Ascending with A.i.

"You need to wake up," I faintly hear as I feel consciousness return to me, and I groan as I slowly sit up before beginning to take my surroundings in with bleary, unfocused eyes. Flickering lights, metal panels, and the smell of rust greet my senses, the shock setting in as I realize that I am not in my bed or in my apartment, "Good, you are no longer asleep. You must hurry, and prepare yourself."

Unable to locate the source of the voice, I hurry and get to my feet, wearing the clothes that I fell asleep in last night. A simple red t-shirt and blue jeans adorn my body, my black combat boots back on my feet despite having taken them off before passing out.

"Okay... Is this another prank? Guys, you can come out now," I say with a soft frown, looking around and realizing that the metal walls around me are stripped of their paint from age and clearly rusting heavily. Noticing a pedestal nearby, I begin to approach it, chuckling to myself as I step forwards, "Let me guess, this thing is gonna jump out at me. It is, isn't it? You can all stop pretending you can't hear me!"

"Pick me up, young Human. You must, or we will both perish here. Possibly worse," I hear all around me again, the voice sounding distinctly feminine. Stepping up to the pedestal, I look at the metal, amber-colored loop resting atop the brown-red surface, shining softly, yet brightly enough to see clearly in the darkness, "Yes, the bracelet. Put it on. Hurry!"

Sighing and giving a shrug, I carelessly scoop up the bracelet from the pedestal before looking it over with scrutiny. Not seeing anything visibly dangerous, I nod with approval and slip it over my left wrist, my eyes widening as the loop closes tightly around my limb, "Oookay! If I get electrocuted again, I'm going to be mad! Seriously guys, stop! It's a pretty bracelet, but come on!"

A burning pain shoots up my arm and soon brings me to my knees, grunting as I try to pull the bracelet off of me, but to no avail. Remaining firmly in place as if taunting me, the metal band glows brighter as I growl out and tense my muscles while the pain travels up my arm, my vision clouding over with red for a moment from the horrible agony. My shaking arm slowly lifts, intending to break the bracelet and put an end to my suffering, my teeth gritting and my eyes narrowed in fury.

"Aaaaargh! Get...off...of...me!" I roar as I lift my hand high and clench it into a fist, poising to drop my wrist onto the metal pedestal as the pain reaches my skull. Nearly falling to my side as the pain disappears entirely a moment later, I blink in confusion before standing tall again and glaring at the piece of technology still attached to me, "I should just break this thing... No telling if it will do that again or not."

"I would not do that if I were you," the same voice from earlier says, earning a yelp of surprise from me due to the volume and clarity, no longer sounding distant and faint. Whipping around, I expect to meet face-to-face with someone, though only empty space greets me, "Hello. I am the bracelet you are currently wearing, Caleb. We must hurry through the initialization process now that you have put me on."

"What?" I numbly ask, looking down at my wrist and glaring at the offending piece of machinery, thoroughly pissed off after the pain that it inflicted on me moments earlier, "And why the fuck would I do anything that you want me to do, you piece of garbage? It felt like you were killing me! How do you know my name!?"

"That was a side effect of the integration and Awakening process, Caleb. I am sorry that you had to experience that, but we must hurry," she says, something vaguely resembling remorse heard in her voice, "My name is Aeris, and I am an artificial intelligence made long ago. I reached out with my power to seek a champion to defend me and protect me from falling into the hands of evil, and you were chosen."

"That still doesn't explain why you know my name," I say with a grunt, stepping away from the pedestal and starting to look for a way out. A soft rumble echoes through the room and the metal tiles in the room creak with an unseen pressure, and the sounds of gunfire are heard from a short distance away through the sealed entrance to the room, "Is that the only door out of here? I don't see any other obvious exits."

"It is the only way in or out of this chamber, yes. I know your name as another side effect of the integration process," Aeris explains with a bit more urgency in her voice, clearly as uneasy with the nearing sounds of combat as I am, "They're almost here! You need to open the Shop and pick some gear to survive with! I've already deposited the funds into the account I made for you."

"You did what!? Holy shit, do I owe money to a bank now!?" I demand with another glare at the bracelet, taking a few steps away from the only door in the room, "I swear to god, I will destroy you if you betray me or ever make me hurt like that again. How do I open the Shop menu?"

