Knowledge Is Power 11 (1/2)

“Power creep?” repeated Nao. “Hmm, the phrase does ring a bell. I’m sure I’ve heard of it before somewhere, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

“I think she means that PMS thing, bro,” called out Kuro from the side.

“Oh! Right, of course!” exclaimed the Hero of Magic with a clap.

“I see, I see, so that’s how it was,” said the catgirl with a smile and a nod as she casually unsheathed the mithril dagger at her waist. “So you two want to get cut after all, don’t you?”

“What?! No! C-c-calm down Keira! Kuro was just kidding! Let’s put the shiny knife away and talk about this!”

Even if Boxxy knew it was a joke, the terrible timing involved triggered a fit of anger which it failed to contain completely. Suggesting that its health issues were somehow caused by Keira’s menstrual cycle was ludicrous to say the least. Under normal circumstances the shapeshifter would’ve just laughed it off, but Kuro’s talent for pushing its buttons was already at VIP level.

“Sorry, that joke was a bit overboard,” apologized Keira almost immediately. “I’ve just had it with that guy’s attitude.”

“In my defense, that one wasn’t on purpose,” claimed the culprit. “It’s just that this guy here isn’t all that familiar with adventurer jargon.”

“Yeah, I usually let Kuro handle the talking with strangers.”

“Okay, fair enough. Wait, then how come he wasn’t around when you visited my house?”

“I was, actually, but, uh, I got a bit lost,” he admitted reluctantly.

“… Lost?”

“Okay, listen, I don’t want you to go all knifey-wifey on me again, but I was trying to hit on your girlfriend. I didn’t know she was taken back then. So, I escorted her on her shopping trip, but she was having none of it. Then when the Clash warning popped up she disappeared in a huff and left me in the middle of a crowd with no idea how to get back to your place.”

“You lost her?” asked Keira with an incredulous look on her face. “But you’re a Berserker and she’s just an Alchemist! How do you lose someone like that?!”

“She’s a local! She knows all the shortcuts and back alleys! Not to mention the timing to those funky flying platforms you people have around here!”

“Wow. I am almost speechless,” remarked the catkin as she shook her head. “You are like, the worst bodyguard ever!”

“To be fair,” butted in Nao, “I was the one who agreed to him leaving. The city seemed peaceful enough and I thought I’d be perfectly fine in that out-of-the-way house. Plus my visit was pretty low profile, so very few people knew I was even here. Then you showed up with that impeccable timing that only a Hero of Chaos can pull off. And once the misunderstanding was cleared up I sent him a Message to stay away lest he complicate things even further.”

“… Oh. Yeah, alright, I guess that makes sense,” conceded Keira. “Wait, when did you manage to send a message? I didn’t see a Comm-crystal or anything.”

“No, no, a Message, as in the Psionic Spell. Instant long-range telepathic communication. Picked it up about a year ago when I was visiting the southern continent. More importantly though, I’m surprised you’re asking about Milton-Presley Syndrome.”

“Who-the-what-now?” asked the confused catgirl.

“Milton-Presley Syndrome,” repeated Nao,” or MPS for short. Not PMS. That’s… something else entirely. Point is, it should be far too early for you to worry about it.”

“Maybe, but I want to be prepared for when the time comes. Unfortunately, I’ve only heard of it in passing, so I’m not sure what it’s actually about.”

That was more or less the truth. Boxxy knew that power creep was something bad that happened if an adventurer that got too many Levels too quickly, but that was the extent of its knowledge. The monster never had any problems with its explosive growth, however, so it had never worried about it before. Something that the benefit of hindsight showed had been an error.

“I suppose someone with four Jobs is more susceptible to it than not,” admitted Nao while scratching his cheek. “Well, I’m sorry to say, but I’m a bit sketchy on some of the details myself. It’s been a long time since I looked it up, so I don’t trust my memory too much.”

