"Careful. You can eat it slowly."
I hold the child in my hand as she coughs from eating the apple too fast. After rescuing them from being eaten by the Cult of Admonition, we take them to an empty room where we can provide food and water to them.
We managed to rescue twenty-seven people. There are originally fifty of them, but the cult butchers the others and eats them.
Carna and Kian also provide them with basic medical treatment while I make sure to eat the curse surrounding them. Many of them are around their bodies, and one of them almost falls to corruption.
Lucky for her, we arrive just in time before the curse consumes her body and becomes the willing followers of Nurgles, then becomes an abomination.
That is another reason why we stop here. I need to ensure the taint of Nurgle reaches a safe level before sending them to the safe haven. I continue to summon more food and use my [Spray Water] ability to fill the bowl with water for the others.
Because I have six abilities, I now have three ability slots, and I use two of them right now. The last slot is used for the [Primordial Earth] ability to sense enemies through the vibration on the wall.
While doing all that, I also look at the new notification in the corner of my vision. I make a mental command and see it appear in front of me.
|Congratulations on rescuing thirty people from the Cult of Admonition! You receive 1 Platinum Ticket|
|Congratulations on killing 10 Dreg Rager! You receive 1 Gold Ticket!|
|Congratulations on killing 10 Dreg Shotgunner! You receive 1 Gold Ticket!|
|Congratulations on killing a Nurgle Preacher! You receive 1 Silver Ticket!|
Well, that is a good haul. I looked at the others and decided to use the tickets while we were still resting. I first use the silver ticket and watch it roll. After a few seconds, it stops and reads the description.
[Griffon]
|Uncommon Familiar|
Hota - A mighty beast with the lower body of a lion and the upper body of a hawk, and the size of an elephant. This mighty beast is incredibly ferocious but also very loyal. You get a pair of females and males that can mate and produce offspring.
Ah, I don't think it is a good idea to summon them in this world. At least not yet. I will summon them when I have something that lets them live a good life.
I use the gold tickets next.
[Bat Ears]
|Uncommon Ability|
Your hearing is incredibly fine-tuned; you can easily distinguish sounds and make out the sound of a coin hitting the ground in the middle of a populated mall.
It is not a bad ability; I can use it in a covert mission. However, it is not something I need now. At least it will give me more ability slots when I get two more abilities from the gacha.
I press the roll button once again and watch it spin.
[Railgun]
|Rare Ability|
Allows you to turn any magnetic object in your grasp into a railgun projectile; the higher the mass, the higher the cost, and you also have to aim it.
Now, this is a useful ability. In case my weapon is destroyed, I can use this ability to kill the infected from afar. This city is full of magnetic objects, after all. There is a lot of metal in here, and all of it is ammunition for this power.
Combine it with my [Curse Devouring Physique] trait, and I can keep going as this place is cursed to hell, and this trait will make sure I have enough energy to keep fighting for a long time.
I put it to the side and pressed the roll button. This time, I will use the Platinum Ticket.
[Tinker - Augments]
|Elite Ability|
Allows you to build, construct, and design contraptions or machines related to augmenting Biology and Physical Bodies, such as subdermal armour, biomonitors, hormone regulators, bonding bone with metal, metal skeleton, reinforced tendons, stronger muscles, etc.
Another ability, and I can feel another slot open up for me. Also, this ability is something valuable. With my [Assembly] ability, I can start to create cyberware for myself. I put this ability in the fourth slot, and something clicked in my head.
I can make Space Marine, or at least something that can match Space Marine. However, it requires a lot of things and time before I can make one. I immediately switched this ability away because I could feel my body demanding that I build something using this ability, and I didn't need it right now.
I look at them, and I know that I can heal them. Augment might not be a specialized medical tinker specialization, but a few things can be used to heal someone. However, I need a lot of chemical material, and that means I need to go deeper into the hive.
That is for another day. For now, I need to take these people back to the safe haven first.
"Alright. I think it is time for us to move. We don't want the others to find us."
They look at me and quickly stand up. They eat the last fruits and drink the water before giving me back the bowl. I store the bowl in my [Inventory], and we start to walk. I am walking in the front, Carna helping the old and injured, while Kian watches our back.
After a couple of hours of walking, we finally reached the outside, where I saw one of the guards notice us. She shouts something to the rest of the people, and they quickly help the injured and old to reach the base.
However, before I can join them, I stop when Canto gives me information.
{Kael, I received something that requires your attention.}
'What is it, Canto?'
{Hear this. I managed to record a Vox Transmission from space to somewhere five kilometers to the north and seven hundred meters underground.}
'So, it is going to the underhive, huh?'
Like any hive city, Tertium has an underhive. It is where crime prospers and the law no longer matters. We are lucky to be on the city's edge, where there is nothing but sand and waste. It is good for us because people rarely go here, which is why there are not many gangs and cartels in the area. There are rarely people who live on the edge of a hive city. Ironically, only someone with Nurgle's so-called blessing is able to survive in this place for long.
{Yes. Do you want to hear the transmission?}
'Put it through, Canto.'
I wait for a few seconds before the recording starts playing.
"This is Darktide 7! We are surrounded! We need to retreat! The gangs and water cartel have already taken over the Hab Sector C-3764-Z! They have heavy weaponry on their sides and create a sentry nest! We cannot proceed with our main objective without massive casualties!"
"Keep going, Rejects. You need to reach the Central Cogitator of that sector. We need the information the Machine Spirit records to let me know who this Heretek is. I calculate that you can break through with only 85% casualties. It is a good number for the result you shall get."
"Enginseer Kayex, what are you doing?"
"I am doing what you told me, Interrogator. I am telling them to gather information regarding the Heretek."
"And I remember telling you not to kill them without a good reason, Enginseer. What you are telling them is outside your chain of command. Darktide 7, I command you to retreat and go to the extraction point C-89. Lieutenant Mazosi will wait for you. As for you, my dear Enginseer, we need to talk about you wasting valuable warband assets."
And the transmission comes to an end.
{What do you want to do, Kael? Do you want to investigate?}
'No. It is too risky. We need to clean the area instead of investigating that. We need to prepare when the Imperium arrives. Keep watch for any transmission you can catch, Canto. They rarely go here, but sooner or later, they will look at this location.'
{Understood.}
I release a sigh and look at Carna and Kian, looking at me worrily.
"M'lord! You okay?"
"I am fine, Carna. I just received bad news. The imperium sends their agent planetside, and soon or later, they will look here."
"Then we need to prepare." Kian says and nods his head, "We can also look around the area for something useful for you, my lord. There might not be many things that will be useful, but there might be something we can use."
I look at the two of them and say.
"You are right. Let's go back first before we create a new scavenging team."
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For you guys who don't know, I took a loan to pay for all the funeral expenses, and I need to pay quite a bit for the first installment. I don't have enough money to pay for rent, the electric bill, and food, alongside that monthly payment. I need your help to pay for the first few payments so I have enough savings to pay the rest without risking my family and me going starving or not paying rent.
For anyone who wants to help me, you can go to my Ko-fi: Ko-fi.com/fangrove
I post the Warhammer: Darktide fanfic there as well. There are at least 5 chapters in there!
Or if you want to read more of my work, you can visit my P@treon at: [email protected]/fangrove