SSS Ranked Talent: I Can Upgrade My Skills Infinitely-Chapter 165: The Golden Shard, A Desert of Lost Wealth

The transition from the Wood Shard to the next fragment of reality was not a physical journey. It was a step sideways through the code of the universe. Alvian held the [Soul Vessel] containing the essence of Echo Jiaojiao, the corrupted gardener, and used it as a compass. The [Reality Anchor] inside hummed, pulling him toward its siblings.

"Hold on," Alvian ordered.

Seraphina gripped his arm. Her face was pale, the exhaustion of the endless battle in the Wood Shard still clinging to her. She looked at the grey mist swirling around them—the Dimensional Gap. It was a place where physics went to die, a graveyard of deleted assets and corrupted timelines.

"Where are we going?" Seraphina asked, her voice thin in the airless void.

"To the bank," Alvian replied. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

He stepped forward. The grey mist tore open, revealing a blinding, golden light.

They fell through the tear.

Heat. That was the first sensation. It wasn’t the humid, cloying warmth of the jungle. It was a dry, abrasive heat that felt like opening an oven door directly into your face. It sucked the moisture from their eyes and cracked their lips in seconds.

They landed on a dune. But it wasn’t made of sand. It was made of gold dust. Billions of tiny, granulated flakes of gold stretched out to the horizon, glittering under a sun that was too bright, too close, and completely static in the sky.

[Zone Identified: The Golden Shard]

[Environmental Hazard: [Midas Curse]. Stamina consumption increased by 500%. Metal equipment degrades rapidly.]

[System Error: Time Dilation Detected.]

"Gold," Seraphina whispered, shielding her eyes. "It’s all gold."

She reached down and scooped up a handful of the dust. It slipped through her fingers, heavy and useless.

"Don’t get distracted," Alvian said, his voice amplified by his mana to cut through the whistling wind. "This is the discarded data of the Metal Spirit City. It represents greed, endurance, and stagnation. It is a trap."

He looked at his [Vestments of the Void Monarch]. The fabric rippled, the [Thermal Nullification] passive working overtime to keep him cool. But even with his stats, he felt the drain. The [Midas Curse] wasn’t just heat; it was a spiritual weight. It made every step feel like wading through molasses.

"Valeria is here," Alvian stated, looking toward the center of the desert. He could feel her aura. It was a raging bonfire of golden light, distant but distinct. But it felt wrong. It was frantic. Unstable.

"She’s alive?" Seraphina asked, checking her daggers. The metal was already beginning to tarnish under the curse.

"She’s fighting," Alvian said. "And she has been for a long time."

"A long time? We’ve been separated for maybe an hour," Seraphina frowned.

"Time is relative in the Gap," Alvian corrected. "Here, an hour could be a week. A month. We need to move."

He started walking. He didn’t use [Void Step]. The spatial coordinates here were slippery, shifting like the dunes. Teleporting blindly could land them inside a mountain of solid gold. He had to trust his legs and his [Physique].

The desert was not empty. As they crested the first dune, the sand ahead began to churn.

"Movement," Alvian warned. "Three o’clock."

From the gold dust, shapes emerged. They were skeletal, humanoid figures made of molten slag and rusted iron, draped in tattered rags of expensive silk. They dragged heavy sacks of gold behind them, their movements jerky and pained.

[Enemy Identified: Greed Husk]

[Level: 58]

[Status: Cursed / Eternal Hunger]

"Scavengers," Alvian noted. "Failed players or NPCs from a deleted timeline. They hunt for moisture."

The Husks saw them. They dropped their sacks. They didn’t scream. They made a dry, rasping sound, like sandpaper rubbing together. They charged, their fingers extending into long, rusted needles.

"Seraphina, conserve your stamina," Alvian ordered. "I’ll handle the trash."

He equipped the [Lance of the Void Winter]. The black metal of the weapon hissed as it touched the hot air, the violet frost radiating from the blade creating a small pocket of cool air.

The first Husk lunged, aiming for Alvian’s throat.

"Slow," Alvian whispered.

He didn’t use a skill. He simply thrust. The spear tip pierced the Husk’s chest. There was no blood, only a puff of gold dust. The creature crumbled instantly, its data integrity failing under the assault of the Void weapon.

[Target Deleted.]

Five more Husks swarmed him. Alvian spun the lance.

"Sweep."

