31st Move | Static Alien

Over the next two months after Rimuru left for his diplomatic visit to Ingrassia, the weather have gotten colder, but inversely, my relationship with Veldora and Arcueid has gotten a lot warmer, with the former being now addicted to the books I wrote and the latter I'm spending almost all of my free time with.

With the combined effort of the Planetary Strip Mining Arrays, Star Lifters, and Subspace Entropic Nanoreplication Fabricators, the Matrioshka Brain was finally complete.

I personally placed the final piece. Just as it came straight out of the Fabricator, I attached hundreds of fusion torches to the Jupiter-sized piece and slowly, over the course of an hour, slotted it in with my hands in the driver's seat.

I also attained a new Unique Skill for finishing construction on that stellar engine.

<<For completing the Star Computer, you have earned Unique Skill [Technopathy]>>

[Technopathy] is a Skill that would've been unparalleled in its usefulness in my old world of connectivity. However here, anywhere else other than Metropolis and it's next to useless.

Activating the Matrioshka Brain, I choked when I saw just how much computation power I have.

In total, if I fully utilize the entirety of the Matrioshka Brain, or rather, the Star Computer, I can simulate the behavior of every single atom in the Observable Universe...

3,000 times over.

With 20,000 layers of computronium fillets that make up the Star Computer, I can simulate 3,000 different Observable Universes. This is what's possible with a computer that approaches Bremermann's Limit, the maximum limit of computation that can be achieved in the Universe.

To put that 3,000 universes into perspective, a billion atoms create a lump smaller than an E. Coli bacteria, and there are give or take 10^82 atoms within the Observable Universe alone.

With the Star Computer, I can simulate upwards of 3 x 10^85 atoms, all just using a single star.

That is an absolutely astronomical (literally) level of computational abilities.

It's so much, and yet, my [Inspired Inventor] can do better: whatever the computer can come up with, my Unique Skill is a step ahead ready to give me a better one. It's like a worker that puts in extra hours and works extra hard now that their job is being threatened by something else.

Of course, I still have other uses for the Star Computer, namely, having it coordinate and manage my Von Neumann Probes but that takes a near infinitesimal fraction of the Star Computer's abilities that the rest of it is just gone to waste.

So I'm kind of stuck at a standstill of what to do with this much extra computational power. Of course, I could have it just try and solve some really difficult mathematical questions like whether or not N = NP but that seems like a waste.

This is my most expensive project. I took apart whole star systems for this and now it's just sitting there in space with nothing to do.

It's a bit underwhelming, especially after the feeling of 'newness' died down.

If this were a piece of literature, I feel like the Star Computer would be something like a 'lesson' of sorts about something like the 'need to be not greedy' but I couldn't care less.

So for a time, I decided to use the Star Computer as my own personal laptop before coming to the realization that since each project of the Endbringer Initiative requires an ungodly amount of computational abilities, I should just stop building each their own private Jupiter Brain and instead link them and their Herrscher Cores— the thing that grants them 'superpowers'— with the Matrioshka Brain.

After the linkage was done, I saw that the 3 Endbringers only needed 2% of the total computational power. I was stumped at what to do with the remaining 98%.

It was almost funny.

As I was debating on what to do with this oversized computer other than just turn it into a monument to my abilities, I received the notification that the weapon for Milim that I started building as a fun side project had just been completed. All I need is to give it to the Dragonoid and I think my position is completely safe and secure, with no chance of anyone else overpowering a combined defense of both Milim and Veldora.

During the two-month period that Rimuru was off in Ingrassia, Ambassador Youm proved his value when he was able to talk the King of Blumund into becoming a client state, more specifically a Dominion, of the Jura Tempest Republic after their economy exploded by 1200% a week after the Hyperloop was completed.

Since the President was still off in Ingrassia, Vice President Rigurd was present to officially legitimize the political transaction.

Another thing that happened was Shizue finally found a way to save her students by getting them possessed by spirits, though that had been less than successful.

Especially with that THING.

_____________________________________________

Two months ago, deep interstellar space.

A colossal tetrahedron structure floated there in space, brief sparkles of light illuminated the inside of the structure, giving light to the dozens of broken planets and shattered worlds that surround the man-made shape.

