Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

Rhodes Island would not expect such a powerful force to stand on the side they are committed to, even if they hope that the Rhodes Island will remain neutral and not participate.

These are all delusional fantasies.

Whether it's treating Oripathy or alleviating the suffering of this land, they will repeatedly provoke these people's wrath.

You can't expect the strong to always be righteous, even if they are so powerful that they turn all injustices into an irrefutable "justice," or even if they themselves do have things they need to uphold.

Many people are well aware of this.

Ambitious goals require matching capabilities and the strength to fight against injustice.

The higher-ups at Rhodes Island, or rather, those who have witnessed the true capabilities of some of the operators, are well aware that some of them have yet to accomplish what "they could have done."

So, are we supposed to rely on this overwhelming fighting power to achieve everything for ourselves?

If we only consider the outcome, then this hesitation and restraint are quite foolish.

And most of the time, the result speaks for itself.

Yet they still made this decision: not to wield a force that any country could only dream of.

"Although I had my own selfish motives, I also hoped that Rhodes Island would not become an infant that could not be weaned—so I gave them some assistance and guidance. As for whether they accept it or how they use it, that is their own business, and I can also benefit from it."

The gravity chamber was requested by Tomat from the very beginning.

Popularizing it and even extending its applications is simply their own doing.

What they use them for is also Rhodes Island's prerogative.

He only caught the monster because he was hungry, and it was his decision to share it with others.

He wouldn't interfere whether Rhodes Island used it for research or training.

Both sides are generally aware of each other's bottom lines and never cross them.

And so, Rhodes Island was formed.

Those who look down on the Agor people, who are ignorant of the sea and live on land, will never notice such a change.

"In short, even if I hadn't taken you down back then, there would have been someone else here who could have done it, though not as decisively as I was. It's not surprising that they might have been killed by mistake, since there are quite a few people who can't control their strength."

"This kind of thing..."

Goredia was about to reject him with "How could that be?"

It wasn't just confidence in their own strength, but also a lack of expectation of strength from purely land-based races.

Unless there are Wendigos or similar individuals here, she has no belief that ordinary races can make up for the difference in strength through training, even if such training is unconventional and illogical.

"Um, Mr. Thomas, Operator Winter's training is not yet finished. Please do not enter the testing area without permission..."

Just then, the loudspeaker in the training room suddenly came on, interrupting the conversation that was about to continue.

The administrator, who had initially remained silent about Tomat's arrival, realized that he had come for purposes other than training, and that they could not afford to delay any longer.

"Sorry, sorry, please continue, but could we watch for a bit?"

As he spoke, Thomas retreated to a position away from the center of the area and asked the administrator.

"...Do we need to go to the control room?"

"No, this is fine."

After a few seconds of silence, the administrator seemed to have lost his temper and chose to compromise.

If it were other people, not letting them stay inside was entirely for their safety.

"Alright, since neither of you will get hurt by accident, and as for the other one... he should be fine too?"

But none of these people seemed to have anything to worry about.

Skadi glanced at Gladys, whose skin looked even drier than before, and the latter nodded with a forced smile.

She knew that Thomas had specifically applied for this so that she could see what the so-called training was all about.

"Is that lady alright? She looks terrible, deathly pale. Is blood flowing down her legs? Don't push yourself too hard."

Winter is well aware of the physical abnormalities caused by abnormal gravity. After all, as someone who couldn't wait to challenge high gravity levels as soon as the gravity chamber was built, she has already suffered a lot.

However, to Goredia at this moment, such "concern" seemed like a mockery.

How could someone weaker than myself be "considerate" to me?

But the subsequent changes in circumstances did not give Goredia time to savor this feeling.

"The training organism will be deployed in five seconds."

"five."

A platform-like structure appeared in the training room, and the gate embedded in the floor slowly opened.

"Four."

The hum of the elevator in operation caused a slight vibration to be felt by people standing on the ground.

"three."

A fully enclosed container was transported out by the platform, but even if no one touched it, onlookers could see that it was shaking intermittently.

"two."

The four sides of the box gradually unfolded—but inside was a grayish-brown cube about the same size as the box?

"one."

The moment the countdown ended, the cube, as if released from its restraints, suddenly expanded.

It wasn't some brown cube, but rather something that looked like a soft-bodied creature that had been forcibly stuffed into the box.

