GnG Classroom

The singular dark braid trailed behind the GnG 1st year instructor, casually brushing against the small of her back with its carefully tied tail as she paced in front of her class. A sudden squeal of rubber tires coupled with the barely discernable hum of electronics garnered everyone's attention to the classroom's only door.

An instant later, the door was flung open, only to immediately slam shut after bouncing off the rubber wheel of the chair. "I got it..." The girl repeated the process, this time maneuvering around the swinging door.

Amber-colored eyes glanced apologetically at the approaching teacher. "Good job, Char... Now everyone's looking," she mumbled too loudly to go unheard. Her long black hair hung over one side of her face as if trying to hide the burns that marred what would have otherwise been rare beauty.

Chi paused just short of the entryway. "Why are you late, Miss Hall?"

At Exodus Academy, everyone came as themselves. In Charlotte Hall's case, she'd been offered the chance to make a few changes to her avatar in the interest of getting around better. She had refused. That aside, no one ever got a free pass from Chi Blanca.

Charlotte handed her a slip of paper, temporarily exposing a right arm burned to the point that her skin resembled melted wax. Immediately after giving Chi the pass, the arm withdrew to hide beneath the green jacket hanging on the back of her wheelchair.

A sudden movement of desks interrupted their conversation, causing Chi to turn her head, frowning at the disturbance. QJ had picked up the desk next to his and carried it to the back of the classroom. He returned a moment later with a small table that he placed in the empty spot.

Chi's frown slid easily into a smile that warmed her face. "The back of your wheelchair isn't an acceptable place to hang your jacket. Please put in on and introduce yourself to the class.

The thin, black-haired girl wheeled in front of Chi's desk and turned to face the class. "Please excuse my lateness. I'm Charlotte Hall, from Las Vegas, Nevada."

After she finished, she moved slowly over to the table that had been placed for her. "Thank you." She nodded, speaking softly, barely heard, even in the quiet classroom.

"Welcome," QJ smiled, opening his e-book to take notes.

The clicking of heels on the hardwood floor caused QJ to glance up. Chi fixed him with an expectant glance.

"Did you get your horse settled in the stables, QJ?" She stopped next to his desk, strumming her nails lightly on the smooth surface.

"Yes. Thank you, Miss Chi." QJ stared up at her, relaxed under the scrutiny of his homeroom teacher.

Chi moved her glance to Charlotte, who had been looking down to avoid further attention. "Class... Every student must perform extra duties here at the academy. You'll either be helping out in food services, janitorial duties, or the stables."

Charlotte's face paled slightly as she stared at her desk; a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach caused her to lean forward as she considered her options.

"Want to help me with my horse?" QJ interrupted her train of thought with an easy smile. "He has to have two attendants; so far, I'm the only one."

Charlotte faced the young man sitting beside her; his blue eyes were as bright as the summer sky. "Shouldn't you ask someone else?"

QJ shrugged slightly. "It's fine if you don't want to."

"I-I never said I didn't want to." Charlotte felt her face turning red again. "If you don't mind, then I will help."

Chi nodded to herself. She had planned to push QJ into asking her, but it seemed like the kid could read the room. She favored him with a glance before walking back to her desk; smart and kind, both good traits. "I'm going to send each of you a query. Please answer with the GnG class you are currently most interested in. This isn't binding or anything, plenty of time to change your mind before our third-year labs."

[What is your preferred GnG class choice?]

QJ glanced and the window that suddenly popped up on his hud. Scrolling down, he read through the possible choices.

[Guns and Gore]

***************

Guns and Gore is a grouping/raid-based game where players unite under a single banner to defeat bosses and complete quests. Raid numbers are specific to the raid; the smallest raid in GnG is ten, while the largest is sixty. There are two factions you can play, Western and Aborigine. The difference between the two are primarily cosmetic. The two factions can play together, although they are pitted against one another on some servers. There are twelve classes in five categories, six from each faction.

[Western DPS: Range Rider & Gunfighter.]

Range Riders (Rider): Specialize in long-range damage. They have several enhanced movement skills designed to create distance between themselves and their target.

Gunslingers (Slinger): Specialize in up close damage with one or two pistols. They are capable hand-to-hand fighters with a low-level snare to slow down targets.

