SING CRIER CH.27 - Turnpike Puddles of water submerge the cracks in the ground, whilst a constant pitter-patter over foliage fills the slate air. It's raining. But before Agehatate left today, she gave us a makeshift tarp of leaves. Hiding underneath it, we've been able to stay dry -- mostly. The river periodically overflows. Occasionally a shallow wave of water washes over the entire island. It's very easy to slip if you try to walk during that time, but it's also thin enough that it doesn't carry us away if we just sit in one spot; so that's the situation. 『『 ... 』』 「 ... 」 Setsuna is here too. She's just lying on the ground near us, slithering occasionally, and glancing at us every now and then. The downpour and flooding probably make her very comfortable here; she's giving off a nonchalant kind of aura as if nothing could ruin her day. If we had to guess, she's probably waiting for Agehatate to return with food.

It is about that time after all. 『 Done. 』 Sing holds up a stone cup she carved out of the ground. The edges have been smoothed for safety. 『 Nice. 』 Placing the cup out from under the cover of our leaved tarp, we let the rainfall slowly fill it up as Sing gets to work on a second one. 『 No. 』 Crier lifts up the cup, keeping it away from Setsuna's curious tendrils. It seems that the inclement weather has bolstered her courage. 「 ... 」 As her arms retreat, we set the cup back down. The kraken girl is surprisingly reasonable. Crier shifts in her squatting position and rests her arms on top of her knees, then her head on her arms. 『 ...Tiresome 』 『 Right? 』 We sigh, as the day drags on... 「 Teacups? 」 Agehatate sneaks up behind us, soaked from head to tail. She looks a bit less divine than usual as a result. We just nod quietly. She glances at Setsuna. The kraken girl is laying on her stomach, looking up. Her squirming drastically slows once their eyes meet. 「 ... 」 「 You may stay. 」 At that, her tentacular wiggling resumes normal levels. It seems as though they're able to speak to one another... 『『 How can we speak to Setsuna? 』』 Agehatate pauses for a moment, then closes her eyes, lying over the wet stone. 「 There are four days remaining. Is this what you two would like to do today? 」 We open our mouths... then close them again. Our eyes wander down to the cups, and Setsuna tilts her head at us. For some reason, our shoulders feel a bit heavier than before. The answer to her question isn't coming as easily. ...The surging river fills the silence. 「 Bide your time... eat. 」 A leaf bundle is gently placed before us, unfurling on its own under the dry cover of our tarp. Therein lies what appear to be, a giant walnut. We look up and stare at her. 「 Open it. A gift for yesterday. 」 ...The top half comes off easily, like a lid, releasing the narcotic aroma of grilled meat. It's enough to send us shivers, waking us up; Setsuna as well, her pupils dilate at the scent. We take a deep, ragged breath. Pulling our carved stone chopsticks from the ground, we split the meat into thirds, before pushing one slice just slightly closer to Setsuna's edge of the walnut bowl. Immediately, a tendril lashes for it, dragging it out of the dry cover and into the rain where Setsuna... presses it firmly against the black notch in her chest. ... Now that we have a clear front view of her... It seems that... the mouth on her face... is actually just a skin pattern... That hole in her chest... is where her real mouth is... A sharp black beak emerges to sever chunks from the meat. We wince. This is fine. Nothing wrong with that. She was just born here like that. It... can't be helped... Let's... just eat... 『『 Fwa. 』』 We let out a breath as we finally finish our meals. Setsuna finished her meal much earlier, we think... We've sort of been hiding under the tarp so... you know... don't quote us on that... 「 ... 」 ...Did Agehatate fall asleep? Crier whispers, 『 ...Ageha? 』 「 Yes, my child? 」 Nevermind. ... Under the covers of the tarp, Crier twirls her finger through her side tail, idly curling a lock into a spiral. 『 Umm... 』 Four days until... we get visitors... she said... She's been reminding us every day... 『 Who... are the visitors? 』 「 I cannot say, there is too much I do not know. 」 『 I... see... 』『 ... 』 「 Are you two concerned? 」 『 Not... particularly... 』 「 ...Hm. 」 Sing gently lifts the tarp just enough to peek out. She sees Setsuna lying on her back, looking up at the sky. We wonder how much she understands... 「 I will say two words. If you will, tell me which, if any, interest you two. 」 『『 ...Okay? 』』 ... 「 ...Hospitality. 」 That's the first word... it's related to visitors... So, taking care of them, and being welcoming? Is she... offering to teach us that? Hospitality? 「 ...Enrage. 」 Wha- Enrage... Enrage as in, "certain death," enrage? The kind of enrage bosses do when players fail mechanics? Is she talking about... that kind of enrage...? ...We lift the tarp up. 『『 Can you explain them more? 