Chapter 283: The Competitor (3)
‘She wants a space battleship…’
Of course, he didn’t mean to stop her. It was her temper to have what she wanted. Still, Yoon-seok explained out of courtesy. He said that the actual battleship was not an item, so it would be useless in the Tower even if it were stolen. So, it might be better to buy it in the store with AP. However…
“I’ll take care of that problem myself.”
He didn’t have to worry about that, in other words. It’s not like she wanted a space battleship just because she needed it in the Tower.
“So, can I go with you?”
“Yes. Of course.”
Yoon-seok readily nodded. However, one problem came to mind later. The starting position was random when they first visited another dimension. In that sense, was there any point in going together? When he brought it up, Cheon-ma nodded in agreement.
“Unless we have the means to keep in touch from a distance, like a messenger hawk, it could take a year to meet.”
One year wasn’t the problem, but they might not see each other forever. After all, wasn’t it Taklan, the extremely advanced space civilization? It would be a mistake to think of it as about the same size as the Earth. Of course, it wasn’t there was no way at all.
He could register her with b Death God} and follow her. Well, then there was a problem that all stats were reduced by one level, but…
‘…Shall I ask her first?’
Maybe Cheon-ma could remove the status debuff. However, right when he was about to mention it.
“As long as it is in the same dimension, I can know! Where Mother is!”
Yongyong opened his mouth one step earlier. He looked happy to be of help. When Yoon-seok stroked his head, Lynn crossed her arms and snorted.
—Huh. Why are you making a fuss over that? If you register your biometric information in advance, I will track your location too.
“Umm…”
There was a nerve war between the two. Anyway, the problem was resolved. If there were a way to find each other’s location, they would easily meet.
“Then it looks like it has been settled, so I’ll see you there.”
Cheon-ma returned to the Tower first. Yoon-seok returned to the Tower a moment later and finished registering the Taklan Dimension using LP.
[A new dimension has been registered.]
[You can now use a Return Ticket to move to the registered dimension.]
There was no need to purchase a ticket separately. He already bought quite a few spares and stocked them up in his bag. But the moment he tore a ticket-
Sweeesssh.
He suddenly remembered something.
‘Ah…’
Come to think of it. He got a call from Elle earlier. What was it for?
[You will return to Taklan.]
Well, seeing there was no further contact, it didn’t seem like it was urgent… but he was still a little concerned.
* * *
When he first went to Moorim, he appeared near the Namgoong Family manor, and when he went to Seheranbad, it was in the middle of the beast people tribe’s territory. So, where would he start this time?
Yoon-seok stiffened.
‘I didn’t expect this…’
As soon as he opened his eyes, Yoon-seok could see the infinite black of space and the huge spheres populating it. If his prediction was correct, this was space. It was a harsher environment than any other.
‘…I feel stuffy. Is it because of the pressure?’
He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
‘But why is my body so hot?’
It was as if he was basking in a hearth. Yoon-seok was at a loss for words again as he turned around.
“…”
An intense pool of light danced and fluttered in a sphere made of translucent layers behind him. He would have gone blind if it weren’t for the reflective injection of mana into his eyes.
—Raijin Fusion Reactor.
As he was mesmerized by this mystery of the universe he had never seen before, Lynn’s voice resounded in his head.
—Simply put, it’s an artificial sun.
‘Oh, I see.’
It was the sun, but he was confused because it was blue instead of red.
‘But if it’s artificial, does it mean that it is man-made?’
—It is recorded that the Taklan Empire mobilized all its capabilities about 150,000 years ago as the galaxy’s life was nearing its end and energy conduction efficiency fell.
Lynn later told him that this artificial sun was also called the Heart of Taklan. Yoon-seok listened with interest.
‘…But how do you know this?’
—Because the ancient aliens who created me were the ancestors of the Taklan Empire.
‘I still don’t understand. Don’t the ancestors mean that they were from the long past?’
—Fufufu, time doesn’t matter to those who glimpsed the memories of the universe.
It sounded like she wanted Yoon-seok to admire it, but it was hard to understand.
‘Well, is it something like foresight?’
