Author Notes:
I spent so much time researching that, once again, I had to write past midnight. Gosh, I love writing, hahaha.
But yeah, do enjoy the new OBOM chapter, and do comment and review to show support, pretty please? If you want to shower OBOM and my other stories with love, then do visit my Patreon where there's a 25% discount for newcomers running from now to the 24th of July. And honestly, any help is appreciated, given how we are always tethering on the thin red line.
Hence this next bit... Private Jonas Hepburn is the newest Patron to join our glorious rank, so big shoutout to him~! Hope you will relish in reading the Early Access chapters!
Now, this part may be weird but... Happy 4th of July!
XD
https://www.patreon.com/Heartbreak117
https://discord.gg/cVZxJ29ruh
--------------------------------------------------------
[Daily Login Reward received:
- STV-410 Assault Rifle with 6+1 30-round magazines and 21 boxes of 7.62 x 39 mm Lapua Armor Piercing Tungsten Core ammo.]
The System's notification distracts me for a moment, right when I have just stepped off the ramp of the Rover. Again, it's yet another full-sized weapon that, while not at all powerful and unique like the Q Fix SBR, the RSh-12 revolver, or the Angel Break Custom, is still nice to have, if only because it's capable of automatic firing. Given that I now have Reizen with me, it won't be a bad idea to arm her up with her own set of combat gear as well. Thus far, I have accumulated enough knick-knacks to, at the very least, give her more options than just using her fist or her mysterious psionic capabilities in the first sign of trouble.
And speak of the Devil... I turn to the sound of a commotion I have just heard. Reizen, in the time I spent fishing out something in the Rover, has just finished cleaning out the last of the train cars of the ERS Voyager for anything remotely useful. She then deposits the broken electronics and various crates containing recyclable materials in one large pile in the middle of our newest temporary base camp. Reizen, with only the slightest hint of sweat and out of breath, is taking a moment to appreciate the handiwork she did, and to take one last look at the last thoroughly scavenged train car before it ends up in the System's Inventory.
I can see that it's hard for Reizen not to get emotional, having basically looted what used to be her home. It's why I have made myself scarce later on the job, not because I was lazy, but because I sensed that Reizen needs some additional time alone to make peace with everything. Of course, Reizen notices what I have been doing easily enough, but she doesn't call it out; instead, she accepts my consideration and does most of the heavy lifting at her own pace. We have ultimately spent more time on the Voyager than we should have, but if it means there's no knot left tangled in Reizen's heart, then all is fine.
Seeing that Reizen is still lost in her thoughts, I silently step to her side, appreciating the colossal form of the Voyager's last remaining train car as the setting sun casts its rays on it. Reizen, Aurea, and I all maintain a quite solemn moment of silence, as if bidding farewell to an unsung hero, which is not that far off considering the Voyager and her crew basically saved the planet Arcadia. Eventually, it's Reizen who breaks the silence first.
"This," Reizen points her thumb over her shoulder to where the pile of stuff is. "Should be the last of it, Umbra. We can finally move out of here..."
"And visit the graves I dug, yes." I nod with a smile, grateful for her hard work. "By the way, before I forget again..."
From behind me, I bring out a small strongbox and hand it over to Reizen. On her part, Reizen lets out a soft gasp of surprise as she quickly receives the strongbox from me.
"This is..." Reizen carefully opens the box, revealing the soft padding that is tucking a small, cutting-edge crystal chip. "Iris, the Voyager's AI. So she's been here since I woke up."
I nod, stepping closer to see the crystal chip that contains the loyal Artificial Intelligence, still glimmering with a bluish light despite the long, long years of service.
"She's one heck of a girl, I can tell you that. Iris had been doing whatever it takes to keep your stasis pod running until I arrived. From what I've gathered from her, Iris basically sacrificed her higher-end capabilities for that slim chance of you not waking up alone or to danger."
"Yeah... Sounds like our Iris, alright." Reizen lets out a small smile that's both sad and grateful.
"Still, if only it were possible for Iris to wake you up." I add. "Perhaps then she can accompany you in person, rather than slumbering in that chip like this."
