Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Chapter 2 - Karen
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[Generating specialized nanomachines for the nanosuit.]
[Estimated time until completion: 97 minutes and 31 seconds.]
[Remaining energy sources and resources will be allocated to basic nanomachine proliferation.]
"Got it."
Luther gave a curt reply and let out a long sigh without realizing it.
It was because he felt like he'd finally gotten past one hurdle, one way or another.
But that didn't mean he could just collapse and rest.
He'd made quite a racket, so who knew when more earth dragons or monsters might show up.
He needed to get out of there as fast as possible.
'First things first...'
Luther turned to look at the remaining Geists.
Two of them seemed to have died instantly from hits to the forehead and neck, but the one shot in the chest was still alive.
It could wake up and call for its comrades, so he had to finish it off before that happened.
"Hoo."
Luther swallowed dryly and steeled himself.
It wasn't a pleasant feeling to take the life of something as big as a person, not some tiny bug.
But it was necessary, so Luther gripped the sword dropped by one of the Geists.
He'd stab it in the solar plexus to end it.
After mechanically finishing the task, Luther closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
[Master, that was an impressive performance.]
[I'm proud of you, Master.]
Luther was a bit flustered by the sudden praise but soon smiled.
He understood that Integra had said it to comfort him.
'Feels just like a real person.'
He didn't remember Star Savior being like this.
Integra had been a super-rational support AI with a gentle voice but stiff, mechanical speech.
'That's why she had fans.'
Some found her charm in how sweetly she'd suggest abandoning wounded allies because they were just a hindrance.
In any case, after thanking Integra for her encouragement, Luther turned back to the leader.
Even if they were moving, he needed to grab what he could.
'Clothes are a pass, for now...'
Without the Lv0 nanosuit, he might have taken them, but to Luther now, the monsters' rags were no better than burlap sacks. He didn't need them.
So his attention went to the poison stingers they carried.
[Master, indirect kisses with alien lifeforms are not recommended.]
Luther let out a hollow laugh at Integra's unexpected remark, shook his head to say that wasn't it, and examined the poison stinger.
'Forget indirect kisses—it's way too big for me anyway.'
And the poison stinger wasn't ordinary.
It was a bit longer than his pinky finger, and it clearly wasn't man-made at a glance.
It looked like it'd been forcibly ripped from some other monster or insect.
'I'll take it anyway.'
Luther pocketed one poison stinger and one pouch of paralysis mushroom spores, then stood up.
The axes and clubs the Geists had used looked more useful than the dagger from the kobold, but Luther paid them no mind.
He had something much better.
'Great axe.'
The mana stone had been removed, so all the enchantments were gone, but it still held value as a large cold weapon.
[Master, it's too large and heavy for a normal human, but with your strength, you should be able to wield it.]
Luther nodded and lifted the great axe with both hands.
It was a bit heavy, but manageable.
'Alright, time to move.'
He'd already wasted quite a bit of time.
Luther approached Karen and Max again and asked Integra.
"How are the two of them?"
[Not bad.]
[Detox is complete, and I'm aiding recovery with injected nanomachines. They'll wake up soon.]
Luther nodded at Integra's words, slung the axe onto the strap he'd taken from the leader, pondered for a moment—but the answer was obvious from the start.
Max on his left shoulder, Karen tucked under his right arm.
'My strength really is something.'
Without the superhuman power of a combat homunculus, even this would have been impossible.
Luther gave a wry smile and stepped forward.
* * *
Luther hadn't gone far before he found a spot to hide.
More precisely, it was a gap formed by the protruding roots of an enormous tree. The tree was so massive, and the ground so dug out, that it looked like it could squeeze in three people.
Luther laid Karen and Max side by side in the deepest part, then sat near the entrance and looked up at the sky.
With two moons, the night sky had been fairly bright, but now it was cloudy and dark.
Clouds had rolled in before he knew it.
"Haa."
He sighed without thinking.
Now that he'd settled down a bit, the absurdity hit him anew.
'What the hell is going on?'
Falling into a world identical to the game was bizarre enough, and on top of that, becoming a collab character.
'I was just sleeping and woke up.'
No logging in on server shutdown day, no mysterious email asking if he wanted to enter the game.
He'd just gone to sleep and woken up inside the game.
'There has to be some reason.'
The reason he'd opened his eyes in this world as Luther Lightseeker from Star Savior.
It was too bizarre to chalk up to coincidence.
[Master, Karen seems to be waking up.]
Luther, lost in thought, turned at Integra's voice.
"Ugh... Uh...."
