>>4981646
Miellewds-guy here.

>>4981646
Here

>>4981892
>>4981658
Hello!

***

Lyann lets the sword fall to the ground in front of her. It is somewhat interesting that we can do that, just summon things out of the inventory and let them fall. I guess it shouldn't be such a novelty, but we never tried it before, and never saw anyone do it, either.

Well, obviously. I am sure there are very few, if valid, reasons to do something like that.

The sword lands on the floor. It is heated, and as we look at our unconscious butler, we can see that indeed the heat he had on his waist is now gone.

"Alright, let me try this..." *we take our ring and try looking through it as usual*

[Sword of Laeran]
+5000 physical damage
+2000 Magic Defense

Special Ability: [Hidden until equipped]
Special Slot: [Busy]

...I guess you wouldn't normally think about it being a trap. During a period of peace, that is.

We have one of the gryphons pick up the sword with its beak and... nothing happens. Right, it said it needed to be equipped, so now what?

Oh?

There's a lot of smoke coming out from the sword, and when it becomes visible again, it has turned into a monster harness. Same traits, though.

Well, it looks like just 'holding' the damn thing won't do a thing.

>Equip our pet with it
>Store it away until later
>Other

>>4982081
>Store it away until later
The safe thing to do is interrogate Tapac, and ask the Goddess about it.
Our birthday, and when we’re supposed to go back to New Hope to meet the Goddess is next week, right?

>>4982081
>>4982250
Oh, wait, can we [Breed] a Construct type Pet?
I was thinking that when the Constructs are available again, we [Breed] a new Construct and have it carry, not [Equip], the Sword of Laeran so that it can’t affect us through our Inventory. And by being a low-level Construct, it could tell us what’s happening while being weak enough to not be a great threat.

>>4982081
>>Store it away until later

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You know, considering how high Eldric's INT and APP are, I think we should play him more like this...

>>4982251
Sure, but not while they are KO'ed

>>4982723
>>4982250
>>Store it away until later

Well, for now let's store it away and... wait, how do we store it away? Pretty sure we need to touch it (giving it a try... nope, can't just point at something to store it).

>Have someone else store it
>Leave it there
>Other

Yeah I can't believe it took me this long to realize. We need to touch it to store it, so I guess we're staring at it real hard, or leaning in and whispering to it "tell me your secrets, sword"

>>4983249
>Other: have Gryphon C continue holding on to it via its beak, for now. Pet it in apology for making it do something so boring.
This is just until we can [Breed] a Construct that can do this.
We don't want to touch it or anything that might be considered [Equipping] the Mysterious Sword, until we know more about it.

I'm tempted to kick that Mysterious Sword/Harness around while demanding it tell us its secrets, before using [Clean] and having Gryphon C pick it back up in its beak.
But I don't want to come in contact with it at all.

>>4983313
>This is just until we can [Breed] a Construct that can do this.
Wait, why a construct? Doesn't it just needs to be level 1 so its easy to subdue it? Any pet will get sent back to the menagerie anyway, and we're raising the constructs to have a mind anyway, so it'll be equally cruel to whichever pet we smack down for this.

And if you're thinking in breeding a pet of any type (construct or not) just to kill it once, that seems incredibly mean...

***

The gryphon seems a bit confused, but is happy to get scritches, cooing softly as we pet it.

Uh. Being half-way eagle and lion, it somehow makes sense it sounds like neither.

"Master, the [ERROR] flood is slowing down, it,,, it looks like it will be over soon." Our redhead stares into something for a moment, then updates us on the situation.
"Wait, that is it? Is it really over?" Our elfie perks up. Even her ears seem to cheer up. It's pretty cute.
"Well, that wasn't that bad." Comments Dawn
"Its because respected older brother got so many countries to help! The city alone would never have endured!" Our kittymouto contributes her opinion.

"Coo?" The gryphon seems confused but happy about the positive mood.

[The technicians have reached the ECC, they say it will be up and running soon.] Our puppymouto informs us

>Keep the gryphon out and take the chance to have it carry Tapac
>Carry the butler ourselves and send the gryphon back to our menagerie
>Other

***

You know I normally don't offer solutions for free, but what if we had one of the drones carry or even equip the sword?

>>4983511
>Other: Have Lyann tie up Tapac and carry him; she is probably one of the few to have the strength to restrain him.

>why a construct
I was thinking that a construct might be immune to whatever mind-control the sword could do.

>have one of the drones carry/equip the sword
Yeah, we could have Carmilla do it, since she’s a Drone and loyal to us, and still low level enough to be easy to overpower if she gets possessed.
But I think it would be mean to subject to that, and potentially killing her, when we can extract some answers from Tapac first, then ask the Goddess second. We aren’t on an episode of 24, so we can take the time to do things right.

>>4983548
>I was thinking that a construct might be immune to whatever mind-control the sword could do.
That would be true in D&D, but remember we use Disgaea monsters ...and rules, really.

Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen a proper undead in Disgaea. I guess the prinnies count, since they're human ghsosts inside penguin suits, food!

