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Chapter 549: Maggot

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Rex felt happy and then pulled his chosen anti-tank sniper rifle. This was a weapon that shouldn’t be used against people but because he had 100R of ammunition per rifle for it, ammo was the last of his concerns. What more, the Geneva Laws does not apply in here; and furthermore, this was just a game —its environment, at least— so using this to a person shouldn’t attract much criticism. Lastly, it was a fact that robotic arms rely on camera and a camera’s lenses could only cover as much area.

Nothing beats sniping targets on his own.

His sniper scope’s range could reach at least an entire 4 kilometers of zooming and that’s enough zoom to actually snipe the 3rd ninja.

The only downside of this sniper rifle is that it was heavy and also large. Really large! It was at least 3m in length from the barrel’s tip to the stock. Rex carried it by its “house” which is a graphene case that was 2m long, 20cm high, and 15cm thick, that he carried like a sword as he traveled.

Yes, it has a handle and the makers at least made it so that even on its case, the sniper rifle can still be used like a rail-gun with a lot more recoil and a stance similar to Cassiopeia’s… with the downside being that it cannot fire automatically.

Said “mode” was only for traveling convenience’s sake, nothing more.

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK…!!

With expert precision and trained accuracy, the sniper rifle was assembled in mere seconds and he took a prone position and took aim… checking the entire venue of the 2nd sniper setup.

True enough, after ten seconds of (pretending to) search, he saw the escaping 3rd ninja. Rex did not waste time. He loaded a bullet and breathed in once, then held his breath, pulling the trigger the next second with little preparation.

BANG!!!

It was a very loud explosion for a mere gunshot, even from a high caliber sniper rifle. This was the testament for the power behind the Anti-Tank SR.

The bullet could travel up to a minimum of 5km for its (anti-personnel) effective range and 3km effective range for its tank armor-piercing ability.

It was a masterpiece for the weapon industry and a scourge for its enemies in the battlefield.

When this [weapon] was first invented, a Geneva Laws War Convention Council Meeting was held to ban its further production and so the first ever finished ‘gun’ of its kind also became its last, with its “data” and memories ever being only available in the eyes and ears of curious folks… but not in this assessment test.

Thus, why wouldn’t Rex use it then? In fact, he’s so interested in this weapon because this was his main “blueprint” reference when he created the first of his chef-d'oeuvre, the «Dáinsleif».

His body rocked with the heavy recoil, the sound traveling from his arms, to his head, to his ribs, to hips, to his legs, and then back up again like the ripples in pond’s surface.

Every time you fire a gun, the sound of it always rocks your soul… whether you hit something on the other side or not… especially if you do hit one or two things with your bullets since its image will always be burned into your retinas as the normal effects of your “shooting” deed.

With the large caliber of the Anti-Rank Rifle, just a passing shockwave from it was already enough to rock your soul. How much more if you’re actually the one firing a shot using it? But with the tripod holding the gun barrel in position, the large recoil was lessened and Rex bore only half of the force while he inhaled the distinctive smell of its burned gunpowder with palpable satisfaction.

The target’s body exploded and the area behind his body along with 4 innocent trees exploded as well when the bullet passed him by.

It was an astonishing sight.

Again, anti-tank weapons SHOULD NOT be used against people because the Geneva Laws had a bunch of very strict regulations regarding overkill.

But then, again, this was a place where these laws won’t even apply in every bit.

Rex wasted no time because the gunfire would surely be enough to attract more attention so he dismantled his rifle and put it back in its case then took off running at the next minute. The Hum-Vee was far away and he had no plans on revealing it to his enemies.

—six down, four more to go. Wait. Is it three?

He assured himself. His earlier assumption was also correct. At the get-go, the assassins would know where he exactly was. It was the advantage they have against him. Although he was assured that that’s their only advantage on him, now that their blitzkrieg had failed, it was now time to turn the tables around them.

Because Rex was prepared for them, the surprise advantage vanished and it became a reverse of who were the hunter and the hunted.

Was it easy to create a protection sphere around his three snipers? No. In 30 or so mins, he only got to “surround” his three robotic arms with a 3-4 layers of traps and one of them, even, are already used, especially the ones on the waterfall area.

