Marcus passed by the Apparel shop on the way to the Armory. The open glass windows showed a mannequin on full display, equipped with what Marcus would describe as Gucci gear. It resembled much of the 5.11 and other gear company stalls during Shot Show. A part of him wanted to go in and take a look inside the shop but kept walking. He knew he couldn’t afford anything past some cheap gear like the type 56 chest rig, the one effectively worn and popularized by multiple videos of the Vietcong.

Going further down the halls, Marcus could hear the Shooting Range a good way's away. The report of gunfire echoing through the halls was staggering. The sound melded into each other that anyone would be forgiven for mistaking a firefight breaking out on the other side. He followed the sounds to the Range. The door leading to it having a player made a sign saying:

'Anyone caught stealing will be put into the kill on sight list. Don’t say you weren’t warned and didn’t see the signs. It doesn’t matter.'

Intrigued, Marcus opened the door and was surprised to see bright daylight and an open view off the broken part of the ship. Shooting stalls reaching three stories faced the open aft end of the ship and were filled with players shooting rifles of different calibers.

Looking out into the distance, Marcus could see the targets painted along the rent of devastation left by the ship’s crash. Thousands of tons of ship dragging itself on the ground as it broke apart gave a clear line of sight reaching up to a mile, with the debris scattered as it broke apart made up the targets themselves.

Marcus walked down the stalls, noting the lack of Newbie grays and the diverse selection of guns the players were using. He recognized a couple of Desert Tech rifles along with some Accuracy Internationals mixed in with a variety of precision rifles. But even with the superb rifles, Marcus doubted any of the players could manage to consistently hit targets past five hundred yards. Their fundamentals were abysmal, jerky triggers, improper eye relief, among others. He continued walking when he noticed the suspicious look people were sending him. With his newbie gray, it was easy to assume that they think he was there to steal.

“You lost there newbie?” A player wearing patchwork camo asked, blocking his way further. He was tall and was well built. Marcus had to look up just to see his overly scarred face. “Or are you here for something else?” He continued.

Unwilling to be intimidated, Marcus shrugged, casually looking to the side. “Just looking around. I was wondering about the amount of gunfire, but it seemed like most were just too busy missing targets.”

“Look. Take this as free advice.” He scowled, ignoring the verbal jab. “Get lost. This is a range. You shouldn’t be here if you don’t even have a gun to shoot. We're already busy enough and watching out for rats is not something we want to do.”

Marcus's gaze turned back to the man and he looked up. "I'll be back." He said as he turned towards the door. It wasn't personal, Marcus knew. He was the one who had no business being there anyways.

He left the Range and went over to the Armory next door. It opened to a large room, most of the area was partitioned off by a large armored door and steel bars with a man standing on the other side. It was noticeably quieter in the armory than in the hall. The room was likely soundproofed for the sanity of the only person manning the room.

A burly man leaned on the other side of the counter, almost bending over it. His gaze pierced Marcus with a discerning eye, like a predator sizing up his prey.

Marcus was far from bothered by the stare. Instead, he approached.

“You lost newbie?” The man asked, his voice contained enough gravel to pave a long stretch of road.

Marcus was getting tired of being called that. But instead of snapping at the NPC, he reigned himself and simply replied. “I’m actually looking for a weapon. But I’m thinking of trying them out first.”

The man looked him up and down grunted, he stood straight, pushing himself away from the counter. It gave Marcus a clear view of the towering figure and noted that he was missing part of his legs, replaced by some prosthetic. “What do you have in mind?” The man asked.

Marcus looked up and swallowed, reciting the first thing that came to his mind. “An AR, collapsing buttstock, around 14-inch barrel, M-Lok Handguard or at least Picatinny with the flat upper, holo sights will be preferable but I could do with irons. Full auto and semi, no three round bursts.”

The man laughed, leaning over the counter again. “You're a funny guy. Unfortunately for both of us, you can't afford it. Here, with this one, I'm sure you can.” He reached down under the counter and laid the object over it. Marcus immediately recognized it as one of the most iconic pistols in, arguably, human history.

Attention!

