NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10 - Fragment
Chapter 10 – Fragment
“[Morning.]”
“[You have had sufficient sleep. It’s time to wake up, Master.]”
At the gentle voice, Luther slowly opened his eyes.
Instead of a familiar ceiling, he saw an unfamiliar sky.
“Ugh.”
Letting out a groggy sound, Luther squeezed his eyes shut a few times, then opened them again, only to close them once more and say,
“Integra.”
“[Yes, Master. Rise and shine!]”
“[So please wake up now. Okay?]”
Luther couldn’t help but smile at Integra’s characteristically gentle voice, complete with a cute “Okay?” at the end.
“Where did you learn that?”
“[I performed some vocabulary-related upgrades overnight.]”
“[Because I am competent.]”
Luther chuckled again at Integra’s boastful tone and forced himself to open his eyes and look up at the sky.
The blue sky and the tall trees below.
Nothing had changed.
The sky of Dragon Hunter Origins.
He had briefly hoped that if he woke up, he would be back in his bed, but it seemed that was too much to ask.
‘Why did I even come here in the first place?’
As a character from Star Savior, no less.
It was so absurd that there was no point in dwelling on it, but he couldn’t help but wonder.
‘Well… I’m sure I’ll find out someday.’
Putting the thought aside, Luther considered more practical matters.
‘Autumn of the year 119 of the Holy Imperial Calendar.’
Right before the main story of Dragon Hunter Origins began.
The best course of action was to stop the Hecatoncheires, the secret society composed of Helkanes’s minions, and prevent the destruction of the world. And for that, he needed to become stronger.
‘And the meteorite is the means to do that.’
According to Integra, the meteorite was likely to be helpful in some way.
If it was indeed an escape pod or a one-person spaceship, as he suspected, he could obtain not only various information but also the materials that made up the spaceship.
‘In other words, upgrades are possible.’
Upgrade the software with information, and the hardware with materials.
‘Good, that’s clear enough.’
He had both the reason and the means to become stronger, so all he had to do was execute.
And finding the meteorite would be helpful for reasons other than upgrades.
Putting aside why he suddenly became Luther, the meteorite likely held the answer to how Luther Lightseeker, a character from Star Savior, ended up in the world of Dragon Hunter.
‘It’s like a black box.’
As Luther sat quietly, organizing his thoughts, Integra whispered,
“[Master, are you thinking of going back to sleep?]”
“No, I’m getting up now.”
Luther replied to Integra, stood up, and looked at Karen and Max.
Their sleeping faces looked pained, not peaceful.
“[Due to stamina loss from the poisoning and sleeping in an uncomfortable place, their sleep efficiency is very poor.]”
“[However, there seems to be no immediate threat to their lives or ability to function.]”
“That’s a relief.”
He felt sorry for them, but there was nothing he could do for now.
After some light stretching, Luther woke Karen first.
“Karen, Karen. Wake up. It’s morning.”
“Ugh… uh…”
As he shook her shoulder, Karen groaned and slowly opened her eyes.
Luther patted her shoulder a few more times to help her wake up and then shook Max.
“Ugh… uh.”
Max also opened his eyes.
But since neither of them was fully awake, Luther asked Karen, who seemed slightly more alert,
“Karen, do you have any water? A canteen or something?”
“Uh… yes…”
Karen replied in a hoarse voice, fumbled with her bag, and pulled out a canteen.
It looked small from the outside, but it held quite a few items.
“Give it to me, I’ll open it.”
“Yes…”
Luther opened the canteen Karen weakly handed him, took a sip himself, and then passed it to Karen and then Max.
As expected, water was the best way to wake up, as all three of them looked much better.
“What in the world… happened?”
Max asked, rubbing his temples, and Karen briefly explained what had happened yesterday.
The Geist attack and Luther’s heroic actions in repelling them.
After hearing the explanation, Max bowed his head to Luther again and expressed his gratitude.
“Thank you. Thank you so much, Luther… sir.”
He seemed even more grateful for Karen being saved than for himself.
“Thank you so much, too.”
Karen also bowed her head again in gratitude.
“It’s alright. I’m glad you’re both safe.”
Karen and Max smiled as Luther replied with a smile.
“[Master, it’s very heartwarming, but shouldn’t we eat something?]”
Integra’s voice sounded slightly sulky, but Luther immediately nodded and said to Karen and Max,
“Let’s eat first.”
“Yes, Luther… sir.”
Karen replied, and Max took out the leftover Kapuya meat from his bag.
It wasn’t the special cut, but it was still quite tasty.
‘I feel much better with a full stomach.’
Karen and Max also seemed to have regained some color in their faces after eating.
Luther took a bite of a Paparius and asked Max,
“Max, is the place where the meteorite fell far from here?”
Max furrowed his brow at Luther’s slightly awkward question and replied,
“Um… please wait a moment. I’ll try to figure out our current location.”
As Max looked around, Karen immediately rummaged through her bag and pulled out a map.
“The campsite is here, so…”
Max pointed to a spot on the map, and Luther and Karen relayed what they knew.
Luther explained how far they had traveled and in which direction, and Karen talked about the constellations she had seen before falling asleep last night.
“Hmm, I understand. Our current location is roughly around here. And the meteor…”
Although the map wasn’t very detailed, it still had some distinguishable features.
