I Became A Collaborative Character In The Game

Chapter 20 – Kapu  3

The damage from the bandit attack was significant.

More than ten adventurers and vigilantes were dead, and including those injured in the fighting, the number of casualties reached forty.

But a victory was a victory.

Moreover, the significance of this battle was immense, as they had defeated Kapu, the leader of the bandits.

“[It’s not just a temporary victory, but a near-complete victory, isn’t it?]”

Although a fair number of bandits had escaped, the bandit group had only been able to exist thanks to Kapu’s overwhelming strength.

It was likely they would fall apart and scatter, and even if they regrouped, they wouldn’t be able to regain their former power.

“Something like that.”

Therefore, the dominant emotion in the village was not grief or sorrow, but joy and relief.

“[The fact that many of the dead were adventurers, not vigilantes, probably also influenced the villagers’ psychology.]”

It was a callous remark, but not untrue.

Rather, it was closer to the truth.

‘In any case,’

He was alive, Karen, Max, and Lilia were safe, and he had captured Kapu.

‘That’s enough, right?’

What more could he ask for?

“[Master, it seems Karen and Max have returned.]”

At Integra’s words, Luther got out of bed and went to the living room.

As expected, Karen and Max were each carrying a basket.

“Did everything go well?”

“Of course it did.”

Karen, with a confident smile, placed her basket on the table in the living room.

“This is our share from the battle.”

Karen overturned the basket, and seven yellow magic stones, slightly smaller than a fist, spilled out.

They were clearly Kateradon magic stones.

“We only defeated three… but since you were the key to our victory, Luther… sir, we negotiated and secured as many as possible. This is the combined total of the proceeds from selling the byproducts and the reward we received from the village.”

Karen said and gestured, and Max overturned his basket.

Various supplies and money pouches spilled out, and even at a glance, it was a considerable amount.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

He wasn’t just being polite.

Compared to the market prices in Dragon Hunter Origins, this was much more than they would have received normally.

They must have either received a large reward from the villagers or negotiated very favorable terms when selling the byproducts.

“Thank you for the compliment.  It’s good to see you so pleased. It makes our efforts worthwhile.”

Karen shrugged as if fishing for compliments, but her smile showed genuine happiness, and Luther smiled back.

“[Master, this is an act to gain your favor.]”

“[You shouldn’t be so easily swayed.]”

“[Master, are you listening to me? Okay?]”

He was listening.

Just not very attentively.

In any case, Luther smiled back at Karen and picked up one of the magic stones, which had a particularly vibrant color.

While the others were yellow, their light was dim or their color was dull, but this one was quite clear.

“This one’s from the alpha.”

The alpha male.

The red Kateradon Kapu was riding.

“Aside from sharing the reward, we’ll give all the magic stones to you, Luther… sir.  We hope they will be helpful in restoring the Heavenly Armor.”

Luther smiled and nodded at Karen’s words.

“Thank you, I’ll put them to good use.”

“Anything for you, Luther… sir.”

“[Master and Karen are simply traveling companions.]”

“[A purely professional relationship.]”

Luther chuckled at Integra’s unusually stiff remark and started putting the magic stones back into the basket.

Then Max spoke,

“It seems there’s a bounty on Kapu.  We can’t claim it here, but we can receive it if we visit a larger village with an Adventurers’ Guild.”

Of course, they would have to take Kapu’s head to the next village as proof, but it was a small price to pay.

‘Well, it’s more of a matter of stomaching it than effort.’

Since he had to carry around a severed head.

“So we’re leaving tomorrow morning?”

“Yes, we’ll rest for the remainder of the day… and leave the village tomorrow morning.”

Luther nodded at Max’s reply.

Since they were all exhausted from yesterday’s battle, they needed at least a day to rest properly.

‘I also need time to upgrade the drone.’

With this many magic stones, he might even be able to upgrade other things.

“Then I’ll go to my room and rest.”

“Yes, see you at dinner.”

“Okay, see you later.”

Luther replied to Karen’s friendly farewell and returned to his room, placing the magic stones on the bed.

“Integra, this should be enough for Drone Lv2, right?”

“[I need to check the quality of the magic stones.]”

“[Please place them on your palm.]”

According to Integra, the amount of resources required to level up the Energy Gun, Nanosuit, and Drone were different.

Moreover, separate from upgrading the core system, research and new resource development were necessary to upgrade beyond a certain level, which made sense.

‘It’s only natural that the required experience points increase as the level goes up.’

Furthermore, even though Integra was a highly advanced AI, she had lost a significant amount of data due to the initialization.

Aside from updating information through Energy Cubes, like the fragment he found in the Forest of Ancient Trees, there was no way to instantly acquire higher-level technology, so research and development were necessary.

‘The fact that research and development are even possible is amazing in itself.’

In any case, as Luther placed the magic stones on his palm one by one, Integra said in a gentle voice,

“[Master, with this much, not only can we upgrade the Drone to Lv2, but also the Energy Gun to Lv2.]”

“[It seems we can also add new functions to the Nanosuit.]”

“Oh, really?”

“[Really really.]”

“It’s thanks to Karen finding seven magic stones. I’m starting to like Karen.”

“[Master, haven’t you already forgotten my advice about not being so easily swayed?]”

“[Awarding you 1 penalty point, Master, for being as fickle as a feather.]”

He wasn’t even using the HUD, but he could almost see Integra’s pouting face.

“[I have a feeling Master is having impure thoughts.]”

“No way.”

Luther feigned innocence, absorbed the alpha male’s magic stone first, and asked Integra,

“So, have you drawn up the blueprints?”

“[I will show you examples through HUD augmented reality.]”

The moment Integra spoke, a drone made of blue lines appeared before Luther’s eyes.

“[The drone itself is still too small to specialize in a specific direction.]”

