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Castle Dancer
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>None of us said anything about you being scared
Eh? Guess you guys can't hear everything, then. I think I described it before, but it's like there's a sea of voices, but a few of them bubble up to the top. If you guys were on different ends of that sea, I s'pose then you wouldn't hear it. But I think that's really rare, anyway. With you lot arguing over each other sometimes, it would almost be more understandable if you couldn't actually hear each other.
"Anyway, Argine, can you please hold still for a moment?"
Diagram stands up from her notes, hooking up little wires with pads on the end that stick to my clothes.
"So what's this for, Diagram?"
"Collecting data. This gadget's meant to interface with your own unique capabilities, so we'll have to get a lot of things done before then. I hope you're ready for a lot of physical exercise!"
...
She wasn't kidding.
For the next few hours, she put me through regimens that would make Ozone envious. The whole time, as Diagram takes notes, she adjusts the knobs on the containment chamber, even giving it a prod on occasion.
I think if there's one thing that Diagram did that my other instructors never have, it's taxing you spiritually.
You think using a Parasignia's easy? Imagine having to do it on command for hours on end, popping your guns in and out of existence, putting them together, unpacking them, slotting them into each other and recombining them again and again and again! I don't even get the satisfaction of shooting them, since it's not needed!
When we're just starting out, we have to do this to a lesser extent to get used to the unique effects of each and every Parasignia. But like this? I swear, that girl has some kind of sadistic streak. Maybe that's why she's so fond of weapons engineering.
The experiments go on till late. Even though I'm physically still capable of running a few laps, my... uh, soul, feels exhausted by all of this.
I'm dripping wet from sweat, my head hurts and the dinner we picked up an hour ago isn't sitting right in my stomach.
"Bloody hell, Diagram. I thought today was going to just be boxes and magic, not a damn physical and mental fitness evaluation!"
She laughs, all polite-like with her hand in front of her snout.
"Hee hee. Well, sometimes you've got to be practical with things, right? But anyway, it's all done now, Argine! Here it is, the gadget we've worked hard all day to complete! The Deck of the Storyteller."
She presents me with the faintly-glowing cards, thick compared to the playing cards that you'd use over the lunch table.
There's a small sleeve holster for all of them, I can probably hook it onto my waist with no problem.
...Whoa. The cards are floating? There's the faint scent of stone on the cards, for some reason.
"Why's it called the Deck of the Storyteller anyway?", I ask. "The cards don't really tell much of a story."
Diagram looks over at the notes that remain to the side.
"It was because of the bullet, Argine."
She sits cross-legged, picking up the papers.
"That bullet... it was imbued with a little bit of power from someone else's Parasignia. I have no idea who, or when, or even how it happened. But it was made, and somehow, Judicium got her hands on it. But, it belonged to someone who wrote stories. That's honestly why."
Okaaaaay. Not exactly sure how you draw that kind of conclusion from analyzing a magic bullet, but this kind of thing with Parasignias is exactly why she's the genius working on this kind of thing and not me.
"So, did you figure out what it was originally meant to do?"
Diagram shakes her head, a deep frown crossing it.
"Not... quite. The bullet had a strange amount of effects on it, and when I broke it down - it split the effects. It makes little sense to me - that's like if you let some berry juice settle, and suddenly all of the blended fruit reforms into solid chunks! Part of why I turned it into... this, was because it was a way for me to 'box up' all of the effects without having to turn them all into fully fledged gadgets which I wouldn't even be able to properly test, because of... well, I'll explain in a bit."
She exhales, a look of exhaustion crossing her face. I guess even if I'm on the end of the testing, she's still having to do calibrations, huh? Must've taken a lot out of her too.
"So part of why the bullet's 'magic' was turned into cards was... it felt resonant with whoever the original Parasignia belonged to."
...Eh?
She notices my visible confusion.
"Maybe I'll have to explain what 'Pseudosignias' are to you a later day, Argine. But think of the deck as a temporary connection to someone you don't even know. You then get to borrow some of that individual's powers, filtered through your own Parasginia."
