After shopping and using the artifact - of course, minus the mask and cloak, I didn't want to look like a weirdo - I stood before the large screen that explained the details of the upcoming mini-game.
[Welcome to Galactic Conquest!]
[Game difficulty: 4 stars]
[Requirement: Players will be transported to their respective starships, divided into Yellow, Green, Blue, and Red teams. Each player takes on one of two roles: Protector or Infiltrator.]
[Objective: Protection Team Task: Safeguard the Galactica Cube to prevent infiltration to snatch it, securing points for your team.]
[Objective: Infiltrator Team Task: Seize the Galactica Cube to accumulate points for your team.]
[The team with the most Galactica Cubes at the end of the game emerges victorious!]
[Limitation: Players can only utilize skills predetermined by the game. Only passive skills are permitted for use during the mission.]
[Rewards: based on the number of Galactica Cubes acquired by your team]
[Time Remaining: 5 hours]
[May the stars favor your strategy!]
Lord, that's a really long game! But it seemed fun though and since it was just 10 AM here, the game would end at 3 PM. Not bad.
Since the difficulty was also more harder than the Eggventure Rally, the rewards should be more tempting, right?
Lost in thought, I was startled when someone touched my shoulder. Darn it! People should stop doing that!
I turned around to find Gracia smiling. "Why don't we play this game together? It will be perfect for team bonding, right?" she suggested.
I glanced at Gideon behind her and agreed, "Sure. Why not?"
Having Gideon on my team would be beneficial given his strength. Since he was also from the military, he must have a great understanding of battle strategies too.
"Perfect! Let's go!" Garcia exclaimed, pulling my arm as the three of us teleported to the game hall.
The disorienting teleportation left me a bit nauseous, but as I surveyed my surroundings, I found myself in a spaceship with other players waiting for the game to begin.
I could saw many gisnt screen in front of me, written in it "Galactica Conquest" and the universe beautiful view.
Mimi and Mini were right in front of me, wearing a white spacesuit that looked more like a bodysuit, extremely tight. As I saw the attire I used, I was glad we were not wearing the same suit, that white one looked uncomfortable to use.
I was clad in a sleek black military-style suit with a touch of robotics. A chip in my ears transformed into a helmet when pressed, giving me an Ir*nman-like vibe.
Goddamn! It was so cool! This game would be fireee!!!!
"Cool, huh?" Gracia exclaimed, grabbing my shoulder. However, I couldn't spot Gideon anywhere.
"Where is Gideon?" I asked, scanning the area without finding him.
"Well, probably we are in different teams. Look at the color of your light in the suit," Gracia explained.
Observing my suit again, I noticed a blue light in every gap, indicating the color of our team.
"Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Galactic Conquest! As you can see, all of you are already separated by teams! This is the blue team. Remember all of their faces before the game starts, alright?"
Mimi announced enthusiastically, with Mini holding a board that read "Welcome to the Blue Team."
As I glanced around, I noticed twenty players waiting for the game. Suddenly, Jayden appeared in front of me, it scared me.
"Jayden! I told you not to just appear all of a sudden!" I scolded, grabbing his shoulder.
He chuckled, replying, "I'm sorry, Seth, but you really need to get used to it."
He had a point. My tendency to get startled could be a vulnerability, as Niel had exploited.
"Have you all read the rules? Let me share something the screen didn't tell you yet!" Mimi's voice drew my attention.
"You will be divided into four teams with five members each—three Infiltrator Teams and one Protection Team! The Infiltrator Teams can disguise as enemy team members using a skill activated for five minutes, with a half-hour cooldown, so use it wisely!"
"After completing your task, the Galactia cube will be yours to protect! not only defend your own cube but also the one you've stolen!"
"If your team's Galactia cube is stolen, the Protection Team is freed from their task and can join another Infiltrator Team to hunt down another cube!"
"The game won't end until either you die or the time's up! May the stars favor your strategy!" Mimi announced with excitement, her voice ringing out through the spaceship.
Then, I could feel my body being teleported again, I hate this feeling. As I opened my eyes, teleportation-induced nausea still lingered.
Garcia stood in front of me in what appeared to be the control room. The giant screen and people bustling around indicated the seriousness of the situation.
A bunch of people in front of a supercomputer and running around with their documents. I also heard one of them wanted to go to Planet X or something.
"Hey, you up?" she asked, "It seemed like the only people that realized we're from another team are the players. They are just NPCs," she explained well.
"Ugh... Oh yeah," I responded, struggling to shake off the disorientation.
I could only see Garcia though, Wasn't a team supposed to be five players?
"If you're looking for other team members, they've already fled. You took quite some time to wake up," Garcia remarked, revealing her keen awareness.
"Sorry about that," I apologized, preparing to move.
But before that, I realized I holding something, it was a big gun, like a gun from a sci-fi movie that could shoot lasers. I really wanted to try it now.
"Cool right? See, this gauntlet, I can shoot laser with it." Garcia showed me her gauntlet that had a hole in its palm, probably a place where the laser would come out.
"I can even throw it and it will come back to me! Want to see?" Garcia suggested.
Before I could respond, she unleashed an unexpected attack on one of the control room personnel, making him thrown to the biggest screen in the room.
It was a fucking dumb idea since the emergency alarms blared and the red light flashed. Everything was in chaos and the NPCs running away from the room, some even fell to the floor pathetically.
I sighed hard, I looked at Garcia with a "What the fuck are you doing!?" face and she just shrugged and chuckled.
I didn't realize she shared the same brain cell with Matthias, probably gave me all the trouble from the start of the game to the end of it. I could imagine all the possibility that everything could gone wrong if I was still with her.
"Let's hide and launch a surprise attack. I want to try out my new power," Garcia proposed, taking cover behind a control console.
I rolled my eyes and followed suit. Soon, the automatic door opened, revealing three players in yellow-lit spacesuits—two armed with guns and one wielding a sword that looked remarkably like a lightsaber!
If I materialized my short sword, would it turn out to be like a short lightsaber or something? Because I really want to try it!
Well anyway, let's focus on the problem here first. As I prepared to engage in the fight, Garcia took the initiative with incredible agility.
"Eat this shit!" she exclaimed.
Jumping out of the control room, she swiftly activated her laser skill, incapacitating the player with the sword. The other two players, clearly taken aback, attempted to shoot at her, but Garcia skillfully dodged their laser shots.
Performing acrobatic maneuvers, Garcia moved in a zigzag pattern, leading the players backward until they were no longer in the room.
Unexpectedly, she ran through a wall, climbed it with her feet, somersaulted, and while she was in the air, she unleashed her laser skill once more, eliminating both opponents.
Holy shit!
Well, Garcia might have the same brain as Matthias but damn! She knows how to solve her problem! I didn't even need to do anything.
That didn't mean I couldn't do anything, I COULD but well let's just leave everything to the troublemaker.
{Nah, you're such an NPC}
Shut up Tiamat, I didn't need your opinion now, and stop reading my mind and stop talking when I didn't ask you.
Tiamat just chuckled and gave me a big screen written in it:
{CONGRATULATIONS, YOU'VE EARNED A NEW TITLE!}
{TITLE: YOU'RE JUST AN NPC}
I glared at the screen as if I could punch it without seeming strange. "I'm not NPC! Damn it!" I muttered in frustration, irritated by the unwanted commentary from Tiamat.
***
Writing this, I realized that... I can't write sci-fi at all. Look at how dumb Seth explains the background of it. It's all so horrible lol