steryx

Sorry for not posting anything. The quarantine fucked me and it drives me mad. I had to rewrite this chapter 4 times. Sorry for the low quality.

3:15 p.m.

“That should do it…” Tryx wipes the sweat from his forehead after setting down the last target. “Hope this is far enough…”

He looked down the range where the ruins could be seen in the distance. The other targets consisted of several items are arranged between them with significant amount of distance. The newly raised target which was a scarecrow with an old rusty armor was sitting at 180 meters away from the house which he sets it as the shooting area. Another target could be seen as well though it was placed around 100 meters which was 80 meters away. He had to drive the Hilux just to set up the targets.

Seeing that the amounts of makeshift targets are quite low, he decided to place them at a certain distance just to demonstrate the capability of each weapons. The 180 meter target was reserve only for sniper rifle. And based on the condition of the materials that they used to make the targets, he just hopes that they don’t destroyed in million pieces in one hit.

“I’d better return now. Bet Seele’s gonna make a fuss about it….” He muttered to himself as drives back on to his Hilux and returns to the ruins.

The ground was rough but at least it’s flat, so that was good enough. As he approaches the former site of the house, Seele was visibly seen standing with her usual dull-emotionless face. She was eyeing on the weapons laid on the haystack that he pulled out earlier. Probably she was intrigued by assortment of weapons in her eyes. Good thing he left all the weapons without a single round loaded in case Seele decided to touch it.

After parking the Hilux, he went straight to the girl who was still gazing on the firearms.

“What do you think? Pretty neat, huh?” he said.

“Indeed it is. I never thought you would own this much.”

Tryx laughed at himself, it felt like ‘this much’ wouldn’t feel appropriate at all. This is just a quarter of what he has unlocked so far. The more he unlocks the more he owns.

“So, which one you wanna start with?” Tryx asked since she planned all of this.

Seele cups her chin thinking over her choice. She scanned on the guns once again. It was a hard choice for her. She doesn’t know much about these things aside from the brass. After a long thought, she couldn’t make a decision. Thus, she turned to the only person who knows more about the weapons.

“Hey newbie, how about you show me how you fight these things first?” she said.

Tryx blinked in confusion, “Err… can you repeat that one more time?”

“It seems it was my mistake for not explaining it clearly. I want you to demonstrate to me how you fight with these weapons.” She gestured to the rows of guns next to her. “It is the best way for me to evaluate your fighting methods and tactics behind for future battles.”

It took him few seconds to get what she meant, “I see, you want to see me how I perform with these weapons and you’ll come up with an appropriate method to fix or to modify my combat tactics to match up with your battle style. Am I correct?”

“Correct. It is best that you don’t disappoint me, newbie.”

Tryx scoffed, “What do you think I am?” He picked the M16 and loads it. “I’ll start with the M16. This is an assault rifle, a good all rounder weapon similar to the weapon that I used to kill the bandits on our last mission. It can hit a target up to five hundred meters away.”

“Can you hit a target from that distance?” Seele becomes intrigued.

“I can but unfortunately I won’t since I haven’t a single target to that distance.” And he needed to add in the bullet drop effect as well which would be hassle for him.

Seele frowned, “Now that’s quite disappointing.”

“Can it. Since we don’t have a lot of targets and I hate to waste my ammo, this is the best demonstration I could do.” Tryx loads a fresh magazine into the rifle. “Stand back, I’ll show you how it’s done.” He walked a few feet ahead of the haystacks and assumes in his tactical stance. He was ready to fire. Checking the gun again, he hits the bolt catcher and a loud click could be heard from the gun before flipping the switch to semi-auto. “Lock and load. Firing!”

He trained his sights onto the rows of 4 scarecrows planted 20 meters away and pulled the trigger.

BANG BANG BANG BANG

The bullets penetrated the old scarecrows and exited through their straw filled body landing onto the ground behind them. Tryx kept firing in semi for a few rounds before stopping. Feeling satisfied, he switched to full auto and shoots them rapidly.

