-Hahaha.
-Now, go back quickly. The world seems to need you yet.
-Co again once you’ve finished everything! Versya!
-…What do you an?
-Mhm. You haven’t forgotten, have you? Our dream.
-Yeah… Of course. A normal life for everyone.
-And a world that doesn’t need a hero. Hahaha! You rember after all.
-I’ll be waiting. But no need to rush too much.
-….
FSSS-
Versya’s vision went white as his senses returned.
Glug- Glug-
Upon opening his eyes, he found himself subrged in a green solution.
…Where am I?
His question was quickly answered. In a slightly… undesirable way?
“Welco, Slave No. 1. Hahaha.”
“Did you think you could run away by yourself?!”
“Congratulations on your recovery.”
Ahh… familiar faces were surrounding the capsule. And…
“Mhm. How much do you think went into this? You’ll have to hustle to make up for it, yeah?”
Clearly, the Oradge had no intention of letting him go.
***“You an… I’ve been unconscious for almost a year?”
“They said it was purely for your treatnt.”
“I suppose… It simply wasn’t an injury I could recover from.”
Versya sighed, looking down at his body.
“But what in the world is this?”
Smooth, yet supple skin, chiseled abs, and a broad chest as vast as the ocean… was not what he saw.
Where did it all go? Why is my body made of tal now?
Versya sighed, gazing at his tal body. It was entirely integrated, so he couldn’t even take it off.
“A cyborg…?”
“Still, have hope. Apparently they spared your vital function as a man.”
“…Such a tear-jerking gesture.”
On top of that, when he saw the chat log in the Community, he got a headache.
I have 6 hours of mandatory streaming daily to pay off my debt?
Versya had no clue what the Oradge was thinking.
“Haa…”
ㄴco on in cyborg.
ㄴhi Genj*~
ㄴVital function indeed.
ㄴy u sighin when he saved you from castration? lel
ㄴHe saved your life, and your little son. You may as well treat him like a second father.
ㄴcorrection, he was prolly gonna make him a eunuch but stopped halfway
ㄴlol isn’t that the sa thing?
ㄴhe’s Genj* Shimada!
ㄴMO WO SUTETEMO, MIYORI WA SUTEZU
ㄴHnng!
ㄴRYUJIN NO KIMOCHI!
“Ryu
“Hahaha. You have to endure that much. You already received an advance, after all.”
“…I suppose so.”
Versya chuckled, looking at the Spirit Summoner who was smiling sadly.
“But the fortress seems to have changed quite a bit?”
“You’re only noticing now? Much has changed while you were sleeping. I’ll give you a tour.”
“….”
Even though it was once a fortress, there was still a sense of field deploynt before. But now…
“By the way, we’re underground.”
“What?”
An artificial sun hung in the sky, and the air was so fresh one wouldn’t believe it was underground.
Versya could see buildings densely packed beneath the artificial sun, with people busily moving about, imrsed in their daily routines. The streets were lively and bustling with activity. He could even see guards flying through the air. ꭆ�
This was supposed to be an SF underground city?
Dozens of transparent passageways stretched up toward the sky. Alloy-clad outer walls lined the periter, and massive chanical structures were installed between them.
It definitely had the atmosphere of an underground facility.
“What in the world happened?”
“Haha, this is just the residential sector, so to speak. The military facilities are on the upper level, while the research facilities are down below.”
“…”
There are more floors like this? Just how big is this place?
Versya felt like he was listening to a story from another world.
I guess it’s not wrong to call it that…
Yet sothing else troubled him more.
“Sir Spirit Summoner. No, it’s the sa with everyone else. What did you all do?”
“What do you an? Haha.”
The Spirit Summoner smiled knowingly, even as he asked.
“I didn’t think I was the strongest. But the gap wasn’t so large that I couldn’t gauge your power, or that of the others. Yet now…”
“Now?”
“I can’t sense a thing.”
“Huhu.”
The Spirit Summoner was the very picture of calm, in stark contrast to Versya’s confusion.
“Curious, are we?”
“Of course I am. There was nothing wrong with my senses, so there has to be a reason for this…”
“Haha. Co with .”
“…”
The Spirit Summoner led Versya to a transparent, cylindrical glass tube that extended toward the sky.
“This is?”
“We’re going to the upper level.”
As soon as Versya stepped inside, the tube began to shoot upward. He could see the entire underground city spread out beneath him through the glass.
“I see.”
Versya could clearly sense how much had changed during the year he had been unconscious.
“Woah…”
From above, he could tell even more.
“It resembles the Imperial Capital.”
“Haha. The residential sector, at least, was designed to minimize the sense of alienation, taking into account everyone’s culture.”
“Isn’t this alone grander than the Imperial Capital?”
“… Though I do feel the sa way.”
While Versya sighed quietly in awe, the Spirit Summoner continued softly.
“The power of the Galactic Empire exceeds our expectations.”
