We wait 30 minutes for the “monster” to disappear, and then we have to scour the area around the Washington Monument for the real loot, because the place is now covered in Sacagaweas. Biscuits is swimming in them like Scrooge McDuck. There's another Amendment Proposal (nice!) and three other items.

Gavel Of Order. Becomes a regular hammer, war hammer or maul at the wielder's whim. When striking a foe they will become Silenced for 10 seconds.

Capitol Keystone. This keystone transforms the US Capitol Building into a Castle. The one who places the Keystone becomes the Castellian. The Capitol Castle will not have a traditional king, instead decisions must be agreed to by a joint committee of Senate and House members. The Castellian executes the orders, while the Vice President breaks ties in the committee.

Transformation Transformer. This upgrades any transformation mechanic you have.

I keep the Gavel and we agree to turn the Keystone over to the Capitol police chief.

The Transformer looks like an iridescent bracelet, its shape and color ever changing. It goes from a thin ring to a thick bangle to a hexagonal bracer and so on. It goes to Mercy.

She slips it on, goes into menus, and then comes back a couple of minutes later. She excitedly says, “check this out! Transform!” She transforms like normal, but this time her transformation bubble has two layers, the outermost one being translucent. The bubble disappears and she stands before me in a new outfit.

She's got metal shoulder, chest and skirt armor from her mecha costume, but the wide hat and thigh high stockings of the Warlock outfit. She's got a wide, white hat, but the top part is armored with blue plating. Green lines of energy run through the mecha armor. Her Warlock boots are replaced with mid-calf white mecha boots.

“Angle Frame, White Hat Warlock!” she shouts. Then she reconsiders. “Angle Frame Warlock? White Hat Angle Frame. Angle Warlock? No... White Hat Frame...” I give her an I'm impressed but please explain look. “Oh I can combine any two costumes now.” She goes back to considering names for her new mode.

Also, everyone got a bunch of levels, not just me. In fact, if I hadn't already had four levels in reserve, I might have gotten more than six more levels.

Jose Amarillo has completed the first 10 levels of the Prophet class, unlocking the Oracle class. He says his tracking abilities got a boost, so he basically knows exactly where my brother is. He’s 7 levels away from a 5th step class.

Mercy Mahar has hit level 10 in the Imbuer class, and unlocked Runist. She's got some more runes, and they're more potent than before. She offers to put a rune on Madeline's sword and Chlamydia now gleams with a faint orange-gold light.

Quinton “Quins” Sheffield was an Inventor, but he's upgraded to Genius. Apparently he has healing arrows now, which sounds very odd but very useful. He's about 15 levels away from a 5th step class.

Madeline Diaz went back and leveled Lancer up to 10. She's level 8 in Barbarian. She's 22 levels away from a 5th step class.

Rutger Waltz took a few more levels in the Tactician class. Then they moved into the Magus class, taking the Armored subclass. That lets them ignore the weight of armor, so they can load up on defense without putting points into physical stats. I still advise them to increase their Agility, though. Not getting hit is the best defense of all.

I'm still aiming for the Stylist 5th step class. To unlock it, I put 10 levels into Crack Shot, which has been Jose's source of power for a long time.

Crack Shot

Use any thunder or lightning in your ranged weapons to hit foes with a flash of deadly speed.

A fourth step class. Three subclasses. Unknown class evolutions.

Gain 5 Dexterity, 5 Reflexes and 5 Ki upon choosing this class.

You must choose a Subclass upon choosing this class.

Two subclass specific techniques will be granted to you upon choosing this class. You gain master training with ranged weapons.

Uses Ki, Dexterity and Reflexes.

Upon level up an additional basic, advanced, expert or master shooting technique will be granted until all master and lower shooting techniques are granted. A subclass specific technique will be granted every even numbered level. Each level you gain 2 Dexterity, 2 Reflexes, 3 Ki and 8 free points.

Subclasses

Lightning - Your ranged weapons crackle with electricity and fire voltage.

Thunder - Your ranged weapons use the speed of sound as a starting line. Utilize sonic and air attacks with your ranged weapons.

Mystic - Ranged attack spells now count as ranged weapon attacks, letting them take advantage of active and passive techniques.

Jose definitely didn't have the Mystic option, which I go for with gusto. When combined with my One For All Weapon Master, that means that:

1. All weapons benefit from my dagger techniques, some of which increase damage, armor piercing and speed.

2. All ranged spell attacks (which is almost all spells) count as weapon attacks.

3. My spells now effectively count as daggers, meaning I can deal sneak attack damage with a fire ball.

This opens up A LOT of options for me. So many that I'll need to rely on my sub-minds more for on-the-fly combat decisions.

I also get some ranged weapon attacks and passives from the class, but three of the subclass-specific ones really stand out.

