《Star Hell - A Survival Game Novel》
Chapter 1 - Last Heist
I walk down the streets of Paris, one of the first cities of humankind. It was these times that humans truly thrived to explore more than colonizing it, a sad truth. The ancient monument of the Eiffel tower stands left to me, overtaken by the countless skyscrapers blotting the landscape much like most of the planet.
It was, after all, humanity¡¯s first planet, when we had no idea of terraforming or the like. That came later when we colonized an entire galaxy and had too much spare space to feel cozy. Sadly we never stopped, resulting in the age old war with the Xenos. My wristwatch starts shaking vigorously. It was a sweet thing, capable of using any reception on almost every planet with a decent number of humans living on it. That meant most.
I press on the green button and the all-too familiar voice of my employer resonates in my ear with the help of my earphone. An earplug was used as a softener which also functioned as a translator. It could translate any original language to another one. In that, it meant he would understand most languages whereas the other wouldn¡¯t. But nearly everyone knew the universal constant: English. Even the Xenos to some extent.
¡°Black Hawk, I assume you are on Earth?¡± The voice had undergone a voice changer to conceal the identity. It now resembled a high pitched girl¡¯s voice.
¡°Indeed I am. I spy with my little eye, the house of the target.¡± I answer. There was little to no use in concealing mine, as I was always under the radar and no respectable person connected with me. That meant they couldn¡¯t just call the government on me.
The house was antique as well, as if it was one of those shown in museums. It was a three story house with a red roof and orange exterior. I recognized it as brick. The structure stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of the city.
¡°That is good. I caught news that a force of twenty experts are guarding the treasure. It seems some twenty guards are coming over to guard it as well in the next hour. It is located in the basement, the floor is made of solid diamond to protect it from burglars like you. But you¡¯re not a simple burglar, are you?¡±
After a small pause, the employer continued ¡°I¡¯ll send the 3-D map to your account now.¡±
A small beep signified it came. After crossing a corner and walking into a dark alleyway, I peeked at it. The interior was the exact opposite of the comfortable look it had from the outside. It was walled and floored with bulletproof glass and the basement containing the treasure was actually fully made of diamond. That meant lasers wouldn¡¯t work.
There was little to no furniture for me to hide and it was lit well. There were several cameras placed around haphazardly. ¡°Damn amateurs.¡± I curse under my breath. However, upon second thought, they might be so experienced that they could act like amateurs.
I didn¡¯t think of anything and continued to plan my last ever heist if it was a success. I could live a lifetime with the money I¡¯d get.
The gate was the most optimal place for guarding, both the exterior and the basement. But the windows were also great spots.
¡°Got it.¡± I answer as I calculate a plan. The windows would most likely be extensively guarded as it offered a greater vision, but the power armor made up for that. The stars couldn¡¯t be seen due to light pollution and the moon was blocked out by the buildings that reached the clouds. It reeked of smoke, but it felt nostalgic. As if it was where I am actually supposed to be.
¡°Good luck, Black Hawk.¡± The employer said before ending the call.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡± I mumble to myself with a chuckle.
The power armor was a sweet thing. It was entirely black and served as a great camouflage in the night if I didn¡¯t walk on the greenery inside the domain of the building. It actually had a yard, in a goddamn city.
I assume the road is filled to the brim with traps, but that wouldn¡¯t be logical since no one would actually take the main entrance for a burglary. But I did.
I jumped up and down several times to get used to the weight of the armor. It didn¡¯t slow me down in the least and I knew more than enough to use it to my advantage.
The streets were dark and I wasn¡¯t the only one in a power armor, meaning I didn¡¯t stand up. Not as much as the building anyways.
After appearing right before the building, I started crawling. Not the four legged one, but the lying one. The material of the armor resembled scales and made a little noise as I crept towards the door. The noise of the city cancelled it out and I calmly continued with my endeavor. It would be a piece of cake to infiltrate. But not so to get out.
As they say ¡®Make it hard enough for the enemy to enter and you won¡¯t be able to get out¡¯
That also worked wonders to make inexperienced burglars away. But not me.
There were two guards at the gate, with a camera behind them. An orthodox method I was too damn bored of.
