Joy woke in the early hours of the morning, again, not that it mattered. Her makeshift phone read 06:13, perfect. While there was no sun to base your circadian rhythm on down here, most tried to keep a relatively normal sleep schedule. Not that it was easy, of course, your brain wasn’t exactly helpful when it didn’t have a sun to work with. That was why melatonin and other sedatives/hypnotics were so commonly used.
Still, even with them, insomnia was extremely common.
Well, Joy would just have to hope that her targets would be awake. There were four main factions in this area of the Outskirts. Alex’s Furies, Rorke’s Riders, Orian Red’s Red Kings, and finally Forsaken’s Reign. The final one wasn’t actually headed by a single person, and the leadership positions changed frequently. They had a rather… violent nature, even compared to other gangs.
Of these ‘factions’, the Furies had the most advantageous positioning, being directly situated in between the others. Normally, this would be a cause for concern, but the other factions all hated each other, and couldn’t afford to be vulnerable while attacking the Furies.
There were also strange rumors about them as of late. Ever since the Furies were taken over by Alex, they had become… chivalrous? Joy almost didn’t believe it when that random mugger told her that yesterday, but after breaking three of his fingers and using several interrogation tricks, he stuck with that story. It was strange, to say the least. Chivalry was a mostly dead concept even above ground, so to see its resurgence down in the least gentlemanly place in the Empire– hell, the whole Alliance– was unbelievable.
But it was true. Supposedly.
Oh, Joy just had to see this for herself.
{------}
It didn’t take long to reach their territory, her phone read ‘06:45’ by the time she reached her destination. There were several muggers on the way, but Joy employed her stealth training to avoid them. As awful as living in the Athens family was, they did give damn good training, and they hadn’t stopped training her until she was officially exiled. By the end, it felt less like training and more like them just using her as a punching bag, but that wasn’t relevant.
It was so strange for Joy to have to worry about muggers. Her violet hair and eyes had even the dumbest of brigands running for the hills the moment they laid eyes on her, but now that layer of protection was gone. Not that she was vulnerable– or, System forbid, scared– because of it, but it was certainly disconcerting.
Guess I’m finally getting the full Undercity experience. Took long enough.
Finally nearing her destination, she stopped trying to be quiet and broke out of her internal monologue. She wasn’t going to just walk up to their base, not yet, first she wanted to see if the claims of them being chivalrous were true. What better way to determine that than by being robbed by one of them?
“I’m gonna need ya to empty your pockets, understand? No need to worry your pretty lil’ head though, boss' orders say that we can’t kill ya.” An… unfortunately faced fellow ordered her. System help him and his poor face, did he get hit by every branch on his family tree? Poor bastard.
Seeing her revulsion, he said, “Hey… my face ain’t that bad lady!”
“Sorry, I just, I didn’t think- are you okay?” She finally managed to get out.
“Really? I’m trying to rob you and you ask if I’m okay?” He spoke incredulously.
“I’m sorry, can we start over? I just haven’t seen someone with your… manner of face… before.” She cringed out.
“I’ve never been called ugly so politely before.” He chuckled, then continued, “I was just pulling your leg, everyone has that reaction. It ain’t your fault. Before you ask, yes, I was born like this. My mother spent a bit too much time next to an old-world chemical plant.” He finished with a bored tone as if he’d had to say this same speech a thousand times before.
“Anyway, I wasn’t joking about mugging you. I got a quota to reach, and I don’t want to hurt you. No hard feelings, ya know? Just business.”
Joy had been planning on making an example of the first person to try and mug her, but… she couldn’t do that to this poor fellow. She may have some sociopathic tendencies, but she still had empathy.
For now.
Joy just ended up giving him a few credits and moving on. He could clearly see that she had more credits on her phone, she had to tap it to his forehead to transfer the funds after all, but he didn’t comment on it. Smart.
Fuck, she hoped the next one wasn’t so pitiable.
A few minutes later another man stepped in front of her. This one, fortunately, was only the normal level of ugly.
“Ya know the drill at this point, woman. Get along with it.” He spoke harshly.
“Aren’t you guys supposed to be ‘chivalrous’ now?” Joy asked, before subtly clicking a button on her phone.
“Ah, those stupid fucking rules. Yeah, the boss made us start following a ‘code’ or some shit, but how is he gonna know if I ignore them? What are my victims going to do? Lodge a complaint? They're a little too dead to manage that!” He barked out a laugh at his own mediocre joke. Joy ignored the coincidence that, yes, her plan was to lodge a complaint to his bosses.
“Are you saying you're gonna kill me?” Joy asked “fearfully”.
“Only if ya make me, woman. Actually… how about ya do me a favor and I just let you go without paying.” He finished while looking her up and down.
Okay, I was planning on just beating the shit out of him and then lodging a complaint, but this fucker is dying.
Seeing the change in her demeanor from ‘fearful little girl’ to ‘I’m going to murder you and your bloodline’ he instinctively put his guard up.
It was too little too late.
