Chapter 53: The Day the Tower Fell

FThere was no time to share the joy of clearing the floor. At the news that his younger sister was in danger, Gororo kicked off the air and headed for the exit.

[The party has been disbanded.]

The party members who had been with him watched his figure in a daze.

“He was a Ranker.”

“Was there a dealer who used a bow among them?”

“Ah! I forgot to ask his name.”

“We’ll be able to meet him again, right?”

Soon, even his back was no longer visible.

***

‘Crunch!’

Guild members smashed through the front door of Gororo’s house and entered. Since the neighborhood had many empty houses, they were bold in their actions.

“Wh… who are you?! Ah…!”

Gomel’s expression stiffened when she saw their faces. She hadn’t liked the look in their eyes for a long time.

“You were pretty before, but you’ve gotten even prettier since you got sick.”

“I… I’m going to call the police. Please leave.”

“Go ahead and try! Hahaha.”

Gomel picked up her phone.

‘Crack!’

However, the Guild Master snatched the phone and crushed it under his foot. Gomel’s expression froze.

“Right. It’s no fun if you’re too submissive, is it?”

“That’s right, Guild Master. Hahaha.”

The guild members agreed. In places with poor security, they often enjoyed such ‘entertainment’ together.

Just then.

‘Thud!’

The sound of something landing came from outside. Everyone turned their heads, wondering what it was.

“What? It’s just Gororo. I got scared for nothing.”

“Guild Master, what is the meaning of this?”

“What do you mean? I heard your sister was at death’s door, so I came for a visit. I thought it would be a shame if I never saw her again, you know?”

“Leave. Now.”

Everyone sneered at those words. He didn’t seem to grasp the situation. He should have called the police instead.

“If you have something good, you should know how to share. That’s why you were kicked out of the guild.”

An enraged Gororo drew his bow.

“Hahaha. What are you going to do with that?”

“This is your last chance. Please leave.”

“Pfft. I don’t want to.”

Gororo released the string before the guild members could form a formation.

‘Twang!’

A force arrow flew with an impactful sound. The tanker among the guild members sneered and raised his shield. Everyone thought he would block it easily. Or rather, they thought it would fly wildly. Mana-infused projectiles did not move in a straight line, after all.

‘Whoosh!’

However, the arrow curved flexibly and pierced the tanker’s throat.

‘Gurgle!’

The tanker dropped his shield and collapsed to the floor. The healer tried to heal him quickly, but…

‘Thwack!’

Another arrow blew the healer’s arm clean off.

“Aaaaagh!”

He rolled on the floor, screaming. He writhed in pain. Unlike other Hunters, he had no tolerance for pain.

‘Patter.’

A dealer with a dagger quickly approached Gororo. He was too fast; surely Gororo wouldn’t be able to hit him this time.

‘Swish!’

Gororo fired three weak shots simultaneously. It seemed to be for the sake of accuracy, but…

“Urgh!”

“Aaaaagh!”

“Gah!”

Three people fell at once. It wasn’t for accuracy; he had reduced their numbers quickly because of his sister’s safety.

Now, the only person standing was the Guild Master. He fell to his knees.

“I… I’m sorry, Gororo.”

“It seems too late for apologies.”

“Damn it. If you had fought like this from the beginning, I wouldn’t have kicked you out of the guild.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t have.”

“Were you chosen by a Constellation?”

“Yes. Thankfully, it turned out that way.”

The Guild Master wore a hollow expression. Then, his face soon distorted with rage.

“Even trash like that is chosen, so why wasn’t I?! Why?!!”

The Guild Master muttered, looking up at the sky as if resentful.

***

‘What is this guy rambling about?’

I manipulated the system.

[The Indefatigable Libertine is watching you.]

I sent a message.

‘Ohhh!!’

The guy’s expression brightened. He must have thought his chance had come.

‘Please. Give me strength!!’

He pleaded. I sent a message.

[Fuck off.]

That was the end of it. A startled Gororo drove an arrow into the man’s body. Because he fired in a hurry, he missed the vitals.

“Aaaaagh!”

Since he didn’t die instantly, he felt intense pain. An attack infused with force would hurt even more. It would feel like his nerves were burning.

Thwip-thwip-thwip!

In the end, he finally stopped breathing after taking several more shots.

Thud.

Gororo ran over and hugged his sister.

‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah! Brother, what happened?’

‘I was chosen by a Constellation.’

‘That’s great. What is his name?’