』』 「 ...I may teach you two hospitality. Receiving, treating, and entertaining guests, in 「 a manner befitting children of mine. You two may be interpreted as divine agents, 「 or divinity itself, for you two carry the prerequisite appearance and capacity. 」 We glance at each other. 「 ...Or, if you two wish, you may learn how to use an "enrage" attack as I do, 「 to instantly kill the unfated. Your abilities to revive with blood, physically adapt, 「 ignore armour, and many more without crediting your magical repertoire, 「 as a rare entity you've titled a "Pure-Demon," is more than enough to become 「 a "Raid Boss," as they were once called. 」 『 You... you know what raid bosses are? ...And about enrage mechanics? 』 「 I have limited knowledge about the term, "Raid Boss," but I have heard it 「 enough times in my prime to associate it with what I am, and who I know. 」 It's jarring... Princess Agehatate, Nine-Tails, a character of Myriad Worlds Online... Talking to us about what she remembers from her time as a raid boss... It's all so strange, surreal... almost like a dream... And now she's even offering to... turn us into one... A raid boss. Just like that. ...We look at the palms of our hands. 『『 That's... a really big decision to make... 』』 It... we know this sounds weird but, it almost feels like... too much power...? Thinking of all the things that could go wrong... Mistakes, power tripping, self-destruction... It's not like we aren't aware of these things, we aren't exactly the best-wired bulbs... 「 We believe in you two. 」 We look up at her. Agehatate's eyes point down at Setsuna, who, although is still lying on her back, has turned her big orange ringed eyes to us. 『『 ... 』』 A thin wave of whitewater washes over the island, over the cracks and submerging our feet. With the rain lowering visibility, there's a point where the ground is visibly only water. 『『 Could... we learn both? 』』 「 Before the visitors arrive? 」 We bite our lips and nod. 「 ...It would not be easy. You two need learn day and night, forgoing meat 「 and eating energy supplemental fruit with no more than an hour of rest each day. 「 Even then, merely the basics can be grasped, and with questionable success. 「 Bluntly put, it would be none pleasant. An arduous and mind-numbing feat. 」 She cranes her neck, looking around us. 「 I find that rushing is an unnecessary strain. 「 Selecting one for the visit would suffice, and the other another time. 「 To even learn none is passable, there are yet more things to teach than these. 」 Like... learning how to speak to Setsuna... We'd have to put that off, right? But... we don't know what kind of visitors are coming... Agehatate seems to imply that we'll be fine either way but, we can feel it, you know...? Eldritch Serendipity, at level one. For Agehatate to mention the visit so frequently, it must be important, even as just an opportunity... Learning an enrage move is a catch-all for dealing with them, but what if they're not dangerous? What are we supposed to do then? Or even, what if we could avoid a fight? Or learn something from them? The opportunity is lost if all we can do is kill. Despite everything... it... doesn't feel right... 「 May I ask you two a personal question? 」 Huh? Personal? She wants to ask us...? 『 You can ask it... 』 『 We might not... answer though... 』 「 You are free to answer as you wish. 」 Crier fidgets with a chopstick... 「 Who is Streya? 」 I drop it. 「 I have learned many things over these past few days. 「 Your past. Your faint dreams... but you two are very secretive... 」 Agehatate sighs with distress as if she doesn't really want to ask. She even lowers her head to the ground, like a dog racked with guilt. 「 You two know I have seen your soul. 「 That is, the singular one, shared between you two. 「 I have long had an inkling that this is Streya. 」 It feels a bit harder to breathe. 「 But I ask not for an explanation of how they fit into the whole... 「 ...I wish to hear about them alone. 「 I long to hear about the life they lived, 「 the struggles and triumphs they witnessed... 「 Yes, because I feel a responsibility for them, but also... 」 My hearts are beating too hard. 「 ...because I too am more than one. 」 That's right... Agehatate's story is about a girl who lives nine lives... At the end of every single story, she dies, and those are represented by her tails. There's a lesson learned in each one, and in her ninth life, she becomes immortal... In a way... it's like she's nine people in one... 『『 ... 』』 「 ...Will there ever be a more fitting person to tell this to? 「 More fitting than a goddess that has lived multiple lives, and thousands of years? 「 Will you meet another who will be as enthused to understand, and help...? 」 『『 I get it. 』』 I sit back with both my bodies and let my heads droop. A cold wetness spreads across my legs. I feel tired. 『『 I get it... 』』 「 ... 」 ...I just start talking. I tell Agehatate that I'm from another world. I tell her about how I was born as a sickly twin sister.

