I wake up some 10 hours later, according to the clock on the PID. Judging by the dim pale moonlight bleeding through the ceiling it was still some time until dawn.
You’re awake? Good. Push ups and Squats.
“As soon as I wake up?”
Yes. Get to it.
10 sets of push ups, 5 sets of squats later, and a visit to the communal restroom later, and I open up my PID. I got everything Aurora reccomended me getting yesterday, so I could go out today. The fact that a clock was ticking down on my life didn’t sit well with me. Once the contract was ended, I would have a grand total of five days outside of the Land Beyond before not even coming back here would work. Unless I improved my body, I’m already a dead man walking. And, if I come home rich, stronger, smarter, faster, and using fucking magic? I’ll be able to slam my fist into George’s fat, bearded face and there’ll be nothing he could do to stop me.
I navigate to the, “jobs,” section of my PID, and there are many available. Most, for my rank, are things like, ‘sweep in a restaurant for a day $50,’ or, ‘clean up our canals,’ for 50. The highest paying ones have an orange [DANGER] sign on their borders. Clicking on these signs reveal: DANGEROUS FOR YOUR RANK.
The first was:
[An engineer in New Eden has needs of a certain object, and is looking to hire someone to go fetch a number of them from the Scrapyard. Collect 10 Steel Plates and bring them to him for 100 dollars.]
Accept that one. You need to raise your ranks as quickly as possible in order to live so risk is a necessity.
I sigh and hit, ‘accept,’ on it.
When I do so a picture appears on the screen of a steel plate with two bolts attached to either side with the words [reference image] beneath it.
[Steel Plates
0/10*
*Client has stated he’d be willing to buy any extra for 10 dollars per piece.]
I track it.
The other job with the [DANGER] tag was:
[There have been reports of Monsters infesting the Scrapyard. As an important harvesting place for resources, it is imperative that their numbers are quelled: Kill 10 of any creature classified in the Bestiary as “Monster” or “Mutated” withing the scrapyard for $200, and a 1% increase in all of your stats].
The Voice tells me to pick that one as well, so I do.
I track it as well.
[Mutated or Monster killed within the boundaries of the Scrapyard 0/10]
Another job that I could do out in the field...I scroll through the list until I find one.
[An Alchemist Shop in New Eden is running low on herbs to use: pick 10 medicinal herbs and bring them back for $50 and a 2.5% increase in Foraging mastery.]
I accept it and track it as well.
[0/10 medicinal herbs]
Appears on the black screen. I get dressed in the clothes that I wore yesterday; strap my pistol and knife to right side belt, and the Cast Iron Sword to my other. In my bag, I place the crowbar, hacksaw, and socket wrench set, and then the ammo bag that contained the pistol ammo. I put my canteen in one of the front pockets right above my thigh. After that I put on my peacoat, and toss my bag onto my back. It sits awkwardly as I adjust the straps on the front and clip them together over my chest and around my waist. A moment of genius strikes me before I set out. The PID is indestructible, right? I set my bag down and
I open the door and lock it behind me. As I slide the key into my pocket, the door to the communal restroom opens up, and Jack steps out yawning.
“Morning.” He said.
“Yeah...morning. How did your job go yesterday?”
“Oh, it went great.” He said as he scratched his belly. “500 dollars for some venison. Thinking of taking another job. Are you heading out?”
“Yeah. Just about to.”
“Well good luck. It’s bizarre out there. Used most of my rifle ammo yesterday.”
Give him your shopping list. The Voice commanded.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Why?
Because I like him. What other reason should there be?
“Hey, I have something for you, can you wait a second?” I grumble as I fish the list, folded up in my left pocket. “I got some advice from one of the veterans yesterday, and they recommended me getting these things. They also told me that about near anything useful sells.”
He takes the list from my hand and reads it over for a brief second.
“Thank you. I’ll get these today, then.” He folds up the paper, “Going to go back to sleep now, though. Good luck, Lyle.”
I grumble, and head down the stairs, as quiet as I can. The front desk is empty, as are all of the tables. I suppose that’s a given though, with how late, or early it is. I step outside, and stop to stare at the sky. Hovering above the city, in the dark indigo skies, are two moons. One is full, while the other is crescent. The full moon is pale white, much like the moon back on earth, while the crescent casts a purple light. I rub my eyes to make sure I’m not seeing anything, and it remains. Countless, unfamiliar stars dot the sky as I set out from the gate. The air is cold. Far colder than it was yesterday when I went to lay down as a wind howled down from the Ice Wall.
“Name?” A tired looking man leaning on a wall illuminated by a single lamp inside of the threshold of the gate asks.
“Lyle Kyle.”
The man writes that down in a logbook hanging off the wall.
“Where are you heading?”
“Scrapyard.”
“Alright, that’s all I need to know. Good luck.”
