CHAPTER 1:
She who does not belong here
…
…..
….
Status … Online …
Name … Eriler …
Race … CAST …
Sex … Female …
Class … Ranger …
Organisation … GUARDIAN … error: Organisation not found … rebooting in
… 3
… 2
… 1
"Hey partner!" A blonde Newman waved at her, "What's your name?"
"… Eriler."
"I'm Alfin and it looks like we've been paired together for this final test, are you ready?"
Eriler could only stare blankly at Alfin.
The feeling of being in a spaceship, being deployed for the next mission, all seemed so familiar yet alien at the same time. Even Alfin's somewhat loose clothing and shoes was nothing she had ever seen. A quick search in her database revealed nothing save for the name 'Arks' that kept popping out. How did she come to join this place was a hole in her memory as if someone had wiped it away yet she could not shake of the feeling that all these was for a brighter day.
"I can't believe I'm finally becoming an Arks operative after all the training. I've been looking forward to this since the attack ten years ago."
"… ten years ago?"
"You don't remember what happened ten years ago?" Alfin patted the back of his head, "actually I don't remember much of it either, other than one of the residential ships was invaded by Darkers."
SEED.
"Since then Regius have been stepping up efforts to recruit those talented in photon manipulation into Arks to fight against the Darkers."
"Who's Regius?"
"Oh, didn't you see the announcement just now? The white-coloured cast giving a speech earlier is Regius, he's one of the 3 Victors to stand against Dark Falz."
All the information was swarming in her head and it was probably wise to stop prodding until whatever this test is over. As the ship trembled lightly against the atmospheric pressure, a feeling of nostalgia settled into her core processor; now how does an android feel from the sea of binaries was beyond her comprehension but she felt and that was all that it mattered.
"Hey partner, are you spacing out? Nah I get it, it's our final exam, you're nervous … well me too. We should be a little on edge but as long as we do our it'd turn out okay, partner." Alfin paused, "we're still pretty new, but let's try to get the basics down, would you like to go through the tutorial again?"
Eriler stared incredulously at Alfin but decided to not say anything and moved forward anyway. This Newman mistook her for a newbie. After all, she was still a commander of … some sniper unit in some organisation … the details were fuzzy as she tried to access her memory module yet her gut feel insisted this wasn't her first battle.
"Hey partner! Don't move off by yourself, wait for me!"
"Okay", she and "added silently, no promises."
As they navigated through tall grasses and trees, an ape stood in their path munching greedily on a fruit, sucking out all the juices and Alfin's courage dry.
"Is … is that a native creature? It doesn't look aggressive … does it?"
If there's one thing Eriler learnt in her non-existent past life well, it would be - anything that blocks your path to quest completion is aggressive or it will be if it isn't yet. Instinctively she summoned a rifle in hand, took aim and squeezed the trigger.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Three rounds of photon bullets fired off the barrel and landed right into the tree brunch beside the ape. As if laughing at her feeble attempt, the ape rolled over to the side and refused to get up. Well, this was embarrassing.
"Ya … how did you rookies even get into the final exam if you can't even beat a Woodan?" A red-haired man walked forward with a blade that smoked at the edge. "I should be a kind senior and walk you through your training again. If you fall unconscious, I'd sprinkle moon atmoizer on you, don't worry."
"Whoa ~ where did you come from?" Alfin flipped.
"Hmm," the man looked away, "I was questing with Echo she got lost … so here I am saving your asses from a Woodan. You," he pointed to Eriler, "What's your name?"
"…"
The man shrugged, "I was a Ranger too and that is far by the worst accuracy in managing that assault rifle. You should practice more."
Eriler instinctively raised the barrel of her weapon at the red-haired man, "Maybe I should shoot you instead."
"Whoa, chill! I'm Zeno and I'm just trying to be helpful!"
"So am I."
Zeno shrugged. "A little feisty here are we?"
"My accuracy with a 3 point burst might be that of a child but I can assure you my 1 point is on point."
Zeno looked thoughtful for a moment. "If you're a one point shooter you should use a gunslash instead."
"Thanks for the advice," Eriler said coolly, with the barrel still aimed at his head.
"Alright rookies, let's move on and complete your examinations!" Zeno said cheerfully.
"One more rookie from you and the next to go is your knee."
Zeno raised both hands in defeat. "What a partner you have here …" he whispered to Alfin, who was too shocked to even mutter a word.
~ Shing ~
A ball of red light jumped up to Eriler's face and exploded, the shrapnel dug deep into her forearms if not for her quick reaction to shield her face while her vision turned red with warning alarms cautioning of low HP and body feeling heavier.
"Partner! Looks like you've been hurt by an air mine, quickly drink a monomate to recover some health!"
Eriler looked back incredulously with a stray shrapnel stuck at the side of her temple that made her look like some sort of psychotic android seeking revenge. She thought of a comeback for Alfin's comment but decided to just gulp down the monomate in her inventory. Whatever sorcery stored inside that small packet of sugary drink conjured up whirlwind of light that lifted the red vision and weight that pulled dragged her down just few moments ago.
"Pa… partner, there's a … there's a piece …"
Her fingers found the piece of metal stuck in head and yanked it out like a badass while growling at the two men who were too stunned to say anything else. "I'm going to murder whoever planted that piece garbage there."
Alfin whimpered, "Use cripple bullet."
As if granting her wish, waves of dark wind blew into existence an army spider-like monsters with a shiny red core at the bottom. This almost felt like Moatoob all over again and that was when her consciousness realised her circuitry froze with an explainable fear and all she hears in her own head was 'error, error, does not compute …"
"What are the darkers doing on Naberius?" Alfin squeaked.
"Well, there has been reports of increased Darkers appearance in Naberius, that's why they sent you rookies down for the final test. Being an Arks operative is dangerous, quit if you can't handle this …" With that Zeno raised his arms up high and summoned up a bright unicorn that dashed through the army of spider Darkers in one straight charge that obliterated them into dust.
SUV
Yet even with such power, two takes a place of a fallen one. The battlefield was soon flooded by a sea of Darkers thirsty for some blood.
"Come! Let's get out of here!" Zeno urged but Eriler's limbs refused to accept any commands issued from the brain.
Alfin was the first to run ahead but seeing his partner left in this state, he pulled her arm along and ran out of harm's way with Zeno in lead.
CAST Supremacy
With Zeno's navigational capabilities, they reached the end point in no time where a teleporter stood still waiting for any Arks operative to return to mothership. As they stepped into the teleporter, they were greeted by an angry blonde Newman with two pony tails. Without introductions, they all guessed this was the 'Echo' that Zeno was whining about.
"Ah, Echo, glad that we finally found you!"
Echo folded her arms, "Are you sure it's not the other way round?"
Zeno laughed sheepishly, "Fine, I'd remember to restock on telepipes next time."