Bab 22: Conscription
At that point, alarms rang out. Out of nowhere, holographic screens appeared.
Attention. Threat Levels have exceeded Security Levels at Initial Village. Conscription is now in effect. All students based in Initial Village are required to join the Village Militia.
All students currently in Initial Village SE-T3 will now be brought into compulsory holographic conferencing. – The Academy VR.
Instantly, two dozen students found themselves facing Teacher Theresa in Elder T's living room.
"Whoa! They're serious!" Cody jumped. "How did it happen, though? I mean…"
"Well, that did it. Now we're really in for it." Melinda grouched. "We're in crisis mode."
***
Elder T was having a very bad day.
Early on, she had reason for hope. The students had learned to value credits and to earn them more and more efficiently. They were starting to accumulate equipment and take courses. Their earnings were rising by the day! As long as they had more time, they would have better equipment, more resources…
But all of a sudden, disaster struck! Eight deaths all at once threw the balance right off the edge. Down came a giant straw that broke the camel's back, and down came the camel. There would be no more time. It was too late. Their period of peace was over.
Now they had to fight for their lives. The very existence of Initial Village (and the future prospects of this batch of students) hung in the balance.
Looking at the faces of the gathering youngsters about her, Elder T wondered, do they even understand? Have they even thought about and considered why all this is happening? Can they really comprehend the lessons we're trying to teach them like this?
Most importantly; can they overcome this crisis? It's so early… they're so unprepared…
If they couldn't, Elder T was going to have a whole lot more reason to feel guilty.
Confused students were asking around for information.
"Any idea what's going on?"
"Dunno."
"What is 'security level'?"
"Who cares? When can I get back to making credits?"
Just then, Riki strolled over to where Cody and Melinda were. "Hey… uh… I think we might have messed up a bit… it's too bad really, I almost got that Mole Serpent bounty…"
"Bounty?!" Melinda seethed. "YOU! This was all your fault! You blithering moron!"
"What are you saying? I don't understand most of what you just said…" Riki looked like he was about to get a short-circuit.
Now it was Melinda who looked like she was about to get a short-circuit before she burst out her summary in a single word, "IDIOT!!"
Riki struck back. "You're the idiot! We only just met, and we haven't even dated or broken up yet, and you're already yelling at me the first chance you get!"
"D-d-d-d-d-date…?!!" Melinda's face took exactly three seconds to turn red. "How dare you! You…!"
"I don't even know what you're saying! IDIOT!"
"Whoa!" Cody darted in between them "Hold it!"
"Quit fighting among yourselves! The entire village is in danger!" Elder T flared. "Listen up, because this is important! Your future at the Academy VR depends on how you deal with this crisis! At this very minute, the people of this village are under attack!"
"They can do that? Attack NPCs in villages?" Kalen blinked, surprised.
"The security of this village has been breached!" Elder T announced.
"Ah. So that's what the security and threat level thing was about. Does that mean… they can attack anyone in the village now?" a short-haired girl asked.
"Yes! No one is safe! The entire village is under threat!" Elder T said.
The timing was perfect. No sooner had she said that than a sudden howl emerged from right around the corner. Coming down the road from the villager houses were a trio of blurry figures.
Three!?
Screams erupted on every side as chaos ensued. People started running around in all directions, crashing into each other. Someone bowled Riki over, who in turn knocked Cody to the floor and he landed up splat on the floor face down beside Cody.
Cody gaped. "Isn't this just a holographic meeting? But why… why do I actually get pushed when someone bumps into me?"
Suddenly this felt a lot more serious than when he thought it was all just holographic.
"Don't panic! Don't panic!!" Melinda screamed hysterically. Beside her, Laila was trying her best to keep people from trampling someone.
"I'm getting out of here!" Riki announced. He scrambled to his feet and started off toward the Personal Space entrance.
"Get back here! Fight!" Melinda called.
Riki didn't stop. Why would he? Why listen to an enemy?
Meanwhile, people were running around screaming for help, barging into the warehouse and the workshops and the houses and the Pad trying to get the 'villagers' to do something.
The majority, however, were doing what Riki was doing; getting to safety. To them, that meant running back to their Personal Space, which nothing could enter without their permission.
Pretty soon the villagers that the students were screaming for finally took action...
They started screaming and running too!
***
Elder T watched chaos ensue and let out a sigh.
Three Mole Serpents, and everything was already falling apart. Perhaps they'd been expecting too much of a bunch of children this young. Or maybe it was just that this bunch simply didn't have time. Things had gone too wrong, too fast. They were supposed to, but not this soon. These kids had no chance whatsoever, and Elder T wasn't sure she would blame them.
Elder T watched it all just standing there shaking her head. She could have fought, but she didn't. Academy policy was such. The fate of the village had to be in the hands of the students, not the teachers.
She watched Melinda and Laila get bowled over, and then they were running too. The last vestiges of clear-thinking from the village disappeared like smoke, and then everyone was running for their Personal Spaces, or in the case of the villagers, the shuttle Pad.
Of course they would. The students didn't realize it, but the villagers took their cue from the students. Whatever the students did to handle the situation… the villagers would agree with and go along. If they were all running, of course the villagers would run too.
"Teacher!" Crystal yelped.
Theresa nodded to her. "Do it."
Crystal drew out a gun and started firing. Purplish energy bolts shot out and slammed into the three Mole Serpents. Two of them went down as she herself charged towards them. The third one hissed at her, wounded, as she arrived…
There was a glimmer of light as Crystal's movement suddenly increased. With a short blur of movement, the head of the last Mole Serpent suddenly flipped away, sliced off neatly from the neck. Behind it, Crystal stood still, a blue-bladed sword stretched out in her hand.
Suddenly, everyone was quiet. Everybody was staring at Crystal as she slowly flicked blood off her sword and slowly sheathed it.
"Wow." Kalen was the first to break the silence. "That was…"
"That was why I told you to take classes and better equipment." Crystal said shortly. "I can help you once, since it's the first time, but from here on out, you're on your own. My duties are fulfilled."
"Thank you, Crystal." Elder T nodded sagely.
Without another word, Crystal marched off to the shuttle pad and boarded a shuttle. In moments, the shuttle took off, taking with it the only effective defender Initial Village SE-T3 had.
Cody and the others watched her go wordlessly, both impressed and gloomy at the same time.
"Now. We need to get serious." Elder T told the assembled students.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone