Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 21, Apocalypse Alice Intermission

Shin: All things are going well for this round of exchanges. Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and Aqua have all powered up and brought our team to the next level. Now, all that's left is the newbies. They should be finished at this time and I need to see if they really considered the team's current needs.

Saying so to himself, Shin began to make his way to the two New Players, the sniper/child soldier Connor, and Pro Gaming champion Jin. Shin was concerned about the two of them for a number of reasons as they were two very promising Players to Team Japan with a lot of potential as seen in their performance in the last mission Apocalypse Alice.

New Player Connor held military experience similar to Aqua and Kampa, but what he brought to the table was more than just that. Connor, like Aqua, Shin, and Misaki, had unlocked his Genetic Constraint and was at its First Stage. That was why Connor is able to already fight at a high level without enhancements of any kind. Additionally, according to Connor himself, his strongest skill set wasn't fighting with gun's on the ground like Kampa (which already at a badass level), but from a distance with a sniper rifle.

Shin: The highest priority for Team Japan before our first Team Battle is to fill up our vacant positions, and Connor's long-range shooting helps to fill up those gaps. Shuai is turning out to be more of a possible trap man than a long range combatant, so a powerful sniper like Connor will boost the team's fighting potential and give us more options. Well, Connor is extremely antisocial, so it's possible he won't choose something for the sake of the team. As for Jin...

Shin than to recall the most troublesome Player and Newbie Jin. During the Apocalypse Alice mission Jin didn't show remarkable strength in battle like Connor and at first Shin himself thought that he was normal, but Shin and the others later on learned that was furthest away from the truth. Jin showed that he was a capable strategist that could even rival the former Player Saki.

In the Labyrinth, Jin was the one who lead Connor to deal with the monsters without the assistance of Team Japan or Hero Team. Jin was also the one who thought up the fastest and surefire method of clearing the Labyrinth in the short amount of time that they had. Furthermore, Jin showed everyone that he had the ability to see through the human heart, something that Saki lacked. He saw through Derrick's betrayal and lead the others to back Shin up as he was about to be killed (Could use better timing, but I can't fault him on that), yet... Shin didn't think that was necessarily a good or bad thing and so he could only trust Jin's amazing intelligence and not the man himself.

Shin: (Originally I wanted Jin to just fill up the mid-range position and support Kampa, but as it turns out he can also be our team’s new mastermind strategist, the one who can think up plans and see through enemy strategies. Jin was also the best Player in a lot of online MMORPGs, so he's more qualified to lead a group than I... but he can't become our team's leader in my place. Ignoring my own subpar abilities as team leader, Jin isn't suited for the job for no other reason than his own madness. He enjoys this world just as much as me and isn't too fearful and doesn’t want out like the others, but he is unable to think about his teammates as real friends and comrades to protect with his life. I don't believe he'll abandon everyone in an emergency since he needs us to survive, but that's as far as it goes. He's no coward, but no hero. He lacks both the strength and heart to bring a team together under him since he makes no effort to hide his true self or change for the better. For those same reasons I am more qualified then Jin to be leader... really, they are both first rate newbies, yet they are both so troublesome.)

Shin chose to put aside his worries for both Connor and Jin, and decided to just see for himself what exchanges the two of them made.

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Jin: Yo, Shin! Have you come to check on your newest members?

Connor: ...

Shin: Yeah. I was interested in what the two of you exchanged for. Also, the next battle is likely to be a Team Battle, and our first as well, so I need to have an understanding of our strengths.

Jin: I see... then is everyone else done as well?

Shin: Yeah they are. Why?

Jij: Actually, the two of us had yet to make any exchanges.

Shin: You haven't? I didn't expect that. There might be too many exchanges to get through in one sitting, but most Players choose what to get by now.

Shin was surprise that both Connor and Jin had yet to exchange anything. He can imagine that since Jin is like himself, so he couldn't decide right away with so many interesting enhancements and thought about it deeply, but Connor seems the type to get the troublesome things out of the way early.

Shin: So what's wrong? Why haven't you exchanged anything yet?

Connor: I would if I could, but there was that message.

Shin: Message?

Jin: Yes. Actually we were just about to call for you and the others to talk about this, but since you came to us we'll just tell you now.

Shin: What is it?

Jin: Well, the thing is that when the two of us connected to God for the first time after the initial repairs and attempted contact God about our exchanges, God gave us a message. Also, both Connor and my own message are very similar, yet are not exactly the same. We were both confused about the matter, so we held off on our own exchanges ‘til the rest of you were done before bringing this up.

Shin: Okay, but what is this message that has the both of you so concerned about?

Shin asked this of both Connor and Jin, and so the two of them shared the message they received from God to Shin. Quickly reading through both messages from God Shin was more confused than amazed from what was stated as he had never seen such a message before.

- SPECIAL BLOODLINE CONFIRMED!

