Crunch* Crunch*
"Sweet, hmm", he mumbled as he took a bit of the fruit while scanning through the items he found on the man's body…., 'Whut? I am just a curious human that's all…', 'Alright maybe that wasn't a good thing to do, but hey, I don't know anything in this world'.
A worn leather pouch, a plain leather notebook, and a leather sheath that seemed oddly heavy for its size, 'it was behind his back..', 'Anyway', opening the small pouch, he found a couple of silver and gold coins, strange symbols etched on their surface, they seem to be the local currency. "Is this an identification card ?", picking a small card made from thine-bone-like material.
Ethan examined the small card, turning it over in his hands curiously. "Sera, can you analyze this card for me?"
Sera's sensors scanned the card intently. "The material and craftsmanship suggest this is likely a form of identification common to this world or region," she deduced. "Unfortunately, without a database for the local languages and symbols, I cannot provide a correct translation. However, I'll do my best to decrypt it."
Nodding thoughtfully, Ethan slipped the card into his pocket. His attention then turned to the Notebook, Carefully, he picked it up, feeling its smooth surface.
"This could be valuable," he mused, showing it to the OmniLink's sensor. "Sera, can you attempt to digitize and translate the contents of this journal? It may provide insight into who this man was and what he was doing here."
"Certainly, Ethan," Sera replied, her artificial intelligence already working to capture high-resolution scans of the journal's pages. "having a digital copy will allow us to reference and analyze the content as we learn more about this world."
With the journal safely digitized, Ethan turned his attention to the leather sheath that had caught his eye earlier. Picking it up, he was surprised by its considerable weight, suggesting it contained something Heavy. Removing the sheath, he revealed a Great sword. It appeared to be at least 5'9 feet long (1.75 meters), with a double-edged black blade growing narrower to a sharp point at the end. Strange carvings and symbols were etched into the crossguard of the blade. The grip, wrapped in soft supple leather, was long enough for wielding the mighty sword with two hands
Just to remind you, Ethan was capable of carrying at 500 kilos when he was on earth
Ethan, who stood at 5'11", realized that it was nearly as tall as himself. Running his fingers along the intricate etchings, he marveled at the remarkable craftsmanship. The sheer size and heft of the blade commanded respect and wonder. "This is unlike any weapon I've ever seen," Ethan said in a hushed voice.
"You're correct," Sera's voice rang out. "My scans show this is no ordinary sword. The materials and enchantments defy conventional physics. We've stumbled upon something extraordinary."
Ethan gave the massive sword an experimental swing, feeling the power and weight behind each slash. "This baby's awesome!" he exclaimed. "Though, maybe a few sword-fighting lessons back on Earth would have been a good idea, Whatever".
Suddenly A huge roar sounded behind the trees making the little guy scramble behind a nearby rock for cover.
(Sorry for the interruption, but I gotta remind you that Ethan is still wearing the fingerless gloves that were stated in Chapter 1, as an heirloom)
"Finally some action, Sera scanned for the source of that sound", "Sure Ethan….., After a few seconds she responded, "I'm detecting a large lifeform approximately fifty meters to the northeast. Readings suggest a reptilian bipedal creature, roughly three meters tall".
"Let's do this!", As he finished his sentence, a big shadow emerged from behind the trees, snapping some small ones in the way.
Fwoosh*
A small fireball zoomed right beside his head, if he reacted a second later, his head would've been reduced to ashes, "Damn Lizard, Going for the kill huh?!", Ethan said furiously, "Then no need to hold back", Holding his Great sword, he dashed toward it, The ground shook as Ethan ran at the huge lizard creature.
The lizard roared loudly, shaking leaves off the trees. It shot another fireball at Ethan, but he jumped aside just in time. The flames brushed against his jacket.
"MY JACKET!!, Fucking Lizard, You'll pay for this".
Ethan rolled on the ground and came up a few meters from the lizard's side. Up close, he could see how massive it was. But its big size made it harder for it to move around the trees.
Ethan yelled out and raised his giant sword high over his head. He then swung the blade down in an arc, aiming for the right side of its head.
The lizard jerked to the left quickly, dodging Ethan's swing. But the force of the sword clipped the edge of the lizard's huge jaw. Sparks flew as the blade struck, roaring in pain, its fiery breath sputtering.
