[Warning.]
[Danger detected.]
[Recommendation: avoid direct contact.]
[Master, I suggest immediate retreat into the ship.]
The warning exploded inside Kenny's mind with enough urgency to immediately erase the excitement lingering from his newly reconstructed body.
Without hesitation, he turned and sprinted back toward the crash site together with Noct.
The ruined valley ahead still appeared empty at first glance, filled with nothing more than shattered earth, uprooted trees, and drifting smoke rising into the morning sky. However, as Kenny approached the area more closely, his enhanced vision suddenly detected something strange.
The air itself seemed distorted.
A faint translucent outline flickered briefly against the mountain terrain before vanishing once more like ripples moving across invisible water.
Kenny's eyes widened slightly.
The ship had not disappeared.
It had become cloaked.
Even while damaged beyond recognition, the alien vessel still possessed enough functionality to bend light around itself and remain hidden from sight.
"What the hell…" Kenny muttered in disbelief while slowing slightly near the distorted air.
The moment he stepped forward, a strange sensation immediately spread across his body.
It felt as though he had passed through an invisible membrane separating two completely different spaces. The world around him blurred briefly before the hidden interior of the ship suddenly materialized before his eyes.
Kenny froze.
From the outside, the vessel looked completely destroyed.
Inside, however, although heavily damaged, the ship still resembled something far beyond human imagination.
Flickering holographic screens illuminated dark metallic corridors while streams of dim blue energy pulsed faintly through cracked walls and broken machinery. Sparks occasionally burst from exposed systems hanging from the ceiling while warning signals echoed quietly throughout the interior.
The air smelled metallic and cold.
Some parts of the ship remained completely shattered from the crash, yet despite the damage, fragments of advanced technology continued operating stubbornly in the background.
Kenny could not help staring around in awe.
Even ruined, this place looked centuries ahead of anything humanity possessed.
Unfortunately, Noct immediately moved deeper into the vessel without explanation.
Receiving no answer to his growing questions, Kenny quickly followed after the robot.
"What exactly is happening?" he asked while hurrying through the damaged corridors. "Why are we suddenly in danger?"
Noct gave several sharp mechanical beeps before continuing forward toward what appeared to be the ship's cockpit.
The room itself had suffered heavy damage.
Several holographic consoles were destroyed, while fractured metallic panels hung loose from the walls. Yet despite the devastation, one massive screen near the center of the chamber still flickered weakly with static-filled images.
The moment Noct approached it, the damaged screen suddenly activated.
A blurry image appeared.
At first, Kenny frowned in confusion.
Something enormous was flying through the sky outside the mountains.
"…Is that a bird?"
The screen immediately zoomed inward.
And Kenny's expression froze.
"No way…"
It was a dragon.
A gigantic pitch-black dragon soared through the clouds with terrifying speed while dark flames leaked constantly from between rows of jagged teeth. Sharp protruding bones extended outward across its spine and wings like natural armor while faint violet light glowed ominously beneath sections of its scales.
Even through the damaged screen, the creature radiated overwhelming danger.
Its mere presence felt monstrous.
Then new information suddenly appeared beside the image.
[Ender Dragon]
[Classification: Mythical Beast]
[Battle Power: 495]
Kenny stared blankly at the displayed number.
His own Battle Power was only thirty-six.
That thing was nearly fourteen times stronger than him.
And somehow, the dragon itself was not even the most terrifying part.
Because moments later, Kenny noticed someone was standing atop the creature's head.
At first, he thought his eyes were malfunctioning.
But when the screen zoomed further inward, the figure became clear.
A silver-haired man wearing black armor stood calmly above the dragon while the mountain winds whipped violently around him. Several glowing rune circles rotated slowly behind his back while streams of mana drifted across the air surrounding him like flowing mist.
The man slowly raised one hand.
Then the forest below split apart.
Kenny's eyes widened in shock as hundreds of trees were violently torn from the earth by invisible force, creating a massive scar through the mountainside as though an invisible blade had carved through the land itself.
"What the hell…"
That level of power completely surpassed human understanding.
And this time, Kenny finally understood something terrifying.
The magus from before had not even been serious yet.
"He is searching for us…" Kenny muttered while staring at the screen nervously. "Noct… what exactly does he want?"
The robot remained silent briefly.
Then suddenly, another flood of information surged directly into Kenny's mind.
Unlike before, the memories unfolded with horrifying clarity.
Kenny saw a planet burning.
Entire continents were engulfed in flames while gigantic silver warships floated above collapsing cities. Millions of people fled desperately through shattered streets while endless armies of humanoid machines descended from the sky like unstoppable mechanical gods.
