The Wasted tavern was doing booming business. Yesterday’s attack on the fort had reminded everyone that life is short. Both the tavern and the brothel were packed with people celebrating life. After a few beers with his friends, Atlas realized he hadn’t fed the baby trolls lunch yet.
Atlas said to John, “Have you thrown the bodies of all the dead into the nutrient machine?”
“We have,” said John.
“Great,” Atlas replied. He headed to the nutrient machine and looked at the output. It was a mix of bone, blood, and the corpses of the dead, all blended into a slurry of unappetizing pink and white goo. He gathered it up—quite a bit, actually—and took it to the vending machines. There, he approached the ‘A Salt & Buttery‘ machine and selected homemade chicken nuggets. The machine opened up a slot, and he poured all the nutrients into it. It began spitting out nuggets. Atlas paid the coins for the service and took the uncooked nuggets to their resident chef, Isabella.
“Isabella, do you have an hour to help out here?”
“Oh,” said Isabella. “Do you need me on a patrol? We’re about ready to go.”
“No,” said Atlas. “I want to take advantage of the fact that you were an executive chef back on Earth. You see these uncooked chicken nuggets?”
“Yes,” said Isabella.
“First of all, don’t ever eat them. Second, can you bake them so they’re easy to eat? I can store them in the freezebox in my room.”
“Sure,” Isabella said. “That shouldn’t take more than an hour.” She got to work, wondering why Atlas had suddenly developed a fixation on chicken nuggets. Her ‘Atlas Was Crazy‘ file was still there, and she quickly updated its memory.
***
Atlas grabbed the two baby trolls and said, “Babies, we’ve got a treat for you today.”
“Treats? We love treats!” the baby trolls said eagerly.
They wound up back at their house, and later Isabella delivered the hot nuggets. Atlas packaged up most of them but set aside a huge amount for the incredibly fast-growing baby trolls. They aged a year for every day, so they needed a lot of food—and it had to be all raw meat.
“Here you go, guys. Eat up.”
The baby trolls dug into the fun-shaped chicken nuggets and said, “These are delicious! They taste just like chicken.”
“That’s exactly what it is,” Atlas said, thinking of Lieutenant Colonel Sanders.
Atlas mulled over how much the baby trolls were eating. A year’s worth of growth in just a day had him spending a fortune on food. ‘Good thing I have all these chicken nuggets‘, he thought. ‘I never want my baby trolls to lose their savage nature, but I can't have them randomly eating humans. I don’t want them thinking humans are food. Especially since Fort Bone and all of us are, well, human.‘
Still, convincing baby trolls to go vegetarian was against their nature. Like cats, they weren't omnivores—they were pure carnivores. Cute little carnivores for now, but soon they'd grow into the vicious hunters and destroyers that was in their nature. ‘Luckily for me‘, Atlas reassured himself, ‘Portilla and Crushir are siblings—male and female—so there’ll be no fight for Alpha status.‘
Atlas, Portilla, and Crushir walked hand-in-hand, laughing as they made their way to the vending machines. "What are we going to do today, Papa?" Portilla asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"Well, today we're going to tour around Fort Bone," Atlas said, "see how everyone's doing."
"Are we making new friends?" Crushir chimed in.
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Atlas nodded, smiling, "Yes, we'll be making new friends. And then we're heading to the training area where you two will get to practice with your clubs."
The clubs that had been properly sized just days ago were already growing too small, as were their adorable pet costumes. Troll growth spurts were no joke.
They reached the vending machines, and Atlas made a beeline for the Paws and Claws machine, buying larger outfits for the ever-growing baby trolls. He then purchased an enormous supply of troll kibble. "Holy crap, this is really getting expensive," Atlas muttered, eyeing the mountain of food he had to carry back.
Portilla and Crushir squealed with delight when they saw the bags of kibble and their new costumes. Without a care in the world, they changed right in front of the vending machines, oblivious to the amused onlookers. Their excitement was infectious, and Atlas couldn’t help but chuckle.
