Who is ready for more Trails?
I've been shuffling Daybreak 1 & 2 between work and writing. I am catching up on lore!
We'll see how that plays out with this fanfic!
Also, I reworked Tamamo's status window!
As always, Giliath demands your power stones!
*****
Familiars weren't the only non-humans here in Zemuria. Homunculi also existed. Artificial beings created through different means. There are methods to produce them organically, or non-organically. Oz71 and Oz72, or in common terms, Millium and Altina Orion, were of the former. And so was KeA. They were fully organic creatures without a shred of metal inside their body. And then there were those that were mostly made up of metal inside 'em, while appearing human on the outside. Regardless, both of these versions were developed by the Black Workshop. Or by the Gnomes, to be specific. Down the line, the Crois Family stole this tech, and adopted them into their own means, eventually creating KeA inside the Cradle.
Right now, my father, Giliath, made his way to the Black Workshop shortly after the New Year ended. A couple days have passed since then. I'm guessing he arrived by now, and is well underway in his research. I'm not sure what all he'll be doing down there, but I'm definitely anticipating something to happen as a result. It may not be directly linked to what he is researching, which is AI KeA. To my surprise, I saw no issues with my Enigma II, despite the great distance apart. It's possible AI KeA might not have any restrictions and will be able to move around anywhere.
I went to Crossbell City, and then back to Heimdallr in Erebonia. I didn't see anything happen with the Enigma II. This will need further testing, though.
And unlike the Black Workshop, the Crois Family required an exorbitant amount of gold and mira to work on their creations. That was why they founded one of the most prominent banks in all of Zemuria, IBC. Creating Homunculi wasn't their primary focus either. They enjoyed creating giant constructs, which even included the Azure Tree. It was a shame that Dieter Crois, the head of that family, got played for a fiddle. And by his no daughter, no less. Mariabelle Crois. That would be up to the SSS to figure out though, haha! I have zero intention on ruining that fun for them. That was part of the big mystery behind Zero and Azure.
And if I intervened in that, I am not sure if things will go down to how they should. My presence alone has already thrown off several scenarios in the games. I don't want to make it even more chaotic, if I don't need to.
To my point, Zemuria is a wide, wide place. It hosts several countries, all on a single continent. There's even mysterious forces that prevent people from exploring its oceans. And on top of that, there exists higher planes, which leak devils, monsters, angels, godlike beings, creatures of fairy tales, you name it, into Zemuria. This typically happens when the Three Higher Elements are active. Shit turns real weird during that. I haven't been personally exposed to these elements yet, and I likely won't until the Vermillion Trials begin. That will be my first mystical experience with the unknown, most likely.
The Gamer System hasn't dove into these elements yet, despite providing me the various Sepith for that. That can still happen, but when we go fight monsters normally around in the overworld, they'll just be weak to the basic four elements, Wind, Water, Fire, Earth.
Still, it was definitely a nice surprise that the Gamer System can accept Familiars into the Party.
Seeing Celined do a surprised Pikachu face with the Gamer System floating before her, I grinned. Celine always remained calm and collected, usually correcting Emma on actions she did. Just seeing this alone was worth it, haha!
Seeing me grinning, Celine shifted her eyes halfway downward, before speaking out to me again.
"Just what in Aidios's name is this thing?", Celine retorted. "And what's a Party?", Celine questioned.
Hearing that, Tamamo's eyes lit up. I could see very well that Tamamo was also looking at the blue screen before Celine, even without being in the Party. To be honest, I should have expected this at some point. But her seven tails happily thumping around the bed was causing too much of a distraction that even I was starting to get annoyed by it. Before I could do anything, however, Tamamo skipped over, landing directly in front of Celine and my position. She positioned herself so the blue screen wasn't being interfered with.
"Ooh! So you can see Master's status thingy!", Tamamo happily said. Hearing that, I placed my hand against my face, doing a face-palm.
"It isn't just a 'status thingy', Tama. This ability of mine is a much more complex structure than that. I've had a couple individuals test out its capabilities already yesterday, and it went pretty smoothly. I didn't think it'd be capable of seeing Familiars as Party Members. But this way, you'll be able to Level Up, just like the rest of us.", I replied, grinning.
"'Level up'?", Celine questioned, still showing confusion in her eyes. "Is that what this number is supposed to represent?", Celine continued to ask.
She saw the Party Menu before her.
[Current Party Members 2/6]
-Naoto (Lv111/250)
-Celine (Lv69/250)
"And you're saying you can see this too?", Celine questioned the silver-white fox before her.
