NOVEL WEB Chapter 133: The Wrong Rescue
In TSO, the egg was an object of intense attention. Many players tried to hatch it, hoping to witness what sort of creature would emerge from it. However... nobody ever succeeded.
Well, they did have a few final guesses regarding the egg's identity, based on the clues gathered from the main questline.
One theory was that it contained the dragon who, in Norse mythology, gnaws at the roots of the World Tree—Níðhöggr, or Nidhogg for short.
The other was that it held a fictional beast: a Void Dragon, a being capable of devouring entire universes, one that wields the incomprehensible powers of the void itself.
And yes, everyone agreed that the creature inside was undoubtedly a dragon of some sort. That much wasn't up for debate anymore—it had become a firmly accepted conclusion.
Anyway, that so-called "unhatchable" egg, for reasons I couldn't begin to fathom, suddenly began to crack open—starting from the top.
Since it was tucked inside my breast pocket, I was the only one who could see what was going on. But thanks to the dim lighting surrounding us, even I was struggling to make out the details clearly.
"I heard a loud voice but..."
Right then, a new voice entered the scene—a calm, cool-toned, female voice.
I instinctively looked around, lifting my gaze from the egg and scanning the surroundings. The place we were in resembled a storage warehouse… with laser scorch marks scattered all over the walls and floor. Was this place perhaps...?
Anyway, aside from the fallen Eden Pilot, who was still on the ground trembling in pain and clutching his foot, there were two more large men with him. Both of them were Voltherians too, and they looked at their comrade in panic and concern.
"Calling me to a place this secluded... You're not planning anything shady, are you? Huh...? What's going on here?"
And then, a new figure appeared at the edge of the corridor. Another Voltherian—this time, a woman.
"..."
A familiar—and dangerously attractive—woman at that.
A chill ran up my spine as I recognized that face. That hourglass figure that demanded attention even when I desperately tried not to look. Those narrow, captivating eyes... and those crimson, alluring lips.
"N-Nyssra…!"
Both I and the Eden Pilot blurted her name in surprise, in perfect sync.
"Huh?"
But that was a mistake. Sure, I remembered her from the game—but right now, in this world, we were total strangers. Worse still, the situation made her seem like an ally of my captors. This… was not looking good.
"You… I've seen you before…" she said, narrowing her violet eyes and locking them onto me.
A second later, the four long electrodes extending down the back of her head started releasing bright, crackling sparks. Her eyes widened—but still not as wide as mine—as her jaw dropped in shock.
"You…! You're Arthur!"
And as soon as she realized that, she pulled the laser blaster from her waist holster and opened fire.
*ZIIIN!* *ZIIIN!*
I instinctively shut my eyes at the piercing sound of high-powered beams slicing through the air. But even after several seconds passed, I felt no additional pain. When I cautiously opened my eyes, what I saw was the exact opposite of what I had feared.
"Dammit! How the hell did you find me here?" she snarled, storming toward me—stepping past two freshly collapsed corpses. "I know this isn't the location I sent in that short mail."
"…Huh?"
Once again, both I and the Eden Pilot stood frozen in place, dumbfounded and completely lost for words.
"Oh, and you… Well, you've never been good at keeping promises, so... bye bye."
Without even finishing her sentence, she pointed her blaster at the Pilot and pulled the trigger. I saw the beam pulse—bright and deadly—striking him right in the forehead and bursting out the back of his skull.
The electrodes hanging from the back of his head lit up for a split second, then faded to nothing… forever.
*GULP!*
The creeping fear that I was next started to overwhelm my thoughts, pushing my memories further back. Still, it was hard to forget the peculiar mail this woman had sent me before.
"The Primula…" I muttered under my breath, recalling that anonymous message I'd received after the race. "So it really was you who sent that?"
Nyssra tilted her head as she approached. "Huh? Didn't you come here specifically to meet me because you already knew?"
She walked behind me, pulled out a plasma blade, and sliced through the bindings that held me down. Finally… I was free again.
"I'm no stalker," I exhaled, rubbing my sore wrists. "There's no way I could've found you on my own. Meeting you here is pure coincidence."
"…Eh?"
"…"
Yeah. The danger this woman brought wasn't like Cassandra—the Crazy Princess. No, Nyssra was dangerous in a completely different way. She acted first, thought later. She was impulsive. Reckless. I couldn't count how many bad ends I'd triggered in-game just by recruiting her into my crew.
She was like a walking disaster. A literal bad-end magnet. Getting involved with her again would only make my already complicated life here a living nightmare.
