Chapter 125 – Research

The Assault Landing Ship used more water than expected.

This wasn’t just for essential daily needs like toilets, showers, baths, or cooking.

Beyond that, water was needed to wash down the units returning from battle, covered in blood and flesh to an extent that a Mana Shield alone could not handle.

Furthermore, vast amounts of water were consumed as coolant for various components, such as engines and gun barrels that had been pushed to the point of glowing red.

And the one in charge of that water was, naturally—.

Sshaaaaa—

Sua.

It wasn’t a difficult task. She only had to fill the water at designated locations once or twice a day.

In fact, it seemed as though the ship had been designed by someone who knew her abilities well, as it was set up to ensure her convenience in many ways.

After filling the water today as usual, Sua…

“Sigh…”

…let out a deep sigh.

She had been worrying a lot lately.

“That’s it for today’s work.”

She spoke lightly, with a slightly self-deprecating tone, but in truth, this was one of her biggest concerns.

Having focused on honing her combat abilities for a while, Sua was by no means weak. In fact, in terms of raw strength, she was among the top twenty on Earth.

But even so, her other comrades were simply too strong.

“Yes, Boss. I’ll get to work right away!”

Contrary to his clumsy way of speaking, Rai unleashed a terrifyingly violent storm of blades once he entered combat. Besides him, there were plenty of other formidable powerhouses like Choi Yongjin and the Doctor.

Not to mention Siwoo’s Magitech Legion, of course.

Consequently, these days, she rarely had a chance to participate in combat. Her role had become focused on supplying water…

“Sigh…”

And that was precisely why she was sighing.

It was, of course, because of the Artifact Siwoo had recently acquired, [Blue Marble]. When Sua first saw the Artifact, she was impressed and sincerely congratulated Siwoo for obtaining it… but as some time passed, she couldn’t shake a feeling of anxiety.

‘If that thing starts working… won’t I be even more unnecessary?’

Thoughts like that had been subtly creeping into her mind. This was especially true when comparing herself to Minju or Seoyeon, who possessed one-of-a-kind, special abilities.

Because of this, she had actually felt a small sense of relief recently that the Artifact wasn’t functioning properly.

Then, the news that hit her like a bolt from the blue came from Seoyeon, who had just woken up late in the afternoon with sleepy eyes.

“Oh? Sua-unnie. Seongjae-oppa was looking for you.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I don’t know. That Blue Marble thing. He said he’s researching how it works.”

It seemed Seongjae had been assigned to the research of the Blue Marble.

* * *

Seongjae was working excitedly in his workshop.

“Wow… what is this color? Is it actually self-luminescent?”

He was performing various tests, such as turning the lights on and off to check if it glowed on its own, or dipping it in water to see what would happen.

Sua watched Seongjae with an anxious expression before…

…calling out to him.

“Um, Seongjae-oppa?”

“Ah, Sua… haha, you’re here.”

Seongjae had only recently started speaking informally to Sua, and because of that, he still seemed visibly awkward. Seongjae handed the blue-tinted sphere to Sua and said,

“Hey, could you try pouring some Mana into this? Like you’re gathering water.”

Seongjae seemed to think that since Sua could manipulate water, she might achieve something different.

Sua had a look on her face that said, ‘What if it actually works?’, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie. She obediently poured Mana into the sphere as Seongjae had asked.

Fwaaaaa—

However, the sphere showed no reaction.

“Um… it doesn’t seem like anything changed.”

The expression on her face as she said this…

…held a variety of subtle emotions.

“Well, it can’t be helped! Thanks!”

Seongjae (naturally) failed to notice Sua’s emotions and snatched the sphere back. His mind was already completely immersed in his research.

* * *

After returning to her room, Sua agonized for a long time.

‘What if the sphere starts working…?’

She worried about everything, starting from whether she would have to go back to living in Incheon, to how she would make a living.

‘Should I manage water in the City? Or maybe Hunter work looks okay…’

Fortunately, with her level of ability, she figured she wouldn’t starve to death. But there was another issue entirely. The faces of the people she had grown close to flickered before her eyes one by one.

‘Then… I won’t be able to see them as much as I do now, right?’

That would certainly be the case. Especially when thinking about Siwoo, she felt her eyes reddening without realizing it.

‘Geez, what is wrong with me?’

She spent the night wide awake.

And… the next day, as the dim light began to return.

She made up her mind.

‘Rather than staying here feeling so suffocated, I should just go and ask him directly,’ she decided.

* * *

A long voyage across the Pacific Ocean.

I was trying my best not to let that time go to waste. In particular, I had been checking every piece of information I could with the Assistant AI.

‘What kind of vessel is a Leviathan-Class Ark?’

[The Ark is a vessel for large-scale migration.]

‘Why is large-scale migration necessary?’

[Insufficient Essence to recover the corresponding information.]

It was by no means an easy task to ask one by one a haughty entity that only gave short answers.

