Capítulo 67: First Mech Combat Simulation (1)
Sy carefully trudged through the fragile terrain. The mech might accidentally step on a small hill and crush it under its weight.
Streams branched alongside the natural elevation of land, making their way toward the valley below. Their crystal clear water made the tiny channels visible - a colorful combination of gravels and small stones.
Deep footprints were imprinted by the Famling's huge metallic feet, rerouting the flow of the water as well as creating huge puddles.
The scenery was a natural beauty carved by nature for countless of years. If it was not a simulation, Sy would have jumped out of the cockpit to study the fauna and flora.
After reminiscing in the view for a few minutes, Sy's reluctance to stain the enthralling landscape had wavered, as he finally relented out of necessity.
With a swipe of his hand, multiple flying objects appeared in the horizon within the maximum range of the Famling's rifle. Each performed a single flight pattern.
The T-4 expertly flicked the rifle between the targets. Guided by the sharp mind of its pilot, it precisely hit the target one after the other.
"Whoo! I'm good!" Sy whooped, pleased with himself. He watched while the targets plummeted into the distant plains and grimaced.
'Crap! I'm getting carried away.'
Realizing that he would have to make some adjustments to his mentality for self control, he calmly activated the next target practice.
This time, the objects were not half-hearted shapes with red dots on the middle. They resembled flying mechs, performing evasive maneuvers.
In just a few seconds of keen observation, the pattern in which they zigzagged in the air became clear with Sy's high level of perception.
Since the projectile that the energy rifle emitted was not affected by the density or the flow of the air and also immune to gravity pull, he did not need to make a complicated calculation to hit the targets. The only thing he needed to take note was the dissipation of the energy projectile which was the role of the range finder.
A sight device lowered itself down to Sy's visor. He plugged his face on the device, his mind becoming one with the sensor arrays of the Famling. The tracker and range finder both played a critical role in the mech's targeting system.
The tracker will have to be disabled as it was overcompensating due to the flying mechs' maneuvers. He will have to manually aim and shoot.
Suddenly, he had an idea. Since the others were probably waiting for him to exit the training ground, he will have to end his target practice prematurely. The feat required him to be able to quickly switch between targets and hit the right spot at the right time. He will try to shoot them all down in one stroke. It was improbable but achievable.
Sy had already memorized their flight pattern. Even if he closed his eyes, he would still know the exact spot where the flying mechs would occupy in the next instance. However, he stayed practical, focusing on the sight. When the targets moved to an angle in which he could easily and subsequently shift his aim on each of them, he did not hesitate as the barrel of the rifle shone, discharging a series of energy blasts in quick succession.
He straightened his posture and looked up to the main camera feed before flinching.
There were four flying mechs. The first energy blast streaked through the air and hit its target exactly how he envisioned, but the next three missed their marks by a wide margin - harmlessly dissipating in the distance.
"I guess I'm not that good." He shrugged with an awkward chuckle escaping his lips.
It was time to exit the training ground. He had achieved what he had come to learn - the ability to steer a mech. Although, it was far different than controlling a human body where you can feel the air around you and the ground beneath your feet. With his deficient neural affinity, he was like a flexible chunk of metals.
With that, he swiped the air and chose to return to the stable. As soon as he was back inside the dimly lit facility, multiple notifications appeared in his vision.
There were three friend requests.
The first one was YellowFlashThunder, Eran's in-game username. The other two confused him for a moment. They were AceFan and AceRune.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" He recognized them. "Don't tell me AceFan is Mina while AceRune is Genevieve?"
Plague by uncertainty, he accepted all of the friend requests. The moment he did that, YellowFlashThunder invited him to a party.
When he accepted, he was transported to a lobby featuring the innards of a huge container. On a corner, a Famling with a customized bright yellow paint was leaning its back.
"Sy! How do you like my looks?" Eran greeted in the team channel.
"Ain't that color too eye catching? People would be shooting in your direction the moment you entered their vision." Sy responded raising a brow.
The words fell on deaf ear as Eran explained, "You were taking your time so I applied for a quick paint job. You like it?"
Sy made a face while observing the yellow mech. There were streaks of lightning and thunderclouds drawn on the chest. It was impractical to be eye-catching in battle. Keep a low profile, they say.
"I guess you like it." Eran assumed when he received no reply. "Well then, let's start a match. Something that is not stressful."
"Yeah. Make it so that we can roam around freely. I need to train my motor awareness of the mech." Sy added.
"Roger that." Eran swiped the air while choosing their battleground. Soon, they were queued up and waiting.
"In case we encounter enemies, we stick together. Don't bother with our team mates. They are just a ragtag bunch steering war machines with zero military training." The yellow haired man did not fail to remind.
"If there are no enemies, guard me while I practice." Sy strictly stated, "I'm just a newbie."
Half a minute passed when the game panel finally showed that they were successfully in a match. Then their visions blurred, and when all came back clear, they were inside a dilapidated facility. Its walls were visibly old and frail.
Sy could feel that the air was thin. The corners were eerily dark. He shifted the mech's vision to the side and saw the yellow mech standing beside him. There, he could see the faint light rushing inside from the only exit of the facility. It was indeed more realistic than the training ground.
Suddenly, the facility shuddered and shook the dust from the ceiling and walls. He instantly had a premonition as he activated his comm and spoke in a panicked voice, "Eran! Are you kidding me? I thought we're gonna enter something peaceful? Why do I feel that we're in the middle of a war zone?"
He could hear the stifled laughter of the other man. After a moment, the Losac feigned ignorance, "I think we've been sent in an ongoing match. There's probably a glitch. I was specific when choosing our mode."
"Yeah, screw you!"
Upon sharing a chuckle, the two tensed when huge shadows danced from the entrance...
...they were mechs.
The duo silently hid, leaning their backs behind the hallway. Sy was watchful not to trip on the way.
Eran knelt his mech to give the other mech behind an angle to shoot as they both leveled their rifle toward the shadows.
"I think we should take them out without using our rifles. This facility might collapse if the energy blasts penetrate its walls." Sy suggested.
"No, no." Eran responded. "I'm counting six of them. We can't win against them since were trapped in a corner. We should try to avoid directly confronting them in a confined space like this. They have all the advantage."
Sy's mech turned its head as he observed a section of the wall for a brief moment. When he return his attention to the shadows, an object flew inside and bounced a few times on the floor. It was only a few meters from their location and his senses flared of danger.
"ECM pulse!" Eran shouted as the missile exploded.
Sy's screen went black, making him totally blind of his surroundings. But the mech's motor function was unaffected and he could still make it move around. Without a sense of touch, he could not trace the walls behind him using the mech's hands. Only option he had was to make a smaller silhouette by crouching.
His heart pounded in his chest, and yet his calm nature prevailed. Within a dozen of seconds, his live feed was the first to recover. The first thing he saw was the yellow mech grappling with other two mechs.
There was no time to hesitate as he immediately flung his mech into the melee, grabbing an opposing mech with one hand to unburden the pressure from his team mate. He still felt that firing the mech's rifle could potentially bring the facility down on their heads.
'This is just great for my first mech combat simulation!'
Regalos
-- Regalo
recibido Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder