Chapter 44
Chapter 44
7. Things You Shouldn't Know -3
Earth, the city-state of New York.
This city, regarded as humanity's final bastion, had preserved its pre-collapse appearance. Citizens buying daily necessities with dollars at large supermarkets, hunters enjoying intimate meals at upscale restaurants, and so on.
Aside from the fact that such luxury facilities were controlled and managed by the central government, and that at least one armed hunter was stationed throughout the facilities, it was remarkable how faithfully it reproduced the scenery of the modern era.
In an age where mere survival was a struggle, New York was likely the only place on Earth capable of maintaining such a system.
Because to sustain a society on an Earth being steadily swallowed by the verdant catastrophe, population, resources, and above all, security had to come first. These were the very things most leaders begged to secure even one of.
And what made that possible was Earth's only S-rank hunter, Max Owen, and his elite direct hunter unit, 『Team Camellia』.
After the Gate Incident, ambitious hunters from every nation gradually gathered in New York. The radiant prestige of the sole S-rank hunter drew them there. And so a virtuous cycle naturally occurred.
As hunters flocked in, hunter-related research advanced rapidly, and hunters who saw that booked their tickets to New York once again.
That flow accelerated the more certain the world's doom became.
Unless they were bound by patriotism or contracts—and even if they were—hunters took their families by the hand and boarded flights to New York. The migration procession did not end until the very moment the plant monsters set up anti-air batteries and made flight impossible.
As a result, a city was created with more hunters, greater abundance, and greater safety than any other city-state. And from among those countless hunters, the top hunters with talent and ability were handpicked to form—— 『Team Camellia』.
"Well, to put it plainly⋯⋯ wouldn't you say they're the strongest hunter group on Earth?"
A team powerful enough to take such pride in themselves.
They were currently carrying out a Stage 2 contamination forest purification operation alongside soldiers.
.
A white man with blond hair slicked back was walking through the forest. He pressed the button on his in-ear and reported his position to the central control room operator.
"Code C2, reached the target point. This forest is a pain in the ass every time I come in."
-Confirmed, Jay. Please stand by. I've contacted nearby hunters, so they should be able to join you in about 10 minutes.
"What's up ahead?"
-Well⋯⋯ it's a 『Rose』. The color is red. The three C-ranks and two B-ranks who entered first are dead. One C-rank who was following as a support role barely escaped and was able to identify it.
A rose. The queen of flowers.
This plant species, once regarded as the quintessential symbol of flowers before the collapse, had long since become an object of terror. Unusually aggressive and powerful compared to other plant species, its threat level was rated at minimum A+.
In other words, it meant three A-rank hunters had to gang up on it and accept considerable injuries to subjugate it.
But the man called Jay did not stop walking. Rather, he scoffed even at the operator's warning.
"Hmph, who do you think I am? I'll take down the 『Rose』 solo."
-J-Jay!
It wasn't baseless confidence. Because he was no ordinary hunter. He was a hunter belonging to 『Team Camellia』—and the number assigned to him was C2, the very next code after Max Owen's identifier.
It meant he was, in name and reality, the second-in-command of the city-state of New York.
Ruuustle——!!
The 『Rose』 bloomed. Wrapped in sharp thorns like a carapace and with its net-like spread stems draped around it like a cloak, its form resembled a queen with a flower head.
Jay charged at the 『Rose』 with lightning coiled around his body.
4 minutes 58 seconds elapsed after combat began.
Atop the corpse heap of the withered, dead rose, Jay—who had sustained significant penetrating wounds to his left arm and right leg—grinned as he put a cigarette in his mouth. Through the in-ear, all manner of praise was pouring in for the feat of solo-subjugating the 『Rose』.
-Amazing, Jay. To take down a 『Rose』 alone⋯⋯ and in just 5 minutes. There's no one who could do that except Owen. I've sent a rescue team, so please wait!
"Okay."
