Alpha Agent: A Post Apocalyptic LitRPG

After the abrupt end to the training session with Allen, Dan was allowed to go home and rest before the rigorous training resumed with Jane the next morning. Dan used the last reserves of his strength and energy walking through the streets of Cerulean city. Looking around, Dan saw the outside world again for the first time in a while since Jane put him through the wringer for most of Dan’s waking hours since the last mission.

At midday, sunlight cascades through the overcast skies and struck the high-rise buildings in the distance. The aesthetic blend of minimal design and excessive glass made these distant skyscrapers look like glittering and shining blades jutting from the ground rather than man-made structures.

With such surroundings and the cool air blowing in his face, Dan would have enjoyed the view were it not for his back and knees killing him. The last impact with that concrete pillar didn’t do his backside any favors. After more aimless walking and having numerous bystanders stare in his direction, wondering why a drunk and tired-looking agent was roaming the streets, Dan had finally arrived at his apartment building.

The journey up the elevator and into his room was a blur in his mind as the last thing he saw was his bed before faceplanting into the soft sheets. He was simply too exhausted to even remove his armor.

An unknown amount of time passed and Dan woke up again. He was thankful that the aches and pains throughout his body had disappeared. Standing back up, it no longer hurt his back to merely stand with a straightened posture. But now he had a new problem to deal with.

Dan looked around him and saw that he wasn’t in his bed anymore. He wasn’t in his room, or even his apartment building. He doubted he was even in Cerulean city. The world around him was a barren wasteland with no landmarks or hints of civilization nearby. Dan saw nothing but varying shades of whites and greys. He looked down and saw nothing but a pitch black ground.

The world around him looked like a depressing abstract painting done by a dour artist and he wouldn’t be surprised if that same artist came from his shitty hometown. The only reasonable explanation Dan thought of was that he had been taken out of bed by Jane Sunheiser and she threw him into a combat simulation. He wouldn’t put it past her to do something like that, considering she was pushing him far beyond his normal limits for the sake of preparing him for the harsh duty of an Alpha agent.

Seeing nothing to guide him, Dan began walking. Everywhere he looked, everything looked alike. The only notable feature of this barren landscape was a small grouping of short grey hills off to his left. Everywhere else he looked was either black ground, a blinding white sky or just grey land with bland soil that stretched forever.

This strange land was eerily silent. The landscape produced no ambience at all. No sounds of wild animals or wind blowing. Dan even pulled down his mask and tried sniffing the air. Even the air didn’t quite feel right. This wasn’t the fresh air from the outdoors. Something about this place was filtered, artificial.

Since this wasn’t a natural environment, this had to be a simulation. Knowing any number of obstacles and threats could be spawned by this simulation on Jane’s command, Dan broke into a run toward the hills. Dan checked his coat pockets and was shocked that he had no weapons or any other gear on him. Jane had thrown him into this simulation with nothing but his armor.

Oh this is bullshit, Dan thought.

Dan knew that if he kept running, sooner or later something would spawn in and present Dan with a tough obstacle. He had no guns or other equipment to help him and he was out in an open space. He was as vulnerable as an agent could be. How was he supposed to defend himself in these ridiculous conditions?

Dan continued his run and tried to take his mind off such thoughts. He knew Jane herself might enter the simulation and just kick his ass again if she heard him complaining. After what felt like minutes, Dan was still running without any obstacles or threats in sight. The small group of grey hills didn’t appear any closer than when he began running. Something wasn’t right.

Just when Dan let his guard down, three figures flashed in front of him and Dan almost tripped over himself. Having no weapons or even a basic knife, Dan regained his composure and defaulted back to a basic combat stance, standing with his legs decently apart and his fists raised in front of him.

The three figures that were around fifteen meters ahead of them stood a short distance apart from each other, standing in a straight line side by side. Dan didn’t know what was going on with the visibility but he couldn’t see any of these figures clearly, merely their silhouettes. Then they finally came into focus and Dan only became more confused. Watching the three silhouettes finally clear up, he saw three agents, each of them completely different in appearance.

The three figures did not budge from their positions or even moved at all. Dan slowly walked toward the figure to the far left and got a good look. The figure in front of him was a standard Alpha agent. A black long coat worn over a sleek armored suit underneath. This agent wore a helmet with a reflective sulfuric orange visor. The visor itself was thinner, making it appear elongated. Dan got a good look at the intricate design of the helmet. The helmet’s air filters and the air-tight seal it created when connected to the armored suit. Dan wondered why he didn’t get a helmet like this.

He tapped the agent on the shoulder, but he didn’t move. The figure in front of him was nothing more than just an armored suit floating in the middle of nowhere.

