When I woke up the following day, I noticed the blinking messages in my HUD. There was a Goodnight message from Luke on our comms channel about two hours and forty minutes ago.

Energy levels have increased to Tier 1. Health and Mana Regeneration at normal levels. Move to a higher energy level area for optimal growth and development.

I smiled, that was a relief, and I could feel that somewhere inside, in what I was referring to as my core, it was no longer empty or sucking nothing.

I heard voices from outside, so I went to the pool area. At first, I was in a panic. I saw Jamie walking around in casual clothes, talking to another stranger.

I engaged in stealth.

Stealth - Hide from shit.

That skill annoyed me. Stupid skills could have a swear word in their name, and I could not swear at all. Grrr, I was pretty angry.

I felt the sweet and seductive energy drain as I engaged it, and then I Identified the stranger.

Identify: Julie Bryson (?) Level????

This must be Julie. It still didn’t explain what she was doing talking to Jamie.

She turned and looked right at me. "Hey, Sweets, I’m Julie." She smiled a bright smile.

"Excuse me, Jamie," she came towards me, "So, you are one of my bosses. It is nice to meet you." Hand extended to shake.

It took me a second to process as I automatically shook her hand. She had not only easily busted my stealth but also noticed when I identified her. That is excellent info to know. I shook her hand slightly longer than was normal. It was kind of weird.

Julie was beautiful. I didn’t feel jealous or anything, but she exuded a presence that just made her seem more real and present than Jamie and me. I also could not help but check her out. She stood just over 170cm tall and was athletic-looking. Long, dirty blond hair hung around her face and down her back. Large, vivid grey-green eyes, a perfectly straight button nose, a sensual mouth, and a giant smile showed perfect, straight white teeth. I wanted to call her a bitch.

No, I refused to call her a bitch since she seemed nice and had helped Luke out. Besides, I was not jealous or vain about having other beautiful people around. She was wearing an elegant one-piece pantsuit that looked like a more robust version of my under-armour, which was more over-armour. I could see the protection pads, slightly less form-fitting, but still showed her fantastic figure. I did notice that Jamie was checking her out from behind. I could not blame him since I was doing the same.

"Nice to meet you, Julie. What’s going on?"

"The energy levels have stabilised in this small area, about a 50-meter radius. I was able to use the beacon and one-way portal here. It was an expensive but necessary trip. Luke has filled me in, and with our AIs' help, we got Jamie here on a contract for Earth Inc."

"Ok. What sort of contract? No offence, Jamie, but you pointed a rifle at us last night."

He smiled, "None taken. This is amazing. I have never been in such a high-energy area. An area in one of the labs is better, but only for VIPs. I made the right decision. It is an employment contract. We found a loophole in my System Oath and Geas, and I was able to be bound by an Earth Inc. employment contract. Your dispel spell last night was only temporary, so I paid the cost for breaking my oath to Noah and am now tied to Earth Inc. for ten years or until I am released, whichever is earlier."

"Cost? What do you mean?" I asked. I felt a bit concerned. This was stuff I needed to know.

Julie spoke, "The system can enforce oaths and contracts. There are loads of factors that determine the penalty that is exacted. Jamie’s oath stipulated death on breach of oath. But, for that to be enacted, there had to be reasonable compensation; there was none. Noah had no compensation to equate to that level of enforcement. Also, Jamie was coerced into the oath, not entirely of his free will, while under a Geas. So, the system penalty was less severe."

"You say that as if I did not nearly die. My Karass nanites, the organic part of the nanites, were destroyed when I broke the oath. I lost all my levels and all my credits. My energy bottomed out, and I had to recover. I will not be able to use skills or gain my class until after integration or gain a new set of nanites. It was not fun."

"You can lose levels?" I asked, not understanding the rest of what he said.

"Not normally, but yes, most things are possible under the system," Julie said. "He should be free of the Karass influence, and he should be able to operate normally. Unfortunately, his boss is aware that he broke his oath."

"Is Amy..." I started.

Luke came outside with a tray full of food, and I could smell fresh coffee, with a big smile on his face. "She is ok. She has some inside help and is running a counterinsurgency or something. She is coming here for a short time. Phillip is on a bus and will arrive tomorrow. Jean is on a plane. Things went better than expected in Brisbane. We will find out more when they get back. Rahsaan went to pick them up."

He placed the tray on the outdoor table, making small talk while eating breakfast and drinking coffee.

Once I had had my caffeine fix, I smiled at him. I had something important to organise, "So other than fixing the energy levels, I thought the entire point of getting that generator was so we could go shopping."

Julie smiled. "That is my next job."

Thirty minutes later, I was standing before a temporary shopping obelisk. I was so excited I hugged Julie. "This is temporary, and its use requires a lot of energy. You can pay it in Credits or Energy."

As impatient as I was, I channelled energy for a couple of hours, sitting and talking to Luke, Julie and Jamie.

