Hell's Glitch (initial draft)

Milner's Transcribed Recording #1

Fulton Milner

Alpha Project Day 003

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Top Ten Testers include:

1. IMMORtAL_Kalika

2. Justinian89Thrills

3. Sarem the Sanguine

4. Zetzwei2

5. Freddy Meyers

6. SwordWrenchMan

7. Kurodou Flow

8. Graveyard Ashe

9. Warwingz

10. BazookaMcNeal

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The total percentage of testers dead is now 81%

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The overall tester progression is currently 23%

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There have been some major new developments in my project, developments that I must unfortunately admit weren't foreseen by me. That is the presence of demon lords from Solomon's infamous Lesser Key inside the game worlds of my alpha testers and by proxy, their very dreams.

I must admit that this invasion of my game is unprecedented. Unknowingly, I have given these creatures unparalleled access into every system connected to the game and with it, every tester currently inside the system. This alters my plans, but in a way that I can tolerate. If unchecked these glitch fiends, as we've come to call them, may prove to be a hassle, but with the right limitations, I can use them and keep their influence on the system in check. Even with this added freedom, these demons are no threat to me in their current incarnation. They're just prisoners, same as always. They may have partially escaped the prison Yukio Higashi constructed for them on his private server, but I can put them back there anytime and continue to use them for my own ends.

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Lock and Key Files.

So far only three of the demons have been reported to have escaped. Those are Botis, Malthus, and Ronove. Each have been recaptured.

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Botis: According to Thomas Jackson, Sam Nagai was responsible for single handedly beating back a spirit that infected an enemy creature in my game called a Golemite. Thomas had discovered segments of the Lock and Key programs while snooping through several sections of project code that he had no permission to access through clever use of backdoor programs he'd installed. Thomas informed me that Sam Nagai was able to defeat this demon with no assistance from an administrator. This leads me to believe that Sam had fought one of the weaker demons.

After checking the Lock and Key files, I've confirmed that it was Botis that Sam fought, indeed the weakest of the 72 Goetic demons. I wasn't able to recapture Botis, but judging from its lack of competence, I won't have much trouble capturing it in the future. Even if I don't, chances are that it'll play perfectly into my current plans, doing exactly what I wanted it to do in the first place.

Abilities: Unknown

Malthus: I was able to witness Malthus' invasion into the system in real time. He was detected early by Thomas, who I suspect is beginning to understand how the Lock and Key program works. By simply viewing the code, Thomas was able to pick up when and where the occult code infected Sam's system. Malthus took over the body of Malen, warping it into something resembling its own grotesque avian form. Malthus effectively took over control of several systems in the game including several graphics programs, texture and physics programs, as well as use code to unlock several of Malen's locked abilities, those that weren't intended for the game. Malthus would have proven too much for Sam even with the assistance Thomas was providing had I not stepped in.

I was forced to create a program that would allow Sam Nagai nearly unrestricted access to the stats, physics, and properties of his player character while allowing his guide, in this case Thomas, to assist him by altering game code and other programs in his favor while he's fighting against these glitch fiends. Piggybacking off of Thomas' idea, I was able to restrict the amount of resources that the fiends can pull from. The two fiends I've encountered have proven to be so clever and dangerous that even under restriction they still posed a great threat to Sam, his system, and the system at large. As long as I remain vigilant, these risks can be minimized to a great degree.

It's odd, but Sam Nagai is proving to be quite the beacon for these dark spirits. His defeat at Malthus' hands would have continued business as usual, but ... there is much more potential in this situation if he were allowed to continue on. There are after all, much more powerful demons than Malthus out there. Perhaps they will also find themselves attracted to Mr. Nagai. Of course, he could still fail—at which point everything would most likely proceed as initially planned.

What is it about him that is attracting these unique spirits? Is it his fragile psyche? His will to live? His moral ambivalence? Or the tangential darkness seeping from his soul? Perhaps it's none of those things. At any rate, I'm not prepared to offer him any assistance in the normal sections of the game. He must survive that on his own, otherwise the entire test is for nothing. This alpha must produce the best of the best.

Malthus attempted conversation, but was only able to splice together random voice clips into unintelligible gibberish. I will run his voice clips through a scrambler to see if I can get anything out of it, but I suspect it'll be nothing but rage induced threats or boasts or nothing at all.

Abilities: Code Infection, Terrain Warping, Texture Control, Object Creation, Value Manipulation, Script Creation

Ronove: Or Ronny as he identified himself, has proven to be superbly clever and more dangerous than I imagined despite himself. His first mistake was giving such a prominent hint to his real name. As those versed in demonology already know, to know a demon's name is to have power over it. Perhaps he was counting on Mr. Nagai being completely ignorant of the subject.

He proposed a deal with Mr. Nagai which was thankfully rejected. The thing is, even if they did go through with the deal, it wouldn't have changed anything. My plan is set and though the alteration I've planned is reliant on Sam's survival, I'm not putting a ton of stock into it. It'll simply be an added bonus if it does happen.

Ronove could manipulate several systems including several voice and language programs. It manipulated them in such a way that it could create all new dialogue in a voice that was uniquely its own. And he knew Sam intimately as if he'd spent some time inside his head, a seeming impossibility with all the safeguards put in place to protect the testers. Did the fiend unleash some manner of supernatural power to attain this information? My hypothesis is that he simply searched through system data to find what it needed to manipulate Mr. Nagai. Ronove's ramblings to Sam have unfortunately unveiled the truth of quintessence to him and my employees Alex Madura and Thomas Jackson. Though such foreign information is sure to be completely beyond their understanding.

Abilities: Code Infection, Character (Object) Size Manipulation, NPC Character Control, Texture Control, Object Creation, Object Control, Value Manipulation, Script Creation, Control and Manipulation of Audio Files, Audio Creation, Control of Language Software, Possible Supernatural Mind Reading Ability or Ability to Dive into a Player's Mind via Miyabi FD.

After taking a measured look at all the datawe've collected on Sam and his encounters with the fiends, I see that there isa great risk he'll make a deal if he encounters another one while underduress. For now, I'll have to chance itto see exactly how this situation plays out. The chance to bring out the higher-level demon lords is simply tooadvantageous to pass up. In a war, is itnot better to take a general than a foot soldier?