NoveLight ™
“Hahaha.”
“Now, go back. It seems the world still needs you.”
“Finish everything you have to do and come back! Bersia!”
“…What are you talking about?”
“You haven’t forgotten, have you? Our dream.”
“Of course not… A world where everyone can live a normal life.”
“And a world that doesn’t need heroes. Hahaha! You do remember.”
“I’ll be waiting. Don’t come back too quickly.”
“….”
Fwoosh-
The world before my eyes turned white, and my senses slowly returned.
Bubble-bubble-
When I opened my eyes, I realized I was submerged in a green liquid.
‘…Where am I?’
The question was immediately answered.
Though perhaps in a way I didn’t exactly want.
“Welcome, Slave Number 1. Hahaha.”
“Where do you think you’re trying to run off to all by yourself?”
“Congratulations on your recovery.”
Ah…
Familiar faces surrounded the capsule.
And then—
“Yes, do you know how much all this cost? You’ll have to work hard to pay it off, won’t you?”
It seemed the forum admin had no intention of letting me go anytime soon.
***
“Are you saying… I’ve been unconscious for nearly a year?”
“It was strictly for your recovery, they said.”
“Well… it wasn’t exactly a wound one could recover from easily.”
Bersia sighed as he glanced down at his body.
“And this… What exactly is this?”
Smooth, elastic skin.
Tightly sculpted abs.
A chest as broad as an ocean.
Gone. All of it.
Instead, his body was now made of metal.
Bersia let out another sigh as he inspected his metallic form.
Even worse, it was a single-piece design—not something he could simply take off.
“A… cyborg?”
“Well, at least they kept the important functions intact. As a man, that is.”
“…What a tear-jerking act of mercy.”
Bersia’s headache only worsened as he checked the community chat.
‘Mandatory six-hour daily broadcasts until the debt is repaid?’
What on earth was the admin thinking?
“Haah…”
Community Chat:
“Ryuu… Haaah…”
“Hahaha. Well, you’ll have to endure it. You already accepted the upfront payment, didn’t you?”
“…Fair enough.”
Bersia chuckled wryly as he looked at the spiritist, who returned a faint smile.
“But the base… it seems quite different now.”
“You just noticed? Things have changed a lot while you were asleep. Let me show you around.”
“….”
The base, which once had the feel of a rugged battlefield, now—
“By the way, this is underground.”
“Pardon?”
A floating artificial sun illuminated the area.
The fresh air felt nothing like it belonged to an underground facility.
Underneath the artificial sun lay a densely packed city. People bustled about, enjoying their daily lives.
The streets were lively, noisy, and full of energy. In the air above, security personnel hovered.
An SF underground city?
There were dozens of transparent pathways connecting to the ceiling, alloyed walls on the outskirts, and massive mechanical structures scattered throughout.
It did have the feeling of being underground, yet—
“What on earth happened here?”
“Haha, this is merely a residential zone. Military facilities are above us, while research facilities are below.”
“….”
How many more levels like this existed? How vast was this place?
It felt like listening to a tale from another world.
‘Well… that wouldn’t be inaccurate.’
Still, what really concerned him was—
“Spiritist… and everyone else too. What exactly did you do?”
“What do you mean?” The spiritist smiled knowingly, as though he already understood the question.
“I never thought I was the strongest, but I also wasn’t so blind as to not recognize everyone else’s strength. But now…”
“And now?”
“I can’t feel anything.”
“Heh.”
Unlike Bersia’s confusion, the spiritist was brimming with confidence.
“Curious, aren’t you?”
“Of course. My senses are fine, so there’s clearly a reason for this.”
“Haha. Follow me.”
“….”
The spiritist led him to a transparent glass tube. The cylindrical structure reached all the way to the artificial sun above.
“And this is?”
“We’re heading up.”
As soon as they entered the tube, it began to ascend. Through the glass, Bersia could see the entirety of the underground city below.
“Incredible.”
Even without words, the changes over the past year were evident.
