Capítulo 5: QuarterPounder Is A Horrible Name

[Yes. Is it weird for me to feel embarrassed?] Aphrodite retorted.

"Are you… a living AI?" Misho asked with a heavy voice.

Everyone knew that machines could learn, but none of them were ever considered truly alive. That was except for living AI's. It was confirmed by many scientists that they possess real consciousness.

Misho was in disbelief that a living AI had come with his capsule. They were said to be very expensive, and no company was willing to share them with anyone.

Compared to real human beings, living AI's can be duplicated unlimitedly. If you put a living AI in a robot, it would be truly alive and even immortal.

As long as the robot saves its data to the cloud, it can be revived indefinitely.

[Yes. I will accompany you on your journey in the world of Aphrodos.]

"WHAT!? That's amazing! I love you already!" Misho shouted excitedly.

He would gladly go into debt to get his hands on a living AI like her if he had known this earlier. Her sweet-sounding voice sent tingles down his spine.

His journey in the world of Aphrodos was bound to be a happy one. Just by hearing her voice every day, he would be satisfied.

[I-I'm an AI. You can't…] Aphrodite muttered weakly.

"..."

Misho stared at the capsule in front of him with a deadpan face. He facepalmed himself and got his mind out of the gutter.

"Nevermind what I said. I really need to get a girlfriend…"

Loneliness oozed out of Misho's body. He felt embarrassed that his desperation almost turned him into someone that had perverted thoughts about a robot.

He looked around the capsule and only saw the power port. He shook his head in disappointment and shut her down.

[Aphrodite, signing off.]

With those words from her, the capsule turned off.

"Maybe I should try contacting 'her'..."

What Misho was talking about was his first love. It was so long ago that he could barely remember her face back when they were in elementary school.

But still, he could feel his heart beating quickly at the thought of her. He couldn't explain it, but it was evident to him that he loved her.

Misho furrowed his eyebrows. It would not be hard to find her. He only needed to search her name, and he would be able to contact her on social media.

But what if she already got a boyfriend? His already lonely heart would shatter even more.

"Whatever. I will go read my favorite web novel," Misho sighed.

He sat on his bed and opened his smartphone.

As he read his favorite web novel, he couldn't help but remember his young days.

Back then, he was a naughty kid. He would mess with all of his classmates.

At that time, he was attending the same school as Maia. She was his childhood friend, which was why they felt a sense of trust with each other.

He also met his first love back then. The kid who didn't even know how to spell worcestershire sauce was enraptured by this girl. It was like something out of a romance book.

But no good things happen when you were an immature kid. He embarrassed her in front of their classmates, and she left his school for good.

Misho felt guilty and stopped reading. Instead, he checked on the date when Aphrodos would be launched.

"Tomorrow?"

Misho was surprised. He never really paid attention to the launch date. If he didn't check, there was a good chance that he would have missed it.

He immediately contacted Maia through a hologram call.

"Mm? What is it?" Maia asked as she blinked her eyes at him with her baby face.

"What is your player name?" Misho asked.

"Hehehehe… Maisha," Maia replied with a smug smile on her face.

"Oh! That sounds like your name," Misho said and nodded his head.

"Yes. I based it on my name."

"Really? That's cool. I will add you, so I can contact you in-game later," Misho said.

Misho sent her a friend request through the Aphrodos forums.

"Q-QuarterPounder..? Who is this bastard?"

Maia stared at the friend request she received in shock. Considering what this game was about, she already knew what the name was insinuating. She was disgusted by it.

"...That's me…"

Misho felt awkward. He thought she would laugh it off, but instead, he got a horrible remark. Right now, he just wanted to bury his head.

"O-Ohhhh!! It was you! Ahahahaha! That makes sense now!" Maia laughed loudly.

For some reason, Misho felt like she was mocking him.

"..."

He stared at her in displeasure.

It took her a minute before she finally stopped laughing.

"Ahahaha… It was your favorite burger, right?" Maia asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Yes," Misho answered flatly.

"Oh, come on. I didn't mean what I said earlier," Maia said with a straight face.

Her shamelessness knew no bounds. Misho was speechless at her.

"Alright. I will go change my player name," Misho said.

"Wait–! Are you upset?"

Misho ignored her and went to his account settings on his phone.

But when he tried to edit his account name, there was no option to edit it.

"H-Huhh?? Why can't I change my player name? All the games I have played had that option," Misho said in disbelief.

"Are you really trying to change your player name? That's no use. It's permanent," Maia replied.

"What? Why?"

"The game developers said that it's to prevent maliciousness in the game. Even if you try to create a new account, the game will recognize you and prompt you to log in to your main account," Maia explained to him.

"Oh, right. Can you explain to me why the capsule could increase the human lifespan?"

He turned off Aphrodite earlier because of the overwhelming sense of loneliness he felt. He didn't get the chance to ask her about it.

"Fine."

As compensation for making him upset earlier, she decided to explain it to him herself.

"The capsule pauses the body's function and…