Chapter 19: Chapter 1-2

Cleo did very well as an alarm clock. They actually woke me up at 5:27, saying that’s when it was most optimal to do so. While I was doing stretches to try and shake off the exhaustion, the piped up, {Your request earlier this morning was a great excuse for something I was going to do anyway. This area is mostly empty of people- including those that would supposedly be supervising you. There does appear to be some silent alarm runes on the door set to notify someone if you open it. I have also found where the machining building is. It should be easy to get there from here stealthily should you want to do so.}

 

Nodding along, I asked, “actually, on that note: how much experience do I have?”

 

{Currently 118. Each of the twenty-seven hunters were worth 5 when the increased danger of your situation is taken into account.}

 

“Alright, I have some ideas of what I might want from perks. The first would be something to disguise my scars and eyes, just generally help me blend in. The only other reasonable thing I could think of wanting right now is something to let me always have access to stuff like my lockpicks and phone.”

 

After a moment of being frozen, they answered, {there are perks suited to both branching off of [Covert Requisitioning]. The best fit for your first request would be [Unremarkable], which simply masks any traits an observer might consider unique. If you also feel inclined, you can then branch off that for [Act Like You Belong], which interferes with peoples thoughts on a surface level to make them more likely to rationalize your presence. If you are confident in your acting and bullshitting, it would help you walk into and around most places without drawing too much suspicion. Because most MG’s like being in the spotlight, it is unpopular, and due to the perks being considered more mundane by the system- both are fairly cheap at 10 and 13 respectively.

{For the second, there are many perks that would achieve the goal. While one of the most expensive of the considerations, [Pocket of Holding] would be my recommendation. It would allow you to put items into an interdimensional pocket when you put them in a normal pocket, and take them out the same way. It’s size is limited to a six-inch by ten-inch by three-inch space, which is also one of the smallest- but there is no way for anyone to access it besides you. It would cost 24 experience.}

 

“All of that sounds good to me.”

 

Again, they slid along while looking frozen for a few seconds. {They have been queued in that order. You might feel a little strange for the next few minutes while they get applied.}

 

I preemptively took a seat on the bed and waited as feelings of vertigo and synesthesia swept over me. After it had run its course, my brain felt heavy and knowledge of how to use the perks was accessible like old memories I was just now remembering. I toggled on [Unremarkable] and [Act Like You Belong], which put a little pressure on the ULE in my body. Instead of some of it being consumed, it more felt like the flow of ULE through me was a little restricted- so I was likely still taking in more than was being used. I then slipped my lockpicks and phone into one of the pockets of my pants, sending them to the interdimensional one instead. This time, the energy being used felt much more like when I buffed weapons: suddenly disappearing in a chunk.

 

Satisfied, I then said, “I should have asked yesterday, but will the machine shop have pre-designed prosthetics, or will we have to spend a token to get one made?”

 

A small smile appearing on their face, Cleo replied, {I have already created four possible designs for you to choose from. I would offer drawings, but I do not have any, nor the ability to produce any- so my descriptions will have to do.

{The first is essentially a slightly better version of what you as a species would be able to produce. They allow for vision in a slightly expanded spectrum of light, but lack anything more fancy than that. The benefit in this simplicity is that they would be near indistinguishable from your previous eyes both to others and yourself, should that be important.

{The second is a step up. They have multiple modes for various spectra of light, as well as small diodes to emit the needed wavelengths. This design and the following ones can ‘project’ into your vision a display for a computer running whatever OS you want, and enable hands-free interaction with it. As these are still relatively normal looking and have an easy installation, the interface might be less responsive than desired.

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{The third is still a set of eyeballs that would replace the ones currently in your sockets, but are obviously artificial. They also would require hardware to replace your optic nerve and interface with your brain. However, this enables them to have an even larger variety of modes and for those to be cycled with only thought. Similarly a computer interface would be controlled by thought.

