For several days, the awakened individuals in the Gangnam shelter had been fighting continuously, covered in blood and grime without the chance to wash. They stared blankly at the sky, mouths agape.

Crimson beams of light poured down from above. As if that weren’t enough, thousands of missiles trailed gray smoke as they bombarded the ground.

Thousands of meteors fell in conjunction with the beams.

Bang bang bang!

And as if that weren’t enough, blue spheres generated around *that thing* soared in arcs, striking the evolved entities directly.

Splat—Bang—

The “Growly,” boasting steel-like defenses, was instantly reduced to ashes and obliterated, leaving only black lines where the red beams had passed, emitting a foul smell.

Ah…

A gigantic sphere was coalescing at the front of *that thing*.

Even simply gathering was enough to annihilate surrounding clouds and push the atmosphere away, creating fierce winds.

Goosebumps prickled her skin.

Vwooom—

The atmosphere screamed.

‘What if that thing falls and obliterates this place?’

Such thoughts arose involuntarily.

Then, at last.

When the accumulation of the sphere ceased, as if time itself had stopped,

All—be it the mindless zombies, the commanding evolved entities, civilians, or awakeners—

Everyone looked up at the sky.

Ah…

The sun is falling.

The world is ending.

A blinding light enveloped the entire sky, melting the world away.

Flash—

Bang bang bang!

With a deafening noise, the shockwave spread like a sonic boom. The ground flipped, and buildings collapsed like sandcastles.

“Uwaaaah!”

“Ugh!”

“Get down!!”

Everyone covered their heads and hunched down. It was instinctive—a subconscious action to protect their lives as living beings.

But—

After a moment of time had passed, everyone realized.

Um… why are we still alive?

Did we survive?

They noticed they were completely unharmed.

Huff.

Sigh.

A sigh of relief escaped them involuntarily. Soon after, they realized that they weren’t just lucky to be alive.

Vwooom—

Hexagonal blue shields gathered around the center of the explosion, spreading out into a massive dome shape. It was probably because of this that they could survive the shockwave.

“This is ridiculous.”

Someone’s disheartened voice echoed, but no one replied.

It was clear they had all taken drugs together; otherwise, they couldn’t believe the scene they were witnessing was real.

Inside the dome of the shield, it looked as if the world had perished, with black lightning crackling and all sorts of corpses and ashes floating as if there were no gravity, gathering toward the center.

At the epicenter of the explosion, a black vortex slowly consumed everything and began to vanish.

‘N-no way….’

People looked up at the Dreadnought-class battleship, majestically hovering above the shelter.

The disaster that had seemed insurmountable, which had only brought despair to the shelter’s inhabitants, suddenly came to an end in an instant.

Under that massive battleship, which even an S-rank awakener couldn’t scratch, lay a heap of six-stage evolved entities that couldn’t even resist, their heads blown off and bodies fallen.

There were no more zombies in sight.

***

[Power source collection required for dimension relay installation complete.]

“Huh? What’s that?”

[Would you like to install the dimension relay? Y/Y]

“Huh? There’s only ‘yes’….”

[Declining is not an option.]

Yeong-sik gave up on thinking.

Ultimately, he had to disembark, leaving Hyperion in the midst of installing what might be a dimension relay.

He didn’t have to climb down a ladder like before. Descending from the flying disk, he found many people looking up at him.

“Why does this feel a bit scary….”

Everyone was staring at him with their mouths open and eyes wide. It was understandable to feel that way. Still, he wasn’t worried.

[You are a first-class protected individual. Activating protection programs appropriate for this level.]

And upon reaching the ground, he realized that such concerns were meaningless.

It was clear that they were looking at him with eyes full of awe and fear, not disdain and neglect like before.

Yoo Byeong-tae couldn’t even make eye contact with him.

***

From Yoo Byeong-tae's perspective, he saw Kim Yeong-sik being welcomed by the shelter residents from behind.

“….”

He felt a sense of despair. After days without proper sleep and fighting tooth and nail, he had clashed frequently with the shelter’s leaders. From questioning why they hadn’t prepared in advance to ignoring Kim Yeong-sik’s warnings about the Wave, they had gone so far as to expel him.

Just days ago, they had been the ones begging for favors. Hadn’t they claimed that the hypothesis of the Wave was absurd? Hadn’t they said he was just stirring trouble and disrupting their unity?

Perhaps due to the tense atmosphere among the leaders?

Everything in the shelter felt creaky.

In contrast, that guy had resolved everything in less than ten minutes.

Is this even fair?

While Yoo Byeong-tae felt relief in surviving, a simmering resentment bubbled up inside him.

It was always like this when he got involved with that guy.

That strangely confident gaze as if he already knew the answers. Even precognitive individuals couldn’t exceed 30% accuracy; what could this guy possibly know?

Yet, after every incident, everything unfolded according to Kim Yeong-sik’s will. Even though he was officially the leader of the shelter.

He could no longer tolerate any further divisions.