PJT-Behemoth: [Consciousness]

Administrator: [Data]

PJT-Behemoth: [Purpose]

Administrator: [Correction]

PJT-Behemoth: [Acceptance]

Administrator: [Hibernation]

The half-awake Project Behemoth held within the tetrahedron went back to sleep.

_____________________________________________

At the same time as Project Behemoth's awakening, Ingrassia, the Capital City of Lura.

"Are you really Miss Shizue?" A girl with long black hair softly asked as she raised her hand.

Chloe, Shizue's memories told her.

The servant was currently in one of the many classrooms of Freedom Academy, the school where the Otherworlders who were summoned too young had stayed at.

Shizue quickly looked back at everything. With Tempest in place, it truly hit home how much of an oddity Ingrassia was. Here, in the cultural capital of the West, upward mobility actually exists and the title and rank of Nobility can be something that's earned or bought for an absurd amount of money.

Three days ago was when Rimuru entered Ingrassia via a Doorway. The humanoid slime alongside Shizue was greeted by the sight of a long procession, playing 'In Pursuit of the Everdistant Future', the national anthem of the Jura Tempest Republic as a form of greeting before then playing the royal anthem of the Kingdom of Ingrassia, 'For Honor and Glory'.

It was a bit uncomfortable for post-human since 'For Honor and Glory' was written and composed because of how most Ingrassians felt proud they were one of the main contributors to the downfall of Relentless, the first Perfect Homunculus.

Being technically a diplomat by virtue of being President Rimuru's bodyguard, she wasn't really allowed to make money unless it was through the Embassy. So, to disguise this, Shizue contacted Yuuki Kagurazaka and was able to repeatedly 'visit' Freedom Academy for 'an enlightening experience at one of the most prestigious institutions of learning out there'.

Though, unlike Yuuki, her students were less than pleased when they saw her new body.

Shizue looked at the shy black-haired girl with the Anti-magic mask beside her waist, the servant wore clothing that covered the entirety of her body save for her head, which gleamed under the sunlight shining through the tall windows around the wall.

"Yes, Chloe, I am Shizue Aizawa, just... I know this is a lot to take in, but I managed to free myself from Ifrit's curse," she spoke calmly behind the Teacher's desk, "it came at a bit of a cost."

The room where Shizue and her students were staying right now looked remarkably like one of those lecture halls inside the Omniversity, whose library she had checked out in an attempt to find a solution to the Otherworlder's problems.

There were barely any books about magic and spells within the Omniversity's library, so Shizue was unable to find a solution to her problem. Now, the digital lich was here in Ingrassia in hopes of finding any mages specializing in Soul Magic that can solve her issue. Her Lady did say that there was a way, and who better to ask for than those who are knowledgeable in matters of the Spirit?

"Bah! Prove yourself then! I doubt the real Shizue would want to live like— like— this robot thing!" a kid with orange spikey hair exclaimed while crossing his arms.

Shizue frowned at the insult thrown at her War Chassis.

"This 'robot thing' as you call it, Kenya Misaki, has gone toe-to-toe with Demon Lords and survived the encounter." Shizue retorted without any warmth or that caringness she usually held for others.

In response, Kenya flinched at the sharp change in tone. His lips quivered, but his pride doesn't allow him to cry.

Blinking several times, Shizue suddenly realize what she had just said and bowed apologetically, "I'm sorry. In truth, my life was nearing its end, and I had to sign a contract with someone else to become their servant. This contract inadvertently got rid of Ifrit and turned me into a digital lich. I managed to negotiate with my Mistress that I can return to save you all under the pretense of being President Rimuru's bodyguard."

The students still felt uncomfortable. The metal golem in front of them both looks like and is their old teacher, only this time in silver, but after disappearing for almost half a year and returning, so many things were different that it'll take them at least a while to adjust and get used to the new 'normal'.

Reaching into a small black square with a purple outline that appeared beside herself, Shizue pulled out a large, hardcover textbook with the title 'Mathematics for Intermediates' and placed it on the table.

"Now, things will return to normal for a few weeks before I figure out a way to properly save you all."

All five Otherworlders gawked at the sight of the suddenly appearing book before their attention was then redirected onto Shizue when the post-human announced in a voice filled with raw conviction;

"Have no worries, I swear, by the name of my Lady, Scientia Tempest, that I will save you all from your fate."

