I spent a few days with Gritzkel. He doubled as an actual trainer and a general educator for all things villainous. The first thing he taught me was how to access my personal Villain System. Apparently, all the messages I was receiving were automatic but I could manipulate them to a certain degree. For the moment, there wasn't much.
Name: The Iron Horde(347.V-8B)
Position: Villain In Training+
Race: AI/Psionic Phantom
Strengths: Logistics, Mass Production, Technological Manipulation, Pisonic TechnoBuffing.
Weaknesses: Emotional Sensitivity, Overkill, Psionic Vulnerability, Speciest Mentality.
As I gained experience, more would be available. All it required was a mental thought with intent. If I was biological or not psionically inclined, it would also require voice commands. The only other message I could open would be the one tracking my experience gain.
Current Villain Level: 0
EXP: 4
I gained more experience by witnessing clashes of combat and fixing what I could in the mines. The invading army tried to breach the defenses, which meant Gritzkel had to fight the protagonist at some point. The only EXP I got was when he made a decisive blow to the army or committed an unquestionable war crime. Breaking laws, taboo ones anyway, were worth points. I’d only gotten two EXP from the dozens of fights.
The last EXP I got after spending some time reorganizing the logistics of the mines. Going for efficiency, I added sleep deprivation by adequately adjusting their sleep schedule. Keep them lucid enough to work but tired enough to only think of work. I would have done more, but Gritzkel said I had other things to focus on. Safe to say I would not be returning to the mines at any point. It disgusted me to look at it. I had my training to keep me distracted at least.
Since neither of us needed sleep, my regular training was a fast process. First came a history lesson on psionics themselves, while the goblin used himself as an example. Instead of a machine with a penchant for green skin, Grizkel has once been a regular goblin. An affinity for psionic technomancy eventually led to this world's version of cybernetics. One replacement after the other, he became more man than machine by the end of it. He told me he hoped to transcend an organic body, but he needed his brain for the moment.
Gritzkel said most creatures needed their mind to cast psionic abilities. Usually fueled by the nervous system, it was housed mostly in the brain. I had asked if that meant psionics were based on the electrical impulse of a person's body. He gave me an inconclusive answer. Evolution had decided that was the easiest way to use psionics. Being a schizophrenic mistress as she was, it wasn’t the only method. I was a good example of that fact.
I informed him of my origins, and he seemed elated by the story. He had created technology that used psionics, his barrier turrets being his latest creation. But he had yet to create a thinking creature that could use psionics. Any automaton he built, if nearly indistinguishable from a person in mind, couldn't learn psionics. There appeared to be a spark missing to cross that barrier. I at the very least proved a possible concept.
This led to another round of questioning, mostly about physics, alternate dimensions, and the through line most realities seemed to share. Gritzkel wasn’t an expert on the subject, mostly being a craftsman with a knack for political intrigue. The one thing he could guarantee was that I was a viable example. There was enough difference between alternate realities, that the laws you originally followed mattered when crossing over. A person coming from a dimension where gravity was reversed would have a harder life when crossing to one with physics as I understood it. They either wouldn't be allowed in or immediately die from a failure to adapt.
Villain Inc. would do their best such accidents never happened, but infinity had a way of turning the impossible into probable. The main reason I had been sent to Gritzkel was because his reality was overflowing with psionic energy. This world allowed you to train the power much easier than others while having a rather advanced form of technology as well. Not one based on electronics and steel, but steam engines and tesla coils were close enough.
Only a few realities could be so convenient to my skill set. Even still, learning how to manipulate such energies proved… difficult. It seemed for the first time in my life, a mortal body had the advantage. Instinct had a way of controlling and enhancing psionic potential. Since I didn't have a subconscious to fall back on, I had to learn to control each step. It was like a human learning to control every muscle in their body, even automatic processes.
Knowing you had a heartbeat was vastly different from having to constantly keep it beating by hand. Any slip in control led to drastic consequences. Like when I accidentally popped several servants' heads. I was surprised to learn Gretzkel paid servants to maintain his castle. Gretzkel was equally surprised when he had to compensate their loved ones for an early grave. Legal contracts had tied the honest businessman's hands.
After such a mishap, Gretzkel encouraged me to focus on more simple psionic abilities. Telekinesis apparently wasn't my strong suit. One of the most basic powers and it escaped my grasp. We tried telepathy. I was expected to kill fewer people with this sort of skill. It wasn't any easier, unfortunately.
“Let the connection establish itself naturally. The person's mind will adapt. Don't force it. Ya ain't at that level yet.”
The slave across from me looked uncomfortable. It was a given. There were already a few that had experienced an aneurysm from trying to mentally link with them. Beyond a lack of control, I also appeared to have too much psionic power. A pinch of psionics from me was like a punch from a fully capable psionic user.
No one else had died, but even Gritzkel had to let them get some rest. A comatose slave was as good as dead. I was getting better at least. The slave screamed, blood leaking from his eyes and nose, and he fell off the chair unconscious. Gritzkel just sighed as another pair of servants dragged the slaves away.
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“Well. This is going poorly. Guess ya lack any finesse here. We'll try something else then. How about some crafting? If ya can't use psionics ya self, maybe ya can build something that can.”
