Part 105: Day 42 - Gameplay

Day 42: Gameplay

_{Day 42 Story}

The main Angela scene plays every time we hit the day in question, even if we've already seen it. If there's nothing new I'll just link them in the relevant updates where they'd otherwise be.

Music: neutral 4






...Well, here we are again.

We remain in entirely uncharted territory, Manager. Use extreme caution.

Given that we can't get caught by surprise anymore, I don't think it'll be a problem. Anyone have any business before we press onward?

The Upper Layer is perfect as always! Bishop's in the E.G.O that you ordered him into, Manager!



Bishop is on WhiteNight duty today so that I have someone within the same department who I can send to work with him during meltdowns. Because of that, we're having to equip him more heavily than normal.

Everything's in order in the Middle Layer, manager!!

You've doubled the number of agents I have to handle. I don't care for them.

I'm the one who's handling them, and your department has four Abnormalities to deal with. You'll live. Anything else?

That appears to be all. I wish you success this time, Manager..

Alright. Let's rock.



Music: Second Trumpet


There you are. I knew you'd be back here. This time, I'll crush you for sure.

Don't think so, old man. I'm going to manage today just like any other, and remind you that I'm still quite capable of making miracles.

Wow, someone's full of themselves.

There you are, Talow. Sorry about borrowing your E.G.O, but we needed it.

Just don't mention that you gave it to Bishop. After your stunt the clerks didn't stop whispering, they just got quieter about it.

I have no intention of waiting for your ceaseless nattering. Nothing has changed. Nothing shall change. The cycle continues, unbroken.





We already covered Hokma's main trick a few days ago, so I'll avoid going too deep into it now. As a quick refresher: We can't speed up time, and pausing will make Agents instantly die or panic. He also removes Meltdown immunity, so the Meltdowns that spawn can show up anywhere in the facility-meaning we'll have to waste precious time looking for them. Given that by this point the game's trained us to hit space and assess the situation anytime anything happens, muscle memory is one of our worst threats in this suppression. Luckily, I have an effective solution:



Manager, what the hell did you do to your keyboard?

Oh this? Countermeasure. I realized that if I can't hit the spacebar, I can't pause. So I just... popped it out.

That didn't save you last time.

Last time I didn't lose.

You did what I wanted in the end. That's close enough.



Looking sharp in that ALEPH gear, boss!

Ehh… it really doesn't fit well with me? I'm just wearing it today to work with WhiteNight.

It doesn't? I thought it was powerful.

That's the problem. The instincts that come from these E.G.O are a lot more insistent than weaker Abnormalities, so they wind up throwing me off. Not a fan of that happening in tense situations.

Ooooh. I'm sure you'll find a suit that works for you soon, boss.

As a reminder, WhiteNight lowers its own QC every 90 seconds and with Hokma around that means we can't pause. We need to keep it in mind at all times if we don't want to lose.



So anyways, then I realized I could just never stop working it, and it'll turn out fine.

Huh… I guess that would do it.

As BICEPS showed, constantly working WhiteNight is just fine with high enough Temperance. Bishop's currently right at the borderline where it should be safe if we don't spend too much time in the -30% range.



In the meanwhile, we clear out the Clerks one department at the time. Extraction is first, since we shouldn't need their bonus today.

Oh right, Manager. I didn't get a chance to review what you picked up yesterday. What was the new Abnormality, again?

Oh, that one? It said something about love and justice, so I thought she'd be a good pick.

...oh no.



Do you have any idea the horror you've just brought into this facility, Manager?

I dunno, she seems cute to me. What's wrong with her?

Everything. Her name is-

Now, now. That would be spoiling it, Talow. We can't have that. He has to work with her, same as any other Abnormality.

You know you can't tell me what to do anymore, right?

You are my subordinate, and will do as I say.

I take care of that entire team myself, while you're off sniffing the manager's tailcoat. Your subordinate? I do all the real work around here.



