BXBX NOVEL Chapter 164: Tell me her name. [1/2]
{Hike}, which reduces drag, and {Endure}, which negates both impact and counterforce, kept my guns steady even when I was running.
{Gather} and {Code} also increased my brain power to use {Aim} and {Snipe} from the hip. This meant that with {Aim} on all the time, when I held a gun, I saw crosshairs as if I were playing an FPS.
{Snipe} was enforced by three overlapping crosshairs colored black, yellow, and red. Basically, when I move my gun, if the three crosshairs are not aligned, the bullet will miss.
Exa told me that black indicated ballistic trajectory, yellow meant wind resistance, and red represented heat convection.
It was like having a targeting computer in my brain that allowed me to correct my shots the moment I raised my gun.
Moreover with {Withstand}, {Endure}, and {Carry}, I barely felt the weight of the recoil and the lead-spewing guns.
This kept me from getting tired and allowed me to fight longer. Speaking of stamina, I finally understood how {Eat} worked. Exa explained that I was gaining 1000 calories per gram, which was insane.
A normal person only needs 2,000 calories a day. A Big Mac meal with medium fries and a drink costs 1,100 calories, so just two of those gave enough "food" to keep a person stuffed for 24 hours.
If I used {Eat}, just two bites would go beyond Big Mac meals. To put this into perspective, a typical 62 gram Snickers bar normally provided 303 calories. But eating one with {Eat} active, would provide 303,000 calories instead.
Therefore, every time I had a meal with Aki's {Fate}, my fatigue disappeared. My body basically compensated for the loss of stamina from the excess calories. And this was all before {Rewind}!
The more I learned about my {Fates}, the more amazed I became, especially now that I was using them to the maximum. However, even with all these advantages, I began to see problems with my fighting style.
First, half of my arsenal became redundant due to {EXA Reload}. Since the AR-15 and M60 could run without reloading, the only time I needed another weapon was when they broke or jammed.
The MAC-11s were outclassed as a result. SMGs were invented to allow rapid fire in the trenches, providing great control due to low recoil. My other SMG, the MP5SD, now had no purpose other than its ability to fire silently.
{Limitless} eliminated the recoil from my rifles, making even 7.62 NATO feel like a toy. Which in turn made the SMGs lose their primary benefit.
Half of my guns, including the 1911, P30L, 629 Competitor and MK II, were of course no match for the larger calibers.
The handgun cartridges did not have the range or penetration of my other weapons. So instead of having five different pistols, two or three would suffice as backups.
Only the 1887 shotgun and the M24 sniper rifle still had specific uses, but everything else seemed unnecessary. If I removed the redundant weapons from my arsenal, I could load more ammunition for my main weapons.
The next problem was my new dependency on the reliability of my guns. Since I no longer had to reload manually, prolonged use of my guns became the next big issue when I was doing combat drills.
My AR-15, while not having full auto, still jammed a lot from non-stop firing. The barrel along with the muzzle began to wear out after 600 rounds. The 1887 on the other hand, while hardly jamming, fired way too slow for my taste.
When I tried to fire it with one hand, the cool factor of spin-cocking the thing disappeared as it could not keep up with my combat tempo.
Similarly the M24, despite my attempts to shoot fast, was bolt action, so the mechanism of operating the bolt forced me to slow down despite my superior reflexes.
"I mean, I could stick with the SMGs or pistols, but it seems like a waste to use low-caliber rounds when I don't have to."
Since I wasn't fighting people, there was no advantage if I wound my targets. Unless my goal was to fire indiscriminately, as I did with the M60, keeping SMGs seemed unsuitable for my fighting style.
The only weapon that excelled at everything I did was the M60. They called that thing "The Pig" for a reason. It ate belts of ammo without stopping, and a simple barrel change got it back up and running in less than 10 seconds.
My AR-15, on the other hand, started to deform the barrel from excessive use. I noticed that at some point the {Snipe} crosshairs would no longer align no matter how I shifted my aim.
Therefore, as of today, I knew I needed new firearms. I was using my current arsenal because I had nothing better. But now that I had literally millions to spare. I wanted to get better hardware.
The effect Aira's drone had on my fighting ability was enormous. Unlike the manifested, I couldn't evolve my weapons as I grew, but also unlike them, I had no reason to wait for my {Fate} to grow before changing weapons.
"Hmm, the AR-15, while reliable, is unwieldy with one hand, maybe I should get a short-barreled bull-pup instead? For shotguns, I need an updated automatic. The M60 is good, but I could get a better one since it is outdated by modern standards.
"For handguns I don't see the need to keep 9mm rounds. Just upgraded 45 ACP pistols would be enough. And maybe something that could fire the .44 magnums, as I already had 2 blessed rounds."
I began to itemize my shopping list of weapons as I went through them. It was times like these that made me glad I was born in America.