Legion: GameLit RPG Fantasy Page 5

  Magnus remained stone-faced as he looked at all of the recruits before turning around and joining the line.

  “Captain Sienna Valentine.” Campbell held his hand out. “Please.”

  The next Captain was a lot easier on the eyes compared to the last two. She appeared to be in her early thirties. Her considerably thinner armor was immediately noticeable. Dark purple plates only did enough to cover the lower half of her chest, her stomach as firm and defined as any you’d ever see on a woman. Her gloves ran up to her elbows and her boots went up halfway to her thighs, revealing the fair skin underneath. A pair of armored shorts was tight enough against her hips to see her slender curves. Judging from the striations on her arms, she was fit despite her small and thin stature. She was taller than most women, probably because her long heels added a few inches.

  Her black hair was tied in a ponytail over her head. She had a small, pointed nose and thin lips that were pursed as she examined all of us. There was an undeniable, quiet intensity about her. Her blue eyes narrowed as she spoke.

  “Captain Magnus speaks of beating Shadows with brute strength.” Her voice was surprisingly soft. “But there are Shadows who will not simply stand there and give you the time to swing your maul. If your opponent is faster than you, a thousand cuts are greater than the mightiest swing that never lands, no matter how strong it might be. As a Zealot, you’ll emphasize speed on the battlefield. What do they say of speed? Speed kills.”

  Captain Valentine pulled the two silver blades from her back in the blink of an eye. They were about half the length of Hamilton’s sword but she twirled them so fast in front of her, they were nothing but a silver blur like a spinning fan.

  The recruits gasped in amazement but Valentine had already harnessed her weapons before we could be any more impressed.

  She took her place back among the others and Campbell pointed to the next person in line. “Captain Emily Pearson.”

  The young woman stepped forward and bowed her head. She was the shortest of all the Captains, about five-feet and some change I figured. Long, wavy blond hair cascaded past her shoulders and down her back. Her dull-yellow armor was the same thin style as Captain Valentine’s, though the top was more modest and covered her stomach. She didn’t appear to have the same athletic fitness though her frame was certainly slender. Her face was soft and youthful without any blemishes. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she was the same age as the recruits.

  “Emily Pearson,” she said. “Captain of the Harbingers. What is a Harbinger you ask?” She raised one of her long fingers up and focused her green-eyed stare upon it. The rest of the recruits stared in amazement as a blue aura began to form around the tip.

  “What the…” I muttered to myself, narrowing my eyes to make sure I was seeing it correctly.

  “Pandora is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. A power resides in the other dimension. Become a Harbinger and I’ll show you how to wield that power. Use the strength of your opponents against them.”

  She puckered her pink lips and blew away the aura from her finger. The blue energy floated through the air like smoke before fading.

  She took her place with the other Captains. Adviser Campbell pointed the last man standing at the end of the line.

  “Captain Benjamin Lawler.”

  The man didn’t step forward immediately, instead holding his hands out to Campbell. “Do we really need the demonstration? The recruits will choose their class based on their compatibility—”

  “Lawler.” Campbell spoke with the kind of tone my dad used when he was about to scold me.

  The man shrugged and moved forward. He ran a hand through his long, shaggy brown hair like a surfer just getting out of the water. His chin was covered in scruff, indicating he hadn’t shaved in a few days. Judging from his slouched posture, he almost seemed too nonchalant to actually be a Captain.

  He patted the chest of his light-green armor as he looked at the recruits. The big grin on his face was so friendly I had to stop myself from laughing.

  “Mystical mumbo jumbo. Giant weapons. Skill. Precision. Charging forward and meeting things head on. Listen. The best way to fight is from a distance.” He pulled a chrome gun from his holster and held it up. It looked like a standard pistol only there was a lot more shine to it and blue energy radiated where the cylinder would be.

  “Omegas are the modern military,” he continued. “And the modern military uses firearms like this. Going back to a sword and shield… What is this? Medieval times? Become a Gunrunner and I’ll train you to put a Mana blast in every Shadow’s head before they even know you’re aiming at ‘em.” He turned toward Adviser Campbell. “How’s that?”

