Are you curious about your own playing style? Do you have trouble buying the correct tank on sales? Are you yet to find the combination that suits you perfectly? Probably not, but still, take this inaccurate test to find out more about yourself. Because clearly a press article knows more about you than you yourself do. So here we go: Q1- What kind of shower do you prefer? a ) A shower that specifically targets points on your body that require showering, thus increasing water's impact force. (3) b ) Cold shower. (1) c ) Hot shower. (1) d ) One that has chicken in it. (5) Q2 - Brace yourself, winter is coming. What is your reaction? a ) Great, I can eat more chicken. (5) b ) Sweet, I'm going to go make snow fort. (2) c ) Can't wait to enter the biggest snowball tournament ever made in my street. (3) d ) Better dress in something warm. (1) Q3 - You found out that there are flies in your house. What do you do? a ) You take a rifle and carefully aim at every single fly, attempting to break the world record for fly killing. (3) b ) You eat chicken and hope the flies don't get close to you. (5) c ) Grab a flamethrower from a local market and start hunting. (1) d ) Get them all in one place then destroy them with a single hit using the nearest magazine. (2) Q4 - You have a test in school, what do you do? a ) Study hard at the specific subject to have the highest test result ever recorded. (3) b ) Be ready to do 3 tests at once for your fellow classmates. (2) c ) Cry. (1) d ) Eat chicken to get your brain cells working. (5) Q5 - You go into a casino and start using a slot machine. What's your strategy? a ) Play as many rounds as quick as possible to get the prize. (1) b ) Eat chicken. (5) c ) Play once every 6.89 seconds for the best result. (3) d ) Play 5 times, and if you don't get a critica.. I mean if you don't win, blame it on the lag. (2) Results: Score 5-7 Score 8-12 13-15 16-25 Well there you go, hopefully I guessed your love for a competitive game or your passionate consummation of chicken. Either way hope you enjoyed reading this short article I wrote to keep my job and prove a point to Remaine, but that's some behind the scenes thingy.

The way it all started October 30. 2013.- Players open the forum page and quickly check the developer's news. With excitement, they click on the "Halloween 2013" topic. The topic is filled with good news, with gold boxes having increased value of 3000 crystals, a special map and a 13% discount on the entire garage, this certainly isn't an event to miss. However there's one more thing that is mentioned- a mysterious tank that roams the universe of Tanki. We weren't given a name, just a picture of a bloody-red painted heavy tank. The encounter As the players try out the special map, they quickly see a message written on a wall of a house. "Beware of Godmode_ON". Many speculate that the message is written in blood, while others tested the liquid and determined it's ketchup. Whichever one it might be, we are finally given a name of the demonic tank. Afterwards a discussion topic is opened in both the English and Russian community so that they might find out who is this mysterious figure. Quickly players tried to hunt the strange tank. A topic worth noting is that Godmode has been seen in different ranks, ranging from to . These rank changes are suspected to be based on servers, with different servers allowing him to have a different rank. However, at the moment it would seem his rank is the same everywhere. So, while hunting Godmode some succeeded to kill him, posting videos which would show another strange property of Godmode. It took an extraordinary amount of power to destroy him, and after killing him, 3 gold boxes dropped from the sky. Such an event caused players to even more enthusiastically scout the maps for his name, but only a few lucky ones ever saw him. Now the next question was raised in the discussion topics: What is that paint? The question Godmode's mighty paint is his greatest weapon. A paint with protection far beyond what anyone has seen, making the Champion paint look like cheap decoration, it became the signature sign of Godmode. Players immediately tried to figure out its properties. Along with a large protection percentage, the paint defends Godmode from both fire and ice, making the burning and freezing effects of close range weapons useless on him. After some time, the name of the paint was revealed. Devil. The Devil Days passed and many were guessing the percentage of Godmode's paint. "98%", "92%", "88%", "66%"... No one knew for sure. However I do think that the accurate protection has been calculated, since, at one point, GM appeared in the question of the week "How many smoky shots does it take to kill Godmode?". The video can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=654285601284399&set=vb.221587754554188&type=2&theater Calculation by @blackseac: http://en.tankiforum.com/index.php?showtopic=183327&p=3501248 So from this we can conclude that the protection is close to 88%. This to me makes sense, as there is a certain symbolic to the number 88. Also, Godmode's user number is 64, which is 82 or 8*8. However, there's still the question of how much the hull and weapons were micro upgraded, so we can never really now for sure. In the end, I think it's highly likely that the protection is 88%, seeing as it has both symbolic to it, and a reference to Godmode (user number 64). As for the tactic you're to use if you encounter this mysterious tank (along with everyone targeting him) I would recommend using mines, as I doubt his paint has protection against those. But there's a problem with this. He changed his paint on April 1st. I suspect he didn't just change the paint for the looks, but to adjust the properties of the paint and add protection against mines as well, as many players used this tactic. He said it himself that it's an improved paint, and we know that paints can have mine protection because of the Masters of Parkour contest (main prize being a 30% protection from mines and railgun). Still, it's worth an attempt to bring down those 3 wonderful gold boxes from the sky, right? Godmode's improved paint: The man in the shadows Now to engage the mystery of Godmode himself. Why was he added to Tanki in the first place? He is a welcome and fresh addition to the game, but I suspect he might bring some fun facts in the future. GM's user number 64 is 8*8, where the two 8s have a certain reference to them. Next, the date of registration to the forum is 13.12.1901. and along with his last activity we can conclude that GMO is at least 108 years old. However, interesting thing is his activity on the forum is different in the RU community. This makes things interesting. The registration date on that forum is 4th of April 1986, the date the accident at Chernobyl happened. Though searching the map Chernobyl left me with nothing interesting, it's a notable fact about Godmode. Perhaps he was somehow related to the accident? Could that be the source of his paint? Currently there isn't enough information to reveal answers to these questions, but it does show a clear connection. The last forum activity was 6th of August 1991. the day the World Wide Web got publicly available. I see these as rather interesting dates, though couldn't find anything interesting in the EN community. To summarize, I think the EN and DE forum show us Godmode's age, while the RU forum gives us certain facts about who he is. He is somehow connected to the accident at Chernobyl, whether he used it to obtain his paint, caused the accident, or just survived it is unknown (although that could be the reason his face is shrouded in shadows). As for who he is as a person... I'm honestly not sure he's a developer as many suspect. I've talked to Semyon at one point, asking him about Godmode and he said he couldn't reveal anything. When I asked why, Semyon worryingly replied: "He's keeping my family hostage." If GMO is really a developer, I don't see why he would kidnap Semyon's family, which in my opinion is a pretty nug move. It also means we'll eventually have to make a "Semyon's family rescue team" as well. If you have any more info on this shady character feel free to post below or in this topic: http://en.tankiforum.com/index.php?showtopic=183327

Wasp m2: Day 1.

