Power Plant Sanctuary
Let's sleep here.
“I'm hungry...”
The moment I opened my eyes, the first thing I felt was hunger.
My body felt frozen stiff.
It was hard to move even a finger. When I took a breath, a burning smell rose from inside my lungs.
“Ara-nim!”
Someone screamed.
“Don't move! Your body isn't fully recovered yet!”
It was a familiar voice.
Ibrin.
When I lifted my eyelids, a blurry face came into view. Her long ears were twitching, and the usual soft expression was gone, replaced by tears streaming down.
“Where... is this?”
“The central control room of the power plant.”
“Power plant?”
“Yes. The control room Ara-nim mentioned.”
The voice cracked. It was as if ash remained in my mouth, making it stuffy.
I shifted my gaze.
Broken walls.
Wires flowing with blue light.
A sphere floating in mid-air.
Inside the sphere, a massive bundle of lightning writhed. Occasionally, a red light flashed like a dragon's eye, but it couldn't break through the shielding.
It was Erkion.
Continuous Power Supply: Normal
Target: Erkion
Power Plant Development Progress: 1%
“... You really caught it.”
“I wonder if 'caught' is the right word to use.”
Ibrin kept glancing between the sphere and me.
“He's trapped inside it. Heibrin unnie said that the price for restraining that existence's power would be too great.”
“The price?”
“It's Ara-nim's body.”
Only then did I feel the state of my body.
Starting from the pain in my ribs, my arms couldn't even lift properly, and my palms were blackened. Strangely, though, my power level was rising.
“Overcharge?”
Batteries explode when they overcharge...
... No way...
“What is that?”
“No, nothing.”
Explaining it would be pointless; I wouldn't understand anyway. I didn't know it myself.
“When we found you, your heart had stopped.”
“...”
“Wait.”
Ibrin placed her hand on my chest and quickly pulled it back.
“Then the core in the control room started pulsating, and my heart began beating in response. Slowly, like a pulse.”
“... Is that what you call 'for a moment'?”
I looked at the sphere.
The power plant.
In the end, the goal was the same.
To make electricity and use it.
... And that guy was fuel in the end.
“This isn't a mad mage's laboratory, it's a power plant.”
Heibrin approached. Suspicion swirled in her solemn face.
“A power plant, you say?”
“A facility to create and store electricity. The power that all living beings here use.”
“Then that existence...?”
Heibrin looked at the sphere.
“I thought it was a corrupted spirit. But according to your explanation, it seems closer to a colossal energy lifeform.”
“Yeah. Because its power was too great, the surrounding lifeforms worshipped it.”
Heibrin recalled the lightning power the lizardmen used.
“They were afraid, so they wanted to make it their ally and gain its power.”
“Correct. It's not a corrupted spirit, just a giant battery.”
Her blunt tone held no discomfort.
“The power inside that sphere is alive. But it's too massive to call it a life, and too twisted to call it a nature spirit.”
“So, a corrupted spirit?”
“That would be the most accurate name for it now.”
“Good. So that's a corrupted spirit, and I am...?”
I looked at my hand. Blue light swirled in the crack that had blackened and split, and the silhouettes visible through the windows were drenched in blue light streaks.
“Am I human?”
A blue spark jumped from the tip of my finger.
Ibrin said cautiously.
“People are hard to judge by appearance.”
“But this appearance...?”
Heibrin added from the side.
“That existence only raged at having its power stolen. But Ara-nim tried to empathize with the tree's pain and help, didn't you?”
“That was to get a battery.”
“Still.”
With Ibrin's words, the spirit companion perched on her shoulder shook its head. Does the spirit companion comfort you too?
“Ara-nim is close to a spirit?”
“I don't know.”
I added after a moment's thought.
“But I don't want to become like that guy.”
Erkion let out a low roar from inside the sphere.
“Daring to compare me to such lowly beings...”
Every time his voice boomed, the metal floor vibrated, but the overwhelming power wasn't felt. The capture sphere was automatically charging the battery with Erkion's power.
I touched the small control panel beside the sphere.
[Voice Output]
[Active]
“It's noisy. Let's turn it off.”
User permission confirmed.
Voice output limited
Erkion's voice cut off abruptly.
“...”
“...”
Ibrin blinked.
“Ended?”
“Yeah.”
“So easily?”
“It's muted.”
Heibrin looked at the sphere and said.
“That existence's presence has weakened.”
“Because its power was stolen. Now it can't even shoot lightning out.”
“So, it really became a restrained energy lifeform.”
“An oversized battery for life.”
