Chapter 2: First Harvest
The silence after the battle was heavy, broken only by the strange, whistling calls of unseen creatures in the jungle canopy. Alistair stood, his legs still trembling slightly from the adrenaline, and faced the twelve kneeling figures. Their leader, the woman with the white streak in her hair whom he now thought of as Thora, kept her head bowed, but her eyes were fixed on him, wide with a mixture of terror and reverence.
"Up," Alistair said, his voice sounding foreign in the thick air. He gestured with his hand, a universal sign to rise.
They did not understand the word, but they understood the gesture. Slowly, cautiously, they rose to their feet. They clutched their bone-tipped spears, their knuckles white, but they made no hostile move towards him. Their attention was divided between him and the twitching corpse of the Scythe-Maw.
Alistair turned his back on them, a calculated risk that sent a prickle of unease down his spine, and approached his first real asset. The Scythe-Maw was even more monstrous up close. It smelled of ozone and spoiled meat. One of its forelimbs, a scythe-like blade of chitin, was twitching in a final death spasm.
He placed a hand on the cool, hard carapace. The System interface immediately bloomed in his vision, overlaying the creature.
SCAN COMPLETE: Scythe-Maw Fauna.
BIOMASS: 284 kg.
HARVESTABLE MATERIALS:
- Scythe-Maw Carapace (Tier-3 Reagent). Purity: 98%. Mass: 80 kg. Est. Value: 60,000 Credits.
- Scythe-Maw Acid Gland (Tier-2 Reagent). Purity: 87%. Mass: 4 kg. Est. Value: 2,000 Credits.
- Scythe-Maw Meat (Edible). Mass: 200 kg. Nutritional Value: High.
PROCEED WITH HARVEST? Y/N
Sixty thousand credits. The number was so large it felt abstract. It was more than enough to pay his rent, his back-rent, and buy a month of groceries. It was a lifeline thrown from the most unexpected place in the universe.
He focused on "Yes."
Nothing happened for a second. Then, a soft blue light emanated from his palm and spread over the creature's body. The Scythe-Maw dissolved into a shower of shimmering particles, like a cloud of digital fireflies. The particles swirled in the air for a moment before condensing into three neat, rectangular blocks that floated gently to the mossy ground.
One block was a stack of glossy, black chitin plates, each the size of a dinner tray. Another was a translucent container holding a viscous, green liquid—the acid gland. The third was a large, vacuum-sealed package of dark red meat.
INVENTORY UPDATE:
- Scythe-Maw Carapace x80 added.
- Scythe-Maw Acid Gland x1 added.
- Scythe-Maw Meat x200 added.
A collective gasp came from behind him. He turned to see the tribespeople staring, their mouths agape. Thora took a hesitant step forward, her eyes fixed on the blocks of processed material. She pointed a trembling finger at the package of meat, then at her own mouth, a question in her eyes.
Alistair nodded. "Yes. Food."
He accessed his inventory, a mental command that brought up a grid-like space in his mind. He willed the meat package to be removed. It appeared at his feet with a soft thud. He then focused on the System prompt for the Planetary Marketplace.
The interface shifted, becoming sleeker, more corporate. It looked like a galactic stock exchange ticker. He searched for Scythe-Maw Carapace. A list of buy orders scrolled past.
[Galactic Bio-Materials Corp.] Buy Order: Scythe-Maw Carapace. Tier-3 Min. Purity 95%. Offer: 740 Credits/gram.
[Xenothaumaturgical Guild] Buy Order: Scythe-Maw Carapace. Tier-3 Min. Purity 97%. Offer: 755 Credits/gram.
His heart leapt. The System's estimate was conservative. He selected the Xenothaumaturgical Guild's offer. A new prompt appeared.
LISTING: 80,000 grams of Scythe-Maw Carapace (98% Purity).
ESTIMATED SALE: 60,400,000 Galactic Standard Credits.
CONFIRM SALE? Y/N
He took a deep breath. This was it. The point of no return. He confirmed.
The stack of chitin plates vanished. A moment later, a new notification, beautiful and glorious, appeared.
CREDIT TRANSFER RECEIVED: +60,400 Credits.
CURRENT BALANCE: 60,446 Credits.
A weight he had been carrying for months, a constant, gnawing anxiety in his gut, simply evaporated. He was not just solvent; he was, by his previous standards, rich. A laugh, genuine and free of hysteria, escaped his lips. The tribespeople flinched at the sound.
He looked at them, at their thin limbs and wary eyes. They were his workforce, his first line of defense, and his responsibility. He couldn't have them starving. He pointed at the large package of meat, then at them.
"This is for you," he said, slowly and clearly. He then pantomimed eating and pushed the 200kg block of meat towards them with his foot.
Understanding dawned on Thora's face. She barked a sharp order. Two of the larger tribesmen hurried forward, heaving the massive package of meat onto their shoulders. The look they gave Alistair was no longer just awe; it was gratitude.
Thora approached him. She stopped a few feet away, bowed her head once more, and then placed her spear on the ground at his feet. It was a gesture of submission, of fealty.
Alistair looked down at the primitive weapon, then at the woman before him. He had power here. Real power. Not just the Admin abilities, but the power to change lives, to build something.
A new quest notification, golden and imposing, flashed before his eyes.
QUEST INITIATED: HEARTH AND HOME.
OBJECTIVE: Establish a permanent settlement for your followers.
REWARDS: +5% Administrator Authority, Unlock Basic Construction Protocols, Title: Founder.
He accepted the quest. A minimap flickered into existence in the corner of his vision, showing a small, cleared area near a flowing river, not far from their current location. It was marked as "Suggested Settlement Site."
"Alright," Alistair said, his voice firm with newfound purpose. He pointed towards the direction of the settlement site. "We are moving. Let's go."
He picked up Thora's spear and handed it back to her. She took it, her grip firming, her posture straightening. She was not a servant to be disarmed. She was a captain. A general.
He had his funds. He had his people. Now, he needed a home. The start-up was officially open for business.