Persona 2129 Quest #47

You are Takashi Wakui, a sixteen year old Japanese high school student. In your world, half of humanity possesses a Persona—the corporeal manifestation of one’s personality as a supernatural entity. You had been an unlucky ordinary at first, lacking the potential to summon your Persona. Then the application AETHER was forcibly installed on your smartphone. It sucked you into the nightmarish realm of the Blackened Void, where you fought monsters and awakened your Persona in the process.

You are now the Wild Card of the 22nd Century. You possess the Fool Arcana, giving you the power to draw strength from bonds and wield multiple Personas at once. Already this places you in great danger, as the Fool Arcana is seen as an impossibility by the common masses. Revealing your newfound power to the common world would immediately land your head on a dissection table. To make matters worse, you and several others have been cursed as the Void’s Chosen, fated to traverse the wastelands of the Blackened Void until the end of the game. For what purpose does AETHER exist, what mysteries lie within and how is victory achieved?

Previous Threads: suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Persona 2129 Quest
Twitter: twitter.com/TwilightThorn
Mechanics: pastebin.com/63VCK8Xx
Spell/Skill List: pastebin.com/5NYivMQd
Part One Recap: pastebin.com/i1VjfnyX

Character List: pastebin.com/VHjvrjJN
Persona List: pastebin.com/96AZArUx
Takashi's Stats: pastebin.com/gZ0fRma4

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youtube.com/watch?v=GN9kpJ2KRFg
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>>Takashi: Receive stat boosts from eating a French dinner.

Sure.

>Your CHARISMA has increased by 3 points!

>>Takashi: Learn Nerve Strike already!

Okay, okay, no need to be in such a rush. You open up the handbook you bought at Quinn’s and read it on the couch. It details how one can strike the pressure points of the body to deal physical damage and stun a foe. There are several diagrams of a muscular man in orange monk robes to go with the text. After skimming over the introduction a few times, you feel as if you’ve got the gist of it. Time to put it to the test, then.

You drag yourself to the nearby gym, focus mana in your palms and proceed to assault a poor, defenseless innocent virtual training dummy. The yellow smiley face bends in itself as you strike its chest and send minor electrical currents up its plastic spine. How horrendous, you think to yourself. That surely is an expression of barely suppressed agony. You are committing unprovoked assault, an act that would surely get you locked in juvenile. Well, it would if it weren’t for the fact that dummies don’t have emotions or even minimum spatial awareness, you complete moron.

…why are you getting distracted by your own thoughts? More punching, less thinking.

>>Takashi: Finish learning Nerve Strike.

There, are you satisfied now? Look at you, you’re all worn out. Brush your teeth and go to sleep. No, don’t flop on your bed and fall unconscious without removing your clothes! Just because there’s no-one else at home doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try and keep up a respectable image of yourself!

Fuck yeah.

>There, are you satisfied now?
Yes, thank you.

>>Takashi: Be at class the next day.

That’s a bit redundant, since you’re already here. It’s eight thirty in the morning and you are sitting your seat, staring out the window that Celeste is next to. It’s a bright and sunny day, with nary a cloud in the sky. Perfect for a picnic outside, or a fight against a gang of delinquents in some dirty back alley in the ninth district. Doesn’t it make you want to rip off your blazer and run a few laps around the city loop?

You feel as if you should be thinking of something more useful, but there’s nothing worthwhile to do in the classroom. You’ve done all your work and you can’t be bothered to get your phone out of your pocket. Everyone else is occupied; Takauji is chatting with Kanade, simultaneously attempting to ignore the devilish, piercing leer his childhood his friend is slamming at him. Celeste is working on some unfinished science homework, her brow furrowed as she scribbles down formulas for the bonds between chemicals. Akikazu is asleep, Aria is absent in the hospital and Fumika continues to be surrounded by those metaphorical anti-conversation nuclear bunker walls of hers. As for the other kids in the class, you don’t know them well enough to start a conversation with them.