“Oh. That’s okay. I’ll just look it up in the library or something.”

“There’s no need for that. I have one on hand, actually. Stand back a bit, if you don’t mind.”

Concentric rings of light shot out of the Hero of Magic, and Boxxy immediately recognized the pattern as the Summon Familiar Skill. Seeing this happen second-hand for once left the Mimic a bit stunned, as it wasn’t sure how to react, but it managed to keep its cool this time around. Keira had been in the company of other people’s familiars before, so it would likely be fine. Even if the ‘Boxxy Show’ was popular over on the other side, Hamilton had forbidden any denizens of the Beyond from divulging anything they might have seen in it to mortals. Its secret was probably not in any direct danger, but it still undid the MLG hidden in Keira’s torso. It was a precaution just in case the one called out was a beholder that might be asked to scan the room for anomalies.

This proved to have been a wise decision, as the demon that popped out of thin air did indeed look like one. He had marble white skin, a single giant eye with a triangular blue iris, and a total of six eye stalks growing out of its floating head of a body, which was about one and a half meters in diameter. He didn’t seem all that impressive at first glance, but Boxxy knew from its Demonology Skill that the peculiar shape of that eye was something no common demon would have. A triangular iris was the sign of a beholder that had Ranked Up into a gazer, and this revelation immediately put the Mimic on edge. This was the first time it had seen another Warlock with a ‘ranker’ under their command, so there was no way it wouldn’t grow more wary of Nao.

The Hero of Magic, it would seem, was potentially dangerous in more than one ways.

As for the demon, he took a brief look at his summoner and barely even glanced at Kuro, but his stare then lingered on Keira and her forced smile for several seconds.

“Hah. Hahahaha! AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAA!”

At which point he began laughing in a deep, booming voice.

“What is it this time, Ogbolg?” asked Nao, clearly miffed at this disrespectful behavior.

“Aaaah, it’s nothing, master,” said the gazer with a toothy grin. “I was just thinking it would be amusing to watch you and that pretty face of yours get ripped apart by a vicious monster in a dark cave somewhere. A creature that is like nightmares made real - a merciless whirlwind of steel, teeth, and death.”

This guy, is he trying to expose me?! panicked Boxxy inside its head.

“Tch, that guy’s still quite the charmer, ain’t he?” said Kuro from the side.

“He… does this every time?” asked Keira.

“Pretty much,” confirmed Nao. “Ogbolg here doesn’t like it that I only use him to remember stuff in my stead. He talks big, but I keep him on a tight leash, so he’s harmless.”

“Foolish mortal! We’ll see who is harmless when the unspeakable horrors of the Beyond pour through the gates of this reality, eager to tear into your magic-rich blood and devour your very-!”

“Yes, yes, I’m sure I’ll suffer greatly,” he said dismissively. “Now shut up about that and tell us everything you know about Milton-Presley Syndrome.”

“… The phenomenon formally referred to as Milton-Presley Syndrome and is informally popularized to as ‘power creep’ or ‘leveling fatigue’ is the anomalous occurrence whereby an overabundance of amplification sources begins to overextend the legitimate and essential characteristics of a physical vessel, both of biological and inorganic composites. Research into the condition was spearheaded by the humans Ashor Milton and Jennifer Presley, for which it was ultimately and officially named after, despite being widely known as ‘power creep’ or ‘leveling fatigue’ within the various non-scholastic circles and communities for centuries prior.”

“Have a seat,” whispered Nao to Keira. “This will take a while.”

The two of them sat on a nearby bench as the demon continued divulging the requested information. However, his dull and drawn-out tone of voice combined with the needlessly pretentious wording and tautologies threatened to put his listeners to sleep. Kuro failed to resist and dozed off in his chair off, but the other two were not so easily swayed. The Hero of Magic was actively taking notes while Boxxy listened attentively to every syllable. The doppelganger was eager to get the full scoop, as it had only heard of the term in passing and as such only knew that the idea behind it was that ‘too many Levels too quickly can be bad.’

