併走して飛んでいるアルファが、アキラの表情を険しくさせている理由を追加する。
『アキラ。もう次の救援指示が来たわよ。これで順番待ちは3件よ』
『もう次か! まだ今回の現場に到着もしていないんだぞ! 何か多くないか!?』
『私に言われても困るわ。獲物が多くて報酬が期待できると思いましょう。......単純な討伐依頼ではないから、金ではなくてハンターランク上昇ポイントで支払われるかもしれないけれど』
アキラが思わず心底嫌そうな表情を浮かべる。
『これだけ頑張って赤字になる結果だけは勘弁してくれ!』
再びクズスハラ街遺跡の前線基地構築補助の依頼を受けたアキラは、今度はビルの制圧作業ではなく他のハンターの救援作業に回されていた。先日のビル制圧作業に時間を掛けすぎた所為で配置を変更されたのだ。
救援作業は激務だった。現場での作業自体は
が散らばっている。アキラはそれをアルファの高度な運転技術で、細かく避け、大きく避け、時に飛び越して、現場への最短距離を駆けていく。
現場も様々だ。時間を掛ければ現場の人員だけで事態を収拾できた場所。
ませた息を吐く。そして回復薬を取り出して飲み込んだ。シズカの店で買った安物だが、疲労の軽減ぐらいは可能だ。
アキラが何となく不満を
『......あんまり効いていない気がする』
『遺跡から持ってきた回復薬と比べるのは無理よ。性能も価格も根本的に違うわ。効果を分かり
『ハンターが薬漬けになる訳だな』
東部ではハンター向けに多種多様な薬が販売されている。回復薬もその一つだ。それらの薬を多用し常用するハンターも多い。品質の悪い薬を使用すると後日副作用で後遺症が出ることもある。だがその後日を迎えるためには今日を生き延びなければならない。そのためにハンターは今日も薬を多用するのだ。
く休憩にしましょう。本部には弾薬の補充が必要だとでも言えば良いわ』
『駄目だと言われたら?』
『前にも言ったけれど、私はアキラの命を優先するわ。弾薬の補充もさせずにモンスターと殴り合え。そんな指示を出す依頼をアキラに続けさせる気はないわ』
を曲げられて依頼の継続を拒否されたら自分にはどうしようもない。アキラはそれを言い訳にして、次で休憩を取ることに決めて、少し気を楽にした。アルファの意図通りに。
アキラが次の救援場所である廃ビルの前に到着する。バイクを
『あそこか』
『まだ生きているようで何よりだわ。今も交戦中のようね。彼らの弾薬が尽きる前に救援に行きましょう。突入ルートは私が指示するわ』
『任せなさい』
アキラは視界に拡張表示されている道案内の線に従って勢い良く走り出し、そのまま廃ビルの中に突入した。道案内の線はアルファが索敵を済ませた上で目的地への最短ルートを計算して表示している。それを知っているアキラは、どこにモンスターが潜んでいても不思議のない入り組んだ場所を、本来なら奇襲を警戒して慎重に進まなければならない場所を、遠慮なく安心して駆けていく。
ビルの中にはハンターとモンスターとの交戦の跡が強く残っている。今のところハンターの死体はない。代わりに生物系モンスターの死体が多数散らばっている。四散した肉片とともに体液が壁や床に飛び散っていた。
アキラは原形を残しているモンスターを見る。モンスターは
ヤラタサソリと呼ばれるこのモンスターは、頑丈な外骨格に周囲の環境に合わせた物体を取り付けて周囲の一部に擬態する能力を持っていた。
その外骨格は
アキラが立ち止まってCWH対物突撃銃を構える。ヤラタサソリは全く動こうとしない。既に死んでいるのか、負傷で動けないのか、あるいは死んだ振りをして獲物が近付くのを待っているのか、全く見分けが付かない。
すると視界に無数に映っているヤラタサソリの一部が赤く拡張表示された。アルファがまだ生きていると判断した個体だ。ピクリともしないヤラタサソリ達の生死を個別に瞬時に見分けるなど常人には無理だ。だがアルファは全く問題なく識別していた。
このヤラタサソリ達を無視して進むのは非常に危険だ。だが念のために疑わしい個体全てを銃撃すると大量の弾薬を消費する。しかしその生死を確実に識別できるのであれば話は別だ。
アキラは赤枠の付いているヤラタサソリに狙いを定め、引き金を順に引いていく。放たれた銃弾がヤラタサソリの強固な外骨格を貫通して内部を破壊し即死させる。数匹のヤラタサソリが倒された後、1匹のヤラタサソリが擬態を解いてアキラに襲いかかろうと動き出した。しかしすぐに同じように銃撃を受けて即死した。
ハンター達がビルの5階の一室で籠城を続けている。部屋の唯一の出入口に銃口を向けながら、険しい表情でモンスターの襲撃に備えていた。
その一人が貸出し端末に向かって叫んでいる。
「こちら157番! 本部! 応答しろ!」
「どうした、じゃねえ! 救援はどうなっているんだ!」
「救援の指示は既に出している。現在そちらに向かっている。そこで待て」
「いつまで待てば良いんだ! さっきから全然来ねえじゃねえか!」
「救援要員は順番に現地に向かっている。救援要請が多すぎて混んでるんだよ。恨むなら雑魚モンスター相手に救援要請を出す雑魚ハンターを恨め。その分お前が割を食ってるんだ。待ってろ。以上だ」
「おいちょっと待て! ......クソッ! 切りやがった!」
き付けようとするのを、他のハンターが慌てて止めた。無事な端末はそれが最後なのだ。他の端末は交戦中に破損や紛失してしまっていた。
ハンター達はヤラタサソリに近付いてそれらの生死を確認する気にはなれなかった。しかしそれらを念入りに銃撃して生死を問わず確実に止めを刺すのも
かな銃声が部屋の外から聞こえてきた。その銃声は少しずつ部屋に近づいてきている。
