[Skill Activation: Heartbreak]

“Scraaa—!” cried the King of Insects, a ray of silver light tearing through its insect-cloud and out, striking a light post behind. At once, the soldiers closed in and fired upon the monarch with their own cloud. Not of little black critters, but little shiny bullets that had its name on them.

The King of Insects appeared not too long ago. The ugly bastard appeared when the military showed up, tasked with clearing Ordo University. They provided the juniors much needed reinforcements to clear the campus of hostiles. It was one of the key locations to hold in the event an outbreak, like this one, were to break out: it stood an equal distance between two of the Five Pillars: Dawns and Vesper. Not to mention the junior Slayers and Ordo University Hospital not too far from here.

The King, however, wanted to cause as much damage as possible. It differed from the rest, which were more or less larger variations of existing insects: tank-beetles, roving cockroaches, small planes of flies and mosquitos, all terrifying, all of which gave Vernon a new phobia, but the King was the formation of thousands, tens of thousands, of the typical bugs. It was a compilation of ants lifting ants, the bottom caste acting as treads; it was an amalgamation of every creepy crawler and frightening fliers. It fought by launching swarms of itself towards its targets, overwhelming them with stings, biting, toxins, all no-good and very bad things.

It took entire men down from the barrages, not from the initial blast itself, but the aftermath. Once the insects latched onto them, they crawled between the gaps of their protective gear and found warm, soft flesh. Then soldiers fell in an instant, screaming, turning purple and black, with boils and bumps, twisting as if on fire. The sight was gruesome but the soldiers weren’t routed; the commanding officers made sure their men held their ground.

They continued to lay fire upon the King. When the first line of soldiers ran empty, they shouted and called for the second to switch in; upon the transfer, pins were pulled and littered the ground like soda can rings. Flashbangs popped, loud as popcorn in the pan. Every flash took out clumps of insects, carving big bites into the King.

The King of Insects screeched, getting lobbed off with every flashbang. Must’ve been painful, if it could feel pain anyhow. It got whittled down from tens of thousands to thousands to hundreds, and a final stun grenade reduced it to one black sack of flesh, then zero, falling over dead.

With that, Ordo University was (mostly) safe.

Vernon heard a ding.

[Quest Update]

Defender of Sun Hall is completed!

You have been rewarded:

125,000 standards

3x Minor Healing Potions

1x Healing Potion

Quest complete! Alright, now I understand why being a Slayer is addictive. I technically cheated using the Army, but a completion is a completion. Vernon stowed away his [Campos Magick Rifle - Prototype] and came down from his [Perch]. He walked by his fellow peers, many of them being junior Slayers from the Supportive Program, each relieved that the Army had come. Vernon reminded them that it was still dangerous, that they shouldn’t recklessly go outside even though the soldiers were here; he ordered them to stay inside and care for the wounded while he went to speak with their saviors.

Vernon left Sun Hall. On the roof or on the ground, it looked awful. The sidewalk lamps flickered, threatening to burn out; as a substitution, the Army was bringing gas generators out—how long will that last? Vernon sighed and searched for the man in charge. However, all he found were bodies, both human and insectoid. He recognized both: the guy over there, to his right, the blonde in his World Literature class, who played games on his laptop instead of taking notes. And the beetle about two o’clock, Vernon killed it himself. It was his seventh kill using the prototype rifle; he remembered how the bolt split its carapace down the middle.

Soldiers lifted their fallen comrades onto stretchers, whisking them to the assortment of humvees and trucks near the entrance. Medics checked them over, touching their deathly dotted faces and necks, knowing that most of them were dead or one step from it. Then, the casualties were hauled to emergency beds while tents were being erected around them.

A squad approached a group of five students lying on the grass. They communicated jargon to one another, words that Vernon couldn’t understand but considering their tense expressions, no one was breathing.

Vernon stared at the sight longer than he thought, because one soldier—round face, dark hair, and tar for eyes—approached him. Vernon saw a patch, something about the soldier’s rank but he didn’t know. “Hey kid,” said the man, Williams, who didn’t look that much older, “return back to wherever you came from. There could be insects still; we’ll come and get you later.”

He bit his lip. “I know, I know, but we got a ton of people injured: eleven, actually. And we got a few talking to Death right now.”

