Zarek pulled out a sleeping bag for Priya. As much as cover was nice, in this world it was stupid. A tent didn't have any defensive properties to it, so the tradeoff wasn't worth it. Who knew if a Turned would sneak up on you before you realized what was happening?
After getting her situated, Zarek jogged off into the distance.
'Odd. There really isn't much around here…'
Their state and city were located south-west of the country, and right now they were headed more northward. The climate they were used to was pretty warm year-round, and deserts like this one weren't exactly uncommon.
The populations here were sparse, while large sums of people were concentrated into the cities or near the more coastal regions by the water. That was to say that there wasn't much to turn into a Turned here, but even so…
It shouldn't be the case that there were none in sight at all.
'Unless this Hub only just appeared.'
Having this thought, Zarek accelerated. But he had only just taken four long strides or so before he suddenly pressed down into the ground hard, leaping to the side and tucking into a roll.
BANG!
A maw shot up from the ground, and earthworm-like Turned with silky greyish-white, reflective, and rubbery skin appeared. A rotating set of teeth came from its open mouth, but the rest of its body also seemed to be covered in much smaller rotating rows of sharp teeth as well.
Zarek chuckled as he seamlessly continued his roll right back up to his feet. He paused for not even a moment as he sprung forward, unsheathing his new Godsfall Steel machete in the same fluid motion he cut the Turned in half with.
Splintering right through the Godsfall Droplet, Zarek knew the creature was dead before he even saw the spurt of black blood.
'No wonder. This region must be invested with these worm Turned. Anything that would appear here would probably be taken off guard. It's the perfect hunting ground.'
Zarek had already completed his thoughts by the time the upper half of the sickly worm's body flopped to the ground.
'Well, I thought we were going to be having rations tonight. I guess I'll have to introduce Priya to the delicacies of the apocalyptic world instead. Best not to tell her it's worm, though.'
Zarek rushed forward again and seemed to have eyes beneath his feet. With one casual dodge after another, it was as simple as one swing of his blade to kill every one of them.
It was clear that these Turned were adept at sneak attacks and escaping, but not so good at actual fighting and defending.
That was good for him to be sure.
Finally, Zarek made it to the Hub.
'Oh… a Gamble Hub…'
Zarek looked at the spinning wheel with six options before him and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Hubs came in many forms, and this happened to be one of them.
Gamble Hubs had their own string of categories, though, and they could have anywhere from two options up to nine. They were also further divided into Skill Gamble Hubs and Chance Gamble Hubs.
The latter was all about probability, while the former could be timed to tweak the odds in your favor.
'Skill, huh…' Zarek grinned.
Four of the segments of the glowing wheel were a slightly darker shade, with just the slightest hint of red to them. While they looked like good items, landing on them would cause a Turned of difficulty equivalent to the item to pop out.
The last two segments would only give the item and came with no challenge.
The first spin of the wheel would be free. However, every subsequent one would require an increasing amount of Godsfall Droplets. From Zarek's experience, the last two spins of this wheel would require Godsfall Crystals to activate.
'I'm not likely to find a Mutant out here, but there's probably enough of those worms around to get four of the six… now… which four should I target…'
The images on the wheel weren't always straightforward, especially for someone not familiar with these Gamble Hubs and how they worked. Even for Zarek, they wouldn't be clear… if he didn't have his C Class Scouting Skill, that is.
This was an E Class Skill Gambling Hub, so his Scouting Skill would be more than effective enough.
'Oh?' Zarek's eyes narrowed. 'Interesting.'
He grinned and slapped a palm down on the middle of the wheel.
It began to spin slowly, and then it picked up the pace until it reached a steady level.
Chance Gambling Hubs would spin at their lowest speed for the first go around, but even now, it was hard to keep track of the images as they became blurs.
The latency was also just slightly different for each round as well.
'Got it.'
Zarek's arm moved like lightning. Others might be delicate with Hubs, afraid to break them. But this was an alien technology that appeared from thin air. Zarek had always found these people a little slow.
BANG!
The wheel came to a stop and an item popped out.
—
[You have received: {Godsfall Reversal Elixir}]
—
Zarek smiled. Were there more valuable items on this wheel? Maybe in an objective sense. But to him, this Elixir was the one thing he couldn't pass up on right now.
With it, he would stave off Godsfall and avoid becoming a Turned. At a critical point, this would be invaluable.
There had yet to be a Godsfall Storm, but Zarek knew that one would be coming soon. Having this Elixir by his side would accelerate his growth during that period by a shocking margin.
'Lucky me.'
After storing the Elixir in the safest place he could think of—his crotch—Zarek went around the area, dodging more earthworms as he picked up the Godsfall Droplets he had ignored before and returned to the wheel.
He slammed his palm down. This time, however, the wheel landed on one of the darker segments.
The Hub trembled and Zarek took a strong step back as a portal appeared above it, a large arm reaching out toward his neck.