Chapter 35 - Information Gathering Device (1/2)

Chapter 35, Information Gathering Device

Translator: Athena13

Editor: Silavin

Proofreader: p4553r

Akira was riding through the wasteland on a bike. He was in the middle of an individual patrol request.

The bike was equipped with an onboard information gathering device that Akira borrowed from the Hunter Office. This device would record everything around him, the route that he took, the type and number of monsters that he encountered, and how many of those monsters he defeated. All of this data would be then exchanged for money, deducting the rent fee of the information gathering device and the rest would be paid as Akira’s reward for this request.

If Akira patrolled around an area filled with dangerous monsters, his reward would shoot up. On the other hand, if he only patrolled around a relatively safe area just to kill time, his reward would be so less that it might not even cover the rental fee. And if he got unlucky and encountered another swarm of monsters alone, he could monopolize the reward all for himself. Even if he decided to run away from that swarm of monsters, no one would have any complaint against him. Compared to the group patrol from the last time, an individual patrol request like this had its advantages and disadvantages, but for the current Akira, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.

Akira was speaking to Alpha through telepathy while on his bike. It was to avoid the information gathering device from recording him talking alone.

“I was really afraid that I might meet another swarm of monsters. But now that I’m here, I don’t even see that many monsters. It’s a bit disappointing.”

“A lot of monsters were killed in yesterday’s battle. But it can also be said that there are that many monsters left even after we killed so many of them yesterday. I’m sure it won’t take that long before the population of monsters in the area returns back to normal.”

Akira frowned.

“So right now is like a moment of calmness before a storm, huh? But if I think like that, it feels like there are a lot of monsters today. I wonder where all of these monsters come from. Although we periodically thin them out, they always return back to normal in no time, right?”

“I bet there are undiscovered production facilities somewhere out there or production facilities guarded by powerful defensive devices, which makes it impossible to subjugate them. These keep producing monsters endlessly. The monsters in this area might come from a production facility near the area or come from a faraway place.”

“That might explain the mechanical monsters, but still…”

“That’s also the case for the biological monsters too.”

Akira looked surprised and confused at the same time.

“The biological monsters are also produced in factories? They don’t multiply from breeding?”

Alpha smiled, boasting her knowledge.

“That’s right. It’s an easy task to produce biological organisms using technology from the old world. Livestock, pet, bodyguard, biological soldiers, you can use old-world technology to produce all kinds of biological creatures. But a high-quality creature can only be produced by synthesizing everything from scratch. Well, of course, it was properly maintained back in the days, thus these monsters would not randomly attack people. Moreover, some biological monsters can multiply by using their reproductive abilities. So even if the factory where these monsters were originally produced are no more, they would still multiply.”

“…The more I hear about this old world, the crazier it sounds.”

“And you’ll be exploring the ruins filled with this crazy old world technology many times in the future, you know? So be sure to work hard to get yourself proper equipment and skill to survive these deadly ruins, okay? As for training, how about you try fighting a monster on your own? There’s a monster right over there, Akira.”

“Roger that.”

This patrol request also doubled as training for Akira. As he spotted and confirmed his target, he stopped his bike.

It was a small carnivorous monster. The burly fur hid its limbs and it did not look strong. As a matter of fact, it was a relatively weak monster.

But it was strong enough to actually attack and kill a human. And since it was roaming in the wasteland, it showed that it had enough strength and ability to survive in such a harsh environment. This quality alone was enough to make anyone run away from it out of fear.

Akira held his CWH anti-material rifle with the help of his augmented suit as he took an aim at that monster. But since he was still inexperienced in using an augmented suit and still not that familiar with CWH anti-material rifle, the TPL extended from its muzzle was swaying left and right.

Akira took a deep long breath while making a stern stance, he gathered his focus and pulled the trigger. A bang reverberated as a bullet flew out from the muzzle and cut through the air before landing near the ground where the monster was standing.

“A miss, that was close though.”

“I still couldn’t hit my target even with the help from TPL, huh? It seems that I still have a long way to go before I can shoot accurately on my own.”

“It might also be because you always shoot from a safe range during the training. No need to be nervous and do your best. That monster is heading this way now.”

“Roger that, next shot.”

The monster noticed Akira and immediately ran towards him. Its huge limbs kicked the ground as it closed its distance to Akira. Through his aiming device, he could clearly see that the monster really wanted to take a chomp off his flesh.

The fear that was bubbling inside Akira was telling him to either take his bike and escape or ask for Alpha’s support. But Akira stood his ground and suppressed his fear. Although it drew closer for every shot he missed as that monster was charging towards him, he continued shooting at the monster.

Then finally, one of his bullets. .h.i.t the monster’s body. The monster immediately slowed down. Akira then calmly took an aim and delivered the killing shot.

Alpha smiled and praised him for his performance.

“You did well, that was pretty good.”

“Thanks. Well, I guess this much shots against a monster won’t put me on red, right?”

“Yep, maybe.”

“Alright.”

Akira firmly nodded and smiled lightly.

As he returned back to patrolling the wasteland, he asked Alpha.

“Alpha, about the patrol request though, we’ll keep doing this request until I reach a certain Hunter Rank, right? Although my Hunter Rank went up to 17 from the last battle, until what rank do I need to keep doing this?”

“Your goal is to reach Hunter Rank 20. You’ll need to at least reach that level to be able to borrow a custom made vehicle to traverse the wasteland. Although a lower Hunter Rank is actually enough if you just want to borrow a vehicle, you also need to think and find a balance between the vehicle specification, the rental fee and the insurance fee.”