“We’ll get people there, but you need to go inside—”

“I’m Finch.”

“What?”

“Y’know, in the Prim Zero Attendance thing.” The Primordial Zero Attendance-Thing was a necessary document that all military personnel had to read in the event an outbreak would take place. It listed the names and codenames of all close relatives of high-ranking Slayers. “I’m Finch, Vernon Hugo. I’m one of the VIPs, so uh, can I go speak to someone who knows what the hell is going on?”

Vernon took out his ID to prove his identity. Williams stared at his card for a few moments then groaned. “Goddammit, alright fine. I might get chewed out for this, but to hell with it. To hell with it!”

Williams led Vernon towards the campus’s entrance, off to the side so they wouldn’t be ran over by droves of transport vehicles. Bright white flashes illuminated the windows of the surrounding buildings; they were clearing them. Everyone was doing something as if this had happened before. Well, it had in the form of monthly training exercises. Since Hangzhou, every major portal-bearing city took the threat seriously. Ordo was no different. This was their training going to work.

A massive truck greeted Vernon; looked more like a man-eating machine than anything: long, wheels almost as large as him, what the hell did they need this thing for? Men hauled equipment off the back: machines, devices, wires, he recognized none of it. Beside the truck was a Southeast Asian man in his thirties, late-thirties at most, black hair with wisps of gray curling beneath his helmet. Instead of a rifle in his hands, there was a clipboard, struggling to hold together its thick stack of papers.

“Sir!” called Williams, gesturing to Vernon beside him. “I have identified the presence of one of the Zeroes: Finch.”

The man nodded. Vernon found his nametag: Phung, he was Vietnamese. “Dismissed. I’ll speak with the Zero.” As Williams left, Phung singled out one of the other soldiers who was on the radio. “Hoist, message Sage: Finch has been secured, Ordo University.” Then he turned to Vernon. “I should’ve asked this first, but you are Finch, correct?”

Vernon pulled out his ID. “The one and only. I—”

“Look, as you can see, we’ve just arrived and began to settle in. It’ll be some time before we have a transport ready to take you to Prim Zero. At the earliest, some point midnight tonight but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Expect transport sometime tomorrow—”

“No no no, I couldn’t care less about myself! I came here to get aid for Sun Hall; we have eleven injured and three are in serious condition! Several are juniors in Support!”

“You want medics?” he asked with a slight, peculiar smile.

“Uh, yeah! Can you loan us some of your men?” There’s too much to do here for me to just, y’know, go off to Prim Zero.

Phung sighed and whistled at one of the nearby soldiers, who was moving crates. “You, there’s fourteen wounded at Sun Hall. Take this kid, some medical, and go. And Finch—” he turned to him, “—you’re a Pseudo?”

Vernon anxiously glanced around before nodding. “Yeah, why?”

“Something to keep note of.”

***

It was a hectic time for Vernon Hugo. A team of medics had rushed to Sun Hall and transported the grievously-injured towards the tents, where they’d have the proper equipment to treat them there. For the others, they could be treated on the spot. That was the least of everyone’s concerns.

Vernon heard about what had happened to the junior Slayers in the Combative Program, over on their side of campus. They were hit the hardest, probably because the invaders knew they’d be the largest threat. Several juniors were killed, injured, but the class admins had brought things to order, thank God for that.

When the immediate chaos had died down, and the Army had officially declared Ordo University to be cleared of threats, it was time to settle down and see what needed to be done. For Vernon, he visited a magical engineering workshop.

“I didn’t think she’d fire this good, heh. You should’ve seen me!” Vernon cheered, placing the prototype rifle on the workshop table. Frederick Campos, a rather short geeky guy, was a close friend of his, a man pursuing a doctorate in magical engineering specializing in Slayer weaponry. One of the juniors in the Supportive Program. One of the best actually. People go to him for help, even teachers.

Frederick pushed his glasses up, analyzing his rifle in dim light. “The crystals are stable, don’t see a crack on them, the frame’s holding…” He continued his mutterings, inspecting every nook and cranny.

“Do you think it needs any repairs, or uh, maintenance?” Vernon asked.

“I’m not quite sure, but I refuse to let you use it any longer until I perform an inspection. The last thing we need is your pretty face riddled with shrapnel.”

