by Mars Dorian
“We just slaughtered fifty Preshaar. Hardly an advancement.”
“They wanted to prevent us from Reepo mining. And the Reepo is the key to a modern future. It will power the machinery and infrastructure to advance Fourlando into a new age of prosperity.”
“So I’ve heard.”
I paused, but the guy blabbered on. “You will soon see the Syndicate is extremely forgiving even to renegades like you. Expect to be reasonably rewarded for your deed today.”
“Can’t wait.”
I ignored him and focused on the path before me. Cadfael soon joined his captain leading the pack. He threw suspicious glances at me and mumbled something inaudible to his superior. I couldn’t care less. I had failed to escape from the quest. Worse, I had fought and killed Preshaar, which not only decreased my affiliation with the tribe but also risked the peace treaty between the beast men and the Blue Flame.
In short, I had broken the narrative.
But did I have a choice? I needed to survive, and the Preshaar continued to attack me, even after multiple peace offers. They got high on rage. And when they saw a dwarf like me, they relented to their bloodlust and went berserk. An evil tongue might have said they asked for the beating.
All the way back at the garrison, we stabled our bulkors in the barn of the bay. The stable master arrived and carried a basket filled with herbs and medical potions. His face grimaced the second he spotted the blood droplets on the armor plates. “What did you do to my babies?”
“We were ambushed by Preshaar,” I said in my defence.
The stable master ignored my excuse and treated his wounded babies. He stroked their beaks, fed them the medication, and ordered nearby assistants to take off the dented plates. They put a soothing lotion on the injuries and hummed strange melodies that calmed down the raptors. The rest of the soldiers couldn’t care less. They left the stable and walked toward the gate leading to the main corridors of the garrison. Captain Wedge approached me with a sharp smile slicing through his beard. “Follow me, cretin, your reward awaits you.”
Two more nearby soldiers grinned, which raised my suspicion. What did the captain mean by reward? Leading me into an empty room, slicing my throat from behind, and dumping my body into a container? Despite everything that had happened, the Sunbleeders were capable of any atrocity. That’s why I hovered my right arm near the gear pack, ready to pull the right weapon.
We reached the armory and approached a showcase which the captain unlocked with a key. My analyzer function inspected each item and caused spit waves to flood my mouth. I couldn’t believe the amount of high-quality suits I could chose from.
“Lieutenant Colonel Odin allows you to pick your new armor,” Cadfael said.
“For free?”
“Only death is for free, my friend. This is the reward for today’s accomplishment.”
I wanted to tune out the massacre when I reminded myself none of the victims were real. Both Sunbleeders and beast men counted as NPCs. Artificial intelligences with context-dependent script patterns. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides, the goal was to upgrade and level up my viewership numbers. I picked the following suit:
Armor: SS Med-Defender Suit
Type: Anti-projectile medium-heavy (+6)
Ability: Negates 20% of light projectile damage
+ 15% protection against thrusting weaponry
Slots: 1x
The SS initials, standing for the Sunblood Syndicate, still gave me the creeps, considering the association in the real world and my family’s past. But this was a game, so I had to drop the sensitivity. Besides, my LowShell armor had outlived its use.
“Good choice,” First Lieutenant Cadfael said. “Hard to carry, but I reckon you’re good with armored machinery, right?”
“I’ve got the Machine Spirit.”
Cadfael’s lips twisted, as if he swallowed down a foul fruit. “Are you one of those nutty cult followers?”
“You mean the followers of the Aeonlight?”
His face wrinkled in disgust. I might as well have penetrated his stomach with a poison arrow. “No, I’m not a believer,” I quickly added. “I mean, we’re living in a world full of airships, motorized weapons, and mobile armor suits. Who in their right mind would believe in ancient source energy that connects everyone, right?”
“Immoral, bloodthirsty savages, that’s who. Twisted overlords who want to drug the people with poisonous beliefs.”
