Jean walked to one of the panels in the SSS. She pressed her watch on the panel, and immediately a projection of the objects inside was shown. She chose the ones that she wanted to sell and did exactly that.
Within half a second, those items were gone. They were replaced by another 10,000 coins.
If Jean had more time available, she would’ve tried to set up street stalls and try to sell the items at a higher price than in the SSS. SSS purchases the items as a fixed rate. They pay what the items were worth and that was it. But sometimes Voyagers needed something specific and the SSS wouldn’t have that. The Protectors might be almighty, but even they couldn’t collect everything that god knows how many Voyagers might want and store them just so they are available. The Voyagers weren’t that important. In cases of emergency, Voyagers might be willing to pay extra for an item.
But she didn't have the time. At first, Jean didn't notice this, but while the mission in the World of the Runes did indeed come from a Protector, it was neither a Trial Mission nor an Objective Mission. It was more like a private contract, a side job. She did get paid and her mission count did go up by one, but she still had to go on other officially assigned missions.
A while ago, she received a notification from her watch. She would be going on a Trial Mission in a week.
Welch told her that Trial Missions were designed to enhance the abilities of the Voyagers, but they posed a threat to her nonetheless if she wasn’t being careful enough.
She had no time to waste.
Jean didn't leave after selling the products. Before she came here, Delta and countless Purifier and Warden processing units have assessed her resources and came up with a way to optimize them to maximize her power boost.
She had 42,000 gold coins in total.
The first thing she bought was a green crystal.
Green Crystal
Cost: 5,000 coins
Description: Advanced source of energy in the Infinite Reals. More powerful than red, orange, and yellow crystals. It can be used as an energy source to a variety of gadgets.
Delta did say a yellow crystal could work on a Worldship, which Jean was definitely getting. However, Delta also said that a yellow crystal would be quickly exhausted in battle, rendering the Worldship nothing but a giant target with a million vulnerabilities. Jean couldn’t tolerate such a possibility, so she went a step forward and purchased a green crystal.
The green crystal was a step weaker than indigo crystals, but it was exponentially more powerful than yellow ones. Jean couldn’t wait to check out the CAS level the Worldship would be at.
Unfortunately, a power source wasn’t the only thing the Worldship needed.
Jean did have some resources from the Starcraft world, but they were barely enough to cover her Warden and Purifier expenses. There were also some parts that Jean’s terran and protoss engineering technology couldn’t fulfill. Buying those products cost her another 3,000 coins.
Jean was about to purchase more when a white figure approached from behind.
“Ah, Jean. You’re back!”
Jean turned around, and a smile immediately climbed onto her face.
“Corporal Welch.”
The Protector Corporal grinned as well. He was nothing like Captain Gregor. While Captain Gregor placed himself above the Voyagers and didn't even bother to hide it, Welch was actually trying to be nice with Jean. The girl had no idea why, but she felt suspicious about it. No one of this social status would be nice for no reason.
But she didn't show it. Having a Protector as a friend could be very helpful, especially since the two didn't have any conflict in interest like she had with other Voyagers.
“I heard from a few comrades that you went on a mission. How was it?” Welch threw his arms around Jean. “We should talk about it over a drink. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for it.”
Jean went along with it. They walked onto the streets. A few other Voyagers seemed to be surprised to see a Voyager and a Protector so close together, but they didn't say anything. The two made it to Lilith, the bar where Jean first met Violet.
“This is not a bad place, at least in the city.” Welch commented as the two walked in. A hostess walked up to them. Jean’s eyes glanced at the Voyager watch on her wrist.
“Protector sir. How may I help?”
“Get me and my friend a quiet place. Serve the best food and drinks.” Welch tossed a watch to the hostess. Jean didn't know what it contained, but seeing that the hostess checked the watch and backed off without a question, she would say it’s more than enough.
The two got seated. After the food and drinks were served, Jean started telling her story about the World of the Runes. Of course, she skipped certain parts, like her moment of acknowledgment with Violet.
Welch listened quietly. After Jean was done, he finally commented.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“That is stupid.”
“What?” Jean glanced Welch as she poured down a cup of drink into her throat. She didn't quite know what it was, but she could feel a surge of comfort spiraling through her body.
“Sending in 80 Voyagers to torture a world. That’s stupid.” Welch shrugged. “I told you before, but every moment there are countless new worlds discovered. Some gladly join us, others don’t. At least a quarter of them chooses resistance. If we send Voyagers to every single one of those worlds, the Voyager program would be meaningless.”
“And what would you do?” Jean asked, half-joking.
Welch’s answer was as straightforward as things get.
“Step in, reduce the world to nothingness, and leave. Easy as that. No one will see us coming.”
Jean nodded slowly. She did agree with Welch’s opinion on this one. If it was up to her and someone stood against her, she would always choose direct obliteration over more fancy maneuvers. As Welch tossed what looked like a chicken wing into his mouth, she asked a question.
“If I may, what exactly is the source of power of the Protectors?”
Welch glanced at her.
“It’s just that I have been looking for a new field of power, and it feels like the Voyagers are a mixture of everything. They go from magic to technology to all sorts of random powers. I just don’t know which one is the best.”