Reizen shakes her head slowly. "But then, I wouldn't meet you, someone blessed by our Patron Goddess. Without you, even with Iris active, it wouldn't be easy for me to find a foothold in this world."
Reizen then looks down at the chip, her fingers caressing its smooth surfaces gently, causing the soft glimmers to shine brighter for just a tad. "Iris has earned her rest during her long vigil over me. Until I can cobble together something that can house her chip, let her sleep for a bit."
"Alright, but we best keep her chip safe and secure. For some reason, I can't just put her chip into the Inventory." I say as Reizen carefully closes the strongbox.
"Even though Iris is an AI, she's a Smart AI. And in the Eternal Reich, all Smart AIs have souls, owing to the miraculous breakthroughs in many fields, spearheaded by the Reich's top researchers. As an unspoken rule, souls generally can't be stored in a pocket dimension. I presume your System's Inventory also works on that same basis." Reizen patiently explains, causing my eyebrows to shoot upward.
"Wait, AIs with souls!? Has the Eternal Reich figured out a way to prevent neural breakdown of Artificial Intelligence?"
Reizen tilts her head before replying, choosing her words carefully.
"If you're talking about an AI accumulating too much information in its lifespan, leading to its processing system deteriorating and eventually going into rampancy... The Eternal Reich has long identified the issue as belonging to insufficient storage capacity and the inability to parse stored information at a swift enough speed. We rectify this by giving Smart AIs nascent souls, which themselves are complex metaphysical constructs we developed..."
Reizen stops to think before adding.
"Although the specifics are still above my pay grade, I can't say much about it. Regardless, once a Smart AI has its nascent soul, it will go through a process of learning and self-customization, gradually forming a unique entity with its own brand of digital DNA and even becoming a full-fledged citizen of the Eternal Reich. There have been many cases of the Eternal Reich initiating rescue operations, expending resources and lives, just to rescue a Smart AI that finds itself stranded. But that's beside the point... Once a Smart AI has reached maturity, he or her will then be linked with the endless dimension that our Patron Goddess resided over, the Void. It's through using the Void that Smart AIs have access to unlimited storage space and instantaneous information retrieval, with their souls acting as powerful and ever-growing processing units. It's why, generally, the longer a Smart AI lives, the stronger they become. It's why some Smart AIs eventually become Divine Constructs..."
Reizen, seeing my attentive look, blushes slightly. "Sorry... I could have explained it in a shorter manner."
"Oh, no~!" I chuckle. "It was very interesting to hear, very informative. You have answered some of my mullings over the years, and you have also kick-started Aurea's curiosity again. Now, there's a new, hot topic to learn from my memories."
"... Thanks." Reizen ultimately lets out a small smile. "Anyway, we should pull all of this into your Inventory and break up camp. I think Alpha over there is getting hopelessly bored by our discussion."
With a snap of my fingers, I deposit all the stuff Reizen piled on in the Inventory.
"Done! Before we can get a move on, though..." I then give Reizen's body a lookover, causing the blue-haired girl to be a bit conscious. "Let's play a dress-up game with ya~!"
"Huh?" Comes Reizen's stunned reply.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
After some twists and turns, I finally got Reizen to agree on a suitable getup that is both functional and dripping cool.
Because drip is immortal.
Since Reizen says that her white bodysuit is made out of some secret high-tech stuff that may or may not be even more functional than my Black Silk bodysuit, it's gonna be a permanent part of any dress option she has. However, unlike my Black Silk suit, which is, well, black, Reizen's bodysuit is basically white on pretty much everything. As such, the challenge is to get something on her that can help her blend in more with the environment... Something that is very hard to do when I actually don't have many things that can perform that job well, other than a copy of my Adaptive Camouflage Trench Coat.
In the end, I decide to screw subterfuge and tack on an entire arctic warfare setup for Reizen, meaning her whole gear will be predominantly white. Even the Adaptive Camouflage Trench Coat is tuned by Reizen to display a static digital white camo, something I didn't know was possible, by the way. Regardless, other than the trench coat, Reizen now has a tactical vest for carrying munitions and spare medical supplies. She also has a holster for the survival axe that comes with my Military Survival Kit. Of course, I get to keep the handy shovel for myself, though I would have wanted to give Reizen a sidearm of her own when she declines wielding the RSh-12, citing my need for a close-encounter weapon.
