Raid Control (2)
"Western Free Pass?"
No wonder Dexgamseong was surprised.
Only the Ascension guild could freely use every hunting ground controlled by the Western Territory.
"Where did you get this?"
"I picked it up. From Atogram. That's why I took the train to the Western Territory. Help me and I'll let you use it. It's not a bad deal for you either."
Shirone stuck to the plan.
The little witch handing over a physical item instead of an e-card was also to hide her identity.
Dexgamseong examined the card again.
"If it's a physical item, it could plausibly be picked up by chance. But Yahweh2?"
Too convenient for a coincidence.
"There must be a hidden hand I don't know about. An inside trader in Geumhwaryun and Ascension. A traitor in Ascension? Or maybe Yahweh2 is the Western Territory's agent embedded in Geumhwaryun..."
Without knowing the full backstory, no amount of speculation would yield a firm conclusion.
"Still, it's not my problem. The point is the Western Free Pass. With it I can level up in the most efficient hunting grounds. The items I get there are a bonus..."
Dexgamseong exchanged a look with the codename Mafia, then turned back to Shirone.
"What are the terms? If you hand this free pass over to us, what do we have to do for you?"
"I want two items. Mikelan and Donatello. Get those for me and I'll give you the pass."
Mafia laughed in disbelief.
"Hahaha! What nonsense is that? Mikelan and Donatello? Do you know the drop rates for legendary items? And the difficulty is myth-grade. It auto-scales regardless of level. You'd be better off buying them if you have the coin."
According to Fermi, the four legendary items had been released in High Gear just twelve times.
"They're probably monopolized by specific guilds." If Geumhwaryun held Raphael and Da Vinci, then Mikelan and Donatello would be with Ascension.
Those who knew the inside track would never hand such items over to the Eastern Territory.
Dexgamseong added, "I know what you're thinking. You want to equip all four legendary items. But that's a pipe dream. It's an achievement no one has pulled off in High Gear."
"Let me hunt Ergos. Let us try. If we decide it's impossible, we'll give up."
Shirone pinned his hopes on his senses.
"When my sense of time sharpened, space opened. Even in reality, a time burst was followed by a spatial fold."
This place was clearly different from reality.
Yet the irony was that he could open a new world through those sensations.
"Maybe... the real world, seen from farther out, is a simulation too."
Shirone stopped indulging the thought and ran the practical numbers.
"The combination of the time burst and the spatial fold opened a passage. In High Gear terms, that's roughly programmer-level access."
He might even be able to control the raid.
"Let me. I won't cause any harm. Lower levels can be advantageous, right?" Myth-grade hunting grounds adjust difficulty according to the party's average level, so raw power wasn't everything.
"…Hold on. Let us discuss."
Mafia and Dexgamseong returned to the others and held a ten-minute meeting.
Dexgamseong came back to Shirone.
"Alright, we'll try. But if there's no sign of hope in the first run, we're done. We don't waste time."
"That's enough."
The eight-person party, including Yahweh2, left Democracy and headed for the hunting ground.
Mafia asked, "What level did you say you were?"
"Level 100."
"Then you've unlocked ten selective options. Which ones are you running now?"
"Exo Barrier. Hawk Eye. Booster."
Exo Barrier created a shield for one second but drained enormous power.
Hawk Eye expanded vision with increased speed, and Booster was essentially a rocket engine.
"Hmm. So you've got the 70-, 80-, and 100-level options. They work for solo play. But it's different in a party."
Dexgamseong ordered, "Drop Exo Barrier and switch to cruise mode. You might run low on power during the hunt."
Cruise mode, unlocked at level 30, conserved power during long-distance movement.
"Okay. Switching now."
"When we reach the hunting ground, drop cruise mode and enable drone comms. If you don't scout where the creatures are beforehand, the party will wipe."
Shirone nodded.
"For the other two slots, use infrared vision and the frame-noise reduction—what is it called? Stealth mode. Use that. At level 100, that's probably the best setup."
"All support functions. But shouldn't you take Turbo? Just in case."
"Turbo at level 100 won't change much. It's usually chosen in duels. Rankers sometimes pick it for raids, but we're all over level 230. We don't expect you to deal damage from the start."
Codename Sonar chimed in. "Focus on survival first. If you die the difficulty spikes. Actually, hearing enhancement helps survival more than drone comms, but if you provide drone comms we can swap one of our options."
"Got it. So I'm the guide."
"Right. Sigh... I honestly don't like it. Letting someone new to Ergos be the guide..."
It didn't cost them much either way, so they proceeded.
They arrived at a massive cavern—an eighty-meter-high hollow carved into a cliff.
"Ergos's sanctuary," Dexgamseong said.
"High Gear creatures alter their patterns through genetic algorithms."
Shirone had known that since hunting Metalrat in Iron's homeland.
"The core is learning and evolution, but there's a mutation probability. Ordinary creatures have a mutation chance below ten percent."
Creatures didn't literally reproduce, but the data remained and was passed to subsequent generations.