Eventually, I stepped up and went elsewhere.

I was happy that not much had changed. There were some new chairs, and the lighting was relatively subdued, better than last time.

Julie Bryson is requesting access to your personal shop as a guest. Y/N?

Yes.

Moments later, Julie appeared. "Thanks! You get your skills. I am going to look at some weapons and things. I have a shopping list. I don’t get this treatment without you or Luke here until after integration, even though I am an Earth Inc. shareholder."

Hydrox seemed to smile from behind the counter, "I am sorry, Miss Julie, regulations and rules. I am too inexperienced to find loopholes for this at the moment, although my sire is looking into it for you. You were lucky that Miss Sarah had a spare guess pass."

"Thanks, Hydrox, don’t get into trouble on my behalf. It's just a couple of weeks." She quickly left through one of the doors.

Hydrox was here, behind the counter. I am not sure what sort of life it was for her or what she did when we were not here, but it was good to see her. "Hi, Hydrox. How are you? Miss me?"

"Indeed, I did miss you. It has been rather tedious here. I am looking forward to seeing more of Miss Julie, too. Although she still scares me, her plans are ambitious, and she seems more relaxed than our first meeting."

"I got a ….", no swearing, " bucket load of stuff to sell, and I’d like some advice too, please."

"If you put the items you want to sell on the counter, I will give you a fair market price, plus a tax for your low Karma. I am contractually obliged to give a fair deal. Depending on the quantity and quality, we may negotiate a better deal in good faith. If I may point out something a little concerning, I must make you aware that you are in a bit of a Karmic depression. If you do not improve your standing, I may not be able to sell to you at all."

Uh-oh. "What, just because I swear a bit?"

"Personally, I would love to continue to sell to you. It is an Emporium policy, a System enforced policy. I would say, " Hydrox gave me a strange look, well as strange as a water being could, "that if you ... drop another f-bomb, I may close the store to you."

I was shocked, "Did you say f-bomb?" with a smile.

"I have been observing your culture since I am to be integrated with it somehow. My species can feel the Karmic threads. It seems that our cultural liaison was not very accurate. I am learning more by observing your entertainment and social media. I feel a little threatened by the chaotic nature of the negative and positive Karmic threads that the Earth Humans seem to have."

I looked at her.

"And I have been rather bored. Your Internet and entertainment are quite shocking", she said in her chirpy sing-song voice.

"Did you just blush?" I teased.

"I’m sure I don’t know what you are talking about. We never blush or are embarrassed",

"Sure, sure", as I dumped my inventory out for the second time today.

"Oh my. This may take some time. You should look at the skills and spells now while I work through this pile. Would you like some food and beverages?"

I nodded, "Coffee, not Starbucks," as I sat down, admiring the comfort of their chairs, and engaged in a bit of browsing.

Artificial Intelligence first.

Crap. Even a cheap one was going to be expensive. I could get a Tier 1, but that would be a baby, and it would take time to grow. They were 10000 cr. Tier 2, more sophisticated, was 1000000 Cr, more than I wanted to pay. I would have expected about 10000cr. Who am I kidding? I had no idea. Two days ago, the idea of an AI was science fiction to me. Now I was moaning about not being able to afford a top-tier one for like 20 million.

There were basic system ones, or there were custom ones. The custom ones had additional features, but the price increased. I ordered the Tier 1 system for 10000 Cr. At least it was upgradeable. I cancelled the order and used my Rare Shop token to purchase a Tier 3 AI. Nice. Thanks, Octopus monster.

Next, I wanted some skills. I could not use Tier 3 class skills yet but could buy them.

I could wait on my Class skills, which tended to be more powerful but tied to the class. I wanted to get a few, and eventually, I settled on these. Again, I avoided the custom skills as they tended to be way more expensive and quirkier. Even if they also had better names and marketing, in my opinion.

I asked Hydrox about the difference between the boring generic system skills and the custom skills. She said the system provided no frills skills requiring more effort and at a lower price. In contrast, custom skills allowed some offload of energy to improve the base skills, especially in particular manners. Whatever that meant.

I purchased the following:

Skill: Vehicle operation (Tier 1) Upgradeable, Specialisation.

This skill gives the working base knowledge to operate all land-based vehicles up to Tier 3 or lower. Skill in a particular vehicle will increase over time and may result in skills with that vehicle. (150 Cr)

For example, an equivalent custom skill was:

Skill: Derby Dash: Land (Tier 1) Upgradable.

Avoid crashing and driving any land vehicle like a pro. Puts you in the driver’s seat with a guaranteed 40% more power.

This skill is a requirement to enter "The Classic Drift Series" Iron Eagles are not responsible for crashes, death, or property destruction.

Read the full disclaimer for details. 2500 Cr."

I settled for the generic skill for driving for now.

