Back in my room, Elly tries to heckle me, (so, how was your date with Lucia, playboy?)

(Not bad. I had some fun.)

(What? You're not even trying to deny it?)

(Why not? We were to the local equivalent of a movie because we wanted to. No groupies were involved to distract us. Something like attraction was present as well though that was probably just because of her skill... well, overall I'd call it a date. Maybe not a 'date' date but a date nonetheless.)

(And here I was hoping I could tease you a bit.)

(Hn~ Tough luck, try again next time.)

(Say, didn't you have a glitch item from the boss in your inventory? I wanted to have a look at it but I don't see it anymore?)

(Uh, last I checked it was in item slot 4.)

(Alright, let me see...)

What are you up to, Elly? It is just a garbage item.

(Umm, Jared? There's... a hamburger?)

(What.)

(In slot 4 is a hamburger. A slice of ham between buns with salad, dripping sauce, no cheese. A hamburger. The unmoving kind to be precise.)

(...did it glitch out and mutate into this or what happened?)

(I've no idea but it seems like that.)

(Well, even if I could still enjoy food, I wouldn't eat that one. Much too shady if you ask me.)

(Yeah. Mind if I clean up the inventory stuff real quick?)

(Sure), whatever floats your boat, Elly.

(What the... now the burger is gone and it turned into an iron pipe instead. A 'sword' worth +5 STR. Laughable.)

(Are you saying we can change what the glitch item is by reordering my inventory?)

(You know what, that's exactly what it looks like. Didn't think of that possibility. And no it doesn't make sense to me either... Wanna experiment what else we can get?)

(Honestly, it is creeping me out but since we can't throw it away anyway, sure, let's try it. Maybe we can sequence break into a late-game quest item.)

I switch a few items around and observe the glitch item. At first, nothing changes. Finally, when I switch the training spear in slot 6 with the blood vial in slot 7 the glitch item turns into a chicken sandwich. I trade a few more items into slot 7 but now nothing happens again. It only changes depending on what I put into slot 6.

Empty spot? Just some static noise.

Training spear? The aforementioned mentioned iron pipe.

Blood vial? Chicken sandwich.

Blood pack? Bright blue-colored blood vial.

Some food I got to fake lunch? Hamburger.

Any book? A paper shield with +5 VIT.

Class Core? Another Class Core except the markings are yellow this time instead of orange.

Though all of those items have in common that every once in a while a letter or two in the name seems to glitch out and then return to its original form. That is the only thing that gives away that it isn't that item it pretends to be.

(So it is an inverse MissingNo.?)

(That's one way to look at it.)

(Now I'm curious. Do I really have a second class core now?)

(Wait, don't tou-)

Arrghh!!

(-ch it... too late. What exactly just happened?)

(I just took it out of the inventory, or tried to, and it is already gone just like that. And then I suddenly felt a lot of pain but that is gone now, too. Would've been too good to be true obviously.)

(You should've really looked at its description first. That was no regular class core.)

(And I guess taking it out just triggered it? Seems like a stupid design decision to me.)

(I think it tried to glitch around again because it lost contact with your sixth item slot and so didn't know what it is. I guess it tried to 'look you up' to find its own identity again and... that made no sense to the universe so it caused the thing to be activated in its last known state as a fail-safe.)

(Try-catch-execute-anyway? That makes as much sense as the rest we've witnessed. Do you still have the item description around?)

(Thanks. So it forced an elite class on me because I forgot to read the small print?)

(Seems like it. Say, why didn't you check the strangely colores gem before trying to take it out?)

(I, I don't know. It just felt right to take it as if it was a missing part of me returning home.)

(That doesn't make much sense to me... anyway, you need to be more careful about EVERYTHING that involves these glitches. Be it monsters, skills or gifts.)

(Yeah, I know. This could just as well have been a proper trojan horse.)

('Could have been'? Try 'might still be'! There's no guarantee the three skills aren't still some traps! Doesn't matter whether that is intentional or not.)

(Speaking of, what exactly did I get?)

(A class that I haven't seen in the class tab before. That much is sure.)

(Corpse explosion, my old friend, you really let yourself go! At least it is a ranged SP to damage option. And it might even heal... for a pitiful amount.)

(I mean it sounds like a good skill if you want to ignore that the 550% damage this gives you for 200 SP would be 700% for 210 SP if you stick with melee attacks. Or that the first 200% damage needs to kill the target or the whole thing goes up in smoke.)

(Umm... at least it is a ranged attack? I know that meeting the initial condition is pretty narrow but I don't really use my SP for anything else in the dungeon. And if I did I would probably die super fast since I've neither the stats nor the experience to survive melee combat.)

(You know, Jared, you're overtly optimistic despite possibly just getting scammed.)

(True that. Given the choice, I would have taken any other class first but I can't change that anymore. And at least the HP is up there with the battle mage Jeff wanted me to get. Well, 'wasting' one of three elite slots hurts but there was never a guarantee I even get to complete the ten classes so this isn't that big a setback. In fact, it might just help me get out of early game hell faster.)

