Chapter 2: Tutorial End

Sun had set when Ray emerged from the underground, he had to fight a bitter battle along the way and thankfully had Elite Squad to summon. He only has 10 minutes of help from the squad but just that 10 minutes, the squad can clear up 2 blocks worth of infected. Not to mention doing the heavy lifting when a Devastator boss that looks like a very buffed 5 meters tall titan from Attack of Titan suddenly yeet itself from a skyscraper and joins the horde.

For now, Ray is back underground in the massive sewer system. He collapsed the tunnel behind him to stop the horde from reaching him while he used the sewer system service tunnel to reach closer to the space elevator, 17 blocks away from his current location.

Thanks to his CA implant (Combat Assist implant) that he obtained as a reward, his journey is less complicated. The implant didn't physically exist in his head but magically instead. He can just look at any map and have it recorded in a single glance and be used to navigate himself through this complex sewer system.

He changed to his previous armor set for greater dexterity when navigating through the sewer and equipped the RIA T30 Strikeforce shotgun since it works best in a narrow and enclosed space.

He moves quickly through the tunnel since there aren't any obstacles that stop him here. Ray makes use of the label and instructions all over the service tunnel as cross-reference on the map he recorded. He got lost twice but he arrived on the block closest to the space elevator around 7:44pm.

He surfaced from a manhole, equipped with his previous heavy gear since he will literally exit in the middle of the street. He calls down an Aerial Bombardment above him to clear the horde a bit before making a run to the space elevator with his 40 mph speed.

…

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

…

…

"Is the military finally here to save us?" Someone asked while a series of explosions was happening in the background.

"Hopefully, the combat android deployed in the space elevator ran out of ammunition. They barely dented the horde."

"Who was it that proposed to cut down the defence budget to renovate his own office? Answer me bitch!"

"Sush! Are you trying to kill us?" A man in a business suit hissed at the duo that was trying to stare each other to death.

"Anyway, I propose that the security officers go out and check if the military really did come and lead them here to save us."

"Fuck you, if you want to go then go ahead. I will stay here and nothing will budge me." One of the security officers said while three others nodded in agreement. They cannot expect the securities to fight a big horde with a damn non lethal police baton right?

The conversation then turns into an argument between the securities and other office workers. Thankfully a brawl didn't happen because the office workers are afraid of the baton that can also taze them.

…

Ray, who arrived in the space elevator, saw another horde inside the place because the space elevator is also basically a transit station but to space.

He couldn't use Aerial Bombardment because the space elevator is above the horde. His squad have another 2 hours cooldown. He had to move across the horde to reach the bottom of the space elevator. He sighed and decided to rest first before he thought of a way to deal with the horde.

For now, he will rest.

Finding a relatively quiet area devoid of zombies, Ray went inside before barricading himself. The room is an unused conference room which he barricaded with the big table made of expansive wood before relaxing himself and unequipping the Combat Suit.

He fed himself with the food he stole from the convenience store before checking the system screen or his PD because it does look like one. He saw a few notifications that he missed or dismissed before he could read because he is busy.

[Congratulations for reaching first 750,000 kills, Elite Augment (function) are unlocked as reward]

[Congratulations for reaching first 1,000,000 kills, SAS 4 System Upgrade are unlocked as reward]

[Boss Devastator killed, 50k SAS dollar, 2 Cryo turret and 2 box of gernades obtained as reward]

———

[System Upgraded]

-System upgrade

-Mission added

-Cosmetic Function added

-Shop Function added

-Mercenary Function added

———

The Elite Augment is from the game that allows the player to add an augment slot and level, reset augment and raise its stats to make the weapon and armor more effective but requires Elite Augment Core that is only dropped by Elite or Savage bosses which is normal boss but on steroids x100. Ray is but a grain of sand fighting a raging typhoon right now if compared.

The system upgrade however is a literal game changer for Ray. He can now gain level and cash on the go instead of waiting until he finishes a quest or objectives. The mission is an alternate space that the system creates for Ray to fight and gain currency and other drops. Similar to the dungeon from The Gamer skill.

Cosmetic function however is great to have but not really useful as its name indicates.

