He pulled the trigger for a split second as a burst came out that hit one target. Hayate smiled and aimed for the other two while repeating the action, taking down the targets.
"Better, now aim your rifle downrange and hit the targets," Gaz instructed but Hayate didn't understand. Wasn't he already aiming it at the targets?
He was once again taken to the void.
"To aim properly, look down the sights of your weapon, it could either be an iron sight or a scope on the top of it." The same voice demonstrated how to position the gun. He was immediately taken out.
Hayate understood and unpaused while closing his left eye and doing the same positioning he saw looking at the red dot sight. He aimed at the top and bottom targets while firing and felt it was easier.
"Now, shoot the targets behind the wood. Bullets will penetrate thin wood, plaster, and sheet metal." Gaz explained and Hayate was surprised at the piercing power of bullets. It also helped that shooting was quite fun.
The wood popped up along with the targets and he shot through them.
Targets started to prop up after every shot, which Hayate did with pretty good aim, still getting used to the gun.
"Proper good job, mate! Now grab a sidearm from the armory." He instructed as Hayate went back and saw a smaller gun.
'How do I carry both?' He thought he'd have to dual-wield but that sounds ridiculous.
He was thrust into the void space once more and shown that his rifle had a bandolier that he could sling across his shoulder, with his rifle still on his chest. The figure also showed him the holster for the sidearm.
'At least I don't have to ask, Gaz.' He knew that would be too embarrassing.
Hayate did as he saw and held the smaller gun.
"Great, now switch to your primary." Gaz nodded at him, and Hayate holstered the sidearm and took out his rifle. "Now pull out your sidearm."
He naturally did so with a bit of confusion.
"Remember, switching to your pistol is always faster than reloading." He gave some advice that made sense, but not for Hayate.
'Reloading?' It was a strange term to use here. What is he loading and reloading?
Guess where he is now?
The figure showed him the reloading mechanics and chambering the bullet before being thrown out.
Hayate looked down and saw such magazines in his chest pockets and sidearm ammo along his waist. He also had a knife there.
"Pulling out your knife is even faster, slice the watermelon." Hayate almost sweatdropped at the absurdity. At least the knife felt more familiar, even if it's not exactly a kunai or sword.
He still did so with a perfect cut.
"Nice, your fruit-killing skills are remarkable. Captain Price wants to see you." Gaz pointed to the door to his left which Hayate followed. He also noticed that he had some kind of compass at the bottom of his vision with a yellow circle.
It seems he'll have to go there.
What he saw blew him away.
A tank, a helicopter, trucks, and the concrete street just to name a few. The noises, soldiers jogging and hanging out. Fighter jets high in the sky. He naturally didn't know what they were but they were impressive and awe-inspiring.
He followed the marker in silence taking in the scenery. Unbeknownst to him, most of the other soldiers were giving him strange looks for his behavior, another by-product of the AI.
Hayate saw a soldier with a gun and followed behind him.
"It's the F.N.G, sir." said the soldier who informed the captain. "Go easy on him, sir. It's his first day."
Captain Price just stared down Hayate who was feeling quite nervous for a reason he didn't know why. It reminded him of his old genin and chunin days when he saw more powerful shinobi. Like this person could crush him like a bug.
"Right. What kind of name is Soap, anyway? How'd a muppet like you pass Selection?" He stared at him full of doubt.
Hayate's lip twitched. 'I didn't choose it, what did I do?' He felt quite aggrieved. 'What's a muppet?' That was his trailing thought. It didn't help that he was being gazed upon by the other soldiers. 'This really is like my old chunin days on random teams, especially how they looked at me when I coughed like a chain smoker. Wait…'
He hadn't coughed at all. During the whole time he was in VR, he never coughed.
The smile on his face couldn't be helped. 'There are many unexplainable things such as this VR technology and these games, but not having to heave and hack feels really nice.' He might just keep playing off that alone. Every breath he took, felt nice and without discomfort.
Captain Price had a scornful expression.
"Wipe that look off your face, Soap. It's your turn for the CQB test. Everyone else, head to observation." He ordered. "For this test, you have to run the cargo ship solo in under 60 seconds. Gaz holds the squad record at 19 seconds. Get to it. The ladder is over there." He pointed off to the right.
Hayate had a feeling that he had to use these weapons and fire at targets once more, but in a more practical setting. It's like those obstacle courses back in the academy.
He climbed up the ladder and saw some guns along with some sort of object.
"Pick up that MP5 and flash grenades. On my mark, you will rope down to position 1, and rush down the stairs to position 2. Then hit positions 3 and 4 following my instructions. Grab the rope when you're ready." Captain called out from afar as Hayate got his barrings.
Heights were not an issue for him as he was a shinobi, while it's quite unfamiliar, it's quite exciting. He also saw the chalkboard with various records on them.
Picking up the MP5, he didn't really know where to put the flashbangs as he didn't have a ninja pouch.
He was shown where to store them in the void and he was good to go.
Taking a deep breath, one without the worry of coughing which made him happy, he slid down the rope.
