Chapter 617

[Translator - Night]

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Chapter 617: An Unusual Customer (7)

‘What, basic armament…?’

Yeongwoo could only gape as he checked the achievement.

‘No, we mounted this many main cannons and even installed a Selulite shield—

and this still counts as basic armament?’

[Achievement Unlocked: Basic Armament]

|Achievement Grade: Cosmic

|Completion Rank: #10

「All basic armament requirements for a planetary ship have been fulfilled.」

What’s more, the completion rank was #10.

Which meant that the nine planetary ships that had appeared before this one had all possessed armaments at least on the level of the Earth Ship.

It was, in a way, only natural—but it meant that for a planetary ship, having multiple legendary cannons and reinforced shields was considered standard equipment.

‘Well… a planetary ship weaker than ours wouldn’t make sense anyway.’

The Earth Ship had only entered the world a few days ago—practically a newborn as far as planetary ships went.

In contrast, the other ships recorded in the achievement system must have wandered space for centuries at the very least.

If a noble house had passed one down through generations, it could easily have existed for thousands of years.

And someday, wouldn’t the Earth Ship become the greatest legacy of the Renaissance family as well?

‘Yeah. There’s no reason to feel wronged just because it’s called “basic armament.”

The Earth Ship’s weapons aren’t limited to cannons anyway—and more than anything, we’re a ramming ship, aren’t we?’

Of course, the Earth Ship wasn’t the only planetary ship to possess Star Collision Scars.

[Achievement Unlocked: Rebel]

|Achievement Grade: Cosmic

|Completion Rank: #9

「Your planetary ship possesses two or more collision scars.」

All but one of the previously recorded planetary ships possessed at least two collision scars.

That meant most planetary ship masters had already been considering the use of body-ramming tactics.

But had any of them passed through a black hole?

‘Using black holes for rapid movement is also one of our strengths. I’d bet there are very few ships that have pulled that off.’

As Yeongwoo reassured himself, Unsaek reported in from the workshop.

「Shield installation is complete! It’s functioning perfectly!」

Displayed before Unsaek was the Earth Ship, now cloaked in a shield that draped over it like a mantle—bearing the Tomah emblem.

“…Isn’t that emblem a bit too big?”

Yeongwoo stared in disbelief.

It was practically announcing to the whole neighborhood that the shield was active.

Unsaek replied calmly.

「Since the shield covers the entire planetary ship…it’s only natural that the emblem engraved on its surface would be large as well.」

“….”

A response that left him with nothing to say.

And besides, that emblem was effectively payment in place of modification fees.

Yeongwoo couldn’t exactly raise an objection.

‘And the work’s already finished, so it’s not like I can ask them to take it off now.’

The entire planetary ship had effectively become a massive billboard.

‘Ah… at least it only shows when the shield is active.’

Which meant that when the shield was inactive, the surface could still be rented out for advertisements.

“Oh, and there’s a signal beacon attached to one of the ships I acquired this time. Is it possible to remove that as well?”

Unsaek tilted his head slightly in thought.

「May I ask who the original owner was?」

Assuming it was stolen goods, as any branch chief would.

Yeongwoo answered honestly.

“It belonged to the Salzeo family.”

Unsaek let out a hollow chuckle.

「Ah… Salzeo. In that case, removal would be difficult for us.」

“Really? Is it that complicated technically…?”

「Not technically—politically.」

“…I see.”

Tomah still had to make a living through business.

Crossing the line by removing a tracking beacon intentionally planted by Salzeo would be tantamount to directly aiding robbery.

“No wonder the Black Zones are so popular. They don’t have lines you’re not allowed to cross.”

「We sincerely apologize.」

“Well, anyway, that wraps things up, right? The shield reinforcement is done too.”

As Yeongwoo asked, Unsaek removed his work gloves and nodded.

「Yes. The remote channel is still connected, so we can open a passage directly to your ship. Shall we send you back now?」

They were offering to return him via the route used for the shield installation.

Yeongwoo agreed without hesitation.

“Yes. I’m being chased, after all—staying in one place too long isn’t exactly ideal.”

As he glanced outside through the corridor’s glass ceiling, Unsaek raised a hand to his chest and faced the camera.

「Then allow me to offer my farewell. Thank you for the excellent transaction, Shipmaster.」

Unsaek opened a massive portal along one side of the corridor.

Shraaaa—!

「If you use that passage, you’ll be returned to your ship immediately. Please disconnect the channel afterward.」

“Yes, Branch Chief. Thank you for your hard work.”

Returning with 41 main cannons and a Selulite shield.

Step.

As Yeongwoo stepped into the portal, he was enveloped—unlike before—by a corridor composed of countless green light-lines.

Whooooo—!

‘What is this? Does it feel different because it’s a work-use passage?’

Unlike standard portals that completed teleportation in an instant, this one felt like traveling through a long tunnel.

At the far end of the green passage, a white, glowing exit was visible.

And Yeongwoo was being shot toward it at tremendous speed.

Fshhhhh—!

As the acceleration peaked, the white light rushed toward him.

“Wha—?!”

Up close, the light turned out to be the Earth Ship’s bridge.

And right in front of the exit—

『Huh…?』

Earth stood there, staring blankly into the passage.

