Complete ✪ Finweald TOWER OF TESTS

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

Entry 11, Result 4

As Yugam had walked over to the researcher's assign 'lab' the man was greeted by the sight of Fiora practically shouting at the poor receptionist girl, "Just give me my goddamn money!" Cowed by the woman's (probably undeserved) aggression, the girl quickly stuffed some coins into a bag, not really bothering to count them, and handed the small sack to the intimidating blonde, who shoved her way past Yu, giving him only a "Fuck off," by way of greeting before slamming the door behind her.

Yu just watched her go, an eyebrow raised in confusion until the door slammed shut. Turning to the poor receptionist girl, the man gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry about her," he said with a slight chuckle.

Fuck, now he had to see her here too?

---

"You sure this isn't gonna kill me?" Yu asked Askera, glancing over at Toko who was lying on a bed passed out. She lay there so still, that the man legitimately would have assumed she was dead were it not for the steady rise and fall of her chest.

Apparently far more certain than Yu was, Askera gave his confirmation, earning him a skeptical frown Yugam. "Alright, but if I die, I'm comin' for your ass," the man said, a phrase that really only made sense in light of the fact he'd respond.

Uncorking the small glass vial, Yu knocked back the liquid in one go, refusing to take even a moment to allow his brain to process whatever horrific taste his taste buds were being subjected to. "Blegh," the man hacked after swallowing it all. "God, that was awful," the man complained. "Alright, so how long do we-" A warm sensation began to trickle down from Yu's nose. Perplexed the man wiped away at the feeling, looking at his hand as he brought it away. Blood. His nose was bleeding? And quite profusely. The man wiped away a his nose once more as if to confirm that the crimson, reflective sheen

She covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed, her hazel eyes smiling behind the thin veil of her bangs, the long dark strands falling into her face. "Oh my god, please tell me you're kidding," she said, still hiding her smile behind her hand.

"What, no! I swear to God, I can't fucking beat this boss. I mean he's the size of a goddamn skyscraper with an HP bar to match!"

"Ari, there's a literal sword in the back of the room that let's you one shot him," she giggled at her friend's stupidity.

"There's a...what? You're fuckin' with me, right?"

"No, I'm being seri-"

A stack of textbooks slammed down between them, cracking the air like a whip, drowning out the frightened shriek from the girl as she dove to the side, immediately covering her head protectively.

"Dude, what the fuck," the friend said, standing up and turning towards the boy, who'd slammed the textbooks down on the table.

"Goddamn, she really is losing it, isn't she," he laughed, looking the girl, who'd sat up, her hands balled into tight fists, shaking against the table as she stared wide-eyed across the room.

"Hey, leave her alone."

"Why," the boy laughed, "it's just a bit a fun, no harm, no foul right?"

"Are you fucking dense?"

The friend stepped forward, anger boiling in his blood before he felt a hand grip his arm. Tighter than was probably intended. The friend looked at the girl, still staring at nothing, but gently she tugged on his arm, pleading with him to sit back down, to not cause a scene.

The friend exhaled sharply and threw one last glare at the boy. "Fuck you, man. Just leave us alone." He went to sit back down beside the girl. A hand gripped his shoulder and span him around, just before he felt a fist collide with his nose.

of blood was really his. It was. Ari looked up at the man who'd thrown the punch. Unwilling to just lie down and take that kind of shit, Ari lunged his fist already flying through the air to return the punch and slam his fist into the other's nose, in kind.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

.
.

Entry 11, Result 4.5.1

She might as well have been dead to the world, or at least that was the appearance the Lepus gave as she lounged on the provided cot for the next few hours inside Askera's workshop. Only the occasional twitch of her ears as they focused whenever a new sound appeared betrayed the otherwise lackadaisical and uncaring mood the beastfolk had seemingly fallen into ever since imbibing her potion.

There had been a sudden shift in the air that seemed to trigger a primal instinct in the hare, the aura of the other figure that had entered the room suddenly oozing with the intent to strike and hurt someone, and when a pained cry from one Askera Question rung through the air Toko quickly spurred into action.

"Yamete! Leave him alone!"

