Agent047

712 - The Fifth Imperial Council Meeting III

The reporting proceeded swiftly, with many agencies delivering concise updates. As most of these agencies operated on a day-to-day basis, they had few long-term projects to discuss. Some had already achieved their major objectives, allowing them to keep their reports brief. In under five minutes, many agency heads summarized their current progress before yielding the floor to the next speaker, maintaining the meeting's steady pace.

There was no shame in delivering brief reports, ...

711 - The Fifth Imperial Council Meeting II

As Aron settled into his seat, the sound of applause filled the council chamber. The ministers and councilors rose to their feet in unison, clapping enthusiastically in recognition of the emperor's speech.

Gaia, maintaining her usual composed demeanor, raised her hand, motioning for silence. Gradually, the applause quieted, and the chamber returned to its calm, formal atmosphere.

{Thank you, everyone,} Gaia said, her voice gentle but commanding. {Now, we’ll begin with the first ...

710 - The Fifth Imperial Council Meeting I

As the days passed, the day of the Imperial Council meeting finally arrived.

Inside the VR Imperial Palace's grand Emperor’s Council Chamber. 

One by one, the heads and vice heads of imperial agencies began to appear. Within just five minutes, all of the required officials were present—more than half an hour before the meeting's official start time. Since the first council meeting, seating had always operated on a first-come, first-served basis, and this tradition was wel...

709 - Preparations for the Meeting

Imperial Space Agency.

“So, if they intend to stop, it should be within the next two months,” Dr. Musa Aminu, the head of the ISA, said while reviewing the latest observation data.

Over the past five years, the empire’s advancements in observation technology, combined with their rapid production and deployment capabilities, had allowed them to gather increasingly detailed information on the approaching visitors. Now, with precise calculations and high observati...

708 - Summary Report

December 15, 5 AE (After Empire)

It has now been five years since the formation of the empire, and it has finally entered a phase of stability. No major obstacles threaten the empire, aside from the inevitable minor issues that arise. However, even these small problems are kept to a minimum and are swiftly addressed whenever they occur.

With all citizens now relocated to fortress cities, satellite cities, nearby villages, and even the rebuilt former cities upgraded to fortress cit...

707 - Departure

A week after the handover ceremony, the exploration fleet had begun the long process of packing for their return to Earth. With packing always taking longer than unpacking, it took an entire month for them to complete the task. Now, the entire fleet stood ready for their journey back home.

{Sir, the packing is complete, and the time to move out is approaching. They are asking if they should extend the expected departure time.} Nova's voice echoed in Aron's mind as he stood inside...

706 - The Ceremony II

"We are not perfect," Aron began, his tone shifting to seriousness after the customary greetings, causing many in the audience to raise their brows in curiosity.

"As humans, we’ve fought one another. We’ve killed, stolen, betrayed, and committed countless atrocities against each other." He paused, the weight of his words hanging in the air. People began to wonder if he regretted saying that or if he had been handed the wrong script.

But Aron pressed on, undeterred. ...

705 - The Ceremony I

With time moving like a boulder falling from a mountain, the day of the long-awaited and much-anticipated handover ceremony finally arrived.

Recognizing its significance, the event was declared a holiday—the first ever shared across all imperial territories. The excitement was palpable, and in front of the planet's largest public square, located by the Proximian main government building, more than twenty million Proximians had gathered to witness the historic occasion.

704 - Rebirth II

“This feels different,” Birch remarked, her voice coming from her new body as she emerged from the now-open medipod.

She experienced drowsiness and a headache, feeling unusually heavy, as if she needed more rest. Despite the discomfort, she was captivated by the sensations her new body provided. 

While she could simulate these experiences in VR, they were never fully accurate due to differences in brain data and insufficient understanding ...

703 - Rebirth I

"Do you want to test it out?" Aron asked when the three tree folks used the access he had granted them through their contract to reach out with questions about the bodies he was creating.

Birch responded, "We need physical contact with the body to attempt the transfer of our consciousness."