PLAYER CONNOR XXXXX HAS BEEN FOUND TO HAVE THE GENETIC CODE OF THE DEMONIC GENETIC MUTATION WITHIN HIS DNA DUE TO HAVING AN ANCESTOR WHO ONCE HELD A HIGH LEVEL ENHANCEMENT OF THAT CATEGORY. COMPATIBILITY TEST... AT ACCEPTABLE LEVELS! PLAYER CONNOR XXXXX MAY MAKE EXCHANGES FOR THE DEMONIC SERIES EXCHANGE [WHOLE BODY, GENETIC MUTATION, AND SKILL], WHILE IGNORING POINT REQUIREMENTS FOR B RANK AND BELOW TIER. ADDITIONALLY, ANY ONE ENTRY DEMONIC RACE MUTATION IS FREE. ALL EXCHANGESS USING THIS BONUS ARE SPELLBOUND TO THE PLAYER AND CAN'T BE SHARED WITH OTHERS.

- SPECIAL BLOODLINE CONFIRMED!

PLAYER JIN XXXXXXXXX HAS BEEN FOUND TO HAVE THE GENETIC CODE OF THE MAGIC RACE GENETIC MUTATION WITHIN HIS DNA DUE TO HAVING AN ANCESTOR WHO ONCE HELD A HIGH LEVEL ENHANCEMENT OF THIS CATEGORY. COMPATIBILITY TEST... AT ACCEPTABLE LEVELS! PLAYER JIN XXXXXXXX MAY MAKE EXCHANGES FOR THE MAGIC SERIES EXCHANGES [WHOLE BODY, GENETIC MUTATION, AND SKILL], WHILE IGNORING POINT REQUIREMENTS FOR B RANK AND BELOW TIER. ADDITIONALLY, ANY ONE ENTRY MAGIC RACE MUTATION IS FREE. ALL EXCHANGESS USING THIS BONUS ARE SPELLBOUND TO THE PLAYER AND SO CAN'T BE SHARED WITH OTHERS.

Shin: Th-this is...

Connor: So you haven't seen this before then?

Shin: No. I've never seen such a message before.

Jin: The two of us have no idea about being descendants of former Players and are doubtful, especially for someone lowly like me to belong to some lineage of powerful Players. What is more important than that are the bonuses the two of us received. According to the message from God it says that the two of us can gain similar low level enhancements of these ancestors for no point cost long as they are B rank and below that belong to our respective categories. I also gain the right to any entry magic race genetic mutation for free, and for Connor it is for the Demon race.

Shin: ...

Jin: It's amazing, Shin! The two of us still need to acquire the difficult to require rank rewards, yet we don't need to worry about points till the later stages of our enhancement paths! Connor and I can choose to now save those points up for that time, or use them to increase our stats without worrying about cost effectiveness. And there was another method for using points I just thought-

Shin: Can you give me a minute, Jin? I need to process this.

Jin: Ah, okay.

Shin never expected for a Player of his team to turn out to be related to former Player, especially not both Jin and Connor... and for the two of them to gain such a powerful bonus as New Players was truly beyond him and left him speechless. This information gave him both something to really look forward to and many, many more worries at the same time.

Starting with the good points: this bonus given to Jin and Connor was a godsend for them, and for the team as a whole. For starters the two of them gained the right to exchange for the powerful entry rank genetic mutations from the Support Category for free, ignoring the points and rewards normally required.

Entry genetic mutations that begin at D rank like Aqua's Werewolf Mutation and Shin's own One-eye Ghoul Mutation didn't start off too powerful to the one's that start off at B rank, yet those that start off at D rank possess a high degree of growth as they rank up. An enhancement that starts at B rank will be weaker to an enhancement that started at D rank and reached B rank by ranking up, so instead it’s a powerful enhancement that will later become less effective than one that started at the beginning.

For Jin and Connor starting off at a D rank genetic mutation is much more valuable when looking at the long run. Shin didn't know if Demonic or Magical race would fit either Jin or Connor, yet in the end it would only make them stronger.

The other benefit, yet much more valuable gain than receiving a free low ranking support enhancement is that Connor and Jin will be able to gain in the future exchanges without worrying about the Point requirements, and only the rank rewards. From Shin's experience in High School of the Dead, BTOOOM, and recently Apocalypse Alice he saw that it was easier for Players to acquire lots of Points than lots of rank rewards. That being the case, just being allowed to ignore the Point requirements for Sci-fi Weapons, Magic Tools, and Support Items is still a great advantage if Players just have to work hard to gain only rank rewards.

Shin: (It isn't an absolute advantage for a Player to have over another Player since along with rank rewards it's normal to gain plenty of Points as well, but for those like me who before had plenty of rank rewards, yet not enough points to get the powerful exchanges I was looking forward to getting, both Connor and Jin did in fact hold an advantage over me. I should be happy since their power is also the team's power as well... but isn't this suspicious?)

What was worrying Shin and stopped him from being too happy about Connor and Jin's potential growth was the reason behind it. God confirmed that not one, but both Connor and Jin are descendants of former Players of God's Dimension. Knowing that what comes to mind is a few certain organizations.

The Four Pillars.

According to Sozin, the majority of the members of the Four Pillars are those whose parents, grandparents, or much further back were Players of God's Dimension, and the reason for that was right in front of Shin. Those individuals, when they enter God's Dimension gain the very same bonus that Connor and Jin had just received. Shin heard something like this from Sozin, but just not in detail.

