The mood grew somber following Ackster’s silence. But it wasn’t as desolate as it had been when Ackster suffered through his curse, so Wilma stayed quiet as she steered the hot air balloon toward their next stop.

Since getting an inventory would make Ackster’s journey a lot smoother and easier, regardless of what he was doing, both Wilma and Ackster happily took a slight detour.

While Wilma still had to go and look for the higherups to arrange a trainer for Ackster as well as see if they could fix his arm, she didn’t have to get someone to fix his mind anymore, so her business at the Guild’s core branch wasn’t as immediate as before.

Before long, thanks to the surprisingly efficient travel with the balloon, they arrived at a secluded part of the Tenger continent. A dense forest, milling with A-rank beasts and monsters, surrounded the large military-style encampment that was their destination.

The forest made sure only those qualified or supported by the Guild could enter the location protected by the Guild’s outpost. And the outpost protected the habitat against the beings of the forest and any with malicious intent.

A couple of uniformed guards welcomed the hot air balloon. Since it was the Guild’s standard-issue means of transport, they were just there to greet the newcomers and not to guard against them. But considering they were guards that protected against the A-rank beings of the forest, they were nonetheless to be taken seriously.

Not that they could do anything to Ackster, much less Wilma, who had a lofty position within the Guild and who Ackster was certain was above A-rank in terms of strength.

Still walking around with one arm caught Ackster more than a couple of glances as they passed through the encampment toward the center. It was a good choice to have asked Mio to dye his hair red. If he was going to catch attention, he should direct it the way he wanted. There was no way anyone would connect a one-armed redhead with Ackster Phileam or any of his other personas that he had used.

The agents deployed at the outpost that Ackster wasn’t allowed to hear the name of should be trustworthy. But Ackster didn’t doubt that rumors would spread, regardless of their trustworthiness. It couldn’t be often that someone like Wilma brought in a one-armed adventurer dressed in rags, after all.

Ackster ignored any stares he got. But he did use his Keen Senses to scout the area. He kept a constant watch over his surroundings. He didn’t even know why. He just did.

And eventually, Ackster and Wilma arrived at the center of the encampment. After entering a dark blue tent the size of a villa, they found what they had come for.

The Habitat.

“I assume you already know what this is?”

“Somewhat.”

Ackster answered with a furrowed brow as he stared at the seemingly bottomless, glossy, dark blue pond in front of him and Wilma. It was as wide as a bedroom, and there was no sign of life in the water.

“Okay…? That doesn’t sound very confident. I’ll tell you what you need to know. That’s not water.”

“Mm.”

“To get an inventory, you just need to carry your Nomi and take a dip. But here’s the kicker: the deeper down you go, the larger the inventory you get. You might be able to breathe down there, or you might not. It depends on the person. We usually recommend lying on your stomach and sticking your head in first before going down since you can only try for an inventory once.”

“Okay. Why the need for A-rank?”

That was something the original story hadn’t revealed, and every character had taken it for granted. So, Ackster took the opportunity to ask something he had long wanted to know.

Wilma shrugged.

“It’s not a hundred percent certain, but the common consensus is that it is the minimum requirement to withstand the baptism of energy you will have to undergo to get the inventory.”

“I see.”

‘A little lackluster, but it makes sense.’

Ackster started getting undressed and put his things and Mio on the ground.

“You can do that after you tried breathing the nectar, you know?”

Wilma politely looked away, though she couldn’t help but sneak a peek at Ackster’s chiseled muscles.

“I don’t need to try. I can feel that I can breathe it.”

“Huh? That’s good, I guess. But you could still have undressed after I left the tent.”

“Didn’t take you for a prude.”

“It’s not prudish to not want to be alone with a naked man as a single woman.”

“My bad then. Do you want me to take responsibility?”

“Wha—? I mean…”

But before Wilma could properly answer Ackster’s question, he had already dived into the pond with a muted splash as the thick, slimy, and translucent nectar spewed aside following Ackster’s entry.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“H-hey! I wasn’t done yet! I forgot to tell you about the Space Jellies! They look scary, but most of them are harmless!”

Wilma looked down toward where Ackster had disappeared below the surface. She couldn’t tell whether Ackster had heard her or not. On one hand, Wilma knew he had excellent senses. On the other hand, she also knew that entering the Space Pond was like entering another world separated by a thick layer of glass.

She groaned in frustration.

“He seemed knowledgable, so let’s hope he doesn’t kill them.”

Wilma sighed and gave Mio a glance before looking at the pond again. She could probably find some administrative work to do in the outpost. But that was even more boring than just waiting for Ackster, so she didn’t move out of the spot and decided she could train her mana while waiting for Ackster to resurface. She just had to be careful not to disturb the space jellies, which she was confident in doing.

Even if Ackster’s guess that he could breathe the nectar was true, the pressure would eventually be too much for him, and he would be forced to surface. That was how it was for everyone, regardless of how strong they were or if they could breathe the nectar or not.

