She left about the time Kali got back to the apartment with a promise to take care of the bathroom door, thankfully. Kali and I talked for a bit, and then she went to bed. She seemed a bit out of it, and totally missed the bathroom door in pieces I followed not long after.
I didn’t go to sleep though. Not yet. There was one more thing to take care of before then. Etheric Reinforcement was ready to Evolve. The OS mechanically announced the evo paths I’d unlocked.
[Etheric Reinforcement]
-
Ether Stitch
-
That which is broken shall be repaired.
-
-
Ether Echo
-
Echo with the might of a thousand spells.
-
-
Tension Tuning
-
Strings tuned to fit the finest weapons.
-
I wasn’t a hundred percent sure what each of them did. The OS had an annoying habit of giving terrible descriptions. Ether Stitch looked like a repair tool? Maybe? Useless for me since I could just repair my stuff with more Ebonshroud if it broke.
Ether Echo… made some kind of boost to magical effects? The evo paths were supposed to be based on how I used them or something like that. Taking that into consideration, maybe Etheric Reinforcement would hold the effects of things like Ether String’s Frost Fang better?
Tension Tuning looked like it’d affect bows and crossbows. Probably enhance the elasticity and tension of the string? My bows and crossbows might do more damage if I grabbed that evo. I only used bows every once in a while though.
Ether Echo then, yep? If it did what I thought it did, then it’d be nice for the more powerful variants of weapon buffing I could cast with Ether Strings. The other options weren’t super helpful for me regardless.
The OS chimed, picking my selection. It mechanically announced my new status.
[Aylin Io
Titles: Nyx, Moon
Innate Trait: [Dream Stride], [Adaptive Ebonshroud], [All-Speech]
Skills: [Echoing Reinforcement], [Brace-6], [Guard], [Mictal Fog], [Ether Physique-4], [Radiance], [Darkest Night]
Boon: Nighteye - [Guiding Moonlight]
Bound: [Will Wire], [Thorn’s Defiance]]
Echoing Reinforcement now, huh? I formed a small dagger of Ebonshroud and activated my new Skill. Ether flowed down the length of the blade, keeping the same basic effects of Etheric Reinforcement. Now though, the ether inside of the blade vibrated slightly, almost as if waiting for something.
Pling!
I cast Frost Fang. Ice coated the weapon, giving it a chilling edge. It felt a little stronger than when I cast it in the past? Frost Fang already wasn’t a super strong enchantment though, so it was a bit hard to tell.
I watched the dagger for several minutes. The frost effect definitely lasted longer. Before, it vanished after thirty or so seconds, it could last for a minute now. I’d have to actually use it in a fight to see the full effect though…
The dagger melted, lengthening into a spear—ah, wait. I forgot I got rid of Flaming Spear or whatever it was called. I wanted to test if it’d likewise get a boost. I suspected it’d be stronger than with Frost Fang. Skills all originated from the same system, anyway. Anything cast with Ether Strings wasn’t.
I stayed up a while longer and hung out with Nivia while trying some stuff. My adorable stuffed rabbit cheered me on while I went through the tiring process of figuring out how to make more guns with Ebonshroud. To be honest, dual wielding LMGs was kinda sick. I wanted to do that more often.
Eventually, I flopped onto my bed and let myself fall asleep.
— — —
OuroSec—from what I read online, they were the archeological researchers of Bastion. Or, that’s what they sold themselves as. Anything related to the OS, rifts, or monsters was researched extensively by them. They also spent a fortune on relics and fragments of other world’s history pulled from rifts.
Basically, if it came from another world, they were interested. They were also the ones who bought the pictures of the hieroglyphs and murals I took from the pyramid. For a very hefty sum at that. Blazing sent it over, and I made 7,500 Nytes even without cores.
They were also the ones that got that Overseer to contact me. Something about using All-Speech to help them out? I wasn’t a hundred percent sure. All of that brought me here, though, to their doorstep in Hyperion.
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”He’s ready to see you now.” A secretary lightly called out to me. The Light Tattoos across her face flashed green like a street-light.
I stood up from the seating area and entered a—a library? It was a massive library full of researchers in lab coats walking around. Who was I supposed to even be here for? I was just sent up here as soon as I arrived.
“Ah! Sorry to keep you, my dear Warden.” A voice called out from my side. A short, curmudgeonly looking elf rushed over. His expression was incredibly bright, and crazed grey hair chaotically stuck out of his head in every direction. The scent of coffee, ink, and old parchment radiated off of him.
”…” Was this the contact? Thought he’d be more… Well, not like he was. This was the first time I’d ever seen a short elf. I thought they just naturally came in tall and taller.
“You have no idea how much I’ve been wanting to meet you!” He wiped ink off his hands onto his lab coat and then stuck out his hand.
“…?” I took his offered hand, having to lean down slightly to get on his level.
”Just as quiet as they said you were… Ah! I’m one of the Head Researchers, Doctor Gloknov.” He brushed back his grey hair. It didn’t help the mess. “I’ll be your liaison.”
”For?” I still had no idea what they wanted from me.
“Right! One of my research assistants awakened a Trait to read any script in the way it was written.” He sighed, motioning me to follow after him further into the research institute. “We can’t understand him. But with the two of you?”
”Translate?” They really were just after my Trait. Even a seemingly useless trait just needed a different perspective.
”Yes! For an hour of your time translating what he reads, we’ll pay you five thousand Nytes.”
”…” That was kinda generous? Not as good as a rift raid, but there were millions of people in Bastion that would kill for this kind of job.
