Rolled 37, 26, 22 = 85 (3d100)

>>3943479
The hellish back door.

>>3943515
Or not.

You spend about half of the day looking for the entrance, but there's nothing. No storm, no red hole, nothing! You use your Skill, but Demon Hammer doesn't take much notice. Thanks to your Jewels he isn't heavy, but come nightfall you might have to abandon him if you encounter anyone.

"Just so you know. Jewels disappear and become non-functional at night. You won't be able to sleep either. You also need some food."

"Sorry? Why? I haven't needed to eat in 4 centuries I won't start again now!"

"It's Hell. It isn't nice."

Player Choice
>Try again (Roll 3d100 best of ONE DC 55)
>Write-in

You have three days worth of food, the both of you can go through tonight, but not the next OK?

Rolled 62, 68, 25 = 155 (3d100)

>>3943523
>Try again (Roll 3d100 best of ONE DC 55)
We did skip days before. Now we can't?

>>3943563
We did? Well I probably wasn't paying enough attention. I'll work something out.

I need to go. Update tomorrow at 14:00.
>68
Success!

>>3943578
>Success

You eventually find a disturbance in the sky, which Demon Hammer uses to make another swirling red portal. You are sucked in without much complaint, and you start to prepare for the surface of Mars. You remember, thankfully.

You use Wind to generate a storm, this will provide some air for you to breathe. You then switch to Lightning, just to generate some form of heat. You put on your Consolidated Equipment, and prepare yourself. Finally you buff your Stamina, it should help.

You see that you still have your Skill, which is good. You see the storm start to disappear around you, and it is replaced by a more dirty red. Then you land on solid metal.

You see about 20 people stop and stare at the two of you. This must be the Mars base Demon Hammer was talking about. You see Jessica, ignoring you and working over some documents, her Saint bracelet partially broken. This place is fully functioning. Demon Hammer doesn't waste a minute.

"How long have I been gone?"

"Two weeks, moron." Jessica seems to be in a bad mood.

"Well that's a lot better than eternity, miss prodigy."

"True. If you want to go, you'll have to wait. We need to perform some tests on the both of you to ensure no contamination."

"That's the treatment I get for two days in Hell? What next? A fucking manicure?!"

"I've also died! Get over it!" You see the two start to get closer to each other, already bickering. You see one of the lower research staff come over with a checklist, one which you recognise, a psych test. He offers you a cup of something to drink, but you only feel a bit hungry. Jiang isn't here, she's probably still on Earth...you want to get back home, with it being almost 7 months if you aren't there to help her all her hard work would be for nothing. Demon Hammer said something about her body rejecting the baby, surely someone with Stamina Jewels wouldn't miscarriage?

You have a lot of thoughts, with Heaven, Hell. You can still feel your Mark burned on your skin. You check your inventory and see that it has been fully restored, which is a bonus. You still have your Ice Blade...

Player Choice
>Write-in for what to do/say next after the tests have been completed.

>>3944518
> "So, how much did things burn in my absence, and how many people died? Also, does my reservation for that Dragon clan beach resort still stand? I feel like I really need some days of relax now."

>>3944537
"So, how much did things burn in my absence, and how many people died? Also, does my reservation for that Dragon clan beach resort still stand? I feel like I really need some days of relax now."

The researcher takes his final notes, a grim look on his face.

"Shian is dead. YianEyue is in a coma and Queen Fei Dershwa is panicking. Princess Jiang is...not safe. My sincerest apologies for what I am about to say. Your blood, it does not seem completely human, after all, we can find no other reason for the reaction she is experiencing."

"If I'm not human, then what am I?"

"We have no idea, sir."

"Fine, well. Do you have Shian's body or Jewels."

"Yes."

"Do you know why YianEyue is in a coma?"

"Shock, we think. She...acquired the recording of your disappearance and immediately fell ill."

"My reservation?"

"I have no idea. Welcome back?"

"What's my psych profile look like anyway?"

"Confidential sir, rule of law applies. Even if I commend you for learning the subject matter in a few months, I cannot tell you."

So something is 'wrong' with you? Like Hell!"

"When is the next ship home?"

"Let me make a spot for you in two days. Teleportation is difficult at this range after all, the only one able to make jumps like that is the Vice-Marshal and he's recovering from a nasty infection."

"Infection? As an Elemental Jewel Master? What do the Life Element users think?"

"Alien microbes, they are researching them now, but without some understanding the Vice-Marshal has had to teleport his blood for fresh stuff every day to avoid spread to his muscles or brain."

"Fine, are there any quarters for me?"

"I suppose you could share the Prime Minister's room for now. I suggest you take some time to think about your next actions."

"Jessica!"

"Ah! Fucking hoola! What the hell do you want now?!"

"A communicator! I need a way to talk to Jiang!"

"Fine. Just wait there I'll get you a Spatial optimised one." She pulls out a weird device, somewhat like a grenade. You 'make a call', and wait. You hear a weak voice on the other side.

"H-hello? I'm a bit busy at the moment. Who is this? Jessica? If that's you I want to hear some progress, please."

Player Choice
>Write-in

>>3944554
> "It's me, dear, back from Hell just for you. Sorry for the impromptu disappearance, but there were literal Greater Powers in play this time. How're you? I guess it's been hard in you these days. I should be there soon.

>>3944561
"It's me, dear, back from Hell just for you. Sorry for the impromptu disappearance, but there were literal Greater Powers in play this time. How're you? I guess it's been hard in you these days. I should be there soon."

You hear a short sound, a bit like she choked a little bit.

"How s-soon?"

"Two days, depending on when Zhang can get his act together."

"Haha...hey, the beach trip? You know, all those months ago? Well I never went in the end. I don't suppose-uhrg! I don't suppose we could go sometime soon?"

"We have more important things at play here. Courtesy of those Greater Powers. When the kids are born safely we need to make a plan. I might need to go back into Hell."

Your thankful this is done through telepathy. They might actually have some reason to say you're crazy if someone heard that.

"Get here soon. I can feel them. They are in so much pain."

"Two days. I promise."

You end the call. You see Demon Hammer passed out on the floor, in everyone's way.

"Jessica, how long have I been gone exactly?"

"Near 7 months. I sorta lost track of time. Now then! Something very important! I need intel!"

"For what?"

"Hell of course!" You see a crazed look on her face. You know that face, its the same one she showed you the first time she learnt about your cultivation technique. Utter fascination and desire to control.

Player Choice
>Write-in for what to tell Jessica about Hell. This will be taken as-is. I need a direct quote for Zou to say.

>>3944575
> "Hell is a broken mess, apparently ruled by an idiotic tyrant who is just marginally better than the A.I. that came before him. It's split by layers and sub-layers on completely arbitrary reasons, and everyone there is an asshole, because Hell I guess. You can apparently double-die. They can just turn off people's Jewels, even at high cultivation levels. I found this charm that gets power-upped by eating gems like a nouveau-riche and gives me the nigh-useless ability to fly and is kind of thematically dissonant with the whole Hell thing, but maybe it represents a false hope to those that end up there? I'd consult a theologist and a psychologist on that last one. Oh, and the weird natives/devils could see my Space Pocket. And Heaven sounds even worse! Talk about a scam!"
a.k.a. Zou disses Hell.

>>3944586
"Hell is a broken mess, apparently ruled by an idiotic tyrant who is just marginally better than the A.I. that came before him. It's split by layers and sub-layers on completely arbitrary reasons, and everyone there is an arsehole, because Hell I guess. You can apparently double-die. They can just turn off people's Jewels, even at high cultivation levels. I found this charm that gets power-upped by eating gems like a nouveau-riche and gives me the nigh-useless ability to fly and is kind of thematically dissonant with the whole Hell thing, but maybe it represents a false hope to those that end up there? I'd consult a theologian and a psychologist on that last one. Oh, and the weird natives/devils could see my Space Pocket. And Heaven sounds even worse! Talk about a scam!"

"Layers and sub layers? Double-death? A charm? Uh, y-you stick with that by yourself OK? I'll be looking at some logistics."

She doesn't sound convinced. You take out your charm, practically ripping it off your neck.

"See? Bullshit I tell you! Someone there could fuse things together and what do I get? I CAN FLY NOW WITH NO COST, FUCKING WOOOO. I got this thing in a place that's meant to curb pride, what was this supposed to do? Convince me I'm not strong or something?"

"I don't understand a thing you're talking about. What was that about Heaven?"

Player Choice
>Write-in for anything else you would like to say about Hell, and also stuff you remember about Heaven.


>Basic information about Hell has been passed to Jessica.

>>3944591
> "Hell is like a shitty condominium. Every floor is bad in its own original way, and where Demon Hammer found me, where the portal leads, there's a mock civilization headed by devils, there to make the sinners work for something like having slothful in life. It's dumb and arbitrary, I know. And there I found a library. It described Heaven and Hell, with Heaven still being headed by a robotic manifestation of some equally arbitrary rules that call themselves Dao and apparently wants to either kill me or make me into their mindless servant. And I want none of that."

>>3944598
"Hell is like a shitty condominium. Every floor is bad in its own original way, and where Demon Hammer found me, where the portal leads, there's a mock civilisation headed by devils, there to make the sinners work for something like having slothful in life. It's dumb and arbitrary, I know. And there I found a library. It described Heaven and Hell, with Heaven still being headed by a robotic manifestation of some equally arbitrary rules that call themselves Dao and apparently wants to either kill me or make me into their mindless servant. And I want none of that."

"Some actual information! I'l stew that over in my head for a bit. You get some rest. I have some books I want to look at for reference. Some of what you said sounds familiar with someone you revived."

She walks off prematurely, excited about some nerd shit. You don't feel tired, but a proper bed on Mars sounds like Heaven, or, well, paradise, not Heaven.

>You have run out of time!
>Sleep
>Start of the 182nd day

You wake up in Demon Hammer's room to some of the loudest snoring imaginable. You are on the floor, you dress and use the Water Element to clean up a bit. You have some "Free time". Maybe you could do something whilst here?

Player Choice
>Write-in for what you would like to do.

I need to go now, the quest can start again at 17:30 GMT tomorrow as the thing I usually have in the evening was cancelled.

>>3944619
> Given that you're really eager to get this whole Hell Crusade done with as soon as possible, you decide to spend the next two days training before cultivating to the next level.

>>3944624
>Training

>Stats are an auto pass, you only need to roll for the next level.

>Roll 3d100 best of ONE DC 50 to break through

Rolled 95, 83, 34 = 212 (3d100)

>>3945407

>>3945410
>Success!
>Paste has been updated

You finish breaking through. You now stand ready to go home. Jessica told you she wants to be here to get a grip on the portal. Demon Hammer asks to go to Earth with you.

You head to the on-site landing zone, and see the Vice-Marshal and Shwei-Fa piloting it. You wonder what Jewel she is now. You are about to see Zhang again, for him it was 7 months, for you? Maybe a week and a bit.

You get on the ship with Demon Hammer. Shwei-Fa is the first to ask you a question.

"Hey, uh, how was Hell?" Demon Hammer answers in your place.