「救援か!?」
「た、助かった!」
ハンター達が歓喜の声を上げる。しかしその声はすぐに中断された。部屋の中にいたヤラタサソリの数匹が銃声に反応して擬死を解いたからだ。ハンター達は慌ててそれらを銃撃した。
っていた。数匹の死体の周辺には、必ずと言って良いほど擬死の個体が混じっていた。その中には頭部を失っても即死しない個体が混じっていた。その場合は尾や脚を破壊して、殺せずとも無力化して先を急いだ。
アキラがCWH対物突撃銃の弾倉を交換しながら愚痴を
『多い! 何だこの量は! これで何匹目だ!?』
『今ので54匹目よ。しかし多いわね』
CWH対物突撃銃の弾倉には通常弾より高価な徹甲弾が装填されている。本来は頑丈な機械系モンスターの撃破用で、ヤラタサソリには少々過剰な威力だ。しかし通常弾ではヤラタサソリの外骨格には効果が薄いので、仕方なく高価な徹甲弾を使用している。
アキラは撃つたびに銃口から金を吐き出しているような感覚を覚えて表情を
『弾薬費は自払いだぞ? これで報酬が安値だったらこの依頼はもう受けないからな!』
『単純な討伐依頼なら倒したモンスターの質と数で報酬が決まるけれど、今回は違うからね。その辺は終わってみないと分からないわ。昨日の報酬も基本分の2万オーラムだけだったしね』
『2万オーラム分の弾薬なんか、とっくの昔に使い切ったぞ! 今日の弾薬費は幾らになるんだ!?』
『そういう計算は終わってからにしましょう。弾薬をケチりだしたら死ぬわよ?』
アキラは銃を構えながら先を急ぐ。追加で20体ほどヤラタサソリを倒した頃、
アキラが警戒しながら部屋に飛び込み銃を構えると、ハンター達は2匹のヤラタサソリに向けて銃撃を続けていた。ハンター達の銃弾はヤラタサソリに対して効果が薄く、被弾の衝撃で近づかせないのが限界だった。
アキラが素早くヤラタサソリを銃撃する。ヤラタサソリの頭部や尾が徹甲弾の直撃を受けて粉砕される。破片が部屋に飛び散りヤラタサソリ達が再度動きを止めた後で、ハンター達は
で緊張が解けたハンターがへたり込んだ。警戒を解いていない別のハンターがアキラに尋ねる。
「お前一人か?」
「そうだ。他には来ていないのか?」
「いや、お前だけだ」
アキラはヤラタサソリの群れがいる場所の増援が自分だけだと知って驚いた。しかし本部を批難する前に、浮かんだ疑問を彼らに聞いてみることにする。
「......救援を頼んだ時、本部に何て言ったんだ?」
「虫っぽいやつの群れに襲われたので至急救援を頼むと伝えた。催促しても待ってろって言われるだけだった。正直、危なかった。助かったよ」
恐らく本部は小型の弱い虫系のモンスターだと判断したのだろう。アキラはそう考えて、正しい情報を連絡することの重要性を改めて理解した。
ここから早く出たいのはアキラも同じだ。すぐにハンター達に指示を出す。
「新手が来る前にここから脱出しよう。俺が通った道はまだ安全なはずだ」
「そ、そうだな。おい、おい行くぞ!」
アキラの先導でハンター達がビルからの脱出を急ぐ。途中で通路や階段のヤラタサソリの死体を見て何度が立ち止まったが、先行するアキラが近付いても何も起こらないこと見ると安心して続いて後に続いた。
「こちら14番。本部、応答を求む」
「対象の救出に成功した。これより仮設基地に帰還する」
「駄目だ。救出したハンターを自力で帰還させて、次の場所に向かってくれ」
アキラが少し表情を険しくさせて強い口調で答える。
「嫌だ。ビルの中はヤラタサソリだらけだった。弾薬の補充無しで次の場所には絶対に行かないからな」
アキラは本部からの返答を待った。しかし返事がなかなか返ってこない。端末の向こう側から僅かに聞こえるざわめきに妙な予感を覚え、
「......本部。応答を求む。どうした?」
すると慎重な口調の返答が返ってくる。
「巣かどうかは知らないが、AAH突撃銃の通常弾を
「先ほどの指示は撤回する。至急仮設基地に帰還しろ。こちらから配布した端末は無事だろうな?」
「俺のは無傷だ。他のやつのは、......確かそっちとの連絡に使ったもの以外は駄目になったそうだ」
本部から強く大きな声で指示が出る。
「絶対になくさずに、速やかに帰還しろ! それ以上端末を絶対に壊すな! 以上だ!」
『......。そうだな』
何かがあったのだろうが、アルファが険しい表情をしていないのなら大丈夫だ。アキラはそう判断して気を切り替えた。
アキラ達が仮設基地への帰路に就いている。ハンター達が徒歩で先を歩き、その後ろをアキラがバイクでゆっくり移動している。救出作業自体はハンター達をビルから退避させた時点で終わっているので、アキラだけ先に帰っても良かったのだが、ハンター達に必死に止められたので同行していた。
くいかない。すぐ近くにいるはずのハンター達の反応を正しく取得できない。情報収集機器の設定をいろいろ変更しながらぼやく。
『難しいな。エレナさんの設定から少しでも変更すると結果がめちゃくちゃになる。これはもう下手に変更しない方が良いのか?』
『エレナの設定はある程度の理想解ではあるからね。そこから適当に変更すれば情報収集の精度が大幅に落ちるのは当然よ。でもいろいろ変更して、設定項目の意味を理解して、いろいろ慣れておきなさい』
『そういえば、アルファもこの情報収集機器も使って索敵しているんだよな。俺が情報収集機器の設定を変更すると、アルファの索敵の邪魔になったりしないのか? 大丈夫なのか?』
『大丈夫よ。私は情報収集機器から未加工の収集データを直接取得して、そのデータ解析は自分で行っているからね。アキラが今見ている索敵結果は情報収集機器のソフトウェアが出力しているものよ。私の索敵とは無関係よ。安心して好きに変更して良いわ』
