Episode 5
#5
After bringing Alt to the control room, I spoke to Noah.
“Noah, activate the power.”
[Understood. Activating power.]
Whooooom!
Along with Noah’s words, the massive spherical rock at the center began emitting blue light and floating into the air.
The control room’s power had been activated.
After confirming the power was active, I spoke to Noah.
“Does returning to the ground cost points too?”
[Points are not consumed for the ground return function. This is because points are already being consumed by the power activation. The same applies to the scouting function.]
“Got it. Then send Alt to the ground.”
[Understood. However, there is a caution. When robots operate outside the Sky Island, their power is consumed, and if completely depleted after 24 hours, their functions will cease.]
“What?”
Well, I guess that makes sense. It would be stranger for a robot to move on infinite power.
I asked Noah.
“If its functions cease, I have to bring it back, right?”
[That is correct. You can either consume points to refill its power or move it back to the Sky Island to recharge its power.]
Well, I think I get the gist.
Anyway, it means if its functions stop due to power depletion, I have to bring it back to the Sky Island.
Of course, there was no need to change plans or delay further, so I decided to send Alt to the ground immediately.
I commanded Alt.
“Go down to the ground and eliminate the demonic beasts.”
[Understood.]
At those words, Alt’s silhouette vanished in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, Alt had returned to the ground.
At the same time.
[Eliminated Fredathon.]
[Eliminated Crab Ant.]
[Eliminated Crab Ant.]
[Eliminated Hound Dog.]
[Eliminated Hound Dog.]
[Eliminated Metal Centipede.]
[Eliminated Metal Centipede.]
[Eliminated Metal Centipede.]
[Converting to 4,500 points.]
My eyes widened.
No way, had it hunted this many demonic beasts in less than a minute?
Admiration escaped me involuntarily.
‘Wow… wait? But at this rate…?’
I had originally planned to turn off the power immediately after sending Alt, but I changed my mind.
If I could gather points this quickly, wouldn’t it be fine to check the ground for a moment using the scouting function? I immediately spoke to Noah.
“Noah, activate the scouting function.”
[Understood. Activating scouting function. It is currently possible to scout locations within 100 km, centered on the ground directly below the Sky Island.]
Along with Noah’s words, my vision went dark for a moment.
* * *
Shortly after, the moment my vision returned, what I saw was the half-decayed face of some monster.
“Uagh!”
Startled by the monster’s face, I fell backward without thinking.
However, in that situation, I felt something strange.
It was because even though I had fallen backward, my field of vision hadn’t changed.
Then Noah’s voice was heard.
[Only your vision is synchronized with the scouting function. The demonic beast before your eyes cannot harm Master, so please rest assured.]
“Huh… so you’re saying my body is still in the control room?”
[That is correct. I recommend sitting down while the scouting function is active.]
“Oh, okay.”
I sat on the floor as Noah advised and opened my mouth while staring at the oppressive face of the demonic beast.
“How do I move this vision?”
[It is possible to move it according to Master’s will.]
“Will?”
Does that mean I control it roughly with my thoughts?
Thinking that I should move it according to Noah’s words, I tried moving my vision.
Ah! I think I get the hang of it.
Moving my vision wasn’t that difficult.
My vision truly moved freely according to my will.
What should I call this… It felt like I had become a ghost.
‘More importantly, here…’
As I moved away from the demonic beast’s face, the surrounding space came into view.
The Fredathon, become a corpse with its stomach torn open.
And the trashed house.
It was a familiar space.
No, familiar my ass—it was my house.
It was so messed up that I hadn’t recognized it for a moment.
‘Tch—well, it’s not like I’ll be coming home anymore anyway.’
I stopped my pointless grumbling and decided to look around again.
I checked the world through the balcony.
And I couldn’t help but be at a loss for words for a while.
—Kieeeek!!
—Saaah!!
Enormous monstrosities were gliding through the sky, roaring.
The streetlights had gone out, and only burning buildings spewed smoke, illuminating the surroundings.
—Grrr!
—Kyaaah!!
Grotesque monsters on the ground were howling ferociously, tearing into something unknown.
The road was dyed crimson with blood, and not far away, a massive gate the size of a skyscraper emitting an ominous aura stood open.
From beyond that gate, demonic beasts were pouring out endlessly.
“…Ah.”
It was a bleak sight.
Enough to snap my mind wide awake.
For just a little while… no, because I had been in too comfortable a place, I had been unable to face reality and had held onto hope, but as expected, the world had changed not much differently from my predictions.
The world of the regressor within destruction.
“Ha…”
Now this ruined world was the world I had to live in.
* * *
I steeled my heart and left the balcony, looking around.
The world had changed like this, but there should still be survivors.
Holding onto faint hope, I began looking around.
Kboom! Kboom! Kwhoosh!
Then a loud noise rang out, and my gaze turned toward it.
There was Alt where my gaze turned.
