Chapter 1: Frontline Combat

Since the dawn of this world, humanity had already encountered threats that endangered their existence.

History depict fights against natural catastrophe beyond our control. Impossible battles with powerful ancient Grimm. Epic clashes between armies that could have been mistaken for a fairy tale. Countless times, we've faced situations with insurmountable odds. Countless time, we defy expectations and surpassed them

We preserve, never giving up despite how many times we've been beaten down. We endured, withstanding the wrath of nature and conquer them with the savageness of a wild beast. We survived, crowding on a hill of bodies as we screamed for our bloody victory

We thrive in the most devastating of battlefields, for that is how we are made

Human are creatures of war. But like all wars, we fight not out of hatred nor rage, but of necessity

Our Fatherland is bleeding. What kind of children would we be if we can't take up arms and fight for him?

- Excerpt from an unknown soldier's journal, discovered on the Western front of Solitas, Atlas (1915)

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When I was a child, my family would take trips to the church on weekends and hear the priest there preach about their words of the divine.

He spoke of how God made human into these...people that will be forever faithful to him, the holy one. He spoke of human virtues, of tales from the bible detailing the journey and ascension of Christ, and how even the most vilest men can be turned around if they can repent for their sins

I never believe in God.

As you might know, the best term to describe people like me would be "atheists". One who deny the existence of an apex figure ruling over the world through mythical means. But such a description won't fit me

I want to believe in God would be the better statement. I prayed everyday, but never get to hear his voice. I participate in commune and confessions, but never truly find forgiveness. I cannot understand why people would worship someone who they never see, hear, or come into contact with. Isn't ignorance a sin in itself?

I am religious, for I follow their moral teachings. Yet I do not have faith in God. He who is all-benevolent and reign supreme does not exist in my mind, as I've seen death, sufferings and poverty that can be all cured had he been there.

All the problems in the world would have been solved had he helped us. So I vowed to my death that I would reject him as the rightful God in my mind

Eventually, I would be diagnosed with cancer, lying in my a hospital bed of the most luxurious kind with doctors tending to me. I have gathered enough money and power over the years and lived myself a first-class life. Yet at the end, I never had a child, or a loved one, or a friend to be there for me

I died alone in that cold hospital bed. Yet as I took my last breath, I can confidently say that I regret nothing

Fitting end for a faithless man, don't you think?

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What followed after is frontline combat

You are not expected to survive

Apparently someone claimed to be "God" did not take very well to me disrespecting their authority,

"(Y/n) (L/n), get the fuck up!"

My first few moments in this world was painful. Explosions rained down around my position, smaller explosions followed afterward, before chunks of rocks and dirt covered my uniform from head to toe

Opening my eyes, I looked upward. A man was looking down at me with an urgent look in his eyes. His outfit, while indicating of it belonging to the army, is unidentifiable. I had no clue which unit and country he's from

I looked around

What the hell?

Hell is the right word. Gunfire rang out on the trenches, echoing in my ears like a rhythm of chaos. My body ached, as though I'd just taken a beating to the bone. All I see are smoke and fire in the distance, while people around me were rushing to the front with rifles in their hand 

Through heavy breath, I let the Seargant pulled me up. I thought he was going to tell me to evacuate since I am a civilian, but instead an order was soon barked to me

"What did I tell you about freezing up in the middle of battle? Pick up your weapon and provide some cover fire for your squad. I'll meet you at our spot"

He soon rushed along with the others and disappeared around the corner much to my shock and confusion.

I inspected myself and found that I was wearing a military uniform. Oddly enough, it doesn't look like your modern military outfit but rather what would make for a WWI attire saves for some difference

For one, I'm sure there are no country on Earth with the name "Vale" on it

Shaking my head, I realized that I still have no weapons. Looking around the confined trenches reveal several guns lined up across me. I ran to it in hope of finding a mean of defending myself

Objective created: Your weapon is broken, choose a new primary weapon

- Shotgun (5/10)

- Semi-automatic Rifle (10/60)

- Machine Gun (60/300)

However, a notification soon popped up just above the guns, with each of them providing a description for their respective items. Almost like a video game. If I wasn't so disoriented I would have blinked at the ridiculousness of it all

Judging from the type of weapons, the number must be their catridge size and total number of bullets available. However, there are also limitations. The machine gun have good range but limited mobility on the field. The shotgun is a good choice in the confined space of the trench but they have single-shot firing mechanism and took an agonizing amount of time to reload

I quickly took up the rifle and load it. As the bullet entered the chamber I stood up and carefully navigate myself through the midst of ear-shattering explosions around me.

