NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2 - Meteor 2
Chapter 2 – Meteor 2
“Kyaaa!”
The moment the Jogress roared in front of him, Lee Yun-ho felt his mind go blank.
His hair stood on end.
Cold sweat poured from his entire body.
Like a frog facing a snake, he couldn’t think.
But that wasn’t all.
Separate from his mind blanking, his body reacted.
“[Master!]”
The instant Integra’s cry rang out, Lee Yun-ho’s body moved.
*Bang!*
A tremendous sound erupted. He didn’t know if it was the sound of the Jogress stomping the ground, or the sound of him kicking off the ground a moment before.
The Jogress’s massive form filled the crater. Lee Yun-ho, having barely escaped the crater by a hair’s breadth, rolled on the ground.
“[Master, you must regain your composure.]”
“[If your mind is dizzy, count prime numbers.]”
Instead of counting prime numbers, Lee Yun-ho breathed.
He felt an overwhelming presence behind him. The Jogress was definitely looking back at him.
Therefore, instead of looking back, Lee Yun-ho started running with all his might.
“Kyaaa!”
The Jogress’s roar shook the surrounding air, the bushes swayed, creating all sorts of noises.
Lee Yun-ho thought as he ran.
Even at Level 1, combat homunculi boasted superhuman physical abilities that surpassed Olympic medalists.
But with a real monster, a beast that could swallow a person whole in one bite, chasing him, he needed something more.
“Integra!”
“[Speak, Master.]”
“[You will be caught in 9 seconds.]”
“[7]”
“[6]”
“Damn it!”
Don’t count down!
But it was also necessary.
Lee Yun-ho kicked off the ground again and shouted.
“Activate Invisibility Mode!”
“[3]”
“[Activating Invisibility Mode.]”
The moment Integra finished speaking, Lee Yun-ho’s body turned transparent.
It was a technique that cloaked the body in the numerous nanites installed within a combat homunculus, refracting light to create an imperfect state of invisibility. Lee Yun-ho knew the general idea but, of course, not the detailed principles.
However, he clearly understood the usefulness of this skill.
“Kya?!”
The Jogress let out a bewildered cry from behind him.
The target in front of it had suddenly disappeared.
The Jogress hurriedly looked around, but still couldn’t see anything.
The bushes seemed to rustle a bit, but that was all.
“Kyaaa.”
The Jogress stopped and looked around again.
Lee Yun-ho, who had thrown himself into the bushes as soon as he activated Invisibility Mode, covered his mouth with his hand and held his breath.
Invisibility Mode lasted for 3 seconds.
The duration increased with level, but at Level 1, 3 seconds was the limit.
Activate it and hide in the bushes.
The Jogress had sharp eyes but a dull sense of smell and other senses, so it was likely to miss him.
No, it *had* to.
“Krrr…”
The presence of the Jogress, which had let out a low growl, gradually faded away.
“[The target is moving away.]”
“[It seems to be giving up and returning.]”
At Integra’s explanation, Lee Yun-ho finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Haa, haa.”
He really thought he was going to die.
There was a tremendous difference in the sheer force between the Jogress he saw in the game and the real thing.
But a smile began to spread across Lee Yun-ho’s face.
He had survived, one way or another.
Moreover, now that he had saved his life, he felt confident in his own abilities.
‘It’s just like the game.’
Even in his initial state, without any enhancements, he possessed superior physical abilities that couldn’t be compared to an ordinary adult male.
The thought that he would be able to utilize the various abilities of the nanites, including Invisibility Mode, in the future made his heart swell with excitement.
Of course, regardless of the nanite abilities, being in a game world, especially one where humans and dragons fought a desperate struggle for survival, was a truly terrifying situation. But Lee Yun-ho didn’t let unnecessary thoughts depress him.
The situation was upon him, so survival came first.
‘Level up. If I level up, I can become overpowered.’
The 9th generation nanites installed in Luther’s body were both self-learning and self-replicating.
