Chapter 65
3.
The moment they heard the word Prometheus, one thing always came to everyone's mind.
"Isn't that the being who brought fire to humans?"
Kim Seojun was the same.
‘Prometheus' Blessing?’
When that blessing appeared, the existence of fire naturally came to his mind.
And immediately, a question arose.
“Does it create something like fire?”
No matter how he thought about it, there wasn't much that could be done with fire in the Space Age.
Of course, creating fire was an incredible ability.
In the Space Age, creating fire without fuel was something that far transcended physical laws.
But if that were to be called a Diamond Rank blessing, it was lacking in many ways.
To that dilemma, the status window gave an answer.
[You can use the Precognition Skill.]
One of the greatest abilities Prometheus possessed was the ability to see the future.
And Kim Seojun, who hadn't known this fact until now because he had no particular interest in mythology, froze on the spot.
He quite literally froze.
Then he soon snapped out of it, and from that moment, Kim Seojun immediately spoke.
‘I'll use it!’
He intended to use the Precognition Skill right away.
It was only natural.
If this were real, then Kim Seojun might be able to solve all his current problems.
"Precognition."
The moment he used the Precognition Skill, Kim Seojun could hear it.
[The current Number of Usages Available for the Precognition Skill is 1.]
[1,000,000 points are required to use the Precognition Skill.]
An overwhelmingly daunting notification.
“1 Million Points?”
And the moment he heard that, Kim Seojun was surprised again.
“Only that much?”
To Kim Seojun, being able to see the future by paying just 1 Million Points was like a bargain sale.
That was because seeing the future meant seeing future technology, possibilities, and trends.
Of course, Kim Seojun thought.
“There are restrictions.”
That he definitely wouldn't be able to see whatever future he wanted, to his heart's content.
[Would you like to use it?]
"Yes."
And Kim Seojun's thought soon became reality.
[Please select a date from the calendar.]
A window appeared before Kim Seojun's eyes, displaying a calendar like those commonly seen when booking a flight.
Kim Seojun intuited.
‘It's my future.’
That he couldn't just see any point in the future he wanted blindly, like suddenly wanting to see 1,000 years ahead.
Of course, this was also an incredible thing.
Seeing a part of his life that would unfold in the future would be exciting in many ways and a great help.
However, positive emotions like surprise or anticipation did not last long.
“March.”
From the initially opened March calendar (the one based on Earth), Kim Seojun froze as he turned to the next page.
The numbers he could choose in April only went up to the 23rd, and the moment he saw that, Kim Seojun knew.
‘...It's My death day soon.’
4.
The meaning a star held for a Soldier was special.
In the Space Age, it was even more so.
In an era where the Army, Navy, and Air Force were just for show, earning a star as a member of the Space Force was a tremendous achievement.
Furthermore, in the case of Brigadier General Lee Yeong-Jun, he was the seventh youngest person to earn a star in the history of the Korean Space Force, and the third among those who were not former Psycher Agents.
The moment one earned a star, many things naturally changed.
Among them, the biggest change was that the level of accessible information changed.
In particular, information access rights regarding psychers were vastly expanded.
It was only natural, as no matter how independently psychers operated, General Officers needed to know.
Anyway, Brigadier General Lee Yeong-Jun learned that there were more psychers operating in Space than he had thought.
At the same time, he also knew that the abilities of psychers were more limitless than ordinary people thought.
There were cases of their having ridiculous abilities, and he had even met a few of them in person.
"My god."
However, all that surprise became laughable the moment he entered Kim Seojun's Inventory.
"How can something like this exist?"
That was how incredible Kim Seojun's Inventory was.
"So, to explain what kind of place this is, this is the context."
The astonishment when he heard the detailed explanation from Jo I-Hyeon couldn't help being even greater.
Wasn't it truly a ridiculous space?
The peak of it was the moment he entered the Container Box.
The thing Jo I-Hyeon had made using various items was a Bunker. Naturally, it was equipped with an oxygen supply system as well as a water purification system, and hot water poured out freely inside the separately prepared bathroom and shower room at any time.
