The brightness fades, and Kaisler stumbles forward onto loose sand, his boots sinking slightly. The sky above is a ruthless expanse of white-hot sun, beating down on endless dunes. A dry wind howls, whipping grains of sand against his face like tiny needles.

He exhales sharply, shielding his eyes with his arm.

Kaisler: "Damn… is every planet in this multiverse just a giant desert?"

He takes a slow look around. No signs of life. No landmarks. Just the empty, scorching wasteland stretching endlessly in all directions.

Then, a realization dawns on him.

Kaisler: "Wait… what the hell am I even supposed to do here? wait did i get a list like Buddy. oh my god why didnt i just take my time why did i rush into this shit

Kaisler groaned, rubbing his temples as the realization hit him.

"Last time I was here, I was looking for a Multiverse Core... but that was a low-level Nexus job. Buddy was with me then. That means this mission is different—I think I need proof that I wiped out every enemy and secured the Core."

His eye twitched.

Kaisler: "This is such a fucking pain in the ass."

Sighing, he started walking, scanning the endless wasteland for food and water—but mostly food. His body moved instinctively, running at 12% of his original speed (roughly 2.88% the speed of light), kicking up trails of dust as he searched.

After what felt like an eternity, his stomach growled loudly.

Kaisler: "Bruh… is there seriously no water on this whole damn planet? Man, I wish I had, like, water-bending or something."

He stopped suddenly, a cold realization sinking in.

"Wait a minute… where the hell are the enemies?"

His surroundings were eerily silent. No creatures. No signs of life.

His heart skipped a beat.

Kaisler: "Oh, shit."

A gust of dry wind blew past him as the truth clicked.

"I'M ON THE WRONG FUCKING PLANET."

Kaisler let out a loud, frustrated groan, dragging his hands down his face.

Kaisler: "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck—how the hell am I supposed to get to the right planet?! I can’t breathe in space! What am I supposed to do, just hold my breath and pray I don’t die?!"

He clenched his fists, his mind racing for a solution.

Kaisler: "Alright… think. There’s gotta be a way."

But with no food, no water, and no clear way off this planet, things were about to get a whole lot worse.

Kaisler extended his threads across the entire Jupiter-sized planet, anchoring them in every direction. With a deep breath, he launched himself into the air, aiming for another planet.

As he soared, a memory flashed through his mind—the technique he had been practicing before Buddy’s dumbass tackled him mid-training.

234.2 million feet high.

That’s how high he had jumped before.

As he continued rising, he instinctively summoned more threads beneath his feet, reinforcing his momentum. The sky blurred around him as he grinned to himself.

"Yes! I’m so fucking smart! Thank god I practiced this back at home!"

…Wait.

"Wait, wait, wait—how do I breathe?! I’M IN SPACE! SOMEONE HELP! HELP—!"

Panic surged through Kaisler’s body, but then, an idea struck him.

"Hold on… I can just attach my threads to another planet!"

Without hesitation, he extended his strings toward a nearby planet, latched on, and launched himself forward with full force. The moment his feet touched solid ground, he pumped his fists into the air.

"YES! I DID IT! FUCK YES, I DID IT!"

But his celebration was short-lived.

As he looked around, his heart sank. Nearly two million soldiers stood before him. They weren’t mindless undead or training dummies—they were organized. Focused. Training in formation.

Kaisler's mind raced.

"Wait… these guys don’t look like reanimated corpses. They’re real soldiers. Which means… they were preparing for something."

Then it hit him.

"Shit. They knew I was coming. Every second I spent freaking out in space… they were using that time to prepare. They must have hijacked the Nexus teleportation system to delay me on purpose."

Kaisler clenched his fists, his adrenaline spiking. This wasn’t just a random mission anymore. The soilders placed a trap a trap to kill the next person who comes though the nexus gate.

Soldier 234: "He's here! Let's fucking kill him!"

The battle erupted into chaos as Kaisler found himself surrounded by a vast army. Soldiers from all corners of the battlefield began chanting incantations, summoning an array of destructive powers. The first wave came in the form of black hole magic—twisting the fabric of reality itself as dense pockets of mana compressed around them, creating miniature singularities that bent the very air.

Kaisler dodged, but barely. The gravitational pull of the black holes started to drag him in from all sides, forcing him to stumble. He wasn't the only target—massive columns of earth shot up from the ground, shattering the surface beneath him. The ground trembled as cracks split open, sending fissures wide enough to swallow him whole. Earth magic... they're not just soldiers, they're elementals, he thought.

His body tensed as he fought to keep his balance. Suddenly, torrents of water poured from the air, summoned by a few soldiers who had invoked water magic. Waves crashed down on him, and he felt himself being dragged beneath the onslaught. They’re trying to drown me? The pressure was immense. Water filled his lungs as he struggled for air, but he refused to let it defeat him.

"NO!" Kaisler shouted through gritted teeth. He summoned nearly a thousand invisible strings all around him, feeling the burn as they materialized, weaving a complex network in the air.

The mental burden was crushing.

The strain of summoning so many threads at once felt like his mind was being ripped apart. Each string burned in his mind, and his focus wavered as he tried to keep control. His head throbbed, and his vision blurred. I need to get out of this. I need to fight back... The weight of the army pressing in on him was overwhelming.

