Chapter 166 - The "RPG" In LitRPG?

Listen. We all knew this day was coming. I knew it, you knew it, we've all been here. I'm doing what I can to keep it grounded, organic, and neither clunky nor overbearing, but I did need at least a little bit of quantification, don't you think? We'll see how it goes from here!

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The sun is bright and early in the sky when they start the next day.

The kid, of course, is a kid, and a starved one at that: he eats like crazy and sleeps a ton, so after breakfast, it takes a little while for him to come out. A few hours before evening, Jin comes out of the cabin, bleary-eyed, and blinks owlishly at what he sees.

Raika, about thirty meters away, is currently dragging her hand through the dirt hard enough to completely tear up the ground. It should be noted as well that her hand is about ten feet wide, possessing too many fingers, and altogether too armored to bend.

She perks up as she sees the kid, waving at him. “Hey! Glad you’re up! I’m almost done here, gimme a minute!”

True to her word, she drags her improvised farming tool through those last thirty meters like they’re nothing, ending at a point about fifty meters from the front of the cabin and connecting to back to the same dirt trail she’s currently digging. All in all, it makes for a circular pathway dug into the ground for a total of about a mile in circumference.

It’s not perfect, but it’s decent, and it goes both up and down the hills at either side of the valley. Satisfied, she reshapes her hand back to a human limb, cracking and popping a lot more than a human number of joints as she does. In her other hand, she takes Dink from around her neck and plants it into the ground. With a casual reformation of her flesh, she lets a few drops of blood fall from the tip of her finger onto the tuning fork, and then lightly taps the point where they touch.

A ringing noise echoes through the valley, thrumming and vibrating in tune with the ground itself so that everything feels like its shivering- and in that shivering, the upturned earth of the track falls into place and hardens into a flat surface, debris shifting and reshaping itself into place perfectly to create a well-shaped running path.

She nods, taps Dink affectionately, and stands back up, grinning wide as the kid stares at her, mouth agape.

“This is your first test!” Raika says. “Before lunchtime, you need to run, not walk, this entire course three times, and walk it once. If you’d woken up earlier, maybe you’d have more time, but as is, you’ve got about three hours. Hop to it!”

For a moment, he says nothing, just staring at her. Then he looks over at Li Shu, sitting on a little stump behind her, and apparently whatever he sees in her is enough to convince him that yes, his new master is absolutely serious.

“Go, go, go!” she yells as he starts to jog, his form atrocious but surprisingly quick. “If you don’t make it in time or if you walk part of the way, I’ll dunk you in the pond!”

He noticeably picks up speed at that.

Raika chuckles a bit, shaking her head and turning back to Li Shu. The healer, in turn, raises an arched brow at her.

“This your version of mocking him?” she asks. “The kid is borderline starved. A few days of good meals won’t let him run three miles in a row.”

“I don’t care if he runs them in a row, or at all,” Raika says, shrugging. “I just want to see if he’ll keep at it. Pretty light as far as proving his commitment goes. If he doesn’t walk part of the way and lie about it, he passes. If he fails to do it by lunch, but keeps going, he gets bonus points.”

Li Shu smiles, shaking her own head. “Ok, that’s actually not that bad. While he’s busy, do you mind checking my notes? I want to make sure we’ve got everything recorded.”

Raika nods, going back over to the pages and pages Li Shu has written down and picking out the one that has the neatest summary of what they’ve gone over.

Notation On Ontology And Abilities Of Raika The Unbroken

The subject possesses a previously unknown pathway of cultivation, most likely more than one, and has abilities that vary considerably from known of Orthodox, Bestial, Demonic, or Dao-based Cultivation styles. Currently, the subject has been noted to possess demonstrable similarities to multiple types of biological / ontological weapons, specifically the Red Wolves of the Witch-style of Qi usage and that of war-forged bioforms of the Empire, though more study is needed to see if the connection goes deeper.

The subject possesses distinct abilities in three categories:

Truth

• I AM ME, I AM MINE (A- Rank)

  • Manifestation of dominion over self. Currently manifesting as three(?) distinct interpretations:

    • Conscious control of all anatomical movement and functions

    • Extreme resistance to dysmorphia and “true” personality split

    • Potential resistance to mind control or manipulation, though there are conflicting possibilities here.
      
      

• I CAN CHANGE (S Rank)

  • Manifestation of fundamental properties of self. Currently manifesting as one distinct interpretation:

    • Ability to fundamentally alter and transform anything considered a bodily material into a different bodily material at varying conversion rates

    • Possibly manifesting as additional ability to alter her own perspectives, goals, and mentality, though this is difficult to test.
      
