The Novel’s Villain

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50. The Empire is One (1)

The New World Universe became a huge topic of discussion. Even compared to when The Maze first appeared, it didn’t lag behind at all.

Many professional players made money with The Maze, but a place offering a much greater opportunity than that now awaited them. Anyone could make money through mining, and by collecting certificates, they could buy their own fighter jet, spaceship, and others. They could also even turn those into a profit by selling them at a higher price.

The New World Universe made everything possible.

The spaceships all had similar shapes in the beginning, but the players soon found a way to tailor them to their liking.

[Title: Type C-12 Spacecraft Modifier

Posted by: Custom Craftsman

My hobby is remodeling.

Since the New World Universe opened, I did nothing but mine until I could after a cheap but small spaceship worth 30 million won. That was the initial goal, at least, but I couldn’t stand just buying it. I had to customize it.

[Type C-12 Spaceship.jpg]

Type C-12 can be bought on the planet Naros, the starting spawn. A ship is required to get out of its system, and since there were plenty of Cal resources there, I decided to just buy one.

However, after talking to the NPCs, I found out that their parts are also available for purchase! They also sell disassembly kits separately.

[Various Parts.jpg]

Not knowing how they were built, I went to a manufacturing plant and gave them a hand, learning by experience. The NPCs there helped and taught me as well, allowing me to understand the science behind it roughly.

Honestly, I felt like I studied more than I ever did before taking a real exam. Still, I managed to memorize everything completely.

Afterward, I went straight to renovation work.

[Disassembly.jpg]

I disassembled all of its parts that I wanted to remodel, completely replaced its external armor, installed an amplification device in its engine, and equipped it with a short-range jump function, a small shield, and a small magic gun. Its engine is a bit heavy, and even though its output has increased by more than 1.5 times, it can fully handle the extreme load since it’s pretty well built!

I wanted to give it a warp drive, but it was too expensive. Maybe next time…

That aside, I changed its appearance to my liking using ‘Red Bird’ from the classic sci-fi Galaxy series as a reference!

[Completed.jpg]

If you’re interested, I opened a stationary warehouse in Naros. Please do stop by!

We accept all forms of payments: certificates, dimensional gold coins, and real money. Rest assured that we’ll do our best to customize your spaceship.

Oh, and I also founded a guild. Feel free to join us!

Our goal is to customize a robot, like Bread Jam’s. Even though it’s too expensive, one day, I would like to mount a long-range missile on one!

Comments: 3,211

No Korean-English Key: Wow, that’s crazy. It really is the same as Red Bird.

Anon: LOL you’re already a master!

Trash Can: I’ve been to their shop, and it looks like they’ve changed everything to Cellondite. I’d rather buy a small battleship.

Harot: There are quite a few people who have bought robots now. A proof shot of it was uploaded yesterday, and it showed they’re about 90 billion won. Cash burn is coming haha

└ Knights: Oh, I saw that as well. A nobleman even hired people to mine for them, providing them with huge mining boats. They also invested a lot in urban development. He’s become a space operator.

└Harot: There are rumors about that nobleman’s identity being Han Jin-guk, the chairman of Daesung Electronics. He said his hobby is collecting cars, but he seems to have changed his hobbies.]

By the time the majority got used to the universe, outstanding geniuses had already begun to appear. Beyond disassembling and assembling spaceships, some even remodeled them.

The Constellation and their avatars’ skills made such actions possible, but only geniuses could utilize those opportunities. Thanks to this, the number of uniquely shaped spaceships continued to increase. That also caused the repair shops that appeared next to the ship factories on Naros to be always full.

Some went there to give themselves a fighting chance against the Dark Empire army by installing weaponry on their mining boats.

‘Even if I leave them alone, they still continue to grow.”.’

The Dark Eye of the Dark Empire was entrusted to the T1s and his minions, and the Holy Union’s Naros was left completely to the players.

There were over 100 million players active in the universe. Using avatars instead of their actual bodies, they became powerful, and their growth was still in an upward trend.

