Velvet Worm Chapter 2: The Daily Grind (Patreon)

Chapter 2: The Daily Grind

‘I lost a decade and a half of my life when I ended up here,’ I thought to myself bitterly as I stared at the crumbling brick and concrete prison I was about to be entombed within for the next few hours.

For some God Forsaken reason, that long-nosed bastard had made it so I had to go to the worst school in the city… no, the whole state because, and I quote, ‘The Wildcard always saves the world with teenagers and the Power of Friendship.’

Daydreaming about picking Igor up by the nose and swinging him around until he was sick, I stepped into a place that should have been condemned and razed to the ground years ago.

Winslow. A place that even outside of the Inverted City oozed with malevolence. I’d taken a peek at it on the other side, once. It was a Level 25 Mind Palace, and one I’d not dare try to enter for a while. After all, a Level 25 Mind Palace meant the highest leveled Shadows within would be Level 25 or so. And that wasn’t something I was going to risk until I was stronger.

As for who’s Mind Palace it was? Well, it was Sophia Hess’s. Shadow Stalker’s. Dubbed the Predator’s Palace, the parahuman saw it as her territory, her hunting ground, and if that didn’t tell you about her mental state, nothing would.

A yawn ripped its way out of me, and I winced, frowning to myself as I trudged into the classroom far too early. Who thinks seven thirty in the morning is a reasonable time to start school? Not me!

I’d stayed up way too late last night making sure the Farm I’d learned about from Chun Gee had been taken care of. The police had eventually shown up after getting tipped off by a suddenly guilt-wracked ABB member, but by the time they arrived every single gangster there was unconscious via repeated application of bat-to-the-head and I’d healed the women as best as a few rounds of Dia could.

Late to the party, as usual. A disappointing, but unfortunately common, occurrence within Brockton Bay.

‘Problem is, that Farm was just one of them,’ I thought bitterly as I took my seat in Mr. Gladly’s class.

This was only the first one I’d been able to take down since arriving. It had taken way too long to scour the brains of the ABB gangsters in the Inverted City to find the identity of even a single one of the Farm’s managers, and I’d gotten lucky with Chun Gee as the guy who knew he was the boss of the place was also a high-ranked lieutenant.

‘I have to hope that Chun Gee knew the identities of the other Farm managers,’ I thought.

I’d need to go through the rest of the Memorials I’d stolen from his Mind Palace to make sure, but if I was lucky, I’d learn what I needed to make a move on the rest of the sex trafficking rings under Lung’s control.

‘Though I should maybe slow down a bit on the ABB,’ I mused. ‘With a Farm gone, he’s gonna be pissed. I should see about dealing with the Empire, next. Haven’t messed with them, recently.’

Any further thoughts of what to do after school was put on hold as a tall, dark-haired girl stepped inside the room, hunched in on herself and wearing dark, baggy clothes to try and blend into the background.

It didn’t work, because she was, unfortunately, too much of a target for some of the meanest bitches I have ever had the misfortune of knowing.

Taylor Hebert entered the class and sat down in her spot ahead of me and to the right. And, of course, the snide comments began from the pair of girls seated behind me.

“Ugh, what’s that smell?” a red-headed bitch asked aloud.

“Dunno, Emma, but I think it’s coming from that trash bag up there…”

“Oh, Madison! That’s not a trash bag, that’s Taylor!”

“Oops! Sorry, they both look and smell the same!”

‘Good lord, is that the best you can do?’ I wondered. ‘What juvenile insults. Seriously, she smells bad? That’s it? That’s the best they came up with?’

Of course, a moment later, those two members of the Terrible Trio brought out air spray and began to spray it all over Taylor, causing her to choke and splutter.

That was a lot worse than just name calling, and I coughed as well as a fan in the ceiling was blowing some of it back directly into my face.

“OI!” I shouted, coughing a bit more. “Quit spraying that shit everywhere or I start slapping bitches!”

Almost as if they hadn’t expected for me – or anybody – to suddenly demand they stop, there was a moment of dead silence in the entire class, and Emma and Madison turned to glare at me.

“Oh? Is somebody trying to stick up for the smelly freak?” Emma demanded.

“They are when you are using that nasty air spray everywhere,” I shot back. “Some of us like breathing air, thank you very much!”

“Do you know who I am?” Madison snapped.