The ACE Suit is the suit that Ray wear and also is the Combat Suit. The armor that equipped in the avatar slots in the SAS 4 inventory will equipped to the Combat Suit and the cosmetic basically mean that Ray can set what armor appearance he wanted but the stats will follow what he actually equipped.

Shop function is a shop that Ray can buy stuff using SAS dollars that Ray obtains in this tutorial stage and Mission function. The stuff sold by the shop is quite limited. The stuff include strongboxes, Elite core, combat ration, water bottle, multi purpose AI combat drone and few other combat related stuff.

The stuff is expensive… Example is strongboxes, lowest grade is Titanium and its price is 200k each and each grade higher is [200k x (the grade x the grade)]. Nantonium is grade 8 and its price is 12.8m each. Elite core is also priced in the millions for each.

For the ration and water bottle, they cost one dollar each. The ration is an energy bar filled with all the nutrition needed for 12 hours while the water is just plain 500ml distilled water in a bottle. The combat drone is varied based on its firepower and it's basically a more compact and small flying turret that can serve for more functions like reconnaissance by connecting to its camera. There is also a sleeping bag and tent etc.

Then, finally the best function ever in this update, the Mercenary Function. Ray get an operator every 10 levels that Ray can select which class he wants them to be. They are similar to the Elite Squad but customizable equipment and their stats are based on my stats and levels. If the operator dies, there will be 1 minute time span for a medic class to resurrect them or they will enter a 24 hours cooldown before they can be summoned again. Their main difference from Elite Squad is being weaker but the trade-off is they can stay summoned indefinitely unless killed or I unsummon them.

The first thing to do is to summon them. I'm currently level 41 and I have 4 available operator slots. I selected 1 Medic and 3 Assault operators, in my inventory, 4 more avatar slots appeared below mine which is the slot for me to customize the equipment. They apparently come with gears already which save me the pain to get them equipped and they are ready to go.

4 operators appeared the similar way the Elite Squad are teleported in. They are disappointingly similar to the Elite Squad which is very mechanical. When I ask them anything, they rarely reply outside of yes, no, affirmative and negative.

Well better something than nothing… I definitely do not crave interaction. Even if I did, a proud and veteran shut-in like me will refuse to acknowledge it. My waifus is my only need. They are the reason I even attempt the path of no return to meet ROB.

With the cash I have in hand, I add the Deadly, Piercing and Adaptive augment to the Sub-Light COM2 assault rifle to increase its usefulness. Deadly increased damage dealt, Piercing allows the bullet to pierce harder and hit multiple enemies and Adaptive will ignore enemies resistance which is important especially when fighting boss level zombies. I skipped the armor because they didn't have augment slots.

I gave the operators the order to defend the room while I slept. Yesterday I only got short naps because the guy behind all this shit decided to test me or whatever with near impossible objectives only to feel pity for me later… The skill is great so I forgive him for now.

…

The next morning, I woke up and the operators were still standing on the exact same spot they saw them last night and still guarding the only entrance to the room. I wiped my face with a wet rag before having a quick breakfast of egg sandwich again. I regretted not grabbing more variety and scavenging food is a hassle because of my current location.

Equipped the Combat Suit and augmented Sub-Light COM2. I gave myself a last check before leaving the room and made my way to the place I stopped last night to scout the space elevator transit station.

My plan is to thin down the horde on the entrance to the space elevator before doing a mad dash to reach the building. I will barricade himself in the station because there is only one entrance to the space elevator and he can put up a defence there.

I explain my plan to the operators and they all give a uniform 'affirmative' reply to me. Nodded with satisfaction, I commenced my plan and summoned the Elite Squad to assist with my plan.

There aren't any boss zombies thankfully but there are multiple mutated ones like Bloater, the mini version of Regurgitator, Spitter, Shielder, Runner and Stalker.

When the Heavy class elite operator used his skill 'Hold The Line', he glowed golden orange and his Proposition gatling gun instantly turned the straight line in front of it into an obliterator. Even the mutated Shielder cannot last a second under his firepower.

The Assaults summon 4 extra assault operators and join the fray while the Medic deploys his special gas to open up a path for me to advance forward with my normal operators. We fight our way into the jam-packed station without holding anything back unless they can damage the space elevator.