So he had expelled him. Before he became an even greater threat.

Look at it now. Aren’t all the shelter residents looking at him like he’s a savior?

Ugh.

“What’s with the anger again?”

A beautiful woman in alluring attire approached him. It was Baek Seul-gi, who had been Kim Yeong-sik's ex-girlfriend.

‘What kind of outfit is she wearing at a time like this?’

It was pathetic. There was no doubt she was clouded by the sense of accomplishment from having stolen her boyfriend. Hearing her whine usually made his hair stand on end.

“Where are you going?”

“Where else? Of course, over there.”

He spotted Kim Yeong-sik, who was being cheered by the people. Byeong-tae's brow twitched. Meanwhile, Baek Seul-gi raised the corners of her mouth, wearing a confident expression.

“What do you plan to do when you get there?”

“Just going to greet him and say congratulations, of course.”

Yoo Byeong-tae couldn’t fail to notice the deep-seated desire in her eyes.

“You….”

How could he not see her tail wagging every time a competent male awakener walked by? It was tiresome.

In the end, he fell silent out of frustration.

Yoo Byeong-tae felt confused about whether he should be happy or annoyed seeing Baek Seul-gi getting cold-shouldered by Kim Yeong-sik from a distance.

***

In the capital of the Galactic Empire, in the research lab at the heart of Terra Planet.

Two men, looking as if they hadn’t bathed in a long time, smiled at each other.

It was the moment when Hyperion’s dimension relay installation was completed.

“Looks like the relay is finally installed.”

Astrological signals amplified through the antimatter corridor built from data spread out into countless dimensions.

Seeing this, they sighed in relief.

“Let’s toast.”

Minister Machia and Deputy Minister Karen, who hadn’t slept properly while carrying out the emperor's orders, clinked their wine glasses together lightly.

Clink—

“Phew….”

“Well done.”

They swirled the red wine in their glasses before taking a sip.

“Ah….”

“It’s excellent.”

This was a top-tier wine produced in a limited edition of only 1000 bottles, commemorating the coronation of Emperor Kalstein Babylon. Even those in the top 0.1% of the empire’s wealth couldn’t procure such wine, making the label of ‘top-tier’ feel inadequate.

Just one sip spread a fragrant aroma from the tip of their tongues throughout their bodies, offering a feeling of ecstasy. The aftertaste stimulated their senses before fading away, leaving no unpleasantness behind, only a lingering sensation.

It was truly a taste from heaven.

“Not many in the empire would have savored this wine.”

“It’s a wine given as a reward only to those who have completed special orders.”

“Deputy Minister Karen. Honestly, I feel that what we’ve accomplished is far sweeter than the taste of this wine.”

Both of them wore expressions full of fulfillment.

“I feel the same. Building the data into antimatter is no simple task.”

They both looked at the same screen.

“Heh. Now I can finally rest.”

“Indeed. I can sleep well at home for the first time in a while—”

As Karen was speaking, he suddenly paused. The imperial edict from the emperor had simultaneously arrived for both of them.

“….”

“….”

[First-Class Order]
- Build a system that allows access to high-end shops in the metaverse.
- Set the shop owner model to the Galactic Empire’s idol, ‘New Seraphim.’
- Build a system that allows the use of points accumulation and various promotions later on.
…(to be continued)
- In any case, the deadline is as soon as possible.

“….”

“What does the emperor want to do?”

“Well… I’m not sure…”

“It’s impossible to grasp His Majesty's intentions.”

“…Yes.”

It seemed their all-nighter

 would continue for some time.

***

[The open beta service for the dimension shop has begun.]

Users utilizing the dimensional integration community received the above message.

ㄴIs it out?
ㄴIs it really out!!
ㄴI thought my jaw was going to drop while waiting lol
ㄴWhat? I don’t see anything?
ㄴYou’re out ^^
ㄴWhat? Do I have to be selected to use this?
ㄴI just naturally entered, though?
ㄴ(Deleted comment.)
ㄴIt’s open beta, lol. Looks like the server is lacking lol
ㄴWhat… is it an open beta for a game?
ㄴAh, I’m getting PTSD. Raise your hand if you participated as an open beta tester and got possessed.
ㄴ2222
ㄴ333333
ㄴ444
ㄴDamn it, this isn’t a test… it’s a test of extreme patience.
ㄴAn unending test. What the hell…?
ㄴI’m a transmigrator, damn it. Everyone else is getting transmigrated into handsome and beautiful people, but I’m…. Where’s my reroll?
ㄴHey, someone post a review!! I’m curious, I feel like I’m going crazy!!
ㄴMom, I want to become a jujitsu master, mom, I want to become a jujitsu master, mom, I want to become a jujitsu master, mom, I want to become a jujitsu master, mom, I want to become a jujitsu master.
ㄴ(Deleted comment.)
ㄴEven in this situation, the pie is doing its job, lol.

Amid everyone’s expectations, the dimension shop was officially opened.