The weight of Tenner’s words settled in. His vision blurred, but his undying trust in himself kept him standing, locked his vision--with a chain--on the bounty hunter legend ahead. Blackglove’s figure crystallized into clarity: every sharp edge on the legend’s black helmet perfectly molded around his head, every scratch on his black metal armor, the tear in the midnight rags hanging off it, and the ritualistic inscriptions on his right leather glove. One could mistake the Blackglove for a shadow in the night. A shadow that bled -- a sole drop of crimson trickled down his neck.

“You would like to see me kill you? You are out of luck. Your death will be painless and faster than any level of Eyesight could help you see,” Blackglove spoke. His words were cold, not arrogant. He knew he said the truth. “A thousand hopeful bounty hunters have tried to take my place. And all succeeded… in becoming the EXP that powers my CHEK. Don’t think that you are any special. You are not. And don’t you dare even hope that your meeting with death will be botched.”

Tenner shook his head and stood even straighter.

He thinks he’s the night: always there and can’t be killed, Tenner thought. But he’s bleeding. He’s bleeding…

That’s all Tenner needed to know. He could kill Blackglove. Not now. In a hundred levels. Now he needed to run away.

“I’ve-- we have all gone too far to die like this--”

“And I crawled to my place in the world with skin and tar, and bone,” the bounty hunter legend snapped. “Fools like you have no place staring at the fruits of my suffering. You have no right risking the demise of this planet. You must be executed.”

Aha. Tenner’s brow furrowed. Something to cling to. Something to keep the conversation going.

“Must be boring at the top, thinking you’re some savior of this planet, “ Tenner said, ideas of getting out of this place coursing through his brain. From Ames’ and Gi’s eyes gleamed with ideas too. “Why not let new blood sit at the top?”

Blackglove paused before continuing. He chuckled.

“I took my rank from the scaly fingers of Johannes Blood. A bounty hunter with levels and contracts far greater than mine. But he still died, because this rank was not meant for him. Every part of me--every wire in my CHEK--is shaped to deal with the most dangerous game in existence. To sway…” Blackglove trailed off. “You desire glory, credits, a way to destroy your past. But those principles will destroy you. They will destroy anyone ranked as the #1 bounty hunter. This game is far, far more complex than you imagine, Tenshot.”

“What… what if it isn’t? You’re no god. There is no destiny. Yes, me and you, we have mystical perks, but they’re just the aces in our decks, not some fate that decides who we are. The only thing which decides that is how we play the game. Anyone could play right and become Blackglove, and do whatever you do.”

Tenner expected the legend to break out in anger.

Blackglove nodded instead.

“Indeed, I’m not god. But I know god. She is… vile. And she isn’t patient. Johannes Blood carelessly brought her wrath and almost destroyed the world. That’s why I had to take this rank. Yet, blinded by my destiny, I too acted foolishly and almost tipped the scales towards the end. But destiny also saved us: god gave me another chance,” Blackglove said. “Only I can fight against her will. Only I can keep the perfect balance to stop the world from destruction.”

“Isn’t it all already destroyed?”

“You don’t understand destruction. True devastation.”

Blackglove waved his fingers. His CHEK faintly buzzed and the midnight rags hanging off his armor floated up. Electricity flowed into them. They glowed blue and turned into screens.

They showed a view of the wasteland outside the Realm.

Blackglove waved his fingers. Strange currents flowed through the air. A powerful perk. In accordance, the desolation outside healed into a luscious forest. The creatures emerged from their caves. Trees sprung up.

Blackglove dropped his hand. The leaves fell and the greenery drained, and gray dust covered the fresh grave of life.

“As long as I am alive, the planet will remain like this. At the snap of a finger, it can become an ancient utopia, but that is a risk no gambler would even take. It is better to keep it like this than to face god’s wrath.”

Tenner was far too numb and tired and injured to feel the true anger these words should’ve brought. Yet his hands still crinkled into fists and a demented look took to his face.

Blackglove laughed.

“Such a reaction is proof why a kid could never take my rank. Blinded by idealism, you would make a foolish decision in the face of god.”

“There’s a whole world-- a whole civilization of people, suffering and living the worst nightmare imaginable and you choose to keep them in pain.”

“God is not patient,” Blackglove snapped. “I understand her limits. I know your journey is over Tenshot.”

He took out a shifting amoeba. As the legend’s arm extended, it molded into a die. Tenner’s mind returned to Realm 349. He’d played hundreds of games with this exact die. “Does it look familiar?” Blackglove asked.

Tenner nodded, then a sense of wrongness crawled across his skin. It looked the same, but there was something wrong with it.