{The last design… is weirder. Two questions: how much have you been enjoying using manasight when compared to normal sight, and is looking strictly human an important factor to you?}

 

Talking slowly as I thought about the questions, I answered, “I have been enjoying the omni-perspective nature of manasight, but acknowledging that I would be totally lacking the ability to see light feels wrong. Not so much as to write off the idea, but that’s a big change from my original plan of just fixing my eyes. Also, can I ask what ‘not looking strictly human’ actually entails? Because that also feels like a big decision to make on so little information.”

 

{Of course. This design has two approximately hairline-mounted Hyperspatial Oscillation Recording Nodes and one Tactical Articulating Integrated Light mounted at the base of the spine. As the name suggests, they would resemble horns and a tail respectively. The horns would effectively serve to massively increase the range and detail of your manasight while not overloading your brain with information or relying on detectable ULE. The tail acts as a lantern to cast the necessary ULE into the dimensions that the horns are reading from. That explanation probably leaves you with more questions about how any of that could possibly work- and it should. The system uses a generous application of magic in the form of enchantments to iron over little things like “using dimensions that do not mathematically exist” and “needing more than the sun produces in a decade to open a portal to one.”

{Any concerns about not appearing human should be covered by [Unremarkable]. Although, with the prosthetics being so obvious and abnormal, a few of your scars or other identifiable aspects might then be left out as they exceed the perk’s capabilities.}

 

Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself as I decided to commit to something potentially stupid. “Fuck it, lets go with option 4. Does the design include- or is it able to be altered to accommodate- the most common types of ports and plugs? Also, very important question: what does it look like?”

 

{The design does already have the ability to interface with whatever other devices you could want, both physically and wirelessly. As far the current design goes, all parts of the system are simply covered in the most material-efficient way. Should you want to change this, it would be very easy to do so.}

 

Now much more enthusiastic I said, “Great! So I was thinking that it is important to maintain a cohesive aesthetic- and since I now have a personal vehicle in the form of a fancy racing-bike, I should run with that. Overall that would mean a racing-suit inspired look, but specifically when it comes to the horns and tail they should be very smooth and aerodynamic looking. Overall, maybe have it be a clean, porcelain white with some faint, fake hairline cracks along the pieces. And stainless steel for exposed details.”

 

After a moment of freezing, they said, {that has been integrated. Shall we get going?}

 

At that, I got up and walked over to the window. I was on the second floor, so the window was designed to only open six inches. Sadly, with how thin and overall small I was, that was almost enough for me to slip through- but it was easier to just unscrew the piece of metal limiting its range of motion. After I had climbed out, I hung from the windowsill and closed the window again- after which I noted I was a lot less tired than I would have been before becoming a magical girl. With this feeling of increased athleticism, I decided it was fine to push off a little and let go- falling the rest of the way and landing in a somewhat clumsy roll to spread the impact. 

 

After I had popped back up and brushed myself off, I made sure no one was around. Much to my delight, there was no one up walking around this early. From there, Cleo was able to guide me along a path that avoided any cameras until I reached the machining building. With what I could make out, it looked like a hemicylindrical hanger for a moderately big plane that had been retrofitted with some more windows and a human-sized main entrance. I obviously didn’t want to use that, so I headed around back. As expected, there were a couple other doors in more secluded areas that I could mess around with. When I had picked my entry point, I pushed some mana into the lock on the door like I had with my previous ‘weapons.’

 

The new clarity let me see that it was a key-card lock, but it also had a backup physical lock hidden behind a false faceplate. That was easy to pop off, letting me get at the lock I was much more experienced at opening and wouldn’t need to steal something for. I’ll give them some credit- the backup lock had a good variety of security pins, but a harder lock just means it takes a little longer to open. As there were no cameras or traffic where I was, I was confident I hadn’t been caught, but before I turned the lock I flared up my ULE into the door- letting me watch in incredible detail for any switches or alarms being tripped. Nothing happened. Before the clarity passed, I put the cover back on and walked in, relocking the door as I closed it.

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