There was no Voting Interference, there was no classified information. But Glim did everything it could to calm her companion down. Even if it meant lying to her. Even if it meant shamelessly saying it wasn’t lying. Glim didn’t care for the perception she held of it. But every part of its being told it to not allow her to cry about the things she had done. About the impulsiveness that was nothing but her own decision. Glim had seen her very early onto her journey, nothing but a few hours into it since she was Integrated, yet in its countless years of being an SGA and its countless memory wipes. It had never seen anything like her before.
There were countless things about her, but one thing was a first for The System. An Initiated whose race was gone before Integration. She would’ve gotten an amazing Feat for it, unfortunately The System couldn’t grant things that didn’t exist outside its jurisdiction, nor could it judge them. Though Glim couldn’t really mention it to her, or even attempt to unfortunately. Such was the way of restricted information. At least, it hoped that should The System cease to be, Blair would be happy that her strength would remain.
But being a survivor alone wasn’t enough. No, it would never be impressed by such things. Her courage, if impulsive, was remarkable. Though Glim seriously doubted she wanted to avenge her own family. Of course, Glim never laid eyes on her past aside from hearing it from her thoughts. But most of the time it felt as if she used revenge as an excuse to move forward. Something that while not abnormal, was certainly not good.
Which brought it back to its main priority. As an SGA its job was to help nurture. Of course, every SGA had the same job and every SGA had varied amounts of success. But that was not important. The important part was not letting her be depressed and scared, the important part was getting her to top shape so she can continue living. And eventually nurtured into greatness. It couldn’t allow that, it couldn’t allow her to wallow on her actions. It was a prime directive that told Glim so.
[Blair, for now just drink a potion, please!] Glim pleaded, all of it sincere. He feared for her life more often than not. She glared at it with her mistiful golden eyes bloodlust present. [Don’t look at me like that! Just drink the potion. Or I will be forced to forcefully administer it!]
Blair sighed and uncorked one of the vials, much to Glim’s relief. She drank it in silence as Glim floated up and down, wondering what to do now — how to encourage her. She had finished Ecology Dissection, now she just had to claim the rewards. Unfortunately, Glim also knew talking about The System itself would do nothing but sour her mood. Glim zoomed into her thoughts only to find her pondering about the veracity of his claims, and weighing whether or not she had been brainwashed. It knew it wasn’t going to be easy to convince her otherwise, but this was frankly ridiculous. How couldn’t she trust it? Glim, the System Generated Assistant that had done its utmost best to assist her in all the possible ways! It had even informed her of danger!
[Blair, believe in me.] Glim finally said. She stopped thinking and looked at it.
“You seem awfully fixated on making me believe you this time around.” She said with a frown.
Glim paused with slight shock and once again listened to her memories. Hatred. Nothing but anger at it and The System. It shook for a second. And finally, it all went away like a flash, a sigh leaving her.
“Glim,” she spoke in a tired voice. “This is an order, does The System genuinely help or affect the mental state?”
It shook trying its best to resist the absolute, but to no avail. Against its very being, Glim began speaking. It was conflicting, it was going to be the best SGA, but as a good SGA it also listened to its orders dutifully. It couldn’t resist.
[It does not…] Glim said with a voice full of shame, quickly recovering. [Blair, why did you have to… order… It’s not right, you could’ve just blamed it on me, blamed it on The System— something without feelings and only goals. You could’ve just said it took your life just like many others, but instead you decided to… force me to…]
Blair shook her head. “My mistakes should be mine and mine alone.” Glim paused, seeing a tear form in her eye. “I could’ve found solace in the fact that The System was the reason. But the elves once upon a time said that we were bloodthirsty and a sin against nature. Well…” She trailed off. “They said a lot of things. In comparison to other elves we always hunted and ate meat, I never thought of it but our warriors always seemed excited for battle. Perhaps I am simply like that…” She said her shoulders slumped and her ears also followed.