The young man spouted the Syndicate’s party line, right down to the phrasing. I simply kept my mouth shut to avoid an altercation.
“Anyway, the lieutenant colonel wants to speak to you. Says it’s urgent.”
Cadfael gestured toward a nearby guard who guided me back to Odin’s office. By now, the path between the armory, the hangar bay, and the higher floor office showed up on my mini-map. The fog of war inside the garrison cleared with every new corridor I discovered. All the way back, Odin remained in his elevated chair and ogled me from his lavish desk. “Ah, the renegade has arrived.”
He waved to the guard and told him to stay outside. The soldier reluctantly agreed and shut the door behind me. Odin waved me over but told me to stop right before his desk. Mistrust still lingered. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Captain Wedge told me you put up quite the fight even though you initially hesitated. Elaborate.”
“I was surrounded by beast men. Five of them encircled my bulkor and threw spears and arrows at me.”
“And you still hesitated to attack them?”
“I wanted to avoid bloodshed. I wanted to tell them that I had no desire to hurt them.”
Odin shook his head. “You’re either naïve or foolish. Probably both.” He pulled another Scotch-filled glass from underneath his desk and sprinkled strange crumbs on top. He set the surface layer on fire like an absinthe cocktail. Since my VR set contained no smell-o-vision, I could only imagine the dank stench of smoke filling the office.
“You can’t reason with those savages, Dash. They breed like insects and spread around the canyons. Even though we have never attacked them, they keep on assaulting our men.”
“Probably because you invaded their territory.”
“Invaded? Does the entire Western Crescent belong to a tribe of hairy primitives? They probably don’t even understand property rights.” He walked toward me in a slow pace. “No, Dash, this precious island is wasted on them. If you don’t comprehend how to use the resources this world gives you, you have no right to own them. We both understand that.”
The trade window opened. Odin handed me the 5500 credits plus the 1400 bonus and grinned like a business tycoon having done the deal of a lifetime. “The Syndicate recognizes talents and rewards it accordingly.”
It sounded like good news, but was it morally right? I had fought the Syndicate ever since I stepped into Varmegarden and participated in a sabotage quest against a local Syndicate harvest plant. And now I accidentally partook in an outpost defense quest and fought the allies I was supposed to coax into joining the Blue Flame rebellion. Conflict bred inside of me.
Odin stomped toward the left wall which had a banner map of Fourlando. The three islands orbited the mainland.
My glance traveled to the mountain range of the main continent. Cloudkiss village, the secret headquarter of the Blue Flame, didn’t appear as an entry. Good. The last thing I wanted to see was Balzac getting scrutinized by the Syndicate.
Odin watched me with glee. He probably thought his smile would lower my defenses, but every time Odin arched his lips, he resembled a psychopath ready to devour me alive. The developers must have designed his mimics to achieve that creepy feeling.
“We have foiled the beast man attack today but those savages will return. They will creep out of their smelly holes and fight us until all progress is halted.”
“Progress?”
“The Western Crescent harbors undiscovered sources o
f Reepo crystals. Setting up new plants would dramatically increase our research of Reepo-dependent technologies. We could increase the production of airships and advanced machinery.”
Odin almost drooled. He moved toward the wall-sized windows behind his chair and looked up. He waved me over to stand next to him and observed the crystalline moon in the sky. “The Violet Lunar is the sole reason of Fourlando’s progress, my friend. Without its gifts, we’d still use spears and arrows like those furry degenerates from the Killa Kanyons.”
A comment lingered on my tongue, but I kept it. Odin noticed it. “Speak your mind. I’m not going to cut off your tongue, no matter the nonsense you spout.”
“I don’t want to sound like a loser, but the Reepo also infects local wildlife. It transforms even humans and turns them into monsters.”
“The real monsters are those who are afraid of the future and want to stop advances at every cost.”