"That’s an easy fix," Aron said, and moments later, the tree folks sensed his personal ship in orbit beginning to deorbit and head toward the planet.

"A...

702 - Two weeks later

Two weeks later.

Aron stood calmly inside one of the physical labs on his ship, his eyes fixed on five medipods positioned before him. Holograms hovered over each pod, displaying streams of data being collected in real time.

Inside the pods, five bodies lay motionless, sustained by a constant supply of nutrients directly administered to their systems. The pods were designed to keep the bodies alive while preventing any activation of brain function, ensuring that consciousne...

701 - In the Beninging :)

The moment Aron logged in, Nova wasted no time and teleported him to a private simulation she had specially created for the event.

"It took quite some time," Aron remarked as he settled into the chair she had prepared for him.

{Since their brain structure differs from ours, and they’ve evolved various ways of interpreting things throughout their existence, I had to restart the decoding process several times after analyzing each evolutionary phase. They’ve...

700 - Preparations for the Handover

A week later.

Following a full week of recovery efforts, the rebuilding process for the destruction caused by the fights and the planetquake triggered by Aron was well underway. 

During that period, nearly all details of the meeting, except for a few classified points, were made public. Along with this, the announcement of a handover agreement was revealed, alongside the news that strict limitations would be imposed on the elders to prevent them from int...

699 - Reaction

While everyone on Proxima B was occupied with the recovery process, the situation was quite different for the watchers back in the solar system. They were limited to observing and reacting to the live stream, unable to intervene or influence the events unfolding on the planet.

The live stream setup was sophisticated, featuring multiple cameras positioned in various locations.

These cameras were capable of focusing on different significant events simultaneousl...

698 - Aftermath III

"See you later," Aron said with a casual wave to Crabapple, Birch, and Cypress, before vanishing from the timeless meadow.

They had finally concluded their meeting, which had lasted more than a day, meticulously finalizing every detail of the handover process. Surprisingly, the tree folks didn’t contest the handover at all and instead directed their attention toward the next phase.

Since their children would be treated as ordinary imperial citizens, that pa...

697 - Aftermath II

Before the discussion could proceed further, Aron swiftly created three runic contracts outlining the rules for using the system within their bodies. After signing them, he handed each tree folk their respective contract to review and sign. They did so quickly, as the fear of him changing his mind and activating the system prompted them to act fast once they confirmed that the contracts posed no threat.

The two traitors, who had been silently observing everything within the t...

696 - Aftermath I

Without hesitation, Aron conjured a screen within the timeless meadow, a space that functioned much like VR but was crafted from pure mana and guided by thought, allowing him to materialize anything he envisioned within it effortlessly.

On the screen, scenes played out, showing Aron entering the cylinder shield and attempting to sever the roots with his swords, only to be swiftly struck down by one of the roots. The perspective then shifted to the viewpoint of the sword itsel...

695 - FAFO 11

Hovering above the massive cylindrical shield, Aron glanced at the timer Nova had projected for him. Only seventy-three seconds remained.

"Let's do it one more time," Aron muttered to himself. With determined precision, he moved the shield to a location near the previous one, preparing to unleash another massive nuke within the shield, intending to shake the entire planet once more.

Just as Aron was about to begin feeding mana into the fire rune for another m...

694 - FAFO 10

“Did you feel what I felt?” Oak asked, his voice tinged with unease. As the tremors and explosions shook the planet, some of his core roots had disintegrated under the intense heat and pressure, beyond what they could withstand despite their strength. For the first time in his existence, Oak felt a profound sense of danger—a sensation so foreign to him that he struggled to categorize it.

“Although I’m not certain it’s exactly the same, I felt something too,” Man...

693 - FAFO 9

As soon as the shield was completed, the two tree folks began absorbing mana from both the ocean and the atmosphere now that they didin’t have to worry about interference from anyone. 

Initially, the process was subtle, but it was quickly detected by those with advanced mana sensitivity, and they immediately came up with a hypothesis behind this action.

“Looks like your magic system is designed for efficiency,” the humanoid remarked, still engaged ...

