Part 42: Day 20 - Gameplay

Day 20: Gameplay

I'll just go ahead and put this here:

Retry count: 4. I forgot to change around my equipment and instantly quit, and then I think I accidentally right-clicked Pbird when trying to move an agent? Punishing Bird ate somebody offscreen, at any rate. Neither has any good footage available, so they're mentioned here for the sake of accuracy.

I swear I'm good at this game.

Music: neutral 4


Huh… I guess Netzach finished his research before he got super drunk? Well, I'll take it.

He is quite capable of performing his duties even while inebriated. This entire exercise is largely meaningless.

Yeah, well, we're doing it anyways. Let me just shuffle around our agents...

DAY 20 CHALLENGE: MANDATORY CRUNCH

Rules: Complete Netzach's "Total Efficiency" mission. Get to Meltdown level X, and fill the gauge again once. All meltdowns must be worked.



Our facility for today. Zeta21, Mizu, Twee, Boksi, SeyserKoze, Tylana, and Mr.Blond are all sitting out today. The first two because they're maxed out, and the rest because they're competing with much weaker agents. Since this is a long day, we should do some training.





All we need to do is what we’ve always done.



Netzach's taking a personal day, so you'll be reporting to me directly today.

HAHA! Marvelous! I'll simply do as I normally would!

Huh?

I've been working under an unconscious Sephirah most of the time. Why, I don't even need input to figure out how to murder bees anymore!

Uh-huh. Well… Tenebrais, Credentia, you're working with Blue Star. Try and get your Prudence and Justice maxed out. Oh, and… one other thing.

Make it quick. I got a heart to break.

You two… Are you related?

We're sisters!

Ah. Well, good for you guys! Making it to a wing together. Your parents must be prou-

Shut the hell up, Manager.

Er-yes ma'am.

Oh my. I'll just… get to work.



Orders from the top, everyone!

Let's see… Omni, you're working with the Forsaken Murderer. Chinely, 1.76 MHz. Your objectives today are general growth, and to see if you can gain any new E.G.O gifts. Good luck, everyone.

Those belts do look pretty cool, I guess...

The only downside is that sometimes debris falls in and gets stuck there while I'm ninja-running through the halls.

I can see how that might be a problem… Maybe if you tightened it?

Oh, good idea. They are belts.



Hod's in meetings with agents all day. She left me this folder for you, Medea.

Thank you, Delta28. Let's see… Sephiroth, you'll be working with Knight of Despair on your Temperance, now that I've finished taking care of getting her gift.

Splendid… her aesthetic speaks to me.

Fat Sam, you're on Scarecrow duty, but it looks like you'll be flexing to Ppodae on occasion.

I shall take all of the photos.

Good. I wanna see the cutie-utie face too.



It's time. Remember to follow the protocols.

Okay… Talow, it looks like you're on Queen Bee duty. Your Fortitude's the only thing that you really need.

Hm..? Oh, yeah.

You seem distraacted. What's uup?

Nothing in particular. Can we run a clerk over to Training to make sure the newbies all know not to poke the bird? I don't want any casualties because someone gets trigger-happy.

Sure. Anyways... Kaori, you're in for a treat-You'll be working with Laetitia.

I'll do my beest..!

I'm sure you will. Make me proud, kiddo.

That's our basic work rotation for the day. The newbies get some experience, the older agents get some polish, and things should, theoretically, go smoothly.



You know, Queen Bee, if there's one thing I'll never get used to it's how an agent equipping the wrong E.G.O gear makes the manager abandon everything immediately to rewind time. He can't just ask Credentia to change out shirts with Fat Sam, he has to go back in time to make it so that he never screwed up in the first place. How messed up is that, huh? ...Not that you can understand any of this.



Our first meltdown. This will get worse before it gets better.

So, Zeta21… how are you fitting in with your new position?

There's not much to say about it. I do my job, and make sure not to overwork myself.

You say that… but your stats are as high as any agent's can be. You've been working very hard!

Of course. Now that I can't grow any further, the manager's got no reason to put me to work. Permanent. Breaktime.

I see… go on.



Tenebrais gets her weapon upgraded via Old Faith, and it absolutely makes her day.



Our second meltdown, and we have Green Dawn.

So, Mizu… Um… I don't know how to put this. Your mental corruption score is at 79%. I don't need to remind you that 80% or higher makes you unable to perform work…

Don't worry about it, it's fine!

This isn't fine at all! You need to bring your corruption down, before someone gets hurt!

Nah, it's fine! That's what I always get~ I think it's because the cuties really like me, and I really like them too.

That's another thing… they're Abnormalities. Dangerous constructs of the mind. There's nothing cute about them?

