[You have transmigrated into Gaia Defense RPG!]
I looked at the words floating before me with a frown.
I had fallen asleep while playing a popular game called Gaia Defense, and when I woke up I found myself in a room I didn't recognize.
I wasn't frowning because I didn't like the idea of being in a world with magic. I was instead frowning because of the game I was in.
It started as a light hearted academy simulator until you took the entrance exam and then it revealed that it was the exact opposite.
During the entrance exam demons attack and almost all the examinees die.
Because of that however the player would get into the academy even though they were incredibly weak. Then the story would progress with the player getting stronger in the academy through training and various events that increased the player's strength.
The events that happened were challenging though.
Since it was my life now on the line I didn't think lightly of it anymore.
"I hope I have a decent class."
Class.
In Gaia Defense your class was important to determine the path you had to take. Thankfully I had played with all the classes in the game so I was confident in being able to make do with whatever I got.
However as I sifted through the messages in front of me I had that confidence swiftly shattered.
[Class: Technomancer]
"..."
I stared with dead eyes at the message I received. A tear slowly fell down my cheek and I closed my eyes for a while without speaking.
After a deep breath I opened my eyes again.
"Of course... Why would I receive a class I have played when the entire situation is defying logic? Wouldn't that just make too much sense?"
I got up from the couch I was sitting on and made my way to the bathroom. I quickly splashed some water on my face and looked at myself in the mirror.
"At least I'm handsome..."
I breathed a sigh of relief. In the game you could customize your character to look how you want, but I didn't think I would have that luxury so I was worried I might be ugly.
I know it is shallow, but if I had to deal with all this stress I thought at least being good looking might make me feel better. It did too.
I had long black hair that went past my shoulders and enchanting gray eyes with flecks of purple in them. I had well defined features and clear skin. I looked like someone who could be a model or an actor in my previous world.
Of course in this world my looks were actually not that out of the ordinary. Most of the main characters were super beauties and heart throb men. Still, being on their level was nice, and I smiled lightly to myself.
In a better mood I slicked back my long black hair and turned my eyes back to the system messages.
[Technomancer Lvl. 1]
[Skills:
Hack - Level 1
Summon Drone - Level 1
E.M.P - Level 1
Machine Learning - Level 1]
I took a quick look at the skills.
Hack simply allowed me to hack technology, however at higher levels I should be able to instead Hack and modify magical artifacts.
Summon Drone would create a drone that would attack from a distance. What it shot out? I didn't know yet.
E.M.P actually affected all energy waves around me in a 10 foot distance. This allowed me temporarily interrupt even magic near me. At level 1 it only last for a second, but that still had use.
Finally there was Machine Learning. It actually allowed me to apply technology or magic I have learned to my own skills. This must be how I would empower my skills like my drones.
Since I now knew my skills I began to make some plans for the future. It seemed like I would heavily rely on discovering and studying artifacts.
I though about what I needed to do next. This should be the beginning.
You woke up in a hotel room. All you had was a smartphone and a weapon that matched your class.
Walking over to the desk I found a phone next to a gun that was in a holster. I took the phone and opened it briefly.
There wasn't a code set so I quickly set one before stuffing the phone in my pocket.
There weren't any people who were friends with the protagonist so I didn't have to bother checking my phone for now.
Instead I was more interested in checking the gun.
It was combination of a modern gun and magic. This world referred to this as Magic-Tech. The way this gun should work is that by loading mana into it, it would turn that mana in a bullet and fill the magazine.
I attached the holster to my side and held my hand on the gun as I left the hotel room. I remembered from the game that mana was an energy you could feel in your core, and by focusing you could direct that energy.
I walked while I tried to find where my mana was collecting in my body.
By the time I reached the elevator I had managed to find an area of my stomach where I felt there was a foreign energy.
While I rode the elevator to the ground floor I directed that energy into my gun.
It took a while but eventually I finished.
I opened my status and checked my mana.
[MP: 80/100]
It was the same as in the game. I checked just to see if I had some sort of hidden buff or debuff from my class.
Gunslinger was a class that had better mana efficiency with guns, while a class like Pugilist had a worse mana efficiency with guns.
Technomancer had neither. Which was good to hear that it had no negative, but that meant it was likely that I relied heavily on my skills.
I loaded my gun now, since I could regain the mana by the time I got to the exam, so that I would have full mana and bullets for the exam.
I knew where the exam was, from playing the game, so I simply walked there while going through all the things I would need to prepare for.
****
"Huff huff huff."
Gina Wilcox had been running frantically through a forest for the past ten minutes.
She was in the forest taking the entrance exam to Dawn Academy when it all went wrong. The area they were taking the exam in was sealed off by a barrier and demonic beasts started pouring out of portals.
The students didn't stand a chance and they were quickly slaughtered by the monsters.
Gina, and a few others, had reacted quickly. Leaving the area before they were killed, and running away into the forest to survive until the academy professors bypassed the barrier.
Gina leaned against a tree while gasping for air. She looked all around her for a moment to make sure she was safe. When she felt like she was safe she sat down under the shadow of the tree and rested.
"What the hell is going on?! What are demonic beasts doing here?"
Gina was catching her breath when she suddenly heard a low humming sound nearby. She stood up and slowly walked towards the direction of the sound.
Attached to a tree was a clunky box that emitted the humming sound. She reached towards it when she suddenly heard a twig snap behind her.
She quickly turned her head and saw a strange boy looking at her.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you."
She pulled out her rapier and took a defensive stance.
"W-who are you?! And what is this thing?"