Ackster didn’t know what he had expected when he dived into the Habitat. He just knew that it wasn’t water from what Wilma had told him. Once he inspected it a little closer, he also noticed that it wasn’t water. And he felt that since it wasn’t water, he didn’t need to worry about being unable to breathe it.

It wasn’t a forced rationalization. That was just what Ackster felt when he looked at the not-water.

So, when he dived in, Ackster’s primary concern wasn’t whether he could breathe it or not. It was how deep he could go.

For some reason, the original story had skimmed this part.

If Ackster had to guess, it was because its primary purpose was to show off how beastly The Hero had been and to set up the trouble that came afterward. The Hero easily broke the record at the Habitat he had visited. And he got an inventory that was a stupid amount larger than what most people with inventories even thought was possible.

However, for Ackster, it was a pivotal moment.

The Hero had made do without an inventory until he reached the A-rank since he had an artifact that filled the same purpose.

Ackster didn’t. So, he couldn’t walk around carrying noticeable weapons, flashy armor, or expensive artifacts that were bound to catch attention. Ackster already knew it would be difficult to fly under the radar, considering how gossip-prone adventurers were, especially when it came to other adventurers and even more so with strong ones.

Not carrying or using anything that could give him a nickname or become an identifier for him would make it more difficult for people to pinpoint his movements and identity. It would also make changing his hair color with Mio’s help useless.

But with an inventory, Ackster could stock up on weapons, armor, artifacts, tools, resources, potions, poisons, clothes, Stones of Wisdom, and whatever else he might need to bring with him. And he could do it without worrying about it getting lost in a fight to the death or someone using it to identify him.

That was why Ackster, regardless of how difficult it was, made the bottom of the bottomless pond that was the Habitat his goal.

Thankfully, the nectar wasn’t as difficult to swim through as he had thought. From above, it had looked like thick jelly that had at first glanced looked like still water. But once inside, it was completely different.

The nectar didn’t offer any resistance to his movements as he swam down, but it still propelled him further. It also felt like he didn’t weigh anything, which was a strange feeling. He quickly got used to it.

It was the first time he had felt something like it, but if Ackster had to put words to it to make it easier for himself to understand, it was like he was swimming in a pool of liquified weightlessness.

‘This is actually pretty nice.’

The world around him was silent. Ackster didn’t even hear himself breathe. Since it wasn’t disconcerting, despite losing an entire sense, Ackster hadn’t noticed it at first. But when he did, he was only worried for a couple of moments. Even if no sound entered his ears, he could still sense what was happening around him, which wasn’t a lot since there wasn’t much else other than him within the Habitat, at least not as close to the surface as he was.

The pond of nectar was also comfortably warm. It was like being wrapped in a warm and fuzzy blanket.

‘That’s…’

Ackster was, however, forced to stop daydreaming due to the pulsating dots of light blue light appearing deeper down the pond.

It was the inhabitants of the Habitat, the Space Jellies as they were so affectionately called. The spatial jellyfish weren’t that different from ordinary jellyfish, at least not in terms of appearance. They were slightly translucent, soft-looking, and mushy with tentacles. They also glowed with their innate space mana as they drifted around inside the Habitat.

Ackster couldn’t help but think they were a little cute despite their ghost-like appearances as they curiously came closer to inspect the strange visitor.

But he didn’t get distracted.

Ackster continued swimming downward while greeting the Space Jellies. He had begun to feel a slight tingling sensation all over his body, which probably was the baptism of space energy Wilma had mentioned. It wasn’t that bad, but it would continue the longer he stayed in the pond.

Eventually, it would become too much for him, and he would be forced to retreat or get pushed out of the Habitat. However, the size of his inventory was dependent on how deep he could go. Naturally, he had to try and reach the bottom, even if it seemed impossible.

However, as he went deeper and deeper, more and more Space Jellies decided Ackster’s intrusion warranted their inspection. Although they seemed harmless, and Ackster knew that they weren’t naturally hostile as many beasts and all monsters in the wild were, he couldn’t help but worry when he could barely swim without swatting one of them.

Ackster had a feeling that if something like this had happened to The Hero, the original story would certainly have mentioned it. He also thought that if Space Jellies were this common or if they usually came up to anyone getting an inventory like this, Wilma should have warned him about it.

Sure, he had said he knew a little. But he hadn’t even known that it wasn’t water until Wilma said something and he took a closer look. Besides, she had also told him the basics.

Ackster could only conclude that something strange was happening.

‘Ah… It’s that thing Wilma mentioned. Has to be.’

The only thing that Ackster could think of being the reason why the Space Jellies were so attracted to him was the same explanation for why the Ant Queen wanted him.

His overflowing and leaking vitality made him a beacon for beings who could sense things like that. And considering their extraordinariness, Ackster wasn’t surprised that the Space Jellies were like that when even the ants back in that nest could sense him.

‘Hmm.’

But just because he knew of the cause didn’t mean Ackster knew the solution to his problem.

However, the Space Jellies weren’t aggressive. They were just curious, so Ackster gently pushed them aside as he continued downward while hoping they would stay as docile.