QuestWright BK2 C77: Systems in Systems (Patreon)

Quick addition.

This was added to Revelations (III), so I don't have a potential plot hole in the near future. I thought I'd added it way back when Alan first introduced the Underdark, but after checking, I couldn't find it. The idea is that they don't move away from the Dungeon closest to the Guildtower often; you can take what that means about points however you'd like.

“There’s a bunch of Dungeons down there, and the Guildtower is using them to train up their Privates. That’s about as far as we’ve gotten.”

He didn’t mention the corruption, Cass thought.

“There’s a bunch of Dungeons, you’re right about that. And we did train against them, though we rarely ever moved away from the one nearest to the Guildtower. But there are worse things than Dungeons and Monsters beneath the tower.” He shuddered and paused as he looked at Cass. “I know who you are, Alan, but who’s the kid?”

Chapter 77: Systems in Systems

After repeating to Adya what the Source had said, Cass asked, “So what does that mean for us?”

Liberty is corrupt. 

“Well…yeah.”

You’re misunderstanding me.

Though I only had a glimpse, what I saw were blind spots moving about the city unimpeded and at great speed.

The Private Highways.

Corruption is the decay of System energy and the replacement of established order. Terrible things will soon happen to your world if it reaches a dangerous threshold. 

“Like what?”

That depends.

If the corruption is rooted in a Book of Callings, as you claim, then a new world order will rise. A Book of Callings is a genesis of power and connection. If one is corrupted, then so must be every Calling that it grants. That is definitive and not up for debate.

If the corruption is rooted in an individual who has the power to corrupt those around them, they will freely gain power with each additional act of corruption they create, until something new is born of it. 

Something terrifying to behold.

As the Source spoke, Cass repeated the words aloud. He saw the same dire look on Adya’s face that he felt on his own.

“Have you seen either of those instances before?”

A corrupted individual — yes, there’s a history. But a corrupted Book of Callings is something new and just as dangerous. 

The only thing that puts me a little at ease is the fact that it would take a long time for the object to reach its evolutionary threshold. The System is overtly difficult to corrupt; individuals, however, can be corrupted rather easily if they’re willing.

I experienced something like that myself. If corruption is trying to push itself into someone and they don’t fight back, I could easily see it happening quickly.

Speaking to the air, he asked, “What do you think the endgame is for the people doing this? As in, what should we be looking for?”

Impossible to tell from a distance.

Each System must be separate, free to gain or lose power on its own through a form of energy exchange. Corrupted items, especially those directly connected to a World System, could lead to the development of a new Persona. 

That would be very bad for all.

There was another pause, like the Source was talking to somebody else. On its return, the rageful undertone was gone. In its place was something almost conciliatory.

I am inclined to believe that it is not a corrupted being at the heart of this crisis, but a Book of Callings as you’ve explicated.

This is a major priority for the System. I’ve spoken to my superior, and we’ve decided to offer a bonus reward for the corruption's elimination as a way to expedite its removal.

Should you successfully complete the purge, you will receive a major reward.

Cass repeated everything to Adya, then said in confusion, “Explicated?”

Adya sighed. “That’s what you’re getting hung up on? The word you don’t know and not the reward?”

“Vocabulary is important to QuestWrights, mi amour.”

“Oh, I like that.”

The Source continued speaking as if they hadn’t said anything. Like it was reciting a script written by somebody else.

The major reward would be the following:

A qualifying Path of your choice from the Index, not only granted, but unlocked as well. You would also be allowed to keep the purged Book of Callings as a prize.

That means I could get that Path I saw in the Index, or maybe an even better one. Plus, I’d have my own Book of Callings to mess with. Pellin would go nuts.

But the Source is acting funny.

There’s something more going on here. I need to dig for the best possible options before it leaves.

He pretended to think about it, then spoke in a coy voice, “This sounds like a big job. Why don’t we negotiate?”

