Boom!


    Bursts of radioactivity exploded out at various intervals, gushing out likeva from an erupting volcano as Onana carefully maneuvered through it all.


    At this moment, Titania was a bright pulsing bulge of orange.


    Beep! Beep!


    [Warning! Armor Integrity is reducing!]


    [Warning! Stress levels increasing!]


    "Wow, even with this much armor designed specifically to resist radiation energy, the armor integrity is still reducing? Interesting…"


    Back in the crew of the Frigate, all the crew members were in a state of great unrest as they watched the dare devil acts of their patron.


    Every Nak Champion was a revered individual of the state, every one of them was incredibly talented and were tipped to be the future leaders and pullers of Nak society, no harm was allowed to befall them.


    Working under Onana was a privilege to those in his crew, but at the same time the stress that came with working with him was crazy.


    Like now, they were sweating for his safety again like crazy.


    With fascination in his eyes, Onana ignored everything else as he observed the scrambled but still rtively visible footage from his starship.


    The more he watched, the more amazed he was. "Wow".


    "In my years of exploration, I''ve never seen a like this".


    "With so much energy, this should''ve imploded on itself already, what the hell is keeping it stable all these while?"


    The more he observed, the more perplexed he became.


    At this moment, all around his starship was an orange color as he went deeper into the 4th outermostyer of the. It took more than 5 hours of exploration before he was able to get to the edge of the 4thyer.


    Though most of the 5 hours was simply boring exploration work, Onana never got tired of it, he was fascinated by all the new things that he learned.


    ''How is Titania possible?'' He could not help but ask.


    Whoosh!


    A sound reverberated like the starship was sucked into something. Transiting from the 4thyer to the 3rdyer of this was incredible, he could only associate it with that feeling when a drink was sucked through a straw.


    [Warning! Gravity increasing!]


    [Warning! Losing Flight Control!]


    "Boss, you need to get out now!"


    "You will soon lose control over the starship!"


    Onana finally frowned for the first time.


    Seeing this, though they were separated by hundreds of kilometers, his subordinates still felt their hearts skip a beat, Onana was pissed.


    He looked at all the shing red lights in the starship, including the warning rms that kept on ring.


    "Hmph!" He snorted.


    "Nothing can prevent me from improving!"


    "I live my whole life for it".


    He override the A.Imand of the starship, the next moment, he directed the power that was pushed to stabilizing the powerful gravitational pull to the starship''s thrusters. The effects of the sudden change were instant.


    Boom!


    The starship was pulled into the Radioactive Giant with speed!


    "Nooo…!"


    "Boss!!!"


    "Do note after me, it is an order!"


    Onana cut off the connection as he focused on riding the storm. Unlike the 4thyer that was still pretty clear despite the orange manifestation of the radiation, the 3rdyer seemed to contain even more unfriendly elements.


    [Warning! A strange energy has been detected!]


    [Associating attributes…, corrting results…, please wait…]


    The powerful processors of the starship were put to use, less than a secondter, Onana got the answer that he was waiting for.


    [Data Found: Corrosion Energy!]


    His eyes widened. ''All these energies all in 1?!''


    He didn''t spend as much time as he spent in the 4thyer in the 3rdyer, not only was his starship faster now as he no longer resisted the powerful gravity, but the distance was also closer now as he got closer to the''s surface.


    Boom!


    Instantly after he was sucked in to the 2ndyer, everything changed to purple. Not just purple, there were floating debris in the purpleyer of this''s sphere, instantly turning it into a death zone.


    Bam! Bam!


    [Warning! Floating Debris detected!]


    [Engage Evasive measures!]


    When floating debris came being flung at you by gravity at speeds exceeding hundreds of km/hr, even the most stanch of heart would be shaken.


    Even Onana was shaken but he remained focused.


    As a mechanic, though it was not his core profession, Onana was a mad starship pilot. Instantly after the first debris hit his ship, he engaged mad riding mood as he piloted the ship in inexplicable ways, performing crazy maneuvers.


    After what felt like 10 minutester, the starship finally hit the surface.


    Thending was rough and loud.


    The metallic sound as it crashed reverberated for long while echoing far as it skid a few meters forward before finally stopping.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The starship was now almost unrecognizable after passing so many hurdles, it was damaged and it looked like a ruined abandoned ship.