I saw Alt sprinting down the street at high speed, tearing apart every demonic beast in sight.
Admiration escaped me involuntarily.
‘Wow… incredible.’
The bodies of demonic beasts struck by Alt’s punches were pierced and collapsed.
And amidst that, a demonic beast that collided head-on with Alt exploded into pieces.
So that was how it hunted.
Pure strength, plain and simple.
That strength itself was at a level capable of exterminating 7th-grade demonic beasts alone.
Truly befitting a robot created for combat.
‘If I leave it like that, it’ll hunt demonic beasts on its own.’
Leaving Alt be, I leisurely floated around and observed the surroundings again.
Then a place caught my eye.
A café I used to frequent—no, visit every day.
A café I had gone to consistently for three years.
I had always solved breakfast there with a sandwich and coffee before going to work.
‘Are Sina and Hayun safe?’
Worried, I headed to the café first.
Having known each other for three years, our relationship was no longer merely shopkeeper and customer, but more like close acquaintances.
As I approached the café, its glass door was covered with newspapers and tape.
I passed through that glass door and checked if they were safe.
“Unni, I hear something outside.”
“Shh! Hayun. You can’t make noise.”
Lee Sina, the owner running the small café, and her younger sister Lee Hayun fortunately appeared safe.
However, their faces looked utterly exhausted, and I could see them trembling with anxiety.
It was probably because of the noise from Alt hunting demonic beasts just now.
Anyway, it was a relief they looked safe.
I immediately opened my mouth to Noah.
“Noah.”
[Yes, Master.]
“Can I bring other people to the Sky Island?”
[It is possible. After sending a purchase offer for an invitation letter to the target you wish to invite, if the target purchases the invitation letter, the invitation is possible. However, with their current points, purchasing the invitation letter is impossible.]
“What? How many points are needed to purchase it?”
[Converting the value of survivors Lee Sina and Lee Hayun to points.]
Converting their value to points?
At Noah’s words, I thought briefly with a bewildered expression.
Could it be that the price of invitation letters differs depending on the survivor’s value?
Soon, along with a ding— sound, a notification window appeared before my eyes.
[Lee Sina – 530,000 points]
[Lee Hayun – 490,000 points]
“What the hell…”
530,000 points, 490,000 points…
Combined, it was 1,020,000 points.
Does it normally cost this much to bring one person to the Sky Island?
I asked Noah with a grave expression.
“Is it normally this expensive?”
[No. It is a measured price because the unique skill ranks of survivors Lee Sina and Lee Hayun are very high.]
“Unique skills?”
What kind of skills did they possess to warrant this level of points?
[May I generate the status windows of survivors Lee Sina and Lee Hayun?]
“You can see other people’s status windows too?”
[That is correct.]
Only then did I realize the true value of the control room.
Honestly, I had thought the control room didn’t have many functions worth marveling at compared to other buildings, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
It turned out the control room also had utterly ridiculous functions.
To think I could even see other people’s status windows…
Checking others’ status windows was impossible for most Saints.
It was an authority only some high-ranking Saints could wield.
No, now isn’t the time to marvel.
I nodded at Noah’s words and answered.
“Show me both of their status windows.”
[Generating the status windows of survivors Lee Sina and Lee Hayun.]
Along with Noah’s words, their status windows appeared before my eyes.
Ding—.
Name: Lee Sina
Level: 1
Unique Skill: S-rank The Only Winter
Strength: 5 Agility: 5 Stamina: 5 Defense: 5
Mana: 2 Mental Strength: 5 Divine Power: 0
Name: Lee Hayun
Level: 1
Unique Skill: S-rank King of the Foxes (狐)
Strength: 5 Agility: 5 Stamina: 5 Defense: 5
Mana: 3 Mental Strength: 5 Divine Power: 0
“Hah…”
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
Well, with things like that, of course their value was high.
To think those two possessed S-rank unique skills.
Indeed, with skills of that level, their values of 400,000 to 500,000 points made sense.
It was then.
—Grrr!
“Shh!”
“….”
The sound of a beast coming from outside the café.
Sina, realizing there was a monster outside, gestured toward Hayun, and Hayun quietly nodded.
With a gravely stiffened face, I went outside the café.
There, a 9th-grade demonic beast Hound Dog with jet-black fur and red eyes, about the size of a large dog, was leading a pack and prowling the street.
—Sniff sniff, grrr!
Soon, the one that appeared to be the leader looked at the café and bared its teeth.
It had realized there were people inside the café.
After that, the situation unfolded in an instant.
—Awooo!!
—Woof! Woof woof!!
—Grrr!!
Along with the howl of the apparent leader, the Hound Dogs surrounded the café and began ramming their bodies against it.
On top of that, the number of Hound Dogs began increasing gradually.
The leader’s howling was causing other Hound Dogs nearby to swarm in.
At the same time.
Crack!
“!?”