I am not allowed to offer more.

That’s why it’s acting funny. Something is preventing it from negotiating. But that can change if I do this right.

Cass would purge the corruption no matter what. William’s life was a horror show. That was likely true of all the Privates within the Guildtower’s ‘army’. He couldn’t allow something like that to continue, spreading among people who were just interested in food, and still live with himself. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t get something more out of his required actions.

Cass decided to change tactics. He needed to stall the Source so Alacrity could help his mind work on finding a solution.

Slapping his head, he grinned at the sky. “Ah, wait a moment. I never asked for my requested reward; now did I? Hrmm, what to get, what to get. I know. I want the ability to purge corrupted Callings without killing the person.”

That…is possible. It is an energy-intensive change to the Quill, but as it serves both of our purposes, I approve.

I believe you are doing this to assist an individual, but be aware. The purging of a corrupted Book of Callings also removes the granted Callings and everything that comes with them.

It is not a painless process.

Good to know.

Without warning, the Quill changed in Cass’s hand. A cyan-blue band gently wrapped around the feathered edge, spiraling with slow grace around the translucent object until it ended just above the tip. The Quill shone brighter than ever, but instead of a brilliant white, there were now arcs of cyan flowing around it.

And though it was wondrous to watch, Cass’s mind was operating in the background all along. A way forward appeared in his mind just as the Source spoke.

Complete.

“Great! Now, let’s get back to negotiating.”

I already said-

Negotiation tactic number one is a go.

Cass paced in front of Adya as he said, “You told me it’s a world-ending source of corruption. That’s a bit more than our agreement originally stated.”

The agreement was for all corruption beneath Liberty.

“That’s true, but you’re forgetting something. You altered the corrupted tree’s reward when the danger level was recognized to be much higher than expected. That’s how I just got this very nice reward here. So, to me, that tells me there is room for negotiation. If the corrupted Book of Callings is more dangerous, then it deserves to have its own pre-negotiated arrangement, wouldn’t you agree? Plus, what if it’s in a higher location than the Underdark? Am I just supposed to ignore it?”

You don’t know that it is.

“That’s my point. Neither do you. It could be on top of the tower rather than at the bottom in the Underdark. I don’t know how many people the System has who can purge corrupted objects, but I’m going to assume it’s not a lot or you’d have sent someone more experienced than me. That gives me some leverage in this discussion.”

You would allow a corrupted item to continue existing?

“Not if I can help it. But you, the Source, and the System itself have a pre-arranged agreement with me. One that has very specific parameters that must be met to be completed. I’m trying to give you the opportunity to expand those parameters while staying true to the original agreement. The arrangement we have offers a lower reward that doesn’t seem to reflect the new dangers we’ve recently discovered. When you think about it, I’m helping you stick to the deal while maintaining its integrity.”

“What are you doing?” Adya interrupted.

“Negotiating,” Cass said with a grin. He looked back at the sky. “But my point stands. I think we need a new agreement.”

Silence met the open air as Cass and Adya looked at each other.

“Do you realize how much information the System just gave us?” Adya asked. “World Systems, Personas, exchanging energy. I figured there were rules governing everything, but that’s a lot of information at once.”

Cass agreed. “Yeah, every time I have a conversation with the Source like this, I learn a ton that needs unpacking later. But this is a little different. Honestly, I think that’s the most talkative it’s ever been.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Maybe it likes you?”

I am back.

The current circumstances require me to be more forthright than usual. Nothing more or less.

Also, I do not like Adya Korring.

“A little rude,” Cass replied.

“What?” Adya asked.

“Nothing.”

I have a slight alteration to your potential reward.

The aforementioned Path, the Book of Callings-

Cass interrupted again as he fired negotiation tactic number two, “Which is already mine based on pirate rights.”

“Pirate rights?” Adya asked.

