This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

Even back in the old world, I always prided myself on my ability to adapt to any sort of situation. If anyone needed a backup doorstopper to any problem they might have, I usually had some solution that could delay the problem before a real professional showed up. Granted, I rarely told people that I could do such a thing, but I still told myself that I could simply step up and fix the problem if things truly got out of hand.

Then again, they seldom ever did.

So, instead of helping, I simply sat back, watching as someone more qualified than me did the job that they were supposed to do. All the while, I picked up a few things and added them to my arsenal. Said arsenal remained largely untapped, but at least it was there when I needed it.

And now was the perfect time to do so.

"You take point," I ordered, my pistols at the ready as I kept my eyes peeled. "I\'ll be in your rear acting as support."

"Point?"

I blinked before I quickly reworded my sentence. "I mean take the front. You want to punch people, right?"

"Oh, sure."

I almost let out a laugh as we slowly crept our way down from the bridge. While the sounds of fighting seemed to be localized outside, I still couldn\'t discount the possibility of a stray enemy trying to make their way up what was now becoming our central command. Besides, it was just due diligence that we keep ourselves on our toes.

"Still clear, Moriya," Shizu whispered out in front of me.

"Keep moving."

Walking through the halls, the lights made for a decent journey as we made our way down to the deck. There were no windows peeking outside, which meant that we were confined to listening as Shade\'s voice echoed out from the speakers.

[*"Why, one would think that Vestygians would be stronger than this, wouldn\'t you all agree?"*]

"What the hell is he doing?" I voiced out in disapproval. "I mean, I told him to stay on the bridge if he felt he can contribute more that way, but he\'s just provoking them at this point."

"Don\'t mind him," Shizu uncharacteristically sighed. "He\'s a talker, and that\'s what he\'s good at."

"Fair enough."

Huh, I had a feeling that was what his [Manifest] did, seeing as the stunt he just pulled to calm Guidance down had his rose glowing like it was about to transform. I guess he really was meant to man the comms kiosk then.

[*PUFF! PUFF! PUFF!*]

"Get down."

Hissing at Shizu, we both crouched down low as the hiss of steam echoed from outside the nearest door. Seeing as we both have a history of fighting against steam guns, we could only assume that these guys were also equipped with it as some kind of standard weaponry.

"Blasphemous technology," Shizu growled, her anger boiling over again as she hissed. "I can understand us using their technology for weaponry, but there should be limits to avoid completely ruining nature."

"You really hate Vestyge, huh," I chuckled amidst the gunfire happening outside. "I can understand doing so because they attacked your country, but also their technology?"

Shizu frowned at me, something that rarely ever happened, if ever. "Their technology is an affront to what the [Eld] taught us to do. Preserving nature allows us to flourish, and Vestyge\'s reliance on black fuel kills every piece of land or sea they come across."

"I see..."

Huh... I know I\'ve heard of it already, but Kattleyna really is a nature preservation-intensive country. Then again, if their hatred for technology didn\'t stop them from using Vestygian cannons, then it just showed that there were still a few lows that they\'ll go to if it meant putting down their enemies.

[*"Yes! The deck is where all of our defensive power is!"*] Shade called out from one of the nearby speakers. [*"Kill them, and there\'s nothing stopping all of you from commandeering this [Rig]!"*]

"What the hell..." Was he seriously funneling every single one of our enemies to the front deck? "That\'s where Guidance and Maruki are."

"Which means that they\'re getting all the action," Shizu annoyingly hissed. "Moriya, can we move yet?"

I listened in on what was happening outside, the sound of boots strutting against the deck still loud and clear as they marched towards their destination.

"We can, but we move slowly," I advised. "Let\'s make our way to the door and go from there."

"Got it."

Stealthily, we positioned ourselves against the door, the deck of our [Rig] being on the other side as Shizu waited for my signal. Listening in, I waited until there were only a few footsteps left outside before I nodded.

"Finally!~"

[*THUD!*]

I winced as with a shout, Shizu practically kicked the door open and leaped forward, leaving me behind the safety of cover as she blatantly exposed herself for all of the enemies to see.

"Get off our [Rig], heathen scum!"

Dammit... "I guess I have no choice."

Walking outside, I raised my pistols in the air and let out a few shots of my own.

[*BANG! BANG!*]

[HP: 259/275]

I kept my eye on my health as I opened fire, counting around eight of my health per shot as I downed enemy after enemy.

[+10 EXP]

[+10 EXP]

[+10 EXP]

Looking at my prompts, the welcome addition of sweet [EXP] flowing through my veins almost made me laugh. Although, the numbers I was seeing were pretty much useless. Even if I mowed these guys down, there was simply no way that I\'d get a level up from this.

Bummer...

"That was disappointing..."

"Yeah..." I sighed... wait... "Shizu?"

"They didn\'t even put up a fight," the princess frowned, her fists covered with blood as she shook off her hands. "They died in one hit... Where\'s the satisfaction in that?!"

I blinked at what she just said. All of a sudden, my attention went to the puddles of blood that littered the deck around us. Some of them died from my gunshots, but the rest were... well, gone.

...

.....What?

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