[Wimble Silk Panel x100 Produced]
[-100 x100 Qi]
[-50 x100 Karma]
[+100 x100 -Regard]
[Ghost Pot: +1000/-0]
[Resentment: +718460/-357638]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1837063/26899894]
[Current Qi: 266270/957945100]
[Current Karma: 107599577/234520515]
-It’s for a good cause, it’s for a good cause, it’s for a good cause...-
Getting penalized for not maintaining my ridiculous body destroying numbers in silk production is ass!
-Your silk production was in a different Empire,- Little Corpse says like I was on a different world. -No, but I don’t think it counts for the Golden Sun Empire. Pretty sure you’re being penalized for attempting to make silk when you’re not designed to produce it. Or because you’re making it completely out of Essence.-
I barely register the last thing he said because I’m fighting off outrage for being told “I’m not designed to make silk”. Not designed?! I was sculpted to make silk! Shaped to be a silk making machine! Possibly literally! Who else spins sheets of silk? Err. What else can? Hells, I’m so silk specialized that I vomit the stuff. Not silk designed... Peh!
From one spinner to two to four and more! Legs getting in on that action. Boom! Organic loom. Braided, twisted, sheets. Thick as yarn, ropes of it, and he says not silk designed? Upped packaging and production, spun it and banked it for bulk withdrawal. Who else can say the same? My shit was on reserve for the emperor! A being so powerful just blinking was enough to scour the land and he had my shit on reserve for years! Not silk designed...
-Yeah, but you got rid of all of that, didn’t you?- he says while waving in my general direction.
-I...!-
Did I?
...
Huh.
-Wait, so how am I spinning silk?- I ask and he responds by throwing his hands up and shaking them palms up, fingers splayed, eyes wide in a silent “I told you so”. -Da fuq...?-
-And it was 5 panels for the meditation manual,- Little Corpse points out, trying to change the subject. I wave him off as I try to figure out how I’m condensing Essence into usable silk.
Only 5 panels for one book from a library where I was told I’m not allowed to access any of the books? And basic default me silk? Or what used to be. Let’s buy out the Library!
-Go big or go home,- I mumble at him. Hoping he spends the silk well. Got a lot of Resentment to convert into Karma. -Fack! Gotta reabsorb some of the spending Resentment...-
-Or sell it as priceless treasures,- he stammers. -The Dragon Pearls alone could buy... You don’t do politics. Or care for recognition.-
I watch as he sits with his mouth open, ready to make a point but not having the point to make. Yet. Been there.
I turn back to the meditation manual, to find how to condense my Resentments into Karma, and wonder if I can do the same with other things. Can I condense Qi to Karma? What about the money in my mortal wallet? Not the Resentment one, the living hunan cultivator one? The “earthly” Realm. I thought the Graveyards Hell was pretty earthy...
Okay. So how...? Pictures! It’s not cycling... Not condensing... that usually has arrows... Absorbing...?
I feel a cold chill as I recognize that I’m just supposed to absorb the Regard like absorbing ambient essence or Qi, but I’m pretty sure hunans think absorbing is a beastly thing.
Monks aren’t beastly. Monks aren’t uniformly bald and wearing simple robes in an identical fashion to be blank slates that they can just imagine their true persona onto.
Monks. Aren’t. Furries.
-You need to be beaten,- Little Corpse growls, head lowered into his hands as he tries to take steady breaths.
-You saw what a dark place the world was without me,- I murmur as I try to figure out how to absorb Resentment other than just thinking on drinking a golden milkshake. A window pops up, all light and glitter with a header for “Karmic Rewards”. -Why did that work?-
-Because you’re broken,- Little Corpse snaps.
-Um, actually. I’m “Shattered”,- I drone back at him while clicking around.
-Don’t just randomly mess with your Karma!- he snaps in a panic.
