Becoming a multi-millionaire all of a sudden throws me off, but I pull myself together.
“Is this an information terminal?”
I ask while pointing to a tablet PC, and both the old guy and Kori nod.
“Yes, you can gather a lot of information with that. With me so far?”
“We had something like it, like a phone that fits in your palm. We even went to space too, you know?”
“I see. Well, laflotty like looking after others, so ask her anything that’s on your mind.”
▽▽▽
After chatting like that, I get what’s like a top of the line smartphone, and Kori gets one too for some reason. And my account has been opened. Authentication is done through a mixture of different things, and they said something about magic energy, but I don’t have that…
“If you managed to link with that small information terminal, you do have magic energy.”
“Seriously!?”
“But without a magic gland, the organ that produces magic energy, you’re not going to be using the magic you’re thinking of. It’s a path everyone takes.”
What a huuuuuge letdown. Magic…
“You can have a magic gland implanted.”
“Seriously!?”
“But in your case, there are a lot of implants that should come first.”
“Do a health check up first~!”
Ah, yes, a check up.
“And we need to decide your rank. Come to the simulator.”
▽▽▽
The old guy takes me to a room with six boxes that look like shipping containers, marked with numbers from one to six and nothing more.
“Let’s start with ships first, since you have one. Well, that doesn’t matter right now, but if you’re going to work as a mercenary, get a class three ship flying license. It doesn’t really matter around here, but if you go to a sector that’s safer, the authorities are going to tell you to pay if you don’t have it.”
“They’re going to demand bribes in safe sectors?”
“It’s a fine because you’re not supposed to be piloting a ship!”
“Doesn’t that make this sector a no good sector!?”
“People just overlook it because people in stations run by nobles are on spaceships since they’re kids. Just get in the second one.”
“By the way, a third class piloting license is done in a flash because they just implant something in your brain~.”
“Is my head gonna be full of machines…”
The door to the second container opens, and I see an environment where a gaming PC would fit right in. At least turn on the lights.
“<It will start once you sit down. You’ll be going in a small cigar-shaped combat ship with a safe balance.>”
“<Good luck~~~~.>”
“I know it’s late to point this out, but we have spectators…”
“<There’s a lot of mercenaries with nothing to do while their ships are being fixed.>”
The simulator is an easy one-on-one at first, but then I start to get surrounded like I was in my first fight. And different variations are thrown at me, like a large combat ship.
“<Did you get shot down? Nice going. You did pretty good for a beginner, but not quite as good as a veteran.>”
“<You were cool~~~~.”
“That feels like you’d congratulate me no matter what I did.”
“<Then make sure to find stricter ones if you want more women.>”
“I’m not trying to make a harem, you know? I don’t have the resourcefulness to… Well, maybe I do economically.”
There’s no answer, so I exit the simulator.
“Next, enter the first container. I’ll show you normal.”
“What does that mean?”
I go inside the container with the number one, and see what looks like a VR headset and a recliner chair. Quite simple compared to the six monitors, flight stick, and keyboard in the other one.
“Hey, there’s just a headset here.”
“<The odd number containers are power armor VR simulators.>”
“<They control a lot differently, so it’s better if you just experience it~.>”
What is this, I wonder as I sit on the recliner and put on the headset. Then suddenly I feel my limbs losing their strength and returning immediately.
All of a sudden, I’m in front of the Mercenary Guild building, that’s now a bit fancier. Eh!? Is this virtual reality!? Uwa, virtual reality’s awesome!
“<You control the power armor with your brain. Try walking.>”
I try walking, and yes, the armor does move. I try throwing out a few punches, and feel some lag between thinking it and my arms moving. Is it hard to sync more intense movements? I try asking.
“<When the performance of the armor is bad, it can’t keep up with your brain, but try focusing on your waist. You have jump boosters, so try them.>”
Waist, waist… Turning my attention to it doesn’t tell me anything, so I try putting my hand there. Rev up the boosters… Uoh, my body is floating!? This is fun. Let’s aim for the top of the Mercenary Guild’s building and destroy it.
▽▽▽
I leave after finishing with the armor simulator. Yes, this was also a simulator.
“Good job~. Isn’t armor great~?”
“Yes. Is the real thing like that?”
“Yes~! You move it with your brain waves, so even if it’s your first time, you can move it like your own legs and feet!”
