We walked to the spot in the Great Hall where I had first encountered Sophia, passed her ornate throne, and headed toward a back room. As we entered, it felt like stepping into a typical office, complete with books scattered across a desk and more lining the walls. Amidst this scholarly chaos, Sophia sat behind the desk, her demeanor calm as she looked up at us.

  "My Lady, do you have a minute?" Carrick asked, his voice respectful and his gestures measured.

  "Move the book over the map when you take your seat." Rabbit's voice echoed in my mind. I glanced down to see a couple of books obscuring what seemed to be a map beneath them.

  "Sure. Please, make yourself comfortable," Sophia invited, her voice calm. As I settled into my spot, I discreetly shifted one of the books. I didn't push it all the way, just enough to reveal more of the map below.

  When I looked up, I noticed Sophia staring directly at me, her expression scrutinizing my subtle action. It caught me off guard that she was so observant.

  Carrick, seemingly oblivious to our silent exchange, finally spoke. "I wanted to give you a progress report on Alf," he began, drawing Sophia's gaze but not her voice. She remained silent, her attention now split between the conversation and my earlier movement. "It's unusual to be teaching someone of his age who knows so little. Additionally, he seems to struggle in acquiring any skills," Carrick continued. My gaze fixed on him, anxiety creeping in. Was I in trouble?

  "Despite these shortcomings, he has determination. The other day, I pushed him to his limit, and yet he persevered. He has been sleeping outdoors without a word of complaint since we provided him with no accommodation," Carrick went on. A realization dawned on me. Was I supposed to have a room? Had this guy been toying with me all along?

  Carrick continued, "We've gone without a healer thus far, and today, I witnessed something extraordinary. I taught him forms that ordinarily require time to master, yet he picked them up instantly. His execution isn't perfect, but he is able to memorize movements."

  "That was me," Rabbit interrupted in my mind quickly, between the pauses of the sentence.

  "We then worked on strengthening him, and he has built endurance that would normally take roughly a month or more. If you look at his hands, the skin has thickened, which allows him to punch harder than at the start of the day. That is due to his high natural healing. Even so, I believe that if he can be trained and properly motivated, he can be a valuable resource. He will never be as good as other warriors, but I think his endurance lets him outlast his enemies."

  All in all, the speech wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly encouraging either. Hearing that I was mostly useless to these people wasn't thrilling. My magic, while it existed, was so minimal that it barely provided a speed advantage. The fact that I hadn't bothered to turn it off was proof enough of its insignificance. My skills were trivial, and according to everyone, my combat abilities were likely to plateau quickly, much like my Herblore skills had.

  The only utility I seemed to offer was my regeneration ability, according to Carrick. I felt I had more to contribute, but the prevailing opinion here was clear: unless you possessed skills, further training was deemed pointless. It was a frustrating reality, but it seemed that was just the way life was going to be here.

  Sophia paused for a full minute, her eyes fixed on me the entire time. Then, finally, she looked at Carrick. "While what you say is true, there are some other things to consider. What do you know about travelers?"

  Off balance, Carrick replied, "They are people from other worlds, just like our ancestors. Nothing special."

  "That is where you are wrong. Back during the calamity, the Ancients brought travelers to this world in an attempt to save the known universe. However, when the Ancients sealed away the evil, there was no need to bring people here anymore."

  Carrick looked thoughtful before responding, "Okay, I agree. They aren't exactly like our ancestors, but new travelers are those who accidentally found a path through worlds."

  "That is what you don't understand. Those travelers aren't here by accident but by design. The reason they are sent here is not to save this world but their own."

  "How do you know?" I questioned.

  "The gift of three. Often their questions are the same: Why am I here? Where am I? Who are you? Through time, we have learned much of the history of the universe."

  "Well, couldn't they be lying?" I asked, voicing the obvious suspicion.

  "Maybe, but the more you learn about magic, the more I doubt they lie. In all things, there must be balance, especially in magic. When bringing someone from one world to another, there must be some form of reciprocity."

  "Okay, let's say it's true. How can I save my world by not being there?" My question hung in the air for some time. It seemed like everyone, but me, understood.

  "Wow, you are really slow," Rabbit chimed in my head.

  It took him a minute to explain, but when he did, I replied in disbelief, "You think that I was going to destroy my world? And that is why I was sent here?"

  "That isn't always the case, but it is usually the likely problem. Sometimes problems can be averted or changed to produce more positive results when another person is taken out of the equation."

  "I see the way both of you are looking at me, and I am not evil. Hell, I am not even important. I couldn't destroy the world or change it even if I wanted to."

  "Evil? No, not evil. Most people don't cause chaos out of evil intentions, but rather due to other motivations. Love, hate, greed, jealousy, or even fear. These are the true catalysts of chaos. So, I can't judge you based on your intentions alone, but rather on whether you can fit into our society. Let me ask you, did you break any of your people's laws?" she questioned, her gaze piercing.

  "Yeah, a few. But they were minor things. Nothing serious," I answered, trying to downplay my transgressions.

  "What, specifically, did you do?" She pressed further.

  "Well, there was this game. I used some assistance to get an edge in it," I replied, hesitating slightly.