"Horrible, the kid's been going on and on how he's going to take it down or some shit. I have to say it has the worst customer service imaginable!"

>Write-in for things to ask Zhang/Shwei-Fa

>>3945413
> "You bet! The food didn't even taste nice, I couldn't get a good night of sleep for all the gold in the world, and everyone was so damn rude all the time. You'd think a place so important would be handled professionally, while it's just a big series of annoyances thrown together. Oh, but I'm going to go complain one of these days, and it ain't gonna be pretty."

>>3945417
"You bet! The food didn't even taste nice, I couldn't get a good night of sleep for all the gold in the world, and everyone was so damn rude all the time. You'd think a place so important would be handled professionally, while it's just a big series of annoyances thrown together. Oh, but I'm going to go complain one of these days, and it ain't gonna be pretty."

"R-right. Uh, when we get back I-"

"Quiet you!"

The Vice-Marshal is impatient today.

>I need to eat now, will be writing the rest up soon, my apologies

>>3945420
Shwei-Fa sits back down, but she looks a lot more worried than she did a few seconds ago.

"Now then. I did not spend two weeks in bed to chat all day. Prepare for launch!"

You sit down, and it's all over in a flash. You are back in the Hangar. You see Demon Hammer stumble out of his seat, and find his own way through the Palace. Zhang comes up to you.

"Wing Commander. I suggest we see your wife, unless you have more important matters to attend to."

You leave Shwei-Fa for now, this is more important. You arrive at medical, to see Jiang, belly swollen, unconscious with a blanket over body. You see one of the doctors try and stop the both of you, but he backs off, a double take crossing his face as he sees you.

>Roll 3d100 best of ONE for perception

Rolled 56, 19, 94 = 169 (3d100)

>>3945427

>>3945429
>94

You take the sheet off her, and nearly throw up. Her skin is chalk white, it sometimes looks like she isn't human, but now, spreading from her bellybutton, a charcoal black has spread, with the lines of her blood vessels stained further out. She doesn't look thinner, or sick, in fact if her skin were the normal colour, she could be mistaken for sleeping, but this is not normal.

You try to examine it with your Heavenly Energy and the Life Element, and see that the cells are not human, they belong to something else, something you don't recognise. You probe at it with your Saint Element, but there is no reaction, the energy just wafts off her body. In other words, the wound is supposedly fine. You listen to the babies growing inside, and hear odd movements, the babies are alive, but they seem almost deformed, like they have extra limbs.

"Have you done any scans?"

"Yes, but all have them have returned negative, like her body isn't part of this world."

You remember the book you were reading in Hell, how as you get stronger, the world around you would start to resemble Heaven. Did it start with her? Your own children? That makes no sense! If that were the case, Jiang and the others would have become time-infected or something!

"At the moment, the only bad reaction we can detect is something with her soul. It is being suppressed by her own children's souls, the babies are killing her from the inside."

Shit! Well..if she dies then you could always revive her, but what of the girls? What are they going to look like? What the Hell did you two even make? This pregnancy was a result of Kreyzar's meddling...

You don't know what to, not yet, you need time to think.

"When is her due date?"

"4 days time. If you like, I can inform you when the Princess is next awake?"

"Please. Has she requested my presence for the birth?"

"Yes. The rest of us also want a Saint user around, it would be a big help."

You keep quiet. Surely there's something you can do in that time?

>You have 4 days to do stuff,
>Write-in, 4 major actions for 4 days, each lasting 1 day.

>>3945437
> You track down Shara and Shimuko
> You hunt down any lead on Saint Skills in the Skill Storage Palaces in this and neighboring countries
> You train Greater Restoration
> You ask Jessica to scour the academic and scientific world for any Saint-related and Heaven-related material
> You train and cultivate for the remainder of the time, to make yourself as powerful as possible
> Fuck sleeping, that's for the weak

>>3945450
I said 4 actions. So

You spend one day searching for Shara and Shimuko. Shara is easy, she's...

"What do you mean in the Stored Skill Palace?"

"Well, Princess Shian is dead, so...we returned to our previous orders."

Dammit!

Shimuko is a lot harder, you initially check the Hunter's Camp, however, she's not there. You ask around for some leads, but you get nothing. She's just gone, disappeared from the face of the Earth. People said she disappeared the night after she visited the Palace for something important. Shit, that night have been the day she awakened her 4th Jewel.

>Found Shara, not Shimuko.

You don't need sleep, you just need time, so you use your Life Element almost continuously, and start to sparingly teleport around, looking for other countries Stored Skill Palaces. Miller has and arguably superior one to Dershwa, it has rarer Elements, but the monsters are more dangerous. No Saint Element ones there.

You then take a good search of the Beast Nations, however, same problem. No-one has managed to capture a Saint Element, they all live in the wastelands, and despite you having the Saint Element fish at one point, you have no success. You remember Tsushiri saying she couldn't store Stored Skills, so no luck there.

>The only Saint beasts you will be able to find are in the wastelands, and will be a lot stronger, you will have to store their Stored Skills in the wild.

>Train Greater Restoration
You have 233018 points to spend.
>Rank UP 0/240
>Cost Down 0/40
>Evolve Special 73/160

You lastly spend a few minutes and call Jessica on Mars. You ask her to scour her academic world for any Saint related and Heaven related material. She tells you that she's busy, and to check the Library, everything she does is printed and put in there anyway, all of Dershwa's knowledge is there, all 500 years of Long's hard work and 120 years of hers. You spend the rest of the day looking around for stuff.

>Roll 1d100 for perception

Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>3945462
> Rank Up: 720
> Cost Down: 68691
> Special Evolution: 163607 (Add "Purification", Wide Area Effect, Strengthen Defense Against Evil Element, Buff Receiver (can stack with other buffs), All Effects Toggle, Improve Receiver Regeneration, Improve Receiver's Defenses Against Harm, Add "Blessing" (strengthen one attribute permanently, random, once, based on the user's attributes), Add "Fortune Charm" (strengthen the luck, bring positive effects, based on the user's attributes), Add "Sudden Death Resistance")
That took FOREVER.

>>3945491
>Rank and Cost Down are OK, however, special evolution is not.

>Choose 8 out of 10 abilities.

>Nat 100 perception.

Shit. I need some time to think about that, how about I stop now, and when the Quest next starts, I'll have a comprehensive list of books, it isn't a lot, but it should be...satisfactory. I can start again at 15:00 GMT tomorrow. I have work.

>>3945510
>(Add "Purification", Wide Area Effect, Strengthen Defense Against Evil Element, Buff Receiver (can stack with other buffs), Improve Receiver's Defenses Against Harm, Add "Blessing" (strengthen one attribute permanently, random, once, based on the user's attributes), Add "Fortune Charm" (strengthen the luck, bring positive effects, based on the user's attributes), Add "Sudden Death Resistance")

>>3946516
>Book List:
>Details on Saint Element beasts known to man (Jessica Dershwa et al.)
>Biography of Shao-Fa, history's only Saint user (Author Do-Quan-Shai)
>Interview logs of a resurrected man (Authoress Jessica Dershwa)
>Technical logs of the Saint Element generator (Author Juei-Nao)
>Ancient Manuscript, The Common Codex of Life and Death (Author N/A)
>Thoughts of the effect of Time Reversal on Heaven and death. (Author Long Dershwa
>An account of a man who met an Angel. (Author unknown)

There is a small list, with most of these being hundreds of years old, the only recent ones are the technical logs on the Saint generator and the interview logs. The only one of these that might actually pertain to Heaven. What a lot of use this place is! If you want something done you best do it yourself from now on.

>(Add "Purification", Wide Area Effect, Strengthen Defence Against Evil Element, Buff Receiver (can stack with other buffs), Improve Receiver's Defences Against Harm, Add "Blessing" (strengthen one attribute permanently, random, once, based on the user's attributes), Add "Fortune Charm" (strengthen the luck, bring positive effects, based on the user's attributes), Add "Sudden Death Resistance")

Changing Sudden Death Resistance to Sudden Death Protection for clarity. Also, one of these effects will come to bite you, but eh, your choice.

Player Choice
>Choose one book to take with you before you head to medical.

>>3946570
>An account of a man who met an Angel
Is it Purification? It shouldn't remove buffs, right?

>>3946584
No, buffs will stay.
>An account of a man who met an Angel

You take the only one that matters, and run like the wind, the Element pushing you forward. You arrive on the scene to Jiang screaming her head off.

"Angel of Death! We need your help! She entered labour suddenly-"

You see a pillar of white hot flame pour from her eye, a purely defensive response, but you activate your Water Element as a precaution.

"Sir, the only thing we can do in this situation is wait!"

You are about to rush forward, anything to show Jiang that you are there will help, you are sure of it, however, you feel the world slow down, the colours draining, it's been months since this happened! Why now?!

Player Action
>Roll 1d10, One only.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>3946587
It's either buff or Blessing, then?

>>3946597
>4
>Trips of Death activate for the last time!
>Someone close to you other than this one is dead!

You see the world stop, and look around for anything moving. You see the visage of what you would describe as an alchemist. a fume holder hanging from his hip, covered in fanciful robes, long grey hair.

"The payment has been completed, the experiment continues to be a success. Thanks to your contributions to the Dao, you are spared from your fate. The ritual has been passed on however, you will no longer receive your blessing." In a flash, he disappears.

You see the world speed up again, and take a look at Jiang. He entire body is stained black, like charring. You see her body start to crumble away, starting from the abdomen. You can hear the cries of the children getting louder and louder.

You activate every Stored Skill you have in some desperate way to help. Nothing works. After a few seconds, there are only two babies, both with straight blond hair, one with blue eyes and the other red.

Jiang is gone.

>Trips and Quads will no longer provide any benefit/malady to you. I'm getting rid of them

Player Choice
>Write-in, sorry this is late, had a hard time writing some of it.

>>3946612
> Try to revive the love of your life
Man, it's a real shame you wrote so much and the last living player around isn't even a Jiangfag.

>>3946627
Yeah, well, something like this was planned from the start. You had a hint in Hell, but it gives a good reason for the Dao speaking to you and your horrible luck. At least I can be rid of a crutch.

>Try
Eh sure why not?

>Roll 3d100 best of ONE DC 100 for a domain battle.

>>3946627
Ah yeah, I need to go back to work. Quest can start again at 19:45 GMT.

Rolled 60, 66, 96 = 222 (3d100)

>>3946629
It's the last-ditch effort, can we get a second nat100 this thread!?

>>3946647
... Does the +10 bonus to domain rolls still apply?

>>3946836
Nope. I'm...afraid that only applies in Hell.

>>3946647
>96
Failure!

You remember how you exerted your domain on Hell, and try that again with the Dao itself.

It doesn't go well, you can feel some progress, but in the end, you are going against something ancient, something primal.

You look down at the two children, you will have to raise them by yourself, maybe with Fei's help, or Shian when you get round to reviving her. You have bigger things to attend to right now. Namely: Domination. If Heaven, Hell and the Dao are this spiteful then they don't deserve to be in power! You don't even know what the Hell just happened! Fine, if your bloodline is cursed, then so be it! Time to make use of it!

