Chapter 99: All Things Fall Straight Down; All Creation Hides a Strategy
[My daily posting schedule may slip this week. I intend to keep updating every day if I can, but I wanted to let you know in advance.]
Sunraku: "………Haah. You're kidding me."
I logged out and checked the official site, and sure enough, in the patch notes there was a line: "Adjusted the behavioral patterns of certain monsters." Just from that, you can't tell which monsters they mean. But for me, having experienced both before and after firsthand, I know exactly which "certain monsters" it's referring to.
Sunraku: "This just got real annoying..."
It was originally an exploit—a bonus-stage-style loophole in the design. I figured it'd get patched eventually, but... they moved way faster than I expected. No, faster. Way faster.
Sunraku: "Which means I'm gonna have to overhaul my plans pretty heavily."
A jelly drink in my mouth, I lean back in my chair and think through what comes next. Now that the patch is in, farming the Crystal Scorpions for money is no longer an option. That means I need to come up with a new moneymaking scheme. But honestly, I don't have the motivation to figure that out tonight.
Sunraku: "Hmmmm... in the end, to really make money, I need to be at a level where I can farm efficiently... so then, leveling should be the focus? But, man..."
Since the Wethermon fight, I've been in a fair number of battles. Yet my level hasn't budged. I guess once you're approaching level 80, the gains really slow down. That said, I've been taking down area bosses and gimmick bosses—even if it's in a party—so it's about time I leveled up...
Sunraku: "Leveling up... farming..."
And when I think about that, the Crystal Scorpions keep flickering through my head. Those monsters are spectacular in every conceivable way. The ecology perfectly matching the field's characteristics. The AI that's exquisitely stupid. The deliciousness of the items they drop. On the surface, the Crystal Scorpions might seem like horrible monsters. But that default AI of simple physical charging, the relationship between inactive and active states, the rules governing item drops, the individual performance of a single scorpion—all of it gives off that exquisitely-balanced "I could almost beat them, but not quite" vibe that really fires up the urge to take them on.
Sunraku: "Could almost beat them but not quite... charging AI..."
And honestly, more than anything, I just can't give up on the items I can mine there. The key point is that what you dig up isn't just ore—it's gemstones. Gemstones aren't just materials; they're excellent as vendor items for cash. I want to find some way to neutralize the Crystal Scorpion threat and just do the mining. If I can pull that off, I'm fine with giving up on the scorpions' drops. But now that they've added that ambush-from-lurking maneuver, even securing safety via the old escape method is difficult. The only countermeasure I can think of is physically increasing the distance to buy more time before their attack...
Sunraku: "Physical removal... disregarding item drops..."
Sluuurp. I suck on the empty packet, pulling my scattered thoughts together. I feel like I'm about to grasp something. Just one more piece... if only I had some mental screw to fasten down all this scattered information and lock it into place...
Sunraku: "U-pwoh!"
Seems I sucked too hard—the moment I inhaled, the drink spout popped out of my mouth, the jelly drink bursting against my tongue. Obeying the physics engine that gravity—that server known as Earth—has installed, the jelly drink packet traces a faint parabola and promptly drops toward the floor. I instinctively reach out, but of course—unlike in a game, where my body moves exactly how I want, in reality, my catch motion is a good two beats too slow. The contents don't splatter everywhere, but the packet slams against the floor. The instant I see that, an electric current rips through my brain. A supernova explosion of ideas. A lightbulb flashes. Whatever, pick your metaphor—my scattered thoughts converge into a single answer.
Sunraku: "...Newton just descended upon me."
Falling. That's it—falling. Universal gravitation... Everything falls from top to bottom. The physics engine fundamentally imposes the laws of physics on everything equally. Bugs excluded, of course—those are rebelling against something in a higher dimension. Where is Crystal Nest Cliff? What are its topographical conditions? What are the Crystal Scorpions' thought patterns? How far will scorpions who've gained the tenacity to lie in ambush chase you...?
Sunraku: "Hehe... hehehehehe... Admins, I'll praise you—the patch itself is excellent. But did you really think I'd fold at this level...?"
At first I was going to just accept it and move on, but I've changed my mind. Tonight, I'm not letting you sleep. After all, I'm about to add to your workload—giving you yet another issue that'll need patching!
I need one more piece. What I have to do to get it goes without saying. Trial and error, and leveling up.
