Chapter 114: The Danger of Using Ever

He returned to his seat, the Everlight Mech still in his arms in the shape of a cane, and exhaled slowly.

"I’ve created the first Mech," he mused before continuing, "Now just one more Mech to go."

The second Mech he wanted to create was the Ember Buster Mech, and he knew for sure that it would be more difficult than the Everlight Mech.

As for the timeframe, the Everlight Mech had taken him two full weeks to create, and if he wanted to create the Ember Buster, he would need at least a month.

Declan had already spent nearly two months in his second year. Of course, he had kept himself updated on events in the outside world, but eventually, he had stopped.

The Ember were attacking with full force.

It wasn’t a simple sneak attack followed by a retreat; they were actively overtaking human cities, and over twenty had fallen the last time he checked.

There was nothing he could do, and watching the news only caused him to make mistakes in his Mech designs, which was why he had stopped listening to it, but it also gave him the motivation he needed.

Once he created the Ember Buster Mech, he was moving out of the Academy, allowed or not, and while he was out, he would take care of the business he felt had been dragged on for long enough.

His business with Sir Tonald and the Mechnoheart organization.

That had never been forgotten, not even once; it had only been pushed aside so he could focus.

Declan placed the walking cane on the ground, where it stood upright on its own, before stepping closer to the table and quickly packing away all the remaining Tech materials he had brought out to create the Everlight Mech.

Once everything was clean and tidy, he began his second project:

The Ember Buster.

It began with the materials, followed by the appearance of the design hologram alongside a board where Declan noted the purposes of the creation, and so it continued, with Declan moving around here and there, making marks on the board at times while at others, his hands glowed blue as he created different pieces of the Mech.

A tiny little robot occasionally pranced around, bringing him sodas and handkerchiefs, while the cane stood at the side, a blue flicker of light trailing from it as Ever actively learned what Declan was doing.

______________________

Four weeks later...

"Phewww," Declan exhaled lightly as he collapsed into his seat, and the moment he did, a handkerchief appeared at his side, which he took and used to wipe the sweat from his face.

Immediately afterward, a can of soda appeared, and he grabbed it and drained it in one gulp before exhaling with relief.

"Thank you, Help!" he said to the tiny robot.

"Help had helped, hurray!"

It said, and Declan rolled his eyes.

"You have completed the Ember Buster’s exterior and interior structural design, Declan," Ever said from the side.

Declan hummed.

"It should be ready for testing now," Ever said to him, but Declan shook his head.

"No, I’m not finished. After the exterior and interior structure comes the hardest part," he replied.

"The hardest part?" Ever asked, confused.

"Yes. And that’s designing the AI Module for the Ember Buster, just like how I designed you," he replied, rising to his feet once more.

He quickly brought out the materials for the AI construction, but then Ever spoke.

"Why not use me as the AI for the Ember Buster?"

Declan immediately froze.

"Can you come again?"

"I asked why not use me as the AI for the Ember Buster."

"According to my knowledge, I am an extractable chip, and the chip slot for the Ember Buster is exactly my frame, so why not just plug me into the Ember Buster?"

"I can be the AI simulation for it, and you won’t have to spend another couple of weeks creating the AI core."

It said, and Declan was left speechless.

’How did I never think of that?’

He had created Ever as the AI simulation for the Everlight Mech, but it had never occurred to him that he could simply place Ever into the Ember Buster and have her activate it.

"But what about the Everlight Mech?" he mused.

"According to my knowledge, it is impossible to activate both the Everlight Mech and the Ember Buster at the same time."

"So, if you wish to use the Everlight Mech, you can simply extract me and place me in it, and if you wish to use the Ember Buster, you will extract me from the Everlight Mech and place me in the Ember Buster."

"I am not the Everlight Mech, nor am I the Ember Buster. I am simply the AI core responsible for bridging the lines between this Mech and you, Declan."

"Extract," he said.

In the next moment, the cane’s handle opened, and the small, shiny chip hovered in the air before falling into Declan’s palm.