解析結果は情報収集機器の各種設定を変更することで大きく変化する。必要な情報に特化して最適化すれば多少の融通が利く。何かが、その辺りの、どこかにいる可能性がある、という漠然とした解析結果も、対象の位置や形状等を正確に識別した解析結果も、設定値によって自由に調整できるのだ。
アルファが設定の目安を説明する。
『基本的には収集範囲を広く浅く設定して、何らかの反応らしきものがある場所に対して狭く深く解析する。広域収集と狭域収集の切替え間隔や、映像解析、音響解析、動体解析の調査比率、解析方法の設定も重要よ。例えば見通しの悪い場所なら映像解析の比率を下げるとか、広域収集では逆に上げるとか、前は自分で見るから映像解析は後方だけに絞るとか、いろいろあるわ』
『難しいなぁ』
『アキラ。今すぐ彼らを置いて先に行くか、彼らに全力で仮設基地に向かうように伝えて。ヤラタサソリの群れが近付いてきているわ』
アキラが前にいるハンター達に向かって叫ぶ。
「おい! 今すぐ走って仮設基地へ向かってくれ! さっきのモンスターが集まってきている!」
ハンター達が驚いてアキラの方を向く。アキラが険しい表情で続ける。
ハンター達が周囲を警戒するがヤラタサソリの姿は見えない。彼らの一人が慌てながら尋ねる。
「本当か!? どこにいるんだ!? 見えないぞ!?」
アキラが急ごうとしないハンター達を怒鳴り付ける。
まるなら援護はしないぞ! 俺だけ先に逃げるからな!」
ハンター達が慌てて走り出した。その後でアキラも周囲を確認する。しかしヤラタサソリの姿は見えない。
『アルファ。ヤラタサソリの群れはどこにいるんだ? 姿も見えないし情報収集機器の反応にもないぞ?』
『アキラ。今からアキラの視界を拡張するから、落ち着いてね』
アルファはアキラに念を押してからアキラの視界を拡張した。拡張されたアキラの視界にヤラタサソリの姿が拡張表示される。その途端、アキラの表情が明らかに
先頭を走っていたハンターが急に立ち止まった。後続の他のハンター達もそれで立ち止まった。
「何で止まった......!?」
急に立ち止まったハンターへの疑問は、立ち止まった者の返事を待たずに解決した。
にしか見えないものが多数転がっている。しかしそれは動かずにじっと獲物を待ち構えていたヤラタサソリ達だった。ヤラタサソリ達に先回りされた上に待ち伏せされたのだ。
ハンター達は慌てて銃を構えるが、それよりも早くヤラタサソリが動き出す。
次の瞬間、銃声とともに一匹のヤラタサソリが
ハンター達は急いで走り出し、アキラに倒されたヤラタサソリの横を駆け抜けていった。
アルファのサポートで拡張されたアキラの視界には、周囲に多数存在しているヤラタサソリ達の姿が赤枠で表示されている。
アキラが確認していた情報収集機器の索敵結果には、ヤラタサソリだと思われる反応は全く表示されていない。少なくともアキラにはそれらしい反応を確認できなかった。
『あんなにいるのに情報収集機器には何で反応がなかったんだ!?』
『情報収集機器の各種センサーが収集したデータには、ヤラタサソリのデータもちゃんと含まれていたわ。ただし情報自体は収集していても、その情報をヤラタサソリだと識別できるかどうかは別よ。アキラだってそのあたりに幾らでも転がっている小石を映像情報として目で見えてはいるけれど、そこに小石があると認識してはいないでしょう? 全てを
なさを嘆くようなことを口にしたアキラを、アルファが笑って元気付ける。
『自分の実力に不満があるのならこれからも訓練に精を出しなさい。少なくとも、訓練をする前より強くなっていることは私が保証してあげるわ』
『そうだな。分かった』
アキラは苦笑しながらCWH対物突撃銃でヤラタサソリを狙い続けた。
アキラにその自覚はないが、実際にはアキラの実力は異常な速度で向上している。それはアルファによる極めて高度で効果的で効率的な訓練のおかげだ。だからこそ日に2度もモンスターの群れに襲撃されても、多少の幸運はあったにしろ生き延びたのだ。
しかしアキラが自分の実力を高く評価することはない。自分の実力などアルファのサポートに比べれば比較対象にすらならないほどに微々たるものだと認識しているからだ。それがアキラの自己評価を大いに
の悪い子供が出来上がっていた。小石だと思って踏みつけ蹴飛ばしたら命を落としてしまう地雷のような子供が。
アキラがヤラタサソリをCWH対物突撃銃で次々と撃破していく。徹甲弾がヤラタサソリの強固な装甲を貫いて内部の神経系を破壊し、即死、若しくは無効化させる。だがヤラタサソリはまだまだ残っている。切りがないと思いながら、次の目標に狙いを定めようとした時、アルファの指摘が入った。
『アキラ。それで弾切れよ』
『......ってことは、徹甲弾はこれで終わりか!?』
『残念ながらね。銃を持ち替えて』
アキラは険しい表情でAAH突撃銃に持ち替える。そちらの弾丸は通常弾だ。ヤラタサソリを相手にするには少々心
「早く行け!」
我に返ったハンター達は慌てて先を急いだ。
アキラ達を追うヤラタサソリ達が少しずつ数を増やしていく。アキラはハンター達の背後でAAH突撃銃を両手に持ってヤラタサソリ達を銃撃し続けている。しかし通常弾ではヤラタサソリの強固な外骨格を破壊するには威力が足りず、効果的な攻撃にはなっていなかった。
アキラはアルファのサポートによる精密射撃で、ヤラタサソリの強固な外骨格の同一箇所に何度も被弾させる。被弾箇所を集中させ
険しい表情で焦りを見せているアキラとは異なり、アルファは落ち着いた表情を浮かべている。だが戦況の判断は一致していた。