Zombies flow out of the station like a bursted pipe which is great because I have to deal with less zombies later. The Elite Squad did a quick job of the infected. The Heavy class elite stay on the entrance and defend it until the duration expires while the Medic and Assaults elite join me and my operators brute force our way into the space elevator.

The station is very huge but the area directly under the space elevator has very few zombies because the place is fenced off and the only way to enter is through the gateway that requires a ticket to enter.

Along the way I saw a few survivors asking for help inside barricades rooms and offices but I ignored them and continued ahead before my Elite Squad duration expired. I have to complete my objective quickly or I have to wait another 4 hours. Besides, I'm not a hero that will risk myself to save someone I never knew in an unfavorable situation.

When I reached the elevator, it was a cylindrical shaped large pod inside a larger transparent tube that is stronger than steel. When I tried to access the elevator, a screen appeared on the transparent tube and gave me a notice.

[City is currently in martial law, any transportation heading outside of the city is banned to unauthorized people. Please show your identification document to request access from the current authorities in power.]

I quickly showed my ID card to the screen where a rectangular box the size of the card appeared on the screen.

[Identification document accepted. Please wait for a moment… … …]

"This is the major general of the orbital base, Apollon." A strict voice of an aged man appeared from the screen even without any speaker in sight.

"What do you need, soldier? I don't think the SAS deployed any operators in city Y or have any operations in that city. Is this a classified mission?"

"Yes, I am tasked to retrieve a package from the MediTek secret lab and deliver it to you." Ray explains his mission.

"MediTek?" The voice exclaimed in surprise.

"I see, the SAS actually did it again and completed another suicidal mission. You are one crazy son of a bitch, you know. We about to blow up city X tomorrow, if you contact us a little later, you will get caught by the napalm Hellfire orbital bombing that we already approved." The voice sounds concerned when he talks.

"Anyway, you save us the hassle of retrieving the vaccine. You did a great job, operator Ray. Your deed will be remembered. I will grant you access for one time use of the space elevator."

"Thank you sir but I am here to deliver the package only, I still have other missions to accomplish." Ray lied and only put the briefcase inside the space elevator.

"I see…" The general sighed.

"The whole world has already fallen and no trace of civilization remains. The virus turned almost 90% of the population into zombies in a split second and the Aartris government had abandoned the planet to the lunar city, Artemis." He added.

"I wish you luck in your mission!" The general said before the transmission ended and the screen vanished.

[Find the CEO of MediTek mega corporation, hiding inside the military base.(Complete)

Extract information about vaccine location by persuasion or by force.(Complete)

Obtain the Vaccine.(Complete)

Deliver the Vaccine to the Aartis army general.(Complete)

-Go to space elevator in city Y

-Deliver the vaccine

Quest is Optional but completion will provide a sequence of quests that assist with completion of Tutorial Stage.]

[Quest Completed]

[Reward is being calculated…]

[1 Guaranteed weapon Black strongbox, 1 Black key, 5 Elite core and 5m SAS 4 dollar]

[Level +1] x4

My expression is a big wow after seeing the rewards. The cash however is just trickling if I start augmenting. The price increment is quite high for augmenting especially if it's higher grade equipment like Black series.

I quickly opened the Black strongbox while completely ignoring the surroundings because I was too excited to open the strongbox.

[BLACK Proposition ***10]

I am too excited that I screamed in my helmet. "Wooo let's go baby!!!" Thankfully my helmet muffled the sound to my audience. They didn't really respond to my excitement and simply continued to guard me while I was afk.

I quickly open the system inventory and use the Elite Augment function to add another slot before adding the level limit to twelve. The augment cost 4 cores. Then the augment I implemented is Deadly, Adaptive, Pinpoint and Overclock. Deadly for damage, Adaptive for ignoring resistance, Pinpoint for critical chance and Overclock for fire rate. I only add 2 levels for each augment before my cash dried up with only 500k left for ammunition. If I am not mistaken, the cost of full level augment should cost 80m and I currently don't have that much money.