Yes, this was the reaction he wanted. This was what he had worked for all this time. Jay smiled at the sense of accomplishment flowing through his body. What other hunter could achieve such a feat? Who else could solo-subjugate a 『Rose』, something close to a nightmare for hunters?
Of course, the only S-rank hunter, Max Owen, probably could. But excluding him, there was no one else on Earth quite like me⋯⋯
That was what Jay thought.
Splaaash—!!
Screeeech——!!
Large red petals fell in flurries like autumn leaves. And the 『Rose』, which had been staggering this way and that, spewed out something like bodily fluid before collapsing face-down onto the ground and going still.
I'd cleanly pierced the brain inside the flower for an instant kill, so it couldn't even play dead.
I dusted off my clothes and checked the system timer. Hmm, about 2 minutes 1 second.
Before I got the System, taking down a 『Rose』 had taken about 4 minutes. And even then, I remember my left arm got wrecked in the process⋯⋯ so I've gotten pretty damn strong.
But I didn't feel much. My gaze was fixed on something so distant I couldn't even dare to look at it. There were people out there who could destroy planets, so what did a single flower matter?
I roughly wiped the blade of my dagger and looked toward Elijah, who was still tussling with a 『Rose』, and asked.
"You need more time over there?"
"Yes, Noah. About one more minute?"
"Take your time."
Between answering mid-combat and the unmistakable composure in her reply, it didn't seem like she needed my help. I relaxed my body and rested. Might as well enjoy the show.
The 『Rose』 is a tricky bastard.
The most troublesome thing about it is its diverse attack patterns. The thorns sprouting all over its body make approaching it a pain, and it swings its thorny vines around like human arms.
The stem net draped like a cloak flutters about, serving both offense and defense, and above all, it can fire each and every one of those thorns. Attacks rain down constantly whether you're near or far.
So the standard strategy is to keep your distance and drain its strength.
If you bait out its thorn-firing attacks and hold out for about half a day, it runs low on nutrients and can no longer regenerate its thorns. Then you beat the hell out of the now-bald, weakened rose⋯⋯ that's the usual method.
Elijah chose a head-on contest of strength.
Hwiii——!!
From her fingertips, glittering diamond-coated wire extended with an eerie sound. The plant stems caught in that straight line were cleanly sliced through. That wire was sharp as hell no matter how many times I saw it.
The wire net she created was grinding down the 『Rose』's stem net, shredding it away. I stroked my chin and analyzed her movements. Pretty⋯⋯ aggressive.
I'm not exactly an expert on special weapons like that, but—wire isn't something you can retract as quickly and precisely as a dagger. Since it fundamentally flutters about, if you extend it to cut an enemy apart, you need time to reel it back in.
During that retrieval, it could get snagged on obstacles or enemy weapons, get tangled up⋯⋯ or if your own body ended up in its trajectory, it'd be a disaster.
Among weapons I know, the closest comparison would be a whip.
Maybe that's why Elijah's wire net stayed close to her body, the caster. She was manipulating thin wire that could easily tear through human skin, pulling it as close as 5 centimeters above her own flesh.
Offense and defense as one. Like a rose that plucks its own thorns to protect its body, Elijah moved as if she were wearing the wire—simultaneously slicing enemies and defending against enemy attacks with the wire.
Honestly, watching from the side, it was nerve-wracking. If her aim slipped even slightly, her own arm or leg would get cleanly sliced off.
And another peculiar thing⋯⋯ was the 『Coffin』, I suppose.
Elijah was carrying a large coffin on her back again today. It was secured with triple belts, and even now, while dodging the thorns the 『Rose』 was firing, it didn't so much as wobble.
What the hell is in there?
While I was forming various hypotheses about its contents, the battle ended. Elijah's wire, having closed in, traced a large circle, and inside that trajectory was the flower head.
Snick——
Once the circle contracted to a point, the 『Rose』's neck was severed with a nearly inaudible cutting sound. Elijah spun around, clasped her hands behind her back, and smiled at me.
"All done, Noah!"
