Infinity, The Arcade Age
Chapter 532: The Descent of the Space

Chapter 532: Chapter 532: The Descent of the Space

In the midst of darkness, the colossal Yamata no Orochi was locked in a life-or-death struggle against the swarm of incoming adventurers.

They were entangled in a chaotic battle, top-tier skills flying wildly in every direction.

Those top-level adventurers and Transcenders who once held unmatched status in the Nightmare Space now looked no different from grunts, getting swept away in droves by Orochi’s attacks.

But even if they were just slain, they would revive seconds later, reappearing via beams of light.

Yamata no Orochi couldn’t truly die—he could only be sealed again once his energy was depleted. And the adventurers were also unkillable, with the Nightmare Space backing them.

At this point, it was no longer a matter of strength, but a contest of energy reserves—who had the deeper stores.

And the one who started all this chaos, the true culprit, Qin Ming?

Within the darkness, a portal of light silently opened, and Qin Ming crept out stealthily.

After frantically absorbing the unclaimed energy that scattered from Orochi’s torn flesh and the exploding remains of fallen adventurers, he slipped back through the portal just as sneakily.

That portal—or more accurately, the miniature dimension it connected to, no more than a dozen square kilometers—was the domain created by the Phantom Space.

And those dozen kilometers? They only existed thanks to the resources Qin Ming had invested; without him, the Phantom Space wouldn’t even have been able to condense that much area.

Hiding inside the space, Qin Ming was shamelessly profiting off the war, stealing the stray energy spilled from both sides of the battlefield.

Whether it was from elite adventurers or Yamata no Orochi, the energy within them was enormous.

As long as one of them died, or a chunk of flesh was cut off, the burst of energy was enough to give Qin Ming a full meal.

If he could use it, he stored it for himself. If he couldn’t, he handed it over to the Phantom Space.

In just a short span, the world inside the Phantom Space expanded from a dozen kilometers to several dozen, and it was still growing.

The Hound Unit and the group of fighters Qin Ming had already gathered and stored within the space stared around them in awe, unable to contain their exclamations as their environment transformed before their eyes.

Outside, the battle continued on, dragging for over ten whole days before it finally reached its end.

It proved one thing: no matter how strong an individual was, enough ants could bite an elephant to death. Yamata no Orochi simply couldn’t defeat the Nightmare Space.

Although the Nightmare Space couldn’t directly descend itself, its sheer number of subordinates and monstrous energy reserves made up for that.

Through sheer human wave tactics, the adventurers forcibly overwhelmed Orochi.

Depleted of energy, the great serpent god was left without the strength to fight back and was sealed on the spot by several top-tier adventurer leaders acting in unison.

Only after sealing this mad god who had attacked them on sight did the crowd finally have time to look around and search for their real target.

Eventually, all eyes locked in on a single spot—Qin Ming, standing at the deepest part of the realm.

And standing there with a smile on his face, Qin Ming calmly met their gaze.

As for the Fantasy Space? Its internal world had already expanded from its original dozen kilometers... to over ten thousand kilometers! A true independent realm had formed.

That was the benefit of profiting off war—rapid growth!

Of course, there was a price to pay...

Crash!

Above, the darkness was suddenly torn apart. A massive black eye burst forth from the rift and swiftly scanned the land below.

With the will of this plane sealed, there was no longer anything resisting it. The Nightmare Space, which had been unable to descend in full until now, could finally begin to influence this world.

But due to its immense size, it still couldn’t descend completely and could only project a single eye for observation.

Through that eye and the surrounding structure, Qin Ming quickly got a good look at the true form of the Nightmare Space.

It too was a sphere—not a white one, but a black one.

A grotesque black sphere covered with eyes sprouting from its surface.

If the core ability of the Phantom Space was to absorb all forms of worldly energy and transform it into the power of fantasy—thus manifesting illusions—then the Nightmare Space’s ability was to absorb all kinds of energy and refine it into nightmare power, condensing it into crystals.

And those so-called crystals... were equipment and skills.

That was why the missions in Nightmare Space usually involved killing, and why it frequently made its subordinates fight each other, leading to a high mortality rate among them.

It was a being formed entirely from the power of death—a creature that thrived on slaughter.

Qin Ming’s very first entry into the Nightmare Space as a rookie, when he was immediately thrown into a slaughter mode, was the clearest proof.

That hadn’t been an accident. In fact, every adventurer’s first mission upon entering the Nightmare Space was always slaughter mode.

Only the ruthless were allowed to survive. The weak had no right to exist. That was the Nightmare Space’s nature.

Staring down at Qin Ming through the rift, the enormous eye of the Nightmare Space radiated savage hostility.

And the many eyes on the black sphere each held their own consciousness. The one currently fixed on Qin Ming was the same one that had spoken to him in the past—the one assigned to supervise and manage him.

Back then, it had claimed "there’s someone above me." It hadn’t meant a stronger expert, but the true core of the Nightmare Space—the black sphere itself.

"441985!!"

A thunderous roar erupted, shaking the ears of everyone below with piercing pain.

Qin Ming couldn’t help but frown, though the smile on his face remained brilliantly unfazed.

"Old friend, to think this is our first meeting, and under circumstances like these... I must say, what a surprise. Wouldn’t you agree?"

"441985! How dare you join forces with outsiders to rebel against the Space! After everything I’ve done for you! How could you—"

"Correction!" Qin Ming abruptly cut it off with a cold voice before the giant eyeball could finish.

Pointing up at the massive eye, his expression turned ferocious.

"First! I didn’t get where I am thanks to you. Every bit of my strength was earned by risking my life—climbing back from the brink of death countless times! None of it was a handout!"

"Second! Yes, I owe you. You helped me get started. But over all these years, I’ve done endless work for you—earned you mountains of energy. I’ve repaid your kindness in full. I owe you nothing!"

"You—"

"And third! Most important of all! I have a name! I’m not 441985! You giant eyeball better show some damn respect and stop calling me by a number! I’ve had enough of it!"

No matter what he did or how hard he tried, all he ever got from that thing was a cold string of digits. Qin Ming had long been filled with rage over it.

What kind of things get referred to by numbers? Consumables. From the very beginning, the Nightmare Space had never seen him as a person. Just a disposable asset. Nothing more.

If he’d died along the way, then he’d be dead, and that thing wouldn’t even remember he had ever existed.

So yes—Qin Ming was grateful for what the Nightmare Space had done, but he also hated it bitterly.

After working like a dog for it all these years, accumulating energy for so long, he figured the debt was settled.

As for now? Time to go their separate ways.

(End of Chapter)