With the trolls bouncing around in glee, Atlas headed to the settlement kiosk. He tapped a few buttons and smiled as Fort Bone officially upgraded to a level three castle. ‘The coins from exchanging the POWs definitely came in handy‘, he thought, pleased with the progress.
Level three Castles were no joke. The defenses were formidable, and even the most vicious demon dogs, until they advanced through significant mana accumulation, would struggle to breach them. Atlas's retreat from attacking the Settlement of Faith was a testament to this; most Level two weapons proved inadequate against such advanced fortifications. To breach a Level three Castle required not only exceptional strategy but also specialized weapons capable of overcoming its superior defenses.
Purchasing those specialized weapons was going to be Atlas’s next move. He already had a plan in mind, using his foreknowledge of warfare in the Wasteland to guide him. With his sights set on the Faith Settlement, he prepared to unleash a world of damage, confident that his strategy would overcome their formidable defenses.
POV : CELESTIAL WAGER
Inside The Celestial Wager, the energy was loud with excitement. The translucent blue and silver walls of the grand yet tacky casino shimmered as alien spectators gathered around holographic displays, eagerly tracking the latest developments in the wasteland. Lurox flitted around, her iridescent wings leaving a trail of light as she buzzed with excitement.
"Did you see that?" she chirped, barely able to contain herself. "Atlas is at it again! Trading humans for coins—brilliant! That’s something we Glytharni would do.”
Zeltrax, lounging in his favorite floating chair, his three green eyes glowing with amusement, chuckled softly. "He’s playing a long game, this one. Smart. But I wonder how long he can keep it up before one of his deals blows up in his face."
Lurox twirled in the air, giggling. "That’s what makes it so fun! The stakes are so high, and the risks? Oh, delicious!"
Gorvax, his massive stone-like frame dwarfing the others, grunted. His four arms rested on the sides of his chair as his red eyes fixated on the hologram of Fort Bone. "I’m not impressed. Atlas is strong, but he’s too soft. Sparing enemies for a few coins? Bah, he should be crushing them outright. Stone is strong and sturdy. They need to be stone to survive.”
Kroxar's tentacles twitched as he responded, "Softness is a strategy, Gorvax. He’s building resources while avoiding unnecessary losses. Besides, every time they get those soldiers back, they’ll owe him more." He waggled his tentacles in enthusiasm.
Gorvax growled, "Until they get smart and band together against him."
Zeltrax leaned forward, his gaze sharpening. "Or until he decides to stop playing nice. You all know as well as I do—Atlas is only merciful when it suits him. When he strikes, it’s decisive."
The holographic display zoomed in on Atlas and Olivia walking back through Fort Bone town. The crowd murmured in excitement as betting tablets lit up across the casino. Bets were being placed, not just on the outcome of future battles across the wasteland, but on every move the Portal Crushers made. If a bet was possible it was a betting chance.
Currently bets on how many beers Alexander would drink was trending.
Virelia, gliding smoothly across the liquid silver floor, approached the group. Her luminescent tendrils swayed gently as she offered drinks to the gathered spectators. "Would any of you care for a wager?" she asked, her voice soft yet enticing.
Zeltrax smiled, taking a drink from her tray. "I’ll wager Atlas’s next move will involve crushing a different settlement. He’s already got the Belief Settlement by the throat with that contract."
Lurox clapped her hands, her excitement uncontainable. "Oh! I’ll bet he goes after a personal fight with Cromwell next! That Major’s too proud to let this deal slide without retaliation."
Kroxar’s tentacles curled thoughtfully as he placed his bet. "I’m betting he won’t need to do anything. The Belief Settlement will crack on its own under the pressure. Thirty seven days of debt? They’re not built for that."
Gorvax remained silent, his red eyes narrowing as he considered the odds. Finally, he placed his wager. "Atlas doesn’t wait. The second they miss a payment, the system will take it over. And when it does, the wasteland will burn."
The hologram shifted, showing Fort Bone as they went about their day. The Portal Crushers were preparing for whatever challenges would come next, their strength and numbers growing. But in the Celestial Wager, the bets were laid, and the audience was eager for the next round.