Chapter 11
Chapter 11
2. Reconstructing the Incident -3
“Don’t look. At the very least, you must not look at that brightest star.”
“⋯⋯! ⋯⋯⋯⋯!!”
“My hearing hasn’t fully come back yet, so I can’t hear you well. Since it’s gradually improving, I don’t think my eardrums are completely gone. Anyway, for now. Don’t look. I mean this sincerely, for your sake, Sohye.”
I started with a warning. If it had hit me this hard, then, no joke, Sohye might burst the moment she looked.
I thought as I pulled myself together.
What I had just seen was not⋯⋯ some apparition or illusion. It wasn’t a trick either. I could feel it in my soul. That thing was an existence close to a god.
An A-rank Hunter.
Does the System slap the tag “A-rank” onto beings like that and keep them?
By the alphabet, a D-rank like me was only three steps below it. But the gulf between that thing and me could not be expressed by the number 3. My head was spinning.
Beeep──
I thought amid the tinnitus ringing in my head.
First, fear came over me.
The System was fighting against the plant bastards. It was almost certain—it made hunters interact with one another through Stages, and paid out rewards called Credits when they killed monsters. If so, then.
Even while harboring beings like that, the System hadn’t been able to end the war against the monsters⋯⋯.
That meant the plant bastards that I, the people of Seoul, and Earth were up against might be enemies on a cosmic scale—so powerful they were beyond anything humans could hope to touch.
And on the other hand, another thought came to me⋯⋯.
[Connection complete. System connection authority is granted to the individual with the most outstanding talent on the planet.]
The System doesn’t pick the strongest hunter on a planet. It picks the most outstanding talent. Didn’t it skip over Earth’s S-rank Hunter Max Owen and choose me?
Like that, it granted Status Windows to new D-rank hunters and helped them grow through Credits and the Shop. It was trying to raise them. If I followed the path the System laid out, then maybe I could reach “A-rank Hunter” too.
I can’t quite imagine it, but.
If a human can become that strong.
⋯⋯If I can become that strong.
Couldn’t I go beyond Seoul and save all of Earth, my old home?
“Noah, can you hear me? Are you okay?! What just happened⋯⋯.”
“Yes. My hearing’s back. Sorry for worrying you. I’ll explain. What I saw was──”
I gave Sohye a simple explanation. The System was on a far bigger scale than we had thought. We needed to be careful.
At that, she seemed to search her memory for a moment, then spoke.
“Constellation stories⋯⋯.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, no. I mean I understand.”
“Good. Now we need to discuss this properly. It seems we have to choose one of those stars ourselves.”
Let’s see.
There were five stars in total in the Tutorial Stage’s night sky.
One with the strongest light, three in the middle, one faint. I’d have to check directly to be sure, but they probably signified A, B, and C-rank hunters respectively.
When we were progressing through the tutorial, the System had said:
[Access to higher-level information through a mentor in the relevant area becomes temporarily possible.]
[Starting with the 1st-place team (2 members), please designate a mentor within the time limit.]
Access to higher-level information through a mentor.
I had thought that meant I should sweet-talk a mentor on my own and coax out valuable information.
But once I realized there was a Hidden Piece, it looked different. The true “mentor” the tutorial had been talking about apparently referred to those stars—higher-ranked hunters.
An opportunity to obtain information⋯⋯ from them. That was the true nature of the tutorial.
A precious opportunity.
To put it bluntly, if I chose an A-rank Hunter right now and asked that being I had just witnessed for instruction, we might actually learn something from a planet-sized giant!
Of course, I wasn’t going to choose that.
“As you just saw, merely looking at it half-killed a person. If an A-rank Hunter so much as opened its mouth to teach something⋯⋯.”
“Yes, yes. They say power you can’t handle kills people.”
“I’ll examine the remaining stars. Let’s find a mentor within the range both of us can endure.”
“But if you bleed again doing that⋯⋯.”
“I didn’t die from the A-rank, so I won’t die just from looking at a B-rank.”
And wasn’t an incredible opportunity right in front of me? A certain amount of risk was worth taking. No—I wanted to take it.
