"So, is everyone here?" Kay asked.
"No, I'm sure the orcs and elves aren't here." I said. Dale then nudged me. We were all gathered in some sort of stadium. Every school occupied one part of of the stadium. The 'leaders' were on the ground whilst the students were on the stadium seats.
"Alright. We'll begin then..." The meeting then started and it was just a recap of everything, except one surprising thing. The gang somehow followed us in and are already eliminating everyone. Bold yet stupid move. Ōarai aren't faring well. They seem to be quite spread out. Unorganised. Pravda seem to be doing better. They seem to have everything under control.
"Last thing." Kay said. "We should all be paired with other people as a group. Minimum of 10 people per group." Everyone then started to go in groups and chat.
"How are we going to get 10 people?" Ava asked.
"We have my squad, Martin, Cutter and Striker."
"You're dragging us along?" Cutter asked behind us.
"Dragging you in to hell." I joked.
"We didn't even get your name." Dale said.
"I'm Kutsuki."
"Cutter for short." I said.
"And I'm Awashima."
"Call her striker." Martin then sat down next to us.
"Is everyone in a group of 10?"
"You guys aren't!" I shouted.
"Shut up for once, Chris!" Arisa shouted back.
"I don't get it. Why are you lot on bad terms?" Cutter asked.
"I'll explain it to you one day." I said.
"The meeting is now dismissed! Everyone, you can go now!" Everyone then stood up and walked out of the stadium.
"What should we do now?" I asked, outside.
"Let's go and get you guys ready. The monsters here are probably different than your world." Cutter said, in excitement.
"Got another one!" Clem shouted, shooting at another skeleton.
"You guys are getting too used to this." Cutter said, wiping his sword.
"Of course we are. Practise makes perfect." I said. We were on the forest of Tower 213. Apparently, these guys are high level but our guns are taking these guys out too fast.
"Any way, we should get back. Get the others a house now." Cutter said.
"Alri..." Then a piercing scream cut me off. We looked at each other and ran to the noise.
"S-s-someone help!" I heard someone yell out. I ran faster and scanned everywhere. Too much foliage...
"Give us everything you have or else." I heard someone aggressively shout.
"I-I-I have nothing! I swear!" I then noticed something red. I ran to it. It's not blood at least. When I got closer, I noticed a masked person accompanied by two other masked guys. I guess the leader is the one with the special mask. I crouched down next to a tree.
"Oh really? What the hell is that on your neck then?"
"Chris." Cutter whispered.
"Over there." I pointed at the guys.
"Should we interfere?"
"Yeah. I'll start." I slowly stood up and walked to them. "Dale, when I show the sign of 3 with my hand, shoot one of them in the leg." I ordered Dale over the radio.
"Roger that. I have them in my scopes."
"Excuse me?"
"Huh?" They then turned to look at me.
"Can you show me how to get to asshats ville?"
"What?"
"You seem like people who live there so I thought you might have known."
"What was that?"
"Maybe not then. But you should go to the hospital for that injury." I then made 3 with my hands.
"What injur..." A shot then came and hit the leaders leg.
"What the..!" One of them shouted.
"Are you going to leave now?"
"You're outnumbered though!"
"Maybe." I shrugged. My group then came out of hiding.
"Maybe not." Clay said. I smirked at them.
"Alright. We'll go!" They then carried the leader away.
"I'm going to dislike your sarcastic ways." Striker said. I then checked on who they were threatening. It was just some civilians.
"You alright?" I asked.
"Y-y-yeah. T-t-th-thanks." They then stood up.
"Who were they?" I asked them.
"They're a murder group. They kill others for fun." Cutter answered for them.
"And here I was thinking it couldn't get crazier." Blair said.
"You stop smoking would make this world much crazier." I said.
"Ha ha."
1 Week Later
It's been a week and I haven't questioned that much about this world. No one has actually. As if we just accepted it for no reason. Not as if we're being trapped here by some strange being. Now I'm questioning it? Only now. I got out of my bed and looked out the window. If I had questioned it earlier then I wouldn't be awake still... Normally when I question things I dismiss them after a while with my wild imagination. Maybe Santa is keeping the Naughty kids here which explains why no one looks older than 30. I smiled at the thought. Maybe... I got my clothes on and grabbed my Daggers. My guns have ran out of ammo and the bullets are expensive as all hell! We brought all the money we had ,which was magically converted to this worlds currency, and we spent 10% of our money on just one guy. We better get used to Swords and Bows then. We ran out just yesterday so we had no practise. I even changed my appearance. I had a black cloak and hood with my normal gear. I also had a bandanna. As if I am trying to hide my identity. That or to look menacing. I think it's the latter. Should I really go out? Despite it being dark? I haven't met any Nocturnal creatures yet. Should be interesting. I walked out of the house and went in to the forest. So, What are the chances of me finding an owl? Uh... That's the only nocturnal animal I know. Oh wait Bats. I'm an idiot. Maybe I should just walk around and relax. Actually, I heard that the gang are back. They killed 13 people last night. They seem to work in the dark. Maybe they're nocturnal. Then a random gang came out of no where! Nope, just my imagination.
"This quest better give me something good." I heard someone mutter. I looked around. I thought I was the only one who would take stupid night quests.
"What quest are you doing?" I asked the air.
"The stupid Grinfer monster quest."
"That's time wasting. You only get about 1000 Urons. Yes, that's the currency in this world. Urons.
"That's stupid! Wait... Who's there!"
"Ho-Ho-Ho Santa Claus."
"Seriously. Answer. I actually have you in my cross hairs right now."
"What do I look like then?"
"Too dark to tell. But, you have really dark clothing." I looked around more. Where on earth?
"Where are you?"
"The trees." I looked up and saw bright green clothing. It stuck out from the dark green leaves.
"Why did you answer seriously? Surely you saw my pistol."
"You're one of the gang members!" They exclaimed, letting the arrow fly. It landed in my left shoulder.
"No! I'm one of the students!"
"Oh crap!" They then dropped from the tree and pulled the arrow from my shoulder.
"Why'd you do that! I'll blee..." I then fell unconscious...
I jumped up and fell off the log.
"Steady there." They said.
"Ah Christ. What the hell did you put on the arrow?"
"Paralyse spell."
"Shouldn't have assumed that I was a gang member. Are you part of a clan?"
"Sub-Commander of the Arrowhead clan."
"Sub-Commander eh?" I looked around. We were still in the forest... And it was night. I felt my left shoulder and felt no pain. They must've given me a health potion.
"Yeah. I would be higher but..."
"But what?"
"But, I'm a girl so they don't allow it."
"What? Why not? Tha... Oh wait, dark ages."
"What?"
"We're in the dark ages aren't we? Women are seen as lesser beings."
"No, I'm a girl... I'm not old enough." Oh fuck...
"Oh, that makes sense. Sorry, I thought sexism was still a thing here."
"No. That's not how the world works here. Does it work like that for your world?"
"Used to. A few decades back. Not anymore though."
"That's good. So, why are you here?"
"I just needed to have a nice walk."
"In the middle of the night?"
"Yeah. I also wanted to see what nocturnal creatures there were."
"Nocturnal creatures only appear after Tower 100..."
"Hey, I'm new. You can't call me stupid. That would be hypocritical too since you did show me where you were."
"Hey! I thought you were friendly so I told you. That's why."
"Yet you still shot an arrow deep in to my shoulder."
"Well after you mentioned pistol, I thought you were one of those gang brutes."
"Do I look like a gang brute?"
"Actually, you do."
"Well, what's better?" I took off my bandanna and reached for my Half face mask.
"The bandanna. Makes you look less threatening."
"Alright." I put my mask away and put my bandanna on again. "Do you live nearby?"
"No. I normally sleep in the Inns."
"I live with other people. You can sleep in their house for tonight if you want."
"Are there any beds?"
"There are. But they're all taken. You can sleep in mine for the night."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. If you're paranoid about the blankets then don't worry. I sleep in sleeping bags."
"Why?"
"For that one reason. So people aren't paranoid."
"That's a stupid reason."
"Not to me." I then stood up and looked at the girl. She had her hood down to show her dark brown braids. "I'm Chris Walker by the way."
"Mieko York." She stood up. She was the same size as me. Bigger than Ava then.
"Did you shoot me here?"
"I did indeed." Ok good. I'll remember how to get back. I backtracked everything. I had to keep watch on her just in case. She seemed to have no bad intention but I guess Cutter would be mad if I put a stranger in the same room as him and not keep watch. I have to admit though it is weird and creepy. After 7 boring hours of just wonder and thoughts I decided to make some breakfast for everyone. Cutter and Striker taught us how to cook with the things that they have. I looked in the fridge. I'll just make egg sandwiches. Egg and toast? Side of tea? Milk? What the hell do these people like? I basically just met everyone. I grabbed the eggs and milk. I remember Ava liking Tea with Sugar and Milk but what about the others? I'll ask later. I cracked the eggs on to a pan and cooked everything. I'll leave the sandwiches alone. I then put the sandwiches on 5 separate plates. I'll bring them to everyone's bed. Why not. After a lot of back and forth, I woke everyone up. One by one. "Thanks, Chris." They all said. I walked back to Cutters room.