I meant one of the maintenance drones, the ones carrying spare parts all over to fix things.

j

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>>4983555
??

Also, I just woke everyone around me. I have just witnessed the most Dawn thing I've ever seen. She's a succubus, she loves pranking, and she's been pranking the blonde for like 2 years now, I guess this is her crowning achievement.

She just looks so happy at having gotten such a raise out of the blonde... I lost it, hard.

>>4983511
supporting >>4983548

>>4983553
I forgot about that regarding the rule set.

>maintenance drones
I think I would be even more cautious with such a drone. We don’t know how the are integrated with the Keep, so I would be concerned that the Sword might hack the Keep after accessing a drone.

“Alright buddy, just drop it.” We rub the gryphon's head gently under its feathers, and return it to our [Menagerie] after it lets go of the 'harness'.

It goes back to being a sword.

“Alright Carmilla, pick it up and equip it.” We offer our palm to the cute drone and rub her back before letting her off.

She grows back to almost normal size... I wonder if she forgot her 'normal' size or if she feels her new size is her 'normal' size and is just growing enough for the task at hand. Right now she's as tall as Stella, and our puppymouto is the smallest of our girls.

Rather than landing properly on the ground, she touches it, mostly hovering and 'faking' a walk as she weightlessly tiptoes to the sword, then picks it up. It transforms into a harness again, and we use her [Menu] screen to equip it on her.

“Young master, what are you doing in t- wait, where are w- whose body is this!?” Carmilla looks at us in confusion, her feet landing firmly on the floor.

>Tapac, is that you?
>Knock her out
>Forcefully unequip the harness
***
Sorry guys, internet wasn't working again and then I got distracted by other stuff

>>4991060
>Forcefully unequip the harness
But before that, let's use the Ring of Identify to look at her, to see if the ]Possession] effect shows up in her Status Screen.

>>4991060
supporting >>4991087

“Wait... ?”
“Yes, what is going o- is that me!?” Carmilla's wings tense up as she sees Tapax's unconscious body on Lyann's grip

We look at Carmilla through our ring, and it does not surprises us to find that her status shows her to be [Possessed]. On a rush, we unequipped the harness from her. It reverts into a sword within our inventory, and …

“Young master, what is going on!?” Carmilla(?) is still talking with the cadence of an old gentleman. “Why is my body over there, and how have I come to be inside this creature's!?”

>Explain things
>Knock him unconscous
>Other

>>4991187
Shit, we need to figure out a way to get Carmilla back into her body.
Dammit, looks like we fell into a trap. This is why I wanted to wait until we could ask the Goddess about the Sword before experimenting with it.

>Other: “I have no obligation to explain anything to a traitor. Now tell me where you got the [Sword of Laeran].” Check Carmilla’s status again, and check Tapac’s body. We need to see figure out what the Possession status does and why Tapac’s personality is still in Carmilla’s body.

There’s a chance that Carmilla’s mind is now trapped in the Sword, so we need to figure out a way to get her mind back in her body, and get Tapac’s mind back into his body.

>>4991187
supporting >>4991306

[Sword of Laeran]
+5000 physical damage
+2000 Magic Defense

Special Ability: [Hidden until equipped]
Special Slot: [Busy]

"Traitor, what...? I do not understand a thing." Carmilla seems genuinely confused

Looking at Tapac's unconscious body, it is [Possessed], same as Carmilla's.

Is this some musical chairs thing?

"Where did you get the sword? When?"
"Eh? T-that's truly ancient history, young master." Carmilla(?) explains. "It would have been barely a few years after I descended from godhood? It was an excellent training tool, so I used it often for that purpose."

>Try and equip the sword
>Drop the sword to the ground
>Other

>>4991507
>Other: “You say you don’t know what’s going on, yet you had been attacking me and the Revived Keep workers. You say you know nothing of what you did? How do you explain your presence here?”
Something seems weird.
We saw that the [Possession] happened as soon as Carmilla equipped the sword; how did we miss the [Possessed] effect on Tapac before?
And if Tapac had been [Possessed] since he shortly Descended, how could he know who we are?

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>>4991574
>>Other: “You say you don’t know what’s going on, yet you had been attacking me and the Revived Keep workers. You say you know nothing of what you did? How do you explain your presence here?”

"What? Attacking you!? Young master, I would never!" Carmilla pauses "As for my presence here... I don't know. The.. I... I was in the southern wall when that tall thing began moving towards us. I drew my sword and... then I am here, in this body..."
"Well, if Tapac is in Carmilla's body, and Carmilla is in the sword, who is in muster Tapac's body right now?" Our kittymouto looks from Carmilla(?) to us and back.

>Drop the sword and have Tapax equip it, see if Carmilla comes back
>Unsummon Carmilla
>Other

>>4991634
>Other: Someone get a Slave Collar to be put on Tapac( his old man body, not Carmilla). "And yet, you're saying that every other time you had previously equipped the [Sword of Laeran], you hadn't been [Possessed]? Given how long you've had that sword, and what we all just saw it do to you, I'm sad to say that some concerns have been raised about how much your word can be trusted."
Once there's a [Slave Collar] on Tapac's Body, then we can safely try to switch the minds around. Though we might want the [?????] that is controlling Tapac's body to be put into some weak criminal so that we can interrogate it.