He steps out of my way and lets me through. Good luck? I don’t need luck. I’m getting tired of people underestimating me. Out from the gate is a long wooden bridge that spans a roaring river that both canals drain into. The river flows around either side of the walls of New Eden, and back to the wall of ice behind it. Beyond the bridge a vast tundra stretched out. Sparse , brown vegetation cropped up from the side of the gravel road that stretched to a distant wooded land, and would taper off eastward about half a mile toward the Scrapyard, according to the map on the PID. Every step of the way is spent shivering and miserable. My boots scrape against the gravel.
Why so miserable?
“It’s cold.”
You’ll get used to it.
Along the way, animals scatter at my presence. Most are things that I’m more familiar with; foxes and rabbits, running off to their burrows, or deer scraping their hooves on the gravel road as they pass from one side to the other. There are some oddities with them; one of the foxes had an extra tail, while the rabbit speed rivaled that of a car’s. The deer’s fur held a pale hue and shone with a pale light. One such deer stopped about a dozen feet from me to chew on a rather large patch of grass on the road. Its antlers glowed like crystal, and its eyes were dark black pools.
Why not kill it, and take its heart? Your life is slowly running out.
The voice asked. Why not? I needed to kill things to get stronger, and this was a good opportunity to try it. I reached slowly for my holstered pistol, and slid it slowly out and away from my belt so I didn’t startle it away. It tromped over the road toward another patch of grass, and I raised the pistol. It shook in my grasp as I squeezed my eye shut and squeeze the trigger.
The pistol roars, and the deer screams as the bullet punctures through its flank. It runs a few steps away as foamy blood pours out on the brown grass. It collapses and thrashes on the ground as it tries despeatley to stand.
Put it out of its misery.
I walk over to it, and it tries to push away off the ground. My heart wrenches, as I press the pistol right against its temple and pull the trigger. I pulled my head to the side and vomited my stomach into the grass.
The PID dings inside of my coat.
Good. Now cut out its heart.
“I don’t…”
Hurry, or I will rip it out myself and force you to drink from it before you die.
“How do I…”
Pathetic. Get your knife, and stab it in the middle of the chest.
I swallow the bead of disgust built up in my throat, and draw the black combat knife that the White Company had given me, and stab it into the chest of the creature.
Use the knife to cut a line straight down about a foot, and then another line horizontally from that about the same distance…
I follow his instructions; pulling apart ribs, and separating tissue. Viscera smears my hands by the end of it, as I reach in and separate the heart with my knife and pull it from its body. I feel sick as the cold organ sits in my hand. It’s a pale white, with the symbol of a pair of moons seemingly seared into the flesh. One is full, and the other is in a crescent shape.
Stop your crying. This is necessary for your survival.
“I know…”
Stab the heart and put it to your lips.
I stab the black knife through the tough flesh of the heart, and remove it. A slow trickle of crimson forms as I remove the knife. I squeeze my eyes shut and place the wounded heart to my lips. The blood tastes strangely sweet as it trickles down my throat.
The PID dinged.
[Moon Deer added to Bestiary]
[1/20 Heartblood Drank]
[4% Pistol Mastery, +4% Anima Manipulation, +1% Intelligence, +1% Agility]
As the last drop of blood drops down my throat, the heart shrivels and turns to dust. I take a moment to reflect what I had done before the blood settles in my stomach, and I feel a small surge of energy coursing through my body.
Interesting. Doing that has earned you another day of life, it seems.
“Really.” I wasn’t too happy with that. I don’t know if I’ll be able to eat after this is Now...it’s a shame, but we have no way of keeping the meat. If I were alive I would have eaten it up right away, alas, you cannot do that, so we’ll have to leave most of the body here. Take its antlers. If you can’t sell them, they will make a fine trophy of your first kill.
I set my bag down on the ground, and take out my hacksaw and get to work on its six pointed antlers.They feel more like stone than they do anything else. Cold, hard stone that sparkled like quartz. I set both in my backpack.
Now the pelt.
I sighed.
“I don’t know how.”
I have watched humans do it before. I will guide you.
The instructions were clear, but my hands were clumsy While scrapping away the tissue connecting the fur to the flesh, my knife slipped more than once By the end I had a piece of torn pelt about twice as wide as the palm of my hand.
Pathetic.
“I’ll get better with practice.” I tell the voice as I rolled up and stuffed the scraps in my bag, closed it, and tossed it on my back before continuing on my way.
[Moon Deer]
During the warmer months, these deer roam the tundra between the Templar Woods, and the gates of New Eden. During the colder months they hide in the caves within the Templar Woods. Depending on which moon is more prominent in the sky, their antlers and pelts will change color. Their meat is good to eat, and their pelts are considered luxury items. Their antlers are sometimes used by jewelers.
(uncommon, mutated)