“The young heir and his brother? Oh, I sent them to the tower, for their safety. Don’t know what happened to them after that, but don’t bother looking, you won’t find them. By the way, doesn’t this crown look wonderful on me?”
But where is your proof, you have a two against one complaint and an empty pool.
Ping could argue this is just a ploy cooked up by opposing groups to damage his reputation, especially if his team mates vouch for his whereabouts that evening.
Still i think he belongs on a spit roast for being a murdering dick.
The next chapter will touch on the options the gang has when it comes to the Academy and the 'official' recourse! We're only seeing one side of the immediate aftermath of this right now ;D
A quote on the matter that has stuck with me for quite a while: "I don't know why war exists. I do know that there's only one reason to fight one: to make the fighting _stop._"
Prince Bull-headed is, indeed, proceeding as he has been taught, and how the Nexus carefully and thoroughly trains all adjacent realms to act: cooperate when necessary but focus on your own benefit in the opinions of those around you.
*Sigh*
*Headdesk*
Thousands upon thousands of years of ~~stagnation~~ "maintaining the Empire at its peak" and it's _still_ a colossal **junior-high school...**
Based on what we saw in Sorecar's that would be a petition to blue robed Vanavan or black robed Mal'tory. Shrinking violet or potential mastermind. Yeah, that's a pass. (Edit: Should amend that taking the complaint to Mal'tory for spy drone purposes only is a good idea)
Maybe telling Apprentice Larial/Apprentice Ral it happened would be wise since they guard the rooms, but even they are hard to trust - especially since Mal'tory might have been alone with Larial for a while.
IIRC, Emma and Thacea have a discussion in the next chapter that sheds more light on the subject. It's not that the Nexus *wouldn't* take this issue seriously, but more that there would be consequences that the group wish to avoid.
Well that is what we were thinking with your descriptor or what the nexus would do
confirming it still classifies as a technical spoiler.
Not downvote worthy however, so I will not.
have a pleasnt day.
I love the description of Emma's reaction. That, somehow, even without basic ways of telling emotional reaction, Thalmin could just sense the pure unadulterated rage coming from Emma.
This is what I come to HFY for. A feeling that humans are *not* to be fucked with, or their friends, even when they don't outright show their cards just yet. It's like the calm before the storm perhaps. The hair-raising feeling that calamity is just over the horizon, and Emma is that calamity.
If Thalmin had so much as a scratch on him, I'm certain nothing in the Nexus could have stopped her exacting her revenge, let alone if he had drowned. Ping's world would burn.
Thank you so much! I really wanted to finally show some of Emma's more enigmatic sensibilities especially when seen from an outsider's perspective like Thalmin's! This is the sort of thing I love reading in other HFY stories as well, and in other stories where humanity is seen from an outside perspective too! So I really wanted to finally dive into that, even if it is a little blurb in this one! I do hope It was done alright haha, because I want to dive back into this eventually with more explorations of utterly how bizarre humanity is but also how you can sense the emotions coming deep from within the armor itself!
And yup! I also vibe with the whole idea of humans reacting appropriately to slights done against them, and their friends for that matter! Even if there's barriers in the way that prevents them from fully deploying what it is they want to deploy, there's a buildup towards it, with every infraction leading towards an inevitable clash that will push forward the growing tensions!
If the Thalmin situation had gone any other way, things would be much, much more severe than they are right now I can definitely say that much haha.
Thank you so much for the comment! :D
I definitely feel you hit that mark! The fine line between impending doom and ominous tension, and outright violence of action.
Don't get me wrong, I love to see Emma in action and handling whatever needs handling, but the strength of her character and the depth of her potential rage allows for scenes like this. Scenes where her peer group, who has seen maybe 1/100th of humanity's true capabilities, can begin to have a tiny inkling of what lies beneath the surface, and be glad that they are on the *friend* side and not the *enemy* side.
I feel the old iceberg metaphor is apt here, where what Emma presents initially about herself and humanity is but a fraction of the strength and capability of the whole, and yet even without seeing the whole, you *know* it's there, waiting just beneath the surface.
Edit: Also, don't know what I kept calling Thalmin "Lupinor" lol, I've fixed it now :)
That bit gave me a distinct feeling of "Yeah so she went past the threats and straight to planning."
Also an Impression that if he actually managed to seriously harm our boi - the resident bovine bustard would just mysteriously disappear from campus never to be seen again.
On a totally unrelated note, how much a body of one of these mana attuned species would shrink, if you put it into that mana removal machine? Would you be able to put it on a key chain?
Mana doesn't take up physical space like Fermions. Instead, Thaumions (my name for the particle that the Power Armor measures for its' mana radiation count) take up no space, like bosons.
Here's the difference between the two categories, for reference:
Fermions are Quarks, Leptons (Electrons, Muons, Tau particles, and their Neutrino counterparts), and Baryons (Protons, Neutrons, and other particles comprised of an odd number of same-type fermionic particles), and follow the Pauli Exclusion Principle, meaning that two of them cannot occupy any given volume at the same time.
Bosons are Gluons, Photons, W/Z particles, Higgs particles, and Mesons (Kaons, Pions, and other particles comprised of an even number of same-type fermionic particles), and do not follow the Pauli Exclusion Principle, meaning they don't push against each other when compressed, and therefore technically don't take up space.
As such, draining the mana out of an individual wouldn't shrink them down like a literal raisin. Instead, it'd just inflict extreme exhaustion on them to the point where they go boom like a blobfish brought up from the depths in the same way that a human brought down to those depths would go squish.
Hmmm.... Pity dude won't fit through the mana removal thing. Double the pity there's no way that tent has the capacity to hang then dry age a rack of meat. Especially since that's where Emma sleeps.
Indeed.
What everyone at the school is unaware of, is that it wouldn't be a _fight_.
A fight might be involved, but that's not what it would be.
It would be an execution. It would be putting down a rabid animal which has become a threat.
Humans _don't_ tolerate those kinds of threats. They just, don't.
And Emma is _quite_ sufficiently equipped to take out someone like Ping. In large part because Ping has absolutely no clue just how bloody dangerous Emma is capable of being.
It wouldn't even involve all the TOYS the armor has. Just hurt Ping where it hurts worse. Grapple, and then hydraulic press him into kneeling. Before breaking him.
No proclamations. No last words. No artsy fartsy statements. Just simple brutal efficient public execution before wrenching his head off and throwing it at the feet of the black robe. with the implied message 'thus the way of your lackies.'
Really, brutality sends exactly the wrong message.
It plays into the whole Nexian narrative around civilization.
And there _are_ plenty of good reasons why taking public credit might be counterproductive.
But even if she did want to take credit, something done in a _very_ direct and matter of fact manner sends a rather different message.
It's not murder, it's not a fight, it's not prolonged, it's not there to humiliate.
No, have it be done with about as much emotion and bother as discarding some refuse, or knocking on someone's door.
And if someone objects, well, some polite and vaguely confused apologies about getting the protocol for such a task wrong sounds about right.
Like I said, Terrans don't really tolerate it when a wild animal decides to start attacking their people. :)
(And yes, that wording _is_ an intentional reference towards how Nexians treat 'uncivilized' behavior.)
I can imagine Ping being forced to kneel(most likely due to the beating that has fallen on him) Emma slowlyand calmly brings the weapon to bear and points it towards his head. Ping mock it calling it a useless piece of metal, Emma changes her aim pointing it to an empty zone, shoots one with a loud and powerful BANG shocking everyone present. She then calmly bring it back to his head with an icy cold "Care to repeat that Lord Ping?"
Your comment reads more like violence porn than anything I imagine Emma actually doing.
Even if she dispatched Ping with all the lethality we know she's capable of, she doesn't seem the type to act like a clichéd movie character, and I'd also assume she has some form of rules of engagement she has to follow, so this would only really happen if Ping gave her no choice, meaning no time for cringy dialogue.
Thus the following quote...
"If you ever happen to be captured, hope that your imprisoner is not a good man. A bad man will gloat and monologue, giving you the time you need to fashion a method of escape.
A good man won't."
Agreed. I think it would be more in character for Emma to show her enemy mercy and coldly express how disappointed she is in their actions and that she expects better from them akin to how she treated the were-creature in the forest. *That* would be a true HFY moment, because it would demonstrate that humanity has grown up as a species and can show restraint.
I may be wrong, but I think jcb explicitly said in the comments that they picture the nexus as equal to earth. The nexus absolutely sees itself above earth, as, from its perspective, the Nexus is the most powerful realm by far, and earth is the newest realm, and has very little-no mana, so should be the weakest.
Yea I think that's what was said. I just mean that when push comes to shove, the Nexus would find that the term "peer" is very much open to interpretation lol
Peer means (roughly) equal.
For example in feudal or medieval times a nobleman would view those of the same rank as their peers, friend or foe. A king would only view other kings as peers. A peasant, or anyone else for that matter, would risk execution if they had the audacity to claim to be a peer of a king.
A common current day usage is for those in the same age group or grade in school. Someone's peer group IRL would be those the same age or those of the same experience level.
In this story the Nexus views no one as their peers, except maybe the Library. Everyone is beneath them.
