While the Sixth Company and the officials of Inaka City were discussing their plans on how to handle the incoming monster horde, the dreadnought-class battleship continued with its analysis of the planet.
[Admiral, the Specimen Room is nearly at full capacity.]
[Do you wish to move the other samples to the laboratory?]
“Already? System, transfer them to the laboratory.”
[Affirmative.]
After almost a week of capturing unidentified creatures throughout the Wasteland and the surrounding countries, the Specimen Room finally reached a saturated state.
The thousands of drones the System AI had deployed had been scouting and analyzing the planet all this time, obtaining samples every now and then before going back.
Isaac opened the database containing the list of creatures obtained by the drones after several days.
Information regarding the hundreds of species the battleship had captured in the past few days was presented to him in the form of a holographic list.
Next to the list were the 3D images of the creatures.
“Goblin, subspecies Redcap, five samples.”
“Goblin, subspecies Hobgoblin, five samples.”
“Goblin, subspecies Tengu, five samples.”
“Goblin, subspecies, Bulbas, five samples.”
“Orc, subspecies Garu, five samples.”
“Orc, subspecies Berserker, five samples.”
Isaac frowned when the first thing that greeted him upon opening the database was the diverse list of goblin samples.
As expected of the System AI. In order to analyze everything perfectly, it made sure to obtain all kinds of goblins available in the planet, and it made sure to obtain at least five of them.
“Goblins? Aren’t those creatures part of the Argalea System? What are they doing here in a planet under the territory of the Empire?”
The Galactic Federation, although not as powerful as the Betelgeuse Empire in terms of military, boasted a vast network of information.
Even a mere mechanic like Isaac knew that the Goblins were persecuted races that had been eradicated long along. Well, to be more accurate, the Betelgeuse Empire loathed them so much that all planets where goblins lived had been blown by them to oblivion.
“Although this is the border, this is still a territory of the Empire. Why are goblins here? And judging by the number of samples we’ve managed to obtain, it’s apparent there’s quite a lot of them.”
[We have a hypothesis for it, but before that, we need to explain everything from the start.]
“Go on.”
[Admiral, based on the information we’ve gathered, the place we landed on is called the Wasteland.]
“Wasteland?”
[Yes.]
[It’s one of the most dangerous places in the continent. Aside from the Wasteland, there are also two equally dangerous places.]
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
[The Ruins, where undeads roam about freely.]
[And the Black Sea, where sea monsters lived.]
For several days, the drones flew about the Wasteland and the countries bordering it, gathering intelligence. The drones even infiltrated various cities, spying on the residents 24/7.
Of course, this was possible only due to the Veil System, an intricate technology embedded in the drones, enabling them to hide themselves from sight as long as their energy permitted them to do so.
Although some of the rankers noticed that they were being watched, most people did not have an idea even when the drones were right by their side.
[The Wasteland is home to various species of monsters.]
[Goblins, orcs, kobolds, devouring worms, trolls, and several others. We’ve even recovered the corpse of what seemed to be a Lesser Dragon.]
“A Dragon? And there are even Orcs and trolls?”
Isaac did not really care much about a mere Lesser Dragon. Using the technology of the dreadnought-class battleship, it would be easy even for him to kill one if he put his mind to it.
And even without the help of the ship, the nanotechnology in his body should be enough to beat that overgrown lizard to a pulp if they ever fought. Sure, he might suffer a bit of injury if he was careless, but a Lesser Dragon shouldn’t be that much of a threat.
What concerned him the most were the other creatures the drones spotted during their exploration.
Like the goblins, orcs and trolls had been eradicated by the Betelgeuse Empire long ago.
Any planet that contained even a hint of those monsters had been destroyed by the Empire without exemption.
It did not make sense for all of those monsters to be present here, together, in a single continent.
[Yes, Admiral.]
“…But how?”
[Based on our investigations, those monsters arrived on this planet through portals thirty-five years ago.]
[So far, during our exploration, we’ve seen 97 portals, all of them fully functional.]
The eyes of Isaac widened.
Portal creation was restricted technology available only to the upper echelons of the Federation.
It was a technology that consumed several times more energy than warping. Well, it was no wonder since it was a method that created a stable and indefinite link between two distant locations.
