We were able to return to the terraforming base without much difficulty.
Unlike before, Sterling followed my words well, so nothing troublesome happened.
However, by the time we arrived at the terraforming base, the sun had already set, and the time when the defensive magic stopped had passed.
We had to make our way back to the base through a sandstorm in the dark of night.
“Captain Hyeon is here!”
The member standing guard at the door shouted loudly when he saw me.
Perhaps no one had gone to sleep, because everyone came out to the lobby to see us.
Some clicked their tongues when they saw that only the two of us had returned, but most were glad to see us.
The exploration members were the same.
As people crowded around, Sterling pushed them aside and headed first for the room where David was.
It was rude, but a report did come first.
After waving to the members, I followed behind Sterling with Magreta.
When we entered the room, David was letting out a sigh.
“Seeing as only the two of you returned, something must have happened... Tell me what happened.”
At David’s question, Sterling’s lips twitched.
It seemed he did not like this situation.
But right now, he had no choice either.
Sterling glanced at me, who had followed him in, then opened his mouth.
“During the confirmation of the city where the monsters were, a battle broke out. Unfortunately, all my companions were killed by the monsters. I barely escaped and returned with the box carrier, who had been watching from outside the city.”
Even as he spoke, he kept glancing at me.
David also found his behavior different from before, but Sterling himself did not seem to realize how he was acting.
“...Everything in the reports was true. It was more dangerous than I expected. Once I return, I will report everything I saw.”
After hearing the whole story, David wore a complicated expression.
It was the face of a man who felt responsible for more deaths, while at the same time feeling relieved that the inspection had ended well.
When Sterling finished speaking, David looked at me.
His expression asked whether I had anything else to say.
I had nothing more to add.
He had left out everything he had done wrong, but even so, this much could not be called a false report.
It seemed he would report properly to Earth as well.
That was enough.
As I turned my head with a satisfied expression, my eyes met Magreta’s.
Magreta was staring fixedly at me.
It seemed I would have to explain things to her separately.
“The losses are too great again. But... we cannot withdraw, can we?”
Sterling shook his head.
“We cannot. Humanity has no better source of darkstone than this place. If the danger is great, more support will come.”
At Sterling’s firm answer, David let out a sigh.
“So in the end, the main force will come next.”
His voice was weary, unlike him.
Magreta asked him with a worried expression.
“Will you be all right? At this rate, when the main force arrives, you’ll have to step down from your position...”
David gave a faint laugh.
“That would be a relief, if anything. This planet was far too dangerous for me to take responsibility for.”
The inspection had ended well, but it seemed someone still had to take responsibility.
It was unexpected, but as a third party, I could not step forward.
Still, I was a little worried about how things would turn out if someone else came in as the person in charge.
At that moment, Sterling, who had been listening to the conversation, spoke.
“The discussion is over, so I’ll go rest. Call me when we leave for Earth.”
With those words, he went outside.
It was rude again, but everyone silently let him go.
He truly looked exhausted.
After Sterling left, David made an excuse for him.
“All the companions who came with him died, so he must be distraught.”
It did not seem to be only that, but I said nothing.
Then David asked,
“When is the departure?”
There was no subject and no object, but Magreta understood at once.
“Hanna checked with the underground ruins technicians, and they say enough energy for three people will gather by tomorrow. We can leave tomorrow.”
At Magreta’s words, David nodded.
“It has become faster.”
“It must be because the terraforming ruins were connected.”
Magreta said, looking at me.
It was a plausible thought, but Magreta’s guess was wrong.
[It is not because of this place. It is because it was connected to the Ice Star Base. If it is a matter of gathering energy, that place is collecting more energy than this terraforming facility.]
[Does the spatial transfer device become stronger the more connected locations there are?]
[It does if it connects to a special place. When it was connected to Earth, where there was no energy at all, it did not help.]
While I was speaking with Sopeu, David also finished his conversation with Magreta.
“The departure is tomorrow, and if three people can go...”
“It will be me, Captain Hyeon, and Sterling.”
At her words, David nodded.
We were returning to Earth sooner than expected, but if anything, this was better.
Considering the factory city, we needed to hurry instead.
After the report ended, I explained things separately to Magreta.
This time, there was nothing to hide. I told her everything.
She was surprised that I had caught a scout alone, and she found it amusing that Sterling had watched my reactions.
“I was going to get angry that you didn’t listen to my request again this time...”
She stared at me fixedly, then eventually laughed.
“You did well. That much should have served as a warning to those people.”
As expected, Magreta had some sort of friction with Sterling’s side.
She had said she would tell me her story once we went to Earth this time, so I would probably get to hear about that too.
“And when we go to Earth this time, is there anything you want? Other than weapons. I’ll get those ready right away.”