『そろそろハンター達を見捨てて、アキラだけ先に仮設基地に向かうのを検討した方が良いかもしれないわ』
『そ、それはちょっと......。本部に救援を要請するとかは駄目か?』
『彼らには近くの建物にでも立て籠もってもらって、本部の増援に期待してもらいましょう。運が良ければ助かるわ』
『仕方ないか。お勧めの建物でもあるか?』
『そうね。あれなんか......、アキラ、その必要はなくなったわ』
近くの建物を指差そうとしていたアルファが、指を差す先を仮設基地の方向へ向ける。アキラがそちらを見ると、数台の武装車両がこっちに向かってきていた。
アキラが通行の邪魔にならないようにバイクを道の脇に移動させる。武装車両はアキラの横を通り過ぎると、ヤラタサソリ達を機銃で
「お前が14番か?」
「そうだけど......」
「俺達はクガマヤマ都市の防衛隊だ。本部から指示を受けている。貸出し端末を渡してくれ」
アキラが端末を男に渡す。
「良し。これでお前の仕事は終わりだ。もう帰って良いぞ」
「ちょっと待ってくれ。何があったんだ?」
れつつある。俺達はそれの駆除に駆り出されている。どこかにヤラタサソリのデカい巣があって、今回の制圧作業で巣を刺激した可能性が高いらしい。仮設基地周辺の制圧作業はやり直しだそうだ。端末が記録している襲撃時のデータから巣の位置を割り出す予定らしいが、ヤラタサソリに襲われて死んだハンターも多くてな。データ不足で巣の正確な場所や数を割り出すのは難しそうだって話だ。死亡したハンターの端末も無事なら回収してこいって指示が出ている。ああ、何なら回収作業を手伝うか? お荷物連れてここまで来たんだ。腕には自信が有る方だろう?」
アキラが嫌そうに首を横に振る。
ど消費したんだ。そんな余裕はないよ。契約上、弾薬費が回収できるかどうかも怪しいんだ」
「それはついてなかったな。今度は弾薬費保証の契約にでもしておくんだな。じゃあな」
男はそう言い残して先に進んでいった。
アキラがハンター達を見る。ハンター達は他の車両の男と何かを話していた。アキラに彼らの話は聞こえないがアルファには聞こえていた。情報収集機器で僅かな音を解析したのだ。
『仮設基地まで送ってもらえないか頼んでいて、断られているようね。問題ないわ。私達は帰りましょう』
アキラがバイクでハンター達の横を駆け抜けていく。呼び止めるハンター達の声が聞こえたが、気にせずに通り過ぎていった。
他の車両もハンター達から端末を回収すると先を急いでいった。残されたハンター達が愚痴を
「あのガキも、防衛隊の連中も、仮設基地まで送ってくれても良いじゃねえか......」
「愚痴ってもしょうがねえ。早く帰ろうぜ。防衛隊の連中が仮設基地までの道のモンスターを駆除したからって、いつまでも安全とは限らねえんだ」
「そうだな。行くか。......それにしても、あのガキは何だったんだ? やたら強いガキだったが」
「ああ、そんな話があったな。熟練ハンターの稼ぎで良い装備を身に着けて、調子に乗っているガキどもだって聞いたが、まあ、あれだけ強ければ調子にも乗るか。何て名前だっけ? 確か、カ......カ......カソヤ?」
ハンター達は疲れた様子で話しながら、それでも少し急いで仮設基地へ向けて歩いていった。
Alpha, who was flying parallel to him, gave him more information but it only caused his face to turn grimmer.
"Akira, you've got another rescue order. This is already the third order."
"Another one, huh!! I haven't even arrived at my next destination, you know!? Isn't that just a bit too many?!!"
"Even if you tell me so, I can't do anything about it. Let's just look forward to the reward that we can get from all the monsters that you're going to hunt today... Since it's not a normal rescue request, they might even pay you back in the form of Hunter Rank points."
Akira could not help but make a face saying that he so did not want that to happen.
"Seriously though, I don't want to lose money after working this hard, you know!?"
Akira, who once again took forward base construction help requests, was assigned to rescue other Hunters rather than taking control of buildings like the last time. It was because he took too long taking control of buildings yesterday that he was assigned for another job today.
