き込み、照準を標的の小石に合わせる。アルファのサポートにより視界に拡張表示されている弾道予測の青線は、今も呼吸による体の僅かな揺れの影響を受けて揺れ続けている。
アキラは息を大きく吸って呼吸を止め、集中し、ほんの
「おっ! 良い感じじゃないか?」
3回連続での命中に、アキラは自身の腕前の上達を実感して
しそうに笑う。
『もう素人は卒業できたようね。良い調子よ。大したものだわ』
ひたすら駄目出しされ続けてきた相手からその上達振りを褒められれば、幾ら
『その調子で次も頑張って。そこそこ当たるようになったから訓練の内容を少し進めるわ。次から標的を少し変えるけれど、今まで通りに、前にも話した通りに、外したら殺される、その覚悟で狙いなさい』
アルファが次の標的を指差す。アキラも少し嫌な予感を覚えながらそちらに視線を向ける。そして標的を視認した途端、顔を恐怖で大きく
驚きの余り動きを止めていたアキラが、我に返って逃げ出そうとする。だがその前に、アルファに笑って種明かしをされる。
『安心して。私と同じ映像だけの存在よ』
アキラが思わずアルファを見る。そして危険は無いと示すアルファの笑顔から少し落ち着きを取り戻した。次に心臓の激しい鼓動を感じながら
アルファが手でアキラに訓練の再開を促す。アキラは釈然としないものを覚えながらも銃を構え直した。
『弱点は相手の眉間。一発で決めなさい』
アキラが照準器越しにウェポンドッグを見る。標的は赤く縁取りされた状態で、眉間に弱点を示す印が表示されていた。落ち着いて標的の眉間に弾道予測の青線を合わせようとする。だが
それでも深く大きい呼吸を繰り返し、心身を少しずつ整えていく。震える腕に力を込めて弾道予測の青線のぶれを抑え、出来る限り平静を保ち、息を止め、集中する。そして険しい顔で引き金を引いた。
アキラは出来る限りのことをした。だが撃ち出された弾丸はウェポンドッグの眉間どころか体にも当たらず、その近くの地面に着弾した。
その途端、ウェポンドッグが突如動き出す。狙撃に反応したように巨体を素速く動かし、背中のガトリング砲をアキラの方へ向けて攻撃態勢を取った。照準器を
に狙撃失敗時の光景を表示している。やっと思考がそこまで追い付いたアキラは、へたり込もうとする体を何とか支えて息を吐いた。
「先に言っておいてくれよ......」
アキラが非難の意思を視線に込める気力も弱々しい状態でアルファの方に顔を向けると、アルファが地面を指差していた。そこには全身に無数の銃弾を浴びた凄惨な死体が転がっていた。アキラがその死体の顔に気付いて顔を
積み上がった死体の分だけ繰り返したおかげで、アキラもそろそろ慣れてきた。平静を保ち、照準を合わせ、これなら当たると確信して引き金を引こうとする。するとその直前で標的のモンスターの姿が消えた。不思議に思って銃を下ろすと、自分の死体の山も一緒に消えていた。
「アルファ。今日はもう終わりか?」
『アキラ。誰かがこっちに向かってきているわ』
な顔で双眼鏡を取り出した。双眼鏡の性能とアルファのサポートのおかげで対象はすぐに見付かった。こちらに向かっているのは、荒野仕様の車に乗って荒野を進む2人組のハンターだった。
それを見た途端、アキラの顔が険しくなった。先日2人組のハンターに襲われたこともあって、どうしても警戒が先に出てしまう。今回は女性ハンターの2人組だが、警戒を下げる理由にはならない。
「分かった。急ごう」
アキラはリュックサックを背負うと、足早にクズスハラ街遺跡に向かった。
2人組の女性ハンターが荒野仕様車両でクズスハラ街遺跡を目指している。
彼女達の装備は遺跡の奥部を目指すには性能が全く足りていない。だが外周部の探索には少々過剰なほどに高性能だ。素手でモンスターを殴り殺すような極めて
運転席のエレナが助手席のサラに声を掛ける。
「サラ。そろそろ着くわ。準備して」
「エレナ。今更だけど、本当にここで合ってるの?」
「その話は昨日したでしょう? クガマヤマ都市から子供が徒歩で行ける遺跡なんてここぐらいよ」
「他の遺跡への定期便にこっそり紛れ混んだとか、そういう可能性はないの?」
「ハンターオフィスの定期便が通っている遺跡は、大抵クズスハラ街遺跡の外周部より高難度よ。あの
ただ、サラはエレナほどは強い期待を持っていなかった。
「でもあの辺は前にエレナが結構しっかり調べたでしょう? その時も収穫は大してなかったし、正直に言って余り期待できないわ」
く来ていない間に何か変わったかもしれないしね」
エレナはそこまで笑って言った後、視線をサラの胸に移すと、その笑顔を少し心配そうに陰らせた。
にそろそろちゃんと補給した方が良いわ。最近の私達の稼ぎが微妙だからって、補給量を減らしてるでしょう。大丈夫なの?」
サラも視線を自身の胸に向ける。起伏に欠けたその胸には、かつての豊満さなど見る影もない。エレナもサラもその意味をよく分かっている。だからこそ、サラはエレナを心配させまいと明るく笑った。
サラは消費型ナノマシン系の身体強化拡張者だ。そしてサラの胸はそのナノマシンの補給庫を兼ねていた。
