NOVEL NEXT Chapter 22 - Encounter 2
Chapter 22 – Encounter 2
*Bang!*
A hole was blasted through the wall with a loud noise, but it was just a hole.
Luther, unfazed, pushed his right arm deeper into the hole and shouted,
“Integra!”
“[Coming!]”
Simultaneously with Integra’s reply, a drone was launched from Luther’s wrist.
Not the coin-sized reconnaissance drone, but the triangular combat drone.
“Huh?!”
The intruder, startled by the loud noise behind him, turned around and tried to swat the drone away, but it was too late.
The drone easily dodged the dagger the intruder swung and attached itself to his neck.
“[Pika pika!]”
It was the drone’s new combat function, the electric shock.
The intruder, exposed to the high-voltage current, convulsed and collapsed.
But this was just the beginning.
“[Master! Enemy approaching from the window—]”
Before Integra could finish, Luther pulled his fist out of the wall and, using the momentum, thrust his left arm towards the window.
*Pew pew pew!*
“Kyaa!”
The intruder attempting to enter through the window was hit in the chest by energy projectiles and sent flying backward.
Until now, he could only use the Energy Gun with his right hand, but not anymore.
Having reached Level 2, he could use it with both hands.
“[Master! More are coming!]”
As Integra shouted, Luther turned around and fired the Energy Gun from both arms towards the door.
*Pew pew pew pew!*
“Ugh?!”
The intruder kicking down the door quickly ducked to avoid the energy projectiles, but that was all he could do.
Luther’s next attack followed before he could react.
*Thud!*
Luther’s knee, launched like a cannonball, slammed into the intruder’s face.
“Gah!”
A choked gasp escaped the intruder’s lips, but Luther didn’t stop.
He grabbed the intruder’s head, slammed it into the ground, and then kicked him in the abdomen, sending him flying into the wall.
*Thump!*
The intruder slid down the wall with a dull thud, twitching but motionless.
Black mask and black clothes.
He was dressed like an assassin, making it difficult to determine his affiliation or identity.
But at that very moment,
“[Master, the intruders who infiltrated the building are gathering.]”
“[More intruders are approaching the woman in the next room—]”
But he didn’t have time to listen.
Although the drone had taken down the intruder—or rather, assassin—with a single electric shock, it was a one-time use.
If more enemies came, he would have to deal with them himself.
“[Master! In front of you!]”
“I know!”
As soon as he ran out into the hallway, Luther raised his left arm.
The back of the Nanosuit’s arm opened to the left and right, instantly forming a wide shield.
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
It was a mechanical crossbow.
Although it could penetrate plate mail at close range, it couldn’t pierce the Nanosuit’s armor.
Luther, blocking the attacks with his shield, charged towards the attacker firing the crossbow from the other end of the hallway and fired the Energy Gun.
*Flash!*
“Ugh!”
It was a single shot, but Luther’s aim was true.
Passing by the attacker who had collapsed with an energy projectile in his abdomen, Luther turned his right arm towards the woman’s room.
Although the door was closed, Luther knew exactly where the assassin was.
*Pew pew pew pew!*
“Gah!”
The door shattered, and the assassin hiding behind it collapsed.
It was thanks to Integra, who was monitoring the situation inside the room with the drone.
“[Master, another assassin is entering through the window!]”
He had already taken down five assassins.
The fact that the attacks were still continuing meant that the enemy force was considerable.
Moreover, they were all dressed the same.
In other words, it seemed like an organized assassination attempt.
‘Who are they?’
He wasn’t talking about the assassins.
The identity of the woman lying in bed, the target of the assassins.
Who was she, that she was being targeted by such an organization?
‘Is she finally a character from the game?’
It wasn’t the time to be getting his hopes up, but he couldn’t deny the excitement he felt.
Luther kicked down the remains of the door and entered the room, immediately firing the Energy Gun at the window.
*Pew pew pew pew!*
But only the window shattered.
The assassin, who had been about to enter, sensed his presence and retreated.
He was waiting.
He would wait for the firing to stop and then infiltrate!
“[That’s what you think!]”
The moment the assassin entered the room, the drone, which had been attached to the wall, charged towards him.
Although the electric shock was already used up, the drone still had one more weapon.
*Slash!*
With a sharp sound, the blade attached to the drone’s head sliced through the assassin’s neck.
The assassin, caught off guard, clutched his neck, but blood was already gushing out.
“Gah… guh…”
The assassin, gurgling and clutching his neck, stumbled backward and fell out the window.
“[Master, there seem to be no more assassins inside the inn for now.]”
The drone, having sliced the assassin’s neck, returned to Luther’s arm like a bird returning to its owner.
Luther re-equipped the drone, looked towards the bed, and asked,
“Integra, how is the woman?”
“[She’s fine.]”
“[She seems to be just asleep.]”
“That’s a relief.”
Luther breathed a short sigh of relief and carefully examined the woman lying in bed.
A beautiful girl with striking sky-blue hair that reached her waist.
The white negligee she was wearing was also high-quality, but the necklace around her neck was truly impressive.
It was a necklace with a large, blue gem, almost two finger-widths in size.
‘She’s rich.’
Her clothes were expensive, and she had an air of nobility about her.
But that was all he could tell.
Although she was a stunning beauty, he didn’t recognize her from the game.
‘I’m in a game world, how can I not recognize a single character?’
