-world technology, right?”

“Well, there’s also a chance that the factory AI was too bored, having nothing to do and decided to make a weird design just to kill time though. And also, Akira, shouldn’t you shoot it soon? There’s no need to use time compression just to prolong this conservation, right?”

“Whoops!”

Akira refocused back to his target. Since he had already compressed his time perception unconsciously, that exchange with Alpha did not take that much time in the real world. The lock-on notice was still there as well. Akira made sure that his aim was properly locked on that monster as he pulled the trigger, the cannon released a thick blinding light that produced a shockwave.

The pillar of light grew larger and larger as it travelled, when it hit the monster, the pillar of light that had grown bigger than the monster and entirely swallowed it.

It then dispersed into smaller light threads before vanishing. The portion of the monster enveloped by the pillar of light also vanished together with that pillar. There were only the legs left behind as if its upper half was sliced through with an extremely hot object.

The weapon that Akira just used was an AD anti-material cannon. It was one of the extension parts of his CA31R augmented suit and it was made to be used in tandem with that augmented suit. After his experience fighting Zalmo during the large-scale expedition, Akira was looking for a weapon with enough firepower and accuracy to take out a powerful opponent while still small enough to be carried around. Thus, he ended up with this cannon which was also his trump card at the moment. Normally, it would only be used by the Hunters who work in the far eastern part of the eastern district, it was produced with a limited supply. Kiryou would not sell such equipment to Hunters below Rank 50. Of course, the ammo was equally expensive as well.

When Akira realized that he just shot an ammo with the firepower that matched its price, he was surprised by how powerful it was.

“As expected, it’s really powerful. I guess that Laser Cannon name is not just for show, huh?”

“To be more precise, it just looks like a laser because of the leftover warhead turned into particles of light. So, it’s technically not correct to call it a laser. After all, it’s not like it is shooting out plasma.”

“We’re Hunters, after all, we don’t really care about the details as long as it’s strong enough to kill monsters. Aside from the price of the ammo, my only worry is probably how dazzling it will be if I use it during the night. Since it will also annihilate everything around me, I can’t use it while I hide.”

The moment Akira released his grip on the AF anti-material cannon, it retracted and returned to its folded state on Akira’s back.

“So the Hunters in the far east shoot this kind of thing around as if it’s normal, huh? No wonder they’re treated like a walking powered suit or a tank. I can’t understand how Hunters would want to go to such a place on their own volition just because they have a high enough Hunter Rank.”

“Oh my, to be honest, I hope that you would aspire to be one of those Hunters though?”

“Yeah, I know. I’m doing my best here to satisfy your expectation, so it would be great if you would wait patiently.”

Alpha smiled at Akira because of his growth. In contrast, Akira returned back with a bitter smile.

That was when Hikaru suddenly called him.

“This is Hikaru. It seems that a large-sized Ocpalos monster is heading in your direction, it came from area E1173 which is 3 areas away from the area assigned to you. I just got a report from the Hunters responsible for that area. It seems that there were too many monsters for them to handle so some monsters ended up escaping to other areas. It’s far stronger than the other monsters in that area, so I think it’s better if you get away from there. The other Hunters responsible for the other areas also avoided that monster. Hurry up and retreat, I can send reinforcements to help you run away if you need assistance, do you need me to do that?”

“How many? Is it in a big swarm?”

“Just one. But it originated from the area further to the east, so it’s abnormally stronger compared to the other monsters around your area. In the worst-case scenario, it might even be more formidable than a swarm of monsters in your area.”

“I actually just shot down a monster that looks like an octopus, or a squid, Are you talking about that one?”

“Eh?”

Akira replied so casually that Hikaru needed a few seconds to process what she just heard.

“You killed it..? Uhh.. Can you send me the data?”

Akira proceeded to send the data, Hikaru went silent again for a while before replying in a rather surprised tone.

“Ah, yes. That is the monster from the report. They mentioned that only one got away and they have confirmed that as well, so it should be okay now. They actually sent a few Hunters to hunt for that monster, but I’ve already informed them that the monster has been slain.”

There was another pause before Hikaru continued, this time, she sounded apologetic.

“..And also, uh, I’m sorry. I underestimated you. To be honest, after hearing that your payment for the large-scale expedition was all converted into Hunter Rank, I thought you were not that strong.”

“Well, you’re not mistaken, so don’t worry about it. Although I did say I killed it, I had to use my expensive trump card to do that after all. Well, if you still feel sorry for that, I hope you’ll help me to get a better reward so I don’t end up in red after using that expensive trump card.”

Since Akira sounded like he was not offended at all, Hikaru’s voice returned back to her usual tone.

“Sure. I’ll do my best, so you can look forward to it. Later then.”

Hikaru then closed the call there. After that, Akira frowned and mumbled.

“..So Hikaru also did not expect that monster to be here.. hmm.. I guess that’s just how strong that monster was. For some reason, I always get stuck in this kind of situation, don’t I?”

Alpha smiled amusedly and answered him.

“Well, it’s business as usual for you. So it’s no problem at all as long as you’re well prepared. Aren’t you glad that you are?”

Akira chuckled. Although he could agree with that statement, he still felt conflicted to just brush that aside and accept it as his normal.