VR WARS Volume II - Coalition Army

A TROUBLED SOUL

A calm night fell on that same day.

Under a tall coniferous tree, a lone figure sat under its shade gazing at the twinkling stars under the glow of a full moon.

With the retreat of the mild storm that had scorched UL’s campus grounds during the afternoon, this night could be considered a blessing in disguise; such was the incredible discrepancy of the weather during springtime in the nation’s capital. The tranquil scenery should’ve been a welcoming reward of sorts after a stressful day—a restfulness sent from the heavens to calm man’s troubled soul. And yet, apprehension kept leaking out of the young Azorean Commander with no end in sight.

While still oblivious to most, the reason for this was related to his match against Commander-in-chief Rui of Coimbra’s UC. “Damn!” he grunted, striking the trunk of the tree with his fist so hard it drew blood. He knew the result ended with his victory; he was fully aware of that.

But he also knew how hard he had worked to make that reality come to fruition.

I got him, but he dealt me a heavy blow, too…I got…lucky.

His analysis of Rui felt dangerously short when it came to his prowess in single combat. In essence, Angelo’s confidence in himself had been shaken up to the point where he was starting to second guess every decision he had made so far, putting him in a position that could only be described as standing at a knife’s edge from a mental breakdown. At best, this was a draw! I didn’t…beat him. Dammit!

“Heya,” a friendly voice somehow managed to bring him back from the edge of the abyss, “whatchadoing there?” Looking over his shoulder, what he thought was one person approaching transformed into a binary number.

Help had arrived.

Taking a seat under that tree next to him was not only the cheery 3rd company leader, Katherine, but his right-hand man, Ricardo, as well. Foreseeing their commander’s nervousness starting to pile up, both officers rushed to Angelo’s side as soon as they got word of his whereabouts.

“…Feeling sorry for myself…was what I was doing,” Angelo confirmed his friends' suspicions.

“But not anymore?” asked Ricardo, sounding like an older brother. “I think I’m okay now,” Angelo shook his head and said, brightening his comrades' worries with a gentle smile.

The mere sight of his friends, their concerns for his well-being, and the warmth they brought with them in the form of their bond was enough for Angelo to push all the dark thoughts, worries, and doubts aside and regain his composure. He knew that the pressure was overwhelming; the fate of their country’s educational system weighed heavily on his shoulders and symbiotically attached to it, the futures of everyone under his command. But then again, in the end, it was his burden to carry, his choice, his responsibility, and those feelings were not his alone.

Achieving victory was the goal of every man and woman in that competition, that game where the sole purpose was to live or die.

“If you had that much trouble,” Ricardo opened up the discussion, “why didn’t you activate your awakening?”

It was a fact known to everyone that the UAT’s commander possessed a powerful hidden card capable of dealing with Rui in a much easier way than he had done so. Having come this far solely by relying on this strength was perhaps the main reason Ricardo came up with to justify his friend’s actions, but when he searched deeper into how vicious both men had fought, Ricardo couldn’t help but sense that something didn’t feel right. It was this distress that made him ask Angelo in such an upfront manner. Because no matter how he thought about his friend, he knew how vital having an advantage in combat was and how discarding it was foolhardy and stupid. Hence the question, “why?”

“Ha-ha-ha…You noticed it, huh?” Angelo let out a sight that convinced his friends' worries, “It’s not that I didn’t want to activate it…more like I couldn’t. I don’t know how…”

“Y-you don’t know?!” Ricardo gaped, followed by Katherine’s shouting “Th’ellman?” – a contraction of “What the hell, man?”

Their surprise intensified to the point where Angelo tried his best to hold back, ultimately failing to stop the sounds of a muffling laugh breaking free of his throat. “Ahh…! I thought that if I threw myself at Rui without caring for defense, my natural survival instincts would kick in and automatically activate the AWP...What a bust!”

“Zactly,” agreed Katherine while chewing on some bubblegum that made her speech sound even more puzzling than it already was.