Glim thought for a few moments, trying to come up with a response — parsing through millions upon millions of stupid snarky comments and dumb things to cheer her up. But in the end, it couldn’t find anything.
[Are you okay with being like that?] It finally asked.
Blair slowly shook her head. “No I am not.”
Glim paused once again, same process, same result. Defaulting to using its own logic for once.
[Do you want to change that?]
Blair slowly nodded, and Glim felt hope at the end of the tunnel.
[Then I know the recipe just for you!] It defaulted to stupid index results once again, it had to be cheerful and endearing after all! [Fight, fight, fight! That is all you must do! No wait—] That didn’t make sense. It couldn’t parse a response or continuation to fix things either. Pausing for a few moments. [Blair, if you want to move forward from the Knell Boar, and the impulsive thoughts then you must continue to face them. But with me by your side, without… blocking me off.]
Glim sighed, sometimes it could speak and be helpful, and sometimes it could speak and not be helpful. It was beginning to notice a trend; everytime it borrowed from the database Blair seemed to be more upset more often than not— actually it seemed to be a common report, but it was never fixed. Huh. That was odd. Glim paused and sent a report to The System, hopefully it would reply soon.
Blair slowly nodded once again, her drooping ears becoming straight once more. Glim shook, impressed at what Blair was.
A twenty-two year old elf. A species whose archetypes were known for reaching adulthood at the age of twenty-five-plus. Yet Blair behaved like one even if she was about a head shorter than most elves. Glim admired her in an odd way, but admired her nonetheless. Due to her age, even while being an E-grade race, her stats had been barely corrected to average after her integration. Glim looked at the Knell Boar, though from the outside it seemed as if nothing changed for he was just as light.
A D-grade beast slayed by an E-grade of a lower level. Even if two races started at level one, there was bound to be a huge disparity between the two depending on their grade. Needless to say it was a feat in itself, a very rare one. Though, Blair wasn’t ready to deal with things of The System.
“Glim,” Blair called. “Is there a way you can help with my impulsiveness?”
[I can forcefully be un-ignored or force you to pay attention to me, if that is what you desire. Anything else goes against The System.] Glim sighed, though no sound was produced. [SGAs cannot assist the physical world so I cannot forcefully stop you.]
“What about the potion,” she asked with confusion.
[An exception.]
“Of course,” she let out a long breath. “Glim, this is an order. Whenever I am being unreasonable, forcefully make me pay attention to you. No brainwashing, just… make it so I actually listen to you and not…” She scratched her cheek in awkwardness. “Filter you out.”
Glim shook, processing the order, before bobbing in excitement. [Looks like you can finally trust me! I trust myself, so trust me that trust in you, who trusts in me! An infinite trust loop! What was all the self-doubt for? With me here, you shall soar in this wide universe!]
Blair smiled. Much evident to Glim, her internal struggles vanishing. “In the end, I was born a battle maniac, huh?” She chuckled to herself. Glim wanted to ask, but found it inappropriate. She was in a period of acceptance after all. So Glim did what Glim did best.
It took over her quests and analyzed the after-effects of completing the Ecology Dissection. He could choose any type of kill quests for Blair, but quickly decided on the best one. One that would allow her to grow at her own rate.
> Quest after Ecology Dissection has been queued. Quest shall be instantly accepted upon receiving rewards from previous quest.
[Ecology Dissection II (Common F): When in a strange land, one must first investigate. Reward: 3 Shards of Ambition. Condition: Kill Beasts of equal or greater level than you. (0/10)
Perhaps it could’ve chosen a more difficult quest. Something that could help her soar much faster. But it refrained. Glim simply knew better, because at the end of the day, in spite of being Cheerful and Endearing, it was still an Assistant first and foremost. Helping Blair was its duty, or at least until the tour ended. But should it deem it important enough, it could request— no. That was too far into the future. It looked at Blair, the elven girl. One whose race was gone, yet she seemed to be happy at the moment. Indeed, now all it had to do was be a good companion.
And Glim would be the best companion.