[Immortal Dragon Pearl Exchanged Successfully]
[-1 Karmic Dragon Pearl]
[+100 Con. Qi]
[-100k Qi]
[+1M Karma]
[Resentment Wallet: 200C.St.,113R.Sl.,228R.Sh.,2C.M.R.P.,0D.M.R.N.,11 – 1 I.D.P.,1A.D.P]
[Ghost Pot: +1000/-0]
[Resentment: +968490/-357643]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1837164/27149895]
[Current Qi: 166260/957945100]
[Current Karma: 108599582/234520515]
[Resentment Wallet: 200C.St.,113R.Sl.,228R.Sh.,2C.M.R.P.,0D.M.R.N.,10I.D.P.,1A.D.P]
[Mortal Wallet: 12E,692K,180P,697R,179Da,258De,2605k]
[Spirit Wallet: 0Dr,0Ph,0Th,1325Di,126Co,10679St]
-Oh, cool! It worked! What’d I do?- Tch! Maybe I shouldn’t have just been blindly clicking around.
I ignore Little Corpse’s rasping cry, a scream of outrage and frustration, and try to mentally retrace my steps. Found an exchange page. Was clicking through... Oh! There was an “i” in a bubble for more information but I got distracted thinking about clicking on it because there was a green button not greyed out that said “Exchange” and I clicked on it. So... Ah! I converted or “Exchanged” a 100k pearl for 100k karma on a 1 to 1 because... I have over 1M karma. Yes. Yes, I do.
So how many limits are on this? I need a fuck ton of Qi, Karma, and Resentment, err, Regard. And the ability to hold or access the same. Wow, okay, so how do monks do this? Or is this why they’re scary?
-Monks aren’t scary. They’re dedicated. And you’re a cunt,- Little Corpse says quite casually. I think he’s broken again.
[1M Regard Exchanged Successfully]
[-1M +Resentment]
[+100 Con. Qi]
[-100k Qi]
[+1M Karma]
[Resentment Wallet: 200C.St.,113R.Sl.,228R.Sh.,2C.M.R.P.,0D.M.R.N.,11 – 1 I.D.P.,1A.D.P]
[Ghost Pot: +1000/-0]
[Resentment: +218520/-357648]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1837265/27399896]
[Current Qi: 66250/957945100]
[Current Karma: 109599587/234520515]
[Resentment Wallet: 200C.St.,113R.Sl.,228R.Sh.,2C.M.R.P.,0D.M.R.N.,10I.D.P.,1A.D.P]
[Mortal Wallet: 12E,692K,180P,697R,179Da,258De,2605k]
[Spirit Wallet: 0Dr,0Ph,0Th,1325Di,126Co,10679St]
-Why, yes I do have one. And a dick. And tits! And I am all three, but that’s a completely different subject...- I mumble. I need to get more Qi... And I have a shit ton of Spirit Stones.
-Don’t...- Little Corpse hisses in a pained, clenched, sigh.
Ooh! It would be wasteful. And there’s a great place that once held a massive concentration of cultivators, wards, and Resentment.
-Road trip! We’re going to Eager Heart, bitches!- I stand up, pause to double check that I’m not glowing, then turn to see if Little Corpse is ready. -Wait,- I turn to the girls who are still sulking in the corner. -Why have they been so quiet?-
-They got brainwashed and you’re going to take away their toys?- Little Corpse reminds me.
-Who the hells told you to kick me around?!- I snap, angry all over again.
They didn’t give a warning, did they? No. They saw Poor Pretty and didn’t think he was a threat. Didn’t want to attack him, -- first sign something was wrong, -- and then decided that they were supposed to help him, -- second sign. -- then were honestly disgusted by me to the point where they attacked me... He didn’t tell them to.
-So you don’t have to work very often, get to play dress up and house with your food, but how dare a bug tell you what to do...?- I turn to look at the girls who sidle away but keep stealing quick peeks at me. I revoke their permissions for my void before turning to Little Corpse. -They’re ashamed to follow a bug, so a monk should be fine. You’re in charge of them from now on.-
Oh, playing tea party with the bug is fine, but working for the bug is shameful! What the fack does my body have to do with anything? They’re dead girls, people think corpses are gross, and they’re running around acting like they’re not dead. Delusional AF.
-First things first, you stay in the Ghost Pot with the rest of us now,- Little Corpse tells them, shutting them down with a quick swipe of his hand through the air. -Enough!- He turns to me and I side-eye him. -Get rid of their stuff in the house. They’re contracted spirits, not guests or family.-
And now it’s my turn to feel bad.
