AI: Artificial Isekai

After Pemik and I report a version of the events to the Guild, I head home.

In no time at all, my relaxation is interrupted by mildly angry knocking. Answering the door reveals a pissed off Erysis and the distinct absence of Nexen.

"May I come in?" she asks, trying to conceal her anger.

"Umm... No? I think I want witnesses."

Erysis ignores me and pushes through. When the door is closed behind her, she narrows her eyes at me.

"I knew the whole Princess Khi'Na situation was stupid, but I didn't expect it to be this stupid. You must really like doing stupid things, huh," she says.

"Let's have a seat." She stares at me for a moment and then stomps to a chair. I follow her and sit down as well. "Where's Nexen?"

"Chasing up another source just in case. Now, tell me the truth. Does the Guild have the full picture? Does Archmage Elisa?" Her anger is gone, like it was never there. Her eyes are conveying a mixture of emotions, the most prominent one being concern.

"The Guild is not aware of some things. Elisa knows everything."

"What can we do?"

"Everything is under control, Erysis. This is... I'm sorry but this is too dangerous for you. Even involving Pemik was a questionable decision on my part."

"But—"

"I need you to trust me. Please."

Erysis softly replies, "Okay. But if you ever need our help, you have to ask for it. Can you promise me that?"

"I... Yes. I promise."

"Good. So, is Khi, like, bad?"

"No. She is caught in the middle of something she can't escape. But if you don't want to meet her again, I understand."

"Oh. No. I like her. Nex likes her, too. And if you say she's alright, then I know it must be true. You are weirdly perceptive for some reason."

"What can I say, it's a talent."

She shakes her head, a smile finally finding its way out. "Yeah, one of your many. Like getting mixed up in this shit." A transparent bubble shimmers for a moment around us. The smile fades. "The first time we met, why was she asking about where you grew up? What were you and the Archmage really doing?"

"Now who's being weirdly perceptive?"

"I'm not going to get an answer, am I?"

I reinforce her spell with a bubble of my own, cutting off the outside world fully. "I was on vacation. Elisa was visiting her parents. That's all I told you. Do you understand, Erysis?"

My serious tone surprises her, but my intent seems to have been caught. "I understand."

"I'm... I'm sorry about all this. I don't want to be so secretive, but I don't have a choice just yet." A deep sigh forces its way out of me. "I think we shouldn't see each other—"

She interrupts me, her voice deathly cold, a stark contrast to her ordinarily fiery personality, "If I was you, I wouldn't finish that sentence."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Understood."

And then the coldness is gone, replaced with nothing but warmth. "You'll be okay?"

"Yes."

"Alright. But if you die, I'm bringing you back to life and killing you myself."

Making a confused expression at her, I say, "But then I won't be dead?" She palms her face with both hands and groans.

I reassure Erysis some more, both with words and with copious amounts of food. Once my cupboards and cold box have been emptied out, leaving only a couple of dry leaves and a cobweb sans spider, she reluctantly prepares to depart. After making me once more promise that I will be careful and threatening me with a very bad time if I continue with the righteous self-denigrating.

***

"Let me get this straight," Elisa says. "Your cultist informant is sure the lich is aware we are after him?"

"Eh... Maybe. Rumors and hushed conversations only."

"I say we play ignorant. But... why else would the lich invite so many prominent adventurers to a party if he's not up to something. Also, did we even find out his name. There was nothing on the invitation."

"It's either Argant the Crimson Thorn or Tony."

Elisa looks at me strangely. "Those are entirely different from one another. Why is there confusion between the two?"

"Hey, I'm just relaying information here."

She shakes her head in exasperation and continues issuing commands. "It's not important anyway. Do you think a hundred explosive flasks will be enough?" I start to reply, but she interrupts me by answering her own question, "Let's make it one-fifty, so we can be sure."

"The God of Spacetime is going to be mighty peeved with you again."

"Yeah? And what's he gonna do about it?" A crack in reality forms in the shop the party is currently at. "Wanna be next on the list?" Elisa asks the game. The crack timidly closes itself back up. The shopkeeper gives Elisa a fifty percent discount. "Don't worry, Lucius. We'll be using these beauties for something else. Actually, let's make it two hundred."

"Are you sure this is the best approach?"

"Yes."

"Can't we have one straightforward fight? Just to mix things up."

She makes a show of thinking intently. Then answers, "No." I shake my head, smiling at the same time. "Come on, let's go acquire the rest of the supplies. And we should get some new clothes for the party. Wouldn't want the lich to spook when we show up in full armor and with our weapons drawn." Elisa turns to me with glee. "Do you think Nova would like it if we got matching dresses?"

"Only one way to find out."

***

On my way back home from Elisa's place, I make a last-minute detour. In the distance, through a flimsy curtain of snow, I see space shearing apart, revealing colors forever unseen. The breach undulates like a sickly heartbeat, perfectly imperfect. A vibrant violet explodes out of the anomaly. The dungeon gate slowly settles into a half-circle, and white specks appear on the surface, a close resemblance to the falling snowflakes.

I jog to the newly coalesced dungeon and assess the situation. It's right in the middle of a street, but there's no tram lines passing through here, so I go ahead with the prep. The surface of the road shifts and rises up, following my command. A tall wall circles the gate. With another command, writing depresses into the rocky and earthy surface, cautioning anyone that reads it.

My adventurer's card is retrieved, and a memorized sequence of gestures is quickly swiped on its surface. After only a few seconds, the card vibrates back a message. Alright.

The wall I constructed splits apart. When I walk through, it closes back behind me. I step into the dungeon's portal.

The steady snowfall is replaced by a blurring blizzard. Hmm... Could be an adequate source of water and ice, but the purity is too high. Will need processing. And the collection might pose a challenge. Not to mention, the location of the dungeon is less than ideal. No other valuable resources detected. Yeah, this one is set for destruction.

As part of my high rank, I obtained authority to promptly decide the fate of dungeons, if I were to encounter one that has not yet been registered by the Guild. Had to go through a whole course for that. And going by my teachings, this newest arrival is a no-brainer. ...Could have been really cool for some of my use cases, but whatever. And yes, pun intended.

A Lesser Ice Elemental tries to be sneaky and attacks from beneath the accumulated snow. It impacts my form and shatters its pointed implements. I almost feel bad when I finish the shattering with a stomp.

I'll give myself a few more minutes before going for the core.

To fill up that time, I come up with a game. Some snow is scooped up, formed into a snowball, and then compressed into a chunk of hard ice. When I detect an adequate target, I spin my right arm a few times, winding up. My shell's physique is set to baseline, and utilizing the strongest form of tempering I can manage, I throw my weapon. The projectile zips through the air and impacts an elemental. The monster's frozen body gives, shattered by the snowball. Its core is destroyed. One out of one.

Around the fifteen-minute mark, I finally stop myself. One hundred and ninety-two out of two hundred. Pretty good. The last snowball hits against the dungeon's core. The collapsed space spits me out, and— Alert. High-casualty event imminent.