Oh, now that's much more understandable.
"At first, I was going to write out how this works, but thankfully, we've got an easier option."
She deactivates her suppressor, placing a hand onto my shoulder.
Immediately, the words come flooding into my mind.
It's simple, Argine! Ever played a cardgame or two? Well, here's the run down.
The way the Deck of the Storyteller works, is that you've got a total of twenty cards. Each of the cards has an effect depending on what kind of card it is. There are six in total, but when you draw and use the card, it'll expend itself and disappear.
Wait, disappear? Can't I just make another copy of it or something?
...Don't look at me like that, you already know everything to do with this!
I'm sorry Argine, but unless we have another source of magic on this facility, we're not going to be able to reconstitute these cards. So treat them like one-time use gadgets - they're not going to be replenish-able, as long as you're in this facility.
The effects are as follows -
Solburst - Upon use, a heatwave will emerge centered on yourself, staggering enemies and vaporizing ballistic projectiles coming towards you, as well as disrupting other types of projectiles.
Frozeneye - Upon use, this card slows your perception down, allowing for you to better exploit weakpoints or avoiding specific kinds of attacks. This'll be great for precision, whether offensive or defensive!
Breezecycle - Ever get caught out without the right gadget, Argine? No? Well, I feel like it'll happen at some point in the future. This one can help you out. I'm actually a little proud that I got this to work, because it's tied to your actual Parasignia. When you spend your limited-use gadgets like the Explosive Discs, or if you've equipped a gadget you feel isn't suitable for the current situation, spending this card lets you instantly refill the gadget's uses for Gambits, or immediately switches out one of your four equipped gadgets to something else. You can also swap the passive-slot gadgets you have equipped, effectively letting you re-select an entire gadget slot!
Briarspirit - This one's a protective effect. A little simple, but always having a shield on hand's useful, right Argine? It can also revitalize you a bit, restoring a little of your health, but I'll say that recovery effects from Parasignias are generally rare, according to the notes that Doctor Troveheart assembled, and my own findings. So using it as a pick-me-up instead of a shield is going to be less effective.
Voidsplit - This one's a bit different to the rest as well. It operates under similar principles to the Frozeneye card, but instead of slowing down your perception, it enhances your body's ability to respond to your actions. In effect, it allows you to take three actions in one go. It's quite useful! But keep in mind, just like the rest of the cards, you only get three uses of it.
Echoscribe - The last card. Unlike the other five, (of which you only have three copies of each) you've got five of these ones! This one's pretty straightforward. It simply copies one of the gadgets that you've seen before, and activates it's effect! Though, this is a flimsy copy so it disappears after you use it, and you can't put any gadgets into it. You're basically using the gadget as if you were a normal person using it - but the upside is, you can use this to copy any gadget you've seen, even the ones you don't own! Well, any that you've seen recently. I know you've seen a lot of gadgets, Argine, but your Parasignia's got it's own memory too. Go too long without storing a gadget or interacting with it, and it forgets as well.
So in summary - these are useful one-time gadgets that can help you capitalize off of opportunities, or help you get into better situations. With the exception of the Echoscribe card, the white one, there are three copies of each card. I hope they'll be of help to you in future, Argine!
Diagram lifts her hand, flicking the suppressor back on. She's polite enough to keep it off when necessary, for my sake. But throughout that whole explanation, I could feel her excitement.
I hook the card holster onto my pants, the weight of the... 'magic' cards giving me a strange sense of reassurance.
"Thanks, Diagram. I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes."
She yawns, blinking slowly.
"Y-yeah... I'm glad, Argine. Anyway... I'm feeling pretty tired. Do you want to turn in for the night?"
I nod. "I think we're done here, Diagram. I'm... gonna go get some rest for tomorrow. "
I stand up, almost shakily, as I make my way out of the firing range.
Man, I'm beat. I'm going to head to bed, but tomorrow's going to keep me running around as usual.
Was there anything else I should try to keep in mind? Dunno if I missed anything today, but I'll have to pick it up tomorrow.
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