Chapter 5: Personality

A wise man once said that advanced enough science was indifferentiable from magic. How does an AI merge with a person? Science of course!

Gin trusted Zin, but ever since his trusty AI developed a personality, there was a feeling of disconnect between him and Zin. In the past, Zin replied to anything Gin said in a monotonous logical tone. But now he made jokes, laughed, and pranked him. Gin found it hard to take Zin’s words seriously anymore. This shook the foundation of trust he had in his AI. He gained a friend but lost a stable guide.

“Come on buddy, we don’t have the time.”

Zin said as the warning sounds started to blare. Something big was coming.

Rakia was dripping with sweat. The rain fell on her body evaporated quickly as she heated up. Soon the spear she was holding began to glow red.

“What is this magic?”

“Nonsense kid, this is science!” Rakia laughed, “No time to explain, it’s coming.”

A thunderous roar echoed in the rain. It came from underground and made the floor vibrate.

The lizards backed off a little. They were frightened as well, but hunger kept them waiting. Obviously, they were famished and were willing to risk it in order to get a bite.

“Jump!” Zin quickly yelled.

Gin jumped up as soon as possible but he was still hurt by flying bricks. A large rodent, a dozen meters in size, crawled up from the paved road. The beast cried out in anger. Its front teeth, jagged like sawblades, protruded out from its upper jaw. Its fur looked like black steel needles. It was slightly camouflaged as its fur color matched the black brick of the canteen walls. The rain also obscured their vision of the beast.

“What is that?”

Gin asked as he rubbed his sore legs. Those flying bricks really did a number on his legs and thighs. The pain felt real even though it was simulated. But thanks to Zin’s warning, Gin avoided being dragged into the ground and eaten alive by the rodent.

Rakia had already jumped on top of the tarp hanging over her shop.

“Grand mole. Sizable creature. Profitability is based on how undamaged its fur is. Its front teeth are worth a pretty penny too if preserved well. We are in luck. Money came knocking on our door.”

Rakia laughed as she rubbed the saliva off her chin. The amount of credits she could earn was enticing. But first, she had to kill the creature without damaging the expensive parts.

“Kid stay back. This thing is not suitable for a noob to handle. Go keep those lizards busy.”

As soon as Gin heard there was money in that mole, he wanted a piece. Sadly, he also knew he couldn’t help much.

“Got it.”

Gin left to deal with the lizards. They were still hanging around on the roof.

“How do I get up there?”

Gin pondered.

“Just jump,” Rakia said as she leaped onto the rodent spear first.

It penetrated deep into its thick fur. Rakia avoided the spikey fur as she stood on the protruding side of her L-shaped spearhead. Using the rebounding force, she leaped off before she got caught in the rodent’s retaliation. The beast roared ferociously and squirmed around, damaging the road and the walls nearby.

“Damn, too shallow. Its muscles are thicker than I thought.” Rakia sighed.

Gin looked at the amazing levels of athletics that Rakia performed. It looked nearly supernatural.

“How?”

“Science my friend.”

Zin replied as if on cue.

Gin lifted the gifted bow and aimed at one of the lizards on the roof. To the lizard, he looked insignificant compared to the threatening aura that Rakia and the rodent emitted, thus they generally ignored him. Zin opened up aim assist and Gin fumbled around with the arrow.

“Where do I put this thing…,” He grumbled.

Finally, with some guidance from Zin, he got to arrow to fit with the bow and pulled the string back.

He fired off an arrow as it flew too high and missed the lizard completely.

“You suck at this.”

Zin laughed.

“Shut up!”

The lizards now had their attention on Gin. Originally, they were only paying attention to Rakia and the mole since they fear their strength. But now that an annoying fly was pestering them, they swapped focus.

They stuck their tongues out as their eyes narrowed. Gin could feel their glares.

“Crap, what do I do now?”

“You have battle experience, why are you freezing up now?”

“Those were against pests and I was well equipped!”

“Well, I said this earlier, just let me merge.”

“No!”

Gin frowned as he rolled to the side. The lizards pounced on him and narrowly missed. Gin felt the wind and force the lizard generated when it pounced. If it had hit him, he might have ended up bedridden for a long time.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the street, Rakia and the rodent were engaged in fierce combat. The rodent was now bleeding out of several puncture wounds and one of its eyes was gone.

“Crappy thing is making me lose more money! I can’t kill it without damaging the stupid pelt.”

Rakia was enraged. She was covered in scratches but thankfully none of them looked lethal. Her agility and dexterity allowed her to avoid the rodent’s attacks. The rodent tried to burrow back into the ground, but it couldn’t risk exposing its rear to Rakia’s attacks.

Gin couldn’t handle it anymore and the lizards nearly took a bite out of him. He was getting pushed closer and closer to Rakia’s battle. It seemed the lizard knew Gin was nimble as a mosquito and thus wanted the two bigger threats to kill him off.

“Useless idiot!” Rakia spat as a stray lizard attacked her as well. “At least draw their attention!”

