Multiple updates today.
Here is the second chapter.
The “Gun That Can Fire Infinitely” would normally be considered a cheat ability.
Especially on an island like this, devoid of other people.
Naturally, it gives you the upper hand in fights against other humans. And if you trained hard enough to make the most of the infinite ammo, you could hold the advantage even in battles against beasts.
But among the transported ones, there were others who had acquired magic or special abilities as well.
“Hah…? Wh-what is…!?”
It seemed the shooter had spotted Mashirot in his line of sight, and he was struck with sheer shock.
With a face twisted in panic, he aimed the gun barrel at Mashirot.
Perhaps he had mistaken them for one of those demonic beasts released onto the desert island… “Fukami…!” “Wha—! ‘Water Wall’!”
The gun fired in rapid succession, but Fukami, thanks to his training, deployed thick walls of water multiple times over in a split second.
The bullets failed to penetrate the barriers.
“What the hell…!?”
While the male student was frozen with wide eyes, I moved behind him.
“Hey.”
”…!?”
As if he’d been called out to by a ghost, the boy flinched and hastily tried to turn around to face me.
Syncing with that movement, I swung my spear like a stick.
“Guh…!”
It connected perfectly with the barrel, knocking the gun from his grip.
The dislodged pistol tumbled through the air and clattered onto the ground.
Worst case scenario, intentionally wounding him might cost me 100 points, but I couldn’t just leave things as they were.
I targeted the split second where he was checking the direction of his blown-away gun and dropped Stone Cage.
“What the h—”
Successfully encased him in Stone Cage.
It felt like I could hear muffled sounds, but the details were unclear, and I had no need to know them anyway.
I quickly picked up the deflected pistol and activated Itemize.
The odds had been fifty-fifty, but it was safely stored in my Inventory.
What he wanted wasn’t the “ability to generate and control a gun,” but rather “the gun itself.”
Features like ignoring ammo limits must have functioned as ancillary attributes of that specific firearm.
In other words, if I took the gun, he was just as powerless as anyone else.
I wouldn’t have resorted to such a confiscatory stunt if it were just for hunting, but this guy’s methods were far too dangerous.
“Well then—”
Since I’d already neutralized the hazards threatening our stay on the island, I hurried to rejoin my companions.
The sounds of striking and kicking against a stone wall echoed from behind as I chased after Mashiro.
—That’s weird.
Between those who fled from Mashiro and those I had incapacitated, they didn’t even make up half the class.
More than that, the number of girls was unusually low.
——The daily vote remained at twenty-one every day, a majority in their favor. That means there shouldn’t have been any deaths.
Are they just failing to catch up with the light sphere, or observing from a distance? Or are they simply not intending to control this event in the first place?
Whatever the reason, if they’re not interfering, I’ll leave them be.
On our end too, there’s no desire to trap my classmates.
“Sougo! It’s bad! They’ve started flying!”
Before Mashiro could catch up, some of the students had apparently thrown stones at the light sphere, which seemed to have reacted by moving to a high vantage point out of range of their projectiles.
“Can Mashiro reach that height…!?”
“Sorry, but I ‘can’t’!”
I quickly scanned the surroundings.
The stone-throwers were also scattering after seeing Mashiro.
Currently, there’s no one else around us here. Then— “Sumiko! It’s a new companion!”
“Yosh…! Come forth—Mr. Fluffy!”
The next summon beast she had been racking her brains over.
A product of imagery lacking a definite original text.
What appeared was—a black-furred, fluffy Eastern dragon.
“Mikuron…! I’m counting on you!”
Obeying his master’s command, the black dragon Mikuron came to my side.
I leaped onto Mikuron’s back.
“Take me to that light orb over there!”
The dragon soared through the sky with ease, as if a fish were swimming in the sea.
—Just a little more, just a little more until we’re within deployment range…!
“Now’s the time…”
Did that shout reach the ground?
There was something we had decided in advance.
This operation is built on three premises.
The light orb is—
・It has a field of vision and moves to evade the trackers.
・The light orb is always in a position visible to at least one participant.
・It does not reach altitudes that no participant can attain by any means, nor does it dive underwater.
――In short, it intends to be captured.
The light orb is an object that observes and calculates; it adheres to the rule that it must always be seen by someone, and we assume it selects its escape route with full knowledge of every player’s abilities.
And now, the light orb’s movement has jerked to a halt, as if in utter bewilderment.
I have already briefed my companions that this is a possible development in the situation.
And simultaneously with the signal――we had shared an instruction to close our eyes.
The light orb wants to escape from me.
But if it slips out of my line of sight, it must enter someone else’s.
Yet, the students who fled in fear of Mashirol are far away, the students trapped in the “Stone Cage” cannot see the orb, and my companions have their eyes closed.
It might still be able to escape by leveraging the speed of light.
However…
――Just who could possibly catch a light orb that moves like that?
If this were an event where actually catching it was intended, they wouldn’t have set things up this way.
As a result, the light orb stopped for a brief instant, as if calculating its destination.
