Shawn had to shut his eyes from the blinding light that enveloped his body. The administrator had told him the process would be instant, but he still remained motionless until he was sure it was over. Warm sunlight struck Shawn's skin and he slowly opened his eyes. A sunny blue sky felt incredibly refreshing, and Shawn couldn't help but grin. He really was alive again. His gaze fell from the calm sky to survey his new surroundings. Piles of loose, dark soil were heaped up all around, blocking his vision from seeing anything outside of the crater he found himself in. About to climb out of the ditch, Shawn was stopped by a chime that rang in his ear.
Congratulations on a Successful Reincarnation!
A floating text box appeared in front of Shawn.
Right. Game elements were included. He thought to himself as the text box disappeared only to be replaced by a new message.
Welcome to Talon Fields! Head to the nearby town of Talonstead and accept your first quest.
A map appeared with a small quest marker that pointed just north of where Shawn stood. Eager to get started, Shawn tapped his finger on the top corner of the window, closing the map before he began to scurry up the loose dirt on the north side of his crater. Shoes and hands muddied, Shawn paused at the top of the small hill and frowned. Talon Fields looked extremely different from how it did on the map.
"Open map." Shawn ordered but no map appeared.
A small chime sounded, and a new text box appeared.
Swipe up with two fingers to bring up your interface.
"Thanks." Shawn followed the message's instructions and pulled up a new window. There were a few tabs he could navigate between; Status, inventory, map, and quests. While he wanted to look at each, Shawn quickly reopened the map and confirmed his suspicions. The map displayed Talon Fields as a wide open plain, with tall grass and green plant life covering its entirety. The town Talonstead should be visible from where Shawn stood. That proved to be impossible.
Craters, much like the one Shawn found himself in, coated the entire landscape in all directions. There was no grass, no trees, no plant life, nothing green of any kind. All Shawn could see was darkened earth, charred wood, and craters of varying sizes.
"This can't be right." Shawn glazed between his surroundings and the map in front of him.
Discrepancy detected.
Last update to map: 200+ years
Updating map...
Complete.
Shawn watched the series of messages cycle passed before a new map replaced the first. Talon Fields had now been replaced by a more accurate visual depiction of what Shawn saw around him. Another chime sounded.
Warning. You have entered an area that is registered to be 30+ levels higher than your own. Venturing further may prove fatal.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Shawn cried out as the message disappeared. "I didn't come here, this is where you put me! What do you mean I'm under-leveled?"
The system remained silent. Shawn cursed under his breath but turned back to the map.
"So where am I that's so dangerous." He grumbled as he pinched his fingers and zoomed the map out.
Shawn's eyes widened as he saw that the dark cratered landscape continued for several miles to the east and spanned the entire length of the map to the north and south. The land to the east was simply labeled as "demon country", while the east had a few different nations. The largest by far was a nation called the Kaydian Empire. It's border ran the length of the cratered land that Shawn was currently in the middle of.
Speaking of which. Shawn's brain came to a startling conclusion. This can't be a battlefield, can it?
Shawn looked down at the craters nearest to him, noting the shallow pools of water at the bottom.
This world had been labeled as a fantasy setting, so why does this feel closer to something I'd see on the history channel on Earth?
Before he could analyze things further, a slight tremor began to shake the ground beneath Shawn's feet. Somewhere far to the east, a long and rumbling thunderstorm began to sound off. Shawn looked that direction but could only see the flashes of lightning over the hills that coated the horizon. The tremor grew in strength the longer that Shawn remained standing.
What is this?
A spattering of flashes brightened the western horizon in an unnatural fashion. The flashes continued, seemingly at random all along the western horizon. The deep booming sounds reaching Shawn's ears a few moments later. All at once, the puzzle came together.
The thunder in the east, the flashes in the west, the land pocketed with craters. I'm standing in the middle of a no man's land. Shawn felt the blood drain from his face.
There were probably hundreds of artillery shells being fired right over his head and if the ground around him was any indicator, those shells would probably make their way to his location in short order. Without needing further incentive, Shawn began to sprint to the east, towards the thunderous chorus of artillery over the horizon.
The terrain proved extremely difficult to navigate, and soon Shawn's entire body was caked with mud as he scrambled up and down the loose dirt and muddied ground. Shawn's breathing quickly grew ragged but the artillery explosions continuing to grow closer forced him to run even harder.
Shawn crested another ridge but was forced to pause as his right shoe caught something in the ground. As he leaned down to free himself from a sunken patch of mud, someone shouted in the distance. Shawn's head snapped up to find a soldier in a brown uniform and metal helmet waving frantically at him.
"Get over here!" the soldier shouted to him. "You got a death wish kid? Hurry!"
A few more helmeted heads lifted above the ridge and began to wave Shawn over as well. Shawn tore his foot free from its prison and rushed the remaining distance between himself and the soldiers. Unsurprisingly, Shawn discovered that the soldiers were taking cover in a long trench that ran north and south as far as he could see. Hundreds of soldiers in identical gear lined every square inch of the defensive line. Shawn stumbled the last few feet, almost falling headfirst into the five-foot-deep trench. Fortunately, half a dozen hands reached out and caught him before his head hit the crudely cut logs that lined the trench floor.
"Easy now!" The soldier that had first called out to him said as he helped Shawn find his footing.
"T-thanks." Shawn managed to stutter as his lungs fought to find enough air to breath.
The soldier unhooked a canteen on his hip and offered Shawn a drink. Shawn gulped down a few mouthfuls but nearly spit it back out as he caught a whiff of the foul-smelling water. Shawn couldn't tell if it was the water itself or just the canteen, but the filthy odor immediately turned his stomach. He forced himself to swallow the mouthful he had in his mouth before handing the canteen back to the man that had offered it. Shawn leaned up against the front of the trench as he caught his breath.