I tell her about the kind of world it was, with technology and no magic. I tell her about how my older sister passed away before I did. I tell her about how Sing and Crier were our characters in a game. I tell her that she - Agehatate - was also a character in that game. I tell her about how, overtime... I started becoming... unsavoury. I tell her about how I died... and ended up here, as Sing and Crier. I tell her about my Eldritch Fear -- and Serendipity. I just tell her everything and let it all out until the rain stops and the moon comes up, and she doesn't talk, she only listens, nodding... and expressing sadness... I rub my eyes. 「 Good morning. 」 『『 G...Good morning... 』』 ...We must have fallen asleep. We look around, finding ourselves tightly snug between Agehatate and her tails. We feel dazed in the sunlight, so we're not in any particular rush to free ourselves... 『『 U...um... 』』 「 ...Be Sing and Crier, let them dictate your feelings. 「 Let Streya take over if there's something only she can do, 「 like a secret weapon, but live naturally as twins. You will be happier. 」 『『 O-Okay... 』』 Agehatate brushes one of her tails over our heads. The softness is comforting. 「 ...One day, you may encounter a conflict between these feelings. 「 This is normal. Breathe, and spend time alone to resolve them. 「 Everything will turn out fine if you take your time, understood? 」 『『 ...Mm. 』』 「 Very good... 」 ... It seems that Agehatate knows many things... She really has lived for a long time... We breathe in the morning air and flop down over Agehatate's tail. It feels like... a big weight just lifted off of our shoulders, even though all we did was just talk... 『『 Ah- there are only three days left! 』』 「 So there are. Have you two changed your minds? 」 『『 ... 』』 We look up at Agehatate. She's staring off into the distance. 『『 Teach us both. 』』 「 ...I suppose I knew the answer already. 」 Sighing, she wraps a tail around us and places us on a patch of dry ground. Or rather, the least wet patch of ground, as there are still puddles everywhere. 「 Let us begin immediately then. We are already on debted time. 」 She begins a slow methodical pacing around us, during which, we hurry to find a comfortable sitting posture. 「 During the day, you two will progress towards obtaining an enrage attack. 「 At night I will teach hospitality. Between them, there will be thirty minutes 「 of necessary rest. Many time limits and cut-offs will likely occur. 「 Is this what you two would like to do until the visitors arrive? 」 This sort of feels like school... Well, the little of it we attended. We can do this though, we think. 『『 Yes. 』』 「 ... 」 We watch her as her slow pacing continues... Is she going to be teaching us like this? 「 Mana... 」 Wow, she totally is. 「 ...makes up the core of all living beings, some more than others. 「 Monsters hold the highest capacity, and animals the lowest. 「 This is shown through monsters that can seemingly cast a never-ending number of 「 the same spells, and monsters that perpetually exist in impossible states of being. 」 So... things like dragons and wisps... 「 If things were simply left at that, monsters would be the strongest entities. 「 There is, however, a price for power all monsters must pay. 」 We tilt our heads. 「 That is -- the loss of autonomy. 「 The stronger a monster becomes, the more autonomy is lost. 「 It is why, when I am challenged, I must always begin with the same attack. 「 The next attack is predetermined, the one after that, and the one after that. 」 『 But you can break out of that. 』 「 Yes, however... that is a relatively recent development. 「 After The World Fall some monsters became able to regain autonomy, 「 yet there are many, many more monsters who, to this day, cannot do so. 」 We see a blue spec in our peripherals. ...It's a butterfly. A glowing, translucent, blue butterfly... The type of butterfly Agehatate had thousands of back at the temple. Come to think of it... we hadn't seen any since we came to this place... 「 For the monsters that do regain their autonomy, they must still pay a price. 「 Only a fraction of my power is unlocked for free use. As if that was not enough, 「 leaving the temple has fractured it further. 」 『 Wait... you lost power... just for leaving the temple? 』 「 Indeed. The loss of autonomy between monsters is wide and varied. 「 A portion my power lay in the restriction of my movement. By leaving the temple, 「 a part of my autonomy was regained, and so power was lost. 」 Ooph... we're starting to understand a bit more. This explains why the monsters you find in dungeons are typically stronger than the ones you find just roaming about. Especially boss monsters that lay in specific dungeon rooms... they just never leave... 「 While this means I am unable to use my enrage attacks freely, 「 I am not entirely incapable. There is a way to use them. 」 There's... actually a lot of nuance to this stuff... Are we going to be okay without notes? 「 I have dubbed them as "Monster Triggers," 「 as there is no widely used term. 「 A monster trigger is a set of conditions that if met, will automatically cause a 「 monster to begin its predetermined attack sequence. For the majority of monsters, 「 their monster trigger is simply, "Entity too close," or "Take damage." 