|3rd POV|
Rita wiped the sweat from her forehead after putting down another barrel of clean water. As a netizen of the hive, she knows how valuable water is, and she knows that if she sells this barrel of water, she will receive a ton of money from the Administratum, who handle the water supply.
Sadly, she also knows that she will be kidnapped and tortured, so the Administratum knows where she gets the water from. The same goes for the Water Cartel, but they are more 'kind' than the Administratum. They will only kill her and take the water from her dead body.
On the other hand, Lord Kael gives them the water for free. He even lets them indulge in their need to drink, but they are not an ungrateful bastard. They only drink when thirsty and store the clean water deep in the vault.
Not only that, her lord also let them have delicious food. It is not as filling as the Nutrient Paste, but it is a hundred times more delicious.
She and the other can hear from their lord's tone that he doesn't want them to make a fuss out of it, but they cannot do that. What he gives them is a piece of paradise, and the only thing they can do is to give him their undying loyalty and faith.
She already sees some of the people start to worship Lord Kael. She is not among them, but she understands the reason why they do that. She was just like them, praying to the False God that the Imperium feed them and get nothing but suffering. When they are at the end of the road, only Lord Kael appears to help them.
Time and time again, he shows them miracles. Time and time again, he shows them kindness that no human can give. He does not see you by your status. He sees them as equals, which resonates with all of them.
Some of them, like Carna and Kian, see him as the Leader they are willing to die for. While the rest of them slowly see him as a God and Savior who gives them a piece of paradise.
And she started to see him just like that.
She shakes her head, takes out a watering can, and then takes it to the farm. She smiles a little at the plants that are growing inside their ever-growing base. All of them produce delicious vegetables and fruits. They are easy to grow and maintain, and also grow very fast.
It takes only a few days for the plant to mature, and another few days to be ready to harvest.
It has been two months since her lord completed the base, and they have harvested these plants ten times. Her duty is to ensure the plant is well-watered and teach the others how to care for the plants properly.
Other than that, her duty is also to teach them how to write and count. As a laborer, she is required to know her basic numbers and letters, and her lord appointed her to teach the others.
Speaking of the others, her lord and the others are able to rescue more civilians from the cults. They also invite some of the underhive citizens who run away from home. Because of this, their numbers are growing. At the moment, they are almost reaching two hundred members.
Not all of them become the Care Taker of the base. Some of them become the Guardians. After training and going through what the others call the Rebirth Procedure, or as her lord calls it, the Augmentation Process, they are officially known as Guardians.
Her lord calls them soldiers, but the others call them Guardians because they are the ones who guard the true children of Tertium.
Each Guardian grows in size. Not too much, but noticeable. They are not as big as the mythical Space Marines the preacher likes to boast, but are noticeably bigger than regular humans. They are faster, stronger, and more durable.
She saw them in action when she was in the training hall and was in awe at what they could do.
When they are ready, her lord will let them explore the hive to search for something valuable for him to use. So far, the guardians have only brought more weapons and ammunition from the weapon cache that the Planetary Defence Force, PDF, leaves behind when the cults and cartel attack.
She once hears how the Guardians try to bring the weapons the cults use, but when they get near the area her lord claims, all of them crumble to dust, and when they return, Lord Kael immediately knows that they are touching cursed objects.
He then touches their heads one by one and does something. She doesn't know what it was, but according to the guardians, it is something that makes them better. It is as if something foul is leaving their bodies.
From that day, they burn any weapons the cults use and only bring unused weapons.
They now have weapons to arm twice the number of people in the base.
And that is needed because she knows that they are now the enemy of the Cartel. They think Lord Kael and the people he brings with him are an easy target and decide to attack. Sadly for them, they are not, and the group gets killed.
Sadly, the rest of the cartel know and are now swearing vengeance. That is how they become the enemies of the cartel. It is to the point that the cartel is willing to send fifty people, complete with cars and bikes, to attack the fake base in the middle of the desert.
Sadly for them, the Guardians can take them out before they can even do anything to the fake base.
Speaking of the fake base, her lord built an ugly but functional building to act as a decoy and an alert tower. There are always thirty people there holding heavy weaponry. It might be a decoy, but it is still a small fortress.
After their second group gets annihilated, the cartel stops sending people their way. However, Rita knows that they will not stop and will only regroup their members to do another attack soon.
So far, their life is great; she can only pray and hope it keeps like that.
