I Became A Collaborative Character In The Game

Chapter 50 – Integra 2

—–CROW—–

The next morning.

Integra, who had been in a good mood all night, still seemed cheerful.

[Master, it’s morning.]

[Wakey, wakey!]

[We have to go back to Venus City today.]

Luther, roused by Integra’s urging, looked outside the tent.

As expected of a place where hundreds of adventurers had been drinking all night, the campsite was a complete mess.

The areas around Lete’s holy markers were relatively clean, but the rest of the campsite was a chaotic jumble of drunken adventurers, vomit, and food scraps.

“What a mess.”

And it wasn’t just the campsite that was a mess.

The bushes and other secluded areas near the campsite were filled with traces of… human activity.

[Alcohol tends to impair one’s judgment.]

[Moreover, after facing a life-or-death situation against the Demon King Valakia, it’s natural for their reproductive instincts to kick in.]

Integra explained with a straight face, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.  But instead of nodding in agreement, Luther chuckled.

He remembered Integra from last night.

‘She was frantically avoiding the bushes.’

Despite her usual tough act, Integra was surprisingly prudish in that regard.

He could clearly picture her blushing and fidgeting on their way back to the campsite, complaining about how indecent it all was.

[W-Why?]

“Just saying, you’re cute.”

[That doesn’t sound like a compliment.]

“Of course it is.”

Luther chuckled, mimicking Integra, and took a deep breath.

The campsite was a mess of drunken adventurers, but the morning air in the mountains was refreshingly crisp.

‘I guess I handled the western arc pretty well.’

He had prevented the tragedy at Count Glasstone’s mansion, obtained the second fragment, and defeated the dragonmen Balboa and Astra, as well as the Demon King Valakia, without significant casualties.

He had also established good relationships with Annerose and Arma Valentine.  Everything had gone smoothly, but there was still one thing that bothered him.

‘Jenadu never showed up.’

The high-ranking dragonman of Hecatonchires who had presided over the ritual to unseal the Demon King Valakia in the original story.

He was too powerful for the Annerose of the early western arc, so even in the original story, he had only appeared briefly, without participating in any battles.  But the fact that he hadn’t shown up at all felt ominous.

‘Since they failed to devastate the west… there’s a chance Hecatonchires will deviate from the original story.’

In the original story, Hecatonchires carried out a plan to wreak havoc across the Holy Empire, spanning the western, southern, and eastern arcs, and they succeeded for the most part.

But now, the situation had changed.

They had suffered a complete defeat in the western arc, which was supposed to be the beginning, so there was a good chance their plans would change.

‘But it’s not like I have no information at all.’

Moreover, like the Demon King Valakia incident, most of Hecatonchires’ schemes in the south and east were large-scale plans that required extensive preparation.

They wouldn’t be able to change their plans easily.

[Master, what are you thinking so hard about?]

“You.”

[You know I’m starting to get angry, right?]

Luther chuckled at Integra’s quiet warning and said softly,

“I was thinking about the southern arc.”

The second part of Dragon Hunter Origin.

The story of the sea, featuring the second playable character, the paladin Ash.

[You said the protagonist changes from Annerose to Ash in the original story, right?]

“That’s right.  The southern arc covers the events that happened in the south while Annerose was saving people in the devastated west.”

But history had changed.

The west wasn’t devastated, and Annerose no longer had a reason to stay there.

Moreover, with her master, Arma Valentine, also present, it was even less likely that Annerose would stay in the west like in the original story.

[If it’s about Annerose’s next move… I think I have a pretty good idea.]

“What do you think will happen?”

[Well…]

An hour later, as Luther rode in the carriage heading towards Venus City, he heard the answer, exactly as Integra had predicted.

“I’m planning to go to the central region with my master.”

Annerose, sitting to Luther’s right, said, glancing at Arma, who was riding in her giant armor outside the carriage.

Although she ate skewers and slept, the Arma Valentine here was just a doll, not a real human.

“My master’s main body is in the central region.  Um… that sounded a bit strange, but you know what I mean… right?”

Annerose asked with an awkward laugh, and Luther nodded.

Arma Valentine’s main body, controlling the doll from afar.

He hadn’t heard the full story from Arma, so he didn’t completely understand the situation.

If she had a main body, why didn’t the main body just move?

Why did the doll have to go to the central region where the main body was?

[Hmm… something smells fishy.]

‘No way, there must be a reason.’

Luther dismissed Integra’s suspicion and crossed his arms, lost in thought.

‘Integra.’

[Yes, Master.]

‘You predicted that Annerose would go to the central region, right?’

[I did.]

‘How did you know? Did you have a basis for your prediction?’

Judging from their earlier conversation, Integra hadn’t known about Arma’s main body.

So how had she predicted that Annerose would go to the central region?

Was there another reason?

Integra smiled triumphantly, crossed her arms, and replied,

[Because I heard her mumbling about going to the central region last night when she was drunk.]

‘I… see.’

So there wasn’t any profound reason.

In any case, instead of staying in the west like in the original story, Annerose was heading to the central region.

This choice would likely have a significant butterfly effect later, but Luther’s goal was to disrupt the original story’s flow, so there was no reason to dissuade Annerose.

Just then,

“Luther, Max and I have also decided to go to the central region with Arma.”

“Huh?”

Luther was taken aback by Karen’s words.

He hadn’t anticipated Karen and Max leaving.

Seeing his surprise, Karen smiled faintly, seemingly satisfied, then composed herself and said,

“We’ve decided to train under Arma, at least for a short while.”

“Ah.”

So that was it.

It made sense.

