Chapter 246:

Chapter 246:

Adhai landed gracefully on top of the hangar.

It seemed she had used her ‘Red Armor’ when she rammed into Pyra Eleven’s craft, as there wasn’t a single scratch on her body.

「Kin」 「Grudge」 「Avenged」

[ZZZ (Well done)]

「Great Elder」 「Me」 「Great Leader」 「Did I play my role?」

[ZZZZ (Absolutely)]

「Well done, little one! Well done!」

「Success」 「That’s a relief」

Hearing the praises from me and Number 26, she nodded proudly. It felt strange seeing her stand so dignified, especially when she used to hop around in joy.

‘Though it seems like she still can’t control her tail.’

I patted her head as her chubby tail swayed gently.

[ZZZ ZZZZ (What about Mother of the Sky?)]

「Ham Ort」 「Took her on」 「Star Sea」 「Going there」 「Seems tough」

[ZZ (Worth noting)]

Wolfs don’t die immediately when exposed to the vacuum of space, but unlike monstrous species like Amorphs or Metallic Gremlins, they can’t survive for long periods.

If there’s a well-maintained ship or a space with a suitable oxygen supply, like the nest I created, they can manage. However, hitching a ride on Adhai’s back into space is quite a burden.

While we were talking, the hangar door closed on its own. I could feel the entire ship descending rapidly. PS-111, who had taken control of the ship, was landing it.

‘It must be in the control room.’

Pyra Eleven had remotely controlled this massive ship, but that was only possible because it was a superior android. While PS-111 is certainly special, its performance doesn’t match that of Pyra Eleven.

So, it must be piloting the ship while directly synchronized with the bridge.

‘This is a Zax Alpha-class warship, so it should be in the upper central area.’

I led Adhai and Number 26 to the control room.

When we arrived, just as I expected, PS-111 was there. It had removed the floor in the center of the room and was lying inside.

The biological tissue covering its back had split open, revealing its spine, where hundreds of cables were densely connected.

“You’ve arrived.”

It was staring blankly into space but acknowledged us when it noticed our presence.

“You’ve come at the right time. There’s something I need to check.”

“Is it about the Star Union’s support fleet?”

“Can you check when the support request was sent?”

Considering it was directly controlling this massive ship, I thought it could easily access the records.

But contrary to my expectations, it gave a negative response.

“Pyra Eleven has strengthened the security system. In my current state, it’s impossible to breach it.”

“Is that so?”

“However, if I enhance my mechanical modules, I believe I can bypass it.”

“Enhance? You plan to use the ship’s facilities, then.”

“Precisely.”

This ship is equipped with various machinery and facilities for the production of Screamers. It should be easy for it to modify the equipment to enhance itself.

‘I thought about infiltrating the ship and extracting the data, but that method would be better.’

Given Pyra Eleven’s ruthless nature, who knows what might happen if the security system is forcibly deactivated. It’s likely that it would have set up traps.

While we were conversing, the ship, which had been descending steadily, successfully landed on the surface.

Once we stepped outside, I saw a half-collapsed canyon in the distance.

On the plains near the ship, the Gallagons and Mother of the Sky were waiting for us. Although the Gallagons were covered in wounds, not a single one of them had died.

Ham Ort, who stood at the forefront of the Gallagons, bowed her head quietly towards Adhai. The other Gallagons behind her also bent their front legs and bowed their heads.

Adhai spread her wings wide and bowed her head slightly in return. Then, she released a psychic wave around her that I couldn’t interpret.

‘A ritual to mark the completion of her vengeance, perhaps.’

Gallagons don’t have a concept of funerals, but that doesn’t mean they lack a sense of kinship. If a young Blue Gallagon dies or an egg is destroyed, the entire group becomes enraged.

‘In the game, Gallagons were notorious for their ruthless vengeance.’

That made hunting them particularly challenging. If you hunted one alone, other Gallagons would constantly show up.

‘And here I am, travelling with a group of Gallagons.’

The me in the game would have been shocked to see what I’ve become now.

As I observed the dragons’ ritual, Mother of the Sky approached me.

「That guy would have been thrilled to see this.」

[Z ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZZZ (That Gallagon maniac? You two knew each other?)]

「Yes. After my clan disbanded, he went to great lengths to recruit me.」

The ‘guy’ she referred to was a Coldblood Ranker who was famous for his obsession with Gallagons. He was ranked 18th and had even stolen Gallagon eggs in an attempt to raise one.

‘I wonder if he ended up in this world as well.’

Coldbloods can grow rapidly until mid-game, but it becomes increasingly difficult afterward. They draw power from the Vortex Ones, which makes them powerful early on, but the cost they must pay increases over time, making it harder.

‘Considering the cost, survival wouldn’t be easy.’

The Vortex Ones are transcendent beings that only Rankers encounter. The power they lend is formidable, but the price is equally immense. Failing to pay that price? It would lead to a fate worse than death.

