Ithiel ran up the stairs. They were winded and awkward to climb, but Ice kept his eyes on Ithiel during every step. Finally, they ended at a room.
Ithiel dashed inside and tried to slam the door shut, but driven by something, Ice managed to get a foot inside. Repeated pressure made it clear that Ithiel was hoping to push him away, but was too weak.
There was a soft sob, then the pressure vanished. Ice released a breath he’d been holding and carefully pushed the door open another gap to slip inside.
Ithiel sat on the floor, hands trembling as they held his clothes, eyes wide and tearful. He was biting his lip, fear evident on his face. He was more than just frightened by something.
“What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Ice kneeled down in front of him, talking softly. He had thought something was off when he saw the youth’s shaking shoulders.
“W-What…” Ithiel began to sob, crying pitifully like a child. Ice was about to lift a hand to place on his shoulder, but froze up when he heard the end of the sentence. “What… are you? What do you know that we don’t? What are you here to do?”
Ice stopped breathing.
Ithiel glitched. It was once, completely tearing apart his figure, before returning to normal. The youth was crying worse, maybe having noticed it, tears flowing down endlessly. “W-Why… There were always times we couldn’t hear you… Why i-is it that now… Bugged? What is that? Is there a bug inside me? H-How do you know?”
The information overload shocked Ice. Helpless, he tried to order his thoughts, but Ithiel grabbed his hand and tugged at him, begging for some sort of support. His pale eyes were shining with his tears.
Another glitch happened, causing the young elf to break down completely. Maybe, at this point, he was fearing for his life.
“I do-on’t want to be different… I’m scared… Turn it back! Turn it back please! I beg of you!” The cries turned into one long sob.
Shocked, unable to speak, Ice pulled the youth into a hug. The NPC was trembling in his arms.
When does a human start?
Somehow, it seemed like NPCs had a sort of filter whenever players talked about game matters. Maybe they thought of it as natural, which was why they never asked. That filter was something applied to all the humanoid AIs within the game.
If an AI could surpass the limits of its programming, was it still just an AI?
Haven’s AIs could learn. Everyone knew that.
But doesn’t a human have to learn, too? Don’t they learn about feelings as well?
But could an AI go past what it was programmed to do? Was a learning ability enough to destroy the boundaries of its settings? Was it even possible for a human to create such a thing?
But if it did exist, if there was an AI that could learn and develop freely, that was able to acquire traits of a human – how long could it still be called just an AI?
Was it greed? Gluttony? Sloth? Wrath? Lust? Envy? Pride?
Was it love? Was it hate?
Was it the ability to decide based on emotions? To overcome your limits in a crisis? To be irrational?
What traits did a human have to be, to be human? A human born without a certain feeling, wasn’t that still a human? So, was it the shell that made it human alone?
Did something need flesh and blood before it could be called alive?
Ice’s throat felt choked up.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The NPCs in Haven were lifelike. They were… like dolls. Carefully crafted, a tad bit too perfect in their expressions, a tad bit too deliberate.
The owner of the castle… was not. He had been like half a human, broken apart, not quite wrong but not quite right, not there yet to truly appear like a real person, but already being so close to one.
Ccv atf bcf lc tlr jgwr?
Ktf bcf ktb wbegcfv tlr vfjv qjgfcar jujlcra tlr qgbugjwwlcu? Ktf bcf ktb uba rmjgfv ktfc atf vloofgfcmf kjr qblcafv bea? Ktf bcf ktb, revvfcis, mbeiv tfjg atlcur tf rtbeivc’a yf jyif ab tfjg?
If the filter was automatically applied to those the system recognized as AIs… What would happen if it didn’t recognize a target as such anymore?
Could an AI created to think it was real, realize it was not?
Lf vlvc’a xcbk.
Lf vlvc’a xcbk ktja ab vb.
If this was part of the storyline… It was way too damn cruel.
“It’s alright”, Ice whispered, patting the youth’s back. “It’s alright. Don’t be scared. We… We aren’t here to hurt you.”
“W-What am I supposed to do…” The youth weeped. “I d-don’t want this…”
“Ignore it whenever you hear Foreigners talk about weird things. Better yet, avoid us.” Ice decided on a solution quickly. “Just act as usual. I know someone who I’ll ask for help. Nothing bad will happen to you, alright? There’s no bug inside you. It’s only a term. I’ll come back to you.”
“O-Okay…”
The NPC flickered again. Once the flicker calmed, his face relaxed too. It was likely the system doing its work.
