Teenage Devas (Part 1)

The Military Hologram Version 2.0 had functioned perfectly. When Metro presses the button, he found himself in a spacious warehouse. In the warehouse, several speakers were stationed far away from him.

"Recruit, since you have passed our Private Training, now is the time for you to finally advance to the Amateur Officer Rank! We will be focusing on your mental integrity first!" A booming voice commanded Metro. A holographic desk had appeared, and numerous test questions were written on a piece of paper. There was also a pen and numerous reference materials Metro could use.

Sitting on the holographic chair provided, Metro started to read the questions, "If your opponent swipes any weapon at you, which vein should you stab with what kind of weapons in response to that particular weapon?" The questions were weird and specific to answer, and Metro had to pour over every part of the books provided to find out the answers.

Inside the holographic world, Metro was filled with endless energy, and continually researched the exam questions non stop. Words blended into images, images turned into actions, allowing Metro to visualise all the actions in his head. In one week's time, Metro completed the test.

"Do the new exam paper in three days!" The hologram world was ruthless. A new exam was conducted for Metro, along with new research questions. He found that these questions built upon the foundations of the earlier test, and completed it in 2 days.

This cycle repeated again and again, until Metro finally completed the last test in under one hour. At this point, Metro had already mastered critical thinking and various general knowledge, which was stored in his brain permanently. Three weeks had gone by.

After the desk disappeared, the voice finally came from the intercom. "You have passed the intelligence test! Now, we will train your body's defence! This will be the easiest part of the training! Sit on the bullseye!" There was a bright red bullseye projected at the center of the room.

Metro plopped onto the bullseye, while having a premonition that a wave of pain would be coming for him. Sure enough, Metro could see a barrage of rocks barreling towards him the moment he sat down.

"Oh god..." That was the last logical thought that Metro had before overwhelming pain battered his senses. The rocks were extremely rough and did not even spare his eyelids, hitting them with as much force as the rest of his body. It was only thanks to Metro's unnatural body that allowed him to survive through the ruthless stones.

"We will repeat this 100 times!" A thick liquid poured with a strong medicinal smell was poured on top of Metro, slathering him in it. The scars and injuries were slowly closing up, along with an additional layer of skin.

The rocks' impact only grew heavier, along with the medicinal liquid's effectiveness, which made Metro want to scratch all over his body several times, but he resisted the urges and let it work. When Metro was undergoing the 52th cycle, he was forcibly dragged out by Aria into a chair, who was waiting for him.

"Here's your scenario. I wanted to give you the option to let you watch the memories of your vessel, but you went and spent that Body Upgrade Point. Not my problem either way."

"First things first, why the hell did you just throw me into that place without telling me anything? Second, where did that demon bloodline come from?" Metro nearly wanted to strangle Aria, but he found himself bound to the chair, unable to move at all.

"Don't sweat the small details. Those Players explained it to you well, didn't they? Besides, you have to learn that many things are unexpected, just like how being rude is not a virtuous trait. As for the bloodline, it's your reward for the recruitment! Make sure to look out for these fools who don't even realise they have Artifacts." Aria wore a wry smile on her face as she spoke about Metro's rudeness.

"It was just one time, did you have to screw me over so badly like that?" Metro was exasperated at the childish behaviour shown by Aria. Without further ado, he started reading the scenario that he was provided with.

[Scenario: Teenage Devas]

[1 Star Mission]

[Description: Back when you were young, you always wanted to participate in heart pumping, outlandish fights! In this world, monsters in human forms lurk everywhere, and an unknown corporation is responsible for the insanity of the world. Kill the founder of the corporation, and install a puppet leader of your own!]

[Remarks: One of the more dangerous 1 star worlds, take caution in the enemies you fight with and the connections they can have.]

"Monsters? They couldn't be as bad as that Tortorous thing that tried to take over my mind, right?" Metro looked at Aria while squinting his eyes.

"There's no more guidance from the events, so that's the added difficulty. Just do whatever it takes for you to succeed." A dense fog descended in front of Metro's eyes once Aria finished her piece.