And Tapac's entire career is put into question with this. He can't be trusted, and none of his decisions can be trusted. Eldric would understand this, though he might not say it aloud in order to spare the old man's feelings.

Assuming that there's only 1 person in the Sword at a time, and Tapac is telling the truth, it would go like this:
1. Sword (Carmilla) + Equip on Carmilla (Tapac) => Carmilla (Carmilla) + Sword (Tapac)
2. Sword (Tapac) + Equip on Tapac (????) => Tapac (Tapac) + Sword(????)

>>4991634
supporting >>4991655

I'm off to bed.

>>4991664
>>4991655

Pretty much, yes. Basically, the sword took him over a few times, did shady shit, then finished doing what the butler originally set out to do (well sometimes would do the butler's bidding first, THEN possess him to do shady shit), so he wouldn't suspect.

Probably just 5-10 minutes every time, but over 8000 years, it adds up.

>>4991664
See you tomorrow, rest well

I'll post more tomorrow.

>>4991678
Tapac probably thinks that the idea of using the shield generator to close the portal is his own idea, and that it's a good one, doesn't he?

[????] probably wrote some fake manuals on the shield's operation and left them where Tapac would find them, after the actual engineers had been killed, so that the absolutely unqualified butler would think he's doing a good job would carry out [????]'s plot without it needing to even do much after that.

>>4991685
"A class 4 stimuli for a class 1 result" scenario, yes.

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>>4991692
>the look that Eldric gives to Tapac and Grandpa once he finds out the magnitude of their FAIL

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>>4991702
Sure, Dad leaving his responsibilities behind made sure that Eldric was able to grow up outside of the [Sword of Laeran]'s influence, but still. He left the fate of the entire multiverse in the hands of a meathead and a compromised old man.

The person I'm most sorry for, is Uncle Wolfric.
He actually tried to fix things, tried to keep things running even though he didn't have the talent to be able to fix anything, and he knew it, but had no one else he could turn to.
But he reliably tried, and showed that reliability, by recognizing Eldric's talent and ability to fix the situation and supporting his nephew.

>>4991692
Come to think of it, did we ever reverse the modifications that Tapac and Grandpa had done to the primary shield generator?
Did we fix it at all?
Otherwise we'll need to keep it deactivated and depend on the secondary shields and Keep defenses until we can either have qualified engineers examine it, or we actually do a tear down and rebuild.

>>4991714
Well now, you're assuming it really is a shield generator, aren't you?

Anyway I'm off to bed. Have a good night

>>4991754
>Well now, you're assuming it really is a shield generator, aren't you?
I assume it started out as a shield generator, and everyone in the Keep was told it was a shield generator, but it's not currently working as a shield generator.

In-character, Eldric still thinks of it as a shield generator, but he would doubt that it will actually work as Grandpa and Tapac said it would.
Right now he would suspect that the "shield generator" is sabotaged to blow up when activated, to make the Keep vulnerable to attack.
He wouldn't yet realize it will kill everyone and send their souls to the [ERROR] dimension.

>>4991754
>it's not a shield generator
It's actually a massive Annihilation Field Generator, isn't it?

>>4992241
Well yes, I guess its fine to tell you guys since I am 101% sure you won't turn it on if given the chance, right? Remember that if the [ERROR]s make it to the bottom of the keep, our universe dies and the multiverse becomes open to them, so its a "no, fuck you" our ancestors created to deny them their prize and earn 10.000 years for the survivors around the world to rebuild if everything was lost at the keep.

The sabotage/modifications make its effect much, much smaller and channel the souls of the affected into the [ERROR]s dimension, thus winning the fight for them AND earning them resources at the same time.

I guess it could also be used as a "fuck that guy in particular" gun if we modified it, too.

>>4991655
>Once there's a [Slave Collar] on Tapac's Body, then we can safely try to switch the minds around. Though we might want the [?????] that is controlling Tapac's body to be put into some weak criminal so that we can interrogate it.
We could just order it to answer using the collar to give 'orders'. Do you still wanna go and get somebody else involved? What for?

***

We explain to Tapac what we think happened with the sword, but that we cannot entirely trust him right now, at least not until we 'question his body'.

We ask him to tell us about the ability the 'sword' had kept hidden until equipped, and certainly, he explains that he had always thought he could deflect debuffs and other ailments to the sword, making them widely ineffective, but now it seems evident that is not the case.

We are still talking to him while he examines the sword...

"Young master, I believe that, know that I am aware of its hidden ability, I can willingly trade places with the consciousness inside the sword. Should I return this body?"

>Yes, that will go to great lengths to convince us of your story
>Yes, we'll have Carmilla hold on to it and ask her about it while you try to switch again from the inside.
>Other

>>4992595
>Yes, we'll have Carmilla hold on to it and ask her about it while you try to switch again from the inside.

