When Logos stated that he couldn’t see the bottom text of the description window, Zhen Liu’s brain immediately went to hypothesizing mode. In essence, thinking of every likely scenario as to why this happened.
’Deja Vu, thou art bitch...speaking of...’
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Possibility 1: Time loops are bullshit.
There was a very small yet non-zero chance that he might have been living a new game plus state while... technically already being new game plussed, making it so he knows story beats and information about items and abilities way before they actually happen and/or become relevent to his current situation.
Granted, that seemed unlikely because Logos and Pathos were also walking, talking anomalous existences and they have yet to make any snarky timeline references or jokes.
Although he swore he heard something from Pathos earlier....
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’Then again, Pathos has been consuming pop culture at a rate that would make the average content reviewer jealous,’ Zhen Liu pondered, ’oh wait there’s also that tried and true cliche...’
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Possibility 2: Magic Eyeballs are...a trope.
This right eye of mine can see through all falsehoods, the edgy teenager with an eye patch and sketch book full of self-insert smut art proclaimed.
There was the likely possibility Zhen Liu’s eyes could see information that would normally be inaccessible to others by the grace of divinity.
This was significantly more likely than the time loop thing because he had some precedence for the eyeballs.
Granted, he had to use the ring and sigil carved into his left hand in order to see stuff like aether flow and the kaijins’ progression.
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’Wait...that is inapplicable at this time because I didn’t even use it yet...plus, I think the information is processed by Logos and Pathos before I get it? I think?’
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Possibility 3: I’m a soul yeeted existence so rules and memes don’t apply.
Maybe the text had a special property that made it so that only those not of this world could see it. Like psychic paper or some other memetic bullshit.
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’Nope, too dumb. This entire place is technically curated by these two, no way in hell there is a weird anamoly that these two aren’t aware of.’
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Possibility 4: Logos was fucking with him
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Regardless of the truth, Zhen Liu now had a shiny toy/weapon and he was gonna make full use of it...once he figured out what the fuck it did.
"Hang on," Zhen Liu began to say while he hooked the gourd to his side, "can this place upgrade tools and weapons? I mean...other than the ones it makes?"
=Indeed it can, but unfortunately we cannot upgrade your [Drunkard’s War Club]. Ain’t nothing in the vaults stronger than Titan Bone...well nothing you can access yet.=
"Ominous," Zhen Liu repeated, which at this point might as well be his fucking catchphrase withhow often he had to say that. Ignoring that, he decided to move on.
"Well, what about for Jin Fang? Can we make stuff for her here?," Zhen Liu asked point blank.
Jin Fang looked at her boyfriend, a little shocked at his generosity. Access to possibly forbidden knowledge was enough, now he was opening a treasury full of crazy stuff for her.
She had already assumed she was the luckiest girl in the world when they started dating...now it was just being cemented.
=The contents in the vault is unfortunately incompatible with Jin Fang in her current state,= Logos explained, =however...daemon?=
|Scanning kaijin consort,| the cyclopean forge daemon rumbled as it’s eye began to scan Jin Fang’s being.
"That is the second time I’ve been referred to as a kaijin con-what are you staring at?," Jin Fang asked her boyfriend who was eyeing her with a weird look.
"You’re covered in glow spots."
Unexpectedly, something in her cloak’s pocket began to glow as soon as the scan hit her, alongside the hairpin she had been wearing.
Both Zhen Liu and Jin Fang were confused at the sight, as the latter began to dig through her stuff to figure out what it was, finding out it was the weird toy ball she received from the old man a few months ago.
Jin Fang was a tad confused as to why the magical possibly ancient forge was reacting to a pair of knick-knacks she received from a mysterious old man...hold up...
Both looked at Logos with confusion.
"Uh...what did that scan do?"
|Analysis complete. Material Identified: Silverwind Pegasus Essence Orb. Generating usage list.|
As if responding to the daemon’s words, the colored pattern of the ball burned away, revealing to them a perfectly silver sphere with a symbol on it. In Zhen Liu’s eyes, it looked a stylized pegasus tattoo.
A series of displays appeared before Jin Fang after this announcement was made, each showcasing a usage of this orb as either a weapon, an implant or as medicine, causing her to leap back in surprise.
Just because she saw Zhen Liu handle this stuff, didn’t mean she wanted to...or at least was used to it.
"Huh...I figured the daemon here would show us nothing but weapons and tool designs," Zhen Liu commented at the display. He wasn’t entirely sure, but he swore saw this orb being used to make a wand...that came with a transformation sequence.
=All the daemons in the library are less like individual personas with their own desires and ambitions, and more like an interace to a greater whole.=
"You’re telling there’s more than you two in this place?"
=You did meet your predecessor here.=
Logos and Zhen Liu were about to continue bantering, but then the forge daemon made an announcement that caused the former to have a weird look, one that would normally be on Zhen Liu’s face.
|Analysis of item, interrupted. Please attain permission from owner.|
"What? What does it mean by owner?," Zhen Liu asked confused,"we got this from an old...hold up.."
=Daemon,= Logos began to ask with a serious expression, deciding to skip over the obvious truth that Zhen Liu concluded, =identify the owner of this hairpin please.=
|Requesting permission...granted. Displaying owner now. Displaying location.|
The daemon’s eye began to whirl and spin, projecting a holographic image on the empty space between them.
On the floor, a large holographic map with a red indicator appeared, as if pinpointing a buried treasure.
Standing next to the map was the three dimensional visage of a comedy yet fierce woman with stormy gray eyes and a distinctive looking hair braid. But the thing that caught Zhen Liu’s eye, was the ring and symbol on her left hand.
"Huh...she looks...familiar...," Jin Fang muttered as she stared at the image. She swore she that face before, but she couldn’t pin it.
=Well I’ll be. Lord Zhen Liu. Lady Jin Fang. It is with the great pleasure that introduce to you, the Kaijin Lord who wounded the Great Pearl Dragon Emperor, the Invulnerable Storm Queen.=
When Zhen Liu did a double take on the map below, he realized that the glowing red dot happened to be very close to the city where the Zhen Clan came from.
Where his grandfather was going to go bury some grudges with the family.
"Swear to shit, I am punching whomever the hack writer that wrote this in the face..."