“No,” he said.

“That’s right. You’ve never seen or touched this thing. It might be the most powerful thing I’ve ever held. And it was hidden right under your home, in Realm 349. If you would’ve found it, you would’ve survived. But I went looking for something else and came across it. Once again, a sign that my fate is to forever be Blackglove.”

As the legend finished, sparks flickered in Gi’s hands. He was crafting. He had a way out.

Those books are really harming him -- he found an escape faster than me, Tenner thought, then Gi flicked a finger. I can distract myself for hours. What makes you think I can’t distract Blackglove for a minute?

The bounty hunter legend juggled the die in his right hand. Then, he threw it at Tenner. Midair, it molded into Tenner’s first ever axe. Stepping back, Tenner grabbed the handle. Blackglove did too. Along with Tenner, he raised it up above himself, keeping the dangling Tenner at eye level.

Smoke danced out of Blackglove’s hand. Strange currents in the air. Another powerful perk.

Tenner tapped into every muscle in his body. Using the axe handle as a bar, he pulled himself up and jumped into the air, and… Blackglove grabbed his foot. He tossed Tenner to the ground. A foot dropped on Tenner’s chest. His bones and ribs struggled to stay intact, his blood and his breathing stopped and his organs were about to burst through his skin.

“As I said, I have done this execution many times,” Blackglove began, “and there is no way I can fail.”

“Wait, I can offer you a deal!” Tenner gasped.

“You cannot offer me anything more valuable than your EXP.”

“I can give you my friends’ lives!” They’ll know I don’t mean it. They will...

“Those I’ll take anyway.”

Blackglove swung the axe. Tenner rolled out of the way of chop after chop.

“Stay still, damn it.”

The axe turned back into an amoeba and returned to Blackglove’s pocket. He drew a laserpistol. It aimed at Tenner’s face. It revved up.

“You know about my special ability, [Tenshot]?! Well I have visions which show what’ll happen a few seconds into the future and it can decide what to do so I never die,” Tenner began blabbering with hope that something would capture Blackglove’s attention. “The priest Kristus almost killed me. While Ames was dragging me back to Gi’s workshop, I had a vision. Of god. Yes, that god! The god with the most terrible face, tentacles…”

Tenner carried on, the words flowing from him. As he continued raving, visions flashed by his eyes. More and more details. Too many details. It was like he’d met the god himself or someone had possessed him.

“And… and… in the end… the god drained the life from the dark figure, saying…” Tenner finished.

Blackglove clicked on the safety of the laserpistol.

“What? What did she say?!”

“I don’t remember,” Tenner said. “Give me a moment to remember.”

“Maybe I don’t understand the limits of her patience,” Blackglove uttered.

Tenner stuttered, trying his hardest to think of anything to keep on rambling. In Gi’s hands, the remains of the robotdragon had turned into a massive, pipe-shaped weapon. Gi winked. Tenner had bought enough time. The weapon pointed at Blackglove’s back.

“So?!” Blackglove said. “What did you see?!”

Tenner smirked.

And thunder blared.

And a blue laser erupted from Gi’s hands.

There was chaos and blinding light, and screams and howls. Blood rushed as Tenner jumped to his feet.

No one in the chamber had the naivete or idiocy to believe Blackglove would die then. But it was a chance. Hope. Ames knew where an exit opened once the robotdragon was slain. In the blizzard of light and heat, Tenner and Gi dashed after her.

***

A morono’s feet kicked up the dust and crushed the crystals that covered the unchanging, flat desolation of The Great Crater. A rope connected the creature to a levitating platform with an undergrowth of wires and mechanisms. A tent flapped atop the platform.

The Wasteland Caravan.

It hummed--Tenner’s, Ames’ and Gi’s new home--while voices in the air whispered and screamed. The horizon shifted into outlines of familiar faces. Tenner thought he was no stranger to madness, but wasteland hypnosis… Well, it certainly explained all the lunarists they’d come across.

Tenner walked by the Wasteland Caravan’s side, listening to what the wasteland had to say.

Can’t argue with the clouds and can’t drown them out. Only one choice in a situation like that.

Light and shadows morphed into the faces of the people he slaughtered in Realm 223’s slums. At first, they had shocked him. Now, he accepted these visions as an inescapable consequence of what he’d done.

They vanished, making way for Chisel’s face and voice.

“Listen, because I’ll only say this once,” the mastermind of the Wonderful Yellow began. “When you enter my secret tunnel, tell the henches who greet you that the star of The Bars sent you. You’ll get transport, supplies and a mapchip that leads you to Realm 676. After they get you out of the Realm, it’s up to you: does Blackglove catch you or do you catch Blackglove.”