「 When an attack sequence begins, the monster is no longer able to stop it. 「 They will carry out their attacks in a loop until the conditions to stop are met, 「 or they regain their autonomy with a sequence break. 「 I too have monster triggers, 「 and Crier achieved a sequence break once by grabbing onto me. 」 Okay... so... monster triggers are basically... "Things that make non-player characters angry and put them in combat mode." So... like, in Myriad Worlds Online, if I attacked a newbie in a big town, that would "Monster Trigger" the town guard NPCs and they would all hunt me. 「 As you may have guessed, if a monster begins its attack sequence, 「 and its attack sequence contains an enrage attack, then it will always 「 execute that enrage attack at the predetermined time. 」 Agehatate stops and tilts her head up to the sky. 「 Regardless of how weak I am now... if I were to be attacked... 「 my monster trigger would activate, and I would be as strong as I would be 「 at the temple, or anywhere else; a monster's attack sequence is their heart. 」 She looks at us. 「 As a monster, you must guard the secret of your monster triggers, 「 and your attack sequence with your life. For if they know your triggers, 「 they can abuse you, and if they know your sequence, they can kill you. 」 『『 ...Oh. 』』 We cover our mouths. 『 Being a monster... is kind of intense huh... 』 「 The price of power is steep. There is no such thing as invincibility. 」 Agehatate finally lies down in front of us, having been orbiting us that entire time. 「 These are the basics of a monster's clockwork. 「 The agenda can be pushed further knowing the principles of mana, 「 but we need to move on. We must discuss your situations in particular... 」 We blink... There's more... There's so much to remember... 「 In order to use an enrage attack, you two must acquire an attack sequence. 「 In order to acquire an attack sequence, you two must become monsters. 「 And in order to become monsters... you two must act like ones. 」 We give her poker faces. As if it could be that easy to become a monster... 「 A monster is something you are either born as or become. 「 In order to become a monster, you must act as those born as monsters. 「 That does not mean you must commit acts of evil... 「 Falling into rank and file applies as well. 「 To say the same things. To do the same things. To attack the same way. 「 To lose your autonomy by will, until it locks in like a tack in a board. 「 It is not as easy as it sounds. 」 We groan. 『『 What exactly do we need to do... 』』 「 Trigger, response. Trigger, response. Continue until the response occurs 「 without you meaning it to. Minimize all autonomy and decision-making. 「 The response can be changed, but the trigger cannot... so choose wisely. 」 Agehatate's expression doesn't change as she looks at us. She's completely serious. We sigh. ... Fine... So... ideally... we pick a trigger that won't get activated haphazardly... Taking damage as the trigger is actually quite bad, you can't control it. We should pick a monster trigger that only we can activate... ... Crier slices a cut into her finger with her fingernail, and Sing drinks from it.

It's sweet. 「 ... 」 Okay, now a response... Agehatate said this part can change so it can be whatever... Hmm... something easy to do... easy to repeat... Sing gives Crier a bright smile, then lets go of her finger. There. 『『 Is that good enough? 』』 「 ... 」 『『 ... 』』 「 ... 」 『『 ... 』』 「 ...That is fine. 」 Wait, really? That's kind of ridiculously simple... We mean, it's kind of annoying if we have to do it a thousand times but... Even regular people could become monsters by accident, right? ... M...Maybe that's the point? Wait no, that's so edgy... what the heck... Whatever. Whatever!

Not going to complain if it's so simple. The explanation is complex but the actual procedure is brain-off mode. That sounds like a balanced process to us! Good enough! Sing and Crier both cut their pinky fingers with their own fingernails, then we sip each other's blood from the wound. Sing's blood is salty, Crier's is sweet. This is the trigger. We smile. This is the response. We remove our fingers and let the taste go away. Sip, smile, wait. Sip, smile, wait. Until the finger heals then we- 「 Stop. 」 We stare at her. 「 You two will not become monsters in time if you must consider whether 「 your finger is healed or not. Come up with a method to do it without thinking. 」 ...Okay. We cut our ring fingers. Sip. Smile. Wait. We cut our middle fingers. Sip. Smile. Wait. Repeat for the indexes. Repeat for the thumbs.

Now that our pinkies are healed we can cut them again, and in the time it took to cut the other four fingers, we can drink from our ring finger again. This way, we can just go through our fingers without thinking. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Like that. No thinking required at all, just cut, cut, cut... Cutting, cutting, cut, cut, cut... We glance at Agehatate. 「 Focus. 」 『『 ... 』』 We really just have to keep doing this huh... Alright! If this is what it takes! For something as powerful as an enrage attack, we suppose it makes sense we need to grind for it. Don't underestimate the grinding power of MMO players! Cut... Cut... Cut... Cut... Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut...Cut... [END]