Chapter 25 - Head Equipment, Intuition and Occult (1/2)
Chapter 25, Head Equipment, Intuition and Occult
Translator: Athena13
Editor: Silavin
Proofreader: p4553r
When Akira received notification from s.h.i.+zuka about the arrival of the augmented suit that he ordered, he immediately stopped his studying and packed up his things before setting off to s.h.i.+zuka’s shop.
Akira looked excited as he entered the shop. s.h.i.+zuka saw him and gave him a welcoming smile.
“Welcome, the item that you ordered has arrived. I’ll take you there, so just follow me.”
s.h.i.+zuka took Akira to the shop’s warehouse. He saw many items and goods lined up inside the warehouse, then his eyes caught the augmented suit that was on the hanger rack.
The greyish black augmented suit hanging there was made of something that looked elastic. There was a metallic part that formed a skeletal frame extending from the backbone of the suit to all the 4 limbs. And it did not come with a helmet or any head equipment.
Akira circled it, his eyes locked to the augmented suit. s.h.i.+zuka giggled as she watched Akira who was behaving more childish than usual.
“It’s the TLT type C-style augmented suit. Its name is Keilon. It might be 2 generations behind the latest generation augmented suit, but its hardware is not that different compared to the current generation. The basic setting software is already updated to its latest version, so don’t try to increase its capabilities by installing new software. In the worst-case scenario, a wrong adjustment can make it twist to the opposite direction than intended, so be careful.”
Akira’s eyes were still locked into the augmented suit as he listened to s.h.i.+zuka. He looked just like a small child who was excited about his new plaything.
Induced by his curiosity, Akira extended his hand to touch the augmented suit. The suit was made of synthetic fibres with countless thin but hard wick woven together. As he traced the thin wick, his finger arrived at the metallic skeletal frame.
Akira continued to feel the metallic part. The metallic part was way softer than he thought, and as he pressed it a bit, the metallic part deformed as if it was made of gum. Akira pulled his finger back in panic.
“S-s.h.i.+zuka-san. It’s softer than I thought though, is this normal?”
s.h.i.+zuka laughed which made Akira relieved. But a part of that laugh was s.h.i.+zuka enjoying Akira’s comical reaction.
“It’s alright. That part is elastic and soft when the suit is OFF in order to make it easy for the user to equip it. So then, don’t just stand there, let’s try putting it on. I’ll need your body measurement for the first time setting. So take off your clothes just like when I took your body measurement.”
s.h.i.+zuka then took Akira’s body measurement like last time. After she finished, she went behind the augmented suit and operated her information terminal to send the data to the suit.
Once the data was received, the augmented suit automatically adjusted itself as it started to wriggle. The sleeves, inseam and body part of the suit readjusted itself to mimic Akira’s body. Akira gasped in surprise when he saw that. After the adjustment finished, Akira put on the suit with some a.s.sistance from s.h.i.+zuka.
The soft and elastic metallic part of the suit did not impede his movement when he equipped it and tried to move his limbs. But it was a different story for the weight. Although the weight of the suit was distributed across its humanoid shape, it was still quite heavy that Akira would get tired quickly if he tried to move around in it.
s.h.i.+zuka took a good look at Akira before she nodded lightly.
“Yep, you look cool.”
“Thank you very much.”
Akira answered back while being bashful, but then Alpha interjected.
“Yep, you look really cool!! It’s wonderful!”
“Shut up.”
“Why are you so mean to me?”
“Because it sounds like you were mocking me now.”
Alpha looked offended, but Akira just ignored her. s.h.i.+zuka then continued checking the augmented suit.
“Well then, go ahead and turn it ON, the switch should be somewhere around your waist. Although I think there should not be any problem, be sure to immediately cancel the start-up process if you feel something is not right.”
“Alright.”
Akira then turned the suit ON. As the augmented suit booted up, he could feel the metallic part woven in its wicks and in its skeletal frame start to harden. And at the same time, Akira could not feel the weight of the suit anymore.
The augmented suit supported its own weight and it moved together with its user, that was why the user would not feel its weight when it is turned ON.
Akira was a bit surprised when he could not feel the suit’s weight as he tried to move around. Looking at how Akira was behaving, s.h.i.+zuka knew that there was no problem with the augmented suit.
“It seems that the suit booted up without any problems. Remember to move around slowly for now until you get used to your enhanced physical ability from the augmented suit. I would have recommended you to pick up some random heavy guns lying over there to test your enhanced strength but it would be problematic if you break them accidentally. So be sure not to touch anything, okay? You can go to the wasteland and pick up some wreckages to test your strength. Also, remember to be careful when you grab your gun. It’ll easily break if you use your augmented strength violently. Note that the metallic part of your augmented suit only hardened in order to provide support when you carry a heavy gun or any other object. So remember that you’re basically still vulnerable to bullets and monster attacks, okay?”
(p4553r: Basically an 8 million Aurum suit with no bulletproofing? o_O)
(Silavin: I believe there are stronger bullets/guns than what we have in RL right now)
Akira nodded firmly.
