Chapter 620

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Chapter 620: The Real Job (3)

“Retirement? Planetary ships can retire?”

「I’m just repeating what I heard. You’re the planetary shipmaster—shouldn’t you know better than anyone?」

“Ah.”

Right. Asking someone who knew nothing about planetary ships was pointless.

After all, the one who actually owned a planetary ship was Yeongwoo himself.

“…But does ‘retiring’ even work like that?”

「From what I heard, yes. The ship had been half-destroyed. They had to rebuild it from the frame up. We spent about a month together while it was undergoing repairs, so we talked a fair bit.」

“What?”

No matter how he looked at it, this was priceless information.

Testimony from someone who had spent an entire month with another planetary shipmaster.

“What was his name? His species?”

As Yeongwoo fired off questions in quick succession, Duke Dalqui raised a hand in a calming gesture.

「It’ll take some time to dismantle the ship anyway, so I’ll send my younger sibling and the vessel down first. I’ll answer anything you want after that.」

At those words, Yeongwoo gestured to Earth, signaling it to open a portal toward the Salzeo ship.

“Safe travels, Lady Kanaph. Until next time.”

—Again…?

With an expression that clearly said she was sick of this already, Lady Kanaph stepped into the portal.

Shwaaa—!

The blue portal swallowed her whole, and moments later, the Salzeo ship launched toward Planet Tehen at high speed.

“Alright. I kept my end of the bargain and sent both the hostage and the ship back. Now talk. Who was the guy who dragged in a half-destroyed planetary ship?”

* * *

A planetary ship.

A free celestial body, hailed as one of the wonders of the universe.

According to the achievement system, only ten planetary ships—including Earth—had ever existed in all of cosmic history.

In other words, the planetary ship that had visited Planet Tehen was one of the nine that had existed before Earth.

‘Before me, there were only nine planetary shipmasters. And the universe is absurdly vast. I honestly thought I’d never even find a trace of another one in my lifetime.’

If this was coincidence, the odds were ridiculous.

And if it wasn’t—then planetary ships must possess something that drew them toward one another.

And perhaps…

‘All the previous planetary shipmasters were protagonists of the universe too. Maybe that’s why the narratives of protagonists inevitably overlap.’

As Yeongwoo drifted through these idle thoughts, Duke Dalqui Izori finally spoke.

「They call it a wonder of the universe—a planetary ship. So I assumed that grotesque appearance was simply how planetary ships looked.」

It had been a literally shattered planet.

So horribly damaged that Dalqui had believed its form was intentional.

“How badly wrecked are we talking?”

「Half-destroyed. Roughly half of the planet had completely vanished.」

“…Half the planet was gone?”

Only then did Yeongwoo understand why Planet Tehen had failed to recover from its devastation even after 200 years.

「First, we had to fill the empty space with something. We also needed a way to contain the core, which could have exploded at any moment.」

Dalqui stared into empty space, his face twisted in discomfort.

「Surprisingly, that man possessed an enormous quantity of Katangdal ingots and Selulite. We used them to construct a stabilizing structure around the core.」

“…An enormous amount of Selulite.”

From that alone, Yeongwoo could tell how extraordinary that planetary shipmaster must have been.

He had only just managed to obtain a single fragment to strengthen Earth’s shield—yet that man had been carrying massive amounts of Selulite two hundred years ago.

‘…Damn it. Where did that bastard even get all those resources?’

As Yeongwoo clenched his fist, Dalqui continued.

「His name was Phaemong. From what I could tell, he was a descendant of the Selopt.」

“Selopt? That doesn’t ring a bell.”

「A long-lived species with blue skin and white pupils.」

However, unlike what the records described, Dalqui added, the planetary shipmaster he met was extremely aggressive.

“Why? Aren’t Selopts known for being violent?”

「On the contrary. Because they live so long, they’re generally said to be gentle in temperament. They don’t particularly enjoy killing, either.」

“But you didn’t meet just any Selopt—you met a planetary shipmaster Selopt. No way he was normal.”

「He fired his main cannons the moment we met. That’s when I truly grasped the difference in firepower, and the battle began.」

“Yep. Definitely a planetary shipmaster.”

「Still, once the ‘negotiations’ ended, we got along surprisingly well.」

“Did he say anything else? How he got half-destroyed, how he made his money—anything?”

「He wasn’t one to talk about himself much. But he constantly said he intended to return to the battlefield where his ship was crippled. That’s why I remember it so clearly.」

“And that battlefield was his final destination?”

「Yes. He said he would retire there once the fight was finished.」

“Couldn’t that just be poetic language? If he loses, he disappears from the universe anyway—so it’s basically retirement.”

「An interesting interpretation. That may well be the case.」

Dalqui smiled bitterly.

It seemed he hoped Yeongwoo’s theory was wrong.

Just then, as if the ship had safely arrived at Tehen, Dalqui rushed off-screen.

He was going to see off his long-lost sibling.

“Hmmm. Doing a good deed feels nice, but… I kind of feel like I let this go for too cheap.”

As Yeongwoo muttered to the now-empty screen, Earth spoke up.

