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Chapter 2: Change The World
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Part 1
Jaeger Camp, West Of Hamel...
After a ten-mile trek to the west of Hamel, I was able to find where the jaegers were hiding.
"So this is the place," I mused. "My targets seem to be taking it easy."
I noticed that the Jaegers were all drinking and partying. They also seemed to be less organized. Easy kills, from what I could see.
[Don't let your guard down. While they are not as strong as the woman you killed earlier, they still outnumber you forty to one. They can still kill you if you are not careful.]
Forty Jaegers. The game never outright says how many Jaegers there were, but to think forty of them invaded Hamel. That's why they were easily overwhelmed.
"This is going to be a little tricky," I muttered. "Do you have any tips for me, System?"
[Negative. This mission is yours to do alone.]
So, no help then. Fine, I guess.
I let out a sigh and began to stretch. I needed to warm up before I started eliminating every last one of these jaegers.
"Hey, System. Two questions before I start killing. Who made you and why were you installed to me?" I asked, genuinely curious.
[I'm not obligated to answer that.]
Of course. I should have expected as much.
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Part 2
Jaegers. They are elite mercenary groups that are active across the entirety of the continent of Zemuria.
However, the Jaegers that were supposed to invade Hamel are Jaeger dropouts. These Jaegers are weaker compared to regular ones. They are still more skilled than regular civilians, though.
"So, why did the boss want us to raid a tiny village in the middle of nowhere?" One Jaeger asked his colleague.
"Who knows? As long as we get paid and the job is easy, I'm fine with whatever," Jaeger number two replies.
"One of the scouts said that Hamel had beautiful women in there. You know what that means, right?" Jaeger number one asks, grinning perversely.
The two jaegers knowingly looked at each other before they started laughing. Everyone of the jaegers in this area had the same thought process as these two individuals. They were scum, plain and simple. They didn't have any remorse for their actions.
"Anyways, our shift is almost over," Jaeger number one said. "Wanna go for a drink later? I still have some booze leftover from the village we just ransacked."
"I'll take you up on that-"
Suddenly, Jaeger Number One heard a swishing sound.
*Thud!*
Jaeger number two suddenly fell to the ground, much to the shock of Jaeger number one.
"Hey, bro! What happened?!" Jaeger number said, immediately crouching down to check on his friend, his eyes widening upon examining his friend. "What the heck...? A rock...?"
To the surprise of Jaeger Number One, he saw a pebble embedded in the side of his friend's head, as if it were a bullet. His friend had not been killed by ordinary means.
"Sh*t!" Jaeger number one, out of sheer panic, decided to run away towards the camp. However, as soon as he turned around, the back of his head was pierced by a blade, causing him to die instantly as his body fell to the ground.
"Two down, thirty-eight to go," Matthew said, retrieving the blade that he had just thrown at the jeager's back.
[Excellent work.]
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Part 3
Ten Minutes Later...
The Jaeger leader woke up from the tent, expecting his men to be preparing for their upcoming mission. What he saw, however, was something out of hell. Dead bodies littered the grounds of his campsite. The dead bodies belonged to his Jaegers.
"Yo, you're the leader of these losers right?"
The Jaeger leader turned his head in the direction of the voice. There, he saw a young child holding a bloody sword and the head of one of his men.
The Jaeger leader immediately knew that this child was no ordinary one. He immediately got into a fighting stance and readied his own blade.
It was tense for a moment. They didn't move for a minute as they sized each other up.
The child was the first one to move. He threw the head that he was holding at the Jaeger leader, which he promptly blocked. But as soon as he did so, he lost sight of the child. It was like he disappeared.
"Where did he go...?!" The Jaeger leader thought out loud. His eyes then began to scan the area, trying to look for his enemy. But it was all for naught.
*Slice!*
The Jaeger leader suddenly felt a stinging pain in his leg before falling over. He then turned his head to look behind him.
There, he saw the child standing over him and his severed legs. His eyes widened upon seeing what happened.
"Aaargh?!" The Jaeger leader screamed because of the intense pain of his legs being separated.
"So, Mr. Leader, would you mind telling me the name of the person who sent you here?" The child asked, looking directly into Jaeger Leader's eyes. "If you do, I promise I won't kill you."
The Jaeger leader didn't offer resistance. He immediately cracked and spilled the beans about his contractor. "Rudolf Arundel! It was Rudolf Arundel! He was the one who hired us! Please spare me!"
"I see. Where is Rudolf Arundel right now?" The young boy asked.
"I met with him at Parm last week! But I'm not sure if he's still there though!" The Jaeger leader answered without any hesitation.
"I see... Thanks for your cooperation, Mr. Leader." The child smiles before stabbing the Jaeger leader in the throat.
*Stab!*
"W-what...? I t-thought that y-you said you w-weren't gonna kill... me?" The Jaeger leader wheezed as he began to slowly lose consciousness.
