บท 27: Obtaining mass

[SYSTEM]

The host should acquire a minimum of 40 million feet of mass.

"Yeah, I needed something to get my mind off the fact I just chewed up an alien," Carter muttered, still processing his bizarre encounter with Grekan. Returning to his original form, he stretched his Zone Vision to scan the surrounding area. He had been avoiding absorbing too much mass to stay under the radar, but now it seemed inevitable.

"Not smart to pull in too many meteors where I am, though. Those X3X guys probably already know I trashed their prison." Carter glanced back in the direction of the debris field, calculating the risks. With that thought lingering, he decided to head south, away from the destroyed prison.

He sped off in search of a quiet, uninhabited area, one filled with plenty of meteor clusters to absorb without drawing unwanted attention.

After about another month of speeding through space, Carter grew to an insane 500,000 feet. His gravitational pull had increased significantly, and he could now sense an enormous cluster of meteors ahead, swirling around a dead star. This was the jackpot he'd been searching for.

"Finally," Carter muttered, picking up speed. The sheer size of the meteor field was staggering—hundreds of large celestial bodies, ranging from tiny space debris to asteroids the size of mountains, all waiting to be devoured.

Without hesitation, Carter activated his gravity control. The surrounding meteors began to shift and wobble as his immense gravitational field drew them in. One by one, they started flying toward him, colliding into his surface and being absorbed instantly.

With each meteor that slammed into him, Carter felt his mass increase. The system's notifications buzzed in the background, but he ignored them, focused solely on the task at hand.

"Come on… just a little more," he said, his hunger for growth driving him forward. More meteors poured in, and Carter's size continued to skyrocket.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally stopped. His form was now towering at over a million feet. His surface rippled with energy, the sheer scale of his power almost overwhelming.

[SYSTEM]

The host has now gained 40 million feet of mass.

Carter had gained a size similar to Earth. This size could no longer be considered a meteor—he was once again a moving planet.

"Well, I guess there's no hiding anymore," Carter muttered to himself. He felt the raw power coursing through him with this new mass, but also the heavy responsibility that came with it. He'd been avoiding getting too large for fear of being detected, but that was no longer an option.

Time to move.