『You’re not thinking of chasing that planetary ship, are you?』

“Why? Any reason I shouldn’t?”

『If that planetary shipmaster turns out to be someone like you… that’s extremely dangerous.』

“He decided to retire two hundred years ago. By now he’s either dead or enjoying a peaceful old age.”

Yeongwoo doubted a retired planetary shipmaster would attack a successor who came looking for him.

“And I’m curious what kind of battlefield could cripple something as powerful as a planetary ship.”

『Still… it bothers me. You only just finished assembling your basic armament. Is this really the time to go looking for another planetary ship?』

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“But if we manage a peaceful meeting, the gains are huge. We could learn a ton from a predecessor, and more importantly…”

Yeongwoo stared into the void and grinned broadly.

『What exactly are you plotting now?』

“If he’s retired, he doesn’t really need anything anymore, does he?”

『Like what?』

“Main cannons. Super-strong shields. Stuff like that. Honestly, he probably doesn’t need much money either.”

『You lunatic.』

Earth finally realized it.

Yeongwoo was planning to fleece a retired planetary shipmaster.

『You really have no fear in this universe, do you?』

“That’s probably why I managed to launch a planetary ship in the first place.”

As Yeongwoo and Earth bickered, Duke Dalqui reappeared on the screen—this time alongside Kanaph Izori, who looked noticeably brighter.

「My sister arrived safely. Though late, I wish to express my gratitude.」

Dalqui bowed formally.

Yeongwoo scratched his cheek and nodded.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re welcome. So—are the repairs underway?”

「Nothing too difficult, technically speaking. We’ll send the ship up as soon as the signal device is removed.」

“Good. Then hurry up and finish what you were saying earlier. Where did Phaemong go?”

Dalqui shifted his gaze into the distance.

「Far from here. In the Phemu Galaxy, there’s a planet called Rieke.」

“Rieke?”

Naturally, it was a name Yeongwoo had never heard.

“You don’t have exact coordinates?”

At that, Mantero immediately began typing at the console.

—If we know the galaxy, we can find it. I’ll start searching right away.

Meanwhile, Dalqui continued.

「He said there was a dragon that lived while embracing that planet. He fought it—and that’s how his planetary ship was crippled. After the repairs, he planned to go back and finish it.」

“…What? A dragon as big as a planet?”

If it truly embraced a planet, its size would dwarf the planet itself.

“Jesus. That’s insane.”

If such a creature existed, it suddenly made sense how a fully armed planetary ship could be half-destroyed.

The battles of the previous planetary shipmasters were on an entirely different level from anything Yeongwoo had faced.

“You didn’t fight a royal fleet or anything—you fought a cosmic dragon?”

「Was that metaphorical? It didn’t sound like it. In any case, that’s what I heard.」

Planet Rieke.

And the unidentified dragon that supposedly enveloped it.

A planetary ship that lost its first battle and limped away, half-destroyed.

‘Two hundred years have passed since then. No telling whether the dragon is still there… or whether only the ruined planetary ship remains.’

Still, if given the choice, Yeongwoo hoped the planetary ship was still there.

He’d rather root for a fellow planetary shipmaster than some unknown dragon.

—Ah, I’ve found it. Planet Rieke. It’s classified as an extreme-risk zone, so there aren’t even any relay tunnels nearby.

“So it really exists.”

—To reach it, we’ll have to use a black hole. Interstellar warp alone won’t get us there—it’s too far.

“How far are we talking?”

Mantero answered in a grave tone.

—One hundred and twenty years of straight flight. And even within the Phemu Galaxy, there are no relay tunnels.

“…120 years?”

Yeongwoo gaped—then suddenly realized something.

“Wait. Even with a planetary ship, it takes 120 years?”

Which meant—

“Then Phaemong must’ve used a black hole to get here, right? No way he spent 120 years flying here after losing.”

After listening quietly, Jiseon nodded.

—Right. Otherwise, it’d be a 240-year round trip.

Sure, in a universe this vast, someone might travel 240 years.

But in this case…

“This senior definitely knew how to use black holes.”

Yeongwoo could only reach that conclusion because he himself had used black-hole corridors before.

You only see what you know.

Jeonggu chimed in with a surprisingly sharp observation.

“So… the black hole we’ll be using is probably the same one Phaemong passed through?”

“Most likely. There’s probably only one black hole closest to Rieke.”

“Then communication might be easier. If those black holes already let Phaemong through, maybe they’ll let us pass too.”

“In theory, yes. They’d probably be more friendly toward outsiders.”

Feeling that things were finally coming together, Yeongwoo stretched.

“Alright. Let’s find the black hole that leads to Rieke.”

As he pulled out the mythical map ‘Great Exploration’, Mantero rushed over to inspect it.

—With precise coordinates, this map allows direct movement to the target location.

Once Mantero placed his hand on the map with the coordinates in mind, the cosmic space within the map began to spin violently.

Then—

—I’ve found it.

Mantero located Planet Rieke.

—There’s a black hole not far from Rieke. If the previous planetary shipmaster really used a ‘corridor,’ this should be it. Oh—wait.

He suddenly widened his eyes.

“What is it?”

—There are myths present on Rieke. Two of them.

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