episode_0023

As Veronica had declared to me, the Knights’ gang eradication operation began at 5 am.

The slums of the old town were thoroughly surrounded by Knights Templar troops, and a sudden evacuation order was issued to residents living nearby.

Residents woke up from sleep, drifted out of their sleep, escaped the danger zone, and stayed in shelters prepared by the Knights until the operation was over.

It was not only the residents of the old town who were surprised by the military operation taking place in the cold early morning.

Gang members in the slums hurriedly ran to their respective defense areas, and innocent people fled deeper into the slums.

I think it’s a bit unfortunate that the poor living in the slums aren’t even given enough time to evacuate, but it seems inevitable for the success of the operation.

However, the good news is that the Knights Templar has formed a separate rescue team for these people and plans to carry out a separate evacuation operation even while the suppression operation is in progress.

Meanwhile, Laura and I waited in Veronica’s tent for the operation to begin.

Veronica lent us magic armor as promised.

The magic armor, which is a privilege of the knights, is similar to a type of powered suit or reinforced suit.

So, rather than wearing each part separately like regular armor, you open the back of the armor that already has the shape of a person and put the entire body inside before putting on the helmet.

When I put on the magic armor, it felt like I was wearing an all-in-one space suit, and after putting it on, I felt like I was a war robot.

It is said that magic armor is not moved by human power, but by a power engine that operates on magical power, the so-called magic engine.

At first, I was embarrassed because I couldn’t move my arms no matter how hard I tried, but after hearing Veronica explain that I was moving with my thoughts, I started doing it right away.

Although my body moves according to my thoughts, moving the magic armor with my own will required some practice.

During a brief adaptation training, I heard about the functions and performance of magic armor.

Magic armor has the additional functions of hydration, hemostasis, gas prevention, and excrement disposal in addition to the functions of magic armor. To properly utilize these functions, you must wear the magic armor naked.

The inside of the magic armor was made of soft and fluffy material, so I didn’t feel uncomfortable, but I really hated the tentacles that came into my anus and urethra because it was for excrement disposal.

‘Thank goodness there’s magic. Even if it’s a little uncomfortable, you can wear armor comfortably and comfortably. It’s too bad that no matter how much money you have, you can never wear this unless you belong to the Order.’

I decided to put aside my regret and take a look at the magic armor’s performance.

The magic organ installed inside the magic armor goes beyond simply operating the magic armor and improves the wearer’s physical abilities.

Based on the old magic armor worn by Knights of the Knights of Franca, it can easily lift up to 500 kg, run continuously at a speed of 40 km per hour, and produce enough power to jump 3 meters high in one go.

It is said that at this level, even without a weapon, you can easily kill not only people but most demons.

Additionally, the magic organ strengthens the metal surface and spreads a magic shield that absorbs shock, improving the defense of the magic armor.

The magic armor’s shield can block all types of magic bullets except magic armor-piercing bullets fired from magic rifles, and can also block all melee attacks with the same amount of impact.

Therefore, there is absolutely no way to deal with the gangs with their weapons, and even if they have magic rifles, it is highly unlikely that they have magic armor-piercing bullets, which are only allowed to be used by knights.

Anyway, since I’m wearing magic armor, I don’t have to be afraid at all against gangsters who are just humans after all.

“Rebecca, you’re so cool!”

Laura looked at me dressed in magic armor and gave an exclamation with bright eyes.

He took off my helmet by force and was busy looking at my dignified appearance.

It’s nice to receive praise from Laura, but it’s embarrassing to give it too much credit.

“In my opinion, you look much better on me.”

“Really? Thank you.”

Laura smiled shyly and liked it.

She wore light magic armor like the regular soldiers of the Knights Templar.

Lightweight magic armor has lower magical power output than the heavy magic armor worn by knights.

Therefore, although overall performance is lower, the output is concentrated on mobility, allowing the user to move more nimbly than a person wearing heavy magic armor.

Also, although its defense is weak, it can block all magic pistol bullets and all melee attacks with similar impact, so there is no major problem against gangs.

However, gangsters also have magic shotguns and magic rifles, so people wearing light magic armor need an additional means of defense, and that is a magic shield.

The magic shield, which is divided into a large size that covers the entire body and a small size that covers half the body, is not comparable to magic armor if you look at its defensive power alone.

However, thanks to its expensive, magically treated metal surface, it has strong resistance to magic attacks such as special bullets, and its weak magic shield primarily blocks enemy attacks.