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This conversation of the past faded. The [Wasteland Hypnosis] debuff deactivated. It would be back soon enough. Like Blackglove.

Tenner, Ames and Gi -- they were trapped in a race now. No going back. Their fate had drawn all aces and they’d escaped Blackglove, but luck wouldn’t save them again. Another meeting with death was guaranteed and until the reaper came for them once more, they had to reach the Realm and gain plenty of levels.

For Blackglove, we’re not just target practice anymore: he’s got a vendetta and a loose end to tie.

With the machine gun slung over her back, a red scarf flapping around her neck, Ames slid out from under The Wasteland Caravan and hopped into the tent, saying, “Gi, I checked out that thingy you were talking about. It’s got three wires, not two. Also, turn a few degrees east or we’ll end up completely off course.”

Through the open entrance, Tenner could see Gi crouch and put his hand into a hole in the middle of one of the engines. The Caravan started turning… then stopped completely.

“Everything’s running in the engine,” Gi said. “Not my fault.”

“Morono.” Shaking his head, Tenner hopped into the Caravan and grabbed a jacket from thirty layers of clothes. As he approached the morono dragging the Caravan, carrying bags of their stuff, sweat started streaming down his skin.

“What’s the deal with you?” Tenner asked the morono, half-hoping for a human answer.

The morono kept its gaze locked to the ground, ignoring the radiating lamp hanging off its forehead. Tenner stepped in front of it. The creature ignored the heat on Tenner’s body and the countless activations of [Animal Tamer]. Tenner sighed and looked at the ground. After a minute’s search, a thumb-sized, black, four-legged, large, round-eyed creature revealed itself.

[Name: Petrifying Petirius]

[Non-C creature]

Activating [Animal Tamer] once more, Tenner ordered the creature to move. It ignored him.

Tenner groaned. He resorted to the good old ways of waving and snapping fingers in front of the morono’s face. He got the creature’s attention finally. Grinning, he waved after himself. The morono stared at him, then its gaze returned to the petrifying petirius.

His grin died.

Another good old way of getting things that don’t work to work -- violence. He stomped the petirius. The little creature slashed through his foot and emerged out through the top. Tenner’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected that. His levels numbed the pain to a slight prick, but the gushing blood and ruined shoe upset him.

He heaved, reaching for his gun belt when the petirius began to lick the fresh blood on the ground.

It’s a Kill type species. It’s attracted to blood, he realized. He dipped his fingers in his wound and drew a line away from the Petirius.

The Petirius slithered after the crimson line and devoured the blood.

What a strange thing… Well, it wouldn’t be a Kill if it wasn’t strange, he thought and got the morono to continue walking. Then, he opened his CHEK and took a note.

“Caveborns are afraid of desolation wanderers. Kills, to be exact.”

[Animal Tamer] had instilled in Tenner a fascination with every sort of creature, how they acted and survived, their weaknesses and strengths, and quirks.

A new notification popped up.

[Congratulations! Upgraded perk: Animal Tamer IV now Animal Tamer V]

Tenner dismissed it, excited a little. He was getting closer. He’d learned, during one of the long, nightly conversations on The Wasteland Caravan, about the perks and boosts of the highest [Animal Tamer] levels. The abilities of creatures. Transformations.

It could all be a myth--no such people had ever crossed his path--but in the back of his mind, this knowledge tickled an odd nerve. He knew it was real. And every [Animal Tamer] upgrade brought him closer.

Tenner sat on the edge of the Wasteland Caravan. The time to check his character screen had come. He hadn’t in a while.

[Name: Tenner

Username: Tenshot

Class: Bounty Hunter

Health: 900

Money: 1362C$

LVL: 18

LVL EXP: 3100

BP: 10

Intelligence: 25

Charisma: 15

Luck: 23 (+3)

Eyesight: 21 (+9)

Reaction: 15 (+6)

Dexterity: 27 (+10)

Stealth: 36 (+5)

Strength: 30

Endurance: 27 (+5)]

[Perks]

[Way of the Door Opener II (?)

Bonus: +1 Reaction; +8% chance to succeed in picking a lock; A greater understanding of opening doors]

[Fate Is My Weapon III (?)

Bonus: +3 Luck; 10% chance to impair surrounding CHEK’s physical skills; The ability to do the impossible]

[Predator V (?)

Bonus: + 8 Stealth; -50% to the sound of footsteps; Being can achieve ultra focused states

Sub-perk -- The Smellings of Blood (?)

