Chapter 143
Efnir, holding her phone, pushed open the locker room door.
Sure enough, a cacophony of voices reached her ears. In the distance, Efnir saw several unfamiliar figures Training Ground One. They seemed to be discussing something among themselves, then cast their gazes into the training ground, some of them shouting loudly.
They also saw Efnir and Yukina, but quickly looked away.
"Yukina, let's go over there."
"Um."
Efnir turned around, took Yukina's hand, and walked towards the training ground.
As far as the eye could see, the figures of those people were reflected in Efnir's eyes.
Their figures quickly disappeared in front of the gate of Training Ground One, and Efnir did not see Ayse and Canary.
It's clear that Canary and Ayse must have arrived first.
"Nami, Canary is straightforward, but she's not usually this impulsive. What happened between them?"
Efnir quickened her pace as she asked.
"I'm still unclear about the details... It seems the conflict happened very suddenly, and the attitudes of the major general and the new commander are ambiguous, so..."
"I see..."
The attitude was ambiguous.
In other words: tacit approval.
Efnir didn't know if Masaki Hina was planning something again, but there was no doubt that Masaki Hina wouldn't speak without reason.
Or perhaps, Masaki Hina had foreseen this, and knew it was bound to happen.
Efnir's guess leans more towards the latter.
"The major general and I are on our way. Could we please leave things with you for now? Canary's injuries haven't fully healed, and I'm worried something might happen to her..."
"I see."
Efnir sighed softly.
Most of the agents still remaining at headquarters are wounded; the others are on patrol and security duties.
Ayse and Elincia were still recovering from serious injuries and could only move around to a limited extent. Canary had only been discharged from the hospital two days prior and was clearly not ready to fight at full strength either.
"I'll head to the first training ground now. In short, I'll assess the situation first."
"Wait, Efnir..."
Shinomiyami Nami suddenly lowered her voice.
"The Major General asked me to tell you... be careful with the agents who have come to provide support this time. They are the 'Second Generation' trained by the Central Province Headquarters, and they possess a fighting style that cannot be measured by ordinary agents. If you encounter such opponents for the first time without targeted combat training, you may suffer losses..."
Efnir frowned slightly.
"'Second Generation'...? What's that?"
"The core unit of the Beacon has been comprehensively upgraded and optimized, making it more compatible with human physical functions, thus enabling it to exert greater power. At the same time... it is also equipped with more efficient Battle Armament than that used in the First Generation,' making it a product of another development in 'Beacon technology.'"
Shinomiyami Nami's voice was somewhat hesitant.
The major general said, 'Do it your way, but... don't force yourself...'
"Um."
Efnir glanced sideways at Yukina.
"Don't worry, leave this to me. Canary is my junior too."
At this moment, Efnir arrived at Training Ground One. Through her light-colored sunglasses, Efnir immediately noticed the two people in the training ground.
Canary, and a strange girl.
Like Canary, the girl was dressed in a gorgeous dress, which was the symbol of the agent and Battle Armament with "body enhancement" function.
But what caught Efnir's attention was the weapon the girl was holding.
That was a gun.
It is not a cold weapon like Efnir, but a modern firearm that is flawless in appearance, a combat equipment that has been popular for hundreds of years since the Old Era.
The girl was holding an automatic rifle tightly in her hand, the cold, black barrel pointed at Canary.
Efnir did not immediately step forward to stop them, nor did she immediately find Ayse to ask about the situation. Instead, she observed the scene.
She frowned slightly as she looked at the gun in the girl's hand.
"What's going on...?"
Indeed, proxies would be at a great disadvantage if they were to fight against an army equipped with a large number of lethal weapons.
Humans extracted the Beacon System from the Ruins, but due to technological limitations, they were unable to fully reproduce the function of the "shield".
In other words, the agent is a warrior wielding only a sword, without a shield or armor. The physical enhancements provided by Battle Armament alone are simply insufficient to withstand the powerful attacks of firearms. Assault rifles can slash the agent's skin, anti-materiel sniper rifles can pierce the agent's body, and even the agent cannot escape unscathed from artillery bombardment.
Even so, if a soldier were to face an agent in battle, the agent would undoubtedly be the victor.
Canary was injured in the last battle because of a sneak attack.
In fact, apart from new agents like Yukina, agents with nearly a year of experience like Canary are not afraid of the threat of firearms at all.
The threat posed by a single firearm is particularly limited. Leaving aside an exceptional being like Efnir, Canary is perfectly capable of completely blocking every bullet fired from an assault rifle, shredding each bullet with her knife.
The agent's strength allows them to violently and completely destroy the barrage of firepower when facing a single type of firearm.
This is the suppressive power of the agent's strength and reaction speed.
Therefore, when Efnir saw the weapon in the other person's hand, she had a question for a moment.
A single firearm will not be effective against an agent.
In the arena, Canary also showed displeasure. Her eyes were sharp as she pointed the tip of her knife in the direction of the girl and said loudly:
"Are you looking down on me? Get your Order Weapon out! You'll lose badly if you fight with these childish firearms, that's my advice to you."
It's like in a sword duel, if the opponent fights unarmed, it's either suicidal or a deliberate display of contempt and disdain for one's own side.
This is humiliating.
Fighting with this attitude makes it difficult to feel happy regardless of victory or defeat. If you win, you'll be seen as having won unfairly; if you lose, you'll become a laughingstock.
Therefore, Canary felt particularly disgusted by the girl's actions.
But Efnir, watching this scene from afar, noticed something amiss.