Yet he did make it only because he had Cortana embed all these data directly into his brain. There was still the issue of experience, yes, but when it was knowledge that you are consciously aware of and are able to use at a whim, using these stock knowledges wouldn’t pose a problem in a split second when you need.

That’s how useful Cortana’s archiving function is.

—just to be sure, I’ll leave another trap here just in case someone passes by…

Having thought as much, Rex used a loose-string trap with a rock as a counterweight —a version of guillotine trap— to set up the area just in front of his sniping location.

Just like his other traps, the trigger and the loose-string (or the wire) was hidden in the ground and is made so that the slightest of pressure will make it release the lock to trigger the counterweight to send the “victim” hurling straight to a floating wire above their head to deal the injury. It only took at least three minutes to set up.

With the large case and backpack of ammunitions, Rex silently took off with a light laugh, “You can’t stop me!”

*****

The name “Gregory” was once a big family.

Its origins were supposedly deep as it was once a “main family” faction of the Abraxas Family.

Following the family tree, “Vincent Gregory” is the eldest son of the Abraxas Mistress of the Family Head of 400 years ago. In a way, the surname of “Gregory” was once a big name until Vincent was banished by the heir of the Abraxas Family of his generation. Since then, the surname “Gregory” had vanished from the annals of the Family Tree of the Abraxas Name.

Still, as Vincent took his silent leave, he did not as much as a second forget that there will come the time that the “Gregory” name —the surname of his birthmother— shall stand side by side with the Abraxas Name as equals, or, if not, above them.

It became the family’s legacy and the words “you have to fight for your right” became a family creed passed down one generation after the next.

As the years gone by, the “Gregory” descendants became scattered in many parts of the world. And the Family Creed soon became a false hope that turned into hearsays, until it eventually became a legend, until totally vanishing into nothing more than texts in some old book’s cover bind.

Oh how cruel the ravages of time is? The Vincent Gregory, denied of his throne, banished, exiled, and now forgotten, his ambition to be the Head of the Abraxas Family which he passed down to his descendants, slowly whittled into a story of some forgotten past…

And yet, perhaps it was fate? At the very dawn of the 22nd century, by some sheer luck, or fate, or whatever’s design, one remnant of the “Gregory” cognomen with a different surname married into the Abraxas Family’s Side Branch’s insignificant maiden and discovered this peculiar connection in his grandmother’s family’s creed.

This descendant’s name also happens to be the same as his ancestor, Vincent Gregory, and that his mother also happens to be strongly attached to their forgotten and scattered family’s creed.

Vincent was convinced, they had to become one of the World Nobles —that was the first step into getting the Gregory Name its rightful status back, and, or perhaps even, much, much more!

Convinced of his fate’s design, he poured all his resources and tried to contact the other Gregory, using the family tree as a guide and their Family Creed as a password… but alas, no one was even as much as aware of their family’s creed.

………….until he met Edward Gregory.

It was the Leap Year Olympics and Vincent, with a job at the UNICORN Sport Commission, was then tasked to host the gathering for the guests of the host country of the Olympics.

He was dissatisfied of the direction of his search for collaborators and had to, in the middle of the social gathering event, go on a little bit of smoke to relax his nerves.

Luckily, a man was already there, and they met.

Was this a coincidence? Yes. But it was also the destiny he believed existed in his fate. Who could have predicted that a Gregory would be there just at the right place and time?

Edward Gregory was a senator and he, too, had put the Family’s Creed as his own. At a young age of 15, Edward Gregory understood it so he had excelled in his studies, business, and social skills.

At 20, Edward became a Vice Mayor, his enemies became his friends, and his superiors became his pawns… at 24, he became the City Mayor. It was a feat very few people in history made. He was one of those rare geniuses and was then invited into the Conclave. There, Vincent and Edward had created a bond and a plan was hatched; there was a future to be held in their grasp!

Alas, Edward’s path wasn’t smooth.

When Edward was 32 years old and was running for State Senator for the first time, Vincent met an accident and died. Their plans were almost caught in a ruinous descent if not for Vincent’s thorough and obsessive ambitious planning methods. Upon the news of Vincent’s death, Edward received his will —a letter— and in it was an introduction for a plan so grand, dangerous, and ambitious that if it wasn’t Vincent who planned it all, Edward wouldn’t have had the guts to even try and carry it out.

