Chapter 746 Interlude 12-1- Magic AI
Chapter 746 Interlude 12-1- Magic AI
'War Remnant Structure'
Agla
Wolfen
January 20th
Year 1054
On the outskirts of Agla, the capital state of the GEE's Vassal Nation of Wolfen, laid a barren wasteland.
It was the scene of what people knew as the 'Terrorist attacks of Year 995'.
A desolate landscape stretched out as far as the eye could see, its fertile soil turned to dust and sand, whipped by winds.
Amidst it rose a weathered structure. The Complex's metallic exterior now bore the ravages of time and the elements, its once-shining surface now dulled by rust and decay.
Multiple fences surround it; the outermost lay broken, its bars misshapen. The second fence's gates were shattered, with scorch marks and blackened areas from intense heat.
A jagged circular crater surrounded the fenced-off area, now filled with rainwater, reflecting the overcast sky.
This Complex was the War Remnant Structure which sparked the GEE-Wolfen War of last year.
"They actually succeeded in breaking in.
I don't know whether to applaud them for their achievement or to mock them for their stupidity."
Those words escaped the lips of a young fair-skinned girl with shoulder-length chestnut-coloured hair and striking blue eyes.
She was wearing a brown polo neck jumper, with a black pair of shorts and leather boots all underneath a long black jacket.
"Come on. At least give them credit for breaking in through the first gate. It's not like they could have known that all the fences were rigged with Nuclear Magic spells, could they?"
That ominous-sounding reply that sent chills down the spines of all the hearers came from the handsome teenager on her right side.
He was a tall young man with red-brown hair and brown eyes. For his clothes, he wore a simple T-shirt and black jeans with a jacket. He also wore black half-gloves on both hands.
He had two ears reminiscent of those of a lion's at the top of his head, with a fairly long tail emerging from in between the back slit of his jacket.
"Well, they succeeded at the cost of their lives so they aren't around to receive the credit."
The last statement came from the other boy on the blue-eyed girl's left-hand side. He had a head of black hair with a few white highlights, and striking grey eyes to match.
He wore a dark grey t-shirt with a black undersleeve, and black jeans made from the silk and steel threads of an Epic-level spider monster.
His wrist had a silver mechanical chain watch adorning it, and his feet were covered by a pair of black and white sneakers.
This trio was that of the Known Members of the current generation of Seven Heroes on the Alpha Continent.
From Left to Right—Evan Eris, Laurene Hayes and David Thancreed respectively.
Today, they were joined by nearly a hundred beings trying to enter the home of the Previous Second of the Seven Heroes, Arlan Maddox.
Notable figures like the GEE and GWE Emperors, the Chief Grand Magus of Kasteblum, and even a Transcendent, 'Beast King' Kolvar Thancreed were present.
The Desert Emperor of Tarse, Lloris álurtr Austin, joined with a clone while his real body remained in Tarse. Researchers from various countries were also there, eager to uncover secrets from the War Remnant Structure.
Despite Wolfen's barriers being removed by Sir Esoti, the nation's strongest living legend, everyone stood still, silently watching the base.
The reason being; the Heroes who were to lead the way were all standing silently while watching the base.
"What do you think, Laurene?"
"A few of the Magic Formations are damaged due to the blast, others have broken down due to age, but the majority of them which were powered by runes and have self-repair functions are still in good shape."
Evan sighed in relief upon hearing Laurene's words, before turning around and addressing the others present.
"Alright, everyone.
I know most of you here have your agendas and goals for coming here. You've probably been given orders by your bosses to get certain things, but—All of that doesn't matter."
Evan's eyes glowed with a golden light as he continued.
"I don't give a flying fuck whatever orders you have. The moment we enter, I'm the one in charge.
You only touch what I tell you to touch and go where I tell you to go.
If you do otherwise, I will let this thing's security system do as it wishes and eliminate you for trespassing."
The boy casually threatened them, releasing a bit of his aura and letting them all see that he was now an Epic Level existence.
"If you have any objections, feel free to leave now."
While Evan's caution might have seemed extreme, Laurene and David understood him. They knew Arlan Maddox well enough to understand the risks of messing with his property.
The man rigged his front gate to have Nuclear Magic which destroyed everything within a 30-kilometre radius when the gate was broken into.
And that was just the front gate!
Who knew what he had put in the main house?
The group followed the heroes past the second gate to the spot where Beluar and his crew had entered years ago and encountered Rathal. They quickly reached the main building, where a large Mystic Eye Symbol marked the double doors.
As Evan approached, the runes on the door activated, scanning his irises to confirm his Mystic Eyes. Suddenly, the entire structure shook, and the runes lying dormant for centuries sprang to life, absorbing ambient magic energy.
The massive adamantine doors swung open, revealing a grand entrance hall adorned with flags representing each of the Seven Heroes hanging from the ceiling.
Evan pointed to the door beneath the 'Truth' flag and spoke.
