John glanced at the Navigation Console in his ship's cockpit.

He was currently seated on the captain's chair and roaming around the Interstellar Map given to him by Itsuki, searching for a planet that had an Ancient Gateway that could lead him to the Ark Outpost. Still, it doesn't seem like the map showed this particular information.

While he could return to the first planet that he had been, it would take more Erchius Fuel than what he had.

Be used most of the fuel to jump directly to Bellatorsilva, where he took part in the Great Hunt. Now he didn't have enough to jump back.

[Looks like I'll need to get some Erchius Crystals or Liquid by myself.] John thought as he closed the map.

While it was possible for him to mine such resource since he had the Matter Manipulator, he heard that there was a lot of danger in exploring such moons that contain Erchius resources.

Such a danger was the mysterious entity known as Erchius Ghost that roams in moons that are rich in Erchius resources.

"Hmm..." John thoughtfully scratched his chin.

He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice a green figure that sat on the chair that was beside him.

It was only a few seconds later that John caught a glimpse of the figure from the corner of his eye.

"Peri? I thought you were in your room." He identified the green figure and spoke.

"I was bored." She commented. She lazily sat on the chair and placed her feet on top of the console.

John's eyebrows twitched as he watched this scene being unfolded before him.

"What is the-" Peri was about to ask something to John when he stopped her from speaking because he got a message from SAIL.

"Protector, there are multiple spacecraft approaching at high speed." The robotic voice echoed in the cockpit, "They are about 30000km away from our current position. Based on their speed, they will arrive next to our location in less than 3 minutes."

"Really?" John wasn't that worried about, "Change our route. Let them pass by. I don't want to enter any troublesome situation."

"Yes, Protector."

John's spaceship swiftly changed direction and started to get out of the path.

"There's a call incoming." SAIL warned John.

"A call? It's from Esther?" John hopefully glanced at the console.

He had been trying to contact Esther since he woke up, but it was complete radio silence at her side. He urgently needed directions to complete his quest.

The weight of such mission was making John feel suffocated, and he hasn't been able to feel any kind of joy or strong emotion besides guilt.

After the news of Mars and Mercury also falling by the Ruin's tentacles, John unconsciously placed the blame on himself.

If he had completed the Great Hunt sooner if he had warned them on the possibility of an attack...

"No." John looked down and sighed as he heard SAIL's answer.

Peri worriedly glanced at John. His situation was well known to her since even she could see the changes.

His psychology looked like it had something wrong ever since the day he suddenly said he was going to leave.

There seemed always to have a gloom and depressing aura around him that really worried Peri.

The robotic voice continued, "It's coming from an Independent Scientific Union's Stationary Space Station not very far away from our current location. From the info in Protector's PIPS, the caller is Lenny."

"Lenny?" John's head instantly lifted, "He is back there?"

"That Novakid?" Peri remembered the Novakid that was beside John on both the Iron Fist Arena and in the Black Star Syndicate's Outpost.

Remembering that Novakid also made Peri unconsciously glance at her right hand.

Different from everyone, the feeling she gets from Lenny is...strange. She never had a reaction like that with no one else.

It seemed to be something that connected both of them, something that both had. She never demonstrated before, but the moment she Lenny's entered in her line of sight back in the Ark Outpost, she already felt something wrong as her mark reacted with his presence.

She wasn't sure if it was Lenny or John that caused such reaction at the Ark Outpost and the Black Syndicate's Outpost. Since both of them were together at these times, she was unsure of who was causing such reaction.

It was only after John landed at Bellatorsilva that she confirmed that it was indeed Lenny that generate this reaction at her mark.

But ever since John came back from the Ceremonial Hunting Caverns, she also started to feel some reactions when close to John. Although they were only faint reactions, barely felt by her, it was still a fact that something happened inside the Caverns that now made her mark have reactions whenever she was close to John, very close.

"What's he doing?" John whispered with a low voice as he pressed in the touchscreen of the console to answer the call.

"CONNOR!!!! I NEED HELP!!" As soon as the call stabilized, John heard Lenny's loud shout over the sound of gunshots in the background.

John's face immediately changed as he straightened his back and asked Lenny, "What's happening?"

"I don't have to say, *Bang!* just come to my loca...*Bang*...tion. I really need your help," Lenny's voice was filled with urgency.

"Wait-" Before John could speak, the call was cut short, "What happened?" John turned to his PIPS and asked SAIL.

"The signal was lost. I'm trying to connect again, but the signal is being jammed."

"You got his location?"

"Yes, the location has been saved."

"Take us to him..." John said in a grave tone.

"It'll be done, Protector."

John sat back in his chair with frowned eyebrows and pressed lips.

"Don't worry." Peri saw how John was acting, "He'll be alright. He's a lot stronger than you think."

John glanced at Peri and nodded at her. He was grateful that she was saying such comforting words to him, but his worry wasn't just Lenny.

Even though he really wanted to save Lenny, he also needed to hurry up with his primary mission.

Lenny was a very important friend to John if not the last person he sees as a friend since most of his old ones were probably dead after Earth was destroyed.

John was actually thinking if someday he had to choose between his friends or to complete his mission, what would he choose.

The fate of the entire universe lies in him gathering the six Artifacts.

[Selfishness or selflessness...?] John silently rested his head on the chair and wondered.