Part 1: Rising of an Underdog 64. It makes me sick, makes me weak. I only want to wake up. Every single night it's the same. I always see that number. A man woke up gasping for breath. Visibly terrified. His heart was racing. He turned on the side of his bed where a large bowl was placed and puked in it. After that he was shaking, and he tried to relax. This has to stop. He got up and walked through his apartment. It was a comfortable living space, equipped with modern appliances. But still it had a strange feeling to it. As if it were corrupted. As the man walked he was moving a bit side to side. He entered the bathroom and washed his face. He looked into the mirror. His eyes were tired, slightly red. His face was clean, but his expression worried. He removed his clothing and threw them onto the floor tiles, afterwards he stepped into the shower. He felt refreshed when he go out, wiping the water of his skin and his sand colored hair. He put on his clothing, it wasn't anything special, trousers and a shirt. As he was leaving the apartment, he took a name tag and put it on the pocket of the shirt. Greg, store manager. The store he worked in was medium sized. It had some modern equipment, but most of the shelves were empty. And the store was rather silent, hardly anyone visited. If a person would look more widely, the entire town was like that. However, when a customer would enter he was moving around the shop easily, knowing where all the things are and happily selling them. He had clear experience in this store, probably worked in it for years. Night fell when he finished his work. He decided to go to a tavern and relax his mind a bit. The tavern was in rough shape, cool wind was passing through the cracks in the windows and the wood was old and crumbling. Still the tavern was stable enough to walk around in and relax. The room was filled with tables, along with a few columns giving extra support. There were musicians in the background, singing folk songs with their old and worn out instruments. There was less than a dozen people there, they were sitting and drinking. Some were friends and chatted about daily life. But pretty much the only sound was the music. Greg waved at the waitress to bring him a drink and sat down at the nearest empty table. The chair screeched as he sat. He started drinking when new people entering the tavern caught his eye. Two women, one blonde and long haired, the other with short red hair. After them came four more men. They were all in military outfit and armed. He felt unease seeing them. While they were entering the musicians made a slight mistake in the song, but continued hoping no one would notice. The group sat in a free table while the blonde woman walked towards the worker. Greg finished his drink and decided to leave. His head was starting to hurt and he felt sick. Leaving he turned one more glance at the group, they seemed interesting to him. Finally he closed the door behind him. "What can I do for you?" the worker asked Fiona while cleaning his hands with a rag. "Do you have any rooms me and my colleagues can rent for the night?" Fiona asked flatly. The worker put down the rag and twisted his hands around nervously: "I'm afraid everything's occupied already, there might..." Fiona placed a stack of dollar bills on the table. The worker was visibly surprised to see such an amount of money. "I don't have time to negotiate. Get me six rooms, now." Her eyes were locked on the worker. "Alright, but we only have two free rooms. Both have three beds however. Would that suffice? The rooms are upstairs one across from each other." His hand was slowly reaching to the money. "Very well, it'll have to do. I do not wish anyone to disturb us, we'll probably be out in the morning." After the worker nodded she turned around to her team. Walking towards the table everyone paid attention to her. "I managed to get us two separate rooms. Let's go, we should all rest while we can." Everyone stood up and followed Fiona upstairs. "Margaret, James and I will take one room." Fiona explained pointing at one of the rooms. "The Richard, Scott and Mark will have the second." "Why does James get to be with you two?" Richard rebelled. "Because I don't trust you can behave. Do you have any more complaints?" Fiona's eyes narrowed at him. Margaret chuckled next to her and entered her room. Richard rolled his eyes. "Fine, you two girls are always so picky." "I'm glad we have an understanding." The group split up into the rooms and quickly fell asleep. However, for Mark, trying to fall asleep proved quite a challenge since Scott was snoring loudly. Just as he fell asleep he heard something that sounded like a clap and woke up again. He could barely see anything in the dark, but noticed that Richard's bed was empty. Before he could think about what happened, the room door opened and he saw a silhouette of a man slowly rubbing his cheek. When his eyes adjusted to the sudden light coming from the hallway he recognized that it was Richard. "Sorry for waking you up." He said. Mark was staring at him. "Oh, and this would be Margaret" he explained pointing at his cheek and then winking. "You're a persistent one aren't you?" Mark smiled. "I do my best." "Well, since I'm not going to sleep anymore anyway because of Scott's snoring, can I ask you a few questions about the group?" "Ask away, but I can't guarantee I'll answer them all." Richard laid on his bed and looked at the ceiling. "Well for starters, who are you people? And why are you doing all of this?" Richard sighed. "That's really not a simple question to answer. Basically we're a capable group of people with motivation to do a job. And we happen to take this one because it gives us a prize that we want." "That doesn't really explain anything." Mark replied with a slightly annoyed tone. "I guess that was partially my point." Richard added, staring upwards like he was daydreaming. "Come on now, you brought me to another country, the least you can do is tell me why." Mark said firmly. "You already know why. There's this thingy inside you that will lead us to an important object that Sebastian wants. What more is there?" "You tell me. All this is obviously not for the money. You have enough of it already. Tell me why you're doing all of this. There has to be a more important reason." "Look," he switched to a sitting position and stared at Mark narrowing his eyes, "every person has their own story, and in each story there's a goal. What each of us is doing is trying to reach that goal and our paths happened to align. Right not you want to get that thing out of you so you don't die." he pointed his finger at Mark's chest. "Now, James wants to find that artifact as well, because he thinks it can be used in medical purposes. Perhaps even some kind of material that repairs different materials. So his motivation is curiosity." Mark nodded. "Scott was a colonel in the army. However he got dismissed because he made a... tactical mistake. He lost three squads in a battle. Now he wants to do something to redeem himself, trying to find help the country in any way he can. Even if it means finding a deadly weapon." Richard laid down again. "And what about the others? And your motives?" Mark's curiosity was increasing with every word. "You don't need to know about that. At least not yet, go ask the others if you want them to tell you their stories." He closed his eyes and ignored the rest of Mark's comments. The next morning everyone came down the stairs to the tables and had breakfast. Richard complained about the food for a bit, but then Margaret gave him a serious look so he stopped. As always Fiona looked deep in thought and focus. Her blonde hair was falling around her face as she leaned rested her head on her hands. Then she stood up and adjusted her hair. "Here's the plan for today," she said formally "we'll need information about this city. Information about any shady people and suspicious location. To get that information we'll need to blend in with the people who know the most about the city and its streets." Everyone was closely listening expecting the rest of the plan. Fiona made a slight smile and continued: "We go to the underground and find where the thieves live" she said flatly. Margaret smiled enthusiastically while James was nervously moving around in his chair. Richard was slightly more worried and Scott only nodded. Mark stared at Fiona baffled by her request. "You expect me to go through the roughest parts of the city in search of criminals?" He stood up to give more impact to his words "Are you people insane? Do you have any idea what the authorities might do if they see us doing crime? We're not even allowed to be in this country!" "Sit down, kid" Richard said quietly. Margaret smirked and looked at Mark. "You'd be surprised how helpful thieves and criminals can be." she told Mark. "Especially if you know how to get their trust. So how about you show a little trust too, and just listen to the plan and follow it. We're not insane, we're not stupid. We're the best." She said cheerfully making a cute pose with her hips and arm. "But, you can't just expect me to do this, I..." "You'll do as we say, since we're the ones saving your life from what's inside you." Fiona interrupted in a serious tone. Mark got more nervous seeing her stare at him. "You're doing this because you have your own motives, not to save my life." Mark answered while glancing at Richard. Richard just shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. Fiona touched the bandage on her right arm, in her eyes you could see anger. "Listen, you little brat. You have no idea what you're talking about, you're like a dog barking without reason. We share the same goal and I'm not going to let you slow me down. And if you do, you better beg that the poison inside you kills before I get my hands on you." her voice was like steel. Clear, serious and strong. Mark now showed fear. His hands started to shake a bit, so he just nodded and sat down. "Now that we've got that covered," Fiona continued looking around the group "We can be on our way." They got out of the tavern and into the street. The street was almost abandoned with only a few people walking around. The group walked closely together with Margaret in the lead. She took a sudden turn into a small alley that led to a dead-end. She then turned around and smiled, pointing at the sewage entrance. Richard made a gesture of small disgust along with Mark. The rest just nodded. Mark would've complained about this particular decision, but his last conversation taught him to keep his mouth shut. Scott approached and opened the entrance showing large amount of strength. Margaret looked at Fiona: "This is where we find the thieves reside. Or at least I think they do." she put her hand on her chin as if she was thinking. "It is." Fiona replied quickly. "Let's move." Margaret went down first, Fiona followed. Scott and James quickly got down too, while Richard and Mark had some trouble with the smell. The sewer had a lot of hallways and corridors. It was like a maze although one that smells like a hundred people died and rotted out. Small rivers of who knows what filth were going through each of the hallways. Margaret was taking turns at certain intersections, while on others she went straight ahead. She obviously knew where she was going. Then she slowed down allowing Fiona to catch up to her. "We're being followed." Margaret whispered. "I know. We'll have to catch our little stalker, he might be one of the thieves." Fiona replied. "Indeed. We'll split up at the next intersection and wait for him to follow one group, then grab him. Simple plan but effective considering there's only one person following us." Margaret questionably looked at Fiona. "Agreed. I'll tell the commands to the others. I'm wondering why anyone would follow us however." "The thieves probably? We're in their territory after all." Margaret arched a brow. "No. If it were thieves there would be more than one. Whoever this is he's been following us since we were topside." Fiona worryingly looked at Margaret. "We'll need to capture him. If he's working for someone... well, I don't want anyone to know we're here."