As it turned out, that wasn’t entirely accurate. According to the lecture, MPS manifested itself whenever an adventurer gained too many permanent Attribute bonuses, be it from Jobs, Skills, Perks, or ‘special actions.’ Attributes dwelled within the body and amplified certain mental, physical, and, in the case of Natural Affinity (AFF) and Faith (FTH), spiritual traits. However, such supernatural luxuries were not without their burdens. There was only so much ‘boosting’ a living being could take before the cumulative stress upon the body caused side-effects to manifest.

Unfortunately, that was all Boxxy was able to gather before it lost track of the presentation. The deluge of words pouring out of Ogbolg’s mouth made it extremely difficult to follow along and understand him. Terms like ‘fait accompli,’ ‘arcanophilogical’ or ‘ventral superluminal resistance’ in particular made it seem like the demon was speaking in a foreign language altogether. The whole thing was likely the gazer’s way of exerting his ‘right’ to malicious compliance. He was technically fulfilling his master’s orders, but was trying to do it in a way that rendered the exercise largely pointless.

Yet Nao didn’t seem to mind in the slightest as he continued scribbling in his notebook without being perturbed by Ogbolg’s verbal diarrhea. Whether it was because he understood all the technical mumbo jumbo or because he was used to such shenanigans was unclear, but Boxxy couldn’t help but be impressed. The Hero of Magic didn’t even wait for the gazer demon to finish his lecture before he cut him off, tore out a page from his booklet and handed it to a thoroughly confused-looking Keira.

“Here.”

“Uh, what?”

“This guy likes to throw big words around for no reason, so I took the liberty of jotting down the important bits without all the filler,” he explained.

“Oh, you did all that for me? Lemme see!”

The catgirl took the piece of paper and eagerly gave it a once over.

Power creep / Leveling fatigue / MPS

Varies between people, but usually starts at around 2,500-3,000 AP (Attribute Points) in non-rankers. Which symptoms manifest first depends on AP distribution. MPS can easily be avoided by focusing only on 1 main + 1 or 2 side Jobs, more than that is not advised. For reference: Lv 50 Job + max Skills = 700~800 AP; Lv 100 equiv = 1,700~1,900 AP.

Stage 1 - Appears 1-3 days after exceeding AP limit. Causes relatively minor problems, but should not be ignored!!

Stage 2 - Appears 400-500 AP after Stage 1. Causes sensory problems and resistance to restorative magic

Stage 3 - Appears 200-300 AP or 30-40 days after Stage 2. This is where the brain starts being affected.

Stage 4 - Appears 7-10 days after Stage 3 sets in regardless of AP gain in interim.

Treatment options:

Boxxy greedily soaked in all the concisely written information and began processing it. It wasn’t sure how much it could trust it though, as this data had been gathered with people in mind. It obviously wouldn’t apply to a monster directly. Especially one that had Ranked Up three times and even changed species once.

However, the shapeshifter could not deny that its current abnormal condition could easily be attributed to the early onset of power creep. Not to mention that its combined Attribute scores clocked in at around a staggering 7,300. This was two-to-three times higher than the average limit for baseline enlightened beings, which surely should not be ignored. Then there was the fact that it had gained over five hundred Attributes during the latter half of its last trip, so the timing was definitely a fit.

With the diagnosis out of the way, the next question was an obvious one - how could it address this? Aside from the obvious desire not to make this MPS thing worse, it also hated being temperamental and constantly feeling tired. It wanted to be rid of it post-haste, yet none of the treatment options listed here were especially tasty. That was okay though, as the Mimic had already came up with a fifth one that should work in theory.

However, that was something it would test later tonight. Right now it still had a Hero’s favor to curry.

“Oh my God!” exclaimed Keira. “You managed to get all of this from that?! And in such clean, beautiful handwriting, too! Nao, you’re amazing!”

