A certain game is releasing a new open-world title, so I’m posting again with my hype at maximum.

Then a certain company showed not even the slightest sign of a new title, so I’m posting again to distract myself from the sadness.

Chapter 29: Bird Mask with Rabbit vs. Shark Mole

Sunraku: "This is... bad."

Emul: "Uhyah, my clothes will get all dirty, wa."

Just as the Gluttonous Serpent had positioned itself in front of the suspension bridge leading to Secondale, Mud Digger had likewise stationed itself—probably—right in the middle of a large swamp deliberately set in the center of the valley that leads to Thirdrema.

Man, this place is way too meta against AGI builds...

If you can't run in a swamp, that means to get past this I have to fight the boss while barely able to move from the spot. Tch, I should have anticipated this the moment I saw this area was a swamp wasteland.

Emul: "Sunraku-san, what do we do? Like this, neither Sunraku-san nor I can go pyon-pyon at all, wa."

Sunraku: "Yeah... For now, let's get a look at the boss first. Emul... well, just hold on tight to my back."

Since we're in a party, I can’t leave him out of the boss fight, and Emul is the size of an ordinary rabbit—if he got stuck in the swamp, his movement would be restricted even more than mine.

Emul: "Hai na!"

Twisting slightly at the fluffy sensation clinging to my back, I step into the great swamp. Damn it, the cold of the swamp seeps right through these almost barefoot sandals you end up wearing when you have no equipment. Why do I have to play with what's essentially a self-imposed naked-equipment challenge? More than anything, I hate how I'm starting to get used to this situation.

Emul: "Myo! Sunraku-san, here it comes, wa!"

Sunraku: "It sure is...!"

As I slog forward, vibrations travel through the swamp where my bare skin touches it directly. It's unmistakably the omen of the area boss appearing. The swamp swelled upward as if being pushed from directly below, and at the same moment, it revealed itself.

Mud Digger: "SHAAAAAAA!!"

Sunraku: "What the hell is this thing?"

A shark-headed mole? A shark with four limbs? But why does it have whiskers...? Anyway, something like that—a colossal shark-headed mole-creature—fixes its lifeless eyes on us.

Emul: "Coming, wa!"

Sunraku: "Tch...!"

It's ridiculously hard to move! No, first, I need to confirm the enemy. I half-force a critical activation with Repel Counter, then use a skill that applies a knockback effect to the attacker to send Mud Digger flying sideways. Rather than physically diving underground, it seems to be sinking into the ground through some kind of mysterious power (well, it's a game, so that explains it). Flung into the shallows of the swamp—where the water should only reach about my shins—Mud Digger submerges into the swamp without any apparent problem, then charges toward me with only its dorsal fin exposed, just like a cliché shark.

Emul: "Kyaa! My skin's going to get peeled off, wa!"

Sunraku: "What are you, the White Rabbit of Inaba?!"

Damn, to have to use my evasion skills this early in the game...! I activate Slide Move, a skill that lets me dodge attacks by literally gliding, and avoid Mud Digger's rush as it tries to bite into my body. Skills don't consume parameters, but they still have a recast time until they can be used again. Now that I've exhausted both of my evasion skills, I'll have to dodge on my own for the recast time... about 10 seconds total for both combined.

Sunraku: "Now what to do...!"

I need to process all the information before Mud Digger makes a U-turn and attacks again. First, the characteristic of this area itself: an obvious agility seal by means of the mud that entangles your feet. The game's judgment is that once one foot sinks into the swamp and reaches the bottom, the other foot remains trapped in the mud—meaning if I increase my cadence, my foot turnover rate, I can move somewhat faster!

Emul: "Coming, coming, it's gonna eat usuuu, wa!"

Sunraku: "It won't eat us!"

I force my feet to move with Accel, a skill that temporarily boosts AGI and STR, and dodge the second charge by a hair's breadth. Damn, that's it—I've truly used up every skill that could serve as an evasion now... I wanted to save Accel for when I went on the offensive, but it can't be helped. Mud Digger's attack intervals are shorter than I expected.

Sunraku: "So, to stop its movement... Emul, you had an attack spell, right?"

Emul: "Eh? Yeah, I have one, wa."

Sunraku: "Use it and hit Mud Digger right at the moment it attacks."

Emul: "Roger that, wa!"

What am I doing, relying on an NPC stronger than me? I'm not entirely without doubts. But the moment I decided to treat Secondale—this area—as a mere waypoint, I resolved not to care about appearances. I don't know this from personal experience, but I've heard from plenty of players about the hassle of overcrowded new players causing chaos. I forcibly convince myself: the rule of not relying on the strong NPC Emul starts from the next area. Thinking about it that way, maybe the fact that Mud Digger is such a tough enemy is actually something to welcome.

Emul: "Mumumu... Magic Edge!"

Having climbed up from a piggyback position to something closer to a shoulder ride, Emul stands on my shoulder and casts his spell. In an instant, a translucent crescent-shaped blade materializes in the air and shoots diagonally, scoring a brilliant hit on the face of Mud Digger as it makes its third charge. The time I earned by dodging with Slide Move and Accel, plus the lag from that attack now, and if I endure until it's close enough that I can feel its breath... recast complete!!

Sunraku: "Heave it up!!"

I reactivate Repel Counter. I step back once to create distance, then strike Mud Digger upward from below. I follow up with Spiral Edge, a skill that thrusts the Marsh Dagger I'm gripping in a gouging motion, to seal the deal. This is probably meant to be something closer to a parry that's a more advanced form of deflection. I know that my half-attack application of using the stagger and knockback like this is irregular, but the fact that even this "not-the-correct-way" usage activates properly is exactly what makes Shangri-La Frontier the best.

Sunraku: "Alright, let's go! Hold on tight!"

Emul: "Hai na!!"

Using skills or magic in ways “different from what was originally intended,” like the protagonist just did, is a fairly common technique.

Examples include using an attack skill with a large motion as an evasion move, or using recovery magic on undead to deal damage.