It then entered the range where I could place units, courtesy of the Black Dragon Mikron.
The deployed Giant Net Woven of Vines enveloped the orb of light.
“Good…”
In an instant, the field of vision burst into blinding white.
◆
I was sent flying into a space of pure white.
It was a space containing only a mysterious blackboard, desks, and chairs.
The only difference from usual was that I was the only one here.
[Due to the appearance of the Light Orb acquirer, this event will now end.]
[The acquirer of the Light Orb is granted the ‘Right of Return’ and bonus points.]
The details of the points were not disclosed, but if there was any surplus after subtracting penalty points from the added points, I believe one could obtain perks upon returning using those points.
Well, it’s nothing to lose out on either way.
“You wish to exercise your ‘Right of Return’?”
“Ah… I see what you mean.”
Calling out only the one who acquired the light orb was a deliberate choice. By granting me alone a solitary moment free from the need to consider my comrades, I could be pressed to reveal my true intentions.
No matter what kind of entity that mysterious blackboard is, even if it can read our lives and our minds, it will not produce a reaction unless we stimulate it first.
Take, for example, asking a good-natured person, “What would you do if you won the big lottery?”
Before winning, they might answer, “Repaying my parents for their kindness, traveling with friends, and donating to helpful organizations.”
That is a wonderful answer. That person may have meant every word from the bottom of their heart.
But what if—actually—if you won the jackpot?
Could you truly embody your ideal self, exactly as you imagined when you had nothing to lose?
Perhaps such people exist, but humans are creatures easily swallowed by their desires.
In reality, there are countless stories of lottery winners who squandered their fortunes and ruined themselves.
The allure of great wealth has the power to warp a person’s mind.
The “Right of Return” is no different.
That mysterious blackboard is likely testing me to see if my judgment will waver.
“Not right now. I’m only going to use it once everyone on the team has accumulated their full share of rights.”
I gave him that answer immediately, thinking to myself: Damn, I must have asked all the wrong people.
To begin with, I actually quite like my current lifestyle.
It’s only natural that someone in a desperate situation would give a different answer.
“Regarding your intent to defer the use of your ‘Return Right,’ confirmation received. Unlocking the ‘Bonus Area’ for participant ‘Kuno Sōsuke.’ Note: Party members are permitted to accompany you into the ‘Bonus Area.’” “Huh?
Wait, what the hell is that?”
“Ending event.”
This guy really does only say what he wants to hear… even more than usual!
And once again, my vision was washed out in white—
◇
“Sō-kun.” “Sōsuke!” “Sōsuke-kun…?” “Sōsuke-san…”
The voices of my companions snapped me back to reality.
Before I knew it, I had been teleported back to the base camp area under the cliff.
All four of my teammates were there, along with Mashiro and Mikuron.
But every single one of them wore a face etched with anxiety.
“What’s going on?”
“Sō-kun was just spacing out.”
“We were worried something must have happened to you…!”
Shuko’s eyes were welling up with tears.
――Did that mysterious blackboard shift the timing of my regaining consciousness just a bit?
“Are you okay? Does anywhere hurt?”
Shion stroked my back in a soothing manner.
“Ahh, I’m fine. More than that… while everyone was there, I was the only one called into a white void.”
”…Were you asked whether to exercise your ‘Right to Return’?”
The sharp-witted Fukami seemed to have caught on quickly.
She probably thought it was the kind of thing that mysterious blackboard, which seemed eager to observe us, would do.
“Soun-kun wouldn’t abandon us and run away.”
“Yeah…! Don’t underestimate Sousei-sensei.”
“Mm. I didn’t doubt that for a single moment.” / “I believed in you too.”
The words of my companions, woven with certainty, made me feel happy.
“Thank you, everyone. Let’s keep going until we can bring back the rights for all of us, along with our memories and abilities.”
Everyone nodded in return.
Looking up at the sky, it was still early morning.
I suddenly remembered something.
“Hey… you might be tired from the event, but—want to go get some wheat?”
At my words, everyone’s eyes lit up.
“Let’s do it. And let’s hold a bread festival.”
“Hehe, sounds good.”
“I want to eat pancakes…” “W-well, I’m thinking udon, maybe?” “Good idea. Let’s just eat everything.”
I smiled too and immediately split the group between Mashiro and Mikron.
Our life on this desert island was still far from over.
Anyway, I’ve managed to write up to the first part I wanted to get down.
One of my motivations for creating is the desire “to write something that many people will read,” and
This work is my first submission on Nocturne, yet it has been read by so many people.
Thank you very much indeed.
If there are any readers who haven’t yet bookmarked or rated the story,
If you can support us at this timing, it will serve as a great motivation for Part 2.
Thank you very much in advance.
Also, if you could give any of our reviews a push or feature them, that would be incredibly encouraging.
Even if we do make a Part 2, I probably can’t maintain this same pace, but
I’ve been thinking about plot developments with the existing heroines and introducing new ones.
It would mean a lot if you could continue to support us.