[Aborigine DPS: Brave & Tracker.]

Brave: These mid-range burst damage dealers have several AE options (Area Effect) and can quickly burn down their target.

Tracker: Up close and personal damage, this class dual wields hatchets or knives. They also can equip shotguns and explosive devices.

[Western Heals: Field Medic.]

Field Medic (Medic): Best heals in the game, although they lack the buffing/debuffing of their Aborigine counterpart.

[Aborigine Heals: Shaman.]

Shaman (Shammy): At high levels, their slows and haste can significantly impact high-end raids. They have several tricks they can use to keep their team healed.

[Western Pulls: Wrangler]

Wrangler: The Wrangler has a single-point pull ability to pull a mob out of a crowd without causing aggro. This ability makes them a mainstay in areas with high-density aggro.

[Aborigine Pulls: Scout]

Scout: The scout has a complete stealth ability to operate deep into the aggro zone. They have a three-second Crowd Control (CC) ability called flutter that helps them when things get hot.

[Western Tank: Heavy Cavalry]

Heavy Cavalry (Cav): Can wear heavy armor and equip any close-range gun or melee weapon. Their AE taunt, Battle Cry, is the best in the game.

[Aborigine Tank: Comanchero]

Comanchero (Chero): This tank can only equip medium armor, but their high agility rating gives them the highest defense in the game. Their single-point taunt cannot be resisted.

[Western All Purpose: Gambler]

Gambler: Gamblers are the jack of all trades. They can fill in for any class, including heals.

[Aborigine All Purpose: Raider]

Raider: Raiders are also jack-of-all-trades. Unlike their counterpart, they have buffs instead of heals. Their coveted Raider's Way is the only stackable attack buff in GnG.

QJ gave the different classes a cursory once-over, even though he had memorized every detail of them long since. Then, he selected his choice from the pull-down menu.

"QJ..." Miss Chi kept her face expressionless, although the edges of her mouth pulled down slightly in the start of a frown. "A moment, please."

QJ approached her desk, stopping when she looked up from her hud. "Yes?"

She left him waiting momentarily while double-checking her class's preliminary range scores. Chi Blanca agreed to teach a 1st-year class this year because of the scores; four of these shooters had eclipsed the previous preliminary scoring record by a wide margin.

[Premilinary Range Scoring Sheet]

*Denotes scores that exceeded the previous record.

Junzo: 747/800 *

Maric: 751/800 *

Dunnie: 752/800 *

QJ: 797/800 *

QJ cleared his throat when the moment extended beyond reason. "You wanted to see me."

Chi nodded and closed her hud. "Did you perhaps make the wrong choice when you picked your preferred class?"

"Don't think so," QJ replied. "I chose Wrangler, right?"

Chi pursed her lips slightly before answering. "Your range score indicates a talent for marksmanship. I would have guessed someone with that much ability would choose a Rider."

QJ grinned in reply; she was obviously displeased but was trying to be diplomatic. "I get it. You've seen our scores, so you know."

Chi let out the breath she'd been holding. He had an easy manner and way too much confidence for someone his age. "Enlighten me."

QJ glanced over his shoulder before lowering his voice. "This class has four elite shooters. Given that we made short work of the previous record, that can't be something that happens very often."

Chi smiled slightly. "It's never happened."

"Don't worry. I'm not taking my ability for granted. The preliminary qualifying only tests rifle skills." He left the rest of the sentence unspoken since he didn't want to say it aloud.

Chi stared for a moment; what he said was true. Preliminary Exams, or Zero Day as it was known, only consisted of a handful of tasks. Nevertheless, this was more than enough to thin down classes to acceptable numbers.

QJ's smile widened into a grin. "Did you choose a class?" He knew the curriculum called for the teachers to eventually join the raids during the third-year labs. You could be our 4th shooter.

Chi laughed suddenly. "Think so?"

QJ shook his head. "No. You're obviously a slinger."

"How do you know th...." She wrinkled her tan nose at him. "You guessed."

QJ nodded in agreement. "Totally guessed. Was I right?"

"Get back to your seat." Chi brought up the rest of the class choices. It was a good spread, perfect for raiding.

