Chapter 98: Know Whose Palm You Dance Upon
Pencilgon: "Well, to jump straight to the conclusion—and it's only natural—those three clans were underestimating us. That's the gist of it."
Some time after the members of Schwarz Vulf, Library, and SF-Zoo had each gone their separate ways, we relocated to an NPC cafe called The Serpent’s Apple — Crystal Street Branch, which conveniently enough also exists in Eighthold. And there, Pencilgon gave us her assessment.
Pencilgon: "Schwarz Vulf was totally looking down on Sunraku-kun. Well, they've got a lot of people who've twisted themselves in a different direction from my idiot little brother—the elitist types. So I understand Momo-chan's having a tough time managing all that."
Sunraku: "I wouldn't have minded just giving away Lycagon's behavioral patterns for free."
Oikatzo: "That's where you're wrong, Sunraku."
The reply came not from Pencilgon but from Oikatzo. He was wolfing down cake served at The Serpent’s Apple — what you could call a back-alley cafe — and pointed his fork at me as he continued.
Oikatzo: "Well, I am a pro gamer, so let me say this. With the old display-type setups, sure, it wouldn't matter as much. But in a full-dive system, knowing your opponent's moves carries way more weight than you're giving it credit for, Sunraku."
After all, the latest intel on your opponent is worth money, Oikatzo added, twisting his face in disgust as he went on.
Oikatzo: "Story bosses are one thing. In the end, every player gets involved with those. But Unique Monsters are different. They say it's worth a fortune, and that's exactly right. Something like removing a status condition doesn't balance the scales, right?"
Sunraku: "Now that you mention it."
Pencilgon: "That's the point. Next, Library. Compared to the other two, they're still somewhat better. Since their leader is who he is, he assessed the fair price and then came at us looking for a twenty percent discount."
The goal of a lore-investigation clan isn't to acquire Uniques or be the first to clear unexplored areas. In the extreme, they could even be dead last. They gather information from those who went ahead, collect the fragments that fell through the cracks, and piece together the world's lore. That is exactly what the Library does.
Pencilgon: "Though that being said, it still irks me that we, as the sellers, couldn't set the price."
Oikatzo: "The person who just paid off twenty percent of her debts with a single book is reaching for even more."
Pencilgon: "There are only three of those books in this entire game, so it's a fair price."
Come to think of it, she's right. Since all three of us own a copy, it felt like it had no rarity value, but if I really think about it, the fact that only we three possess it is an insane degree of rarity.
Pencilgon: "And finally, SF-Zoo... You've got them figured out, right, Sunraku-kun? They're a swarm of locusts. They probably can't distinguish between NPCs and monsters at this point."
Sunraku: "..."
Well, I did figure as much. The way they showed no restraint toward Emul, and how their definition of "harm" seemed slightly off...
Pencilgon: "I've been to Rabituza too, through the 'Tour of Rabituza' scenario. But did you know? That clan ignored the scenario entirely and tried to squat there, so they got forcibly deported."
Sunraku: "Is this a joke?"
Pencilgon: "Well, who'd have thought there was a time limit. It might've been a fine play in terms of providing that info to future players. But you know what'll happen if we grant residency rights to those SF-Zoo VIPs, right?"
All I can see is a future where the sound of screenshots echoes endlessly and rabbits get randomly ruffled up one after another.
Pencilgon: "I'm not going to ask what kind of Unique you're hiding for now. But at the very least, I want you to avoid the boneheaded move of letting it fall into anyone else's hands."
Sunraku: "That's not a problem, but if I turn them down, they'll just cling harder. Though, if the people I introduce end up causing trouble, it'll affect my affection ratings..."
It was a stroke of luck that Emul hadn't returned yet. It bought me more time before I had to give an answer. That said, unlike Ashura Kai, SF-Zoo isn't violating any moral taboo. If you take it to the extreme, no matter what they do to NPCs, they aren't directly harming other players. In terms of sheer nuisance, they're worse than Ashura Kai.
Pencilgon: "...And so, that's why I stepped up to the plate."
Sunraku: "You mean that 'Clan Alliance' thing you formed with them?"
Pencilgon: "Exactly right! Now we can use the facilities and rights held by clans we're allied with. From their perspective, it's 'we'll extend you various courtesies, so hand over Unique intel.' But of course, we're not giving that away for free."
Pencilgon spread her hands open as if showing off.
Pencilgon: "Right now, we hold five trump cards. And every single one is a joker powerful enough to outweigh all the playtime Schwarz Vulf, Library, and SF-Zoo have painstakingly put in."
