The mobile armor issued to us seemed to be modified training gear originally manufactured by the Goblins. Authentic mobile armors could enhance the user’s power at least eight-fold and came equipped with thruster packs on the back for moving in zero-gravity environments. These packs, about the size of a small backpack, could continuously fire gas for around 20 minutes.
“Alright, let’s suit up.”
First, I wore the ‘bio-suit’, a skin-tight suit that compressed the body to prevent expansion in a zero-pressure environment.
Following Sario’s guidance, I then donned the mobile armor. Its size could be finely adjusted, so there was no issue with the fit. Activating it via a switch on the armor’s waist section, text displayed on the transparent visor in front of my eyes, seemingly conducting a startup check. Finally, the words “Check complete, no anomalies” appeared. I relayed this to Sario.
“Alright, let’s begin training to move in a gravitational environment.”
The new training commenced. The mobile armor detected the user’s movements and tripled that force output. This caused me to fall repeatedly, partly due to the armor’s weight of around 30 kilograms.
“Huff puff…uwah!”
Clad in the mobile armor, I ran about 15 kilo before collapsing, unable to get back up.
“Zen, you’re exerting too much force. The mobile armor assists you, so you don’t need that much effort,”
Sario advised, now calling me by my original name instead Banatsu as we had grown closer.
“Huff puff…Well, I’m not used to it yet.”
“You don’t have much time. At this rate, even a space jellyfish will defeat you.”
“But even with enhanced strength, how can we defeat a space monster over 10 meters long? What kind of weapon will we use?”
“Space machine guns.”
My head’s language nanomachine module had translated the Gaban term for ‘machine guns that fire in zero pressure’ into ‘space machine guns.’
“You mean firearms that use gunpowder to fire bullets?”
“Yes.”
Though called machine guns, these seemed to be improved versions capable of use in outer space.
“But bullets are so small. Can they really take down a space Jellyfish?”
“Space machine guns use explosive shells. If they hit, they’ll detonate, so we just need to aim for the Jellyfish’s core to defeat it.”
“I see. But I thought you’d use more advanced weapons than machine guns.”
“There are such weapons, but the Goblin clan doesn’t allow subordinate soldiers like us to use the expensive ones.”
I asked Sario about the level of the Goblin clan’s scientific advancement.
He explained that in this spatial domain, civilization levels are represented using letters from the common Gaban language, which translate to the following when converted to the alphabet:
Level G: Civilizations that have not ventured into space
Level F: Civilizations in space but with minimal space development
Level E: Civilizations developing other planets but unable to travel between stars by themselves
Level D: Civilizations with basic interstellar travel capability, controlling multiple star systems
Level C: Civilizations with advanced interstellar travel, controlling hundreds of star systems
Level B: Powerful civilizations controlling over 10,000 star systems
Level A: Civilizations active across the entire galaxy but unable to reach other galaxies
Level S: Civilizations active across their home galaxy and able to reach other galaxies
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Sario’s race was Level E, while Earth was Level F – just one level apart, yet the difference felt immense. Apparently, the Celestials clan had decreed that civilizations Level F and below must be protected as intelligent lifeforms, so the Goblin clan’s treatment of humans like me as lowclass was actually punishable. However, they likely believed they could get away with it in the vast expanse of space.
“So the Goblins are Level D? They’re pretty impressive, despite appearances.”
Sario shook his head in denial, a gesture shared with humans.
“No, no. The Goblin clan is Level E. They can’t build interstellar spacecraft capable of faster-than-light travel on their own.”
“Then how do they travel faster than light?”
The Goblin clan either purchased equipment from civilizations with faster-than-light capabilities or used services providing such travel.
My training continued as I learned to move freely in gravity, then in zero-gravity, and finally began combat drills against Orc robots while wearing the mobile armor. After many days, I finally trained with live weapons – although not with actual ammunition, just compressed gas canisters acting as blanks. Simulator drills were also part of the regimen. As a result, I became surprisingly mobile for a 55-year-old.
“But why did they decide to make a soldier out of someone my age?”
I asked Sario.
“For a human, living up to 300 years is normal, so your 50s are still young.”
Apparently, being in one’s 50s was considered youthful here. However, I suspected the shadowy syndicate that sold me to the Goblins had deceived them, as investigating my old age would have revealed the truth. Through simulator battles, I became capable of defeating space monsters like the Jellyfish or the ‘Dango Ball’ – a massive, 4-meter isopod-like creature that tried to bite – around half the time.
