Chapter 79

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The airship 'Friedwyn' began to slowly descend towards Laputa.

Rrrrr—

It was a gentle movement, more like sinking into water than landing. During this brief period of floating, Park Junmo, like a child on his first flight, clung to the window frame and exclaimed in amazement.

"Wow... Wow..."

Dozens of skyscrapers, floating thousands of meters above the ground, shimmered in the sunlight, occasionally flashing with different lights. Behind them, the blue sky felt like the sea, and the clouds like mist on the water.

It was perhaps natural to be captivated by this mysterious and grand landscape.

However, Lee Hyunwook's impression was quite different.

'As expected... This is clearly different from the Laputa I remember.'

Seeing the true form of Laputa, a sense of alienation arose.

Lee Hyunwook had infiltrated Laputa in his previous life and had a clear memory of the city. In his memory, Laputa was... a fortress known as the 'Devil's Castle,' a stronghold of villains.

And unlike now, it had a dark red color and tentacles, a somewhat bizarre design.

'This is far, far from the beautiful appearance it has now.'

At that moment, the hellish memories began to unfold before his eyes.

The intense memories from his previous life, one corner of which... Lee Hyunwook was also on an airship then.

Whoosh—

In the vast darkness where the black sea and black sky were indistinguishable,

he was staring blankly at the dark red Laputa hanging on the horizon.

Then, a frantic voice struck his ears.

"—Damn! The unknown weapon at the bottom of Laputa is activating again!"

At the same time, the bottom of Laputa opened, and a red light began to seep out.

—Caution! A 'Sudarsana Bombing' is starting in this area.

With a strong warning message, the edge of the night sea began to turn red.

A dazzling red light, like the beginning of a sunrise...

"Damn! Warn the naval fleet!"

"—It's too late!"

The red beam fired from Laputa left everyone no choice but to shield their eyes. The massive energy, mistaken for sunlight, fell towards the allied naval fleet surrounding Laputa.

Kaaaaaa—!

The explosions, one after another, deafened their ears.

Rumble...

At the end of that long strike, half of the fleet was annihilated, and the rest were swept away by a tsunami.

"..."

The airship 'Gate Sentinel,' which was advancing towards Laputa, had no choice but to come to a halt in shock,

and those inside could do nothing but remain silent.

Then, a man broke the silence.

"…Now, only we remain. And in other words, only we can do it."

His voice was quite firm, like a handful of hope blooming amidst despair.

"Everyone, listen carefully. We cannot give up on this mission. It must succeed."

"..."

"If we hesitate and turn back here, we will ultimately be cornered. But if we break through this obstacle, we will surely, face a new horizon. I am certain of it."

The man who was boosting the morale of the heroes was the commander of the Laputa assault operation,

and his name was... Gordon Price.

'So... Landing on Laputa was the worst trap.'

It was an impregnable fortress and an inescapable maze. The people called the hope of humanity, led by the wrong guide Gordon Price, walked into the abyss.

That day, 13 S-rank players were captured by the villain group 'Black Door' and used as materials for horrific biological experiments, becoming the nourishment for the necromancer's power enhancement.

But at this moment, the Laputa before his eyes was clearly different from the 'Devil's Castle' in his memory. Instead of the dark, sinister red, it was shining with a brilliant white.

'...Perhaps it is shaped differently due to various conditions.'

Yes, this is a game, and different outcomes can result from various branches. This time, Laputa appeared in a form beneficial to humanity, as it emerged to block the wave.

'So... The incredible weapons and technologies I experienced then are now within my control.'

Laputa was a city, a research facility, an armory, and a military base.

In other words, it could be seen as a single massive society encompassing all functions.

By obtaining this, Lee Hyunwook had effectively swallowed a significant part of the future.

"Ah, it seems we will land soon."

Friedwyn landed at the airship port of the tallest skyscraper in the 'Upper City.'

'This is the control tower, Order Tower, which manages all of Laputa.'

The group disembarked from Friedwyn and crossed a translucent sky bridge to stand in front of the 'Order Tower' entrance.

Then, a neutral voice flowed into Lee Hyunwook's ear.

"Laputa's 'Master Authority' has been confirmed."

Rumble—

The massive door slowly opened like a castle gate.

"Welcome, Administrator. I am Talos, the auxiliary AI of Laputa."

'Talos... I never thought this voice would sound so familiar.'

Talos, the AI of Laputa... The scene of warning messages and turrets firing to eliminate intruders, and finally appearing as a 30-meter 'Orichalcum Giant,' came to mind.

'The king of power, Han Taesan, couldn't even block Talos's kick and was sent flying...'

They walked into a long corridor and soon faced a facility that truly resembled a 'control tower.' It had a circular structure with all walls made of glass, allowing a view of all aspects of Laputa.

Rumble—

Then, a round object descended from the ceiling.

And on the surface of that sphere—on the screen, an emoticon-like expression appeared.

"(^_^) Hello! Welcome to the 'Sky Eye' command tower of Laputa!"

"—Huh! Is this a monster?"

Park Junmo said this and took a step back. Sparks crackled from his hands.

Most 'existences' in this game were monsters, so it was natural for him to react this way.

Talos's expression changed to a look of confusion and he quickly retreated to the ceiling.

"(0_0) Ah! Don't attack me! The repair costs will be substantial! Also, there is a risk that the Laputa system will be inoperable for some time, so I strongly request that you do not do this!"

Then, as if avoiding Park Junmo, he approached Lee Hyunwook, and his screen face showed a tearful expression.

"Ugh, Administrator of Laputa... I am Talos, as I introduced myself earlier."

'What, overacting... I didn't know this character was like this...'

It was hard to believe that this was the same giant who crushed A-rank players like bugs.

"Right, nice to meet you. You will assist me, right?"

"(^_^) Yes, that's correct. You can ask me anything and give me any instructions."

"Then, I would like you to explain the important things I can do from now on."

At this moment, the most curious and necessary thing was how to utilize this massive object.

"Ah! I see you value practicality! Usually, when you first enter, you tour this glorious city, but how about starting with that course?"

"No, it would take weeks to tour everything, so let's check the functions first."

"Yes, I will do that. However, as you can see, Laputa is a massive facility! There are so many functions, so the explanation might be a bit long. Please bear with me!"

After that, Talos really began to list numerous explanations...

'Hmm, this is unnecessary...'

This AI... seemed to lack a sense of judgment. When asked to explain the functions, he recited almost everything, from daily life, hobbies, research, and functions to air defense, like a manual.

'...I don't need to memorize such trivial things.'

Lee Hyunwook wasn't going to operate Laputa alone. In the long term, he would need to train and deploy many specialists to manage it without his constant attention.

'And one of them... can be secured immediately.'

One of the core crew members of the super-large airship to be built in the future was currently wandering without a team. Lee Hyunwook planned to find this man as soon as he returned to the ground.

"Talos, instead of those trivial