>We could just order it to answer using the collar to give 'orders'.
I was just concerned that [????] might be able to break the [Slave Collar] somehow or otherwise use Tapac's demi-god body and abilities to escape somehow.
But maybe that's just me being too paranoid.

>>4992595
>>Yes, we'll have Carmilla hold on to it and ask her about it while you try to switch again from the inside.

>>4992637
>>4992601

“Well, I don't quite know how to trigger it yet, but it seems to trigger automatically when someone picks it up, so simply put it down, then pick it back up for now.” We explain, and Tapac does as told

Almost instantly, Carmilla seems confused.

“Wasn't I over there?” Sun asks
“Hm. Don't worry about it” - we rub her head a little. “The sword switches the soul of the user with whomever is inside it when equipped, but it also seems to allow the stored soul to control the switch.”

>For now, try and let it happen when and if you feel it happen
>For now, try and resist when and if you feel it happen.
>Other

>>4994615
>For now, try and resist when and if you feel it happen.

>>4994615
>>4994637
Wait, maybe we should let it happen first.
We need to see if Tapac can even do what he says he thinks can do, before trying to stop it.

>For now, try and let it happen when and if you feel it happen

>>4994615
>>For now, try and let it happen when and if you feel it happen

>>4994880
>>4994651

“Y-yes? Yes, Master.” The vampire nods after a moment, and waits for us to equip the 'harness' on her.

Sun was on the petite side beforehand, but it feels like she's just a little bit taller as a drone. Wait, didn't Kya 'shrink' quite a bit? I guess 'human sized' drones are meant to be the exact same size...

“Hmm... I-i feel a bit silly just standing still...” Sun comments while shifting her weight from side to side.
“It is perfectly alright.” Lyann surprises us a little as she encourages Carmilla. “You are being usedul to Master.”

Ah, that's why she was suddenly being nice to her, then.

“Should we keep moving in the meanwhile?” Asks Aritsu. “And what do we do if 'it' wakes up?”

Of course, she means 'Tapac'.

>He's tied, that will have to be enough.
>We could kill him and store the body.
>Other

>>4997120
>Other: we should get a [Slave Collar] and put it on him.
That way we can interrupt any attempts he makes to cast spells, and we can give him orders. And to have him answer questions.

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>>4997128
Right, I had forgotten about that. Let's assume we did since it was from an earlier post.

Also, if someone else posts a vote and I don't notice (or can't post because internet is country IP banned), I'm on discor4d in

https://discord.gg/QZGFkd8D

So hop in to say hi (or greet me on trilian messenger if you have me added there) so I can type the post reply there and then you can paste it here.

>>4997151
>Let's assume we did since it was from an earlier post.
We need to go back to the Energy Distribution Chamber to see what needs to be fixed.

>>4997151
supporting >>4997460

“Alright, let us move.” We send a message to Stella to tell her that the situation is under control and we're going to the EDC.
“”””Yes~!”””” The girls reply in tune, then Carmilla realizes she's supposed to answer as well, and adds a late “Y-yes Master!” as she joins the group.

We find the EDC to be an (relatively) small control chamber on a balcony over a massive chasm of pipes and valves, with dozens of drones floating about from valve to valve. There's a valve-closed secure door leading into the conduits chamber from a side of the room, but for now we need to focus on what's in front of us.

The controls appear intact, but there's hundreds of dials, levers, and indicators of all sorts, going from obvious pressure valves to more esoteric energy waves on small square screens.

“Hn!” Aritsu seems almost physically hurt by the lack of labels.

Well, it certainly makes it hard to saboutage unless you're just going to press and move things at random until something blows up, but it also makes it impossible to operate without an education.

“My lord Eldric.” Our lovely elf says. “Could I borrow your [Ring] please?”
“Alright?” We hand her the ring, and she looks fairly relieved when she looks at the many controls through it.
“Yes, I can see what these are for... ah! Please pull on that lever, the one with the red handle.”
“This one?”
“Yes, milord.”

There's a sound like a massive weight falling on the ground somewhere, and the indicators, levers and other instruments begin with lit up with light coming from inside the console itself.

“'t was the reset to default lever.” Our elfie explains. “The room is now working as normal... for everyday use.”

[Sir, many sistems have just come online. Should I send extra power to the repair systems, or the defenses?] Stella sends us a message.

>Wait, we may need that extra power
>Weapons
>Repair
>Other

>>5000441
>Wait, we may need that extra power
We may need the extra power for the EEC and CCC; basically as power to jumpstart the reactor and keep the safety systems online before the reactor can power its own containment systems.

>>5000441
>>Wait, we may need that extra power

>>5000441
>The room is now working as normal... for everyday use
So this would mean that the energy settings are not for battle, so the defenses probably have reduced power. But, I think that the extra power that's been freed up will still be needed to jumpstart the reactor, and power can be routed to the defenses once the reactor is online.

I just hope my logic is correct.