At that time, Edward’s ambitions burned brighter and in memory of his… brother… but more of his own desire, Edward took it upon himself to be the one to lift up the Gregory’s pride! He will become a World Noble.

Following the instructions in the “Will”, he began to prepare his foundations.

At age 40, the Gregory Name became the hottest Politician Name in Phil-Country and the Gregory’s businesses also went an uphill ascent as all their assets increased and their foundations solidified.

Edward never dabbled in the Corrupted Path and so his service as a Politician was clean as it was a strong one as well.

Furthermore, the Corrupted Ones feared him as he was the one who passed the bills that made all corrupted officials in the government either lay their heads low or completely stay away for the last time from their already corrupted path.

Edward had an amazing track record.

Then, just before his announcement in running as next [President of the Philip Republic], he found the family Vincent had been searching for.

An exiled World Noble family!

Edward didn’t waste time and immediately made a move before their time runs out. It has been ten years since Vincent’s premature death and when Edward first set his foot in this grand plan, and he also knew that the longer he waited, the higher its failure rate will be. Besides, the primary plan was simple; he just had to marry the Princess into his Gregory Family before she was recognized as the next heir to the Christiana Throne.

For the last three years, he had done his best to get as close as possible to Russel and although it was hard since the man was traditional and stoic, he finally got that “yes” that he sought after some grueling indirect pressure and coercion from his seat as the hottest Presidential Candidate.

With a candidate as hot as Edward, the seat of the President was surely his. Who would want to get on the president’s bad side?

Russel definitely does not so he had no choice but to give in from the pressure.

Angus didn’t know the nuts and bolts of Edward’s plans but the moment he saw Amanda, he knew she was definitely special. All the more reason, a beauty such as hers; who rarely says no, always gets the attention of the crowd, and had a natural elegance and beauty that it was suffocating not to watch her move, just getting close to her and also being able to talk to her was already a blessing, how much more if you’d actually get your hands on this heavenly piece of vine?

More than his father’s plans, Angus was ready to kill any man who would try to fight him over her.

As much as his father’s power could extend, they suppressed any media images and videos of her existence; from photos to names, mentions, and as well as school records, they suppressed all of the major public references of her existence.

Her beauty was something that always ignites the spark of infatuation to all and it was only a matter of time before the House of Bryn finally realizes that the next heir to their throne of Queen was in a third world country such as Philip-Country. So, Edward was forced to stop all information leak of her existence to the world at all costs.

….at least until Angus married her.

It was hard and although it wasn’t that much tight, they managed to minimize all publicity of that girl named “Amanda” from being the sensation in the online media world.

Angus’ infatuation was boiling on point. For years, he was preparing his background. He did his best to be recognized before he turned 25 and so just last year, after he proved his academic excellence as well as his special skills in the sword, he finally received his invitation to the prestigious gathering of young elites, a red letter for The Conclave.

Angus knew he could use this as an opportunity.

But just as he was planning to invite her to be at the place and use the “red letter” for many privileges for her sake, the day he set out for this plan, Angus was met with a huge blow.

Amanda brought home a “lover” and Angus knew this was one bad news.

He tried to salvage the situation and suppress the f*cker but who would have thought that the man himself would have been the very Rex Kingsley, son of the Kingsley Doctors —medical geniuses of the 22nd century. What more, the man was a serious piece of metal to work with… he had true actual strength and wasn’t easily brushed off.

From there, everything went downhill for Angus, and Edward Gregory himself was full of wrath as he received the news.

They tried to work against Rex from behind the scenes but for some reason, there was no Intel of the person from any source —both public and the underground sources of information. What more, it was as if the man himself was a ghost.

There is no information pertaining to his school records either! Was he a ghost then?

Alas, how could they have known that Augustus Laniary’s resources ran deeper than their deepest pockets and all information about his little toy was already erased even before Cortana established her Echelon Network!

Edward, with no options left, would suddenly get news that “she” was preparing to attend the social gathering event in Sweetzerland.