And the defenders—
The defenders were magus.
Thousands of them.
Powerful beings capable of summoning storms, splitting mountains, and manipulating impossible magical forces.
Yet despite their strength, fear was visible across their faces.
Because the machines slaughtering them were even worse.
The metallic soldiers advanced endlessly through collapsing cities while beams of silver light erased entire armies from existence. Gigantic mechanical constructs marched through oceans of fire while planets themselves seemed to crumble beneath overwhelming warfare.
Noct's synthetic voice echoed quietly through the nightmare.
[The Noct Civilization was once feared throughout the universe.]
[Humanity and the Elven Dominion eventually united to erase our civilization and all remaining traces of our existence.]
[Therefore, secrecy is essential for survival.]
Kenny's breathing became uneven.
Slowly, he turned toward the small robot.
"Oh my God…" he whispered. "You're basically a space criminal."
A brief pause followed.
Then Noct answered calmly.
[That is an acceptable interpretation of our current situation, Master.]
"…You got me involved in an interstellar genocide conspiracy."
[Affirmative.]
"…"
Kenny stared silently at the robot for several seconds.
Then rubbed both hands across his face.
This was insane.
Absolutely insane.
He had not merely been transported to another world.
He had inherited forbidden technology belonging to a civilization exterminated by the two most powerful races in existence.
And now one of this world's terrifying magi was actively hunting him.
Realizing that his reconstructed limbs already contained Noct technology, Kenny slowly came to an uncomfortable conclusion.
There was no pretending innocence anymore.
He was already involved far too deeply.
"Alright…" Kenny muttered while pacing around the cockpit. "What do we do now? Run? Hide? Surrender?"
The moment he said the word surrender, Kenny immediately grimaced.
After seeing the destruction caused by the war between Noct civilization and the other races, surrendering sounded dangerously close to suicide.
Noct answered calmly.
[You are my Master.]
[Therefore, I will follow your decision.]
Kenny cursed softly under his breath.
That responsibility felt far heavier than he wanted.
Still thinking desperately, Kenny suddenly looked down toward the Colt 1911 still resting inside his hand.
The handgun suddenly gave him a tiny fragment of confidence.
"We have weapons now…" he muttered uncertainly. "Maybe we can actually fight back…"
At that exact moment, the cockpit suddenly flashed with intense violet light.
Kenny immediately turned back toward the screen.
The Ender Dragon had opened its jaws.
Then the creature released a massive torrent of dark-purple flames across the mountains below.
BOOOOOOM!!
The forest erupted instantly.
Entire sections of trees vanished beneath the inferno while waves of black fire spread violently across the mountainside for nearly a mile.
Kenny's mouth twitched slightly.
Then he slowly lowered the handgun in his hand.
"…Never mind," he muttered quietly. "Forget I said anything."
Trying to fight that monster with a pistol suddenly felt beyond stupid.
Kenny took a deep breath before forcing himself to calm down.
"The ship still has cloaking technology active, right?" he asked quickly. "What are the chances we remain hidden if we stay here?"
The robot immediately began calculating.
[Analyzing probability.]
Several seconds passed.
[Including all known variables, current probability of discovery is thirty-seven percent.]
Kenny frowned immediately.
Thirty-seven percent.
Most people would probably consider sixty-three percent survival odds acceptable.
Kenny did not.
His engineering instincts immediately rejected those numbers.
Even on Earth, a two-percent chance of catastrophic mechanical failure was already considered dangerous in many industries.
Thirty-seven percent?
That was suicide.
Kenny slowly clenched his fists.
"No," he said firmly. "I'm not waiting for disaster to find me."
The silver-haired magus on the screen had already moved frighteningly close to the ship's hidden location.
At this rate, discovery felt inevitable.
Kenny immediately turned toward Noct.
"What's the plan with the highest chance of escape?"
The robot remained motionless for several seconds.
Then another stream of information entered Kenny's mind.
The moment Kenny understood the proposed solution, his expression changed instantly.
"…You can actually do that?"
[Affirmative.]
Kenny hesitated.
The plan was dangerous.
Extremely dangerous.
More importantly, it would consume nearly all of Noct's remaining operational energy.
Yet before he could continue hesitating, the damaged cockpit screen suddenly flashed again.
The silver-haired magus had stopped moving.
Directly above them.
Kenny's heartbeat immediately accelerated.
The man slowly turned his gaze downward toward the mountain.
Toward the hidden ship.
Gritting his teeth, Kenny made his decision.
"Alright, Noct…" he said firmly while tightening his fists.
"Let's do it."