AI Deep Learning

I headed to the Tower for work again today.

Since boss floors can't be repeated, I chose the 16th Floor.

Today's goal was just one thing.

To test the robe's performance.

I figured it was about time I leveled up, too.

At worst, I figured I'd level up on the next floor.

[You have entered the 16th Floor (EXTREME).]

As I entered the Tower as usual, what greeted me, as expected, was the same tiresome jungle scenery.

"Sigh, it's the jungle again...."

It was already so familiar it was almost endearing.

With every floor I climbed, the jungle air grew thicker and more suffocating.

Just thinking that this stifling environment, which had continued since the 11th Floor, was only halfway over made my vision go dark.

There was one slightly different thing about this floor.

It was the unpleasant sound coming from deep within the jungle.

A hissing sound, along with something quickly brushing through the undergrowth.

Before long, the brush in front of me rustled violently, and a monster I'd never seen before appeared.

"A Lizardman."

An appearance that seemed to mix human and reptile in equal parts.

Its body, covered in green scales, looked sturdy, and it held sharp bone spears in both hands.

There were five of them.

The creatures started charging at me, tongues flicking.

"They say if a Lizardman keeps flicking its tongue like that, it means it's really angry."

But by now, I'd already passed the stage where trash mobs like this could threaten me.

I decided to become an efficiency nut.

"Desertification."

Dry sand at my feet swallowed the swamp in an instant.

While the Lizardmen hesitated for a moment, I prepared my next skill.

"Sand Totem."

The number of totems I summoned was twenty.

Several times more than usual.

Long, totem-pole-like pillars of sand rose up over the desert.

I broke off a little of myself, turned it into sand, and mixed pieces of my body into each totem.

Then the totems, which had been pillars, gradually began to take on my shape.

Twenty sand clones, identical to me, lined up before me.

It was a number of clones I normally could never control.

Suddenly, I remembered the boss fight on the 15th Floor from last time.

The memory of overloading my brain while controlling a giant golem and multiple clones at once.

Back then, I thought my head was going to explode.

But now, that was no longer necessary.

I grunted as I pulled out and put on the Legendary Robe.

"Ugh, this thing is seriously way too big."

A child's body.

There was no way a robe that was already a little big even for an adult man would fit me.

"And I can't even get it altered...."

Complaining, I used the robe's only option.

A robe with no stat bonus, and only a single sentence as its option.

[Artificial Mana Core Fabrication.]

I activated the magic within the robe.

Just like a spell I'd known from the start, the way to use this new skill naturally came to mind.

I stretched out my hand toward the sand clones in front of me.

"Artificial Mana Core, grant."

Blue mana circuits were engraved onto the clones' bodies.

Mana began to flow with exquisite precision, like human veins.

And at the center of that flow, where the heart should have been, a brightly shining artificial core formed.

With a satisfied smile, I gave the clones their orders.

"Good. Everyone, attack!"

Even though I wasn't manually controlling their movements one by one, the clones began moving on their own.

Twenty clones charged at the Lizardmen one after another.

A four-on-one fight. There was no way we could lose.

"As expected, nothing beats auto-hunting."

I stepped back with my mind at ease and watched my clones hunting down the monsters with satisfaction.

So this was the ultimate low-effort farming setup.

"...Huh?"

But something was strange.

The clones' movements were far too clumsy.

One stumbled over his own feet while running and fell, while another swung his fist and only sliced through the air.

One of them even tried to fire a sand bullet, but it wouldn't launch, leaving him just making the motions in midair.

There was even one who couldn't dodge the Lizardman's attack and got hit squarely.

Thwack!

The clone's chest was blown open by the bone spear, and sand spilled out.

"No, why would you take that?"

I clicked my tongue.

I guess my expectations were too high.

In the end, unable to stand it any longer, I stepped in myself.

"Ugh, seriously, why can't anything ever go smoothly?"

I fired sand bullets and casually took care of the Lizardmen.

The tide of battle turned in an instant.

From the start, even if a hundred of these things came at me, they wouldn't be my match anymore.

I gathered up the shattered clones and trapped the few surviving Lizardmen in a sand prison.

I needed a training dummy.

I lined up the remaining intact clones in a row.

Each of them was holding a spear made of sand, just the right size.

"All right, watch closely. This is how you attack."

I made a point of stretching my arm out in front of me.

In response to my movement, the clones also awkwardly thrust out their spears.

Flail, flail. Flop, flop.

Movements so limp that not a shred of force could be felt.

There wasn't even a hint of discipline.

"...This time, defense!"

I took a defensive stance with my spear.