“The Source is still trying to say that the Book of Callings is a reward, which is wrong. It’s booty. Loot. A self-given reward for good work. The System doesn’t get to define what’s mine when it’s sitting right there, nice and easy to pick up and take with me.”

Adya burst out laughing. “Now it’s my turn to say you’re spending too much time with Orla. Though I doubt anything about this is going to be nice and easy.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. But still…yarr.”

“Yarr?”

“Because I’m a pirate.”

I will return swiftly.

Cass started laughing, joined only a moment later by Adya.

“This is fun,” she said, reaching over and taking his hand.

“Yeah. The Source isn’t bad, but as you said, there are rules to this. It’s weird to be talking about the end of the world coming to our doorstep, then arguing with a god for rewards in stopping it.”

“I don’t know if I’d call it a God, and you said the quiet part out loud.”

“Eh.”

I have another modified agreement.

“Let's hear it.”

It rattled the terms out quickly before Cass could interject something else.

Path, Title, and a reward to greatly assist you in managing the Book of Callings.

Cass grimaced, then looked at his girlfriend. “I need you to head downstairs.”

Adya looked hurt as she released his hand. “Why?”

Cass firmly took her hand again, though she didn’t grip him back. “Because what I’m about to talk about is the reason I was kidnapped and sent to Liberty in the first place. Somehow, they know whenever I mention it, and I’d rather not have the capital show up and kidnap me again.”

A quick squeeze, then she nodded. “I trust you. Get a good deal.”

“Of course.”

Once she was gone, Cass spoke quietly, “Vocator?”

No.

You’re not at the appropriate level or gate to obtain that particular Calling. To do so would cause you to implode.

“Jesus. Is that true?”

Yes.

There are several powerful options that the System could offer you as a reward. These would fundamentally empower your Calling and expand its capabilities. 

Vocator has a high-level requirement. 

“So I’m being limited on rewards because I’m too low-level?”

Of course.

I don’t feel this is necessary, but I’ll remind you all the same. You are only at the third tier, Cassio Vale. What is being offered now pushes the boundaries of what you can feasibly manage.

“I don’t suppose you want to just give me a bunch of levels to help me out? That’s within your abilities, right?”

It is, but I won’t, and I’m restricted from doing so. 

Levels are the systematic infusion of energy. Too much at once can be just as harmful to the human body as an ability that the body isn’t prepared for. And that is all I will say on the matter.

“But I saw experience as an option within the Index.”

And if you’d gone that way, then you would’ve learned it becomes a matching reward of experience. Each point earned by the Calling finds another point added from the System until the totality of the reward is exhausted. 

All System rewards have a purpose. Just like that Quill in your hand.

“So what’s the thing that’ll help me manage the Book of Callings?”

A tutorial, of course. And something additional.

Cass remembered in that moment what his father had said about looking a gift horse in the mouth. The imagery of it had never made sense to him, but he’d always taken it to mean that he should accept gifts and rewards with gratitude.

So he tried to play it off.

“Pfft, fine.” Nodding sagely, he asked another question. “And this is all contingent only if I find a corrupted Book of Callings, correct?”

Correct.

His quick mind already knew what to say. “Deal. But that tutorial better not be shitty, or we’re going to have words.”

One is already designed and ready for you. It is the same one that is handed out to Guildmasters upon obtaining their new Calling. We’re just making an exception for you given the current circumstances.

Now, if that will be all, I presume this will be completed quickly? 

To delay is to invite danger to the world.

“As quickly as I can.”

Excellent. 

Be well.

The tutorial faded, and Cass pumped a fist. He was considering the rewards and what he still had to do when Bella came stepping over.

What’s a Vocator?

Cass looked at her sharply. “Don’t tell anyone, please.”

Who would I tell?

Cass sighed, patted her snout, then stomped down the stairs. Adya gave him a cheery smile, showing him there was no lingering anger from sending her down, and Cass spotted the woman known as Shadow sitting in the spot he’d vacated. The large man was conversing with Alan and had a frown on his face as the old Scout refused his request to join the Dungeon fight again.

