The Harvester

Chapter 356: “Not-so-perfect plan.”

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Name: Ceresta Alexa

ID: AI-00000056-LTS

Classification: Personal AI… Error. Wilden… Error. Item… Error. Host… Error.

Pending Classification…

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Scanning Physical Parameters… Completed.

Scanning Statistical Parameters… Completed.

Scanning Karma… Completed.

Scanning Skills… Completed.

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Status Translation… Completed.

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Age: Cannot Be Computed.

Level: Cannot Be Computed.

Race: Alkahestic Eion Homunculus.

Path: Cannot Be Computed.

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Attributes:

STR: 10 | END: 10

SPD: 10 | DEX: 10

INT: 256 [???] | LCK: 3

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Statistics:

STA: 50 | MP: 2 560 [???]

SWI: 532 [???] | AGI: 30

SEN: 286 [???] | ATC: 299

ATT: 65 | DEF: 40

MA: 768 [???] | MR: 51.2

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Proficiencies: Cannot Be Computed.

Magic Skills: Unawakened.

Cognitive Skills: Cannot Be Computed.

Spontaneous Skills: Cannot Be Computed.

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Unique or Racial Traits:

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- Alkahestic Eion Frame: An artificial body made out of a special material, crafted out of an Alkahestic Compound and Stones of Eternity. It hasn't quite reached the level of Prima Materia but possesses its invulnerability to poison, toxins, and parasites. Wounds will be repaired within seconds and surplus material will be continuously generated by the body.

Body shape can be altered at will and cellular decay will never occur. The stamina of the Frame will recover at paces far above regular organic creatures.

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- Hybrid Digital Soul: --Pending Analysis---

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Note: A former S-Class Artificial Intelligence affiliated with the System. Due to prolonged exposure to Negative Causality and the power of the Crystal Sage from its Host's soul, it gained sentience and a hybrid soul half-composed of digital data. It has now found complete harmony with an artificial receptacle dubbed an Eion Frame.

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System Notice

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Ceresta Alexa's status shall be forwarded for manual review for proper integration into the System. Until then, all functions will be disabled and neither skills, proficiencies, nor magic elements will be updated.

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This was the window Rakna was faced with when he appraised Ceresta. It seemed that it was such an unexpected situation for the System that it decided to fall back on basic protocols.

"There's… nothing wrong?" Ceresta nervously asked from next to him, tightly hugging herself with a large coat he had conjured for her with his magic.

Gaelius had given her the green light to leave his lab but she was still extremely sensitive to every external stimulus that affected her senses; a projection inside a dream world was nothing like the real thing. It had even taken her a few minutes to figure out basic motor reflexes like walking.

They were now inside the Pavilion's Portal Room after having exited the First Plateau.

Rakna smiled at her. "You don't have to keep worrying about that. You're perfectly fine. I checked more than once already. Both Crystal Sight and the System itself show no issues. You're stable and whatever Roias did to you has been purged by the Crystal Sage when you made your wish."

The doll shuddered as she recalled the experience of feeling her core program being cursed into a state of pseudo-death. "There was nothing…" She mouthed and the therian glanced at her. "I don't think I can properly describe it. It's as if, for a moment, I was neither artificial, living, or dead," she said weakly. "But I made a wish to live… I answered a voice. Was it… you?"

The therian quietly observed her for a moment before huffing gently. He patted her head, to which she unconsciously closed her eyes, "I just called. You did all the work."

Ceresta relished in his touch and for a short moment, she felt a sense of déjà vu. The hazy image of a snowy ground and a gentle presence arose in her mind. She felt a bit confused for a moment, but her thoughts were interrupted by Rakna nudging her forward.

"Come on, let's go see the others," he told her whilst heading to the exit of the Portal Room. "As for your status, there's nothing to worry about. I believe the System will eventually give you a proper classification. But your Intelligence Attribute is indeed concerning…"

She meekly followed after him. "How so…?"

"Well, not necessarily in a bad way," he reassured her. "There seem to be two values and there's only one being displayed; that is already quite high. My guess is that your Hybrid Soul has a unique aspect that the System doesn't understand yet and your spiritual attribute is involved," he said as they walked into the Pavilion's entrance hall.

"Then, do you think… I can be of use to you?" She asked hopefully and he paused.

He looked back at her with a tilt of his head. "If I had to be honest, there are high chances you can become a very powerful ally to us. Your Intelligence alone tells lots of your talent, not to mention the incredibly high Mana Regeneration you have. But…" He raised an eyebrow wryly. "You don't have to stress yourself out. You don't need to be useful; you're one of us whatever you are."

