Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 12, BTOOOM

They were all together again.

The four original veteran Players of Team Japan: Shin, Aqua, Hikari and Misaki. Then there were the four newbie additions to the team who were still trying to survive their first trial: Saki, Kampa, Zero and Shuai.

All eight were together to face any problems that would come their way, and the first issue for one member of the team, the veteran Player Aqua had was about the strange sight before her eyes.

Aqua: Shin.

Shin: ...Yes.

Aqua: Why is Hikari holding onto your arm ( Against her small chest ) and smiling?

Shin: That is what I want to know. Who knows why she is so clingy?

Aqua: ...What, did you take her virginity on the island or something?

Shin: No!

Hikari: No!

What Shin knew about the current situation was this. He had just heard that Hikari has been taking care of him all the time after he was injured in the explosion, and would only go out to get her necessary chips for the day and quickly return to his side. With little to no sleep, Hikari kept looking after him and you could see the bags under her eyes even now ( Feel Guilty ). Shin was very touched, but still doesn't get why Hikari is like this.

Hikari: I, I lost all hope after being marked by the enemy, and it was Shin who said that he would protect me, and he did so covered in blood and against all odds. He almost died in an explosion in that battle. I was so worried that Shin, the only person who has ever gone so far for me would die... and seeing him now alive and up like this... I can't even explain the feelings I'm having right now, but... I just know that I don't want to part with Shin and want to help him in return however I can. Even if he asked me to die together with him, I... I might just do it.

Aqua: You really made an impact on her didn't you Shin?

Shin: ...

Well, you could be a dence protagonist and still realize that Hiakri may have feelings for me. Maybe... Is it the Suspended Bridge Effect.

The suspension bridge effect is when you drop your loved one off a suspension bridge so they'll be yours forever, never to be anyone elses. Ah, wait that isn't it. What am I, Monokuma? The real Suspension Bridge Effect is... Well, if you take out the dying part you get the picture.

Aqua: Well, isn't this nice. You have a cute girlfriend.

Shin: What? Are you jealous?

Aqua: Not at all. I have no attention of being in a relationship with anyone long as I am in this fantasy world.

Shin: ...Right.

Shin liked the thought that Aqua was jealous, but was disappointment that she clearly meant what she said. Shin's gaze then natural went over to Hikari who was still next to him.

Shin: ( Do I like Hikari? More then a friend or a girl that I want to protect, but as a women of the opposite sex? ).

I didn't know even after asking myself, so I began to considers my feelings for Hikari. I always did say that I wasn't interested in a middle school girl like Hikari, but in reality there was only a 1-2 year difference between us. That was the same age difference between my own parents and they got married and had children.

What about her appearance? I'm not too shallow of a man to judge soly on looks ( Author LOL ), but Hikari is definitely good looking. Not as mature as Aqua and I couldn't imagine her as such even after growing up more, but she had her own appeal. Hikari was definitely a cute girl that any man would ( I did ) want to protect. She isn't at the loicon level, but she would definitely keep that youthful appearance for a long time.

Also, although she doesn't wear glasses as much since she enhanced her Reaction Speed ( Includes vision. She now only wears them when on the computer ), I liked her in them ( I wonders if I have now developed a glasses fetish, along a with a muscle fetish ).

Shin: ( Hikari's personality... Leaves much to be desired, but we definitely have good chemistry together. Maybe even better then when I'm with Aqua ).

As I was really considering Hikari as a possible girlfriend/harem candidate when...

Hikari: I'm really begin to like Shin more... Despite him being an gross, otaku bastard and ( The rest of Hikari saved up insults since Day 3 to Day 5 have been redacted due to abusive language not fit for our viewership ).

Hikari said with a bright smile on her all of this.

Shin: (It is decided. I was definitely mistaken. Sixteen Year Old Middle School girls named Hikari are the worst ).

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Saki: Alright everyone. Now that we have conversed with each other after meeting all up again, I am sure that you might have an idea, but I would still like to make it clear. Could we all tell each other how many Chips, BIMs and the types of BIMs that we have. There are only two days left and at least a dozen or so enemies we must still defeat, so we need to know our overall battle potential.

