"Tutorial," Kim said quietly into the dark.
"Earlier I saw with the light from a flash of lightning a cave in the distance."
Kim stopped there, not sure how to explain the rest, and while she debated about it, the tutorial seemed to think that's all Kim was going to say.
Kim sighed. She wasn't surprised that the tutorial hadn't realized what she was getting at. If she wasn't really sure how to express it, how could she expect the tutorial to understand what the problem was?
"Well, for one, my vision is 20/20. For me to have seen the cave in the distance it was from where was at that time, I'd have had to have either better vision than that or to have had Jonas' 'Keen Eyes' ability, and I'm pretty sure I haven't somehow gained that ability since I last checked my stats."
Especially since Elin was still asleep in her arms.
"Stop," Kim said, a little worried that it would fry itself. She couldn't be sure if it had circuits or not, but she didn't want to find out and learn that she lost her tutorial completely because of whatever this was.
While Kim had always thought of her tutorial as more of an AI program at best, the tone of the tutorial seemed to get more frantic as it spoke. Almost like it was merely a person who spoke like it was an AI. She couldn't say for sure, but she had a feeling that it wasn't just following a program that it was a part of itself.
"Look, can you do a reboot or maybe a diagnostic on yourself?" Kim hoped this would at least give her tutorial something to do rather than burn itself out.
"Go ahead, I'll be right here waiting for you," Kim answered, wishing she hadn't phrased it that way as soon as the words were out. That love song always felt too cheesy for her and she wished she had thought of a different way of putting it.
Kim sighed. She couldn't say what was going on, but she at least hoped that it wouldn't be too big of a problem. If nothing else, she hoped that her tutorial, and therefore her system by extension, wasn't malfunctioning because of the severe weather. She doubted that would have such an effect on those, but she really couldn't rule out the possibility. Especially since she really knew next to nothing about them.
Time went by, the only sound she could hear as the rain, Elin's breathing, and an occasional peal of thunder. While Kim enjoyed being with Elin like this, she wished they could have found this cave before they were soaked through. She was confident they'd have had more fun if they hadn't gotten so cold before arriving.
Though, she found herself surprised at how worried she was that her tutorial or system had something wrong with it. Or them. She couldn't deny the possibility that both had something wrong with them. If that was the case, she couldn't help but worry that it would affect her chances of being able to return to her own world as well as the fact that it could impact her chances of survival in this world.
If she couldn't access her system, she doubted she'd be as good of a fighter in this world. Especially with what she knew was in this world. Such as the monsters that were more deadly than most of the dangerous people in her own world.
Then on the other hand, if something was indeed wrong with her tutorial and/or system, then it was possible that something might happen to Elin's tutorial and/or system. She wasn't sure if that was true or not, but the fear was still there. It wasn't something that could just be disregarded out of hand, because it would have serious ramifications if true.
Not only would Elin possibly be unable to heal her if Elin's system wasn't working, but it could also affect Elin's state of mind. Not only would Elin freak out about her being hurt, but then Elin could start blaming herself over her inability to do something.
Kim wanted to make sure that wasn't going to happen. If she thought it might occur, then she suspected that she'd try to persuade Elin to essentially boycott the rest of the challenges. Kim didn't want to risk Elin's life if there was any possibility that Elin would be hurt in some way. Either physically or mentally.
Kim wasn't sure how long she waited, but she realized that she'd fallen asleep when she was woken up by voices further in the cave. She couldn't say what they were saying or anything, just that they were there. And they were masculine.
Which meant that she'd need to find a way to ensure that she and Elin were able to at least get dressed before whoever it was further in the cave learned about them being present. Though, the rain still sounding outside was a positive in Kim's mind. It at least made her feel like they wouldn't come out this way because there shouldn't be anything that should interest them at the moment. At least that they knew about.
Kim closed her eyes and was about to try and nod off again when her tutorial spoke again. This time, it's cheerful voice was tinged with excitement as well as a little unease.
Kim sighed. It sounded like it was a program or something, and someone had hacked into it. Kim wasn't sure if it was one of the 'viewers' that the announcer kept talking about, and sometimes to, but that didn't matter. If they accessed her system again, even if it was to help her out, she couldn't help but fear that it might happen again. That next time it wouldn't just be an 'error' with her tutorial. It could be much worse, including the crash of her entire system. She wasn't sure if it was possible, but she wouldn't throw out the idea either. Not when she knew next to squat about all of it.
Still, she had to breathe a sigh of relief. Whatever this problem was, it didn't seem like it might affect Elin right now, so she couldn't help but feel grateful about that. Especially since it didn't seem like it was something that was contagious or anything like that.
Kim took a deep breath to try and calm herself as she felt herself getting worked up over what she'd just learned. She hadn't expected anything like that to have occurred, so she wasn't sure if there would be any lasting impacts, but she hoped that this would be the last time that occurred. That when the damage was repaired, that it would be as if nothing had happened.
"Oh, tutorial, one more thing," Kim added, hoping that she wouldn't regret this later one.
"When the repairs are complete, send the report you couldn't submit or even file or whatever, okay? Oh, and include what your diagnostic identified."
While Kim didn't think that whoever did that should get in trouble for helping her out, they did damage her tutorial, even if by accident. As such, she couldn't help but worry about what might have occurred if there was more damage than there had been or if she'd lost her system altogether. In addition to the other ramifications she'd already thought about earlier.
Not to mention that if she didn't do anything, that whoever or whatever had essentially hacked into her system might do it again. If that was the case, then that time it might be worse than this time. If she had that report submitted, then it might be possible that whoever was in charge of this place would be able to resolve it from happening again.
Whether or not they caught whoever did that, as long as it didn't happen again, she'd be fine. All she cared about was that. Because if it didn't happen again, she didn't need to worry about it affecting her ability to protect herself and Elin.