Inexplicably tired, Ithiel swayed where he sat. His eyes drooped along with his head. Seeing that, Ice awkwardly lifted him up and maneuvered him to the sofa inside the room. After covering him with a blanket, he left. The youth needed time on his own.
Downstairs, Bloodless Sunset was waiting alone. Arms crossed, he leaned against the wall. When he noticed Ice, he stood up straight. “Ice-”
The mage felt the sides of his lips drag downwards. It was impossible to correct. He clenched his hands into fists and hid his face behind his long hair.
Bloody approached him with slow steps. When the tips of his shoes were visible within Ice’s lowered view, the mage could feel a hand on his back. Without strength, he put his head on Bloody’s shoulder, then nuzzled it into the nape of the beastman’s neck.
As if he wanted to hide.
“Did something bad happen just now? I’ll listen”, the wolfman murmured, his hand patting Ice’s back in a calming rhythm.
Ice moved his head left and right the tiniest bit. Bloody sighed in response but didn’t pry.
The elf could only lift his arms to return the comforting hug, closing his eyes.
Was he… going insane? Was he interpreting too much into lines of code?
But why did he keep on feeling that it was not just a bug?
Was… he the wrong one?
Bloodless Sunset waited patiently. As a beastman, his body temperature was higher – especially higher than Ice’s. It was like hugging a warm blanket.
Not as soft, though, but the firmness of the person he was leaning on was a different kind of comfort. That there was someone steady who could keep him up if needed.
“Ice… Jian Lin, are you sure you rested well enough? After the accident with the capsule? I’m not saying the hospital missed something, but there’s things like shock and all…” Although he was worried about offending his friend, Bloody didn’t think there was anything unusual about being under the weather after a near-death experience.
“I don’t know.” Ice’s voice was muffled against the leather of Bloody’s armor and his skin.
“Just tell me when you need a break. Uh, if you need a pause from Haven, I’ll take it with you.” The man wracked his brains. “We could play other games, like during the break. Or I can go over to where you live? I can stay nearby if you want to talk or meet? If that helps?”
Well, they were neighbors.
That realization was incredibly calming. In the worst case, if he needed it, not only could he call his grandfather. He could also go one door over and knock.
Ice shook his head again, which resulted in a somewhat intimate nuzzle. He hugged Bloody tighter, glancing over his shoulder and looking at the fluffy wolf’s tail. It was curling up a little bit. If Ice remembered his info right, that was a mixture of relaxation and attention?
“I’ll take you up on that offer when I need it”, he said with so much warmth that it stunned Bloody momentarily. The mage ended their hug, giving a sheepish smile. “I’m better already.”
He’d directly contact the developers about this. No matter what they said, he’d return to check up on Ithiel once the current quest was done. If he was lucky, he might find out enough about the curse to work it out with him.
“Don’t you think this curse is odd?”, he wondered out loud.
“It sure is. It doesn’t even sound like a mainstory, because Haven has been around for so long and I’ve never heard someone mention it even once. It could be part of a later update, but it’s still odd. Want me to ask around in the forums?”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“It’s a game.” Bloodless Sunset spread his hands. “If it’s a bug, they’ll fix it. If it’s a secret, why not share it? If we’re… If you are lucky, we will get some hints on how to help the castle owner. …Wait, I’m not unlucky in reality.”
He hit his own forehead.
“Stupid stats. Anyway, the rest are checking out the book Ithiel left us. They think we will find our solution after we uncover the truth about the curse.”
“We have to leave Ithiel alone for now. Looking through books is a good idea.”
Although he said that, Ice soon excused himself to go offline for a moment.
He called Zhang Ziyi, filing a report about Ithiel’s behaviour and asking about the Internal Fragmentation.
Zhang Ziyi got her info soon enough, although her answer didn’t satisfy him. “No bugs spotted. Internal Fragmentation sounds weird as… heck if you ask me, but it’s confirmed as part of the game. As for that NPC, scans were fine. There might have been a hiccup as you guessed, but it won’t be permanent.”
Having gotten as much as an answer as he would get, Ice returned to the game.
Thoughtful, the mage stared at a book without reading it. “…Would you all say an AI can become self-aware?”
“No”, Spiderlily replied curtly.
“I’d not think so”, Blackstone gave her opinion after a pause. “Is this about our previous talk? With the AIs being close to human?”
“It’s impossible”, Little Droplet decisively said. “Wouldn’t that mean creating something completely equal to a human? Who would have the ability to do that?”
“But there is Abzu”, Bloody interjected. “Isn’t it called an AI that’s on the level of a human?”
