Standing outside the trading center, Jing kept staring at the three hundred gold coins in his hand. Although he had received such a small amount of compensation, he had been given a clear explanation, but he still could not fully accept it. Immediately, as if to exorcise the unwillingness in his heart, he sighed and stuffed the compensation of three hundred gold for risking his life to go to the ruins into his breast pocket.

Alpha laughed, as if she was trying to make him happy.

"Don't worry, you'll receive the rest. So just be patient, okay? ”

Akira calmed down, calmed down, and nodded deeply.

“… yes, you're right. I shouldn't let it crush me. ”

Somehow, he forced himself to calm down and used the momentum to start thinking about his next plans.

"Alpha, I'm going to go to the ruins again tomorrow, can you?"

"Of course. In that case, you should take a break today. I'm sure you're tired. ”

"yes, I'm really tired. Let's take a day off. ”

Akira shifted her gaze to the contents of the paper bag he was carrying. The bag was filled with a knife, medicine, and many other things he didn't sell. For Akira now, those things are really valuable.

"Okay, but we're going to have to hide it. So let's go to the back alley first. ”

Just as he was about to go to the place where he slept yesterday, Alpha suddenly gave Akira a signal to stop.

"What's wrong?"

"Akira, be careful."

In the direction pointed by Alpha, three children appeared on a small branch road. Just as Akira was startled by the children, two more children appeared behind him. The children all came from the same slums as Akira, and were about the same age as him.

The leader of these children was none other than a young man named Darbe, who was standing in front of Akira. He laughed and began to make demands on Akira.

"Take out your money, you have some now, don't you?"

Sure enough, after hearing such a request, Akira's face suddenly froze. But he decided to try to de-escalate the situation.

"I don't have any money on me. You just have to look at me and you should know. If you're going to rob someone, find someone with money. ”

At first glance, Aki

A's argument does seem to be valid. If these kids really just came to him to play, and not for the money, that should at least be enough to stop them. But Dabe smiled in disgust, tilting his head as if mocking Akira.

"Stop lying, I saw it, you know what? You've just come out of Trading Central, right? You went to the ruins today and yesterday, but unlike today, you didn't go to the trading center yesterday. So you did find something, didn't you? This means that you have some money now. ”

Dabe and his party witnessed the ruins of Akira and decided to stand by near the trading center. It is much safer to rob people who have returned from the ruins than to venture into the ruins to find relics yourself. There are a lot of people who follow this line of thought. As for these young children, they couldn't have gotten their hands on adult hunters, so they had to go and grab other kids like Akira. This is one of the reasons why the number of child hunters is decreasing.

Akira sighed and replied honestly.

"You see, my gold is no more than three hundred."

"Huh? Don't mess with me. ”

"I'm not kidding you. For all the stuff I brought, they didn't give me more than 300 Au

um。 I'm not lying, they say it's the rule. So you see, I don't have much money and it's not worth it with 5 people to ga

k I. If you understand now, go somewhere else. “

Dabe looked at Akira suspiciously. But he didn't look like he was lying. Moreover, he remembered hearing that the down payment of a new hunter should not exceed three hundred gold coins. So he smacked his tongue in frustration.

"What the hell, I thought we were going to get a lot of money for the first time in a while. Stop doing such misleading things! ”

"My bad, so, can I go now?"

The other children seem to have lost their will. But this is not the case with Dabe, who still looks like he wants the other children to attack Akira. Da

be scanned Aki

a Look for anything that looks expensive. But Akira was wearing only a tattered outfit that wasn't worth grabbing. What's more, the paper bag he was carrying was dirty and worthless. Normally, this is enough for him to give up, but because he promised his friend, he is frustrated.

His frustration finally peaked, and he let his emotions take over him and pulled out his gun.

"Damn!! I don't care!! If you don't want to die, give me 300 gold! ”

Akira, who was already nervous, stiffened even more.

