Instant karma.
5:00 AM. People wake up at this hour, doing their things and their routine in the morning. They have to be productive; this is how people in the "Outpost" lived.
Cut back into the lonely, humble camp deep inside the woods to the inner room. The table with a mountain of densely caffeinated drinks piles up on top of what seems to be a glossy paper map, like it's just a tablecloth by some kind.
The unstable architecture of [Demon-energy-drink™] falls. Wake the hidden figure who limbs like a liquid on the office chair.
[CLENK!!!] A very annoying and loud noise from a tin can.
"HUh!!?? " Said our Jackals on the office chair, with a ragging boner in the morning.
He checks his cortex-interface to see what time it is, 10:AM. Without wasting time, get his face washed using water from a purifier. He jumps back on the chair, but this time, to read the message, the mission brief from the Colonel.
Yellow popup that only him can see the message.
[This is nothing special, you just have to wandering around for a while before your shift ended, in approximately 5 months. Don't die or General will be very upset.]
END_OF_TRANSMISSION
He smirked in amusement, knowing that he would be off the leash for a while. For most people, they will probably stay at the base and take colonel's advice, but for him, he sees a life-threatening adventure that he will place the bet on, even though, according to his experience, it doesn't always end well. The boxy face wear attach on his face.
He picks up his gear and places it in the weapon bag. It's relatively heavy now, considering that it contains everything he needs to survive out there.
Set off from the FOB. He after passing multiple layers of air lock door. He meet Lt. who currently busy renovating the FOB with fortified structure and defense system. As soldiers under his command running around, some carry heavy machine gun, some carry mechanic tools, some dirty with concrete all over their combat suit.
Lt. noticed Jackals' presence in a surprise he quickly face, with vigilant altitude.
"How are you doing?" He ask Jackals with a little bit of voice crack, since he been shouting all day.
"I've done with the map, not perfect though but still have a use." Jackals reply with his
expressions fully express, because he is the only one who doesn't need an air filter. He's very tiring yet very energetic, maybe it has to do with mountain of energy drinks.
"Alright, thanks a lot capt....And what is your next order by the way?" Lt. who ask with curiosity.
Jackals stare the man in his soul, then speak. "Free roam."
"No wonder." Lt. seems to know his reputation for a bit. The most up-to-date intelligence of [The Iron Order] corps come from this man.
They talk for a bit, about the next wave of soldiers who will be arrived in the next few day along with supply, which is better than eating their own feces mix with insects part.
Jackals left the site for the wilderness. Elysia once again spoke after being quiet for the whole day.
"Jackals, there's a river nearby 1.2 km to the north; you should check it out..."
She still keeps herself monotonous, but sometimes she is a little off. Maybe it is her syllable in the sentence, like she is anxious about talking, which Jackals noticed.
"Alright, let's walk upstream, then." He said it with a laid-back attitude.
"But seriously? I mean, I have to stay awake all night and doddle the map on the 2x0.8-meter paper all by hand. Is that necessary?"
He complains with the shift in his mood.
[digital monotonous sigh]
"You clearly do not know the value of it, don't you? In case we are attacked by interference, we will still have a backup, and please be aware of your environment, mister, you're just step on a pile of feces."
The yellow highlights appear on the ground—a big pile of shit.
Jackals halt and dip his finger in the greenish substance on his footwear to check for something.
"37.68 degrees Celsius...still fresh." The heat still radiated out of it. The source of this stink might be near, Jackals think.
"Turn on the heater in your trigger fingers, Jackals." Elysia said, while his right index finger was turning red hot, burning away any dirty that was sticking on it.
And he, without need for instruction, had a weapon ready on his shoulder, ready for the incoming foes.
Speak of the devil...
The loud growl of a massive beast up ahead echoed, followed by the jarring sound of metal and bones colliding. He sprinted towards the commotion, aided by the nanobots in his veins pumping oxygen, reaching the scene in no time. However, what met his eyes upon arrival was a disturbing and unpleasant sight.
Many corpses of the man of his size, who mostly wears leather armor, some tear in half, some turn into a bloody pancake, and some left only a slime-like red puddle, with the beast in the middle as they surround it.
He observed the monstrous creature from a bush, situated 150 meters away from its slathering. The abomination resembled a triceratops, boasting a nearly 8-meter-long frontal horn and a body covered in thick scales. With three insect-like jaws that shoot out the corrosive substance, this creature was undeniably a force not to be reckoned with.