“I understand. I’ll be careful.”
“The other items that came along with the augmented suit are inside the box over there. It should include extra energy packs for reserve, maintenance kit and a simple manual. You should be able to find the site where to download a more detailed manual inside the simple manual. So be sure to read the manual… I guess that’s all, do you have any other questions?”
Akira took some time thinking before asking s.h.i.+zuka.
“By the way, do people usually use a helmet with their augmented suit?”
“Armour, augmented suit and basically any other equipment are actually optional. Are you one of those people who prefer to use a helmet? I’m sorry, I should’ve clarified with you beforehand.”
As s.h.i.+zuka looked sorry and apologized to Akira, he replied while getting fl.u.s.tered.
“Ah no, I’m just wondering if it’s weird if I use a helmet along with the augmented suit. I didn’t mean to complain. I also did say that I’ll tell you if I need anything when I consulted with you. So please don’t be sorry.”
“Is that so? I’m glad to hear that.”
Seeing how s.h.i.+zuka smiled at him, he felt relieved knowing that she was back to her usual mood. So then he continued asking questions to her.
“s.h.i.+zuka-san, you did ask me if I’m the type of person who uses a helmet, right? So there are people who prefer to not use a helmet, huh?”
“Yes. It’s actually more common, you know. Some people prefer to use an information terminal on their head, so the helmet that comes as a set with the augmented suit would get in their way. There are also people who prefer not to put anything on their heads too. That’s why head equipment is optional when you use an augmented suit.”
“So there’re people who do that too, huh? To be honest, I think it’s safer to put on a helmet…”
“There really are people who do that, you know. For example, both Sara and Elena don’t use a full-face helmet, right?”
Akira recollected his memory of Sara and Elena’s augmented suit, it was indeed true. He also remembered that the Hunters who attacked Sara and Elena also did not use a helmet. But even so, it was not enough reason for him to not use one. On the contrary, it made him question it more. Thus he asked s.h.i.+zuka again while looking puzzled.
“That’s true… But why, though?”
“Well, there’s a reason for it, but it’s an occult thing, you know.”
“Occult thing, huh?”
“Yep, you want to hear it?”
“Yes please.”
Looking at how Akira was genuinely interested, s.h.i.+zuka smiled as she began her story.
“There’re people among the Hunters who don’t want to put any helmet no matter how good the helmet is. For example, there’s this helmet, although it’s a full-face helmet, it is bulletproof, has a wide-angle display so the view with the helmet and without the helmet is exactly the same, can also transmit sounds without any obstruction as if there is no helmet. It fits perfectly and at the same time it does not exert any pressure on your head, and if used with the augmented suit, it’s basically weightless too. But even so, there are people who would not use this helmet, do you know why? Of course, it’s not because of money.”
Akira stood silent for a brief moment trying to think of a reason, but he could not come up with anything. He then gave up and surrendered.
“…I have no idea.”
“For some reason, putting that helmet will reduce their intuition, or so they say.”
“Intuition, huh?”
Akira looked puzzled after hearing an unexpected reason as the answer. s.h.i.+zuka smiled as if she was enjoying his reaction which was exactly like she expected.
“Yep, intuition. It seems that those people would ditch powerful helmets or any other defensive equipment in order to keep their intuition sharp, you know. Since in my opinion, I’m also someone with good intuition, so it’s not like I can’t understand their reason.”
“Hmmm… I don’t think I understand it…”
“Well, it’s true that it’s very subjective. There are people who doubt it, but eventually, since it’s about their own feelings, there are a lot of people who trust their own gut and do whatever they want. I don’t think there’s any problem as long as they decide that based on their own preference. But it causes some problems in certain situations, for example, when arming people who work in a private military company. There’s a story where someone who was responsible for arming his squad did not believe in such occult and forced everyone in his squad to equip their helmet. You know what happened then?”
“W-what happened?”
“Although they used a high-quality helmet in order to convince his squad, their fatality rate increased, you know.”
s.h.i.+zuka said that in a mysterious tone as she was watching Akira’s reaction, she then smiled with satisfaction.
“It’s not like there’s any real proof and it’s quite doubtful when you say you don’t want to use a helmet because it impedes your intuition. But a tangible proof like fatality rate did come up. That’s why it’s called an occult thing…”
“…Uhmmm, so, is it better if I don’t use a helmet?”
s.h.i.+zuka answered back in a way that calmed Akira who looked unsure of what to do.
“I’m sorry but I don’t have a definitive answer to that. After all, there are also people who really like their full-face helmet. There’re also people out there who took this story seriously, didn’t put their helmet on, and got killed because of that. If you want to put on a helmet, then I think you should. If you don’t want to, then you shouldn’t. That’s all I can tell you. Not to mention that I heard good Hunters feel awkward when they’re using equipment that they don’t usually use. So like I said, it’s fully a subjective topic, you should decide that for yourself.”
Akira looked a bit conflicted before he made a decision and smiled bitterly.