Now that the Maze had become stable, Jin-woo had been having little to no problems with it, partly thanks to the great safety device he had prepared. To cross over to Universe, one had to first complete the periodical quest of slaying dungeon monsters.

‘There’re so many rich people.’

The wealthy stood out in the Maze: New World, but there were far more in the New World Universe. As they flocked to Naros in large numbers, they spent dimensional gold coins on its development, which they couldn’t do on Earth. They saw it as an investment, considering they could profit from it in the future.

Jin-woo connected to Kim Gun-joo, his avatar, to look around the player-built city of Naros. Its infrastructures spread using the portal connected to the Maze and the Naros immigration office as its center.

“We sell alien apples. I improved it myself!”

“We’re looking for miners! Salary, food, and accommodation will be provided! We’ve already finished preparing our mining boat, and once we get a total of six people on board, we’ll depart immediately. Come with us to the Great Naros Mountains!”

“Attaching beam particles to Maze weapons! There’s a chance it’d explode, but it’s mostly safe!”

Urban development was proceeding very smoothly.

Strangely enough, despite the vessels flying around it, it still felt like a market, making it seem like several civilizations merged to form it.

Player-owned lodging establishments and restaurants had also been built. This was made possible by the ticket period extension of merchants and those participating in planetary development.

Elves, dark elves, orcs, and demons roamed its streets freely. That wasn’t surprising, though, since they were now in a world as new as such a concept.

‘I’m glad I gave everyone this level of freedom.’

Jin-woo allowed his subordinates to enter and exit at will. No matter what happened in space, it wouldn’t cause him too much trouble anyway, so he didn’t put any major restrictions on them. Since all the players were already causing accidents in the first place, not much would change if his underlings did as well.

As a result, his men often visited Naros on their day-offs.

“Lilith! I’ll cheer you up!”

“Okay.”

“After I’m done mining, maybe you and I…”

“Let’s talk about it then. Let’s just rest for now. Eat this.”

“Oh, I see.”

Nangong Hui looked at the gigantic wriggling caterpillar in Lilith’s hands, closed his eyes, and put it in his mouth. Its size was so huge that it filled his mouth completely. Its body burst when he bit down on it, causing its thick, green juices to fall to the floor with its bits and pieces.

According to his Magic Eye of Information, it had great rejuvenation effects.

Jin-woo turned his attention away from them. Who would buy something like that?

“Is this all of them?”

“That’s right.”

“I’ll buy them all. Whoo… As expected of the Universe.”

He also saw Lee Min-woo wearing a black robe, but Jin-woo pretended not to notice him.

“Alien apple! It looks weird! I’ll try one! Oh, it tastes like roasted caterpillars!”

Nangong Xiao-yan, who had long since completed her adaptation education, was also around. She hadn’t returned home since she came to this world since she was currently hosting a space food mukbang, making Nangong Xian worried.

Extremely good-looking and as one of the rising broadcasters these days, watching her eat appetized people so much that she made them feel satisfied.

Perhaps it was because many people liked her, but she now had enough confidence to even appear as a guest with Choi Hee-yeon every now and then. It was great seeing her happy.

“Well…”

Chirpie, Maze’s pet, spread its huge wings and flew over the city. It had certainly grown a lot since they last met.

“Wow, that’s crazy.”

“There’s dust everywhere…”

“I’ll pick up his feathers.”

She complained, but no one cared.

Everyone, regardless of race, could be free in Naros. Perhaps this was what Jin-woo had been truly hoping for.

Amid his walk, he noticed a huge golden battleship landing in the center of the city.

“Golden Rundalf!”

“It’s sir Rundalf’s battleship.”

“That’s a 4th generation robot…”

“Awesome!”

His grandfather’s avatar got off his spacecraft.

The mecha landed right next to him, piloted by Crazy Demon, the Sword Master’s avatar.

The two got along well even though they quarreled often.