The thick fog arrived and left Metro's eyes as soon as it completely covered Aria. Then, Metro realised to his shock that he was now staring at a filthy body pillow, with a naked cartoon girl printed on it. A god killing stench that even the sewers could not compare to reached Metro.

Out of desperation, Metro punched upwards, causing the doors of the dumpster to swing wide open. Metro took several breaths of the stale air greedily. Even though it still smelled horrible, it was much better than the rotting biological hazards in the dumpster.

Metro tried to climb out of the dumpster, but he realised that there was a slimy liquid on his hands that was loosening his grip. Swiping it off using the dumpster's walls, he gripped the corner of the dumpster and hauled himself out.

Once he was out of the dumpster, he could feel liquid sliding off his skin and dripping off the ground. Metro winced as he took a sniff of himself. He did not know how long this body had been there, not to mention that he now had a full head of hair that soaked up god knows what.

Metro decided to ignore his hygiene for now and checked his new body. He was wearing some kind of uniform with badges sewn into it, along with a pair of rubber sandals. The language appeared to be squiggly at first, but it soon turned into letters Metro could understand. The school was called, "Undefeated High School".

"Looks like these scenarios also have translation functions? Hmm, I should check on my skills? Maybe see how this body can affect the new body stats?" Metro opened his status screen and was greeted with a new skill in the body skill section.

Name: Metro Lee

Username: Zombie

Rank: E Player

Inherited passive skills: Novice Trained Body(incomplete), Basic Gluttony Demon Bloodline, Basic Eye of Light, Basic Holy Boost

Body Skills: Genetic Malfunction

Metro looked at the unfamiliar skills in his status screen. He had not seen the description for the Trained Body, Gluttony Demon, and the new Body Skill. Opening all of them at the same time, he read them carefully.

[Novice Trained Body(incomplete): +1 to all stats. In addition, +1 to Intelligence. Complete the whole Military Hologram Version 2.0 to get the full upgrade!]

[Gluttony Demon Bloodline: +1 Strength. Acquire the ability to consume biological matter infused with large amounts of energy to heal oneself.]

[Genetic Malfunction: -1 to Strength and Fortitude. Your genes were messed with, causing your overall physique to be lower than average humans.]

"Is this what Aria said when she talked about how this would be harder? It does even out my strength buff unfortunately, but I guess I still have buffs in other areas?" Even though Metro was scrawny, he could feel that his skin was actually quite tough. Then, Metro checked his stats to see the effects of the skills.

Strength: E-

Fortitude: E-

Agility: F

Intelligence: E-

Mysticism: F

"Only my intelligence got buffed by 2 levels. At least I'm smarter now?" Metro felt a bit disappointed that he did not have significant improvements in his physique. As he checked the status screen, his vision slowly become darker.

"Wait, this is an alleyway! It's supposed to be dark here... I've been using my Eye of Light the whole time!" Metro realised his folly. He quickly moved out of the shadowy alleyway into the light, before he became a blind rat.

Once he was out of the alleyway, he realised that he was on a street. Metro could see some people strolling around with groceries in hand, typing away with a phone in hand. If the previous scenario was before smartphones were invented, then this was a true modern experience, where technology had already flourished to have handheld devices.

Metro was wearing some tattered school pants that were caked in gunk. He reached into the pockets, but found nothing at all. Not even an identity card was found. With a frown on his face, Metro continued to frisk his own body head to toe. Nothing that could identify him could be found. It was obvious that this would not work, so Metro decided to resort to another method.

"Hello? Anyone can lend me some money?" Metro wanted to make use of other people to let him know who this body was. He assumed an act of desperation and insanity, which he had slightly learned from the hologram world. As he shouted loudly and repeated the same phrases every time, he caught the attention and ire of the passers-by.

"Hawthorn Lee, stop disturbing the public and go back to your home! If you're so stupid that you don't know where it is, it's Luther Street 121, the white squatter flat at the end! Now shoo! You're causing me to lose my appetite!" A shopkeeper from the other side of the street came out and chastised Metro, before returning to his shop.

Metro's face changed to a solemn expression immediately. "So my nickname is Hawthorn Lee, and I'm a poor schmuk huh? Well, looks like I'm going to have a hard time dealing with this corporation..."