I was able to secure all the black stones of the control objects I had intended to obtain from the west of the mountain range.
In addition, I had obtained many other black stones, star tree seeds, and even a new staff.
The results were far more abundant than I had expected.
The team members and I headed for the “Wizard’s Tower” in high spirits.
After walking for a day and a half, we arrived at the canyon where the tower stood.
The canyon had not changed since we had left.
The inside of the canyon was piled with gray snow, and in its center stood the lone tower.
“There’s no dark light.”
Hanna also told us there was nothing wrong.
[It is fine for now, but we cannot let our guard down.]
Soph was right.
We could not be ambushed the same way twice.
After sending the team members in first, I laid down several layers of warning magic at the entrance of the canyon.
With the magic set up like this, I would be able to detect it immediately if someone crossed over through spatial movement.
In the worst case, we could flee back through space as well.
After setting up the magic, we went down into the tower’s basement.
In the empty basement, I stood before the spatial movement device and operated the shelf.
Tom asked,
“Where are we going?”
“A fair bit of time has passed, so we’re going to the terraforming ruins.”
“Tsk. I suppose we should.”
Tom smacked his lips. The others also looked regretful.
It seemed everyone had wanted to go to the underground city.
But too much time had passed.
It was time to return to the terraforming ruins.
Flaaaash!
White light covered the world.
As we crossed through space, I saw several paths I had not taken before.
It seemed possible to transfer onto those paths, but for now, I decided to simply return.
Flaaaash!
The light disappeared, and a greenhouse appeared before my eyes.
A lush greenhouse filled with growing fruits, grains, and vegetables.
The greenhouse beneath the ruins looked similar to the vinyl greenhouses I had seen on Earth.
Looking at the greenhouse, Tom said,
“They really do grow quickly. At this rate, it seems like we won’t need to bring crops over.”
He did not say where we would bring them from, but the team members knew where he meant.
While in the underground city, the team members had seen wheat and other grains packed into several buildings.
At Tom’s words, Magreta shook her head.
“No. There are too many people. If it weren’t for the meat obtained on this planet, everyone would have been malnourished.”
Ever since coming to this planet, people’s staple food had been the meat of native monsters.
I had brought food from Earth and grown various grains in the greenhouse, but those were only side dishes.
Now, even the monster meat was gradually running low.
There were no native monsters left nearby to hunt.
The hunting teams had captured all the native monsters, and after the Akzar monsters appeared, the native monsters had also fled.
It would have been nice if we could eat the Akzar monsters, but those were not edible creatures.
“If we really start running short, I’ll discuss it with Catherine. Until then, I’d like you to keep this a secret.”
“Yes.”
At my words, the team members answered immediately.
Their answer came without question or hesitation.
All of the exploration team members were my people.
After hearing that satisfying answer, I sent the team members up first.
“Go on up ahead. I have something to do for a moment.”
The team members headed for the stairs first.
“Then we’ll go on ahead!”
After sending the team members away, I looked around the underground plaza.
There were three relics in the underground plaza.
The greenhouse, the altar, and the shelf.
The altar had been from the warehouse ruins, but now it looked like a relic that had been here from the beginning.
Thanks to that altar, we were able to travel around this conveniently, but what I needed to check now was not the altar.
I stood before the shelf.
There was no one in the greenhouse or in front of the altar.
It seemed to be break time for the greenhouse, and the technician who had been guarding the altar appeared to have grown lax as well.
The reason I had sent the team members ahead was also because there was no one in the underground plaza.
I took out three black stones and placed them on the shelf.
They were the black stones obtained from the control objects.
The three black stones used when the monsters cast magic, created factories, and moved their bodies.
I intended to process these black stones for use in a staff.
When I placed the black stones on the shelf, Soph grumbled.
[This is a place for terraforming a planet, not for processing black stones. Since it is not repair work, it will not consume much energy, but you would do well to find a proper facility.]
[Does such a facility exist?]
[There should be a tower among the Wizard’s Towers capable of processing black stones.]
Even while grumbling, Soph moved the shelf and began processing the black stones.
The energy that had been flowing out roughly was drawn inward, and the shapes of the black stones gradually changed.
As he processed the black stones, Soph asked,
[Surely you are not asking me to make them spear-shaped again?]
“Yes. That’s easier for me to use, and other people won’t find it strange.”
At my words, Soph let out a sigh.
[……Very well. I suppose my disciple’s luck is simply poor in every way.]
It felt as if I had heard something unexpected, but Soph paid it no mind and finished the black stones.
One translucent stone that looked like a spearhead, and two small stones that looked like accessories.
The three modified black stones floated into the air, then settled onto the new staff in my hand.
Clack. Click. Click.
A black stone embedded like a spearhead at the end of the staff, and the other black stones set like jewels into grooves along the middle.
Once the black stones were embedded, the magic staff transformed into a beautiful jeweled spear.
It was too ornate to be called a spear, but that was not a problem.
[Hide your true form. Transformation.]
With Soph’s magic, the new spear appeared to others as an ordinary spear.
At a glance, it looked exactly like the spear I had used before.