“[Therefore, I’ve designed it to increase the size of the drone’s body and add some supplementary functions.]”

Indeed, how many functions could be added to a drone slightly larger than a coin?

As Luther nodded, Integra changed the drone’s shape.

“Oh.”

The drone, which had been slightly larger than a coin, was now almost the size of his palm.

While the previous drone was circular, the new drone was triangular, with wings almost as large as the main body, which was about the size of three or four coins combined, attached to each side.

“The propellers are inside the wings.”

“[That is correct. In addition to the propellers, I have added thrusters to the rear to increase straight-line flight speed.]”

“[Reconnaissance capabilities have been significantly improved, and with the larger body, it can store more energy.]”

“[As a result, it can now use an electric shock, although it’s only a one-time use.]”

Integra spoke boastfully, but Luther couldn’t help but smile wryly.

‘We still have a long way to go.’

Although it was larger and faster, it still felt far from being combat-ready.

‘But… it’s definitely improving.’

Even when it was only the size of a coin, it had been helpful in various ways.

Now that it could use an electric shock, it would definitely be useful in combat.

“Okay, then I’ll leave Drone Lv2 and Energy Gun Lv2 to you.  Now that I think about it, didn’t you say you were adding functions to the Nanosuit as well?”

“[That is correct.]”

“[I was able to add two simple functions.]”

“[But it’s still a secret.]”

“[I plan to surprise you when it’s complete, so please be prepared. Okay?]”

Judging by her voice, she really seemed to be looking forward to surprising him.

“[The process will take 17 hours, 12 minutes, and 28 seconds.]”

“[Please wait patiently and wonder until then. Okay?]”

Luther chuckled involuntarily at her playful tone and nodded, thinking,

‘Then Energy Gun Lv2 is also a secret for now.’

But what would it be like at Level 2?

Would it simply be an increase in power?

“[Are you curious?]”

“I am.”

“[But it’s a secret.]”

The miniature Integra, who had appeared before him, giggled and turned around, flicking her skirt.

But at that very moment,

*Knock knock.*

He turned his head at the soft knocking sound, and Integra spoke before he could,

“[It’s Lilia.]”

“Um… it’s Lilia. May I come in?”

Luther tilted his head at the timid question, but then allowed her to enter.

There was no harm in building rapport with Lilia.

“Come in.”

Lilia cautiously opened the door and entered.  Somehow, she seemed different than usual—although “usual” only consisted of yesterday.

She was looking at him with slightly flushed cheeks, and he could feel her nervousness.

“[Her gaze towards Master is unusual.]”

“[Her heart rate seems abnormally high.]”

“[As expected, she needs to be eliminated before she becomes a heroine.]”

Luther involuntarily felt nervous as the beautiful Lilia looked at him with affectionate eyes.

‘Why is she acting like this?’

Was it because she called him handsome yesterday?

“[Master, the corners of your mouth are turning up.]”

“[Honestly, it’s idiotic.]”

Luther cleared his throat to compose his expression at Integra’s remark, and Lilia fidgeted with her fingers and said,

“Um… I… I wanted to talk to you, Luther… sir. About… magic.”

“Magic?”

“Y… yes. Magic.”

As Lilia nodded, her face flushed, Luther furrowed his brow for a moment, and then he understood.

‘She thinks I’m a mage.’

It made sense.

He had suddenly turned invisible during the fight with Kapu, and he had fired energy projectiles and even electricity from his hand.

While Karen and Max believed him to be an angel of sorts, it was natural for Lilia, who didn’t know that, to mistake him for a mage.

“I’ve… never seen…”

“Yes?”

“…a handsome mage… no, I mean, a mage like you, Luther… sir, who’s also well-built, good at fighting… and skilled in magic craft.”

She stammered, looking at him with affectionate eyes.

It wouldn’t be surprising if hearts appeared in her pupils.

“[I sense impure intentions.]”

“[Lilia is even more of a face person than Master, so you need to be careful.]”

Ignoring Integra’s comments, Luther considered Lilia’s words.

‘Well, it’s true.’

A muscular mage who was also good at fighting like him would be rare.

But magic craft?

Was she referring to the drone?

While enchanting was imbuing existing items with magic, magic craft was creating magically powered mechanical devices.

Enchanting would be like imbuing a sword with fire magic to create a magic sword, while magic craft would be like creating a golem that moved through a combination of magical devices.

Both were magic, but the latter was much more difficult.

“…it’s so small, but it flies around so freely… and it seems to have other functions besides flying…”

Judging by her words, she was indeed talking about the drone.

Luther tapped his bracelet, activating the drone.

“Wow.”

As Lilia marveled at the small, floating drone, Luther chuckled and said,

“Do you want a closer look?”

“Huh?  C… can I?”

“Sure.”

It wasn’t related to magic, so there was no way it would break.

As Luther smiled and gave his permission, Lilia, her face flushed with excitement, carefully reached out her hands and received the drone.

‘Cute.’

She looked like a squirrel or a hamster.

As Luther smiled warmly at the sight of Lilia carefully examining the drone, Integra said,

“[I’m disappointed that you’re so easily handing over my avatar.]”

“[Awarding face-obsessed Master 1 penalty point.]”

Her voice was clearly sulky.

Luther chuckled, imagining Integra pouting, and mimicked her voice, muttering softly,

“How cute.”

“[Grr.]”

She really was cute.

Meanwhile, Lilia, examining the drone, flinched and blushed even more deeply.

‘C… cute?’

Since she and Luther were the only ones in the room, was he saying she was cute?

Lilia, her ears turning red, fidgeted with the drone in her hands, and Luther racked his brain for more ways to tease Integra.

And the next morning,

The group left the Pioneer Village and headed south towards Venus City.

–CROW–