Chương 119: Chapter 37 Field Testing (Part 2)

And then came the next morning. We took turns showering, got ourselves ready, had a smoke, and took the dog with us to the garrison. The grounds were quite a sight: one jeep, one armored vehicle, one three-and-a-half-ton truck, and ten combat helicopters. It was a rather formidable lineup. After parting ways with Mochida, I entered the usual meeting room, where Miyafuji and the others were already gathered.

There's no particular dress code for entering the Gate, but this time they'd apparently been lent camouflage uniforms and combat boots.

"Good morning. Are you ready?"

"Good morning. We're good. You two are ready too, right?"

"We're good."

"Yep, we're ready to go." Looks like everyone is ready. All that's left is the briefing. Then we can get going. I entered the classroom and explained today's plans. Since Miyafuji had sent the details over LINE the day before, everyone's preparations for staying overnight should already be complete.

"For this Gate expedition, we're going all the way to the fifteenth floor. I told everyone what to prepare beforehand, so I assume that's all been taken care of. Other than that, Chloe, do you have anything to add?"

"We have a couple of things to verify this time.

"First, there's a possibility that after leaving a party, you may be able to return to your companions by re-entering the Gate.

"Second, we're going to fly the helicopters currently sitting on the ground.

"Apart from those verification tests, the government has asked us to recover the missing people themselves, or, failing that, their dog tags.

"Any questions?"

"Yes. Is there any specific information about the re-entry test?" Natsume raised a question, so I told her what I'd discussed with Tachibana the day before. The distance test would have to wait until later, but the re-entry test could be done immediately. I also told them we'd test whether the same thing was possible using the escape items, and then we headed out to the grounds. As for the helicopters, I decided to leave the allocation to Hyodo. He would get four, while the other two pilots would get three each.

I'd considered keeping one for myself, but I couldn't pilot a helicopter in the first place. It would just be a wasted asset.

"Come to think of it, Chloe-san, what's with that outfit? And isn't that the dog from the video?" Soon after getting into the jeep and setting off, Iguchi, who was driving, asked me about it. But any outfit is fine. The witch is annoying about wanting me to wear Gothic Lolita, so I might wear it eventually. I also thought about putting the dog in the Ring, but since causing unnecessary surprise inside the Gate would be a hassle, I brought him along as is.

"Hmm? Is there a problem? The dog's name is Byte. He wanders around on his own, so don't worry about him."

"The big dog is Byte, then. As for the clothes... I feel more reassured when you're wearing the ones from your streams."

"Reassured, huh...? I'll consider it once I run out of clothes. Anyway, with the people we have now, we should be fine up to the fifteenth floor. Mr. Iguchi, you're a Spearman, right?"

"That's right! I'm a Spearman who turns monsters into Swiss cheese! You can count on me, okay?" He gave me a joking wink. A Spearman, huh? The guy with the green scarf had been one too. Spearmen are described as having three abilities: piercing, returning the weapon to hand, and throwing. Apparently, they can thrust with the spear, and even if they throw it, it returns to their hand. Since I was curious, I decided to ask Iguchi about being a Spearman so I could get a better understanding of the job.

Before long, we arrived at the Gate. There were plenty of people gathered around it, trying to make a little money.

"I've been waiting for you, Chloe."

"Mr. Chiyoda, what brings you here? I'm not withdrawing the conditions, you know?" Chiyoda was waiting for us at the Gate. I hadn't expected him to have any business here today, so I wondered what had brought him. I didn't think he was here to ask me to relax the conditions for foreigners, especially this soon after yesterday, but I figured I'd get ahead of him just in case. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"About that matter... well. That's not why I came. It's this." He showed me what he'd brought.

"It's for real-time confirmation of the footage from inside. Yesterday, while I was at Mr. Tachibana's place, I asked what he'd discussed with you, and thought I'd ask whether you'd be willing to cooperate. If we can record it, we'll use it as video material in the future."

"Another collar? If you keep this up, I'm going to start spreading bad rumors, you know?"

"Please don't! But a headgear-type camera would get in the way, wouldn't it? When I checked with Miyafuji, they said you'd be diving down to the fifteenth floor starting today. So this was a rush job, but I asked a blacksmith to prepare them despite the unreasonable request. There are three." The action camera he handed me was a choker-type, just like last time. Well, it was easier to move around with than something strapped to my head. I'd take it along as part of the radio-wave test.

"Where is the receiver? And how many days will it last?"

"Based on the Akihabara case, we've set up a receiving base in a building just under four kilometers away, right over there. The battery is supposed to last about ten days."

"Understood. I'll have someone carry it. Well, then."

"Yes. Well, then. I hope you stay safe." We parted ways with Chiyoda. The driver stored the vehicle we'd arrived in inside a Ring, and using the government's priority access, we passed straight through the crowd and entered the Gate, going up to the fifth floor. Before entering, we'd been asked to take pictures and wave at people, so I waved occasionally while talking things over with Miyafuji. In the end, we decided that I, Akamine, and Hyodo would each carry one of the cameras.

This was, in a sense, a way of showing consideration to the three factions. We all held hands and entered together. It felt a little cramped, but once we passed through this Gate, that wouldn't be an issue. The participants instantly killed the small-fry monsters nearby and secured the area, and then we began the verification.

"All right, let's do the verification. I think the exit Gate should be fine, but I'm not sure whether the escape item works the same way.

