Ch.206Star Breaker (2)

“Alright!! So we’re firing the Star Breaker right now?!”

Kirtan was desperate to shoot a high-powered weapon.

“It won’t take much time, right?”

If the bombardment was going to waste an entire day, that would be a problem. The party members would lose experience points.

“Uwahahahat! It’ll destroy an entire planet in just seconds!!”

Kirtan said with a laugh.

“Ancient civilizations are terrifying…..”

I muttered unconsciously.

“Then let’s send the signal right away. Let’s get this over with quickly.”

Kirtan said.

Woooong-!!

Shortly after, beams of light appeared around where we were.

Yes. It was clearly the kind of light where if you approached it, you’d be abducted into a spaceship.

“UFO…..Cattle Mutilation!!!”

I indulged in my childhood fantasy. When I was young, I heard about the story of little Sanchez from Argentina who was abducted by a UFO, and I was so terrified I couldn’t sleep.

“Stop talking nonsense and get in.”

Kirtan pushed my back firmly. She seemed to know how to handle me now.

“Sigh….I never thought I’d end up cooperating with space pirates.”

Pril said with a complicated expression.

“It’s okay, Pril. We’re together.”

Sasits smiled and took Pril’s hand.

“Mmm…..”

Pril smiled sweetly. How lovey-dovey.

Woooong-!

As we headed toward the light, my body began to float.

Fwaaaash-!!!!

After that, my consciousness went dark.

When I opened my eyes, there was a massive ship in front of me.

It wasn’t a ship sailing the sea. In the middle of the Milky Way in space, there floated a ship.

Various aliens were busily working.

“My mothership!!! The Kirtan!!”

Kirtan shouted.

Surprisingly ordinary name. I thought she would have given it a more grandiose name.

“And here’s the Star Breaker.”

Kirtan held up the giant cannon that I had saved earlier.

Whiiiiing-!!

When one of the crew operated a terminal, the cannon lit up.

“Good!! You said there are no humans on Planet Paska! Fire at it!”

I ordered.

It felt like I was a captain giving orders on a ship…..!!

At that moment, Kirtan beckoned to me.

“Hm? What is it?”

I looked at Kirtan.

“Let’s… work together. I’ll pull the trigger. For aiming… I’d like Shota to do it.”

Kirtan said.

“Sure.”

Honestly….. it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. The desire to handle a high-powered weapon was a man’s instinct.

“Hehehe. Our first collaboration as a couple.”

Kirtan smiled sweetly.

“That, that girl…. look at her slyly flirting.”

Umi glared at Kirtan.

“Really…. such a good opportunity…!”

Taiga clicked his tongue.

“You can collaborate in bed later tonight. What’s the problem?”

Tina said with a smile. She seemed to be getting heated up just thinking about mixing bodies with me.

“Should we really give something like that to Pointy Head…..”

Pril said in a doubtful tone.

“Ah. I know what you mean. It feels like giving something dangerous to a child.”

Sasits formed an odd sense of solidarity.

“Right. It’s like giving a laser gun to a primitive human….”

Pril said.

That comparison was a bit much…… Anyway, I put my eye to the scope.

Whiiiiing-!!!

At that moment, the scope lit up.

“Target: Set to Planet Paska.”

With a mechanical voice, the barrel rotated on its own.

Wait… automatic targeting? That’s awesome. But then why does it have a scope?

Whiiiiing-!!

Soon, I realized that this scope also functioned as an ultra-high-tech telescope.

The magnification of the telescope increased tremendously.

I could see the landscape of Planet Paska.

“Let me see too.”

When Kirtan said that, I moved aside slightly.

A desolate planet covered in ice appeared.

The only trace of civilization on the barren planet was a massive ruin. It seemed there had been a civilization there before.

At the center of the planet was a relatively new building. A factory.

Whiing-! Whiing-!

Humanoid machines were busily producing something in the factory.

“No people. Is it really just machines? That’s no fun.”

Kirtan made a comment that showed her shattered ethical views.

“Judging by the ruins, it seems people used to live there….. I wonder what happened.”

Did they perish due to climate change?

“It’s Pink Beard’s doing.”

At that moment, Pril spoke.

“Ah….”

As someone who had cleared the game multiple times, I understood what she meant.

“World Nucleus…. Every planet has a source of life sleeping within it. You could call it the life force of the planet itself. Because of it, life sprouts on planets and civilizations continue.”

Pril explained.

“Pink Beard can extract that World Nucleus and convert it into his own power. That’s why he’s obsessed with consuming planets.”

Pril said.

After occupying a planet, he absorbs its power. And then it’s an endless cycle of gaining power.

“Planet Paska was ruined that way. Since it was one of the first planets Pink Beard consumed, he didn’t know how to control his power. In the end, it became a wasteland with only machines running a munitions factory.”

Pril said.

“I see…..”

It was a planetary-scale issue, something I couldn’t handle.

There was something else I could do now.

“We can’t let Earth end up like this.”

I said.

“Yes. We can’t.”

Sasits nodded.

With that, the bond between party members seemed to deepen significantly.

“Alright!! Is the targeting complete?”

