I Am Not a Robot. Beep-bop

Chapter 81: Punishment 3

【Authority of Fusion】

【Authority of Plunder】

【Fusion Complete.】

The third-class Overseer, Rosa Vintz, momentarily couldn’t grasp what had just happened to her.

My ice?

Why isn’t my blazing ice manifesting?

Why do I sense the ability of code release, something I possess, coming from that insolent brat Alice?

It doesn’t make sense.

Ah, could it be that the blazing ice has already clung to that brat, freezing her body while simultaneously burning it?

However, despite being supposedly frozen, Alice’s body moved without issue.

Though supposedly burned, she wore a leisurely smirk on her lips.

On her back, the ice that had grown like wings seemed to announce that it had found a new master suited for it, turning away from Rosa.

Alice burst into laughter.

In her hands was an ice so radiant that it burned brilliantly.

“Ahaha! Hahahaha!”

Ah, this feeling.

This.

Such a sensation.

It’s been a long time…!

Alice smiled, reveling in the omnipotent energy and the searingly cold yet scalding force now coursing through her body.

A familiar yet foreign sensation at the same time.

A tremendous authority, vast enough to fill her very being, granting her a sense of omnipotence as if the universe itself was at her fingertips.

It was the very feeling she had experienced daily as the Demon King, the memory of wielding near-omnipotent authoritys before becoming a hollow android awakening deep within her soul.

‘The authority of Plunder and Fusion. Much more useful than I expected.’

Plunder.

A authority possessed by a shamelessly weak-willed returnee, one who lacked the strength to wield a holy or demonic sword and merely tossed them into his inventory instead.

Originally, it was a authority to plunder a portion of the unique abilities or supernatural talents of those he killed.

Of course, without the necessary skill, the user would be unable to wield the stolen authority effectively.

Even if he plunderd the authority to manipulate fire, mishandling it would lead to burns and self-destruction.

This is likely why the returnee refrained from using the authority of Plunder until he had sufficiently boosted his own stats.

Now, Alice had merged this authority of Plunder with Sabrina’s authority of Fusion.

In the brief moment she had come into contact with Sabrina, Theresa had analyzed all of Sabrina’s magical patterns and biological rhythms, allowing her to replicate a portion of the authority.

For Alice, a former Demon King, replicating the authority of a mere baron-ranked demon was a trivial feat.

Though she lacked the vast energy and devastating efficiency to conjure world-altering magic as she once had, it was more than enough to directly tamper with the system of authoritys and insert her own code.

After all, magic and supernatural abilities are essentially phenomena that arise by injecting mana energy into coded formulas rather than electricity.

The authoritys of Fusion and Plunder proved to have exceptional compatibility.

Fusion could merge not only physical elements but also conceptual phenomena, allowing Alice to transform Plunder into a authority uniquely her own.

Originally, Plunder was limited to stealing the abilities of the dead, but Theresa had reinterpreted and recoded the authority so that Alice could now plunder the strength and abilities of those she merely touched.

Fusion enhanced the authority of Plunder, making it much easier for Alice to absorb abilities from her targets or transfer abilities to others upon contact.

‘Still, I can’t steal multiple abilities at once. At the moment, it seems limited to one at a time. And I can’t choose the ability I plunder. Was it just luck that I managed to take this code the brat unlocked?’

Even so, it was more than enough.

The realization that she could evolve and modify her authoritys was more than satisfactory.

“Heh.”

Alice’s arms and legs, along with portions of her synthetic flesh and face, had been damaged by Rosa’s abilities.

But the moment Alice clenched her fist, the ice exploded outward.

-Crack!

The shattered and broken parts of her body were filled with blazing ice.

No, it did more than just fill; it became new arms and legs, longer and more advanced than before, as if Alice herself were growing.

While the internal gears and coils would eventually rebuild themselves over time, at this moment, Alice wanted to fully explore the code she had taken from Rosa.

Blazing ice.

This ability was immensely useful.

True to its name, it combined the attributes of fire and ice, but its true essence lay in the autonomous manipulation of thermal energy.

She could nullify heat entirely, wielding absolute-zero frost, or unleash scorching flames of extreme heat.

It was not simply a authority to control fire and ice but a higher-tier, far more versatile ability.

“You, you, this imbecile! What in the world is happening here?!”

Rosa Vintz, now raging with her code stolen, appeared to wield nothing more than a grandiose authority of fire and ice.

Alice looked at Rosa with utter disdain.

To possess such a tremendous ability to manipulate thermal energy, only to waste it on controlling mere ice and fire.

While it was true that code release abilities varied depending on personal aptitude, this authority was far too precious for a third-class Overseer like her.

“What’s happening, you ask? Is the great Overseer unable to perceive the reality unfolding before her very eyes?”

Alice descended lightly to the ground, her mocking tone palpable.

The ice that had burned and frozen the hallway melted entirely at Alice’s gesture, evaporating without a trace in an instant.

That alone made Rosa realize.

That woman had stolen her authority.

No, it wasn’t just stolen.

“She… She’s handling my released code… better than I am?”

Despite wielding the ability for the first time, Alice erased the ice that had engulfed the surroundings with a mere wave of her hand as if it were her own innate authority.

That alone made Rosa acutely aware of the vast difference in capability between herself and Alice.

It was because Alice and Theresa were simultaneously computing the stolen code from Rosa, deconstructing and analyzing it in real time.

A mere human brain could never match the computational capacity of a supercomputer.

“No, no! No way! This is impossible!”