"Sorry, I lied," the child mused as he pulled out the sword, letting the Jaeger leader bleed out.
With the death of the final Jaeger, the Hamel Tragedy was prevented for the time being.
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Part 4
[Jaeger Hunt 1 is complete. Congratulations on finishing your first ever Mission.]
So my life has basically turned into a video game. I honestly don't know what to feel right now.
[You have gained 500 Glory. Glory can be used to buy items at the Glory Shop.]
Cool, my very own shop. I wonder what I could buy.
[You can now access the Status Menu.
The Status Menu is where you can see various your attributes and abilities.
To open the Status Menu just say the key phrase "Open Stats". To close it just say "Close Stats".]
Yep, I'm video game character right now.
[You can now access the Inventory. You can store various items inside of the inventory, but there are some restrictions to what you can store in it.
Firstly, you cannot store living beings inside of the inventory. (You can store corpses though as they are technically as no longer living.)
Secondly, you cannot store objects that exceed the weight of 500 pounds. (227 kilos.)
Then lastly, the maximum number of objects that you can store is 100. (Objects like ammo or arrows take up only 1 slot.)
To open the Inventory just say the key phrase "Open Inventory". To close it just say "Close Inventory".]
I'm a little disappointed that I can't store heavier objects, but I guess I can live with that. Overall, though, this inventory system is really versatile. I could think of many uses for it.
[You can now access the Glory Shop.
Here you can buy various weapons that can help you in your journey.
To open the Glory Shop just say the key phrase "Open Glory Shop". To close it just say "Close Glory Shop".]
So it only sells weapons. I guess that's to be expected. It is named Glory Shop after all.
"Thanks for the info, System." I stated as I stared at the various screens in front of me. "But can you tell me how to remove these floating menus? It's a little bit annoying."
[Just say "Dismiss" and they will disappear.]
I nodded and followed the System's instrucion. "Dismiss."
Immediately upon saying the word, the menus that were clogging up my view all vanished.
"Cool," I mused. Now that those things were gone, it's time to look at my stats. I want to see how strong I am.
"Open Stats," I proclaimed.
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Status Menu:
(Name: Matthew Schicksal)
Attributes:
Strength: 9 (90)
Defense: 8 (80)
Magic Strength: 5 (0)
Magic Defense: 6 (60)
Speed: 10 (100)
Dexterity: 9 (90)
Agility: 10 (100)
Abilities:
Jaded Mind:
You have no qualms about killing. The sight of death no longer causes any mental strain. When you are inflicted with the "Fear" status, it will disappear entirely after 20 seconds.
Heavenly Restriction (Zen'in):
All your stats are multiplied by 10, with the exception of your Magic Strength, which becomes a flat 0.
-
"Interesting." I mused.
Now I understand why I was so strong. This Heavenly Restriction thing is OP. The trade-off is a bit disheartening though. I really wanted to use Arts. I really wanted to use at least a Fire Bolt.
"RIP. My hopes and dreams." I muttered, with fake tears appearing in my eyes.
Regardless, there was one thing bothering me.
"Hey System, why do I have the Jaded Mind ability?" I asked. "When did I get it?"
[It is an ability that kept from your previous life.]
This thing knows about my previous life too? No, of course it doesn't. I should stop being surprised at this point.
More importantly, what did I do in my previous life to get that ability? Was I a police officer? Or maybe even a soldier? Regardless, I welcome this ability with open arms. Not having to worry about death is a blessing because of what I'm planning to do.
"Hey System. Is there a mission where I can kill Rudolf Arundel?" I questioned.
[There are two missions with the objective of killing Rudolf Arundel.]
I raised a brow upon hearing that there were two. "Can you give me the basic gist of the two?" I asked.
[Certainly. The first mission is called the "Assassination Mission: Rudolf Arundel". It's just a simple mission where you kill him, no strings attached. The second mission, on the other hand, is called "Down With Nobility". This mission is much harder as it has you killing Rudolf, corrupt Erebonian nobles, and future members of the Noble Alliance.]
The Noble Alliance, huh? While killing them would be good for the world, with my current power, I doubt I can. Maybe in the future, I'll give it a try. But for now, I'll stick to the simple one.
"Give me the Assassination Mission." I told the System.
[Understood. Assassination Mission: Rudolf Arundel is now active.]
Assassination Mission: Rudolf Arundel
Objectives:
Kill Rudolf Arundel while he's still in Parm.
Rewards:
Assassin Ability
1000 Glory
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Part 5
Forty-Eight Hours Later, Parm...
Rudolf Arundel was furious. More furious than he had ever been, in fact. When he hired those Jaegers, he expected to see results. He expected them to do their jobs. But it seemed that he wasted all that Mira for nothing. Because Hamel Village was still standing.
