CHAPTER 51: RUNIC MODULE UPDATE

"Hmph! Don’t play dumb. If you don’t have a badge, just stay in the shelter." Tossing him aside, the guard continued working.

Frowning, Nash backed away, wondering what the guard meant by a badge.

Looking around, he noticed that everyone had one, symbolizing their identity.

Whether entering an establishment or buying items, each person was evaluated based on the number of stars on their badge.

After asking around, he finally understood what these badges were.

A Battle Badge was a symbol of honor and ability implemented in the Nova sector over the past few hundred years.

Apparently, the new generation had started underestimating the Dark Plane, venturing in without enough skill.

As a result, over the past few thousand years, the Nova sector’s talent pool has remained low.

Too many were dying needlessly in the Dark Plane, and with fewer fresh talents, the Nova sector was in perpetual decline.

Tired of watching reckless youths rush to their deaths, the Nova sector established a new rule, the Battle Badge.

Each rank was divided into stars, from one to five.

The number of stars determines a person’s privileges, discounts, and status.

Likewise, each shelter zone had restrictions based on badge rank.

The Lantern Shelter, where Nash was now, was a beginner-level area, allowing only Void Warriors with one to three stars to hunt.

Anyone outside that range could not venture out and had to remain in the shelter.

Violators, if caught, would be fined or, in the worst case, imprisoned.

Since the rule had only been implemented a few hundred years ago, it wasn’t included in the basic Dark Plane handbook.

After learning the rules, Nash sighed.

Once a shelter was deemed safe by the Dark Plane’s will or the so-called Void Administrator, it could connect with other safe shelters.

By paying a certain merit, one could travel between shelters within the Dark Plane.

Fortunately, Nash had been summoned to a basic shelter and didn’t have to waste merits.

The only problem was the Battle Badge.

To get one, a person had to be evaluated at a Nova Physical Center, either in the virtual world or reality.

But Nash couldn’t access either one.

Much less the Nova Physical Center in reality, Nash couldn’t even access the one virtual world.

Remembering Earth’s void signal was still blocked, he could only clench his fist.

"Fine, I’ll wait..."

With no way to hunt Dark Beasts, Nash returned to reality.

---

Waking up, he didn’t feel the same grogginess as when he used the virtual helmet.

"This virtual Dark Pod is quite high-end."

Opening the pod, he saw his squadmates looking at him excitedly.

"Captain, how was it? Can you really absorb void energy by killing Dark Beasts?"

After reading about the Dark Plane, they couldn’t help but be excited.

The idea of growing stronger just by killing monsters fascinated them.

It opened a whole new perspective.

They realized that beyond internal rivalries, the true enemy of all intelligent beings was the Dark Beasts.

Containing them within the Dark Plane was only the first step.

If the dark beasts accumulated in large numbers, they could break into reality, bringing destruction and chaos.

Wanting to contribute and grow stronger by hunting Dark Beasts, they couldn’t wait to enter the Dark Plane.

Unfortunately, the basic information revealed that only official Void Warriors could enter.

"I only entered a shelter. As for killing a Dark Beast, I didn’t even see one..."

"Why? Are Dark Beasts rare in the Dark Plane?"

"No, I just can’t leave the base..."

Nash quickly explained the matter of the Battle Badge, leaving his squadmates stunned.

"This—so you’re still stuck with us, Captain?"

Laughing at the irony, they couldn’t help but tease him.

"Enough. We still have about 3,000 contribution points and hundreds of void crystals. That should be enough for you to advance to an official Void Warrior."

After he advanced to a void warrior, it was their turn to take the next step.

"Yes, Captain!" they saluted excitedly.

Although they lacked natural talent, with enough void crystals, they were confident they could advance.

Returning to their private rooms, they started their rigorous training.

Left alone, Nash turned his attention to the Runic Modules System.

Despite his leap in strength, his Runic Module System remained stagnant.

Since he had nothing else to do, it was time for a major upgrade.

---

"First is the [Overloading Module System] and [Overclocking Module System]."

Working without rest for an entire week, Nash upgraded both systems from 10 amplifications to 15.

With void energy reinforcing his body, he could now handle greater power multiplications.

Activating 15 times the amplification, his body could last about 10 seconds.

In that state, his strength would be comparable to a Void Warrior at 75% saturation.

With that power and his combat skills, Nash was confident he could fight Edward evenly. With a weapon, he could take him down instantly.

"Unfortunately, this is the limit..." Nash sighed.

Unless he made a massive breakthrough, 15 times the amplification was his limit.

The leap from 9% to 10% saturation was like crossing the threshold of life and death. Thus, his reinforcement was akin to a rebirth.

The next time he would experience such an increase in power would be at 30%, 70%, and finally 100% void saturation.

Or, if he mastered more runic programs, he could design a more advanced Runic Module System that put less strain on his body.

Unfortunately, out of 2,322 runic programs, he had only studied 1,276.

If he mastered all of them, not only could he refine the existing runic modules to perfection, but also create new ones.

As for incorporating void energy, it was still beyond his abilities.

Even with his eyes at 100% saturation rate, he could only perceive the presence of void energy—its brightness, density, and flow.

It was like mist without form. He could see it, but not analyze or control it.

With the [Overloading Module System] and [Overclocking Module System] updated, Nash shifted his focus to the [Training Module System] and the Crimson Eye Astral Art.

"Hah... this is going to take a while."