Terror Infinity Side B
Chapter 27, BTOOOM NEXT
Shin: Why a sweatshop?
Saki: Because it's efficient. Also, don't call it a sweatshop. Those are illegal.
Shin: Then what is that!
Saki: A workshop.
Shin: ...
To understand my reasonable confusion you needed to understand what had Saki used all of her points on. To all of our surprise, Saki had used little of her points for herself in the way Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai and I had done. Despite having some idea that we need to think of the team first, we still choose things that we thought would increase our own survivability as well... Yet Saki didn't and used her points solely for the team.
Saki had started up her own sweat, I mean her own manufacturing plant with the help of help of two Human Creations, Oda and a new one costing her 500 points since it is her second, Arnold ( Don't get me started about seeing those two working on a makeshift assembly line... It just brings tears to the eyes ).
The purpose of Saki's new little business was to cut out the middle man and make our own weapons instead of allowing God to charge us an outrageous fee for the finished product that cost 1/10th the price to make. Like Saki had said earlier it was possible for us Players to make the Sci-fi weapons and low level magic tools here in the Terminal Lobby long as we had the knowledge to do so.
According to Saki, like the high class food and wine that we eat and drink here all the time, with just that one point that we use on food we could also acquire gun powder, iron, steel and and other materials in in large mass. So long as we had the knowledge and skills we could potentially make our own items for cheap.
Unfortunately, among the seven of us only Saki had the know how, so only she could do this. Of course it wasn't like she was an expert either. She found that within the exchanges, oddly under Entertainment were books on how to make bullets, guns and even swords and other such weapons, including of the magic variety were available in books that cost little to nothing.
This was a great find, but most of the good stuff really needed the mind of a specialist to grasp and without a deeper understanding of magic it wasn't possible to make even low end magic tools/weapons. Saki could only manage to make simple bullets, both high end normal bullets and low level magic bullets, but with the help of her two human creations her manufacturing speed increased leaps and bounds from what she can accomplish by just her self.
Saki's first human creation Oda was in charge of making magic bullets while the other was in charge of making normal yet high end bullets and guns. The two absorbed the knowledge on how to make them surprisingly well and because of the way she made them they would need very little sleep... Like a sweatshop. Saki herself said that she would help them both out while in her spare time and will attempt to make Sci-fi weapon.
Saki: Magic bullets for supernatural foes, Next-Gen bullets and armor piercing rounds for normal and heavily armored enemies like the Btooom Soldiers amd their Commander. Even if we are limited to modern weaponry for the next few missions we can have an edge in battle and survive!
Shin: I see. You really are impressive Saki. You took Aqua hobby and made it into this in one day, but aren't you worried.
Saki: How so?
Shin: What do you mean how so? You used all your points for all of this, right? You had 3070 Points and two D rank rewards. Your extra human creation helper was 500 points, you owe Shuai 100 points, your share for the trip to the real world should range from 200-300 points, bought a wide variety of expensive magic bullets and tools to see if you could make them yourself and you bought enough goods to go to war in the Middle East to bring peace to the land once and for all. You still have the two rewards, but do you even have the points for yourself now? Looking at this I can't even imagine that any of your 3000 plus points are still left.
Saki: ...Please don't too worry much about me Shin. I am betting on the fact that if we all do our part for the team then we can all come back alive.
Shin: I now you believe that nothing is impossible, but this optimism isn't like you, Saki. No matter how much we prepare we can all still be wiped with one mistake, or if God raises the difficulty high enough.
Saki: Thanks for your concern, but it'll be fine. This team... Isn't that weak. Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai and especially yourself Shin. All of you are amazing and dazzling. There's no possibility that you will lose to the monsters within the missions, or the false God that governs this dimension. Have some faith.
Saki said so and went back to work. I just stood there and watch her for a while.
Shin: What is this... I don't know what this odd feeling is, but something isn't right. I haven't known Saki for that long, but I'm positive something is up. I just have no proof. Maybe I am just over thinking things and Saki does have a plan to survive. Lets just hope so.
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Now, after everyone else... Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai and Saki used their points and rewards to the fullest, Aqua was finally ready to make her own exchanges.
Shin: So have you finally decided on what to get?
Aqua: Don't say it like we were on a date at the mall and you were waiting for me to choose a dress to buy ( If only my first wife to be would go on a date with me at all ). In the end, I end up with even more points and rewards then you, and I even have 1A and 1D rank reward from my previous missions. Now that I have the points I can get something amazing this time around.
