A Tiny House in a Giant Wasteland

Walking above rough, dry land, both Sion and the Rabbit Radite closed the distance to the well. Wondering to himself how water could be found underneath this dry land, Sion quietly followed the young girl with slow strides.

Next to the well, the rabbit Radite glared at Sion with a huff.

"Here, grab that bucket and get to work." Adhering to the command of the young girl, Sion grabbed the bucket and tied it to the rope. Lowering the bucket into the well, he waited for a few seconds for the bucket to fill and hoisted it back up.

Grabbing the bucket with his hands, he noticed it was a bit lighter than he would've thought. Shrugging that thought for the moment, he brought the bucket next to a jug provided by the girl and poured the water inside.

Once the jug was full, the girl lifted it back to the cart, and Sion was once again getting water from the well with the bucket tied to a rope.

They didn't exchange a single word during their work, opting for a quiet and peaceful silence with sloshing water every time a jug was being filled.

"Alright, that's enough." Sion stopped and placed the bucket back on the ground, the girl sweating slightly from lifting the jugs into the cart. "Now, help me push this back to my house. And no funny business."

"Yes, ma'am." Rolling his eyes, Sion pushed the cart towards the house while the young girl grasped his mace tightly.

The trek to the house was made in silence, the only sounds audible being their footsteps and the turning wheels of the cart.

"Stay here and wait for me. I'll be back." Now near the door, the girl grabbed a jug and hefted it inside without much difficulty, her other hand holding the mace Sion owned.

As she did her chores, Sion leaned back on a column of wood as he began mentally opening his System tabs, specifically, his Structure tab.

Name: Sion Abayan

Age: 23

STR: 5

AGI: 5

INT: 5

Points: 5

'Hmm, are there any hints as to how powerful my stats make me?' Sion pondered as he once again began mentally listing a bunch of words that are tied directly to RPG games.

Sadly, his efforts bore no fruit, and he mentally sighed.

'Alright, it looks like I'm on my own here.' Sion shifted slightly in place, his back itching as he scratched it against the column. 'Okay, so, should I allocate my points? Or save it for later?'

He opened more of the tabs and saw that the Expertise and Attribute tabs were empty.

'Then again, I could save them and wait until I get my skills. There might be some kind of stat scaling, so I'd rather not waste points while it isn't important.' Closing the Structure tab, Sion then opened the Odysseys tab.

[Quest: Testing your RPG knowledge!] (Complete)

[Quest: A Wasteland and Me]

[Quest: A Rabbit's Burrow]

'Huh, it still shows my past quests.' Sion raised his eyebrows at the fact that this feature was in his System, but it wasn't the item that gathered his attention. 'This one, though, I was too busy getting water that I didn't notice this quest popping up.'

[Quest: A Rabbit's Burrow]

[Objective: Befriend/kill/enslave the Rabbit Radite]

'Okay… I didn't expect that shift in tone.' Sion's other eyebrow was raised the moment he read the objective. 'Obviously, killing and enslaving the girl is out of the question. Unless she gives me a reason to kill her. Enslavement will just leave a bad taste in my mouth.'

Shrugging at the thought of the girl dying at his hands, Sion continued playing with his status screens to get a good grasp of his System.

Sion was no saint. He wasn't evil either. But what he did know, was that he was a killer. He's killed men and women before, either because his superiors told him to, or because they were doing him dirty.

Killing was common in this lawless world, where society had collapsed and the only order visible for miles was the sectors governed by their respective Radites.

Was it morally wrong? Yes. Was it necessary? Also yes.

In this world lacking goodwill and kindness, with only the most hardened people surviving, killing is a necessity.

Otherwise, a person might just find himself shot in the back because he spared a thief who tried to rob him.

'Kindness don't go too good in this world.' Sion looked at the young Radite hauling jugs into her house and smiled softly. 'At least this girl knows how to make a statement.'

"I'm done. Mother wants you to come in." This got Sion's attention.

'So she wasn't living alone, then?' Sion pushed himself off the column as he rolled his shoulders. "Alright, lead the way."