It had taken about 4 minutes up to this point. I briefly checked that the 『Rose』 was properly dead, then got to my feet.
"Good work. Let's get moving."
"Hmm, so I'm not at a level deserving of praise? I was hoping for at least a word."
"I don't praise people at my own level."
"⋯⋯You're really good at giving compliments, aren't you?"
Tap. Elijah fell in step beside me with light footsteps. I readjusted my backpack straps and started walking forward. The destination was still a long way off.
Beyond the horizon stretched a mountain range that looked sheer as a cliff face. And not a gentle one either—it was a hellish formation, like hundreds or thousands of mountains shaped like sharp spires stacked on top of each other. The dense greenery was a given.
Somewhere among those peaks was our destination, so there was plenty of hardship ahead.
This place⋯⋯ was entered using a stage code given to me by the Glass Sword Lord. According to the System display, it was as follows.
[D-rank | Dungeon (Pending) | -days | - | - Credits | 2804D27F39EE]
Perhaps because it was a pending stage, neither the mission objective nor the reward was listed. Pending stages are hidden even from the System, so you can't even enter without a code.
In other words, there was no worry about assassins crossing over from the [Hunter Alliance], which was a small mercy.
Elijah walked along, skillfully kicking up a small pebble as if playing jegi, then suddenly asked me as if the thought had just occurred to her.
"Come to think of it, Noah, what does this 'pending' mean? It's my first time seeing it."
"Do you know the stage classifications?"
"I do. If both the hunter and the terminal are fine, it's 'Normal.' If the hunter is dead but the terminal is fine, it's 'Dungeon.' If the terminal is in danger, it's 'Restoration.' If the terminal is broken, it's 'Drifter.'"
"Exactly right."
As Elijah said, the System divides stages into four categories.
[Dungeon | 3 days | Designated Target Hunt | 100 Credits + D-rank Random Box]
[Restoration | 1 day | Terminal Reinstallation | 500 Credits]
[Normal | - days | Reinforcement Request | 300 Credits + D-rank Random Box]
[Dungeon | 2 days | Designated Zone Purification | 300 Credits + D-rank Random Box]
And in each world, there exists one hunter and a terminal responsible for the connection between the world and the System⋯⋯ an 'Eve.' The stage's mission and danger level change depending on their status.
If the planet's hunter dies, the possibility of self-purification disappears, and purification can only proceed with external hunters, hence 'dungeon.'
If the terminal Eve was in danger regardless of the hunter's survival, it had to be restored before the connection was severed, hence 'Restoration.' And if the connection was ultimately severed, there was effectively no way to reach it, hence 'Drifter.'
But there's an additional tag attached to these, and that's 'pending.'
Stages where a powerful monster beyond the grade is roaming, or where the world's contamination is so severe that nothing can be done, get the pending label and are deactivated from matching.
Simply put, you could call it hard difficulty.
Elijah put a finger to her cheek and expressed her confusion.
"⋯⋯If it's a harder stage, shouldn't the reward be set higher?"
"Maybe the System doesn't want hunters to take on unnecessary risks? To prevent cases where they jump into a hard place for no reason and all end up dead."
"Aha."
That's what I said, but⋯⋯
Maybe because of that sacrificial-offering incident during the last Rite of Order, I didn't think the System had designated these pending stages for humanitarian reasons. It probably just hid them because the losses outweighed the gains.
Anyway.
Since this was a pending stage, monsters you'd normally never see were absolutely everywhere. The 『Rose』 I saw earlier was one of them. It's a bastard you don't usually encounter, and didn't two of them bloom along the way?
If it had been a different specimen, I would have quietly avoided it and moved on, but the 『Rose』 has a nasty temper, so it picked a fight first and got itself killed.
According to the Glass Sword Lord, the manual for the 『Glass Sword (琉璃劍)』 was hidden in a very wuxia-novel sort of place. He said it was stored midway up the cliff of the mountain peak that shone brightest when the sun was at its zenith.