RATATATATA

The scarecrows jolted and shifted as took the hit from the full auto shots. It was like they are getting shot like a real human. Dusts from the ground flying everywhere as the bullet piercing the scarecrow landed on ground few meters behind the targets. After a continuous full auto experience, the bolt carrier kicks in signaling that the gun has run out of bullets. Following the procedure, he checks the gun and make sure no bullets were left stuck in the chamber. Once that was done, he turned and walked back towards Seele.

“So, what do you think?” he asked as he puts down the M16 back its place.

Seele who was still crossing her arms answered “Not bad. But can that thing shoot onto anything that gets close to you?”

Tryx smirked, “Yeah, but that goes to this one.” He picked up the MP5 and presents it in front of her face. “The MP5, it’s a submachine gun. It fires a smaller round cartridge and it’s quite compact. But don’t underestimate this gun because of its size. It still packs a punch and easier to carry because it’s small.”

He loads the gun and heads to same spot he had shot earlier. Seeing that he hasn’t load the bullet just yet, he made the ‘obligatory HK slap’ onto the charging handle which promptly locking the bolt instantly. He flipped to burst and he was ready to shoot. Assuming his stance, he flicked the switch and aimed the gun.

BRATATATATA

He fired onto the same target which some of the rounds landed and misses. Seeing that the recoil was barely controllable for full auto, he switched to burst fire. He manages to control the gun once again. The shot becomes consistent as he controls the shot and each of the bullets landed on the scarecrows. Assuming there are still more bullets left, he snapped to the old jar, vase and a chest plate placed on a haystack. He fired the rounds onto the new targets smashing the jar, vase and filling up the entire chest plate with a hole. Once the bolt clicks, he had emptied his entire magazine.

After clearing his gun, he walked returned to Seele. “This thing can shot up to 200 meters is you’re good enough but it’s recommended to shoot it at a close range. Good for close protection, close quarter combat like in the building or in the streets. Packs with the full auto function, any motherfuckers who tries to attack will gun down before they can reach me.”

“Impressive but it was like that assault… rifle? It runs out of ammunition quite faster and I don’t think you can survive when the entire enemy has you surrounded. Plus, orcs are the type to gang up on a lone guy like you. I don’t think a weapon with limited cartridges would be useful for a long battle.” Seele commented.

She wasn’t an expert of firearms as much as Tryx but seeing how both of the weapons performed, it might put her temporary partner into risk of getting lynched when he runs out of ammunition.

“Since orcs attacks in large numbers, you better have a weapon that can shoot lots of ammunition for a long period of time and enough to suppress them.”

“And that’s where this baby comes!” Tryx slaps the MG-3 stock and stood proudly next to it. “This is a machine gun, MG-3! It fires a heavier cartridge and it uses belts and drum mags instead of typical magazine!” He places a long strip of belt and a drum mag next to the gun as a display. “Used to suppress, lay down consecutive shots and killing loads of motherfuckers. They can shoot pretty far if you use it properly though.”

Seele scans the long black machine gun. Unlike the rest of the firearms, it has a sleek design especially the elongated barrel. Compared to two guns earlier, this one looks completely different especially with the two pointy thing attached at the end of the barrel as if it was ‘standing’ on its own legs. The longer she stares at it, Seele notice that it has a resemblance to the guns mounted on the carriage especially how the bullets were stored.

“This… firearm… It looks similar to the weapons mounted on your carriage.” She tilted her head towards the Hilux where the PK machine gun and the DShK were mounted. “Are they the same weapon?”

“Yes they are. Machine gun uses a special feed which were called belts which makes them like a strip of chains. They even have a drum magazine for proper storage. Though, compared to the other weapons… The machine guns are quite heavy due to their materials and mechanisms. Adding on the bullets would hamper down my movement and toting this thing around for a long time?” Tryx whistled, “I would end up lying on my bed whole day long.”

Running the entire map with a machine gun makes him look cool especially on map Training Facility especially with everything is open wide and has a lot of space to shoot. Running around with machine gun in the game was fairly easier compared with what he had right now. Reality, it sucks shit and he knows he wouldn’t last a minute running around with this cumbersome weapon. He may have the skill but his body isn’t strong enough just yet. He regrets his decision to not continuing his morning run and daily exercises again. Though, is there even a space to do so?

