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Chapter 656: The Great Prison Break (5)
Calculating the number of escapees for achievent rewards.
At a story that didn’t quite add up, Yeongwoo tilted his head.
‘…Huh? What does the achievent reward have to do with the number of escapees?’
And even before that, the very existence of an achievent called “Prison Break” was surprising.
Didn’t that an the achievent system transcended even universal concepts such as good and evil, and the order of the universe?
Even if it was an act that greatly disrupted the balance of the universe, if the act itself was remarkable, it would be counted as an ‘achievent.’
‘So even doing sothing bad on a grand scale gets you a reward…? The more I learn, the less I understand this world.’
Just what kind of structure does this universe even have?
And what exactly is the entity that governs this achievent system?
“…….”
As Yeongwoo stared with a confused gaze, the achievent system displayed the next line of text.
「Calculating… 498.」
This was likely the number of escapees counted so far.
‘So it includes not only the presidents, but also our bosses?’
The prisoners of Grade 4 and below whom Yeongwoo had rescued from the isolation block were also included in this achievent calculation.
「Calculating… 842.」
Then the number of escapees surpassed 800, and finally a ssage indicating the calculation was complete appeared.
「Calculation complete.」
「A total of 1,176 escapees have been generated due to ‘Prison Break.’」
“1,176…”
As Yeongwoo muttered the result, light began to shine above the heads of all the presidents in the helm.
Fwaaah!
―Hm?
―What is this…?
A bizarre phenonon that surprised even Grade 3 beings.
And for good reason—when light gathered above one’s head, it usually ant a brand or a mark was being attached.
And indeed, it was a mark.
Piiing!
Soon, as the light faded, a pattern that most of those present had never seen before appeared.
―What is this?
―A pattern?
―This is… a family crest, isn’t it?
While the presidents examined above their heads in confusion, the Earth Ship group—including Mantero—wore blank expressions.
『No, why is that…?』
Because the pattern in question was none other than the Renaissance’s naval artillery crest.
As a result, the retainers’ gazes all turned toward their lord, and around that sa ti, a notification from the achievent system appeared before Yeongwoo.
「Based on the completed calculation, 1,176 Gratitude Claim Rights have been issued.」
‘Gratitude Claim Rights?’
A term he had never heard before.
And perhaps the prisoners had also sensed sothing unusual, as the presidents’s gazes within the helm were drawn upward into the air.
―The system is moving.
―This… could it be…?
At the very least, the Grade 3 prisoners seed to have a premonition of what was about to happen.
Soon, the long-haired man stroked his chin and spoke.
―Indeed… rescuing us from Pahalufe would count as a favor.
“A favor? What exactly do you an by that?”
―One of the fundantal laws of the universe. We usually call it a ‘debt.’
The official term: favor.
In the villain world, it was commonly referred to as a debt.
In reality, it was quite close to one, the man added.
―A favor is an unavoidable debt. Regardless of circumstances, timing, or consequences, it must be repaid.
It was quite a detailed explanation, but Yeongwoo still didn’t fully understand.
“Wait a second. We didn’t sign any loan contract, so what exactly are they supposed to repay?”
The man waved his hand through the air as he answered.
―Anything.
“Anything…?”
―If you encounter us again soday, you can exercise your Gratitude Claim Right.
“Then what happens?”
The man simply repeated what he had said earlier.
―Once the claim right is activated, we must help you, regardless of circumstances, timing, or consequences. Even if it results in the downfall of our family, there is no alternative.
“Ah.”
Only then did Yeongwoo begin to understand a little.
This was… a kind of ‘chivalric obligation,’ wasn’t it?
And one enforced by the universe itself.
When help exceeded a certain threshold set by the universe, it was converted into a ‘favor,’ one of the fundantal laws of this world.
“So then, if a good person were to hold Gratitude Claim Rights against nurous evildoers…”
―There are no exceptions even in that case. The evildoers must repay the favor according to the claim right.
“So you could force villains to perform good deeds.”
―If that helps the holder of the claim right, then yes.
“My god.”
Around the ti their conversation reached this point, system ssages finally appeared before everyone who had escaped from Pahalufe, including Yeongwoo.
「‘Jeong Yeongwoo’ has been granted Gratitude Claim Rights.」
「From this mont onward, attacking the claim holder is prohibited. This restriction will be lifted upon the extinction of the Gratitude Claim Rights.」
In other words, the 1,176 prisoners gathered on the Earth Ship could not attack Yeongwoo until they had repaid their ‘favor.’
‘This… is an enormous debt.’
As Yeongwoo blinked, the Renaissance crests that had appeared above the prisoners’ heads lted away like snow.
However, the crest still remained clearly visible in Yeongwoo’s vision.
‘Ah, so I can always recognize the targets of my Gratitude Claims.’