Toko's heart rate had suddenly spiked in response, the rabbit moving without thinking even as she felt the magic inside her body pool together in her chest before erupting. By the time the rabbit had delivered a solid kick to Yugam's side the Lepus had been engulfed in a pale golden glow of spiritual energy, a pair of young antelope horns suddenly sprouting on her forehead as the dormant jackalope spirit within the hare stirred awake once more.

The impact had been enough to send the man flying into a stone wall ont he back of the room, a crater forming upon impact when Yugam's body had managed to activate a shield of hardened blood to guard the man from worse injuries. He'd slumped down as a result, knocked various beakers and ongoing experiments from one of Askera's tables, before the raven haired boy had manifested twin blood swords—one in each hand—before rushing towards Askera once more.

His blades never reached the intended target though, the path to the man blocked by the moon rabbit as she raised her arms to deflect most of the wild slashes and strikes that Yugam had attempted. There was a low and guttural growl that echoed from Toko in return, various slashes quickly appearing through the skin in Toko's arms as she used them to block Yugam's strikes, before the rabbit's own aura radiated forth with a single command to the human.

< Yamero!!! >

It was only through the blessing of her own martial ki and the jackalope's spirit energy that the sharp blades of the Hemomancer didn't cut deep enough to reach bone, Toko's warnings either unheard or ignored, before the hare gritted her teeth in frustration. If Yugam refused to listen then the only other option left for Toko would be to stop him through physical means...

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

Entry 11, Result 4.5.2

Through the scarlet mist, a voice pierced the fog, announcing the arrival of another's body, flying through the air like a golden javelin which collided with Ari and sent him hurtling through the room. End over end, the man spun, the floor and ceiling blending into one blurry grey mass until they finally stopped an aligned themselves as the man's body collided with the wall with an echo boom. The stone splintered and split beneath the force of his body's impact, cracks spider-webbing out from where he'd struck as gravity crashed him back down to a table, the legs giving out as he and the various alchemical potions and ingredients were scattered across the ground.

Struggling to his feet, Ari felt blood leaking from the gashes in his forearm, collecting in his hand, slowly forming a long bladed staff. The man gripped the weapon in both hands before snapping the crystalline instrument over his knee, splitting it into two vicious swords.

He rushed forward, a flurry of blades lashing out at the vague shadow before him, blocking his path. Blows that should have severed limp from torso merely drew blood. Thrusts that would've impaled the body bounced away, leaving only pinpricks of pain.

Then his opponent drew back, her stance shifting, all her weight pressed into her back foot as she lifted her front leg, and stamped the ground. The floor shook, unbalancing Ari. With a powerful two fisted blow, she staggered him backwards, and then with another strike, he was flying backwards again, stone gripping his arms and legs until they struck the wall, and the cracking sound of a skull striking stone echoed through the room. Ari's head lulled forward, completely unconscious.

@Toko

 

[Askera Question]

Entry 12: Technically Animate

This report was written by freshman researcher Askera Question.

I have been once more assigned a mandatory experiment by my superiors in the MIT. As I have experience in the overview of questionable subjects, they found me to be a perfect suitor to head this work. My opinion of the matter will be left out of the report.​

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About a week and a half ago, a joint expidition involving the MIT took arms against a demonic entity known as the 'Kurungaar Broodmother', who was both a vector and source of a magically charged disease titled Red Fever. This Fever displayed effects such as violent mood swings, degradation of the flesh and, in some cases, reanimation of the dead.​

​

After the Broodmother's death, the bacteria involved with Red Fever began to die off at an extreme rate, presumably tied to the creature itself. On-site researchers were able to preserve some of the bacteriae inside of containers which I do not have the detail of. They clearly work, though, given how quickly the Red Fever dies when not contained.​

​

I am to observe the properties of Red Fever and am to attempt to find a positive use for the remaining stored disease.​

​

---

Spoiler: Roll for Deviation

89. The experiment was relatively stable.

---

Section 1 - I am observing individual samples of the Red Fever under a microscope. I wish to discern properties of the infection before I properly begin. I do not require assistants for this endeavor.
Observation 1: A sample of Red Fever interacts with three nodes-one of living tissue, one of dead tissue and one inorganic sample. I've noted something very interesting-in the time that they lived, the Red Fever cells shared nutrition with one-another actively. I'd liken them to a community were they not solely operating to destroy the material as efficiently as possible. I cleaned the area with a dousing of Serenity Mist after the Red Fever showed signs of decay and will henceforth continue my work.

