The duel was immediately halted due to the large crater left in the center of the stadium.
With an explosion, it seemed that a drainage pipe buried underground had been damaged, and water was gushing out in torrents.
“Please maintain order!”
“Don’t get up, keep your heads down!”
It looks like the police special forces were dispatched to the scene.
We curled up under our seats until the situation became clear.
“Did a meteor really fall from the sky?”
Saetbyeol, looking bewildered, zoomed in with her phone as much as possible.
“We even received a disaster text.”
The disaster alert warning us to be cautious of the meteor felt like it came way too late.
What good would caution do?
Boom!
Before long, the stadium’s scoreboard screen switched back to the drone’s perspective.
A bit away from the explosion site, Monica and Larson were wrapped in a large blanket, conversing with medical personnel.
Then, the bomb squad arrived, driving a vehicle into the stadium.
They were meticulously investigating the area, including the meteor fragments Monica had casually picked up earlier.
It seemed they were considering the possibility that a destruction spell might be engraved on the rock.
Fortunately, a reassuring announcement for the citizens was heard.
[Ahem, testing, one, two, three. It appears that a meteor has collided with San Shiro Stadium. Thankfully, the meteor is not large, and as of now, no casualties or injuries have been confirmed. Furthermore, there are no additional hazards due to the meteor impact, and we would like to reiterate that the situation is fully under control. Further information regarding the current situation will be provided through continuous announcements.]
“Wow, what’s going on? This is epic.”
“Is the National Defense Force not functioning properly?”
“Does the National Defense Force prevent meteor collisions?”
I was skeptical about Professor Cheon’s comments.
The barrier couldn’t be that omnipotent.
“All national defenses are linked to an asteroid collision warning system called Atlas. Small meteors usually can’t pass through the defenses, and larger ones are either shot down or give a 15-minute evacuation warning.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
Professor Cheon added that it could be because the size of the meteor was ambiguous.
The largest meteor fragment found at the duel site seemed to be about the size of a soccer ball.
Even a barrier that typically reduces damage would not have kept Monica safe from such a deadly projectile.
The drone took close-up shots of the meteor.
Its surface was rough and uneven, with a dark gray to black metallic sheen.
Seeing a meteor up close for the first time, I stood there dumbfounded, staring at the scoreboard.
“I wonder how much a meteor like that would cost.”
“Why?”
“I’m just curious.”
“At least 1 billion won, right? If it’s a mana stone, they can ask whatever they want.”
“Wow, that’s so expensive! Shouldn’t we hurry and go pick it up?”
Saetbyeol’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Milano, the stadium owner, will probably keep it. But knowing them, they’ll likely use it all for repair costs.”
[Ahem, we have an announcement. The Europe 2053 Super Cup match has been canceled for the safety of the players. Audience members, please exit in an orderly fashion. All exits are safely opened, and we ask that you move calmly as directed by the guides. Thank you.]
“We just have to leave like this? What a letdown.”
Cheon Saetbyeol pouted as she turned her head toward the meteor.
*
That night, after the absurd event at the stadium, citizens, suffering from a sense of safety complacency, were busy showing off videos of the meteor impact.
[San Shiro Stadium Meteor Impact Video]
– “The meteor is barely visible! 😱”
– “If you slow it down to 0.1x, you can faintly see a line.”
– “Are they refunding the Super Cup final tickets?”
– “Like they’d do that, haha!”
– “You can consider your ticket as an experience of the meteor!”
– “Much more valuable, right?”
Well, it’s rare to see a meteor falling, so witnessing the impact in person was something else.
I flopped down on the living room sofa and watched the news.
[The Italian Ministry of Defense held an emergency press conference today to announce the cause analysis results of the San Shiro Stadium meteor impact.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the meteor collision incident occurred due to an unexpected natural phenomenon combined with technical factors. It was revealed that the Atlas asteroid collision warning system failed to detect the meteor due to the unexpected influence of a solar wind storm as the meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere. Simultaneously, an aerial training was taking place in the Italian airspace, temporarily shutting down the national defense barriers. During this gap, the meteor bypassed the defenses and struck San Shiro Stadium.
The Ministry of Defense clarified that the incident was unrelated to any malicious acts or terrorism.]
Shortly after, the door opened, and Monica walked in.
She had a very tired look on her face, but my first thought was how relieved I was that she was safe.
“Ugh, I never thought I’d have to worry about falling meteors in my life.”
She carelessly tossed her coat aside and started complaining.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine; no injuries. I did get hit by some fragments, but the barrier held up well.”
“That’s a relief. Did they say anything about the match?”
“I don’t know; they might just settle for a draw. I was about to win the match…!”
“Really? Honestly, I thought it was pretty even.”
“No, Na-me! Remember when I hesitated at the end? If I had just gone for the attack like I was supposed to, I would have definitely landed the hit, but something just felt off, so I took a step back!”
“Okay, okay! Let’s say you won then.”
“Ugh, that feels unjust! Aaaaaah!”