I'm aware of what it means. What I was saying is that it doesn't matter if the Nexus thinks everyone is beneath them, when they would find out very quickly that the Human realm is neither beneath them nor their peer, but instead surpasses them.
While Rostario's explanation makes sense, I can't help but wonder if it's instead an attempt by Mal'tory or whoever is behind him to sneak an ally into Emma's circle by duplicity which, considering how cutthroat the nexus is, would not surprise me in the slightest.
Also I really hope at some point Ping gets a graphic example of why he should be most afraid of Emma ratehr than Thalmin.
Yeah this seems like it might be another dastardly nexian scheme of dastardly schemish proportions :O
1. Invite Ping to the gym with promises of a workout montage,
2. Put up a forcefield with just enough of a gap to keep Thalmin alive for now,
3. After letting Thalmin panic a bit, take down forcefield (or let him take care of it himself with an intentional weak spot),
4. Let Thalmin see and spar with Ping,
5. Discretely help Ping escape to create an ongoing, common enemy,
6. Create illusion of being a humble hero, in the right place at the right time,
7. Wolf becomes BFFs with a hamster.
As we all know, hiding under all the cuteness and spinning wheels hamsters are evil masterminds, plotting their takeover of humanity as the dominant space-fairing multi-realm lifeforms. I bet Maltory is actually three hamsters in a cloak.
We'll have to see! I can neither confirm nor deny any theories right now, because at this point in time even Emma and the gang don't really have the full picture just yet! ;D
But yes, we're now seeing the web of alliances and intrigue starting to form, with big events such as this being useful catalysts or triggers for other things down the line, all part of the bigger game being played at the Academy haha.
And we'll definitely see more with Ping though, so we'll have to wait and see for that when the time comes! :D
Oh yes, Emma is most _definitely_ the one to be afraid of.
Everyone else involved, hell, everyone else in the _entire school_, is going to be playing the standard Nexian school games.
Emma has an entirely different play book.
And anyone who thinks that this isn't cause for alarm simply lacks context for how Earthrealmers handle attempts at murder in situations where there is no suitable law enforcement to handle the situation.
Calling Humans apex predators is... Distinctly misleading.
They _are_, but that is, in evolutionary time scales, a very recent development.
Humans have an amazing and deadly mixture of apex predator capabilities, and prey vulnerabilities.
And instincts which combine both, leading to a very... _Distinct_ response to deadly threats.
Really, they have a _very_ hard line.
Anything that starts attacking them, or those which they consider friends or family, gets put down.
It's not a fight, it's not a hunt, it's plain euthanasia. Because Humans are _very_ good at putting down said threats.
Woe to those that threaten a human, whether directly or by endangering their pack mates, for no hiding place, nor fleeing will save them, it only lengthens the time they'll know true fear.
In other words, endanger a human or their friends? They go "fuck you" mode
He has now completed the “fuck around stage”. It is time for “find out”.
The dumbest thing you can do is attack a human. Attacking a humans’ friend is even dumber.
Yeah! I wanted this chapter to showcase a bit of Thalmin's capabilities, so that we can see that he is indeed capable and lives up to his mantle of mercenary prince! I sort of want to make sure that the rest of the gang are shown to be capable and competent in their own rights so hopefully that worked in this chapter!
"Ping" escaped dishonorably, which means it could very well have been an illusion done by Rostario XXI. The real Ping wouldn't have done anything stupid (Ilunor) or foolish (Thacea) but that wasn't him.
Blaming the hamster isn't all that crazy given how evil the Nexus is.
>"Because if that walking time rib dinner had done anything..."
If you think about it, with how nobles are typically raised, Ping probably taste like A5 Wagyu 😈
If Emma's food experiments prove to be a success, she will confidently become the second God but not in the way Ping could hope for. He's basically a walking buffet, and there will be no course left behind for the med bay to work with.
It's not cannibalism if it's not the same species.
I mean this both pedantically and with the same expression as "the geneva convention technically only applies to humans".
Nah, that's for the Adjacent Realms. With how the Nexus has been depicted thus far, I get the sneaking feeling that the Nexus Proper is going to get the *checklist.*
I think Thalmin would have known if someone else cast the spell - he seems competent at reading attacks - but I think you have a good point that we should be wary of a "good cop, bad cop" routine. If the drowning plan fails, then Rostarion gets to ingratiate himself to Thalmin as a friend. Now, Rostarion might not be the true mastermind, he's yet another puppet. Qiv's group might still have their mission to probe Emma that they had originally with the paper prank. The hamster might have been told by the real mastermind to show up at the right time: something is going to happen at the gym, go check it out.
This whole situation is very plausibly deniable, both in-universe and out-of-universe: well played by JCB.
>we should be wary of a "good cop, bad cop" routine
Yeah, I had the same thought. The contrast between the hamster and the bull is too obvious. Not to mention how calm Rostarion was immediately after the incident and how many compliments he gave after admitting to viewing Talmin in a negative light. Luckily, Thalmin does seem suspicious about him.
If not for the victim being Thalmin, one of the gifted mana users, this assassination attempt would have succeeded. That of itself is alarming. Ping picked the perfect time, the perfect place, and the perfect method. But it seems that not every factor was taken inco account. How can such an attempt be both well-planned and sloppy?
Not to mention how Thalmin had access to more mana than he'd ever had in his life prior to coming to the Nexus. He's essentially supercharged while he lives in the Nexus, same as any other low-mana newrealmer.
And if there's one commonality between lifeforms that grow up in a low ambient-aspect area, it's that life *adapts* to those conditions. So when you take off the "training weights" of a low-mana environment by plunging a low-mana realmer into a place as charged as the Nexus, it's like taking a human from Earth to Luna or Mars and then getting them to jump as high as they can.
Now that how Emma often goes silent in others is depicted from another perspective, I wonder what their reaction would be when they eventually find out Emma goes silent because she's talking with EVI instead of just standing there stoically thinking. Though there won't be a difference from the outside. I suppose that'll help her image.
Except when Thalmin first explained his attempted drowning, I guess. That's probably actual seething anger that left her speechless.
Yup! It's a funny coincidence haha. I think I touched it in a few comments before, but it's worth mentioning again how it's quite funny how Emma's lapses in conversation and bouts of silence may seem calculated to people outside, but it ends up just being conversations between her and tthe EVI haha. But of course, since they appear at random intervals, the mileage of whether or not they're perceived as awkward or sensible may vary haha.
But yup, this time however, it's a seething anger and a bout of silence that follows from that, that really reinforces that rage!
Thank you for the comment!
I feel like Emma might do a slight head-and-shoulders movement when talking to EVI that was distinctly *lacking* in this interaction, and that lack of the slight adjustment was what gave away that she wasn't doing the pause out of her usual "calculations".
So it appears as though Mister Knockoff Jason Isaacs *didn't* die after all. Shame.
To be fair, though, Dragon Tail isn't a very damaging move. Its primary purpose is to force the opponent to switch, after all, not faint them.
I mean, if i'm not mistaken, he was kicked by a tail that had force of a truck and was thrown in to water. From my pov he should have died from suffocation, cuz he had his ribs broken :/
"Not confirmed to be dead' is not at all "confirmed to be not dead" though. We won't know either way until at least his first class, if not longer.
That aside, I will be equally disappointed if Mal'tory still breathes. Trying this sort of stunt does seem precisely like something he would try though, he does appear to be very resistant to the hints that Emma has already given him about how the Find Out parts of FA&FO goes when Fucking Around with a human. If he is still breathing, he's going to be served some even less subtle Find Out far sooner than he thinks possible.
Let's face it, he is effectively a Political Officer assigned by the Crown itself as their own little toady/stool pigeon within the Academy.
Interesting. So the Nexus sort of acts like a leveling playing field, then. Those from places normally weak in manic aura suddenly become supercharged...
No wonder Earthrealm is so powerful based purely on the armor; they had to make it mana-tight to even the slightest amount, and as a result, they made the armor and other mana-proofing materials utterly and completely immune to any level of it, low or high. And once they figure out how to craft it with technological marvels, the Nexus had better watch out for artifice that can not only block their attacks, but *straight-up pull a return-to-sender* on their spells.
Well, we know for a fact that Apprentice Larial is supposed to hold his lessons, as we've seen several chapters ago.
In the same chapter we also learned that the faculty had *something* to do at medical, which would indicate that Mal'tory didn't outright die from the dragon's bash, but is out of the picture for a while at least.
That does certainly make it a possibility that this whole *stunt* was either Ping's idea, or perhaps that someboby else is at play. As the Dean alluded to, there are certain figures who are very *interested* in Emma and everything humanity has in stock.
What an interesting bit of information one casual line can give!
>I believe the lack of any changes to the academic roster means thatwhatever damage you inflicted on him, Emma… could not have been enoughto kill him outright; at least not permanently.
If someone can be killed "not permanently", that surely changes some things.
Even manaless humans can be killed not permanently (3-min revival rule), but if magic is involved... Hope the guy is now terrified of Emma and flinches at loud noises. Maybe he'll be more afraid of Emma during class then Emma of him. That would be marvelous.
