As Aumo and LisiA made their way back to the inn, they were saddened by the fact that their exploration of the city was cut short by the monster stampede.

 

The two of them weren’t allowed back into the city until the guards got the machine through a backdoor in the wall. They needed to see where that machine came from as it was by no means something natural. The more amazing part was how big that backdoor was, as the entire thing was able to fit through it, yet it was so hidden that normally nobody would be able to find it.

 

By the time the machine was taken care of, the sun was already setting. That of course didn’t stop all the adventurers who were waiting on the other side of the gate to pour out for an amazing chance to get some money. Of course, Aumo and LisiA harvested some of the cores from the strongest monsters while waiting for the guards to move the machine, so the adventures definitely missed out on those. 

 

“It’s amazing how many adventurers there are,” commented LisiA during their way back, “There were many adventurers before, but I have never seen so many adventurers gathered up in one place, even in Furad.”

 

Furad was the capital city only because of how isolated it was, having only one road to reach it. After having taken over all the countries in Rotopi, the ruler didn’t want to budge from the city he had started in, so Furad was kept as the capital city. At the same time, that one road wasn’t actually hard to access, so trade wasn’t impacted that hard by its location. The forest still somewhat served as a way to repel attackers, though there were surprisingly not many rebels against the country at all.

 

By the time that Aumo and LisiA got back to the inn, the sun had already set and the moon was already visible. The inn was unsurprisingly empty since most if not all the people who checked out here were adventurers.

 

As that was the case, the innkeeper allowed all the employees to take a break, to prepare for the time when all the adventurers come back to have a really late dinner. Seeing this, Aumo and LisiA decided to skip out on dinner as they didn’t need to eat anyway.

 

When Aumo and LisiA entered their room, they both sat down on the only bed in the room.

 

“Now that I think about it, why did Guardon choose a room with only one bed?” said Aumo as she sat down, “I didn’t pay it any mind last night because it was my first soft bed in over 100 years.”

 

“This room is very big too, but it isn’t overly decorated, so it shouldn’t be a VIP room,” added LisiA. 

 

The room was decently big, with one comfortable bed that could fit 2-3 people, along with a desk that had a lamp on it with some chairs. There was also a bathroom in the room, but Aumo and LisiA know that they most likely won’t use it for any purpose other than for showering during their time here.

 

“We should ask Guardon tomorrow,” said Aumo, “Anyway, Ria, during that fight you mentioned that there were multiple types of energies? I thought that everything was made up of mana.”

 

“In this world, you would be right if you said that everything is made up of mana,” said Ria suddenly, “But that can’t be said about other worlds.”

 

“Other worlds?” Aumo was confused. After all, even though this world can see the other planets and the stars with a telescope, they were unable to leave this planet to see how other planets differed. 

 

“That’s right. Other worlds. You see, mana is a very rare type of energy, and the amount of planets that are completely made out of mana like this one are so few that they could probably be counted with your  fingers.” explained Ria, “And the robots are created by a civilization that lives on a planet that doesn’t have any mana at all. After they found the existence of mana planets, they sent robots to those said planets to learn more about mana, but in a peaceful way.” 

 

“That would explain why the robots showed up out of nowhere,” said LisiA, “And that would also mean that the reformers were infected by a virus made by someone who wanted to stop this research?”

 

“That is correct. In fact, Dr. Gream already knew of this, which was why he had handed me to you, Aumo. Although he didn’t know the full extent of your abilities, he knew that you knew something that all the other researchers didn’t. That said, he didn’t expect the reformers to move on the day that he hands me to you,” said Ria, “But he was correct, your ability to manipulate mana allowed you to live on, or else I would’ve probably been forever lost in those ruins.”

 

“Now, what really are you, Ria?” asked Aumo as she listened to Ria.

 

“I am actually an advanced AI brought to this world along with the robots. The issue was that the amount of power required to power me up was way too great, and the robots had no idea on how to use the mana when they first arrived. Their solution was to put me into a Dragon’s magic core that was turned into an Android core, which continuously absorbed mana from its surroundings while also holding a huge amount of mana,” replied Ria, “The amount of mana that you could use is actually the amount left after taking away the amount required to power me.”

 

“You still haven’t answered my question about the other types of energies,” said Aumo.

 

“Mana is just like any other energy, but it is special in a sense that after it is converted into another energy and used, it turns back into mana,” said Ria, “Normally, other types of energy get converted into another type and stay that way until it gets used and converts to another type. Energy can also become mass, and mass can become energy. The same could be said about mana, but mana is special in the sense that it is easier to convert, and it can turn into mass without requiring any other types of energy.”

 

“Why couldn’t I feel any mana from the machine’s energy balls today if it was converted from mana?” asked Aumo.

 

“If you didn’t notice it, it is fine. After the energy ball hit the ground and dispersed, it was immediately converted back into mana and it turned into air,” said Ria, “When mana gets converted into another type of energy forcibly through means that use other types of energy, it won’t feel like mana until it turns back.”

 

“The only way that the mana was forcibly converted into another energy by another energy would mean that whoever made that machine has access to that other type of energy,” inferred LisiA.

 

“The robots are the only ones that have access to those types of energies, and it probably wasn’t the AV or the isolators,” said Aumo.

 

“I see what Roboss meant when he said that we will understand why we may have to fight the reformers soon,” said LisiA.

 

“There were actually records of Reformers attacking smaller towns and cities before Furad went down, but there was no way to fight back before,” said Ria.

 

Fighting an infected robot was risky for the robots as the infected robot could inject the virus at any time. The smaller towns and cities were also too far away, and they also didn’t have as many mages to defend them compared to the bigger cities.

 

Physical attacks didn’t do much to the robots as they were made of really sturdy materials. A sword had no chance of cutting through them, unless the swordsman was really skilled. 

 

“What will we do from now on?” asked Aumo.

 

“We can only wait and see,” replied LisiA.

 

After all, it has only been 3 days since they have awakened after their long slumber..

 

“But for tonight, could I get some of those cores?” asked Aumo.

 

Status:

 

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Name: Aumo

Core Level:4

XP: 30/75

Status: Normal

HP: 2100/2100

MP: 1070/1070 

MP Stored: 0

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Skills: Mana Manipulation, Mana Sight, Mana Sense, Mana Analysis, Levitation, Mana Vibration, Small Fireball, Ice Throw, Air Slash, Body Reinforcement, Body Strengthening

Upgrades: None

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