chapter 5 is on Patreon and ko-fi

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"//MELEE COMBAT PROFICIENCY EXCEEDED REQUIREMENTS//"

"//MOVING ON TO RANGED COMBAT//"

Already we are moving on to ranged combat but I haven't got my bearings from the melee back-to-backs yet, It's like they want to turn me into a war machine of something!

"//NOT A ADERQUIRT ASAUMPTION//"

"WHAT! you're in my head now!"

"//TO MAINTAIN A STABLE MENTAL CONDITION//" 

"I think I'm going insane though." *Accusing half-closed eyes used in anime*

"//I WILL STOP ALL EXERCISES IF I DETECT ANY TRACE OF IRREGULAR BRAIN ACTIVITY SUCH AS INSANITY OR PSYCHOPATHY//"

*sigh*

"Let's move onto the next part then."

"//AFFERMITIVE//"

"//MOVING ON TO RANGED COMBAT//"

A shooting range gets added to the side of the room and already has targets. I climb back in and walk to the post that says 'shoot from here' on It.

[select a weapon]

Just like the melee combat, I get to choose from a plethora of weapons and one can get bombarded with the options. 

Hand cannons, Sub-machine guns, Assault guns, Auto-cannons, Gatling guns, Missile launchers, rocket launchers, Anti-mech cannons, Shotguns, flamethrowers, railguns, Hybrid weapons, Sniper cannons, Grenade launchers, Plasma launcher, Plasma thrower, Plasma cannons, Light machine guns, Heavy machine guns, Shard cannons and magic amplifiers.

So yes, can't decide on what to pick. I have used most of them before in games but can't choose what will be my first weapon here.

"can you a random one for me!"

"//DARHELL 6V7H AUTO-CANNON SELECTED//"

The large caliber and although had a mediocre rate of fire made it was popular for amazing armor shredding capabilities and with modified ammunition instead of highly condensed magic like almost all other weapons for standard projectiles made it usable against a broad range of uses. Being flexible was a difficult thing at the birth of this thing as Auto-cannons were considered only for close-range anti-armor weapons.

Later on by accident, different shell types were born so the large shells of the auto-cannons made it possible to be used in other roles such as anti-air defense when using a proximity fuse on a large shell meant it had a large explosive payload. The best thing was It was an Auto-cannon so not just one shell like a big cannon with one big heavy shell that can miss and be useless, but lots of them in rapid succession as the auto in auto-cannon means automatic cannons, like automatic rifles.

Standing similar to how a human would use a gun, I take aim and a reticle hovers in the center of my sight. I guess this is how you would aim as you can't normally.

"Automatic gun calibration is pretty when the person who made the weapon also made you."

"//THE CREATOR STATED THAT SHE FOCUSED HER EFFORTS ON MAKING ME AS I WAS GOING TO BE WITH YOU AND NOT HER//"

"//RANGED COMBAT START//"

*BANG**SMASH*

The target was already destroyed. It didn't get to move as although there was a mechanical arm on the underside of the target, I was too quick.

"//ROUND 2 PREPARING//"

"//HOW DID-//"

"I was part of the army cadets, they taught me how to aim and fire real guns as well as playing so many games that use an aiming reticle it is impossible to name them all. If this is to simulate what I will do in combat anyway I wouldn't let the target move and have a chance to get closer as the guns although become more accurate when closer I don't want enemies getting closer and gaining the upper hand."

"//Round 2 START//"

After the word 3 armored targets appeared and they all sport some random weapons that were aimed at me.

*BANGBANGBANG**BANGBANGBANG**BANGBANGBANG*

Putting in a 3 round burst destroyed these pretty easily as this is an armor shredder by design and was very successful as an anti-armor target weapon.

"VEROOOOOOOOM"

The shooting range was ditched and I was standing in the middle of a large room.

