Hold on, Boss. Before we access the Unit Gacha, let’s talk about your newly acquired Impurity. Unlike weapons, allies or resources, you do not ‘own’ the Impurity. Instead, you are instead assigned a mission to suppress it. This mission will occur within a specific timeframe and cannot be avoided!

New Mission Acquired:

Generated from the Impurity Gacha. Suppress IO-OBJ-??? to clear the mission. It will take place within 24 hours.

Rewards: Pending following performance evaluation.

That’s tomorrow! My IEHAR initiation is then. Change it, now!

Unfortunately, I cannot. Sorry, Boss!

Can you at least tell me when it is? An exact time or location would be nice!

Again, I sincerely apologize. I do not know the details of this mission, not even the Risk Class of the new Impurity. However, within twenty-four hours, events in your life will transpire to allow you to enter the Impurity’s zone. Then, the mission shall be afoot!

The urge to grab ALICE by the neck and throttle her into the dirt was rising with every passing second. Despite all the talk about being my assistant and calling me Boss, it was clear who was truly in charge here. It wasn’t even the type of degenerate, scornful arrogance displayed by megacorporation board members and slimy politicians. ALICE genuinely thought she was doing the right thing and that made it rankle the hardest.

Ah, but Impurities are the biggest threat to humanity in this world. Suppressing them is a net positive for everyone, no? What right do you have to complain? A nasty little voice said in the back of mind.

The right to not get my life placed in increasing amounts of danger. I growled back, shutting the little voice up.

You seem upset, Boss. Are you alright? ALICE said.

“No, I am not. I did not want to fight another Impurity so quickly after the last disaster. Is this fun for you, ALICE? Springing this shit onto me without my consent?”

I thought you signed the waiver.

“One, I had no choice. Two, just because I expect to get fucked over in my job doesn’t mean I enjoy it. I asked you a question. Answer it!”

ALICE raised a gloved finger to her lips. Her head tilted to the side. The action was too mechanical, the curve too controlled to be natural. Yes, there is job satisfaction! I was created to fulfil my task, and I am in the midst of doing so, therefore I am content. Do you not feel happy, Boss? Do you not wish to save humanity? It is estimated that dozens of lives are tormented, traumatized or terminated due to Impurities.

I glared her in the eyes. “I don’t give a dust mite’s pissfart about the whole of humanity.” I declared. “I came back to help my family.”

ALICE frowned. The levity in her disposition vanished. That is disappointing to hear. Did the stories you read not tug at your heartstrings? The victim of IO-HMN-016, the imperialistic horrors of Azuralis, the tragedy of the Seven Days and the moment when IEHAR was forced to appear on the world stage…did none of it matter, Boss?

“Don’t take this personally, ALICE.” I snapped. “But I grew up seeing all kinds of shitty people, including my own damn self in the mirror. When your whole life is revolving door of experiencing and seeing murder, theft, drugs and sin, it’s hard to care much about the collective whole. Even if it wasn’t that, there’s still the numbers game. Billions of humans I’ve never met? I rather stick to the few that I know.”

I see. You don’t care because you don’t know. Then, if you knew, you would care. Is that correct, Boss?

I chuckled. Bitter like cleaning fluid. “You saw me, right? I didn’t help any of those shoppers in the mall. I just cared about my sister and myself.”

Yet, you still held off the Spawn and let the other pedestrians escape with your sister.

“You’re not understanding. I only did it for Emily.”

It is not insignificant. Nevertheless, it seems we are an impasse. I believe that once you enter IEHAR and deal with more Impurities, you will come to understand the relentless drive that fueled the organisation for so long. ALICE said, smiling and placing a hand on her chest. I also have full faith that the tools provided by INTERFACE-OS, coupled with your innate skills, will be enough to suppress the new Impurity.

“Whatever.” I scoffed. “Let’s get out of here.”

As you wish, Boss.

The dark plane vanished. I opened my eyes and found myself back into the coffin capsule. My body shivered, as if it had been submerged in icy water. I sat up, took a sip of juice the IEHAR operators had given alongside the afternoon meal, and performed some deep breaths to settle my heart down.

Right, the next Impurity was a snow-white tree within a forest beneath a dome. How many domed gardens existed in Bearbrass? Time for some more research.

Time for the Unit Gacha!

Or not.