It sounds a little pathetic, and you know it. But give yourself some credit—you’ve only been here for a little over two months.

Still, you shouldn’t use a death trap masquerading as a immersive reality-merging video game as an excuse to make friends. It might be detrimental to your future social skills. Or something. The side of your head is resting against the table surface and you are moments away from letting a stream of drool trickle from the gap between your lips.

The classroom door hisses open. You hear delicate, metallic feet clicking on hard enamel ground. The entire class quietens at once and sits up in their seats.

HYPE!!!

“Good morning everyone. I hope you all slept well” Veleis-sensei announces, looking pristine in that clean, blemish-free android fashion of hers. “Before I call the roll, I have some news I would like to share with you. I’m sure it will make most of you very happy.”

Mentioning the words ‘dueling’ and ‘happy’ proves to be a smart move. A great deal of attention is grabbed. A small hint of satisfaction, a faint quirk raising the sides of her artificial lips, appears on her features, as fleeting as a falling star.

“The academy, or rather its administration, is proud to announce that we have formed a partnership with the Gaea Stadium in District 6. They have generously loaned out a small arena to us. From now on, students of this academy will be allowed to duel each other in that arena between the hours of 6pm and 10pm.”

She pauses to take a breath.

“All matches there will be counted as official academy matches, meaning that the same rules apply. Please read up on them if you have forgotten. Any results that occur there will be added to the official academy leaderboard. You will have to pay a membership fee of course, but for your convenience that has been added to the school fees. I trust that your families will have no trouble paying for this relatively paltry sum. Like all duels, this is entirely optional and you should not feel pressured to participate if you don’t feel like it. Though, I have a feeling my last sentence has fallen on deaf ears.”

Half the class breaks into cheers and grateful cries. You blink at the news. Well, this certainly makes things more convenient for you.

“Yes, I see you are all excited about this. I would be too, if I was human and shared your slightly violent tendencies. Now, feel free to knock each other’s teeth out at your leisure, but don’t forget that your studies are important as well.”

>“Good morning everyone. I hope you all slept well”
>“Before I call the roll, I have some news I would like to share with you. I’m sure it will make most of you very happy.”

>Mentioning the words ‘dueling’ and ‘happy’
>'dueling'
takashi are you high

[ opened a blogpost on 9:00 am, 29-Apr-2131]
So there I was
Considering throwing hat into the ring and psyching up for trading blows with fellow students at the academy
It was going to make my blood boil and send my nerves screaming like I had just ate an entire bowlful of red hot chilli peppers
I mean it wasn’t like I was opposed to the notion
The past me might’ve abhorred it
But the past me was a weak spineless piece of shit who couldn’t muster up the motivation to do something useful in his life
My first duel with Celeste was hella fun
Through that might’ve been because I beat her
Still I think I would’ve looked back fondly if I lost or drew against her
That’s just how great of a girl she is
And no that totally wasn’t a compliment with an ulterior motive to get to share some of her rare truffles
Seriously why would you ever think that
Do you think I’m some sort of high paid megacorporation faceless manipulative shithead in a two piece suit
Anyway getting back on track
I sat down at my bedroom table and thought to myself
Because I received a special superpower that only an emotionless genocidal girl in a serafuku once possessed
And the revealing of which would instantly draw to the fact that I am a one in eight billion
A specimen ever rarer than the Judgement users
It would practically be begging to have me and my family kidnapped by every standing government in the world
So I decided to not let that happen
I laid down a few ground rules for myself
When a duel started I could either summon my Persona or use augmentation
If I used augmentation first off the bat I could utilize my arsenal of auxiliary Persona to my full potential

He's just clairvoyant. Special Fool power

>I would be too, if I was human and shared your slightly violent tendencies.
You are literally a living weapon. It's right there in your name: Anti-Shadow Weapon Veleis. Don't act like you're not just as violent as humans are, just because you can be dispassionate while doing it.