I picked up the Telescope that had fallen into the brush and looked up at the night sky once more. Taking care not to accidentally look toward the A-rank Hunter.
The leftmost star.
Above a planet with no land, only sea, there was a colossal dark cloud slowly churning. Inside it, thunder and lightning flashed ceaselessly. Was it somewhere in there, or was the cloud itself the main body?
[B-rank Hunter 『Sky Roamer』 is observing you.]
[Due to incompatible hierarchy, the appearance of the True Form is automatically filtered.]
This one also made my eyes sting and my head go numb just from looking, but it was bearable. And, relatively speaking, it felt a little more human. It wasn’t on the scale of a giant sitting on a planet.
In turn, I looked at the middle and right stars.
A lanky giant roughly 50 meters tall, its body composed of metal, wires, and circular saws.
[B-rank Hunter 『Shattering Lord』 is observing you.]
[Due to incompatible hierarchy, the appearance of the True Form is automatically filtered.]
⋯⋯And a huge moth perched on a mountain.
[B-rank Hunter 『Night Moth』 remains silent.]
[Due to incompatible hierarchy, the appearance of the True Form is automatically filtered.]
Appearances aside, I could feel an overwhelming gap from them too. Even with tens of thousands of me, I’d be too busy running away to even think of fighting back.
Yeah. It felt similar to the EX-grade Monster that had thrashed me without me being able to do a thing. That crazy bastard whose single tentacle was the size of a building.
Lastly.
[C-rank Hunter 『Glass Sword Lord』 expresses delight.]
[Due to incompatible hierarchy, the appearance of the True Form is automatically filtered.]
A single knight made entirely of glass, standing at the center of a dueling ground where flags fluttered. Even the least shining star was not in human form.
The A-rank—let’s give up on that. It’s not a level I can handle.
The B-ranks⋯⋯ Up to B-rank, if I wrapped my whole body in Magic Power and focused, I might somehow manage a conversation. I wasn’t certain, but⋯⋯.
With a C-rank, it seemed I could receive the information I wanted without much strain. Whether the mentor would actually agree to talk was another matter.
Just as my deliberation was about to drag on.
[『Sky Roamer』 expresses interest in you.]
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
I got a response.
[『Sky Roamer』 promises to bestow a Skill upon you.]
Why was it interested in me? No—put that aside for now. It made sense to choose the one that reached out first over the ones that showed no interest. And if it was even offering me a gift, there was nothing to agonize over. Except—
There was a problem.
With Sohye’s specs, she wouldn’t be able to endure that existence. Even a C-rank was precarious for her.
The best option would be for me to designate 『Sky Roamer』 and Sohye 『Glass Sword Lord』 as mentors. But the System had presented mentor selection as a team unit. It had been that way in the tutorial, so we’d probably have to choose together this time too.
Then we had no choice but to pick 『Glass Sword Lord』⋯⋯.
Right. Maybe choosing the C-rank would be better after all. With a C-rank, I could get the information I wanted without much strain. Assuming this Glass Sword Lord fellow answered willingly, of course.
“Let’s pick the least shining star. Even a B-rank Hunter seems like it would be dangerous for you, Sohye. I’ll hand you the Telescope, so would you like to take a look, being careful where you direct your gaze?”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
When I held out the Telescope to Sohye, she froze with her hand extended awkwardly. Then, after her expression hardened for a moment, instead of taking the Telescope, she pushed it back toward me.
“Noah, you⋯⋯ can endure the middle stars, the B-ranks, right? And it seemed like that star flashed in your direction, too.”
“⋯⋯Why are you doing this?”
“It’s a good opportunity. If you’re giving up the chance to choose a B-rank Hunter as a mentor because of me, then—then⋯⋯ I think I should be the one to give it up. I’ll go back. You stay and get what you want.”
“But didn’t we find it together? And it was you, Sohye, who first noticed something suspicious. Honestly, from my position I’m just grateful, but there’s no need for you to yield──”
Step.
Sohye made a big X with both arms and stepped back three paces. As if resisting temptation. Then she spoke.
