Chapter 621

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 621: The Real Job (4)

“What?”

There were two myths on Planet Rieke.

Startled, Yeongwoo hurriedly examined the myth map.

And sure enough, at a certain point on the map, he could see two faint lights subtly overlapping.

Two forgotten myths were sleeping on Planet Rieke.

“Two… myths?”

While staring at the dim lights that signified forgotten myths, Yeongwoo unconsciously added,

“But why are there only two…?”

—What? What are you talking about now?

At her son’s strange remark, Jiseon tilted her head.

Finding two myths should be something to be grateful for, not disappointed about.

“No, think about it. Even I, a newly awakened cosmic entity, have three myths. And my senior only has two?”

—That’s not exactly wrong…

Jiseon had to agree quickly.

Yeongwoo currently possessed three myths: The Bastard, Aratubank, and The Mark of Salvation.

Of course, Yeongwoo could hardly be considered an ordinary cosmic initiate, but still—

for someone who had lived as a planetship master for at least several hundred years to possess only two myths was hard to accept.

—Then maybe whoever’s left there isn’t your senior after all. Or perhaps they had already scattered their myths across several places. After all, there was a 200-year gap between your senior and you.

“Hm… So there’s no way to know until we go there in person.”

Planetship Master Phaemong.

Judging from the circumstances, he had fought a dragon that lived while embracing the planet, retreated once, then launched a counterattack after a month of reorganization.

And the outcome of that revenge battle was unknown.

‘That’s why I’m going there. At worst, I’ll find an injured dragon and beat a retreat…’

The best-case scenario Yeongwoo imagined was that the dragon and the planetship had perished together, leaving only wreckage behind.

‘Heh. If that’s the case, I can just sweep up all the remaining resources and cannons.’

Meeting a living planetship master wouldn’t be terrible either, but in that case, as Earth had said, there would be a certain level of risk.

A retired planetship master might be completely unhinged, or things could unexpectedly turn hostile if compatibility was bad, leading to a fight instead of a conversation.

‘But the dead don’t talk… so it’d be best if both sides were dead.’

Yet according to the map, there were two myths remaining on Planet Rieke.

So what exactly had happened?

‘If my senior is there, two myths is too few. But if the dragon won the revenge battle, that’s strange too.’

Even if the dragon had won, wouldn’t the myths the planetship master used still remain there?

From any perspective, two myths was an awkward number.

“Let’s go check it out first. We were planning to use this map to hunt forgotten myths anyway.”

After scanning the bridge once, Yeongwoo asked Duke Dalqui on the screen,

“What about our ship? Was the tracker removed?”

Dalqui nodded.

「The work was completed successfully. All that’s left is to send it back. Any other requests?」

Perhaps because he had safely gotten his sibling back, Dalqui’s attitude had grown noticeably friendlier.

“Other requests? I do need a lot of money, but you said that’s not possible.”

「If you’d come to me 200 years ago, I’d have handed you bags of it.」

“What about ship upgrades? That’s difficult too, right?”

「Unless you brought the materials yourself… that would be difficult as well. I can repair damaged sections, at least.」

“So in the end, there’s nothing you can do for me. Just take care of your sibling.”

Fortunately, Earth’s ship had no damaged parts, so there was nothing more Yeongwoo could extract from Dalqui.

“Send my ship up. We’re leaving.”

「Leaving already? That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day.」

Dalqui gestured beyond the camera, and Mantero blinked.

—It appears they have a remote docking system. They’re requesting a ship transfer. If you approve, I’ll proceed.

“Is remote docking that advanced? Enough to surprise you?”

—It’s usually only seen at major corporations like Toma.

“Well, they did say they repaired a half-destroyed planetship…”

Though Tehen was a small planet, it clearly possessed formidable technology.

The universe truly was vast—and filled with capable people.

“Send the ship up. And let’s prepare to head to the next black hole.”

At Yeongwoo’s order, Mantero approved Tehen’s remote docking request.

—While you were talking, I searched for a black hole connected to Planet Rieke.

“Oh? Is there one nearby?”

—There’s a black hole called Tessache, about three hours away.

Tessache.

This time, it was a named black hole.

“Three hours? That’s a bit far.”

Still, traveling two hours toward a passage was far better than flying for 120 years.

The problem, however, was—

『That timing overlaps with your schedule.』

As Earth said, the timing was bad.

After paying taxes, he had to enter the night dungeon that would appear tonight.

“Yeah. Three hours from now, I’ll be inside the dungeon.”