Now that it was no longer confined in the box, it was wildly stretching its body in the free space.

"It's not a creature like the Sea Spirit... but... it's very similar."

When that creature appeared in the space, it did not bring with it a salty, fishy stench like seawater.

However, its appearance was unlike that of any common creature, and it was impossible for Goredia to classify it as any kind of creature she knew.

Because it, too, is constantly changing its form.

Initially, it resembled an octopus, with a huge, round body from which various deep-sea creature tentacles grew.

But then it seemed to sense the abnormality in gravity and the dryness of the environment.

Its body surface also hardened rapidly, and its tentacles intertwined, splitting into four strands, which then merged to form short, thick crawling limbs. At this moment, it looked like a sturdy four-legged creature, but it could not be compared with common hoofed beasts.

It's practically a new species that appeared specifically to adapt to this environment.

It does not have a mouth; the entire part that can be considered a skull does not have any other facial features.

But when it turned toward Winter, who was holding a weapon and was closest to it, the entire "head" immediately split open into a gaping abyss, and then a beam of light condensed at the innermost part and shot out toward Winter with a bang.

"boom!!!"

However, the energy spewed out by the monster was extremely fast, almost turning into a beam of light, and it did not deviate from its trajectory at all under abnormal gravity.

As for itself, it was pushed back along the ground by the recoil generated by the emitted energy.

However, Winter simply turned her head away, letting the energy brush past her side.

The attack struck the wall behind her, and in an instant, an even more terrifying high temperature and heat wave swept in with the rising explosion, almost engulfing the entire training room and further burning away the already scarce oxygen.

Even if one doesn't directly experience the impact of this astonishing explosion, one will still be affected by its other effects.

— Lack of oxygen, high-temperature burns, and dehydration—these injuries, second only to bleeding, were truly unbearable for Goredia.

Goredia covered her mouth and nose with her hands to prevent the high temperature from further damaging the more delicate parts of her skin, and at the same time, she simply held her breath.

"Even standing at this distance, the impact of the explosion made my body numb... Some kind of energy? It doesn't feel like the impact of Originium Arts..."

She had no extra worries about Winter, because she had a much stronger interest in this creature of unknown origin.

However, due to the smoke and dust from the explosion obstructing her vision, she was unable to directly observe the creature's further movements.

It didn't matter; the deep-sea hunter's keen senses were enough for her to feel the faint air vibrations caused by the prey's movements amidst the impact of the explosion.

Using its hearing and very dry skin to sense its surroundings, it may lack precision, but it's more than capable of capturing the movements of its prey.

Goredia closed her eyes and savored the sensation.

Hmm... that creature at this moment...

—It flew right in front of me?

She suddenly opened her eyes and prepared to fight back, but the body that had undergone severe physical deformation was now only inches away from her nose.

Goredia could only immediately realize that the creature had been knocked away rather than moving towards her on its own, and that dodging it now would be somewhat difficult.

Actions that go beyond sound require a certain amount of time to execute in this environment. Even if you don't need a second of preparation time, it's still too long compared to the time it takes for a monster to hit your face.

"boom!!"

A slender arm swung out from the side, more like a casual swing than a strike.

Skadi's fist blocked in front of Gladys's face, which had shifted slightly in an emergency dodge. The sound of air being torn apart rang in her ears, and the shockwave from the sonic boom directly dispersed the still-unresolved air currents. Then, as if struck by a giant boulder, the monster's body seemed to turn into an extremely thin patty of meat, stuck to the wall.

"...I don't know if you were testing me, or if you really didn't have time to dodge."

Skadi said calmly as she withdrew her fist.

A few seconds later, the strands of hair that had been ruffled by the force of the punch finally fell to her forehead, tickling her skin and bringing her to her senses with the tingling and ringing in her ears.

—Was her fist this fast before?

This is land.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't just kill my test subjects like that."

Winter continued to swing her axe with unbridled gusto, seemingly quite displeased with Skadi, who had been watching from the sidelines, killing the training monster.

"It was you who ignored the people around you and pushed it this way."

Skadi continued speaking in a calm tone.

"The person who cut down the passes of another country really dares to say such things."

Previously, she was in the closest position to the explosion. Not to mention why the bodysuit was completely undamaged at that temperature, her exposed flesh only appeared slightly red and without any damage.

Moreover, she was able to knock that monster away in an instant, even with such a visual obstruction—