He guides me on how to set permissions the way he had. They can Deposit anything, but only withdraw food, dishes, and dining ware. I go back through my Logs to see how he wrangles the servants, and I already knew he was a natural leader, but got dang!
There’s lots of team building with him demonstrating what he wants done and regularly working alongside whomever he’s tasked to do it. He doesn’t just set them up and let them go, he makes regular rounds, improving his own skills along the way. It’s exhausting to read.
-I’m supposed to keep moving. You’re supposed to keep sleeping,- he reminds me, the anger and frustration slowly draining out of him. Is he well-balanced or is he depositing. -What’s the point in being mad at you for being more than you are when you shouldn’t be?-
My eyes cross as I try to process what he thinks he means before I realize I’m thinking too hard. I’m supposed to be asleep. End of story. I’m active and actively learning. We’re both badasses.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
[Ghost Pot: +1000/-0]
[Resentment: +1218640/-357668]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1837269/27399901]
[Current Qi: 66210/957945100]
[Current Karma: 109599607/234520515]
Tch! Not enough Qi to do another exchange.
-Would you stop it!- Little Corpse snaps at me and I stand up and wave my forelegs at him.
-You want me to stop glowing, you want me to stop growing, so I either do something or don’t, you can’t have both!- I snap at him, forelegs still up. -You wanna go? Come on! Still gonna cost me to heal, and then it’ll cost me to heal you! What’s the point?!-
-Ack!- He goes from standing with rage to casually slipping onto a cushion, legs crossed, head resting on his hand with his elbow propped on one knee and his free hand braced on the other. -No, you’re right. This... Is a lot to take in.-
I stare at him, head cocked, wide-eyed. ? No, really? ? He snickers, puts away his armor, and stands up dressed in farmer chic. A long-sleeved over robe, a wicker hat, and a harvest bag finishes his outfit before the girls stand up, their personal cushions going back into the bank. Tch! Too good to sit on meditation pillows?
-The brash one is from an old cultivation family and the quiet one was a gift to her from a new noble family. They were supposed to be equals but it never works that way,- Little Corpse says while checking to make sure he’s got everything. -Take on your hunan form. A large talking bug is sure to be easy to notice.-
-Sorry and ? thank you ? ,- I sing. Volun-telling all around!
-Let’s get going. I’ve heard so much about the horror of Eager Heart, and reading about it it sounds like it was more of a gambling den than a whore house,- Little Corpse says before gesturing for me to get on with it.
I shrug, and transfer us to Eager Heart, expecting to be greeted with the sight of a large courtyard and empty hallways.
-Eh?- I blink and look around what appears to be a gutted warehouse. No. It was a large manor but the floors above are gone, the building a hollow shell. -Not what I was expecting...-
-Do you know them?- Little Corpse turns to angle his body slightly away from a group of people sitting on one of many piles of debris. I don’t know if they’re sitting on rubble from the floors above or garbage that was thrown in the corner, but there are several more piles, and a few are likewise occupied.
-Dunno,- I shrug, moving over to post up in the middle of the room. There’s a small shrine near the doorway, just a table with a few lit candles small enough to be tea lights, and scatterings of fruits and flowers. -Tch!-
I want to find out if Trinity got away, but I don’t want to know if he didn’t make it. It’d be nice to think that the spirit beasts felt something was off and avoided this place, but I did see him before the collapse. Did they flee or all pile in?
No, that’s not fair. Generalizing them, us, won’t do any good. We’re individuals with our own predilections and backstories, hmm? I look up, a sad smile twisting my lips to the side and I’m mildly disappointed that the ceiling is intact. Based on the way the light dances it’s night out and I wanted to see the stars.
I guess I can pretend the candles are stars and the haze of Resentment is a cloud...?
[Death Knell]
[+1 Con. Qi]
[-30 -Resentment]
[+30 Resentment]
[+10 Karma]
[Last Rites II Enhanced]
[+1 Con. Qi]
[+1000 +Resentment]
[+1000 Karma]
[Ghost Pot +1000/-0]
[Resentment: +1719730/-358520]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1837273/27400156]
[Current Qi: 66190/957945100]
[Max Will: 9,579,451]
[HP: 9,579,451]
[Current Karma: 109600627/234520515]
[Resentment Wallet: 200C.St.,113R.Sl.,228R.Sh.,2C.M.R.P.,0D.M.R.N.,10I.D.P.,1A.D.P]
[Mortal Wallet: 12E,692K,180P,697R,179Da,258De,2605k]
[Spirit Wallet: 0Dr,0Ph,0Th,1325Di,126Co,10679St]
I tense and freeze as the other people in the room shout out in alarm. One of the figures collapses, their head falling forward, then off, before their body just disintegrates. Popping sounds from wards breaking around some of the other occupied trash piles.
