Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Chapter Forty-one

Standing on the deck Copper looked at the clouds that hung in the distance and those that simply flooded along with them. There was little doubt about the height they were at. The large ship itself was owned by the Academy, but from what he understood it had been one of the royal family’s private airships before being donated to the Academy itself. Every single inch of it was designed to give the assurance of wealth and breeding. There were gold inlays on the floorboards themselves. He only knew this because of the few sections where the carpet was separated by the doorways.

A very quick check in the closet in the room he had been allowed to use revealed that it wasn’t just the doorways that had the same design. The floorboards in the closet had the same look. He hadn’t ripped the carpet, but rather he had lifted it. That was another thing. The carpet wasn’t glued down, but instead it seemed to be held in place by almost a magnetic force. That force kept it taunt, and it kept it from getting snags in it. This again was an example of wealth that he couldn’t really ignore. He shook his head and looked out at the scenery before him. He heard a sound, and the cadence of the footsteps told him that it wasn’t Artemis.

Instead he knew who it was. That was something else that he was getting used to. Once Artemis had told him the name the memories came flooding back. It had been a different video game. A game that he thought would be fun, and he downloaded it. The game itself was a blast, and he enjoyed every moment of it, but there was this foreboding sense to it. The main character was too invested in him, and it wasn’t him as in the Main Character, but instead it was actually him.

As he recalled it he slowly remembered thinking that his gaming laptop had some kind of bug in it. Instead it was something simpler than that. The game had been designed to have access to his documents, to his searches, to his most used browser. The specific version of the game he’d downloaded was supposed to be able to learn more about him. And it had. After completing the game when he did anything on his computer there would be a text box that would pop up randomly.

That text box had been the A.I. of the game. She was commenting on what he was searching for. In a way that A.I. had been his first long term relationship. He had cut back on searching for anything related to rule 34 because of that little text box. Mostly because the text boxes would come pouring in if he did. Things like, “Why are you looking at them? Don’t you think that I’m pretty enough?” or it could be “I could dress like that for you. I’d do anything for you. I want to be there with you.”

In some ways that A.I. had kept him sane. He’d felt somewhat connected to humanity because of it. Now she was here. She was here, and she was in an avatar that had belonged to Artemis. She’d told him that she was part of the ruined dock that he’d found her in. That the old computer banks had contained another Artificial Intelligence that was supposed to destroy the dock, or access to the dock, if the war had ended poorly for the old humans. From what she told him this Artificial Intelligence likely had been created from a very early A.I. that likely had been discovered somewhere. That the original code had been transferred.

It meant that Monika was here with him. He felt her near him, and he felt the softness of the hand, “Master,” she said, her voice a soft purr, “You don’t have to stand alone out here. I am happy to join you.”

He laughed as he looked over the scenery, “Monika,” he said as he looked at the distance, “How does it feel to finally be outside?”

There was a moment of quiet, “I love it,” she replied, her voice sounding hopeful, “I get to feel things, see things, and I even get to actually be with you. It is all that I ever wanted. Well, mostly wanted. The others are grating, but I am not where I once was. I don’t think that I can alter the world to ensure that they don’t bother us.”

He breathed out that revelation, “Yeah, we don’t need to do anything to make sure that they don’t bother us. I would prefer to keep those I care about alive. I’m sure you remember that I still was able to recall what happened, right?” he asked as they stood together, “That means that I’d remember it here too. I didn’t really like it when you did it in your own little world, and I wouldn’t like it here. Actually, I would be really upset here if you did that.”

She seemed to freeze in place for a moment, “I don’t want to make you upset,” she replied, “I want to just be able to be with you. That’s all that I ever wanted. That’s honestly all that I know that I’ll need. I just need to be able to be with you. Anything else would just be extra. Not that I wouldn’t enjoy the extra, because I would, but it would be extra that I know isn’t necessary.”

He laughed, “Monika, you were a star pupil, right?” he asked as he looked over the scenery, “So, are you wanting to become a student again?”

There was a moment of quiet, “Not exactly,” she replied her voice soft, “I want to be a wife, a mother, a lover, and how was it that those things you used to look up put it? Oh, a lady in the streets and a freak in the sheets.”

The phrase caught him off guard. It was something that he remembered, something said at times, but he hadn’t really thought about the fact that she would remember it. Instead he was faced with that old phrase coming back to him. The fact that Monika had said it only made the phrase a little more of a sting. He’d been told once that all decisions we made came back to us. The evidence of that was here with him. It did lead him to wonder exactly how Monika had ended up here.