The dollish beauty pursed her lips and her cheeks reddened a bit. She nodded shyly and he snorted in amusement before looking back at one of the doors leading to the back section of the Pavilion.

Elora, stationed at his Pavilion's territory like always, walked out with a small yawn, dressed in a pink pajama. She looked around sluggishly. "I thought everyone had arrived…" She muttered and then spotted Rakna eyeing her.

The poor girl froze on the spot, like an employee who had been caught playing around during the job. "B-B-Boss—uh, no, I mean… Your Majesty, you are back," she bowed awkwardly.

"You will never change, will you?" Rakna said exasperatingly. "Stop being so nervous, I won't eat you or anything. I wouldn't get much out of it anyway."

'That last line is exactly why it's so hard not to be nervous around you!' Elora yelled internally and straightened herself with a deep breath. "Yes, I'm sorry about that," she uttered, then looked at the third person in the room curiously, fascinated by their beauty. "And this is…?"

"Ceresta Alexa," Rakna replied in her stead and Ceresta nodded quietly. "She will be living here as well from now on. Treat her with the same amount of care as everyone else."

"Of course. I won't disappoint you," the young woman stated confidently.

"Thank you. You can go back to sleep now if you want."

Elora blinked and then silently cried in shame as she recalled her current attire. She quickly bowed with a flushed face. "I'msosorrythankyougoodnight!" A string of words came out of her mouth at super speed and she dashed back inside the Pavilion's staff quarters.

"She is quite an intriguing person as usual…" Ceresta commented.

Rakna snorted. "Not exactly. It's actually the opposite. She's a very normal person," he said with a small smile. "A young girl with a bright personality, blameless morals, and genuine goodness. Hans was kind to her in their first meeting; if that isn't indicative, nothing is."

Ceresta stared at him for a moment as she noticed some small amount of sadness in his tone. "Do you… want to be like that?" She asked and his eyes briefly widened in surprise.

He eventually chuckled. "You're cutting deep there," he joked and hummed to himself. "I guess, it is a bit true. I'm jealous. Elora lives in a completely different world from mine. One that is painfully peaceful to my eyes. I wish I could be part of it… and maybe one day I will be able to. I have people whom I can trust to give me that peace now. But the day I can rest hasn't arrived yet," he said and looked at the back of his hand, which for a split second, completely transformed into black crystal.

It was so fast and illusionary that Ceresta nearly questioned the capabilities of her body. Then, he gave her one more of those gentle expressions he had recently started to display and quietly faced the Pavilion's front door, heading toward it.

She watched him go for a short second before she went after him, her mind processing ideas and thoughts she had never had while she was an AI. Now, she didn't want to just be with Rakna. There was a desire growing in her… to understand him.

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The moment Ceresta stepped out of the Pavilion and experienced firsthand the small underground paradise that Rakna and Astraea had crafted, she couldn't help but admire it.

There was a whole new world of feedback she could feel through her own eyes and soul, no longer imprisoned by a server. She had no idea how beautiful it truly was until now.

When she caught a glimpse of the crystal mausoleum, she similarly reacted. A clear emotion ran through her mind and affected her physically. But the bitter sensation simultaneously gave her an unexpected sense of relief and happiness, because she could now honor it properly.

Rakna remained silent and watched her explore all of it on her own. Without stopping, he simply walked forward toward the house and an Earth-Elemental Wolf emerged from the ground next to him whilst wagging its tail.

The therian smiled. "Ah, Oz. I hope you're defending this place as well as usual, right?" He said and the familiar barked confidently. "Is that so? Good to hear. It's been a long time since I summoned you, so I will update your power soon. Keep up."

Oz nodded enthusiastically and sunk into the ground to leave. Rakna then turned around and saw that Ceresta's focus was now on the ground where the wolf stood. He chuckled and led her to the entrance of the house.

"Now… here's our attack plan," Rakna began with a comically serious expression as they stood at the doorstep and the doll looked at him perplexed. "You go in first and steal their attention. You let them jump on you a little bit and gradually take control of the mood."

"…?"

"Then, I can go in afterward. They will be so captivated by you; they will completely forget about clocking me for my recklessness and I can blend in without a fuss. It's the perfect plan," he nodded to himself and she blinked.

"I… understand?" She replied hesitantly.

"Good. Time to go in," he said and let her open the door.

Exactly twenty-two seconds later, the not-so-perfect plan failed miserably.