Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Inside the Pyra palace, sitting at the table, gazing at the shimmering projection of swirling cards,

"The new cards we received after 'The Beginning Phenomena'… they are not much different from the previous ones, at least on the surface," Lyirrs explained, her voice echoing through the hall.

She stood before Victor and everyone else. Only Xara was absent, having dashed away to her laboratory in a flurry of excitement.

Lyirrs continued, her fingers dancing through the air. She had been gathering data on these new cards, working closely with Thalia and Nightfire.

"Your Majesty," she addressed Victor, "the Arcane Cards we once possessed displayed only stars as indicators. But now, our newer cards reveal much more detailed information embedded within, emerging only when summoned by the true name, 'Origin.'" As Lyirrs spoke, a radiant glow pulsed in her chest and her own card materialised.

"As you can see… the word 'Arcane' is no longer necessary to summon our Card. The arrival of Clarion energy did not merely change our bodies, but altered the very core of our powers, reshaping the essence of our cards as well, which means—"

"This is the true form of the Card?" Victor interjected, his eyes glinting with curiosity and caution.

Lyirrs nodded gravely. "Yes, Your Majesty. There are no records in any history of such a transformation. Yet from your revelations, if Clarion energy existed in ancient eras.... it follows that the cards we now hold are the real forms... what was once hidden has awakened."

Victor hummed, fingers steepled before his lips, his expression lost in calculation and memory.

Drakhairs nodded in understanding, "In the past, we relied solely on Arcane-dependent cards. But now, these new cards respond to both Arcane and Clarion energies, just like in ancient times."

Lyirrs glanced at the others, waiting for understanding to ripple through the chamber. Victor gave her a silent nod to continue.

"The stars that once marked our individual level still remain. In every sample we have observed, their arrangement is unchanged... except for one: we no longer know the upper limit," she said, her words measured.

Nyx frowned as she leaned close to Victor and whispered something.

Victor listened, then looked up, offering Lyirrs a gentle wave. "Please, continue."

Lyirrs nodded, pausing for clarity, her tone more gentle, "Before, we had five stars—each representing a threshold of our power, correct? The four stars at the corners each granted fifteen levels, while the central star bore forty; is that right?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Only when the stars shone could one estimate how many levels we achieved, more or less, yes?"

Again, they nodded.

"But now… we see only the stars that match our current level. That's all."

Selene frowned, confusion in her gaze. "You mean… even if my maximum level is one hundred, my card shows only four stars right now. Does that mean when I reach level one hundred, a new star will manifest?"

Lyirrs' face turned hesitant. Before she could respond, Victor spoke up, "It's only our initial investigation. We cannot declare this as fact until we have more evidence. It may be so, or it may not be… Would you agree, Lyirrs?"

Lyirrs let out a breath, nodding. "Yes, Your Majesty. We have only just acquired these new cards. We need more time, much more time in fact, to truly understand what is happening."

Selene nodded.

Lyirrs, regaining her composure, returned to the main subject. "Regarding the Notation Number beside the stars, the '0'… its meaning eludes us. Each cardholder possesses only '0'—no variance, no clues."

Everyone murmured in agreement.

Lyirrs gestured to the luminous images of weapons inside each card, "We now possess… our desired weapon, captured within the card as an image. Yet they seem almost alive, pulsing with power—far more than mere illustration.

Our weapons are now immortalised in these spectral reflections... I think"

She took a pause, then continued,

"Beside the names of each cardholder, their unique title or... occupation now appears"

Lyirrs frowned slightly.

Victor leaned in, "Is there a problem?"

Lyirrs shook her head. "No, sir… It's not a problem exactly. I just became a little confused, because sometimes the title displayed seems to be their role, like Captain, or a low authority rank, or simply a normal citizen… but at other times, I noticed occupations that matched what they do for a living, or something quite similar."

Victor frowned, "You mean, there are two different titles for the same card?"

"No, no, sir… That's not quite what I mean. For instance, in a family I used for data collection—" She changed the visuals on the floating holographic cards, bringing up a new set, "—they all have the same designation, such as Citizen of Pyra Fulgur."

