Chapter 85: Homecoming

Name: Derek Ambrosius Thoma

Class: Stellar Captain -> Cosmic Magus

Species: High Human

Level: 45 -> 63

XP: 135,009/32,000

Health Status: Healthy

Mana: 4,100/4,100

Fortitude 110 -> 160

Perception 100 -> 150

Strength 100 -> 150

Agility 120 -> 185

Magic Power 250 -> 410

Magic Regeneration 250 -> 360

Free Points: 0 Stat, 4 Skill

Central Skills

Aspect Hunter 10 -> 11

Aspect Integration 11

Call of Adventure 3 -> 10

Vessel of Legend 1 -> 8

Cosmic Awareness 1 -> 6

Skills

Lightspeed Learning 12

Skill Fusion 15 -> 16

Knowledge Conversion 10 -> 11

Branching Capabilities 5 -> 6

Anima Bolt 10

Lifesurge 7

Predator’s Force 1 -> 2

Phantom Limb 2

Flash Forward 3 -> 15

Fractal Beams 2

Danger Radar 1 -> 3

Energy Screen 1 -> 4

Smuggler’s Pocket 1

Starship Aspect 1

General Skills

Bloodline of the Hellborne Survivor

Stellar Processing 13

Spellcasting 6 -> 3 (189 spells known)

Variable Weapon Empowerment 6

Phantom Armor 4

Scholarly Admiral 1

Starship Upkeep 13 -> 15

Enchanting 9 -> 13

Alcubierre Bubble 12 -> 14

Eye of the Predator 9 -> 13

Shapeshifter’s Acrobatics 6

Superior Eldritch Spatial Manipulation 7 -> 15

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Aspect

Aspect Skills

Hydra

Regeneration, Redundant Organs

Poltergeist

Ephemeral Form, Spectral Flight

Least Demon Lord

Grand Hellflame, Moment of Immortality

Lord of Time and Space

True Spatial Warp, Cosmos Soul, True Spatial Affinity, And I Shall Not Be Moved

Caladrius

Healing Light, Inner Light

Fata Morgana

Hologram, Perception Block

Cosmic Leviathan

Charging to Infinity, Cosmic Gaze, Stellar Travel, Omnidimensional Maneuvering

Void Dragon

Wings of the Void, Scales of the Void, Star’s Heart, Infinite Mind

Magebreaker Specter

Internal Grimoire, Spellbreaker

The Error

Moment of Immortality, Energy Reflection, Eldritch Manifestation, Telefrag

[Empty Slot]

Yeah. Hell, yeah.

Though something entirely new were the Levels to [Call of Adventure], gained mere seconds after leaving the now-rogue planet behind as the Dragonfly jumped into FTL, though any chance for him to read the new description was cut off by a new window popping up.

Congratulations, Stellar Captain, for finding and surviving an apocalyptic threat to your homeworld!

The Error might have overcome its summoners, but you have successfully managed to contact the relevant authorities, survived until their arrival, and even assisted them in a significant way! And now, you’re safely on your way back home.

For overcoming a threat of such magnitude, you have received 135,000XP.

Apparently, his second Evolution [Class] had been waiting to grant him XP for that whole clusterfuck, but it hadn’t been entirely delinquent in its duties.

Something that was made all the more clear when he read through his latest [Skill] upgrade.

Call of Adventure (legendary, Level 10)

This Skill will guide you to your next adventure.

…

It will now also label potential adventures as “deathtrap,” “necessary,” and/or “beach episode” as they apply.

Well … that was something he could have used a few months ago. Right before they’d stepped straight into this bear trap of an “adventure.” Even if the potential labels were both vague and, at least in one case, utterly ridiculous.

Although, then again, what would have happened if we hadn’t gone there?And shouldn’t it have been deemed “necessary” by the [Skill] anyway?

Derek stroked his chin as he let his eyes glaze over, staring off into a distance he couldn’t actually see.

I mean, that planet started moving towards Sol before we did anything.

Wait a minute … did we save Earth? No, couldn’t possibly … I mean, it’s not like anyone admits to having planet-cracking weapons, but I’m sure they could have stopped it …

Honestly, it was probably more a matter of “cope” than anything else. It wasn’t like things couldn’t have gone well, or at least not catastrophically wrong without their actions.

Still, ultimately, all four of them were still alive, and that was what really mattered …

Yet in the end, there remained a knot of guilt simmering in his gut. Because he had put them all in danger. And far too many sailors and marines had died in the fight he’d inadvertently started with The Error. For all that that could be rationalized away as conflict between that thing and the navy being inevitable … that was something he’d carry with him for far longer than he’d like.

He found himself distracted from those thoughts when Isaac dropped himself onto the bridge’s central table with a deliberately loud thump, drawing Derek’s attention.

“I promised you a story, didn’t I?” his brother declared.

“So, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away …”

Derek lightly kicked Isaac’s boot.

“Explain to me how the hell Admiral Miyazaki could pull off that.”

His finger stabbed towards the ceiling, an illusion of the [Skill] that had trapped The Error and set it up to be torn to shreds.

“Oh, that story …” Isaac’s expression of confusion would not have fooled even a toddler, but it caused Derek to start laughing nonetheless.

“So, it, like so many stories, starts with someone thinking they were smarter than everyone else, and being oh so very wrong about that.

“You see, there was this Chinese businessman who decided he wanted to conquer the stars; his heir would be the one to lead the charge, and for that, the poor kid needed the best [Class] possible.

“So he bought himself some pirates. Took the dregs of society, gave them a few foundries to basically start printing ships. Basic, no [Skill] bonuses in the construction, no enchantments except the very basic ones needed to make the ship work at all … and then set them loose on the colonies. All to set up an enemy for his kid to defeat. The only orders they had were to wait until the son’s mercenary company was ready. I mean, they didn’t know that, but that was how things were supposed to work.”

Derek winced. That had to have gotten ugly.

“Of course, the kinds of people you can hire to cause a mess on the frontier aren’t exactly good at following orders. Or good people in general, really. So one group jumped the gun and got its teeth kicked in by the woman who would go on to become the current fleet admiral. And things really went to shit.

“The rest scattered; some decided to throw themselves on the Navy’s mercy because they technically hadn’t actually done anything yet, even spilling the beans on their patron … the rest, though, the real idiots, they thought they were already done for, a capital sentence hanging over their heads, so they might as well double down. And they had some severe delusions about what it would take to actually fight the Navy …”

Beyond that, the story was relatively predictable. Then- Rear Admiral Kenta Miyazaki had wound up being the one forced to deal with the situation, which eventually turned into a grinding slog through multiple systems heavy with asteroids and orbital debris, which was eventually turned around by several devastating counter-ambushes.

Until, according to the “myth” of what happened, the pirates began to feel as though they were trapped in the deep ocean abyss, hunted by some titanic predator …

As Isaac’s story began to grow ever more fantastical and chaotic, Derek found his mind drifting once again.

But not to “what ifs.”

No, his newest musings were dreams.

Dreams of what they’d turn the Dragonfly into, between the eldritch materials they’d start to build her up with, and the torrent of mana ready to fuel her enchantments.

Dreams of power.

And finally, dreams of leaving behind this very galaxy … because the hints offered by [Galactic Explorer’s] description were just begging him to follow to … well, all the way to another galaxy.

You know, after Isaac had gotten married, the ship fully fixed up, a holiday had been taken, and a whole lot of public speaking engagements he probably wouldn’t be able to get out of had been put behind him.