The Cheat Goes Live

In a daze, Borne seemed to see dazzlingly bright lights and several blurry white figures gathered around him...

Beep!

"What was that sound?"

Beep...

Beep... Beep...

When Borne's consciousness returned to his body, it felt as if his head had been split open and stuffed with cotton. It throbbed with pain.

Magical backlash!

His mental energy was also severely depleted. Controlling two fifth-circle spells at once had been far too much for Borne.

As feeling slowly returned to his body, a tingling sensation spread through his neck and shoulders.

A series of sounds rang in his mind...

"Beep. System starting up..."

"Connecting to spinal nerves..."

"Connecting to optic nerves..."

"Connecting to cerebral neurons..."

"Activating modules..."

Though his head still hurt unbearably, he couldn't stop his heart from trembling with excitement.

Borne swore these were the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard!

Unlike other Ioun Stones, which floated around the brain, Borne's was attached to the cervical vertebrae at the back of his neck, where it could connect to all the neurons in his brain.

The tingling sensation gradually faded, and a strange yet familiar interface appeared before him.

"Did it work?!"

He had run countless simulations, but even after it actually worked, Borne could hardly believe it. The Breathing Technique he had practiced for years had even fallen out of rhythm.

Borne sat on the ground in silence for a long while.

Phew...

He took several deep breaths to calm his excitement!

The images were projected directly onto his retinas. Right now, the system contained nothing but a whole lot of zeroes and ones, along with a jumble of commands.

That was right: it was a blank system.

A computer with all the hardware but no operating system!

No matter how wondrous magic was, it couldn't conjure a system out of thin air. But the hardest part—the hardware—was already done. Writing the system programs was only a matter of time for Borne.

As it happened, he would have plenty of "free time" over the next while.

The magical backlash was still quite severe. Borne probably wouldn't be able to use magic for a month or two.

The Intelligence Chip used an architecture modeled after the human brain.

Although it was called an Intelligence Chip, it wasn't actually true artificial intelligence.

There was still a long way to go before it could reach the level of AI found in science fiction.

Fortunately, Borne didn't need all those bells and whistles. No Minesweeper, no games—none of that.

The earliest computers had been used for military purposes: calculating artillery trajectories and testing firing tables. Computers were commonly known as "electronic brains."

The Intelligence Chip was the same: it analyzed, calculated, and stored information.

Its analytical calculations were basic logical modeling. It collected data samples, then used information from the subject and its storage to conduct comprehensive analyses and simulations.

This function was carried out with the help of Borne's personal mage runes.

As for storage, it could record everything the subject experienced.

Having experienced memory loss after crossing over, Borne knew that human memory wasn't always reliable. In a world of the supernatural, there were far too many ways to deceive a person's five senses!

The hippocampus was the brain's memory center.

The storage area was connected to the neurons in the hippocampus, sharing information with them.

Even if the subject's senses were affected, the storage area would faithfully record the truth!

A week later, in the underground laboratory.

"System! Scan my whole body, optimize the data, and display my physical condition!"

Borne issued the command in his mind.

As for the chip's name, that was just his own little joke.

Starting today, he was a man with a system!

Heh heh!

"Beep! Scan initiated... Optimizing current data..."

"...Scan complete."

A mechanical voice in Chinese rang in his mind.

A three-dimensional model appeared before Borne's eyes. It was his own body.

The chip was connected to his optic nerves and projected the model onto his retinas. Various data points appeared beside it.

Borne Ioulaum (Human)

Mage 7/Arcanist 3/Monk 3

Level: 9

Basic Attributes: Strength 1.9 (↓0.8), Dexterity 1.5 (↓1.0), Constitution 1.1 (↓1.2), Intelligence 4 (↓5), Wisdom 0.4 (↓0.7), Charisma 8

Status: Cerebral neurons weakened; multiple capillaries ruptured. Magic and meditation prohibited.

Recommendation: Practice the Breathing Technique 89 times. Rest after 369 minutes. Estimated recovery in 21 days. Medication is recommended to speed up recovery.

