Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord
Chapter 142: New Ride

Chapter 142: New Ride

The soft morning sunlight filtered through the half-drawn curtains in Jayden’s room, casting golden stripes across his face. His eyes fluttered open, blinking away the remnants of sleep. Another day, another step closer to his goal.

Without wasting a moment, he swung his legs off the bed and dropped to the floor, beginning his morning routine. The daily quests awaited.

He sprinted through the neighborhood, muscles pumping, breath steady. Arriving at the park, he did the necessary... lifting a boulder heavy enough and climbing a tall tree to complete the quest.

*Daily Quest Complete

[+10 exp received]

[+10 stat points received]

[Alert! Daily Sprint quest has been reduced to 3km]

Jayden wiped the sweat from his brow, his heart thudding with quiet satisfaction. "Great... I guess," he muttered, heading home for a quick shower.

Steam curled from the bathroom as he stepped out, towel slung over his shoulder, hair damp and tousled. His eyes gleamed with purpose. He threw on a black compression shirt, matching pants, and shoes. Simple. Functional. Stylish. Just like the bike he was about to buy.

Today was the day.

---

Jade City’s Hoverbike Autohaus loomed in the distance as Jayden approached. The glass storefront gleamed under the morning sun, and floating advertisements flickered in the air above like electric butterflies.

"A ride from the future—The Astral Rider EX."

Jayden smirked.

The bell above the door jingled softly as he stepped inside. Rows of hovercrafts lined the showroom like sleek animals waiting to be unleashed. The familiar shop owner, Rick, looked up from behind the counter.. and blinked.

"Well well... look who finally showed up," Rick said with a raised brow, pushing his welding goggles onto his forehead. "Didn’t think you’d actually come back, kid."

Jayden gave a shrug and a playful smirk. "I said two weeks, didn’t I?"

Rick let out a low chuckle. "Heh. Kid, I’ve heard that one before."

Jayden smiled as he approached. "As promised..." he muttered, displaying his holo-tab for Rick to see. Then he grinned, opening his e-wallet and going directly to the transfer option.

As the holographic screen projected between his hands, Rick’s eyes widened.

[850,000 Credits]

[Confirm Transaction]

Rick shook his head in awe. "Damn, kid. You some kind of underground beast slayer or what?"

"Something like that," Jayden replied with a knowing grin, before hitting SEND.

The older man let out a low whistle, clearly impressed. "Alright. I don’t wanna know what you had to kill or steal for that kind of loot." He tapped a few buttons behind the desk, chuckling. "But as long as the feds don’t show up at my door, we’re good."

A small panel slid open from beneath the counter, revealing a sleek black glove with glowing blue circuitry trailing across its surface—It was the Astral Rider’s activation slash storage slash projection glove.

"Transaction confirmed. This beauty is now yours," Rick said, handing it over. "Remember: press the glyph on the palm and extend your hand to summon it. It’ll auto-sync with your bio-sig when you hold the handle.

Jayden slipped the glove onto his right hand. It hugged his fingers like a second skin. With a breath, he pressed the palm glyph.

Whirrrrrr—whuuum!

The glyph began to glow, humming with power. He held out his hand, and with a sharp surge of blue light, the air in front of him began to shimmer and distort like heat waves on asphalt. From the center of the distortion, the Astral Rider EX materialized—its silhouette forming out of hardlight and holograms until it solidified into a full-bodied hoverbike.

Sleek. Black. Chrome-lined edges that glowed with soft cyan pulses. It looked like something pulled straight from a cosmic race across the stars.

Jayden’s lips parted slightly in awe. "It’s beautiful everytime I look at it."

He reeled it out of the shop slowly, every eye inside the store following him.

"Have fun with it, kid," Rick called out with a wink.

Jayden hopped on, hands gripping the smooth, responsive handlebars. He pressed the ignition. The bike let out a soft thrum that vibrated through his bones, like the purr of a predator waiting to sprint.

He leaned forward and muttered under his breath: "Okay. Let’s test you out."

Then—vwoooom!

The hoverbike surged forward and lifted off the ground. Smooth as a whisper. Jayden soared into the air like a shadow with wings, flying alongside the other hovercars that zipped through the skies of Jade City’s transit lanes.

The wind slapped against his face, exhilarating and wild. Neon signs and digital billboards blurred past. Skyscrapers loomed and faded as he weaved through the traffic with ease, guided by the bike’s auto-stabilization system.

His grin widened as he leaned into a turn, the bike spiraling around a floating bus and then shooting forward. This was freedom. This was what power felt like.

"Damn..." he breathed. "This is incredible."

Below him, the city was a maze of light and steel, but from up above. It looked like art. A canvas of energy and motion.

He dipped lower and glided just over the rooftops of Jade City’s residential zone. His home building came into view.

Jayden pulled the bike into a hover beside his balcony, then coasted down to the side of the building. He landed gently, feet touching the pavement like a feather.

He stepped off, pressed the glyph again—and the bike began to dematerialize.

Zzzzzchhhhhh—tsssssht...

The Astral Rider EX dissolved into light, flowing backward into the glove in a swirl of pixels. Within seconds, it was gone. Just a faint hum left behind.

Jayden stared at his palm with a smirk and whispered. "I don’t think I can get used to that anytime soon."

He placed the glove into his inventory and stretched with a long sigh. The adrenaline lingered in his chest like embers after a fire.

As he entered his house and made his way to his room, there was a different weight in his step. He wasn’t just the beast-slaying kid anymore.

He was mobile. He was free. He had wings now—and the sky wasn’t just the limit.

It was the new battlefield.