From the top of a dune dominating the small shrine, Jado and Zen were staring down at the four people who were waiting there. The young man rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was hallucinating, while Zen was looking at the blackened ground thoughtfully, looking at the sky empty of any smoke. His lips moved silently, saying the word "stars". He nodded, before turning back toward the strange man who welcomed him, wondering how was he going to take care of them.
Jado shook his head, before taking out the spear he had placed back in his inventory earlier. He gritted his teeth and began walking slowly toward the Small Shrine. Zen followed in his footsteps, armed with only a curious but wary gaze. The first to notice the two of them was the woman wearing a coyote skull, her demeanor changing slightly, and she suddenly took out her broken sword in a defensive manner, holding it with both hands.
The knight suddenly jolted awake, grabbing his old halberd as he watched the other individuals present with confused eyes. He eyed his rusty armor on the ground, wondering why the hell would he take it off. His fighting instincts seemed to suddenly light up, and he prepared himself for the worst.
The man with the dark skin and the bloody fists stopped studying the structure of the Small Shrine, and his eyes lit up when he saw these two new figures while looking at the others already present there as if he just noticed they were there. He blinked with confusion, before rubbing his forehead, feeling a sudden headache. There seemed to be something wrong with this situation. Normally, a bloody battle between him and the other three should have already broken out, but why did they just wait there without saying anything? It almost felt like they already knew that someone was going to come for them...
Jackal's attitude didn't change, as he simply chuckled, barely restraining the tears in his eyes. He knew he had lost everything, and it felt like his soul itself had slipped away from his hands. He couldn't help but see the faces of his family, of his children, of his wife... Of his friends, comrades, and colleagues, all the people that required his "talents". He couldn't help but think of them because he knew. He knew that he was the only one who could assure them to stay alive another day longer, but now it was over. The only man who was able to fight off the dangers of this world had disappeared, leaving them alone...
The strange, unreal peace that was maintained between these four strangers seemed to have been broken with Jado and Zen's arrival, and they all readied for a fight, except for Jackal who was too busy getting eaten up by his despair. Jado walked up to them, stopping at a reasonable distance assuring his temporary safety, should they decide to pounce on him like hungry hyenas. Zen was waiting behind Jado, his teeth gritted under the tension. Dune suddenly slithered around the young man's arm, before sliding down on the ground, standing proudly beside his human companion from its small size.
This seemingly small action made everyone but Jado tense up, even Zen looking at the snake with wary eyes. A few seconds passed before Jado finally broke the silence, planting his spear on the ground and crossing his arms.
"What do you all want?" He asked loudly, tense, but not worried. He didn't feel the same thing as he did with the skinners, and thanks to his previous experience with seeing the divine, a simple group of strangers simply didn't scare him at all. Jackal, who was kneeling soullessly, looked up at the sound of this new voice, finally noticing the two strangers.
"Who the hell are you?" Jackal blurted out, his eyes red but dry. The question took Jado aback, but he quickly answered it.
"Why should I tell you?" He countered, raising his chin in defiance, "You are the ones who came onto my...hmm...property!" It felt weird calling the Small Shrine his, even though it was. The man with the dark skin snickered.
"Your property? Nothing should be alive, nor built in this hell of a place!" The dark man stated, expecting to have answers to this strange situation. The knight and the strange woman simply watched from the sidelines, ready to fight, but not about to charge anyone. Jado rubbed his chin, trying to come up with a nice answer, only realizing there was nothing much he could say. Would they even believe him?
At this moment, when he was thinking back to all the events that happened to him in a single week, something broke inside his mind, a mind that was already not in the best state thanks to being mistreated all day.
"Well, what do you want me to tell you, huh!" He aggressively said, his voice raising with his anger, "I was a farmer a week ago. A farmer!" He shouted, before pointing at the two constructions and the desert surrounding them with his hands.
"My once best friend transformed into a tentacled monster, who then tried to kill me and the love of my life!" The machine seemed to have started, and Jado didn't stop talking, finally unpacking everything he had in his heart, all the unfairness of the situation. The eyes of everyone listening to him widened ever so slightly at the rhythm of his story.