Getting past the guards was easier than taking a stroll in the park. I looked at the camera for five seconds and realized it was moving in certain intervals. I used my watch to project a video recorder and moved it with the same interval as the camera. It worked wonders and I connected the video with the camera to replay it indefinitely.
Then I took a Taser from my belt and stuck it at one of the guards while covering his¡ umm, her mouth. She fell down without resistance. Then the other one looked to the other one as she had quieted down all of a sudden during their chat. A quick smack to the face and a Taser behind the neck later he was lying down and sleeping like a baby with the woman.
Her figure was truly alluring, but that had to wait. After this heist I could have as many women as I wanted to and live on a tropical planet for the rest of my life. I quickly checked the ID of the male soldier and remembered the name. Gary Hills, a cadet.
The door was the type that creaked. With a sigh, I drilled a small hole through it with a laser from a small screwdriver-like device. It was a weak one, but it refrained from setting wood on fire or getting to the other side and letting the ones from the other side learn of my presence.
The screwdriver suddenly changed and three metal hooks came out, similar to a crane game. It inserted itself to the small circle I created with the laser and plugged a small piece out, just enough to peek through.
There were none on the other side. I quickly broke the hinges of the door with a lightsaber the size of a dagger and continued on. These utility belts were almost like bags, but smaller and more mobile. The new space folding technology was truly a great feat of humanity, gifted to me by the employer before the one before this one for my great efforts.
Then I placed it in its place and with a devastated sigh, used a Ramura¡¯s Cube. It changed the state of something to the day prior, but it had to be inanimate. Now wasn¡¯t the time to be saying goodbyes.
The door almost magically fixed itself and I changed my power armor mode to that of whiteness. This allowed me to walk undetected. These cameras weren¡¯t pointing at the door, and never did. Strange, I thought to myself as I paced forward. The boots were lined with rubber, making the sound almost undetectable.
I slowed down under a camera and walked the rest of the distance. With a knock on the security room, I asked. ¡°Can I report, boss?¡±
¡°Which one are you?¡± A man asked from inside, all the while I dug another hole through the door with my screwdriver. The cameras couldn¡¯t see it as I had covered it with my white body, except the laser. There was only one inside the room, to my relief.
¡°My name is Gary Hills¡ a cadet.¡± I added.
¡°Come in.¡± The man said with a deep sigh. ¡°So the girl¡¯s been rough on ya?¡±
I appeared before the man and put my finger before my lip. ¡°Shh.¡±
The Taser connected with the man¡¯s neck and he fell asleep as well. Too easy. Were they supposed to protect some kind of mass-destruction weapon? Well, I don¡¯t think so.
A loud footstep sounded behind me and the all too familiar sound of a Taser was made behind me. The worst part was that I couldn¡¯t move a part of my body, but I was actually awake within the few seconds when tased.
¡°Sorry, Hawk. It¡¯s mine this time around.¡± A woman said with a low pitched voice. This was Athena. That¡ cat burglar bested me?
And it was darkness all over.
Chapter 2 - Shipped
I stare at the ceiling of the room I was assigned to. I was apparently caught by the guards and sent to prison after being knocked out. I cursed Athena profusely as she was the sole culprit for this misfortune. She placed me in the accursed deathrow for god¡¯s sake. I¡¯d have to stay here for the rest of my life.
¡°Hey, its not my fault.¡± A pretty woman with short brown hair chimes in. She wore orange clothes with a number on its right chest. Her number was G-549 while mine was G-550. I wouldn¡¯t give a damn about her being caught, but she was caught after knocking ME out. Any respectable burglar would steal first and fight later. This woman didn¡¯t know the rules, the rules that keeps us out of prison.
¡°You knocked me out!¡± I shouted.
¡°But you couldn¡¯t have escaped anyways.¡± She interjected.
¡°I would have fucking tried!¡±
Silence reigned the room as she did a little self reflecting. But ignorance came over reflection and she started arguing back. The best course of action was to keep quiet, so I complied with my thoughts.
¡°Hey, why did you quiet down all of a sudden?¡± She asked with a worried expression.
After a small pause, she snorted and turned to the wall. The cell at least had two beds and a toilet with a sink, albeit revealed.