"So, you two just met in the woods?" Cutter asked.
"We did!"
"Yeah, we did." I jumped in.
"So, where did you sleep?" He asked me.
"No where. I thought that you would be mad if I didn't keep a close eye on her."
"You watched me all night!?"
"Stop talking and start eating." I ended. I then walked downstairs and sat down next to the dining table. Just me and my breakfast. It's kind of sad. But, I shouldn't be thinking of it like that. I should think positive. I slowly ate my breakfast. I slowly eat everything for some reason. Even when nothing is distracting me. I just eat slow. When I finished, everyone came down the stairs.
"Any plans for the day?" I ask.
"We'll relax for the day. We've gone on quests non-stop." Cutter said.
"I like that plan. Are you tagging along, Mieko?" Ava asked. She shook her head.
"I can't. Clan meeting will start soon."
"Can you hang out with us after?" Striker asked.
"Not sure. I don't know if we'll grind today or just have a regular meeting. Tell you what, go to Towering Halls on Tower 17 at 3. I'll meet you in the Plaza." She then ran off.
"How'd you two meet?" Ava asked.
"I went for a walk. Then I heard her mutter something. Something about quest reward... Then I told her that the quest was pointless since I take a lot of night quests."
"You what!?" Ava shouted.
"I take night quests. Any way, she then shot me, thinking I was one of those gang members. The rest I can't remember."
"You take night quests?" Ava asked again.
"I've seen him sneak off. He does." Cutter said.
"Why'd you never say?" Striker asked.
"Have you gotten any sleep?" Ava asked.
"Of course I did."
"What about today?"
"You know already. Any way, we should get going any way." Cutter said. We all walked to the Podium and went to Tower 17. We have to burn 6 hours here... It seems like a place to just shop.
"What should we buy first?" I asked.
"Clothes!" The girls said.
"I say, furniture." Cutter said.
"Ok... You girls can go and buy Clothes or whatever. We'll go through some furniture. Meet here in 3 hours for lunch." I ordered. We then entered the massive glass building. I guess this is one of them shopping centers. "You were joking when you said furniture, right?"
"No, I wasn't." I then stopped. He looked back at me with a smile.
"Furniture? Oh come on man!"
"What's wrong?" I slowly walked to him.
"Buy Striker some Jewelry."
"What? Why?"
"Why do you think?" He sighed out loud.
"You want me to ask her out."
"No! Just to give her a gift! It'll just build your friendship. You are living in the same household." We then carried on walking.
"is that really necessary?"
"Well, no. But, it helps you two 'bond'"
"What?"
"It helps you become better friends."
"Stop trying."
"You'll have to convince me to stop."
"Alright."
"I'm as stubborn as a mule by the way."
"So, is that you telling me to not try?"
"Yeah. Plus, we are standing right in front of a Jewellery shop." We then looked to the shop on our side. It had really bright lighting and a lot of shine coming from it. I looked back at Cutter, who sighed out loud.
"We'll just look around." Mission accomplished. We proceeded in to the shop.
"Hi! Are you looking for anything specific?" The shopkeeper asked.
"We're just looking around." I answered back. We looked at the cases.
"What should I get her then?"
"I don't know. I don't know Striker as much as you. I'm planning on buying Ava something too." I think I just want to buy her ear rings. Not a ring or something. I looked through the glass. I think she'll like a Fire Opal. "How much is this?" I asked the shopkeeper.
"half a million Urons." Not that bad. It might be common here.
"Each or..?"
"For the pair."
"Alright. Here you are then." I then gave her the coins and she gave me a small black box.
"Thank you! See you soon!"
"Why? You on the front lines?" I joked.
"Maybe not soon then. You might see my brother though!"
"Who's your brother?"
"The leader of Arrowhead."
"One of them shot me in the shoulder."
"Ouch. Who?"
"I won't snitch on them. Why are you here any way?"
"Easy business." The guy shrugged. "My brother gets all the jewels from monsters and then I sell them."
"I see."
"Who is the ear rings for any way?"
"Your brother came to recollect his jewels."
"Of course he is."
"How much is this?" Cutter asked in the background. We both then looked at what he was pointing at. A red diamond? Those are the most expensive jewels in the world according to Ava.
"1 million Urons."
"I'm 100000 short."
"I'll pay the 100000 extra then."
"You sure?"
"I gained a lot from night quests." I shrugged. We both then paid the guy and got out with our jewels.
"When are you going to give it to her?" Cutter asked.
"Never, I'm keeping it."
"Just for it to sit there?"
"Yeah. But, in all seriousness I'll give it when we're alone."
"Why?"
"Because if I give it to her in front of Striker before you then she might expect it from you soon or feel envious. If we do it the same time then it would be slightly awkward I think. The same is true with the opposite."
"I see. Alright, I'll do the same then."
"You do realise how rare a red diamond is in my world?"
"No?"
"Less than 30 of them!"
"They must be really expensive!"
"Extremely. As well, did you spend all your money on the ring?"
"No..." I sighed out loud.
"Here's another 100000 then. You owe me a bit now."
"I do. Thanks though. If Striker saw that I didn't bring any money then she'll be pissed."
"Is Striker her new nickname that I just infected in to your systems?"
"Sadly."
"Hey, what's so bad about that?"
"Everything that leaves your mouth is bad stuff all around."
"Kutsuki."
"That was a cheap move." I chuckled at my victory.
"What do you want to buy now?"
"Rest."
"A bed then?"
"Yeah. But I meant furniture in reality."
"Alright, let's go then." We then went around for the furniture shop.
"So much food around here." We kept saying. Everything looked so good. I guess it's the only thing on our mind. After a while, we did found a furniture store. We walked in and looked around.
"Is there a theme you guys are going for?" I asked the shopkeeper.
"I don't know if it's a theme, but we just sell bedroom furniture."
"I think that counts."
"Are you going to check the furniture with me?" Cutter asked.
"No, It's your house not mine. I'll just talk to this guy." Cutter nodded.
"So, you're the social guy are you?"
"Yeah, I am. I mean there isn't that much to do. I don't even plan to have a house."
"Why not?"
"Don't plan to stay here for that long."
"We all didn't plan to stay here for long. But we have. I've been here for 3 years."
"3 years?"
"Believe it or not. In my world, we had no magic. Now we do. I guess the magic can stop age."
"How many floors have been finished since you were here?"
"Uh... 15? Yeah 15."
"15! That's 5 floors a year! So..." There are 222 floors completed. 1000-222 is 777. 777 divided by 5 is... 156! "IT'S GOING TO TAKE 156 YEARS TO FINISH THIS! THAT'S NOT EVEN ACCOUNTING HOW HARD THE DUNGEONS WILL BE EVERY YEAR!" I gasped.
"Crazy isn't it?"
"That is crazy!" I exclaimed.
"Get used to this world."
"Wait, when we get back to our original world does that mean we will age on the spot? So, won't we die instantly?"
"No, the contract guaranteed our old lives to resume as normal when we finished this."
"I don't want to be here for over 100 years! I'll grow emotionally attached to everyone so I won't be able to get over myself for leaving my friends."
"And that's not even saying if they'll die."
"I became emotionally unstable after my girlfriend for 5 or so years slipped in to a coma!"
"So, imagine one for 100 years! That's why I stay behind the counters."
"That's smart I guess."
"But the risk is being attacked by a guild. Every guild owns a city. This one is part of Arrowheads connection."
"How popular are Arrowhead?"
"They're the most popular. Some say that they are the most powerful."
"Would you say they are?"
"Not really..."
"I haven't seen them yet. So, I can't say."
"They are impressive. You can't deny that."
"Like I said, I have't seen them yet."
"I'll buy these." Cutter said, putting down some lamps, lights, pod, frame and other stuff I can't name.
"That's about... 99 Urons."
"Here you are." Cutter dropped some coins. He then grabbed a bag and shoved everything in.
"See you then." The keeper said. We both waved and left the shop.
"150 years!" I remembered outside.
"What?"
"We're going to be here for a minimum of 150 years!"
"You worked it out? That was quick. Any way, we should go to the living room furniture."
"Will these things last 150 years?"
"They're built to later 1000." We then entered the shop. We looked at the counter and saw a girl with a boy.
"You two siblings?" I asked as Cutter went to look around.
"We're a couple." The boy said.
"He's messing. He hasn't even asked me and he considers us as a couple."
"That's one weird way to brag."
"I'm not bragging."
"Then why did you assume that you two were a couple?"
"Because we are close together."
"That's because your job is to stand next to each other."
"No emotio..."
"I know what you meant. I was joking." I then spotted Kay and her friends approaching the store. Brilliant.