However the boy simply looked at the box before unholstering the gun on his waist.
Gina grit her teeth and glared at the boy.
"It's a barrier artifact. It's what's keeping the professors out."
"So you're with the demons!"
Gina was about to rush forward but stopped in place when the boy pointed the gun at her.
"Don't."
Gina had to admit that with her lack of defensive abilities a gun could easily kill her or seriously injure her. Resigning herself to dying here she slowly backed up towards the device.
'Even if I die here I will break this device and save everyone else!'
She was about to reach the device when a gunshot rang out. It flew right by her head and hit the tree that the device was on.
"I told you not to touch it. If you touch it, you'll die."
"I don't care if I'll die! I'll stop you and whatever demons you're working with!"
Gina was expecting the boy before her to have a condescending look on his face and to gloat about how she can't stop them.
However instead he looked confused.
"Huh? I'm not working with the demons. I'm trying to stop them too."
It was Gina's turn to be confused when the boy suddenly shouted at her.
"DODGE!"
He pointed his gun towards her again and immediately pulled the trigger. Gina quickly dodged to the side as the bullet flew past her head. She turned her head to see a goblin with a bullet hole in it's chest.
It dropped the sword that it had raised and Gina realized that the boy had saved her life. Reacting quickly she stabbed out to finish the goblin off. She pierced it's throat and stepped back to avoid any retaliation.
However the goblin fell to the ground without making another move.
Gina was breathing heavily, unmoving because of shock, when a voice came from beside her.
"You should pay attention to your surroundings more."
She turned her head and found the boy was standing directly beside her now. His gun bolstered while he approached the artifact. Gina watched in amazement as the boy stood next to the device and muttered something under his breath.
"E.M.P."
A wave of energy burst from him and she saw the barrier disappear. The boy quickly grabbed it and smashed it on the ground.
At that exact moment a bunch of figures sprinted past the two. Gina turned to look at them but noticed that the boy who destroyed the barrier was looking blankly at the air.
****
[Quest complete!]
[You have saved Gina Wilcox! Her presence will have an impact on the future.]
I had just destroyed the barrier device when I received the notification, but I hadn't moved yet. I felt the professors sprint past me, hoping to save other students but I ignored them.
Instead I curiously looked over at the girl I had saved.
'Gina Wilcox. I've never heard of her, but from the situation she must be the person who breaks the barrier in the game.'
Originally she must have died in every playthrough, since the barrier artifact has a spell on it that kills the person who destroys it.
I had found it a few times when I played but if I broke it I would just die. Since I died I never found out that this Gina girl lived. Also no other class could destroy the barrier and survive.
However my EMP skill was able to perfectly negate the device and the spell on it.
'This is a first. I wonder if this girl is someone incredible or just an extra?'
Apparently I stared at her too long because she quickly looked away and coughed in her hand while blushing.
"W-we should move away from here, and head somewhere safe while the professors handle the situation."
I realized that she must have felt uncomfortable with my stare so I nodded and began walking towards the area where we entered the forest.
Along the way we saw other students coming back as well but they were all more haggard than us. They had clearly fought to survive or were running desperately.
They looked at us with slight contempt in their eyes, but I was sure when they found out that we were their saviors they would lose the attitudes.
Ignoring their gazes I turned my attention towards the exit. When we got there there were several healers who checked everyone who came out and began treating the wounded.
Before I could find a place to sit down and relax a woman approached me.
I looked at her and recognized her immediately.
'Amelia Redding. The 1st year homeroom teacher.'
When she reached me she looked at me with a cold gaze.
"You need to come with me."
Knowing that it wasn't a request I obediently followed her to a nearby tent.
Stepping inside I realized that it was much larger inside than it appeared. I was curious about how the magic worked but I knew now wasn't the time. I sat in a chair while Amelia sat on the other side of the desk between us.
She quickly opened a laptop before turning it towards me. On the screen was a recording of me destroying the barrier artifact.
I looked at it before looking back at her.
"I was there. I remember what happened."
I said to her. It might sound bold but honestly I was acting like this because I was annoyed that I had been brought here and not told anything.
"That device had a trap on it, not one that a student should be able to deactivate so how did you do it if you weren't working with the demons?"
I felt her release a heavy aura and my body felt like it was being pushed down. However I endured it and answered slowly.
"I have a unique magic that disrupts artifacts. That's how I was able to destroy it safely. The spell was built into the artifact so it was affected too."
She looked at me for a while while trying to read my body language for any signs of a lie but after a while the pressure let up. A sigh escaped her lips and she bowed her head slightly towards me.
"I'm sorry for the interrogation. In fact we were all incredibly thankful when we saw you disable the barrier, but we didn't know what happened so we were skeptical of your intentions."
She turned the laptop. She began to use it for a moment before sitting back and reading something aloud.
"Solomon Reed. No background, no outstanding skills and no relatives. You seemingly came out of nowhere."
I nodded slowly to her statement. I didn't know where the protagonist came from, and it was never explained either, so it wasn't wrong to say that I came from nowhere.
'It's a weird name though. I don't know why but it sounds familiar... Eh, maybe it's a name I used in one of my playthroughs. I've had so many characters that it's very likely.'
"Well.. Regardless of your past we are incredibly thankful to what you did. We are going to pass everyone who survived... The first year class this year will be incredibly small but we hope to see you develop well. You're free to head out. We will leave after we confirm the whereabouts of all the participants."
I nodded and left the tent.
I sat down while browsing my phone. After an hour we finally left the exam site and boarded a train to the academy.