A cutie is a cutie, and these cuties are cuties! That's all there is to it.

Aha… I see.



I really wish these powerups carried over between days. I love this thwacking power!



Good job, Tenebrais!

Still pissed at you, boss!

Er… right. Keep doing your thing, then. I'll be busy-



Hod you are literally in a meeting how the hell.

She sent me a recording to use in case of an escape.

I see. I'll make sure it gets taken care of.



I can't help but feel like this was somehow retaliatory.





We're getting there.

So… Twee. It says here that your hobby is… occult research?

Yep! I'm absolutely sure that magic is real, and the Abnormalities are somehow related to it, just like WARP trains are.

Those are both Singularities of two of the Wings, Twee. They don't exactly count as magic…

But can you say for sure? There's all sorts of rumors that say that not even the companies themselves know exactly how their Singularities work. I just happen to think that they work by magic-and I want to prove it!

That's very interesting! And does this ever get in the way of your work?

No, not at all. Well… sometimes.

Go on?

Sometimes when I'm doing my work I'll do tiny experiments, just to see if anything changes. Things like drawing magic circles on the floor, or trying to will things in the room to move. Nothing's come of it yet, but-

Please keep in mind that it's very important to keep your head about you while you're in the containment cells. Abnormalities are dangerous!

Oh, I know. It's fine, though, I always get by okay.



Aww… no smiling? What a shame!

Mr.Black is being used to work with TSL's meltdowns, simply because I think Mr.Black in a Shy Look mask would be hilarious.

I have to admit, this is a little more tiring than normal. We should still be fine, though.

You could always call the day here. I am certain we could recover from any loss.

We're fine.



We're probably fine. Yesod, send us some support!

Very well. D.A.D., resolve the issue.



Be careful, you two! It wouldn't do to bee a bee! HAHAHA!

Oh, I'm keeping that one.

It's all yours!

Less talking, more smashing!

Phew… Yeah, see, we're fine. Good job, everyone.



We're getting up there in the Meltdowns, but there's still only 7. Remember, since Medea has the Knight of Despair buff we only have 11 actual Agents to perform works with-things are going to get tight, but not yet.

Um… Boksi. I've actually received a couple of complaints about you being difficult to work with?

I'm hardly surprised. I mean, think about it. You're some Backstreets gopher or-heaven forbid-an Outskirts slumdweller, and somehow you've found yourself falling ass-backwards into a position at Lobotomy Corporation, one of the great Wings of the World. Now you've been assigned to a team, and who are you faced with? Why, the pinnacle of the elite-Nest born, Nest raised, with a glittering intellect and incredible looks to match. A man capable of performing any task set before him, with style, grace, and panache. Why… I can't blame them for finding it a difficult situation. It would be best for us all if you would keep pedigree in mind when assigning agents, to prevent them from being intimidated by my overwhelming prowess.

Um… I see. I'll certainly... pass that along!

My thanks, Hod.



Now… you want your room cleeaned… so that you can be more festiive… Hmm… Ookaay.



Medea, you don't have to play that every time… and why is the Noon indicator purple?!

That's violet, Manager. We're reading a Violet Noon.

...did anyone else just hear ominous thunder?



I shall endure this trial as well. Ow. Ow. Ow.

Hm. Everyone, please report to Safety's main room. We don't know what this thing does, and staying together tends to be the best way to handle new threats.

Hey… Medea? You might want to stand outside. Just in case.

You think so? Well… why not?



Omni, would you please push us to the next level?

You got it, Manager.



I heard the alarm, but... Where is it?



Above us!

Is that a… portal?!

Something's coming!



HAHAHAHA! Such exquisite pain!

Wait, everyone's okay? What the hell just happened?!

What indeed? I've probably just made several of you think I'm a wizard, so let me explain. First, let's meet Violet Noon:



Violet Noon, or Grant Us Love, makes just about everyone have to retry a day the first time they see it. It comes out of nowhere, lands in one of the major rooms (the main room only in Safety/Training, and one of the non-corridors or elevators in Information/Control), and deals 100 Red damage to everyone inside. It can't do much of anything after that, but it doesn't need to. Violet Noon is all about knowing the trick, and once we do we'll never lose anyone to it again unless we take too long to kill it/it kills too many Clerks on drop-in and it frees something nasty.

As for how we survived without much more than a scratch? Lobotomy Corporation's code is made of spaghetti and duct tape in places, and Violet Noon's targeting is a major example. Due to a coding oversight, its initial attack only targets Agents from its department for damage. This means that all Agents from other departments are immune to its attack. It just sort of… misses them, somehow. Since Safety's members are all tanky enough to survive 100 Red damage, that means I've just let a Violet Noon fall on the head of everyone in the entire facility, and nobody died.



