Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 15, BTOOOM

It was close to midnight as Day 5 was nearing its end. A few of Team Japan's members were already going to asleep to rest for the big day tomorrow, but there were a few who weren't. They still had things to think about and things to try out before the battle of Day 6 arrives. Shin was one of them.

Shin had walked out of the complex they called their base along with Aqua. He had asked her for her opinion on his battle potential. Shin had recovered a lot faster then he had expected both physically and spiritually, so he wanted Aqua, the only other Player on the island to solo the enemy, opinion on his new techniques.

During the battle on Day 2 when Shin rescued Hiakri and defeated unit 1 of the Btooom Soldiers and Commander, he had stumbled onto two new Ki techniques. The offensive Ki skill Soul Crushing Strike and the speed Ki skill Instant Movement.

Aqua: So what are these Ki attacks that you've learned? Will they be helpful?

Shin: I hope so. They came in handy when I was fighting the enemy and I honestly can say that without them, both Hikari and I would have died that day.

Aqua: Then show me. I may have Nen/Aura and not Ki, but I should be the only person on the island that can give you advice about this stuff.

Shin: Alright then. The most terrifying thing about the Btooom Soldiers and Commander in my opinion is their armor and BIM Launchers. The armor not only grants high protection ability, but enhances the abilities of the person wearing it to the extent that they are almost a match for me. The Btooom Launcher on the other hand is dangerous as well. It allows the enemy to not only snipe there targets with BIMs, but also has a rapid fire mode where they can be shot out quickly and in large quantities. Now, the technique that allowed me break through the enemy's armor is this!

Shin went into a standard martial arts stance that he has seen in manga and anime to start with. He than began to draw out the Ki Energy from the center of his body, the navel and allowed it to match the flow of the power within his physical body.

Shin then he raised and pulled back his left hand to his chest and matching Ki with physical moment, he extended his arm into a punch as he released his Ki through his fist. A near perfect Soul Crushing Strike was executed and as proof, an explosion of Ki detonated in front of his fist as a sonic boom. Aqua watched this with wide eyes as air and Ki brushed passed her from the explosion and she couldn't help but be impressed.

Shin: ...It isn't as strong as the one I used in battle, but this is the Soul Crushing Strike. I have been practicing this since I had acquired Ki in secret and only just recently I could finally use it. Not only is it an exceptionally powerful Ki attack, it also delivers internal damage as well. In the end, I didn't get to try it out on the Btooom Commander, but I was able to one hit kill the Btooom Soldiers with this attack in spite of their armor. I am confident that even if it is their leader who receives the blow he will die from the external or internal damage from Soul Crushing Strike. Its only weakness is that I'm not skilled enough to send out continuous Soul Crushing Strikes in a rush. If I could I'm certain no one could stand back up against me.

Aqua: ...You don't have to worry about not testing it on the Btooom Commander, Shin. If that kind of attack lands then you are dead unless you guard yourself with Ki or something similar. I wonder if even a 'Ko' Aura attack is that power. And you said that you just learned this skill recently? You never exchanged for it?

Shin: Yeah. I could only call it a fluke as to how I learned this, but I did manage it. Also, I received a message from God about Skill Mastery. It said that long as one could master a skill within 70% completion, I could exchange for the complete skill back in the Terminal Lobby for 1/10 the price and will lower its rank reward cost to just a single D rank reward.

Aqua: Wow, who knew? With Nen/Aura, I can't learn generic techniques like you can. Still, that is a great skill. With that Ki strike and my Adamantiunm Claws, with or without being equipped in Aura, we can tear apart the enemy's armor like it's cheap paper. How about Instant Movement?

Shin: I can use that as well. I came upon it when I was rescuing Hikari and it is my answer to avoid BIM attacks. Not even the Btooom Commander could keep up with me at that speed.

Shin focused Ki to the front of his feet, kicked the ground and and touch down without slipping. From point A to point B, he jumped ten meters in the blink of an eye. If Aqua didn't have such high Reaction Speed, she would have need to at least channel Aura into her eyes for 'Gyo' or she wouldn't have been able to keep up with Shin's fast acceleration.

Aqua: ...Fast.

Shin: That's it!

Aqua: What do you want me to say? You are very fast. If you are capable of maintaining that level of speed then then normal projectile weapons won't be able to hit you. How's the Ki cost?

Shin: ...It isn't the best. To constantly keep it up with my level of efficiency will drain my Advance Level Ki. Soul Crushing Strike also isn't the best. It's my guess that the remaining 30% of the Skill Mastery has to do with Ki consumption, so I am using far more Ki then needed for the techniques. That's why until I can exchange the full skills from God, I will have to really micromanage my Ki output.

