Rex expected nothingness after death. Instead, he woke up choking on ash.
The sky above was black, cut with streaks of fire and artillery. War machines—towering Titans in the distance—strode like walking cathedrals of steel, their guns vomiting fire. The air reeked of promethium, blood, and despair.
A voice boomed nearby: "For the Emperor! Hold the line!"
Rex rolled onto his side. Not far away, lines of soldiers in drab flak armor—the Astra Militarum—were kneeling behind sandbags and rubble, lasguns spitting red lances of light into a green tide.
And that tide was Orks.
Huge, brutish creatures, each one larger than a man, roaring with savage glee. They charged in waves, crude cleavers and shootas raised, their sheer numbers threatening to drown the humans by sheer force of muscle and madness.
Rex blinked. "…Yeah, this is not Skyrim."
Then, in front of his vision:
[SYSTEM BOOTING…]
Welcome, User. Kill to Earn. Survive to Ascend.
He staggered to his feet, coughing ash. "Wait, wait, wait. Don't tell me I got dumped into Warhammer. Warhammer." He rubbed his eyes. The screen was still there.
[Quest: Slay one enemy]
Reward: 10 Points
Well… at least it's giving me a tutorial quest.
Something glowed at his side. A weapon. Not a Guardsman's lasgun, but something sleeker, stranger, humming with energy.
[Prototype Plasma Carbine acquired. Damage: Moderate. Cooldown: Low. Upgrade available at 100 Points.]
Rex whistled softly. "Okay. Not gonna lie, this is better than a butter knife starter pack."
The ground shook. An Ork, tusks dripping with spit and gore, barreled toward him, roaring. Its crude axe glinted red in the firelight.
Rex's brain screamed Nope! as he raised the carbine and squeezed the trigger. A blue-white bolt spat out, punching a smoking hole through the Ork's chest. It collapsed in a heap, still twitching.
[+10 Points. Balance: 10]
Rex froze. Stared at the corpse. Then at the glowing text.
"…Holy crap. It's a murder app. Candy Crush, but with war crimes."
Before he could process it, more notifications bloomed.
[System Menu Unlocked]
Stats: Strength, Endurance, Reflex, Willpower
Skills: Combat, Tech, Survival
Store: Weapons, Augmentations, Consumables
Points Available: 10
He flicked his hand instinctively, and the menu shifted as if reading his intent. Tabs opened, options appeared. He saw upgrades like:
+1 Strength (Cost: 10 Points)
Adrenaline Surge: +10% Reflex for 30s (Cost: 15 Points)
Repair Nanites: Auto-fix damaged weapons (Cost: 25 Points)
"Okay, that's… dangerously addicting. I'm basically inside a pay-to-win gacha system, except the currency is murder. Nice."
A deafening roar yanked him back to reality. The Ork tide slammed into the Guardsmen's line. The humans screamed prayers, lasguns spitting, bayonets stabbing, but the greenskins were relentless. Men were being ripped apart, blood spraying across the dirt.
Rex ducked behind a broken wall as a chunk of shrapnel whizzed past. His heart pounded. "Alright… think, Rex, think. Option A: stay here and die. Option B: use this system to not die. Yeah, not a hard choice."
Another Ork spotted him, barreling forward. Rex leveled his carbine, grinning despite the fear.
"Alright, XP farm. Let's grind."