Something I wanted...
Every time I went to Earth and returned, money piled up in my bank account.
In truth, after hearing that Earth was going to be destroyed, that money no longer felt important.
A house, land, a building—those all only felt temporary.
On top of that, I now had my own city.
There was nothing I needed right—
At that moment, Sterling came to mind.
I had remembered the magic and relics Sterling had used.
“I heard from Sterling. That there are magic books and relics obtained from Paradise... I want those.”
I had Sopeu, but to improve my magic skills, I had to see more magic.
At my words, Magreta frowned.
“...What Sterling used was ‘magic’?”
“That’s what he said.”
At my words, Magreta let out a sigh.
“I didn’t even know that was magic. That means it’s beyond my authority...”
Magreta shook her head.
“If it were an ordinary relic, perhaps, but relics related to ‘magic’ will be difficult for me to obtain.”
She did possess more authority than one might expect, but in the end, she was an agent belonging to the U.S. intelligence service.
She could not know everything.
But I was not disappointed.
Difficult did not mean impossible.
I took a darkstone out of the box and handed it to her.
“This darkstone is...”
What I gave her was a purple darkstone far larger than the other darkstones.
“It’s a scout darkstone. Try negotiating with this.”
It was the same kind of darkstone as the one embedded in my spear.
A darkstone only I knew about so far.
This was the first time I had shown it to anyone else.
This darkstone contained dozens, hundreds of times more energy than a native creature’s darkstone.
Magreta looked at the darkstone with startled eyes and asked,
“So this existed. But isn’t there only one?”
I shook my head.
There was not just one.
I had more than ten scout darkstones.
Some were ones I had obtained, but most were darkstones brought by the spirit, darkstones from the scouts she had killed.
I handed the darkstone to Magreta, and after that, briefly caught up with the members.
The next day, we left the terraforming ruins.
The journey was to spatially transfer to the underground ruins, then spatially transfer again to Earth.
The people going to Earth were Magreta, me, and Sterling.
The gloomy Sterling, the slightly tense Magreta, and I climbed onto the altar of the underground ruins.
Watching the technicians check the hologram on the altar, I asked Sopeu,
[How much time did we buy?]
[We killed many of the humanoid monsters in the factory city and destroyed quite a few cocoons too, so I think we bought some time... At the very least, enough time for you to go and come back.]
[We must have bought enough time until the main force arrives, right?]
[If no other problem arises.]
If I went to Earth this time and returned with the main force, then I would have done everything I needed to do.
I did not know how large the main force would be, but at least the exploration team and I would not have to run around everywhere on our own.
It was then.
“It’s open.”
Along with the technician’s shout, a large hologram unfolded before my eyes.
It was the portal leading to Earth.
Unlike the two empty-handed people, I carried luggage in both hands and stepped into the portal.
Fwoosh.
White light filled my vision.
I could see energy flowing. No, I could feel my body moving along a path made of energy.
‘There are several paths...’
Besides the path I was traveling along, I could feel many other flows of energy.
Where did they all go?
The moment that question arose.
Fwaaaah!
The light vanished.
We had arrived on Earth.
It was the underground ruin on Earth, which I had already seen several times.
But this time, it felt different.
There was a strangely unsettled feeling.
Magreta also twitched her eyebrows while speaking with the Americans who had been waiting.
It seemed something had happened here.
Sterling left first without even greeting anyone, and I handed the luggage I had brought to the people waiting.
Then, together with Magreta, who had finished talking, I headed to the surface.
“What happened?”
“It seems people have entered this base.”
“Has the main force arrived?”
“It’s similar, but...”
Something similar to the main force had arrived?
At Magreta’s words, I tilted my head.
A short while later, we took the elevator up to the surface.
The sight I saw once we got there far surpassed my expectations.
The Baekdusan Base had completely changed.
It no longer looked like the military base from not long ago.
The number of tents had increased tremendously, and there were also an incredible number of people.
The problem was that all of those people looked like civilians.
Civilians with bright expressions.
What was even more absurd was what they were saying.
“To think we’re going to another planet. I still can’t believe it.”
“They said they’ll pay a lot too. It’s hard enough to make a living, so I’m glad I got chosen like this.”
“They say it’s dangerous. I wonder if it’ll be all right.”
“Where isn’t dangerous? For that much money, it’s worth steeling yourself.”
The civilians walking around the base seemed to have volunteered while knowing everything.
It was absurd.
This was not the kind of main force I had imagined.
What was even more absurd was the banner hanging at the base entrance.
—First Discovery! Baekdusan UN Extraterrestrial Exploration Base. We welcome your visit.—
The secret that should have been hidden was boldly written on the banner.
Public Disclosure (2)