Aqua: Just asking, but are you sure that you have enough Ki for the final battle on Day 7? Your Ki recovers quickly while you still have some, but if you use it all up this late in the game it may not recover in time. Make sure that you take care in tomorrow's operation.

Shin: I'll keep that in mind.

Aqua: Still, your amazing Shin. You would normally overlook them for powerful Whole Body Enhancements and Genectic Mutations, but Skills are powerful when used right. You use up a lot energy or stamina, but skills allow you to fight at levels beyond your normal abilities.

Kamap: You guys are doing some interesting things. Sorry for interrupting you two. We heard a loud sound and came to check it out.

Shuai: ...

Kampa, and surprisingly walking behind him was Shuai. They came up reacting to the noise I was making by practicing my techniques. I asked was it chance that they were together, and Kampa said that it wasn't. Kampa, seeing that Shuai hadn't attempted to run away has earned him some of his respect. That was why just before coming up here to the roof Kmapa was teaching Shuai some survival tricks he picked up in the mercenary guild.

Kampa: So you guys could use such interesting techniques. Isn't that just right out of your Japanese Manga.

Shin: Do you read manag?

Kampa: No, but... my seven year old son does. He loves things like that. His favorite manga is called Parasite.

Shin: That... is a very good old manga with a surprisingly good anime adaptation. Still, you should have him reader some lighter manga like Naruto or One Piece first.

Kamapa: I'll keep that in mind when I escape this place... If I escape this place. Heck, I might not make it out of this place alive, this place is ( Cursed in Russian ).

Shin: Stay calm ( Have no idea what curse word was that, but from the context it wasn't nice ). You and all of us will make it out of this place alive if we work together. Aqua and I can defeat the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders long as we are in good enough shape, so if tomorrow's plan to sweep up the last of the enemy is a success and we can face just the final boss on Day 7, we'll definitely win!

Kampa: That is some confidence you have there. I am a mercenary who has been to many lands to fight, but weren't you before all of this just your regular Japanese youth? Aren't you scared?

Shin: Of course I am, but long as I have some form of confidence to rely, I can inflate my ego to overcome the situation. If you said there was a 1% chance that I could end global warming, I will fool myself into believing that it is true even if it is a lie by saying I am the 1% that can save the world.

Kampa, Shuai and even Aqua gave me a strange look. They didn't know that I was lying about having confidence in surviving this mission, yet looking at me wasn't going to do them any good. It wasn't like I knew either if I was even going to live past tomorrow... But I wouldn't give up, and especially if I'm not alone.

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Shin showed off his new skills only a few more times since he needed to reserve his Ki, and when the others had a grasp of his techniques one of them asked a question.

Kamap: So can Aqua use those same techniques as you Shin?

Shin: I don't think it is possible.

Kampa: Why?

Aqua: Unfortunately, I can't. While Shin exchanged for Ki, I exchanged for Nen/Aura.

Shuai: Is there a difference? I did read the manga, but...

Aqua: Well, they are both life force energies, yet they are from different world of literature and have their own distinction with few similarities. Nen is more specialized then Ki. Learning Ki would make one stronger whoever they are, but Nen brings out an individual's potential to a higher degree then Ki can, but it could turn out to be non combat oriented. Still, if I use 'Gyo', the Nen technique to channel more Aura into one or more places of the body, or 'Ko', cutting off Aura from the rest of the body into a single location, I could do something similar in just pure physical power. A Gyo punch could be extremely lethal for those without special powers, though normally use my claws. As for channeling Aura into the legs/feet, I could run at a speed that could somewhat keep up with Shin's Instant Movement speed.

Shuai, though quite was still impressed. As an exchange student from China who came to Japan, not only should he had the chance to read HxH, China is the home Wuxia. Ki/Qi and martial arts should be his home field ( Was that racist? Didn't mean it to be. Like how all Japanese men know karate, stereotypes are rarely, if ever true ).

Kampa on the other hand looked back and fourth between Aqua and I for some reason. Did... Could he tell that we have slept together? He most have caught on to how Aqua was taking flirtatious glances my way ( HIS IMAGINATION ).

Kampa: Isn't there an easier way for you two to increase your battle potential.

Shin: Like how?

Kampa: Like applying that special power of your, Ki or Nen, and adding it to your guns. Wouldn't that make your guns stronger?

Shin: That... isn't a bad idea! Why didn't I consider this possibility? There is chakra manipulation in Naruto and other mangas that use similar ideas. What do you think Aqua?