While you two were arguing, I just sent Boksi to go say hello. Seems to have worked out fine.

It always seems that way at first-but she's bad news. Really bad news.



I dunno, she seems to like him.

Whenever an Agent finishes a work with -04, she blows them a kiss which fully heals their HP/SP. This makes her absolutely terrible for training as it's impossible to get a damage modifier to any work with her.



...Well, she's definitely a Magical Girl.

I keep telling you, that's not her real name. It's actually-

Talow. We have rules.

Screw the rules, you damn tin can! Your rules just got me murdered ten thousand times! Maybe more! Do you remember anything about what it's like to die, before they shoved you in that body?

I do not. It's not relevant to my position.

It turns out it hurts! I snap back, but that doesn't mean I just forget all that stuff that happens! And that damned snake of an Abnormality's killed me about as much as anything in this facility has!

Ookay, I can see that you two are going to need a second. _{I'm just going to… figure out a plan over here, real quick.}

Just make sure it involves killing clerks! Lots of clerks, every level.

We were doing that today anyways, so sure.

Listen here, you impertinent little ingrate. I saved you from squallor, brought you to a company and gave you a position any would envy-and you completely disregard the rules we have set?

Your rules are stupid, and I'm tired of dying pointlessly for you. I want it to end.

HAHA WOW LOOK AT ALL THIS MANAGING I'M DOING!



Our basic routine is fairly simple today. In addition to WhiteNight, every work cycle with him I'll be sending someone to our new Magical Girl. Then, I'll pick 2 of the other 3 Abnormalities in the lefthand square and work them as well. The fifth work in every cycle is with Parasite Tree. This will ensure that the Tree can't get its effect off, and keeps all of the action as contained as we can make it.

I've said before that every Suppression is a test of something, and Hokma is a test of actively controlling our situation. The key with this fight is to anticipate the issues that will occur and take steps to stop them before they have a chance to. If our facility has an actual emergency, it will cost people to pause and deal with it-so our plan is to just not let ourselves have any.



Okay, so. Hokma. We should really get on talking about how you're caught up in-

Petulant whelp! Appreciate what you have!

Oh shut the hell up! There's nothing 'petulant' about being tired of dying every couple weeks for thousands of years! I had to watch Medea kill herself last time you guys did a repository reset! All so you could get some stupid information, and what do I get for my trouble?

I allowed you to keep your position despite your impertinence!

Woop-de-shit, I get to keep a job I hate! I never should have helped you. Either of you.

It was your duty.

It was my ticket out. But no, instead I decide to do the right thing and try to keep everyone else around here from suffering. Not that it matters, they don't remember. I'm the only one who does. Do you have any idea what that's like?

You're overselling it. It's not my fault you're immature.

You do not get to say that to me you creepy stalker fanboy of a robutt.



...this… might be harder than I thought.



Hey guys, I got the name! She's Queen of Hatred! That means we can discuss her now!

-and don't think I haven't noticed your dalliance with that Control Team captain! You're risking putting us all in an incredibly awkward spot!

I had to do something! Nothing ever changes around here! It's just an endless loop!

That is a feature, not a bug. Like this, A will never have to suffer again.

No matter how many people's backs that suffering is based on?!

I couldn't care less about any of them.

RRGH!

*CRASH*

No, not the BEES poster! _{...also I was going to drink that wine later...}

Queen of Hatred requires that we kill at least 3 employees per meltdown level, or else she'll lose one QC of her 2 maximum. We'll talk more about her tomorrow when things aren't so busy, for today we'll be handling her properly to make sure nothing bad happens. She's quite troublesome if we forget.



Since our Dawn today is a Violet Ordeal, I position to intercept it while doing our works. This is fairly simple-I just position one or two Agents in each hallway. Violet Dawn could be a problem if it survives long enough to blow up, but doing this will ensure that each one is suppressed as soon as they appear-we won't need to do anything. With that done, it's back to work as usual. As long as we have a plan and stick to it the early parts of Hokma are easy.



