Unlocked at Character Level 40
The shadow cast down by the spaceship eclipsed the moonlight across the plains.
He jumped from the speeding train as it passed by with a roar. By the time the smoke and dust had settled, he'd already made it back to his base with his bounty.
He raised his head to look up at the uninvited guests above. Well-dressed people in black walked out from the deck of the spaceship under the escort of guards armed to the teeth and onto the cowboy's land. He took something that the person in black called a "Synesthesia Beacon," as great, strange visions flooded into his mind. This is the first time he learned of the endless shining worlds outside the plains, forests, streams, and tracks that he knew.
Giant excavators appeared on the horizon of the plains, completely disregarding protests from the locals. Then, black ore began to stream forth from the earth below. The heavily armed guards blasphemed against the local's beliefs, cast them out of their homes, and insulted their honor with meager compensation.
As always, he and his partners turned to guerrilla warfare to fight off the advance of the people in black. However, in the face of absolute military might, the cowboys' schemes, marksmanship, and swift mounts all seemed so primitive and laughable. As the members of his family died one after another, he realized that unless he found the person who started all of this, he would never be able to bring things to an end.
He put on a worker's uniform that he stole and snuck aboard the spaceship under the cover of night. With the instincts and sharp senses he had honed over years of hunting, he silently took down every guard that stood in his way and cleared every checkpoint and interrogation to reach the core cabin.
He saw the figure of a man who seemed to be saying something to his subordinates.
"Aeragan-Epharshel contains crucial strategic resources. He who claims it first will take great advantage in departmental competition. As these savage and uncivilized cowboys are unwilling to cooperate with the Marketing Development Department, we have no choice but to assume administration of this world on their behalf.
We are running out of time. You are permitted to use military force and bring civilization to this world."
A terrifying thought rushed into his mind. He frantically ran out. Around him, the employees were still joking and laughing. He held his breath and stifled his rage and tears... His family still needed him. He could not just stop here.
Cannon fire rained down from the heavens. By the time he stumbled back to the farm that had now been reduced to ashes, the elderly Graey and Nick, as well as all the friends he'd grown up with, had already lost their lives to the sea of flames. He held on to a faint glimmer of hope that he would be able to find that tiny figure... She had only learned to walk a while ago and would gently slap at the little wooden guitar he had made for her and giggle. But no. There was nothing. The land was scorched black... he didn't even have time to erect a gravestone for the ones he'd lost.
"The Interastral Peace Corporation... The Marketing Development Department..."
This sight and these names rang through his mind like a nightmare that went on to be etched into his core. Even if he were to die and be born again, he would never forget this.
According to the planetary records of Aeragan-Epharshel, the locals who roamed and farmed the land for generations were wiped out by an unknown disaster. The survivors, mostly frail elderly and youth, now only shelter in smaller and smaller reservations. To this day, that black ore is still used in massive quantities as a rare metal to create devastating weaponry, and is shipped out to more and more planets on fleets of IPC transport ships.