Chapter 44

　　"Whew! That was insane!" A young man exclaimed from where he sat on a large piece of rubble. Surrounding him were three other people, all gathered around and chatting about the battle they had just experienced.

　　Someone had linked their music account to the game and was playing it loudly over a speaker system, giving the environment a festive, party atmosphere for the hundreds of players in the area.

　　They had just taken Schad, one of the larger cities in the Northern Hemisphere. The conquered city served as a new safe zone for the Insurrection, with shops and Mech repair centers opening to service their needs. They calculated their winnings while lamenting the fallen players who couldn`t continue competing in the World Event.

　　The city stretched for kilometres, but the destruction was extensive throughout. The intense fighting had seen thousands of Mechs and soldiers on both sides fighting through the streets, levelling even the sturdiest structures.

　　If this had been a real warzone,` such devastation would be unacceptable. Once you combine it with the near 50% causality rate on both sides, the leaders would have considered it a pyrrhic victory for the Insurrection.

　　This World Event was on pace to be renowned, one of the occurrences in the game that would even see coverage on the Imperial Net to non-players in the real world. It was a success for players that only risked losing their equipment and Mechs. The losses would be replaced by a constant stream of new players arriving every hour from all parts of the galaxy.

　　"Did you see that Heavy?! I`ve never been that close to one before. It shook off an orbital bombardment like it was heavy rainfall." The young man`s long blond hair was slicked back out of his face, and he continued talking animatedly, waving his arms as he spoke.

　　Next to him, a young woman giggled, laughing at his childish excitement. Her hair was a bright pink, tied back in two pigtails and matched her skin-tight fuchsia bodysuit. She pushed him playfully with her shoulder.

　　"No, Ty, we didn`t see the massive Heavy that stuck out like a sore thumb. What did it look like?" She asked teasingly. The young man flushed red, embarrassed by the beautiful girl`s comment.

　　"Truly? I thought it was clearly visible from everywhere on the battlefield. It was four-legged and-" A large man replied, not catching the sarcasm.

　　"I was joking, John. Of course, I saw it. I`m not blind." The woman retorted, scowling as he ruined her taunting.

　　"It was impressive. It cleared an entire squad of Medium Class like it was nothing. I`m glad it was on our side." Another woman added, her long black hair draped across her green bodysuit. She was tall, on par with her male companions, and beautiful. Her perfect features and pale skin drew the attention of strangers as they walked past the group.

　　"It`s too bad Micah bit it before he could see." The young blond man, Ty, said somberly.

　　Their fifth member was struck by a railgun round during the initial charge, piercing his cockpit and sending him outside the system to respawn. He would lose his Mech and any equipment he had brought to Beluth and could not rejoin them until the World Event ended.

　　"I`m just glad we all made it through together. It would suck to have to miss out on this. Everone is talking about Beluth on my Starship. It`s the only thing playing on the holo in the mess hall." The pink-haired woman added.

　　"Same with mine. Many of my shipmates are jealous I got here so early," John replied.

　　"Then we need to make it count. If we can get on the Imperial Net, think of the possibilities! We could enter a real Mercenary group. No more freelancing on Starships, Piloting busted old Junkers. Maybe we could even join a noble`s House Guard!" Ty exclaimed, leaping to his feet in excitement.

　　"Easy, cowboy. We`ll need more experience before they even look at us twice. I`ve been improving, but the Neural Burden on my Scout` is still too heavy for me. I feel like I`m walking through mud." His pink-haired companion stated, placing her hands around his bicep to restrain him.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

　　"Sorry, Cid. I guess I`m getting ahead of myself," Ty responded. The young man ran his hand through his long blond hair, grinning at his companions ruefully.

　　They had been friends in the game for several years, working their way up to Light Class Mech Pilots. Each came from a different background and parts of the galaxy, but their love of the Game World led them to form a small team of five.

　　The World Event provided an opportunity for the rapid advancement of their Neural Links through combat and a chance for them to gather together and socialize. Regrettably, one of their teammates couldn`t continue with them, throwing off their balance.

　　"What is it, Mare?" Cid asked curiously, looking at the black-haired woman as her friend stared at something in the distance.

　　"Hmm? Oh, it`s nothing. I just thought I recognized someone." She replied, turning away from what had drawn her attention and smiling at her companion.