We just have to remember to murder the Clerks every new level.



So uh… are you two going to stop anytime soon?

I'd like to, but Talow here won't accept the gift he's been granted.

It's not a gift, moron! I could explain this a thousand ways and you'd never get it. People don't like dying!

You don't die. You come back right after, in full possession of your faculties.

We die. You don't know how traumatic that is on a person's mind until you've done it-it's not good!

You're simply thinking of it wrong. There's no difference to your continuity of consciousness between being murdered and simply losing consciousness from blunt force trauma. What happens to you can barely be called 'dying' at all. The concept of death doesn't exist here, since everything is on pause.

You're insane!

That's a no, then. This is… not good…



Queen of Hatred's information is finished not long after. My side-goal for the day is to get her gear, which will cost us 260 more boxes total-in terms of style they're easily among my favorite E.G.O in the game.

Okay, so Talow and Hokma are…

This world is perfection. No true death exists here, and I can coexist with A for eternity as gods. Why would I ever give that up?

"Screw you, got mine" is not a damn argument!

...busy, and they're not listening to me. More to the point, like this they're going to keep going around in circles and not get anywhere between the two of them. That would be bad, since it would make all this meaningless, like with Gebura… Yep. I've got this side of things figured out, but…



Clearly, that won't be enough.

Violet Dawn. As I said before, everyone has already been positioned to intercept all of the Ordeals.



It ends in just a few seconds. Our new goal is to move everyone back to their normal positions and get in position for the next meltdown while we continue to do our usual work pattern.



This time it's Welfare's turn. I'm trying to pick off the least useful departments, and go from the outside inward in order to minimize the risk to my facility. Ideally we'll keep Central around as long as possible for the bonus time on Meltdowns.



Okay, we're back in order. Now I just need a plan.

And another thing! Don't think I haven't found out about your little vacations. Spending two months in the Shelter is not an acceptable way to pass time!

It literally doesn't matter! There's nothing wrong with taking care of yourself if your higher ups don't care-and you freaking don't, not to mention that I have to do your job on top of mine. You don't get to talk about my time off habits until you actually do your own damn paperwork.

God, they're going at it just like I used to with… huh. I wonder.



Hey, can you two quiet down for a second? I have an idea that might...

Why don't you just go suck on a can of motor oil and leave us to clean up your damn mess like you always do!

As if you'd even know where to begin! None of you do, you're simply a child pretending to understand things you don't!

Guys… Can you just...

You're just a washed up microwave that gave up years ago!

Like I care what an ingrate has to say!

SHUT UP!! Both of you!

Music: 090909090


How dare you speak to me like that!

Benjamin. Shut the hell up. Now.

...Yes, A.

_{Serves you right, you pompous old windb-}

Talow. You, too.

...Tch.



Meltdown management is important in this fight, but since the day takes so long to get through we can afford to miss quite a few. The one on the Portrait will cost us 15 PE boxes to avoid, but since Portrait would add another layer of complexity to our suppressions later I opt to just let it expire. In general, we want to check our most dangerous Abnormalities for Meltdowns first, then work our way down the ladder. Like the other suppressions, Hokma can't put Meltdowns in his own department, so we've lucked out by having King of Greed and Nothing There both staying there.



Okay. Now that you've all had a second to stop yelling, and I've got everything back under control, here's what we're going to do. Talow, you have been our most consistent worker since day one. What's going on?

I'm sick and tired of this ass I have for a boss. What more is there to say?

Well, you were saying plenty before. Why not start there?

Fine. I've been looping through life after life for longer than I can remember. Each time, everyone lives for maybe a couple of weeks before dying. Half the time I die doing something I know will get me killed. The other half I can get out of the way for a while, and watch everyone else die. I'm over that. I want out. And this guy here, he's acting like it doesn't even matter. He doesn't care about anything but spending eternity with you.

