God of Contracts: Strongest Businessman

>SLAM<

The door echoed in its closure as Elian stepped out, a faint smile lingering despite the abruptness of their conversation's end. Reflecting on the brief interaction, he realized its immense impact, even in its brevity. It was like a splash of cold water on a sleepy mind, jolting him to recognize the limitations in his thinking.

He found it ironic that he had intended to pass off the dungeon problem to his mother, only to realize that not only would he need to handle it himself, but that this was merely a fraction of the issues he'd confront as the new head of the family.

Yes, he had resolved to fully embrace his role as the family head, realizing that without earnest dedication, there might soon be no family to lead. He recognized he couldn't persist with his previous lifestyle, not that he could, given the repercussions of the punishment.

To fulfill his responsibilities, he had to tackle numerous tasks within a limited timeframe. But before delving into those tasks, he turned toward the young maid who stood nearby,

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. You could have used a chair," he expressed with genuine concern, noticing that she might have been standing here for a while. Elian's brows furrowed slightly, indicating his sincere worry for her comfort.

"Not at all, young master. I hardly noticed the time, and standing is nothing new for me. I'm quite used to it after spending hours on end in the kitchen," she reassured him with a warm smile, appreciating his concern for her well-being.

"If you say so. Um... Could you make me something, please? I haven't eaten for a while, and I have some work to do later," he admitted with a tinge of shame.

Just moments ago, he had dismissed her, preferring not to have her around. Now, he found himself ordering her to cook for him. As the lord of the house, he had every right, yet his inherent kindness clashed with his actions, leaving him with a sense of guilt and wrongdoing.

But he had no choice here, he wanted to eat. He wasn't really hungry as he could tell his body was satiated. After all, Julia somehow filled his stomach when he woke up.

However what she didn't do was warn his brain about that so the latter was sending him signals of hunger as it still thought that the stomach was empty after days of coma.

Elian could just ignore it, but it would seriously impede him in what he was about to do. Especially now that El wasn't here anymore since he was the one who was able to make his body ignore hunger. Well, he could probably do that too now if he tried seriously but he absolutely didn't want that for many reasons but that's for another day.

So, he absolutely had to eat and who better than his personal chef to help him with that. However, he couldn't just forget what he said to her barely ten minutes ago so it was really awkward for him.

Fortunately, Isabella didn't notice or just ignored his predicament and said,

"Absolutely, I'll get something started immediately. Do you have any preferences or specific requests for your meal?" she inquired.

"Anything will do. Just bear in mind, I haven't eaten for a while, and I'll probably be pulling an all-nighter," Elian replied.

"Understood. I'll have your meal ready in an hour. If you don't mind, I'll take my leave to prepare everything promptly," she responded with a respectful bow.

"Alright, you'll find me in my room," he said before departing.

...

Now in his room, Elian was seated on his chair next to his table. Table, which by the way, was completely empty and would probably even be dusty if not Lys cleaning it regularly.

After all, he only used his bedroom to sleep and everything else he needed was in his lab so it didn't bother keeping something here. And now that he would have to stay away from the lab for a while he realized how isolated he'd made his living space.

The room felt strangely foreign to him, a stark contrast to the organized chaos of his laboratory, which held all the tools of his work.

He couldn't help but regret not furnishing the room with some runesmithing equipment so that he could work away for his lab but he never thought of that simply because it didn't cross his mind that he'd need an alternate workspace. He'd been so consumed by his experiments that he overlooked the importance of having a setup in his room for such contingencies.

'Another oversight due to my obsession,' Elian realized, a frown etching his face. It was one of the lessons gleaned from his brief conversation with his mother. His fixation on experiments had eclipsed everything else in importance.

Witnessing the repercussions, from the barren table to the turmoil in his family, remorse tugged at him, but he swiftly expelled the thoughts with a deep breath. He had more pressing matters to attend to, the most urgent being, of course,

'Book' Elian willed it to appear and in an instant it appeared in front of him closed.

[Yes, Master?]

'Tell me everything, what exactly can you do?' Elian's query was direct and urgent, lacking the leisurely pace of his initial interaction with the book. He was in a rush, devoid of the time for playful exploration, seeking concrete answers and practical information.

[It all depends on you Master, as I was made to be able to do everything and anything as long as my Master is compatible. For example, the only reason I can access any knowledge for you is because of your official status as the Keeper's disciple. Noone else would have the same privileges. It's even more true for contracts. I can help you create and manipulate contracts thanks to your affinity with them.]

Elian was silent as he was digesting what he just learned and he easily understood. The book's functionalities were intricately tied to the master's inherent capabilities, implying that it could be either utterly useless or profoundly impactful, contingent upon the master's latent potential.

'Anything else you can do for me?' Elian asked with some anticipation, clearly expecting more.

Not that an infinite library wasn't valuable; it's just that he was certain that for the challenges ahead, a library alone wouldn't suffice. He needed something more, a tool potent enough to shift the odds in his favor, something groundbreaking ⌜€“a cheat.

The hint from the book's response sparked a glimmer of hope. He hasn't even explored the use of those contracts yet but if it mirrored the caliber of the infinite library, or even half of it, it would be more than promising.

[Yes, I can do many other things for you but most if not all of my functionalities are locked. They will only be available after you fulfill some prerequisites. Unfortunately I can't help you with that.]

Elian was frustrated as he was hyped by the first sentence only to be let down. He felt like a child who was promised a gift but only to learn that the seller was out of stock.

