Displaying posts with tag AntiHero.Reset Filter

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Episode 25 — Lab Infiltration 1

The corridor that greeted them the moment they stepped inside turned out to be a decontamination chamber.

As they walked calmly through, disinfectant sprayed automatically from the ceiling and walls, followed by a blast of warm air to complete the sterilization, and only then did the door at the far end of the corridor open.

"What a mess, huh?"

Grave's remark, the first to look around the interior, said it all. The inside of the research facility looked like Cosmo Spawn's soldiers had already swept straight through it — nothing left intact anywhere.

"No need to worry about anything irrelevant. We just need to get to the data room on the third floor, extract the data, and then blow this place."

The Professor reminded them of the job's details before handing out explosives to Shadow and Kiss.

"Plant these over there, over there, and around there."

"Huh? We're blowing the section we just came through? Then how are we supposed to get out?"

"The detonator's centralized. I'll set it off all at once right after we clear out, so there's no issue with the escape route."

With the Professor's brief explanation finished, the group pressed on.

Leaving behind what looked like some kind of reception area, they arrived at a vast space that appeared to be the main research facility.

"Heh... there's a lot of sketchy stuff in here."

Grave, glancing with disgust at the plant and animal samples floating in test tubes along the way, suddenly sensed a presence and looked up—

"Who the hell are you?! This place belongs to Cosmo Spawn now. If you know what's good for you, outsiders, turn around and go!"

"Huh, surprising. No immediate gunfire?"

Grave laughed, intrigued, but the Professor shook his head.

"It means this facility holds value worth preserving, even to them. On top of that... open fire carelessly in a place packed with chemicals like this, and you get a massive explosion."

At the Professor's remark, the group surveyed their surroundings with cold, wary eyes. Setting aside the various test tubes, machinery and installations marked with unmistakably ominous skull symbols sat scattered here and there throughout the room.

"Now! Get out, quick! Be grateful we're not forcing you out by other means!"

"That's a problem. We've got business inside too, you see."

At the Professor's remark, the guards' eyes changed.

"Don't tell me you're WAC's lackeys!"

"Well, let's just say we're mercenaries who took a contract."

"How dare you!"

One guard started to raise his weapon, but the soldier beside him pointed at the skull markings and shook his head, so both of them instead gritted their teeth, drew the energy blades strapped to their backs, and leapt down from the stairs.

"Fools! You will not pass through here!"

"This is getting tiresome. Shadow. Swap positions with Grave."

"What?!"

"Got it."

Grave looked about to complain, but the Professor simply pointed at Grave's machine gun without a word.

"Tch! Fine, I get it!"

In the end, Grave fell back, and Shadow stepped forward, drawing her wakizashi and rushing the soldiers.

"...Shadow. Don't try to block their blades with your own. An energy blade cuts through most ordinary metal."

"So that's how it is, huh?!"

Deftly rolling to dodge the first soldier's blade, Shadow flowed straight into slicing both legs out from under the soldier following close behind, shaking her head in disgust.

"Aaaargh! My leg!"

"Damn it! This woman!"

The soldier, just resetting his grip on his energy blade to glare at Shadow, felt a tap on his shoulder from behind and turned.

"What? Who the—"

Something dark came flying straight at his face, and he went sprawling, dropping his blade entirely.

What sent him flying was the Professor's kick.

"Guh...! Wh-what was that?!"

"Apologies. My leg has something of a bad habit."

Watching the Professor tap his own thigh casually, making light of it, Shadow caught on immediately — that kick had been a clean roundhouse.

Same as during their very first encounter with him, it seemed the Professor had picked up some martial arts training, too, even if he never made a show of it.

"Wh-why, you insolent—!"

Enraged, the soldier snatched up the fallen energy blade of the other downed soldier too, wielding one in each hand, and charged at the Professor.

"Professor!"

"Die, you black-clad bastard!"

"……."

Just as the soldier crossed his twin blades into an X and brought them down, the Professor drew the bayonet knife at his waist and thrust it forward in a flash.

"Aaaaargh?!"

The energy blade in the soldier's right hand, just about to connect with the Professor's helmet, dropped away harmlessly — because the Professor's left-hand knife had sliced clean through the fingers gripping it.

"M-my fingers?!"

"...Your other hand has stopped moving."

Startled, the soldier flailed his remaining left hand in desperation, but the Professor smoothly dodged it, slipped a leg behind his ankle, and tripped him. Staggering from the fall, the soldier toppled forward and ended up impaling himself on his own energy blade, dying rather pointlessly.

"……."

"Didn't know the Professor was good at hand-to-hand too."

At Kiss's question, the Professor shook his head.

"It's basic self-defense, nothing more. Against a real specialist like Shadow, I'd barely manage to stay alive long enough to run."

Shadow silently grumbled to herself that this was obviously a lie, but stepped forward regardless, satisfied to have glimpsed yet another unexpected side of the Professor.

Passing through the corridor into the next space revealed something even stranger.

"What is all this?"

Shadow reached out curiously, only for the Professor to smack the back of her hand to stop her.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"...Isn't there a saying — 'curiosity killed the dog'?"

"...It's a cat."

"……."

Clearing his throat, the Professor shook his head.

"Best policy is not to touch what you don't understand. Especially somewhere like this."

"But... this is seriously not normal."

What Shadow was pointing at was indeed strange. The chunks of meat floating in the preservation fluid inside the test tube each had a single eye attached to them.

"...Which is exactly why I said not to touch it. That unidentifiable mass might just attack you and do something truly horrific."

"...Ah. I think I get it now, a little."

Watching her take a step back from the tube immediately, the Professor let out a quiet snort of laughter behind his helmet.

"By the way, security's surprisingly light, don't you think?"

"They probably never expected anyone to come all the way out to a remote spot like this. On top of that, this isn't exactly an ideal place for a firefight, so fortifying it wouldn't accomplish much anyway."

Opening the next door and passing through another corridor, they came upon a wide space that looked like a cafeteria. Sure enough, Cosmo Spawn's soldiers, helmets off and in the middle of eating, spotted the Professor's group and hastily drew their energy blades.

"Y-you bastards! How dare you intrude in a place like this!"

"Damn it! Don't you people ever eat?!"

"Idiot! Is food the issue right now?! Our sentries just got taken out, didn't you hear?!"

The soldier in the middle, still fixated on his meal, got smacked on the back of the head by the one next to him.

If anything, the whole scene felt utterly devoid of tension.

"We only have business on the third floor. Starting a fight in a place like this benefits neither of us."

The Professor floated the suggestion, gesturing for them to lower their weapons, but they shook their heads.

"Don't make me laugh! Whatever's on the third floor, I don't know, but our captain said he has business there too!"

"Argh! You absolute moron! Why are you blabbing that out to the enemy?!"

Smacked on the back of the head yet again, the dim-witted soldier gritted his teeth and stepped forward.

"Damn it! This is all your fault! You'll pay for this, intruders!"

"I'll go get the others!"

One of the three at the meal table bolted up the stairs leading to the second floor, while the remaining two squared off tensely, energy blades drawn.

The Professor deliberately walked straight toward the dim-witted soldier who'd already been scolded by his comrades several times.

"As I said before — we'd rather avoid unnecessary fighting. You seem like someone I could reason with... what do you say?"

"Don't make me laugh! You rude bastards! You've completely ruined my mealtime!"

The Professor raised a finger, wagging it.

"So then — how about you two just continue enjoying your meal in peace... and we go our own way?"

"Uh... that actually sounds like a pretty good idea."

Sure enough, the dim-witted soldier took the bait, and the soldier beside him, apparently at the end of his patience, clubbed him on the head with the butt-end of his energy blade.

"You tin-headed moron! If we do that, the captain's going to have us shot later, you get that?!"

"Guh?! B-but I'm hungry! We haven't had a single sip of water since this morning because of all the work!"

"That's exactly why! We just slice these guys up quick and then eat, got it?!"

Only then did the dim-witted soldier's expression brighten, and he straightened his stance, leveling his blade at the Professor.

