Chapter 43 – Hope

“Is the generator still not ready?”

“Yes… It’s just that finding fuel these days is like plucking a star from the sky.”

“Sigh…”

Sighs could be heard from everywhere.

Though they were one of the prominent forces in Seoul, the lack of fuel was something they couldn’t help.

The reasons were as follows.

First, the shelf life of gasoline, which the majority of cars use, is about 3 to 6 months—shorter than most people think. While it can be extended through special treatments like adding additives, there was no way they could have been prepared for that.

Second, meanwhile, the uses for fuel had increased tremendously. Not only for cars, but from small generators that everyone started using when the electricity supply became unstable, to combat use, and now for heating, cooking, and everything else.

Third, however, there was a lack of supply that could keep up with such demand. Thanks to the Underwater Monsters, oil tankers had long since stopped running. The strategic reserves held by the government were all used for the soldiers. Furthermore, in the early stages of the situation, the government had requisitioned a significant amount of fuel to prepare for the emergency, so gas stations were bound to exhaust their stock quickly.

Given these complex reasons, it was perhaps natural that the fuel available to the public disappeared so rapidly.

Meanwhile, upon hearing that the generator wouldn’t be running for a while, a few survivors searched through their bags and pulled out power banks. These were batteries charged using DIY chargers made from small solar facilities or the occasional AA batteries.

There was only one reason why they were so obsessed with these power banks.

Apoin.

They were all modern people with common sense, and they knew the importance of ‘information.’ As such, the value of Apoin, now nearly the only source of information, was unimaginably great.

This was especially true as strange rumors began to circulate.

The most famous among them was practically an urban legend…

The rumor was that as long as you had battery power, Apoin would work even in places where cellphone signals couldn’t be caught.

This was because Apoin was someone’s ability, but not many people had realized this yet.

However… such rumors weren’t the kind that would make someone obsess over Apoin. To make someone obsessed, something else—something more addictive—was needed.

For example… something like ‘Hope.’

[I went to that castle and tried the squid. It was seriously delicious lol]

[I picked up 20 Mana Stones from the monster corpses that were all over my neighborhood and went there, and I was able to eat lol Isn’t it basically free? Total win.]

[And the heating is actually working. Electricity and water are all coming out fine. I heard the power bank charging service is 10 Mana Stones ㅋㅋㅋ]

[Ah, and it looks like the City Wall was redone recently lol I couldn’t go inside due to security issues and only saw the shopping district. I have no idea how anyone could say it looks like a mountain fortress. It looked like some kind of black concrete wall? There weren’t any gaps at all. I’m seriously jealous]

[I bought some dried squid on my way back, and I keep reaching for it lol Since it’s dried food, the preservation period is long, so it’ll be good]

These were reviews posted here and there by people who had visited Siwoo’s castle.

To them, Siwoo’s castle was nothing short of a ‘Magic Castle.’

Not only was there a castle with effortless defense, but there was electricity and water. There were also abundant supplies that felt natural even without boasting.

On top of that, there was a shopping district that sold great protein sources like squid in exchange for Mana Stones, whose value ordinary people didn’t even fully understand. It was truly a world beyond their wildest dreams.

Meanwhile, the comments were also noteworthy.

[Didn’t you get any Worker Bug Coins?]

A meaningful comment.

The author responded as if they knew nothing about it.

[What’s that? Some new cryptocurrency? lol]

It was the moment the comment section heated up.

[You went to the castle and didn’t get Worker Bug Coins?]

[You castle-noob… h]

[Sigh, hopeless. You should have looked into it more before going.]

[Why? What is it?]

And more information began to leak.

In particular, the [Keyed Soft] survivor group in Bucheon, under Siwoo’s command, was actively adopting Worker Bug Coins…

These days, there might be people who had never been to Siwoo’s castle, but there was almost no one who didn’t know about Worker Bug Coins. Unknowingly, people’s hearts were beginning to be slowly consumed.

