Chapter 19: Friday, the Smart Assistant

Rowan smirked. "After your performance, someone's bound to ask why your suit is so powerful. Just tell them it's because the armor is made of Krol Alloy."

Tony: "…"

Of course. So that's what this is about.

"I'm Iron Man, not some Captain America running around securing sponsorships! Don't even think about it!"

Tony snapped, clearly annoyed.

"I'll give you priority access to the newest grades of Krol Alloy."

Rowan replied casually.

"That's a privilege reserved for the official brand ambassador."

He added.

Instantly, Tony's expression flipped. Beaming, he handed Rowan a glass of water.

"No worries! I'll head to a party tomorrow!"

He could hardly imagine how powerful his suit would become once it was fully upgraded with Grade-10 Krol Alloy.

"Now that's the attitude I expect from a proper ambassador."

Rowan nodded approvingly and gave Tony's armored shoulder a pat.

He took a sip of the cold water Tony handed over and casually ran his hand along a row of chips laid out on the table, each shaped like retro game cartridges.

They were labeled with names like Friday, Allen, and EDITH.

Rowan's eyes lit up.

Artificial intelligences?

"What's this?" Rowan asked, feigning casual curiosity.

"Oh, these are AI assistants same as JARVIS. Just not as advanced in terms of logic processing."

"Artificial intelligence? Interesting."

"You want one? Take it."

Tony plucked the chip labeled Friday and handed it to him. "Friday's pretty solid. Great for managing tasks."

"Can it analyze human movements? Like martial arts, yoga, boxing?"

Rowan asked.

"Of course. That's basic functionality. I've backed up all relevant data available online."

Tony gave a smug smile.

He'd spent a great deal of time collecting combat data to gain an edge in close-quarters fights.

"Perfect. I'll take it!"

Rowan grinned as he accepted the Friday chip.

"And here's the Arc Reactor. I wouldn't recommend carrying it around all the time, though."

Tony reached under the table and pulled out a gleaming new Arc Reactor, placing it in front of Rowan.

"You're not worried I'll take it apart and reverse-engineer it?"

Rowan joked, twirling the device in his hand.

Tony smirked. "I added a failsafe. If the casing is opened, the internal components and circuitry will auto-destruct."

He spread his hands innocently.

Back at the S.H.I.E.L.D. apartment, Rowan didn't waste a second.

The moment he stepped inside, he eagerly retrieved the Arc Reactor Tony had given him.

Instead of using the usual levitating charging dock, Rowan activated the Reactor and directly touched his ring to the connector at its base.

The moment they made contact, the ring began drawing in energy like a surge of electricity.

One of the previously dimmed gemstones embedded in the ring started to glow with a misty blue light.

Rowan's heart lifted.

It was recharging far faster than the charging dock ever managed.

Eyes fixed on the gemstone, he watched as the swirling blue mist gradually filled its interior.

After about thirty minutes, the previously faded gem was nearly fully recharged.

At this rate, it would take just under an hour to fully power up a single stone.

He glanced at the Arc Reactor's energy reading.

Ninety-one percent remaining.

"So a fully charged Arc Reactor can only light up six gems?"

Rowan frowned slightly.

The Arc Reactor didn't generate infinite energy.

It consumed palladium.

Which meant he'd need to replace the palladium core every time he recharged six gems.

Quite the hassle.

"Maybe I should guide Tony into inventing the new element a little earlier…"

Rowan muttered to himself.

With the new element as the Arc Reactor's core, energy output and longevity would drastically improve not to mention eliminating palladium poisoning altogether.

He secured the ring to continue charging and pulled a small device from his bag something resembling a projector.

It came bundled with the AI chip.

With this setup, the AI assistant could scan, speak, record audio, make calls, and access the internet.

Rowan plugged it in and inserted the Friday chip.

"Beep beep beep…"

The indicator light flashed red a few times before settling on a stable blue glow.

"Sir, Friday is pleased to serve you."

A calm, clear male voice emerged from the device. Courteous, with no emotional variance, yet exuding patience.

"Friday, who holds your highest-level access rights right now? Is it Tony or me?"

Rowan asked the one question he cared about most.

"Sir, Mr. Stark has cleared all permissions. You are now my sole owner."

Rowan paused, considering how much he could trust that statement.

In the original Swallowed Star storyline, Luo Feng had received an intelligent battleship from Hong, but it turned out that Hong had retained primary authority over the AI. Luo Feng's access was secondary.

There was no way to verify it now.

Best to play it safe.

If Tony ever used Friday to spy on him, Rowan might not be able to hide the fact that he could travel between worlds.

"But if I use Friday only in the Swallowed Star universe, Tony won't be able to do anything…"

Rowan smiled to himself.

There was no way Tony Stark could communicate across universes.

As long as Friday operated only in Swallowed Star, there would be no leaks.

Feeling reassured, Rowan asked, "Friday, I've been training in a new exercise routine, but my form isn't quite right. Can you analyze videos I've been studying and help correct my technique?"

"Yes, sir."

Friday replied without hesitation.

"Excellent."

Rowan nodded in satisfaction.

Lately, he'd been practicing the Ten Foundational Movements of the Extreme Martial Hall, along with power techniques taught by Instructor Wu.

Once he officially became a martial artist, he'd need to learn footwork, blade arts, and advanced internal energy techniques. While he could figure things out on his own, having an AI assistant guiding his form was clearly superior.

Friday's intelligence level might still be limited, but analyzing the basics should be well within its capabilities.

With more exposure to training data, Friday would gradually improve.

After all, JARVIS only became smarter through years of learning alongside Tony.

Rowan had no doubt that Friday would evolve too.

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