Dante felt enlightened. No wonder...! No wonder, those aliens had acted so crazy back then. It was a good thing he didn't wait to see how the situation would play out because he likely would not have his autonomy anymore by that point.
"So how did you get here so fast?" Dante asked the crucial question.
"I was actually coming here to refuel for a return journey to The Central System to report back for debriefing. Can you imagine my shock when I hear an unregistered pure human appeared on a random street on that common planet?"
Beatrice shook her head. "I'd received many false alarms from enemy factions trying to bait me into a trap, for every pure human is obliged to help or rescue each other by law. However, a quick search showed that unique bacteria was detected, and that got me suspicious, so I ordered a blockade on the planet and came down myself."
"I'd only just gotten to where you were last seen when you suddenly popped out of nowhere. If I didn't identify you as my target, I would have snapped your neck thinking I was being ambushed again."
Hearing this, Dante grabbed his throat instinctively and couldn't help but feel cold within. How close was he to death in that split second?
"Mhm, onto the next point. Mr. Dante, do you understand that since you are not registered in any database, have no rights as a citizen, and are a fugitive of Planet Etonia, your future is quite bleak?" Beatrice asked while scrolling through the holographic projection before her.
"Look, Beatrice, just hit me with whatever offer you have, and let's not do this. I'm grateful for the information about pure humans, but I want to know the next step so I can plan ahead." Dante replied with a shake of his head.
Beatrice finally paused her movements and then looked at Dante head-on for the first time since she sat down. Her smarmy grin found its way back on her face and she sighed.
"Fine, fine, the plan to scare you into submission didn't work. I'll then lay it out for you as raw as possible."
Beatrice sat up and folded her arms. "You're a pure human with very good genetics, so you are valuable to both our enemies and to us. We're prepared to give you an identity in the universe as a resident of the earth who is currently orphaned."
"Apart from that, you will be given a weekly allowance of 300 Etrans to spend as you wish. You will be given a villa on earth in any continent of your choice, of which all maintenance and operation costs will be paid by the Human Council."
"You will also be sent into the Unique Batch of Cadets in the Eternal Academy, the number 1 academy in the universe for all forms of education relating to military, economics, technology, entertainment, and especially, exploration."
Dante took a deep breath. He might not understand the value of everything he was given, but he was no fool to know that this was definitely a good deal. The question was, was it truly good enough or was this a lowball offer?
"Explain to me the value of all these things in detail as if I am totally ignorant of everything, having lived under a rock," Dante asked as he gazed at Beatrice sharply.
"Uhh… why would I do that? Wouldn't you then be able to make the smartest choice for yourself? How can I enjoy exploiting you then?!" Beatrice retorted with an expression of unwillingness.
Dante glanced at her calmly and then asked. "Is there a terminal here where my AI chip can interface and acquire information?"
Beatrice froze and then sighed with defeat. "Fine, whatever. Listen closely because I won't explain this stuff a second time."
Beatrice leaned forward and her eyes glinted. Dante followed her movements and made sure to focus.
Beatrice opened her mouth and began explaining.
"Habababahahabububah!" She bellowed majestically.
Dante sat there in confusion like an idiot, wondering if his ears were playing tricks. Making sure he wasn't under the effect of any hallucinogen and seeing the satisfied expression on Beatrice's face, he flew into a rage.
"What the hell! What was that?!"
Beatrice seemed offended. "What do you mean what was that? I just explained everything you wanted to know."
Dante was speechless.
Beatrice looked bored and leaned into her seat. "So, what's your decision?"
Dante glared at her and shook his head. "I refuse. Send me back to planet Etonia and let me serve my sentence."
Dante stood up and made to leave, which stunned Beatrice. She froze for a split second until she literally leaped up into the air like a cat that had seen a snake.
"Wait, what do you think you're doing?!"
She quickly rushed up and appeared in front of Dante, blocking his way with both arms outstretched.
"If you go back there, you will be milked every day… like a cow! Do you want that?" She asked hurriedly.
Dante looked her right in the eye. "Moo. Now move out of my way."
Beatrice was left speechless. She pulled Dante back to the lunge and seemed to sober up slightly.
"Fine, I will stop playing around. I'll explain the value of the things offered you."
Beatrice locked her fingers around her right kneecap and became more formal.
"Firstly, an identity of earth certifies you as a pure human from the origin planet and one whose genetics is very pure. This will make enemy forces want you more, but they will be even more deterred to do anything because they will understand how important you are to us."
"Secondly, a weekly allowance of 300 Etrans is really high income for a single person. The Etran is the universe's strongest and leading currency and its value cannot easily be explained if you don't have a concept of currency in the universe. All I can say is that the more you interact with markets and economies, you will understand just how pampered receiving 300 Etrans A WEEK is."
Beatrice pointed to herself. "I am one of the 100 Admirals of the Prime Civilization's fleet, subject only to the authority of the Fleet Commander and the Human Council above him, yet I earn 30,000 Etrans a year as official salary."
"Thirdly, A villa on earth is precious. Even when we were confined to the planet, the price of land was touted as the only truly appreciative asset. Now that we have more beings among pure humans than can even fit on the planet, every inch of land is worth millions of Etrans and this is not an exaggeration."
"Finally, the Eternal Academy is where everyone who is someone went to study and train, including me. I was part of the Elite Batch during my time, and graduated with honors."
"I cannot easily describe the value of the Eternal Academy to you. It's not just knowledge, information, connections, or even grants, but the more direct benefits like special AI Chips, unique Bionics and Psionics for specialized students, and most importantly, the Zero Gate."
"Long story short, the Zero Gate is a special wormhole that leads into a small planet that is barren. It is divided into 10 sectors and students are forced to compete for the Fruit of Condensation produced by a special tree in each sector."
"The Fruit of Condensation is the most valuable item in the universe, something that is priceless in Etrans. That is because it is the only guaranteed way for a person to gain a superpower."
Dante's heart caught at this point. So far, his heart had been beating the more Beatrice explained, but this particular one made him feel an explosion mentally.
A superpower! Something that Dante had gotten only through the blessing of a high-dimensional lifeform could be acquired by chewing a fruit? Damn!
"A few questions. Firstly, how often is the Zero Gate open, or how often do the fruits condense? " Dante calmed himself down and asked prudently.
Beatrice raised an eyebrow. "Once every year, around December."
Dante thought about it and felt this was good. 10 fruits a year meant that ten superpowers were born each year. Even if the superpowers were overpowered types, it was not enough to do anything.
Even if this was brought to earth with 7 billion people, 10 a year was not enough to do anything. Assuming every earth human could live 100 years, it meant that they could only have a superpower for 100 years before dying.
So assuming 100 years was a generation, by the time generation 1's first batch died, there would be 1,000 people in the world with superpowers.
Yeah, that was nothing. And when Dante considered this on the scale of the entire universe with numbers that he couldn't even fathom, it was even worse.
Dante suddenly realized that his good treatment and offer so far were not exactly due to being a pure human, but might be due to his alleged superpower.