"Ah, dammit. I completely blanked on that."
Shana came to a sudden halt as the group made their way to the rental garage where the Humvee was parked, preparing for their expedition to Infinite Hell.
"What's wrong?" Shizuka asked.
"Well, I just realized... the Humvee only seats six."
"Oh. Right."
Shana looked around at the group. "Does anyone else know how to drive a manual transmission?"
"Manual?"
"Isn't that, like... a museum thing at this point?"
"Sorry, Shana-san," Ikoma added. "I've only ever driven automatics."
In this era, manual cars were virtually extinct in the Tokyo metropolitan area. As technology advanced, the performance gap between automatic and manual transmissions vanished, leading almost every manufacturer to cease production of the latter. Shana had hoped M might have the skill, but when that lead went cold, he briefly considered buying a larger vehicle.
Nyangoro, however, stepped forward with a smirk. "I can drive it."
"Sensei? Since when?"
"Hmph. When Tsuzuki-dono heard I was starting GGO, he recommended I learn. I already had an automatic license, so I went and had my 'Automatic Only' restriction removed the other day."
"Oh... Tsuzuki-san did..."
Shana offered a silent prayer of thanks to his mentor. Without wasting another second, he decided to buy a second Humvee on the spot.
"This way."
Shana stopped at a nearby vehicle dealership, purchased another Humvee outright, and handed the keys to Nyangoro. He directed all the women to her vehicle.
"I'm not going to make you walk all the way to the garage. You ladies head out first in this one; we'll meet you at the rally point."
"Understood," Nyangoro said. "We'll wait for you at the outskirts."
Shana, Ikoma, and M walked to the rental garage, climbed into the original Humvee, and drove to meet the others. Shana pulled up alongside Nyangoro's vehicle and rolled down the window.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"No issue," Nyangoro replied. "I took the liberty of scouting the perimeter. No hostiles in sight."
"Already on recon? I'd expect nothing less, Sensei. Anyway, does someone want to hop in with us?"
"Switching seats now is a hassle," Nyangoro noted. "Let's just head out as we are for the trip there."
"Fair point. Alright, Sensei, follow my lead."
The two-Humvee convoy set off for their ritual tour of Infinite Hell. Before long, the familiar silhouette of the derelict spaceship loomed in the distance.
"Wow, we got here incredibly fast," M remarked.
"Wait, is this your first time traveling by vehicle in GGO, M?" Shana asked.
"Yes. I've always moved on foot. Ambushes were a constant threat... honestly, it was exhausting."
"Cars aren't invincible if someone sets up a proper roadblock," Shana admitted, "but usually, if you just stumble across a random mob or player, they can't catch you. It's much safer."
"I see. Though, I noticed this car doesn't have any mounted weapons."
"We've never really been targets before," Shana said. "But given the current climate, we should probably look into arming these things and reinforcing the chassis."
"In that case," Ikoma chimed in, "I'll look at our current materials and see what kind of upgrades I can manage."
"Thanks, Ikoma. I know you've got a lot on your plate, but I'd appreciate it. We'll probably pick up a lot of scrap today, so feel free to use whatever we find."
Upon arrival, the group moved toward their usual base of operations within the ship, keeping a sharp eye on their scanners.
"So, this is the hunting ground?" Nyangoro asked.
"Yeah. Let me explain the setup."
Shana briefed the newcomers—Nyangoro, M, and Rosalia—on the room's mechanics and their strategy.
"I see. Alright, M, drop your pack," Nyangoro commanded.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Sensei? What are you planning?" Shana asked.
"I'm ensuring our firing line has its own defensive perimeter," she replied. "We have four melee specialists: you, Shiz, Kei, and Pito. That leaves five of us on guns. Sinon can protect her own back with her shield, but Shana—hand over your spare plate."
"Uh, sure. How did you know I had one?"
"You're a sniper, aren't you? It was a logical deduction."
Taking the shield from Shana, Nyangoro positioned it to cover her own blind spot. "M, take the modular parts you just dropped and arrange them to protect Rosalia, Ikoma, and yourself from the rear."
"Understood!"
"Smart," Shana noted. "Even if they spawn behind us, the backline is secure."
"One more theory..." Nyangoro added. "Shana, take some spare magazines and scatter them across the floor."
Shana blinked. "What for?"
"It's a hunch. Mobs usually won't spawn on top of an existing object, correct? If we blanket the floor with items, we might be able to manipulate and restrict exactly where the enemies can manifest."
"It's worth a shot."
"Let's leave a circular clearing in the center of the room," Nyangoro directed.
"Right. Shiz and I will hold the corridor. Pito, Kei, you two watch the room and see where they pop up."
""Copy that!""
"Alright," Shana shouted. "Begin! Don't stop until I give the word!"
The slaughter commenced. Every weapon in their arsenal had been secretly tuned by Ikoma for maximum accuracy and stopping power; the enemies outside the room were decimated before they could even get close. (Shana had also made sure everyone was registered in the party for shared experience, ensuring the non-combatants leveled up just as fast.)
As for the spawns, while the hallway was as chaotic as ever, the interior of the room remained eerily quiet—except for the designated circle in the center.
"Man... this is almost boring, Kei," Pitohui sighed.
"Tell me about it. And with these new swords, everything just splits in half with one hit!" Benkei added.
The Radiant Blades were a complete "cheat code" for this zone. Since the mobs here were slow, it was trivial to land precise, lethal strikes. Every enemy fell in a single swing.
