Preparing my defense, my grin vanished in an instant.
I was about to murder multiple people.
Who would I be… to laugh at that?
No excuses. No moral gymnastics. The justifications? They held no weight here. Taking a life in battle… it's not about what's right or whose the bad guy.
For eons, there's been one unspoken truth between those who clash in true mortal combat.
Respect.
A raw, mutual understanding carved in the space between two breathing bodies standing one swing or mistake away from death.
And yet, the comparrasion of ants in the world of warriors were looking down at me.
Like I was some sort of prey?!
Sliding into a Taquedano stance with the elegance of someone who's danced too long with death, I tighted my jaw in fury. "Some of these creatures can get really sad. I can picture all of them, multiple of them were probably parents."
What stung was how they looked at me.
No respect. No honor. Just meat to carve up.
A simmering disbelief started to bubble beneath the surface of my thoughts. How could they not see? How could they be so fucking blind? The arrogance in those discustingly confident eyes, the belief that they were the apex... that I was beneath them?!
It was maddening.
While my fists protrayed a cool pose, I stopped the sharade the moment I revealed my true weapon... or I guess choice of weapon.
"OCIS, bring out my only pistol from my inventory... Vagma RL." I said aloud, not out of necessity, but for the flair of it. I could've just as easily reached in and pulled it from thin air.
This inventory abilitiy was merely scratching the surface of what the OCIS was capable of.
From nothing, emerald embers flickered into existence, their magical fire flies vanishing as quickly as they had appeared. And then, just like that, the pistol materialized in the air.
Floating a few feet way from me was Vagma RL—matte black pistol with a crimson line coiling the barrel. Efficient for dealing with the lower level threats.
Flexing my left muscular arm, I grabbed it.
Turning a bored, bland look, I tried one last time while waving my pistol around.
"I hate guns. But I'm tired. Leave right now and I'll lose my reason to kill you." I uttered, my voice agressive and focused.
They didn't stop.
"Pftttt, pitifulllll." Letting my words hang, I locked eyes with their leader who was stocky and… armed. His black haired buzzcut had a receeding hairline, and he was ready to prove he didn't care about it.
I noticed it when he reached for something in his jacket, but when it was out of sight, I saw no gun yet.
Nonetheless, I instantly knew what to do.
"I can read your malice," I said while one of my passive skills activated.
Malice Sense.
Then, with a single thought, I commanded the system to fire. But I didn't target the armed man.
Instead, I aimed for another cannibal.
"OCIS, fire mind-control bullet."
A flash of white, faster than any modern handgun could ever achieve, shot through the air. The sound of the shot was strangely subdued, barely more than a whisper, as the bullet tore through space with lethal precision.
"What are ya yapping about?" He said, revealing a glock17.
I knew it. Man, this new skill really is coming to be useful.
A loud pew could be heard as he prepared to pull the trigger. Prepared as in try. He never got to the actual pulling part.
A small hole tore through his skull, the white bullet returning to my side like it was a long companion.
Blood poured from his head, spilling over the countless grains of sand that would soon bury him.
For a shot so clean, so precise, his body slumped and crumpled to the ground in a grotesque display of gore, more than one would expect from such a swift, merciless end.
"I'm not a hero. Go eat as many humans as you want. Last chance… just leave," I said flatly, not moving an inch from my position, even though I could have.
I could've dodged his bullet and snapped the buzz-cut dude's neck before he even blinked. My fists could've pierced through their weak blades and flesh as easily as knives through hot butter. Yet, I still gave them a chance.
No care on their faces, they continued their fearless attacks.
"Why aren't you people scared?!" I shouted, my voice filled with disdain. "Compared to me? You're nothing but tiny inferior ants! How, after all of this can you still not see it?!"
One by one, they fell.
Blood splattered across the sand in all directions, creating a grim enviorment. Strangely, none of it touched me or my clothes, as if some unseen force shielded me from the chaos I had unleashed.
Like, their blood wasn't deserving to touch my skin.
Their screams echoed in the air, their final breaths rattling in their throats. And there I stood, a cold observer of my own chaos.
"This isn't my fault," I muttered, gazing down at six lifeless bodies. "All of you brought this upon yourselves," I finished, my tone as hollow as the desert around me.
Half of the work was done. Now onto the left side.
Men. Women… even a guy who looked to be a teenager. It no longer mattered.
Bawake leveled the field.
The bullet danced like a wraith, the velocity of the bullets speed faster than any modern pistols.
Moving through the air freestyle wherever I commanded it to go, the white bullet was blazing through the air at a mind-blowing six thousand miles per hour!
And its speed was no lie.
