[Maybe...]
[There’s no way it would be that easy.]
Apparently, it was impossible to carry around a spatial-transfer ruin and put it to use.
[Unlike the ruins, it is true that this spatial-transfer device will operate as long as you have the relic. However, to gather energy, it must be installed in one place.]
Even I, a complete outsider to magic, could understand that much.
In the end, it meant there was no free lunch.
‘It feels like there should be some way...’
A small idea surfaced in my mind.
It was probably a thought only an Earthling could have.
If it needed energy, couldn’t we modify it to use black stones, like Earth’s ruins?
However, that thought immediately ran into a wall.
‘We can’t bring electronic equipment to this star.’
I smacked my lips and tucked the idea away deep in my mind.
“First, let’s bring a blacksmith and find out whether it can be repaired.”
Magreta agreed with me, and we turned back.
When I turned around, the massive monster fossil blocked our path once again.
A white fossil.
It had petrified into white stone, so I couldn’t tell what its original color had been, but I could tell what it had looked like before becoming a fossil.
The fossil looked completely different from the monsters I had seen on this star.
The monsters Soph called native creatures had many similarities with Earth’s life-forms.
We called them rabbit monsters or ant monsters because they resembled those things.
But the fossilized monster was not like that.
At a glance, it looked somewhat like a centipede and somewhat like an insect, but it was a strange monster unlike either of them.
Though half broken, numerous antennae were clustered around what looked like its head, and several tentacles were attached to its body as well.
The tentacles, hardened solid, looked as if they could be used for both attacking and moving.
[That’s why there was talk that they weren’t life-forms, but biological machines. Even when we dissected the corpses, we couldn’t find traces of evolution. Moreover, like ants, their forms were specialized according to their roles.]
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
Then what kind of work did this one do?
Was it something like a soldier ant?
[What sort of work did this one do?]
At my question, Soph let out a sigh.
[This one is a scout. A low-level object that receives orders from a control object, searches for humans, and either destroys them or sends a report.]
Don’t tell me this entire ruin had been destroyed by a single low-level scout?
[At first, it was truly absurd. A monster that took dozens of mages charging in just to barely deal with turned out to be nothing more than a simple scout.]
Good grief. Then most of the monsters in the footage had been scouts as well.
And monsters like that were still left on this star.
[You were underestimating the mages of this star far too much. Though we were destroyed, we modified this star and ruled it for thousands of years. If they had been any less than that, there is no way we would have met such an end.]
It sounded like boasting, but it wasn’t.
I had nothing to say to Soph’s words.
As I stared at the fossil, the others also stopped walking.
Magreta looked up at the fossil and said,
“It really is terrifying. I’m glad it’s a fossil.”
I asked Magreta,
“If monsters like this are still alive now, do we withdraw?”
“No. We don’t.”
Magreta answered firmly.
“Even if it’s truly dangerous?”
I asked again, but she gave the same answer.
“Yes. Even if it’s dangerous enough that we could all die. Even if the entire team is wiped out, we won’t stop. I can’t tell you the reason, but Earth will keep sending people.”
Magreta shut down the question itself.
I could no longer ask more, but my doubts grew even larger.
I had felt it ever since I learned they had waged a war to obtain the ruins.
As expected, what we were doing was not simply exploration and collection.
On top of that, America wasn’t only planning to use and discard Koreans.
They intended to grind up their own people too.
In the end, it was every man for himself. I had to find my own way to survive.
Soph said,
[If that’s what you’re thinking, first put your hand on that monster’s head.]
I was puzzled, but for now, I did as I was told.
I had developed at least enough trust to believe that Soph wouldn’t make me do something pointless.
[We dissected the Akzar and were able to obtain several pieces of information. Among them, there is something I remember.]
Wooooong.
Energy flowed into the staff.
The staff began to glow.
[Though this one has become a fossil, the circuit used to contact the control object should still remain.
If, like this... we revive the circuit with magic...]
[Circuit Restoration]
Along with the translated incantation, red light flickered around the tip of the fossil’s antenna.
“Huh? The antenna lit up.”
At Hanna’s words, everyone looked at the antenna.
Fortunately, the light vanished immediately.
“No, it didn’t.”
“I thought I saw something... I guess I was mistaken.”
It had been a light sensed only through feeling, but it seemed I would have to be careful in front of Hanna.
[If we set it up like this, we should know immediately if those things appear.]
I could feel the staff and the fossilized monster connect.
I thought I understood what Soph meant.
[If the control object comes back to life and sends a signal, we intercept that signal with magic?]
[You understand that?]
[Yes. I can feel it.]
[Your amount of energy and your senses are truly outstanding... If only your head weren’t so poor.]
As I listened to Soph grumble again, I suddenly remembered something he had said.
It was something Soph had said when we entered the ruin.
Soph had said he knew the entire state of the ruin.
Naturally, he must have known this fossilized monster was here too.
