Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Chapter 1 - Meteor #5
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I never imagined the word "meteor" would come out of Karen's mouth.
Dragon Hunter 3 was a world where enchant-type magic had advanced more than spells cast directly in combat, but holy power-based healing spells did exist.
'But a meteor?'
A being connected to the meteor.
A being that came down from the sky.
Of course, it wasn't a complete leap in logic.
Dragon Hunter 3 was a fantasy world, and as befitting such a world, gods truly existed.
'Let's think from Karen's perspective.'
She encounters someone in completely unfamiliar attire while camping.
At first, he doesn't seem to understand their language, but he picks it up at an astonishing speed.
He knows knowledge they don't, and he even has healing abilities.
'And... Karen said she saw a meteor.'
One that fell in the Ancient Beast Forest, no less.
So, wouldn't it make sense to think he came down with the meteor?
To reiterate, Dragon Hunter 3 was a fantasy world.
'On top of that, Luther looks handsome enough to pass for an angel.'
[Master, I have a feeling you're thinking something embarrassing.]
Coughing awkwardly at Integra's uncharacteristically sharp intuition, Luther turned to face forward again.
Karen and Max.
Having made up his mind, Luther took a deep breath and pointed to the sky.
"Came from the sky. With the meteor. Must find meteor."
Though their time together had been short, Karen and Max seemed not only kind but also intelligent based on what he'd observed so far.
'Even if they're extras I never even saw in the game... now's not the time to nitpick.'
The current situation was all too real, and the people in front of him weren't NPCs.
"You... came from the sky just now?"
"Does that mean you're really an angel?"
[Master, it seems the planet's natives are regarding you as an 'angel.']
Integra's voice carried a hint of bewilderment.
But from Luther's perspective, things were unfolding as planned, so rather than correcting them, he let the flow continue.
"Came from the sky. Must find meteor. Want to know where meteor fell."
Truth be told, it was something of a gamble from Luther's standpoint.
While Karen and Max appeared to be good people, that didn't mean he could be absolutely certain.
'Of course, if they were truly suspicious, they wouldn't have shared food in the first place.'
Luther steadied his breathing to hide his impatience as he looked at Karen and Max.
The two exchanged glances again, then nodded at some point.
"Luther, if you came from the sky... are you an angel?"
Karen lobbed the straight question with utmost seriousness.
What on earth was he supposed to answer?
[Master, based on pupil movement and tone, Karen seems to think you 'might be an angel.']
[From observations so far, Karen infers as a rational and reasonable person.]
[Perhaps this planet has many who descended from the sky.]
Integra was right.
Dragon Hunter 3's backstory—particularly the creation myths and ancient tales—featured countless angels.
The 'Sword Angel,' famed as Sword Emperor Clausewitz's master, or the 'Shield Angel' said to have descended on Mount Akunta, were prime examples.
'Angel, angel.'
Karen and Max looked at him with utmost seriousness.
After much deliberation, Luther nodded and said,
"Shock from falling with meteor. Memories unclear. But seems like it."
For now, he needed to find the meteor—likely the spaceship he'd arrived in.
And the clue to that lay with Karen and Max right in front of him.
'This situation is suspicious anyway.'
More precisely, it wasn't something he could brush off as an ordinary traveler.
All humans in Dragon Hunter 3 spoke the same language.
Yet here was a man speaking a completely different tongue, dressed in never-before-seen clothes, appearing out of nowhere in the western forest—not near borders or Ain's territory. Thinking him a normal traveler would be the weirder assumption.
'That's why I healed Max in the first place.'
Since he'd be seen as strange anyway, amplifying the mystique while building rapport was far more efficient.
[Master, Karen and Max seem to have decided to accept your words for now.]
That was Luther's read too.
Not full trust yet, but at least 'it could be' for the moment.
Karen gazed calmly into Luther's violet eyes, then pointed to the sky again.
"We saw the meteor that fell tonight too. That's why we stayed camping instead of heading back."
Luther nodded as if he understood.
It reminded him of a random event that popped up often in Dragon Hunter 3.
'Meteor... so, discovering a meteorite meant getting loads of rare materials like meteoric iron.'
Karen and Max had probably decided to linger in the Ancient Beast Forest hoping to find one.
'And the Jogres and kobolds prowling even at midnight make sense if it was for the meteorite.'
The spot where Luther had collapsed had formed a crater, so there must have been considerable tremors and noise.