Bonus: Being can smell the blood of surrounding beings when activated]

[Tenshot (?)

Bonus: Being sees quick glimpses of the near future in deadly situations; When being activates perk, the tenth shot hits ten targets; ??????]

[I Fight Or I Die II (?)

Bonus: + 3 Endurance; Being can survive 5 damage attacks without losing health; ?????]

[Crafty Hands For A Crafty Being I (?)

Bonus: 2% easier for a being to come up with a crafting]

[Animal Tamer V (?)

Bonus: 50% to Non-C creatures’ liking of being; Being can call creatures; Being can begin to deeply whisper to creatures]

[Being vs. Machine = Being (?)

Bonus: 30% to the damage dealt by being to machines]

[True Sneakiness XV (?)

Bonus: 250 second +15 boost to Stealth when activated]

[Elevated (?)

??????; ?????]

[Private Eye (?)

Bonus: 20% to being’s perception of unusual occurrences]

[Still As Death’s Gaze (?)

Bonus: +500% to regeneration when activated

Debuff: Being must stare into death and be still]

[Trust of the Axe (?)

Bonus: +75% damage to axe weapon attacks]

[Last Word Giver (?)

Bonus: 100 second +1 boost to all skills and a direct shot of adrenaline into being’s nervous system]

[Men Bleed, Dragons Bleed, But I Don’t I (?)

Bonus: -50% to damage taken from dragon type beings for 100 seconds; Being’s skin is unpierceable for 100 seconds]

Every time I open this screen, I almost go blind from the number of perks. And it’s not nearly enough to win against Blackglove. He took off the morono taming jacket. Beside him, Ames stared into Chisel’s mapchip, which led. What absurd level of power do I need? How many more lives-- No… I wish this could all end with a game of cards.

Tenner felt no fear, except at the thought of taking more lives. When Ames and Gi were around, he didn’t have to worry about the visions or hurting anybody. But what would happen if they split? To remove the risk of another slum hunt happening, he vowed to never kill again, but could one defeat Blackglove without bloodshed? He forced it out of his head.

Tenner pointed at the map. His finger went through the hologram. Lights flickered around it.

“Where are you taking us today?”

“There’s a blip,” Ames said, meaning they could end up at a town, a CHEK-Temple, ruins or a Realm. “We need to make one last stop for supplies before 676.”

Tenner sighed. “We’re running out of credits.”

“Then we’ll have to start spending those BP of yours.”

Bloodpoints. They were one of the rewards for killing the robotdragon and came with a new CHEK menu, and filled Tenner to the brim with questions.

[Bloodpoints]

[Bloodpoint level: 1]

[Bloodpoint purchases:

Cursed Be Thy Axe | Cost - 2 BP;

Tenshot II | Cost - 3 BP;

Grenades For Brains | Cost - 3 BP;

1 Skillpoint | Cost - 1 BP | Applicable to any skill.]

[Temporary legendations:

A Charm Of Blood | Cost - 2 BP;

A Push From The Hand Of Blood | Cost - 5 BP;

A Summoning Of The Power Of Blood | Cost - 10 BP]

[??????]

A salesman would have to offer one hell of a deal for Tenner to trade a single BP. In fact, earning them took so much effort that he decided not to spend them yet. Not until he knew what every purchase did. Who knows -- I may never get any again.

“Don’t worry, we won’t need a lot,” Ames continued. “Just a hundred or two hundred credit’s worth. Realm 676’s right around the corner.”

“Well, Blackglove’s too. What if we don’t waste any time and keep going?”

“If Blackglove’s right behind, then it’s a good day.” Ames tapped the machine gun slung over her back, grinning sheepishly.

“We need to either stop or get a new cooler bearing, else the engine’s gonna overheat,” Gi said from the other side of the engine room, focused on an intricate connection of wires.

Another few hours passed, The Wasteland Caravan skidding above the surface of the desolation at top speed. According to the mapchip, they’d traveled fifty kilometers. They had reached the blip.

The Wasteland Caravan crawled to a stop and Ames disembarked. When the dust from her landing cleared, she took a hard look at the object in the horizon.

“No good,” she said through clenched teeth. “Abandoned Realm. It’s mostly crumbled away and swallowed. But… one chunk of the wall has survived perfectly. Could be some life there.”

Tenner was practicing his Reaction and Dexterity levels by doing tricks with a laserpistol.

“Keep the Caravan moving, Gi. We’ll check that place out then catch back up.”

The Wasteland Caravan’s tent cloth parted once more: Tenner jumped out after Ames and put on his mask. As usual, he led, hands itching to draw his dusty laserpistol.

