"Whoa. It looks like the planet is cooking!"
"Yeah. Check the layer of the atmosphere."
The students who will be doing presentations for Venus and Mercury swarmed around the pictures Marcus brought to them.
After dropping the pictures, he returned to his drawings.
At this moment, he plans to introduce two warships to his armada: the main Star Destroyer and the support vessel for the Star Destroyer.
The support vessels will be something akin to a torpedo or missile carriers.
Fast and dish damage from a distance.
'But then I need some kind of vessel for close range?'
Star Destroyers are the capital ships, and Daedalus class assault carriers will be upgraded and used for launching fighters and gundams in the future.
'That means I need something like a fast-moving and average-size interceptor.
It would have a thick hull with tough armour and many turrets.'
The shape will be a dagger because it can concentrate firepower. Broadside exchange will happen regardless, so turrets on the sides will also be added.
It only leaves hangars, which will be only two.
'For size, it will be half the size of Star Destroyer, around 500 meters.'
'Hmm…'
Marcus then realised an issue.
Daedalus-class needs to be altered in some way for an assault carrier to be that small. Well, it doesn't sit right for him.
'I suppose I could relegate the original-size ones to construction support. At the same time, the upgraded version could be altered into a proper carrier unit.'
The inventor proceeded to write down his ideas.
[Star Destroyer- capital ship + carrier + three catapult decks, at least 150 turrets and 4 missile launch tubes. Preferred size: around 1 to 1.2 kilometres long.]
[Interceptor- (Name: Minotaur-class?) around 500 metres long thick armour/hull type, fast-moving anti-fighter turrets. 2 small hangers for minimal support.]
[Missile Frigate- (Name: Cerberus-class?) around 400 metres long, loaded with long-range weaponry like Graviton cannon and missile tubes, minimal protection.]
[Support Carrier- (Daedalus mark 2 class) around 400 metres equipped with a catapult deck for mobile suits and Starscream fighters. Basic defensive capabilities. Maybe add a comms tower for long-range communications?]
Marcus writes down the ideas before starting to add more to them.
He still needs to come up with the name for the main capital ships.
'Wait. Do I truly want to have a basic Star Destroyer for myself?
I mean, this is for the long term. Nothing like Daedalus, which I developed half asleep.'
With a frown, he proceeded to add one more type on top of them all.
[(Solomon Class) Super Star Destroyer: 4 catapult decks + Graviton Cannon (Primary Weapon) + 400~ turret + 200 Anti fighter turrets, 8 missile tubes. Approximate size is around 5 to 7 kilometers.]
'Of course, we will have Rhombus-style reactor support. Massive assembly lines and G.A.T barracks alongside T.A.M.I workshop.'
The Inventor smirked as he realised this would be like his mobile garage.
'I can use this until my Saturn's Garage is complete.'
"That's one evil smile you got there, Marcus." Sirin looked at him with a somewhat awkward expression. Some of his classmates had similar expressions.
Solomon's Successor remembered that he was in the classroom.
"Don't mind me. I was thinking about a mobile garage." The Inventor waved his hand as if telling people to forget about him.
As if! That kind of request is the hardest to ignore, considering what type of crazy stuff he can pull out of the blue.
None of the classmates simply forgot. Instead, they got even more curious! Not that Marcus will tell anyone except his girls, as he is not ready to reveal this stuff!
After all, no creator loves to show their alpha-stage products.
***School Ring***
'Finally! Math class! Time to see what my Athena looks like as a schoolteacher!'
The inventor closed his notebook and proceeded to pay attention.
The rest followed his lead and did the same. They are wondering who this new teacher is. They haven't heard many details.
A few seconds later, everyone's eyes perked up as they saw hot 20+ years looking hot beauty. This teacher has sharp glasses and silver eyes. Her brown hair is combed into a short ponytail.
"From today forward, I am your maths teacher for this year," she said seriously.
People started whispering among themselves. They wonder why only one year.
What they know is that to keep the curriculum stable and make sure there are no gaps in education, the teachers remain the same for many years.
They had the same teachers since they entered high school.
"Umm, why only this year?" One of the girls asked Athena.