I have told you many times A, the employees are-

Benjamin. You'll get your turn. Right now you let him talk.

...This is absurd.

I don't really… remember before this place, anymore? If I really try, I think I might know what the City looks like still. Can't remember the last time I saw it. I'm not like the others. They come back and it's just like they woke up for the first time. Fresh, and new, and I can't tell them anything about any of this. I know. I've checked. So, at this point I just want out. I'm tired, manager-and this time everything's different in a way that actually felt like something might happen, and then this… this alarm clock-looking asshole starts talking about how nothing needs to change.

It doesn't.

You don't get to decide that for me!

Okay, okay-chill out you guys. I think I basically understand now.



Okay Benjamin. Consider this: How have your actions affected the people around you?

I've done only what is necessary to bring forth a world where you can be happy.

Well, I'm not happy here, and that's part of why I'm moving on.

My A would be happy here. This place was built to his exacting specifications, every part of it. I can simply reset you.

That's not an answer. I'm not going anywhere, and the way you ignore the suffering of others isn't healthy.

People in this place are-

On pause. I know. You've tried over and over again to make your point-but it doesn't matter. Their pain is real. I think not understanding might be why the other A's couldn't get this far. At every step, someone's been there to help. Agents, the other Sephirot, even clerks help out.

Should you be saying that while you're killing them?

...just. Please. Give me this.

Hey, it's keeping Queen of Hatred sane. I'm not complaining.



The idea that A was incomplete is laughable. He… you were a marvel!

I was a broken man, Benjamin. That man you treasured was a fool, digging blindly through the ground to try and find a hint of what Carmen had promised for everyone. I think he knew he couldn't ever help everyone like that. The script, the Seed, it's why it all exists… I think.

You expect me to believe that he wanted to become you?

…Yes?



...No. He wasn't alright. You are not alright. A was a genius, he knew what he was making was a maze without an exit. I'm simply enacting his will. It's not fair to take this last shred of happiness I have from me!

Our Noon will be the Sweepers, which are the most mechanically complex to deal with at this point. Wonderful.



First things first, we clear out Information. That leaves only Safety, Central's two floors, and Disciplinary with any clerks in them.

It's not fair to expect the entire world to stay in a stasis that nobody but you wants, either.

Do not test me, A. I am-

Hold up, Benjamin. I get it. Change is scary. Probably why I wiped my memory a few dozen times while trying it.

It's been a bit more than that.

You have the chance to be happy here. You don't need anything more than that.

I left myself a way out, and that means from the very start A wanted this to end.



Welfare team goes into Upper Central in order to protect Dimi, who is made of glass and paper compared to everyone else in the facility. Lower Central is strong enough to handle them no problem, and I bring the two Black-weak agents from Training over to Safety to make sure they don't get overwhelmed either. Everyone else should be able to handle it.



Meanwhile we put Extraction and Disciplinary into these two hallways. Sweepers don't spawn in main rooms, so this setup should protect the clerks in Disciplinary for the most part.

That can't be…

You know about the Seed. Everything I've been doing has been to grow it, and make it sprout. What it'll do, I can't say-but that's the will I left myself. Eggs are supposed to crack, and seeds are supposed to sprout. I won't stay here forever just to ease your worries about how I was before.



What sort of man would say that to his oldest friend?

...me? I'm not going to lie to you, Benjamin.

No, you're simply going to take everything from me, out of your misguided sense of attachment to these employees.



The Sweepers plan goes off without a hitch, which is nice.

There is no need to protect them. Death has no meaning here.

It has meaning to them. That's enough, I think. Given how many times they've helped, I just can't agree with the idea that they don't matter.

And what you're doing to the clerks?

...It's not cruel to painlessly kill someone who would be dying in a few minutes anyway?

Are you asking me, or telling me?

Telling. Definitely telling.