A guard slipped in two military meals consisting of some dried material and a canteen of water and took it back. It tasted bad, but kept malnourishment away from us. Days passed, stopped counting after the first month. The toiled had running water and we each turned away while the other was using it. Life in a prison wasn¡¯t much different than back at home. Gave some information to the guard about my employer to get a set of playing cards. That was the best trade of my life, if I say so myself.
I almost feel¡ like Athena¡¯s friend now.
¡°You won again. I¡¯m never playing Blackjack with ya again.¡± She threw a tantrum.
I laughed maniacally ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s just you are so bad at it. Who draws after 16 anyways?¡±
¡°I¡¯m lucky.¡± She argues back.
¡°I count.¡± I answered as she looked at me in disbelief.
¡°How?¡±
¡°Just memorizing the used cards will get you far.¡± I answered with a chuckle. She was a complete newbie at the game.
¡°Let¡¯s try Thirteen this time then.¡± Athena said as she started assembling the cards.
¡°Carlos, when are we landing?¡± I asked turning to the cell¡¯s door. There standing was a middle aged man with unkempt bird and a bald head. We sometimes talked about politics and whatnot. The cells were placed in different chambers, and we were on a cruiser that shipped criminals to prison planets.
¡°In a day or two. You should manage.¡± He said while taking a seat on the ground. It was sad that the guards were in worse position than the prisoners, except they had a concealed toilet. ¡°And if you are truly who you say you are. You can probably get out fast.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
¡°Space Hell.¡± I answered. ¡°Probably the only way to get out.¡±
¡°What? You are a maniac!¡± Athena shouted.
¡°Haha. I guess I am. And the pay is nice as well.¡± I said.
¡°It¡¯s the 1000th anniversary this year, and they¡¯re accepting 10¡¯000 instead of 1¡¯000.¡± Carlos added. ¡°Probably the prisons will be empty for a while. I envy those pigs.¡±
¡°You are some kind of prisoner, like us, I guess.¡± Athena said with a sad look.
¡°It pays well. Mostly because no one would accept this kind of job and they need more of us.¡± Carlos said.
¡°What planet is it going to be on.¡± Athena asked.
¡°On Val Zarin. The Green Hell.¡± He said. ¡°And you don¡¯t have a choice, Black Hawk. They¡¯ll most likely force your hand.¡±
¡°Damn that¡¯s harsh. But better than living out my entire life in prison, don¡¯t you think so, Athena?¡± I asked while looking at the woman. She was only 20 or so years old, a little younger than me.
¡°I won¡¯t participate in that suicide fest. It¡¯s too crazy and it¡¯s on Vol Zarin of all places.¡± Athena shouted.
¡°You¡¯re not a big name like Hawk, so you should be fine. I think. There are nearly 15¡¯000 death row inmates in prisons all over the world, and that would be more than enough to fill it up.¡± Carlos explained.
Idle chatter continued on as we passed the time. At some point, I grew sleepy and went to bed. The ship was humid, annihilating the need for blankets or such. It was stuffy overall, but better than where I¡¯d be located for the next year.
Vol Zarin, also known as Green Hell. It was located in the center of the known galaxy, quite close to our planet. In fact, it was the first one we discovered. We found life, but not what we expected.
It was small planet, maybe half the size of Earth, covered in thick trees and had turned into a jungle planet. There were probably sentient creatures like the Xenos on the planet, but it was so infested with horrifying creatures that would make any grown man wet their pants, that they might have been driven to extinction. That was the only explanation for the occasional shrines in the shape of Mayan pyramids.
Not only the animals, even the plants tried to kill you. It was Australia all over again, only deadlier and a few thousand years back in time when it was still thriving with natural life. My great grandfather once said that his great grandfather said it was a place where everything tried to kill you from the fruits to the animals. I doubt that, since I never saw it as anything else than a district of a megapolis.
Experiments were done with some of the poisons from there, but it was too gruesome to be known to the public and was classified information. Of course a hacker friend of mine and I once hacked into it. There weren¡¯t any security measures other than ¡®watch at your own risk¡¯ or something.
What we saw made us vomit all our prior breakfast and never speak of it again.
A death row Xenos inmate was injected with the serum of a particular wasp from there and his eyes bulged out before exploding. The same was done to a cat and¡ the same happened, only more gruesome.
