Ch.106Ancient Civilization’s Legacy

# Chapter 106: Legacy of an Ancient Civilization

The nano-machines that had been flowing out like powder finally stopped after the warp gate was sealed.

Of course, the nano-machines that had already escaped showed signs of ruthlessly devouring surrounding materials and multiplying indiscriminately, but…

“Magnetic fields, rookie!”

They assimilate anything they touch unconditionally?

Then the solution was simple—don’t let them touch anything.

Using magnetic field generators created by our graduate students after pulling all-nighters, we suspended them in mid-air to capture them.

“Wait, are we really allowed to do this?”

“Yeah, nothing’s impossible for psionics.”

Though it looked a bit questionable, psionic operatives like those from the Purification Unit gathered them using telekinesis.

*Rustle*

“Is this really going to work?”

“If we do it, it works!”

…and then collected them in plastic bags.

Through a collaboration of what seemed like dangerous disregard for safety protocols and excessive safety measures, the collected nano-machines were sent to the research facility.

There, numerous graduate students, professors, and Minister Vermut conducted various experiments on them.

————————–

A month passed since we sent the collected nano-machines.

-“HELLOOOOOO!!!”

While I was, as usual, giving Riel a hard time during work…

Minister Vermut’s 3D model suddenly popped out of my terminal.

“…What is it, Minister Vermut?”

-“Oh come on, what’s with that bland reaction?”

When I responded impassively, Minister Vermut pouted, looking disappointed.

‘…Be surprised.’

Of course, that was only from Minister Vermut’s perspective.

From my standpoint, I had paused time and needed a full three subjective hours to calm myself down.

Anyway, putting aside such trivial matters, I asked Minister Vermut why he had contacted me.

-“Hehehe, of course it’s about the magic powder that Minister Arto requested last time!”

Hearing that, I recalled the various things I had requested from the Ministry of Technology and Science over the past month.

“Um, Minister Vermut.”

-“Yes?”

“If you’re voluntarily reporting that you’ve inhaled some new powdered drug, I’m sorry, but would you please go to the Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs instead of us?”

At my words, Minister Vermut flailed his arms in disbelief and squawked loudly.

-“What are you talking about! Would I contact you, Minister, over something as trivial as inhaling drugs?!”

Seeing him jumping up and down, I nodded and said:

“I’m joking.”

-“Ugh… you got me there.”

Having initiated the joke himself, Minister Vermut shook his head resignedly and decided to get to the point.

-“Well, it’s not like drug concentrate is anything special since I inject it when I’m bored anyway.”

“Wait, what did you just s—”

-“Anyway, what I wanted to talk about was the countermeasure for those nano-machines you requested, Minister.”

It seemed like something difficult to gloss over had been mentioned.

But since what followed was far more important, I naturally focused on the rest of the conversation.

“How did it go?”

-“Hmm… to be honest, if we were to enter a space filled with these… even the latest battleships wouldn’t last long before literally melting away.”

I was shocked by what followed.

“Is that true, Minister Vermut?”

-“Of course! Even with existing armor plating, the latest neo-plasteel alloy, or crystal-coated composite armor, we can’t prevent the nano-machines from assimilating everything.”

“But what about shields?”

-“Shields aren’t invincible. If a ship travels through space filled with nano-bots at the same molecular density as standard atmospheric gases within a planetary atmosphere, the shield generators would break down in just a few hours.”

“…Hmm.”

Interesting.

I didn’t know shields had such a limitation.

That wasn’t in the setting guide…

As I remained silent after hearing this, Riel, who was beside me, tilted her head curiously and said:

“Does that make sense? Ships move around in atmospheres with shields up for dozens of days without problems, don’t they?”

Hearing that, I also gave Minister Vermut’s model a questioning look.

Receiving our gazes, Minister Vermut shook his head as if we were being ridiculous and responded:

-“Of course it makes sense. Nano-machines are essentially metal masses, with a mass incomparable to pure gaseous molecules like nitrogen or oxygen.”

“Hmm? You mean…”

-“It’s as you thought, Minister Arto. Essentially, traveling through there would be like trying to pass through a mass of solid metal.”

This was very interesting information.

[Time Pause]

‘Even if the Gray Nightmare event were to occur, I never experienced such debuffs when crossing into that universe.’

In game terms, it would probably mean ship hull integrity decreasing in real-time upon entering the area, or perhaps a -50% penalty to armor or hull durability.

Having been reincarnated into the game, I couldn’t help but wish that only the events I remembered would occur…

But since such concerns were meaningless in the current situation, I mentally focused and:

[Time Pause End]

Naturally adjusted my expression and decided to inquire further about the matter.

“So there’s no solution at all?”

-“Well, we haven’t tested materials made from rare resources yet… but the resources required to build ships with such materials would be astronomical.”

“Please continue with additional tests for now. Since externally, we’re claiming to be developing nano-machine bombs…”

-“Well… alright, since time and money keep coming in anyway.”

-Communication Terminated

After the communication with Minister Vermut ended, I leaned back against the sofa and sighed deeply.

“Minister, I’ve been wondering something.”

“Hmm?”

“No matter how powerful Ash is as a military asset, is it really necessary to search this desperately?”

Riel’s words perfectly described my current situation.

In fact, within the Ministry of Diplomatic Enforcement, many were questioning why I was so concerned about this matter.

‘No, if we leave this alone, the Gray Nightmare will come!’

But from my perspective, this was completely reasonable.

In the game, there was only one instance where a gate connected to the Gray Nightmare universe opened and closed.

Like the Warlord, it was a precursor to the “Gray Nightmare” event, designed to inject tension into the increasingly relaxed game.

The problem was that I had no way of knowing why it was happening or why such debuffs were occurring.

‘Originally, after obtaining Ash, the Gray Nightmare just turned into regular planetary systems with only nano-machines appearing…’

But now, it was as if the catastrophic nano-machine fleet I saw in the game was trying to resurrect itself, with gates closing and chaos ensuing.

Most importantly, all of this started happening after Ash mysteriously disappeared through the gate.

Suddenly, both I and the Sevelli Empire faced significant losses with the disappearance of Ash, a superweapon powerful enough to be used against the Warlord.

So whether I liked it or not, I had to focus on this to assess the situation and recover Ash to normalize the empire’s visible fleet power metrics.

Of course, regarding my attitude, Riel only added a few words:

“You just like big, massive battleships, don’t you?”

“…!”

“I understand completely. It’s every man’s dream, isn’t it?”

Unfairly hitting me with facts again.

But since part of what Riel said was true, I couldn’t deny it and simply returned my focus to work.

——————————-

Not long after, the Ministry of Technology and Science finally succeeded in finding the answer I wanted.

-“Hahaha! What do you think of our solution!”

“…”

Except that it was completely different from what I had expected.

-“After all analyses and investigations, the only thing that can navigate through those nano-machine-filled areas is that!”

And at the end of where Minister Vermut’s hologram was pointing…

“…I see.”

The majestic figure of the Leviathan-class Super Dreadnought, still undergoing extensive repairs, came into view.