Global Pioener: Earth Second Chance

Rangga ran as fast as he could between the rocks.

"Shit... shit... shit..."

BOOOM!

A spine struck the rock directly behind him, shattering it into pieces.

Rangga immediately leaped to the side. Before he could even land properly—

FSSSHHT!

Another spine shot through the air.

"WHOA!"

Rangga started running again.

Explosion after explosion chased him, forcing him to weave around large boulders while occasionally ducking to avoid flying chunks of stone.

Meanwhile, Captain Deri, still sitting on the ground after the previous explosion, struggled to catch his breath.

His chest still felt tight, but when he saw Rangga become the Kentrosaurus's new target, he gritted his teeth.

"Rangga..."

Slowly, he used his sword to support himself. He stood, briefly staggering, then straightened himself and took a deep breath.

His eyes remained fixed on the Kentrosaurus, which was still pursuing Rangga.

"HEY!"

Captain Deri raised his sword high.

"COME HERE!"

DANG!

He slammed his sword against his shield with all his strength.The metallic sound echoed throughout the rocky valley.

"HEY!"

"I'M RIGHT HERE!"

DANG!

"COME ON!"

"IF YOU'RE SO TOUGH!"

DANG!

The Kentrosaurus slowly came to a stop. Its mechanical head turned toward Captain Deri.

Captain Deri gave a faint grin.

"That's it... Come on."

The Kentrosaurus straightened its body. The rows of openings along its back opened once again.

Captain Deri immediately assumed a defensive stance.

"Come on... Fire."

Several seconds passed, but nothing happened. Captain Deri blinked.

"...Huh?"

The Kentrosaurus remained motionless. Captain Deri looked at its back, then finally realized.

"...They're out?"

On the other side, Rangga, who had still been running, suddenly stopped as well.

He turned toward the Kentrosaurus, his eyes immediately locking onto its back.

The openings where the spines had been launched were still wide open.

Rangga's eyes widened.

"...Captain! There! That's its weakness!"

Without waiting, Rangga drew his bow and fired an explosive arrow.

Twang!

The arrow flew straight into one of the openings on the Kentrosaurus's back.

The Kentrosaurus growled, but before it could react—A second arrow.

Twang!

It went in, then a third arrow, a fourth, a fifth. Every arrow plunged into the exposed cavities that were now completely unprotected.

Rangga immediately shouted.

"Captain! TAKE COVER!"

Captain Deri instinctively threw himself behind a large rock. A moment later—

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A tremendous explosion erupted from inside the Kentrosaurus's body. Cracks of orange light appeared between the armor plates covering its entire body.

CRAAAK!

One metal plate after another broke loose. Then a second explosion erupted from within.

BOOOM!

The Kentrosaurus's body shook violently.

A few seconds later, its entire mechanical body transformed into light and disappeared. Three pieces of loot dropped onto the rocky ground with metallic clinks.

Silence suddenly fell over the area.

Captain Deri slowly rose from behind the rock. He looked toward where the Kentrosaurus had disappeared, then turned to Rangga.

"...So we really do have to use up all of its spines first."

Rangga was still holding his bow as he caught his breath.

"Yeah... Turns out it's that simple."

The two looked at each other before unconsciously letting out quiet laughs.

The battle that had felt so tense had ended simply because the Kentrosaurus ran out of "ammunition" right after Captain Deri enthusiastically challenged it again.

Rangga and Captain Deri walked over. Rangga immediately picked up the loot one by one.

"Tin Ingot..."

He paused, his eyes widening.

"Huh..."

Captain Deri looked over.

"What is it?"

Rangga immediately opened his inventory and checked the recipe list in the Furnace again.

A few seconds later, his expression changed to one of excitement.

"Captain! This is important!"

Captain Deri stepped closer.

"What is it used for?"

Rangga held up the Tin Ingot.

"This is a material for making Steel Ingots... Steel Ingots are used to upgrade the Production Bench."

Captain Deri nodded slowly.

"So it is indeed a rare material."

"Exactly."

