SCT-Novel Chapter 1076: Safety First
Chapter 1076: Safety First
Well, why not?
Why wouldn’t the system that had worked tirelessly for who-knew-how-long welcome itself back after a successful update that would surely make its Host proud?
D-29 came to this conclusion quite confidently.
And as if supporting its logic, the virtual celebratory poppers exploded once again.
Unfortunately, before the little system could even begin proudly listing all the new capabilities and future possibilities it had unlocked—
It suddenly froze in shock.
Because its Host had abruptly started bawling.
"!!!"
Tears streamed down Luca’s face as he hiccuped helplessly right there in bed.
"Host!" D-29 panicked immediately at this extremely sudden development because, logically speaking, weren’t welcome-backs supposed to be joyous occasions?
Or was the design of the prompt it chose too unsightly?!
Then again...
Perhaps it would have understood the reaction better had it realized just how worried Luca had been the past three days.
Xavier gently wiped away the tears that kept falling one after another while Luca struggled to steady his voice.
"I’m—hic—so glad you’re back!" The dungeon owner cried out.
"I was really worried because it took—hic—too long this time, and there was no way to figure out what happened to you!"
D-29, hearing this, sounded genuinely surprised.
"I apologize, Host!" the little system responded quickly.
"I-I simply attempted to complete all the updates in one go! Because I believed you would greatly appreciate several of them!"
"It was technically possible to process them separately. Actually..." D-29 corrected itself mid-sentence. "After initialization, it became apparent that completing them in sessions would have been more optimal."
"However," it continued proudly, "doing so from the beginning would have caused you to lose several potential financial benefits. Therefore, I concluded that completing everything in one go was the superior option!"
The little system continued enthusiastically.
"And even if the process required significant computational power and dungeon energy, I believed that as a reliable manager, I could certainly accomplish it!"
"And I did!"
"Now we are fully prepared to maximize the benefits of upgrading to Level 4!"
D-29 finished proudly.
Then paused.
Because instead of receiving the massive celebration it expected for its successful high-risk optimization strategy—
Luca suddenly said something completely unbelievable.
"It’s alright if we don’t get all the benefits immediately," the known money-grubber said while rubbing at his eyes. "Staying safe is more important."
"What?" D-29 sounded visibly confused now because none of its gathered data was properly accounting for this response.
Luca finally managed to calm down slightly, though he still wore an extremely relieved smile.
"D-29 is irreplaceable," he said sincerely. "So you also need to be careful. If it’s not something related to life and death, then safety should come first."
"But Host—"
Luca tilted his head slightly before interrupting softly.
"I really don’t think any benefits would be worth exchanging you for."
"..."
While D-29 described the update process as something manageable, Luca—who had listened to Count Alexander’s praises and gradually come to understand the system’s capabilities better than most—was fairly certain the reality had been far more difficult than it was letting on.
And while he was incredibly relieved that everything succeeded...
He also became absolutely certain that D-29 needed to stop taking unnecessary risks.
After all, what if something similar to what happened to D-64’s original programming occurred simply because D-29 pushed itself too hard?
"Wouldn’t it be better to stay with us," Luca continued gently, "and remain the manager of managers for as long as possible?"
"!!!"
Now that...
That definitely sounded ideal for the hard-working system.
Staying employed for as long as possible.
Remaining together with everyone.
The little system seemed to quietly ponder over those words before shyly responding,
"I-I see..."
"I shall revise the order of priority for subsequent tasks accordingly, Host!"
Xavier, who had been quietly observing the entire exchange, finally reached up and rested a hand atop Luca’s head.
"You should probably follow the same advice as well," Xavier said teasingly.
The startled chipmunk immediately flushed after realizing he’d just been indirectly called out.
"Now that you understand this," Xavier continued with a smile, "both of you should really prioritize safety first."
"!"
"Hic—!"
The Imperial Prince could only shake his head at these two.
"In line with that, if D-29 can finally explain the risks related to the sudden gate, then we can properly proceed with everything else," Xavier said, smoothly redirecting everyone back toward the actual issue at hand.
"Ah! About the Bridge!" D-29 reacted brightly, as if only just remembering it existed.
At that, Luca, Xavier, and even Sid immediately focused on the little system.
This time, D-29 had referred to it differently.
Not the gate.
The Bridge.
Naturally, the three waited intensely for the next explanation.
Only for all of them to nearly fall over from D-29’s cheerful declaration.
"I actually still don’t have that much information about it!"
"..."
"..."
Xavier immediately buried his face in his palm.
"But it’s not as bad as before!" D-29 hurriedly continued. "I now know that it should generally be safe! It’s just that the more detailed explanations can only be properly accessed once the Archive reconstruction finishes!"
"Archive?" Luca repeated curiously.
"Yes!" D-29 chimed happily. "It appears we’ll gain significantly better access to information once the reconstruction is complete!"
"But as for the bridge itself, after the firmware update... I can tell that it actually falls under the category of utility buildings. More than that, the associated tags are training, resource gathering, and communication!"
The little system practically rattled all of that off in one breath.
Meanwhile, both Luca and Xavier slowly straightened where they sat as more and more alarming yet intriguing terms surfaced.
"So if that’s the case," D-29 concluded optimistically, "then shouldn’t it generally be fine?"
Xavier, however, immediately narrowed in on the concerning part.
"Is that everything regarding the gate... no, the bridge?"
"Hmmm..." D-29 hummed thoughtfully. "Well, there’s also the matter of additional phases being required before its complete form can be unlocked."
"However, the conditions for initializing the subsequent phases appear to involve clearing the currently available levels."
"!!!"
At that, Luca and Xavier instinctively looked toward the still deeply suspicious prompt riddled with question marks.
Luca eventually asked, "D-29, you mentioned we can obtain more information once the Archive is restored, right?"
"Yes, Host!"
"Then... how long will the reconstruction take?"
The question was genuinely earnest.
Surprisingly, though, D-29’s projection flickered strangely at the inquiry.
"Ah... well..." the little system started awkwardly.
"?"
"It could technically be completed as soon as we want it to be..."
"What? Really?!" Luca perked up instantly. "Then can’t we just finish it as soon as possible?"
"Theoretically, yes!" D-29 replied. "We simply need to supply the required materials."
That sounded reasonable enough.
After all, reconstruction projects naturally needed resources.
Luca nodded readily. "Ah! That makes sense! So what exactly do we need?"
Meanwhile—
Xavier and Sid both developed extremely bad feelings upon hearing D-29’s suspiciously careful tone.
And unfortunately for them...
Their instincts were absolutely correct.
"Well..." D-29 answered weakly, almost like it was incapable of looking its Host in the eye despite not physically possessing any eyes without its mecha body.
"It’s mainly this, Host..."
A projection immediately appeared before them.
Luca tilted his head in confusion at the list of unfamiliar materials filling the screen.
But strangely enough, the materials themselves weren’t actually the most alarming thing.
No.
The true horror was the gigantic progress bar displayed directly underneath them.
[1 / 50,000,000 CP]
"..."
"..."
So much for needing methods to ease Luca into sleep.
With that single number alone—
Lights out ended up guaranteed.