Benign looked up at no one in particular. So the creature was actually from Olien? It must be the absurd births mentioned before that were biological engineered by Olien.
They must have glitched with the Karnak army they killed.
A sigh left him as he continued down the dune. Olien sounded like a realm of technological advancements and where that existed, folks who wanted to be God would abound.
Creating creatures that looked like already existing creatures when they were not would be considered normal.
"And if they make those creatures have human attributes, their greed—"
RUMMMBLE…
He held the sickle in an attack stance, keeping his balance. Not only was the dune he stood on vibrating but the two dunes ahead.
"Something is coming. What?"
[Use your eyes.]
Benign peered ahead, using a hand to cover the sun over his eyes. All he saw were tongues flapping about and the creatures running to him were similar to the hostile.
They were the same size yet for reasons unknown, much heavier. He didn't remember the hostile even made a sound in the sand as it ran towards him, yet these ones caused vibrations.
"Of course, their creators made some of them taller than ten feet." He turned to the one he killed and its body had shrunken under the sun. "They're here for revenge."
And all he had was a sickle and revolver, with his sides slowly bleeding. "Those skills are online, right? Don't tell me they're not."
There was no reply from the system so he guessed the sad truth. He slid down the dune and made his way towards the dead army, as weapons laid there.
Something slammed his body and he nearly lost balance. He swung the sickle behind him, slashing the one incoming. A green tongue fell by his feet, shaking like a worm.
"What the hell? From that distance? These lizards..." he looked at his hands and saw a mark from the one that hit him. He had definitely been marked.
A dozen of them charged towards him with a sickle at their waist and clawed hands. He reached the sea of dead soldiers and clutched the first weapon he saw.
"Why!"
He reached for another weapon but like the first, it didn't come off the ground. They were all stuck in the sand. He fired at the sand but it didn't budge.
He stopped firing to save bullets as he had no idea how many it contained. He groaned in frustration and continued running through the sea of dead bodies.
"Damn it. I just got here and these things want to kill me?"
[You killed one of them. As per your principles, wouldn't you avenge any death against your unit?]
"You said I could kill it!"
He turned to the creatures, they weren't chasing him any longer. They stopped at the beginning of the sea of dead bodies, specifically at the bird-like creatures, and snarled at him.
Were they scared? Of dead bird-like creatures buried with the fallen warriors? "Go back. They might revive." He mocked.
The biggest of the dozen hissed at him, waving his arms in 'threatening' motion. He shook his head. "I'm not coming over. I am not interested."
The biggest spoke, but Benign didn't understand it. Then they turned to leave, not even taking the body of the one they tried to avenge.
"Imagine getting shot by a lizard and then getting cursed at by his older brother later. This is shit."
[Alert! Benign Cross has been registered as a Systemist.]
He rolled his eyes. "Finally. I'm a 'Systemist'. Yay."
[It'd take five minutes to integrate you.]
He looked at his bleeding elbow. "Still wasting time, Huh?"
He had experienced worse, but in this new place, he'd prefer having few injuries.
If his memory served right, one of his basic skills was Regeneration, which meant when he'd be injured he'd just heal without having to consciously trigger it.
"Most MCs don't get such perks in those books, till later at least."
[But you need more than three basic skills to survive Noria, and there are two more realms, then settling Ragnasenso. Don't forget balancing the realms, at last.]
[You are yet to unlock two more missions too. Benign, you really have to grow quickly.]
He inhaled and exhaled. "Go on. What other calamity awaits me?"
[Recovering the Primordial Core.]
[It is the first step to balancing the realms and stopping the glitches, but you'd have to stop the wars, and avoid another Ragnasenso before thinking of balance.]
[Afterwards, you'd convince the gods to resume their duty of sustaining the Primordial Core or else, the realms would inevitably clash again.]
Benign nodded slowly, taking everything in. There were risks especially as he wasn't set to get any suitable attack skill. But he was confident he wouldn't die. He just arrived anyway.
He had to start with Noria and survive. Stop the wars between the realms, then start looking for some core before searching for its caretakers. Everything sounded familiar.
"Do I have a time limit?"
[As long as you are alive, and the core doesn't get permanently destroyed.]
In other words, as soon as possible.
He nodded again, and looked for a place to sit after nothing else seemed to be after him. He found an empty chest and sat on it.
"So tell me, why did the gods stop sustaining the Primordial Core?" Benign asked, needing to know more about the decision and if it was done with any good intention.
[That part isn't your battle so you don't need to know.]
His shoulders fell. The system slowly sounded like his superiors back in the military. Always withholding information and giving what they deemed 'necessary'.
Wasn't he supposed to know everything about this case? He had been given a second duty to save some war-loving realms and restore a core. He needed to know it all.
"If you are going to be this dismissive, then this will go slower. That Primordial Core, if it was worth sustaining, the gods wouldn't have tossed it aside anyway."
Benign felt a spasm at the back of his head. He smirked, feeling genuine amusement since he arrived. "Did that upset you? Are you linked to the Primordial Core somehow?"
He waved in dismissal. "You don't need to answer. I'd handle it anyway."
He left the box he just sat on. It was living a fantasy and while he knew things would get serious soon, he wanted to enjoy the ride and take it as his retirement.
[You underestimate what you have to do.]
"Maybe. But I'd piece a unit soon, taking the best soldiers from each realm and have them find this core, while I find the gods."
"Not to brag, but I survived three wars, with seven years experience, and am young enough for new ones. I have a lot to offer."
He reached the sea of dead bodies and walked through them.
Seeing the men laying side by side, some holding each other, made him reminisce about his first war and how he mourned when his comrades had been killed.
He had to learn how to direct his unit to a less casualty victory and avenge the death of the lost. "I don't have the time, but I'd like to bury all these bodies. Would it be rude to do that?"
[Burying isn't a common funeral practice in these realms. You can burn them… using Hell Rain.]
Benign checked if he felt different, but there was nothing to show if the skills integrated with him. Was he going to use a rare skill for a funeral recession?
He had asked anyway. Was he just to pull a Kamehameha and see if something would come out?
[Hell Rain has successfully integrated with you.]