The frontline is just ahead. If I head in the opposite direction I should be safe. Less enemies there, which means less chance for dying. Or at least that's what I thought, until another ringing sound was heard

I looked up at the video game window above me with dread

Objective updated: Mistralian troops are storming the trenches. Find your team and cover them

Oh fuck, are you kidding me? I don't even know where I am and you're expecting-

A bullet whizzed by my head.

Through pure instinct I turned around and unleashed several bursts of fire behind me, hitting the soldier square by the chest. He fell to the ground, allowing me to move from my position and across the trenches as fast as I can

Mama. I just killed a man

Adrenaline pumped through my vein. I lifted my rifle and took quick work of the enemies who had their back turned toward me. Since their uniform is of a different shade from my comrade I easily spotted them while they were busy firing at my fellow soldiers

Approaching from behind I hit them over the head with the stock of my gun. The "Mistralian" fell over clutching his temple as I leveled my gun at him and fired, spattering his brain on the ground. I immediately knelt down and loot his corpse, salvaging for anything usable

+10 [Assault Rifle bullet]

"Thanks for that!" The other soldiers expressed his gratitude, only for me to wave him away

I was just trying to save my own skin. No need to thank a coward like me

"Are you out of bullets?" I noticed the rifle sitting by his side with its magazine release opened. He nodded sheepishly. I sighed and threw him my newly-looted rifle rounds

"Only fire when necesasry. Run out of bullets again and you're a dead man" Was my warning before I ran off, leaving the infantry man behind for his fate

I crossed several more sections, before something flew over my head and landed on the section where I just crossed. My eyes widened as the soldier's panicked screamed could be heard

"Grenade!"

The section of ground to my side erupted forward with tremendous force. I jumped back, narrowly avoiding the shower of blood that came after.

Bodyparts and barbed wires fell to the ground, showing a tattered Vale army uniform. The infatry guy I'd just helped moments ago now nothing more than a sticky chunk of blood and organs

'Tch. I wasted those bullets for the guy' I shook my head 'Rest in peace you bastard'

I quietly made my way forward. But then I remembered something

In my haste, I accidentally ran in the opposite direction of where I was supposed to go. I had been heading toward the front, which now landed me in possibly the most dangerous zone in the trench

"There he is! (Y/n)!"

The call of my supposed "squadmate" made me cringed. This version of me may know them before I was transported here, but to me they are effectively strangers who knew my name. A dangerous thing indeed

Before anything can be done, the voice of the seargant once again barked out to them

"Focus on holding the line! (Y/n), get your ass over here and support them!" His eyes bugged at my assault rifle "What the hell are you holding?! You are supposed to be the team's sniper!"

Well...that's unexpected

He wordlessly pointed at a nearby crate. I nodded and switched to the sniper rifle. Absentmindedly, I picked myself a melee weapon in case my gun ran out of bullets

- Primary Weapon: Sniper Rifle (5/20)

- Secondary Weapon: Combat Knife

- Item: N/A

- Skill: N/A

- Perk: N/A

Objective updated: Push back the enemy's advance along with your team

I loaded the rifle as an explosion rang afar, signalling the approaching Mistralian. With that, I took aim. My teammates formed a loose cluster along the dirt path as I started sniping down surfacing infantry from across the trench. The others armed with rifles and machinegun also support me, gunning down Mistralian soldiers on sight

A smoke grenade exploded, obstructing our vision. I sighed and tightened my trigger on the sniper rifle, ready to shoot them at a moment's notice

The smoke cleared, revealing an incoming human wave of trooper approaching our position from the flank

"Enemy on the left!"

The sergeant's notice made us swiveled out guns in said direction and began firing. Waves after waves of infantry advanced through our suppressive fire, some times even trampling on their fellow comrade to get to us faster. I began firing faster in response until my magazines ran dry

Clips were dumped on the ground. Eventually the enemy forces dwindled down enough for us to pick off with several bursts of fire. We ran out of ammunition, but the opposition suffered more casualties than us

We slowly relaxed. However, our moment of respite was quickly interrupted by a scream that tore through the air

One of the injured Mistralian soldiers rushed forward and swiveled his firearm at me. A tactical choice considering the sniper's the easiest to take out. My knife flashed out as I gut him before he could pull the trigger

As the soldier fell to the ground, I noticed the loose explosive on his side. My eyes widened

"Grenade" A clang reached our ears as the metallic object fell off his pocket and bounced off the rock. Reacting fast I reached over and threw it back toward the enemy line. We crouched back in the trench. An ear-shattering boom followed as more ash and smoke filled the air

Coughing out a lungful of black tar, I waved the smoke away and peeked over the line to see. My eyes widened as over the fog, an imposing figure made itself known.