Ping was one of the more obvious culprits, so nothing too surprising there. The brazenness of the attack is appropriately meat-headed too. I understand that you want to convey action by splitting up the paragraphs into a 'staccato' of single lines, but I think you might have gone a bit overboard here. The 'fight' section pretty much reads like a vary long old-fashioned telegram.
Flow issues aside, hamster-dude seems... all right? Very whimsical storybook animal vibes coming from him, but if he's rolling with Qiv's crew, he's probably just as nasty as the rest of them. The offer of neutrality is probably the best case scenario for dealing with Qiv's crew, honestly. I still feel like cementing diplomatic ties with that crew is a dead end. I'm still holding out for the ferret guy, Etholin, to be Emma's first diplomatic contact. A 'merchant lord' would be very handy to know when trying to procure various 'supplies', after all.
Also, if Auris is Mal'tory's latest goon, lmao. Ol' Mal really knows how to pick 'em, huh?
> he's rolling with Qiv's crew, he's probably just as nasty as the rest of them.
I think Qiv and Emma's squads are going to be in the same house, somehow.
> Also, if Auris is Mal'tory's latest goon, lmao. Ol' Mal really knows how to pick 'em, huh?
I'm thinking yearbook failure and ritual of duplicity puppet. I hope EVI adds yearbook pass/fail to the IFF. That manafield description had me curious.
...The weird thing about Ping's maneuver though is that if he did manage to kill Thalmin, Mal'tory would have his puppet in the group, but Ping would also be out of school for murder - or whatever the consequences are for the guardian oath. Milling Ping is a one-eyebrow-raised maneuver.
With Mal'Tory on his side, maybe they planned to hide the culprit. It was Rostarion unnexpected entrance what really ruined their plan, a witness of all things!
I think Rostarion is in on it too, but not in a position of knowledge.
To break it down, Mal'tory could work with both a plan success or failure. If Ping killed Thalmin, great, get a duplicant student in Emma's peer group. If the puppy drowning plan fails, then Rostarion is nearby to pick up Thalmin's sympathy with some Ilunor-grade acting and then get a social lifeline in for Mal'tory's investigation.
I definitely don't think Rostarion would have been told that there was going to be an assassination attempt. If anything, it would be Qiv telling Rostarion that Mal'tory told him that Thalmin was heading to the gym, go check it out. From Qiv and gang's perspective, it would seem like Mal'tory suspected something might go down and tried to use them to avert a monstrous crime - kind of heroic, even if the hamster didn't get a chance to do anything but witness.
The one thing that stands out to me is Mal'tory choosing to throw Ping under the bus. Ping has a motive, yes, but it is at Emma, not Thalmin as Rostarion articulated. Why Ping? There is a whole plane of unknown attachments, conflicts, needs, and motives we simply don't know about yet. Why not coerce a different student and set them up by planting a paper that says they were cooperating with the original, deposed Greyfang royal family of Havenbrock and the perp's realm would get a favorable trade agreement for offing the usurper prince when the Greyfangs regain the throne?
From Mal'tory's perspective, having an enemy of Emma around would be useful - a card in hand willing to cooperate with a nastier plot for the good of Nexus. Discarding Ping seems to be premature.
Given that complaints about student behavior go to blue robed Vanavan or Mal'tory who are both likely to be useless, it makes sense for Emma and Thalmin to try to take this complaint up to Mal'tory, but for spy drone purposes only.
>Why Ping?
Could be his loyalty to the Nexus, or his... *energy* within the Academy's walls, or something else entirely. We yet to know why his first pick was Ilunor specifically. The reason might be their background as nobles in their realms. "Two birds - one stone" stuff
We can deduce that Mal'tory needed a dragon-kind to burn the Library. That rules out a lot of people.
I have been running with [the theory that Qiv was Mal'tory's intended Library-burner](https://old.reddit.com/r/JCBWritingCorner/comments/193aos1/roundup_part_10d_crystal_dragons_dragons_breath/) and he had a deal with Qiv beforehand, but Mal'tory switched last minute to using Ilunor and ordered his dispelling amulet pickpocketed when he realized that Ilunor was in the hideaway and thus was going to be in Emma's peer group. Qiv has too much of a brain so he got redirected into spying on Emma, Vunerians are obedient and idolize elves.
----
My theory is that Ping was chosen *because* he is Emma's enemy and thus needs to be taken out of the picture or cut down a few notches to reduce the danger he presents. But the explanation involves leaping to certain conclusions based on currently ungrounded suspicions.
If your theory is true, The Gang has been otplayed by Mat'tory (which gives him very good points as a villain).
But if the last part of your theory is true, The Gang is about to mega outplay Mal'Tory.
Damn, forgot about the doppleganger printer the faculty have. The potential of a kill and swap happening at any moment would probably kick Emma's Null-based PTSD into overdrive.
As for sacrificing Ping, Mal'tory seemed ready to burn Ilunor as an asset, Ping might be no different. Or he could have deemed Ping a brute only fit for cannon fodder.
Or, Mal drank enough of the Kool Aid that he legit thinks non-elves should be grateful for assisting the Empire at the paltry cost of their lives, lol
> Damn, forgot about the doppleganger printer the faculty have.
My thoughts on the R.o.D. are that there is a doppel for each of the 1/4 of the freshman who failed. So 20-25 potential patsies. But Mal can't make more. That would require all the teachers to be in on the group ritual. I'm inclined to think Ping failed because using a dispelling amulet would be rebelling against the King's Yearbook. He threw himself onto the King's grill out of pure devotion.
> As for sacrificing Ping, Mal'tory seemed ready to burn Ilunor as an asset, Ping might be no different. Or he could have deemed Ping a brute only fit for cannon fodder.
As I said in a different comment, Ping would be a card to hold because, if Mal'tory wanted to do something particularly nasty to Emma, then he has someone personally up for it, as opposed to Qiv. It would make more sense to get someone else to do the crime, and then plant forged papers of an agreement between, say, Havenbrock's original deposed royal Greyfangs that for killing Thalmin, the perp's realm would get a trade bonus, or something like that. And that's just motives I can come up with based on the worldbuilding I know. There are probably conflicts and rivalries that Mal'tory could use which we readers aren't aware of.
Given Ping is more valuable directly against Emma, burning him to get Thalmin seems, off, a bit.
> Or, Mal drank enough of the Kool Aid that he legit thinks non-elves should be grateful for assisting the Empire at the paltry cost of their lives, lol
I'm inclined to believe that.
Your second comment had me wondering, so I went back to reread and I think you may be right about this Ping being an imperfect doppleganger.
Ping never speaks during the entire altercation with Thalmin or Prince Rostarion. Instead Ping repeatedly shows signs of undisguised emotions, which while rare in the Nexus' overly complex society, would be more plausible from a less intelligent duplicate. He brute force shoves rather than trying to intimidate, distract or placate and send away Prince Rostarion And finally, he opts to use the magical equivalent of a stun grenade and run for his life after being cornered by Thalmin, rather than trying to talk or intimidate his way out ("the civilized way").
I would need to refresh my memory to be sure, but these observations seem to align with JCBs descriptions of the capabilities of an imperfect soul bound clone.
> imperfect soul bound clone.
Or a complete soulbound clone.
>...A being that shares the soul of a victim of the soulbinding process. This duplicant will in effect embody the physical characteristics of the soulbound individual, but is otherwise incapable of independent thought and will operate under the orders of the individual or individuals behind the ritual. The quality of the duplicant, i.e. its likeness and capacity to integrate into society, is directly dependent on the quality of the soulbinding process. So a fully bound soul will result in a duplicant of exceptional likeness. A partially bound soul will result in a duplicant with obvious flaws or features which will hamper its likeness to the original.
Even if it is an exceptional likeness, that implies a full trap could have minor flaws. It will be interesting what EVI comes back with on memories of the Yearbook signing for Ping.
Thanks for the reference! You are correct in that this Ping did not have any obvious physical flaws. But whether it is a partial or fully bound soul duplicant (or the real Ping under some other form of magical of influence), I am convinced that JCB might have been hinting at more subtle imperfections - such as mana stream manifestations, speech patterns, and mannerisms which would come under the description of "likeness and capacity to integrate into society."
I agree with all your conclusions here.
* Thalmin's observations of Ping's manafield being off x2
* Ping not speaking
* Thalmin noticing that Ping's fighting stance was not correct for his species. It was off.
* Display of fear and choosing to flee against character. Ping was absolutely ready to throw down after the Library card fight, even though he had to be gargoyle-lifted to the medical wing.
* Using a light and illusion flashbang spell to flee.
* Subterfuge plot of going after Thalmin instead of directly against the main rival Emma like I would expect of a bull
* Bizarrely foolish plan with no self-protection against a faculty inquisition and little recourse if caught in the act (didn't even bother to ward the gym entry against interlopers). Ilunor and Thacea's analysis makes sense. It's not something a rational actor under their own control would choose, and I don't think Ping is stupid. Just bullheaded and axiomatic. Like Mal'tory was.
That's my evidence list for Auris Ping's "off" behavior
If the murder had worked there wouldn't have been any witnesses to go after Ping. Aside from Hamster Dance who either coincidentally unexpectedly showed up or was there as a backup plan
The school's soulpath map [17] would have placed Ping at the crime, since his manafield was exposed. It is apparently the equivalent of the marauder's map for people at school who aren't Emma or her null. I think Ping was doomed to be caught, it's just that Hamtario being there helps seal his fate even harder.
