The War Game: Basic Training (The War Game: A LitRPG Space Adventure Book 1) by August Aird

Author:August Aird [Aird, August]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-09-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Villixa led us from our breakfast out to the obstacle course. Overnight the empty fields and dirt tunnels had changed to a deep pit, about the size of a basketball court. Ladders led down on each side. Clean steel walls surrounded the floor, which had an assortment of wooden walls and tables spread out across it. The floor itself was dirt.

“Welcome to the end of the line for most of you ingrates. Here’s where we’ll find out what each and every one of you is made of. Probably literally when you explode.”

The Sergeant had gotten on one of his diatribes. I tuned him out, and held Iris’s hand. She squeezed it back.

I could feel her nerves, she practically vibrated from worry. Pete and Bethany sat on my other side. Nillin’s squad was up first, so she hadn’t bothered to sit down. The rest of the humans had packed the stands. Well, there were only thirty-one of us, so ‘packed’ might be a bit much.

His speech finished, and all of us shouted “For Humanity!”

Villixa stepped forward at the cheer, nodded to the crowd, and announced the first squads to begin.

Nillin’s opponents, as we expected, were the lowest ranked Delphinian squad. We were all worried for our friends, though, as the Delphinians were all relatively competent. Anything could happen down in the arena.

“So, to respect our host’s preferences,” Villixa said, “If you die in the challenge today, you will come back in the medical tent, if your team wins. If not, you will exit the tutorial. So, say your goodbyes now, if you wish. There is little guarantee you will end up in the same place.”

I watched as some of the Delphinians hugged each other. They would rub their antennae together when they did.

Sarge’s patience impressed me the most. I assumed he’d rush them, but I guess he could be diplomatic when the situation called for it.

Before long it was time. Nillin’s squad approached the far end of the field. Her opponents were on our side.

Each wall had a small starting area with a painted circle marking where to stand. The two teams got ready, summoned their weapons, and waited.

A buzzer sounded.

Nillin and Yia immediately ran forward. They crouched as they did, and made it to just past the midpoint of the arena. Heral stayed back, firing shots at the opponents. None of the shots were close to hitting someone, so I knew it was mostly suppressing fire. The other team had hunkered down behind cover near their starting area.

The enemy squad had a good defensive position, but I knew it wouldn’t last. And I’d lost Ploa in the first rush, which meant so had they. She reappeared behind them. She managed to kill two before they could react and shift away to better cover. But at that moment Nillin sprang forward.

She leaped over their cover and shot one and ran the other through with her knife.

In all it had taken about sixty seconds.

My group whooped and cheered when Nillin’s squad climbed out.

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