"Hey...wake up...wake up, Sleeping Beauty!"
Someone patted my right cheek again. Coming to my eyes, I saw Simone doing it. I thought, hadn't the meeting already taken place yesterday? Was this déjà vu?
"Eat breakfast, cadet. You'll be undergoing training today. Head to the rear field later," Simone said and hurried out of the room.
Oh yeah, I forgot it was my first day of basic military training.
After breakfast, I hurried to the rear field of the base. Upon arrival, I was immediately greeted by Col. Peterson and Simone.
"Starting today, Lt. Simone will be your instructor. I chose him because you and Simone have a closer relationship," Col. Peterson said.
"Oh... does that mean Imelda wasn't chosen to be my instructor, huh? Could it be that Imelda revealed too much about what happened between me and Simone, and Col. Peterson decided to choose Simone to mend our relationship?" I wondered in mind.
Simone then immediately began his training by having me warm up, run 3 km, and do physical strengthening exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and planks. I was also taught how to roll, which is useful for quick evasive movements.
After completing the physical training, Simone took me to the shooting range inside the building. I thought I would finally be taught how to use a firearm like the other soldiers.
"Johann, even though you're the only civilian, I've been tasked with teaching you how to use a firearm as your sole means of self-defense. But don't worry, I'm not teaching you how to use a long-barreled firearm; you'll be using a pistol. This is designed for beginners," Simone said.
He began by teaching me shooting posture, proper grip, and recoil control. The pistol I used was a newer model, with a lighter caliber but more effective penetration on targets.
At first, I was a bit clumsy with it. In The Mayhem game, I'm considered very skilled with almost all weapons, but in reality, it's the opposite, even with pistols.
Simone then stood behind me, guiding my still-stiff hands as I fired. Suddenly, he said beside my right ear,
"Are you still holding a grudge against me… Johan?"
I immediately stopped shooting. I didn't expect him to say that so readily.
"Honestly, I'm not thinking about it anymore, Simone. I'd still welcome your friendship. You're also helping protect me on this mission," I said.
"Is that so? Okay, we'll continue after this mission is over," Simone said in a reassuring tone. Simone continued my training until the afternoon.
The second and third days of my training remained the same; I felt I had mastered the basics of survival and self-defense with a pistol.
That afternoon, after all my training was complete, Imelda suddenly approached me. She then led me to the logistics room.
"I'm sorry if I can't be your trainer, as this is an Army decision. Now, I'll help you determine the right equipment," Imelda said. I told her it was okay, as Simone had trained me well. Imelda breathed a sigh of relief.
In the large logistics room, I could see a wide variety of weapons of various sizes and combat gear. Imelda led me to a place where equipment for all teams was prepared. She only explained my section. I would still be wearing full combat gear like special forces.
After finishing, Imelda suddenly received a call. It was her father. She needed to go to the back for a moment and asked me to stay here.
I then looked at the other equipment. After Imelda's explanation, I thought the equipment I had acquired was still lacking and wanted to add more. Suddenly, I noticed something strange again in the right corner of my vision.
Yes, that six-weapon slot interface reappeared before me after a long time.
Was this a sign that I could add more equipment secretly? I tried it by taking the same type of pistol I used during training and pointing it at the slot. Miraculously, the pistol disappeared and went into one of the empty slots.
I took this opportunity to grab the items I needed to put into my item slots. I kept loading the pistol magazine until it reached its maximum capacity of 50 rounds.
I also reached for the first aid kit, but it wouldn't fit. I thought only one item was allowed. I put in cotton bandages, rigid bandages, and antiseptic solution, but they wouldn't fit.
When I tried to insert the painkiller spray, it suddenly fit into the slot. I immediately looked and loading other the sprayer until I had a maximum of five.
I also put in my binoculars, which might be useful. I also noticed a box of grenades. I figured I could also load them in if I wanted to distract the enemy, and I could get ten in. Suddenly, I heard Imelda walking back, and I ended my opportunity.
That evening, I gathered with Larry, Robbin, and Lucy in the rest room. They encouraged me as I was about to undergo operation tomorrow. They hoped I would return safely.
"Hey Johann, if you ever meet Hellraider again, could you punch him in the face for our late friend Navel?" Larry asked jokingly.
Everyone burst out laughing, including me. I thought it would be fun, but it was impossible because I knew exactly what Hellraider was like.
At 11 p.m., I went to the inpatient room and saw Aunt Nancy fast asleep. She seemed to be doing better. I looked at her briefly, gave her a kiss on the left side of her forehead, and left the inpatient room. I was asked to keep this operation a secret from my family.
In the morning, as dawn was breaking, I was already dressed in my combat gear. A pistol and its magazine were on my belt, so I had two pistols at once. I also carried grenades in back belt.
Outside the base, I gathered with Simone, Imelda, and five other special forces personnel who wear similar gear to me, led by Capt. Murphy.
Gen. Lorentz gave a quick briefing, and then we got into a combat vehicle to head to the Lazar Nuclear Power Plant.
As we approached the nuclear power plant, a large perimeter was visible. We were greeted by the troops on guard and began entering the nuclear power plant area.
There were scattered monster carcasses, previously killed by the Hellraider. Once we reached the building's entrance, we all got out, entered the building, and began forming up.
Capt. Murphy was at the front, four special forces personnel surrounded me, Simone behind me, and Imelda in front of me. All seven of them were armed with long-barreled firearms and had been given directions to the main reactor, where the portal was located. The estimated distance was 500 meters from the main entrance.