    Luckily, all its sensor systems remained intact.


    Onana''s eyes widened.


    "A metal?!" His voice rose a crescendo to show his shock and excitement.


    Metals were not rare in the Minerva Star System, but every single one of them were valuable state resources. They were strategic resources that ensured the continued power of powerful states like the Nak State.


    And most importantly, metals were the havens of Mechanics.


    "This is the real treasure in the Roronoa Star System! Why didn''t this be the main target?!"


    Instantly after he asked, he got his answer, he looked up. "The Giant Star".


    When taken as a reference, the sun of the Milky Way Gxy was nothing more than a small star. Medium stars had far more energy than it, but as for Giant Stars, they were part of the true power hogs of the universe.


    The radiation and interference alone from the Giant Star was enough to scramble any long-ranged sensory systems, it was why the truth was not detected that Titania was actually a metal.


    "Well, now I discovered it".


    This was why Onana loved exploration, the joy and fulfilment of discovering new things.


    Besides, he already made his decision. "I''m keeping this for myself".


    Though the Nak State valued metals and this could help in the development of his state, this was the problem, they valued it too much and would never leave a whole metal in the hands of a Grade B Mechanic like him.


    Now that he was lucky to discover one, he would keep it for himself.


    ''I will do anything to improve!'' He affirmed in his heart.


    "Goard, get me a sample of the surface metal".


    "Yes, Champion". The A.I of the starship responded and went to work.


    The next moment, metallic tentacles extended from the starship before digging in and cutting out a chunk of the surface metal.


    [Metal detected!]


    [Scanning for properties…]


    [Properties found…, match detected…]


    [Metal Name: Magic Mithril!]


    Onana''s eyes widened, he jumped for joy. "I hit the f*cking jackpot!"


    Magic Mithril was a powerful metal even stronger with more useful effects than Arcanite. One of it''s main uses was being able to merge magical elements with mechanical energy, granting a mechanic much more versatility and options.


    ''If I get enough Magic Mithril from here, all I need is invite General Aztog''s Mage subordinate over''. His eyes shone excitedly. ''I can create a brand-new mechanical suit in no time!''


    ''Besides, this is just the surface metal, after absorbing the power of so many different energies, there is bound to be even more amazing metal samples deeper into the''. He was hyped and excited.


    It was while he rejoiced inwardly that the starship''s systems made another warning report that attracted his attention.


    [Warning! Strange surface movement detected!]


    Onana instantly turned alert as he watched with sharp eyes. "Movement? There''s something else out here?"


    Beforending on the, he already scanned the immediate vicinity of the where hended and he detected no signs of life.


    Besides, he was positively sure of his deduction that with so much radiation energy here, there was no lifeform that could survive here so what was out there?


    ''Another space fleet?'' He thought even as he applied countermeasures.


    "Enter defense mode!"


    The A.I obeyed as the starship turned bulkier.


    Silently, Onana watched through the sensors of the spaceship, then he saw it. At first, it simply felt likeary movements like dust or gravity but on a closer look on zoom, Onana saw…eyes, red eyes.


    ''Eyes?!'' His heart skipped a beat.


    "Zoom in closer!"


    The A.I obeyed.


    The interference of the radiation was strong, but the strong sensors of the starship was able to prevail in the end. After prating through the interference, Onana saw a zoomed picture that seemed like an army of red from afar.


    They served as a great contrast to the gray surroundings of this metal.


    Zooming even closer, he saw them more clearly. A round curved red metal exoskeleton body with ck dots housing tiny wings, a ck metal head, short sharp mandibles, and a row of metal legs.


    There were thousands of them.


    Buzz!


    Their tiny metal wings fluttered as they levitated.


    "Bugs?"


    Instantly after he asked, Onana''s eyes widened. "Space Bugs!"


    He returned the sensor systems to it''s default settings where he saw the red lights at their normal zoom again. Instantly, his heart chilled, while he was unaware, the whole already turned into a sea of red buzzing creatures.


    "F*ck!"


    "Goard, take off!"


    The starship lifted up but the red lights did the same, Onana''s heart chilled.


    *****


    Discord link. If you want to see the makeshift map I sketched for the Roronoa Star system, go to my discord server through this link


    https://discord.gg/