Luther’s POV
While I was trapped inside the Echo, I had plenty of time to think.
And the more I thought about everything that had happened…
The more suspicious it became.
The Raiders.
The A-Rank Echo.
The Behemoth.
The Goblin Sovereign.
None of this was coincidence.
It was the game.
Or more specifically…
NEXUS.
“If I’m right…”
I muttered.
“Everything we’ve encountered has been designed to slow us down.”
James looked at me.
“Slow us down?”
I nodded.
“Think about it.”
“The longer we’re stuck fighting Echoes and Raiders, the more time NEXUS has to learn.”
“And the smarter it becomes…”
“The harder it’ll be to stop.”
Silence followed.
Nobody had an argument against it.
We had to move.
Fast.
After dealing with the Goblin Sovereign, we discovered something else.
Shards.
Small glowing fragments had been left behind by the monster.
I’d seen something similar in the original game.
“Monster drops…”
I picked one up.
The moment it touched my hand, I felt a strange warmth spread through my body.
My injuries began healing.
James immediately tested one himself.
“It restores health.”
Ariel looked at the shard.
“And it strengthens abilities.”
So apparently…
Even the monsters had loot now.
Great.
Just great.
I checked my Status.
Luther Lark
Rank: D
Points: 100 / 50,000
Power: None
Title: Goblin Slayer
I stared at the screen.
“One hundred points…”
James looked over.
“That’s it?”
“Hey!”
I protested.
“At least I’m making progress.”
I looked at the empty Power section.
“But there’s nothing I can spend them on.”
James laughed.
“Maybe the system feels sorry for you.”
“Ha ha very funny.” (Sarcasm) You are reading on g.com, the official source.
When we finally escaped the Echo…
The girl was still there.
She hadn’t left.
Despite everything we’d told her.
Despite the amount of time we’d been gone.
She had stayed exactly where Ariel told her to.
I couldn’t help but respect her for that.
James, however, seemed distracted.
He was checking something on his system.
Then suddenly
“YES!”
We all jumped.
“I saved my system!”
We stared at him.
James looked at our expressions.
“…What?”
I crossed my arms.
“Did you seriously forget what’s happening?”
He raised his hands.
“Sorry.”
“But…”
His grin returned.
“It means I can see how close we are to NEXUS.”
Ariel immediately stepped forward.
“How close?”
James looked at his screen.
“…A few kilometers.”
Ariel’s eyes widened.
“Seriously?”
She leaned closer to inspect the screen.
James nodded.
“We’re practically there.”
For the first time in days…
I felt hopeful.
Then the girl spoke.
“Uhm…”
We all looked at her.
“If I may ask…”
“What—or who—is NEXUS?”
James answered before I could.
“It’s responsible for all of this.”
“The game.”
“The Echoes.”
“Everything.”
“We’re going to stop it.”
The girl stared at us.
“…I see.”
I wasn’t sure she did.
Honestly…
Neither did I.
We left shortly afterward.
The journey took less time than expected.
James kept checking his system as we followed the signal.
Finally…
He stopped.
“We’re here.”
I looked ahead.
Nothing.
No building.
No facility.
No massive supercomputer.
Not even a power station.
Nothing.
I looked at James.
“…This is it?”
He checked his system again.
“According to the signal…”
“Yes.”
Ariel walked around, searching the area.
“There has to be something.”
I looked at the ground.
Nothing.
The trees.
Nothing.
The surrounding area.
Nothing.
Then I noticed something.
The signal on James’ system wasn’t disappearing.
It was getting stronger.
My stomach dropped.
“James…”
He looked at me.
“Yeah?”
“Your signal…”
“It’s still increasing.”
He checked.
His smile disappeared.
“…That’s impossible.”
The girl suddenly spoke.
“Maybe…”
We turned toward her.
She stared at the empty land.
“…NEXUS isn’t a place.”
Silence.
“What do you mean?” Ariel asked.
The girl slowly shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“But…”
She placed a hand against her head.
“I feel like…”
“I’ve been here before.”
Everyone froze.
Then
Ding.
A system notification appeared.
Not before James.
Not before Ariel.
Not before me.
It appeared before the girl.
[NEXUS CONNECTION ESTABLISHED]
My blood ran cold.
The girl stared at the screen.
“…What’s NEXUS?”
Nobody answered.
Because we were all thinking the same thing.
Why had the system connected to her?