"Because I don't know how long I will work in this job," the brown-haired Goddess explained plainly. She wasn't hiding that this would be a temporary job.
"Is there a reason for this short-term work?" The students have experienced something like this before. They had an interim English teacher before.
Marcus even recalled it. It was his sister's ex-classmate.
"That's…"
"She is here because of me. As my fiance, she wants to keep a close eye on what I do." Marcus said with a bored tone. He doesn't want to play around the bush. So he told the truth.
Athena's reaction was to push her glasses up as she stared at him with an annoyed look.
This reveal will be a trouble for her!
"W-What!? You engaged to a hot maths teacher!?" For some guys, this was more impressive than his high-tech empire…
"N-No way! Not even teachers are safe!!!"
"THIS IS NOT FAIR!!!"
A row behind, Marcus Sirin was snickering. It's only a matter of time before there is a reveal.
'Wait! Can I use my HUD to record this!?'
With an emphatic realisation, the Herrscher girl started checking the settings.
After a quick check, she started recording with her eyes. The girl realised that her HUD was a legit computer!
She can even edit videos she takes!
'Herrscher of Reason much?'
Part of her felt that she was encroaching on Bronya's territory.
'I wonder if I can record my thoughts too? Like commenting?'
For a second, she stopped recording and made some alterations.
~~~~~~Sirin~~~~~~
After a few moments of testing, Sirin proceeded to be a commentator.
'Many are probably wondering why everyone is so distressed in my class at this very moment.' The girl took a shoot of everyone complaining out loud that Marcus' fiance is a legit 'onee-sama'.
"Enough! Or should I start giving away marks for disturbing my class?" Athena threatened as she showed the red pen.
It was the infamous red pen! Even Sirin trembled as she had Kiana's memories. It was the same pen used for marking and writing down marks!
Everyone calmed down immediately.
'As you can see. This brown-haired woman is Marcus Goldman's fiance.
For someone to have his attention, one should have some sort of high talent or background.
Well, she has both. The woman in front of us is— Athena! That is right! I don't need to explain who is Athena. A couple of pictures are enough for people to grasp.'
The girl showed a couple of statues found in Athens and on clay pots.
'If you are wondering what it means. I am pretty sure you came to the same conclusion.
A Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Warfare, and Handicraft—the patron goddess of Athens — is teaching this class.
Sirin even added background music from a movie, as if it was a big reveal.
'Since we are revealing supernatural things, I should tell you about maids, alliances, and wars he has waged on the supernatural side.'
The Void Queen named and showed short clips and pictures of Marcus' maids and other things.
Midway, the girl realised she had more stuff to bring fear and despair. She has her memories of the war and all the footage collected by technocracy!
'I suppose this is a perk from living with a data-gathering freak.'
The girl realised that she had months' worth of footage from all the carriers, spider walkers, XC-M1 suits, Starscream jets and so on.
Even more, data popped up when she realised she could access footage from ALL the knights.
Before she even realised the maths class was over!
'Hmm? I guess it's over.'
The girl used the rest of the classes to prepare another ten-minute video. With her sarcastic commentary, of course!
When she released the video, it was about time to go home.
~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~
People were patiently waiting for another update from their favourite YouTuber. When she released the video, millions of people immediately started to watch.
Unlike the previous two videos, this one was strange. The camera angle and the voice sounded– unique.
However, they quickly realised why. Sirin filmed the whole thing with her eyes and the commentary was her thoughts.
Not that they could comment, as the content made everyone go bonkers!
Who in right mind reveals the supernatural in the middle of a goddamn maths class!
But the repercussions were chaos-inducing. People could potentially revolt and strike again. Or something like that. But does it matter anymore? People have been on the streets daily. Nothing is changing.
Adding a supernatural reveal on the top doesn't have the same effect. Even the reveal of a large space gun barely phased the population.
The only ones who felt something were those on the chopping block called 'elections'.
"CALLED IT! I FUCKING CALLED IT! I KNEW IT!" One of the agents in the meeting roared at the TV screen. He looked like someone who didn`t sleep for a couple of days. He had unkempt hair and a beard.