  Campbell sighed a deep breath through his nose and nodded. The six Captains all lined up for all of us to look at.

  “I told you this would be an important decision,” Campbell said. “I meant it. Your compatibility tests will be completed by this evening. Be ready to choose your class by tomorrow morning. Your orientation is nearly over. It’s time to see if you have what it takes to be an Omega. Dismissed.”

  The recruits all turned around and headed back toward Janice.

  “Crazy, crazy, crazy,” Quentin sighed to me.

  “No kidding.”

  “I don’t know if I’m having trouble because there are so many to choose from or because each of those Captains looks like they’ll chew my ass out.”

  I turned around toward the Captains and saw them talking among one another. “At least they gave us the night to think about it.”

  “Thanks for your patience, recruits.” Janice greeted us with her usual friendly smile. “The inaugural dinner is scheduled for the top of the hour in the main dining hall on the first floor of the Nerve Center. You’ve had a long day. Take some time to yourself. Enjoy your dinner. Your compatibility reports will be given to you soon.”

  I looked down at my communicator. “Not much time until dinner starts.”

  “Good,” Quentin said. “I think I need some food while I take all of this in.”

  6: The New Recruits

  On the first floor of the Nerve Center, the main dining hall opened up. The walls weren’t as sterile and cold as the rest of the building, instead having a white stucco like my old high school lunchroom. The bright lights illuminated the polished black granite floor where dozens of tables had been set up.

  The twenty-four new recruits were joined by the older cadets. Not that they were actually that much older. There wasn’t a single one who was anywhere close to their thirties. It seemed like the older people were the Captains, scientists and other administrators who were enjoying themselves on the other side of the sprawling room.

  The chatter was loud as everybody enjoyed their meals for the evening. Quentin snagged a table for us. Next to us was a table of other recruits.

  I picked at a plate of penne pasta in marinara sauce and realized how much of an appetite I’d worked up.

  “How is it?” Quentin asked.

  “I’m a broke college student living with his parents who considers a Big Mac a gourmet luxury.” I heaped another forkful into my mouth and sighed. “I’ll take whatever I can get.”

  “I hear you.” Quentin was working on a piece of roasted chicken for himself. “Seeing as how we’ll be stuck in this dome for the time being, I might miss going to the fast food joints. But they’ve been treating us all right so far. Free food. Free room. I would’ve left college a lot sooner if I’d known. What’d you do?”

  “School. Computer programming.”

  “I was in Henderson myself. Studying physics. Applied athletics. Figured I like watching sports so much, I might as well get into it. It’s not that exciting though… Go figure. Tomorrow though…” He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “I think tomorrow’s gonna be a pretty big deal. We haven’t even been here for a day and they’re throwing us to the wolves.”

  I chewed on another bite of pasta and sighed through my nose. “I don’t get i
t. They show us weapons and abilities and stats. They introduce us to the Captains. We have to make a big decision but we don’t even know what we’re dealing with.”

  “You’ve seen the videos of the First Event though, haven’t you? I went on a YouTube binge before I came here.”

  “I’ve seen the videos. But I figure those things will be a lot different up close. How are we supposed to choose a class when we don’t even know the first thing about dealing with ‘em?”

  Quentin smacked his lips and shrugged. “Janice mentioned the compatibility reports. We’ll be inclined to a certain class.” Quentin’s eyes widened and a curious smirk came across his lips. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sudden deviousness in his eyes.

  “Uh… What are you thinking?”

  He took another bite of chicken and talked with his mouth full. “Did you see that Captain Valentine? That armor accentuates her body just right. I’d gladly have her be my captain.”

  “You’re gonna choose a class because of a nice pair, huh?”

  “Nice is an understatement. I’ve always had a thing for athletic bodies. So fit. So lean.” He stared into the distance like he was daydreaming. “Learning from her would be a dream.”

  “Captain Valentine’s a good-looking woman. But I think you should give it a little more thought.”

