5 Chapter 3: 1-2: Prelude to Greatness part 2

I rubbed my claws together, chuckling darkly. Before me was the enormous room I had filled with Celestial Uranium so long ago. The Prismatic Ore had been moved once or twice in order to ensure no one reached it, and my current stronghold was a cave large enough to easily hold my full bulk with space for me to move comfortably about. The entrance was blocked, though, and I made damn well sure that not a soul was aware of my location.

It wasn't that I didn't trust other Players… just that I didn't trust other Players.

Just as I had predicted, the Celestial Uranium had changed. What once was a pile of rocks useless for anything but Golem creation was now a pile of Caloric Stone—the only World Item in YGGDRASIL that could be mass-produced.

I tapped on a single unit of the Item. Three options appeared, hoovering over in individual text boxes. Upgrade, Craft, and Consume. The first was self-explanatory, though I would wait until I got the Job Class for Item modification before I messed with it. The second was likely an option to Craft the Caloric Stone into something, most likely a Golem core. The last, though, was exactly what I wanted.

I shuffled around the cave, moving over to the large treasure chest that held the cave's Storage.

…Okay, fine, I may have ditched my original cave in favor of a temporary Guild Base when my constant mining brought the stock to a certain point. No, I didn't conquer it, I actually conquered a different dungeon and offered it to trade in exchange for any cave-based dungeons others had access to. The Guild I ended up trading with was shocked out of their minds because the cave they had, while spacious, had zero NPC Levels. Period.

I didn't mind, but I'll get into the reasons for why I accepted at a later date. I'm messing with Caloric Stone right now.

I rifled around for a bit before I found a simple iron ring. I had gotten it as a random drop and would've left it under normal circumstances, but it had a few properties that gave me pause. First, the Item's durability was off the charts, which meant it could keep up with the constant amount of combat I subjected it to. And second, it had an enchantment that allowed it to repair itself over time. Between the two properties I could be certain it would need little to no attention between my constant cycles of dungeon-clearing.

Of course, the glaring flaw with the ring was that those were its only two properties, but that didn't matter for how I intended to use it.

I sat back on the ground, cleared my throat, and clicked the 'Consume' option on the Caloric Stone.

As far as I could tell all three World Items capable of contacting Devs had their own teams assigned—one for general purpose gaming, one specializing in YGGDRASIL's Magic system, and, I assumed, one specializing in Crafting.

My assumption was proven tentatively correct as the text box appeared, the text lacking any indication of it knowing who I was.

Hello, and congratulations on finding the hidden World Item 'Caloric Stone'. You have just chosen to contact the developers rather than to use it manually. Would you like to make a request?

I smiled. "Yes. Yes I would. Am I correct in assuming that your department specializes in Crafting?"

You are correct. Caloric Stone is a unique World Item that is consumed upon use, acting as a high-powered upgrade to a piece of gear.

"Wonderful. In that case, how much Caloric Stone would it take for me to give this ring," I held it up, "the property of gathering and holding a limitless amount of EXP?"

…I beg your pardon?

"I want this ring to hold EXP for me." I repeated. "It can drain a percentage of my EXP as I gain it, or just gain the same amount as I do, I don't particularly care which. I would just like something to hold a separate pool for Spells and Crafting Recipes that require it."

There was a pause as the person on the other end considered the request.

…There doesn't seem to be anything forbidding it, but I would like to check to make sure. Would you mind holding?

"Not at all." I said, chuckling. It seemed that their company had asked them all to report to a superior if they were unsure of something. This was the second time it had happened, so I was sensing a pattern.

Ah, well. Waiting didn't matter in the long run.

I knew for a fact that the World Item 'Avarice and Generosity' hadn't been released in this game yet. If it had, I would have just tracked it down. As it was, I was hoping for a workaround that would function in both my forms.

All right, I'm back.

I blinked. That had been much faster than the previous time. Odd.

Reading the ring you intend to upgrade, there doesn't seem to be anything that would be an issue. My superior said it would be all right, and as it turns out, we actually had someone code something similar recently. I'm not sure what it's for, but I can implement it immediately. Is that still what you would like?

I resisted the urge the burst out cackling. A complete newb on the job? Come on, make this a little harder for me. At least check the bloody source code before you cut-and-paste a World Item into my ring. "Could you send me what it looks like?" I asked instead, maintaining politeness. "I would like to see if there's anything that can be changed."

