Chapter 137…
Click. Clank.
Pshhh—!
The socket at the back of Lee Jihan’s neck.
As the cable extending from Red Hood was plugged into it—
Wiiiiiing!
Kiiiiiing!
A red glow shimmered in Red Hood’s camera,
and Lee Jihan’s field of vision overlapped with Red Hood’s.
[HUD]
[SYSTEM ONLINE]
[STATUS: ONLINE]
SYSTEM INTEGRITY: 100% | [ALL GREEN]
PILOT SYNC RATE: 94% | [DANGER]
PULSE REACTOR OUTPUT: 100%
SUB-WEAPON SYSTEMS: 100% | [STANDBY]
At the same time, countless messages began floating before Jihan’s eyes.
“Wow… seriously. The Makina seniors set this up perfectly.”
[LOL they even fixed the sub-weapons completely?]
[Wait, so you beat the Demonic with the sub-weapons half-broken?]
[???]
[Is this for real?]
[Only 30% sub-weapon output back then? And without using the head vulcan—just the pulse claws?]
[…holy crap;;]
[Isn’t that insane?]
[That’s crazy… wow… why is our newbie so good? Is this even a game?]
[LOL why can’t a newbie be good at games?]
[No, no, it’s just TOO good… damn…]
Bzzzt—!
<Ah, ah. Can you hear me, Jihan?>
While he was feeling awkward over the viewers’ over-the-top reactions,
the communication link connected amid static.
“Yeah, I hear you, Leo.”
<I’m going to start moving now. …You know the way, right?>
“Uh? No?”
Jihan’s absurdly carefree answer.
Leo’s voice didn’t come through for a moment.
A brief silence.
And then—
<…Haa. Follow me, underachiever.>
[LOL he definitely hesitated]
[This is hilarious]
[Feels like he wanted to curse]
[Like, ‘How do I curse my savior?’ LOL]
[So he just let it slide, right?]
Clank, clank, clank.
The training unit NT-001 moved ahead first.
Jihan began following behind it.
* * *
<Underachiever, first we’re heading to the western sector. I’ll explain on the way.>
Kiiiiiing!
After exiting the academy grounds,
Leo accelerated NT-001 and spoke.
<This area is constantly patrolled by instructors, so there are quite a few weakened machine beasts around.>
[Oh, so we’re hunting weakened machine beasts?]
[Leo’s actually thinking this through?]
[LOL pretty crafty though…]
<But I figured that wouldn’t suit your taste. Am I wrong?>
[?]
[???? Why him again…]
[LOL that look]
[He’s seen Jihan’s skills properly… makes sense]
[But look at Jihan’s face…]
[LOL that “what’s wrong with him?” look]
[Hey! If you’re a streamer, make it content-worthy!]
[LOL just don’t do it while getting nosebleeds again…]
“Uh… yeah. So what are you planning then?”
At Jihan’s question—
<We’ve got demerits too, remember. We didn’t get expelled, but still… Personally, I want to hunt machine beasts with a higher rank.>
Leo said carefully.
[That’s real character development LOL]
[Old Leo would’ve just dragged him along]
[He finally knows his own level now, huh?]
[Info: Leo pilots better than most average pilots.]
[What about piloting Demonic?]
[LOL only players can pilot that thing anyway]
[Poor soul caught in an event trigger]
[Still, it cured his arrogance—cheers]
[LOL this is way too funny]
[Demonic really teaches manners!]
[LOL but in the end Jihan didn’t even ride it, right?]
[Yeah, specs are good, but Jihan has Red Hood we built for him]
[Anyway, it’s noisy, naggy, and gets ditched once the story advances]
“…Haha, guys.”
He briefly cut off the stream communication.
“By that logic, don’t I already have Demonic?”
[What!? Are you calling us naggy!?]
[LOL he’s not wrong]
[Mecha teachers, quiet down!]
[Jihan! I trusted you!]
<We’re about to enter. You see them around, right?>
Weakened machine beasts.
Other training units engaging them in combat.
Leo said that as he accelerated.
Kiiiiiing!
Red Hood accelerated as well—
“Hmm, at this rate, feels like we’ll just be running forever?”
Clank—click!
At the same time, transformation.
Red Hood shifted into its wolf form and—
<Whoa!? W-wait!? What the hell is this!?>
With Leo’s training unit on its back,
it began sprinting forward like a maniac.
* * *
<Machine beasts, 200 meters ahead!>
Clinging tightly to Red Hood like a rodeo rider, Leo shouted.
Jihan looked ahead.
The camera zoomed in several times, pulling up the machine beasts’ data.
“Leo. Then… go.”
In that instant—
Red Hood’s hind legs slammed into the ground.
Kraaaash!
<Wh—WHAT THE HELL!?>
Red Hood’s lower body whipped upward.
A literal catapult.
Like one, it launched Leo’s NT-001.