The next step of training went much better. The theory was as simple as it was complicated. Harnessed raw emotion. If ya could funnel the right feeling into the right tool, anything was possible. Oddly, I took to this like a fish in water. Sememd being a mind trapped in a machine did come with some perks.
“This here is a sword. Obvious, right? Now what if I told ya it wasn't made out of simple metals? This here is think metal, although I'm sure elves and other races call it something fancier. The use is in the name. Try connecting to it like ya did with my poor slaves.”
That had become easier than anything else. It was like using an imaginary hand I never knew I had. Which meant it was controlled like a flailing tentacle rather than a hand with accurate fingers. It's why most things crumpled under my telekinesis. Relatively fragile. Stretching out my mental limb, I grasped a simple metal rod. Starting simple.
It felt strange. Unlike the body I held, the rod felt… dead. Like it had no purpose. Just a tube of metal. Having nothing else to focus on, I delved deep into that feeling. I learned things about the rod then. The chemical makeup, the forging process, and the age of the metal. It spanned centuries. Like a clock, I could count the physical age of the rod. How long has it had its current shape. How long since it got dug out. That and so much more. If I just delved deeper I could-
My learning experience was cut short by a blow to the head. Pain was a foreign experience, so it cut my connection to the rod. Gritzkel was in his automaton form, holding a mace with a glass casing around the metal tip. Lightning sparked from the thing. I almost tried to connect with it out of curiosity. It got me another smack. I really did not like that.
“Would ya stop!? It's been hours you metal buffon! Talking wasn’t working, so don’t make me hit ya a third time. Keep your psionics at bay, will ya!?”
I realized we weren't in his workshop anymore. I’d been moved to some sort of metal chamber. A jail of sorts. Wherever this was, I had clearly been distracted by a significant amount of time. To a debilitating degree. I reached up to my head, feeling the areas I’d been hit in. A few dents but nothing catastrophic. Something to fix probably.
“I take it the psionic connection with the think mental went poorly?”
“Poorly? I’d call it a great success! Most can’t even touch think metal on their first try, but here you are getting swallowed by it. Seems your skills lie in objects, not people. Seems obvious now that I think about it. You took pushing your whole mind into that metal body of yours quite well. Anyone else would be feeling some sort of rejection, maybe a little discomfort at the very least.”
I flexed my metal hand. He was the second person praising my ability to adapt to my new form. Something out of the ordinary for psionic abilities. But any attempt to be delicate with my psionics was a problem. I’d hate to admit it, but overkill did seem to be one of my weaknesses. It was all or nothing with me apparently.
“It would appear that is one of my weaknesses. Is there any way to remove a personal weakness? Or at the very least adapt around them? I don’t believe I will make any progress otherwise.”
Grtizkel scratched his chin, returning to his goblin form. Was it more fuel-efficient to be in his goblin shape? Or did he subconsciously miss his meat body? There was enough goblin in him to have him have those sorts of habits. He sighed, clearly frustrated with the situation. Something his metal body didn't need to do I noticed.
“Well, I was hoping that wasn’t the problem. When ya described your personal strengths and weaknesses, I assumed that was mostly an emotional thing. Still a problem, of course, psionics being based on a person's mind. Something feelings have a great effect on. But a weakness is a harder problem to fix. Unfortunately, a weakness can't be easily fixed. It's as much a part of ya as your strengths are.
“If you have enough EXP, that can be changed of course. Just straight buy it off. Simple as. But, before ya get any ideas, it costs a lot of EXP. Like, thousands to tens of thousands. More if it's a core part of ya. The Villans system doesn’t like making such changes easily. It takes a lot of effort to change a person on such a fundamental level. Plus, you're a villain. What kind of villain has no weaknesses? Brakes the rules of the game they play. Ya can’t even try right now, being too green for that privilege.”
You lack the proper rank to access this feature.
The message appeared as expected, but I felt the need to try. I’d gotten familiar with this message. Occasionally, Gritzkel would let slip information about the Villain System that sparked my interest. Minions, quests, lairs. Benefits he had access to being such an experienced employee. Any attempt to access them was denied with this same message. Well, all except for when I asked if I could change the color.
DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!DENIED!
“Yeah, that's not anyone in Villain Inc’s doing. From what I heard, thats just the system itself. Not surprising to me personally. Anything made for a group that calls itself evil is bound to have some quirks.”
That was all Gritzkel had to say on the subject then. It really left my hands tied with all these restrictions and personal pitfalls. For all the benefits being a psionic being in nature gave me, there were many negative results. But that was OK. I never relied on my psionics before, so I had time to learn.
“Can I still learn how to make psionic technology?”
“Hmm. It'll be quite hard, I’ll admit. Half the job requires psionics itself. Can’t run a steam engine without any water and all that. But, ya won't be the first person to build a weapon without knowing how to properly use it. Hell, we could try to make something to adapt to your limits. Ya might learn some control then. Or you won't and you'll just be firing cannons all your life. Works for me either way I tell ya! The job was getting you good enough to survive the first run, nothing about learning how to sprint. I’m sure you'll crawl some way to the finish line.”
He laughed. I was reminded once again I was dealing with an immoral creature that suboptimized for experience. Experienced attributed to filling a negative trope. For all his cordial demeanor, he probably didn't care whether I lived or died. How quaint.