Nyangoro, observing the efficiency, finally called out. "Hold! The hypothesis is confirmed—they're only spawning in the clearing! Kei, go grab Shana and Shizuka. Everyone else, cease fire for a moment!"
The group reconvened in the center of the room.
"How's it looking?" Shana asked. "The hallway was business as usual."
"The theory holds," Nyangoro said. "By littering the floor, we've effectively disabled the spawns in this room except for one specific spot."
"That's huge."
"And honestly, brother," Benkei added, "we don't need four people on melee. Everything dies in one hit, and it doesn't even take any physical effort to swing these things."
Shana nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking the same. If we get too used to this 'god-mode' combat, we'll get sloppy."
"I feel like my rifle is kicking less too," Rosalia noted.
"Ah, that's my doing," Ikoma said. "I gave all the guns a stabilizer tune-up."
"I knew it! You really are a mad scientist!" Pitohui cheered.
Ikoma beamed and gave his signature thumbs-up.
"Alright," Shana decided. "We'll switch to a non-stop rotation. Pito, can you handle the room solo for a bit?"
"Piece of cake!"
"Then Shiz and Kei, join the firing line. We'll run two shifts for the gunners. Coordinate your targets so you aren't wasting ammo on the same mob. Pito and I will rotate on sentry duty at the entrance. We'll line the floor with shields and armor plates to keep the spawns suppressed."
"That way, we can recover all the ammo we scattered too," Nyangoro added.
"I'll leave my M82 and some crates in the gaps," Shana said.
The new system was a masterpiece of efficiency. Usually, they had to take breaks to cool down or reload, but with the rotation, the experience and loot gain became a continuous, roaring river.
"Pito, don't just swing," Shana coached from the sidelines. "The blade doesn't require force, so focus on your form. Burn the rhythm into your muscle memory."
"Got it! Tell me if I look sloppy!"
Meanwhile, M and Sinon were acting as drill instructors for the others.
"Sensei, tuck your chin a bit more. There—see? It's easier to track the sight that way," Sinon advised.
"Ikoma-san, don't 'pull' the trigger. Imagine you're just letting a pebble drop," M added.
The "Infinite Hell" had transformed into a world-class training facility. And through it all, the experience points and items piled up at a staggering rate. During his off-shift, Ikoma sorted through the mountains of loot, tossing the junk and keeping only the high-quality materials.
"Alright, hold up," Shana called out after a few hours. "Everyone, fill your inventories to the absolute limit with the sorted loot."
Once they were maxed out, they lugged the haul back to the Humvees, stowed it, and returned for another round. Shana was busy running mental math on the total weight and market value of their haul.
Finally, Shana called an end to the session. "Okay, that's our limit. Let's call it a day."
"Phew... that was an insane amount of loot," Shizuka panted.
"More importantly," Nyangoro said, looking at her menu, "my experience bar has gone completely haywire."
As the only one who had started at base stats, the jump was astronomical for her.
"What level did you hit?"
"See for yourself." She showed her screen to Shana.
"Right on the edge of the 'High-Level' bracket... not bad for one night."
"I have a mountain of stat points," Nyangoro noted. "Suggestions?"
"For you, Sensei? I'd go for a STR-AGI build, similar to Shiz and Kei. It fits your natural movements."
"I see. I'll do some research before I commit."
"Alright, let's move out. We'll divide the spoils back at the base."
The return to the hideout was triumphant, though it took three trips to move all the gear from the Humvees into the armory—a "problem" no one complained about. Among the haul, they found a rare item Shana had never seen before.
"Ikoma, what's this?"
"Ah, that's a 'Heavy Weapon Exchange Voucher.' It's a system for when a weapon drops that's too heavy for a player's current STR to even pick up. You take it to a shop to redeem the actual item."
"I didn't know that was a thing."
"It's a mercy mechanic for low-STR players who get lucky," Ikoma explained.
Shana looked at the voucher. "A Minigun... man, carrying one of those around would be a nightmare."
A "Minigun" in GGO wasn't small; it was a massive Gatling-style heavy machine gun weighing nearly a hundred kilograms.
"What should we do with it?"
"We could sell it," Shana mused, "but... could we mount it on a Humvee?"
Ikoma's eyes widened. "Oh! Yes! That would work perfectly!"
With no objections from the group, the plan was set. Then, they hit one final stroke of luck: a single Radiant Unit was found among the scrap materials. It was their first time seeing one drop from a regular mob.
"What should we do with this?" Shana asked. "Pito, want me to set you up with a twin-blade link like mine?"
"No," Pitohui said, surprising him. "I want you to make a weapon for Shinonon. We were talking about it while we were changing earlier."
"Oh?"
"Pito, I appreciate it, but are you sure?" Sinon asked.
"Absolutely!"
"...Thank you, Pito."
Shana looked at Sinon, intrigued. "What kind of weapon?"
"Well..."
As Sinon explained her vision, Ikoma slapped his knee. "I love it! That's brilliant. It would be incredibly effective in a real fight!"
Shana nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Most players in GGO know their guns inside out. If you make them think your sidearm is empty and they rush you, only to get sliced open by a hidden blade... it's a perfect trap."
"Exactly!" Ikoma turned to Sinon. "Sinon-san, can I borrow your Glock for twenty-four hours?"
"Yes! Please do!"
"As for the name..." Ikoma muttered. "I guess it'll follow the prototype sequence: Kagemune X3."
Internal joy surged through Sinon.
(It has the same name as Shana's...)
Unaware of her private thoughts, Shana gave a casual shrug. "Sounds good to me. Show me the finished product, Sinon. I'm looking forward to it."
Sinon's smile was radiant. "I will."
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