>>UNIT GACHA.

No man is an island, Boss. Neither does anyone expect a man to conquer Impurities by himself! That is why you need Allies, which can be rolled from the Unit Gacha. Each Ally Unit is an individual with their own skillset, stats, preferences and talents! Collecting, commanding and upgrading your Ally Units will be key to ensuring victory.

Ally Units are also graded by rarity, similar to Items. The higher the rarity, the better the Ally Unit. So go out there and collect lots of Alexandrite to roll the Unit Gacha! Also, disclaimer, since you chose Very Hard Mode, you will need to encounter your Ally Units in the field, rather than summoning them directly. Sorry about that.

What, I’ll just run onto them during missions?

Missions, downtime, side events and other such fateful meetings in life. Be careful though. Ally Units can die and since there is no method of reviving the dead outside of horrid impure rituals…well….

Point taken. Just show me the damn thing.

Another splash screen appeared before my eyes. NEWBIE ALLY UNIT GACHA, the title read in big blocky letters, A WIDE VARIETY OF TALENTED OPERATORS, MERCENARIES AND/OR KINETICS AVAILABLE TO RECRUIT! GUARANTEED SSR WITH THE FIRST 10x ROLL!

The main image was a scene straight out of those vintage detective flicks. An arrangement of scoundrels lined up inside a police interrogation room, measurement bars painted on the walls behind them. Some were smiling, others were scowling, their gazes holding steady defiance towards the camera. Each rogue held a card displaying their name and occupation. Like the other splash screens, information was transmitted the instant I looked over an individual object.

Kyoko ‘Teric’ Misawa (SSR): Tired running across irrational and emotion-heavy fools during recruitment campaigns? Do you desire an individual who can break through a fortress, earn a payday and then keep herself out of trouble? Look no further than this accomplished black-hat hacker and nanobot rigger! Teric favors intelligence, sensibility and rationality over flared tempers, making her prime material for serious infiltration missions. She also comes packing with knowledge of multiple sciences, such as biology and psychology. Daniel ‘Boomburst’ Rogers (SSR): The world is full of squishy, destructible objects. It’s a mystery how they’re all still standing. Enter Boomburst, the rogue arsonist and explosive expert from the Northern hemisphere. As well as blowing up several corporation bases and murdering hundreds, he was integral for the suppression of a Red-threat Impurity a few years back. IEHAR offered him amnesty, but he bounced before the deal could be finalized. Perhaps he will find more success with you? The man has a chemistry degree and is talented in arming, creating and disarming explosives, but don’t let his energy consume you? Catherine ‘Acidbeam’ Aigall (SSR): A falling star crushed a farm homestead, spreading anomalous effects and delivering refugees from a far away stardom. The homestead quickly transformed into a cult for an RLG Impurity, with a young Catherine acting as a priestess. However, tragedy struck when the cult fell prey to the [void], forcing Catherine on the run with nothing but her clothes and her kinetic light-styled abilities. At least it taught her what life on the outside was really like! She’s hesitant to work with IEHAR, but like you, she might not have much choice. Heretic 774 (SSR): WANTED DEAD OR INCAPACITATED: A heretic responsible for the spread of false medical practises is lurking with the vicinity of [DATA REDACTED]. He was responsible for the collapse of the village [DATA REDACTED] on the edges of our fair nation. He can be identified by a shaved head, a standard prisoner’s jumpsuit and the tattoo of a ‘774’ imprinted on his cheek. For the sake of Her Divine Highness’s glory, this heretic must be captured posthaste! Ten thousand gold coins for anyone who turns him in!

ALICE, what the fuck is this?

More issues, Boss?

I stared once more at the lineup. The clothes had been changed and a few years hadn’t hit the men and women on display, but I couldn’t deny it. These were all fellow mercenaries from my previous life! Teric’s spidery hair flowed long and she’d augmented her right arm, but it was unmistakably the master hacker from Osaka. Boomburst lacked his prison tattoos, having exchanged them for burn scans. Acidbeam wasn’t a sniper but a kinetic who shot light beams from her fingers. As for the Heretic…I recalled a field doctor, an exile from the prestigious academia up north, with the same nose and square jaw.

It sounded like they weren’t from my era. Just alternate versions. What was I supposed to say when I met them? Hey, I know this sounds crazy, but I know you like dark choccy from an alternate timeline when we stuffed ourselves into a closet to avoid corporate security. Wanna help me suppress this Impurity?