“…… You don't get anything for trying to shoot me, you know? After all, I'm definitely going to fight back. You really want to pay for 300 Au

um does this work? Just stop. ”

"Shut up!! Hand over the money!! ”

Fighting to the death with a penniless man will only make them run out of money on bullets. Additionally, fighting opponents who have been cornered can result in them taking fatal damage. Dabei understood this, but he was trying to vent his frustration, and after pulling out his gun, he was pushed away by this momentum. It was 5 to 1, and he had already shot first, with such an advantage to give Da

BE made a rash decision.

Akira's face was even more ugly. It's just three hundred olum, it's not worth risking your life at all. At the same time, it was the money he earned at the risk of his life, and it was the first payment he received as a hunter. All in all, the money was not something he could give up easily, and Akira had to make a difficult decision.

Suddenly, Alpha stood in front of Akira and looked at him with a relaxed smile.

Akira, answer me in a whisper. Don't worry, no matter how small your voice is, I can hear you. Do you understand? ”

“… Okay"

"I'll give you my support if needed, so what are you going to do? Pay the money? Or run away? Or kill them? ”

If he had just donated the money he had gotten at the risk of his life, he might have lived longer. But it also means that he will have to give up his money next time.

If he could run farther, he might as well survive. But that means he will have to run away again next time.

In the end, if he kills them, he might survive. But in the process, there is a chance that he will be killed by himself.

Akira made her decision without hesitation.

“…… I'll kill them. ”

Alpha smiled, not showing any hostility.

"Roger. Then I'll give you some pointers. First of all, we need to break through the encirclement. You can pass between the two children behind you, after all, they have let their guard down and are standing a little farther away than the others. Turning, taking two steps forward, then leaning forward as if tripping, ran through the gap between the two children. Immediately after that, jump into the alley on the right, from where we will start a counterattack. Do you understand? ”

“… I understand. When exactly should I turn back? ”

"Do it now."

Akira immediately turned back.

In his first steps. The other children were all surprised by Akira's sudden turn.

Then his second step. The other children reached out to grab Akira. But their hands didn't catch anything, because Aki

a leaned forward as if he had tripped up. After that, Dabay pulled the trigger, but his misaiming caused the bullet to pass over Akira, who leaned forward.

The other children were startled by Dabei's gunfire and were stunned for a moment. Taking advantage of that gap, Akira walked to the alley on the right and continued to run. By the time the other children came to their senses and hurried to check the alley, Akira was nowhere to be seen.

The boy who almost missed Dabe's bullet walked towards him.

"Hey!! That's dangerous, damn it!! ”

"Shut up! The action is so sudden, it's all that kid's fault!! That damn boy, I'm going to kill him!! Hey!! What are you doing standing there? Chase him!! ”

The other child replied in an exasperated tone.

"Give up, rob a poor child like him, we won't get anything, right? Moreover, he is already far away from us. If you really want to target him, wait for him to return to the trading center again. After all, I am sure that by that time he will have a lot of money. ”

To his friends who lost motivation and gave up chasing Akira, Dabe stuck out his tongue in annoyance. They disbanded and began to develop in different ways. But Darbe, who had just taken a few steps and was unwilling to give up Akira, looked back at the alley where Akira had disappeared.

The next moment, Dabei's face became solemn. Akira pointed a gun at him as she suddenly jumped out of the alley. Da

Be is able to avoid Aki

a bullet, because he happened to be looking at him. But the other children were shot and fell crying in pain.

"Damn you!"

Dabe was about to fight back and pointed his gun in Akira's direction. But when he does, Aki

A is gone, and there is no one for his target. The surprise and confusion brought by the sudden appearance of the enemy began to subside. But in exchange, anger began to swell within him, overshadowing the fear of death. His hands began to tremble, and he held a gun that was not pointed at anything.

"How dare he mess with me!!"

A loud voice filled with anger echoed around him.

