Chapitre 4: Oracle
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My once grainy sight now showed a sharper image. On top of that, it now displayed a miniature HUD at the corner of my vision. Unit and Core Temperatures, Mana Levels and Reserves, the ambient temperature around me, the status of my body. It was like I was in a car seeing all these gauges. Not just that but my body feels... normal. Before it was like moving with weights on but now I could control my motions as easily as I did in as a human. But the biggest change was...
[Initial program boot confirmed. Greetings, I am an autonomous program installed into this unit designed to assist it's user.]
"Hold on, are you some kind of AI?"
[Correct. I am a built in digital database, capable of providing information on local flora and fauna. I also monitor and can modify this Unit's physical performance within varying degrees. This program can only make adjustments within safe parameters. Any adjustments made deemed unsafe must be approved by the Unit before proceeding.]
"Arlan! Are you alright? That burst of Mana you released! Who are you talk to!?"
Tessa was going in a craze. Hina had left her place by the fire and squatted next to me, examining my person like I was a strange creature.
"H-hold on, Tessa! There's an AI going on talking in my head. I can barely think right now and your panicking is making it worse!"
I started waving her down, trying to get her to stop worrying about. She knelt down sharply on the grass and relaxed her body. The concern still didn't leave her face.
"What's an AI?"
I thought about the best way to explain it to her.
"Like an... artificial spirit. Apparently this one is designed to assist me."
"You have a familial spirit then!? I've never heard of them attaching to someone who wasn't one of the races!"
She wasn't wrong with her assumption but I didn't want to spend time explaining computer programming to a person anymore than a scientist wants to explain quantum mechanics to a goldfish.
[Would you like a list of programs that are currently installed?]
Oh, why not? Go for it, I thought. At the very least, it responds to my thoughts so I don't talk to myself like a madman. A list of programs flash across my HUD. Threat Detection, Mana Manipulation, Computational Assistance. The list goes on. A few more programs catch my interest but the majority seem to just be background programs designed to monitor my body's performance. I feel like living bloatware. I wonder if I can get malware like this?
[It has been 7,346 Years, 9 months and 14 days since your last update. Would you like to check for updates to your current software?]
Jesus this thing is nagging me like a certain OS. Fine. Computer, check for an update.]
[Checking global database for latest software... failure. Retrying... failure.]
Did the Ancient Ones have a global network? Were they that advanced!? With their civilization down the crapper I wouldn't be surprised if any of their "servers" survived for this long.
[Warning: External connection attempt detected. Source unknown.]
Wait, what? Am I being hacked!?
[System Protection override command has been accepted. Confirmed: System Administrator acknowledged as a current user and given full administrative privileges. Connection to new database established. Files are now downloading... complete. Updating Unit database... complete.]
Did someone just enter my network and give me a new update? Who's this System Administrator?
[I cannot answer that query. System Administrator has terminated the connection. Access to previous database has been lost.]
Something strange is going on here. The servers or whatever they call it here are obviously down. No one should be even alive who would know how to do something like this! It's been over several millennia.
"Arlan, you've been quiet for some time."
Tessa was still there staring intently.
"O-Oh. Uh, don't worry. I was just sorting thing out on my end." I need to take a break from all... this and focus on something else. "Can we go back to practicing magic?"
"Oh, um, sure. But you know, you did surprise me with how much Mana you gathered. Not even novices show that much [Mana Control] for their first time."
"Indeed. If you had a human body, I'd say you were a prodigy. But it's obvious that your golem body is even more advanced than we thought."
Hina had finally spoken up after examining me closely.
"It's starting to get late, Arlan and you already have a solid grasp of [Mana Control]. Why don't I show you a practice fire spell to help you get started. You can practice on your own tonight."
Tessa held my hand from underneath her left palm. Hina made herself more comfortable on the grass. She seemed intent on watching the lesson now, compared to before. Tessa held up her right hand, she whispered the phrase-
"Oh sacred flame, bestow upon me a meager blessing and grant me a light with which to illuminate the darkness."
A small, red and intricate circle appeared and hovered just above her right palm. It was just like her staff from before.
"[Ignite]"
A tiny flame appeared in the air, hovering just above her palm. Seeing up close was quite amazing. And a bit disconcerting. Watching a flame suddenly appear out of nowhere, just burning in midair. It's like there's a disconnect going on in my head. And this is just a novice spell. I'm shuddering at the thought of what more advanced magics could do.
"This should be easy for you. All you have to do is channel the Mana you've collected towards your hand. Keep the idea of a tiny flame inside your head, and chant those words. The magic circle that forms is your intent. A symbol of what's to come. The chant verbalizes your actions. In this case, bestowing you a flame. The keyword, or the spell name, combines it all together and creates the spell into reality."
I took it all in and let out an exasperating sigh. The normally bubbly Tessa was in complete Serious Teacher Mode. A full 180 degrees from what she usually is.
"Huh. This seems way more complicated than I thought."
