Space Colony Nis
The 11th floor of my personal Abyss zone—a space colony called Nis, sailing toward a new settlement. Named after the god of patience and love, this colossal vessel boasted over 100 million passengers and space enough to swallow a whole city.
"My personal zone seems to have an odd affinity for these kinds of dimensions."
"Yeah? You said the 9th floor was an underground city. Guess this one's a space city, then..."
"With a population of 100 million, it's practically a nation unto itself."
I stroked a rusted building as I darted through the back alleys. It had been two days since I'd arrived on this colony ship, but I hadn't uncovered much.
They were fleeing their ruined planet NEC-113 for NEC-114. They wielded science and biotech so advanced it mimicked magic. And society was brutally divided between the elite and the slums.
Even that much I'd gleaned from Chiwoo, the info broker in these alleys. I whacked the head of the guy towering at least 30cm over me with my staff.
"Ow!"
Ow!
"Hm..."
I nodded at the boy's and the staff's cries.
"See that, Shasha? That's what they call one strike, two birds."
"Right?!"
Right?!
I rolled my eyes at their chorus.
"Anyway, kid."
"You're the kid, you brat! Call me big bro Chiwoo!"
"Tch. As I told thee, this lady's age already nears sixty."
The boy bit his lip at my words.
"Yeah, right. Even with life-extension surgery, no one gets it at eight."
"Hah, there are circumstances. In any case..."
I furrowed my brow and asked, "No new info today?"
"Nope. Nothing special. Just the usual—some chaebol heir beating a slum rat to death, or another junkie OD'ing on synth drugs."
I pinched my nose in the filth-choked alley.
"Got it... All grim, but not what I'm after. I'll come back later. Urk."
Swallowing a gag, I scanned the surroundings with a scowl.
"A civilization that builds space battleships, yet lets even the poor live like this? Outrageous."
I clicked my tongue at Janggil's words and turned away.
"So I came here to liberate these slum dwellers?"
After a pause, Janggil explained.
"...Daunting."
I pondered the floating mission window.
[11th Floor Clear Mission]
[Save the colony as its doom approaches]
[Reward: 11th Floor Clear]
'Doom doesn't seem imminent...'
I narrowed my eyes at a slum dweller floundering in sewage. The extremes hinted at impending collapse.
'Better to go straight to the top, then.'
As always, cutting off the head was quickest. I scraped the muck off my shoes and finalized my plan.
"Let's head out."
"Yeah! Let's go now!"
Shasha bolted ahead, thrilled to escape the filth.
"Don't run off alone. Wait up."
As I followed with Janggil in hand, Shasha collided with someone exiting the alley.
"Ack! Watch where you're going!"
A hulking figure loomed before the shrieking Shasha.
"What? You dare, not knowing who I am?!"
"What?! Who're you calling pig, you lardass?!"
"Pig?! You dare call this body a pig?!"
I slowed my pace.
"Hm... Janggil, looks like we've stumbled into trouble."
Emerging, I saw a fat man in pristine white clothes.
"You little shits! How dare you insult me?!"
"Shits? Speak for yourself—I didn't do anything."
"Hah! Dare contradict me?!"
The giant's jowls quivered in rage. Surveying the scene, I grew certain.
'No basic barriers, and their magic levels seem low...'
I shot the trembling oaf a sharp glare.
"Tch, manage your weight. You're so bloated like a pig, you can't even see people in front of you."
As I turned to help Shasha up, a faint whoosh came from behind.
"You bitch!"
Sensing the hand swinging at my right temple, I sidestepped effortlessly and countered with an ether-laced fist.
Bam!
Casting Hold—a rudimentary trick not worth the name.
The blow sent ripples through his massive bulk, hurling him far away. I smacked my lips at the meaty lump sprawled on the ground.
"Janggil, that him? One of those elites?"
Grinning, I ground my heel into his face.
"Now, let's see how they respond."
*
"Stay put! Trial starts soon!"
Shackled in the underground cell, Shasha and I nodded. I burst out laughing.
"Ahaha! Guess it turned out this way."
Unlike my nonchalance, Shasha panicked.
"Uwaaaah! Thrown in jail outta nowhere! No lawyer? Sudden trial?!"
I tsked at the cleaner-than-the-slums cell.
The guy I'd decked was Mus Polrosa, second son of the mega-corp Polrosa Pharmaceuticals. Dragged here by their private goons.
"No cops, no lawyers, sham trial..."
"The chaebols are basically royalty here."
This place reeked of cyberpunk flick vibes.
"Zombie world? Eek! Shouldn't have followed!"
"Quiet, Shasha. Meditate if you've got the energy."
"Ungh..."
Shasha grumbled.
"We could've just run. Why get caught on purpose~?"
I shrugged.
"Now we meet the chaebol boss directly, don't we?"
"That's why it's too extreme..."
Shasha slumped on the cold metal floor, deflated.
"What if they sentence death? Things'll get messy."
"They won't kill over a bruise. We'll talk it out."
"......"
Shasha and Janggil fell silent, eyeing me with doubt. I shrugged again.
"For real? You'll talk it out?"
"If not, we kill 'em all."
Shasha wailed.
"That's the problem!"
"...What choice do we have? Wanna die here?"
"No, but..."
"Right... We could've avoided this by running."
I tsked at the timid pair.
"That path's tedious and tangled. Strike the head—that's the fastest way."
"...Can I survive to my pardon?"
"Worry not. No dying today."
Hearing footsteps, I stood.
"Time to see why this society's in such ruin."
*
Mus Polrosa, second son of the Polrosa chaebol, snorted in fury. The brats arriving at trial showed no fear.
He touched his stinging right cheek—the shame of blacking out to a kid's punch.
'Word's spread across the colony! Polrosa's son got decked by a girl and pissed himself!'
'Father, I didn't piss—'
Slap!
'Forget your worthless life—Polrosa honor comes first! Should've killed that filthy wench on the spot! What'll the corp hounds think of us?!'
Recalling his father's thunder, Mus scratched his itchy butt and glared at the girl.
With Father's meddling, they'd get indefinite labor as family slaves—or heads on pikes at the gate. His bloodshot eyes bored into her.
They'd pay dearly for touching a chaebol.
As Mus glowered, Father's puppet judge took the bench and began in a shrill voice.
*
The pompous middle-aged drone finally issued the verdict.
"This court deems the physical assault on a key infrastructure overseer a seditious threat to colony safety, per Article 7 of the Colony Code: death sentence."
As murmurs rose, Shasha groaned behind me. I addressed the judge.
"Straight to death? No defense? No appeal? I never even saw a lawyer."
A gaudily medaled middle-aged man stood sneering—clearly the mega-corp boss.
"Cheeky brat. Want labor instead? Beg on your knees, maybe I'll consider."
I shrugged incredulously.
"Colony safety this, code that—you'll just tweak the sentence? You're no judge."
His smirk hardened.
"Scrap of knowledge, eh, bug? Hang 'em. Seal that filthy mouth forever."
"We're doomed..."
As Shasha despaired, a magic circle bloomed before me.
1-level Control
Ether Control
The chaebol boss was yanked before me.
"Gah?! What the—? What tech is this?!"
"Ah... Knew it'd come to this."
Shasha rubbed his face, prepping a shield. I forced the boss to his knees with a smile.
"This world runs brutally, it seems..."
I rapped his smug head a few times.
"I've never spared scum who bully the weak."