M1911

One of the most venerable designs from the twentieth century. This weapon had been in every major conflict since its inception and will continue for more years to come. Despite its age, the weapon could only be improved by parts made of stronger and lighter materials. A proof of its timeless design.

Caliber: 45 ACP

Mods: None

Familiarity: 0 (Novice)

Requirements: Strength (2)

Marcus picked up the gun, finger off the trigger, unloaded the magazine then finally locked the slide back. He then peeked at the open action and the rifling on the barrel. He followed by slotting the magazine home and released the slide. Pointing the muzzle in a safe direction, he slowly pulled the trigger. Marcus grimaced as the hammer fell with an empty click. "That's a gritty trigger."

"Is it? Give it to me." The man took the pistol off Marcus' hand and racked the slide. He too grimaced as he tested the trigger. "It is." He said, laying the gun back over the counter. "The boys over there are getting sloppy." He muttered then looked over towards Marcus.

“You seem to know what you're doing." The man said, "Sad to say, you're the first one to clear it as the first thing you do, unlike the other dumbasses whose first instinct is to hold it with the finger on the trigger then point it at something."

"I'm not like everybody else," Marcus replied.

"Then how about this?” He reached under the counter once more and laid three more magazines and two boxes of ammunition. “I'm looking for some shooters. I’ll throw in a hundred rounds and four magazines, free. Make yourself look good in the course and we’ll see whether you're the one I'm looking for.” He said, jerking his head to the door left of Marcus, on top of it was a lit sign saying ‘CQB’.

“Once you’re inside, press the button on the side to start. You won’t miss it, and if you do, don’t even bother asking, you can just leave the gun and go out the door. Everything is being recorded so you won’t be able to lie on your score. Come back if you’re done.”

Quest Alert!

First Impressions Matter

The armorer is a hard man to impress. A lot of men and women had passed through his sight and only a select few earned his respect.

Quest Type: Relationship quest

Requirement: Complete the course.

Rewards: Unknown

“Right, thanks,” Marcus said, taking the gun. “You know, I didn’t get your name. I’m Hartdegen, but you can call me Hart.”

“Introduction is after,” He replied, jerking his head to the direction of the course telling him to get on with it.

“Okay, later then,” Marcus said, picking up the rest of the magazines and ammo. An alert popped up and he duly ignored it as he continued towards the doors leading the CQB area.

Inside was an empty kill house. Overhead lights hung from the high ceiling that could easily fit a three-story house with more to spare. Sections of removable walls were set and secured into recesses in the ground, making a course for CQB. Tight halls and rooms were plentiful, with the farthest range barely breaking thirty yards.

Metal stairs lead to platforms overhead allowing a better view for anyone running the course. Marcus climbed the stairs and looked down, giving him a bird's eye view of the course. The place reminded him of the stage in Call of duty. The part where the SAS troopers had prepared a mockup of a ship they were going to hit later and was doing practice runs and where they one-up each other’s times.

It had been fun back then. Marcus remembered running it so many times, first going for his best time then going against his friends on the course. He had practiced it so many times that every grenade thrown, every wall bang was muscle memory.

Marcus went back down the stairs and found the button the armorer was talking about. Just like he said, it wasn’t hard to find but he didn’t press it yet. Instead, he brought up the notification he ignored a moment before and read it.

Attention!

Would you like to turn on the Combat assistance program? [Y/N]

Intrigued, he turned it on and pulled out his pistol from his holster and lined it up towards the target ahead. He pulled the trigger and knew he had to revert it.

Going closer to the target, he missed despite lining the shot perfectly and squeezing the trigger. At the range of ten yards, missing a foot to the left was almost an impossibility. Reading further, it seemed like the chance of hitting a target is dependent on many factors some of which are the range of the target, the weapon’s stats, and the character’s skill. There was a reason which Marcus, nine times out of ten, preferred FPS games to MMO is that he finds acts of skill more enjoyable than chance. He never liked putting his victories into a game of dice.

Attention!

Are you sure you like to turn off combat assistance?

Turning off Combat assistance is not advised. This gameplay mode is only for hardcore players.

