Planet Master

“I see. The development of weapons free from transcendent energy is indeed a bit lacking, so you want to gather ideas as to how to relay it to the races.” Frie summed up the idea that Dian wanted to relay.

“I didn’t expect that the transcendent energy would bring this kind of effect. I should’ve known that introducing a convenient thing would lead to a fixed mindset. Fortunately, we are addressing this issue; otherwise, we will be hung on the pillar of shame.” Dian said with a serious expression.

Some of the Technology Tree branches were almost stopped developing altogether, meaning that the progress of those entries was discontinued due to the resources given to the spacefaring technology.

But to Dian, an all-sided development was the most optimal in the situation for him to rise to the higher rank Planet Master.

This was needed so that he could advance and his races could meet up with the challenges that were waiting ahead of them.

“But we cannot just prevent them from using transcendent energy either. That is why I sent a message through my Star Child about the direction that the civilization should take and notice. After that, I can only leave the rest to the civilization for them to ultimately decide on their direction.” Dian could only say this.

He could not change the minds of people easily but he could give them direction in which they should go. This was already an interference so Dian did not want to push things too far, otherwise he would just be a nanny, which he did not even want.

-

After hearing the message that was supposed to be for the decision-maker of his civilization, Tatsumi quickly contacted them, saying that this was the direct instruction from the Father God. As for whether they would listen or not, that was out of Tatsumi’s hands.

His only task was to be a messenger and to relay what he had heard verbatim.

But he was also concerned with the development of the technology which was quick in one aspect and so slow in another.

So much so that he was dazed while eating, distracted by the thought of the almost stagnant personnel weaponry. Because he knew that was true, and he could not change that fact yet.

Tatsumi did not even notice that his state was noticed immediately and he could not come up with a good idea.

“What’s wrong? You are dazing off.” Charlene said.

“Oh, it is just an important matter regarding the development of the infantry weaponry. You know that this aspect has lagged behind the others, right?” Tatsumi replied in a reflex.

“Do you mean we should also develop it like the others, right?” Ame added.

“Right. This can become our weakness if not addressed properly. Although everyone is transcendent, but the majority of people are just low-realm transcendent and need support from their equipment to be formidable on the battlefield.” Tatsumi affirmed it while giving the exact reason as to why it was necessary.

“This is not an easy problem. Looks like we really depend on the transcendent energy to increase our strength while neglecting the equipment used to do battle.” Charlene frowned before she had an idea.

If the industry were to start neglecting infantry equipment, and she were to enter it and develop a new type of equipment for the infantry, wouldn’t that make her the sole supplier and allow her to monopolize the market?

“Do we want to monopolize the market with the new type of equipment? Just state what you feel.” Ame said with confidence in her tone.

Tatsumi felt like he should tell them what he felt.

“We need to make new equipment which is a whole lot harder than creating an existing one. But if we can open the demand for it, then theoretically, we can be the sole manufacturer of the equipment in the market. But what should we make?” Tatsumi was not an expert at making new weaponry since it needed to be tested on the battlefield or at least proved to be useful for the infantry.

“There are several options for that, actually. Physical enhancement, scouting equipment, main weaponry, auxiliary weaponry and also armor. Which one should we do first?” Ame asked.

“I don’t know. I am not a weapon innovator so my view is not that good. But if I were to pick one, the main weaponry is the one we should develop most since they are practically almost outdated. Followed by Physical enhancement.” Tatsumi put his hand on his chin as he said what he thought to be the most suitable move.

“Main weaponry, huh. I knew you’d say that. That is why I have something to show you.” Charlene then pulled out something from her inner clothes.

It was a piece of paper, which, to Tatsumi, was actually a main weapon blueprint. He could not believe that Charlene actually had developed something like this.

“What!? How?” Tatsumi was stunned by this development.

“Well, I have already noticed the trend so I keep one or two things as contingencies. Furthermore, this is actually a gift from a fellow scientist.” Charlene said with a slightly sad tone.

‘Finally, she let it out. So this is the time where the development of the main weaponry will rise further.’ A voice suddenly reverberated in Tatsumi’s head.

‘Are you actually the one who made this weapon and left the blueprint in my wife’s hand?’ Tatsumi felt that this voice was slightly familiar but he had to take some time to remember.

‘Ah! Mister Gauss, is it your creation?’ Tatsumi finally remembered someone and tried to verify it.

‘Hahaha, looks like you still remember me. I knew that the transcendent energy would cause the development of the main weaponry to be delayed so I suggested that Charlene keep a blueprint for me.’ Gauss commented with pride.

Tatsumi knew about Gauss and that was why he could not believe that the blueprint of this person’s masterpiece would be in Charlene’s hand.

