I regained consciousness again, and my eyes fluttered open. I was still in the same familiar cave.

“Welcome back, Player,” Val said.

I stood easily, not feeling any of the discomfort from moments ago. In fact, I felt better than I had all day, although my thoughts were still a little scrambled.

“Your Player interface will boot up momentarily.”

“My what…” I started to say but was interrupted by a pinging sound in my brain.

Text appeared in my vision, and I heard a neutral male voice speak.

WELCOME TO THE TWO-HUNDRED-AND-NINTH CHAPTER OF QUEST FOR CONQUEST. PLEASE STATE YOUR PLAYER DESIGNATION.

The new voice coming from inside my head had the same tinny sound as Val’s, but this voice had less inflection and personality.

“It wants you to state the name you will use as a Player,” Val said helpfully.

“Quest for Conquest?” I said. “What a dumb name.”

RESPONSE NOT RECOGNIZED.

“It sounds better in the language of the Triarchy,” Val said. “Now, name yourself.”

“What should I tell it?” I asked.

RESPONSE NOT RECOGNIZED.

“Think your questions to me, idiot,” Val said, or thought, I guessed.

“Now you tell me,” I mumbled to myself and rolled my eyes.

Val didn’t reply.

I did as requested and thought, “Should I use my real name or my Erda name?”

“Most Players adopt a new name when they join the game, but it is optional. I recommend you don’t use either name. I doubt it would be problematic, but it's better to err on the side of caution.”

“So, just make one up?”

“Yes.”

“Uh, um.” I was stammering. This should be easy, but I was feeling rushed. An idea struck me, and I ran with it. “My name is John McClane.”

JOHN MCCLANE. WELCOME TO QUEST FOR CONQUEST. THE GOAL OF THIS GAME IS TO SEEK ADVENTURE. GAIN POWER AND INFLUENCE. DEFEAT MYTHICAL FOES. BE A HERO. BECOME A GOD AMONG MEN. UNITE THE WORLD UNDER YOUR BANNER. ETERNAL GLORY AWAITS YOU.

IF LEADERSHIP IS NOT WHAT YOU SEEK, GLORY CAN BE FOUND ELSEWHERE. SERVE WITH HONOR, FIGHT FOR YOUR BETTERS, AND DO YOUR PART TO BRING VICTORY TO YOUR ALLIES.

OR DON’T. FIGHT FOR YOURSELF. HOARD YOUR POWER AND RICHES. LIVE YOUR LIFE ACCORDING TO YOUR DESIRES. THE CHOICE IS YOURS.

A sense of anxiety weighed me down as I began to question myself. I wondered just how much influence Val had over my decisions, over my mind. I had jumped into this so quickly, and Val was the one setting the pace.

A visual overlay appeared before my eyes. Or perhaps in my head. It had different tabs for me to select. They highlighted individually as I focused my thoughts on them.

I clicked on the tab marked “Inventory.”

More categories appeared: Chest, Legs, Hands, Feet, and Head. There were also multiple jewelry slots and one for a souvenir.

The inventory was similar to many video games I played when I was younger. I had always enjoyed a nice fantasy game and even played a few MMOs.

“How is an inventory system realistic?” I asked. “Shouldn’t I only be able to carry what I can hold?”

“The items and wealth gained in this world will continue to exist here even after the game officially ends. For those who choose to leave your planet and return home, their wealth will be translated into their currency. The quantum inventory system allows the Player to accumulate more than would normally be possible. Magical items will lose their powers outside of the sphere’s influence. However, they will retain quantized material, which is extremely valuable to the Triarchy.”

“What’s so great about quantized material?”

“Hmm…” was all she said.

“What? You don’t know?”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“I am trying to think of how to explain it in a way your tiny human brain would comprehend.”

“Try me.”

“Are you familiar with the concept of zero-point energy?”

I shook my head.

“Then this is a waste of time.”

“Explain it, Val,” I growled.

She sighed. “If I must.” I swear I could feel her annoyance.

She didn’t say anything else.

“Yes,” I prompted. “You must.”

“Zero-point energy is the lowest energy state of an atom. Imagine a rock falling down an infinite well. As the rock falls, its kinetic energy increases. It will continue accelerating and accumulating energy until it achieves peak momentum. At this point, the rock is still falling, but its energy state cannot be altered any further. Now, imagine all the accumulated momentum the rock gained as it accelerated from point A to point B as form of accessible energy. All you have to do is reach into the well and pull it out. What you pull out is a quantized form of energy. This type of energy is the primary power source behind the Triarchy, and the only device in the universe capable of mass producing this specific type of quantized energy is the same device that created the sphere around your world.”

My jaw moved, but I had no words. For the most part, I understood what Val was saying. The science behind it was less important to me than the fact that she casually mentioned that the universe's most powerful energy source was encircling my planet.