ハンター稼業にモンスターとの戦闘は付き物だ。敵は旧世界製の生物兵器の
の状態になり、治療としてナノマシンの投与を受けた。治療自体は成功した。死を免れた上に強化された身体能力まで手に入った。だがその代償として生命維持にナノマシンが不可欠となってしまった。
ナノマシンは日常生活を送るだけでも消費する。ハンター稼業で身体を酷使すれば、消費量は飛躍的に増加する。加えて補給代もそれなりに高額だ。
ナノマシンが枯渇しても死なないようになる治療は可能だ。だがそれには更なる大金が必要で、しかも強化された身体能力を失う
めてよ。そんなことをしたら装備の性能が激減して更に稼げなくなるわ。その装備を調えるのに、どれだけ時間が掛かったと思っているのよ」
「サラの命には代えられないわ。その時はその時よ。もう一度一緒に下から
異議は認めない。エレナはその強い意志を目に込めていた。エレナ達の付き合いは長い。ハンター稼業を始める前からの付き合いだ。この状況でどちらが引くかはどちらも分かっていた。サラが根負けして軽く笑う。
エレナも笑って返す。
「今更何を言っているのよ。ハンターってそういうものでしょう?」
「それもそうね。今更だったわ」
遺跡に来たのだから、ついでに遺物収集を、とも思っていたのだが、遺跡にはアキラやエレナ達以外にも結構な数のハンターがいて、遭遇を避ける
に移動を続けなければならなかった。
アルファの異常に高度な索敵能力のおかげで、他のハンターやモンスターとの遭遇は避けられている。だが射撃訓練や遺物収集など出来る状況ではなく、アキラは少しげんなりしていた。
「またか。何でこんなに混んでるんだ? それとも遺跡で他のハンターと会うって、そんなに多いことなのか?」
『そういうのは遺跡によって異なるのでしょうね。でもここは寂れていたはずよ。私がアキラと会った時も、アキラ以外のハンターの姿は全然見当たらなかったわ。その後もこの辺でアキラ以外のハンターを見たのは、今日を除けば前に返り討ちにした2人組だけだったわ』
自分を狙う理由は前と同じで、今回は多人数で実行しているのではないか。アキラは思わずそう考えてしまい少し不安になっていた。
アルファが笑ってアキラを落ち着かせる。
『安心しなさい。たとえそうだとしても、私がいれば大丈夫よ』
『それに他のハンター達はアキラ本人を積極的に探している訳ではないはずよ。理由にも心当たりがあるわ。だから大丈夫よ。安心して』
アルファがアキラにその理由を説明する。エレナ達のような他のハンター達が聞いたであろう
「余り期待はしていなかったけど、ここまで成果無しだと嫌になってくるわね」
エレナが苦笑しながら、サラを励ますように明るい声を出す。
「すぐに誰にでも見付けられるのなら、もっと早くに誰かが見付けているわ。地道に探しましょう」
「そうは言っても、当てもなく探しても見付かる気がしないわ。エレナ。何か当てとかないの?」
「一応、子供の足跡を探しているわ。
エレナ達はチームでの役割を明確に分けている。エレナが情報収集を担当し、サラが火力を担当している。それぞれの装備もそれぞれの役割に偏った内容になっている。
エレナの主装備は情報収集機器だ。情報収集機器は動体探査機、反響識別マップ、高機能スコープなどの機能が複雑に組み合わさった高機能な製品だ。遺跡内の構造把握や索敵など幅広い情報収集に使用されている。一応銃も装備しているが、サラの武装と比べると軽い備え程度のものでしかない。
サラの主装備は強力な銃火器だ。重量や反動から本来は強化服を着用して使用する銃火器を、身体強化拡張者の身体能力で軽々と扱っている。着用している防護服は、万一の場合にエレナの盾となる
エレナが見付けてサラが倒す。場合によってはサラがエレナを担いで脱出する。エレナ達はそうやって危険な遺跡を探索してきた。
エレナはチームの情報収集担当としてサラの期待に応えるべく尽力していた。硬い
「それでも当てがないよりはましよ。次はどこを探す?」
「引き続き子供が歩きそうな場所を探しましょう。あ、そうそう、今の内に言っておくわ。サラ。色無しの霧が濃くなってきたから注意して」
双眼鏡越しに他のハンターの姿を見掛けるたびに、早く帰ってくれないかなと思いながら適当に外を見ていると、アルファに声を掛けられる。
『アキラ。良い機会だから色無しの霧について説明しておくわ』
「色無しの霧?」
『そう。さっきから大分濃くなってきているの。向こうを見て』
双眼鏡越しの視界にアルファの姿が入ってくる。そしてその先の景色を指差した。
『向こうと向こうを見比べて、違いを見付けてみて』
『本当に?』
『正解。右側の方が、周辺の色無しの霧が濃いのよ』
「............、それだけ?」
『ここからが大事な話。東部のハンターがこれを知らないのは致命的だから、しっかり聞きなさい』
軽く困惑気味のアキラに、アルファは念を押すように笑って話し始めた。
色無しの霧。東部にはそう呼ばれる事象がある。通常の霧とは異なり、光の乱射によって白く見えたりはしない。事象を目視で確認する時は、視界の景色のぼやけ具合から濃度や範囲を識別できる。