Tylana jumps in the air to dunk the last Sweeper with her Smile hammer, which means…



We're past the Noon with no problems. I spend the rest of the level getting everyone back into their usual positions to be ready for the next bunch of Meltdowns.

As nice as it is to watch you two talk for hours, going around in circles, I've got a question.

Huh? Oh, sure, go ahead.

Hey. Clocksucker. The hell do you think gives you the right to play around with people like they're your pawns?

You're the one who signed the contract, and accepted your place as a feather in a Wing of the world. Shouldn't you be asking A that?

Hardly. While you're both doing the same things, this asshole's working towards something. Even if I don't know what it is, exactly, there's a stopping point. When it's over it's over. I can move on. If it's something like that, I can deal with everything a bit longer-because any plan this insane has to be for something big. But you? You don't have a point. You're just stuck in a loop, dragging us all with you. What right do you have to do that?

...I have no need to answer such a question from the likes of you.

No, please, go ahead. I'm very interested in the answer.

It is my intention to stay here with you, A. For that, I am willing to do anything I must. I just want things to be how they were before.



The first six levels of Hokma's Suppression are honestly just Tiphereth's meltdown but without pausing. Actually, 'Tiphereth but difficult' is a good way to summarize Hokma in general, and one of the most frustrating parts of it is that most losses come relatively late into it-meaning starting over from the beginning.

That's not happening, Benjamin. You know that, and I know it.

I know that to be the case… but you must believe me. You are not ready. You never were. Facing the world will simply crush you.

I'm ready, and I know it. Things still hurt, but I can move on day by day. The only one in this room who doesn't want to move on is you. Stop using me as your excuse to hide from the world.

An excuse..? I don't have a single excuse. You're just doing what you always do. Moving on, heedless of your own mind crying out in pain. I let you do it before. I was too cowardly to stop you. Yes… Yes, that's right. You're simply going too far.



From here forward, each new level makes the screen flip out for a moment, as a ticking sound plays.

Music: circle rombed oxygen


You always go too far, A. I won't run this time.


Once we hit Meltdown level 7 things speed up, as indicated by the speed indicator in the lower left. Right now, things are moving at 1.5x speed, which is perfectly manageable. The colors also fade out a bit.

Well, you've done something.

I got you to calm down, talked with him, and got him to this point. This is going pretty well, actually.

Whatever you say, boss.

Most importantly, Hokma's idle animation changes.



Go, Hokma, go.

Our next opponent is going to be Green Dusk, so this level is going to be spent moving Agents around again, right after I clear out the Clerks in our next department: Disciplinary.



For anyone playing along at home, don't do things like this! If I was half a second later then we would have melted Tenebrais and wasted about half an hour of playtime.

So, is there a plan for the Green Dusk? Those robots can really tear people apart in seconds.

I've got something together. Check this out.



We throw the Middle and Lower Layers into defense point A, and the Upper Layer sets up a defense at point B. Tenebrais and Mizu can both handle one generator each, and we'll have Medea and Zeta21 handle a third one-their multitarget attacks can take the robots out en masse, and Medea's got the Knight's blessing. The last one goes to all the Agents in Central and Extraction with 0.2 or 0.3 Red defense. Bishop will just work with WhiteNight like usual, he can hold off an infinite number of those robots.

Gotta say… That's a pretty good plan.

All your plans will come to naught, A. It's better to stay inside this place.

I've said it a thousand times now: not happening. Accept it and stop grasping for something you can't hope to maintain.

This moment is all I have!



Our job is building the future, Hokma. Always has been. If you're too frightened to do it, then I'm going to drag you kicking and screaming along with me.

I won't allow it! I can't allow it! You… you need this place! Why would you sacrifice your own happiness for this plan of yours?!

This job is miserable, Hokma. I want out of it just as bad as Talow, and the way to do it is by finishing this plan off. The satisfaction of that job being done is gonna' be a thousand times greater than whatever fun I have around here.

I see… I see!

Did I finally get through to you?

