Once I finally got home, I put Penguin down on the couch, sat down, and opened the System window.
I hadn't forgotten what Llewellyn had said yesterday and I definitely had a full hour available now, so I could do this while I tried not to… think about the rest.
I stared at the System window for a moment, then asked,
"What do you run on?"
The System answered immediately:
[The System runs on Magic.]
"…"
That meant absolutely nothing to me.
Why did Llewellyn think this would be of any help?
I opened my mouth, but, before I could formulate another question, numbers and words suddenly flashed across the window in front of me, then started scrolling faster and faster before they all stopped.
Then, the System asked:
[Would you like to access the Core Partition?]
Wait—
I stared in shock.
Core Partition?! What? That was a thing?
How had he even found out???
"Yes!" I said quickly.
Holy shit. Had Llewellyn given me some sort of… passcode?
[System Notification: Scanning required. Accept scan?]
I confirmed the prompt again.
[System Notification: Initiating scan of User Ryo. Please remain still.]
A wave of warmth swept over me from head to toe. It felt surprisingly good.
Penguin perched on the armrest, craning his neck to watch with curious eyes. I'd ignored him a bit that morning, so I reached out and tickled his head. He seemed to have had fun with Llewellyn's dog in the meantime, at least.
Penguin cooed and slid down the armrest and onto the couch, waddling closer. He chirped as I petted him.
[Scanning in Progress…]
[Scanning Complete.]
[Verification in Progress…]
The wait was killing me.
"Think the Core Partition comes with any special features?" I asked Penguin. "Like maybe a hidden settings tab for free perks?"
Penguin chirped.
I sighed. "Yeah. Probably just another wall of menus. Still, I wouldn't complain if it gave out free snacks."
Penguin tapped his beak lightly against my sleeve.
"You want a snack too? I need to make you try more foods, so we can buy the ones you like."
Actually, I really did need to go grocery shopping. I'd run out of pretty much everything.
"Next time, I'll bring you along. Just… better not as a penguin, I suppose. If people think you're a real penguin, they might ask if I have an exotic pet license. And if they think you're an artifact, we might have to deal with KARMA. It might be safer if you're a wristwatch. Or maybe a sugar glider? You can hide in my hoodie."
Penguin chirped, looking like he liked that plan.
A few seconds later the System pinged. It was a different kind of ping—almost excited.
[System Notification: Verification Complete! User has been successfully verified!]
[User Ryo meets all required parameters for Core Partition access! Would you like to proceed with Core Partition access?]
Wait, wait—
"What exactly did you verify?"
-
[System Notification: Four core parameters were evaluated:
User's Integrity
User's Magic
User's Heart
User's Resistance to Corruption.]
-
I blinked. What?
"…And I passed all of those? Can I see the results?"
-
[System Notification: Results breakdown.
User's Integrity: 98.8% (Exceptional)
User's Magic: 92.3% (Strong Potential due to Instinctive Permeability)
User's Heart: 99.2% Heart Capacity (Nearly Unprecedented)
User's Resistance to Corruption: 91.7% (Highly Resilient)]
-
"…"
That didn't seem right. Was this some kind of System bug?
First of all, what kind of metrics were those?!
And besides.
I definitely wasn't that resistant to corruption. Gran could probably bribe me with a jar of homemade kimchi. Maybe even with a slice of cake—and not even a big one.
And 99.2% Heart Capacity? If that meant what I thought it meant, that was ridiculous. If anyone threatened me or my loved ones, I'd burn them down where they stood without thinking twice. I wasn't Llewellyn. Going around helping people I didn't know wasn't my style. Not my circus, not my monkeys, and all that.
Feeling like I'd accidentally opened someone else's mail, I said, "Run it again?"
I remained still as the wave of warmth swept over me again.
However, the results were the same.
[System Notification: Assessment is based on Core Essence, not achievements. Results are accurate within 0.03% margin of error.]
…Well, whatever, I guess. I wasn't about to complain about getting a good score.
Might as well reap the benefits of this misunderstanding as long as it lasted.
I thought about it for a moment.
"Does Llewellyn know about these... parameters?"
[System Notification: User Llewellyn has undergone similar verification. Individual results are confidential.]
Something occurred to me then and I narrowed my eyes.
Llewellyn, you asshole. What better way to check if you can trust your new partner than have the System run a deep search for you?
He'd probably thought: the System saddled me with this guy, the System can run the background check.
Even if results were confidential, if we kept working together he'd likely find out whether I gained access or not—which would give him a sense of my results. I'd assume you'd need a certain threshold to be able to be allowed in, so that would still tell him something.
Still, I couldn't fault him. I would probably have done the same.
[System Notification: Would you like to proceed with Core Partition access?]
Obviously. Yes.
Actually, wait—
"Will this change my contract terms with the System?"
[Clarification: Terms remain unchanged.]
Nothing to lose, then.
"Then, yes. Please give me access."
[System Notification: Initiating Core Partition access sequence.]
[Preparing personalized environment. Please wait.]
Huh?
[Analyzing User's needs and preferences...]
[Calibrating spatial parameters...]
[Adjusting ambient conditions...]
Okay, that was weird.
"What exactly are you doing?"
[Clarification: Current analysis includes stress response patterns, Elemental affinities, cognitive processing style, comfort associations, and aesthetic inclinations derived from User's life experiences.]
I blinked. "What for?"
[System Notification: Emotional and preference-based feedback is used to enhance User experience.]
I mean… "Thanks?"
[Unnecessary. User comfort and satisfaction is integral to System efficiency.]
Well. I didn't know what to do with that, so I did nothing.
It took another long moment, then the System pinged.
[Core Partition access granted!]