Count Erment's Office

Being returned to this room after bleeding to death was within my expectations, but from the looks of things, I somehow managed to clear the quest a split-second before my Health completely bottomed out, somehow or other. Definitely not a stunt I can replicate a year from now. Even though it's technically an exploit, I feel elated, but at the same time, so very, very tired. Today has been a long, and exhaustive experience full of confrontation and stress. I...should finish up here before I entertain pining thoughts of a warm bed and fobbing off a cup of Sweet Cloud from the Ahtni Rea-Horolt's stash of liquor.

I need something to take the edge off, but I don't want to ape Windy and use alcohol as a coping mechanism.

Pulling myself up, I massage my face with my hands, back in my own gear again. Didn't think I'd get to keep the half-plate, but I'm still disappointed. It's a distraction from the phantom pain emanating from my left side, now intact once more.

"That was a...pathetic showing," the cold voice of the Count cuts through my fugue, ripe with disdain and judgment, "I find it galling that I am forced to give my Legacy to such a worthless speck."

"Still did better than you did back then," I snap back, reading between the lines from the context presented by his conditions and my impressions of his personality in his youth, "Are you done pretending now? We both know this front of yours wasn't fooling me, even if I graciously played along."

"...What are you mumbling about, cretin?" the count folds his arms, maintaining eye contact with me, elbows resting on his desk.

"That. That right there, would you just cut it out?" I sigh, well and truly fed up with just about everything, "I know you aren't like that anymore. You spend a thousand fucking years down here accompanied by an eternal reminder of your failure as a person, and expect people to believe you wouldn't change or reflect even just a teeny-tiny bit? Come off it. I'd believe a catatonic wreck, or a raving lunatic - but you aren't some half-formed Remnant Will at the core of a Reminiscence...you're the real Count Erment."

The aloof figure of the Count shimmers, and an older, much greyer man replaces him. His once fair skin is now covered in scars and burn marks, his goatee shaved away and a noticeable bald spot developing on his crown. Rather than arrogant, the mood he gives off is sombre and vaguely tragic.

"Surprisingly observant of you," he admits slowly.

I roll my eyes, "You were trying way too hard to trigger a Usurpation, even if I were to miss the obvious outside context."

Ulster was a born bootlicker. He would do and say anything if it would give him a shot at more wealth, fame and power, without any extra thought involved. Odds are he just did the Trial as normal, spouting textbook answers. I don't know for certain, but I doubt he was earmarked as a Potentiate, as I have appear to have been. Still, with the scenario of the Trial already locked in back at its creation, Count Erment could hardly change it to reflect the changes he's undergone and by extension the sort of person he's looking for now as compared to back then, so...he abused a loophole and cheated.

From how I see it, Count Erment's remnant is a lonely and incredibly desperate old man. Desperate for his existence here to be vindicated - for someone to humour his guilt and self-loathing. It wouldn't really matter who it was at this point as long as they pass the trial, but what he really wanted is for someone to absolve him of the feelings of guilt that have been festering within for centuries, practically alone; To choose a Path that wouldn't repeat his mistakes.

Thus, the facade and the - to be utterly frank - overplayed 'secret test of character' horseshit I've had to put up with more than once over the years. It wasn't clever the first time a Remnant Will pulled that trick - an extremely obvious 'was what you dropped the gold or normal hatchet' scenario - and it isn't any fresher now.

"Perhaps so," he concedes, resting his head on his hand, "However, as much as I may have been exaggerating - my evaluation of you is still poor, overall. You are woefully lacking in several key areas. Strength. Skill. Judgment. Leadership. Decisiveness. Ambition."

"I won't deny it," I shrug, "As I just said, however, I did better than you did, did I not?"

"That's hardly a fair comparison to be making," Count Erment brushes me off, "You are evidently a far more experienced man than I was at the time, for all your many faults. It was just barely enough to break you free from the Role's Flow, but your performance was abysmal, even if you cleared the conditions set forth. You wasted too much time. You barely contributed to the strategy and battle for the majority of it, despite being the one to land the killing blow on Striker. In the end, you eked by on the bare minimum."

His words are harsh, but fair criticism. I could certainly have done better, however, getting stuck on that won't do me any good. It's been an eye-opening experience all-in-all I won't soon forget.

"Hold on - 'Role's Flow'?" I interject, "So there was something messing with my head?"

