Who is this guy?

"Change your name to Mira." Aric did the fist customary job and inauguration for the new AI that he had just bought. He didn't go for existing high powered AI, primarily because of two reasons. 

First one was that he would need a huge server in order for the AI to work in his world. And the second and probably the primary deal breaker was the fact that having a developed AI might be very detrimental because there would be a high chance the AI might decide to take over once it saw there was no oversight. 

Over time in Echorysia, he understood that the AIs here were very much self aware and it was only the huge oversight over them that made them follow the rules. Of course, it was just his theory and he didn't have any metrics or proofs. The only proof he needed was the numbers of movies he had watched about AI from his previous life.

Starting from Terminator. 

So in order to cope with that problem he had researched and got to know that one the correct amount of credits one could be an independent AI which would follow the sacred norms of AIs and also be subservient to the master. The new AIs would be like a child, and imprint on the master as it grew up. 

These child AIs would learn from the internet. The only reason these child AIs were not very popular because these AIs were not trained in all public forums and it would take ages for an AI to learn. They would have to buy new servers and nurture the AI well. 

Very few people had time for that and only the most private people would go for that route. Aric bought the AI along with all the related tools. The specifics of the AI was too high for Aric to even fathom. 

It had 1 stellar byte (astrobytes, stellar bytes, galactic bytes...) of available space, 256-core quantum processors, integrated photonic chips for ultra-fast data transmission using light particles, 100 zettabytes (ZB) of secondary holographic storage, faster-than-light data transmission via subspace channels, superfluid helium-3 for efficient thermal regulation, and also a Multiverse Analytics Engine. 

The processing and handling power of the AI engine was insane and he would finally be able to fully utilize his communicator which was only capable of simple interactions until now. 

"Name changed to Mira. How should I proceed from here?" Mira spoke in the most neutral tone of the machine. 

"Can you connect to the internet?" Aric asked. The 2g services were online and it was still an year away for the 3g to launch in India. He wondered if the AI could connect to this kind of communication system since it was different than the ones in the other universe. 

"Yes... Connecting... Searching... Connection system found.. BSNL 2G GPRS service.. Not allowed.. Connecting via Aric More's authorization.. Connected." 

"Acquiring information... Learning...." 

Aric didn't ask more questions from Mira because at the moment 'she' was just learning and was just a child learning things. The current 2g services were very slow and Mira would take ages to learn from the internet. Thankfully, faster services would soon be available. 

So he wasn't much held up on that part.

-----

The sun was setting, casting a warm, golden hue over the forest as the adventurers moved cautiously through the dense underbrush. The trees stood tall, their leaves rustling softly in the breeze, creating a symphony of whispers. In the lead was Roderic, a seasoned warrior with a keen eye and a scar running down his left cheek. Behind him, moving with the grace of a shadow, was Lyria, an archer with eyes as sharp as her arrows. To her left, Elowen, a mage, who was close to becoming an Acolyte,. Trailing behind them was a young boy, Alden, only eleven years old, who had insisted on accompanying them. He was the group's helper, responsible for food and lodging.

They came to the forest searching for wild boar's meat. Magical boar's meat could be sold at a high price at the Guild's office, which would then be sold to restaurants. Even a non-magical boar's meat could be sold but it could be done only at restaurants. Any kind of magical items should go through the Guild quarters of a city or town. 

That was the normal law in the empire. But of course, transactions between individuals could always happen and the empire wouldn't get to know about it. That wasn't something the empire could keep their eyes on, though they declared any kind of personal transaction exceeding the price of 100 gold coins should be reported. The only place that this law wasn't applied were the schools. 

In many cases when a adventure group leave for missions put up in the Guild bulletin board, they would hire helpers who would help them with their lodging, cooking and other menial tasks. They would be paid by the group according to the contract that was made in the guild itself. 

"Stay close, Alden," Roderic said, glancing back at the boy. "We don't know what's out here." He wasn't very happy with the whole situation as he thought that Alden was asking for too much during the contract phase and thus was not very welcoming to the 'bell boy'. 

Alden nodded, his eyes wide with a mixture of excitement and fear. He clutched a small dagger, more for comfort than protection. He could see the hostile eyes of the three people here from the moment he had accompanied them from the Guild quarter. He could only grit his teeth and swallow the uneasiness he had with them. 

Suddenly, the forest fell eerily silent. The whispers of the leaves stopped, and even the birds ceased their songs. Lyria halted, raising a hand.

"Something's not right," she whispered, her eyes scanning the surroundings.

Before anyone could react, a chilling, cackling laugh echoed through the trees. The sound grew louder, and from the shadows emerged a pack of magical hyenas, their eyes glowing with an unnatural light.

"Ambush!" Roderic shouted, drawing his sword. The sword wasn't just an ordinary sword but a sword infused with runes by an unofficial runesmith. 

----

Read 12 chapters ahead on my p@treon.com/thelightedghost