Chapter 641

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 641: Golden Nebula (1)

Earthling.

Ordinarily, this refers to humans living on Earth, a planet in the Solar System.

But now that the space age had opened, did such a classification even carry meaning anymore?

Especially in Earth’s case, wasn’t it about to officially accept extraterrestrial immigrants?

And even Yeongwoo himself, Earth’s representative, could hardly be considered a pure human anymore.

At present, Yeongwoo was a mixture: 41% human, 27% Artari, along with various other traits from dragons, machines, and miscellaneous races blended together.

So even if protests against alien immigration were taking place in Oregon, Earth was already being represented by someone closer to an alien than a human.

Thus, it wasn’t strange at all that the system was judging the Red Foot clan as Earthlings.

According to the system, the Red Foot orcs were now even classified as Korean residents living in Seoul.

[Korea / Seoul]

| Bantubangtong: Then it’s decided that we receive the wreckage? I should clear some space then.

At Bantubangtong’s somewhat excited message, Jiseon’s mouth dropped open.

—Uh…? That “Korea/Seoul” classification… did you assign that?

“No. The system automatically assigned their affiliation.”

—What? The system officially recognizes those people… no, those orcs as belonging to Korea?

“I guess from the system’s perspective, being different races isn’t a big obstacle to belonging to the same group.”

Come to think of it, even in dungeons, all kinds of races were often placed in the same party.

—Still, an orc with the surname Bang living in Seoul, Republic of Korea… that’s going to take some getting used to.

“The universe is difficult by nature.”

Even while Yeongwoo and Jiseon were talking, no one else besides Master Bang spoke in the live chat.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to say they couldn’t speak.

Just as Jiseon had been shocked by Bantubangtong’s affiliation tag, everyone watching the broadcast was equally stunned.

“We’ll finish coordinating with Earth and send the ship wreckage to the Guro District. Please make sure there’s enough space prepared in advance so it doesn’t interfere with daily life.”

[Korea / Seoul]

| Bantubangtong: Understood. I will move immediately.

And so, the region chosen to store and sort the ship wreckage was finalized as the Red Foot clan’s territory in Guro District.

In a way, Master Bang and the Red Foot orcs had just acquired new jobs.

“For now, the area for storing the wreckage is decided… so what’s next?”

When Yeongwoo turned toward Earth and asked, Earth looked out at the scattered ship debris beyond the window.

『The plan is to collect that wreckage, sort it, and sell it, right? But you don’t have sorting machinery yet.』

“Right. So I was thinking of having the brothers sort it manually.”

After saying this, Yeongwoo glanced toward Mantero.

“…It’s possible, right? Sorting ship wreckage by hand.”

Mantero gave a vague nod.

—It is… possible, but there are limitations.

“Limitations?”

—There are two main aspects to wreckage sorting. The first is separating drive-system components from the debris. That can be done adequately even with the naked eye.

“So the other part can’t be done?”

—Yes. The other is distinguishing components that contain Katangdal ingots from ordinary scrap metal. That is very difficult to determine just by looking.

“So in the end we need to buy a recovery machine.”

—If this were an ordinary fleet, I would recommend purchasing one from a long-term perspective. But since Earthship can perform bulk collection, and you already have plenty of workers…

Mantero looked out the window again.

—Perhaps it would be enough to purchase a few identification devices for the workers. And maybe some dismantling equipment as well.

“Identification devices? Something that shows the Katangdal ingot content?”

—Yes. To be honest, I haven’t spent much time at worksites myself, so I’m not entirely…

Just as Mantero was about to say they should first contact related vendors, Yeongwoo raised a finger and pointed toward distant Tehen.

“Wouldn’t Tehen have those? They even repair damaged planetary ships there.”

A truly bandit-leader-like way of thinking.

He was essentially saying they should take Tehen’s supplies while they were at it.

“Contact them quickly. Since they have to abandon Tehen anyway, tell them to bring all essential materials. And grab identification devices and dismantlers for us too.”

At this, Earth blinked a few times before nodding.

『Yeah, well… the Duke Dalqui’s side can’t keep living on Tehen either, so it makes sense to bring over all high-value resources.』

Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to Earth, he asked Yeongwoo,

『But where to?』

“Huh?”

『Where are the Tehen residents going?』

Yeongwoo answered immediately, as if he had already prepared the reply.

“Where else? Australia.”

『…Australia?』

“The Red Foot brothers who originally lived there have moved to Guro, right? So we just fill it with new residents.”

Besides, wasn’t much of the Australian continent still wasteland?

That made it a perfect place for Tehen residents, who were skilled at ship repair.

It was one of the few areas where heavy equipment and parts could be spread out freely.

“There are still some people left in southern Australia, so we can let Tehen use the north. And we’ll position the work equipment in the central desert region.”

At least in theory, it was a flawless plan.

『Then all that’s left is… collecting the wreckage?』

“While the brothers secure space in Guro, let’s rescue the Tehen residents first. We’ll need the equipment on Tehen anyway if we want to start sorting.”

『Makes sense.』

Earth nodded and began steering Earthship back toward Tehen.