As soon as Cass was within ten feet of William, the Quill began to glow with a deep cyan light. In an explosion of energy, it bathed William’s body in its radiance. The luminescence wasn’t just a light show; it revealed a multitude of red nodes across his body, the largest on his heart.

Alan and Shadow both reacted differently to the sudden event. Alan leaped out of his chair, moving a healthy distance away while keeping his eyes trained on the giant in front of him. 

Shadow did something different. A small blade appeared in her hand as she disappeared, reappearing behind the man with a knife to his throat.

“What do you think you’re doing, boy?” she hissed.

“Wait!” Cass yelled, getting closer with his hands out in the hope that the stealthy woman didn’t immediately kill him. “That’s my fault! I negotiated with the Source, and it gave me the ability to remove corruption from people. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. I should’ve expected it would be something like this.”

For having a knife at his throat and several glowing spots of red across his body, the big man’s voice was remarkably calm as he said, “Corruption?”

“Yes,” Cass said, keeping his eyes on Shadow. “The Guildtower gave you a corrupted Calling. If the Source is right, all the Privates have them.”

“It’s confirmed?” Alan asked, already back in his seat in his customary pose.

“I can’t say one-hundred percent, but yeah, I’m pretty damn sure.”

“Fuck,” Alan said in a heavy voice. 

Shadow still hadn’t moved as she said, “You going to do anything that’s going to make me regret stepping away, William?”

“I sure hope not,” the big man said, a look of concentration on his face as he tried not to move.

“Good.” Removing the knife, Shadow put herself just far enough away to still be able to react quickly.

Meanwhile, Alan was scrutinizing the Quill in Cass’s hand. “If much of the Guildtower is corrupted, that trinket you have there is going to give you away as soon as you get back.”

Cass looked at the Quill with big eyes. “Shit, you’re right. Hold on.”

Shifting it back to its normal pen form removed its effect on William, but the cyan glow remained. Cass pushed it out of the world, leaving the only light remaining in the room to be the orange flickering of candles.

Cass sighed. “Thank you for thinking of that. It would’ve caused me some serious trouble if I’d walked into the Guildtower with that in my pocket.”

“It’s what I do.”

“So, what’s corruption?” William asked a second time.

“It’s kind of hard to explain,” Cass said as he moved closer. “But as I understand it, corruption is a violation of the System the world knows. The Guildtower is doing something with their Book of Callings that’s created an anomaly in you that shouldn’t exist. I traded a reward with the System so I could remove it from you.”

“Just like that?” The big man asked, his face unchanging. “Why? What did I ever do for you?”

Cass smiled and shrugged. “It’s just who I am, William. Your situation seemed hopeless, and I thought I could help.”

He took a deep breath. “What’s going ot happen?”

“I’m gonna pull the corruption out of you, and there’s a good chance when I’m done that you won’t have a Calling anymore.”

“So, all my levels?”

Cass nodded slowly. “Yes.”

William clenched a fist while looking at it. “It’s going to hurt, isn’t it? I mean, I’m level one-hundred, and you’re talking about pulling whatever this corruption is out of me.”

“The Source said it’s not painless. I took that to mean it’s going to hurt quite a lot. You’d also be the first person I’m doing this with, so I don’t entirely know what I’m doing. I want to be completely upfront with you about that.”

“But if you learned from doing it to me, you might be able to do it to others?” William asked. “You could save more people from the Guildtower?” 

Cass met his unblinking eyes and saw something there that couldn’t be put into words.

“That’s right. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“If it’ll help me screw over the Guildtower, you can be damn sure I want to do this,” William said with a laugh. “Get that shit out of me.”

“You may want to lay down, buddy,” Cass said, calling the Quill back into the world as the lights in the room changed yet again. “This is going to be rough.”