Chapter 53: Putting Feelings Into a Moment, Part One
At last, I’ve reached the part I first envisioned when I began writing this work. It’s thanks to everyone’s support. Thank you very much. I hope you’ll continue to support this humble work.
She knew perfectly well that this wasn’t like her.
???: "Hahaha... man, I haven't seen triple digits in forever. Think I can actually buy some herbs?"
When had she last bought herbs? Her funds, which once must have been tens of thousands of times greater than what she had now, had dwindled to practically nothing. Yet the countless items packed into her inventory to the limit showed, in inverse proportion, just how serious she was about this plan.
???: "Got a bead on that item too... now it all comes down to whether those two say yes."
When did she start losing interest in this game? Things didn’t always go her way, but she herself wasn’t dissatisfied with real life. He, however... was different. The PK clan he built had plenty of upsides for her. What she's after is a thrill like fireworks. A single flash, but one so brilliant it burns into your memory — that's the kind of play that's in her bones.
???: "Getting wrecked and going broke is the whole point of being the villain, but everyone chickened out..."
Back when she first laid eyes on that, the whole group still burned with the drive to push forward, the passion. But that day — the day they slapped massive penalties on player-killers — the clan changed. They started playing it safe, clinging to stability. The members who used to laugh and dare the whole server to come at them? One by one, they drifted away. It all started when the former Number Three pulled something absolutely insane against bounty hunters and went bankrupt with a satisfied grin. Now? To her, the only ones left are third-rate scrubs, the best of a bad lot.
???: "So, how do I sweet-talk 'em..."
She gets why they left. It's not that they wanted to hoard the spoils of PK. That was just a side effect. The real reason they did it was to have fun. Some loved playing the villain. Some got off on fighting avengers who came for their heads. Some were just freaks who soaked up every look — terror, contempt, hatred — with a smile. They wanted to cut loose in ways they never could in real life. Keeping their current status meant nothing.
???: "Mmm... I think just asking plain would get 'em on board, but I need them ready to die for this. Gotta fire 'em up."
The players who genuinely loved PK itself were gone. In their place, the clan became a swarm of flies buzzing around the honey PK left behind. So when he started talking about using that like some kind of tool, she almost seriously decided to quit the game for good. So then why is she still logging into Shangri-La Frontier? Ask her, and she'd tell you straight:
???: "Because I have to take that thing down."
Anyone who knows her playstyle would find the sight of her now absolutely ridiculous. The same woman who'd happily turn a globally important NPC into a disposable trap trigger is now betting everything on one single NPC — not even another player.
???: "Counting back from the next full moon and the new moon... if I don't lock in their help today or tomorrow, I miss the window."
Her vision of the future was missing its final colors. Now she's found the last two. Are they paint, or nitroglycerin? She can't be sure... no, they're definitely nitroglycerin. That's exactly why she's prepared everything she can, ready to retire if it all blows up in her face. If she fails, the thin thread of inertia that's kept her logging in would snap for good. A flicker of doubt crosses her face. She’s aiming at a formidable enemy no one has ever conquered. Can three people really pull this off? She slaps her cheeks a few times, hard, like she's beating the doubt out of herself, then flops back onto a carpet of red spider lilies and stares up at the moon.
???: "Just watch, Setsu-chan. It's all or nothing, the biggest gamble of my life — and I'm betting everything to win."
Right now, I'm not the half-naked bird-head Sunraku. That Sunraku just updated the Fourfossier landmark and saved & logged out in a Rabituza bed. This me is Sunraku the rapier user — buff macho body, dandy beard, wrapped in armor.
Sunraku: "Man, it's been a while... this air."
I logged in once before that Fuckaria attempt, so it's honestly been months. Whoa, careful there — if you're gonna ambush someone, you've gotta think about the angle, not just slip behind 'em. See? That's how you get intercepted.
Sunraku: "Let's see... the meetup was at Count Phalanx's mansion, right?"
If I remember right, it's an NPC mansion where the guards are even tougher than the royal castle. Sure, most players wouldn't wander in... which just raises the question of how the hell she managed to set the meeting there. Eh, whatever — at this point there's no upside to trapping me, and she must've pulled strings somehow. I smack around a few thug players, one-shotting them for fun, as I make my way through this world... United Rounds.
???: "Evenin’! Die!"
Sunraku: "Evenin’. Drop dead."
???: "Gwah?!"
Sorry, but unlike the attack-count-focused Owata-style over there, this build is pure assassination — maxed rapier, one hit to a vital. Give me one opening and you're dead. Unlike Shangri-La Frontier's vanish effect, this nobody burned out like a campfire, crumbling to ash. I strip his gear.
Sunraku: "Tch... nothing but junk. Guess that's what you get from a failed bandit."
In a game where every player is a PKer, getting ganked isn't something to be ashamed of. You think you're jumping someone ten-on-one, and then suddenly you're surrounded by thirty people. And the punchline? Those thirty are just as happy to waste each other if they see an opening.
Sunraku: "Whoops, not the time for this."
I looted out of habit, but I really shouldn't be wasting time. Which way was it again...?
Pencil Warrior: "Well, well, look who's here! Welcome, Sunraku-kun. Katzo-kun's already inside."
Sunraku: "Oh, I'm last?"
I walked right into Count Phalanx's mansion without the NPC guards batting an eye. What kind of strings did she pull... whatever. Pencil Warrior — practically identical to Pencilgon from Shangri-La Frontier, just with slightly rougher polygons — greeted me with that trademark grin. She led me through the mansion like she owned the place, straight into what looked like a drawing room.
Katzo: "Hey, Sunraku. Sounds like you've been causing chaos."