“Most people use them to accept jobs here in the guild. Places like this and the Mining Guild offer mediation on jobs and rent armor. About half of the mercenaries here start out in rented armor.”
“Is that so? It was strangely easy to ride.”
“It’s like your body, so it’s hard for your mind to mistake it, and it doesn’t cause a strain. And more importantly, it’s easy to make it move. You used the ship simulator too, so you get it, right?”
Yes, it was hard to get a good grasp on the ship at first. The ship in the simulator was really sensitive. Apparently Tortilla Double is pretty heavy. I wasn’t trying to roll, but that cigar one would do 360º.”
Conversely, the power armor made me feel like a veteran all of a sudden. It was like I went from Tokyo to Osaka on the highway ten times a year. Like I ran through sudden rain, like I ran through snowy mountain roads, like I ran through the dangerous roads of Nagoya all the time. With the confidence of someone who had all that experience. It really moved like my own limbs.
It’s something even a complete amateur can operate, and apparently these bipedal weapons are pretty common. There’s a lot of defective products too. There are also tanks, and those tend to be stronger, but even a six year old can pilot armor.
Also, after trying to use the ship simulator with my brain waves, I instantly got a nosebleed and was forcibly cut off. But it seems like a combat ship can also be completely operated through brain waves. Theoretically.
“It’s hard for people who accept jobs in the guild and have ship piloting training, so a lot of them go with armor. Even though a ship is obviously more profitable.”
“Piloting a ship is hard~~.”
“Is it?”
“It is. You’re skipping past town and into grassland third class. Here’s your ID.”
And then I’m handed a palm sized green card, which surprisingly has a photo of me. On the back there’s a photo of the front of Tortilla Double, both passport photo sized.
It says I’m rank three, and the name and ID of my ship.
“We’re done registering your ship’s ID, so now it’s officially yours and registered in the guild, so rest easy. You’ll probably only use the physical card when connecting with another guild. If you lose it, make sure to report it. You can show your digital card through the Mercenary Guild Portal application on your information terminal.
And inform the guild when you capture a ship or pick one up. If we can’t process it, one of ours will go with you to the port authority to bow. Laws about this can get tricky.”
It looks like he knows what he’s talking about, so I just nod. And Kori whispers in my ear that a ship’s ID can be seen from the cockpit.
The mercenary and adventurer guilds have ranks. Town, grassland, highway, forest, ocean, and sky, from lowest to highest. This is a holdover from when adventurers worked on planets tens of thousands of years ago, and the rank showed stuff like where they could work.
Since I have a ship that can fight, I start from grassland. Of course, if I reach first class I can take an exam to move up in rank, or they can just promote me.
“Okay~! We’re done~! Let’s go shopping~!”
“Yes, my job here is done. Get some equipment to protect that three million puni.”
“Thank you.”
▽▽▽
After browsing the shop in the Mercenary Guild, Kori recommends buying a personal shield, a puny safe, puny, shock grenades, and an easy to use laser gun.
Wait, aren’t the puny safe and puny weird? And the shock grenades don’t sit well with me either.
“This right here is electricity fixed as an individual~. One puny can meet the electricity needs of a family of four in a colony with energy to spare~. That includes stuff like a refrigerator, simple cookware, and air conditioning~.”
She says while handing me something about the size of a 350 milliliter can, that’s yellow and half transparent. When I grip this puny, it feels like and has the elasticity of hard raw meat. Wait, electricity fixated as an individual? Does that mean I’m holding electricity? It feels like I’m holding a yellow onahole.
“I understand the general idea, but there’s just so much I don’t get… Supplying one day of energy using one of these seems crazy.”
“Ah, that’s not one puny, it’s five hundred puny~.”
“…So how much is five hundred puny?”
“One puni~.”
I feel like this is a real electricity revolution. Well, let’s just get it.
“And I want to check out those personal defense drones.”
“Like that robot dog over there~? These ones are higher quality, but there are people that can mod them, so let’s go there and ask for suggestions first~. The bill~.”
Kori sticks to me, but I still want to see some stuff. Plasma shotgun, gauss pistol, monomolecular green dragon crescent blade… Look at that six-legged spider power armor, it looks fun and strong! Hey, stop pulling my arm!
Thanks for the treat.
Ah yes, weapon shopping(toys), my fav~