Buttopia
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Bonus Excerpt Only Chapter
🕑 Added 2024-12-14 00:45:12 +0000 UTC2 new unique Excerpts and the existing ones added to previous chapters
New Excerpts
How does the system align the universes when it begins to grow into a new one? What happens to the space the universe used to occupy? Are we just creating a breeding ground in chaotic space for the horrors that terrorize every child’s nightmares? These are the questions someone must ask themselves before considering on the path of a chaos explorer. This career option is one of the most dangerous things someone can choose, but the potential rewards can be worth it for those few willing to take up the task. From trades in lucrative goods to discoveries of rogue planets, any explorer capable of survival is soon a very rich person. Every faction employs their own guild, but it’s important to note that every guild is constantly hiring.
System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp
One of the choices that has to be made when a faction gains control of a new planet is just how to best utilize that planet. Most opt for a client-world situation, where they get the better end of the deal. Some go for full colonization, while others brutal slavery. The least chosen option these days is true integration. It used to be very common for the melding of worlds together, sometimes even entire universes. This was to strengthen the mana flows of the faction and makes for less territory to defend. The problem is the time required to do so often leads factions to consider a more immediately profitable solution.
Factions, Dynasties, Royalty, and the Holdings by Trig Plunderscan
Existing Excerpts
Chapter 1
Orcs are one of the more common peoples of the Spiral, hailing from many universes. They are by far the most represented of the Spiral’s many differing inhabitants within the Arena, with no less than a hundred smaller factions competing at any given time. Despite their greater numbers, their overall performance is rarely above average.
An excerpt from The Varied Peoples of the Spiral by Krrtck
Chapter 2
The Spiral, named after the pattern they make, are the universes that are connected to the System and aligned as though spiraling around a column that both ascends and descends forever into the infinite expanse of space between worlds. This space is not empty, though, as it is where the infrastructure, personnel, and, most of all, the bureaucracy that is needed to administer something so large are housed in an ever-expanding tower.
An excerpt from A Visitor's Guide to the Spiral Tower by Greg.
Chapter 3
The spire occupies the outermost rings of the Spiral Tower and is where the vast majority of visitors enter the tower. It handles everything from licensing, inspections, and Arena registration. Some of the lines have been known to take years to reach the front of, so it is strongly recommended to hire a proxy if possible.
An excerpt from A Visitor's Guide to the Spiral Tower by Greg.
Chapter 4
The Master Spiral Control System has existed at least as long as the Sprial has; the records from first worlds are sparse, but they do make reference to a System, and we have to assume it’s the same one, as we’ve never found records suggesting a second one. Now, the question of what came first, the Spiral or the System, is something historians have been long investigating, and due to just how little evidence exists from the first worlds makes it seem as though we will never know the answer, and as the time synchronicity bubble continues to hold I don’t expect that to ever change.
Paulio’s Twenty Rules For a Better Tomorrow
Chapter 5
Twinoges are one of the new races incorporated into the Spiral in the last System expansion. Due to their dual soul nature, they are able to host two cores within a single body, something extraordinarily rare amongst the ever-growing diversity of the Spiral. With their planet currently in the possession of the Wrenderling Dwarves, it is unlikely that we will find out just how far this potential can go any time soon, but if Orgo Lemoire is any indication, we can expect at least one champion Arena climber from them one day.
Peoples of the Expansion of Spiral: Year 2.981.34-PT
Chapter 6
The inherent problem with core creation is that no one agrees on how it actually works. While I could easily just claim my own research as the be-all and end-all of the topic, I am not nearly egotistical enough to make that claim. I am, though, willing to denounce my fellow scholars in the field as a collection of short-sighted fools who have no real desire to unlock the mysteries of the Spiral. The problem that I think we have all missed is that core creation just isn’t a universal concept, and the rules that govern it are more of guidelines at best.
An excerpt from Karlinovo’s Guide to Core Creation.
Chapter 7
With careful application of how they channel the mana through their orbs, certain secondary effects can be observed. For example, I witnessed a spacial gnome who was capable of channeling mana through his necromantic orb into his life orb that allowed him to heal himself while draining the life of others, drastically cutting the mana required for healing.
Doplingint’s Manual on Synergistic Effects.
Chapter 8
The addition of a new universe to the Spiral during the times between expansion cycles isn’t as common, but it does happen. Every decade, a few such universes that are easily detectable and breachable through chaotic space are offered up as prizes. These universes generally have very little value but are useful to motivate some of the Arena factions when the prize pools dwindle.
JRit’s History of Spiral Growth
Chapter 9
Anyone can make a core, they don’t really need the System for that. The problem is that very few people, prior to their incorporation into the System, understand just what their soul is, let alone how to push it further. It’s telling that even though this is certainly possible, there is no record of it ever being done prior. Which begs the question, how exactly was it even developed here?