(At least it throws us back a lot regarding the summoning class.)

(Yeah, but I can't undo it. So how does my status look like right now?)

(So, the feedback depleted all of my MP and SP and dealt massive damage on top of that, great.)

(Yeah, but you broke through the 700 SP barrier, so one extra hour of training per day.)

(...I'd rather play some video games.)

(Fine by me. Now where did you hide the console again?)

(Yeah, yeah, I know. ...so I think we should stick to the previous plan and get Wizard to 5 to get the additional skill, Survivor should just level on its own until 4 because of Chloe's training. And after Wizard 5 should be time to level the new class to 5.)

(Any plans on when to level the race or extra classes, Jared?)

(None yet. They don't offer any additional skills if I reach a specific level, most of the skills grow very little with additional levels and stat wise they are worth about a third or less compared to a proper class. So I think they can wait until they are cheaper than a third of a level of a regular class.)

(Sure, sounds good to me.)

(If I look at the stats... the vampire variants are even lower a priority. The only exception I could think of would be if I ever get in my head that I need to make more familiars, only then would 'Vampire Lord' be worth something. Nothing else in there scales significantly.)

(Say, Elly, do you think 'Manfred' would count that as blood magic? An additional spell type I need for his requirements?)

(I'd guess no since it doesn't say 'magic' in the skill name or use MP but you can always go and ask him tomorrow. I'm sure he wouldn't mind some company from time to time.)

(It really has been some time since I've last visited the 'Lord's Mansion', hasn't it? I should go there either way.)

(Also, where did you get 'Manfred' from? He never introduced himself by that name. Or any name at all.)

(Mansion. Manni. Manfred. Alternatively, it was in the chapter title.)

(...I've heard worse.)

(Wait, no don't tell me what goes through your head, Elly... you want to go through titles again?)

(Am I that easy to figure out?)

(No, it just has become a pattern. And we talked about that file recently.)

(Alright, alright. Can I do so now? Please? Pretty please? It is just three this time, not half a novel.)

(Sure. Let's get it over with.)

(Looks decent. More regeneration never hurts. Any idea how to get access to it?)

(Supposedly you just need to go long enough without rest and still recover about 100.000 points total across HP, MP and SP.)

(No idea how a regular person would ever unlock that. Since I can't sleep at all do I technically never rest as well? Shouldn't I unlock that within a couple of days at most then?)

(I guess so. One maybe two more decent length dungeon crawls and you should be able to get it.)

(I'm looking forward to it.)

(Ok, next one.)

(IRON! HEART! SURGE! Say bye-bye to the sun! ...jokes aside, I wouldn't mind having that but resistances don't seem to be too impressive so far. Well, every little bit of defensive measure should help. What is the acquiring condition for this title?)

(You have to endure a total of 100.000 points worth of status damage.)

(That... can wait then. I haven't seen any status effects that aren't part of attacks that would either kill me directly or from the massive damage over time when it lands. Unless... could I use [Charm Eye] on myself via a mirror? Would that count?)

(Even if it did work the skill doesn't list a status damage value so that may just be 1 status damage and that would take decades. Also in case you forgot [Undead] makes you immune to that.)

(True. But speaking of mirrors I never checked if I even appear in one here. In fiction vampires often have no reflection.)

(But what about the mirror you used to check your body before being sent here? That already showed you.)

(That mirror might not count. If they can magic souls back to life it stands to reason that they can overcome such a comparatively trivial limitation.)

(True that.)

(At a minimum there might be a distinction between for example silver and regular mirrors. I didn't really pay attention back then to what kind of mirror it was.)

(That is something that shouldn't be too hard to find out. Or if it is it would also mean there are not enough reflective surfaces around for that lack of knowledge to matter. Can I continue with the last title I could decipher?)

(Sure, go ahead.)

(If I took that I would still need to get the three relevant affinities. Worst case this means three classes just for that. But that is still so far the best title I've seen that I can get.)

(Actually only two. Holy isn't a regular damage type so the title wouldn't work with it.)

(Well, going from three weaknesses to only one would still be a big deal for me, holy seems to be rare enough. So how can I get that title?)

(It says that you need to survive a lot of damage hitting one of your weaknesses. A total of... three million. Whoops.)

(Do I look like a masochist to you!?)

(No, that's a different title.)

(One I probably don't want. Does sadist exist then as well?)

(Yes. Give me a second, I'll try to pull both up.)

(Uh, how?)

(Incompatible with my personality and useless on top. I need to almost die for one blast spell extra.)

(Cute. Now tell me where you got those infos from. As far as I know, I haven't unlocked either so I shouldn't see them.)

(I'm making slow progress on fixing Gzeph's notes on titles in general, outside what he considers the 'optimal' build. Slow. Progress.)

