There's a single, potent word that ignites a primal spark in the hearts of both the battle-hardened gamers and the grim-faced survivors: Loot.
For Adam and Kave, two souls bound by the same insatiable hunger, the sheer, unadulterated promise of Loot within the monster-infested shopping center Mallwart was not merely exciting; it was a vision, a bounty so profound it bordered on miraculous.
The canned beef may have been consumed by the vicious green menace known as the Gobzkin, but the canned beans, fruits, preserved grains, and long-lasting materials were all there for the taking. What was even better were the seed packets and farming tools they discovered.
Civilization was slowly but surely coming back online.
The group didn't even stop for a moment as they simply hoarded everything they could fit in their shopping carts before running them back to the loading bay and filling up the van.
As one van proved to be insufficient, Adam hotwired a truck and brought it back, fully committed to looting it all.
After power tools, drills, nails, and some electronics were recovered, the last run was meant to be the most important one: the one to the hobby section.
In this specific shopping center, it was not common to have a dedicated section for Wartopia's merchandise, as it was typically only sold online, but Adam and Kave had come here before on a few occasions to get some Starter Kits instead of driving to the other side of town, where Wartopia's official store was located.
So as they arrived at that particular section at the western fringes of Mallwart, it came as no surprise that the new occupants of the place had left it in a sorry state. But as the value of plastic toys wasn't something a Gobzkin would really think much about, Adam and Kave were shocked to their core when they entered their sacred grove of fantasy and fiction, only to see it utterly desecrated.
"No!"
That "No" spoke volumes when combined with the shivering body and pale face Adam wore. Even when the Wartopian Men-at-Arms followed him inside, they could tell that something had gone completely wrong.
"The paints… the figurines… all of it… wasted!"
Kave was sweating bullets as he saw the precious items they had spent so much money to acquire were now used by the Gobzkins to create such a tragedy.
This section of the store wasn't just dedicated to Wartopia; there was other merchandise for games like Dice of Destiny, Cry of Chululu, Martial Forest, Grimwork, and Don's Diceless RPG. (A/n: I made the last three games. WIP though.)
Such games had many products like monster miniatures, art posters, replica props from their universes, and even dragon heads that could be mounted to walls.
But the most iconic one so far was the large plastic statue made in honor of the release of the action game Wartopia: Star Paladin III. Of course, that statue belonged to Captain Creed, standing with all his might and glory, the unique sword Slaymore in hand, after he had decapitated a demon general and raised its head to disperse the hordes of hell.
But guess what the Gobzkins did…
They removed the head of Captain Creed, put in its stead the head of the demon, and returned Captain Creed's head to where the demon's head had been. Then they used all the green paint in the area to paint the whole thing green and painted Creed's head red, before making a real mess of the place.
They even made some sort of throne, brought all the wall-mountable heads, and created a savage-looking altar for something that had clearly sat there, judging by how badly damaged everything was.
But they didn't even stop there.
Their crudeness, savagery, and cruelty knew no bounds. They took all the small miniature parts from their sprues and started attaching them in all the wrong ways imaginable, creating the most horrific amalgamations even a two-year-old snot-nosed brat wouldn't dare to make. They gathered all these parts together and created some figurines and offerings on an altar they had made, turning it into the worst-case scenario for whoever would consider looting this place.
The tragic anger, the bitterness, and the sheer burning sensation leaking from Adam's heart almost drove him to howl in agony and cast a thousand curses upon the Gobzkins and their ancestral lineage for a thousand years.
He was left bitter, shocked, and befuddled, mumbling his wrath to himself as he kept looking around for something to salvage, a piece to retrieve, or a keepsake to hold on to.
"Commander, take a look at this," Elena said as she offered a fistful of plastic parts.
Understanding their pain through their unknowable link, the Men-at-Arms joined Adam in his salvaging attempt, picking up parts of what seemed to be arms, legs, weapons, and heads. They gathered the ones they could carefully salvage from the horrific amalgamations made by the Gobzkins and gathered most of them in one small box.
"Thank you, Sergeant," Adam said, receiving the box of plastic parts, unable to simply find enough pieces to put together one new Man-at-Arms, before trying to process his shock. 'I don't know what I was thinking. Of course, this place would look like this; I just got overly excited. Imagine if we could have one more squad, maybe two or three more. The force we could have mustered…"
He couldn't finish his sentence before shaking with anger and gnashing his teeth.
"It would have been a glorious moment, sir. To march alongside more brothers and sisters for the Solarium would have been an absolute honor.' Sergeant Elena nodded and patted his shoulder. 'But it would have been a logistical nightmare if you ask me."
For the first time after processing the shock, Adam smiled and let out a short chuckle, before shrugging and walking away. Kave immediately followed him to talk.
"Since there can't be any worse news, we have some good news," he said, and also added a few more salvaged pieces to Adam's pile of plastic."
"Better be," Adam said as he turned to meet his friend."
"We've got lore books and comics. I mean, we already read most of those, but…' He held up a few novels in front of Adam's face, but seeing as the latter wasn't interested, he continued, 'I know these aren't puppet materials, but at least it would keep the summoning quality from plummeting as long as you remember all those many lore details about Wartopia, right?"
"I guess you're right," Adam nodded as such news was at least qualified as good."
"Aside from that, we've got a big load of paint, brushes, and other types of merchandise. The green fucks didn't use it all, thankfully.' Kave added all the things they found to his report to Adam before saving the best for last. 'And there was something we wanted to show you."
Kave led Adam back to the group as they gathered around the table where they had sorted their books and paints. In the center of it all, there was a cardboard box with the word 'RETURN' written on it in red marker.
Kave opened the box and presented it to Adam, who looked inside and took out its contents. A smile formed on his face as he looked at Kave:
"You're kidding, right?"
"Probably from the last Halloween merchandise," Kave said and pointed at the item. 'Why don't you try it on?"
Adam looked at what he had and couldn't help but feel some happiness after that overwhelming tragedy he had gone through. Immediately, he doffed his jacket and donned the Justiciar Coat.
It was a classic military coat with the badge of the winged sun and a few other details that reflected the honor of the office of Justiciar, a Solarium unit that oversees discipline, law, and morale among the troops. In a way, a Justiciar would lead Men-at-Arms squads into the heat of battle, driving them with insane zealotry and buffing them with authority to make one squad function as ten.
Adam put on the coat, and it fit him well, giving him an aura of authority and broadening his scrawny shoulders with its ornamental, shiny epaulettes.
"I believe this was a fruitful loot run, ladies and gentlemen, but it is ill-advised to prolong our stay behind enemy lines. Let's get these supplies back home, and next time we are here, it will be to raise the banner of Sol Imperius and cleanse the filth."
Giving a speech befitting his new appearance, the reaction of the Men-at-Arms was one of pure respect as they all clicked their feet and raised their fists in unison.
Adam may not have found the squads of Men-at-Arms he was dreaming about, but he got something more valuable: he awakened his potential in leadership and showed his troops that he isn't a typical high command officer who sits back and sends them to their doom.
He'd fight by their side, rescue them, and have faith in them to rescue him, too.
He was becoming the thing they were compelled to call him due to his weird, magical ability: a Commander.
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