Through this function, the circular small magic shield plays the role of supplementing some of the defensive power, which is a weakness of lightweight magic armor.

In addition to that function, the large rectangular magic shield, which is exclusively for heavy magic armor, can also be used as a portable gun rack that can be used for cover by utilizing the small openings on the right or left.

It is said that if knights with large magic shields form a square, it is almost like a moving fortress, which can make the demons very difficult.

For reference, I was given a large magic shield, and Laura was given a small magic shield.

That means I have a lot of work to do to protect Laura.

Since I’m wearing better equipment, I feel like it means I have to take more responsibility.

“Laura, do you like the sword that Veronica lent you?”

“Yes! I really like it because it’s a cool sword. I never thought I would be able to use the famous sword provided to knights in actual combat.”

Laura smiled brightly as she stroked the one-handed longsword that Veronica had used before.

I don’t think there will be much use for the sword, but Laura says she must take it with her in case of an emergency.

“Are you ready?”

After we finished preparing, Veronica came into the tent and checked the situation.

Unlike before, she had a very serious and tense expression.

Since the lives of my subordinates and residents depend on it, there is nothing I can do.

“Yes, thanks to you, I was able to prepare properly.”

“Good. We will soon enter an enemy-occupied city, so follow us.”

We followed Veronica out of the tent.

The knights had already prepared to enter the slums, and regular soldiers were waiting behind them.

At first glance, it looks like a combination of armored vehicles and infantry for urban warfare.

Most of the Knights’ troops were armed with magic rifles, but some had magic shotguns in their hands, and all of them were wearing magic pistols as sidearms.

In such a thoroughly prepared situation, I don’t think there would be anything for me to do, but Veronica must have sensed my thoughts and said something a little different from what I expected.

“Rebecca, I think you need to take on a different mission from us.”

“Other missions? If that’s the case, then we won’t just be fighting together.”

“That’s right. While we draw the enemy’s attention from the front, I want you to follow the underground water canal and get information here.”

Veronica showed me a detailed map of the underground waterway and immediately the map window was updated with a notification.

Now I can take a detailed look at the city of Franca, not only above ground but also underground.

The place Veronica pointed to with her baton was marked with a red question mark on the map window, and I don’t know what it is, but it feels like a very dangerous place.

“What are we doing here?”

“This place is believed to be the secret facility of the Red Goblin gang that threatened you.”

“Is it like a drug production facility?”

“According to sources, it is some kind of research facility, but there is no accurate information. Therefore, Rebecca, I would like to entrust you with the task of finding out information about the secret facility.”

It seemed that Veronica had no idea how dangerous this place was.

I thought maybe she was trying to kill me by driving me to my death, but if she had been planning on killing me from the beginning, I would have already been a corpse a week ago.

Perhaps there are other circumstances.

“Why do you entrust such an important task to me? I’m not an expert.”

“Because there is a spy in the Knights. That’s why I need your help, who is not loyal to anyone.”

“I live somewhat freely. But it looks like there can be traitors in the knights.”

“No matter how much you are a member of the Order, there are people for whom money and pleasure are more important than fame.”

Veronica said with a bitter yet angry expression.

She seemed very ashamed that there were such shameless traitors in the Knights of Franca, of which she was a member.

“Good. Instead, please take good care of your compensation. If possible, I would like to have some loot.”

“As long as you return safely, I will give you a reward of your choice. In the case of loot, we will first check the risk before giving only safe items.”

“It’s safe… I like it. We will bring you satisfactory information, so please prepare a reward.”

“I understand. Please be careful.”

Veronica saw me off and headed to the battlefield where her command was needed.

Then we opened the manhole cover and entered the underground tunnel, ignoring the gunshots we heard behind us.

Well, it’s an underground waterway because I like to say it, but it’s just a sewer that smells like rotten grass.

If it weren’t for the magical armor’s excellent gas-proofing properties, I would have suffered from a tremendous stench.

I illuminated my surroundings with my pocket watch and moved forward, trying not to look down as much as possible.

It was so dirty that just looking at it made me nauseous.

“It would be better to fight outside.”

“I think so too. Still, instead of risking your life on the battlefield, you can receive additional compensation just by checking out the secret facility. Let’s think positively.”

“Still, Rebecca seems to be suffering.”

“It is a point that cannot be denied. If the reward is small, I think Veronica will be very angry.”

That’s true, but in reality, I don’t think I can be so angry at Veronica.