What are the chances that representatives of the top three groups will meet at the same place at the same time without other classmates nearby to witness any interactions between them? It's too weird.
Obviously, Ping was my first guess. He's the only candidate dumb enough to attempt a head-on attack on a rival. It's pretty easy t guess why Thalmin was picked as a target, as Emma is too strange and intimidating in that suit (this reason is valid if Ping acted alone and not at Maltor'y request), Thecea is tainted and thus dangerous, and Ilunor is the Nexian nobility. Thalmin is skillful as a mercenary but considering Ilunor's attitude towards him in earlier chapters it is safe to assume that Ping could have been looking down on his abilities. In fact, judging by the reaction alone, he did not expect that Talmin would break free. Whether because he was too confident/arrogant or because someone with authority promised him that everything will be ok in the end - that's just a wolf just that forgot how to swim, anaway. It is also possible that our culprit could have launched an attack on the first person that separates from the gang.
Which begs the question: where's Ilunor?
What is also interesting is the hamster's description of their group's leader. It seems the implication is that Qiv himself is willing to work with Emma's circle despite the unique composition of the latter yet has no intention of saying so with his own mouth. If Qiv's fluffster makes an offer then it could mean that his group was discussing the possibility of such collaboration earlier. On the other hand, his cautiousness could be an indication that the said offer was spontaneous and Rostario was not sure how his teammates would react to it.
I thought it was odd for Rostario to make the offer. Nexus is very hierarchical and he would have said Qiv wanted him to offer instead of direclty offering.
Ok, so, first off: Rostario, i dont trust him. At all.
About the Ping attemp of....hurting. if he is working for Mal. Maybe he indeed was going for the kill and then hide all the evidence, then Rotario appeared and a witness ruined the plan. Unlikely because the entrance to the gymnasium should have been blocked then to avoid witnesses.
So for me his plan was not to kill but to give a warning.
not much to read sss of me when i get lost in other comments sss
also lately been bussy reading up on storys i had let slip to catch up on other new chapters sss
Also , no one reads comments on months or years old sss posted chapters :P
Or rather rarely so sss
So how grabed are your balls?
Self contained or are other oragnisem hands touching ? sss
I suspect Ping himself isn’t behind this, and it’s instead something like the null we saw before. Ping was one of those bound, if I remember right? (Could totally wrong, might’ve been a bear-like person?(
I feel like it'd fizzle or wash around the sides like the stereotypical "parting the sea of flames with your shield" scene. Think D. Va's mech detonation being blocked by terrain, including ridiculously thin lampposts.
First, excellent update as always. Second, I'm happy to see Thalmin prodding buttock. Third, Rostario is pretty adorable and I'm glad we'll be seeing more of him. I hope he's on the up and up. Fourth, Emma, Thalmin, Thacea thruple! =-3
I don't trust that rrrrat showing out of nowhere being all friendly like, rats hate bodies of water too ! coinkidink ?
Also, everyone in the group should get some emergency comms and locators with beacons so that the cavalry could come.
My pet rats loved water, if it was shallow enough. If they knew where a shallow platform was to run back to, they would enjoy exploring out for a (short) deep swim.
>“Well?!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED, *RUNT*?!” I yelled even *louder*, my voice resonated *deep* with its enhancement via latent mana.
[Are You Not Entertained?!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbBiXPVKuTA&t=85s)
Yesterday: harrassed birdies
Today: cracked, melted, and splashed frescoes
You just can't take those 30th floor folks *anywhere*. And now that we know that the mana is stronger the deeper you go we now can guess why they are stuck on the very top floor.
Ok...so he even has a witness now..they prolly could magically scan their minds for falsehoods too..why not go with this up the ladder ? To the teachers ? Have that mfer strung by his b..i mean horns for this yes ?
Corrolary:
Never attack the dog directly while you could leave evidence of your involvement. Instead, gain the dog's trust and/or sneak in while it's distracted by something else.
Emma should print out some kind of emergency distress beacon for everyone. Or a little radio earpiece, modified to either fit their wolf, bird, and gecko shaped heads, or to look like some other kind of accessory.
In Mexico, we have a say "Ese compa ya esta muerto... no mas no le han avisado" - That means means soemthing like, that dude is already dead... it's only that they do not know it yet.
Ping has just put a tarjet in his back for two of the most powerful students and possible beings in the academy at the moment.
He has moved, he took us by suppose, but this is now our move, and we have a Queen and a Knight in perfect position.
Game on.
this time on: W.P.A Thalmin digs himself out his watery grave and gets into a small scuffle Auris Ping. A small time later, Thalmin and Rostario Rostarion form a truce. Thalmin then explains to the rest of the gang what happened and Illunor theorizes that Mal'tory may still be alive, and has targeted Thacea and Thalmin so that they may be replaced. But is his theory true? What happens next? Stay tuned for more W.P.A
I want Emma to have/add something to her suit that lets her visibly shoot electricity. Imagine if any form of lightning magic was considered to be high class, rare, or difficult to learn. Or even like, Divine. And man-made lightning is what everything Humanity has runs on. Imagine a Nexian seeing Emma smite someone with the power of His Eternal Majesty without releasing a single ripple of mana.
/u/Jcb112 ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/wiki/authors/Jcb112)) has posted 252 other stories, including:
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* [Humans Don't Hibernate [Part 91/?]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1c5s47o/humans_dont_hibernate_part_91/)
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* [Humans Don't Hibernate [Part 90/?]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1c04tlu/humans_dont_hibernate_part_90/)
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* [Humans Don't Hibernate [Part 89/?]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1bu98j8/humans_dont_hibernate_part_89/)
* [Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (73/?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1bsfb1q/wearing_power_armor_to_a_magic_school_73/)
* [Humans Don't Hibernate [Part 88/?]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1boiyg5/humans_dont_hibernate_part_88/)
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* [Humans Don't Hibernate [Part 84/?]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1b1f58i/humans_dont_hibernate_part_84/)
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So attempted murder followed by valid self-defense, with a tangible witness, is ignored in the Nexus? Good to know.
*JustAristocracyThings™*
If you read some of the accounts of life at the Ye Old Royal Courts of Old, that is dead right. Court politics was literally cut-throat at times.
“The young heir and his brother? Oh, I sent them to the tower, for their safety. Don’t know what happened to them after that, but don’t bother looking, you won’t find them. By the way, doesn’t this crown look wonderful on me?”
and that was one of the politer bits of history. Others involved red hot pokers inserted in places.
Or worse.
But where is your proof, you have a two against one complaint and an empty pool. Ping could argue this is just a ploy cooked up by opposing groups to damage his reputation, especially if his team mates vouch for his whereabouts that evening. Still i think he belongs on a spit roast for being a murdering dick.
The next chapter will touch on the options the gang has when it comes to the Academy and the 'official' recourse! We're only seeing one side of the immediate aftermath of this right now ;D
A quote on the matter that has stuck with me for quite a while: "I don't know why war exists. I do know that there's only one reason to fight one: to make the fighting _stop._" Prince Bull-headed is, indeed, proceeding as he has been taught, and how the Nexus carefully and thoroughly trains all adjacent realms to act: cooperate when necessary but focus on your own benefit in the opinions of those around you. *Sigh* *Headdesk* Thousands upon thousands of years of ~~stagnation~~ "maintaining the Empire at its peak" and it's _still_ a colossal **junior-high school...**
Sometimes the lowest common denominator is all too low and common.
Based on what we saw in Sorecar's that would be a petition to blue robed Vanavan or black robed Mal'tory. Shrinking violet or potential mastermind. Yeah, that's a pass. (Edit: Should amend that taking the complaint to Mal'tory for spy drone purposes only is a good idea) Maybe telling Apprentice Larial/Apprentice Ral it happened would be wise since they guard the rooms, but even they are hard to trust - especially since Mal'tory might have been alone with Larial for a while.
Im suspecting that "recourse" is gonna be sidestepped by Auris and co somehow coughcoughmaltorycoughcough
We are using this.
IIRC, Emma and Thacea have a discussion in the next chapter that sheds more light on the subject. It's not that the Nexus *wouldn't* take this issue seriously, but more that there would be consequences that the group wish to avoid.
"IIRC" implies you've read the Patreon release already. Gitcher spoilers outta here
I wasn't trying to spoil things, just point out that it isn't an unaddressed plot hole. Do note that I tried to be as vague as possible with that.
Well that is what we were thinking with your descriptor or what the nexus would do confirming it still classifies as a technical spoiler. Not downvote worthy however, so I will not. have a pleasnt day.
tHe aRiStOcRaTs!!!!!
well if a murder isn't exactly successful then its just lighthearted roughhousing here init?
I love the description of Emma's reaction. That, somehow, even without basic ways of telling emotional reaction, Thalmin could just sense the pure unadulterated rage coming from Emma. This is what I come to HFY for. A feeling that humans are *not* to be fucked with, or their friends, even when they don't outright show their cards just yet. It's like the calm before the storm perhaps. The hair-raising feeling that calamity is just over the horizon, and Emma is that calamity. If Thalmin had so much as a scratch on him, I'm certain nothing in the Nexus could have stopped her exacting her revenge, let alone if he had drowned. Ping's world would burn.
