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Wish upon the Stars (Original Superhero cultivation sci fi litrpg)

Discussion in 'Creative Writing' started by Malcolm Tent, Mar 19, 2022.

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  1. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    That is less invention and more of a gradual improvement. And requires him to have found cheats as a foundation
    Also is improving their martial arts even a cheat?
     
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  2. anirocks

    anirocks always lurking

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    Its when protag pulls something out of nowhere to improve his foundation
     
  3. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    Ah I see how you can call an asspull by the author a cheat.
    But when I say cheat I am using jargon, I am referring to the "golden finger".

    Golden finger cheats being things like:
    1. reincarnated with AI
    2. reincarnated with a library in your brain containing all magical knowledge
    3. reincarnated with a [System] (think the gamer)
    4. stumbled across a treasure that produces infinite resources to fuel your cultivation
    5. stumbled across a treasure that contains the trapped soul of a friendly god who will teach you (colloquially referred to as a Grandpa cheat). will usually finally sacrifice himself to save you once you no longer need him
    6. stumbled across a treasure that gives you infinite talent
    7. stumbled across a treasure that gives you infinite time to train
    8. stumbled across a treasure that lets you create a perfectly accurate simulation that you can refresh. so you can freely explode 1000 times trying to figure out that super hard and dangerous cultivation art before finally doing it for real on your real body
    9. stumble across an inheritance that gives you an ultimate bloodline

    and of course the combo ones who combine multiple of the above together.
    they are also usually things the MC starts the story with, rather than actually earn.

    Most of these are not a big deal for gods, but of great importance to level 1 nobodies at the start of their journey
     
  4. Malcolm Tent

    Malcolm Tent Monkey with a typewriter.

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    you forgot the equally common variation of the grandpa cheat where the mc finds the spirit of some super hot high level goddess who mentors him and falls in love with him and he proceeds to get her her body back and take revenge for her when he gets to her level.
     
  5. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    Oh right. That is a common one too. Especially in the more lewd xianxia stories. off the top of my head against the gods, grasping evil. both features a female "grandpa" cheat who joins the MC's harem... alongside multiple other cheats
     
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  6. anirocks

    anirocks always lurking

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    isnt most of it from isekai as well. what seperated it from isekai then apart from the metaknowledge i mean
    p.s.:- atleast you understood what i mean
     
  7. Malcolm Tent

    Malcolm Tent Monkey with a typewriter.

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    Meh, not most. I'd say maybe half or a little less are isekai. There's plenty of kids who stumble on a cheat and become amazing who are actually natives. It's even mentioned in a lot of xianxia as being kind of a trope "fortuitous encounters" It happens so often they recognize it in cultivation universes as a normal thing lol.
     
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  8. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    A lot of xianxia is isekai. A chinese everyman isekai's into a xianxia world. Typically with some golden finger type starter cheat that lets you skip the drudgery and horribleness of being at the bottom of the totem pole in a xianxia world.

    As for those who are not isekai. They are natives who just stumble across it. Sometimes literally stumble on it.

    a mortal's journey to immortality MC is walking down the road and literally stumbles across what turns out to be a bottle. which is a divine rank naturally occurring treasure that even gods would kill for that generates infinite cultivation resources.

    in another the eye of a dead god falls from heaven, lands in the MC's village, then homes in on him and implants itself in his face because his personality was closest to that of the dead god.

    in another a gem that nourishes the soul (aka infinite resources of the rarest of types, the soul boosting resources, aka improved talent) lands at MC's backyard

    great dao commander. a meteor crashes into the forest near the MC and he is first on the scene. finding the divine crystal shard in it. which provides cheat type 8 and 7.

    basically through some contrivance the MC just stumbles across an item that gods will fight over despite being a level 1 nobody.
     
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  9. Threadmarks: Chapter 4
    Malcolm Tent

    Malcolm Tent Monkey with a typewriter.

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    The Wish Curse Palace did not, oddly enough, move. It was ostensibly hidden, but asking around a bit near where we had seen the symbol tags the next day got us concise directions. It turned out that none of the Five Faction Alliance were quite willing to piss off the secretive force of fanatically loyal spies and assassins who lived hidden amongst their civilian population, go figure. Because they weren't willing to break into an outright war and they themselves benefited from the place, they didn't try to shut down the WCP branches.

    Since we didn't have to look around for the location we made good time the next morning on the bus down to the local branch. On the way we sat and discussed what the actual plan was once we got there. Benny was, of course, excited. "I can't believe we're going to the WCP." He whispered excitedly, somehow speaking louder than if he had said it in a normal tone of voice. I glanced around frantically but didn't see anyone staring, so I just glared at him. He smiled sheepishly and lowered his voice properly. "Sorry, but still, I've never been. I wonder what they have there?"