Folding down her outstretched fingers one by one, Pencilgon began listing the trump cards that Wolfgang has yet to reveal.
Pencilgon: "One: by clearing a Bonus Unique Scenario before anyone else, we hold the informational advantage called 'Bahamut.' Two: by defeating Wethermon the Tombguard, we possess Inventoria and the various Legacy Weapons stored inside. Three: the job class 'Ancient Craftsman,' currently confirmed only for Bilac-chan—we effectively hold a monopoly on it. Four: Sunraku-kun effectively controls the conditions for accessing Rabituza, not to mention the very existence of the Cait Sith. Five: factoring in everything else, we're the ones with the next Bonus Unique Scenario in checkmate."
To add to that, I'm concealing a few more trump cards of my own, but as far as the clan's trump cards go, it's more or less these five.
Pencilgon: "Trump cards have power just by hinting at their existence. Information can kill people. With just three members, we're making the top clans in this game pay tribute to us... We, who haven't even been formed for a month, are standing above the no-lifer players and always staying one step ahead... Don't you think that's the most fun thing ever?"
Sunraku: "You're making a really nasty face, Pencilgon."
Pencilgon: "In Unite Rounds, I was a little too harsh on the livestock. So this time, I'll maintain the 'don't let them live, don't let them die' balance with slightly better feed while stabilizing our external image..."
Oikatzo: "Doesn't this ultimately set us up as the masterminds who get taken down after everything gets blamed on us?"
Sunraku: "If that happens, I'll sell you two out and seek asylum in Rabituza, so rest easy, Oikatzo."
Setting aside Pencilgon, who had clearly started hatching some villainous scheme, I think about what comes next. Though by that, I don't mean anything as sophisticated as a strategy looking several moves ahead like Pencilgon—just more immediate plans.
(For now, meet up with Bilac and have her repair the reactor. Figure out how to handle SF-Zoo while dragging things out as long as possible. Ah, and I've gotta keep my promise to Emul...)
Even a casual promise firmly affects affection ratings. In a game built on explicit parameters, the impact is even more pronounced. Which means what I need is money. It's a harsh world, but I've got a bank with unlimited withdrawals. I'll pay a visit to the Crystal Scorpions for some fun later.
Sunraku: "Anyway, I'm gonna eat dinner and prep for the night, so I'm logging off."
Pencilgon: "Okey-dokey. Let us know if anything develops."
Oikatzo: "Don't try running away the next time we call you, Sunraku."
Sunraku: "Yeah, yeah."
Waving my hand lazily, I left The Serpent’s Apple — Crystal Street Branch behind.
Now then. With Emul in Rabituza, my only way back there is death and respawn. And if I'm going to die anyway, it might as well be a profitable one. I stock up on MP recovery items, arrive at Crystal Nest Cliff, and immediately dash out toward a mining spot.
Sunraku: "Good evening, Scorpion-kun. Sorry to barge in with my shoes on, but I'm coming through."
Two Crystal Scorpions activate. In about ten-plus seconds, reinforcements ten times this number will arrive. But for me, with Inventoria, such a thing is no threat at all.
I draw them in to the absolute limit, then transfer to the storage space—evacuating to an absolute safe zone. As I suppress a grin at the majestic sight of the numerous tools of the Divine Era's civilization—no matter how many times I see them—I kill time until the Crystal Scorpions' hate wears off.
Sunraku: "Ah, right. I should take off my equipment just in case... Alright, their hate should've dispersed by now."
I recover my MP and return to the crystal plain. Just before exiting the storage space, a faint sense of unease flashes through my mind. But I can't pin down what it's a premonition about, so I dismiss it as nothing to worry about.
What greets me upon returning to the crystal-covered cliff is the night sky and silence. And about ten meters ahead, I visually confirm a mining spot where crystals have piled up.
Sunraku: "Alright, first, scorpion materials... Huh?"
No materials have dropped. Why? Tremors? They didn't crash into each other? There was no mistake in my timing—did the scorpions stop before colliding? A behavioral pattern change? Systemic intervention? Add, subtract, multiply, divide, it all equals—
Sunraku: "A fix...!?"
The crystal in all four directions around my current coordinates begins to move. Not the gradual transition from inactive to active—this is unmistakably the ambush-from-hiding maneuver executed in an active state...!
The next instant, through a collision showing no regard for the damage to their own bodies, my body is converted into minced meat.
Alliance