Chapter 216: You are Exiled

Chapter 216: You are Exiled

Charles took a step back as Perry stood.

The surrounding crowd parted as Paradox walked forward, every stride of his matched by a tiny flinching shuffle backwards from his uncle.

Perry lightly pushed off the ground with his toe and floated upward the exact four and a half feet he needed to land his next foot on the edge of the stage without missing a beat.

A moment later, Perry stopped right in front of Charles, who had gone a little green in the gills.

“Yo Charles, I’m really happy for you.” Perry said, unable to suppress a wicked smile as his fingers clasped the microphone, drawing it towards him. “I’mma let you finish, but first, I’d like to make an announcement:”

Perry turned his gaze to the surrounding Manitian nobility, the microphone slipping out of his uncle’s weak grasp.

“I think it’s only appropriate on this, the day of giving, that I give my people a gift. First of all: Gorm is dead. I killed it. In a matter of weeks, the scourge of Manita will cease to exist in our chunk of spacetime as its clones wither on the vine. Second, Chicago is now home to a stabilized portal to the Manitian Royal Capital.

And third: In less than a month, engineers will connect Franklin City and Washington City to Chicago via the inter-city train.”

Perry gave them a moment to digest that.

“You heard that right. We are retaking Manita. It’s no longer a vague promise. It’s happening. Next year, our generation will begin the process of retaking our homeland. That place that your parents went on and on about. I’ve been there. It’s magical...but dangerous. Those of you who have something good here, keep doing what you’re doing. We’ll need people on this side of the portal to represent us.”

Perry scanned the audience hanging on his every word.

“But if you feel like this world doesn’t fit you...if the light of the sun is too cold, if the nights don’t sing, if the stories your grandparents told fascinate you...If there’s nothing for you on Earth...Come to Chicago. We’re going to start with the former capital, and bring an entire planet to heel!”

“Our generation will achieve a level of prosperity and freedom never conceived of!”

The crowd cheered.

“...Except for these guys.” Perry said, thumbing towards Charles Frepon.

BiblicalRevenge.EXE

The drones outside the mansion began 3-D printing the massive magical ritual outside.

“The Frepon family have disappointed all of us on multiple occasions,” Perry said, glancing back at Charles. “So I thought I’d give them a present this christmas.”

His uncle shook his head, face pale, eyes wide.

Perry nodded, waggling his brows.

“What the hell are you talking about Perry?” George asked, raising his voice above the murmur of the crowd as he pushed to the front of the crowd, along with his brothers and sisters.

For a brief moment, Perry studied his youngest cousins, who doubtlessly didn’t do anything to deserve what was coming their way. For a brief moment, Perry considered not going through with it.

Eh, They’ll still be rich for a couple generations.

...

“I curse you.” Perry spat, the ritual circle he’d placed outside crushing the mansion’s magical barrier like an egg.

“Charles Frepon,” Perry said, turning to face his uncle as overwhelming waves of pure essence began crashing into the mansion under extreme pressure, like the water miles beneath the surface of the ocean. “You will never go home. Your children will never go to Manita. You will not perceive Manita. You will not remember Manita. Knowledge of, and thoughts pertaining to Manita will slip from your mind. Portals to Manita will not work for you. You will not understand the words when people mention Manita. You will not understand the words when you read about Manita.

Your children will share this curse to the seventh generation. They will be unable to benefit from the retaking of your homeland, or the interplanetary trade that will spring up as a result, falling behind while a new aristocracy takes your place. The legacy you have made so many mistakes in service of will dwindle to NOTHING.

Your wealth will spread thin, diluted by time and progeny, crowded out by the lack of opportunity they face on Earth, until nothing is left of the Frepon family but a mass of disconnected, starving, uneducated peasants working their hands to the bone for minimum wage.

Then, they will have paid for your sins.”

“Best of all, none of you will remember this curse, nor be able to discuss it with others, perceive its effects, or come to the conclusion that you are cursed.”

Perry took a deep breath.

“Stop him!” Some rando, maybe George, shouted. Perry vaguely felt a spell fizzle out behind him, unable to form inside the sheer density of Essence crowding out every other kind of magic.

“Frepon family. You are Exiled. With the gods themselves as my witnesses, you are banished from Manita, along with all the wealth and prosperity therin and thereof.”

The density of Essence around his uncle, primed by the ritual, crystalized into a Curse, originating inside the Wernicke’s Area of Charles Frepon. Perry watched as the overwhelming density of Essence was absorbed, drawn into his body and further crystalized, spreading through his brain with malignant ease before leaping to his next of kin, spreading and erasing the last thirty or so seconds of their memories.

Charles blinked, shaking off a blank stare.

