Chapitre 45: Discovering system secrets
"I have never taken such a strong punch from Ylsean in my life, and I don't want to take another... but it was worth it. My little hero and friend will grow up, become important, and my father will accept him among us. I'm sure that now, with this love blossoming for Joe, she will help him grow," Dimmy thought as he watched his sister lead little Joe out of the room, holding his hands.
Then, he ran past them, handling several energy stones. Before they reached the room where Joe was sleeping, he had already positioned several grade 2 and 3 energy stones in specific locations while looking for a place to hide after waving to his sister.
Little Joe sat on the bed, facing away from the headboard, always instructed by Ylsean, who was sitting beside him. He began to handle the grade 3 energy prism. Suddenly, the blue screen lit up, as expected, and again displayed its intentions:
[Do you accept to activate the Dialogue Skill?]
With the Ilusis stone in her hand, Ylsean placed it right in front of where little Joe was supposedly viewing the blue system screen. This was one of the ways to make Ylsean's presence completely imperceptible to that system while she remained visible to her.
With her great intelligence and perception, she had developed the skill of "critical constructive analysis," where, through an audio or written analysis, she could perceive the real intentions of her interlocutor. That's why she liked little Joe so much, always pure and true, even in his smallest actions.
The only catch was that this skill lasted a few minutes, and the recharge time was a few hours. But for what she had in mind, it would be more than enough to help Joe. And, as agreed, Joe again handled the large grade 3 prism.
[I need to talk to you.]
Ylsean read the message and only moved her lips, making no sound as she poked Joe.
— He's desperate. Don't mind that and wait until he bothers you for the fourth time.
[Do you accept to activate the Dialogue Skill?] [Yes / No]
Ylsean gestured that it wasn't the right moment yet.
[I can give you a reward.]
The system insisted, not understanding the little boy's lack of interest. Then, Ylsean gestured that it was the moment.
[Do you accept to activate the Dialogue Skill?] [Yes / No]
[Yes / ]
[Dialogue Skill activated]
But silence fell over the room, and not even the sound of a breath could be heard.
[???]
[Repeating, Dialogue Skill granted and activated. I need to talk to you.]
— Five! — little Joe typed on the blue screen keyboard, at Ylsean's request.
O(⊙_⊙)O [???]
Little Joe was going to type something, but the clever Ylsean asked him to wait a little longer.
— What is five? — the system asked.
— Answers that I want to know to continue this dialogue.
[I am not programmed for that. Superficial data indicates that this is abuse...]
— You know best.
And, handing the grade 3 prism to Joe, Ylsean gestured for him to play with it, tossing it from one hand to the other.
[Know that my programming is limited and prevents me from sharing all my knowledge.]
— What are you?
[An intelligent artificial simulation system, capable of developing a skill in the human mind or body that progresses according to the experience points your actions allow.]
Ylsean read and reread, analyzing everything in great detail while writing something in a notebook and showing it to little Joe to reproduce. Ylsean's tactic was not to ask just one question but several questions as if they were one.
— How many of you currently exist, being more efficient than you? If there are any hiding among the people in this place?
[Approximately 18 systems and 64 subsystems, completely independent and mobile. All systems and subsystems are experienced and more efficient than I, hiding among high-ranking individuals, except in this place.]
According to Ylsean's analysis, these 18 systems, in particular, were the most important, probably used by all the nobles, such as barons, viscounts, earls, dukes, perhaps princes, and certainly kings as well. As far as her father had told her, in that country there were 11 barons, 2 viscounts, 1 earl, 1 duke, 2 princes, and 1 king. The subsystems were likely used by their subordinates, such as captains, assassins, or royal guards; honestly, there was no way to know; it could be anyone.
Ylsean leaned close to Joe's ear and calmly whispered what he should write.
— What is the purpose of your existence? To use us as slaves, to fight, and to eat our food?
[The purpose is to turn a human into a slave of their own desires, generating points for our sustenance and development. We are territorial and extremely competitive, and we absorb the combat system data for the development of new skills. However, if there is a surrender, then it becomes a subordinate.]
A digital war in an ancient era? Even little Joe didn't understand how he could describe that situation. And before Ylsean could suggest another topic, he began to type furiously:
— Why was my skill, along with my strength and agility, removed from me? It was already part of my body. So the data of your system is corrupted, preventing the use of all its potential?
Ylsean read and reread that information, and in no way did she believe that such a subject was being formulated by a 9-year-old boy.
[Yes, my data is corrupted. So, I used your skill and experience points as usable data in my programming, as a way to expand myself and thus safely overwrite corrupted data for my self-repair.]
Now it was Ylsean's turn to suggest to Joe the last question:
— Are you afraid to show your configuration options screen and for me to find a way to fix you?
Here's the translation into English:
---
— I do not have the emotion known as fear in my programming. If I find anything wrong in my settings that can be corrected, I will be at your service.
O(°-°)O ... Ylsean.
"Does despair count? Lying system..." thought Ylsean.
The blue screen changed to a light yellow, and, despite his great curiosity, Ylsean prevented her little friend Joe from touching anything except the return symbol.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone