I stared at the interface window for a long time as I half-consciously walked towards the original base camp of the Leper-Khans and my awaiting bike. The interface was a welcome distraction from, well, what just happened.

What all would happen during this Interface Extension? If it was a requirement to directly give over the box, then maybe it would expand my connection to the Eidolons. That was… worrying. It's not like I could stop leveling even if I wanted to anyway. And the only way I knew how to get rid of the interface was… not quite an option. I rather preferred being alive.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good distraction. I had to shift my attention away as I tossed the matter to the back of my mind. It was all stuff that would have to wait for this Interface Expansion once I got a skill to level twelve…

My feet paused at the edge of the camp, a chill moving down my spine as I felt the familiar ickiness of the creature’s malice. It’s crazy how much things could change with just a simple shift in perspective. I rubbed a hand against my elbow in an attempt to calm myself. It didn’t work.

I cautiously moved through the destroyed camp, understanding what each and every blood stain meant putting an entirely different feel over the place. This was literally a ghost town. I stared at one bright spot of red reflecting a rogue beam of moonlight as my feet slowed their march.

I almost became one… that thought was sickening, nauseatingly writhing in my gut. That was the closest I’ve ever been to death. Just one wrong move and it would’ve been over—no second chances. Not even the interface could’ve changed that. If they had the ability to resurrect, Nathan, or whatever his name was, wouldn’t have stayed dead. King of Death, hah.

Forcing myself to keep moving, I looked about the camp as I worked my way through it to my bike. The Leper-Khans were basically wiped out. Especially considering how many stains were here. I don’t think even a tenth of them escaped alive. Sure, there were a few left, but there was no way they could regain what they once had. That- that unseen entity wiped them out almost in totality.

Which meant loot… honestly, I just wanted to return home and not even grab anything. It felt weird… I didn’t want to steal. There’s a first time for everything, I guess.

I huffed a sigh as I lightly kicked aside a cracked jewelry box. Still, I would beat myself up later over not taking anything, so I went through the camp, remembering the areas I had already searched. Most of the stuff was too big, and unless I fixed up and hotwired one of the cars, I wouldn’t be able to take it with me.

Still, I went around and grabbed all the shiny bits and bobs I could find, some loose mechanical parts and pieces that looked promising, and even managed to take off one of the .50 cal from a vehicle. The .50 cal took a ton of space and I probably wouldn’t ever use it, but it would look good in my stash at least. And when else would I be able to get the beast of a gun other than here? No way I could buy one in the city at an affordable price.

After damn near loading up, and jury-rigging a strap for the massive gun as well as a ‘borrowed’ tarp to cover it, I straddled my bike. Thankfully it kicked on in one try, not shorted out like the tech that had been in the presence of the unseen monstrosity.

Damn. Speaking of tech, I definitely forgot to grab my Scouter… should I- should I go back and get it? But that would mean facing the Nomads again… well, it was fairly cheap to begin with. And I needed to almost completely revamp my designs, so I’ll just leave it…

On that note, I checked my other Scouters to find them in a similar state as all the tech in the camp; shorted out. They were completely toast. Great. Just great.

Well… at least I escaped with my life? Could I even say I really escaped? More so that the monster just let me go than anything. Why did it leave in the first place?

Thankfully, my phone and other gear were fine since I left that stuff with the bike. The sat phone was also good, which gave me pause as I pulled it out of my saddlebag. What do I even tell Athena?

I didn’t want to give the box to her. Not only because I was scared of what it would do in the city and didn’t want buckets of blood on my hands, but also because the Eidolons took an interest in the thing. I didn’t know who I’d give it to yet, but one of them were definitely going to get it. What should I do with the box until then? I could leave it out in the desert somewhere…

I reached for the phone and rang the woman up, carefully schooling myself so I wouldn’t let any details slip. “Hello?

”Copy. Report.” Her voice was short and clipped, and I could hear the background chattering of what sounded like a market in the background between static.

”The Leper-Khans are down to single digits. Some kind of monster that killed upon being seen…” I took a deep breath as I came to a decision. ”I- I didn’t find the box. There’s too much going on up here to track it anyway…”

“Hmm…” Several seconds of static came across the satphones speaker as I adjusted my sitting position on the bike. “Very well… come on back. I’ll report the item of interest’s circumstances to the buyer. Cold Moon isn’t going to like that…”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

For a moment, I thought I heard her say Cold Moon, but I chalked it up to the sheer tiredness. “What about the pay?”

”The original as agreed upon. Two thousand. And don’t forget to bring me back the sat phone.” The line went dead- er, went more static actually. I hung up and tossed it into my saddlebag.

I drove back to Sunderland, only taking a short enough pause to get something to eat. Jack’s Sun Kicker was an effective replacement for food, but nothing beats a good ole burger sliding down my gullet… I missed Big Mike. This burger didn’t taste as good.

I should go back when I get back to the city. His burgers were the best I’ve ever eaten… and the people there were less nosy. Everyone here kept staring at me weirdly. It was disconcerting. It felt like there was some big secret I wasn’t privy to.