"So, you got a partner for yourself?"
"Yeah. I do and I did ask her out." Kay then opened the door. They were already laughing at something.
"Well, if it isn't Chris Walker. Chris Walking out of me I think." Kay said.
"Oh come on, Kay."
"What? I completely understand why you left me." She said, sarcastically.
"I don't want to fight. Especially not here." It's very coincidental that they came to this one place. But then again, this place is quite popular.
"Why not?"
"Because in a world like this, we could actually start a war and cause stupid deaths. So what if I left you? It's not the end of the world."
"We saw you in the Jewellery shop. Getting that bitch something?" Shizu said. Wait, Shizu is one of the girls I rescued from those raiders.
"Hey, leave him alone!" Cutter shouted.
"Oh my. Who's that? A mercenary?" Naomi said.
"Get lost." Arisa said, "This has nothing to do with you."
"It concerns my friend. I stick up for my friends."
"This guy is your friend? Ha. As if Chris got any one to like him."
"Then why did you fall for me?"
"You fell for me. I just played along."
"Yet all those kisses were forced on me. I never asked for them." Kay didn't have anything to say back. "Sorry guys. I didn't want to have a verbal fight here." I apologised to the shop keepers.
"It's alright." I then looked at Cutter.
"Let's go." He said. We then pushed through the girls to get to the exit.
"Wait!" Someone yelled. We looked back. It was Chono.
"What is it?" I groaned.
"Can-Can-Can I..."
"Can you..?"
"Join you?"
"Chono?" The girls gasped.
"I-I-I'm sorry but I don't think it's right to bully Chris."
"But... You can't do this!"
"She can do whatever she wants. Come on then." I said. She then joined us as we left.
"You'll definitely tell me what's with you two." Cutter said.
"Oh, I feel dizzy from your hypnosis."
"You will, won't you?"
"Tonight. Thanks for defying them, Chono."
"No problem."
"Have you ate breakfast?"
"I have. But, I'm still hungry."
"You did have a big appetite." I joked.
"Your barely know me."
"I think he was joking. What would you like?" Chono then thought about it for a while.
"Ice Cream?" She replied.
"That'll wake my brain and freeze it at the same time."
"The nearest shop for Ice Cream is back there."
"What is there to eat in front?" Chono asked. I guess she wants to avoid Kay more than me.
"Uh... There is a Ice Cream shop but it's further than the other way."
"Let's go then!" She then ran away.
"Didn't even tell her the directions."
"I'm sure she can use maps."
"Ha-ha." We then chased her. She then stopped at the first food shop.
"You want to buy some stuff from the Bakery?"
"No, just looking." She then looked at all the shops as we passed by.
"Like a child." I noted.
"You don't say." We then went in to the Ice Cream shop and looked at the options.
"What would you like?" The waiter asked.
"I'll have Mint and chocolate." I ordered.
"Cookie and Cream." Cutter ordered.
"Caramel." We then received our Ice Creams in a cone and walked out.
"Time is it?" Cutter asked. I checked my watch.
"It's 10. 2 Hours to burn and I have no idea what to do."
"Chris!" Someone shouted. I looked around and saw Griffith with my squad. What are they doing here? I walked to them and greeted them.
"So, you joined in?" Dale asked.
"Joined in?" Cutter asked.
"School trip? You guys didn't know?" Griffith said.
"Afraid not. I haven't checked my messages for 2 days. We were just here to meet up with someone."
"Who?" Clay asked.
"Some girl I met."
"Don't you already have a girlfriend?" Clay joked.
"She shot me with an arrow..."
"So, you're meeting her again?"
"Why not. She's quite nice actually." Cutter defended.
"What's she doing though?" Dale pointed to Chono.
"Oh crap, didn't notice her. What is she doing here? I thought she was with Kay." Clay said.
"Probably changed her mind." Clem suggested.
"I-I-I-I did."
"Seems to be a quick decision change doesn't it?" Clay spat. Chono then hid behind me.
"Leave her be." Cutter said.
"Why should we?" Blair challenged.
"As your commander, I order you to stop." I joked.
"Not the time." Clay said.
"Just back down guys." Griffith said.
"You're joining them?" Clay yelled.
"We have a bigger attacking force. But, in all seriousness, if we carry on fighting then we all have to fight or defend against two enemies at once."
"That's true." Dale said.
"But..."
"But nothing. Now what shall we do?" I said, trying to change the subject.
"Buy something."
"Oh fuck me! I never thought of buying something in a mall!"
"Alright alright. We were going to go back to the main group."
"We aren't doing that." I said. "We'll see you guys later."
"You sure?"
"I mean, we just passed Kay. Pretty sure that we don't want to bump in to her again."
"I'm sure that it's an important announcement though."
"Text me the details. I'll check it before my night quests."
"Fine." Dale shrugged. They then walked off, to the furniture stores. I looked at the others.
"Two hours..." I muttered. We then just looked around the shops for the next two hours. I met a lot of nice shopkeepers. We then walked back to the Podium and was surprised when we saw Mieko.
"Early?" I said.
"Came to get the mail." She joked.
"Why is everyone so sarcastic?" Ava groaned.
"Why aren't you?"
"Because I take everything seriously. Where should we go any way?" Ava said.
"Let's go get something to eat. I know a popular place here." Mieko said. "Let's go." We then looked at each other and followed her. We went back in to the mall and traversed around it. After a while, we entered a posh restaurant.
"Is this going to be expensive?" Striker asked.
"Not really. We're splitting the bill and I have a discount." We then claimed a table and sat down.
"Excuse me, but are you one of those gang members?" Someone asked me. I turned around and saw a small group of guys.
"No?"
"Yeah right. You're probably keeping Mieko prisoner. Get out." The leader ordered.
"Does she seem like she is in chains?" I challenged.
"You probably have some weird device on her."
"What? We might be advanced but we are not that advanced."
"Just get out before we force you out." I then looked around and realise that we were making a scene. I looked at my group. They told me to stay. I stood up and walked out. I should ditch these clothes. But, they're the things that give me the most concealment. Sure, there are the other black clothes but they don't hold as many things. I looked around and saw a bakery. I might as well order some bread. After a bit, the group walked out of the restaurant.
"I can't believe how you actually got out." Ava exclaimed.
"Didn't want to make much of a scene. I didn't want to fight either."
"Pacifist." Mieko said.
"I don't want pointless fights, is what I'm saying. Fights with a good reason is what I want to be involved in."
"Yet you and that girl are fighting?" Cutter asked.
"I wanted to end it."
"Didn't go well. I'm guessing." Ava guessed.
"No. That's how we got..."
"Yeah, she told us." Striker said.
"What now?" Cutter asked.
"We get Chris something to eat." Mieko said.
"You're taking the reigns a lot. I already ate any way."
"What did you eat? Some sweets?"
"No, bread from the bakery."
"We'll go explore then. This is a massive place after all." Seems like everything is going to be alright then. Nothing wrong should happen.
"MOVE IT PEOPLE! IF THIS WAS AN EVACUATION THEN YOUR ASSES WOULD BE BLOWN SKY FUCKING HIGH!" That's Commander Delon. Guy has been barking orders at us for days on end. We're already sick of him despite it only being the second day. Kay has hired multiple people to train us lot. She put Delon with us obviously. I think she did it just to bully me more. We all ran outside the building with full gear. We were all on Tower 140. The Tower where it's ice cold and here we are, standing in it. The last few then ran out and lined up. We only had 3 squads and he's training us as if we were the entire school. "THIS WASN'T A FIRE DRILL! YOU DO NOT SLOWLY EXIT THE BUILDING! YOU GET YOUR ASSES HERE AS SOON AS FUCKING POSSIBLE!"
"It's 1 in the morning though." Martin moaned.
"SO?"
"And he hasn't had that much training. So, he's new to this." I said. I swear I have told him a dozen times.
"HE HAD ONE DAY TO GET READY!"
"We also gave you one day to calm the fuck down." I muttered.
"WHAT WAS THAT!" He screamed in my face. He would make a good Full Metal Jacket-Esque instructor.
"Nothing. Nothing."
"YOUR COMMANDER HAS TOLD ME ABOUT YOU! A SMART ARSE SHE SAYS!"
"It's night time. Stop screaming." Blair said.
"BOTH OF YOU! RUN THERE IN A STRAIGHT DIRECTION UNTIL I TELL YOU TO STOP!" We then stepped out of line and ran to where he pointed at. We stayed quiet until we were out of the town.
"Bastard!" Blair exclaimed.
"There's a swamp in this direction too. Gotta cross."
"Oh for gods sake. I'm not going to cross a swamp. Especially with this heavy fucking gear."
"It's weird though."
"What is?"
"Swamps tend to be in a sort of warm climate."
"That's true. And it's cold as all hell. But it is magic after all."
"This magic is strange."
"Well, it's magic..."
