Chương 7: Chapter 2 The First Gate Contractor(Part 2)

The glow spread across my body once more. Was this the scan? A dull headache formed behind my eyes, but it wasn't unbearable. After a while, the light faded. Then the mysterious voice spoke again. In my wife's voice.

"Language center scan complete. Dialogue protocol set to this language. Grammar acquired from language center. Due to incomplete understanding of certain lexical concepts, some word associations have been discarded. Unknown concepts will be learned through future dialogue. Vocal communication remains inefficient, but accommodations have been made for primitive lifeforms." There was a brief pause.

"Do you detect any abnormalities in your language comprehension?"

"None, I think." Hearing my wife's voice was strangely comforting. But this wasn't my wife. If this was some elaborate prank, it was in extraordinarily poor taste.

"So then... where am I?"

"This is Reclamation Processing Sector 85, 264." The voice paused.

"Garbage dump."

"A garbage dump?" I reviewed everything that had happened so far. There was a monster. There was a frozen battlefield. There was absolutely no garbage. Maybe our definitions of garbage differed.

"We request your assistance. Garbage removal is required. Compensation will be provided." The speech still sounded like a machine translation struggling through a foreign language, but it was becoming easier to understand. Clean garbage. Receive rewards. Simple enough. The problem was that I still didn't know what counted as garbage. Or what kind of reward was being offered. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Looks like patience would be necessary.

"What exactly is the garbage? And what do you mean by compensation?"

"Garbage... stationary monsters." That part was easy. Then the voice continued.

"Compensation... resources. Technology. Also... kin? Kane?" Money. Apparently coins and paper bills were being lumped into the same category. Well, that made sense. It had already explained that parts of its understanding were incomplete. If it didn't fully understand the concept, it wouldn't know the distinctions either. For all I knew, it might not even possess a currency system. At least "garbage" was straightforward. The monsters. That left a more pressing issue. How exactly was I supposed to kill one?

In some countries, civilians could buy firearms. Not in Japan. And if firearms weren't an option, that left knives. But I wasn't suicidal enough to charge a spear-wielding monster with a kitchen knife. More importantly... Why was I here in the first place?

"Let's establish some basics." I held up a finger.

"First, I don't know how to remove these monsters."

"Second, what happens if I refuse this request?"

"And third, what happens if nobody removes the garbage?" Standing around was becoming tiring. I sat cross-legged on the ground a safe distance away from the frozen creature and waited for an answer. If refusing simply sent me home, I'd happily decline and leave.

"Monsters are defeated through jobs. Defeated monsters become resources." The voice continued.

"If request is declined, gate remains. We leave."

"And if garbage is not removed?"

"Garbage overflows from container."

"... Overflow?"

"Discarded materials also overflow." I stared into empty space. Then sighed.

"Why not just remove the gate before you leave?" From what I understood, eventually those monsters would spill out into the real world. That sounded catastrophically irresponsible. What kind of idiot would design a system like that? Unless... A possibility occurred to me.

"Are you invaders?"

"Invasion?" The voice sounded genuinely confused.

"This planet possesses insufficient value." Well. That was blunt.

"We install gates on planets containing primitive intelligent lifeforms and issue labor requests."

"The resulting resources reduce conflict over scarcity."

"Other planets accepted this arrangement."

"This planet's native lifeforms barely meet intelligence requirements, but observations indicate high combat capability." I rubbed my forehead. The difference in perspective was giving me a headache. Still, I understood the basic idea. Resources in exchange for monster hunting. At least from their perspective, they were helping. Even if their methods were insane.

"Another question." I pointed upward.

"What do you mean by choosing a job?"

"Jobs are support systems that draw out a lifeform's inherent potential." The voice answered immediately.

"There are Lower, Middle, Upper, Special, and EX classifications."

"Names are generated from your language database."

"You are the first individual to arrive here."

"Therefore, special privileges have been granted."

"You may freely select two jobs." Two jobs. That sounded important. A translucent display suddenly appeared in front of me. Like a hologram. Rows upon rows of occupations floated in the air. Swordsman. Martial Artist. Mage. Wizard. Appraiser. Countless others. Several entries had additional words attached to them. Fire Mage. Water Mage. Presumably elemental specializations. But a more important question immediately came to mind. Could magic actually exist?

"My species requires an immediate decision." The voice interrupted my thoughts.

"If no choice is made, we will withdraw."

"In that case, your civilization must handle the problem using its own technology." That sounded suspiciously like a threat. Could modern weapons even kill those monsters? I glanced at the three-eyed creature again. No clue. Not even a little.

"Show me the complete job list." I looked back at the display.

"And another thing."

"If I decide I'm not qualified to make this decision, can I transfer the authority to someone else?" Maybe a government official. A military commander. Literally anyone more qualified than me.

"We are busy." The answer came instantly.

"Decision must be made now."

"Occupations are selected by touching their names."

"Selections are permanent." Great. No pressure at all. My eyes scanned the endless list. There were hundreds of options. Maybe thousands. But one thing immediately stood out. I couldn't tell which jobs were lower-tier, upper-tier, or special-class. There were no labels. No explanations. No descriptions. How was anyone supposed to choose?

"There's no information here." I frowned.

"No rankings. No descriptions. Nothing."

"How am I supposed to make an informed decision?"

"Your special privilege prevents such information from being displayed."

"... What?"

"You possess unrestricted selection rights and access to a second occupation."

"Therefore job classification data has been hidden."

"System law. Cannot be overridden." The voice paused.

"Normally, second occupations become available only after advancement into Middle-Class occupations." I stared at the hologram. So everyone else would receive guidance. Except me. Because I had more freedom. Some reward. Still... If everyone entering a gate could receive a job, then ordinary people, soldiers, and professionals alike could eventually become monster hunters. That would change the world overnight. Maybe permanently.