I gave the same answer. The reply I got is that I didn't explain what the mass of the body is. Q=m*g, g=0, Q=0 Q-weight g-gravitation acting upon the body. However saying m>0 wasn't enough. While you're trying to figure out the mass problem, here's another one: You have a classic clock. Numbers from 1-12 and things like that. Now, I want you to tell me the angle between the hands at any given moment during the day. And don't google it, make it interesting by solving it yourself. Took me a while to figure it out honestly .-.

Here we go again, Goldy: There's only one body (object) in the universe. What's its weight and mass?

We should just post this chat as an article, I'm sure many would read it...

Nice work, Goldy. Which law of physics did you use there? Now for the next question: You have 80 marbles. One has a different weight from the other 79. You have a classic scale and with only four measurements you need to find the faulty one. You can use any number of marbles per measurement. Example: 40-40, 20-20, 10-10, 5-5. (this however gets you to a 1 in 5 chance)

Ok, Goldy. You're on an island (You know the type- a nice beach, rocks on the shore, palm trees and things like that). Next to you is an elephant. After a short discussion you got him to stop bouncing. Now, your task is to measure how heavy the elephant is. You have the following items: A bucket of paint, a brush, a boat and a scale that measures up to 100kg. How will you do it?

I prefer pancakes, but chicken is good too.

Goldnug pls do MU's properly like a real staff member, not just one parameter at a time .-. The reason I didn't MU rotation speed is because if I get used to the faster railgun, my aim might be affected in pro battles...

Considering some the most recent newspaper contests were highly connected to writing and storytelling, I decided to write a somewhat informative guide on how to do it properly. Like everything, writing requires a certain amount of talent which not everyone has. Some people simply cannot write and, although can improve with effort, won't reach what other talented people can do naturally. However those who want to be one of the better writers, need to have a passion for it, they need to experience the story they're telling, know the topic they're explaining. Introduction Writing is an art of painting a picture inside a person's mind. Your tools are words you place on paper and using your own imagination. You can create worlds never seen before, ones where your rules apply. By writing you can explain something to many people at once without having to repeat yourself. Your writing immortalizes your thoughts, makes it accessible to anyone at any time. Of course this requires clear use of your own vocabulary, ability to directly explain certain events and describe areas so that others may see them. I will try to give a few guidelines as to how this is done and how I, myself, managed to fall in love with this art. Writing and storytelling These two are obviously not the same thing. Even though they are connected, they do not depend on one another. However it is also clear that together they achieve the biggest success. To elaborate, writing is used for many different purposes and it is used in a way respective to the situation. Whether it be guides, essays or shopping lists, there is a certain way you write it. Storytelling, using oral language, on the other hand is a more dynamic thing. It's used to share experiences both true and fictional. You can imagine people sitting in room, sharing stories with each other. There was a fault in that method however. After someone has finished narrating, no one could repeat it completely, details would always be changed, some parts forgotten. This is why people started writing down their stories, so that many people have the chance to read them in their prime. To sum it all up, writing is used to explain a lot of things, along with the one I'll explain the most here which is storytelling. Getting started Whether you write guides or stories, one of the most important things you have to know is how to use words. The larger your vocabulary is, the easier you'll find the appropriate words to describe something. Normally people with English as their main language will have this step easier than others. The best way I've found to expand my use of words is reading. For starters read anything, newspaper, comics, it doesn't matter if it's the sticker on the back of a shampoo. After a while start reading books, whichever genre you like. As the time passes you'll see significant improvement. What to write? Most people get into a situation when they just can't think of anything to write. Whether it be a guide or a story. This is quite normal and common and there's no real reason to worry about it. You shouldn't force yourself to write if the inspiration isn't there. It simply doesn't work and the quality of the article will be reduced. When I'm in this creative block I normally play some relaxing music to help me think. Now, if you're writing a guide, think of how you would show tips to a friend. Think of all the things you do that give you the advantage over your opponent, even if they're only minor ones. If you're going to write a good story, you'll need to be creative. In my view a good plotline defines a story, and no matter how well it's written, if it's not interesting and meaningful, I'll hardly read it. A plot needs to somewhat resemble life. It shouldn't be linear, it has to have some twists and turns along the way. Side events and other opportunities. In order to achieve this a plot needs to have potential to later open up. You need to create a large enough frame for all the events to take place. Next you'll need memorable characters, each one will need a past and their own view of things. Give them individual characteristics and motivations. The greatest of books always have a memorable character that displays both the normal human view and their own, a bit more original one. Visualizing This is the technique I use for describing surroundings. You need to play your story as if it was a movie in your head. See the entire area and all the movement, see the reactions of characters. Write all of it down, every detail. The desired effect is that when the reader sees the story, he gets the same image in his head. To ensure this, read what you wrote again, check if you describe everything and if you didn't correct it. Always revise at least three times, you might come up with some additional stuff to write. Perhaps this requires a bit more imagination, but for those who aspire to be better writers, I feel it's necessary. Continuing the plot By now the plot of your story needs to be developed in your head. You should try to think of as many key events as you can that will be vital to the story. Thinking ahead will make events more connected, especially if you're careful and follow the smaller details along the way. After you think of the key plot points, start working on branching out side events and some off topic dialogue with your characters. Dialogue is the most useful feature to describe a characters personality. Try to add some meaning behind even the most simple conversations, hidden emotions and such. Perspective When you start to tell a story, you immediately have a choice to make. You can tell the story in first (I looked up) or in third person (He looked up). The perspective you choose can help you in your later storytelling. However both have their advantages and disadvantages. When using the first person perspective it feels more natural, the events can have emotion in them and areas can be described subjectively depending on the character (if, for example, the character is in love with a girl, he'll describe her as if she's perfect rather than in a objective way). On the other hand, the third person perspective makes the plot of the story develop easier since the character doesn't have to witness everything himself for the story to be told. You can shift to other characters and follow their storyline rather than stick to only one. This lacks the subjective description of the first person perspective, so you might have to think of better ways to show emotion in the story. The bottom line is that whichever one you choose will shape your story, but the choice is completely up to you. Pick whichever you like more, and if you feel good writing it, chances are other people will find it interesting as well. Conclusion In the end the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy what you do. Don't turn writing into a chore, have it be your hobby. Something you do when you're bored, something that lets you relax and entertain your mind while creating never before seen worlds. And if you finally finish your work, there's no harm in sharing it with other people. Good luck in your future writings.

