Humildas Marshal’s Office.
The officials wore grave expressions.
“Damn it!! Exactly how many locations are we talking about?!”
They had discovered transmissions reporting sightings of an unidentified fleet from a total of five locations.
It was difficult to make a definitive judgment based on this information alone. The amount of data that could be sent via wormhole communication was limited to a mere 4 bits.
Has the enemy appeared?
Is their identity known?
Has additional information been gathered?
Have you engaged in combat?
These four situations were transmitted using binary code, 0s and 1s.
“And after that? Any further transmissions?”
“They are all 1.0.0.0., sir.”
The content was simply that they had spotted the enemy.
“Communication was lost with all of them immediately after. Furthermore, we suspect there are units that haven’t sent transmissions to avoid revealing their positions.”
Sending a transmission could alert the enemy. Because of this, some patrols delayed communicating until their own safety was secured after spotting the enemy.
The patrols were not regular army units. They were groups forcibly drafted from the private armies of the nobility. They had no obligations other than patrolling.
“A new transmission, sir!!!”
An information officer rushed into the conference room, frantic. Everyone’s attention shifted.
“What’s the content?”
“It’s 1.1.1.1., sir.”
They spotted the enemy, identified them, gathered additional information, and even engaged in combat.
“Where is this?”
“The Pepe Star System, sir.”
“Where is that?”
“A low-level colony managed by a provincial governor. Its specialties include pet fairies, and the tax revenue is…”
“I’m not asking about that. Which family sent their patrol there?”
One official’s multiple arms moved busily.
“Found it. The flagship belongs to the Pak family, and the rest are from lower-tier families.”
“Pak?! No way…”
“The flight leader is Pak Yu.”
“That good-for-nothing scoundrel?”
Pak Yu was the notorious scoundrel of the Humildas Marshal’s Office. While his timid and narrow-minded personality prevented him from causing major disasters, he was a constant source of petty trouble.
The rumors had been exaggerated, and people knew him as a legendary delinquent. Because of this, the Pak family’s reputation had recently plummeted.
“Even a slug has a trick or two, it seems. That fellow actually pulled it off!”
In truth, the Humildas Marshal already knew the enemy’s identity. The only force capable of such actions was the Imperium Marshal.
This was likely preliminary work before an attack—or perhaps an attempt to gain leverage in negotiations by inciting fear. Regardless, if evidence could be secured, they could pressure the Imperium Marshal’s Office using public opinion.
“Excellent! And the head of the Pak family?”
“He liquidated most of his assets and left for his post.”
“A relief. Had he known this, he wouldn’t have accepted the Logistics Director position.”
The only reason he had accepted the post was because of his son.
***
Before departing.
“Can we establish communication with that Sagitta fellow?”
“It is possible. The channel is open.”
This ship originally belonged to Sagitta.
“Connect it.”
A moment later.
[Is the colony destruction complete…? You… you!]
“You brat with no manners. When you see your elder, you should be bowing your head to the floor.”
[How…]
I could tell just by his reaction. It seemed the guy had planted a portion of the heavy mobile fleet at the planet I was supposed to flee to. But I had appeared at the colony instead of the nearby planets.
“I received your gift well. The ship is quite nice.”
[You bastard. If I ever see you again, I won’t let you get away with this.]
“You still haven’t come to your senses, have you? Know this: the next time we meet, I’ll be taking your other eye as well.”
[Aaaaaagh!]
The guy couldn’t contain his rage and screamed.
“Oh, and give my regards to your master.”
I raised my handless left wrist and waved it.
[Stay right there! I’m coming to rip your throat out right now.]
“Do you think an elder like me has nothing better to do? My, it seems my time is already up.”
I gave him a handless fist-gesture.
[I’ll kill—!]
*Beep!*
I cut the communication before he could finish. He’s probably throwing a fit right now.
“Shut down the engines and follow the control center’s instructions.”
“Understood.”
We were connected to the control station.
[We will now guide you through the warp induction.]
If it were an uninhabited planet, I would have done it directly, but this was a place frequented by merchant ships. Of course, we were the only ones here at the moment. In any case, procedurally, we had to adjust our orbit according to the control center’s guidance.