’It’s true. I don’t need to spend another two weeks making a second Ever. I can just use the first Ever,’

He thought, but suddenly, the panel flashed.

[Don’t listen.]

"Huh?"

[While it is indeed reasonable, it is also a risk, and a very risky one at that.]

Declan’s brow furrowed.

Risky?

[Yes.]

[Ever isn’t just a simple AI, Declan. You made her a Learning Module.]

[The second you plug her into the Everlight Mech, she’s fully aware of everything about it.]

[And I think she may understand the Everlight Mech more than you, who designed it.]

[After all, she’s fully living inside it.]

[Right now, she’s not very aware of the Ember Buster’s capabilities, but the second you plug her in, she learns everything and becomes fully aware of it, and of course, more than you do.]

[You know one bad thing about AIs?]

"Yes?"

[They’re capable of being overwritten.]

’Are you saying she could betray me?’ he asked.

[If Ever is captured by an AI core expert, they can overwrite her.]

[And the second they overwrite her, they will learn everything she knows unless you’re fast enough to send the destruction code and make her self-destruct.]

[If they overwrite her, they will also gain access to her memory, which includes information about not only the Everlight Mech but even the Ember Buster.]

[That’s priceless information to anyone who wants your total erasure.]

[Besides losing Ever, you would no longer have the AI Module required to operate the Ember Buster, leaving you without the Mech to use.]

[You become limited in your choices.]

[But if you use a different AI Module for the Ember Buster, it will be dedicated to the Ember Buster.]

[Unless the Ember Buster is captured, you won’t lose its knowledge, and only you and the AI for the Ember Buster will be fully aware of its true capabilities.]

[If Ever is captured, you can instantly switch and use your Ember Buster.]

[Mechs aren’t supreme, Declan. Do you know why? Because their cores can be extracted.]

[The second a core is extracted, it’s done.]

[Most believe there’s no need to create a second AI Module if they already have the first, but once the first is lost...]

"They become helpless."

[Exactly. So yeah, even if it takes two weeks, force yourself to create a different AI Module for the Ember Buster.]

[In the future, you will thank yourself for that.]

The system explained at length, and Declan had no doubt, so he dropped Ever’s chip back into the cane, and it quickly awakened.

"You changed your mind?" it asked.

Declan nodded.

"Yes. I’ll be creating a new chip for the Ember Buster," he replied and quickly got to work.

____________

Two weeks later...

FLIIICCCKKKERRR!

A flicker of red light glowed through the room from beneath the microscope stage, where Declan sat completely laser-focused, faint beads of sweat trailing down the back of his neck as his eyes remained fixed on the microscope lenses, staring at the object suspended in the liquid.

It was another chip, this time made of crimson and golden lines.

"Hey, Help, get me a handkerchief. Unused and white," he specified, and the robot quickly zoomed away.

Five seconds later, a handkerchief appeared on the table, and Declan set the chip on it, allowing the surrounding liquid to soak into the fabric.

The moment the liquid was absorbed, all that remained was the glowing red chip.

"You have created the AI Module," Ever said from the side.

Declan nodded.

"Yes, I have. But now, I gotta try it out," he mused, placing the chip in a sealed cap before slipping it into his pocket.

Grabbing the cane, he put on his hoodie and then brought another object out of the wardrobe, a glass-like ball that he slipped into his pocket before stepping out.

It was very early on a Saturday morning, around 3:20 AM, and with the week coming to an end, many students were sleeping deeply, taking advantage of the weekend to get some much-needed rest.

Declan moved to the elevator, but instead of choosing to go down, he headed up, soon arriving at the top balcony of the dorm building.

From there, one could see almost the entire Academy.

He moved to the center and, once there, crushed the glass ball in his palm.

Instantly, a glass structure rose to around fifteen meters, forming a dome with Declan at its center.

It wasn’t just any dome but an invisibility dome, impenetrable to external view.

As for why he needed this?

"System!"

And then,

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A crater opened in the glass sheet covering the ground, and Declan unconsciously exhaled.

’Thank God, I saw this coming.’