“Anyhow, it’s still a good defense weapon. You put it at a single spot and kill the enemy with your superior firepower.” He picked up the belt and throws it over his shoulder, takes the gun and heads back to the same spot where he shot earlier.

He loads the machine gun into the feed tray, close and rocked the charging handle. Compared to the earlier shooting stance, he decided to lie down on his belly. Shooting an MG-3 from kneeling wouldn’t suffice as the barrel was heavy and it would be hot when he shoots. Thus, laying flat on the ground was the best option, not to mention it was quite stable.

“I’m gonna fire at the scarecrows first and then the targets at the eighty meter mark just to show how far it can go.” As soonest he’s ready to shoot, he stopped and looked at Seele. “You might wanna cover your ears. This thing is quite loud!”

Seele crosses her arms, “You know I was there when you shot that giant gun, right?” she sadi referring to when she slaughtered the Dragon Fist’s patrol team on their first met.

“Yeah, you do.”

“Then, you don’t have to worry about anything. Just do your thing.”

“If you say so.” Tryx chuckled as lined up his sight onto the scarecrows. He flipped the safety and pulled the trigger. “Firing!”

BRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA

The ground came alive once again as another strong weapon made a loud thunderous sound across the field. The bullets whistled through the air slicing the scarecrows’ straw filled bodies into bits. The dusts were flying all over the area due to the widespread shots of the machinegun. The recoil kicked his shoulder pretty hard making him hard to control the gun. He decided to shoot moderately instead of going full auto. Soon, he managed to control the shots. As he still needed the scarecrows for the last demonstration, he snapped to the targets 80 meters away which consisted of an old rusted shield, bull’s cranium and several rows of vase.

BRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA

The bullet smashes the new targets instantly. The shield was riddled in bullets instantly turning it into a scrap metal. The skull was destroyed as soonest two bullets hit it and vase was instantly destroyed in a single row using his ‘Slice the Pie’ drill that he learned from Youtube. Once the entire bullet was spent, he follows his standard procedures and returns to where came from.

As soonest he placed the MG back on the haystack, Seele could hear that the barrel was sizzling and puffing a faint smoke. Compared to the two guns earlier, this firearm produces more heat than the rest.

“That was quite fast.” Seele said. She didn’t expect the gun would run out of bullets so quickly despite the long belt strapped with bullets.

“Yeah, this type of gun shoots a lot of bullets. Heck, you’ll spend all of your bullets if you don’t fire moderately.” In which most players especially beginners would do.

“Even so, I can see that this gun would be useful in the future battle. It keeps the enemy off within your range.” Just like the battle against the Dragon Fist’s patrol. She saw how the gun cuts down their horses easily. But then again, as a veteran and his senior she must address the most important thing when it comes to fighting the orcs. “Say, newbie…”

“What?”

“When you encountered them, did you happen to fight the ‘Champions’?”

“The what?” He was baffled. “Some new category?”

“It’s an orc but they have bigger bodies and can take a lot of damage. I assume that you encountered them too?”

It took him a few minutes to recall his memory. “Oh…” And he remembered, his face soured instantly upon recalling the scary scene. “Those big swole bastards. Yeah, I fought them.”

“And let me guess, even with that giant gun on your carriage you still can’t kill them, is that correct?” Seele hinted as raises her brows. It was an obvious answer.

“No. But I did kill one of the bastards, so…”

“Then you know that even this… thing wouldn’t be able to stop them.” Seele paused and inspects the MG-3. The gun lets a strong smell of gas and she could still hear the barrel sizzling. “Those types of orcs have thicker skin. You need more than just a lot of high speed projectile flying around to beat them.”

“Yeah, your right.” Tryx sighs in defeat. He then picks up the Trenchgun, “But that doesn’t mean I can’t try.” His demotivated face instantly changes back to his old cocky self. “I got this baby to help me kill that thing… Sort off.”

Seele raised a brow, “Sort off?” she felt doubtful of his words. “Anyhow, what’s that in your hand?”