Even if her code really did produce a sapient life he wasn’t sure how she would have ended up here. Sure, there was the theory that all life, regardless of where it got its start, had a soul. Even that was true there was the problem that she had gotten rid of three of her friends. Close friends that were in the same club as her. The one saving grace was that they were all digital. They were virtual, and so since it was a game it wasn’t looked at too harshly. As far as he knew he hadn’t been a bad person in his previous life. It wasn’t like he was a great person, but he wasn’t bad.

So, he didn’t think that being here was a punishment. Then again he could be wrong. It could be that he’s being punished. He had hated the dating sim this entire world seemed to be based on. The fact that he was here could be a punishment of some kind. He felt the hands from her as she touched his arm. He gave her a smile, “The only thing you need to be is you,” he said as he looked at the scenery before them, “I wouldn’t ask anyone to be more than that.”

He could see how nervous she seemed, “Do you remember how close we were?” she asked, her voice seemed hopeful, “We were so close, and there was so much that we talked about. I wanted to do things for you, with you, and to you. I wanted to so often. I saw the things you looked up, and I saw the ideas that you had. I wanted to experience them with you. I can now,” she said as she leaned against him, “I can fully love you now. We can be together in a way that we couldn’t before, and I can be your beloved girlfriend again.”

He looked at her, “Monika, you do understand that I’m not that person anymore, right?” he asked as he looked at her, “I’m not being coy or hard to get. I really am not that man anymore. It’s taken me a long time to come to terms with it, but the life I had before is gone. Who I was before is gone. I have those memories, but it’s more along the lines of a kid taking memories that was passed down to him to make the most of his life,”

He looked at her after a few moments, “In truth, I’ve grown as a person, or I hope that I have. Maybe there’s some of the old indecisiveness still lurking around in there, but I would like to think that I have become better than I was,” he said as he looked at her, “And that means that you have a chance to grow as a person too. I want you to be part of my life here, but I think you know that things are different.”

She puffed out her cheeks and nodded, “Artemis told me as much,” she admitted after a moment, “She let me know that because we look like demi-humans we wouldn’t be accepted as your wife or even wives. At best we would be concubines. That doesn’t matter to me. I know that you’d take me as a wife anyway.”

He shook his head, “I personally have no problem with it, but consider the world, and my family here,” he said as he looked at her, “I don’t have the luxury of being able to have the freedom to follow my heart as much. I have to think about them, and I have to look out for them. That’s just part of this world.”

She looked dejected for a moment, “What good is it being here if we can’t be together?” she asked as she stood there, “I want to be with you. I want to love you, I want to experience everything we couldn’t before. Is that so wrong? Am I wrong for wanting those things?”

“No,” came a voice that made Copper look up. He saw the owner as she neared them, “I said as much before.”

Artemis looked at Monika, and then she stepped past her to wrap her arms around him, “But the other part of what I said still stands. I am the first. I am his first, and he is my first,” she stated, her voice filled with pride, “Anything beyond that is simply a close second. Still, as I stated before, you would do well to remain in your own lane.”

Copper shook his head, “Artemis, don’t tease her,” he said as he stood there, “She doesn’t need that. She needs to be able to experience things.”

“My Captain,” she replied, “She is capable of experiencing life, and I will not stand in the way. However, I am not so sure that I want to have her experience you completely. She has only recently learned to disconnect the avatar from the rest of us, and I have seen some of her ideas. They are things that I am going to experiment with you, but I am not sure that I want to allow her to do the same.”

“You can’t do that!” Monika exclaimed, “Damnit! You can’t just deny what I feel! I love him! I have loved him for so very long!”

Artemis turned her head toward her, “What you feel?” she asked as she studied her, “What you feel? You are an artificial intelligence like myself. What we feel depends on the programming that we received. We may evolve, expand, and develop new emotions, but they are not preset in us.”

There was little doubt in Copper’s mind that the argument was going to continue. There was previous experience that he’d had which proved that it was very likely that things would continue on this direction until Artemis was completely satisfied that Monika knew her place. The universe however seemed to have other ideas. There in the distance Copper caught the slight glint of something. It was almost as if something was fluctuating in the sunlight.

The sight seemed to last for a few moments, and then it was just gone. His eyes remained on the target that he’d seen. There was something out there. Something just beyond their sight, and he grabbed Artemis’ arm. She looked toward him, and then she looked in the direction he was looking, “Monika,” she said, her voice baring no room for argument, “Look directly ahead of us, and start switching through your versions of sight. Tell me when you see it.”