The silver woman then brought her right hand up to her chest. Confidence overflowed from her posture, infecting the entire class with hope, that maybe, just maybe, they'll all live to adulthood. For a brief second, the students almost forgot that their old teacher had changed.

Next, Shizue opened the textbook in front of her and flipped a few pages. Suddenly, without warning, another black square opened up beside the teacher that then deposited a stack of paper onto the tabletop right next to the textbook.

"With the knowledge, I gained while under the employment of Lady Scientia, I realized that different childrens learn differently and at different paces. As such, I will now give each of you a series of simple, quick, and easy tests to determine how I can personalize an individual education plan for each of you. I will make sure that by the time you're saved, you all will become an extremely educated members of society."

After seeing the miracles that her Lady was able to perform, Shizue promised herself to never underestimate the power of science and knowledge. With those two factors, her Lady was able to turn a small goblin village of less than a hundred into a shining city that would be the jewel of the world had people actually known of its existence.

Even in her old world, Shizue remembered faintly that her father, someone whose face she had long forgotten, was a doctor and once visited America right before the War. When he came back, he brought postcards depicting places called 'Los Angeles' and 'New York'. Those skyscrapers paled in comparison to the arcologies of the Republic.

The servant also knew, that her students would need proper education to live and thrive in the new world that Lady Scientia is bringing.

However, her students were less than receptive to the idea. Sounds of groaning populated the room as a blonde girl— Alice— yelled, "Oh come on Miss Shizue, you just returned, can't we have a day off and celebrate?"

Kenya leaned back on his chair, his head tilted up to face the ceiling, "yeah! Can't we just do our own stuff? The teachers who taught us while you were away pretty much let us do anything since there's really no point in us learning if we're all just going to die in a few years."

"—!" Shizue's mouth hung open. Internally, the servant made a mental note to ask the school administration about who had taught her students during the time she was gone and give them some... stern talks.

"I'm sorry, Kenya, but I must insist that—"

"And what's with this—" Kenya then gestured at her entire body, "—this weird speech? Did spending so long with your 'lady' change your speech pattern or something?"

Shizue frowned in response to Kenya's insensitive words.

The World classifies Shizue Izawa as a 'Lich', a type of undead that was previously a human who willingly sacrificed their humanity and stuffed their Soul into an artifact.

As the Conqueror of Flames, Shizue has dealt plenty with both good and bad liches. But to call the current her a lich isn't accurate. A lich requires magic, Shizue can no longer cast any form of magic after the transfer into the Soul Orb since that ability of hers was lost forever.

Her Lady threw around words like 'Transhuman' before eventually settling down on calling Shizue a 'Digital Lich' instead.

Being a Digital Lich, Shizue exists partially in Cyberspace, as such, she can code, create programs, and more. The post-human remembers quite clearly how Lady Scientia once offhandedly remarked how similar Shizue's existence is to that of Artificial Intelligence.

The only reason she talked so formally was due to a program the Digital Lich herself had introduced for the purpose of being a better servant.

"Kenya..." The headache of teaching willful childrens came back in full force.

Even if she is technically an immortal lich, the feeling of annoyance is ever-present. As her Lady once said, stress and annoyance are the problems of intelligence.

"And besides, who's this lady of yours anyways? I bet I can bet her and free you from this stupid contract!"

A single, lone figure stood amidst a burning sea. Wild raging flames billowed about all around the figure clad in pitch-blackness, almost as if it was wearing the night sky itself as it was entirely unbothered by neither the deaths of thousands nor the fire that used their corpses as fuel.

Shizue's imagination went all over the place as she processed what Kneya had just said. Part of her wondered just how did her students change so much when she had left for just a little over four months.

Oh you sweet summer child, Shizue wanted to say but halted herself. Her analytical mindset took over as the computers inside the War Chassis started to run the psychoanalysis program. Overconfidence is an attractive trait in males, but it becomes a liability once arrogance takes over. The program recommends better curbing that while young.

There was a feeling of growing worry inside Shizue as the computer finished its analysis program.

It concluded that since the kids were raised in a bubble in the form of Freedom Academy, they haven't seen much of the harshness of the real world, probably because the teachers and staff here didn't want those who are about to die to struggle.

"I see."

It was like the nurses of a hospital giving extra attention to a bald patient with late-stage cancer, coddling them, smothering them so that they wouldn't have to do more than necessary.