[GnG 1st Year Class Preference]

*DPS*

(Slingers)

Chi Blanca

Charlotte

Devon

Pete

(Riders)

Junzo

Maric

Dunnie

Sala

(Tracker)

Adam

Dawn

(Braves)

Mike

Sandy

*Tanks*

(Chero)

Jarmila

Baylor

(Cav)

Seb

Tyler

John

*Heals*

(Medic)

Leanne

Travis

Nicholi

(Shammy)

Shonie

Shelby

Rory

*Pulls*

(Scout)

Paul

Erik

(Wrangler)

QJ

*All Purpose*

(Gambler)

Lucas

Trevor

(Raider)

Nolan

Baxter

Chi reached behind her desk and pulled out a large box; the sound of it landing on her desk was loud enough to draw everyone's attention.

Casually she pulled out a single gun holster and strapped it to her waist. She smiled at the class, "who wants to try me?"

QJ's hand shot up first; gradually, a few other tentative hands were raised.

"Come on up, QJ."

When he arrived at her side, Chi reached into the box and handed him a second holster. "Seen this done before?"

QJ nodded and belted it on; it was a bit heavier than the one he was used to. He had noticed the two circles on the classroom floor earlier; now he realized what they were for as he walked over to the far one.

Chi watched him move to the far circle and turn around. She couldn't stop the smile that curved her lips, "so brave, QJ."

QJ nodded, "I was going to say the same thing to you, Miss Chi."

The class laughed loudly; Chi shook her head. It was hard to be serious when he wore that goofy expression. "Gunfight Simulation, countdown, please."

[Exodus System Message] Countdown 3...2....1...Draw.

The class watched as QJ and Chi drew their guns; the quiet classroom roared to life with two loud bangs, followed by loud clapping and the din of excited shouts.

[Exodus System Message] Chi Blanca .25 Quinn Obreen .29 Chi Blanca wins.

Chi couldn't help but smile at the frown on QJ's face as he approached. "Well done, QJ; .29 isn't bad at all."

"Hmm, let's switch guns." QJ unbuckled his holster and handed it to her."

"QJ... are you trying to say I rigged it?" Chi had to bite her lip to keep from laughing; he was utterly shameless.

"Well... no, of course not." He shot her a sly look, "you did get the first choice, though."

QJ walked back to his circle while he strapped the new holster on. He was smiling to himself; he already knew he didn't have his dad's blazing speed; .29 was pretty close to the best he could do.

"Ready now, QJ?" Chi stood patiently waiting while her opponent took his time. 'Is this kid trying to freeze me?'

"We should have a wager... to make it interesting, Miss Chi." QJ smiled innocently at her, resting his hand lightly on the gun.

"A wager?" Chi crossed her arms in front of her chest; this brat was so cheeky. "Only if you've something interesting to bet."

QJ scratched his chin, "if I win, you take us on a field trip tomorrow."

The entire class cheered; a field trip on day two would be fantastic.

Chi nodded in agreement. "What are you offering if you lose?"

"Hmm... how about I get Remmy to come in and give a lecture?" QJ watched her eyes; everyone knew Remmy. It didn't matter if you played TAP or not.

"Remmy? The Remmy?" Chi couldn't stop her face from blushing, "QJ, you shouldn't bet things you can't cover!"

"Open-Comm Chat, Rembrandt." QJ's voice seemed loud in the suddenly quiet classroom.

A moment later, his hud blinked, and Remmy's face peered at him. "QJ! Aren't you in school right now?" Remmy's pretty face smiled at him; her pink hair was sticking straight up. QJ was one of her favorite people; he had grown up playing with her adopted daughter.

QJ returned her smile, "we are betting on a gunfight. I need a wager, so if I lose, you'll have to come in and lecture my class."

"A lecture? I'd love to!" Remmy clapped her hands excitedly, "Oh wait... that's if you lose, right?"

"Yep, thanks, Remmy. I'll let you know how it goes."

"Okay, QJ!" The cute gnome waved her hands and then signed off.

QJ looked up at his teacher; her face had gone pale with shock. "We good, Miss Chi?"

Chi took a deep breath. Remmy was one of her heroes when she was in school. How did this kid know her? They were obviously close; the pink-haired gnome hadn't even hesitated. An opportunity like this was something she'd never imagined. "I accept the wager QJ."