>>5001079
Well, it is working better than it was, since the think I Tapac's body couldn't actually sabotage the room due to the 'if this goes too hot, it will automatically shut down' type of safety measures our ancestors installed in place, so the most he could do was mess with the settings and make them 'weird',

So we had been running the keep with weird stuff like 'reroute all power to the water treatment plant and the A/C', and 'normal' would actually turn a bunch of things back up. This is meant to be a keep hosting a large army, after all, so its 'normal' is pretty good.

>>5001036
>>5000635
>>Wait, we may need that extra power

[Wait until I contact you again.] We write back
[Yes sir!] ...we really wish our puppymouto was less formal over text.

At least with us, you know?

"I guess it would have been really asking for too much that there was a crew at the spot." We sigh. "Anybody has any ideas?"
"Me, me! Respected older brother, pick me!"
"Hm... I think I could make it work..." Offers Dawn

Well, they were both involved in the development of the energy source, case, thrust, and forcefields for the probes we have been sending through the [ERROR]s portals, so they may be able to do something.

>Leave Zoe
>Leave Dawn
>Other

*Note, once again i'm using an internet connection that is nation-wide banned on 4chan, so please somebody contact me into trillian or discord ( https://discord.gg/dCxkAAux ) so I can post there and you can repost it here.

>>5002311
Back and waiting for you guys. For some reason my cellphone carrier is banned but my fixed router is not, so when it crashed I can't post on 4chan.

>>5002311
>Leave Zoe
But first, make sure that she looks at the controls with our Ring of Identify so that she knows what each thing does, and make some labels to attach to the console.
I think Lyann and Dawn should have paper and ink in their [Inventory].

>>5002311
>>Leave Zoe

Miellewds can you handle the discord stuff?

>>5002479
Maybe, but definitely not tonight, I have a deadline and a project due tonight.

>>5002479
The router is working again so there's no need, but if I disappear again, I'll probably still be on the cellphone so find me there.

>>5002479
>>5002451
>>Leave Zoe

"Hm! Yes, leave it to me, dear older brother!" Our kittymouto declares proudly.
"I will." We gently caress her left ear, then place a little kiss on it.

We make sure to identify everything and mark it as thoroughly and quickly as we can.

Alright then, let's head to the generator itself, now.

[Stella, send a drone to guide us. We are going to the reactor at last.]
[Yes sir.]

Its just a few minutes before a drone arrives.

"Big brother." Our kitty mouto calls out as we start leaving. "Why are you marrying sister but not me?"

There's this feeling that if we turn around, she'll be crying...

>Don't turn around, stupid. Just explain that Stella has grown up an become a fine lady and an inspiration for peaceful social progress and we want to support her in every way we can.
>Turn around and remind her that we will marry her, if she still wants to when she's grown up.
>Other

>>5002586
>Turn around and remind her that we will marry her, if she still wants to when she's grown up.

>>5002586
>>Turn around and remind her that we will marry her, if she still wants to when she's grown up.

>>5002657
>>5002602
>>Turn around and remind her that we will marry her, if she still wants to when she's grown up.

Oh crap a crying kitty.

We hug her and smooch the top of her head, rubbing her back while making as calming a coo as we can.

"You are a smart and beautiful girl, but you are also my baby sister. I'm sure you'll grow out of it and think 'big brother is gross' in a couple of years, you know?" We soothe her gently
"Uhnn... no, there's nothing gross about big brother!" She complains. "I want to marry big brother too!"
"If you still feel that way by your fifteenth birthday, I will be happy to talk about it then, alright?"
"B-but Stella isn't fifteen yet. You're not fifteen yet, either!" She objects
"There's still a big difference between 'almost fifteen' and 'barely ten', you know? Just wait a little, alright?"

We smooch her ears softly as we rub her back, waiting for her to calm down.

"...alright." She finally says, and relaxes in our arms.
"Good girl."

We smooch her gently one last time, and leave after the drone, following it to the combustion chamber through the keep's lower passages.

This is a purely technical area, and we see quite a few guardrooms or checkpoints, before passing through large storerooms and warehouses buzzing with drones. These must be the places Stella is getting spare pieces from.

As we reach the reactor's floor, Lyann stops and calls out to us,

"Master, this thing is awake." She says

As if on cue, 'Tapac' shakes and falls to the floor.

"Young master, what is the meaning of this?" It speaks with its best old man's voice.

>You don't need to keep the act up, thing. We tried out the sword, we know you're not Tapac. (try to interrogate it)
>You were being mind-controlled, old man, so we had to tie you for your own sake. (try to trick it into giving up information)
>Other

>>5002721
Wait, Carmilla still hasn't switched with Tapac, even though she's holding the sword and she was ordered to let him switch with her, right?
Then that means Tapac still hasn't figured out how to switch souls from inside the sword.

This is a problem, since we can't be sure that he can switch at will.