"Look, Laurene's room. You think 'that' is still there?"
"That's NOT my room. And no, Yvonne took it to one of the Nicobrook Islands."
Ignoring the confused stares from the others, the Heroes continued their banter.
Others who clearly heard their conversation looked on in confusion but Evan and Laurene continued speaking like they didn't notice.
"You guys are lucky. Yvonne and Arlan left their stuff in good places."
David spoke with a downcast expression and the other two heroes moved to his sides and patted him on the back while consoling him.
"Don't worry, it's just an active underwater volcano."
"Yeah, the most that could happen is you dying."
"…you two are even making it worse."
Sadly, the road to David gaining his predecessor's weapon was a long one.
As they walked, Laurene and Evan didn't hide their laughter at David's misfortune, passing under the 'Mimicry' flag in the centre and stopping before another set of massive double doors a hundred metres away.
"This is the moment of?Truth…"
"Now's not the time for M?y?s?t?i?c? ?E?y?e? jokes, Laurene."
Evan retorted as he stepped forward, taking a deep breath before placing his hand on the door.
The runes on it whirred to life with eerie dark yellow glows. All the lights in the building shifted to match, blinking in the same unsettling hue.
A floating keyboard materialized in front of Evan, and he typed in a string of letters and numbers. The blinking ceased, but the lights remained a steady yellow.
"We aren't out of the grey yet…"
Laurene muttered under her breath, and as she did, magic power started condensing in front of Evan. The energy quickly took shape into a humanoid figure. This being had an androgynous appearance with glowing yellow eyes and short hair, dressed in a butler's suit, floating just above the ground.
With a cold, mechanical voice, the figure began speaking a series of messages.
[Presences Detected at Sector Gates.
Activating Security Protocol in accordance with defined rules.]
'Really, sometimes I wonder if I'm in a Fantasy World anymore…'
Evan thought to himself as he looked at the entity standing in front of him. The physical projection of the Artificial Intelligence that managed Arlan Maddox's house, databases and security.
Indeed, Arlan Maddox had created an AI with Magic.
Though Evan harboured no fondness for Maddox, he couldn't deny the man's arcane genius.
[Core Systems are all Green.]
The projection's yellow eyes scanned the group before it, emitting a wave of light that passed over each person and scanned them.
[One Administrator Detected.
Two Sub-administrators Detected.
Ninety-Eight Guests Detected.]
The body of magic power lowered itself to the ground and stood exactly one metre away from Evan, before speaking.
[Confirming Administrator Identity.
First Level Authentication: Possession of Mystic Eyes…Confirmed.
Second level Authentication: Soul Frequency Scan.]
Before anyone could react, beams of yellow light shot from the AI's eyes, piercing Evan's chest. Kolvar looked ready to intervene, but David held him back, his gaze fixed anxiously on Evan.
'Your plan better work, Evan…'
Evan, however, just sighed, giving a wry smile as the response he expected from the AI rang out.
[Second level Authentication: Soul Frequency Scan Completed.
Cross-Referencing Samples…!
NEGATIVE MATCH!!!!]
Instantly, the Projection's eyes and hair shifted from yellow to a deep red, matching the flashing red lights that filled the complex.
[INTRUDER CONFIRMED.
ACTIVATING DEFENSIVE PROTOCOLS.
PREPARING TO ELIMINATE INTRUDERS!!]
"Evan, it's about time you pulled out whatever you had in store!!"
Laurene exclaimed as she activated her mystic eyes, conjuring magic circles on her palms. Raising them, she targeted the weak spots in the defensive rune formations and hijacked them.
[INTERFERENCE DETECTED!!]
The AI caught on to her interference, but before it could react, David activated his mystic eyes, causing the AI's physical projection to start dissolving.
[PROJECTION DAMAGE! OUTER SECTOR DEFENSIVE RUNE DAMAGE!! DEPLOYING BACKUPS!]
Everyone switched to battle mode while Evan casually walked past the projection, placing his hands on the runes on the door ahead.
Lifting his right hand, he gave a command.
"Reincarnated Hero System: Consume Stored Authority."
Immediately, grey-gold lines of energy appeared on Evan's hand like circuits, glowing intensely through his black shirt sleeve. These circuits extended from his arm and penetrated the door, drawing a substantial amount of magic power from it.
"Override System Defaults."
Evan commanded and the system began its work. The AI, sensing the threat, quickly escalated his threat level.
[INITIATING OVERDRIVE MODE!! RELEASING LAST DEF-DEF-D- D-D-EFFFF----!!!!]
"Reconfigure System Protocols."
|Reconfiguring…Successful. |
As Evan saw those messages in his field of vision, he looked up and saw the AI trying to reforge its physical projection with magic but failing due to David's Presence.
"Initiate Reset."