Heading inside, the girl gripped Sion's mace with an iron claw, her eyes occasionally glancing back at the man's figure.

The living room was slightly worn, but clean. There was a sofa with couches next to it in a "U" shape, with a rectangular low table in the middle.

Leading Sion deeper into the house, they came across a mutated dog with two tails. The dog growled at Sion as he walked past it.

"Padu, down boy." The girl chided the dog, and it stopped growling, opting to run deeper into the house.

'Smart dog. I guess the mutation made it smarter.' If that were any regular dog, it would've continued growling before barking at the unfamiliar person, even after being chided.

Deeper into the house, they entered a room where Sion saw a woman older than the two of them humming a tune as she cooked. The smell of the dish was wafting in the air as it assaulted the duo's noses.

'Holy, where the hell does this woman get these kinds of ingredients?' As far as Sion knew, this place was a Deadzone. No crops could grow within this environment. And he was also sure that a Sector couldn't be less than a few dozen kilometers away from here.

So how could this woman cook such delicious-smelling food with natural produce, if the smell was anything to go by? Artificial food in this world is nowhere near this good-smelling.

He's tried eating in a gourmet shop run in one of the Sectors to know that with his hard-earned money.

"Oh my, aren't you a handsome young man?" The woman turned around as she smiled lovingly at Sion, causing him to slightly fidget in place. "A Radite too, just like my sweet daughter."

"M-mom." The girl in question blushed slightly as she was teased by her blood mother. At least, that's what Sion thought.

"Now, now, there's no need to be tense." The woman approached Sion with the same caring smile a mother would have with her daughter. "Come, come, take a seat. Lunch will be ready soon."

Looking at the woman, then at the girl, who gestured for him to do so, Sion took a seat and sat down at the table. The girl also did so, Sion's mace resting under the table.

"And give this young man's weapon back, dear." The mother asked her daughter, who opened her eyes wide with shock.

"B-but mom! We don't know if he ha-"

"He wouldn't have dropped his weapon in front of you had he intended to harm us, isn't that right?" The mother stared at Sion with her warm, brown eyes, a gentle smile permanently fixed on her face.

"No. I don't have any plans to cause undue harm. I really just need supplies so I can get to a closer Sector." Sion answered honestly, and the girl pouted.

"See? Now give it back."

"He could be lying!" The girl shouted back at her mother, who then realized what she had done, before apologizing.

"No need to apologize. You're just trying to protect us, I know. But please, give the man his weapon back." The girl hesitated for a few seconds before groaning and giving Sion his mace back forcefully.

Smiling, the mother turned to look at Sion, who was placing the mace beneath him underneath the table.

"Where are my manners? My name is Melanie. Melanie Bell." She then glanced at her daughter, who was pouting. "Introduce yourself, dearie."

"… Nicole Bell." The girl, who Sion now knew to be Nicole, introduced herself curtly.

"Name's Sion. Sion Abayan, just a drifter wandering about after the Sector I lived in got trashed by a rival Sector." His words caused Melanie to gasp and bring her hand to her mouth, while Nicole couldn't care less.

"I see. That must be terrible for you. I'm sorry."

"No need to be sorry. To be honest, that place was just waiting to be trampled on. The lead Radite kept on antagonizing their rival, who was well-known to have a loose temper."

"You mean Jacqueline? Lead Radite of the Minfell Sector?"

"Yep, she's the one." Melanie frowned as she filled a glass with water and gave one to Nicole, before giving Sion one as well. "I'm also sure that after she wrecked the Beneburn Sector where I lived, she would continue to wreck other sectors that pissed her off in the past."

"That woman always had a short fuse." Melanie sighed tiredly as she finished cooking their lunch. "Anyway, lunch's ready. Let us eat before discussing more of your adventures, wouldn't you agree? Mr. Sion?"

"Sure."

As the plates were laid on the table and the piping hot food was served with haste, the trio began with their lunch. Nicole glared at Sion while they ate, and Sion ate quietly with a genuine smile on his face.