"You really thought you could fool me, huh?!"

"……."

Watching this for a moment, the Professor abruptly pointed toward the second-floor staircase.

At the gesture, the tense soldier glanced that way out of the corner of his eye — and in that instant—

"...Here. A little service."

"What?!"

With a quick side-step, the Professor snatched up the meal tray sitting on the table and hurled it like a pie, right into the dim-witted soldier's face.

As the flustered soldier wiped frantically at the field rations smeared across his face, the Professor's kick was already coming up between his legs.

With a sharp crack and a strangled groan, he collapsed — and almost simultaneously, the remaining soldier, caught up trying to track Shadow's dazzling movements, had his throat cut in an instant and fell as well.

"...Kiss. What are you doing?"

"...What do you mean?"

In the middle of all this, Kiss had been secretly snacking on a rectangular ration bar left on the tray, and she brushed off her hands as if nothing had happened.

"They'll be swarming us soon. We need to secure the second-floor staircase first."

"I'll go."

Grave, looking like she'd been itching for this, cracked her shoulders and strode forward.

"No guns, Grave."

"I know. I just got something from Cuticle. I'll use this instead."

Seeing what Grave pulled out, the Professor let out a short laugh. The weapon Cuticle had handed her was a set of spiked knuckles.

"Well then, I'll leave this one to you this time. Shadow."

"I know."

Swapping positions once more, the Professor's group climbed the stairs and reached the second-floor corridor.

There, soldiers were already pouring out from the opposite side, energy blades drawn, waiting for them.

"Y-you bastards... you'll pay for what you did to our comrades!"

"There they are! Surround them!"

The ones who met the soldiers charging in to encircle them were the Professor and Grave.

"Here, eat this and sleep!"

Grave, her knuckles fitted with armor plating protecting the back of her hand and forearm, dodged the blades and pounded the soldiers' faces without mercy.

"Alright, over here."

The Professor, meanwhile, was employing an altogether different set of techniques — tripping soldiers, grabbing the hand holding a blade and redirecting its swing into some random, wasted direction.

"Gyaaack!"

"D-damn it! What kind of punches is that woman throwing?!"

"Look at those forearms! That's no joke!"

Pushed back by Grave's sheer force, the soldiers began edging away, instead swarming toward the Professor, who looked (relatively?) weaker by comparison.

"This way! This guy's weaker than he looks! Just a little more pressure and he's done!"

"I'll carve you up nice and fine!"

But that was a grave miscalculation on their part.

The Professor, perfectly composed, moved freely front and back, left and right, dodging every single blade strike by the narrowest of margins. Even as he dodged, he relentlessly kicked at the soldiers' shins and knees to bring them down, and the moment they fell, stomped their faces in, killing them outright.

"D-damn it! What the hell is this guy?!"

"H-he's dirty, but he's strong!"

"Damn it! Why can't we land a hit on him?!"

—To be continued—

[EN] Ascension Field - Season1

Dystopian LitRpg MilitarySciFi AntiHero Harem Mercenary

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BigFS's Dimension Gate

Oct 08, 2026 09:51 am

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Episode 24 — Laser Line 6

Once the fighting at each gate had wound down, the secretary's face appeared on the holoscreen set up midway up the WAC building at the city's center.

[Everyone. You've truly done magnificent work. For now, please return to the rally point.]

"Huh. Guess we're heading back for now?"

"Hey, hey, hurry up and strip them! Grab as much as we can!"

The users were fully absorbed in looting the items off the enemy soldiers they'd cut down.

The Professor's team, apparently having no interest in looting, simply stood waiting beside Kiss's vehicle.

"Surprising. I'd have thought you'd all be off looting too."

"……."

"Well, there's only so much worth taking off small fry like that anyway."

Having already grown used to the top-tier gear Cuticle crafted for them, the women found the equipment carried by common foot soldiers hardly satisfying.

Watching them, the Professor let out a short laugh and tossed the long case he'd secretly brought along toward Shadow.

"Catch."

"Huh?!"

Catching it on reflex, Shadow carefully opened the case to find a plain-looking black short sword packed inside.

"What's with this sword?"

"……."

The Professor took it in hand and pushed the lever on the hilt. With a buzzing hum, a faint band of energy flickered to life, running along the blade.

"Ah!"

"…A Cosmo Spawn energy blade. The quality's nothing special, but if we hand it over to Cuticle later, it should help her put together something proper."

The Professor climbed straight into the passenger seat of the vehicle, and seeing that, the other two climbed into the back.

"We're heading back."

"Yes-."

Waiting for the users once they returned to the concert hall rally point were rewards and a new quest.

Through his device, the secretary distributed a coupon item called a "WAC Fine Coupon" to all the users.

"So, what exactly is this coupon?"

The Roaring Dragon Society user who'd asked questions before demanded an explanation.

"Ahem. That coupon can be exchanged at our company's store for one piece of equipment, up to High-grade rarity."

"S-seriously?!"

The users began murmuring amongst themselves. Despite the limitation to High-grade, they hadn't expected a coupon that let them obtain an energy weapon or piece of equipment — hardly cheap items — for free, handed out to every single user.

"Ah, of course... there do exist coupons that can be exchanged for even higher grades, but it's been decided that those will be prioritized for those who distinguish themselves going forward... my apologies."

The users' eyes flashed.

Coupons that could be traded for even higher-grade gear existed, and they could be earned. Just knowing that much was already a considerable find.

"Alright! So what's next?!"

The users clamored, eager to be told what came next — but the users from the larger clans kept a composed demeanor.

Sure enough, given this was a major update, the enemies had proven tougher than expected. In particular, the heavy infantry that had appeared toward the end had forced no small amount of damage onto the users despite their small numbers.

Unless they developed proper countermeasures against them going forward, things were bound to get difficult.

"…A bunch of carefree fools."

The Professor, too, watched on with a subdued air.

Most of them still had no effective countermeasure against the heavy infantry's reinforced shields and protective suits. If things proceeded as they were, the next quest — or the one after — was bound to inflict serious casualties.

Even as an advance party, many clans had handpicked their most capable members right after the official season ended, so avoiding losses was surely a priority for them. Going forward, the clans would no doubt start eyeing each other warily, growing hesitant to take the lead.

Letting out a short laugh, the Professor decided now was exactly the right moment and turned to face his team.

"…This is as far as we go."

"?"

"What do you mean?"

"We're pulling out of this quest here, for now."

"What?!"

"Why?!"

Sure enough, both women protested, cheeks puffed out, but the Professor shook his head.

"We're a small team. On top of that, our party composition is unstable. We'd be stuck entirely in a support role for other clans."

"Well, sure, but we already got some loot, didn't we?"

"…That's not the issue."

The Professor pulled up footage on his device — recordings he'd taken earlier of the heavy infantry they'd encountered.

"Among the clan members who came as the advance party, not a single one of them has an effective countermeasure against these guys right now."

"……Ah."

"The real fighting starts from here. And I'd bet that before long, there'll be sections crawling with enemies just like these."

"…And that moment's going to be a massacre."

Grave, finally grasping the situation, nodded along as well.

Waiting until the users gathered intel and came back properly equipped to deal with it was the wiser choice.

"So we're heading back first."

"Still, having just the one sword from Shadow as loot feels kind of thin to me..."

"Can't help that. The risk is too high."

While the other users were still listening to the briefing, the Professor's team quietly slipped out of the venue.

"Kiss. We're heading back."

"Huh...? Back where?"

"Back to our own server."

"What? Already?"

"Yeah. The situation's turned bad."

The team boarded the vehicle at once and drove toward the spaceport.

Just as they arrived at the spaceport, about to transfer back to their home turf — the conflict-zone server—

"A moment of your time, if you would."

"……?"

Turning his head to look, the Professor found Winkley, the man introduced as WAC's Chairman, standing there.

"…What business do you have?"

"There's a job I'd like to entrust only to you, if I may..."

"Declined."

At the Professor's immediate, blunt answer once again, both women flanked him on either side, lightly jabbing an elbow into his ribs and a fist against his helmet.