‘Swordsmanship with spatial technology…’

He immediately stopped himself from thinking about beam-bladed swords before it was too late and entered a castle-like building soon enough. It served as the barracks of the Holy Union’s officers.

Yoo-na, talking to Se-yeon, walked up to him.

“You’re finally here.”

“Hmm.”

Jin-woo looked at her.

“How’s our fleet?”

“Seven cruiser-class battleships, 24 destroyer-class battleships, 33 frigates, and 32 mechas. Moreover, the fighter jets’ hangars are now full, but we’re still producing more of them.”

“That’s pretty quick.”

Although the factory continued to operate at full capacity, he didn’t expect production to be this fast. The power of magic made such a result possible along with Haruring’s power.

Naturally, they still had plenty of resources. The Dark Empire frequently bought the ones the players had gathered or plundered, after all.

“The players’ fleet are also becoming formidable. They now have quite a few battleships and are beginning to buy robots. It would be wise to expect their fleet to increase in size even further since large corporations are beginning to invest. Even Daesung Electronics Chairman Han Jin-guk has set up a company in Naros called the Daesung Space Development Company and has requested cooperation from G&P.”

“Okay. Please take care of it.”

“As you wish.”

Jin-woo turned his attention to Se-yeon.

“We gathered information from the artifact we put on Latica.”

“Go on.”

“As you said, the Delox Empire’s planet has been too quiet. It appears that the Space Federation has dispatched an envoy to them, but they received no response. All routes to their solar system have been closed as well.”

Jin-woo nodded.

The Emperor of Machines was in the Delox Empire, reigning over its actual king.

It all began in the creation of an AI specializing in the revival of a country, to the efficient judgment and planning of which a national government was entrusted to. Over time, the small state turned into an empire that had a huge impact on the universe.

However, after countless years of evolution and experience accumulation, it had become a monster, even brainwashing and turning its true ruler into a puppet.

‘I was right.’

It didn’t matter how many plans and countermeasures were presented. Humans would always make mistakes because of their emotions.

The Emperor of Machines devised and implemented a plan to attain peace by manipulating the thoughts and wills of men hundreds of years ago. When Jin-woo came, it was already in the final stages.

‘That’s why Serra suffered…’

She might have experienced more than just abuse.

Looking deeper into it, it was safe to say that it experimented with her since it targeted slaves and commoners. In a way, it made the Fountain of Eternal Life true. Becoming a part of it granted immortality, after all.

‘It’s a common plot, but the fact that it actually became a reality is terrible.’

It was the largest emperor among those he had ever met. In that respect, he looked like a sidekick next to it.

The Space Federation was destroyed by the Emperor of Machines in the Gaiden War, and the Lainez Kingdom was driven to the brink of utter annihilation. It was around that time that the main character appeared with the pirates and helped them.

The battle against it was hopeless, but Count Lear’s new weapons and clever strategies worked against it in the end, albeit barely, allowing them to seize victory.

‘I shouldn’t expect that to happen now.’

The story had already been twisted when the pirates captured Count Lear. She was originally supposed to meet with Latica first, which would cause the Pirate Queen to help her since she resembled her sister.

The Pirate Union was now gone, however, and there was no protagonist. Jin-woo even doubted Lear could make a new weapon against the Delox Empire at this point.

Still, it didn’t matter. He was equipped with a far more powerful arsenal.

Se-yeon carefully deciphered the signal from the artifact attached to Latica, allowing her to gather intel from the devices around her.

She was now in Lainez.

“Looks like the Space Federation sent a rescue signal. It seems pretty serious.”

“Hmm…”

The Emperor of Machines moved faster than expected, perhaps because it learned that the Pirate Union had been eliminated.

Jin-woo got up from his seat, deciding to try saving the Space Federation.

***

Jin-woo boarded the spaceship, an expensive vessel with a built-in warp drive. It was also equipped with autopilot, which allowed it to efficiently control its movements.