"//MOVING FROM CIVILIAN AIMING SYSTEMS TO COMBAT TYPE//" 

"What does that mean"

"//YOUR HIGH PERFORMANCE UNLOCKED THE HIGHER TIERED EVALUATION//"

"So this is a higher difficulty compensation thing for being that skilled"

"//AFFERMITIVE//"

"//NEXT ROUND//"

"//NEXT ROUND//"

"//NEXT ROUND//"

Another almost 30 rounds in ranged combat and It was a lot easier than melee personally. The rounds were harder as there were more targets and they were moving faster, changing directions more sporadically and required more effort to kill.

"//WELL DONE FOR COMPLETING THE RANGED PART OF THE EXERCISE//"

Climbing out to mentally rest, all the extra processing power while nice in fights and stuff is stressy and painful for long uses. 

'Laying my back against a massive metal foot is quite comfortable for me strangely. I think I might be a security thing really.'

"//DO YOU WANT TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PART SOON//"

I look up with teary eyes.

"There's more?"

"//AFFIRMATIVE//"

"//THERE IS 4 PARTS TO THIS TRAINING AND YOU HAVE DONE 2 SO FAR//"

"What else is there!?" We're only halfway there!?

"//NEXT PART IS FLIGHT TRAINING//"

"EH!"

A stupid yelp comes out in surprise as I wasn't expecting flying to be a thing I can do, well, do but not so soon anyway.

"//FLYING GIVES PEOPLE THE ABILITY TO RAPIDLY RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES AND SUPERIOR COMBAT PERFORMANCE//"

Even my old world found air combat to be a better thing to focus on but I think some countries like the U.S. put too much emphasis on flying as It has Its own drawbacks.

*CLANK**CLANK**CLANK*

After climbing back in I felt more weight was on my back and legs. Looking around I saw a pair of wings and jets, the same on the legs as well.

"//START WITH LOW HOVERING//" 

"//THINK OF USING THE JETS AT LOW POWER AND GRADUALLY INCREASE//"

*FUUOUOOOOOOSSHSHSHHSHHHSHSH*

"Activation of jets at minimum power"

*CLANK**CLANK*

 I jump a couple of times and easily notice the height difference is staggering as I can jump more than double the frames maximum height at a full jump and The fall time is also noticeable as well, This at minimum power is scary as 'what is full power thrusters going to be like'.

Increasing the power and jumping, I get used to the feeling of no inhibitions and as the strange feeling of falling is going I increase the power incrementally.

Jumping is getting easier and easier and The fall times are also getting slower and slower Until...

"//CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING THE HOVERING EXERCISE//"

5 meters above the ground was a giddy me as I was steering the thrusters to move in all directions. The sensation of flying in such a manner I can only say that it is A-MAZ-ING!!!

*SHING*

The world changed into an open field and I can see a forest in the distance. Standing on a hill I can see a meadow of flowers just behind me and a river feeding into a massive lake downhill.

"//MOVE TO HOVER AND YOU CAN START THE FLYING//"

If I could I would be having a deep breath in and then out as I ascend to the 5-meter hover height to start. I increase the power and rise higher and higher until I reach 100 meters up, then 200.

300

400

500

700

900

950

Then 1000 meters up I look down and see the hill I was on and the meadow, the river and the lake. Although fake, this depiction of nature is beautiful, It is all especially wonderful when appreciated from a distance. 

For the next 2o minutes, I was doing some positions in the sky as I was rolling and spinning about. This is because the directions of the thrusters are going to be pointing in all sorts of directions for the sake of adapting mid-flight to respond to quick movements in the heat of combat.

"//BASIC DIRECTIONS//"

"//RAPID ALTITUDE CHANGES//"

"//RECOVERY MANEUVERS//"

More and more tutorials and no fun. I expected this to be fun things like in Meatal Gear Rising Revengence you hack and slash your way through the tutorial and the tutorial boss is a HUGE FUCKING METAL GEAR YOU HAVE TO KILL!!

But no

I am in an admittedly cool VR simulation but doing the most boring way to learn everything.