Then another was from a bee-like creature. That thing would sting you AND die, injecting one with its poison. This time a human inmate called Reaper was subjected to the torture. He had destroyed several planets using the residual energy from a supernova, an action forbidden by the galactic low. And in these cases, they used execution. Torture and execution.
The man started screaming after a minute and it was the most terrifying thing I have ever heard in my entire life. He begged the doctors to help him, all the while strapped to a chair. He didn¡¯t move in the slightest, only shouting like a madman, which he probably was. His skin started melting off and¡ his muscles were left exposed. But the man didn¡¯t die. The muscles rotted after several minutes and they fell off, revealing the skeleton. His eyes liquidified and the brain came oozing out as well. It didn¡¯t end there.
The bones started turning whiter than they were supposed to. Then they crumbled to dust. We never watched anything with the same sign. But I¡¯d be participating in a tournament on a planet like that. The adrenaline was killing me and unknown to me, a grin had been plastered on my face as I slept.
Chapter 3 - Armory
Moving around was a nice change from the small cell I was growing used to. It made me feel free while not being close to it at all. The cruiser had dropped me off on a prison planet for death row inmates and left, taking Carlos and Athena with it. Now I had no connection whatsoever and no name other than Black Hawk. I liked it this way. Made me feel badass.
I was currently standing in a room darker than anything I have ever seen, shoved in here by a guard that said this was the place every competitor would have to go through. It¡¯s not like I was afraid. I just felt very¡ vulnerable.
That said, I stood close to the door for about a minute when a female voice started speaking. ¡°Congratulations, Mr. Black Hawk. You have been chosen to participate in the 1000th edition of Space Hell. Please choose your powersuit and its functions. You have 10 points to spend.¡± The introduction was short but explained everything one needed to participate. A good format.
A luminescent light lit up in the center of the room. It was definitely a touchpad or the like where the options showed. I walked towards the light and saw that I was on the right track. Depicted on it were six models of powersuits. Shadow, which I donned before, the ultra light model, used for infiltration and assassinations.
Hermes, the light model, used for hard labor and extended work periods. Wanderer, the medium light model, focused on survival more than anything and the first powersuit made by humans. Neutralizer, the medium-heavy model, used for law enforcement and wars. Goliath, a war tank and the heavy model.
Last but most, Bastion, the ultra heavy model. It was more similar to a mecha than a powersuit and boasted extreme power, capable of changing the course of a war.
I was tempted to choose Shadow as I was used to it or Bastion since it was the strongest type. But then again, even if the power was infinite, I would have to survive, not just fight. That meant I would have to leave the Bastion to eat and the Shadow would render me almost defenseless. That meant death on Val Zarin.
After some pondering, I chose Neutralizer. It could take care of just about any predator and had durable armor that would put most alloys to shame, achievable through a method called Electric Fortification. Indeed, that video might have played a big role in diverting my attention from the lighter models, but survival above everything.
Goliath made too much noise, so that was quickly shrugged away.
After clicking on Neutralizer, it changed into some sort of shop that one could purchase stuff with points. Luckily, when one chose Neutralizer, they could choose 2 out of 3 options that were mediocre and 1 out of 2 that were quite useful.
The former consisted of Shockwave, a skill that could generate a shockwave strong enough to flip a car and send a human flying a dozen meters away. Energy armor, a thin layer of electricity that could take several blows before breaking, which would regenerate in 10 seconds. Power fist, imbuing the fist area with electricity to paralyze most creatures or powersuits with several well placed hits.
A small thinking later, I chose Energy armor and Shockwave. The survivalist option, if I say so myself.
The harder decision was between Jetpack and Machine Gun. The names were self-explanatory. I could possibly use the machine gun as a jetpack, but that wouldn¡¯t work as well. The ammo was infinite, as it could absorb any material that was short of diamond to compress into bullets. The jetpack also absorbed heat or solar energy to create plasma that would assist in flight. The tough choice came down to machine gun. It would let me protect myself from other humans.
And checking the list of stuff I could add made me drool, but I only had 10 points. I felt like a kid in a galactic shop with only 100 credits. That said, that kid could buy some very useful stuff.
