P-System Log

And we're on the road again! The night was pretty damn uneventful. We got through most of a novel called Aristocratic Hitman, which was definitely not the most informative piece of literature, but it was a fun time nonetheless. I've always enjoyed reading, and I'm really glad that my not-sight is good enough to parse words on a page. Aster did end up waking Jerome, but I'm pretty sure she waited longer than she was supposed to. I don't have a timepiece and I don't have an internal clock, but something tells me that she spent more than six hours on her shift before waking him up.

Damn, Aster's a nice person. Once again, I find myself wishing I could've been attached to her instead.

Oh well. Is what it is. Aster and Jerome packed up in like ten minutes, and now they're walking again. It's been something like an hour now? I've been watching the area around them, and it's honestly pretty interesting to see.

Some things don't have Health stats. When I focused in really hard on a random small tree, I saw details about it, but the Health stat wasn't one of them.

I guess that means certain things just act like they do on Earth? It's weird to think about, but I guess even small objects with Health--like that wooden door I overanalyzed a while back--can tank a hit or two before damage even starts appearing on them. Stuff like these trees just take damage immediately, I suppose. Health is basically the equivalent of shields in any other game.

Oh, we're slowing down. Wonder why.

Party Chat

[Aster K'lon]: There is a dungeon nearby. An even simpler one than the Maplecrest Dungeon Core.

[Jerome Smith]: Really?

[Aster K'lon]: It is slightly off our path. We may need to trek through the woods for some time.

[Jerome Smith]: Interesting... can I level up?

[Aster K'lon]: Of course. Dungeon Cores are unique in that a dungeon clear will almost always reward additional XP in addition to XP received for defeating monsters.

[Jerome Smith]: I'm in.

[Aster K'lon]: Very well. Follow me.

P-System Log

Of course Jerome wants the numbers to go up.

Granted, so do I, but the numbers I'm focusing on are a little bit different. C'mon, Jerome, get that sweet sweet W Inertia for me.

Or let Aster carry you to victory. That works too.

Party Chat

[Aster K'lon]: Be on your guard. While the monsters that wander these woods are not as threatening as they are elsewhere, they may still deal much damage if they take you by surprise.

[Jerome Smith]: Got it. How far to the dungeon?

[Aster K'lon]: Not much further.

P-System Log

They're pretty deep into the woods now. Every step they take requires navigating around another thick tree trunk. I don't recognize these trees as anything from Earth, though. They look kind of like redwoods, but their leaves look pretty deciduous. It's a really weird image, and I have no idea how it works in terms of biology, but that's just how this world works, I guess.

Well, I can worry about that later. It's not worth burning any W Inertia on it, but it's neat to see at the very least.

We're on out way to a new dungeon, looks like. I hope that it's not as infested with R Beasts as the last one was. I just want to get some W Inertia and get out. None of that weird ??? bullshit that the R Beasts decided to fuck up the Maplecrest Dungeon Core with.

Speaking of which...

DUNGE?NC??E invokeinvokeinvokeinvoke P-System Log

Alright, using my pseudo-[Assess] does the same shit that a regular [Assess] did. The only difference is that the corrupted "Integrated identified" text isn't there, but that's only because I'm not using an actual [Assess] spell, I'm pretty sure.

Ugh. That thing worries me. I keep on getting the urge to k̶i̷l̵l̴ ̴i̵t̸, but I know that there's more important stuff to be done with it. Unlike some people who will go unnamed, I can actually plan for the long term.

Well, to be fair, it was Jerome's idea in the first place, but I'm pretty sure he was thinking about having me go for it immediately. Thank fuck Aster thought better of it, because I have not the first clue of what I would do to convert it back. Hopefully I can pick up some knowledge that can help me along the way. We've still got 95 kilometers or something to P'lor, which is probably gonna take at least a few weeks on foot. Given how much went down on my first day on the Continent, I'm sure to pick up a whole lot more as we travel.