>You were being mind-controlled, old man, so we had to tie you for your own sake. (try to trick it into giving up information)

It has the [Slave Collar] on now, so we can order it to answer truthfully, and not resist. But to be sure that it's working, we should ask it simple questions first, like "Tell me your name" to make sure that it isn't taking advantage of loopholes in the [Slave Collar] before we let it know that its cover is blown.

>>5002721
supporting >>5002774

I'm off to bed.

>>5002779
Goodnight, I too am off to bed

“Why, master, you know me, it is I [Infiltrator #3]!” It pauses, looks at us, and frowns. “Oh you cunning brat...!”
“Well, well, how the turns have tabled.” We grin as we say so in english.
“What?” Pretty much everyone stares at us.
“Oh, nothing, I just had to. Please indulge me.” We clear our throat. “So, #3 eh? Who else has been infiltrated? Nana Euphry, grandpa?”
“I'm the last one.” Its eyes open wide, and it looks at us like a cornered animal.
“Alright then. How do we get you out of the family butler, then?”
“I just realized, I can't lie, but that doesn't means I -have to- answer, brat!”

>Well, torture it is.
>Other

>>5006693
>Other: Look at Infiltrator #3 through our Ring of Identify, and see if we can get access to its other Status tabs.

Also I thought that the [Slave Collar] forced obedience as well as forced the truth. Can't we just order Infiltrator #3 to answer?

>>5006713
>Also I thought that the [Slave Collar] forced obedience as well as forced the truth. Can't we just order Infiltrator #3 to answer?
Yup, but we have to set each rule one by one, and the only one we keep on by default in our extra collars is 'cannot lie'.

We mostly equip the girls with them because its extremely useful to be able to sense their presence and general state of health at any time we want to, remember? And sure, its kinky and whatnot, but that's very secondary the vast majority of the time.

Looking at #3 through the ring, we really can't tell it is there. Well, assuming these rings were common issue for the engineers and guards at the keep, it would make sense that an effective infiltrator would be one that didn't show up on such checks.

"Ah! I felt something!" Carmilla chirps softly from behind us.
"Is it Tapac?"
"...no, I think I'm hungry, Master." She says apologetically.
"That's quite alright, just keep trying."

Lyann sighs and rolls her eyes.

"Alright, so let's add a 'must answer all questions' rule to your collar's settings... there."

#3 starts squirming and trashing about, but Lyann holds him in place with contemptuous ease.

"I guess it would be safe to assume it doesn't get to use the host body's stats." Says our lovely slave.
"Right..."

"So, what happened to the other infiltrators?"
"Aaa~ah! Hnno!" It tries to fight off the collar's effect. "T-they are in your family's vault!"

Uh. We went through that vault. We could have picked up one of those swords at any time. So could have Lyann or Stella. Guess we got lucky.

"Oh, you are going to describe them in detail."

We are definitively putting those somewhere else after we are done here.

"So..." we grin at it.

As we suspected, it was behind sabotaging the keep, and convincing grandfather of his shield idea. We...

>question him at length
>leave questioning it for later, we still have an invasion to deal with.
>Other

>>5006722
>Other: Only ask 3 important questions, we still have an invasion to deal with.
1. Is it still in contact with anyone on the other side of the Portal?
2. Is there a time limit for how long a non-Infiltrator soul can be trapped in the [Sword] before it suffers damage?
3. Did it sabotage anything that will blow up when we turn the Reactor back on?

>>5006722
supporting >>5006763

#3 admits that no, it is not able to communicate with its masters. He was a fire-and-forget idea, and is proud of all the work he did to sabotage our defenses.

“Our minds do not work as yours do, so I wouldn't know. We just hibernate until someone picks the sword, and even then, we can choose to switch or not. It'd be really hard to sneaky otherwise.”

And after we ask the third question, it starts laughing even though it is obviously in pain due to the collar trying to wrestle the answer out of it.

>Ask again
>”I'll take that as a yes, so your pain is pointless.”
>Other

>>5007016
>Ask again
But be more specific, as in, ask it which systems did it sabotage, and how. We can then have Stella send repair drones or have the Safety Team check it out.

Man, it’s a good thing we asked before turning the reactor on.

>>5007016
supporting >>5007023

>>5007037
>>5007025
>>5007023
>Ask again
>But be more specific, as in, ask it which systems did it sabotage, and how. We can then have Stella send repair drones or have the Safety Team check it out.

It howls and shakes as it tries to get loose from our lovely redhead's vice-like-grip-wrapped-in-soft-girly-glory to no avail, but eventually has no option but to talk.

We let Stella and Zoe know that there are multiple sabotaged systems connected to the shield generators, and where. Our fluffy, cuddly imoutos start rerouting and repairing while we continue questioning #3...

“Ah!” Carmilla chirps again. “I can feel mister Tapac, it feels like there's someone at the door.” Sun explains

“Alright, let him in
>Can you keep the door closed?
>Other

>>5007081
>Can you keep the door closed?
It would be good to know if the [Possession] can be resisted.

>>5007081
>>Can you keep the door closed?

going to bed.

>>5007126
Nighty, see you tomorrow-

>>5007126
>>5007088
>>Can you keep the door closed?