The logical side of me won and instead of burning the whole world down, I chose water purifier and food generator, both cost 1 points. The former would purify water by destroying everything poisonous, including parasites and bacteria. The latter would absorb organic elements such as bones, dead animals, insects and plants to create something edible and not poisonous. That said, it meant I wouldn¡¯t die of malnourishment, albeit eating a not-so-delicious meal for the rest of my stay in hell. Not a bad deal.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Then came Internal alarm, which also cost 1 point. It would send a jolt to awaken me if a hostile target approaches too closely. Also I chose Propulsion engines which would place two small energy cannons on both my ankles to let me jump over 15 meters high and 30 meters long if I could believe the information.
Then I also bought a Grappling Hook for another point. Noise nullification for 2, which created a noise in a certain frequency which would mute all my actions and everything within a meter of the armor.
The last three points went to Cybernetic blades which would produce two ultra hard knives resembling hidden knives from movies which cost one and the rest for an A.I that would keep me company. Its name was Zero and it contained all the information about the participants and their chosen armor and skills. I could have bought it for one, but the allure of listening to music during my offtime was the best. Zero would alert me if anything approached too close, which utilized the hidden cameras on my armor I otherwise couldn¡¯t utilize. My Internal alarm also used this, vastly improved by A.I. All in all, I was ready to survive the death game.
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¡°Mr. Adams, the conference is about to start.¡± A woman said from behind an intercom. A middle-aged man sighed as he quickly stood up and walked towards the door to his office. It was that time again. The time to plan the next stage of Space Hell, the currently trending reality show. When life has lost its sacredness, the majority of the human hegemony would take pleasure in watching others fight for their life.
It was merely a form of entertainment for them, while the prisoners would willingly or unwillingly participate in the tournament. The fact that only 54 people actually completed the game in all of 999 editions isn¡¯t reassuring in the least.
The first few games before the ninth edition, when the radar system was established, ended in a draw simply because only a few people met and the numbers couldn¡¯t dwindle at all. Unfortunately the nanomachines in their blood would evaporate it if more than one participant was left standing in the end.
However, this time the limit was raised to 10. This would in turn stimulate the players to form small teams and help each other. All for entertainment and the money.
It left a bad taste in his mouth. But what could he possibly do to stop this barbaric madness?
The door opened to a room with a giant table in the middle and several people filling the seats Adams recognized as influential people. The director was standing at the other end whereas the other end was left open for Ryan.
They waited for several minutes, some fiddling with their watches while some readied their writing board to take notes. The ten meter long table was thus filled with the elite of the society, the cream of the crop.
The director stood up as the projector above the table activated, generating a 3-D image of a solar system. She was an older woman with her hair tied into a bun and always wore her trademark white suit and long skirt.
¡°First and foremost, I want to thank Mr. Adams for having us over in his office on Clorania. As you might know this is one of the closest planets to the planet dubbed as Green Hell, and also one of the larger prison planets.¡± She pointed towards a planet and it zoomed on.
Although realistic, it lacked color, and was in plain blue.
¡°The 1000th edition Space Hell allows 10 winners, as you might know already from¡ sources. That means it could become a team fight in the end. And if it yields great results, we can make it so that every other edition would have, let¡¯s say 5 winners. Are there any questions?¡±
¡°Does that mean the prize money would be divided or lessened by any significant amount?¡± It was the director of a Cerebro Academy. Although young, he was one of the most dangerous people in the known galaxy in that his academy functioned as a training place for psionic. He would mostly try to scout a talented psionic and sponsor them to win. It worked once and has turned into one of the nightmares of criminals.
¡°Of course not, Mr. Cerebro. We make far more money than the prize. To be exact, at least 20 times that.¡± She explained as she tapped on the planet and it zoomed on again.
¡°I would like to ask a question as well. As you might know, I am always looking for good pilots and such, can you estimate the number of Bastions in the game and their pilots?¡± Director of the Edgar Pacification Corp asked. Her company was one of the best powersuit and mecha building companies. It still boggles Ryan¡¯s mind to think of how the Director created the council and was the leader instead of these people, not to mention he himself was an influential figure as well.
¡°Indeed, there are quite a few. I remember 5, might be more than that.¡± She said as Miss Edgar nodded her head. She wasn¡¯t a member of the family, as she took over while working as a branch company director, but most people called her that for convenience sake.