That was right.
I had forgotten because of everyone else, but Aqua was the main event in this exchange session of ours. After the BTOOOM! mission was concluded, the MVP Aqua had total TOTAL SCORE 11,431 Points, 2A and 1C rank rewards. Her repairs cost 1245 Points, so what she had left to spend was 10,186 Points, 2A and 1C rank rewards.
In both points and rewards she bested me and everyone else by far and now looking back now, we all came out with a good amount of points and rank rewards. Not counting me who ended up with 9000+ Points, everyone in Team Japan had somewhere between 2000-3000 or so points and a few D rank rewards as well. Aqua was definitely the MVP, but as a whole the BTOOOM! mission was a successful and beneficial to everyone.
Shin: You ended up with as many points as I did last time and you even have 2A rank and 1C rewards. What will you get? Can I watch?
Aqua: Your making it sound perverse again, but I do know what I want to get. I am going to advance my Werewolf genetic enhancement to A rank and have Nen also move up to the B rank version as well. I'll also get a good magic weapon since I am lacking on that front as well. My Auto 9 has been a good partner to me so far, but it is lacking even went I use low level magic bullets with it... You can have it if you want.
Shin: Really!?
Aqua: Yeah. The weapon I have in mind attacks at a range and is useful against both normal and over worldly opponents. You on the other hand lack a ranged weapon and there is no longer any point in getting unlimited ammo model guns with Saki's master plan. So do you want it?
Shin: Yes! But is it fine not to give you anything in return?
Aqua: This isn't White Day. Just take or should I give it to Misaki or Shuai?
Shin: I'll take it!
Then aftter Aqua gave me her Auto 9 RoboCop Infinite Ammo Model gun, with a look that said 'Too Simple Minded', Aqua began her exchanges worth thousands of points and high level rewards.
Elder Werewolf Genetic Mutation -
Rating 94.
Applicable to most missions. Has the ability to transform into a werewolf, increasing stats substantially temporarily. Owner may be affected by the instincts of the werewolf bloodline. While under the light of the moon all stats will greatly increase further and so will magic related skills. Requires 3300 Points, 1A rank reward and High Werewolf Genetic Mutation.
Upper Class Hunter Nen/Aura -
Rating 91.
Applicable to missions that require close combat. Potentially has very high growth, but because of the specialist nature of Nen is very limited ability wise. Requires a rank B reward and 2700 points.
Aqua finally had the points to get the the high level exchanges for the B rank Upper-Class Hunter Nen/Aura whole enhancement and the A rank Elder Werewolf genetic mutation, and all together she spent 6000 Points, 1A and 1B rank rewards.
A beam lifted her into the air and particals of light enter her like it once did for me when I got my own enhancements, but hers laster much longer and the light was much brighter. One could just tell that Aqua was getting something incredible, yet towards the end I saw something strange.
The faint image of Aqua's full Wolf form overlapped with her own. This strange event didn't last too long and finally she was done. When Aqua had finished and was back down to the ground forty-five minutes later... I felt a truly overwhelming force coming from Aqua.
Instinctively I knew that she was far more powerful then before and now held a power surpassing even that Ryuata Sakamoto by far. It was too the extent that if Aqua attacked me, no, if she just turned her killing intent towards me I would have gone into Unlocked Mode here and now.
Aqua: So how do I look?
Shin: As sexy as ever, though your skin is more fairer then before...Did your bust increase a little? Come here so I can-
Aqua: Do you want to die?
Shin: Sorry. Still, you do look and feel far stronger then before.
Aqua: Really? It is kinda hard to tell when you get the genetic mutation enhancements. I'll have to check later just how much stronger I am. Both my Werewolf side and Nen/Aura.
Shin: Do you need a sparring partner?
Aqua: Sure... If you don't mind me testing out how powerful my full wolf, adamantium armed, berserker and improved upon wolf form really is? I'm sure that you recall how powerful it was before.
Shin: I'll pass then... What about a weapon? You said that you had a weapon in mind already to get to replace your Auto 9.
Aqua: I am about to go exchange for it now. I had read this one light novel before it ended up an anime, and I found that I liked magic weapon of the protagonist. It is practical yet powerful, and in the novel even a powerful wizard was crippled by the gun. The novel and anime is called Fate/Zero. Have you've heard of it before?
Shin: Have I... Have I heard of it before! Who hasn't? It is a grave sin to not have read the novel or watch its anime adaptation.
Aqua: Don't freak me out like that and why are your eyes now shining? Whatever, just wait a moment to get the magic item in question.
Aqua then closed her eyes to contact God and found the magic weapon that she has been waiting to get.
FATE.
It was from the famous Type Moon Fate series about historic heros fighting together with Masters/Magicians. Fate has spanned into Visual Novel, Manga, Anime, Light Novels and even video games on a variety of platforms to date and its popularity is still growing. .
Fate/Zero began as a novel and was the prequel to the original and famous Fate/Stay Night Visual Novel. Fate/Zero offered back stories of the three heroines and other characters who would appear within Fate/Stay Night, Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel, the three main story lines of Fate. Fate, is the "oneself as an ideal". The second one, Unlimited Blade Works, is "struggling with oneself as an ideal". The third one, Heaven's Feel, is "the friction with real and idea".
Fate/Zero.
Compared to the original Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero had more of a seven Masters and seven Servants battle feel, instead of one or two masterminds controlling a corrupted Holy Grail War ( Although it was still very much so corrupted. The Fate series is dark as a whole, but Fate/Zero is more serious as very few characters can be said to gave even a nice ending to look back on... If they lived that is, and Aqua exchanged for the weapon of the main character of this story.
Thompson Contender Mystic Code -
Rating 97.
The Mystic Code and gun of the Magic Killer when he used magecraft in battle against another magus. Can fire regular bullets with extremely high penetrating power. Special Skill, Origin Bullets: By absorbing Mana, Ki, Nen/Aura, Psyche Force or other energy, one can fire Origin Bullets. Origin Bullets 'Sever and Bind' magic power within an individual, permanently crippling them. A Player will need a whole body repair and three times the points for God to heal them if injured by the Origin Bullet. The performance of an Origin Bullet is greater when the magic power in the target is at its strongest, but has little to no effect on those without Mana/Magic power of any kind. Requires 4000 Points and two B rank reward.
Aqua: Ahh, look at this. 186 Points and C rank rewards. Damm, and I also owe Shua 100 points, so it is really 86. I don't have the point for the trip, so I have to be the one to offer up the C rank reward. Just my luck... Shin? What's wrong?
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Shin: I can't believe you got one of the actual Type Moon Magic Codes, but one from Fate/Zero!
Aqua: Is that bad?
Shin: That is amazing! And not only did get the weapon, but you read the Fate/Zero novel. That...That is so hot! What was your favorite scene?
Aqua: What is with... Whatever. It was when Kiritsugu fought and defeated Kayneth with his magic code. It truly showed that if you were overconfident and lead around by the enemy, you can end up a bloody mess on the floor.
Shin: ...I wonder if this is what love is?
Aqua: Are you a idiot... Whatever. Just come with me.
Shin: Okay, but why are we going to your... Ah ( Isn't this very familiar ).
Aqua: My room ( I AM RIGHT! ). Why, do you not want to come?
Shin: ...Lead the way.
Once more Aqua had brought me to her room and having no self control or resistance after selling my soul to her, so I followed behind her obediently. Aqua had also just gotten a power up so I was worried that it would be repeat of last time, yet I still couldn't turn her down. This was the choice I made after selling my soul to her for her wonderful and still improving 34D body.
Shin: I really am a weak man. I need to get more stats.
Aqua: What was that?
Shin: Nothing!
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Eight of the ten free days in the Terminal Lobby passed by in a flash. Team Japn had used that time to master their new enhancements and relax from the last mission. Most of them wanted to leave for the real world right away, but Saki wanted more time to make her goods and have Shin and Aqua bring them to the real world with them with their subspace Na Ring and RPG Bag.
They asked why asked why did they need them now, but Saki just said for in case of an emergency. Aqua agreed, yet also lent her her butler who knew how to make bullets, normal and magic, to help Saki speed up the process.
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Shin used this time to train. After exchanging the proper skills for Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement, Shin definitely felt that they now consumed a lot less Ki then before. Before when he learned the two skills with Skill Mastery he could use them just fine, but they required 5-10 times the required Ki and he didn't have as much control over them as he does now.