Shit. I think I just noticed a monster enter the dome. It doesn't actively irritate me to perceive, so it's probably not an R Beast.

It doesn't seem very powerful. I don't think I even need to burn W Inertia to break past its innate barriers.

Lemme check it out, just to be sure.

Nameless Bee Class Race Level Dire Bee Giant Bee 2 Stat Current Maximum Mana 10 10 Health 40 40 Skills [Fire Resistance lv. 1], [Magic Resistance lv. 1], [Cold Resistance lv. 1], [Sneak Attack lv. 1], [Dire Sting lv. 3] Titles [Killer I] Stat Modifier Total Strength - Magic - Insight - Constitution - P-System Log

Oh, this is free W Inertia. Hell fucking yeah.

Now, I need to subtly guide Jerome towards it in a way that he can understand...

Yeah, fuck it, he won't get subtlety.

P-System Message Warning: hostile Integrated detected in your immediate vicinity. Hostile threat level is LOW. Party Chat

[Jerome Smith]: Aster, my System is giving me a warning. Says there's a low-threat hostile Integrated in the area.

[Aster K'lon]: We can feasibly ignore it, especially if the threat level is as low as it seems. Also, your System truly is powerful, is it not? For it to give you the same knowledge that a [Danger Sense] could provide...

[Jerome Smith]: Huh. I guess I should appreciate it more. And yeah, sure, we can move on.

P-System Log

Hey, I thought you were a gamer? Don't you--okay, us--little shits thrive on farming the baby-difficulty mobs?

Dammit, Jerome.

Time to unleash my secret weapon!

New [Objective]: Survival of the Fittest

Description: Eliminate threats to your survival.

Rewards: Passive XP multiplier for killing hostile Integrated. Increases over time.

P-System Log

That's right, Jerome, kneel before my power! Behold, my ultimate creation...

A whole lot of bullshit!

I really want that W Inertia, and I'm not going to let something stupid like good decision making and time management get in my way.

So, it's time to play dirty! I know that Jerome is a fan of his numbers going up. I don't know how he somehow managed to fail to make the connection between killing this "minor threat" and the increase in his XP that he would get, but maybe making an [Objective] out of it will make it a little more clear for his dumb ass.

Party Chat

[Jerome Smith]: Actually, could we pursue this? I just got an [Objective] from my System that rewards me if I go for the kill.

[Aster K'lon]: I must admit, I was somewhat surprised when you did not choose to pursue it without motivation. We may.

[Jerome Smith]: I get less XP if you help, right?

[Aster K'lon]: XP is generally distributed based off of the percentage of damage done for larger monsters and a simple even split for weaker monsters. We have largely faced the latter as of this moment, so any damage I deal to it will cause XP to flow to us evenly.

[Jerome Smith]: In that case, can you keep your offensive spells off for now?

[Aster K'lon]: Doable.

[Jerome Smith]: Thank you.

[Aster K'lon]: ...I notice you have yet to locate your enemy.

[Jerome Smith]: I don't know any tracking skills other than [Assess], and that's far more likely to hit a tree than anything else.

[Aster K'lon]: Ah, you have not met the requisite requirements for the basic tracking skills. Perhaps your System can help?

P-System Log

Oh, come on, Aster, you were supposed to be on my side! Why are you giving me work too now?

Admittedly, Jerome does seem quite lost. It's a little endearing, not gonna lie, watching this tall, muscular man do his best roleplay of a six year old that got separated from his parents in Walmart.

Well, I don't know how to access Jerome's senses yet, so I'll do the next best thing.

P-System Message Warning: hostile Integrated is 97 degrees west of your perception axis. Hero's Personal Log 049 I have no fucking idea what that means. P-System Log

Oh, come the fuck on, Jerome. I used some unnecessary words there, but surely you learned how to read a compass at some point in your life, right?

Clearly, I haven't been dumbing my words down enough.

P-System Message It's on your left, Jerome. Hero's Personal Log 050 Oh. Why didn't you start with that? [Magic Missile] activating!