Rosa screamed in denial, her voice trembling with desperation.

“The code release granted to an Overseer is the very autonomy and judgment bestowed upon me by Ark! There’s no way someone like you could have the right to steal it, nor should such a right even exist!”

“Oh, really?”

True, code release was a type of authority granted by Ark’s esteemed Administrators to their subordinate Overseers.

It wasn’t meant to be stolen, nor could it be allowed to be taken.

“But you said it yourself.”

Alice smiled as she expanded the blazing ice further.

“This place is outside of Ark’s jurisdiction.”

The blazing ice, which resembled wings, fused with the mechanical tendrils sprouting from Alice’s spine, forming new armor.

The ice became new parts of her broken limbs, replacing them seamlessly with extensions of fire and ice.

“No prying eyes of the Administrators here, no need to care about Ark’s gaze. You said you’d cook me to your heart’s content in the outskirts, didn’t you?”

As Alice’s sneer deepened, Rosa’s face turned as pale as a sheet.

“No, no! That’s not true! I’ll take it back! You have no right to wield the code! Kneel and beg for mercy, you wretched pest…!”

-Crack!

Rosa charged forward.

What had been taken from Rosa was the code release granted to her as a third-class Overseer.

Although she had relied on and taken pride in the ability, her original mana techniques, reinforcement methods, and awakening abilities remained intact.

Now strengthening her body, Rosa sprinted like the wind from the far end of the hallway, desperation etched into her every move.

“Let’s see…”

Alice ignored Rosa’s outburst entirely, clenching her hand.

As her hand tightened, a mixture of mana and thermal energy coalesced at her fingertips.

A familiar mana array.

Explosion.

Flames.

Then ice.

Compressed thermal energy, overheated.

Detonation.

Disregarding efficiency.

Maximum destruction.

Alice simultaneously reverse-engineered magical circuit commands and thermal manipulation codes.

At this moment, even without mana, she could replicate phenomena identical to magic.

The faint memory of a dragon’s roar remained in Alice’s mind.

As the Demon King, she had once crafted and made that roar her own, turning it into her signature magic.

Though her memories were fragmented, the ritual of destruction engraved upon her soul persisted.

“Dragonia Shock.”

-Snap!

Alice flicked her fingers.

The formula activates.

A magical formula, implemented through code, begins operating.

Thermal energy condenses, condenses again, and condenses further.

What mimicked the roar of a dragon.

An event resembling a dragon’s breath unfolds before Alice.

-ROOOOAAARRRR!!!

“?!”

A massive shockwave, brimming with thermal energy, bursts forward.

The crimson flashes illuminating the air obliterate the underground facility painstakingly built by Ernest Rail, carving a straight path of destruction that extends to the surface.

Wherever the destruction passed, the space itself was cleanly carved away.

The sudden devastation startled the undead girls who had been playing in the upper-floor dining hall.

They poked their heads through the gaping space in awe, unable to hide their amazement.

“This… This can’t be…”

Rosa survived.

Not because she was strong.

It was because Alice had no intention of killing her from the start.

‘She recklessly rejected Sabrina’s humanity incorporation test and even cooperated with Ernest Rail.

If I drag her to Oriana, it could be quite an achievement.’

The enormous Dragonia Shock deliberately spared only Rosa’s ear and one arm, as per Alice’s will.

Having physically experienced Alice’s overwhelming superiority in handling the authority of code release, Rosa knelt, her face blank with despair.

“This can’t be… I am Ark’s will. Ark’s representative. Ark’s Overseer… If only I had my code…”

“Oh, really?”

Alice snapped her fingers.

The ice, fire, and crimson thermal energy filling the air vanished cleanly.

“Here, take it back.”

“What…?”

Alice, as if she held no attachment, released the code from her body.

All it took was disengaging the authority of Plunder.

When Rosa regained her code, her face displayed utter bewilderment.

However, she quickly grasped the situation and used the blazing ice to regenerate a new arm where hers had been severed.

“I-I don’t know what you’re planning, but you’ve made a grave mistake…!”

【Mantis Blade – Plunder Infused】

However, just as Rosa finished regenerating her arm and moved to attack Alice, a mantis blade extended from Alice’s arm and slashed Rosa in one swift motion.

“Ghaa?!”

The wound wasn’t deep.

It merely grazed her side.

But the impact of being struck by the Plunder-infused Mantis Blade was far from insignificant.

“Oh? So this is what the Vinz family’s mana refinement technique feels like?”

“What?!”

Alice felt her body grow lighter.

Though mana refinement techniques differ among individuals, families, and clans, the Vinz family’s method made the body as light as a feather, enabling swift and agile movement.

Realizing that her family’s technique had been instantly stolen, Rosa collapsed to her knees.

“G-ghh… Aaaagh!”

Even with the blazing ice returned to her, she could no longer protect her body with her stolen mana refinement technique.

The ice and fire began consuming her body, delivering excruciating pain.

“Hmm, not bad. Theresa, did you record that? The Vinz family’s refinement technique seems quite handy.

I’ll have to look into the mana techniques of other high-ranking families later.”

Unlike the suffering Rosa, Alice smiled.

She had gained much.

“Oh, should I return this too?”

“G-ghaah! My body… It’s so hot… No, cold…!”

“Poor thing.”

Watching Rosa writhing on the floor like an insect, Alice chuckled and unsheathed her Mantis Blade again.

“Got anything else for me?”

【Plunder – Infusion】

The Mantis Blade in Alice’s hands, infused with the authority of Plunder, radiated a menacing black light.