Kirtan immediately placed her hand on the trigger.

“Yeah, targeting complete!!”

Well, there wasn’t much for me to do. The barrel automatically aimed at the best spot to destroy the planet.

Beep-!!

A dry mechanical sound indicated that targeting was complete.

“Alright!!! Here we go!!”

Kirtan pulled the trigger gallantly.

Zhuuuuung-!

An incredible light condensed in the cannon.

KWAAAAAAANG-!!!

Right after, a blast of heat swept around us.

The laser flew straight toward somewhere beyond the Milky Way.

KWAAAAAAANG-!!!

A massive wave occurred beyond the Milky Way. The flashing light was a bonus.

Kirtan and I, with our eyes on the scope, could see the scene beyond.

The planet itself was completely shattered.

“That felt good!!! I’d like to fire a few more shots!!”

Kirtan exclaimed with a laugh.

“Power consumption….. Switching to charging sequence. Estimated charging time…… 300 years, 5 months, 13 days.”

With those words, the cannon became just a piece of scrap metal.

Well…. I guess it’s essentially disposable. How can we wait 300 years?

And so, we delivered a blow to Pink Beard.

KWAAAANG-!

Belatedly, light flashed all around.

It was like a fireworks display in space.

“It’s beautiful.”

Kirtan murmured.

“Yeah, it’s pretty.”

I unconsciously murmured while looking at Kirtan’s profile.

“Right?”

Kirtan grinned.

“No, not the scenery….. Kirtan.”

I said as I lightly kissed Kirtan.

“S-suddenly saying such things…. that’s unfair. If I fall for you more here…. my heart might go crazy.”

Kirtan’s face turned red.

“Ugh. Look at that bastard Shota…. dropping lines like that.”

Umi was trying to suppress her anger somehow.

“Really…. that guy is secretly experienced, I tell you.”

Taiga said with a chuckle.

“Shota, when you date me, you have to say lines equal to or better than that, okay?”

Tina raised her expectations for our solo date. This… is a bit burdensome. Even if I had a casual date, public opinion would plummet.

———-

Anyway, since we had no more business on the spaceship, we returned to the ground immediately.

Since we needed to raise our specs, we couldn’t rest from monster hunting.

Having conquered the July dungeon, the enemies we encountered in field encounters had also leveled up quite a bit.

“Grrrr…!! Grr!!!”

Silver slimes in the form of large warriors blocked our way.

Ancient Slimes. They were higher-tier entities among slimes. This was also the point where a random mob called the Eccentric Slime would appear. These Eccentric Slimes had low aggression but extremely high agility. They would run away at the slightest opportunity.

In return, they gave tremendous experience points when caught. The late-game level grinding was always with Eccentric Slimes.

‘Speaking of slimes…. Gerreuk. I wonder how he’s doing?’

He’s probably honing his swordsmanship and cultivating his spirit in the afterlife. For a moment, I missed Gerreuk.

Anyway, speed stats were important for level grinding at this point. First, you had to be faster than the Eccentric Slime to get the first strike.

“Taiga! Tina! Kirtan!! When I signal, focus on that enemy.”

I selected party members with high speed.

Sasits also had quite high specs, but Sasits was in charge of going berserk. He had to deal with other monsters. Umi was…. just a clicky healer.

“Okay!!”

Everyone listened to me, though they didn’t know what I was planning.

“Kirrrrr! Kirr!!!”

The Ancient Slimes immediately rushed toward us.

“Pinocchio!! Wood Enchant!!”

I shouted as I summoned Pinocchio.

“Master!! I’ll cast it right away!!”

Pinocchio shouted loudly.

“Go cast your grandpa’s senior citizen savings plan!”

The moment I shouted that, a translucent wooden armor appeared all over my body.

Swish-!!

Silver blades wielded by the slimes rushed toward me.

“Hnnnngh!!!”

There was no need to block with my sword. I immediately raised my arm to block the slash.

Tiiiing-!!

I felt the impact resonating through my arm, but there was no damage. The enchantment had greatly enhanced the hardness of my body.

“Urah!!!!”

In the meantime, I immediately thrust my knife into the Ancient Slime’s belly.

Splaaaash-!!!

Tomato’s sharp slash, enhanced by Issen, subdued the Ancient Slime in one hit.

It wasn’t particularly the Yame sword technique. In Western swordsmanship, armor can also be used as a weapon. I had heard that there are defensive techniques using arm gauntlets.

‘Moreover…. I have the memory.’

The memory of how I fought in that high-quality weird dream remained in my body.

“Sasits!! Sweep them away with an area attack!! Their weakness is lightning!!!”

I shouted loudly.

“Got it!!! Come forth!! Electric Thief!!!”

KWAAAANG-!!

Sasits summoned a Psychorobo in the form of a fat rat and spammed skills. With that, the Ancient Slimes quickly followed Gerreuk to the afterlife.

At that moment, I spotted the target.

Wobble-! Wobble-!

There was a slime listlessly mumbling and surveying the situation.

“It’s an Eccentric Slime!! Get that one!!!”

I shouted loudly. I absolutely can’t let this one get away!!!!