I wonder if a maniacal laugh is on the list of killable offenses? Perry wondered, glancing at his Plug Pullers, who, while not attacking him, did not look particularly pleased.

Better not risk it.

“W-what happened?” he asked.

“I cursed you to never return to Manita.” Perry said, covering the mic with his hand.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t...quite understand what you said.” Charles said.

“I know.” Perry said, handing Charles his mic back.

A moment later, pure power hit Perry like a truck.

Congratulations! You have reached level 15!

Paradox Zauberer (Perry Z.)

Class: Garage Tinker

Level 15

HP: 16

Body: 41

Stability: 62

Nerve: 46

Attunement: 99

Free Points: 228

XP to next level: 28421

Spells: Paradox’s Pernicious Prison (6/6) Light (5/5), Dragor’s Kinesis (3/3), Gretchen’s Idyllic Manifestation (1/1)

Perks:Sliding Stats 6, Multi-tool 2, Aerosolized, Blueprint 1, Cross-Class (Dimensional Fork), Mat-Spec (carbon).

The room seemed to bend around Paradox, bowing inward as though an astronomical mass had suddenly been added to him, distorting reality itself.

Every eye was fixed on him as he absorbed the Frepon family’s mutilated future and broke through level fifteen.

Perry staggered in place as the Stability circlet on his brow gave a nearly inaudible creak, stressed nearly to its breaking point.

I think we should hurry this along, Perry thought, his blood turning cold.

Every five levels, you may purchase Perks using your free points.

Perry brushed the message aside as he climbed offstage.

He didn’t need an audience for this next part.

“Whoah, there. Did I just see you curse children?” Freddy steel asked, putting a gloved hand on Perry’s chest. He glanced over at Chemestro. “Is that on the list?”

“You didn’t read the list either?” Perry asked, cocking his head.

“No.” Chemestro said, shaking his head. “The behaviors listed were only ones indicating a complete absence of rationality. Trying to ascend to a higher state of being, screaming incessently while bleeding from the eyes, fugue states, et. cetera. Exploiting children for power is highly rational.”

“Well I don’t like it,” Freddy steel said, looking back at Perry.

Freddy Steel looked like an action figure from the eighties. Thick black mustache, sunglasses, fingerless gloves, toothpick.

Perry wasn’t sure what his superpower was, but the hand pressed against his chest was seemingly immoveable.

“Can we discuss this later?” Perry asked. “I still haven’t accomplished the goal of fixing myself.”

“I think we’ll discuss this now.” Freddy Steel said, shoving Perry back.

Perry glanced around the room. Nocturne was leaning against a nearby wall, in a relaxed posture.

It was a ruse.

Guile was nowhere to be seen.

Chemestro actually looked relaxed, but he liked violence, so that didn’t mean shit.

Material Specialization (1)

Pick a material affected by your Spendthrift Perk. It is treated as significantly less expensive when altered by the perk, further boosting its effectiveness. This perk may be chosen multiple times, applying to a different material each time.

Loot! (5, 10, 20, 50)

When The User defeats an enemy, it drops rewards based on the XP generated. Higher levels grant more valuable, rarer loot.

Perk grown from Gretchen’s Idyllic Manifestation. Generates items the defeated enemy might’ve had.

The heck is that? Perry thought, inspecting the perk. Grown for Gretchen’s Idyllic Manifestation? It was interesting, but there wasn’t anything he needed it for right them. Perry wasn’t banking on defeating people at a high enough rate that the perk would pay itself off.

Moving on:

Underestimated (1,3,5,10,20)

The User’s experience with the unknowable has been assimilated.If the make or material of User’s armor is viewed with disdain, ridicule, or pity by an enemy, that emotional reaction opens the door for an embedded cognitohazard to infect their mind. The cognitohazard inflicts a scaling debuff that impairs the enemy’s ability to damage User’s armor, and by extension, the User inside.

Example: Wearing a trash bag as armor may subtly weaken an enemy’s limbs, causing the power of their strikes or accuracy of their gunfire to be diminished, indirectly boosting the armor’s effectiveness.

Higher tiers inflict more powerful debuffs, which may prove lethal to infirm or unhealthy enemies. Higher tiers may be purchased whenever Perks are offered.

Offered by Claudette’s Hippie Bullshit.

Claudette’s Hippie Bullshit Integration: A series of upgrades and integrations that allow the System to more fluidly and safely accommodate Claudette’s Hippie Bullshit while maintaining the Prime Directive...because User seems to determined to kill themselves rather than obey the Secondary Directive. Primarily costs Attunement.

HP integration: (3HP), (3A)

HP may now be spent to ward against hostile Hippie Bullshit, including, but not limited to, Transmogrification, Curses, Mind-effecting effects, Metaphysical Damage.