“A vehicle, huh? But I already have a bike. So, do I still really need to hurry up to get a vehicle?”

“Yes, you should. There’s a limit on how much supplies you can bring with you on this bike. Although you’ll need to get all the required equipment before going to explore the other ruins, a vehicle specially designed to travel in the wasteland is quite expensive. So you’ll just have to rent for the time being.”

“The other ruins, huh? Is it okay if I take a peek into those ruins for a bit with this bike?”

“We’ll only do that once you get yourself the proper equipment and a vehicle. If it’s possible, I want you to get an information-gathering device at least. We’ll only visit other ruins after you have all of that, okay?”

“Hmmm. To be honest, I want to at least collect some medicines though. Is the bike really not enough?”

“Oh, I haven’t told you this, huh? My detection ability deteriorates outside Kuzusuhara ruins, you see. That’s why it’s crucial for you to get an information-gathering device. Or do you still want to go without one?”

“Alright, let’s not do that.”

Akira immediately backed off. He understood that it would be futile to challenge a ruin relying solely on his own power without Alpha’s detection support. After all, he would not want monsters to swarm him from all directions.

“So besides a vehicle, I should get an information-gathering device too, huh? That would require a huge amount of money. Although I just got 12,000,000 Aurum, it has gone in a puff, the CWH anti-material rifle is pretty expensive after all.”

“That’s what it means to be a Hunter. If it requires more money than what you can earn right now, then it means that it’s still too early for you to get it. That’s all there’s to it.”

“…You’re right.”

It was not a rare occurrence where a Hunter who got ahead of himself challenged a ruin that was outside his ability and then was claimed by the ruin. It was the same for Akira too, he would have died if he did not meet Alpha in Kuzusuhara ruins.

Akira understood that lucky coincidence had kept him alive up until now and let out a bitter smile.

—*—*—*—

When Akira visited s.h.i.+zuka’s shop, he found Elena and Sara talking with s.h.i.+zuka. Akira then joined their conversation while placing a refill order for his ammo. As they were talking about the augmented suit, the conversation somehow s.h.i.+fted to Elena’s augmented suit.

Akira seemed obviously surprised when he found out that Elena was not using an augmented suit until now.

“…Elena-san, so that’s just a simple armour, huh? Since I’ve seen you carrying heavy equipment, I a.s.sumed it was an augmented suit. So you’re actually stronger than you seem, huh?”

Sara looked amused by Akira’s reaction.

“That’s right. But even so, Elena always says that she’s just a weak girl, you know? Don’t you think that’s just unreasonable?”

“Eh, Ah, no…”

Akira could not immediately agree to that as he was at loss for words. Elena who had just gotten teased there quickly retorted.

“I don’t want a girl who carried an A4WM Automatic Grenade Launcher saying something like that to me. That gun is crazy heavy, you know. And even more so when it’s fully loaded.”

“That’s normal for me. After all, I’m a nanomachine enhanced human. But of course, without the nanomachines, I’m just your normal weak girl.”

“And without the nanomachines, Sara’s glorious chest will turn back into its original pitiful size.”

Elena and Sara smiled at each other. Although Akira was just an observer, he could feel the immense pressure in the air.

s.h.i.+zuka was enjoying the show, but when she noticed Akira looking uncomfortable, she tried to mediate between them.

“You two should stop there. Akira is scared, you know? What are you girls doing letting out veteran Hunter’s intimidating aura in this place?”

As Elena and Sara heard s.h.i.+zuka and turned down their intimidating aura, both of their gazes s.h.i.+fted to Akira.

Akira, who was still at loss for words, tried to squeeze out everything he had to change the mood. He took a standpoint between Elena and Sara with his narrow knowledge of vocabulary.

“Ahh, well, I don’t know about being a weak girl, but I think Elena-san is a pretty girl with a beautiful slender body.”

Although Elena immediately understood from her experience that those words were just flattery, she also understood that Akira was being honest when he said that. Thus she was pretty happy with his compliment.

Sara just smiled and stared at Akira as she asked.

“Akira, how about me?”

There was obviously some pressure emitting from her smile. So Akira could only answer back in a panic.

“Of course I think that Sara-san is also a beautiful girl.”

And with that, Sara’s mood immediately turned better.

s.h.i.+zuka who was only watching them as an observer suddenly joined in.

“Akira, then how about me?”

“s.h.i.+zuka-san is also a beautiful girl.”

Akira answered back casually since he understood that s.h.i.+zuka knew he would answer with that when she asked him that question. But it was obvious that Akira was a bit bashful when he said that.

Of course, Alpha could not help but join in as she smiled and asked Akira the same question.

“Akira, how about me?”

“Yeah yeah, you’re beautiful too, are you satisfied now?”

Alpha looked displeased with Akira’s answer as she retorted.

“Why are you always so mean to me?”

“Because I know for sure that you did that only to tease me. I’m trying my best not to look suspicious here, so can you please stop interrupting me?”

Akira was trying to be careful not to look at Alpha, who was invisible to Elena and the other girls there.

s.h.i.+zuka was a bit surprised when she found herself happy from Akira’s words, thus she tried to hide it by teasing Akira.

“Akira, did you say that just to change the mood?”

“No, I’m not a person who can say anything if someone tells me to say that because it’s more profitable that way. So, although we are in that kind of situation, I didn’t lie. Everything I said is true.”

“I-I see.”

The mood in the room suddenly turned embarra.s.sing. s.h.i.+zuka, Elena, and Sara looked at each other and noticed that their faces had turned reddish. Since they all noticed that, they stayed quiet hoping that no one would point out the fact.

Akira then came up with a new subject as he was trying to change the mood again.