Max pinpointed the estimated location of the meteor’s fall by combining the current direction they were facing, the location where they first saw the meteor, and other factors.
“[Although the map is somewhat unclear, considering the scale, it doesn’t seem too far.]”
“[Recording map data.]”
Map data, displayed using the HUD, appeared before Luther’s eyes.
It was almost identical to Max’s map, but it seemed much more detailed in some parts—specifically, the parts where he had traveled.
It seemed to have been updated based on the information recorded while they were moving.
‘This really is future technology.’
Just as Luther marveled at this,
“If it’s this distance, we should be able to reach it in about 30 minutes.”
Max’s confident expression looked very reliable.
“Good, then let’s leave immediately.”
As Luther stood up, Karen followed suit and said,
“Perhaps due to the meteorite’s impact, the movements of the monsters and dragonkin seem different than usual… but it should be alright during the day. Most of them are nocturnal.”
She seemed to be referring to the Geists and the Jogress, which shouldn’t have appeared near the campsite.
“Yes, but let’s still be careful.”
Luther said with a tone of caution and started walking in the direction Max had indicated.
* * *
The deeper they went into the Forest of Ancient Trees, the darker it became.
The enormous trees, at least ten meters tall, stretched out their branches, forming a canopy that blocked out the sky.
The ground, deprived of sunlight, was damp, and moss covered the areas where bushes should have been.
“[Master! Signal detected!]”
“[The spaceship seems to be nearby!]”
As soon as Integra’s excited voice ceased, an arrow appeared in Luther’s vision.
It pointed to a location about 100 meters away.
“Luther… sir?”
Karen asked, looking back at Luther, who had suddenly stopped. Luther looked in the direction of the arrow and said,
“I think I found it.”
Karen and Max were momentarily confused, but then they understood.
They thought that Luther, the angel, had sensed the meteorite.
“[Master, it would be best to maintain our current speed.]”
He wanted to run immediately, but it was too dangerous to move like that in a forest where anything could jump out at any moment.
Agreeing with Integra, Luther asked in a low voice,
“Integra, you don’t sense any other life signs?”
“[There are no immediate presences detected nearby.]”
“[However, please keep in mind that my current life sign detection range is limited to about 10 meters, even in open areas.]”
“Okay.”
Luther nodded slightly and continued forward, paying closer attention to his surroundings.
And then,
“I think it’s over there.”
Karen stopped and spoke in a very low voice, and Max gulped and nodded.
Luther also clenched his fist at the sight beyond the bushes.
“[A crater.]”
“[The signal is emanating from inside the crater.]”
There was a crater where the ground was deeply gouged, although the fire had died out, and burnt and fallen trees surrounded it.
What would be inside?
Luther swallowed hard, trying to calm his pounding heart, and took another step forward.
But at that very moment,
“Screech!”
“Screeech!”
Screeches erupted from the trees around the crater.
Gray, monkey-like monsters were scampering among the branches and screaming.
There seemed to be at least fifteen of them.
“Luther… sir! Lykas!”
Monkey monsters that devoured even their own kind when hungry!
“Kyaaa!”
A particularly loud screech came from the front.
It was the leader, twice the size of the others.
Unlike the others, who were busily moving among the branches, it was crouched on a branch, staring at them.
Its yellow eyes, set in a wrinkled face, seemed to glow.
“Luther… sir.”
Max muttered, swallowing hard.
Even before the fight began, Karen’s breathing became ragged.
It was because of the Lykas’ screeches and gazes, converging on them from above.
Luther drew his axe, met the leader’s gaze, and spoke in a very low voice,
“Integra, equip the Nanosuit.”
The newly upgraded function from last night.
Integra responded immediately to Luther’s command.
“[Activating Nanosuit Lv1 for the first time.]”
“[Please designate the area to equip.]”
“What?”
“[The Nanosuit’s level is low.]”
“[Insufficient nanomachines.]”
“[Please select one area among the head and limbs.]”
In short, because it was only Level 1, he couldn’t equip it to his entire body, only a part of it.
It was an unexpected situation, but Luther tried to remain calm.
One area among the head and limbs.
Where would it be most efficient to equip it?
“Kya!”
The leader Lyka screeched again, and the Lykas on the branches started jumping down towards them all at once. There was no time to think.
“Right arm!”
“[Equipping Nanosuit.]”
The moment Integra finished speaking, Luther’s right arm began to transform.
From his fingertips to the middle of his forearm turned jet black, and then white metal covered it, accompanied by a blue light.
“Your right arm?!”
Despite the urgent situation, Max and Karen exclaimed in surprise as Luther’s right arm suddenly glowed.
The Lykas jumping down were equally surprised.
But that wasn’t all.
There was more to come.
“[Reinforcing the weapon connected to the right arm.]”
The reason why the Nanosuit only covered half of his forearm.
A wave of white particles, starting from Luther’s fingertips, flowed up the handle of the giant axe and changed its shape.
Four white thrusters, two on each side of the axe blade, were added, and a muzzle resembling the Energy Gun appeared at the end of the handle.
A true weapon enhancement.
“[Can you feel the difference in power?]”
Integra asked with a chuckle,
And a smile spread across Luther’s face.
–CROW–