692 - FAFO 8

This phase of the plan demanded minimal interference at the outset, as any significant disruption could jeopardize their objectives. The uncertainty surrounding how the remaining tree folks might respond to their actions added another layer of complexity. Anticipating potential obstacles, they had already devised strategies to deal with these powerful beings if necessary.

And how do you handle three individuals who, if they interfere, could dismantle your entire plan? You cre...

691 - FAFO 7

The humanoid continued its relentless efforts for over two minutes, pushing against the shield's limits in a desperate bid to exhaust its durability before mana could replenish it. 

Eventually, it stopped, sitting down in resignation, mirroring Aron’s earlier decision.

Rina, having defeated her opponent in just a minute, felt a mix of pride and caution. She had managed to showcase her prowess, a result of her dedicated focus on mastering magic, somethi...

690 - FAFO 6

While the humanoid was waiting for Aron to sink deeper into despair, Rina was also facing her own set of challenges.

After leaving Aron, Rina had headed to the opposite side of the planet. Now, she hovered a few kilometers above the surface, receiving constant updates from Nova about the situation from the information being summarized by her, but gathered from every sensor on and outside the planet.

She was on high alert, prepared for anything. Her clothes ha...

689 - FAFO 5

As thousands of humanoids fell, Aron remained in place and continued his assault. Without pausing, he swung his sword again, targeting those at varying distances from him. No matter where they were, each swing resulted in the humanoids being sliced in half. Within thirty seconds, all the humanoids had been severed and were plummeting to the ground. Although they weren't dead yet, they lay on the ground, struggling to regenerate.

Only then did Aron lower his hands, small beads...

688 - FAFO 4

Aron stood unmoving as his shield effortlessly tanked the barrage of attacks—fireballs, wind slashes, earth spears, magic missiles, and lightning bolts—all basic but potent spells. 

Despite the shield's ease in absorbing the hits, the surrounding landscape bore the brunt of the onslaught, with the damage inflicted on his surroundings telling a very different story.

The fireballs, each the size of a bowling ball, detonated against the shield, leaving ...

687 - FAFO 3

“I won’t beat around the bush. I need everyone to work together to resolve this situation swiftly and minimize damage,” Aron began, addressing all the targeted personnel, as usual, keeping to his word of not beating around the bush from the start.

“For starters, let’s review what led us to this point when everything seemed cordial just moments ago,” Aron began rhetorically. Before anyone could respond, a video played, showing the two tree folks revealing their plans to kill ...

686 - FAFO 2

{That’s all,} Nova said as she finished updating Aron on the situation. It had taken only a few seconds for her to do so since she delivered just the bullet points, and Aron filled in the gaps himself.

“Thanks, keep updating me on any changes,” Aron said before looking down at the cocoon, which now appeared as intact as it had been from the beginning. It had fully healed and was no longer under attack from the ships, giving it a moment of respite.

He waited to see if the coc...

685 - FAFO 1

Everyone in the room immediately felt a surge of pressure ripple through the air, making the atmosphere heavy. The sudden change took everyone by surprise, even the two perpetrators behind the current situation, as the pressure was more than expected.

Before anyone could react, two shields materialized around Oak and Mangrove, confining them along with anything nearby within the oval barriers. In an instant, the interiors of the shields combusted into flames, incinerating everything ins...

684 - Providing Justification.

“What is the meaning of this?” Aron demanded, his voice cutting through the tension as he looked directly at the tree folk delegation. Instinctively, he had cast a protective shield around his group the moment he sensed the massive surge of mana. This swift action had caught everyone else on his side off guard, just as the palace began to shake and emit an ominous creaking sound.

"Nothing personal, we're just making a logical choice," Oak responded through his massive humanoid form,...

683 - "........."

While the meeting was taking place, the security forces of both sides were carefully monitoring the palace. Although the possibility of an incident was almost nil, they needed to be ready for anything. 

By the slimmest chance that something did happen, their leaders would need to be rescued immediately. This philosophy underpinned the current small contingents responsible for keeping an eye on the palace, while the rest of the security forces focused outward.

However, the pea...