Hardly. He's going to decide it's all secretly about something else in 3… 2… 1…



This is about doing her will. Even now, you're bound by Carmen's death. You can't be left alone to do as you like.

Tch.

Toldja so.

Every level we pass makes the game speed up. We're at 1.8x speed now, but that's still below where I usually play so it's not an issue yet.



Three of the Dusks spawn in the Lower and Middle Layer. Mizu takes care of the one in Records, Tenebrais handles the one in Extraction, and I send the Central Killteam to take care of the one in Disciplinary. This means that our Clerks should be mostly safe.



The last appeared in Safety, and Medea will aggro the robots while Zeta21 clears them out en masse. They both have multitarget weapons, so they're fine.



We wind up winning pretty quickly, and can spend the rest of this level setting up for Amber Midnight. It looks exactly the same as the last time I did Amber Midnight, since pausing really doesn't matter to it.



Meanwhile, it's time to clear out the rest of the Clerks aside a handful. When the Midnight spawns they'll die and fulfill Queen of Hatred's death quota, so we're in the clear there.

There we go, got that taken care of. Now, where were we?

How convenient that the moment I hit on the truth, you happen to get distracted.

You're the one who shut off pausing, it's not my fault Green Dusks are a juggling act.

From the start you tried to replace her, then made that replacement an instrument in the script to carry out her will. Even now you're carrying on with that will.

Look, I-wait. Wait, I know this move. I invented this move! _{You did learn from me.}

What?

You're changing the subject because I hit on something you don't like. It doesn't matter why I'm doing this, what matters is that you're not allowed to just keep everyone in this loop forever.



The one other change I make is bringing Twee up to Control to work with WhiteNight. Twee, being insanely tanky, won't have any problems even if a Amber Dusk pops up in his hallway. Bishop might actually die to that, so he gets some time off.

You are surrounded by the people who love you. They hang on your every word. What more do you need?! How much more must you destroy before you're satisfied?!

I'm not destroying anything.

You're sacrificing your entire past! Our entire past! Everything we built up!

We knew going in that this was meant to end. All we've built is a possibility, and all we can do is bring it about. The past was important to me, it's what led me here, and not remembering was… a problem. But we can't live there, Benjamin.



I want to live there!

The colors wash out even more, and we're up to 2.1x speed. If we're going to die in Hokma's meltdown, it's probably going to be around here. Speaking of which…

Retry count: 14. One death to a Violet Midnight, which decided midway through that I didn't get to play the game anymore. The other was from the YouTube version of the fight, Parasite Tree went off at the very end of the fight and cost me five Agents, I opted to keep the day for the video run as a testament to how easy it is for everything to go wrong at the last second (and because I didn't want to do Hokma a third time ). Either way, both count.



Did Mizu always have an attack like that?

No, that's new. While I'm thinking about it, do you have any idea what's up with her?

Not a clue. Some days I'm not sure she isn't an Abnormality herself.

A slightly better shot of Paradise Lost's special attack. Nothing really happens in this fight, aside deciding to use Tenebrais to work Parasite Tree to avoid risking having Credentia face an Amber Dusk. The fight does take a while, though.



It takes half the meltdown level to kill our first Midnight.



And the other one falls at 9/14 works. Theoretically, bad enough luck could have pushed this further-but it's very unlikely. Still, we'll have to scramble to get everyone back into position for the 11 meltdowns coming.

I don't want to leave you again, nor to have you leave my side.

Partings happen. Some too soon, some too late... it's not something we can control.

But you can control this!

For now, maybe. In the end, though, we're still going to wind up going our separate ways again. That doesn't mean I'll forget you.

You already have. Thousands of times.

And… frankly, I think that was a mistake. A probably did it so we could change-I said that before. Still… burying the past is just going to make us repeat it. We use it, learn from it, and build a new future with it.

Huh. Is that what the slogan means? I thought it was just corporate speak.

