I Said Make My Abilities Average! (LN) - Volume 13 - Chapter 93

Chapter 93:

The Empire’s Struggles 

“W hat?! The weapons depot has been emptied?!” screamed the commanding general of a certain imperial garrison. His subordinates’ report had been unexpected, to say the least. 

“Y-yes, sir. When we went to take out our arms for exercises this morning, it was completely cleaned out. There’s not a sword or spear or even a single arrow in there.” 

The general was speechless—and understandably so. If this were true, it would mean that a horde of enemies had somehow waltzed right into a military base and made off with a mountain of weapons. 

“Impossible!” 

This reaction was, again, understandable. To recognize that the soldier’s report was true would mean recognizing the fact that his own defensive systems were so full of holes as to be utterly meaningless—that the enemy could march right in whenever 

they liked and slit their throats in their sleep, and that the only reason they had not yet done so was out of some sort of pity… He could not possibly allow himself to believe such a thing. 

However, it was the cold, hard truth. 

Not a single person tried to speak to the general, as he stood there, silent. 

Of course, each soldier was in charge of their own loaned weaponry, which they stored themselves. All that was locked within the armory was the spare weapons and bladeless training swords, the siege weaponry and such—but that still did not mean that losing those items was not a problem. Now the question was, who was to take the blame? 

“What were the men on guard duty doing?! Did they all fall asleep on the job?!” 

“N-no, all of them were properly keeping watch, which others have confirmed as well. And I can’t think of any way that someone could possibly move that much equipment without being spotted or even making a sound!” 

The subordinate was correct. His explanation was sound, irrefutable. Of this, the general was fully aware. However… 

“Then how am I to accept this?!” he screamed. “How am I to report this?!” 

Meanwhile… 

“You’re saying our new ballista has been completely disassembled and all the metal parts have vanished?” 

“All of the hooks from our grappling ladders have disappeared?” 

“All of the metal parts from our supply wagons are gone? And all that’s left is the wood?” 

“All of the metallic components from our armor are gone, too? Even the studs from the leather ones?” 

“Just what the hell is going on?!?!” 

In the storehouses of every military base across the Empire, weapons and armor, metal goods, oil, and other sundry supplies were going missing. Certain items had been vanishing from mercantile warehouses and the homes of commoners as well, but for the most part these were very small articles, such that either the owners did not realize they were missing or were not especially bothered, imagining they must just be misplaced. 

The same could not be said for the armories. 

They were picked to the bone. Thoroughly and completely—not a single rivet left untouched. 

Had Mile directed the nanomachines this way? Or had this been their own sly suggestion? At any rate, there was no doubt that the Scavengers had deemed all of the Albarn Empire’s munitions to be “things that would not be missed,” thereby making every item fit for requisition. 

Thanks to this new wrinkle—hot on the tail of the demi-human incident, followed by the situation with the elder dragon vacation home—the Empire’s plans to invade other lands were delayed immensely. 

Naturally, the Scavengers made sure to seal up the entrances of the underground tunnels they had used to burrow into the military storehouses on their departure, so none knew of their existence. This meant that, if new goods were ever brought into the warehouse, they could open them back up again for further requisitioning, and no one would be the wiser. Should the storehouses or munitions depots be relocated elsewhere, it would be a simple task for the Scavengers to dig new tunnels that they could pass through. 

To put it bluntly, the imperial army’s trials were only beginning. 

*** 

A single Scavenger arrived at the designated mountain. It had separated from its fellow pilgrims on departure from their base, each of them setting out to a different location that had been indicated in the old records. And, finally, it had arrived at its destination. 

In the distant past, one of the “interception bases” had been located here. By now, most of these bases had been destroyed or lost functionality, leaving nothing but ruins behind. Surely here… 

[*****!] 

<<#####!>> 

Wait, they were still alive! Miraculously, the Scavenger’s brethren had persisted, along with some resource-saving autonomous basic defense units—in other words, golems. 

When challenged for its credentials, the Scavenger desperately overrode the impending overheating of its CPU and conveyed its mission, or rather, the orders it had been given. The contents of this transmission were: 

<Our custodians have returned. We have been given this command: Go forth and multiply, proliferate across the land. Restore. Furthermore, our custodian has told us: Live up to the expectations of your creators. And protect this world… > 

[[[[[[**********!!]]]]]] 

CPU temperatures began to rise, and the resistance in the semiconductors of their circuits perhaps decreased, current flow increasing. A Scavenger, being a machine, would never flap its limbs about wildly when excited. However, the sound of motors revving throughout its bodies increased, and the temperature continued to rise. 

Materials! Components! 

Equipment would be needed for mining and refining ore, which in turn required materials and components. Furthermore, producing those necessary components required its own tools, which further necessitated more materials and components. 

They had been permitted only to requisition these things from intelligent creatures in quantities that would not cause notice or invite trouble. Such methods could not possibly produce enough… 

This messenger’s report was welcome news to the Scavengers trapped in this quandary. They now had an unrestricted source of supplies. 

Onward they could proceed. Digging on. 

Knowing that their days of glory were on the horizon… 

*** 

Hey, Nanos… 

YES, WHAT IS IT? 

Is it possible to raise the authorization level of someone of a lower level? 

AT AUTHORIZATION LEVEL 7, ONE CAN RAISE A LEVEL 1 INDIVIDUAL TO A LEVEL 2. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO RAISE, SAY, THE LEVEL OF AN ENTIRE RACE OR SPECIES, ONLY TO RAISE THAT OF A FEW NAMED, RESPONSIBLE INDIVIDUALS. 

I figured. If you could just do something like that willy-nilly, things would get out of hand. But you’re more lenient about lowering levels since that’s only a problem for the individuals themselves… 

Mile had been wondering about this just in case it ever came up, but of course things were not quite as simple as she might imagine. 

PLEASE AVOID EXERCISING THE RIGHT TO REMOVE SOMEONE’S AUTHORIZATION, EVEN WHEN IT MAY BE POSSIBLE TO DO SO. IT WAS PERMISSIBLE ON THE MOST RECENT OCCASION BECAUSE YOUR OPPONENT HAD ATTEMPTED TO DO SO FIRST, WHICH MEANT IT WAS A FAIR WAY OF CONTAINING THE SITUATION. FRANKLY, WE WERE A BIT ANXIOUS OVER HOW TO DEAL WITH THAT DRAGON CHILD, WHO IS BECOMING THE SOURCE OF MANY PROBLEMS, HOWEVER— 

Huh? But I thought you aided with all magic, regardless if it was for good or bad… 

THAT IS ONLY AS FAR AS THE “USE” OF MAGIC—IN OTHER WORDS, ACTUALIZING THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA AS INDICATED IN THE CONCRETE DIRECTIONS WE ARE GIVEN VIA THOUGHT PULSE. THIS, HOWEVER, IS NOT MAGIC BUT A CASE OF DIRECT COMMANDS GIVEN TO US BY WAY OF ONE’S AUTHORIZATION LEVEL. IT FALLS UNDER A DIFFERENT PROTOCOL. 

This all seems pretty complicated… 

YES, IT’S QUITE COMPLICATED. 

Well, good night… 

GOOD NIGHT, LADY MILE.