The Sun had crossed one of few rocky outcrops here. It was a few hours past noon yet the sweltering heat was stubborn, clinging upon these golden dunes of sand. Trade winds brought nothing more than grit and abrasive sands, stealing moisture from anyone it can.

“...nuza...nuZAkeMO...nAmOZ...name.”

A lone soul no taller than half a zhang braved unrelenting waves of heat. This place was truly harsh, with the Sun shining ever brightly without mercy. From afar, the lone human differed little from a child, perhaps ten in age. Such child drifted aimlessly from one place to another.

“MiR...myzKA..my name is..mYNaMoK...my name is...AVa-aVe-Ava. My name is...Ava.”

The child broke a thin smile as if achieved something. The Post-Human consciousness in the body chose Ava after sifting through memories from now deceased previous owner of the body. Ava was one of many names used by mortals for myriad of deities they worship in this realm.

My child, every time we use our transcendant abilities, we consume quanta.

Your connection can only periodically transfer a set amount.

My child, secure a way to generate more quanta.

Do not lose your construct. It is your sole connection to this world.

The Post-Human that made Ava possible, once again provided some guidance. Due to sheer remoteness of Ava’s connection, the voice was cut short. There was no telling when another stream can be opened. Ava was left with no choice and must resolve the issues alone.

This is truly a difficult problem; as quanta is needed for every Post-Human powerful ability, lack of it will severely limit them. Ava had wasted some to repair the broken body and after activating [Disintegration], one of basic abilities for all Post-Humans to date.

Nevertheless Ava had determined it was worth the cost, gaining a somewhat stable anchor to this world while [Disintegration] provided raw resources and additional information. It seemed that a female appearance gave better results to attract natives, saving time to search for them.

However a human body is quite frail indeed; thanks to the harsh desert environment, Ava kept using quanta to keep the body in optimal state. Perhaps if biological needs of the body are attended to, less quanta would be required?

Ava determined acquiring biomatter and water should be far more easier than trying to generate new quanta. Insofar thanks to her present form, the natives were quite cooperative to deliver themselves for [Disintegration]. A necessary expense of quanta to carry out her plans.

“Hii!!! Spare this lowly one! This slave is willing to serve Mistress!!!”

“....”

That was another marauder converted to convenient mass. She adopted a different appearance this time, soft and curved in some places, untainted innocence and face arranged to golden ratio of perfection. Little the marauders know that this was no aloof fairy but something else.

Keqiang!

Ava shifted to her left, her dagger deflecting an iron bolt. Apparently these marauders are smarter than the rest. She kicked backwards, pushing a sneaking raider that wanted to bind her from behind. Some of the surviving raiders had escaped and brought their friends here.

“I never thought Majek could’ve be done by a tiny bitch! Blood will be paid with blood! Slaves, surround her! Archers, make her into a beehive!”

Multiple humans and beasts emerged from nearby sand dunes. Some were running, some jumped around and some were on all fours. All of them looked half-dead, carrying random weapons and wore black-coloured collars. Ava found herself besieged on all sides.

“Aiieee!!! Kill me, kill me, kill me please!”

“Aaaaaa….aaaaaaa….aaaaaaa!”

“Graarrr!!!”

More one-inch thick bolts flew at her, all intended to kill. A portion of the bolts missed and struck some unfortunate slaves instead, killing them instantly. The archers kept their distance on horseback, using big crossbows that are actually intended to kill vicious Red Scorpion monsters.

Swish! Peng! Thud!

Ava used her short height to her advantage, rolling and jumping between the berserk slaves. At the same time she took action, swiftly decapitating anyone that was within her reach. For ones that weren’t, she either lashed pinpoint kicks or deflected them with her tiny hands.

“Boss! This wench is crafty! We can’t hit her! Fuck, the bitch throwing heads at us too!”

“Fuck, you’re all useless! Slaves, keep her busy! Let’s see how she likes my Wind Scimitar!”