Player Choice
>15 year timeskip. (Roll 3d100 best of ONE to see how far you get in that time)
>Fuck that, take it day by day.

>>3946843
I need some sleep. Quest can start again at 14:00 GMT tomorrow. Thanks for playing!

>>3946843
>Fuck that, take it day by day
QM, you'll still have to put up with me for a while. Don't worry though, most days would be training, reading, feeding babies and hunting Saint beasts. Maybe go kick some Dragon ass or something cool like that. Did we end burying the Dragon Lord?

>>3946984
Nope. He's still in the ring
Quest now expected to start at 15:00 GMT. Need to take a bit of a trip.

>>3948071
>Day by day

Player Choice
>Write-in, what would you like to do next, who to talk to and so on? You are under some time pressure with something else, but that's it.

>>3948118
> Get a doctor to check the babies

>>3948149
>Get a doctor

Luckily, there's a doctor right there!

"How are they? Are they safe? Are they fine?!"

You watch him frantically, the methodical, practised movements of the doctors hand almost working on instinct as he checks the two girls. You feel almost insulted, he just saw your wife disappear, yet he relies on experience and not intelligence to make any assumptions. He checks the blue eyed one first, and you see him spend a little longer on her upper back, before putting her down and picking up the red eyed one. They look almost identical apart from the red eyed one being a little smaller and paler than her counter part. You see him check her red eyes, the same ones Jiang ha-had. Had.

"Well, they both appear to be fine, no problems with their sight or sense of touch."

You see the red eyed one start to cry out at the foreign man's touch. You take her up in your arms instead, and you can't see anything wrong with her.

"I was concerned the red eyed one would show a severe case of albinism in future life, but her eyes show no blood vessel changes, so she should be fine."

"What about her sister? I saw you checking her back-" You are stopped by your child, soothing her, something is upsetting her greatly.

"I was worried about something that may have come from your blood, but it appears to be just some minor irregularity with her shoulder blades, it will sort itself in time with proper care and attention."

"It doesn't exist on her sister, that's for sure. I suggest you take your time with them."

"What do I need to do?" You need some guidance, maybe the orphanage could help, but you don't want them to grow up there, not when the Palace is here.

"Well, we need to record their information, name, birth time, address. Basic stuff."

You are about to tell him that he's got the wrong point, but you leave it alone, perhaps he's still in shock after that, you are after all. You shouldn't dwell on it much longer or it will haunt you forever, and there are more important things at stake. You take her twin into your other arm, looking down on them both.

You hear light footsteps as a much more senior doctor comes forward with three documents, two are birth certificates, the other, you are told to read in private. You see three Elemental Jewels on the man, Life, Wind and something else displayed on him.

"I also suggest that Medical look after them in cubicles, they...lack a mother, and will need constant attention. You are welcome to visit them any-when you like, this is always a tough time in a man's life, you do not have to do it alone. I will take personal responsibility for their care."


Player Choice
>I need two names for them. They are twin girls.

also

>Write-in for what to do next, you have some idea of how to baby, but the window of time is shortening before they need food, water and other humany things

>>3948168
>One small change for clarity.

*"I was worried about something that may have come from your blood, but it appears to be just some minor irregularity with her shoulder blades, it will sort itself in time with proper care and attention.It doesn't exist on her sister, that's for sure. I suggest you take your time with them."

>>3948168
> Azzurra (Blue twin), Hongtian (Red twin)
> Find a parent to teach you parenting. Are any of Long's wives still alive? Either that, or someone at the orphanage.

>>3948193
>Azzura
>HongTian

You decide on names there. The doctor comments that one of them has a name written in an interesting way, but other than that, no comments. You need some guidance in this.

"Are any of Long's wives alive?"

"The sane ones? Fei's, Jessica's and Shan-Bai's."

"I need to see them."

"Huh, well, good luck. I hear most of them grew very attached to their children in their younger years. Getting a different perspective would be a good idea." The senior doctor keeps looking down on Azzura and Hongtian. Your thoughts turn back to the orphanage.

"Truly, this is a red day for Dershwa, if you want to keep them for now, please use your Life Element sparingly on them, they do not possess a cultivation so are sensitive to changes like that." He's getting annoying, time to go!

You carry the twins in your arms, asking the doctor the location of-

Player Choice
>Mother of Fei
>Mother of Jessica
>Mother of Shan-Bai

>>3948213
>Mother of Fei
Fei is the one closer to sanity.

>>3948241
>Fei

You ask to see Fei's mother, and you are given some preparation. Fei as a Queen is absent minded, away with the fairy's, and had a lot of advisers until she was ready to put new plans in motion. Fei's mother however is described to you in different ways: Precise, perceptive, focused. The kind of woman you listen to on matters close to you, but also described as absent minded, and unobservant. She eventually pursued a career in art, but was met with failure, and was advised to start with technical drawing as a good start, which worked, and she retired with a large sum of personal wealth. She is very old, and with her daughter 350 years old, she is the oldest mother of the 5 left alive, having Fei at 115 years of age.

You find her in another part of Medical, being kept alive and conscious with what appears to be life support. You see 11 pairs of Jewels, Coordination and Wind, revolving around her wrists, supporting her frail body. When you hear her speak, every 2-3 words are split by her breath.

"Hello? Why has this young man come to see me? Come closer, I cannot see you that well. It must be a suitor for my daughter, she has yet to marry, has she not?"

You come a little closer, the twins now asleep, you sit down with a chair, taking extra care with them, as they look so small compared to your hands, which have grown over the year.

Player Choice
>Write-in for things to say/questions.

I need to have some tea, be back in a bit.

>>3948265
> "No, ma'am. I am actually... Your niece-in-law, I would say. I am... Was, Jiang's partner. She, uh, passed away today. During childbirth. And, with no one to turn to, well, I wanted advice from the best parent I knew of. At least the one with the better child, if that makes any sense. I would have gone to Long, but, well..."

>>3948267
Cool, I'll have to leave for a while. See you around 20:00 GMT, maybe.

>>3948339
"No, ma'am. I am actually... Your nephew-in-law, I would say. I am... Was, Jiang's partner. She, uh, passed away today. During childbirth. And, with no one to turn to, well, I wanted advice from the best parent I knew of. At least the one with the better child, if that makes any sense. I would have gone to Long, but, well..."

"Such a shame. My Fei is always so alone, never pays attention. No wonder she has not had children."

"What of mine?"

"Treat them with care, they are as fragile and observant as you are. They are just you with less life experience. They need time, input and motivation to succeed. That is if they are not broken. This is why I have failed, Fei never seemed to learn, she was broken."

You play along, someone who manages to get to Heavenly Empress is not broken, but any advice sounds good to you.

"My children are not broken."

"Then let them grow under you, they will copy and learn and change from you. They will tell you if something is wrong, sometimes." You are interrupted by one of the doctors, who says she needs some rest and to leave her alone for a bit. Fei's mother tells him to go away.

"My child is Queen, yet her sisters are dying, this never happened when Long was alive. You must never see yourself as the pinnacle of achievement. Your children should surpass you in some respect. I suspect neither of those two girls will be fighters by birth, but you must push them to grow and learn, without me Fei would be nothing. Do not wallow in matters of life, let them experience it, and grow from you, you must devote your time to them."

She keeps rambling on, and on. Loosing focus, and instead rattling complaint and complaint at you. You decide to cut the conversation and go. The doctors take a knowing glance at you as you leave.

You hear Azzura cry out. She wants something, but you don't know what. You see one of the doctors come over with a bottle of something.

"Sir, I really suggest you get a nanny or something like it. You can't just stop and panic like this every time this happens."

"I'm not panicking, I'm thinking."

"You have to know instinctively. Just take this, normally the mother would..you know, but we have to make some changes, with a...small fee, we can provide you with information, and supplies to make this a happier experience."

He hands you the bottle, which you levitate with Wind and use to feed Azzura, Hongtian also starts to cry out when this happens, so you feed her as well, trying to get her to eat a little more, she shouldn't grow up to be any smaller than her sister after all. He leaves you with that choice, and a healthy pile of gold

You take a look outside, it is the evening, and you only have a few hours left before you might want some sleep. The girls are fast asleep, probably going to wake up in the middle of the night, but you'll be there.

Player Choice for the evening
>Write-in, remember you have that thing tomorrow and the letter to read.

>>3948388
> Time to plan! 1) Buy stuff: two cradles, baby food, milk, stuff, probably look into a bigger housing 2) Read "Parenting for Dummies" or any equivalents 3) Find the best goddamn Nanny this side of the galaxy 4) Panic 5) Don't Panic

>>3948668
Quest can start at 14:00 GMT today. Sorry for not posting so earlier.

>>3949514
You initially start to panic, that wasn't helpful at all! Well, you need to buy some stuff, important stuff. It's not like you can just stuff them in your Spatial Ring.

"Lotus!"

"Ye...yeaaaah?" Tired as always, or perhaps just lazy, you see the green form appear from nowhere.

"I need you to do something for me, a few somethings."

"Urgh, suuure."

"I need you to go to the Library and get me a book on parenting, those have never failed me before and they won't now!"

She looks at you incredulously, her? Do something? Heavens above whatever next!

"Why-" Then she sees the twins, and her face goes a bit stiff.

"On it sir!" She flies off, she should be fine, but you can't communicate with her via telepathy or anything, so you just have to trust her."

You head to the best source of information for things like this, or at least, a reliable one. The Elemental Research Department. If they can go to the Moon and Mars then they can help you with this. They just give you two cradles, saying that they have a duty to maintain the royal line. Shit, does that mean you are in line for the throne or something? Are your children? They're twins! How is this going to work?!

You start to breathe a lot slower, you need to calm down. You don't have much time to sort out accommodation but you know that with a higher rank comes a bigger room, which you never took. That's something to organise for tomorrow.

You need a nanny, someone a lot more experienced. You know that all the Princesses were raised by their mothers, no deaths there. You can't afford to teleport around as it will scare them, so you walk, carefully and slowly from place to place. You end up asking Shao Bao, who tells you that Medical raised all the young from the "Xie Men Fa" project, so paying them is a safe bet, but you would have to visit them often otherwise the children accept the doctors and nurses as their parents instead of yourself.

You head back to your room, set up the cradles, and put your children to sleep, which they happily do, it's been an exhausting day for them. You don't need to sleep too often, maybe once a week, so you stand guard with two bottles, and the book Lotus brought you, a thin, very modern book with up to date chemistry.

You prepare the room for anything, and pass the time with the book on parenting.

>Roll 3d100 best of ONE to see how far you get through the book, and DC 90 to make sure the children stay asleep (It's very high I know, but babies have weird sleep schedules.

Rolled 58, 3, 93 = 154 (3d100)

>>3949590
I probably won't be around that much today: everybody else left and it's up to me to make sure the dog doesn't eat everything, covers the floor with stuff or brings untold destruction. On the plus side, for once I actually get to see the second funniest thing ever, those idiots that run my country squabbling like kindergarteners over a treaty they barely understand.