Observation 2: The Red Fever's rate of self-destruction largely decelerates when directly exposed to concentrations of Dark Magic. I feel that, should I tap into a demonic source, I may be able to regulate the cells into living just long enough to self-replicate before death, effectively creating a finite amount that won't grow or spread.

Observation 3: I have attempted to watch the effects of Red Fever upon dead biological matter. There appears to be a threshold for when the bacteria will stop destroying and will begin to alter the material. With this in mind, I will be able to prevent the accidental creation of demons in the lab.

Observations end here. For more details of my progress, please see pages 4 and 5 of the dossier. However, the conclusion is that, after about half a week's time of non-stop work I have been able to regulate the cells so that they stay alive. My discovery has created a wide-spread update in the storage of testing particles, and so I am no longer on a strict time limit as I had been.

Experiment Results are as follows. Assistants are mostly only called upon to act as a bodyguard for the process, and are strictly forbidden from interacting with the source of Red Fever. Serenity Mist is

-Day 1-

Result 1: Subject was 1 (one) post-mortem rat that was gathered from a pet store. Rat has died within the last 48 hours. The subject decayed under observation and became mush as expected. This process was repeated twice and confirmed.

Result 2: Subject was 50 (fifty) post mortem insectoid specimens that were gathered from the Tangleweaves. Subjects were divided into differently grouped piles based on time of death. The subject decayed under observation and became mush. This process was repeated twice and confirmed to varying degrees. I am currently of the opinion that the Kurungaar was not a reanimated subject, nor were her children.

-Day 2-

Result 3: Subject was 1 (one) living rat that was gathered from a pet store. Rat displayed extreme distress and was subsequently euthanized. Subject 3 displayed resulting changes as described in Result 1. This process was not repeated.

-Day 3-

Result 4: Subject was 1 (one) living rat that was gathered from the city sewers (reference logged dossier 'Entry 5' by Askera Question for further detail on these large species of rats). Subject named 'Monster Rat' by assistant displayed violent outbursts, preventing us from getting closer without risk of infection. Subject perished after two hours. The deceased rat then continued to move post-mortem. I was given a pop-up declaring that I had unlocked 'Animancy', something that I am sure that local expert and consultant @Lucia Mierz would be very happy to hear. My opinion of the matter will be left out of this report, as it is irrelevant to the subject at hand.

Subject 4 was then put to death by means of force. This process was not repeated.

-Day 5-

Result 5: I have steered away from living tissue for the time being. Having proven before that I am capable of keeping the Red Fever within a stable environment, I am now endeavoring to facilitate the use of it in a controlled and more safe manner. To this end, I have created a mechanical shell that the system titles 'Demonic Golem Frame' in which to house the Red Fever, similarly to how the disease is currently kept in cursed containers. Subject 'Prototype' was deemed to be unresponsive, as there has been no successful way yet to be created to cause Red Fever-based impetus to interact with a golem's operating networks. This is currently just a container shaped like a golem.

-Day 6-
Result 6: I have created a reactionary circuit system made of carbon fibers that I call the 'Instinct Rig'. I have asked specialist contact @Lucia Mierz for advice on creating protocols that would mimic the composition and behavior of an animal brain's sense of Id. The golem is certainly not above the level of intelligence that one would find in a very unintelligent ferret or so-I am hardly a programmer. I have yet to create a system that creates contact or interaction with the Red Fever-it merely corrodes under the influence of the disease. However, I have created the basis of a highly reflexive golem.
Due to sensory fronds located on the front of the golem, I have decided to name this second design 'Fool' after a monster I had encountered in Pormont.

-Day 8-
Result 8: The Instinct Rig has received more fine-tuned adjustments, as well as the first prototype of a proofing against against the corrosive nature of the Red Fever bacteria. Currently The Fool is capable of housing the 'Red Fever' without issue and is even capable of receiving interaction from the disease! Due to the artificial nature of the Instinct Rig, it is not capable of emulating amplified emotion to the levels that organic victims can exhibit.
I currently see this as an advantage of its' make, as the result from this is mostly positive-I can utilize emotion in this robot for offensive and defensive capability. The Fool currently has several failsafes installed to shut down and return to my Inventory on signs of any damage to prevent the Red Fever from leaking out-Regardless of how durable the material is, this drawback leaves it with about as much lasting durability as a Starcalled would have with a Tank mastery equipped.

