Unable to devise a way to descend to Earth, I opted for the safest plan: sneaking onto a Federation spaceship.
With ASRS active, I approached the nearest Peregrine-class battleship in the sector where the White Star had been. Built by Isurugi Heavy Industries, it featured AM launch catapults. Due to the Federation repurposing DC's Lion production lines, Lion-series units were prevalent, increasing the number of AM-specialized Peregrine-class ships.
"…No one's around."
The deployed units hadn't returned, likely thrown into chaos by the White Star's disappearance. A few mechanics lingered in the hangar but hurried out.
The White Star's vanishing must've caught them off guard.
Smirking, I retrieved a pilot suit from my spatial storage and changed. It was a Federation suit from the other world—shouldn't raise suspicion here.
"ASRS, disengage."
Deactivating the ASRS, I exited the cockpit, touched the Grow Savior, and stored it in the spatial storage.
"Hey, was something just here?" a jumpsuit-clad mechanic called out.
Did he see the Grow Savior? No, he wasn't certain—probably caught a glimpse as I stored it.
"Yeah, I thought I saw something too, but…" I shrugged, playing it casual. "Looks like nothing."
"What's with all the commotion?" I asked, shifting the topic.
"You haven't heard?" he replied, surprised. The Grow Savior was already forgotten.
"Just finished my shift."
"They say the White Star vanished!"
"The colony-sized thing? Gone? That's impossible."
"That's why everyone's freaking out."
"Got it. Where can I get more details?"
"The mess hall, probably."
"Alright, I'll check it out."
Nodding to the mechanic, I left the hangar. The White Star's disappearance was public, but Septuagint's appearance on Izu was likely hushed up. The loss of the Aerogators' base was good news, but the Federation garrison on Izu being absorbed by Meteor-3? That's nothing but bad news.
"Now, where to?"
I slipped into what seemed to be a storage room, closing my eyes in the shadows.
The reunion with the Excellence Team, Duminas' appearance, the dimensional transfer, the Beowulf fight, its monstrous transformation, Rykeios' transfer and recovery, the psychic resonance with the canon cast, and stealing the White Star—all in under a day, subjective time. Passing out briefly during the transfer hadn't eased my exhaustion.
But I'd finally reached this world with a future, my goal since reincarnation. A short nap wouldn't hurt…
"…Huh?"
I woke in darkness, momentarily disoriented before recalling I'd snuck onto the Peregrine-class ship to reach Earth.
My stomach growled loudly enough to wake the dead.
"When did I last eat? Breakfast before heading to Tesla Labs to meet Raul and Fiona?"
Summoning the spatial storage list, I retrieved four warm hamburgers and a bottle of oolong tea, devouring them to quell my hunger.
"Now, why's the ship so quiet? What time is it?"
The room's clock read 3:48 AM. No wonder—everyone was asleep, especially after the White Star's defeat signaled the Aerogators' end. Septuagint was likely handled by the canon protagonists by now.
"That means at least six months of safety. What's next? Head to Earth Cradle? No, I only know it's near Kenya, and without Shadow Mirror's main force, I'd be a suspicious outsider to the DC remnants—or Neue DC. I could get captured. Better wait until OG2 starts, six months from now. Since I'm in a safer world, maybe I'll travel a bit? I'll need firepower either way."
I released a Slime from the spatial storage to scout beyond the door.
"All clear. …Haven't used the Slime like this in a while—been relying on the Adaman Halberd."
Using the Slime's recon, I moved cautiously to the hangar. Surprisingly, no mechanics or pilots were present—probably dreaming of their Operation SRW victory.
Lucky for me, since I planned to steal.
"What's here?"
The hangar held numerous units, many damaged but some nearly pristine: standard Lions, space-specialized Cosmo Lions, Barrelions, Barrelion Vs with enhanced melee, Heavy Barrelions, and even Garlions and Garlion Customs.
The Garlion Custom reminded me of Yuria. We'd promised to meet after Shadow Mirror's rebellion, but that was impossible now. I could only hope she'd live well in that world.
"I'll take one of each Lion-series. Now, any good weapons?"
In the reserve armory, pickings were slim—Operation SRW had depleted stocks. Only M950 Machine Guns were plentiful, so I took three. In OGs, they become high-performance with upgrades—worth having Lemon tweak later. Photon Rifles were tempting, but taking a unique weapon would draw attention.
Then it hit me: the Lion-series used railguns. Could I restock the Grow Savior's Linear Railgun? Lemon designed it, not derived from Lions, but railguns use electromagnetic force, requiring no propellant, so their rounds might be compatible. Even if not, I could use them with the stolen Lions.
I grabbed railgun ammo and M950 magazines from the armory—enough not to raise suspicion—and left.
Next, I'd slip onto a shuttle to Earth from Columna or another base.
Oh, and fighting the Beowulfs leveled me up, unlocking the Awaken Spirit Command. Testing it, it let me act again after reaching my limit, like Focus—a strange but useful power.
Character Stats: Axel Almer
Level: 25
PP: 95
Melee: 206
Ranged: 224
Skill: 216
Defense: 213
Evasion: 241
Accuracy: 263
SP: 342
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consumes SP to enhance Slime performance)
Growth Type: All-Rounder/Special
Terrain Adaptability:
Air: S
Land: S
Sea: B
Space: A
Spirit Commands:
Accelerate (SP 4)
Effort (SP 8)
Focus (SP 16)
Direct Hit (SP 20)
Awaken (SP 32)
???
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9 & SP Recovery & Focus)
Psychokinesis Lv.10
Attacker
Gunfight Lv.9
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Kill Count: 92