"Ngh... We're on our way back. I'm sorry, but we can't take on—"

As the Professor tried to push through with the refusal regardless, Grave shoved his helmet aside and stepped forward.

"Let's at least hear what the job is."

"…My thanks."

The job the Chairman wanted to entrust them with was to infiltrate a research facility, retrieve its data, and destroy the facility.

"Why would you want to entrust a job this big to a small outfit like ours?"

At the Professor's suspicious question, the Chairman averted his gaze — a sign the question was a difficult one to answer.

"…If you can't tell us, then we can't take the job."

"Professor?!"

As the Professor turned to leave once more, the Chairman finally spoke up from behind him.

"…It's a facility researching biological regeneration treatments using lasers and nanomachine dispersal."

"……."

"Cosmo Spawn's special forces struck that facility first, the very moment this invasion began. It had clearly been under top-secret research until then..."

Behind his helmet, the Professor's expression turned grave.

This was a hidden quest. And not just any hidden quest — a crucial one, serving as foreshadowing for the next story quest. Naturally, the difficulty was bound to be dangerous in the extreme.

Just as he was thinking it would be best to decline after all, he noticed the two women on either side of him, tugging at the hem of his clothes, watching him intently.

"……."

Letting out a sigh, the Professor set the two women in front of him and spoke.

"Our team's name is Absolute Solution. Just as the name says, we're a team that guarantees a one-hundred-percent success rate."

"……."

"And the other side of that meaning is that we don't take on a job unless we're certain of succeeding one hundred percent."

The Professor reiterated, once more, to the two of them, that without that certainty, this job wasn't one they could accept.

But what came back from them was something altogether more brazen.

"Does the Professor really trust our skills that little?"

"Who do you think you're talking to?! A job like this is a piece of cake for me!"

"……."

The Professor shook his head. Of all people, they should know better than anyone that this wasn't something to be decided on bravado alone — and yet here they were anyway.

"If you two are professionals, you should know better."

"Still...!"

"A hundred percent is plenty for ordinary user contracts! Let's have a little fun once in a while!"

"……."

The Professor turned his head toward Kiss and Cuticle, only to find Cuticle simply smiling and nodding along.

No help from that one, as usual.

"…Fine. We'll take the job."

"Thank you so very much."

"However, there's one thing I'd like to confirm."

The Chairman tilted his head, as if to ask what it might be, and the Professor looked down at him, his voice turning cold.

"Why us?"

"……!"

Without a word, the Chairman pulled out his device and played a video. It showed footage from the previous battle — the Professor's team steadily racking up damage against the heavy infantry through sniping and ambush tactics.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Tch."

Maybe he should have held back a little.

Though he inwardly regretted it, since it was already done, there was no helping it now. The Professor simply turned away.

"That said, given the unreasonable nature of this job, we have a condition of our own."

"…What condition would that be?"

"Cuticle here — our team's gunsmith."

"Yes."

"I require that you supply her with WAC parts going forward, at factory cost."

The room froze.

Even allowing for everything, proposing such an audacious deal so casually was something else entirely.

But the Chairman was no ordinary man either.

"…Agreed."

"Eek?!"

"Whoa?!"

"…Heh. As shrewd as ever, I see."

"If it becomes known that a professional outfit like yours uses our company's equipment, that's a tremendous promotional boost for us. There's nothing to lose in it."

Flashing the smug smile of a seasoned executive, the Chairman immediately offered to guide them and climbed into his own limousine.

The Professor gathered his team back into the armored vehicle, and following the limousine's lead, they headed toward the research facility.

What the group arrived at looked less like a research facility and more like a botanical garden, or some plant-related research center — a peculiar place, with part of the building swallowed up by what looked like enormous climbing vines.

"Surprisingly light on the exterior security."

"…Instead, they've fortified the interior defenses heavily. In truth, we did attempt to send in our own private soldiers separately, but the operation failed..."

"…That's unfortunate, indeed."

After scanning the area for a moment, the Professor immediately moved on to checking his equipment. With the fighting bound to take place inside a cramped building, his usual anti-materiel sniper rifle would only get in the way.

"Cuticle. You brought the C-type loadout?"

"If it's the Professor's gear, I've packed every last piece. Just a moment!"

Cuticle promptly pulled out of the vehicle's trunk a compact assault rifle, a bayonet-mount knife, and a small round shield-like piece of equipment.

"Didn't realize the Professor ever used an assault rifle."

"…It's secondary-line gear I don't normally use, mind you."

Shadow examined the unfamiliar sight of the Professor equipped with something other than a sniper rifle, turning it over in curiosity.

"Even a shield! This really is surprising."

"……Heh."

At the remark about him even using a shield, the Professor only let out a quiet laugh in response.

"Grave. Take point."

At the Professor's command, now that preparations were complete, Sister Grave gripped her machine gun firmly and approached the entrance.

She tapped the open button on the touchscreen beside the door a few times, but getting no response—

"Oh, to hell with it!"

She slammed the screen with the butt of her gun, shattering it outright, and sparks flew as the door creaked open.

"Let's go!"

"Entry order: Grave, me, Kiss, Cuticle, Shadow."

"Why am I last?!"

"Because you're the scout."

—To be continued—

[EN] Ascension Field - Season1

Dystopian LitRpg MilitarySciFi AntiHero Harem Mercenary

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BigFS's Dimension Gate

Oct 03, 2026 01:34 pm

Public post

Episode 23 — Laser Line 5

At the Overlords users' battle cries, the comms officer directing Cosmo Spawn's soldiers suddenly seemed to realize something, his eyes flashing.

"T-the self-propelled guns...! That's right! We've got the self-propelled guns!"

He immediately grabbed the mic clipped near his mouth.

"Hey! Gunners! Switch to direct-fire mode right now and blow apart these guys pushing in here! Right now!"

[What about the bombardment on the city?!]

"That's not the priority right now! These mercenary bastards are stubborn as hell!"

[F-fine, got it!]

Zhhhk—.

The legs of the self-propelled guns immediately began to shift. Just as they slowly swung around to face the Overlords side, a whispered promise of victory reached the Professor's ear.

[Setup complete.]

"…Your extraction?"

[Already handled, naturally. Go ahead whenever you're ready.]

"Excellent."

Click.

The moment he pressed the detonator, the explosives attached to the underside of the self-propelled guns all went off at once, triggering a chain reaction that sent the guns up in a column of flame.

"Wh-what?!"

"Alright! The battery's wiped out! Push harder—!"

With their bazookas now having nothing left to shoot at, the Overlords users turned them on the soldiers still resisting inside the base. Explosions rang out one after another, dropping wounded soldiers left and right, and the comms officer directing them began to panic.

"D-damn it...! Reinforcements! Why aren't the reinforcements coming?! This is our main base, isn't it?!"

The aerial assault force they'd called in at such cost was being shot down helplessly under the anti-air guns and the Legion users' large-caliber assault rifle fire. By now, a heavy-infantry unit should have arrived to reinforce them — but none came.

"F-fall back! Everyone, retreat to the bunker!"

In the end, the comms officer ordered a retreat to the large bunker built deep inside the base.

But standing in their way was the Overlords' massive force, a pack of starving wolves if ever there was one.

"What, you're running? You bastards!"

"Chase them down! It's a mop-up!"

"Strip them of everything they've got—!"

Riding their momentum, the Overlords users used their shields to bash down the fleeing, panicking soldiers, trampling them underfoot as they pushed forward.

The panicked comms officer managed to gather up roughly twenty soldiers nearby and flee into the bunker, but every soldier left outside was shoved down, stomped on, stabbed with bayonets, and stripped of every last piece of gear by the Overlords.

"Damn it... savages, the lot of them! Hey! When are the reinforcements coming?! This is the allied forces' logistics base! We're on the verge of falling!"

Pounding the radio in frustration, he vented his grievances — and as if summoned by magic, four more armed transport ships appeared in the sky above the base.

[Confirmed your distress call. Deploying the heavy infantry unit immediately.]

"Finally! It's too slow, way too slow! Hurry and bring down judgment on those savage mercenaries!"