Shin had also discovered that the amount of Ki energy of Advance Level Ki was actually a lot more then he realized and could even be a little wasteful in a fights now. He never knew that his level of Ki was 20-30 times more then someone who had Intermediate Level Ki, and it should have been obvious, but his level of Ki was in fact for the purpose of using rank C and B level Ki skills. That was why if Shin had gotten the proper Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement skills from God from the start he would never had come close to running out of Ki in the Btooom mission... And this fact shocked him to a great degree when he finally realized this.
Shin: Fuck! If I only had a few more thousand points in some rewards I wouldn't have suffered as much. Hell, if I didn't get both Ghoul and Ki to B rank then I could have gotten those skills after the High School of the Dead mission.
Shin had also used this time to practiced sword swings now that he had exchanged for a sword from the exchanges. Although Shin went and exchanged for a sword instruction manual with a recommendation from Saki who had gone over the exchanges in more detail then himself, he didn't believe himself to be skilled or talented after not understand 1/10 in the manual. Though Shin was fairly confident could just cut someone in half with his stats, he knew he was no sword master.
Shin: I wish I had actual techniques so I wouldn't have to rely so much on brute strength, but there is nothing I can do about it for now. As long as my opponents can't keep up with my level of speed I should be fine. Who knows. In Unlocked Mode, it might turn out that I have the the instincts of a sword master.
Shin practiced with the Gravity Blade weight control magic as well in his sword training sessions. Shin's strength could be called even inhuman, but he wasn't at the level of a superhuman like Touta so he couldn't swing the sword around above Gravity Blade×10,000, and if he was in a fight he would have to lower it to ×200 so he wouldn't be slowed down by the weight.
Shin: As I thought, the characters from Manga and Anime are monsters when compared to normal humans. In some stories, even trash mob characters would have 1000 points in every stat. Hell, Jack Rankan probably had 100,000 stat points in Muscle Density, and has the highest level of Ki Energy on top of that.
In the end, Shin found that it was better to just change the weight right before his slashes make contact with his foe and switch back to ×0 gravity afterwards. He was disappointed that he couldn't master it like the Manga's protagonist could, but just swinging it around wasn't meaningless. Just performing simple sword swings with the increased gravity of the Gravity Blade was a good work out on its own.
Shin: I guess even with stats and skill exchanges, actual training is the most useful cheat of all. Lets work to become stronger GB!
GB: ...
Shin: ...My own magic sword won't even give me face!
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Shin began practicing with his Ghoul abilities after coming to understand them in the last mission in BTOOOM. It took a while, but Shin was able to call out his Kagune from his back from around the spine, and control it as if the four red tentacles were his arms or legs. It was oddly a natural, yet still creepy feeling.
During this time Shin had also learned two ways to bring out his ghoul abilities in battle. The first is to let his Ki cross over his back where the Kagune, the predatory organ of a Ghoul is located, and the second is to fully release the Kagune from his back.
With the first method, which did not exist in the manga, his Ki and Ghoul powers mixed together as one and greatly increased the power of ones body in a sudden boost of power and speed, and most importantly didn't reveal Shin to be as a Ghoul ( Which will be important depending on where I am. Like the real world or a mission with a hate on for monsters. Let's just hope they don't take notice of the one black eye with red iris ).
This technique allowed 60% of his One-eyed Ghoul mutation strength to combine with Ki and this method was discovered in his second bout with the enemy Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander on Day 6 of the BTOOOM! mission. Shin felt at his strongest, or maybe his most confident when he combined Ki and his Ghoul powers, bringing out the best of both, yet Aqua gave him a warning.
That untill Shin advanced furthered in the Genetic Constraint, that not to exchange for just a single higher tier versions of his enhancements. She explained that while that they may work together well now, that might not be the case in the future.
Aqua: Without perfect control of the body, mind and spirit, the current two forces within your body will begin to conflict with one another. Luckily, Ki and One-eyed Ghoul are of the same rank, but Shin, if you evolves either the One-eyed Ghoul to A rank or Ki Energy there can be a bad result. The Ghoul side might try to devour your Ki or the reverse might happen if Ki become dominant. The worst case would be that this battle within kills you, you becomes a monster or will lose one of your powers permanently.
Shin: I see. Wait. Then if I have complete control of my body, can't I gain more genetic mutations and types of energy, same or otherwise?
Aqua: It is possible, but you need your stats to also be able to handle the burden for your body. You don't want to explode, do you?
Shin: ...Is that a real possibility?