Arma Valentine, who skillfully controlled four magic swords with intricate magic, and Karen, who controlled them with her telekinesis without any complicated procedures.

‘Arma must be interested in her.’

Even Annerose, Arma’s apprentice, could only handle two magic swords.

But Karen could potentially handle four or more right now.

Of course, even Karen would require considerable training to perfectly control four magic swords, and there would be differences between controlling them with magic and telekinesis, but it was true that Karen had a significant advantage in learning “Arma’s swordsmanship.”

‘It’ll be good for Karen too.’

Becoming Arma’s apprentice had value beyond simply becoming stronger.

It meant forging a strong connection with Arma, one of the world’s top ten superhumans.

“Congratulations. That’s great.  You’ll come back much stronger, right?”

At Luther’s words—specifically, the part about coming back—Karen smiled brightly and nodded.

“Of course.  I’ll be much more helpful next time, so look forward to it.”

Karen and Max had declared they would help Luther stop Hecatonchires.

As Integra had said, it probably wasn’t purely for world peace, but they were still reliable allies.

‘And they don’t even appear in the original story.’

In other words, an extra force with only positive aspects.

‘It’s a shame I can’t go to the south with you, but it can’t be helped.’

It was for Karen and Max’s power-up.

He wouldn’t have their help in the southern arc, but they would definitely be a great help in the subsequent eastern and northern arcs.

[Hmm, I’m satisfied.]

[Very satisfied.]

Integra, perhaps sharing his feelings, or perhaps with other thoughts in mind, nodded with a very pleased expression.

“But Luther, what are your plans now? Are you going to search for the next fragment?”

Max asked amidst the pleasant atmosphere, and Karen and Annerose looked at Luther expectantly.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t told them he was going to the south.

‘Did they think I was going to the central region too?’

Judging by Annerose and Karen’s gazes, they seemed to have some expectation.

But unfortunately, he couldn’t.

Taking a deep breath, Luther met Karen’s expectant green eyes and said with an apologetic smile,

“I’m… planning to go south.”

* * *

The carriage arrived at Venus City near sunset.

Stiff from riding in the carriage for over half a day, they got out, groaning.  And once again, Arma Valentine greeted them.

“You’re late.”

Arma, who had arrived much earlier in her giant armor, was smoking a cigarette with her usual languid expression, which created a strange feeling.

‘I really need to upgrade the drone quickly.’

Shouldn’t he prioritize the drone after obtaining the third fragment?

And considering the current combination formula, the larger and stronger the drone became, the more powerful the Buster Cannon and Pile Bunker would become as well.

“You look like you’re thinking about something strange.”

At Arma’s remark, Luther cleared his throat and was about to talk about Karen.

He wasn’t Karen’s guardian, but as a fellow companion, he wanted to ask Arma to take good care of her.

But Arma spoke first.

“It seems to have arrived. Follow me.”

“Huh?”

Luther was momentarily confused but quickly understood.

There was only one thing that could have arrived at this time.

[I’m not detecting the third fragment’s signal.]

[Is it stored in a special case?]

‘Well, I guess we’ll find out when we get there.’

Grinning, Luther hurried after Arma with the rest of the group.

“Here it is.”

The guest room where Arma was staying.

A large metal box greeted them.

It was red, like Arma’s other belongings, and rectangular, resembling a coffin.

“Releasing the sealing inscription, opening.”

Arma whispered, drawing complex shapes on the circular plate on top of the box. With the sound of gears turning, the top of the box opened with a clang.

[Signal detected.]

[Energy cube reaction detected.]

[It’s definitely the third fragment!]

Listening to Integra’s excited voice, Luther stepped closer to the box.

Inside the red box was a pure white metal cylinder, the largest fragment he had seen so far.

“It transformed into this the moment I touched it. Can you release it?”

Luther grinned at Arma’s question and placed his palm on the fragment.

[Access code: Star Savior.]

[Deactivating emergency defense mode.]

Dozens of blue lines spread from Luther’s palm, covering the cylinder.

“Oh…”

“Wow…”

As Arma and Annerose murmured in admiration, the fragment began to transform.

White metal plates unfolded along the blue lines, resembling a blueprint, and a jet-black energy cube formed beneath Luther’s palm.

[The energy cube is significantly damaged.]

[But combining it with existing data, I think I can restore some of the lost information.]

[Absorbing all the nanomachines that make up the fragment should increase the number of your nanomachines by at least 1.5 times, Master.]

Integra spoke rapidly in an excited voice.

Considering he had lost 65% of his nanomachines in the battle against the Demon King Valakia, her reaction was understandable.

‘Any new technology?’

[I won’t know until I access it.]

[So let’s connect quickly. Okay?]

The changes brought about by obtaining the third fragment.

It seemed Integra was just as excited as he was.

[We didn’t get anything from the Demon King, after all.]

That was true.

The Demon King Valakia had vanished into dust, leaving behind nothing, not even a small sample, let alone a magic stone.

In other words, they had fought a boss battle but gained nothing except combat data.

[One must level up after defeating a powerful enemy!]

[In that sense, wouldn’t absorbing this fragment be the final reward for the western arc?]

‘You’re right, that’s a good narrative.’

An adventure should always yield rewards.

[Then Master, I’ll begin data sharing with the third fragment.]

[Please authorize connection with the energy cube.]

‘Yes, let’s start right away.’

Taking a deep breath, Luther slowly closed his eyes, and Integra initiated the connection with the energy cube.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds—

[Wow!]

After about 17 seconds,

The new technology discovered within the energy cube greatly excited Integra.

—–CROW—–