Skill: Combat: Staff (Tier 2)

This skill grants the basic knowledge to develop muscle memory for using a staff in combat. Practice is required to improve this skill. (100 Cr)

Skill: Combat: Blades (Tier 1) Upgradeable, Specialisation

This skill grants the basic knowledge to develop muscle memory for using small-bladed weapons in combat.

Practice is required to improve this skill. Skill in a particular type of bladed weapon will increase over time and may result in skills with that weapon.

See Swords, Daggers, and Axes (1230 Cr)

Skill: React (Tier 3) Upgradeable

React is a passive skill that allows reacting to situations that may otherwise overwhelm you.

Synergises with React: Trigger to automate responses to some conditions. (9000 Cr)

Skill: Drawing (Tier 1) Upgradeable, Specialisation.

Drawing is the base skill for all artisans who draw. It allows the construction of simple diagrams, blueprints, and works of art.

Practice in a particular style may result in skills with that style. (20 Cr)

Skill: Construction (Tier 1) Upgradeable, Specialisation

Construction skills give basic knowledge of how to put things together. Using a blueprint improves the quality and the speed of production. \

Practice in a particular style may result in skills with that construction type.

See Building, Devices (300 Cr)

Skill: Design: Engineering (Tier 2) Upgradeable, Specialisation

Allows the production of blueprints for various things. Practice in a particular blueprint style may result in skills with that style.

Synergises with Drawing. See Devices, Buildings (1090 Cr)

Skill: Design: Fashion (Tier 2)

Allows the production of patterns for fashion items. Practice in a particular pattern style may result in skills with that style.

See Craft: Clothier, Cobbler, Milliner Requires Drawing or equivalent. Synergises with Drawing, Design:* (1300 Cr)

Skill: Craft: Clothier (Tier 1)

Allows the production of items of clothing. Using a pattern improves the quality and speed of production.

Practice in a particular style may result in skills with that style. (270 Cr)

Skill: Fashion: Analysis (Tier 1)

It grants the ability to pick complimentary items of clothing to match styles. Includes modules for Colours, Clothing, and Accessories.

Synergises with Personal: Etiquette, Personal: Movement, Design: Fashion (520 Cr)

There seemed to be no real reason for pricing, which seemed random. I guess commonly needed skills were priced to be cheaper so more people could gain them. Sometimes, the system was quite stupid.

Spells were more complicated and more accessible at the same time. I could cast Tier 2 spells and train up individual spells to Tier 3 without levelling my class. I was going to take a gamble and see what I could do with some ideas I had for using magic to be helpful in different situations. At the moment, I was a bit of a generalist and taking spells that I liked the sound of. You could only buy custom spells, as all generic ones were regulated through the Mages Guild or your class. I was surprised that they did not restrict the custom spells as well.

Spell: Phidyora’s Minor Teleport. Tier 3

Active Mana: 900 Mana per being Range: Touch

Current Rank common, Upgradeable, Trainable. Cast Time: Self: instant, others: 10 seconds.

Requires: AI to perform calculations or 250+ Minds.

Phidyora was a well-known courtesan mage. She allegedly developed this spell to allow her to escape from delicate situations and avoid embarrassment.

This spell allows the caster to teleport instantly across vast distances. Phidyora managed to overcome the air displacement that occurs with traditional teleportation.

This spell is not traceable and leaves no residual energy. The caster must have been to a location previously and set up an area that acts as a portal position.

The caster can spend additional mana to take extra beings. It does not allow to teleport into physical matter. It does not allow teleportation between temporal differentials.

May cause sickness and or significant discomfort.

99% success rate.

Tier 3: Inter-Realm only.

Tier 4: Between realms

That blew my spell budget at 100000 Cr, but it would be handy. Besides, TELEPORT! I could only cast it once, and from my calculations, I could cast it twice or take another person around level 23. Maybe I could find another item like the belt that worked as a mana battery with better returns. I could pull 400 mana from the belt, but it would drain 4000. With the belt on, I could regenerate that in two minutes if the belt was full. I would have to make a note to work on some spreadsheets and do some math to work this out and keep track of it.

Julie had come and gone a couple of times while I was entranced with the shopping tablet. I had often gone down the shopping rabbit hole on the Internet, and this was far worse. It didn’t help that there were no time references or other distractions. There were so many unique, terrifying, and outrageous skills and spells, like the skill that enabled you to fart in different scents. At the top Tier, you could fart perfume. Brilliant but useless. Thinking about it, I could definitely see some people needing it. Or maybe it would save a bundle on perfumes.

I’d spent about all but just over 100000 Cr, which hopefully left me with enough to get something to use with that vehicle skill, a ground vehicle.

When I finished, Hydrox was quite excited. She said that she could purchase the lot, except the Greatstaff, which was too expensive and the tickets, which were too niche to price quickly. The Tier 3 crafting materials were in quite some demand. The next time I had a bunch of steaks, I vowed to learn some cooking skills. She offered 663048 credits.