>>3949594
>It's been three and a half years over here to get Brexit done, do not let the ESM take that long, is it the ESM?

>93

You get through a lot of the book, it covers the basics, like the physiological and mental attention babies need, milestones, your role and theirs, all very useful stuff. Not only that, they don't wake up overnight, and by the time the dawn comes, you have written out a plan. Well, there are a few more things to do. Sort out Shain, YianEyue and the letter! You take out the letter, and begin to read.

"Dear Zou-Do-Shai,

Congratulations on the birth of your two lovely twin girls, they will be the pride of Dershwa in no time. However, there is an important matter to discuss. Succession. They carry the blood of the youngest in line, this makes them the last in line for the throne. You are not in line for the throne, unless you decide to remarry.

You have also been promoted to Teleship Group Captain. Your salary has been increased to 200 Gold a month. Please make use of this responsibly. You will be partnered with Shwei-Fa as her superior, as thanks to new technology, you will both own your own ship.

Finally, on the day after your children's birth. Her Majesty Queen Fei will be holding a national mourning for the late Jiang Dershwa, a funeral if you will. We expect you to turn up, as her widower. This will be held in the morning and hosted in the throne room, please organise something for Azzura and Hongtian before then, for obvious reasons.

From Zhang -Xi-Tze, Vice Marshal of the Space Force and Upper Level Zong Stage Elemental Jewel Master."

You see the dawn, you have a few hours to think and do stuff before Fei wakes up...

>Start of the 183rd day
Player Choice
>Write-in for what to do with Azzura and Hongtian
>Write-in for anything else you might want to do before this funeral

>>3949614
> Go seek a milkmaid or whatever while the children are still sleeping, go check for the bigger housing, go see YianEyue
Of course it's ESM. I can't believe some people are trying to pass it off as us being strongarmed into helping French and German banks if we sign on it. It's hilarious.

>>3949620
Well...it doesn't look very enticing to say the least, having the potential for the EU to control and manage their subsidiaries debts sounds unsafe, but ignore me. I speak more German than I do Italian.

> Go seek a milkmaid or whatever while the children are still sleeping, go check for the bigger housing, go see YianEyue.

You go to Medical, and ask someone if they can look after the children because of the event, and someone with the Light Element steps forward, asking for 10 Gold, which you pay, you have a massive surplus after all.

You see her body shimmer, and she turns into you, unfortunately, she left a big hole in the workforce, so the rest of the carers and nurses shoot you a dirty look. You leave in a hurry and head to the Barracks, asking the admin people about a larger room.

"With your family, I think a house closer to the City is better, we can get you something close to the Palace in the City centre if you like? It has windows, a short route to work, lots of places to relax, eat food, enjoy life-"

"Deal. I just need more space. How much?"

"Free, comes at military expense, but you have to pay the costs of maintaining it."

"Double deal."

You are given a set of keys, a map, and a deadline of tomorrow to move out. You come back to your room and get ready to attend a formal event, there are special clothes for funerals, and Jiang gave you a set, always one to care about your manners. The nurse is keeping watch, the coins clinging in her purse, but her body looking just like you.

"Do not worry Group Captain, I can feed them and everything else, just please see the Queen, she is always stressed, so someone to comfort her might be a good idea."

>Roll 3d100 best of ONE for a Manners check, you need a bit more than basic to last here. DC 60

Rolled 78, 45, 34 = 157 (3d100)

>>3949628
Great, the dog is asleep. Well, we are one of the countries at risk here, so actually paying our part has a good chance of benefitting us later. Sure, we'll have to put some debt into it, and we'll have to pass some laws, but everyone will, and both France and Germany will pay more. Heck, you'd have to pay more than us if you didn't get out.

>>3949631
>78

Before you go to the event, you check in YianEyue. She's like how Shan-Bai was, comatose, barely breathing. You see no bruises or injuries on her either.

You leave to go to the throne room. It looks the same, but Fei sits on the throne instead, and she only has 4 sisters with her. Jessica, who must have turned up overnight. Sun-Di and Shan-Bai. Of all of the, Shan-Bai looks the most solemn and depressed.

"Welcome, Group Captain. I will be addressing the nation in a bit, but for now, please enjoy some food."

The 5 of you sit at the table, none of the mothers were well enough to attend, so it's just you and the sisters. Jessica can't seem to help herself in her curiosity however, as she starts to ask some borderline obstructive questions.

"Like, I know you're all sad and shit, but why the fuck did it happen? They don't put cameras in medical in some places, so I don't even know what happened? Come on, share with us! What killed my little sister?!"

You see Sun-Di and Shan-Bai steal small glances at you, they must be furious.

Player Choice
>Write-in for an answer and questions to ask the others.

>>3949640
> "Way I see it, it's one of two things: either the Saint Element's characteristic of changing my surroundings to 'Heaven' first manifested in my children, which by the way, it's a thing I learned in Hell, or it's act 2 of Heaven trying to make submit, first by sending me to Hell and then, when that didn't work out, making my life miserable in more creative ways. Anyway, it's my fault and I seem to bring misery around everywhere I go."

>>3949640
Oh, yeah, questions.
> Who wants to be godmother?
> Anyone wanna come see the girls later? They're very cute.
> About the funeral. Should I, like, give a speech? I'm not good at those.
> Anyone has any idea how can I get to Heavenly Jewel Change as soon as possible? I might be able to bring Jiang back, then.
> Anyone volunteering for babysitting duty on weekends? I did want to go look for Saint beasts in the Wastelands.

>>3949650
>Eh, not even close.

Way I see it, it's one of two things: either the Saint Element's characteristic of changing my surroundings to 'Heaven' first manifested in my children, which by the way, it's a thing I learned in Hell, or it's act 2 of Heaven trying to make submit, first by sending me to Hell and then, when that didn't work out, making my life miserable in more creative ways. Anyway, it's my fault and I seem to bring misery around everywhere I go."

Jessica does a double take at that.

"You said you were going to conquer Heaven right? I'm in! Fuck them! How dare they take sis!"

"Jessica, don't swear, this is to remember all the happy parts of Jiang's life." Fei, always trying to be responsible.

Shan-Bai slumps down.

"You didn't make me miserable at all..., that's not right at all!"

Sun-Di chooses to remain silent, she's a practical woman, not someone who cares for emotions or empathy, so she's probably trying to prevent loosing face.

"So, who wants to be a godmother?" They all wince at that one. However, Shan-Bai slowly and shakily raises her hand.

"I-I'm probably the most suited. I'm the youngest, and I can be good with kids. I had so much fun with Jiang throughout the year, I can't just let her memory and kindness go to waste!"

You remember when she was possessed, now she's a lot meeker, but has been learning to fight for herself. She is growing quick, but is not suited for battle. A shame really.

"Alright, now that that's been settled. Anyone wanna come see the girls later? They're very cute."

"Oh lord please not this early they must be a day old, I don't want to see your spawn unless they're interesting. Come back in 15 years or something." Jessica is visibly perturbed, she must hate young children, at least she was nice to YianEyue.

"Of course. I have not seen a weak child in a long time. Perhaps after the broadcast." Sun-Di says all those nice words, but you know she means it a lot less. Probably wants to test to see if she wants children or something.

"Later, as well. I need to see my new godchildren!" Shan-Bai is getting into her new role with gusto.

Fei only smiles, she is probably too busy to come, but maybe when they are older they can come see her.

"Right, I also have a plan: I need to get to 13 Jewel pairs as soon as possible. I might be able to surpass the Dao and bring her back."

"Cultivate. The 13th Jewel is a myth anyway, go ahead, all you have is time." Sun-Di gives words of encouragement, but you know it isn't a myth, you felt it with the alchemist.

"I also need to look for some Saint Beasts, I also have two new dependants-"

"I'll look after them!" Like a hawk, Shan-Bai whips in, practically reading your mind. Jessica motions to you, pointing to a machine on her other wrist, with a screen on it, something for you? Fei coughs, interrupting the conversation.

"I'm glad this is all happening, but we need to decide now: Who wants to do a speech? I will be doing one, as is my duty. Anyone else?"

1/2

>>3949650
"I decline. I am not very good with those." You don't want to besmirch her memory with empty words, only the time the two of you spent together will be the proper way to remember her.

"I can do one. Just like I did with Shian-" Jessica takes the reigns.

"No! Not again, the last time-the last time you make an absolute mess!" Fei puts her foot down at that.

"Well...If i may, I would like to do one. She really only knew me for a year, but I got to know her really well in that time." Shan-Bai agrees.

"I cannot do public speaking, my strength is with my body, not my words." Sun-Di declines. You haven't touched your food, maybe you should star-

"OK! I need to do a broadcast! Shan-Bai follow me! Dinners over!" Fei changes tune, excited probably of getting out of this stuffy place.

"S-sure! We will make our citizens proud of her!"

You are left alone with Sun-Di. She takes a good look at you, before asking a weird question to you.

"I need to ask you, little research I am doing. How would you describe your luck?"

She seems dead serious. You can hear the music play on the speakers, the opening to the mourning. The papers would have had a field day with this one so everyone knows by now. You know Fei was a lot more lenient with them than her Father.

"Why the curiosity?"

"I am trying to track down the identities of your parents."

Player Choice
>Write-in

>>3949673
> "Orphan, trust into war with an alien entity who wanted to destroy everything, became a tactical asset to my country, have seen friends and acquaintances die several times, raped by the woman I had feelings for, my own strength may turn into an unfeeling monster even before Heaven manages to get its claws into me, widower, single father, went through Hell. My luck is abysmal."
I know that the reason died is some bloodline curse, but we know next to nothing about that. And Heaven is probably involved in that, too.

>>3949679
Also:
> "And I am 15."

>>3949679
"Orphan, trust into war with an alien entity who wanted to destroy everything, became a tactical asset to my country, have seen friends and acquaintances die several times, raped by the woman I had feelings for, my own strength may turn into an unfeeling monster even before Heaven manages to get its claws into me, widower, single father, went through Hell. My luck is abysmal and I'm not even 15 yet, 2 more months."

"Understood. I will return someday with answers."

She took all of that at face value. You hear both speeches as you think about things for a little while. Fei almost resembles a mother, its caring, full of decades of experience and pinpointed. Shan-Bai's is a lot more emotional, shorter, but more impact-full.

Sun-Di leaves to go console Shan-Bai. All you have now is free time. Jessica and the others will be with the officials, enjoying a party, but that kind of place was never meant for you. You belong on the battlefield, or with your children.

Player Choice
>Write-in for what to do next.

>>3949686
> Time to move, I guess.
Also, I seem to remember you saying that Zou's parents were nobody important, so I guess this bloodline curse must be old history.

>>3949687
Yeah, nobody important to the plot, most people never awaken as Jewel Masters after all.

You go back to your room, and prepare to move, putting all your stuff into your Spatial Ring, and carrying Azzura and Hongtian to your new place. The nurse leaves, satisfied, telling you they were very well behaved. Which is nice, you guess.