Dan walked over to the second figure in the middle and stood in front of the armor of a Kodak agent. He was already too familiar with the bulky armor with large individual pieces along the arms and legs. The signature spikes jutting from the shoulders and arms along with razor blades on the kneecaps and elbows were all accompanied by razor wire wrapped around the limbs of the Kodak’s armor.

The biggest difference from the Alpha agent armor was that this Kodak set had red electrical arcs and sparks coursing throughout the suit.

Walking towards the third and final figure, Dan saw yet another radically different agent. This figure wore a hooded robe, a robe that extended down to the agent’s knees. Dan saw a basic armored suit similar to the Alpha agent. The hand that glowed with energy caught Dan’s attention. He assumed this agent was from the Church of Nano-Evolution, the third shard Allen briefly spoke about. Dan looked up and saw the face of this agent, or lack thereof. Dan saw nothing but ominous glowing orange eyes and nothing except a black void for a face. He grabbed the hood with both hands and pulled back the fabric, but saw nothing. The armor of the Church agent was just like the other two, simply just a display.

Dan had no clue what the point of this exercise was. Unless this odd display was supposed to let his guard down and make him vulnerable to a surprise attack, he didn’t know what Jane was going for with this exercise.

The sudden rolling of thunder jolted Dan and he quickly backed away from the figures. He frantically looked around in all directions wondering where the hell that sound came from.

The three armored figures in front of him began to move. The three sets of armor from each of the main shards collided with each other and merged to form one whole. The transformation produced a sudden flash of light, briefly blinding Dan and making him stumble backwards.

By the time Dan opened his eyes, he saw a figure directly in front of him. He assumed this was the result of the three sets of armor combining with each other. But what he saw didn’t make any sense.

The figure in front of him shared the same face as him. It was another Dan. What he saw in front of him was a version of himself who stood several centimeters taller than he was. He wore the white coat and suit just like Jane’s variant. The red electricity coursed throughout the body and he saw the hand of this mysterious version of himself glowing in the same strange energy as the display of the Church agent’s armor.

Dan had no clue what the hell this was. Was this supposed to be some alternate version of himself in the future? Was this even still a simulation? And where the hell was Jane?

“Jane,” Dan shouted. “I don’t know what the fuck this is, but you better come out and explain this shit to me. This is freaking me out!”

No response. Jane might have been harsh, but she was never this cryptic. If Dan had a question, Jane would answer him, even if her answer didn’t satisfy his curiosity. Dan’s mirrored counterpart began glowing, becoming the new source of bright light as Dan was forced to look away and shut his eyes.

Then, an explosion sent a wave of heat and blasted Dan. His feet flew off the ground and he the force of the explosion sent him flying and skidding across the blackened ground of this strange landscape. Dan stopped rolling and came to a stop. He opened his eyes and stared down at the abyss that was the pitch black ground. He got on one knee and tried to get himself back on his feet. But now another problem had popped up.

Dan’s feet and ankles began sinking into the ground, the darkness swallowing him.

“Oh what the fuck is this shit,” Dan muttered.

The ground had now swallowed his legs up to his thighs. Dan tried grabbing onto something but couldn’t get a firm grip on anything. He could grab at nothing except air and the slippery black void around him. The blinding white sky shrunk in size above him until nothing but blackness dominated the entire landscape.

Then he woke up.

Dan’s eyes opened and he was flat on his stomach on his bed. He jumped off and immediately lifted a floor panel and grabbed one of his pistols. He began pointing his handgun in all directions. His breathing was erratic and he was sweating profusely.

Dan rushed to the window and pulled back the curtains. He opened the window and saw nothing but the street lights and distant billboards and signs typical of Cerulean city. He looked down and saw pedestrians walking along the sidewalks and cars driving by. Midday had transitioned to a clear night while he was asleep. Slowly backing away from the window, Dan sat down on his bed and removed his mask. He took a few deep breaths and reflected on what he had just witnessed.

Not once during his childhood did he have dreams that vivid. Was what he saw supposed to mean something? Or was it the result of him being too stressed and exhausted from Jane’s training?

Dan put his pistol on the nightstand and rubbed his eyes. More than likely, if he tried asking Allen or Jane’s opinions about his ridiculous dream, they would look at him funny and wouldn’t give him any more insight that his brain doing strange things while he was asleep. He wondered if his headache from earlier and him passing out during training had any connection to the strange dream.

At least he felt better. His aches were mostly gone and he was clear of any headaches. It was best for him to remove his armor and take a quick shower and a meal before heading back to sleep again. He knew that Jane wouldn’t let up on the training for next morning.

“Alright, let’s do this shit,” Dan said, standing up.