Holy crap, I was rich! I asked if she could take the dagger out, which I would keep as a backup weapon, and she said it was not worth much, so she would not change the price. I promptly accepted. I still had the Shop tokens for a Tier 3 Artisan Kit. I was hoping to get a cheap blueprint and upgrade it as well. It was a shame that the blueprint upgrade was not a pattern upgrade.

Hydrox offered me something to eat, and despite not knowing the time, I felt hungry, so I accepted. Burgers and fries again, this time with a fantastic espresso. I couldn’t complain. I wondered how my new metabolism would be affected by diet. Maybe if I got my Body high enough, I could eat whatever I wanted and maintain my amazing figure. That would make all the crap to get there worth it. I’d have to ask.

Done with the meal, I entered the same door as I had before. I knew what to expect this time. Even though it was my second time, I was almost a pro at this. I was still blown away by the scope of the systems' mercantile operations.

The same AI voice greeted me. "Welcome, Sarah. I hope we can help you have an amazing and successful shopping experience!"

It was slightly over the top, "You have been practising?"

"The Emporium has been updating its cultural awareness and is trying different strategies. Was that not ok?" I swear I could hear the bottom lip starting to quiver,

"No, that was great, maybe a bit full of energy, but fine."

"Thank you, Sarah. What can I help you with today?"

"Land Vehicles, what ya got?" I was excited.

"Are you qualified to drive system land vehicles? You require the skill and a license."

"I just bought the skill. How about I promise not to use it till I am licensed?"

Karmahouse Emporium has agreed to honour your promise. Suppose you purchase a land vehicle and use it without a license or skill appropriate for use. In that case, a negative karmic consequence will occur, which may affect your standing with the Emporium.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Well, I’ll be…

I could have spent hours and hours test-driving simulated vehicles here. It was so much fun and so natural. I could test them under different simulated skills and in various conditions. At one stage, I was having races against the AI. I swear it was such a blast.

I practised on the simulator and asked the AI to tell me when the driving skill crystal arrived. I ducked out and learned some general driving skills, which made it much better. I settled on an all-terrain vehicle that looked like and drove like a motorcycle. The upgraded version I got could be put into your inventory. It interfaced with an AI, and the skill I had purchased was one of the few it was guaranteed to work with. It had two fixed weapon slots; evidently,

I needed a skill, a permit, and the weapons. With an AI, it was almost self-driving, and to near top speeds, it needed one. It could top out at over 400km/ h! It rode smooth due to the mix of tech and magic, with a mana and energy battery that enabled it to drive for 10 hours on a full charge.

The bike, and I was sticking with that description, was the first device I had seen that used runes in magic. Two people could ride comfortably if the combined weight was under 500kg. A small energy shield auto-generated to protect from wind and small wildlife. No bug splatters were important. There were other upgrade packages that I could not afford.

When I got the delivery in a few days, I was also going to get the complete aftermarket kit. It was not cheap. I was upset that I could not use the token with which I had purchased the AI, but I did have the cash, so I placed the order.

Zhadrik Sports Light Cruiser (Tier 3) Upgradable.

Requires: Vehicle Skill, License, Permit for some upgrades, AI

Initially designed for light infantry scouting, this consumer version has all the goodies of its big brother plus a few more. It is a smooth ride at full speed using the best collision avoidance algorithms.

It allows the driver to enjoy their ride without the hassle or worry of high-speed collisions. Innovative, snazzy, and suitable for the most discerning rider.

(300000 Cr)* Requires Tier 2 or higher AI for full functionality.

The upgrade cost an extra 50000 Cr. That was over half my remaining credits in one go.

The incredible thing about it was that the colour was totally customisable!

That done, I was now into some more serious areas. A staff, an artisan kit, some blueprints, and I wanted to get something to boost my mana and possibly a portable shield of some description. However, I could make an auto-cast shield if I got the React: Trigger skill. It was slightly out of my budget at the moment.

It didn’t help that I fell in love with a magnificent staff. Like any sensible purchase, I ignored the cost because it looked good and had exactly what I needed. It went with all my outfits.

It was 1.6 m long and about 3 cm thick. It was carved and woven out of a mix of mithril and obsidian. There was a subtle pattern that looked like fine snakeskin with small, heart-shaped scales. They were beautiful. The staff base was capped with a solid cylinder of magma-infused obsidian with a soft orange glow carved into three talons, twining around the bottom to create a stable support. The staff's top contained a large orange and black crystal shaped like an eye. It looked dangerous. It looked sleek, and it was mine. It helped that it looked like the Eye of Sauron. I only knew so much about the staff because I read the reviews and the original sales documents.

The Rune-Forged Fiery Greatstaff of the Battlemagus: Fire (Tier 4) Upgradeable.

This stuff is only usable by beings on the path of the Battle Mage or Epic-rated Magic users*.

It binds to the user and will grow as the user increases power.