You have to go outside the Palace, and carefully try and make them both quiet, as the cameras and news people are in force today. Images of the royal babies will sell, and you don't exactly want their faces to be public knowledge. The Palace is right on the High Street, as people just built up around it, shops, rich people. You don't want them to grow into that.

>Roll 3d100 for stealth best of ONE

Rolled 58, 39, 30 = 127 (3d100)

>>3949698
Can't the Light Element make us invisible?

>>3949700
Sure, but you don't think the paparazzi have countermeasures? They can always detect your heat signal, and the two other heat signals. You don't have Fire so you can't hide it.

>58
>Well, guess the cat's out the bag.

You use the Light Element to make yourself invisible, and the Wind Element to make your sounds not travel, and you make a dash for it.

*Click!*

You don't register it, but the photographer does.

"Ey, boss, got a runner outa the Palace."

"Show me, is it anything useful?"

"Only a heat sig, but its carrying something, what do you think?"

"I'll send it to my secretary. her Jewel set is perfect for figuring this stuff out."

"Great! Hope the paper goes well! This funeral's been a great event, all these people."

"Haha, you really don't want anyone speaking like that. You remember how the King used to treat her? Apparently the current Queen is just as protective, so keep your mouth shut if you want to continue working here. You get me?"

-------------------------------

You eventually arrive at the new place. It's more like a cottage, except there is a lot more noise pollution, it has room to fit four people, you guess it was built for when Jiang would...anyway! You get set up there, putting your books on the shelf, a bed, the cots, central heating. It's cosy. You might have some calls to make though. You feed Azzura and Hongtian, taking techniques from the book Lotus took out from the Library, and sit down. Just soon enough for Azzura to start screaming for attention. Guess you're multi-tasking now..

Player Choice
>Write-in, the funeral is almost over by now

>>3949709
> After the babies fall asleep, sneak out to see if you can wake up YianEyue. Teenagers make great babysitters. Free workforce!

>>3949719
>YianEyue is 10 btw

You wait a little while for the two of them to fall asleep, and as soon as they do. You teleport back to the Palace. Instantly, you rush to Medical, where YianEyue is. You find Jessica standing over her bed. Taking some notes.

"Hello? I want to try something here."

"Psh, good luck. I-I've tried everything, you know? Some Dragon you are! Leaving me like this!"

Even with such shouting, she doesn't wake up. You take a good examine of her internals, and check the doctors notes. Everything lines up: Rupture of the semi-lunar valves, leading to heart failure. They had some trouble healing them, as they never seemed to heal right. Her body refused to get better.

Player Choice
>Would you like to activate Greater Restoration?

>>3949731
> Give her a contingency before, but yes.

>>3949738
You activate Resurrect, you have no idea what this might do to her, namely, several new effects are present, which makes you a bit nervous.

You activate Greater Restoration, and let the Skill do its magic. You see her start to wake up, presumably the Skill worked.

"Ha, Ha! Zou! You're alive!" She jumps right into your arms, damaging herself in the process as the wires and needles from the mechanical heart pump scratching her body from the inside. She can take it, as is her speciality. You see her activate her 2 pairs of Jewels, her Endurance keeping her alive.

You see Jessica out of the corner of your eye, arms outstretched towards the bed, sort of shaking, her face stricken with a mixture of hope, happiness, shock. disbelief and betrayal.

"Oi, kid." You hear Yian make a very small sound.

"You want to hug your Master or what?"

"Uh. Sure! Zou! Let me go!" She starts pushing away from you frantically. With your strength you could just keep her there, but you pass her, carefully to Jessica, who treats her like a precious piece of equipment.

"Come on you, can't have all those needles in you!" You see Jessica unplug YianEyue from the bed, you using the Life Element to heal her bit by bit.

"Now then, you've had 7 months of rest, time for training, and some important information."

"R-right away? Can I at least see Jiang again?"

"Uhhhhh, unless Zou has any complaints? S-sure buddy, later. S-sure."

Player Choice
>Write-in

>>3949753
> "Jessica, I do believe in the honest and brutal truth. Plus, it's temporary, give or take a decade. It's also not healthy to lie to children "

>>3949758
I would write, but I need some food. Give me 30 minutes, sorry.

>>3949760
"Jessica, I do believe in the honest and brutal truth. Plus, it's temporary, give or take a decade. It's also not healthy to lie to children."

"What? What's happened to Jiang?!"

Jessica steels herself, and speaks.

"Jiang and Shian are dead. Jiang died during childbirth. Shian-Shian commit suicide."

"O-oh. Zou says it's just temporary." There are tears in her eyes, her body shaking in Jessica's arms.

"Maybe, we all need to get stronger, much stronger."

"How stronger?"

"Enough to kill god."

Jessica puts YianEyue down, and leaves the two of you alone. You see YianEyue look between the two of you, before settling on Jessica and running to where she went.

Player Choice
>Write-in

>>3949782
> Now that that's settled, time for shopping. Diapers, sheets, baby clothes, all the things.

>>3949783
You ask one of the attendants to buy baby related things for you. Giving them a budget of 10 Gold, it returns with a nice sack of things for you to use. You teleport back home, and get them clothed, with everything they might need, Man, that book really was useful.

You are about to sit down and relax, when you get a call from Jessica.

"Shit! Fuck! What the hell is wrong with you?! You just made me say that shit to her! What the Hell man?! She's all sad and sobbing and stuff, this is your fault you know that? Fuck you! Come here, right now, you, me, I will fuck you up you son of a bitch!"

Oh dear. Distraction time!

"What do I get in return?"

"Return!? You get a fucking pat on the back and-, wait shit! I forgot to give you the bastard watch!"

There we go.

"Alright. Coming for watch, capiche?"

"Yes! I won't forget! It has some Saint Beast strongholds on it!"

"Niiice." You end the call, hopefully she doesn't remember about-

"Don't forget! I'mma fuck your prettyboy ass up! No Yian to tell me to stop this time! I don't care if it was the right thing that felt horrible! I felt horrible! You should feel bad. Bye."

She ends the call. Dammit. You check on the cots. Hongtian is awake, and is taking a good look around her surroundings, before crying out for food. You oblige, and wait for Azzura to wake up as well, which she does. They both look at you, ignoring each other. Cute.

Player Choice
>Write-in

>>3949805
> You call up Shan-Bai to look after the children, wait for her to show up, then go meet Jessica.

>>3949810

You call Shan-Bai.

"So, was..are you tired at all?"

"Huh? No. I guess not."

"How would you like to meet Azzura and Hongtian?" You hear a squeal in your brain, very excitable, this Shan-Bai is.

"Yes! Certainly! No question! Where are you?"

"My new home, let me give you some directions."

----

Shan-Bai comes charging through the door, which you left unlocked for that reason, and just let unfold.

"Omigosh! Omigosh! They look adorable! They even hair!"

"I know right? Now. I need to talk to Jessica-"

"Deal! I will do anything for them!"

"A-alright, hold your horses. I've written some instructions down, you need to follow them to the letter."

You see her Jewels come out, probably due to her high emotions.

"Yes sir!"

You give her a copy of one of the pages of the book you had, and make sure she understands everything. Then you teleport to Jessica. Luckily, YianEyue is with her, training.

"Sup."

"Ah!" Jessica falls to the ground, and Yian squeaks a bit. You hear a harmonious sound of shock. Jessica gets up, and you see death in her eyes, the only thing holding her back from murdering you is YianEyue, who you take a few closer steps to.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"It's not your fault. Think about it like this, you now have some nieces."

"Nieces?"

"I mean, you are like my sibling right?"

"I'm too young to be an auntie-ah, wait, bad! Bad! I'm sorry! Please forgive me for being so petty and.."

"It's fine, just get stronger, and visit, not now though, just stick with me for a bit."

"Okay....uh, Master? Are you Okay?"

"Uhuh." You see bloodshot eyes, shaking arms. This might not go well."

"Ba-the watch please?"

"Ffffffff-fine! Take it!" She throws something at you, a brace, with a flat screen thing on it. Your job is done, but...you might want to try calming Jessica down first...

Player Choice
>Write-in

>>3949822
> "One punch. On the face. I'm being generous, especially since you'll thank me later. What, were you gonna wait until she was 18 before telling her? Think of the child and about the future before yourself and the present."

>>3949825
"One punch. On the face. I'm being generous, especially since you'll thank me later. What, were you gonna wait until she was 18 before telling her? Think of the child and about the future before yourself and the present."

You see a blur, before blacking out. Maybe she needs a better Saint generator.

You wake up in the same room, Yian slapping you awake.

"Sorry. I know..Master doesn't know how to do people all that well, she was probably doing that for me, thought it would make me feel better."

"Yeah yeah. Do you feel better?"

"Y-yeah. Sorry."

"Never apologise for things like that. It makes my hard work go to waste."

"Uuum. Jessica's gone to calm down with a bath. Can you train me?"

"Actually, yes. I want to find out how much stronger you are than 7 months ago."

"Jessica told me you went to Hell, is that true?"

"Yes. I hated it, it sucked. Now for training."

>Roll 1d100 DC 50 for Stuff. Best of ONE.

Rolled 33, 57, 31 = 121 (3d100)

>>3949846

>>3949849
>57

You start to test her, seeing what's improved. Firstly, she has her first 2 pieces of Consolidated Equipment, a weapon that become a massive shield, or a massive laser cannon. Pretty useful for high strength attacks, but not so much for anything else. Her Earth and Shield support each other well, although you can smash through it easily, you can tell this was the attribute you perma buffed with Greater Restoration.

However, as time goes on, you start to see a change, her movements become fluid, like she's in the zone, and you see a third pair of Jewels appear. You see YianEyue collapse to the ground exhausted.

"Well done!"

"Jessica only gave me one perspective. Now that I had another, I could go a little more. Only 9 to go!"

You hear Jessica walking back, so you silently end the training, and wait.

"Ah. Was it a nice punch?"

"Psh. Yeah. How're those documents."

"Haven't checked them. Let me go back home." You teleport home, to find that both babies, tiny, pinkish, very weak, are in Shan-Bai's arms. Completely at rest. When Shan-Bai sees you you motion for her to stay quiet, and whisper to her that she can go now.

Shan-Bai puts them back into their respective cots, tucking them in as the evening draws close, but just sits there, staring at them. Time to find out where these Saint Beasts are.

>Roll 3d100 best of ONE for perception.

Rolled 84, 29, 66 = 179 (3d100)

>>3949868

>>3949876
>84

Firstly, you see a note from Jessica.

"These coordinates represent groups, not individuals. They were compiled recently, and could be inaccurate."

Great. Unreliable data. Wooooooo.

>Wasteland centre
>Horse Tribe area
>Tsushiri's country, way off in the ocean
>Nuclear Island

You see 4 likely locations. Great.

"What are you reading?" Shan-Bai whispers to you.

"Stuff to help me find Saint Beasts."

"OK."

Shan-Bai takes the time to tiptoe out, she probably has something to do.

