[713] What Is Gained (2)
"Rang…!"
Someone shouted.
"It's a ranker!"
The moment everyone saw the number 97 written on the woman's forehead, everyone around dropped to the ground.
"Noble one!"
Even the pursuers behind them seemed to notice; they flattened themselves to the earth a short distance away, trembling.
According to Shirone's estimate, the city's population was 427,620, and the girl before him was the ninety-seventh most superior among them.
"What's the matter, Panika?"
—Codename 97, Panika.
A girl of about the same age who had come out of a shop late approached Panika and looked around in alarm.
"Oh my, why are so many people here?"
She had the number 113 on her forehead—lower-ranked than Panika—and Shirone made his guess from that.
'Is there still some humanity left?'
Of course, if Panika decided to harm 113, nothing anyone did would count as a crime.
"She doesn't know. This man just suddenly—"
Panika, pointing at Shirone, stopped when she noticed that there was no number written on his forehead.
"Huh? Numberless?"
It was a situation that called for explanation, but the people on the ground were holding their breath and silent.
'Get caught by a ranker and that's the end of you.'
Panika wasn't known as someone who killed for fun, but who could be sure? Maybe her hair was bad today, maybe the food tasted off, or maybe she was just in a foul mood for no reason.
"You."
Panika pointed at a random man. He jumped and snapped his head up.
"Yes! Yes! Number 97!"
The man's face, marked with 324,801, went ashen as if stricken by a fatal illness.
"Explain what's happening."
"I'll obey the order!"
As he rose, he gathered his thoughts, swallowed, and told what he knew.
"Hmm, so a numberless person came into the city, and that person is—"
Panika finally addressed Shirone.
"You're saying it's you?"
"You could've asked me from the start."
Since he'd run into someone with a high number anyway, Shirone intended to gather information here.
"Oh? Your phrasing is different. Did you come from another city?"
Sometimes outsiders from other cities crossed over and became numberless before slipping into the codename ranks.
Thoughts are the same even if the worlds differ, so Shirone summoned his artificial brain, Oe—the language-translation module.
'Will this work?'
When Shirone motioned with both hands to show it, Panika, without a trace of fear, grabbed Oe.
'That's some confidence.'
It seemed she feared nothing but the codes.
"Right. This city is my first time. So I want to know—why do people have numbers written on their foreheads?"
As Oe vibrated and projected the translation, interest lit Panika's eyes.
"Hoh—an unusual ability."
It was the kind of power residents with codenames used.
"Panika, just kill him. A human who refuses numbers—just looking at him is filthy."
113 glared viciously at Shirone, but Panika didn't even consider it.
"No. If he's from another city, it's better to give him a codename. Better than dying as a numberless."
"Do that. That's better."
113 immediately changed her tune, and Shirone realized, once again, that code was everything here.
"How about it? If you want a code, I'll guide you."
'Simple enough to be easy.'
If he could be granted a high code, he could get whatever information he needed in this world.
"All right, show me."
When Shirone agreed, Panika looked around and said, "Everyone, step back."
As if a natural disaster had struck, people sprang up and ran like mad.
Unless numbers one through ninety-six appeared and issued special orders, her command held.
"Follow me. Let's go to the temple."
Under a pastel sky, a temple stood.
* * *
Labyrinth Andre — World No. 1583.
Shirone arrived at a village called WhiteBlack, home to roughly two thousand people.
This place had a rule: from age fourteen onward you had to choose one district—White or Black.
"Do I have to choose too?"
"Of course. You're over fourteen."
White was a district where everything was decided by vote; Black was a lawless zone where even murder was allowed.
The surprising thing was that, unlike other worlds, most residents chose White.
'Who would want to live in Black?'
Shirone chose White as well. The next day, the White chief came to his house.
"There's an agreement between White and Black. Each district selects ten representatives to undergo a survival trial."
"Why would they do that?"
"Because no one in Black works. The winning district takes eighty percent of the village's produce."
"That's cruel."
"It was Black's proposal. Without an agreement, Black would just raid White."
Few chose Black, and those who did were merciless—objects of terror to White.
"And you've been chosen as one of White's representatives. You'll depart for Mount Anaki at midnight."
Shirone was stunned.
"But I didn't even know the rules—"
"It was decided by vote."
If White rejected the result of a vote, its distinction from Black would vanish.
"This is how we live. You can appeal, but nothing will change. White has 1,600 residents."
"What if I refuse?"
"You'll be expelled to Black. They'll still select ten there, and by the law of strength you'll probably be picked."
'Whether I'm chosen by vote or after getting beaten up, it's the same. Maybe I should investigate Black instead?'
