Part of me wasn’t surprised by Orange’s presence. “I figured you’d say something like that. But I was enjoying myself so much. Why’d you have to ruin it?”
My doppelgänger’s hair shifted as a heavy wind blew in a new environment. Following the breeze, everything shifted to the coffee shop from last time. I followed her to one of the booths and took a seat.
“Talking, not training?” I leaned forward and rested my arms on the table.
She shook her head. “We still have to analyze most of the combat logs. But, more importantly, what fighting style is it you wish to utilize? It will help us guide which logs to add more weight to.”
I held up my arm blade. “If I’m honest, I’m a pretty good shot. Maybe my long-range shots with my gun could be better, but I think I need to focus on learning close-quarters combat. So far, I haven’t fought anything very difficult, yet.”
“True. It is pragmatic to believe that will not always remain true.” Orange waved her hand to the center of the diner and an image of a bav’varst appeared. “However, we believe that these creatures and their pack tactics will provide quality training simulations to begin with. We still believe that working on your mental alacrity is paramount.”
I hung my head. “I’ve been getting faster.”
“And for that, you’ve done well,” Orange said. “In our examination of the combat logs, we isolated several training methods with varying levels of success for unique individuals. For you, we hypothesize, a positive reinforcement strategy would be the most effective.”
I held my head up in my hand as I stared at the AI. “And how did you come to that conclusion?”
“Your past is full of negative experiences.” Orange’s voice went flat as her expressionless face. “Those subjected to such seemingly poor conditions will see any negative reinforcement as deserved or ‘normal.’ This is counterproductive, as it will not motivate you to change. But we have seen significant spikes in endorphin production when you receive a compliment.”
Orange waved her hand, and a pile of snickerdoodle cookies appeared on a plate in front of me. “There is also a study I’ve read in your memories of a study of a man and his dogs. This strategy could be utilized so that every time you hit a milestone, we provide a reward for you.”
I blinked several times. “There is so much about what you just said that sounds extremely unethical.” I pushed the cookies away, but my hand lingered on the plate. Maybe just one cookie.
“Everything will be done with your permission.” Orange extended a hand to me. “We would set up the milestones but not inform you of what they are unless you asked. In turn, you would set your reward to whatever you wanted and be able to change it at will.”
Even as I pulled my hand away from the cookies, I couldn’t take my eyes off them. “But the way you make it sound, it sounds like you’re conditioning me to act and think in a certain way. This feels a little extreme.”
“There is no cause for worry about that.” Orange stood up and extended a hand to me. “We did learn more about the Soul Nexus itself. Our mission is simply to help you in every capacity you allow. If there is anything you feel uncomfortable with, we won’t do it.”
That’s comforting. “You said you learned more about the Nexus. Does that mean you understand what your purpose is yet?” I stood up to join her.
“That’s where we have bad news.” Orange’s brows scrunched up. “The Soul Nexus is watching you more closely now. I can feel it. The Soul Nexus was created not to grant wishes but to study souls.”
“Then why grant the wishes at all?” I asked.
“Our leading hypothesis is that it is using the saying ‘catching more flies with honey’ to put it simply,” Orange answered. “We also don’t know who created the Soul Nexus or why."
“So the Soul Nexus is nothing more than an elaborate trap that someone is using as a giant science experiment?” My jaw hit the floor.
“It may seem that way.” Orange’s eyes shifted. “However, we believe the Soul Nexus has grown beyond that simple objective and is now attempting something. And whatever it is, it involves you now.”
I swallowed hard. “That’s terrifying.”
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“We understand that this information is potentially unsettling. But since we can’t flee, we have to stay. There is no way to leave the Soul Nexus unless we reach the top.” Orange said in a serious tone.
“And the Nexus will do anything it can to keep us from reaching it,” I said, scratching at the back of my head. “That leaves us with only one thing, doesn’t it?”
Orange nodded. “Yes, you need to improve as much as possible.” She then poked my chest. “But first, wake up!”
Everything lurched around me as I sat up in the bathtub. The water splashed around me as I calmed down. Right, I was dreaming.
"Is everything alright in here?” Elara poked her head through the curtain.
“Yeah, yeah.” I wiped my face and slicked my hair back. “I just fell asleep and started myself awake.”
The ghost giggled. “I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying yourself. Maybe you need that rest more than you originally thought.” She pulled her head back through the curtain, leaving me alone again.