The BLACK Proposition will be my weapon for crowd control while Sub-Light COM2 will be for general use because the LMG actually has 60% speed reduction mod and if added to my armors, that will be 100%.

While I'm at it, I add 4 SP to Concussion and 10 to Hold The Line, bringing it to a total of 15. The Concussion skill allows me to have a chance to stun my enemies for a round a second. The chance isn't high but with gun like Proposition that shoot 20+ bullets per second, the chance is higher.

[New Objective added]

[Survive for 24 hours and accumulate 1,000,000 kill of infected]

My joy instantly crushed when I saw the same damn quest again but this time should be easier since I have better gears and skill. Or so I thought…

…

(15 hours later)

Here I was, relaxing on the roof after fighting my way through the space elevator to a skyscraper. I fought 2 boss, one is a Devastator and another is Necrosis that spawn three smaller one that deal physical attack, fire and acid.

I gain another 4 levels along the way, few low grade strongboxes and a million in cash.

I put down a CM-Supernova turret that shoot plasma bullet like Heavyshot but have bigger capacity of more than 1k which last longer. Then I use the Combat Suit to take a bath with bottled water I still have from the convenience store. I use up the water to rinse my sweat and grime caked body before eating my last 4 pieces of sandwiches and wash it down with two cans of coffee.

My operators all died when fighting the Necrosis, I used the Elite Squad on the Devastator which really is a mistake on my part because I wanted to end the fight quick only to found a Necrosis stalked me in the shadow, ready to pounce at me at my weakest.

Another 9 hours to wait until the objective is complete and I will have no time to rest. The zombies will keep coming at me in small waves which my turret can deal with and the boss I already killed. Hopefully there aren't any more bosses to fight.

Kill some time throwing grenades on the horde on the street while listening to music. There is nothing else I could do on this planet overrun by zombies outbreak.

…

(Time Skip)

[Objective Complete]

[Level +1] x2

[$ 1 million]

[Tutorial stage concluded.]

[Final assessment, C, passable.]

———

Combat: C

Survival: B

Level: C

Heroism: E

Additional: B

Overall:C

———

[Reward: Random Waifu ticket from the magnificent and magnanimous creator.]

[Note from Creator: Meh, you are no fun at all, most will try their best to maximize their gameplay since this tutorial world didn't allow true death. Where is your gamer spirit, pussy. Well, I also include your world hopping function in your system. Have fun with your new life.]

[World Travel(Random) added]

"Well, fuck you for not telling me that bitch!" I cursed at the guy before sighed.

If I know that death here isn't true death, I would grind my ass to dust to level up myself instead of worrying about my safety. I already booted out of the world into a black void when the notification said the tutorial already concluded.

When I tried to use the ticket, a notification popped up.

[To activate the ticket, please say 'Thank you, magnificent and magnanimous creator for granting this lowly peasant a wonderful reward.']

I wanted to convulse, imagining myself praising this prick but well… it's a small sacrifice for a waifu… I think.

"Thank you, magnificent and magnanimous creator for granting this lowly peasant a wonderful reward." I said and the ticket shone brightly, blinding my vision.

"That's quick. Well, this generous and magnificent one will grant you your dreamed waifu, Mil-tan!"

"Wait no!" My vision is still blinded but I was panicked that this guy just screwed me over again!

"Just joking lmao. Hahahaha" I hear the guy's laughter as it vanishes from my ears.

When I regained my vision, I saw something that caused me to collapse on my knee and hug it instantly.

"Owner? Owner like cuddles? Cheshire also like cuddles"

I could hear what she said but my brain is too focused on cuddling Cheshire or rather, Little Cheshire. I forgive you damn bastard for screwing with me. This is definitely worth all the hardships I felt throughout the tutorial.

I can't get enough of her, she is just too cuddly and cute damnit. Even my guilt for killing the whole planet just to host my tutorial vanished. If that is the price for a cuddly loli, there is little I am not willing to pay.

"Ownerrrr, not my cheek! They are turning red nyaaa!"

…

Legend says that Little Cheshire is still being cuddled to this day.

—————

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(Note: I can't creamed enough how much I like Little Cheshire, especially her VA cute af voice that make me want to mush Little Cheshire's face like a stressball.)