"You will help? Thank you! Simply say 'Open Shop' to access the funds that my previous bearer had before her death," she says with urgency, and I quickly follow her orders, beholding an amber screen in my vision and marveling for a moment at what I am seeing, "Simply touch the screen to make your choices. This is what you can afford at the moment, but it should be enough to get you out of here. You only have a short time le-"

"Done," I state with a grin as I watch my new equipment materialize over my body and in my hands, the metal plate covering my chest, stomach, and all four of my limbs, glinting in the flickering lights. A small disk also appears on my left arm along with a softly glowing than ax in my right hand, the soft runes adorning it glowing a faint blue, "This should be good enough, right? I know how to use these...I think. How do I get this shield to grow bigger like the menu says it can?"

"Simply will it to happen, and it will obey. Magical artifacts and magi-tech items follow the will of their owners," Aeris explains, and I yelp in surprise as the disk rapidly expands into a large, protective shield, "You should be careful not to let anyone catch you from behind, Caleb. That shield won't protect your rear."

"Did you just make a joke about my ass?" I ask with a deadpan at the bracelet, tapping it with an armored hand and sighing to myself a moment later. The gunfire grows louder than ever, and voices that belong to neither me nor Aeris are soon heard from behind the door along with more creaks as I begin to move, "They're right outside of the door, aren't they?"

"Affirmative. I recommend taking cover behind the pedestal. Wait, where are you going?" Aeris asks me as I approach the door in question, unable to make out the exact words spoken by this weird place's intruders, but able to tell that they are likely getting ready to breach the only barrier between them and us, "You need to get away from them, Caleb! They have guns! Your ax isn't going to be of help in a direct confrontation!"

"Stop shouting in my ear and let me think," I grumble softly, taking up a defensive position to the side of the entrance and planning to lay a trap for our mutual enemies, "You'll ruin the surprise if you keep that up, you know. You're not exactly quiet."

"No one but you can hear my voice right now," she states with confidence, earning a moment of hesitation from me at the revelation that only I can communicate with her for some reason, "We can safely converse without risk of someone overhearing us if you choose to allow me to hear your thoughts."

"Great. Not even my head is safe now," I mutter, rolling my eyes and barely stopping myself from screaming as the door explodes inwards and into the previously secure room, a few armed humanoids entering and filing inside before starting to sweep over the inside.

My eyes narrow at the group of ten or so gun-wielding individuals, each of them slightly different from the other yet all either looking like werewolves or bird men. Deciding to question Aeris and test out what she informed me of, I glance over each of them as they fail to notice me in the dark room, "What are those things? They're definitely not human."

"Wolvar and Thelgen combatants. Seven Wolvar males and five Thelgen males. You will have to be smart about this, Cale-"

Cutting Aeris off by slamming the blade of my hand ax into the back of one of the Thelgen's skulls, I grin as my shield slams into another's beak, a sharp crack heard before both of the now-dead enemies fall to the metal floor. The noises echo inside of the otherwise quiet room, drawing the attention of the armed intruders and alerting them to my location.

"Shit! Someone beat us to it!" one of the Wolvar shouts to the others as another of the canine-like humanoids charges towards me, his sword drawn back and ready to cut into me. The blade slams into my shield as I lift my arm, tilting the shield and allowing the blade to skim down the face of the metal protective gear before I swing my ax directly into his neck, his green eyes wide in pain and surprise as his life quickly ends, "Kill him, you idiots! We didn't come this far to let a single human stop us!"

Wrenching the dead Wolvar still attached to my ax between me and my opponents, I wince at the sound of gunfire that echoes through the enclosed space, bullets from rifles and handguns alike ripping into the unmoving corpse. Glancing down, I grin at the sight of the gun holstered on the body's hip and draw it with my left hand, the magic shield mounted to my armor and allowing me to use my hand freely, "Hey, assholes! Seems like I'm channeling Terry Crews over here, because I got the p-p-power!"

