Laying a Trap

I followed the directions and the last bit of information that the lizard boss gave me. I quickly came to a cliff face to which I saw nothing. I got out, and I looked around.

Around me was nothing but dunes and this cliff face, and I decided that he was probably here at some point. I looked around some more, and after a while, I noticed something almost half a kilometer from where I parked the Skimmer. It was footprints trailing around a bend in the cliff face. It was interesting since I couldn't think of anyone who would have legitimate reasons for being out here. I began to follow them and noticed some of the footprints missing from the slight desert wind. Luckily in the face of that, I found more tracks not far away, and I continued to follow them.

More than just following the footprints, though, I noticed some drag marks suddenly appeared, and I could not help but be curious about that. I looked around some more, and I couldn't help but feel that this area was dangerous. Looking up the cliff face, I could see some holes in it, and I wondered if I could set up camp or something in one of those holes. If not me, then someone else could put something in there that could shoot down at me.

That last thought made me more paranoid, and I moved more cautiously. I took the sniper rifle off my back and pointed it up at one of those holes, now telling me something that I didn't know before yet should have guessed.

THE FUCKING SNIPER RIFLE IS HEAVY ON MY ARMS!

The feeling of the metal was amazing in my fingers, but it was heavy on my arms, and I hadn't realized how heavy it was on my back compared to my arms while trying to hold it up. I quickly looked through the scope and found nothing in a couple of holes before I strapped the sniper back onto my back, and I sighed in relief. I would need to be lying down or sitting using that in the future, and I decided to move forward with that thought in my mind continuing to follow the tracks I found.

Eventually, I frowned as I found the tracks led into a cave, with another set of tracks leaving the cave and continuing to head in another direction. I quickly decided to check out the cave and headed deeper into the cave. It was dark, and eventually, I placed my hand on the wall walking down the cave. I felt stupid as I continued to walk and slowly started to elevate upwards. Still, I continued to walk in the darkness, and I cursed myself, hoping I didn't get lost. This tutorial told me my rewards were based on this mission, and eventually, I grinned as I noticed light a solid artificial-looking light, and I reached into my holster and grabbed my handgun.

I moved forward cautiously until I turned the corner and stuck to the darkness. I found a little camping spot with some closed crates, camping equipment, and a Cot for sleeping in. I looked around and realized I might have found the guy's base camp. I grinned in excitement but slowed down, looking around more carefully. This camp looks lived in, and with the tracks, he probably was coming back. I didn't want to disturb things and make him suspicious. I still had my skimmer out there in the open. Should I head back?

My mind raced as I considered things and decided to gamble when I received a notification that confirmed things or maybe not.

New Trait Unlocked: Tracker

You look at the subtle details and find a potential marks camp.

I moved into the camp, looking not to disturb it, and tried to memorize the camp's condition. I wanted to capture this guy and know what was in the crates. Nothing thankfully was on the crate, but I didn't want to kick anything, and thankfully, there wasn't that much sand on the floor, it seemed. I stepped passed the camp, though, and continued onwards a little. I quickly found after a hundred more feet of walking past the camp that the cave exited back out into the cliff face a couple of hundred meters away from the cave entrance. It was a fantastic perch, and I decided to ambush the guy here. I set down my rifle out of view, and I walked back feeling odd without my sniper, to be honest, but much more lightweight as I moved. I quickly found myself back at the camp, opened one of the crates, and found many parts. I looked them over and quickly found a blueprint for whatever this was.

Rough landing pad blueprint (Basic)

Used for making a landing pad for spacecraft in rough areas for both pickup and drop off.

—-

I looked over the parts and quickly found that the parts were for the rough landing pad. I smiled as I realized that if he was calling someone to pick him up that I might even be able to pick up whoever tries to get him off this planet. I couldn't help but imagine taking a spacecraft in my tutorial mission to aid in whatever the main universe was. I grinned. I put everything back in the place where I found it and closed the crate. I carefully walked over to the next crate and opened it up, finding food supplies and water supplies. I dug into it a bit and found some of it had been eaten, and I stood straight. There was almost a month's supply of dry rations here, and I closed it after making sure it looked untouched. The next crate held parts for miscellaneous needs, but one thing stood out: a small stack of papers that were blueprints.

Rough large claw trap blueprint. (Basic)

For catching large animals unprepared.