Their spells skills resistances and whatnot
Obviously I couldn’t bust out all eleven elements at once
Ippon-Datara only knew three elements back then and I hadn’t trained his affinity for ice electricity wind or earth
Even Eriko the strongest girl in the school only knew about six or seven
Knowing more skill types than a plausible amount would’ve drawn a lot of attention to me
Then again
The idea of someone being a Fool in our society back then was utterly ludicrous
It was only a theory based off an observation of an existence who rarely showed itself towards humanity
No-one thought it was possible
Had I ignored the above people would have obviously gotten suspicious
They might have chalked me up as a magical genius or something
But I think I would’ve been safe if it weren’t for the chances of Spotters being in the crowds
Their magic has a unique wavelength but even in our academy
A lot of them run cloaking or interference spells in the background
So I couldn’t really take too many risks
My friends
The ones who have Personas at least
Suggested that I should use the huge library of chi casting skills more and rely on my auxiliary Persona’s unique resistances
Since as you know you can fake them as dodging or pass them off has having really good defense buffs and endurance
Oh yeah once I switched to my main Persona and summoned him I couldn’t really retract him
Then switch to another Persona and then cast a skill outside of my main Persona’s skill set
Persona users are really secretive about their fighting knowledge

> The idea of someone being a Fool in our society back then was utterly ludicrous
Back then? Oh shit, something big is going to go down, if at some point in the next two years the idea of someone being the Fool is no longer unbelievable.

You wouldn’t go up to a random stranger and brag about how good your juho strikes are or whatever
A big part of the Persona dueling meta is trying to figure out what skills and spells your opponent knows
People guess by analyzing already known skills
Guessing affinities from resistances
Making conclusions based on the Persona’s innate mythology
That sort of stuff
So if I retracted Ippon-Datara and cast Garu
With everyone knowing that Ippon-Datara’s affinities are fire darkness and physical
It would have set a lot of alarm bells off
I could pretend I had trained Ippon-Datara in wind but there’s only so many times excuses like that can work
Plus they could have asked me to cast the spell without giving me time to switch
And some Personas are heavily resilient against learning some skills types like Jack Frost and fire spells
Chi casting skills are pretty generic
Meaning that they aren’t affected by a Persona’s innate affinities
Most of them anyway
Then there was the debate of whether or not I should use my auxiliary Personas
Ippon-Datara didn't grow with my bonds meaning I have to train him manually
Plus there was the whole being honorable shtick I had to consider as well
Sticking to my main Persona would've been a lot safer
I think I’ll talk about that debate for another time through
In any case
I sure am glad I stuck to those guidelines of mine
Otherwise I’d be buried six feet under by now

[4:00 pm, 3-Jun-2129 (FRIDAY)]

School is over. You pack your bags and head for the exit. While on your way to the double doors at reception, you hear two third-year girls chatting near a vending machine.

“Geez, why does Yoshino have to be so uptight? Doesn’t she know how to relax a little?”

“She’s a House Captain, though. She’s probably busy with admin stuff all the time.”

“To the point where she can’t enjoy a trip to the local café? Ridiculous!”

“You know, I heard she’s been seen spending a lot of time in the nearby library.”

“The school one?”

“No, the big one a few blocks away. I think she lives near there. She must use that place for studying, work or something.”

“That…isn’t the most interesting thing you could have come up with.”

A shrug. “Whatever. Thought I might mention it.”

You walk past them and step into the afternoon sunlight. What will you do?

>Call the team to the Blackened Void (Exploration)
>Fight randoms in the Battlegrounds (Gain C. EXP, reputation and increases WILLPOWER)
>Study in the library. (Increases INTELLIGENCE)
>Go to the gym. (Increases WILLPOWER)
>Attend Martial Arts Club (Lovers S-Link)
>Attend Drama Club (Justice S-Link)
>Go and talk to Yoshino
>Wander around the city (Random encounter)
>Custom option.