Karen, groaning with furrowed brows, slowly opened her eyes.
Her face was pale; she looked utterly exhausted.
"Wh-where... is this...."
"We moved. Geists are taken care of."
Karen stared blankly at Luther's words for a moment before nodding.
She remembered the fight with the Geists.
"Max... where... is he?"
"Lying next to you."
At Luther's gesture, Karen turned and let out a relieved breath.
Max slept peacefully, thanks to his usual stamina or maybe just the paralysis spores—nothing worse.
"Thank you so much. The paralysis too... You treated us, right, Luther?"
"Yeah."
As Luther confirmed, Karen bowed deeply despite her pain.
"Without you, Max and I would have died to the Geists. Thank you for saving our lives."
A smile spread across Luther's face again.
Karen wasn't just pretty-faced; her actions were graceful too.
His heart warmed a bit more as he checked on her.
"Feeling any better?"
"Yes, still... a bit uncomfortable, but I'll be fine soon. And you, Luther? Hurt anywhere?"
"I'm good."
Even the hole from the poison stinger in his nanosuit was already healed.
"But Karen."
"Yes, Luther?"
"Was that psychokinesis earlier?"
At Luther's question, Karen bit her lip briefly before nodding.
"Yes, telekinesis. Something like this."
Karen lightly raised a finger, and a small pebble on the ground floated up.
"It's a secret, though."
She set the pebble down, smiled, and winked playfully.
Normally, no one fights assuming the opponent is a psychic.
Psychics were rarer than mages.
Hiding it alone gave them a huge tactical edge.
Yet she admitted it openly, showing how much she trusted Luther.
The battle with the Geists had unintentionally strengthened their bond.
"But Karen, do Geists normally appear in the Primordial Forest?"
Karen nodded slowly at Luther's question.
"Yes, but... it's a bit odd. They're not usually near campsites, unless deep in the forest...."
Luther felt unease again at her words.
As far as he knew, Geists didn't appear in the Primordial Forest at all.
What was going on?
Just a difference between reality and the game?
A foreboding feeling hit him. Luther swallowed dryly and asked Karen.
"One more thing, Karen."
"Yes, Luther?"
As Karen leaned forward attentively, Luther glanced at the night sky again before asking.
"What year is it now?"
"Hm? Oh, right. It's ■■■ year."
[Master, I haven't acquired the numerical data yet.]
Even here?
Luther gritted his teeth and held up his fingers.
"Sorry, use fingers."
Karen blinked wide, tilted her head, then smiled and held up fingers.
"■, ■, ■ year."
She showed 1, 1, 9 with her fingers.
119.
Dragon Hunter 3 started in Human Empire Calendar year 120, so close enough.
'Right before the game begins?'
That was a relief.
He'd worried the eras might be way off.
'If it's before the game starts... it makes sense. Geists from the forest could have moved on.'
Maybe Karen and Max were the same—adventurers active nearby until 119, then gone elsewhere by game start.
"Haa."
Relief brought a racing heart.
Right before the game.
Good for fully using game knowledge, bad for living through Dragon Hunter 3's disasters.
'Still, better than way before.'
Dragon Hunter 3 chronicled humanity's survival war against evil dragons.
Peaceful early on, tense mid-game, all-out war late-game.
'Build strength in peace, prepare for mid-game.'
Steeling himself, Luther looked up again.
Maple leaves dotted the trees, catching his eye.
"Human Empire Calendar 119, autumn...."
In a couple months, siblings Als and Alisa would reach Pioneer Village.
But then.
"Human... Empire Calendar?"
Karen blinked in confusion.
As if she'd never heard of it.
"Wait, Karen. You just said it's not Human Empire Calendar?"
Luther's eyes trembled slightly.
Dragon Hunter 3 used only Human Empire Calendar.
If she didn't know it—
"Um... yes, it's Holy Empire Calendar now. Holy Empire Calendar 119."
Karen answered cautiously, and Luther clenched his teeth.
Unlike Karen, who didn't know Human Empire Calendar, Luther knew Holy Empire Calendar too.
"You're talking about the Justia Holy Empire now...?"
"Yes, Justia Holy Empire. You knew?"
Luther closed his eyes at her confirmation.
Justia Holy Empire.
The first unified human nation, founded by Sword Emperor Clausewitz.
Not Human Empire Calendar 119.
Holy Empire Calendar 119.
So Luther ground his teeth.
'Not Dragon Hunter 3.'
The world was right, but not the timeline.
Dragon Hunter 3's prequel.
The tale of heroes in a doomed world.
This world was definitely Dragon Hunter Origin.