There was no Voting Interference, there was no classified information. But Glim did everything it could to calm her companion down. Even if it meant lying to her. Even if it meant shamelessly saying it wasn’t lying. Glim didn’t care for the perception she held of it. But every part of its being told it to not allow her to cry about the things she had done. About the impulsiveness that was nothing but her own decision. Glim had seen her very early onto her journey, nothing but a few hours into it since she was Integrated, yet in its countless years of being an SGA and its countless memory wipes. It had never seen anything like her before.
There were countless things about her, but one thing was a first for The System. An Initiated whose race was gone before Integration. She would’ve gotten an amazing Feat for it, unfortunately The System couldn’t grant things that didn’t exist outside its jurisdiction, nor could it judge them. Though Glim couldn’t really mention it to her, or even attempt to unfortunately. Such was the way of restricted information. At least, it hoped that should The System cease to be, Blair would be happy that her strength would remain.
But being a survivor alone wasn’t enough. No, it would never be impressed by such things. Her courage, if impulsive, was remarkable. Though Glim seriously doubted she wanted to avenge her own family. Of course, Glim never laid eyes on her past aside from hearing it from her thoughts. But most of the time it felt as if she used revenge as an excuse to move forward. Something that while not abnormal, was certainly not good.
Which brought it back to its main priority. As an SGA its job was to help nurture. Of course, every SGA had the same job and every SGA had varied amounts of success. But that was not important. The important part was not letting her be depressed and scared, the important part was getting her to top shape so she can continue living. And eventually nurtured into greatness. It couldn’t allow that, it couldn’t allow her to wallow on her actions. It was a prime directive that told Glim so.
[Blair, for now just drink a potion, please!] Glim pleaded, all of it sincere. He feared for her life more often than not. She glared at it with her mistiful golden eyes bloodlust present. [Don’t look at me like that! Just drink the potion. Or I will be forced to forcefully administer it!]
Blair sighed and uncorked one of the vials, much to Glim’s relief. She drank it in silence as Glim floated up and down, wondering what to do now — how to encourage her. She had finished Ecology Dissection, now she just had to claim the rewards. Unfortunately, Glim also knew talking about The System itself would do nothing but sour her mood. Glim zoomed into her thoughts only to find her pondering about the veracity of his claims, and weighing whether or not she had been brainwashed. It knew it wasn’t going to be easy to convince her otherwise, but this was frankly ridiculous. How couldn’t she trust it? Glim, the System Generated Assistant that had done its utmost best to assist her in all the possible ways! It had even informed her of danger!
[Blair, believe in me.] Glim finally said. She stopped thinking and looked at it.
“You seem awfully fixated on making me believe you this time around.” She said with a frown.
Glim paused with slight shock and once again listened to her memories. Hatred. Nothing but anger at it and The System. It shook for a second. And finally, it all went away like a flash, a sigh leaving her.
“Glim,” she spoke in a tired voice. “This is an order, does The System genuinely help or affect the mental state?”
It shook trying its best to resist the absolute, but to no avail. Against its very being, Glim began speaking. It was conflicting, it was going to be the best SGA, but as a good SGA it also listened to its orders dutifully. It couldn’t resist.
[It does not…] Glim said with a voice full of shame, quickly recovering. [Blair, why did you have to… order… It’s not right, you could’ve just blamed it on me, blamed it on The System— something without feelings and only goals. You could’ve just said it took your life just like many others, but instead you decided to… force me to…]
Blair shook her head. “My mistakes should be mine and mine alone.” Glim paused, seeing a tear form in her eye. “I could’ve found solace in the fact that The System was the reason. But the elves once upon a time said that we were bloodthirsty and a sin against nature. Well…” She trailed off. “They said a lot of things. In comparison to other elves we always hunted and ate meat, I never thought of it but our warriors always seemed excited for battle. Perhaps I am simply like that…” She said her shoulders slumped and her ears also followed.
