Director Watanabe,
The data from January Rain is odd. Most of it is logical, but the class-selection process makes no sense from a gameplay perspective. Players want to pick their classes up front, but MGs level to ten first. I’ll reach out to her and try to get some answers as to why that is.
Alan Glover
Head of MG Outreach
Haven Games, Inc.
* - - - -
Director Watanabe,
January got back to me, and it makes sense now. The A.O.P. Sanctuary is the one granting powers, not human Operators. Apparently, the Advent who built the orbital platform and programmed the AI had a culture built on choice, and the Sanctuary is bound by their morals. So rather than impose a class, each Magical Girl’s actions from Level 1-9 gives her choices, and at Level 10, they pick one. There’s also something about developing their mana organs. This could be workable for our next Star Princess expansion, especially if we let everyone pick. Many of our player base may be interested in re-picking their classes.
Alan Glover
Head of MG Outreach
Haven Games, Inc.
* - - - -
Alan Glover,
Do it. Star Princess has to be the most realistic Magical Girl game on the market. The advertisements are already paid for, so it’s up to you and Development to make it happen. I have full faith in you.
Director Hiroshi Watanabe
Director
Haven Games, Inc.
* Internal eMails, Haven Games Inc., 2041
----------------------------------------
Chapter Fifteen
“But Dad! Sora is still…” I started, trailing off as he let go of me. Arguing just made him mad. “How long?”
Dad’s face grew stern. “Do you know how damn worried I’ve been about you and Claire? And you were right there, lying to me? Again? There’s no way in hell you’re going anywhere, and that includes right now!”
I felt my face heating up, but I wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment from Dad doing this in front of Overclock or anger at him telling me I couldn’t go find Sora. Maybe it was both.
“Actually, Mr. Pendleton, please sit. We’ve got to talk through some things,” Overclock said. “Alice, transform back. This mess isn’t close to over.”
I shifted back to blonde hair, gold eyes, and the uniform that made me feel confident as Dad slowly sat down, his jaw clenched. Overclock spoke first, surprisingly hesitant. “Can I borrow James? Just for a minute or two…” There was something in her voice, a hunger and a loathing all at once, that I couldn’t figure out.
“Sure,” I said. I pulled the chip out of my drive port and slid it across the table to my fellow Magical Girl.
“Hi James. Yeah, I’m borrowing you for a bit, and…yeah, I know you’d rather be…Shut up, James. Please. Just tell me which law applies here. Thanks.” She listened for a minute. “Okay, thanks. I’m keeping you for a few minutes, so just chill the fuck out. Okay,” she turned to us, an edge to her voice that hadn’t been there before. “Mr. Pendleton, Luciole is going back out there. She’s got a friend who hasn’t made it here yet, and there are other people who need help. She agreed to help, so she’s -”
“No, she’s fucking not!” Dad shouted, “Alice is my daughter! No one knows what’s happening in Duncan Towers, so she might be the only one I fucking have, and you’re going to get her killed!” I flinched and looked away as he slammed his hand into the table. I wished I could be anywhere but in the control room. Back in the gym, or the math hall, even.
And then Overclock saved me. “Luciole, I’m going to need that backpack - it’s still in Medical. Go grab it for me and empty it out. Your dad and I have some things to discuss.”
The phrasing made me feel like a little kid, but I stood up quickly, looked at my dad and at Overclock, and walked out as she started ramping up her tone. “Actually, Mr. Pendleton, your daughter is the only damn thing between the Macks and you right now! And punishing or restricting a Magical Girl during an Emergence has been illegal since Chelseaus had to sit out the Port Alberni operation in 2032! Now, you can -” I shut the door, muffling the two as they both started to yell over each other.
“Hey James, what makes punishing a Magical Girl during an Emergence illegal?” I waited for a response as I walked down the hall. Then I reached back to touch the empty drive port behind my ear. It hadn’t been more than a day, surely, but I already felt alone without James’s voice. It wasn’t just the magic - I was pretty sure I could still use my Mana Surge and my Perk. It was having a friend there when I needed one to talk to. Someone I could trust.
If I’d only had James for a day, what had Overclock gone through when she lost him? He’d started with her when he was fourteen, and they were both sixteen now. To give such a trusted friend to someone else in return for your life…I couldn’t imagine how hard that choice would’ve been for her. Suddenly, her crying last night made sense. And James’s reaction to me teasing him about dating her…
“They were a thing!” I stopped in the hall. They had to be a couple. It made sense. And now that James was my Operator, and he was supposed to be my support instead of hers, that relationship had probably died. Or at least changed fundamentally. And she couldn’t even hate anyone for it because it wasn’t anyone’s fault!
I hurried into the medical room I’d been in the night before and grabbed my backpack. The gown got dumped into the nearby garbage can, and I double-checked to make sure it was empty. There wasn’t much I could do about the smell of blood and puke, but I tried to clean it out with some wet paper towels anyways. I really didn’t want to go back into the control room.
But eventually, I had to.
I sighed and tossed the pack over one shoulder as I lollygagged down the hall. Was Dad still yelling? Was Overclock?
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The room was silent. Or at least, I couldn’t hear anyone through the door this time. I cracked the door open.
“Alice, you’re still grounded. Forever,” Dad said. “But Luciole…Fuck! Luciole needs to go.” He hugged me again, but quicker.
“Thanks, Dad.” I hugged him back. “I’ll get back safe.”
“You damn well better. Overclock’s going too, or I’d still say no.”
