Chapter 31: Strange Orbs

[Federation Ranking: 39]

Neolan looked at the increase in his Federation Ranking with a slight smile. His rank had surged directly from 100 to 39, and considering that the lower the number became, the more difficult it was to increase even a single position, the fact that he had skipped more than sixty ranks at once showed just how important the theorem he had provided actually was.

The Federation clearly valued the discovery enough to significantly increase his ranking after the Goddess of Niflheim verified its validity. Neolan didn’t pay much attention to the ranking itself, however, as there was still something else he wanted to accomplish before leaving the Federation’s space station.

He turned toward the Goddess of Niflheim, who was still observing his movements almost every second as though she were constantly analyzing him. ’Her computational processes must be trying to figure me out because she was programmed to analyze anything suspicious.’

Neolan thought about it for a moment before shaking his head slightly and deciding not to concern himself with it. As long as he didn’t give her a reason to report anything unusual to the Federation Chief, there was little she could do. He then looked directly at her and spoke, "Alright, now that the project has been secured under the highest privacy level, I have an order for you."

The Goddess of Niflheim immediately nodded without hesitation, as fulfilling such requests was one of her functions. "What can I do for you, Sir Neolan?" Her mechanical voice echoed through the Virtual Space as she waited for his next command.

Neolan crossed his arms and looked at her calmly before continuing with the question he had already prepared. There was no reason for him to waste the authority he had gained from his sudden rise in Federation Ranking.

"As I am 39th in the Federation Ranking, I am allowed to access many secret files and real-time information about almost everything, right? After all, it falls under Rule #11 programmed into you."

The Goddess of Niflheim nodded in agreement. "That is correct, Sir Neolan. According to Rule #11, I am obliged to provide the third level of information to individuals ranked within the top fifty of the Federation Ranking."

Neolan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he heard the confirmation before a grin appeared on his face. This was exactly what he had been waiting for, and the authority provided by his new ranking was enough to access information that ordinary people couldn’t even know existed. He immediately decided to put that authority to use.

"Hehe, alright then. Show me the real-time situation going on in the Marsona Empire and the Church."

The Goddess of Niflheim tilted her head slightly at his request before responding in her usual mechanical voice. "I shall oblige, Sir." The VR glasses covering her holographic eyes flickered for a moment, and three different holographic screens immediately emerged in front of Neolan.

The screens displayed real-time information from different locations, with data and images continuously updating as the Goddess processed everything. Neolan glanced at them for only a moment before realizing that they were not what he actually wanted to see.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke. "Not these ones, show me their underground facilities, their military activities, and the Church Pope’s movements." The Goddess of Niflheim nodded without questioning the order, and the three screens disappeared almost instantly.

Another three holographic screens appeared in their place, this time displaying information that was far more restricted than the previous data. Neolan’s expression became slightly more serious as he began carefully examining each screen. He wasn’t interested in what the Empire wanted the world to see; he wanted to know what they were hiding.

Something immediately caught his attention on the middle screen. The Empire’s military appeared to be using weapons that were completely different from the ones currently known to exist on Earth.

’What are those?’ Neolan focused on two soldiers who were each holding a marble-like orb in their hands. An intense amount of energy was leaking from both objects, and even through the holographic display, it was obvious that they contained an enormous amount of destructive power.

"Zoom in on the third screen."

The Goddess of Niflheim immediately followed his order, and the real-time footage of the soldiers expanded until the two orbs became clearly visible. Neolan narrowed his eyes as he studied them carefully, searching his memories for anything similar.

’Hmm, these aren’t ringing any bells. What are those?’ He turned toward the Goddess of Niflheim and asked, "Can you decipher what those orbs are?"

The Goddess immediately began analyzing the objects. The VR glasses covering her eyes flickered rapidly as countless calculations and comparisons were performed, but after several seconds, she turned toward Neolan. "I am unable to decipher exactly what they are in comparison to the existing objects on Earth or the known materials discovered until now."

Neolan remained silent as he continued staring at the orbs, waiting for her to provide anything else she could determine about them. The Goddess then continued with a more concerning piece of information, "But those orbs appear to possess an enormous amount of explosive power. When compared to the Hydrogen Bombs or the newly developed ’MATTER BOMBS,’ their destructive potential can be considered equivalent."

The moment those words left her mouth, Neolan’s eyes widened. ’What? How did they get these things into their hands?’ He immediately focused on the two soldiers again and noticed that they were casually talking to each other while holding the mysterious weapons, as though carrying something with the destructive power of a Hydrogen Bomb was completely normal.

The fact that they weren’t treating the objects as some unstable experimental prototype made the situation even more suspicious. Neolan’s expression became serious as he began considering every possibility he could remember.

’Could it be some kind of alien technology?’ The thought surfaced almost immediately, but Neolan quickly shook his head. ’The Demons came around a year later, but even if this is a Butterfly Effect and somehow they appeared right now, the Demons would never bother with technology like this.’

He couldn’t think of anything from his previous life that could explain the existence of these weapons at this point in time. ’Sigh, I need to prepare even more now...’

Neolan shifted his attention toward the screen displaying the Empire’s underground facilities. At first glance, everything appeared completely normal, with the facilities operating exactly as one would expect from an organization under constant Federation observation.

There was nothing immediately suspicious in the displayed areas, and no unusual equipment or activity stood out to him. ’Hmm, maybe they already know they can’t avoid the Goddess of Niflheim’s detection and made this place a cover to hide whatever they’re actually doing somewhere else.’ He continued observing for another moment before moving his attention to the final screen.

The Church Pope was shown praying before a statue of the Goddess. Neolan stared at the scene for several seconds without saying anything, his expression remaining calm as he carefully watched her movements.

’Hmm, she’s already suspicious without me even needing to look at her.’ He had seen enough for now, and there was no reason to continue wasting time when the information available through the Goddess had already confirmed that something unusual was happening. Neolan raised his hand and waved toward the Goddess of Niflheim, causing all three holographic screens to disappear immediately.

Neolan turned around and took a step forward as the Virtual Space surrounding him and the Goddess of Niflheim immediately began disappearing. The isolated environment returned to normal, revealing the scientists and their Mecha projects outside once again.

Neolan glanced toward them one final time before speaking, "Alright, I am done here. You people can continue what you were doing." He didn’t wait for a response and instead continued walking away while already thinking about his next destination.

’Now my next destination is Ousvault.’

’Void Steps.’

The moment the thought entered his mind, Neolan took a single step. His figure instantly vanished without leaving behind any blur or afterimage, causing the scientists nearby to stare in awe at his sudden disappearance.

None of them could understand how he had disappeared so quickly, while Neolan had already begun heading toward the place where he intended to acquire the Asteroid Metal.