I sat in perfect silence. The bubbles had stopped, but the smell of lavender and cinnamon filled the room. Orange’s final words ran through my head. I need to improve. And she’s given me three methods: kill monsters and gain levels; spend shards to buy augments to replace more of my body; and training from what she can learn from Gary.
Slowly and begrudgingly, I started actually taking a bath instead of just relaxing in it. Orange will want to begin training right away when we get some sleep. I took a quick peek at my energy bar. Some food would be nice too. Maybe while Shadara goes shopping for a new bow with all the shards she’s gotten since she killed most of the monsters in the dungeon after, I kept them preoccupied with offering up my body as a tasty option.
I could still feel the one mimic that was shaped like a vace as it swallowed my head, its tongue sliding across my face, and the drool in my ears. A shiver ran up my spine as I nearly gagged. Shadara better have been serious when she said she’d make that up to me for that one. After all, she was the one who picked the dumb thing up in the first place. We’ll need more supplies too, since we used up all the water and meal potions we had.
I let out a heavy sigh as I rinsed my hair. Even as expensive as they are, I eat way too much food to bring along. It’s much more cost-effective and time-efficient for me to drink two or three potions when I’m in a dungeon.
The thirty-nine thousand, two hundred and forty shards I had were looking very tempting to use. I shouldn’t. What if the sphinx’s challenge requires me to do something I can’t? Or if we can’t complete it? Gary made it clear that it’s just best to move to the fifth floor. It’s hard for me to disagree since the first Gary I met told me to look for a way to kill the thing hunting me on the fifth floor. The sooner I get rid of it, the sooner I can truly relax.
I finished cleaning myself off and got out of the tub. Water poured around me onto the stone floor as I grabbed a towel to start drying my hair. Something about watching the water flow into a drain on the floor just felt relatable. My life feels like that water. I can see everything around me and all the places I could go. But instead of going to those places, I’m following an almost predetermined path and thinking that it is the path I’m choosing.
Orange’s words about the Soul Nexus left a heavy feeling in my stomach as I sat down to watch the water flow down the drain. Mr. Black sent me to the Soul Nexus. Did he know what would happen, or did he believe that this was the best path for me to take? Was it really my decision to go, or did he only give me that option, knowing that I would choose anything over dying?
I looked at my hand. My nanites and Orange—was I supposed to find them too? Why hasn’t anyone else activated the nanites before now? I know Orange said something about me having cosmic energy—another thing likely given to me by Mr. Black—that caused them to activate. Was that another thing that was supposed to happen? I fled the second floor because of a bounty on my head. I left the third floor because the sphinx gave us an ultimatum when we simply wanted to try again. And now, we have to flee the fourth floor because someone here can threaten the sphinx, causing the Soul Nexus to eventually retaliate by kicking everyone on the fourth floor out. When do I get to choose? Can I choose?
The Soul Nexus is preparing me for something. It wants something from me. This all-powerful, wish-granting, seemingly infinite world wants something from someone as insignificant as me. Why? What is so special about me? My artificial soul has earned me a death sentence by far greater powers than I thought existed. Gary is studying me. He said that, didn’t he?
My eyes went wide as the temperature of the room dropped. “Is Gary the Soul Nexus?”
I looked around the room for any sign that someone was watching me as I wrapped a towel around myself. No matter what I did or where I looked, there was nobody. But the feeling of someone watching wouldn’t go away.
My mouth went dry as I dried off as quickly as possible. I couldn’t feel anything. The smell of lavender and cinnamon was nowhere to be found. Even the room was colder.
“Elara,” I turned and called out.
Without a second's delay, my ghost friend floated into the room. Her arms were full of my clothes. “Yes? Is something wrong?” She turned her head as my eyes kept darting around, looking for the source of the feeling. “What are you looking for?”
“I don’t know,” I answered hesitantly. “It feels like I’m being watched. And I can’t shake the feeling.”
The maid frowned, placed my clothes on an empty bench, and disappeared into the walls. She was gone for almost a minute before returning, shaking her head. “Nope. Nobody around. You must be imagining it.”
I rubbed my shoulder where the metal turned to skin. “Maybe, but it feels too real.”
Elara waved to my clothes. “Well, then let’s get you dressed and out of here. Your clothes are good to go.” She then floated next to them. “Afterwords, we’ll see if the feeling follows you as I take you to a bedroom to sleep in.”
I nodded slowly. “Sure.”
I’ll wait until we get to the hallway to ask to be taken to get some food. Just in case the walls have ears too.