"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Oliver's heart raced as he stared at the two Orks advancing down the rubble-strewn street. He had seen the mangled remains of their kind before, but never two of them alive and so close. Survivors of such encounters were rare, and he wasn't keen on testing those odds.
Sirens wailed throughout the city, signaling a partial evacuation. Panicked voices filled the air as civilians scrambled for shelter. Reinforcents were at least tens of minutes away—a lifeti under these circumstances. Oliver knew just enough about this brutal new world to grasp what two Orks could unleash upon the city in the anti.
"They've never made it past the barrier alive. It has to be my luck," he muttered bitterly, cursing whatever fate had placed him here.
The two soldiers beside him exchanged nervous glances but moved with determined urgency. One dashed into the truck, rummaging through a compartnt before erging with two steel badges.
"Hold on, it's better to be prepared; they don't look like the ordinary ones," the second soldier said, tossing one of the badges to his comrade.
"Activate Ranger!" Both soldiers shouted.
A tallic liquid erupted from the badges, slithering over their bodies like living rcury. It expanded and contracted, molding itself into suits of sleek armor within seconds.
Oliver had seen Rangers before—heroes plastered across holographic ads throughout the city—but witnessing the transformation firsthand was sothing else entirely. Despite his fear, his eyes lit up with a childlike wonder, a flicker of excitent piercing through the dread.
The reality, however, was less glamorous than the videos. The armor lacked the vibrant colors and emblems he'd imagined, appearing more utilitarian and tallic. Yet it was undeniably impressive.
Ard and armored, the soldiers tried to project confidence, but Oliver noticed the subtle tremor in one soldier's leg and the twitch in the other's hands.
‘They don't seem that confident,’ Oliver thought, unease knotting his stomach.
"When they get within 100 ters, I want you to fire everything you've got at them. Don't let them get too close. Orks can be extrely fast," the second soldier instructed tersely. The first soldier nodded, his jaw clenched.
Realizing that lingering on the street made him an easy target, Oliver retreated into the truck, pressing himself against the interior wall. He watched the scene unfold through a narrow gap, his breath shallow and rapid.
Ti seed to slow as adrenaline flooded his system. Every detail sharpened—the heat radiating from the asphalt, the distant hum of evacuating vehicles, the tallic scent of fear in the air.
Just over a hundred ters away, the Orks advanced thodically. Clad in mismatched armor painted in earthy browns and stark whites, adorned with jagged bones and rusted steel spikes, they exuded a savage ferocity. It was a brutal contrast to the advanced technology that had brought them here.
"Fire! Fire it all!" The second soldier commanded.
Light sparks ca out of both soldiers' hands and quickly began to create a shape. After the blink of an eye, two pistols had appeared. Without wasting ti, they promptly started firing energy beams. Each shot seed to slow the Orks down but wasn’t enough to cause damage.
"Don't stop shooting!" the second soldier shouted, his voice tinged with desperation.
Suddenly, one of the Orks lunged forward with astonishing speed. Before the first soldier could react, a massive fist collided with his midsection. The impact lifted him off his feet, sending him hurtling backward. He crashed through the truck's rear door, the tal crumpling like foil as he landed among the recruits inside. Oliver was thrown against the truck's side, pain jolting through his shoulder.
The second soldier didn’t need to look to know the result. Things seed too grim for him. But there was no way to run with two Orks so close. His best option was to create so space between them and keep shooting. He didn’t waste ti, focusing on the Ork before him and resuming to fire as he backed away.
"Jiak'll ek naj-ri. Koga katu," the Ork growled in guttural tones, its aning lost but the nace clear. Without hesitation, it charged.
Inside the truck, chaos reigned. Oliver winced as he looked at the unconscious soldier, his armor dissipating into inert fragnts. One of the recruits—a boy bound and gagged—stared at him with wide, pleading eyes. The girl who had been sleeping before the Orks landed was now fully awake, her face pale with confusion and fear.
They had no ti to process, no ti to plan. The Ork's heavy footsteps reverberated through the vehicle, each one closer than the last.
