NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7 - Meteor 7
Chapter 7 – Meteor 7
“[Detoxification in progress.]”
“[Expelling toxins.]”
The poisoned needles were pushed out, and green fluid flowed out along with blood.
Luther, feeling a stinging pain, looked forward.
As expected, it was Geists emerging from the bushes.
Geists.
A type of Orc, specialized in using poison.
They were larger than ordinary Orcs, and also superior in intelligence and strength, making them very difficult opponents.
‘Four in total!’
Having confirmed the life signs displayed on the HUD, Luther stumbled backward as if poisoned and collapsed on the spot.
The Geists, holding blowguns in their mouths and watching Luther, laughed and stood up.
“[Master, they seem to have let their guard down.]”
“[Two of the four are approaching Karen and Max.]”
Luther saw it too.
He saw one of them pick up Karen’s leg.
But Luther endured.
Instead of shouting, he waited for the gauge bar displayed in the corner of the HUD to reach 100%.
“Kuh-huh.”
One of the Geists laughed, looking at Karen.
Another raised a club, looking at Max.
It seemed intent on crushing his head.
And one approached Luther.
Its hand reached for his head.
“[Energy Gun specialized nanites 100% complete!]”
Before Integra’s announcement even finished, Luther extended his right hand.
The surprised Geist faltered for a moment, but by then, an energy projectile had already been fired from Luther’s palm.
“Gah!”
The Geist, struck squarely in the chest, fell backward.
The Energy Gun at Lv1 was weak, but that was only by Star Savior standards.
Even with the current power, equivalent to a pistol, a direct hit could take down most enemies in one shot.
“Integra! Rapid fire!”
Luther jumped to his feet and turned his right hand towards the Geists surrounding Karen and Max.
A white aiming reticle formed in front of his eyes, automatically locking onto the targets before he could even make any adjustments.
*Pew pew pew!*
The Geists who had turned their heads at the sound of the first Geist falling were struck between the eyes and in the neck by energy projectiles and collapsed.
Luther, pressing his advantage, extended his right hand towards the last remaining Geist.
*Pew pew pew!*
A 3-round burst again.
But the last one didn’t go down easily.
The largest of the group, presumably the leader, blocked the energy projectiles with the axe it was holding.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The energy projectiles ricocheted off with a loud noise.
It wasn’t something an ordinary axe could do.
Luther immediately recognized the weapon.
‘Anti-Dragon Axe!’
Weapons developed to fight giant dragons.
A weapon enhanced by inserting enchanted magic stones. Judging by its size, almost as tall as a person, it seemed to be enchanted with strength and durability enhancements.
“[Master! It’s coming!]”
The leader, having blocked the shots, charged towards Luther with its axe raised like a shield.
Its speed was much faster than he had imagined.
“[Master! You need to create distance—]”
There wasn’t even time to respond, let alone listen to Integra’s entire warning.
The leader closed the distance in an instant, roared, and swung its axe. At that moment, lightning seemed to strike before Luther’s eyes.
*Boom!*
The ground shook with a terrifying roar.
It wasn’t just the leader’s immense strength, but also the effect of the enchantment on the axe.
“Hoo.”
Luther, having leaped back to avoid the attack, exhaled sharply.
If he had been even a little slower, his head would have been split in two.
“[Master, four shots remaining in the Energy Gun—It’s coming again!]”
Integra’s rapid-fire warnings became urgent again.
The axe, which had been swung vertically, was now coming horizontally.
*Whoosh!*
The power was tremendous.
But Luther calmly dodged the attack again.
Although the leader’s attacks were fast and powerful, the size of the giant axe made them somewhat predictable.
‘Here it comes again.’
This time, diagonally.
Just as Luther predicted,
The leader rotated the axe it had swung horizontally and then swung it towards Luther again.
‘Here I go!’
Instead of creating distance, Luther charged towards the leader.
He couldn’t create enough distance just by backing away.
So he closed the gap instead.
He would create a space where the leader couldn’t properly swing its giant axe!
*Boom!*
The giant axe slammed into the ground again, and Luther, ducking under the swinging axe, slipped into the leader’s blind spot.
*Pew! Pew!*
And at point-blank range, energy projectiles exploded.
One hit the shoulder, the other missed.
The leader had turned its head the moment Luther extended his right arm.
“Kiak!”
The creature, hit in the left shoulder, turned towards Luther, writhing in pain.
Luther rolled on the ground to create distance and aimed at its head again as he stood up.
But at that very moment,
“Kiak?!”
The leader suddenly groaned and stopped moving.
No, it froze in an unnatural posture, unable to move, as if it had been petrified.
What happened?
He didn’t know.
But what mattered now wasn’t the reason why it had frozen.
Luther immediately stood up, covered the leader’s open mouth with his palm, and fired the Energy Gun in rapid succession.
*Pew pew pew!*
The energy projectiles, fired at point-blank range, penetrated the leader’s mouth.
Even a tough creature like this wouldn’t be able to withstand a direct internal attack.
“[All ammunition depleted!]”