The rescue job was a very tiring job. Although he did not have to do much for each order, the rescue orders kept flooding in like crazy.
The ruin was filled with all sizes of debris and wreckages. With the help of Alpha's superb control support, Akira would blaze through them, evading them left and right, and sometimes even jumped above them as he was closing in onto his destination.
He got to face all kinds of situations during his job. Sometimes the people in the site already took control of the situation when he arrived, some other time, the monsters had already died when he arrived, and sometimes the rescue request dispatcher had already escaped from the scene after requesting for a rescue, thus leaving the monster for Akira to take care of.
After he took care of the monsters in one of his orders, Akira could be seen exiting a building while breathing roughly and looking very tired. He then took out medicine that he bought from Shizuka's shop and gulped it down. Although it was just some cheap medicine, it should at least be able to help him recover from the exhaustion.
Akira managed to grumble.
"...It doesn't feel like it actually works."
"You can't compare these with the medicines which you gathered from the ruins, you know. Both their potency and price are so different. You can try to take a huge dose of this medicine to see its immediate effect, but that would need you to consume a huge load of it, you know?"
"I guess this is why most Hunters become dependent on medicines."
There were all types and kinds of drugs for Hunters sold in the eastern district, this medicine was one of them. There were Hunters who consumed a huge load of medicines daily. Bad medicines could cause bad side effects or bad after effect. But the Hunters were desperate to survive to see the next day, so they had no other choice but to consume a huge amount of medicine daily.
"The next order will be a good place to stop for a while. Once you're done with it, let's take a rest for a bit, you can just say that you need an ammo refill at HQ."
"What should we do if they say no?"
"Like I said before, my first priority is your safety. So I have no plan letting you continue fighting monsters without getting an ammo refill."
If Alpha got angry and refused to help Akira in this request, then it would be disastrous for him. He used that as an excuse and decided that he would take a rest after finishing his next rescue order. He felt more at ease with that reasoning and that was all according to her plan.
Akira arrived in front of an abandoned building which was the location for his final rescue order. As he parked his bike in front of the building and looked up, he could hear gunshots and explosions coming from the 5th floor of that building.
"Over there, huh?"
"It's good that they're still alive. It seems that they're having a hard fight up there. Let's go before they run out of ammo. I'll provide you with the route."
"Just leave it to me."
Akira could see the indicator within his enhanced vision, he ran and followed the route shown by the indicator as he charged into the building. The guiding line for the route was calculated by Alpha, it showed the shortest and safest route to Akira's destination; after she scanned the area for monsters. Akira knew that it was why he felt at ease as he blazed through an area where he normally should move carefully and slowly because of the monsters that might be lurking around.
Akira could see the aftermath of battles between Hunters and monsters scattered inside the building. At the moment, he did not see any Hunter corpses, while on the other hand, he found a lot of biological monsters' dead bodies as blood and flesh were scattered around.
Akira took a glance at the monster corpses that were still retaining their original form. They looked like a mix of spider and scorpion with an exoskeleton.
This so-called Yarata Scorpion had a habit of attaching objects from its surroundings onto its exoskeleton. Thus they were able to become one with its surroundings and camouflage itself.
Their exoskeletons looked like metal wreckage or debris to Akira. There were countless bullet marks on their corpses, and the bullets that did not even penetrate their exoskeleton were left around these corpses. Those were a testament to their super hard exoskeleton.
Akira immediately stopped and readied his CWH anti-material rifle, but the Yarata scorpions did not move at all even after he did that. It was hard to discern whether they were really dead or not. Some could not move because of a fatal injury, while some might just be playing dead while waiting for their prey to come close enough.
Suddenly, Akira could see some of the Yarata scorpion bodies had turned reddish. Those were scorpions that Alpha judged to be still alive. Identifying all of the scorpions that were still alive among all of these unmoving scorpion bodies in an instant was an impossible thing for a normal human. But Alpha could do that like it was nothing.
It would be extremely dangerous to just ignore these scorpions and continue forward. But shooting each and every single one of them just to be safe would consume a lot of ammo. But of course, it was a whole different case if it was possible to discern the alive scorpions from the dead ones.
Akira aimed his CWH anti-material rifle at the scorpions that were outlined in red and nested one shot for each scorpion. The bullet that was spewed out from his gun's muzzle penetrated the scorpion's hard outer shell, wreaked havoc inside their bodies, and instantly killed them. After Akira killed a dozen of scorpions, suddenly one of them sprung up and attempted to attack him. But his bullet reached it first and instantly killed it.
The Hunters were holding up in one of the rooms on the fifth floor. They were directing their guns at the only door into their room as they were shooting the monsters coming at them while making a grim face.
One of them pulled out his rental terminal and shouted.
"This is number 157!! HQ!! Answer me!!"
"Don't give me that again!! Where's my rescue?!"
"The rescue order has been dispatched and he's heading your way now. Just hang on there."
"How much longer should I wait?!!! We've been waiting quite a while and no one is coming, you know!!"
"The rescue Hunters are responding to the rescue orders in turns. There are too many rescue orders, we're basically flooded with them, you know. If you want to get angry, then you can curse those Hunters who dispatch rescue requests although they are only fighting weak monsters. You're actually getting the short end of the stick because of those Hunters. So just try to hang on, that's all."
"Wha- Wait!!... Dammit!! They just cut the call!!"
He was about to slam the terminal on the floor, but another Hunter stopped him. It was the last still functioning terminal. The others were already destroyed during the fight.
The Hunters did not even bother to check the bodies if they were really dead or not. But they also did not have the leeway to shoot them to make sure that they were really dead.