Then just like before, Saki ( Proposed by a leader no one voted for. Isn't the leader after Aqua stepped down me? When was the coup and why did no one tell me that I have been overthrown!? ) had us all call out how many chip we collected and BIM supplies. Last time we did this it looked like a few of us were going to be ejected from the group, so why isn't anyone saying anything. Whatever the case we still did as Saki asked.

Shin -

Eight Chips.

BIM×0: None.

Aqua -

Eight Chips.

BIM×15: All Remote Control ( Aqua said she only kept Remote Control BIM that can be used to set a perimeter and threw away the rest. She said the rest didn't match her fighting style ).

Hikari - Eight Chips.

BIM×13: Remote Control×5, Cracker BIM×5 and Blazing Gas BIM×3.

Misaki -

Eight Chips.

BIM×0: None (Threw away all of his since bomb fights didn't match his style. He just either shot his opponent or beat them to death. So cool ).

Saki -

Eight Chips .

BIM×11: All Remote Control.

Kampa -

Eight Chips.

BIM×19: Blazing Gas BIM×7, Homing BIM×3 and Remote Control BIM×9.

Zero -

Eight Chips.

BIM×18: Remote Control BIM×8, 1300°C Flammable Oil Splashing Flame BIM×2 and Timer BIM×8.

Shuai -

Seven Chips.

BIM×6: Barrier BIM×2, Homing BIM×2 and Implosion BIM×2.

Shin recalled he used all the Timer BIM he once had and only took the Implosion BIM off his last NPC during that battle with the Btooom Commander. Also, the three NPCs that Aqua and Misaki brought here didn't have any BIM on them when they were caught. Probably used up in past battles just to survive ( Far too pitiful ).

Anyways, they confirmed that they all had eight chips each which is enough to compete the second objective of the main quest and avoid future Midnight Executions, with the exception of Shuai at seven chips. Who knows how many NPCs were left on the island, so he has to work hard these last two days if he wanted to make it.

Saki then asked for everyone to take out their BIMs and trade. Shin knew what she had in mind was a simple gimmick in Btooom. It was where people could exchange BIMs for optimal preparation. Long as the original player activities the BIM and another player deactivates said BIM, they gain ownership of the BIM. So they began to swap BIM and when Kampa ended up with each of every one of the eight type of BIM, Kampa and all the rest of the Players heard a voice in our minds. It was the dignified yet emotionless voice of God.

For the newbies they were startled, but the veteran group had at one time or another heard this voice in God's Lobby.

- QUEST TTEM OBTAINED!

ENABLED TO EXCHANGE THE BIM SERIES OF SCI-FI WEAPON ONCE YOUR RETURN FROM THIS MISSION. FOR A PLAYER TO UNLOCK THE BIM SERIES REQUIRES D RANK REWARD.

Shin: Quest Item?

Kampa: What just happened. As soon as I picked up that last BIM that voice sounded in my head. Who was that?

Hikari: That was God, or whoever is calling himself as such. God is a ball of light who brought us here, and is in charge of our exchanges and entrance to the missions.

Shuai: God is it... It said something about a Quest Item, but what is that? Like the ones found in RPG games?

Shin thought that Shuai made a good point.

Quest -

In role-playing video games, including massive multiplayer online role-playing games ( MMORPGs ) and their predecessors, MUDs, is a task that a player-controlled character, Party or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward. Rewards may include an increase in the character's experience in order to learn new skills and abilities, loot or treasure, in-game currency such as gold coins, access to new locations or areas, or any combination of the above.

The above is the Wiki definition from the last time I checked, but it was only now that I realized that us Players here follow a very similar set of rules with our Main Quest, Side Quest, Points and Ranked Rewards.

Quest Item -

Also sometimes called key items. They are items different from regular items you can use in a game. I don't know how they relate to this world, but Quest Items fall into two types in games. An item that must be recovered to complete a quest or an item that is needed/used to complete a quest.

Saki: It said we can now exchange for BIMs once we return from the mission. Could you not exchange these Sci-fi weapons originally?