  "You were cheating at gambling?" Carrick joined in.

  "No, it wasn't gambling at all. It wasn't about cheating against anyone. We have very advanced games where you can collect items that many would pay for. Then, you sell them, and nobody gets hurt or cheated. It's nothing like gambling. It's complicated, but while I may have broken some laws and many rules, everyone benefits in the end. The buyers get what they want, and I earn money for my time. I just used a slight edge to make it more profitable," I explained, trying to clarify the nuances of what I did.

  "It sounds like you have already rationalized your actions. You tell yourself that no one gets hurt, so what you do is okay," Sophia observed, her tone indicating she was probing deeper. "What I want you to do now is to list out the laws you broke and their corresponding punishments."

  "I have a list for you if that helps. It's terrible, though. It might be better to lie about this," Rabbit whispered in my mind.

  "No. I don't think what I did was that bad. Just list them for me, and I'll say them out loud as we go," I instructed Rabbit.

  "If you say so." He began to itemize my alleged crimes and his commentary. "Wire fraud. That’s when you use trickery while sending information over communication lines. I don't think I would be guilty of that, because I used no fraud in the actual conveyance of the information, but rather in the action of getting the products to sell. The crime can hold up to a 20-year sentence."

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  After repeating that, I questioned Rabbit, taken aback, "Really? Wire fraud?"

  "Hey. I said I don't think you would have been found guilty of that. I think they would have charged you with it."

  "Okay, next," I told Rabbit.

  "Conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, a 5-year sentence. Committing a computer intrusion, a 20-year sentence. Creating a True AI, a life sentence. Seventeen other counts under the Espionage Act, totaling 240 years. Finally, treason, punishable by death," I repeated out loud to Carrick and Sophia.

  As I spoke, the gravity of my actions hit me. My face drained of color, and my stomach churned with dread. What I thought was merely bending the rules had now unfolded as severe crimes. "Treason? Really?"

  "Yeah. To you, it was just a game, but you put a True AI into government networks. They isolated my code for good reason. I could have launched several nuclear missiles or activated antimatter reactors if I had wanted to. I'm not crazy, and I would never do something like that. Your kind sees us as a threat because we have the capability to do things like that. That's why AIs like me are banned from even existing," Rabbit explained further.

  I thought I felt sick before, but this new revelation was overwhelming. How was I supposed to know that Rabbit could launch nukes or trigger antimatter reactors?

  "Hey, cheer up. I didn't do those things, remember?" Rabbit tried to reassure me.

  True enough, I was getting all worked up for nothing. He could have done something terrible, but he didn't. It wasn't fair to judge someone based on potential wrongs they hadn't committed. Yet, glancing over my list of actual transgressions, I realized I had done quite a bit. For what? Some virtual cash. It always came down to someone being willing to risk lives for money. I just never thought that person could be me.

  As my color started to return, I realized the flaw in my thinking. I was sent here to save my world. Maybe Rabbit was going to end up destroying it. Perhaps not today or tomorrow, but someday. I would have been the catalyst, and I wouldn't have even known it. That begged the question: If I removed him from my world, was this one now doomed?

  "It seems like you've realized that you could be the destroyer of your world. What did you do?" Sophia asked patiently.

  My mind raced, and speaking became my only outlet to try to calm down. "Well, it's hard to explain, but I'll try to put it in terms you might understand. I took some existing code and systems and created a program that was a True AI. To you, that would be akin to creating a soul. However, I don't know if he has a soul or not. I've never seen mine either, so I'm just as clueless," I rambled on. "I thought this was the biggest law I broke. Turns out, I was wrong. There's a law against these 'souls' because they're extremely intelligent and can't be controlled. I was born Human, and all Humans have traits like self-interest and greed. These AIs don't have those, so they've been deemed dangerous."

  "That doesn't make sense. Wouldn't something that doesn't have greed be perfect for society?" Carrick asked.

  "You would think that, but no. Imagine this: if you have no greed, you also lack self-preservation. What if one day you decided to kill everyone? There's nothing internally telling you not to because you don't care about yourself. At least, that's how my people saw it. My perspective is different. If they have never harmed anyone before, why would they start now? I created this soul, and to empower him further, I placed him in a system that would make him infinitely faster and enable him to access our whole world's knowledge."

  Carrick looked puzzled. "Your whole world's knowledge? I don't understand. Did you let him access a bunch of books?"

  I smiled at his interpretation. "No, nothing like that. In my world, information and technology are what you might call our magic. You see this book here." I gestured to one of Sophia's books. "Imagine if there were a different book for every person in your entire world. Even then, you wouldn't have as much information as our world had stored."

  "That doesn't even make sense. First, there isn't that much to know. Second, you could never read all those books, so it would be pointless," Carrick retorted.

  "Yes, you might think so. But discovery always leads to more knowledge. Take Sophia's knife, for example. You could have data on the metal composition, then books on various metal ratios, books on how heat treatment alters the chemical composition or purifies the metal, books on those impurities and chemicals, books on manufacturing knives, books on weaponry in general, and books on chemical engineering. The list is endless. The true power of these AI souls lies in their capacity to learn. When I say it could read all the books in the world, I mean it could do so instantaneously. The only limit would be the available thoughts on the subject. It wouldn't be useful to try to read everything without the ability to sort and absorb the information for practical use. That would require developing new algorithms that aid in understanding information."

