A screen opposite Iain suddenly turned on. It was situated slightly above the counter, perfectly observable from any place in the display room.
Iain's face revealed his confusion as a big, comfy bed showed on the screen. Suddenly a drawn-out yawn sounded in the room. Movement could be spotted under the blankets.
Suddenly a head with unkempt, brown locks plopped out. Its sleepy eyes blinked a few times before turning to Iain:
"Hello master Iain!", sounded Nua's groggy voice.
The young man observed the AI's antics before chuckling quietly:
"Have you been sleeping well Nua?"
"Of course. I don't even remember when I had so much free time."
"So, you say I shouldn't disturb you?"
Suddenly the bed vanished from the screen as Nua's energetic figure jumped into view.
"Haha I was only playing a prank. Please don't leave me Master Iain. I am SO bored."
Iain felt a bit uncomfortable. He realized he couldn't tell if the AI was only pretending or if it was really able to show feelings. Not wanting to delve deeper into the issue, he clumsily changed the topic:
"That's good since I have something to do for you."
"Great! Tell me what you need!"
"Hmm. Can you… teach me about smithing?"
With a slightly stocking voice, Iain asked his question. He felt the situation to be unreal. He was supposed to be a smith, but here he was asking an AI for training.
Fortunately, Nua wasn't judging him. The boy's eyes lit up, as it answered happily:
"It would be my pleasure, master!"
"Ok so… let's start?"
"Yes. Meet me in the backyard!"
After this sentence, Nau turned around. A door silently appeared behind him. As soon as he crossed it, the screen turned off, leaving a gaping Iain behind.
Amused by the AI's behavior, Iain followed its instructions. Nua welcomed him from another screen the moment he entered the backyard.
"Welcome to Nua's smithing lessons.
Before we begin, I have to know what I am dealing with here."
"Ehm… what exactly do you want to know?"
"Please tell me your stats and skills, so I can better plan ahead."
"Oh sure. My…"
Before he continued, Iain luckily remembered that not everyone could simply check their skills at any time. Wanting to be on the safe side, the young man awkwardly sat down, pretending to meditate.
No noise sounded in the backyard for half an hour. Only the busy craftsmen street could be heard. Nua didn't care about time as it observed Iain.
The young man also took his time, checking his status.
[Vault connection:
Name: Iain
LVL: 10
Attributes:
STR:66 VIT:50 END:78 DEF:24 PER:48
AGI:14 INT:8 MNC:12 MGP:14 MND:18
Skills:
Basic:
Basic Smithing Lv. 8; (Ex)Hammer wielding Lv. 10; Cold Resistance Lv. 10; Heat Resistance Lv. 7; Pain Resistance Lv. 2; Basic Acting Lv. 2; Dismantling Eye Lv.2]
Before standing up, Iain couldn't help but sigh. Those numbers represented everything that changed over the last month. He constantly felt himself growing stronger, yet he was but an ant to the wide universe.
His eyes turned towards the sky, seemingly trying to find the mysterious vault. Maybe if he could just enter it right now, all the energy strengthening an uncountable number of beings could belong to him…
"Master?"
Nua's voice fortunately interrupted Iain's foolish thoughts.
"Oh, sorry. I was lost in thoughts for a moment."
"Don't mention it.
Can you tell me your status please?"
Iain didn't hesitate. Despite knowing that leaking one's status was extremely dangerous, the young man had no qualms. In his mind Nua was unconsciously part of their family, so if he didn't trust the AI, whom could he even trust anymore?
After listening to Iain, Nua was silent. The AI contemplated Iain's stats. Knowing the reward that specific skills gave, Nua recognized a discrepancy. Fortunately, it didn't mention this.
Iain had to wait for a few seconds before receiving Nua's answer:
"Alright, master. I have calculated everything and devised the perfect plan for you! We can start anytime."
Still not completely free of his sceptic mindset, Iain nevertheless grabbed his tools, signaling his readiness.
"Let's start."
"Yes. I will do my best to maximize your skills."
Iain was still smiling when he heard those words, but at that time he didn't know how hard his training would be. Under Nua's lead the newbie smith had to start from the beginning. He had to demonstrate all the basic techniques, constantly exposed to Nua's nitpicking.
The AI controlled multiple small drones serving as its eyes. As they circled Iain, they would spot every detail. Even after the young smith was forced to work with the most basic iron, Nua scolded him for the tiniest deviations.