Welch nodded slowly as he started thinking.
“Well, any type of power, no matter how strange, is always dependent on the energy backing it up. If you compress a Purple Class World into a dagger, assuming the dagger survived the process, then that dagger is more powerful than fleets of ships or armies of mages. The specific nature of the powers only come into count when the power levels are similar.”
“As for the Protectors…” Welch frowned. “it’s a little more complicated with us. To put them into perspective, at one point, worlds or individuals can no longer absorb more energy. That’s it. That’s the ceiling. And we, the Protectors, we are at that level.”
“So you are invincible?”
“Well, we are not invincible. The Grand Protector is.” Welch shook his head. “But under the Grand Protector, at least in the known parts of the Infinite Realms, we are invincible.”
“But if there’s no evidence proving there’s a higher level of power…”
“There’s always a higher level of power, Voyager, and the moment we believe we are unconquerable is the moment we become defenseless.” Suddenly, Welch dictated. His tone was harsh for a moment, but he immediately caught himself. “Sorry, but there are some things that are still too early for you. Anyways, the way we got to our position is not something you can imitate. In fact, no one can.”
Jean rose her eyebrows in suspicion, but she didn't say anything.
“However, I can give you the next best thing.” Welch waved his hand, and a picture of a human body appeared. “As I said, getting more power is all about getting more energy under your control. How to do that is the question. If a local just try to merge with a Purple Crystal, he will destroy himself and his world.”
“Some Voyagers store energies in the form of crystals and use them to power gadgets and fight. Some rely on pawns like summoners. Mages, wizards, and sorcerer borrow power from spiritual entities...at least the ones that have submitted to us. Some rely on faith. Some on emotions. One of the specialized legions in the Protector Corps extracts energy from time, but they’re irrelevant to our discussion.”
“Personally, I don’t trust any of those. They are drawing power from external forces, and external forces can be cut off. Even the brutes that store their power in their bodies are missing the idea. Tell me, Jean, what defines you?”
Jean rose her eyebrows.
“It’s your soul. You told me about a Voyager who messed with souls and got replaced, right? That’s the problem of empowering your physical body or absorbing external forces. There’s always a way around that. That Voyager, his body is the same. His power and his weapon are still the same, but will you say he’s the same individual before and after the mission?”
Of course not. Jean shook her head.
Welch nodded in satisfaction.
“I can’t give you any specific power or upgrade. I don’t mean to sound arrogant but it’s above you, but I’m sure you can find something from the SSS….for the right price, of course.”
The rest of the meal went smoothly. As they were almost done, Jean posted another question.
“Can the Voyager watches hold living beings?”
“Voyager watches? No.”
“Are you sure?”
“You’re asking because of the Voyager who had a demon army, right?” Welch immediately realized it. “I’m ninety percent sure she was trying to trick you into going around the wrong direction. Voyager watches are designed to hold non-living beings. It’s possible to change that, but it’ll take quite the effort.”
“What’s the difference? Why can I store a sentient machine into my watch but not a person?”
“Well, Voyager watches establish a pathway between the user and a pocket dimension, but that pathway is unsecured. Physical materials can pass through, but living beings have souls, which will be shredded to pieces in that pathway. Your sentient beings don’t really have souls. Their sentience is merely a combination of codes and algorithms.”
“But that Voyager…”
“She must’ve purchased a world of her own and somehow got a very powerful being to create a reinforced pathway just like the ones you Voyagers use to travel between dimensions. That’s clever, but in the end, it’s just a small trick. Relying on external forces can only get you so far. Eventually, if you want to keep stepping forward, you will have to empower yourself. You have passed two missions, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then a new function is unlocked for you in the Simulation Room. It’s called the Memoriam. It allows you to observe certain moments of key battles in the past, both during the Merge and during the Infinite March. I trust it will give you a lot of insight into the meaning of power.”
Jean nodded.
----------------------------------------
As the two finished the meal and departed, Jean silently scrapped her previous plan. The decision she and Delta came up with was to find more powerful ships or more powerful machine designs, but her conversation with Welch changed her mind. In fact, it was just in time. If what Welch said was true, then she was going down an inefficient way of achieving power. This was something she couldn’t tolerate. Right now, she was heading for the Simulation Room.
In the past, her knowledge of warfare was mainly constructed during the Starcraft universe, where fleets and armies ruled the battlefield. Individuals, no matter how powerful were defenseless against fleets of battleships. Even Amon and Kerrigan would lay low without a fleet behind their backs. This caused her to focus more on building up an army than on strengthening herself.
Even after entering the City of the Voyagers, she relied heavily on Wardens and Purifiers to do the fighting, and it worked, to a degree, as her armies exterminated the Shieldbearers and gave her control over the Empire of the Moon. But if it wasn’t for the fact that she recognized and tagged along with Violet’s conspiracy, her forces would be crushed by the empowered Empress, just like the other fifty Voyagers, and she would likely have been killed.
This was all a result of her trying to figure things out for herself. This time, she decided to look at what others have been doing, and who better to look at than the very rulers of the Infinite Realms?