"I was then brought to this damned desert, forced to kill things, sacrifice them in a bloody way, before surviving a night in the desert and a day in a sandstorm, fighting beasts, and seeing the DIVINE!" He shouted, gasping for air after this small monolog. Everyone, including Zen, stood silent in shock and confusion. Jado didn't even try talking about the blue window, because it was maybe the best thing that happened to him during this hell of a week, and he didn't need any other reasons to make them think he was completely mad.
Jado slowly caught his breath, before picking his spear up and throwing it into his inventory. He felt tremendously better now that he got that thing out of his chest. He looked at his inventory and the two corpses resting in them, before heading decisively toward the Processing Silo. He passed Jackal and the strange woman on the way and used the occasion to identify both of them.
"Jackal" Rank: Lowest (Growth) A lost soul, who was never supposed to end up in the Forgotten Desert. Can be used as a sacrifice.
"Shade" Rank: White (Growth) A survivor who fought through blood and pain, feeding on madness and death. Can be used as a sacrifice.
Lowest and White rank? They're better than Zen, from what I can see. And "Shade" is even better than me. If "White" means higher than Lowest, of course.
Jado stopped in front of the smaller version of the sacrificial Altar in front of the Processing Silo and took out the bloody mass of flesh that was previously the Sun Leopard's meal. He opened the inventory in a way for the thing to fall directly on the Altar, not dirtying his hands in the process. The usual sacrifice message popped up, and he was almost about to mindlessly accept it without care when he noticed that there were a few different things from how it usually was.
Do you want to sacrifice [Nameless Corrupted]? Y/N Rations to be gained: 37 Units
"Hmm...So I can see how much I would gain... That's interesting, but I intended to sacrifice this thing anyway..." Jado muttered under his breath, suddenly turning his head around, noticing the strange gazes of the people present around him. Only Zen seemed to not be surprised, as he had seen the young man use the inventory before. The man with the dark skin pointed a trembling finger toward Jado, struggling to ask his question, his eyes widened comically.
"Y...Y..You're an Envoy?!?" The dark-skinned man asked, fear and excitement both present in his voice. Jado was tired of mentally calling him "the dark-skinned man", so he quickly identified him, alongside the knight. At least he'll know the name of everyone there.
"Noah" Rank: White (Growth) His bloody past isn't going to stop him from fulfilling his deepest desire, curiosity. Can be used as a sacrifice.
"Oberon" Rank: Red An old knight whose honor has been tainted. His nation abandoned him, and he has lost his will to live. Can be used as a sacrifice.
Jado's jaw almost dropped, seeing the "Red" rank on Oberon's window. This...This was the same rank as the crab monster or the other atrocities that he could locate on his map! Intense greed suddenly surged inside him, and he couldn't help but desire this talent, to make him his! He quickly caught himself, drawing a deep breath. This... Jado never felt like that before. It was almost the same feeling as when he thought back to the Seed of a Kingdom quest.
He shook his head, before studying both windows a little more. He noticed something strange. Oberon's rank was "only" Red, with no (Growth). Why would that be? Did that mean that the old knight had reached the pinnacle of his existence, and couldn't grow any further? Following this logic, could he grow Zen and these other individuals if he succeeded in making them his denizens to the Red rank?
Or, better, to a higher rank like the Black one? Jado almost felt vertigo at this thought, feeling like he just discovered something incredible, something he wanted to dedicate his life to!
Calm down, Jado. He took a deep breath, before proceeding to completely ignore Noah's question. He then accepted the sacrifice. Alongside the five other humans present, he watched as the bloody mass of flesh simply sank into the stone like it would in quicksand. Four carved lines on each side of the Processing Silo, previously hidden to the naked eye, shone with crimson light as they raised slightly toward the top of the silo.
"Is this some kind of visual marker?" wondered Jado under his breath, wondering how he was supposed to get the processed rations out now. He looked at the other sacrificial altar on the other side of the silo and approached it to the bemused looks of everyone. The most disturbed one seemed to be Jackal, whose face was devoid of any emotion other than shock, and whose eyes widened comically. It shocked him so much it seemed to make him forget his despair.
Oberon watched the scene with concern, wondering if this young man was some kind of black mage. Sacrificial sorcery always came from disgustingly horrible people, but if his words were anything to go by, he was just a simple farmer, even if he did possess space magic. How strangely fascinating...