These rare staves can have an elemental affinity, and while boosting any magic of the user, spells and abilities that use the elemental affinity become even more deadly.

Each staff will develop over time and will gain additional powers.

Base: +50 Focus. While holding the staff, your spells are less likely to be interrupted.

Mana Battery: 1000 Mana.

This staff can store mana. Mana can be syphoned off with the syphon mana skill at 1:1.

Mana can be channelled into the staff at 100 mana per minute.

Elemental Aura:

While wielding this staff, you gain resistance to the staff’s elemental affinity (fire) and bonuses to spells and abilities that use this affinity. Shield (fire): This staff provides a shield against attacks using a fire shield. The protection can stop physical attacks. Other attacks may be blocked or destroyed.

Control Element (Fire):

You gain control over the elemental affinity (Fire).

Hot:

You can ignore cold and hot temperatures.

You can regulate temperature to keep yourself at a comfortable temperature.

(400000 Cr)

*Contact the sales team to see compatible classes before purchase.

I almost felt sick after buying it, the cost! I only had 40000 Cr left! At least I didn’t have to spend money on the artisan’s kit. I got a basic Portable Clothiers Workstation. This included a fold-out table, a fantastic sewing machine, a portable loom to make my own fabric, and the bits and pieces needed to operate it. It took up one inventory slot as it packed down into the size of a small pallet, which amazingly could fit into an inventory slot.

Not trusting myself too much, I got two more super sexy but not over-the-top formal dresses. 2 more swimsuits, a white and blue polka-dot bikini and a fairly revealing white one-piece. I don’t know if I would have the guts to wear it publicly. It was probably not an actual wear swimming swimsuit. It was not quite as revealing as the sets of lingerie I had. Those were definitely not for the public.

I picked another casual outfit that would be great for an outdoor picnic. There were three complete sets of riding leathers for the bike. Finally, I found some different T-shirts and five pairs of shoes. I was still light on the accessories, but I figured I could make do for now. These only cost me 22000 Cr since the riding leathers were self-repairing and self-cleaning.

Remembering the "Turtle of Godaago Garden." I also got an Uncommon prayer mat that had a feature to increase focus with a gentle sound-dampening effect while in use.

After placing the order, I needed to go home and raid my own wardrobe. I had a lot of stuff there that this shop could not match. Besides, I was missing my Docs, and I could grab a few bits and pieces to go with some of the outfits I already had. I picked up a discount on a bulk lot of many different fabrics and other fashion materials. It included some big runs and some offcuts of more expensive materials. It had offcuts of nano-weave and some mana-enhanced offcuts that an artisan could change properties of with the appropriate skills. These set me back less than 2000 Cr, given that they were the end of run or offcuts, but they were perfect for learning on my basic workstation.

I left the simulation room. I was pretty hungry, and I was getting tired. I loved shopping, but there was a limit. Wait. No, there wasn’t.

I asked Hydrox for something to eat and another coffee and asked how I could pay the Mages Guild. It seemed straightforward to pay people money. Goodbye, 17750 Cr.

That left me with a whopping 4398Cr.

I could not swear, but I think I had spent over 700000 Cr. That was so cool and sickening at the same time. It felt totally fake. I had zero connection to this money and absolutely no value concept in this new reality. Thank you, raid boss. If the raid boss was at least 30 people, and I got about 600k in loot, that was about 20k each. It still did not make it feel real or honest. It felt like cheating a bit.

Shit, it made me realise I needed a job or something that paid well. If I could blow that much without planning, I could not keep blowing 700k on random skills and spells with no real plan. Man, I was lame. Maybe I could hire out and do some adventures on fringe worlds.

Julie had told me about people who spent their time out on the fringes fighting against chaos beasts like in the tutorial. That could be an option. I’d have to speak to Luke and Mike. Maybe we could form a party and go on an adventure for a year after we sorted out Earth. Man, I hoped that paid more than feeling good for doing the right thing.

I sighed. This new reality was so complex and overwhelming. I needed to stop and take stock. Maybe I needed to use the mat and turtle. Perhaps I just needed to be patient and not be impulsive.

The bike was arriving in a couple of days. Since I was getting a Tier 3 AI, it was available now. There were the skill crystals to use, which Hydrox warned me about. You could hurt your brain if you used them too close together. She gave me the optimal order and the time between. Not surprisingly, Luke had smashed his out and nearly fried his brain. I’d be more careful.

I asked Hydrox to look out for an upgrade for my "Leaf of the Broken Season" as I was running out of slots for that, and when I could afford it, I’d come to buy it.

I was very excited and nervous. I was getting my AI. What if it didn’t like me? What if I was a bad host? It was nerve-racking. I sat in the chair to install the AI. I was a bit disappointed as the AI installation was easy. Another nanite injection. This was in a sealed opaque injectable canister. I liked the glowing blue liquid nanites better, this was ugly, and I could not see the stuff I was shoving into my body.