"⋯⋯Alright, this spot has fewer plants and it's decent. Shall we camp here?"
"Yes, Noah. We wait here until noon tomorrow, right?"
"Right."
So we had to spend one night here. The sun was already going down.
After the collapse arrived, camping had become more primitive.
Before the Gate Incident, people used to make simple shelters out of branches and large leaves like in survival variety shows, but now doing that could get you killed overnight. A single monster spore carried on the wind could turn a well-built shelter into a coffin.
So unless you'd brought camp gear in advance⋯⋯ the proper way to camp now was to light a campfire on the bare ground and sleep with a suitable rock as your pillow.
"I see."
Elijah showed no particular change in expression even after hearing this explanation. Rather, as if sleeping sprawled on the dirt was familiar to her, she plopped down and started picking out rocks to find a good spot.
⋯⋯Just looking at her, she seemed like a young lady from a well-off household. Maybe it's because she's an android.
After we each settled into our spots and lit a campfire in the center, silence descended along with the night. Elijah was supposed to take the first watch, but I had no intention of sleeping. I didn't trust her 100%.
She probably felt the same about me. Trust blooms slowly unless you're in an extreme situation.
And then.
"Noah, I have some personal business for a moment. I'll be back in about 10 minutes."
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
Elijah slowly got to her feet, gave me a light wink, then walked into the dense forest and soon disappeared from sight. More than worry⋯⋯ I was a bit curious about the reason. Seeing how she handled a 『Rose』 on her own, she wasn't the kind of hunter who'd get taken down out there.
Even if some dog-like monster appeared, she could hold out long enough for me to join. But I didn't follow her.
She'd even said it was personal business. That meant don't come.
But⋯⋯
"Hm."
Elijah had left behind the coffin she carried on her back.
"⋯⋯Hmm."
And looking closely, it seemed slightly open. If I peered inside, I could probably identify the contents, but was it okay to look?
No. As long as I didn't get caught, wasn't it the wise choice to look? If what's inside is a weapon, the possibility of it being aimed at me isn't zero yet. And we weren't close enough for me to feel any great moral obligation.
So from a risk management perspective⋯⋯ even if it pricks my conscience a little, looking seems right. Yeah, just a peek.
Just a peek⋯⋯
Moonlight shone through the drifting clouds. That artful natural lighting briefly swept across the inside of the coffin, and even with that faint light source, my eyes could make out the shape of the contents.
It was a familiar shape—smooth, elongated, with the tip split into five strands.
A human arm.
Shiver!
For a moment, all sorts of thoughts raced through my mind.
"⋯⋯Phew."
Thank goodness. I let out a sigh of relief.
Looking closely, it was an arm, yes, but an arm made of machinery. It looked convincingly real, but the detailed contours were a bit different. I could understand why she'd brought it.
Elijah said she was an android, so she probably carried spare parts in case something broke. In that case, the coffin was a storage case for spare parts.
Then would other armaments⋯⋯ like a laser emitter, be inside too? An arm cannon you'd only see in movies, or maybe an integrated blade. My heart beat a little faster.
So I shifted a bit more to the side, craned my neck, and peered a little deeper inside. This way, what was below the mechanical arm was⋯⋯ an arm.
There was another arm below the arm.
Were there just a lot of spare arms? No, wait. It was vacuum-sealed.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?"
What the hell.
Did I see wrong? No, my eyes have never made an error. And the shape was far too distinct. It wasn't a mannequin or a doll.
Considering the detail of the joints and wrinkles, I was 90% certain. The second arm was a real arm.
What the fuck. Why would there be a human arm⋯⋯
I was lost in confusion, deep in thought, when—
"Phew, I'm back, Noah. Were you worried?"
Shiver!
Elijah's voice came from behind me. I barely managed to answer calmly.
"Uh, huh? No. I don't worry about people at my own level."
"Then would you worry if I got a little hurt? If my body gets damaged, my combat ability drops too, you know."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
Why do you have to phrase it like that.
What the hell are you, Elijah.