"True." We then ran in to a dead forest. No leaves. Just fog. It's gone slightly warmer.
"Why did you choose Ava? Kay's great as well."
"Are you being serious?" We then started to slow down.
"Yeah."
"Do you seriously not see why?"
"I mean, I get that you dated Ava longer than Kay but... You guys had a year and a half gap, so wouldn't it make more sense to stay with Kay?."
"Well, I didn't think that Kay would react so badly."
"She is a full on American stereotype. Of course she'll react badly."
"Well, that's one reason why I might have left Kay then."
"That it?"
"I prefer Ava."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Stop asking for fucks sake."
"I'm just curious."
"It's like I'm talking to Clay."
"Don't compare me to him."
"Fine. There's the swamp." The air suddenly became much warmer. We then stood up straight to the uneasiness.
"I'm not going in that!" Blair shouted. I grabbed my gun and dipped the stock in. The swamp was deeper than the length of my gun.
"Over 32 inches." I muttered.
"You lads better walk that or Delon will be mad." Lieutenent Moore said over the radio. He's one of the alright leaders. I guess he's on duty for the cameras.
"You're joking." Blair said.
"Whining won't get us any where." I sighed and walked in. I put my gun over my head and kept walking. The water was up to my chest!
"Do what he did, Blair." Blair groaned and walked in, copying the same manoeuvre.
"How long is the swamp?" I asked.
"Data says 100 metres."
"100!?"
"Ask Delon if we can turn back now." I said.
"Alright, Alright." We then stopped and looked around.
"I feel like there should be monsters." Blair mentioned. Now that I think about it, there should be monsters. We are on a tower not a safe square.
"If I get mauled by an alligator then you owe me." I then got dragged down by something. It's claws dug into my chest as I flailed my arms around. I opened my eyes and saw a green humanoid with gills at its neck. I panicked for my dagger. I grabbed it and swinged it at the creature. It retreated and swam away. Something then grabbed my bag and dragged me back to the surface.
"Jesus! What was it?" Blair asked.
"I think it was Dale."
"Be serious for once!"
"Something. I don't know. You owe me as well."
"I guess."
"Alright, Delon has allowed you guys to come back." Moore came back.
"Get a helo for us would you?" I joked. There was no response. We looked at each other and shrugged. We then ran back.
"You learnt your lesson?" Delon asked.
"I think Blair has. He's out of breathe back there."
"What about you?"
"No. I'm not out breathe. This is just excercise. I'm not asking to run again for your information."
"Hmph. Join the others in the barracks." I nodded my head and walked in the building. Everyone was already asleep. I joined in their sleep with no thoughts to keep me awake.
It was basically that for a solid month. Late night wake ups and a bunch of punishments. We then had another meeting in the stadium. Except the other schools weren't with us. I sat near my squad, we were just wondering why the other schools weren't here. We were at the back and saw everything. They weren't mixed in with us.
"Alright! You may be wondering why the other schools aren't here." Kay shouted.
"No shit!" Someone yelled
"Well, we are now in a war with multiple factions, including the other schools." Everyone then started to have a tirade.
"So, we're in a war against the people we saved and the people who helped us?" I shouted.
"Why the hell are we fighting them!?" Someone else shouted.
"Everyone calm down. I'm going to explain why we are in a war." Everyone then slowly settled down. "We're in a war because we all had different views. Pravda wanted to control everyone, Ōarai wanted to stay back whilst we wanted to stay entirely peaceful but still be on the frontlines. Pravda were the first to declare war. Ōarai were second to declare war on us. So, thi..."
"This doesn't make sense. Why would Ōarai declare a war if they wanted to stay back?" I whispered.
"I don't know. Maybe she's lying." Dale answered. I then stood up.
"Something wrong, Staff Sergeant?" Kay asked.
"I'm leaving." Everyone then gasped.
"What do you mean 'you're leaving?'" Arisa shouted.
"I'm leaving the school. I dislike how it's run and who it's run by." I then proceeded to the exit.
"Stop!" Someone shouted. I looked down at the school and searched for anyone that shouted at me. "We need everyone we have!" It was Griffith. Brilliant.
"I'd be a drag. I won't help with anything."
"You will help!"
"I'll help with retreating." I smiled and walked out. No more training or Delon! What to do now? I've got nothing to do. I might just join another school. Or any other clan.
"Now what?" Dale slapped me in the back.
"Yeah. We have a lot of clans to go to." Thurston said.
"But which one is the best?"
"I don't know. Ōarai?"
"We should split off. Meet at Tower 17 in a week. We'll search for the best clans and then tell each other. We'll choose from our results."
"That's the plan?"
"It's the best thing to do, I think."
"Alright. I'll meet you guys later." We all then parted away. I stayed still for a bit. Are we really the only ones to leave? We're going to be fighting a lot of people. Probably best to have a peaceful or powerful clan. How about Mieko's clan? I'm sure she won't mind. but how are we going to meet? I haven't seen anyone outside for a month. Ava and Martin have been kicked out last week too. Never told me how to meet them. I think Cutter and Striker have moved house as well... I'm going to be walking around aimlessly for the day I guess. I walked to the closest tavern and walked in. It had a lot of small groups in it. However, there was a large group in the corner. They were all wearing Ruby uniform. I sat on the table next to the group and did my best to listen in.
"So, we're attacking in the Wailing plains?"
"Indeed. We're definitely taking A,K and P company to the battle. Any other companies want to come along?" A few people then raise their hands.
"That works. The others will defend the other towns."
"Excuse me?" Someone asked me. I looked in front of me and saw a waiter. "Do you need any help?"
"Yeah. Where's Wailing Plains?" I asked.
"I wouldn't rec..."
"I ignore a lot of recommendations. Where is it?"
"Tower 200. When you arrive, keep going forward until you reach a field full of roses. Go right until it ends. Then you will be standing on Wailing Plains." I then stood up and thanked him.
"You came just for..."
"I did."
"We'll attack in 2 days." I heard someone in the background said. I walked out and stood on the Podium.
"Tower 200." I said. I then stood in middle of a heavily dense crowd. Oh boy... I did what the man told me and pushed through everyone. I wonder why its so crowded back there. After an hour, I arrived at the fields. It had really loud and high-pitched winds. I see why it's called the Wailing Fields. No one's going to recognise me either since now I'm just hooded with a half-face mask. I'm not going to blame anyone if someone thinks I am evil. I looked around. It's more of an open desert than a grassy field. There's a hill on the North-West. I should camp there and see who wins. Those Ruby guys or the people they're fighting. The Rubes seem to be quite powerful and organised too. I walked up the hill and stood at the peak. I can see everything. I've got some Binoculars too, so I can see everything in detail. An arm then grabbed my neck and dragged me down. They had their arm loosely so I wasn't being strangled.
"I thought I said that the Bandana was better." Someone said.
"Mieko!?" I shouted.
"Duh." She then let go and allowed me to face her. "What are you doing here?" She asked.
"I was looking for the legendary Easter Bunny."
"Wrong time and Wrong place."
"Wait, there's an Easter Bunny?"
"There is. Rare event. But what are you actually doing here? I haven't seen you for a month!"
"I left my school. I'm no clanless, if that's a word, so me and my friends decided to scout for any clans that we could join."
"You heard about a battle here didn't you?"
"I did. I came here to see which was better. Some ruby red guys or the others."
"Arrowhead are the others. I'm here to scout out the area." I looked back at the 'field' and smirked.
"Scout out for every grain of sand?"
"Yeah. Just to let the clan know about any movement."
"You have the communication skill, don't you?"
"I do. So what?"
"You're here as a makeshift command post. When the battle starts, you'll tell everyone where the enemies weak points are. Won't you?"
"We didn't plan that... That's quite clever though."
"I thought you guys would've done that."
"No. We don't always plan everything."
"Hm... Who are the red guys?"
"Blood Guardians."
"I need more than their name."
"They're the other clan that are popular like us. Large and Organised like us. They focus more on Shields more than Bows, unlike us."
"Do any clans have a mix of every weapon?"
"One clan used to. But then it broke apart which is why no one likes to have an all weapon specialty clan."
"I need to catch up with history. Any way, how are the others?"
"You mean Cutter and the rest? They're doing great. Their clan joined forces with us and have been helping with our operations."
"What do the Arrowheads even do?"
"Be on the frontlines, help others with defending or attacking."
"That's it?"
"It's not easy. We are stretched quite thin. How did you learn about the attacks any way?"
"I eavedropped in to their strategy meeting. I only heard about what companies they were sending." Mieko then gasped in shock and turned me to her.
"Which company are they sending?"
"Uh... I only heard 3. A,K and P. They are sending a few more, but they didn't name them."
"They're sending in their calvalry and heavy troops then!" She exclaimed. She then let out a whistle and a Hawk landed next to her. She then scribbled furiously onto a piece of paper and put it in the Hawks mouth. "Send this to Commander Jones." The Hawk then flew off.