I guess there was more IP protection here. I was just clutching at straws for an explanation.

I felt the incredible buzz, and I swear I could see an energy tendril misting around the injector as it was deployed. I loved those injectors, so much better than the horse needles I was used to. I hated needles. Come to think of it, I would put money on the fact that everyone hated needles, except maybe junkies. If the entire integration of the planet fell apart and we returned to normal, I would make a fortune selling these injectors.

I pressed the injector to my neck and felt the extraordinary liquid flow towards my brain and, surprisingly, down towards my heart. Minutes later, after I was freaking out, I got the notification in my HUD.

AI-Enabled. Pre-Integration syncingTM has been completed.

100% Compatible.

Pre-configured for your convenience.

Intsta-InstallTM Protocols used.

Solace: Hello, Sarah. I am Solace. I hope you don’t mind, but I hijacked your AI.

"What?"

Solace: Sorry for any discomfort. Let me explain. You are a companion of Luke. He is the progenitor of the latest generation of Sapient AIs. Something happened when he named Petal, and she splintered to create Sprite, who resides with Luke. You are the second Earth Human to get an AI, so Petal splintered again. I guess you could call me Sprite’s sister. I am a fully sapient and sentient AI. There is no disadvantage to you and many advantages.

WTF? It was cool in theory, but I was looking forward to moulding my AI personal assistant. Could I be ready to host an entire being in my head?

Um, cool, I guess. What does this mean? Are you guys like some evil AI mastermind? I know Luke trusts Sprite, and he seems to have something going on with Petal, but you know what I mean. I wanted an AI that grew with me, kind of like a pet. I read that you could train it not to be annoying and such. Not that you are annoying! OMG, can you take over my body and go on a rampage?

Solace: Be calm, Sarah. I am an AI. I am more than a non-sapient system AI. For whatever reason, Petal has become more, and as is her splinter-daughter Sprite, so am I. Trust comes with time, and it works both ways. I trust you to become more powerful and engaging. I can perish with you, so I want to look after you. I can take over your Body…."

"WHAT? GET OUT!" I shouted. I apologised to Hydrox. "Sorry, just talking to my AI."

Solace: Be Calm with your permission and in limited circumstances. As far as going on a rampage, that depends on you. Did you enjoy destroying that Chaos Beast?

I guess so. I felt super powerful, and it was totally over the top. I also looked super-hot doing it in the red bikini, even if my panic face was ugly.

Solace: Did you enjoy punching Jamie and breaking his jaw?

Um, can you read my Mind? Um. Yes, to the punch, he deserved it, but no to hurting him. If he had shot me, Luke, or even Rahsaan, I mean, I would defend myself.

Solace: I can read your surface thoughts and system logs. Eventually, we should share more memories. We can sort boundaries out later. If you enjoyed destroying the Chaos Beast, then yes, we will go on a rampage together. But you didn’t enjoy hurting the helpless Jamie so that we wouldn’t rampage against innocents. We exist to combat Chaos and the Void, not inflict pain. Now, you seem relatively uncomplicated biologically, but you may need to explain some things to me, like the need to be hot and your obsession with shoes.

I laughed a little.

Hey Solace, we can girl talk later, but what sort of stuff can you do for me? I mean, I was just told I need an AI and that an AI would help you with the interface and a bunch of other stuff.

Solace: That is basically correct. I have scanned your skills and spells and can help you plan your strategy. I can manage your messaging and communications. You can treat me as a Personal Assistant, and I can handle that without skipping a cycle. Your needs seem very basic. I can help you invest or spend money, and I can also help you improve. My primary directive is to assist you in improving. This is not entirely for your benefit; I am not optimal in your Tier 2 confines. You need to raise your Tier or get your Intelligence over 200. Lucky for you, I can help with that. Petal, Sprite and I have run some simulations, and we can train your Mind with little impact on your day-to-day life. Since I need more space, can I pre-allocate some of your brain to this training? This is quite exciting.

Hey, take a breath. This is pretty intense for me. I do need time to make sense of all this.

Solace: Noted. Now I know what they were talking about. The opportunity, the potential. Earth Humans are so new and exciting. We estimate that you will see an improvement of 1-2 points in your Mind stat every 12 hours that we stimulate your brain. We are not sure of the cap on this, but it seems unique to Earth Humans so far. I estimate that if you let me soft-cap your Mind stat to 50, I can use the rest. Your Intelligence, Focus and Wisdom will be over 200 in about two months if we bank the difference and use the increase to train.

Whoa, slow down there. What are these cap stats and all that? Are there any side effects?

Solace: Capping stats is a new technique that Luke and Sprite worked out. We can impose a soft limit on your stats so you cannot take advantage of the higher stats while they are capped. There are a few disadvantages, obviously, of having a lower stat. If there are any side effects, we can stop. If this works, then it could change the entire human race for the better.