[LOOOOOOL]
[What even was that LOL]
[Damn newbie LOL]
[Leo missile launch LOL]
[This is ridiculous]
<Hey—HEY—JIHAAAN!!!>
NT-001 soared through the air—
PAANG!
As the booster fired,
Leo drew both weapons—
A high-vibration knife,
and a long beam sword.
Vwoooong!
Slash!
Slash, slash!
NT-001 descended like an aerial assault,
cutting through machine beasts before landing.
[You can hear the Makinas screaming]
[Jihan, are the leg joints okay?]
[LOL joint-obsessed people]
[Those mecha teachers are definitely Makina]
[What’s wrong with being Makina!?]
[LOL mod-crazed freaks, obviously Makina]
[Then are you guys Bellum? Huh?]
[ALL HAIL THE IMPERIAL]
[LOL are you even playing Liberty anymore?]
[I like strategy sims]
Leaving the noisy chat behind—
Babababam!
Red Hood charged in and joined the battlefield.
Clank! Clang! Ka-chunk!
Another transformation.
Its pulse claws erupted forth, slicing several machine beasts apart.
<Hey! Thanks! …No, should I even say thanks!? If you hadn’t thrown me!?>
Leo’s indignant voice.
“But the assault worked, didn’t it?”
<We don’t call THAT an assault!>
“But it was effective. Cheers.”
<W-What!?>
Jihan awkwardly repeated one of the viewers’ usual catchphrases
and grabbed the controls again.
Kraash! Slash! Crunch!
<Damn it! I won’t lose!>
Leo, too, maneuvered his training unit furiously,
slashing through machine beasts again and again.
Together, the two young men rapidly thinned their numbers.
“But Leo… these don’t seem like strong machine beasts?”
At Jihan’s comment, Leo replied calmly—
<We’re killing them to draw it out. Look closely—don’t they all have a reptilian vibe?>
“Huh? You’re right.”
<If we keep this up, the owner of the western sector will reveal itself. The mother of these machine beasts.>
The mother.
At those words—
[LOLOL wow]
[So THAT’s the target]
[??? Mecha teachers??? What is it? Why do only you know!?]
[Hey, it’s our first time playing this game]
[Explain properly already LOL]
[Mecha teachers are good at explaining though]
[In the lore, each sector has a ruler]
[The “mother” types are especially strong]
[The AI managing the world probably spawned the western ruler since Jihan wiped Demonic perfectly]
[Isn’t that supposed to be chapter 3?]
[Normally it never appears this early]
The viewers—especially the mecha teachers—began to stir.
“Then… how many shop points does it give, usually? If we kill it?”
A shocking question.
Leo and the viewers alike fell silent.
[??? Jihan?]
[We JUST explained how strong it is]
[Why does this turn into shop points!?]
[Uh… Jihan?]
<Shop points, huh.>
Leo’s laughter came through the comms.
<Enough to let you coast through this semester without worries.>
Leo stopped thinking.
Whether he admired Jihan’s calm reaction to the western ruler,
or felt confident that together they could take it down—
<So then.>
“Guess we kill it?”
They began cutting down the remaining machine beasts even faster.
After a while—
BOOM!
The final one fell.
Bzzzt—bzzzzzt!
<You… killed my children…? Ah, ah! My children!>
The signal jolted as if hijacked,
then a grief-filled voice poured through.
<Signal hijack—damn it! You’re not supposed to hear this voice…!?>
Leo’s panicked voice.
The shrill, tearing sound made Jihan feel slightly nauseous.
With his synchronization rate so high,
even with VR’s dampened senses, the realism was enough to make him dizzy.
“Leo! Cut the comms! Shut everything down!”
<W-Wait! Then we can’t talk at all!>
Jihan shouted reflexively, Leo gritting his teeth.
“It’s better than getting hit while listening! I’ll cover you—cut the comms!”
Hiss—!
At that moment, the western ruler twisted its massive body into view.
<DIE! DIE! DIE! This is revenge for my children! Atone with your deaths!>
Attacks poured out the instant it appeared.
A massive machine beast shaped like a giant silk python
spun its body violently—
Kragagagaga!
Sweeping toward them.
But Jihan—
KRAAANG!
Kicked Leo’s training unit out of the attack range.
Not just that—
He transformed mid-motion,
stepped on the creature’s body,
and escaped the area in one fluid move.
The world of hyper-focus.
A moment stretched into eternity.
Every movement and structure of the western ruler
etched itself into Jihan’s vision with perfect clarity.
“Then I’m cutting comms too.”
Jihan’s final words.
“Good luck, Leo. See you later.”
All communication shut down at once.
Even that screaming voice vanished into silence.
“Alright, guys. Now that all the noise is gone—”
Jihan’s eyes gleamed ominously.
In response, Red Hood’s camera—
its eyes—also began to glow red.
Kiiiiiing!
The intense hum of the reactor.
“Shall we start… snake hunting?”
KRAAANG!
The reactor, driven to its limit, burst with energy.
Red Hood shot forward,
drawing a crimson arc through the air with the cloth draped around its neck.