The blade carved a wide arc. The [Void Corruption] passive triggered on impact. The Husks didn’t just break; they rusted. In the span of a second, their metal bodies aged a thousand years, turning brittle and collapsing into piles of red dust.

"Efficiency is key," Alvian said, stepping over the remains. "The heat wants us to waste energy. We won’t give it the satisfaction."

They pushed deeper into the desert. The landscape was monotonous, a never-ending sea of gold that messed with their depth perception. Giant statues of forgotten kings rose from the dunes, their faces melted by the relentless sun. Ruined palaces of marble and electrum lay half-buried, monuments to a civilization that had consumed itself.

"Alvian," Seraphina panted, her steps faltering. "My gear... it’s getting heavy."

Alvian looked at her. Her leather armor was stiff, the metal buckles glowing red hot. She wasn’t a tank. She wasn’t built for this environment.

"Inefficient preparation," Alvian muttered, though there was no bite in his tone.

He reached into his inventory. He pulled out a [Glacial Crystal]—a drop from the Frost Sanctum raid.

"Hold this," he said, tossing it to her.

Seraphina caught the crystal. A wave of cool air washed over her, pushing back the Midas Curse. She sighed in relief, color returning to her face.

"Thanks, boss. I thought I was going to melt."

"You are useful," Alvian said, turning back to the horizon. "I don’t discard useful assets."

They reached a canyon formed by two massive dunes. In the distance, a structure rose from the shimmering heat haze. It was a coliseum, vast and circular, built entirely of solid gold bricks. The roar of a crowd echoed from within—not a living crowd, but a magical recording, a loop of cheers and jeers playing on repeat.

And beneath the noise, Alvian heard it.

"RAAAAH!"

A scream of pure rage. It was Valeria.

Alvian’s eyes narrowed. The sound wasn’t just loud; it was desperate. It was the sound of someone who had forgotten why they were fighting, only knowing that they must.

"She’s in the arena," Alvian said, his pace quickening.

Suddenly, the ground in front of them exploded.

A massive hand, made of gold coins and molten slag, shot out of the sand. It grabbed the edge of the canyon, pulling up a body the size of a building.

[Mini-Boss: The Gilded Golem]

[Level: 60]

[Status: Guardian of the Arena]

The Golem roared, spewing a stream of molten gold from its mouth. It blocked the path to the coliseum. It was a gatekeeper, programmed to ensure that once a gladiator entered the arena, no one interfered.

"It’s huge," Seraphina whispered, clutching the ice crystal.

"It’s an obstacle," Alvian corrected.

He looked at the Golem. He looked at the coliseum beyond. He could feel Valeria’s energy spiking, burning through her life force to sustain her [Titan] form. She was redlining.

"I don’t have time to chip away at a health bar," Alvian said. "We’re going through."

He activated [Genesis Mode].

[Soul Strain: Moderate.]

[Stats Doubled.]

Alvian launched himself into the air. He didn’t aim for the Golem’s head or its limbs. He aimed for the ground directly beneath it.

"Physics Lesson Number Twenty-Three," Alvian roared, his body glowing with white light. "Liquefaction."

He drove the [Lance of the Void Winter] into the sand.

"[Frost Descent +2]: Permafrost Spike."

He didn’t freeze the Golem. He froze the sand. The gold dust, usually loose and shifting, snapped into a solid block of ice-concrete under the influence of the spell. But the Golem was heavy. Top-heavy.

The sudden solidification of the ground disrupted its footing. The Golem stumbled, its massive legs slipping on the slick ice.

"Gravity Well."

Alvian cast the singularity spell behind the Golem. The massive construct, already off-balance, was yanked backward. It crashed onto its back with a sound like a treasury collapsing.

"Run," Alvian ordered Seraphina.

They sprinted past the flailing Golem, running across the ice path Alvian had created. The Golem swiped at them, but it was too slow, fighting the gravity well and its own clumsiness.

They reached the gates of the coliseum. The doors were sealed with a puzzle lock, a complex mechanism of rotating gears and runes.

"It needs a code," Seraphina said, analyzing the lock. "Give me five minutes."

"We don’t have five minutes," Alvian said.

He equipped [Voidpiercer].

"The code is violence."

"SLASH."

He cut the lock. Not the metal, but the space holding the mechanism together. The gates groaned and fell inward, crashing into the dust.

The path was open. The sound of fighting inside was deafening now. Alvian stepped through the archway, his heart cold, his mind focused. He had found the arena. Now he had to save the gladiator.