Aqua: I almost did once. My powers match really well together, yet if I let my guard down they try to fuse and mutated me into... something. I lack the ability to control such a thing now, especially after raising Werewolf mutation to A rank, so I reject it. If I had to guess what my powers are trying to turn me into, it would be something similar to my full Wolf form and it would be one that I can't return back from.
After Aqua gave Shin this advice he took that warning too heart.
Now, the second and latter method to use a Ghoul's abilities is to fully released the Kagune and summoned his full 100% strength as an One-eyed Ghoul. Even without bringing out Ki Shin could wield strength far above the average human.
Like an arm or leg he could control the Kagune tentacles, a total of four as of now to attack, defend and move around for him as extended legs like an insect, or Doctor Octopus from the Spiderman universe. Shin so far had a great deal of control over the Kagune, but lacked the delicate touch.
Since Shin's type of Kagune allows one to reach out to others he had the thought of carrying his comrades around, hurt or otherwise, and save them from an immediate attack. He even thought to about travel/scale up a building with his comrades, but after seeing Shin destroy a rock he had grabbed in Aqua's training field by accident, both he and his comrades knew that he needed more fine tuning.
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Shin at one time had lessons with Aqua and Saki to learn more and control the Genetic Constraint, but this front didn't show much progress.
Shin could not enter into Unlocked Mode of his own free will and always needed a real stimulus, death, as an activation key for it. Saki had discovered some records about unlocking genetics in the exchanges, but Shin had no idea what it was about ( I failed science/biology class twice ).
Aqua, who had reached the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint wasn't much help either. Like Shin, Aqua was the instinctive type who went into Unlocked Mode because of a need and not a want. Like Shin at first and she couldn't enter Unlocked Mode of her own will, but entering the Second Stage allowed her to do so... but unfortunately she didn't know how she does it, so she was clueless on just how to help him ( My airhead girlfriend ). The best advice she could give was that he would have to enter a higher stage to enter Unlocked Mode as he desires.
Shin wanted to go into that state any time that he wanted. The reason outside of pure combat was what Saki once explained to them on Day 2 of the last mission, that you could become talented in almost anything that you wanted. In Unlocked Mode, Shin kinda expected that he could master the sword through instinct alone, but he wanted to become a genuine master swordsman even if he wasn't in that state, but he would take it whether then leave it. Also, being able to think up complex plans and other such skills could come in handy on the missions.
Shin: But it isn't perfect. Since going into that state, it would mean that I am in a life or death struggle and that isn't something I can rely on... That is the Genetic Constraints one flaw besides deathly intense recoil. I couldn't use it in a normal fight or outside of a fight at all.
Ideally, what Shin wanted was to be able to use his sharp mind in Unlocked Mode to not just come up with last ditch plans, but real battle strategies, so he could match Saki and to learn new skills as he trains to further explore Skill Mastery. Unfortunately for Shin til the very end he made no progress as the final night before the trip to the real world came.
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Shin and the others were invited to enjoy a meal at Aqua's place, with the meal provided by her Butler. Everyone was enjoying the meal... Untill towards the end, when Hikari brought in a surprise. Hikari, taking a break from her Persona training made a cake for everyone. She especially wanted Shin to try it out since it was chocolate, his favorite kind of cake that she learned about him recently, yet...
Shin: Do I have to?
Hikari: Yes!
Shin: Fine....Ghaaa
Shin ate a fork full of Hikari's cake and in spite of his Immunization Strength, he passed out from eating it on the spot ( Too much like an anime! ).
Hikari: Shin!
Aqua: He must be playing around. There is no way that a simple cake could knock someone out with his.............
Misaki: Aqua is down as well!
Aqua not believing what she saw tried some of the cake as well and passed out, the light disappearing from her eyes and she definitely was not in Unlocked Mode.
Saki was amazed that Hikari's homemade cake had effectively taken out two of their best fighter with the highest stats and most enhancements ( Shin: ...Bravo ). Saki wanted to study it's applications, but Hikari quickly threw it away in the trash and ran away crying. Shin woke up the next day somewhat okay and disappointed that he wasn't able to sleep with anyone last night, and left his room. Today was the day of their voyage to the real world.
Shin: The real world, huh? I guess I had to go back sooner or later.
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Authors Note:
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Next Chapter... Team Japnan returns to the real world.
Thanks and look forward to the next chapter, the start of the Real World Arc.