‘That… that is…’

The guy’s face turned red. I would probably feel the same way if I were him. Still, at least it wasn’t something like “Sex Machine.”

‘I’m glad. Hurry, let’s run away.’

‘Yeah. Let’s go together. Let’s go live in another country. They’ll take us in if I’m a Hunter with a Supporting Star.’

‘No, Brother. I don’t have any strength. I think I’ve reached my limit.’

‘Let’s take your medicine first.’

The medicine was mana stone powder. That was why it was so expensive.

‘I think the medicine has reached its limit too.’

She gasped for breath. I had to intervene before the sister died.

“Vice-Captain, please become her Supporting Star quickly.”

“Yes, sir.”

According to the system, one person could not become a Supporting Star multiple times in a row. The Vice-Captain logged into the system.

[The nickname Voluptuous Forest Keeper is being generated.]

I could see the Vice-Captain’s flustered expression. Even the tips of her pointed ears turned red.

“That… well, you see.”

It seemed nicknames reflected one’s desires to some extent.

“Ms. Voluptuous Forest Keeper, please proceed. She’s about to stop breathing.”

“I… I understand.”

[Voluptuous Forest Keeper is watching you.]

[Will you choose her as your Supporting Star?]

‘R… really? Me?’

[Please select. Yes/No.]

Gororo’s sister, Gomel, also awakened.

“Good work, Ms. Voluptuous Forest Keeper.”

“It… it was nothing.”

The Vice-Captain quickly left the room.

***

Terraforming ended in eight days, one day later than the planned seven. It happened because Gororo was caught by the police, and I had to handle it.

I mobilized several crew members. I made them Constellations and had them intervene. I had an Apostle give witness statements to prove self-defense.

Afterward, I helped Gororo conquer the top of the tower.

[Congratulations on turning from livestock into humans.]

A message appeared for everyone in the world.

‘Rumble!’

Along with the message, the tower collapsed. The planetary will fell into a dormant state after consuming too much power.

“More importantly, we have a problem. We need to build a space station, but the terraforming ended too early…”

A Top-Climbing Company employee looked troubled. At this rate, the planetary will would wake up soon. Mutations could occur in wild animals or residents. While they could be positive, most would result in grotesque forms or violent tendencies.

“Don’t worry. The station parts will arrive soon.”

My father would get them somehow. The Pak family’s capability was at least that much. He was quite resourceful in such matters.

“First, bring Gororo here. His sister too.”

“Understood.”

Gororo was treated as a hero on the planet. Because he cleared the tower, people were spared from judgment.

And their DNA changed from livestock to true humans. From a double helix structure to a triple helix structure due to force.

Hunters had already changed to a triple helix structure. The planetary scientists must have noticed the change long ago.

***

The Top-Climbing Company informed the people of the reality. Those who learned the truth were in shock. The planned global festivals were cancelled.

“To think this was all a trick by aliens.”

“At least the good thing is we weren’t sold as slaves thanks to a high-ranking alien named Pak Yu.”

“They said it was originally planned for ten years. It’s a relief it ended in seven.”

The number of survivors was 500 million. They said the original goal was to reduce it to below 100 million. I wasn’t sure if I should be grateful or resentful. Only time would tell.

“I’m so angry! To think we didn’t have to go through this in the first place.”

There were cases where species naturally and slowly became space-faring through evolution. In those cases, they were protected by the Imperium. They were treated quite well.

On the other hand…

‘Beasts’ like those on this planet who failed to evolve on their own underwent terraforming. The costs were covered by selling half of the survivors into slavery.

“Those stupid scientists. Wasting money sending signals into space to find aliens.”

They said the Imperial terraforming companies tracked civilizations using these signals.

That was usually what happened when civilizations developed. Curiosity and loneliness: “Are we the only intelligent life in the universe?” Eventually, they aimlessly broadcast radio waves into space, announcing their presence.

This planet was no different.

Scientists had tried tirelessly to contact alien life. That signal was caught by the Top-Climbing Company.

Because of that, over 5 billion people died. Only 500 million remained. They said the population would decrease even further in exchange for longer lifespans.

The price for becoming a space-faring species was too cruel. Even so, the Top-Climbing Company was on the moderate side.

Long ago, some scientists had warned about this. There was a famous hypothesis:

The Dark Forest Hypothesis. The reason we cannot find alien civilizations is that they hide themselves. If discovered by a stronger civilization, they might be seen as competitors and eliminated. Since defense is harder than attack, it is best not to be found.