This was news that didn’t come from her house but from the spies around her bestfriend, Alice.

It was a chance, they thought, so Angus left and using all their contacts as well as a little bribery, a seat for fatty Howard Gregory was also arranged.

On the plane, Angus thought they would be alone in it but to his surprise, the plane was actually full.

There were four more, aside from Alice, who was on the same plane as them. He lost his footing.

He tried his best to get close to the others but for some inexplicable reason, there was a large wall that separated him and the four unknown guests.

In the end, he only made Amanda dissatisfied with him and this was a huge blow to his pride as both a man and a “Gregory” that he had no choice but to use the “compassion card” to play at Amanda.

Howard tried to mediate as he also knew this card and plan but Alice suppressed him and in the end, Angus’ defeat in the plane became evident.

Then, when they landed for Lausanne, black cars immediately took her and the other parties away as the rented car of the Gregory was too late into offering a ride for them. This was a total failure.

When Edward learned of this, the entire Gregory Estate went into a massive panic uproar. Edward was utterly furious!

Good thing, Angus was still resourceful. Before the Conclave, he was invited to join the entourage of a Prince of one of the Subordinate Families of the “Uglya Kingdom” —a World Noble!

Edward was elated, of course, since this was an additional trump card for the backup plans he had received from Vincent from since back then. The main plan was Amanda and for back up… he had two desperate gambles he wasn’t relying on to for it was sure to bring them not only destruction but also humiliation and shame if found out. Having a card like the one Angus had was surely a saving grace from above.

More than his love for the Family Creed, Edward had never lost of his true and genuine ambition.

To pull up the Gregory Name as a World Noble, or even more, as the sixth Great Clan! He will be hailed Family Head of its first generation! In fact, on the original plan, getting Amanda was just the first step and when that was done, the second to the last steps will be even easier with Vincent’s meticulous preparations and design!

As for Angus, unfortunately, in one of his trips to get “sucker points” to get closer to Prince Zola of the subordinate family of a World Noble, he just had to meet the gamers’ bane, Siva.

He fought bravely inside a purgatorial world that they cannot even teleport away from and was only forced to fight, while Siva only played with them all like they were children; forget about defeating him, they can’t even land a successful clean hit!

Then, he was knocked out.

When he woke up, it was already past the time for the Conclave and he hurried to attend it, hoping that he could meet Amanda there but only to be shocked and surprised that the “event” is already underway……. shit. Hurriedly, before the last few moments, he joined the list of names and though he wasn’t able to hear the explanations of why the names are there, he still listed up because he saw that it said there it was for the UNICORN Military.

He thought then, I can use this! If she discovers that I am part of the UNICORN Military, not even a street thug like that Rex fucking Kingsley would even be as worth as my fingernail… hahaha!

A quick plan was sketched up in his mind and he felt that showing his worth in this recruitment test will be his key in getting Amanda’s attention. After all, she was here and Rex wasn’t. There was only a single plane going from Phil-Country for every 8hrs and the trip itself was 16hrs so there was no chance that Rex, even if he was invited to attend here by virtue of his parents, will make it in time.

Besides, Angus surveyed the lists after he listed his own there and he didn’t see a “Rex Kingsley” in any of the names in the 100 lists.

—Hehehe… stupid Kingsley!

——you think you’re better than me? You’re just a street thug after all, a parentless street thug with no actual future! What can you do then when dad sits as the President next month? I will get you for the humiliation you made me suffer!

Angus waited until the last second, and his eyes were suddenly attracted at a name that suddenly popped up at the end of the Recruitment List.

—Mitra? Who’s Mitra? Why doesn’t he have any surname listed?

His pondering was interrupted when people with boxes approached the crowd and offered NLDs for the ones that listed their names in the 100 lists up there.

Mousse, that voluptuous beauty serving as this gathering’s event host, announced the beginning of the event and Angus took the NLD, entering the Private Server to take the tests.

“Was she here?” Angus asked and hoped.

The faces of the other candidates weren’t hidden and when he looked around, he didn’t see that pretty face he so desperately wanted to see.

Three briefings later, the other candidates taking the other assessment tests arrived and so there was no more need to delay the rest of the exams.