"Why are you trusting me? We've only spent a day with each other."
"If Cutter and Striker trusts you, so do I."
"Do I look that trustworthy?"
"How am I meant to know? I've only seen you masked and hooded. Let me see your face."
"Why? Not as if it's a need to know thing."
"You might have a few scars. Scars can tell you a bit about someone."
"What if they were born with it? Or it was an accident?"
"Just show me your face." She then reached for my mask. I flinched and pushed her hand away, sharply. I sighed deeply and took my mask and glasses off myself. I turned to her.
"You got your imagery now?" She stared at me with curiosity and shock in her eyes.
"You're so much different than what i thought you would've looked like."
"What did you expect?"
"Someone with a bunch of scars with a evil smile."
"I'm offended. My charming and funny personality brought me that stereotype!"
"Hey, I always expect the worse. You look better with out a mask."
"Is that a compliment?"
"Yeah. Lucky Ava then."
"Oh for gods sake." She then burst in to laughter. "What do we do now?" I asked. I looked at my surrounding more. We were next to a bunch of small rocks, rocks that you could sit on (or lean on.)
"Set up some tents. Talk more and scout more."
"Is that it?"
"Yeah. What did you expect?"
"Something better."
"What were you going to do by yourself? You weren't planning to be here with someone else."
"I was going to improvise."
"Seriously? I expected something good." I then stood up and put my bag on the rocks.
"We'll play some games then." She then stared at me as I pulled out a bat and some baseballs.
"Fine. But you're going to have to teach me how to play that." She stood up. I passed her the bat and explained everything. "It's just us two though. How can we play the game properly?"
"We're just going to test how accurate and powerful your shots are. Try and make the ball land in my hand." She then walked 10 metres away and turned to me. I threw her the ball and got ready to catch it. She then batted it powerfully with accuracy, hitting my hand.
"I was aiming for your head."
"How wonderful. We're going to stop it here then."
"I was joking. Can we carry on?" She begged. She seems to enjoy it. After 30 minutes, she shot all my baseballs away. We laughed at my losses and sat on the rocks. We then returned to serious mode and carried on scouting in silence for an hour.
"Why did you leave your school?" She asked.
"The leaders didn't really like me that much. I didn't like them either. Plus, we were in a war with the other schools and I didn't want that. I liked quite a few guys from one of the schools, so if I was part of the fight then I could be killing them."
"I see... You weren't that loyal to your school then?"
"No. Not really."
"Hm... Why should anyone trust you then?"
"I only left because of the leaders."
"Then why did you join them?"
"Well, I was one of the leaders boyfriend. But, that went to shit which caused them to dislike me."
"Doesn't seem legit."
"Legit? You guys had that word in the medieval times?" She then laughed.
"Not everyone here is from the medieval era. Some are, but most aren't. I'm actually someone from 2017."
"Where are your guns?"
"We were pretty peaceful in 2017. I don't know about the future but no one had any guns." Oh yeah, the infantry were only introduced to tankery last year. I feel stupid. "Was there a war in the future?"
"No. Infantry were introduced to the tankery scene and I was part of the infantry."
"Oh... But, why are you using Modern weapons?"
"Oh boy... Get ready for a history lesson." I then proceeded to tell her everything in detail. Which took up the day. I guess I got carried away with the detail.
"It's dark and we haven't even gotten the tents out! Have you brought any tents actually?"
"Uh... Nope."
"Urgh... We're going to have to share then. Please tell me tha..."
"I do have my own sleeping bag. Let's set up the tent then." She then put down her bag and pulled out a pyramid shaped object. She then found a flat spot and placed the object in middle of the spot. She then steps back and says medium. A orange tent then appeared, almost blending in.
"Magic is hard to get used to." I said. She smiled and walked in it with her bag. I followed on and it seemed a bit more spacious here. Like that one Harry Potter part.
"Make yourselves at home."
"So, you're asking me to make a mess?"
"Make yourselves at the opposite of your home."
"That makes no sense, but ok."#
"Just try not to make a mess."
"You'll have to have a lot of luck to make me not make a mess."
It's been 2 days now and the battle should start in an hour, according to Meiko. Speaking of Mieko, she has been asleep for a long time. Every day, she wakes up late and 3 inches away from me. She sleeps a metre away from me but I keep seeing her right in my face. Now that I think about it, I never see her asleep before me. I guess she likes protection, but wouldn't admit to it. I should wake her now... I jumped off the rock and entered the tent. She is still asleep, hugging my sleeping bag... I sighed out loud and shook her awake.
"Hmph..."
"Wake up. Battle's going to start soon."
"Wait... What?" She said, quietly.
"The battle will start soon. Wake up now!"
"How long?"
"10 minutes! Let's go!"
"WHAT!" She yelled. She then stood up and got out of her pyjamas. Oh god. I looked away as soon as possible. She then gasped and said, "You're not looking are you?"
"No. I'm not." She then ran through the tent after a while. I followed on.
"Did I miss it?"
"We still have 50 minutes. I lied to get you up faster."
"Why would you." She groaned before hitting me on the back.
"Ouch. Are we going to join in on the battle or are we just observing?"
"Observing. I'm not aloud to be in battle until next year."
"Need training?"
"Yeah. I only started training last year." You need to be in training for 2 years?
"I might not join the Arrowheads then."
"Because you don't want to train for 2 years?"
"Yeah. I've already been through enough bloody training."
"Seriously?"
"I've also been through a lot of fights with gangs."
"So who the hell will you join?" I shrugged. I might go with Ōarai instead. They seem to be the best option since they're trying to keep being peaceful. But, I know no one from there.
"I'm not sure. I'll just see what the others are thinking."
"And if they say the Blood Guardians?"
"Then we'll have a vote." I then realised that I might have sound heartless after I finished the sentence.
"Fine. But we won't be on the best of terms if you do join them."
"I feel threatened." We then saw two dust clouds come out of the sides. Then a massive black shadow rose from the left clouds to the right. I then got my binoculors and looked at both sides. "They have started early."
"Have they? Pass me them."
"How were you going to see the battle by yourself?" I then gave her my binoculors. She ignored me and looked at the battle. She then hogged it for herself for the duration of the match. I could only assume from the distanse between us. After a bit, one side retreated.
"Who won?" I asked.
"Blood Guardians."
"Even after I told you their companies?"
"The leader didn't seem to listen to me."
"Don't blame him. Your only evidence was from the words of a shady looking guy you met in the forest."
"He never listens to me though..."
"Well, the battles over. I'm going back. Is there a fast route to..." She then threw me a small blue cube.
"Just say centre when you packed everything up."
"Alright. Where can I meet you again?" She then threw my binoculars and smiled.
"When fate brings us back." I then frowned and got everything. I then looked at the blue cube and gave Mieko a unsure look. She nodded her head quickly.
"Centre?" I said unsure. I then appeared next to the podium. I looked around. It's strange to transition from a desert to a city.
"EXTRA! EXTRA! THE SCHOOLS NEXT CLASH! EXTRA!" Someone shouted, throwing a bunch of paper out. This is such a massive cliché. But, I might as well see which school. I picked up one of the papers and read it. 'Saunders raid Ōarai at Tower 18! 2 Confirmed deaths!' Ōarai have 2 dead? Oh god... I didn't realise that Kay was super serious about this war! I ran to the podium and teleported to Tower 18. I then saw a lot of wounded people leaning against a bunch of walls at the side. I ran to them.
"You alright, Preston?" Someone asked.
"No. My leg has gone so fucking numb."
"Those are just the meds kicking in."
"You mean the aesthetics?"
"No. We just... Nevermind." They then checked on the others. I walked to Preston.
"Are you guys Ōarai?" I asked.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Damn. We hit you guys hard!"
"We?"
"Well, used to be 'we' before I left 2 days ago."
"Ah. Right." I crouched down and looked at Preston.
"Where's Holmes?"
"Holmes? He was one of the guys who died, sadly." I then recoiled at the news. Holmes? Out of everyone.
"Who's the other one?"
"The other one... Hey, Jack? Who died in the attack?"
"Uh... I think it was Edward." The guy next to him said.
"Oh yeah. Who are you any way?" Preston asked me.
"Walker."
"Oh, it's you from the Carrier. You here to join us?"
"Maybe. Me and my squad are deciding on who to join in 5 days. I'm just here to help. What do you need?"
"Some better meds. I can't feel jackshit."
"Alright. Stay here."
"I kind of have to. I can't really move." I then stood up and looked for the nearest medical store. I stopped before I disappeared into the alleyway. I turned back to the Ōarai troops and counted all the wounded. 27. So, that's 2700 Urons. I then looked around and walked in to the first medical shop I saw.
"Do you need anything?"
"Yeah. Some clothes."
"How many potions?"
"27 standard ones." He then ducked under the counter and then rose back with a bag. I gave him the money and took the bag. I then walked back to the Ōarai guys and gave them a potion each. They gave me unsure looks before forcing it down.