Emul: "Ah, Sunraku-san! You're back... wa?"
Sunraku: "Emul. How's the progress?"
Emul: "Big Bro Aydward said he needs to think about it a bit, so he asked us to wait until tomorrow... wa! Also, Big Sis Bilac was calling for you... wa!"
Sunraku: "Alright, let's go deal with Bilac first."
I casually toss Emul up onto my head. She's used to this by now—she reorients herself midair and lands perfectly on top. We haven't been doing this luggage-and-carrier routine for nothing.
Emul: "Somehow, Sunraku-san, you seem really fired up... wa?"
Sunraku: "You can tell? I busted into my friend’s place—my mark, really—and got mobbed. So I'm thinking I'll go prep for a little payback visit."
Emul: "I think you should probably apologize instead... wa..."
Sunraku: "They're just real shy, you see. Even when I go to see them, they hide. And instead of a greeting, they try to kill me, so..."
Emul: "Is that really something you can call friendship... wa?"
Me and the Crystal Scorpions are the best of buddies! After all, my pockets get lined and their place gets cleaned up—it's a win-win relationship. ...The primary means of communication is violence, but hey.
Sunraku: "So anyway, I need to do a little prep work before I go storm the place... yeah."
I arrive at Bilac's workshop and, with Emul still perched on my head, peer inside.
Bilac: "Oi, ya came."
Sunraku: "How's the progress?"
Bilac, with those clunky goggles on her head, greets me—a mismatched sight of fantasy attire fused with sci-fi components.
Bilac: "I'm at the finishin' stage. Now hurry up an' hand over that Legacy Weapon."
Sunraku: "Aye aye."
After talking it over with the other two, we decided, "We're not using this one, and it'll be fine even if we take it apart." So I pull out the staff-type Legacy Weapon—same category, but one of two variants: "Non-Standard Armament: Convergence Mechanism Type [Comet Catapult]."
Sunraku: "Go ahead and dismantle it. Do whatever you want with it."
Bilac: "Ooh, oooh... Just wait 'til tomorrow mornin'. By then, I'll have studied the smithing of the Age of Divinity... plumbed its very depths."
Sunraku: "I'm counting on you."
Whether or not you'll be able to use robots, powered suits, and sci-fi weapons all rides on this. Tilting my head at the oddly restless feeling in my chest, I turn to leave the workshop—
Bilac: "Hold up a sec. There's somethin' I wanna ask ya."
Sunraku: "Hm?"
I turn around. Bilac has removed her goggles and is looking straight at me, so I properly face her.
Bilac: "It's more of a request than somethin' to ask, but... those Crystal Scorpion materials. I wanna use 'em to make a Legacy Weapon."
Sunraku: "Huh? I don't mind, but... can you actually make one?"
I'd just assumed that "Ancient Craftsman" was a job for repairing broken Legacy Weapons.
Bilac: "It ain't like makin' a normal weapon. I'll probably fail a whole bunch of times. So I might end up wastin' a lotta the materials ya got..."
Sunraku: "It's fine, it's fine. Please, go through as much trial and error as you need."
Bilac: "Much obliged...! By the way, dual blades alright for what I'm makin'?"
At those words, I respond with a "no." For dual blades, my plan is to strengthen the three I already have: the Marsh Dagger, the Empire Bee Twinblade, and Togetsu. And branching out into other weapon types will give me more options to choose from in the long run.
Sunraku: "If you're making something..."
After that, I visited a few more facilities. Having finished the preparations needed for my final strategy, I came not to Crystal Nest Cliff... but to the area below it: the Canyon of the Ancient Souls.
Emul: "Why did we come here... wa?"
Sunraku: "The Ruins of Past Glories is definitely great for XP, but the enemies are tough, and you never know what they'll pull. So even if the XP is a little lower, enemies that are easier to kill end up being more efficient for XP in the long run."
Plus, as a countermeasure against the bottleneck—the Humming Lich—I have the Flame General’s Beheading Sword—nicknamed the Clumsy Sword. And on top of that, as promised, Emul has learned new magic now that she's gotten her hands on a Magic Tome—the item necessary for a mage to acquire new spells.
Sunraku: "Let's set the quota at... level 80. Enough rampaging to sweep the undead clean."
Emul: "My new magic is raring to go... wa!"
Sorry to break it to you, but those new spells I had you learn? Almost all of them are support magic.