Chapter 1326: The Authority

"This is amazing..."

Fiona could barely contain her excitement.

The amount of information flowing through her consciousness was overwhelming, but unlike before, it was no longer chaotic. The moment she became the administrator, the ancient system had begun organizing everything for her.

She could see the entire Floating Island from above. Every structure, facility, energy cable, and active system.

It was almost as if the entire island had become an extension of her own senses.

Then, something suddenly appeared before her.

A translucent blue interface unfolded in the air.

[ Emergency Administrator Protocol completed. ]

[ Administrator recognized. ]

[ Reconstructing primary support system... ]

Fiona’s eyes lit up...

"Primary support system?"

Before she could ask another question, the interface changed.

[ Welcome, Administrator. ]

[ I am Avalon, the artificial intelligence assigned to assist the administrator of the First Citadel and its associated facilities. ]

"Avalon?"

[ Correct. ]

A pleasant female voice suddenly echoed through the chamber.

Unlike the distorted mechanical voice from earlier, this one was clear and calm. There was even a subtle warmth in her tone.

[ My previous functions were severely degraded due to prolonged operation without an administrator. However, sufficient system authority has now been restored to allow me to resume my primary duties. ]

Fiona stared at the cube.

Then her eyes gradually widened.

"Wait..."

A huge smile appeared on her face.

"You’re an A.I.?"

[ Correct. I am the artificial intelligence responsible for assisting the administrator of the First Citadel. ]

Fiona immediately thought of Shane.

More specifically, she thought of Cloud.

Shane had Cloud.

She had seen how much information Cloud could provide and how useful it was to have an intelligent assistant capable of monitoring an entire settlement, analyzing situations, controlling systems, and providing support.

And now...

She had one too.

"Does this mean I’m going to have my own Avalon?"

[ I am already your Avalon, Administrator. ]

Fiona’s smile grew even wider.

"Right... That’s so cool!"

She didn’t even bother trying to hide her excitement.

She had spent so much time relying on her rats to explore the world around her that she had almost forgotten what it felt like to have access to something truly extraordinary.

Now, she had gained control over an entire Floating Island.

And she had an ancient A.I. to help her manage it.

Fiona suddenly remembered something.

"Wait. Can you control the entire Floating Island?"

[ I possess administrator-level access to approximately 73.8% of the island’s systems. ]

Fiona’s smile froze.

"Only 73.8%?"

[ Correct. ]

"Why?"

[ Approximately 26.2% of the island’s systems are currently inaccessible due to severe structural damage, corrupted data, destroyed control nodes, or systems operating under isolated emergency protocols. ]

Fiona’s expression became thoughtful.

"So you can’t control everything yet. Well, that makes sense... "

[ That is correct. ]

"Can you repair them?"

There was a brief pause.

[ With sufficient energy, replacement components, and administrator authorization, I can gradually restore portions of the damaged network. ]

Fiona’s eyes immediately lit up again.

"Then we’ll repair everything."

[ Understood, Administrator. ]

Fiona suddenly laughed.

She had expected to discover an ancient ruin.

Instead, she had discovered an entire technological inheritance.

"Show me everything."

[ Confirmed. ]

The chamber immediately changed.

A massive holographic projection appeared above the central platform.

The entire Floating Island was displayed in three dimensions.

Fiona stared at the enormous projection.

The island was far larger than she had initially realized.

Countless structures were scattered beneath its surface. Some were marked in blue, indicating active systems, while others were marked in gray or red.

Avalon began explaining them one by one.

[ The Floating Island was originally designated as Star-Class Mobile Platform 01. ]

[ Primary functions included planetary observation, large-scale energy generation, environmental regulation, military deployment, scientific research, transportation, and emergency civilization preservation. ]

Fiona’s mouth slowly opened.

"W-whoa~"

[ Under ideal conditions, this First Citadel, a Star-Class Mobile Platform, was capable of sustained limited high-altitude orbital travel. ]

Fiona was stunned.

"Orbital travel?"

[ It is a large-scale artificial vessel designed to resemble a natural landmass. ]

Fiona was speechless.

She had been living on what she thought was a Floating Island.

It was actually a gigantic Anima spacecraft.

And somehow, she had just become its administrator.

"This is insane..."

[ As administrator, you currently possess authority over the available defensive systems, energy distribution network, environmental regulators, Machine maintenance facilities, automated production systems, communication network, internal transportation systems, and multiple research facilities. ]

Fiona’s eyes widened further with every sentence.

"Machine? You mean Sentinel production too?"

[ Correct. ]

She immediately thought about the battle Asad had just fought.

"Can we repair the Sentinels?"

[ Yes. ]

"Can we produce new ones?"

[ Yes, provided sufficient materials are available. ]

Fiona’s breathing became slightly faster.

This was getting better and better.

She had initially contacted Asad because she needed him to deal with the Sentinels.

She had never imagined that she would eventually gain control over the very machines that had been attacking her rats.

"Can you stop the Sentinels from attacking us?"

[ Already completed. ]

"OH? Already?"

[ Upon administrator recognition, all active Sentinel units received an updated command hierarchy. They have been ordered to recognize the administrator and authorized personnel as friendly entities. ]

Fiona’s expression brightened.

"So Asad doesn’t have to fight them anymore."

[ Correct. ]

Fiona immediately contacted one of her rats near the battlefield.

Through its eyes, she saw Asad standing in the middle of the corridor.

The Bone Dragon was still beside him.

The Lich remained nearby.

Around them, dozens of Sentinels stood completely motionless.

"This is perfect... I need to show this all to Shane—Right, Avalon!"

[ Yes, Administrator? ]

"How much of the Anima Civilization’s technology can you access?"

For the first time since Fiona had met Avalon, the A.I. remained silent for slightly longer than usual.

Then the holographic interface changed.

[ Accessing archived Anima Civilization database... ]

[ Warning. ]

[ Database integrity: 41.7%. ]

[ Multiple archives have been corrupted or intentionally sealed. ]

Fiona’s excitement didn’t disappear.

Instead, it became even stronger.

"Intentionally sealed? Why?"

[ Certain archives require higher authorization levels than the current administrator clearance. ]

Fiona frowned, but she didn’t care for now...

"Whatever... Just give me what I can learn for now. Also, let’s focus on repairing this island."