Chapter 3: From Simulation to Real Combat
1.
Aim at the center and shoot.
Confirm hit.
Shoot while jumping sideways, aiming at the center.
Confirm hit.
Land and immediately shoot at the center.
Confirm hit.
Once more, shoot while jumping sideways, aiming at the center.
Confirm hit.
Shoot at the center before landing, then shoot again as soon as I land.
Confirm hit. And… another hit confirmation.
Hmm. As expected, if I store pre-loaded weapons in the magic crystal from the start, I can fire without reloading. It takes some getting used to storing and exchanging firearms, but that’s literally just a matter of practice.
The problem is the increased strain on the legs from repeated landings and sideways jumps, but as expected of a beast-type known for flexibility, (for now) I’m fine.
However, I mustn’t forget that this behavior would look quite disturbing to onlookers.
If this were a standard type, sideways jumps or rolls wouldn’t be unusual – though they’d still require considerable skill.
But for a quadruped, it’s a different story. Think about it. Wouldn’t it be scary if a wild animal suddenly jumped sideways without warning? Even more so if its upper body was human.
And on top of that, I’m shooting while jumping sideways. The manual said [you can move immediately after firing], but I’m sure the creators didn’t imagine this method of movement.
So what I’m doing now could be considered behavior that defies the common sense of snipers.
By the way, they say that when a pilot moves their machine, imagination is crucial.
This is because the pilot and the machine aren’t connected by nerves, but through the magic crystal.
Therefore, it’s said that the machine can’t do what the pilot can’t imagine.
So when people trained in martial arts operate a machine, the first thing they’re taught is to [imagine that all the nerves in their body are connected to the machine].
It’s like the weapon is an extension of the body.
The more vivid the image you conjure, the more precisely the machine will trace the pilot’s movements.
For beast-types, the image to imagine is crawling.
Yes, like what babies do.
Apparently, the main training method involves crawling forward, and if you don’t like crawling, you might imagine something like playing horsey, but the final image is still crawling.
But don’t underestimate crawling. It’s an action ingrained in our biological instincts, so it’s said to be easier to trace than martial arts, which require controlling the body with reason rather than instinct.
Considering all these common notions, what about my machine?
I’m not dexterous enough to imagine myself as a quadruped to connect my nerves, and I can’t just connect my upper body and cut off the lower half.
Moreover, the upper body gets in the way when trying to crawl, which is necessary to move the lower body.
Therefore, actions like jumping sideways with the lower body while sniping with the upper body are normally impossible for a sane person.
So why can I, without any particular talent, perform such actions?
It’s all thanks to the knowledge from my previous life that remains within me.
Although the knowledge was faint and I’ve forgotten most of it now, there are still things I remember. That’s the knowledge of robot stories.
Well, you know. It’s impossible to forget about robot stories when you’ve been reincarnated into a world where actual monsters exist and robots are used to exterminate them.
That said, I don’t understand the detailed technology or maintenance methods, so my knowledge is just a vague impression.
What proved useful this time was my knowledge of that perverted robot action game made by perverts for perverts, which I had been waiting for a new installment of for years, but never saw beyond the fifth one before I died – Armored ✱ore.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
So, in this world, since that particular particle hasn’t been discovered (or thanks to that), there’s no hover technology, but instead, we have lower bodies equipped with sufficient springs. I judged there wouldn’t be any problems and decided to operate the machine in a similar way to that game.
TLNOTE : https://www.giantbomb.com/kojima-particles/3055-4830/
In other words, instead of controlling it with my nerves, it’s more like operating it with a controller (and yes, I’m holding it that way).
TLNOTE: https://www.gamesradar.com/the-legend-of-the-armored-core-controller-grip-just-wont-die/
The result is as you see. It seems the memory engraved in my soul (body) hadn’t disappeared, even if my head had forgotten.
It took some time to fully remember, and there are many differences from the game, so of course there are some minor issues, but no major problems.
I think I could even take on the later missions now (I’m not saying I could clear them).
However, it’s a bit tricky when approached up close. I think I could fight reasonably well, but in close combat where millimeter-level precision is required, I’ll have to consider the possibility of falling behind.
Then again, the development concept of this machine is long-range sniping with high-powered cannons, so close combat ability wasn’t expected from the start.
Why, you ask? Isn’t it uncouth to expect close combat power from a prototype Gun✱ank? That’s how it is.
Of course, it’s a real issue, so it’s not like we don’t need to think about countermeasures.
— Mission End —
“Huh? Is it over already?”
As I was sniping while thinking about various things, the word ‘End’ appeared on the monitor. It seems the prepared curriculum has finished.
The results are eight large-types and six medium-types. Twenty-two small-types caught in the blast of the incendiary rounds.
Since this is just within the simulator, it’s unclear how much this performance will contribute to my evaluation, but it’s not a bad result… in fact, I should have achieved quite a good score.
The basis for this is that I was able to take down large-types single-handedly.
It’s a bit late to mention, but monsters are creatures created by demons and evil spirits.
Of course, the raw materials are humans and wild animals living in areas controlled by demons.
The details of how they’re made are unknown, but it seems to involve implanting magic crystals or demonic factors.
Monsters created this way are classified into four types based on their size.
First, the small type, three meters or less. These are mostly imp-type or animal-type, and they’re the most numerous.
Next, the medium type, three to ten meters.
For humanoid types, these would be things like minotaurs or ox-headed demons, and for beast types, they’re mutated versions of large animals like bears or tigers. The corpses that form the basis of our machines are mainly from these.
Then there’s the large type, ten to thirty meters.
These are called fantasy types, including yokai-like creatures such as ox demons, as well as giant insects and animals.
From this size up, we also start seeing extremely enhanced giants and dragons that spit out mysterious beams.
Finally, there’s the extra-large type, thirty meters and above.
Whether it’s 100 meters or 500 meters, they’re all classified as extra-large types. A few have been confirmed in Europe. Not only are mythical creatures like Fenrir or Jörmungandr recreated, but there are also individuals that serve as carriers for large and medium-type monsters.
And when monsters reach medium size or larger, they start deploying what’s called a magic barrier.
This field has the power to greatly reduce the effectiveness of attacks that don’t contain an equivalent force, namely magic power, so it’s very troublesome to defeat medium-sized or larger monsters with conventional weapons that can’t impart magic power to their attacks (it’s not impossible, but it requires considerable effort).
In a word, it’s like a degraded version of an AT *ield.
Because of this barrier, we need machines capable of magic-imbued attacks through magic crystals.
Also, the larger they get, the more demonic factors they contain, so the strength of the magic barrier increases, and their attack methods expand beyond just physical attacks to include magic-like attacks – that is, long-range attacks with mysterious beams.
Due to these circumstances, while small and medium types are manageable, to defeat large monsters, multiple machines or specially adjusted defense weapons (machines with a huge cannon as the main body, with no mobility or defense, specialized only in attack power, capable of destroying even large types, but prone to prioritized counterattacks, resulting in a very high attrition rate) are considered necessary.
Well, that’s about it for monsters and machines.
In other words,
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