Chapter 64: Putting Feelings Into a Moment, Part 11
[Correction Notice]
[I received a lot of messages telling me that “washi is tougher than paper,” so I changed the washi-paper armor to tissue-paper armor. Somehow, in the author’s head, washi and tissue had the same durability. Why…?]
Time flies like an arrow. Weekdays from Monday through Friday drag on forever, yet a week-long break is over before you know it, the final day arriving in a blink... Time is both cruel and merciful that way. With that philosophy (nonsense) drifting through my head, the day had finally arrived: Pencilgon’s hosted Chiki-Chiki ‘Wethermon the Tombguard Extermination Battle — Battle Day,’ dragging me and Oikatzo into it.
The meeting place was the NPC café "The Serpent’s Apple." When I asked why she was so fixated on this place, it turned out that — surprisingly — this shop was a rare find: no taste restrictions on the menu, and even red-name players were welcome. Beginners didn't know about this spot, and veterans used similar facilities in later towns, so it was a hidden gem that saw surprisingly little traffic for its notoriety. Which explained why Oikatzo ordered cake here every time — sneaky bastard, I'll have some too.
Sunraku: "Mm, sloppily sweet!"
Oikatzo: "I don't mind this kind of rough-and-ready sweetness."
Pencilgon: "Alright, alright... The reason I asked you both to gather here this morning is simple: we're going back over the plan one last time before the operation."
As we shoveled down cake, Oikatzo and I recited the schedule.
Sunraku: "For starters, we hold position in Thirdrema, then head to the Prismatic Forest Grotto at 11:30... right?"
Oikatzo: "At our current speed, we can reach that spot in about fifteen minutes, so we wait at the entrance."
Pencilgon: "Right. Meanwhile, I'll head to Fifticia to set traps that'll stall the Ashura Kai members, then make my way over — I estimate about fifty-five minutes. And then... the moment the date changes, that's when it all goes down."
In a private room that the intimidating NPC owner had guided us to with unctuous deference — exactly what strings had she pulled? — the three of us were deep in scheming. Leveling was complete, skills were sorted, weapons and armor had been replaced. Oikatzo mentioned he'd prepared some kind of hidden trump card, but I'd just do what I could on my end. After all that practice against hyper-speed bosses in Constipation, I could now read an opponent's movements from the slightest tell. Probably. And when Oikatzo was struggling at level 49, I'd joined his leveling sessions, using my curse to effectively lure Lifestide Destrolobsters to grind up my skills.
So, what did my current status look like?
PN: Sunraku LV:53 (15) JOB: Mercenary (Dual Wielder) 150 Mani HP:30 MP:10 STM:60 STR:40 DEX:50 AGI:70 TEC:55 VIT:20 LUC:74
Skills: · Infinite Slash · Drill Piercer · In-Fight Lv.4 · Skate Foot · Parrying Protection · Hand of Fortune Lv.3 · Greater Climbing · Climax Boost Lv.2 · Five-Fold Jump · Sharp Turn · Assassin Pierce Lv.5 · Oppressive Kick Lv.6 · Best Step · Hunger Wolf · Off-Road Lv.2 · Vorpal Blade Art 【Water Mirror Moon】
Equipment: Right & Left: Empire Bee Twinblade Head: Staring Bird Mask (VIT+1) Body: Lycagon's Curse Waist: Lifestide Sash (VIT+19) Feet: Lycagon's Curse Accessory: None
...Yeah, I bought it. I was pressured into buying it! Not buying it felt somehow terrifying!
But forget that — congratulations are in order: from tissue-paper armor to cardboard-box armor! This is a monumental leap forward. Cardboard, after all, doesn't dissolve instantly in water. Though either way it's a drop in the bucket, if you're aiming for the best possible outcome, even the smallest effort counts. I'll start with the Empire Bee Twinblades to feel things out, then switch equipment as the situation demands.
Sunraku: "Wait, traps? What exactly are you planning?"
Pencilgon: "I'm going to tip off a top clan about the location of Ashura Kai."
Sunraku & Oikatzo: "Uwah."
