The so-called Dark Exploration Mode is a high-level gameplay in "Hero," where players, while on Earth, remotely control mechas thousands of light-years away via the sub-ether network to complete various military missions assigned by the military.

This mode allows Brian Bolton, with his currently frail body, to directly participate in frontline battles. However, the entry barrier is very high—the first requirement is to have a combat mecha of one's own.

This is an extremely expensive investment, costing at least a million. Yet Brian Bolton is now just a 15-year-old high school student. Although he comes from a prestigious family, he is not valued.

Brian Bolton thought to himself, "It's unlikely I can get a combat mecha from the Zhang family. I'll have to rely on myself."

Right now, Brian Bolton is inside the virtual mecha pod of the game "Hero."

Faced with such a brutal war, his father can no longer protect him as he did when he was a child. He must become stronger quickly—strong enough to protect his father, strong enough to influence the outcome of the war.

"I have memories of ten years of future wars. I've experienced over 200 life-and-death battles. These are my assets now. In my previous life, I wasted the most crucial three years of training from age 15 to 18. Otherwise, my achievements would have been far more than just piloting a Berserker-class mecha!"

The Earth Alliance's mechas are divided into multiple levels. The better the pilot's physique and skills, the stronger the mecha they can operate. Mecha levels range from weak to strong.

Physique and mecha use the same grading system, from low to high: Ordinary, Elite, Berserker, Doomsday, and Mythic—five levels.

Originally, someone who could only pilot a Berserker-class mecha could never become a major general. But in the future, as military talent dwindled, his outstanding performance and repeated military achievements earned him a promotion to major general against the odds.

Now, living life over again, with the help of his past experiences, he is certain he can break through his limits and qualify to pilot Doomsday- or even Mythic-class mechas, becoming a strategic force for humanity on Earth!

As he was thinking this, a gentle female voice suddenly sounded in the virtual cockpit: "Teammates are in position. Would you like to enter the battlefield?"

Brian Bolton glanced at the screen and realized he had previously chosen the Raid mode in "Hero," and now teammates had been found.

"Perfect, I can check my current physical condition."

With that thought, Brian Bolton selected "Yes."

"Hero" has begun!

Chapter 002: Strategic Planet: Pandora

Over a hundred years ago, games used primitive keyboard and mouse controls, but today's "Hero" uses near-realistic virtual cockpit technology.

Inside the virtual pod, the surroundings are just like a real mecha cockpit, with a fully immersive 3D screen that clearly displays the environment around the mecha. Inside the pod, there are sensor gloves, control pedals, and operation buttons—all fully equipped. The pod is also surrounded by a 48-direction vector inertia simulator, perfectly mimicking the feel of piloting a real mecha.

Once in the game, the player's experience is almost identical to piloting an actual combat mecha.

This is the hardware foundation that allows "Hero" to develop gameplay like "Dark Exploration."

After Brian Bolton chose to enter the game, the gentle game guide voice kept sounding.

"Raid mission: Destroy the small demon base!"

"Loading mission map..."

While the game was loading the scene, Brian Bolton began to review his current information.

ID: Demon-Slaying Swordsman

Current rank: Ordinary, lower tier. (Game ranks: Ordinary, Elite, Berserker, Doomsday, Mythic.)

Record: 0 wins, 49 losses

Current mecha: Wolf Demon Type I (Werewolf form, 5 meters tall, 8 tons, max output 737 horsepower, melee assassin mecha, equipped with 'Warlord' grade motion capture system.)

Current body modifications: None

Current mecha modifications: None

Overall evaluation: Ancient pitfall!

After reading this information, Brian Bolton couldn't help but smile wryly. This year, he was just a 15-year-old boy, spoiled by his father since childhood, willful, extremely self-centered, physically weak, and a complete novice with terrible skills. So, in the first month, he lost every single match!

In fact, for the next three years, he continued to lose more than he won. He completely wasted the golden years from 15 to 18, only waking up after his father died in battle—but by then, his prime years were already gone.

Looking back at his past self now, even Brian Bolton feels he was an annoying little brat.

"Beep~ Loading teammate information."

Three player slots appeared on the front of the all-around screen in the mecha pod—one for himself, and the other two for his teammates. They had chosen the most basic game mode: "Raid Mission."

In Raid Missions, players are told the exact location of the demon base. To win, they simply need to destroy the demon base in the mission scene.

For beginners, even with the demon base's detailed location clearly marked, destroying it is still not easy. But for Brian Bolton now, this kind of low-level scenario battle poses no challenge at all.

Quickly checking his teammates' information, Brian Bolton's eyes lit up: "Not bad, there's even an Earth Guardian, Ordinary tier, with a 65% win rate. If my assassin-type Wolf Demon mecha can coordinate well with him, we can definitely win this round easily."

Earth Guardian (Ordinary)