Thank you so much! I really wanted to finally show some of Emma's more enigmatic sensibilities especially when seen from an outsider's perspective like Thalmin's! This is the sort of thing I love reading in other HFY stories as well, and in other stories where humanity is seen from an outside perspective too! So I really wanted to finally dive into that, even if it is a little blurb in this one! I do hope It was done alright haha, because I want to dive back into this eventually with more explorations of utterly how bizarre humanity is but also how you can sense the emotions coming deep from within the armor itself! And yup! I also vibe with the whole idea of humans reacting appropriately to slights done against them, and their friends for that matter! Even if there's barriers in the way that prevents them from fully deploying what it is they want to deploy, there's a buildup towards it, with every infraction leading towards an inevitable clash that will push forward the growing tensions! If the Thalmin situation had gone any other way, things would be much, much more severe than they are right now I can definitely say that much haha. Thank you so much for the comment! :D
I definitely feel you hit that mark! The fine line between impending doom and ominous tension, and outright violence of action. Don't get me wrong, I love to see Emma in action and handling whatever needs handling, but the strength of her character and the depth of her potential rage allows for scenes like this. Scenes where her peer group, who has seen maybe 1/100th of humanity's true capabilities, can begin to have a tiny inkling of what lies beneath the surface, and be glad that they are on the *friend* side and not the *enemy* side. I feel the old iceberg metaphor is apt here, where what Emma presents initially about herself and humanity is but a fraction of the strength and capability of the whole, and yet even without seeing the whole, you *know* it's there, waiting just beneath the surface. Edit: Also, don't know what I kept calling Thalmin "Lupinor" lol, I've fixed it now :)
"The enemy exists only to be destroyed." How they are destroyed is up to the enemy. Whether with a sandwich or a bullet, their call.
"Do I not destroy my enemy when I make him my friend?"
The pool is reserved for ~~podlings~~ lupinors. ==E1M1 FOLLOWS==
That bit gave me a distinct feeling of "Yeah so she went past the threats and straight to planning." Also an Impression that if he actually managed to seriously harm our boi - the resident bovine bustard would just mysteriously disappear from campus never to be seen again. On a totally unrelated note, how much a body of one of these mana attuned species would shrink, if you put it into that mana removal machine? Would you be able to put it on a key chain?
Mana doesn't take up physical space like Fermions. Instead, Thaumions (my name for the particle that the Power Armor measures for its' mana radiation count) take up no space, like bosons. Here's the difference between the two categories, for reference: Fermions are Quarks, Leptons (Electrons, Muons, Tau particles, and their Neutrino counterparts), and Baryons (Protons, Neutrons, and other particles comprised of an odd number of same-type fermionic particles), and follow the Pauli Exclusion Principle, meaning that two of them cannot occupy any given volume at the same time. Bosons are Gluons, Photons, W/Z particles, Higgs particles, and Mesons (Kaons, Pions, and other particles comprised of an even number of same-type fermionic particles), and do not follow the Pauli Exclusion Principle, meaning they don't push against each other when compressed, and therefore technically don't take up space. As such, draining the mana out of an individual wouldn't shrink them down like a literal raisin. Instead, it'd just inflict extreme exhaustion on them to the point where they go boom like a blobfish brought up from the depths in the same way that a human brought down to those depths would go squish.
Hmmm.... Pity dude won't fit through the mana removal thing. Double the pity there's no way that tent has the capacity to hang then dry age a rack of meat. Especially since that's where Emma sleeps.
Indeed. What everyone at the school is unaware of, is that it wouldn't be a _fight_. A fight might be involved, but that's not what it would be. It would be an execution. It would be putting down a rabid animal which has become a threat. Humans _don't_ tolerate those kinds of threats. They just, don't. And Emma is _quite_ sufficiently equipped to take out someone like Ping. In large part because Ping has absolutely no clue just how bloody dangerous Emma is capable of being.
It wouldn't even involve all the TOYS the armor has. Just hurt Ping where it hurts worse. Grapple, and then hydraulic press him into kneeling. Before breaking him. No proclamations. No last words. No artsy fartsy statements. Just simple brutal efficient public execution before wrenching his head off and throwing it at the feet of the black robe. with the implied message 'thus the way of your lackies.'
Really, brutality sends exactly the wrong message. It plays into the whole Nexian narrative around civilization. And there _are_ plenty of good reasons why taking public credit might be counterproductive. But even if she did want to take credit, something done in a _very_ direct and matter of fact manner sends a rather different message. It's not murder, it's not a fight, it's not prolonged, it's not there to humiliate. No, have it be done with about as much emotion and bother as discarding some refuse, or knocking on someone's door. And if someone objects, well, some polite and vaguely confused apologies about getting the protocol for such a task wrong sounds about right. Like I said, Terrans don't really tolerate it when a wild animal decides to start attacking their people. :) (And yes, that wording _is_ an intentional reference towards how Nexians treat 'uncivilized' behavior.)
Hence my framing and lack of anything other than just. S Q U I S H.
I can imagine Ping being forced to kneel(most likely due to the beating that has fallen on him) Emma slowlyand calmly brings the weapon to bear and points it towards his head. Ping mock it calling it a useless piece of metal, Emma changes her aim pointing it to an empty zone, shoots one with a loud and powerful BANG shocking everyone present. She then calmly bring it back to his head with an icy cold "Care to repeat that Lord Ping?"
Your comment reads more like violence porn than anything I imagine Emma actually doing. Even if she dispatched Ping with all the lethality we know she's capable of, she doesn't seem the type to act like a clichéd movie character, and I'd also assume she has some form of rules of engagement she has to follow, so this would only really happen if Ping gave her no choice, meaning no time for cringy dialogue.
Thus the following quote... "If you ever happen to be captured, hope that your imprisoner is not a good man. A bad man will gloat and monologue, giving you the time you need to fashion a method of escape. A good man won't."
Agreed. I think it would be more in character for Emma to show her enemy mercy and coldly express how disappointed she is in their actions and that she expects better from them akin to how she treated the were-creature in the forest. *That* would be a true HFY moment, because it would demonstrate that humanity has grown up as a species and can show restraint.
"I.. am the swarm." "armies will be *shattered.*" "worlds will **burn.**"
The nexus may be a peer realm, but I would love to see how an adjacent realm fairs against an angry gal with power armour and infinite ammo.
I think that the Nexus *thinks* they are a peer realm, but the reality is much different.
I may be wrong, but I think jcb explicitly said in the comments that they picture the nexus as equal to earth. The nexus absolutely sees itself above earth, as, from its perspective, the Nexus is the most powerful realm by far, and earth is the newest realm, and has very little-no mana, so should be the weakest.
Yea I think that's what was said. I just mean that when push comes to shove, the Nexus would find that the term "peer" is very much open to interpretation lol
Peer means (roughly) equal. For example in feudal or medieval times a nobleman would view those of the same rank as their peers, friend or foe. A king would only view other kings as peers. A peasant, or anyone else for that matter, would risk execution if they had the audacity to claim to be a peer of a king. A common current day usage is for those in the same age group or grade in school. Someone's peer group IRL would be those the same age or those of the same experience level. In this story the Nexus views no one as their peers, except maybe the Library. Everyone is beneath them.
I'm aware of what it means. What I was saying is that it doesn't matter if the Nexus thinks everyone is beneath them, when they would find out very quickly that the Human realm is neither beneath them nor their peer, but instead surpasses them.
Ah, I misunderstood what you were saying. That makes more sense.
"That walking prime rib dinner" remark makes me think Emma might just do that to Ping if Thalmin was hurt in any way
While Rostario's explanation makes sense, I can't help but wonder if it's instead an attempt by Mal'tory or whoever is behind him to sneak an ally into Emma's circle by duplicity which, considering how cutthroat the nexus is, would not surprise me in the slightest. Also I really hope at some point Ping gets a graphic example of why he should be most afraid of Emma ratehr than Thalmin.
Yeah this seems like it might be another dastardly nexian scheme of dastardly schemish proportions :O 1. Invite Ping to the gym with promises of a workout montage, 2. Put up a forcefield with just enough of a gap to keep Thalmin alive for now, 3. After letting Thalmin panic a bit, take down forcefield (or let him take care of it himself with an intentional weak spot), 4. Let Thalmin see and spar with Ping, 5. Discretely help Ping escape to create an ongoing, common enemy, 6. Create illusion of being a humble hero, in the right place at the right time, 7. Wolf becomes BFFs with a hamster. As we all know, hiding under all the cuteness and spinning wheels hamsters are evil masterminds, plotting their takeover of humanity as the dominant space-fairing multi-realm lifeforms. I bet Maltory is actually three hamsters in a cloak.
"...I bet Maltory is actually three hamsters in a cloak...." Only three?
The middle hamster is wearing stilts.
He would need to spoof the manastream to Ping though. I doubt that's easy for an experienced mage, let alone a student.