"What were you doing out there son? Are you a scout or something?" The man questioned Shawn.
Shawn took a good look at the man. He appeared to be in his late thirties, with a scar across his cheek and a partially trimmed brown mustache. He stood a good head taller than Shawn did and looked to be quite built. This person really fit the profile of what to expect when you hear the word 'soldier'. Then Shawn looked down at himself. His grey shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes were so laden with mud that the men around him couldn't tell he wasn't wearing a uniform.
"No, I'm..." Shawn trailed off.
He wasn't sure what to say to explain his presence.
Maybe it's more common than I think.
Shawn decided to take a chance. "I'm from another world."
The mustached man blinked and exchanged a look with a few of the other soldiers standing around him. Shawn's heart sank when he saw the incredulous looks in their eyes.
"Must have hit your head pretty good out there." Mustache gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Lost your helmet and everything."
"Corporal." An authoritative voice shouted from further up the trench.
Mustache cursed under his breath and turned to face the voice. "Sir!"
"Your men better have a good reason to be grouped up like this!" The authoritative voice grew louder as an older man wearing what Shawn had to guess was an officers' uniform approached the group surrounding him. "What part of spacing don't you understand?"
Shawn made eye contact with the officer. He was older than mustache, probably in his late forties, but he carried a 'high and mighty' air about him that Shawn immediately didn't care for.
"Who are you soldier?" The officer snapped at Shawn.
"I'm... uh. Shawn."
"He was a scout out in no man's land sir." Mustache came to his rescue. "Explosion knocked his helmet clean off. He's still trying to get his bearings."
The officer's eyes narrowed at Shawn. "Where is your weapon soldier?"
Shawn made a vague gesture towards the artillery shells in the distance. The officer scoffed and unsheathed the knife from his belt. In one smooth motion, the officer threw the knife at Shawn, causing him to flinch.
"You're lucky I have a spare weapon on me." The officer sneered down at Shawn.
He opened his eyes to find the knife embedded in the compacted dirt next to his head.
"If you try to run or claim injury before this battle is over, I will shoot you myself." The officer pulled his sidearm from its holster but kept it pointed at the ground. "Am I understood soldier?"
Shawn swallowed hard. "Yes sir."
"Corporal Barnes." The officer addressed mustache. "This soldier is now under your command. He will fight or he will die. Am I understood?"
"Sir." Mustache saluted.
Without another word, the officer turned and proceeded further down the trench, shouting orders at other squads as he went. Shawn shakily removed the eleven-inch knife from the trench wall and began to wipe off the dirt.
"Just stick with me kid." the mustached corporal placed a reassuring hand on Shawn's shoulder. "We'll get through this and see that you find proper treatment later."
Barnes turned to the other soldiers around him. "Back to your places! Keep your heads down and wait for the call!"
The men ran to empty patches along the western side of the trench and leaned up against it. Shawn could see that each and every man had a bolt action rifle that reminded him a lot of the M1903 Springfield rifle that the US military used in both world wars back home. He was now realizing what the administrator had meant when she talked about new technology being invented in a fantasy world and changing the landscape permanently.
A shout began to be heard to the north, along the trench line. More and more voices seemed to join in until the message had reached Shawn's section of trench.
"Cannons in range! Cannons in range! Heads down! Heads down!"
Corporal Barnes shouted the same message to the south, continuing the train of shouts to further sections. Not a few moments later, shouts and fingers began pointing out something flying through the sky to the west. Shawn turned around and watched around a dozen balls of fire streaking across the sky towards defensive line.
"Incoming!" the corporal grabbed the back of Shawn's head and forced him against the mud.
The nearest fireball struck the ground a hundred yards to Shawn's north and about a dozen feet in front of the trench. Debris exploded outwards as the ground shook from the impact. Shawn felt the small impact of mud and dirt being flung over his back before everything settled. All along the trench line, similar impacts could be heard and felt. A second wave of fireballs was already rising in the distance. Behind Shawn, the thunderous sound of the distant artillery came to an end.
Barns cursed and shot a worried glance towards the now silent horizon behind the trench. "Blasted artillery probably ran out of shells again."
"Enemies are closing in! Ready yourselves!" Barnes shouted to his men and the squad readied their rifles.
The soldiers lifted themselves just high enough to get their weapon over the ridgeline and aimed out at no man's land. Up until now, Shawn hadn't really bothered to consider who the enemy was. But as he watched the trembling hands of the soldiers around him ready to fire, his mind went back to the map.
"Demons." Shawn whispered to himself as Barns began to pace behind his men.
"Aim for center mass!" Barnes instructed his men as the ground shook from more fireball impacts. "These ugly brutes look mean, but they'll drop as fast as any man if you shoot them through the heart."
Barnes pointed aggressively out at no man's land. "That field is the graveyard for thousands of demons. Time to add a few more to the pile, right boys!"
Shouts of agreement sounded from anyone within earshot. A chime rang out.
You've been granted a buff by a leader. +10 to defense against fear attacks added. Duration, 1 hour.
I didn't think anyone else would be able to use abilities like that. Shawn had to re-evaluate his expectations once again for this world. I wonder if its a conscious choice or something he just learned how to do naturally?
Another chime sounded and a new text box appeared in Shawn's vision.
You've been forced into a mandatory quest. Protect trench line center against the coming assault. Warning: You do not meet the minimal level recommendation for this quest.
"Then why is it mandatory?!" Shawn shouted at the text box as it disappeared.
His outburst earned a few worried looks from the men around him. Before Shawn could come up with a suitable excuse, a new shout swept through the trenches.
"Here they come!"
Shawn clamored up the side of the trench so he could see no man's land beyond. In the distance, over the far side of the cratered fields, the first demon crested the ridge.
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