    Despite his borderline bad boy image of himself, my best friend was actually kind of a goody goody. I was the closest thing to a tough guy he spent time with and I was an introverted game nerd with limited social skills. He liked to think of our friendship as rebellion, but he was basically the equivalent of those kids in child care who look both ways to make sure no one is watching before saying a curse word and dissolving into fits of giggles. He never did anything too bad and this kind of thing was a major rush for him. Granted it kind of was for me to. I was just distracted by other issues.

    I kept my voice pitched low but didn't bother to actually whisper as I responded. "We're looking for the prices for a masking program or artifact or whatever the hell. I don't know. But we need to at least figure out a price for it." I grit my teeth before asking the next question, hating myself for bringing it up because I knew Benny was uncomfortable with his money. "Did you bring any credits?" He opened his mouth and I hurried to add. "I can grant you a wish for however much you have to spend, I wouldn't ask to borrow cash for nothing."

    He rolled his eyes. "Relax man, I'm not going to bitch in circumstances like this. I appreciate you taking my attitude about my money into account but shit like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I've never been to the WCP but I hear you need an invite to attend. I have a hundred thousand credits in my savings and we can use that. Though I won't say no to a wish id it'll get me another meal like that steak." He bit his lip. "Or should I ask for something else? Shit we should do it while we're on the way right? So you have the credits when we get there?"

    He looked around slowly, making sure no one was watching. His brow furrowed as he considered what to ask for. "I wish I was a master haggler. I'm willing to offer one hundred thousand credits." I winced as he decisively offered his entire savings, but I made a promise to myself to pay him back once I had the money. I should be able to earn it pretty quickly once I got this all figured out. I had a few ideas for making money, though I admit a not insignificant part of me wanted to bust out my new Doom Sovereign skills at next weeks tournament and clean up on bets.

    The purple flames wrote themselves across my vision. Wish detected. Grant wish? I mentally confirmed. Insufficient stat points for Skill- Master Haggling. Requirements: NA Master level skill beyond the capacity of Minor Wish ability. I blinked. Huh, that was new. I frowned but then my eyes lit up. "Right, Master must be too high level. My ability is Minor Wish but I have a Lesser Skill, wish for that." He tried again and I accepted. Insufficient stat points for Skill- Lesser Haggling. Requirements. 30 Focus, 10 Impact, 10 Perception.

    I cursed. "Shit. That one is too expensive. I guess I can go up a rank if I need to though, so that's good to know. But how is giving you a Lesser skill on the same level as giving you a fucking superpower? What level is Lesser?" I thought back to when I got my Doom Sovereign Mastery skill. Apparently my power could take most anything as payment as long as it was worth the value of what it gave, but just flat out creating things was harder. I did remember something though. "Ok, try wishing for a Minor Skill. That should be doable. Minor was weaker than Lesser so try wishing for that."

    Another wish and I accepted again. Stat points sufficient. Requirements: 3 Focus, 1 Impact, 1 Perception. I felt that same tingle in my skin, and I accepted. I saw tiny purple sparks play over the surface of my flesh and leap to Benny, whose eyes once again lit up purple, before subsequently rolling up in his head. I started to freak out slightly, but I felt my scan ring buzz and when I flicked up my display I saw a deposit of a hundred thousand credits. I exhaled slowly. Ok, if my power completed the wish then he was fine, I could feel that it wouldn't have worked if he couldn't handle it.

    Still, that had been terrifying. Also what the hell was with those requirements? The stats from Minor to Lesser differed by a full ten times. If that pattern held true what the hell would Master rank skills cost? Judging by the way my power phrased it Master wasn't just a single rank above Lesser. Probably not even two or three. What the hell were Skills? It couldn't just be knowledge. Not at that kind of price. What did they do? My introspection was interrupted however by a quiet groan from next to me.

    Benny was coming out of his...trance? Fugue? Who knew. Point was he was waking up. He rubbed his temples. "Wow. That sucked. A lot. Like, more than most things." He blinked his still faintly glowing eyes, the light fading from them as his brain integrated the new skill. He looked at me in awe. "Holy shit, Shane. I...I know so many things now. Shit I never knew before. I know how to read people's expressions and body language, how to tell when someone is willing to fold and when to take the deal, how to detect uncertainty in someone's voice... Damn man, this is wild. Like I'm not a genius at haggling, but it feels like I've been doing it for years and I'm pretty damn good."

    His voice was tinged with awe, and I made a promise to myself to test out my new Doom Sovereign skills tonight when I got home. I'd been too excited last night and gone right to sleep so I could wake up and come down here. Apparently you could have a skill for literally anything. I wondered what they were for? What did they do? I couldn't imagine what a skill past Lesser even did. I shook off the thoughts however as our bus pulled up outside the building we had been instructed to head to.