But it was just knowing and he did not do Memory Assimilation with Gauss so he did not know everything related to Gauss.

“The problem is that the weapon is too heavy for ordinary people. But since transcendent energy increased the power of the physical body, it looks like this weapon will be useful.” Charlene said while pointing toward the main body of the weapon.

“Gauss Rifle…is it?” Tatsumi saw the blueprint and the name of the weapon.

This could be considered the next-gen weaponry for infantry. But Tatsumi was confused why the blueprint was not spread around and instead was shelved.

“The reason the blueprint is in my possession is that the weapon in circulation is enough and there is no need for a stronger weapon to appear. Mister Gauss probably expected that there would be strong enemies for the civilization so he left the blueprint to me, making me promise that I would not reveal it until the right moment.” Charlene explained.

“And now that the Father God requested the development of the strong weaponry for the infantry, it can be considered the right time for this weapon to be used.” Ame commented.

Charlene nodded solemnly.

“So for now, this thing has to be produced and introduced to the military. I hope that we can profit from this too, since we are going to have a monopoly over this thing.” Tatsumi said.

“About monopoly…I am afraid that is going to be difficult. Although not impossible, currently, there are several military industries already working for the Federation. Entering at this moment will cause them to antagonize us.” Ame cautioned.

“Don’t worry about that. This thing will make most things reduced in share.” Charlene assured.

“But it will not make conventional weaponry disappear but it will reduce their share greatly. Is that what you are trying to say?” Tatsumi found the crux of the problem.

Reducing the share meant less profit. For military industries, that was akin to killing half their life.

Charlene chuckled but did not say anything extra.

“This is not easy but we must do this. This is for the better future as well as for the continuation of our civilization.” Tatsumi closed his eyes and sighed.

-

Several Years Later.

Year Three Hundred Twenty-One of the Father God Calendar.

The Federation Space Fleet finally arrived on the Cerulean Planet’s orbit. They then descended on the Basset Space Center, bringing the carcass of the Planet Behemoth from the outer ring of the star system.

The scientists were deployed to escort and did some research on the remains.

That was on the main page of the information news on the internet. The other was actually one of the biggest news stories for the military industries because the Mikazuki Family was introducing the newest weaponry for the military, the Gauss Rifle.

The sources that the news could find stated that it took several years of development for this weapon before it was opened for the military.

This caused the military to be interested in the utility of the new weapon. With an exoframe, the Gauss Rifle could be held well and even became a special unit that could deliver a fatal blow to any units, and even some light armor vehicles were threatened by the weapon.

But there was only one manufacturer and so the price for the weapon was decided by it alone. Of course, the manufacturer did not dare to overcharge the military since the objective this time was to create a monopoly over the weapon and benefit the civilization.

The second thing the Mikazuki Family introduced was actually an exoframe. Actually, the Gauss Rifle and the exoframe were one set so that the people could wield the weapon and form an effective combat force.

That was why the set of two caught the world off guard, as it was suitable for infantry to use. Even if they were low-realm transcendents, they could use it as an auxiliary item or even become the main weapon for the infantry on the field.

After several tests, it could be said that the Gauss Rifle was a game-changer for conventional weapons when paired with the exoframe.

This meant that the infantry would be equipped with the set from now on. The only thing that the manufacturer had to do was to optimize the exoframe to be able to suit the people and could even be carried into the spaceships.

Only with that, the Mikazuki Family achieved the goal of monopolizing the market for the exoframe and the Gauss Rifle.

When the scientists heard the name Gauss Rifle, the first thing that came to their minds was shock. They could not believe that the work of someone who was already in the grave would be resurrected and even become the pioneer of the new weaponry of the civilization.

At first, the other manufacturers were opposing this since the profit share they would get became smaller but then they slowly accepted the fact that the technology became stagnant in their hands and decided to counter it by being innovative, starting to move the technology tree in the stagnant place once more.

“Now that is what I call a good change.” Tatsumi commented the trend of the weapon manufacturer and could not help but have a satisfied expression on his face.

In fact, he had tried those new weapons from them and found them to be more cost-effective than their outdated model. Of course, the Gauss Rifle was another kind of weapon and had its own share, along with the exoframe.

“I don’t know why but this event was supposed to be a bit tricky.” Tatsumi felt that this felt like luck was on the side of the civilization.

Of course, Dian knew the answer to that. During a critical moment, he had activated Great Luck right before the change in the weapon manufacturers happened, and caused this to happen instead.

The effect was as he expected; the event became more favorable to his civilization. Of course, Dian would not use this carelessly, despite there was no side effect.

