Chapter 610

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Chapter 610: A New Path (6)

“What? A 4th-rank aspect? I’m not even 5th-rank yet—what do you mean a 4th-rank aspect…?”

Yeongwoo remembered it clearly.

The moment he achieved a great feat by launching the Earth Ship and shattered the wall of status.

Back then, when Yeongwoo was sucked into the Sea of Existences, he passed near the waters of 4th-rank beings—each represented by their own symbols—and lingered around the outskirts of the 5th-rank domain, which was expressed as a massive mountain.

After that, he ended up settling somewhere between 6th rank and 5th rank.

“So at best, I should only be at the very beginning of 5th rank right now. No matter how much my prestige level went up…”

Of course, according to the system message, his existence rank itself hadn’t risen to 4th rank.

[The path toward a 4th-rank aspect has been opened.]

It was merely that—a path had opened.

He didn’t know exactly what that path entailed, but one thing was certain: if he kept moving forward, he would eventually reach 4th rank.

“So becoming 4th rank requires some kind of qualification or proof, huh. It’s not something you reach just by raising prestige alone.”

The 4th-rank beings Yeongwoo had personally encountered were few.

Lemu, the master of the Machine Tower, and Toma, the founder of the arms manufacturer “Toma.”

And the planetary ascension examiners as well.

“Oh, right. That guy Mohir too—he’s probably at least 4th rank. Chairman Lemu couldn’t do anything about him.”

In any case, to exist as a 4th-rank being in this universe, you either had to leave behind an extraordinary achievement or fulfill a clear, indispensable function.

And yet, the road to such a position had opened for Yeongwoo—a former insignificant being.

“Then… what exactly do I have to do to obtain a 4th-rank aspect? It said my great undertaking has begun, didn’t it?”

As Yeongwoo blinked and waited for the next message, the unidentified system text melted into the air and disappeared.

Sluuurk.

Contrary to his expectations, what appeared instead was his prestige status.

[Prestige Level: 52]

| 30 / 100

*Karma required per 1 achievement point: 31.1 billion

“Huh? That’s it? No explanation? No quest or anything?”

As Yeongwoo blinked rapidly in confusion, Amana—who had been staring at the blazing black hole behind them in fascination—quietly approached.

—So… can I return home now?

Facing a black hole head-on, and even breaking through its passage.

It had been a profoundly awe-inspiring and glorious experience—but not one he ever wanted to repeat.

At that, Yeongwoo tore his gaze away from the system display.

“Yeah, you should go home. We’ve got a mountain of things to do too.”

Hadn’t they agreed to install secondary cannons at Toma’s branch near the Sutral Planet?

Yeongwoo immediately issued an order to Mantero.

“Let’s head to the Sutral Planet. We’ll drop this guy off there, then go buy some cannons ourselves.”

Mantero—who, like the others, had been plastered to the window watching the black hole Giunek—snapped his head up.

—Understood!

* * *

The sacred planet, Sutral.

This world, likely filled with pacifists, shone with a blue hue reminiscent of Earth.

“It doesn’t compare to Earth, but… it’s still quite beautiful.”

As Yeongwoo muttered while gazing at Sutral outside the window, Amana opened his beak.

—Still, I’d rather you not come here often.

The Earth Ship was a marvel of the universe—but at the same time, a calamity.

From the perspective of a planetary guardian, it wasn’t exactly a welcome guest.

“We’re done with our business here anyway. For both your sake and Sutral’s, it’s probably best if you never see me again.”

With his arms crossed, Yeongwoo nodded and checked his remaining quest.

[Planetary Court] “Balanced Fate”

<Mission> Reunite with the following three individuals: (0/3)

-Aldo, the second prince of Doatel

-Amana, the guardian of Sacred Sutral

-Taru, the last hope of Pigot

<Special> Must use a family-owned spaceship.

<Reward> Adjustment of karma score guaranteed by the Planetary Court.

The quest issued by the Planetary Court was nearing completion.

All that remained was to meet Taru of Planet Pigot.

Once that was done, as part of the Planetary Court’s rehabilitation program for sinners, Yeongwoo’s sin points would be adjusted.

“They won’t erase all my sins… probably just reduce them to around the same level as my virtue points.”

And that meant—

“So before meeting Taru, the more sins I rack up, the more I benefit… right?”

As Yeongwoo rolled his eyes wickedly, Mantero—who had been glancing at him from the captain’s seat—reported cautiously.

—We’ve entered Sutral’s territorial space. We can drop off Amana now.

“Oh, already? Time really flew by.”

As Yeongwoo turned to see Amana off, Amana—who had already been standing in front of the portal to the drop shuttle—looked back.

—Please stop causing incidents. If you wield such power, you should think about contributing to the balance of the universe.

“…What did you just say?”

Before Yeongwoo could fully scowl, Amana hurriedly threw herself into the portal.

“That bastard just insulted me and ran?”

Yeongwoo reflexively drew the Bastard, but Earth hurriedly closed the portal and pointed outside.

『You’ve just accomplished a feat by passing through a black hole. Are you really going to be shaken by something so trivial?』

“How is the owner of this ship being insulted a trivial matter?”

『Because something far bigger awaits us. If we go just a little farther, we can reach Toma’s branch.』

“Oh, right. Can’t forget that.”

Only then did Yeongwoo calm down a little.

Installing secondary cannons on the Earth Ship—which had virtually zero fleet-combat capability—was a long-standing dream.

“What about the money that went through laundering? Did Doatel send a reply?”