"I think so?" Carmilla tightened her lips for some reason.
We nod in approval.

"Master, what do you want to do about this guy? The ropes are mostly there for decoration, I am the one holding him still." Our redhead tightens her grip around Tapac's body.
"Well, we can't hurt him too much. That is somebody else's body. Suggestions?"

>"Make him a pet" Dawn
>"Does it matter? He has a slave collar now." Aritsu
>"Let us just kill him and store him away. We can always resurrect the body later." Lyann
>Other

We're in page 10, can you save us, archive-kun!?

>>5007927
>"Does it matter? He has a slave collar now." Aritsu
But make sure that the [Slave Collar] settings are correct:
In addition to always telling the truth, and must answer questions, make sure the he must follow all of our orders, cannot disobey, cannot hurt anyone.
Then we can order him to stand still or follow us, and make sure that the orders are that he cannot do anything; don't assume that he can't do something,

And the problem of making him into a Pet is that since the System has recognized the Tapac's Race as a Civilized Race, he can't be made into a Pet unless we put him into an Isolation Pod, and we have no idea what that could result in.
Killing him could have unforeseen consequences, as he might have put in failsafes that tied Tapac's life to the Keep.

Using the [Slave Collar] is the safest option right now.

>>5007927
>>"Does it matter? He has a slave collar now." Aritsu

>>5008119
actually we're on page 6 and have 10 posters for some reason. regardless can I get a thread description?

>>5008255
“Making the Saboteur answer questions; good thing we asked before turning the power back on.”

1) Sorry I was gone for so long, internet issues
2) Why the fuck did nobody come to discord so I could give you the posts to... we,, post them here?

~O~

>>5008272
>>5008255
>>5008120
>>>"Does it matter? He has a slave collar now." Aritsu

Well, we never thought we'd set a slave collar's restrictions to highest possible, but here we are, with what is basically a daemonhost in tow.

Ugh this feels so grimdark.

"Master!" Our cute little pet vampire chirps from the side. "I think I can feel mister Tapac trying to push the door open!"

Thankyou Carmilla for getting some cute all over the grimdarkness.

"Should I let him?"

>No, see if he can do it regardless
>Yes, I need to talk to him now
>Other

>>5019776
>Why the fuck did nobody come to discord
I've been hammered with work and schoolwork these past 2 weeks, and haven't really had much time for anything else.

>No, see if he can do it regardless
We should just assume that it cannot be resisted; that's safer. But we should ask Carmilla if she feels any pain, and if she does, to let Tapac in so that they trade places.
We don't want any mental tearing or anything.

>>5019776
>>No, see if he can do it regardless

archived

>>5020264
>>5020029
>>No, see if he can do it regardless

She says its not exactly painful. Its more feeling there's someone right behind you at all times.

As we warn the repair crews that there may be unseen sabotage, we move to the bottom of the ECC to find that the massive chamber is running at minimal capacity.

The sabotage was subtle, but easy to fix now that we know about it.

>Signal Zoe to raise the power output
>Keep things as they are and go back out into the fight
>Other

>>5020272
>Signal Zoe to raise the power output
Infiltrator #3 said that it can choose whether to trade places or not.
So there's no guarantee that if we make it equip the [Sword] that Tapac will get his body back.

>>5020272
>>Signal Zoe to raise the power output

See you tomorrow guys. God willing.

>>5020464
>>5020446
>>Signal Zoe to raise the power output

[Yes, dear older brother!]

Our kittymouto's chat replies are more in line with her normal personality, tho... for some reason we visualize her at this super cute kitty girl that reaches up to our tummy. Ah, but lets not tell her that, she wants us to think of her as a grown lady.

Well, that only makes her cuter, though.

Sadly, we can't tell that 'we felt the keep humm with power' or anything like that. All we got was an audio message.

[Attention All Personnel, Repair Cycle has been completed. Thank you for your patience.]

[Defensive Systems: Damaged. Drones have been dispatched.]
[Forcefields: Online]
[Sensors: Online]

[WARNING, INTERDIMENSIONAL BREACH DETECTED - ACTIVATING COMBAT DRONES.]

[WARNING, INTERDIMENSIONAL BREACH DETECTED - ACTIVATING COMBAT DRONES.]

[WARNING, INTERDIMENSIONAL BREACH DETECTED - ACTIVATING COMBAT DRONES.]

"That's... a good thing, right?" Dawn looks up, frowning a little at what she realizes is the sound source.
"It should be? Master included us in the authorized personnel list." Lyann crosses her arms and leans her pretty head slightly to the right.
"What about the troops outside? Do they count as authorized personnel?" Aritsu looks at Lyann, then at us.

>"Keep, override combat drone activation, shut them down!"
>"Keep, only target the invaders!"
>Other

>>5021580
>"Keep, only target the invaders!"
It may be more precise to order it "designate all non-Discarded entities as Allied Personnel".

>>5021580
supporting >>5021666

>>5021715
>>5021666
>It may be more precise to order it "designate all non-Discarded entities as Allied Personnel".

