My old pipe wasn't working right anymore.
It's odd to talk that way about a chunk of metal tubing, yet it happened. Once I'd taken down another trio of Scrap Rats, the rod didn't seem like gear anymore - more like a droopy steel fruit.
It curved halfway through. At the tip, things got flat instead. Then tiny splits began showing up.
I hid behind smashed laundry machines, trying to catch some air. My robot-like body - thanks to gobbling that rat's info - still worked fine. Got a couple dents, nothing serious though. The jeans? Totally trashed by now. Looked like a bum ready for battle.
"I need a real weapon," I told a broken dryer. "I can't fight the boss of this level with a bent pipe."
The dryer stayed quiet - maybe that was fine. In case gadgets began chatting, my mind wasn't as sharp as I'd hoped.
I looked up where I stood.
[ MENTAL INTEGRITY: 91% ]
I dropped 3% each time I pulled something out. Ran the numbers. Hit zero, and my head might explode - liquid leaking through my ears. So there's a cap. Can't gulp down everything in sight. Gotta choose carefully.
I dropped the twisted pipe on the dirt - bang. Rest easy, pal.
I headed farther into the Rustlands. As I pushed on, the heaps of junk grew taller. There were hills formed from worn-out tires, while broken glass filled low spots like dry riverbeds.
About ten minutes passed when a scent hit me. Not the normal mix of grease and metal this time. Kinda like decaying flesh… maybe worse.
I moved ahead slowly, keeping close to the ground.
In a tiny open spot, blocked by sharp bits of metal sticking up, was a person.
It wasn't someone playing. When real players get killed, they burst into tiny blue dots. This one? An NPC - short for Non-Player Character. Just a local living here.
He wore black leather armor, seemed more like a burglar than a soldier. Honestly, he appeared completely lifeless. His chest had three big punctures - most likely made by a spear.
"Sorry, pal," I whispered, creeping closer. "I hate to rob the dead, but you don't need your stuff anymore."
I looked in his pockets. Nothing there. Somebody else took the gold before I did.
Yet they'd overlooked a detail.
Stuck in the muck beneath his thigh - two tools. I yanked one free, then the next.
These weren't just daggers - more like broken shards meant to cut. Calling them weapons felt way too kind. Each one stretched roughly as long as my arm, uneven and mean-looking. Rust ate through the dull metal, leaving deep spots and rough edges. Strips of old, crumbling fabric were twisted around the grips.
[ ITEM FOUND: JAGGED DAGGERS (COMMON) ]
DURABILITY: 5 out of 50
[ DAMAGE: 8 up to 12 ]
[ STATUS: BROKEN. LIKELY TO FALL APART SOON. ]
"Five durability?" I groaned. "These things are gonna snap if I cut a sandwich."
Yet, they had a bite. The sharpness hit me right away. Better by far than some dull rod.
I gripped a blade in both hands. Light as air, those things moved quick - real smooth-like. Felt good holding them.
I glanced again at the lifeless character. Then it hit me - what if I tried something different.
"Hey," I said to the corpse. "Can I... borrow your skills?"
If I can pull numbers from a rodent, why not grab blade tricks from a fallen killer?
I held out my arm. Then the dark case showed up.
[ TARGET: UNKNOWN SCOUT (DECEASED) ]
[ EXTRACTION: FAILED ]
A sharp beep popped up inside me. Uh-oh - warning!
[ REASON: TARGET NOT KILLED BY USER ]
You take life, you consume it. No stealing someone else's catch
"Seriously?" I sighed. "I'm literally a scavenger. That is my job description."
The system ignored what I was supposed to do. It ran on its own terms. To gain the power, one thing mattered - landing the final hit. So no shortcuts, like hunting corpses or hoping luck turned me divine. Success came only if I proved myself.
"Fine," I grumbled. "I'll do it the hard way."
I got to my feet, spinning the old blades - seemed steady enough.
Click-click-click.
A weird noise bounced around the steel walls. Almost like keys being smashed - hard and quick - on an old clacky keyboard.
I froze.
Came into view - a big beetle. Only, it wasn't your usual kind. About as wide as a coffee table. Shiny shell, shifted colors in the light. Huge jaws kept clamping shut - snap, snap.
Click-click.
It gnawed at a car's bumper. As if munching soft cheddar, it sliced the metal clean apart.
[ TARGET: RUST BEETLE ]
[ LEVEL: 3 ]
[ TYPE: ARMORED INSECT ]
Level 3 - tougher than the rats, though that shell seemed solid.
"Okay," I whispered. "My daggers have 5 durability. If I hit that shell, they break. If they break, I am beetle food."
I had no choice but to think fast.
I checked out the bug. On its back, thick armor covered it - yet as it crawled along, a glimpse of light, tender skin showed beneath its limbs.
"Flip it over," I planned. "Stab the squishy bits."
I grabbed a thick metal bolt off the dirt, then tossed it sideways.
Clank!
The beetle quit munching. Yet its feelers jerked slightly. Still, it pivoted toward the noise.
I dashed off to the right.
I moved quick. Even though my speed score was just 4, pure hype pushed me forward. By the time the creature noticed, I'd already reached it.
Hii-yah!" I shouted - not exactly slick, yet it worked.
I kicked the beetle - my boot swung low, hitting beneath its edge.
It weighed a lot, yet thanks to the rat's bonus, I'd gained extra strength. The beetle wobbled. Its legs waved wildly - balance slipping - but physics took over. Down it went, upside down.
Its belly was light yellow, squirming nonstop.
It screamed - like a ghastly, dripping noise.
I just went for it. Then I leaped right onto it.
"Oops! Oops! Oops!" I shouted while stabbing it in the chest with both knives.
