His body flinched in surprise, and his gaze dilated at the sight, but he remained stoic in his expression. 'This? I saw this before,' he thought when the nurse's voice pierced through his thoughts.
"Are you sure you're okay? Perhaps I should give you another checkup just to be sure".
"Not at all nurse, please attend to the other soldiers….I will get back to you once I rest a little".
The nurse glanced at him and then at the other patient beds where other nurses were currently attending to other severe matters.
She truly didn't have the time to be frolicking about, and the head nurse would give her a stern warning if she was found lacking.
Though, checking a soldier who fainted in the middle of battle wasn't exactly frolicking about.
She glanced at Paxton and sighed. "Please, ensure you remain here until I get back". She said before walking away.
Paxton waited patiently before he laid back down on the bed with a sigh.
'Now…what the hell is this?'
[I AM THE SERVER. HERE TO GUIDE YOU ON YOUR PART TO GREAT POWER, CHALLENGER PAXTON]
'Oh shit….it heard me'.
What Paxton was staring at was a blue screen that appeared in mid-air. He had assumed that he was the only one who could see it since the nurse earlier was unable to see it.
What's more, the manner the words were written was like typing into a computer. It was almost like he was chatting with someone, who responded nearly instantly.
[SWEARING IS NOT A GOOD FEATURE OF A HERO]
Paxton raised a brow in surprise. He wasn't exactly the type of person who swears out in the open, but he did it a lot in his head.
It was amusing since it contrasted greatly with his demure.
'I don't give a fuck. Explain what is happening'.
But sadly, it remained silent.
Paxton waited for a few seconds before giving in.
'I apologize, I'll be a lot more polite with you'.
[GOOD. NOW LET US BEGIN BY EXPLAINING YOUR CURRENT POSITION]
Paxton waited for a few seconds for the Server to continue and it did.
[THIS IS THE REPLAY OF THE BATTLE AT SOLAK, THE KINGDOM THAT WOULD LATER BE KNOWN AS THE KINGDOM OF SLAVE, 1,000 YEARS AGO. YOU HAVE BEEN TASKED AT THE OPPOSITION LINES TO FIGHT AGAINST THE SLAVES AND BRING THEM BACK TO THEIR CAGES]
'Wait What? I'm supposed to send slaves to cages? Are they human?'
[YES. ALL SLAVES CURRENTLY IN THE BATTLE ARE HUMANS, OR PLAYERS]
'Players existed in this timeline?' Paxton wondered, but then again, in his history classes, they had been told on many occasions about the Divergence. Where the Server was created and how the Dark Web and the glitches were banished from Earth. So, the exact date of the Server's founding was unknown to date.
[WITH THAT INFORMATION, THINGS SHOULD BE A LOT SMOOTHER, BUT YOU SHALL BE GIVEN MISSIONS TO ACCOMPLISH]
'Missions? I wasn't told that?'
His brows furrowed deeply.
[THIS IS THE ONLY MANNER OF SUCCEEDING YOUR TEST. NOW, IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT YOU DO NOT NEED TO ACCOMPLISH ALL MISSIONS. SIMPLY ONE WOULD BE ENOUGH, BUT NONE WILL BE A DEATH SENTENCE]
'Oh? Is this what the Representatives meant by you either pass….or you die'.
If the conditions let you accomplish one and still give you a pass, then there must be a catch to it.
[THESE ARE THE AVAILABLE MISSIONS FOR CHALLENGER PAXTON ZEN]
[1. FIND THE SOLACK SPIES WITHIN THE DIVISION]
[2. SAVE AT LEAST A HUNDRED SLAVES OR A HUNDRED SOLDIERS]
[3. MAKE A MIRACLE]
[4. DEFEAT A STORM QUEEN]
Paxton read the list again and again until it sank in.
'How is someone supposed to achieve all four?' He thought with a bewildered expression on his face.
Each of the missions he had been given was equally difficult, maybe impossible.
'Though…what happens when you solve all four?' He wondered.