“Whoa…”
Looking down from above, the scale of it all became even clearer.
“It’s like the capital of an empire.”
“Haha. Believe it or not, this residential zone was designed to minimize cultural dissonance for its inhabitants.”
“And yet, this already feels more magnificent than the capital’s palace.”
“…Feels the same to me.”
“….”
For the speechless Bersia, the spiritist spoke softly.
“The Galactic Empire’s power far exceeds what we can imagine.”
“….”
“To an unimaginable degree.”
If they could construct a city of this scale for an occupied territory…
“Well, let’s move on. Our destination is the training ground.”
“…The training ground?”
Following the spiritist through corridors with sequentially opening and closing partitions, Bersia found himself in a large training facility.
Familiar faces greeted him.
One stood out in particular—Mephyr, the Infernal King sent by the community.
Beep-
[ Bersia ]
[ HP: 336,852 / 337,000 ]
[ Ether: 10,000 ]
“Oh-ho, 336,000 HP? Impressive durability. Looks like reinforcing your body paid off. And your Ether reserves are preloaded?”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve trained my guts out to barely reach 7,000…”
Bersia couldn’t comprehend either the numbers displayed or the spiritist’s remarks.
[ Baron ]
[ HP: 98,230 / 123,000 ]
[ Ether: 7,600 ]
“Don’t overthink the numbers. It’s just a system to prevent casualties during sparring, adjusting HP based on body durability.”
It was still hard to understand.
“And Ether… that’s the unknown energy you’ll need to master. Even if your reserves are higher than mine now, using it effectively is a whole different matter.”
“….”
“Hey! Baron! Since you’re here, how about a little sparring?”
Mephyr, already in the training ground, slammed his fists together with a smirk. Baron grinned and agreed.
“Watch closely. See the utility of Ether, and why it’s essential to learn Ether techniques.”
“….”
The two began to clash, Mephyr wielding a massive staff clad in full metal armor, and Baron deploying four hovering cubes to assist him.
Crackle—
Boom—
Bersia watched in awe as their battle unfolded, the sheer force of their attacks enough to shake the entire arena.
“They’re… different.”
These were not the same individuals he once fought alongside.
Even watching from a distance, the impact of their battle caused his HP to steadily drop.
[ HP: 223,552 / 337,000 ]
Simply standing in the same space felt like being crushed.
“That energy… Ether?”
The pressure emanating from them, infused with the mysterious power, was overwhelming.
Finally, after a storm of destruction that seemed straight out of the apocalypse, the duel ended.
“Cough! One-on-one isn’t my strength after all. Go easy on me next time.”
“Haha. Summoners like you always have limitations in direct combat.”
Baron, catching his breath, turned to Bersia.
“Well? What did you think?”
“…Unbelievable.”
“Right? Even I can hardly believe this is the result of just one year of training.”
“….”
“You’ve had a complete body overhaul. Expectations for you are high.”
“…Pardon?”
“See that display board over there?”
Bersia turned to look.
[ Rankings (Combat Power) ]
“Dozens of transcendents have joined the battlefield since you were out.”
“….”
Even Baron, with such power, ranked only 26th?
“If your combat power isn’t at least 100,000, you can’t even step onto the battlefield.”
“….”
“So train hard. A major battle is on the horizon.”
“…Understood.”
“And about that silver-haired envoy from the Galactic Empire—her combat power was over 12 million. You should’ve seen Birdel’s face.”
“…Twelve million?”
“Of course, her record is classified. No need to dwell on it.”
“….”
For Bersia, it was all too much.
Still, weren’t we supposed to be transcendents?
“Baron.”
“Yes?”
“How can I grow that strong?”
“Haha. Finally feeling motivated? You’ve been out of it since waking up.”
“…I can’t stay weak forever.”
“Exactly! That’s the spirit! Transcendents like us have to give it our all.”
What kind of army was the admin trying to create?
And why was such overwhelming power necessary in the first place?
“We have a long way to go. Hahaha.”
“….”
Nice