By the time the Overlords had surrounded the bunker, and the full user force had pushed into the base's interior, they dismissed the newly arrived transports as nothing to worry about, intending to handle them the same way as before. But this time, instead of ordinary troops with jetpacks, soldiers wearing thick, almost spacesuit-like padded armor touched down on the ground.

"Your rampage ends here. Mercenaries."

"Withdraw right now. Or we'll show you hell."

The two heavy-infantry troopers standing at the front issued their warning, but the users only laughed.

"Ha! Scared of us just because you're wearing some styrofoam-looking getup?!"

"Hey! Light 'em up! Turn 'em into a beehive!"

The users immediately opened fire — but something unexpected happened right away.

Ting ting!

"What?! That was a shield-neutralizing round!"

"Hmph. Rounds of that caliber won't pierce our heavy infantry's reinforced shields!"

The shield-neutralizing ammo the users relied on simply wasn't working. Only then, swallowing hard as they realized these enemies were different from anything they'd faced so far, did the users start firing their anti-tank cannons.

"Die! Just die already, you bear bastards!"

Even these troopers seemed to feel a real threat from the anti-tank cannons, and began to retaliate.

"All units, begin attack!"

"We'll show you a taste of hell!"

As the armor on both their arms deployed, one of the weapons revealed was, of all things, a napalm sprayer. As a stream of red fire poured out like a hose, the Overlords users holding their shield-line formation began burning and collapsing, their shields rendered useless.

"Aaaaargh—!?"

"D-damn it! A flamethrower?!"

"Shoot! Keep shooting! Even if the shield's tough, if it breaks, we've got the advantage! Keep firing till it cracks—!"

"Bazookas! Use the bazookas! Regular rounds will take forever to get through!"

Two of the heavy infantry had their protective barriers pierced after taking three bazooka hits each, but despite the barrage of fire that followed, their suits — rubbery as they seemed — easily deflected or absorbed the regular rounds.

Leveraging that defense, the heavy infantry unit began advancing slowly, spraying napalm as they came.

"Aaaaaargh—!! Fire! It's on fire!"

"Damn it all! Why aren't the bullets working?!"

"What the hell are those damn suits made of?!"

What turned the tide back in favor of the users was the Professor's team. In the midst of the heavy infantry's advance, as they pushed forward behind their napalm sprayers, a shadow suddenly flickered past the rearmost trooper — and sparks burst from his back before he erupted in a massive explosion.

"Gwaaaaaaaah—!"

"What?! H-how?!"

"No need to panic! Don't break formation!"

Even as the one who seemed to be their leader raised a hand to reassure the others, he suddenly felt a cold gaze on him and looked up toward the distance.

"What is that…?"

The moment he used his helmet's zoom function to magnify whatever was glinting atop the rooftop of a shopping building—

Pfwang!

That thick shield was punched through without resistance, and the bullet's momentum showed no sign of slowing even after.

The heavy infantry leader instinctively realized it — one of the very few rounds his unit couldn't defend against: a .50 caliber armor-piercing incendiary round.

"No way…! On our very first engagement, they already found our weakness…!"

By the time the realization hit him, that terrifying round had already punched through his visor and blown his head apart.

Watching their leader collapse limply to the ground, the heavy infantry faltered.

"T-this can't be! What happened?! The leader's down!"

"D-don't panic! That was a sniper shot! Just watch out for the sniper!"

"Where did it come from?! Find him!"

The heavy infantry halted their advance, each of them hesitantly scrambling for cover. The Overlords users seized the opening to regroup and put some distance between them.

"Damn it! Looks like the Professor pulled off something, after all...!"

"Medic! Patch up anyone with a shot at surviving! There's no time to waste!"

"Regular firepower's not going to cut it against those bears! We need to get the Legion to handle this!"

The Legion users who came running at the Overlords' request had their expressions harden. The Overlords' casualties were worse than expected — it seemed pushing in with a tight formation had left them badly exposed to the flamethrowers.

"Well, isn't this something... Hey! Grab the grenade launchers! Bear hunting's the Gaia Legion's specialty, right?"

"Brought 'em already! Just say the word!"

As the Legion users showed up carrying grenade launchers, the heavy infantry began to tense up. Against those launchers, even their reinforced shields were bound to shatter. Of course, their high-impact-resistant suits could withstand the explosive damage from a grenade even without the shield — but once the shield was gone, there was no telling when that sniper's round — the same one that had killed their leader — might come flying in again.

"Damn it. Ready the primary weapons!"

"Understood! What about the sniper?"

"What about the transports...?"

The heavy infantry officer watched for a moment as the transports, already hit by anti-air fire, went down one by one, and gritted his teeth.

There would be no more reinforcements coming. Mercenaries had pushed into the other sectors too, scattering reinforcement forces thin — his unit had been the last one available to come here.

"Ignore the sniper for now! If we move fast enough, we won't take a hit to anything vital!"

"B-but, sir...!"

At that moment, an unfamiliar presence crept up behind one of the rookies at the rear.

"...!? Rookie! Behind you!"

"Huh?"

Turning around on reflex, he saw a kunoichi rising silently out of his own shadow, her wakizashi driving precisely into the vulnerable point on the back of his pack.

"Wha—?! This woman?!"

"Carelessness will cost you."

Watching the rookie trooper detonate in the same chain-reaction explosion as before, the rest of the heavy infantry grew desperate.

"Wh-who is that woman?! Where'd she come from?!"

"Damn it! Charge! Charge—! If we keep hesitating like this, that woman, whoever she is, will take us all down! Just run! None of these other small fry can even touch us anyway!"

"Aaaaaaaah—!"

In the end, charging forward almost out of desperation, the heavy infantry drew the primary weapons hidden in their right-arm armor.

"Fire—!"

With a blast like a roaring beast, a heavy, pressurized blast of compressed air slammed into the Overlords and Legion users.

In an instant, dozens of users were sent flying like scattered leaves, crashing back down in a heap as their formation collapsed.

"Waaaaagh—?!"

"Wh-what the?! Compressed air cannons?!"

"These damn bastards, what else do they have strapped on?!"

"Watch out! That thing's range is wider than it looks!"

The Overlords users grimly fixed bayonets onto their rifles, while the Legion users pulled out grenade launchers to counter.

"Fire! No matter how thick it is, it's still just a shield! Hit it with a grenade and it's bound to shatter!"

"Like hell I'll get hit! Run! Faster! If you stop, you get sniped!"

The heavy infantry tried to break through by shattering the users' formation with their air cannons, but it wasn't going to be that easy. The Black Tiger Alliance users, who'd been waiting in reserve on both flanks, had joined the fray as well.

"Ready — fire!"

"Yes!"

They unleashed a full, simultaneous volley of grenades, leaving the heavy infantry utterly stunned.

"What?! Everyone, stop—! Gr-grenades!"

"No way! What kind of grenades are those?!"

After dozens of violent explosions rang out one after another, the scene that remained was nothing short of brutal. The grenades' blasts and metal fragments had torn through not just the shields but even their prized protective suits, leaving them barely standing, battered and unsteady.

"N-no... at this rate...!"

"All units, pour everything you've got into them—!"

Even as they tried to mount one last counterattack, what they witnessed instead was the Overlords users charging at them, bayonets fixed, eyes bloodshot with fury.

"Vengeance for our fallen—!"

"You'll pay in blood for daring to lay a hand on the Overlords!"

Bayonets stabbed into the torn gaps in the heavy infantry's armor from every direction, dropping them one by one, and the few still left resisting were finished off in turn by Shadow and the Professor's combined attacks.

Seeing the heavy infantry fall, Cosmo Spawn's remaining soldiers panicked and fled, and the users erupted into cheers of victory, overjoyed at having claimed their first win.

"Alright—! Victory!"

"Uraaaaaaaa!"

While the users celebrated behind him, the Professor silently wandered among the enemy's supply containers, checking to see if there was anything worth taking.

"Not here either…"

After looking around for a while, he apparently found what he was after — picking up a long, narrow case and slipping away from the scene, careful to make sure none of the other users noticed.