(I can't imagine what distracts you with your fetish.)

(It is NOT! Stop saying that! It's just the best I can do to find means to give you some extra power without relying on hard to come by class cores.)

(Fine, I get it. It is just getting monotonous.)

Elly walks me through some more minor titles she has already decoded from the main title file but nothing stands out like a flat +50 STR title that requires me to already have 1000 STR in the first place. At most I'd take such a title at the end to fill in the gaps if I still have not filled in all 20 titles.

The feedback from the bugged Class Core set me back too much in my regeneration so I only have 937/1003 HP, 622/1324 MP and 362/712 SP in the morning cutting my training short.

Because 'blast' spells give way too little exp compared to the rain variant I want to delay my nuking of the flood until I've regenerated enough MP so I guess I can start the day by checking on the 'Lord's Mansion'. With Jack suspended and no replacement introduced no one waits for me at the gate anyway.

"So you've returned, little one", the mansion greets me. It is still speaking as slow and deliberate as last time.

"Yeah, sorry, the last few days were a bit busy."

"It is fine. I've waited for centuries to talk with someone again. What are a few days compared to that."

"I wonder if I'll see it the same way when all of this is done and over and a few more hundred years have passed..."

"That I do not know. Just be reassured that if you need someone to talk to I should still be around."

(Me too, me too!)

(As if I could get rid of you.)

Somehow the mansion can hear Elly mind-talk with me, "Oh, who is that little new voice with you?"

(Uh, you can hear me?)

"Yes, why shouldn't I?"

"This is Elly, just a nagging voice in my head."

"Interesting."

(Basically, I'm just an artificial helper living in his menu. I don't really do much more than offer some advice, not that I can really offer a different perspective as I'm based on a copy of his personality.)

"Hmm... I think you are a bit more than that but I will not pry."

"Now, Jared and Elly, what can I do for you today?"

"Mostly I want to know if the skill I got recently would meet your condition on types of magics known. I'm not asking you to accept me as your lord. I'm still undecided if I should even try to qualify. Considering my... condition the people in the fortress would be unlikely to accept me taking charge and... I don't have a good track record with leading either."

"So you just want to sate your curiosity. Understandable. Can you then tell me what your skill is?"

"It is called [Blood Burst]. Its power is based on MAG but it uses SP so I don't think it would really count as magic."

"I don't think I have ever heard of that skill. Can you demonstrate what it does?"

"I don't have sufficient SP currently and it would require a target near death which I don't have either."

"That's alright."

The mansion has to think for a moment, "can you at least tell me what exactly the effect would be if you had a valid target?"

"It would kill the target, steal its blood and turn it into projectiles that shoot at further enemies."

"Hmm... that's a tough one. Normally I wouldn't accept such a skill. It does not sound like the type of magic I'm looking for."

(Yeah, we didn't think so either.)

"And truth be told I'm still uncertain how to treat your case with cure magic. So... I'll compromise. Even if both don't really satisfy my taste I'll count those two skills as one for the purpose of my requirement. I think that should also take off some pressure from you. You can't meet the conditions yet so you can still take your time to make up your mind if you really want to and also find a way to make peace with the other people."

"So one step forward, one step back."

Still not sure if I should be happy or disappointed that it doesn't count. From what I've gathered claiming the mansion would be a big deal. But I don't really feel cut out for the responsibility - or the associated risk... I would've liked a clear no just so that my conscience is clear and I can tell myself I've done my best, it is not my problem anymore. Why couldn't you just give that to me?

(Well, he could've said no to both and we'd be missing two elements total instead of only one.)

"I'm sure you will acquire the last one soon. As I recall as a Wizard you should get another affinity at level 15 and the flood out there should really play to your strength as a caster."

"Level 15 is still a long way off and that would still leave the matter of the other people."

"I trust that you can sort this out as well. After all, me being dormant is causing all kinds of issues it seems. Some minor compromises should be possible for everyone involved."

"That doesn't seem fair to them. Who would want to live under the tyranny of my kind?"

(How would you know if you really are a tyrant? Did you have such big responsibilities before?)

"Exactly that's what I'm afraid of that. Too much responsibility at once. I've already failed with a small group before. Then just skipping straight to managing a whole fortress just can't bode well."

"I think you are selling yourself too short. But you should really reach out to the people and talk to them. I'm certain if you did they would understand and you can sort everything out."

(Don't bother. That's what I've been telling him all the time but he always finds an excuse to keep everything to himself.)

"Heh, yeah, you two are right. Maybe I should open up a bit more."

(Sorry, give me a moment. I have to check hell's temperature.)

3QGN73

Blood Mage doesn't exist to give Jared a quick little power-up, it exists to highlight how 'blind' he is to the threat of glitches. As cautious as he is otherwise he doesn't really grasp the danger they pose. Well, maybe this time he learned.

Was it really already 18 chapters since 'Manni' was introduced? Yikes.