Crafting Gear From Monster Genes

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Norma swung the Wrath of the Steel Demon, testing how its second ability worked. Creating a few energy slashes took only a small portion of her strength.

Kreyn stamped his foot in frustration, unwilling to waste any more time, but the others didn’t seem particularly bothered by it.

"I swear, if we waste even one more minute on this bullshit, I’m taking that sword away from you!"

Norma spun around abruptly, her eyes filled with fear.

"No! This sword is mine, and mine alone!" She clutched the massive weapon to her chest as if it were a stuffed animal.

Clap.

Diaro clapped his hands once.

"Kreyn’s right. We got what we wanted, so now it’s their turn. Norma, bring Roco here, stop him in the courtyard."

"Sure!"

Groza turned to look at the gates leading to Observatory SC-17. They were open and hadn’t been used in a long time. There were no other entrances.

"What about the underground level?" she asked. After all, that was one of the reasons they’d fought against the Goliath X-01.

"Sure." Diaro nodded. "But first, I have to fulfill my part of our deal. Dust Star’s military won’t be able to get here right away. Also, they can’t get you out of here."

Suddenly, Groza’s expression grew serious as she bit her lip.

"Right, it won’t be that simple..."

Groza returned from missions at Dust Star many times. She knew the military would ask her to choose a location on high ground. That’s exactly how it usually went.

"On the other hand..." Groza looked around at the wasteland surrounding them. "The monsters have no business being here. Maybe I can convince them to land here, in the lowlands."

"Well, first let’s get in touch with them." Diaro waved his hand as they headed down to the ground level of the observatory.

Sure, there were still a few Iron Guards left in the cells, and some of them might have something valuable on them, but one tough fight was enough for them.

Crack.

The main doors opened as they entered the building, while Norma left Roco and their convoy by the inner wall.

"Damn, you weren’t lying." Kreyn looked around.

The hall was mostly empty. The only things left were objects too large and heavy to be worth taking out of here. For the most part, these were tables, massive cabinets against the walls, and all sorts of other junk.

"Everything’s been cleared out of here a long time ago. Are you sure the antenna works?"

Diaro nodded. "Sure. We’re not the only ones who want to use it. It’s more profitable to leave it here than to try to take it apart and sell it to someone for pennies. Follow me."

They went up to the second floor, to the actual observatory, where the view wasn’t much different, except for one detail - the antenna shaft.

Once, the shaft was connected to a console standing nearby, but now only the frame remained, as all the electronics inside were gone long ago.

Several red wires extended from the shaft, hanging not far from the empty console.

Step. Step. Step.

Diaro took out a device with a numpad, a horizontal screen on top, and several sockets on the front.

Without saying a word, he connected the wires to the sockets and clamped them down, then sent electricity through the entire antenna.

After a few seconds of silence, a sound rang out.

Beep!

The device’s screen lit up as a satisfied smirk spread across Diaro’s face.

"Yes. This thing still works. I wasn’t wrong."

Then, he turned to Groza and Kreyn.

"Just to be sure. You want me to contact Dust Star, their military, right? Should I send an SOS signal or just a regular transmission?"

Groza took a moment to think before saying confidently:

"SOS. Let them respond as quickly as possible. We’ll figure out the rest from there."

She looked at Kreyn.

"I’ll handle the negotiations. I have a lot of experience with this."

"Sure." Kreyn shrugged. "Have them send help for us and let us know when they can get us out of here. That’ll be enough."

Sure, Kreyn didn’t forget that now, after they’d defeated the Goliath X-01, they had access to the underground level.

They’d have plenty of time to explore everything down there. He did not doubt that.

’Now... We must be pretty far from the city, right? When I was with Prima, it took them 12 hours to send someone for us, even though Dust Star was visible on the distant horizon.’

True, Kreyn might be wrong, but they’d only have to wait a long time if they were really unlucky.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Diaro entered the correct frequencies as he tried to contact Dust Star.

At first, there were only muffled, prolonged sounds, like a ringing call that wasn’t being answered, but soon something changed.

"KRH!"

A noise came from the other end, followed by an alarmed female voice.

"Yes? This is Dust Star, I hear you. You’ve sent an SOS signal from an unknown source. Give me more information so I can identify you."

For some reason, this brought a smirk to Kreyn’s face.

’Huh, so even when someone desperately needs help, they won’t do anything until they know if it’s worth it? Well, I can’t blame them. I’d do the same.’

But Groza clearly disagreed with this on every level.

"WHAT? We’re asking you for help, and you want to identify me?!" Groza shouted, snatching the device from Diaro’s hands. "You should have offered to help us right away instead of asking such stupid questions."

"This..."

The voice on the other end clearly hadn’t expected such a sharp response from Groza.

"It’s protocol. I’m following protocol, and if you don’t identify yourself, Dust Star will block this channel as hostile or potentially dangerous."

Groza’s eyebrow twitched. She believed that when a person was in trouble and needed help, it was necessary to take immediate action rather than ask bureaucratic questions.

"Agh..." Groza sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Fine. I am Hunter Groza, Initial Rank, Gold Badge. With me is Hunter Kreyn, Initial Rank, Silver Badge."

No sooner had she said this than Diaro and the others looked at Kreyn.

They expected Groza to be at about that level, but they expected the same from Kreyn.

Varyn stood to Kreyn’s right.

"It seems Dust Star is underestimating you."

Kreyn shook his head. "I just got my Silver Badge. You can’t climb the career ladder too fast, you know?"

Norma, in turn, narrowed her eyes. "Maybe you know how to make a cool weapon, but I wouldn’t promote you often. You have to earn it!"

"Kha!" Kreyn chuckled. "Fair enough."

Beep!

"I’ve checked your data. The voice code is distorted but matches. What happened to you? Where are you? Dust Star will do everything it can to help you."

Groza exhaled.

"Finally. This wasn’t supposed to be so hard! We’re in the middle of the wastelands, south of the Node - Crooked Horn. We’re maintaining contact with you via the antenna at Observatory SC-17. Send help here to pick us up!"

She continued the conversation as Diaro approached Kreyn.

"It looks like the terms of our deal have been met."

Kreyn waved his hand. "Yeah, everyone got what they wanted, especially you."

"Hahah! I just always try to get the most out of things, and this situation is no exception."

He pointed downward, giving him a clear hint.

"Help isn’t likely to arrive anytime soon, so how about we explore the underground level together?"

Kreyn grinned.

"Huh, as if I’d let you take all the rewards for yourself."

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