—To be continued—

[EN] Ascension Field - Season1

Dystopian LitRpg MilitarySciFi AntiHero Harem Mercenary

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BigFS's Dimension Gate

Oct 01, 2026 02:02 pm

Public post

Episode 22 — Laser Line 4

Among the clans heading for the east gate, three forces stood out.

The Gaia Legion, bringing a huge headcount led by two anti-air tanks.

The Overlords, who hadn't brought any armored equipment, but instead had scraped together every veteran of the official season plus any user confident enough in their own skill.

And the Black Tiger Alliance — hungry tigers chasing rewards every bit as much as they were there to enjoy the game.

The Professor had naturally fallen in alongside the Black Tiger Alliance, marching at their flank.

"Alright. In that case, let's leave the vanguard to our Overlords friends. Any objections?"

The leadership of each faction had gathered in the center to finish hashing out the formation.

The Overlords' forces would deploy broadly at the front, encircling the enemy's logistics base, while the aerial force — the Legion users and their anti-air tanks — held the center, and the Black Tiger Alliance, specialists in guerrilla tactics, would split to either flank to respond in case the enemy counterattacked.

They'd tried to assign the Professor's team to rear guard duty, but—

"…Our team will move however suits us. I'd rather you didn't concern yourselves with us specifically."

"Hey! Come on, that's not how this works! We're all on the same side here."

A wave of protest immediately came from the Overlords users, and the Professor, seeming to concede there was no helping it, nodded.

"…Understood. Leave the rear to us."

After exchanging opinions and slowly straightening their formation, the group resumed the march, and soon the east gate district came into view.

Sturdy-looking barricade panels set up by Cosmo Spawn blocked the road, and off in the distance at the center, even at a glance, something resembling six pillars was belching flame.

"Is that... towed artillery?"

"…No. Self-propelled guns. Those legs... they're walking self-propelled guns!"

"Damn it. This is going to be a tougher fight than we thought…"

Just as expected, it seemed this was where Cosmo Spawn's invasion force had set up their main base.

A total of eight steel pillars that looked like self-propelled guns had positioned themselves along the road and atop the low shopping buildings, periodically spitting fire.

"Anyone here bring anti-tank weapons?"

Destroying a self-propelled gun wrapped in what looked like solid, well-fitted armor plating wasn't going to happen with the rifles or pistols most users carried. This called for something on the level of a bazooka or anti-tank mines.

Fortunately, a handful of Overlords users produced anti-tank cannons and recoilless rifles.

"We'll handle the self-propelled guns."

"Ohh…"

Since they'd brought along the exact same users who'd fought through the official season, it seemed they'd also brought along the ones who specialized in anti-tank equipment.

Just as they were about to begin the charge, a Cosmo Spawn soldier spotted them and sounded the alarm. At the shrill blare of the siren, troops came pouring out of the shopping buildings and shipping containers.

"Intruders! Force them out!"

"Fire! Show them a taste of the heat!"

Though things played out a little differently than expected, the users weren't the least bit rattled. They'd been through this exact kind of thing countless times in the official seasons.

Wearing an easy smile, the Overlords' commanding user spoke.

"All forces! Charge in rapid wedge formation!"

"Yes sir!"

No sooner had the order dropped than users bearing shields reinforced with special alloy and submachine guns surged forward at the very front, with those carrying assault rifles and machine guns following close behind.

Pushing forward in perfect unison, almost as a single body, the sight left Cosmo Spawn's soldiers rattled.

"T-these bastards! Their skill level is no joke! Are these really just some ragtag mercenary band?!"

"W-we're going to get overrun at this rate! There's too many of them!"

"Call for backup! Right now!"

But as frantic as they'd become, it was already too late. In an instant, the Overlords' shield-bearers closed the distance and literally shoved the enemy soldiers back by brute force, pushing straight into the logistics base.

"Heave-ho—!"

"Push, push—! Flatten 'em—!"

"Grrrgh…! W-we're being pushed back!"

"Hold the line, you idiots! There's self-propelled guns right behind you! Defend the position!"

The Cosmo Spawn NPC commander, screaming orders from the rear, suddenly felt a chill — the cold presence of death — and flinched.

"W-what is this chill...?!"

His instincts were right on the money.

The very next moment, a large-caliber rifle round buried itself in his temple, putting him down for good.

"T-the captain's been sniped?!"

"What?! Who the hell shot him?!"

"W-where's the comms officer?! We need to call for backup right now! Aaaargh!"

True to their experience in the official seasons, the Overlords users were easily hunting down Cosmo Spawn's soldiers — pushing forward with shields while the assault rifle users following behind picked off targets with gunfire.

The corpses that dropped were stripped bare by the Overlords users waiting behind them as they advanced, cleaning them out of every last item.

Infamous, alongside the Black Tiger Alliance, as one of the greediest clans in the whole game, the Overlords were quite literally stripping the enemy down to nothing but their underwear.

The Legion users pushing up behind them just shook their heads, watching the Overlords' charge with exhausted expressions.

Meanwhile, the Professor's team was making its own moves. Having just sniped the enemy commander, the Professor immediately called out to Shadow.

"Shadow."

"Hm? What's up?"

Shadow leaned her head out from the back seat, and the Professor pointed toward the self-propelled guns.

"Think you could slip in and disable those?"

"Hmm…"

Infiltrating in the middle of a full-scale firefight wasn't exactly simple. Getting in was one thing — getting back out afterward was the real problem.

After a moment's thought, she nodded all the same.

"It might be a bit tricky, but I can do it."

"…I'm not asking you to just break them, by the way. Cuticle."

"Hm?"

Cuticle, who'd been sitting in the trunk, leaned out, and the Professor instructed her to hand Shadow the item they'd prepared.

"Give Shadow the thing we packed just in case."

"Ah, that?"

Cuticle promptly pulled out from the trunk a square-shaped sticky explosive, fitted with a timer.

"…Blow them up with that. You remember how to use it from last time?"

"…Heh. This sounds fun."

Her interest piqued, she gladly took a whole stack of the explosives and stuffed them into the bag slung over her shoulder.

"Alright, I'll be back."

"Go on."

Opening the turret ring's cover on the roof, Shadow leapt out.

Grave, pointing at herself as if asking what she was supposed to do, looked at the Professor.

"……."

"…What am I supposed to do?"

"Get up on the turret and get ready."

"Why?"

"…An aerial assault's about to start."

"……!"

The Professor's prediction hit the mark.

A flash of light burst across the sky, and twelve transport ships suddenly appeared in neat formation directly above the Legion clan.

Unlike the transports they'd seen before, these came properly equipped with defensive turrets this time — armed transports.

"What?! Everyone, brace yourselves! They're counterattacking!"

"Anti-air fire—! Bring every last one of them down!"

The users, unfazed, immediately opened fire centered on their anti-air guns, and this time, the transports answered back, using their mounted turrets to pour fire down on the users.

"Gwaah! Damn these bastards!"

"20mm cannon! Watch out! It'll pop a shield module in one hit!"

"Don't scatter! If we spread out, they'll pick us off one by one!"

A chaotic melee erupted as jetpack troopers dropped down from the transports. Having apparently learned a lesson from the first battle, Cosmo Spawn's soldiers were relentlessly targeting the Legion's anti-air tanks.

"Prioritize destroying those anti-air vehicles—!"

"Don't be afraid! Our technology outclasses theirs completely—!"

With the situation turning like this, the Legion users scrambled into action.

"Protect the anti-air tanks! We cannot afford to lose them!"

"Take down anyone carrying an anti-tank weapon first! Don't let a single one through!"

In the thick of this desperate exchange, one Cosmo Spawn soldier, deftly using his jetpack for evasive maneuvers, finally managed to line up and fire a bazooka.

The target, naturally, was the anti-air tank.

The Legion's commanding user gritted his teeth. He'd expected that at least one of the tanks they'd spent a fortune hauling all the way out here might get destroyed — but he hadn't expected it to happen this fast, or this pointlessly.

