Chapter 399: Increasing Proficiency
The third cycle.
Sophia's performance as "Kaito" was becoming increasingly refined. She had
successfully identified several key "Social Macros" to maintain the masquerade:
First: Minimize Vocal Output. Kaito was naturally a unit of few words, which
provided a massive operational buffer. Most exchanges could be resolved with
single-word triggers: "Mhm," "Approved," "Rejected," "Continue." These four
commands handled approximately 80% of daily Imperial synchronization.
Second: Administrative Delegation. She pushed specific logistics back onto the
Seven Sins using prompts like "You handle the arrangements" or "Your
discretion." This simultaneously reduced her risk of exposure and manifested a
high "Trust" parameter toward her subordinates.
Third: Batch Processing. When auditing documents, she prioritized those with
explicit "Recommended Outcomes." Any file requiring a high-order executive
decision was moved to a "Pending" queue, allowing her time to gather more
environmental data.
Utilizing these three protocols, she only encountered one minor "Logic Error"
during the third day.
It happened when Skele-Wrath manifested to report on border patrol parameters.
After finishing his data-dump, Wrath remained standing at attention, clearly
awaiting a specific response.
Sophia didn't know what variable was missing.
She waited for ten seconds. Wrath waited for ten seconds. The atmospheric
tension reached an awkward threshold. Finally, Sophia offered a cautious, "Good
work."
Wrath's soul-fire flickered. He offered a crisp salute and exited. Once he
reached the corridor, Sophia's high auditory-sensitivity picked up him muttering
to himself: "He didn't pat my shoulder today… logic error..."
Audit: Does Kaito habitually provide physical positive-reinforcement to Wrath?
Sophia logged the detail. Next time: Pat the shoulder.
In the afternoon, a high-tier variable manifested at the Main Hall entrance.
"My Sovereign, the research squad from the Evernight Academy has arrived,"
Skele-Avarice announced from the hallway.
Sophia adjusted her posture. This was the team for the Planar Core Optimization
Project she had flagged yesterday. They were arriving ahead of her projected
timeline.
"Enter."
The doors opened to admit three units. A middle-aged human male in instructor
robes, an Elven female clutching a stack of topographical blueprints, and a lean
Skeleton with a magnifying lens mounted on his skull.
The human leader bowed. "My Sovereign, I am Zhao Yuanhang, Lead of the Planar
Engineering Squad. These are my colleagues: Silvia, Elven Researcher, and
Unit-47, Undead Auditor."
Sophia offered a curt nod.
Zhao Yuanhang placed a thick technical whitepaper on the desk. "This is the
detailed briefing for Version 3 of the Core Output Efficiency Protocol.
Following your directive yesterday, we have finalized the supplementary
logic-checks."
Sophia opened the file. This wasn't a performance; she audited the text with
genuine focus.
The knowledge regarding Planar Cores contained within this report differed
fundamentally from the data she possessed from eons ago. In her era, the Five
Pillars treated the Core as a Passive Power Source. Gods siphoned Od, converted
it into Divine Mana, and that was the extent of the loop.
But Kaito's methodology was exponentially more complex.
He hadn't just tapped the Core; he had installed a Management System on top of
it. The Empire's Mana-grid, the global monitoring network, and the teleportation
arrays were all hard-wired into the Core. It was no longer a battery; it was an
Operating System running the entire world.
Sophia felt a surge of complex emotion. This Skeleton is… intellectually
high-tier.
"Lead Zhao, I have audited the core logic," Sophia said, looking up. "You intend
to boost efficiency by recalibrating the link-frequency. However, this process
requires my direct cooperation?"
Zhao Yuanhang adjusted his glasses. "Correct. The Core Interface is exclusive to
the Authority-Holder. We possess zero permissions for direct contact. We require
you to open the Outer Port of the link so our equipment can initialize frequency
calibration."
Open the Outer Port. Allow external equipment access.
Sophia's bony fingers tapped the desk. Gah-clack.
