Necromancer Dreams of Mechs Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Firewall Prep

Read chapter 79 of Necromancer Dreams of Mechs by Magic on NovelPedia.

As if alerted by my inner turmoil, Harold came bounding over from where the others were still training. He was in his sleek metal house cat form, so he moved fast, his chrome paws carrying him over to us in a near instant. I still wasn’t entirely sure what he was besides an unbound AI, originally built with parameters set for a mech game Nathan’s dad had been working on. Yet, his help was my only real resistance against him. The Architect. My brother. “Before she enters, you both need to confirm your verbal contract with Marquis Seraphine as your formal wife,” Harold explained in his flat, synthetic voice. He paused for a moment as I narrowed my eyes. The idea of getting married right here in the dirt felt rushed, even for a game world. I could feel Seraphine’s grip on my arm intensify, her fingers digging into my sleeve. I didn't even have to look to know she was agreeing. I could see her head nodding aggressively out of the corner of my eye before my metal cat started to talk again. “I think it best that we declare both women at the same time, or it could cause emotional friction later on,” Harold added. Before I could even speak to agree or disagree, Seraphine broke free from my hand. She pulled away and immediately sprinted toward our mansion on wheels. I just stood there, blinking. I must have had a completely stupefied look on my face. After a few seconds of watching her go, I turned back to the metal cat. He was now sitting calmly on the ground, lifting his chromatic paw and mimicking a cat washing itself. “Do they really need to be my wives to enter?” I asked as I crossed my arms, trying to shake off the awkwardness. I had already decided at this point that I was going to marry both women, but I really wanted to wait until we were back home. I didn’t have a perfectly logical reason for that want, considering I had my mobile home right here, and home was ultimately just wherever the people I cared about were. Honestly, I was just concerned about how the next few days would go. Adding a system-bound marriage right now felt like an unnecessary complication when we were already dealing with so much. “I don't think that you understand what the Fleshhangar really is, so I will explain in a simple manner,” Harold said, dropping his paw and looking up at me. “If your brother, the ruling AI, is the controller of this world, then I am the controller of the world inside the Fleshhanger. Now, this is clearly not how my original parameters were set, but I can’t overwrite your class, just augment it like we have been doing out here.” He stood up, his metal tail twitching slightly. “That all being said, I can only protect your code while you are in that specific space. Think of it like an open workspace that gives me certain restrictions based on your knowledge and abilities. The main issue is that the Architect can also enter that space. There are no rules in there, besides him not being able to directly affect my base code, or yours.” I sighed, rubbing my face. I suspected something like this, but hearing him say it just confirmed it. Still, how was a verbal contract going to make it safe for Seraphine to enter this... workspace world? “So, just saying some vows is going to make it safe for them?” I asked after a moment of thinking it over. Harold shook his head. “No, but that is all they will have to do. We need to have another talk with your brother about privacy.” I frowned, a familiar sense of annoyance bubbling up. “Right, because that went so well last time. You are suggesting that I set up a firewall within the Fleshhangar, right?” I asked with a heavy sigh. The cat nodded, his digital eyes glowing slightly brighter. “You are right, but you are also extremely skilled. With my help, and a bit of practice with a few more arms, I give our chances of erecting the wall at least 97% likely. The effect it will cause on this world, or the action the AI will take, are completely unknown variables. That being said, having a safe place