"It's going to take a full day for you lot to heal fully. However, any numb feelings should have gone by now."
"Cheers mate." One of them said.
"Where are the rest of your guys?" I asked, looking around.
"Trying to find a hospital." The guard answered. "The leaders are in that restaraunt if you're wondering about them." He then pointed to something behind me. I nodded slowly and walked to the restaraunt. If they're eating then I swear to god... I opened the door and looked around. The interior was a mix of wood and stone with a few tables set up. It was near empty. I looked for anyone that I recognised and noticed Miho. I walked to her. She had her crew with her and the actual leaders.
"None of the teams have found a single hospital!" Saori exclaimed.
"That's because there are non." I chimed in.
"What?" They all exclaimed.
"There aren't any hospitals because you don't need any."
"Why?"
"Because of the health potions. They heal you fully in a day. I already gave your troops some. You can call off the search."
"News to us!"
"Have you only just found out?"
"Yeah. Why are you here any way?"
"Finding a new clan. I left Saunders."
"Wait! Did you! Join us! Join us!"
"Not yet. I'm not going to join because you desperately asked me to."
"What can we do to have you join us?"
"Hm... Well, I've got 4 things."
"What are they?"
"Well, only 3 I need to know if you guys are any good in combat and that you have good accomadations. Also to have no training times."
"Ok. That's easy."
"So, far the combat isn't that good."
"We were ambushed!"
"We won't count that then."
"So... Are you going to join?"
"Mmmm..." I thought about it for a bit. They do have good tactics as shown in Sensha-Do. But the addition of troops have seemed to screw them up a lot. They should adjust soon. I'm not really bothered about accomodations either... They're morals are good aswell. But the problem is their army size. I've only seen a few squads. "I'll get my squad to meet here. One minute." I then walked to the other side of the room and told my squad to meet here. After 10 minutes passed, my squad walked through the doors and looked for me. I walked to them.
"Alright..."
"I was busy!" Clay complained.
"Busy sleeping." Dale said.
"I know we only had 2 days but we should vote now."
"Oh brilliant."
"Who wants to put up their clan first?"
"Me!" Clay said. "I chose the Blood Guardians because they seem powerful!"
"That's it? I chose the Jousters. They seem cool with their horses but they're also small, so they won't attract too much attention." Dale said.
"What about the Imperials? They're basically the army and..." Thurston said.
"Those are boring as fuck. I'm going with Pravda because they'll get the most amount of action." Blair interupted.
"Clem?" I asked.
"I-I..."
"Spit it out." Blair ordered.
"I chose the Arrowheads."
"Hmph. They lost to the Blood Guardians though. What did you choose, Chris?"
"Ōarai. They seem to be the best if we want to survive for the longest. We won't have any risk of being in too many battles. Their commander is really good at tactics any way. Now should we have the vote?" They all nodded. After a bit of debating we all agreed to join Ōarai. We then walked to the leaders, who were talking about something. The school council seemed to have gone with out us noticing.
"We've decided." I started.
"And..?"
"We're joining you lot." They then celebrated and high-fived each other. "You're acting as if we have returned to the normal world."
"Sorry! But, this is great news!"
"And why the hell is that?"
"Because you guys seem really good! Kay kept talking about how you guys were the top rated squad!"
"How do you even know that we're who you think we are?"
"Instinct, I guess."
"And if we weren't?"
"Then that would be embarassing."
"Alright. Any way, where should we meet again?"
"Why? You're already going?"
"Yeah. I got to see someone."
"Ava?" Dale asked.
"Yeah, Ava."
"Um... I need to talk to you about that. You guys stay here." He then dragged me outside.
"Why do we have to talk in priva..."
"Just let me talk first. During my search for a clan, I bumped in to Ava and Martin. Ava wants to stop the relationship for a bit. A long term break."
"What? Why?"
"Because she did the maths. It would take over 100 years to return back to our normal lives. If either of you 2 had died then she realised that it would be a lot of emotional trauma for the other person which is proven by you after 5 years of dating. So 100 year would be too much, now wouldn't it?"
"I guess... But what if the other person has a relationship with someone else?"
"She didn't think of that part. But, I see her point."
"So do I. Damn this world."
"Hey. It's just a break. You 2 will be back together when this thing blows over."
"But what if the other dies! The towns aren't safe!"
"That's true. But, come on. You 2 are the best survivors I know."
"What about Clay?"
"With some exceptions."
"That it?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry. But, we should join the others again." The door swung open and everyone then walked out.
"Bartender kicked us out."
"Of course he did. Where do we go from now?" I asked.
"With the others. They told us that they were north of here. The streets are narrow so we should go 2 by 2." Miho said.
"Leaders first then." Saori said, pushing me next to Miho. I looked at the others, who paired with each other, as we moved north. I looked at Miho. She seems really nervous.
"So, what got you in to tanks?"
"Uh... Family."
"Just family? Nothing else?"
"Friends as well."
"Ah..."
"What got you in to infantry?"
"Interest and curiosity. I guess immaturity at the same time because boys are obsessed with guns and all. They just think it's cool."
"Um..."
"Sorry. I got a bit real there now didn't I?" We then walked for a bit in silence.
"I never thanked you for saving us on the carrier. We actually acted a bit rude when we met."
"It's alright. I wasn't really the one who saved you on the plane any way. I was the one under."
"Still saved a few of us. You saved Maho and Sodoko."
"I saved the infantry, didn't I?"
"Obviously. But, you probably didn't know the girls names."
"Alright. So, how does it feel to be famous?"
"Famous?"
"You took a small school to the finals and won. Even beat a University team."
"Uh... I don't really think of myself as famous."
"Seriously?"
"Well, do you think of yourself as famous?"
"No. I haven't done anything notable."
"You went against an adult when he had a better weapon."
"Doesn't make me famous."
"Makes you notable. That's it. We're just notable."
"But, notable is a synonym for famous as a noun."
"How do you know?"
"I know a bit about my language."
"Ok..."
"It might seem weird to you since your entire life is based off tankery."
"But isn't yours based off the infantry?"
"Yeah. But I normally type a lot of reports about what I've done to the CO. So, I would have to give you or the council reports about what I've done."
"You don't have to now."
"It's the best way to burn time."
"Really?"
"Yeah. You get lost recalling everything. You just wonder what you could have done better."
"Sounds odd..."
"It is if you haven't tried it."
"I'll try it someday then."
"I'm not forcing you to write reports. Just letting you know." I then looked away from Miho and noticed that the sky had gone crimson red. "Why is the sky red?" Miho then followed my eyes and noticed it too. I then looked down and saw that I turned blue. Teleport... I then went through a small warp effect and appeared at some Colosseum. It was enormous. Soon a bunch of people appeared one by one with everyone having a blinding flash before appearing. I then noticed that the schools were appearing. Is that St. Gloriana with Kuro Mori Mine? What's going on? I looked next to me and saw Ava.
"Chris?" She asked.
"What's going on?"
"How am I meant to know?"
"I thought you were god."
"I wish." We then looked back to the middle and saw someone standing there. We were too far to see who it was. After the Colosseum was completely filled the person started talking.
"Welcome everyone!" Even though they were so far, their voice was loud and clear. "You may be wondering what was going on. Well, I have an announcement! I am the person who has trapped you all here! Standing right here! Lately, I have been getting bored. You were putting less effort in the bosses. So, I have modified the rules. Each guild will be under attack once at random times every day! These will not be easy monsters either! These will be the highest level ones. If you all survive for a year, then you will be free to go. Today is the new year and, to be more cruel, it's a leap year. Good luck surviving 366 attacks! Oh, and anyone that is not in a guild now will be eliminated except any shopkeeper. Those who have not made it obvious at least. So, say your last goodbye!" I looked at Ava.
"You have gotten in a guild right?" I asked. She shook her head with shocked eyes. "Ava! You're joking right?"
"I'm not, Chris! Oh god..." I then gripped Ava tightly
"Don't go! We can get you in a guild now!" I looked down at the figure.
"I see that you have said you last goodbyes. Good thing because they will now be gone." I looked back at Ava who had then fell forward. My breathing then turned shaky. I hugged Ava and cried. "The rest of you! I bid you all farewell!" I then turned blue again and appeared back at the streets, with Ava still in my arms. No... Not again...
"Chris..." Miho crouched in front of me and grabbed my shoulders. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine how much it hurts." I pulled back and looked at Ava, motionless. She then turned bright red and disappeared.
"God damn it!" I shouted.
"Stay with us. We'll relieve your anger later." Dale said, bringing me up. I just had her back... Now she's gone again. I didn't move for a bit.
"Chris?" I sniffed and blinked my tears away. I looked at the others.
"Let's go." I said in a whisper. I then followed Miho slowly. We were just a bit away from the house too. It was massive. Could be built to a makeshift hotel. We entered it and saw everyone talking.