"Uh-huh. Here, let me join in on the fun!", Tamamo said, butting into what was presently happening.
"Why am I not surprised you can navigate this?", I retorted. My lips twitched for a moment, but I then smiled. Tamamo was my Familiar, so it made sense for her to use the Gamer System. She's bound to me, in a way. Tamamo also nodded her head, which further cleared any doubt.
"That's because I'm bound to your soul, Master. That's what Roselia said, anyway. If you die, I die. It was a pretty big shock learning that I'm not the only thing that's bound to you. I've been having a blast navigating this status screen thingy while you were gone.", Tamamo explained.
"And I'm guessing you could manage to do that because you've achieved human form?", I questioned.
"Yup! Turns out I can use it while I'm in my fox form too. I haven't seen a limit to what I can't do with it yet. Here, watch this!", Tamamo said. Sure enough she willed a blue screen of her own to appear before Celine.
"Meow!?", Celine responded, seeing the blue screen before her eyes suddenly changed. It was as if it acted on its own, despite Tamamo simply placing one of her paws forward. "This is something I'm going to have to get used to, aren't I?", Celine retorted, regaining her composure. While it was still a shock a second time, she was quicker to react to it.
"You know it. It's going to go in full force in a month's time. This is just the start.", I replied, letting out a laugh. That came to a halt once I saw the blue screen's message. Or more importantly, what was written on it.
[Naoto's Number One Familiar Tamamo - Lv111/250 has joined the Party.]
[Current Party Members: 3/6.]
-Naoto (Lv111/250)
-Celine (Lv69/250)
-Naoto's Number One Familiar Tamamo (Lv111/250)
"Seriously?", I retorted again, just looking at the silver-white fox before me.
"What is it now, Master? Did you not know you can assign nicknames?", Tamamo asked me.
"Well, yeah. I had a feeling it was possible, but I never gave it a shot. Are you saying you can assign party members nicknames?", I mused at the thought.
"I bet you're up to no good again.", Celine retorted, seeing me with a smirk on my face.
I'll admit, it might be fun to assign nicknames out to my future party members. I'll just have to settle that notion for the time being. I need to take the Vermillion Trials seriously, so I might not do that. Perhaps at a later time.
"Hahaha! No comment for that. That's besides the point now. Moving along, you can bring your own status up now, right Tama?", I asked the fox.
"Sure can. Review away!", Tamamo happily replied, doing more motions of her paws. The Party Menu vanished from sight, and it changed to Tamamo's full on status window.
"Uhh...", Celine uttered, seeing a bunch of information now being displayed before her, and before me. "Is this supposed to be the dumb fox?", Celine questioned.
"It is. Tama's status isn't as extensive as mine is. You can also review yours too, once you know how this ability works. For now, I'll see what's changed with Tama.", I said, giving a brief explanation.
"So you're saying that you have the ability to quantify every single action that you can take?", Celine questioned, letting it slowly dawn on her. She was looking through Tamamo's information, and came to that conclusion.
"That's just the basics. I can show you the ropes later, Celine. I'm curious to know your stats!", Tamamo happily replied. I nodded my head to Tamamo's words.
"You two can do that later. I'm planning to go through some items I still have on my plate these next couple days, so I won't be going around much out of Heimdallr. Seeing what you can do is included in that, Tama. I wouldn't be against you taking Celine out to hunt some monsters. There's something I want to test.", I said to Tamamo and Celine. With Celine returning to her usual demeanor, she raised her eyes at me.
"What are you up to now?", Celine questioned, still doubting me. Tamamo reacted differently, and her eyes lit up.
"Really?", Tamamo responded.
Seeing the seriousness in my eyes, Celine could see I wasn't joking around. She sighed, and then spoke out again.
"Fine. Fine. I suppose we can go around and hunt some monsters. We've got enough free time on our hands, now that you're back, Naoto. And Emma already wandered off to train with those other girls. I don't want to feel like we're freeloading.", Celine said, acknowledging my request.
"That's what we've been doing already, though?", Tamamo responded, tilting her head to the side.
"Grr. You know what I mean, you dumb fox.", Celine retorted.
"Hehehe. Anyways, how do I look, Master? I'm sure you'll like my status!", Tamamo happily said to me, urging me to review her status again.
Ignoring Celine's retort just now, I did want to test something. To put it simply, it was an AFK System. You know, the kind you sit around doing nothing, and reap all the rewards, depending on how much time you spend away from your game.