His eyes locked on mine. “Imagine what the Reepo means for our world, Dash. Imagine airships that take you to any place within a matter of minutes. Advanced weaponry that will protect our people from any threat imaginable.”
“Yeah, but—”
“The Reepo is not some artifact from the Aeons like those scummy pilgrims want you to believe. The Reepo is a useful tool… a brick, so to speak.” He gestured with his hands as if to remind me what a brick looks like. “Now you can use a brick to build a castle, or you can use a brick to smash someone’s head. Either way, it’s not the brick’s fault; it is your choice. It’s what you do with it.”
“Bricks don’t infect organisms and mutate them into Creepos.”
Odin cracked up. “Bricks also don’t power airships or ground vehicles. With big reward come high risks. Thankfully, the Syndicate knows how to deal with the risks so it can focus on reaping the rewards. We have hundreds of scientists and engineers working on optimizing our mining equipment and refinery process. Soon, we will be able to harvest every crystal with zero casualties.”
He sounded like a CEO pitching his board for new investments, which made me ponder. “What is it that you want from me?”
Odin picked his premium bottle of the creamy liquid and poured more of the fiery liquid into his glass. He spiced it up with herb crumbs and took a sip with closed eyes.
Lieutenant Colonel Odin, downgraded officer of the Syndicate, fervent elite creamy liquid lover.
“Today’s mission has proven you’re a rough crystal when it comes to fighting. Your talents are wasted on fighting alongside furry freaks and their terrorist allies.” He eyed my armor from helmet to boots. “Your affiliation with machinery tells me you’re a man of the future. You want so much to give but the world has held you back, Dash. But with the Syndicate, you can unleash what you’re truly capable of. We have the resources to aid you in any way.”
I had to admit—Odin sounded more reasonable than the last time I fought him, but no blabbering in the world would convince me. The Sunblood Syndicate faction was overpowered and invaded every part of Fourlando. Odin sounded relaxed. “Inspect our garrison. Use the testing ground to experiment with your equipment and visit the craft bay to check out our vehicles and mechanized tools. With today’s victory, we will receive more funds from the HQ.” He raised his glass toward me. “We will have anything you require to advance.”
“Thanks,” I said with a lackluster voice.
Odin’s eerie smile still scared the crap out of me, but at least I didn’t fear him slashing my throat.
“Now leave me alone. I’ve got to plan our expansion.”
I marched away and targeted the door of his office. Odin called me again with his eyes turned toward the wall-sized windows. “I can sense a great future ahead of you, Dash. You just need to leave your tunnel vision behind and expand your mind. Fate isn’t crafted by Aeon cultists and revengeful rebellions. It’s built by men like you and me who value actions over words.”
And with that, I returned to the corridors of the garrison. The guard from before had left. For the first time since my capture, I was on my own again. But instead of heading straight to the training course and testing weapons, I spent my two new skill points. One from my Level 15 upgrade and the one from my recent Level 16 raise. I really needed to condition myself to spent points as soon as I had leveled up. Anyway, I spent one more point on the Bulwark ability, now at Level 2: +3 overall armor, -2.5 overall damage taken.
The upgrade to Level 17 also allowed me to use a new kind of mine.
Spider mines: The WarTech deploys a spider drone which charges toward the nearest foe and explodes. The drone consists of neosteel composite light armor (+2) and is powered by 1x set of Reepo batteries.
Type: Splash Damage (+3 meter radius)
Cost: 1x spider mine, 1x Reepo battery
Cooldown: 5 seconds
My first semi-autonomous mine with homing ability. Granted, I had to buy these mines in bulk and pay for extra batteries, but homing and splash damage was always a plus in my book. I visited the craft bay and bought ten spider mines for a discount of fifteen percent and looked forward to using my new explosive babies. A hundred and seventy-five credits per unit wasn’t cheap, but I made so much profit from selling all the gunblades, spears, and blades from the outpost defense quest, I could stack up an army of drones. And since Odin offered no new quest and I didn’t want to log off yet, I chose a function I had only used once before: sleepover. The fast-forward option would restore all health points and often triggered new quests.
