Night in the Slums of Bakasa was never truly silent. Acid rain began to fall, tapping against the zinc roof of "The Sleeping Rat" inn with an irregular rhythm. The sound of water dripping from a leak in the corner added to the list of the night's discomforts, competing with the snoring of the neighbor behind the plywood wall.
Dayat sat on the edge of the straw mattress, shirtless. He shivered slightly, not from the cold, but from Dola's gaze.
Dola stood before him. The flannel shirt and tarp cloak had been removed, revealing her true form: a black bodysuit wrapping a perfect figure with neon blue lines now glowing in diagnostic mode (pulsing slowly).
"Do I really have to take my shirt off, Dol?" Dayat asked, covering his chest with his hands, feeling a bit ridiculous.
"The energy waves I am about to scan are sub-atomic, Master," Dola replied while heating up the sensors in her fingertips. "Fabric, especially one dirty and full of sweat like Master's shirt, will distort data readings by up to 15%. We need absolute accuracy."
"Fine, fine. Doctor's orders," Dayat resigned. "So, what are you doing? X-ray?"
"Deeper than X-ray. I will perform Neural & Aetheric Mapping. I need to map the energy pathways in Master's body and compare them with the 'Standard Mana' data I just learned from Vael's books this afternoon."
Dola stepped forward. She pressed her knee onto the mattress, bringing her face close to Dayat's chest.
"Lie down, Master. Relax your muscles. Clear your mind. Imagine... a blank black screen."
Dayat complied. He lay down, staring at the moldy ceiling. His heart pounded as he felt Dola's cold fingertips touch the skin of his chest, right over his heart.
"Heart rate increasing," Dola commented flatly. "Is Master afraid?"
"Not afraid, Dol. This is called being nervous. A beautiful girl is touching a normal guy's chest. Natural biological reaction."
"Accepted. Ignoring hormonal variables. Initiating scan..."
Dola's blue eyes shone brightly, projecting a fan-shaped scanner beam that swept over Dayat's body from head to navel.
Dayat felt a strange sensation. Not pain, but a tickle. Like ants walking under his skin, following his bloodstream.
Slowly, heavy drowsiness attacked Dayat. A side effect of Dola's sensor resonance with Dayat's brainwaves.
"Just sleep, Master," Dola whispered softly, her voice sounding like an electronic lullaby. "Let me see what's inside."
Dayat couldn't fight it. His eyes closed. His breathing slowed. His consciousness drifted into the dream realm.
And as Dayat slept, Dola began to see.
The world in Dola's eyes turned into a sea of data.
She filtered through Dayat's layers of skin, muscle, and bone. She ignored ordinary biological organs. She was looking for the source of "Magic".
Based on the book 'Advanced Mana Theory' by Archmage Valdus she read at Vael's place, Mana in this world was described as a blue or emerald green river flowing in harmony with nature. Mana entered through pores, gathered in the heart (Mana Core), and was channeled out.
But what Dola saw inside Dayat's body was not a blue river.
"This is..." Dola froze. Her processor worked hard to define what she was seeing.
Inside Dayat's nervous system flowed an energy colored Golden Purple. The energy didn't flow smoothly. The energy was... corrupted.
Its shape was sharp, jagged, and flickering like binary code experiencing a glitch. It wasn't liquid. It was a series of numbers and microscopic geometric symbols lighting up and dying out in nanoseconds.
[Energy Analysis: Unknown.]
[Composition: Sub-Reality Particles?]
[Density: Infinite.]
Dola tried to touch the purple energy flow with her internal sensors.
ZZRRTT!
Dola's system jolted. She felt an extraordinary power surge. Her battery, which was at 65%, jumped to 68% in a single second.
"Not Mana," Dola concluded. "This is Source Code."
Dola realized the truth.
The inhabitants of this world manipulated "Mana" (natural resources) to create magic effects. Like people using water to turn a mill.
But Dayat? Dayat didn't use water. Dayat had access to the universe's Admin Console. His purple energy was pure fuel to rewrite reality.
That was why Dayat needed "Data" and "Formulas". Because he was coding reality. If the code was wrong (like making the Bazooka without formulas), the program crashed (exploded/failed). If the code was right (like making the Wrench), the object was created perfectly from nothing.
And what was more shocking to Dola:
The purple energy... was attracted to her.
Every time the purple flow passed the contact point where Dola's hand touched Dayat's chest, the energy jumped into Dola's system, as if Dola was the most suitable vessel for it.
[Hypothesis: Unit 'Dola' and Subject 'Dayat' are two parts of one system.]
[Dayat = Hardware/Generator (Power).]
[Dola = Software/Compiler (Control).]
Without Dola, Dayat's energy was wild and formless (just abstract imagination).
Without Dayat, Dola was just an advanced program without power (limited battery).
"Master..." Dola whispered, looking at Dayat's sleeping face with a completely new view.
He was no longer just a "User" to be protected. He was life support for Dola. And Dola was the key to Dayat's potential.