Marcus confirmed it and tucked the pistol back on his waistband. He didn't have a holster, but he would have to make do. He then went through the same drill, pulling the gun up from its holster and pulling it up to line up the sights towards the target and pulled.

Marcus' aim didn’t waver. His body remembering his numerous times in the range and the bullet his center mass.

Unfortunately, his aim was slower. Years of neglect had caused his skills to atrophy. Still, it was something he could still improve back on through practice. Slowly, he holstered his weapon then went through the same process once more.

Attention!

Familiarity with M1911 has increased to 5!

Through practice, you developed the chance to earn the combat skills; Handguns?

Slots Available, 0/6 Would you like to take the skill?

[Y/N]

Handguns

Increases the base damage, base critical chance, and increased familiarity rate.

Type: Common, Passive

Marcus read the sparse description and chewed on each written word.

From what Marcus knew of the game, damage is calculated based on the speed and mass of the bullet impacting the target. There are also thermal energy output from energy weapons but are irrelevant for the moment.

The kinetic energy from the projectile was then modified depending on the level of penetration against the armor rating of the target. For PVP, the use of projectile weapons is the ideal setup as bullets tend to pierce through armor instead of burning through them in the case of energy weapons. And on a small, humanoid target, it wouldn't be difficult to hit something vital and thus incurring a critical hit.

Accepting the skill for the one slot it took would be a no-brainer if it was a rifle skill. But since it was a pistol skill, Marcus had to take a second to consider whether it was worth it.

“Accept.” He muttered. In the end, he had to take it. He had undergone through enough courses and competitions to know that handguns can come clutch in certain situations. Just like Ghost said: 'switching to your pistol is faster than reloading'.

Attention!

Handguns

Lvl. 1

Increases the base damage by 2%, critical damage by 1%, and familiarity increase by 5%

Type: Common, Passive

Satisfied with the rate of progress, Marcus continued his drills, draw, dry firing, speed reload, tactical reloads, and others that he could think of. Although he was hampered by the lack of a dump pouch, Marcus did his best by simply dropping the ‘empty’ mag into his cargo pockets and continuing on.

Attention!

Familiarity with m1911 has increased to 30!

Familiarity with m1911 has increased to 60!

Familiarity with m1911 has increased to 80!

Familiarity with m1911 has increased to 90!

Familiarity with m1911 has increased to 100!

Familiarity with m1911 has increased to 105!

Familiarity with m1911 has changed to Advanced! +5 critical damage

Handgun Critical damage increased to 156%

Marcus checked the time, and found that he had been doing the same movements for about an hour now. Still, it was worth practicing reloads and drills for farming Familiarity, as it netted him higher critical damage. But with the speed of Familiarity gain slowing down, drills and dry firing could only go too far, he needed to start to mix things up.

He also still needed to finish the course and see what the end of the quest entails. Marcus hoped for a gun, or even a discount.

He unpacked the bullets and started loading the individual rounds to the magazines. He loaded the M1911 7+1 before holstering it and walking towards the start of the course.

Marcus took a deep breath, followed by a long slow exhale then walked the course, noting the blind spots and corners. It was almost just like in competitions. Back at the start, he closed his eyes, visualized the kill house’s setup and decided, he’s as ready as he could be.

His hand hovered over the grip of his pistol. With his left hand, he reached over to the button and pressed. A buzzer sounded a second later, followed by mechanical clanks as targets stood up from their lowered position.

A target popped up in front of him, simulating a human-sized target standing on the side of the hall. In a flash, Marcus unholstered the firearm and lined up his sights. Like in practice, he kept the sights aligned center mass of the first target that popped out.

Squeezing the trigger, the pistol buckled as the round went off in a loud pop. Marcus’s ears rang from the report, the first thing that ran in his mind is him forgetting his ear pro but was surprised that didn’t hurt that much, probably a consideration from the game designers as getting hearing loss would be far from being fun. With a loud beep cutting through the echoes of the gunfire, the target went down and Marcus sprinted forward to the next corner, his pistol held up, muzzle pointed safely to the ceiling. Coming to the corner, he slowed down to a stop.