    I looked at Benny and we grinned weakly at each other and got up, heading off the bus to make our way into the massive building. The skyscraper in front of us was, much like the rest of the city, massive. Architecture had advanced considerably with the creation of certain hyper alloys and various advancements from Mad Scientists around the universe. Valen city, the city we lived in, was a thriving metropolis, and most of the buildings were absolutely towering monstrosities, packed incredibly close together and filling the sprawling land inside the natural ring of mountains the city used for it's various mining and resource gathering needs.

    This particular building was basically falling apart, completely run down, though obviously not an actual danger to the citizens or they would have torn it down. We nodded to each other and headed inside, expecting to find some sort of guard or indication of an entrance. The inside of the building was empty. Not empty as in the place didn't have any people in it. Empty as in there was no furniture or object of any kind. There was just a sprawling atrium with nothing in it except empty marble floor.

    Benny bumped me with an elbow, pointing to the opposite end of the room. "I think that's where we're headed." It wasn't a hard call. The only thing in this place was a set of brass double doors that obviously led to an elevator. The symbol of the Wish Curse Palace was engraved across the brass. I raised an eyebrow. "Subtle." Benny snickered and we set off across the atrium, each step seeming to take an eternity as we drew closer and closer to the doors, until finally we were standing right in front of the elevator.

    Next to the door was the usual panel. The panel had two buttons, despite this being the first floor, but the lower button had a card reader beneath it, the button showing only the WCP logo. I pressed it. Nothing happened. I reached into my pocket and took out the black metal card, sliding it into the reader and pressing the button again. The button lit up, and I pulled the card out, stowing it again as a loud ding made me about jump out of my skin. Benny snickered at me again and I rolled my eyes at my friend as we climbed into the elevator.

    Strangely the elevator had no buttons on the inside, as if pressing the WCP button had gotten us a special elevator just for this purpose, which admittedly was more than possible given the WCP's resources. I played with the card in my pocket. What the hell was it? Some kind of membership? Why did I get the feeling it was supposed to be a big deal? Benny bumped my shoulder with his. "Credit for your thoughts? You're spacing out man. Gotta keep your head on a swivel. Things are bound to get crazy."

    I gave him a small smile. "Sorry. Just...a lot going on. I'm good though. One hundred percent focused" The door closed and the elevator began to move. Not up into the building as expected but backwards, literally moving away from the doors for what felt like twenty or so feet before coming to a stop. I heard some slight shifting, though I barely felt a tremor, and then we began to descend. It felt like we'd been moved to a different elevator shaft before descending, which was...weird.

    I was guessing the main shaft didn't actually go to the WCP and they probably had the the thing protected up the wazoo. As we descended I braced myself for what I was going to see. This was my first real step into a new world, the first time I would be interacting with a powerful force that might be able to help me make some sense of what was going on. I felt a kind of energy run through me, not the electric tingle of my wish power, but a sense of excitement, of adventure. This had all been crazy but I couldn't deny I was enjoying myself.

    As the elevator slowed I exhaled deeply. We'd been traveling down for a while, and at a decent clip from what I could tell. We were obviously pretty deep underground. It didn't surprise me the Wish Curse Palace could manage something like this but still, it made me kind of excited for what we were going to see when we got down there. As we came to a stop I stepped forward, brimming with anticipation as the doors slowly opened. Regardless of whether I found what I was looking for down here, I knew nothing would ever be the same. This was going to be a whole new world.

    Becuase of Amazon's rules on published content the first volume of the story had to come down except the early bits I was allowed to leave as a teaser. The links for the amazon and audible will go up tuesday!
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2023
  10. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    How is he granting a 3 focus wish if his stats are
    did he level up?
    Actually didn't the steak have some 2s in there?
     
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  11. Malcolm Tent

    Malcolm Tent Monkey with a typewriter.

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    The Wish power lets him grant wishes based on what he could accomplish stat wise in three days. So essentially multiply his stats by three for the purpose of granting a wish.
     
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  12. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    Thanks for clarifying.
    I wonder how he would go about raising his stats. maybe claim stats as payment?
     
  13. Malcolm Tent

    Malcolm Tent Monkey with a typewriter.

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    There's a few ways, that is one of them lol, he just figured that out in the advance chapters.
     
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  14. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    Hmmm. I am wondering if he can keep on upgrading his buddy with skills, in exchange for his buddy finding him clients and negotiating for him with his negotiation skill.

    Also. maybe it is possible to make a deal where he first gives someone a skill (created from nothing) and then that person gives that skill to the MC in return to something else.

    like
    "ok so our contract is for 2 consecutive wishes.
    first wish is that I will grant you negotiation skill for money.
    second part is that I will restore your youth in exchange for that aforementioned negotiation skill"
     
  15. Malcolm Tent

    Malcolm Tent Monkey with a typewriter.

