'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
"Online Comments/Twitch comments/Narrator"
[Reading description of games/game prompts]
[System]
(Word Count: 896)
~ With Aiden ~
At this time within the game, Aiden had officially begun their assault with his teammates beside him.
Due to their current level, many weapons and accessories were still locked, leaving them with limited options. Aiden chose one of the available weapons, an M1918, as his weapon. Not being a military or history enthusiast, he wasn't particularly concerned with the specifics of the weapons.
'It's only a game, I'd rather just enjoy it then get into the specifics.' He thought, as the rest of his teammates began discussing their strategy.
"So, how should we attack?"
"I don't know, but we need to be quick about it as the other squads have already begun their assault!"
As their words fell, the sounds of soldiers shouting, gunfire, and cannon blasts erupted in the distance. Some players had even managed to secure vehicles and were fast approaching where the battle was at its hottest.
Steel beasts rolled over the gravel, firing at the distant German outposts. The basic wooden and metal propeller planes of World War I roared across the sky, creating an immersive atmosphere of a battlefield.
Aiden opened his squad's configuration and realized that his teammates were asking him for the strategy, since he saw that he was made Squad Captain for the game. Excluding himself, the other four teammates formed a perfect match as each filled a different role – Assault, Support, Medic and Scout.
At his teammates' urging, Aiden opened the map and glanced at it. The entire battlefield was divided into two large areas, Alpha (A) and Bravo (B). Location A was an outpost near a hill and swamp, while Location B was a coastal position.
"Alright, let's take point A first." Aiden decided, aiming for the closest objective to their spawn point, with the rest of the squad agreeing.
After confirming their target, Aiden and his four teammates headed straight for Location A, joining other players from the Allied forces along the way. As they made their way to their target together, Aiden noticed something different about his character – a metal whistle hung from his chest, possibly symbolizing his role as Squad Captain.
Curious, he picked up the whistle and as he was about to blow it, a command prompt had appeared. The prompt ranged from "Attack!", "Defend!", "Hold!", "Quiet!" and more. Wanting to test it out, Aiden blew on the whistle, which then allowed his squad members to understand what the whistle was for.
Excited, Aiden gripped his VR equipment tighter, as the sounds of gunfire and cannon blasts intensified the atmosphere. 'This is it! This feeling! This atmosphere is perfect!'
"Push forward, brothers!" He blew the whistle again. The crisp sound resounded across the nearby squads, alerting other squad captain, whom upon noticing this new feature began to join in. With the continuous whistling, added in the already intense battlefield atmosphere, the emotions of the players ran high.
In reality, the battlefield would have been vast and complex. But in this game, it felt condensed and simple, yet expansive. After less than a minute of running, Aiden and the group had reached the frontline, where the battle was already in full swing.
Smoke filled the air, artillery shells exploded, and tanks and planes clashed. The entire battlefield was electrifying. Aiden and the others were thrilled by the game's environmental destruction features and effects.
With the support of their tanks, projectiles accurately hit a house near the German outpost. Under everyone's gaze, more than half of the house was destroyed.
"Wow! The destruction on the terrain is incredible!"
The German side's positional guns retaliated, bombarding their tanks and creating craters on the ground. It wasn't just buildings, but even the terrain had shown the environmental destruction feature.
During the Prologue Campaign, players had already experienced this feature while in Single-Player. This was the norm as in Single-Player, the data and environment were offline, therefore the destruction effects would be easier to implement. However, environmental destruction in Multiplayer was a whole new level.
It wasn't just Aiden and the group of players who were ecstatic, but even his livestream viewers were feeling the same.
"Attack!"
"Kill all the Nazi soldiers!"
"Stop staring and start shooting!"
While Aiden was still in awe, the rest of his squad had already begun rushing to the frontline, fuelled by enthusiasm. Even the scout, armed with a Gewehr 98, charged ahead. Aiden, realizing he was a step behind, had an idea to boost the morale of his squad. He grabbed his whistle and blew on it once again.
A sharp whistle sounded, and his teammates responded with increased enthusiasm. But in the next moment, amidst the battle, Aiden noticed the icons of his four teammates in the lower left corner change.
First, the assault soldier's icon turned into a skull. Then, within seconds, the medic, support and scout soldiers soon followed. Aiden, who was preparing to charge, stopped and took cover behind a large boulder on a high slope, stunned.
'What happened to my teammates? Did they all just die? Is this what war is like?'
- End of Chapter 16 -