Pencilgon: "They'll probably try to retreat somewhere the top clan doesn't know about — meaning that spot. But I doubt they'll figure out the answer right away after getting ambushed."
This woman... she's going to crush an entire clan just for a single fight. No — more than that, she's ready to do something that'll guarantee she gets mobbed if it ever comes to light, and all for the sake of winning.
Pencilgon: "Anyway, that's the plan up until we enter the area. The real topic is the in-combat strategy."
Sunraku: "I'm on Wethermon."
Oikatzo: "I've got Kirin, and you're on support — that's how it goes, right?"
Pencilgon: "Right. Now for the finer details. First, Sunraku-kun."
As I absently rubbed the back of my neck — feeling the absence of Emul here with us — Pencilgon fixed her gaze on me.
Pencilgon: "You, at minimum, need to be able to fully deal with roughly every skill Wethermon the Tombguard has within ten minutes."
Sunraku: "Seriously?"
Pencilgon: "Until those ten minutes are up, Katzo-kun and I can provide assist. But regardless, I need you to be able to handle his movements. The deeper into the fight we go, the less you'll probably be able to cope."
Hmm... even with prior intel, actually seeing it in action changes how you handle things. If Katzo can serve as a meat shield for those ten minutes, I should conserve as much as possible while exploiting him to the fullest.
Sunraku: "So with that in mind — I'm counting on you, meat shield."
Oikatzo: "Leave it to me, soggy cardboard."
Pencilgon, now completely ignoring the silent death glares Oikatzo and I were trading, turned next to Oikatzo.
Pencilgon: "Katzo-kun... you're probably going to die a lot. So once those ten minutes pass and Kirin shows up, I'll essentially be your dedicated support."
Oikatzo: "...I heard it was bad, but... that bad?"
Oikatzo's role was to stall the Tactical Mount [Kirin] when it appeared at the ten-minute mark. The guy was practically superhuman in-game, and something like rodeo seemed like he'd handle it with ease — but Pencilgon's words, despite that, made the severity of this battle sink in whether we wanted it to or not.
Pencilgon: "How should I put this... you should discard any mental image of a horse or a bull. Think of it as... a dump truck with legs."
Oikatzo: "That's about two notches worse than I was imagining."
Don't worry — I'm at three notches worse and internally recoiling. Faced with this dangerous rodeo that even gave Pencilgon pause, Oikatzo didn't lose his fearless grin and declared confidently:
Oikatzo: "Well, I'm a pro gamer after all. While you, the trash-eating amateur gamer over there, are getting thrashed by the robot samurai, I'll be elegantly playing with the horse."
Sunraku: "Go ahead. Just try not to get kicked by its hind legs."
Pencilgon: "Oh, if Kirin kicks you with its hind legs, you die. The Ashura Kai tank got grazed and just... vanished."
Oikatzo: "............"
That grin's twitching, pro gamer.
Sunraku: "The decisive battle's at night. For now, I should sleep until evening..."
I'd been shifting my sleep schedule for the past three days, so tonight was primed for peak performance. I could log out and go to bed right now, but there were a few things I wanted to do first. I took out the Magic Scroll [Coordinate Transfer (Teleport)] that Pencilgon had given me and was about to transfer to Rabituza—
???: "KYEE!"
Sunraku: "Whoa! What the — a bird?!"
Something had suddenly clamped onto my shoulder with talons. It had sharp eyes distinct from my mask's stare, unmistakably the traits of a raptor... a falcon? I hurriedly tried to shake it off, but I noticed there was almost no pain in my shoulder, and something tube-shaped was attached to the falcon's leg.
Sunraku: "Is this... like a carrier pigeon?"
Falcon: "Pii."
It thrust its leg out as if to say hurry up and take it already. When I touched the tube, it vanished into polygons and a window appeared.
Sunraku: "A letter... sender: — huh?!"
Dear Sir,
The midsummer sun beats strongly, and these days of intense heat continue — I hope this finds you well.
Though sudden, I thought a personal visit might be an imposition, and so I have taken the liberty of sending this letter.