“A skank-ass ho with daddy issues?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. “Because I’ve only been here for two months and that’s all I’ve seen.”

She spluttered, and Emma’s face turned red. I also saw a shocked look on Taylor’s face, followed by a smirk which she quickly buried. Before anything else could happen though, Mr. Gladly finally entered the classroom.

“Alright, class, let’s get started for today!” he said aloud, smiling widely. “Miss Barnes, Miss Clement, please sit down so we can begin!”

The two Mean Girls glared at me one last time before strutting back to their seats. I let out a tiny breath, very annoyed and the day had only just begun.

‘They are going to try and get back at me now,’ I thought. I knew how bullies worked.

Did I regret snapping at them? Maybe a little. But in my defense, four hours of sleep was not nearly enough for proper, logical thoughts and reactions.

‘Question now is if I am going to just let them get their kicks in for a day or two before they get bored, or if I start fighting back?’ I wondered idly to myself.

I wasn’t really a fan of either option, but unfortunately, I was limited. Couldn’t just start throwing Zios and Pulinpas around in the real world in my civilian guise.

That was all future me’s problems, though. For now, I had World Issues, and I was more than capable of dodging Mean Girls in between class.

111 &&& 111

‘Oh thank God and Igor this is finally over!’ I thought to myself with a sigh of relief as the final class was let out for the day.

Winslow was so shit they didn’t even have bells to signal the end of lessons. Hell, I don’t think they had working fire alarms!

I got up, threw my backpack over my shoulder – I didn’t use the lockers because they were crap and I could carry everything I needed in my backpack – so I just ran right out of the building.

Getting back home necessitated riding a school bus, and when I got back to my stop, which was near one of the neighborhoods near the Docks, I had to walk five minutes to get to my house.

When I’d been thrust into this world, Igor had been kind enough to set a few things up for me. Namely, a house, an identity, and a way to avoiding having anybody pay close attention to the fact I lived alone with no adults in sight.

The house was a single-storied bungalow that had seen better days, and the dilapidated state was as much a shield to being robbed as the thick lock on the door. The yard could use work, but since it was fall all the grass was dead so I didn’t really care. It also had a basement.

‘Igor is a jerk for putting me in this situation, but at least I have a place to sleep and don’t need to worry about bills,’ I thought.

Electricity, internet, water, and heating were all being taken care of by the master of the Velvet Room. Food was still an issue, but I made money hunting Shadows and completing quests, so that, at least, wasn’t too much of a problem.

Once safely inside, I took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, releasing the pent of stress of school. But I wasn’t staying inside for long. I took out my phone, and accessed the Persona App.

With a press of a button the walls of my house seemed to melt before reforming into black and white checkerboard wallpaper, and the cheap linoleum was morphed into black and white marble tiles.

Entering the Inverted City was always weird. It felt like the shadows coiled around me, and there was always an oily feeling lingering on my skin for a bit afterwards. Even within my own Mind Palace, it felt like this, though lessened thanks to the mental defenses I possessed.

And indeed, I did have my own Mind Palace. I could enter the Inverted City from anywhere in the real world if I chose, but going home and appearing in my Mind Palace protected me from roaming Shadows. It was like a Hub World in a video game, letting me take stock of my various items and Shadow companions. And, in time, keep track of my Social Links.

‘I just know I’m going to have to play a Tower Defense game with my Mind Palace at some point,’ I thought to myself as I dropped my backpack down and walked through the halls.

I’m not sure what it said about me that the form my Mind Palace took was a silver tower that sort of looked like a Rook piece from chess. Or that the interior was full of checkerboard patterned floor tiles and wallpaper with several rooms full of nothing but old-school arcade game cabinets.

Was it a reflection of my mind seeing this whole situation as a game due to the Persona games I’d played, and this system I had resembled?

‘At least it’s not as bad as Mitsuo Kubo’s Void Quest realm,’ I mused with a hint of relief. That had been a weird place. Not sure I could handle a pixelated home.

Another change was that I’d gotten a new outfit. My jeans and hoodie were gone, replaced with white full plate armor with cobalt blue highlights. I looked like a knight, or maybe a paladin, and I had to admit, it was actually pretty neat. I could even transform into my costume in the real world! Very helpful when it came to acting out vigilante justice.