Shade's thoughts were hidden behind her coyote skull, her red eyes watching Jado's every move. She seemed to be less disturbed, though, as she had put her sword to rest back on her waist. The last person was Noah, who was so interested in the sudden matter that it made him forget about this "Envoy" issue. He slowly inched toward the silo, wondering where the bloody mass of flesh went.
He did it very carefully, as he wasn't sure if this self-proclaimed farmer was just going to make him disappear with some strange magic. Zen quickly ran up back toward Jado's side, worried about these new strangers. Even if he hadn't known the young man for a long time, he trusted him with his life. He was, after all, the only person who ever showed him kindness.
Noah was about to check out the silo when a hiss warned him of his actions. He froze in the air, slowly turning his head to the side, noticing the small, horned snake that was looking straight at him with intelligent eyes. He slowly closed his fists, ready to use them at a moment's notice, before remembering he swore he would never use them to hurt something again. He instead raised his hands with open palms in a peaceful gesture.
"I...I just want to check it out, little snake," He tentatively asked, trying to smile gently but only appearing scarier. It was to say that the scars covering his face weren't helping him much. A commanding but gentle voice stopped the snake from attacking.
"Dune, let him be," The snake froze as he was about to pounce on Noah and threw the dark-skinned man a last glance before slithering back toward Jado. It then disappeared into the sand, its scales serving as camouflage in this environment.
So he can even command this desert-horned snake...This man is a man of many talents, it seems... Oberon silently noticed, watching but not saying anything, his hands still gripping the broken handle of his halberd. Noah approached the sacrificial altar, trying to find any trace of the flesh Jado previously placed there, but there was none, not even a drop of blood.
It just...miraculously disappeared in the stone. He touched the stone with his finger, feeling that it was warm under the touch. Nothing too weird, as it had been bathing in the sun before they even got here, but still...there was something strange about it, he just couldn't pinpoint it.
On the other side of the Silo, Jado was figuring out how this thing was working. He touched the second altar, making a new window pop up.
Rank Product [1/50] Unranked
- Simple Meatloaf / Water Flask [1 unit]
- ???
[Locked] [Unlock new products by sacrificing new food + drink combination]
"So this is pretty simple," Jado concluded, after reading the contents of the window. He could shop through this thing, as long as he paid units, a numerical resource he could gain by sacrificing things to the Processing Silo. There was also a way to add new "products" by sacrificing already-made meals. This could be useful further down the line to diversify the meal types, because as hungry as a human could be, he could quickly get tired if his only meal was meatloaf for the rest of his life.
Plus, it would allow for a much more varied alimentation, without being limited by the resources on hand. As long as they had enough sacrifices, they could get anything they wanted. They just needed to cook one version of it. He'd have to test this thing out, to see its limits. The limit for the number of products available was also pretty high, sitting at fifty, so he wasn't worried about that. He touched the Simple Meatloaf / Water Flask option, and from the sacrificial altar surged exactly what he ordered.
Everyone watching gasped, and Noah couldn't suppress himself as he rushed to Jado and Zen's side, startling the both of them. He pointed at the meal while looking at Jado with excited eyes.
"How...How did you do that?" He asked in disbelief, but Jado simply shrugged and pointed at the structure in front of them. Everyone stared at the Processing Silo in awe, but also hunger.
"How does this work, exactly?" Jackal asked, finally implicating himself. He couldn't help becoming equally curious.
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Jado rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, you sacrifice something over there, and it'll give you exactly what you ordered."
Noah crouched in front of the "giving" altar, eyeing suspiciously the fuming meatloaf. Another grumble of his stomach made him scowl, and Jado sighed in response.
"Just eat it." He finally said, feeling as if he was buying Noah with food. Well, he wasn't going to complain if it worked. After all, it was evident that to build an empire, he needed competent people under him... No, but why was he still thinking of that?
The meatloaf gave off a little heat, a divine scent making everyone's stomach grumble in hunger. Shade placed a hand on her belly, and turned her head away, not wanting to be enticed by the enticing food. Noah carefully picked it up, his hands confirming that it was indeed real, and ripped a small piece out, placing it inside his mouth like the most fragile delicacy. He chewed on it and swallowed without a word. Everyone seemed to wait for his approval, and he quickly gave it away by biting down voraciously on the meatloaf, devouring it in a matter of minutes. He licked his fingers, picked up the leather flask without thinking, and gulped its contents down his throat, the freshwater revitalizing him.