色無しの霧の影響下では周囲の景色がぼやけて見える。それだけならば視界が多少悪くなる程度のことであり、確かに問題ではあるが、高性能な情報収集機器等を活用すれば済む。だが霧が高濃度になるとそれでは済まない。他の様々な原因不明の事象が加わるのだ。
電波、通信、それどころか音や匂いまで、生物機械問わずに周囲の状況把握に必要な情報の取得が著しく困難になる。非常に強力な各種妨害装置が一帯に使用されている状態に近い。熱光学迷彩機能もその性能を著しく低下させられて、迷彩効果をほぼ無効化される。光学式を初めとする様々なロックオン機能もほぼ使用不可能になる。無線通信も非常に不安定になり、場合によっては有線であっても影響を受ける。
加えて様々な火器の威力や射程距離まで低下する。弾道のぶれまで増大し、命中率を悪化させる。霧の濃度によっては、銃撃後の銃弾の弾道を目視ではっきり見えるようになる。
これらの事象は東部のハンター達の活動に大きな影響を与える。だがハンターとしてまだまだ素人のアキラには、それらの説明を聞いてもその危険性を正しく理解できなかった。
えず、その色無しの霧が濃いと大変なのは分かった」
アルファがアキラの表情からその理解の浅さを察して、厳しい表情で首を横に振る。
『分かっていないわ。アキラに強く関わることだけ詳しく説明するわね。まず東部の人間がモンスターに襲われにくいのは、この色無しの霧のおかげでもあるのよ。モンスターも霧の影響を同様に受けるの。そのおかげで東部の人間はモンスターに発見されにくくなって、何とか生存できているわ。もし色無しの霧がなければ、地平の果てにいるモンスターにだってここにいるアキラの居場所を把握されるわね。旧世界の技術で製造された兵器の索敵能力は信じられないほどに高性能なのよ』
その認識の、重要性の程度は別にして、敵に見付からないことの大切さぐらいはアキラも理解できた。感心したように軽く
『そしてもう一つ。色無しの霧が非常に濃い場合は、人もモンスターも機械もあらゆる索敵能力が下がるの。私の索敵能力も大幅に下がるわ。最悪の場合、私よりもアキラの方が先にモンスターに気が付くかもしれないぐらいにね。だから当面の間は、色無しの霧が濃い時は都市に籠もることになるわ。急に霧が非常に濃くなった時に遺跡に向かうのは残念だけれど諦めてね』
アキラはやはり感心した様子でアルファの話を聞いていた。だが
「......今の俺がモンスターと遭遇したら、どれぐらいの勝率があると思う?」
『私のサポートでは補えないぐらいに高濃度の色無しの霧の影響下で遭遇することになるから、かなりの近距離での遭遇になるわ。まあ、生存は絶望的ね』
「......今、霧が濃くなってきているんだっけ?」
He was holding his gun close while trying to keep the correct pose. Looking through the aiming device, he was trying to align the Trajectory Prediction Line, in short the TP Line, with a small boulder. But the blue TP Line, that appeared because of Alpha's support, was swaying lightly due to Akira's breathing.
Akira took a deep breath, held it in, and gathered his focus. When the blue TP Line stopped swaying, he pulled the trigger.
"Oh! You're doing well, aren't you?"
After hitting his target 3 times consecutively, Akira felt that his shooting skill had leveled up and laughed happily. He understood that he was still completely relying on Alpha's support and it would be impossible to hit his target all by himself. But it was also obvious that his skill had gotten better compared to when he was only a total amateur.
Alpha smiled back happily.
"It seems that you've fully graduated from being an amateur Hunter. You're doing well and your improvement is pretty amazing."