"TANK!" I yelled at my teammates

"Huh? What are you saying?" The ringing in our ears had not faded. They are experiencing shellshock, I realized "Speak louder, we can't hear yo-"

"TANK!" The seargant screamed

The next moment, an armored tank burst through the space above us. It's wheels spun in place as the tank descended, crushing my team into red, squishy meat paste as the vehicle's front slammed to the ground. Without even bothering with us, it continued climbing over the far side of the trench and soon passed over

Shit. I hadn't expected there to be tanks deployment. What do I do now?

I raised my rifle and fired several shots at the absolute behemoth. The gun's bullet bounced off its metal armor as though they were made from rubber. Expected, really.

However, a chill entered my spine as the tank's gunner seems to have noticed my presence

It's barrel lit up. The next moment an explosion rang out, and I was reduced to nothing more than a charred corpse

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I died again

Strangely, I am alive.

No, not alive. I am clearly in a state of unliving, but I am still conscious of my thoughts and action. My body had been rendered unusuable, so my biological functions must have shut down. This is impossible

[Spectator Mode]

Ah, that strangely makes sense

Total points: 3,615

Enemy Kill: 16 (3,200)

Kill Assist: 5 (150)

Enemy Spotted: 6 (120)

Headshot: 3 (120)

Savior Kill: 1 (25)

You can use points to either purchase and upgrade weapons or buy new perks from individual classes

Ah, so this really is like a video game. This means the more I kill, the stronger I get.

My thought wandered toward the tanks from above, and I smiled

Choose a class to respawn into

[Recruit]: Newbies fresh on the battlefield. Can use all available weapons at 30% less efficiency without being able to equip perks or gadgets

[Assault]: Infantry man armed with submachine gun and shotguns. They are heavy fighters specialized in taking down armored vehicles and is a nightmare to engage in close quarters

[Medic]: Doctors wielding self-loading rifles. They provide treatment for wounded soldiers on the battlefield, but are also a lethal force of their own

[Scout]: Fleet-footed infiltrator that engage at long range with their sniper rifles. The scouts have the duty of spotting enemies on the frontline and is specialized in evasion tactics

[Support]: Heavy gunner with a near unlimited amount of ammo. Playing as supports allow you to refill you and teammate's armor while delivering rains of bullets on your enemies with rapid-firing machine guns

[Cavalry]: Borrowing from legends of old, the cavalry unit rode beasts of wars into battles with their deadly-sharp blades. When all was done only a pile of bodies will be left in their wake

[Tanker]: Unlike his combat-focused brethren, tankers specialize in controlling armored vehicles that demolish strategic checkpoints and pierce through enemy line with his behemoth of a tank

[Commander] (Locked)

[Aviator] (Locked)

[Sentry] (Locked)

[Tank Hunter] (Locked)

[Trench Raider] [Locked]

[Infiltrator] (Locked)

Hm. This time let's use the [Assault] class. See how easily these tanks can be ripped to shred with the AT grenades, shall we?

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The roaring of mechanical tanks resounded in his ears as Jaune Arc cowered in a corner. His form trembled in shock as soldiers and doctors alike fell in fron of him. Bullet hell showered down on their position in a literal rain of death

It wasn't supposed to be like this. He'd only falsely enlisted in order to help his country. That in itself was his only goal

Yet Jaune could never have predicted the deathly reality outside on the frontline. Blood flow on the battlefield enough to form a river. The ground littered with dead bodies and bullet casings. The stench of the deceased enough to haunt him to his

And those war machines. He shuddered as the squelching of flesh being crushed could be heard outside. One of the soldiers had just gotten ran over by the tank which seems unconcerned with the brutal execution it had just given them

Soon enough one rolled around the corner. He hid behind the trench and expected it to go away, crossing the trench beneath it as more Mistralian soldoers poured in from the opening

Instead, there were screaming as the booming of shotguns snaked its way across the dirt path. An explosion rang out, when the smoke cleared it reveals the enemy infantry were already dead on the spot

A grenade sailed through the air and impacted the tank by its rear. What could only be described as an abnormally loud explosions rocked the side of its engine, making the tank caught on fire

Amidst the panicked shouts and yells in Mistralian tongue could heard inside, Jaune's ears picked out the sound of something else moving behind him

"These things are more effective than I thought"

Huh?

Another grenade was tossed at the tank, making it exploded and killing all the gunners inside

Jaune Arc very slowly turned around...and saw a soldier of the Valean army holding a mine in his hand. He looked to be the same age as him, with protective gears of the Assault-class division

As if noticing his gaze, the boy offered him a hand

"Do you know where the rest of the tanks are?"

The Arc nodded shakily and pointed to the right, where the whirring of mechanical gear were the loudest

"Good. You go with me"

Before he can react the mysterious rifleman already stood up and moved toward the concentration of armored vehicles. Reluctantly, he followed after him