—First Bounty—
Zero makes his way through the city, observing his fellow saiyan warriors along the way. Considering how he is younger than everyone else he felt a little out of place, but quickly puts such thoughts out of his head and made his way towards the bounty center next to the southern exit. A large dome shaped building has been set up with large transparent screens stationed at each counter, displaying all of the available bounties for each warrior to undertake. Difficulty of each bounty is determined by stars. 1-Star all the way up to 10-Star bounties. 1 being the easiest and for beginners primarily. Other than points used to purchase supplies, rare and harder missions also reward other items and equipment of interest making warriors salivate with desire. Occasionally Zero would see some warriors carrying weaponry like swords, but due to his prideful nature as a warrior of the saiyan race he snorts at such things, preferring to settle his battles with his fists along.
"I'm not that strong at the moment so," He browses the 1-Star bounties for one mission suitable for him and tilts his head in confusion, "There are so many to choose from!"
He is confused on which bounty he should take of the nearly hundreds displayed in the 1-Star section alone. Bounties from hunting a single skull warrior or rot fighter, to destroying a strange scavenger creature known only as the corpse eater that feed on rotting remains and bones alike. The variety interests him and according to the descriptions, each abomination provides decent amount of challenge and difficulty for low strength warriors just now starting out. He can feel his blood boiling, excitement at the thought of hunting down and destroying each and every target on this bounty list. After glancing at the list one particular bounty grabs his attention, a bounty listed as red.
"This one seems different enough."
—
Bounty: The Hidden Marksmen of the Plains of Bones.
Description: Laying in wait in the Plains of Bones, a hidden assassin hides, waiting for any unfortunate soul to wander into it's hunting grounds. Countless warriors have been killed by this hidden assassin's skeleton bow, unable to determine where it has come from. Listed as a 1-Star bounty, it is nearly close to be promoted to a 2-Star bounty due to it getting more dangerous as time goes on.
Rewards:
- 500 points.
- A random equipment piece.
—
"Hm... This one has a decent pay out and the equipment piece is random." He rubs his chin as he ponders about whether to take the bounty or not. Since it is highlighted as red it is most definitely a challenge to him, "A marksmen is it? Up close they shouldn't be much of a threat to anyone, even a weak warrior like myself... I'll pick this one!"
He swipes his hand over the bounty and it is accepted as information is displayed on his scouter. A few other saiyan warriors look at the reckless kid as he accepted a bounty not even they would pick in both disbelief and pity.
"Did that kid just pick the rookie killer bounty?" One warrior with an impressive Mohawk asks.
"Aye, he did. That kid doesn't know what he is getting into." Another warrior shakes his head in pity.
A girl with long, straight black hair flowing to her hips looks at the young saiyan warrior as he walks away and smirks, "Interesting. The first mission the youngest saiyan in Paradise chooses happens to be a rookie killer bounty. I look forward to seeing whether he comes back alive or respawns back in the castle."
She chuckles as the boy walks towards the steel gates leading out into the wilderness outside the city. As Zero leaves the city via the gates to the south he notices the desolate environment that lies beyond the walls. Dead grass as far as the eyes can see, half eaten corpses of unknown beings and skeletal remains all across the fields. A truly hellish and dead world to him, but the sight doesn't deter him in the least. Glancing at the map on his scouter, the objective listed on it says that is quarry is 5 kilometers to the southeast for Necropolis, so without wasting time he dashes forth in the direction. He avoids any and all corpses as he treks the wilderness, knowing that possibly anyone of the corpses could rise up and attack him. While he isn't afraid to fight, he chooses to save his energy and stamina for the target he accepted. Plus if these undead are as dangerous as they were mentioned, than he doesn't want to get tangled up with one when the chance that he will be ambushed by another mid-fight is likely. He will chose his own fight and when he is strong enough to handle more than one, they will be nothing more than his little playthings.
5km wasn't all that much due to a saiyan warrior's physique and stamina, even if he was a child of 10, so he made it to his destination in no time at all. The environment around him impresses him to no end. A field of skeletal remains for as far as the eyes can see. No where in this Plains of Bones can the earth beneath his feet be seen.