"This is just a 1st tier fire spell. Other spells in this tier are similar in difficulty. The next tier requires an even longer chant and much more Mana. You'll need to develop your [Mana Control] if you want to be able to cast those at a reliable pace. And without blowing yourself up. Here, go ahead and give it a try for now."
Alright, I'll give it a go. Just channel the mana towards my palm, think about a tiny flame, chant the words and say [Ignite]. When I say it like that, it sounds easy but from what I got from Tessa it seems like-
A red circle appeared above my hand. A tiny flame stood alight in the darkness... what?
"W-What!? I didn't hear you chant! How were you able to cast that!?"
And Tessa returned to her usual self. It seems like everything I find out about myself just makes her worry.
"Arlan, do you have the skill [Chantless]!?"
Hina was starting to bear down on me. I think my little surprises are starting to affect her as well.
"I honestly don't know what your talking about. What's [Chantless] anyway?"
"Being able to cast a spell without the use of a chant is a skill only bestowed by the God of Magic. Those blessed are deemed to have an important destiny. The only other way someone can use chantless magic would be to engrave the spell chant on a person's body. The idea was developed by the Weiss Magic Academy after observing [Caster Golems]. They were able to cast spells using engravings on their body. But the ink required is made from rare materials. It would cost a small fortune just to freely cast [Ignite] and it was deemed impractical."
Don't tell me I'm some kind of blessed being!? I don't even know what these special [Skills] are or even what [Skills] I have!
[Answer: No such skill is detected]
Ooh man. Thanks for that. I don't think I can handle having a god "bless" me with some master plan bullshit.
[Notice: Simulation of [Chantless] is achieved by Unit design. Runes are engraved within Unit's Core and connecting ancillary Mana conduits.]
...What?
[Would you like to access the Unit Core Shelter for examination?]
...Yes.
My chest whizzes and whirls as it opens up from the center, revealing a giant black ball covered in spiked blue crystals, pulsating azure light in a soft beat. Numerous thick tubing coiled from it's back and slithered towards each of my extremities. I could see the glow of mana flowing through each one. On each tube glowed various runes fading in and out of sight.
"This... this is an absolute marvel. I've never seen such a comprehensive design of magitech on a golem. On anything! Not even in some recovered magitech machinery! Almost all golems are powered with a simple magic crystal. The ones living with people have a much larger crystal powering them but this... this is a work of a genius. No wonder Volkan named you his greatest creation."
Hina practically had her jaw on the floor. And Tessa face just went blank. I think I've loss her. I'm a bit lost myself. To think I had this fancy piece of tech just beating around in my body. My mind went back to the runes however. Does this mean I can cast magic just with a thought?
[Warning: Currently, 90% of Mana capacity is used to maintain Unit functionality. The resulting 10% spare Mana is too low to recommend casting higher than Tier 2 spells. Using Tier 3 spells or higher would result in an unrecoverable shutdown. Hardware upgrades are required.]
Well, that put a damper on things. Just like batteries, I'd drain myself dry if I tried to do that. That would be one lame way to die. Again. I just chug Mana down like an SUV, it seems. Hardware upgrades? Where could I get those?
[Unknown.]
That was a quick response at least.
"Arlan.. I think I'm going to head to bed. Good night."
Tessa had enough. The poor girl just couldn't take it anymore and left. Hina regained her composure and sat up. She looked at me with a serious face.
"It's best you don't show that to anyone again. Even a child could tell you that core is priceless. If someone were to scrap you, they could buy a kingdom with it."
"...Why did you just have a sleazy look on your face when you said that?"
"Ah-ahem. Good night Arlan. I'll see you in the morning."
Speaking fast in embarrassment, she walked off towards the fire again. I wonder what I should do now.
[Notice: To improve [Spiritual Attunement] to Unit, it is recommended to enter Sleep Mode.]
I have a sleep mode? What's [Spiritual Attunement]?
[Performing habits as though this Unit has an organic body improves the connection between spirit and artificial body. Failure to do so may result in mental afflictions and rejection of current form. Functionality would cease. It is imperative to continue to perform natural actions for optimal performance and growth.]
I guess that makes sense. The thought of going insane and rejecting all of this isn't a pleasing outcome to say the least. I lie down on my back in the grass staring up into space. Now that I think about it, something else has been bothering me.
"Computer, what's the proper way to call you? Do you have a name?"
[This program will respond to any queries regardless of name]
"Yeah but calling you computer is kinda boring. How about this..."
Hmm. A name for an all seeing, all knowing computer program.
"Oracle. Your name is Oracle."
[Confirmed. This program is now designated Oracle and will now respond to any inquiries using that label.]
"Alright, Oracle. Let me enter Sleep Mode."
[Acknowledged. Unit is now entering Sleep Mode. I will continue to monitor surroundings in the background. System restart is designated at the first detection of light.]
With that darkness covers my sight once again. The sounds of my core thump down to a halt.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone