Realisation

Ah.

So... that didn't happen or...?

...

Ahem. So, you are probably wondering how I got myself in this situation. Well, so am I.

It all started like an hour ago when Dice, Syn, Anise, and Jotun decided to run some experiments on me. Fear toxin was the first ( and last ) test, they wanted to see my reaction to my fears and the outcomes of it as well as my fears in general to help keep me safe.

Suffice to say, I seem to crack under pressure.

Supposedly I wasn't even halfway through the dream sequence they put me in with the drug, they had to de-tox me because I was about to detonate like a bomb. Why is my gut reaction to light mind torture is detonating myself? Well, I can't explain that one.

It must have something to do with my dynamite looks, but that requires further testing and maybe a second opinion.

Either way, I am sufficiently emotionally traumatized to begin character development again... this time I think I'll go down the schizophrenic 4th wall breaking route as opposed to the philosophy zealot I was before... but I mean, that takes so much effort... I might as well do something else with all that energy.

Speaking of energy, Jotun has unlocked a new form of Void... oh, I uh. . . forgot to mention, after they detoxed me and apologized for like 15 minutes they decided they wanted to stay by my side for a little while longer, we are all currently talking about our developments.

So yeah, continuing on... Jotun now posseses a form of Void Energy, with enhancement from me taking Radiant Void, which allows her to form her sword at will.

She isn't the best at explaining the concept of it but from what I can tell it basically boils down to practice. Maybe if I am lucky I can do something similar with my guns but that's a pipe dream for now.

Dice has now finally learned how to read.

Anise has developed a really unique spell that really uh... ' catches my interest '. A combination of Chimeramancy and Transmutation effectively recreated the Polymorph spell in this game.

Unlike me, who only really learns the practical parts of magic, Anise actually studies spells to their absolute limit meaning she can use them to their fullest potential. So, she did this experiment with Polymorph.

It seems that, with the magic techniques I learned from the forums a few weeks ago, Anise used polymorph to permanently transform an object into a small golem, it's about the size of a finger.

She called it ' Averi '. A little on the nose but I don't mind... doesn't really matter to me, but the implications of this are huge.

With the ability of Alchemists to make objects sentient, we could effectively program behaviors for... let's say a sentient metal sphere, then with polymorph transform it into a humanoid, then because it's sentience is tied to alchemy as opposed to polymorph, we can use alchemy on it's body actively.

This is important, because that means Anise can effectively give Syn and Scarab humanoid bodies... that's what she wants to do at least, I am a LITTLE against it as... well, it's harder to transport humans than machines but that's just an excuse... I really just don't want the potential for a harem. It's a bad idea, and it is already bad enough as it is... I don't need it to get worse-!

I don't have much of a day in it anymore though, both Scarab and Syn want to do the procedure... ungrateful pieces of shit... and Anise has already ran off with them to do it, leaving me alone with Jotun and Dice.

We continued our talking, Jotun discussing her sword techniques and complaining about shield users, Dice cutting in with her own solutions... which is just ' get gud lul '... and finally me, contemplating existence itself.

Those visions... they hit hard. They were super real and strange, not dream like, but also... moreover, I will never know the ending of that vision, enemy corpses turning out to be the people I care about... if that's my 50% level fear, then what's my biggest one?

I mean, why is killing my loved ones only 50% exposure to my absolute fear?

| New species created by ' Anise ', naming privileges handed to you. |

Oh, right on time, something to distract me from my monologue. Well, tell me system, this is for Syn and Scarab correct?

| Yes. |

Is Android taken?

| Yes. |

Crap.

Alright, let me get out my dictionary.

Well, the only real other name associated with humanoid robots is automaton but I assume that's taken right?

| Yes. |

Alright then, name... name... crap, this is the hardest part of doing anything huh? Well, I guess I could make up a word but that feels... entitled, same thing with using Latin or naming the species after some mythological robot... is Synthetic Human taken?

| Yes. |

Damnit. . . alright, well... I guess I'll name it after a Roman god or something. Vulcan is a pretty good fit, god of the forge if I remembe . . . or was that hephestius? Well, Vulcan is a cooler name anyways so...

Vulcan Drone.

Syn will be a combat class drone while Scarab will be a manufacturing class drone... drone, while not really associated with humanoid bodies, gains that epithet from Vulcan who is famous for being able to forge living beings and more specifically if requested humanoid beings.

So yeah, set it to that system.

| Confirmed. |

| Vulcan Drone Species created |

| Race Unlocked: Vulcan Drone ( Commander ) |

Alright, now we just have to wait a little bit while the group merrily makes their way over here... by the way, Jotun and Dice just keep talking. They haven't stopped yet, those meatheads...

