บท 47: 47
Chapter 11 - 1, BTOOOM
DAY 5.
Shin: I'm alive... Really, I'm glad and all, but isn't this getting repetitive?
Saki: If you can joke first thing after waking up you should be okay.
Shin: ...Saki?
Shin had just woken up and to his surprise Saki was by his side. He got up, and his body was aching all over, but he was pretty much fine over all. If he needed to fight or runaway he was good. Shin was surprised by himself that those were his first thoughts when he just woke up, but didn't give it much thought afterwards.
Shin: What day is it? I don't know how long I have been out, but... It shouldn't still be Day 2. The last thing that I remember was the flash of a BIM going off, and here I am. Now I am in some room with you, Saki.
Saki: That's right. Today is Day 5. You've been out and unconscious for two and a half days.
Shin: Two and a half days! Then isn't this mission almost over?
Saki: You should be thankful that you have woken up at all. From what Hikari told me and judging by your wounds you were directly hit caught in the explosion of a BIM. Your very lucky to even be alive right now.
Shin: Your right. Sorry, but could you fill me in on what's been going on. It is Day 5 and I have no idea where I am or what has been happening in my absence.
Saki: I planned to tell you from the start. I've heard what happened to you and Hikari after you split up.
Shin: Don't you mean casted out?
Saki: Maybe if you two would have wait for the decision of the group. Can I continue?
Shin: ...Sure.
Saki: As I was saying, Hikari filled me in and the others about what happened after we... went our different ways, so let's start from after the surprise BIM.
Saki than began to explain what happened afterwards. After it was starting to get dark towards the end of Day 2, Saki and her group found Hikari, and being carried on her back was the unconscious Shin ( I have to thank her ), who at the time was half burned alive. At first they though that Shin was a corpse and already dead, especially with his hair now the colored white ( I only now found out about this. I looked in a mirror and found that... I looked cool ), but Hikari insisted that he still had a faint heart beat ( Double thank you for not declaring me a dead at the scene ).
Hikari then went on to explain how Shin defeated the Btooom Soldiers and the Commander. She didn't see everything, but knew it was him who saved her, but at the last moment he got caught up and a explosion. They agreed and thought something was off when the explosions died down and came to check, but with the additional fact that Hiakri's IC Chip returned to its original blue color, it meant that at the very least the Btooom Commander had perished. Then coming to an agreement that it was safe to take them back into the group, they all went to look for and found shelter and during this time they ran into a NPC, and Shuai killed him, and so he was able to survive Day 2's Midnight Execution.
The shelter was the large building that the main characters found in the original Btooom manga/anime. It was where Ryuta rescued Himiko, the main heroine of the story, was kidnapped by two enemy players of the real world Btooom death game. That was where Shin was currently residing. Hikari remembered what Shin said about now this place could be targeted by NPCs, but Saki claims that would be most welcomed for a chance to more gain chips and with their numbers they could properly protect this base of operations. They even had a lot of Remote Control BIM hidden around incase of an emergency.
Also, Shin's original worry were needless since the enemy turned out to be far more effective killing machines then they imagined. No matter what the group of Players do to stop them, almost all of the NPCs were going to be wiped out by the enemy Btooom Soldiers and Commander. Then Day 3 of the next day came and so they decided on a course of action.
While Shin was asleep and recovering, it was decided to ignore the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders for the moment and the gain NPC Chips they needed. With what they now knew about the enemy and without Shin who created a miracle once more, it was unlikely that they could win over them no matter what plans they laid out. In the end, the enemy Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders of the following days never did attack them like before to the group's surprise. Saki concluded that for one, what they really wanted was Hikari and her laptop, but now there was no reason to do so, so she was no longer a priority target for the enemy.
Shin: Why is that?
Saki: This. You probably didn't realize you still had it on you, but it's ruined beyond repair. Hikari and I confirmed as much ourselves.
What Saki had taken out and showed Shin was a destroyed/melted piece of machinery that was once Hikari's laptop. Saki doesn't know when or how, but it was very likely that the laptop in Shin's backpack was damaged from a Blazing Gas BIM and other BIM explosions.
Shin recalled that he was indeed caught in the AOE explosion of the Blazing Gas. Shin placed Hikari's laptop in his backpack instead of his Na Ring when he turned it off. At the time he was fighting he did indeed still have his backpack on, and if it wasn't destroyed then, the Timer BIM going off would have finished it off.
Saki thought it was a shame to lose such a valuable tool, but it was for the best since without the power to protect it was more of a liability than an asset. And so, without the computer or any of them being marked like Hikari was at that time, they were able to hide from the enemy
Shin: That is great, but where are the others? You were able to hide, so they must be alive, right?
Saki: They should be out looking for NPC Chips right now. A lot of NPC along with the Players were killed while you were out. Not more then thirty people are left on the island and I am being generous with this assumption. It was hard to find Chips, but luckily they were successful for the most part. We all have met our eight Chip requirements with the exception of you who should have at least five, and Shuai before he went out was at six. About now they all should be out there trying to find his seventh and eight chip right now.
Shin: Then I must be lucky. I actually have six Chips right now, so I am happy that I woke is today. If I was one day later in waking up I would be hard pressed to find one more Chip by the end of the day to avoid a potential death by Midnight Execution on Day 6.