He was frustrated because he wasn’t able to list himself on the other 100 opportunities, especially on the “researchers” [opportunity].

But, well, it doesn’t matter. The real reason why he was invited here wasn’t because his academics are good but because he was a swordsman of the 6th Grade Master Class Level…, equivalent to the 6th Dun Black Belt of Karate and Judo.

He was a contemporary genius of the sword, the 9th of the ten generational geniuses 25 years old and under that had been recognized by the World Sword Masters Union.

After passing his 6th Grade Sword Master Test in Hapon Country, he received the red envelop, the 2nd to do so in this year’s batch. He heard that a South Africana was the first and he used a Katana as his weapon and called himself by the name of Hijack or something and he was 24 years old.

In a way, it made him feel proud of himself that he was younger than the guy.

As such, while he waited for the testers to come, Angus listened to the different briefing classes in the panel screens displayed on the main wall.

This was the main event after all.

His momentary inattention to everything that had happened thus far took away his irritation but the more he stood there, the more he felt that what happened in Terroa earlier was just too damn shit.

His frustrations only grew further the moment he was forced to make four counts of 100 pushups as soon as he entered the testing site.

Even more than that, “why the hell is it painful to make pushups in a VR world like this?! My chest muscles hurt, dammit!”

His frustrations and irritations grew further the more he pushed and counted like a retard. Then, he was repeatedly being called a Maggot and it ticked him off that he just had to say his piece.

“Permission to speak sir!”

“DE~NIED!!!” he was yelled at harshly. “Didn’t you hear a word I said earlier, maggot?!! You will do ONLY the things I ordered you. And right now, I ordered you to give me 100 repetitions of those gadamnd freakin’ pushups! Am I not scary to you, maggot?!! Go back to zero and ADD ANOTHER TEN TO THE COUNT!! NOW!!”

Again, he was called a maggot… twice!

—gandammit! I was invited in the Conclave as a genius so how dare you call me a maggot?!! You are only a mere soldier! In fact, you’re probably not even a college graduate! I have a master’s degree in economics, dammit, and I’m only 23!

Confusion + irritation x multiple failures, Angus is at his wits’ end and he couldn’t process what was right and wrong so he had to erupt, “I am not a maggot! I deserve to be respected as a person! I earned my right to be invited in this Conclave! I demand respect because I am here!”

—how’s that? What are you gonna say to me now, you lowlife high school graduate?

Angus wasn’t stupid. He knew that majority of the soldiers, regardless of their ranks, weren’t even a college degree holder. For someone who had a master’s degree like him in the age of 23, what is a mere Sergeant like this? Angus even suspected that when he was on the same age, this soldier wasn’t even invited in The Conclave even once!

—I am greater than you! I will show you!

He heard cheers from behind him and Angus was feeling strong as he felt the support coming from the same people with the same mindset as him in the back.

Alas, contrary to his expectations that the soldier would back away from mentioning himself as one of the invited geniuses to attend the Conclave, he actually walked in front of him with an angry scowl that made Angus melt.

The proctor looked at him eye to eye, from head to toe as if he was studying an art piece with that distinctive illusory design.

After a while, the soldier whispered right next to his ear, “Let me ask you something, maggot, are you a soldier?”

His voice was calm but Angus felt the palpable contempt and challenge on the soldier’s voice.

—how dare you look down on me!

However, as much as his mind worked like a king he was to himself, his true self still cowered and he answered a clear, “No sir.”

“No! You’re not a soldier! Well, are you a trainee then…… maggot?”

—dammit, stop calling me a maggot already!

“N-No sir. I am not a trainee…. Sir.”

“So you’re also not a trainee! You’re not a soldier and you’re not a trainee and you still BARK loud in my face demanding respect. You have not even gone through training and you already demand an ounce of respect from me… so tell me, have you gone and ran 20km in the middle of the night with nothing but your underwear without food and as much as water, looking for shelter while trying not to die from pursuers?”