¡°This time around, we have spiced the competition up by adding 10 willing participants, including Scream Jazar, Father Paul, The Nameless and ¡®Lucky¡¯ Simon.¡± The director said with a smile.
¡°No way!¡±
¡°Jazar, that Jazar?!¡±
¡°HOW?!¡±
¡°Quiet, please.¡± She said. ¡°As you might know, both Nameless and Black Hawk are in the competition, albeit the latter was arrested instead of willing to. On Earth a month and a half ago.¡±
Ryan hated it when his plans failed, and Hawk getting caught while stealing the artifact was one of them. He could have become the director and stop this madness. Now that both of them were dead, it was impossible to get his hands on it by any conventional means.
Chapter 4 - Ready
After some pondering I found out I was on a prison planet called Clorania. It was also the one closest to Val Zarin and it was vacated and only the contestants were currently situated here. I was one of the lucky ones who came early and had the chance to stay in the jailors¡¯ room instead of cells. After sleeping on a hard metal in the shape of a bed, it was a nice change to sleep on mattress, though it wouldn¡¯t last long, maybe half a month or so.
The tournament started in a month and I needed to be in pristine shape. Standing up, I walked up to a pull-up bar and started exercising. It did wonders to upper body and back muscles. It was an action I was all too familiar with. Parkour needed some muscles and this was my exercise of choice, after all. Finally doing something other than a push-ups, sit-ups or squats was refreshing. Made me feel a little stronger.
The image of my P.E teacher flashed in my mind as I remembered when I was a bullied kid. The unpleasant memory was quickly shrugged away and I smiled. If I just win this¡ then I can live a carefree life on a tropical island.
With a smile I walked towards the armory to get my powersuit. They handed it over to the players to let them become familiar with it. Bastion users would undertake pilot training as well, though I doubt there are any.
The makeshift armory building was the one right next to the jailors¡¯ complex, which formerly functioned as a warehouse of sorts. The prison was some sort of walled city where prisoners did physical labor. So far for my prisoners can¡¯t train psychology. My only advantage over them was ripped away from me and I was left as a mere unusually tricky guy. That alone wasn¡¯t so bad too.
The building¡¯s door was open and I saw several dangerous looking guys walking in before me. One was a man fully covered in strange tattoos and there was a woman wearing extremely revealing clothes, an eerie grin on her face. I had to admit, she was attractive.
Until she turned to look at me. Her smile was one that I always hoped I wouldn¡¯t be on the receiving end of. The kind of smile that predators have while looking at their prey.
She steadily approached me and only stopped before our foreheads met. I was paralyzed with fear, much like a prey before a predator.
¡°Hello there.¡± Her wicked grin turned into a sincere smile. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±
¡°Umm¡ Hawk.¡± I answer. This wasn¡¯t false, but not true either.
¡°Well then, Hawk. Would you mind teaming up with me?¡± She asked while revealing her thighs by flipping up her skirt. ¡°We can do lots of stuff together.¡±
¡°I¡¯m more of a lone wolf.¡± I said and turned away. That woman gave me the creeps and I¡¯d appreciate if I never crossed paths with her ever again.
I heard a loud snort behind me and upon looking up saw that she stormed away, likely in a fit of rage. Finally growing up in a house full of women helped me, for this once.
¡®Thank you, my older sisters.¡¯ I think to myself and continue toward a worker. It was a large man who wore grey work clothes and a cap with the insignia of a shield on it.
¡°Mister, where can I get my powersuit?¡± I ask the man as he lazily turns to me, holding a large crate. He had a large scar on his right eye and he seemed to be blind there.
¡°That way, see those giant crates? They¡¯re the Bastions, the others are behind them.¡± He pointed at several large crates.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
¡®There are idiots who chose them? What in the world?¡¯
The walk was shorter than expected. Seems like I overestimated them. The height was only 10 or so meters, unlike the towering giants I imagined. But it sacrificed a lot of its mobility, and was simply illogical to use.
Mine was in the row third from my end, but the length was simply terrifying. It took up the entire almost city size warehouse. There was a woman with business clothes, holding a scribbling board who directed the workers. My first thought was to go and ask her, and so I did.
She stood on an elevated platform and was constantly instructing the workers by mumbling into some kind of microphone, which I assumed sent the commands directly to their earphones.