"Damn it! Direct hit course! Evasive maneuvers! Damage control, now—!"

"No—!"

Bang!

With a resounding gunshot, the bazooka round was punched clean through and detonated midair — and the large-caliber bullet, its momentum undiminished even after piercing through the warhead, continued on and drilled straight through the forehead of the jetpack trooper who'd fired it.

"Wh-what the—?!"

Startled, the Legion commander turned to look behind him, and there, standing on the rooftop of a three-story building, aiming an anti-materiel rifle, was the Professor.

"…Damn it. Still as creepy as ever, that guy."

To think he'd pierced both the warhead and the gunner with a single shot.

Having confirmed firsthand that the Professor's marksmanship was every bit as good as the rumors said — if not better — the Legion user swallowed hard.

"Everyone see that?! We've got a man with a hundred percent success rate watching our backs! There's nothing to be afraid of! Push forward—!"

"Uraaaaaa—!"

"Knock those jetpack idiots down! We're claiming those jetpacks!"

The presence of a skilled sniper alone was more than enough to boost the users' morale. And when that sniper happened to be the finest contractor around, one insane enough to intercept an enemy sniper's own bullet mid-flight — all the more so.

Fired up by the cheering coming from behind them, the Overlords users' eyes began to light up with their own fire.

"Everybody grit your teeth! Any coward who gets pushed back here is getting sent straight to hell training when we get back!"

"Move it, you plastic-bag bastard!"

Having noticed Cosmo Spawn's soldiers' uniforms gleaming like plastic wrap, the Overlords users had already stopped seeing them as a frightening enemy and started treating them as nothing more than suckers in plastic raincoats.

"Aaagh! Agh!"

"D-damn it! Do something about these cursed shields!"

The enraged Cosmo Spawn soldiers fired wildly, but the shields didn't budge an inch unless hit with something on the level of an anti-tank cannon. That was because they were, quite literally, armor plating cut and reworked from main battle tanks.

"Argh, we even did an aerial assault, why won't these guys stop?!"

"Hey! Bazooka! We can't stop these guys without a bazooka!"

A rookie soldier hastily pulled a bazooka from a container and ran toward the front — but the Overlords users weren't about to let that slide.

"Damn it! That plastic bastard's got a bazooka!"

"Shoot! Turn him into a beehive!"

"?!"

Rifles immediately burst out from between the shields, spitting fire, and in an instant, the soldiers carrying the bazooka were quite literally turned into beehives and left lying on the ground.

"N-no! We're getting overrun at this rate! We need firepower, firepower! Something, anything—!"

Seeing the panic spreading among Cosmo Spawn's soldiers, the Overlords users seized the opening and pushed forward even harder.

"Now's the time—! Crush them—!"

"Their supply containers are right up ahead! Push harder—!"

In the end, with Cosmo Spawn's soldiers getting forced back relentlessly, all that was left to them was to try thrusting their bayonets through the gaps between the shields, however they could.

"Damn you! Die, you outsiders!"

"This is a forced eviction—!"

The unexpectedly desperate counterattack left a few Overlords users badly wounded and forced to retreat, but even so, the charge didn't stop.

"Ha ha ha ha! Yes, now this is a real war! Push harder! Wedge them between their own self-propelled guns and our shields and flatten them into pancakes—!"

—To be continued—

[EN] Ascension Field - Season1

Dystopian LitRpg MilitarySciFi AntiHero Harem Mercenary

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BigFS's Dimension Gate

Sep 29, 2026 04:55 pm

Public post

Episode 21 — Laser Line 3

For a brief moment right after the battle began, Cosmo Spawn's soldiers held the upper hand — but that reversal came quickly.

Their opponents were veteran vanguard users, tempered through more than a dozen official seasons.

What's more, since this was a brand-new area, plenty of clans had come in fully geared up, hauling out armored equipment of their own.

Standing out above all the rest were the users from the American Frontier and the Gaia Legion, factions centered primarily in the American region.

The Frontier side had brought no less than a main battle tank, while the Legion had rolled in with two anti-air tanks.

"Target locked, enemy transport ship!"

"First round loaded!"

"Fire!"

With a heavy, thudding explosion, a 155mm shell struck true, slamming into a transport ship still hovering as it dropped its troops.

"Wh-what?! What kind of madness is this?!"

"Those crazy bastards! They brought tanks?!"

The transport, already erupting in a series of blasts, went up in a massive explosion, blowing apart in an instant — and the remaining transports scrambled into a panic.

"N-no! At this rate we're all going to get hit! Hurry the drop, you idiots! We're all going to die!"

"Aaaaah, evasive maneuvers! Evasive maneuvers!"

The Gaia Legion users had smoothly formed up around their anti-air tanks, pushing forward as the front line with practiced coordination.

"Hold the line! If your shield module breaks, fall back for a second! Keep firing! Let's knock every one of those flies down and strip the gear off their backs!"

"Uraaa!"

To users who could never resist loot in the first place, Cosmo Spawn's jetpacks were exactly the kind of trophy they absolutely had to claim for themselves.

"Aaaaah! Th-these bastards are shooting like maniacs!"

"Fire! Don't you dare give ground! If we lose to a bunch of vermin like this, the president will— gwaaaack!"

"C-captain?!"

At first, the troopers had been dodging shots using their jetpacks to hold their own — but once users caught sight of those jetpacks, their eyes went wild, and they laid down proper suppressive fire, knocking the troopers out of the sky one after another.

Nor were the transports themselves safe. The Gaia Legion's anti-air tanks, having locked onto anti-air range, mercilessly poured flak into the sky, and the remaining transports, scrambling helplessly, exploded one after another in short order.

"Ha ha ha ha! Keep firing! Bring down every last one of those flies too!"

"Alright! Got two of them! Over there! They're bunched up over there! Swing the turret!"

In the end, overwhelmed by the users' momentum, the jetpack troopers scattered in twos and threes and fled in a panic, while the users squabbled over who'd get to claim the fallen troopers' jetpacks off the ground.

"Now, now, we're all in the same boat on this scenario quest! Let's not fight over it — how about the Frontier and the Legion, who did most of the heavy lifting in this fight, split the haul fifty-fifty?"

In the end, a senior Frontier user stepped in to mediate, and the captured jetpacks were split evenly between the two factions.

"Heheheh, if we keep fighting these Cosmo Spawn bastards, more of those jetpack guys are bound to keep showing up, right?"

"Next time, we're the ones charging in...! I'm getting one of those jetpacks no matter what!"

Just as the other factions were gritting their teeth, fanning their own competitive fire, a hovering vehicle running on retracted wheels came to a stop in front of the users.

"What's this?"

"New enemy, maybe?"

"Everyone hold on a second!"

While the users stirred uneasily, the vehicle's door opened.

Standing there was the Chairman's secretary — the same butler-like figure with the sly, thin mustache they'd seen in the video.

"A-are you all the mercenaries... who've come to save our company?"

"That's right! A mercenary band... or, well, we'd appreciate it if you called us a clan."

"Ah, so more of an alliance of clans, then. You truly are a most welcome sight. Allow us to escort you to a safe zone for resupply and rest."

Following the vehicle the secretary had boarded for about twenty kilometers, they arrived at what looked like it had once served as a concert venue — neat rows of seating and a stage.

The ceiling was reinforced in a thick dome shape, seemingly leaving no worry of an air raid.

"This venue doubles as a bunker. We'll begin the briefing after a ten-minute rest here."

"Question!"

A user from the Roaring Dragon Society, eyes gleaming, raised a hand to ask, and the secretary nodded to accept it.

"What is your question?"

"Is there any way we could get our hands on some of WAC's weapons to try out?"

The users' eyes lit up. Whether the laser guns — one of the core draws of this whole event — could be obtained right now was an important matter indeed.

Wiping away a bead of cold sweat, the secretary nodded.

"O-of course, that's possible. After the briefing... should anyone be interested, we'll provide the address to our company's online store. However..."

"However?"

Looking as though it pained him to say it, the secretary continued in a strained voice.

