Legacy of the Void Fleet

This so-called 'big problem'? I'm not worried—not in the slightest. It might've been catastrophic, sure… if we didn't have the Gene Awakening Serum. But we do. And not only that, we made sure it was distributed early, first, among the member nations and empires. The Indar Empire, the Jiang Dynasty, the State of Avalon, and the Bear Empire were the first to receive enough supplies to inject their entire general population within the month's first quarter. And then throughout Earth"

"The Gene Awakening Serum is our shield. Its purpose is simple: to prepare humanity for the return of mana. It enhances each individual based on their unique compatibility level, ranging from tenfold to even a hundredfold increase. But it's not just brute strength that's enhanced. The serum works across an infinite array of categories—physical, mental, and even spiritual. At its core, every person injected will be ten times stronger than they were before. Their immune systems fortified, their cells more resilient, their minds more stable."

"More importantly, the serum creates a kind of internal barrier—a contact point between human biology and the wild, raw nature of mana. It doesn't make them invincible, but it buys them time. Just enough to survive the first wave… just enough to endure until their bodies begin adapting on their own until the real enhancements start to take root. It won't happen instantly, but it will happen. And that makes all the difference."

"As for the safety concerns—yeah, of course. It would've been strange, even outright naive, not to expect that some individuals would go rogue after experiencing sudden and massive explosive growth in power. And yes, it did happen—though thankfully, in a very small number of cases.

That's largely because we planned. Before we provided any major upgrades, our member states conducted thorough cleansing operations to eliminate potential threats—those likely to cause disruption or senseless chaos. Most of it was handled covertly, in the shadows, by each member state.

And let's be real- You can't expect everyone to turn out good, and handle the power responsibly, can you? Gaining sudden power and going rogue is something that will definitely happen and we anticipate it too!

After all, it's human nature to strive for more in their way — a way they deem to be good, even if it isn't. And honestly, that happens far more often than you'd expect.

And we had anticipated this happening already. As the Void Fleet, we don't do things halfway — So yeah, we had layers of countermeasures and contingencies in place from the very start to deal with exactly this kind of small issue.

That said, we didn't intervene directly. Our numbers were limited — and honestly, even if we had the manpower, I wouldn't waste our time and resources on clean-up operations like that. They just weren't worth it to us.

I mean, look — we've got some of the most talented personnel out there. Sure, they're few, but each of them is far ahead of their peers in their respective fields. And instead of utilizing their expertise, do you want me to assign them to mop-up duty? Tasks that aren't even in their area of interest or specialisation.

Yeah, I had marines I could station in those areas, specifically the fleet I left in the Sol system. I could have deployed them. But that'd be a waste of their potential. They've got more critical missions ahead. So, I made the most obvious and efficient decision — the kind any person with a shred of common sense would make.

And that decision was simple — to let our alliance members handle their own internal affairs, including Earth's, with our support. Of course, they had access to the advanced technology we provided.

Each member — whether it was the Indar Empire, the Jiang Empire, the State of Avalon, or the Bear Empire — implemented their own security protocols. Police forces, military units, or specialized task teams, whatever they needed, were outfitted with our advanced exoskeleton armour systems.

For obvious reasons, we didn't supply them in massive numbers, nor was there any need to. Instead, we equipped key units capable of securing their borders and maintaining order on their terms, within their territory, as it should be.

As for the rest of our forces, their role was clear — global deployment to maintain peace. That responsibility fell on them, especially since many countries on Earth had aligned themselves with the four major superstates rather than directly joining our alliance.

That was fine with me. We only had an interest in Earth when it came to talent, not the entire population.

Now, why am I bringing up the global deployment? Because of a situation, not quite a full-blown crisis, but definitely more of a dilemma. One that arose during the enhancement phase on Earth.

Some of the smaller Earth powers outright rejected the idea of administering the Gene Awakening Serum to their general population. And the reasons they gave? Completely outrageous. Ridiculous, even.

Publicly, their leaders claimed the serum was dangerous, citing that it carried unknown risks and throwing around unscientific garbage. This despite the fact that over a third of Earth's population had already taken the serum and are still counting with zero confirmed adverse effects.

No mutations, no deaths — nothing but and just pure enhanced physical capabilities and intellectual capability, and gradual adaptation happening afterward, exactly as intended. Sure, some people were disappointed in the results and the way serum had affected them, but that was a matter of low compatibility, and they were informed about the risk? Not quite—there wasn't any to begin with. But we still made sure to inform them in advance about potential compatibility issues. That's just human nature—some people are always going to be unhappy. Why? Because someone else got better enhancements than they did or had access to something they didn't. It's always something.

But that's their unhappiness and frustration, and this is not the same as these baseless, fear-mongering accusations that these governments were making.

And that wasn't even the real reason. No, these so-called leaders—presidents, prime ministers, even kings—were afraid. Afraid that giving their people access to power would diminish their own. They wanted to remain untouchable, like some false gods sitting above the very people they were supposed to serve.

Instead of empowering their citizens, they outright blocked the serum's use. And it wasn't really about safety or any practical concern—they did it because they didn't want their general population gaining power. It was all about maintaining control.

They actively worked against it, painting it as a threat just to maintain control. Pathetic.

And after all that? They still wanted access to the serum through backdoor channels. Absolutely stupid. Block it publicly, beg for it privately, classic double standards.

When I reviewed the reports, I was furious. Truly. But after a moment of reflection, I realized something: this wasn't even surprising. Humans do all kinds of stupid things. And this — this-this was just one of the more extreme examples.

By denying their people access to the serum, they weren't just stalling progress — they were practically sentencing them to death in the long run. So I made my decision.

I handed the issue over to Earth's major powers, our allies, and our alliance members — the Indra Empire, the Jiang Empire, Avalon, and the Bear Empire. I gave them a week to handle this stupidity in their own way, to crush this outrageous behavior at the root.

One week. That's all.

And that was to completely shut down this nonsense, and restorer the order while also for seeing through the awakening phase, ensuring no problem arises.

And that's exactly what happened. The four empires and allied states joined forces, forming a global armada that was divided into four task forces — each immediately deployed to one of the problematic countries and states.

Within hours, they captured the destabilizing elements — those in power who had been spreading baseless propaganda and inciting unrest. The operation was swift. In just a single day, these nations' leadership and elite figures were neutralized.

The four empires took control of these regions temporarily and conducted full-scale security sweeps. Many individuals holding power were arrested — not just political figures, but gang leaders, terrorist sympathizers, and corrupt officials hiding behind influence.

Under the leadership of the four superstates, order was restored. The chaos sown by their previous governments was completely dismantled.

However, as expected, doubts began to rise among the general population. Were they being colonized? Was this a power grab?

But neither I, nor the four empires, had any such motives. To put those fears to rest, we collectively announced a nationwide voting procedure for each of the affected countries. After this stabilization phase, the people themselves would select their new leaders — presidents, prime ministers, representatives — through a transparent process.

That gave the people peace of mind. There were no riots, no resistance. The public knew their voice still mattered.

After that, things proceeded smoothly.

And that's how those small episodes on Earth were handled—quickly and decisively. After that, no more trouble came from any government or organization. Within a month, the entire global population had been injected with the Gene Awakening Serum. Order was restored, and progress moved forward without resistance.

Now, there's definitely going to be the question: What about the animals?

Well, there wasn't anything specifically made for them. But that's because, in general, animals already have stronger physical bodies than humans. Their biology is naturally built to adapt, and when it comes to mana exposure, they tend to adjust far faster than we do. So no serum was needed for them—they evolved on their own, naturally.

[A/N: That was the last chapter of this arc basically]