¡°Miss, how do I get my suit?¡± I shouted up at her, and she scanned the area with her eyes and finally found me. She quickly descended the stairs and walked up to me.
¡°Your number?¡± She asked as she put the scribbling board into her pouch and produced a tablet from it. It was definitely space folding, as there was no way it could fit these two giant devices.
After a moment of thought, I realized what she meant. No prisoner¡¯s number was the same, in the entire known galaxy.¡°G-550¡± I answered. It was hard to forget, after all, wearing it for maybe a month and a half. Though it faded into the background behind all the conversations we had and the card games.
¡°Yours should be on the second line, with the number as a label. Everything is assembled in alphabetical and numerical order so you shouldn¡¯t have any trouble finding it.¡± She explained and quickly ascended the staircase to take her rightful place as some sort of manager.
The woman most likely ticked a box saying I came or the like, as she had quickly put it away after a few seconds. The second row was one as long as the other but it took me no more than thirty seconds to read the small red label on a box saying R-130. I skimmed through them until I found the G compartment. The road was a tad bit longer than I suspected, but it was the place. I pressed on some sort of black spot and a laser scanned my face before opening. This way no one else would be able to steal it, not that anyone needed it.
It was just as expected, a suit slightly larger than me, made of a shiny silver alloy. It was currently open, to let the wearer in, obstructing me from seeing it in its full majesty. As I walked into the suit, it closed up and tightened around me. It kept its wearer in optimal temperature by using heating and filling up the inside with a liquid similar to mercury, the poison-less type.
The helmet was made of a clear silk-like material that could filter poisonous air, and was as hard as reinforced glass. That meant I could take a shot to the head and still keep walking. It made me wonder how we were going to kill each other with these things, but thinking about Titan cannons made me shiver. They could easily evaporate me if I was hit with it.
After adjusting to the movement, I saw that the powersuit was lit up with a pale blue glow, pulsing from time to time, giving it a living organism-like feel.
There Machine gun lied on my back, in a holster. It was a big thing, heavy even. Not a challenge with the assistance of the suit.
For Shockwave, there were three round devices with a ¡®EP¡¯ logo on it. I instantly recognized it as Edgar Pacification Corp, one of the leading companies in cybernetics and combat equipment. Two on each of my palms and one of my chest.
As I touched my suit, electricity crackled and a repulsion force was created. It was kind of like forcing two plus sides of a magnet, never connecting.
The propulsion engines were as I suspected, two plasma gun-like objects connected with my ankles. The grappling hook was in the form of two hook jutting out of my waist that could be shot by¡ I didn¡¯t know.
¡°How do I even shoot this?¡± I asked no one in particular.
¡°Please specify.¡± An electric voice was heard, it felt like it was sent straight into my head. I concluded it was Zero, the A.I that I purchased, which could also play any and every music in the human music library.
¡°How do I shoot the Grappling hook?¡±
¡°Everything included in the suit can be accessed with mind or voice commands.¡± The A.I give a brief explanation. I turned around to face the back of the box and commanded the armor.
¡®Grapple¡¯
Not betraying my expectations, both shot from my waist and imbedded themselves into the back of the crate.
¡®Retract.¡¯
As I gave my second command, the hooks started rotating similar to drills and broke free from their restraint to come back to their rightful place.
¡®Blades¡¯
As I thought of it, two blades the size of daggers jutted out from my wrists, following my fists. They didn¡¯t have a reach, but the dangerous glint did more to prove its sharpness than not.
¡®Disarm¡¯
It retracted back and all was as before. This was interesting. Half a month to explore and train before going to hell. Not a bad deadline.
Chapter 5 - Landing
The Hell I anticipated was replaced by a tropical planet bustling with plant life. I look at it from inside my escape pod, used as a way of shipping us into the planet. The animals on the planet were apparently too dangerous to let onboard, without powersuits. Other similar white pods with reinforced windows blotted the atmosphere. There were 10¡¯000 of us, after all. But letting us land at one point was too fair, and all of us were scattered around the planet with at least a kilometer between each participant.
I could feel the acceleration as the pod sped up immensely. The parachute was thrown out and considerably lessened the unstoppable momentum, lest I be squashed as the pod landed. Upon further inspection, I found out that I was landing in the middle of a forest, or jungle to be exact.
