"System will I be able to take my bounties lying here with me?"
Makhar was of course referring to Ken and Gorwin's dead bodies which he planned to eat as soon as possible, as they would probably allow his reactor core to fully saturate. His body though, wasn't in its best condition, as he had three arrows stuck to his shell, one penetrating his innards, as well as a sword doing the same, also one of his mandibles had been chopped off and was still slightly bleeding.
The insectoid alien wasn't looking good. Yet, Gorwin's party would probably come his way at any moment, as well as any hungry predator of the forest that smelled the scent of blood drawn from their battle.
[Only host's true body expenses will be covered by the system for their travel, any added inanimate object would need to be covered by the host.
Cost may vary depending on the size and mass of said object. Analyzing the two objects mentioned by host ... -]
'Please spare me the outcome, I'm darn poor. Great, at least my legs are still alive and kicking, if only I didn't have such weights to carry around with me.'
"System are there any... Spacial artifacts I may acquire through... My system point! Yes, I remember you giving me one?"
[There is no spatial artifact of such value available to Host, as Host's system title is too low. Does Host wish to check on their System's data panel? ]
"Yes, of course, I've got so much time to waste after all."
Slightly pressed by his predicament, Makhar gave in to his curiosity, or maybe just hoped to find anything that might be of help through the System. Which, as of lately demonstrated to be pretty reliable.
The broken doll was a prime example of that, he used it against Gorwin earlier, and the fool suddenly got on his knees rumbling as soon as he activated it. Makhar has spoken to him imitating Rebecca's voice, only altering it slightly, hoping to distract the elf for a moment to have the doll influence his mind.
From its description he expected the mind attack to bring his enemy strong pain, yet now he believed it to place its target under some sort of illusion. Which was not bad at all anyway, as thanks to the artifact he managed a clean strike on the elf. He had been a bit hasty though, as he couldn't be sure for how much the effect would last, and attacked Gorwin in his guts, instead of a more crucial spot like his neck, due to Makhar's small stature compared to the tall elf.
[Opening Host System's data panel:
System points: 1
System coins stored: 0
System privilege score: 0
Privilege title: 'Unaffiliated'.
Private graphic communication tier: 'Primitive'.
Private vocal communication tier: Not yet granted.
Private holographic communication tier: Not yet granted.
Public media access tier: Primitive. (Game of Conquest participant detected, restrictions are held in place for this service)
Public entertainment services available: Dizzies intergalactic dramas, The History of the Universe narrated by Julius, Blood and gore live battling...
(Game of Conquest participant detected, restrictions are held in place for this service)
Public data banks available: None due to user low title.]
'Means of communication you say, if remember correctly, the System did ask me if I wanted to be part of some group, fighting for Etesh or something?'
[Does Host wish to join the 'Fight for Etesh unification' social group? ]
'It can read my mind now huh? It is not pleasant news, but I guess whatever being this 'system' is, it's much stronger than I am and I can't do much about it.'
[Does Host wish to disable system's assistant mode?
Warning: The system won't be able to send any 'useful' prompts without host's consent.]
'Disable it! I want you out of my head, peace for your cute little prompts I guess.'
As the proud, last ember of his species, Makhar felt proud to have kicked the system out of his mind. He would have hated to have his decision influenced by the strings of others, but even so, if it meant survival he was ready to throw his pride in the gutter.
He knew of his burden and lifelong mission since a small consciousness formed inside his egg, to give his species life anew, and he would not stop in front of everything to achieve such a thing.
'System, I'd like to join this group you've told me about, but be quick, time is tight.'
[Initiating Host connection to chat group. Showing available chat services:
--> Emergency chat for lost elves <--
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
--> Cherlì's Administration Center <--
--> New Arrivals refugees admittance chat <--
--> Kingdom of Arsille <--
--> Etesh's customer services <-- ]
'Access to Etesh's customer services chat, I don't have needs for any of the above. Even if the first one seems a little interesting, even if I bet they'd have measures put in place to ward against any evildoers. Maybe another time. '
[Showing list of available private customer services:
-Wacksoo delivery agency
-Germano's rotted delicious
-Wendy's devious styling tastes
-Cindy's otherwordly spice collection
-Ermano and Mario's pizza delivery
-... Searching for more available services...
Refresh the list's page?]
'Interesting, but they seem to be all some kind of deliveries, and I need transport-related services. Refresh.]
A few intense minutes passed by, as the tired and wounded Makhar repeatedly refreshed the customer's page without much success.
[
-...-
-Ricky's clean and efficient transportation]
'Yes! Finally something useful, quick let me use the chat.'
[Welcome dear customer! This is Ricky's travel agency, would you like to issue a giant cricket for transportation?]
"Yes! That would be a good request of mine."
[Alright! There are indeed some giant crickets ready for some action. Dear customer, which method of payment would you rather use?
Quick notice, but we value coins more than points. It's not that we'd undermine our customer's profound knowledge of the world, but you never know, this is a very young planet and there may be some naive rookies...]