With his feet on the floor, he instinctively pulled out his new MP5 as targets popped up.
"Shoot the targets!" Price ordered which he followed.
The gun was quieter and the recoil was more manageable so he was even more accurate. The iron sights were a bit of an adjustment but he took them all down.
"Position 2!" Price voiced again.
Hayate ran around to the door and headed down the stairs.
A target popped up and he hip-fired taking it down.
Taking a left, he saw words on the wall and then a voice.
"Flashbang through the door!"
Hayate took one out and pulled the pin, the voice naturally showed him how to use it and the duration until it went off.
He threw it.
A loud bang shortly followed.
Storming the doorway with his gun out, he didn't even need to hear the next words to fire at both targets.
He ran and two targets popped up, aiming at the one straight ahead and then his right, both were taken down.
Hayate saw the words on the wall again and didn't need further instruction, he pulled out another flash, pulled the pin, and threw it.
Another bang, and he was aiming down his sights taking down all the targets.
He ran to his right and out of the area, sprinting towards the finish line.
22.35 seconds.
"Alright, that's enough. You'll do, Soap. Climb the ladder if you want another go and refill your flashbangs." Captain nodded before offering another run.
Hayate felt a little competitive and knew he could get a better time now that he knew the route.
Climbing the ladder, he refilled his flashbangs and dropped down.
Taking down the targets even faster, his timing on the flashbangs was better, and his overall movement in the body without chakra is more smooth.
19.15 seconds.
"Pretty good, Soap! Trying to beat Gaz's record? Give it another go if you want." Price was quite impressed by the vast improvement.
Hayate ran through it again.
He felt far more comfortable with the weight of his equipment, handling of his gun, flashbangs, and completely adapted to his new body.
17.5 seconds.
"Nice, Soap. A new squadron record. Gaz is bumped down to second. Come on over to the monitors for a debrief." Price felt a lot happier about this new recruit and motioned him over.
Hayate couldn't do another run, so he went over, but he was interrupted as the game paused and he was shown a menu.
[Choose difficulty]
[Googoo Gaagaa]
- Your ancestors will look down on you from the Pure Lands if you select this difficulty. This is for those who don't have a spine.
[Standard]
- A laidback but still challenging experience for casual players. Gamer Benefits are minimally applied here.
[Soldier]
- Realism and authentic mechanics are added for an immersive experience. This will be very difficult.
[ANBU]
- Now this is a difficulty that will put some hair on your chest. Realism and authentic mechanics are maximized along with Gamer Benefits. A true look at the horrors and intensity of a battle-hardened warrior.
His eyes couldn't help but twitch at the first choice. It was deliberating antagonizing.
'What are Gamer Benefits though?' He shook his head and chose the ANBU difficulty considering that this is what he'd wanted to experience in the first place. The first sentence may or may not have swayed him a bit.
He stood next to a guy with a shotgun.
Captain Price turned to them.
"Gentlemen, the cargo ship mission is a go. Get yourselves sorted out. Wheels up in 0200. Dismissed."
The soldiers started walking away before the screen turned black.
The S.A.S symbol appeared with Soap's name and the map shifted across the world and Captain Price listed details of the operation and a diagram of the ship and enemies appeared.
They had to get the package onboard.
"Rules for engagement, sir?" Gaz asked.
"Crew expendable." Captain Price said with finality.
Hayate knew that meant to take everyone out.
A visual of a helicopter with Soap's name appeared and he was thrust into the thick of it.
He sat in front of Captain Price smoking a cigar as various details were voiced over the radio.
Hayate pulled the gas mask onto his face as Price did and descended the rope.
"Weapons free." Captain Price ordered them to fire and Hayate did.
He was a shinobi and this was a game so killing did not make him feel anything other than excitement about going through this covert mission.
They posted up on the door as Gaz kicked it in and Hayate followed Price.
"Squad on me." Price called over comms and descended the stairs.
'This is exactly like the training.' Hayate mentally commented and he took aim at a drunk and a clean headshot followed.
They headed out to the deck and descended the stairs. Reinforcements came in.
"Two on the platform," Gaz informed.
"I see 'em." Price confirmed. "Weapon's free."
Hayate took aim and got another headshot as another soldier shot the second one. He felt quite good as his marksmanship is improving a lot. Perhaps he had a talent for this sort of weaponry.
He was pushing up checking around boxes and crates. This sort of mission really got his blood pumping in excitement.
As he and the squad were almost at the other end.
"We've got company, second floor." Captain Price announced.
Hayate only had enough time to look up to see an enemy pointing their gun at him and firing a volley of shots.
He felt horrific pain for a split second before dying from a headshot.
Greeted with a blurry view, text appeared in front of him.
Make sure to hide behind cover when shot at.
'...Thanks.' He groaned in lingering pain before he was taken back to right after he killed the guy on the platform.
"Let's do this," Hayate muttered and paid more attention to the second floor.
===
What up. The mission will be completed next chapter and perhaps a bit of his final thoughts along with Marashi.
Until next time!