They squared off again a few seconds later. This time, Chi looked serious; QJ looked exactly the same.

"Ready QJ? Gunfight Simulation, countdown, please."

[Exodus System Message] Countdown 3...2....1...Draw.

QJ listened for the countdown; he placed all his weight on his left leg. Then, as soon as the buzzer sounded, he spun counterclockwise while drawing.

[Exodus System Message] Chi Blanca .23 Quinn Obreen .31 Quinn Obreen wins.

The class jumped to their feet and erupted in applause after the gunfight; it took several seconds before they quieted down.

The two opponents stared at each other.

"Nice try, QJ." Chi had to work hard to keep the smug look off her face.

"Hmm? Better check the results, Miss Chi." QJ naturally knew they assumed he lost. Since this time, he was obviously slower.

"Miss Chi missed." Charlotte Hall spoke from her wheelchair; she understood right away. He had turned sideways and leaned back; a shooter like Chi would always aim center mass.

Chi stared at her student, her heart pounding as she frowned at him. He had dodged and drew simultaneously but managed to stay in the small circle. What sort of godly reflexes did he have? She cleared her throat, "please take your seat, class; I'll be right back."

QJ unbuckled his holster and placed it neatly in the box; Chi had been so rattled she had left without removing hers. He grinned at his class, who were watching him, and he raised his hands over his head in victory, "Field Trip!!"

The class cheered QJ as he walked back to his seat. Unexpectedly Charlotte gave him a high five. "Well done." Charlotte surprised herself; the words had popped out before she could stop them.

"Thanks, she's pretty fast." QJ took his seat and pulled up the school itinerary. He lowered his voice and leaned close, "the third years are doing the Doubler Canyon Raid for the first time tomorrow." Maya had told him that and mentioned why they were attempting it so early. Second-year academy members were given accounts for the games they wished to play.

The students were divided equally between GnG, Iron Mountain, Civil Unrest, and Martial Law. They would spend much of their lab time leveling up their characters. Then, during the third year, they would start to do low and mid-level raids.

"Doubler Canyon?"

Charlotte didn't have to hide her surprise, "they have enough level-30 players to attempt it already?"

QJ nodded, "they must. Normally, it isn't even attempted until mid-year." He glanced at her, and for once, she didn't look down, "mind if I call you Charlie?"

She frowned at him; that was her Dad's name, "don't you dare... but you can call me Char."

Miss Chi returned a few minutes later carrying a small box. She walked around the room, placing small bands on everyone's desk.

"These are level thirty Striker bands, good for Guns and Gore only. Tomorrow we will be attempting the Doubler Canyon Raid."

The entire class stared open-mouthed before everyone started speaking at once.

"A raid already?"

"Isn't that a third-year raid?"

"We are so gonna wipe."

Miss Chi held up her hand; the only one who didn't look scared was QJ; he was smiling to himself. "Be careful what you wish for, QJ."

"I wonder, Miss Chi..." QJ deliberately left the sentence open.

Miss Chi sighed; this kid had already made a good impression on her. "What now, QJ?"

"The third-year GNG class will be given access to the new server opening up if they complete the raid. I'd like to know if we can get that same deal. QJ leaned back in his chair, aware that his question had surprised everyone.

"If my first-year class finishes the Doubler Canyon Raid successfully, I will push the account awards through two years early and get access to the new server opening up." Chi opened her hud and gave QJ raid leader access to the Exodus Quartermaster.

QJ jumped when his hud popped up, sending him a notification. "I'm the raid leader?"

Chi nodded, "I can't help you at all. If I jump two years ahead in curriculum, then you will have to show me that you are capable."

QJ pursed his lips slightly. Challenging Doubler Canyon as a first-year was way better than a field trip. "Please send me everyone's initial BR scores and Character sheets."

Anyone who attended Exodus Academy did so with the intent to play one of the Exodus games; they were put through various practical tests that graded their abilities before even being considered for acceptance. Most of these were done months before Zero day was even scheduled.

"I can do that," Chi sent him the information and closed her HUD. "In the interest of prepping for the field trip tomorrow, I will dismiss you for the day. "