"The meteorite fell about ■■ distance from here. We were planning to head out again tomorrow morning."
Luther nodded again at Karen's words.
'If that's true, then what they saw wasn't me. If I emergency-ejected as hypothesized, it wouldn't have looked like a meteor in the first place.'
The place where Luther had collapsed wasn't that far from the campsite.
And meteors glow from atmospheric friction heat upon reentry, so an ejection wouldn't have made him look like one.
'At best, something detaching from the meteor.'
Explaining the crater might be tricky, but Luther was a liberal arts guy, not a science whiz.
For now, grasping the situation was enough.
But right then—
[Master, life signs approaching from the rear!]
Luther shot to his feet and whirled around.
Startled by his sudden move, Karen and Max hesitated, but they too seemed to sense something and leaped up.
And just then.
Rustling through the bushes, a monster the size of a leopard poked its head out.
"Jackal!"
Karen shouted loudly.
Jackal.
A monster familiar to Luther too.
A small evil dragon commonly found in the Ancient Beast Forest.
It looked like a mix of feline predator and dinosaur, its scales shrugging off normal sword strikes, and it always hunted in packs of three or more.
Gripping his dagger tighter, Luther quickly asked,
"Integra, how many?"
[Just one.]
[It appears injured.]
Just as Integra said.
The jackal growled low, with massive bite marks on its back and belly.
'Jogres!'
Probably bitten by one?
Its pack devoured by Jogres?
[Master! Incoming!]
Whatever the case, it was combat time now.
The jackal roared and charged.
Luther instantly assumed a battle stance.
Before his eyes, the jackal's predicted path traced out.
Straight line.
But not aiming for him.
Targeting Karen.
So Luther judged instantly.
He sidestepped, clearing a path for the jackal.
Not to exploit an opening from it attacking Karen.
The jackal's injury.
The wound from the Jogres. A huge hole in its waist.
As the jackal leaped, Luther's body moved with mechanical precision.
-Slash!
"Krang!"
Two sounds overlapped.
The moment the jackal howled, Luther's hand plunged into its waist.
"Kyaak!"
The jackal screamed, crashing to the ground mid-leap. With his right hand embedded, Luther rolled with it, clenching his fist.
"Integra! Electric shock!"
[Activating!]
The technique he'd discovered testing Nano Suit Lv0!
"Gaaah—!"
Sparks flashed from Luther's fist, and the jackal thrashed in agony.
But it was futile.
Its innards grilled alive, it slumped, tongue lolling out.
[Acquired trace combat data.]
[Master, it's still alive. Finish it.]
Integra was right.
Luther swallowed dryly, withdrew his hand, and reversed his grip on the dagger.
[Marking heart position.]
On the flipped jackal's belly, the heart's location highlighted. Luther's hand stabbed swiftly.
"Kyaak."
The pierced-heart jackal twitched once more, then stilled.
[Alien lifeform's vital signs ceased.]
[However, Master, an unknown energy source detected from its chest.]
Luther nodded at Integra's words.
Evil dragons ultimately stemmed from true evil dragons.
Thus, they had a special organ absent in normal monsters.
'The day has come to do this myself.'
Exhaling deeply, Luther sliced open the jackal's chest and pried the wound wide with both hands.
There, embedded near the heart, glowed a small yellow stone-like object.
The degraded Dragon Heart organ.
The magic stone every evil dragon possessed.
In-game, collecting these strengthened gear or served as currency.
But as Luther extracted the magic stone—
[Master, unknown energy source seems usable.]
[If willing, place energy source on your palm.]
When Dragon Hunter 3's magic stone met Star Savior's combat homunculus.
Luther's heart raced as he placed it on his palm.
[Beginning energy source absorption.]
The magic stone embedded into Luther's palm.
No, it burrowed inward.
"Wh-what the?!"
Max, already shocked from the fight, gaped and yelled. Karen gasped at the phenomenon in Luther's hand.
But Luther was the most stunned.
Embedding a magic stone into his body?
Like socketing one into a weapon for enhancement—could he do the same?
[Trace energy produced from energy source.]
[Can boost Master's output.]
[Nanomachine self-replication possible.]
[Select desired growth direction.]
Light text and icons floated before Luther's eyes.
[Energy Gun Lv1]
[Nano Suit Lv1]
[Drone Lv1]
9th-gen nanomachine-equipped growth-type general-purpose humanoid decisive battle weapon: Luther Lightseeker.
A smile spread across Luther's face.