Chapter 1

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 1

Chapter Title: Rookie!!!

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"Rookie!!!"

The first words I heard the moment I opened my eyes.

"Snap ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out of it, rookie!!!!"

I glanced around. Gray metal walls everywhere.

Right then.

A mechanical whine echoed from somewhere—weeeeng!—and red warning lights started flashing on the ceiling.

And this alien sensation wrapping around my body.

I turned my head to look at the wall, which reflected my image like a mirror. A full-body combat suit encased me from head to toe.

"PA-48?"

Something I'd only seen in that game... no, the trash game everyone called it.

The power armor commonly used in Nano Online, that notorious flop.

'Ah, shit.'

Don't tell me this is one of those cliché possessions?

Into a trash game that got shut down after just 30 months, of all things?

"Hey, rookie!! Get your head in the game!!!"

I whipped my head around at the sudden shout. A man in the same combat suit was glaring at me.

His face, visible through his helmet, was drenched in sweat, his eyes brimming with terror.

"You wanna die to those bugs!?"

"Sorry, Squad Leader Karl!"

This body's memories, I guess.

I called him Squad Leader Karl on reflex.

"Our squad's holding the line at Sector 3! Got it, rookie!?"

"Yes, sir!!"

I bellowed back at him, and he strode past me toward the front. I grimaced at the ominous sounds echoing around us.

Of course. This was straight out of the tutorial.

The tutorial started just like this.

You wake up on the battlefield, hold out against the swarming bugs until rescue.

Clear it, or you're done.

Your character gets deleted, back to level 1.

How bad does the balance have to be for a game to eat every curse word in the book and shut down?

...So if I die, that's it for me too?

The thought hit me just as—

"Huh?"

The translucent window floating before my eyes nearly sent me into another panic—

"Gahk!"

Something stabbed into the nape of my neck, and icy liquid surged through my veins.

My heart started pounding like mad, on the verge of bursting.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

"Ugh...!"

Every sensation amplified tenfold: footsteps from the far end of the corridor, the chill of the metal walls, the metallic tang stinging my nose.

"Just like in the game."

Stimpack.

The drug Nano Online gives soldiers—an item that lets you go out easy when it's time.

It explodes your combat power in the moment, but chips away at your health each use.

Plus a 30-second cooldown, so you can't spam it.

But the system force-fed it to me?

What, forced tutorial now?

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grumbled on reflex—

"Kieeeek!!!!!!!"

A sound worse than nails on a chalkboard pierced the air.

"Everyone, battle stations!!!!!"

Squad Leader Karl's roar rang out as a grotesque monster emerged from the shadows at the corridor's end.

A Bug.

Humanity's nemesis, monsters infesting alien planets that feed on people.

"For humanity!!!"

"For humanity!!!"

"For humanity!!!"

The squad echoed Karl's cry, unleashing their rifles.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Gauss Rifles' thunder filled the corridor. I raised my gun on instinct too.

Unfamiliar weapon, but my body moved on its own.

Like I'd trained for years.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I pulled the trigger, bullets flying. In-game, one mouse click sprayed them, but here the recoil jolted from wrist to shoulder, vivid and real.

"Cease fire!"

The blind barrage ended, smoke cleared, revealing the bullet-riddled beast.

No, Bug.

It resembled a massive mantis. A Type 1 Bug.

The weakest of them, but still capable of massacring dozens of civilians on the spot.

In short, this world was pure dark fantasy, hopeless.

Except for one thing.

"Listen up! We're gonna win this!"

Yeah.

"We're all going home alive to sound the horns of victory!!!"

This game nailed one thing: the romance.

That's why I played its trash ass for 30 months and ended up possessed.

"For humanity!!!!!!"

The squad's cheers reverberated down the hall.

But I stayed silent.

'Romance my ass.'

I didn't play for 30 months because of romance.

"For humanity!!!!!!"

Lies.

Okay, fine, it was the romance.

"We're all going home alive!!!"

Karl's shout continued.

"Families waiting! Lovers waiting! For the families and lovers who sleep soundly at night believing in us!!!!"

Cliché lines.

Predictable plot.

Cheesy direction.

'Damn, I loved it...!'

That's why I stuck with it for 30 months.

Balance in the toilet, bugs everywhere, optimization garbage.

But no game captured that romance like this one.

Camaraderie, sacrifice, unbreakable will.

The community gallery just mocked it, but I ate it up.

"Advance!!"

The squad surged forward at Karl's command.

And I followed.

"For humanity."

I muttered softly.

But romance alone won't clear the tutorial.

Average clear rate: 10%.

Even for veterans—9 out of 10 runs, you die.

...Half of those from getting drunk on romance and dying like idiots.

"Something ahead!!"

The lead soldier's yell had me aiming reflexively.

End of the corridor.

Something stirred in the dark.

"Form up in Line 1!"

We shifted to Line 1 formation at Karl's order.

A full-frontal barrage setup—but wrong move.

This was the wipeout route.

I spoke up.

"Squad Leader Karl! Check the ceiling!"

"What!?"

"I heard noises from the ceiling! It could be luring us, ambushing from up there!!"

Karl's pupils dilated.

For a split second—then he snapped his rifle up and fired.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Kieeeek!!!!!"

Two Bugs hidden in the ceiling turned to Swiss cheese.

"Nice work, rookie."

"Thank you, sir."

But we were far from done.

This was just the beginning.

"Kieeek!!"

Another cry echoed from deep in the corridor.

But this one was different.

Lower,

heavier,

more vicious.

And I knew who—or what—was making it.

"No way..."

Karl realized it too; his face went ghost-white. Too late.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Heavy footsteps, and a massive shadow loomed from the dark.

Four arms, armored exoskeleton.

Two razor horns crowning its head.

At least three meters tall.

Type 2 Bug. The tutorial boss.

"Type 2! Everyone, fall back!"

He called retreat—our firepower couldn't handle it—but too late.

Thud!

The Type 2 slammed its foreleg down. The floor cracked, shockwave rippling out.

"Arghhh!!"

The frontliner flew into the wall.

I heard his spine snap, but he clung to life.

"Cover him!"

Shots peppered the Type 2 as Karl checked the wounded man and beckoned me.

"Rookie!"

"Yes, sir!!"

"Grab the wounded!"

"Got it!"

I hauled the guy per orders, but one look in Karl's eyes...

This was the hidden tutorial branch you sometimes triggered.

Karl drew his blade from his belt, charged the Type 2, and cleaved off a horn.

"Kieeeeeeeek!!!!!"

The Bug's shriek shook the corridor.

"Got good news and bad news for you!!"

Karl laughed maniacally, slashing relentlessly.

"Good news: We'll be heroes, etched in humanity's history forever!"

"Kieeeeeeeek!!!!!!"

The Type 2 thrashed; Karl fell back, catching his breath.

"Bad news: That day ain't today for you punks!"

With that, he hurled his sword aside, pulled a orb from his pouch.

HoH-45.

A click, and his final words.

"For humanity!!!"

Space warped, swallowing him and the Type 2 in an instant.

Yeah.

That was a Space Compression Bomb.