Tora sat in her seat with her head down, waiting patiently for the drop-off. Each aircraft carried around 10-15 participants. There was a total of ten aircraft that made their way to section H of Earth.
Section H was a secured location used for training purposes. The area was heavily forested and had lots of water. Holographic equipment was placed in every corner, perfect for imitating an assault by the enemies.
After a century, they had only managed to recapture 15% of the world. To go around parading their achievements like clowns, what a bunch of jokesters.
Tora chuckled and leaned back in her seat lazily. It wasn't until her eyes started scanning the participants that she realized how much she was being watched.
"Oi! Omega! How about staying with me? I'll take good care of that pretty body of yours." One of the guys across from her cackled in amusement.
'He was quiet until you glanced at him. What an idiot.'
Yeah, tell me about it.
'It's best to just kill off a minor character like that.'
Are you an idiot? Even criminals are penalized by being sent to the front lines. We need all types of assholes for the fight. Killing is not an option...yet.
"Are you really going to ignore me!? Omega bitch. I'll make you grovel at my feet sooner or later." He felt embarrassed at the chuckles from the other participants when Tora ignored him.
"What a dud." Another female participant chimed in. "She scored a perfect on the physicals but you scored less than 30. You, making her grovel at your feet? Hilarious."
"Participant number 43, have you seen THE ENEMIES? You seem to have enough thoughts left to think about me instead of what's down there." Tora grinned and leaned forward, placing her arms on both her legs.
"They're not that special! I can kill them with a punch!" He demonstrated his punching techniques which made her chuckle.
"That's only if you can get near them, no?" Her short hair and bangs fell on her face, casting shadows that greatly created a sinister look in her eyes. The smirk she had on shook the people in the aircraft.
"They might look like humans when they shape-shift, can you truly trust the people around you to be the real ones? The ability to skin its prey in mere seconds or their favorite killing style of shoving their claws up your rear and disemboweling you, are you confident against such beings?" The playful tone in Tora's voice sent shivers down their spines.
"Wha...t? That's—! Those are just stories to scare newcomers!"
Dumb. He's definitely going to be eliminated first in the test for dying a stupid death.
"But then again, it's just a hologram. I wish you success in your punches." Tora sarcastically said and went back to ignoring everyone.
She's had much practice with their body enhancement suits for combat. The suit stiffens when it receives damage and softens the blows by releasing steam. So every time you are hit, it looks like you are smoking up.
The full bodysuit is considered the most advanced form of combat currently. It boosts the wearer's performance and ability greatly, making the wearer seem superhuman. The participants are not given a parachute when they jump off because the suit will help with the landing.
The drop-off was the most dangerous part, the landing would alert any nearby enemies in a span of seconds. And within that minute they will be dead. Most Participants will react too slowly and get eliminated within a minute. It is highly encouraged to run the moment the feet hit the ground and find a safe spot.
"Participant Number 37 ready for drop off." The sergeant that accompanied the flight announced, signaling for Number 37 to stand up and walk towards the circle. Once the blinking red light turns blue, the circle will open and the participant will free fall.
Each person had their turn in different areas and now it was Tora's. She stood in the circle feeling her heart rate increase drastically. She might have been looking calm but she too, was afraid of the unknown. Her eyes focused on her feet as she waited for the drop.
The floor opened and she felt herself being pulled down by gravity. It was fast. In the blink of an eye, her feet struck the ground and her knees bent, nearly causing her to fall over. The impact stunned her for a few seconds, sending needle-like tingles up her legs to the tip of her fingers.
Damn it! The impact was worse than I thought!
The nape of her neck shrunk and her danger sensors were ringing in her mind. She clenched her muscles and launched herself in the air, jumping as high as possible as she watched something flash in the spot that she had just stood on.
A large creature with a sword-like spine looked around confused. Its long limbs had long sharp blades accompanying each side. This helped it slice the opponents in half with just a swing of an arm or leg. It had multiple tentacles that wrapped around its body, this was useful in grabbing stuff that was far away. The heightened sense of smell, hearing, and sight made it impossible to outmaneuver unless it was dead.
She let out a breath and grabbed the machete strapped around her hip. Her eyes focused on just one area, the nape of the creature. Her hands clenched the machete tight and braced herself for the fall. The sound of an object stabbing deep into flesh was sickening. Tora pushed as hard as she could and quickly hopped off as it swung its arm at her.