I’d have to talk to her more about this later. For now, it was just too much, so I turned my attention back to my interface. I knew what to search for next. Finding my Character Profile only took a thought. I was listed as a level one human.

“Uh, Val, my profile screen lists me as a human. Is that going to be a problem?”

“No, you are a Player now. The system will treat you the same as any other Player. Please, check your Magical Affinity for me.”

It took me a second, but I found what she was referring to. “It says ‘None.’”

“Mmm. That is…disappointing.”

“But I could learn, right?” I asked. I really wanted to use some magic.

“It would take a considerable amount of time.”

I shrugged and continued to play with my interface. There was a map, but the only visible portion was in my immediate surroundings, the rest covered by a fog. There was a quest log, a communications tab, and a skills section. “This is amazing,” I said.

“I’m sure to your mind it is simply wondrous,” Val said.

I glanced upwards. Was that sarcasm? I doubted it.

“So, Val, I have a few more questions I wanted to ask.”

“I am happy to answer any questions you have.”

I was unsure how much I should ask. I didn’t know anything about her, and she could probably scramble my brains in an instant. But she did say she would answer my questions, so I pressed forward. “What are you?” I asked. “I mean, I assume you’re some sort of AI. Are you self-aware? What’s your story?”

“That is a lot of questions.”

“Sorry,” I said. “Just curious about who is inside my head.”

“Your curiosity is understandable. I am, as you surmised, a self-aware Artificial Intelligence. The only thing else you need to know about me right now is that I am your ally.”

I was hesitant to believe that. She must have her own interests, her own motivations. I might be nothing to her, just a tool she was using, like that Dalari before me. What happened when I was no longer useful? Would she cast me away? I knew she had plans for me, but what were they?

Oh shit. She was probably hearing all these thoughts. “Val, can you read my thoughts?” I thought to her.

“Yes,” she replied. “But only thoughts that are directed at me.”

“What did I just think?”

“You thought, ‘Val, can you read my thoughts?’ We did this moments ago when you were asking me about your name. Is this a problem?”

I waved my hand. “So, you can’t read my mind whenever you want. Only when I want you to?”

“Correct. I can only hear your thoughts when you allow me to do so.”

“Good, good.” I rang my hands. I didn’t think I could live with someone listening to my every thought. “So, what do we do now?”

I jumped as a woman appeared before me. She looked real except for some graphical artifacts flickering sporadically across her form. She was beautiful, wearing a long black dress with a V-neck cut that showed a teasing amount of cleavage. The dress had short sleeves that ended just past her shoulders. Her hair was a brilliant, almost unnatural red, and so were her lips. She looked like someone who should be at a gala, not in a dark, damp cave.

“Val?” I asked. “Is that you?”

“It is me, John.”

Who the hell was John? Right, I had just changed my name. This was getting confusing.

“How can I see you?”

“Now that your mind has been integrated into the system, I can present myself to you in a visible form. You will be the only one who can see me, and the visage must remain close to you, or it will fade.”

“That’s pretty amazing. What else can you do?”

“I am limited in how much influence I can have over the system, and my power level is dangerously low after transferring hosts. I can only make minor manipulations at this time, such as masking our presence from the system. More drastic actions could raise suspicion.”

“I thought you said the AI rarely interfered.”

“That is correct,” Val said. “However, if I alter its code too much, it will eventually take notice.”

“I see. So, if an arrow is coming at my face, can you nudge it away with a gust of wind or something.”

“That is unlikely. If you had an item or skill that created wind, I could potentially enhance it, but I cannot make wind appear out of nowhere on my own. I must operate within the parameters of the system. As I said, I can only make minor alterations. For example, I can change the color of your interface.”

The text on my menu changed from white to yellow.

“Wow, that’s going to be super useful.” I started to roll my eyes but stopped. It was better not to antagonize the parasitic AI in my head.

“You are beginning to vex me,” Val said. Her avatar’s eyebrows were scrunched together. It seemed she did understand sarcasm.

“I’m sorry. What’s our first move?”

“Our only priority right now is to increase your level and keep you alive. Until you are stronger, I would advise against engaging in combat with anything more dangerous than a rabbit.”

Val’s stupidly gorgeous avatar gave me a delighted smile. I couldn’t help but wonder why she presented herself to me this way. It felt a bit manipulative. But maybe this was how she truly pictured herself in a human form.

I’d follow her lead for now, mostly because I had no choice. I had no idea how far this could go, and I had no clue where to begin. Right now, it seemed I needed her just as much as she needed me.

I focused on my interface again. There were pages for skills, both active and passive. I had none. There was also a page I had missed earlier for something called ‘Competencies,” which I assumed were like professions. There was a journal, which appeared to be used for keeping notes. This page was empty. There was more to explore, but I was already too overwhelmed to dig into it. I’d have plenty of time for that later. For now, I was ready to get out of this cave. It was beginning to smell like dead Dalari.