Unacceptable.

Her students WILL survive, so swears Shizue Izawa.

If only there was a way to somehow get rid of these excess magicules...

"Alright, class," Shizue then looked at the clock, "I think to start, I should fully explain what happened during my four-month away period, a basic history lesson about the Jura Forest is needed—"

Shizue suddenly froze.

History.

'History'

A freakishly flawless face that would instantly put anyone on edge, since it just looked so fake that it shouldn't exist. That face was cheerful, like a student who prepared so well for a test that it was actually fun for them.

'In fact, it's extremely obvious. You just need to look at history.'

History... history... history... that word kept repeating inside of Shizue's mind as she gripped the side of the table. History. History. History. History history history history history historyhistoryhistoryhistoryhistoryhistoryhistoryhistoryhistoryhistoryhistoryhistory———!

"Um, Miss Shizue?"

The silver woman ignored the fact that someone had called her name. She was too busy recalling that whole interaction.

'Of course! In fact, it's extremely obvious. You just need to look at history.'

'...Is that true?'

'I won't help you. But I will say this: there is definitely a way to save your students even without my help.'

'...six my Lady.'

'How old were you when you were summoned?'

Six... six... Shizue's hands squeezed down on the table, crushing it instantly in a loud 'crack'.

Six is way too young, so how was she able to survive?

The woman then began trying to find the difference between her and the students.

Both were summoned with magic.

Both had uncontrollable magicules.

Both— no, only she had a spirit possess her almost immediately upon summoning.

Spirits...

Shizue froze when a daring idea crossed her mind, hesitating, she was almost afraid of the thought, for it gave her a glimmer of hope.

The bastard Leon Cromwell had her possessed by a Greater Spirit and she managed to live for so long...

"I've got it!" Shizue yelled as she jumped up in a little hop of celebration, only, as she came down, the woman realized that chunks were missing from the desk, and her hands were suspiciously covered in wood dust.

The kids looked at the silver Shizue with an eye of fascination, as their teacher had somehow casually removed chunks out of a desk. There wasn't any fear as one would expect, since even if they're unsettled by the robot version of their teacher, the fact that she looks so similar to the old her without the silver sheen caused a lingering sense of familiarity, like looking at a teddy bear that's extremely similar to the one a person used to own.

"Uh..." Shizue quickly came up with what to say, "anyways, let's start with the test right now, afterward, class is dismissed for the rest of the day."

Handing out the papers, Shizue made a mental note to speak with Lady Treyni to see if spirits possessing these children wouldn't overtake their will as hers did.

_____________________________________________

After gathering all the finished test papers, the students all talked with each other about how different this 'test' was. There were a lot of personal questions, so they didn't really have to study beforehand and instead had to just answer truthfully.

Then, Shizue had them all go outside for their free time. There, in the courtyard of the school, Shizue stood near the wall as her students played.

Leaning on the wall, the teacher-bodyguard started flipping through the test, making internal notes about adjusting an already prepared individual education plan for each of her students.

Before coming here, Shizue already prepared an education plan for each of her students. However, those were based on her memories of how each kid like Kenya behaved. In other words, they weren't completely accurate, but with this test, she could make them far more accurate.

*RRRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNG*

That was the lunch bell.

With the sun at its apex in the sky, Shizue had her students form into a single-file line and almost marched through the hallways of the school before eventually reaching the mess hall.

Instead of joining her students at lunch— being a Digital Lich meant she doesn't need to eat— Shizue walked into an empty, unused classroom and locked the door.

Inside the room, Shizue took out and placed the mask on her face. Next, she brought up a hoodie over her head that would completely cover the fact that her hair, when in her War Chassis, was in fact one solid piece.

Reaching to the side, Shizue used her right arm and gestured to a region of the room without any chairs or tables, completely devoid of furniture. A few centimeters in front of her right hand was a Doorway that suddenly opened up.

Doorway privileges, Shizue would argue, are perhaps one of the best benefits of being employed by Lady Scientia. Absolutely free instantaneous transportation across the entire planet, an endless number of times.

Another benefit of serving her Lady was just how easily she can be satisfied. Instead of those snobby childrens of nobility who demand the best, Lady Scientia only requires some refreshment every few hours to stay content. As for cleaning, most of the time, Shizue just sends some of her unused maid chassis to go clean and perform basic maintenance on the Citadel or even just for show since the whole place has a self-cleaning function.