As the level increased, the number of nanites increased, and the things he could do expanded.
Right now, he was just running away, but if he leveled up enough, he could even kill a Jogress with his bare hands. That was the Star Savior – Luther Lightseeker.
“Haa… oof.”
As he relaxed, a sharp pain shot through his body.
He had sprinted naked and rolled around in the bushes, leaving his body covered in minor cuts.
But he didn’t need to worry about things like tetanus.
“[Beginning self-repair.]”
Along with Integra’s gentle voice, a tingling sensation spread throughout his body, and the wounds disappeared as if by magic.
It was as if time was rewinding.
“Oh…”
Literal self-repair.
The power of nanites healing injuries!
Right now, at Level 1, he could only heal small wounds, but at higher levels, he could even regenerate severed limbs.
‘Definitely overpowered.’
This was the dignity of a collaboration character.
It was like having a gun-toting character in a game where everyone else just punched.
Having finished healing his wounds, Lee Yun-ho sat up and asked Integra,
“Integra, what equipment can I use right now?”
“[Nanosuit Lv0 is available.]”
Lv0.
A level that didn’t even appear in the game, but it was definitely better than nothing.
“Equip it.”
“[Equipping Nanosuit Lv0.]”
At that very moment, nanoparticles spread across Luther’s entire body, transforming into a tight-fitting black bodysuit.
“Oooh…”
The fit was better than he had imagined, but the process of the Nanosuit equipping itself was particularly impressive.
The Jogress wasn’t the only difference between the game and reality.
“[Is there anything uncomfortable?]”
“No, it’s perfect.”
Lee Yun-ho lightly rolled his shoulders, moved to the base of a tree instead of the bushes, and looked around.
Thanks to regaining some composure, the surrounding environment looked different than before.
‘As expected… the Forest of Ancient Trees?’
The forest that appeared in the early stages of Dragon Hunter 3.
The Jogress was one thing, but the shapes of the surrounding flowers and trees were exactly what he’d seen in the Forest of Ancient Trees.
‘If it’s Dragon Hunter 3, then it’s good for now.’
He knew this game well enough to call it one of his favorites.
In other words, he had information, so it was definitely a better situation than being dropped into a completely unknown world.
Therefore, Lee Yun-ho calmed his mind once again.
Years of experience had ingrained in him the importance of not losing his cool in situations like this.
“Alright, Integra. Let’s think this through calmly together.”
“[Yes, Master. I am already calm.]”
Lee Yun-ho chuckled at Integra’s AI-like response and prioritized his tasks.
‘The Forest of Ancient Trees is dangerous.’
The Forest of Ancient Trees was teeming with not only large and medium-sized dragons like the Jogress, but also various small dragons and monsters.
So his top priority had to be escaping the Forest of Ancient Trees and moving to a village inhabited by people.
‘If it’s Dragon Hunter 3… the Pioneers’ Village should be nearby, right?’
The village of pioneers who made a living hunting dragons.
‘I remember the NPCs.’
The Pioneers’ Village was a fairly important location in Dragon Hunter 3.
Agon, the blacksmith.
Old Man Barb, the leatherworker.
Annabelle, who sold various potions.
Lee Yun-ho unconsciously smiled as he recalled the names and faces of the familiar NPCs.
His heart pounded at the thought that they might all exist, just like the Jogress.
‘This is this, and that is that.’
The situation itself was dire, but he was still in the world of his beloved Dragon Hunter 3.
A small smile formed on his face at the thought of meeting not only the NPCs living in the Pioneers’ Village but also various supporting characters, and even the protagonist siblings, Als and Alisa.
But then,
“[Master, didn’t you say we should think this through calmly together?]”
“[I don’t understand why you’re suddenly smiling to yourself.]”
Luther smiled again at Integra’s gentle yet blunt question.
Star Savior, as well as Dragon Hunter 3, was one of his favorite games.
‘A Star Savior character in the world of Dragon Hunter 3.’