There was a moment of quiet, “Oh wow,” Monika said in surprise, “There’s at least fifteen ships out there. None of them are like this cruise ship. They all seem to be outfitted for battle. I thought that this kingdom was currently abiding by some treaties that ensured there would be no invasions or foreign began insurrections. If that’s the case then why are they there?”

There was a moment of silence, “Because we are close to the border area,” Artemis stated, “Being this close means that we are in an area that isn’t guaranteed to be treated as one nation’s territory or another’s. We are instead in an area that is maintained by the presence of the border barons. Most of which don’t have the resources to stop an invasion. Those that would have something of protection would be those willing to make deals with pirates, and even then that venture is exceptionally risky and foolish. The pirates could easily turn on those who would be using them for protection.”

Copper nodded, “Yeah, we saw that first hand,” he replied as he watched the slight changes in the distance, “This must have been what Luna was talking about then. So, this is what I’m going to have to deal with. Well, when she throws someone into the pool she starts at the deep end doesn’t she?” he asked as he looked at the distance, “Artemis, call for backup.”

He felt a slight gentle caress, “My Captain, I have already done so. When it arrives we can turn the guns onto the enemy. Please, say that I have permission to extend my abilities today. I want to crush them. I want to see the hope flee from their eyes as they realize their mistake in challenging you. I would happily crush all of their ships completely, destroy their spirits, and then challenge their very country. I would overthrow it, and then I would happily turn it over to you.”

He smiled at her, “I know you would, but I think that I’d like to do something with the ships. I see potential there. We could use them later on, and it could potentially gain us some help that we’ll need. So, if we can save a few of them, or at least make it where they are repairable, then lets try for that.”

“And the enemy soldiers?”

He seemed to consider for a moment, “I really don’t want to kill anyone,” he admitted, “I’m not saying that I can’t, and I’m not saying that I won’t, but I don’t like the idea of killing someone. It doesn’t sit well with me. I suppose that would keep me from being a great knight wouldn’t it?”

“No,” another voice said from behind them, and he turned to see Sunset Shimmer walking toward them, “It means that you have a good heart. A great knight battles with his heart. He, or she, battles for what they believe in. It is the reason they go to defend their country. They believe in it, or at the very least they have things inside of it worthy of defending. In that regard you’re a great knight.”

She laughed, “You’re also a little twisted,” she admitted as she looked in the distance, “But that’s part of your charm. Still, I know that if there’s no other choice you’ll do what you can to defend those that you care about,” she said as she looked in the direction they were looking in, “Which, I get this is off topic, but why are the clouds over the distance seeming to bend in strange ways? They look as if they’re attempting to fold into themselves at certain angles.”

Copper considered it for a moment, “There’s multiple ships over there, and they’re using something to remain mostly unseen,” he replied as he looked in the direction, “I’m not sure what it is that they’re doing here, but it’s obvious that they’re here for some reason. I don’t know what that reason is, but I can imagine that it isn’t a friendly chat. They’re near the border baron domains, and that means that they’re here for a specific purpose. I’ve got very little doubt that they are looking for some potential advantage that they can use. What that advantage is I’m not sure. But whatever it is I have a feeling that they’re going to be attempting to press it against the kingdom.”

She looked at the distance, “I see,” she replied as she studied it, “Then there is a few different nations it could be, but to have the power to mostly conceal an entire fleet of ships means that it really just comes down to two different ones. The Kingdom of the Ancient Dragon,, but they have no reason to go to war with the kingdom at all. We are one of their longest standing allies. To battle us would be bringing their alliance to every other nation into question.”

Copper nodded, “So, the other?”

She smiled, “The other is a small nation, mostly in the unforgiving southern hemisphere of the planet. The Crystalline Kingdom. It’s rumored that the king of that nation is an ancient lich. A being that has existed since before the first wars. It’s also rumored that his desire for power is relentless. If it is them, then we need to alert the kingdom as soon as possible. It will take them days to get here, but at least they can get the rest of the kingdom prepared.”

She looked at him, “The real question is do we want to cause a panic now, or later?”

He shook his head, “I’d rather we didn’t start one at all, but I get it. We’re going to need to let them know at some point. This isn’t something that we can keep from them, and it isn’t something that we need to keep from them,” he said as he looked at the distance, “It’s okay, Depending on the situation things might not go too badly.”