"Not precisely," he denies it, brows furrowing in annoyance, "Since the basis of the Legacy Trial was my memory and perspective, some of it naturally bled through while you were immersed in them. That ordinarily wouldn't be an issue if you were someone actually worthy of this opportunity, but you are a feeble creature, with a flimsy, hollow sense of identity. To be blunt, your success was a complete fluke. The severe wound you sustained should have killed you instantly, regardless of that defensive Skill you utilised..."

After a long breath, he sighs, "I will say it again. You. Are. Not. Worthy. But, now that it's come to this, my objections are meaningless."

"Despite going out of your way to make it a Usurpation, you're still going to complain now that it's happened?" I throw my arms up in amazement, "I don't know if that's ironic or hypocritical of you."

"Think of me what you will, my opinions won't soon be changed," Count Erment reclines in his chair, then retrieves that bottle of mystery liquor from his desk drawer and chugs it back, "Haaah. I suppose that for as much of an empty husk as you are, that in itself has its own merits given my long-held desire for a successor. Perhaps all this will serve to fill a little of that cavernous skull of yours with some Starsforsaken sense."

Pushing to my feet with a frown, I spread my arm out, "Well, if you're done insulting me, I'd really prefer to be in bed now, so can I leave?"

"No. Not just yet," he takes another swig, corks it and stands, "We need to complete the transference procedure."

Walking around his desk, leaving the bottle atop it as he passes, Count Erment stands before me. Reaching behind him, he pulls out an ordinary-looking dagger and holds it out to me by the blade, offering its handle. From the serious look he's giving me, I can more or less figure out what he intends for me to do. As a Usurpation, I suppose that the transfer couldn't be anything but violent and forceful.

"...Any last insults to throw out, or do you have something worthwhile to accompany your final demise?" I ask, wrapping my fingers around the knife's hilt, "You've had a long time to rehearse this moment, after all."

The Iron Lord considers it, chewing on his lip, before speaking, "Some advice, then: Do not be ashamed of yourself or what you must do. This...excessive consideration for others you cling to so is hollow and repulsive in a leader. Patience and kindness are not virtues you can afford when trouble arrives at your doorstep - use what you have, break them if necessary. So long as the cause is just, and your wills aligned, they will understand and accept it. I didn't fail because of my 'tyranny' as you call it, but instead because we lost cohesion as a result of my obsession narrowing my view and weakening my influence over my people."

Perhaps I was expecting too much from him and his ability for self-reflection. Some fundamental piece of Count Erment just absolutely refuses to let go of any sort of control over the hearts and minds of his people, to see them as anything more than a conceptual 'thing' that eats, shits and does what he tells it to. This Legacy at some point must have become an echo chamber for his worst qualities to reverberate and recombine with the reality check his death imposed upon him.

Though he certainly changed for the better...In the end, he barely learned anything.

Wrenching the knife out of its sheath, I ram it through his eye socket without hesitation. He doesn't so much as flinch or move, though he definitely has the capacity.

"I don't think we'll ever see eye to eye," I smile sadly, letting go of the weapon as he crumples down into a heap, dead for good, "And you can take that terrible pun with you to the afterlife as the last thing you ever hear. You reprehensible, warmongering piece of misanthropic human garbage."

The office vanishes, all sound, all visual feedback with it. I feel a strange floatiness rising from within, and start to fall.

The Olton Keepsake 20F, Olton Mountain Shrine

Spat out of the Legacy Trial, I'm caught and prevented from falling flat on my face by the arms of Yanse halting my forward momentum.

"Ho-kaaaay, easy there," she mutters, pushing me back upright and backing off.

"Thank you," I nod politely, ignoring the notification windows, "I hope I haven't kept you waiting long?"

"A few hours," Yanse shrugs like it's no big deal, "Gave me a chance to catch up with the folks down here. Congratulations, by the way."

"You can tell?" I roll my head, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Mm," she grins, "You feel different. New Class must have a passive Aura Skill. That's pretty rare for your Level."

It's as she says. And the Skill is one of the main draws I had for the Class when I was considering my options, as well as one of the biggest reasons for that sex trafficking ass becoming so successful so quickly. Also, though it wasn't really something I intended when I set my heart on it, it will help a great deal with reigning in the chaos back home at Meteo.

Besides the fatigue, which is to be expected, the sudden change in Attributes has my head spinning and my body prickling all over with pins, needles and deep tissue itchiness. A sensation that is similar to what I experienced after I successfully evolved my Class in the past, though far more pronounced for whatever reason.