I am not going to butt in much, especially when they talk about fighting, not because I am not good at it or missing passion for it... but, I just don't have authority for that sort of thing. Using a rifle or magic really isn't comparable to the rush of spilling enemy's guts personally, at least so I've heard. Personally, it's just a little bit satisfying pressing a button and watching someone's head vanish.

I don't know why they say I am good at close quarters combat, I don't have any training or techniques for it. I just block and backpedal while waiting for opportunity. That's boring and absolutely not the most effective way to fight.

Alright then, now should be around the time Syn and Scarab show up... right? I'll give it 5 seconds.

5.

4.

3.

And there they are, well I didn't guess perfectly correct...bur whatever, I am not an Oracle for a reason. Speaking of Oracles, not even the most seasoned professional in divination could see this coming.

Syn seems to have taken a male form.

Scarab seems to have taken a female form.

Ahem...

Syn is tall, taller than anyone I've ever met, while not muscular he does have a chiseled feeling made into his semi-metallic pseudo-flesh, small cracks of black material lay lining most of his body with even smaller veins of glowing red material inside.

His hair is a metallic silver, shiny like a polished weapon, it's long too nearly making it towards his back, two long tuffs of hair making it down onto his chest, he was wearing a shiny black suit that was likewise metallic, his eyes had deep red pupils with black irises both acting like cameras in their movement.

With a flourish as he entered the room, he flexed out not only his new outfit and body, but his new powers. Summoning turrets was Syn's thing, and with polymorph... it seemed like it would only be stronger.

| Syn |

| Level 1 - Vulcan Summoner |

| Vulcan Drone Magnus |

| Title: Innate Gun |

He prestige classed.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

There were only rumors about this, and I especially didn't fucking believe it... ugh, ok so... basically, when a character within StarDuster gains their maximum potential, they reset back to level 1 with an enhanced version of their class... nobody believed this because nobody ever got it and lived to tell the tale, but source code junkies kept finding data about it.

Weirdly enough, there wasn't anything about this in terms of NPCs... normally, creatures like Syn would simply evolve, not gain a player stat board.

Continuing on, since the spotlight was entirely on Syn in this very moment, he began showing off a bit of his talent. His title was a

' mastery ' title like my Blood King, meaning it has effect on the System, but also allowing him to effectively become what his mastery is.

In this case, a Gun. Syn, who normally lacks in offensive abilities without the other turrets, can now transform himself at will into guns. Currently, they are no stronger than a real world .44 magnum, but if I can give him a Calamity... ohohoh, anywho...

Syn's turrets, who before were unintelligent extensions of himself, now are physically manifested as humanoids while also gaining intelligence of about what you would expect.

The three bruiser turrets look to just be smaller versions of Syn, standing at half my height, they don't seem able to talk but I wouldn't hold them to that... they stare with blank expressions excluding their eyebrows, their hair is shorter and spiky as opposed to Syn and their cloths are more similar to black leather tunics.

The ice turret looks vaguely similar to Mordova in a way, blue smooth hair and a haughty expression and cold aura. It wears a frost-touched black hoodie with jeans underneath, a very practical look. She is just under Anise's height, and with her grey eyes she stares directly into my soul. Or... at least it feels like it.

The Blood Bazooka turret... oh geez, exactly as I'd imagine it. It's just short of my own height, with a crazed twinge in it's face it looks like it could detonate at any moment. Black spiky hair curls onto his back, it's hair's height reaching a little beyond my own despite our body's size difference. He is shirtless... or, is now shirtless. He is wearing some sort of clothing type from earth, but it's ruined beyond recognition and hanging around his waist. Luckily, he is wearing pants. Sweatpants, but still, better than nothing. Red pupils, and he is toned as fuck with slightly tanned skin. Only Dice and Jotun really compare.

Hopefully I don't have to name these gremlins.

Alright Scarab now, while I assumed its female... I can't really tell, a few aspects of her body screams ' uncanny ' to me, I doubt it was a smooth transition into flesh for it... I feel bad, but it is what it is.

Scarab is very colorful, mixtures of every kind of material I've feed it make up the clothing while she herself is colored like my old carapite gear. She is wearing a sleeveless tee-shirt with a biker jacket hanging over her shoulders, miscolored jeans cover her legs and metal tipped boots for shoes.

While her entire is a random mismatch of colors, it's still symmetrical and it seems there are 'slots' in her shirt and jackets back for... wings. She has become a very beetle like person.

Either through a stroke, Anise's straight up brilliance, or the System's help... Scarab still retains her ability to transform into nanites as well as incorporate them into crafting supposedly... a big advantage though, is that it was enhanced by her new body... nearly multiplying her original mass by 16-!

| Scarab |

| Level 1 - Vulcan Nano-Machine Hub |

| Vulcan Nano Drone |

| Title: None |

Kickass, but now where the fuck are they going to sleep.