Finally finished, he froze and stared back at everyone. He quickly nodded, a happy smile on his face.
"It's as real as a meatloaf and a flask of water can be," Noah stated, under Jado's watchful gaze.
So he can eat it too... I would have been surprised by the opposite, but still... There was another question that stood unanswered. Could people serve themselves at the processing Silo, or did he need to be there each time? Because he didn't see himself just serving food all the time someone asked for it. He turned toward Jackal, who had walked very close, almost joining them. With a plan in mind, he decided to finally test this system to the test on someone else.
"Jackal, that's right? Can you try and summon food as I did?" Jado asked, curious. Jackal was about to accept when he noticed something weird. How did this stranger know his name, knowing he never gave it away? He looked at his left shoulder, seeing the name written on his leather vest, and sighed. Tsk...I always forget it's written there.
"Sure," He replied, walking beside Jado. He looked at the altar with a puzzled gaze, "So what am I supposed to do?"
"Try to touch the altar. You'll quickly see if it works," Jado answered. Noah watched from the sidelines, while Oberon and Shade had inched closer, curious despite themselves and their carefulness. Jackal placed his hand on the Altar, freezing in shock. Everyone gasped, even Jado, who wondered if he had just found a way to make other people see the blue window. Jackal turned his head very slowly, looking at the young man at his side with a serious gaze.
"There is...nothing." Jado restrained himself from facepalming, a little annoyed at the man's behavior. Why would you make it look so important then?
The young man then suddenly thought of something and looked at Zen. The kid understood as soon as he met his gaze and took Jackal's place in front of the Altar. He hesitantly placed his hand on the stone and gasped in surprise before falling on his back. His eyes were reading something in the air that no one else but him could see. Jado almost laughed, recognizing the same reaction as the one he once had. The first contact with the blue window was always very...surprising.
Zen quickly pulled himself to his feet, and "touched" apparently nothing in the air. Exactly like when Jado did it, a meatloaf and a flask of water came out of the altar, making everyone gasp once again. The others were in surprise, and Jado in excitement. Zen could use the Processing Silo! If Zen could do it, that meant others could do it as well! That was great news!
Jackal spat beside himself, almost angry, and placed his hand again on the altar, taking it on and off, trying to summon the same thing this kid did.
"Why! Would it work? For him! And not for me!" He exclaimed, giving up after a few tries. Noah came up, trying in turn, but nothing appeared for him either. Shade and Oberon looked at each other, and stepped up and tried in turns, both failing similarly. Jado had a pretty good idea of why, but he had no idea of how to announce it.
"I think I know why Zen can do it but you guys can't..." Everyone's ears perked up as they turned toward Jado. Everyone seemed to have lost their wariness over each other, too fascinated by this strange magic.
"Zen...is considered a citizen of this place. That's why he can use these...hmm, would facilities be the right word?" Jado explained, not too sure of himself. While he was explaining, Jackal had shamelessly picked up the food and water and started eating, but no one took offense. Zen had eaten earlier in the day, so he didn't care either.
"So...How are we supposed to become citizens?" Oberon asked, opening his mouth for the first time. His voice was old, but cold, giving off the feeling of cold steel. Jado looked at Zen, wondering what the kid did, before shrugging.
"You're supposed to want it." As soon as he said those words, a ringing sound informed him of a new citizen. He checked it out, discovering that Shade was the one who joined the nameless shrine's population. He looked at her, and she threw back a glare with her red, shining eyes. She then made her way toward the Altar, placing her hand on it. She jumped in surprise, but quickly acted as if everything was normal, and touched something in the air. Once again, the usual meatloaf and water flask came out.
Jado checked out the Processing Silo at the same time, noticing the number of units going down. It was at thirty-seven but was now at thirty-four as three meals had been served. Everything was very logical to this point. He also confirmed that the red lines on the side of the silo indicated how much it was filled since he had noticed that they had decreased slightly. He'd have to keep an eye out for that since having no units left meant having no way to sustain themselves. The more he thought about it, the more insane this Processing Silo was. Back in Araashir, they often had issues of rats eating the food, or even insects, while also knowing that it would go bad at some point, wasting their hard labor because they had no way to keep it stored longer.
But this solved all of the above. This was insane. Well, he wasn't going to complain about how good it was.
