NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7: FINALLY...
3 entire weeks. I've been here for 3 ENTIRE WEEKS with nothing other than hunting those damn reapers. There was no more strength I could gain from those things. I hunted at least 300 of them and gained multiple mutations from them all week, along with more potent mutations.
My strength increased astronomically, though, which was the only upside to all of this. Now, based on my maximum current capabilities, I could lift just a little over 288+ tons, and move just a bit over 147+ thousand mph, and my perception was now 32+ times greater than what my maximum movement speed.
I was confident that I maxed out my stats from those things. However, I couldn't find anything else. I ran around this planet, or at least tried to, but nothing came to fruition. Normally the size of earth is 40,000-KM. But that's not the case here. Not only was the planet massive, it seemingly had no end to its size...
Literally... All I found were reapers here, and occasional insects that inhabit this 'planet'. Me and prophet quickly came to the conclusion that this massive body of mass was either growing or it was so massive, that my speed can't begin to cover it all... And, I felt like it's a bit of both.
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"We've been running and killing everything in sight. I Haven't seen anything new here... it's actually quite daunting, Prophet." I said, frustrated.
[Yes host... I have not seen/recorded anything quite like this... by my calculations, this planet is at least a little over 13.4 times the size of Jupiter so far... And that's based on all that we could cover, given how powerful your senses are...]
"I know, but to see no other life, other than the reapers, is ridiculous. You would think that such a large place would have a ton of life, but given these reapers and their nature, they might have wiped the rest out. I mean, there are aircraft like scraps around the area scattered and rather advanced ones too..." I stated.
[I know...]
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I continued walking for a couple more hours. Other than bowing down and grappling with the occasional hunters to improve my experience, it was the same as any other day or two...
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"You know... I find this all crazy. I had a different life before this all Prophet... You've had it as well. Where I came from, we didn't have aliens or anything. Life was just, well... life." I said.
[It is quite intriguing indeed host... one might call this a transmigration and reincarnation in a sense... Whoever or whatever that placed us here, must have done so for a reason... since nothing in life is without it...]
I pondered at what he said, then chuckling to myself.
[Why do I feel as if you are laughing at me, host?...]
"It's cause I am. You sound old, Prophet. Don't go rusty on me now. We hav-"
I stopped...
"No way... Is that what I think... it is?..." I said.
With my senses and range of mapping, I could see everything within a 15 thousand Km radius with ease...
But that wasn't what was important.
[It's, civilization...]
Hearing prophet say this brought tears to my visor like eyes...
I booked it towards the wall I saw. It must have been kilometers tall. And it stretched far beyond what I could sense.
"HECK, YEAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I shouted. After a month of no one, I could see something living!
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"Sir, we have a reading on something approaching from sector 'X'... it appears humanoid in nature..." A female said.
"A humanoid? Check again, it might have been a Conglorian." A man reaffirmed. His tone serious.
"Yes, sir." The female responded.
"Enhance all our ocular capabilities by 3 times!" She commanded.
As she ordered, shortly after the screen displayed a blurred yet rapidly approaching figure... Within mere seconds, the resolution sharpened, revealing something none of them expected.
The figure was indeed humanoid in structure, but its speed—its sheer velocity—was unnatural. The thing was closing the distance at an alarming rate, defying even their most advanced tracking systems. A dull silence overtook the control room as the officers and analysts processed the readings.
"Sir... it's easily covering hundreds of kilometers in mere seconds! That is not a Conglorian," the female officer stated, her voice laced with unease.
The commanding officer narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening. "Prepare the perimeter defenses. If it's moving at those speeds, it's either extremely dangerous or extremely desperate. Neither is good."
"But sir," another officer interjected, "What if it's—"
"No assumptions. We proceed with full caution." the commander snapped. "Activate the outer defense grid and raise all shields to maximum capacity. If it gets any closer without sending a signal, we treat it as hostile, simple."
Back outside, the humanoid—he—was barely registering anything other than sheer exhilaration. His surroundings blurred past him as he pushed his speed further, his perception keeping up with the world in slow motion.
The towering wall loomed in the distance now, vast and imposing, stretching endlessly beyond even his perception. And yet, despite its daunting size, it was the first true sign of civilization he'd encountered in weeks.
As he neared the colossal wall, his senses flared. A surge of energy rippled through the air—artificial, controlled, and powerful. It didn't take a genius to realize what was about to happen.
They see me… and they're not taking chances.
A split second later, multiple high-density energy beams erupted from the wall's surface, streaking toward him like lances of light. Without hesitation, he twisted his body mid-air, dodging the first wave effortlessly. The ground beneath him exploded as missed shots struck, leaving molten craters in their wake.
[Host, their weapons are advanced, but predictable. I suggest closing the gap before they recalibrate.] Prophet advised.
"Already on it," he muttered, gritting his teeth as he shifted gears.
He pushed himself even faster, zigzagging unpredictably as more blasts followed. They had locked onto him now, their targeting systems adapting. But that was their mistake.
He wasn't some simple projectile to be tracked. He was faster than that. Smarter than that.
With a single push, he vanished—not literally, but to their tracking systems, it might as well have been. The moment they lost visual confirmation, their targeting systems hesitated for the briefest second.
It was all the time he needed.
In the next instant, he was directly in front of the massive wall. Now that he was close, he could see just how immense it was—fortified metal alloys interwoven with dense, unknown materials, radiating energy signatures far beyond what he had encountered before.
Then, the real test began...
Massive turrets emerged from hidden compartments, mechanical sentries locking onto him with unerring precision. Before they could fire, he leapt—his enhanced strength launching him high into the air, clearing hundreds of meters in a blink.
But the defenses adapted just as quickly.
A pulse of energy coursed through the wall, and suddenly, a shimmering barrier materialized before him. He could see it—a fluctuating, almost liquid-like distortion of space itself.
[Host, that is not a simple energy shield. That is a dimensional displacement field. Contact with it could potentially—]
"Yeah, yeah, bad idea—I get it!" he cut Prophet off, mid-air.
He twisted his body once more, redirecting his momentum downward. If he couldn't go over, he'd go through.
With a thunderous impact, he struck the ground, sending shockwaves through the terrain. Dust and debris shot upward, clouding visibility. Alarms blared from the fortress.
Then, a voice boomed from unseen speakers.
"Unidentified entity. You have entered a restricted zone. Cease your movements immediately and identify yourself."
A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, 'Finally!'
Straightening up, he dusted himself off, his visor-like eyes glowing faintly.
"The name's... Blake!" he announced, his voice carrying through the dust-filled air. "And I've been alone for way too damn long."
Silence...
Then—
"Stand down! You will be taken into custody for further evaluation."
Blake's smirk widened slightly. Figures.
Cracking his knuckles, he took a slow step forward.
"Yeah… let's see how that plays out."
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END