NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13 - Integra
Chapter 13 – Integra
“[Deactivating Nanosuit.]”
“[Beginning self-repair.]”
The Nanosuit, which had covered his entire right arm, dispersed as if rewinding time, transforming into a plain black bracelet.
“Oh.”
Luther let out a small exclamation of admiration, moved his arm around, and then sat up.
Just then, Max approached.
“Luther… sir!”
His face was covered in blood from a cut on his forehead, and he was limping, but his bright smile showed he was alright.
Relieved, Luther raised his hand slightly in acknowledgment.
“Oh, my…”
Max, arriving in front of Luther, looked back and forth between the giant axe lying on the ground and the massive head of the Jogress, and let out another exclamation of admiration.
“That was… truly amazing. An incredible blow. As expected of an angel.”
Luther’s attack, descending from the sky like divine punishment, truly resembled a scene from a legend.
“[I agree.]”
“[It was truly magnificent.]”
Luther, feeling a little embarrassed by Integra’s added praise, hid his shyness with an awkward smile and said to Max,
“Max, come closer. I’ll heal you.”
As Max gulped and approached, Integra said,
“[He has a laceration on his forehead and bruises all over his body.]”
“[His right ankle seems to be sprained.]”
“[The most efficient treatment would be to heal the laceration on his forehead and stop the bleeding.]”
Fortunately, it wasn’t a fracture.
Luther healed the cut on Max’s forehead and then turned his gaze.
Karen was sitting under a large tree, catching her breath.
She must have emerged from where she was hiding.
“[Her injuries are less severe than Max’s.]”
“[However, since she is much lighter, the overall impact was greater, and she seems to be mentally exhausted.]”
It was likely due to the strain of using her telekinesis in a weakened state.
“Let’s heal Karen too.”
Luther muttered and approached Karen, and Max, limping, followed behind.
“Karen.”
At Luther’s call, Karen managed a weak smile despite her exhaustion.
It seemed that it was indeed Karen’s quick thinking that had guided the attack into the Jogress’s eye with her telekinesis.
“I’ll heal you now.”
Karen closed her eyes quietly as Luther’s hand touched her forehead.
“[Treatment of the laceration complete.]”
“[She is just exhausted, there is no threat to her life, so you don’t need to worry.]”
Luther breathed a sigh of relief at Integra’s explanation and said to Karen,
“Thank you. You were a great help.”
He wouldn’t have been able to complete the upgrade safely without Karen’s quick thinking.
Karen smiled and replied to Luther’s gratitude,
“We’re alive thanks to you, Luther… sir. I’m glad I could help.”
“Yes, we helped each other.”
Luther smiled back and, after checking on Karen again, asked Integra in a low voice,
“She wasn’t affected by the Energy Cube, was she?”
“[I need to observe her for a longer period to be certain, but based on her current condition, there seem to be no abnormalities.]”
“Okay.”
Breathing another sigh of relief, Luther said to Karen, who was blinking tiredly,
“Leave the rest to me and get some rest.”
“…Yes, Luther… sir.”
Karen replied weakly, closed her eyes, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
It seemed she had been barely holding on until now.
Max quietly watched Karen and then spoke to Luther,
“Luther… sir, since it’s the corpse of a Jogress, no less, no other monsters will approach.”
He was right.
The presence of a Jogress corpse meant that someone stronger than a Jogress was nearby.
“[It seems they believe there are no monsters stronger than a Jogress in this forest.]”
That wasn’t entirely true.
Deeper within the Forest of Ancient Trees, there were stronger dragonkin—or even other Jogresses.
But in this area, which could be considered the boundary between the outer and inner regions, the Jogress was the strongest.
As Max said, this area would be safer than usual for a while.
“You rest too, Max. I’ll go examine the Jogress’s corpse.”
“Yes, Luther… sir. Please let me know if you need any help.”
Max had already seen Luther extract the magic stone from the Jackal.
Luther simply nodded and walked towards the Jogress’s corpse, saying,
“Integra, did you absorb all the power from the Energy Cube?”
“[I wasn’t able to absorb it all, but I used it all. I had to sacrifice efficiency for speed, but restoring the core system was a significant achievement.]”
“Now that you mention it, what is the core system?”
It was a term he hadn’t heard in Star Savior.
Integra replied in a calm tone,
“[It is the fundamental system that forms Master’s foundation.]”
“[It consists of eight cores, and Master has currently unlocked only the first core.]”
“[The core system itself was damaged due to the impact of the fall, but fortunately, it has been restored through the absorption of the Energy Cube.]”
“Wait, so I was… broken until now?”
“[That is correct. Master was in a damaged state.]”
“[You were not functioning normally.]”
It was Integra’s usual earnest reply, but somehow, it felt like he was being insulted.
“[Master?]”
“No, um… no. Anyway, the core system has been restored, right?”
“[That is correct.]”
“[It is a special system installed only in Master among the numerous combat homunculi. Theoretically, if all eight cores are activated, you can obtain god-like power—according to the manual.]”
Although the explanation became a little dubious towards the end, there was no way Integra was lying.
‘Is it an ability gained through the collaboration? Or an ability not implemented in the game?’
Luther furrowed his brow and asked Integra again,
“Integra, how many cores were active before I crashed?”
“[I apologize.]”
“[The data has been deleted, so I cannot determine that.]”
“[However, it is certain that the core system is Master’s foundation, and each time a core is activated, Master’s abilities will be greatly enhanced.]”
A setting that didn’t appear in Star Savior.
But according to Integra, it was an element that would raise his growth potential, so there was no reason to refuse it for now.
“Okay, so there are no other benefits besides the core system?”
Integra replied in her gentle voice,
“[I have successfully upgraded my software using the data within the Energy Cube.]”