"Plains of Bones..." He examines his surroundings as he slowly makes his way through the endless sea of bones. He has no plans on letting anything get the drop on him so he remains vigilant, "How many millions of beasts and people alike had to be slaughtered just to create a place like this?"
Millions might even be a minimum estimate for him as he wonders how many skeletons were used to litter this place. Considering the size of this world, where even this southern continent the landmass alone spans hundreds of thousand miles. Zero spent very little time thinking about it and moves further into the plains carefully, never letting his guard down, looking out for ambushes that may occur beneath his feet. About another kilometer in he spots another saiyan warrior in the distance who seems to be fleeing in his direction.
"Hey kid run! It's right..." Before he could finish his warning an arrow made of bone pierces through the back of his head and sticks out from the front of his forehead. His eyes roll back as blood pours from both the wound and his eyes. All strength drains from his body and he falls flat before disappearing into a burst of sparkling golden lights.
"Instant killed..." He glanced at the dead and vanishing saiyan warrior with indifference and smiles as he glances at head noticing a pile of bones move ever so slightly.
"So you want to play hide-and-seek do you? I'm a proud saiyan warrior, not a hunter. You better hope I do not catch you bag of bones or I'll rip apart each bone one by one."
He slowly makes his way through the field, slipping past where the last saiyan died, offering one slight glance at the bloodstain still on the ground before looking away. To not focus on the target would be foolish for him and he was not about to let the hidden prey get the drop on him in a moment of distraction. As he moves through the field he will occasionally hear the sound of bones rattling in the distance, movement of bones coming from different directions, and even the occasional feeling of being aimed at. His instincts are oddly active in this hunt and his focus can never be higher. In an instant a bone arrow comes flying at him from his left, shifting his head back to barely avoid the arrow he manages to get a brief glimpse at his bony target before it vanishes back into the sea of bones below.
"There you are!"
He dashes towards the place he spotted at target and smashes his fist into the pile of bones causing a large explosion of flying bones to rise into the air. He clicks his tongue as he realized that it got away. Sensing a sudden feeling of danger he ducks his head down, watching as another bone arrow passes over him from ahead of him. The same bony figure once again ducks back into the bones and vanishes once again.
"This is starting to get on my nerves.." Zero is starting to dislike this once amusing game of hide and seek, "I can't keep chasing after it like this."
Zero tracks the hidden skeleton archer multiple times only to come up empty handed time and time again, only to suffer a swift and deadly counterattack nearly leading to his untimely end. He has multiple cuts across his body where arrows were nearly avoided but still managed to graze and wound him. Blood covers his body and he is starting to run out of stamina from his constant moving and attacking.
"Sigh... Guess I have to do something desperate if I want to end this soon." He resigns himself to what must be done and smacks himself in the face twice with both heads to psyche himself up. Soon after another arrow comes flying at him. Moving his body slightly, he allows the arrow to pierce his chest on the right side, avoiding any critical or vital organs in the process. He flies back a short distance and stops moving.
At a distance a pile of bones begin to rattle and the skeleton rises from below revealing it's appearance. An 8 foot tall, slender framed skeleton with a wolf like skull that possesses a single long horn on it's forehead. The bow it's carrying seemed oddly small for it's body size. It creeps closer and closer to the fallen saiyan warrior, it's red wispy flamed eyes watching vigilantly. It stops when it gets with a few feet of the fallen warrior, raising it's bow, knocking an arrow, and aiming at the fallen warrior to make sure it's dead. Zero springs into action instantly and rushes at the now startled skeleton. it releases it's arrow in panic piercing Zero's lower abdomen and attempts to flee, but when Zero grabs a hold of the skeleton's leg it trips and gets pinned under the warrior.
"Hahaha! I got you now you annoying bastard!" Looking at the pinned down skeleton he smiles menacingly, " Where do I start first?"
He cracks his knuckles before ripping the arm holding the bow off violently. Next he rips off the other arm followed by both arms, then starts beating his frustration out with his fist and starts beating the skull into ground power. He keeps beating the now helpless skeleton until it's shattered into pieces while laughing madly the whole time. Finally he decides to stop and breathes heavily.
