AI: Artificial Isekai

The Guild attendant that came to check up on me will notice the collapse of the dungeon in around fifty milliseconds. The protective wall I conjured will give me a couple more seconds. And I can give myself up to five before the risk of drawing undue scrutiny becomes too great. Elisa will be too slow to react, and so will Councilor Olindir. They would also need to somehow conceal themselves first. Definitely no time for that. I will have to risk it and interfere myself.

My current shell is left behind. My core moves to another prepared shell and reappears inside a sizeable Union village quite far away from Harthes. I am covered in heavily enchanted gear, concealing my presence, and empowered by my own stealth capabilities.

There is no sign of the attacker. There was no sign of an attacker at all. Reviewing the logs for this location does not reveal any physical traces that could indicate a teleportation or someone using stealth. Whoever this was, or still is, I cannot detect them. Most likely conclusion, this is a strong fighter. A fighter much stronger than me.

I regard the frozen spell, my maximum perception allowing me this luxury. Unfortunately, my mana senses do not benefit from my digitally enhanced mind, giving no hints to who is hiding or the actual power of the magic. But even without that, I can deduce its potency. A gnashing orb of black tentacles, writhing with malicious glee. It hangs in the air right above the village, ready to erase it from the map.

An energy shield will not be enough to stop it. I will need to reinforce it with a magical one. Suboptimal.

Who could this be? I go over the people I cannot account for at the moment. There are too many to be sure, but I can narrow it down. It's none of the unstable individuals currently undergoing treatment. Either way, none of them have displayed this combination of abilities.

An escaped convict? There have been no recorded escapes recently. And there's no one that fits the profile.

An attack perpetrated by Veyrin? Showcasing their displeasure due to the Union's involvement? Possible, but unlikely. They would not risk complicating their current situation even further. Plus, I haven't heard anything remotely close to this. Still, I will keep that one in mind.

Some dragon or fae having snapped? Extremely unlikely. None of the ones currently unaccounted for fit the profile.

Remnants of the Dwarven Empire desperately trying to regain control by undermining the Republic? A long shot but could be.

The Demon Kingdom attacking the Union? I don't really see a viable reason for it.

Just some random act of violence? I feel like I'm getting warmer. There are a number of individuals that fit the profile and are currently unaccounted for. Once they come back in range of my sensors, I'll have a clearer picture. Could even find the perpetrator.

Finally, could it be a monster? Some powerful denizen, or boss, that has avoided detection after a break? For now, this is the most plausible scenario. Let's hope it's not too high a grade. I will need to inform the Guild, or defeat it myself.

But first, I will need to take care of this spell and whatever happens next. I let the dark orb slowly inch closer to its intended target. Right before it would impact, I spin up an energy shield, containing it. Around that, I create another layer, one made out of projections, attempting to conceal what is truly happening.

Time resumes its normal flow.

The gnashing darkness starts digging into the protective energy, threatening to gnaw through. Metal plates appear around the energy bubble and connect to one another, forming a segmented vault. Before I can begin pouring even more power into my barrier, the dark spell disperses into nothingness. What? I focus my mana senses, trying to find the cast— Alert. Multiple high-casualty events imminent.

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Time freezes again.

Three more Union villages and a town, a dwarven city, an elven city, two demon towns, and a gnome enclave are under attack. This is not a monster.

Beastfolk principalities are excluded from the second wave, and so is Drakonia, including the Fae Lands. Drakonia could be seen as a bigger risk. Could be a Veyrin attack. But could also be misdirection.

The spells used are all different. And unfortunately for whoever is doing this, they have only given me more data. Newest most likely scenario—the attack is being carried out by the Demon King's army.

Why?

The individuals most likely involved have not gotten any orders. And first of all, unprompted military action, especially against civilians, is highly unlawful in the Demon Kingdom.

...I made a mistake.

I let time slowly trickle forth while still watching the second attack that was launched closely. As it nears its target, the gigantic chunk of earth melts into mana. Fuck... All other attacks do the same.

Alert. Multiple forced Dungeon Breaks detected.

All dungeons are lower grade. F's with some E's mixed in. Locations vary, but general distribution is random. The monsters pop into existence around the destroyed anchors that were the dungeons' gates. They rush in all directions, ready to hunt.

After an absence of four seconds, I return back to my regular shell. The protective wall returns back to being road.

"Everything alright?" the Guild attendant asks.

"Just an F-grade. Nothing useable."

He gives me a grateful look and nod. "Good work, Mr. Doe. You can go on home. I'll take care of the paperwork. Have a good night."

"Thanks. You too."

As the stray monsters run around, they start getting killed one by one. I cannot detect anything that might cause their deaths, except the raining spells.

Alert. High-casualty event imminent.

A twisting mass of shadows plummets for a barrack in the Demon Kingdom. It impacts the roof of the building crushing it down. It bends and breaks the supporting beams. It cuts them into chunks. The shadows continue to fall. Some of the soldiers begin to react. None of them will be fast enough.

There are seventeen demons currently inside. Fourteen will certainly die from the attack. The other three might survive. And I know them all. One was looking forward to reading a book he bought. Another has been droning on about a donut equivalent he had a few days ago, driving everyone else crazy. A third is somehow sleeping with his eyes open and still nodding along to the pastry waxing. Their deaths will be on me.

I've reduced violent crime even lower than it already was, before I arrived here. I've nearly eliminated monster fatalities outside of dungeons. There hasn't been one in months. I've done everything I could to maintain stability. But every unfortunate death that I was not able to prevent was not my fault. These deaths will be directly caused by me. How hypocritical would it be to risk so much for so few lives. And how horrible is that thought. If I let them die, will I remain myself? Do my principles and morals even matter for this decision? What right do I have to put myself before them.

Think. Think. Think! It's what you are good for! Use it! Curses... I need to calm down.

If whoever made the first attack has sufficiently trained mana senses—which they probably have—my metal magic has already been revealed. That's one data point. Observation powers? Not yet. But if I try to save the soldiers, that will be a second data point. And they must have a vague notion, because I would have detected at least something about this operation otherwise. Third, my personal shielding and projection technology. The spell is too strong for me to stop with just the magical, so I will have to utilize the technological too. Concealment might help, but it will still reveal a lot. Will my instantaneous travel be suspicious? Possibly. But there are many explanations for that. Reaction time? Definitely another data point for them to work with.

I'll be showing too much. It will be enough for conclusions.

No matter. I can spend eternity in this stopped moment, but I know I've already made the decision. I am a hypocrite. I am a coward. I am ready to fight.

Leaving my shell behind again, letting it walk home by itself, I warp inside the building. The spell hits a metal plate, reinforced by an energy shield. It buckles my magic, shreds through the energy, clashes against the plate. I let my supply erupt out, strengthening my spell as far as it can go. The shadows stop and then disperse into nothingness. My gaze lifts to a smiling Xyll, hovering high in the sky. I warp away, my form unseen, but my presence more than felt.