For reference, here's where the Safety Team's HP is at after that big hit.

Let's never do that again.

Sounds good to me.



And here's a shot of it glowing. This would lower a QC by 1, but its target is a random Abnormality in the department and if it targets something without a QC to lower it just fizzles-since Murderer didn't breach and I didn't see 1.76's counter decrease, I can only assume this was one of those times.



In the end, Violet Noons: rude the first time, and generally a cakewalk after that.



We've reached VII and things are still manageable, but we have only two active employees in Training and three meltdowns to work. We grab Bishop and have him go deal with Punishing Bird-



...well ok then. The meltdown didn't expire so we didn't lose energy, and we'll take it.

So, SeyserKoze...

Please, call me Seyser.

Seyser, I understand you talked with Medea before about your worries in this place. Are you still working through that?

I am. I'm still sure that one of these days I'm going to wind up dead, and I can't rely on just my hair to tell me when-all the vibrations are starting to make my neck hurt, so I have to get the sensitivity tuned.

How does that… work? It's not attached to your head at all.

Oh, I'm not really sure how it all functions. It just works.

I… see. Well, I just want you to know you can always tell us if you're worried about anything.

In that case, can I have a raise?

I'll pass the request along.

...Yeah, I figured.



_{What the hell is going on..? Nobody? Not one person? That's… never been a thing. Not the first time, anyways…}

We take this opportunity to throw a couple Repression works on to Talow so he can max Justice too.



This one isn't a big deal. With 11 agents and 12 meltdowns, we just have everyone who can tag one thing and then throw Fat Sam at Punishing Bird when he's done with Ppodae.







It works out fine.

Mr.Blond, you've been kind of a firebrand ever since you got on staff.

I'm here to do a job, and I'm not going to let anyone get in the way of handling it.

That's an admirable attitude! Are there any issues you're running into on the job?

Yeah: I'm surrounded by idiots. Half of this place have some kind of weird crazy issue, whether it's Mr.Black's creepy smiling thing, or just… Mizu. Feels like nobody's here to take work seriously but me.

It sounds like you'd function best working under a no-nonsense Sephirah, then. I'm sure you'll find something soon enough.

Thanks. If anything opens up, I'll think about moving over.



Hahaaa… I got the power of heaart..!

Huh? Oh.. yeah. Don't work anyone but Laetitia or that thing'll go off.

Oooh, sounds iinterestiing…

Management details say you'd die.

Oh… Maybe later, then…

This isn't good. We can no longer use Kaori for anyone but Laetitia, leaving us 10 agents to work the remaining 15 Abnormalities, and our next meltdown is going to hit 13 of them.



You've been given the Knight's tear, I see?

Our souls have resonated-I sense Mother in her. She is to be allowed at the Reunion.

...A yes would have worked.



Huu boy. Another easy enough one, we do the same change-up in Training, and this time send Mr.Black to deal with Shy Look after he finishes with Old Faith.



I almost forget about One Sin, but Bishop makes it in time to save my rear there. No trouble overall, but the next level is going to be 15 meltdowns, and we still only have 10 agents for most of them.

Tylana… Both Yesod and D.A.D. has given you a number of very good reviews. You've got a level head, and you're flexible enough to deal with most situations at this point.

Thank you, ma'am.

We're just about due for a new department to open up, and I think you should put your name in for captain! With your experience, you'd be a shoe-in for this next team!

You think so?

Yeah! Oh, but according to my construction notes, the next department is yellow. That's okay, right?

...what? Why wouldn't it be?

Um… Right! Nevermind! You should go for it!

Thanks, I'll do that.

---

All the sessions are done, sir! Thank you very much for waiting for me.

You're just in time. We're about to have a lot of meltdowns, and I'm not sure we've got the time to hit them all. I'm trying to plan out what to-



...actually, that's perfect. All agents, avoid that bird!



Fifteen meltdowns spawn across the facility, and with one Abnormality breaching it means we have to work every Abnormality we have. Kaori can handle Laetitia, so that leaves 10 agents to work 14 Abnormalities.



Here's our first move-the Abnormalities with a yellow band on them have been set to work. After this, Talow goes to the Bee, and Chinely is sent from the Mirror to work 1.76. Credentia messes with Old Faith, and in the end Fat Sam handles and Scarecrow after working Ppodae.

Phew.



A little bit later, and Punishing Bird is still out. Until it's dealt a certain amount of Red damage or someone attacks it, it will never go back to its own cell willingly. I basically spent the entirety of X juking it around and keeping it from getting to do anything. Prior to this meltdown, we put Omni in front of Mirror, Credentia in front of You Must Be Happy, and D.A.D. in front of the portrait.

Safety team is all set. Is everyone else ready?

