Chapter 154: Soul Link

Chapter 154: Soul Link

After nearly two hours of negotiating the terms of the contract, Priam and Jasmine had come to an agreement. On almost everything.

"Fuck, I told you I accepted your deal, no need to tie me up," the young woman growled.

Feet and hands bound by Log-a-rhythm, Jasmine sat cross-legged on the floor. Priam didn't want to risk a last-minute escape attempt.

"You're an assassin, and I have zero trust in you. Plus, there will be kids around, so watch your language."

"Or what? You'll kill me?"

"Yes." Priam's cold tone seemed to calm Jasmine. He stood in front of her.

"We're not equals. From now on, I'm your boss, and if you don't like it, you know what to do."

The two rivals locked eyes for a few seconds before the assassin lowered hers. It didn't surprise Priam. The moment Jasmine agreed to have her soul monitored, she chose survival over pride.

She had sold her soul and needed to learn to live with it.

While Jasmine struggled to accept her new situation, Priam was deep in thought.

[Evolution of [Priam's System] due to the consumption of AI hoplite Deep Grey.

Artificial General Intelligence level reached.

Possibility to specialize [Priam's System] according to the following hoplite technology:

Assistant: Your system develops conscious intelligence to better fulfill its missions. The Assistant and your soul work in symbiosis. The Assistant is a modified copy of yourself designed to anticipate your expectations and act proactively. The Assistant cannot use Supremacies or Concepts to their full potential.Transhumanism: The boundary between man and machine gradually disappears. AI merges with your soul and transforms you deeply. Probable change of race. Optimization of logical, linguistic, spatial, and kinesthetic intelligence. Modification of character.Partner: The core of AI takes on the identity of a person - real or imaginary - who accompanies and grows with you. Eventually, the AI could unlock its own soul. A high degree of freedom allows almost infinite potential for the Partner. Be cautious, as with individuality and judgment, your Partner may develop negative feelings towards you.]

Priam already knew he would choose Assistant but read each description attentively. There were good ideas he could develop someday.

Transhumanism was unthinkable because Priam hated the idea of transforming his consciousness. What was the difference with death if he wasn't himself anymore? There were philosophical considerations to the question - after all, considering that most of the cells in his body had completely renewed since the beginning of the Tutorial, was he still 'Priam'? - but he refused to accept modifying his soul like that.

However, it was interesting to note that modifying his soul or consciousness would also likely change his race. There was a spiritual dimension attached to the race. If Priam continued to accumulate draconic or phoenix blood, would his race change? The answer might depend in part on his mindset and how he viewed himself.

Partner was instantly ignored - Priam dreaded the possibility of an AI rogue knowing all his weaknesses - but was interesting. This specialization opened the door to creating life. By spending his Potential, Priam could connect artificial intelligence to the Concepts System. From there, it was only a step to attribute a soul.

He confirmed Assistant. [Priam's System] disconnected for a moment to update itself. It operated on a soul augmented by the System coupled with the brain of a High Human. An unprecedented and powerful hardware.

[Update...]

Priam felt his thoughts slow down. The skill used a significant part of his memory and vivacity. He glanced at Jasmine, hoping she wouldn't notice anything. Fortunately, the assassin seemed preoccupied with her existential problems.

As his add-on evolved, Priam felt like a pre-System human. The experience was quite traumatic - as if someone had stolen his mental faculties. He couldn't solve ten physics problems in parallel anymore. There was something terrible about being mentally restrained. He felt like an idiot.

A few seconds later, his brain reconnected.

Lvl Up: [Priams System] lvl 16,17,18,19,20

MEM+10

VIVA +5

[Priam's System] has reached level 20. As a rare skill, you're entitled to a bonus. Choose from these three options... Preselected Assistant option. Bonus deferred for the evolution to epic rank.

[Successful update. Routines restarted. Select the Assistant's personality: Human/System.]

"Mmmh." Priam hesitated. If his Assistant had a human personality, he would want to talk to it. There was no harm in talking to oneself, and Priam did it regularly. But when a voice responds, it's often a bad sign. System for now.

[[Priam's System]:

Assistant - General Artificial Intelligence linked to Priam Azura's soul.