It was because he knew that spiking the fortune of the planet as well as the destiny of the civilization caused something to be revealed and that was actually quite dangerous for a budding spacefaring civilization like his.

On the other hand, the Library of Consciousness was busy processing the sudden gush of ideas that came from the living.

“Argh, there’s so much inspiration. With this, the development of the civilization will surely follow.” Kudungga was sitting on the chair behind a desk in the building where the Cloud Legion was working.

He connected with many promising talents who were into weapon manufacturing and got bombarded with numerous ideas about the development of the weaponry.

“They are even starting to develop laser-based weapons. I wonder what the result would be?” Kudungga asked himself and found that it would be a massive technological advancement.

Then someone came in from outside the room.

“Have you realized that the Gauss Rifle has become popular with the civilization?” Chi You tried to clarify this with Kudungga, since he was the wisest among them.

“I know. That thing is almost forgotten, but we inherited what Gauss made. Even the person himself consented to his creation being used like this. He has no regret if his creation could help the civilization in any way.” Kudungga nodded his head while rubbing his nose bridge.

“But still, we need to stabilize the situation. Although it is good that everything has developed in a direction that the Father God wanted, it is a bit explosive. You know what I mean, right?” Chi You hinted at something.

Kudungga had to nod in understanding. The issue was that the development also needed time for people to adjust. If it was sudden and kept changing, the minds of the people could not keep up and that became another issue they had to tackle.

“Even so, everyone is a transcendent so their mind processes become faster. Of course, I will also keep watch over the changing development on the civilization.” Kudungga solemnly said.

“By the way, have you relaxed ever since you came here?” Chi You asked something that was bothering him all this time.

“Why do you ask?” Kudungga threw the question back.

“It looks like you like to be busy with something. From Tatsumi, Ame and even the entire civilization. You are one of the busiest people I have ever seen so I thought you need to relax sometimes.” Chi You said honestly what his feelings told him.

“We are the ones who changed our own fate by at least considering the advice from the Father God. I feel like the trajectory of the civilization changed because of the three of us.” Kudungga said while glancing in a certain direction.

Chi You knew that the certain direction Kudungga had looked was actually the place where he considered sacred, the place where the deity gathered and stayed most of the time.

For Dian, it was known as the Planet Master Space but it would be called differently by the other races.

“That…is true.” Chi You could not come up with an immediate reply. He even agreed that his life changed completely when he first glanced at the cloudy figure who guided them through the First Star Battle.

“So you do admit that the change we brought has a negative in it. Is that what you are trying to say?” Chi You realized one thing and said it out.

“When we make mistakes, we need to amend them. That is the self-correcting method that I realized during my whole life and the Father God is pleased with what I have done. So please, let me correct what mistakes I have made.” Kudungga said, almost pleading.

“What mistakes did you make, actually?” Chi You was confused.

His mistakes landed him in quarantine and until he corrected them, he remained in his station. It was only because he admitted his mistake that he could get out of there and join the Cloud Legion.

Chi You stared intently at Kudungga. They could be considered old friends so Chi You knew that the mistake that Kudungga had made meant something was used against the intended meaning.

That was the only thing Chi You could infer since he knew that Kudungga almost always fixed his mistakes. And Kudungga could not completely amend for it.

“Is it a slightly unfavorable condition for the races other than human? But that is both a safety against them. Compassion alone cannot rule them. So why are you so concerned about this?” Chi You raised his voice.

“Because they are in the same situation as us humans and now experience together on the same planet and even go to other planets. The attitude of some people is the result of them following my order to a tee.” Kudungga said.

“Ah…” Chi You realized that was indeed the case. Some people took Kudungga’s words as justification for an unfavorable treatment of the other races. Although most people knew that the words of the forefather were for that period of time, some others could not see it that way.

They followed the words of the forefather blindly or wanted to benefit themselves from that by twisting and butchering the interpretation of what he intended to spread.

Kudungga probably had watched this many times and wanted to rectify it as soon as possible, even to the point of neglecting his rest time.

“I am sorry for not being considerate.” Chi You realized then that the matter was as bad as his own governance and inheritance from it.

Actually, his case was far a bit easier since he truly did it with a full conscience, while Kudungga’s words had been twisted to serve some people’s agenda. And that agenda definitely did not serve to advance the races of the civilization.

“Hahaha, it is fine. The fact that I am not being quarantined means that my attitude toward this problem should be the correct one.” Kudungga said while shifting from paper to paper before placing them on the desk while he stood up.

“But enough about this matter. You are right. I need some rest.” Kudungga said before he added, “So tell me which places can offer me the most relaxation in the city.”