Saki: So you have six Chips then? That is great. Hikari was worried about you from Day 3 since last she knew you had three Chips.
Shin: The very last NPC that I killed during my battle with the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander turned out to be an NPC with three Chips on him.
Saki: Then you were very fortunate Shin. The enemy Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders have all but wiped out all of the NPCs and the other newbie Players far as I could tell. We all had a very hard time getting the last few of our Chips.
Shin: I wouldn't call it fortunate that right after I acquired three more Chips I was hit with an BIM explosion at point-blank range, but I see your point.
Saki then asked Shin about his condition and how was he feeling. She had heard from Hikari how it was Shin alone who dealt with the Btooom Soldiers and their leader the Btooom Commander, yet she wasn't able to get any good intel from her. Shin said it wasn't that big a deal ( Not now anyways ) and even said that Hikari was able to kill one, but the one Saki was interested in was Shin ( Even though she isn't a cool beauty like my Aqua or cute like my Hikari, Saki isn't a bad looking women who wears glasses... Why am I focusing on the glasses? ). Shin downplayed his victory by just saying that he reckless charged into the enemy unit, yet Saki wouldn't let him forget that he defeated them all practically alone,
Saki: Luck or otherwise, you are our most powerful asset in the group. Even if it was luck, if it could turn around that kind of desperate battle then it is the must welcomed weapon.
Shin: Really? Weren't you and the others more then willing to leave Hikari behind to be killed, and I went after her despite it being bad for this so called group? Can you really count on me, or should I say can I really count on you all?
Saki: You can keep bringing it up, but I don't feel guilty for my choice at that time. I choose the best course of action for the group, so I won't apologies.
Shin was still a little upset about what happened, but he didn't say any more since her decision was right. Also, if it was anyone else who had been marked by the enemy, that person wasn't a comrade who he survived a mission with and wasn't Hikari who he said he would protect... He might have abandoned them. More so then ever recently... Shin realized that he doesn't want to die, so if it happened again he couldn't make any promises about teamwork and that kind of stuff. He would like to, but no matter how much he likes manga and anime worlds like Btooom and playing the hero, he wasn't that naive anymore.
Saki: So how long will it take you to recover? All of your horrible burns had miraculous healed and I can't find anything else wrong with you, but... Not too long ago you were still sweating a lot and breathing heavy. According to Hikari, you have the genetic mutation of a One-eyed Ghoul and have Ki Energy whole body enhancement, so my knowledge of medicine... may be limited to say the least. Even if I specialized in medicine I don't think I could have helped you.
Shin: I would be surprised if you did. As for my condition... Physically I'll manage. My Ghoul side has an amazing healing factor and if I were to combine it with the healing properties of Ki, I could completely recover by the end of the day, but if you are asking me to get into another fight like before today, then count me out.
Saki: Why?
Shin: I have just learned that Ki is much harder to recover then what I hoped for. It recovers quickly when you still have some, but now I used it all up in that last fight it is slow to recover. My physical condition probably didn't help my recovery either. Recovery might go faster if I meditate, but I am at 30% right now. If I have to go through all that again... I at least need between 60-80% to be at optimal fighting conditions. That won't happen today sorry to say.
Saki: That is a shame. We need you as out main fighting force to guarantee victory and the safety of the team.
Shin: Well sorry, but I can't act as the meat shield for you all today. We can try again tomorrow.
Saki: Alright then.
Shin: ...That was a joke.
Saki: ...I was just going along with you.
Shin: ... ( Did she really want me to be the MEAT SHIELD? ). So were there any signs of the others? Aqua and Misaki.
Saki: Unfortunately no. So far we haven't seen them, but I suspect that they are alive.
Shin: That is great, but how can you be certain?
Saki: The fact that we are all alive and well.
Saki's reasoning for why she believed that Aqua and Misaki were still alive was because the number of enemy assassins on the island should be Btooom Soldiers×15 and Btooom Commanders×3, but they have seen less then half that number moving around the island. Saki just couldn't fathom that despite hiding for days and being careful, that they have not once come across the enemy, so someone must be fighting amd defeating them in their groups's place.
Shin: Well, it can't be just Misaki, so I can only assume that it must be Aqua. Not only is she stronger then me, her Robocop Auto 9 with infinite ammo has an Armor Pircing round option, so she could kill them off from a distance. She also has her Adamantium Claws from her Wolverine Genetic Mutation with which she could easily rip apart the armor of the Btooom Commander which was especially tough.
Saki: She is that powerful?
Shin: You bet she is! Among all the Players the one with the highest chance at surviving this is Aqua ( And above all she is my women, so men out their keep your distance if you don't won't to be hurt, in a variety of meanings ).
Shin hopes that Aqua won't mind him telling the newbie Saki about her abilities, but they just didn't have the room to hold back such information. Doing so now might lead into a friction between the veterans and the newbies who have shown themselves to be capable.
Saki: I see. Then it will become imperative that we join up with her. Your not in your best condition, so-
Shin: Saki.
Saki What is it?
Shin: I have a question that relates to our battle potential.
Saki: Such as?
Shin: Saki... Would you mind telling me more about the Genetic Constraint?
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