“C’mon, Fred—!”

“Frederick.”

“Frederick, can’t you just, uhm, y’know, let me use it a little bit longer? She’s kinda like, I dunno, my little girl—”

“It’s my little girl—” Frederick stopped, shuddering. “It’s my invention first of all. I only allowed strenuous use because, well…” He pointed outside. “We’re in a crisis.”

“Well!” Vernon shrugged, tugging at his cheeks. “Althea said I’d look good with piercings, so win-win? Yeah, it’s a win-win—”

As he reached for the rifle, Frederick grabbed it, shaking his head. “No. You’ll have brain piercings.”

“I’ll be a cyborg. Really though, you sure I can’t take it out? The Ordo Shop only has a bow, and I don’t do bows!”

“Buy one from the normal shop.”

“I don’t have that kind of money on me right now!”

“What about the Auction?”

“Not an option! I don’t think I can access anything outside of Ordo honestly.”

“I suggest you craft yourself a slingshot then, Vernon.”

“Hey, c’mon Fred—!”

***

Frederick did not budge an inch, eventually kicking Vernon out.

He used the next hour to help around in any fashion. Within that time, the entire campus was transformed into a proper military installation and a shelter. From Phung, his men were securing nearby streets, making way to Ordo University Hospital just a few blocks down. Deon was reported to be there, so they could secure it soon. Good, that was good. The general campus was cleared of the dead, but the blood remained. In the grass, between the stones, on the walls.

Vernon thought about good things, instead of looking at the blood.

He found himself slump against a bench, tired and heaving, squeezing a near-empty water bottle between his legs. The adrenaline wore off, he guessed. He wanted to help more. There was so much work to be done, people to help, people to worry about, but he was chained to the bench unable to move.

What the hell happened today? That was a really good question: just what the hell happened today? He woke up, which was always good. Patricia, a personal cook, made a large breakfast for him: pancakes, bacon, eggs, grits, and leftover chicken from the night before. Delicious as always; hope she was okay though.

After that, what happened after that? He got ready, took the train there, and sat in one of the study halls, doing everything but studying and working. Then, something had given him a flash of inspiration: Althea. It was her birthday next week, turning eighteen. Vernon hadn’t picked out a good present yet, which was why he talked to Alexander about it before Leona ended the call. He decided to save the search for the afternoon.

Next was class. Barely took any notes, barely listened, all he thought about was Althea and what she liked, brainstorming ways to surprise Althea at her birthday party—of course she’d have a birthday party. Well, if she liked that sort of thing. He needed to ask Alexander about it but he’d probably say, “I don’t want any of your surprises.” Jerk. A strong, who-could-knock-Vernon-out-in-one-punch jerk.

Enough about Alexander though. When classes ended, Frederick asked him to help move something to a friend’s workshop, then they chatted for a little while.

In fact, that was when the Ordo Alert System sent the message: when he was talking to Frederick.

Has it really been one day? Feels like forever… Vernon shut his eyes. Mark, I don’t know where you are right now, but you’d better be kicking ass with Monarch and Levin. If you die, then our parents will be pretty pissed. And Alex? Don’t die either. You too, Leo. You too, Althea. You especially.

Althea was still in Julius High. The nearest shelter was Arc Catholic Church, but according to Phung, the area swarmed with something called “ghouls”. Didn’t sound good at all. A rescue was impossible given the resources. Yet… “I don’t care. Somehow, in some way, I’ll rescue you, Thea…”

“Mhm.”

“I can hear your voice now…”

Althea chuckled. “I’m a ghost, Vernon. Boo.”

“Don’t say that. I like to think I’m funny, not as hilarious as Alex, but I don’t think I can make fun of death right now.”

“Well usually, I don’t think you’re funny at all, but you look like you could use a laugh.”

“It’s kinda hard to laugh after what happened!” Vernon opened his eyes and expected nothing but the air.

However, speaking of jokes, God was playing one right now. Because Althea magically, spontaneously came into being as fast as a blink, as though his thoughts had became reality. She was there, standing not-so-tall (because she was short, below average height for a woman, and it was a low blow if you mentioned it; she was short-tempered). Althea Shen was something of a tomboy, inherited lots of things from her brother: his wit, his teasing, his punch (do not joke about her height). Also inherited his night-kissed hair and silver-white eyes, they were practically clones.

