Chapter 104
Crystal trees. Metal plants that exist in the world of 2060. That much is clear. But why do they exist in the Sea of Okhotsk in 2040? Even approaching a little closer, they predictably don’t move at all, and their metallic stems merely sway left and right in the ocean current.
Hmm, but what of it? There’s nothing I can particularly do, and I’m not pressed to respond. After gazing intently at them for a while, the commentary shifts.
「Now, as contestant Hiniru lets out a pathetic scream, we change perspectives without averting our eyes elsewhere to focus solely on contestant Orange’s screen as he single-mindedly aims for the deep sea! Oh, this is the crystal tree known from ‘HAO’!」
「…Crystal tree? Why? That should be something derived from the Primordial Strain. Then the crystal tree’s emergence should be after the Primordial Strain awakens. No, wait, in the first place, things influenced by ‘UYK’ like ‘SOD’ exist beforehand. Did it spread?」
「Ah, um, Coach Naga, could we have your explanation, please?」
The screen seems to switch to me as the topic moves to the crystal tree. Even Coach Naga doesn’t seem to understand this phenomenon. If this is part of Momiji’s plan, she should know about it, but maybe it was unexpected, or perhaps there was a sudden change in plans, like a location change, leading to insufficient investigation.
Well, putting that aside, with all sorts of strange things happening, I suppose this is just another one of them. I gaze at the monitor anew. A bit further down, near the crystal tree, two blue ripples are displayed. In other words, parts. I decide to retrieve those first before pondering further and continue descending into the deep sea.
It’s a curious sensation having the lights on. Only the sky ahead is bright while everything else is like night. The deep sea is stunningly beautiful as I navigate along the rock face of the ocean trench. The deeper I sink, the fewer plants and fish I see. Tiny specks dance across my field of vision, but otherwise, hardly anything moves irregularly. I’m left alone in the sea.
And there they were where I descended. Two parts caught on the stem of the crystal tree. One is a giant arm. The RE Corp RE-222 gatling gun, an integrated arm-cannon unit I saw some time ago. Instead of fingers, it has six huge gun muzzles attached, and the bundles of ammo belts extending from the arm seem endless. The other is everyone’s favorite, just a blade. Feeling a bit disappointed, I bring the RE-222 close to my arm and keep responding YES to the emerging text.
The startup sound of ‘Moses’ Sword’ rings out loudly as it forcibly transforms the right arm section into a space of water vapor. Helium balloons pop out from where the arm connects to the hull, and the disconnected left arm sinks into the abyss. The RE-222’s external unit fixes its position and my mech’s with thick arms, bringing it close to the helium balloons. Crushing the balloons, the gatling gun swiftly connects to my mech. I see, so that’s how it prevents damage from water vapor.
『RE-222 equipped. 6-point part. Anti-Strain heat blade acquired. 5-point part.』
「Whoa, a total of 11 points in armaments! Has he leaped to 1st place in one go!?」
「No doubt. Contestant Nakamoto has 10 points. But his problem is the lack of enemies due to diving fastest, and the gatling gun’s short range. Being forced into long-range combat would spell his end, a huge risk.」
I appreciate them explaining that much. I mean, I didn’t really know either. I thought it looked cramped but not to that extent. And if it’s a heat blade, it must be quite different from the previous blades. Honestly, I’d prefer if they removed the heating function, installed NMM, and let me swing it around. Yeah, this mech doesn’t have NMM.
I survey my surroundings. The crystal tree stems have increased even more, extending large leaves despite hardly any sunlight reaching here. They should be some kind of seaweed, yet they resemble cherry trees. The only difference is how they greatly bend with the currents. Perhaps they utterly failed trying to make normal trees and hastily altered themselves. If so, what a foolish tale.
「It was foolish…」
A snapped crystal tree flows by like driftwood. Yup, looks completely rigid with no flex. The inside is hollow with gashes all over, appearing somewhat old. It must have been utterly defeated by the currents due to its rigidity and broke with a snap.
As I make casual speculations about that being the first failed prototype, I sense that vague but honed feeling from sniping VR of maybe being targeted (40% accuracy) and tilt my mech at full speed. Well, it’s not just intuition; the main reason is the small shadow I saw overhead. The next instant, a steel-colored bullet, much slower than on land, precisely pierces where my cockpit was.
「Whoa, contestant Orange dodges the shot with ease! He took evasive action faster than the alarm, what’s up with this contestant!?」
「Probably the shadow, right? It’s plain as day from below. That’s why some fish have luminescent bellies.」
「It must be precognition! And the one sniping is the promising new talent, still in middle school! The 13-year-old boy!」
And the name the commentator announces sounds very familiar. Ah, right, he’s here too.
「–Contestant ‘☆Star_Night☆’!」
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