“[I can now develop Master’s various functions to a higher level.]”
“A higher level, you say?”
“[The development limit for each function has been increased to Level 5.]”
“[In addition, as I mentioned before, I was also able to improve my performance through the software upgrade.]”
“[Can you feel the difference?]”
Luther reflexively nodded at Integra’s question.
Integra seemed to have become a little more human-like than before the fight with the Jogress.
“[And there is one more crucial piece of information.]”
“[Although the data is incomplete due to the damaged Energy Cube, the fragment we found seems to have been an escape pod.]”
“An escape pod?”
“[Yes. Although it transformed into a cylindrical shape after separating from Master, it seems it originally expanded into a coffin-like shape to protect you.]”
He could roughly imagine its shape.
As Luther nodded in understanding, Integra continued,
“[The presence of an escape pod means that Master was aboard a vehicle equipped with such a device.]”
“[According to the last information captured before the Energy Cube shut down, an Energy Cube signal is emanating from a location approximately 100km southeast of our current position.]”
“[I should be able to detect the exact location once we get closer.]”
“An Energy Cube signal… so there’s actually a spaceship or something this time?”
“[I cannot be certain. However, it is highly likely that it possesses more energy and data than the fragment we found.]”
‘I see, so this is my main story.’
It was a very game-like or web novel-like thought, but it seemed plausible.
He would upgrade himself by finding fragments while following the trail of the spaceship.
And the location of the next fragment was 100km southeast.
It seemed like a good immediate goal.
“And the Jogress.”
More precisely, the Jogress’s magic stone.
In Dragon Hunter 3, when hunting dragonkin, players collected leather, bones, claws, and other parts to craft new equipment. But for Luther, the magic stone was the most important.
‘Of course, I intend to collect other things as well.’
In the game, even if you defeated a monster, you couldn’t obtain its parts unless they were dropped as items. But in reality, all he had to do was collect them.
As Luther mentioned the Jogress, Integra, understanding immediately, asked,
“[Master, would you like to equip the Nanosuit?]”
“[Unlike before, you can now use the strength enhancement function.]”
“Oh, good.”
As Luther gave his permission, the white Nanosuit covered not only his right arm but also his shoulder.
Luther clenched his fist experimentally and smiled involuntarily.
A sense of omnipotence.
He felt like he could do anything.
“Alright, let’s begin.”
Luther gripped the axe handle shortly and slowly cut open the Jogress’s chest with the blade.
It was his first time butchering something, but since his goal was to extract the magic stone embedded near the heart, brute force was enough.
And so, he obtained a fist-sized, red magic stone.
Not only was it large, but its color was far more vibrant than the Jackal’s magic stone.
It was so clear and bright that it resembled a jewel.
‘Well, it was a mid-boss level monster in Dragon Hunter 3, even if it was early game.’
The Jogress was the first “wall of tears” that new players encountered in Dragon Hunter 3.
It possessed size, resilience, and attack power far exceeding those of smaller dragonkin.
“[It won’t be enough to unlock the second core, but absorbing it should result in significant growth.]”
“[Master, if you don’t mind, may I decide the next growth direction?]”
“Huh? Is there something specific you want to develop?”
“[Yes. It will definitely be of great help to Master.]”
“Alright.”
Luther nodded readily at her confident and gentle words.
There was no way Integra would choose something harmful to him, so he was curious to see what she would select.
“[Thank you. Beginning absorption of the energy source.]”
“[Nanomachine production speed has increased due to the restoration of the core system.]”
“[I’ll show you in 30 minutes, so please look forward to it. Okay? Okay?]”
Luther chuckled as Integra acted cute like a real girl.
‘Cute.’
So this was what it meant to become more human-like.
Luther chuckled again and continued butchering the Jogress’s corpse.
And 30 minutes later,
Luther, sitting in front of the Jogress’s remains, smiled again at Integra’s playful tone.
“[Ta-da!]”
Before Luther’s eyes,
A small, white drone, slightly larger than a 500 won coin, was floating in the air.
Like Luther’s Nanosuit, it had white metal plates on a black body. Perhaps because it was only Level 1, it was a propeller drone with propellers on each corner of its square body, a type commonly found even on 21st-century Earth.
But Integra, as if showing off, performed an acrobatic maneuver and said in a smug tone,
“[Master, can you feel the power of superior science?]”
Hearing those words from a small, cute drone made Integra seem even cuter than usual.
Luther held out his palm, and the drone landed on it like a small bird.
“Impressive. What can I do with this?”
In Star Savior, not only the Energy Gun and Nanosuit, but also the Drone started at Level 5.
‘And the Drone’s role depended on how you developed it.’
From reconnaissance to combat support, its performance and appearance changed drastically depending on its development.
Integra answered Luther’s question.
“[For now, its primary function is reconnaissance.]”
“[You can share vision with Master through the camera on the Drone, and it can also perform aerial surveillance, so your search capabilities will be greatly improved.]”
‘Ah, so that’s why.’
It seemed she was concerned about them being attacked before even realizing the enemy’s presence.
‘How thoughtful.’
Luther tapped the drone’s body with his fingertip as if treating it like Integra’s avatar.
“[And there is one more special function.]”
“What is it?”
Luther asked, and the drone flew up again, and a light projected from the yellow gem embedded in its center.
“[Can you feel the power of superior science now?]”
A small hologram, smaller than his palm, formed above the drone.
And its appearance was truly extraordinary.
“Inte… gra?”
“[I considered your preference for pretty faces, Master.]”
A beautiful, silver-haired girl in a mini-maid outfit.
Her golden eyes twinkled playfully as she slightly lifted her skirt and smiled seductively.
–CROW–