Aqua: It is definitely possible. For Nen/Aura that technique is called 'Shu'. You would enfold your Aura around a tool to bring out its natural properties. My Auto 9 was already so powerful, so I never attempted it or felt the need to, but it should definitely be possible for me. As for Ki, it's not the same, yet it is still similar to Aura. You should be able to do it as well.

Then after confirming with each other, Shin and Aqua tried it out. They allowed their Ki and Auras to envelope around normal handgun to start with. They both noticed an increase consumption of energy, yet it was still manageable, more so for Aqua then Shin. They then both aimed for the nearest tree within the jungle and pulled the trigger.

Two different results came out.

Aqua's bullet clearly left her hand gun at an accelerated speed and struck the tree before here. The bullet drilled into the tree and came out the other side. This showed that Aqua's bullet had comparable power to a fired armor pricing round. The Auto 9 of Aqua's already had such a bullet, so if she combined the two the results should be great.

Shin's result on the other hand turned out differently. The moment that Shin pulled the trigger his Ki that had covered the handgun weakened from the recoil and the muzzle of the handgun exploded. Shin bullet never even made it out.

Kampa: Why were the results so different?

Shin: I have no idea. Rank wise, my Advance Ki is stronger then Aqua'a Mid Level Hunter Nen/Aura. I don't understand.

Aqua: It could be affinity. Remember Shin, with Nen, every user has a specialty and are bad at some applications of Nen as well. I am an Enhancer Nen user, so I should be better at strengthening myself and tools, so I get better results then others ( Killua was better then Gon who was a natural Reinforcement type, but that might just be because Killua is more skillful even if they are both the same level of talent, while in turn Gon had far more aura then Killua ). I have also been practicing Nen since it was at Low Level Nen, so I am better at using my powers then you are as well.

Shin: That could be it. It might also be that I am not very talented at this. It was only because I was in a do or die situation that I even learned Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement.

Maybe if I knew more about the structure of guns it would help. In Fate Stay, Shiro Emiya couldn't, "TRACE ON!" if he couldn't understand a swords basic structure and what it was made of, like the Gold Archers sword for example.

Shuai: ...Maybe you were just aiming too high for your first try.

Shin: What do mean?

Shuai: Well, maybe instead of strengthening the whole gun you should just trying adding Ki to the bullets. I don't know about performance, but the cost may even go down.

Shin: Just the bullets... I'll try it out!

Now just enveloping the bullets of his handgun in Ki ( Took out a spare from the Na Ring to replace the busted one ), Shin pulled the trigger of the gun and fired repeatedly at a nearby tree. It wasn't perfect, but the success rate for firing Ki strength bullets was 3/10. Also, the power and speed was just about half of having the whole gun reinforced with Ki, but Shin was still happy witht he result because the Ki cost was far less for just strengthening an entire gun.

Shin thanked Shuai, but he said that he only helped since it would improve his own chances of survival. Either way, Shin was glad to see that Shuai was coming around as a member of the group.

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They were calling it a night after testing Ki reinforced bullets.

Shuai and Kampa went down first and just as Shin was about to follow, Aqua stopped him. Shin was confused and a little excited that Aqua might be calling him for a midnight meet up between lovers, but the talk they had didn't go in that direction.

Aqua: Shin. There was something I've been meaning to ask you.

Shin: What? Did you... Want to ask me to do stuff here and now under the light of the moon to-

Aqua: Fool! Stop messing around, Shin! This is about the mission. Focus!

Shin: Fine... What is it.

Aqua: I'm curious. I was able to defeat the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders fairly easily, but that was me. Even seeing these new skills you have happened onto, I can't see you defeating an entire unit of them alone.

Shin: Hikari was there and she defeated one of them.

Aqua: 5 out of 6, big difference. Maybe you could have defeated the enemy grunts, but it should have been impossible for to take out the Btooom Commander alone. What really happened that day?

Shin thought about it for a second and saw no harm in telling Aqua the truth. He only didn't do so because Shin still had a hard time explaining the state that he was in that allowed him to take out unit 1. Still, Aqua was his comrade who asked for the truth, so he told her what happened. Shin also mentioned that after he woke up earlier today, he and Saki both discussed it and came to the conclusion that he unlocked the Genetic Constraint.

As Shin told all of this to Aqua... she began to stare daggers at him.

Aqua: ...The Genetic Constraint.