He knew the world, and he had abilities.
So he could somehow manage.
Having made up his mind, Luther began the conversation in earnest.
“Integra, first we need to determine our current location and direction.”
“[Constellation data does not exist.]”
“[Analysis by constellations is impossible.]”
“[Data on the planet’s satellites – the two moons – also does not exist.]”
This planet was a completely unfamiliar place for Integra.
But Lee Yun-ho, a fan of the Dragon Hunter series, had information.
“The sun rises in the east and sets in the west on this planet, too.”
At Lee Yun-ho’s confident words, Integra paused for a moment before giving a new answer.
“[I have estimated the direction by combining the information you provided with the surrounding environmental conditions.]”
“[I will display it as augmented reality through the HUD.]”
As soon as Integra finished speaking, the four cardinal directions, north, south, east, and west, were displayed in front of Luther’s eyes as letters of light.
“Good, then let’s go east for now.”
The Pioneers’ Village was located east of the Forest of Ancient Trees, so if he went east and then followed the edge of the forest, he should be able to reach it.
“And…”
Lee Yun-ho trailed off, looking in the direction he had run from.
Flames and a crater.
‘It’s the mark of something that crashed.’
Of course, that something was himself – Luther Lightseeker. But thinking that way brought a question to mind.
‘Where did I fall from?’
It couldn’t have been from outside the atmosphere.
If that were the case, there would be no way he could have survived, even if he was Luther Lightseeker, the combat homunculus.
‘If I think about it that way… it must be a spaceship, right?’
He broke through the atmosphere in a spaceship and then escaped with just his body.
If so, wouldn’t the spaceship also have crashed somewhere in the Forest of Ancient Trees?
It was possible.
So Lee Yun-ho raised his head and asked,
“Integra, can you find a spaceship around here? Like a signal it’s transmitting.”
At his hopeful question, Integra paused for a moment before answering in a gentle voice.
“[I apologize, Master.]”
“[My current detection range is extremely limited.]”
“[If we approach the spaceship, I will be able to detect the signal, but for now—Master! Life signs are approaching!]”
At Integra’s warning, Lee Yun-ho quickly stood up and turned his gaze in the direction indicated on the HUD.
“Krrr…”
What emerged from the bushes was a Kobold, a dog-headed monster.
It was about 1.7 meters tall, a monster with exceptional strength and speed.
“[There is only one life sign detected nearby.]”
“[A dog-headed alien lifeform is showing hostility.]”
Lee Yun-ho could see it too.
The vicious teeth dripping with saliva and the yellow eyes clearly belonged to a predator. While not as intimidating as the Jogress, it still had the power to frighten a person.
But Lee Yun-ho controlled himself with a deep breath.
He assumed a somewhat awkward fighting stance and spoke to Integra.
“Integra, find me a combat program I can install.”
The Star Savior system.
Lee Yun-ho’s expectations were correct.
Integra’s response came back without a moment’s delay.
“[Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv1 is included in the basic data.]”
“[Would you like to install it?]”
At that very moment, the Kobold kicked off the ground and charged at Lee Yun-ho. Having grasped its movements with the superior dynamic vision of a combat homunculus, Lee Yun-ho instinctively stepped back and shouted,
“Install it!”
“[Installing Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv1!]”
*Flash!*
The moment Integra’s voice ceased, his vision momentarily whitened, and then an immense amount of information filled his mind.
It lasted barely a second.
But in that second, much changed.
Lee Yun-ho’s stance shifted.
He lowered his center of gravity, slightly twisted his upper body, and raised his arms into a natural guard.
Even the way he exhaled and inhaled was different.
The Kobold was the most surprised by this sudden change.
The human’s previously awkward posture had suddenly transformed into that of a seasoned warrior.
What had happened?
Had the human in front of it been hiding its strength?
There wasn’t much time to ponder.
The brief hesitation created an opening.
*Whack!*
A low kick, textbook perfect, struck the Kobold’s leg.
–CROW–