I ignored the stares and looked out the window of the small burger shop, whose name I didn’t even bother to look at since I would never return, and saw the short, black-stained buildings in all their smoggy glory. I missed the city. It was funny, all I ever wanted to do was leave in my youth. Yet now? Now I miss the familiarity of the known world. I wanted to go back. I wanted to go back. That was a first.

And way back when, I always dreamed of going out into endless forests and magical landscapes like any dumb kid would, not endless seas of Dunes prowled by lethal monsters just waiting to strike at one wrong step.

At the moment, I didn’t want to leave the city again. Maybe in the future, but for now I just wanted to go back to the familiar danger of Aythryn City. At least till I got stronger. I wasn’t ready for this.

I finished up the burger and headed for the hotel I got last night. I easily rebooked the room and took a long shower, just then noticing the trail of blood down my face and collarbone as well as the small cuts and bruises all over my body and clothes from the rubble when that beast attacked.

No wonder people were giving you weird looks, stupid…

Yet oddly the cuts and blood did little to detract from my looks. I dunno when it happened, but I had turned quite pretty if I do say so myself. Maybe I was finally maturing? Ah! Maybe I could even grow some more!

The next morning I set out after filling up on AE3. My bike chugged smoothly, not even reacting in the slightest to all the strain I had been putting it through as I set off back down the Sunder Stretch. Not even the heavy .50 cal could keep it down, which was reassuring in a way.

My wounds were already healed from Quick Healing, further proving it was a wise choice. My clothes? Not so much. I’d have to get replacements soon…

The drive was as long as it was tedious. I left the mountains, passing through miles of endless desert on all sides for hours. The only things of interest were the rare other drivers and the occasional Crusade Cruiser. Thankfully, before long I finally spotted the glow of light on the western horizon.

I almost felt a tear drip down my face as the spectacle drew into view, the homesick feeling in my chest fading as I spotted Aythryn City once more. Just as the view made my homesickness disappear, it also put a weight on my back. I became intimately aware of the box as I slowly approached.

Should I really bring it into the city? What if someone steals it? Or if the few remaining nomads were found and pointed me out as the likely thief? I would for sure be searched by whoever set up the contract to begin with.

Too bad there aren’t any volcanoes around here… I could try breaking it, but what if that releases that monster instead of destroying it? And I definitely didn’t want to bring it into the city where it could be found easier.

Whoever set up the contract had enough money to foot a massive bill, so they couldn’t just be nobodies. If it was an operator or Edgerunner, they would definitely use it without a second thought, not caring about casualties. If it was a corp? Good chance the box was just experiment fodder.

It was much safer to just give the box to one of the eidolons. Specifically, to Crow. The interface message said he wanted it specifically to destroy it… I would have to wait till one of my skills gets to level twelve first though.

Where to put it till then?

I looked up and down the street, not noticing anyone, and then swerved off the road and into the desert. I drove a long way around the city, eating up my fuel as I moved to the north side. I drove up to my overlook area and hopped off my bike.

Finding a nice, secluded area of this already secluded area was easy as I started to dig a deep hole. Sand piled up around me as the hole grew deeper. Then, I pulled the box from my bag.

It was just a simple black box, looking entirely harmless in nature. What was even inside of it? I hadn’t looked back at the camp… I couldn’t help but grow curious of what could cause such wanton chaos-

No, stupid Shiro! Resist the temptation. I swiftly placed the box into the hole, buried it, and hopped on my bike before I could do anything incredibly idiotic. Giving one last look at the spot, I kicked the bike back into gear and restarted my journey back to the city. Back to home.

By the time I reached the outskirts of the city, the familiar scent of smog met me as I took off my mask. This kind didn’t smell as toxic as it did in Sunderland and actually felt a bit comforting… for all of five minutes before I threw the mask on for that sweet, sweet freshish air.

I desperately wanted to return to my apartment and just sleep. Just relax. Before then though, I need to finish this gig up. I cued it up on the map and headed for the Jagged Clover. I gave a polite nod to the tiny-handed bartender and worked my way back to the booth.

Athena Alexandria was by herself this time as I entered, disassembling a rifle. Shen Kang maybe? Don’t see too many of those out here… probably some old-world paranoia about their products and the fact Sentinel and Raijin dominated the market in most of the FSA, if I had to guess.

I held out the sat phone as I walked up to her. “Here. Done as promised.”

”’Course….” She grabbed the phone and looked at me from head to toe. “You look like you’ve been through hell… still, you did a fine job. Nothing you can do about the Leper-Khans being such big fuck ups. I had high hopes for that group too… I’ll call you again if I need to.”

I gave her a half-hearted salute as the Rayn entered my account and headed for the door.

「Tracking - 6>7」

「Perception - 5>6」

As I left, I had my PA pull my account information up into my vision. All of that work… for two thousand and some levels… was it worth it? Was this really a win for me?

No. My gut instinct said no. This was not a win. Sure I got out alive with loot, but this didn’t feel like a win in the slightest. If anything, it showed my rampant weaknesses and fragility outside of a very small set of circumstances. I had been entirely helpless as that creature stalked about, muttering harassments to me. I needed to get stronger. To be better.

But that would all cost money… the best I could do now is polish my current skills and wait for another good-paying gig to pop up.