"First bounty finished with not too much problem. I should go back and turn it in." He feels a since of accomplishment after taking out an annoying target that has killed countless other fellow saiyans before him. The mission was difficult but not for the reason of a strong opponent, but only because the enemy didn't want to fight upfront. Zero most definitely dislikes these kinds of enemies.
Dashing full speed Zero was able to make it back by later noon, just before the sun set and the day ends. His body is riddled with wounds and the two arrows still piercing into his body. The passing saiyans are looking the little warrior with shock, some even look at him with respect. Coming back in such condition without a shred of worry and a look of indifference.
"The hell! Look at him. Still has arrows in em. He definitely met the rookie killer and lived." One warrior says while looking at all of the wounds on Zero.
"Not even the trace of care on his face." The passing warriors look on and comment on the little warrior's condition, but he continues to treat them as wind and heads into a large building near the gate designated as the recovery center where warriors go to get treated and recover. Inside he approaches a machine that scans him.
Two arrows penetrating the torso. Now extracting arrows to perform basic treatment.
Two robotic arms extend from the machine and grip the arrows before yanking them hard pulling them from his body. Needless to say the sudden extraction surprises him and causes him to grunt out in pain, gritting his teeth he kept silent during the process. Once the arrows are removed the machine scans him over once more.
Damage inflicted to a vital organ. Blood loss not avoidable. Level 5 treatment require however young warrior Zero does not possess the points required to receive treatment.
"I don't have enough to pay? does that mean I have no choice but to bleed out and die?"
Correct. If the young warrior desires, a tranquilization chamber can be provided free of charge so the warrior can pass on pain free and unaware.
"... Forget it," He shakes his head in annoyance, "I'm no coward, I'll face my death head on!"
Very well. Due to the amount of blood loss, the young warrior will bleed out and pass in less than 14 minutes.
"Cutting it close," Glancing outside he frowns upon thinking about something, "If I die before turning in my bounty it will be counted as a failure and all rewards will be lost."
He dashes out of the recovery center and makes his way over to the bounty center and turns in his bounty quickly.
Red labeled 1-Star bounty 'The Hidden Marksmen of the Plains of Bones.' Has been completed. The following will be rewarded to the warrior Zero.
- 500 points.
- Random equipment piece will be selected from the reward center's lottery.
Drawing lottery from the reward center... equipment has been selected..
- Gravity Bracelet.
A light beam flashes and shoots out from a purple lens at the center of the machine and a golden colored bracelet with buttons installed on it appears on the counter. Zero takes the bracelet and equips it on his left arm.
"Gravity bracelet? What does it do?"
Rewards have been distributed. Congratulations for completing your bounty. Please accept more bounties in the future and exceed the limits of your body to reach higher realms.
"Yeah, yeah..." He ignores the machine's message and other bounty goer's curious glances and heads towards his home. Most people were unaware of the trail of blood he leaves behind in his path. Soon he makes it back to his personal shelter with less than a minute to spar, closes the door, and slides down on the ground leaning upon the close door.
"Sigh..." He leans his head back and stares up at the ceiling with a sigh, "In the end my first bounty ends in death, even if it meant success. So this is what dying is like huh?"
As blood continues to pour from his fatal wound he feels is body temperature dropping steadily, a sign of blood loss. Soon he can feel his eyes feeling heavy and starting to lower. it's not the fear of death the little 10 year old saiyan feels as he dies, but the sense of pride that he had died in completing his first bounty, with it being one that had killed countless others before him. Soon silence fills his shelter as he breathes his last.
Young saiyan warrior Zero has experienced his first loss and suffered no set back or bounty failures. Evaluation: Driven to recklessly seek out foes and targets that exceed his strength and relentlessly destroy them far exceeds the average aggression and savageness of his peers, he shows absolutely no fear and lacks a complete disregard for his own wellbeing when in a combat. Potential far exceeds predicted parameters.
—
The long, black haired girl glances at the bounty board and smiles amusingly when she notices that the red labeled mission is no longer available.
"Interesting. The little boy has actually done it. I took arrows to the head at least 3 times thanks to that annoying mission. 100% seems to instill him impressive combat instincts, or is it something to do with innate nature?"
Without thinking about it the saiyan woman wanders off humming leisurely.