“I think the awakening of the inner spirit will only happen in dire circumstances...Honestly, that entire match was a kid’s play; I don’t think Rui or I took it very seriously to begin with, since there was nothing in it for us.”

“Though both of you wanted to win, losing that duel wouldn't hurt you in any way—” picked up Ricardo, which then translated into a conclusion from Katherine. “No purpose that it?!”

“I guess.” At least nothing other than pride was on the line.

Sensing that her commander’s spirit was weakening with doubt once more, Kat, the woman known for having an unwavering enthusiasm, joyful personality, and troublesome mood swings, got up and bafflingly went haywire. She took a one-eighty turn to adopt her more sinister but less frequent nature, and this was all the more ascertained when she turned to face Angelo. Without so much as a warning, Katherine pulled her open hand back and gave him the most painful slap he had ever taken in his life. “Ahha!” Just as Ricardo was about to burst out in laughter, her unrecovered hand turned to the side a few degrees and impacted on Ricardo’s face with the same amount of strength as the last blow, “Ooa-ha!!” The brief forming smile on his face was replaced with a painful expression.

“What gives?! Me too?!?”

“Shut up, Richie-boy! And you, mister, you need to pull your head outta your ass! You aren’t invincible! Rui is a real veteran, two-time winning champion, and you thought you were gonna roll over him like everyone else?! Get real, dumbass!!”

Does her speech improve when she insults someone?? “…Y-you don’t need to put it like that–”

“Toldja to be quiet!!!” She kicked up dirt at the frightening pair who were clinging to each other by that point, unsure how to react to her unexpected change of behavior. “By now, both of you are aware of the existence of certain individuals in the other coalitions, AWP users! Terrifying lookin’ people, and we’re gonna have a go at’em sooner or later…”

“You don’t need to tell me that…I know,” Angelo uttered almost like a whisper. “Shaun mentioned one during our fight.”

“The Blitz,” Ricardo intervened. Having watched the replay of Teutoburg, Shaun’s slip up had stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of all that anarchy. "'Blitzkrieg Schneider’, as the Germans like to call him and the favorite to win according to most.

“…The top dog,” the words were almost vague. “Angie-boy, we’re gonna keep trainin’ until we all hit the next level, and I’ll help ya control your awakening. Ya can count on me! So stop sulking and take me out on a date already!!”

Whatever it was that it took to activate the Awakening ability, AWP, was something that couldn't be cheated through regular training or meaningless bolster ego duels. It reacted to the user’s mental state, ambition, and dedication to see his dream turn into reality. If that was the case, then the only window of opportunity Angelo had to test it was during a battle, when he’d come face to face with an obstacle so big that even he would tremble at the sight of trying to overcome it. Because to utilize something as desperate as a last resort card, he would need a last resort type of problem to employ it.

“You’re right, Kat.”

Her eyes blinked in surprise, glittering with expectation.

“We still have some time left, so let’s get down to business,” Angelo said, thoroughly crushing the hopes of the person whose pep talk had resuscitated his fighting spirit. “Tomorrow, we’re supposed to join the UC and UL for training. Have all our PXF’s arrived?”

“Both the Phoenix Unit and Leonardo’s 2nd Battalion PXF’s are all accounted for, but we’re still waiting for a hundred or so units for the 1st Battalion. They’re scheduled to arrive in a couple of days, though,” Ricardo stepped in when Kat's pondering hit an all-time low. She sat next to the tree in complete defeat, staring right through both men as if they weren't even there.

“It can’t be helped then. We’ll proceed with our training with what we have. It’s time we showed them how the UAT fights!” Angelo spoke with a whole new shine to his eyes that put his past self to shame.

Instead of pondering over his past actions, the young commander diverted his focus to what lay ahead. He knew the real challenge was yet to come. The ensuing battles would be the most brutal anyone had ever faced until that point.

Blip blip.

“…”

The sound of an incoming text message alarmed Angelo about incoming news, but he dismissed it then and there. Whether it was the training schedule or something else, his worries were on more pressing matters; how to make the UAT’s credibility believable in the eyes of his superiors, for one.