Everyone frowned, studying the display as the entire family... mother, daughter, and son, shared the exact same title beneath their names.

"Except…" Lyirrs shifted the projection to another card, revealing a new title that glimmered in silver: Bladesmith.

"This was their father, who works as a Bladesmith, forging weapons for the palace and the city," she explained.

Everyone stared at the title before glancing at each other.

Lyirrs continued, "So I believe these titles, or perhaps occupations, are going to play a major role in the trials we're about to face."

Victor hummed in agreement, nodding slowly. "What's your opinion, Drakhairs?"

Drakhairs' expression was stern. "I believe we should exercise caution. I'll order the Generals to begin collecting records of people's unique titles and occupations—any detail might prove crucial."

Victor nodded... He motioned for Lyirrs to continue her report.

"Next, about those strange abbreviations—STR, INT, AGI, CHR, SIN—they appear on every card and seem to relate to each individual's unique attributes."

Victor raised his eyebrows, leaning forward in his seat, "You mean STR stands for Strength, like that?"

Lyirrs nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. From the data we've collected, those who have trained their bodies and possess high physical prowess are marked with high STR... So we can conclude that STR is indeed Strength.

In the same way, INT appears to belong to those with high intelligence—people adept at solving complex concepts, difficult problems, and intricate puzzles. Their INT value is much higher.

As for AGI, it's clearly Agility, for those who move with speed and grace."

Victor nodded in understanding, 'Looks like what I thought is right' he thought before asking, "And what of CHR and SIN?"

Lyirrs' face twisted in discomfort. "Please forgive me, sir. At first, I assumed CHR was charm, just like in our logs. But that was a mistake—even an elderly woman who, forgive my rudeness, is not what most would call attractive, had a score of 90. So it's definitely not charm as I believed."

Victor frowned at that, his thoughts drifting, 'If Celestia knew this, she'd probably be crying in a corner right now…' He shook his head, brushing off the thought with a wry smile.

This was intriguing... So it wasn't charm after all.

"Then what is it?" Victor asked, tilting his head, genuinely curious.

Lyirrs shrugged, her hands raised in apology. "I need more time to investigate, Your Majesty."

Victor nodded, not pressing her further. He recognised that she had already uncovered all this information in such a short time, even in the midst of this delicate situation… and that was more than enough for now.

Victor hummed, "And what about SIN? Does it work the same way?"

Lyirrs nodded, lowering her head slightly.

"I tried to study SIN, but I couldn't find any correlation with the other attributes... not with Strength, Intelligence, Agility, or even Charm or Magic ability. And I'm not at all sure how it truly functions. For almost everyone I checked, the value hovered around 3 or 5. It was rare to see it climb above fifty, even for the most exceptional individuals. So I'm uncertain if it's a measure of some hidden individuality, or perhaps it relates to the group, or even some ancient magical principle I haven't uncovered yet. At this point, it's still a complete mystery."

Victor nodded slowly, his expression growing thoughtful and slightly confused. He scratched his chin and glanced around at the others.

Just then, Emberlyn asked, "Lyirrs, one thing still confuses me. Why is there such a huge gap between what the Log shows and what's on this card? For example, in the Log, my Strength is five hundred fifty-seven. Yet on this new card, it's only thirty. How can that be? Are the cards broken, or is the Log mistaken?"

"Oh, yes… I'm glad you asked that, Ms. Emberlyn," Lyirrs replied, her tone shifting to one of slight worry. "I've been thinking about this very question. I must admit, I'm not completely certain of my answer. This is just a theory for now—"

Victor interrupted with a gentle smile, "That's alright, Lyirrs. We're all still learning here. Please, just share whatever you know. Even your suspicions could help us find the truth. Sometimes, unusual ideas reveal what everyone else has missed."

Lyirrs smiled softly in response, visibly grateful for her Emperor's understanding. No one could come close to him!!

[+4000 AP]

She took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts before speaking again.

"The value on the card… it shows our Real Value of our Arcaneless Body,"

Everyone around the table raised their eyebrows in surprise, taken aback.