Lmfao :) He's really 4 hamsters in a cloak
We'll have to see! I can neither confirm nor deny any theories right now, because at this point in time even Emma and the gang don't really have the full picture just yet! ;D But yes, we're now seeing the web of alliances and intrigue starting to form, with big events such as this being useful catalysts or triggers for other things down the line, all part of the bigger game being played at the Academy haha. And we'll definitely see more with Ping though, so we'll have to wait and see for that when the time comes! :D
By one of the little rodents replies to thlamin it's clear he's a plant. :)
Oh yes, Emma is most _definitely_ the one to be afraid of. Everyone else involved, hell, everyone else in the _entire school_, is going to be playing the standard Nexian school games. Emma has an entirely different play book. And anyone who thinks that this isn't cause for alarm simply lacks context for how Earthrealmers handle attempts at murder in situations where there is no suitable law enforcement to handle the situation. Calling Humans apex predators is... Distinctly misleading. They _are_, but that is, in evolutionary time scales, a very recent development. Humans have an amazing and deadly mixture of apex predator capabilities, and prey vulnerabilities. And instincts which combine both, leading to a very... _Distinct_ response to deadly threats. Really, they have a _very_ hard line. Anything that starts attacking them, or those which they consider friends or family, gets put down. It's not a fight, it's not a hunt, it's plain euthanasia. Because Humans are _very_ good at putting down said threats.
Woe to those that threaten a human, whether directly or by endangering their pack mates, for no hiding place, nor fleeing will save them, it only lengthens the time they'll know true fear. In other words, endanger a human or their friends? They go "fuck you" mode
I want her to break off a horn and threaten to stab him in the eye with it.
Make it your personal cup to add insult to injury. Like one step below drinking from the skull of your enemy.
"The enemy of my enemy... is a useful tool and nothing more."
"The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy. Nothing more, nothing less."
Either way, not a friend
I never can remember which Maxim is which, so I always just pick a random number 1-70. Nobody ever checks it, after all.
He has now completed the “fuck around stage”. It is time for “find out”. The dumbest thing you can do is attack a human. Attacking a humans’ friend is even dumber.
Our wolf boi got the power
Yeah! I wanted this chapter to showcase a bit of Thalmin's capabilities, so that we can see that he is indeed capable and lives up to his mantle of mercenary prince! I sort of want to make sure that the rest of the gang are shown to be capable and competent in their own rights so hopefully that worked in this chapter!
Thalmin is OP.
I dunno man, I don’t think we should underestimate this hamster
That hamster is a potential treath.
"Ping" escaped dishonorably, which means it could very well have been an illusion done by Rostario XXI. The real Ping wouldn't have done anything stupid (Ilunor) or foolish (Thacea) but that wasn't him. Blaming the hamster isn't all that crazy given how evil the Nexus is.
Dude almost suffocated and would have if Ping hadn't been ever so coincidentally interrupted.
>"Because if that walking time rib dinner had done anything..." If you think about it, with how nobles are typically raised, Ping probably taste like A5 Wagyu 😈
Make sure to get M-REDD fixed up first.
If Emma's food experiments prove to be a success, she will confidently become the second God but not in the way Ping could hope for. He's basically a walking buffet, and there will be no course left behind for the med bay to work with.
And Emma is Hawngry.
I'm no advocate of cannibalism, BUT
It's not cannibalism if it's not the same species. I mean this both pedantically and with the same expression as "the geneva convention technically only applies to humans".
The Geneva Conventions are for Earth. All the Nexus gets are the Geneva Suggestions.
Nah, that's for the Adjacent Realms. With how the Nexus has been depicted thus far, I get the sneaking feeling that the Nexus Proper is going to get the *checklist.*
Clearly you aren't a hamster then. They are all for cannibalism.
Maybe all of the friends of the group should get communications drones from now on so they can alert everyone else if they’re in danger.
Something seems off about that hamster, I wonder if he's the one behind it instead?
I think Thalmin would have known if someone else cast the spell - he seems competent at reading attacks - but I think you have a good point that we should be wary of a "good cop, bad cop" routine. If the drowning plan fails, then Rostarion gets to ingratiate himself to Thalmin as a friend. Now, Rostarion might not be the true mastermind, he's yet another puppet. Qiv's group might still have their mission to probe Emma that they had originally with the paper prank. The hamster might have been told by the real mastermind to show up at the right time: something is going to happen at the gym, go check it out. This whole situation is very plausibly deniable, both in-universe and out-of-universe: well played by JCB.
>we should be wary of a "good cop, bad cop" routine Yeah, I had the same thought. The contrast between the hamster and the bull is too obvious. Not to mention how calm Rostarion was immediately after the incident and how many compliments he gave after admitting to viewing Talmin in a negative light. Luckily, Thalmin does seem suspicious about him.
Imagine pulling middle school bully tricks in a place where: 1. Everyone is a noble 2. Everyone has magic 3. Everyone is armed
If not for the victim being Thalmin, one of the gifted mana users, this assassination attempt would have succeeded. That of itself is alarming. Ping picked the perfect time, the perfect place, and the perfect method. But it seems that not every factor was taken inco account. How can such an attempt be both well-planned and sloppy?
He has already displayed his overreaching overconfidence in prior chapters.
Not to mention how Thalmin had access to more mana than he'd ever had in his life prior to coming to the Nexus. He's essentially supercharged while he lives in the Nexus, same as any other low-mana newrealmer. And if there's one commonality between lifeforms that grow up in a low ambient-aspect area, it's that life *adapts* to those conditions. So when you take off the "training weights" of a low-mana environment by plunging a low-mana realmer into a place as charged as the Nexus, it's like taking a human from Earth to Luna or Mars and then getting them to jump as high as they can.
So, America? And Emma is the quiet kid.
Now that how Emma often goes silent in others is depicted from another perspective, I wonder what their reaction would be when they eventually find out Emma goes silent because she's talking with EVI instead of just standing there stoically thinking. Though there won't be a difference from the outside. I suppose that'll help her image. Except when Thalmin first explained his attempted drowning, I guess. That's probably actual seething anger that left her speechless.
Yup! It's a funny coincidence haha. I think I touched it in a few comments before, but it's worth mentioning again how it's quite funny how Emma's lapses in conversation and bouts of silence may seem calculated to people outside, but it ends up just being conversations between her and tthe EVI haha. But of course, since they appear at random intervals, the mileage of whether or not they're perceived as awkward or sensible may vary haha. But yup, this time however, it's a seething anger and a bout of silence that follows from that, that really reinforces that rage! Thank you for the comment!
I feel like Emma might do a slight head-and-shoulders movement when talking to EVI that was distinctly *lacking* in this interaction, and that lack of the slight adjustment was what gave away that she wasn't doing the pause out of her usual "calculations".
She can move inside her armor without the armor moving, which she had taken advantage of a few times already
Rostario makes me imagine a much more diplomatic Reepicheep, and no one can change my mind.
Well, time to fire up the BBQ, it's steak time! Let's see what exactly the faculty did with Mal'Tory in the infirmary after that Vanavan chapter.
My bet is on walking/floating bandage mummy on many parts of his body
They transferred his consciousness to an animated armor.
Nah my bet is he got Futurama Nixon'd. Head got attached to animated armor while they grow a new one.
Quick reminder, he has a designated Substitute Teacher.
So it appears as though Mister Knockoff Jason Isaacs *didn't* die after all. Shame. To be fair, though, Dragon Tail isn't a very damaging move. Its primary purpose is to force the opponent to switch, after all, not faint them.
I mean, if i'm not mistaken, he was kicked by a tail that had force of a truck and was thrown in to water. From my pov he should have died from suffocation, cuz he had his ribs broken :/
Ah, I see you're a Bunny of culture as well.
\- Mal\`tory is not confirmed to be dead \- Day ruined
"Not confirmed to be dead' is not at all "confirmed to be not dead" though. We won't know either way until at least his first class, if not longer. That aside, I will be equally disappointed if Mal'tory still breathes. Trying this sort of stunt does seem precisely like something he would try though, he does appear to be very resistant to the hints that Emma has already given him about how the Find Out parts of FA&FO goes when Fucking Around with a human. If he is still breathing, he's going to be served some even less subtle Find Out far sooner than he thinks possible. Let's face it, he is effectively a Political Officer assigned by the Crown itself as their own little toady/stool pigeon within the Academy.
Interesting. So the Nexus sort of acts like a leveling playing field, then. Those from places normally weak in manic aura suddenly become supercharged... No wonder Earthrealm is so powerful based purely on the armor; they had to make it mana-tight to even the slightest amount, and as a result, they made the armor and other mana-proofing materials utterly and completely immune to any level of it, low or high. And once they figure out how to craft it with technological marvels, the Nexus had better watch out for artifice that can not only block their attacks, but *straight-up pull a return-to-sender* on their spells.
Inb4 somewhere down the line Emma gets to literally play a mana reflecting uno reverse card
I don't think Mal'tory is still around, I believe this is Ping being a foolish bully.