[THERE WILL BE A TIMER OF COURSE. YOU WILL BE GIVEN SEVENTY-TWO HOURS AND WILL BE FORCEFULLY EJECTED FROM THE SERVER WHEN YOUR TIMER ENDS]
'What? Are you….three days?'
He scanned through the missions again, his thoughts reeling in. 'It will be near impossible to accomplish all four…or even one of them with the way I am.
I have no information, no knowledge and especially…the strength of a normal human. How can I achieve any of this?'
He sighed, but it seemed like the Server wasn't done yet.
[YOU WILL ALSO BE GIVEN A BOOSTER]
Paxton's ears perched up in response.
'A booster?' He asked.
[EVERY GREAT GAME SHOULD HAVE BOOSTERS FOR NEW PLAYERS, CHALLENGERS ESPECIALLY. SO, THEREFORE, YOU WILL BE GIVEN A BOOST]
[PICK FROM THE AVAILABLE BOOSTS]
[1. MEMORIES OF THE PAST SIX MONTHS]
[2. STRENGTH AND AGILITY OF A NOVICE PLAYER]
[3.AN ITEM FROM THE PURCHASE STORE]
[4. NONE]
Paxton raised a brow at the list. There were just two options, with the last being none.
'It's possible that choosing none could be rewarding doubled….but why would I, in my right mind, do so?' He sighed inwardly. 'Give me the first booster'
[YOU WILL NOW RECEIVE THE MEMORIES OF THE PAST SIX MONTHS AND ALL EVENTS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE SINCE ENTERING THE BATTLEFIELD]
[BOOST LOADING…..20%]
[BOOST LOADING…..40%]
[BOOST LOADING…..60%]
[BOOST LOADING…..80%]
[BOOST LOADING…..100%]
[THE SERVER WISHES YOU LUCK ON YOUR TEST OF HUMANITY, CHALLENGER PAXTON ZEN].
The blue screen suddenly disappeared, and a powerful migraine suddenly struck him like a truck, his body jerking from the pain as information, images and conversations flooded his brain.
He whimpered in pain, struggling to stifle the scream from escaping his grasp, when he suddenly felt his head go limp.
'Shit! That Server!'.
Sweat dripped down his forehead as he slowly sat up to meet the concerning gaze of the nurse he had discussed with earlier.
She had noticed his sudden behaviour and had rushed to his side to check up on him, only for his erratic behaviour to come to an end as soon as she got there.
A heavy heave of relief escaped Paxton's lips as he glanced at the nurse for a moment, silence suffusing the air between them.
"I'm fine, Nurse Abigail". He said as he sat up, a slight headache taking its place in his head as he grunted slightly in pain.
The nurse raised a brow in surprise and took a seat on his bed next to him, she placed her hand on his forehead.
"You recall my name now? So you remember now?" She asked, pulling out a thermometer.
"Yes, Yes I did. Where's the Commander? I want to see him myself" He said as he struggled to sit up.
He whisked in pain as he did so, unable to struggle with the plight his head went through.
"The Commander is still at the barricade. The solack slaves intend to bring it down tonight".
'What? Tonight…but'.
He thought as he paused in his position. His thoughts slowly reeled in despite the pain, and he sat back down on the bed. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and then turned to the nurse.
"How many soldiers are injured?"
She raised a brow out of curiosity and slowly stood up after checking his temperature. "Oof. That's high, I may have to administer fever medications for you just in case". She said as she glanced around the tent.
"About fifty of you, the others are either dead or on the battlefield".
Paxton sighed deeply. His memories had returned to him, so now he was more than aware of their plight and the people around him.
Now, what he needed to do was put his plans into great use.
"Then, is Captain Rendo available?"
The nurse nodded slowly. "Yes, he just woke up".
Paxton slowly stood up from the bed, his mind still a mess, but his goal set. "Then, please take me to him.."
The nurse nodded and signalled for him to follow her while he glanced up, at the Blue screen that didn't disappear with the rest.
Right there, was a timer, ticking down to his last day on the battlefield.
71:59:50