Arcana Rounds

Advanced

Spend AP to create ammo.

Cost: 1-50 AP depending on ammo type.

Proficiency: 0%

Arcana Reload

Expert

Reload your by destroying a clip of ammo. AP restored is the same as the clip would cost with Arcana Rounds.

Cost: 10 Ki Points

Proficiency: 0%

Spell Revolver

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Master

You form an arcane gun, which can be loaded with up to 6 ranged attack spells. You pay the spell costs up front and the spells remain, ready to fire. This can be refreshed to reset the duration without losing the spells chambered.

Duration: 1 hour

Cost: 50 Ki Points

Proficiency: 0%

Arcana Rounds and Arcana Reload sound like things I'll need to tinker with. I'll have to find ammo that costs a lot to make, then store those clips for an emergency boost of AP. Sure, I've got potions, but those are limited.

Now the gun... I cast the technique and golden Ki flames flash in my hand, then recede into a revolver loosely based on the Colt US Navy 1851. The black metal barrel is aligned with the bottom of the cylinder, with a long rectangle of golden metal running along its top, to provide the sights a place to rest. The cylinder is black but inlaid with gold filigree reminiscent of art nouveau. The grip is dark brown wood and the trigger guard is gold. I flip out the barrel and the inner workings are gold and slightly glowing. I close the cylinder. I'm going to be able to chamber six of my most powerful spells, and then shoot them off later in rapid succession? Holy handcannons, batman!

After 10 level ups, I’ve got a lot more Dexterity, Reflexes, Ki and 101 free points.

Physical Attributes

Strength 183

Dexterity 208 (+3 from M3 Mongoose)

Agility 250 (+3 from M3 Mongoose)

Toughness 100

Constitution 100

Mental Attributes

Intelligence 281 (Arcana regen)

Memory 58 (faith regen)

Wisdom 45 (spirit regen)

Charisma 100 (Ki regen)

Reflexes 288 (+3 from M3 Mongoose)

Etheric Attributes

Ki 350 (techniques)

Spirit 0 (chants)

Faith 0 (invocations)

Arcana 314 (spells)

Luck 45 (creations)

So with the 101 free points, I could hit 250 in Strength, or boost any two of Dexterity, Memory, Wisdom and Luck to their next milestone (100 or 250, respectively.)

I thiiiink Dexterity and Luck are going to be my picks for now. Dexterity because I want to shoot better with my new gun, and Luck just for the extra inventory slots. Let's see what the options are!

Notice! You have reached 250 Dexterity, and are offered the following choice: Flashing Strikes or Magnetic Grasp.

Flashing Strikes - Your weapon attacks move so fast that they seem to disappear.

Magnetic Grasp - You can push and pull things within 50 ft of you.

I'm not sure about either. Magnetic Grasp sounds like an extension of Telekinesis, though I suppose it would work on things I haven't touched yet, or even creatures. Flashing Strikes seems like anime bullshit, which I'm not opposed to, but I don't actually- Oh shit, my magic is now weaponized! Flashing Strikes!

Notice! You have reached 100 Luck and are offered the following choice: Blessed or Cursed.

Blessed - You can loan Luck to others, for any amount of time that you specify.

Cursed - You can reduce the Luck of someone you see within 100 ft, though your Luck decreases by the same amount. This lasts for an amount of time that you specify.

Both of these have a lot of potential. Reducing an enemy's Luck during a fight might have unforeseen advantages. At the same time boosting an ally's Luck in a dire situation might save a life.

In the end, I've got enough offense to go around, so dropping 50 Luck on someone seems like something I'd do. #Blessed!

I consult with Jose, who's also on the Dexterity and Luck paths.

“My options were different for Dexterity. I got offered Stillness or Suddenness. Zero hand shakes or faster acceleration. I'm a sniper, so...” He holds his hand level. It doesn't move a millimeter.

“And for Luck... It's been a while but I took something that gives me 50% more inventory space. The other one was about coin flips and dice rolls.” He shrugs.

The Dracosys wasn't giving people different choices before. The Dracosys has changed, and nobody got notified of it. I consult with Mercy.

“The Dracosys does have protocols to add and expand the growth system based on its needs. I thought that meant the top tier stuff could be endlessly increased. I didn't realize that it could increase the variety of options, too.” She pulls out her phone where she's got a copy of the Dracosys guidelines that my brother wrote. She immediately gets engrossed so I leave her to it.

Oh! Ooooooooh! I got another thing! Apparently one of my levels in Crack Shot was my 100th level within Synergist! (Levels of classes 5th Step and higher don't count towards that total.)

Synergist Level 100 - Infinite Options

Instead of gaining a level in a class, you can instead choose another of its subclasses or enhance the effect of a subclass you already have.