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|Congratulations! You become a rather well-known faction in Tertium Hive! You received one Diamond Ticket!|
Oh? That is great. Now I have 2 Silver Tickets, 2 Gold Tickets, 1 Platinum Ticket, and 1 Diamond Ticket. How? I received silver tickets from killing Dreg Infected—one from killing 100 Dreg Shooter, and one from killing 100 Dreg Shotgunner. I received one gold ticket from killing 50 Dreg Rager and one gold ticket from killing 10 Ogryn Crusher. I get the Platinum Ticket after killing the Cult Champion, a district leader.
Then I get a diamond from being a well-known faction. Killing the attack force of the cartel will turn you into a faction. Let's just hope the spy the inquisition sent can easily be fooled. I know sooner or later, those people will slip through and enter the decoy base.
I hope to fool them and make them think only that base exists for at least a year or two.
Anyway, we are getting the attention of one of the many cartels in Tertrium. The one attacking us is the one holding the water trade in the underhive, not the one in the location called the Torrent.
They are the biggest and strongest cartel in the entire Hive City. They are also where the cult worms their way in and spread the infected water for others to drink. That is why I only eat cucumber and watermelon when I've yet to make the water harvesting machine.
I shake my head and look at my room. The underground base is getting bigger and deeper underground. I need to be careful about expanding because we don't want to hit the underground part of the hive.
Lucky for me, I have Canto, and with her help, I am able to predict the shape of the underground part of the hive. Because of this, we need to go deeper into the desert and away from the hive. It is scorching hot outside, but it is something we don't mind for our safety.
I hum a little and sit down on my bed. I open the system and start rolling. I first used the silver tickets.
[Banishing Fire]
|Rare Ability|
A holy fire gifted to clerics by angels in the form of blessings, these flames do not have any effect on regular living creatures like humans and animals, but instead deal extreme damage to any unholy or darkness-aligned being and prevent them from healing.
I widen my eyes at the new ability I gain from the gacha. This is perfect for this world. All the infected are unholy and darkness-aligned, right? At least I know they are unholy if we go by fantasy book standards.
I press the roll button once again and wait.
[Rock Shotgun]
|Uncommon Ability|
Conjure multiple small rocks and launch them at lethal speeds.
Another ability, huh? It is not bad either. With my energy reserve, I can use this ability as a regular weapon that I can use for a long time. I shrug and press another roll. This time, I use the Gold ticket.
[Bottomless Swamp]
|Uncommon Ability|
Allows you to transform the ground around you into a bottomless swamp that traps any targets that step on it, making them sink further into the swamp. If they fully submerge, they are fully incapacitated and enter a stasis-like state.
Another ability. What is this? An ability day? This one is not bad, but not the best. I prefer the last one to this one. At least I can use the Rock Shotgun to attack people from far away. This one? It is the one around me, and it can trap allies that stand around me.
And it is coming from Gold Ticket. Oh well.
[Call Thunder]
|Rare Ability|
It allows you to call down powerful thunder that strikes from the sky to any location in your sensory range, but it is not very effective indoors.
Another ability, but this time, it is good. The reason? I can use this to gather energy. My [Tinker–Ecology] ability already gives me things to work with this power. I can use all the energy thunder has and turn it into usable energy.
I put that idea away for now and decided to use the Platinum ticket.
[Natural Restoration]
|Epic Trait|
Your natural healing works differently; instead of regenerating, your body heals itself at the same speed as your natural regeneration, but instead restores your body to its most healthy state constantly, affecting even curses, diseases, and afflictions. Of course, the more severe an effect, the longer and harder it is for you to get restored to full condition.
That's what I am talking about! Thank you, platinum ticket. I will take anything that allows me to resist Nurgle's so-called gifts.
I smile a little and use the Diamond Ticket.
[Tinker - Analysis]
|Elite Ability|
Allows you to build technological constructs or contraptions related to analyzing data, like scouters, observation drones, predictive programs, etc.
Another ability, huh? I want another Epic thing because of the Diamond ticket. At least, it is something useful. With this, I can map the hive and create a map to secure the base even more. I can also create an army of drones now. There are a few people who learn technology rather quickly. They can be the eyes in the sky.
"My Lord! My Lord!"
I snap from my thoughts at the banging sound in my room. I open the door and see Kian panting.
"Kian? What is it?"
"Trouble, my lord! The infected! They are attacking the hangar! There are hundreds of them!"
I frown and take out my Long-Las from the table.
"Let's go."
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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