Rough Handgun trap blueprint

For Catching your enemy unprepared

Rough Explosive trap blueprint

For catching multiple weak enemies unprepared

Rough Small claw trap blueprint

For hunting small game.

Interesting, and I thought about using the parts in here to make something. I frowned, and I got a grin. Did I want to make a bet and set a trap at the Skimmer in case the man tried to take it? No, he needed to come here, and I probably left tracks leading here. I needed to make a bet and try and think how the guy would act. There was one more crate left, and I walked over to it, opened it up, and found another blueprint that made me grin larger than ever.

Small Encoded Transmitter blueprint. (Basic)

It teaches you to make a small transmitter that allows you to contact nearby satellites and encode for transmission to spacefaring vessels.

He needed to return to this little camp and probably had more goodies. I wonder what he is using to transport things. I walked back to the other crate, opened it up, and took out the Small claw trap blueprint, and the stuff needed to make it along with the light and walked to the hole in the cliff and pulled out blueprints. I would start making things while hoping I could hear him coming while I worked.

I immediately got to work and started to craft the small claw trap to practice after the shame my shotgun was. With all my tools, I started to put it together and didn't hear anything but my own breathing and the wind in the desert.

I quickly found that I enjoyed tinkering with the small trap and increased the Claw trap's tensile strength to snap down harder on whatever stepped into it. I smiled as I finally completed it, and I got a notification as I finished it.

Small Claw Trap (Basic)

Slightly better than the Rough Claw trap that will hurt when it bites down.

I grinned and headed down to the small camp grabbing the supplies for the Large Claw trap. Soon I was back working on it as time passed, and when I completed the Large trap, I started on the Explosive trap. I didn't want to make the handgun trap as the one piece that was missing was a handgun, and I only had one on me. I continued to work on the explosive trap but was much more careful with it. I gulped as I worked on it, and my hands were steady. What I didn't expect to help me the most was how sensitive my hands were. I could feel everything while I was working down to the slightest fiber. My delicate small fingers allowed me to make somthing that made my fingers in my real body feel like blubbering sausages. I couldn't help but marvel at how well I was doing as I worked.

When I completed the explosive trap, I couldn't help but smile brightly and set it aside, carefully looking at my notifications.

Large Claw Trap

Slightly modified from the original blueprint to bite down hard on its trapped victim, unable to let go.

—--

Rough Explosive Trap.

For catching multiple weak enemies unprepared

I grinned at the last notification and quickly reread it again and again.

New Trait Unlocked: Trapmaker

Adapting to what you have on hand is the maker of a true schemer. You make traps to help you in combat.

I couldn't help but smile before I sobered up. I didn't have much time, I thought, or I had all the time in the world. I didn't know, but I was sure this guy was coming back. I picked up my new traps and set them in sight before heading to the cliff entrance to think of how to capture or kill the guy I expected to return for these things. It was my main mission here, after all. I looked down at the desert and looked noticing that it was mostly sand. I could dig a little pit at the entrance of the cave and stick the large claw trap under the sand. That would give me away early, though. I wasn't confident with a sniper I hadn't practiced before in a game world that I hadn't tried shooting in. So that was stuck out for now. I could ambush him at the camp. Stick to the shadows with the explosive trap as a surprise.

My mind went over possibilities, and I watched the dunes of the desert while I thought. No one was coming, and so I decided. I would have to kill him if he spotted me coming in, but I wanted the bonus. So I started to work, heading back to camp with his light source and setting up my few traps.

It took several hours to set things up how I remembered perfectly with the traps in what I hoped were the perfect place, and I headed to the cliff opening. I laid down and practiced with my sniper gazing out into the dunes hoping to catch some movement before there was even a chance for him to see me. Thankfully the sun was on the other side of the cliff, with no chance of the sun reflecting off my lens as that last gun game I played had that mechanic. I watched out over the sea of sand till I heard a desert skimmer moving, and my heart dropped a little as it came from where I had left my skimmer.

I felt elated minutes later as it came into view, and I looked at who took my skimmer as it was an exact match for the one that brought me here. I looked inside and saw the man I was here to hunt was coming straight for the cave with a smile.

Instead of shooting that smiling asshole, I pulled my sniper back and felt my breasts dragging on the ground as I pulled my body away from the edge. I moved into position by the camp and hid in the darkness of the shadows. I prayed my plan worked, or I was going to be in serious shit.