D.I.O

Chapter 145

“What’s wrong?”

“N-no, nothing. I was just surprised. Y-you have over 5,000 gem points?”

“I have about 10,000 gem points….”

“What… 10,000?”

Ellen looked dumbfounded after hearing such an unexpected response. Since each fish dropped one gem point once caught, a simple calculation meant that Merlin had caught 10,000 gem fish. Of course, there was a mission prior to the fishing event, but no matter how well someone did, they probably wouldn’t make over 500 gem points. So, Ellen wondered how Merlin acquired such a massive amount.

“Who are you? Did you gather all these gem points from your guild members or something?”

“No. You can say the hunting field was… right up my alley, attribute-wise.”

“…?”

Ellen couldn’t understand Merlin’s words, but she soon gave up and put her hand atop the book.

Woong!

Along with a deep ringing sound, the Crow shuttle disappeared and was replaced by a new model. The new flying shuttle looked just like a….

“A s-spaceship?”

“Yeah. This flying shuttle, Blue Beetle Type A, is equipped with an Ion engine! It’s difficult to fly in the atmosphere, but it’ll allow one passenger to travel in space. In addition, it has a built-in magic stone that can charge its own magic power, so you don’t have to worry about fuel if you’re mindful of your speed. In addition, it’s being offered at an amazing price of only 5,400 gem points! This may seem like a hefty charge, but this flying shuttle is strong enough to withstand any impact and has a cannon that can shoot ten-cm rounds, allowing it to battle in the air. It can’t directly take off and fly to space in one go, but it’s possible to enter the outer atmosphere.”

“…”

Merlin was at a loss for words. Of course, DIO was a game, so fantasy and anything sci-fi were possible. However, with his AA Rank Enhanced Eyesight, Merlin saw through the Blue Beetle Type A’s security and examined the shuttle’s inner workings and operation principles. The tech within the flying shuttle was not something that could be easily comprehended.

‘A plasma cannon on top of having an ion engine….’

Of course, Merlin had never seen something like this before. Naturally, this was because the technology wasn’t yet developed on Earth. However, after Merlin figured out the internal structure of the Blue Beetle Type A, he formulated a working principle and theory in his head to see if it was possible to recreate the tech. Merlin concluded,

‘This technology can be used in reality.’

This technology didn’t exist yet, but its theoretical principles were established on a solid foundation; Merlin could only conclude that the tech was beyond that of modern [Civilization]. If the technology applied to this flying shuttle entered modern science, human science would jump forward by more than a few decades.

‘What should I do?’

However, once Merlin mulled over this question for a moment, he realized that there wasn’t anything he could particularly do. Merlin wasn’t a government employee, nor was he conscientious enough to contribute to the development of modern technology. Besides, how would he convey what he saw through his Enhanced Eyesight to those in reality? DIO’s screenshots only took a photo of the flying shuttle’s exterior; they did not account for Merlin’s Enhanced Eyesight. So, to convey the shuttle’s internal structure and tech, Merlin needed to understand the structure and then explain the theory or draw a blueprint, which would be very difficult and cumbersome. Moreover, even if Merlin did all this, he’d only be scratching the surface of the tech, as it required a deep foundation to be adequately comprehended.

‘Eh, whatever. Any group as large as a country could probably get the information if they really sought it. I’m probably the only individual with this many gem points, but if the users worked as a group and concentrated all their gem points on one person, they could easily gather 5,000 gem points.’

However, Merlin didn’t know he was the only user with Master-ranked Enhanced Eyesight. Obviously, it was possible for users to amass 5,000 gem points as a group, but even if they purchased this Level 5 flying shuttle, they’d had to break it down, which wasn’t simple in and of itself due to the shuttle’s robust security system. Then, if this were done, they would need to comprehend the shuttle’s undiscovered science and magic system. Furthermore, the flying shuttle was made of a material that could change into any form with any property: the Anyform Stone.

Additionally, any part of the flying shuttle that detached from the main body would soon disintegrate and be unusable. Furthermore, if someone tore away the body to view the internals of the flying shuttle, they would only see a mess of zigzagging Anyform Stones. Though the flying shuttle looked like a modern-day spaceship, it was closer to being a spirit-based object than a physical one.

It was like… the seemingly divine bodies that the users possessed….

“You said this was Level 5, right?”

“Hmm? Ah, yes. It’s a Level 5 flying shuttle.”

“Then, is there a Level 6 flying shuttle?”

Since a Level 5 flying shuttle could fly in outer space, logically speaking, the next progression would be a flying shuttle with Warp Drive, something that would allow the vessel to move quickly between solar systems. Unfortunately, Ellen shook her head.josei

“There are ten different flying shuttles, but Level 5 is the max. However, there’s one ship that’s a step above the Blue Beetle Type A - the Blue Beetle Type B. You have the requisite gem points, so shall we have a look?”

Flip.

When Ellen flipped to the