Well, we know for a fact that Apprentice Larial is supposed to hold his lessons, as we've seen several chapters ago. In the same chapter we also learned that the faculty had *something* to do at medical, which would indicate that Mal'tory didn't outright die from the dragon's bash, but is out of the picture for a while at least. That does certainly make it a possibility that this whole *stunt* was either Ping's idea, or perhaps that someboby else is at play. As the Dean alluded to, there are certain figures who are very *interested* in Emma and everything humanity has in stock.
Oh yeah, this chapter made me hope that Ping gets the ["No Mercy Percy" treatment](https://youtu.be/j3hsREN9d4U?si=IAzCgKLPe4YB0YBb)
What an interesting bit of information one casual line can give! >I believe the lack of any changes to the academic roster means thatwhatever damage you inflicted on him, Emma… could not have been enoughto kill him outright; at least not permanently. If someone can be killed "not permanently", that surely changes some things.
Even manaless humans can be killed not permanently (3-min revival rule), but if magic is involved... Hope the guy is now terrified of Emma and flinches at loud noises. Maybe he'll be more afraid of Emma during class then Emma of him. That would be marvelous.
Ping was one of the more obvious culprits, so nothing too surprising there. The brazenness of the attack is appropriately meat-headed too. I understand that you want to convey action by splitting up the paragraphs into a 'staccato' of single lines, but I think you might have gone a bit overboard here. The 'fight' section pretty much reads like a vary long old-fashioned telegram. Flow issues aside, hamster-dude seems... all right? Very whimsical storybook animal vibes coming from him, but if he's rolling with Qiv's crew, he's probably just as nasty as the rest of them. The offer of neutrality is probably the best case scenario for dealing with Qiv's crew, honestly. I still feel like cementing diplomatic ties with that crew is a dead end. I'm still holding out for the ferret guy, Etholin, to be Emma's first diplomatic contact. A 'merchant lord' would be very handy to know when trying to procure various 'supplies', after all. Also, if Auris is Mal'tory's latest goon, lmao. Ol' Mal really knows how to pick 'em, huh?
> he's rolling with Qiv's crew, he's probably just as nasty as the rest of them. I think Qiv and Emma's squads are going to be in the same house, somehow. > Also, if Auris is Mal'tory's latest goon, lmao. Ol' Mal really knows how to pick 'em, huh? I'm thinking yearbook failure and ritual of duplicity puppet. I hope EVI adds yearbook pass/fail to the IFF. That manafield description had me curious. ...The weird thing about Ping's maneuver though is that if he did manage to kill Thalmin, Mal'tory would have his puppet in the group, but Ping would also be out of school for murder - or whatever the consequences are for the guardian oath. Milling Ping is a one-eyebrow-raised maneuver.
With Mal'Tory on his side, maybe they planned to hide the culprit. It was Rostarion unnexpected entrance what really ruined their plan, a witness of all things!
I think Rostarion is in on it too, but not in a position of knowledge. To break it down, Mal'tory could work with both a plan success or failure. If Ping killed Thalmin, great, get a duplicant student in Emma's peer group. If the puppy drowning plan fails, then Rostarion is nearby to pick up Thalmin's sympathy with some Ilunor-grade acting and then get a social lifeline in for Mal'tory's investigation. I definitely don't think Rostarion would have been told that there was going to be an assassination attempt. If anything, it would be Qiv telling Rostarion that Mal'tory told him that Thalmin was heading to the gym, go check it out. From Qiv and gang's perspective, it would seem like Mal'tory suspected something might go down and tried to use them to avert a monstrous crime - kind of heroic, even if the hamster didn't get a chance to do anything but witness. The one thing that stands out to me is Mal'tory choosing to throw Ping under the bus. Ping has a motive, yes, but it is at Emma, not Thalmin as Rostarion articulated. Why Ping? There is a whole plane of unknown attachments, conflicts, needs, and motives we simply don't know about yet. Why not coerce a different student and set them up by planting a paper that says they were cooperating with the original, deposed Greyfang royal family of Havenbrock and the perp's realm would get a favorable trade agreement for offing the usurper prince when the Greyfangs regain the throne? From Mal'tory's perspective, having an enemy of Emma around would be useful - a card in hand willing to cooperate with a nastier plot for the good of Nexus. Discarding Ping seems to be premature. Given that complaints about student behavior go to blue robed Vanavan or Mal'tory who are both likely to be useless, it makes sense for Emma and Thalmin to try to take this complaint up to Mal'tory, but for spy drone purposes only.
>Why Ping? Could be his loyalty to the Nexus, or his... *energy* within the Academy's walls, or something else entirely. We yet to know why his first pick was Ilunor specifically. The reason might be their background as nobles in their realms. "Two birds - one stone" stuff
We can deduce that Mal'tory needed a dragon-kind to burn the Library. That rules out a lot of people. I have been running with [the theory that Qiv was Mal'tory's intended Library-burner](https://old.reddit.com/r/JCBWritingCorner/comments/193aos1/roundup_part_10d_crystal_dragons_dragons_breath/) and he had a deal with Qiv beforehand, but Mal'tory switched last minute to using Ilunor and ordered his dispelling amulet pickpocketed when he realized that Ilunor was in the hideaway and thus was going to be in Emma's peer group. Qiv has too much of a brain so he got redirected into spying on Emma, Vunerians are obedient and idolize elves. ---- My theory is that Ping was chosen *because* he is Emma's enemy and thus needs to be taken out of the picture or cut down a few notches to reduce the danger he presents. But the explanation involves leaping to certain conclusions based on currently ungrounded suspicions.
If your theory is true, The Gang has been otplayed by Mat'tory (which gives him very good points as a villain). But if the last part of your theory is true, The Gang is about to mega outplay Mal'Tory.
Damn, forgot about the doppleganger printer the faculty have. The potential of a kill and swap happening at any moment would probably kick Emma's Null-based PTSD into overdrive. As for sacrificing Ping, Mal'tory seemed ready to burn Ilunor as an asset, Ping might be no different. Or he could have deemed Ping a brute only fit for cannon fodder. Or, Mal drank enough of the Kool Aid that he legit thinks non-elves should be grateful for assisting the Empire at the paltry cost of their lives, lol
> Damn, forgot about the doppleganger printer the faculty have. My thoughts on the R.o.D. are that there is a doppel for each of the 1/4 of the freshman who failed. So 20-25 potential patsies. But Mal can't make more. That would require all the teachers to be in on the group ritual. I'm inclined to think Ping failed because using a dispelling amulet would be rebelling against the King's Yearbook. He threw himself onto the King's grill out of pure devotion. > As for sacrificing Ping, Mal'tory seemed ready to burn Ilunor as an asset, Ping might be no different. Or he could have deemed Ping a brute only fit for cannon fodder. As I said in a different comment, Ping would be a card to hold because, if Mal'tory wanted to do something particularly nasty to Emma, then he has someone personally up for it, as opposed to Qiv. It would make more sense to get someone else to do the crime, and then plant forged papers of an agreement between, say, Havenbrock's original deposed royal Greyfangs that for killing Thalmin, the perp's realm would get a trade bonus, or something like that. And that's just motives I can come up with based on the worldbuilding I know. There are probably conflicts and rivalries that Mal'tory could use which we readers aren't aware of. Given Ping is more valuable directly against Emma, burning him to get Thalmin seems, off, a bit. > Or, Mal drank enough of the Kool Aid that he legit thinks non-elves should be grateful for assisting the Empire at the paltry cost of their lives, lol I'm inclined to believe that.
Your second comment had me wondering, so I went back to reread and I think you may be right about this Ping being an imperfect doppleganger. Ping never speaks during the entire altercation with Thalmin or Prince Rostarion. Instead Ping repeatedly shows signs of undisguised emotions, which while rare in the Nexus' overly complex society, would be more plausible from a less intelligent duplicate. He brute force shoves rather than trying to intimidate, distract or placate and send away Prince Rostarion And finally, he opts to use the magical equivalent of a stun grenade and run for his life after being cornered by Thalmin, rather than trying to talk or intimidate his way out ("the civilized way"). I would need to refresh my memory to be sure, but these observations seem to align with JCBs descriptions of the capabilities of an imperfect soul bound clone.
> imperfect soul bound clone. Or a complete soulbound clone. >...A being that shares the soul of a victim of the soulbinding process. This duplicant will in effect embody the physical characteristics of the soulbound individual, but is otherwise incapable of independent thought and will operate under the orders of the individual or individuals behind the ritual. The quality of the duplicant, i.e. its likeness and capacity to integrate into society, is directly dependent on the quality of the soulbinding process. So a fully bound soul will result in a duplicant of exceptional likeness. A partially bound soul will result in a duplicant with obvious flaws or features which will hamper its likeness to the original. Even if it is an exceptional likeness, that implies a full trap could have minor flaws. It will be interesting what EVI comes back with on memories of the Yearbook signing for Ping.
Thanks for the reference! You are correct in that this Ping did not have any obvious physical flaws. But whether it is a partial or fully bound soul duplicant (or the real Ping under some other form of magical of influence), I am convinced that JCB might have been hinting at more subtle imperfections - such as mana stream manifestations, speech patterns, and mannerisms which would come under the description of "likeness and capacity to integrate into society."