“No s—”

“Then have you completed the ranger course? At least know how to dismantle a bomb, or rappel in a burning building while carrying two wounded in your shoulders and a dangling casualty on your back while bleeding from a gunshot wound on your left thigh? Or at least know how to properly administer CPR in a patient? Or know how to use a knife using your mouth? Know how to open a can using a spoon? Know how to fire a gun? Or maybe saved one or two lives at least? Perhaps have run 30km from 2am to 6am trying to deliver a vaccine to save an entire village of people from a spreading plague created by terrorist?”

Angus knew, the more he heard, the clearer his mistake became… he couldn’t refute it all. Yeah, he was a degree holder, but in terms of being a person with “actual worth and ability” and being a person with only a “piece of useless paper”, when they stood face to face like this, a person with a master’s degree like him felt like an insignificant ant, crushed like a weakling he is, because when you’re in the Military, your worth is your name as is your face, as well as your identity.

He couldn’t help making his voice tremble as he gave his reply, “N-No sir, I haven’t… done at least one of the things you said….. sir.”

After that, he was castigated. Harshly. Loudly. It was so humiliating and so mortifying that Angus felt like a real “maggot” as his pride in his diploma was crushed by actual facts.

He was signing up for the Military.

In here, diploma ain’t worth a shit. It was useless gold in your resume. What makes more value in this place is your skills, worth, and you yourself.

Angus went with the flow and finally, they were out in the field on a mission.

Everyone was given chance to get their weapons and although melee weapons were allowed, it was still more preferable that you have a firearm than solely relying on a sharpened piece of metal.

This is the 22nd century, you imbecile! —it was what the proctor said to a candidate who took only a bladed edge with him, wanting to show off his sword skills to the rest.

Even Angus understood that much. The guy’s an imbecile indeed.

He took an Assault Rifle as his main weapon and a classic .45-Cal “Taurus” Ebony Custom with an extended barrel and longer magazine cartridge unit as the secondary weapon. He also pulled out two knives and put them on his right leg and left thigh. But because he was a swordsman, Angus still made sure that he pulled out a long bolo from the stacks of “blades” and put it on and positioned it in a way that he could use it in the swiftest way and manner possible.

Then, he strapped a magazine vest for the extra 90 rounds (3 magazines) for his primary weapon; extra 50 rounds (5 magazines) for the handgun; 3 flash grenades; 3 Frag grenades; wore a full body Nano-Graphene Body Armor and Helmet with the built-in Night Mode and virtual mapping function; Ironman Boots, energy pack, and exoskeleton; as for the rare event that he gets tires or something, he also took two rations (energy bars) for backup and put them on his chest pocket.

For a quick view, he looked bulky but because he was wearing an exoskeleton —which its purpose is to carry all these without hindering mobility and strength application, Angus still felt like normal as if there was no real weight (though there’s still a weight there) applied to his body.

Almost all of them chose the same sets with little differences for individual preferences. Those that had “medical sets of skills” carried lighter arms but had med-packs on their persons while the ladies carried support-type equipment but still carried on them rifles and handguns for battle-readiness.

The bigger guys chose high-powered heavy rifles for main weapons for suppression fires, while the delicate-bodied ones chose lighter weapons but still didn’t forget to carry things that aligned with their chosen or given roles.

Roles…

Angus’ role was the [scout]. He was supposed to be the point-man, the first person in the front, the eyes of the team. It wasn’t a “job” he chose, it was the job given to him randomly. Everyone had their jobs to accomplish and the 20+ people earlier was now only 14 —the rest went into their chairs from the support team, while the rest managed their given tasks in the logistics team.

Before they set out earlier, the proctor said, “For the sake of convenience and to also teach you all the necessary things you have to learn during a military exercise, all basic training are enabled into a Help Motion —meaning— the way you reload your weapons, the way you find cover during the firefight, the way you hold your guns, the way you walk or give hand signals, and the rest of the after training skills that you still do not possess, all of it, all of them…… the simulation will provide that for you since you’re all just going to be sitting ducks there once an actual fight emerge. So, Squad Leaders…!!”

Upon being called, two proctors dressed just like the rest of them stepped forth from the back and went on to walk to the two squads’ midst.

The Drillmaster explained: “They are your Squad Leaders and the ones that will issue your orders and commands. Mission Objectives will also come from them so you better listen to every word they are going to say. Do you hear me?”

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The adventure of Angus Gregory begins…

…………or not…

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