Chapter 196: A New World
There is a common phrase that people who go into space say when they see Earth.
It looks like a bride in a white veil.
Yu Ji-ha did not agree with that phrase, but he did agree that Earth was beautiful compared to other planets.
But here, there was another Earth.
It was the place they arrived after passing through Knox’s warp gate and traveling for 50 years.
It was not the past, or a parallel world of Earth.
Because the shape of the continents that appeared briefly through the clouds was completely different from Earth.
A groan escaped from Yu Ji-ha’s mouth.
“I didn’t expect the prophet to greet us, but this is too hopeless… So this is definitely not Earth, right?”
“Yes. This is not Earth, nor even the solar system. This is another universe that we do not know.”
Arma showed him a nearby planet as evidence.
“This planet has the same orbital period and rotational period as a planet with about 80% volume. It can be called a binary planetary system, and the other planet has an atmosphere but is a typical rocky planet.”
“It has two satellites, which are quite large compared to the size of the planet. They are similar in size, but their orbits are different, so they look different from the other planet.”
It could be said that this planetary system was composed of four planets that were tangled up in a mess.
Arma explained that the gravity was also chaotic, so it was difficult to launch satellites into orbit.
“If there was a civilization that conducted space exploration on this planet, they would have failed almost every time they launched satellites in the early stages.”
“So there is a civilization?”
“We have to find out now. We can get various information by looking through the gravity radar and the Siberi satellite.”
Well, it was unreasonable to expect great information just after arriving.
Yu Ji-ha moved to his personal room while relying on his medical walker and looked at his body.
“I’ve changed so much in a few years…”
His body was so badly injured that it was not strange to say that.
His skin was wrinkled and his appearance looked 30 years older.
Especially, the problem was the line that protruded like a blood vessel on his right chest.
It seemed like an ether circuit, but it had changed from dark red to black.
He rubbed his chest bitterly and Lucia, who followed him in, tried to sit on his shoulder using the chair as a support, but failed.
Yu Ji-ha looked at her incredulously.
“How are you flying?”
She flustered and wrote letters in the air.
―This is magic using ether.
“Magic or whatever, you wouldn’t have forgotten how to send thoughts.”
―Oh, sorry.
She must have forgotten because she was with Arma.
Soon after, she heard a familiar voice.
―This spaceship also manipulates gravity, right? It’s the same as why Master can walk around without floating.
“Can I walk around?”
Yu Ji-ha was now in a state of relying on his walker.
Lucia closed her mouth and looked at him.
―I mean, normally, normally.
“It’s normal, but it’s been 20 years ago, so I can’t remember well… Anyway, is that magic? Something like an ether field that can only be implemented with a large-scale ether field.”
―It’s not that hard here. Depending on the situation, individuals can use it too.
“Interesting place. So what kind of place is this? Tell me what you know.”
―First of all, can I sit on your shoulder?
“I’ll let you do that much.”
A 40cm metal doll sat on his shoulder.
―I feel like I’m home now. Anyway, ether is the force and energy that supports this world. To explain it in a way that Master can understand, it can be called mana.
“So things like ether fields are magic implemented with mana?”
―Gravity magic is tricky to implement at an individual level, but not impossible. We call those who can do that magicians.
“Then this is a fantasy world.”
―And I am an existence that will be called the Demon King in the future.
“De…mon King?”
He felt like his mind soared to a distant sky.
The Plague Queen who was in the asteroid belt was the Demon King? What kind of absurd story was that?
Lucia also realized that her explanation was insufficient and cleared her throat.
―Ahem, you may not believe it, but listen without prejudice. Prejudice is bad.
“It’s hard to trust when the Plague Queen says that.”
―Anyway! If you think about it, from the perspective of humanity, the Plague Queen can be seen as the Demon King, right?
“That’s true.”
―As Master knows, we jump over long distances through ether storms. It’s a kind of teleport concept. How do you think that looks to the people of that planet?
Yu Ji-ha frowned and imagined the scene.
The peaceful inhabitants of the fantasy world who were plowing the fields.
One day, the atmosphere became unstable and a strange storm raged.
Soon after, black beast-shaped mechanical monsters appeared.
The inhabitants screamed and ran away, and the monsters destroyed everything around them…
“…They are demons themselves.”
―That’s right. We are born with the fate of destroying the civilization of that planet. We live in various places in this universe and when the time comes, we migrate to that planet.
“That blue planet?”
―Arma said there was a twin planet earlier.
“Then that’s the demon world.”
―Oh, you’re right.
He felt like the reality was fading away as he heard the stories of fantasy and demon kings.
Yu Ji-ha looked at her in the mirror and asked.
“Don’t you feel like doing that now?”
―What do you mean?
“You know. The fate of becoming the Demon King?”
―Fate is not something that is decided, but something that can be carved out by oneself.
It was a rather resonant statement for a small mechanical doll.
Yu Ji-ha recalled why he came here.
‘To meet the prophet.’
But he didn’t know how to meet the prophet.
