Integral Factor: Ordinal Scale

The Augma And Ordinal Scale

Another irony that Koharu found about Jaymes was that the boy once abhorred artificial intelligence, a result of his upbringing, but ended up becoming an "uncle" to Yui, a "lover" to Strea (don't ask Koharu how that happened), and Rei's beloved "Master." Yes, she called him that of her own volition, yet their relationship was more brother-sister than master-servant.

"This thing," Liz referred that to was the Augma, an augmented reality headset device. As Liz stated, it allows for a multitude of things, but unlike its elder sisters, the NerveGear and the Amusphere, it did not have a FullDive device inside. So, instead of making the real world become virtual with those devices, the Augma brought the virtual to the real world. It was different from what Koharu used to, but it was another step forward in bringing two worlds closer. And it was nice to see the three AIs anywhere without having to tote the camera thing Kirito and Jaymes developed in their school club.

"You sound like you're totally sold on the Augma," Asuna noted.

"Mm, I wouldn't say that. But hey, they did hand them out to everyone going to the survivor's school, right? So the least we can do is take them out for a spin and see what they can do."

"I'm so sorry for the wait. Here are your bonus treats for clearing the game." Four slices of cake were laid before the girls who won them, and each one was chosen almost immediately. When they realized that no one had selected the same one, they laughed.

As she took her cake, Lisbeth explained, "The AI's so sharp, it knows what kind of cake we like. It does a thing they call 'Deep Learning.' Pretty thoughtful. It's even more thoughtful than certain people we know."

Kirito and Jaymes frowned simultaneously. The former Black Swordsman cut eyes to Lisbeth as she took her first bite. "I hear it can even tell you how many calories are in that cake." In the middle of consuming the cake, Lisbeth looked and gasped at the possible number of calories.

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"Wait up, Liz! Where are you going?" As Silica and Philia desperately tried to keep up with a calorie-burning Liz, Koharu walked steadily behind them alongside Jaymes, Kirito, and Asuna. Rain aside, who had split off from the others to go to work, the girls were not shopping at the mall today (subject to change at any moment), so her partner's mood was utterly cheerful despite him holding two school bags on his shoulders. She enjoyed the walk with him, even holding onto his arm as they moved forward.

She heard a message notification tune play in her ear and opened the window. It was a text from her old friend Alexandria that read, "Hey. How's practicing going? The event is a little more than two weeks away, right?"

"Yes, it is. Everything's going well, but to be honest, I need to take more breaks." Koharu followed that with a tired emoticon.

"Correct! Nothing good comes from an exhausted mind. Though I should be telling that dumbass to make sure you're okay." Alexandria sent an apathetic cat emoticon and continued, "Oh well, I can't wait to hear your song after all this time. That and the Yuna concert beforehand!"

A rare display of excitement for the usually nonchalant Russian brought a grin to Koharu. "Yeah, I can't wait for both. We have to meet up at the concert and take pictures."

"You done texting and walking? That's just as dangerous as driving."

Koharu closed the message and rolled her eyes. She had plenty of practice moving and typing on a virtual keyboard within VRMMOs. "And there goes my defense of you against Alexandria today."