They were watching the new video the moment it came out. Mind you, there is around 6 to 8 hours time difference between East Europe and the East Coast. So they are watching this video around 6 in the morning.
Many of them had no time to sleep. They had been strategising for days about how to survive and ensure the survival of their jobs and country because time was ticking.
It doesn't help that Marcus treats them like a joke. The so-called World Conqueror made fools of them by attending school like it's the most common thing in the goddam world!
"You knew what?"
"I knew something was odd with Greeks! Those buggers never tell anything which is happening in their lands! But then a freaking airships enter their airspace! They do something and leave!
It turns out Marcus fucking Goldman conquered the afterlife when we were scratching our asses!" The agent has lost it. They finally got some intel on the supernatural side of things!
But it only brings more despair. The Inventor has Norse and Greeks under his thumb. That makes three pantheons in total.
"It's not like we can do anything. We need to discuss with him! Open some sort of dialogue!" Another one said the same thing he had been saying for days.
"DAMN! LIKE HE CARES!" He slammed his hand on the table.
"THEN what do you suggest we do!? Nuke him!? He has a fucking quantum computer!"
Once again, bickering started between hardcore patriots and more diplomatic agents as they all were losing their marbles.
"ENOUGH! We won't be doing anything!" The Minister of Defence had enough.
His loud voice caused everyone to look at him.
"We will simply observe until we have enough intelligence to act. This girl, whatever her goal, is helping us."
Everyone started to whisper among themselves. With a new objective in mind, everyone felt better already.
'We need to keep the doors open as long as we can. Building a spaceship to colonise another planet won't happen in a single year.'
The minister's one concern was living long enough for the ship to be finished and ready for launch.
~~~~~~Back to Sirin~~~~~~
The white-haired girl checked out the comments on her new video…
[Not surprising. I am not even shocked anymore.]
[I am more interested in this HUD feature! Are these for sale!?]
[DOES THAT MEAN IF I PRAY TO A HOT GODDESS SHE WILL HEAR MY VOICE!?]
The reply to this one was:
[Control your horny dude!]
However, the Herrscher was not happy with the reactions to the supernatural. It would seem people had already adjusted to the crazy.
It makes her goal of bringing despair that much harder.
'In that case, I can focus on jealousy.'
Part of her was not happy with this. Making people jealous is easy. Marcus has a lot of tools to make people feel that emotion.
'Hmm, unless I feed so much jealousy that people die from inside out.'
She recalled that such an outcome is possible. Just feed that person with bitterness until he dies from inside.
As the group walked back, a blue BMW drove over. The window lowered, revealing Marcus' father, Roland.
"Mark! Your good uncle found something in the scrapyard. I think you want to see IT." The older Goldman said with a grin.
At that moment, the inventor had a look of realisation. He recalled something, or more like remembered something.
"Let's go!"
Marcus swiftly got in the passenger seat. However, the issue was that the car had not enough seats for all the girls.
"I'm Sorry, girls, but some of you will have to go home," Roland said with a sigh.
"It's fine. Tirpitz and I can go home." Enterprise said with a small smile. It's a natural dislike for a warship to be in a small moving box like a car.
"I agree we will return on our own." The Battleship said with an agreeing nod.
Quinella, Gu Yuena and Sirin ended up taking the back.
"You three know we are going to a car scrap yard?" Marcus reminded them with a sigh. He might have created these gorgeous specimens, but they do not need to visit such a 'manly' place.
"It's fine for me~ I am collecting content for another video!" Sirin swiftly told her reasons.
"And I am Marcus' assistant." The platinum-haired AI-turned-girl clarified her position.
"And I wish to see Master in his natural environment," the dragoness said bluntly.
Her response caused Roland to laugh. It sounded like Marcus was some sort of animal required to be observed in a forest or jungle.
That laughter caused her to get self-conscious.
Regardless, the group proceeded to drive towards the town's outskirts, where large buildings and hangars were located.
The ladies already noticed that the road quality here had dropped considerably. It was so bad that Marcus' father needed to drive around carefully, as the puddles were deep enough to damage the car's suspension if they drove through them.
It was obvious that no one cared about this part of the town.
The trip didn't last long, as they arrived at a car parking lot.