After a bit, I reached the foyer of my Mind Palace, and found one of the other inhabitants of this place waiting for me.

“Welcome home, master,” a Shadow said as she floated over to me, her maid outfit billowing a little in a wind only she could feel.

“Hey, Silky,” I said, greeting her.

[Silky (Lvl. 5) – HP 100%

Priestess Arcana

Strength 3

Magic 7

Endurance 3

Agility 5

Luck 5

Weak: Fire, Electricity

Resist: Ice, Wind

Skill: Bufu, Garu, Dormina

Traits: Intense Focus (Boost Single Target Damage by 20%)

Housekeeper (Random chance to provide items)]

She was one of my Shadows that I kept out and let freely roam my Mind Palace. Aside from Pixie, I only let one other do this.

In truth, I had a dozen other Shadows, but they were nothing more than materials for Tarot Fusions, and I kept them locked away in my Dungeon. Yes, I had a Dungeon. It wasn’t a sex thing, get your mind out of the gutter!

Now, you might be wondering why these Shadows were so human-like when most others tended to be… feral. Well, that was because they’d spent a lot of time with me. The more they spent around a Wildcard or a powerful Persona, they’d develop their own personalities.

Since they’d been so weak to start with, Silky and Pixie’s minds had grown quickly with each Level Up, and staying in my Mind Palace helped.

“Are you going out?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m planning to do a bit of grinding with Slime,” I told the Shadow.

“Of course, master,” Silky said, bowing.

She was a model maid: kind, good at cleaning and cooking, but with a hint of mischievousness. Being a spirit of Maidenhood, she typically appeared in the Mind Palaces of young women, but I’d found her wandering the streets of the Inverted City, like Pixie.

I’d gotten her help by promising to deal with the ABB and their Farms, and Silky had been an excellent ally ever since. She also kept my Mind Palace tidy, which was nice.

And sometimes, she also provided me cooked meals. No idea where she got the ingredients to make anything, but they acted like potent healing items and provided temporary buffs, so she’d been the best damn investment I’d ever made.

“Keep up the good work while I’m gone, Silky,” I said. “And try to keep Pixie out of trouble.”

“I will do my best,” Silky said dryly, knowing as well I as did that Pixie would do as Pixie does. And that was act like a brat.

“Oh, and please do my homework as well!” I added as an afterthought.

“You really should be doing this yourself, master,” Silky said with a hint of disproval.

“I have much better things to do than complete some pointless math worksheets,” I told her dryly. “Plus, I already did my time. I am not doing this all again!”

She rolled her eyes at my antics, but I was dead serious. I was trying to save the world, I did not have time for homework!

Having given my Shadow her instructions, I opened the door and stepped out of my Mind Palace. When I did, a shiver ran up my spine as the billowing mists of the Inverted City washed over me.

It was as dark and gloomy as always, and the streets filled with rows upon rows of Mind Palaces.

Most were pretty plain. Some looked like whatever building the owner of said Palace lived in, others resembled their place of work, or perhaps a location that made them feel safe. There were regular townhouses next door to churches, and storefronts beside apartment buildings. A real hodgepodge of architecture that all blended together in the gloom.

There were some buildings that were completely different. They looked like castles, mansions, or had eclectic assortments of other structures fused to them. Buildings that were twisted by the inner thoughts of the people who dwelt within them and reflected their hopes and dreams.

And here and there, scattered across the Inverted City, were buildings that had crystalline parts jutting out. These were the minds of the people who had a Corona Pollentia, the tumor-like structure that meant a person was capable of Triggering into a parahuman.

Those who had triggered and developed a Gemma, the active presence of a Shard, were a bit rarer, but just as visible. The jagged crystals became smoother and fused more deeply with the Mind Palace.

I had a theory that I could remove parahuman powers by fighting the Shard inside of the Mind Palace. Expelling it or stealing it as if it were a Treasure. Which should be possible, as the Inverted City was a realm of metaphor and endless possibilities.

However, I had yet to enter one. Corona Mind Palaces tended to be between Level 10 and Level 20. Even without an active power, the Shards still had a way to connect to their hosts, and protected them. Active Shards and Gemma Mind Palaces tended to be Level 20 at a minimum, and the stronger the power the more dangerous they were.

The amount of power a Level provided got exponentially greater the higher the Level. A Level 40 individual was many times more powerful than somebody who was Level 20 or 30. Scion, as the source of all powers, was Level 100.