It did not take long before the Hunters there heard gunshots from outside their room. And they noticed that the gunshot's sound was approaching closer and closer.
"A rescue?!"
"W-we're saved!"
The Hunters cheered in happiness. But their cheering was immediately stopped. The Yarata scorpions inside that room which were faking death started moving again because of those gunshots. This caused the Hunters inside the room to fight desperately.
Akira tried to reach his rescue target as fast as he could, but he was interrupted by the scorpions that were pretending to be dead. Every time he found a pile of dead monsters, he could always find scorpions that were faking death mixed among the corpses. Among them, there were scorpions that were still alive even after losing their heads. Akira would destroy their legs or tails, although it would not kill them, it would be enough to at least render them unfit for battle.
Akira grumbled as he changed the magazine of his CWH anti-material rifle.
"There are just too many of them!! What the heck is up with these monsters?! How many did I kill until now?"
"That last one was your 54th scorpion. This is indeed too many."
The usual CWH anti-material rifle's ammo was much more expensive and had higher piercing power than normal ammo. They were normally used for fighting mechanical monsters, thus it was a bit of an overkill using them on Yarata scorpions. But since his normal ammo would not work against the hard Yarata scorpion's exoskeleton, so he had no other choice but to use the expensive CWH ammo.
Akira frowned every time he pulled the trigger of his gun, it felt like he shot money out of his rifle's muzzle.
"I have to pay for the ammo with my own money, you know!! If the reward from this request is bad, I won't do this request again, okay?!"
"This request is basically not a monster-hunting request. So unlike a usual monster-hunting request where the reward is decided based on the type and number of monsters that you kill, we wouldn't know how much reward we will get until we receive it. Not to mention that from yesterday's request, the basic pay is only 20,000 Aurum."
"I already spent more than 20,000 Aurum worth of ammo, you know!! Just how big is my ammo expense today going to be??!"
"Let's put that aside for now until you finish the rescue order. You'll get killed if you're too frugal with your ammo right now, you know?"
Akira rushed forward while closely gripping his gun. After killing about 20 more scorpions, he finally arrived near the room where the Hunters were holding up. Gunshots echoed endlessly from inside that room.
As Akira carefully stepped into that room with his gun ready, he saw the Hunters fighting 2 Yarata scorpions. The normal ammo that the Hunters used could not deal much damage, they were only able to barely hold those 2 scorpions off from coming closer.
Akira quickly aimed at those scorpions and destroyed their heads and tails. Their limbs were blasted and scattered all over the room. The Hunters only noticed Akira after those two scorpions stopped moving.
The Hunters slumped on the floor, they were relieved and glad. A Hunter who had not lowered his guard came and asked Akira.
"Are you alone?"
"Yes. Did someone else come?"
"No, you're the only one."
Akira was surprised to know that he was the only rescue sent to a Yarata scorpion nest. But before he complained to the HQ, he asked the Hunters.
"...What did you say to the HQ when you requested a rescue?"
"I told them that we encountered a group of insect-like monsters, but then they told us to hold our ground. To be honest, it was really dangerous. You really saved us, you know."
Akira thought that the HQ might have misunderstood and thought that they were attacked by some small-sized insect-like monsters. It was important to inform the HQ with the correct information.
Just like the other Hunters, Akira also wanted to get out of that building as soon as possible. So he shouted at the other Hunters.
"Let's get out of here before more of those monsters comes. The route that I took to come here should be still safe."
"Y-you're right. Hey!! Hey, we're leaving the place!!"
Akira prioritized escorting the Hunters out as soon as possible. The Hunters would suddenly stop every time they saw a pile of Yarata scorpions' corpses in the middle of their way out. Only after seeing no movement from those piles after Akira, who was leading the group, approached them, they would finally feel safe to walk past those piles.
"This is number 14. HQ, answer me."
"I've rescued the Hunters and will be returning back to the temporary base now."
"Don't return, just send the Hunters to go back by themselves. You should go to the next rescue order."
Akira's face turned grim and shouted at the terminal.
"Are you crazy? That building was filled with Yarata scorpions, you know!! I won't go to the next rescue order without an ammo refill first, okay?!"
Akira waited for a response, but there was no reply from the HQ. He could hear a little bit of ruckus from the other side of the terminal. He then asked for a response while making a puzzled face.
"...HQ? Answer me. What's wrong?"
When he did that, the HQ staff asked him back slowly and carefully.
"I don't know if it's a nest or not. But it's true that the building is flooded by a type of monster with a super hard exoskeleton that would even bounce off a normal AAH rifle bullet. If you doubt it, you can go ahead and send someone to check the corpses."
"Forget what we just said. Go back to the temporary base as soon as possible. The terminals that we gave you are still functional, right?"
"Mine is alright. But as for the Hunters... They are broken except for the one that they used to contact you... Or so they said."
The HQ staff suddenly shouted.
"Don't lose them no matter what!! Come back here as fast as you can!! And make sure to not damage the terminal even further!! That's all!!"
"...You're right."
There was no mistaking it. There was something going on. But since Alpha was not making a solemn expression, Akira thought that it should be alright. So he decided to just push that aside for now.
And so, Akira and the other Hunters headed back to the temporary base. The Hunters were walking in front while Akira followed behind them on his bike. Since his job was finished the moment he evacuated the Hunters from that building, Akira could just directly go back. But the other Hunters pleaded with him to accompany them on their way back.