"Get up already, will you?" a female voice disturbed the silence. A man woke up from his cheap looking bed. Black haired, about 17 years of age. He got up and went to an old bathroom, washed his face to stop the feeling of being worn-out. A common man with an uncommon past. "I'm up..." he answered with a slightly annoyed tone. "Good, now I need you to clean the living room." He looked at her sharply: "Ugh... Mother would always do that, not since she left though." he said, but did not disobey the request. He took an old used duster and started cleaning the table and chairs. The house looked cramped as if whoever lived there stopped caring about it. The floor got to the point of breaking off, the walls moist, and the kitchen appliances rusty. "You know she didn't leave because she wanted to, brother." she added slightly intrigued. "Sure didn't look like that." he cut off sharply. "Are you really going to be like this still? They wanted to find a better living space, we're the ones who decided to stay here." she seemed unhappy with what she was hearing. "They could have stayed. They didn't have to leave. There's opportunity here. There's chance... hope... You know exactly what I mean, too." he continued cleaning without even glancing at his sister. She sighed. "Fine, be like that, Mark, your fascination with the army and the tanking amateur championship will only disappoint you..." she said and left the room. "You're wrong... I'll show you you're wrong..." he thought to himself. He took some food from the kitchen. It appeared all the things they had was some bread and canned food. He sat down and started thinking about what will he do next. He turned on the television, one of the few things actually working in the house. The television showed a common commercial, the tanking amateur championship, biggest event of the year for aspiring tank drivers. Mark was blankly looking at it. "Got what it takes to become one of the best tankers in the city? Think you can impress the veterans? Come on over and test yourself against other people in a live duelling arena. Applications are valid until the end of the week!" He took a deep breath, relaxed his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes. "Could I do it?" he thought "could I win something there... become something other than a guy living at an aged house... Only thing my dad left me is the old tank, a rusted pile of stock parts." His sister was standing by the door looking at him and shaking her head worryingly. She is only but a year older than him, and feels it's her duty to take care of them both. After their parents left she didn't think of them much, only focused on preserving herself and her brother. As much as she liked her brothers' spirit to do something fairly brilliant for them, she never thought he could actually do it. "Look... I know you want to get into that tournament... and..." she paused and took a deep breath, Mark looked at her with great interest, "I'll help you finish your dad's tank. You'll need to improve it a little however. I have some money I saved, I think you should use it." Mark knew that she didn't do this because she thought he could win, but only to ease his constant thinking about entering the tournament. He looked at her and didn't know what to say, the money she saved was her own, and she'd spend it just to help his thinking become happier and less obsessed. "I... no..." he gave her back the money "that's yours, I'll use what I have, I can repair it..." "If you really want to do this, you might as well try to as strongly as you can, take the money and fix the tank. It'll help you greatly." Mark could see the determination on her face, and knew that she wouldn't let him go off without the help she offered. "Very well then..." He took the money with a confused glance at her. "I'll start the repairs and shopping tomorrow... Thank you." The next day Jennifer woke up and noticed that her brother wasn't in his bed. She looked around the house expecting to see him watching television, but all house rooms were empty. "Guess he went off to buy parts for the repairs." she thought and continued her daily schedule. Still, she couldn't help the feeling that this is all a mistake. The market wasn't the modern type at the place Mark and Jennifer lived. It was crowded with merchants having only a table to show off what they have. Almost everything was used and stock equipment. There weren't many people there either. Most of the folk weren't buying things other than food, and the higher class wouldn't go to a cheap market. Mark spent 3 hours searching for the best parts he could find, but only managed to get average used parts. Still better than what he had. He returned home, and after checking if his sister is home, he went directly to the garage. There were some old second-hand tools lying on the floor. The tank was in decent shape compared to the rest of the house. It had some rust spots and a few bumps, but nothing he couldn't fix. The hull of the tank was medium sized, not too big to be an easy target, but enough armor to take a hit. On the side of it was a sign "Hunter Mark 0". With his spare parts he started upgrading it hoping to reach the status of a mark 1 hull. The turret wasn't in good condition, it was damaged on the tip, so he had to replace the entire pipe. It had electrically charged ammo, which when shot at the right place of the opponents tank, would deal near fatal amount of damage. There wasn't a marking which he could use to identify the weapon, but he heard people around town calling it "Smoky". It was probably correct so he went with it, improving the electrical charge of the bullets, giving him a larger target for a fatal shot. After hours of work he decided that the tank was finished. It looked improved and in better shape, but could hardly compete with even the above average gear. His sister came along. Seeing the tank she seemed impressed but not so much surprised. "I see you've been busy." She gave him a small smile. "Yes, managed to get this stock tank into something average looking" He answered proudly. "I guess I should wish you luck in the tournament then" she said but her smile disappeared. She didn't like the feeling of him going against other tank drivers. The tournament has its precautions, but they can't always protect and save the competitors. "Be careful out there will you?" She added worryingly. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." he answered happily. But Jennifer wasn't sure of it. It was in her nature to take care of them both, but if he were to enter a tournament such as this, who knows what would happen. He could get a job in the army, and then she would rarely see him again, he could even get killed while fighting. All these thoughts crowded her mind. "Good luck then" She said as she was leaving the room. Mark put his tools down, trying to think of a way to comfort his sister. He as well knew that this was risky, but didn't want to show any signs of him thinking so; it would only trouble her more. He wrote the letter for the tournament application. Looking at it he was hoping that it was the right decision. The tournament was in 6 days. While sending the letter, he decided it would be best to have a rest and prepare for the next few days. He didn't have much training in using a tank, but he knew some strategies and tactics he saw while watching the television. Hopefully that will help him at least a bit, for this was his greatest ambition. Mark wasn't the only one who was looking forward to the tournament. At the city centre, where the tournament was organized, a talk between two people happened without anyone knowing. "Do you really think we'll find one of them?" one asked. "I think we will find more than one actually... The professional tournament didn't turn out as I hoped. However this time I'm rather sure we'll find them." the other man answered. He seemed to be in the higher authority from the way he spoke and moved. "I'm glad you're optimistic about this, sir. Our forces are ready and waiting, and the... adjustments to the arena have been set." "Wonderful. Proceed with the plan then." The day finally came to start the tournament, and Mark had a mixture of fear and excitement. He went into the competitors quarters of the large building the tournament was set in. Inside there were competitors with all kinds of weapons, he counted probably more than 15 of them. Some stood out from the crowd as being the more threatening ones. He knew they had experience and training for this, and that it won't be easy to beat them. One in particular had a well made tank, custom upgraded as well. It was largely armoured but slow moving. The weapon it had was made to deal heavy damage to enemies in a small amount of time, while the armour absorbs attacks. He tried to see who the owner of the tank was, and after he looked around he was surprised as to what he saw. The owner was a young man with white hair. He was practising at the physical obstacle course, running over fences, climbing ropes, shooting target dummies with his gun with ease. Mark didn't like the feeling of going up against him. He made some last minute checks to the tank to ensure it's working properly. "10 minutes until the beginning of the tournament, all competitors enter the arena. You will get a sign when to start there." A voice echoed throughout the preparation quarters. Mark got into his tank. He drove to the arena, the crowd wasn't too large. Only about 100 people came to watch the tournament, mostly friends and relatives of the competitors. His sister did not come however. He looked around hoping to see her, but she really didn't come. He got a slight look of disappointment on his face, but had to ignore it for the more pressing matter. "Everyone get to your places" said the speaker. Everyone took what little cover they could. Mark kept count of all the tanks, he didn't want to be surprised for behind or flanked from the sides. His heart was beating fast, adrenaline took over his body. This is the time he couldn't lose. "Begin!" Instantly one tank was destroyed. Mark looked and saw a small tank getting destroyed behind cover. The bullet hit a wall and damaged the fragile tank, built for speed instead of protection. He could guess that the white haired man took that shot. He had to act quickly, a tank with a built in flamethrower started approaching. He decided to move slightly back from cover, trying to disturb the driving of the opponent with his shooting. Flamethrower tank was destroyed without great threat. He immediately ran for cover and started observing the situation. He noticed a sniper hiding on the corner of the arena behind a fence. The white haired man's tank was obviously dominating the field, he thought it would be best to let others weaken him. Suddenly a bullet hit his cover, and he noticed the same tank he had. He waited for the enemy to shoot again and at that point used his exposed part to get the shot. Luckily for Mark, he shot a vital structure to the tank, and the bullet's electrical charge destroyed the tank. Many tanks already lost in this short period of time. Chaos on the arena and explosions everywhere. There were about seven tanks left, all taking cover. He went in closer to the corner, trying to take out the sniper without being noticed. This wasn't successful however as the sniper spotted him trying to adjust his aim. He had a short window of opportunity as the sniper was slowly turning around. He managed to shoot it at the side, rotating it more. Now he could get easy shots, and managed to win the encounter. He then noticed what he hoped not to face. The large tank driven by the strongest competitor was going towards him, other tanks were trying to shoot while he was distracted, but the amazing armour just shrugged of the bullets. He heard the gun firing and felt a sudden pain in his leg. The shot hit him even if he was behind cover. The front part of his tank was ruined, and he couldn't move. Seeing as the tank wasn't fit for battle anymore, the white haired man looked for another target. "So it's over... I lost." He thought to himself pulling out his leg from the dented part of the hull. But at the tower above the arena, a voice was heard. "Now," the mysterious man said. And almost instantly, Mark felt an enormous amount of burning inside his body. As if someone lit a fire in his very blood. He screamed of pain, trying to make it stop while he was tumbling inside the tank. After a moment it ceased and Mark was breathing heavily. "What was that?" he asked himself in amazement. Then he heard a large amount of