“Oh this? This is the M1897 Trenchgun. It’s a shotgun.”

“The what?”

“A shotgun. But they call it a trenchgun because this was used to kill people when they storm the trench in a war long time ago.”

“Ah, is that so?” Seele was intrigued about the term ‘trench’ and ‘war long time ago’ which makes her wondering how the war was fought on his land. But even so, this wasn’t a history class and she had strictly said that she has no interest in his past whatsoever. “So, about this weapon… How effective is this gun in defeating those champions?”

“This one uses a special round that spreads smaller pellets all over the targets. This gun is good for close combat and it can it a destructive effect. If things got really close and personal, I got this!” Tryx quickly fitted a bayonet at the end of the muzzle. “A bayonet! I can just run up straight to those bastards and stab wherever part or I can just stab and shoot them at the same time! Pretty neat, huh?”

Seele narrowed her eyes, “What happened to part about attacking from range?”

“Eh, there’s still distance between me and the orcs but quite small. Anyways, I’ll show you how it’s done!” He went down the shooting area once again while loading up the shells into the shotgun. Once he loaded all of them, he entered his stance and prepares to shoot. “Firing!”

He trained his sight onto the first target which was a board that was nailed on a pole. The board was marked with ‘X’ at the center since Tryx was too lazy to draw a proper target. Taking a deep breath, he pulled the trigger.

KABLAM!

The right side of the board disappears instantly. Tryx pumped the fore-end, cycling a newer round into the chamber and aimed at the same target again.

KABLAM!

The target board breaks into million pieces, there was barely any shape of the target board on the pole anymore. Seeing that the target was destroyed, he snapped to the only target left standing on the field – the scarecrows that were 20 meters away. As he moves closer, he reloads two more shells to pull his next trick. Once he’s in the range, he shot the scarecrows by using the slam fire.

KABLAM KABLAM KABLAM KABLAM KABLAM

The scarecrows took a lot of damage each and every one of them. The first scarecrow took a shot to the head disappearing instantly, the second receives a blow to the shoulder breaking the pole supporting its right arm, the third took a blow on the center mass leaving a hole that can see through the other side and the last scarecrow took two rounds at the same spot which causes the pole that holds it breaks in two. Not content with that, Tryx hoisted the trenchgun up in the air and stab the remains of the fallen scarecrow.

“DIE!” Tryx yelled as he stabs the fallen scarecrow multiple times.

Seele who was watching from afar was speechless as she watches the man acting weirdly stabbing a lifeless scarecrow that was destroyed. She couldn’t help but think whether this guy is retarded or just a battle junkie. Though, battle junkie wouldn’t fit him at all. Probably an idiot fits the description.

After letting his steam out and having fun stabbing on a bunch of straws, Tryx returns to the spot.

“Damn, did you see how I kill all of them?!” Tryx asked ecstatically.

“Yeah, you looked like an idiot.” Seele spat out straight to his face. “Seriously, you don’t have to stab the scarecrow like an idiot! You only have to shoot them.”

“But that won’t show how effective this gun is at the close range!”

“You mean the effectiveness of the knife sticking at end of the weapon.”

“It’s a bayonet.”

Seele sighed deeply and rubbed her temples, dealing with him is like talking to a kid. “Anyhow, that was quick. Did you forget to add more shells into the weapon?”

“No, it has a limited round. Plus, it doesn’t go really far. Though, it can be used as a backup weapon if you ever got ganged up.”

Seele frowned upon hearing it. Her eyes were showing signs of trouble, “It’s effective but considering their numbers, it doesn’t suit to charge forward especially in the next battle where the number is large and the enemies will chase you around constantly. Plus, with that kind of firepower you might end up shooting friendlies.”

“Yeah, you maybe right but who knows if it goes useful when it arises? Like when they breached into the wall’s defensive position.”

“Fair enough.” She then eyes on the last weapon sitting at the end of the haystack. “I assume that’s the final weapon for today.”

