Chapter 268: No Dogs Allowed

Chapter 268: No Dogs Allowed

Inside the banquet hall at the pantheon, someone said, "Dogs aren’t allowed." N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.

It was Jang-Wan. "Of course, monkeys and cats aren’t allowed either."

As Sung-Woon reached for the system window to search for a list of all animals, Jang-Wan gestured toward the translucent window.

"What are you doing?"

"If dogs, monkeys, and cats aren't allowed, we need to look for other animals."

"No other animals are allowed either. There's no Laika in Avartin, alright?"

A considerable time had passed since Jang-Wan, who had sacrificed herself in order for Sung-Woon to challenge the Large Area, had returned. As the first to be resurrected, Jang-Wan often provoked Sung-Woon. Sung-Woon didn't mind. Apart from willingly sacrificing for the Pantheon, Sung-Woon believed Jang-Wan had the right to do so.

Sung-Woon said, "But someone has to get on the rocket. In the end, highly trained astronauts have to."

"I know that."

"And before those astronauts ride it, the rocket's safety has to be checked, but there are limits to just launching unmanned spacecraft."

"I know that too."

"Before carrying an intellectual being, carrying a non-intellectual one first seems to me like a better idea."

Jang-Wan shook the lion mask she was wearing. "That's not true."

The second moon, Loom, had been discovered behind the first moon, Yonda. Loom was captured on video, transmitted in real-time, and this footage, though lacking in fidelity, spread around the world.

It was a sight worthy of being called a second moon. It was dark and shadowed, captured when the sun hadn't risen, so the specific details were unknown, but even from its silhouette, its dignified presence was apparent. It was about one-tenth the size of the moon. Loom, docked on a giant crater on the dark side of the first moon, almost resembled the pupil of a giant eye.

The technical analysis team concluded that the entire surface of Loom was artificial, and eventually, it was concluded that Loom itself was a massive artificial structure. The moonstone from the crater dug to dock the first moon seemed to have been moved to the planet Avartin to offset the mass of Loom.

Closer imaging could have provided more information, but unfortunately, the first unmanned rocket could only achieve that much. It was then destroyed by an attack from Loom. Therefore, despite the successful rocket launch, it was agreed that there was a need to launch the next rocket sooner.

On the Pantheon’s side, they had only just discovered the opponent, while the opponent already possessed the means of attack and was merely waiting for causality to rise. Therefore, ideas for a manned rocket, more precisely a manned spacecraft that could operate various devices and respond to the opponent's attacks, were proposed from various places, and the Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency sought to realize these ideas.

In this process, the necessity for a bio-organism rocket, preceding a manned rocket, emerged, which was a natural step to verify its safety before actual people would board. And Jang-Wan opposed this.

"Do you think that's so important?" Sung-Woon asked cryptically.

Unable to see the face under the mask, Jang-Wan replied angrily, "It is important."

"The most important task of all?"

"Not necessarily."

"Then what?"

Pointing with the tip of her finger at Sung-Woon, Jang-Wan said, "But not doing it when you can is a sin. We're not just winning. We can lay a better foundation and win on that. I'm not just talking about ethics or morality. If there's leeway, we naturally should do it because it will give us an upper hand in the next fight."

Jang-Wan's mention of leeway caused a stir among the players who were listening. Some doubted the existence of such leeway at the moment.

Sung-Woon replied, "We use Divine Control on Sepi in the spacecraft?"

"Yes. Then there’s no problem with intelligence. The moment we use Divine Control on Sepi, it becomes the smartest creature on the planet."

"Even though our current Faith resources and Divinity level are satisfactory, why risk losing Faith points..."

"We won't lose it." Jang-Wan brought up a system window she had readied. "Even if a player goes into the fragile body of Sepi, the spacecraft will be operable until the very end. I’ve done the calculations. With the current Faith level of the Pantheon, even if the rocket completely disintegrates, Sepi, being used for Divine Control, won't die. Of course, if the rocket explodes, there's nothing we can do...."

Sung-Woon and the other players were deep in thought.

Sung-Woon soon spoke up and said, "Alright, interesting... Should we draw lots to decide who will go into Sepi?"

The will of the Pantheon was conveyed to the Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency, which then spread the news worldwide.

[The gods have borrowed the noblest of bodies.]

The rocket experiment commenced without delay, and the finest Sepis from around the globe were selected and brought to the Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency for testing. The Sepis selected were publicized worldwide through photographs. Sepi dolls were sold, and people raised Sepis as livestock, while interviews with strong environmentalists who criticized the ecology of Sepis, their appearance, likes and dislikes, and the technologies sustained by Sepi's sacrifice spread.

Despite some opposition, the news that the gods themselves would use Sepi's body for the experiment ignited the Aerospace Agency's determination. Rocket engineers vowed not to sacrifice even a single Sepi, and ideas for Sepi's revival poured out like a storm.

'Not even making them die?'

Sung-Woon thought it was an unexpected turn of events, but refrained from intervening. It was all positive. If Sepi, with its fragile body, could survive, then surely people could too. It was all a procedure for what came next.

The first bio-organism rocket launch was immediately prepared, and Jang-Wan volunteered to go into the first Sepi.

In the cramped cockpit designed for Sepi, Jang-Wan thought, 'We have different souls, but at least as of right now we are one.'

Jang-Wan's monologue was met with a euphoric response from Sepi's body, as if burning in divine joy. Jang-Wan consciously avoided this sensation, feeling sad for this innocent creature.

Sepi, lacking a proper larynx, executed the procedures required by the Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency in sequence through a Sepi-specific input-output device under Jang-Wan’s control. However, the rocket was still unstable. The engineers were competent but too busy and exhausted, and there were probabilistic flaws not even the gods had detected.

[System malfunction. Experiment halted.]

Sepi=Jang-Wan felt the heat as the rocket's thermal engines exploded, and the floor erupted.

'I can endure this.'

It was hot but not painfully so. The Faith level of the Pantheon had already reduced much of the physical damage caused by the explosion. The interior of the rocket was destroyed, but it wasn’t the worst-case scenario. At least Sepi's body hadn't been flung through the rocket's interior and out into space. If that had happened, Sepi would have died the moment Jang-Wan disengaged the Divine Control skill.

A message appeared on the last remaining window in front of the control panel.

[Thank you for your efforts, Overflowing God. The rocket is now transitioning to a distress recovery phase.]

[May the gods bless this pitiful life.]

Jang-Wan hesitated. If she maintained Divine Control and stayed in Sepi's body, she could save Sepi. That would appear miraculous.

'But it would dramatically consume Faith points. The ground is too far away.'

Of course, Jang-Wan believed she had that authority. If Sung-Woon alone used up all of the Pantheon's Faith points, no one would say anything. What she used was very little in comparison.

Yet Jang-Wan deactivated Divine Control and slowly left Sepi's body. Back in her divine form, Jang-Wan watched the rocket plummet, lowering its altitude.

'Survive, little friend. Even though your sacrifice is for us, and that's your will and desire.'

Jang-Wan trusted the hearts of those who wanted to save Sepi.