The planet Tehen, already glowing with a golden ring, shone even brighter as they approached.

It was at that moment that a system message from the Golden Nebula Domain appeared in Yeongwoo’s view.

「Tehen’s Golden Sphere has been prepared.」

‘Prepared…?’

Yeongwoo blinked and looked around, but there was no sign of any golden sphere.

Which meant—

“Don’t tell me I have to go to Tehen myself and retrieve it?”

When he muttered this, Earth tilted his head.

『What are you suddenly talking about?』

“I got a notification saying the Golden Sphere is ready. But there’s no sphere here… which means it must be on Tehen.”

『Well, since it’s a sphere you obtain by saving a planet… it wouldn’t be strange if it formed on that planet itself.』

And the very condition for making golden rain fall across Earth was “calling golden rain from another planet.”

In other words, going directly to Tehen had been inevitable anyway.

“I’ll go to Tehen before summoning the residents.”

『Should I drop you at Tehen’s assembly point then?』

“Guess so. I don’t know exactly where the sphere appears on Tehen… but if something changed, Duke Dalqui will probably know.”

It was the first time generating a Golden Sphere on a non-qualified planet.

And the first time calling golden rain from a planet other than Earth.

For the first time in a while, Yeongwoo felt his heart pounding.

According to the Golden Nebula Domain’s description, the moment golden rain was summoned on another planet, all of Earth would be covered in golden rain.

The sight itself would be amazing, but it would also be a miraculous moment producing an enormous amount of karma.

‘It’s basically printing money… so that’s why planetary salvation was a condition.’

As Yeongwoo stared at the golden Tehen outside the window, Earth opened a portal and spoke.

『I informed Tehen that you’ll be visiting personally. I also told them to gather key supplies at the assembly point.』

“Good. Perfect. Once I secure the sphere safely, we’re done.”

『Doesn’t the Golden Nebula Domain show the sphere’s location or anything?』

“Nope. Tehen is just glowing gold. Feels like it’s telling me to go there blindly.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

『Who knows? Maybe once you arrive, some sort of directional guide will appear.』

“Maybe.”

In any case, the greatest obstacle—the Salzeo fleet—had already been dealt with.

So whatever remained wasn’t truly worrying.

“I’ll head to Tehen first and explain the situation. Ideally the sphere just appears there waiting for me.”

『The drop pod coordinates are already set. Just go.』

Earth pointed to the portal open in a corner of the control room, and Yeongwoo stepped inside without hesitation.

Swaaah!

A brief sense of disorientation passed over him as the narrow interior of a drop pod squeezed his body from front and back.

Then—

TAAANG!

With a sound like a pistol shot, the drop pod carrying Yeongwoo shot rapidly across space.

○ The drop pod you’re riding will land right in the middle of the Tehen residents’ assembly area. So go explain things properly. Tell them that thanks to you, they’re being forced to abandon their planet.

‘And don’t forget to mention they’ll be living on a better planet.’

Yeongwoo grinned inside the pod.

Depending on one’s point of view, it wasn’t even wrong.

When else would they get the chance to become residents of a planetary ship?

Trudududuk!

Soon, as the pod entered Tehen’s atmosphere, violent vibrations shook the craft.

‘Almost there.’

And shortly after—

KUUUUUUNG!

A powerful shock rang out from outside the pod, and the vessel split open in all directions, launching Yeongwoo outward.

“…!”

Thrown into midair in an instant, what Yeongwoo saw below was a densely packed sea of frogs.

Every single Tehen resident had gathered in one place.

—Huh?

—That guy! It’s him!

—B-be careful! He’s falling this way!

Apparently everyone knew that the source of all their troubles would appear here, because countless frogs pointed at Yeongwoo in anger.

—You! You’re the one who caused all this!

—Where are you telling us to go, abandoning Tehen? We’ve lived here all our lives…!

Yeongwoo, sprawled on the ground, slowly stood up.

Through the colorful crowd, Duke Dalqui and Lady Kanaph Izori walked forward.

—Please understand. It’s a sudden evacuation, so everyone is upset.

As Duke Dalqui said this while glancing back, Yeongwoo shrugged.

“Our side’s in chaos too. From a human perspective, residents from other planets are basically unwanted guests.”

But wasn’t it thanks to these very guests that they would gain an enormous amount of karma?

“Anyway, where’s the sphere?”

At this, Duke Dalqui tilted his head in confusion.

—Sphere…?

“You haven’t seen a golden sphere about this big?”

The moment Yeongwoo made a large circle with his hands, the inside of his palms glowed gold.

Piaaaaat!

“Whoa?!”

Startled, Yeongwoo stepped back, and the lingering golden light where he had just stood began gathering in one place.

“…No way.”

And then—

Srrrrp.

A golden sphere materialized in midair.

‘What? Did it appear because I met the rescued people? Or does it generate automatically as soon as I visit the planet?’

As Yeongwoo blinked at the sphere, golden text appeared above it.

「The Golden Nebula awaits your command.」

「Activate the sphere and summon the Golden Nebula.」

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]