The leader was a fat man clad in dark brown armour on horseback. His acne-infested face threw a vulgar smile to Ava. At first Ava paid this tube of lard no attention but when his weird weapon had bisected an unlucky slave from afar, she quickly broke out of the encirclement.

This sword seemed to possess some mystical properties, able to deliver invisible shockwaves that cut through bones and steel alike. Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be wise to be on the receiving end. Ava’s swiftness enabled her to evade it but it was different for the mad slaves.

“Uhh Boss! Stop! AHHHH!!!! MY LEG!!!”

“Smelly brat! Archers, are you stupid or what! Keep your fucking distance from her!”

The fat man grew increasingly furious. Not only he failed to deal any damage, Ava’s timely evasions caused him to cut down his own men too. Blood splashed high to the skies, limbs went flying! Ava knew she can’t counter the group thanks to her height and so she baited the leader.

“Courting death! Taste full power of this scimitar!”

He withdrew a grey-coloured stone and slammed it on his scimitar. The effects weren’t clear at first until Ava saw a sand dune next to her blasted into two. The weird stone must be some sort of amplifier or a booster. She can’t dodge forever since it was way stronger than before.

Thinking in parallel as inherent in all Post-Humans, she decided close quarters combat might be the only choice. The scimitar had too large of attack range and she did not have the luxury of dodging both the shockwaves and incoming crossbolts.

“That’s it, charge to me! I will rip your clothes, rape you and stab you a thousand times over!”

The fat man barked orders to his men to make space. He grew increasingly arrogant when he saw Ava was directly charging toward him. What can a little child do in face of brute strength? Nothing! If he can only grab her...he would make her think death is a sweet release!

Unfortunately this is what Ava was aiming for. [Disintegration] can be only used in a short distance and that blob of fat discarded his only advantage, powerful ranged attacks. True to his prediction, Ava jumped straight to his embrace...what came next however were howls of pain.

“AHHHH!!!! MY ARMS!!!”

The bandit leader didn’t get to enjoy her soft body. Starting from his arms, his body started to disintegrate millimeter by millimeter! A blinding flash of silver later, what left of the fat man and his horse was his scimitar that was still glowing grey.

“Ahhh!!! Even Vetjar was killed! Run!”

The raiding group immediately broke into chaos now that its leader was erased by Ava. The surviving slaves entered stupor after their master was killed. The horseback archers fled in all directions, wishing to escape from this terrifying monster. She picked up the scimitar.

“Fuck! She have the scimitar too!”

No horseback archers were spared; Ava swung the scimitar a few times, hitting all of them. Some were sliced into two, others diced into bloody meat chunks. The sword however crumbled afterwards, perhaps unable to withstand its boosted power.

She ignored the standing slaves and moved toward the corpses of the archers. Her burning curiosity led to her biting into some of the meat chunks. For slaves that were awake...it was like witnessing a man-eating monster in action. Except that monster was in a form of a little girl.

“Kill me...kill me...please!”

One of more particularly sane slaves kowtowed and wailed at Ava. It was an old man with a hunched back. He wished nothing more than be released from this torment. While others might view Ava as a butcher, the old man saw her as a saint. A swift death would be sweet for him.

“...Why? Old human deemed not a threat. Old human is specimen. Preserve specimen.”

“Please...please I beg you, Young Miss! This old man had lost everything...no life, no wife, nothing! Please, please let me die!”

It was like a bursting dam. With the bandit leader gone, previous magical inhibitions on slaves like him lost their effects. All of his memories came at once; under his enslavement...the marauders made him do terrible things. Things that he wished to die a thousand times to atone.

Ava found this situation puzzling. Why would a lifeform willingly throw its life away? It just doesn’t make any sense. As she was processing her thoughts, more slaves joined the old man. They too wished that they were better off actually dead than be a living dead.

“Oh saviour….death is the only thing that can release us! Just kill us, we attacked you, we’re guilty too!”

This situation went to a weird direction. It did not comply with Ava’s previous information. Life generally fears death but these people don’t. What is going on? Perhaps those collars were the cause? This world had too many unknowns to the Post-Human.

