2 Sufficiency Advanced AI
My apologies, here's the edited version with the original format retained:
The headset was for virtual reality, but Rin was uncertain about the purpose of the metallic smartwatch. It had some impressive augmented reality features, but that seemed to be its only function.
[2:02]
As soon as Rin fastened the smartwatch to his wrist, a holographic countdown materialized before his eyes. He then donned the VR headset, expecting the new theme song to fill his ears.
To his disappointment, all he heard was an unpleasant beeping sound that quickly ceased, ringing from one ear to the other.
Suddenly, Rin found himself transported from his bedroom to a perfectly square, white room. He was sitting in a glass chair in a completely empty room.
There were no windows or vents, but Rin felt no discomfort. Strangely, everything felt real, as if it were his actual body, not his game avatar. Rin was unsure how this was accomplished.
"This seems like the next generation," Rin muttered. He waited for customization tabs to open up, but all he got was a long list of terms and conditions.
Without giving it much thought, Rin agreed to the terms, hardly bothering to read them. He believed that privacy had long been a thing of the past. Anyone wanting to maintain their privacy would have to live in remote areas such as the North or South Pole, without the use of smart devices.
Rin couldn't be bothered by such a notion. As long as they were happy, watching early twenty-first-century TV shows with him.
As Rin consented to the terms and conditions, flickering lights emerged before him and coalesced into the image of an otherworldly woman seated in a glass chair, facing him.
She had an exterior that gave evidence as to why humans would like to hit on NPCs.
The sparsely furnished, all-white room enhanced her beauty.
"[Congratulations Pioneer, you have been selected for the closed Apotheosis Project.]" The woman's voice was as lovely as her looks, but it sounded like an announcement to Rin. She shot him a charming smile that was too hard to resist for most maidenless men. "[Would you like me to introduce the Apotheosis Project first, or do you have other questions?]"
Rin had a knack for determining the intelligence of NPCs, but he felt it would be wise to gain some insight into the game. Well, the otherworldly woman wasn't going anywhere, and he was curious about how long it would take for him to vex the highly sophisticated AI.
"Please introduce the game first," Rin requested.
The woman raised an eyebrow as a quirk and her humanity seemed to end there as she introduced the game in the most tedious manner possible.
As Rin had guessed, the game was closely tied to Avalon Online. Although it couldn't be considered a sequel, it could be referred to as a mother project.
According to this NPC woman, supposedly, interstellar travel is possible and Earth had achieved it centuries ago, but it was kept secret due to sensitive matters that couldn't be disclosed.
As for why he was here, it was pretty simple. They wanted him to act as the colonizer of the new planet they have discovered. So kinda like the old blockbuster film Avatar, save for all the blue skin.
Rin would give it two out of five stars in the original concept category. Avalon Online's concept was way better. For that reason alone, he was being this generous.
Anyway, back to the premise. Supposedly, they do have a place they colonized before and named it, Avalon–the heaven according to Arthurian legends. You can see the connection there.
After getting a general idea about the premise, Rin just nodded, staring at her.
Her white gown hugged her slender body, and her burning silver hair cascaded down her shoulders and back, making her look like a wingless angel. She had a near-perfect oval face that exuded a presence of imperfection that only added to her allure.
'Seriously, she is beautiful,' Rin mused. Rin could already imagine her becoming a fan-favorite NPC.
Her voice was like a genuine person too, though appeared bored like she had explained the same thing again and again. More importantly, she was directly transferring the sound wave into his brain.
[ . . .so there won't be any options of customisation or changing race under normal circumstances.]
"What?" Rin narrowed his eyes.
[You haven't listened to me at all, did you?] she asked as her expression turned more humane. Annoyed, but humane. [Just remember, the beta program differs from what you encounter in Avalon. There are many differences.]
Rin hadn't thought it would be this easy to annoy her. Did they give her too much human nature? 'That seemed like a wrong idea. Haven't they learned anything from watching Blade Runner?'
Anyway, Rin didn't have a magnificent sculpture-like avatar, handsome and rogue, but a youth in his early twenties in athletic shape, though the thin facial hair growing needed a good trimming.
Other than the normal t-shirt and trousers—like how he logged into the game from his apartment, he had nothing on his body save for the metallic smartwatch, which he could not take off—no matter how hard he tried. The thing did not budge even a little after all his mindless effort.
Disregarding the otherworldly NPC woman, Rin began to experiment with the pain response of the system. He pinched his cheek a few times, causing a frown to form on his brows.
The pain was all real and with his intuition, he couldn't tell the difference between reality and virtual reality.
[Yes, it is going to be painful,] the woman said and seemed to smile a little. [Treat the game the same as reality if you want to achieve something.]
"This seems a bit overboard."
[You gave consent to the System, so there's no crying over spilt milk.]
"Bah!" Rin said. "Who would, in their right mind, read everything in the terms and conditions?"
[That is not of my concern.]
"Then, is it mine?" Well, it is.
[Let's rest that talk for now.] She adopted a stern tone. [Many from your realm came to our world empty-handed and returned with something more. Listen to me attentively, so you can be one of that many.]
"How did they come to your world before this project?" Rin asked.
To her credit, the woman completely ignored him and carried on with her explanation. It didn't look like a glitch in the coding, as Rin caught the slight annoyance in her tone.
"So where's the status page," Rin asked, "or is that restricted too?"
[The scan is almost finished,] she said nonchalantly. [You'll be able to see them any moment now.]
Rin nodded simply as a transparent window appeared before his eyes.
[Initial body scan complete.]
[Initial Soul scan complete.]
[Congratulations! You have earned the title 'Outworlder' (provisional).]
[Worldwalker (provisional): It is a title given to all the otherworlders who were summoned to the great game.
Title effect: Privilege of a Walker*.
- Lingual Comprehension.]
[Preparing the status window.]
[User Rin Denver Zacharian, please choose your Worldwalker ID name.]
"Name, huh? Let's go with something cool. Heaven Destroyer? Grandmaster Rin? Celestial Emperor? Sun Devourer?" Rin mused, contemplating his poor choice of names.
[Have some shame, will you?] the NPC woman told him contemptibly. [You might not have considered this, but there were beings with a couple of the names you mentioned. They are influential people. Powerful people. They may not take it well, every fool taking their name.]
Rin snorted. "Are they chunni like Luke?"
The woman didn't even consider answering.
"How about NPC lover?" Rin asked.
[You can take what you please. Just remember, it isn't that easy to change Alias.]
"Just go with Ulysses then," he said, choosing his old Esports identity.
After confirming his choice, Rin was presented with a system window, resembling Avalon Online's status window, but with a few notable differences.
For starters, there was no level system
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[Outworlder: Ulysses
Specie: Human (F). Rank: None.
Progress: 0
Class: None.
Origin Mark: None.
Bloodline: Normal (B+).
Attributes:
Health (R): 110 (11)) Mana (R): ? (?)
Physique: 11
Mind: 12
Fortune: 67
Abilities:
- Superhuman Intuition.
Art and Skill:
Title:
Worldwalker (provisional).
Credits: 0
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[At least your attributes didn't disappoint me. Those attributes were not too shabby, compared with other earthlings, and you have an ability too—that is quite rare even among our people. That number in the fortune tells me why you are here, even with the lack of your enthusiasm.]
"Still 2 short of the legendary number, though," Rin remarked.
The woman gave a confused look, but wasn't interested enough to ask.
"Why do I only have 3 three attributes?" Rin couldn't help but ask. "And why does the mana tab have a question mark?"
[I'll explain soon enough. You finish reading first.]
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