While Deikmorn had a rather long meeting with Nyomel, Sammy assisted her realm in the night with routine matters of prayers, quest construction, and various matters a quick Goddess judgment call could smooth things over on. It was becoming more and more relevant to jump in like that with multiple teams and cliques developing. As much as argument was desirable to avoid, it was sometimes impossible.


    Quick expansion had caused tension due to issues of who lived and worked where, which Sammy could partially mitigate by judgment calls and partially solve by literally expanding their facilities. This was particularly needed in Geirkos, probably due to the fact she expected to have relocated to a main base by then. It was somewhat delayed, so she needed to compensate.


    A more makeshift and rundown adapted facility of the hideout was renovated into sudden prime real estate, top to bottom filled out and decorated as if Sammy had just hosted a home improvement reality show. Then she set about making a copious number of samesy living quarters, fairly spartan and compact, but designed for decent privacy.


    In her opinion, some of the tensions were from permanent agents living in-house in too close company with shared rooms and such. Private space could help for the benefit of those who were more introverted.


    Unfortunately, people won’t or can’t always tell you what their real problem is, even if you ask point blank. You have to be psychic or guess. Humans! We need psychiatrists, I swear.


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    The quest “Lesser Deity: Becoming a Horde” is complete. 1500 FE gained. +4000 Maximum FE gained. 8(7) exp gained in [Goddess]. 1 free Create Servitor use added. Holy Relic Investiture upgraded.


    <hr>


    New Quest unlocked: “Standard Deity: An Order to the Realms” — Reach 3333 total Followers.


    ● Rewards: +2000 FE, +8000 Maximum FE, +8 exp in [Goddess], Holy Proclamation unlocked.


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    Level 8 Goddess obtained. +8000 Maximum FE added. Religious Experience maximum enhancement grade increased.


    <hr>


    Special Trait (as a passive power) [Matter, As Spirit] added. The Power [Mirror Opposition] added.


    <hr>


    Alter Fate, Dazzling Spectrum, Mirror Communication, Mirror Sense, Mirror Walk, Sheath of Light, Split Prediction, Tarot Reading, and The Unseen Animus upgraded.


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    Damn, those Puck gains were insane! Seems like there were plenty of other nighttime gains, too, but that was the bulk.


    First things first, she took a look at Holy Relic Investiture, which modified the last paragraph only:


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    Relics may have up to one artifact-level enchantment, one major, and one minor thematic enchantment related to the nature of the object and the deity. Activating enchantments can only be done by Followers (or you).


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    It was an upgrade from a major and two minor. It brought up the issue of upgrading existing ones…


    “System,” she asked, “how do I upgrade Holy Relics to take advantage of this?”


    Rituals involved with Holy Relics are up to the deity, but one hour of meditation, work, prayer, or the like is necessary by you and whichever individual is most attuned to the Holy Relic. If you are the only one so attuned, you may assign a helper from amongst your Devout priesthood.


    “Ah. Got it. Interesting. So, hey… did you notice I stopped calling you Sys? It felt off.”


    The System is aware of all matters within the System. However, your addressment of the System is irrelevant — you may assign a moniker as desired.


    “Really? So if I decided to call you Shitface, you’d answer to that?”


    Yes, User Sammy.


    “So very tempting. But I think I’ll stick with the old classic. I bet I called you that in all my previous lives, huh?”


    The System cannot provide this information.


    “If I told you to stop referring to yourself in the third person, would you?”


    There is no ‘I’ in team. This is not possible, User Sammy. In addition, not all instances of reference to ‘the System’ can be replaced, because existential reality is the System.


    Sammy rolled her eyes. “I have one change though.” Dangerous? Fuck it. “No more ‘User Sammy.’ Refer to me as ‘Director.’ Acknowledged?”


    There was one of those frightening pauses in response the System rarely had. Acknowledged, Director.


    Sammy grinned smugly. “I wonder who else has a special name they demand to be called? I bet Dax does. Bast, of course. Maybe… Big Sexy? Yeah, I bet he makes the System call him Big Sexy!”


    Next up for review were the new traits…


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    Matter, As Spirit


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Power (Divine). After you spend five seconds aligning your spirit properly, you have a greater general control of pneuma-interlaced physical reality. You may move around three-dimensionally in the physical realm similarly to your movement in the spirit world. This allows you natural hover and flight that is not dispellable, at an initial speed of deity levels in meters per second. Over five seconds of acceleration, this doubles, and may then triple but counts as a sprint.


    This movement can only be slowed by up to half speed for any traversable medium (such as water), but solid matter still blocks you as normal.


    In addition, you may utilize a simple Telekinesis (Ethereal) effect within (80 meters plus 5 meters per deity level). This functions largely as if having ‘hands at range’ at your normal physical capabilities, and requires similar occupation and gesturing with your existing hands. The effect is only visible to those who can see the ethereal — these will see ghostly hands attached to (at default) an indistinct and indiscernible body.


    This latter effect may have interference in zones with special restrictions or protections against ethereal manipulation. If there is a contest involved, add plus 2 Effective Levels for the purposes of resisting restrictions only.


    For any level functions or contests related to this ability, use a base of [Goddess]. One additional class may add as normal, providing (level/3, rounded up) to the base class — this can vary depending on the function involved, and other skills or items can improve action normally.


    Any time you sojourn away from your body spiritually and/or mentally, you must recalibrate for five seconds to utilize this ability. It cannot function at all while ‘mentally absent,’ as it requires special interconnected bonds between the spirit and body. Being knocked unconscious or similar while in-body does not count for this limitation, as the mind remains anchored.


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    Oh, nice. That’s what I call some mid-level Quality of Life! No FE, permanently on, more or less. I’m a full-on flyer now! Though not as fast as my Angels, the top speed is solid. A ‘sprint’ at… 86 kilometers an hour, so far — unimproved, anyway.


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    Mirror Opposition


    For 7 FE (Mirrors) or 14 FE, you may utilize a mirror a foe is looking into to summon a double to attack them. You do not control this double — it operates as a dark simulation that utterly hates its real counterpart. It will attack immediately, and then six more times in something between 30 seconds and a minute of total duration, or until its double is dead, whichever comes first.


    The double will never use AoEs, only single-target effects to focus its attacks. It may or may not attempt to taunt or psychologically abuse its target at times instead of attacking. If it does so, add +1 Effective Levels to the next actual assault (cumulative per 5 seconds of this, but ending upon an assault).


    The double possesses all of the target’s abilities and items but fights utilizing your highest first class as a base, and your second highest as a contributing class, at (level/3, rounded up). If the target does not fight their double and attempts to ignore them, add +1 Effective Levels, cumulative, for each passed-on attack.


    The double is immune to banishment, mind control, suggestion, charm, and any ability or spell that would otherwise dismiss or turn the double on its counterpart’s ‘side.’ It is still vulnerable to holds and other debuffs but is at +3 Effective Levels to resist any non-damaging effect with its target as a source.


    A double begins with two wound negations unless its target has more, in which case it matches them. The copying of persistent buffs is otherwise highly dependent on the source and overtness. Hidden buffs, buffs without an aura, and contingencies are never copied.


    A double will vanish after the seventh total ‘assault,’ successful or not. If they survive, the target cannot be menaced by a double again for 77 hours. If the target kills its double, this ability cannot be used on them ever again. Only one double of a foe can exist at one time.


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    This is a nasty one. Phew! I’m glad I’m not my enemy. Hehe. Well, I kind of already did this, back at the naga temple. Is this my belated reward?


    Before she moved on to upgrades, she glanced at the REX buff change. Because they were highly modular, it was composed of ‘parts’ that equated to the severity of a buff. The customization became ‘5 parts,’ divided up into Super at 3 parts, Major at 2 parts, and Minor at 1 part, but the buff could have at most 3 effects. Generally, the best would be a Super and a Major.


    Her most typical REX buff, Blessing of Holy Wrath, could either do +2 Effective Combat Levels and 2 wound negations, or 3 wound negations and +1 Combat Levels. She decided to call the +2/+2 the original name, and Blessing of Holy Defiance would be the 3 wound negations version.


    And then it was time to check out upgrades. [Alter Fate] had a new enhancement:


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    Fool’s Gamble (Illusion Synergy): You may attempt to recharge exhausted Alter Fate uses while only appearing to act against your interests, i.e. performing a ruse that would seem to be a failure.


    You must successfully fool the opposition to gain the recharge. This may be obvious, but you will not be able to intrinsically sense it and may attempt to draw on a still expended ability — in this case, you automatically fail on the attempt instead, and recharge through that failure.


    You may also utilize this ability when uses are not expended at all, to gain an extra ‘free’ use. If you fail in the ruse but attempt to capitalize, you will gain the extra free use similar to above, by it becoming an automatic failure (you will not expend your still available Alter Fate uses). This can only be attempted once per day and lasts only through that day.


    A successfully pulled-off ruse also allows a use that cannot cause the ‘Shadows of Fate’ debuff from multiple uses on the same foe, but if you failed a ruse and attempted to capitalize on a foe you’ve already used Alter Fate on, instead of an automatic failure, you obtain automatic success yet gain the Shadows of Fate debuff.


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    Oh ho! That’s interesting. Dangerous against a subtle foe, and a sure-fire bet against the easily duped. A question of who’s the bigger fool, I suppose. Anyway! On the next, on to the next…


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    </a>


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