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Chapter 499: The Chaotic Universe (6)

A divine artifact meant for operating the Golden Nebula.

What the hell was it planning to send this time, that it even gave a warning to “prepare”?

Still, the system had never spoken in vain before, so Yeongwoo immediately drew his sword and swept the area around him.

Hwaaaah!

“Clear out! Unless you want to die!”

From the cursed blade in Yeongwoo’s hand, a sinister aura surged visibly enough that even civilians could sense something was off.

People began fleeing the scene in a panic.

“Aaaaah!”

“Please, spare me!”

In contrast, the top combatants of the Greater Territory—Utah, Nevada, and Oregon—tilted their heads and stared at Yeongwoo.

“What the hell is he doing now?”

“Is he mentally unstable or something?”

But the answer didn’t come from Yeongwoo.

It came from the sky.

KWA-A-A-AANG!

Suddenly, a golden light shimmered high above, followed by a massive beam of light shooting down from the sky.

Puh-UU-UUUUNG!

Was this what it would feel like if a space battleship fired its main cannon?

“Huh?”

“W-What the hell?”

“Shit! Be careful…!”

Only then did the three realize that Yeongwoo’s earlier threat had been to prevent civilian casualties.

But they were just a little too late in realizing it.

The light pillar—20 meters in diameter—had already slammed down onto the ground.

KWA-AAANG!

“No…!”

“Ugh!”

As their bodies became engulfed in golden light, the three representatives scrambled out of the beam on all fours.

Almost simultaneously—

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Heavy silhouettes began to fall one after another from above the light pillar.

‘What the hell? Are there multiple divine artifacts?’

The light inside the pillar still shimmered too intensely to see clearly, but it was obvious that numerous objects were piling up within.

Like a stack of gift boxes gathered all in one place.

“Hey, nobody’s dead yet, right?”

Yeongwoo called out past the beam of light, then re-sheathed the cursed blade at his waist.

Clack.

Right on cue, the beam began to shrink in size, and eventually faded into a single streak before vanishing from the air.

Swaaaah—

And left in its wake—

“…Oh?”

—were countless altars, each of different height and width.

On top of each altar rested a gold-plated item.

In Yeongwoo’s mind, they were…

‘Models of different divine artifacts. But why are they all being shown to me?’

The reason Yeongwoo assumed these were “models” was because only the object in the center altar wasn’t gold-plated.

That object was a five-colored rod, with an intricately rippled metallic surface.

Roughly 20 centimeters long.

Too short to be used as a weapon, which made Yeongwoo instinctively think it must be some kind of emblem or token.

‘Wait a second… some of these are definitely weapon-shaped. So why did I get this thing?’

As Yeongwoo approached the artifact seemingly meant for him, he glanced at the other divine models nearby.

Some took the shape of massive two-handed swords, others looked like rings or necklaces.

One even appeared to be a pair of wings.

“A divine artifact for operating the Golden Nebula, huh…”

Finally arriving in front of the mysterious rod, Yeongwoo slowly reached out.

As his fingers neared it, a sky-blue spark flared between his hand and the rod.

Pzzzt!

Perhaps it was checking to see if he was the rightful owner.

But since nothing else happened after that, Yeongwoo didn’t hesitate to push his hand farther and grab the rod.

Tap!

And at that exact moment—

BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!

A massive brass-like instrument blasted from among the altars, and a system message appeared before Yeongwoo’s eyes.

『You have obtained a divine artifact.』

At the same time, the rod in his hand vibrated briefly, and a tooltip emerged.

「Golden Nebula Command Rod」 – Legendary Divine Artifact

【The Golden Nebula follows your will.】

【Golden Journey】

【Blessing of the Nebula】

【Long Rain】

【Golden Journey】

| You can generate Golden Spheres even on non-qualified planets.

【Blessing of the Nebula】

| During golden rainfall, you gain a 50% reduction in all damage taken.

【Long Rain】

| Golden rainfall lasts longer in areas where this divine artifact is present.

‘What the… I don’t understand any of it, but it sure seems amazing.’

He guessed “non-qualified planets” referred to those not currently undergoing a “reset.”

But how exactly would he generate Golden Spheres on such planets?

‘If a planet is non-qualified… that means there are no Mutants, right?’

Did that mean there was another way to extract Spheres from non-Mutant beings?

‘Either way, considering this is a defensive-type divine artifact, it’s clearly made by the “good guys.”’

A 50% damage reduction during golden rainfall.

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And with this artifact, the golden rain would last even longer.

It was obviously meant to let him beat enemies to a pulp while standing in the rain.

‘But wait, isn’t a nebula a type of celestial body? Then does that mean this Golden Nebula is going to follow Earth around?’

Yeongwoo was now, more or less, a spacefarer.

