Quinn carved the crystals out of the fallen devil flies and counted them carefully. Thirty crystals in total. He nodded, satisfied.
Time was difficult to judge on the pioletic planet. The sky gave no clear cues, and the air itself felt suspended. Still, Quinn estimated that nearly six hours had passed.
He sat down and surveyed the surroundings, assessing whether it was safe to remain here for a while. As he did, his system interface flickered to life.
Inventory
Rataclaw Crystals ×20
Deathbat Crystals ×3
Devil Fly Crystals ×33
"You'd better not disappoint me, system," Quinn muttered.
"Well," the system replied lazily, "you've done quite an impressive job, Quinn. I never imagined humans possessed such terrifying strength… or wait—"It paused."You aren't human."
Quinn frowned.
"Back in my time, humans had no such abilities," the system continued. "Still, I'm rather pleased you're alive and kicking."
"Then help me out," Quinn snapped. "Isn't that your job?"
"How rude," the system scoffed. "Referring to me like some common AI."
Quinn sighed. "You're less like an AI and more like a second person living in my head."
The system chuckled. "Check the list. I'm not handing everything to you on a platter."
Quinn rolled his eyes as he scrolled through the options—and then he saw it.
Weapon Crafting Available:
Devilfly Scimitar
One-handed, curved, single-edged blade
Required: 3 crystals
Dual Crystal Blades
Required: 4 crystals
The stats of the items surprised him. He could craft them immediately—but he chose not to. Heading back to base felt like the smarter decision. No need to drain himsel alone further.
The military dome came into view.
The door clicked open, immediately drawing everyone's attention. Tension filled the air—until they saw him.
Relief followed.
Quinn shielded his eyes. After hours in darkness, the sudden light was blinding. He quickly shut the door behind him and reoriented himself.
Michael broke the silence. "Oh, look. The big boy returns."
But the joke died quickly.
Quinn was soaked head to toe in crimson. His clothes were torn, stained, and reeked of rot.
Vorden rushed forward. "Quinn—are you okay? What the hell happened?"
Quinn laughed. "Best day of my life," he said lightly. Then added, "I need a bath."
Amy raised an eyebrow. "I'm amazed you're still standing."
"I assume you didn't just sit around while I was gone?" Quinn asked.
"We explored," Vorden replied. "There's nothing useful here. No teleporters. Just dirt."
Suddenly, a strange mechanical sound echoed nearby.
Quinn tensed.
"Relax," Amy said. "It's Ray. We found something useful—a fighter mech. Looks like old military hardware. We patched it up though."
Ray's voice crackled over the comms as the mech shifted. Amy chuckled. "he's doing a test drive."
Quinn nodded. "Good work."
He glanced around. "Please tell me there's a bathroom."
Sarah smiled tiredly. "Thankfully, yes."
before going, vorden handed him a pair of new black mlilitary dress.
Quinn asked surprised," where did you get it?"
"there are lot of useful junk though", vorden said.
Inside the washroom, Quinn stared at an empty bucket.
"Life's insane," he muttered. "Who would've thought I'd be making water just to bathe?"
Water formed beneath his palms, spraying gently and filling the bucket. after spending some time he finally returned.
Clean again, Quinn returned.
Sarah, Amy, Vorden, Ray, and Michael waited, eyes fixed on him.
"So," Amy said, "what happened out there?, sitting here feels so boring, i hope you have some exciting tales to tell"
Quinn looked around. "Well, lots of thing happened but Where's Erin?"
Soon following there gaze he saw Erin curled up in a corner, silent.
she was the most depressed and affected by it all. Her eyes were hollow. She had joined the military with dreams—dreams of honor, of making her dead parents proud. Now, everything felt wasted.
Quinn exhaled slowly.Everyone was here, and This was the moment to finally rais ethe morale.
"Guys," he said firmly, energy rising in his voice,"assemble together."
***
Quinn finished recounting everything that had happened. The group listened in silence, every word pulling them deeper into the tale.
"So that's what happened," Vorden said at last, his voice unsteady, his body still faintly trembling at the mention of the Devil Flies.
"Well, whatever story you want to spin," Michael scoffed, folding his arms, "you can't keep lying to us, Quinn. If you really fought them, where are the crystals?"
"Oh, what a doubtful scum he is," the system's voice echoed inside Quinn's head.
"Agreed," Quinn muttered under his breath.
"Well then… why don't you see for yourself, Thomas."
Quinn opened his palms.
Everyone leaned in.
Suddenly, their eyes widened as sparks of light flickered to life. From Quinn's palm, a crystal slowly formed—solidifying from pure radiance. Its core glowed with a deep, golden-yellow hue.
Michael staggered back, rubbing his eyes as if trying to wake from a hallucination.
"H-how did you do that?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
He reached out instinctively, but before his fingers could touch it, Quinn tossed the crystal to Vorden.
"Let them see first. You'll get your turn."
Quinn straightened, his expression hardening.
"But this isn't what I wanted to show you."
He raised his voice now, commanding attention. Erin turned toward the strange commotion, eyes narrowing.
"I promised you weapons, didn't I?" Quinn said. "And I am a man of my word."
Quinn stood up and raised both hands once more.
"Just watch…"
In his right hand--forming first was the curved blade —dark as obsidian, its edge smooth and arcing like a predator's grin. Veins of crimson colour threaded through the metal, faintly glowing, while subtle serrations traced along the blunt side.The hilt looked organic, wrapped in chitin-like material that seemed to pulse softly.
Beside it, in his left hand, twin shorter blades took shape—sleek, inward-curving, almost talon-like. Their semi-translucent bodies shimmered with a glassy sheen, fractured lines glowing faintly.
As they saw the scene unfold before them, only one question lingered in their minds--
"Who in the world is this individual?"