第１１８７堀：一回戦その１ (Part1)
Chapter 1187: Round One, Part 1
Round One, Part 1
Side: Hiiro, Team 5
"The countdown will now begin."
As the announcement echoed, the numbers on the display began to tick down rapidly.
That’s right—Hiiro and her team were about to head into the battle royale.
She wasn't paired with Vilia or Dore, but she had Jessica and Stasia by her side today.
Hiiro knew she could fight properly, no matter the time, no matter who she was with.
Most of all, her brother had told her that she was a girl who could do her best.
Hiiro believed in that.
Just as she was steeling herself, a hand rested gently on her head. She turned to find...
"It’s alright. If you just relax, you’ll be able to perform as you always do."
"Yes. Hiiro, you’ll be fine. Stasia and Jessica guarantee it."
"Yeah."
If the two of them said so, Hiiro believed it.
Today, she would show them the results of all her hard work.
As she reaffirmed this in her heart, the ground beneath her feet suddenly began to glow...
"The first round of the battle royale will now begin. Initiating teleportation!"
The moment the announcement finished, Hiiro and her companions were standing by a road that cut through a grassy plain.
"Well then, let’s head toward the houses in front of us. We shouldn't stand around forever."
"Agreed. Let’s go, Hiiro."
"Yeah. Just like we planned."
Following their original strategy, they had appeared safely in the grass just shy of the houses and began moving toward them to start their search.
"Judging by our spawn point, the accuracy seems quite high. Next time, we should aim to appear right in front of the houses."
"Indeed. That would be more efficient. However, I don't sense any presence at all."
"Yeah, no signs of anyone around."
They chatted as they approached a cluster of four houses, but the area was devoid of life. Even Hiiro could tell these homes were abandoned.
"First, we’ll enter one house together. Which one should we choose?"
"There’s no reason to hesitate. Let’s just take the one right in front of us, scavenge the supplies, and move on."
"True. Just like in the games, we need to gather as much as we can, as fast as we can."
With that, they stepped into the two-story house. The doors were sturdy, and the interior felt as though someone had been there quite recently, yet it remained empty.
"Oh, there’s a gun right here," Jessica said, picking up a firearm lying in the center of the room.
"It really is just like a game, isn't it?"
"Is that so? Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to play such games yet."
"They’re difficult until you get used to them, so don't worry about it. Stasia, you just need to get a feel for various games. Alright, surprisingly, the ammunition is already loaded in the magazine."
That was one difference from the games—the ammo came pre-loaded in the magazines.
"It’s a huge help not having to load the bullets ourselves," Hiiro noted.
"Indeed. That’s usually quite a tedious task. We should be grateful. Jessica, would you mind taking that and clearing the next room?"
"Certainly. Leave it to me."
Jessica opened the door with a sharp, practiced motion, entering like a character in a movie.
"It’s clear. You can come in."
With Jessica confirming the area was safe, they entered the next room to find a backpack and a shotgun.
"Are guns really this common? Stasia, this one is for you."
"Yeah. You take it, Stasia."
"Understood. Then..."
Stasia equipped the shotgun. This model required manual loading, and though she looked a bit hesitant at first, she managed to load it without issue.
"I was worried if I could use it, but it seems I can."
"The skill-based adjustments must be kicking in. Otherwise, it would be impossible to use the weapons."
"Exactly. If we couldn't use the guns, the game wouldn't function."
That was true—a shooting game where you couldn't shoot would be incredibly boring.
"Quite right. However, the backpack is surprisingly inconvenient. It carries items, yes, but it takes time to retrieve ammunition or supplies. It would be difficult to rummage through it during a firefight."
"I agree. But for now, let’s take it to carry other necessities. We can keep the ammo in our pockets, right?"
"True. Ah, I should have chosen clothing with more storage space."
"It’s a shame we can't bring our own item bags."
"Haha, if we had those, we could carry an infinite amount of items. That wouldn't be allowed."
"Yes, that would be a violation of the rules. Now, enough idle chatter. Let’s finish searching this house. There are no enemies here, so let’s keep our efficiency up."
"Okay!"
"Right. Hiiro, since you don't have a weapon yet, please wait in this room. We’ll search the rest, so keep a lookout."
"Got it."
Vigilance was important. Hiiro knew this well, so she didn't complain and instead peeked out the window to keep watch. Everything was quiet; she couldn't hear a thing. She imagined everyone else was likely working just as hard to scavenge supplies.
"This place is sturdier than I thought. People could actually live here," Hiiro muttered to herself as she scanned the room.
She had thought so earlier—the construction was solid, and it had a kitchen, a bathroom, and a washroom. While she was lost in thought, the others returned from their search.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Unfortunately, it seems the only firearms in this house were my handgun and Stasia’s shotgun."
"Upstairs, we found a handgun holster, some clothing with extra pockets for ammo, and an energy battery. I assume this is a recovery item for when we’re hit?"
Stasia held out the loot, and Hiiro noticed something.
"Stasia, that’s not a recovery item."
"Eh?"
"That shield mark means it’s an additional shield."
"Ah, now that you mention it, recovery items usually have a red cross. I see, this is a defensive item, then."
"Yeah. If you use it like this..."
Hiiro pressed the battery-like device directly against the system on her wrist—a combination watch and shield energy monitor. With a soft *whir*, a new gauge appeared next to her energy bar.
"See? This increases your health."