"I will pay you with points, I cannot waste coins for such petty reasons. Show me the cheapest crickets available, I don't care about their traveling speed. On second thoughts, the slowest the better."
Faking deep thoughts, Makhar tried to appear as mysterious as possible.
[We understand esteemed customer, I will list to you the available transports and their prices:
-Orun: Old age, his legs and wings are not as strong anymore, possesses a frail body and won't be able to withstand any kind of fight, knows the way of the forest and the dangers to avoid during travel as well as the quickest routes. Costs 3 system points.
-Olivia: lab rat, She was used as breeding material for a scientific lab on a distant planet, emotionally unstable, might deviate from the original destination, and might not obey instructions, but she still possesses a strong and relatively healthy body. Costs 2 system points.
-Durrin: Extremely old and frail, he is missing one leg, and his left wing is still injured, Durrin is also blind and does not hear very well. Although he is a retired war cricket and has experience under his belt, his almost desiccated body does not follow his orders very well. Durrin is currently in need of money as he's taking care of his grandchildren on his own, he will try to satisfy their employer to the best of his capabilities. Costs 1 system point.
'Wow, they're basically giving his ride for free, still, I'm not too sure about the worth of these points, but if even I got one they can't be as priceless. While these 'coins' seems to be much more valuable, I'll keep an eye out for them.
Anyway, I've got to say that this communication system seems to be more useful than I thought. I will experiment with it later on.
"You see, I was tasked to help out one of my kin to get back to our camp, but do not like the guy as he contending with me an important role high up in our species' hierarchy.
Hopefully, Durrin is as bad as you've described him as I'd like for the passenger to come late for our meeting."
[... Very well, respected customer, if those are your needs we will prepare Dorrin for his departure. Please share your target location with us and pay upfront the required amount.]
"Of course, if all goes well I might employ your boys again for transports, and I promise, I won't be short-handed on coins next time. There you go, one point for Dorrin."
[Dear customer, Durrin is on his way, together with a small token of appreciation, in favor of future exchanges.]
...
Needless to say, Durrin took his sweet time to arrive, thus forcing Makhar to somehow hide himself and the bodies away up on a tree. Injured as he was it had been quite tiring and painful, and this time he had strained his claw too much. Damaging its nerves, now he had a hard time even trying to clasp it down.
Yet hopefully, it was worth it, his giant lie had cashed him some kind of item from this traveling agency. Maybe, someday he would really keep his word and take on some of their best crickets for transportation, though that day was not as close as they hoped for it to be.
Finally, a strong buzzing sound came from above, as a giant insect the shape of a cricket landed near the tree he was hiding on. It was seven to eight meters in length and sported two huge antennae on its head, as well as a pair of powerful spiked legs.
Then, an aged, slow voice came in buzzin' Makhar's ears.
"Dear customer! I, Durrin have arrived to take you to your destination, you may pack your things on my broken wing, as it is broken in half it cannot help flight as much, but it will suffice to carry your belongings.
Also, whatever request you might have, speak it LOUDLY as I might not hear it."
"Alright, thank Durrin, these the bodies here, I would like you to help me load them on yourself, as I'm quite burned out at the moment."
"What? Speak LOUDER!"
"This is going to be a long ride..."
"LOUDER!"
...
After two whole weeks, Makhar was finally back, standing in front of Ol' Mitch's camp once again. He wasn't really fond of the old elk, even better one could say they disliked one another, but in the end, the little creature had something that was meant to be in Makhar's hands, and he was not about to leave for his first dungeon before getting it back.
His reactor core was about to be finally saturated, big changes awaited him, and his gut instincts told him the special antenna would play its role in them.
At the same time, he thought about it as a safe place, he doubted the old elk would let him die under their nose as Mark the human would hate his guts for that.
Still in thought, he gave a quick glance at the small memento given to him by the travel agency. It was a mall panacea, a one-time-use artifact that would not let him feel any pain for a small amount of time.
"Thank you for the ride Durrin, thanks to you we didn't incur any disturbances. I'll be sure to call on you next time."
With a proud smile, the giant cricket prepared to depart once again, having just finished his delivery.
"Of course, trust in old Durrin, I know this forest like the spikes on my legs. Also, you should be wary of the one that issued this ride, he doesn't seem to have good intentions for your safety.
Even if this time he underestimated the great Durrin, there might be a next where things won't go as peacefully.
Please don't tell anyone of this, or I might get fired. Have a good day, young one."
As the giant insect departed with a powerful jump, Makhar was left quite pleased, as for once he encountered a pure, kind-hearted soul. It didn't feel bad to get treated nicely for once.
This was a first, counting that the human Mark had helped him only because it fit his personal agenda.
Then without saying a word, Mahar took both corpses under the shade of a tree, just behind one of ol' Mitch's advanced tents. Ready for his meal, although, to his displeasure, had to be eaten raw.
'I promise, for the first coins I get, I'll buy myself a whole set of kitchen tools.'
...
[Bio-encoder recombination progress:
Extraction affinity ratio: 100%
Extraction quality ratio: 100%
Extraction bio-mass quantity: 100% ]
...