I am currently running combat tests with it and my assistants. This could very viably be used as a utilitarian unit for Astorea's use-at the very least, I am sure that the Instinct Rig will be useful. I will certainly revisit some aspects of this experiment another day.

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

Entry 11, Result 3

The sound of scurrying paws scratching at the wood floor of the box accompanied the scratching of Askera's pen in the otherwise silent room. Yu eyes were affixed to the small object, within which the rat, panicked and ran about, surely looking for some way to escape it's confines. The man forced himself to detach himself from the tiny creature. It wasn't even real to begin with. Programmed behaviors, reactions. Even the stress it was experiencing now was just a simulation. Still, even that knowledge didn't help when it was so goddamn realistic.

The scribbling of Askera's pen stopped, and it took a moment before Yu actually noticed. Looking up at researcher, Askera gave the signal. Sighing, Yu stood up and approached the box. "Sorry little guy," he said as he opened up the wooden box. "All in the name of science." Hovering his hand over the opening, a single drop of blood fell from his hand before stopping in mid-air and stretching into a thin, long dart. In an instant it flew at the rat, piercing it's flesh at the base of it's skull. At least it was quick and painless.

Askera then stood and approached the rat, going on and doing...whatever it was that he was. The use of the Red Fever still made Yu nervous. The events of the Fever still remained fresh in the man's mind. It appeared that even brain damage couldn't erase the trauma of dying.

Yu grimaced slightly as he watched the rat's corpse. Decaying rapidly, bubbling, fur falling away. It was something that belonged in a horror game, not a fantasy RPG. Melting away into nothing more than a puddle, the rancid flesh finally stilled. And such was the fate of all living things. Not even magic, it appeared, could change that.

 

[Toko]

.
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Entry 12, Day 1

"Ugh, they really need to figure out a faster way to travel to and from Camp Nisus soon..."

A pair of wooden boxes were pulled out of Toko's inventory as she arrived into Askera's lab, the larger one set down first atop the counter before a smaller box was placed atop the first. "Picked up your dead rodents from Paws & Claws on the way—and yes, they assured me they haven't been dead for more than forty-eight hours." Of course the bugs had been dead for much longer, that was the pain of travel to and from the Tangleweaves being such a bitch, but they were bugs... surely that wouldn't be as big an issue for Askera?

Not that the Lepus really understood what he was doing, though to her credit she did stick around for a little while to bear witness of today's results... and also make sure nothing went amiss. With some luck no one would be ending in the hospital wing this time around.

There was a grimace that crossed the hare's facial features as she watched the Red Fever cells interact with the deceased rodent, sticking her tongue out before Toko managed to resist the urge to hurl her lunch right into the stone floor of Askera's workshop. The same experiment was repeated two more times, and everytime it ended with the corpse of the rat dissolving into a pool of questionable mush.

Then came the task of sorting out the various bugs Toko had gathered from Tangleweaves into similar time of death piles for them, a task that she heavily relied on the scientist for so he could point out what details Toko needed to pay close attention to in order to accurately guess how long each bug had been dead for. Three of the bugs were picked for today's test and, just as with the rodents, they too also dissolved into a tarry like pool of mush... with some being on the soupier spectrum, and others remaining on the chunkier side of things.

"Uwaah... kimoh."

 

[Askera Question]

TOWER OF TESTS

We have many things to learn. I, myself have many more than others to learn. I will have many a day to work tirelessly in this tower, yet there are times in which I must stop. Today... I just need a break. I need to think about what I've learned, and what I can learn from here.

The MIT has given me time to rest under extenuating circumstances. I have died not so much as three days ago, and sometimes I still think of it. Sometimes it distracts me, and I have a hard time focusing on experiments.

My quest to create the 'wikipedia' of this world will continue. There will be many other logs that I will write, both for myself, the players of Terrasphere and the MIT. That day will come soon... but not today. For now, I wish to relax and look upon the great improvements we have made in such a short amount of time. Our payment has been given, and everyone's gone to lock up the doors for the night with nary a candle lit.

Thank you for your assistance. I'll see you soon.

END​