If someone gets praised after working so hard for so long, obviously that person would feel happy, and even someone as cynical as Akira was no exception. As Akira smiled at Alpha, she smiled back with a deeper meaning.
"Just like this, let's work hard for the next training too. Since you are able to hit the target now, let's move on to the next one. We're going to change the target, but you only need to do what you've been doing up until now. Try to shoot it while thinking that you're going to be killed if you miss."
Alpha then pointed at Akira's next target. He showed a little bit of annoyance as he moved his line of sight to it. But his face immediately turned pale as his sight fell on his next target. It was a weapon dog that almost killed him the other day.
Akira was stunned for a bit, but he immediately regained his composure and was about to run away when Alpha smiled and said.
"Don't panic, it's just an image."
Akira inadvertently looked at Alpha. As he saw her smile saying there was no danger, he was able to calm down. While being suspicious, he still aimed his gun at the weapon dog. His heart was palpitating at breakneck pace. The weapon dog looked real no matter how he sliced it. But since it was standing perfectly still and did not show any reaction, he aimed the TP Line at it. He finally understood that it was not real and let out a sigh of relief.
Alpha gave Akira the signal to continue the training, as such, he got his gun ready without any hesitation.
"Its weakness is the area between its eyes. Kill it in one shot."
Akira looked at his target through the aiming device. His target was framed in red box with an indicator placed on its weak point. Akira was trying to align the blue TP Line with that weak point, but his hand was trembling, thus making the TP Line shake inconsistently.
Akira took deep breaths a few times and tried to calm himself bit by bit. He put more power in his still quivering arms to suppress the swaying of the TP Line. As he tried to keep his calm, he halted his breathing, gathered his focus, and pulled the trigger.