“U-unni… what do we do?”
The two sisters’ faces began turning pale.
The more the Hound Dogs rammed, the more the café’s glass door began to crack.
Watching that scene with a gravely stiffened face, I urgently tried to call Alt.
But there was no need.
Kboom! Kboom!
Heavy footsteps resounding from afar.
Having cleared all demonic beasts near the apartment complex, Alt was running out of the complex and onto the street.
Then Alt’s voice echoed in my head.
[Master, I believe I have discovered survivors.]
“Huh?”
When I was momentarily flustered, Noah’s words followed.
[Each robot is equipped with communication functions.]
“So that’s why I heard its voice? No, now’s not the time.”
I immediately commanded Alt.
“Alt, save the survivors.”
[Yes, understood.]
* * *
“U-unni…”
“Hayun, stay away.”
Meanwhile, inside the café, Lee Sina was gripping a mop tightly in both hands, standing with a stiff face.
Cold sweat trickled— down her face.
Her face was filled with fear not unlike her younger sister Hayun’s, but she couldn’t just let her sister die.
Sina turned to look at Hayun, who was hiding behind her back, and said.
“Hayun, go to the kitchen.”
“But unni!”
“Hurry!”
Despite Sina’s shout, Hayun only shook her head back and forth, tears welling up.
It was then.
Kboom! Kboom! Kboom! Kbang! Kwhoosh! Crack!
—Kiiing!
—Kaang!
At the dull thuds and sounds of something breaking from outside, along with the pained cries of monsters, Lee Sina and Lee Hayun’s faces briefly went blank.
What on earth was happening outside?
The café’s glass door was covered with newspapers and tape, and tables were stacked like barricades, making it impossible to check the outside situation.
That very fact made the situation even more terrifying.
“Unni…”
“Shh.”
Sina briefly silenced her sister and cautiously approached the glass door.
It was to listen for sounds, to grasp even a little of what was happening outside.
Sina drew close to the glass door like that.
It was then.
Knock— knock—.
“!?”
“!?”
A sudden knocking sound.
In an instant, Sina and Hayun’s expressions stiffened.
The ferocious cries of the monsters outside had long since vanished.
Then did that mean the one who knocked had killed the monsters?
But how could a person….
The moment that thought crossed her mind, a shiver ran down Sina’s entire body.
That’s right.
It was because she had thought a person couldn’t possibly defeat those monsters.
Knock— knock—.
“W-who is it?”
Sina opened her mouth, her face full of fear.
And the next moment.
“….”
No answer came.
Rather, she could tell that whatever had knocked was leaving with heavy footsteps.
Only when the footsteps faded did Sina and Hayun finally let out sighs of relief.
“Ha…”
“Unni!”
The moment the situation ended, Hayun immediately hugged Sina.
Sina briefly stroked Hayun’s head with a bewildered face, thinking.
What on earth was that just now?
While she was thinking that.
Sina’s eyes went wide.
“Huh?”
A blue notification window had appeared before Sina’s eyes.
Sina opened her mouth with a bewildered expression.
“The Frost… Sentinel?”
* * *
After confirming the situation was over, I once again ordered Alt to hunt the surrounding demonic beasts.
After Alt left, I went back inside the café to check on Lee Sina and Lee Hayun’s condition.
‘Hmm?’
But the two of them looked strange.
It was because they were looking into empty space with bewildered expressions.
“The Frost Sentinel? What on earth is this…?”
“I got something called the Snake That Draws Death, unni.”
As soon as I heard their conversation, I realized what was happening.
‘Looks like a Saint has come calling.’
Saint (聖座).
Otherworldly gods and transcendental beings appearing in the apocalypse.
They were beings who sought out humans they favored to sponsor with points or contract with to lend power—beings who helped people survive by contracting with them in this ruined world.
However, not all Saints were such benevolent existences.
A prime example was the evil gods appearing before the two of them now.
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue in displeasure.
Of all the ones to appear, it had to be them.
The Frost Sentinel and the Snake That Draws Death were notoriously known for their terrible, twisted tastes.
They didn’t help the contracted survivor grow to begin with—they treated them as entertainment.
‘Isn’t there any way to stop this?’
Anyway, it was a situation where I had to stop the two from contracting.
At the very least, the fates of those who contracted with evil gods were never good.
Then Noah opened its mouth.
[Master. If you designate a target, you too can send a message.]
“A message? I can send messages like a Saint?”
[That is correct. Furthermore, you can share the conversation window with the Saints who have approached survivors Lee Sina and Lee Hayun. Would you like to share it?]
For a moment, I was speechless.
To think I could send messages, something I thought was the exclusive authority of Saints…
No, now’s not the time.
Still, this was perfect timing.
Setting aside sending the food I had brought, I had been worried about how to explain the usage of the crafted items.
I immediately spoke to Noah.
“Noah, send my words as a message.”
[Yes, understood.]