『Approaching a black hole without the ship’s master doesn’t seem like a smart choice.』

“I’ll try to return as quickly as possible. Once you arrive, don’t make contact—just wait.”

Fortunately, they had just removed Salzeo’s tracking beacon, so pursuit was unlikely.

And who in their right mind would fly near a black hole anyway?

The chance of random discovery was low.

“The dungeon appears at 11 p.m. If it starts immediately… I need to finish within two hours to make it back in time.”

『Is that even possible? You don’t even know what kind of dungeon it’ll be today.』

“I’ll make it work.”

Just as Yeongwoo said this with a frown, the moment finally arrived.

—Tax collection will begin shortly at 10 p.m.

The time to pay taxes had come.

“Oh, it’s already 10.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

As Yeongwoo blinked and looked outside, a new system message appeared before his eyes.

「Your tax assessment has been completed.」

「Deferred amounts will be included in this collection.」

Then, with a sharp sound, today’s tax amount was revealed.

Piiiiiing!

| Final Tax Due: 284,275,600 |

“Two hundred eighty-four million? That corrupt bureaucrat must’ve worked really hard.”

Though he had laundered a lot of money, the tax was absurdly low compared to what he had earned overall.

“Tax eva—no, tax optimization really is essential.”

As Yeongwoo—now a full-fledged tax thief—paid the 284 million, Earth looked worried.

『It’s not just the taxes that dropped. The residents’ income has vanished—completely.』

“Right. Mutants aren’t appearing anymore.”

『We might survive today, but starting tomorrow it’ll be a serious problem. We need to secure karma somehow.』

As Earth’s representative, Yeongwoo bore responsibility for keeping the planet’s residents alive.

Unless he wanted to lose the upcoming reelection and be erased.

Fortunately, there was a way to supply karma to the entire planet.

「Golden Nebula Crest」 – Legendary Divine Artifact

【The Golden Nebula follows your will.】

【Golden Journey】

| You can generate Golden Spheres even on non-qualified planets.

【Blessing of the Nebula】

| During golden rainfall, you gain a 50% reduction in all damage taken.

【Monsoon】

| Golden rainfall lasts longer in areas where this divine artifact is present..

The legendary divine relic, Golden Nebula Crest.

With this equipment, Golden Orbs could be created even on planets not under trial.

And as the master of the Golden Nebula, when golden rain fell on another planet, it would also fall across Earth.

『Honestly, solving the karma issue is more urgent than tracking myths. If this continues, humanity itself won’t survive.』

“Right. I need to deal with it for my reelection too.”

Scratching his chin, Yeongwoo nodded.

“Let’s go to Planet Rieke first. Then we’ll find a way to make the golden rain fall. It’s possible even on non-qualified planets, so worst case, we can use a Golden Orb there.”

Yeongwoo currently had two Golden Orbs left.

If he used one to open tonight’s night dungeon, only one would remain.

—Then we’ll proceed toward Tessache.

As Mantero opened a relay tunnel toward the Tessache black hole, Yeongwoo watched the universe outside slowly become covered in holograms and muttered,

“The universe is still difficult. I’m busy getting stronger, and now I have to figure out how to obtain new orbs too.”

Then Jeonggu glanced at the myth map in Yeongwoo’s hand and said,

“Maybe there was another planetship master who achieved the Golden Rain achievement? You were the first on Earth, but who knows what number you are in the universe.”

“That’s true, but whether the planetship master we meet has ever made golden rain is another matter. We don’t even know if we’ll meet my senior.”

In the end, the answer would have to be found personally.

“How do you make a Golden Orb on a non-qualified planet? On Earth, we got them by killing mutants… so maybe it’s similar?”

“Well… maybe by defeating the planet’s villain.”

Since making golden rain leaned closer to good than evil, perhaps defeating evil granted the orb.

At that point, Solar Moro—who had been silent—spoke up.

『What if you have to beg the non-qualified planet for it?』

“…What?”

『You said that when golden rain falls on another planet, it also falls on Earth, right? Sounds like a transaction between celestial bodies to me.』

The completely new perspective made Yeongwoo’s head start to spin, when Earth suddenly grabbed her temple.

『Oh.』

“What now?”

『We’ve received a communication request.』

“A request? Salzeo couldn’t have found Tehen already.”

『Of course not. It’s not from Salzeo.』

“Then who?”

At that, Earth spoke a familiar name.

『Alden Miras.』

“Ah. Looks like the inheritance finally went through.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]