—It’s different from such low-level superpowers, but… it’s something similar.
Yoon-seok’s eyes lit up at the half-positive answer.
‘…So, can you possibly know what the future holds?’
—I only remember the information they recorded.
In short, it meant she only knew what they told her…
‘How much do you know?’
—Wouldn’t it be quicker to ask what you don’t know, Captain?
Suddenly, her tone became arrogant. Yoon-seok asked patiently.
‘Did the ancient people tell you about the Tower?’
—Huh! Are you curious about it? The answer is yes!
An unexpected answer returned. However…
‘When did this Tower first appear?’
—…
Lynn grew quiet.
‘…What is it? You said there was nothing you didn’t know?’
His disappointment was as high as his expectations. And was that reflected in the way he spoke? Lynn shouted as if she was wrongly accused.
—Huh, however! For some reason, most of the information about the Tower has been deleted!
Yoon-seok guessed as much. After all, the Tower wasn’t easy to deal with.
‘Ah, did you get nerfed?’
—N-nerfed…?
‘You said you knew everything. You don’t even know what that is?’
—…
‘Haah. Of course. That’s right. I shouldn’t have wasted time.’
—T-that’s something I am sorry about.
Lynn was politely apologizing. Well, she had some more whining to do too.
—Huh, but wouldn’t it be okay to speak a little more kindly? To think so…
‘Never mind, where should I go?’
—…
‘Don’t tell me. You don’t even know?’
—…The main fuselage must be summoned to recognize Cheon-ma, Zheng So-wol’s, biometric information.
She sounded sulky now. However, Yoon-seok didn’t bother to comfort her. Yongyong was the same, but Lynn needed to be a little more humble.
‘So I just need to summon it first, right? Commander’s co…’
—Wait! Stop it!
‘Why? You told me to summon it, didn’t you?’
—The current location is too close to the Fusion Reactor. Summoning me here will inevitably result in irreparable damage.
Yoon-seok tilted his head.
‘It’s indeed close to the Fusion Reactor, so why?’
—Why? This is a temperature the main fuselage cannot withstand!
He still didn’t understand. It was a little hot, but was it that bad?
‘…But I’m fine?’
—What do you mean by that?
Lynn shouted as if he were saying something strange.
—Captain, you are not human, are you!
Well, that’s true…
For some reason, Yoon-seok felt sad.
* * *
Following that, Yoon-seok summoned Lynn after walking (?) farther away from the artificial sun. Then they tracked Cheon-ma’s location.
—Hmm, these coordinates are close to Zarostan.
Zarostan was one of the seven major planets under the direct control of the Taklan Empire, and… it would take about ten days to get there.
‘The scale is different here.’
Yoon-seok was amazed again. It was surprising enough that this place was made up of several planets, but it even took ten days for Lynn to traverse when she circuited Earth in an hour.
—Oh, I think there’s a misunderstanding. It means that it takes that much to get to the major planet where the Warp Gate is installed.
Yoon-seok’s jaw dropped upon hearing that it would take a year to drive directly there. How vast was this place?
“Okay, so let’s go.”
—…Rokai.
“It’s uncomfortable to hear that, so don’t do it from now on.”
—…
Lynn, sitting next to Yoon-seok, pouted at his scolding and set the space battleship off. Her nose was starting to run as she sulked off on her own.
‘Was I a little harsh?’
“Oh, that’s right. Is it the Space and Time Jade? What’s that place for?”
—…Are you curious?
Yoon-seok held back his laughter as an answer returned after another minute of sulking.
“Of course. Who else would I hear it from?”
Well, he could hear it from Lee Su-yeon if he used the communication function in two days… but Lynn seemed pleased to hear Yoon-seok’s question.
—…Huh. Captain, you are very lucky to have a close look.
The corners of Lynn’s lips rose. She was very easy to deal with.
—Time and Space Jade is the name given to the planet Telken.
Starting with this, Lynn began to explain, and Yoon-seok was generally satisfied. Except for the parts where the explanation was too fuzzy or when she bragged about herself in the middle.
“In a word, there is a planet connected to another dimension.”
—This is what we call the Void Dimension.