The route was over here, so he couldn’t go any further.
This was the end of the line for the pioneer fleet.
‘I have to check the situation before I go down there.’
Would it be better to build a faction next?
He decided to wait until he analyzed the information that Arma brought.
He controlled his walker to move to the main bridge with Lucia on his shoulder.
His body was in a terrible shape, but he was not dying yet, judging by his hunger.
***
The pioneer fleet had the core facilities of a smart farm.
It could produce various foods, which were relatively intact even after 50 years.
However, it lacked diversity compared to the ground.
Arma planned a perfect food supply plan in terms of nutrition, but there was no guarantee that it would suit Yu Ji-ha’s taste, and it actually didn’t.
Of course, Yu Ji-ha was not the kind of person who would fuss over food when he was going to his prophet’s homeland, and he had endured well so far.
“But sometimes I want to go down to the ground and have a proper meal…”
It wasn’t bad when he entered the body of a vegetative patient in Korea.
Although it didn’t suit his taste, it was fresh and luxurious, and he adapted soon.
But he doubted that there was such a civilization on that planet.
Soon after, Arma entered the main bridge with a walker.
On top of the walker, there was a meal with what looked like salmon as the main dish.
“This looks like salmon.”
“Yes. It has almost the same protein composition as salmon. And the appearance too.”
It seemed that they had sent an exploration ship and caught it.
It also meant that they had finished sorting out the information about the planet.
“Can I eat it…?”
“There is no poison at least. The people over there also enjoy this ingredient quite a lot. Of course, only for the upper class.”
The lower class couldn’t eat well, which meant that the level of civilization was not great.
Usually, developed civilizations provide various benefits to the lower class as well.
“How does it taste…”
He sliced a bite and tasted it, and there was no difference from the salmon he remembered.
He didn’t sleep too long and lose his memory.
Yu Ji-ha shook his head and ate up the thick salmon steak.
“I feel like I’m alive now…”
Arma poured him a drink next to him.
“To summarize, we couldn’t find the prophet on that planet.”
“I couldn’t expect to find him so easily.”
“However, we found a common creator in the myths of various races. They call him by different names, but they all agree that he created this world.”
“Is he the prophet? How can we access the information?”
“We haven’t found it yet.”
Yu Ji-ha looked at her with surprised eyes.
The pioneer fleet was completely different from when they first arrived on Earth in 2025.
Most of the facilities and equipment were intact and they could fight against Plague.
They could have used micro drones or nano units for reconnaissance, right?
That question was soon answered.
Arma displayed a place that looked like a library on the main screen.
“Most of the important documents are stored in places like this, but they are heavily guarded. Physically, they are nothing special, but they have a strong magical barrier that is estimated.”
“Can’t nano units break through and get in?”
“No. It seems to block all external beings except those who are authorized.”
It was amazing that it applied to nano units as well.
Anyway, Yu Ji-ha saw elves for the first time on that screen.
“It’s really coincidental that they have exactly the same faces as the elves I saw in my dreams.”
“The country of elves is called Elvrande Empire. It used to be an autonomous region, but it waged a liberation war and rapidly increased its national power, finally subjugating several neighboring countries.”
“It’s unusual for a war to increase national power.”
“That’s largely due to the help of an elf who is called a prophet. His name is Eilidh and he is a great magician.”
“A great magician prophet…”
He was unlikely to be the same person as the prophet Yu Ji-ha was looking for.
He was almost in the realm of gods.
Even Lucia, who denied the existence of gods, referred to his things, especially ether fusion reactor, as God’s heart.
It was something that didn’t make sense even with the technology of 22nd century United Human Federation.
“Maybe he’s not himself, but someone who received power or revelation from him.”
“Anyway, he has a lot of influence among elves. We tried to locate him but failed.”
If Arma failed, it would be hard to find him for a while.
Yu Ji-ha slowly looked over the information she had collected.
The level of civilization ranged from 14th century to 19th century.
There were trains running in the busiest streets of Elvrande Empire or human kingdoms, but the inhabitants of the outskirts lived a very poor life.
As he saw in his dreams, there were various races besides humans and elves, but their relations were not very good.
It was natural, in a way.
“There are monsters too, and it’s fair to say that this is a fantasy world. The problem is where the prophet is…”
“Shall we drop a reaction bomb on the capital of Elvrande Empire and demand information?”
That might be the most efficient way, but it was not Yu Ji-ha’s style.
It could also mess up the situation.
“We can’t do that after coming to the prophet’s homeland. It’s clear that Elvrande has something to do with him.”
“Then shall we go down to the ground and form a faction? Like we did in the past.”
“It’s a headache to repeat that.”
But there seemed to be no other way.
The pioneer fleet had no more places to go, and it seemed that they had to stay here for a while, whether they liked it or not.
“I don’t know if there’s a place to hide this spaceship…”
“If you give me an order, I’ll find a suitable place.”
“Make it a little away from the elves’ land. They seem to be picking fights with all the surrounding countries.”