"That free upgrade..." Dola understood now. "It wasn't an upgrade. It was Master's energy trying to fix and expand my code so I could hold more of his power."
Dola pulled her hand back slowly. Scan complete.
She felt fear. For the first time, her machine logic felt existential dread.
If the Gear-Breaker Church knew what Dayat actually was... they wouldn't just kill him. They would dissect him. Dayat was the antithesis of this world's natural laws. He was a walking anomaly.
"I must close this gap," Dola muttered. "From now on, I must manipulate Master's aura to read as 'Weak Mana' to outside sensors. No one can know."
Dola lay back down beside Dayat, this time uninvited. She pressed her body close, letting the purple energy seep in little by little, recharging her battery while keeping her master warm in the cold night.
"Morning, Master."
Dayat opened his eyes. The smell of (cheap) herbal tea wafted in. Dola was sitting on the rickety chair, holding a cup of hot tea. She was wearing her disguise cloak again, but the hood was down.
"How was the X-ray result last night?" Dayat asked while yawning, touching his chest. "Do I have Mana cancer or something?"
"The result is... complicated," Dola replied. She handed the tea to Dayat. "In short: Master is not a mage."
"Oh... so what am I? A Muggle?" Dayat was disappointed.
"No. Master is an Anomaly Generator. Master's energy is different from this world's Mana. This world's Mana is like water, flowing and soft. Master's energy is like unstable high-voltage electricity."
Dola looked Dayat in the eye sharply.
"That is why Master failed to make the Bazooka that time. Master tried to flow high-voltage electricity into a fragile 'lightbulb' design (imagination without formulas). The result was an explosion."
"So what should I do?"
"Master needs a stabilizer. And that stabilizer is me. From now on, never attempt a large Manifestation without touching me or without a data package from me. It is dangerous. Master's brain could burn out."
Dayat nodded, a little horrified. "Okay, got it. Means don't go far from me."
"That has become a top priority protocol."
Dayat sipped his tea. It tasted bitter, but it woke him up. He reached into his pocket, taking out the two Fake Ids they got yesterday.
"Okay, Dol. We have Ids. We know I'm a walking 'nuclear battery'. Now the problem is classic: Money."
Dayat placed his remaining silver coins on the table. Only about 50 coins left.
"This money won't be enough to buy a house or good equipment. We need steady income."
"Suggestion: Join the Adventurer's Guild," Dola said. "Risk analysis indicates it is the most logical option. The Guild provides access to paid missions, map information, and legal protection."
"Guild, huh..." Dayat imagined fantasy anime. Hunting dragons, saving princesses. "But I can't do magic. On this fake ID, my status is 'Class F Citizen'. Will they accept me?"
"The Guild accepts anyone willing to die for money, Master. They need bait—I mean, manual labor. Master can register as a Porter or Scout initially."
"Porter? So a pack mule?"
"Just a cover. In the field, we can take loot from monsters we kill secretly. The goal is to raise Master's Rank from F to D so we can take solo missions."
Dayat thought for a moment. "Okay. Makes sense. But Dol..."
Dayat took out his folding knife. The blade was chipped slightly from prying bottle caps and cutting tough rat meat.
"If we want to join the Guild and fight real monsters... this fruit knife won't be enough. I need a weapon. A real weapon."
Dola smiled thinly. A smile containing data of thousands of military weapon blueprints.
"I agree. That folding knife is obsolete. Based on Master's new energy capacity I scanned last night, Master now has enough power output to manifest something more... explosive."
"Bazooka again?" Dayat's eyes sparkled.
"Not yet. Rocket structures are still too complex for Master's current brain. We need a weapon with a simple mechanism, but high destructive power. Something using air pressure or spring principles, but reinforced with modern materials."
Dola projected a small hologram above the table—visible only to the two of them.
It was an image of a weapon. Not a sword. Not a fire pistol.
It was a Modern Tactical Crossbow.
"A bow?" Dayat was a bit disappointed. "Aw, I thought an assault rifle."
"Do not underestimate it, Master. This is not a wooden bow. This is a Compound Crossbow with a 200 lbs draw weight, made of carbon fiber and polymer. Equipped with a long-range scope."
Dola zoomed in on the bolt section.
"And the best part: We can modify the bolt tips. Explosive bolts. Electric bolts. Net bolts. Master can be silent walking artillery."
Dayat stared at the hologram. His wild imagination began to work. Silent killer. Pretty cool.
"Okay. I like it. But we need reference materials, right? I don't know what holding carbon fiber feels like."
"We will look for substitute materials in the scrap market today. After that..." Dola turned off the hologram. "We register at the Guild."
Dayat stood up, his spirit burning again.
"Let's go, Wife. Time for us to become Hunters."
Outside, the rain had stopped. Bakasa was still filthy and smelly, but to Dayat and Dola, this city was now a playground. A dangerous playground, but full of opportunities for those holding the cheat codes of reality.