"I want your strongest stuff available," Asher said flatly, eyes locked on the glowing screen.
[Warning: Requested inventory includes classified equipment restricted to SS Rank operatives and above. Proceed?]
He leaned in slightly. "Did I stutter?"
[Merit Rank: Unrestricted Access Level (Temporary): Granted. Displaying classified inventory.]
The lighting in the room dimmed again. The interface shifted—sleeker, more minimalist.
Only a few items appeared this time, but each one pulsed with dangerous potential.
Horizon Blade (SSS+)
Forged from collapsed star-gold and crafted together by the best blacksmith, artificer, enhancer, and magician in the entire universe.
This blade didn't cut in the traditional sense—it erased. Anything it touched ceased to exist.
Cost: 250,000,000,000 SP
The item was cheat like, sure, but the price tag? Way overboard for him.
He couldn't even wrap his head around who could drop 250 billion star points on a single item.
"Don't show me anything over 55 million credits. I need gear that'll help me survive a giant monster. I'm going inside its stomach—so give me stuff to stay hidden and handle toxic gas."
[Affirmative. Filtering results to display only items under 55,000,000 credits.]
[Affirmative. Adapting results for hostile organic interior environments.]
=====
Living Armor: Venom Variant
Made from symbiotic creature strands recovered from a dead planet. It fused to the user, learning their movement, adapting on the fly. It could retract into his skin when not in use.
Cost: 17,500,000 SP
=====
Blood Pact Trigger (Personal Clone Escape)
Creates a one-use clone imbued with a tiny fragment of the user's essence—enough to misdirect . Good for buying time. Or faking a death.
Cost: 10,000,000 SP
=====
Phase Cloak MK-VI
A shimmering fabric woven from darkmatter-thread and spatial silks. It didn't just bend light—it warped reality around the user, making them undetectable even to living creatures that used spatial resonance to sense prey.
Cost: 25,000,000
=====
Bio-Neutral Field Capsule
A high-risk item. Once activated, it masked every biological signature: body heat, heartbeat, even cell respiration. It came with a warning label—prolonged use could cause organ stress or temporary coma.
Cost: 2,500,000 SP
=====
Bio-Sense Mask
Advanced respiratory and sensory filtration system. Protects against airborne pathogens, neurotoxins, and pheromone-based traps commonly found in living creatures.
Cost: 1,500,000 SP
=====
Bio Pulse Grenades
A compact device that releases a focused, localized pulse of corrosive energy. This wave accelerates the natural deterioration of biological tissue, causing rapid cellular breakdown and decay.
Cost : 1,000,000 SP
=====
There were dozens of items flashing across the screen. But he wasn't here to indulge in every shiny thing.
He settled on four essentials.
The Phase Cloak—his best bet for slipping past the beast's senses unnoticed.
The Bio-Neural Field Capsule—his last resort if he got caught. He could use it to fake death and buy himself some time.
Bio-Sense Mask—to filter out toxic gases.
And a handful of Bio Pulse Grenades— A perfect tool to create distractions.
With a final tap, he confirmed the purchase. The credits flew from his account, and a soft chime announced the successful transaction.
One by one, the items materialized, and he put them in his space bag.
.
.
.
.
.
The day of the expedition arrived.
Not just one big ship, but ten massive motherships were flying through space.
Each ship was loaded with weapons strong enough to destroy entire planets.
All ten were heading to the same spot—the place where the Astral Beast was heading.
This showed just how important the mission was.
People had been talking about the Astral Beast with fear and wonder, but now they would face it for real.
Inside his ship, Asher and the other S Ranks prepared for the mission.
Each node was massive—easily the size of a ten-wheeler truck.
Because no space-related gear worked near the beast, they had to handle everything manually.
They also had to equip the tools they'd need for the mission beforehand, since their space storage wouldn't work near the beast.
Seris had warned Asher that while he could use his space powers inside the beast to teleport around, he wouldn't be able to teleport out of it.
Also, only innate teleportation would work inside the beast—meaning Asher had to rely on his own ability.
Any teleportation from devices, which usually give off a specific signature, would likely trigger the beast's defenses.
A man stood up in front of the group.
"We're about to reach the danger zone. The motherships can't get too close."
"That means all of you S Ranks will have to carry the nodes manually—ten at a time."
Murmurs spread across the room.