The tentacles reached towards her trying to grab hold. She rolled and took out a smaller knife slashing at it, nearly severing the tentacles. She shot forward while it stumbled back and shoved the knife deep into its throat, pushing it sideways to sever half of it. It swung its arm again and she ducked, twisting around to the back and quickly grabbing the hilt of the machete. With the help of the suit, she strengthened her arms and slashed the other side, completely severing the head.
Tora didn't have time to celebrate her first kill. Storing the knife and machete back to its spot, she leaped through the forest quickly and found a safe spot up on a very large tree at least two miles from the initial drop-off point. She made sure to scan the area, and once she cleared it, she sat down to relax and think.
She had sparred with holographic versions of the creatures before but this felt entirely off. The feeling she felt when she stabbed it was still fresh in her mind.
It didn't feel like pixilated particles. It was oddly real. Something's not right.
Thinking that, she pulled the machete back out for inspection. The yellow glow of the blood coated the blade. The uneasy feeling she had felt from that smiley face note that Asier sent her finally made sense.
Fuck you, Asier! How dare you do this!?
'That hurts my feelings. I didn't do this, I just didn't notify you that it was happening.'
One and the same, you cowardly asshole. Who's responsible for bringing in real ones?
'Not gonna say. I like watching you like this.'
She clicked her tongue in annoyance and inspected her suit. The suit was clean of blood, not even a spec of dirt was on it. This was because the suit came with a function that eliminated any form of foreign substance on it. If she had acted a second slower, she would have died. The thought caused a shiver to spread down her spine. Her head ached and her body was now tired from the adrenaline wearing off.
"Colonel Mason, we need to talk."
[I hear you loud and clear, soldier.]
"I need an explanation for why a hologram bleeds." She shook the blade around in front of the tiny flying ball.
Her fight earlier should have been first viewed live by the people in the control room and second by the supervisors of each participant. The viewers of the live broadcast would receive a ten-minute delay of the footage, in case an emergency cut needs to be made.
[I've already sent in a letter for an investigation. It seems that someone pulled a fast one and dropped in some real ones. Good job, that was a great judgment on your part.]
"I see."
[Amazingly, the creatures are still at their basic levels and not the already evolved ones. That would bring you trouble since normal weapons don't work on them. Keep to high ground as much as possible. Check in with me in a couple of hours and I will update you on what will happen next. For now, stay alert.]
"Thanks, I'll do that."
Tora leaned back on the tree and did some thinking. Her mind tried to recall any mentions of the 118th test in the novel. There was a huge description of the 117th test because that was the year Freya Lee enlisted in the military. There was, however, an instance that stated an accident had happened during the field testing of the 118th Regiment, but Tora had ignored that because it was the field testing after everyone had finished their basic training.
Did it mean this test? An accident that led to the death of nearly the whole Regiment involved a rescue mission that launched Freya into fame and blossomed the romance between her and Ethan. This novel is shit.
She rolled her eyes and stood up. Her eyes scanned the forest floors and nearby trees for any disturbances. It was good to stay up here but it was also dangerous to stay in one spot for too long. The creatures had exceptional detection skills and would notice her if they caught a whiff of her scent.
The world must be pushing for something to happen faster than in the novel because of the anomaly called Hallie Moore.
It was an odd feeling. Her lips trembled and the corner of her mouth fought to curl up. The thought of meeting Freya earlier than expected got her feeling excited. The faster Tora destroyed the future of both of the main protagonists, the faster this all ended.
'You look pretty when you smile like that.'
"Shut up."
If anyone were to witness her smile right now, they would have felt creeped out by it. The sinister look that displayed on her face made everyone in the control room silent.
"You're watching, aren't you, Liam? Send in the fucking rescue team before everyone dies. Send a message forcing all the participants to head to the military facility as well. I'll come up with a solution to hold our grounds for the time being."
She leaped from tree to tree and ran quickly without stopping when it was the plains. Her holographic map showed the distance as 16 miles. This meant that she had no time to set up camp and could only push forward.
If I don't burn out from exhaustion first, I should get there in about three hours. I must be psychotic because my heart keeps on beating like crazy from excitement.
'Did you know that the creatures are great at imitating what they see?'