Akira did all he could, but the bullet didn't hit the weapon dog's weak point. It did not even hit the weapon dog at all. Instead, it landed on the ground not too far from the weapon dog.
Right after that, the weapon dog made its move. It shifted its huge body very quickly as if it was reacting to his shot and pointed its Gatling gun towards him. Akira who was looking at it from the aiming device on his gun was frozen in place. The Gatling gun then started to rotate and made a huge muzzle flash.
If it was not training, he would have been dead just now. Akira finally understood why Alpha showed him that scene. He let out a sigh as he supported his limp body from collapsing.
"Do tell me beforehand next time..."
When Akira gave a protesting look to Alpha while being meek, Alpha pointed her finger toward the ground. There was a corpse riddled with bullets lying there. And when Akira noticed the face on that corpse, he went pale. It was an image of his dead body.
Thanks to the corpses that kept piling up, Akira started to get the hang of it. He kept his calm, aimed carefully, and pulled the trigger while reassuring himself that this one would definitely hit the target. And suddenly, the target monster vanished. Akira was rather surprised as he put his gun down. All the corpse images also vanished from his surrounding.
"Alpha, are we going to end the training for today?"
"That's not the reason Akira, someone is coming here."
Akira looked puzzled as he pulled out his binoculars. Thanks to the binocular that was enhanced with Alpha's support, he was able to find the aforementioned people immediately. There were 2 Hunters riding a vehicle designed for traversing the wasteland.
Akira's face turned grim the moment he saw them. He remembered the time when he was attacked by a pair of Hunters the other day, so he could not help but be on his guard. Although these two Hunters were girls, there was no reason for him to lower his guard.
"I understand, let's go."
Akira immediately pulled up his rucksack and ran to Kuzusuhara City ruins.
Both of the female Hunters were riding a vehicle specially made for exploring the ruins. They were also heading towards the Kuzusuhara ruins.
Their equipment was inadequate for exploring the inner part of the ruin, but they were clearly too well equipped for exploring the outskirts of the ruin. Putting aside the special group of Hunters who could kill monsters with their bare hands, most of the Hunters were equipped with the equipment proportional to their skill. After all, it was an indicator that they have the skill to acquire and operate those equipments. So in short, the Hunters who work by exploring the Kuzusuhara ruins, they were not fully amateurs but at the same time, not fully professionals either.
Elena who was driving the car spoke to Sara who was sitting beside her.
"Sara, we'll arrive soon, get yourself ready."
"Elena, are you sure this is the place?"
"We already discussed about this yesterday, didn't we? This is the only ruin that a small kid can reach by foot from Kugamayama city."
"Isn't it also possible for him to go to other ruins by using the regular service?"
"Other than this Kuzusuhara City ruins, the other ruins that the regular service can bring you to are dangerous ruins. The rumor says that there was a small amateur boy who came to the Exchange Centre with a very expensive relic. If that boy was also frequenting other ruins, then such a rumor won't spread, you know. It's not strange for a small boy from the slums to go as far as to the outskirts of Kuzusuhara City ruins and find an expensive relic by pure chance. So it must be this place."
But unlike Elena, Sara was not as optimistic.
"Didn't you thoroughly search that place before? And the result from that search was not really great either. To be honest, I'm not expecting much from that place."
"Well, there's no harm in doing this, right? Let's just search that place again, something might have changed since the last time we came here."
After Elena said that in an upbeat tone, her gaze moved to Sara's chest and her expression changed to worry.
"...And also, about your nanomachine, it might be a good idea to replenish it soon. I know that you've been cutting your portion since we did not get much money lately, but are you really okay?"
Sara looked at her own chest which lacked contours like when it was in its glorious days. Elena and Sara both very well knew what it meant. That was exactly why Sara smiled as to not make Elena worry.
Sara was one of those people who actively enhanced their body using consumption type nanomachine and her chest was where she was saving her nanomachines stock.