"At present, all of the factories producing our top-tier firearms have been... bombed, and are currently offline. I deeply apologize that we're unable to offer you the products we're most proud of right away!"

The light in the users' eyes dimmed.

In other words, getting their hands on the high-end laser guns would require first pushing through the quest and driving out Cosmo Spawn's forces.

"No, it's fine! We'll make sure to help get that factory back up and running!"

The Roaring Dragon Society user answered with renewed determination, and once the questions wrapped up, they were given a short break.

The users spent the time checking over their weapons, and each clan began discussing how to organize their assault formations.

"Alright, let's begin the briefing."

Before long, the secretary clapped his hands to draw attention, then brought up a map of the city on the large screen behind the stage.

"As you can see, Cosmo Spawn's offensive is currently coming from three directions."

"Why not a full four-way encirclement?"

At the Frontier user's question, the secretary nodded.

"The remaining direction — the south gate — is under periodic bombardment from the large orbital cannon aboard Cosmo Spawn's flagship warship, which they take great pride in. As things stand, there's no way to counter that, so..."

At the mention of orbital bombardment, the users swallowed hard. It was now certain that this Cosmo Spawn faction was a far larger and more powerful force than they'd expected.

"That being the case, the most urgent matter is the west gate. Evacuation of refugees is currently underway there, but Cosmo Spawn strike teams have attempted several raids, preventing us from getting the refugees out."

The users began murmuring among themselves. Since it seemed clear that users would need to split up and go to each of the three locations to repel the enemy, they began exchanging opinions on who would go where.

"As for the east gate... as you all just experienced firsthand, roughly thirty percent of it has fallen to a large-scale jet trooper assault delivered by Cosmo Spawn's transport fleet. They're in the process of turning that area into a logistics base."

Sparks flew in the users' eyes. It felt certain that driving them out of there would come with a substantial reward. Of course, a logistics base would also mean far heavier defenses — and thus, a much higher difficulty.

"The north gate, in truth, is currently under assault from part of the force that seized the east gate, pushing in on the ground. The intensity of the attack there is the most moderate of the three, but that area holds our city's main shopping district, and it absolutely must be protected."

The users understood immediately.

The west gate: a section where goodwill would rise sharply by helping refugees evacuate.

The north gate: the gentlest in difficulty, offering modest rewards for protecting the shopping district — suited to ordinary users.

The east gate: the toughest fight of all, a battle for the logistics base, but with a hefty reward waiting at the end.

After several rounds of disagreement and back-and-forth among the users, it was decided that they'd split into groups by clan and head to each gate.

A west-gate group centered on the Frontier. An east-gate group centered on the Legion. And a north-gate group made up mostly of mid-tier clans and general users, centered around the Roaring Dragon Society.

Since the Professor had nothing to say, his team held off deciding and simply watched. But in the end, there was nothing left to decide.

A senior Gaia Legion user strolled over.

"Hey. Professor."

"…Hm."

"You in? The reward's supposed to be big."

"…A tempting offer. However..."

The Professor lifted his head slightly, scanning the faces of the users in the Legion's group. Among them were Overlords users — the same ones who'd always had a particularly prickly relationship with the Professor.

"What, why are you staring at us? Got a problem?"

"……."

Sensing the Professor's mood, the Legion user gave an awkward laugh and waved a hand toward the Overlords, stepping in to mediate.

"Now, now, Overlords, friends — let's not get so worked up. This quest is a one-time-only, important story quest."

"…Tch. You're asking us to trust our backs to that money-grubbing bat, whose loyalty flips with the wind depending on who's paying?"

"We're on the same side for now, aren't we? Clear it together, split the reward, and once we're back on the regular server, you can go right back to fighting each other if you want... right?"

"…Tch. Hey! Professor!"

The user leading the Overlords strode over, glaring irritably at the Professor's helmet for a moment, then slowly extended a hand for a handshake.

"…You're definitely not the type I trust. But this once, I'll take the chance. Can you deliver?"

"…One hundred percent."

"Tch. Fine, then."

Accepting the handshake, giving it a single firm shake, the Overlords user immediately turned his back and returned to his group.

Fortunately, things seemed set to proceed without any major friction, and the Professor felt a quiet sense of relief. If the Overlords caused internal strife right now, it would be bad news both for the quest and for the Professor's own team.

With that, each clan hurried through their preparations and rose to their feet.

"Well then, everyone — good luck out there!"

"Right! You just stay hidden somewhere safe too, old man!"

"Yeah! We'll kick that Cosmo-whatever's ass right out of here!"

"Bring us back a badass laser gun, would you!"

Waving to the secretary, the users set off, and soon began their march.

Where they were headed was the battlefield.

A battlefield unlike the official seasons — one fought against NPC soldiers — awaited them.

The first fighting to break out was at the north gate.

Word had reached the ground forces quickly, and they marched at once toward where the users had gathered.

"Fire! Force them into eviction!"

"Kneel before the power of Cosmo Spawn and beg forgiveness!"

Sure enough, there were fewer jetpack troopers here, but in their place, Cosmo Spawn had brought a fair number of enemies wielding laser guns.

As beams came flying in from every direction, the users, far from frightened, only had their eyes gleam all the brighter.

"I called dibs on that gun! Nobody shoot that guy!"

"What?! Don't be ridiculous! I'm the one shooting him!"

"Ugh, whatever, just shoot!"

Relying on their shield modules, the users charged forward ferociously. In an instant, the shopping district descended into chaos, as users and Cosmo Spawn's NPCs tangled together everywhere, swinging bayonets and knives and firing their weapons in a wild melee.

—To be continued—

[EN] Ascension Field - Season1

Dystopian LitRpg MilitarySciFi AntiHero Harem Mercenary

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BigFS's Dimension Gate

Sep 26, 2026 11:25 am

Public post

Episode 20 — Laser Line 2

While Shadow was still savoring this new revelation about the Professor, he had once again slipped back to reality, using breakfast as his excuse.

The moment he finished eating, he headed straight for the laptop set up beside the capsule.

Opening the laptop and typing something in, a low hum began to rise from the capsule as an ominous line of text appeared on the laptop's screen.

[PROJECT: ASCENSION — OPENING LINE FOR SUPREME AUTHORITY USER]

"Been a while since I've logged into this."

Popping open the capsule's cover, the Professor climbed in without hesitation and powered it on.

Once the cover sealed shut and the surroundings dimmed, the text unique to hacking mode drifted through the air for a moment before a door labeled ASCENSION appeared before him.

Walking slowly toward it, a camera mounted above lit up and a voice welcomed him.

[Supreme Authority authentication initiating. Please provide the password.]

"The redefinition of humanity."

At this weighted declaration, the camera blinked for a moment before the door slid smoothly open.

[Confirmed. Welcome back, Master Platinum.]

Stepping inside revealed a vast spherical chamber. Standing on a long platform set near its center, the Professor looked around him.

Along the walls of the chamber, writhing in a form eerily similar to a giant mass of brain tissue, an endless stream of complex mathematical formulas and translucent projections of what users were currently doing inside Worst Field played out continuously.

"As Supreme Authority, I issue the order. Advance the phase to the next stage. Begin the countdown for Update L2."

At his command, the writhing along the chamber walls quickened, and one of the projections rose up before him like a great screen. He watched it with clear satisfaction.

Three days later.

The world was abuzz with a single piece of news.

Worst Field, which over the past five years had seen plenty of minor events but nothing resembling a major occasion beyond the occasional server expansion, had announced its first large-scale story event.

What was more, the pre-released PV for the event was more than enough to stir the hearts of countless viewers.

A future city engulfed in flame, air-raid sirens blaring across the scene. Batteries scattered throughout the city fired an entirely new kind of laser beam — never before seen in Worst Field — slicing through incoming fighter craft and shooting them down.

As the camera slowly panned toward the tallest building in the city, it revealed a neon sign glowing with an unfamiliar company name: WAC.

Approaching a window on the building's top floor, the view slipped inside to reveal a conference room.

"How can this be happening?!"

"Chairman! You mustn't send that request for aid! The company's stock price—!"

