Chapter 586: Prize delivery
The Duchess reared her head back, as if there was a massive pain in her neck. Her doctors immediately rushed towards their VIP suite and gently massaged the back of her head.
The information Michael unloaded was so shocking that it almost brought upon a disaster for the monarchs of Metropolis.
Everyone was willing to go through the dangerous Red Ravine expedition just for a chance to get a Mithril Artifact. They were willing to spend all of their money, power, and time to be the first one to uncover a treasure left behind by the ancient past.
The Duchess came here to inform Michael of this in the first place. She wanted him to prepare for the Red Ravine.
But crazily enough, he didn't need to.
Somehow, he could…create…Mithril Artifacts.
Those words sounded like fiction to the Duchess. It was akin to a person saying that they could build a mountain out of a molehill. It was equivalent to a person saying that they could build the moon.
It was a godly task being done by a human.
The powers of the Ancient Era were so mysterious and all powerful that the people of this world could only equate it to nature and the universe itself. No one could build nature.
But somehow, Michael did.
"You…can build Mithril Artifacts?" the Duchess muttered out, massaging her temples.
"Yup. that's how I built my Drone," he said with the Drone buzzing out of his pockets and hovering in front of her.
"I see, I see…that still doesn't make sense at all," she replied. "We have to talk about this some other time. I have to recover…"
The Duchess shook her head and walked out of Michael's room, still in a daze. Just finding out that Michael was friends with the Dwarven Kingdom was enough for her to be more than surprised. But to find out that he could make Mithril Artifacts? That was a whole other thing entirely.
This was something the entirety of humanity wanted to solve, with some already thinking that it was impossible to recreate. This copy comes from content on M|V|L0EMPYR.
I guess that's why I didn't tell her, he pondered. She'll be back later, probably asking to buy a Mithril Artifact.
If the Duchess wasn't so shell shocked, then that was the first thing she would have asked him.
Although he wasn't planning on selling anybody a Mithril Artifact for now because he had to make each one himself, he would definitely make an exception for his friends.
Just then, another knock echoed out from the door.
This time, it was Barnaby who came for a visit.
"Aren't you managing the auction?"
"Oh we're taking a small break for now. There's only two more items left for the night so I'm giving the Major Factions a time to prepare," Barnaby replied. "Anyway, I'm here to give you your prize!"
Barnaby clapped his hands, and suddenly, two butlers came from the door rolling in two identical tables to the room.
"I present to you your first item, the mysterious tome!"
He took off the dinner plate-looking cover to reveal the worn-down book that looked like it had been seen much better days.
Not a lot of people bid on this item because many considered it as undecipherable. The fact that it was missing so much of its pages meant that decoding it would be even harder.
The Tower Master of Metropolis gave it a chance, and even he was unable to understand a single word. If the wizards who did nothing but read and study all day couldn't even unravel its mysteries, then practically no one could.
So, many thought its value was only as good as a decorative mantle piece.
But Michael knew different.
He could already feel ChatJK4 stirring in his mind, wanting to absorb all of the hidden knowledge in this mysterious tome.
"Can I touch it?" he asked Barnaby.
"Of course! It's yours now. As we agreed, all of the things you bid on will be deducted to the total amount that you will get with the automobile auction."
Michael slowly approached the tome, with his hand outstretched and ready.
His hands almost felt magnetized to the pages, as if it was welcoming him.
But before he could touch it, he stopped himself.
Is this the right time? he pondered.
He had a feeling that ChatJK4 would ascend to the next evel after absorbing all of the knowledge in this foreign text.
But he knew that he had a tendency of shutting down after every software update. He wouldn't wake up until the next morning, or a couple days after.
During other circumstances, he would have welcomed this immediately—especially since he was surrounded by his parents and family.
But the auction still hasn't ended yet.
There were still two items up for bid. His automobile and the fifteen other drops of Soo.
He didn't want to miss that.
I think I'll hold off for now, he decided.
[If you would like to disable the emergency shutdown service during the software update, then please command me to do so.]
Of course, he knew that ChatJK4 wasn't really being unbiased about this. It was clearly yearning for new information.
Are you sure about this?
[Yes, Michael. Emergency shutdown only occurs to make sure that the software update happens as fast as possible. If you do not care about how long it takes, then there would be no need to undergo a shutdown.]
He was very glad to know that. But he still wasn't sure.
What happens after you start upgrading? Will you be unavailable?
[My services will be unavailable, but the knowledge bank stored in the software will be made available to you in the meantime.]
Basically, instead of being an AI chatbot, ChatJK4 would just become a normal search engine instead. It was still the same, but the process would be a lot more tedious and he'd have to manually search for things himself.
Okay, that's not a bad trade-off. Alright, ChatJK4, you can have your snack.
He grabbed the tome and immediately scanned through its entirety with one flip.
Immediately, he could feel ChatJK4 churning in his mind.
[Progress to next update: 45.73%]
[Progress to next update: 70.29%]
[Progress to next update: 95.18%]
[SOFTWARE UPDATE COMMENCING]
Then, silence.
ChatJK4? You there?
There was no response. However, if he concentrated hard and thought of a spell he needed to cast, then the magic theory would automatically arrive in his mind instantly, as if ChatJK4 never left.
Not bad…
He decided to do this the next time he needed a software update. It was definitely better than suddenly collapsing onto the ground and being in a coma for a few days.
"Are you satisfied with your purchase?" Barnaby asked.
"Yup. Very satisfied, thanks."
Then, Barnaby moved over to the other rolling table with excitement in his face.
"Now, I'm sure you already know this one," he said as he took the metal cover off to reveal five small vials, each containing a drop of Soo.
"This is all yours. You deserve it!" Barnaby praised.
He walked over to the vials, observing them with a smile on his face.
And without any hesitation, he quickly took out the cork and began pouring the drops onto his Drone.