We'll perform the operation perfectly!

Ready to proceed.

Um… let's do it!

I send Bishop to work with One Sin, since a 17 second work time will give him most of a minute to handle anything else that needs doing.



When we hit a meltdown at level X, the level stays at X and new meltdowns spawn on every single available Abnormality in the entire facility. I call this a 'wraparound,' because I like giving things names.

Because Punishing Bird is still breaching, no meltdown can spawn for it.



Here's our first step. Omni and D.A.D. are already working with their tools, and Credentia is heading for YMBH. Forsaken Murderer, Old Faith, Scarecrow, Rudolta, and One Sin are the only four Abnormalities left to handle after these orders resolve.



Mr.Black finishes with Today's Shy Look and heads for Rudolta, D.A.D. takes care of Old Faith, Omni handles Forsaken Murderer, Bishop walks back to One Sin, and finally Fat Sam gets cute puppy ears walks over to take care of Scarecrow. It's hectic, but we manage with ~10 seconds left.



Made it on time, Manager!

Alright! That's all of the meltdowns. Somebody take care of that bird so we can all go home.



Glad to do it. Can you just take care of this crick in my neck?



X… You actually did it.

Of course I did. I'm the best damn manager this place has ever had.

You certainly deserve to applaud yourself this time. For the time being, I will cease lodging any complaints regarding the beer machine.

Thank you.



Looking good, Omni!

Well, you made it look so good that I couldn't resist!

You know, I bet if we wore differently colored outfits, we'd be unstoppable. I could be red, and you could be green… Mr.Blond has one too, right? He could be blue.

Do you think we could get Medea to wear one? We could use a pink.

What about Kaori?

...naaaah.

_{All things considered... That's just too suspicious. But there wasn't anything unusual before, so…}

Are you okay, captain?

Huh? Oh-yeah. I'm fine. Malkuth, I'm going to head out a bit early. There's something I need to look into.

There is? Alright, I'm sure it's important. Right?

Yeah… this is a biggie.

Okay! Everyone else, let's pack it in! It's time to go.



It wasn't exactly by the numbers, but the job got done.

WE MADE IT! I'll go ahead and include all of our stat growth for the day, since we went a fair bit longer than normal.



Talow and Credentia have joined the maxout club, and most of our Agents are getting incredibly close to it. Everything's coming together nicely. Now, it's been a while but since we're finally opening a new department we get to finally pick another Abnormality.

Music: never frozen bottom flows


O-02-62: Its scale would never neglect the weight of even the smallest sin.
O-01-15: "One day you'll understand. The meaning of the desperation on their faces when the roulette spins."
F-01-37: "The snow is steadily melting… Perhaps because spring is coming, or it might be the palace collapsing."

While I could tell you all sorts of things about -15 being a fan un-favorite Abnormality, or about -37 being a perfectly serviceable HE-class Prudence trainer with a uniquely easy to farm gift, I won't bother because absolutely none of it matters right now.



-62 is a Bird, you see.

Hwuuuugh… Time for a good stretch. After all of that, the day's finally over. Time to relax…

Manager, there is one more object on your itinerary today. You need to select an Abnormality.

What are you talking about? I did that already.



I am fully cognizant of that, Manager. I am asking you to do so again.

T-05-41: "Blood covers the whole floor, screams echo, people are running away..."
D-01-105: "Tales say that the moon bewitches man, yet in reality, it is the man that despairs at the moon."
T-01-68: "Where does one go when they die?"

At this point, our average new player is probably just hitting their stride. They've got things figured out, they're getting gear and leveling Agents, and they more or less understand how to work with their Abnormalities. Suddenly, this happens. Now you're dealing with two new Abnormalities, and none of the ones which showed up for us this time around are any less than HE-level to boot. It turns out the first 20 days are actually just a warm-up.

Moving on, we have a pick to make. -41 is a HE-level dual Fortitude/Justice trainer with 3 copies of its suit. It's volatile and likes to breach if we're unlucky, but it's not a very hard suppression to do for our facility. -105 is a WAW which can sort of train Temperance, but overall isn't very good for it. Its main selling point is WAW-tier equipment which can create shields when attacking. -68 is probably the worst of the HE-tier Justice trainers, having a Fortitude cap on Agents working with it. It's not that much trouble since all it will do is breach, and it has a really cool weapon, but it is only truly good for Repression, and arguably Insight.



While any of the three would be a good pick, I wind up going for -41 for two reasons. The first is that it gives me a good Fortitude trainer that doesn't turn half my staff into bees. The second comes down to gear: -41 gives 3 sets of E.G.O suits, and we are sorely lacking in suits for our Agents to wear.

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: Literally 10 lines of story text.