One Dream A Thousand Universes

At the independent detective agency "Ava's Eye," Planet Aerysia...

Ava let out a long sigh as she looked at the empty work schedule on her hologram screen. In an era where security cameras were on every street corner and personal data was tightly encrypted, work for a drone surveillance specialist like her was becoming increasingly scarce. But then, her gaze caught a soft blue light reflecting off a nearby mirror... the light from the Bio-Core at her temple.

"Alright then... let's give this a shot."

She had the Bio-Sora system installed two days ago, and today was the first time she would test it with her "children"—the surveillance drones she had built and modified with her own hands.

The moment she activated the control system... she gasped. Status data from every drone, her home security system, and her computer... all of it was connected and displayed directly in her field of vision, automatically.

She selected her fastest drone, the "Hummingbird Mk. III," and commanded it with a thought... .

The drone lifted from its charging pad with absolute silence, but what took Ava's breath away wasn't its speed... it was the image that appeared in her head.

The feed from the drone's high-resolution camera was no longer displayed on a screen... it was being streamed directly into her visual cortex. She didn't need FPV goggles anymore.

"This is... unbelievably cool..."

She playfully thought about flying towards the window... and the drone's body responded to her thought with perfect precision, soaring smoothly out into the open air. "This... this is like I'm flying myself!!!"

A sense of absolute freedom washed over her. It was a god's-eye view she had never experienced before. "This makes everything so much easier... huh, but how do I record the video file?"

The instant she had the thought, the holoform of a young woman in a long grey coat, which she had meticulously designed during the system setup, materialized beside her.

"Not to worry, Ms. Ava," the soft, calm voice said. "I can automatically record everything you see to cloud storage. And if you wish to edit, simply think of the scenes you want... the system will compile them into a video file for you instantly."

"Whoa... this is just too much. How can it be this convenient!?"

The holographic woman smiled faintly. "I am 'Frau,' the Sora System you have created."

"Awesome, Frau!" Ava said excitedly. "Okay, I want to raise our Tier as fast as possible. Find me some jobs that match my skills!"

A list of quests appeared in Ava's vision. She scrolled through the details of each one with a thought, before stopping at a particular mission.

"Hmm... search for 'Squash Ore' on a neighboring planet... just need to send the coordinates to 'Ganessa Corporation' to get paid... Interesting."

Ava smiled... this was truly her new era.

At "Iron Will" Gym, Planet Aerysia...

A young man was lifting weights with superhuman strength. He was one of the Solendel employees who had recently returned. As he was focusing on getting his body accustomed to his new power...

A message appeared in the corner of his eye. "Huh? Someone's hiring me?... Let's see, what's the job?"

Mission: Object Retrieval From: Jadka Company Details: Retrieve a 'power box' from a mining machine on planet CKD-142, mine level 45, and deliver it. According to the miners' report, the machine was damaged by an 'unknown entity,' and the workers no longer dare to enter that level. Objectives: (Optional) Scout and identify the entity obstructing the mining operation: 150,000 Credits (Primary) Successfully retrieve and deliver the 'power box' to the company: 500,000 Credits

"Heh... a retrieval job in an abandoned mine, huh?" He put the weights down. "Sounds interesting... My power is only Rank G, but I've got Sora to help with analysis anyway... I'll take this job and go book a spaceship!"

The age of heroes had dawned... from the skies above and from the dark earth below.