"Wrong..."
Efnir frowned slightly.
That's no ordinary gun.
209. Second-Generation Weapon System
"Naoko, what's wrong?"
Yukina blinked, hesitating whether to say something.
Such a scene was still too unfamiliar to Yukina, who had always been in school where etiquette and manners were strictly required.
There are few disputes among classmates, and for a top student like Yukina, it is even rarer to get involved in the troubles of other students. However, being in a behemoth like the Orderkeepers Organization, the people and things she faces will naturally change drastically.
Friction and estrangement between agents are rare, but not nonexistent.
Even close colleagues who rely on each other occasionally argue due to disagreements, let alone Canary, who is a complete stranger to those young girls.
Moreover...
Efnir vaguely sensed that this duel was probably orchestrated. Neither Canary nor the other girls had any compelling reason to fight. Even if the agents disagreed on their beliefs, they were still comrades fighting for the same cause and mission, and there was no need for them to turn against each other.
But it did happen, and the account I heard from Shinomiyami Nami felt subtly incongruous.
Simply put, this duel may be unavoidable.
"Naoko, should we go and stop them?"
"It's too late to go now."
Efnir's gaze swept over them almost imperceptibly.
There's no need to stop trouble that's impossible to avoid anyway, so the first thing to do when faced with such a situation is to observe.
Intelligence is always the top priority.
"I...saw something 'special'."
Through the light-colored sunglasses, tiny specks of dust moved through the air, while something else changed around the girl and Canary.
Efnir removed her glasses, revealing a glimmer of light in her dark purple eyes.
--The 'dust' seen through the right eye would only produce subtle reactions due to the flow of the Order Force and the Corruption Energy, a fact that Efnir had already confirmed yesterday.
Human intelligence is manifested in the use of external objects. The reason we no longer wear blindfolds today is because Efnir wants to conduct some experiments using the subtle changes brought about by her right eye.
But I didn't expect to need it so soon.
Putting her sunglasses back on, Efnir carefully observed the two on the training field, took Yukina's hand and walked to the other side, while glancing sideways at the several girls watching not far away.
There are ten people in total.
On the surface, there are no obvious weapons or equipment, but upon closer inspection, their walking or standing postures are very upright and orderly. The distance of each step and the spacing between their feet are just right. Each person maintains a space that allows them to quickly expand and regroup. The unintentional raising of their hands always subtly hints at a preparatory stance, and their glances also reveal a fleeting sharpness.
They exuded an aura similar to that of Fushihara Ayaka, and there was no doubt that they were soldiers who had received systematic military training.
Efnir could never be wrong about this habit ingrained in her muscle memory; Efnir was absolutely certain that these people were the "aid" who had arrived in Xijing City this time.
"Since she wasn't carrying any weapons, then that gun was probably her 'Order Weapon'..."
Efnir was already certain of this guess.
This means that the gun was different from what is commonly known as a firearm.
"A more efficient Battle Armament than the one used by the 'First Generation'... So this is what Shinomiyami Nami was talking about..."
"Order Weapon... so there are this type too?"
Yukina asked hesitantly.
"No, this is the first time I've ever seen something like that."
Efnir shook her head, pursed her lips, and continued speaking.
"Our Order Weapon are 'programmed' by the Beacon System. Different types of Beacon have different 'armor systems' and corresponding functions. For example... as 'Fifina,' you will be given eyes that can see distant things clearly, the ability to perceive the slightest details, and the precision to master shooting skills due to the enhancement of the armor system. Similarly, Elincia has been enhanced in terms of 'strength.' Without using skills, I cannot defeat her in terms of pure strength."
Efnir paused.
Ephnel, on the other hand, is positioned in a somewhat moderate way.
As a forward, Ephnel possesses excellent reaction speed and agility, extraordinary strength, a recovery ability stronger than that of ordinary agents, and stamina sufficient to sustain long battles... and so on. However, her strength is inferior to Elincia, her agility to Ayse, and her eyesight and perception to Fifina... In these aspects, Ephnel doesn't seem to have any particularly outstanding qualities.
In other words, Ephnel has no weaknesses and is capable of further improvement in any aspect. Therefore, Efnir has been strengthening her power in many ways, overcoming countless difficulties, and finally arriving at where she is today.
There is no superior or inferior Beacon among them.
"The 'Order Weapon' are also pre-programmed. The Beacon we use are derived from the Ruins Technology, the weapon systems used by warriors of those distant civilizations."
The Beacon is not entirely a human creation; it is a replica made based on the Beacon excavated within the Ruins.
Because humans could not use the legacy left by that civilization, they decoded and re-encoded their languages to create Beacon that could be used by humans.
However, the Beacon System's functionality was also copied from the Beacon System of that Ruins.
In other words, Fifina's bow, Ephnel's spear, Canary's twin swords, Furan's rapier, Ayse's straight sword... these are all weapons used by the warriors of that remnant civilization.
"When humans first applied Beacon System, they didn't have the ability to rewrite the codes of these weapons, so they could only use the weapons left in the Beacon System. But since then, many scholars have proposed discussions and research directions for optimizing 'weapon systems.'"
Efnir squinted, staring at the girl in the training field.
"Now it seems, perhaps we have succeeded. We humans have successfully programmed the weapons we have always used into the Beacon System in our own way, rewriting the 'information content' of the Beacon System. I suspect that this is probably the truth behind the 'Second Generation' agents."
Efnir pondered for a moment, then walked in the direction where Ayse was.
"Ayse."