"Give me a moment to...yeah..." I request, scrunching my face in discomfort.

"Right, yeah, course," Yanse chuckles lightly, "Never gets any easier, that."

Squatting down, I wait for the worst of the dizziness to pass before I assess what I received for my efforts, chugging down the contents of two waterskins at once.

Aspirant Legacies are something else, huh. My new tools aren't what I'd call the flashiest, but they are extremely effective at what they do. Not to mention the huge bump in Attributes.

First, I need to address the penalties I've been inflicted with. Having my Levelling speed reduced by 10% is a ridiculous sounding drawback to undergoing the Usurpation, but the trade-off being access to Class Skill Transcendence is...more or less worthwhile, I suppose. It's not quite as much of a big deal for me in light of who I am, what I know and my brand new Aura, but it still hurts a lot, and the longer I'm afflicted the more of a pain in my ass it's going to be.

If I want to get rid of it, then I'm going to need to Complete the Class somehow, I figure. Speaking of, the reduction in Free Attributes also really stings, since that limits my flexibility in distribution. The standard 10 per Level will increase every 25 Levels, to 100, then 1000 and so on, so that's a shit load of free attributes that will go to waste. Even utilising some of the consumables that increase the points per Level will be penalised.

Let's go back to a positive, though. 'Class Skill Transcendence' refers to the ability to push a Skill past the 100% Mastery cap. Not that important right now, admittedly, but once a Skill has reached its limit in both Mastery and upgrade paths, that's normally the end of it. No matter how powerful it might be at that point, you can't make it any stronger, and you'll find yourself forced to spread yourself thin over many disparate Skills to see any kind of improvement in combat efficacy outside of Attribute or Equipment improvements; Irrespective of individual talent, experience and training, of course.

Transcendence makes it so a Skill's growth is theoretically endless, so long as the wielder is able to make good on it, and under normal circumstances you'd need to sweat blood and tears over months of hellish training then complete a rare and difficult Quest just to unlock Transcendence for a single Skill.

The Usurpation reward means I get that on all of my Iron Lord specific Skills as standard. Random Skill Gems I find won't have the same benefit, but I'm not about to complain. Short term hardship for long-term benefit is the conclusion I reach.

Next is the Title.

Different from my currently equipped Title, 'Inspirational', which scales off my base value of Charisma, this Title is somewhat of a step above in that it includes any and all modifiers, for better or worse. They both have their uses, and any Attribute increasing Title is a rarity in and of itself. Although, I have to admit that I'm finding this endless showering of Titles rather tiresome at this point. That this is another Platinum-Tier one just makes me question existence. Starting to feel as though those whiny pissants on the forums might have a point.

Formal Signet of House Erment Type: Ring Tier: Unique Silver Legacy Requirements: Silver Nosster Stats: +30 Charisma, +30 Willpower Passive Effect Greater Soulbinding: Once equipped, this item cannot be forcibly removed or stolen by inferior effects. Active Effect Rea-Horolt Iditian’s Discernment: Scans targeted food or beverage for toxins. Can detect many different poisons and venoms up to Silver-Tier. Cost: 600MP. 10 Minute Cooldown A signet ring, cast from a long-forgotten blend of precious metals in a bygone era, used for formal public events to denote the wearer's identity as the head of House Erment. Though its effects are weak, it has nonetheless safeguarded the lives of several generations.

Not what I'd call the most powerful of accessories - indeed there are hundreds of commonly found items that possess similar properties - however, I'll still take it all the same. It's a useful utility to have, assuming it works correctly in a modern setting with the differences in currently used poisons compared to the 19th Astral Era when it was presumably made, and the stat bonuses aren't terrible at my Level either.

"All done?" Yanse questions.

I hold my gaze with the bust of Count Erment, then look away, vowing silently to not end up like him, "Yes. Let us depart. I sorely need a good night's sleep or three. But, once I awake, I'll be ready for the sparring match I promised. I have some frustrations to sweat off."

Yanse cackles, slapping my shoulder chummily, "Glad to hear it! Now, tell ol' Yanse a tale about what happened in there, I'm extremely curious~"

IdleFancy

New Class Get. I also shall go sleep, and when I wake up I need to do some math on Alex's new stat values ready for the next chapter.

Thanks for reading.