The clones couldn't even follow that properly and just collapsed into limp heaps.

I covered my forehead with my hand.

My mind was spinning.

Were these really my clones?

"Come to think of it, it was like this on the 10th Floor too...."

On the 10th Floor, I'd given a sand clone an axe and had it use it.

But because the clones couldn't go beyond my own experience, they had no combat ability, so I gave up on them.

I thought it might be a little better this time with autonomous AI installed, but it was still an idiot.

Apparently, the skill doesn't provide knowledge or experience either.

"No, this can't end like this."

After coming home, I immediately turned on the computer.

And I posted a message on the Mage Gallery asking for advice.

[Title: How Do I Make Summons Smarter?]

Author: ㅇㅇ(D55.555)

My clones now have autonomous AI installed.

I guess they can actually be called summons now?

But they're so stupid they can't fight....

Any way to train summons, or something like that?

ㄴ Magic Is Firepower: Golem-type summons are naturally dumb.

ㄴ Refrigerator: I know a thing or two about summons.

ㄴ Refrigerator: Keep them out all the time and let them watch what you do. Over time, they'll learn a bit.

Refrigerator's comment was crystal clear.

So I should just keep taking them along and let them learn?

"That doesn't sound bad."

I decided to put it into action immediately.

I summoned one sand clone about the same size as me.

The already messy studio apartment suddenly felt cramped.

"Okay. Let's see if I can teach it by making it do some chores...."

I imbued the clone with an artificial mana core and gave it an order.

"Hey, go wash the dishes over there first."

Whether the clone understood me or not, it tilted its head for a moment.

Then it glanced around the room once and, without hesitation, walked over to my bed and flopped down.

"...What are you doing?"

At my question, the clone turned its head to look at me instead of answering.

Pfft.

What appeared on that sand-made face was unmistakable mockery.

"You little bastard...?"

How dare a summon get cocky just because it has a sense of self? You're dead.

I couldn't hold back my anger and turned the clone back into sand.

Looking at the sand scattering across the floor, I let out a deep sigh.

"Ugh, that pisses me off...."

But I couldn't give up.

I gathered the sand again and made a new clone.

Hoping this one would be different, I once more gave it a mana core.

"All right, this time...."

While I was wondering what task to give it, the newly born clone started moving on its own.

I watched carefully to see where it was going.

The clone headed straight for my computer desk.

It naturally sat down in the gaming chair and grabbed the keyboard and mouse.

'...What is it trying to do?'

I watched in shock.

The clone turned the computer on with practiced hands.

Then it launched the browser on the desktop and clicked something from the bookmarks list.

What appeared on the screen was a site I knew all too well.

Hunter Gallery.

"You crazy bitch!!"

I once again ruthlessly turned the clone back into sand.

I stood there blankly for a moment.

The shock to my psyche was too great.

Then, all of a sudden, I realized something horrifying.

"No way... these bastards are copying what I normally do?"

If that was the case, then everything made sense.

The reason the first clone lay down on the bed.

The reason the second clone started browsing the gallery.

It was all because those were the things I usually did at home.

Lying in bed or sitting at the computer browsing the gallery.

That meant there was nothing else for these guys to learn from my behavior.

Suddenly, a deep sense of self-reflection washed over me.

"No way, there's no way I'm that much of a piece of trash...."

I needed to find a solution.

For the sake of preserving my dignity as a human being, if nothing else.

After thinking for a moment, I came up with a brilliant idea.

After turning the computer back on, I launched YouTube.

And typed terms like practical martial arts or swordsmanship into the search bar.

Among the countless videos, I picked the one that looked the most convincing and played it in full screen.

On the screen, a burly man was showing off flashy kicks and punches.

I made another sand clone.

"All right, look closely. That's how you move."

The clone began watching the video, not moving a muscle in front of the screen.

It looked fairly serious.

'Good, this time it seems to be working.'

Feeling relieved, I decided to step away for a bit.

I was going to stop by the convenience store nearby to grab something to fill my growling stomach.

"While I'm gone, don't slack off and keep studying hard."

I made sure to give the clone strict instructions before leaving the house.

And then, ten minutes later, when I came back with both hands full of snacks.

I had to doubt my own eyes.

The martial arts video was no longer on the monitor.

Instead, a garbage video packed with clickbait thumbnails and sound effects was playing.

[Top 5 Worst Monsters Discovered in the Tower!]

[A Frequency That Makes You a Mage in Just One Hour]

The training video I had put on was turned off, and the clone was watching some garbage YouTube video instead.

I ended up dropping the convenience store bag onto the floor.

The road ahead suddenly felt unimaginably long.