Steam hissed from the cooling chunks of the monster spread across the square. The air smelled strongly of burnt metal and something strange and sharp.
Ryder opened Betsy's door, hearing a solid thunk, and swung himself out.
His boots hit the cracked pavement. The old ache in his side flared up, followed by a real, sharp pain in his left thigh as he put weight on it.
He grunted, leaning against Betsy's warm, humming metal body without thinking. Looking down, he saw the torn cloth of his pants was dark and wet. The cut may not been deep, but it was bleeding a lot.
[INJURY FOUND: CUT – LEFT THIGH] [HEALING KIT AVAILABLE – COST: 50 POINT] [CURRENT POINT: 400] [BUY? Y/N]
"Just tap 'yes,' hotshot," Betsy's voice came from speakers he couldn't see. "You don't get points for bleeding out."
"Right," Ryder muttered, looking at the text floating in front of him. Field medicine. Let's see how this works.
He found the blinking green 'yes' box. It felt weird buying gear from... whatever this System was. Still, being quick mattered. He tapped it.
[PURCHASE COMPLETE]
[ITEM SENT: BASIC HEALING KIT]
A small metal kit appeared in the air beside him with a soft pop and clattered to the ground.
It hissed open when it landed. Inside were clean gauze pads, and a spray can with a danger symbol. It looked like a standard first aid kit, just delivered by magic.
Leaning against Betsy's solid frame, Ryder sprayed the wound. It stung sharply, then a nice numbness spread quickly as the wound magically begin to close slowly.
After wrapping his wound with the gauze, he tested the leg. It felt stiff, definitely hurt, but he could use it now.
[WOUND STABLE – SHORT EFFECT: "COMBAT LIMP"]
"Combat Limp huh." Fair enough, he thought. Better than not moving at all. He straightened up, quickly looking around the area.
From the broken buildings, people were slowly coming out.
Villagers, holding weapons like pitchforks and heavy tools. One guy held a heavy frying pan like a shield.
Their faces showed fear, but also surprise as they stared at him, at the bloody monster parts, and especially at Betsy. Her glowing symbols were slowly fading, but you could still feel her power.
No one cheered. They looked at him like he was something possibly dangerous that had just dropped from the sky.
Ryder gave a nod, letting them know he saw them, but kept watching the area right around him. The kill zone. It seemed safe for now. What's next?
Just then, the System screen flickered strangely.
"Uh-oh," Betsy murmured, her voice sounding less sure. "System's acting weird. Not a good sign."
The screen steadied, showing new text.
[WARNING: AREA UNSTABLE – PROBLEM NOT FIXED] [MAIN THREAT: GOREMAW – KILLED] [AREA STATUS: NOT SAFE] [SCANNING FOR LEFTOVER ENERGY…]
A low pulse throbbed through the ground under Ryder's boots, a deep shaking that felt very wrong.
[…ERROR. STRANGE ENERGY FOUND.] […CHECKING…] […ENERGY TYPE UNKNOWN. NAMING LATER.] […RESCANNING: CONFIRMED. UNDERGROUND.]
Ryder narrowed his eyes. "System acting weird? Is that normal?"
"Only if normal means reality itself is broken," Betsy replied, a hint of static in her voice. "Something's still messing things up here. Nasty."
"Right," Ryder nodded, glancing at the crater Betsy had made.
He'd killed the main threat, but hadn't secured the source.
Standard procedure: sweep and clear. He ran a hand over Betsy's metal body, feeling pleased. "Guess we get to see what else you can handle, girl."
[NEW GOAL: FIND SOURCE OF UNDERGROUND ENERGY] [REWARD: UNKNOWN. MIGHT MAKE AREA STABLE.]
Goal received. He felt a strange rush, not just adrenaline, but excitement.
This whole situation was crazy, yes, but he was here, with his dream truck made real, fighting monsters. This beat boring patrols any day.
The wind shifted, carrying a low, deep groan from somewhere under the ground. It was faint, but definitely sounded angry.
"Job's not done, Ryder," Betsy said. "We just stopped the bleeding for now."
"Understood," Ryder said, already thinking about tactics.
Underground meant tight spaces. He needed information, maybe help from locals.
Footsteps crunched on gravel behind him. He turned, his body automatically getting ready for trouble.
He saw worn leather, practical armor that looked old, and the tired eyes of someone used to being in charge. Authority.
"Anchor Bearer," the woman stated. Her voice was calm but sharp, used to giving orders.
"Ma'am," Ryder replied, giving a nod.
She stepped fully into view. She wore a worn officer's cape and useful armor with strange symbols. Scars marked her cheekbone. Her look was sharp, checking him over, then the truck, then the mess in the square.
"Captain Hessa," she introduced herself. "Crowpoint Defense."
"Sergeant Ryder Vance," he replied. "Looks like I'm the new guy with the big truck."
Her eyes took in his patched-up leg.
Then she looked at Betsy with clear curiosity. "That machine... it lives?"
"She prefers 'sentient,' Captain," Ryder said. "And yes."
"Damn right I do," Betsy added. "And I don't like being called a machine, honey. The name's Betsy."
Hessa blinked but didn't say more about the talking truck, just stored the information away somewhere in her head. "You killed a Primordial. Alone. Even the best Hunters I've seen can't do that."
"Just doing what needed to be done, Captain," Ryder said. "Saw a threat, I took care of it."
"The threat isn't fully gone," Hessa stated, getting straight to the point. "There's something else below. The source. We need it handled."
Ryder nodded again. "Figured as much. What's the situation underground?"
Hessa seemed a little surprised by how direct he was, probably used to outsiders being more scared or not wanting to help. "There are old tunnels. Not stable. We've lost scouts down there. We know something nests near where the energy is strong."
Ryder took in her words: unstable tunnels, lost scouts, something nesting below.
Dangerous, yes, but the goal was clear enough. After the chaos of the last hour, having a clear enemy and a mission felt almost normal.
"Standard procedure then," Ryder said, falling back on his training.
Check it out, find it, kill it. Simple steps for a hard problem, even if the problem involved magic trucks and underground monsters.
"We'll need a guide who knows the tunnels." He looked Hessa in the eye, switching from thinking about the threat to thinking about plans. "What help can you give?"
The System screen flashed again.
[OPTIONAL GOAL ACCEPTED: FIND UNDERGROUND ENERGY SOURCE] [REWARD ADDED: TRUCK UPGRADE – "ALL-TERRAIN GEL SEAT"]
[DESCRIPTION: Reduces bumps and tiredness when driving off-road or during rough rides. Has back support and a heater.]
[REWARD ADDED: SYSTEM SHOP 1.1 UPGRADE PACKAGE]
[DESCRIPTION: Unlock direct access to system shop with new unlockable items.]
Ryder saw the update flash. An optional goal accepted automatically, just by talking about it. And the reward... a fancy seat and system upgrade?
He almost laughed inside. Right after getting shot, dying, fighting a monster, and now facing unknown dangers underground, the System offered a comfy seat upgrade and items he need to buy. Priorities, he thought, amused.
Still, a heated gel seat and more magical items did sound pretty good right now, especially with his leg hurting. This System definitely had its own strange way of thinking.
Betsy let out a low chuckle that sounded like a deep rumble. "See? System knows how to get you going."
Ryder grinned. "Alright, Captain Hessa. Point us to the tunnel entrance and give us your best scout. Betsy and I have a job to finish."
He cracked his knuckles as he focused on the task ahead. He glanced towards the dark, scary opening that likely led below. "Let's see what kind of trouble we can find."