A Tempting Offer from the Ebenrak Family
While studying the Empire’s elixir refinement techniques, one point left him feeling profoundly regretful.
If only I hadn’t destroyed that pill cauldron…
The Spirit Treasure known as the Triad Ninefold Extreme Mystic Flower Cauldron, which had belonged to a mage at the Nascent Soul stage, was also a vast repository of pill refinement knowledge. Had he kept it intact, he could have studied far more deeply by comparing the methods in real time.
Of course, destroying it had been the optimal decision at the time. And the opportunity hadn’t vanished simply because he couldn’t compare the texts immediately, so there was no need to dwell on the regret.
In any case, the Empire’s elixir manufacturing arts shared many similarities with the alchemy practiced in the Magic Sanctuary.
Yet they also placed tremendous effort into advancing the materials themselves, not merely the refinement techniques—a clear point of distinction.
From the Empire’s perspective, this was unavoidable. The Luminous Sanctuary was a remote region, and therefore relatively barren. A large portion of its produced resources was consumed in the war against the Xenos, which only amplified the scarcity.
Thanks to that, I’ve been able to reap enormous benefits.
For tens of thousands of years the Empire had pursued research to maximize resource efficiency across countless fields. The improved spirit plants and creatures born from that labor could be purchased by any citizen who met the required level and credit threshold.
Since these varieties could only be obtained here, he needed to buy every last one before departing.
Separately from his diligent study of equipment manufacturing techniques, he had been pondering a particular issue related to True Name Law Treasures.
Fusion Intelligence is truly the crown jewel of Ethereal Weapons…
The secret behind how Major Brenar had been able to overwhelm a Nascent Soul stage mage using nothing but control ability lay in the Fusion Intelligence contained within her Ethereal Weapon.
It could be viewed as a form of artificial spirit.
Here, “spirit” naturally referred to the spiritual nature—the vessel spirit—conceived by a treasure possessing true dignity. Strictly speaking, even the spirit within an Ohaeng Spirit Stone should be called a vessel spirit.
In any case, Fusion Intelligence surpassed ordinary vessel spirits in nearly every aspect and could not be countered. This was one field in which the Galactic Empire stood ahead of any other civilization, including the cultivation worlds.
The problem was that Fusion Intelligence could only be created through the Luminous Emperor himself, and the exact principles were the highest classified secret, disclosed solely to citizens of level 7 or above.
Who knows. It might be some kind of avatar connected to the Luminous Emperor.
Even if owners weren’t under constant surveillance, a backdoor could exist that transmitted various data to the Emperor’s main body once certain conditions were met.
Even on modern Earth, companies developing critical hardware or software frequently planted secret backdoors. Considering only the cases that had been exposed, the practice was common; if one included the undetected instances, it might well be the norm.
Separate from the Luminous Emperor’s mysteriously devoted attitude toward humanity, that very devotion might be precisely why he would plant hidden eyes of surveillance while deceiving people.
Therefore, he needed to continue investigating and pondering this matter.
Fortunately, aside from that one issue, manufacturing True Name Law Treasures did not appear especially difficult.
He was already a level 3 citizen. Once he became a level 7 spiritualist and accumulated sufficient credits, he could freely utilize the Empire’s infrastructure. Maintaining his space force identity until then would also allow him to receive subsidies.
Thus, his immediate course of action was decided.
I must remain with the space force until I reach level 4 citizenship.
That was the fastest route to accumulating merits and raising his citizen level. The pay was hardly meager, either.
Aiming for level 5 citizenship would be ideal, but that goal still felt distant. Even Major Brenar—an 11th-level spiritualist and cruiser captain—was only a level 4 citizen.
For now, he needed to focus solely on his promotion to non-commissioned officer.
The examination took place two weeks after Major Brenar’s departure. The location was the same C-15 planet, so reaching it posed no difficulty.
The test was thorough and lasted a full week, but unlike the other applicants, Han Yujin possessed a letter of recommendation and therefore skipped the interview. He left the testing site after only three days.
Two days later, the acceptance notice arrived through his Nexus Band. He shed his enlisted rank and became a non-commissioned officer.
Naturally, he remained assigned to the same unit and was appointed squad leader of the combat detachment aboard the Demensys cruiser. A vacancy had opened because every marine who had boarded the landing craft during the previous mission had died.
A day after that, Major Brenar contacted him personally to offer her congratulations. The “educational support funds” she had promised were deposited at the same time, filling his heart with satisfaction.
If I repeat the cycle of studying, deploying on missions, studying, and deploying again… I should be able to reach level 4 citizenship.
By then he would likely have been commissioned as an officer for some time, and his salary would no longer feel so tight.
With clear goals and a solid plan, he was able to focus on his studies with a light heart.
Two years and eight months.
That was how much time had passed since Han Yujin became a non-commissioned officer.
During that period he had completed five more missions. Fortunately, none had been as dangerous as his first.
On the return leg of the fourth mission they had unluckily encountered a Xenos infiltration force, but the enemy’s scale had been small enough for the cruiser’s firepower alone to repel them.
That was the first time he witnessed the Demensys engaging in genuine ship-to-ship combat.