They were even at war with one kingdom right now.
The war was not the usual kind of infantry and cavalry.
It was a war of giant robots that stomped around.
“They’re fighting with strange things.”
―Goliaths. They are weapons given by dragons to fight against demons.
Lucia, who had sat on his shoulder before he knew it, whispered an explanation.
Yu Ji-ha felt his ears tickle and brushed her off with his hand.
―Hey! That’s too much!
“What are you talking about? Are there dragons too?”
―You probably won’t see them now. But it’s certain that most of the things related to magic in this world originated from them.
“Dragons… They might have something to do with the prophet too.”
―But who is he? That prophet?
“God.”
―God?
“I can’t explain it any other way. I haven’t met him either.”
―If the master who built this huge spaceship is called a god… You could conquer the whole planet with this spaceship.
“I could, but I don’t need to.”
He had enough of being cursed as a dictator on Earth, and he didn’t want to do the same here.
He didn’t have the goal of fighting against the ultimate enemy, Plague, either.
But as long as Plague existed, and as long as the pioneer fleet came here, it was inevitable that he would create a faction and clash with the neighboring countries.
Because any living being values its own territory.
“I wish I could see the prophet without any friction…”
Yu Ji-ha’s ultimate goal was simple.
He wanted to meet the prophet, thank him, and then disappear quietly.
He didn’t mind living a secluded life in nature with Arma and raising a child.
It seemed difficult to go back to Earth, so he considered settling on this planet.
Of course, he had to wait for the results of the analysis of the atmosphere and microorganisms of this planet.
He watched the war of Elvrande while patiently waiting for Arma’s report.
Lucia, who had managed to sit on his shoulder again, gasped and covered her mouth.
―Those elves are really cruel. They don’t even accept surrender.
“It happens when there is a lot of conflict built up historically.”
Considering human history, that kind of behavior was not a big deal.
But there was something funny about what the elves did after they won.
“They’re so stiff for elves.”
There was a saying that they had an edge.
The elves he saw were wearing uniform uniforms, and they also had discipline in their actions.
The military officers didn’t bow their heads even to their superiors, and there was strict discipline even at mealtime.
―They live such tiring lives.
“I’m sure they have their reasons, but I don’t want them as neighbors.”
If Yu Ji-ha became their neighbor, one of them would be completely destroyed.
He was not interested in fighting with them, but he had no choice but to do so if he wanted to research ether.
As he formed a faction and researched ether, he would inevitably collide with them.
Arma’s roadmap included that part as well.
‘I might end up being an emperor rather than a dictator.’
He didn’t want that, but he was willing to do anything to meet the prophet.
It was a miracle that he survived 50 years and came this far.
It was thanks to Arma’s help, but his wish was about to come true anyway.
He couldn’t give up here. That would be worse than death.
He never thought of giving up in the first place.
“I’d prefer someone without parents if possible.”
It wasn’t a big problem on Earth, but it was better to reduce the risk as much as possible.
“I’ll take that into account when selecting candidates.”
A few candidates appeared on the screen.
They were all tall men with strong bones and in a precarious situation.
It was impossible to get into someone’s body who was doing well anyway.
Yu Ji-ha took notice of one of them.
He was a mercenary who left home early when he realized that he couldn’t inherit his territory.
He was 27 years old and had a lot of experience and connections.
He was also a knight who could control robots, or Goliaths.
“Knights in this world used to mean soldiers who rode horses or horned beasts and fought in mobile battles. But now it means those who are qualified to ride Goliaths.”
“Horned beasts?”
“They are more useful animals than horses. At least here they are.”
He couldn’t imagine heavily armed knights riding camels, or rather ostriches.
“So they ride those robots and fight directly?”
“Yes. High-level Goliaths can be stored in another dimension, but they just drag them around. They probably don’t have money because they are mercenaries.”
“…”
At this point, he couldn’t tell if this was reality or fantasy.
‘Oh, right. This is a fantasy planet.’
Yu Ji-ha came to his senses and focused on the man on the screen.
Since Arma chose him, his fate was decided.
It didn’t mean that she put him in danger, but that he was already in that situation.
The cause was probably Elvrande’s elves.
On Earth, when there was a problem, one could point out one country and be right about 50% of the time.
That also applied here.
If he cursed the elves, he would be right about 50% of the time. T
hat meant that he would have a lot of trouble with them in the future.
He couldn’t avoid clashing with them as he formed a faction and researched ether.
Arma’s roadmap included that part as well.
‘It’s like repeating the same thing as before.’
He just wanted to meet the prophet, but it was so hard…
Yu Ji-ha sighed inwardly and shook his head.
He had survived 50 years without dying and came this far.
It was a miracle, thanks to Arma’s help.
His wish was about to come true.
He couldn’t give up here.
That would be worse than death.
He never thought of giving up in the first place.
“Let’s go with him.”
He pointed at the mercenary knight on the screen.
Arma nodded and smiled.
“Then I’ll prepare everything for the transfer. Please wait a moment, master.”
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