Blacknight

[Code Name] Blacknight

[Gender] Female

[Combat Experience] 6 Years

[Place of Birth] Rim Billiton

[Date of Birth] Nov 2

[Race] Savra

[Height] 166cm

[Infection Status]

Originium crystals distributed across surface of body, confirmed Infected by medical examination.

[Physical Strength] Normal

[Mobility] Standard

[Physical Resilience] Normal

[Tactical Acumen] Excellent

[Combat Skill] Standard

[Originium Arts Assimilation] Standard

Blacknight, bounty hunter, expert beast-tamer. Previously entered Yan territory on a commission, becoming familiar with Rhodes Island Operator Kroos in Shangshu City. Thereafter came to cooperate with Rhodes Island on referral from a local official, active on a variety of assignments within Yan's surroundings.

Imaging tests show the indistinct outlines of internal organs, obscured by abnormal shadows. Originium granules detected in the circulatory system. The subject is confirmed to be infected with Oripathy.

[Cell-Originium Assimilation] 10%

Some crystallization visible on all four limbs.

[Blood Originium-Crystal Density] 0.31u/L

Operator Blacknight is mobile year-round in the barrens, and has never had awareness of proper protective procedures to boot. In urgent need of treatment, protective knowledge, and general education.

Long-snouted slumberfoots are widely distributed over the barrens. They typically live in arid, sandy areas, and mostly subsist on flying insects. Their digestive glands can secrete a special substance which has a soporific effect on nearby organisms.

The practice of catching long-snouted slumberfoots goes back a long time. After capturing them, people would extract the digestive fluid inside their bodies, separate the active agents, and create all manner of hypnogenic drugs. In the last decade, wild slumberfoots have gradually vanished from around nomadic cities, and more often than not can only be found deep in the barrens.

Wasteland long-snouted slumberfoots are docile and timid by nature, with keen hearing, quick movements, and a tendency to be hard to approach. They habitually avoid large animals, especially humans. Many merchants have thought their cute appearance suitable for domesticating into household pets, but all have ultimately failed.

To keep multiple wasteland slumberfoots as pets, and to successfully train them to complete multiple complex tasks, is without a doubt extremely difficult. Blacknight possesses a strong interest and extraordinary talent in beast-taming, which has led her to succeed where many ethologists would be hard-pressed.

'A little diligence when you approach, a little patience when you mingle, a little care when you catch them, and you're done, aren't you?' When talking about her own experiences in training beasts, Blacknight comes off as laid-back, as if she were describing how she brushes her teeth in the morning.

Based on observations, the way she and her slumberfoots interact is less like an owner and her pets, and more like a family. Perhaps, that is Blacknight's trick to raising wild animals.

Addendum: To prevent further unintentional 'abductions,' please remind all operators to take good care of their own pets the next time Blacknight reports back to the landship.

Further addendum: This goes for all inanimate 'pets' resembling small animals too.

Regarding the one who Blacknight refers to as 'old Bai,' the branch office has carried out some simple investigations, finding him to be an ordinary potter who has lived in Shangshu for many years.

But according to Blacknight, she first met Bai when he was an old storyteller following a merchant caravan she encountered when it was entering the barrens between Yan and Leithanien. At the time, she thought him merely an 'unjust moneybags,' and kidnapped him without thinking. The storyteller had no fear of the bandits whatsoever, even telling tales to her and her companions. She was very fond of these stories filled with accounts of Yan's sights and supernatural legends, and came to see him as an honest person, hardly the scoundrel she imagined. Not long after, she actively let him go.

Out of curiosity, she looked into the origins of the merchant caravan after parting ways, only then realizing that they'd provoked something much larger than themselves, and only escaped unharmed thanks to the storyteller not following up on them. After that, the young bounty hunter had not just respect for the storyteller, but a great deal of appreciation too. She enjoyed both the stories he told and the name he gave her, and has used the callsign Blacknight ever since, whether traveling the country or taking contracts with Rhodes Island.

Bounty hunters are always on the move, and Blacknight thought she would never meet him again. Not once did she imagine that she'd find herself catching wind of him many years later. This time, Mr. Bai was commissioning her to go to Shangshu City and retrieve an item. Blacknight only briefly asked for details on the location and appearance of the target before quickly heading on her way. She didn't ask what significance the item had, not only because of her professionalism as a bounty hunter, but also because of who was requesting it.

In no way did Blacknight consider working for Mr. Bai as returning a favor. She'd much rather say it was 'out of friendship.' Though she did refer to him as 'Tianshi Bai' in her conversations with us, we're inclined to believe that she pays no mind to Mr. Bai's true identity whatsoever. To Blacknight, whether Bai the tianshi, or Bai the potter, or the storyteller, they're all like 'Blacknight': nothing more than names used while traveling the country.