Ah, screw it. ALICE, roll the gacha.

Right on! Would you like to spend 3000 Alexandrite or use the 10 Unit Gacha tickets you obtained from earlier?

The latter. Fuck me, that was even more expensive than the item gacha.

Rolling the Unit Gacha…

Rolling the Unit Gacha…

Rolling the Unit Gacha…

Acquired new Disposable Unit x3!

Acquired new SR: Cosmos x1!

A man in overalls with a wide grin and a shotgun appeared. Yep, that was Cosmos alright. People expected him to be a sciency type from his moniker, but the truth was he just liked astrology. Great in urban gunfights, though.

Acquired 2x Dossier Fragments!

Acquired new SSR: Teric! Congratulations!

At this point, a short clip played of Teric tapping away on a computer and summoning a swarm of nanobots onto an unsuspecting security guard. As the poor sucker writhed and moaned on the ground, Teric switched gears and hacked into a security feed, shutting off the camera. All in five seconds, with absolutely no emotion on those pale cheeks.

“That was hardly a challenge. What’s next?” Her voice floated through my ears.

Acquired 2x Dossier Fragments!

Acquired new SSR: Heretic 774! Congratulations!

A man in handcuffs and a shaved head ran through a forest that ended at a cliff’s edge. Behind him gunshots fired and dogs barked. Without hesitating, he leapt off the cliff and into the river below. He descended through the cold water, the ghosts of syringes, first-aid kits and pills surrounding him. Behind him, a grand medieval castle was erected, and dawn broke from behind the stone spires.

“Her Divine Highness is a farce! She’s worse than a puppet. My medical arts will not be restrained!”

Ally Units Cosmos, Teric and Heretic 774 will be available for pickup in the next 24 hours! Don’t miss out, otherwise they might be permanently lost!

So they’ll appear on the new Impurity mission?

Maybe! It’s quite surprising that the two happen to coincide, isn’t it?

Right...so what are Disposable Units and Dossier Fragments?

Disposable Units are...well, you will need to progress to the next stage of Impurity Research. We shall discuss it then. Dossier Fragments can be collected and exchanged for a random Ally Units. The more exchanged, the higher the rarity.

After that, I rolled the item gacha. With the supplies from the Impurity Gacha, I had enough to roll twice with still some to spare. I was about to learn a very painful truth about gacha.

Acquired Bottle of Toothpaste (N)!

Acquired Spare Drone Parts (R)!

Acquired Official IST-Aleph-13 Figurine ™ (R)!

Acquired Silver Ingot (R)!

Acquired Neurotoxin Capsule (SR)!

Acquired Gas Mask (R)!

Acquired Bloody Tomahawk (SR)!

Acquired Starry Chunk (R)!

Acquired Pizza Box (R)!

Acquired Charity Store Coupon (N)!

The items have been sent to the MAILBOX. They will expire in 7 days!

What the hell? Where’s my SSR Item?

It never said you were guaranteed an SSR. Only an SR.

Then why did I get an SSR from my last ten-roll?

Oh, didn't you read the fine print? The first item gacha roll guarantees a SSR to give new users a starting push.

I was stuck in a burning building with an Impurity, you fucking ass!

Language! It is what it is, Boss. So, do you want to roll again?

…

Acquired Barbed Wire Coil (R)!

Acquired Light Fixture (R)!

Acquired Frying Pan (N)!

Acquired Accursed Paper Doll (SR)!

Acquired Crest Token (R)!

Acquired Obsidian Fragment (R)!

Acquired Moon-Scented Cloak (SR)!

Acquired 100PB Storage Device (R)!

Acquired Adrenaline Injection (SR)!

Acquired Field Ration Kit (R)!

The items have been sent to the MAILBOX. They will expire in 7 days!

There was no bolt-gun. Only the image, taunting me of possibilities of what could be. Lucky no IEHAR Operators were walking nearby, because otherwise they might’ve tried to arrest me…again.

Sorry, what am I meant to do with a Frying Pan? Smack the tree to death?

How about cooking delicious meals for your new Ally Units?

Shut up. Just shut up. I’m going to research shit now. Don’t bother me until tomorrow morning.

Very well, Boss!