Current routines:

linked to Log-a-rhythm for monitoring the base in Elysium.linked to Concepts Archipelago for monitoring and analyzing the internal world.linked to [Eidetic Memory] and [Emotional Discipline] for mental monitoring.linked to Micro, [Diagnostic], and [Human Anatomy] for body monitoring.linked to Domain and [Kinetic Control] for monitoring the immediate environment and reacting to physical attacks.linked to [Eidetic Memory] for monitoring treasures compatible with Heavenly Dragon.

New:

Data on hoplite training and combat methods downloaded. Recommendation: incorporate into [Shadow Boxing] to improve martial performance.

Anomaly detected in Concept Archipelago. Presence of a foreign structure preventing the completion of the world analysis. The anomaly being at the heart of the sun (inheritance of the Phoenix Prince), the Assistant predicts a connection between the two. Recommendation: manual search by the Host.

Minor recommendations:

pay attention to Myuri's mental state.lack of land in Concepts Archipelago.Rose is certainly waiting for a discussion with you to finalize her plans. Despite your absence, you are an authority figure in her eyes.

...]

Priam smiled as he swept through the rest of the notifications. His Assistant had compiled a list of hundreds of things to do. Most were very relevant. But before that...

"We're going to start," he said to Jasmine. "Ready?"

"... Ready," the assassin replied after a long silence. She seemed less sure of her choice, which Priam could understand. Unfortunately, waiting longer would change nothing. He stood in front of Jasmine before sitting on the floor. He had briefly considered standing behind her, one hand on her head like a Sith Lord before changing his mind. It cost him nothing to make his future subordinate comfortable.

Using his Domain, Priam touched Jasmine's mind. Surprised or frightened, the young woman began to tremble.

"Breathe deeply and let it happen. My Domain will simply create a bridge between our two minds," he explained.

Jasmine swallowed before lowering her defenses. Slowly, Priam's Domain advanced before feeling something. A flood of emotions poured into him. Thanks to magic, Priam was among the first men to understand a woman.

Fear, disgust, anger, injustice. Negative emotions pressed against his Domain. Priam hesitated for a moment before selecting one of his own feelings - honesty. With a mental push, he sent it towards Jasmine.

Increase the size of the Domain.Create relays (Log-a-rhythm's domain will allow you to synchronize different system copies, for example).Quantum connection between the copy and the original Assistant:Spiritual connection between the copy and the original Assistant:

"We'll see."

"Now, I can remove that." With a thought, Priam released Jasmine from her chains, and the young woman stood up.

"What's the first mission?"

Priam smiled, getting up as well. He walked a few steps away, checking the stability of their connection. Log-a-rhythm operated as a relay, and the connection between the two systems was clear.

"Your first 'mission' is to check the information your new system will send you. A list of obvious orders, such as 'Show good faith when following my commands,' 'Don't hide in some unlikely place between missions, waiting for fifty years,' 'Don't deceive me by omission,' etc."

"You're a bit paranoid."

"You tried to assassinate me," Priam retorted, raising an eyebrow. "Once you're familiar with the rules, we'll find you a place to sleep. Any preferences?"

Jasmine shrugged. "I prefer lying down to standing."

"Like most people. Anything else?"

"... I like it when it's not raining on me."

Priam burst into laughter for several seconds before stopping, noticing Jasmine's dark expression. "Wait, are you serious?"

Jasmine's gaze remained hard.

"All right, come with me. It's not a luxury hotel, but it should suit you."

Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)

PHYSICAL:

Strength 419

Constitution 724

Agility 432

Vitality 547

Perception 637

MENTAL:

Vivacity 352 (+10)

Dexterity 444

Memory 182 (+24)

Willpower 694 (+12)

Charisma 450

META:

Meta-affinity 371

Meta-focus 261

Meta-endurance 208

Meta-perception 131

Meta-chance 219

Meta-authority 15

Potential: 1042 (+23)

Tier 0

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: OFF. Reloaded in 13 hours 42 minutes 59 seconds.

[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.

Future Tribulations delayed until:

Time: 175 days 14 hours 16 minutes 12 seconds.

Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 400 / 6 attribute > 600 / 1 attribute > 800