“⋯⋯I realized something while living in hiding from zombies, plants, and looters. The answer to survival isn’t fairness.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
“You have to invest more resources in the people who do more work and are more capable. Even if the weak⋯⋯ starve to death. Because if you don’t, everyone dies together. That’s my conviction.”
Clear regret flickered through her eyes.
This was a Hidden Piece, no less. She, too, must have the desire to seize this fortune, grow stronger, and improve her circumstances through that power. But Sohye swallowed that greed.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t hold anyone back, at least⋯⋯ And, and. You seem like a good person, Noah. I believe that if you get stronger quickly, you’ll come help my world. Right⋯⋯?”
“Sohye! What on earth are you trusting about me⋯⋯.”
“Ah, I can’t hear you! System⋯⋯ return!”
Whoosh.
Sohye was enveloped in light and vanished. In an instant, I was left alone in the field of the Tutorial Stage.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
She’d yielded the opportunity to me. But it left a bitter taste.
I was human too, so of course I’d feel good if I got the chance to monopolize a fortune. And if Sohye had simply yielded it without hesitation, I would have felt grateful instead of uneasy. I could always repay her later for what I received.
But her attitude had seemed almost compulsive. Did she have some kind of trauma?
Even so, I couldn’t call Sohye back, and since they’d told us to choose within the time limit, I couldn’t keep dawdling either. If I let the Hidden Piece slip away like this, I’d be too resentful to sleep.
Let’s choose.
I looked at the dark-cloud star that had reached out to me and declared.
“I will select Sky Roamer as my mentor.”
[Registration complete.]
[Summoning mentor.]
Soon── my vision was engulfed by storm and wind and rain.
And then⋯⋯ what happened? I can’t remember well. It’s hazy. But I seemed to have witnessed some⋯⋯ indescribably vast existence.
That existence.
Right, it said I had talent. It said that the Telescope’s function and the System’s permission were shouldering most of the burden that arose when receiving information about higher beings.
Even so, it said, the fact that I had witnessed an A-rank Hunter and was still alive meant I had an unusually large capacity. It said it would gladly invest in me.
-For a promising junior, I ought to stamp my seal on you.
Crunch, crrrunch.
After that came pain. My jaw kept grinding audibly. The agony was unlike anything I had ever experienced, and I was reflexively clenching so hard I was crushing my own teeth.
And soon.
[B-rank 『Sky Roamer』 bestows the Skill Azure Wind Wanderer (-).]
At the same time as the System notification, I lost consciousness.
“⋯⋯My jaw.”
My jaw joint ached. I couldn’t remember exactly what had happened, but I felt like things had gone well. Clutching my lower jaw, I scanned the Skill list in my Status Window.
Skill List
└ Unidentified Skill 1 (F) : B07#@R2e8
-> Download Slot 1 :
-> Download Slot 2 :
Stored List : 『A01#@47Eb』, 『Flame Goat Gauntlet : Flame Emission』, 『Bullseye』
(Re-evaluation required due to an error of unknown cause)
└ Azure Wind Wanderer (D / B)
Progress : 0% (0-star)
‘The significance of the System lies in wandering through the wide world, so roam various worlds and feed it various rains and clouds. Then you shall be able to command wind and rain at will.’
(Additionally, progress can be increased by consuming Credits)
Credits Held : - 10,000,000,000 (Debt)
The 『Azure Wind Wanderer』 that Sky Roamer gave me seemed to be a growth-type Skill. (D / B) probably meant that it was D-rank now, but could grow up to B-rank depending on how it was raised.
R-11 had said that to pass the C-rank promotion Stage, you needed three D-rank Skills. If so, I had already achieved one-third of the requirement. I could rightly cheer.
Even if I had been able to sit down and talk freely with a C-rank Hunter, I doubted I would have gotten a better result than this. Sohye and I had made the right call after all.
Good. It was good, but.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
(Additionally, progress can be increased by consuming Credits)
That line.
That line saying I could grind experience by consuming Credits felt like it was mocking my debt-ridden account, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth⋯⋯.