  “Well, being a Strider would be cool, too. Wielding two katanas. Darting around like the Flash. Then again, my speed attribute was pretty low when they tested me in the Med Bay… How about you, Liam? You thought about what class you wanna choose?”

  “It’s a tough decision. Every Captain made a good argument. They all look like they know what they’re doing. Even the Gunrunner.”

  “Lawler? That guy’s a stoner if I’ve ever seen one. I guess they don’t drug test here on campus… But you’re right. Shooting, cutting, bludgeoning Shadows. It all sounds like fun.”

  “I won’t think too hard about it. I’ll sleep on it and hopefully the decision will be easier when we get the compatibility reports.”

  I picked at my pasta and observed all of the other recruits. Everybody was in a good mood with the chatter as noisy as any school cafeteria’s.

  “The other recruits look like us,” Quentin said. “A bunch of young twenty-somethings who decided college wasn’t for them. I think we all made the right choice.”

  “I don’t think this’ll be as easy as you might think. There’s only twenty-four of us. I’m guessing there were three times as many in the first wave of recruits. And that’s not counting the people who’ve dropped out.”

  “Maybe…” Quentin stared at the table next to us and narrowed his eyes. “I’m sure we’ll all be fine…” He stopped moving to the point it was obvious he was looking at something.

  “You all right?”

  “…That girl. She looks familiar… You see that redhead over there?”

  I turned to the table a few meters away from us. A girl with auburn hair tied in a bun over her head sat solemnly among a table of other female recruits. Her head was down as she picked at her plate with her fork.

  “Red hair. Pale skin. It looks like she’s got green eyes. She’s pretty. You falling in love again already, Quentin?”

  “No, that’s not it. I think I’ve seen her somewhere before. Wait a second… Now I know. That’s Nina Higashi.”

  “Nina who?”

  “Nina Higashi. She’s a model. She’s got a bunch of followers on her social media. Check this out.” Quentin pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Hmm… I’m not getting any reception here. Must be the dome…”

  “Sounds like a big deal.”

  “Trust me. She’s barely twenty-one and there were talks about her getting some big modeling contracts. She’s good-looking but she’s got a name, too. Her dad’s Thomas Higashi of Higashi Robotics Technologies and her mom’s Alexis Bynes, a cosmetics queen.”

  I scrunched my face in confusion, trying to hold back my laughter. “Why do you know all of this?”

  “I don’t know. I figured everybody did. You don’t see too many young models as big and successful as her. Plus, look at her. It’s hard not to notice a redhead who looks like that, right?”

  Nina stood out from the other recruits but now was the only time I bothered staring at her. “Are you sure she’s the same girl you’re talking about?”

  “She has to be.”

  “Okay… If she is who you think she is, that begs the question. What the hell is someone like her doing on an LOD campus?”

  Quentin slowly turned back toward me. A blank stare told me everything I needed to know. I hid my smile behind another forkful of pasta but I couldn’t stop my belly from shaking with laughter.

  “It’s her, Liam. Trust me.”

  “It doesn’t matter who any of us were before. Around here, we’re all just recruits trying to be Omegas.”

  Quentin thought about it for a moment then shrugged before going back to his chicken.

  The clatter of a plate next to me made me turn my head. Elliot suddenly took a seat next to me. “Anybody sitting here? Great.” He shoved a spoonful of mashed potatoes and gravy into his mouth and smiled. “Food’s good, ain’t it?”

  I raised an eyebrow at him then glanced at the bandage wrapped around his hand. “How is it?”

  He held it up with the same smile on his face. “Doesn’t hurt. Dr. Marchal’s a saint. A dermal regenerator will make sure there’s no scar. Honestly, I’m only wearing the bandage ‘cause it looks cool, don’t you think?”

  I glanced at Quentin and he gave me a shrug, paying more attention to his chicken than the man next to me.

  “You guys know what class you’re going for?” Elliot said. “I always thought I wanted a sword but some of those other weapons look pretty sweet.”