Alright.

[Acknowledged.]

The landscape of the keep's surroundings changed in an instant. Acient stone gazebos burst high into the air as their original purpose was resumed. Watchtowers and command posts for officers that had been gone for millennia stood proud at the top of white stone spires. Long lightning guns peeled off these tower's surfaces like a flower's petals greeting the sun, then whirled and clicked as they spun to face towards the invaders.

The Discarded paused, as even without their generals, their dull hivemind was still bright enough to go 'fuck' right before the battle ended and the slaughter began.

Drones of golden and crystalline alloys took to the skies, bubbling out of the keep's tallest, long-forgotten spires, while decorative fish drowned in mid-air as their ponds emptied to reveal underground hangars from which bulky yet strangely graceful constructs began marching forth, walking past the beleaguered defenders and straight into the black mass of the enemy forces.


The generals and admirals paused, and ordered their gunners to focus fire at the feet of the [ERROR]s flood unto the world. The troops switched into a support role for the keep's drones, and all that was left was to begin clean-up, search and kill missions to make sure none got away.

"Well, that's it, Master." Lyann cooed as she hugs us. "You did it."
"Eh? What did?" Dawn looks inconfusion. Well, she doesn't has the benefit of Lyann's multiple PoVs.
"Ah... that's nice? What happened?"

Now...

>Let's focus on getting #3 out of our butler and back into the fucking sword
>Let's focus on getting information out of #3
>Other

>>5021858
>Let's focus on getting information out of #3
The battle may be over, but the war goes on. We need more intelligence, such as information about the enemy command structure, who and what ordered the creation of the Infiltrators (either it's them trying something new, or they succeeded in erasing the information), see if they were behind the suppression of information regarding Plants being effective against Discarded, and being able to identify the other weapons that are hiding Infiltrators.

>>5021858
>>Let's focus on getting information out of #3

>>5021933
>>5021916
>>Let's focus on getting information out of #3

Well, there's a lot of left over work involved in post-battle cleaning and rebuilding, but we don't actually have any experience with that part of the job, so let's lay that troublesome bit at the feet of those who are experienced with it.

I'm sorry, uncle, Stella, Lyann. You three are the ones that are used to managing personal and logistics. We're not running away, we're just properly distributing work to the right people.

"Lyann, please support uncle during the reconstruction work."
"Eh? Master, I'm already at eight copies of myself, you know? I am currently seeing through eight different pairs of eyes, carrying on eight different conversations, assisting on three different laboratories too, so that means I have to do a lot of intense mental work on multiple projects at the same time. I think I may just faint if I need to make an extra copy to help with logistics and clean up, you know? Master?"

>You're my slave, aren't you? Why are you surprised when I use you as such? [Shining smile]
>I impose on you because I trust you
>You can do it
>Just do it
>Other

"Eh... that's nice... congratulations, Lyann. You are finally getting the treatment you've been asking for all along." Dawn smiles with a shining expression
"Congratulations." Aritsu

>>5026474
>You're my slave, aren't you? Why are you surprised when I use you as such? [Shining smile]
>Other: But only do it to bully Lyann; she has a point that she's already got too much on her plate. And as the Keeplord, only we have the authorizations needed to have the Keep assist in the cleanup. We have the raw INT and WIS to be able to handle this.

Not having taken courses on logistics and personnel management was a big mistake. We're making the same mistakes as our Dad and Grandpa at this rate.

Though truth be told, we should have some experience in managing personnel; even if we only come in to the office once every few days to sign off on documents prepared by our secretaries.

You mustn't run away, Eldric! Don't be an isekai protag that can't handle the work and responsibility that comes with the power you wanted to wield!

>>5026474
supporting >>5026686

>>5026992
>>5026686

We gently pull our redhead by the hand, and give her a little kiss on the spot where her neck meets her shoulder, then gently remind her that she's our slave so she should just do as we say.

Ah, she went a beautiful shade of apple-red.

"Yes Master" Oh, she looks really happy.

"Eh... that's nice... congratulations, Lyann. You are finally getting the treatment you've been asking for all along." Dawn smiles with a shining expression
"Congratulations." Aritsu

Alright, let's

>pick up our imoutos and go question #3
>ask Stella to prepare us a room to interrogate #3
>Other

>>5030812
>ask Stella to prepare us a room to interrogate #3
>Other: as Keeplord, order the Keep to rescind all access privileges from Tapac until further notice.
The Keep can’t tell that that Tapac has been possessed by #3, so we should take precautions.

>>5030812
Oh, I just remembered that the Lyann-copy that was assigned to Stella had died during their disastrous mini-boss fight. So Lyann would really just be making a replacement for Stella’s, that would help with the cleanup.

>>5030812
supporting >>5030913

>>5030929
Is not so much a clone as an extra terminal in the Lyannnet, I guess

Anyway sorry I didn't reply today, will do so properly tomorrow. Should I make a new thread?

>>5031224
Yeah, we're now on page 10, so a new thread may be best.