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And the prisoners likely could as well.
“If it’s like this, what happens going forward? Are the presidents my slaves now?”
At that question, the long-haired man tightly shut his eyes.
―…That’s not how a favor works.
“Then?”
―It is exactly what it sounds like—they repay the favor. You must be in a state where you need help.
That ant a crisis or a very difficult situation.
“Ah.”
Yeongwoo let out a slightly disappointed sound.
“For example, right before I’m about to be captured by Kaujo…?”
This ti, the man nodded.
―At that mont, if soone bearing your mark is nearby, you may request repaynt.
“In other words, whichever president happens to be near at that ti is just unlucky.”
―Correct. Even if it ans being captured in your place, they must ensure your escape.
“Oho.”
―But rember this. You cannot exercise the claim right twice on the sa target.
aning the use of Gratitude Claims required careful consideration.
“That may be true, but considering the size of the universe, it’s probably best to use them whenever I can.”
1,176 prisoners.
Each one notorious enough to have been imprisoned in Pahalufe—a significant number, no doubt—but weren’t they all destined to scatter across the universe soon?
“If the obligation is that strong, won’t all the presidents just avoid and run away?”
―I cannot deny that.
Then the man continued.
―However, we cannot prevent you from seeking us out. So you will find ways to use your claim rights.
“Seek you out?”
―The mark of favor appears on everything we own. If you discover a planet under my possession, you would recognize it imdiately.
“Ah… so the larger your power, the harder it is to escape from .”
A debtor across the entire universe.
Only now did Yeongwoo begin to grasp what lay ahead.
He had beco, just as he had once dread, a being feared across the universe.
At the very least, these 1,176 infamous prisoners would tremble every day, not knowing when they might beco entangled with the Planet Ship Lord and ruin their lives.
‘Of course, it’s a bit different from the kind of fear I had imagined… but still, I’ve beco sothing significant.’
As Yeongwoo rolled his eyes around, Mantero—at the captain’s seat—reported while gripping the controls.
-We have completely passed through Pahalufe. We will now head straight for the nearest black hole.
More precisely, they had passed through the remnants of Pahalufe.
The real escape had begun.
“What about the pursuers?”
At Yeongwoo’s question, Mantero displayed the Earth Ship’s rear cara feed on the front window of the helm.
Piiit!
At once, murmurs spread among the assembled presidents.
―There are more than expected.
―Can we really… escape?
―Hey, how many cannons do we have?
After all, what was the point of barely escaping Pahalufe if they were caught again during the escape?
Of course, there were also those who placed absolute trust in the Earth Ship, which had already demonstrated its power by destroying Pahalufe.
―This is a planet ship. It won’t be shot down by re pursuit craft.
―Is there any way to destroy a planet moving at such speed? Their best option is to land here directly.
―There are hundreds of us gathered here. Even if they manage to land, capturing all of us would be impossible.
In reality, the ones closely chasing the Earth Ship were only small pursuit crafts, while the main warships equipped with heavy weaponry had fallen behind, avoiding the debris of Pahalufe.
In other words, Mantero’s strategy had worked perfectly.
Tutututung!
Even amid this, continuous thunderous noises rang out from outside the helm, but Mantero’s expression remained calm.
-With the firepower of the pursuit crafts, they won’t be able to easily break through our shields. We just need to maintain distance from the fleet and reach the black hole.
To calm the restless prisoners, Mantero projected the image of their destination onto the helm window.
Fwaaah!
At once, the noisy prisoners fell silent and turned their gazes toward the black hole displayed on the window.
―Oh……
―So that is the ‘passage.’
Then, one of the Grade 3 prisoners turned his head and looked at Yeongwoo.
―But a black hole… is also a celestial body, is it not?
“…That’s right.”
―Then it should possess free will and imnse power. How can you be certain that you can use it as a ‘passage’?
It was a perceptive question befitting a forr chairman—but also one that could only be asked because he did not know that Yeongwoo carried a curse that would be passed down for generations.
“Just like you owe a ‘debt,’ I also incur debts to the black holes to open the passage.”
―A debt…?
As the man reacted in confusion, Mantero increased the output and announced to the helm.
-We will soon enter the domain of the black hole! The environnt may change drastically, so please do not panic!
Mantero’s voice trembled slightly.
Entering a black hole while carrying over a thousand prisoners stolen from the Cosmic Police Bureau.
For Mantero, a forr royal chief navigator, it was nothing short of the greatest deviation of his life.
And soon, a pitch-black aura—just as dark as the overwhelming evil karma aboard the Earth Ship—began to envelop everything.
Then, from beyond the darkness, a voice erupted, sounding intensely excited.
● Ah… is it finally my turn? You must be that rumored storyteller.
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