The world slows to a crawl around me. The brigand is raising his arms, but I already know that he won’t be fast enough. His form is sloppy and he clearly lacks practice. I run forward one step, then two, and I’ve already reached him. His arms are only halfway to his ready position. I roll under his legs, preserving my momentum and tripping him at the same time. I continue running the moment I exit the roll. At this point, I’ve built up too much speed to slow down, and the alley wall is fast approaching. The brigand has only just begun to fall.
I reach the wall and jump at it. My legs bunch beneath me as I land on the wall, and before gravity can bring me down, I jump at the brigand's back. Knocking him to the ground with even more force. Was it necessary? No. But I’ll be damned if I’m not fully testing out my Rune’s new upgrade.
Brigands POV
“-Without paying” I finish, looking at the absolutely smokin’ woman.
She was clearly out of place here. She had regal features, high cheekbones, angular eyes, the whole nine yards. She would look hawkish if it weren’t for the slight amount of baby fat still stubbornly clinging to her face. It all came together to almost make her look royal, but that couldn’t be the case. She didn’t have violet hair or eyes.
Fuck me, what’s a hotty like that doing out here! My lucky day!
Then he saw her eyes begin to glow a bright viridian.
Oh fuck
He quickly tried to bring up his arms, but before he could he was already falling, and before he could even hit the ground he felt something impact his back, making his already short fall even shorter. And more painful.
FUCK THAT HURT!
Before he could get up, he felt her pull him up by his hair.
She brought his vision level with hers, and in her eyes, he saw no mercy.
Only death.
Joy’s POV
Ah, that was refreshing. I really needed to blow off some steam
Then she saw a blinking notification at the top left of her vision.
Huh?
Synergy Detected! [Envy] & [Glyph of Mystical Sight] Allow you to steal essence from those in your line of sight that you defeat! Do you want to activate this synergy?
Uh, sure?
Suddenly, Joy’s eyes gleamed, and heat built up in her Runes.
Then, like a tide of mist, wispy essence began to collect above the Brigands corpse, before rushing into her Runes.
Congratulations, Joy! Your Rune of Interface is eligible for an alignment shift! Would you like to evolve: Rune of Interface into: Rune of Tyrannical Vision?
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Changes in abilities are based on past user interactions.
Y/N?
Well, Joy was planning on saving her question, but now was as good a time as any.
[Glyph of Query]
What are the changes [Tyrannical Vision] would make?
Rune of Tyrannical Vision- M.P.E.U (Magical - Professional - Evil - Unique)
Rune: Domineering. Ruthless. Tyrannical. You do not ask for answers, you demand them. Those in your vision shall quake in terror, as they should, for nothing can hide from your sight.
Glyphs:
System Sight, Mystical Sight, and Hidden Sight Evolve into:
Glyph of Overlord’s Sight: Allows Joy to see System Panels, Essence, and Hidden Downsides. Including those of others.
Downside(Evil Evolution): Loses sharing functionality of System Sight, and Mana Vision functionality of Mystical Sight.
Query Evolves into:
Glyph of Dominating Presence: If Joy intimidates someone badly enough, they will be magically compelled to answer. Joy can demand answers from the System anytime she wishes.
No Downside
Synergy with [Envy] & [Overlord’s Sight] Evolves into:
Glyph of Gluttonous Eyes: Those inferior to you have no place in your vision, and they have no need for their essence. Indulge in what should be rightfully yours.
No Downside
Would you like to upgrade Rune of Interface into Rune of Tyrannical Vision?
Y/N?
Fuck. Me.
That was an insane upgrade. Alignment shifts aren’t all that uncommon, but for it to be a direct upgrade? And a Unique Rune at that? Clearly, there are some upsides to having a Mythic Rune, because this would not have happened without [Envy].
The upsides outweighed the downsides ten times over!
Accept!
Congratulations, Joy! Your Rune of Interface as Successfully Evolved into- Ev- #@#(*@ ERROR ERROR ERROR
Hidden Synergy Detected!
Your Hidden Drawback - Ember of- HIDDEN: USER DOES NOT HAVE CLEARANCE & And Gluttonous Eye of Envy combined int- ##$@ ERROR: SEPARATE RUNES CANNOT COMBINE!
REVERT EVOLUTION | PROGRESS: 2%
PROGRESS: 4&#@*
ERROR: IMPOSSIBLE TO REVERT
SEARCHING FOR SOLUTION
…
…
…
NO SOLUTION FOUND
CONTACTING NEXUS MIND
Oh, what do we have here? A truly unique error? I haven’t seen one in ages. And from an Apocalypse too? How interesting!
Well, unique problems call for unique solutions!
I’ve got it! Activate administrator privilege 091k3. Reason: unsolvable error.
Creating a new Rune System…
Done!
You, Joy, are now the proud owner of the first Aspect!
While I’m here… might as well solve future errors before they occur. As fun as it is meeting you, the head honchos will get suspicious if they see me interact with one user too much.
Activate administrator privilege 113k1. Reason: Preventative maintenance.
