Manuke FPS

After finishing dinner at the White Labyrinth Flower Cottage, I was told by Ashley about the 『Ma nuke』, those without magic power who are not accepted in this world and shunned, although this is the only evidence to this I have come across so far.

In this strange world, I am a foreign body, and I may be rejected. However, without a doubt, this woman before me is willing to accept me. In this last few days, we have come to properly understand each other, that I am certain of.

“Ashley, do you remember what I wrote when I registered at an adventurer? That you said putting only ‘Black’ was fine, and you had to write it for me?”

“Eh? Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, my name wasn’t recorded as ‘Black’, but as ‘Black ・ Powder’.”

“Black ・ Powder… Powder…

“Although I have both a first name and a last name, I am not a noble from anywhere, nor part of the imperial family. [1] And, us Powder… it’s out House, the Powder House, that can’t use magic. Up until now, I haven’t witnessed, felt or touched magic. That is the kind of place I have lived in. Therefore, living here would not be an inconvenience. In addition, I have this.”

Saying that, I lifted the Five-seveN out of the shoulder holster and held it in front of me. I left the safety engaged and put it down on the table, then continued to talk.

“This is the Five-seveN. In addition, I have several others, but Arms are a general term. This, those that have or could get their hands on these, it’s probably limited to just those of the Powder House. Even without magic, with the power of arms, I can live and fight. I will be alright.”

“Arms…? I have never heard of them, but may I touch?”

“Sure, go ahead, there’s no danger.”

Ashley extended her hand towards it timidly and attempted to lift it, but as soon as she touched it, it dispersed into particles of light and vanished.

Eh?! The Five-seveN is gone?! What does this mean…

“This… this is a bloodline skill!?”

Bloodline skills? Did I misunderstand something? How should I deceive her…

“Yes, it’s a bloodline skill, 『Arms』.” Probably because of this skill, I don’t have magic.”

“Wow, a family that has bloodline skills, in the Orlando continent, even within the countless countries there are only a handful of families with them. Even in the Kurt Merga Kingdom there’s only the imperial family… are you sure you aren’t Royalty?”

“Its different, really. I, this body has neither a country nor village to which it can return.”

I hope that this decision is not yet final, but…

“Is that so… I’m sorry, I was just a little relieved. Those without magic, the 『Manuke』, I have head go through much discrimination and difficulty, and I have come across several such people in the past, but for them to have gone through such hardship and keep living is even more difficult. But, Black-san, if you’re okay with it, well, I will also help you, so if you need anything, please tell me.”

“Thank you. You are already helping me, Ashley. I am very grateful for that.”

I seemed to have been able to successfully fool her, and listened story of the 『Ma nuke』, I responded to her, so as not to worry her. And even if it was a lie, I didn’t want to see Ashley with a worried or uneasy expression on her face.

Well, it might not all be a lie. The power of VMB may gave been converted into a Bloodline skill, or may have already been one, though it is quite a cheat. I became aware that while we were having a good time, there was no one around us, and realized that the meal was now over.

“That was a considerably long talk. So, shall I see you to your lodgings?”

“Thank you.”

In that way, I enjoyed a walk at night after a meal, while taking Ashley to the dormitory for the guild staff within the General Guild’s compound,

◆◆◇◆◆◇◆◆

The next day, in order to receive a new request as an adventurer, I had come to the building of the General Guild. Bulletin boards were located within the building, and I looked for E ranked requests, which had a large variety of different ones. They ranged from the collections of medicinal plants and minerals, and subjugation of demonic beasts who had been attracted by the magic of the labyrinth, to escorting people to other cities and villages within Barga, and various merchant requests.

Now, which should I take… Unless I earn 2 years worth of taxes within the next three months… I have almost no money left after yesterday’s shopping, so I first must make money to afford the cost of living.

I peruse the reward amounts and the achievement conditions of each requests, but it seems that they have little direct danger, and I wont even need to consume ammunition or use my firearms to complete them. But I still have no means to increase CP, so I have to find a way to either increase it or make money without decreasing it…

I have a feeling that the tool bag is the main deciding factor on the quantity requirement for collection requests. The reward changes based on the quantity collected, but with the stock tool bag, it doesn’t seem possible to be able to make a great amount of money.

My eyes naturally gravitate towards the demonic beast subjugation requests. There are higher rewards and fewer time restraints.

Glass wolf suppression… Black Wolf was attacked when they came towards Barga near the labyrinth in the East Woods. Suppression proof – Fang. Quantity – 5 or more. 10 silver for completion, 1 silver for every additional fang, and 15 guild points. When I saw this, the reward for the Goblin Mage didn’t seem abnormal. Could it bee that they were a strong sub-race?

I took the glass wolf hunting request and went to the reception desk, and presented it along with my Guild Card. The receptionist at the desk accepted it and when she was done, she returned my guild card and said, “Have a nice day, please be careful.” The girl’s age was considerably excellent, and also her personality.

After leaving the General Guild, I headed towards the horse drawn carriage station. In Barga, carriages appeared traveling to and from the labyrinths early in the morning to about noon. The map of Barga had hardly been filled at all, and I couldn’t understand the part of the map over the labyrinth to the east. Though I had little money on hand, I decided to ride a horse-drawn carriage. The carriage was a large wagon with an attached top that shook terribly.

After being shaken in the carriage for about an hour, it stopped. We were on the road, and to the east I could see the forest where the labyrinth was.

“Customer-san, if you look to the east, we have arrived.”

“Thank you. Are you sure the labyrinth is in that forest?”