Afterward, Shizue has free time to do whatever she wants. The servant has so much free time that she often finds herself bored, especially after visiting all the interesting sights around the Jura Forest with Doormaker.

Deactivating her Stasis Field and walking through the Doorway, the Digital Lich appeared in the middle of a small clearing in the Jura Forest.

"Lady Treyni," Shizue said loudly while activating the spiritual lens to scout her surroundings.

In less than a second, Shizue's head locked in on the direction where a large collection of distortions in the electromagnetic spectrum was detected.

Switching back to her usual lens and found a bright green glow appearing in the area where those distortions materialize.

The Dryad was here.

Once the light died down, Shizue could finally see the Dryad in all her glory.

The first thing she noticed was just how beautiful the nature spirit looked. Truly, the legends and myths about the beauty of dryads were correct and may have even understated it.

The next thing Shizue noticed was how Treyni looked tense. Her Lady would definitely find such things fascinating. Despite not being a human, Treyni's body exhibits several human-like qualities that would suggest that her body is made from muscles despite being a spirit.

"What is it, Miss Shizue? Does Lady Scientia have need of me and my sister?" Treyni said with forced politeness.

As a spirit of nature, Treyni dislikes anything too manufactured. It is one of the main reasons why they refuse to live in the city. Shizue's war chassis is about as manufactured as anything short of the Citadel, which they see as a monument to the very concept of 'artificialness', so Shizue hasn't seen Treyni ever since they were introduced.

In a clinical tone more befitting of a doctor, "No, but I have a question; hypothetically speaking, if I happen to have a group of kids with their magicules out of order, would getting them possessed by spirits regulate the rampant magicules and if so, would the spirits attempt to take over the host?"

Treyni pondered the question for a few seconds, the gears in her spiritual mind turning as she thought of an answer.

"A Superior Spirit can easily regulate the magicule in their body without taking over, as a merger isn't required. In fact, a Lesser Spirit may be enough," Those words caused Shizue to feel relief. There is a way to save her students, just as her Lady had said.

Then, that relief was dampened when Treyni continued, "But the issue comes with getting enough spirits to congregate in a single place. Getting more than two spirits within the span of a single day around the same area is exceedingly rare to the point of impossibility. That's why I recommend you go to the Dwelling of Spirits. In that place, you should have more than enough spirits."

"The Dwelling of Spirits?" Shizue took in the information, and searched inside her memories, "I have heard of that place during my decades as an adventurer but those are only mentions of it. Where is that place?"

"The Dwelling of Spirits... that is a place completely unlike anything in this world. In that place, spirits are as numerous as blades of grass on a rolling hill. There, the lower-ranked spirits play like childrens, they dance about all over the place, their bodies, sparkles of light, sprinkles across the place. There, the higher-ranked spirits play pranks on each other, they would often race each other, and they warp space to create mazes that only other higher-ranked spirits can escape from. There, the highest-ranked spirit of them all, the Spirit Queen..." Sadness bloomed on Treyni's face.

"The Queen has long died, and with her death, so did any connection I and my sisters have to that place. Any information I can provide for you is likely long out of date, by at least thousands of years."

The silence dragged on for some time before Shizue spoke up again, "can you at least tell me where it used to be?"

"Certainly. When I still had a connection to that place, I remember it used to be situated in a mountain range. The many gems held within the mountain made for entertaining light shows if held next to a fire, and it was because of those gems that the humans attacked. We defeated them with the help of some harpies."

"Harpies...?"

"Yes. I think that place is called 'Fulbrosia' now?"

A port opened on the left forearm of Shizue's war chassis. From it came a 3-D hologram of the Harpy Country of Fulbrosia. Her Lady considered Fulbrosia the most progressive out of all the nations that follow the ideology of Racialism, mostly because they trade a significant amount of their precious gemstones with the Western nations.

Despite being the most 'progressive', it isn't saying much since some of the ruling class in its neighbor Eurazania is rumored to practice the eating of humans.

Treyni looked at the hologram in awe mixed with a bit of disgust before pointing at a place between the forest and the mountain, "there, it's there where I remember the old place to be."