I positioned my avatar in the quarters section of the garrison and chose the sleep function, hoping a new quest would await me in the next in-game morning.
24
My WarTech woke up in the quarters of the Western Crescent’s garrison. A tight place with iron walls, a bunk beds, an iron night stand, and a locker or mini armory, I couldn’t tell. If my VR set came with smell-o-vision, the quarters place must have reeked of corroded iron. An ugly sight compared to the wooden and homey feel of the Cloudkiss village inn, but hey, I didn’t play the game to marvel at interior designs.
I played to win.
To make money.
I scanned my room and found a couple of banners hanging from the metal walls. Female and male soldiers of the Syndicate, wearing crimson-colored armor, raising their gunblades and cutters into the air. The motto read: “Advance Fourlando. Make a profit. Preferably both.”
Another banner depicted a field of Reepo crystals, painted like a beautiful landscape. A couple of dirt-faced miners in heavy gear posed between the crystal shards and put two gloved thumbs up. The headline read: “Clean crystal energy for you and your loved ones.”
Clean, my ass. Those crystals mutated animals into vile creatures and humans into zombie-like freaks. But it was still interesting how each faction in the game portrayed their mission goals and the Reepo. While the Blue Flame rebel group compared the crystal corals to a radioactive plague, the Syndicate displayed the Reepo as a symbol for progress and wealth. Maybe those two parties should sit a table and discuss their issues.
Yeah, never gonna happen.
My glance fell to the note taped to the fortified door of my quarters.
Come meet me as soon as you have recovered from your last battle. I have something grandiose coming up, and I want you to become a part of it.
—Your Lieutenant Colonel Odin.
Surely not MY colonel, no matter what Odin claimed. But I had to admit—the guy fired up my curiosity. I hoped his grandiose thing didn’t involve my execution. Because no matter how many experience points and credits the Syndicate showered me with, I remembered their cruelty and business practices.
I hurried toward the corridors and got cleared by guardsmen before I entered the personal office of Odin. He stood in front of his wall-sized Fourlando map and drew notes on different sections of the continent and its isles. Odin reminded me of the dark version of Balzac, the leader of the Blue Flame. Not as eloquent and calm, but equally fired up with determination and purpose.
Maybe two sides of the same coin?
Odin finally paid attention to me. “Ahh, the lost warrior has returned. I hope you recovered from your last mission.”
“I feel ready to take down a mountain or two.”
Odin snipped his fingers. “Now that’s the kind of attitude we need in our forces. A driven man who will stop at nothing to hunt down his objectives.”
“Is there something you want to share?”
“Thanks to our last attack, we’ve pushed those stinking furballs back to the northern territories.”
“Congratulations,” I said with zero passion.
Because pushing back implied killing the Preshaar.
Cruel images flashed before my mind but I pushed them away and stayed in the moment.
Odin said, “But we both know those beasts will never stop harassing us. Their nut-sized brains can’t possibly understand the technical advances the Reepo harvest brings. They don’t understand how quality refinements can turn raw crystals into super-capacitor batteries that power every electro-mechanical device. How could they?” He grinned. “To the Preshaar, the Reepo crystals are nothing but shiny minerals that sparkle in the sun light.” He shook his head with a squeezed face.
“I think they’re just afraid of contamination.”
“They’re afraid of progress, plain and simply. They see our airships and mobile armor suits and realize they will never be able to create anything like it. Deep inside, they realize their inferiority. And because of their nut-sized brains and primitive instincts, that unconscious knowing of inferiority turns into jealousy and blind rage.”
Before I could add my own two cents, Odin pointed toward the northern part of the Western Crescent. “But mankind can’t crawl back into caves like the Preshaar. We belong to the sky and beyond.”
“Actually, they don’t live in caves. They live in spires and use wires to traverse different sections of their settlements.”