Luther withdrew his right hand as he heard Integra’s voice.
“Kuh…”
The leader didn’t fall immediately, but it was only a matter of time.
It stumbled and then collapsed forward.
“[Life signs extinguished.]”
“[Master’s victory!]”
“Haa…”
Luther let out an involuntary sigh of relief.
It was a natural reaction, considering the fight was incomparable to the one against the Kobold.
If he had allowed even a single blow from the leader, the result would have been the opposite.
“Haa.”
Luther exhaled again and turned towards Karen and Max.
Karen was reaching out to him with a weary expression.
And at that moment, Luther realized the cause of the strange phenomenon that had occurred to the leader.
Karen’s faintly glowing green eyes, her trembling hand, and the leader frozen as if bound by an invisible force.
Karen had done something.
Perhaps it was some kind of superpower.
‘As expected.’
Someone as beautiful as her couldn’t be a mere extra.
Luther chuckled at the thought that popped into his head and took another deep breath.
Integra’s voice followed.
“[Master, that was an incredible battle.]”
“[Even with the combat program installed, it is extremely rare for someone to demonstrate combat abilities as close to perfection as Master did in such a short period.]”
“[Your combat sense was also excellent.]”
It wasn’t empty praise.
Integra was genuinely impressed by Luther’s combat abilities.
Luther simply smiled at Integra’s praise and approached Karen and Max.
“Integra, assess their condition.”
Although they hadn’t been hit by poisoned needles like him, they were both affected by the Paralyzing Mushroom Spores.
He had to treat them quickly.
“[Master, a weak psychic energy reaction is detected from Karen.]”
“[Karen’s life signs are significantly weakened.]”
“[Max’s life signs are also weak.]”
Their condition was more serious than he thought.
Luther laid Karen, who was closer, on the ground.
Her sweat-soaked body was burning hot.
It was partly due to the Paralyzing Mushroom Spores, but it seemed she had overexerted herself using her abilities in a weakened state.
Luther held Karen’s hand and asked,
“Integra, can you heal them?”
“[Possible. However, a significant amount of nanites will be lost.]”
“[Healing both of them could drastically reduce Master’s combat power.]”
“Damn it.”
He had to do it anyway.
It wasn’t the time to weigh the pros and cons.
People were dying in front of him, and he had the power to heal them. It was the right thing to do.
“Wait.”
Luther, having laid Max and Karen side by side, suddenly turned his head towards the leader.
It wasn’t because he sensed any movement from the leader.
His gaze was fixed on the giant axe.
“Can I… use that?”
He didn’t mean to use it as a weapon.
Luther was focused on the enchantment magic on the giant axe.
And all enchanted weapons in Dragon Hunter 3 had one thing in common.
‘Magic stones!’
A magic stone embedded within, serving as the power source for the enchantment.
Integra immediately answered Luther’s question.
“[It seems possible.]”
“[If you absorb the unknown energy sources immediately after healing the two, you can prevent a drastic loss of power.]”
“Good! Then heal them now!”
“[Understood. Please place your hands on their abdomens.]”
“[Like when you treated Max, you need skin-to-skin contact.]”
“Okay.”
Luther quickly slipped his hands inside their shirts.
His hands felt momentarily hot, and then Karen and Max’s stomachs stuck to his palms.
“[Injecting nanites into Karen and Max’s bodies.]”
Perhaps because he was treating their poisoned bodies, the healing didn’t finish as quickly as when he treated Max’s external wound.
Almost 5 minutes—no, more than 10 minutes passed before Integra’s voice was heard again.
“[Detoxification complete.]”
“[Treatment of both individuals complete.]”
“[It will take some time for them to regain consciousness.]”
Luther breathed a sigh of relief at Integra’s report.
A little color seemed to be returning to Karen and Max’s previously pale faces.
‘Good, let’s move on.’
Luther stood up and walked towards where the leader lay.
Seeing the leader lying dead face down, he involuntarily let out a long breath.
“Hoo…”
It was his third kill today.
But perhaps because they were monsters who had tried to kill him, or perhaps because he had just barely survived, he didn’t feel much.
‘Was I… always like this?’
Or had something changed since he became Luther Lightseeker?
Luther didn’t think too deeply.
It hadn’t even been a day since he woke up in the world of Dragon Hunter 3, and he had already faced death several times.
Now was the time to think and act rationally.
“Integra, how is it? Can you absorb it?”
He placed his hand on the orange magic stone embedded at the joint between the axe blade and the handle and asked. Integra replied,
“[Possible.]”
“[However, since it has already been processed, the energy efficiency is lower than that of a raw stone.]”
“But it’s still possible.”
“[Yes, it seems you can prevent the power loss from the treatment.]”
“[Other abilities are impossible, but the Nanosuit can be upgraded to Lv1 with the current resources.]”
“Good.”
Let’s upgrade first.
The stronger he became, the higher his chances of survival.
Having decided to think simply, Luther exhaled slowly and closed his eyes.
He began to absorb the power of the magic stone.
–CROW–