Working as a Hunter and fighting monsters are 2 sides of the same coin. Their enemies were either descendants of the biological weapons made by the old world or the machines that functioned as defensive mechanisms. It was not easy to fight those enemies using human body. In order to fight those monsters, some hunters looked for a way to enhance their physical strength; augmented clothes, prosthetics, turning into a cyborg and so on.
Actually Sara almost died because of a certain circ.u.mstance and received treatment using the nanomachines. The treatment itself was a success, she was able to escape death and even acquired an enhanced body. But because of that, she could not survive without the nanomachines.
Her body was actively consuming the nanomachines on her daily life and the consumption increased as she was working as a Hunter. But replenishing nanomachines needed quite a lot of money.
She could actually take treatment to get rid of the dependence with nanomachines, but she would need a huge amount of money and she would be left with a weak body. It would also require even more money to treat her weakened body. In short, they were problems that could only be solved with money. And because she did not have an abundance of wealth, she could only maintain the status quo.
"Please don't do that. If you do that, we will have less equipment and it will be harder to earn money. How long do you think we took to earn all of these equipments?"
"It is nothing compared to your life. When the push comes to shove, I'll do that and let's raise up again together. If today's expedition goes well, we will spend our money first to replenish your nanomachines, okay?"
She would not accept any objections. That was what her eyes were saying. They had been friends since before they started working as Hunters. Their conversation had led to a situation where one of them should back off or they would not reach any compromise, so Sara just accepted it and made a light smile.
Elena smiled back at Sara.
"Isn't it too late for that? Hunters are just like that, aren't they?"
"Well, that's true too."
Akira was still moving around the outskirts of the Kuzusuhara City ruins. He did think of searching for relics since he had come to the ruins, but there were a lot of other Hunters in the ruins. As such, he had to keep moving to avoid bumping into them.
"Akira, we need to move again."
Thanks to the Alpha's advanced enemy detection ability, Akira was able to avoid bumping with any monsters or Hunters. But there was no way for him to either search for relics or continue his shooting training, so Akira was a bit disappointed.
"Again? Why this place is filled with people? And also, is it really that common for a ruin to be this crowded?"
"It depends on the ruins, but this ruin should be already abandoned though. When I met you, there was not even a single Hunter other than you. Even after that, the only other Hunters that I saw around this place were those two that you killed the other day."
Akira was rather worried, he could not help but think that these Hunters were looking for him for the exact same reason that those Hunters were tailing him the other day. But this time, they brought a lot of other Hunters with them.
Alpha then smiled and tried to calm Akira.
"Don't worry, even if that is the case, you'll be fine since you have me."
"Moreover, I think those Hunters are not specifically aiming for you. I have some inkling on the purpose they are here for. That's why I'm saying, there's nothing to worry about."
Then Alpha proceeded to explain Akira about the rumor that Elena and other hunters had heard, the source of that rumor, and the things that the other Hunters were looking for after hearing that rumor. After listening to Alpha's explanation, Akira understood that he was the main reason for everything that was happening, and so his face went pale.
"Although I did not expect much, I never thought that it would be this fruitless."
Elena made a bitter laugh and tried to cheer up Sara.
"If it was that easy, then someone would have discovered it first, you know. Let's just keep looking patiently."
"Even if you say so, I don't feel like we'll find anything if we keep looking blindly like this. Elena, do you have any leads or something?"
"I'm actually looking for that kid's footprints. If it's true that a kid found an unexplored area just like the rumor said, then there might be some small footprints that would lead us there."
The jobs in Elena's team were clearly distributed. Elena's job was to gather information, while Sara's job was fighting. And they were well equipped for their respective jobs.
The main equipment for Elena was the information collection device. It was a high tech device for reconnaissance consisting motion detectors, sonar map, and advanced scope. She used it for wide range information collection such as mapping the ruin or scanning and locating enemy hideouts. She also had a gun with her, but compared to Sara's equipment, her gun was just a light gun.