>Fight randoms in the Battlegrounds (Gain C. EXP, reputation and increases WILLPOWER)

>Go and talk to Yoshino

>>Fight randoms in the Battlegrounds (Gain C. EXP, reputation and increases WILLPOWER)
Time to punch niggas.

And no that totally wasn’t a compliment with an ulterior motive to get to share some of her rare truffles
>not wanting her rare truffles
pleb/10 takashi

yeah, seems like.


>Fight randoms in the Battlegrounds (Gain C. EXP, reputation and increases WILLPOWER)

>>Fight randoms in the Battlegrounds (Gain C. EXP, reputation and increases WILLPOWER)

>>Go and talk to Yoshino

>>Go and talk to Yoshino
Reminder that we can go to battlegrounds at night timeslot now and not only after school timeslot.

>>Go and talk to Yoshino

>(Exploration)
>>Fight randoms in the Battlegrounds (Gain C. EXP, reputation and increases WILLPOWER)

>Go and talk to Yoshino

>>Fight randoms in the Battlegrounds (Gain C. EXP, reputation and increases WILLPOWER)
You just put the new arena there to get us to beat on schmucks, didn't you?
Got any special... events planned? Hmmm?

>>Fight randoms in the Battlegrounds (Gain C. EXP, reputation and increases WILLPOWER)

>Fight randoms in the Battlegrounds (Gain C. EXP, reputation and increases WILLPOWER)
it's time. We should finish the side mission and study soon too.

Reminder that it isn't morally wrong to switch personas in the battlegrounds.

Wait, isn't the new stadium only open for the night slot?
If so, change my choice from battling to
>Go and talk to Yoshino

He just had a flash-forward telling us not to.

>Go and talk to Yoshino

Perhaps not, but it would be incredibly stupid to do it unsubtly.

Damn straight. The Wild Card is Takashi's power, it is part of who he is no matter what the squatters say. He has a right to use it.

No, we had a flash-forward telling us the risks involved with doing so, and explaining what Takashi would need to remember in order to avoid those risks.

>>Go and talk to Yoshino

Does anyone still have that schedule some kind user made that would help while big sis is gone? It was two threads ago i think. Actually I'll just go dive for it real quick.

>Fight randoms in the Battlegrounds (Gain C. EXP, reputation and increases WILLPOWER)

>>Go and talk to Yoshino

Found it!
>So what's on our current to-do list? It looks like the last quest update was about the Chikashi Abomination, so we don't have anything urgent for at least the next little while. So I'm thinking: go to clubs in the afternoon for stat gains and Social Links, study in the evenings because we need to start working on Intelligence again, hit the Hazebound Woods on the weekends to get Celeste's companion and since we're not going to be able to do anything with Shizuka, and on Fridays go to the dueling grounds because I really want to do that at some point, especially now that we can cheat properly with Augmentation.

>stupid to do it unsubtly.
True but it can be used subtly in the battlegrounds.

>and on Fridays go to the dueling grounds because I really want to do that at some point
We can do that whenever now at night since night timeslot is only occupied by the ghost girl so far.

I would like to do the Kozue social link on Wednesday nights if we can.

>>Fight randoms in the Battlegrounds (Gain C. EXP, reputation and increases WILLPOWER)
TIME TO KICK SOME FACE.
Also, tentative itinerary for the next few days (my ideas):
>Friday afternoon: dueling.
>Friday night: find Celeste's Companion.
>Saturday afternoon: talk to Yoshino.
>Saturday night: study.
>Sunday: Forlorn Abyss Act Two.

And I still maintain that we shouldn't use the Wild Card at all during duels, because it IS cheating.

Okay, writing now...

The thing is, I fear you may be overestimating Veeky Forums's capacity for subtlety.

>because it IS cheating.
Is being Michel Phelp cheating at swimming?

Isn't that the most subtle thing though? If we are never subtle, the times we are nobody will suspect a thing. IT'S GENIUS!