He leaned to the side, peeking over the corner, and spotted a target. With a slight shift of his arm, his aim pointed center mass. With a couple of rounds, the steel target tilted back.

Keeping note of his current rounds left, he ran forward to the next shooting position. A silhouette popped out around the corner ahead, surprising him.

With a time penalty of two seconds for every second he is exposed to a target, his legs fell under him in a controlled slide. He raised his pistol at the same time and fired two shots downing the target. In real life, he wouldn't have slid as it would have risked personal injury. But in-game, the move did nothing but only scuff his pants and cover it with a fresh coat of dust.

Attention!

Familiarity with m1911 has increased to 115!

Handguns increased to Level 2!

Marcus ignored the notification and pushed himself off the floor, sprinting forward and continuing through the course.

Congratulations!

Your time is 2:55.58s. Would you like to submit it to the leaderboards?

[Y/N]

Attention!

You are experiencing cigarette cravings. Fulfill your addiction else suffer growing debuffs.

Current Debuff: Tremor

Marcus looked at his hands and confirmed a slight quiver. It wouldn’t be enough to mess up his aim but did raise the concern of finding the needed cigarettes. There should be a trader on every location selling cigarettes. He would just have to find it. He then looked over to the notification and confirmed yes.

CQC Leaderboards Name: Record Time: 18. Laurierex 2:54.01s 19. IHasLegs 2:54.23s 20. Hartdegen 2:55.58s 21. Captain Cold-blooded 2:57.12s

Marcus couldn’t help but send out a slight chuckle in surprise. He wasn’t expecting to be so close to the top of the leaderboards on the first try. Marcus was sure that it was more to the current quality of players than his own personal skill. He was a middling shooter at best, only joining in on nearby 2 gun competitions whenever he had free time and was always placed in the middle of the pack.

Still, he had one more run with what ammo he had left. He packed the magazines once more and walked the course, again and again, burning the locations of the targets in his mind and doing dry runs.

Attention!

Familiarity with m1911 has increased to 150!

-1% chance of the weapon dropping on death!

In this game, death is not only punished by loss of experience, it was made worse by the loss of all gear you equipped your character. One percent could almost be just a hit in the dark, but still a welcome addition nonetheless.

Marcus acknowledged the notification and threw the thought to the side as fast as he had read it. Instead, he focused his mind on his task ahead. Slowly, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to relax, he continued on his breathing technique, while running the course with his mind. He put in every ounce of focus he had on the task at hand and opened his eyes with a determined look.

Reaching over, he pressed the button for the second time. The loud buzzer initiated the start, followed immediately by the mechanical clanking of the targets resetting. The same target popped up and he unholstered his weapon sending two taps to its chest then sprinted forward. Memories of his childhood started floating to the forefront. Marcus had learned how to respect the gun back when he was eight, by ten, he had bagged his first deer and by sixteen, had built his own rifle from an 80% receiver and parts ordered from the internet. He grew up with guns and loved it, this game was just the perfect fit.

Congratulations!

Your time is 2:20.22s. Would you like to submit your score to the leaderboards?

[Y/N]

Marcus was breathing hard. He looked at the last target on the ground and looked down on his hands to find the pistol still smoking on his hand, its slide locked back. He seemed to have blanked out, sinking into some place where everything just fell perfectly. "The Zone." Marcus muttered to himself and picked yes.

CQC Leaderboards Name: Record Time: 1. TheKing 2:18.55s 2. Lazyeye 2:19.15s 3. Hartdegen 2:20.22s 4. Demented 2:21.11s

Marcus could only grin as the notification showed him getting to the third place. The difference between him and the first was only a split of fewer than three seconds. Given a better pistol, he could swear he would have a good run for the first place. The low capacity of his gun was what caused multiple reloads in his run and costing him precious seconds. With a smile, he pressed the slide release and blew at the muzzle of the gun, promising that he would come back and aim for the first spot.

Attention!

Due to your position on the leaderboards, you are awarded:

+10 Fame

Additional +1 Fame will be awarded for every day you keep your place in the rankings until the course resets.

'That man better be impressed.' Marcus thought to himself as he went for the exit.