explosions. He looked through the opening on the tank and saw that everything was destroyed. All competitors eliminated. He stood and couldn't believe what he was seeing. The burning he felt, did it kill everyone? What was it? He had no answers. Somehow he won the tournament, that was most important. The speaker announced his name as the winner. He was thrilled to have won, but couldn't help to feel fear of what happened in that arena. Back at the tower the conversation continued. "You found one indeed, sir. Wonderful news." "Yes. I think it's time we gather everyone. And find some information on who our winner is." "At once, sir." Mark was brought into the tower. Two guards escorted him and didn't give him much time to look at the large entrance room. They were heading towards the elevator on the other side of the room. He only saw a few paintings and the reception workers typing on their computers. Mark and the guards got inside the elevator and went to the top floor. After entering trough the door, they left Mark alone with a man looking out the window. The room was certainly spacious, paintings were hanging on the walls, a comfortable sofa and desk at the middle of the room along with two leather couches. Windows were built into the walls. He then took a glance into the man. He was middle aged wearing an expensive suit. He was of an average build and didn't stand out physically. His face was resolute and firm, with a hint of anxiety. He looked at Mark and started the conversation: "Greetings to you, my name is Sebastian. I have some important news for you that you have to hear straight away." Mark walked around the room nervously: "This is about the tournament isn't it? What was the burning inside of me? How did everyone get shattered?" "This...takes some explaining. I see now that you do not know much of your heritage. For this reason I've done research about you." Mark was visibly worried about this man. "Could he somehow know more about me than myself..." the thought shook his mind. Sebastian continued: "You of all people know that the country is in a crisis in more than one way. The general living conditions are poor, raids are occurring, and our military is weak. This is a great threat; order must be brought once more." Mark was looking baffled: "What does that have to do with me?" "Well," he answered "there was an event that took place while you were a child. A certain artefact was found. An instrument of great power capable of shattering an army squad in a single move. It is said the it should never be touched by a human hand, that it is too dangerous for anyone to wield it. But we found it. We used it..." the man got more uneasy "But we were not prepared for it. Part of it... turned into dust, poisoning everyone. However few survived and now the artefact is in their blood. It has been returned to the depths, and the dust can be used to find it." "This is why you need me? I have it in my blood?" Sebastian nodded. "Yes. This time we are prepared. We can control it. And now you will help us find it." "You're insane, why would I ever want to help you in such a plan?" Mark snapped a firm refusal. "Because it will slowly kill you." Sebastian answered flatly. Mark was standing shocked and puzzled more than ever. He continued: "The artefact inside you was inside your parents as well. It had no doubt killed them by now. Same will happen to you, given enough time. And to your sister." "No! You're lying. My parents left to find a better place to live... they..." "Stop fooling yourself, boy. They felt it inside them, they knew what would happen and decided to spare you the sight. The only cure is the artefact, it wants to be whole and you are keeping it from that goal." Mark sat down and relaxed his head on the back of the couch. He tried to calm his breathing. "So if I help you, both my sister and I will be safe?" Sebastian nodded, patiently waiting for his decision. "How would you have me find it then?" he asked. "I had a device built that would track your blood rate, if some changes occur, we will know how to locate the artefact." "Is this even safe? I doubt I can go on a madman's quest of finding artefacts of legend alone." He leaned in: "This is no legend I assure you. And you will have the top soldiers along with you, all specialized in their own unique skills. You will never find better protection than them." A secretary entered the room: "Excuse me for interrupting, sir. You are being expected at the meeting room." "That must be them now." Sebastian added. He pointed the way to Mark with his arm. "Shall we?" Mark nodded and followed silently. As the door opened he saw the meeting room. It wasn't anything grand, but it could suffice for any sort of gathering. Country flags were hanged on the walls and in the middle of the room was a large table, stretching trough the room. On the back part of the room there were two large windows, from which you could see the town below. There were four people waiting inside. His eyes were looking at each of them slowly. All of them in military uniform. One of them was sitting on the table, casually waiting for something to happen. He seemed bored and tapped his fingers on the table. He had short dark hair, and was visibly fit. He also had a belt carrying two identical handguns. They seemed modified as well, having a different handle then the regular ones. Next he looked at the biggest person in the group. The man was sitting in his chair calmly. He was of a strong build, his body muscular and adapted to large amounts of physical work. His hair was shorter than the last person, with a bit of a brownish colour to it. His face had a few small scares, not as much as his arms however. Next to his chair was an assault rifle- a heavy and powerful weapon. Mark could easily tell that this man has been in many battles. He then moved his eyes to the next chair, the man sitting there has put up his legs on the table. He was fit, but obviously not the strongest in the group. He didn't have any visible scars on his face, perhaps one or two on his arms. He had a bit longer hair, a bit like Mark. On his uniform were several pockets holding scalpels and needles, as well as bandages. He didn't carry much weaponry, only a basic handgun. Finally he looked at the side of the room, seeing the woman standing against the wall. She was looking into the distance, almost motionless. She had a smooth and long hair, going just over her over shoulders and to the middle of her back. Her face clear and her body strong and agile. There was also a bandage covering her right arm. He then took a look at her uniform. Like all others she had a Kevlar vest, however the only weapons she had on her belt were two daggers. The daggers had some markings on the blade, and the hilts were decorated in an artistic manner. Sebastian then spoke: "Here we are. These four people are the best soldiers in the country. Each of them a combat veteran," he continued pointing at one person at the time "the leader of the squad and master of close combat, spying and assassinations - Fiona. Expert sniper and marksman - Richard. The survival veteran, commando and former colonel Scott. And lastly the military medic and head surgeon of the city hospital - James." The woman slowly walked to towards the centre of the room. She put her hands on the table and glanced over Mark. Then looked at Sebastian: "So this is who you want us to protect, and the only reason you want us to do it is because you suspect an artefact of stories to be found." her voice was determined and her view sharp. "Even if it were stories, it is not your concern. Your job is to look for it and protect the boy," Sebastian walked towards the table "and I'm sure the payment is sufficient." he added. Richard chuckled a bit while relaxing in his chair. Fiona responded: "We are not simple mercenaries Sebastian, you know this. And you know very well it is not money that interests us." "Of course" he nodded "I assure you everything will be prepared and all rewards sent to you. After you recover the artefact of course" This time Fiona didn't even question whether it even exists. She just looked at her squad. All of them nodding in agreement. "Very well then. We begin travelling at dawn." Everyone stood up and was preparing to leave. Then Mark stepped in: "Wait, wait... You can't possibly expect me to just pack my bags and go to whatever place you're planning to go?" Fiona sighed, she continued walking and without even looking at Mark added: "You will be prepared at dawn and this decision has already been made. I will not waste my time trying to convince you of matters that are not of your understanding. We all know about your condition, or at least what Sebastian told us about it. However do not act like you're the only one dragged into this mess." Mark had no way to respond to that. He simply stood in silence. Everyone was exiting the room and Sebastian gestured with his hand to Mark: "Come" he said "I will take you to your room where you will spend the night." Seeing as he couldn't do anything, Mark simply followed, hoping that all of this will clear up and he'll understand everything that's happening. Mark woke up, he had a somewhat peaceful sleep. Beside him was a military uniform, lighter than the normal ones however. He put it on and went outside. His eyes were still sleepy, and he was stretching our as he walked. Walking around the tower he almost got lost, one of the workers there told him to go to the bottom floor. In the end found where the squad and Sebastian were waiting. The room was looking a bit like a hangar, but he wasn't really looking around too much. He smiled nervously trying not to feel awkward for making everyone wait. Sebastian stepped forward: "I hope you had a good night sleep. You'll need to be well rested for the travel that waits you." he said, he seemed excited, "you will be heading towards the country border. Then across it is where we last found trace of the artefact. I cannot provide much information, but I hope that you will find some on your own." Now Fiona approached as well. "We shouldn't waste anymore time. I would like to get to the border as quickly as possible, we'll get some supplies there too." Mark yawned and nodded. He figured it'll be better just to listen for now, he still felt used but couldn't do anything. Waiting was the only thing he could do. "Let us be off then" Fiona said. She turned around and opened a large door, revealing a military jeep. She sat in the front, while Richard was in the driver's seat. Mark sat in between James and Scott at the back of the jeep. There wasn't much room there however, and he was desperately trying to get comfortable. Richard chuckled at his attempts and then started the car. They drove outside of the room into the road. All that was left for Sebastian was to watch as the jeep quickly went farther into the horizon. The roads weren't of the highest quality, and it was a bit of a bumpy ride. They mostly travelled in silence, except for a few attempts by Mark to start a conversation, however they were met with silence. The group had a confident and determined feeling to it, Mark noticed. And in the afternoon they arrived to a smaller town. Not much of a town, more of a village since it was a place of poverty. They stopped in front of a cafe and went inside, Mark following them closely. As they entered they were met with the stares of civilians, but the squad ignored them. Clearly used to such attention. Fiona approach the worker, while the rest of them sat at an empty table. The cafe wasn't anything extravagant, but it served its purpose. The tables were metal and rusted on most places, chairs were made of wood, and not renewed for at least five years. Still, the cafe had supplies of food and drinks, and no one could ask for more in that area. "I'm looking for some supplies. Food, water and medical gear." she lowered her voice "and some ammunition, if you don't mind." The worker was a bit surprised if not frightened. Fiona glanced aside. "And tell Margaret I need to talk to her." she added. The worker nodded nervously and walked to the back. In his own habit, Richard just relaxed in his chair and put his feet up, also waved at one of the waiters to bring him a drink. Scott on the other hand was observing the entire room. Sitting still in the char, his eyes analysed every person in the cafe. James was just writing stuff down on his notebook, after he finished he put it back in his jacket pocked and sat back in his chair. A woman walked out of the back. Her hair was red and just long enough to touch her shoulders. She was dressed