Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!-Chapter 60: Ancient Key
Heated metal should cool rapidly when exposed to the cold void of space. However, for whatever reason, the scorching walls carved by the Mining Laser didn’t seem to be cooling down—at all!
The searing pain was torturous, but more than that, I could feel that the leg portion of my suit had been fully breached. Half-reflexively, I activated the emergency isolation function, tightening it around my thigh to prevent oxygen from leaking.
Of course, to make it airtight, the strap around my thigh was so tight that it practically cut off all blood flow through it.
"Well, it should be fine, anyway..."
I glanced down at my legs—or at least where they used to be. But only a charred, unrecognizable mass remained.
The battle between extreme heat and freezing cold had rapidly deteriorated my exposed flesh, practically melting it down in moments.
"I’m not gonna die like this, am I...?" I whispered, my voice tinged with worry and fear.
The berserk T-Rex was still thrashing outside the hole, desperately trying to reach me. But given how deep I was, there was no way it could squeeze in—unless it somehow shrank itself.
*CRACK!*
Then, an ominous sound echoed through the walls, the vibrations running through my suit and straight to my ears.
I looked up in fear—only to see the T-Rex had found a solution to its dilemma. If it couldn’t fit into the hole, then all it had to do was expand it!
The monster bit at the edges slammed it with its tail and clawed at the walls with its powerful hind legs. It did everything it could to "dig" through the metal, slowly but surely pushing forward—closer and closer to where I was.
"Shit..."
And the worst part? I was completely powerless. My Mining Laser was out of energy, I didn’t have any extra batteries, and this place was literally a dead end. There was nowhere to run!
Thankfully, its digging speed was slow. But I had no way of knowing whether it would reach me before its berserk buff ran out.
Seeing no other option, all I could do was wait and pray.
Time ticked by agonizingly slowly, each passing second stretching into eternity. My gaze never wavered from the berserk T-Rex, watching its every movement.
The initial distance between the entrance and my position was roughly 15 meters. Now, the stubborn beast had clawed its way through over five meters—closing a third of the gap.
Every time its snout pushed further in, my heartbeat pounded louder, terrified that it might finally reach me.
’Come on! Just drop dead already...!’
The distance kept shrinking. Ten meters. Five. Two. And now...
*SNAP!*
Its gaping maw stopped mere inches from my face.
"Ha... Hahaha...!"
But in the end, it failed.
It was my victory.
The T-Rex shuddered, its strength draining away. Its once-fiery red skin faded back to green—before finally turning a deathly pale blue. Right, the five-minute duration of berserk had run out!
The moment I realized I had survived, the tension in my body eased—but that also meant the pain I had been suppressing came crashing down all at once. My vision flashed white, my body wracked with agony. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to scream or cry.
Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to move. Using my hands—or rather, what little remained of them—I dragged myself forward.
Reaching the edge, I peered down at the unmoving body of the T-Rex. It was still alive, but completely immobilized. This was the perfect chance to finish it off.
With great difficulty, I activated my comms, my voice weak but firm.
"Cassandra... The T-Rex is weakened. Finish it off..." I ordered. "I... will take a nap first..."
Darkness rapidly consumed my vision, the world spinning into a singularity. But just before my consciousness faded entirely, I heard a voice—frantic, desperate, and filled with worry.
{ARTHUR!}
—It was Eva’s voice.
---
"Eva! Stay with me...!" Cassandra cried as soon as they made it out, rushing to Arthur’s supply crate.
Thanks to her powered suit, some of the damage had been mitigated—but only slightly. As soon as Cassandra hooked her up to the diagnostics, her face paled.
Fractured bones, ruptured organs, internal bleeding in multiple locations—it was a miracle Eva was still alive, let alone breathing!
{Cough...!}
She coughed, blood splattering across her visor, making Cassandra panic even more.
"No way! You can’t leave us yet!"
Frantically, she rummaged through Arthur’s supplies until she found a first-aid kit. Inside, she found a single syringe filled with a shimmering green liquid—medical nanobots designed for emergency healing.
Without hesitation, Cassandra uncapped the syringe and pressed it against the inside of Eva’s powered suit’s elbow. As if recognizing the medical tool, a small opening slid open just enough to allow access to her arm.
She pressed the syringe tightly against it and pushed the button at the rear. A cluster of micro-needles punctured Eva’s spacesuit, through her skin, and injected the nanobots directly into her bloodstream.
