Answers

"Reke, when did you come to this planet? What was your purpose in coming here? Can you tell me?"

With the serious business out of the way, Plus asked curiously.

"It's nothing I can't talk about. I came here eight years ago. My mission was to conquer this planet—in our terms, to 'purify' it."

Reke explained simply.

"What does 'purify' mean?" Plus pressed.

"To purify a planet means to wipe out every living thing on it."

As soon as Reke finished speaking,

Plus shuddered. A chill ran through him, and the research lab's temperature-control system might as well have been broken. It couldn't provide him with the slightest bit of warmth.

"Y-you... you... really... mean... that?" Plus asked, pale as a sheet, his arms wrapped around himself and his teeth chattering.

Seeing how badly he'd scared the kid, Reke figured he'd gotten in a little payback. He shrugged and replied, "That was the original mission, but I never intended to carry it out."

"Phew!" Plus let out a breath of relief, then collapsed onto the floor and sat there in silence for a long time.

Reke wasn't in a hurry. He simply watched Plus with an amused smile.

Damn, no wonder he was the smartest person on the planet. In less than five minutes, Plus had gotten back to his feet, and his complexion had improved considerably.

"Reke, can you tell me about the universe?"

"Sure. Though I don't know that much myself. You have to remember, I left my home planet when I was two."

After hearing that, Plus's curiosity overcame his fright. He looked at Reke with an eager, inquisitive gaze.

"The knowledge in my head tells me that planets are divided into five ranks. They're classified according to several factors, including combat strength and level of civilization."

"You don't need to know about the highest ranks, A and S. I'll tell you about the others."

"First is F-rank. These are primitive or undeveloped planets. We usually send one person to handle them, and the one we send is a Low-Class Warrior. The usual mission is to purify the planet, then sell it."

"Don't rush me. Listen to the rest first."

Plus opened his mouth to say something, but Reke cut him off.

"C-rank planets have a maximum combat strength of a few thousand, or have developed to a certain level of civilization. We usually send a combat squad to subdue them, then sell the natives as slaves. The planet might be turned into a tourist destination, or it might be sold outright."

"B-rank planets have highly advanced technology or a maximum combat strength in the tens of thousands. We send elite warriors to attack them. Afterward, they might be turned into a branch base, or they might be sold."

"What were you about to say? Go ahead."

After explaining it all in one breath, Reke asked.

"Our planet can't possibly be F-rank, can it?" Plus asked, voicing the doubt in his heart.

"Damn, just thinking about that pisses me off. Those idiots on the scouting team had no idea how to classify planets and rated yours F-rank. If I ever see them again, I'll make sure they disappear off the face of the earth."

The thought made Reke grind his teeth with rage. He launched into a tirade.

Once he got started, Reke couldn't stop. He used every swear word he'd learned in either of his two lives, and kept ranting for over half an hour before finally stopping.

Plus hadn't expected such a small question to make Reke lose his temper. He didn't interrupt. He didn't understand a lot of the words, but he could tell they weren't compliments.

"Phew!" After getting it out of his system, Reke continued, "I can tell you for certain that your planet is at least B-rank. It might even be A-rank."

"That's because when I went out to retrieve my spaceship that day, I fought a monster with a combat strength of 100,000. I don't know if there are even stronger ones. I haven't encountered any."

"?"

Plus could understand the first part and the last part separately, but put together, they made no sense to him. Why did they seem to contradict each other?

"I have a few questions."

"Go ahead."

"You came here in a one-person spaceship, so that means you're a Low-Class Warrior, right?" Plus looked at Reke.

"That's right." Reke nodded.

"You said you fought a monster with a combat strength of 100,000 a month ago. What does a combat strength of 100,000 mean?"

"Don't you have an Energy Detector? Combat strength is about the same as what yours measures. One point of combat strength is equivalent to one unit of energy."

"What?" Plus was startled, and a wave of fear washed over him.

He knew the Energy Detector all too well. Just 20,000 units of energy could destroy their planet. Now he'd learned that a monster with 100,000 had appeared. That meant he'd been at risk of annihilation every moment, just a month ago.

Who wouldn't be afraid after hearing that?

"Are all Low-Class Warriors as strong as you?"

"I'm an exception. A normal Low-Class Warrior only has around 800 to 1,200."

"Then that's a relief!" Plus patted his chest and let out a breath.

"What's your combat strength now? And what happened to the monster you fought?"

"I don't know the exact number now. I can only make a rough estimate. I killed the monster, but don't celebrate too soon."

"That monster had a whole clan. I killed the strongest one, but there are still plenty with combat strengths in the tens of thousands."

Plus had lost count of how many times Reke had frightened him that day. He'd learned to take it calmly. Fine, let it all be destroyed. I don't want to struggle anymore.

"Where are those monsters? Why don't we know about them ourselves?"

"They were discovered about thirty thousand li from here." Reke pointed toward the Rocky Mountains.

"That explains it. That area is a restricted zone. We've never known what's in there."

"I happen to have an Energy Detector here. Want to measure your exact combat strength?"

Reke shook his head. "I already tested it. The detector exploded once I went past 50,000."

Plus nodded thoughtfully. An idea had occurred to him, and he planned to put it into action later.

"Do you have any other questions? If not, I'll be going. I'll come see you again in three months."

Reke checked the time. It was almost lunch, and he didn't want to spend all day here, so he asked.

Plus shook his head and walked outside to see Reke off.

As soon as they left the research institute, Reke stopped Plus. He was about to rise into the air and fly away.

"Wait. There's an air-defense system overhead. If you fly up there, you'll trigger the alarm."

"Fine. You still need to get enough rest. You have twenty years left. If you keep going like you did last month, I'm afraid you won't last another twenty years." Reke spoke meaningfully.

"Okay. I won't do that again. I was only like that this past month because I was taking the spaceship apart."

Plus explained.

Outside the entrance, Reke slowly rose into the air. Just as he was about to fly back, something occurred to him. He stopped in midair, turned to Plus, and asked curiously, "Can you make a Gravity Bracelet? The kind I could wear while eating and sleeping?"

"No. Even if we had one, you couldn't wear it while eating or sleeping. The food and bed wouldn't withstand that kind of gravity."

Having gotten an answer to his question, Reke didn't linger. He nodded to Plus and vanished into the sky.