Estimated reading time: ~8 minutes
Chapter 90
After taking a bathroom break and a quick nap, it’s already the second day of the New Technology Exhibition. Momiji and the others apparently have various things to do and went their separate ways. Which means I’m left all alone with nothing to do, so my only option ends up being playing 「HAO」 again. What did I even come here for? Couldn’t I have just waited until the third day?
That said, considering what Teo and the others said yesterday, just the fact that I showed my face here is supposed to serve as bait for 「SOD」. In that case, I suppose it’s fine to slack off today. Or rather, I don’t want to just leave things as they are.
「Oh, you’re back. We were just getting to the good part.」
「No way… You didn’t know the future… So our vigilance was…」
「What about this side?」
「They learned the truth about Orange and are undergoing a SAN check.」
「I see, hmm. Take care.」
「Who do you think is to blame for this, you bastard!?」
So, when I logged in, I found the blonde girl Kurage sitting cross-legged on the ground, with Teo trying to hold back his laughter while watching her. You look like you’re having fun, Teo. Also, Kurage, please stop making that despairing expression the moment you see me. This is the fifth time already, and it’s making me laugh too.
Looking inside the cockpit, I noticed that the map display was heavily distorted. What Teo said about the instability was true, but fortunately, by using the correct data obtained early on for calibration, we haven’t gotten lost. We’ve already covered 2/3 of the remaining distance, which is several times faster than I imagined.
When I said that, Teo replied, 「You should thank Kōmitsu for that.」 I tilted my head, not quite understanding why, and Teo tapped on the 「Falschblau」. The armor, designed to maximize hardness and weight reduction, caused damage to Teo’s hand from the recoil, making him grimace. That’s what you get for hitting it so hard, you idiot.
「Well, it’s because she always kept your equipment in top condition. Why do you think we haven’t encountered any Machine Beasts despite coming this far? She generously used precious stealth coating for radar countermeasures and arranged for maintenance until 2060 without fail. And haven’t you ever thought that your skills seem too optimized for someone who has only piloted a few times?」
「Yeah, now that you mention it, it is strange considering I’ve only been in it a few times.」
「That’s because the Apollyon’s computer is applying corrections. It has prepared and is running an optimization assistant program based on your data up until 2055. And since it includes data from multiple loops, even if you control it intuitively, you should be able to perform close to the ideal.」
「So that’s why I was able to fight so well with the mass-produced Apollyon Ver1.07, which was originally just for transport.」
「Ver1.07, that was the first time you met Kōmitsu, right? In that case, that was your raw skill… Wait, that was your raw skill!? No, no matter how much correction is applied, it’s questionable whether you could become that strong. But I thought you must have ‘synchronized’ and gained experience…」
「Nope.」
「Orange… Portable shrine… Lies… No abilities… Sigh…」
As I thought about how I wasn’t aware of those efforts, I took another look at the Falschblau. Indeed, the maintenance on the Falschblau had been free, and even before that, I had received various support such as the installation of the NMM. I didn’t really feel the effects of the program optimization, but the fact that I could fight without practice despite using such a wide variety of functions and weapons compared to the beginning was undoubtedly thanks to Momiji and the old man. But I think about 60% of my strength is my raw skill. I was able to avoid spawn-kills with my physical body, after all.
And then there’s Kurage, who continues to despair without change. I wish she would do something about it soon. Just as I was thinking that, the tentacles growing from her waist stood up straight. After wriggling around for a bit, she straightened her posture.
「…Blood.」
Hearing those words, Teo and I grew tense. Something was definitely off. In this operation, numerous players were supposed to be deployed and heading towards the destination. Therefore, it wouldn’t be strange at all for us to encounter players other than Kurage. However, when we actually checked, we hadn’t met anyone besides her. Teo asked Kurage with a tense expression.
「Let me confirm again. You were chased by Machine Beasts and collapsed there while setting up communication relays as a scout, right?」
「That’s correct. To add to that, I was alone from the beginning. I was assigned to the very edge, a part where betrayal wouldn’t affect a large number of people. Well, I never expected to catch Orange and you in the process, though.」
「Then why can we confirm the map information but not the voice communication?」
「Huh? Was there an explanation like that?」
「…I see. You’ve never done this kind of exploration before this version. The sharing of strategy information was supposed to be done by the ‘Order’ and the ‘Reformist’. But even though we’ve come this close, we still can’t establish voice communication? I thought it might be due to differences in the frequencies used, but this is…」
The white fog gradually thinned out. As I stepped forward with my blade at the ready, what came into view was skin. The area was shaped like a large crater, with a giant sitting at its center. Metal entrails and muscles were spilling out from various parts, but that wasn’t the shocking part. I didn’t even have the composure to pay attention to the Apollyon Fusion.
Human heads were being pierced by finely divided metal tentacles. The Primordial Strain-17, the perpetrator who had fired the nuclear weapon, continued to toy with the humans, probing their brains as if searching for something necessary. And these weren’t just ordinary people, but most likely players. In fact, since there was no feedback, they weren’t experiencing pain, but despite their brains being tampered with, they were still putting up resistance. On the other hand, the strain mercilessly twisted off the heads of NPCs who were writhing in agony without even a glance.
Moreover, the appearance of the Strain-17 had transformed into something bizarre. From a dumpling-like metal mass, lizard legs and human hands alternated in protruding out. Reptilian eyes were affixed all over the metallic hands modeled after the Apollyon Fusion, with each eye independently monitoring different directions. Countless tentacles sprouted from the upper part, with a vertically erected device for launching nuclear missiles standing at the center like an axis.
The abnormal form different from the previous strains, the purposeful actions. The meaning behind selectively targeting only players was unknown, and how it was able to settle here beforehand was also a mystery. However, there was no doubt that the fact that tentacles were inserted into what appeared to be a comm device, taking root, was a part of the answer.
Furthermore, we were most likely the last players to arrive based on our landing point, and we couldn’t expect any reinforcements. We had to defeat this thing, or we would be in constant danger of being targeted by nuclear strikes. On the other hand, we also needed to recover the Apollyon Fusion and reach the center of the Infinite Horizon. Just the two of us? Against an unknown number of strains, even if the Apollyon Fusion was powerful? And the first enemy would be firing nuclear missiles in rapid succession?
In other words, as I thought. There was only one answer. Teo spoke to me with a frozen expression.
「The operation is almost a failure, but we can’t just ignore that mysterious behavior. Sorry, Kanji, Kurage. Let’s try to do something about the 17 with just the two of us—」
「Yeah, let’s use the Strain-17 to fly to our destination!」
「I guess it can’t be helped… Wait a second, what did you just say, Orange?」
Kurage asked me in a flustered manner. Come on, this should be obvious. Have you never played an open-world game before? With a launch system and explosives, do you have any idea how much mischief you can cause? You can even travel to the final dungeon right after the opening ends, seriously.
「Flying freely in the sky requires energy, right? And there are nuclear weapons over there.」
「「Huh? 」」
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