But she was different from him. She was harsher and more bitey and sometimes just as lazy as Vernon was, and sometimes, as Alexander mused, she was just as dumb too. Althea was, in all respects of the word, the first friend he had made in Julius High. Someone who saw through the bullshit and enjoyed how awkward he was.

It was obvious to everyone that he had a little (“A lot,” Leona often said) crush on her. At least Alexander hadn’t beaten him up yet. Or Althea. She could kick his ass too.

Vernon blinked, thinking the spell would be discast. It wasn’t. “You look great, Althea.”

“No, I look like shit. You…” Althea softly smiled. “You look like shit too, Vernon.”

“Ha, of course fake-you would say that,” Vernon replied, standing. She was just as short as he remembered.

“Fake me?” Althea questioned.

“Mhm. I went through a lot, I’m dead tired, so I’m imagining things. Hello, Althea of my mind, have I told you that—?“ Vernon placed a hand on her shoulder, “—that you feel awfully real? What the heck?”

Althea’s lips quivered, a laugh squeezing from her teeth. “Y-Yeah, I’m awfully real, alright.”

“Althea…?” Vernon muttered, squeezing her shoulder a tad. It was her. It was definitely, definitely her. Before his mind could fully process this, he had embraced Althea. He felt a knock on his back and loosened his hold. “Holy shit… Holy shit!” Vernon managed to pull himself away, although having both hands on her shoulder now. “How… How are you even here?! And why are you here?! And and—!”

“I ran,” she admitted. Looking at her now, she was dirty, groggy, and miserable, but she was beautifully alive. That mattered the most. “It was really rough down there, Vernon. I… I barely made it out of Julius, out of Arc Catholic, made a lot of detours, but I managed to get here—“

“You shouldn’t have done that!” Vernon exclaimed, shaking her almost. “Alex and Leo will kill you! You could’ve gotten seriously, stupidly hurt—I mean, I’m glad to see you, but it was reckless and dumb and you really shouldn’t have but thank God you’re okay!”

Vernon hugged her again.

“I was worried so much, Thea,” he muttered. “It was rough here too, still is. There’s a lot of bodies—I recognize a lot of ‘em. Saw a lot of ‘em, you know, they’re gone now. They’re gone, Thea. Gone. Without the Army, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be here to greet you.”

“Yeah… I… Yeah…” Althea held tighter, wetting his shirt.

~~~

[Would you like to see Vernon Hugo’s Profile?]

Vernon Hugo

Rank: E2

Title:

Brother of Fusil

You are the younger brother to the esteemed Slayer Fusil, a renowned marksman within Ordo’s cavalcade. You follow in his footsteps as a rifleman, preferring to pick your battles from afar.

While this title is active, increase your Agility by 1 level.

When using a rifle, any offensive skills used will have their Power increased by 2 levels.

Skills: 5/5

Close Eye

Is there a need for scopes when you have your eyes? At will, you may increase your magnification of your vision up to 3x.

Eye in the Sky

Although you’re a lone wolf up there, combat is a team effort. You may mark up to three enemies, highlighting them in a silver outline for five minutes. All party members are able to view [Eye in the Sky].

Four Elemental Kisses

Fire. Water. Wind. Earth. Four darlings to choose from, but only one can kiss the bullet. Choose one of the four elements and imbue it into your next shot.

This skill has a twenty second cooldown.

Heartbreak

This time, how about you break other people’s hearts for once? Whenever you have an opponent’s vitals sighted, increase your Power by 3 levels for that shot.

This skill has a sixty second cooldown.

Perch

Every good man needs his own little nest, doesn’t he? Declare a ten meter area as your “Perch”. While inside, increase all of your stats by 1 level. Whenever an enemy enters, you will be notified immediately. Your Perch will last for six hours or until you deactivate it.

If you remain outside of your Perch for more than one hour, it will automatically be deactivated. If your Perch is physically destroyed, it will automatically be deactivated.

This skill can be used once per day.

Honors:

None

Statistics:

Power: E7

Constitution: F8

Agility: E1 (+1)

Magick: E3