By Blacknight's own account, she was around ten years old when she wandered into a wasteland settlement and was adopted by a hunter couple. Life on the barrens, far from the shade provided by a nomadic city, is extremely dangerous. On top of evading the Catastrophes that might descend at any time, wastelanders must also endure encroachment from all manner of wild beast. Their greatest challenge, however, remains food and water. Long-term crop farming in the arid soil is practically impossible; a single gale or rainstorm will ruin any farmland with its accompanying Originium. People may be forced to starve for days at any moment. Under her parents' upbringing, Blacknight mastered many a wasteland survival skill. She can easily discern relatively safe terrain, the most filling fruits, the easiest beasts to catch, and the several warning signs of impending Catastrophes. But among all the knowledge her parents gave her, there's one thing she recalls most firmly: the most precious thing in the wild isn't water, food, or shelter from the wind and rain, it's companionship.

Clever wasteland beasts are never alone, and the people are the same. One person is weak in the face of the barrens, yet a group can traverse them. From the time she was thirteen, Blacknight led a group of the settlement's children to make a living as bounty hunters to survive. Relying on their familiarity with the wastes, they were able to take on missions that even adult hunters couldn't dream of seeing through, and quickly made a name for themselves in the region. This period of her life might seem a miserable plight to some, but Blacknight speaks of it with only pure joy, and a little pride.

When Blacknight registered at the branch office, recommendation letter in hand, it was apparent that the only ones accompanying her were her slumberfoots. Where did her companions go? This, she never told us. Following simple investigation, we found out she was presently carrying a tremendous debt. Combined with her past experience in the wasteland, we surmise that she and her companions most likely failed a job, offending someone they could not afford to. As the leader, there's a high probability that Blacknight took full responsibility for it, and left the team that had given her so many warm memories to avoid burdening her friends.

Whenever we see Blacknight huddling with her slumberfoots, talking to them or just staring off into the distance, we know that she misses her past companions. On one hand, we believe Blacknight and her partners will reunite sooner or later. On the other, we've all been very happy to observe Blacknight gradually dropping her guard, becoming willing to consider other operators as new companions instead of potential enemies. After all, who wants to step on any traps Blacknight leaves next to her seat at lunchtime?

When registering as a cooperating contractor, Blacknight gave 'wastelands' as her place of residence. However, she's never made a secret of being a Rim Billitonian. Not only does she speak the language fluently, she has given her slumberfoots a host of rather Billiton-style names. When she first called out for 'Drill' and 'Pick' in front of us, some operators genuinely thought she was going to be using those tools, which caused quite a few laughs.

From Blacknight's own descriptions, we've found that both her parents were mine workers in Rim Billiton. Miners catching Oripathy is not infrequent, and her parents were both unfortunately infected in a small accident. Not wanting to be bound by work contract to the even more arduous Infected mines, they took their young daughter and left with a caravan headed for Columbia.

For the entire trip, they kept describing to Blacknight what their new life in Columbia would be like: they'd get fairly priced medicine, freedom to open up the land, and a stable, happy life on fresh soil. Even as they both became critically ill, they never once despaired in front of their daughter. Though they were unable to reach Columbia alive, Blacknight will forever remember how her mum and dad's eyes shone when they discussed their future.

Many years later, Blacknight learned the reality of Columbia, and realized that her parents' dreams may not have been feasible. As she unfolded the map that came from her mother's hands, passed through her father's, and finally arrived in her own, she saw the marks drawn onto it one after another, plans written down line after line, and had an epiphany—what truly mattered back then was not Columbia, but the journey itself. Right until the very end, her mum and dad never regretted leaving Rim Billiton to travel through the wilds. To them, dying on the road, chasing after their dreams, far outshone spending what little they had left in the mines.

Her parents' determination has always stayed with her. Even as she scrambled through danger in the wastes, even as she found out she had Oripathy too, even as she got involved with a foe far stronger than herself, she's never stopped in her tracks. Just like the wild beasts of the wastelands, she chose to run free, and rush through every last day in her life.

How hard is it to tame a wasteland beast?

First, you must show you're tougher than them. They'll approach with care, feel you out, try and goad you. Fail this contest, and you'll find yourself the prey instead.

Once you proven you're tough, you have to establish dominance. When they follow your commands, you give them rewards. When they ignore them, you have to rein them in, hard.

And the most important thing is to build trust with them. You give them food and shelter, carry them through every danger as it comes. You have to let them know that being with you is how they'll live to see better days.

In the end, if you've succeeded, they'll come with you. They'll entrust you with their lives. And they'll grant you what's even more precious than that—their freedom and their dreams, so to speak.