[-50 HP]
I take all of this is while the shadows I can’t see become visible, condense, then coalesce into a massive sinuous club that bats me off my garbage throne hard enough that I hit the wall several meters away with enough force to bounce off of it, but not go through it.
There’s another tone, this one echoing and resonating unlike my aborted blast of sound, and it’s followed by chanting. A monk wonders in, Little Corpse standing between me and what appears to be a big ass snake and looking torn between defending me or the monk. I wanna be mad, but I took the hit. Not sure if the furry can.
-Tch!- Little Corpse glares back at me and I wonder why he doesn’t send the girls to defend the monk while batting my eyelashes. -They’re harvesting the Persephone bush.-
My brain cycles through dirty jokes about Persephone’s “bush” getting drop kicked by the fact that she didn’t live long, the girls getting zapped for daring to touch the mutated Nectar Pears, and the monk having a casual conversation with the not actually a snake.
“Apologies, but these death cultists were taking advantage of the pain and suffering this place had generated. A few enterprising Qi manipulators had created a way to rid the area of pests. Alas the cultists seem to have warded against it...” the monk turns to look at the snake that dips its head in a bow before slithering off through the wall.
-I’ve learned to gather Resentment from a Sect, but I think it works for living and the dead. They’re no more a cult than the monks I’ve met,- I shrug, trying to figure out if the monks are a cult. They’ve got strict rules and some of them are highly prejudiced...
“We monks don’t worship death,” the monk says, frowning with brows drawn together.
-The Sect I learned from don’t worship death...- I scratch at my face before Little Corpse grunts and picks me back up. -Oh. Thanks. Yeah, no I think they’re just shit at Qi and Essence manipulation, but this empire has a ton of Resentment just floating around.-
“Manipulating Essence can’t be done without Imperial approval,” the monk snaps, offended that I’d even suggest it ‘cause why?
-Wait, so you can’t be a cultivator unless you get a badge or license?- I turn to Little Corpse who just shrugs at me.
“Anyone can practice Qi cultivation, but to interfere with the natural order requires oversight from the Imperial Council,” the monk frowns, eyebrows still knit as he considers me and my Familiar. “We keep a much closer eye on stopping natural disasters.”
“If you could tell us more? My Master was made by hunans condensing Essence into a Spirit Beast. They survived to become a Catastrophe,” Little Corpse bows, sitting on his heels on the ground and gesturing for the monk to join him.
[Death Knell]
[+1 Con. Qi]
[-30 -Resentment]
[+30 Resentment]
[+10 Karma]
[Last Rites II Enhanced]
[+1 Con. Qi]
[+1000 +Resentment]
[+1000 Karma]
[Ghost Pot +1000/-0]
[Resentment: +1719730/-365210]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1837303/27400196]
[Current Qi: 66890/957945100]
[Max Will: 9,579,451]
[HP: 9,579,451]
[Current Karma: 109600787/234520515]
[Resentment Wallet: 200C.St.,113R.Sl.,228R.Sh.,2C.M.R.P.,0D.M.R.N.,10I.D.P.,1A.D.P]
[Mortal Wallet: 12E,692K,180P,697R,179Da,258De,2605k]
[Spirit Wallet: 0Dr,0Ph,0Th,1325Di,126Co,10679St]
I tone because the whole reason I came here was to gather Qi, Resentment, and to clear up one of the prayer spots.
-What?- I ask, turning to Little Corpse who glares at me and the monk who raises his eyebrows at me. -I’m part of a Sect, not cult, that gathers and removes Resentment, which I guess is this empires version of Essence. Although not having an Essence manipulation License explains why being me is so taxing here. This place kinda sucks.-
“Preventing such misplaced power accumulation is one of the reasons there are such stringent regulations against Essence manipulation,” the monk says with what sounds like smug pride.