Shirone felt confident he could win either way, but he put the decision off for now.
'Still, I should participate.'
If this world had been isolated by Gehin under special criteria, learning Gehin's intent would be the key to breaking the seal.
"What are the odds of winning?"
"The survival game has been run 845 times in history, and White leads with fifty-one percent."
"Fifty-one percent? That's higher than I expected."
It was a record earned by fighting Black residents who treated killing like eating.
"It's a matter of desperation. Black's population is small and the strong take everything, so twenty percent of the produce is enough for them. But if White doesn't get eighty percent, families will starve for a year."
That was the problem.
"Black is just jealous. They try to cast despair on peaceful White. Strong people sometimes appear, but sometimes they don't. We must win."
After sending the chief away, Shirone thought.
'White can be peaceful because Black exists, and Black can exist because White does.'
Like good and evil defining each other.
'So whichever I choose, it's the same?'
Time flew, and as midnight approached, Shirone appeared at the meeting place.
"Phew, you're here."
He entered the square to anxious sighs from residents who had feared he might run.
'Including me, five men. An even gender ratio—was that the vote's result?'
Nine representatives stood in a line, each looking at Shirone with different emotions.
* * *
Labyrinth Andre — World No. 1.
Hearing a volcanic roar, Shirone flew quickly over the dense forest of a primitive planet.
The sulfur stench made him nauseous, but the world was so vast there was no time to rest.
'They're human.'
Aside from using weapons and covering their groins, they were almost indistinguishable from monkeys.
"Uga uga! Uga uga!"
They hunted with sharpened wooden spears, but when a predator counterattacked they screamed and scattered.
'Still weak.'
Seven men regrouped where the beast had vanished.
"Krrr! Krrr!"
They stamped their feet like children and then burst into tears.
Shirone opened the Ultima system.
"We'll starve again today! I'm hungry! I want meat!"
A man bared his teeth like a monkey, slapped the chest of the man beside him, and shouted.
"Why did you run away? You were supposed to stab it!"
"When did I say that!"
A fight broke out; unlike their helplessness against the beast, they exchanged brutal punches.
"Raaaaa!"
Trees cracked and a massive dragon's body descended, shaking the ground.
"It's a dragon! Dragon! Dragon!"
The humans halted, drooling, and flattened themselves to the ground, crying out, "Please spare us! Please spare us!"
To these humans, a dragon was a god.
"Pathetic creatures…."
Just as the dragon opened its huge maw for a meal, a photon cannon slammed into its face.
"Krrng!"
The physical shock—something you'd only see in inter-tribal combat—made the dragon change direction in panic.
"Hu…man?"
A bluish electric current ran through the dragon's eyes as it confirmed Shirone, and its jaw snapped shut.
"...."
With a powerful beat of its wings, the dragon rose several meters off the ground.
"You are the being who came from another world."
"How do you know me?"
The dragon's consciousness was integrated into a binary network; individual experiences were stored on that web.
"Our king will summon you."
After saying that, the dragon vanished into the sky. The trembling humans lifted their heads in disbelief.
"U, ugaaa! Uga uga!"
Their cries of joy at being alive needed no analysis from Ultima.
The humans crowded around Shirone, dancing in circles and thrusting their faces forward to sniff him.
"Wait a moment… I—"
As Shirone thought of other uses for Oe, a man grabbed his crotch.
"What are you doing?"
Realizing he was male, they glanced at each other, snickered, then pointed and dragged Shirone along.
"You saved us. You'll give us good things."
"Good things? What good things?"
Even without special powers, these humans understood Shirone perfectly and began rocking their hips.
"No, wait! I don't need that."
Shirone waved, but they dragged him anyway. Soon they reached a nearby cave.
"Here! Here! We caught someone!"
"Kiiiii! Kyaaaak!"
Shirone read the woman's furious scream through Ultima and flinched, eyes wide.
"Let me go! You stupid monkeys!"
For her to call these humans monkeys meant she was from another world or a special precursor.
'Who is she?'
A cherished campfire burned in the cave, and in a corner a woman was tied with vines.
Like the others she was shaggy with hair, and even her struggling looked undignified.
'Did I misjudge her?'
The disappointment was brief. From the woman's gaze, Shirone realized something that made his heart stop.
"Kyaaak! Kiek! Kki…!"
The woman, shocked to see him, stopped screaming and managed to squeeze out the name.
"Shi…ro…ne…."
Her face was completely different, but the light in her eyes undeniably carried the same aura as Uorin.
'No. She isn't Uorin.'
She was the first Teraje—Mitochondria Eve.