Gateway Stationâs interior was a labyrinth of corridors, cargo bays, and temporary housing units. The sheer scale of the place became apparent as Team Ragnarok led Ethan through increasingly crowded passages. Soldiers, mercenaries, and species he could not identify moved past in constant streams, their conversations creating a chaotic symphony of languages and dialects.
Their assigned quarters occupied a modest section of the stationâs residential ring--six small rooms arranged around a common area. Ethanâs room was the smallest, barely large enough for a cot and a storage locker, but it had a lock on the door and four walls that separated him from the chaos outside.
"Get settled," Max said, pausing at the common areaâs exit. "Tomorrow, weâll show you the supply routes and introduce you to the command staff. For now, rest. The jump affects everyone differently."
The other team members dispersed to their rooms. Ethan waited until their footsteps faded, then closed his door and sat on the cot.
He closed his eyes and reached inward.
The connection to his main body remained steady--a thread of consciousness stretching across dimensional boundaries. He could feel Ethanâs presence in the castle, the weight of his cultivation and the simmering fury that had not subsided since learning about his familyâs imprisonment.
"Theyâre here," Ethanâs main body communicated through the link. "All of them. I can sense traces of Mother and Father in this world too, though I havenât located them yet."
The clone nodded internally. "I found Erina. She doesnât remember, but sheâs here. Whatâs your plan?"
"Grow stronger. Find them all. Complete the worldâs task. Repeat until we reach level one hundred."
"And the god clan?"
The main bodyâs response came with cold certainty.
"When we find their children in these trial worlds, we kill them. Not for revenge. For practice."
The clone understood. Every encounter with the god clanâs young prodigies would be training for the final confrontation. Every victory would sharpen their skills. Every death would weaken the clanâs future generation."
"Be careful," the clone sent. "Youâre still only level one. Iâm still only human. We have time, but we canât afford mistakes."
"I know," the main body replied. "Thatâs why I sent you ahead. While I grind levels in the castle, you explore the battlefield. When we meet again, weâll both be stronger. And you are going to be the embodiment of my preveous self as canât become the person who I was before after merging with the system of Elysium."
The clone nodded in understanding. His main body wanted to make him an individual entity.
The connection faded.
Ethanâs clone opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of his small room. Somewhere on this world, his family existed--his mother, his father, Rose, Erina. They did not remember him. They did not know they were trapped. But they were here.
And he would find every single one of them until his main body was ready to take vengeance.
Even if it took a thousand years.
---
The next morning, Ethan rose before the others.
He moved through the common area quietly, observing the stationâs activity through the reinforced windows. Ships departed and arrived in steady streams, each one carrying soldiers toward their deaths or bringing survivors back from the brink.
His enhanced senses which were sharpened even more as his strength surpassed 1 tonnes in both physically and mentally, he heard some information.
"The young master of the Shura clan is here. We shouldnât go there. I heard he is a Supreme prodigy who killed 10000 humans in a single days who were all similar realms as him."
"--if we avoid the eastern sector, we might survive--"
Ethan filed the information away.
A supreme young master?
Interesting.
He had just finished a basic stretching routine when Erina emerged from her room, her silver hair disheveled and her eyes still heavy with sleep. She stopped when she saw him.
"Youâre up early."
"I donât need much sleep."
She studied him for a moment, the same flicker of unrecognized familiarity crossing her features. "You really donât act like an errand boy."
"What do errand boys act like?"
"Scared. Resigned. Desperate." She walked past him toward the food dispenser. "You act like someone whoâs already decided heâs not going to die here."
"Because Iâm not."
Erina glanced back at him, her expression unreadable. "Confidence without ability is just stupidity."
"Then watch," Ethan said quietly. "And decide which I have."
She did not respond, but she did not look away either.
And in that moment, Ethan saw something in her eyes--a spark of recognition that she could not explain, a pull toward him that defied logic.
She feels it, he thought. Even without her memories, she knows something is different about me.
It was not much. But it was a start.
---
By the time the rest of Team Ragnarok assembled, the stationâs artificial day cycle had fully activated. Max laid out a holographic map of the contested zones, marking supply routes and danger areas with practiced efficiency.
"Your primary responsibility is Route Seven," Max said, pointing to a winding path through a debris field. "Itâs relatively safe, mostly smaller creatures and the occasional scout patrol. Youâll transport ammunition, food, and medical supplies to Forward Base Omega three times per week."
"Relatively safe?" Ethan repeated.
"Nothing is completely safe on the battlefield," Mira admitted. "But Route Seven has the lowest casualty rate of any supply line. Youâll be fine if you follow procedure."
Ethan studied the map, noting the terrain features and potential ambush points. "Whatâs on the other side of the debris field?"
"Unclaimed territory," Dorian answered. "Too unstable for permanent bases, too valuable to ignore. Skirmishes happen there daily."
"And the creatures?"
"Classified by threat level, Alpha through Delta. Route Seven only sees Delta-level threats, which are manageable for armed personnel. Youâll carry a sidearm for emergencies."
"A sidearm," Ethan repeated flatly.
Kael snorted. "What, you want a cannon? Youâre an errand boy. Your job is to run, not fight."
"And if I canât run?"
"Then you die." Kaelâs voice held no malice, only cold fact. "Thatâs how the battlefield works. Adapt or perish."
Ethan looked at the map again, committing every detail to memory.
Delta-level threats, he thought. Weak enough that the team considers them manageable. Strong enough that an ordinary human would struggle.
He was not ordinary.
His physique today was 1280 kg, though it was still considered pathetic by the standards of genetically enhanced soldiers but he has countless techniques unders his belt. Even without energy, he could use some super techniques to flatten a small battlefield.
"Give me a week,"he decided. "One week, and Iâll be ready."
---
That evening, after completing his first supply run without incident, Ethan returned to his room and sat in meditation. His main body was doing the same in the castle, separated by dimensions but synchronized in purpose.
Ethanâs main body had already mastered the technique the founder gave him.
And he had broken to the level 2 as well.
"Now I need a monster to gain the initial point.", his main body thought and intantly a portal appeared infront of him.
Inside that portal, a restricted level 2 monster came out with a sentence and a knife.
" Try to kill it using that knife. You will gain more points."