Shin: Ye-Yeah, or that is what Saki calls it. I know it sounds made up, but it is true. When I was fighting the enemy something really unlocked within me. In spite of the danger of the situation, I was able to remain calm ( Like The Gamer ) and operate my body on a much higher level. Also, I know that I am not some battle genius, yet combat tactics just kept surfacing in my mind and I was able to execute them flawlessly. Like I was operating on instinct alone.

Aqua: ...I see. Yeah, that is definitely the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint.

Shin: The First Stage... Wait, you already knew about it!?

Aqua: Know about it? Not only do I know about it, I have unlocked it as well.

Shin: You have?

Aqua: Up to its Second Stage.

Shin: Second Stage? What is that? Saki never mentioned stages.

Aquav That is only natural. I don't know how she found out about it, but it would be unlikely that she has any real information about it. Not that I am that much more informed on the subject. I am only going on what little I've heard and my own experience in Unlocked Mode, which is what I call that state we enter.

Shin: Why have you never mentioned it before?

Aqua: Should I have? The Genetic Constraint isn't something that you can learn normally. Only by experiencing unending terror and possessing a will to overcome it and survive at all cost can one normally awaken to it, so even if I told you about it would it have done you or the others any good? In fact, if you were told about the fact that such a concept is real, you or someone else may have done something stupid like risking your life and thinking that you could go into this Unlocked Mode.

Shin: I see you point. Still, I have definitely been in that state before and I may need to tommorrow for the plan. That feeling... After the Unlocked Mode ends is... Terrifying to say the least and I almost died, but it is what also kept me alive till now. My point is that, I don't know how to go into that state again of my free will and I hope you can tell me how.

Aqua: I wouldn't advice you to try going into Unlocked Mode in this current mission anymore. Your One-eyed Ghoul Genectic Mutstion enhancement has a strong healing factor, so maybe you haven't noticed, but your genetics are breaking apart as we speak.

Shin: They are what?

Aqua: It is the price we pay for first unlocking the Genetic Constraint. Saki told you that story about the mother lifting the car to save her child, right? That is a perfect example of what is happening to you. There is poison inside you that is destroying your genetics. A normal human being would have died by now, but we are different.

Shin: In what way?

Aqua: Our stat increases and genetic enhancements. When you've unlocked the First Stage you must have seen the true potential of your mind and body. We are no longer regular humans, so we had a high chance of surviving the unlocking of the First Stage. If not, if this were to occur in our first missions without enhancements and couldn't receive medical attention within minutes, you and I would have died and you still are dying Shin. If you go into that state 1 or 2 more times without having God heal your genetics... You will 100% die.

Shin: I see. One or two times more, huh. Then long as the plan works tomorrow and we face no one other the Ryuta Sakamoto afterwards, I should be fine. Please teach me.

Aqua: ...Impossible.

Shin: Why? I understand and can deal with the backlash, so-

Aqua: It is impossible. It just is. Maybe with training you could one day turn it on and off, but at first it doesn't happen that way. Only in the face of terror, true death would you be able to go into Unlocked Mode. Just give it up for now. Only with training, or unlocking a higher stage will you gain control over it.

It was disappointing that Shin couldn't go into the Unlocked Mode of his own free will, but learning about it first hand from someone who knows what he went through put Shin at ease. Shin was about ready to call it a night and rest for the plan tomorrow, but Aqua stopped Shin once more.

Aqua: Wait.

Shin: What is it this time? Ah, are we really going to-

Aqua: No! There was one last thing I wanted to tell you.

Shin: What?

Really? I know she said thst she didn't want to be my girlfriend, but.. After facing such terrors and death, even I want to be embraced, no, I mean to embrace a women to calm down. I would even concede to just handholding at this point.

Aqua: It's a warning. You are entitled to know this since you have unlocked the Genetic Constraint just as I have. Once three individuals, past or present on this team unlocks their Genetic Constraint, that team will awaken.

Shin: Awaken?

Aqua: Yes. Once there are three or more who can enter the Unlocked Mode... Things will become a whole lot more difficult. Since Team Japan has begun anew after its last wipe, I am the first and you Shin are the second. I don't blame you our anyone else when it happens because it is very likely such individuals will arrive at that point in this world of terror. It also doesn't matter if either of us die long as the team doesn't wipe out. That day will come.

Shin: What will?

Aqua: ...I can't say now, but... I will say this. While there are only two of us who have unlocked the Genetic Constraint... We should become as strong as possible for the future battles ahead.

Shin: ...

Leaving those parting critic words like the man from the Matrix, Aqua left the rooftop and leaving me here with my thoughts. Reinforced Ki bullets, Genetic Constraint and mysterious parting words. With those out of the way the end of Day 6 arrived for me and us all.

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Authors Note:

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