Rangga looked at the other two pieces of loot.

Hydraulic Actuator and Spine Launcher.

He immediately recalled the list of structures once again. Not long after, he let out a small laugh.

"WKWK..."

Captain Deri frowned.

"What now?"

Rangga pointed at the two items.

"These too... They're key items for making a Ballista Turret."

Captain Deri examined the items as well.

"So... This creature drops a lot of important materials."

"Yep."

Rangga immediately stored all the loot in his inventory.

Without realizing it, the smile on his face had returned to normal.

He turned toward Captain Deri.

"Captain... Looks like we need to hunt more Kentrosauruses."

Captain Deri stared at Rangga for a few seconds before asking quietly.

"Rangga... Are you up to it?"

Rangga, who had been down just moments ago, immediately nodded firmly.

"I'm good... I'm feeling better. Actually..."

He flashed a wide grin.

"I want to find more."

Captain Deri watched the change in his expression. Just a few minutes ago, Rangga had lost focus after encountering Broto.

Now, his eyes were lively again, and Captain Deri finally smiled faintly as well.

"All right... Then let's find another one."

Even so, he couldn't help feeling a little amused inside.

Just earlier, I was reminding him about mental strength, courage, and my experiences in the military...

...and apparently what really brought Rangga's spirit back were three pieces of loot.

Captain Deri shook his head with a smile.

"Well... At least he's back to normal."

Meanwhile, Rangga had already walked ahead, looking around.

"Come on, Captain... Let's find another one. I need lots of Tin Ingots and those two items."

Captain Deri nodded and followed Rangga deeper into the island, hoping they would find another Kentrosaurus—although this time, at least they knew how to defeat it.

After learning the Mechanical Kentrosaurus's attack pattern, the rhythm of their exploration changed completely.

Now, whenever the heavy sound of mechanical footsteps echoed among the rocks, Rangga and Captain Deri no longer panicked.

"Captain... It's coming."

Captain Deri immediately nodded.

"Same as before."

The Kentrosaurus once again launched a barrage of spines from its back.

Captain Deri ran around to draw its attacks, taking cover behind large rocks, while Rangga watched from the other side to make sure all the spines had truly been fired.

Once the openings on the Kentrosaurus's back were exposed—

"Captain! It's out!"

Rangga immediately fired a barrage of explosive arrows into the cavities.

BOOOM!

The Kentrosaurus once again transformed into light.

"Tin again."

Rangga immediately picked up the loot with a smile.

On another occasion, they discovered another coal deposit hidden behind a cliff.

"More."

Rangga immediately swung his pickaxe. Captain Deri helped him mine until all the chunks of coal were transferred into their inventories.

A short while later, they discovered another Iron Vein.

"Captain... This one's huge."

Captain Deri nodded.

"Mine it."

The sound of pickaxes once again echoed between the rocks.

This time, they occasionally stopped swinging to make sure they couldn't hear the footsteps of an approaching Kentrosaurus.

Another Kentrosaurus appeared, and Captain Deri immediately struck his sword against his shield.

DANG!

"Come here."

The Kentrosaurus immediately turned and chased after him, but Rangga chuckled.

"Captain, you're getting pretty good at being bait."

Captain Deri simply replied while continuing to run.

"Focus."

A short while later...

BOOOM!

The Kentrosaurus fell once again after all its spines had been fired.

Before they knew it, their supply of Coal continued to increase. Iron Ore filled their inventories. Tin Ingots gradually accumulated. Hydraulic Actuators and Spine Launchers also became more numerous.

What had initially been a tense battle had gradually turned into an increasingly well-organized hunting routine.

Captain Deri's job was to draw out all of the Kentrosaurus's attacks.

Rangga's job was to finish it off once its weakness appeared.

Occasionally, they stopped to mine Coal or Iron Veins they discovered along the way before continuing through the rocky terrain in search of their next Kentrosaurus.

By late afternoon, the two finally realized that, without noticing it, they had ventured quite deep into the innermost part of Rocky Island ⭐⭐⭐.