Today at eleven o'clock, Shangri-La Frontier will implement its major summer update. Even I, with my poor grasp of electronic intricacies, can only marvel at Shangri-La Frontier's technical prowess in conducting updates without requiring logout.
To the matter at hand: if it suits your schedule, I would like us to confirm together the various changes following the major update. What say you?
I humbly ask for your kind consideration.
Psyger-0
For a split second, the letter was so stiffly formal I thought it was some kind of role-played challenge declaration. Let's see — summarizing: she's asking if I'm free tonight. Unfortunately... I'm not.
Sunraku: "Okay, a reply... here we go."
A parchment-style window appeared — a nice detail — but input was via touch-panel keyboard. For now, a polite refusal, and... ah, right. Since I have the chance, why not throw a question to Psyger-0, who's surely among the top-ranked players in all of SLF?
Sunraku: "'How do high-level players deal with hyper-speed frame attacks...' and send."
Do I just attach this to the falcon's leg? There we go — don't give me that annoyed look... For a bird, you're awfully expressive. Staring at me won't work, buddy — when it comes to intensity of glare, I've got confidence too.
Sunraku: "Off you go."
Falcon: "Pyaa!"
I saw the falcon off as it flew away with a cry so deflated you'd never guess it was a bird of prey. Now, back to Rabituza... ah, the sudden mail made the Magic Scroll return to my inventory. Guess I'll have to take it out again—
Falcon: "Pyeh."
Sunraku: "Huh..."
Isn't that a little too fast?
I stroked the out-of-breath falcon's head and opened the letter to find a deluge of text — so much I wanted to ask how many words she'd typed in that single instant. I let the falcon rest, its sides heaving, and somehow deciphered the message. Summarizing:
Sunraku: "In short: 'Thank you for your reply. It's unfortunate, but let us find another opportunity. As a rule, high-speed attacks are dealt with by reading their tells or using guard criticals and similar techniques. Though rarely seen, there is also a mechanic where raising your Luck parameter to 100 or higher lets you survive any attack with 1 HP once per battle — however, it's powerless against multi-hit attacks and instant-death moves, so it's not highly recommended.' Got it."
And that was after I'd compressed it to a fifth of the original. She couldn't have already known what I'd ask before my mail even arrived, could she? Terrifying, Psyger-0.
Even so... hmm, not terribly useful information. No, it's not that — it's just that at my current level, there's not much I can do with any of it.
Sunraku: "Anyway, I'll write a thank-you..."
Falcon: "Pii..."
Sunraku: "...Want some salmon?"
Falcon: "Pii!"
The falcon that had been run through a high-speed shuttle relay was so pitiful that I offered it some of my absurdly overstocked Lifestide Salmon. It spread its wings and let out a cry — pleased, apparently — before pecking at the fish.
Sunraku: "There, there, cute little guy. But man, the craftsmanship is incredible... as expected of SLF."
The insane attention to detail, with not a polygon to be seen, almost made you wonder if you'd actually been transported to another world under the guise of a game.
Sunraku: "...Pfft."
Falcon: "Piyo?"
Sunraku: "Nothing... wait, are you seriously a falcon?"
I snorted at my own absurd thought. You can't go to another world, and I don't want to — but I want to experience that otherworldliness. That's exactly why I play games.
Emul: "Sunraku-san! Welcome...wa?"
When I arrived in Rabituza after seeing off the letter-carrying falcon, Emul greeted me — but then her face scrunched up and she clambered up my body, sniffing.
Sunraku: "What's up?"
Emul: "...I smell another animal on you! ...Wa!"
What are you, a yandere heroine? That "Pizza Study-Abroad" game had yandere heroines too. By the end, the entire playerbase was collectively going, "So for you, the protagonist ranks below pizza?!"
As I was thinking this, Emul continued scaling my body and reached the top of my head.
Emul: "This spot on Sunraku-san is my designated position...wa! I won't lose to some bird that popped up out of nowhere...wa!"
Sunraku: "Rabbits are counted with the same counter as birds anyway, so aren't they kind of similar—"
Emul: "Muuuuuuuuh!!"
Sunraku: "Ow! Ow ow ow, stop!"
You have 30 STR — don't pummel me with it, that hurts!