Unprimed Essence Filter (1, 3, 5, 10...A)

An Unprimed Essence Filter with storage and connecting infrastructure is automatically developed in the soul in a safe amount of time, but needs a sample of Essence provided by the user to begin functioning. Output and storage are dictated by amount spent on filter. Prevents soul damage from repeated surgery. Upgradeable.

Extra Spell Slots: (Var. Attunement)

User may increase the capacity of spell storage for a specific spell by paying Attunement relative to the spell’s complexity.

Sampler (5A)

User may sample Hippie Bullshit through physical contact, temporarily store it, then run it through any integrated hardware inside the User’s metaphysical body, to test, deconstruct, or prime a filter.

Requires Integrated HP, uses HP as the storage medium. When HP returns, storage expires.

Cross-Class (20)(5A)

For twenty free points, and five points from Attunement, you may choose a Perk from another Tinker specialization.

Space Tinker

Industrial Tinker

Geo-Tinker

Bio-Tinker

Ray Tinker

Submersible Tinker

Sonic Tinker

Dimensional Tinker

Dramatic Tinker

Micro-Tinker

...

Perry processed the new Perks in a fraction of a second, scanning down to his pre-selected list of Perks

Perry pulled up the description for Battery Tinker, Dimensional Tinker, and Bioprint Tinker, three specializations that he knew he wanted to facilitate the creation and storage of original Essences.

Battery Tinker:

Super-Capacitor: Storage devices you create have increased capacity, efficiency, charge and discharge rates.

Atypical Battery: You may create devices that store and release on command any kind of intangible force without changing its form, such as heat, cold, motivation, light, maternal disapproval, magnetism, chemical potential, kinetic energy and more.

Dimensional Tinker

Dimensional Fork: Tinker is naturally more in tune with, and adept at creating/modifying objects and structures that exist in, and interact with higher dimensions, beginning with advanced compasses and monitoring equipment, graduating to spatial distortion, and portal technology.

Big D Energy: Tinker is more easily and efficiently able to translate mass and energies across dimensions, and more resistant to negative effects of inter-dimensional energy and mass.

Bioprint Tinker:

Design: more easily design living bodies that work, including organs, anatomy, chemistry, genetics. Tinker has more complete, precise control over the created creature’s tangible and intangible attributes, such as intelligence, loyalty, longevity etc, and may alter these traits as he/she sees fit.

Creation: Tinker receives a boost when creating living creatures, as well as producing the machines and materials required to create said creatures. To be viable, each creature created must have a ‘base imprint’ that conforms to the shape and design of the creature in question.

I choose Big D energy, Super capacitor, Atypical Battery, Design, and Creation.

Alert: completing a sub-class has altered your Primary Class.

You are now a Hedge Spatial Tinker

Alert: completing a sub-class has altered your Primary Class.

You are now a Potent Dimensional Tinker

Alert: completing a sub-class has altered your Primary Class.

You are now a Potent Thaumaturge.

Attunement: 99 -> 74

Free Points: 228 -> 128

As his stats rebalanced, repressed emotions punched Perry in the face.

The horrors of being betrayed, nearly melted dozens of times, The claustrophobia of being encased in crystal, buried at the bottom of the ocean, stranded, torn apart, dragged into the fourth dimension...all caught up with him at once, at the exact wrong time.

Perry slowly sat down, cradled his head in his hands and started ugly crying, in front of the entire party, God, and everyone else.

“This is why I didn’t wanna do this in public,” Perry mewled, dropping the hardened air around his ears.

Freddy steel frowned, glancing at Perry, then back to Truthslayer.

She shrugged.

This was supposed to be an epic achievement. The culmination of everything he’d worked for up until now: breaking out of the ‘Tinker’ assignment and getting some serious traction. The power to protect his family and surpass Tyrannus.

But instead he felt like hot garbage.

“Like I was saying,” Freddy said, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot as he leaned down and grabbed Perry’s wrists. “We’re glad we didn’t have to kill you, but you still committed some pretty cut and dry crimes just now, so why don’t you follow us to Nexus and we can-“

“This was supposed to be awesome!” Perry bawled, snot running down his face as he gasped for breath between heaving sobs. “But it’s noooot!”

“Aw, there there, Perry,” Natalie said, arriving beside him and engulfing his shoulder in a hug. For the first time in a long time, Perry felt the warmth coming from her. Small comfort in the ocean of overpowering emotion.

“Miss, please step away from-“

“Oh, sorry, of course, Mr. Steel- Whoops!”

Nat ‘accidentally’ knocked the Stability circlet off Perry’s head.

Stability 78 -> 61

Perry lashed out, kicking Freddy Steel in the nuts.