Not wanting to give up on his gifts, Elian swiftly sought an alternative and proposed,

"Can I purchase your user guide?" After all, the book boasted containing the knowledge of the universe, so creating a book about itself seemed feasible. Unfortunately,

[I'm afraid not. While I can furnish information on all that is known in the universe, my 'user guide' isn't known by anyone, even the Keeper, and consequently, it's beyond the scope of purchase]

Surprised, Elian countered, "But you possess this knowledge yourself, right?"

[Affirmative, I possess that information. However, my current status operates beyond the confines of the system, rendering the standard protocols or requisites for accessing said data inapplicable to my state]

"System?" Elian inquired, his curiosity piqued.

[10000000000000000000000000000 Karma Points needed. Proceed?] the book responded, prompting a stunned silence from Elian.

The sheer number of zeros overwhelmed him. Why even ask? With his balance in the negatives, there was no point considering such a purchase. So ignoring this, Elian insisted,

"Book, could you please suggest a way for me to learn about your functions?"

[I'm unable to comply with that request, but I can offer you a suggestion.]

[The Keeper gave you a blank customizable AI assistant that could serve as an interface between you and me.]

[Not to belittle you, but your cognitive abilities may not fully harness all my capabilities. For example, though I possess trillions of free books, it's improbable to peruse them all in a lifetime. Among these volumes could lie clues unlocking additional functionalities.]

"AI assistant? What about you? Aren't you one already?" Elian wondered where this was coming from

[I am the book itself, distinct from Artificial Intelligence. Once you create your assistant, I'll exclusively engage with the AI, no longer communicating directly with you.]

"Interesting." Elian said before adding worryingly "But there are too many problems with this. One, I don't know about the technology so how am I supposed to write such an AI. And even if I start to learn it now, I am not sure I can be good enough to code anytime soon and I am in a hurry."

[No need to acquire new knowledge. The blank AI token bestowed by the Keeper allows you to program it in any language you know. What matters most is your intention. Coding the token aligns directly with your will.]

[When it comes to resources, imagine operating within the Keeper's library through a framework similar to utilizing cloud technology. Additionally, the token offers nearly infinite memory and processing power to your AI during the training phase, gradually scaling it down to match your soul's capacity upon the completion of training.]

Elian was dumbfounded. Did this mean he could potentially train an AI of his choice with what was possibly the most extensive knowledge bank ever? Sure, it was only the free knowledge, the basics, but we're talking about trillions of books on fundamental subjects. And he didn't have to fret over the time the training would take, thanks to access to near-infinite memory and processing power.

There was no doubt about the code he'd write; it was crystal clear in his mind. It would be his first significant project, the companion of his sleepless nights-Zero One, his close friend, hungry for knowledge just like him. Elian was almost on the brink of tears, tears of joy. He'd tried to enhance his friend with Quantaflux, believing it to be the best way, and yet had failed spectacularly. But by some twist of fate, this accident might pave the way for a far better improvement.

He considered informing Zero One but decided a surprise might be better. "Zero One, I need some privacy. Please shut down the cameras," Elian announced aloud.

[Should I activate a timer?] A neutral robotic voice filled the room.

"No need. I'll let you know when it's over," Elian replied promptly.

[Done.]

Once assured of solitude, Elian eagerly inquired, "Can I deploy an existing AI with the token? Like with Zero One?"

[Yes, you can, provided you own the AI. I'll provide the token with a copy of the current version of the AI. It'll be free since you own it.]

"Do it!" Elian exclaimed in anticipation. A series of prompts appeared on the book:

[Understood.]

[Retrieving 'Zero One' data.]

[Transfer to the AI token.]

[Token initialization done.]

[Connecting to the ####### #######.]

[Processing power set increased.]

[Memory increased.]

[Training started.]

[Training in progress... 1%.]

Elian was well aware that training an AI could be time-consuming, particularly when dealing with vast training data like this. However, he found himself unable to look away from the notifications even for a moment.

Recalling the days he spent training Zero One initially, he hoped the near-infinite resources would expedite the process. He certainly didn't want to wait for days, as he did during his first attempt with Zero One a few years back.

To his relief, progress seemed astonishingly rapid, with notifications flashing every ten seconds.

[Training in progress... 2%.]

[Training in progress... 3%.]

[Training in progress... 4%.]

[Training in progress... 35%.] (5 minutes later.)

[Training in progress... 95%.] (10 minutes later.)

Elian, fixated on the notifications, found himself unable to remain seated. He stood, eyes glued to the updates, eagerly anticipating the culmination of the process.

Less than a minute later:

[Training in progress... 100%.]

[Training completed.]

[Testing and Validating.]

[Satisfying result.]

[Processing power and Memory reduced to soul power.]

[Deployment.]

Elian couldn't contain his elation, grinning from ear to ear. He restrained himself from leaping around in his room, eagerly awaiting the outcome. Before long, above the book materialized a floating, luminous orb emitting a gentle, soothing glow. Its surface displayed intricate, shifting patterns reminiscent of intertwining pathways.

Then, a message echoed in Elian's mind:

[Hi Elian, thank you for this unexpected upgrade. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long.]

"..."

[Hm?... Elian?] The orb called him, noticing Elian's silence.

When Elian snapped back,

"Zero One? What's going on with the voice?" he exclaimed, genuine surprise evident in his tone.

Internally, he thought, 'The voice is way too feminine!'