The party was organized to have an hour of milling around and socializing at the beginning to give plenty of time for everyone who wanted to show up to do so. During this time, servers would periodically make their rounds to the various standing tables set up in front of the stage and on the deck, offering a variety of snacks and drinks.
The venue for the party was what could be called the town hall- if you ignored the fact that all administrative work for the island was done within one of the buildings on SEYA’s campus. Which wasn’t even really in the town. I don’t even know what use the building would have beyond hosting parties, as it was basically just some back rooms for kitchens and storage, a large central room with a stage, and some outdoors spaces.
After I had been approached by one of the stranger MGs I had met so far, I decided to get started worming my way into the serving staff. [Act Like You Belong] and [Unremarkable] were once again my best friends as no one batted an eye when I entered through one of the side doors. While probably enough on their own, my new mask was helping boost the power of my perks by a not insignificant amount. Beyond its air storing and filtering capabilities, or ability to seal over my face without straps, or the slightly unnerving way its surface appeared to constantly crack and shift, it also created the perfect canvas for people to imagine a false face with a little push.
As for how that worked, I couldn’t wrap my mind around the specifics- but it had something to do with complex enchantments and exploitation of pareidolia which hijacked people’s brains into filling in the gaps on what I look like. Basically the mask actually reduced the amount of ULE [Unremarkable] used, while guaranteeing no two people would describe me the same way, nor question if my facial features made sense for the group I claimed to be part of. Especially with the help of [Act]. The final touch in this regard was a voice changer and synthesizer which could also help cover any issues with accent, slang, or even language if the system had a sample to use as reference.
This design generally in line with the process most MGs used to create their custom equipment: identify one or two perks to boost, create a housing that could logically help with what those perks do, then let the supercomputer exploit the shit out of them with all the enchantments it could dream of.
The difference with what I was doing was that what other MGs produced was for dealing with demons or the cleanup afterwards, with secondary considerations outside of Breach related activity. When Cleo told me about that little fact, I was stunned. Why was it so rare for people to take perks that had nothing to do with Breaches? Five- maybe six- or my perks were explicitly for combat, with the other ten-ish being things that wouldn’t help in a fight against demons. Or again non-modern-tech-reliant humans. Or in a fight at all.
Apparently, the generally recommended ratio was more like two-thirds being combat focused, with the remaining third either being prerequisites or Breach-tangential utility. The numbers could be skewed a little for some quality of life or ‘party trick’ perks. However, custom equipment was almost entirely Breach focused as tokens were generally considered way more valuable than experience- and thus guaranteeing a return on investment was much more important.
Luckily, it seemed both Cleo and I disagreed with what was recommended as without investing in what I had, there was no way I could be waiting tables while being the technical focus of an event like this… Or stealing IDs and keys in preparation for my speech- while pretending to be a server.
When I had joined the crowd of suited waiters- with a quick apology to the staff coordinator for being late- no one even questioned my presence there. We were given a briefing on how to act, where to get out trays of food and drink, and what to say or do in certain circumstances. Apparently, there was no alcohol being served at the event; no one wanted to deal with a drunk superhuman throwing magic around- and at least some of the MGs in attendance would be under 21. As the organizer gave their talk, we were given a timetable, layout, and menu to memorize in case anyone had questions. Finally, we were advised to speak as little as possible and avoid visiting the same area too frequently so none of the guests would… cause an incident. Pessimistic as it may be, you couldn’t ignore the fact most of the attendees would be people in positions of considerable power, used to being fawned over, and likely still going through puberty. Or going through marriage strains for at least a few of the senior advisors and managers.
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With sufficient time wasted and the party just about started, I sent a message to Kay saying, “see you around the event- although I probably can’t say the same for you. Don’t worry, I’ll meet up with you in time for the speeches.”
With a tray in hand I was virtually beneath notice. Not invisible or sneaky, but everyone saw what they expected from someone in a suit carrying a platter of snacks. A few MGs that had some mental protections might have felt something was slightly off, but as no one said anything I guessed they didn’t care. Although, with how successful I was being with my pickpocketing, it might have behooved them to not ignore whatever feelings they got.
While making rounds and watching for people to wave me over, I would scout the pockets and purses of attendees for easily accessible wallets and loose keys or IDs. With a target picked, I would approach their table, lowering my platter over the table’s surface from the side of my target that had the pocket of interest. With the large platter blocking everyone’s view of anything below table height, it was as simple as finessing what I wanted and leaving when everyone had decided if they wanted what I had or not.
There were a few moments where things were more touch and go. Some people were more observant naturally or magically, but with [Covert Requisitioning] all that happened was a slightly higher drain on my ULE and an MG spacing out for no apparent reason. For what was rapidly becoming extremely valid reasons to me, one MG had both much better perception and resilient mental defenses. Even as I was approaching the table, I noticed them squint at me and mutter something before looking surprised- likely at what I looked like under my effective glamor. When I started my routine, they looked like they were going to say something, but a quick shushing motion made them stop and just shrug with a faint smile instead. I gave them a wave with my tail as I left.
Satisfied and with time running out before the speeches, I dropped off my now much more empty platter and left off to some unoccupied rooms off to the sides of the stage. At this point, I also dropped my perks as I flipped through the ten IDs I had taken. Each was from someone within an inch or two of my height and mostly from women- both properties that would make it easier to substitute their identities for my own should the need arise. After plugging my tail into my phone, I used its camera to scan each of them before setting them aside. Next I scanned the credit cards in the same way and copied the chip’s information just as easily.
The last things I had were going to be the most difficult to spin into a joke come debut time: the various administrators’ two-factor authenticator code-displayer-things. Each looked like a weird keychain- in fact some were part of key rings- and had a small display that would show a limited time code for logging onto more secure equipment. It was a little difficult to delicately split the casings, but after that was done, it was easy to probe a few parts of their circuit boards and copy the seed, algorithm, and time intervals needed to compute the codes should the need arise. Of course, that was only if whoever managed the cybersecurity here didn’t deem it necessary to switch them around. But, if they were feeling lazy, I would have easier access to… something. Actual application pending.
With nothing left to distract me from the stress of anticipation, I opened my script and read over it a few more times, practicing slowing down and enunciating each word clearly. Every repetition also helped me not crack up part way through. When your live broadcasted introduction to the world was equal parts confession for many counts of espionage and lecture about proper security protocols- disguised as a sincere thanks- seeming there is practically no risk of being charged with anything, it could be quite comedic for everyone but those who screwed up. Or more likely, I just have a very bad sense of humor.