I took a deep breath to calm down. Two years. I had at least that long to prepare. No use worrying about it just yet. All I had to do was get stronger, and develop Social Links with other people so I could

‘Of course, that means I have to actually be an extrovert and make friends,’ I thought with a grimace. That wasn’t going to be easy. Especially not with Winslow being… Winslow.

Deciding to put that off for another day, I instead got my phone and pulled up a contact, calling the number on the screen. As it rang, I heard the sound of an engine revving in the distance, and looked down the street as a blue and silver limousine with an oversized muscle car engine and a racing spoiler pulled up in front of me. The ringing from my phone stopped as a door swung open, and I slipped inside.

Within, I was greeted to the sight of blue everything. Blue upholstery, blue carpet, blue tinted windows, and blue tinted lights. This was the Velvet Room, or at least the Inverted City’s version of it.

Very similar to the Velvet Room of Persona 4, it looked just like the interior of a fancy car, though it had a few oddities within.

First off, the presence of Igor was missing. I had only met him once, and he’d warned me he would not be able to appear often. Likely due to Scion’s presence in this world.

That left me with his three minions, though: The Handler, a dark-skinned woman in her twenties wearing a black and blue Victorian ballgown, who had a silver hairpin keeping her fire red hair back in a bun.

She was responsible for, well, handling me. In Igor’s place, she performed the various Persona related updates and modifications, and was in charge of keeping me alive and my brain unmolested.

Thanks to the Handler, I did not have to worry about the Simurgh or any Masters and Thinkers meddling with me. Though because of this, the Handler always looked very tired.

The Messenger was the second member of the Velvet Room troupe. Appearing as a very young Asian girl in a blue and white school uniform, she was essentially a shopkeeper. Somehow, she had access to items from across the multiverse, and I could sell Memorials and Treasures to her.

And lastly, the Driver, who drove the Velvet Room around the Inverted City. He was an older white man in his late forties or so with a scruffy appearance and a black suit and chauffer’s cap. He’d never spoken to me once, just grunted whenever I asked a question. He did serve a purpose though. I could pay him and he’d drive me anywhere in the Inverted City.

Basically a Fast Travel service, which was very much needed considering this realm was essentially an endless city and distance was often just a suggestion than anything else.

“Welcome back, Wildcard,” Handler said politely, giving me a bob of her head.

“Heyo, kiddo!” Messenger said, grinning at me without a care in the world.

“Hey there, guys,” I said, feeling myself relax a little as I looked at my assistants in this terrible world.

“Got any neat stuff for me?” Messenger asked, leaning in, and I nodded.

“A Treasure, and some Memorials,” I said, pulling them out of my phone’s Inventory and dumping them on the table between us. “Can you see if any of the Memorials can tell me who the other ABB Farm managers are?”

“Sure, I can take a look. What do you wanna do with the others?” she asked as she scooped them up with a greedy giggle.

“Sell the silver and bronze,” I replied. “What do you think you can turn the Treasure into?”

“Hmm… it’s not exactly all that impressive,” she said, examining the golden Shrike that was Chun Gee’s inner self. “I could maybe turn it into a couple hundred XP for a Shadow, or maybe create a minor Skill.”

“About what I expected, I huffed. “Alright, XP, please. I want to bump Nos up to Level 10 at last.”

“Gotcha!” Messenger said, snapping her fingers.

Beside me, Nostradamus appeared, and he began to glow as the Shrike broke apart into golden sparkles that he absorbed. My phone made a little beep as it alerted me to the Level Up, and I whipped it out to see what had changed.

[Nostradamus (Lvl. 10) (NEW!)

Star Arcana

Strength 4 - - > 5

Magic 13 - - > 14

Endurance 4 - - > 5

Agility 8 - - > 9

Luck 11 - - > 12

Skills: Zio, Pulinpa, Dia, Psi (NEW!)

Traits: Soothsayer (Boost the chance of inflicting a Status Effect by 25%)

Apothecary (Boost the effect of Healing Items by 25%) (NEW!)]

“Well alright, then!” I said, impressed, before turning to my Persona. “Well done, Nos! Every stat went up, and a new Skill and Trait as well? You’ve been eating your Wheaties!”