The result was inevitable.

BAM!

“Aagh!”

『What the hell, you idiot?!』

Earth snapped, having involuntarily caught the planetary ship master.

“Is that how you talk to a ship owner who just accomplished something big?”

Yeongwoo landed calmly on the bridge floor and stepped aside.

Thud.

Next, Koatu shot out of the portal like a shell and landed flat on his backside where Yeongwoo had been standing.

—Tch. Figures a heavy-industry company wouldn’t care about ride comfort.

“Heh. We’re customers on credit—what more do you expect?”

Yeongwoo didn’t care whether the ride was smooth or awful.

What mattered was that the achievement system now recognized him as a planetary ship master with proper armament.

“You checked the cannons and the shield, right?”

Instead of Earth, Mantero responded from the captain’s seat.

—All 41 newly added cannons, plus the existing Planet Hunter—42 in total—are properly connected.

Then he added, his expression stiffening slightly.

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—And the newly installed shield… honestly, it’s on an entirely different level.

“The Selulite shield, you mean? How good is it?”

—Even in the Royal Fleet, you’d only see shields of this caliber on the vanguard ships or bloodline ships.

“Bloodline ships?”

—Ships directly boarded by the royal family.

“Oh, so royal vessels.”

Given the royal treasury, outfitting their main ships with Selulite shields wasn’t surprising.

“What about firepower? How do we compare to the Royal Fleet?”

Mantero hesitated.

—Fleets rely on numbers, so it’s difficult to compare total firepower directly.

“Hmm… figures.”

—But we should be more than capable of matching the main fleet of any prominent noble house. And more importantly—

His gaze shifted to the Earth Ship model displayed on one of the monitors.

“More importantly?”

—Because we possess Star Collision Scars, we’ll have a significant advantage in real combat.

Star Collision Scars.

A near-perfect trait—capable of being used defensively as a shield if you predict the impact point correctly, or offensively through ramming attacks.

Of course, how effectively the 42 cannons and the collision scars scattered across the Earth Ship would be used depended entirely on Mantero’s skill.

“Oh, right. We can ram too. But can you actually pull that off? You’ve never rammed another ship before, right?”

—…That is true.

Not only had he never done it—he’d never even imagined it.

“Then do some image training at least. You never know when we’ll run into a fleet.”

As Yeongwoo leaned back into the ship owner’s seat, Earth issued a warning.

『You’ve worked hard today—but this is where things really begin.』

“What do you mean?”

『Tax time. In one hour.』

“…What?”

Yeongwoo’s expression twisted instantly.

“It’s already that late?”

With no need to eat regularly and sleep broken into fragments, time had slipped by unnoticed.

“In one hour… that means two hours until the dungeon opens.”

『Pretty much. What are you going to do until then? Rest?』

Yeongwoo shook his head.

“No time for that. I’ve still got a mountain of things to take care of.”

His gaze shifted to Lady Kanaph in the corner of the bridge.

“Madam, it’s time for you to go home.”

—What? Really?

Her already-large eyes widened even further.

She’d been uneasy watching these lunatics buy dozens of cannons—and now she could finally leave before things got worse.

“This purchase put us pretty deep in debt. We need money.”

—Ah…

Kanaph was reminded that his real profession was banditry.

Though they were protecting her now, he was ultimately the villain who would demand ransom from her brother.

—O-Our territory doesn’t have that much money. If you demand too much, things could go wrong.

“I’ll decide whether Duke Dalqui has enough money or not. Now, go over there and input the coordinates for home.”

As Yeongwoo pointed at the navigation device, Earth politely guided her toward it.

『Please don’t worry too much, Madam. He may look like this, but he’s not that evil. He won’t seriously harm the Duke.』

—R-Really…?

Kanaph hesitated before standing in front of the navigation console.

Then Yeongwoo pulled out Bastard and aimed it at the back of her head.

“Alright, hostage! Enter the coordinates!”

Her status dropped from guest to hostage in an instant.

Earth leaned in and whispered politely.

『Where is Duke Dalqui currently located? The coordinates of his main keep would be ideal, but the planet name and identifier will suffice.』

—…That.

Kanaph reached up and touched one of the necklaces she was wearing.

Inside a silver-white seashell-shaped pendant was a holographic square.

Earth immediately recognized it.

It was an identification device—containing her credentials and the location of the Ijori territory.

『Planet Tehen…?』

It wasn’t a planet Earth recognized, so he tilted his head slightly.

Meanwhile, Mantero, having received the coordinates, looked out the viewport.

—It’s not far.

“How close?”

—If we continue with stellar jumps, we can reach it in about an hour.

“Kind of an awkward distance for black hole travel.”

—Yes. There may be a black hole near Tehen, but—

Considering the time needed to reach and exit it, Mantero believed direct travel was the better option.

More importantly, black hole travel carried serious risks.

A single malicious black hole could trap the entire Earth Ship in eternal space.

“Alright. Let’s head straight for Tehen. If we’re lucky, we might arrive before tax time.”

As Yeongwoo exclaimed cheerfully at the thought of earning money, a line of text flashed in the corner of his vision, as if reminding him of something.

「There is 1 unclaimed achievement reward.」

[Translator - Night]

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