Chapter 53: Encounter

Words : 1498 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 53: Encounter Luca boarded off the bus and onto the bustling streets of the Outskirts Marketplace. For a place that was farther out, it was surprising to note that the air still hummed with the chatter of different people and sometimes different species. Most were haggling in their own particular way—some with words, others with tentacle gestures, and one particularly enthusiastic blob creature that communicated solely through what looked like an interpretative dance. Luca found everything so novel and interesting that he kept on stopping every now and then. Ollie found the behavior adorable. Maybe Luca, as the heir to the dukedom, never really got the chance to go out like normal people, so he may be too fascinated with the sight he’s never seen. Well, that was partially true, but it wasn’t exactly just because of that. Luca was dazzled by the neon lights that were still on despite the time. It was just around noon, yet they had such displays. Ollie haggled for Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene. But like a real trader, whenever he spotted something that looked like a bargain, he bought it. "Hand me your coat. You’ll ruin it with all that oil you’re about to dip your hands into," Luca said, worried about Ollie’s financial losses. "Oh yeah! Thanks!" He enjoyed following around, listening carefully to the prices quoted, and noting which items seemed to be worth more. But Ollie told him that these items were relatively cheaper than the materials used in the regular mecha. The manual mechas were pretty much as cost-effective as they could get. It had to be mass-produced, after all. "Host, your friend said he was looking for Impact-Resistant Polymers, right? Then he should check the shop behind you. It has them on that container." "Wait, you can scan the stores for the items they sell?" "Yes, Host, but as of now, it has to be in close proximity to you." Luca turned around to see the store mentioned by D-29. On the other side was Noah, who nearly panicked when Luca turned; he was actually watching the two as they shopped. He was waiting for cues of them mistreating the shop owners or using their family ties as leverage, but so far, he got nothing. That other guy even offered to check out a few broken devices to tell the owners which ones could still be repaired. Luca was just tagging along as the coat rack and occasionally asked for an explanation about items he was interested in. "Noah, look! Those two are also from your school!" Noah watched in horror as his Grandmother walked towards Luca. Because of her age and health, she was rather slow, but the pathway was too narrow to avoid collision. "No! Grandma!" Noah couldn’t understand why his life kept getting worse, but then something unimaginable happened that made everything seem like child’s play. It was a standard delivery of items, but some locals still used smaller container vans to haul items since not everyone could afford space buttons. But then this container van opened with an ominous hiss. Then, out came creatures that weren’t supposed to be there. These three looked like nightmares dipped in tar. Black gunk splattered everywhere they went, and they bolted towards them at breakneck speed. Noah’s eyes widened in shock as he realized that they were running towards his Grandma. "Noooooo!" He wasn’t going to make it, and even if he did, what would he do?! But then Luca, whose senses detected something wrong before the container opened, asked D-29 for anything that could be classified as a weapon. There was only one item, and he used it to whack the beast on its head after coating it with his energy, just as they practiced in class. Noah watched as Luca protected his grandmother with a frying pan, of all things. But he didn’t have time to think because Luca shouted at him. "You’re Noah, right? Evacuate these people out of here! Now!" Luca had a serious face that Noah hadn’t seen, and he didn’t even dwell on the fact that Luca could recognize him. Instead, he asked, "But what about you?" "Don’t worry!" Luca hollered as he dodged a swipe from one of the beasts. "I have a plan!" He didn’t. But he was inventing one right now, so that should count, right? Luca realized that the beasts were circling him, growling as they stalked. This allowed the others to leave, and Noah even pulled Ollie, who wanted to remain by Luca’s side. "No! You’re going to be a burden on him. Just follow his instructions." Noah didn’t know where that came from, but it came out of his mouth when he hauled the guy out. Saving Ollie was his repayment for Luca saving his Grandma. "D-29, find me a spacious alley. I need to deploy the mecha after luring them there." The little system had a map projected, and Luca used his spiritual powers to get him out of the encirclement while waving Ollie’s jacket, which was rich with the watermelon’s energy. The beasts took the bait like bulls drawn in by a red cloth. This alley was spacious just by interstellar standards, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Those creatures were still hot on his tail, and Luca felt like death would arrive if he didn’t get to breathe better. This was the fastest he had ever run, yet the beasts were still hot on his tail. Therefore, his solution was to make a sacrifice. Luca threw in Ollie’s coat. He needed to buy time to deploy the golden mecha. It should be fine, right? His manual mecha had no weapons, as they had yet to reach that part of the classes, and he couldn’t just outbox the three beasts, no? The golden mecha was swiftly entered for the first time, and Luca prayed it didn’t have some sort of loading time. But his mistake was not praying for his knees. Luca’s knees buckled in pressure as he tried operating the mecha like the manual mecha they were practicing, and he would almost face-plant if not for his knees holding him up. "Host, you need your Spiritual energy for this one!" Oh yeah! Luca remembered what type of mecha this was and decided to use octopus mode. His weapon of choice was the sword (he will say it’s because it was cool and not because he had no idea which button would activate which particular gun). It was a sight to behold. An embarrassing one. Because Luca was just brandishing the weapon, he had no idea how to use it, but if it works, who cares? With the energy coming from the sword, Luca barely needed to lunge at them. The beasts did it themselves. All he had to do was to impale them. The first beast lunged forward, its jagged claws aiming to tear through the mecha’s armor. With a swift sidestep and a cleave, Luca solicited a piercing shriek from the corrupted beast. Then Luca noticed a difference in the second beast; it seemed like this one managed to absorb the energy from Ollie’s coat. The creature grew noticeably bigger. Its gaping maw now dripped with acidic saliva, and it was definitely planning on using it on him. When Luca noticed it was about to spew something at him, he threw the sword into the beast’s gaping mouth. Then, he ran over to pull it out before whatever that acid was could melt his sword. For some reason, the third beast hesitated before letting out a deafening roar that would’ve frozen anyone else. But Luca’s heard worse. This was nothing to the sounds of people screaming for their lives. Luca’s move wasn’t beautiful, but his stab went straight to its forehead as Luca moved while he roared. The pilot inside the golden mecha panted hard, trying to catch his breath before looking at the scene before him. He figured he now understood the difficulty of facing these creatures. It was because they would inevitably contaminate everything that was not sealed with energy. Luca looked at the ground beneath him and wondered if he could excavate it for the recycler. "So, is this how it spreads?" "It seems so, Host. Do you want to vacuum everything that’s contaminated?" Luca gasped. "We can do that?" "Yes, host. If we could store the cubed trash in the dungeon inventory, we should also be able to do the same with all this gunk and parts." More potent than medicine was the sound of money or CP. And Luca was dead set on ’vacuuming’ every bit of this place. Anything that had already merged with the contamination was taken as a whole, and Luca hoped none of them would mind. To ensure everything was clean, Luca released a burst of energy and waited for traces of corruption to emerge. When there was nothing else, he decided to leave with a smile plastered on his face.

Chapter 53: Encounter

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