[Please activate the warp drive.]
My fleet took formation so that we could move as a single mass within the wormhole.
*Vroooooom!*
We orbited using only inertia and the planet’s gravity, without any external force.
‘Oh.’
As time passed, the world began to look overlapped. Like two photographs placed on top of one another.
[Farewell. May the gods’ blessing be upon your fleet.]
With that, communication with the control station was cut.
“The main fleet has entered the wormhole.”
It was a massive passage that looked like a hollow hole in the center. The walls showed distorted galaxies, looking like the works of Van Gogh. Watching the constant spinning felt like I was going to lose my mind.
“Final objective: The Doros Star Cluster. Estimated arrival at the first waypoint in approximately five hours. Switching to autopilot. Everyone, please take a rest.”
The helmsman who said this stole a glance at me. I gave a casual wave of my hand and stood up.
“I should go take a shower.”
My stamina was more than just overflowing; it felt like it was about to explode. I immediately headed into the captain’s private quarters.
“This is luxurious.”
The private quarters of the previous light mobile ship’s captain looked pathetic in comparison. The private bathroom was large, and the glittering decorations were extraordinary. It felt like being in a Roman bathhouse.
“Is this the taste of capital? This is good.”
I immediately filled the tub and got inside. Heat surged through my body. My lower half felt quite uncomfortable.
“Should I just take a cold shower instead?”
I was about to get out of the tub to shake off the ‘demons’ in my head when—
“What’s this?!”
The screen attached to the bathtub activated. Curious, I took a closer look and found quite a few folders.
*The Kingfisher. The Sparrowhawk. The Woodpecker.*
I instinctively knew what these were. Even though I was in a private room, I found myself looking around before playing a video. However.
“Piece of sh—!”
There were thousands of clips, but they were all of elephants mating. I had unintentionally learned the previous owner’s sexual preferences.
My eyes for sale, never used.
***
After finishing a cold shower, I felt a bit better. I felt like a sage. Some other activity might have been added in the middle of that shower, but I won’t speak of it. Perhaps because of that, my mind felt a bit clearer.
“Ha… this is driving me crazy.”
The problem was the Crowbar. As long as I possessed this thing, it seemed I would have to shower frequently in the future.
“I can’t exactly sell it, either.”
Holy relics are made of pure Dark Matter. Dark Matter does not interact with other materials. The only thing that affects it is gravity.
Of course, it can influence other materials. One only needs to use Mana (ship energy) or Force (human energy). In other words, an object made of Dark Matter becomes the ultimate weapon capable of selective strikes.
“Let’s test it out.”
***
*Thwack!!!*
I lightly struck a scarecrow in the training room with the Crowbar. The scarecrow was made of solid metal, but the area I hit was dented as if it were clay.
“As expected of a holy relic.”
the Vice-Captain said as she approached.
“Since when were you there?”
“I’ve been training over there from the beginning.”
The Vice-Captain pointed toward a dark corner. I hadn’t seen her because I was preoccupied with other thoughts.
“However, your swinging form is quite clumsy.”
She approached me, intending to correct my posture. I quickly held up a palm.
“Stop!”
My stamina was at MAX thanks to the Crowbar’s influence. In other words, the Vice-Captain was a hazardous substance to me.
“Ah, my apologies. I must smell quite strongly of sweat from training, don’t I?”
That made it even more of a problem. I really ought to sell this Crowbar. It was too inconvenient to use. It would be a miracle if my mental strength didn’t run dry before I even encountered an enemy.
“Where is the firing range here?”
It seemed better to hone my marksmanship instead. There was no way a ‘beta’ like me could handle close-quarters combat.
“I will guide you.”
I followed the Vice-Captain. Being a state-of-the-art battleship, the firing range was well-equipped. Weapons of all types were available.
First, I drew a pistol from my hip. It was the same one I used to take down the Apostle Goblin.
“The target is at 30 meters.”
The target was fixed when the Vice-Captain pressed a button.
I was confident. Hadn’t I just hit an enemy in one shot recently?
*Click!*
I disengaged the safety. I took a deep breath and aimed with maximum focus.