in a commoners outfit, mostly out of leather and walked elegantly to Fiona. Her body was fit and strong, and she had a small slot concealing a short knife on her right thigh. "So, what is it I can do for you once more, Fiona?" she asked with a smile, her voice was naturally soft. "It would appear, I finally got an opportunity." Fiona responded quietly. Margaret moved her head back a bit. "Really? Are you sure?" "Absolutely. I was sent to recover an artefact that caused the incident years back." "Interesting." the red haired woman responded, "And who is it that sent you?" "You might know him, his name is Sebastian. Started organizing a competition a few days back." Margaret chuckled. "Ah, yes, I know him." she waved her hand "but why now?" Fiona moved her eyes towards Mark. Margaret nodded with understanding. "I see, so he has finally found one." she said, "so this is why you need my help, yes?" "Actually he found two. The boy has a sister" Margaret looked at Mark again, her face in thought. "And yes, I do need your help. I figured you would like to help too." "I can never say no to an adventure now, can I?" She laughed. Then she pressed a lever with her leg, it made some noise in the back. She went there, and returned with a bow, a quiver and arrows. The bow was a steel one, modified to produce the maximum power possible as well as having perfect accuracy. It's weight balanced to keep a steady hand. Fiona smiled. "I see you still prefer your old weapon, will you have enough arrows?" "Of course." she smirked, "One can never abandon what they like most. I'll make more arrows along the way, I have enough materials." "Shall we then?" Fiona gestured with her arm. "Lead the way." She put the bow over her shoulder. She jumped over the bar with ease, showing that she has gymnastics training. Walking towards the squad, Margaret turned around and yelled "I'll be busy for a while, take care of the cafe!" then she continued walking towards the exit. Fiona looked to her squad, and everyone stood up following her. Mark couldn't even finish his meal and drink, and stood up, complaining along the way. They exited the cafe and entered the jeep. Do we really need more people? There's almost no room for us in the jeep anyway... They continued along a desert area, the only thing they saw was the bumpy road leading them across the country. Mark was clumped in the jeep, quietly complaining at times. Margaret looked at him: "Since you're so uncomfortable with all of us trying to sit in one jeep" she said "how about I sit in your lap?" She gave him a small smile. Mark blushed a bit, and turned his eyes away from her. She laughed "I'm joking", she added "don't get all nervous now" Mark heard Rodger chuckling. Then he gave a small smile to Margaret. She turned around and quietly watched the dessert landscape. "Leave the kid alone, Margaret" Rodger added "he's been nervous since we started this tour". "Oh, please," she answered "you're not jealous right?" Rodger laughed. "Of course I'm not" he said, "well, maybe a bit" Margaret bumped his shoulder laughing. They approached a line of barricades along with ramps on the road. A spiked fence was put up on both sides, stretching to the next military post. They stopped in front of it. Fiona got out and talked to the soldiers at the ramp. We're leaving the country. Mark wondered how far they will travel. Fiona returned to the jeep and the ramps were raised. They quickly passed the post and drove a few hundred meters before Rodger suddenly took a sharp turn off road. Mark shook from his seat and almost fell, but he leaned on Margaret. She looked at him and arched a brow. He quickly straightened up in his seat, doing a slight cough and blushing. Mark asked where they were headed. "We're crossing the country and going into enemy territory." Fiona responded. "Even though we're considered as neutral mercenaries, I don't want us sitting in front of the country border armed with weapons." Mark nodded. "But the border is secured, how are we going to get passed?" "I have everything prepared for these situations" Fiona answered sharply. "There are places where we can pass undetected. And that's exactly where we're going." Mark got quiet again. After fifteen minutes of driving along the spiked fence they reached an opening and Rodger drove through it. They drove for a few kilometres trough the desert terrain until they finally got back on the road. Afterwards they left the desert and entered into a forest. The sun was slowly setting, and after seeing a clearing, Rodger drove to it and stopped the vehicle. "We'll set camp here to rest. Perhaps for a whole night." Fiona explained. They started setting up tents, everyone was moving quickly and raising tents with precision Mark couldn't even attempt to follow. Scott looked around the ground looking for footprints. Then he walked away to scout the trees. "There shouldn't be any hostile animals" He yelled towards the camp. "We should set up fire." Margaret also walked away from the camp towards a tall sturdy tree. She quickly climbed it and relaxed herself on a branch. She put her hand in her pocked and pulled out a small flute and started playing an unfamiliar song. It was calm and relaxing, and she played it with obvious finesse. Mark was still struggling with unpacking his tent. Then Rodger came to help him, and finished in less than 5 minutes. Mark smiled feeling a bit embarrassed. The camp now had all the tents set with a small fire in the centre. James started preparing a meal, and the scent of it was mouthwatering. He left it on the fire and started viewing plants, taking some and putting them in his backpack. Mark sat next to the fire, watching James' stew. Fiona laid down and rested, listening to Margaret's music. When the dinner was ready they all gathered around the fire. "Never heard you play that song" Rodger commented. "I've been learning a few new things since we last met" she smiled and gave him a wink. Rodger turned to Mark: "So tell us about yourself, kid." he said cheerfully. "any fun experiences, special skills, fun anecdotes?" "What happened to leave the kid alone?" Margaret added. Richard waved his hand and didn't respond. Mark was looking at him quietly. He swallowed the food in his mouth, then responded: "Hmm, not really. There wasn't much happening in the district I grew up in." Rodger rolled his eyes "How about you, Margaret" he turned to her "I'm sure you have many fun stories?" She grinned "Not any you need to hear or know about." "Of course." he shook his head "always so secretive." He turned his gaze. "So no one else?" he looked at everyone one by one. "Very well then" he shrugged "I guess it's up to me to entertain as always." "Oh please do" Fiona said flatly while chewing her food. Rodger ignored her. "Once I was in a bar..." "When were you not?" James added. Rodger ignored him as well and continued. "...with some of my friends, and naturally they got me drunk. Decided to have some fun and arrange a marksman duel with a some guy who I can't even remember. You see, they placed bets to who will score better. I won of course, but that wasn't their prank. While we were shooting they invited a policeman, then they ran away. Leaving me in an alley with a gun and the target I was shooting at. The cop held me in the station for two days until the lads decided to get me out." He continued eating. "However, while I was there I managed to play some games with other inmates, got a few marbles, ten cents and a small ball." He sighed. "Guess I was lucky they didn't notice me cheating each time. So after I got out they said I passed out after I got into a bar fight and got arrested. Can you imagine, me passing out in a bar. They could have been more creative with their lies." "I'm sure they weren't quite off" Margaret commented. "Maybe they weren't. I don't like remembering the details that much." he laughed and continued eating his meal. "I doubt you can." James remarked. Richard gave him a short glance. Afterwards all decided to quietly eat. Margaret and James had the best table manners, eating slowly and elegantly. Richard was eating sloppy, drinking water to jug down a bite too large for him. When they finished eating, it was already night. Fiona stood up. "We can either continue driving to the nearest city, or if you're too tired" she said and glanced to Mark, "we can camp here for the night." "I've never liked sleeping in tents" Rodger added. "And we should arrive at a city in about two hours. I saw we keep moving." Everyone nodded and looked at Fiona. "It's decided then. Everyone gather your things and we're going as soon as possible." Naturally the squad was packing up quickly, and within 5 minutes all tents were gone. James offered to help Mark, and then they all got into the car. Rodger found a rough dirt road, but it was better than nothing. You could barely see anything in the darkness, and the only light was the one from the car. Scott seemed nervous, looking around and into the dark trees. He seemed to have a better hearing than the others, moving head to any sound. Mark wasn't worried since he couldn't hear anything, but the squad knew to trust Scott's judgement. While driving, they encountered a man standing on the middle of the road, wrapped in an old brown blanket. Richard stopped the car looking at him. "Do you mind getting off the road?" he said. The man coughed. "I apologize, but I got lost in the forest, do you have some food or water? Please." Fiona looked at Rodger and gave him a nod. Rodger took a bottle of water from his backpack and some leftovers from the earlier meal. The squad got off the car and Scott gestured Mark to stay. Mark retreated into the jeep. Suddenly light was pointed at them, and the man pulled out a gun. More people came out of the dark forest, all armed with handguns and a few riffles as well. "I would suggest you all to freeze." the man in the street said. "You look like a lot that would have some money." "You look like a lot that no one would miss." Richard answered seriously, his eyes were narrowed at the man. The man laughed. "You're rather confident for someone outnumbered." Fiona gave Richard a nod. The bandit continued: "Now hand over everything you ha..." With lighting fast movement, Richard twisted his arm and took his gun, holding him as a human shield. At the same the entire squad except James immediately took down the nearest opponents, taking their weapons while they were doing it. Margaret took out her bow and quickly shot at a tree, hitting a man in the shoulder and he fell down, barely able to stand. He dragged himself away to the dark forest. Richard squeezed the bandit's neck. "Now unless you want me to snap your neck right now" he said "I would suggest that all of you stand down and run away." "How did you possibly..." Richard twisted his arm harder, the bandit screamed in pain. "I said to stand down!" he yelled. The bandit nodded and everyone lowered their weapons and ran away. Richard let him go, still pointing a gun at him. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood. We are not simple travellers, thief. And if I ever see you again" he said with a grin "well, you won't see anything after that." The bandit gulped and nodded. "Now get away from my sight" Richard added and the man ran away as fast as he could. The forest was dark and quiet again. He disassembled the gun within seconds and threw it away. Fiona looked at him arching a brow. "What?" he asked. "Not that bad, although I would've pressured him a bit more" she said. Mark stood amazed and shocked. His eyes just went from one person to another. He was left speechless. Everyone returned to the jeep. "We're not some amateurs, kid." Rodger said. "We knew exactly what they were going to try, and we prevented it." Rodger leaned in to him. "So do relax a bit? We have everything covered, and so far the only thing you need to do is walk around 'till your blood gives some sort of signal to doctor James over there." He moved back and started driving the car. Mark didn't even have the time to return a nod. They drove through the forest, breaking its silence for only a moment. For only a moment the darkness would lower. And then they finally got out, and entered an old city. It's buildings were visibly damaged, and the roads were bumpy and full of holes. There weren't any people, everything was silent. Almost dead. Fiona looked at the town. "It's time to start our mission here." she said "but I want everyone to be as careful as possible. I don't want us to attract too much attention." Her eyes were locked on the city. "We're in enemy territory now."