Formula: ...

This was far more detailed information than Identify could provide!

"It'll take that long? I'd already prepared for the worst, but the results are even worse than I expected!"

Although the figures before him looked grim, Borne was still relieved.

Using two fifth-circle scrolls at once had gone beyond his control. At least damage to his mental energy was the least severe outcome.

Still, it was fine. He could use this chance to test the chip's functions.

"System, build a model and optimize the Breathing Technique."

"Beep! Task created! Scanning subject's physical data. Building character model!"

A stream of pale blue data instantly scrolled down one side of his vision.

In... Out...

As Borne controlled his breathing, a translucent three-dimensional figure appeared in his right field of vision. It repeatedly adjusted its movements and rhythm.

A vast cascade of pale blue data was rapidly reorganized.

"Data collection complete!"

"Beginning optimization. Estimated time: 112 minutes."

"Oh? Less than two hours. That's fast!"

Borne raised his eyebrows, surprised.

The time passed quickly.

Ding...

The chip's mechanical voice rang out.

"Breathing Technique optimization complete. Execution time: 17 minutes per session. Specified movements improve results by 15%. Practice three times daily. Estimated recovery: 10 days."

"Ten days?!"

Borne was astonished.

He had practiced the Breathing Technique for years and adjusted it along the way. He had thought it was perfectly suited to him, yet there had still been so many flaws!

"System, transfer the Breathing Technique to my memory!"

Borne gave the order, impatient to try it.

A flood of information was quickly transmitted into his mind. Before long, he realized a completely new memory had appeared there.

"This is..."

The new Breathing Technique incorporated a wealth of information from Borne's previous life. It included the postures of the Daoist Baduanjin, as well as various "martial arts" routines such as Indian yoga.

Borne had actually realized long ago that the "martial arts routines" from his previous life might not have been mere show. It was just that the supernatural had never appeared on Blue Star, so those techniques had never been able to fulfill their true potential.

And because Borne hadn't dared to practice them on his own, he had missed out on a treasure trove.

Now, with the System Chip running simulations, he had finally made up for his last shortcoming.

There was a lot to process. With Borne's current mental energy, it would take three or four hours to absorb it all. The information included countless details, such as when to extend his inhalation, how many CC of air to draw in, and how to coordinate his muscles and joints with his breathing to exert force.

The system's simulations weren't yet a complete, finished product. Much of the process still needed to be tested. Many of the "technical terms" in the "martial arts" data had to be verified in practice.

Thanks to the chip's simulations, even if something went wrong, it wouldn't seriously harm the subject. After all, even a minor internal injury could be healed with Healing Divine Magic.

Borne's eyes lit up.

They really did light up!

It was a sign that his mental energy had reached a certain level.

Although simulations run through the chip couldn't produce perfectly accurate results, they could still be eighty or ninety percent accurate. The same was true of scientific research: going from theory to product required repeated experiments and practice, followed by verification, then more experiments and verification, in an endless cycle.

And one of the most important parts was the theory. Experiments and testing were all carried out on the basis of theory.

The same process applied to magic: runes, magic circles, combined structures, and so on all required vast amounts of calculation and deduction. The most time- and energy-consuming part of the process could now be handled by the System Chip.

Phew...

Borne took a deep breath to steady himself, then eagerly set about testing his idea.

"System, create an arcane plan and simulate the Firebolt spell."

His eyes burned with excitement as he gave the chip its task.

"Ding. Extracting Firebolt data. Simulation in progress. Estimated time: 1,138 minutes."

"Nearly nineteen hours..."

Borne frowned. "System, synchronize the simulation and intervene."

"Ding..."

A vast amount of data was instantly projected onto his retinas.

"Here... and here... Plug this into the simulation..."

Four hours later.

"Ding. Firebolt simulation complete. Simplified by 57%. Seventeen optimized pathways. Incantation reduced by 37 syllables..."

"Brute force, huh..."

Borne rubbed his brow. Without his intervention, the system would calculate every possible option, consuming a huge amount of time.