Nos shrugged, and I chuckled. The new Skill and Trait were quite good. Psi did bonus damage to targets suffering from a negative Status Effect. It was very useful, since Nostradamus could inflict Shock and Confusion, which Psi would help with.

As for the new Trait, Apothecary would make Silky’s food buffs last longer and healing items cure even more health! That was very important.

“Well, that went well. Thanks, Messenger.”

“No problem-o!” she replied. “Now, I did find some information on another manager. It’s a guy named Alex Shinosuke. Not much else. But! Chun Gee does know the name of a guy who would conduct deliveries for the ABB’s prostitution ring. This person, Ho Luong, knows the locations of all of the Farms and brothels, as his job was to bring the victims from the Farms to the places they’d be… used.”

“Two names to work off of…” I muttered. “Alright. Okay. I can work with that. And it sounds like this Ho Luong might be the person I want to go after if his head if full of all this information.”

“So, what do you wanna do to the Memorials?” she asked.

“How much can I get for them?” I inquired.

“All together? Four hundred and sixteen dollars.”

“Ugh, not a lot,” I sighed, and Messenger just shrugged.

“Low-quality humans have low-quality Mind Palaces to loot, which means low-quality rewards,” she stated.

“Fine, give me the money,” I requested, and a moment later my phone dinged from the deposit in my account.

“Thanks,” I said, before tapping on the window between me and Driver. “Hey, can you take me to the Mind Palace of a low-ranked Empire goon? I want to grind with Slime.”

A grunt was my only response, but I could hear the engine turn on and a moment later the car took off at ridiculous speeds, my back pressing into the blue leather upholstery. The ride ended a minute later, jerked to a stop, and the door was flung open, allowing me and Nostradamus to scoot out.

“See ya later, guys!” I said, waving at the trio.

“Try to make new friends soon, Wildcard,” Handler urged, giving me a tired, pleading look, but Messenger just waved cutely before the door slammed shut and the car zoomed away, leaving me and Nostradamus alone.

“Okay, let’s see what is in store for us today,” I muttered, looking at my surroundings.

This part of the Inverted City was covered in riveted, rusting steel and all sorts of Nazi iconography. The minds of the Empire 88 thugs were bleeding into this reality and shaping the district into a reflection of the twisted ideologies.

The gangs all had their own clusters in the Inverted City, creating their own distinct neighborhoods. Empire, ABB, Merchants… all had influenced the real world so much, it now carried over into the immaterial.

On the outskirts of the 88th District, as it was known, I could see a number of low level Mind Palaces. These were the realms of those who were both skeptical of the gang’s rhetoric, but too weak-minded to leave.

‘Let’s see… a couple Level 5 Mind Palaces ought to be a good way to grind till evening,’ I mused, before summoning my phone to my hand. A quick press of a button latter, and I sent out a call for the Shadows I wished to train.

A wobbly, teal-colored blob of goo the size of a Great Dane appeared from a blue flash of light at my side, and immediately began to scoot towards me, burbling excitedly.

“Hey, buddy,” I said, leaning down to pat the Shadow on a head.

[Slime (Lvl. 5) – HP 100%

Chariot Arcana

Strength 6

Magic 2

Endurance 5

Agility 2

Luck 4

Weak: Fire, Wind

Resist: Physical

Skill: Tarunda, Evil Touch, Self-Destruct

Traits: Shiny Attraction (Boost Money and Item Drop Rate)]

Slime was a cutie, and about as intelligent as a dog. He likely wasn’t going to get much smarter, either. Not entirely unusual, as they were the bottom of the barrel in terms of Shadows.

They were the bottom feeders, the cleaners who ‘ate’ excess emotions that might pollute the Inverted City. They were embodiments of Greed and Gluttony, but very minor ones, and treated as pests by most other Shadows.

Slime was, at the moment, the physically strongest and most durable of my Shadows. Nostradamus, Silky, and Pixie were all Magic based combatants, but not Slime. I wanted to raise his level in order to help act as a tank in the future.

He also had a rare Trait, which was why I’d kept him as an active Shadow in the first place. Getting my hands on more money and items was absolutely useful, since money makes the world go round, and items could change the way a battle goes.

“Alright, let’s grind, buddy!” I declared, pointing to a random Mind Palace that looked like a bar. Slime hopped up and down, eager to fight and loot the brain and soul of a Neo-Nazi!