*Pew!*
The pistol fired. Beside me, the Vice-Captain observed the target.
“A complete miss. It flew off to the top left.”
“It’s just because I haven’t zeroed the sights yet.”
I fired again.
*Pew!*
“This time it’s the bottom right. You must account for the flow of Dark Energy.”
I nodded and focused once more. This time, I was conscious of the dark waves. The fluctuations were changing in real-time.
*Pyong!*
“It seems the target was too far away to begin with.”
The Vice-Captain, seemingly frustrated, pulled the target closer. 15 meters this time.
*Zing!*
“You shot too low.”
I gritted my teeth and fired again.
*Zzzzing~!*
The laser completely curved.
“This time you should have shot much lower. It was the timing for the Dark Energy to surge upward.”
I holstered the pistol.
“It seems I’m more of a rifle type. Ballistic weapons are less affected by Dark Energy, right?”
“Yes. Because they contain a lot of ordinary matter.”
That was why one could deflect bullets if they used Force well.
*Clack!*
I loaded one of the rifles on the rack. The mechanism wasn’t much different from what I knew.
‘I might not look like it, but I was the guy who got a four-day reward vacation for my marksmanship back in the army. This is my thing.’
It only happened once, but that might have been the greatest achievement of my life. Other than that, I had no memory of ever taking first place in anything.
*Click!*
I familiarized myself with the rifle and took a firing stance.
“Ooh. You look much more stable than you did with the pistol.”
“Set it to 50 meters.”
“Understood.”
The target moved back. Even if I didn’t hit a bullseye, I wasn’t going to suffer the pathetic embarrassment of missing the target entirely like before.
I calmly pulled the trigger. Shot by shot, with all my heart.
*Pyung~! Pyuuuuu~ng! Pyuuuuungshiiiin!*
“Is it just me, or does the sound seem weird?”
“I’m not sure. It’s likely due to the dark wavelengths.”
“I see. How are the results?”
Regardless, it was a satisfying round of shooting. I asked with the conviction that every shot had hit the mark.
“Every single one was a miss.”
I quietly set the rifle down. It seemed I would have to postpone the plan to sell off the Crowbar.
***
[Attention, please. We will soon be passing the first waypoint. All crew members, please move to your stations.]
The announcement came over the speakers. A wormhole was similar to a highway. While some stretches spanned long distances in a straight line, there were cases where you had to change routes like an interchange.
The more skilled a navigator was, the more frequently they switched interchanges to shorten the distance.
However, our fleet didn’t have a navigator to begin with.
“Captain!”
As I entered the command center, everyone stood up and saluted. It was a remarkable improvement compared to before.
Since this ship had a bit of money, I had distributed bonuses, and their loyalty was now overflowing.
*Shoo, shoo.*
When I waved my hand, everyone took their seats.
“The fleet will be exiting the wormhole shortly. Please be prepared for potential hazards.”
Without a navigator, we couldn’t drop out at an exact location. Therefore, we didn’t know what dangers might be lurking.
You might ask if we aren’t getting closer to the Marshal’s Office?
Even so, things don’t change that drastically. The star systems managed by the Marshal’s Office didn’t even cover 0.1% of their jurisdiction.
Most areas were neglected unless they had economic value. In Earth terms, it was a wasteland.
So, what exists in empty space?
There could be wild planets, pirate dens, slash-and-burn farmers, or in the worst case, planets where alien races have gone into hiding.
This is why skilled navigators pick out and travel only through waypoints managed by the Marshal’s Office.
*Swoosh!*
We emerged from the wormhole. It felt like rising to the surface from the deep sea. The actively moving Dark Energy brushed against my skin as it passed by.
‘Guns really are a no-go.’
They were like that even inside the relatively stable Dark Energy of a wormhole; if I fired a gun in a place like this, I’d be lucky if I didn’t hit an ally.
“Scanning surroundings!”
“Identifying current location by checking constellations.”
“Checking warp drive.”
“Engine ignition!”
Reports began to trickle in one by one. There were no abnormalities so far.
“I suppose we can dismiss everyone then.”
Since no dangers were detected, there was no need to stay stuck in the command center.
However.
“Captain. It’s a distress signal!!!”