Chapter 3 – To the Main Base

“Ding-!”

“Tick-tick!”

“Yes, yes. Good job.”

I gave a light word of praise and a pat to the Worker Bugs, who had made a significant contribution to shaking off the Police Officers.

Of course, this was after we had reunited at my original destination.

“This is our home from now on.”

This place was an abandoned shopping mall.

It was a massive complex shopping mall with six floors.

Because the surrounding area had been a slum before being designated as a Redevelopment Zone, it was a place of misfortune that had gone completely bankrupt after failing to attract buyers.

But for me, it was different.

Since it was originally a large shopping mall, not only was the usable area vast, but the 1st through 5th floors had no windows, making them easy to defend.

Moreover, since it had never even properly opened, I didn’t have to worry about the Looters who would become common once society collapsed.

Additionally, with multiple entrances and exits, it was convenient for managing the Worker Bugs, and since it was a Redevelopment Zone, I could certainly gather materials quickly while avoiding people’s gaze.

“Alright.”

I headed straight for the 6th Floor, the highest level of the building. It was a place with impressive bright windows, perhaps intended for a cafe or a restaurant area.

I took a position in the center and gave instructions to the Worker Bugs.

“Go get more materials.”

“Ding!”

“Tick-tick-tick-tick!”

I sent four out of the five Worker Bugs to gather materials, keeping one that could emit light by my side.

Tick—

The little guy did its best to turn on its light for me, but in truth, it wasn’t particularly bright.

“Sigh, it’s basically a desk lamp.”

Accompanied by the creature, I began to pick out a spot on the 6th Floor to serve as my living quarters.

The first places I looked at were the shops near the escalator stairs. The shops looked spacious and nice, but there was a problem.

Although the escalator was no longer moving, it would undoubtedly be used as the main entry point.

“Hmm… this place seems a bit too dangerous.”

It couldn’t be a place visible as soon as one climbed the stairs. I moved away from the stairs toward a more secluded area.

As I moved away from the center of the building, there was the advantage of it becoming brighter as I got closer to the exterior windows. However, that was also a weakness.

‘I’d be visible from outside the window here.’

The windows let light in, but they also let light out. Furthermore, glass windows were prone to breaking even with a small impact, and monsters or Looters might target them in the future.

‘Of course, it won’t matter by then.’

By that time, I would have finished my own preparations.

But not right now.

The reason I sought out an abandoned building in the first place was to be less conspicuous; it would be foolish to advertise my presence by operating in front of the top-floor windows.

It was a penthouse-like location, the only spot in the building where outside light entered, but I wasn’t at a stage where I could risk such danger.

‘For now, I’ll play it safe.’

I chose a secluded shop that was a reasonable distance from the windows, making it hard to see from the outside. It seemed it had been intended for use as a cafe, as there were several wide sofas lined up, still wrapped in plastic.

“Oh, this is pretty good.”

If I peeled off the dust-covered plastic packaging, the sofas inside would surely be relatively clean. Besides those, there were sturdy tables and drawers that could be used if the dust was wiped away.

“Let’s go with this place.”

I made up my mind. Then, I turned and commanded the Worker Bug that had been lighting my way with its incandescent bulb.

‘Clean this place.’

Kiriik— kiriik-kiriik—

As soon as my command fell, the creature began crawling about, scraping and removing the dust trapped on the floor.

‘This is going to take some time.’

My Worker Bugs were still small and fragile.

It was clear that cleaning a spacious cafe alone would take a while. However, for now, I decided to be satisfied with the fact that I didn’t have to clean it myself.

And then…

Kiriik—

“Ding!”

The little guy didn’t have to do it alone.

* * *

After that, I steadily increased the number of Worker Bugs, and now that number had grown to twelve. Although, once I settled in, I once again found myself in a situation where I lacked Mana more than summoning materials.

Therefore, rather than sending the Worker Bugs out to gather materials, I focused on cleaning my cafe base first.

And this was the result.

Plump—

“Ah, finally I can sit down.”

Having finally sat on a clean sofa, I examined the table where my hiking bag was placed and the drawers that would soon be filled. Including the floor, everything had been neatly cleared of dust.

“Organize this bag too.”

At my command, the surrounding Worker Bugs reacted.

Kiriik-kiriik—

“Ding! Tick-tick-tick-tick!”

Before long, all the ramen packets, instant rice, canned tuna, and water bottles in the bag were placed inside the drawers.

And around the time my Mana was full once again.

I summoned the 13th Worker Bug.

‘Summon [Worker Bug].’

Fwaaaa—

However, this time things didn’t go as planned.

As the number of Worker Bugs increased, my Mana Recovery Rate, which had been gradually decreasing to cover the maintenance cost, had now turned negative!

In other words, my Mana was decreasing even if I did nothing. I quickly dismissed the 13th summon and sighed.

“Sigh, I guess twelve is the limit for now.”

Even so, I had summoned more than I expected.

In the past, I might have been disappointed at this point, but having been through all sorts of hardships, I knew exactly how to handle this.

“Hmm… it seems too early to increase my Maximum Mana.”

Mana Recovery Rate is proportional to the size of the Maximum Mana. Since the maintenance cost is a fixed expense, it was only natural that increasing the maximum would increase the recovery rate.

Furthermore, Mana is the source of all power. The more I increased my Mana Quantity and invested it into my body, the stronger my physical body became.

But there was a problem.

There were several ways to increase Maximum Mana.