[Don’t tell me you suggested we come here to install this magic?]
[In Earth’s terms, I believe you call it killing two birds with one stone. I intended to bring back materials and install the magic as well. A mage is one who prepares in advance.]
With Soph’s magic finished, everything we truly needed to do was over.
We passed the fossilized monster and went out of the broken ruin.
As we left the ruin, Tom let out a sigh of relief.
“I’m glad. Unlike last time, this ended easily.”
Magreta also nodded.
“I wish every expedition went like this. Last time really gave me a fright.”
Perhaps curious about the previous expedition, Hanna asked the two of them,
“What was it like last time?”
“What happened then was...”
She seemed to have forgotten how prickly she had been toward Hanna.
Magreta eagerly explained to Hanna what had happened during the first ruin.
It was after we had left the ruin like that.
The monster’s antenna released a red light once more.
And that light disappeared in the blink of an eye.
An extremely brief moment.
Soph’s magic failed to notice it.
**
We hurried along the road.
In a single day, we escaped the poisonous swamp, and only then were we able to rest properly on solid ground.
We slept soundly there for more than half a day.
After that, we took out the lightning roast, ate, and then had a short break.
While everyone was resting, I sat in front of the box, lost in thought.
“You look like you have something on your mind.”
Magreta approached and asked.
In her hand was Korean instant mix coffee. It probably didn’t suit an American’s taste, but there was nothing to be done about it.
I pointed at the box.
“It’s because of this.”
“It’s because of the box’s capacity, isn’t it?”
I was slightly surprised by her words.
“Don’t tell me you knew?”
“Even if a warehouse is piled full of stones, you can roughly tell how much has been taken out. There was an incredible amount missing.”
Perhaps because she worked in that field, she had a sharp eye.
Hearing her words, I revealed one more secret.
Since I had decided to show my abilities to the expedition members, telling her the secret was not difficult.
“Yes. I stored a lot inside. Its capacity is far larger than what people know.”
I tapped the box and frowned.
“If I take this out at the base, everyone will find out the box’s capacity... I don’t know if that will be all right.”
That said, if I only took out the amount others knew about, it would barely make a dent.
I had put everything in because I intended to show my abilities as much as possible within the expedition team...
Now that I thought about it, what came afterward was the problem.
I could get past rumors spreading among people and them looking at me strangely, but Earth was the issue.
Especially if America learned the truth. I was worried about what would happen then.
“You don’t want Earth to know, do you?”
“I made a contract with you, Magreta, because I didn’t want to become a transport worker going back and forth between stars. But if the box’s capacity becomes known, won’t that topic come up again?”
“Of course it will. There’s no one who wouldn’t want a box carrier with several times the capacity of other carriers.”
That was the problem.
I looked at Magreta.
Magreta shrugged.
“Well, that was our contract. I’ll try to block Earth’s side.
But if someone other than me goes to Earth, our home country will find out too. You have two remarkable abilities, so it will be difficult for me to stop it completely.”
The time she could protect me was only until someone else crossed over to Earth.
“Besides, I can’t do anything about rumors spreading inside the base.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
I already had my own expedition team.
I didn’t need to care about rumors.
What remained was Earth.
I sank into thought.
A short while later, I finally reached a conclusion.
“Then I just have to become big enough that it’s difficult for others to pull me away.”
If I became someone this star, this expedition team, couldn’t do without, then even Earth would have no choice.
At my words, Magreta smiled.
“Then everyone will be watching your mood, Hyeon. Including me and my superiors.”
One goal had been set.
I didn’t know if it would become a race against time, but I felt I could do it.
[Not a bad idea. Grow the expedition team and take in a few beauties as well.]
The old man was spouting nonsense again.
At other times, he seemed like a grand mage, but at times like this, he was just a senile old geezer.
After making that decision, we moved again.
Since it was not swampy terrain, our travel speed increased, but the scenery was still barren.
As we ran across the wilderness, we came upon a peculiar sight.
“How fascinating. Monsters running across the wilderness.”
Just as Magreta said, a horde of monsters was racing across the wasteland.
“Is this the first time you two have seen this as well?”
At my question, Magreta and Tom nodded.
“Yes. Since coming to this star, I’ve never seen monsters running in groups in one direction like that.”
They were not all one kind.
Several kinds of monsters were running together.
All of them were running in the opposite direction from where we had come, toward the base.
It was strange, but there was nothing we could do right now. All we could do was hurry back to the base.
We headed for the base, following the running monsters, and were able to arrive there the next day.
Fortunately, we were not late for the date I had promised Magreta.
There was one day left before the day we were supposed to go to Earth.
However, absurdly enough, there were people from Earth at the base.
They were the second follow-up group.
It was just as Magreta had said.
I had thought that, since the war had ended, no more follow-up groups would come, but that was not the case.
Still, perhaps because of the end of the war, not many people had been able to come.
A total of four.
Among them was someone I knew.