All sorts of cars were parked here; one would think this place was a supermarket, but they were far from it.
These cars belonged to people working here, and it was quite a bit! This place was the biggest scrapyard in this part of the district. The owner of this place was Marcus' uncle—the very same uncle who sold Marcus' father that totalled BMW.
The very same BMW, which can now break dance and be part of the Transformers cast, if need be.
In his past life, Marcus visited this place often. He would buy cheap parts and even totalled cars, which he would fix, tune-up, and then sell.
That was until he went abroad to Germany.
He was excited because there was a chance he would finally get his second car!
With all the war nonsense, he completely forgot about his 'baby'!
The group left the vehicle once the car arrived at its 'employee' spot. Being part of the family, people have perks like parking the car close to the entrance.
"Follow me, son."
Marcus, like a good son, followed his father.
First, they passed a special bridge that weights scrap metal deliveries which passes through. Such a bridge is because people are getting paid for the weight they bring. But this is for scrap metal.
Such a thing is the last thing Marcus would be interested in!
No, they passed it through and walked deeper into the scrapyard. Quinella grimaced, seeing oil puddles and 'carcasses' of kitchen furniture, such as fridges, cookers, and microwaves.
The sounds of metal being cut are everywhere. In the distance, a big smelter melts metal inside an old building. This building looked abandoned, and the missing windows only added to that.
Before arriving at where Marcus' uncle stores old cars, they pass several mountains of metal scraps.
Marcus could see some Audi, Mercedes, Peugeot and other cars from the 90s.
It was like a time machine for the Inventor when he saw these cars.
"Those are some old cars."
"Ha! I was driving one just a couple of years ago!" Roland snorted when his son said that!
With his tech, he can easily make these cars last forever!
Marcus didn't comment anymore. He sounded like an ass.
"Anyway, follow me. These are not the ones we came to see." Roland motioned to continue following him.
The inventor nodded as they continued to walk deeper, entering a hangar with piles of cars 'skeletons'—well, more like the frames of cars.
"Mark!"
A familiar voice of Marcus' uncle got his attention.
The man was oily and dressed in torn black clothes. He wore an old Chicago Bulls hat—the same hat from the 1990s. The inventor's lips twitched when he saw the hat, which was almost as old as his current biological body.
His uncle greeted his father before walking over to the Inventor.
"Uncle, I heard you had something for me!" The pair's hands shook. Marcus ignored the oily hand. He kind of got nostalgic just from getting oil on his hand.
"Yes. Come here, I uncovered it by accident. I honestly forgot that it was here. I got it in the early 1990's!"
The trio walked away and ignored the girls. Quinella and Sirin were baffled by Marcus' uncle's behaviour.
"Is it just me, or is his whole family just weird?" Sirin commented after seeing this. The girl even briefly forgot that she was filming the whole thing.
"...Yeah." Even the AI-turned-girl agreed.
"I would say he is smart, as he would ask our Emperor at the right time." Only Gu Yuena, not clouded by their 'pride', could see through this act.
"He is, after all, Marcus' mother's brother. He built this place even while pursuing his hobbies, just like our Emperor. He knows when to ask." Gu Yuena explained with crossed arms.
"Hmm, I suppose you are right." Quinella slowly nodded. She had noticed that Marcus' mother could be manipulative, just like her son.
As the trio discussed the extended Goldman family, the trio of males arrived at the specific car frame.
"Holy!" Roland didn't know the specifics before arriving here, so he was also surprised to see it!
"Yeah, do you know how rare this one is on this side of the pond? Getting one before 1991 was already impossible; even then, this model was close to thirty years old."
What they were discussing was a 1966 Mustang GT. Well, a frame of it.
"I am more interested in how one ended here in the first place," Marcus chipped in as his hand stroked the frame. The Inventor recalled how he had made this car all red last time but had no idea how he would make it this time.
"Mafia. There is one who still has a Shelby that is almost as old as this one. He even lives close to where my school used to be," Roland explained to his son.
Marcus blinked at his father a couple of times.
Now that he mentioned it, he recalled a black Shelby visiting the auto shop.
It was the same car as in the movie with Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie. He can't remember the name but recalled the main car.
