CHAPTER 73: MEETING THE ORIGINAL PROTAGONIST [I]

Lucius made it out of the Dungeon with Luna.

The air outside felt sharp, fresher than anything inside.

He stretched his arms lazily, but Luna’s eyes weren’t on him.

She was looking at the drone that floated in the small ball of warped space he had wrapped it in.

The shimmering bubble trembled, then popped. The drone dropped neatly into her hands.

She studied it for a moment and let out a sigh.

"The drone turned off," she said flatly.

Lucius leaned a little to see.

She twisted the small device over in her hands, her gaze focusing on the little burnt grooves along its side.

"The circuits are fried, but it’s easy to fix these," Luna continued. "I’ll do it when I get home."

Lucus nodded.

He didn’t really understand tech like she did, but it was good enough to know the drone would live.

He turned instead to look at the other party members as they stepped out of the portal after him.

They looked exhausted.

Matthias was dragging his sword behind him, the tip scraping sparks on the stone.

Cyrus had his hand over his chest, wheezing faintly.

Erika still hadn’t recovered her sword and just looked like someone had wrung her out and left her to dry.

Grimm was worse.

Lucius couldn’t blame them.

He had cleared the dungeon boss himself, but to be fair — they were working overtime as background entertainment for the stream and he admired their work too.

"Good work today," Lucius said evenly.

Their faces brightened immediately, like puppies getting praised.

He let his gaze drift to the brown-haired Awakener in the back.

She was hugging herself tightly, her gun strapped to her back, eyes averted.

"Are you okay?" Lucius asked.

"..."

No answer.

’Rude,’ he thought flatly. Maybe he wouldn’t bring her next time.

But after a long pause, she finally spoke, voice soft as a whisper.

"Uhm... I appreciate that you killed that thing for me."

Lucius smiled warmly at her.

"Anytime."

He took a step back, looking at all of them.

"Will you guys be open for missions anytime?" Lucius asked.

He needed to know. The squad had to be ready on short notice.

Even midnight.

It was overworking, but hey — if you wanted the right slice of content, you needed them flexible.

Fans didn’t sleep, after all.

"Yes!" Matthias shouted instantly, punching the air with way too much energy for someone who looked half-dead. "Even if I’m in the toilet!"

Lucius’s face visibly scrunched at that.

’You’re a grown ass man, wash your ass,’ he thought, unimpressed.

The others hesitated, but slowly nodded one by one.

After that, the guards stationed at the dungeon gates came over, asking quick questions.

Mostly about the monster, if there were any survivors, and if Lucius wanted to report anything unusual.

He gave short answers, never too detailed — he wasn’t about to explain he had folded space and deleted a ghost’s head with a black hole, they could watch that on the stream.

Soon enough, the formalities were done, and Lucius found himself sliding into the back seat of a sleek black car.

Luna slid in beside him, tucking her drone gently into her bag.

The car hummed and began rolling down the road, carrying them out of the Black Fields and back toward the glittering skyline of the city.

Luna adjusted her glasses and tapped a few times on the lenses.

Numbers reflected faintly across the glass.

"There were a lot of viewers on the stream today," she said, sounding a little proud. "We ended at one hundred and fifty million viewers."

Lucius’s brows rose slightly.

That was more than the population of some countries in his last life.

"My account and your account subscribers have increased," Luna continued. "You have fifty million subscribers right now, and I have about nine million. We also received... three hundred and forty thousand Royals in donations."

Lucius leaned back in the seat, arms folded.

"That’s a lot," he said simply.

It wasn’t just money.

It was influence.

It was a signal to everyone else in this world that he wasn’t just some Awakener running dungeons — he was becoming an icon, well if he wasn’t already on one.

"Hopefully next time," Lucius said, "we can do a longer stream. And perhaps some Questions and Answers."

Viewers loved that kind of thing.

People always wanted to poke into your personal life, ask about your habits, your weapons, your favorite food, your secret crush.

It made them feel closer to you.

And nothing drove engagement higher than parasocial closeness.

Luna’s cheeks warmed.

She fidgeted with her fingers, twisting them together nervously.

"What if they ask about us?" she murmured.

Her blush deepened. "I’ve seen some comments asking about if..."

She trailed off.

Lucius tilted his head at her.

"If what?"

Her face burned red.

"If... we did it?"

Lucius didn’t even blink.

"Just tell them I knocked you up," he replied flatly. "We can always do it later."

Her blush spread all the way to her ears.

She quickly turned her face away, but nodded, lips pressed tightly together.

Lucius didn’t react.

Outwardly, he looked calm

. Inside?

’Sigh... I don’t have any experience in that,’ he admitted silently.

He hated to think about it, but he was still a virgin.

Sure, once in his past life — but he didn’t like to count that.

The car continued rolling smoothly, the city lights growing brighter in the distance.

Then brake lights.

The car slowed.

The driver muttered something under his breath.

Ahead of them, a stretch of red tail lights glowed.

Dozens of cars stood still.

"Looks like a hold-up," the driver called back. "Traffic jam, or maybe something happened up ahead."

Lucius leaned his head against the window with a sigh.

Tiresome.

He just wanted to get home and eat.

Then — knock.

Someone rapped firmly on his window.

Lucius turned his head lazily, ready to tell off whoever it was.

His eyes landed on the face outside.

And for the first time in a long while, his calm expression cracked.

His eyes widened.

His body stiffened.

’Ain’t no way...’

His thoughts scrambled.

’Why is the original protagonist knocking on my car door?’

The window glimmered with his reflection, his eyes staring back in disbelief.