Chapter 7
The Association Registration Process
The registration process at the Association is composed of multiple stages.
The first thing one must do is to determine what abilities the person wishing to register possesses.
Yu Sora had attached a device with adhesive properties to my wrist.
It didn't tingle or anything.
“The recognition is taking a while. Just a moment.”
The machine was connected to a laptop.
Attaching the device to an awakened person's body allowed me to view the skill window I saw on the laptop or computer.
I had seen it on TV a few times.
The skill content must be long, I suppose?
It usually outputs the skill on the computer within about a minute, but two minutes had already passed and it still wasn't finished.
Yu Sora fiddled with the device on my wrist, wondering if it was malfunctioning.
“Is the skill content perhaps vast? I don't even get this with mine.”
“Well, it can be described as long.”
Only two skills have explanations of three or more lines, and since the passive also carries several abilities, it's natural for the output to take time, right?
And there were still a few passives I hadn't even been able to read yet.
Seeing this much detail from a level 1 state was unusual.
Furthermore, starting with two skills was special.
Normally one learns one skill and one passive, and as levels increase, various skills are acquired.
“Amazing. The initial grade might be high.”
“It probably won't be that high.”
I had worried it might not output at all, but after waiting a bit longer, the laptop displayed my skills.
Noah, who had been watching me from afar, approached closer.
“Hmm, it's about what I expected.”
“What did you expect…?”
“My passive makes me feel a slight sense of calm when I'm around you. Though it's tiny, I figured it might be this kind.”
Noah pointed at the passive [If allied units are present nearby, allied mental pollution gradually decreases.]
A passive like a walking tranquilizer that recovers mental pollution when allied units are nearby.
I wished it could recover mine too.
Hearing Noah, I realized the level difference between us was enormous, so the recovery amount was minuscule.
It's good to know these things too.
Yu Sora slowly began reading the skills from the top.
Then she pointed at the second line of skill 1: [Grants mental synchronization to up to three allied units and myself. Allied units granted mental synchronization obtain an external mental damage protection barrier proportional to their own level and maximum mental resistance.]
“The barrier increases in proportion to the recipient's level, not the caster's. Normally buffs scale with the caster's level, but I've never seen this type.”
Even if my level is 1, casting a buff on a level 100 person would provide an immense mental damage protection barrier.
Please don't tell me I'm going to participate in high-grade gate buff launches because of this.
Ugh, that's no fun.
“This one isn't as complicated as mine, at least. Unique skills have lectures, but once registration is done, I'll roughly explain.”
I nodded.
I had some prior knowledge from researching publicly known hunter abilities, but I had no sense of what exactly was external mental damage, internal mental damage, or special mental pollution states.
“Hmm, there's a lot to look at. First, I need to confirm the specific numbers… Do you know how the abilities activate?”
“I know that you can activate abilities when you want to use them.”
“Since the second skill can't be activated right now, shall I demonstrate the first one? Use it on me and Noah.”
I took a deep breath and mentally repeated, “I want to activate the ability, I want to synchronize my mind.”
A dull aura appeared on my body, and a sparkling aura began to flow on the bodies of Noah and Yu Sora.
“The effect can be confirmed visually… I'll check the barrier remaining.”
Yu Sora tapped the air like a remote control.
She was probably looking at a hologram.
Then she entered some numbers into the laptop and asked Noah.
“I see the barrier remaining, but does Noah see it? Let's cross-check.”
“Of course. You can roughly input three times the level. Hmm, ah!”
“Roughly, using the ability on a level 50 person makes the mind about 150% stronger, and on a level 30 person about 90% stronger.”
Noah explained it easily, realizing she was talking to herself.
Since B-grade hunters are usually around levels 20 to 30, it would make the mind about 60% to 90% stronger, I suppose.
Not bad.
“Receiving internal mental damage increases… This seems to be roughly estimated at 50% per person. When the barrier breaks, a powerful internal mental damage… Shall I experiment?”
“Eek, do you want to break the barrier?”
“Let's not do that~ It'd be bad for your emotional state.”
Noah waved her hand to stop Yu Sora.
I didn't want to hear the warning about something so powerful either.
I'm not that mentally strong in the first place.
“But isn't it good to try? You have medication that instantly recovers mental power.”
“Hmm, do I really have to take that risk? And I keep telling you that drug isn't good because it's addictive.”
“Even so, shouldn't we check what happens when the barrier breaks? Is it immediate panic, or damage I can endure? Panic can be recovered.”
“That doesn't sound like a good idea. Your proposal is to make someone who just awakened panic today. Isn't that a bit cruel? And in the worst case… ugh.”
Noah swallowed, seeming uncomfortable continuing.
“…The Association manual says that when the skill effect causes backlash damage, you investigate and record the degree of backlash damage. Writing fake numbers is also wrong.”
“Originally, this is about registering one fake identity and one person. What's the problem with writing fake numbers? If you care so much about principles, you shouldn't have anything to do with me in the first place.”
“…That's one thing, and this is another. If you don't know what happens when the barrier breaks, there will be issues in gate attacks and other areas.”
“I already have everything thought out. So just write whatever and move on.”
“Wait, hold on…”
Whoa. We were calmly discussing, but it seemed like it was escalating, so I butted in.
I didn't want them fighting… In a situation like this, I had no choice but to speak as the person involved.
“T-t-there's no aftereffect, so I'll follow Sora-nim's words. Noah, I'm fine, so…”
I clung to Noah and said it was fine multiple times.
Rather than the two of them fighting, it would be better if I got a bit hurt from panic.
It was really scary, but I couldn't avoid it forever… and it made sense to say we had to figure out what was happening now.
“…Showing courage is good, but I hope you won't do anything reckless. Even for mental damage, if you take it too severely, it could cause shock and stop your heart. Also…”
“If something like that happens, we'll save you somehow. T-teleport to the emergency room in one go, right?”
“There are a lot of people who are desperate to push themselves into the line of fire.”
“I'm fine. I've been saying it, but I'm not a kid, and I showed a weak side during the day, but… that's because I pushed the panic button. I can endure pretty much anything else.”
It was half a lie, but I kept comforting Noah, who was biting her lower lip.
“Phew, then do as you like.”
Noah sighed and leaned against the wall, distancing herself once more.
There was a lot of tiring stuff today too. What could I do? If this was my given fate, I had no choice but to accept it humbly.
“…Then let's artificially destroy the barrier. I'll count to three. Please prepare your mind.”
Yu Sora took out what looked like a remote and tapped it lightly.
I knew that machine. It was said to stimulate trauma to make the user manifest strong power when under mental pressure, or used in trauma treatment.
Yu Sora pressed several red buttons, and the aura indicating mental synchronization gradually faded.
Then she looked at the hologram as if checking the barrier remaining, and started counting: one, two, three.
I didn't know how exactly internal mental damage came or what it precisely was, but I clenched my teeth and tightly closed my eyes.
But no matter how long I waited, I didn't hear the signal to three. It was just quiet.
Was there a problem with the machine? I slightly opened one eye.
“…Ugh!”
When I opened my eyes, a horrific sight passed before me like a panorama.
Blood of strangers, guts of strangers… a crying child… I didn't want to see it.
Was this the mental damage?
A snuff film was unfolding in front of my eyes.
Ugh. It was fortunate that it wasn't forcefully implanted into my head.
Oddly, my head became clearer if I didn't try to recall the scenes before my eyes.
[…Well, this is my first time.]
At the same time as a strangely unfamiliar voice echoed in my head, I felt my body floating.
I carefully opened my eyes, and it was Noah's house as if nothing had happened.