“Yes, in that forest is the labyrinth of the east, the 『Labyrinth of the Fanged Wolf』. If you walk in that direction you will find it.”

I paid the coachman and then moved across the street towards the east forest.

After traveling a little ways into the woods, i activated the TSS and selected my main weapon. This time, I took a MP5A4 with 3 magazines, and summoned the supply box. It was possible in the inn to summon my weaponry due to the fact that I was alone in a room out of the way, but to avoid attention and unnecessary inquiry, I had so summon it here at the last minute.

“I saw some adventurers in town wearing a coat… I wonder if I could try to hide a gun in one of those…”

While I murmured this, I turned the safety off and set it to 3-bullet burst. I followed the road that branched off towards the labyrinth and entered the forest.

I started searching for the glass wolves, and within approximately 30 minutes, I head footsteps and running through the earphones attached to the googles.

Surely, those were the footsteps of a glass wolf. Or are there two?

I wasn’t sure yet, and it didn’t appear on the map, but I had certainly heard them. In FPS games, recognizing the diverse sounds of enemies over the distracting sound of the environment is extremely difficult, and is a sign of one growing into an experienced player from a beginner. It is an essential technique for playing such games.

Movement and footsteps, whispers, the sound of empty clips being ejected and replaced, the sounds of these all aid in telling the direction and distance, and can help create advantageous situations for oneself – this is the powerful charm of the FPS genre.

It doesn’t sound like running, probably walking… an assault from the rear!

As I listen, I should be cautious of other parties in the area. If it’s a wolf it will have a good sense of smell; Of course I should try to keep the sound as low as possible, but I wont have to care about smell due to the direction of the wind.

However, I don’t know if I am the best judge of this, because this is the first time I’ve gone hunting. I don’t know how well the wind will mask my smell. Now, I should focus on attacking from the rear.

On the map appears two dots of light.

The radar in VMB has a maximum range of 150m and shows location and proximity with a glowing dot on the screen, in relation to the center. However, the sound range was much larger, and can pick up sound 300-500 meters away.

There was no formal distance, and the range was discovered by players who investigated the topic independently. Based on the fact that knowing the whereabouts of other players would ruin the competitiveness of the game, the radar range was dictated in order to retain balance.

There it was. A large, 1.5m long dog-shaped glass wolf.

After confirming that this is the same beast I had killed no long ago, I came to a knee about 100m from it. I put the cross hair over the glass wolf and set up my stance, then pulled the trigger once.

Three bullets left the MP5A4, and hit the joint of the wolf’s hind leg, which proceeded to buckle and collapse under the wolf’s weight. Verifying I hit the mark, I moved on to the next wolf and trained the cross hair on it. Already, one of the glass wolves was surprised by the sudden collapse of it’s companion and became cautious, taking a bit of distance and looking around warily. Hitting it in the head could result in the destruction or loss of the fangs, so I aim a bit lower, at the neck, and pull the trigger..

Did I hit it?

The wolf fell back in reaction to the impact and collapsed. Keeping the cross hairs stationary on the glass wolf, I cautiously approached.

I was still listening to the surroundings and checking the map. If I am too focused on the wolves, the loud sound of gunfire could attract other demonic beasts who could attack me while I’m distracted, and that would be foolish.

The two wolves were no longer making any noise, and no longer were reflected on the map as glowing points. After verifying that they were dead, I stripped them of their fangs.

Maybe the biggest fang would be best? How do I take it out? Should I pull it out?

I grabbed the mouth of the close wolf and opened it, then grabbed and pulled at it’s fang. With great effort, I was able to overcome the resistance and extract it. I dropped it into a bag hanging at my waist. I pulled out the other in the same way, and succeeded in the collection of the first two.

“Fuu~ I wonder if I can continue on in this way”

Then I continued hunting for three hours, eating some dried meat halfway through without stopping for a lunch break or rest. When I checked the time, my goggles said it was past 15:00 (3:00).

I don’t know what time the carriage returns, but it will be night soon, and the sun may set before I return. I decided to return to Barga. I had hunted 6 wolves, including those that I killed in the first attack.

Yet I still hadn’t seen the entrance to the labyrinth. Going there would be a waste of time, as the adventurers who go into the labyrinth would hunt glass wolves in the area surrounding the entrance. I returned to the highway and begun to walk towards the walls of Barga.

“From today’s hunting I understand that, for the punitive system, searching for the enemy takes too much time…”

If this was a game, I was walking back and forth within a small map to find and hunt enemies. However, to look for prey, there surely must be some specialty knowledge that I don’t have.

One would have to examine the glass wolf’s ecology and know their activities and behavioral patterns. I had nearly no knowledge of how to hunt animals in the woods no knowledge of the flora and fauna living in this world.

“But I cant become an adventurer if I can’t kill a glass wolf. It’s a great occupation.”

“No, wait… What about the labyrinth? If I hunt there I will need to know things such as the ecology and the environments. In the labyrinth, specific knowledge is required…”

I intently walk towards where the road into the east forest meets the highway, which connects Barga and the Imperial City. I advance towards Barga, and can faintly hear the footsteps of a glass wolf. An also the sound of a carriage….

Turning around to face the sound, I could see it considerably far of in the distance… From the Imperial City came a single horse-drawn carriage. The sound of glass wolves running was about 500m from the back.

“Is that carriage… being attacked?

It seems my first request hasn’t ended just yet…

Equipment

MP5A4

German-made heckler & Koch sub-machine gun, now the most used sub-machine gun in the world, with many variations. There are many different applications, from military to police and anti-terrorist forces.