623 Chapter 623 Aftermath
Cleome hit Aldred on the shoulder. "Thanks for worrying about me."
Aldred smiled. He had known Cleome and the others for a couple of months now. They've went through a lot during that month, and he felt pretty close to them.
At the very least, he could trust them with his life.
Only warriors who had fought together in numerous battles could understand such bond.
One might think that Aldred was naive to trust them so much, but these people had went through hell and back with him.
Aldred was a warrior who went through many battles and wars. And he had made a lot of strong connections with fellow warriors.
'I missed Bartrem, Joseph, and Jeffery,' Aldred cracked a smile as he thought of his friends and recalled the past.
At that time, things were simple. He just had to charge at the enemy and fight. After the battle, they would return to camp and eat food together. If there were no battle, Aldred would spend his days exercising with his platoon.
As time passed, things became more and more complicated for him. As his strength increased, he could not just become a foot soldier.
Instead, he had to become a leader that led a massive organizations that even a nation would consider him a lethal threat to their rule.
Their fear was justified though as Aldred had even overthrown an entire empire before.
After reminiscing about the past, he looked at the lines on his hand and wondered how did he summon the Phantom Doomblade.
For the past few months, he could not summon any of the items inside his inventory. He couldn't even open the inventory or call out the system.
It was as if his power was gone in a blink of an eye.
Fortunately, Aldred felt like his power were slowly returning.
He wasn't at his peak power yet, however, but Aldred knew that time will come.
Shinari saw Aldred who was laying in bed looking at his hand seemingly thinking about something.
'What would a man as powerful as him think in this situation?' She thought.
The power Aldred displayed during the battle against the xenomorph queen was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. His power were the story of legends were only the super soldiers could match.
The image of Aldred massacring thousands of aliens in a single slice flashed in her mind. She clenched her fists, angered at the thought that she wasn't as good as she wanted to be.
If she did not improve, she will become more useless as time passed. With dark countenance, Shinari slammed the door open and left without saying a word.
Aldred was confused. "What happened to her? She seems to be mad."
"Maybe she's just worried and have a lot in her mind. Not just anyone can process the event yesterday so easily. Even now my hands are still shaking," Cleome said.
Salamander heard what Cleome said, but he knew what Shinari was feeling currently because he felt the same way. He felt anger that he was so useless compared to Aldred.
Without Aldred, all of them would be death right now. 'This cannot be done. I must do everything I can to match Aldred's strength.'
With that in mind, Salamander also stormed out of the room without a word.
Aldred was confused again. "Does he has a lot in his mind too?"
"Probably," Cleome said, confused at the situation as well.
Elralya watched the situation unfold in silence. She observed Aldred and Cleome before placing her attention on Cellaeth.
"Is your injury healed?"
Cellaeth nodded. "It healed a minute ago."
"The wounds you suffered is greater than Cleome. You could've asked Aldred to heal you like how he heal Cleome. Why didn't you?"
Cellaeth had a mixed expression. "I am an Elven warrior. The path I take obliged me to endure great pain in battle. My training enabled my body to heal in hours, so I don't need his help."
"Is that really the reason?" Elralya smiled.
That was not the reason, but Cellaeth stayed silent. In truth, she was just in disbelief of the event yesterday. Aldred's power was too great, too powerful, and too magnificence.
It was the combination of elegant and pure strength. Beauty and functionality intertwined in perfection.
Only the elves fought that way, but she saw that characteristic in Aldred yesterday. But she still had a hard time believing because Aldred was a human.
A lesser race like human shouldn't be able to fight that way.
"Maybe he isn't a human," Cellaeth muttered under her breath.
Meanwhile, Shinari was in a practicing room. She opened her comms and opened a digital book about supers. She had bought this book in order to learn more about her power and hopefully improve her strength.
There were several ways for supers to increase their strength.
Training and discipline, experience, knowledge, sorcerous pacts, psychic awakening, and consuming souls or life force.
There were only three ways within her control: Training and discipline, experience, and knowledge.
To grow stronger, she had to train constantly, gain a lot of experience, and study ancient and modern text about super abilities.
The modern scientist had studied hundreds of thousands supers and spread the information to every humans in every corner of the galaxy in order to ensure humanity's survival.
Every knowledge was made as cheap as possible. Getting the book and information was easy in this era of the Imperium.
The learning part was the problem. Without sufficient talent and hard work, one wouldn't be able to grow.
Shinari had experienced war and battles all her life. Since a young age, she was completely told by everyone that she will become a powerful super to protect humanity.
For years, she felt like she had done everything in her power to do just that.
But Aldred showed her otherwise. This adventure showed her otherwise. She still got so much to learn. She hadn't reach her limit. She still had a long way to go.
And so, Shinari began to train.
…
In the engine room of the cruise ship, Salamander worked diligently, his hands moving swiftly as he repaired the damaged engine. The room was dimly lit, illuminated only by the flickering emergency lights. The hum of the ship's systems filled the air, creating a constant, reassuring rhythm amidst the chaos that had ensued.
The engineers of the ship were killed during the alien infiltration. This led the officers to ask for help from the passengers with any mechanical knowledge. Salamander jumped to the call immediately.
He thought that there would be more people coming to help, but apparently it was just him.
So many people were killed during the infiltration, and he clenched his fist every time the memory flashed in his head.
"No, I need to focus on my task. Repairing the ship's engine will become a valuable experience for me. I need to learn more, practice and study more. I will create better gear, better equipments so more lives can be saved!"
As he worked, his mind was focused, his thoughts clear. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes; the lives of everyone onboard depended on the ship's successful escape from the vastness of space.
In this situation, the cruise ship should have called for help from nearby space stations, but the communications bridge were already destroyed by the xenos.
Those damned aliens! They were too smart!
Every now and then, he glanced at the holographic displays, monitoring the engine's status and the energy levels within the ship. His brows furrowed in concentration, his eyes scanning the data before him
Hours passed, and sweat trickled down Salamander's brow as he continued his work. He was meticulous, double-checking every connection and calibration. His hands moved swiftly and surely, fueled by a combination of skill, determination, and the urgency of their situation.
"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, his brows furrowing as he identified a critical malfunction in the fusion core stabilizers. "Looks like we've got a major energy fluctuation in the primary plasma conduits. If that breaches, this whole ship could turn into a floating bomb."
His mind raced as he calculated the best course of action. "I need to reroute power from the auxiliary generators to stabilize the core. It's a risky move, but it might buy us some time."
With swift precision, Salamander initiated the rerouting process. The holographic screens flickered with complex schematics as he manipulated the ship's power distribution networks. Lines of code scrolled rapidly across the displays, each keystroke made with unwavering confidence.
Suddenly, he faced some problem.
"I don't know a damn thing!" Salamander quickly accessed the guidelines and quickly searched for some tutorials and information in the galactic network.
Meanwhile, he accessed the ship's nanobot repair systems, releasing swarms of microscopic machines into the damaged conduits. These advanced nanobots worked tirelessly, repairing frayed energy cables and reinforcing structural integrity. Salamander monitored their progress closely, ensuring that the repairs were completed flawlessly.
The hum of the ship's systems grew steadier as the energy fluctuations began to stabilize. Salamander wiped the sweat from his brow, a mixture of relief and determination on his face. The crisis was averted, at least for the time being.
"It seems nothing major happened, but I almost turn the entire cruise ship into a bomb. Thankfully, it
turned out fine."
Salamander stood up, satisfied with his work. With a confidence smile, he clenched his fists. "I am not so useless after all."