Holding her breath, Cassandra watched the vitals on the portable monitor. At first, every reading was deep in the red, but soon, as the nanobots worked their magic, the numbers began to stabilize.
Heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, brain activity—everything was rapidly returning to normal.
"Phew..." Cassandra exhaled in relief.
Eva had been dangerously close to death. If not for Arthur’s meticulous preparation, they might have lost her.
But while Eva was saved, there was one glaring problem—only one first-aid kit and only one syringe had been included. More were stored back on the ship, but Arthur had only brought one for emergencies. He hadn’t anticipated having multiple members suffer fatal injuries.
Time slipped by as Cassandra monitored Eva’s condition. Then, finally, Eva’s eyes fluttered open.
Her golden irises darted around, hazy with confusion as her mind struggled to recall what had happened.
{Right... I was hit...} she whispered, still groggy.
"Don’t worry, you’re safe now," Cassandra reassured her with a small smile.
Slowly, Eva tried to sit up, but she was too weak. Cassandra caught her and helped her into a comfortable position. As Eva’s mind cleared, she suddenly froze.
{...Where’s Arthur?}
Cassandra remained silent, her gaze drifting toward the entrance to the boss’s chamber—now sealed tight with foam.
Eva followed her eyes, and realization struck like a hammer. Her expression turned stricken.
{You mean he’s still in there?! Oh no, we have to—!}
Just as she was about to shout, a familiar voice crackled through the comms, halting her mid-sentence.
{Cassandra... The T-Rex is weakened. Finish it off...}
Arthur’s voice—tired, yet satisfied. A flicker of relief crossed Eva’s face, but then—
{I... will take a nap first...}
His words were slurred, followed by a dull thud.
Eva’s vision blurred as a memory resurfaced—her father, uttering his last words before disappearing somewhere far away... forever.
{ARTHUR!}
Her panicked scream echoed through the comms. Though her body was still weak, she launched herself at the foam-sealed entrance, pounding her fists against it with desperation.
Cassandra reached for the spray containing purified water to dissolve the barrier, about to intervene—
*CRACK!*
But then, a sharp sound rang out.
"No way..." Cassandra whispered in disbelief.
The foam—designed to withstand over 400 kN of force, the equivalent of sixty Mike Tysons punching it at once—was breaking like brittle bricks under Eva’s relentless assault.
It didn’t even last a full minute!
Of course, this was only possible with the support of her powered suit—but even so, her entire fist had cracked, her fingers reduced to a bloody mess, and the suit’s outer plating dented beyond repair.
Yet Eva didn’t care. She tore through the remains of the barrier and stormed inside, her golden eyes locked onto the only thing that mattered—the unmoving alien monster, and the mangled, bloodied figure of Arthur, dangling lifelessly from the hole in the wall.
{Arthur...! No...!}
Her voice wavered, raw with emotion, making even Cassandra’s heart tighten.
But just as Cassandra was about to follow her, something stirred inside her mind.
[Successor of... the Infinite Universe... Prove thyself... Come to me...]
It was the mysterious voice calling to her. Uttering the same words, repeating them over and over again.
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It had been silent for a while—ever since the battle with the boss began, to be specific.
The voice wasn’t a sound in the environment, but something resonating directly within her head. And yet, mysteriously, she could still sense exactly where it was coming from.
Her eyes flickered toward Eva, who was rushing toward Arthur. Then she turned away.
She understood she was the reason they were there in the first place, and indirectly, the main cause of the other two getting injured.
"...Right. I can’t let everyone’s efforts go to waste."
Resolving herself, Cassandra moved forward—toward the very center of the cavern, stepping firmly. And then—something strange happened.
The floor before her split open, and from its depths, a pedestal emerged. Upon it sat a single, glass-like key, encrusted in the center.
The key was simple in design—a circular bow, a three-inch shank, and a post with bizarre, creature-like teeth.
At its core, a tiny speck of rainbow light shimmered.
"Is this it?" Cassandra murmured.
Without hesitation, she reached out and grasped the key.
The moment she did, the faint glow in its center flared to life, the rainbow light intensifying and spreading through the glass-like material.
At the same time, a surge of information flooded into her mind—words, concepts, and understanding, all pouring in at once.
"Ugh...!"
Her head felt like it was being split open with a hacksaw. The sheer force of knowledge being crammed into her skull was unbearable.
Cassandra collapsed to her knees, panting, her vision swimming. But she refused to let go. She held onto the key with everything she had.
Now that she understood its purpose—its true power—there was no way she would let it slip from her grasp.