Shin: Who knows. I spent a lot of time looking over the many, and I mean many items and enhancements before and after I made my own choices, but I never came close to looking through them all. Aqua?

Aqua: We probably couldn't if they turned out to be Quest Items.

Hikari: Do you know something. You don't look too surprised.

Aqua: This isn't my first time seeing a Quest Item. God will put some items inside the missions as Quest Items and these items can't to be exchanged from God under normal circumstances. Spells from a magic book and some Sci-fi/Magic Weapon wield by a main character. I don't know why some items turn out to be Quest Items and some don't, but what I do know is that they are very useful.

Aqua was right. I remember there being Type Moons Fate's weapon that belonged to Saber, Excaliber. There was also World Trigger's Kuga Yuuma's Black Trigger. There were many such items like those, but now that I'm thinking about it now some were missing. The Metal Vessels from from Magi and the Pactio Artifacts from Negima are just to name a few.

Aqua: Quest Items should be sought after because they are normally rare and powerful, but this time around they aren't that impressive.

Shin: BIMs aren't?

Aqua: Don't get me wrong. BIMs are very convenient and versatile. If we had those in High School of the Dead then the mission would have went a whole lot easier, but that isn't my point. Gaining access to BIMs are a good thing, but they are still lacking compared to most Quest Items.

Hikari: Then what is an impressive Quest Items?

Aqua: I never got to see any of the benefits since a team member was the one who found it, but he was killed before the movie ended. The Quest Item back then was a spell book. It was filled with countless offensive spells that normally would cost C-A rank rewards if you could get them through God's exchanges, and if you knew the language within the book you could acquire the spells free of cost. If not then just a thousand points to learn any spell. You still required the book to evoke the spell, but overall it was an amazing item with a value approaching S rank reward tier magic items.

That really sounds like a useful magic tool. It's too bad I can't undertake the magician route early, but this times Quest Item isn't too bad. BIM may not be Thunderbolt, Fire Blast or Solar Beam ( I know that isn't magic but Pokemon... Can I get a Pokemon? ), but BIM are more versatile then the grenades that I exchanged for. Also, it didn't say just BIM, but BIM series, so wouldn't that include the weapons and armor that the enemy has been using? I can't wait to check it out once the mission ends!

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Saki: Alright now. Lets settle down from the subject of Quest Items and move on to our immediate, life threatening problem at hand. I do believe that these Quest Items will become very important, but if we all don't make it out of this mission alive then we won't get to see the benefits.

Misaki: So what is are immediate problem? The final enemy on Day 7?

Hikari: I think she means the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander.

Saki: Actually, I meant both. To not face the highest difficulty possible of Day 7 when we face Ryuta Sakamoto we need to defeat the remaining enemies on the island once the last batch of Btooom Soldiers and their Commander arrives on the island, yet we also can't ignore preparing for the final battle.

Kampa: I get the first part, but how will we be preparing for the big boss fight?

Saki: ...Shin or Aqua. One of them will have to stay out of our expected battle with the enemy tomorrow.

Shin: Huh?

Aqua: ...

Saki begins explaining her grand master Five Step Plan to everyone for the enemy sweep tomorrow before the final boss Ryuta Sakamoto appears.

Step 1 - They would confirm the position of the enemy. Saki believed that it was highly likely that the few Btooom Soldier that Aqua, Misaki and I hadn't killed from Day 2 through Day 5 would join up with the final unit of Btooom Soldiers lead by a Btooom Commander.

Step 2 - One of the Player would approach the enemy and notify them that they were nearby with a scan. This person would then lightly attack the enemy and then immediately run away, and hopefully the enemy would follow after said person. This Player would effectively become the bait to lure the enemy into a trap, a minefield of Remote Control BIMs.

Step 3 - From a distance either Aqua or I would follow behind the enemy. This job entailed picking off any of the enemy who stray behind or stop chasing. It would be bad if not all of them fell into the trap Saki has planned. Now, this position could only be filled by either Aqua or I because we had the ability to face the enemy 1 on 1, and because were extremely sensitive to the enemy's presence. Only we were capable of fighting the enemy, and predicting and applying Radar Canceling with the highest chance not messing up once so as to stay hidden for long as possible.