"What are those damn jaegers doing?!" Rudolf angrily questioned his scouts. "They were supposed to destroy that worthless village last night! Why haven't they done it yet?!"
"I'm sorry, sir. I-it would seem that we have lost contact with their camp." The scout nervously replied.
Rudolf didn't like the answer his scout gave him. So in response, he lashed out by slamming his fist into the wall.
"Damn it! Go to their camps then! I want to know what those useless fools are doing!" Rudolf ordered.
"What if they ran away with the money, sir?" Another of the scouts asked, which earned the ire of Rudolf.
"If they're stupid enough to do that, then we will put out a bounty on their heads!" Rudolf replied, glaring at the scouts. "Go now or I'll court-martial you two!" He added.
The scouts gave Rudolf Arudel a nervous salute before immediately leaving the room. They didn't want to invoke his anger.
"Damn it all! I knew I shouldn't have trusted that bastard, Weissmann!" Rudolf angrily said as he paced his room.
"That's right, you shouldn't have."
Rudolf stopped his pacing. He then glanced to the corner of the room and saw a young boy sitting in one of the chairs.
"A child...?" Rudolf says, perplexed by the boy's presence. He puts aside his confusion as he decides to ask the boy some questions. "How did you get in here, child?"
The young boy smiled mischievously. "Your window was open. I took that as you inviting me into your room," he replied to Rudolf.
Rudolf felt irritated by the child's response.
"Do you think that I'm a fool, child? We are on the fourth floor. It's impossible for someone of your age to climb up here." Rudolf says, dismissing the boy's claims.
"You can choose what you want to believe," the boy says, extending his right hand as if he were trying to grab something. "Open Inventory."
Like magic, the boy suddenly pulls out a pistol, fitted with a silencer, from nowhere. "Close Inventory," the boy says afterwards.
Rudolf Arundel's eyes widened upon seeing what the boy had just pulled off. "What in Aidios's name-"
*Click*
"Goodbye, Rudolf Arundel. The world will be a better place without you in it." The boy proclaims, shooting Rudolf directly in his head.
*Bang!*
[Assassination Mission: Rudolf Arundel is complete.]
[You have gained 1000 Glory. Your total Glory is now 1350.]
[You have gained the Assassin ability. It momentarily gives you 50 Dexterity if your target doesn't detect you. (Does not stack with other abilities.)]
"Dismiss."
...
...
...
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Part 6
An Hour Later, East Of Parm...
After successfully killing Rudolf, I decided to leave Parm and begin my quest to make Zemuria a better place to live.
But to do that, I needed to get more powerful. I might be stronger than a regular person because of my Heavenly Restriction, but compared to the heavy hitters of this world, I would lose immediately if I went up against any of them.
"Hey, System. Do you know of a quick way to get stronger?" I asked.
[I have two suggestions: either you become a "Bracer" and join a "Bracer Guild", or become a full-time "Assassin". These two paths will guarantee the most stat boosts and Glory.]
Becoming a bracer or becoming an assassin. The answer was obvious to me. By becoming a bracer, I won't have much freedom. I'll have to abide by the rules of the guild. Becoming an assassin sounds much more appealing. I might be labeled as a monster by some, but in all honesty, I don't really care about what other people think of me if I could do what I want.
"I'll become an assassin," I told the System.
[Understood. The best place to kick off your Assassin career is in Calvard. From what my data tells me, that is the place where you will get the most lucrative assassination jobs.]
Calvard, huh? I guess I have no problem going to that place.
"To Calvard then." I mused.
As I headed westward to Calvard I failed to notice a young man, adept in magic, watching me from a distance..
"The Grandmaster was right. It would seem that someone from the beyond has entered Zemuria. Things are about to get much more interesting." The young man mused.
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Omake 1: The Second Amendment
Takes Place Moments After Matthew Kills The Jeager Leader...
I haven't felt this way for a long time. I was like a kid in a candy store. As soon as I opened the Glory Shop, I began salivating like crazy upon seeing its selections.
"M9A4, AK-47, MP 41, Colt Delta Elite Gen 2, Desert Eagle, Mac-11, ACR... Bro, I can only take so much." I said, staring at the many gun selections in the Glory Shop.
I have a feeling that I was a gun freak in my previous life. No, scratch that, I probably was. Just looking at these guns makes me feel things that I shouldn't.
[I would like to inform you that you still have a mission to complete.]
Sh*t, the system is right. I need to calm down. I took a deep breath and decided to purchase the weapons that I will use for the mission.
1 x Glock 19 for 100 Glory
1 x Suppressor for 25 Glory
5 x Packs of 9mm for 25 Glory
All in all, I used a total of 150 Glory.
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To be continued...
Next chapter will have a huge time skip.
Despite only showing guns, the Glory Shop sells other types of weaponry.