Chapter 7: The Veteran Reduced to Rags - 6

A few days later.

The spaceship heading to the planet Alaspa, which had been commissioned, arrived.

It seemed they had commandeered a ship that was moving for another mission, so I felt a bit apologetic.

"It's an honor to meet you, Executor!"

The crew member who came to greet us at the front of the spaceship stood at attention and shouted briskly.

—–

Name: John Creek (27)

Species: Human

Occupation: Senior Crew Member (Mercenary Guild Affiliated)

Status: Respect

Thoughts: Goodness, to meet a legend!

—–

A legend, indeed.

I had heard this countless times before, so I was unfazed, but now with mixed memories, it felt quite awkward.

"Nice to meet you."

"Ah, yes! It's an honor!"

When I extended my hand, he grabbed it with both hands as if welcoming Jesus, making me feel quite embarrassed. I heard Ena laugh softly from behind.

"Please take care of the escape pod as well."

It was originally scheduled for scrapping, but since it was still functional and I had a use for it, I put it on hold.

"Yes. I'll load it immediately."

True to his position as a senior crew member, he had other crew members load the escape pod.

"Then I'll give you a tour of the interior. This way, please."

"Thank you."

Thus, the interstellar voyage began.

In the space age, a distance of 140 light-years, which seemed insurmountable, could be traversed in just 14 days.

'Not just superluminal, but more like warp level.'

In fact, warp technology was even more advanced, allowing for instantaneous movement based on fuel consumption relative to distance.

Oh, but that's not the point right now.

I left the room assigned to me.

The corridor was empty.

The ship was spacious, and from the Mercenary Guild's perspective, I was more than a VVIP, so they had set up a no-access zone to prevent any interference. Or perhaps they had some ulterior motive.

I lightly knocked on the door next to mine.

Knock knock

"Ah, come in, Captain."

Ena, looking cheerful, smiled brightly under her large glasses. She held a bronze cube in her hand.

"Are you done?"

"Ah, yes. I'm done. Here you go."

The small cube was placed in my hand.

I tapped the cube, which fit in my palm.

- Item Information: High-performance artificial intelligence electronic brain. All functions except hologram projection are intact, but it operates at 70% efficiency without being inserted into a separate device.

- Usage: Equipping (gear and accessories), throwing, disassembling, destroying, etc. [Click for more usage]

A black window visible only to me appeared, with white text plainly describing the cube.

'As expected. It can be equipped.'

I nodded and thanked Ena for her efforts in separating the electronic brain.

"Anything for you, Captain."

Ena is a chemical engineer, a bioengineer, and an electrical engineer. She holds four doctorates: two in chemistry, one in biology, and one in electrical engineering.

Seeing her impressive credentials, I, who was playing GalaxyBound, hired her as a character with various internal buffs, such as a 400% increase in research efficiency.

For Ena, separating the AI's electronic brain and maintaining its functions was simple.

When I activated the cube, a small grumbling voice was heard.

"Angela?"

"You'll have to bear with it for a while. I can't fit the hologram device in here."

Angela, who prefers being held in hand over holographic projections, made low jokes.

Who would call her an AI?

"Oh, by the way."

I suddenly thought of something and said to Ena.

"Ena, how about stepping down from your secretary position?"

"Huh?"

"You originally came here for a research position."

In the space age, management AI usually handles secretarial duties.

In the game, AI was just a simple notification panel, and the secretary appointment function was only available for crew members, so Ena, my first crew member, was appointed as a secretary by default.

At that time, Angela tilted her head and asked, "Before?" I brushed it off with a "Just like that."

"You've been overworked. From now on, Angela will handle the secretary and comprehensive reporting duties. Without facilities, you can't do research. You've worked hard, so take a break for a while..."

"No."

Contrary to my expectation that she would be happy with less work, Ena said sternly, her eyes blazing fiercely.

It reminded me of the time she worked tirelessly for days on end for an experiment.

"Being a secretary is my position."

"You've been through a lot."

"I'm fine."

"But you won't have much to do for a while."

You've already maxed out the research tech tree, so Ena has been solely performing secretarial duties.

Ena can do many things besides research and secretarial work, but most of them require significant resources, facilities, and money.

Given my situation, where I will be working as a mercenary for a long time, Ena won't have much to do.

"Then how about a vacation..."

"No, I'm fine."

I had to nod, considering her firm tone and Angela's request. If she says she's fine, there's nothing I can do.