As for her chosen primary weapon... That's to be decided.
"So," I say, gesturing to the table. On it rest the three long weapons we have: the Q Fix short-barreled rifle, the Angel Break Custom Tactical Artefact Holy Shotgun, and the newly received STV-410 assault rifle. "Pick your poison, Reizen."
Near instantly, Reizen gravitates toward the Angel Break Custom and carefully picks up the triple-barreled blessed shotgun.
I nod, noting. "As expected, that's the one that really caught your eyes."
Reizen smiles wryly, caressing the fine wooden pattern and engraving on the holy weapon. "I can't help it... This is an actually blessed firearm. It's not every day you get to appreciate a piece of history, no matter how foreign or bloody it may be."
"True that." I smile understandingly. "By the way, the System says that there are surprises to be uncovered for the Angel Break. Although it seems to accept Aurea and me as wielders, neither of us can really bring out what seems to be the true potential of the weapon. Hence, we have only been able to use the Angel Break conventionally by expending its holy buckshot shells and not much else. I am wondering if you, being more magically inclined, can wield the Angel Break to its full potential."
"I don't know yet... But since this divine artefact hasn't been burned by hand yet. I think it's safe to test out what I have in mind." Reizen replies with a look of serious consideration.
I raise a curious eyebrow, asking. "Which is?"
"This..." Reizen gives curt answers before turning around and shouldering the obviously empty Angel Break.
The blue-haired girl then points the Tactical Artefact at Heaven, and before I can call out to her, rapidly pulls the trigger thrice.
BLAMBLAMBLAM
Each pull of the trigger unleashes a literal beam of sparkling holy light into the sky, and it disappears far into the unknown. The three beams, fired from three separate barrels, even part the dusk cloud above, revealing the starry sky beyond.
[Holy...] Started Aurea.
"Mother of..." Followed by me.
"God." And finished by Reizen herself as she takes a good look at the Angel Break Custom, now having its angelic motif engraving shining a warm glow, alternating between holy yellow and pristine pale blue.
Suffice to say, none of us expected that Reizen would turn a shotgun into a miniature beam cannon, but let's take that as an absolute win.
"Right... That was planned, right?" I ask tentatively, to which Reizen nods before shaking her head. "You basically just had Aurea breaking her demure demeanor and defaulting to one of my common reactions, and that's saying something."
"Not quite..." She replies. "I know that something will happen if I inject my mana into the shotgun and pull the trigger. I didn't expect the Angel Break Custom to answer with holy laser shots, though. My apologies for scaring Aurea."
[I-It's fine! B-But wow, the Angel Break is beautiful now...] Aurea mutters in our mental space.
"Your apologies are graciously accepted by Aurea. And yeah, I concur with Aurea's assessment that the Angel Break goes well with you as the wielder. I think the gun is happy that she has finally gotten a suitable wielder." I smile, looking at the weapon in Reizen's hands.
"Then I guess I will be using the Angel Break Custom in the future?" Reizen asks uncertainly.
"Damn right you will." I nod before adding. "Still, we really should get you a backup sidearm. Just in case you run out of juice powering the Angel Break."
Reizen concurs with the suggestion. "Yeah, better safe than sorry."
"Before you all get a move on, however, would you mind if I interrupt for a moment?"
And suddenly, both Reizen and I find ourselves pointing our weapons at the shocking intruder that comes out of literally nowhere: Reizen with her Angel Break Custom, and I with my RSh-12. On instinct, both of us rest our fingers on the triggers, and it takes the most logical sides of our brains to stop us with full force lest we blast the intruder apart with heavy grain bullets and exorcising blasts.
After all, we aren't expecting any guests.
That said, we should have paid attention to how Alpha, who is lazing in a corner, suddenly tenses up with its tail shooting ramrod straight before, very meekly, tries to get closer to us without alerting the intruder. It is trying to be a dependable Alpha in case shit hits the fan, readying itself to protect Reizen and me despite its instinct telling it to run.
Upon reviewing the Alpha's reaction later on, I can only comment appreciatively.
Best wolf companion ever.