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    Gaming the system is kind of tough because of the way his power judges relative value. It has to be a fair transaction, which means both parties have to agree on the price honestly. Specifically his own sense of the value of the compensation has to be that it's a fair trade. Of course there are also power requirements there but that's more flexible. The reason that's an issue though is that if he's planning to just get the skill back later whatever he's getting as compensation is essentially being exchanged for nothing, which is not a fair exchange and his power won't allow it.
     
  16. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    I meant fair price in both cases.
    like:
    step 1: you give me 100,000 credits. I give you minor haggle
    step 2: you give me minor haggle. I give you +10 IQ points.

    End result:
    MC:
    +gain 100,000 credits
    +gain minor haggle
    -spent 2 wishes

    other person:
    +gained 10 IQ
    -spent 100,000 credits
    gianed & lost minor haggnle

    It is very much trying to game his power. But it isn't trying to screw over the other person, just squeezing more out of the power.
    which could very well not work due to the power not allowing it. Just clarifying that he is not trying to get something for nothing here...

    hmmm.. although, thinking about it. it actually means that at the ends he ends up with twice the gains for the same cost.

    If we switch the above for math values. it is
    X = Y = Z
    create 10X, get paid 10Y
    create 10Z, take 10X

    MC:
    +10Y
    +10Z
    -2 wishes
    total gains/losses = +20X, -2 wishes.

    It is a single transaction that doubles the numbers of daily wishes spent, but also doubles the gains.
    without gaming the system he would have had +10X -1 wish per transaction. And would have had to do an additional transaction that day. He would have still ended up spending the same 3 wishes for 30X worth of gains.

    customer:
    -10Y
    +10Z
    total gains/losses = 0. fair trade

    so he isn't gaining more than he would have if he had made two transactions. but he does squeeze more wishes out of the same person. And makes sure he gets exactly what he wants as payment, by first creating it.
    which is cheating the power. So it is perfectly ok if you say it doesn't work. I am just theorizing here.
     
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  17. Malcolm Tent

    Malcolm Tent Monkey with a typewriter.

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    Wouldn't work, mostly because the plus ten IQ points would be points to the Focus stat and even one point in Focus is worth more than literally everything Benny owns. I get your point but mentally when he was in the process of granting the wish the initial haggle skill would still be considered a means to an end, as a half step it would have no inherent value. The rules that govern his power are incredibly strict and hard to get around, mostly because it's already incredibly OP because of the whole three days thing (you'll get why thats such a big deal later). For the moment he barely uses one of his three wishes so his main focus is on finding more people to grant wishes to rather than maximizing usage of the ones he has.
     
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  18. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    do you mean stalls?
    huh... so skills are not specific to the MC's system
    which is it. Spatial or Spacial? I am guessing the former
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2022
  19. Malcolm Tent

    Malcolm Tent Monkey with a typewriter.

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    I did not mean stalls actually lol. I mean shells like the empty husks of buildings. And not exactly, but they're uncommon.
     
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  20. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    physicall -> physically
    withing -> within
    remove the 0 at the end
     
  21. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    I am now imagining him dropping dead because he only had 1 vitality. oops
     
  22. Malcolm Tent

    Malcolm Tent Monkey with a typewriter.

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    Nah, you can have below one in a stat, that's what normal people have in everything.
     
  23. anirocks

    anirocks always lurking

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    Man I don't think it's a smart move. If the word gets out the baddies can kidnap him. As such I suggest you to take on with the internet as soon as possible
     
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  24. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    is this some common cultivation knowledge?
     
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  25. Malcolm Tent

    Malcolm Tent Monkey with a typewriter.

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    I mean, you gain points by doing great deeds, even if you lost them earlier that wouldn't change. He'd just have to do something that made people take note of his Vitality. When he said gain it back he didn't mean it would regenerate or anything, he meant he'd have to earn the point again.
     
  26. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    I thought only the MC got points that way. Hadn't realized that this was universal to all cultivators. Nor that MC IC realized that.
     
  27. Malcolm Tent

    Malcolm Tent Monkey with a typewriter.

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    Nah, getting points as payment is unique to him. Great deeds are how all Ascendants improve. Zeke mentioned it in his talk with Shane at the WCP too.
     
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  28. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    Thanks, I misunderstood what zeke said, I thought he was saying this is how only wishmasters cultivate. And that he was noting this as a difference from normal cultivators.

    So cultivators basically run on PR? you get PR, you get points? interesting and quite unusual method of cultivation.
    Does meditating to absorb energy do anything?
     
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  29. Malcolm Tent

    Malcolm Tent Monkey with a typewriter.

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    Nope.
    There are materials that sort of cultivate on their own and you can make them into pills or potions that can give stats, but thats about it.
     
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  30. mrttao

    mrttao Gone for Good

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    Ah, drugs.
    Can't have a cultivation story without drugs
     
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