Mastering a turret is a must for any tanker, but it won't bring out the full potential of a tank. In order to use the full power of a combo, you must master both the turret and hull. Now mastering a hull doesn't only mean learning how to drive and memorizing maps, it's also positioning yourself in battle. And with good positioning you can shoot off much more useful shots both for yourself and for your team. This advice is best used in XP (hornet/railgun) battles, but can easily be used in normal battles as well. Here I'll share some tips that in my experience helped me achieve good results. See and observe This is extremely important. Constant awareness of yourself and your opponents is vital to any match. Knowing your position and the position of others can determine the path you'll take in attacking and defending. In order to achieve this you'll constantly need to change your camera angle and rotate your turret, so get used to using Q and E. Counting shots is another thing that you have to use to achieve a decent success in the game - know how much health your opponent has, how long he's reloading, how much of a threat he is at that moment. Use the information given in the top right corner of your screen*, monitor who killed who and how many people are left alive. Using this you can quickly conclude if the base is empty, or if defenders are about to spawn. It'll also help you verify if you got a shot before someone else, the one who killed first or died first will always have the advantage, and knowing who that is is vital. All those combined will help you prioritize opponents, evade attacker and stop attempts of a flag capture. *See picture below Seeing the advantage Whenever two players are hiding behind cover, sometimes there's an opening in the defence. You must know when you have the advantage to strike. These tactics will work if your opponent is a Railgun user, but with practice it can also surprise a Smoky or a Thunder. If you're in cover but your opponent is driving towards you, you have an easy shot. However don't be predictable. Make sure he's not charging the Railgun shot. In every case you always must watch your opponent, and make decisions based on his movement and aiming. If the opponent isn't charging, but he's moving towards you quickly. Now shoot first, while in cover, then move. This will make you much harder to predict than just moving out of cover and then pressing space. Since most players who see even the slightest hull movement will immediately charge their rail, shooting you off your aim. Note that this isn't only used if your opponent is going towards you, if he's standing on a ramp or slope you can use it to your advantage as well. Next example is when you're in cover, but your opponent is on a small ramp or slope. This is where you have a bit more advantage if you can use it properly. Here you will have to know the way your opponent is thinking. Is he going to rush his shot? Is he going to wait for you to waste yours? Will he be careful and move to another cover? You have about 1 second of charging with Rail. So you need to maximize its use, move out of cover then try to charge it the moment you see you can get inside your opponent's cover. This is a bit harder than the last one, but it'll come with practice. Positioning yourself Now comes the part where you take the most benefit out of your hull. Most of the times you have an easy shot to make, shooting one opponent, however it's not always the best choice. If your opponent is reloading, try and look for other targets that may be a bigger threat. If you don't have any other opponents, you need to shoot in such a way to give you time for an escape. Go towards some cover, preferably a house or something like that. Then shoot your opponents side to slow him down if he's following you and quickly make a sharp turn around the cover. Now you'll have a chance to dodge a shot. The next positioning is one that's both attractive and effective. Lining up your opponents. Most enemies will just sit next to cover, so if you're in those 1 on 1 scenarios with someone else, try to line up with someone else. This takes practice but if you can score two hits for only one shot it'll benefit everyone. Predicting your opponents movement can also help in making double shots. If you know someone will rush for a flag, or go to cover, use it to your advantage. And patience is key, the easiest shots aren't the best ones. If you're inside the opponents base and have a clean shot, try and wait for one more opponent to spawn, then move out to angle them in a single line and shoot. Always remember that the benefit of Railgun is its range which doesn't reduce damage, so there's no need to go towards and opponent to hit him, it might also cause you to miss due to lag (since it can increase when you're pushing a tank). Railgun outside XP XP battles are nice and fun for those who like to experience the most out of their combo. But Railgun is also a standard tanki weapon, used in the normal battles as well. Pretty much the same tactics apply, only perhaps harder to execute since you're up against Smokies, Thunders and other weapons. Attacking with Railgun and taking flags is not something people suggest to new players, but it can be done with the right opportunity. Penetration power help here, so having Railgun to at least an M2 level would be good enough. Again finding a good spot is key. A spot where you can defend yourself from any attacker and see them approaching early, and at the same time have a good view of the opponents base. Since that's where they will regroup the most, penetrating shots are easy, so you can shoot two and sometimes three people at once. And since you only have one shot and then a long reload, using the most of it is highly beneficial. (If you can, using a double power would help you a lot in this situation) Once you see an opportunity to clear out the base, you can freely take the flag. Reducing threat level Dodging, shooting people off aim and taking cover is a great way to survive, but it's not always possible. Especially in a chaotic rush for the flag where everyone seems to be in the same place just shooting the nearest enemy. In this situation I prefer to move out of the group and keep control of the position from a far. An example would be hiding in the bushes part of Sandbox, it'll make you harder to notice and while people are occupied with the flag, they'll hardly even look there. Sometimes even a simple move as rotating your turret to someone else will cause an opponent to hit someone next to you, thinking you won't aim at him. However this is somewhat of a risky strategy, for you need to be confident in your ability that you can use an opportunity after you've "sacrificed" your teammate. Always keep in mind that small factor of how dangerous you are to your opponent, for it'll give you a shot or two more then someone who's seen as a bigger threat. Controlling the battle This is what separates the normal players from the great ones. Controlling the battle requires you to combine all the previous techniques mentioned. To clarify, you need to have a feeling of power when you join a match. You don't want to be surprised by anything. You need to predict everything, including when you'll get killed. As long as you control the match, you won't have trouble helping your team. The moment you lose control is the one when you feel like you don't know what to do, if you're getting killed right after you spawn, if you can't recognize who has full health points and who's low. However you mustn't let that distract you. Take a few seconds to get the feeling of the situation, sometimes the opponents will cap a flag while you try to see where you're at but that's unimportant (unless the flag is the deciding one and ends the match). You must know what you're doing at every moment, and to an extent know when your teammates will get destroyed and who will they wound. This too in time becomes instinctive, but start practising it early, for it'll help in the future. Conclusion There is always room for improvement in your gameplay, and experimenting with different tactics and shots is what makes the game all the more enjoyable. Finding some easy and simple tricks will always help you win a battle, and help your teammates along the way. Get together with your friends and find the best positions in maps to help you beat even the strongest of opponents. Railgun is a weapon that most veteran players use, it's the most popular weapon in cybersport, holding a vital part in the light format, and for good reason. The large damage of the endless beam and slow reload combined with elegance and speed of hornet makes this a harmonious combination. I'm sure many players have their own tricks that help them gain the edge over their opponents, mastering a certain position and controlling every segment of the battle. I'm hoping this guide will help the newer players, or even some of the more experienced, get increased enjoyment out of the beautiful weapon that is the Railgun. Thank you for reading and see you in battle.