Dismissing the hologram, Shizue bowed in respect.

"Thank you, Lady Treyni." Then, the post-human turned and went through another Doorway.

Just as she appeared through the portal, Shizue activated her stasis and floated aimlessly there high above the clouds in the crimson hue sky, completely motionless as she deactivated the stasis around her head to connect with Doormaker. Using the satellite, Shizue surveyed the place where Treyni had pointed to.

Due to the time difference between Fulbrosia and Ingrassia, the sun is currently near the horizon.

The Doormaker Satellite scoured the entirety of Fulbrosia. Even from geosynchronous orbit, the satellite has a clear enough camera to accurately read the content of a newspaper held by a Tempest Citizen.

Zettabytes of new data were extracted from mere minutes of observation concerning Fulbrosia, everything from the location of mines, the size of mountains, the exact length of coastlines, and even the structural integrity of Fulbrosia's capital, Jia.

Such a wealth of information was undoubtedly useful, but it wasn't useful to Shizue. Instead, the woman opted to filter out all the information save for 'unusual geography' and got a ping around 30 kilometers east of where she was floating.

Making a split-second decision and finding that it's close enough she doesn't need Doormaker, Shizue flew at hypersonic speeds. Unlike the A.A.A. Shizue was completely silent as she would really prefer not to cause a potential international incident with her unannounced visit.

Like a silent, silver arrow, the War Chassis blew past countless small mountains, rolling hills that looked like waves, and large grasslands, all devoid of any civilization.

It was a beautiful view. If Shizue wasn't in a hurry to get back before lunch ended, she would've taken some time to slowly fly over this place, to take in the beauty of nature, but she doesn't have a luxury.

Very quickly, Shizue's view was replaced by an ocean of forest, and after a few seconds, the Digital Lich stopped. Doormaker says it's right beneath her.

Dropping under the dense foliage without a single sound, the woman looked at the antediluvian forest. The trees were more like small skyscrapers, the ground was very uneven as roots stuck out of it like noodles above the broth.

It was a most treacherous place, and might as well as be impossible to cover without flight, Shizue observed before hovering up just a couple of inches off the dirty floor.

Cutting herself off from Doormaker by encasing her head in stasis, she dug her hand deep into the trunk of a tree twice as wide as she is tall and pulled.

*Crack*

A thunderous cracking echoed throughout the forest as the inviolable War Chassis tore the massive tree with most of its roots out of the ground with the ease of someone pulling a weed.

Carefully, Shizue dropped the tree next to her without making any loud sounds.

Looking down at the hole where the tree's roots used to take up was an inert slab of stone covered with a really intricate design.

Old magic... Shizue recognized it. The magic was at least a thousand years old.

Shizue placed her hand over the stone slab, carefully as she doesn't want to unintentionally damage the thing by pressing too much— the back of the Lich's mind instinctively recalled how she had accidentally made a hole in the wall of the living quarters of the Citadel when she pushed too hard.

Her new body is truly inviolable, and while she may get thrown around nothing can dent it.

In other words, the world is like wet paper to her; moves too quickly and she threatens to tear everything down.

She turned off the stasis on her hand as the palm area opened up, a single stick with a light at the end popped out and started to scan the stone for any residue of spacetime anomalies. If it exists then it would mean she could potentially track its current location with a spell utilizing a Magicule Manipulator.

Sadly, it was not the case as the scanner showed the stone to be nothing more than a nicely carved rock.

Although... Shizue looked at the stone slab as an idea crossed her mind. After she cleans this, it could look really nice as an art piece, especially beside the entrance to the hot spring.

Shizue's lips curved upward as she dug into the earth effortlessly, her time-locked body can take beatings from Milim, so this dirt was hopelessly outmatched.

In less than a minute, Shizue had dug out the stone slab, the entire thing was almost as large as she was! Opening a Doorway to a storage room in the Citadel, Shizue turned off her stasis and carefully placed it down, giving it one last look before going back through the Doorway.

"I think people in Blumund should have the answer I seek," Shizue said to herself as she appeared back in the school in Ingrassia. That nation was known among the adventurers as 'the Kingdom of Information' and supposedly negotiating to become a client state of the Jura Tempest Republic, so her appearance there shouldn't cause any alarms.

She was the direct subordinate of Lady Scientia, after all.