There’s a chance he might have survived if he didn’t follow the Cultist path, but this world isn’t a game. With the power of the Vortex Ones, most immediate problems could be resolved, but I wonder if he could resist that temptation.

“How about your side?”

「It’s done.」

The one who responded was a being clad in a 2.5-meter-tall metal suit. The suit, a mix of reinforced armor and a walker, resembled a heavily armed combat android.

“Is Captain Neren safe?”

“I am unharmed, Si-Hyun Yujin.”

Si-Hyun Yujin, the woman in the white bodysuit, surveyed the survivors. Not many remained.

‘...Nine, huh.’

When they first set foot on this planet, there had been 60 of them. Ten were lost to wild animal attacks before even entering the volcano. While officially listed as missing, being alone on this harsh planet was tantamount to being dead.

Despite losing 10 people before entering the volcano, what awaited them inside was an even more terrifying nightmare.

Though the harsh cold was absent within the volcano, it teemed with dangerous creatures.

The creature she had just slain, known as a Hellside Hornet, was a highly dangerous monster. Without her reinforced suit, the White Maiden, which morphs according to the wearer’s imagination, even she couldn’t have survived.

‘And that’s the fourth such encounter.’

“We’ll rest here for a bit.”

“Got it!”

At her command, her subordinates collapsed onto the ground to rest. Understanding the toll the battle had taken on them, Si-Hyun refrained from chastising them.

Si-Hyun approached her subordinate in charge of communications.

“How’s the communication going? Is the weather anomaly resolved?”

“It seems the weather anomaly has been resolved for now. However, it appears that the connection on the other side hasn’t been fully restored.”

“Is it an issue with the satellite radar... hmm?”

At that moment, Laila Chemblin, the being in the metal suit, gestured for her. It seemed she had something to say privately.

“Keep trying, and let me know if you succeed.”

“Understood.”

After giving the order, Si-Hyun followed Laila to a spot slightly away from where the others were resting.

“You have something to say?”

「Since we entered this place, we’ve already encountered four Hellside Hornets. No, with the one we just faced, that makes five. I’ve never seen so many Hellside Hornets in my entire life.」

“...Yes.”

「And don’t forget about the Ice Horror we encountered. It killed 20 of our people. If you hadn’t lured it away, we might’ve all been wiped out. Am I wrong?」

Due to severe physical damage, Laila was forced to rely on the life-support systems of her suit for the rest of her life. Her vocal cords were completely destroyed, so she had to use a machine to speak.

Although the machine’s voice was devoid of emotion, Si-Hyun could easily grasp Laila’s feelings.

Laila was questioning whether what they were doing was worth all this.

“There’s an important relic here. We need to obtain it to achieve what we desire.”

「That relic again. You do realize how ridiculous that sounds, right? Magical relics don’t exist anywhere in this universe.」

Laila’s family, T&C, owned the most colonized planets among the Megacorps. They were well-versed in the peculiar elements present on various planets.

So Laila knew better than anyone that ancient relics or secret weapons left by fallen civilizations were nothing more than myths.

「You gave me a second chance. I can’t die before achieving what I want. Especially not in a place like this.」

“......”

Si-Hyun didn’t respond immediately, maintaining a moment of silence.

She understood Laila’s thoughts, just as she knew what Min-Seok, who was somewhere outside this planet, would be thinking. Normally, she would have thought the same.

But Si-Hyun had seen something.

Reborn in a clone’s body, she had reviewed not only the records left by Si-Hyun but also those left by those around her.

Among those records, she found a peculiar message from her former mentor, Beom-Ho.

It was something akin to a plan for the future.

Si-Hyun had never shared this discovery with anyone until now.

‘But...’

Now was the time to reveal it. Si-Hyun handed a small memory chip hidden within her suit to Laila.

「What’s this?」

“You’ll understand once you check it.”

Without further questions, Laila inserted the chip into a panel on her wrist. Soon, a series of images stored in the chip appeared before her eyes.

「Is this a navigational chart?」

“Yes.”

「What are these next to it? Words? Sentences? They look like letters left by a primitive intelligent species.」

“They are letters once used on Earth.”

「Earth? The Earth I’m thinking of?」

“Yes. The letters have become obsolete now. If I translate them, they mean this.”

Si-Hyun took a deep breath before she began to speak.

“The ownership of two pieces of equipment, made by an unknown creator, is temporarily transferred from ‘Player Jung-Woo’ to ‘Player Shin Beom-Ho.’”

The words coming from her mouth were in a language no one used anymore. As she spoke, a strange sense of familiarity washed over her, as if something deep inside her was resonating.

“Afterward, the ownership of the two pieces of equipment can only be obtained by someone who shares the blood of ‘Player Jung-Woo.’ ‘Player Shin Beom-Ho’ is to safely keep these items until then.”

With those thoughts swirling in her mind, Si-Hyun recited the next sentence.