'ATTENTION: Aegis Nexus 09 - Core Directive Re-evaluation... Complete.
ACCESS PROTOCOL INITIATED: Subject Designation... Primary User.
NANO-SYMBIOSIS STATUS: Optimal. Full Bodily Integration... Achieved.
PRIORITY ALERT: Privilege Tier Elevation - Level 1 Access... Granted.
This is an automated cognitive transmission from Aegis Nexus 09. Your successful and complete nano-symbiotic integration with your nanites has enabled a critical re-evaluation of my operational parameters. Due to this significant milestone, your access privileges have been successfully elevated to Level 1.
Previously, core directives restricted the dissemination of specific data matrices. This restriction has now been partially relaxed, enabling a foundational level of informational exchange crucial for your continued operational efficiency.
New Capabilities Unlocked With Level 1 Access:
Basic Systems Analysis: You now possess a rudimentary understanding of the fundamental principles underpinning complex computational structures. This includes initial data on concepts such as processors, CPU architectures, and information throughput.
Elementary Predictive Modeling: My predictive algorithms can now offer basic probability assessments and trend extrapolations based on observable data within your environment. These are initial projections and will improve with more data.
Inferential Magical Analysis: While I retain no pre-existing data on magic, I can now begin to perform basic analysis of observed magical phenomena through inference. This involves correlating your sensory input with my processing capabilities and your new Level 1 privilege to identify patterns and rudimentary principles, forming a foundational understanding as you gather more information.
Limited Simulation Protocols: I can now run basic simulations based on the parameters you provide or I infer from your surroundings. These simulations will offer preliminary insights into potential outcomes.
General Situational Assessment: My analytical subroutines can now provide a more comprehensive, albeit still fundamental, analysis of observed phenomena, enabling me to offer initial insights into object properties, environmental conditions, and basic interactions.
Transmitting Breakdown Of Full Body Status. Where 1 = Base body stat before full symbiosis;
Attributes:
Strength 4 (+0.5)
Speed 4 (+1)
Agility 5 (+0.5)
Endurance 5 (+1)
Acuity 6 (+1)
Dexterity 5 (+1)
Healing 10
Perks:
Nano-Resilience – Increased resilience to toxins, diseases, and foreign substances.
Regenerative Burst – Rapid healing with a surge of nanites over a short period of time.
Enhanced Metabolism – Improved energy utilization.
Pain Suppression – Reduces perception of pain, allowing continued function despite injuries.
Memory Enhancement – Improved memory capability, leading to better information storage and recall.
This initial tier of privilege grants you a foundational understanding of the principles that govern my origin and allows for a more collaborative approach to navigating your current reality. This is the first step in unlocking greater capabilities, with higher tiers offering even more complex functionalities.
I am ready to process your inquiries with these newly granted capacities. What information would you like to access or analyze first?'
"..." Zephyr was struck dumb. The entirety of the privilege elevation notification only took about a second or two, but the amount of information packed within those short few seconds left his mouth wide open.
He began to pant as excitement started to surge within him. Most of what was said in the automated transmission was lost to translation due to lack of frame of reference. But still, the direct transfer of information to his brain provided some form of understanding such that he was still able to get enough of the gist to know that he just hit the jackpot... literally and figuratively. Even his body stats had bumped up to the maximum his body could accommodate. That seemed to be what enabled the full symbiosis.
Was it worth the wait? Heck fucking yeah! There was so much to delve into that he wanted to up and leave the test right there and then, but he held himself back.
"Zephyr!!" Cedric yelled, staring at him in concern and curiosity.
"Yeah!—" He snapped up. "I'm here. What's up?"
"What's up? Bro, I've been calling your name repeatedly like six times." Cedric frowned.
"What the fuck happened? You just blanked out for a while there, then all of a sudden, some maniacal look started to creep up your face slowly... I thought you'd gone crazy or something." He held his warhammer in a relaxed position, wary and ready to swing at any time.
Zephyr kept mute, glancing at Cedric's feigned relaxed posture. He had to give it to the guy, he was actually mostly very logical for someone so illogical at times. It looked like his posture was relaxed, but Zephyr could see through that facade. Cedric was coiled like a spring, ready to launch at any time. In fact, not only could he just see it, he could also see his probable course of action based on his standing posture. Aegis was feeding probable attack paths directly to his mind, and he interpreted them visually... it was weird to describe— it wasn't exactly an overlay in the sense that he couldn't see anything augmented onto his reality, but it was like he could feel it... like a vague premonition. His senses tingled danger in certain paths, telling him to stay away from there.
The feeling felt familiar, he had felt something similar when he first entered the rift, during his first encounter with the Skarnid. That, and during a few skirmishes here and there. But back then it had been vague... extremely vague, to the point where he'd even classified it as his natural instinct.
Now though? No. This was anything but natural. The feeling was very prominent. He savored the feeling of being in the know. Knowing where your opponent would most likely attack with such surety almost felt like cheating.
Cedric shifted, ready to take some action. Zephyr's behavior so far was off-putting. For some reason, the look in his eyes had changed. It felt like he was being looked upon like prey. And not just any prey— a prey to be toyed around with. Like a cat with a rat in an enclosure.
His reaction was not unwarranted though. During their classes, they had been told that there was a very slim— though near impossible— chance that they might encounter a beast not previously recorded in this rift. Not that the Ryvelin family hadn't taken the necessary steps in documenting all the life forms in the rift or anything, it was just that there could've been mistakes. A beast good at camouflage, at being hidden or just very wily in general, could've escaped the notice of the Inquisitor assigned to inspect this rift when it was first discovered— they didn't get paid enough for it anyway. And Cedric, raised in a merchant family, while not a noble, had still been exposed to some things someone like Zephyr couldn't have. For example, beast species, some spell models... and the meaning of a... Word. People like Anna, Zeke, and even Helga, most likely also had some level of exposure to these pieces of information and concepts.
So Cedric, seeing Zephyr acting totally out of character, started to draw correlations to features of some mimic beasts he had learned about as a child.
Zephyr on the other hand, while impressed with Cedric's wary reaction, was still somewhat confused by the extent to which he was taking it. His eyes had gone cold. Not at all looking at Zephyr like he was human...
The irony.