But most scientists sneered, saying a highly developed alien civilization wouldn’t invade a planet because it wouldn’t be cost-effective. The materials that make up a planet are common in the universe.

They were half right and half wrong. In a normal material world, that might be true. There would be no reason to use massive energy for an invasion.

However, they had no concepts of dark matter, dark energy, or wormholes. Many of the scientists believed in God. They believed in miracles that made no scientific sense while completely ignoring the possibility of substances or laws they hadn’t observed.

This was the result.

“At least we don’t have to be sold as slaves…”

“Instead, we have to become spaceship crew members.”

“It’s better than half the survivors becoming slaves.”

“I found the execution of those power-tripping Hunters the most satisfying.”

To appease the public, the malicious ones were slaughtered. Such people were difficult to use as slaves or crew.

“And most of the crew being hired will be former Hunters. I heard the treatment isn’t bad.”

Very few people could become crew members. They had to be able to manipulate force, not just feel it.

“That man is a lock, for sure.”

“Ah, the hero Gororo?”

No matter how much this was all an alien plot, Gororo was a hero. He was the one who ended a disaster that would have taken ten years in only seven.

—

I waited leisurely. The Top-Climbing Company employees served me devotedly, fearing they might not get paid.

“Did you retrieve the relic?”

“Yes. It’s the relic from the tower that was cleared.”

They looked anxious. They carefully placed a low-tier looking necklace on the table. For a relic made by sacrificing an entire planet, it looked far too shoddy.

“Because there weren’t enough sacrifices, the commercial value is a bit…”

“That’s enough. I don’t intend to haggle over flaws and cut the price. If you take the contract to the Mungom Center, you can receive payment.”

“Thank you!!”

They bowed their heads deeply.

However.

‘If they knew the true value of this necklace, they would have coughed up blood trying to raise the price.’

They might have even filed a lawsuit with the central government. Not that it would matter; the center’s power had weakened, and it would have ended as a mere recommendation. The problem was that if the value of this relic became known, the vultures would swarm. Changing the topography of a wormhole was an incredible feat.

“Sojin, take this.”

“M… Me?!”

“Yes. That is an item specifically for navigators.”

If I wore it, it would be like throwing pearls before swine.

“Such a precious thing…”

Relics were rare even for noble families. In my Pak family, let alone a relic, a treasure-grade ring was being passed down as an heirloom. Of course, I suspected the ring I was currently wearing was originally of a much higher grade.

So why was I still wearing it despite the side effects? Not wearing it now wouldn’t make the side effects disappear. Now, only the function of increasing force purity remained.

“Captain, the Gororo siblings have arrived.”

A moment later.

Gororo and Gomel knelt before me.

“Thank you for saving us! Constellation.”

I was told they were informed upon arrival that I had actively saved them.

“That’s enough. Stand up and sit here.”

The two sat on the opposite sofa.

“Thank you, Constellation.”

“Enough of that. Call me Captain from now on.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Understood, Captain.”

The two nodded cautiously.

Gororo appeared to have a slender build, but he was covered in lean muscle.

Gomel was a considerable beauty by the standards of the world I lived in. She was just under 160 centimeters tall, but her proportions were good, so she didn’t look small. Her skin was so pale it looked translucent. I thought it was because she had mana sickness, but I was told that was her natural skin tone. She had a vibe similar to a classic internet star.

“Gomel, any issues using force?”

Mana sickness was actually a phenomenon called “force fever.” People of this world called it a blessing rather than a disease because they had a constitution sensitive to force. Those who suffered from this disease ended up with high force purity.

“Yes! No problems.”

I performed an aptitude test for her position. She had a talent for organizing spreading force.

Where would it be used? Usually, it was suitable for an on-board farm management position. But our ship didn’t have such a thing. Growing ingredients on a ship was a luxury reserved for imperial families or the wealthy.

Still, since she had a talent for force, she met the minimum requirements to be a crew member.

I would assign her to a non-combat position that was short on hands. I had brought her along as a welfare benefit for Gororo, who would serve as the gunnery officer, anyway. Separating the two would be a cruel thing to do.

“Captain!! A cargo ship is coming from the Lucifer Star Cluster.”

“Oh! They sent it right on time.”

Now, I just had to build a station on that planet. The station type would be a fortress.

Once completed, it would be the ultimate fortress. Then, the wormholes in this vicinity would be under control. Some colonies would be cut off from the Imperium Marshal. In other words…

‘I’m going to take it all for free.’

What would the size of my territory be then? I tapped a calculator in my head.