Karlinovo’s Guide to Core Creation
Chapter 10
Whether the man was truly the genius he thought he was, or the madman most considered to be is something that seems impossible to now learn. Along with his death, the majority of his research into his final experiment was lost. Many have asked me my opinions on the man, but I don’t feel qualified to give them. I do, though, believe that with his death, the Spiral lost something important, and we may all never recover from the loss.
Karlinovo: Genius or Mad Man? by Gastronil
Chapter 11
What the hell is luck anyway? Why are we breaking that down as its own attribute? Was it always this way, or did the System decide to group it because every single sapient species seems to have some concept of the idea that they can just be better or worse at chance than someone else somehow? Why have we just accepted that reality? Is the System altering reality to make things better for those with higher luck attributes, and if so, why are those few chosen?
Grom’s Musings
Chapter 12
We love to rank everything, and the System gladly agrees to let us. The problem is that a generalized ranking of danger in a multiversal reality with infinite directions a person can go once they start their true adventuring career can mean that one person’s F grade dungeon is another person’s A grade dungeon. All newcomers to dungeon delving should understand and be wary of this fact.
An Excerpt of The Adventurer’s Primer Volume 1 by Hume Grenderson
Chapter 13
We are born in a darkness that few of us can remember, but from there, a small pull grabs us, something familiar. I have been told that what I'm describing here reminds many of a parental bond, but that is not something I can personally speak on. This is where intelligence stops for most of my brethren. Why? I don’t know, but few dungeon cores truly awaken, and fewer still escape the madness of that awakening.
Interconnectivity, Linkages Through Space by Traveler-1
Chapter 14
The Floating Empire is one of the rare examples of an old faction that long sat at the top of the Spiral hierarchy to lose nearly everything. They went from a people that controlled entire clusters of universes to having a singular home planet and being mostly scattered throughout the Spiral. All because their king chose to support the wrong man…
Opening statement from the dissertation A History of Power, the Rise and Fall of the Floating Empire by Melhelm VII
Chapter 15
Chaotic space is the wild, untamed regions between universes before the System begins to align them properly with the Spiral. The dangers that lurk in these places are well beyond what anyone faces in virtually any aspect of life in the Spiral, and the empires that have hidden themselves deep in the darkness should scare everyone.
117 Scary Stories for Sleepovers by S. M. Grime
Chapter 16
The standard six orbs for those paying their registration fee with the Arena were decided on so long ago that few records exist about the reasons, but what little can be found shows an idea that while most will only ever be able to use one orb, it will at least let them choose which they want, and deciding to swap out the orbs is potentially viable. Most people, though, it was assumed, would sell the other five and use the funds to purchase weapons and armor.
The Adventurer’s Primer Volume 1 by Hume Grenderson
Chapter 17
The irony of writing a book for people to read in the Spiral isn’t lost on me. Just because so much knowledge is being siloed off by the factions doesn’t mean we should just abandon our attempts to preserve what we’ve learned for future generations. Besides, it seems impossible that the chronicling of my work could infuriate certain parties any more than my existence already has. My experiments are not well appreciated in many circles, but my only real and final thoughts regarding that are 'fuck them.'
Karlinovo's Theories on Core Socket Interlinks
Chapter 18
This world I’ve found myself in is beyond belief. I do not understand how or why I’ve come to this place, but in the off-chance that some future person should find themselves in my same fate, I find myself drawn to the idea of chronicling what has happened to me to give them possible aid in their understandable confusion. How a fish in a bed could ever lead me to a land of giants I do not know, and even stranger I have learned that this world is only one of many connected to something called the Spiral.
Ronald Tammen’s Personal Diary
Chapter 19
Paladins are one of the least common and yet most powerful career choices a person can make within the Spiral. They are rarely chosen partially due to how rarely the Arena offers it as a potential path, but mostly due to the lack of interest by most in seeking out someone to train them and then dedicate their lives to the cause. The idea of the gods and the role they play behind paladins is something I am not qualified to discuss here and will not be doing so.
System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp
Chapter 20
One of the questions that plagues my mind is how the people with so many mana orbs manage to control them all. I know there are those out there hiding their techniques to host extras, and I know how difficult of a feat it is from the scant few people willing to talk to me about it at all. So those ones secretly hoarding the orbs, how do they manage to spare the brain power needed during a big fight? Do they only use passives and just accept the mana drain? Damn the Spiral’s secretive overlords, and damn their refusal to help us progress. Why do they want us so stunted in our growth?
Karlinovo’s Theories on Core Socket Interlinks
