Eastern and Western Nations (5)
"Th-this, this…!"
As the distance to Yahweh2 closed, Five-Minute Chaos's face twisted into one of imminent disaster.
'What the hell? What is this?!'
He, who'd made a habit of harassing novices in the neutral zone, had his own manual.
Most beginners had too much pride; after a few provokes, they rushed in like Yahweh2 had.
Even if you struck first, the moment a counterattack occurred the system marked both sides as hostile.
If you eliminated the opponent in that state, you could get loot even if they were from another nation.
Loot could randomly grant ten percent of a galaxy or strip a specific part.
For top players with tens of trillions, ten percent of a galaxy would be huge, but Five-Minute Chaos enjoyed the small thrill of stealing parts from novices.
And right now, he thought he could pick apart these just-equipped beginners too.
'But…'
He cranked Yahweh2's output to the max and fired, yet not a single shot hit.
'How is this happening?'
Thrown by an unfamiliar situation, Five-Minute Chaos began to panic, and finally his evasion dropped below twenty percent.
"You little bastard!"
Shirone shouted and raised his arm; an energy round struck Five-Minute Chaos's body.
"Ughhh!"
His mech's durability was good for its firepower, so a few hits didn't mean instant death.
'This is wrong. A bug. A system error.'
A chill ran through Five-Minute Chaos.
It was like a cuckoo clock he'd ignored because it was familiar suddenly popping out at the wrong time.
'Normally, when distance narrows, evasion drops. But that guy should have the same issue.'
The skirmish continued.
As Shirone slipped between gaps in the barrage, a few rounds hit Five-Minute Chaos.
Flames spat across his body and augmented reality displayed the damaged part's durability.
"Heh. Heh heh."
Durability 482/500.
Momentarily baffled by the abnormal situation, the gap in power was obvious in numbers.
'His weapon's underpowered. In close-range combat I have the advantage.'
And one more thing.
'I have this.'
He activated the Selective Option that unlocks at level 20: Turbo. Output surged.
"Die!"
Energy rounds scale with output, so his firepower more than doubled.
"Ughhh!"
As the projectile curtain sped up, Shirone wrinkled the bridge of his nose and sharpened his focus.
Time slowed down bit by bit…
'A specific pattern.'
A round burst cluster like a dandelion's florets came into focus.
'There—'
It was geometry unfolding in space-time; Shirone found the gap and slipped through.
Five-Minute Chaos's heart plummeted.
"Aaaaaah!"
Unable to bear his anxiety, he sprayed bullets like a madman, but that only made it easier for Shirone.
Finally, with Shirone nearly at his face, Five-Minute Chaos shouted in a rage.
"All right! Let's see who wins! You—!"
Bang!
Five-Minute Chaos's eyes shook and his allies' faces went blank.
Instead of a traditional duel, Yahweh2 had slammed Five-Minute Chaos's face with its opponent's fist.
"Gah!"
Taken by surprise, Five-Minute Chaos toppled backward and Shirone pressed his chest down.
Shirone leveled the barrel at the man's head and saw the terror in his eyes.
Silence fell.
Destroyer 707 muttered, "Why—why isn't he shooting?"
"Is it because it's his first time killing someone? He seemed sensitive about that kind of thing."
Shirone asked, "Why did you attack us?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Heh!"
Five-Minute Chaos tried to lift his torso, but Shirone stomped down and pinned him again.
"Apologize to Death Gongju. Hurting others for no reason is a bad thing."
'What is this now?'
Five-Minute Chaos was flabbergasted.
'A concept? But I could've won just now. My durability's much higher anyway.'
He twitched his mouth and spread his arms in a feigned surrender, playing the part.
"All right. I'll go apologize. Cut me some slack. I won't show my face here again."
"Don't trust him! He's scamming you!" Death Gongju shouted.
While Shirone didn't move a muscle, Five-Minute Chaos leveled his barrel upward.
"Of course, idiot."
Just as he tried to fire an energy round, he met Shirone's cold, steel-edged gaze.
'Huh?'
Killing intent.
One thought flashed through, and Shirone's voice sounded unreal.
"Penetrate."
It was already a dead life.
"W-wait…!"
Bang!
Shirone's shoulder jolted and an energy round blew the top of Five-Minute Chaos's head apart.
"Kegek… kegegek!"
The headshot made the body twitch like a spasm, then it emitted mechanical whirs and shut down.
"Hey, Yahweh2."
Destroyer 707's approaching group halted in their tracks.
'What's with the mood?'
They looked down at the mech so seriously no one dared interrupt.
TopCodeName said, "Five-Minute Chaos's durability averages 500. For Shirone's weapon to score a penetration would normally take some time. He asked that question with that in mind. He doesn't seem to care about flesh and blood—he's thoroughly calculating."
Though their meeting had been brief, they could roughly guess Yahweh2's disposition.
"Probably. But…" Death Gongju said, "He looked so sad."
Who was he? What sort of life did he lead in reality to feel sadness even inside a simulation?
Shirone turned his head with a smile. "We won. Everyone okay?"
As the heavy mood broke, Destroyer 707's party finally moved on.
"That was awesome. Dodging even energy rounds. Are you secretly a combat genius?"
"Just lucky. If Five-Minute Chaos were smarter, it would've been a much harder fight."