Considering Tamamo is bound to me just like how my Gamer System was, I was curious to see if she could boost my experience while she hunted monsters. And if she could, did it have to be in a Party?
Something to think about, for sure. But seeing an expectant look in Tamamo's eyes while her Status Window was now in my view, I went along and started reviewing her status. I really haven't reviewed Tamamo's status in detail in a while, and seeing it sure did leave me surprised!
[Tamamo]
Familiar Slot: 1/2
Race: Silver Demonic Nine-Tailed Fox
Level: 111/250
Tails: Seven
Age: Ten
Gender: Female
Current Equipment: N/A (Claws, Armor, Accessories)
Current Orbment: N/A (Bound to Human Form)
[Without Tail Boosting]
HP: 10,000/10,000 EP: 100/100
STR: 400 DEF: 300
ATS: 950 ADF: 450
SPD: 100 DEX: 150
[With Tail Boosting]
HP: 38,000/38,000 EP: 380/380
STR: 1525 DEF: 1150
ATS: 3600 ADF: 1700
SPD: 380 DEX: 575
(Effect: Stats = +280% (7 Tails))
[SKILLS]
[Human Form] (NEW)
-Allows Familiar to transform into a Human.
Effect 1: Boosts Stats by 30%.
Effect 2: Familiar can concentrate mana, boosting Arts/Spells Damage by 50%.
[Fox Form] (NEW)
-Transforms Familiar back into a Fox.
Effect 1: Grants Skill: [Tail Boosting].
Effect 2: Each Tail allows Familiar to control an element.
Effect 3: Fire, Water, and Space Element Efficacy increased by 50%.
Fire: UnlockedWater: UnlockedWind: UnlockedEarth: UnlockedTime: UnlockedSpace: UnlockedMirage: Unlocked
[Tail Boosting] (NEW)
-With each tail unlocked, Boosts Stats by X Amount.
First Tail: Increase Stats by 10%.
Second Tail: Increase Stats by 20%.
Third Tail: Increase Stats by 30%.
Fourth Tail Increase Stats by 40%.
Fifth Tail: Increase Stats by 50%.
Sixth Tail: Increase Stats by 60%.
Seventh Tail: Increase Stats by 70%.
[Sneak] (Tweaked)
-Enters Stealth, cloaking Familiar's body in an illusion-like state, that has the [Stealth] status Combat Orbments can use.
Duration: Three Minutes
EP Cost: 100
[Stealth] - Evades Attacks, and next attack becomes a Critical Hit. Exits Stealth once hit is landed.
[Hasten] (Tweaked)
-Cloaks Familiar in a green aura, empowering Familiar's movement speed.
Effect 1: Increases SPD by 100%.
Duration: Spend 1 EP per second.
[Mind Link] (Tweaked)
-Links Familiar's mind with Gamer Naoto's mind for a more effective way of communication. Useful for gathering intel and scouting.
[Sight Link] (Tweaked)
-The Familiar shares their sight with Gamer Naoto's sight, becoming a second pair of eyes for Gamer Naoto. Effective for protecting Gamer Naoto's blind spots during combat. Can also see what Familiar sees while Familiar is far away.
[Mana Fang] (Tweaked)
-Cloaks Familiar's fangs in a burst of mana. Depending on what element is equipped, Mana Fang becomes that element. With more Tails unlocked, Familiar can freely shift between elements during battle.
-Effect 1: Can equip an Element to Mana Fang, changing its Element Type.
-Effect 2: Boosts Equipped Element Efficacy by 30%.
EP Cost: 50
Attack Range: Single Target
Damage Rank: S
(Note: Effect 1 & 2 is Fox Form only)
[Mana Burst] (New)
-Condenses Familiar's magic into a large sphere, and launches it outwards. Once it is within range of a target or targets, the sphere explodes.
Effect 1: Can equip an Element to Mana Burst, changing its Element type.
Effect 2: Boosts Equipped Element Efficacy by 30%.
EP Cost: 100
Attack Range: Medium
Damage Rank: SS
(Note: Effect 1 & 2 is Fox Form only)
[Subset Magics] (New)
-A variety of magic spells derived from the existing known Elements.
Effect 1: Familiar combined Water and Wind Elements to create Ice Magic.
Effect 2: Familiar combined Water and Earth Elements to create Barrier Magic.
Effect 3: Locked
(A/N: Thoughts of what Effect 3 could be? Could be a Fire/Wind or Fire/Time combination.)