Chapter 575: Human Vs AI

At this moment, Vega’s clone continued to draw mana from the air with intense fervor. The clone had recently broken through a minor mana rank, but Vega knew no further breakthroughs would occur. Still, it didn’t matter, the clone continued absorbing mana without pause, undistracted and tireless.

As for the real Vega, she had already left her building. Anthony had forgotten to inform her that they wouldn’t be staying in this place for just two years, but rather ten. It wasn’t really his fault, though, it was Aaninja’s fault for failing to deliver the gift on time.

Vega could now be seen walking through a forest nestled deep within the Divine Realm. The trees were towering and radiant with life, their leaves vibrant and lush. The air was rich, pure, and thick with natural mana. Birds chirped merrily in the branches and even landed on Vega’s head, as though they had chosen it as a nesting ground.

Although Anthony had shown her around the area before, she still chose to take a few hours for herself to stretch her legs and explore. After all, she had been training with her weapon for five consecutive years, with almost no breaks or interruption.

She only paused to rest briefly, cleanse herself, and then resume. She had never trained for such a prolonged period before, five years was no small feat. Besides, it was technically her clone doing all the rigorous work while she enjoyed a more relaxed existence.

Her father would not have approved of such a thing. But he wasn’t here in the Divine realm to object or reprimand her.

“Didn’t he say we’d only be training for two years? It’s been five already, and he still hasn’t said anything… hasn’t even come out. Did he forget the mission, or has he simply been swallowed whole by his training?” Vega murmured softly as she strolled among the trees.

Still, she made no attempt to disturb Anthony. If he had forgotten the mission, she didn’t see anything particularly wrong with that. It was, after all, just a mission, and not a time-sensitive one.

She continued her personal excursion until she reached a serene lake, its surface crystal-clear and calm. She stood at the edge and watched as fish swam in coordinated schools, moving as though migrating with the rhythm of the seasons.

After spending a while wandering around the area, she approached a large tree and climbed it gracefully, perching on one of its broad branches.

“It seems there’s no concept of night here,” she murmured to herself, her eyes lifting to the ever-gleaming sky. It suddenly struck her, the sun hadn’t moved from its position above the horizon for the past five years since her arrival.

Vega simply sat there, poised like a sentinel on the branch, accompanied only by the whispering wind and the wide, endless sky.

No Veronica. No Anthony.

‘Who would have thought a day would come when I’d miss someone, or even think about a man, like this?’ Vega thought to herself.

‘I suppose love really does make one blind.’

She had missed Anthony these past five years, but she remained disciplined and composed. She would not intrude simply because of a personal longing. She knew when to be playful and when to be serious.

Vega gave a soft sigh and shook her head. ‘I should clear my thoughts and make wise use of the time I have left here.’ With that, she leaped gracefully from the branch. Her feet touched the ground with a soft, precise landing, like a leaf falling in rhythm with the breeze.

‘Although I don’t usually focus on hand to hand combat, I should sharpen it. It’s always been one of Father’s advice, in case I ever lost access to my weapon,’ she mused.

With a flick of her hand, a sleek, black robot materialized before her. “Boot up,” she commanded calmly.

Beep.

“Voice recognized.”

“Good day, Miss Vega.”

The mechanical voice issued from the android in front of her. She had named it simply Robot, not out of affection, but from sheer laziness.

“It’s been a while, Robot,” Vega said casually.

“How may I be of service today, Miss Vega?” Robot asked, its voice polite and emotionless.

“Nothing too complicated,” she replied. “Today, we’ll be sparring, hand to hand combat, for the next few years.”

“Affirmative, Miss Vega.”

Without hesitation, the robot activated its battle mode. Its metallic plates shifted and flipped like a transforming shell, rearranging themselves with high precision. Its eyes flared with orange light, mechanical thrusters unfolded from its back and calves, and it adopted a combat-ready stance.

“Battle mode: hand to hand combat activated.”

Vega nodded. This robot was one of the gifts her father had given her, claiming it originated from a mechanical race. She didn’t know much about that race, but her imagination filled in the blanks well enough.

She assumed her own stance. Hand to hand combat was probably her weakest field of battle. But that word, weakest, was relative. What was weak to Vega could still be overwhelmingly dangerous to most opponents.

In an instant, both robot and Vega lunged at one another, their speed blinding. The soil beneath them erupted and shattered with each step. In the next split second, two fists shot forward and collided, flesh meeting metal with raw, explosive force.

A shockwave rippled from the impact, detonating the air between them with thunderous intensity. Another punch followed. Then another. And another. Their arms blurred into motion, fists colliding again and again with machine-like precision and unrelenting speed.

Every time Vega sparred with Robot, she found herself momentarily awestruck by how perfectly it matched her. She didn’t know the exact mechanics of how it worked, and honestly, she was too lazy to find out.

She had once asked Anthony if the mechanical race ever participated in the Starborn Tournament. He had replied that he hadn’t seen them.

It baffled her. How could a race capable of building something so advanced not participate in an event that spanned the entire galaxy?

Anthony had speculated that, perhaps, the mechanical race had no need for the tournament’s resources, being mechanical, they may not require traditional sustenance or mana like other races.

Their battle escalated. Trees were flung backward, uprooted by the sheer force of their movement. Two streaks of light, one organic, one artificial, crashed against each other again and again in a deadly ballet of hand to hand combat.

The robot moved with cold, mechanical precision, but Vega moved with zero human error, her form honed by years of relentless clone training.

The air around them became heavy with kinetic energy, each movement echoing with devastating purpose. Though their strikes left craters and rifts in the ground, neither of them slowed. They were matched, not just in power, but in rhythm.

And so, the duel between Human and AI began.