Of course, even so, its performance did not change.
I stared at the spear in surprise.
The processed black stones did not give off any energy on the outside, but since I was holding the spear, I could tell.
Just how incredible an item this spear, embedded with three black stones, was.
“This is truly amazing.”
[It is nothing compared to the energy bestowed by the star tree.]
Soph spoke as if it were nothing impressive, but that was no comparison.
“I wasn’t expecting that much.”
Even if they were black stones from control objects, they could not compare to dark energy accumulated over ten thousand years.
Moreover, even that energy had vanished after a single spell.
In that sense, the black stones were far better.
“Still, with this much, I think I might be able to face a control object.”
[If you and I fight together using this staff, it does seem we would be able to put up a fight. However, there would be no guarantee of victory.]
Even that much was incredible.
To think I could fight that control object one-on-one.
When I thought back to the time I fought the scout before, it was almost hard to believe.
[It also has self-repair capabilities, and I added a few minor functions as well. Check them later.]
I was curious what those minor functions were, but it was about time to head out.
Outside the underground plaza, in front of the stairs, Magreta was waiting.
When I left the plaza with the spear slung over my shoulder, Magreta, who had been waiting outside the door, waved her hand.
“Are you done with what you had to do?”
“Yes.”
There were more things to check, but nothing urgent right now.
I asked Magreta,
“Why didn’t you go ahead?”
“We have to report together anyway. That’s why I waited. Surely you’re not planning to report alone now, are you?”
At Magreta’s words, I shook my head.
“I have no intention of doing that. Let’s go together.”
Magreta approached me with a smile on her face.
Together with her, I headed for Catherine’s office.
When we went upstairs, people saw me and stepped aside.
Their reactions were different from when I had become the exploration team leader, or when I had taken on the position of deputy commander.
Back then, there had been more people who looked at me with curiosity, but now it was not like that.
“Everyone saw a little of Hyeon’s true worth while hunting, after all. No, wait. You’ve changed again this time, so maybe they still don’t know?”
People bowed their heads to me, and others waved.
Americans and Koreans alike greeted me.
People did not notice that the spear on my back had changed.
The same went for Magreta.
We passed by the people greeting us and entered Catherine’s office.
When we went inside, Catherine welcomed us warmly.
“Welcome back. I heard you had arrived.”
It seemed the team members had gone up first and told her.
She seated us on a leather sofa newly made by the blacksmith, then sat down across from us.
Perhaps because she had rested for a few days, Catherine’s complexion looked good as well.
“The fact that you came to see me like this means you have something to report, doesn’t it?”
She had seen us off readily at the time, but it seemed she had not liked that we had kept our destination secret when the exploration team went to the ice planet.
With a bitter smile, I told her about what had happened west of the mountain range.
How we had departed from the Wizard’s Tower and discovered the flying ruins.
How we had fought the monsters attacking those ruins, obtained black stones, and even received seeds from the star tree.
I left out the parts about obtaining the new staff and killing the control object to obtain its black stone, but I told her everything else.
I could have chosen not to say anything, but if I wanted to trade the black stones we had brought back, I had no choice.
These black stones were not something I had obtained alone.
The team members who helped obtain the black stones also had to be rewarded.
Hanna, in particular, could not be overlooked.
Catherine looked at the black stones I had placed before her and seemed dumbfounded.
She let out a sigh and asked me,
“You want to trade these black stones for money, don’t you? Since you obtained them together with the team members.”
“That’s right.”
Catherine understood my intentions without me having to say more.
“All right. I’ll handle this.”
If I had obtained them alone, I might have been able to trade with the American Intelligence Bureau, but the other team members could not do that.
“Then what are you going to do with those seeds?”
“I’m going to plant them.”
“If Earth finds out, they’ll want them…. All right. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear about this.”
If she did that for me, I could only be grateful.
After the matter of the seeds was settled, Catherine asked,
“Then is that the end of the report?”
“Yes.”
Anything beyond this was not something to report.
When I said the report was over, Catherine let out another sigh.
“I thought you were going to some hidden secret base, but you came back after doing a mountain of work.”
Catherine glared at me and asked again,
“If that was the case, why did you keep it secret?”
It was a question closer to a complaint, but I answered truthfully.
“There was one other place we stopped by before that. That place was the secret.”
If I had not said anything, it would have passed without issue.
But I deliberately brought it up.
If I wanted to continue the conversation we had been having before, I had no choice.
Magreta was wearing a frightening smile beside me, but there was nothing I could do.
“You mean the secret I can learn only after I make a decision.”
“Yes.”
Catherine glanced at Magreta, then let out another sigh.
“When I return from Earth this time, I’ll tell you.”
At Catherine’s words, I suddenly remembered something I had not mentioned.
“Ah, there’s that as well. The number of people who can go to Earth has increased.”
Now that Soph had regained his memories and I had obtained a new staff, the number of people who could use spatial movement had increased.
[We will need to confirm it, but it seems to have increased by two or three times.]
If that was the case, at least ten people could return.
This time, I intended to go to Earth with my team members.
The Great War (1)