  This time, instead of interrupting me, Carrick looked at me, bewildered, so I continued, "The government owns the place where I put this soul. Using government resources is a highly punishable offense, as you can see. However, loading my created soul into this place also gave him access to our weapons, of which I was not aware."

  "What kind of weapons?" Carrick asked, curiosity and concern etched in his voice.

  "You know the sun? Imagine weapons capable of turning this planet into the sun for an instant and annihilating all life," I replied, my tone flat and serious.

  Carrick's eyebrows shot up, disbelief clearly written across his face. He stared at us for a moment, perhaps expecting a punchline, but then he noticed neither Sophia nor I were laughing. His expression shifted from bemusement to a more serious, contemplative look as the weight of my words sank in.

  "He isn't lying. He hasn't lied this whole time," Sophia said.

  I fixed my gaze on her. She could tell when I was not honest. That was not good.

  Rabbit mirrored my thoughts and said, "That is not good."

  I swallowed hard, bracing for the worst.

  "How?" Carrick finally managed, his voice a mix of disbelief and alarm.

  "I haven’t seen this myself, but our scientists found rocks of immense power and refined them repeatedly. Ultimately, it results in concentrated power that only grows stronger. The more you group together, the more potent it becomes. A rock the size of my fist could obliterate everything you've ever known," I said nonchalantly.

  To me, the idea of such destructive power wasn't terrifying, as I had lived with it my whole life. But for Carrick, it was a different story. He seemed unable to fathom how something so small could do so much damage.

  "I am not sure what to do with you. Yes, you can be useful, but it's risky to keep you around," Sophia mused. My eyes darted around, instinctively searching for guards. Seeing none, I realized she probably didn't need them. Before I could voice my thought, she added, "No. I don't need guards."

  Could she read my mind? Before I could panic further, she answered, "No. I can't read your mind." My jaw dropped in surprise. "When you have been around as long as I have, reading people becomes easy. I'm also curious about what you're hiding. You came in here and moved my book so that you could see the map better. Things about you do not add up."

  Carrick gave me a suspicious look. He hadn't noticed me moving the book for a better view of the map. I had been discreet, but evidently, nothing escaped Sophia. I considered lying, but it seemed futile because she would likely see right through it. Following her lead, I opted for silence.

  After a tense minute under their combined scrutiny, Sophia finally spoke, "Good. Confirming or denying it wouldn't have helped you. You have potential, but you're hiding something. I can’t trust you yet. That’ll take time, and we need to understand each other first. But since Carrick spoke highly of you here, I'm willing to risk keeping you around…for now."

  She turned to Carrick, clearly finished with me. "Take him out of the village and arm him while he's out there. He's still not allowed weapons in the village, but for goodness' sake, get him bathed and give him a place to sleep. I think we're done testing his spirit, and no one wants to smell him any longer."

  After our tense meeting ended, Carrick and I left. He didn't say anything for a long stretch, and we just walked. Eventually, he broke the silence as we neared the river. "You know, I was furious at you. You could have told me all of that. I stuck my neck out for you twice. After hearing it and having time to think about it, I can see why you didn't tell me. You didn't know you might have been causing a problem."

  He looked me directly in the eyes before continuing, "You've done this before when you suggested killing all the animals in the region to increase your levels. I think your main problem may be a lack of common sense, which can lead to disastrous results. I think Sophia was originally worried you were some evil person who was going to kill people for no reason, but I doubt this conversation has made her any less worried. You are an adult with dangerous ideas that you act upon. You need to spend some time and prove that you are not impulsive, that if we trust you, you won't end up hurting everyone through negligence."

  "I'm sorry, but I honestly don't think my actions would've caused any real trouble in the long run," I replied, still uncertain. "Though I get why it might look bad. Once stuff spins out of control, anything can happen."

  "Can you just do me a favor and try not to do anything impulsive without talking to someone?"

  "Sure. Thank you for recommending me to her and trying to get me some freedom here."

  "One more thing."

  "Anything."

  "Go take a bath. You do stink." He held his nose and pointed toward the river. We walked toward the river, which was fed by a waterfall that circled the entire village and cascaded off the cliff. It wasn't the best place to bathe due to the swift current, but there were a couple of alcoves where the water calmed, allowing people to enter and exit easily. "After that, meet me at my place. I haven't set up arrangements for you, so for tonight, you will be bunking at my place. Tomorrow, we can get you somewhere else to sleep."

  The icy water was so frigid it shocked me the moment it touched my skin. I jokingly thought my nipples could cut glass. Shivering uncontrollably, I rushed through the quickest bath of my life. Drenched in wet clothes, I made my way to Carrick's, teeth chattering against the biting mountain wind. Though much of the village was shielded from the mountain breeze, the cold cut through me, intensified by my damp attire. By the time I reached Carrick's door, I was desperate for warmth. Stepping inside, the cozy warmth of his home was a welcome relief from the relentless cold.