I found a couple of quests on the board but only one that I found worth doing. Taking it caused the poster to send me an echo telling me what was up.

“Over in the Arid badlands just east of Shine gravel processor people have been disappearing in the night. Some say they’re being carried away by a monster Rakk, one the locals call ‘Mothrakk.’ She seems to be attracted to fire and that’s how we’re going to lure her out. Light the three torches I’ve set up and when she shows up you take her down!” The guy said over the echo.

It was a straightforward quest and one that piqued my interest as well since any “monster” creatures were likely to have some nice traits and even lifeforce. I headed up the nearby stairs and into the spare room Zed was lending us and then into the portal for my house. Inside the others were relaxing and playing cards that I wasn’t sure where they got from but chose to ignore.

“Just hit up the bounty board and got a quest I’m taking, who’s coming with?” I asked casually.

“What’s the quest?” Lil asked interested.

“Big ass Rakk in the Arid badlands named Mothrakk has been snatching up poor fuckers at night and the poster wants it put out of their misery. Sounded like I might be able to grab some nice traits and lifeforce from it so I took the quest.” I said frankly.

“I’m in, sounds like a good chance to test the new gun and give Blood some exercise.” Mordy said as he put his cards on the table.

“Pass.” Brick said with a grunt.

“Same.” Lil said and Roland nodded.

“More for us I guess.” I said with a shrug.

Mordy and I left my house before heading to the fast travel station near Scooter’s area. A quick digitalization later and we were back in the Arid badlands with the sun and heat beating down on us while the dry air filled our lungs.

“Never thought I’d say it but I think I prefer this place to New Haven.” Mordy said with a chuckle.

“Yeah that place reeks something fierce. I really hope after all that trash is gone the smell clears out or theres no chance in fucking hell I’ll stay there in any long term capacity.” I said with a grimace.

“Can’t say I blame you, even after that shield started to keep the stench out the smell had seeped into the buildings so it’s not much better.” he said with a sigh.

“Enough about that whole place though we are here to kill something. According to the map the place is a bit to the west of here just past the mine. Get us a runner to head over there from the Catch-A-Ride while I take care of the Skags that have no doubt overrun the nearby areas, again.” I said and he nodded and we jogged off in the same direction to leave Fyrestone.

As expected the Skags had taken over the empty dens outside Fyrestone and I wasted no time at all putting extra holes in them. The couple thousand lifeforce was nice but I had no interest in the traits they had. Mordy had us a green colored runner digistructed in no time and I mounted up in the driver seat as he admitted he was usually too drunk to drive straight. Finding the place was easy since it was a sort of flat area with a circle on it and three torches that had several human skulls adorned on them for some fucking reason.-

There was a desiccated tree in the center of the circle and nearby there were three long dead bodies tied to long poles at the top of the rock face. Oh yeah using dudes on poles as a warning wasn’t something I brought to this savage planet but something long since in use by the bandits here. Without much sense of morality or decency the bandits naturally found the most brutal of methods to punish their enemies. That list was long and had just as many reasons for existing as there were living things on this planet.-

Mordy and I both ignored all that though and lit up the torches to draw in this Mothrakk creature. We weren’t disappointed either as from over the rocks a behemoth of a Rakk flew. It had a wingspan easily the length of two runners end to end and this marvelous coloration that even included patterns that glowed in an eerie yellow bioluminescence. The rest of it was a sort of burnt orange that was a mix of rust red and dull yellow. The best part however was that the beast had a special ability that I was quite greedily eyeing when it used it on us, mortars.-

Well okay it was closer to fireballs than real ordinance but the point fucking stands. Anyways the big ass bat creature passed over Mordy and I as we shot at it and launched several of these exploding balls of flame at us as it did that I tanked like a fucking boss with my shield and Mordy dodged the best he could. The Nailer proved just as powerful as expected as Mordy punched holes right into the beast with each shot that went right through it’s naturally armored body.-

While we shot the thing up Bloodwing was harassing it by flying by it’s face and raking her talons over it’s head. To my surprise even with all this it took us nearly five minutes to actually kill the thing and even then we had to chase it down as the corpse fell off in the distance. Once we got within the range of my powers however I knew why it was so fucking hard to put down immediately.-

