4 Another Day
[I REMIND THE HOST THAT THIS IS THE AVAILABLE LIST OF POWERS]
"..."
Erik paused a bit. He wanted to understand better what was happening and had many questions.
Erik could safely assume that the system wasn't bad based on his interaction with the machine, AI, or whatever it was.
Otherwise, it would have already taken over his mind or something like that. Judging by what Erik understood, this was some technological piece aiming to improve him somehow, but he needed to investigate further to understand how.
Erik observed the list while reflecting on what the voices meant. Having access to the devices was incredible power, after all. That should have been Device Manipulation.
There was more, though. The list of available powers showed multiple locked ones and two others available besides device manipulation: Analysis and Brain Information Injector.
According to the brief explanation, this power would allow him to get information instantly from the Biological supercomputer. Still, the young man was trying to understand how.
"Hey," Erik said to the computer. "Can you tell me what analysis and brain information injector do?"
[YES. THE ANALYSIS IS A FUNCTION THAT GIVES INFORMATION ABOUT THE SURROUNDINGS TO THE HOST. IT IS ACTIVATED BY LOOKING AT THINGS AND THANKS TO A WINDOW. THE BRAIN INFORMATION INJECTOR WORKS WITH DATA; THE HOST MUST TOUCH A DEVICE, AND INFORMATION STORED ON THE SAID DEVICE WILL BE DOWNLOADED INTO THE BRAIN. THIS WILL HELP THE USER GROW HIS KNOWLEDGE, AND IT WILL HELP THE BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER GATHER INFORMATION FOR BETTER FUNCTIONING. AS USUAL, THE POWERS WORK BY WILLING THEM TO WORK.]
Erik read what the biological supercomputer said and immediately tried the analysis power after its explanation ended. He looked at his computer and then willed to see the analysis. Immediately, a screen appeared before his eyes. It wasn't really there, but he could see it.
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- Erik Romano's computer.
- Two years of life.
- Builder: Klinio Corp.
- Operating System: Linux 60.0.1
...
...
...
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A sequence of information was shown about the computer. Some unknown even to the young man. Erik wondered how the computer could acquire such information, but it was probably something related to mana or electricity.
"Well, I saw how analysis works, but what about the other? The interface says that I must touch the object I want the information from."
The young man then went to his PC and touched it.
[DEVICE FOUND: ERIK'S PERSONAL COMPUTER. DO YOU WANT TO CONNECT TO IT?]
"Yes," Erik said.
[CONNECTION TO THE DEVICE: ERIK'S PERSONAL COMPUTER, COMPLETE.]
<I want to inject information> the young man thought. Then a list of multiple books appeared on a window before Erik.
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List of available information:
-COMPUTER CHARACTERISTICS
-COMPUTER ASSEMBLY GUIDE
...
...
...
-HEIRS AND HORSES
-LIONS AND HUNTERS
-STRIFE OF THE NIGHT
-SUCCESS OF THE LAND
-DECAY WITHOUT SIN
-DETERMINATION OF REALITY
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The last ones were titles of books that Erik had already read and that he had on the device.
"So, I have to choose among these, and then the book's content will be downloaded in my brain?"
[ANSWER: YES.]
<All right, inject DECAY WITHOUT SIN> the young man said in his mind.
After doing so, he felt an incredible rush of energy flowing through his body and mind; as time passed, he gained actual knowledge! Not just random facts either; he actually learned the book's content.
He already knew what the novel talked about. Still, this time he could recall line after line, every description, every character, every paragraph. It was incredible. After the process ended, the young man was ecstatic. For once in his life, he got lucky.
"That will effectively allow me to skip studying for the rest of my life," the young man said, astonished.
[THE BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SUGGESTS CHECKING HIS DAILY QUESTS.]
"Daily quests? Really? What is the advantage of completing them?" Erik asked. Immediately, the biological supercomputer replied.
[DAILY QUESTS ALLOW THE HOST TO UNLOCK FEATURES AND GATHER THE REQUIRED ENERGY TO STRENGTHEN THE DNA OR THE BRAIN CRYSTAL THROUGH THE TWO RELATED POWERS. THE HOST CAN CHOOSE HOW TO STRENGTHEN THE DNA THROUGH THE INFORMATION SCREEN. TO ACCESS IT, THE PROCEDURE IS ALWAYS THE SAME.]
The young man then willed to see the information screen, it was simple, and a new interface appeared after a couple of moments.
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[Host Information]
-Name: Erik Romano
-Age: 16
-System Level: 0
-Power Level: 13
-Experience: 0/100
-DNA points: 0
-Health: 89/100
-Mana: 10/10
{Attributes}
-Strength: 3
-Intelligence: 6
-Dexterity: 4
-Energy: 1
[Available Attributes point: 0]
-----------------------------
The young man observed the screen. After a minute of observing, he came to a conclusion.
"This screen summarizes my physical characteristics. It shows my muscle strength, smartness, and so on. But… My mana is really at ten...? That's why I have an F-ranked power, I guess."
The young man inspected the screen; he assumed that once the Experience was at one hundred, he would gain points that he could then use to increase his attributes, just like in video games. However, he wondered was this Experience was.
Strength probably measured physical prowess, intelligence, how fast one could think, how smart he was, and how good his memory was.
Dexterity was probably related to how easy it was for the individual to move his body. Erik then asked the biological supercomputer for clarification, and it told him the same things. Everything started to make sense.
"Quests," the young man said, and a screen appeared before his eyes.