These trees looked eerily similar to ancient trees from Earth with green leaves and the shape was similar too. It wouldn¡¯t take long for me to land.
¡®Zero, is there a large amount of water on the planet or just small ponds?¡¯ I asked her. Thinking out loud was almost reflexive now that I didn¡¯t even question how it was possible. After some talk, I realized she wanted to be called a ¡®she¡¯ than an ¡®it¡¯.
¡°Negative. Only ponds and puddles are scattered around. Some are poisoned.¡± She said.
¡®Can the purifier detox it?¡¯
¡°Affirmative.¡±
The pod landed without much impact. It still makes me wonder what the parachutes are made of to survive so much heat and force. However, the most important issue now was living here.
The pod opened, creating a gush of steam. I quickly stood up after grabbing hold of my machine gun. It was charged with a lot of cement, enough for about 30 shots. After asking around for a bit, I found out the Shockwave generators had a cooldown of a minute in which they absorbed the air around it.
Although the air filter cleaned the air, it still kept the smell. It smelled like rotten eggs. The trees around me were around 20 meters in height and 4 in width. If the entire planet was like this, then it certainly wasn¡¯t poisonous. But if it was in only this part of the forest, I think that it might be.
With a curiosity matched by none, I started examining the surrounding. To live here for a year and not die, I needed a hideout. Possibly one that I could conceal easily. The first thing to do was check for local predators or poisonous insects and the like. The noise canceller kept all the noise around me in a certain radius from getting out, but it didn¡¯t simply destroy it. As such, I could hear my steps, but not anyone outside the range.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
The thick green leaves didn¡¯t let much light into the forest below. It was stuck in a perpetual evening. My ears perk up as I look to the side. I heard the leaves crumble. With practiced speed, I hide behind a tree and await what would appear.
Nothing happened except a few bird chirps. Then I remember I¡¯m on Val Zarin and the bird could be a giant dragon or the like. I grab a nearby rock and throw it to the place where the sound came from. A little pat sounded out and two giant toothy desks slammed together, and all that remained was the crushed remains of the rock.
¡®Zero, what is that?¡¯ I ask her for consolation.
¡°Negative. I am not designed to have knowledge of flora and fauna, only participants.¡± She answered with her normal mechanical tone.
I should¡¯ve known. There was also another one called Edward which gave information about the fauna, but I didn¡¯t really want to have a male A.I, so I put it away. I regret that now more than anything I ever did except running into Athena.
After some observation, I noticed although it was the same brown color as the ground, there were teeth sticking out of the ground. I told myself to check around for these things while walking, and memorize the landscape.
¡®Zero, can you create a map according to the information you scan?¡¯ I asked, to ease my workload even if by just a little bit.
¡®Negative. It would be too convenient.¡¯
I was half aware of her answer, but asking never hurt. Not when it was an emotionless A.I.
To not be lost, I took note of my pod and started marking the trees in a certain circle with ¡®X¡¯s after checking for any hostile plants. Luckily, the flytrap was the only plant that was remotely dangerous in the immediate area. Now I couldn¡¯t help but wonder about the size of the planet.
My home planet, Charlotte, had a population of hundred thousand and the size was 0.4Ed. It stood for Earth Diameter and meant it was twice as small as Earth. As diverse as it got, cities were in about a hundred kilometers between them and each had about a thousand or two residents. If it was close to that size, then meeting others wouldn¡¯t be as hard. Not to mention they filled the sky as we descended. There was one that was dangerously close as well.
My survivalist part overcame my curious side and I walked back to my pod. An idea then crossed my mind. A few times before, people took shelter inside their pods. But in the forest, it stood out too much and I¡¯d be killed without any trouble.
Every month, the size of the arena would shrink from the full planet into a big city size. The shrink would happen slowly and people wouldn¡¯t just be smashed. It was indicated with a large barrier which pushed on and on. If one were to leave the arena, then their suits would explode, leaving them to die to the predators or would kill them.
Then digging a hole was the best option. But without a shovel, it would be a lot harder than I¡¯d like it to be. But if survival came at that cost, then I wouldn¡¯t mind it that much. The most logical way would be to cut a little part of the trees and make a makeshift shovel. And so I did.