"What are you talking about? It was a perfect victory."
Shirone reviewed the battle. "I would have retreated while fighting. The spherical joint lets you watch behind while sprinting forward. You use the advantage of high output. He probably didn't think that far in the heat of the moment. That's why I took him down when I did."
It was a matter of judgment.
"Underestimating an enemy—assuming 'there's no way I'll lose'—that complacency can hugely affect a fight. In the end, he was high level but not particularly strong." Destroyer 707's group thought of rankers.
'The AI system lets even non-experts enjoy all the content—that's its big advantage…
But that alone doesn't make you a ranker. Those who become rankers don't rely on the system; they understand and fully exploit it.
The ability to dodge energy rounds was a secondary issue compared to that. He learns insanely fast. Even under the same conditions now, we'd lose.'
They weren't particularly upset.
'Well, he is Yorga's son's friend, after all.'
At that moment Shirone pointed at the ground and asked, "Is there something here?"
"Loot!" Death Gongju clapped. "If you die with a hostile flag, you drop loot. No one can see it until you pick it up. What is it? What dropped?"
Shirone picked up the part on the ground.
"This? It's the right arm that guy used earlier. Maron Corp's Bolt Gun—Z204 model."
Destroyer 707 burst out laughing. "Puhahaha! That guy dropped the most expensive thing. Serves him right. He must be boiling inside right now."
"Is it irrecoverable? What about Death Gongju's left arm?" someone asked.
"Yes. On death, loot or parts whose durability hit zero are permanently lost. It's okay—my left arm sells as a single item, so you can buy it at a shop."
"Hm, then what should we do with this? Death Gongju can't use a right arm. Shall we sell it for galaxy currency?"
TopCodeName said, "That's possible, but I don't recommend it. Shops take a hefty fee. And selling it to users… it's not a particularly popular model. Mass-produced items usable at level 20 have limits anyway."
Destroyer 707 said, "Don't. Use it yourself. That's the most profitable. Let's go to Atogram and find an engineer. We need to restock ammo anyway."
"Right. But an engineer?"
"The shop can swap parts instantly, but parts developed by users or looted need an engineer to install them. Big guilds even hire dedicated engineers."
"So that's what the experience meant."
"Exactly. Shop parts are fine, but legendary or artisan gear comes from hunting or duels. Don't worry too much. A right arm isn't that weird."
TopCodeName added, "Personally, swapping eyeballs is the most annoying."
"Agreed."
Back in Atogram, the group bought Death Gongju's left arm and some energy rounds at Maron's shop.
Then they went looking for an engineer.
"There are engineers at parts shops too, but they're expensive. It's more beneficial to commission one directly."
"Yeah. Let's save."
Shirone's style was to learn the basics himself even if he wasn't short on galaxy currency.
When they entered the shop of a famous Atogram engineer called Hermes, a familiar face was there.
"Huh?"
Five-Minute Chaos, with companions, was equipping a newly purchased bolt gun.
Shirone tensed, but there was no violent attitude like at Destroyer's place.
Destroyer 707's grin widened. "So you got a part? You chose a bolt gun again? Looks good."
"You bastard… you think it's over?" Five-Minute Chaos spat back.
Shirone glanced at the beginner tips. Unless a special event happened in the city, combat wasn't allowed.
'I see, so that explains it.'
Five-Minute Chaos's companions nodded toward the exit. "Hey, is that them?"
"Yeah. Remember their faces. You guys pick Eastern Nation. Let's have a real fight."
Shirone checked their code names. One-Minute Chaos. Two-Minute Chaos…
A round-bodied mech with thick, long arms like a gorilla approached Shirone.
It was One-Minute Chaos.
"Yahweh2, don't run into me on the battlefield. I'll smash anyone I catch."
'Integrated Amara type. Over level 70.' As the party tensed, One-Minute Chaos walked out the door.
"Let's go."
Five-Minute Chaos, finished with repairs, stepped outside and Shirone swapped his right arm.
The engineer warned that output might not fully match, but one part would be fine.
When they emerged, dusk had already fallen.
"Shall we head to Freedom Square? It's annoying when those Chaos guys gang up on you."
Following Destroyer 707, they arrived at Freedom Square, packed shoulder to shoulder with people.
Countless users sold goods and some were scouting guild members.
"When's she coming?"
They checked the time with augmented reality and waited, when the square's entrance suddenly erupted.
"Wow! A ranker!"
Shirone's group couldn't help but stare.
Leading the crowd was a petite woman, 160 centimeters tall.
A pale face, light purple hair falling halfway down her back, bangs cut straight across at eyebrow level.
No need to check the code name.
"It's Aegis."
She held eighth place overall in the duel rankings users respected most.
"Why is Aegis in Atogram? Golden Wheel members usually hang out in Nascasia."
"Right. Is there an event I don't know about?"
Aegis ignored her surroundings and walked straight toward Shirone.
Destroyer 707 swallowed hard. 'That mech looks slick. How much did it cost? We'll never match it.'
Stopping before them, Aegis carefully checked Shirone's code name.
"Yahweh2…"
"Uh, who are you?" Shirone asked.
Aegis bowed, hands at her sides. "This is our first meeting. I came on my employer's orders. Please, come with me. I will escort you."
Freedom Square fell into a vast, stunned silence.