SQUELCH.
Green slime shot out wild. Over my face it smacked. Slid right into my mouth. Tasted sharp - like metal mixed with sour citrus.
The beetle flailed around. When its legs hit my side, it stung - yet thanks to the metal layer on my body, I didn't get cut deep.
I yanked the blades free, then drove them in once more - over and over without stopping.
[ CRITICAL HIT! ]
[ CRITICAL HIT! ]
At last, the bug quit crawling - its limbs drew inward.
[ TARGET ELIMINATED ]
[ EXPERIENCE GAINED: +25 ]
I slid away from the body, brushing slime outta my face. "Ugh. Totally nasty."
I checked out my daggers.
One tip broke clean off. While the left blade's edge had a chunk missing.
[ TOUGHNESS: 2 out of 50 ]
"They're almost dead," I said. "One more fight and I'm punching things with my bare hands."
I had to sort them out. Staring at the lifeless bug, its back glinted - solid stuff. Right before dying, it chewed on a chunk of car front. No wonder that outer layer felt like rock.
The dark container showed up.
[ EXTRACTION AVAILABLE ]
[ TARGET: RUST BEETLE ]
I hit [ YES ].
[ ANALYZING... ]
[ TIER 0 - MATERIAL EXTRACTION (CHITIN) ]
[ TIER 1 - PHYSICAL EXTRACTION (HARDNESS) ]
Tier 1?" I lifted one brow. The rodent handed me a zero-level deal - this felt like stepping up.
Hold on. That tutorial - the one I ignored - might've covered this. Yet something told me it wasn't only about soaking up numbers like a sponge.
I stared at the blades I was holding. Then my eyes shifted to the exit signal.
"System," I said. "Target the daggers."
I wasn't sure it'd do anything. Just taking a shot in the dark. Still, inside my mind, I saw the power moving into the metal instead of burning through me.
The system stopped. As if it were pondering something.
[ QUERY: APPLY EXTRACTION TO EQUIPMENT? ]
[ SYSTEM TEST... OK. ]
[ CONFIRM? ]
"Yes!" I grinned. "Fix my junk!"
I gripped the knives above the lifeless bug.
[ MENTAL INTEGRITY: -4% ]
This one was pricier. My skull hammered - like that sting from frozen treats. Jaw clenched tight.
The glow from the bug didn't move up my limbs again. Instead, it spun near the edges.
I stood there stunned. Not just the look of it - but how tough that shell felt, how powerful those jaws were - flowed right into the old metal.
The rust started peeling loose. As if it were old skin, it dropped off piece by piece. Where the cracks had been, bright green light poured in - slowly hardening into dull gray steel.
The grip's leather pulled taut, shifting into a rich green shade. Meanwhile, the edges bent gently, taking on a shape closer to a beetle's pincers.
The light dimmed. Then the beetle's body disappeared.
I raised my fresh gear. Pretty nasty, really. Seemed risky, honestly. No longer seemed junky at all.
[ EXTRACTION COMPLETE ]
[ ITEM UPGRADED: CHITIN-INFUSED DAGGERS ]
[ GRADE: UNCOMMON ]
[ TOUGHNESS: 45 out of 45 ]
[ DAMAGE: 15 to 20 ]
[ EFFECT: REND – likely to make you bleed ]
"Uncommon," I read. "That's a step up from Common."
I hacked at the wind. Hiss. Through the sky they tore - sharp, quick, clean.
I headed toward the car's front end where the bug was munching. Then, I slashed the blade against the metal.
SHING.
The blade tore hard through the metal. Yet it stayed intact. Still held its edge. Sliced clean across the steel.
I laughed. "Okay. Now we're talking."
I looked at my mental state - down to 87 percent. Exhaustion crept in slowly. A low ache pulsed behind my eyes. This wasn't something I could push through indefinitely. Rest had to come before collapse.
Yet when I glanced at my fresh daggers, confidence rushed through me.
I wasn't only chasing rats before - now I'm on the hunt.
I searched the battle site. Grabbed some stray bolts, slipped 'em into my coat - could come in handy if things get messy.
"Right," I said, spinning the daggers into a reverse grip. "I have weapons. I have armor—well, my skin is armor. Now I just need..."
I stared at my hollow belly. Since it was fake, the growl came from a chip inside.
"...I need to find out if there is food in this game."
I began moving once more - yet barely made it anywhere.
A shout broke the quiet.
It wasn't the sound of a rat screeching. Not like a bug snapping either. More like a rough roar, low and thick, shaking right through me.
I halted. Then, my arm hairs rose.
On top of a heap of scrap, a dark figure showed up in the violet air. Not real - built from twisted metal strands, edged with sharp cuts. Instead of fur, there were loops of cold wire. A coiled link-chain dragged behind, snapping like a lash.
[ TARGET: STEEL WOLF ]
[ LEVEL: 5 ]
[ STATUS: ELITE MOB ]
"Top-tier?" I gulped tightly.
The wolf glanced at me from above. Its gaze glowed icy blue. Head dipped slowly while it snarled. The noise came out like metal scraping stone.
It leapt off the slope, skidding over junk, moving right toward me.
I held tight to my green blades - my hands damp beneath the gloves.
"Level 5," I muttered. "I'm Level 1. This is gonna hurt."
Still, I stayed put. Nope, running wasn't an option. That wolf? Quicker on its feet than I was. So I braced myself - fighting back was the only move left.
I recalled the beetle. Then again, that rat came to mind. I'd ended both - no question. Took what they had, just like that.
"Come on, Fido," I said, bending my knees. "Come get your treat."
The wolf barked out loud then rushed forward.
I braced myself.
This wasn't only about staying alive now. Yet this meant grabbing what you could.