“What?” I sputtered and stared at the one-armed Magical Girl. She was sitting at the head of the conference table, feet on the table’s edge, the picture of confidence. A pile of tubes, boxes, and magazines for my bow covered the table in front of her. “How are you going? Your arm…”
“Kid, I’m going.” Overclock grinned weakly and slid James’s chip across the table toward me.
“Just be ready to never leave the damn apartment again.” Dad stomped toward the door. “Be safe out there, both of you.” And then he was gone again. But at least he was safe.
“How are you going to fight with one arm? Weren’t you dying yesterday?”
“How’s your leg feeling?” Overclock asked. I paused. It hadn’t bothered me the whole fight with the Type Four. “Nanites in our systems help us heal quite a bit faster than average. That shoulder cut won’t bother you at all in an hour or two either. The damage is still there, but it won’t open up on you or anything. My arm’s not bothering me, and it won’t unless I overdo it, so I’m going. Now, about James.”
I picked up the chip and held it up to her. “You can keep him. It’s okay, I think I underst-.”
“You don’t get anything about it,” Overclock snapped. She glared at me, visibly struggling to control herself. She took a deep breath and looked away. “He’s assigned to you now. When this mess is over, I’ll get him back or I’ll get a new Operator, all there is to it.” She looked down at the table as she said it.
“Besides, he’s objectively more useful for you than me right now. I just spent my mana down to practically nothing on items. Magazines for that bow, a new weapon for me -” she pointed at a long pole with a spiked hammerhead on top. “- And lots of healing stuff. Plus some fun stuff I’ll tell you about later.”
“You’re totally out of mana? What about your Mana Surge?” I slotted James’s chip back into my drive port. I wasn’t about to tell her no; she had way more experience with this kind of thing than I did, and she was up and about.
“I get one shot, three seconds, plus what I regen between now and then. Anything past that rips my shoulder apart, or worse. It’ll be enough.”
“Okay. Mission Menu, please.”
Mission
Difficulty
Status
Rewards
Secure the Gym
Challenging
Complete?
3 Exp., 1 point in Vitality
Type Twenty-One
Overwhelming
Accept?
[Locked]
Rescue 12 Civilians
Challenging
Complete?
1 Sigil
Secure Floor Two
Challenging
Accept?
“Complete, skip, complete, accept!” I rattled off.
Level Up! Congratulations!
You have reached Level Six! Consult your operator for help assigning points to your statistics.
I already knew what I wanted. “Let’s do 1 in Vitality, 1 in Soul, and 1 in Will, James.”
“I thought you’d go that way. You’re building toward pure spell-based Red, huh?”
“Yes. What does the sigil buy me?”
“You can use sigils to purchase tomes. They’re additions to your spell list, or new lists of weapons and items to buy. With one sigil, you could buy the rank one Offensive, Defensive, or Support spell tome, or a rank one Weapons or Equipment tome. Since Overclock just spent 43 mana on items, I’d recommend either a spell or saving it.”
“Okay. Let’s buy the Offensive spell tome! Accept!”
Blazing Light x2
Force Missile x3
Earth Fist x2
Summon Familiar x1
Shock Burst x2
Wind Rush x3
Enlarge x1
Radiance x1
Shatter x2
Summon Greatsword x1
“Shatter is an armor-breaker, you already have one. Earth Fist, Enlarge, Summon Greatsword, and Wind Rush are all melee-focused spells. Shock Burst is already covered a bit by your Mana Surge as well. Let’s look at Radiance, Blazing Light, Force Missile, and Summon Familiar. Radiance is a burst damage effect. It does some damage to everything around you. Blazing Light is a targeted, single spike of fire that sticks to the target. There’s a few girls who use it consistently, it’s good against the plastic bits on Macks. Force Missile is a guided hit; not much damage, but it’ll always find a spot somewhere. And Summon Familiar really needs a build based around it - it’s like having two of you for a minute, but it’s limited unless you invest in it.”
“Okay…Let’s go with Moonray from before, and I can pick one from this list too, right? Or I at least keep access to the spells from the tome?”
“No and yes. You can only have so many spells learned. As the nanites learn your body and your production organs have time to mature, you’ll get access to more, as well as your class spells. Blazing Light may be the best choice. It would be strong against a low-armor target, and Feu-Follet takes care of armor nicely.”
“But Moonray sounded so cool!” I thought for a second. “Blazing Light, please! Accept! Status block!”
Basics
Name: Pendleton, Alice (Luciole)
Level: 6
Class: _____
Color: Red
Mana: 23/75
HP: 35/55
Statistics
Str: 3
Agi: 5
Vit: 9
Will: 15
Soul: 14
Points: 0
Sigils: 0 (1 used)
Rank: _
Skills
Perk: Fogform
Mana Surge: Feu-Follet
Spells: Blazing Light (2/2)
Operator: James (Firefox)
“If you’re done marveling at your status, kid, I could use a hand,” Overclock muttered. “Bring that backpack over here and we’ll load it up for the trip upstairs.”
When the backpack was loaded, with healing items in the inside pocket, ammo in the middle one, and the stuff Overclock hadn’t told me about yet in the outside one, she flipped it over her shoulder, wincing when it slapped her wound. Then she worked her left arm through the shoulder strap and grabbed her hammer in her only hand. “Okay, let’s go get your friend.”
“I advised her against this,” James mumbled in my ear. “She’s really not as healthy as she says she is. Take care of her, since I can't.”