We walked quickly while the others continued to monitor the very dark surroundings. I had a flashlight only on my chest vest, while the others also had on their weapons. About halfway through, we suddenly heard a howl from quite a distance.
"Damn, it turns out they've been hiding all this time, as if to greet us," Simone said.
"Those are hellhounds. They're just the lowest-ranking members, they can be killed with your weapons," I assured them.
"Everyone, get ready to fire. The enemy is already aware of our presence," said Captain Murphy.
We kept our pace as quiet as possible to avoid making any further noise. Then we entered a large room with many pillars.
As we approached the center part, suddenly, several pairs of glowing eyes appeared in the darkness and then approached us.
Dozens of black hellhounds with red eyes and small flames on their bodies were ready to attack us.
"Open fire, now!!" Captain Murphy immediately gave the command. I immediately took a shooting stance with my pistol.
Everyone shot at the dozens of hellhounds. I only shot the ones that were getting closer to our ranks. Most of them had already been killed. Suddenly, I felt an uneasy feeling coming from above, and I immediately looked in their direction.
I saw numerous another monster crawling toward us on the pillars. They looked like geckos, but were about the size of alligators. They were black, with scales on their backs like fiery embers. In the game's lore, these monsters could spit hot liquid fire at their targets.
"Everyone look up and watch out for these monsters!!!!" I shouted.
Everyone looked up, and several of the monsters immediately dropped to the floor. Luckily, thanks to my alertness, everyone was able to avoid being hit by the reptiles. However, we were scattered. I stayed close to Imelda. The monsters were mostly targeting the other troops.
"Shoot their eyes or use grenades to flip them over and finish off their undersides with your rifles!" I shouted.
The special forces immediately did as I said and successfully killed the monsters. But instead, I saw Simone surrounded by three gecko monsters in front of him.
I immediately ran towards him, grabbed a grenade from my belt, activated the detonator, and threw it directly behind the three monsters. The grenade exploded, sending the three reptiles flipping over.
"Imelda, Simone, finish them now!" I shouted. Imelda, Simone, and I immediately shot its lower body, rendering it completely immobile.
But our defense efforts seemed futile as the reptiles and hellhounds came rushing in again.
"Quick, get to the left side door of that room!!!" shouted Captain Murphy.
We all immediately ran there. As I ran, one of the reptilian monsters, 3 meters from me, suddenly spewed a ball of hot, fiery liquid at me. I couldn't dodge.
Unexpectedly, one of the special forces shielded by facing me, causing the liquid to hit his back, causing him to scream in pain. The soldier paused for a moment, but Captain Murphy quickly carried him inside.
We all made it through the door and slammed it shut. The monsters were pounding on it.
Captain Murphy immediately checked on his subordinate and saw that the liquid had melted his back vest but hadn't penetrated his skin. However, the soldier was still grimacing in pain.
I wanted to help him with the painkiller spray from my item slot, but this time the interface didn't appear in my vision.
"We can't stay here any longer, because the door will surely break. I see we're getting closer to the main reactor room," Imelda said.
Captain Murphy stood up and said, "You three, Simone, Imelda, and Johann, go straight to the main reactor room. We'll divert the monster from another path out of the nuclear power plant so it can be defeated by the numerous troops outside. We'll pick you up once everything is finished. Hurry and carry out my orders!"
The three of us immediately ran to the main reactor room and closed the door. From behind us, we heard the special forces drawing the monster's attention out of the nuclear power plant with gunfire.
Then we looked toward the reactor and saw a large, 10-meter-diameter portal glowing red, moving in a spiral with a pitch-black center.
"Is this safe? Will we be exposed to radiation?" Simone asked reassuringly.
"No, Simone. The radiation waves emitted by the reactor have been absorbed into the portal," I replied.
"Do you have a plan to eliminate that portal, Johann?" Imelda asked.
"This is the main portal to the true realm of hell. It's highly likely the Hellraider is already trapped there. Honestly, I don't know what the plan is, but we'll gradually get closer look to the portal," I said.
As I started walking closer, the portal suddenly emitted a reddish glow of electricity around its edges. Simone and Imelda stood beside me, ready to fire if anything came out. However, the opposite happened.
The portal seemed to shrink and more shrink in size.
I was completely baffled by this. I took a few steps, and the portal shrank even further. When I was about a meter away, its diameter was the same as my height.
"The portal reacted when you approached it, Johann" Simone said.
"This is very strange. I can feel it speaking to me and inviting me inside. But I'm not sure if it's a trap or not," I suggested.
"Should we just wait for the other troops to come and explain this phenomenon?" Imelda asked.
Simone walked up behind me and said, "I'm going to conclude, this portal might disappear if you enter it..."
"Yes, that might be tru..."
I choked, a chill starting to spread across my neck and my entire body. Trembling, I turned to face Simone. I saw his face, expressionless.
"I already knew you were the key to this catastrophe. Humanity would be saved if you remained in that realm forever with your idol, Hellraider." Said Simone with such a flat tone.
My eyes widened, my mouth gaping open. Before I could say a word, suddenly...
Simone kicked me squarely in my chest, sending me flying.
My body felt like it was being pulled by the portal into it. Suddenly, I saw Imelda running toward me, crying and screaming...
"JOOOHAAAANNNNNNNN...!!!!!"
But Simone caught and restrained Imelda. My last vision on earth was Imelda hysterically trying to reach out to me, while Simone continued to stare at me, expressionless.
After that, red electricity filled my vision until it went black and I lost consciousness.