I don’t think it will be resolved if I, a commoner, complain to the nobles, and I am too weak for beautiful women.

Still, if Laura suffered losses, the story would be different.

“Rebecca, there’s something ahead.”

“Okay. I’ll be careful.”

In response to Laura’s sudden warning, I walked carefully, looking ahead.

I caught the sight of something dark moving quickly at the edge of the pocket watch’s light, so I hurriedly turned my light toward it, but there was nothing.

Just as I was trying to reassure myself, I heard something running quickly towards us and I turned my gun towards it.

“Ugh! Fuck!”

As soon as I saw the monster rushing towards me from the front, I pulled the trigger of the magic shotgun.

Then, the monster that had been properly hit by the magic bullet was blown backwards, its body torn apart, and it ran away screaming in pain.

“That was clearly a low-level monster.”

“Does it look different from the last time I saw it? Does the form change when you go up in level?”

“Usually a monster needs to eat twice its body weight to fully mutate, but the baboon was unable to mutate properly because it could not find food. That’s why the shape was strange.”

“I see. There it comes again, step back!”

I pushed Laura back and pulled the trigger at the low-level monster.

However, even though it lost one of its legs, it jumped up with great force and grabbed the shield indiscriminately and clawed at it.

I pushed him against the wall and then drove one magic bullet into his neck and stomach, killing him for sure.

My whole body was a mess of toxic biological substances, but the magic armor thoroughly protected me.

The low-level monster I killed was similar in size to a large dog, but there was no trace of the host animal at all.

As Laura said, it seems that he has completed his transformation properly and has grown into his original form as a monster.

Since this was already dead, I couldn’t use analysis skills, so I decided to examine its appearance with my eyes.

Unlike Vivi, this low-level monster that has fully mutated looks quite neat.

Its entire body was covered in a pitch-black shell similar to that of an insect, and on its back were six long, thin tentacles covered in highly toxic biological substances.

The eight-pronged, flower-like maw was filled with sharp fangs growing in an orderly manner, and the throat was surrounded by thin tentacles that appeared to be capable of firing highly toxic biological substances.

Also, the legs look like the legs of a quadrupedal animal covered with an insect’s shell, and with these, they were able to move extremely fast just now.

Lastly, there are two long sharp whip-like tentacles attached to the tail, and looking at the marks the monster left on my shield with these, I don’t think I will die well if I get hit.

However, I couldn’t see where the huge number of eyes had gone, which was very unpleasant.

Come to think of it, the legs originally looked like human arms, right?

Perhaps all kinds of organs grow during the mutation, and then disappear when the mutation is complete, leaving only the necessary things behind.

“It was the same when I killed Vivi, but there is something strange about the rules of the Adventurer’s Guild that place such dangerous monsters as the lowest or lowest level quest subjects.”

“Actually, such monsters are not very scary for an adventurer party with some experience. It is strong and has strong vitality, but it has little intelligence, so it only knows how to rush. So, if we are well-prepared, like when we killed the baboon, it is easier to deal with them than the clever demons or wild beasts that belong to the same quest level.”

“Really? I guess it’s because I still lack experience.”

“Experience is experience, but the adventurer guild is not very considerate of beginners. If a lot of beginners come in, the number of competitors will increase, so they will try to weed them out with trap-like requests.”

“To put it simply, such low-level monsters are used as a means of protecting the livelihood of experienced people. But are mid-level monsters a bit different from the ones below them?”

“Yes, any level of adventurer can easily die if they are not careful. Don’t worry. We wore magic armor. In most cases, you will not be killed by a mid-level monster.”

“I’m sure such a monster won’t come out. Let’s keep going.”

“Yes, Rebecca.”

I continued down the road with Laura.

Thanks to the map window, there was no need to worry about getting lost, but the lowest level monsters and lower level monsters frequently blocked the path ahead.

I was surprised at first, but now it seems like it was just experience.

“Laura, I will take care of all the monsters in front, so please take care of the back.”

I shot down the monsters that got in my way.

Even though their tentacles were hitting the magic shield, their maws were gnawing at the magic armor, and their entire body was covered in biological matter, they moved forward without fear.

If a monster rushed at me while I was reloading, I beat it to death with my fists or stomped it to death.

Laura did not spare any support by calmly shooting at the weak points of the monsters clinging to my back or cutting off their legs with her sword.

Thanks to this, I was able to clear the path right in front of the red question mark without having to suffer the embarrassment of being surrounded by them.