Akira was tinkering with his information gathering device to correctly detect the Hunters in front of him in order to get himself familiar with it. But it did not go well. Although the Hunters were not too far in front of him, the output from the information gathering device could not display the correct information. Akira mumbled as he was playing with the information gathering device's setting.
"This thing is difficult. The output goes crazy every time I make even the slightest change from Elena-san's setting. Maybe I should just stay with Elena-san's setting."
"Elena's setting is basically an ideal setting after all. If you change it randomly, the accuracy of the information gathering device will fall greatly. But you should play with its setting to understand the setting parameters and get familiarized with it."
"Now that I think about it. You're also using this information-gathering device to detect monsters, right? If I play with its setting, wouldn't it disrupt your detection ability? Is that really alright?"
"It's okay. I'm directly using the raw data from that information-gathering device and analyzing it myself. The data that you're seeing right now is produced by the software inside that information-gathering device and it has nothing to do with my detection ability. So no need to worry, you can play with it."
The search results would vary greatly every time Akira changed the individual setting of his information-gathering device. If he could optimize the setting to focus only on the important information, the information-gathering device could be effectively used in many different situations. By adjusting the values in the settings, he could focus on a vague signal, which only showed that something was detected, and get a better set of information that would let him extract shape, size and any other information.
Alpha then explained to Akira the basics of adjusting the setting.
"Normally, you would just expand and contract the search area. And when you find a signal, you would focus on where the signal comes from and try to analyze it. It's important to set the interval between wide-range and close-range scan, the power output ratio between the image, sound and movement processor, and the type of analysis that you would use for each data. For example, when you're in a place with a lot of obstacles, it's better to decrease the power output of image analysis and increase the range of the scan. In case when you can see your target, it might be better to focus the image sensor to only detect images from behind you. There are basically a lot of things you can do with it."
"Yep, it's not easy."
"Akira, you should either go ahead and leave those Hunters behind or tell them to start running to the temporary base as fast as they can. A swarm of Yarata scorpions is closing in on us."
Akira immediately shouted to the Hunters in front of him.
"Hey!! Run to the temporary base as fast as you can!! A swarm of those monsters from before is coming this way!!"
The Hunters were shocked as turned towards Akira. Akira made a grim face as he continued.
The Hunters looked around but they could not see any Yarata Scorpions. One of them asked Akira in panic.
"Are you sure?! Where are they?! I don't see them at all, you know?!"
Akira started to get irritated since the Hunters would not start running.
"Just go now!! If you keep standing here, I won't help you, okay?! I'll just go ahead on my bike, you know!!"
The Hunters started running in panic. Akira then looked around, but he could not find any scorpions.
"Alpha, where's the swarm? I can't see them and I got no signal from the information-gathering device, you know?"
"Akira, I'll enhance your vision now, so stay calm, okay?"
After giving Akira a warning, Alpha enhanced his vision. Because of that, Akira was able to see the Yarata scorpions around him. His face turned grim the moment he saw the scorpions.
The Hunter who was running at the front suddenly stopped, so all the Hunters behind him immediately stopped too.
"What's wrong...?!"
The Hunter who stopped because the one in front of him stopped did not even need to wait for an answer to understand the reason why.
There were multiple wreckages scattered not too far in front of them. Although they looked like nothing but normal wreckages, they were actually Yarata scorpions waiting for their prey to come close. The Yarata scorpions anticipated the Hunters' movement and already laid an ambush here.
The Hunters picked up their guns in panic, but even before they were able to do so, a scorpion quickly jumped into action and ran toward the Hunters.
But at the next moment, a gunshot echoed and that monster was sent flying. The Hunters immediately turned to where that gunshot came from, it was Akira aiming his CWH anti-material rifle at that monster while still on his bike.
The Hunters immediately started running again, passing the dead Yarata scorpion that Akira just shot.
Akira was able to see the scorpions with the help of Alpha's support as all the scorpions around him were outlined in red. Some of them were camouflaging themselves as wreckages, some of them hid behind the wreckages and some of them were still on their way from afar. He could clearly see their positions and shapes thanks to Alpha's support.
Akira did not find any signal from his information-gathering device that indicated the existence of the Yarata scorpions around him. Or at least, Akira could not recognize if there was such a signal.
"There are so many of them around but why is my information-gathering device not picking anything up?"
"The sensors installed in that information-gathering device do receive signals from the Yarata scorpions. But even if it can receive those signals, it is a whole different story whether it can recognize it as Yarata scorpions or not. It's just like you, you can see all those pebbles scattered around you but it's not like you always recognize that those pebbles are there, right? It's not an easy thing to segregate a big amount of information. That would simply drive you crazy. And if you take all of them seriously, you won't be able to differentiate noise from useful information. It would be pointless if you try to compare my powerful information-gathering ability and superior information-analysis ability with the result from that information-gathering device, you know. But if I have to say anything about it, you should be able to notice those scorpions had you retained Elena's setting."
As Akira stated his own weakness and berated himself, Alpha smiled and tried to cheer him up.
"If you have anything to complain about your own strength, then you should work hard to train yourself from now on. But at least I can guarantee you that you're stronger now compared to before you started training."
"You're right. I'll definitely do that."
Akira kept on aiming and shooting at the Yarata scorpions while smiling bitterly.
Akira might not realize it himself, but his skill was actually improving at an incredible speed. It was all thanks to Alpha's super effective training. It was the reason why, although he had bad luck, he was able to survive after he encountered 2 swarms of monsters on the same day.
But Akira looked down on his own skill. It was because he understood that compared to Alpha's support, his skill was basically not even worth mentioning. That fact had greatly caused him to develop a biased evaluation of himself.
