The Hidden World

The entire campus of the Academy was silent at this time of the night. The only thing that could be heard were the chirps of the crickets and the occasional call of an owl or at least something that sounded like one.

 

Yuki walked across the Meadow and headed toward the Combat Hall. As he did this, he was practicing a part of the concealing skill of an assassin by attempting to create as little noise as possible. From what he read, the skill will only be recognized once a person could walk without a sound.

 

When he reached the Combat Hall, Yuki placed his watch in front of the door and it opened silently for him. It seemed that the hall was open the whole day for anyone.

 

‘Great,’ Yuki thought as he entered. ‘I can come train any time then.’

 

He walked over to the training room that he had been in during the day for his Combat Training class and opened the door. The inside of the room was dark and there was not a sound. Yuki walked to the center of the room and remembered what Deral had done to activate the system.

 

Yuki clapped his hands and waited. When nothing happened, Yuki did it again but this time called for Raphael. The training room lit up blue in response and the room was flooded with light.

 

“Hello, student,” Raphael greeted Yuki. “It is quite late. What is it that you need?”

 

“I’m here to train,” Yuki replied. “But first, I want a detailed explanation on how this system works. That teacher didn’t explain it well enough.”

 

“Very well,” Raphael responded. “Is there anything else or would those two things be all?”

 

Yuki thought for a bit to himself.

 

“Two more things,” Yuki said. “Is there a library here and how do you work?”

 

“How do I work? I need more clarification,” it asked.

 

“How does your software work? The source code, magic, or whatever was used to create you.”

 

“I understand. I will tell you everything that I can to the best of my ability,” Raphael said. “I will first start with your first question of how the training system works.”

 

Before Yuki, a holographic menu appeared before him. It was placed as if it was on a speaking podium, not quite horizontal and the screen facing him.

 

“This is the menu of the system,” Raphael explained. “This is what is used to control every detail of the simulation. When you use a voice command, you are telling me information that I then input into this menu. Let us start with the first option of the menu.”

 

An arrow appeared before a button on the menu that was labeled “Level”. Then is began to pulsate.

 

“This is the “Level” option. It can be considered as the difficulty selection of the training simulation. There are ten levels in total. The difficulty between levels scale exponentially and so it is not recommended to start a new level of difficulty until you can easily clear the previous level. A function that most users do not utilize based on my data is the fact that you can select individual levels within levels. For instance, there is a level 4-2. These levels also increase exponentially until the difficulty reaches the next major level.”

 

The arrow moved down and began to point at another button labeled “Terrain”.

 

“This is the “Terrain” option. It is used to customize the terrain in which the simulation will take place. Most users simply use a voice command that generates a preset terrain such as the commands of “Battlefield”, “Plains”, and “Mountains”. With the “Terrain” option, a user can create the terrain of their choice allowing for more flexible training and adaptability. With this, one can generate a hybrid terrain and even alter the specifics if one chooses to. There is also a random option that gives users a randomly generated environment.”

 

A button named “Opponent” was highlighted next by the arrow.

 

“This is the “Opponent” option. This option allows for users to customize the type and amount of enemies that they will face. Like “Terrain” this option also has presets that a user can utilize but through customization, one can learn how to defeat a variety of enemies that may appear. In this option there is also a random option. The difficulty of opponents is determined by the “Level” option that was first introduced.”

 

The arrow disappeared and the buttons stopped pulsating.

 

“That concludes the guide of how the system menu works,” Raphael announced. “There is one additional feature that is available to users that isn’t shown in the menu. That is the option to ask for an analysis from me of one’s performance. If asked, I will give the user a detailed report on their skill and give recommendations for settings of later simulations. Do you have any additional questions about the way the simulation works?”

 

Yuki thought to himself for a bit. What else was there about the simulation that he wanted to know?

 

“How do the holograms function?” Yuki asked.

 

“They are a mixture of hard light projection and magic,” Raphael replied. “The holograms are projected and then given form by magic. This gives them a solid form. Is there anything else?”

 

“Where can I find information on this technology?”

 

“That will lead into one of your other previous questions. Information on this can be found in the library of this Academy which is located in the top floor of the Magic Hall. There is also a separate library that is located in the Headmasters Castle.”

 

Yuki nodded, prompting Raphael to complete his answering and explanations.

 

“You final question was how I, the artificial intelligence that is in charge of the system, function,” Raphael said. “I cannot explain such a thing as it is a part of me and I do not have an understanding of it. However, I can give you my source code and magic if you want.”

 

“Wait, you can give me your code and magic? Does that not violate any restrictions placed on you?” Yuki asked.

 

“It does not violate any restrictions on me as my creator did not anticipate that a student would request such information,” Raphael replied. “There is a restriction for adults, though. Do you want the information?”

 

“I would like that,” Yuki answered, nodding.

 

“Accessing user’s smartwatch. Copying data of file “Raphael_Core”. Transferring data to user’s device,” Raphael stated in a soft voice. “Transfer complete. Is there anything else you would like answered?”

 

Yuki didn’t respond and instead opened the notification that appeared on his watch. A screen was projected and a file was opened. Within the file were a dozen of folders  that contained mountains of data. A folder that was colored differently from the others caught Yuki’s eyes. Reading the label of the folder, Yuki discovered that it contained the diagrams of all the spells that were used in the creation of Raphael.

 

‘I would have to look at this at a later time,’ Yuki planned. ‘I also am going to need a computer to mess around with this thing.’

 

“I don’t have any other questions,” Yuki said out loud, answering Raphael. “I would like to start a simulation.”

 

“Understood,” Raphael responded. The room pulsed a bright blue. “What kind of simulation would you like?”

 

Yuki thought quietly to himself for a moment, deliberating what kind of settings he would like.

 

“Let’s start with the basics,” Yuki said. “Level 1, plains, single opponent. Set opponent’s weapon to sword and equip light armor.”

 

“Understood,” Raphael said. “Applying user settings. Would you like to start the simulation?”

 

Yuki walked over to the weapon rack on the wall of the training room and selected a staff.

 

‘Let’s try something new,’ Yuki thought as he twirled the staff with ease. ‘Learning a new weapon could be helpful. I’ve always wanted to try a staff.’

 

Yuki walked to the center of the training room, swinging the staff as he went.

 

“Let’s begin,” he ordered, taking a combat stance.

 

“Understood,” Raphael replied. “Simulation initiating.”

 

The room was flooded with blue light and soon holograms began to be formed around Yuki. Beneath Yuki, a green grass was created that looked very real to Yuki’s eyes. True to its name, the plains were flat and had no natural formations that obstructed the horizontal field save for a few trees.

 

Before Yuki, a mid-sized man was created. It was a translucent blue and wore a set of light armor with a gladius in its right hand. It looked at Yuki for a moment and then charged at him, the sounds of the armour and the feet of the man pounding the ground clearly heard by Yuki. Yuki raised his staff in return and leaped at the running hologram.

 

Five minutes later, the battle was over with Yuki standing in the middle of an empty training room. The simulation had disappeared once Raphael had announced that the soldier was incapacitated.

 

‘I like this staff,’ Yuki thought to himself as he stood there, breathing steadily. ‘Long weapons seem to work well with me. I should try to train more with them.’

 

“Would you like to start another simulation?” Raphael asked Yuki.

 

“Of course,” Yuki replied, twirling his staff. “Same setting but make the enemy a bowman.”

 

“Initiating simulation.”