Some even said that warping was a mere imitation of portals, since the former was clearly inferior to the latter.
Out of all the vessels in their fleet, only the flagship was capable of creating one. Even the dreadnought-class battleship, Aravark, was restricted to only warping.
“Are you certain? Impossible… how could there be so many portals in a single planet….”
[We’ve verified it, Admiral. They were indeed portals.]
“Have you tried entering one?”
[We’ve sent a few drones inside, but they were destroyed the moment they entered the portal.]
“I see. There must be some restrictions.”
For several minutes, Isaac fell silent. He was deep in his thoughts.
“System… can’t we use those things?”
Naturally, portals contained tremendous amounts of energy. If they could harvest the energy from those portals, warping to the nearest outpost of the Federation would no longer be a pipe dream.
[It is not possible, Admiral.]
Isaac felt frustrated, “But why?”
[After a quick analysis, all of the portals present in this planet was found to be from natural phenomena.]
[The portals came into existence due to mana, not Aether.]
“Mana? That… inferior thing? Is it even possible to create portals using just mana?]
[If nearly infinite amounts of mana are utilized, it is theoretically possible, Admiral.]
“Haahh… you’re saying this planet is ridiculously abundant in mana, and it caused portals to manifest on its land naturally.”
[Luck plays a crucial role, since abundant mana alone is not enough, but that’s correct, Admiral.]
It may sound strange for a System AI to speak about luck, but even the Galactic Federation had acknowledged its existence. There were even researches published about it, and it was discovered that some people were more predisposed to great luck than others.
It was one of the few studies that remained unsolved until now despite the advancement of technology.
“Haha… crazy. What the hell is this planet? If the researchers from the Institute learns of this….”
They might even propose to wage war with the Empire just to obtain this planet. Or they might jump ship and join the Empire just to be able to study this planet closely. Those lunatics were definitely capable of it.
Of course, Isaac didn’t say those words out loud. Although the System AI was currently his ally, there was no assurance that things would stay the same once they were back to their home planet.
Less talk, less mistake.
He’d decided not to speak of things that may incriminate him later on after his return to the Federation.
“System, the analysis of Aether?”
[Apologies, Admiral. But the results remain the same. Although abundant in mana, this planet is severely lacking in Aether.]
Isaac found that answer absurd.
“Does that even make sense!” he shouted, “Aether is a highly purified form of mana! How could a planet overflowing with mana lack Aether!”
[The mana in this planet, although abundant, is very impure, Admiral. It is not even suitable for sustaining the energy of our golems.]
Isaac groaned, “Damn it! Damn it!”
Once again, he could feel his utter incompetence. If it were another person, say, the captain, they would know how to handle this situation.
“Is there really no way?”
[Admiral, there is a way to harvest Aether on this planet, but it goes against the Primitive Planet Protection Law of the Federation.]
Isaac immediately understood what the System AI was trying to say.
“You want me to extract Aether from the humans living on this planet?”
Humans were capable of purifying the mana in their bodies. And this purified mana, once released into the surroundings, become Aether that could be harvested by the ship.
[Yes.]
[It is an option, Admiral.]
[If you give us permission, it should be possible to do so. Of course, this will be reported to the Galactic Federation on our return, and the Admiral will be punished for the crime accordingly.]
“Even if it’s a planet under the Empire?”
[Yes, Admiral.]
[The Primitive Planet Protection Law applies to any planets, no matter its affiliation.]
Isaac rubbed his brows.
The System AI would definitely report all of the actions he took during his stay on this planet once they went back to the Federation.
In a way, the System AI was a double-edged sword. It guaranteed his protection, but at the same time, it also hindered his actions.
“Haah… what to do? If it were the Captain, what would she do in this situation?”
Well, honestly speaking, he also did not like the idea of massacring all of the humans living in this planet just to harvest enough Aether for the ship.
Although a significant number of people from the Federation did not consider primitive humans as ‘humans’, Isaac wasn’t part of that group.
Although he wouldn’t mind killing a few of them if it would enable him to go back to the Federation, slaughtering millions just for the sake of his goal would forever haunt his mind.
If only there was a way to harvest Aether without killing these primitive humans, he would gladly take that route.
While Isaac was lost in his thoughts, the System AI spoke.
[Admiral, I have a suggestion.]