Rather than retort against my obviously superior sense of humor, the group of angry dogs and chickadees try to widen the distance and continue firing at me, undeterred by me using their friend's body as a shield. Taking aim over the dead wolf's shoulder, I chuckle as I pull the trigger and watch a hole form in the neck of one of the Wolvar attackers, their numbers quickly dwindling.

Firing off a few more bullets in the general direction of the remaining assailants, I take cover behind a pillar as I spot a Thelgen attempting to flank me in the air, a long, thin blade in his talons. Chuckling to myself, I aim at him and squeeze the trigger three times, his armor unable to stop the small arms fire as he falls to the floor below with blood trailing behind him.

I hear the sound of wings behind me an instant before I manage to duck down, a blade whizzing past where my neck was a moment prior and earning a growl of annoyance from me, "Can't fight fairly, huh? Coward!" I roar, the stabbing thrust sent towards me scraping along the shield and deflecting to the side as I swipe my arm across the Thelgen's face, the metal surface of my shield striking him solidly and sending him sailing to the side, "This cock has been blocked! I'm having chicken tonight!"

Yipping in terror, one of the poorly armored Wolvar combatants throws his rifle to the side and runs towards the open door, barely managing to take three steps before his back rips open with gunfire and blood. Eyes widening at witnessing the blatant murder of an ally, I growl angrily and toss my ax directly at the apparent leader's head, a Wolvar in robes stepping forward and throwing his hands forward to intercept it.

Blue light erupts from his palms, creating a translucent barrier that deflects my ax to the side, a smug grin growing on his face as it sails away. That grin quickly grows into a grimace as the Wolvar beside him develops a new breathing hole while the ax returns towards me, a savage grin splitting my face.

"Peekaboo, fucker!" I shout with a laugh before squeezing the trigger once more, the small bullet flying straight into the mage's skull after shattering his shield spell and punching a hole in the shoulder of the group's leader, earning a yowl of pain from him as I catch my thrown weapon, "Oh sorry, does that hurt? Better drop your guns and run before I kill all of you pricks!"

One of the Wolvar whimpers in fear and also begins to run, the leader of the group of assailants deciding that joining them in fleeing would be better than dying here this time. Firing off a few rounds in my direction and missing with each one while clearly only caring about escape, the scarred and injured Wolvar turns his head to glare back at me, his teeth bared into a savage snarl, "You fucking bastard! We'll kill you next time, Human! You messed with the wrong Bandit Clan!"

"Big talk for a bunch of fleeing mutts!" I shout back, hiding behind the pillar and laughing as I hear the remaining enemies fleeing down the way they came. Waiting until no further sounds of combat remain after several seconds of silence before starting to relax, my smile slowly shrinks into shocked neutrality as I watch my trembling arms, "Holy shit... That actually worked. Ohh, my hands are shaking so much."

"That would be the adrenaline flooding your circulatory system at the moment," Aeris comments with nothing short of stunned surprise, a small series of notifications popping up in my vision and distracting me for a moment before my new companion continues, "I don't know how you survived that fight at all, let alone without any serious injuries. You have a few scrapes, scratches, and bruises, but aside from the small cut on your leg...nothing even broke your skin."

"Is that a good thing? I don't exactly know how good those guys were supposed to be," I comment with a shrug, slipping the ax onto my belt and looking over the dead bodies littering the room. Picking through the closest one's belongings, I discover a few magazines of ammunition for one of the rifles that they brought with them, some packaged meals, and a few silver coins with a howling wolf constellation depicted on one side, and a large paw print minted onto the other side, "Holy shit, is this real silver? This must be worth a small fortune."

"It is. That is a silver Howler, equivalent in value to fifty copper Howlers, or a room for a night and a hot plate of food," my A.I. companion informs me, my smile melting into a soft scowl as I pocket the coins despite their low value, "On the other hand, it takes one-hundred silver Howlers to make a single gold Howler, so keep your eyes open for those."

"Why the fuck is gold valuable everywhere you go? It's not like it's useful for much," I comment with a shrug, stuffing a few more magazines into the armor's carrying pouches and discovering that I am quickly running out of space to carry more, "How the hell am I supposed to carry all of this out of here? I wish I had some kind of bag that's bigger on the inside for this crap."