For the first time after being uplifted as a Post-Human, Ava had finally found her first dilemma. Is killing lifeforms when they asked for it, is necessary? All these while she maintained that lifeforms kill for the sake of survival after observing creatures of the desert here. Not salvation.

The old man willingly moved to Ava, lifting her tiny bloodied hands and putting it on his neck. His skin was rough from age, no head hair to be seen and half missing tooths. The old man crouched and took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

“Why, old human? Why not live? Kill to live. I killed fat man, you live. Old man have less than zero percent chance to threaten this construct.”

Ava’s golden eyes glistened in the twilight. With her squeaky voice, she declared her opinion. Other slaves that broke their stupor had closed their eyes like the old man, as if waiting for a Buddha to invite them to Buddhist Kingdom. One of the slaves broke their collective trance.

“Young Noble...please give this jade slip to my friend...tell her that I will meet her in our next lives..please take it. Young Noble can eat my body as the payment.”

This man’s action was imitated by others that claimed the same, all piling whatever item they had on them. Their actions further puzzled Ava. These random pieces of stuff seemed to signify something. Why should she bother? As if her mind was read, the old man spoke up.

“Please. We cannot kill ourselves due to these collars, Young Miss. We only know the way to remove it is by death. We had suffered long enough... Cut our heads..that will release us.”

The old man was right; even though they were rendered into bag of bones, missing limbs and others, the collars forcibly retained their lives, not dying. Even if they try to kill themselves, the collars magically prevented them from doing so. It was literally a living hell.

Ava gave them one last look and decided to comply with their request. If she left them alive, other creatures would kill them instead. Perhaps they can find solace that they will be instantly killed rather than being chewed alive by other monsters. The killings were swift.

Ava had processed all traces of the scene, no speck of blood or chuck of flesh to be seen. Free resources should not be wasted. Nevertheless prior events had left some impression on the Post-Human consciousness. A lower being may willingly die, contrary to the natural order.

While it may be a trifling matter for ascended beings like Ava, her parallel logics hinted at an opportunity. These mortals had some kind of prompts and interactions. Entertaining them might grant new information that are vital to her original goal of world’s conquest.

The Post-Human shell no longer wandered in random directions but instead specific. Processing new resources granted her some understanding of these badlands. The bandits were predators, the former slaves were preys. While predators roam, preys hide and build.

These lower beings formed society, hierarchy and solidarity. One attractive information was that they built primitive structures and claimed lands from these oceans of sand. They were known to be villages or cities and they would undoubtedly rife with information and materials.

If she can get her hands on that scimitar again or something like it, she may be able to find a way to resolve the quanta problem. The memories she gained from the slaves pointed out larger settlements can somehow make such strange contraptions in a large scale.

Such objects seemed to defy her common sense as a Post-Human. Maybe the mysterious energies circulating in them could be harnessed somehow. Ava calculated the stars and headed to a certain direction. She saw increasing amount of people converging to a direction.

She learnt some customs of this world; wanderers came in all shape and manners. No one can tell whether a wanderer is a hidden expert or not and thus people of the desert usually respect limits. Mimicking a wanderer should put her at some advantage, giving her time to adapt.

She maintained her silence and gave curious glances all over. There were merchant caravans, horseback guards, beasts of burden and scattering amount of wanderers. She naturally followed them as they coincidentally headed to her next destination, City of Kazar.

“Blessed upon you, wanderer. New to these sands?”

Ava turned her head to the side. The voice owner was a middle-aged woman, buried in a cloak like herself. Next to the middle-aged woman was her donkey, pulling her wares and trinkets. Ava tried to guess her intentions. Perhaps taking an appearance of a little girl was quite unusual?

“No. Ava lives here. Ava wanders.”

“I see. I am Herla, a wandering merchant of trinkets. Are you seeking to enter Kazar?”

“Yes. Ava wishes to look for beautiful blades.”