Gloknov took my silence as a bad thing. “Of course, we’ll also give you a position as one of OuroSec’s honorary researchers. You must know, to become a researcher requires at least two doctorates. You’ll have full access to our records and library.”
“Yep.” The intel was what I really wanted, anyway. OuroSec definitely had info on the things I wanted to look into. If they didn’t, nobody else in Bastion would either. They were the premier researchers of anything OS or rift related, after all.
“Super! We’ll do a short couple tests to ensure this will work how we want, and then we’ll be good to go. Come, we have a private booth up ahead.” The elf waved his hand past the bustling library.
The place had a surprising number of people in it. Most looked like researchers or researcher’s assistants, but there were a fair number of guards scattered around. And not just any guards. These were Wardens. I could sense the ether radiating off of some of them.
Gloknov led me up a windy set of stairs to a hidden away room set on top of a bunch of shelves. The entire room was ornate, with rich wood and leather padded couches. Golden lamps clung to the wall, casting digital imitations of flames that made the entire room feel like a cozy study nook.
There was one person in the room waiting for us. He was a rather young looking kid, maybe fourteen or fifteen? He had on a school uniform, kicking his legs—which didn’t quite reach the floor—lazily on a couch. “Doc-“
The boy went silent when his eyes fell on me. His back straightened up, and his lazy posture vanished entirely. I waved lightly at him. “…”
“Troy! Meet Warden Moon. She’ll hopefully be assisting us from now on.” Doctor Gloknov waved at the kid. “Moon, this is my research assistant, Troy.”
“Hi!” The kid shyly dipped his head and peeked up at me.
”Hello.” I offered a small smile to the kid and shifted my sun-glasses back up my nose.
“Troy here awakened his Trait, Polyglot, about a year ago.” Doctor Gloknov moved over to one of the couches and took a seat. A coffee table sat between him and Troy absolutely covered in books of weird and distinct languages.
”I—I can read anything.” Troy rubbed at the back of his head. “Just can’t understand it.”
“Yep.” Gloknov mentioned something like that. I moved to a chair at the head of the coffee table and made myself comfortable. “Um—speech. Disabled?”
”Yes, your file did say something along those lines… that’s fine. You can write?” Gloknov handed over a pad of paper and a pen.
“…!” Of course I could write. It was one of my proudest skills. I thought it’d take forever to read and write Bastion’s common, but it was surprisingly easy to learn. I took the offered writing tools and leaned back into the couch.
”Great! Then whenever you’re ready, Troy.” Gloknov sat back on the couch, resting his head on one of his fists.
Troy reached for one of the books piled onto the table. He picked it up and treated it with a reverence typically reserved for treasures… though books could be treasures too. These probably came from rifts, didn’t they?
”This is from S-rank rift, Gal’Thraxi. It’s a document from one of the insectoid tribes.” Troy shifted and flipped open the book. He started to speak, though his words came out as fast clicks and high-pitched chitters rather than normal words.
Troy went quiet after the first sentence, waiting for me to write down what he said. I quickly scribbled on the pad and then handed the sheet off to the waiting Doctor Gloknov. “Um- Moon? What script is this?”
“…?” I looked back at the- ah, stupid. I wrote it out in Tunic, the language of Serhymn. I erased the music note looking script and scribbled out a translation in Common.
“This is the complete reproductive history of Hive-mother Vl’Akyeen.” Doctor Gloknov read the first sentence aloud. He shifted on the couch, eyeing the book with interest. “How intriguing…”
”Um—D-Doctor? C-can I swap books?” Troy asked with a bright red face. He ducked low when I glanced at him, hiding behind the book.
”Now, now, my boy. We can’t let personal discomfort get in the way of knowledge’s pursuit! If there’s something in the world, then it’s worth knowing!” Doctor Gloknov slapped his hand over his heart with a stoic righteousness.
Spoken like somebody who’d never seen or heard something they wished they could forget… How very enviable.
Troy covered his blush with a hand and continued to read from the book. It was a good thing he didn't know what he was saying. The book very quickly turned into some kind of weird historical smut. Smut for insect people… weird. The Gal’Thraxi anatomy was also wonky, so I spent most of the time confused. Just how did I get here?
Thankfully, the next several books were much more in line with what I signed up for. Historical records of battles, tales of valiant heroes, and otherworldly myths filled most of the pages. It was surprisingly enjoyable to read the legends of long lost heroes. After two hours, Troy’s voice started to give out and Doctor Gloknov called for a stop.
”Run along, my boy.” Gloknov shooed Troy out of the room. “Take the rest of the day off.”
”Th-thanks, Doc.” His voice was rough and gruff. Two hours seemed to be the kid’s limit.
”…?” I pointed at myself and motioned to the door. No point sticking around without Troy.
”In just a moment, my dear.” The old elf reached into his lab coat pocket, retrieving a laminated badge. “This is for you.”
It said ‘Honorary Researcher’ in big bold letters on top of the ID badge. “…?”
“That will get you through our doors and access to anything you want… ah, and your pay.” A white SIGIL blossomed on top of his hand. The intricate arrays of runes and shapes twisted together, transferring 10,000 Nytes just like that. That put me at 42,500 Nytes in total. A respectable sum. I could buy a lot of coffee with all of that.
I left Gloknov to look over his freshly translated scripts. We didn’t even get through a single book. That wasn’t the goal though. Apparently, he just wanted enough translated to send it to the other researchers. They could apparently handle figuring out the languages if they just had a place to start.
Down in the library itself, I finally started to do some research on the things I was interested in. I headed to the catalogue and carefully looked through it for anything related to Serhymn and the Shore. And, of course, I also looked for all sorts of Skill, Trait, and rift stuff.