Shin: (I may not know how many former Players aren’t a part of the Four Pillars and could be living out their lives in peace, so it's possible for one such descendant of their to end up in God's Dimension, yet for two to appear feels unlikely... unless it was on purpose and this is a trap.)

Shin considered the possibility that both Connor and Jin could be spies for the Four Pillars like Saki and Derrick, and are planning to turn against Team Japan, but at the same time Shin felt that it was unlikely as well. Both Connor and Jin could have done what Saki had done and hid their powerful exchanges and surprise attacked Team Japan. Despite experiencing Saki's trap himself, sadly he couldn't say that he would be able to tell if either of them were hiding their exchanges if they tried.

Shin: (It is still unbelievable that Players like Jin and Connor had both joined Team Japan at the same time and I do plan to talk with Aqua and the others... but I should be able to trust them. It really could all just be a coincidence, yet even if they have a hidden agenda... they weren't the enemy. Jin and Connor both helped the team before and after Derrick's betrayal. They also could have hidden their exchanges and planned to kill us off when we had our guard down. Such a plan should have been possible with the rank rewards that they received, but they didn't do that either. In the end I can only say that the two of them are not the enemy.)

Jin: Shin.... Shin! Are you okay? You've been just standing there for a long time.

Shin: Ah, sorry, I was just thinking some things over. Anyways, for now I can say there's nothing to worry about with this message, so we should all make the best of the situation and use it to our advantage. You can get any enhancement that you want and can just use your points to get a useful item, or increase your stats. Really, if it's like that you may have done better than me when I finish my first mission... yet now that your options to ignore point requirements is now known and you could potential exchange for something powerful, I would suggest that the two of you don't exchange for anything that requires above a C rank reward.

Connor: Why?

Shin: It's your Genetic Constraint levels. A man named Sozin explained it to us, but to simplify it, it works like this. The Genetic Constraint doesn't just increase your fighting ability with just sharp battle instincts, increased strength, or calm reasoning, it's also the key to unlocking the exchanges. Using an A rank enhancement as an example, a normal person like Jin could only bring out 10% of its potential and that's the limit. For someone who has reached the First Stage like Misaki and Connor it would be 20-30% potential. Aqua and I who are at the Second Stage can go up to 40-50%. I forgot the third stage, but with the Fourth Stage you can use A rank and any other enhancement at full.

Jin: What about the Fifth Stage?

Shin: Who knows? Maybe for S rank, but that's not important. The point that I'm trying to make is this. The Genetic Constraint is the key to bring out the full power of an enhancements, yet for that reason there's no point in using a power you can't truly master. My guess is that you need the Third Stage to bring out the full potential of B rank, the Second Stage for C rank and the First Stage for D rank. Connor, you're at the First Stage, so I wouldn't get anything above C rank and should just go for C rank and below Genetic Mutations, Whole Body Enhancements, or Skills. At the First Stage you can bring out the full potential of D tier, and almost the full of C tier, but from B or higher you won't get that big of a power increase like you should. As for Jin, like Hikari, Kampa, and Shuai you have yet to unlock you constraint.

Jin: Stick to D rank exchanges for now, and maybe one or two C exchanges, is what you were going to say? Smart. As expected of our leader! You're very wise. I originally didn't think to go for the high ranking enhancements so soon since I thought that I wouldn't be able to get used to them, but the key is the Genetic Constraint, huh? Without it both your learning speed and potential would be stunted.

Shin: That's right. You both have been given a gift, but a great power you can't use could become a burden. If I knew better in the beginning after the H.O.T.D mission I wouldn't have gone past C rank in Ki Energy and One-eyed Ghoul Mutation, and would have used the rest of the points and rewards that I could have saved on Sci-fi, Magic Weapons, defensive gear, and Skills.

Connor: Sure, but what's this thing about our ancestors? Is that real?

Shin: Who knows? Are either of you aware of having some amazing ancestor in your family tree?

Jin: No, my family is normal as far as I know and there's nothing special about us. Just a normal family that sponges off their only child.

Shin: That's not... Connor?

Connor: I think I had a great-grandfather who took part in a revolution during his time. I don't know much about the man, but I think he was feared as the Devil of the White Sands.

Shin: What a cool second name.

Jim: Fantastic alias! We should all aspire to gain such cool names.

Shin: ...

Jin: What?

Shin: Nothing. Just thinking on the same wavelength as you feels wrong and make me want to reexamine myself by going into therapy.

Shin then ignored the Jin complaints about being mean as he just realized something. That if the Teams of the Four Pillars have Players like Connor and Jin who only need rank rewards to become stronger, then his Team Japan was in trouble. He heard as much from Sozin, yet seeing the potential of the two comrades in front of him sent a chill down his spine.

Shin: (I can only hope that the Players themselves aren't as amazing as Jin and Connor because if not... we may be wiped out in the next mission.)

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Proofread by Hoebagger

A new element in our Terror Infinity - Side B! Hope that you liked it.

Another chapter will come out today in 10-12 hours.