—

Akira, meanwhile, runs down the back alley with a hideous face. Since he immediately ran back into the alley without confirming whether his shot had hit or not, he was able to keep his distance from Dabe and the others.

“Α！ What do you think?! ”

"Three of them were hit, two of them could not fight. They are all alive. ”

"I see, it's better than I expected."

Akira is not someone who is good at using firearms. Under normal circumstances, he couldn't just jump out of the alley with three shots. The amateur would usually jump out of the alley and take a moment to aim before pulling the trigger, and then he would stand there to confirm if his shot hit or not. But if Aki

A does so, and he will certainly be repulsed.

What makes this possible is alpha. Alpha came out of the alley before Akira and stood in an efficient firing position, pointing at Darbey them. Akira just followed Alpha's movements. He jumped from the alley to the position indicated by the Alpha, pointed the gun in the direction that the Alpha already knew, and then fired a predetermined number of bullets in that direction as fast as he could, and ran back to the alley. It was precisely because Akira was able to carry out the surprise attack precisely according to the instructions of the alpha.

But his enemies were not defeated. The battle continues.

"We're moving to the next location. This way! ”

"Okay."

Akira had been running in the back alley, and he followed Alpha.

Dabe prepares his gun, looks at his surroundings, and peeks into the alley where Akira disappeared. He didn't see Akira there, but he thought Akira might be lurking somewhere nearby. So, he took his friend who was fortunate not to be shot, and walked cautiously deeper into the alley.

As Darbey walked deeper into the alley, one of the children shouted at Darbe with an uneasy look.

"Hey-hey!! What are we going to do with them?! Are we going to abandon them like that?! ”

Darbe replied with a stern expression, as if to scold back.

"Let's kill that boy first!! Otherwise, we wouldn't even be able to move those guys to a safer place, you know?! What would you do if he shot us while we were carrying them to the clinic?!! ”

"I see, you're right...... You're not going to abandon them, are you? ”

"If I had been going to abandon them, I would have run away by now."

"I see it."

Dabe was very annoyed by the friend he was talking to. He thought that as long as these guys didn't stop him, they wouldn't be in that situation.

—

Aki

A took a long detour to avoid encountering DA

Be and his gang. Finally, he returned to where they were. He then carefully aimed at the head of one of the boys while keeping an eye on the other children, who were already injured. The dead child, the fainting child, and the child who saw Akira whispering something, Akira pulled the trigger and everyone fell silent. 3 gunshots rang out, followed by 3 bodies tumbling on the ground with holes in their heads.

“…… That's 3, and only 2 are left. ”

"Now go back and hide."

"Roger."

Akira retreated into another alley and hid. As Akira leaned his back against the wall of the alley and adjusted his breathing, Alpha gave him the next command.

"Akira, take out the medicine you didn't sell."

"But I'm not hurt, you know?"

"Just eat it, about 10 pills."

Akira was puzzled, but he immediately took the pill box out of the paper bag and opened the seal as instructed. He took out a few pills and put them in his hand.

【…… Since this is also a relic of the old world, then this is the medicinal herb of the old world, right? This can be a super effective drug. It felt like a waste to take it without me hurting...... But alpha made me accept it, so ......]

Since it is Alpha's directive, there must be some reason. Aki

A convinced himself, and he swallowed the drug.

—

Hearing the gunshots, Dabe and his friends hurried back to their injured friend. Look at their corpses, Da

Be's face twitched with anger.

"Damn, he's circling us, um?!!"

Dabe's friend followed him. When they saw their friend's body, their faces turned pale. One of them took a few steps back from Dabe's side before shouting at him with a blank face.

"I—It's all your fault!! It's all your fault!! Just because you shot that kid!! ”

After shouting, he ran as fast as he could, leaving Darbay behind. Just as he was running, another shot rang out. It was Akibal who fired a shot and missed. The boy screamed as he disappeared into the depths of the slum.