I really think teachers do more than people give them credit for. Those people devoted their life to inspire and educate new generations instead of doing their own research. I've been in situations where I have given talks that are meant to teach and inspire people about a particular subject, and it's not as easy as it seems. You really need to know how to give knowledge to someone else, and that's what most people can't do or have difficulties with (from what I've seen in my experience). They are the ones that preserve the foundation of knowledge so that others may build up on it. One teacher educates many generations, and if only one person from those generations does something to help the world, teachers job has been completed successfully.

Am I the only one around here who actually goes to school to learn stuff and not just to pass? I don't just study for a test and forget it all, I like knowing it, it feels good to know how nature functions... The facts learned I later use to build up on that knowledge. To constantly learn more. I don't think about school as something that will help me get a job, I see it as a way to learn from people who came before me and to help discover new things for the next generation.

The paragraph riddle is one of the more popular ones, I'd like to see some original riddles here...

Easy one, "If I asked the other guard which door is the safe one, what would he answer?" Whatever he says, you go to the opposite door. To make this riddle more interesting, add one more guard that sometimes lies and sometimes tells the truth. Same rules apply.

Fen'Harel- Dreadwolf, He who hunts alone, Lord of tricksters, Roamer of the beyond and Bringer of nightmares. In Elven mythology he was the betrayer of the creators and an enemy of the elves. He imprisoned the gods away from the realm of mortals. Elven keepers (leaders) often have a ring with a mark of Fen'Harel to remind them of his betrayal so that they stay away from him, and also keep a statue of him far away from their house. Elves are one of my favorite fictional creatures and I liked the story about him so I took it as my username.

@DiSoRderLY

Answer to the last one. When the guard tells a number you need to say how many letters that number has. Four has 4, Three has 5, Seven has 5. Answer to the "If you speak my name, I am broken" is silence.

Five.

When will start playing tanki again?

Great rank up party, Brandy :D

Thank you for coming everyone! :D