      

• [UNFORMED THIRD TRUTH] (? Rank)

  • Something tied to the End Of All Things, a fragment of which was consumed. Relates to predatory killing and eating in some way, but currently possesses no distinct interpretations or clear manifestation.

Unique Physique / Biological Manipulation (derived from Truths)

The subject can, by a blend of Truth manifestations and a long regimen of minute Qi-poisoning, transform her body into nearly any anatomical shape they can imagine or have studied, though she cannot yet mimic the functions of organs she does not understand. Additionally, she is capable of directly ingesting and digesting Qi, processing it without using soul organs for a net deficit intake, but one that is evenly distributed and permanently alters whatever has absorbed it. Highlights of her current biology are:

• Enhanced Senses

  • The subject can smell Qi directly as both traditional scents and as concepts. Additionally, she has incredible eyesight, sense of touch, taste, and exceptional hearing, none exceeding current known standards for a Core Formation cultivator, but all always active and without requiring focus, rather than Qi-activated or technique-based.

• High Durability

  • Due to high amounts of Qi saturation, all materials of the body are enhanced to the point of extreme durability, similar to an alchemical component. Muscle fibers currently have the durability of medium-grade bronze, and the saturation is proportional across the body to reflect this. This places the subject at the lower end of the Nascent Soul realm in terms of direct physical durability.

• High Regeneration

  • The subject can heal from near-lethal wounds within a 24 hour period, with abrasions, broken bones, cuts, and penetrative damage often healing within minutes. Due to both her specific metabolism and Truths relating to bodily transformation and control, this speed can be vastly accelerated with the use of Qi and esoteric energies.

• Extreme Mutability

  • As above, her Truths grant her near total control of her physical shape and functions. There currently are no known or clear limits on how much this can allow, but she has previously survived by cycling blood as a severed head, while transforming loose blood into armor, muscle matter, and tendrils.

• Exotic Organs

  • Raika currently possesses several organs of unknown function, though a few have been identified clearly.

  • Lungs:

    • Larger on the inside than should be possible by a magnitude of about fifteen, hyper-efficient oxygenation.

  • Stomach:

    • Unknown volume on the inside. Capable of intaking and digesting nearly any material that is not enchanted or Qi-rich in moments, and tends to very efficiently digest and absorb Qi, even in esoteric forms.

  • Heart:

    • Can move far more blood than should be possible for its size, possessing far more than normal number of valves and chambers. 6x bloodflow multiplier.

  • Brain:

    • Possesses multiple “sub-minds”, smaller brains which assist in processing sensory input and analyzing / modeling outcomes.

    • Enhanced glandular hormone production, specifically cortisol, dopamine and adrenaline

  • Liver:

    • Notes pending

  • Kidneys:

    • Notes Pending

  • Unknown Organs: 2

• (Proto) Warform

  • Currently untested optimized form for high-combat engagements. Notes pending.

Ontological Manifestation

• Blacksteel Manipulation

  • Likely due to the partially formed third Truth, Raika can both generate and reshape Blacksteel so long as it is connected to her body and mimicking biological function. Blacksteel’s properties primarily manifest as tremendous sharpness, durability against life-based energies, and unnatural lethality against constructs and life forms.

• True Flame Generation

  • Due to Raika’s Qi being relatively untainted by a soul, it can attain other concepts / properties easily. By “sparking” her Qi against the Blacksteel, the concept of hunger and death are added to life and energy, manifesting as highly purified True Flame, which she cannot control, but can cause to detonate from inside her or consume for a quick boost.

• “Engine” [IGNITION]

  • A transmutation of True Flame and Blacksteel, likely generated by some sort of proximity to the soul(?), which can be used as an incredible but hard to control fuel source. Its properties are untested.

“Well?” Li Shu asks. “What do you think?”

“Frankly, I’m mostly just stunned you fit it all into one page. You wrote very small.”

“Been getting a lot of practice in. Did I miss anything?”

Raika sighs. “Nope. All clear. It feels… a bit underwhelming when you put it like that, honestly. And I do have some questions. For one, how are you ranking different cultivation realms? You mentioned that my muscle strands are as tough as bronze, is that common? And what are these “ranks” you put next to my Truths section?”