Another pause.

Ah, yes, your file says you worked with us before. My supervisor apparently knows you, said to give you free reign if you asked for it.

I blinked in surprise as a command window opened in front of me, keys flickering to life.

It costs ten Caloric Stone per line of code, with a base cost of five hundred just for changing it. I don't mind much what you do, but I would like it if you could run the finished product by me when you're done. I'll be working on other things until you finish. Just GM call if you need anything.

The text box dissolved, leaving me alone with a command window. Alone, with no supervision, with a command window.

Jesus Christ, this Dev was an idiot.

I didn't bother to restrain my cackling any longer, my claws flying across the keys.

One broken-as-fuck cheat item, coming right up.

My finished product was a simple thing, though it cost me several thousand units of Caloric Stone to make. The Developer didn't take more than a minute to declare it 'all good' and end our little conversation. I was left with a ring that belied all balance and seemed to shimmer innocently in the light.

The Developer's first mistake was letting me at it, but their second was assuming I would play fair. See, while the enchantment affecting my ring may have appeared to be a block of code similar to the one I had started with, it differed in many ways. First I removed the useless graphics that took up a good twenty lines. Then I went through and made several bug fixes designed to keep the thing from crashing the game when I used it. And I would be using it a lot.

Let me take a moment to explain something about programming. Namely, the integer. The ring's 'Experience' value was, like most things in YGGDRASIL, based off a single integer. Other code could be added to limit that integer, but on its own it didn't have any such limit. The number 2,147,483,647 is the maximum positive value for a 32-bit integer in computing. It is therefore the maximum value for variables declared as integers in many programming languages, and the maximum possible score, money, value, etc. for many video games.

So what I did was simple. I changed what might've been a limiter on the amount of EXP to a call function instead.

Being one of the people who helped write code from time to time, I naturally knew the different YGGDRASIL subroutines like the back of my hand. One in particular was used often in situations that required a number higher than the max. All it did was add another integer and start using that one to hold the overflow. But I didn't want it to work just once, or even twice. So I stuck it in a loop.

The finished product went something like this: integer holding the EXP value, call function to create a new integer in the array, repeat. Infinitely, as long as there was space on the servers. Each integer took up a minuscule amount of space to exist no matter how large it was, so in theory I could go infinitely long without anyone even noticing my ruse.

In effect, infinite Experience storage. All the while hiding behind only two or three lines of changed code.

I of course padded it and stabilized it to make the Developer overlook the change, but the concept remained. I now had a ring that matched my EXP gain tit for tat, storing it in a permanent yet limitless container that could be accessed at any given time.

Take that, universe!

…Good God, I just realized how dumb that all sounds to someone who doesn't know what I'm talking about. Or even to someone who does. Um, never mind. Let's just all assume I actually did something impressive instead of typing for fifteen minutes then tricking a lazy Dev into overlooking a tiny bug in the whole mess.

Instead, I think I'll actually test the thing out. Time to go dungeon-crawling again. I need to farm me some EXP.

I think it's time we talk about why exactly I wanted a ring that stored infinite EXP. Rest assured, I did have a good reason. I just haven't explained it yet.

Do you remember back when I explained what I wanted out of my Race? What I originally asked the Developers for, albeit jokingly?

I asked that they turn me into a Dragon and give me a maiden to guard.

I never expected them to agree, expecting them to deny my first request and start a bargaining process. Classic business tactic. But they ended up doing exactly as I asked, giving me everything I asked for and more.

I later mentioned that I needed to gain enough Levels in Racial Classes to finally take the final Race in the Dragon species' proverbial evolution chain. What might that final Race be called, one might ask? What did the Developers, in their infinite wisdom, decide to name it?

Ancient One.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

I'm rolling in the aisles, you shitty Devs. Thought you were so clever with that sly pun of yours. I would kick your asses for that if it didn't make writing my own character background so much easier.

I suppose it's no less ridiculous than a show about an undead Overlord becoming an evil overlord being named 'Overlord'.

So. The terrible joke that is the final five Racial Levels aside, I finally maxed out the last of what I can achieve without taking on Job Classes. And in doing so, I unlocked the hidden Skill the Devs had added to fulfil the last of my requests.

[The Dragon's Maidens].

While most NPCs in this game just had code that you could alter, the Devs threw in a customizable flavor text box because they knew I would get a kick out of it. They told me they were considering adding it as a feature of the main game, though they may have just been doing it to keep me quiet about the lack of Raid Bosses thus far.