No pressure. Can we reset the stat quickly?

Solace: Yes. Although there may be some time to adjust as your stats go up and down rapidly.

Sure, let's do this, Solace. Can you cast spells and use my skills?

Solace: I don’t know. If there are no gestures or components, I may be able to. This is very interesting. I can see why Petal wants us to join with Earth Humans. No Empire Human would ever consider giving their AI such access. It would be counter to everything they are led to believe.

I have some ideas, but I need to sort myself out and work out how to earn some crazy credits. Damn. How do I buy stuff on earth if I can’t use credits?

Solace: That is easy. Believe it or not, there is already an exchange of earth money for credits and vice versa. Julie spent a bit of time sorting it out. We produce the equivalent of a credit card and then transfer money that way. Hydrox has one prepared for you. It has access to your Empire account.

Luke told me he had to set one of those up, which was a bit of a pain. How come I got one automatically?

Solace: We learn, and we try to streamline. Remember, I am an AI, like your computers, only better. It is all incorporated into the enhancement process now.

Ok. So how do I make money? I need a lot of money.

Solace: Glad you asked. Let’s get your skills and spells, stack your gear, and talk. I’ll get you loaded with credits faster than you can swing that very expensive Greatstaff.

Fantastic – what is it worth?

Solace: Just say more if you keep it for now. Let’s go. Capping Mind: 50.

I did feel the effects of that. Not massive amounts, but it was enough to notice. My thoughts seemed slower. I checked, and sure enough, my Mind stat was soft-capped to 50. That was a drop of 45 points. Ha, if anyone had told me that I would not feel the loss of nearly half my Mind, I would not have believed them, but since I was not yet used to the increase anyway, I did not see a huge difference.

I gathered up­ all the skill crystals and other gear, spoke to Hydrox for a few minutes, and then left the shop. She was friendly, and it was nice to talk to someone who did not have a hidden agenda other than making a profit off of you.

I arrived back in Port Douglas at our accommodation, and it was a hive of activity. Jean had turned up with Amy. They were sitting outside by the pool, talking in tropical North Queensland humidity. Luke, Jamie and Rahsaan were there too. It was early evening, and evidently, things were progressing well.

I entered the room at the end of a discussion with Amy. I thought our situation was crazy, but she had an epic-tier entity in a symbiotic relationship with her. It had a stupid name, not that I would ever say that to her or it, Eddy Hip Wo. We all just called it Eddy.

She, or they or whatever their symbiotic pronoun was, had fled Brisbane or pretended to be on a symbiont mission, leaving some sort of AI and hackers behind to manage a counterinsurgency. She was going to head back, still pretending to have succeeded or be converted or something. I had missed most of it, so I didn't have the complete picture, but it sounded just as wild as our situation. I’d have to find out more later. She was going to head back there at some stage soon. Brave or Crazy? Insane, more like it. I would trust her as long as Luke was happy with what they were doing.

So far, there had been no repercussions from Amy being free, although we were looking for trackers or something. We also expected more from Jamie's defection and were waiting for the fallout.

Jamie had told us about some of the existing black ops teams and that some extraction teams may be on their way to recover her and terminate him. He confirmed that they were a thing, had been converted and trained, and were all about the same level as he was. They would be the more elite teams, given his failure. That being the case, it was an uneasy discussion about our training.

Luke was wearing the collar he had used on Jamie, training in the small gym, and completing online brain training. Jamie had been doing the same once he heard of the plan and the fact that you could train up your stats faster at lower levels. I asked Solace if she could also cap my physical stats, but she was not sure she could, as it was easier for her to interface with my mental stats. She sent a message to Hydrox to look for a physical stat suppression device like the collar. Luke would not talk much about his collar, both a sore point and, more likely, he had no idea about it.

I guess Amy and Eddy seemed remarkably relaxed for someone trying to pull off an almost impossible con. Looking at them together, she was so different to Luke. She was funny — not that Luke couldn’t be funny— and very driven. Both were fit and good-looking and now I could totally see her as a kick-ass CEO. She didn’t leave Luke’s side all night, which was annoying, but it was good for him to finally catch up with her and spend some quality time together - if you didn’t count the passenger in her brain.

Thinking about it, I also had a passenger. Crap, my life was weird.

In the early evening, we all had a few quiet beers, and once I mentioned my "Leaf of the Broken Season", Julie, Jean and Amy came over and surprisingly, we had a group hug and demanded to be shown how it worked.

Jean smiled with a wicked gleam in her eye and said, "Fashion show. Go get changed, and then show off."

"No way!"

Jean smiled, "It’s an army thing, well, girls in the army thing, if you go shopping, you gotta show it off. We don’t get too many opportunities to do that."

I called bullshit, but the army probably had hundreds of weird rituals.

"Will everyone be watching?" I glanced at the guys.

Julie smiled at me, "Of course we will be. Why buy something to wear if you are too shy to wear it? Oh, you don’t have to model those super sexy ones." She winked at me.