'I could just use my powers to recall. But that's just cheating.'
He chuckled internally. Well, it was more like he wanted to rewatch the movie. Recalling everything destroys the whole point.
"Regardless, do you want this frame? Because I will throw this into the smelter with the rest of the old things."
Uncle's voice brought him back from memory lane.
"Yeah. I will be taking it with me. I needed a new source of entertainment." With a nod, Marcus smiled at his uncle.
"Fantastic. We can arrange for someone to pick it up."
"No need. Dad, we can take this to your auto shop." Solomon's successor swiftly arranged where he wanted this frame moved.
"Ha! Running from your mother?"
"In a way, I can also test out a few new things in your place. After all, it's your workshop, not mine." Marcus smiled wickedly at his father.
"True. I expect some retrofits. Those bots are useful little handymen." Roland happily agreed, then looked at his brother-in-law.
"You should get some of those too! They can help you sort out your scrap metal!"
"That's a great idea."
'I still need to look for that 80s Audi Quattro buried somewhere here.'
Marcus recalled that first four-wheel sports car somewhere here. His father used to have it. It was a silver one—a beast with a beautiful engine sound.
For a second, he nearly drooled for such an opportunity.
~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~
Ravel's Russia was waging endless war in her simulated Earth.
Her forces have captured the whole of Europe, forcing China to capitulate as fuel and food reserves have dwindled.
With conflicts in the Middle East, China could not import fuel. With the declaration of war, the 'people of Han' quickly raised that white flag.
With additional manpower secured, the Bear turned its gaze to the eagle.
First was the elimination of its claws. Ravel utilised her prototype nuclear torpedoes to sink the carrier groups. When people think of nukes, they think of rockets.
But this is where she utilised Russian engineering towards submarines. Why rockets if they can use torpedoes?
Her enemy is ships, so she sinks them like any other ship. She creates a tsunami big enough to drown a carrier.
With the creation of Poseidon torpedoes, Ravel attacked every carrier group.
In the process, she has flooded the East and West Coasts. With 'claws' destroyed, the Bear can cross into Alaska.
Over the 'years' in this simulation, Ravel has increased the military-industrial complex by over 300%. Shells, ammo, and rockets—they had mountains of those.
With nearly 'limitless' raw materials and fuel, Russia's only issue was manpower. Yes, Russia has close to 300 million people, but that's not enough for world conquest. She needed China or India.
With China secured, she has her manpower. The Korean War should have taught Americans that technology doesn't necessarily win wars.
Americans don't have it unless it's on a sci-fi level like her Lord's faction. So when more than 500 million soldiers cross over to Alaska, there should be warning bells for American forces. Such an amount is nearly double their entire population.
With mass-produced tanks, jets, and attack helicopters, Ravel's crossing of the Bering Strait was the biggest event she ever did.
It was an event even the AI observed closely. One could say that Artificial Intelligence was impressed by the performance of the blonde devil girl.
With such an achievement, the next simulation will be even harder. Technocracy needs to see her limits.
As the forces processed over to the North American continent, the Russians remembered that a country by the name of Canada existed.
The army was confused for a second when they saw the red and white flag for a second.
But it lasted for a second as the men swiftly steamrolled through whatever American-bought tech they had.
Before long, cities like Vancouver and Toronto were experiencing artillery shells.
In the meantime, supply lines began to be established. Ravel was proud of her management skills. That means she trained her troops to develop supply lines quickly.
She prepared millions of people who started building a train bridge over the Bering Strait.
Even if the initial attack on the Americans fails, she has projects in place to keep Alaska secured.
"Tsarina, we have secured Vancouver. American forces are still in disarray after losing the East Coast," The Commander-General told the blonde devil, who smirked when she heard that.
Her torpedo project was under wraps for a long time. Everyone thought she was developing hypersonic missiles.
She even fed the intelligence agencies with 'juicy' bits and pieces.
There were even dummy tests in which satellites picked up these Supersonic missiles.
From what she has heard, Americans have focused on developing measures against these missiles.
It's fine, as by the time they realised something was off, a nearly kilometre-tall wave had slammed into the East Coast.