Electricity was sufficiently supplied, and there were even two refrigerators.
"That red refrigerator over there is exclusively for Ms. Hawk Eye, so please don't use it, but you can use the yellow one however you like."
There was enough surplus power to run a personal refrigerator.
"I see. Huh?"
At that explanation, Brigadier General Lee Yeong-Jun spoke in surprise.
"Whom did you just say?"
"Pardon?"
"No, I mean, whose refrigerator did you just say that was?"
"Uh, that's Ms. Hawk Eye's. Ah! Ms. Noah Winston's."
"What?"
And at the explanation that followed, Brigadier General Lee Yeong-Jun froze on the spot.
"So Ms. Noah Winston is Hawk Eye?"
"Yes."
"Is she that Hawk Eye, the Psycher Agent from America?"
"Uh, I suppose so?"
"...I see."
At that point, Brigadier General Lee Yeong-Jun lost the energy to ask anything more.
He gave up on throwing out questions and decided to enjoy this moment.
He opened the refrigerator, took out a cola, and immediately started gulping it down.
In that state, he looked at the scenery beyond the specially reinforced glass window installed in the container box.
He let out an exclamation of admiration at the sight that looked like an armory, filled with all sorts of military supplies.
“To carry things like this around freely, Staff Sergeant Kim will find earning a star nothing now.”
Of course, as a soldier, and one who wore a star with the lives of many on his shoulders, he also thought about using this strategically.
“The space is a bit lacking, though. If the length were just a little longer, we could fit a Hawk-class in here... No, wait, if it were a little wider, we could build a maintenance system here, and then we could pit-in right when needed and finish resupplying... Oh, that would be truly amazing.”
It was at that moment.
“Huh?”
Brigadier General Lee Yeong-Jun, who had been imagining filling the Inventory with this and that, froze on the spot.
In that state, he spoke.
"Excuse me, Ms. Jo I-Hyeon."
"Yes?"
"Does this have an expansion feature too?"
"Expansion? What does it mean?"
"I mean here, this place."
"Here?"
At that counter-question, Jo I-Hyeon tilted her head and looked in the direction Brigadier General Lee Yeong-Jun was pointing, out the window.
Then she could see it.
"Huh?"
The suddenly expanded Inventory.
And it wasn't just expanded by a little bit.
"Wh-what is this?"
It had doubled, meaning the width, length, and height had all increased twofold.
In terms of spatial volume, it had grown a whopping eight times larger.
It felt like going from living in a 350-square-foot house to suddenly moving into a 2,800-square-foot house, a truly ridiculous feeling, and at that, everyone inside the Inventory froze on the spot.
They wore blank expressions.
It was then.
Swish!
One person entered that vastly expanded space.
It was Kim Seojun.
Swish!
Noah Winston followed right after, and the moment the two returned, everyone finally snapped back to their senses.
Now everyone knew.
Something had changed with Kim Seojun's ability again.
It was an incredible thing.
Because Kim Seojun's Inventory could now not only store several Space Fighters, but also something even bigger than that.
However, no one rejoiced at that fact.
Everyone saw it.
"Everyone, please gather around. I have something urgent to discuss."
Kim Seojun's expression was stiff.
At those words, everyone gathered, and in front of everyone assembled, Kim Seojun spoke.
"First, I have something to tell you all. It's about my ability."
Here, Kim Seojun intended to reveal his ability today: the one regarding the status window.
Because he felt that was the only way he could persuade them about what he was going to say next.
Also, he no longer felt any particular merit in hiding it.
Everyone here was prepared to willingly lay down their lives for Kim Seojun—no, they had gone even further and shown it through their actions.
It would be strange to hide something from people like them.
Furthermore, everyone knew by now, honestly.
Kim Seojun wasn't just a Psycher Agent.
In the first place, no psycher could use such a variety of abilities as Kim Seojun did.
Furthermore, there were no cases of abilities developing so rapidly.
Even so, the reason they hadn't said anything was for Kim Seojun's sake.
They were just turning a blind eye and playing along.