Because of that, there were children who looked like a completely different person when they were in battle. People used to mistake them as pebbles and stepped on them, just to find out that they were actually closer to land mines.
Akira shot down the Yarata scorpions one by one. The piercing ammo that he used, pierced through their strong exoskeleton and destroyed their nervous system. It then either killed them on spot or at least rendered them paralyzed. But there were still a lot of Yarata scorpions there. Akira thought that there was no end to them as he shifted his aim to his next target. But Alpha suddenly said to him.
"Akira, that was your last bullet."
"...Do you mean I've already run out of piercing ammo?!"
"Unfortunately so. Change your gun."
Akira quickly changed into his AAH assault rifle while making a grim face. He knew that his rifle was only loaded with normal ammo, so it would be difficult to kill a Yarata scorpion using this ammo.
"Go!! Now!!"
The Hunters got back to their senses and started running again.
More and more scorpions joined the swarm that was chasing Akira and the Hunters. As the other Hunters were running away, Akira protected their back as he carried two AAH rifles and showered the monsters with bullets. But as expected, the normal bullet could not do much damage on the scorpion's exoskeleton.
Due to Alpha's accuracy support, Akira was able to land multiple shots at the same spot on Yarata scorpion's hard exoskeleton which eventually destroyed that exoskeleton and injured them, thus slowing the scorpions down. But even if he managed to kill some of them, it was only enough to slow down the whole swarm.
In contrast to Akira who started panicking, Alpha was still calm. But even so, she suddenly made a decision that fit the situation.
"It might be a good idea to consider abandoning the other Hunters behind and heading to the temporary base soon."
"T-that's a little bit... You know... Can we ask for rescue from the HQ instead?"
"Tell the Hunters to hole up in the building near them and wait for rescue from the HQ. If we're lucky, we might be able to survive this swarm."
"There's no other way, huh? Do you have any recommendation about which building should we pick?"
"Let's see, how about that... Oh, there's no need to do that anymore."
When Alpha was about to point at a building near them, she suddenly turned and pointed at the direction of the temporary HQ. As Akira turned to that direction, he could see multiple armed vehicles heading towards him.
Akira then moved his bike aside to make a way for them. After those vehicles passed Akira, they scattered the scorpions away with their huge guns. Explosive warheads showered the scorpions and quickly turned the whole swarm into minced meat.
"Are you number 14?"
"Yes, why...?"
"I'm the Captain of Kugamayama defense squad. We're here by the request from HQ. Give me your rental terminal."
Akira handed his rental terminal to that man.
"Alright. With this, your job has ended. You can go back home now."
"Wait for a second. What's happening here?"
"The ruin is flooded with Yarata Scorpions. So we're here to eradicate those scorpions. There's a good chance that a big nest is around here somewhere and it seems that the exploration around this area has stirred up the nest. I heard that they're re-sweeping the area around the construction site now. The HQ is trying to identify the location of that nest from the information terminals that they lent to the Hunters, but it seems that a lot of Hunters were killed, you see. So it seems like they're having a hard time pinpointing the number and the locations of the nests because of the lack of information. They also told us to retrieve the terminals from the dead Hunters too. Ahh, in any case, do you want to help us collect the terminals? You came all the way here escorting those Hunters, so you're a pretty good Hunter, aren't you?"
Akira shook his head and refused.
"No thanks. I thought I came here with plenty enough bullets but I'm all dry now. I simply don't have enough resources right now. I'm not even sure they would cover for the ammo that I spent, you know."
"That's too bad. You should at least make a contract to make sure that they would cover for your ammo next time. Later then, kiddo."
After he said that, the man went and joined with the rest of the armed vehicles.
Akira looked at the other Hunters. It seemed that they were talking with the people from the other armed vehicles. Akira could not hear what they were talking about, but Alpha could as she used the information-gathering device to analyze the faint voice that reached it.
"It seems that they asked for a ride to the temporary base but got refused. It has nothing to do with us, so let's just go ahead and go back home."
Akira then got on his bike and drove past the other Hunters. Some of them tried to call him but he just ignored them.
The other armed vehicles continued deeper into the ruin after taking the rental terminals from the Hunters. The Hunters that were left behind could not help but grumble.
"That boy and the defense squad won't even give us a ride..."
"There's no helping it. Let's just go back home now. Although the defense squad had cleared the way to the temporary base, it's not like it will stay safe forever, you know."
"You're right. Let's go then... But still, who was that boy? He is really strong."
"Ahh, right, I heard about that too. But I heard that he's just an above-average but a little arrogant boy with some good equipment though. I don't really remember what his name was, was it Ka... Ka... Ka... Kazuya?"
The Hunters sounded dead tired as they were talking. But even so, they managed to drag their feet back to the temporary base.
Rebuild World (WN)
リビルドワールド
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/rebuild-world/
Action Adventure Drama Harem Mecha Mystery Sci-fi Seinen
Abandoned Children Adapted to Manga Adventurers Alternate World Anti-social Protagonist Apocalypse Artificial Intelligence Beautiful Female Lead Cautious Protagonist Child Protagonist Dense Protagonist Determined Protagonist Distrustful Protagonist Futuristic Setting Gangs Gunfighters Harsh Training Lack of Common Sense Male Protagonist Manipulative Characters Monsters Near-Death Experience Older Love Interests Poor Protagonist Poor to Rich Ruthless Protagonist Shota Sudden Strength Gain Survival Twisted Personality Unlucky Protagonist Weak to Strong
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9736dt/
非公開