The pipe clanged, noise bursting like metal tumbling through empty halls.
CLANG!
The shaking moved through my arms, jolting my teeth loose. Hurt shot into my palms - yet somehow, it was satisfying. Solid, even.
The Scrap Rat shrieked - sharp, ugly noise buzzing in my skull. That strike landed clean on its shoulder. My swing's power flung it sideways, no flight left. Down it rolled, bouncing over broken metal bits, stirring up old dust and peeling rust.
"Ha!" I shouted. "Home run!"
I thought the rat would just go away. Usually in games, after you strike a creature, it turns red then fades out in a cloud of smoke.
The rat stayed right there. Instead of leaving, it flipped itself - gave its head a quick jerk while letting out a sharp hiss. That chunk of metal on its shoulder? Dinged up for sure - but way madder than damaged.
It jumped up fast. Then its claws dragged on the dirt. Scratch. Scratch.
"Oh," I muttered, fingers squeezing the pipe harder. Since you're so strong… fine
It just went ahead without warning. Then came at me once more. Not a leap this round - instead, it dashed close to the floor, weaving through junk heaps. Quick? Yeah. Way quicker than I could handle.
I took another swing with the pipe, going for the head. This time, it dodged.
The pipe dropped into the soil, making a dull sound. Off-kilter, I lurched ahead - my footing uneven.
The rat jumped forward. Yet it drove its steel fangs into my leg.
"ARGH!"
I yelled out loud. The ache came fast, burning deep. Just like when a dog clamps down for real. Pressure pressed hard against my leg. Teeth pushed through the fabric, slow and mean.
This wasn't only a game - pain felt actual here.
Panic flooded my brain. "Get off! Get off me!"
I kicked my leg, trying to shake it loose. The rat held on tight, growling. Its weight was dragging me down. If I fell, it would go for my throat. I knew it.
I struggled to use the pipe right when it was strapped to my leg. So I decided to handle things up close instead.
I let go of my left hand - the side missing the pipe - then caught the rat by loose skin on its neck. The fur? Oily. Rough. Kinda nasty to touch.
I yanked it back. But it growled - jaws ripping through my leg fabric.
"I said, get off!"
My heart raced as I yanked the rodent from my leg. Then, without pause, it hit the dirt.
My leg started to bleed. Out of the corner of my eye, there was a red bar - down by ten percent already.
[ Health: 90 out of 100 ]
[ STATUS: BLEEDING (MINOR) ]
I had no time to mind the blood. Yet the rat was healing fast. Crouched low, it prepared to leap once more.
I was mad now - fear had faded, swapped out for that sharp rage I used to get when folks judged me back in town. No more playing victim. No more taking those hits.
I grabbed the old metal tube tight with two hands. Without waiting to see what it'd do, I rushed forward instead.
"RAAAHH!"
I must've seemed insane. Chances are, I even appeared that way. Some dude in torn clothes charging toward a hunk of metal on wheels - wielding nothing but a pipe.
The rat snarled, then lunged toward me.
I stood still. No tricks, no moves. Just a clean hit. All my power, all my anger went into it - no holding back.
The thick metal tube hit the rodent's head while it jumped.
CRUNCH.
It made a sloppy, gross noise. Almost like crushing melon flesh using a heavy tool.
The rat fell down hard - just lay there still. Not even a twitch. Head? Flattened, really.
I stood above it, breathing hard. Each breath was rough, uneven. My hands trembled badly - almost dropped the pipe then. It nearly slid away from me.
I waited for it to rise. Then hoped it'd disappear.
It just sat there. Not alive - a rat. Seemed way too real. Blood, thick and blackish, gathered near its skull.
"I... I killed it," I whispered.
I felt kinda queasy. Killing something? Never done it. Not once - not even an actual rat. Then I saw my leg, blood everywhere. Either him or me - no choice. This is what life looked like in the Rustlands. This was just normal everywhere else too.
A loud ping rang out - sharp, electronic, nothing like the rusted mess around it.
[ EXPERIENCE GAINED: +10 ]
[ LEVEL UP! ]
[ YOU'RE NOW ON LEVEL 1 ] (Wait - wasn't I on level zero before? This setup doesn't make sense).
I brushed the sweat off my brow. Alright. Nice. So - what about the stash?
I kicked the body with my foot. Still, no reaction. Not a single coin showed up. Nor did any weapon appear.
Cheap little rodent," I mumbled.
Next up, that black box showed up once more - same golden edges. Called the Ultimate Infinite Extraction System.
It drifted straight above the lifeless figure. Then, a tiny arrow aimed downward toward the remains.