As a result, demand increased quite a bit, to the point where Siwoo expanded the mint, which had been operating for about 8 hours a day, to 16 hours by dividing the staff into morning and afternoon shifts.

Naturally, Mana Stones began to pile up like crazy.

* * *

Meanwhile, I was in the middle of preparing to process the collected Mithril. First, I dug up Silver Sand with the Rough Terrain Pioneer and put it into the furnace I used for processing Adamantite.

I added a bit of Adamantite and Steel, adjusting the proportions.

However, Seongjae, the most important person to heat that furnace, had not yet returned. After chatting a bit via cellphone, it seemed he was running late because there were a few people he wanted to recruit.

‘Well, it’s Seongjae, so he’ll handle it well.’

Seongjae sometimes showed a clumsy side when talking to women, but he was surprisingly decisive in these matters, so I had left it to him, trusting his judgment.

Of course, he was also someone who often did more than I expected.

When he returned from Seoul National University, he didn’t just bring a delivery truck filled with related books.

There was also a man with him.

Having secured a certain level of security through Seongmin’s contract ability, he entered the castle together with Seongjae.

According to the explanation I heard later, he was a Doctor of Chemical Engineering who had been a professor at Seoul National University.

“How did you bring someone like him?”

“Our passion for crude oil just aligned.”

Seongjae grinned.

And that wasn’t the only thing he brought back.

“Ah. I have some interesting information too.”

“Tell me.”

“Turns out, there’s a survivor force gathered at Seoul National University.”

“At Seoul National University?”

“Yeah.”

Seongjae continued to explain.

Not only students, but top-level professors and researchers in the country had gathered and were barely holding on within the university.

Due to the geographical advantage of Seoul National University, which is surrounded by mountains and has few access roads, it seemed a considerably large number of survivors were able to survive compared to the small amount of supplies.

However, as they couldn’t overcome the limits of supply shortages, their situation was just as difficult as everyone else’s. By the time Seongjae arrived, it seemed they were struggling in a desperate fight for survival.

The books and key personnel were what he obtained after helping them.

‘Hmm… Was there a force at Seoul National University?’

I searched my memory for a moment.

In the previous timeline, I went to Seoul National University after winter. Since they were short on supplies, they had already burned all the books in the library for heating, and they were a minor force with very few survivors left.

‘They survived because of Seongjae’s intervention.’

This winter must have been the critical point for them.

‘I should send an Observation Probe that way too.’

I made up my mind.

If they could be recruited like the survivors in Bucheon, it might be a great help in redeveloping humanity’s technology.

“Seongjae. Tell them I’ll deploy troops to help them.”

As I spoke,

“Oh, really!?”

The professor standing next to him bowed his head repeatedly to me.

“Thank you, sir! Thank you so much!”

“Ah, uh… no. Just work as hard as you are thankful.”

I grinned at his words and cracked a joke.

“I will absolutely do so!”

It seemed he didn’t take it as a joke.

‘Well… good is good.’

I decided not to correct him.

* * *

Meanwhile, the professor, the Doctor of Chemical Engineering, was watching our Mithril processing. He was repeatedly letting out exclamations of admiration.

“H-how on earth is this strength… I-I can’t quite understand it. That, uh, what did you say the name was? Adamantata?”

“Adamantite, Professor.”

A short answer came out naturally.

I was starting to get tired of his passionate praise.

“This is a revolution in the scientific world! I wonder what kind of molecular structure it has to make this possible… And also. This… is this what you called Mithril?”

“Yes.”

“This weight, this density… I don’t know if this is truly a metal. Ah! Could this be a new isotope of something like lithium or magnesium? No, then the reactivity wouldn’t be this low—”

“Ah, is that so?”

“I’m sorry, but do you happen to have a mass spectrometer or something here? Or even an electron microscope…”

“I don’t have those…”

“Aaaah! I truly wish to research this. Could you possibly give me a small sample? With just this, the Republic of Korea’s first Nobel Prize in Chemistry would be—”

“Ugh…”

As I frowned, even Seongjae stepped in to say something.