Shade picked up the food, and walked back without saying a word, eating her meal in her corner while keeping her face hidden from sight. The other three men watched, wondering if they should ask her how she did it, but quickly gave up after she gave them a warning glance.
No talking while eating. They heard it loud and clear, even though she didn't say anything.
Noah was the next one to become a citizen, and he tried his chance again, his face lighting up when he managed to open the blue window.
"So that's what it was... How magical..." Noah muttered, before summoning a meal and serving himself, still under Jado and Zen's watchful eyes. He wasn't saying anything for now, since he managed to make them his citizens, but he still felt a pang in his heart while thinking back to what he risked to get this food. And they were just serving themselves freely. How unfair. But if that was what it took to make them his, it was a cheap price to pay.
A strange standoff began between Oberon and Jackal, as they both had their hands on the Altar, trying to figure out how to become citizens. Finally, they figured it out after a dozen minutes and picked up their food. Their reactions, of course, were hilarious. Jackal swore and tried to punch the transparent screen, while the old knight tried to split it in two with his halberd. The second the two became citizens, a new notification rang in Jado's ears.
Congratulations! The previously empty desert starts to get livelier. You managed to convince five humanoids to join your faction. They will be the foundations of your Empire. One becomes five, five will become twenty-five, and so on. The time has come to name your soon-to-be city. Enter a name: …
Jado stared at the screen for a few minutes, taken aback. It felt way too real, now that the window even stated it. Even though it was very shaky, it was still a start. Now came the important matter; what name should he find? Dune slithered up his arm, nestling himself in his neck. When he thought back to it, to this silly dream of governing an Empire, what would he want to do with it? Did he wish to be a conqueror or a peaceful Emperor who grows his country in the calm?
No, this last option was simply impossible. Peace, was impossible, in this hell made of sand. If he had to build something, if he really could build an actual Empire, he wanted it to be strong, to be powerful enough to brave any dangers. To oppress the horrible monsters that preyed on anything living in this desert, dominate the factions like the Skinners, and crush them to dust. A country strong enough to stand head to head with the gods, with the divine... That's what he wished for. A city built to act like a sword aimed at the sky.
"Heavensbane," Jado whispered, shivering as he pronounced the name. That's what his city shall be named.
His decision taken, he entered "Heavensbane" in the blue window, confirming his choice. The blue window disappeared, which he quickly replaced with the updated ones of his new citizens. Jado was way too curious to see how it had changed, now that he had access to the new information.
Name Jackal Rank Lowest [Growth] Class Citizen Title None Agility Lowest Constitution Common Intelligence Lowest Strength Common Skill(s) [Blood Surge]
Name Shade Rank White [Growth] Class Citizen Title [Masked Shade] Agility Red Constitution Insignificant Intelligence Lowest Strength Lowest Skill(s) [Analgesia], [Berserker]
Name Noah Rank White [Growth] Class Citizen Title [Dog of War] Agility Common Constitution Common Intelligence Red Strength Common Skill(s) [Analysis],[Sand Walker], [Weapon Proficiency - Intermediate]
Name Oberon Rank Red Class Citizen Title [Fallen Knight], [Master of the Environments] Agility Common Constitution Red Intelligence Common Strength Red Skill(s) [Weapon Proficiency - High], [Blade Infusion], [War Tactics], [Chivalry - Fallen]
"Wow, that's a lot of new information. I can't wait to check out all these new skills and titles–" Jado's excitement quickly dimmed when a black window trimmed with gold replaced all the previous blue ones.
WARNING!
MONSTER WAVE INCOMING!
Protect Heavensbane with your lives, and you shall be rewarded.
Structural Integrity: 100%
"Argh!" Multiple screams of surprise echoed behind him, making him turn his head. Everyone seemed to have received the notification of the black window trimmed with gold.
"What the hell is Heavensbane?" Exclaimed Jackal, who took the time to read what was on the black window.
Jado took his face in his hands, taking a breath while getting his spear out of his inventory.
"This place is named Heavensbane." He calmly stated, his eyes looking at the horizon. He didn't like the sound of a "Monster Wave". The system had never alerted him of a danger in such a powerful way. Suddenly, he saw them, far away, coming at a ridiculously fast speed, with eight legs and black bodies covered with disgusting hairs.
The Desert Crawlers, or spiders to make it short.
They were back. And there was no sandstorm to protect him this time.