[ TARGET ELIMINATED ]
[ TARGET: SCRAP RAT (CORPSE) ]
[ EXTRACTION AVAILABLE ]
"Extraction?" I asked.
A message popped up showing a pair or choices.
[ YES ] or [ NO ]
My heart began racing once more. That's something only I could do. The oddity the system handed out. I needed to figure out its purpose.
I got in touch then hit [ YES ].
[ INITIATING EXTRACTION... ]
[ ANALYZING TARGET COMPOSITION... ]
[ TIER 0 - MATERIAL EXTRACTION SELECTED ]
I didn't pick it - thing was picked for me. Maybe 'cause I'm new, so just stuck with basics.
Suddenly, my hand - that one I'd used to hit the button - started glowing, pale and gray. Kinda strange. Sort of like dunking it into a mix of tiny electric sparks.
The glow stretched out from my fingertips, reaching the lifeless rodent.
Then came something weird but kind of wild. What followed felt odd yet impressive somehow.
The rat's body started to vanish - but not in a puff of air. More like it was coming apart at the seams. Strips of pale glow broke away from the dead thing. Its metallic hide, the iron running through its veins, even the weight of its skeleton - everything shifted into raw code.
The information moved along the beam, reaching my palm.
I gasped - it was cold, sort of weighty. The metal's presence seeped through my skin. Moving up my arm, then into the shoulder, it crept over my chest.
It wasn't painful. Just kind of heavy, like syrup in my veins.
In under three seconds, the rat vanished. Nothing stayed behind on the soil. Not a single bone remained. Only fresh earth marked where something lifeless once lay.
The dark container blinked.
[ EXTRACTION COMPLETE ]
[ OBTAINED: SCRAP METAL ESSENCE ]
[ GRADE: COMMON ]
[ EFFECT: PHYSICAL DEFENSE +2 ]
[ SIDE EFFECT: SKIN HARDENING (MINOR) ]
I blinked. "Defense plus two?"
In most games, if you got a +2 bonus, it was 'cause you picked up a nicer top. This time? I'd grabbed it from sucking life outta a rotting rodent.
That's when the alert down below caught my eye.
[ MENTAL INTEGRITY: -3% ]
[ CURRENT INTEGRITY: 97% ]
I frowned. "Mental Integrity? Is that my brain?"
A small ache started up - barely more than pressure near my temples. Not sharp or scary. Kinda like squinting at pages under dim light. Supposing this ability messed with my head, then caution made sense.
Yet at that moment, my focus had shifted toward the "Side Effect
I checked my left arm.
The skin no longer seemed like real skin. Still flesh-toned, yet somehow shiny - almost as if it were stone that's been rubbed down or old metal left out too long.
I poked my arm with a nail.
Click. Click.
It let out a noise, sorta like knocking on stiff plastic.
"Whoa," I breathed.
I took the old metal tube, then lightly knocked it on my skin.
Clink.
I didn't sense it. Okay, there was pressure - just no hurt. My skin got tough somehow. I was morphing into what I'd just wiped out.
I clenched my hand tight. My fingers were rigid - yet strong. I seemed harder now. As if getting hit wouldn't knock me down.
I checked the bare patch on the dirt once more.
"So," I said, a slow smile spreading across my face. "I kill things. I eat their data. I become stronger."
It felt huge. Yet somehow, it gave me chills.
That moment felt like nothing else I'd lived through before.
I looked at how my character was doing.
[ NAME: TOM ]
[ LEVEL: 1 ]
[ CLASS: NONE ]
[ STRENGTH: 5 ]
Quick moves: 4
[ DEFENSE: 7 - that's 5 along with 2 ]
[ TALENT: INFINITE EXTRACTION ]
I'd stacked more points into defense than strength by then - just took down a single rat so far.
I stared off into the Rustlands. Back then, heaps of broken metal and deep shadows seemed scary. But now, creatures lurked in each nook. Trouble felt like it was right behind me.
Now?
Right then, I spotted a spread laid out.
Alright," I muttered, hefting the pipe up. It didn't seem quite so heavy anymore. So, who's going after that?
A sound crept out from some tires near me. It wasn't loud - just a quick shuffle, like something shifting underneath.
I spun around. A different Scrap Rat stood there - this one seemed a bit larger.
It let out a sharp sound toward me.
I smiled. But my shiny skin pulled tight on my cheeks.
"Hey, buddy," I said. "You look like you have some spare parts I could use."
I moved ahead. My leg ached, pulsing like before, showing I could get hurt. Yet the terror had faded.
I wasn't merely scraping through junk like before. Now I hunted energy wherever it lay. Because my hunger wouldn't quit.
I held onto the metal tube tight.
"Come here," I whispered. "Let me see what you're made of."
The rat charged.
I swung.