“Ehehehe,” he laughed awkwardly at the sincere compliment. “W-well, I knew a good deal of that already. Just had to double-check my facts, is all.”

“Still, you went out of your way to arrange this, even after I shut you down earlier. I really don’t know what to say, other than thank you! You’re the best!”

The catgirl then leaned over and gave the beastkin sitting next to her a quick peck on the cheek.

“You’re gonna make some woman very happy one day,” she added with a brilliant smile.

“… Sure it can’ be you?” asked the blushing wolf-boy.

“I’m pretty certain I’d have noticed if I’d have developed a craving for men over the last two hours,” she said while rolling her eyes. “But if that happens in the future, you’d be the first to know.”

“Uh, thanks? I guess?”

“Pfaaahahahaha!”

The gazer demon abruptly burst out laughing at that exchange, clearly aware of the literal man-eater hidden behind Keira’s cheerful facade. The sudden loud noise made Kuro stir from his drivel-induced coma. The Berserker mumbled something about ‘five more minutes,’ then continued napping.

“Your pain shall be legendary, whelp!” it taunted in-between fits of guffawing. “I shall forever treasure your inevitable demise!”

“Alright, that’s enough out of you,” declared the demon’s master. “Away you go!”

And with that, the security risk in the room had been forcibly dismissed and sent back whence he came from, much to Boxxy’s relief.

“Again, sorry about that,” said Nao to Keira. “I always struggle to keep that guy’s bad attitude in check. I’d tell him to shut up, but that would defeat the purpose of using him as a portable personal library.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I already know all demons are jerks. Frankly speaking, I’m surprised you even have a familiar. You didn’t mention you were also a Warlock before.”

“Because I don’t consider myself one. The Job’s only at Level 16 since I was curious about the Demonology Skill and the knowledge it offered, but I had to also get Summon Familiar since its a prerequisite. It wasn’t like I went out of my way to make a contract possible. I haven’t even hired anyone besides Ogbolg, though I’m rather ashamed that I have to rely on that asshole in the first place.”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me, Nao. I trust you know what you’re doing when it comes to this sort of stuff. Besides, even if they’re insensitive pricks, I’ve seen first-hand how scarily effective demons can be in a pinch, so I try not to judge.”

“Yeah, I had a feeling you’d say that. I just wish everyone else was as understanding as you,” he added while furrowing his brows. “People who catch wind of me having Summon Familiar take one look at my boyish face and instantly assume I’m a hormonal teenager who wanted a succubus for immoral purposes. It can be quite frustrating trying to explain I only have Ogbolg.”

“Sounds troublesome. How come you don’t have more demons, though? Seems odd to have the potential yet not use it.”

“… I’m afraid of what would happen if I have to keep tabs on more than one of them. I’m not very perceptive. Or attentive. Or confident. Or strong-willed, for that matter.”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” grumbled the catgirl, interrupting the one-man pity parade. “But even if it’s one at a time, having more options couldn’t hurt, right? I mean, no offense to Kuro, but look at him.”

The bodyguard in question was still quietly snoring while laying back in his chair.

“Oh, that? Don’t worry about him. Looking after me can be a bit demanding, so he needs to get all the sleep he can,” deflected Nao. “You’re actually to blame for that, you know. We were supposed to remain incognito as much as possible, but our meeting kind of blew it.”

“Th-that was then, this is now,” insisted the catgirl. “And what that guy is doing right now hardly seems proper behavior of a protector.”

“I trust him to know his limits,” insisted the younger wolfkin. “He has a good nose for danger, so he’ll wake up the instant he feels a threat is near. Not that I expect anyone with malicious intents can get to us down here, in the Consortium’s basement. Unless it was someone who could barge past the collective security forces of several adventurer guilds, but Kuro wouldn’t be able to stand up to that sort of absurd being anyway…”