Unfortunately, software programming wasn't one of Borne's strengths. If he hadn't seen the underlying code of a supercomputer in his previous life, the simulations would have been several levels worse.

"Mechanical chips still have their limitations. Developing new programs will have to go on the agenda, little by little."

Although Borne had used the chip to replace a "personality," binary code was ultimately too simple. It wasn't even true AI. Its so-called "logic" was nothing more than a program that had been set in advance.

Simplicity also meant that it needed a lot of hardware space to work efficiently. That was why supercomputers were so large. If Borne wanted to increase his computing power further, he would either have to install more hardware or make more Chip Ioun Stones.

The first option wasn't realistic. It would mean bringing over the entire modern civilization of Blue Star, along with all its fields of study, and Borne wasn't capable of that. The second option was feasible, but not now. After all, there was no way to explain the "chips." One was fine: hidden inside an Ioun Stone, especially since Borne had placed it at the back of his neck, it would be almost impossible to notice anything amiss. Even if someone did notice, they would assume it was a special Ioun Stone. But more of them would easily arouse suspicion.

Every special Ioun Stone was unique!

"System, transfer the data and help construct the projection!"

Borne issued the command silently.

"Ding..."

"Transferring data..."

"Transfer complete."

The complete data for Firebolt appeared in Borne's mind, including the precise parts that had been changed and the improvements that had been made.

"Begin projection. Simulation construction initiated..."

Firebolt was a cantrip, so it presented no difficulty at all for Borne. But he still followed the construction process provided by the system.

The whole process was like placing a sheet of paper over a drawing and tracing it. It was even easier than copying down the answers.

A tiny streak of fire shot from the tip of his finger and plunged into the rock in the wall!

In an instant, his mental energy surged, and the damage caused by the magical backlash seemed to ease a little.

"The Weave?!"

Borne was slightly startled.

The appearance of a new spell had actually resonated with the Weave, soothing the damage to his mental energy caused by the magical backlash.

He had known the System Chip's modifications had exceeded seventy percent, but he hadn't expected them to cause a resonance with the Weave, too. Low-level arcane spells could no longer draw Borne into the Weave, yet they could still restore his damaged mental energy.

"Does this count as exploiting a bug? From now on, whenever I suffer magical backlash, I can just make some new spells and have the Weave 'heal' me."

Now that he could cast spells again, Borne's mood immediately improved. His thoughts began to wander, but he soon shook his head.

Magical backlash was truly agonizing. He never wanted to experience it again, and next time he might not be so lucky.

A spell's appearance and name might be the same, but every new arcane spell represented a completely new way of interpreting and casting that magic!

"It looks like I really did make something incredible!"

And this was only a cantrip. What about high-level magic?

Ninth circle?

Or even spells above the tenth circle?

The higher the circle, the harder a spell was to master. The sheer amount of calculation involved consumed a caster's time and energy.

A fifth-circle spell took up an entire bookshelf in the library!

The higher the circle, the more the spell involved. Sometimes its structural diagrams alone could cover an entire room.

And that wasn't even counting the other parts, such as incantations, modeling, and projection. Casting wasn't as simple as just reciting the words. Every spell's creator had a different mental-energy frequency and a different way of projecting it into the Weave.

It was already difficult for learners to imitate them. They had to make countless attempts and conduct experiments, adjusting the method until it suited them before they could cast the spell.

To make changes, break with tradition, and achieve an arcanum, the difficulty had to be ten times greater!

That was why there were so many spellcasters but so few Arcanists.

Even Giles's dean, Borne Concinnio, was only a legendary Mage, not a Great Arcanist!

The gap between the two was enormous.

And why did Borne's grandfather, Count Ioulaum, hold such a high position in Nether? Because he was one of the people most likely to advance to Great Arcanist (legendary rank).

Each arcanum was like a math problem. Forget the Chip's ability to run simulations—the system's raw computing power alone was enough to make every spellcaster drool with envy!

Now he really had a cheat code!