Chapter 1

Who I am? Where is this place? Why I'm here. These are the questions I keep asking myself. It feels like eternity, floating in this infinite abyss. There is nothing here but the pitch black of empty space with no object to see, let alone a single soul. All but this floating blue light illuminated my eyes. A giant square blue screen with English text appears next to my face. This makes me feel really tiny, like the size of a 3-story-tall screen in this dark empty space.

[WELCOME TO HALO OF STAR]

Ok, let me summarise what is actually happening here and how I ended up here. First, as usual, with self-introduction. My name is Jean Razak, and I am 18 years old, waiting to be accepted into college. Where I came from is secret since the author can't freaking decide my country of origin. But all I can tell is I am from Southeast Asia. I'm just every normal male human with normal hobbies, which are video games, reading, football, etc. My height is around 160 cm with a typical Asian body build. What Westerners consider short is kind of a standard height around here, though.

No, I'm not getting hit by a stupid lorry driver or any cliché isekai trope shenanigans. Just a plain old responsible young adult getting early sleep at 10 o'clock. Next thing my eye opened, I found myself just floating on this infinite void of abyss. It's like a fish out of water—that kind of feeling for a couple of minutes. The one and only thing stopping me from having a full-blown panic attack is this giant screen with words that clearly state, Welcome to Transylvania.

"Ok, now what?" struggling to read the screen while scratching my head.

The screen flickered for a few seconds before shrinking to a size where I could actually read properly. Not too far or close but comfortable enough for any interaction. I stretch out my right hand to see if I can touch. But I refrained from my intention, fearing something bad would happen. Then, the letter on the screen changes right after a typical video game sound effect.

Babe*

[PLEASE TAP ME]

Still puzzled about what is actually happening. This has happened so far that my brain can't catch up with current events. Now I know how Japanese anime/manga protagonists feel when this kind of stuff happens to them. For the most part it's actually exciting as adrenaline rushes through my blood vessel to heightenmy senses.

At the same time I'm scared that this is a hallucination due to a coma or, worse, a near-death experience. For now I brush aside the scary part of the thought and focus on the screen in front. With a gentle tap from my right index finger into the screen. A manly voice echoes in the abyss with a legendary lewd line. It really creeps me out and almost makes me retort. Then a screen shows information I need to know.

DING…!

[Personal Status Information]

Name: Jean Razak

Gender: Male (cannot change)

Age: 20

Rank: Supreme Commander

Equipment: n/a

Body Status: Slightly Augmented

Skills: Artillery Strike

[Current military unit in command]

Commander Unit:

-n/a

Hero Unit:

-Odin

-Royal Guard

Total Ground Unit (lockedl): 1000

- SCV: 70

-Dominion Troopers (including other variants): 700

- Aegis Guard: 150

- Emperor Shadow: 37

-Shock Division: 30

-Black Hammer: 3

[Population]

250,000

<>

Faster construction, repair, and production methods as long as the resources allow it

[NOTE]

AUGMENTED TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE POSSIBLE. THIS MEASURE IS TAKEN TO ENSURE THE PLAYER/HOST WHO HAS LOWER STATS CAN AT LEAST DEFEND ONESELF. THUS, THE PLAYER WILL HAVE A HIGHER CHANCE OF SURVIVAL.

Typical information is revealed straight from the anime plot indeed. From what I understand, this might be related to RTS or SIM management games alike since the screen shows units and population. It's sad, though I can't use these unit because the screen says locked for whatever the reason. But the saying I have a poor body is an insult since I do go out and do outdoor activities and stuff.

While having an army to command and fight while I'm just sitting on the chair having a tea break sounds really cool. Even better, having a starting population at the city level is even better since I don't have to make everything from scratch. A sudden realisation hit me. When I read the screen again for the second time, now I fully grasped what power I bestow upon it.

"No wonder I seem familiar with these words. It's from the video game StarCraft Terran unit"

I was giggling like a fangirl cheering for a K-pop artist. Since Starcraft is the first RTS game I play. The first time I played, I got really addicted and played over 24 hours total during middle school years. Usually I like to play Protoss in both co-op and multiplayer. But having Terran units under my command is better because I'm human. Imagine some cat as your commander really asking for mutiny, or something bad will happen.

"Am I being thrown into the middle of a great war?"