Player Choice, last action before nighttime.
>Write-in

>>3949888
I need to sleep. Quest can't run tomorrow. So next time will be 14:00 GMT Wednesday. Thanks for playing

>Trips of Wealth
>Adding 200 Gold to total next time

>>3949888
> Start charging an Heavenly Slash: from today, your fight against the Dao starts.

>>3949939
Weren't Trips dead?

>>3949945
SHIT! Excuse my poor memory. Not adding 200 gold to you. Putting all this stuff in a word document for later. They don't affect you, true.

>>3950788
Update. Quest can't continue today either. I have an exam to to. My apologies.

>>3951901
You begin to charge a Heavenly Slash. It will max out overnight. As you guard, you notice something: money, on thr floor, like it had always been there. You really don't want to pick it up.

Start of the next dsy
>Write-in, what would you like ti do?

>>3953607
> Pass the morning with the children. Try spotting all the differences between them.
Had no idea if you'd show up, today.

>>3953817
Sorry about that. This winter has been fucking full. I can't run today or saturday either, fucking fantastic! I don't know who's brilliant idea my timetable was but they put literally every test/exam in the afternoon like the moron they are. I can start again at 14:00 GMT Sunday. My term ends on the 13th so things will be a lot smoother from then.

>Roll 3d100 best of ONE for perception.

Rolled 53, 83, 5 = 141 (3d100)

>>3954553

>>3954704
>Updates today will be by mobile from here on out.

>83
You see all the things you saw before, Azzura is slightly larger, more beige, and with blue eyes, very strong blue eyes. Hongtian has the red eyes you recognise, and you start to look at her shoulders. You can't really touch her, that would wake her up, and you couldn't do that to your precious daughter. However, from what you can tell with your limited medical experience it looks like when Jiang...disappeared, the babies fell, and the impact may have damaged the bone, nothing time won't heal, but you must keep an eye on it. You look closer at her eyes, but again, without some proper testing, all you can see are some normal eyes. You think that Azzura has darker edges to her eyes, but you can't be sure in this light.

You can feel a headache coming on. You have been putting off sleep for more important things, and you can finally start to feel the effects. You only have 7 Jewels, so maybe this is your limit for now.

You see the clock turn to sunrise, and occasionally they both wake up, crying for something. You can't remember much of your early life, only the stuff in the orphanage, but surely you weren't this needy?

You get a knock on the door, and after checking the time, you realise that the hours flew by, it's now the morning proper. You try and keep the girls asleep, and answer the door. It's Jessica, with a box. She looks a bit meek, and after seeing the inside of your room, keeps her voice down.

"I'm sorry, for shouting at you like that. All this death is new to me, thanks to this Saint Element stuff, makes me feel like sh-terrible. Have a present." She hands the box to you, it feels weighty, and you can tell from the sound it must be something the Elemental Research department cooked up. You hear a small voice trying to conceal itself to the side, whispering, but you can still hear it.

"Good job Master, I'm really proud of you. I knew you could do it. I believed in you." It's YianEyue. Jessica, for her part, doesn't react to this, she's a good actor that's for sure.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, well. We all need something right now. Any plans with the enclaves? That's what Fei calls them, tells me she went on a little trip to a Darkness based one, I have no idea what these are going to be like so buy a camera or something. I wa-. Please may I have some data from you, some pictures, from each of the enclaves? Shan-Bai's going to a Fire one for me when I go back to Mars in a few hours. Sun-Di tells me she's running a few errands, knowing her, that sounds like some sort of battle, so I need someone else for the Saint beasts OK?"

You hear a small, quickly muffled squeak from YianEyue. You guess this wasn't part of her plan.

Player Choice
>Write-in

>>3958487
> You nod silently, then contact Shan-Bai: today you will probably leave in the afternoon.

>>3958526
You nod, and close the door, using your communicator.
"Princess Shan-Bai?"

"Ah! Yes. This must be about the enclavess! Are you here to wish me good luck?"

"Yes, but I am also visiting one, maybe some depending on how far I go. Saint related."

"Good luck!"

"Good luck. I will be leaving in the afternoon."

"Say hi to Azzura and Hontian for me!"

She ends the call.

Player choice.
>Write-in for the morning, sorry for being late, no connection in this place apart from some small sections.

>>3958571
> You arrange for a nanny before starting to plan your excursion.

>>3958577
You head to medical, and this time ask about a nanny. They say the charge per day is a third of Gold. You overcharged by a month.

>How many days?
Regular update speed from 17:00.

>>3958630
> Five days a week for a month

>>3958646
>10 Gold. Excluding weekends

"Alright sir. Please leave everything to us." You have everything you need for a good long while. You take out the Bastard Watch and look at the 4 locations available to you, why it's called that you have no idea, maybe a less profane name would be appropriate? You don't want Azzura or Hontian to learn anything bad...

Player Choice for the Afternoon. which destination would you like to go to first?
>Wasteland centre
>Horse Tribe area
>Tsushiri's country, way off in the ocean
>Nuclear Island

>>3958668
>Sorry, 7 Gold, not 10.

>>3958668
>Wasteland centre

>>3958726
From what you know about the wastelands, the monsters get stronger as you get closer to the centre, which means monsters reaching Heavenly God must be there.

You reach the metal wall protecting normal people from the horrors in this place, activate Wind, and fly. You know that Azzura and Hongtian will be safe, but you need to worry about your own safety for a bit. You forgot to get a camera this morning, but you might be able to do something with your Light Element...actually, if Jessica, a natural user of the Light Element suggested you use a camera, she may not be able to do it.

You see more and more land bound monsters, killing each other, getting stronger. The harsh wind scratching your face, heat and cold alternating. You start to see beasts fly in the sky, and you can tell all of them are in the Zong stage.

>Roll 3d100 best of ONE for an encounter

Rolled 91, 50, 74 = 215 (3d100)

>>3958738

>>3958794
Ah god wft. I don't know what happened with my pc but I have only just seen your reply. Give me a few more minutes. Dammit why did I just not use the phone!

>>3959005
>91

You come across a flock of birds similar to crows, each a different colour. However pretty it looks, you have to start avoiding them. One of them sees you and calls the others to attack, you have to continuously dodge attacks...you don't think you can run from this one, and you can feel your physical stamina deplete rapidly, fireballs, lightning strikes, a sphere of darkness. A range of Elements come rushing towards you. It's sorta confusing to process it all.

>You have half of your total HE to battle.

>Write-in, what would you like to do?
>Roll 3d100 best of ONE for combat. DC 91

Fucksake. If I see your roll in the next 30 mins (I'll be checking both my PC and mobile) then I can do one more update. Otherwise the quest can most likely start at 16:30 GMT tomorrow. I am terribly sorry about this. My PC has been working strangely all day, didn't think this would happen...

Rolled 11, 39, 25 = 75 (3d100)

>>3959027
> Throw a dozen Spheres of Capture at them

>>3960578
>39

You summon a dozen Sphere's of Capture, however, 9 miss, and of the three that do hit, only one works meaning most of these birds are stronger than you, the sphere falling to the floor. You still have a lot more following you. If your goal is a civilisation, you don't think you are going to be liked if you bring this to their doorstep. As you throw and aim, you get hit in the right shoulder by a [Roll] ball, inflicting [Roll] on your body

>Round 1
Failure!
>Roll 1d8 for status effect (Applies to your right arm due to where you were hit, this will change depending on your write ins for the future, as Sphere of Capture involves throwing, your arm was closest.

>Burn (Will deplete 50 STA per round for 3 rounds unless a Water Element technique is used to stop it)
>Freeze (Your Right Arm will be disabled until action is taken to remove the Ice)
>Petrification (Wound becomes sealed in stone, preventing movement in that limbfor 1 round)
>Agility Down (Halves AGI for one round)
>Seal (Prevents the use of the latest Stored Skill you used for 3 rounds)
>Paralyse (For 1 round your Right Arm is prevented from moving, but Jewels can still be used)
>Leech (25 STA is lost per round and provided to the enemy, this lasts until the enemy is defeated)
>Blind (You cannot see for 3 rounds, making ranged attacks impossible)

Player Choice
>Write-in for what to do next, +3 to a roll of 1d100 as one of them is defeated already, just roll for the status in the first post, then roll the 1d100 in your write in post.

Rolled 7 (1d8)

>>3960675

Rolled 88, 69, 69 = 226 (3d100)

>>3960675
> Triple Lightning Spreadshot

>>3960687
>Leech, You have 545 STA

>Double 69 is 138
>Great Success!

You need to use a more appropriate Stored Skill, so you activate Triple Lightning Shot, using your Fly Skill to fly instead of Wind so you don't fall.

It ends up going really well, you hear cry after cry of the things, their attacks miss you by miles as you whip around them, hitting 11 shots with your Lightning, taking all of them down. You see the roots on your arm disappear, rotting off. You feel a little weaker, but you are safe. What's more, you can see something in the distance: a capstone, like the ones people use for pyramids. You see carvings on it which remind you of Heaven. You're here, well, you can see the very top. but the entrance could be underground, or through the capstone...

Player Choice
>Write-in, what would you like to do to get in?

>>3960698
> First, explore around it and observe the capstone for clues or known symbols. If that does nothing, touch it all around.

>>3960713
>First, explore around it and observe the capstone for clues or known symbols. If that does nothing, touch it all around.
Oh boy.

>Roll 4d100 best of ONE, first three rolls for perception, last roll for STUFF DC 40

Rolled 2, 37, 33, 12 = 84 (4d100)

>>3960720
Indiana Zou and the Temple of "White-and-gold-isn't-tacky-at-all".

>>3960728
>37
>12
Haha

You see that originally, it was made with an alloy of gold, the symbols are engraved, crude, lacking purpose or clarity. You can tell they are meant to be Heaven related, but not how, there are no engravings you specifically recognise. The metal has rusted and been damaged overtime, turning a dark green or silvery colour. You don't see anything like a switch or lever, so you not so hesitantly put your hands on it.

*Click*

You hear something move, you hurriedly try to remove your hand, but you are stuck to it, teleporting doesn't do anything either. You could probably break the capstone just by pulling on it, but you have no idea what that might do.

You see the other three sides of the capstone open, and instead of a hole, or a room, what you see instead...is a monster. A floating eye, gold for its blood, a pure black iris, no eye lids. You stand your ground, it could just be a watchman. You can't see a mouth, but you hear it speak, its eyes narrowing. You are distinctly aware of other monsters in the area noticing the opening. You can feel movement in the sand, and a sandstorm made by one of the giant monsters it growing closer to you.

"What, you? What are you? Monkey?"

You see a small glowing centre in the eye, it is preparing a weapon.

"Core. Please, tell me where your core is. I must examine, before entrance."

Player Choice
>Write-in

>>3960743
> Laser Beam the guy into next week. 2000 might be enough.

>>3960764
>Roll 3d100 DC 60. I need to eat so give me a bit of time.

Rolled 59, 86, 82 = 227 (3d100)

>>3960771

>>3960795
>86
>Success!