In the context of the game, the Skill was only just a Summon with some extra bells and whistles. It granted me 100 free NPC Levels to use however I wished, though I had a maximum of one NPC I could create. The intent was that I could get certain Job Classes that raised the amount of Summons you could make, which would give me an extra 100 Levels to do whatever I wanted with for every extra Summon. I was planning on using ten of my remaining Levels to max out the 'Sage' Job Class, which would do exactly that.

Unfortunately, in terms of pure usability, the Skill doesn't even come close to the usefulness of even a lower-Tier Summon Spell. Momonga could probably outdo the tiny NPC with sheer numbers when it came to DPS and ground coverage, making the Skill useless in the eyes of most Players.

But I didn't care. I just wanted to be able to make an NPC that would follow me into the New World.

Don't get me wrong. I already have plans for the existing members of the storyline. Evileye in particular is on my list of girls to acquire, seeing as she's both extremely intelligent and utterly adorable when it comes to romance. Her ability isn't something to scoff at either, not by a long shot. If there's anyone in the series who deserves a shot, it's her.

I mean, think about it. She's a beautiful Vampire girl who, unlike all the other Vampires in the series, isn't batshit crazy! I mean, I could change Shalltear after Peroroncino leaves, but at what point is that just creating an entirely new NPC?

No. I'll make one or two NPC girls for my harem, but that's my limit. Any other Maidens will have to be existing members of the series.

But since I'm making an original NPC anyway, I might as well go all-out, right?

After having several years to think about what I wanted, I had everything planned from the start. I needed a way to have a character that was both well-balanced here in YGGDRASIL and have her gain an absurd amount of power when transferring to the New World. In other words, I needed a solid backstory to add that would give her not only a solid past but also a hell of a lot of power as well.

Think. Just off the top of your head, what's the most broken character you can think of right now? Mana isn't a problem, in this world I can easily give them a pool larger than most deities had in their original world. Without limitations, just in terms of the pure bullshit that they're able to pull out of their asses, who can you picture most clearly in your mind?

I'll tell you who I thought of.

Archer.

Yes, I know the obvious problem with that. But this is TYPEMOON we're talking about here. He already has a female version in the form of Kuroe from the Prisma Illya anime, so why should that even be an issue? Typemoon does it so frequently that every female Saber I can name off the top of my head is meant to be male. Who's to say the same didn't happen in reverse? What if Shirou Emiya was a girl through the entire VN and Typemoon was just pulling their usual shit?

Anyway. The point is, I know the story behind her character quite well. Well enough that I can regurgitate it onto a blinking flavor text screen designed to detail her past and personality, at least. I can even describe how an ancient Dragon came to rescue her in her time of greatest need, shattering her contract with Alaya and carrying her off into the world of YGGDRASIL.

But that's not all I'm planning. Oh hell no. See, I made sure that the Demon Race was added early just so I could gain access to it for my adorable little Archer. Most Demons had tanned skin by default, so it was a perfect match right from the start. I would make her an Archdemon suited to carrying the Reality Marble that so haunted her past life, simultaneously giving her the large Attack and Mana Stats that becoming an Archdemon guaranteed.

And just because I feel like going all in with this one, I'm going to take the route that will lead to the greatest, ah, reward in the next life. My little Archer is going to be an Archdemon of Lust. In this game that just gives her a few aggro and crowd-control Skills. But the Race's design box stated that Archdemons could feed directly off their Sin—a cool bit of lore here, but thanks to that little detail, she would become absolutely starved for sex with her beloved once we changed worlds.

A beautiful fighting machine devoted only to me. Quite fitting for the first of my Maidens.

I chuckled to myself and got to work.

I rolled my shoulders, cracked my neck, and activated my Racial Skill. Instantly a screen appeared before me, an interface very similar to the game's Avatar Creation screen. I didn't bother looking around, instead going straight for the 'Shop' icon in the top corner. I still had that account full of in-game currency from my work with the Devs, after all.

I bought out the offered toolkits designed to customize NPCs. From clothing to features to skin tone, I purchased every last one of them. There was even a special fanmade DLC pack made specifically for 'Demon Girls', which I downloaded more out of amusement than anything. From there I returned to the main screen and began by entering my NPC's name.

Emiya Archer.

Word count: 3000