[FORCE RESET DETECTED! SYSTEM HEALTH DEGRADING! ELIMINATE INTRUDERS! ELIMINATE FOREIGN VIRUSES! ELIMINA-NAAAAAAA-----!]
A sudden silence prevailed and Evan had David and Laurene deactivate their skills. As they did so, the red lights ceased and reverted to their normal white hue.
The projection reformed from the rapidly gathering magic and then spoke.
[Restoring System… Complete.
Initializing…Complete.
Please grant NEW Administrator User Key.]
"Evan Bourne."
[Confirmed.]
The projection of the AI, now with white hair and black eyes, bowed before Evan before continuing.
[Greetings, Administrator Bourne.]
Seeing the AI's change in demeanour, Laurene let out a relieved sigh and almost collapsed, saved only by David's supportive grip.
She was drained, having used up her magic to hack the runes and prevent the deployment of combat golems hidden in the hallway walls.
Even the weakest of these golems was at an Epic Level, so thwarting them had consumed a significant amount of her power.
"Thanks, Laurene. Here, have a potion."
"…"
Laurene raised her hand to collect the potion, but she froze when she saw it was a PET strawberry juice bottle that Evan handed her.
"Really?"
"It's a strawberry-flavoured magic potion, the best there is."
He handed it to her and then turned towards the AI as he spoke.
"Give me a Damage Report."
[Analysing….
Complex Health is at 85%.]
"85?!"
Evan exclaimed in shock, before turning to Esoti who was nearby and applauding him.
"Congrats, you guys actually destroyed 15% of this place."
Esoti's brow twitched repeatedly when Evan spoke, as the lives of hundreds of good soldiers and many Epic Level existences were lost just for that 15%.
[Complex Defences are at 70% Efficiency.
Cited Reasons: Lack of Maintenance over a 999 Year, 7 month, and 23 Day period.]
When Evan heard this, he turned towards Laurene and gazed at her in silence.
"…why are you looking at me?"
"…"
"You don't expect me to run maintenance on this whole thing, right?!"
"Thank you very much."
"No fucking way! It's YOUR predecessor who built this!"
"With the help of yours."
"But it's still his property!"
Just as the two were about to get into an argument about shifting the duty of maintenance, David stepped in and stopped them, prompting Evan to redirect his focus to the AI.
"Deploy Maintenance Golems from Inner Sector. Assign them to Outer Area Fence 2."
[Deploying…]
"Unlock Information Archives and Grant Guests 1-95 Access to Archives 5, 7 and 9.
Designate Transcendent Level High Breed Lion-Beastman as Guest 96. Designate Epic Level High-Human as Guest 97, Designate Epic Level High Demon as Guest 98."
[Designation Complete.]
As the AI spoke, small drones emerged from the walls to scan Kolvar, Eliza, and Roselia, recording their information in the database.
The others looked puzzled, clearly wondering why Evan had specified access to only three Archives. However, a stern glare from Kolvar silenced any questions.
The Hero trio noticed the exchange but chose not to comment. They all agreed that allowing them unrestricted movement in this place would lead to trouble.
"Grant Guest 96 Access to Archives 3-5, 7, 9."
[Granted.]
Kolvar raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the additional Archives Evan had granted him access to.
"Grant all Sub-Administrators Access to all Archives except 1. Grant full access to all Inner Sector facilities as well."
For Laurene and David, he had no qualms about letting them roam free as he knew they weren't stupid to go where they weren't meant to.
"Elevate Guest 97 and 98 to Sub Administrator Rank."
[DENIED!]
The eyes of the AI projection flashed with a dark red light and it gazed at Roselia before speaking.
[Determined that Guest 98 is-]
"Override Default Protocol."
[…
Elevating Guest Rights.]
Evan's timely intervention prevented the AI from saying Roselia was an 'Invader' and could not be granted Inner Sector Access.
The others were gonna find out either way when they entered the Archives though.
"Good.
Now then, Send me to the Core Sector."
[Right away, Administrator.]
The AI bowed, and the runes on the ground illuminated, enveloping Evan in a spatial light that transported him away. The AI then faced Roselia, Eliza, Laurene, and David, asking.
[Would you like to access the Inner Sector now?]
"Yep."
"Wait a m-!"
*VUP!
Laurene replied faster than anyone could say anything and the AI teleported the four of them to the Inner Sector, before turning to the rest.
[Guests 1-95, Archive Access restricted to 5, 7 and 9. Guest 96 has additional access to Archives 3 and 4.
As per Default Security protocols, overstepping bounds into Archives not granted clearance for are grounds for ELIMINATION.]
The projection's eyes and hair shifted to red as it spoke, releasing a massive surge of magic power and law energy that hit everyone. Kolvar narrowed his eyes, realizing the AI was drawing in ambient magic power from aboveground to operate.
Its eyes returned to normal as it rerouted the gathered magic power into the runes below, teleporting everyone to the Inner Sector, located 1000 meters below ground level.