Dabe also wanted to run away, but he couldn't. The hatred of seeing his friend killed and the contempt for the friend who left him propelled him forward. He just stood there, did not run away, yelling.

"That damn boy!! He's kidding me!! ”

There is only one side road that allows Akira to shoot at the boy who is running. Dabe simply pushed aside his fear of being killed and ran towards the branch.

As for Aki

A, he's working on a fight with Da

Be prepared for a shootout. He hides in the alley, and Alpha stands in front of him and tells him where Dabe is.

Akira was about to shoot Dabe in the head the moment he peeked into the alley, and for this, Akira held the gun in both hands, ready to wait for that moment.

But something unexpected happened. Aki

A thought Da

BE will stop and cautiously peek into the alley. But on the contrary, Dabe carefully threw out the window and rushed into the alley.

Dabe thought that Akira would run deep into the alley, so he sprints at full speed and rushes into the alley, only to find Akira standing right next to him. He never expected such a scene.

Both were surprised. They found themselves in close proximity to each other. They hurriedly pointed their guns at each other while pulling the trigger.

The two fell to the ground, and the bullet hit each other's arms. Both were seriously injured. But they fell to the ground, writhing in pain, thinking of the same thing, the other was still alive, and this shot was not enough to kill the enemy. So, they hurriedly tried to kill their opponents, and despite the pain, they pointed their guns at each other again.

When Da

When Be was about to point his gun at him, he found himself in Aki

aThe end of the muzzle. Akira pulls the trigger, and a bullet flies out of the muzzle of his gun, hitting Dabe directly. It wasn't a fatal blow, but it was enough to take away the power of Darbe's counterattack. Dabe dropped his gun and collapsed in a pool of his own blood, ending his short life.

Immediately after killing Darbey, Akira checked his injuries. There was a hole in his clothes, and a lot of blood was pouring out of it. It was a serious wound. But even so, he didn't feel his movements sluggish, or even feel any pain. Just as he was thinking about what was going on, Alpha suddenly shouted at him with a serious face.

"Akira, you must take care of your wounds."

"Alpha, for some reason, I don't feel very painful......"

"That's the effect of the painkiller, the kind of medicine you took before. But this does not heal the wound. ”

"I see, that's why you told me to take medicine first, right?"

Thanks to painkillers, he can still move. Moreover, he was shot after taking the medicine, and he could concentrate on the wound immediately. Although the effect was light, it kept Akira alive.

"First, swallow 10 pills of the same drug. Take another 10 tablets, open them and sprinkle them over the wound. Finally, wrap the wound with healing tape...... Hurry up, if you faint and can't care for your wounds, then you're dead. ”

Akira's numb body somehow moved. He took the paper bag he had thrown not far from him and swallowed 10 pills. Then he opened ten pills with trembling hands and sprinkled them directly on the wound. When he sprinkled painkillers on his wounds, the same pain hit him as when he was hit. He just gritted his teeth, and somehow, he was able to hold back the pain. With that, he turned to Alpha with a worried expression.

"A-Alpha, I- Is this good enough?"

"Applying painkillers directly to the wound reduces the effectiveness of painkillers. But on the other hand, this allows the nanomachines in the drug to act directly on your wound, making it more effective. So just bear with it. ”

Finally, Akira took something like a bandage from the paper bag and used it to cover her wound.

"That should be enough. Let's get out of this place quickly. It's dangerous to stay here for a long time. ”

"I don't even know if I can move...... But anyway, I have to get out of this place or something bad will happen. ”

When Akira stood up and started walking, she somehow held back the pain. With every step, he could feel sharp pain all over his body. But he managed to keep walking. Seeing that his injuries are so serious, it is actually a miracle to be able to move around like this. It only shows how amazing the medicine of the old world was. To be able to heal him so much in such a short time.

But Akira was so miserable that he simply didn't have room to think about it. As he walked, his face twitched from pain.

Alpha looked at Akira, who was about to faint. To keep him awake, she cheered him on with a serious face.