So it was only natural that he began to raise questions based on his understanding of the cosmos.

At that moment, Earth—connected to Yeongwoo’s consciousness—responded immediately.

『You're right.』

“Huh? I am?”

『Yeah. We’ve actually detected a golden ‘dot’ just outside the ‘Earth System Boundary.’』

“What are you talking about now? A golden dot?”

『It’s probably a kind of medium that links our system to the golden nebula somewhere out in the universe.』

Earth added that the scale of a nebula is typically dozens of times larger than a planetary system.

『I’m not exactly sure… but whenever you use that divine relic, there’s a high probability that a portion of the golden nebula is being summoned through that dot.』

As it said this, Earth gazed into the void with a faraway look in its eyes.

It was probably observing that golden dot in the distant cosmos as a planetary ship.

“So you're saying the golden nebula physically exists somewhere out there?”

For Yeongwoo, it was hard to even imagine.

A cosmic cloud existing in this vast universe for the sole purpose of serving the master of the Golden Nebula Domain.

『Phenomenologically, it appears that way. In any case, there must be a reason that golden dot appeared. I think it’s essentially a portal for summoning the golden nebula.』

“Then can the nebula show up and throw a protective shield over our ship or something?”

『Why are you asking me? You’re the master of the nebula, aren’t you?』

“…True. Still, there’s no other explanation available right now.”

There was only one tooltip related to the divine relic and the nebula:

【The Golden Nebula follows you.】

For now, all Yeongwoo could imagine was the image of beating up clients in the rain.

‘Does it literally just follow me? That can’t be all, right?’

As Yeongwoo fiddled with the divine relic, the surrounding altars and relic models were suddenly wrapped in a white light.

Shiiiaaaaat—!

“Looks like they’re being recalled.”

Yeongwoo stepped back from the altars, and then, from the sky, a massive beam of light appeared once again.

BOOOOOM—!

It took all the relics except for Yeongwoo’s and vanished into the heavens once more.

As if they had never existed to begin with.

“……”

As he looked up at the suddenly peaceful sky, Yeongwoo suddenly remembered something and asked Earth:

“How many relics were there just now?”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Earth who answered, but Utah, who was sitting on the ground nearby.

“Eight.”

“Hmm? You sure?”

“…Probably? They all looked different.”

Eight divine relics, including the one related to the Golden Nebula Domain.

Yeongwoo wondered how many of them already had owners, but there was no way to find out now.

“The power of the universe, or whatever you want to call it… it really has no limits, huh. You can even bring the golden ratio down to another planet…”

『The golden ratio probably originated from the golden nebula in the first place. It's not something that was created by our planetary reset.』

Then Earth looked back up into the void again and said,

『Ah, finally got a reply.』

Its expression was complicated.

Yeongwoo tilted his head and asked,

“What kind of reply?”

『The meeting you’ve been waiting for—with Chancellor Herisa. And also…』

Swish.

Earth raised a finger and pointed diagonally at the sky.

『Looks like they’re really coming. The civil servants from the Ship Administration Bureau.』

“Oh?”

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened.

He had almost forgotten about them after the encounter with those rat-man assassins, but apparently, the Ship Administration Bureau had taken the matter very seriously.

『Seems like they’re actually sending officials, just as you requested. Will you meet with them?』

“Did they bring gifts too? I distinctly remember asking for gifts.”

『That, I don’t know. No mention of gifts in the message.』

Then Earth added,

『But it looks like the officials are bringing a promotion certificate.』

“You mean… like planetary rank promotion?”

『Yeah. Our time as a lowest-tier planet is finally coming to an end. Well, though technically, we're not even a planet anymore.』

“Because we’re a planetary ship now, the officials from the bureau are bringing the certificate?”

『Hadn’t thought of it that way, but that makes sense. I just figured planetary court officials have higher insurance premiums.』

Fair point—who would want to visit Jeong Yeongwoo07 of Earthship in person?

The delay in the promotion process might’ve been because no one wanted to take on the assignment.

『Anyway, now you have to decide. Who do you want to meet first?』

Chancellor Herisa of the Bait family, who had expressed interest in investing in Earthship early on.

Or the pitiful officials, who had finally mustered the courage to come in person to complete the registration process.

“Both are pretty good news…”

Yeongwoo pondered for a moment, then looked back at Earth.

“Let’s meet the civil servants first. I don’t know what kind of person this Herisa is, but the officials are predictable, at least.”

『And it’s better to meet the investor after the planetary upgrade. Makes a better impression.』

The coordination between Earth and Yeongwoo was starting to click.

『Alright, I’ll summon the officials. Where should I set the meeting?』

“Where else? Call them to the main conference hall in Gwangjin-gu. Less risk of civilian casualties if a fight breaks out.”

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