“Uh, Professor. I’m busy lighting the fire right now. Let’s do this later. I’ll explain everything I found out then.”

“Ah! Thank you, Mr. Seongjae! Thank you so much!”

He had a look of deep emotion.

After that, with the professor—whose mouth was shut but whose eyes were still sparkling—by my side, it was only after a long process of Mithril processing that—

‘Finally, it’s out.’

I was able to obtain the first Mithril Alloy.

Now, it was time to pull out an aerial machine.

* * *

“Hmm…”

I began to ponder for a moment.

‘What would be good?’

The first aerial machine that came to mind was, of course, the One-Horned Dragon. Although it was for a short time of less than 10 seconds, it was something I had summoned once in this timeline as well.

A creature that engages in close combat regardless of air or ground with overwhelming speed was virtually the strongest among the Large-Class, regardless of land or air.

‘The One-Horned Dragon is still too much… right?’

Unfortunately, its tier was far too high.

That powerful strength naturally came from Mana, and just keeping that weight airborne consumed an overwhelming amount of Mana.

Since I was already running another Large-Class, the Rough Terrain Pioneer, it was too much to run another Large-Class already.

‘I’ll lower my standards one level… let’s look at the Medium-Class.’

It wasn’t that there were no aerial machines in the Medium-Class; I just hadn’t made any because I lacked the proper materials.

“Hmm… As expected, this is the best in the Medium-Class.”

After a brief deliberation, I quickly reached a conclusion and began to manipulate the Mithril in the Production Facility.

Kreeeeek— Screeeech—

The Mithril began to fold, making an unpleasant sound.

And the completed form of that Mithril was—

A thin membrane between four legs. A small body in between. A thick tail… It was a spitting image of a flying squirrel.

‘Summon [Interceptor].’

Sua, who happened to be passing by, screamed upon seeing the machine.

“Oh my, oh my! Oh my!”

“What is it?”

“What, what is this? Why is it so cute?”

At her words, I unconsciously turned serious.

“Cute…?”

This was a vicious machine.

Thanks to its simple structure, it had marvelous sustainability, capable of returning even if holes were punched in its wings or body.

Adding the defense secured through Mithril, it was practically a craft that was impossible to shoot down.

Along with such tremendous survival capability, the central body possessed insane firepower, firing light bolts at a rate of 4,200 rounds per minute.

Although the light bolts were much smaller than the Assault Cannon and had to be fired in bursts of 1-2 seconds, making continuous firepower projection like the Assault Cannon impossible.

However, due to that rate of fire, it was the strongest weapon limited to aerial combat, where many opponents did not have such good defense.

To borrow the words of a former colleague who had been a soldier, it was a weapon similar to the autocannons essentially mounted on fighter jets.

But that wasn’t all.

There was also the wing structure that fluttered like a flying squirrel.

By instantaneously changing the shape of its wings, it could change direction in the air at an unbelievable angle, leaving the opponent stunned…

Its maneuverability, which was almost like art, made its terrible survival ability even more vicious.

When not flying, the wings folded to make the craft’s size much smaller, allowing more of them to be loaded into the dedicated super-large aerial machine that would carry them later.

In other words, from now until the very end, it is a machine used throughout.

The strongest air-to-air machine.

“This is absolutely not a cute thing…”

So, I emphasized once more to Sua.

“Ding?”

It was the moment she tilted her head, somehow together with a Worker Bug.

“T-t-there, outside!”

Seongmin pointed out the floor-to-ceiling glass window of the Sixth Floor with a pale face.

Far away, beyond the clouds… a large number of black somethings, like smoke, were approaching at high speed.

It was the first encounter with the Harpy Swarm.

“Perfect timing.”

I smiled.

It was time for the Interceptor to show off its skills.