When the main and secondary batteries—operated by non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel trained in equipment cultivation methods—drew power from the Astral Core engine and unleashed radiance-type projectiles, a vast swath of the target zone was instantly bathed in light. The Xenos within simply evaporated, leaving not even ash behind.
The main cannon’s power clearly exceeded the Nascent Soul stage, while the secondary guns were at least at the Core Formation level.
As the guns fired, specialized equipment including drones launched from various points across the hull to erect defensive barriers.
Xenos of every size and shape attempted to latch onto the ship using bizarre and inventive methods, yet even those fortunate enough to evade the barrage could not pierce the barriers formed by drones and ether energy.
A handful of truly monstrous entities did manage to break through, but the instant they landed on the outer armor they were engulfed by an overwhelming ether current and exploded into dust.
The Paranoia Shockwave Cannon, once used during the recruitment test, disrupted the enemy leader’s mind and effectively neutralized their mind-hacking waves.
Carrier craft that had launched from the lower hangar darted in and out along the battlefield’s periphery with almost possessed agility, scattering the enemy’s firepower and cutting off their retreat.
Assault shuttle pods had finished pre-launch preparations and the combat troops stood ready, but they were never actually deployed.
Direct boarding actions against giant Xenos entities were a tactic reserved for the most desperate moments of space combat. The risk was simply too high and losses too severe.
In any case, it had been an intensely impressive battle that revealed the true depth of the Galactic Empire’s power. The larger the engagement, the more overwhelming the role these warships would play.
While gaining such experiences, Han Yujin had already been promoted to sergeant. Only a few months remained until his next promotion to staff sergeant.
In other words, only a few months remained until he qualified to take the officer commissioning exam.
It was a meteoric rise that matched the speed of his citizen level increases. While Major Brenar’s support as captain had certainly helped, the promotions were fundamentally possible only because his ability backed them up.
Whenever he had free time he practically lived inside the level 6 ether training room to which he had been granted access. He also diligently consumed the ether elixirs provided as support.
Since his original talent had never been lacking, others found his steep improvement entirely natural. Even those who had once envied him eventually clicked their tongues, called him a monstrous bastard, and surrendered to the reality of his skill.
His excellence was not limited to spiritualist ability alone.
During every simulation exercise he displayed near-optimal judgment and earned the label of genius. There were even occasions when the platoon leader, a second lieutenant, trusted the assistant platoon leader Han Yujin’s decisions more than his own.
Because he had earned everyone’s recognition through his own merit, Major Brenar could push his career without reservation.
Perhaps because he never once betrayed those expectations and always exceeded them, she sought him out during every leave period to provide additional credits.
They met at the same café where she had first given him support, and today was no exception.
“You really are a monstrous bastard.”
Brenar clicked her tongue as she watched Han Yujin, who looked exactly the same as always, living inside the information archive during every vacation for years now. Their shared history had made her tone and demeanor far more relaxed than before.
“Take it.”
She slid the familiar metal card across the table.
“Thank you, as always. I wonder when I’ll ever be able to repay—”
“Repay? I told you I’m the one settling a life debt. I still haven’t paid it off, so study without worrying.”
Afterward she beckoned to Mu-yong and smiled. In that instant she no longer seemed like a major in the space force or captain of the Demensys, but like a young, pure-hearted woman whose appearance finally matched her expression.
“Jjik!”
Mu-yong had no reason to dislike someone who genuinely adored her every meeting. She scampered over, practically leaping into the woman’s arms to enjoy the gentle strokes.
They spent a leisurely while sipping drinks and chatting.
Today, however, it seemed Brenar had a particular matter she wished to discuss.
“Yujin, do you intend to remain in the space force indefinitely?”
Han Yujin thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“My immediate goal is reaching level 4 citizenship. I need at least that rank to access all the knowledge I desire.”
“Still a long way off. And after that?”
“After that… honestly, I may leave the space force if necessary. But why do you ask?”
“Hmm…”
She hummed softly and took another sip of her drink.
“If you do leave, how would you feel about becoming a member of my Ebenrak family’s exploration corps?”
“After I become a level 4 citizen?”
“Yes. Accumulating merit might be harder than staying in the military, but I guarantee you could earn at least ten times the credits. The compensation would be competitive with any profession in the Empire.”
Ten times.
He could not continue living off Brenar’s generosity forever, and the list of items he needed to purchase—beyond knowledge—was enormous. The offer was genuinely tempting.
I need equipment for both refinement and manufacturing arts, the Empire’s unique barrier devices would be useful to acquire, I must buy the improved spirit creatures, and I still require training elixirs…
Becoming a level 5 citizen would take far too long. Settling for level 4 and focusing on earning credits suddenly seemed like a perfectly reasonable path.
“What exactly would I do as a member of the exploration corps?”
“Exactly what the name implies—explore. The work would be similar to what the military exploration teams do now. The danger level would be comparable as well.”
Given the sheer scale of the universe, civilian exploration efforts were only natural.
“By then your skill and record will be outstanding. You could even be given command of a team.”
That last remark made the proposal even more attractive.
Without realizing it, he almost stroked his chin—a habit formed in the martial world that still surfaced from time to time.