You use your free hand to fire a Laser Beam, you choose infrared, and put a little force into it. You watch as the eye explodes into bits and pieces, leaving a rather large gold core, which falls quickly through the pyramid. You hear a small clunk, and the other walls begin to close up. Shit. You see that your attack was not gone unnoticed by other monsters. You yourself can see a pale line of light where the Laser Beam travelled, and you see anything that goes through it get burnt up. It doesn't dissipate.

>New domain effect formed!

The capstone fully closes, and you hear a rumbling in the ground. Anything that may have been interested by your presence quickly runs away, the sand kicking up and the sandstorm moving away. However, a large mound in the sand grows, the grey material revealing a golden suit of armour. It has no body, instead, it just has a massive battleaxe. It must be the size of a building. You would fly away, but you are still stuck to this damn thing! You hear the tinny voice, boom across the wastes.

"Identity. Confirmed. Priority ONE. HUMAN. SHOW YOUR CORES. RESISTANCE WILL BE MET WITH DEADLY FORCE. RESISTANCE WILL BE MET WITH THE ARMY OF HEAVEN'S WRATH. THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING."

This time he said cores, maybe he means your Jewels? You test out the metal plate, and you can feel it bend slightly. At every word the massive armour's eye sockets, or, well, where its eyes would be, glow brighter and brighter.

Player Choice
>Write-in

>>3960818
> Show the bling

>>3961004
You summon your Jewels, and raise one of your hands, so it can get a better look.

"HEAVENLY JEWEL MASTER. LOW LEVEL ZONG STAGE. Welcome to Pyramid Ghenna, your movements will be restricted to the residential areas. Under common law all use of Heavenly Energy for combat is illegal. Please ask for a copy of the law for further details at the City Hall."

You feel your hand jump up in the air as you are finally able to pull it off. You feel something appear around your neck, a...collar, if you will. It says HJM, 7, STR. SAT, WND, WAT, LGT, NAT, LTN." and various symbols showing your Elements and your Attribute.

"Wear this at all times."

"Can I buy a camera anywhere?" You know you can use Heavenly Energy for non combat stuff, but some monsters might think you taking pictures is combat related.

"ASK AT THE CITY HALL FOR FURTHER INFORMATION."

You see the massive armour sink into the grey sand and you jump into the pyramid. You are stopped by some bird monster looking...beasts, who check your collar, only one of them speaks to you, it is very disjointed. You have a good look around, and see the walls are a mixture of the same metal as the capstone, and yellow sandstone. You can hear the pulse of a City. You have never walked through Miller, but this might be the closest thing to it yet. ]

"Have a nice day."

"Where's the City Hall?"

"....that way." He points a scaly, clawed finger to a tall, but narrow building, with a very large door, you can tell he struggled to remember the words for directions. You see monsters of all sizes walking in and out, even some in chains...or vines sometimes, you can't really tell from here. Not every monster is a Saint one, but the ones giving orders, or doing important jobs are all Saint monsters. You only see a few flying beasts, and they are carrying things, cargo, or people. You unsummon your Jewels. Time for some exploration.

Player Choice
>Write-in. Posting was broken for a bit, CATPCHA is a bit broken it seems.

>>3961060
I have to stop now. Quest can continue at 18:30 GMT tomorrow. Thanks for playing!

>>3961090
Quest can continue at 14:00 GMT tomorrow.

>>3961060
> Go to the City Hall
Sorry for being late. Between having a busy day and getting a bit sick, it's probably going to be a bit slow. Hope you don't mind.

>>3964260
That's fine, thanks for telling me. I hope you get better, this winter has not been kind to either of us. I have to stop around 18:00 GMT, but tomorrow should be a lot better.

>Go to the City Hall

If you follow the paths, roads and the map, you can make it there, geographically, easily. However, you are a bit terrified when all your fellow commuters are monsters, there are one's which are mostly animal-like, low level, to more humanoid ones with hands. You can even hear some words of language! You know that for monsters strength is linked to intelligence, so how can a society, formed from things built to kill everything even form? These thoughts rush through your head as you walk. The entire city is underground, so you feel cool, the sand and sandstone protecting you from the heat. You see signs in some sort of script showing things like the city hall, and other places.

You get odd looks as you pass. Some in fear, however, all of the Saint Element beasts, their version of police maybe? They all see your collar and turn a blind eye. As you get closer to the hall, you see it is built from columns with a triangle roof, the large gaps in-between them allowing larger monsters to get through. You don't see an entrance for bird like monsters, so they also walk in. The inside seems to be separated into 4 main sections, separated by gates running through the middle.

First, is a commercial section. You can hear tinkering and electricity from the area along with the smell of food, but it looks like a lot of the technology was stolen from unfortunate Jewel Masters. It seems the dead are not treated with much respect here. Then there is a 'court', this area is closed off for privacy, but it seems not many monsters visit, perhaps they don't understand the rule of law? You turn to the financial district, where you can see one monster showing a coin, a human coin, to some smaller, weaker monsters, you can hear growls and small noises from it, apparently trying to explain money to them. You see the smaller monsters walk off halfway, uninterested with what looks like junk to them. Then finally there is the Cultivation section. This section is the most widely visited, with the whole area closed off. You look for a good few minutes, and see that in order to cultivate there, you need some kind of permit, and you can see that there are different kinds, represented by colour. Whoever designed this place knew what they were doing, but it seems to be rather simple so far.

You think you can spend your money here, but the prices are very expensive. Human-based goods are the worst offender, even something like a pen and ink, which most monsters can't even hold properly goes for 20 Gold for the pen and 30 Gold for the ink. 50 Gold could buy 3 months of rent in a decent house for 2!

Player Choice
>Write-in

>>3964275
> Find out about important locations: inns, government, military, libraries, food and water distribution, and the overrall strength of the city.

>>3964284
You find a place to sit down, ignoring the view, and have a proper look at your map. You have a good view here, enough to make reference from the places shown. There are no inns here, there are only houses. You have no idea how that works, maybe they don't expect travellers? Instead you look for places of leadership, and there are a lot. You see that every 20th building belongs to either the Saint beasts or is something else related to the system of rule. You can see a smaller building labelled 'The Queen's Palace', this place is a monarchy. You can't use your Heavenly Energy without angering all the Saint beasts, so you can't tell the strength of the residents, but you imagine they are strong. Military and the police seem to be one and the same, those buildings they own act as barracks, but monsters need less for needs like sleep or food, it is only a choice to do so for some. It depends. The Saint beasts wouldn't need to eat or sleep, but a Fire beast would need food. You keep in mind that one Element has nearly all the power, and are glad you are a part of it, at least with your Jewels. You see that all of them wear armour, they brandish Heavenly Energy and the power of the Saint Element openly, with some monsters who get into minor disputes, as they are by nature meant to, separated by the police by force, fear bringing them to their knees. All the monsters don't use Heavenly Energy to attack or do normal monster things, this seems to be the only constant thing. You can't see any places for the Water Element, which makes sense, as the city is built in a desert. However, you see one frog like creature in the Cultivation district selling or sometimes giving out clean water, and hard stones. Fire and Lightning Element beasts see him often, with a Light Element monster coming over for a glass prism you see it make with the help of a Fire monster.

You think that this place is mostly inhabited by Shi to Zun stage monsters, a place that any normal human would die in just to the environment, you can sense that the only reason you are not being attacked is because you willingly restrict yourself, and some monsters do double-takes when they see you, then looking at the guards for confirmation. The police are mostly Zun Stage, with a trend of Zong monsters in positions of power, although they are few and far between. The Queen herself could be anywhere from Heavenly King to Heavenly God, and you are not excited about finding the answer. You don't think that this place is a major threat to Dershwa, but give it a few years, have more intelligent monsters and a bit of luck? This could grow into a problem. You can think of ways to combat it, namely that Cultivation, something you think is necessary for survival and growth, is not mandatory or promoted in Dershwa. Here? It is a major part of the society, integral to the growth and progression of the City, to build intelligence.

You need to be careful here.

Player Choice
>Write-in

>>3964313
> Time to play politics: why be hostile when we can all be friends? You go looking for some authority figure, to see if you can have an audience with the local monarchy and see if you can start an amiable relationship with all the authority and charisma of the Prince Consort you are.

>>3964343
>Lol Jiang is dead you aren't even a prince, or a consort as she was never queen. You have no royal title anymore.

You head to the Monarch's Palace. You want to have some good relations with this place. The authority allowed you to enter and live, so they all can't be that bad right?

You follow the Saint beasts, and see that there is little in the way of a hierarchy. It seems they all take orders from the Queen directly. So you walk right up to the gate, and...

"Hello there!" You are talking to a Saint beast, similar to the eye one earlier.

"What would you like, visitor?"

"How would I gain an audience with the Queen?"

"Would you like to make an appointment? What is your role?"

"Role? You mean job? I am a member of the Dershwa military, and a former husband of the late Jiang Dershwa, a princess of the kingdom."

"We have an open slot in...3 cycles, afternoon."

"What's that in days?"

"3 days. We do not like using days, cannot see the sun." His voice is robotic, trained. He can speak, so he must be strong. You suddenly realise you don't know what the time is. You would use your Bastard Watch, but that needs Heavenly Energy. The police probably won't take much offence to that right?

Player Choice
>Take the appointment
>Try for a sooner one (roll 3d100 for persuasion DC 75, failure will result in a fixed appointment in 5 days instead.)
>Write-in

>>3964362
> Go for three days. It annoys you having to stay here for so long, but you'll gather intelligence in the meanwhile. Ask if he knows a nice place to stay.
I mean, that was the joke. A Prince Consort has as much authority as Zou has now. Hell, Long didn't even leave us a cool title before he bit the dust. Why can't we be Count or something?

>>3964379
I mean, you do have a respectable position working with Teleships, as so few people both have the Spatial Element and are good with flying.

"Three days it is, in the afternoon. Is there anywhere I can stay in that time?"

"By Law there is nowhere in this city. Please go back to your home in...the Wa-in Dershwa."

"It's days away."

"So is the appointment."

"I guess this place isn't prepared for humans yet is it."

"No. I wish you good luck. Most citizens live in their own homes, or have a nest or equivalent in the Wastelands. Only the strong and their children are able to do this however. Some people teleport from far away, this is permitted for only the express purpose of travel."

"Spatial Element monsters?"

"Yes, those smart enough to not be captured in Stored Skill Palaces. The weak are not tolerated, I thank you for your service in containing the weak and dumb."

Well, that solves one problem. As a species you hold monsters captive for all of their life, and put them through pain to gain strength. That could have stung some hearts here a little. You can't hear many emotions in its voice, the singular eye staring back at you, so you have no idea if this sentiment is shared at all with other monsters.

Player Choice
>Write-in

>>3964388
Alright. I have to stop now. Quest can continue at 14:00 GMT tomorrow. Thanks for playing!

>>3964388
> Set up a Swap point close to Ghenna then leg away at full speed, using the teleport glove if needed.