“Oh!” Li Shu says with a smile. “So cultivators are either ranked in terms of material strengths or mortal ranks. The Empire prefers mortal ranks, while older sect texts focus on materials. So a sect might say that a mortal’s durability is flesh tier, a Qi-Gatherers is wood tier, Foundational is usually tin tier, Core Formation is silver tier, and Nascent Soul usually begins at bronze tier, but ends around iron tier. Not quite 1-to-1, but close enough, and we skip gold due to its other properties, so a gold tier physique would indicate something special beyond its toughness, as gold is fairly malleable.

“For the Empire, they prefer hard numbers, so the strength of a physically fit, well fed, frequently exercised mortal would be classified as “1”. Children might be anywhere from .1 to .6, young adults and adults can range from .7 to .9, and then it slides back downhill from there. In effect, a mortal human in peak condition can be classified as 1 “mortal rank”. From there, they carefully measure your abilities and create an averaged number, such that a Core Formation cultivator focused on strength and speed might be rank 10.5 overall, with specific strength and speed stats, while a Core Formation cultivator focused on illusions and who sits on their ass all day might only be a 3 or 4. It’s a lot more accurate, but focuses on quantitative over qualitative info, and needs a shitload of arrays and tools we don’t really have.”

“...huh. Ok. Did Yun Ka tell you this?”

“Yep. It’s in her notes. The “tier” stuff I found in my medical texts, but for Imperial measurements, I got no clue, so I didn’t use them. Heard it’s popular in the inner 2nd and 1st rings though.”

“Alright, fair enough. And what about these “ranks”?”

“Oh, I made that up. It’s supposed to be focused on how broad and strong your Truth might be!”

Raika blinks at her, looking down at her “A-” and “S” ranked tiers. “And is that… good?”

“I mean… I haven’t studied Truth much, but from what I know, a Truth can encompass anything that you can theoretically picture with the phrase it’s usually expressed as. So, say you have a Truth like “I Can Cut Through Anything”. On its own, that might mean that your sword is extra sharp, and that’s the only way it shows up, but as you broaden your interpretation of it, it can become much more literal and varied. Maybe any cut you make, with anything, can cut through any material, or you can defy things with impossible hardness if you try hard enough. 

“The more specific a Truth is, the easier it is to understand and use, and the harder it is to break, but the broader it is, the more you can potentially learn to do with it and the more power it can have- so long as it doesn’t break on the way, or become a more specific Truth as your mindset changes.

“Your Truths, I Am Me, I Am Mine, and I Can Change, are two of the broadest, least disputable Truths I can think of. Like, I can think of ways to maybe disprove the first one, but I Can Change? How can you actually break that belief, outside of some really serious conditioning? And both have so much room for interpretation. So… I gave them big high ranks.”

Raika takes a long, slow breath. Sighs. “Yeah. Ok. I… think I knew most of that, but hearing it said out loud… I’ve got a lot of room to grow there, huh?”

“Yep. You do. And in the meantime, here’s what I’ve written for Dink!”

She hands over another page of paper which Raika looks over and memorizes.

Notes On Living Artifact(?) Named “Dink”

The artifact, which possesses no clear item spirit or manifestations but does show minor signs of awareness and sentience, is a tuning fork. Its properties align, to some degree, with the concepts a tuning fork is connected to;

Tuning Frequency

The artifact can mimic specific signals and concepts of Qi that can be transmitted through sound, heat, and movement. It is possible it can synchronize with more, but this is currently untested, and may be more of a drain on the artifact. This works mostly as a way to better sense and communicate through Qi, as well as mimic certain memorized patterns.

Anti-Frequency

The strongest and most draining of its abilities, the artifact can mimic the opposite of a frequency, so long as said frequency is neither too complicated or overpowering. By doing so, it can disrupt techniques and effects relating to Qi, heat, motion, and potentially more.

Vibration

Primarily used as a means of communication, the artifact manifests all its abilities through vibration, creating musical notes as it does.

“Wow. I have to say, this looks outright professional. You’ve never done this before?”

“Nope!” Li Shu grins. “Not a once. I just like to write fancy and take big notes. Most of my sources are super old so half the time I get to just make stuff up!”

As they’re talking, they see Jin start to round the bend over one hill. His face is red, his breaths pumping, and she can hear his heart really working overtime to keep him moving, and he’s sweating enough to have recolored his shirt almost entirely. But he’s still running.

Li Shu sighs. “I’m going to get that poor boy some water for when he stops.”

Raika grins, nice and wide. “Nah. He’s doin great. There’s barely any sun out here, nice and cool, no way he’ll overheat. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”