"So... you weren't captured by these kids and being interrogated about my plans...?"
"Huh? No…" I shook my head. "So that's what you thought was going on?"
It was genuinely terrifying to think she'd killed them all without even checking the facts.
"This guy over here just kidnapped me for some petty revenge. He's planning to beat me to death, for sure, so I'm saved by your intervention."
I sat up and bowed lightly, ignoring the searing pain in my joints.
"Thank you... But this and helping you steal the Primula are two different things. When it comes to that, I'd rather say no right now."
"Ehh..." She groaned, her shoulders slumping down in visible disappointment. "So... I killed these trash for absolutely nothing?"
"..."
That's what you're concerned about? Seriously, I'll never understand how this woman's mind operates.
"Well, whatever. Let's get out of this place for now." Nyssra sighed and turned around, casually walking away like nothing had happened. "Come on. There's a lot we need to talk about—like how we'll get the Primula into our hands."
"Huh...? Wait..." I raised my hand to stop her, frowning. "I... just told you I'm not doing that, didn't I?"
"You didn't though?" Nyssra tilted her head, glancing over her shoulder. "You just said something like, 'this and that are different.'"
"Yeah, and that means you might've saved me, sure—but that doesn't mean I'm agreeing to help you steal the Primula."
"...Really?" She blinked in genuine confusion. "But then, your father's going to die within the next month..."
"...!"
I froze. The bombshell she casually dropped hit me like a truck.
"You... know they're targeting my father?" I asked, needing to hear it straight.
"Yes," she said without a hint of hesitation, nodding as if it were common knowledge. "That's what those old fossils have been whispering about for weeks now."
This was disturbing. Alarming, even. But I couldn't just take her word at face value. Knowing Nyssra, there's a high chance she completely misinterpreted what she heard... But on the slim chance she was right—if even part of it was true—then...
"Fuck, now I can't ignore it, can I?" I muttered, dragging a hand through my hair, scratching my scalp.
It was just a possibility. A small, faint chance—but one I couldn't afford to overlook. Turning away now could mean leaving Anderson to die... and that might throw the entire timeline of the main plot into chaos.
"Oh, right!"
I snapped my head back toward the egg, my brain finally catching up to the urgent matter I'd momentarily forgotten. The cracks at the top had widened drastically!
Carefully, I reached into my breast pocket and pulled it out, cradling it in both hands as I sat cross-legged on the floor.
"What's that?"
Nyssra, curious as ever, came over and leaned in to get a better look at the object.
Right then, the egg's cracking speed accelerated. Fractures ran along the surface from top to bottom, like jagged Lichtenberg patterns etched by lightning. I swallowed hard, brimming with anticipation for whatever creature was about to emerge—
"Ohh! Something came out!"
—and with Nyssra's gleeful cheer, the creature finally burst from the shell and emerged into the world.
Inside was... a small lizard? It was pitch black, so dark it almost blended in with the shadows—like I was staring into a tiny, breathing piece of the void itself.
But then it opened its eyes. Glowing in an otherworldly purple hue, the creature began to feel unmistakably alive.
*RAAAAWR!*
A surprisingly adorable roar escaped its tiny mouth—more like a squeaky yawn than anything threatening—which caused my lips to curl into an involuntary smile. This... this thing is way too cute!
Its raven-black body was covered in fine, shimmering scales that looked almost ethereal, like they didn't truly belong to the physical realm. Its large violet eyes gleamed with intelligence far beyond a simple lizard. A pair of tiny, pristine horns adorned its forehead.
"A dragon...!" I breathed out in awe. "It's really a dragon!"
"Waaah~! She's so cute~!" Nyssra cried joyfully, kneeling down beside me for a closer look. "This is my second time seeing a Void Dragon, but it's still amazing!"
"Eh...?" Her casual statement made me blink in confusion. "Nyssra... You can tell this guy's a Void Dragon just like that?"
I'd seen adult Void Dragons in the game before, sure—but aside from the scale color, they looked nothing alike. It'd be like calling a chicken a pig just because both have legs.
"Of course! Don't take me for a fool!" she snapped, puffing her cheeks in protest. "I might not look like it, but I am of royal background! I know at least that much!"
Her voice had all the flair of nobility, but the effect was somewhat lost when you saw how her face softened, completely melting with affection as she stared at the tiny lizard—it kind of shattered the illusion of her being royalty.
Anyway, the egg had hatched. And apparently, it was a Void Dragon after all...
"Now then, how shall I continue on the main quest now?"
The quest item was no longer just an item—it was now a living dragon.