Alright so then it's something like this then?
:Mon-Thurs/ Clubs for after school and switch studying and dueling during the evening
:Friday-Sat/ Explore the town or hang out with the little girl in the playground
:Sun/ hit the Hazebound Woods to finally nab Celeste's Buddy?

of course this is discounting any disruptions that constantly interrupt scheduling.

No, but our situation is somewhat more akin to being some random schmuck who was injected with nanomachines which reconstructed his body in the shape of Michael Phelps, which some people may have some objections to raise about.

>cheating
If we dont grind fast enough, we die in the Void
Our friends will die in the Void. Think about that

do not forget study time for exams/int boosting. We really need to boost that soonish.

And it's at least twice as effective to grind Ippon-Darata through combat than any other Persona.

We fukken aced the last one. how much smarter do we need to get ?

Actually, given the implications that the substance that was injected into Takashi was originally part of him, we have a more valid claim to the Wild Card than anyone else ever has. Makoto had it thanks to Pharos dwelling in his soul. Aigis had it because of Makoto transferring his powers to her. Yu had it because of Izanagi's blessing. The Phantom Thief and Kaede herself are unknown, but probably had similarly-outward origins to their powers. Takashi is likely to be the only Wild Card to have his powers be entirely his, even if required intervention to awaken them. We're not the Weakest One because we're a failed attempt at reproducing the Wild Card. We're the Weakest One because we're all-natural, unlike the others with their artificial enhancements.

The next level of smart to have a good chance of passing.

We aced it because of some unbelievable lucky rolls. Going by what we we've been told, we need to raise INTELLIGENCE another two levels to perform as well on the next exam.

considering the BIG hints we've gotten that say we need the next rank to do well and we are way behind in that? Alot. We also need to use study to improve our odds. We got CRAZY lucky with the rolls and I want to pass Fumika in her studies. Besides, the best scores give us lots of money and items. We want that badly.

We can only realistically raise one more level.

Yup included the studying, I was hoping that it would alternate between the dueling and studying so it'll be like
Mon, Wed- Study and Tues, Thurs- Foightin

Yeah, that was actually me misreading. We need Smart level INTELLIGENCE, that's the next level, not two levels from now. We need another 53 points to reach that level. I think we can manage that without too much trouble.

Yes, that is the point, but remember. Studying also boosts our rolls in general for these tests. Our group study thing became a shenanigan based thing and we learned nothing from it.. though we did get charisma.

We need to keep it up, raise it high, and find a way to bolster our bonuses further. Top Mark items tend to be damn useful and powerful, and if shit is getting real, we will need it. Besides, if we can set up study times with others we could do better and build up social links.

>>Takashi: Go to the Battlegrounds.

This has been long overdue. The afternoon is warm. The streets are noisy. Your body itches, the blood within beginning to bubble over in a low simmer. The magic in your system crackles down your nerves, buzzing at the core of your Personas. Today is a perfect today to bust some heads. Despite the load of English homework that was unceremoniously dumped on your head, you can’t help but let loose a small, predatory grin.

But before you proceed, there is an issue you have to address. It’s been lurking at the back of your mind, swatting at your brain like a bored cat with a cloth toy. The question of whether or not you will use your auxiliary Personas in official academy duels. Koppa Tengu, Matador, Makami and the rest of your stock are powerful soldiers, boasting unique resistances, affinities and skills. They would certainly give you an edge over the rest of the competition.

Yet, you must keep your status as the second Fool a secret. Switching between Personas in the midst of battle, with Spotters and eagle-eyed proctors watching from the crowd, is one way to blow your cover. It is also one way to get yourself slammed down on a lab table, toxins and sedatives replacing the oxygen in your bloodstream.

You aren’t stupid. In fact, your INTELLIGENCE is Decent. It wouldn’t take too much effort to conceal yourself in front of the crowd. Even so, it might be beneficial to be more careful…

What is your decision?