Gin couldn’t help but feel extremely bitter.

The feeling of worthlessness washed over him. He couldn’t do anything in the fight except dodge wantonly.

Finally, Gin gave in.

“How do we merge?”

He asked Zin.

“It’s easy. Just confirm the program and close your eyes.”

A pop up appeared in the corner of Gin’s eyes.

[Exceed mode unlocked. Confirm activation?]

“What is Exceed mode?”

But Gin didn’t have the time to ask. The battle was growing fiercer. Since Gin drew the lizards into the battle, they had fully gone on the offensive. Their hunger overwhelmed their fear. Rakia could barely keep up with all the pounces as the rodent took this chance to attack as well.

The word ‘useless’ rang in Gin’s mind when he wanted to run.

“Confirm.”

Gin sighed and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt like he was falling backwards. But he couldn’t open his eyes or control his body to stop himself. He landed in what felt like a pool of liquid. It was warm and comforting.

Images appeared in his eyes even though his eyes were closed.

It was his body. He was still himself, but he was no longer in control. He looked down at his hands and flexed his fingers. Gin could feel his facial muscles move as he smiled. But as said before, he wasn’t in control.

“Sup idiot,” Zin’s voice came out of his throat. “Stay still for a while, I’ll finish this.”

Zin readied the bow as countless arrows appeared in his other hand between each finger. He plucked the string like a violin and an arrow was released. It hit one of the lizard square in the head with such force it was unbelievable that it came from the bow in Zin’s hands. Gin could see the aim assist working in real-time as Zin controlled his body to pluck the string again and again. Every arrow hit something vital. Even the rodent was struck, but it did very little damage. However, it still distracted the creature.

“Finally!” Rakia laughed as the pressure on her was lightened with each lizard’s death.

The L-shaped spearhead finally caught on fire as Rakia lunged at the distracted mole. Compared to the red glow earlier, the blazing fire was a lot more mystical and eye-catching. The spear managed to penetrate deep into its skull as the fire seared and roasted it.

“Die you bastard!” Rakia clenched her teeth and pushed harder.

Zin didn’t stop and kept shooting more arrows to finish off the remaining lizards.

Finally, after a tough battle, all the lizards had either died or ran away. The giant mole was also dead on the ground as Rakia stood on top of its head with the spear still driven into it.

“You finally picked up the pace kid.”

Zin nodded. Gin just watched.

“You activated Exceed mode huh? First time?”

Rakia looked surprised.

Gin wanted to ask what exactly was Exceed mode.

“Look, rub that confused look off your face, I’ll give you a quick summary.”

Gin suddenly realized that Rakia was talking to him, not Zin who was controlling his body. How did she see him?

“Exceed mode was a part of the combat system that the company deemed ‘experimental’. It allows the highly efficient AI partner that every employee had, take control for a few moments. This allows the user to take a much-needed mental break. It was deemed safe by the R&D department but knowing those crazy asshats, who knows what side effects lingered.”

Rakia plucked her spear out of the rodent.

“Fur’s ruined, but the teeth I can sell. Ah, my time is up.”

Rakia suddenly shook as her facial expression changed. Even her body language became more timid.

“Ugh, could you be gentler with my body?” She sighed.

Rakia slowly climbed off the rodent’s corpse. Her athleticism seemed to have dropped down to a normal human’s level.

“Gin are you OK?” She asked.

“I’ll give you back control,” Zin said to Gin in his mind.

All of a sudden, Gin felt like he was floating upwards. The liquid on his back dripped away as he once again closed his eyes. When he opened it again, he was back in control.

“I’m OK.” Gin replied with a silly grin.

“The first-time users of Exceed mode always felt confused and weak,” Rakia said with worry in her voice. “Are you sure you’re OK?”

Gin lifted his arms and legs. He felt fine.

“I didn’t put too much strain on your body,” Zin said in his ear.

“I’m perfectly fine. Just my legs are sore from all the dodging.” Gin replied to Rakia.

“Great!” Rakia’s mood improved.

It seemed after fighting together with Gin, she opened up a bit.

“Let us split the loot. Mead said since she did most of the work, we will take the larger cut.”

“Mead?”

“My AI assistant.”

“Oh, my AI assistant is named Zin.”

“Gin and Zin?” Rakia chuckled.

Gin rubbed his head awkwardly and blushed. He was never good with talking to girls.

“We will take the lizards then,” Zin added.

“And the rodent goes with me,” Mead replied.

While Gin and Rakia were talking, Zin and Mead made a business deal.

The lizards aren’t worth much, but it was better than nothing.

“Also, give me my bow back.”

Zin reluctantly reminded Gin to return the bow.

Once again, they were weaponless.

The area un-digitized and reality came back into view. The corpses have been stored digitally and the area fixed itself up. The whole place looked as if the battle never happened. The damage to the roof and the holes the moles made were all gone.

“I’ll see you around then?” Gin said as Zin reminded him that the transport vehicle was arriving soon.

“You have me added on your contact list! Remember to call!” Rakia nodded as she walked back into her shop.