Killing most of the command in one fell swoop.
When chain command is restored, most of the Northern part of North America will be under her command.
"Of course they are. We must abuse their belief that we won't do things beyond a certain point. Not everyone signed those papers which dictated the rules of war." Ravel chuckled while twirling with her favourite fan.
The general slightly trembled when she casually told him about killing close to a hundred million people with a man-made tsunami.
"Since they are in disarray, we should use ballistic missiles to destroy key military infrastructure."
"Even if the command is in disarray, the anti-air system is still in use."
"That is why we shall destroy things left on East and West Coast.
Just because we killed all the soldiers with water doesn't mean the infrastructure was destroyed. I want those gone. After that, we can send soldiers from Europe and Hawaii."
The blonde said that she moved her black Queen piece from Alaska to the Great Lakes area while her bishop, who was in Hawaii, moved closer to the West Coast. The same can be said about her knight, who was in Spain and moved closer to the East Coast.
This move was pincer.
The tsunami had cleaned the coastlines; now, it was time to sweep.
'Not much is left. I wonder if my Lord is pleased with my progress.'
Ravel thought to herself, with some anxiety in her eyes. She is trying to be as good as she can, as ruthless as she can! The better she is at this game, the better her prospects are!
~~~~~~Sirin~~~~~~
The white-haired girl looked amused as she heard that Marcus was sending his flagship over to the scrapyard.
She returned to her filming.
She realised that his whole faction was nothing more than a way to satisfy his desires and needs. The girl had noticed this before, but now that the war is over, he uses his stuff for the smallest things.
Need to carry a car frame? Let's call a 230-metre-long warship to help with that!
"Do you even need your warship here? You a military base less than a hundred kilometres away from here." She pointed out that fact to the viewers.
"And? I designed these, so I might as well use it." He said that while pulling out his phone.
"Aurora, send down a package of Aurora bots for my uncle as payment for the car frame," Marcus instructed his AI.
Sirin smiled upon hearing that. It was just like Gu Yuena said. His uncle smiled as well. Less than five minutes later, a meteorite-like object entered the atmosphere. Midway, it slowed down and elegantly landed in the area with the most space.
With a loud hiss, it opened up, revealing stored Aurora bots.
Segments of the storage area moved and released the bots from their hold.
Marcus and the group walked over to the construct, and he explained what this thing was.
"You don't need to worry about the maintenance or energy they use. I designed them to be self-sufficient." As he said, the bots started to stand up.
"Impressive. I suppose I don't need labour anymore," his uncle said with a raised eyebrow.
"Eh? I guess? I mean, it's your workplace; you decide. I only send these to improve and retrofit some of the stuff. That building can be reused, and the hangar can be expanded.
These bots can do it for you."
"Yeah, you should see what they did to the house." Roland chipped in. These bots are so convenient!
Marcus slightly frowned as he realised he was making his family into lazy bums! He created these mechs to build big stuff in space!
But then he recalled how the army and Nasa created a bunch of things not meant for house use originally; now they have stuff like microwaves and touch screens.
"I see- I see, I can use these for heavy lifting." Marcus' uncle looked away towards all those cars placed one on another.
The inventor already knows what he is thinking.
"Yes, they can do that too."
As the group discussed cheap labour, a large object floated over. It was the Confiscator, which had arrived here on Marcus' whim.
When Marcus saw his warship, he lifted his hands and imagined the much larger Solomon-Class Super Star Destroyer he was planning for the future.
His true reason for summoning his ship is to see its size. It's one thing to draw on the paper, and another to experience the scale. He might have told Sirin it was a whim. In a way, it was, but it was more like seeing the depth.
'Once it rolls out, it will darken the very skies, even in orbit.'
Part of him was very excited about the massive Destroyer, but there was still the issue of the main cannon. What should it be? A positron cannon? A wave beam? He doesn't want another Als Almadel Salomonis. He already has a multipurpose cannon. It's a destroyer; it should destroy.
"What is with that thoughtful look?" Golden Orange eyes got in the middle of his vision. The Herrscher turned Youtuber is becoming much more relaxed around him after the Pizza 'treaty'.
"Nothing. I am just thinking about types."
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