  The enthusiasm in Elliot’s eyes made me laugh. “Pretty Captains. Cool weapons. So many reasons to pick a class…”

  “Honestly, you can’t go wrong either way. I wouldn’t even be mad if they picked my class for me.”

  “It’s still your choice, Elliot. Maybe they’ll let you test the weapons out and you can pick what you’re comfortable with.”

  “Say… That’s not a bad idea. What was your name again?”

  “Liam Aldridge. This guy here is Quentin Young.”

  “Good to meet you, guys—”

  “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

  The three of us at the table turned toward the man suddenly standing next to us.

  Some guy with a blond man bun looked down at us with a sneer. His eyes narrowed, he examined each of us one by one. I would’ve been concerned if he wasn’t wearing a uniform like the rest of us. His frame was noticeably larger, his arms slightly bulging as he crossed his arms.

  He was flanked by another man who tied his blond hair into a ponytail behind his head. He didn’t have the same disdain but he didn’t exactly look friendly either.

  The guy with the man bun glanced at Elliot’s hand and scoffed. “Looks like someone spoke up and pissed off Campbell. Couldn’t keep your trap shut.”

  Elliot shrugged. “Lesson learned.”

  “That’s a good attitude. Here’s another lesson for you to learn.” He leaned forward on the table and pressed his palms down. “There’s a pecking order on this campus. And you’re looking at the top. Silver 3-Star Omega.” He pointed at the pins on the left side of his chest. Three silver stars the size of quarters were pinned in a line above his shirt pocket. “Highest-ranking Omega cadet. As new recruits, know your place. Leave the harder missions to someone who can handle ‘em.”

  “Knock it off!”

  A woman’s voice interrupted the guy with the man bun. He stood up straight and turned toward the woman approaching. He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Silvestri… An interruption nobody asked for.”

  The woman marched up to him and rolled her eyes. “Speak for yourself. It’s their first day here. Why don’t you go bother someone else?”

  “I’m just making sure t
he new recruits know their place.”

  “Their place is anywhere away from you.”

  Rhys looked at Quentin, Elliot and me. He locked his eyes on me like he was thinking of doing something. I didn’t pay much attention to him, staring back while I chewed on another bite of pasta. A few seconds went by and he walked away.

  The woman sighed in relief and turned to us. “You guys okay?” The curly-haired brunette had hair down past her shoulders like she’d just gotten out of a salon. Her face was thin but not gaunt, so it was obvious she took care of herself. Her lips had a smidgen of pink lipstick. Judging from her lightly-tanned skin, she probably spent a lot of time relaxing in the Central Square, basking in the sun. It wouldn’t have surprised me if she took selfies on a daily basis back in her civilian life.

  When none of us responded, she widened her brown eyes and looked down her pointed nose at us. “New recruits.” She smirked with a somewhat devious look in her eyes. “I’m Brooke Silvestri.”

  “Liam Aldridge. This is Elliot Cole and Quentin Young.”

  “Don’t mind Rhys and Gregory. They’re real jerks. Think they run this place.”

  “Any reason for that?”

  “I think Rhys Griffin has a million reasons for being such a blowhard. But the biggest one is probably the pins on his chest. The Vegas District is still new. That means even a Silver 3-Star Omega can be the highest ranking among the cadets.”

  “What are those things?” Quentin pointed toward the stars on Brooke’s chest. In comparison to Rhys, she had only one silver pin.

  “These things signify your Omega ranking. You pass a Mastery Exam and you increase in rank. Once you’re a high enough level, you can advance in rank even further. Higher ranks get you access to harder Junctions and a lot of other bonuses.”

  “Junctions?” Elliot asked.

  “Oh… That’s right. It’s still your first day here. Don’t worry. They’ll tell you all about it eventually. Just pick your class, stick to your training and before you know it, you’ll have some pins of your own. It’s easy to work your way up when you’re at Bronze. Trust me. Now… I’ll leave you all to your meal. I think Chancellor Layton is about to make an announcement.”