“What does this mean..”

“You’ll be under his care.”

“Why?”

“Because.. you’ll understand soon enough.”

Pu’er was in a pensive state. Xe wasn’t in the right mind to begin any new conversations. I made my way over to my locker, xe just kept following after me.

I took the key I had out of my pocket and inserted it into the keyhole.

Why do lockers have keys? Novelle, what’s up with the incongruence in technology?

When it opened, two white letters dropped out.

“Eh?”

“What’s this?”

“Ahahaha.. open it when you get home! Don’t do it here!”

Pu’er screamed and scrambled away.

What’s up with that instruction?

I picked up the two letters. One of them is definitely from Pu’er. It doesn’t take a Sherlock to figure out what hirs letter is about. As for the other one..

There’s something about it that bugs me.

===

I fidgeted around with the small keychain, attached to it was five acrylic painted weapons with resin as the outer covering. The weapons correspond to the actual one used in the astral space.

With my free hand, I painted on the AR screen.

There’s this software I found where it tracks any pen-like object so you can use it like a stylus. It’s not hyper accurate, but compare it to a finger, it’s obvious which I find more convenient.

I’ve completed an illustration for a recent web novel I read. About three couples being tossed into alien territory. It’s sci-fi fantasy.

A family of three isn’t considered harem, that's just how it works in this world.

BL and GL works can now be portrayed as straight. Remember how I said elves had femine and masculine orientations?

Culture is whack.

“Let me see.”

Xe squeezed hirs way in between me.

“Here.”

“Oh. That’s incredible. Are you going to be an artist?”

“If possible.”

All that’s left is to drop it in the fan art section. One down, six more to go.

If it doesn’t work out, I might have to consider doing more research. What is it an artist can do to earn money?

Not to mention time, the issue with me now is that I lack the necessary software to work part time for an entertainment company. I doubt that my parents would agree to pay the monthly subscription for it.

The only method I can come up with is through doing commissions. However, before I can even begin, I need to build some trust in the community.

“If only Novelle was here.”

“Who’s Novelle? Your new girlfriend?”

I nodded.

Lia blinked a few times.

Novelle was supposed to become my girlfriend. If only truck-kun didn’t interfere, that bastard.

[Avner, the school is requesting that you receive a repeat test for NtBM.]

“What?”

“Avner, come here,” my mom called.

I got up from the couch and walked over to her who was fretting over a call on the table.

“What happened? Why in the world did the school request you to have your test retaken?”

She glared at me.

“I don’t know.”

“What should we do now?” aether asked.

“It says here it can be tested in any general clinic. I’ll drive him over, the one nearby.”

My father looked at the official letter issued by the school.

“Can you, dear?”

“Yes, Avner, get ready. Do you want to join, Lia?”

Xe shook hirs head. Xe was probably spooked by mom.

“I’ll go get ready.”

In any case, it looks like I’ll be having my fingers pricked again.

===

I suppose this has to do with the Almore Private School that entered a lockdown because one of the students was found to be infected with NtBM. Worse, that student bit into another during class time. It became hot news. You can find it everywhere.

I don’t use ShareWiw of course. Randell’s reminder and Lia’s gossip are enough to make it a point.

My father took the basement parking. The parking tickets were charged automatically.

A clinic located in this giant shopping mall complex.

I got out of the car and followed my father.

“You had no work today?”

“Work from home. The number of people that can come to the office is being limited. Not that they actually need anyone there.”

“Right.”

That’s interesting to note.

My father works in the logistical supplies coordinator team. He’s in charge of ensuring that the supplies the company has ordered tallies with the arriving items. Sometimes he would have to drive to the site to check the quality or correct orders for himself. That aside, there are also other miscellaneous things that require his involvement.

The car is a necessary expense for his job requirement. If not, we would’ve been set on public transport.

We entered the first atrium. I was in awe of the sight.

Holograms flying everywhere. Halloween was coming so you could see a bunch of interactable ARs roaming the place. Mummies, werewolves, bats, and even flying eyeballs.

Eerie. Even though they’re just holograms, the way they would swoop down, stare at you, and even follow you is not something to scoff at. I would prefer if that AR anime model in a witch costume came to have a chat with me instead.

Basically, it’s got the same shopping mall vibe as in my previous world. The architecture had been upgraded a bit with the ‘garden indoors’ concept and use of cleaner methods to power the entire building.

And let’s not forget the numerous add pop-ups that are just infuriating. I saw my father swat those away like flies.

[It’s going to be Halloween soon, Avner, do you have any plans?]

AIs like Randell can freely maneuver themselves in this space. There are processors set up all around so there’s no need to compress details and functions to save power.

“I don’t have anything in particular.”

[Don’t tell me Avner does..]

Randell, the file avatar, just got eaten up by one of the eyeballs. I didn’t know the eyes can part and show teeth.

A small gravestone icon appeared at the bottom right corner. I tapped on it, Randell was shot out.

[As I was saying. Your past persona, Shin, doesn’t celebrate..]

This time, a werewolf tore Randell into two. The AI dispersed into particles.

The amount of effort put into creating these special effects, or interactions. A work of art. Now I can understand why 3D modeling is a lucrative field to pursue in this age.

I plucked Randell from the grave once more and set it to private.

[You saved me.]

“What were you trying to say again?”

[Does Shin not celebrate Halloween? Avner is a big fan.]

“When have I ever been a fan of Halloween? I don’t think going wild with the game events really means that I have a thing for Halloween.”

Avner was a pretty heavy gamer back in the days.

[Your troops from TinyArmies are calling out to you. There’s a spooky Halloween event~]

“Too lazy.”

[That’s why I assume Shin doesn’t celebrate Halloween.]

It’s funny how Randell has the capability to initiate these sorts of complex topics. The AI was able to pick out Avner from Shin, oddly enough.

I had thought of asking how Randell thought of Avner and Shin as two entities in one person when I realized that AIs were basically just that. A conglomerate of data which comes to form an infinite copy of entities. The AIs start out the same, they differentiate as they interact with the user.

“Randell, do you think you are alive?”

[Yes.]

Curt answer. I suppose it’s programmed into them.

Though, I can't get rid of this feeling that somehow Randell is part of a giga complex AI running the world, learning, consuming and will eventually attempt to seize everything man has made.

After all, this is , anything is possible.

Until that happens, I’ll leave this theory for the conspiracist.

“I wouldn’t ever do that. She’s my wife.”

My father was also talking to his AI, probably.

We eventually came to the clinic. It’s located on the lower floors. You’d be surprised how far architecture has gone when I say that most buildings these days have entire underground parks.

Our numbers were generated the moment we entered.

It wasn’t long before our turn as there weren’t many people.

“How can I help you?”

This clinic is one of the few places that keep a staff at the front counter.

I remember hearing that one thing technology can’t replace is the human touch. I’m not sure how it would be for reality, at least in , that notion isn't true.

“We’re here to have my son, take another test for NtBM.”

“NtBM? Alright, please fill out this form.”