It sounds fun to have the power to command an army from your favourite video game. But to live in the world of your favourite video game setting is especially dangerous, as mine. Totally different and scary, especially if you are aware of what kind of danger you might face. Zerg is scary as fuck in both lore and gameplay wise.

A super mutation virus turns you into a space zombie. In the gameplay, playing as a Zerg gives you the advantage of destroying the enemy base faster since you can spawn an first attack unit faster than Terran and Protoss ever could with minimal resources. Nope, thank you very much, but I like my current life or previous life?. Another screen pops up in my rear. A feminine robotic voice makes an announcement with a flat and annoying tone.

[COMMENCING TRANSPORTATION SEQUENCE]

"Wait a minute. Hey, I'm not ready yet."

[3...2...1]

[COMMENSING]

A portal in a circle shape materialises below me. I move my head to see what's below me, and I'm shocked. Aside from what I describe as a green sea, which is a huge forest and flat plain. There is a rocky mountain with a river flowing in a straight line. Basically a perfect paradise at first look. But the many light novels and manga I consumed in past years tell me otherwise.

"Huh? What the hell is this? Where's my cloth?"

As things happen too fast to process. My pajamas I wore last night disappeared bit by bit. First it begins from my feet, which turn into a sort of light particle similar to a grain of sand blown by a gush of wind. It still continues slowly as if something is trying to annoy me as much as they possibly could. When I become but naked, covering my private parts with my right hand, then I fall down into the portal without any warning.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!"

Tud*

"Ouch!!... What now? huh?"

After falling into an unknown portal, I found myselflanding on a glorified, luxurious golden chair in the middle of an unknown place. I do a quick check on my body to see that I'm no longer naked. But wearing a tailored suit made of high-quality fabric, often with lining, and accented with details like vegan leather trim and various accessories.

The suit design includes a turtleneck shirt, a jacket, trousers, gloves, and armour pieces like pauldrons and brooches. On my right hip there is a ceremonial sword, judging by the nobility scabbard design. On the left, however, is a well-hidden pistol holster. The pistol is very bulky but surprisingly light and comfortable to hold.

Then white lights on the ceiling illuminate the room one by one in a dramatic way. By the time all the lights are on, I already know where I am. This is probably a ship bridge with excessive luxurious architecture design by a lot. This reminds me of 18th-century design but with a lot of silver and golden colour and, for some reason, decorated with a wolf statue motif. Heck, even the chair, or maybe throne, I sit on also has a wolf motif design.

There is a lot of screen panel showing something I can't understand since all it shows are numbers and images I don't know. Not far from here, there is a wide table with a golden line pattern showing a hologram of a star system map. The table also has a panel and button to make it more high tech looking. But I notice there are no people here aside me here in the bridge. When I was busy mesmerised by the bridge's architecture design, the same floating screen popped up on my right eye.

[New Quest Initiated: First Flight Act I]

[Main Quest: Wasteland Defence]

Objective:

-Protect the Arkship at all costs within the time limit frame (minimum 30 minutes).

-Building a defensive perimeter in a key area before time limit runs out.

Reward:

-Unlock Your Unit

-Additional skill might aid you in your journey

-Summon new Commander Unit according to your choice

NOTE:

Mission failure will result in immediate death, and your existence in your world of origin might be erased. Nobody will remember you.

TIME LIMIT LEFT:

29 Minutes

"Hey, what do you mean, immediate death!!!"

I scream in anger and am ready to utter tonnes of curses at whatever this thing is. A sudden migraine hit my head. It almost makes me puke. My mind went blank for a moment before I regained consciousness again. The scene around me changes once again. Instead the luxurious bridge turns into empty wild scorched earth plain.

The land here is so flat that all I see is nothing but lifeless land that gives me nothing but moody feeling. I can still smell burning earth on my nostrils.The only man-made structure I see is just behind me. Some sort of giant steel gate with very advanced security measures beyond 21st-century technology and design.

Such as an army of fully autonamous robots, either with quad-leg tin-shaped robots strapped with gun turrets and various size and simple versions of Guntanks from Gundam. Dozens of defence turrets are set up on all perimeters, covering the entire area. Ranging from auto cannon,missile turret

Flame thrower?.