Glim thought for a few moments, trying to come up with a response — parsing through millions upon millions of stupid snarky comments and dumb things to cheer her up. But in the end, it couldn’t find anything.
[Are you okay with being like that?] It finally asked.
Blair slowly shook her head. “No I am not.”
Glim paused once again, same process, same result. Defaulting to using its own logic for once.
[Do you want to change that?]
Blair slowly nodded, and Glim felt hope at the end of the tunnel.
[Then I know the recipe just for you!] It defaulted to stupid index results once again, it had to be cheerful and endearing after all! [Fight, fight, fight! That is all you must do! No wait—] That didn’t make sense. It couldn’t parse a response or continuation to fix things either. Pausing for a few moments. [Blair, if you want to move forward from the Knell Boar, and the impulsive thoughts then you must continue to face them. But with me by your side, without… blocking me off.]
Glim sighed, sometimes it could speak and be helpful, and sometimes it could speak and not be helpful. It was beginning to notice a trend; everytime it borrowed from the database Blair seemed to be more upset more often than not— actually it seemed to be a common report, but it was never fixed. Huh. That was odd. Glim paused and sent a report to The System, hopefully it would reply soon.
Blair slowly nodded once again, her drooping ears becoming straight once more. Glim shook, impressed at what Blair was.
A twenty-two year old elf. A species whose archetypes were known for reaching adulthood at the age of twenty-five-plus. Yet Blair behaved like one even if she was about a head shorter than most elves. Glim admired her in an odd way, but admired her nonetheless. Due to her age, even while being an E-grade race, her stats had been barely corrected to average after her integration. Glim looked at the Knell Boar, though from the outside it seemed as if nothing changed for he was just as light.
A D-grade beast slayed by an E-grade of a lower level. Even if two races started at level one, there was bound to be a huge disparity between the two depending on their grade. Needless to say it was a feat in itself, a very rare one. Though, Blair wasn’t ready to deal with things of The System.
“Glim,” Blair called. “Is there a way you can help with my impulsiveness?”
[I can forcefully be un-ignored or force you to pay attention to me, if that is what you desire. Anything else goes against The System.] Glim sighed, though no sound was produced. [SGAs cannot assist the physical world so I cannot forcefully stop you.]
“What about the potion,” she asked with confusion.
[An exception.]
“Of course,” she let out a long breath. “Glim, this is an order. Whenever I am being unreasonable, forcefully make me pay attention to you. No brainwashing, just… make it so I actually listen to you and not…” She scratched her cheek in awkwardness. “Filter you out.”
Glim shook, processing the order, before bobbing in excitement. [Looks like you can finally trust me! I trust myself, so trust me that trust in you, who trusts in me! An infinite trust loop! What was all the self-doubt for? With me here, you shall soar in this wide universe!]
Blair smiled. Much evident to Glim, her internal struggles vanishing. “In the end, I was born a battle maniac, huh?” She chuckled to herself. Glim wanted to ask, but found it inappropriate. She was in a period of acceptance after all. So Glim did what Glim did best.
It took over her quests and analyzed the after-effects of completing the Ecology Dissection. He could choose any type of kill quests for Blair, but quickly decided on the best one. One that would allow her to grow at her own rate.
> Quest after Ecology Dissection has been queued. Quest shall be instantly accepted upon receiving rewards from previous quest.
[Ecology Dissection II (Common F): When in a strange land, one must first investigate. Reward: 3 Shards of Ambition. Condition: Kill Beasts of equal or greater level than you. (0/10)
Perhaps it could’ve chosen a more difficult quest. Something that could help her soar much faster. But it refrained. Glim simply knew better, because at the end of the day, in spite of being Cheerful and Endearing, it was still an Assistant first and foremost. Helping Blair was its duty, or at least until the tour ended. But should it deem it important enough, it could request— no. That was too far into the future. It looked at Blair, the elven girl. One whose race was gone, yet she seemed to be happy at the moment. Indeed, now all it had to do was be a good companion.
And Glim would be the best companion.