"We'll wait here for ten minutes. If we can't reunite by then, we'll exit once as well and go pick you up.

"Any volunteers?" As soon as I asked, Shimizu and Oda were the first to raise their hands. All right, I'll leave it to them. I handed the escape item to Shimizu, while Oda headed for the exit Gate. If all they had to do was leave and come back in, ten minutes should be more than enough. Before long, the two of them appeared behind the participants. Good. That gives us another confirmed fact. If we make good use of this, we might be able to establish depots inside the safe spaces.

And if we can set those up, it should become much easier to systematically clear the floors.

"The party test was a success. That's good."

"Yeah. Though it seems like we might end up with a Self-Defense Force base around the Gate." Natsume, standing beside me, spoke happily. She seemed to have gotten along well with the two volunteers, so I suppose that's why she was happy. After that, we all passed through the Gate. Starting from the sixth floor, that cramped feeling disappeared all at once. Unfortunately, this wasn't a safe space, so after wiping out the monsters in the area, we started moving by vehicle.

The Tracker indicated the direction of the Gate, and we pushed forward at full speed. It was mountainous terrain, so the roads were rough. Along the way, we had to switch between driving and traveling on foot several times. Unfortunately, we hadn't found either any people or any dog tags, but we had found a decent number of boxes. We decided to leave opening them for later and continued on. Then Hyodo called out to me.

"Should we do the altitude measurement around here too?"

"Yeah. We're not exactly struggling against the monsters, and all we have to do is fly, so let's do it." For the moment, Hyodo and I were the only ones who could fly. I was about to take off, leaving the others behind as they watched enviously, when Natsume stopped me.

"First-san, your underwear is going to show!"

"Ah, I'm wearing a petticoat, so it's fine."

"Even so! Men are wolves! You never know what might happen in a place like this! We should just have Mr. Hyodo fly instead. Yesterday's filming, the private lesson, and now a rendezvous in the sky! It's so enviably outrageous!"

"N-Natsume-san, calm down. Mr. Hyodo, hurry up and fly!" Mochida stopped Natsume from grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me. In the meantime, Hyodo flew into the sky. It was so dim around us that I couldn't see him, and although he was probably holding back, the water he sprayed came raining down on us. It was quite a mess.

"The helicopter seems to be fine. It's just... it's so dark. Sorry. I was trying to hold back, but..." Hyodo was bowing repeatedly while the soaked female members glared at him. Actually, if I'd flown instead, there might not have been any damage at all... Well, what's done is done. It's only water. It'll dry. The only real problem was that I'd come dressed in my female-teacher-style outfit, and now my underwear was showing through. I'd better change quickly.

"I'm going to change behind those rocks over there."

"Ah! I'll stand guard." With Mochida standing guard, I changed my clothes. The witch I'd told to shut up, however, took the opportunity to talk to me again. Fine. I'll wear it, okay? I'll wear it.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Kaori, zip up the back for me."

"Of course! Leave it to me!" And with that, I changed into my Gothic Lolita outfit and continued onward while searching. We made it to the eighth floor. We still hadn't found any dog tags, but we'd finished testing the helicopter in the safe space. The result was that it could fly. However, because the surroundings were so dim, raising the altitude too much carried the risk of being bombarded from outside the range of the searchlights.

After discussing possible ways to operate it, the participants came up with a workable method: if a Gunner and a Tracker teamed up, they should be able to take down monsters with a preemptive attack.

"That's enough for today. Let's make camp." We'd been inside since morning, and it was already four in the afternoon. Between testing the helicopters and figuring out the locations of the Gates, we'd spent enough time for today. The safest option would be to make camp inside a safe space. There were still seven floors to go before reaching the fifteenth. Inside the Gate, moving between Gates lets you return to upper floors, but you can't use them to proceed downward.

Only the first Gate allows you to travel to any floor.

"First-san, come over here. We're splitting into a women's group and a men's group. Come on, come on!"

"Ah, okay. First, I'll take off the camera." I removed Chiyoda's camera and put it inside the Ring. Around us, we set up tents facing each other, with a bonfire in the middle, almost like a campfire gathering.

"You're Hyodo, right? Would you mind helping me with a little training?"

"Sure. Let's see just how good a martial artist is. You've taken down quite a few monsters along the way, after all."

"Yuji-kun, I'm Shimizu. I'm a fellow Swordsman. Would you spar with me?"

"Sure. I don't mind. Just don't go overboard, okay?"

"Anyone injured? Feeling sick counts too! Let's give the Healer a chance to shine!"

"Mochida-san. I heard you're an S-class job, but judging from that flute, is it something music-related?"

"No, it isn't. I'm a Sakimori. This is..." Everyone happily settled into exchanging information. Both Akamine and Hyodo seemed to be venting some of the frustration of not being able to use their full power outside. They competed with each other within limits that wouldn't actually hurt either of them, while the spectators cheered them on.

"This is nice, isn't it, Chloe-san?"

"Yeah. There aren't any of the constraints we have outside, and everyone looks like they're having fun." I was the person who had led these people into the Gate in the first place. If possible, I wanted these peaceful moments to continue. We never knew when the Gate might overflow again. But from here on, with these participants around, I thought we'd be able to keep the damage from becoming as bad as it had been before. So far, Tachibana was the only intermediate-class person I knew about.

I hoped everyone else would grow stronger from here on out.