"Wait."
Noah Winston spoke up then.
"Is the reason you're trying to explain your ability to convince us? Are you planning to do something incredibly surprising?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then keep it to yourself."
Noah Winston waved her hand.
"I'm not ignoring you, Seojun, and honestly, I'm really, incredibly curious about this ability, but our trust in you won't break just because you don't tell us."
The other comrades also answered with their expressions.
Kim Seojun didn't necessarily have to confess his truth.
He didn't need to go through such trouble for the sake of trust.
He could hide it as much as he wanted.
"And it'll just get bothersome if we hear it. You know how important information is in this field, right?"
Of course, the biggest reason Noah Winston said this was precisely because of the value that information held.
"There are cases where you can't hide it even if you try. Isn't that right?"
"Pardon? Ah, yes!"
In addition, like Jo I-Hyeon, space was overflowing with abilities that could uncover information no matter what means or methods the other party employed.
Anyway, in such a situation, if his comrades knew Kim Seojun's ability, the risks would inevitably increase in many ways.
So it was better to know as little as possible.
"We already have overflowing things to worry about, and I don't really want to add more troubles here."
Naturally, in this situation, too much information was poison.
"And we still have a lot of enemies to fight, don't we?"
Crucially, the situation of those gathered here could by no means be considered safe.
Unless the Chinese side were fools, they would have received reports from Planet Amotia and would be aware of the enemy.
"So, let's put the talk about your ability aside, Seojun. It won't be too late to do that later when we return to Earth."
At Noah Winston's words, everyone nodded, and seeing that, she smiled.
"I'll say it again, but we've seen everything you've done so far, Seojun. We're confident we won't be surprised no matter what you say, so go ahead and tell us. So, what happened?"
"I obtained a precognition ability."
"Huh?"
And at those words from Kim Seojun, everyone, including Noah Winston who had just spoken, froze on the spot.
"...You obtained what?"
"I have a precognition ability. Although there are various restrictions and conditions attached, I can now see the future."
"...Uh, wait."
At those words, Noah Winston touched her face with his hand.
She tried to hide her facial expression, which she couldn't control.
Of course, since she was wearing a helmet, her hand only ended up touching the innocent visor of her helmet.
In other words, she was so flustered that she even forgot the fact that she was wearing a helmet.
The rest of the comrades were the same.
To think the word precognition would come out here?
In fact, in a normal situation, the appropriate reaction would be 'You're joking right now, right?'
However, everyone knew.
That Kim Seojun was absolutely not the type of person to joke around with something like this.
"Uh..."
And at that point, everyone thought.
"It seems you saw a bad future?"
It meant that Kim Seojun's expression was stiffer than ever as he revealed this ability.
"That's right."
Kim Seojun told them.
"According to Earth time, on April 24th, I will die."
When they heard those words, a heavy silence fell.
He had held on so desperately to survive, but his first precognition was his own death.
It was a situation no different from receiving a terminal diagnosis, a situation so despairing that no words could possibly offer encouragement or comfort.
So everyone was left speechless.
Even if they wanted to say something, no words came to mind.
"I was lucky."
"Huh?"
However, Kim Seojun, who mentioned that fact, thought that he was blessed with heavenly luck rather than worrying.
It wasn't that he had lost his mind because he faced such a worst-case scenario.
"You were lucky? What are you talking about? Didn't you say you saw a future where you died?"
"To be exact, I didn't see it; I read it as text."
"No, that's not what's important... Didn't you say you would die?"
"Yes. Thanks to that, I can now avoid death."
At Kim Seojun's words, everyone thought for a moment and soon nodded.
"Th-that's true?"
It was just as he said.
Come to think of it, this was truly an opportunity given by the heavens.
Kim Seojun could change his Death Day just by avoiding the place where his death was foretold.
"Wait, but why is your expression like that?"
Thus, a new question arose, and Kim Seojun answered that question.
"The thing that killed me was a Behemoth."
"What?"
To everyone who was startled by that answer, Kim Seojun finished speaking.
"A special individual."