Kim Gun-joo’s broadcast had been up for quite a while now.

As soon as it turned on, a large number of people immediately flocked to it, its viewer count going over a million in an instant, many of them already having access to New World Universe.

Kim Gun-joo had played New World the most out of all the players since it first came out, so the viewers’ expectations of him were high. They were hoping for him to play an active role here as well.

Jin-woo came more than prepared enough to meet those expectations.

Halong: Finally, Kim Gun-joo has arrived!

Attica: Oh!

Sky Changer: Whoa! He already has a high-end spaceship!

Space Pirate: Huh, that’s as expensive as a battleship.

Ranten: He must’ve worked hard for it. Professional broadcasters are definitely on a whole different level.

“Long time no see.”

Jin-woo spoke skillfully. After leisurely chatting with them for a while, he started talking in earnest.

“While mining, I received unknown coordinates. It seems like an important quest, so I decided to broadcast it to share it with many players.”

His words heated up the chat.

It had been quite some time since the New World Universe came out, but the main quest hadn’t appeared yet.

Rod: The first quest!

I’m a Knight: Oh, that sounds fun.

“I’ll be heading there now.”

Jin-woo immediately operated the warp drive. Seeing it work caused the viewers’ excitement to rise. So far, only the coordinates of the Naros and Hatan planetary systems were open since the Dark Empire’s intervention prevented anyone from proceeding any further.

The army the Dark Empire’s players belonged to was just a subordinate fleet to its main armada, which meant they still had no idea how big the Dark Empire truly was. However, they already speculated it was at least large enough to affect the entire universe.

That was partly why the unknown coordinates aroused many questions.

In actuality, it would lead him to Ion, the planet where the National Assembly of the Space Federation was located. It was also the source of the incoming rescue signals.

One after another, planets would be destroyed, starting with it. There were billions of people on Ion alone.

‘It’s not just about destruction.’

The Emperor of Machines turned people into weapons of war.

That was the reason why its power had grown so much.

Whew!

Jin-woo’s vessel disappeared upon entering a portal-like light. Since it underwent an ultra-long warp drive, the time it took to reach its destination was longer than usual. Still, after a while, it finally stopped near Ion.

“Is that it?”

White: What?

Space Locker: Huh…

Marine: Aliens?

Anyway: All the NPCs are dying!

Before them, a battle raged. Quite heterogeneous in appearance, bizarre-looking machines were smashing battleships and blasting fighter jets into smithereens.

Honesty, they looked more like monsters.

Boom!

Jin-woo’s spaceship vibrated as a huge shadow fell over him. Calmly, he raised his head and looked at its owner.

Rajin: Crazy…

Isaac: What’s that?

Picture: How can that thing even exist?

Above him, the enemy mothership hovered. It was round in shape, with red mechanical pupils in the center.

[A giant space machinal monster has appeared.]

[Delox was invented by Prof. Kim Dae-jin, a mad scientist who swore allegiance to the Emperor of the Dark Empire. However, instead of following his orders, it began to move independently.]

[In doing so, it became a menacing threat to both the Dark Empire and the Holy Union!]

[The Main Quest has appeared!]

[S] Help Ion.

A mechanized monster was invading a small, weak nation living in peace and silence.

Hearing the news, the 1st Fleet of the Holy Union immediately prepared for a warp drive to provide Ion with reinforcements!

S-class Warrior: A quest!

I’m Cool: It’s S-ranked, too!

John Berman: Let’s go!

Likewise, all the players dropped what they were doing.

“How dare you betray his Majesty the Great Emperor.”

“You must pay with blood!”

The Dark Empire’s players also received a similar quest.

However, it was titled [S] Traitor’s Punishment.

“Huh? What are you doing?”

Prof. Kim Dae-jin, doing research joyously amid the Dark Empire’s fleet, was imprisoned even though he didn’t know what was going on. Still, when Se-yeon explained the situation, he expressed his delight over the exquisite and stunning setting.

The first quest had begun!