“…”
“Far beyond our imagination at that.”
If they could so effortlessly build a city like this in their conquered territories’ residential sectors…
“Well, we knew this much already. Let’s move on. We’re heading to the training grounds.”
“…Training grounds?”
Versya followed as the Spirit Summoner led him through a series of passages, where barriers opened and closed in sequence, until they arrived at a vast training room.
There, a familiar face awaited him: Transcendent phir, the King of Hell, dispatched from the Community.
Beep-
[Versya]
[HP: 336,852/337,000]
[Ether: 10,000]
“Oh ho, 330,000. That’s so serious durability. Perhaps physical enhancent really is the answer? And it seems like Ether is built-in by default.”
“Sorry?”
“I’ve been grinding like crazy only to barely hit the 7,000s…”
Versya could hardly make sense of either the Spirit Summoner’s words or the text that appeared before his eyes.
[Barron]
[HP: 98,230/123,000]
[Ether: 7,600]
“The numbers are just numbers, so don’t stress over them. It’s a system that asures HP according to your toughness and automatically protects you. After all, it’d be a waste if you simply died during sparring.”
Versya was still at a loss.
“And Ether is an unknown energy that you’ll need to learn about. You may have more than right now, but actually using it is a whole different story.”
“…”
“Yo! Barron! Spar with since you’re here.”
phir called out to Barron, pounding his fists together with a tallic clang, lips curving into a grin. Spirit Summoner Barron accepted his invitation with a matching smile.
“Watch closely, and observe the utility of Ether—and realize why you must acquire the Ether Cultivation Technique.”
“…”
phir, who had introduced himself as the Ruler of Niflheim, and Spirit Summoner Barron soon began to clash.
“Uhh?”
Sothing was different. Completely different from before.
They were using equipnt Versya had never seen. Barron had four floating cubes at his command, while phir wore tallic armor and wielded a giant staff.
PZZZZT-
The four cubes assisted Barron, responding to the attributes of the Spirit Kings he summoned.
RUMBLE- BOOOM-
The tip of phir’s staff split open, forming a barrel.
So much of their combat techniques was new. But more than anything…
“Unbelievable…”
These weren’t the sa fighters Versya had once known.
C-C-CRASH-
As soone who had fought alongside them, Versya knew of their forr combat abilities.
C-C-CRASH-
Barron unleashed flas with such power that it almost seed as if he had summoned a god of fire, while phir countered, freely wielding his staff, shielded by his armor.
[Versya]
[HP: 223,552/337,000]
Even as a re spectator, Versya’s HP was being relentlessly shaved off by the sheer force of their battle.
BOOM-
PZZT-
He hastily backed away, but there was only so far he could retreat.
“Ugh!”
Simply being in the sa space made Versya feel as if he were about to explode from pressure.
He knew they didn’t possess this kind of power before. Barron, especially, had once been close to his own level.
Yet now, Barron’s aura alone seed capable of crushing him.
“Eth…er?”
The unknown energy surrounding their bodies utterly overwheld him.
As Versya watched their fight, captivated as if witnessing the end of the world, the match reached its conclusion.
“Koff! I really can’t defeat you in a one-on-one fight. Go easy on , will you?”
“Haha. It can’t be helped. Summoning-type Spirit Summoners are inherently limited in such duels.”
“Whew…”
After the spar, Barron approached Versya.
“What did you feel?”
“…Disbelief.”
“Right? Even I can’t believe this is the result of just one year.”
“…”
“Your body has been completely remodeled, so expectations are high.”
“What?”
“See that scoreboard over there?”
Versya turned to look where Barron was pointing.
[Ranking (Combat Power)]
1.Virdel (2,294,404)
2.Yongyong (1,452,001)
3.
…
12.phir (432,152)
…
26.Barron (226,642)
…
48.Averico (12,553)
“Dozens of Transcendents have joined the fight after you.”
“…”
Despite how powerful he was, Barron ranked only 26th?
“In the first place, you can’t even enter the battlefield unless your combat power reaches 100,000.”
“…”
“So train fast and help out. There’s talk of a major battle soon.”
“…Yes.”
“Oh and by the way, the woman with starry hair recently dispatched from the Galactic Empire had a combat power rating over 12 million. Virdel’s reaction was sothing to see.”
“…12 million?”
“Of course, her record was handled unofficially. Don’t worry about it.”
“…”
Versya was overwheld by the revelations.
…Weren’t we supposed to be Transcendents in our own right?
“Sir Barron.”
“Hnn?”
“How do I beco that strong?”
“Haha. So you’re finally getting motivated. You’ve seed pretty lifeless since you woke up.”
“…I can’t keep losing forever.”
“Right. That’s what it ans to be a hero! Haha. We Transcendents must keep pushing forward, don’t we?”
Just what kind of army was the Oradge trying to build… And in the first place, why gather so much power?
“There’s a long way to go. Hahaha.”
“…”
Reviews
All reviews (0)