“Yeah, Styer Scout rifle.” He picked up rifle and posed it in his hands. “It’s a sniper rifle but it doesn’t go that far. It was meant to for reconnaissance or something. But really, it can hit targets up to between three hundred and four hundred meters away.”

“That’s quite far.” Seele was impressed. “Not even an expert archer would be able to reach their targets without magic especially on a flat ground.”

Tryx chuckled, “Believe it or not, there are other sniper rifles that can go beyond 400 meters.”

“There are?”

“Yup but unfortunately, this is all I have. I’ll get a new one when I have proper funding that is…” by proper funds he meant ‘Leveling up until he unlocks better rifle’. “Anyhow, you got any binoculars or something you could you use to see the target? I mean, I did plant the target really far so…”

Seele pulls out her monocular out of her pouch nonchalantly it was like she had anticipated this.

“Well that’s good. Let me get myself ready.”

He went to the truck and grabbed a small sandbag that happened to be there. He has no idea why its there but its apart of the truck’s in game texture, so he doesn’t want to complain. Since the bipod isn’t unlocked yet, he had to use some sort of makeshift item to support his rifle. Heading to same spot once again, he lies down and loaded his gun. Seele followed and stood just right behind him just to get a better spot.

Back in the game, he rarely uses sniper rifle since he usually walks around the map to find the enemies and kill them head on. All of the sniping goes to his team mate, BL1nkERbL1nK who most of the time takes out enemies’ from afar. She never levels up the other small arms but instead, she spends most of the time playing as sniper. Her sniping skill was unmatched and he was average at best. It’s been a while he had touch a sniper rifle, he just hope that he was still skilled with it.

Once he had done loading the gun, he aimed down the scope and calibrates it. “Prepare your monocular. I’m taking my shots, now.”

Seele looks through her monocular. She could see a lone scarecrow in her sight. There was a slight breeze stroking its clothing.

“Firing!” Tryx pulled the trigger.

BLAM

The shot echoed across the field once again. The bullet landed on the scarecrow’s arm.

“It hits the arm.” Seele notified.

“I got four shots left. I’ll go for the body and the head.” He cleared the pulled and pushed the bolt again, loading a new round. Tryx re-calibrate the scope taking account of the wind into his calculation and aimed slightly above the shoulder. Holding his breath, he pulled the trigger again.

BLAM

The bullet hits the body this time.

“Hit.”

Tryx cycles the bolt again and aimed down the sight again.

BLAM

“It hits the body. Chest this time.”

He repeats the same action again.

BLAM

“Hit. Abdomen.”

He cycled to the final round and aimed down the scope again. He let out his breath and pulled the trigger.

BLAM

“Hit.” Seele can visually see that the bullet hits the head. “Nice shot, newbie. Never thought you could do it...”

“Yeah… me neither…” He said as he stood up. Tryx felt relief that he still has the sniping skill although a little rusty.

The two finally made their way back to the truck. Once they have packed every single weapon and stashed it at the back of the truck, the two sat at the truck bed. It was time for her evaluation. 

"So, your thoughts?" Tryx asked. "Think I'm ready to take them head on?"

"Not quite, I mean your weapons are designed to take on enemies from afar rather than close range."

"But I still have the shotgun and submachine gun!" 

"That is until you ran out of ammunition." 

"Yeah right, what happened to team work? I thought you was supposed to be vanguard. Which one of these weapons fits your preference?" 

Seele cups her chin, thinking the best weapon that fits her. "I don't know. They all can be utilize with my fighting style." 

"You mean running straight ahead and smash everyone?" Seele kicks his leg. "Ouch! I'm just joking!" The girl pouts and grumbles, this girl really takes jokes too serious. "Serious talk girl, which one do you prefer?"

"How about you choose?" 

"Me? Again?" 

"Well, you'll be providing cover for me using your weapons anyways..." 

"I feel like you're dumping all the decision making to me!" Tryx exclaimed. "But yeah, you were right. I know more about these weapons." 

"So, what'll you choose, newbie?" 

steryx

Finally, I've finished this chapter. Though its low quality. Just stay safe everyone, quarantine can make you go nuts sometimes. Also, please do comment on what type of weapon he should pick based on the list given.