For example, a training method of increasing it by continuously using abilities.

This was the easiest method, but it was irrelevant to me. That’s because this was already a work in progress.

Since I was constantly spending Mana on maintenance costs and using my abilities, I was essentially in a state of training 24 hours a day.

The next easiest method was absorbing Mana Stones obtained from Monsters, but that’s where the problem started.

At this point, where only Rake Wolves were appearing, the purity of the Mana Stones wasn’t very high. To absorb such things, one had to either have a large enough Maximum Mana to dilute the impurities or use methods to purify the Mana Stone to increase its purity.

Otherwise, impurities would accumulate directly in my body, slowly killing me. With no Healing Ability User available right now, this would undoubtedly be fatal.

Therefore, absorbing Mana Stones was out of the question at this stage.

There were other ways to increase Maximum Mana, such as using elixirs, but there were no methods I could currently use.

However, that didn’t mean there was no way.

“Guys. Now go out and get some Mana Stones.”

That was… another way to utilize Mana Stones.

* * *

My ability to summon machines from the Magitech Civilization naturally uses me as the main body and operates based on my Mana.

However, it wasn’t the case that once summoned, they had to move only with my Mana. They could absorb and use external Mana in addition to my own.

In other words, Mana Stones served as fuel to move my machines. Moreover, as machines and not living beings, they were not significantly affected by impurities.

At most, some rattling noise would occur in the mana supply system, which could simply be removed later.

In short, since they weren’t alive to begin with, there was absolutely no risk such as a threat to life.

Furthermore, this was a time when humanity didn’t even know about the existence of Mana Stones.

The streets were piled high with the corpses of Rake Wolves that had clashed with the police. It was a situation where I could just go and pick them up.

So, it was only natural for me to be surprised when I woke up from a short nap.

“Wow… you gathered this many?”

Before my eyes as I woke up, a much larger quantity of Mana Stones than I had expected was piled on the cafe table.

I was starting to worry if the table could hold the weight.

“Guys. This is too many. Now pile them over there instead of here. Put these there too.”

I pointed to the restaurant across from the cafe.

“Ding- tick-tick-tick-tick—”

The Worker Bugs began moving busily according to my instructions. The restaurant across the way was now a temporary Mana Stone storage.

Meanwhile, I checked my Mana Recovery Rate.

“Oh, the Maximum Mana growth is fast.”

It wasn’t just the growth of Maximum Mana. The Mana Recovery Rate, which had been slowly eaten away by maintenance costs, had returned to its original level as the Worker Bugs began using Mana Stones as fuel instead of my Mana.

I decided to make the most of this immediately.

‘Summon [Worker Bug].’

I reached thirteen again, but my Mana was recovering smoothly. Moreover, thanks to the growth of my Maximum Mana, I still had a considerable amount of Mana left, whereas before, summoning just one would have drained me.

Considering it was only the second day of the disaster, it was remarkable growth.

‘At this rate, I’ll soon be able to summon two at once.’

Of course, I didn’t think that would happen.

Anyone who has enjoyed strategy simulation games would know.

How important it is to increase the number of workers gathering resources as quickly as possible. My ability was very similar to that.

Every time a Worker Bug is added, the supply of materials and Mana Stones increases immediately. In other words, the next one can be added that much faster.

Therefore, for optimization, it was best to produce Worker Bugs as quickly as possible whenever I could. That way, I could roll the snowballing process much faster.

After all, I was a former professional at strategy simulation games.

‘I have to hoard them while I can.’

This kind of resource management was a piece of cake.

* * *

Meanwhile, using Mana made me hungry.

While lying on the sofa, I gave a command to the one I had ordered to clean the Shopping Mall 6th Floor.

“Hey, go bring some ramen and canned tuna.”

The creature scurried and presented the items before me.

“Uh, but I don’t have a pot?”

Only then did I notice the items missing from my living quarters.

However, to recover Mana, it was important to eat plenty of food. In the end, I had to crush raw ramen, sprinkle the soup powder, and swallow it along with the canned tuna.

“Ah… I should have prepared in advance.”

I had been so focused on increasing the number of Worker Bugs and developing the shopping mall base that I had neglected my own quality of life.

“There’s absolutely no need for this.”

With my ability, I could have lived in abundance. But new goals always create new problems.

“Now… then. Where do I get a pot?”

I needed to explore the surroundings a bit. I had occupied this place after recalling the most useful building in the area, but that didn’t mean I was familiar with the local geography.

“Shall I look around?”

And… I didn’t even need to do the exploring myself.

* * *

‘Guys. Go find some transparent plastic.’

Plastic was much lighter than aluminum and easier to shape. Above all, plastic was a material that existed in abundance. In other words, it could be obtained at any time.

It was the perfect material for the machine I wanted to create.

“Ding- tick-tick!”

Soon, the Worker Bugs brought back a considerable number of plastic water bottles. They were empty, and many were dented.

“Oh, you found them well.”

I praised them and began to manifest my ability. Thus, I once again drew up my Mana and sent it toward the plastic water bottles.

Fwaaaa—

“Summon [Observation Probe].”

Screeech— rustle—

Along with the sound of plastic bending, a small, round, sphere-shaped machine with two pairs of transparent insect wings was summoned.

Tiririri—

And that machine began to fly, fluttering its four wings like a giant dragonfly.

“Good.”

It was a very satisfying result. From now on, this ‘Observation Probe’ would be the one to fly through the sky and serve as my eyes.