Gin walk away but turned back to look at Rakia’s shop.

“She was strong. Very strong,” He couldn’t help but sigh, “When will I be that strong?”

“An idiot like you? Maybe never.” Zin scoffed.

Gin remained silent.

“Thanks for helping.”

“No problem, I had to protect my idiot master from failing his first battle.”

Gin felt like he could trust Zin again. No matter what personality Zin developed, he was still Zin. They lived, breathed, and ate together for half a year.

The word ‘useless’ still faded in an out of his consciousness though.

“Maybe one day,” He sighed as he lined up to get on the transport vehicle.

______

The Grand mole’s fur could be used to make some very nice armor. They provided slash and blunt force resistance. It was also quite warm and had a metallic sheen to it. It was too bad that during the battle, Mead and Rakia had damaged it significantly. There was still enough to make some armor though. A pair of gloves or shoes maybe, or even a nice scarf. The main prize was the rodent’s teeth. The two front teeth were extremely sharp. It could be shaped into a weapon and be used for a long time. Bone weaponry was often frowned upon due to its fragility and its brittleness, but teeth were better. A mole’s teeth were even stronger than regular beasts.

Mead certainly couldn’t help but smile when she thought of the profits.

Meanwhile, the lizards that Gin and Zin received were common scavengers. Their leather was weak and could not be used as armor. It still looked fine, so some fanatics use it to cover furniture. If this were reality, the lizards’ flesh could be eaten. But sadly, for now, they have been digitized into data for Zin to use. How does an AI use the extra data? Perhaps only those in R&D would know.

Gin got back home to his room and sighed.

“I need a weapon.”

He recalled his pathetic fight with the slugs and his helplessness as he didn’t know how to operate a bow.

Zin agreed.

“You also need to finish the tutorials.”

Gin nodded.

“Let’s get started.”

The combat tutorial was booted up again. Two slugs appeared on the floor of his room, oozing in slime and fluids.

This time, Gin was more prepared.

“Come out.”

The Combat tutorial AI appeared. He looked like a burly man with rippling muscles.

“Your eyes are different. You must have faced combat, boy.”

Gin nodded.

“Good, good. You made it out in one piece. We can skip parts of the tutorial.”

A holographic image of Gin appeared in the room.

“Follow the form, combat comes with proper stance.”

Gin looked at the awkward stance.

“What weapon is this stance for?”

“All of them. All weapon begins with balance.”

Gin attempted to maneuver his body to fit the hologram. It was awkward at first, but once he got in place, it began to burn.

He felt his muscles scream. Muscles that he rarely used.

“Keep it up.”

The combat AI sat down and started to drink some virtual tea. Zin was plugged into the wall and observed the whole thing. Gin’s entire room became a tutorial area.

And thus, the boy stood there, in a horse stance, training his balance, sweat dripping down his face and back.

______

“So, how was he?”

“A complete idiot.”

“I know he’s an idiot, but how was his potential?”

“Medium, I guess. His AI is far stronger than it looks though. Most AI who first develop their personality could barely control a full human body, let alone engage in full combat. His AI was a natural combatant even for a noob user. You can still tell it was new at Exceed mode as he couldn’t operate the boy’s vocal cords.”

“Hmm, medium potential with a highly advanced rank AI. He will have to do for now.”

“We can always wait longer.”

“We can’t. Business waits for no one, and every second we waste is money lost.”

“As your personal AI assistant, I will have to go along with your plan.”

“My plan? Mead, don’t tell me you forgot you wrote the entire script.”

“Thanks for the flattery.”

“Sarcasm gets you nowhere Mead.”

Rakia sat in a hammock in her shop. The place was closed for the night. Most employees of the cooking department lived where they work. They willingly gave up their room pods in order to fully own their restaurant. Rakia spent her entire savings on her stall. It was a small place, but it was her own. Her kitchen and bed were in the same room, although she slept on a hammock that hung in one corner of the room. She kept the place as grease-free as possible.

The wooden walls kept most of the warmth and cold in during winter and summer. But it doesn’t really get cold in the canteen with all the fires lit for cooking. There was always someone cooking regardless of the time of day.

Rakia played with her kitchen knife as she skillfully juggled it in one hand.

“Mead, you have to pretend to take control a few more times. Trying to fool the kid is easy, but his AI is very cynical.”

“Don’t worry, the AI can’t resist the kid’s wishes.”

“But it can sway his decision.”

“…Fine.”

Rakia and Mead had been together for over a decade. This year she turned twenty-seven. But she still looked like a young teenager.

“Eternal youth…,” Rakia sighed, “Does not equal to immortality.”

She looked out the window at the spiraling city above.

“The Corporation is vast.”

“Indeed.”

“But something this big, built this high, on poor foundations. It will fall eventually.”

“Perhaps.”

“And when it does fall, there will be people to pick up the pieces.”

Rakia sighed as she waited for the future. Her curse or blessing was rare, but she finally found someone who was like her.

“An eternal youth.”