"Follow me for your rooms." Kawashima said. We followed her to the upstairs. The place had 5 floors. Our rooms were at the top. We were right next to the council room and Miho's crew room. We entered ours and saw 3 bunk beds. Me and Dale shared a bunk and we all stayed in the room for a bit.
"So..." Clay started.
"We're sorry about Ava." Blair said.
"It's alright..."
"You're going to slip into your depressed state?" Clay asked. Dale then hit him.
"I'm fine. I-I... I can't change it now..."
"Let's change the subject."
"What would cheer Chris up?"
"All this remind me of something..." I said.
"What?" Clay asked.
"Did you ever get someone when I went to town."
"Uh... No... not rea..."
"He did." Blair said.
"Who?"
"That ginger girl in Miho's crew." Clem said.
"Saori." Thurston said.
"Shut up." Clay hushed. A knock then came from the door.
"Come in." I shouted. The door opened and Saori popped her head in.
"Walker?"
"Nope. I'm sitter."
"I forgot about that joke..." Blair sighed.
"There's a meeting in our room. Only Chris can come."
"Alright." I stood up and walked out of the room.
"Tell them to get pop tarts!" Dale joked. We then walked in to the other room. The council and the girls were sat on the floor.
"Sit down." Kawashima said. I sat down as the council stood up and turned to us.
"So, we have to form a plan." Anzu said.
"And we're asking for the commanders opinions."
"So, Walker stand up."
"Am I becoming stander now?" I said, as I stood up.
"So, what do you think?"
"I think that we should get the schools together. Create a giant force and ask the Arrowheads for a town. That way, we have a constant supply of everything and we can defend easily. We'll defend a town easier than a house because the surrounding parts of a town is fairly open. The same doesn't go to a house."
"Alright." Kawashima said, jotting something down. "Miho?" I then sat down and listened.
"I agree with Chris, but I think that we all should share our money and supplies aswell."
"So, we're going along with Chris' plan?"
"Yeah!" Everyone said.
"And are we sharing?"
"Just ammo. Everyone should already have a weapon. Money is easily earned to be honest." I added.
"Yeah!" Miho then nodded.
"So, who's convincing all the schools to join us?" Everyone then looked at me.
"No. They hate me, so sending me is probably not a good idea. I'm only going to convince the Arrowheads."
"Alright. We will convince Pravda. Miho and Hannah will get Kuro Mori Mine. Saori and Yukari will get Saunders. Maho will get St. Gloriana. Any complaints?" Everyone stayed silent. "Alright. Everyone, start your tasks." We all stood up and got out. I should bring Clem. Even though he's silent, he's good at convincing everyone. I walked in the room.
"Clem, you're with me for the day."
"Why?"
"Using your speech skills." He stood up and joined me. I texted Mieko (She gave me her number during our scouts) and she told me to go to Tower 54. As we walked to the Podium, I explained the plan. When we arrived to Tower 54, Someone grabbed my hand and ran.
"Mieko?" I shouted.
"Come on!" We then ran faster. We stopped in front of a large skyscraper. The windows were damaged and there were some people injured outside being dragged in. "This is the HQ. We were just under attack. There was a massive orc who wiped most of us out! Any way, you said that you needed a town?"
"Yeah. Can we meet your leaders for it?"
"Good luck convincing them." We then entered and walked on a gold ring in the wall. "Top floor." We then appeared in a small room with a desk at the end.
"Welcome back, Mieko. Are these the ones who need the commanders?" The person behind the desk said.
"It is. Can we meet them now?"
"You can. I'll let them know now." We then walked through the door next to the desk. We entered a larger room with tables aranged in a U shape. It had a bunch of chairs filled with people with the same ember uniform as the others. Mieko took her seat next to one of the others.
"These are the ones who request for a town."
"Thank you, Mieko. Now, why would you need a town from us?" One of them asked. Clem stepped forward.
"The schools request a town, as you have said, because we need a place that we can defend well. If we have a house then there wouldn't be enough space and the narrow streets would make the place harder to defend because we don't have a clear view of the surroundings. If we have a house in the open then we won't have a constant supply, and there are no escape routes if we are surrounded. A town would allow us to have a constant supply and a clear view of any attacks. This would also benefit you because you will have more troops to defend somewhere else and not have them thinly spread out."
"Hmm... Give us a minute." Me and Clem then walked out of the room and waited.
"In such a short amount of time, you made that?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"If you don't become some sort of leader from your speeches then I am going to be..."
"Don't..."
"Speechless!" I'm not the best with puns...
"I hate you so much." Clem joked.
"Aw..."
"You guys can go back in." The clerk said. We walked back in and looked around.
"You may have your own town. Defend it well. It is in Tower 87. Any other requests?"
"No, We do no..."
"I actually do."
"What is it?"
"The clan that Kutsuki and Awashima are in. Can they join us?"
"Why should we trust you with anything? Never mind with one of our allies."
"He was the one that told me which companies the Blood Guardians were going to use. We should trust him! Plus he's good friends with them." Mieko defended.
"Is that true?"
"Well, I'm not going to say no am I?"
"Fine. We'll notify them of this 'transfer.' You may leave."
"Alright. Thanks."
"No problem." We then left and walked back to the house.
"You're early..." Kawashima said.
"It wasn't that hard. Didn't even need to negotiate that much."
"Hmm... Well, you're the first ones. You can rest here for a bit." The door then opened and Miho entered with Hannah.
"You're late."
"We are?" Miho asked.
"I was joking." I said.
"How did it go?" Hannah asked us.
"I secured a town with some support."
"We have gotten Pravda, but it was difficult. What about you?" Yuzu asked. Clem then left the room.
"It was good. Had some tea whilst we were there."
"Alright. Now we wait for the others." Anzu said. I looked at the others and wondered about have them. I could initiate a conversation and then have them answer them.
"So, how have you guys coped with all this?"
"Uh... We're not even sure."
"How have you?"
"I kind of just stuck with friends. Even though there was a month period where I had to train."
"Train? Why did you guys train?"
"I think it was more of a punishment for me. Kay didn't like how I left her for Ava..." My voice then trailed off.
"Ah... She is normally quite happy."
"Yeah. Best not to make her angry though. She can be quite fierce."
"I think we can tell."
"Ok, good."
"Should we eat something?"
"Yeah. It is time for lunch."
"Do you guys have anything to eat?" I asked.
"Not really. But I did see a place to eat earlier." Hannah said.
"Shall we go?"
"I'm not sure if the council will..."
"They'll be fine with it. If they aren't then just blame it on me." I said. "Lead on, Hannah." She nodded her head and we walked out. The council didn't seem to take notice. During our walk, we went by the medicine shop. "Wait, I'm going to buy some stuff." I walked in and ordered 5 premium health potions. If we get the same attacks as the Arrowheads then we're going to need these. We then carried on and entered a restaurant. It was empty and quiet.
"Hi! How many people are we having?" The waiter greeted with.
"I count 3." I said.
"Alright. You can go to that table." She then pointed to a small table with 3 seats. I pulled out the chairs for everyone and sat at the 1 seated end. The menus were already set on the tables. We flipped through them and thought of what we could order.
"They have apple pancakes?" I asked. "Never had them before. Might as well." I put down my menu and looked at the others.
"What are you going to have, Hannah?"
"I feel like Onigiri. What about you?"
"I'm not sure. I was going to see what you were going to have."
"What about you, Chris?"
"You didn't hear me talk to myself?"
"I did. I didn't hear everything though."
"I said Apple Pancakes."
"Hm... Sounds interesting."
"Have you made your minds yet?" The waiter asked.
"No, my brain is still quite doughy." I joked.
"And non-existent."
"We have. We'll have some Onigiri. He'll have..."
"Apple pancakes?"
"Alright. Please bear with us for a minute." She then went off, presumably to the kitchen.
"So, what are the routines with Ōarai then?" I started.
"Uh... There's training in the morning and then free time."
"Is that it?"
"Yeah. We're not really that strict."
"Neither are we. But, we still do a bit more than that."
"Well for you, you kind of have to. You have a larger school."
"Fair point but..."
"But..?"
"Don't you have to keep everyone active?"
"They're active enough." Miho shrugged.
"Really? I'm going to have to take your word for it." The waiter then returned with our food. We thanke her and started eating. "Oh, I want to meet the teams as well. Do any of them have anything special about them?"
"Yeah. We have 8 Infantry squads and 9 tank crews."
"Oh boy. I'll just meet the commanders instead then."
"Alright. We'll get you to meet them later." We then finished in silence and paid together. We walked back and then heard someone scream. We looked at each other and ran. I then looked around the outside and saw some holes. I burst through the door and saw someone with a spike impaled through their thigh.
"Has anyone got any healing items?" Someone next to them asked.
"I got some!" I then ran to them and pulled out the premium potion. "Weren't you one of the injured ones?"
