NOVEL NEXT 19 – Prison Planet
"Whooa!!"
The last thing I remember was being hit by that fucking red laser beam. And in the next moment I found myself falling a few feet from the surface of the earth. Lucky for me I twisted my body and landed on my feet with no issues. Probably because of Kizuna's cat-like race. Cat's always land on their feet after all.
"Where the hell am I?"
I started scouting my surroundings. It seems like I landed in some sort of forest. The forest was small, light, and young. Its canopy was claimed by birch, hemlock, and redwood, and twinkling lights bursting through their crowns allowed for a plethora of sprouts to claim the fertile soils below.
Curling creepers embraced every tree, and a potpourri of flowers, which claimed quiet corners, looked almost out of place in the otherwise monotone forest grounds. Lucky for me there's an obvious road leading out of it.
*ROOOAR!*
As I wanted to start following the road and figure out where the hell I was, a monster leaped out from the trees. It was giant… rat with large claws and fangs. Probably around the size of a modern tank.
Why do I suddenly feel the urge to kill this thing? Is it because I'm a cat again? Nevertheless this is perfect. I'm dying to try out a PA. Ever since coming here I held myself back. But now thanks to this lab rat, I can have my little experiment. Now then… fire in a forest is a bad idea. So let's go with something else.
Wait? How am I even supposed to do this? In Fraxinus Online, players would also have a menu in their field of vision which displayed skills and abilities. Should I just try acting on a whim?
I extended my right hand towards it. A magical crest appeared. I say magical, but it totally looked like a sci-fi hologram. And then I shout the name of the PA.
"White Nova!"
White Nova was a light based attack that was no different from a pure white laser beam. I expected to make a hole through his chest but…
The beam of light was far greater than I anticipated. It's radius was freaking huge, completely engulfing the rat and disintegrated everything in its path.
"What the!?"
Looking at the aftermath of my attack, a large trail that let out smoke was made. Not only that, but trees also were destroyed. Everything in the direction I aimed was completely evaporated. Is this really the power of Kizuna? Did I actually program her to be that strong? My PA bar also doesn't feel like it took a dent.
"I seriously should refrain from using PA's like this."
That being said, even the lowest level of PA's are way stronger in my hands compared to how they were for players in the game. I at least gathered some valuable experience from this. Now then, let's see. There seems to be some rugged houses and some contBayekrs in that direction so let's see what we can find over there.
.
.
.
This place totally looks deserted. A complete wasteland. All the containers and crumbling buildings seem abandoned. Am I really alone in this place? As I was having those thoughts, I heard loud footsteps. Before I knew it, roughly 5 men came from various corners and surrounded me.
"Oi, boss! Look at that gold and fancy jewelry!"
"Fufu. This seems interesting. Haven't seen you before around here, kid."
The one that spoke had grey skin, a muscular body, a uniform that looks like something straight out of Rambo… and the head of a bulldog. He's the boss of this bunch?
"I'm not a kid. Now be a dear and tell me where the hell is this place."
"Huh? You seriously don't know. Well, if you're new I can't blame you for not knowing how stuff goes. You see, you're on Prison Planet. You must have done something really naughty on Jewel Resort and you got zapped here.
Ya didn’t notice the collar around your neck?”
Now that I look at it, all of them had collars around their necks, although different colors. Mine was blue.
“It’s simple, lady. The colors are a system. Basically they indicate how severe your sentence is. From white, green, blue, yellow, orange and red. After that, you’re forced to work here to atone for your sins. Gather wood, push the railway wagons, mine for ores, breaking rocks in the quarry.
Although there is another way. By making offerings you can diminish your sentence time. For example…”
“My gold?”
“Bingo. You catch on quick. We don’t want to hurt you. So just strip and leave everything you got on you. Do that, and we’ll let you walk without a scratch.”
“Insolent mutt.”
“Huh!?”
“You would dare ask me to disrobe? Who do you think you’re talking to? Bow down and apologize, and I might let you keep your lives.”
“I don’t think you get your position, kid.”
*gun click*
“And just who do you think you are going to scare with those prehistoric guns?”
These guys literally had classic weapons like the ak-47 and the thompson submachine gun. Seriously? Where the hell did they get them? They weren’t even implemented in the game. If it’s not an elemental bullet, I won’t even have to dodge them. Let’s clean them up quickly.
“Incoming!!” (???)
Before I could make my move though, a shout came and following it, 3 grenades. Although they weren’t explosives. They looked like grenades, but they turned out to be smoke bombs. Soon, visibility was cut off for both me and the bad guys.
“This way, shorty.” (???)
A figure I couldn’t quite make heads or tails off, came running and grabbed me in one go. I felt like I was being treated like luggage.
.
.
.
*Cough**Cough*
“Dang! Where the hell did she go?”
“Boss, she vanished.”
“Fuck! We could have had a nice payday with that brat. I’m sure it’s that wild beast again. This isn’t the first time she messed with us. Curses!!”
.
.
.
I decided to go along with the freak show. By all means, I did not need saving. I could have killed them all in one go. But… the moment I was grabbed I felt a soft pair of breasts being pushed against my face. I’d have to be an idiot to want to separate from that.
The place where I was brought seemed like an old water tower. This place seemed like it would fall apart at any moment. Various rags and articles were being stored here, however.
“Phew. That was close. If I wasn’t around there at that time, you would have been a goner, shorty. Although I will admit, you gave me a great laugh from the way you treated those goons.”
“You’re welcome… I guess? And thanks?”
“No worries. People of our race have to stick together.”
“Our race?”
“Yup? I’m a Mithran too, just like you.”
For those who don’t know, basically Mithran = space cat.
“Anyways, nice to meet ya’, shorty. The name’s Katherine. But you can call me Kitty. That’s how I’m known around these parts.”