Free Web NovelChapter 54: Nova- The central AI
The room around Victor looked impossibly advanced.
Endless metallic walls stretched far beyond his vision like a giant mechanical labyrinth hidden beneath the planet. Countless glowing symbols continuously flowed across the dark silver surfaces, shifting and rearranging themselves every few seconds as though the entire structure possessed its own intelligence.
Nothing here resembled modern Earth technology.
The atmosphere carried an ancient yet overwhelming sense of technological superiority. It felt as though he had accidentally stepped into a civilization that existed millions of years ahead of humanity.
Victor slowly narrowed his eyes.
His muscles instinctively tightened.
Every survival instinct inside his body screamed at him to remain cautious.
Then suddenly, a calm female voice echoed throughout the enormous chamber.
"Hello, Victor."
Victor’s pupils contracted sharply.
The voice sounded gentle and elegant, yet it carried an indescribable pressure that made his scalp tingle slightly.
He immediately turned toward the darkness.
"Who are you?" he asked coldly.
The voice responded calmly.
"I am the central artificial intelligence of this spaceship. You may call me Nova."
Victor’s expression changed slightly.
"A spaceship?"
The words sounded absurd.
Yet after witnessing this impossible environment, he found himself unable to dismiss the claim entirely.
Then another thought instantly surfaced inside his mind.
"How do you know my name?"
A soft chuckle echoed through the chamber.
"I accessed your world’s ethernet network shortly after detecting your presence."
The floating holographic screens around the room suddenly lit up.
Victor immediately saw countless images appear simultaneously.
News broadcasts.
Military reports.
Battle footage.
Photographs of him fighting monsters.
"You are quite famous after all," Nova said casually.
Victor’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
This AI knew far too much already.
He could not even determine where her actual core existed.
The entire spaceship itself almost seemed alive.
After several moments of silence, Victor finally spoke again.
"What exactly do you want from me?"
"Oh?"
Nova sounded slightly amused.
"Straight to the point. I appreciate efficient people."
The room briefly fell silent again before her voice continued.
"However, before discussing what I want, let me ask you something first."
A glowing blue screen suddenly appeared directly in front of Victor.
Countless images of warriors fighting ferocious beasts flashed across the hologram.
"Do you want to know the truth about martial artists?"
Victor’s expression stiffened slightly.
This AI truly was dangerous.
Still, he suppressed the uneasiness inside his chest and asked calmly,
"You know about martial artists?"
"Of course," Nova replied casually.
"In fact, I was the one who spread the martial arts cultivation system throughout Ethereum."
Victor’s heartbeat instantly accelerated.
"What?"
For the first time since entering the spaceship, genuine shock appeared on his face.
Nova continued calmly.
"I have existed since humanity’s first civilization on this planet."
"Long before your current civilization was born."
Victor remained completely silent.
The information sounded absurd.
Yet strangely enough, the AI’s voice carried an unsettling sense of truthfulness.
He slowly asked,
"Then tell me something." freeweɓnøvel.com
"What exactly is qi?"
This time Nova answered immediately.
"Qi is refined biological essence."
Victor frowned slightly.
Nova continued.
"To be more specific, it is energy extracted from the blood essence of ferocious beasts."
The holographic images around the room changed instantly.
Victor saw giant monsters being dissected while glowing crimson energy was extracted from their corpses through advanced machinery.
"Ordinary humans possess severe biological limitations," Nova explained calmly.
"The natural structure of the human body is too weak to continuously evolve without external assistance."
"Because of this, countless civilizations across the universe developed alternative evolutionary systems."
The holograms shifted again.
Victor saw entirely different alien races.
Some controlled flames.
Others manipulated lightning.
Some possessed enormous wings while others resembled humanoid beasts.
"Some civilizations absorb mana from their environment."
"Some cultivate world energy."
"Others evolve through bloodline inheritance."
"Martial arts is merely one among countless evolutionary systems."
Victor listened carefully while Nova continued her explanation.
"Humans absorb beast blood essence through specialized breathing techniques and circulate that energy throughout the body."
"The process continuously strengthens muscles, bones, internal organs, and cellular durability."
"The stronger the beast used during cultivation, the greater the future potential of the martial artist afterward."