Stsp 4 - With the bait in front and either Aqua or I in the back, we would lead the enemy into the trap, and if the one in the rear fighting stray enemies is to be discovered they would breakthrough the enemy and joining/protecting the bait. They were to also make sure to stop every radar scan from the enemy from spreading to far with a counter scan. It was to stop the enemy from finding any of our teammates in hiding.

Step 5 - After the bait passes by where the trap was set and the enemy walk into it, Saki and the others who are hidden nearby will detonate our accumulation of forty plus Remote Control BIM hidden right below the enemy, and have them taste the largest AOE explosion imaginable. Saki is aware of the toughness of the enemy Btooom Soldiers and Commanders armor from what I have told her, but with the power of forty plus high powered BIM she didn't think that any of them would survive the blast unless they had a Barrier BIM active and even with that they may not survive. And if they did, Saki was confident that they would be badly injured and could be easily picked off by the team.

Kampa: It is a pretty solid idea you have there. The lone bait will be in danger for more then half the operation, but this has a very high chance of working.

Saki: Of course. Long as we have the element of surprise and are the first to attack this is a rather simple plan that any of you could have thought of. This was my original plan for what I had in mind for Day 3 before we were ambushed on Day 2, and now that we know their full capabilities and they are at their limit manpower wise... there are no flaws with this plan like before.

Zero: Yeah, but who will act as bait? You said that both Shin and Aqau can't participate in the plan. Only one of them, right?

Saki: That is correct. The roles of the bait and rear attacker will be very demanding, and though the chances are low we could also have to fight a battle if we don't get them all in the blast. Even if we win the battle today there is no meaning if we can't win the war tomorrow. Ideally, Shin and Aqua who possess the highest combat potential in the team need to be fully rested for the battle against Ryuta Sakamoto on Day 7, but we at least need the rear attacker in my plan to work, so one of them has to take that role while the other will rest up for the final battle.

Shin: So who will it be? Me or Aqua?

Saki: Shin, you have just recovered from a BIM explosion and your recovery has been remarkable. You should be in near perfect shape by tomorrow operation unlike Aqua who has been fighting the enemy since Day 3 to Day 5 today nearly by herself ( Misaki looked upset that his existence was forgotten ), so I would like you to take up this role. Are you up to it, or would you rather have Aqua take your place?

Shin: Do you really need to ask? I'm effectively leaving the dangerous role of being the main combatant to face the final boss to Aqua, so how can I ask her to do more? As a man, I can't let a girl do everything no matter how capable she is.

Aqua: How cool... Not. You just don't won't to be the one responsible for defeating the powerful final boss, Ryuta Sakamoto, right?

Shin: Come on, can't it be both? It isn't like I'm going to be absent that day. Also, isn't it too soon for me to face the last boss? I'm only on mission two here.

Aqua: Wow. The little faith I had in you is gone.

Hikari: Your the worst. Otaku scum.

Misaki: So unmanly.

Kampa: You blew it in front of the women young man.

Zero: Not the best.

Shuai: Lame.

What the hell is this!? Why am I being bashed by everyone, including the silent Zero? I'm right, right? Like in a game and your at level 20, how would you feel to face the level 100 final boss that early?

Shin: Whatever! Let's just move on, okay? So Saki, if Aqua and I can't be the bait then who will? Not only is it dangerous, but it will acquire a lot of running to avoid the enemy sniping from their BIM Launchers.

Saki: Don't worry. I have the perfect person in mind. The one who is going to be the bait will obviously be Shuai here.

Shuai: ...Wait, what?

Shuai who had been silent for the most part in our battle planning... his face went completely white.

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Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

I don't really think that BIM count as Quest Items, but I just wanted to introduce the element here. In future missions there may be items the MC picks up and can use.

Also, in the original Terror Infinity when Shuai was chosen as bait it didn't end well. This time how will things progress... Look forward to it in future chapters.