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[Quests List]
{Daily}
<Eating Habits:>
-Rewards for completion: Ten Experience, ten DNA points
-Failure Penalty: None
(Eat a healthy meal)
(ACCEPT QUEST) (REFUSE QUEST)
<Physical training:>
-Rewards for completion: Ten Experience, ten DNA points
-Failure Penalty: None
(Train for at least an hour. The Host may choose whatever exercise to complete the quest.)
(ACCEPT QUEST) (REFUSE QUEST)
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Erik only had time to make one of the two quests and decided to make the first one. He prepared dinner; it wasn't particularly fancy but good.
He gained ten experience points, the quest could be made just once a day, but he could gain twenty points a day from the daily quests meaning that he could jump to level one and get the attribute points in five days. As he ended his meal, he saw the Experience increase.
As Erik observed all of this, he wondered how something like that was possible. This level of technology wasn't available even nowadays, and humanity even learned how to defy gravity. For sure, whoever built this biological supercomputer was a genius.
What mesmerized the young man was how this thing could interact with mana, which was impossible even today.
The mana scientific field was unexplored by humans, who could not understand its properties. However, those who did build this thing knew a lot about it, which was the most mysterious thing. Who built this thing? It was clear why, as the system specified it; besides, how could they do it?
"Computer, can you tell me what experience is?" the young man asked.
[ANSWER: EXPERIENCE IS SIMPLY MANA ACCUMULATED INTO MY SYSTEM. ONCE MANA IS ENOUGH, I WILL THEN USE IT TO MODIFY YOUR DNA BASED ON YOUR PREFERENCE. THE REASON WHY I NAMED IT EXPERIENCE WAS TO DISTINGUISH IT FROM THE MANA THAT DIRECTLY COMES FROM YOUR BRAIN CRYSTAL.]
"That makes sense," Erik said.
The young man spent the following hours trying to understand what the biological supercomputer was and how it was related to the sinister cold, as his father claimed. Besides telling him it was an AI, the system had no information regarding the strange disease; all it knew came from Erik's knowledge.
As much as the system said, there was no way for the computer to be removed besides killing himself. It also told Erik that, once he died, his brain and brain crystal would be fused, turning him into a biological supercomputer, and that he would then have to find a host and replicate.
It looked like this was a computer meant to enhance individuals, but that, as a side goal, the creature, or whatever it was, wanted to replicate as any creature did.
The young man took his time to process what he had learned that day. The thought of becoming a Biological supercomputer would have scared any other person. Still, he reasoned it didn't matter since he would be dead.
Or maybe that could be another opportunity for him.
Erik then went to bed; the following day, he had to go to school, and He couldn't afford to miss either of them, or grave consequences would happen.
***
Erik woke up early, feeling tired. His eyes were red, he hadn't slept well, and his dreams troubled him. He checked his list of daily quests and saw that the eating habits quest did reset, so he ate something and got ready quickly, completing the quest at the same time.
He put on some clothes, quickly made the bed, and left the house. Despite the awful people living inside, New Alexandria was a beautiful city.
The kid walked down the street until he reached the main square. There was a huge fountain where many citizens gathered at night to socialize. On the other hand, a small park was nearby, full of trees and flowers. People enjoyed their coffee while looking at the sky above or admired the stars at night.
In front of the park was a statue of a man holding his head high; he seemed proud and strong. A plaque next to the sculpture explained who he was.
Erik read the inscription carefully. "Solomon Judd, Saviour of humanity." Solomon Judd was the first X-ranked individual on the Ferebitz scale. His full rank has been kept undisclosed, but he was powerful, judging by his achievements. There was no living being after him that reached the X rank.
Many speculated he had a secret technique to increase the number of neural links since the most powerful individuals were currently at the ETA rank. Making neural links was not simple; it was a gruesome task that required years of training.
Up to now, he has been considered the strongest man in human history. Thanks to his powers, he was able to free the continent on which the seven-nation prospered, Mannard. The other continent, Mur, was controlled by the Thaids, and expeditions were made to eliminate them.
Judd joined the team, but unfortunately, the last expedition was unsuccessful. A powerful thaid killed him and all the heroes that went with him. It was then that humanity split into multiple nations.
Another person was sitting on a bench nearby the statue. He wore a long coat over a black suit, and he and Erik exchanged glances. The older man nodded toward Erik, but nothing else happened. The man recognized the young boy; he often saw him full of bruises and marks, and Erik usually saw him sitting on that exact bench. But they didn't know each other.
New Alexandria, the city where he lived, was Frant's capital, one of the seven nations. The city bordered the coast and was located northwest of the nation's center. The city was divided into districts, north, east, and west districts.
Each district had different characteristics, and the population's density greatly varied. Due to the large number of businesses and buildings, the northern one was populated mainly by adults and business facilities and housed the agricultural part of the city.
The city's eastern part had more families, children, and old people. It was mostly a residential area with shops scattered here and there. If you wanted to enjoy life, it was the place to be; it had plenty of bars and restaurants, clubs, theaters, and cinemas.
But it was also the place where the disparity between rich and poor was the strongest, as there were areas where the buildings almost collapsed, where the poor lived, and areas so lavish as to appear to be taken out of fairy tales, where the rich lived. It wasn't uncommon to see beggars walking around the streets, asking for money.
The western part mainly comprised academic and military facilities, and Erik didn't venture there often. However, it was the place where his high school was located.
After fifteen minutes, the young man kept walking down the city streets and arrived at the train station.
He jumped on the designated train and sat near the door. When the compartment was closed, a few kids ran past him. They weren't very polite and almost hit him several times because of their playing.
After ten minutes of traveling, he arrived in the western district and then at school. Another nightmarish day was going to start.