She let out a huge roar in the living room.
Then, she rummaged through a plastic bag and pulled something out to show me.
“What do you think this is?”
“It’s too small; I can barely see it. Oh? Is that a meteor fragment?”
“Correct! Hehe, we were allowed to take a small piece each, so Larson and I each grabbed one!”
“Can I touch it?”
“Let Na-me try it first, go ahead.”
“Give it to Na-me.”
“Make it cuter!”
“… Give it to Na-me!”
“Cuter!”
“Are you angry?”
I fiddled with the precious meteor piece in my hand, shaking it up and down.
“It’s too small to gauge the density. They should have given us a bigger chunk.”
“But I brought the shiniest piece back.”
It was much lighter than iron and felt similar to aluminum or magnesium.
“I thought it was an iron meteorite, but it’s not. What’s the composition?”
“Peridotite?”
“Just your typical stony meteorite.”
“And there was something about boron and nitrogen.”
“Hm? Boron nitride?”
“Oh yeah!”
“Is that right…? Wait, how is that meteorite material?”
Usually, stony meteorites are composed of silicate minerals, while iron meteorites consist of iron and nickel, phosphorus, and carbon.
“Why, is that strange?”
“Well, I don’t know much about that field either… but boron nitride seems a bit out of place, don’t you think?”
And it turned out my assumption had not been wrong at all.
Once again, local Italian news reported a shocking fact.
[The analysis of the meteor that fell on San Shiro Stadium confirmed the presence of boron nitride. Experts are astounded by the discovery of a substance that is almost non-existent in natural state. An additional investigation into the origins and occurrence of this meteor is set to be conducted.]
I held the meteor fragment under the LED light.
Boron nitride itself is not particularly special.
It’s used as a protective film and coating material in industrial applications and is also hard enough to be used in cutting tools, like diamonds.
It’s relatively difficult to manufacture, but you could easily purchase it online for a few thousand dollars per 100 grams.
‘Something feels familiar…’
I kept getting a sense of déjà vu.
“Here.”
“Whew, I think I’ll embed this as a keepsake in a necklace!”
Holding onto my uneasy feelings, I returned the meteor fragment to Monica.
Ding ding!
A call came through to Monica.
“Hello? Yes, this is Monica Ricci.”
Upon answering, she quickly turned serious and started yelling.
“No way, what are you talking about? Just hang up!”
Her Italian gestures sliced through the air.
“Don’t curse.”
“I didn’t curse! Ugh… Do you know what they just called about? They want me to return the meteor, saying they’ll swap it with something else.”
“Monica must’ve picked it up because it looked clearly high-purity. That could well be the most valuable part.”
“Hehe, I’ve got an eye for these things. No matter what happens! I’m absolutely not giving it back!”
After looking up more online, I learned that a naturally preserved raw stone was found only once in the Tibetan Plateau on Earth.
It seems to form deep within the mantle.
Because of the rarity of the meteorite, many people ascribe value to it, but ultimately, it’s just a rock.
“Oh, Monica, you should test if it’s a mana stone. Then it might be worth a lot.”
Did this meteor weigh about 15kg?
If it also possessed mana conductivity, it could potentially be sold in the hundred billion range.
“Yikes, what if it blows up?”
“Just be gentle. Really gentle.”
Monica wore a hesitant expression as she slowly infused a tiny bit of aura into it.
As her confidence grew, she kept pouring more aura, but the meteor fragment showed no reaction.
“Eh, it turned out to be a fluke. It wasn’t a mana stone. Na-me, want to give it a shot?”
“It’d probably be the same for me. Mana stones don’t really discriminate.”
I received the meteorite back and held it in my palm while releasing my aura.
And then it happened.
Brrrrr!
[It’s cold.]
“…!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Didn’t you hear that sound?”
Shaking her head, Monica denied.
I tried infusing again, and once more, I could faintly hear the same cold voice.
“Na-me, I need to head in to pack up. The match results were pretty silly, but thanks for your help. And thanks for treating my neck too.”
“Okay…”
“If you get bored later, come to our room! Let’s play PlayStation with Saetbyeol!”
“Uh… I’ll drop by later.”
“Finally, it’s over! Bring me a cream cake, chef! From today on, I’ll indulge in all the bad nutrients!”
Left alone in the living room, my mind became blank.
There were so many memories saved that my head felt jumbled.
I could never forget the voice of someone precious to me.
On the TV program, experts estimated the value of the meteorite at several billion.
‘That’s not what matters right now…’
The meteorite is just a shell.
I opened the window and looked up at the winter night sky as the snowstorm raged.
Boron nitride is just a shell.
High above in the distant universe, a Dragon’s Egg was cracking open.
Perhaps Ruohan had crash-landed on Earth long ago.
“Oh? Come to think of it, I think a rock that looks similar to that fell in our village too?”
The benefactor of Ruohan, Long Yangyang, suddenly approached from behind and placed her hand on my shoulder.