In a mere moment, the horn retracts back, and its neck bulges larger.
"GET OUT OF ITS FRONT--" the cry of a spearman.
[Crash!] followed by [Splat!]
The sudden movement of the beast kicked the dust up in the air, disrupting the visibility of the scene. As the smoke cleared, the ugly mess revealed itself. The beast stood tall with a bloody spike on its head, raised in the air, decorated by the organs of the lowly lifeform.
"Fucking hell." Cursing in awe.
"Elysia, what is the range of the scanner?"
"It is...down to 3 meters." A.I. speaks out of artificial nervosity.
The range of bio-scanners was shortened significantly for unknown reasons, which brought the difficulty up a few levels. However, that is not an important matter for now.
Unable to do anything other than to witness, suddenly the blinding light from a tall position illuminated the entire battle as if the sun were rising from the dirt, and in reaction, his iris contracted.
Burly vision, but his ears catch the sound of an explosion. The head of the colossal creature cracks wide open enough to see the pink brain giggling from its struggle. The spear man screamed out loud once more.
"NOW!!!" Like a signal, the survivors throw the spear with strength, like they were not even exhausted in the first place. Dozens of them reach the vulnerable weak spot with little to no dispersion, effectively bringing the slathering fiend down to the ground.
[Resounding Thud!] The massive weight rocked the ground hard, as if the earth had shattered, or, in this case, Eden-4. Followed by the cheers of the right now could be temperately called as Hunters.
From the middle of the fight until the end, the man gazed without a clue at the shadowy shape lurking behind him.
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"Jackals, watch your back!"
In just 48 milliseconds, he flinched at Elysia's sudden warning. His face swiftly turned towards the source.
Within 98 milliseconds, his hand instinctively reached for the pistol at his thigh, his heart racing in suspense.
[Swifzt!] barrage of small bolts sliced through the air, striking his trigger hand with the force of a high-caliber rifle.
"Aah!! FUCK!" He groaned in pain but did not panic enough to let it get on his nerves.
Another precious moment lost to taboo. He quickly unsheathe the knife hanging from his neck strap, positioning it in front of him to fend off the threat, but the struggle was evident. Acting on feelings without clear thinking, his hand got kicked upward, causing him to lose his last weapon in the process.
At the 143rd millisecond On his one knee, he takes a quick gaze at the aggressor: her orangish, coarse hair like the fur of an animal, the same eyes he has met, the battle-worn chainmail, the crack in her chest plate, the fox beauty he once met—how unfortunate of him to be the victim this time.
"Ahg!" After the man takes too much time to think, he serves his consequence of being absent-minded for a moment, the time matters. He got a kick in the middle of his chest with spikey boots from Caelix. She stepped on his chest with all her weight on her front foot.
"What are you!-" Jackals tried to speak, yet he got a crossbow stab onto his biting teeth, the sound of metal hitting the tooth send shiver down one's spine.
"Hey, see you again, asshole." Said with the cold tone of the stern-looking face.
He slowly raises his hand in a surrendering manner. What happened to her strength? Doesn't it seem like she can't even fight him in their first encounter, isn't it? How?
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A rank-provided weapon is the type of tool of destruction RHA will give to their personnel that can achieve the rank of lieutenant or higher. This includes the pistol, saber, and blunt. With some requests for the engraving pattern for coolness purposes.
The pistol is divided into two categories: gas-blowback and cylinder. However, despite their distinct designs, it's important not to be deceived by their appearances; they can be quite weighty, ranging from approximately 2 to 4 kilograms or 4 to 9 pounds in certain models. But in some special cases, there is the third category, the break-action, for the most skilled gunslingers who only need nothing more than one bullet.
The word saber is largely used for sharp weapons in the RHA dictionary. double-edged sword, cleaver, short spear, etc. For this particular type of tool, the users have to undergo some training to be able to wield it effectively as if it were their limb. This type of weapon is inspired by the past knowledge of humanity—the elegant, the mighty, and the ugly. They are all redesigned with improved structure and material.
The blunt is the most common type of harming methods mankind has ever used: the primal weapon of choice, the brass knuckle, the club, and, for some reason, the short sword with extra material and thickness, no sharpening, just a pure brute.
In conclusion, the weapon is the choice of the soldier; it's RHA's job to fulfill a little desire of their working pawn.