Chapter 36

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Translator: Silver Dragon

Chapter: 36

Chapter Title: Ekalsame Battle (1)

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1. You'll die if you spend all your money, so never spend money carelessly.

2. Don't wander around from 10 PM until 6 AM the next day.

3. To escape, you need to repair Adventure Facility No. 3.

Roughly like that.

Looks like there was something wrong with Adventure Facility No. 3?

Creating a simulation universe requires an incredibly high level of technology.

But pulling that simulation into reality?

That kind of tech is classified as reality manipulation.

The simulation facility installed on Debanna had unclear origins for its tech.

And its scale was unprecedentedly massive.

A materialization facility on that scale could be classified as a strategic weapon—it's that massive.

If it weren't for the Debannans being money-obsessed commercial types,

imagine if it fell into the hands of a warrior race like the Kalkain or Belids—they'd convert it into a strategic weapon and mount it on their ships in a heartbeat.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

You all probably remember, but when the Debannans opened the new Ahoraatoom Adventure, it was huge news.

Unveiling simulation materialization as new tech was surprising enough,

but those of us in the industry were more interested in the content.

No matter how good the tech, if the content sucks, it's meaningless, right?

But the new content the Debannans showed off was so high-quality it made you wonder if they really made it.

Choosing Ahoraatoom as the protagonist was fresh,

and the concept of indirectly experiencing an Ancients Empire civilization was shocking back then.

The quality was insane—like they'd actually visited an Ancients planet or something.

That's way beyond what they could create from scratch; they must've gotten data from somewhere.

There was a lot of debate in the industry about where it came from.

Personally, I think there was a problem in how they got that tech and content,

and they forced the launch anyway, leading to the accident and this mess.

The Belid Empire is one of the galactic superpowers.

Classified as a 2-tier civilization with highly advanced tech.

Even they threw in five army groups and still took losses before withdrawing from the planet.

That means we can't rely solely on Chiltoom tech.

I posted that comment and stood up from my seat.

Right then.

The announcement came over the park's speakers.

At the same time, the nighttime lights began to turn on.

Immediately after, a robot patrolling the park approached me.

"I'll guide you to the hotel, Premium Guest!"

The hotel was nothing special.

I had the Eggies scout it out,

but there were no unusual signs that stood out.

Confirming the hotel was safe, I was able to get a good night's sleep.

The next day.

"Oh, Premium Guest!"

I ran into Varatis in the amusement park.

Spotting me, he approached with a delighted expression.

"Did you sleep well? I hope you were satisfied with our hotel services."

"Better than expected."

"Ohoho! Really?! That's a relief!"

Varatis took the lead.

"Now, please follow me. There's so much to see today?"

He was just as over-the-top as yesterday.

I followed slowly behind him.

"We've prepared a special service for you, Premium Guest. Shall we go on another adventure together today? Ah, but how about trying one of our other services first?"

He rubbed his hands together as he spoke to me.

"It'll cost a bit extra, but it's worth every credit."

I recalled the post I'd seen on the gallery.

Varatis tempts you to spend money.

But the moment you run out,

he'll switch attitudes and try to kill you.

So I needed to avoid unnecessary spending as much as possible.

"No thanks, I'll pass."

He kept trying to upsell me after that.

I shut down every sales pitch.

'Something's up with Adventure Facility No. 3, right?'

Remembering that, I asked Varatis,

"By the way, I want to use Adventure Facility No. 3. Where do I go?"

"Adventure No. 3?"

Varatis flatly refused.

"No can do! To move to the next adventure facility, you have to clear all the previous ones first."

"I'm a Premium Guest— you gonna make me do that too?"

"Even Premium Guests have to follow the rules. The adventure experience rules are the same for everyone. Plus, skipping ahead without clearing the priors means you won't get the story."

I had no choice but to start with No. 2.

The park was so vast that getting around wasn't easy.

I boarded the hyperrail to head to Facility No. 2.

It looked a bit shaky from long abandonment,

but like the other facilities, the rail itself worked fine.

Thanks to the hyperrail's insane speed,

I arrived at the destination quickly.

Right before entering the adventure, I posted on the gallery.

I wanted to check out Adventure Facility No. 3 first,

but they say I have to clear No. 2 before I can go there.

So I'll clear No. 2 first and then head over.

With that post as the last one,

I slowly entered the facility.

"Ahoraatoom has been assigned as the new commander of the Galactic Federation."