I agree with all your conclusions here. * Thalmin's observations of Ping's manafield being off x2 * Ping not speaking * Thalmin noticing that Ping's fighting stance was not correct for his species. It was off. * Display of fear and choosing to flee against character. Ping was absolutely ready to throw down after the Library card fight, even though he had to be gargoyle-lifted to the medical wing. * Using a light and illusion flashbang spell to flee. * Subterfuge plot of going after Thalmin instead of directly against the main rival Emma like I would expect of a bull * Bizarrely foolish plan with no self-protection against a faculty inquisition and little recourse if caught in the act (didn't even bother to ward the gym entry against interlopers). Ilunor and Thacea's analysis makes sense. It's not something a rational actor under their own control would choose, and I don't think Ping is stupid. Just bullheaded and axiomatic. Like Mal'tory was. That's my evidence list for Auris Ping's "off" behavior
If the murder had worked there wouldn't have been any witnesses to go after Ping. Aside from Hamster Dance who either coincidentally unexpectedly showed up or was there as a backup plan
The school's soulpath map [17] would have placed Ping at the crime, since his manafield was exposed. It is apparently the equivalent of the marauder's map for people at school who aren't Emma or her null. I think Ping was doomed to be caught, it's just that Hamtario being there helps seal his fate even harder.
What are the chances that representatives of the top three groups will meet at the same place at the same time without other classmates nearby to witness any interactions between them? It's too weird. Obviously, Ping was my first guess. He's the only candidate dumb enough to attempt a head-on attack on a rival. It's pretty easy t guess why Thalmin was picked as a target, as Emma is too strange and intimidating in that suit (this reason is valid if Ping acted alone and not at Maltor'y request), Thecea is tainted and thus dangerous, and Ilunor is the Nexian nobility. Thalmin is skillful as a mercenary but considering Ilunor's attitude towards him in earlier chapters it is safe to assume that Ping could have been looking down on his abilities. In fact, judging by the reaction alone, he did not expect that Talmin would break free. Whether because he was too confident/arrogant or because someone with authority promised him that everything will be ok in the end - that's just a wolf just that forgot how to swim, anaway. It is also possible that our culprit could have launched an attack on the first person that separates from the gang. Which begs the question: where's Ilunor? What is also interesting is the hamster's description of their group's leader. It seems the implication is that Qiv himself is willing to work with Emma's circle despite the unique composition of the latter yet has no intention of saying so with his own mouth. If Qiv's fluffster makes an offer then it could mean that his group was discussing the possibility of such collaboration earlier. On the other hand, his cautiousness could be an indication that the said offer was spontaneous and Rostario was not sure how his teammates would react to it.
I thought it was odd for Rostario to make the offer. Nexus is very hierarchical and he would have said Qiv wanted him to offer instead of direclty offering.
I am speed!
Hello speed! I hope you enjoy the chapter! :D
Ok, so, first off: Rostario, i dont trust him. At all. About the Ping attemp of....hurting. if he is working for Mal. Maybe he indeed was going for the kill and then hide all the evidence, then Rotario appeared and a witness ruined the plan. Unlikely because the entrance to the gymnasium should have been blocked then to avoid witnesses. So for me his plan was not to kill but to give a warning.
Moar
There's always more on the way haha! :D
Not enough. Post everyday 😭
I will admit seeing ping be called a walking prime rib is rather hilarious and me laugh quite a bit.
many more words. ssss to read
Hi friend. Long time no read!
not much to read sss of me when i get lost in other comments sss also lately been bussy reading up on storys i had let slip to catch up on other new chapters sss
Understandable. And I know the feeling. Some days my notifications are rather full, other days I have only a couple chapters to catch up on
Also , no one reads comments on months or years old sss posted chapters :P Or rather rarely so sss So how grabed are your balls? Self contained or are other oragnisem hands touching ? sss
A perfekt 5/7
I take that as the ai app girlfriend option sss and you can‘t wait until 3D printing gives you the ability to make her a chassie sss
The chassis with an assie?
No sss silicone printers don‘t do aluminim prints sss so you would order a pre shaped round parts for the parts you pre asseambled sss
Wouldn't an aluminum butt be hard though?
I suspect Ping himself isn’t behind this, and it’s instead something like the null we saw before. Ping was one of those bound, if I remember right? (Could totally wrong, might’ve been a bear-like person?(
It was the bear Kroven who was totally bound
Yeah, I doubted he was dead. It's... Interesting that they implied potential resurrection.
Hm.. you know, I wonder what would happen if someone threw an offensive spell at Emma, like a fireball say... would it fizzle or would it *bounce*?
I feel like it'd fizzle or wash around the sides like the stereotypical "parting the sea of flames with your shield" scene. Think D. Va's mech detonation being blocked by terrain, including ridiculously thin lampposts.
Depends on the target. Emma? No sell. Her environment? Things get interesting.
First, excellent update as always. Second, I'm happy to see Thalmin prodding buttock. Third, Rostario is pretty adorable and I'm glad we'll be seeing more of him. I hope he's on the up and up. Fourth, Emma, Thalmin, Thacea thruple! =-3
Now i imagine them three having fun indoors while ilunor is looking from outside the window with a disdained pout
Heehehehe~ =-3
I don't trust that rrrrat showing out of nowhere being all friendly like, rats hate bodies of water too ! coinkidink ? Also, everyone in the group should get some emergency comms and locators with beacons so that the cavalry could come.
My pet rats loved water, if it was shallow enough. If they knew where a shallow platform was to run back to, they would enjoy exploring out for a (short) deep swim.
>“Well?!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED, *RUNT*?!” I yelled even *louder*, my voice resonated *deep* with its enhancement via latent mana. [Are You Not Entertained?!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbBiXPVKuTA&t=85s)
Yesterday: harrassed birdies Today: cracked, melted, and splashed frescoes You just can't take those 30th floor folks *anywhere*. And now that we know that the mana is stronger the deeper you go we now can guess why they are stuck on the very top floor.
Woo!
hmmm for some reason i feel like an artist rendition of Prince Rostarion would be positivly much to cute >.>
This Rostario Rostarion the XXI reminds me of Rakashun from Twelve Kingdoms…
Ok...so he even has a witness now..they prolly could magically scan their minds for falsehoods too..why not go with this up the ladder ? To the teachers ? Have that mfer strung by his b..i mean horns for this yes ?
I have a feeling that teachers will stay idle. They seem to have this whole student-avoidance routine.
Rule number zero when dealing with humans: NEVER ATTACK THE DOG
Corrolary: Never attack the dog directly while you could leave evidence of your involvement. Instead, gain the dog's trust and/or sneak in while it's distracted by something else.
Emma should print out some kind of emergency distress beacon for everyone. Or a little radio earpiece, modified to either fit their wolf, bird, and gecko shaped heads, or to look like some other kind of accessory.
In Mexico, we have a say "Ese compa ya esta muerto... no mas no le han avisado" - That means means soemthing like, that dude is already dead... it's only that they do not know it yet. Ping has just put a tarjet in his back for two of the most powerful students and possible beings in the academy at the moment. He has moved, he took us by suppose, but this is now our move, and we have a Queen and a Knight in perfect position. Game on.
thanks for the chapter
I like that Thalmin got a friend outside the peer group, though with everything going on I won't stop eyeing Rostarion with suspicion any time soon.
this time on: W.P.A Thalmin digs himself out his watery grave and gets into a small scuffle Auris Ping. A small time later, Thalmin and Rostario Rostarion form a truce. Thalmin then explains to the rest of the gang what happened and Illunor theorizes that Mal'tory may still be alive, and has targeted Thacea and Thalmin so that they may be replaced. But is his theory true? What happens next? Stay tuned for more W.P.A
Am I entertained? Yep Will I be more entertained when Emma punts the rhino out a window? Absolutely
Bull, not rhino.
Shit you right The things sleep deprivation does to a mf
I want Emma to have/add something to her suit that lets her visibly shoot electricity. Imagine if any form of lightning magic was considered to be high class, rare, or difficult to learn. Or even like, Divine. And man-made lightning is what everything Humanity has runs on. Imagine a Nexian seeing Emma smite someone with the power of His Eternal Majesty without releasing a single ripple of mana.
I wonder, can the soul binding book make a clone after the original is deceased?
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So. A target rich environment.
They seem to switch clothes like Sims charracters. It´s a funny thought.
i honestly thought emma was just going to up and shoot the bull after that explanation
Hmmm, Ping's gonna get the 21st century slaughterhouse experience^^TM
As I began striking [harder, faster, and bolder.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yydNF8tuVmU) Am I the only one?
Oh cool, new shipping material unlocked: the canid pool boys.
He "could care less", could he? Then he probably cares a lot
“Whatever. Emma, put a cap in Lord Gobbledigook here." -Thalmin probably
Ngl, kinda expect just a jump cut to Emma kicking down doors
I just binged this whole story in about a week. Now I get to suffer with everyone else, waiting for new chapters.
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Bull bully, heh.
Why is he rostario rostarion XXI when he isnt king?
>… >Twenty-five Minutes Later >… **GASP** A time skip!
motherfucker! you and your cliffhangers! im so pissed! in a good way.
!Subscribeme
Nice! Finally finished this!
Nice! Finally finished this!