Hot damn! Next time I gain levels I'm going to get up to some absolute NONSENSE with this shit. I can already picture picking the All For One subclass from Weapon Master. Because then:

1. All weapon techniques count as dagger techniques.

2. All dagger techniques are applied to all weapons.

3. All spells count as weapons.

4. Profit.

Muahahahaha! Then I could gather random buffs for other weapons and they'd all apply to basically everything I do. Muaha-

“What about an adventurer's guild?” Rutger asks me out of nowhere, stopping my internal maniacal laugh. “For the amendment. Something to help us organize and maybe get some group-wide benefits.”

It's a good idea. Some games let you upgrade your guild hall to get bonuses to every member. And the Pathbreakers are basically an adventurer's guild already.

“I like it!” I say enthusiastically. “Rutger, I might poach you from Madeline's team.”

Rutger blushes, which is maybe the first time I've seen any color in their pale skin. I'm not going to lie, it's pretty cute.

Quins comes up to us. “Oi! I got one too. You know that party chat thing we never use because you have to close your eyes to use it? Make it audio.”

“Oh. Maybe?” We have headsets in our helmets, but that could help people who were less equipped than us.

Madeline joins us. “I have a bunch of techniques I can't use, and I'd like to be able to switch them out or get a refund on them.”

“Same,” I say. I've got too much shit in general. Even with my spells being segmented, I have a lot to keep track of.

“Maybe a shop?” Mercy asks. “Something to buy and sell Dracosys exclusive items.” I'm not convinced. “Really I just want a place where people can purchase potions.” I nod. Another thing that we're personally good on, but would help people across the planet.

She continues. “I've been reading up on the Dracosys, and stuff that's going to directly end up with fewer deaths is a non-starter. But indirectly causing fewer deaths might pass.”

“Enemy scaling during dungeon breaks.” Jose joins our huddle. “Like the enemies get stronger or weaker depending on who's fighting.” It's an interesting proposal. It would probably help the areas hit hard by the bigger dungeons, but, at the same time, allow stronger fighters to fight stronger foes.

I give my take. “We have four Amendment Proposals. I'd like to hand at least one over to the government, and let them take a crack at it.” I get looks that tell me it's a bad idea. “I know, I know, but more people working on it increases the chances that someone suggests something that can really help us work towards ending the Dracosys altogether.”

“Yeah, we can keep the scrolls and just let them give us the advice,” Madeline chides me.

“No offense,” Quins says, indicating that he's about to say something offensive. “But your guvners couldn't agree on the right way to escape from a burning building.”

I think he means congress. Or the Supreme Court. Or state legislatures. Or... Yeah I see his point.

“Okay, okay,” I relent. “We keep the scrolls and make the final call. But I still want more brains working on it. There's got to be ways to change the game.”

Mercy, who's more into the ins and outs of the system than any of us, looks skeptical that we can change things for real. But I'm hopeful. I'm sure someone will come up with something great. Maybe even me.

I close my eyes and think as the team continues to debate the pros and cons of their various suggestions. What do I want? To destroy the Dracosys. How do I do that? I don't know. If this were a game...

“If I'm a guild leader, could I give people quests that the Dracosys gives hints on?”

Rutger turns to me, getting it exactly. “You could give someone something to do, and the Dracosys might tell you how and where!”

“Eh? But what are you...” Quins gets it. “Oh, that would help with all sorts of things! Not just closing sites, all sorts of problems.”

Suddenly everyone gets excited and suggests quests.

“Take out the Ambrose Society!”

“Find the loose nukes!”

“Stop the masterminds!”

“Close hidden sites!”

“Stop the Dracosys itself!”

This is it. A path forward, forged of our own will. This is what we do. This is the Pathbreakers.

6/22

Washington D.C.

8:15 AM

We collect piles of Sacagaweas, then head to where the Capitol was. There's some underground passages, and one leads to a boiler room that can let us collect loot or shut down the site forever.

Quins half heartedly tells us that we could probably take the loot, wait for the dungeon reset in a few hours, and then kill the boss again to shut the place down forever. I give him my harshest glare.

We hoof it back out, get to the swamp, and inform the troops that their time is being cut short. We get zero complaints. That takes most of an hour, so Mercy and I fly back to the boiler room, hit the switch and fly out before the place collapses on us.

Once outside in the real world, the Capitol building whirrs and makes grinding sounds not unlike its robot form. After a few minutes, the noises stop and we check the inside. There are statues, busts and portraits. There are heavy wooden doors and lots of offices. There's the two chambers and the C-SPAN cameras. Everything is as it should be.

I see the rest of the Pathbreakers waiting for us down on the lawn. We wave and in return get shouts and wooos. Henry has booked a hotel and we grab breakfast on the way to take well deserved naps. Not sleep, naps. We have to meet the President at 3:30 PM.