Not to mention this place is heavily fortified with dozens of razor-sharp steel wires and thick metal walls high enough to take cover behind. My clothing also has a massive change. From military ceremonial clothing into freaking badass sci-fi-like armour. Not only does it make me cooler, but also I can move around as if I'm wearing nothing but underwear. The armour I see from my first point of view is a mixture of dark and light green colours. Not overly bulky but fit enough to not beheavy armour.

I best guess the armour is similar to Mjolnir power armour from the Halo franchise. I can also see something similar, like ammo count, and a mini-map like Master Chief's HUD from Halo. Before I do anything, something strange in my vision. It's like seeing two different things at the same time, like split camera mode when playing a console game on the same TV or monitor. Another screen message pops up in my face.

[INSTALLING PARALLEL CONSCIOUSNESS SYSTEM]

[SYNCHRONISATION AND STABILITY ACHIEVED]

[STATUS INFORMATION UPDATES]

[Second Personnel Status Information]

Name: [INSERT NAME]

Gender: [CHOOSE GENDER]

Age: n/a

Rank: n/a

Equipment:

-AGR-14 RIFLE (35/175)

-FWG5 combat pistol [Rechargeable]

-Shredder Grenade (5/5)

Body Status: Highly Augmented

Skills:

-Andreline

-Tough Body

<>

-All weapon in hand will not easily break. -Damage output will be higher than usual

-Fast regent and night end stamina

"Ok, now this is weird.What the heck is going on?"

"Hang on, why do I see different places at the same time?.Why am I talking at the same time but also with different words?"

Quick pause.

"Sigh... This takes a while to adjust... This is a pain in the ass..."

Indeed, having parallel thought and body movement is really weird and tiresome. The good thing is I can do two independent tasks without relying on others too much. In a sense, the most trusted ally I have is none other than myself. It is easy to make a distinction between myself. Obviously the me on the bridge is the original. Since this is the first body I wake up in as far as I'm aware.

On the other hand, this thing that many anime or light novel geeks said is called "System" has spawned a second body without warning. Heck, even bees and flowers didn't set up yet. Not that I confirm yet since I'm wearing armour. The face is also hidden behind the helmet, and there is no mirror- or reflective-like item to do a quick check. Not to mention opening my helmet now is a big red flag here. I assume this body was created to force me to work harder, or is the mission hard?

With the information I've digested so far, this probably has something to do with the RTS-style mechanic since we're talking about a Starcraft unit. To be specific, a certain dictator and Terran main antagonist of the game. Meanwhile, the second body has the FPS element integrated, creating a hybrid game mechanic, probably.

Unfortunately I can't figure anything further since the alarm has been ringing from the radar on my left HUD. I don't know what kind of detection technology and method they use. Beyond a doubt HUD interfaces are really similar to Halo. Not only that, all defence turrets and robots are aiming the weapon at the front where the plane is located. The alarm is ringing, and tension in the air becomes heavy all of a sudden.

[Hero Quest: Fight For Survival]

Objective:

-Protect Main Gate (primary)

-Locate and defeat the boss-level enemy (optional)

-Collect Sample (optional)

Reward:

-Sub space storage (lowest lvl)

-Depend on your contribution

"This is bad. Now I have two quests to finish at the same time. So that's why my body needs to enhance." I ready my gun and steel and brace myself.

Now let's head back to the main body at the bridge. Currently, the bridge also has an issue with an alarm sound. A green holographic image display automatically appeared on my chair, surrounding me in a circle. A console-like device appears on my lap from the floor and straps itself to my lap.

Probably to help me interact with the technology here. The image reveals to me what outside looks like. This revelation shows how big this "Arkship" size is. My unprofessional guess, the Arkship size to be estimate around 15 km+ long at best. But,for now I focus my camera on a specific area. The image of me seconds ago in the main gate area, standing still like a statue. Now I know what I look like in the third point of view.

The armour set looks similar to Spartan Mjolnir power armour, but I don't know which. Bulky, dark green, silver, black, and bronze combat armour that covers the entire body. It features a closed helmet with a reflective visor and a chest piece stylised to resemble a muscular torso. The suit also includes shoulder pads, elbow pads, arm gauntlets, a utility belt, and armoured boots with knee pads.

But from a certain angle, my other height is something that isn't right. For some reason this really pisses me off. An easy way to distinguish myself. Let's call the main body COMMANDER while the Master Chief look-alike is the AVATAR or HERO. Depending on context of some sheet.