Angry and dazed, It lashed out with its thick, hard tail ( Pun intended Muhehehe). Ethan dropped flat just as the tail whipped through the air with a loud whoosh. The impact shook the ground with dirt flying everywhere. He rolled away as the lizard stomped where he'd just been.
"Pah* Pah*, It tastes like dirt, Ugh..", Ethan said Coughing out dirt, his fingerless gloves stung from hitting the ground. The lizard's furious roar made him get back up. "Sera, any weak spots?" he yelled.
"Analyzing..." Sera responded in his ear. "Limited data, but target the joints and underside."
Seeing that his approach of hitting hard wasn't working well, he started focusing on moving fast, As the lizard wasn't that agile. The lizard found it hard to keep up with him, " Is that all you got stupid lizard, Haa?!" , As he dodged around the lizard's slow attacks with ease.
Even though it was his first time holding a sword like this, He was adapting to it at a terrifying speed, swinging and slashing rapidly. Each time the lizard tried to hit back, Ethan was already behind it, landing fast blows on its sides and legs.
Greenish blood soon stained the lizard's scales from many small cuts. Its breathing grew heavy as it struggled to keep chasing Ethan through the uneven ground.
"Getting tired already?, Well that's what you get for trying to Burn MY JACKET!"
With a desperate lunge, the lizard opened its mouth, blasting a big Fireball at Ethan. But he had anticipated it, dropping into a slide that took him under the searing fire.
As he came up inside the lizard's range, Ethan saw an opening " ETHAN, Sera yelled"- a softer spot of flesh under its jaw. "GOT IT", He yelled back. Putting all his momentum into one brutal upswing, he buried the sword's razor-sharp edge into that weak point.
The impact traveled up the giant sword like a shockwave. The lizard's head whipped back violently, spraying more blood across the forest floor. Its knees finally gave up, sending the massive body crashing down in a cloud of dust and broken branches.
"That's my Ethan, so strong hehe", Sera said.
Fooh* Ethan stepped back, leaning on a close tree while cleaning the sweat, " Tis but a scratch", he said while panting, but with a fierce grin on his face. (You got the reference ?)
"Nice one, Sera!" he called out between ragged breaths. "That weak point was the key."
"I merely provided the tactical data," Sera replied humbly. "You exhibited remarkable combat ability and adaptability to take down such a formidable opponent."
Ethan chuckled, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his fingerless glove. "Yeah, well, Who would have known that my abnormal strength would come in handy someday".
He gave the fallen beast an appraising look. "Still, this was no regular forest critter. You sense anything special about this lizard guy, Sera?"
There was a pause as Sera sensors swept over the corpse. "Indeed, Ethan. While reptilian in nature, this creature's physiology doesn't match any Terran species. Its metalloid blood composition and ability to project thermal attacks are...decidedly supernatural."
Ethan whistled low. "A real live dragon, huh? Alright maybe not a full version, but still, Crazy..." He cleaned the greatsword's blade on a mossy tree trunk before sheathing it across his back once more. "What kind of messed up place did that Beam of light drop me in?"
The small furry creature that had been their guide poked its head out warily, chirping at Ethan as if checking he was unharmed. It scampered over and sniffed curiously at the dragon's cooling corpse.
"Don't worry, buddy," Ethan said, giving it a reassuring scratch behind the ears. "That stinky-breathed meanie won't be troubling us anymore."
He looked up at the towering forest canopy as the midday sunlight began to fade.
"Ethan," Sera's voice sounded. "Night will be falling soon. My environmental scans suggest finding shelter in one of the larger trees until morning."
"That one looks climbable," he said, pointing to a large oak-like tree with sturdy branches. "And the leafy top should give us cover."
The furry creature seemed to agree, scampering up the rough bark easily. Ethan secured the huge sword on his back before following, using his fingerless gloves to climb handholds.
Once situated on a wide branch, he settled against the trunk's wide middle. He pulled out the leather journal and strange bone ID card from the fallen man.
"Might as well look through these while we've got downtime," he mumbled.
As night fell across the mysterious forest, the dancing firelight and Ethan's quiet mumbles were the only sounds besides the night birds.