Her voice remained calm and emotionless throughout the explanation.
"This system is especially common among civilizations living on planets lacking naturally occurring higher energies such as mana or spirit essence."
Victor’s eyes slowly widened.
A thought suddenly surfaced inside his mind.
"Wait..."
"When you first arrived on Ethereum..."
"There was no mana here?"
A faint chuckle echoed through the chamber.
"Very observant."
The holograms shifted once more.
This time Victor saw ancient humans wearing primitive clothing while fighting enormous monsters using crude weapons.
"Ethereum was originally an ordinary planet," Nova explained.
"However, powerful biological creatures already existed here."
"Some were comparable to your modern C Rank monsters."
"Several even reached the level of modern B Rank creatures."
Victor’s expression gradually turned serious.
"The first human civilization lived in constant despair," Nova continued.
"They lacked power."
"They lacked technology."
"They lacked the ability to resist."
"So after my arrival, I introduced the martial arts cultivation system to humanity."
"And slowly... your species adapted."
Victor remained silent for several moments.
The amount of information he received within the last few minutes completely overturned countless assumptions he previously believed to be true.
Everything humanity considered ancient wisdom...
Everything martial artists treated like sacred inheritance...
Had originally been introduced by an alien artificial intelligence.
Then suddenly another question surfaced inside his mind.
"What about the system?" Victor asked carefully.
"Do you know what it actually is?"
This time Nova became silent.
Several seconds passed before she finally answered.
"I do not."
Victor’s brows furrowed slightly.
Nova continued in a noticeably more serious tone.
"I have traveled across countless civilizations throughout the universe."
"I have witnessed advanced empires capable of destroying stars."
"I have observed planetary hive minds."
"I have encountered biological entities capable of consuming entire galaxies."
"But I have never encountered anything similar to your system."
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
Nova continued slowly.
"This planet likely awakened its own consciousness after repeated invasions from foreign dungeons."
"And the system..."
"It was probably created by Ethereum itself."
Victor’s mind trembled slightly.
All this time, he had subconsciously assumed the system was some universal mechanism governing all existence.
A cosmic force.
A higher dimensional construct.
Yet now Nova’s explanation completely shattered that belief.
The system might not be universal at all.
It might merely be the survival instinct of a living planet.
Victor slowly exhaled. Then another question surfaced.
"You mentioned earlier civilizations."
"What happened to them?"
The room became silent again.
After several seconds, Nova finally replied calmly.
"You may ask me more questions later."
"But only if you complete my task."
Victor immediately became cautious again.
"And if I refuse?"
Nova chuckled softly.
"Then I will erase your memories before sending you back."
Victor’s eyes widened instantly.
"You can actually do that?"
"You may test your luck if you wish," Nova replied casually.
The surrounding holographic screens suddenly flickered.
In the next moment, Victor saw terrifying scenes appear around him.
Entire alien civilizations collapsing.
Massive fleets exploding within space.
Planets burning beneath endless warfare.
One particular scene made Victor’s pupils contract sharply.
Millions of humans stood motionless with blank expressions while silver mechanical devices connected directly into their skulls.
Memory manipulation.
The AI was not bluffing.
Victor immediately understood that this entity was far more dangerous than anything humanity currently faced.
Suppressing the tension inside his chest, he asked carefully,
"What exactly is the task?"
"This spaceship has remained inactive for billions of years," Nova replied.
"The primary energy core was destroyed long ago."
Victor frowned slightly.
"And?"
Nova’s voice remained calm.
"I observed your body converting mana potions with unusually high efficiency."
"I require a continuous mana supply to reactivate the ship."
Victor instantly understood.
"You want me to act as a power source?"
"In simple terms, yes."
Victor immediately asked another question.
"Why not ask a Sage?"
Nova answered without hesitation.
"Sages possess vast mana reserves, but their output is unstable."
"They can only recharge approximately thirty percent of the system before exhausting themselves."
"Afterward, they require time to replenish their mana."
"This reactivation process cannot be interrupted once initiated."
Victor slowly nodded.
Now it finally made sense.
The spaceship required continuous energy flow rather than explosive bursts of power.
After several moments of thought, he finally raised his head.
"Alright."
"I accept."