"Do your best!"

"Yes"

Akira somehow managed to get to a different sleeping place than yesterday. While preparing a place to sleep, he tried to keep himself awake while observing his surroundings and being more careful than usual. In that case, he thought, if someone came near him, he would definitely be killed. So he hid himself in the back alley so that no one could find him. And when he was ready to sleep, he just plunged headlong into it and lay down on his side.

“…… Alpha, I've reached my limits. I went to sleep first, good night. ”

Alpha replied softly with a worried expression.

"Good night and a good rest."

Akira closed her eyes as she held back the pain, and his consciousness flew out.

[…… I hope I'll be able to open my eyes again tomorrow morning. ]

Although he only made a wish there, he himself did not know to whom he was making a wish.

—

Oddly enough, Aki

a Wake up on a refreshing morning. He was deeply moved when he was amazed at what had happened, when he found out that he was still alive.

“…… I'm still alive, huh...... Well? ”

When he examined what he felt weird on his arm, he found something in the place where he had been shot yesterday. When he got closer, it was as if something was stuck between his skin and the healing tape. So he carefully peeled off the tape and found a misshapen bullet. The bullet appeared to be stuck in his body, and his body had pushed the bullet out.

「…… Is this yesterday's bullet? So it's stuck in my body, right? ”

"It seems like this. It looks like the nanomachines tried to get the bullet out of your body, but then got blocked by duct tape. It might be a good idea to take the tape off. ”

Akira was a little surprised to see Alpha beside him, but he wasn't as surprised as he was yesterday. It just means Aki

A is starting to get used to having Alpha by his side.

After forcibly pulling out the bullet buried in the skin, he reattached the tape to the wound, but no longer felt pain.

Alpha laughed again.

"Akira. Good morning. You had a hard day yesterday, but ...... Did you sleep well? ”

"Yes. I really slept well...... I even overslept. ”

The sun had already risen, so it had exceeded Akira's usual waking hours. His stomach was rumbling, he hadn't eaten since last night, and he'd miss breakfast if it went on.

"Oh,!! The food distribution isn't over yet, is it?! ”

Akira hurried to the food pantry, which he barely made to the point.

Originally, he was going to go to the ruins of Katsubara City, but because of Alpha's instructions, he canceled it. In the end, he decided to take a full day off to fully recover his condition.

It's actually strange that you only need to rest for a day after being shot. Akira herself understands that this is indeed strange. But the pain is gone, and the numbness is mostly gone. Akira finally realizes that it's all thanks to old-world drugs. He was in awe as he rested in the alley.

[Medicinal herbs and tapes are made by old world civilizations.] It turned out to be a relic of the old world, and it should make a lot of money by selling it. As I thought, it's such a waste to use them...... But in that case, I'll die. ]

The advanced technology of the Old World created many items that cannot be replicated by modern technology. This is not limited to medications.

For example, on one occasion, a knife relic was found in the ruins. It can easily cut anything with just a small amount of force, forget about fish or meat, it can even cut steel and concrete. At the same time, no matter how hard you try, it can't cut human flesh. At first glance, these two features seem to contradict each other. Moreover, it will not dull the steel if it is split in two, it will not rust when wet, and it will not corrode when soaked in aqua regia. When researchers at these companies turn off the safety check of the knife, it cuts a completely unreachable tank in half and then breaks it down into nothingness.

More than half of the current mathematical knowledge is developed by decoding the mathematical knowledge of the old world. But even for those researchers who have studied it all their lives, there are still so many artifacts that they use without sufficient knowledge of their operation. That's why people pay a lot of money for these artifacts. Moreover, the real pleasure of being a hunter is to use these relics yourself, not to sell them.

His survival depends on the relics of the efficient medicinal herbs of the old world. Therefore, even Akira, who is not very knowledgeable, knows very well that he can make a lot of money just by selling these drugs.

However, he has not yet realized that something more magical than drugs is all around him.