“By the way, what is a battery?”
Ibrin asked with curious eyes.
“So, a container to store electricity, I guess.”
Ibrin laughed softly.
“So, that's a battery?”
“Yes. Tasty and useful health food.”
“It would probably be sad to hear from inside.”
“Whatever.”
With that, Ibrin finally burst into laughter. Heibrin also relaxed the corners of her mouth a little.
It was the first smile I'd seen after the battle.
Only then did I properly survey the control room. Blackened marks remained on the walls, and spiderweb-like cracks spread across the floor where I had fallen.
“Good, let's repair the house now.”
“First, recovery.”
I slowly stood up, and Ibrin supported me from the side.
Stronger than expected.
Elves, perhaps.
“Don't overdo it.”
When I placed my hand on the power plant wall, the internal structure unfolded in my mind. Broken circuits, overheated wires, still-living storage devices.
Circuit Analysis
Analyzing current power plant status.
Stability: 1%
Recoverable facilities: 3
Required resources: Magic stones, conductive minerals, coolant
“First, fix this place.”
“What should we do?”
I picked up a magic stone that had fallen to the floor. It was one obtained from the lizardmen and trolls.
“With this, some circuits can be fixed.”
“Magic stones were meant to treat the tree, weren't they?”
“Yes. But the power plant must be stabilized first. If it collapses, the tree's treatment will be delayed.”
“So, first water.”
“Water?”
“Coolant is needed. And gather scrap metal or metal pieces.”
Ibrin nodded.
“Understood.”
“And...”
I hesitated for a moment and said.
“Don't go too far from the tree. I want to check the tree's condition.”
“Important, I guess.”
“Yes. Safe, can sleep well, and battery storage possible.”
“A space to store nature's electricity, an important space.”
“Very important.”
“Understood, Ara-nim.”
Perhaps because we had crossed life and death together, the elves' attitude toward me had changed, becoming closer to treating a comrade.
I stayed in the control room and connected the broken circuits. When I inserted the magic stone into the panel and let current flow, the lights that had been off turned on one by one.
Flicker. Flicker.
Bright light illuminated the ceiling of the control room.
Power Plant Stability: 1% → 3%
Internal Lighting Recovered
Basic Ventilation Function Recovered
“Light from the ruins...!”
Ibrin's voice came from outside.
“Such bright light is the first time I've seen it. Different from magic lamps.”
Heibrin, who had approached unnoticed, was watching the lights curiously from the side.
“Curious? In the world where I lived, this was everyday.”
“It's not warm light.”
“Electricity isn't warm originally.”
“Magic lamps emit warm light. So if you put magic lamps on the street, animals and plants gather.”
Suddenly, dayflies tangled in street lights came to mind.
But that's not what I mean, right? No way.
I thought for a moment and laid a blanket on the floor and sat down.
“Let's sleep here today.”
“In the control room?”
“Lights on, no wind, not noisy.”
“The last one is the most appealing.”
“Yes.”
Ibrin offered a mysterious fruit.
“You must be hungry, please eat this anyway.”
When I took the fruit, a sweet scent spread. But since I had eaten electricity, the taste might not be good.
“No batteries?”
“We don't have such precious things.”
“Haa... Batteries are almost gone now.”
The batteries from the convenience store were almost depleted, had to ration them. If I split the battery to eat...
Then I could eat it twice.
... Let's try?
I bit into the fruit, and sweet juice filled my mouth. If this was a battery, bite and spark would fly out, the spark would run through my body, satisfying hunger...
“Ara-nim?”
Wipe.
“Eh?”
I came to my senses wiping the drool.
“Now, sleep.”
“Ung...”
If the expression on Ibrin's face was seeing a pitiful person for the first time, it's my imagination.
I lulled the mechanical noise in the quiet control room with a lullaby.
Thud.
Something knocked on the metal wall.
The spirit companion raised its head and growled low.
Beep.
Clank.
Simultaneously, Heibrin grabbed her sword and lifted it.
I was about to sleep.
Without opening my eyes, I tensed at the fine current flowing on the floor.
Tingle.
Tingling vibration spread along the outer wall of the power plant. In the darkness outside, cold biological reactions turned on one by one.
Warning: External Biological Reaction Detected
Estimated Number of Entities: 12
Behavior Pattern: Stealth and Encirclement
“...”
A small sigh escaped.
It's the first day of moving in, but guests are arriving too fast.
I slowly opened my eyes.
A blue spark jumped from the tip of my finger.
“... From the first day of moving in, I've been staying up all night.”