{Rakk(mutant)

Lifeforce: 1,261

Traits: [Omega body-Rare grade]- 6,000 units, [Supreme Armored hide-Epic grade]- 23,000 units, [Omnivore-Rare grade]- 6,000 units, [Powerful vitality-Rare grade]- 6,000 units, [Hard exoskeleton-Common grade]-500 units, [Gigantism-Uncommon grade]- 1,500 units, [Minor regeneration-Epic grade]- 23,000 unit, [Flame projection gland-Rare grade]- 6,000 units, [Bioluminescence-Uncommon grade]- 1,500 units]}

I grabbed [Powerful vitality], [Minor regeneration], [Flame projection gland] and [Omega body] for a total price tag of 39,739 units of lifeforce which stung a bit to pay but I ignored it. Honestly speaking the only reason I even took all this was because I wanted to buff up my friends. I understood the need to have someone around to keep me grounded as I had a habit of going a bit wayward when I didn’t.-

It was why i had friends on Earth who while adrenaline junkies like myself kept me from crossing lines that there was no recovery from. In a way my friends were like my moral compass telling me what I could get away with and what was too far. This new universe was much more morally bankrupt so those lines were much more blurry but I had people here to tell me how far was too far.-

It was really fucking funny how truly strange my current group of friends was in this regard. Roland was the most strict in his morals but had the temperance to accept slightly less than savory methods when necessary. Lil was the second strictest but that was mostly because she understood that with her powers she HAD to hold herself accountable or she would become a monster. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, any leeway given in a position of power gives rise to cracks that spread until the whole thing is broken beyond repair. Mordy had one of the looser moral compasses but was honestly too laid back to bother with many things.-

Brick was much like myself in that he had almost no morals to speak of but set lines he didn’t cross unless given a good reason. Unlike me however he wasn’t a cold spirited person, just without moral restraint. In fact out of all of us Brick was likely the kindest when he actually liked you or thought you worth it. He was loyal to the point of self destruction and had a soft side that found joy in the simplest things, flowers, food, dogs, cats.-

My place in the group was a bit special as even if it hadn’t been outright stated I was sort of the leader of our ragtag ensemble. I was usually the one who got us started on stuff and looked out for our interests. Roland could be seen as the sort of vice leader here as he took up the slack when I wasn’t around. We were an odd bunch but it fucking worked so that was all that mattered.

___________________________________________

https://www.pa treon.com/user?u=81578854#:~:text=pa treon.com/pa treon_loskro

_______________________________________________

Alexander Drake

Lifeforce:202,267

Integrated Traits: [Gun expertise-Uncommon grade]X4, [Clever mind-Rare grade],[Enhanced senses-Epic grade]X2, [Demi-supreme body-Legendary grade], [Supreme armored hide-Epic grade]X2, [Energy projection-Legendary grade], [Superior vitality-Epic grade]X2,[Flame breath-Uncommon grade],[Regeneration-Epic grade]X2, [Disease resistance-Epic grade],[Amphibious lungs-Uncommon grade], [Thermal sensing-Uncommon grade], [Water resistance-Common grade],[Active camouflage-Epic grade], [Eridian engineering expertise-Mythical grade], [Efficient lungs-Rare grade]x2, [Fire resistance-Epic grade]X3, [Elemental body(fire)-Legendary grade], [Shock resistance-Epic grade]X4, [Energetic sustenance(shock)-Epic grade]X2, [Radiation resistance-Epic grade]X3, [Energetic sustenance(radiation)-Epic grade]X2, [Biometallic bones-Epic grade],[Elemental body(shock)-Rare grade]X3,[Quick thinking-Rare grade], [Minor spatial awareness-Epic grade], [Buzzaxe expertise-Uncommon grade], [Siren(Phaselock)(Altered)-Mythical grade], [Pugilist expertise-Uncommon grade], [Adrenal rush-Rare grade], [Mechanical engineering expertise-Rare grade], [Gunsmithing expertise(degrading)-Common grade]X3, [Elemental body(Corrosive)-Rare grade], [Corrosion resistance-Rare grade], [Mechanical Savant-Epic grade], 

Stored traits: [Powerful vitality], [Minor regeneration], [Flame projection gland], [Omega body]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep