunate lack of critical thinking. Furthermore, Jerome has also shown an incredible disregard for his own safety. Granted, he has the Health aspect of the System--facilitated by Origin, probably, since I haven't actually done anything that makes him not get injured--and that's gotta be a confidence booster, but he's treating his life like he has respawns on. It feels like watching a novice speedrunner trying to clear Dark Souls, and it hasn't been great to watch when I'm pretty sure Jerome's death will also result in my own.

But that's enough worrying about that. My list of complaints about Jerome is long enough to fill an entire damn encyclopedia, and that wasn't the point of this particular tangent anyway. Like it or not, I'm stuck with him, and that's that. I'll try to keep him alive.

P-System Log

They're still talking about Aster's past, even though it's got to have been another half an hour. She was an illustrious troublemaker as a child, apparently. Jerome says he can relate from his college days, which I'm more than a little inclined to believe. The two of them seem to be getting better acquainted with each other, which I guess is nice.

All the talk about history is making me remember my own. I wasn't a particularly special or gifted child, but I'd been smart enough. Gotten my grades, bounced around extracurriculars, and then I'd graduated high school and gone off to college.

I was listless back then. Lost and tumbling through the world, just trying to find my place. Back when I'd still been Parker Wu the computer science student and not Parker the P-System, I didn't have much more of an idea of what I was willing and able to do than I do now that I've been tossed into this fucked-up world. I had just been following the track that my parents had laid for me up till college, not totally sure what I wanted to do for myself when I graduated. On Earth, I was a bit of a writer, a bit of a coder, a bit of so many things, and I never excelled in any of my numerous "interests". I had my attention so divided all over the place that I was never particularly good at any one thing in particular.

I guess in some ways, entering this state has changed things for the better. True, I still don't know what in the ever-loving fuck is happening half the time, but I have a purpose. I have a clearly defined goal, a big bad that I can help take down, and I have someone that I can guide. I even have my own assistant skill that can help me along the way.

Yeah, I don't have a body anymore, but I have powerful magic and the means to empower another instead. I traded my sight and sound for something better that can do basically the same thing. And my goal--getting Jerome to k̴i̷l̷l̵ ̴e̵v̶e̴r̵y̷ last R Beast--is clearly defined.

With all these benefits and a situation that's so black and white, I can actually come to terms with the hand I've been dealt.

Hopefully, that doesn't change.