Sunraku: "I'm not trying to cause anything. Getting that unique leaked was a pain, though."
Pencil Warrior: "No netiquette is terrifying."
Yeah, from the way Pencil Warrior's talking, someone must've snuck a screenshot. Ah, well — it's in the past. An MMO is a game, but it's also real. No reset button, no task manager. You can't rewind what's already happened, so you focus on what comes next.
Katzo: "So? Let's get to it. You didn't call me and Sunraku out here just to say 'let's play SLF together.'"
Pencil Warrior: "Right. Time's tight, so I'll be blunt."
Katzo popped some tea sweets — the default object kind — into his mouth as casually as if he were at home. Pencil Warrior answered his question with her usual smile, dropping the bomb as if it were nothing.
Pencil Warrior: "How about the three of us take down the Unique Monster 'Wethermon the Tombguard'?"
Sunraku: "Bwha?!"
Katzo: "Gahf?!"
Honestly, I'd steeled myself for something like "let's the three of us storm a clan made up entirely of high-level players." But that word blew way past my expectations, so far out of left field that I yelped and Katzo damn near choked. Good thing those tea sweets vanished as objects the second they hit his mouth. In real life, he'd have sprayed crumbs everywhere. Gross.
Katzo: "Wait, wait, wait. Unique Monster?!"
Pencil Warrior: "Yep. Deadlier than any half-baked boss. There aren't even ten of them in all of SLF. Wethermon the Tombguard's one of them."
Sunraku: "Phew... okay, I'm calm. For starters, I've got three questions."
Pencil Warrior: "Go ahead, Sunraku-kun. As the client, I'll answer you honestly."
She must've seen this reaction coming. Even when I started asking, that easy smile never left her face.
Sunraku: "I'll keep it simple. Why us? When? And do we actually stand a chance?"
Pencil Warrior: "Isn't that a little too simple? ...Well, let's go in order. First, why you two — it's a bit complicated, but the short version is: this isn't an enemy you beat by piling on bodies. The Ashura Kai's top fifteen tried a raid. Got completely shredded."
Katzo: "...So it's the type that scales its HP and attack power with player count?"
Katzo had the same thought I did. In a multiplayer-focused game, bosses scaling with party size is standard to the point of cliché. And this is a Unique Monster — the same category as that night-raiding Lycagon the Nightslayer. If its already insane base stats get jacked up even further by more players, I don't even want to imagine how nightmarish it gets.
Pencil Warrior: "That's part of it, but it's messier than that. I'll share the rest once you're on board. Next, the when — we get one shot. The night right after the big summer update, two weeks from now. That's the day."
Two weeks. Long and short. As prep time goes, it's pretty generous, and Katzo seemed to think so too — he didn't push back. But the real question is number three.
Sunraku: "Do we actually have a chance? Not to be blunt, but I'm barely past level 30."
Katzo: "I'm level 25."
Pencil Warrior: "Whoa, that’s pathetic. You’re both way too weak...?"
Shut your mouth... okay, kidding aside. Looking at the Lycagon situation, I can't figure out why she'd pick us. Too many people makes it too strong, so you go with a small, elite squad. I get that much. But why specifically me and Katzo? We both have solid player skills, sure. But if you're going small-team elite against a Unique Monster, shouldn't you stack people way stronger than us? Like, level-capped no-lifers — Psyger-0 types?
Pencil Warrior: "No, levels can be handled. To fight that monster of a warrior, you don't need levels or ultimate gear... you need raw player skill. That's exactly why I need pro gamer Katzo-kun and trash-game hunter Sunraku-kun."
Sunraku: "I really don’t think ‘pro gamer’ and ‘trash-game hunter’ belong side by side."
Katzo: "Yeah. It’d drag down the pro gamer’s standing, so step away, trash-game hunter."
It kills me, but I can't argue with a real pro...! It's like putting a weed next to a five-star meal — the fact stands. But hey, in trash games, we trash hunters can still beat pros three out of ten times!
Pencil Warrior: "Now, now... So, what do you think? If you want extra rewards, I'm listening."
Katzo: "This sounds way too good. I can smell an ulterior motive from a mile away... Sunraku, you?"
Sunraku: "Me? I'm in."
Katzo: "Just like that?!"
They say a duck comes carrying a leek, but for me this is like the duck showed up dragging both the leek and a cow, then went out of its way to make sukiyaki for me. I’d been craving the ultimate one-hit-and-you’re-dead kind of battle, and it lands in my lap — a Unique Monster, no less. I'm already broke, so I've got nothing to lose, and recovery won't be that hard. Pencil Warrior pitching this obviously means there's some angle... but even knowing that, it's way more fun to just jump in.
Katzo: "Sigh... Okay, hypothetical: if you two somehow beat this Wether-whatever without me... exactly how insufferable would you be about it?"
Sunraku: "I'd rub it in your face every single day until you die."
Pencil Warrior: "I'd nag you about it every time we meet."
Katzo: "You bastards... Fine, I'm in. Not like I have a choice."
His mouth says one thing, but there's zero reluctance in his expression. Oh, you tsundere — you're practically bouncing inside.
Pencil Warrior: "Ahh, I knew you two would say yes. You're the exact kind of idiots who'd charge a castle packed with eighty players, just the two of you..."
She smiled like she was gazing at an old memory, and both Katzo and I cracked wry grins. Come to think of it, I was the one who pitched that back then... "Looks fun — let's go assassinate the king."
Sunraku: "So."
Now the real part.
Sunraku: "You're still hiding something, aren't you? If we're in, we're all in. Spill it."
At that, Pencil Warrior's smile only grew wider.