This was the "Legendary-tier" opportunity. During the calibration, the equipment
would generate a massive amount of "Energy Noise"—sufficient to mask her own
temporal Authority. She could discreetly establish a Backdoor Bypass and
hard-wire her own soul into the Planar Core.
But a prerequisite remained: she had to be able to open that port. And the
Port-Authority belonged to the unit recognized by the Core as the Sovereign.
She had failed to hijack the castle's defense arrays earlier. The Core link
would likely have an even more rigid "Handshake Protocol."
"Present the operational roadmap," she commanded.
Zhao Yuanhang flipped to the procedural page.
1. Syncing Phase: Authority-Holder enters a Meditative Standby state within the
Core link.
2. Interface Phase: Outer Port is opened.
3. Calibration Phase: External equipment initializes frequency tuning.
4. Termination Phase: Interface is sealed.
Duration: 4 to 6 hours.
The first step was the terminal bottleneck. "Meditative Standby" required the
Core's active recognition. If the Planar Heart rejected her soul-signature, the
sequence would fail instantly.
Sophia calculated two branches:
1. Immediate Execution: Attempt the handshake. Her mimicry was high-fidelity;
perhaps the Core would accept the masquerade.
2. Passive Delay: Restore her power first, then force a structural breach of
the Core later.
The second option was too slow. Her "Time-Buffer" was evaporating.
"We initialize tomorrow," Sophia decided.
Zhao Yuanhang manifested surprise. "So soon? We simulated a seven-cycle
preparation window—"
"Unnecessary. Calibrate your equipment tonight. The sequence initializes
tomorrow morning."
The researchers exchanged glances. "By your command, My Sovereign."
After the trio exited, Avarice manifested again, holding a manifest.
"My Sovereign, the plan for the Imperial Personnel Audit submitted by Lust is
ready for your review."
Sophia scanned the list. Lust was operating at peak efficiency. In two cycles,
she had drafted a global screening protocol—prioritizing targets, establishing
timelines, and allocating Legion resources.
According to Sophia's earlier directive, the "Critical Nodes" were ranked first.
Orlando Town was listed in the third wave of the audit.
ETA: Two weeks.
Sophia performed a mental calculation. If tomorrow's Core-Sync was successful,
she would have her backdoor established within a week. By then, the audit of a
backwater library assistant would be an irrelevant variable.
"Approved," Sophia said, returning the list.
Avarice took the manifest but didn't initialize an exit. His soul-fire lingered
on the Core Optimization report.
"My Sovereign, do you truly intend to participate in the Core Calibration
personally?"
"Mhm."
"Should I notify the Sins to establish a Security Perimeter? During Deep Sync,
your defensive parameters will drop significantly. You will be vulnerable to
external variables."
Sophia hesitated. Logic dictated that the Sins should provide protection. But
having three or four Sin-Generals standing over her while she manually hacked
the Planar Core was a "High-Risk" scenario. They were too perceptive.
"Unnecessary," Sophia shook her head. "Standard garrison alert is sufficient."
Avarice's soul-fire pulsed with a sharp inconsistency. "My Sovereign, protocols
regarding Core-access traditionally require—"
"I said it was unnecessary."
Sophia allowed a trace of Divine Pressure to leak into her tone. Avarice went
silent for two seconds.
"As you command."
He turned and exited. Sophia leaned back into the chair. She felt the weight of
those two seconds of silence.
Logic Alert: Another doubt-variable has been logged.
In the corridor, Avarice walked several paces before coming to a sudden halt. He
looked back at the sealed doors of the Main Hall.
The Sovereign had rejected reinforced security for a Core Procedure. This was a
direct violation of Kaito's established "Risk-Aversion" protocols. Historically,
every Core operation required at least three Sins on-site.
Combined with Lust's report on the gait… and Sloth's report on the vocal output…
Avarice didn't continue the thought-process. He pivoted and began walking toward
the Arcane Legion Garrison.
He needed to synchronize data with Lust.