“Combat simulation training again today.”
“Still going?”
“Orders from the commander.”
“Hah, I got it.”
Wearing just the bio-suit, I entered the simulator – a 5-meter dome projecting realistic 3D imagery around me. Suddenly, my surroundings transformed into outer space. I found myself in a mobile armor, drifting with a space machine gun in hand as I approached an asteroid. Out of nowhere, a space Jellyfish burst from behind it.
I took aim, searching for its core – a red sphere within the gelatinous, 6-meter-wide body. Pulling the trigger, I could feel the simulated recoil as the machine gun’s shots streamed towards the core, achieved by mild electrical currents tricking my senses. The moment I shattered the core, I relaxed my tense muscles – a mistake, it seemed. From behind the Jellyfish emerged a Dango Ball, jaws agape as it lunged to devour me.
“Uwah!”
Its massive maw clamped around my head. The scene went black as an alarm blared. Lights came on, and Sario’s voice rang out.
“Dead. Letting your guard down is fatal.”
With a sigh, he glanced towards the observation camera. Combat simulations continued until I could reliably defeat space monsters like the Jellyfish, Clione, and Dango Ball. Around that time, the supply ship Brava arrived at the targeted Gorgona star system.
Brava had apparently made multiple faster-than-light jumps during the journey, but we slept through it all in hibernation capsules, so I had no recollection. In the Gorgona system, the third planet was under Orc control while the Goblin clan occupied the fifth. Brava docked with the Goblin-controlled space station orbiting the fifth planet.
Sario and I had infiltrated the supply ship Brava’s information network to secretly observe the state of the space. The tool we were using for this was a simulator. Since lowclass weren’t allowed to have personal devices, we hacked into the supply ship’s information network using the simulator’s communication functions. It seemed that Sario was quite knowledgeable about network technology. By the way, my smartphone was missing—probably thrown away. On the holographic display, a brown planet and a 600-meter-class space battleship were projected, floating in a sea of stars against the pitch-black void. That battleship, I was told, was the flagship of the Goblin race.
“So this is the Gorgona system. We’ll be fighting here, huh?”
“Yes, and there are likely monsters on the planets too.”
That made me uneasy.
The supplies loaded onto the supply ship Brava were transported to the space station, and we were relocated from Brava to the Second-Class Recon Ship Gyogal. The Gyogal was a 120-meter-long combat vessel, lightly armed with only laser cannons and high-speed missiles. However, it was the fastest ship in the Goblin fleet. Sario and I joined up with the other members of the reconnaissance unit. The unit consisted of a six-person team, led by Commander Valvo.
The other three were Berta and Rieto of the Were-Cat tribe, and Dimas of the Were-Wolf tribe. The two of the Were-Cat tribe were around 150 centimeters tall, slender and youthful. And Dimas was about 190 centimeters tall and said to be sixty years old. We formed a team together and trained. Berta and Rieto of the Were-Cat tribe were cheerful and talkative. In contrast, Dimas of the Were-Wolf tribe was a taciturn man. Incidentally, only Berta was female.
When the training ended and it was time for meals, the usual preserved food tubes were handed out. Seeing them, I frowned. Berta seemed to have noticed.
“Does Zen also dislike the preserved food tubes, nya?”
Berta spoke to me. The Were-Cat tribe was a race that resembled large cats turned into humans. They were bipedal humanoids, but their entire bodies were covered in fur and their faces were cat-like. Berta resembled a Somali cat. And pronouncing [na] as [nya] was a characteristic of the Were-Cat tribe.
“These preserved food tubes aren’t food. They’re torture devices.”
Hearing that, Rieto, Berta’s partner, nodded.
“I understand that feeling, nya.”
Berta and Rieto were apparently sold to the Dark Syndicate when they were young and became Goblin scouts. Their families were drifters who had lost their home planets and couldn’t raise them. The other one, Dimas, was captured in war and sold to the Goblins. He once muttered that he wanted to return to the family he left behind on his home planet.
When the training period ended, the scout squad was headed for their first mission. We listened to the mission details from Commander Valbo.
“Your first target is the so-called Ponce Space Port, one of the existing space ports. You will investigate inside Ponce Space Port and survey its structure.”
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