"His fleet has racked up one stunning victory after another."

"Emboldened by the Federation's string of wins, minor powers began rebelling against the Empire."

"The Utrumaher Empire faced an unprecedented crisis."

"On the front lines, Ahoraatoom's fleet smashed key strongholds and began marching on the capital."

"Subject races weary of oppressive rule sparked riots and rebellions across the Empire."

"In the end, the Utrumaher Empire abandoned all its conquered territories, concentrating its entire fleet on their homeworld and capital, 'Ersetu'."

A red-glowing planet came into view.

The orbit of planet Ersetu was packed with ships.

Tens of thousands of Utrumaher vessels had gathered here for the final battle.

Right then.

A massive warp gate appeared in empty space.

From it, an enormous fleet began emerging.

'Holy shit...'

Even though it was just a simulation,

the fleets of both empires were so overwhelming just to look at, their might terrifying.

"In this historic battle that will decide the galaxy's fate."

"Will Ahoraatoom emerge victorious?"

"No—will you emerge victorious?"

Then, the surroundings slowly shifted,

and soon the bridge of a Chiltoom battleship materialized.

"Become Ahoraatoom and repel the enemy main fleet!"

"The galaxy's fate rests in your hands."

With that, the holographic text vanished.

Immediately after, a Xeno male approached me.

"Welcome aboard, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Commander. I'm Rakshyatoom, assigned as your adjutant."

Hearing his name, I jumped in surprise.

"R-Rakshyatoom?! You?"

"Yes."

Rakshyatoom.

I remembered that name clearly.

It was the captain of the Chiltoom warship—the very general who'd gifted me combat gear.

'So thousands of years ago, he was Ahoraatoom's adjutant.'

I slowly examined him.

The man before me looked nothing like the one in my memory.

The Rakshyatoom I'd met was a machine race with a mechanical body.

But this one was an organic being of flesh and bone, just like me.

The dissonance left me staring blankly at him for a while.

He tilted his head and asked,

"Commander, are you alright? If there's a problem, shall I call the medical officer?"

"N-no, it's nothing. I just thought I'd seen you before."

"Is that so? I was under your command during the Toelli Battle—maybe you saw me then."

After that brief exchange,

Rakshyatoom led me to the bridge command chair.

"Situation report: We successfully intercepted Utrumaher's 3rd Fleet in the Behedia Star System, but the survivors have joined the enemy main force."

A 3D holographic map unfolded before my eyes.

The stereoscopic map showed a central star and its orbiting planets.

Rakshyatoom zoomed in on one of the planets.

"The enemy main fleet has deployed a very strong defensive line around Ersetu. The fleet stationed there is formidable enough, but there's an even bigger problem."

Rakshyatoom gestured to switch the screen.

This time, a blazing star appeared in the center.

He clicked on a massive structure orbiting the star.

"What you're seeing is a facility the enemy calls 'Ekalsame.' In their language, it means 'Palace of the Sky,' and true to its name, it's a colossal stellar fortress of enormous scale."

Ekalsame.

An artificial planet 10,000 kilometers in diameter.

It was armed to the teeth, matching its gigantic size.

"It wields a weapon called 'Imuhuru,' powerful enough to wipe out our entire fleet in one shot."

Imuhuru means 'God's Wind' in their language.

Ekalsame absorbs mass from its parent star,

then triggers an artificial hypernova explosion inside the planet.

It's a small-scale hypernova, but

it produces a gamma-ray burst just like the real thing.

"If hit by the resulting near-lightspeed jet and ultra-high-energy gamma rays, our entire fleet would be obliterated down to the quark level."

The Chiltoom fleet held the advantage in numbers,

but that monster stellar fortress made approaching Ersetu impossible.

"Then why not peel off part of the fleet to attack the fortress?"

"Unfortunately, Ekalsame is protected by their infamous Annihilation Fleet."

To deal with the Annihilation Fleet, I'd need our main force.

But sending the main force turns it into Ekalsame's prey.

A true dilemma.

After some thought, I said,

"I've got a great plan."

"Really?"

Rakshyatoom's face lit up.

With eager curiosity, he asked,

"I'd love to hear your plan, Commander. What do you intend to do?"

Instead of answering right away,

I looked at his face and said,

"I'm going to teach you the joys of destruction."

These Xeno bastards.

You showed up just when I was bored. Perfect.