After Aiden had picked his weapons, Gideon went next, he also chose an RPG 6, since his weapon affinity was Missile , and the RPG 6 was literally one of the best low-rank missile type battle weapons.
Because of its explosive perks, it was a weapon that not only dealt high damage, but could also damage everything within a small radius of the point it struck.
So if the person being targeted was only trying to dodge slightly out of the way, they were practically making a joke of themselves, because the only real way to avoid the damage of an RPG was to not be in its path at all.
Also, if there was someone else standing close to the target, that mech would also be caught in the blast because of the explosive effect, and sometimes, if the weapon was upgraded to make it strong enough, it could even destroy the second mech standing close as well.
And just like Aiden had collected two copies of the weapons he chose, Gideon did the same with the RPG 6, claiming that there wasn't any other Missile weapon that could match its firepower.
Not that the captains present cared much though, after all, they had already stated that they would offer two weapons for each mech owned, so they didn't really have a problem with a student choosing two of the same weapon.
And finally, it was Jake's turn to pick a weapon, and the captains started looking at him with a certain kind of unease and pity.
Because he didn't have a fixed weapon affinity, it meant he could technically use any type of weapon, however; unlike those who had awakened a weapon affinity, he wouldn't already have any weapon mastery attached to him, and his damage output also wouldn't receive the extra bonus that those with awakened weapon mastery enjoyed.
There was also the fact that activating certain weapon perks would be far harder for him than usual.
"Can I see the brochure for both the sniper and assault weapons?" Jake asked, and immediately the expressions of every captain present changed.
Yes, they knew that since Jake had no fixed weapon affinity, he was technically free to use any weapon of his choice.
However, they had expected him to stick to one weapon until he became proficient with it, and maybe in the future, if he accomplished a great deed, he might be lucky enough to obtain a weapon-awakening elixir, which would just help him awaken the main weapon affinity he had been training with.
But Jake had asked for two different weapon types instead, though Zack was about to step forward to say something, give Jake some advice, but the captain with the eyepatch raised his hand, stopping him.
Right after that, the eyepatched captain placed a small expandable booklet into Jake's hand and told him to choose, after flipping through the pages, Jake first went to the assault weapon section.
There he immediately chose the Auto-Cannon 4, as it was the strongest among all Common-rank assault weapons, common-rank weapons could only be found in the lower tiers anyway(Tier 1-3), since it was made for beginners super soldiers.
After that, he moved to the sniper section, only to realize that there were no Common-rank sniper weapons available, this time, when he raised his head to voice his concern, the eyepatched captain was already about to tell him to pick another weapon type instead, especially since he had no weapon affinity for any in the first place.
However, Zack stepped forward and told him to choose any of the current Uncommon-rank sniper weapons, though Zack didn't know why he had such preference but he felt the kid was already unlucky enough as it is and he should be able to get some wins.
Without hesitation, Jake chose two Longarm 10 weapons with a wide smile on his face. He could tell that the eyepatched captain was frowning at his side, but he didn't care much about how the man felt.
He was simply glad that he had gotten what he wanted and hadn't been forced to choose a weapon from another category.
Because he currently had no way to explain to them that he had suddenly awakened two new weapon affinities just a few minutes after being recorded as someone with none in the first place, which was why he was keeping it a secret, when it eventually get busted in the future he would be thinking of what to say.
_ _
A few minutes later, the last captain, who still wore his beret proudly, walked toward them after making a trip into the spaceship and back, and then using his mental power, he guided his space cube toward where the new recruits stood, and their new chosen weapons were dropped down before them, just floating before them.
They swiftly stretched out their left hands toward the weapons levitating in front of them, and the weapons were warped into their systems. Finally, they were ready for the battle that was to come.
"I wish you all good luck. Now go out there and make the Region F Army proud," Zack said loudly as he saluted them, in return, the three new members of the Region F Army awkwardly returned the salute.
_ _
Finally, the one-hour timeline the old man had given the students to collect their gifts from whichever organization they had agreed to join came to an end, and they were all standing back at the square he had asked them to return to.
However, when they came back, they realized that there was now a lot of equipment around the square. In fact, the place looked vastly different from how it had been when they first left it.
Around the large square were about twenty advanced-looking VR gaming pods, each paired with a single reclinable chair, at that moment, every one of them could tell that they had been arranged that way according to the number of awakened students present.
But that wasn't all, because up in the air was a floating screen that seemed to face every corner of the square, and high above the ground, all the big shots from the guilds and the military had returned to their seats, ready to watch their new recruits perform for the first time.
The top instructors of Phoenix Academy were there as well, and all of the awakened students could see the old man who had acted coldly toward almost everyone now bowing to them and treating them with great respect.
From that moment, they all understood that these were the people they truly needed to impress.
"Now pick a VR pod and get ready to enter the battlefield."
The moment the man spoke, they all began walking toward the nearest pods, most of the students from the same region tried their best to stay close to one another even while choosing a pod, almost as if picking pods near each other would somehow increase their chances of being deployed close together on the battlefield.