“Anyway, the portal opens only once every five days due to some supernatural phenomena.”
—It takes 112 hours for the released fusion energy to become supersaturated.
“…So you’re saying that the Taklan Empire is using the entire dimension as a prison for criminals?”
—Note that there is a time lag each time the portal is opened, so a day there are about five days here.
“Ah, yeah. Okay, I see…”
Yoon-seok already felt exhausted. Why was she so obsessed with precision? From a conversation standpoint, it was very annoying. However, there was nothing else to do during the ten days of travel.
‘It’s funny to come all the way here to practice.’
Yoon-seok continued his space voyage while listening to various stories about Taklan from Lynn.
‘By the way, there hasn’t been any contact.’
Even after two days passed, no communication request had come from Lee Su-yeon. Yoon-seok was a little worried about that, but maybe she was in a hurry and forgot to tell him about the time gap.
—…Captain! It’s a Space Pirate!
Yoon-seok, thinking about Lee Su-yeon’s safety, hurriedly returned to his senses at Lynn’s urgent call.
“What! Space Pirate!”
Isn’t that a man’s dream? As soon as he heard the term from Lee Su-yeon, Yoon-seok wanted to see it someday, but he didn’t think he would.
Bzzzz. Bzzzz.
-Ah! Can you hear me?
The moment Yoon-seok clenched his fist, an unfamiliar voice resounded from the ship speakers.
—This is the territory of the Autemer Union. Identify yourself.
“Autemer Union?”
—That’s the name of the pirates.
It felt quite noble for the name of a bunch of pirates. Was this normal here?
While Yoon-seok was thinking about that, Lynn nagged him.
—Captain, go ahead and give orders.
Looking at the screen, three huge space battleships were approaching at high speed. Yoon-seok looked at it for a moment and then muttered softly.
“Engage them in battle.”
—Seeing that you have no intention of communicating, it’s so you, Captain.
Was that a compliment? Or should he answer back? He didn’t know, but Yoon-seok felt joy.
Until Lynn poured cold water on him.
—Huh. But do you think the Captain, who is like a newborn baby when it comes to ship battle, will win against three units of new generation battleships?
“…You never know.”
—Is this the arrogance of a beginner? Wouldn’t it be possible if you were that good of a strategist? A captain who does not know the basics of tactics has a 0% chance of winning, so it would be wise to simply hand over command to me.
Unfortunately, Yoon-seok didn’t intend to. Instead, he recited the only known attack command of MTAE-014.
“Nuclear Plasma.”
Dozens of artillery aimed at the three enemy ships. At the same time, the mana drained from Yoon-seok.
—How dare you to engage in battle with such a cheap aircraft?
The enemy’s comms buzzed in. Yoon-seok pressed the fire button in his head without hesitation. However…
Whoosh-!
“…?!”
The dozens of nuclear rays scattered like dust before they hit. The enemy ships were left intact.
“What?”
—Didn’t I tell you? They are much newer aircraft than us. Nuclear Plasma? Do you think junk weapons from tens of thousands of years ago will work?
“But I’ve poured out all this mana.”
—The output is not the problem.
“…”
Unable to contain this miserable feeling, Yoon-seok went silent, and Lynn sneered at him.
And that moment-
—Avoid turning it into powder. Even if it’s cheap, it’ll make money if we sell it.
Hundreds of robots started pouring out like flies from the enemy’s battleship.
—It’s not too late now. Hand over command to me and watch what I do. Captain, you don’t even know what functions the main fuselage has, right?
That’s right. Seeing Lynn so confident must mean there was a way to win with this junk. However, there was a law of purity even for a beginner captain.
—First, we will use the jumping function to jump into the outer dimensions. Then convert the automatic intercept system to manual…
“Open the hangar right away.”
—What are you talking about now? There are no aircraft in the hangar…
Yoon-seok jumped up from his seat without saying a word. Lynn was shocked.
—Captain, No way…
Perhaps what she was thinking was correct.
“Yeah, I’m going straight out.”
Nuclear Plasma doesn’t work? There aren’t any combat aircraft in the hangar? What should he do about it?
—…!
He still had his swords left.