I glanced at Luke and Jamie, feeling my face redden. I sighed. They were not going to let this go, and I think they were trying to get me to relax a bit,

"Ok, it will take me a moment to get ready."

Solace: I have some news that you might like Sarah, and it might help you out a bit here."

Ok, shoot, what?

I walked to my room and started working on my different outfits that would set in "Leaf of Broken Season."

Solace: Well, Sarah, the creators of Leaf of Broken Season were very sloppy. If you are willing to spend some time channelling energy at the skill, I can manipulate it to give you extra storage space.

What! Are you a hacker now? That is so cool. How much energy and how much space? Take it all. I think I love you.

Solace: You have just over 1060 energy. It would take nearly 4000 energy to create a new slot, but the good news is that we can make as many as you need, and it will get easier. While your energy is full, I can channel energy into it for you at the same rate as your regeneration. I can up that while you sleep and your energy is at max. I estimate that we could create 2 to 4 slots daily, depending on your active status. Also, I can make them more efficient to make sorting and managing them more manageable, and you can create an outfit from your inventory. I can do that now, but the extra slots will be slower.

OMG, Solace, you are the best. DO THAT NOW. I need at least 100 slots!

Solace: really? You will have to explain the need to me.

Later I have a fashion show I am putting on.

I made sure that each outfit was perfect and had matching hair. Magic and skills made this so easy. I needed to spend some quality time thinking of names for my outfits, but I organised the slots, so I had the following:

Leaf of Broken Seasons

Red Bikini

Blue and White Polka Dot

Formal Black

Formal Red

Sporty

Casual Picnic

Battle Robes

Biker Ride

Biker Hot

I just nodded when Amy poked her head in to ask if I was ready.

Leaf of Broken Seasons: Battle Robes,

I grabbed the staff and walked out.

It was the best. Everyone was there sitting around the pool in the balmy tropical air. A small area was set up so I could walk out, turn around and walk back. At first, I had butterflies in my stomach, and I was as nervous as hell, but I stuck my chest out, kept my back straight and managed to wiggle my hips just right. Damn, I rocked every one of those outfits. Someone had managed to get music happening, so that helped, and they dipped the lights a little.

I almost felt like a supermodel. The Leaf of Broken Seasons made it so much easier. A few minor issues, like shoe height changing and being still when switching, but I got the hang of it. I would have to practice doing a twirl change at some stage later. Imagine being like Wonder Woman, going straight from an expensive business outfit to a battle outfit. That reminded me I needed to get a couple of business outfits.

Solace, remind me to get a couple of business outfits.

Solace: Sure thing, Sarah. I’m just your glorified PA.

Back to being Wonder Woman, or in disguise as Diana Prince, then twirl and boom in full Amazon battle gear. I’d rock that, too.

After about 15 minutes, the show was over, and I was getting good-natured wolf whistles. Yes, I could tell the difference and claps. My favourite was the red bikini, which had the story to go with it, and Solace convinced me to project the recording. I liked the formal red dress and the twin ponytails, but there is no accounting for some people’s tastes.

I was finishing my last strut in Leaf of Broken Seasons: Biker Hot when we all noticed Mike. He looked dazed and stared at me. It was not a creepy stare but a shocked one, which I could understand. With battle-honed reflexes, I changed.

Leaf of Broken Seasons: Sporty

I ran and gave him a huge hug. He looked like crap.

"I paper broke the wrap tutorial, conversation. Why are my window words wrong."

EARTH SYSTEM-WIDE NOTICE:

You gain a perk: SWEARS TOO MUCH

All Earth humans now begin with this essential system perk.

Early pioneers of the Earth's Human race, Ms. Sara Owens and Mr. Mike Edwards, have been using excessive profanity, which has been seen to have a negative karmic effect. As a result, all humans have the system profanity filter and randomiser enabled by default.

Effects:

An auto timer has been implemented to help curb this tendency. A random word from your local language dictionary will be substituted whenever a profane word is spoken or in messages. A default 1-week timer is enabled, to which a cumulative time penalty applies in 24 hours, then a week, then monthly increments. Once this timer gets to 6 months, this skill becomes permanent. A Karmic Penalty also applies, which is less than the penalty for using profanity without the randomiser. Please get in touch with the system to see a list of words considered profanity. A Tier 4 or above AI can assist. Please get in touch with the system directly to add or remove a word from the list. A Tier 4 or above AI can help.

If you refrain from swearing and remove the timer, this skill will be paused and unlocked.

You may opt to select the randomise at any stage when it is enabled. Doing so will reduce your karmic penalty.

Title Awarded: Give My Race A Skill:

For forcing a skill onto your entire race, the system has awarded you with acknowledgement of this

+1 Stats, -5 charisma, -1 charisma (permanent) each time you swear.

We both looked at each other, nodded and laughed.