However, I did it because I had to.

After asking the AI for information, I wrote down the questions and answers, leaving blanks for the ones where Essence was lacking.

Now that I had secured the 4th Essence, I expected it to give more answers. But it didn’t seem to be the case.

[Insufficient Essence to recover the corresponding information.]

For the most part, there were more blanks than answers.

However, among them, there were several significant pieces of information.

‘Where are the creators of the Magitech Civilization from?’

[Earth, the exact same place as the Successor.]

‘Earth…?’

That was peculiar information.

Until now, I had thought that the humans who created the Magitech Civilization might have been someone from another dimension, different from the humans of Earth. But according to the Assistant AI, it seemed that someone from Earth had achieved it.

I looked over the answers I had received from previous questions.

‘Come to think of it, it said the Magitech Civilization was created to counter the Monsters…’

As far as I knew, there had been no Monster invasions in the past.

‘In other words, should I view this as something created by humans from Earth who somehow got caught up in something and tried to stop Monsters in another dimension?’

I was still very confused.

After pondering for a while…

“Ah… I don’t know.”

It was just as I looked up, deciding to take a break. Sua was staring at me intently. It seemed she had something to say.

“What’s up?”

“Siwoo-oppa. There’s something I’m curious about.”

“What is it?”

“What if a Water Ability User who is way, way stronger than me appears? Would you take that person instead of me?”

“Huh?”

I looked at her, laughing in bewilderment.

It was an absurd assumption. There was no way there was a Water Ability User stronger than her. And even if there were, how could I trust them?

“Why are you joking like that?”

Just as I was about to laugh it off.

“I’m not! I’m really serious!”

She seemed genuinely serious.

‘Ah… wait, could it be.’

Only then did I realize what she meant. Looking around, Minju, Seoyeon, Rai, and the others all seemed to be listening intently, paying attention to my reaction.

‘It’s better to make it clear.’

The reason I had gathered my former comrades in the first place was to protect them; I couldn’t even imagine abandoning them.

Of course, Sua wasn’t a former comrade, but she was a comrade who had been with me for a long time now. It was the same for her.

“Just because a stronger Ability User appears, I won’t recklessly abandon the comrades I’ve been with. So you can rest easy.”

Then I grinned. Seeing their expressions brighten made me feel better as well.

Meanwhile… it was then that someone completely unrelated to such worries burst through the bridge doors.

“Aaaaaah! Siwoo! I give up! I have no clue!”

He was holding the Blue Marble.

“Oh, thanks for your hard work.”

I answered him nonchalantly. I believed that if he was giving up, he must have tried everything possible.

It was then that he added one more thing.

“Seriously, it’s not like I can ask anyone about this, damn it!”

In that moment, I felt as if I had been struck by something.

‘Come to think of it, I never asked?’

I immediately focused my mind.

‘Assistant AI. Access information on the Artifact Blue Marble.’

[Blue Marble. An Artifact naturally produced on Earth. Required for the construction of the facility ‘Earth Dimensional Barrier’.]

An answer I hadn’t expected at all came back.

‘What is the Earth Dimensional Barrier?’

[A facility that prevents the sporadic intrusion of Monsters.]

Even that answer was something I hadn’t imagined.

* * *

After that, I was immersed in questions once again.

‘What other materials are needed to construct the Earth Dimensional Barrier?’

[921 tons of Aetherium. 20 tons of High-purity Nest Mana Stone. 284 other materials in addition to a High-Rank Nest Core.]

I had obtained a High-Rank Nest Core previously after taking down a large Nest. It seemed various other materials were required as well. In particular, the requirement of 921 tons of Aetherium was staggering.

‘Still, if it can actually stop sporadic intrusions…’

To put it another way, this was no different from a facility that could end the Apocalypse. This was absolutely necessary.

Among the materials, there were many names I had never heard of. Every time I asked, I had to hear the now-familiar [Insufficient Essence to recover the corresponding information.]…

Still, I was satisfied. Until now, I had a vague sense of anxiety about how long I would have to endure this situation.

The Monsters were getting stronger, and if my Legion’s abilities ever hit a limit, I feared that would truly be the end of humanity.

Of course, it was hard to imagine my Legion’s abilities having a limit… but considering the Monsters I had seen in the previous timeline, and the Mutants who would become increasingly cunning, it was true that I worried about how long we could hold out.

That was the nature of defense.

Right now, I had the confidence to stop them a million or ten million times, but they only needed to break through my defense once to destroy everything.

The saying that offense is the best defense didn’t come from nowhere.

Furthermore, my lifespan was not infinite. I wondered what would happen to the Legion manifested by my ability after I died in the distant future. Whether that would become the end of humanity…

Until now, there was nothing I could know.

But now it was different.

“So that means… I can end this tedious Apocalypse with my own two hands.”

A way to block their intrusion entirely had appeared!

“Let’s give it a try.”

I grinned.