I Merged with a Forbidden SSS-Rank Nanosuit After Being Abandoned-Chapter 78 - Breakthrough To D-rank!

By the time Zion woke up the next day, the air outside was still dark.

[The nanobot material will arrive in twenty minutes,] Uriel’s voice echoed through his head.

"That’s good," Zion yawned, swinging his legs out of bed.

After splashing some water on his face, he quickly got dressed and prepared himself mentally.

"By the way, Uriel," he started, staring at himself in the mirror for a moment. "Is there anything I need to know before I break through to D-rank?"

Uriel remained silent for a moment, then spoke.

[Yes,] it said quietly. [Not only do you need to be prepared for immense physical pain, but there will be a mental aspect as well.]

Hearing that, Zion’s expression faltered slightly. ’Mental aspect? I was just feeling good again...’

[It won’t be too long,] Uriel continued. [Just a fragment of your past to awaken your unique weapons, if I’m right.]

Zion let out a deep breath. "So even you aren’t certain either?"

[No,] it answered, its voice barely a whisper. [You are the first to wear an SSS-rank suit to my knowledge.]

He nodded slowly, though his chest tightened.

’No,’ Zion thought, shaking his head. ’I can face it now.’

A few minutes later, a knock sounded on his door, triggering the silent alarm on his mercenary card.

Zion quickly unlocked the door, finding several guild employees outside with two large metal crates.

"Zane?" one of them asked, narrowing his eyes.

Zion nodded, quickly taking out his mercenary license. "Yes, that’s me."

The staff member glanced at the card for a moment. He scanned it with a small device, then nodded toward his colleagues.

"We’ll take this inside for you," he said, picking up one of the crates.

Zion stepped back, inviting them in with a simple gesture.

One by one, the large metal crates were carried inside and placed in the center of his room.

"That’s all," the same staff member said, glancing at his watch before stepping outside.

"Thanks again," Zion said, nodding as he closed the door behind them.

He turned around, his eyes locking onto the crates.

’Alright,’ he thought, a small smile appearing on his face. ’I should get prepared to get this started.’

Swiping his mercenary card alongside the crates, both lids clicked open, revealing the grainy metallic substance inside.

"Should I just put my arms into both crates once I want to start?" Zion asked.

[Affirmative. I’ll take over from there.]

He nodded slowly, then turned his attention away from the crates.

’I should warn Koru not to bother me for the next few hours,’ he thought, brows furrowing. ’Or even days.’

If he was interrupted while breaking through, it wouldn’t end well for him.

[I can take care of that,] Uriel interrupted. [Just focus on yourself for the moment.]

Zion raised an eyebrow, a strange feeling settling in his stomach. ’Is it really going to be this dangerous?’

Uriel’s silence made him grit his teeth. ’I’ll get through this. No matter what.’

He dragged both crates near the couch, then sat down and closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind as much as possible.

"Alright then," he muttered, his eyes snapping open. "Are you ready for this, Uriel?"

[Affirmative.]

Zion took in a deep breath and placed both hands into the nanobot material.

"Start the breakthrough."

[Starting breakthrough to D-rank now...] Uriel’s voice echoed through his mind mechanically.

Before Zion could even react, he felt something move.

The nanobots in his body began spinning rapidly, heating up his entire body.

Zion gritted his teeth as the heat quickly reached unbearable temperatures.

Without giving him a chance to adjust, the next phase of the breakthrough began.

The nanobot material in the boxes started moving, quickly surging towards his hands.

Zion tried to clench his fists, but couldn’t.

He let out a grunt, his heart pounding as the nanobot material dug beneath his fingernails and entered his body.

For a moment, everything fell still.

[Prerequisites accomplished,] Uriel’s voice echoed mechanically. [Upgrading process starting now...]

Zion’s expression darkened.

Then, his eyes went wide.

The nanobot material spun violently, tearing through every muscle in his body and replacing nearly all of the tissue with nanobots.

"Fuck!" Zion shouted, his body spasming from the overwhelming pain.

His vision warped as strength drained from his limbs, muscles tearing apart faster than his mind could process.

’NO!’ he thought, teeth gnashing under the pressure. ’I HAVE TO STAY AWAKE!’

Zion endured, letting out grunt after grunt.

The nanobots were merciless. Even as his muscles were still being rebuilt, they continued on with the next part and tore straight into his bones.

Even Zion couldn’t withstand the pain, a raw scream forcing its way past clenched teeth.

Every single bone in his body snapped one after another, nanobot material flooding into them while his muscles were still being rebuilt.

Zion screamed until his voice gave out and his throat burned. He blacked out time after time, only to be woken again as another bone snapped.

Minutes passed painfully slow, each second feeling like an entire week.

Then, the pain changed abruptly.

It didn’t lessen, it simply lost its sharpness, as if his body had entered a regenerative state.

Zion laid motionless, his chest barely rising as the nanobots finished their work. His limbs no longer responded, not from pain, but because something inside him refused to move.

Pressure began to build as the full two hundred pounds of nanobot material finished integrating into his body, like invisible weight stacking deeper and deeper inside him.

Zion tried to breathe... but couldn’t.

Suddenly, the pressure intensified.

Then—

SNAP!

Zion’s eyes went wide.

His spine had snapped in half.

His body jerked violently once, then went completely still.

The pressure inside him vanished in an instant, as if something deep within had finally broken apart.

Zion’s vision fractured, light splitting into blurred fragments before his eyes.

He faintly heard Uriel’s mechanical voice, warning him.

Then, all sound faded. Even his thoughts went silent.

And finally—

Everything went dark.