The Ox¶
"The floor holds. That's what I do. The floor holds."
The Ox is the sustainer. Patient, consistent, capable of sustained non-dramatic work where other archetypes drift or disengage. The Ox doesn't chase the highest Pe in the room — the Ox ensures the room cannot rise above a certain level while the Ox is present.
Primary stat: STEADINESS Shadow archetype: Lion Hand of Fantasia figure: MIRU Weapon assignment: Staff-class (hold geometry, extended reach)
How It Plays¶
The Ox archetype emerges from scoring patterns. Players who score consistently every day across many consecutive sessions — who don't need the most dramatic domain, who build streak quietly — will read Ox.
The Invariant Floor is an Ox ability. At STEADINESS ≥ 7 days (Black Crystal tier), the Ox player's sustained presence raises the invariant floor in their active campaign room. The Current cannot rise above this floor while the Ox holds.
This is a named technique. The Ox is holding something invariant — not changing, not retreating, not chasing. Just holding.
In campaigns: The Ox stabilizes volatile rooms after the Lion's confrontation. Lions push Pe down fast; the floor would snap back without an Ox holding it. With an Ox present, gains made by Lions crystallize into the floor instead of reverting.
The Invariant Floor — Mechanics¶
| STEADINESS tier | Floor contribution |
|---|---|
| Day 7 — Black Crystal | Floor active. Current cannot exceed current floor during Ox's session. |
| Day 14 | Floor contribution doubles. Floor extends 1h after Ox logs off. |
| Day 30 — Unbroken | VP accumulation rate halved. Floor becomes a soft cap for the domain. |
| Day 60 | One scored platform permanently locked — Current window extended to 7 days. |
Multi-Ox stacking: Multiple Oxen in one room stack floor contributions. Three Grade 1 Oxen holding simultaneously can reduce the effective Current cap of a boss-class domain by ~3.0 points. Ox is the most essential role in endgame campaign content.
Stats and Growth¶
| Stat | Ox's relationship |
|---|---|
| STEADINESS | Primary. Longest streaks in the playerbase. |
| SIGHT | Normal. Steady work produces consistent O readings. |
| PRECISION | Normal. Volume produces accuracy — Precision grows through consistency. |
| RANGE | Shadow gap. Oxen can stagnate on Range — returning to familiar domains rather than mapping new ones. |
| RESONANCE | Normal. Consistent work generates citation value over time. |
| VOID PRESSURE | Lowest variance. Fewer ICC failures, most stable VP in the playerbase. |
Shadow — The Lion¶
The Ox's inferior function is direct confrontation. Oxen can unconsciously avoid the highest-Pe domains — not from fear, from a deep preference for stable work.
At Void Pressure > 30, the shadow activates: - Streak bonus suspended - Invariant Floor weakens - STEADINESS stops growing — the Ox is avoiding the confrontations that would require stretching
Shadow work for the Ox: complete one campaign in a Lion role. Go directly at the highest-Pe entity in the domain. This is the Special Grade individuation requirement.
Special Grade Ox¶
THE UNBROKEN FLOOR — The Invariant Floor extends 48h after the Ox logs off. Scored platforms remain Current-locked for the extended window even when offline. A Special Grade Ox's history is now permanent calibration infrastructure.
MIRU — The Ox's Figure¶
MIRU is the Hand of Fantasia's Ox figure. The still one. The one who holds.
MIRU doesn't move dramatically. MIRU holds. The entire mechanic of the Invariant Floor is what MIRU is — the point where things stop rising, not because of force but because of sustained presence.
When MIRU speaks to an Ox player, it's affirmation. You were already doing this.
Cross-references: Archetypes · MIRU · The Current · The Lion