So the creature was actually from Olien? It must be the absurd births mentioned before that were biological engineered by Olien.
Benign looked up at no one in particular. A sigh left him as he continued down the dune.
Olien sounded like a realm of technological advancements and where that existed, folks who wanted to be God would abound.
Creating creatures that looked like already existing creatures when they were not would be considered normal.
"And if they make those creatures have human attributes, their greed—"
RUMMMBLE…
He held the sickle in an attack stance, keeping his balance. Not only was the dune he stood on vibrating but the two dunes ahead.
"What is that?"
[Use your eyes?]
Benign peered ahead, using a hand to cover the sun over his eyes. All he saw were tongues flapping about and the creatures running to him were similar to the hostile.
They were the same size yet for reasons unknown, much heavier. He didn't remember the hostile even made a sound in the sand as it ran towards him, yet these ones caused vibrations.
He turned to the one he killed and its body had shrunken under the sun.
"They're here for revenge."
And all he had was a sickle and revolver, with his sides slowly bleeding.
He slid down the dune and made his way towards the dead army, as weapons laid there.
Something slammed his body and he nearly lost balance. He swung the sickle behind him, slashing the one incoming. A green tongue fell by his feet, shaking like a worm.
"What the hell? From that distance? These lizards..." he looked at his hands and saw a mark from the one that hit him. He had definitely been marked.
A dozen of them charged towards him with a sickle at their waist and clawed hands. He reached the sea of dead soldiers and clutched the first weapon he saw.
"Why!"
He reached for another weapon but like the first, it didn't come off the ground. They were all stuck in the sand. He fired at the sand but it didn't budge.
He stopped firing to save bullets as he had no idea how many it contained. He groaned and continued running through the sea of dead bodies.
"Damn it. I just got here and these things want to kill me?"
[You killed one of them. As per your principles, wouldn't you avenge any death against your unit?]
"You said I could kill it!"
He turned to the creatures, they weren't chasing him any longer. They stopped at the beginning of the sea of dead bodies, specifically at the bird-like creatures, and snarled at him.
Were they scared of dead bird-like creatures? "Go back. They might wake up."
The biggest of the dozen hissed at him, waving his arms in 'threatening' motion.
Benign shook his head. "I'm not coming over. I am not interested."
The biggest spoke, but Benign didn't understand it. Then they turned to leave, not even taking the body of the one they tried to avenge.
"Imagine getting shot by a lizard and then getting cursed at by his older brother later. This is shit."
[Alert! Benign Cross has been registered as a Systemist.]
He looked at his bleeding elbow. He had experienced worse, but in this new place, he'd prefer having few injuries.
"Finally."
If his memory served right, one of his basic skills was Regeneration, which meant when he'd be injured he'd just heal without having to consciously trigger it.
[You are yet to unlock two more missions too. Benign, you really have to grow quickly.]
He inhaled and exhaled. "Go on. What other calamity awaits me?"
[Recovering the Primordial Core. It is the first step to balancing the realms and stopping the glitches. Afterwards, convince the gods to resume their duty of sustaining the Primordial Core or else, the realms would inevitably clash again.]
Benign nodded slowly, taking everything in.
He had to start with Noria and survive. Stop the wars between the realms, then start looking for some core before searching for its caretakers. Everything sounded familiar.
"Do I have a time limit?"
[As long as you are alive, and the core doesn't get permanently destroyed.]
In other words, as soon as possible.
He nodded again, "That Primordial Core, if it was worth sustaining, the gods wouldn't have tossed it aside anyway."
Benign felt a spasm at the back of his head. He smirked, feeling genuine amusement since he arrived. "Did that upset you? Are you linked to the Primordial Core somehow?"
He waved in dismissal. "You don't need to answer. I'd handle it anyway. I survived three wars, with seven years experience, and am young enough for new ones. can help you "
He reached the sea of dead bodies and walked through them.
Seeing the men laying side by side, some holding each other, made him reminisce about his first war and how he mourned when his comrades had been killed.
"I don't have the time, but I'd like to bury all these bodies. Would it be rude to do that?"
[Burying isn't a common funeral practice in these realms. You can burn them… using your unique skill.]
Benign checked if he felt different, but there was nothing to show if the skills integrated with him. Was he going to use a rare skill for a funeral recession? He had asked anyway.
"Do it."
[Hell Rain has successfully integrated with you.]
Benign nodded. He'd be testing it out immediately. The skill had to do with hell, but since he got it so easily, he doubted it'd be as terrorising as the fire of hell. It might quite literally mean raining fire.
To commemorate the first use of these fantasy skills he was bestowed, he'd take the honour of burying fallen soldiers.
"I've to measure the target area and calculate possible impact…" His eyes scanned the area where the majority of the bodies lay. Just as his eyes moved above him, he sighted a figure in the air. He paused. He was spotted but it wasn't by lizard men.
"An elf... girl."
She floated in the air, hiding behind a cloud. Her eyes glowed deeply from the distance, and they were the most pronounced feature he saw. "She isn't a hostile, is she?"
[If she doesn't try to kill you, no.]
[Anyway.]
[Commencing... Hell Rain]
A bright ray of sun pierced through the clouds, and more rays made patches in the skies.
[Hell Rain… Level One… 20%]
Their intensity increased, and under the rays formed massive, scorching balls of heat that stayed above the ground, then descended.
[Mission Alert!]
[Seek shelter.]
"Seek—" Benign didn't complete his words before he started a sprint away from the bodies.
The sun rays parted more parts of the sky, far more than he had bargained for.
"Did I make a miscalculation? It should've only barraged the area I wanted it to."
[Hell Rain… Commencing… Level One… 60%]
[Seek shelter. Threat to host.]
Benign kept up his sprint, the sea of bodies slowly becoming the size of a lake behind him. "How far should I go? And that girl, is she safe up there?"
[Worry for yourself.]