The Post-Human decided Herla might worth the time to interact. Ava showed her dagger to Herla, it was dull but well polished and sturdy. This interaction could bore some results, to understand these human beings and Kazar better.

“I can see this dagger is well loved. Here, Sister will give this necklace for free since you’re cute.”

“Ava understands and expressed gratitude. Can Sister Herla explain Kazar?”

“Kazar is one of many great cities developed by As-Salta the Second. Little sister had come to the right place, we sell swords and bladed weapons in Kazar. From scimitars to flaming magical swords!”

Herla continued her talk with much enthusiasm as they went their way to the City. The grand pillars of Kazar gradually came into view, distinctive trademark of the prosperous city. Stacks of coloured smokes seldom billowed upwards, emanating from many forges of Kazar.

“Oh, it’s been fun to talk to you, Ava. Merchants like Sister Herla needed to queue somewhere else. Continue yours. Blessed travels to you.”

“Ava confirms. Blessed be to Sister Herla.”

Ava gave Herla a curt bow and watched her entering a different line. So the City of Kazar had different entry points for different visitors. The line that Ava queued upon was the most diverse, with lifeform of all shapes and sizes. Some were two zhang creatures, others shorter than her.

What the badlands had plenty apart from sand were deadly monsters and so various civilized creatures decided to be hunters of fortune in these lands. They stake their luck to either hunt the monsters themselves or handle or purvey various parts of such vicious beasts.

Kazar’s forgesmiths happened to require these monster parts for their craft and thus a partnership was born. The line for non-merchants was faster as the visitors do not have to undergo cargo inspection. Before she knew it, she was next to Kazar’s gates itself.

An armed male guard decked in leather armour and a sabre tied to his left beckoned Ava to enter the transit room. The room was a few zhang in dimension, flanked with several armed guards. Evidently security is quite tight around here.

“So...what is your name, little girl? Where do you came from?”

“My name is Ava. Ava comes from the desert.”

The guard captain interviewing her was more mellow. He had a papyrus paper on the table, scribbling anything that she said. From the desert...is she some kind of noble in incognito? Her reply did not surprise him in the slightest as he had seen stranger things before.

“Young Miss...I’m sorry but we need some kind of insurance if one doesn’t want to reveal their place of origin. Do you have any proof of identification?”

“Identification?”

“Identification so we can know it’s you, Young Miss. Maybe a token or a family heirloom?”

The guard captain withdrew some examples and put them on the table for Ava to see. This girl might be a runaway noble alright. One was a round token with complex inscriptions, another a ceremonial short sword. Ava examined them with her small hands in great detail.

“Will this do?”

“I’m sorry but this doesn’t seem that different than ordinary dagger. Do you have a token like this one instead, Young Miss?”

Ava retained her expressionless face. After being told by the guard captain, she withdrew her trusty dagger and rummaged her belt bag. The slaves she had killed earlier gave her various objects. Perhaps she can use one of them. After all some of them came in sets or duplicates.

“Ava have a medal. Leave medal here?”

“Yes, thank you. Now can I know why are you visiting Kazar?”

“Ava want to see beautiful sword like this one.”

“Right, Kazar’s the best! Well, we’re about done. Your medal is your deposit. If you’re caught doing bad things, we will not return your item. You’re free to go, Ava.”

He paid the medal handed by Ava a brief glance. Looks like it comes from some kind elite guard. Maybe her father is a high ranking commander somewhere and wanted her to broaden her horizons? The guard captain finished writing the report and watched her depart the location. One of the more curious guards talked to the captain.

“Do you think she is some noble, Captain?”

“I’m not sure. This chevron medal seemed like a high ranked one. Kalish! Go and verify this medal for me.”

“As you wish, Captain.”

“Well she could be either an incognito princess or a daughter of an elite force commander. You know some of our Cities had them right? Let’s see what Kalish can find out.”

“Aye. Should I call the next person, Captain?”

“Yeah. We need to finish this line quick. I’m dying for some drinks.”