"Yeah. I haven... AHHH!" He screamed as I pulled the spike out. I quickly forced the potion down their throat. After a bit the wound quickly fixed itself. "Thanks? Why'd you have to do it as a surprise?"
"Because you would get nervous and anxious if I told you." I then patted his shoulder and walked up the stairs. I looked back to see Miho and Hannah talking. I walked in to the girls room and saw everyone waiting for us.
"Where were you?"
"Eating at a restaurant."
"Under whos authority?"
"I believe that it was gods authority."
"Well, at least you're here." Miho and Hannah then walked in and looked around. "We have all done our tasks. We've done stage 1. Now it's time to go to our new town."
"Which is Tower 87." I added.
"So, everyone pack your bags and get ready to go." I then left the room and walked in to my room.
"Now what?" Dale asked.
"We're leaving. Our new town awaits!" We then grabbed our bags and walked down. We were the only ones who seemed to pack the most compared to everyone else. With the exception of Yukari as we saw her walk down. heck, even Miho didn't seem to pack much. I looked at everyones faces to see if I could guess what they were like. So far, I can only see a bunch of tired people. The tankery girls seemed to be the most energetic and happy unlike the infantry. The infantry are meant to be the best ground troops too! After 2 battles they already seem destroyed.
"Is everyone ready?" I asked.
"You're leading now?" Anzu asked.
"As the escort. Half your troops seem to be dead." I replied.
"Fine. They're ready anyhow." I then turned around and walked out. Time for another trip down these streets. I've walked down this... 5 times? In a day. My god. When we arrived, I took a good look around. This is going to be our town for a year (If we defend it well.) It doesn't seem that big, but there are quite a few supply stores. We shouldn't struggle for supplies then. The only problem, that I can think of, is the troops. Not only are they half dead but there could be conflict between the schools. Saunders have killed 2 Ōarai members. We all had different ideas too. Hmm... We should have a meeting with every 'leader' and sort out our disputes. I looked for the student councils amongst the crowd. I then spotted them rounding up a few people. I guess this is for my commander meeting. I walked to them and took a good look at the commanders.
"Just on time! We've got all the commanders together." Anzu said. I looked at a small girl and asked what she's good at.
"Uh... Watching movies?" She said, nervously.
"She's also good at strategies. Sometimes..." Anzu said. I went to the next person. Seemed to have a pirate theme. Oh yeah, she's the one that had a drunk one.
"You're good at getting drunk." I joked.
"My crew are great at everything!" She yelled.
"Alright. Alright. What about you?" I asked the girl next to her.
"We're history experts, so we have multiple defence strategies."
"You can help with me then. You?" I asked the next.
"We're the automotive club! We help with repairs and engineering related things!"
"You'll set up mines later with Clay then... What about you?"
"We're the volleyball club!"
"Uh... So, are you just going to throw your balls at the enemy to knock them out?"
"They're always high spirited. They'll carry on doing something no matter what."
"Alright. That'll be good then. You?"
"We're good at gaming and heavyweights!" She yelled. Her glasses are proper strange... Are those her eyes?
"That... That'll be good for supply handling. What about you?"
"My crew maintain order within the schools!" That'll be good for any riots between the schools.
"That'll be good, especially if the alliance doesn't work out. What about you guys?"
"My squad maintain order as well!"
"Mine are the medics!"
"We're the engineers!" They all then said their roles. Supply, command etc.
"Alright. I think we can make this work." I said to the council.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. We basically have everything covered. The guys that 'maintain order' would help if everyone starts a fight with each other."
"Alright. We have a meeting with the other leaders. I want you to come with us." Anzu said.
"Why? I'm not the infantry commander."
"You've been promoted to second Lieutenent then. Come on." Kawashima said. I followed them to one end of the town to some sort of barn.
"This is our meeting place?"
"It is now. Wait in there as we get everyone here." Yuzu said. I agreed and walked in. I then looked around. It's full of hay as I expected. It's a barn... What should have I expected? I noticed an open window upstairs. I walked up and looked out. So, this part is surrounded by a wheat field. Whenever it's a farm field why is it always Wheat or Corn? I leaned against the window sill and took in the view.
"Fuck..." I muttered under my breathe. I just remembered that Kay's going to be here and she'll probably make some jokes about...
"Hello?" Someone said behind me. I turned around and saw Spears with Kay.
"Oh boy..." I said.
"Oh. Hey, Chris." Spears said. I reached down and grabbed some hay.
"Hay back then." I said, throwing the hay at them. I told you I wasn't good at puns.
"Always the hilarious type. Where's Ava? I wanted to apoligise to her."
"Ava? Oh... She's... She's gone..."
"Really? I'm sorry."
"Yeah yeah. I've heard that already. Can we just move on? I don't want to talk about her until we get back."
"Alright."
"Hey Spears?" I said.
"Yeah?"
"How's everyone under your command?"
"To be honest, it was under Kay's command most of the time."
"Well, how's everyone?"
"They're doing great. Any way, I should get going. I was only here for escort."
"Don't infantry commanders need to be in the meeting?"
"No? Any way, See you guys!" He then walked down and left me with Kay.
"Uh... So..." I started.
"Chris. I'm sorry. I went a bit too angry."
"It's alright. I might give you another chance when we get back. I'm going to stay with Ōarai though. They kind of need more men." On that cue, The rest of the school 'leaders' came up.
"Are we all going to stand?" Katyusha asked.
"No. Chris, can you get the chairs downstairs?" Anzu asked me.
"No I'm physically unable to." I said as I walked down. The chairs... I then spotted some wooden stools next to some Haystacks. They can't be stacked either... I grabbed one and brought it up, until everyone had a seat. We were all aranged in a circle too. Looks like we are in some cult. Kay stood up.
"Now, we're here to discuss our tactics in defense. Does anyone have any idea how to do so?" Kay started. I raised my hand. "Go on then." She then sat back down.
"I'm going to stay seated if that's fine. But, my plan is to have every school have a sector of the town. For example, Ōarai could have this area of the town then Pravda have the next. That'll continue until there's only 1 school left. That 1 school will be in the middle and they'll be in charge of resupplying everyone. We'll rotate every 3 days until we all had a go at different sectors. Then we meet back and evaluate who did the best in what sector and place that school in that sector for the rest of the duration."
"Alright. Anyone else have any other ideas?" Kay asked.
"I do!" Katyusha yelled. "We should freeze the enemy!"
"It's always summer in this town... Plus we get attacked every day, so even if there was Winter then that tactic wouldn't work in other seasons." I challenged.
"How about we stay hidden?" Darjeeling said.
"I was thinking of getting more troops." Kay replied.
"How about higher ground?" Maho said.
"I see flaws in all those plans. Darjeeling, that plan isn't that bad but we can assume that the guy we met in the Colosseum is some sort of god so he can probably direct the troops to us. Kay, that plan wouldn't work either because everyone is already trying to survive on their own and help their own friends. We can't really force them to join us. Maho, we got this town from the Arrowheads. Getting another town from them is going to be difficult."
"We could just camp out on a hill."
"We won't have an easy supply because anyone can cut our route to the towns and we could be surrounded with no escape."
"There's no escape here."
"How did we get here?"
"The telepor..."
"Exactly."
"You fight hard to get what you want." Kay said.
"Which is everyones survival. I'm just trying to get everyone out alive. These plans don't have good chances."
"So, are we going for Chris' plan?" Anzu asked.
"Why not. Who should occupy which part of the town?" Darjeeling asked, between her sips of tea. They then had a massive arguement about it. I stayed out of it and I didn't really care. They are forgetting that we are rotating every 3 days. After a while, we all agree on an arangement. So, we're on supply first.
"Now does anyone have anything that they would like to add?"
"I do."
"Bloody hell..."
"We need to solve our disputes. Our troops aren't going to work together if we're enemies. For example, Ōarai troops might be mad at Saunders for causing 2 deaths."
"They what?" Darjeeling said in shock, slamming her cup on her plate.
"2 Ōarai infantry died from a Saunders attack. That's all the details I'm saying. But, we still need to sort our disputes."
"And how are we going to do that?"
"That I leave to you lot. See ya'll." I then stood up and jumped off. Games make jumping in Haystacks look so easy. It hurts a little. I slid off the side of the stack and walked out. I wonder if everyone is still in the centre? I ran back to the centre and saw that everyone stayed put. "Alright! Everyone listen up!" I shouted. "We've sorted our plan out! We're going to rotate defense parts every 3 days until we completely established our locations! For this rotation, we're going to be here! We're goping to resupply everyone!" Everyone then groaned and moaned. "Don't worry! It's only 3 days! Any way, we'll get out places when the..."
"School council gets here?" Yuzu interrupted.
"Yeah. Show us our living places." Long story short, we got a similar place as last time except it was stone, not wood. We all then decided to rest for the day. In my squad's language, that means sleep all day. Now it's our first day as the suppliers... I wonder how it's going to go.