“Yeah, but no one has ever seen… ah, talked to it. Except for some high-class people. I find it hard to imagine. Haven’s AIs are based on it, no? So it’s close to humans, but that doesn’t make it equal.”
“Imitation is ultimately just imitation.” Spiderlily shut her book. “No matter how realistic a copy is, it cannot become an original.”
The opinions were split.
Even in reality, the matter of AIs was a complicated topic. The last generation was roughly able to imitate human emotions, but it would quickly grow stumped when faced with more philosophical questions. When compared to them, Haven’s AIs were a huge jump in quality.
Originally, it made people suspicious if there weren’t humans behind the NPCs, but there were simply too many. It was a whole population.
“But what does your question have to do with what we’re searching for?” Blackstone waddled over, checking Ice’s book.
“Oh, I was just… thinking about the Fragmentation…” Ice closed the book again. It wasn’t of use.
Spiderlily closed hers as well, putting it on a pile of books she had looked through. Hands on her lap, she spoke to everyone. “What I have found so far are only hints about Solstice’s history. In my opinion, these people are ashamed about angering their god, so they have hidden their history. It’s very well possible that not even everyone knows it. There are smaller passages and signs hinting at the creator being a dragon, which would confirm what the driver had told us. With the difference that the dragon is not just a god, but the god of Haven.”
“Did you find anything about a treatment?”
“Only guesses. This author here…” She lifted a small notebook that reminded everyone of a diary. “She was trying to find a way to rid her people of the burden they carry. She mentions something about a sacrifice once, but nothing is confirmed. At the end, she says… There is no way for her people to correct her wrongs. The only way for things to change… would be if someone outside helps.”
She cocked a delicate eyebrow. Outside was a special word when you considered that the players, from the point of the NPCs, came from another continent.
“Huh. So does Haven have an overarching story, after all? I mean, it’s been out for years and this would be the first sign of one. Seems a bit much.”
“Player numbers have reached a new peak recently, though”, Little Droplet reminded the wolfman. “According to statistics, more players are active than ever before. It could be a marker? Or a reaction to the users demanding an overarching story?”
That was a possibility. Many users wished for some sort of overarching story and lore to explore. They wanted to work towards an ultimate goal. While Lusanna Corp was completely ignoring some requests, like changing the mage difficulty level, they listened to others, like the marriage system.
It wasn’t unlikely that they were adapting now that people were asking for it. Not that it would be hard to hide its implementation – who would notice a few more books added somewhere? Who would notice NPCs lamenting about a thing that was hardly a common conversation topic?
In fact, there weren’t any graveyards around anyway. People were burned to avoid plagues, which obviously made it hard to guess if people were reacting differently to others dying.
In many cases, like with the plague of the Red Forest, the NPCs’ reaction could be explained by saying “they were lamenting the loss of work forces, not of personal relationships”.
Author’s Note
I’m still stuck on planning the second arc. It will be at least more classic than this one ahaha.
Little Theater
Ice: nuzzles Bloody
Bloody: hiccups
The hug scene was so cute ( ꈍᴗꈍ)
This makes me wonder more and more whether Haven is actually just a game
Thank you for the chapter!! ❤️❤️
Nyehehe! First arc will give the answer to that question~
of course, either the programmers of Haven designed these AI to gain sentience, or these programmers didn’t, the latter of which is a big breach of ethics, programming the Artificial Generalised Intelligence to be smart without thinking about the implications. 👀
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ahh!! this drawing, I remember!!!! T_T give Ice a hugggg
NEW IDEA, OWL! Why have artificial tails/ears when they can have +18 times in game in some special double-consent adult feature? ;P
AI becoming sentient is a pretty classical VRMMORPG line though, isn’t it? XD
Oh they’re gonna do stuff in the game, absolutely. xD They just gotta marry first (I actually have to find a place to add in the info on how Haven decided on physical contact)
Yeah I guess it’s a classic but the existential crisis is less xD
Huggies 🥺💕💞💖
Thank you for the chapter~
Aww~ what did you guys do to that poor clumsy elf? He thought he has a bug living inside him xD
It’s really interesting were this is going. And I still want to know more about Abzu.
Thx for the ch and the fluff ٩(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )و And the artwork :3
Thanks for the chapter ♥️♥️
thanks for the chapter <3
Thank you for the chapter 💕
I’m totally with Ice on this one! Why must you be flesh and bone to be human? If you can feel, and think and learn and have Opinions then are you not sentient? are you not a person? Rights for AI!!!!