"What happened?"
This time, Blaine felt like he had run into a ghost. Everything—the star core, the moon, Mars, the asteroid belt, even that mysterious metal on the moon—was real. So why couldn't he remember those three missing days? It felt as if some invisible hand had erased that part of his memory, making any attempt to recall it completely useless.
"Forget it. If I can't remember it, then that's that."
"By the way, system, what purity level is this star core?"
"Why does this one seem different from the others? It's glowing… and it's so heavy my hands feel like they're straining."
If something didn't want Blaine to know, then fine—he wouldn't force it. But one day he'd dig out the truth. Three days of missing memory? With a bug like the Hunter System, he wasn't worried. He'd figure it out eventually.
For now, he set the mystery aside and focused on the star core in his hands.
[The star core in the host's hand is Level Three.]
"Then why is it so heavy?"
[Its cohesion time began millions of years ago.]
"And why is it glowing yellow?"
[Because it is Level Three.]
"All Level Threes are this color?"
"No."
"Oh for—System, elaborate without being cryptic!"
Maybe because Blaine had complained last time that the system was too chatty, this time it had become absurdly concise—short answers only, no extra words. Did the system actually have a temper?
[The Level One star core forms over hundreds to thousands of years.]
[The Level Two star core forms over tens of thousands of years.]
[The Level Three star core forms over millions of years.]
[The Level Four star core forms over tens of millions of years.]
Sure enough, Blaine's comment triggered another lecture. None of this was remotely related to what he wanted to know. But a command was a command. Knowledge was knowledge.
"And so on?"
Although he planned to listen, he mentally filtered out the unnecessary parts.
[Not necessarily. The host's current strength is insufficient to destroy that kind of planet.]
…Was the system looking down on him?
"Then tell me—what does a Tenth-Level star core look like? Or did I miss one when I was traveling through space? Tell me and let me give up already."
[No. The host has seen one. Seen it with his own eyes. Even touched it.]
"Nani? Really? When?"
Blaine never expected the system to say he had actually seen and touched a Tenth-Level star core. Shouldn't something like that be completely beyond his reach?
"In your universe, a Tenth-Level star core is equivalent to the Infinity Gems."
"I—what? Seriously? Then why are they so light? And why are the colors different? And why—"
The moment the system mentioned the Infinity Gems, something clicked open inside Blaine's mind—but brought even more confusion with it.
[First, the Infinity Gems in this universe were born at the dawn of creation. They have condensed for an unknown number of billions of years, certainly beginning in the hundreds of billions.]
[Because the Infinity Gems are not formed inside planets, they remain exposed in space for eternity. The essence accumulated over billions of years has been refined and stripped down by time, leaving only the purest concentrated energy—what your ancient texts call 'the essence.']
[Second, star cores above Level Two possess color, but their color changes based on birthplace, environment, and external pressure.]
[Any more questions!]
The system delivered everything in one breath, but the explanations were far beyond Blaine's existing understanding.
"Hold on—let me digest that."
"Oh, right. When you said I can't destroy a planet containing a Tenth-Level star core… does that mean that even if I find one, I can't do anything about it?"
The glowing Level Three star core in Blaine's hands made more sense now.
[Literally, the host has no way.]
"?"
[Because the host is currently too weak to even find one.]
"…Then what you said earlier was nonsense."
Being looked down on twice in a row by the system deeply wounded Blaine's pride.
He had stepped on Mars, smashed into the moon, fought Dormammu twice. He thought he was doing pretty well. And yet here he was, being judged by an AI…
"The method is to upgrade the Hunter Space, absorb the planet entirely, and then retrieve the star core once your strength has grown."
"Uh—system. You circled around all that just to tell me to earn more money and upgrade Hunter Space faster…"
Blaine saw through the system instantly. Still, he couldn't deny that since upgrading to Version 2.0, the system now felt like a real AI—interesting, helpful, convenient. Not to mention the internal marketplace and smart assistant functions. On Earth, people went to search engines for answers; Blaine just asked the system. And the system was much better than any search engine.
While Blaine was still processing the system's explanation, a particular detail suddenly caught his attention—a loophole the system itself had mentioned.
"System, let me ask you—what did you mean by 'this universe'? What do you mean 'this' universe?"
"Does that mean the universe I'm in is only one among thousands?"
As someone who had transmigrated, Blaine knew the basics of Marvel's multiverse—like how one Spider-Man died and another version from a parallel universe took his place. But hearing this confirmed directly from the system still surprised him.
"Correct."
"Then why didn't you say so earlier?"
"The host never asked a similar question."
"Fine—then tell me in detail."
"The current level of Hunter is A. The host does not have permission."
"Huh? No permission?"
This time, Blaine was completely stunned. He was already an A-rank Hunter—what could he possibly not have permission for?
Could it be… his transmigration wasn't a coincidence?
Or was the Hunter System never meant for him in the first place?
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