The sight was, certainly, of the strange kind.

The chunk of wall loomed like a monolith, edges cracked, pipes and machines sticking out of the insides. The entrance was open. In front of it, there was an inhabitant. The only one, Tenner assumed. This person played with his creature: they whipped the air and the creature bit into the leash, bringing it down.

Tenner and Ames stopped a dozen meters away, wary.

A dusty coat and thick scarves dressed the wastelander. An inspection revealed his name, Mang, and his level -- 11. His pet was a Junthound: muscles bulged out of its dog’s body with thick black fur and red dots, while spit dripped down the sides of its horse head.

Mang followed the Junthound’s gaze and greeted them with an upwards nod. “Hey, hey, hey, whoever you are.”

He laughed, like he spoke, with cheerfulness.

“We’re travelers to a faraway Realm. Tenner and Ames,” Ames spoke for the both of them.

“As you probably already know, I’m Mang, Mang, Mang. Bounty hunter by class, hunter by heart and why have you stopped by?”

“We’re looking for the cheapest supplies. Lots of deals around here, none of which are any good.”

“Yes, yes, none are any good ‘cause there ain’t any in kilometers and kilometers.” Now, his excitement subdued. He’d caught Ames’ bluff. His gaze turned sideways. “But I do have supplies: what do you need?”

Ames’ eyes danced, scanning through a note, and she listed food--both for humans and moronos--engine parts and basic necessities. Mang listened closely, then thought about it for a moment.

“I can give you all, but what the craftsman desires, for 500C$.”

In Realm 224, a salesman would’ve caught a bounty for such outrageous prices. But the wasteland played by different rules. One either paid up or took whatever they needed with the flash of a laserpistol.

Ames grimaced, sharing a long look with Tenner. They needed supplies and they weren’t out for blood. She agreed to pay the price.

“Watch over my dear, dear Junt while I get what you need.”

Mang disappeared in the remains of the Realm. Tenner and Ames stood about, staring at the creature. It looked at Tenner then at Ames, then started growling. The Junthound’s teeth showed. More spit started running down the sides of its mouth and tears streamed from its eyes.

What is it doing? Tenner drew his laserpistol. Just in case. He didn’t have much knowledge about hounds, except that they were loyal.

“I’d try [Animal Tamer] in your place,” Ames said.

“Makes… Sense.”

Tenner kept the gun aimed and activated the perk. He eased himself to calm this creature, but its growls only grew angrier. The Junthound jittered.

Footfalls sounded from the right.

Mang returned with a giant crate in one hand and a CHEKscan in the other, taking 500C$ from Tenner’s balance and handing him the supplies. Then he froze and slowly turned towards his pet.

“Oh, that’s good,” he uttered. “That’s very good.”

Mang petted the Junthound’s head and hopped on its back. Legs sprung out of the red spots on its fur. Mang wielded his leash. The stranger whipped the air and the creature galloped towards the wasteland.

“It’s smelling dinner!” he whooped and strode into the desolation. No goodbyes. No locking of his home.

Once Mang disappeared from view, Tenner and Ames, both instinctively, stepped towards the remains of the Realm. There was no doubt they’d had the same idea.

“Well, we’re one hell of a pair of lunarists,” he said. “But it’s not worth it. It could be a trap and we already have what we need.”

“Just say you’re afraid of Blackglove on our trail.” Ames spun on her heel, eying the Wasteland Caravan far in the distance.

The food they’d picked up consisted of two decade-old canned meals and plants local to this part of the desolation. Thick, spiky bark covered the plants, but their insides were sweet and juicy. An hour after the meal was finished, the sun fell beyond the horizon.

The Wasteland Caravan traveled deep into the night until the morono passed out from exhaustion.

Being chased by Blackglove made Tenner want to travel restlessly until they reached their destination. But he too succumbed to exhaustion and wasteland hypnosis.

The engines shut down. He set up a Stardestructor table and played well into the night, telling stories and making the best out of the worst. They laughed out of the bandits who’d tried to rob them and out of all the odd folk they met on their journey.

The CHEK lights went out and the crew fell asleep to the sounds of a brutal hunt far away. It’s awful, but at least, for the first time, I know it’s real.

Even in the night, the past haunted him.

Tenner woke up first, checking if all his weapons were on him, then snuck out into the engine room and stuck his head out through the cloth. To find out the time and see if, just in case, their surroundings changed.

First, a circle of bloody corpses of a dozen creatures around The Wasteland Caravan came to his attention. Then, giant, shifting mountains of dust that were barreling towards them.

That’s not good.