　　"Oh? Who?" Cid asked, pushing past Ty and looking in the direction Mare had been staring. In the distance, she could see a tall man walking towards them, his bodysuit pitch black with an odd, white circle prominent on the chest.

　　He was tall, towering over everyone he passed and was carrying his helmet under one of his arms. He had long black hair and a roguish-looking short beard. Combined with his height, perfect proportions, and muscular body, Cid thought he was among the most handsome men she had ever seen.

　　The Game could change some things about a person, their hair colour and minor attributes, but their face, height and body were true to the real world. Most Players recreated their real-life appearance for their digital avatar since modifications were so minimal.

　　"Handsome!" Cid blurted out, drawing the attention of Ty, who whipped his head around to look at the man, jealousy clear on his face.

　　"He`s nothing special," Ty added, scowling at the stranger. They weren`t together, but he had been hopeful. Anyone who caught Cid`s eye threatened his standing in her eyes.

　　"Yes, he is. That`s Merit." John rumbled from behind the group as he stared. He recognized the Player`s name from the scoreboard at the end of the battle. Each conflict would display the stats of the participants, their earnings, what Mech they used and the Pilot`s name.

　　Obviously, the top of the day`s scoreboard had been the Pilot of the Heavy, easily dominating everyone around him. But the surprise from the Light Class had been Merit of Caledon,` a Rookie Pilot using an antiquated relic called a Golem.`

　　He had managed to take down five enemy Mechs singlehandedly, topping the leaderboard in their class and surviving the battle of Schad.

　　"Merit of Caledon?" Mare asked, curious about the name. His familiarity and unusual name were prodding at her memories, but she couldn`t quite catch it.

　　"That crazy bastard?!" Ty exclaimed. "Did you see what he did? I watched him pick up a Toth Mech and use it as a human shield before throwing it through a building! The man`s an animal. Cid, you should steer clear of him." Ty advised.

　　"Why? I think that`s impressive! We should ask if he wants to join our group. Micah was our vanguard, and maybe Merit would be a good replacement?" Cid asked with enthusiasm.

　　"Absolutely not," Ty stated, trying to shut down the conversation. To his dismay, Cid dashed forward, followed closely by the others. Resigned, he trailed slowly behind his friends.

　　"Merit!" Cid called out, running into the street and stopping directly before the tall, handsome man. Rather than being intimated, the pink-haired woman blushed as Merit stopped, his eyes widening slightly in surprise before giving her a small, easy-going smile.

　　"Hello, do we know each other?" Merit asked politely, looking from Cid to her companions in slight confusion. He was sure they had never met before in the game.

　　"No, but I heard you were a skilled Pilot. Would you want to join our group? We lost our fifth during today`s battle." Cid blurted out, her words jumbling together in her excitement to get them out.

　　Merit blinked slowly, trying to parse out what she had said before looking from her to the others.

　　"Forgive Cid. She`s excitable. What we wanted to say is congratulations on your ranking today. It`s impressive that you took the top spot in Light Class. Five kills are quite the accomplishment." Mare stated as she stepped forward.

　　"We could use someone like you on our team as a vanguard if you`re amenable?" John added. Ty gave a non-committal grunt, crossing his arms and avoiding looking at the handsome Merit.

　　"Thanks, but I`m not sure how wise that would be. My Mech is basically scrap after today. I don`t think I could be of much help without a replacement. Actually, I was just on my way to look at the salvage offerings. I imagine grabbing one of them will be quicker and cheaper than getting my Golem repaired." Merit stated.

　　Pilots would get credits for confirmed kills during the World Event, with the salvaged Mechs automatically going up for sale by the system. It was a gamble to purchase them on Beluth since death would mean a loss of their newly purchased equipment. Still, it was significantly cheaper than average since it was restricted to participating players.

　　"What kind are you looking for?" Cid asked, curious and looking for an excuse to stay close to Merit.

　　"A Blade preferably, or a Scout if there`s nothing left." Merit replied.

　　"That`s perfect! Either would fit into our team perfectly. Let`s go see what they have!" Cid exclaimed, stepping forward and gripping Merit by the arm and dragging him towards the makeshift salvage yard. Mare and the others followed behind, the black-haired beauty staring intently at Merit.

　　Where have I seen him before?` She wondered, her thoughts turning in circles through her mind.