Annnnnd… there. You are now the proud owner, again, of Sub_System08. Unfortunately, I can’t say that this one is a first, but it is rare!
Now you never have to worry about being disconnected from the System! All it took was a minor System Chip installation-
A what?
And now you have a System Core of your very own! It’s mainly just there to manage errors and keep the admins off my back, though.
Nice talking to you, buh byeeee.
-Nexus Mind
Huh. I never expected the central intelligence of the greatest machine humanity ever built to be so… eccentric. And what was that about a System Core?
Greetings, Joy, I am Sub_System08, but you may replace my designation anytime you wish.
Oh great, this day just keeps getting simpler. Uh, replace your designation with… I don’t know…
Designation replaced. I am now known as: I don’t know
Oh, you fucking smartass. Replace your designation with Bastard.
Designation replaced. I am now known as: Bastard
Say, Bastard, are there any advantages besides the ones previously stated to you being in my head?
There are several.
Silence rang out for several seconds.
And they are?
Customization of System Panels, Direct Access to the Nexus Mind, Faster Answers to Queries, Multiverse Functionality-
Okay, we can go over this later!
You asked.
Joy sighed, only she could have an advantage turned into a profound annoyance within thirty seconds. Her charm was legendary.
What is an Aspect?
See for yourself
Aspect of Tyrannical Vision
Aspect: Formally the Rune of Tyrannical Vision, it has partially merged with [Envy], altering it slightly and forever tying their progress together. Due to this, it has lost its individual downsides and now shares them with [Envy].
Abilities:
Overlord’s Sight: Allows Joy to see System Panels, Essence, and hidden downsides.
Dominating Presence: If Joy intimidates someone badly enough, they will be magically compelled to answer. Joy can demand answers from the System at any time.
Gluttonous Eye of Envy: Those that you defeat have no right stubbornly clinging on to their essence. May they quake under your vision as you take what is rightfully yours.
Due to the merging of the Aspect of Tyrannical Vision and Envy, their similar drawbacks have Evolved into a new Ability!
Demonic Aura, Tyrannical Aura, Psychopathy, and Tyrant’s Eyes have Evolved into:
Demonic Eyes: Eyes are the window to the soul. Yours is Violent and ambitious. You look to the future and see billions of deaths at your hands, and yet you continue on. Those who look into your eyes have a near-guaranteed chance of being terrified. As this Ability was made of drawbacks, you can not turn it off. Retains the effects of Psychopathy, and becomes more powerful as you use [Envy].
Abilities? And drawbacks making a new one? This really was a new system. Still, Joy was slightly disappointed. Demonic Eyes was powerful, but she was really hoping that since Psychopathy merged into it, she would lose the whole ‘becoming a murderous bastard’ part.
She pulled out a mirror she found earlier- this whole changing appearance thing was happening a lot now, so figured she should grab it- and looked into her eyes.
Where before they were dark green, now they were nearly black. Bright swirls of green rotated in her iris, causing a vortex-like effect. Her pupils became pits of… the only way she could describe it was as a form of unlight. Like pits of nothing. As she looked closer she began to hear wailing. Joy quickly turned and analyzed her environment. No one.
She looked back in her eyes and the wailing started once more. It was a part of her Ability then. As she continued to look it got louder and louder. It began to sound resonant, like a choir of suffering. Yeah, she could see this being pretty intimidating. The only part that unnerved her was her pupils, the human brain was not meant to look at the void.
Yeah, I’m gonna need to pick up some sunglasses.
This whole Aspect thing was strange, but Joy wasn’t necessarily opposed to it. She still retained most of her abilities, and the only real downside was losing a Rune. Now that it was an Aspect, it was counted as a part of [Envy], so that meant it was tied into [Limited Power]. It was unfortunate, but she was no longer at the Glyph Stage. It ate at her to lose that upgrade, less because of the actual loss, and more because she had been trying to get to that stage her whole life and she just lost it again.
[Demonic Eyes] was powerful, though, so it wasn’t a complete loss. Still, losing the enhanced physicality from the Glyph Stage would hurt.
Joy still thought it was strange how that worked. As you evolved your Rune and became closer to merging with it fully, you became stronger. It depended on your type of Rune on how much it enhanced your body, but everyone got a boost no matter what. Something about your body becoming more and more adapted to mana. The Rune of Interface wasn’t combat-aligned, though, so Joy lost at most a six times boost.
Oh well, I guess I can’t brute force all my issues now. I can still brute force most of them, though.
Oh, and she had nothing to use her essence on now, too. She would just have to hope that Envy had a reservoir for it, or there was basically no point in taking it. Another strange concept, that. She wasn’t even aware that the Unmarked had it. It was basically untapped mental energy, but like, mystical mental energy. Some rare Runes could take it and enhance their own understanding of their Rune with it.
It was very strange that the Unmarked had it. It was literally energy dedicated to understanding mana, and it was an accepted fact that the Unmarked had no access to it. Very strange, indeed.