5 Encounter and Kill
Right before he left, he forgot that a melee weapon is also required, a bow in close range won't do enough damage. Furthermore, reloading and drawing a bow will not be as fast as swinging a melee weapon. So, he scoured the base hoping to find a blade or pointy metal, and managed to find some blank knives. He made a groove on each side of a wooden stick then he slots the knives in and ties them with metal ropes he got from cables lying around.
He tied the spear and the bow to his back, finally ready to start his journey. After rechecking that he didn't forget anything, he heads out.
Marco was walking through the forest, he is on his merry way to find his first Machine kill. His speed has increased, he was a lot faster now. If the old map is correct and the Machines haven't done any terraforming to the landscape then the trip will only take at least a few hours, with a maximum of 5 hours. He is always vigilant on the journey, eyes scanning the ground for any tracks.
-----------
Three hours later
Marco finally found some tracks lots of them, the tracks on the ground look like horse hoofprints. Except they're bigger and deep signifying the weight of the creature. A clear and defined edge means the track is fresh, whatever creature the tracks belong to 'recently' passed through here.
'This is good, finally found something.' Thought Marco.
[Ding
New Quest
Hunt Machines [Colt]
As the weakest Machines, if you are able to kill them then it means that you are ready for the journey against the Machines.
Rewards: 10 free attributes point
Penalties: None ]
"Finally, I have been waiting a week for this mission, a bit late but okay."
[…]
After walking for about another 30 minutes, Marco arrived at an open field, with tall grass and trees here and there. He crouched and tried to observe the field and… there it is, the [Colt] he's looking for. The body and head resembled a muscular horse of similar size, the head is just a featureless horse head with an optical sensor in its snout and some kind of mouth below. The leg and shoulder consist of synthetic muscles with only the neck and back are covered with greyish armor.
At the right side of the field, there's a big patch of tall grass. Only a few of [Colt] can be seen and they're feeding on the tall grass.
'Perfect for cover and ambush!! A pity I didn't have any traps or my job could be easier.' Marco thought as his gaze fell on the tall grass. Contemplating on which weapon to use only took a minute. An arrow might not be enough to kill the thing before it runs away with lighting speed. So he decided to get up close and personal, he might be able to do enough damage with his spear and finish the job with the bow.
He creeps up to the tall grass, trying to walk silently and carefully as to not disturb the grass and spook his prey. He walked close to the edge, crouching with his spear in his hand. Marco looked at a [Colt] walking to the grass.
'Prometheus, where should I hit this thing? Looking at the design, I think the limbs should be the weakest with no armor. What do you think?'
[Yes, the limbs are the weakest part. You can do the most damage there plus it can't run as fast as it normally can.]
'Does it have a power cell or some kind of battery?'
[The cells are in the middle of the torso.]
'I see, I need to be creative in my attacks.'
With that information, now the target is clear. He needs to be patient and wait for just the perfect moment before lunging. The [Colt] is chewing on the grass, Marco was waiting for it to turn around.
Marco waited for a while until it finally turned around. As the [Colt] rotate its body showing its side, Marco lunged at it.
*Whoosh
He rushed with the spear in his hand and stabbed it into the hind legs. Marco then jump on the spear and mounted the [Colt]!!!
Marco took the spear out as the [Colt] thrashes around trying to get rid of whatever in its back. Marco holds onto whatever he could for dear life but feeling that it won't be enough, he took out his arrow.
*Thunk… Thunk
"HOLY SH*T THIS THING IS FEISTY!!!!" Marco shouted.
He stabbed the arrows down and hold onto them. With the spear held high he stabbed it down again…and again as his life depends on it. After stabbing for god knows how long, the [Colt] finally slowed down. Marco brought the spear up high with both hands and with all his power slammed it down.
*THUNK….BZTTT
An electric shock suddenly emerged and passed through both of their bodies, shocking and numbing Marco's body.
'Oh no… I'm f*cked.' Marco said internally as he could feel the front part of the [Colt] getting higher and higher. It's like a wheelie on a motorcycle except it doesn't come down. Marco started to panic as even though he never felt it he's sure being crushed by a horse made of steel won't be pleasant.
Unfortunately, he can't get out of time as his arm is still under the thing.
"AHHHHHHH…ahhh…ah?" Marco screamed but stopped in confusion.
"It still hurts like hell, but not as bad as I thought… Prometheus can you diagnose the damage?"
[Ding
Diagnose completed
Your right forearm suffered a minor fracture.
(Status)
Body: Healthy (slight injury)
- Right Forearm (Hairline cracks) ]
"phew… fortunately my bones aren't in a million pieces."
Marco sighed in relief but he's still going to treat it. He took out 3 arrows and tied them around his forearm as a makeshift splint. After he's done with that, he focused back on the now-dead [Colt].
"What do you think we can salvage from this thing?"
[We could maybe salvage the transmitter.]
"Transmitter?? I don't see any use of it except a jammer maybe??"
[Yes, We can jam or stunned the weak Machines, if you are lucky maybe you can hack and override them.]
"Whoaaa.. override them. No car can function anymore, the Machines can be my car hahaha. Alright, tell me where it is."
[The transmitter is located in the head at the back of that sensor, thankfully the head is intact.]
Marco then with his spear tried to pry open the head and look for the transmitter.
"Ugh… I forgot to ask what it looks like."
[It's a small circuit board, with a couple of metal pins on the side.]
It took a minute for Marco to find it and indeed it is small. After storing it in his luggage he started walking back to his camp.
"I can't catch up and fight the other [Colt] that ran away. And this thing doesn't even have a weapon, I really can't take anything else."
[Ding
Quest Completed
Hunt Machine [Colt]
Reward: 10 Free attributes point]
Hearing the AI notification lifted Marco's mood, he decided to put three in strength, two in vitality, and the rest to dexterity. Marco then proceeds to check his attributes.
[Status]
[Body: Healthy (slight injury)
Right Forearm (Hairline cracks)]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 23->26
Vitality: 21->23
Dexterity: 30->35
Intelligence: 17]
"I need to battle more and start hunting stronger Machine. "
[it is unwise to hunt too many Machines in an area. Special, stronger Machines will be sent to investigate the cause of death. ]
"Sent? By whom? How much stronger?"
{By who is currently unknown. There is probably a pattern, the more Machines died in an area the stronger the Machines sent. There is a huge six-legged Machines armed to the teeth with guns and canon in the record at your base]
"I see, thanks for the heads up. I'm still too weak to even kill a normal Machine."
Marco walked back to his cave while thinking of relocating. City ruins will probably be better as a base with more resources, he can only hope that way. But he needs to be in tip-top condition before going on another journey and this fracture will probably heal in weeks, so no fighting until then or at least try no to.