No part of A's grand design is 'just' anything, Talow. Time and again you fail to grasp the manager's greatness.

Like you are right now?

You impertinent little-!

Benjamin, the hands of time in this place never stopped moving. Every one of the Upper and Middle Sephiot knew that, and we're already walking forward. I need you to get off your ass and come with us.



...



I can't do that, A. The last time I followed behind you without saying anything, those closest to you wound up imprisoned in these robotic shells.

Things start going at 2.5x normal speed here. This is a major problem with seven Meltdowns to deal with. The best system I've come up with to handle it is to get to the edge of X and send a bunch of Agents to work any Abnormality which would be a problem if it should escape. For us, that's WhiteNight and Blue Star. Then, we quickly go through them in order of threat and work as fast as we can to make sure there isn't a meltdown on them.



We catch Melting Love quickly enough, and several of the others are on tools, which we can ignore safely.



Rudolta gets out, though, and the Meltdowns we miss cost us a total of 225 energy. We'll be able to make it back, though.



More problematically, my flurry of works triggered Parasite Tree… and then Rudolta's breach triggered Parasite Tree again. This is how Hokma's suppression works-after a long day of nothing, suddenly we're walking a tightrope without a net. If we panic, it's over and we either take casualties or have to start from the beginning.

Since we're not pressed for time anymore, we can just return to the plan from the start of the day and we should be safe. So we do that.



I'm fine now, Benjamin. I remember Carmen, and I miss her-but more important than that I remember the disease we wanted to cure. This process is going to fix that, so we need to see it through to the end.

...Loathe though I am to admit it... you are right.

Great. Then we're all in agreement. Now, both of you say something nice about each other.

Do we have to?

Yes. You're still going to be working together, after all.

...You do an excellent job with the paperwork, Talow.

Yeah, well… I don't mind not having someone breathing down my neck all the time, I guess. It lets me just get things done.

Alright. This turned out to be a really productive session. Let's finish things off.



The final level doesn't make things any faster, but it does finish washing the colors out entirely. It's worth noting that the level counter does not go past 10, and all levels from this point forward will be level 10.

...Uh… this is where you start exploding.

We appear to be 13 energy short, A.

While the Suppression isn't over until we refine the energy we need, it's a moot point. Multiple Agents will finish their work before the Meltdown timers on any of our cells have a chance to empty. We've already won.

Oh. Then uh… what should we do while we're waiting for someone to finish their work?

...Sit here in an awkward silence?

…

…

I was joking.

I know. I just thought I'd roll with it. You owe me a new poster, by the way.

Fair, I guess.

Such casual banter, when you were always so taciturn… My word, A.



You could move onward, in spite of everything…



And there we go.

So we're good?

Yeah. I don't expect we'll have to redo the day, at any rate.

Hmph. Good. And if you could answer me one thing…

Yeah?

How are you going to cure that disease or whatever?

...Yeah, I'm still not clear on the details. I just know I thought of it, so it'll probably work.

…

I'm sure it'll be fine.

Whatever. I'll believe in you for a while longer, so don't squander it. Good luck.

You too.

...Manager, Hokma has stabilized. It appears that you were successful.

Of course I was, I'm the best damn manager this place has ever seen. Let's get to Abnormality selection, and then we'll call it a day.

As you like. Good work, A.

Music: never frozen bottom flows


At this point we've grabbed pretty much all of the good tool Abnormalities, so we're looking for the least bad. Of these, -85 and -95 are both terrible and one doesn't even work properly, so we go with -90. It's at least theoretically able to be handy.



Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: One last chat with Hokma.

New Guidelines

Queen of Hatred

New Gear


Requirements: Level 4, Fortitude 3, Justice 3
*Not affected by Attack Speed


Requirements: Level 4, Prudence 3, Temperance 3

New Story

Queen of Hatred (Part 1)
Queen of Hatred (Part 2)

Bonus

VIDEO: Hokma Core Suppression