"Ergos's mutation rate is a full fifty percent. As generations pass, predicting how they'll evolve becomes impossible."
Shirone understood.
"It means you don't know what's inside the cave until you go in."
"Exactly. That's why myth-grade creatures are so hard to pin down. With no standardized pattern, you can't memorize a strategy—you have to rely on instinct."
Having sized up the difficulty, Shirone and the party entered the cave.
-Raid begins.
An event message popped up as the scenery shifted and outside information was cut off.
"Drone."
Shirone launched a small craft using drone comms unlocked at level 40.
Dexgamseong said, "Mafia will give orders over wide-area comms. You and the others didn't slot comms, so pay attention when orders come."
Putting a comms option into the three-slot selective options was wasteful.
As levels rose, integrated multi-function options appeared—most notably Magnan at level 260, which bundled most communication features.
"So that's why everyone talks about Magnan. Real play starts at 260."
Without a Magnan to cover drone, hound, satellite, and short- to wide-range comms, large guild wars or solar battles couldn't make a splash.
"Let's go. Time isn't crucial—we can retry as much as needed. But if you die you'll resurrect outside the cave, so minimizing mistakes is top priority."
In that sense, the guide's role was crucial.
Shirone flew the drone into the cave and guided them toward areas with fewer creatures.
"Avoid engagements if possible."
Creatures were set to an average level fifty levels above the party's average.
Yahweh2 reduced the difficulty somewhat, but against Ergos that could become a liability.
"Boss creatures are a hundred levels higher."
If even one person died, the chance of clearing would drop toward zero, so the party moved with extreme caution.
"Now."
When Mafia picked a target and gave the order, six of them charged together and destroyed a flying frame.
A sharp metallic keening filled the air.
As the fight bled them dry, the Mafia team realized the rumors about Yahweh2 were true.
"The tactical finesse makes sense coming from Geumhwaryun, but this guy... how does he know the route?"
For a first-time Ergos challenger, even memorizing the labyrinthine path would be difficult.
"This way."
Shirone felt the code.
"Every code has intent. Even if a creature's pattern evolves like a living thing, from a whole perspective it's just a network. And the form of that network is—"
—the designer's intention.
"It's not cold."
He felt the operator's mind.
"No matter how high the difficulty, it's designed so the probability never hits zero."
A fact the designer might not even be aware of.
"They really love this world. High Gear. The users who enjoy High Gear."
Reaching the level of sensing the designer's intent meant Shirone had reached something akin to a reality passage.
"I can do it."
At that moment the cavern shook.
"They're coming! Everyone ready!"
From a darkness so absolute it didn't register on infrared, a mechanical voice thundered.
-Who dares invade the sanctuary of the gods!
Mafia issued the order over wide comms and Sonar fired a volley of flashbangs.
Light exploded outward.
A giant eyeball revealed itself.
-Petty creatures!
Around that eye, steel legs unfurled in four directions to grip the cave.
"Type C-ish! It's mobile combat! Focus on evasion!"
As orders came down, steel-clawed tentacles launched from Ergos's rear.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The eight-man party scattered while small creatures crawled from crevices.
A fierce battle began.
The key was to chase Ergos as it retreated along the cave walls on its four legs and land hits.
"Damn! It's too fast!"
The little creatures interfered, and aside from the eye and exposed bone, the rest of its structure took no damage.
At that moment Shirone darted in alone.
"Idiot! I told you to follow orders...!"
His words cut off as he weaved through dozens of tentacles and surged toward Ergos.
"What the—how?"
There were endless reports about users with special time-and-space abilities.
But Yahweh2's trajectory wasn't a spatial jump at all.
"How does he know the pattern?"
His movements called to mind a certain user they had trembled watching on relay screens.
"Operator..."
-Kraaaaaa!
As Shirone closed the distance, Ergos fired a beam from its eye in response.
Dexgamseong stood dumbfounded, mouth agape.
"The pattern already changed."
Normally it took twenty minutes just to chase Ergos to the cavern's end.
"I can do it."
Shirone shouted, certain.
"Go! Attack!"
Seven of them surged after him, tearing through the creatures while Shirone's thoughts raced.
"Why an eye?"
To have evolved into an eye under a fifty-percent mutation rate—
"Because it's the most suitable form to receive photon signals. If so..."
Why call it divine?
Shirone intuited the answer.
The secret of the outside world he'd longed for might be here.
"Yahweh2! Now! Destroy it!"
After a seven-kilometer chase, Shirone reached within striking distance of Ergos.
"Not yet." Even if they destroyed Ergos's eye here, they wouldn't get Mikelan.
A feeling close to certainty.
"Probability is math, but what determines that probability is the mind—an exceedingly uncertain, quantum-like signal."
Shirone's eyes snapped open.
"Now!"
This spot was Mikelan.
When Suicide's cold blade pierced the eye, Ergos convulsed as if electrocuted.
Kiaaaaaa!
Amid the thunderous roar shaking the cave, the Mafia party checked the augmented-reality feed.
Unidentified item drop: Legendary grade.
"…No way."
It was a 0.001% chance.