In thirteen whole seconds, twelve human lives were extinguished, all fallen and shot in the head dead square on their head.
Vagma The White Bullet floatled calmy a few feet beside my shoulder.
And, it seems this time the system was... ther for me. I didn't move that friendly bullet.
Standing around the corpses of a dozen, I stood alone, bright red blood staining the sand like wilted petals.
I didn't raise a hand. I simply lowered my weapon aimed at the sand.
My eyes remained fixed ahead, unblinking. Below me, on the bottom half of my vision was a bloodbath, tons of blood spilling over the sand.
But above, the world reverted to its dull, light brown hues, the barren desert stretching out as a reminder that this was merely a moment in the past.
Was it beautiful?
Was I...
An artist?
"Dear Fallen Desert Raiders, I am sorry, not for your own mistakes, but for the world that molded you into the vile creatures you soon became," I muttered, my gaze carving deeper into the lifeless corpses sprawled before me.
"May you rest well. I've painted your afterlife a crimson portal. Step through it and become something else. Someone... better." I spoke down to the bodies before a sudden interruption shattered the eeriness.
A surprise.
Recognizing the sci-fi notifcation sound, I instinctively returned both the pistol and the bullet to my systems invontary each vanishing with a crisp shimmer.
The OCIS system synced perfectly, its voice printing in tandem with the green texts across my vision.
Reading it felt like prophecy, I couldn't help but wonder what fate had queued up for me next.
The notification popped up in front of my upper chest. Blinking into existence with a radiant, grassy-green glow and sleek futuristic patterning, It's design was certaintly vibrant.
[Congratulations. You've eliminated the desert raiders who've plagued tourists for the past year. The Empty Dune Deity extends his gratitudes. Secret Quest Completed, Initiating teleportation back to Earth. sequence.]
The system's manly voice chimed, and the message stayed across the window like a digital blessing.
As I read it, a wave of dopamine surged through my brain, "TELPORTED? EARTH? I'm actually getting out of this goddamn wasteland?! Yes, finally! Head first into one wasteland to another, then back to my old one! Maybe I'll also get some kind of secret quest reward?!"
I joyfully smiled to myself, manic with relief. "I wonder if my ship in Florida's still standing… ha, probably stolen."
Being teleported here felt like punishment. Leaving it now felt like fate was tossing me a bone.
I threw my arms toward the heavens, shouting as emerald pixels swirled around me—encasing me in a luminous capsule of luck.
"I'M FINALLY GETTING OUT OF HERE!"
Space and time warped around me, twisting reality until, in a matter of seconds, I reappeared right where I'd left off.
Outside my spaceship portable home.
Which also happened to be my house.
Government officials were bizzarely combing the perimeter, their black suits sharp as obsidian blades.
The moment I materialized, every head snapped in my direction.
Without hesitation, they reached for their pistols in sync.
'Fuck. Why am I taking a liking to all this chaos? Is it purpose I feel… or adrenaline? And what the hell are they doing here?'
"State your name and place in florida!" An African American buffed out male screamed at me, requesting I make my presence be known.
Another green window appeared out of nowhere.
[Welcome back to Earth, Vett. The next step in our quest is simple—find fuel and get off this shithole of a planet. But… not before you conquer it.]
'CONQUER?! Like becoming the strongest commander on the planet? You can't be serious man…'
Reading the questline, my eyes widened, confusion spreading like a slow glitch across my mind.
Lost in thought, amidst the confrontation with these humans, I struggled to make sense of the unfolding chaos.
'Conquer?' The notion lingered in my mind. 'You talking about becoming the most formidable commander on this planet? You can't be serious…'
Calming down and taking on a relaxed visage, I raised my hands, a silent gesture of peace, to indicate I harbored no ill intentions.
But I couldn't help but blast a threatening gaze.
The African American agent murmured to one of his colleagues, "He's raising his hands, but why do I feel like I should shoot him right now, just to be safe?"
Since I couldn't hear their conversation, I chose to respond to his unspoken query.
"I'm a resident of Florida, Vett Yellip. Before Bawake, I was an office worker. As for this oddity... it's not an actual spacecraft. Don't be concerned. It's merely a conceptual home built by yours truly."
"And why should we trust you?" the same agent asked, wary.
I offered a smile and lowered my hands. "How about I show you around inside?"
I wasn't shaken by their guns.
Internally, I was considering the possible outcome if they pulled the trigger.
"If they dare fire, it's not as if I can't dodge their bullets." A fleeting smile flashed across my face as I silently thanked the system.
"My deepest gratitude to you, OCIS. Though I've often complained, I truly do appreciate you."
Gradually, they lowered their weapons as I continued to show them I meant no harm.