-So the poor who can’t manipulate Qi are fucked if they can’t find a Sect that deals with other natural things like Essence that the empire doesn’t consider Essence?- Pretty sure I’ve been seeing Resentment forever, but it was just some form of Essence I couldn’t easily categorize. Little Corpse stares at me with eyes wide and expression blank, quietly chanting for me to shut the fuck up, but nah. -*Explains the hovels and places like Eager heart, dunnit?
-People running around exchanging Qi with no fear of miasma ‘cause it’s just Essence to them. Essence manipulators are terrified of Miasma, and I didn’t even know there were other kinds until I got here.-
“If you two could stop arguing like children, you might be able to have a mature conversation?” another monk, this one built like a body-builder wearing the uniform like a suggestion, joins us. If he flexes we might get a tasteful nude art display.
-We’re having a mature discussion on the merits of banning natural progression and then labeling dissenters as cultists,- I point out, with words, while the other monk just glares. Like a child.
“We came to help purify the area. I was surprised when I thought my companion had started without me. Getting the attention of the Rat Catcher is dangerous. Especially after it’s been restrained. Well done on surviving their ire,” Big Dharma beams at me while the Rules Lawyer turns his head, putting us out of his sight.
[Ghost Pot +1000/-0]
[Resentment: +2219790/-378600]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1837365/27400279]
[Current Qi: 68270/957945100]
[Max Will: 9,579,451]
[HP: 9,579,451]
[Current Karma: 109601117/234520515]
-Bah! I need a better way to collect Qi...- I grumble, Little Corpse’s head slowly turning to look at me with wide eyes like I’ve done something else he doesn’t understand. -What’d I do now?-
“Elders, how long would it take for a non-Imperial cultivator to condense enough Qi to make a Spirit Stone?” he asks politely and I narrow my eyes at him because I think he’s about to point out that I am gathering a lot of Qi very quickly.
“With a few years of practice a powerful cultivator could probably condense a Spirit Stone in an hour. It’s not the Qi but the ability to manipulate and condense it, to get it to crystallise into a physical form that maintains its shape and integrity that makes it no small feat,” Rules Lawyer says, gesturing energetically with his hand held flat, and I don’t do anything because I know Little Corpse will throw a rock at me if I try to condense anything.
-But you know I can,- I say loudly while shifting towards him. -Because fuck you,- I whisper although sends are super easy to hear.
“You must be the Rising Sun Empires wandering Catastrophe,” the monk mountain chuckles while looking at me. “You may have a hunan form, but such general sends are the work of old monsters. And to have such control over it?” he says, leaning forward like we’re just exchanging gossip. “With a blessed Ghost Soldier that can speak so eloquently? Truly you are the stuff of nightmares!”
-That was supposed to be a compliment, right?- I ask, leaning closer to Little Corpse. -Didn’t feel like one.- He only lets out a long suffering sigh in response. -What? It didn’t!-
“Merely a series of observations,” Big Dharma says, holding both hands up before slapping them down onto his legs.
“Since this den of iniquity has been cleared ghosts have been spawning in the Resentment of the morally lost and the survivors,” Lawful Good sighs. His eyes scan the room and lock on to a few of the people sitting around, but not all of them. “This old place is full of shadows. It’s truly eerie.”
-Um...- I tense because apparently I can’t see those shadows, but there are quite a few squatters and one did collapse earlier. -How many people are there in here?-
“No one dares come into this building,” Monk Mountain cackles. “We’re only here because of your legendary ability to purify! It’s most fortunate it’s turned towards Resentment!”
-Little Corpse?- My stomach clenches, hard, and it hurts bad enough that I have to look down to see if I’m injured. And I see an arm coming from out of my side, not through my robes, and a hand burrowing through my robes and into my stomach. -That’s not good.-
“This room is full of ghosts!” Little Corpse warns the monks while drawing his scythe.
“What’s going on?” Little Law leaps to his feet, looking at me before quickly dismissing me and turning to face out into the room.
-Girls?- I transfer them out of my Void, clean them up, and force them to don their Blessing Forms with a force of Will. Their smoke really does billow and roil in time to my drum. -We’ve got a few eager recruits.-