“Clink”
A sharp tallic sound drew Oliver's attention. There, on the floor amidst the debris, lay the fallen badge—the key to the Ranger armor.
His hands trembled as he realized this might be their only chance. Hesitation battled with terror. He'd never wielded such power, never been trained. But the alternative was certain death.
With a surge of resolve, he lunged forward, snatching the badge from the floor. Pressing it tightly, he willed it to respond.
A voice echoed in his mind
[Artificial Ranger - Prototype 1833]
[First use, registering new user]
[User: Oliver]
[Processing …]
[User registered]
[Would you like to activate the Artifical Armor?]
Words materialized at the edge of his vision. Oliver had never experienced such imrsive technology—he had only glimpsed it in passing advertisents, a luxury far beyond his ans.
‘Yes, activate… quickly.’ Oliver thought urgently.
Glancing up, he saw the Ork's massive silhouette at the truck's entrance. Its gray-skinned arm gripped the rear door, muscles rippling grotesquely.
With a wrenching tear, the door was ripped away, the truck lurching from the force.
[Armor activated]
[Training mode activated]
[Stats loading …]
[Boons loading …]
[Glitch loading …]
[Skills loading …]
[No ans of defense found.]
[Would you like to activate your Ranger Weapon?]
[Yes / No]
The prompts flashed rapidly as adrenaline surged through him.
‘Yes! Fast! Please!’ Oliver's thoughts raced.
Strands of gray energy spiraled outward from his hands, weaving themselves into a tangible form. In monts, a weapon materialized—a pistol akin to those the soldiers had wielded but with a more intense glow pulsing from its energy chamber.
[Ranger Weapon loaded]
Oliver marveled at the weight in his hands, the reality of it cutting through the surreal haze. Doubt flickered. He'd never fired a gun before, let alone faced an Ork. The boy questioned whether this had been his best idea. He had never used a gun in his life, and now he would have to protect not only his own life but possibly others as well.
‘It can’t be that hard. I just need to squeeze the trigger, right?’ The boy reassured himself.
A flood of information stread into his consciousness as he focused on the weapon. Oliver didn’t understand what had happened, but he suddenly rembered perfectly how to use it and knew its characteristics, as if he had studied the weapon in depth for days.
| Ranger Weapon (Class: Pawn)
| Description: The Ranger Weapon uses its user's energy to charge it.
| Mode of use: Aim and shoot.
Instinctively, Oliver raised the pistol and squeezed the trigger—a sphere of electrifying blue energy ford at the barrel before lancing out toward the Ork.
In the confined space, there was no room for error. The blast struck the creature square in the chest, causing it to stagger for a mont. Surprise flashed in its eyes—a brief widening that hinted at underestimating its opponent.
The Ork even raised what appeared to be one of his eyebrows in a questioning look.
Seizing the mont, Oliver fired again and again. Each shot drained him, a palpable fatigue weighing down his limbs. His arms trembled under the strain, but he refused to relent.
"Lat're vadokan!" the Ork bellowed, its frustration evident even if the words were unknown.
"Stupid Ork! No one here understands you!" Oliver shouted back, a mix of fear and defiance fueling his words.
But the Ork was relentless. It pressed forward, absorbing the hits with a grim determination. Within monts, it was upon him. The creature struck Oliver's face with the back of his hand, sending him crashing against the side of the truck.
Seeing the boy on the ground, the monster seized his legs and dragged him out of the truck. Oliver tried to hold on and cling to the vehicle, but the Ork's strength was far superior to his, and he was quickly pulled out.
As soon as the Ork took his first step outside, he swiftly swung his arm, throwing Oliver against the ground.
The impact drove the air from his lungs, the asphalt cracking beneath him. Agony seared through every nerve. Gasping, eyes blurred with tears, he struggled to move. His weapon lay out of reach, scattered in the fall.
But deep within, a spark refused to extinguish. His will to survive flared, pushing back against the approaching darkness.
But it wasn’t over yet…
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