There were Lilia and Kapu, but Lilia was a character who only existed in the lore, and Kapu, although a named enemy, was ultimately a minor character with little significance to the story.
As Luther chuckled wryly, a mixture of amusement and frustration, Integra said,
“[Master, stop staring at her chest.]”
“[It’s creepy.]”
“I was looking at her necklace, not her chest.”
“[That’s what they all—Master! They’re coming again!]”
Integra didn’t just shout.
Luther, receiving the information along with her voice, quickly turned towards the window and fired the Energy Gun.
*Pew pew pew pew!*
*Boom!*
The sound of the Energy Gun was swallowed by a loud explosion.
A giant, breaking through the wall where the window had been, spread his arms, which had been crossed to block the energy projectiles, and charged towards Luther like a tank.
“Kuoooo!”
“[Master!]”
The distance was short.
Moreover, the giant was massive.
It seemed impossible to dodge those long arms.
So Luther chose to charge instead.
Closing the distance against an opponent with a long reach was always a useful tactic.
*Boom!*
At that very moment, the giant threw a punch.
The tremendous sonic boom made his hair stand on end, but Luther didn’t stop.
The important thing was that he had dodged the first attack.
‘Counterattack!’
The giant’s right arm was extended.
Luther had already closed the distance, so he would strike the exposed abdomen!
*Bang!*
It was a punch that could even break walls.
But despite the loud noise, it was ineffective.
The giant didn’t even flinch, and Luther instinctively knew his attack had been meaningless.
It felt like he had punched a lump of iron, not a person.
“[Master!]”
Luther immediately rolled to the side. The giant, having slashed at the spot where Luther had just been standing, turned around and opened his mouth wide.
He hadn’t been able to see the giant’s face clearly because of the urgency of the situation, but he was wearing a different kind of mask than the other assassins.
A black mask that exposed his mouth.
And Luther understood why his mask was different.
*Fwoosh!*
Flames erupted from the giant’s mouth.
Luther reflexively raised his shield to block the flames, but the giant’s objective wasn’t to burn him.
His objective was to momentarily restrict Luther’s movements.
*Boom!*
As soon as the flames dissipated, the giant kicked Luther, shield and all.
“[Master!]”
Fortunately, the damage wasn’t significant. Since he had blocked with his shield, he wasn’t injured.
But the problem was the direction he was sent flying.
Towards the broken window.
Thrown through the air by the monstrous force, Luther began to freefall towards the ground.
The height was about 8 meters.
Since he had been on the third floor, it wasn’t high enough to be fatal, but it was too low to react in mid-air.
*Thud!*
Luther’s face contorted in pain as he landed on his back.
Integra immediately administered painkillers and initiated self-repair, but recovery took time.
“[Master! Pull yourself together!]”
“[The giant is moving!]”
At that very moment,
The giant, carrying the woman on his shoulder, leaped and landed a considerable distance away from where Luther had fallen.
“Ugh…”
Luther groaned and looked at the giant.
The giant grinned at him, turned around, and started running.
“[The giant is moving away.]”
“[It seems his primary objective was to kidnap the woman.]”
“[Fortunately, he seems to have lost interest in Master.]”
“[It would be best to retreat now.]”
Although her words were harsh, her voice was filled with concern.
She seemed genuinely worried that he would get hurt unnecessarily.
But Luther couldn’t listen to her.
It wasn’t because he was angered by the giant’s final provocation.
It wasn’t because he couldn’t just stand by and watch a woman being kidnapped.
Well, both were true, but there was a much more important reason for Luther.
‘The Hecatoncheires.’
The ones who would lead the world of Dragon Hunter Origins to destruction.
The giant was a ‘Dragonman’ belonging to the Hecatoncheires, and undoubtedly ‘Balboa, the Dragonman,’ the boss of Chapter 1 and the perpetrator of the ‘Glaston Estate Tragedy,’ the event that marked the beginning of the Western Arc.
It was still before the main story began.
Therefore, Luther didn’t know why Balboa kidnapped the sky-blue-haired woman, what he planned to do with her, or even her identity.
‘But I do know one thing.’
Balboa would cause the Glaston Estate Tragedy.
And that would lead to the ‘Advent of the Magical Beast Valakia’ incident, which would devastate more than half of the western region.
He had originally planned to find a way to prevent the Glaston Estate Tragedy after arriving in Venus City, but he changed his mind.
He would interfere with whatever Balboa was doing.
He would disrupt the Glaston Estate Tragedy from the very beginning.
“Integra! The axe!”
“[Ugh… Understood!]”
As Luther shouted and reached out his hand, Integra groaned but ultimately had to obey.
The giant axe flew towards him, trailing flames, and landed beside him with a thud.
“[Beginning pursuit!]”
Integra shouted and launched the drone.
An arrow and a distance indicator appeared before Luther’s eyes.
“[The target is heading towards the Anes River.]”
“[He is alone, perhaps because his companions were defeated by Master.]”
“[At Master’s speed, you should be able to catch up within 10 minutes.]”
“Good.”
Luther picked up the axe from the ground and took a deep breath.
Balboa, the Dragonman.
The Chapter 1 boss.
A Dragonman of the Hecatoncheires.
Luther, with the axe strapped to his back, started running towards the outskirts of the village.
Although unintentional, this was the beginning of the main scenario.
—–CROW—–