I Became A Collaborative Character In The Game

Chapter 38 – Asain Gorge 2

—–CROW—–

“Integra!”

Luther instinctively shouted and ran towards Integra, who was standing by the water.

Integra, in turn, was startled.

[M-Master?]

Her surprise was understandable. What stood by the water was merely a hologram.

As soon as the water surface exploded and a jet of water erupted, Integra had deactivated the hologram and launched her drone.

Luther, drenched from the splash, wore a look of chagrin. Integra, reappearing through augmented reality, smiled slyly.

[Master, were you trying to save me?]

[You were so worried about me that you forgot it was just a hologram?]

[How cute.]

And she giggled.  It wasn’t just a pretense of laughter; she genuinely looked happy.

“The hologram was so real-”

“Luther!”

Karen’s shout brought both Luther and Integra back to reality. They realized this wasn’t the time to be playful.

[Equipping Nanosuit!]

Something had broken the surface of the water and emerged.

Inside the nanosuit that enveloped his head, Luther looked ahead.

A monster with slimy skin, resembling a salamander or a catfish, was staring at them, its head above the water.

[Master, what is that monster?]

[Please tell me its weaknesses, characteristics, and name.]

Despite Integra’s questions, Luther couldn’t readily answer.  It looked vaguely familiar, yet it was a monster he’d never seen before.

[Master?]

Just then, the black-skinned creature began rapidly approaching Luther, and the water surface churned once more.

And then-

[Master! Leg-]

-Splash!

Before Integra could finish, a red tentacle shot out from the water, wrapping around Luther’s leg and pulling him down.

There was clearly another one.

“Ugh?!”

Dragged underwater in an instant, Luther clamped his mouth shut to hold his breath and looked ahead.

The monster’s silhouette was faintly visible in the dark, murky water.

[Master, stay calm.]

[With the addition of the face mask, you can now breathe underwater.]

‘Oh!’

[Countdown starting.]

[40]

[39]

‘Short!’

But it was better than nothing.

Moreover, the face mask’s capabilities didn’t end there.

[Light of Science!]

A light emitted from the forehead of the face mask illuminated the water.

Not only did the blurry image of the monster become clear, but another one swimming towards him also came into view.

A quadrupedal monster, like a salamander.

About 6 meters long from head to tail.

What had grabbed Luther’s leg was its long tongue!

-Slurp!

The lizard-like monster, momentarily startled by the light, hesitated, then retracted its tongue, pulling Luther closer.

The pulling force was faster and stronger than expected, making it impossible for him to resist properly.

[Impact imminent!]

-Crack!

The creature bit down on Luther with shark-like teeth, but his leg remained unharmed.

A translucent barrier had blocked the monster’s teeth.

‘Lilia!’

The bracelet embedded with a shield spell.

It was single-use, so the bracelet he wore shattered, but it had already served its purpose.

Luther swung his already drawn sword, severing the startled monster’s tongue. Even underwater, the slash, propelled by the thrusters, was still powerful.

“Graaagh!”

The monster, its tongue completely severed, screamed and thrashed.

Seizing the opportunity, Luther thrust his arm into the monster’s mouth and fired his energy gun repeatedly.

-Pew pew pew!

The energy gun shouldn’t have been as effective underwater, but inside the monster’s mouth, it was a different story.

The monster’s throat and internal organs were torn apart in an instant. It vomited blood and sank.

[Master! Another one is coming!]

[29!]

Perhaps having witnessed the severed tongue, the remaining monster swam rapidly towards Luther, aiming to bite his waist.

“Integra! Boost!”

[Activating!]

Just before colliding with the monster, a tremendous propulsive force erupted from Luther’s backpack.

He ascended vertically, completely evading the monster’s attack.

However, this location was the monster’s home ground.

Furthermore, most of Luther’s weapons were ineffective underwater.

-Slurp!

The monster spun rapidly and charged towards Luther again.

Just then, Integra shouted.

[Master! Deploying new weapon!]

[Extend your left arm towards the monster!]

The monster was already close.

Without hesitation, Luther extended his left arm. Integra shouted again.

[Firing Magic Missile!]

“What?!”

A real magic missile?

Magic?!

But it wasn’t.

As Integra spoke, the armor on his left forearm opened, and a pen-sized missile launched towards the monster.

-Boom!

The missile, reminiscent of a torpedo, exploded on the monster’s head.  At that moment, Luther understood why Integra called it a magic missile.

“Scrolls!”

The missile must have been packed with scrolls.

The moment the missile exploded, a powerful freezing spell encased the monster’s head in ice.

Unable to breathe, the monster struggled and passed Luther by.

[A missile containing five freezing magic scrolls.]

[The effect is quite impressive.]

If individual scrolls are weak, just use several.

Moreover, the missile allows for a swift and accurate strike, making it a true magic missile.

“Good job, Integra!”

[I’d love to bask in more praise, but I think we need to finish this.]

[By the way, it’s 15.]

[14]

[13]

Urged on by Integra, Luther stabbed his sword into the belly of the struggling monster.

While the monster’s back was covered in armor-like scales, its underbelly was soft flesh, allowing him to easily slice it open.

[Acquired a small amount of combat data.]

[8]

[7]

[Let’s get out of here.]