Either way, this does not make any difference aside from confusion POV occasionally. Since both bodies share the same mind, which is I, Jean Razak. At the same time we think independently similar to people with split personalities. Just similar not actually two different personalities or separate identity as both are still sharing thoughts.

"Ok, now I have a full view of the area but still at a limited range. There is no time to learn everything now. We do what I learn here. Hmm... This panel shows drone and turret status. Yep, I found it."

What I mean is by randomly pressing buttons and touching the hologram image display. I don't think I know what I'm doing since this is technology I'm not familiar with, but instinctively I know how to use it. My finger and hand move systematically, and the stuff I want appears on the screen image. 2D-style defensive grid that reminds me of the Doom map layout.

On the left is the icon showing the turret and robot status. If I touch the icon, I can see via camera and control remotely. I can disable the individual units and move them in position according to my will, but most of them are controlled by AI and predetermined movement patterns.

So far, the robot names listed here are indeed the same as in the game. Like warbot ARES from the secret mission in Wings of Liberty, and it includes other variants model and weapon loadout like the sentry bot and the eradicator. Cyclone, although a piloted machine version is more popular can be converted into an autonamous fighting machine or control remotely. I didn't forget about the combat drone, though. The most vital component asset I have right now.

Not only does the combat drone have decent offensive capability, armed with micro missile and machine gun pods. The drone is also the highest mobility capability since it flies and really fast one too. Plus, a drone can be used something akin to "All Seeing Eye" equip with advanced optic technology along with interlinked data feeds in real time. The battery also has a huge capacity and will probably last 3 days straight in active combat duty.

Especially since the ship is so huge, it is inevitable to have many blind spots. Having hundreds of them patrolling the area is a huge help here. I don't know why the time limit is related. I assume it has something to do with the lack of human personnel here. Usually when the siren of alarm is on, people rush out and do something. For now let's focus on the task in my hand.

"Defensive turret grid 01-45 on the main gate is online. All available assets are already spread to cover all the vulnerable areas. Now where is the enemy?" I rub my chin slowly.

I ordered the drone for scouting the area further, but something is preventing the drone from leaving a certain range. Either planetary magnetic field interference or something else. Luckily the Arkship is equipped with a built-in short-range sensor, so I get a rough idea about our surroundings. Proximity of 50 km in range in circles.

Why does the radar have a short range despite having sci-fi tech here?. The answer is a primary radar system and equipment conveniently broken down. Right now I'm running on backup radar, which barely keeps up with my demand. The radar did detect something, and it's coming from the north, where the main gate is located.

"Time really flies if you focus on something."

I check the time limit again only to realise there are less than five minutes left. Mere half of hours is really short to execute more complex work.Not to mention to command an army on behind Monitor screen and real life totally different thing.

This is just organising robot alone demand all my attention.I don't even notice an warning siren and alarm screen display. Now, a possible avengers level threat is coming here ready to knock front door swift and brutal.

I really wish and hope to survive this crisis. This is because what I see on the radar display is not what I expected. For the tutorial level, the enemy number was a bit overwhelming. The hologram display screen didn't show the exact number, but I imagine at least battalion's worth of men and still increasing. Judging concentration dot accumulate overtime on the radar show so far. The enemy is approaching closer and faster before reaching defensive turret effective range.

I mean not the one with the Hero (other me) on the gate but this ship own weapon system.On the left screen show weapon such as Gauss auto cannon point defense system, Pulse laser cannon and the biggest one Earth Shatter cannon. Instead of two barrel like OG Mengsk co-op.The cannon turret resembles ww2 battleship yamato chassis except having higher evaluation angle and almost three time bigger.

Alas, the cannon have very limited use in this scenario.Again due to visible damage on turret chassis and even it's available.Earth shatter cannon acquired a crew to fully operational.On the other hand,both point defense system majority is still intact can be easily control through my command console and can be set in autonomous mode. Nothing I can do about it aside using what I have available currently.

Before countdown reach zero,around 140 seconds, I send some of available drone which is nearest one to check the enemy general look. Flying at heights 500 meter from the ground surely to be spot by the enemy is slim righ?. It takes 40 seconds to travel and spot the enemy and feed the image into holographic displays.What I find is really disturbing and unbelievable even. There is something might be worse than the Zerg.