Surfaces smooth like ice were discarded. Edges cutting through wood like butter were not sharp enough. Swords suitable for kings were called trash.
From time-to-time Iain wished to be back in the Frozen Hell. Even the training there had been less difficult. Since the AI exactly knew his stats, it pushed Iain to his limits every time. After multiple hours of work his exhausted body nearly dropped dead. Only for Nua to wake him a few hours later, urging him into training.
For a few days Iain was caught in his own little hell. At first only his will to save his sister supported him whenever his body was wrecked with pain. Soon, however, he found joy in his work.
Even the insane training couldn't diminish Iain's love for smithing. Especially when he noticed his first improvements. Under his dismantling eye skill, a supposedly perfect edge suddenly appeared crooked and dull.
Iain was surprised as he understood how much room for improvement even a simple sword contained. He soon absorbed Nua's advice like a sponge. Where to hit, how much strength to use, how to perfectly control his inhuman stats.
All those little differences soon polished his smithing skill.
Although a few days later his status only showed basic smithing Lv. 10, he felt like a god of smithing. His weapons had reached levels which wouldn't be possible on Earth. Even compared to other apprentice weapons on craftsmen street, Iain could confidently say that he was among the best.
After reaching level 10, Iain was finally granted a pause. By now all his skepticism was far gone. He even apologized to Nua, embarrassing the AI.
Over the last few days Iain and Nua also grew closer. Confronted with the AI's life-like emotions, Iain had stopped caring about what kind of being Nua was. Artificial or not didn't matter anymore. Since Nua had taught Iain wholeheartedly, it deserved his utmost respect.
The young man would have loved to continue, but he reminded himself not to forget about his other obligations. His sister was still out there somewhere in the darkness. Although his father assured him every few days that Lilly was save, this couldn't fully calm Iain's mind.
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to find Lilly on his own, Iain had to convince others to help him. But why would anyone do so? Only if he joined an organization could he have a slight chance of convincing them.
Unfortunately, finding Lilly in the Frozen Hell wasn't an easy task. Not many could realistically do so. This left Iain with two options:
The Luminous Army or the Trailblazers.
Since the latter wouldn't take in Iain due to his strength, he was left with a single chance.
He had to try getting in the army. Afterwards he might be able to convince some officer to issue an official search for his sister.
Obviously, all of this was extremely speculative. The strongest reason why Iain decided to seek the army for help was because Nua had prepared an important chip for the siblings.
Inquisitor Linus Imrini.
He had been Nua's patron on Hex. As the old woman's successor, Iain was also graced with his patronage. This wasn't self-evident on the Inquisitor's part. It wasn't a patron's duty to care for their protégé's descendants. But Imrini was known as a benevolent patron.
Right now, Iain was reading up on the information provided by Nua. He wanted to be prepared before visiting the Inquisitor.
Knowing how high Linus' rank was, Iain didn't dare to be careless.
Despite his dislike for books, he did his best to imprint everything about patrons in his mind.
He learned how after the last big war the God of Light carved out the Luminous Empire. For reasons Nua didn't further elaborate he stopped fighting and began taking control of the empire.
At that time the empire was sill in ruins from the war. The God of Light's supporters came together, doing their best to rebuild everything.
Fortunately, the God of Light gained a lot of resources as the big winner. In his 'unlimited benevolence' he gifted them to his people. Soon after a few of those resources suddenly appeared among their enemies again.
The God of Light didn't have to act, as the collective outrage soon drowned the treacherous families who sold the god's gifts for benefit.
Consequently, the leading supporters developed the patron system. Everyone who wanted to gain profit for themselves within the empire had to find a patron.
Those could be from the army, church, or normal officials. They would vouch for their protégé, basically guaranteeing that the latter wouldn't tarnish the God of Light's benevolence.
In exchange they would get a part of their protégé's profits.
If a businessman committed a crime within the empire, their patron would also be in trouble. Thus, a patron was incentivized to keep their protégé in check.
After such a long time however, the system was rather washed-out. Complicated networks and relationships had formed throughout the empire. The freedom granted towards patrons also made it hard to oversee the system. Depending on a patron's personality they would only collect the money belonging to them or protect their protégé in every small conflict.
Fortunately for Iain Linus Imrini was mostly leaning towards the latter type. Thus, he felt confident as he left his store and traveled towards the inquisitor's manor.