>>3965819

You go back to the area where you came in from, and ask how you can leave. You are not given any words, instead, you feel your collar fall off, you are motioned to take it with you as proof of identification, and you are levitated out of the pyramid. You set a Swap point just inside the capstone space.

Then comes the matter of getting home. You take out the teleport glove, and realise you could teleport home with this in hand in one jump, even without the normal use of Dimensional Swap. You compare the coordinates you were given with the one's for Dershwa. You focus the rest of your Heavenly Energy through the tool, and in an instant, you are back home! You remember from the few moments in the Wastelands that it is now the evening.

As you walk back to your home outside the Palace, you can feel new aches and pains in your body, Your Life Element Jewels sustained your lack of sleep, but all those hours without them has taken its toll.

Player Choice for the evening, there are 2 days and a morning until the time of the appointment.
>Write-in

>>3965836
> Go home, see the kids, see if you can sleep.

>>3965856

You make it back home. You have a key, so you can get in no problem. When you do, you go upstairs and check the rooms, you see two girls, very asleep, in the same room. You can hear some noise further in the house, sounds like the person you hired is cooking some food.

You tell them you're back, giving them a bit of a fright as they didn't hear you coming in, she must be Jewelless, and you see that they are only making food for one. It doesn't matter, you never called anyone about you coming back anyway.

You want to sleep as close to Azzura and Hongtian as possible, so you pull a sofa upstairs, and sleep on that instead.

>You must fall asleep
>Bonus to any training roll tomorrow only due to sleeping earlier.
>STA has been restored
>Start of the 185th day

You wake up to the sounds of breakfast being cooked, then the smell. The twins are OK, safe and sound, if still sleeping. They need a lot of sleep, perhaps you should try and see how they're developing someday soon.

Player Choice for the morning
>Write-in

>>3965866
> Go out and train! HE for starters.

>>3965871
>Choose 2, unless stated so, these stats will be maxed out +2

>STR (Sun-Di's technique applies, if choosing, roll a 1d100)
>AGI
>FLX
>END
>STA
>COORD

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>3965888
>STR
>AGI

Rolled 78, 83 = 161 (2d100)

>>3965907
>HE, AGI and STR have been maxed!
>No bonus stats to STR

You try and remember how Sun-Di used some technique to make her training stronger, but you fail, and you can tell it was just a normal training session. The nanny asks you a few questions as you train in the back garden, however only one strikes out to you.

"Has there been any word on miss Shian? I heard the higher ups at medical were working on something, but I guess it never came to fruition. Terrible, what happened to her."

Ah, her Jewels are being kept by someone. You might want to look into that when you have less on your plate.

>Rolling 2d100 for Shwei-Fa, DC 75 and Vice-Marshal Zhang DC 75

Player Choice for the afternoon
>Write-in

>>3965907
> Train FLEX, END, STA

>>3965935

You spend the afternoon training again, much to the disappointment of the nanny. She knows that whatever you are doing is important for the safety of the country, but just seeing training must make her a bit angry. You are probably paid 4 times as much as her after all, and all you are doing is working out.

>FLX, END and STA have been maxed, no bonus

As you come to an end, you see someone walking up to you, and you can tell that they just teleported from the Heavenly Energy in the background. You see Shwei-Fa, a rather concerned look on her face. Three Jewels glimmering.

"Sir. I would like to ask you some qu-" She stops in her tracks as her communicator buzzes. That must be a newer version, yours doesn't do that. Shwei-Fa is silent, the conversation going in her head, but you see her face contort. When she ends the call, she abruptly turns away.

"Sorry Sir, nothing to worry about. Forget this even happened!" She storms off, not even using her Jewels. Her concentration is all off.

As soon as that finishes, much to your surprise, the nanny calls you over. Azzura and Hontian are awake!

"Hmm. You know, you Heavenly Jewel Masters are weird. None of you seem normal to me!"

"Why's that?"

"I mean, no offence sir, but our late King, the Princesses! They look more like dolls than people, with that skin of their's."

"What about me?"

"You went from having normal brown hair and brown eyes to that curly nest of blond and blue eyes! And your children! Your children! They are growing so quickly! There must be something special in the food, they even have these coloured eyes...honestly sir it creeps me out sometimes."

"Your honesty is appreciated, but I think they will still grow up human. I hope."

"Alright then. You probably know best after all, you don't get 7 Jewels without some wisdom in you!" You look closer at your children, and you think they look a little bigger. They were tiny when they were...born, but they are getting stronger.

"When do you think they might be able to crawl?" You play with Hongtian, who seems a lot more excitable than her sister about seeing her dad again.

"At this rate? 2 months. It's awfully worrying. I hear Hongtian has some problem with her back, if she grows too quickly then that could become even worse."

Player Choice for the evening
>Write-in

>>3965954
I gotta eat, be back in around 30 mins.

>>3965954
> The "problem with her back" thing really does worry you. Bringing the twins along, you go for a full medical check-up.

>>3966046

This sounds a bit more concerning than originally thought. You tell the nanny to prepare the two for a full medical check. In a few moments you run, as safely as you can, to Medical. As soon as you ask you are directed to a specialist. A rather young-looking woman with 5 Life Jewels. You hear some complaints from the two, but they need help.

"Hmmm. You want the full thing?"

"Please."

"This might take some time, their age makes any Heavenly Energy related work impractical, so we need to use traditional methods."

"How long?"

"4 hours at best. This will go into the night. Immune system checks, physical checks, cultivation checks. These take a long time. Normally parents need to be present during- during the data collection phase, as you would understand it, some parents think some procedures break their babies' privacy, so we ask what we are allowed or not allowed to do, but a Teleship Wing Commander must be busy, so if you want to entrust me with your daughters, I will understand."

You hand them over to the doctor, and the nurses rush around to get everything ready.

Player Choice
>Write-in, what would you like to do?

>>3966058
> You decide to stay and watch; it's less an issue of trust and more nervousness though.

>>3966074
You stick around, and you see what goes on. Firstly, you ask for the physical first, this was the most pressing issue.

Azzura appears to be fine, she's a lot bigger, but there appears to be no problem the doctor can identify. Her body was built like this. Hongtian is another issue, she compares a report with the one made after her birth, and the problem has changed slightly. As far as she can tell, Hongtian is growing extra bones, or perhaps bone growths on the backs of her shoulder blades which are symmetrical. She says that Hongtian is in little discomfort from this, and that surgery at this age would be impossible, but when she is old enough, if there is injury caused by these bones, they will need to be removed. Hongtian is still smaller than her sister. More analysis will need to be done on her muscles, as changes to the bones often mean changes in muscles too.

Next, a few blood tests. These will be the most critical. You watch carefully as blood is drawn out using the Water Element, someone with coordination managing the testing procedures. It turns out that neither of them have fully functioning immune systems. There is a minor panic at this, but you partly expected it. The treatment would be matching blood samples with diverse immune capability, you offer your own sample, and it is confirmed to be a match.

"Now then. We may have to keep them here for 2 weeks until we can be sure their immune systems are working as normal. It's a miracle they haven't gotten sick already." You think for a bit. Did you ever get sick as a child? You can't remember much, maybe going back to the orphanage would be a good idea, to see how they might fare in the future.

"Lastly, we need to do a spiritual anatomy check. We can do this much at least. It should help identify their talents and structure."

Azzura is checked first, the Light Element used to see through the body. You have deep knowledge on this, and you see there are some irregularities, mostly in the chamber where a Heavenly Energy Core sits for a Heavenly King. It is enlarged, with larger merdians as you get closer to it. You don't know what this means, but the 5 Jeweled doctor informs you that your daughter has a vastly increased probability of being a Heavenly Jewel Master. The trace amount of Heavenly Energy in the merdians is identified clearly.

Hongtian is checked next. The same irregularities are noticed. However, what's interesting is how the new suspected bones and potentially muscles are also connected via merdians. She possesses the trace too, but it is much more spread out. Azzura falls asleep soon after, but Hongtian is fascinated by all these new things and people.

"Sir, my nurses are getting tired. We could do one more test now, but I would need your help personally for this."

"What is it?"

"Using tech from the Elemental Research department, we could try and guess their Jewels, now."

Player Choice
>Do it
>No thanks
>Write-in

>>3966119
>No thanks, you don't really care what their Jewels will be: hopefully, their only reason to cultivate will be a long life
> Ask if there are ways to alleviate Hongtian's discomfort without surgery

>>3966170
>No thanks

"No. The only reason they should have to cultivate is live longer. Is there a way to alleviate Hongtian's problem without surgery?"

"Painkillers? Not really a good idea at her age either...babies are tricky. She might become dependant on them."

"So she'll just have to live with it for now?"

"I'm afraid so. We might get more conclusive results after our resident Nuclear specialist gets a good look. He can manipulate certain things in the body and it helps him determine structure of the muscles, at no harm!"

Well, that's that...

"So. We'll take good care of them for two weeks. Then they can go back home with you. I promise everything wil be fine, we cared for all the Princesses when they were young. I wasn't around for Fei, but Shian and the rest all received top quality care."

You nervously agree to let them stay. They will know better than you.

"Do try look for solutions to the pain please."

"Will do, but I need your signed approval for anything, so getting changes through the system takes a little longer than people want."

You head back home, alone. The nanny giving you 5 Gold back, as she won't be working for the next two weeks with you.

Player Choice, it is the nighttime
>Sleep
>No sleep, do something instead.

>>3966205
> Sleep

>>3966210
>Sleep

>Start of the 186th day

Player Choice
>Write-in, what would you like to do?

>>3966233
> Train COORD, then cultivate.

>>3966239
>Last post of the day
>Roll 1d100 DC 50 to cultivate and brake through
>COORD is maxed

The quest can continue at 15:30 GMT tomorrow. I have nothing in the evening tomorrow preventing me from running.

In other news, election results come in tomorrow morning, wooo.

Thanks for playing and goodnight!

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>3966271

>>3966271
>Sorry for being late, life stuff got in the way.

>57
Success!

I will make a post on the pc later. I am on the train so I can't make an update to the paste very easily. Within 45 mins.

>>3967589
>Paste updated

Player Choice for the afternoon
>Write-in

Rolled 32 (1d100)

>>3967636
> Moar Training: HE, STR, AGI
It took forever to get this out. Damn my connection. I've been trying for HOURS!
Dice is for STR.

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>3967843
I HAVE HEARD YOUR CRIES OF PAIN. I SAY LET THOU SUFFER. Got 80% on an end of term exam, so I'm in a good mood and don't really care about hold ups. God bless 9am in the morning for something like that!

>32

>STR is maxed +1
>AGI and HE are maxed

Rolling 1d100 DC 99 for Stuff. Will not impact you now.

Player Choice for the evening
>Write-in

>>3967894
Also. I can't run tomorrow, and it looks by then the thread will have been archived. So the next thread will be on Sunday at possibly 14:00 GMT if the family don't surprise me with anything unexpected.

>>3967894
> Train FLX, END, STA

>>3967959

>>3974192
NEW THREAD
NEW THREAD
NEW THREAD

>>3971495

>>3971492

Dammit already off to a bad start.