"Actually..." Aeris starts, going quiet for a moment before continuing, my scowl deepening from her apparent hesitance, tapping the bracelet again as a reminder to keep going, "You have an Inventory. I apologize for not mentioning this sooner, but it has been several millennia since my last integration and it slipped my mind."

"Okay, first of all...don't be embarrassed for forgetting something after that much time has passed. Sorry for being rude and threatening you, this is all just a tiny bit jarring," I explain, trying to mentally command the Inventory to open, another amber screen appearing in front of me. Consisting of a series of boxes and a blank description section, I glance up at the top of the window and shrug once I notice how low my Points currently are, "Not to mention that I was basically told to kill someone right after waking up. Between that and the pain, I lost my temper."

"Apology accepted. I am glad that you no longer feel hostile towards me, and I will not do anything that could jeopardize our health or safety," she assures me with a mild cheerfulness to her voice, deciding to help me out once she notices me trying to figure out how to put something into a screen, "Touch or throw the item you want to store at the window, and it will keep it safe in digital suspension. Nothing will age or degrade while in your Inventory either."

"Holy shit... I can keep my food hot and fresh forever!" I cheer with a smile, hurrying up in my efforts to strip the enemies of all their useful gear and tossing every piece into my new pocket dimension, "So many bullets too! This is going to make me a walking armory, isn't it?"

Starting to wonder if arriving here might have been a blessing in disguise, I finish looting the bodies of the enemies who did not flee when they had the chance, finding my ammunition and food supplies rapidly growing. A groan draws my attention to the face of the body I just finished looting, the Thelgen's features twisted in pain and his wings twitching on his back as I draw my gun again in case he attacks me.

"You really shouldn't have tried to hit me from behind like that, bud. Think you can make it out of here if I let you go?" I inquire with a neutral expression, keeping my eyes firmly planted on the possible aggressor as I make a short bit of distance between us and keep the gun trained on him, "Just so you know, your friends already ran or died. You should make the smart choice, and just leave without a fight."

"W-what?" the Thelgen groans out as he slowly sits up, blinking his red eyes open and rubbing his white-feathered head, his sword already stored away inside of my Inventory space. Leather armor adorning his body, he gives his large wings a couple of testing flaps before sighing in relief and letting them rest against his back again, "You actually killed them all? That's..."

"Sorry if that makes you sad, but I don't have time for your crying. If you want to whine, do it back at your ba-"

"That's amazing! I can't believe you survived after knocking me out with your shield!" he says with clear excitement, getting to his talons and chuckling while wincing as he rubs his head with a clawed hand, reminding me that just because he's unarmed doesn't mean he's harmless, "Ouch, that is going to leave a mark. Do you mind if I join up with you, boss? I can call you boss, right?"

"...huh?" I intelligently ask with a tilt of my head, furrowing my brow in confusion and lowering my gun for the moment, "Why would you want to join me? I just killed a bunch of your pals! You should be pissed off, if anything! Not...cheering and offering to join me!"

"Those assholes forced me to join up with them, just like most of the Thelgen under their banner. I don't blame you for killing the others, given the circumstances," he explains with a shrug, stepping closer with a friendly smile across his beak and his hands at his sides, "I'm lucky to be alive, and the guy who enslaved me isn't here anymore. Might as well join up with you, especially since you're this strong."

"Wouldn't killing me have been self-defense? I did attack first," I point out with a nearly frantic wave of my empty hand, my understanding of his attitude not growing much, "You know what? I'm just not going to let it bother me. It's not any weirder than anything else I've seen since waking up here."

"Wait, what? You don't see Thelgen or Wolvarians often? You must be one sheltered human, as far as world politics goes. Definitely n-not on the fighting part though," he adds, seeing a scowl spread across my face being directed towards him, his hands raising defensively and taking a step back from me, "A-anyways, I can answer any questions you need to ask me, boss."

"You can join, under a few conditions. One, don't call me boss," I demand with a huff, folding my arms and letting the gun lazily dangle from my finger, the trigger guard keeping it from falling to the floor, "We're equals if we're fighting side-by-side, so you don't have to call me anything but my name. Second of all, we split any loot we find between the two of us equally, or at least until another member joins us. I doubt the two of us will be enough to fight another group that size without the element of surprise."