As he fought to catch his breath, the strings wrapped around him like a shield. With a roar of effort, he summoned the first wave of movement—bouncing between the strings, feeling his body stretch to impossible limits. He moved like a blur, leaving behind trails of the invisible threads, weaving them into a deadly dance. Each leap, each twist, was like a strike against the army. He used his threads to cut through the soldiers, slicing through their throats in an instant.

But the pressure was building. The black holes were multiplying, pulling him in. The ground continued to quake beneath him, creating tremors that threatened to tear him apart. The water soldiers summoned more, and the air was thick with the sound of crashing waves.

His speed was multiplied by 10,000%, but it wasn’t enough to dodge everything. The black holes closed in tighter, pulling at him from every angle, and the wormholes above rained more enemies down at impossible speeds. The soldiers fell with the force of a freight train, nearly breaking through Kaisler’s defense. They're everywhere...

Suddenly, a massive quake shattered the ground beneath him, sending shockwaves through the planet. The earth itself began to break apart, and the landscape began to collapse. Kaisler could feel the planet trembling beneath his feet. They’re going to destroy this whole damn planet.

His mind raced. The strings—his only advantage—were beginning to wear thin. Every jump sent a searing pain through his chest. He pushed through it, summoning more and more threads, his body beginning to crack under the strain. I can't stop... I have to finish this...

His movements became frantic. He couldn't catch his breath, and his vision was growing hazy. Sweat poured from his forehead, mixing with the dust and dirt that filled the air. The strain was too much. He couldn’t keep up with the onslaught. His body was on the verge of collapse, but he kept going, the only thought in his mind: I can't let them win.

As he reached the zenith of his speed, he heard the horrifying sound of cracks in the planet’s crust, the destruction escalating as the soldiers pushed the planet’s magic to its limits. The entire surface started to break apart, entire sections of land sinking into the void. It felt like the planet itself was dying.

Kaisler screamed—a guttural cry that echoed across the battlefield as he pushed even harder. His strings cut through the remaining soldiers in a frenzy, but his power was waning. His movements slowed, his vision dimming. I can’t... I can’t keep this up much longer...

His head was pounding. He could feel his energy draining from him. Focus... just a little longer... But the strain was too much. He collapsed to his knees, his mind racing as the last of the soldiers fell. With a final desperate lunge, Kaisler's body gave way, and he blacked out.

The planet, once teeming with life and energy, was now a shattered, crumbling wasteland. The last of the soldiers who had survived, realizing they were no match for him, retreated, disappearing into wormholes, vanishing into the unknown.

Kaisler’s eyes fluttered open as he found himself floating in the vastness of space. His body was weightless, but he could feel the pull of gravity from the Jumpiter-like planet dragging him downward. His head throbbed, a dull pain at the back of his skull. For a moment, all he could focus on was the aching in his head. Then, it hit him—the realization that something inside him had changed.

Wait... he thought, his mind spinning. I can feel it. I’ve unlocked it... my second power.

The power to store infinite knowledge, to transfer the weight of his mental burdens to a boundless mind. No more limits. No more drawbacks. The implications hit him like a thunderclap. I can train endlessly. I’ll never tire, never feel that weight again. But...

The thought trailed off. His body, on the other hand, still had limits. Stamina problems. I can push my mind to the edge, but my body... well, it’s not limitless.

Before he could ponder it further, he plunged into the atmosphere, the fiery glow of re-entry consuming his vision. He landed hard, his back slamming against the cracked earth. The impact rattled him to the core, the pain shooting up his spine. Shit... He groaned, rolling over to survey the damage.

As he steadied himself, he noticed something he hadn’t expected. The bodies of the fallen soldiers, the wreckage of their equipment, all scattered around him. And the multiverse core—destroyed but still intact—had also fallen with the debris.

Kaisler grinned, a slow, victorious smile creeping onto his face. This is a lucky fucking day. He scanned the wreckage. I can sell everything—the equipment, the weapons, hell, even the core. Ten times more than I made last time. I’m gonna be rich.

He began gathering the items, his newfound power keeping his mind clear, his actions efficient. The idea of wealth spurred him on, but it was more than that. With each piece of loot he picked up, Kaisler felt more invincible. No more struggling. I’m in control now.

When he was finished, he made his way to the nearest Nexus station. His heart raced as he handed over the goods. He expected a good payout—maybe a hundred thousand, maybe a little more—but nothing prepared him for what came next.

Explorer Worker: “You did it. Survived a mid-class mission by yourself. Impressive. Let’s see... after taxes, we’ll take ten million. But since you did it alone, I’ll take five million from as taxes instead of ten million from it. Leaving you with... twenty-five million.”

Kaisler’s eyes widened as the number sank in. Twenty-five million? He almost couldn’t believe it. He wanted to scream, to jump in excitement, but he just stood there, grinning ear to ear.

Kaisler: “Thanks. Thanks a lot.” His voice was almost a whisper, disbelief flooding him.

He turned, walking away, already thinking of the luxury he could afford now. His whole life had just changed in an instant. I’m rich... I’m really fucking rich.

As he stepped out of the station, he let the weight of his victory wash over him, but his mind kept returning to the new power coursing through him. He didn’t fully understand it, but one thing was for sure: he had just unlocked something that would change everything.

Tonight, he would rest. Tomorrow, he would begin the next phase of his journey.