***

After Captain Jin Taylor left, Ena clenched her teeth.

"I can't forgive, I can't forgive, I can't forgive, I can't forgive, I can't forgive, I can't forgive, I can't forgive, I can't forgive..."

She repeated the same phrase like a fast-forwarded video, gnawing at her fingers.

Flesh tore and fell to the floor, but no red blood came out.

'If only it hadn't exploded!'

If only it hadn't exploded, the Captain wouldn't have said those words!

Regardless of the cause of the explosion, Ena could never forgive it.

If it was a faulty screw, she would destroy the factory that made it. If someone tampered with it, she would cut off their hands and tear them to pieces.

She had to hold them accountable for daring to ruin her relationship with the Captain.

Step down from the secretary position?

No. That can't happen.

'I must not be meeting the Captain's expectations. It must be because of the explosion. I need to show results. I need to be of help to the Captain, to catch his eye...!'

When she joined the space crew, fresh out of her family and knowing nothing, she suffered greatly from her fear of people.

Captain Jin was the only one who accepted her, a shut-in with no social skills, despite her impressive credentials from an AI professor.

When she was appointed to the position next to the Captain, bypassing the AI, she was overjoyed.

Though most reports were received through the AI, it didn't matter to Ena. What mattered was that the Captain trusted her enough to place her in such a position.

This appointment was a turning point in her life, finally restoring her self-esteem, which had been repeatedly crushed by others.

At first, she made many mistakes due to her social anxiety and panic disorder, but the Captain never scolded her, only nodding silently in encouragement.

To repay his silent trust, Ena worked hard to overcome her issues.

As a result, she changed.

Her research, once riddled with mistakes, became as smooth as superluminal travel. She caught errors in the early stages when Angela's performance was poor, and she excelled in mediating, controlling, and organizing among the crew.

The transformed Ena was a far cry from her past self.

The secretary position was the beginning and proof of her transformation, becoming the very essence of her existence.

'Somehow, somehow, I must make the Captain happy. I must prevent him from discarding me.'

The thought of being discarded by the Captain was terrifying.

'I can't forgive. When I find out who caused the explosion, I'll kill them with my own hands.'

She clenched her teeth again, a sound like a metal drill escaping her lips.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, curled up, she continued to emit a chilling sound for a while.

***

After returning to my room, I locked the door. Next, I had Angela scan the room for any listening devices or surveillance cameras.

There was a strange sense of anticipation in Angela's voice. Was she excited about something?

"Just a moment..."

I took additional precautions, activating a wide-range scan that provided information about the surroundings.

'Clean.'

Now I can talk.

"Angela. From now on, you'll be my personal AI."

Hmm, that sounded a bit strange.

"I mean, you'll be focused on supporting me, not installed in other devices. That's what I'm trying to say."

Without a hologram, it felt like she shrugged.

I see?

GalaxyBound doesn't have a character modification feature, but you can directly grant skills.

Skills like enabling a double jump or a charge attack, which are small but useful.

As someone who has maxed out the tech tree, I have a skill that can perform multiple functions.

This means the other skill slots are empty.

Interestingly, the system treats skill slots as accessory slots, allowing the electronic brain to be equipped.

If the AI electronic brain is combined with my game system's various functions...

'Angela might be influenced by the admin functions.'

Admin functions apply to most things a player can do.

If equipped and treated as a skill, it might enhance her performance beyond her original capabilities.

"Hmm... I see."

I was cautious, as this capricious AI might try to play with me.

"To put it simply, it's a technology I've been hiding."

I couldn't explain it, as it's a game system.

I had to come up with a cover story, saying it was a new technology I recently developed.

Still, Angela is the most trustworthy entity I know.

I unlocked the antimatter technology research tree a long time ago, which is still impossible in this world.

Angela will keep my secret, as she has done so far.

"So, I'm going to... install you somewhere."

A device only I can see.

"I want your consent. I don't know what will happen when I install you, but you won't be at a disadvantage, I think."

She seemed to enjoy upgrades whenever the ship was upgraded.

"So, do you agree?"

Without hesitation, I inserted Angela's electronic brain into the empty skill slot.

My hand was empty.

The electronic brain disappeared into the game system, visible only to me.

What changed?

Suddenly, Angela's bright voice echoed in my ear.

"Angela?"

Her voice, filled with uncontainable joy, hit my eardrums.

"What changed?"