The task sounded heavy—hauling nodes the size of ten-wheeler trucks—but in zero gravity, it wasn't as hard.
As long as one had the strength or power to give them a good push, space did the rest.
The man's eyes scanned the group. "If anyone can carry more, there will be bonus rewards waiting for you."
Hands shot up one after another.
"I can carry fifty at once!" one loud voice claimed, chest puffed out with pride.
"Fifty? Ha! I'm moving a hundred!" another smirked.
A third stepped forward, fingers twitching, eyes glowing faintly. With a subtle gesture, dozens of nodes hovered behind him, suspended in midair by sheer telekinetic force. "I can carry a thousand if it's in space"
Asher stayed silent, not volunteering.
As hands kept shooting up, showing off how many nodes they could carry at once, he stood apart—only carrying ten.
Some exchanged glances, their expressions souring.
"So that's it? Just ten?" one scoffed, voice dripping with disbelief. "Not exactly the bigshot we thought."
Another sneered, "Thought you were better than this. Guess you just have a pretty face."
He completely ignored their jeers, tuning them out like background noises.
Then, when the hangar doors slid open, he shot upward, stepping into the vast emptiness beyond. Searᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
'You gotta be kidding me.'
What he saw stopped him cold. No—not just him, but everyone who stepped out of their motherships.
The beast loomed before them like a living planet, its massive flesh was actually pulling them.
Comparing this thing to the titan he faced was like comparing an adult man to an ant. No... even that felt generous.
No wonder even SSS Ranks don't bother with this thing. One have to be insane—or desperate—to even try.
'Pantheon, are you really sure about this? 'Cause this feels like charging into a level 1000 boss… and I'm barely pushing level 100.'
(Don't worry, brat. Once I've reclaimed my power, not even its restrictions will be able to cage me. We'll vanish before it even realizes we were inside.)
The ancient dragon's words didn't calm him—not even a little.
But he had no choice now.
He needed to go through with it.
If Pantheon could regain its full power, having an SSS+ Rank ally wouldn't just help him reach the Center… it might be the key to surviving the Void itself.
After all, when it came to manipulating space, Ancient Dragons weren't just strong—they were almost unrivaled.
When the initial shock wore off, more and more S Ranks began flying toward it.
They carried over a million nodes between them.
But compared to the size of that creature, they were merely dots, like dust.
When they reached its border, they felt it—a crushing pressure pressing in, twisting their thoughts and messing with their minds.
The closer they got, the stronger the pressure grew.
By the time they were within a hundred meters, some had no choice but to form glowing barriers around themselves.
Meanwhile, Asher barely registered the pressure.
Compared to most, he was on a whole different level; strong enough to contend with SS+ ranks in terms of will power alone.
He landed on the beast's surface, and to his surprise, it felt like landing on a moon.
TAP!
TAP!
Kicking the ground, he felt the hard resistance beneath his foot. Even his strongest attack wouldn't pierce deep into its skin.
One by one, more people touched down on the beast's surface.
Following the detailed maps, they carefully planted the nodes, then soared back to their motherships to grab more.
The operation was from over.
While the others busied themselves, Asher activated his cloak ability, layering it with his own invisibility and stealth spells.
Silently, he flew toward the beast's massive tendrils—because the only way in was through its gaping mouth nestled right in the center.
SWOOOOSH!
He pushed himself harder, increasing his speed, fully aware of just how massive this place was.
'I'm close,'
Each tendril loomed ahead like a cluster of small planets stitched together, stretching out to form an unbroken line. He wasn't exaggerating.
If there was a silver lining, it was that passing through them would be easy—or so he thought.
The moment he neared the tendrils, the gravity spiked by a thousands of times, yanking him hard.
'Damn it!' he cursed
He pushed himself up, fighting the crushing pull that threatened to drag him under.
(Brat, find a good spot and let the gravity pull you straight down to its mouth,)
It was a crazy plan—but it made sense.
Pushing his power even higher, he fixed his gaze on the swirling vortex of flesh and jagged teeth.
'Here goes nothing,'
Without resistance, he let himself be pulled in, surrendering to the terrifying force drawing him deep inside.
In no time, he slipped inside its gaping mouth, where razor-sharp waves of air slammed against him.
Luckily, his barrier—fine-tuned and stronger after that fight with Raven—held steady, shielding him from the relentless onslaught as he plunged deeper and deeper into the beast's throat.
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