Agreeing with Integra, Luther activated his backpack booster once more and shot up to the surface.

“Luther!”

“Oh!”

Karen and Max, who had been anxiously watching from the shore, shouted almost simultaneously.

And as if on cue, as the bodies of the dead monsters floated to the surface, the fairies gathered in the distance began to cheer.

“Amazing!”

“Strong human!”

Because they were shouting from so far away, the fairies’ already small voices sounded even tinier.

“Why are they so far away?”

[Master, I believe they were prepared to flee if you lost.]

So that was it.

Come to think of it, Max had also run away while Luther was fighting the kobolds.

Briefly recalling the past, Luther emerged from the water and looked at the monsters’ corpses.

They were definitely creatures he’d never seen before.

‘What’s going on? Are these monsters not in the game?’

It was a possibility.

Since Luther was more likely in a different world identical to the game rather than inside the game itself, as Integra suggested, the existence of monsters not present in the game wasn’t strange.

However, the vaguely familiar feeling created a sense of unease.

“Luther, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Thanks to Lilia, I’m not hurt.”

Luther showed them the cracked and broken bracelet. Karen and Max sighed in relief, then looked at their own bracelets.

Although made overnight, the bracelets, crafted by the genius enchanter Lilia, had proven their effectiveness.

“Karen, Max. Do you know what these are?”

At Luther’s question, Karen and Max carefully examined the bodies floating on the surface, but both shook their heads.

“I’ve never seen them before.”

“They resemble Tanus a bit… but they’re much bigger and more ferocious.”

Tanus.

An aquatic monster resembling a salamander.

But as Max said, the real Tanus was much smaller and gentler-looking.

[Master, the fairies are approaching.]

As Integra said, the fairies who had fled were now flying towards them.

The black-haired fairy at the front of the group stopped in front of Luther’s face.

“Human, I am Bidel.”

It was a simple self-introduction, but the “human” part sounded like an insult.

[Fascinating creatures.]

[They are quite small, but they seem to possess intelligence similar to humans.]

Fairies were usually around 15 cm tall.

They were all girls, with no males among them. With their colorful butterfly wings and swimsuits or mini-dresses, they looked exactly like fairies from fairy tales.

And among them, the leader.

Bidel, the fairy with black hair and a black mini-dress, greeted him, and Luther nodded in response.

“I’m Luther.”

[I’m Integra.]

Integra, having activated her drone’s hologram, appeared as a miniature Integra with butterfly wings and greeted them.

The fairies, mistaking Integra for one of their own, looked pleased.

“You were already a friend of the fairies.”

“Then that makes things easier.”

“Let’s ask for help.”

“We need to save the Queen.”

As the fairies spoke one after another, Integra covered her mouth slightly and looked at Luther with triumphant eyes.

Luther praised Integra with a glance and then looked back at Bidel.

The fairies’ story smelled strongly of a quest.

“Luther, something terrible has happened. Listen to our story.”

Bidel began, and the fairies added their own bits and pieces.  Combining their stories, it went like this:

One day, a meteor fell.

While the curious Fairy Queen was observing the meteor, something strange happened.

The Fairy Queen became trapped within the meteor, and the animals and monsters around it grew larger or became more ferocious.

The monsters that had just emerged from the water were a case in point.

“Save our Queen.”

“We’re worried about the Queen.”

“What if the Queen becomes strange too?”

Listening to the worried fairies, Luther glanced at the miniature Integra.

‘It must be because of the fragment, right?’

[It seems likely.]

‘But what do you mean, they grew bigger because of the fragment?’

[It’s possible if the fragment that fell is composed of a special material.]

‘Are you talking about something like radiation?’

[If it were radiation, they would be dead, not bigger.]

[You’ve been watching too many movies and cartoons.]

Another jab.

But it wasn’t entirely wrong, so Luther made a brief note in his mental Book of Grudges and continued.

‘So, the fragment theory is likely correct.’

[Yes. And… perhaps the fragment itself has the power to attract the native lifeforms of this planet, especially dragons and monsters.]

[It’s possible that Zogress’s obsession with you during the first fragment incident was due to a similar reason.]

It was a plausible explanation.

Nodding, Luther looked back at Bidel.

“Alright. I’ll help you.”

“Really? Thank you! You truly are a friend of the fairies!”

Bidel and the other fairies cheered with delight.  Their cuteness brought smiles to Luther, Karen, and Max’s faces.

However, one among them remained coldly rational.

[But what will you do for us in return?]

“Huh?”

[This is dangerous work.  If you risk your life to save our Queen, surely she will give you a great reward, right?]

“That’s… right?”

Bidel said uncertainly, looking at the other fairies. The fairy whose eyes met hers tilted her head.

“Is that so?”

[Of course it is! She must give a big reward.]

“Oh, I think so too.”

“We’ll tell her to give you a reward.”

“If you save the Queen, you’ll get a big reward!”

The hologram fairy, having blended in with the other fairies, stirred them up. The other fairies nodded in agreement and began discussing what kind of reward they should give.

It was perfect manipulation.

[Every action deserves a reward.]

[Life is give and take.]

Integra looked up at Luther with a cute and mischievous smile, and Luther smiled back.

—–CROW—–