At Yeongwoo’s question, Earth waved a hand through the air and initiated a transfer.

『That damn money laundering—successful.』

“Oh? It already arrived? How much?”

『7.62 billion.』

A total of 7.62 billion karma—essentially tax-free funds.

And since it was the byproduct of a massive donation, it must have also raised his virtue points to some extent.

Piaaaat!

With Earth’s transfer, Yeongwoo’s assets surged to nearly 10 billion.

-Available Karma: 9,974,048,016

-Available Defense Budget: 236,619,987

Including the defense budget, it easily exceeded 10 billion.

“This time, we can actually use the defense budget, right? What expenditure is more defense-related than buying secondary cannons?”

At that, Earth—very rarely—agreed.

『Secondary cannons… do count as defense spending.』

Then, turning its head toward the cockpit exterior, it added,

『So, are we heading straight to buy the cannons now?』

“Of course. We’ve shaken off the Salzeo Fleet for now, but they’re not our only enemies.”

Shirah, where Emel served as minor lord; the Kardal Royal Family, humiliated by Yeongwoo; and the machine inspector Mohir—all of them were still searching the universe for him.

“And there’s that Twelve Sword Council or whatever, too.”

Was only the Earth Ship unpredictable?

The Earth Ship’s future was just as unpredictable.

No one knew when or where something might happen.

“Alright, Manager. Let’s head straight to the branch. We worked hard to earn this money—let’s spend it properly.”

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At Yeongwoo’s command, Mantero grasped the controls and nodded.

—Understood. We’ll proceed directly to the nearest Toma branch.

At last, they set off to purchase secondary cannons.

Kwooooo!

As the Earth Ship output maximum power once more, a relay tunnel opened in front of the cockpit.

—Initiating interplanetary jump.

This time, it was an interplanetary jump.

Meaning the nearby Toma branch was very close.

“But what if the branch we’re visiting doesn’t handle Selulite? Do we just buy the cannons here and modify the ship elsewhere?”

Mantero looked down at Yeongwoo with a serious expression.

—In that case, it’s better to purchase the cannons from a place that also handles Selulite.

“What? Why?”

—Because cumulative sales volume affects—

“Oh. So you’re saying if we boost sales at the place that’ll handle Selulite, the service improves?”

—Exactly.

“Guess it’s the same wherever living beings exist.”

If they could handle Selulite, then naturally the quality of the cannons they sold would be higher as well.

“Let’s hope the branch we’re heading to can handle Selulite. For their sake. Otherwise, they’ll be missing out on a huge sale.”

—Considering it’s Toma… they don’t scatter branches everywhere, so I expect headquarters-level engineers to be stationed there.

“We’ll see when we get there.”

As Yeongwoo and Mantero talked, the relay tunnel surrounding the Earth Ship finally dissipated.

Swaaat!

A planet completely covered in ash-gray steel appeared before the cockpit.

“What the hell is that…?”

Staring at a sight strikingly similar to the metal Earth he had once dreamed of, Yeongwoo blinked rapidly.

At a glance, it was a fully fortified planet.

—That is Toma Corporation’s Yueta Galaxy Branch.

Mantero explained while gripping the controls.

Yeongwoo’s eyes—already wide—grew even wider.

“The entire planet is the branch?”

—Yes. Since they handle heavy equipment, they require an enormous amount of space.

That made sense.

A place selling planetary bombardment weapons and ship-mounted cannons would naturally have customers leaving their ships behind.

“Still—using an entire planet? Seriously?”

The remark about Toma not spreading its branches everywhere resurfaced in Yeongwoo’s mind.

Maybe it wasn’t that they didn’t want to—they simply couldn’t.

And now that the path to 4th rank had opened for him, it felt even more significant.

“The owner of a company that uses an entire planet as a branch is 4th rank… and one day, I’ll stand shoulder to shoulder with people like that?”

As Yeongwoo stood there with his mouth agape, the Earth Ship made contact with a massive holographic ring surrounding Toma’s branch.

Immediately, a forced communication link activated, and Toma Corporation’s interface was projected onto the cockpit window.

Tzap!

「Welcome to Toma.」

A very concise greeting.

True to a weapons manufacturer, it moved straight to business.

「Please select the purpose of your visit.」

| Purchase Products

| Repair Products

| Special Commission

| Consultation

| War

“Why is ‘war’ even an option…?”

Thinking he might be seeing things, Yeongwoo narrowed his eyes.

Mantero scratched his cheek.

—Multiple selections are possible. We should choose ‘Purchase Products’ and ‘Special Commission.’ May I proceed?

“Yes. Go ahead.”

The moment Yeongwoo nodded, Mantero selected the two options.

Papat!

「Before introducing products, we require essential preliminary information. Please fill in the following fields.」

[Maximum Budget]

|

[Planned Product Type]

|

[Intended Use]

|

[Special Notes]

|

“They ask for the maximum budget?”

—Depending on the budget, a different representative will likely be assigned.

“Then we should put in the real maximum. Write 10.2 billion, plus 13 Katangdal ingots.”

—Understood. And the planned product type is…

“Type: ship cannons. Intended use: righteous action.”

—Yes. Ship cannons… righteous action…

While muttering and diligently typing, Mantero paused at the final field.

—There’s a ‘Special Notes’ section. We should probably write Selulite here.

Yeongwoo took it one step further.

“Doesn’t this also affect which representative we get?”

—Yes, most likely.

“Then write this instead.”

Yeongwoo drew the Bastard and pointed at the survey screen.

“Planetary battleship.”

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