Practice over and over is the most boring way to learn skills and the least practical as well. IN A VR WORLD!!! Is it hard to make enemies kill for the purpose of learning, like in some games, you can make enemies take damage only by counterattacks or immune to heat-based weapons. Make enemies here with movement that will teach me things like rapid altitude changes or mid-flight recovery.

_____________________________________________________________________________

"CAN I NOW  HAVE SOME FUN" 

1 and 1/2 hours of learning to fly and I got fed up of doing things I already know and snap

"Put me up against some enemies and I will kill them anyway.

[pick your weapons]

*sigh*

Worried that I might get punished there for a sec and also 'weapons' and not a weapon? oh well, won't argue then. Like the saying 'don't bite the hand that feeds you'!

There are 10 weapons max and I don't want to hold back!

[selected 

2x light machinegun

2x heavy machinegun

2x auto-cannons

2x Gatling cannons

2x missile multi-silo racks]

Told ya I wouldn't hold back! I'm packin' some pent-up stress!

"//ENEMIES SPAWNING//"

5 enemies are below me and 3 above. They look like me but smaller and with fewer weapons, 1 Gatling gun, 1 auto-cannon and one anti-mech cannon. I dive to engage some targets with my machine guns and rotate the missiles around to fire behind me and lock onto the magic signatures of the 3 above. 

*RATTATATTTATTATAATAATATATT**BRAAAKACACACAACAAKCAAACCKCAKAK**GARRARARARRARAAAARRARARARRAARRAGAGAGAGAGAAGAAARARARARRARA*

All my machine guns open up on 2 targets and swiss cheese them continue down for a power-dive for more speed and break off from the rest to put some distance for a safe turn around.

*boom*

Almost completing the highspeed turn I hear an explosion and see another mech fall from the sky in smoke and pieces!

"3 down 5 to go!"

The other mechs didn't follow me like I thought they would but stayed with the altitude advantage and even put themselves into a circle following each other so they are on the tail of the mech in front. 

"I can't slip in or I will be blown out of the sky. A couple of Italians did this and a Russian jet tried to slot onto the tail of one and became a bullet-ridden wreck!"

Using some more missiles, I launch them into the formation and hope it will break them up as rockets did with American WWII bomber formations. With the incoming danger of more missiles, the enemies break the formation to dodge but another mech got caught and is left a falling pile of debris.

"4 down, 4 to go~"

I was not idle as they were panicking and was instead climbing up to get the drop on them.

I so want to say 'the story's over pilots, the sky belongs to me' and wreck them but I can't for now as they are chasing me. climbing up to meet me in a not-so-friendly manner, I get a crazy idea and climb as well.

*BANG*BRABBBBABABABABABABABBA*

Gun and cannon fire meets me, skimming, ricocheting and generally just missing but still scary to be on the wrong side of any firearm or gun in general!

*BANG**CLINK**CLANK*

Both of my light machine guns got shot off and the chassis is taking a pelting.

*BANG**BANG**BANG**BANG**BANG**BANG*

As we get past a certain stage the mechs below became wildly more inaccurate until the shot just stopped and I knew what happened. 

They are smaller mechs, more nibble, cheaper to make and maintain. The advantages are with numbers and with low altitudes, I didn't do that and instead went up and up and up. the larger mech aka me has better heat insulation and energy storage so when climbing to heights and enduring this environment is easy for me but not so the smaller mech. The lighter frames make it harder to store heat and maintain optimum energy levels, causing them to freeze like in Iron man does this to defeat his uncle in the first film by high altitudes causing freezing in the components and then falling like a lump of metal.

I proceed to flip around and fill the falling mechs with bursts from all guns that I have left.

*BANG**BANG**BANG**BANG**BANG**BRAPAPAPAPAPAAAAPAPPAPPAPAPPAPAPA**RATATATATATTATATATATATATTATATATAT**GRAGAGAGAGAGGAGAGGGAGAGAAAAAGAGGAGAGAGGAGAGGA**BRACKCKAKCACKCACACKAKCACCKCKCAKCAKAKACACKCACACACCAKCK*

"All enemies eliminated~"