>The Wild Card is part of who you are. Use its powers to your full potential.
>Winning is important and the Wild Card will let you achieve that. Use it.
>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.
>Don’t use the Wild Card. The other students don’t have anything like that, so it’s unfair on them.
>Custom option.

>The Wild Card is part of who you are. Use its powers to your full potential.

>>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.

>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.
>Don’t use the Wild Card. The other students don’t have anything like that, so it’s unfair on them.

>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.

>>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.

>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.

>>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.
>>Don’t use the Wild Card. The other students don’t have anything like that, so it’s unfair on them.
Both of these are so extremely PAINFULLY true. Did our mother or sister need the Wild Card to become accomplished duelists? No? Then neither do we.

>>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.
Start with our basic persona to get a read on the fights and ONLY use our best stuff when we see a opening that we can abuse. No point being dumb about it.

>The Wild Card is part of who you are. Use its powers to your full potential.
We're not going to hide any more than we need to.

>>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.

Fucking this. We're a Wakui. Let's fulfill and continue that legacy.

>>Don’t use the Wild Card. The other students don’t have anything like that, so it’s unfair on them.

no cheatin. Also I want Ippon to get as much exp as he can.

Our mother and sister used everything they had to win. What you're suggesting is to dishonor their example.

>Winning is important and the Wild Card will let you achieve that. Use it.

...

>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.
>Don’t use the Wild Card. The other students don’t have anything like that, so it’s unfair on them.

>>Winning is important and the Wild Card will let you achieve that. Use it.

>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.
>Don’t use the Wild Card. The other students don’t have anything like that, so it’s unfair on them.

>The Wild Card is part of who you are. Use its powers to your full potential.
We're not just some lucky schmuck who got the Wild Card out of nowhere. We are the Fool, this is our right.

>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.

It isn't about playing fair as much as it is avoiding ending up on a government dissecting table.

Then again, if we can win while crippling ourselves, that'd be pretty awesome.

>>The Wild Card is part of who you are. Use its powers to your full potential.

>>The Wild Card is part of who you are. Use its powers to your full potential.
>>Winning is important and the Wild Card will let you achieve that. Use it.
Literally nothing wrong with it.

It's true. How arrogant do you have to be to say "no, I'm unfairly strong, I should hold back for the sake of a challenge"?

All these autists just want us being vivisected. Jesus fucking Christ.

>>The Wild Card is part of who you are. Use its powers to your full potential.
>>Winning is important and the Wild Card will let you achieve that. Use it.
It shouldn't be hard to hide it

>The Wild Card is part of who you are. Use its powers to your full potential.

>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.
>Don’t use the Wild Card. The other students don’t have anything like that, so it’s unfair on them.

The issue here is that Takashi's "unfair advantage" has far more rammifications than anything that's ever come before when it's exposed.

>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.

>when
If and a very big IF

>The Wild Card is part of who you are. Use its powers to your full potential.
>Winning is important and the Wild Card will let you achieve that. Use it.

Recall also how massive the boosts to our other stats were from getting top 10. More than made up for what we may have lost by electing to study.

The Wild Card ISN'T "our" power. It was forced onto us by an inscrutable entity that we don't understand and probably never will. It's a corked bat.Also:

youtube.com/watch?v=GN9kpJ2KRFg

Sure, but that user wasn't talking about it being dangerous, they were talking about how we're too good to need it. It's arrogance, nothing more.

we are going in blind for this and you are also assuming that we can do it from the start. It would be better to read the arena first to get a general feel of what we can and cannot do and understand the duel format before even thinking about it.

Being cocky screws us over more often than not. Do not get cocky.

>No, you can’t risk being exposed. Stick to your main Persona only.
>Don’t use the Wild Card. The other students don’t have anything like that, so it’s unfair on them.

>>The Wild Card is part of who you are. Use its powers to your full potential.
>>Winning is important and the Wild Card will let you achieve that. Use it.
What a sea of samefags

You can say the same thing about every single other Persona user. So what makes this different?

>>Winning is important and the Wild Card will let you achieve that. Use it.