Sara's main equipment was a powerful gun. Normally, one would need to use augmented clothes to handle the weight and the kick back from the gun, but she was able to swing it around like nothing thanks to her strengthened body. As for her armor, she was equipped with a sturdy armor to handle the situation when she needed to become Elena's shield.
Elena would find the enemy, then Sara would take care of it. Sometimes Sara would also go alone without Elena, that was how their team explored a ruin.
Elena who was responsible for gathering information did all she could to answer Sara's expectations. It was because of Elena's superb skills that she was able to find footprints in the ruin that was filled with dust flying around. But the result wasn't as expected. So Elena could only reply back to Sara with a bitter laugh.
"It's still way better than looking blindly. So where do we look next?"
"Let's look for places where small kid might go. Ah, right, let me tell you this when I still have the chance, Sara. The colourless mist is getting thicker, so be careful."
Every time Akira found another Hunter through his binoculars, he would wonder if that Hunter would go back home soon. Alpha was watching his action and spoke to him.
"Akira, since this is a good chance, I'll explain to you about the colourless mist."
"Colourless mist?"
"Yep. It's started to get thicker. Look at that direction."
Alpha then got into the field of view of Akira's binocular and pointed her finger.
"Look in that direction and this direction, can you find the difference?"
"Are you sure?"
"That's right. The colourless mist on the right is thicker."
"...Is that it?"
"This is the most important part. It is fatal for an eastern Hunter to not know this, so listen well."
To Akira who looked confused, Alpha smiled as if to encourage him and started her explanation.
The colourless mist was the name that the people of the eastern district gave for a certain phenomenon. Unlike usual mist that looked white from light scattering, this colourless mist's range and thickness could only be observed from the blurring of the field of view.
All the area inside the colourless mist would blur. If it only hindered the view up to a certain extent, it might pose some problems but Hunters could easily cope with it by using high tech information gathering devices, but the effects of colourless mist did not stop there. There were a lot of unexplainable phenomena that come together with the colourless mist.
Radio wave, electromagnetic signals, even sound and smell too would be affected in the colourless mist. Both living organisms and machines would have problem in acquiring information about their surroundings. It was as if all kinds of powerful jamming devices were active at the same time. The performance of thermo-optical camouflage would greatly reduce to a point that it became almost useless. Then starting from optical lock, all kinds of locks would be rendered unusable. Wireless communication would be filled with noise and the mist could even affect wired communication some times.
Moreover, all guns would lose their power and range. The trajectory would deviate greatly which worsened the accuracy. And when the colourless mist was thick enough, even the path that the bullet took would be visible.
This phenomenon greatly affected the Hunter's activities in the eastern district. An inexperienced Hunter like Akira, could not fully understand the dangers of this phenomenon even after listening to Alpha's explanation.
"I, at least understand that it will be bad once the mist thickens."
Alpha could clearly see just how badly Akira understood the situation, so she shook her head and explained seriously.
"You don't seem to understand it completely, so I'll only explain the part where it affects you then. First of all, the reason why monsters can't easily attack people in the eastern district is because of this colourless mist. The monsters are also affected by the mist. Thanks to that, these monsters are having a hard time finding people thus allowing humans to live here. If the mist was not there, even the monsters on the other side of the ruins would be able to detect your presence. The detection function installed in their weapons made by the old world is simply that powerful."
Leaving aside whether Akira really understood the significance of the monster's detection ability, he at least understood just how important it is to avoid the enemy's detection. He nodded as if he was amazed.
"And one more thing. Once it gets extremely thick, it would affect monsters, humans, and machines, thus lower their ability to detect enemy. In the worst case scenario, you might even be able to find enemy faster than me, you know. That's why for now, if the mist gets thicker, then you'll need to cancel the ruin expedition and go back to the city."
Akira who was amazed listened closely to Alpha, he finally understood the danger of the mist.
"...If I meet a monster, what do you think the possibility of the current me to win?"
"In the case where the mist is thick enough, and my support is hindered to the point of uselessness, All your encounters would likely be a close range encounter. At that point, it will be pretty hopeless for you."
"...Just now you said that the mist is getting thicker, right?"
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/
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