"You think stock prices matter right now?! At this rate, our company is headed for a forced merger!"

The middle-aged man addressed as Chairman was watching, on the map installed on the conference table, as his city was slowly but surely being torn apart.

"But they're a den of greed! If we let in a pack of wolves just to drive off a fox—"

"If we're doomed either way, then I'd rather choose the path where at least I die standing."

At the Chairman's resolve, the executives' faces turned somber, and he immediately reached out to his secretary standing beside him, issuing an order.

"At once! Broadcast a distress call to the nearby planets, immediately!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

The screen briefly went dark, then flickered back on to show what looked like a communications feed.

There, a haggard-looking Chairman, sweating profusely, stared into the camera.

"I am Winkley Wisp, Chairman of Wisp Arms Corporation — WAC for short — a company specializing in optical weaponry: industrial laser equipment, defense products, and the like."

The secretary beside him reached over, dabbing carefully at his sweat with a handkerchief. Clearing his throat, he continued.

"Our company is currently under a massive assault from Cosmo Spawn Co., the industry giant whose main business is the construction of warships."

Even as he spoke, the building shook — evidently under attack as they spoke.

"Anyone will do! Any courageous adventurer, warrior, or mercenary who will stand beside us and take up arms in our defense — we will reward you handsomely, without fail!"

The screen briefly distorted with static before returning to normal, and the Chairman gripped the camera, straining out the words.

"To ensure your safe passage, our fleet is securing the flight corridor with everything we have! Please — use our pride and joy, our safe-passage guideline, known as the Laser Line, and fight for our sake!"

The screen finally cut out with a burst of static.

A moment later, a thick sheet of steel slammed down over the frame, and with a whirring sound, red and blue lasers began carving something into it.

[1ST STORY MISSION: LASER LINE — COMING SOON]

The moment she saw the video, Shadow scampered straight over to the Professor.

"Professor!"

"……?"

He looked up from the rifle he'd been cleaning to face her.

"We're going to the update area too, right?!"

"No."

At his mechanical, immediate answer, Shadow puffed out her cheeks and started shaking him by the shoulder.

"Let's go! Come on, let's go! New materials! A mysterious adventure!"

"…We are a contractor outfit that makes its living off PvP."

"Ngh…!"

Hearing his answer, Grave sidled up and chimed in casually.

"If the reward's as good as a contract fee, though, wouldn't that be worth going for?"

"……."

Kiss, sipping iced tea on the sofa, added her voice too.

"The official season's basically wrapping up, so jobs have been pretty thin lately."

With everyone looking at him as if urging him to go, the Professor let out a small, mechanically-tinged sigh and nodded.

"If our party balance holds up, I suppose a quick look around wouldn't hurt."

"Hm? What's wrong with our party balance?"

At Shadow's puzzled tilt of the head, the Professor pointed at each of them in turn, then at himself.

"A sniper hiding at the very back, a driver, a heavy infantry fighter at the front line, and a mid-to-close-range assassin operating on stealth. It's not a composition suited to fighting as a group, nor to standard PvE."

"Ah."

Sure enough, by PvE standards, the Solution team's composition was fairly ramshackle. Users who typically enjoyed PvE content usually ran with a heavy infantry fighter up front, two regular infantry, one commander/comms specialist to buff and coordinate movement, and finally one medic supporting from the rear. Aside from Grave as the heavy infantry, every member of the Professor's team fell well outside that standard formula.

"S-still…!"

"I know. I said a quick look around would be fine."

Just as the conversation seemed to be settling, Cuticle raised a hand.

"Um… mind if I say something?"

"……?"

The Professor turned to look at her, and Cuticle gave an awkward smile before speaking.

"I've actually been training up medic skills on the side, you know…"

"……."

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah. Back when crafting requests barely came in, I had to find something to fill the time…"

The Professor's head drooped in defeat, shaking slightly, while the women's expressions brightened considerably.

With that, they now had at least the bare bones of a PvE-capable team.

Of course, not everything could go smoothly.

"The update date is one week after the official season ends."

"……."

"If any contract work comes in, that takes priority over this."

The official season came to an end.

The results of the season, which wrapped up without any major upsets, were already the last thing on users' minds.

Everyone's attention was fixed on the update set to launch a week from now: "Laser Line."

Up until this point, every gun users carried had used solid, physical ammunition. Energy-based equipment had been more or less confined to shields and stealth modules. So naturally, everyone's interest was piqued by an event involving a company that specialized in laser weaponry.

"Aren't you excited about laser guns, Professor?"

Kiss, who was particularly fond of this kind of thing, was practically buzzing with excitement, and she hadn't even had a drink.

"Not particularly. Laser guns don't suit sniping."

"Huh? Why not? Since lasers aren't affected by ballistics…"

"And they're too visible. The moment you fire, your position's immediately given away. Not to mention they stand out far too much."

"Aah…"

At the Professor's blunt verdict, Kiss's face fell a little. But the Professor let out a short laugh.

"That said, coating Shadow's blade with an energy layer might not be a bad idea. Or as a self-defense weapon for Kiss. Might work well mounted on the vehicle too."

"Really?!"

"Mm-hm."

The Professor's team began preparing to enter the event zone independently.

Since they'd be heading into a warzone, there was no such thing as being too prepared.

"Ammo's fully stocked?"

"Cargo bay's packed!"

"Weapon repair kits are loaded too…"

Once preparations were finished, the team boarded their vehicle and set off.

Their destination: Coperiol Spaceport, one of the few neutral zones on the conflict-zone planet.

Near the spaceport, advance parties from countless clans had already gathered in scattered clusters, waiting.

"Yo — Professor!"

"……?"

Spotting the team's vehicle approaching from a distance, Baird Choi came over.

"What's this about? Never expected a PvP specialist outfit like yours to get involved in something like this. Somebody put in a request?"

"Not particularly."

"You gotta enjoy the game like a gamer should!"

At Kiss's remark from the side, Baird Choi let out a short laugh.

"Ain't that the truth! Gotta enjoy the game! Damn right."

"……."

"Guess even the Professor can't hold out against a bunch of women nagging him."

Chuckling, he teased the Professor sitting in the passenger seat a while longer before someone from his own group called him back and he headed off.

The Professor's team wasn't the only one drawing attention. The Overlords and Father Masquerade's people were openly shooting hostile glances their way, while over with Mary's Children, the officer they'd met on a previous job waved a greeting.

Everyone but the Professor waved back, and one by one, they made their way into the spaceport.

After a stretch of passing scenery through the void of space, the view of WAC's spaceport came into sight.

But what greeted the users who'd just arrived were six troop transport ships sent by Cosmo Spawn Co.

From the foremost of the transports, a holographic image projected outward. It showed a young man with a sharp face and glasses, dressed in a suit, looking down at the users.

[How troublesome. To think that pathetic distress call would draw in this many vermin… It pains me to lose potential customers, I must say. But I'm afraid all of you will have to die.]

"Guess that's the final boss, then."

"Combat right off the bat — now that's a hell of an event."

"Alright, everybody! Weapons ready!"

If anything, the users felt their competitive spirit rising, eager for the new enemy about to appear.

[Now then, employees — carry out the forced eviction notice on these people!]

No sooner had he finished speaking than the transport's lower hatches opened, and Cosmo Spawn's private soldiers, jetpacks strapped to their backs, began dropping down.

"Serve the eviction notice on these idiotic vermin! Charge!"

"Fire! Let's deliver our own version of an eviction notice, our way!"

Taking the lead were the Gaia Legion users.

"A rough welcome party — now that's what I'm talking about!"

"Decked out in fancy gear and all! A man's strength is what counts, strength!"

"Light 'em up! Let's carve the fear of users straight into their bones!"

At once, a massive firefight erupted between the user faction and Cosmo Spawn Co.'s private soldiers.

—To be continued—

[EN] Ascension Field - Season1

Dystopian LitRpg MilitarySciFi AntiHero Harem Mercenary

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Episode 25 — Lab Infiltration 1

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Episode 23 — Laser Line 5

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