[Thanks to everyone's ratings, impressions, and reviews, I've been able to reach Chapter 100. Though I am still very much an amateur, with typos and setting inconsistencies discovered at no small frequency, I ask for your continued support of this humble work going forward.]
Chapter 100: People Dream of the Impossible; Now, to Walk the Sky
Sunraku: "GET BACK HERE, DAMN IT!"
Undead Wyvern: "GIIIIIIIIII!!"
The moment our eyes met, one side chose headlong conflict, the other headlong flight. Predator and prey, hunter and hunted. If there's one thing wrong with that picture, it's that the undead—who by nature should be the predators hating the living—are the ones fleeing, while the human and rabbit—who should be the prey—are the ones doing the chasing.
Sunraku: "You think you can get away by flying? Don't make me laugh. Emul!"
Emul: "Hai na! Magic Chain!"
The instant Emul chants the spell name, chains of magical energy fire out from a magic circle that manifests above my head. They surge in a straight line toward the Undead Wyvern, tangling around its wings.
Sunraku: "Stopping because you got annoyed—that was a bad move on your part. Though I guess it's not a 'move'—more like a bad wing?"
Emul: "Magic Edge!"
Blades of magical force shear away the decayed scales clinging to the rotten-flesh neck. The Executioner Sword slams into the wound carved by the magic blades, and for good measure, a Lucky Fist—boosted by the appropriate modifiers—smashes into the Undead Wyvern's cheek. Only then does it finally run out of steam, bursting into polygons. Honestly, that trash-mob curse that was so helpful at first sight—the moment you switch to level grinding, it class-changes into a restriction element in an instant.
Sunraku: "Seriously... I'm not trying to play tag here."
Emul: "This is easy street for me... wa! But Sunraku-san, you keep hopping and bouncing around, so it's hard to aim... wa! I'd appreciate a slightly safer driving style... wa!"
Sunraku: "That's a tough ask. Right now, I'm basically a bucking bronco... well, a bird, but still."
Well, of course—she's clinging to my head, so she's saving all the energy of running on her own. On top of that, I'm deflecting the miasma for her, so she must be mighty comfortable. That said, now that she's transformed into a full-support artillery platform, Emul isn't a burden at all. Even if she were ten times heavier than she is now, she'd be worth carrying just on merit.
First, the Magic Chain she just used on the Undead Wyvern—this is an advanced spell over Magic Bind, which has a similar effect. Its binding strength is reflected by the level difference between caster and target. In other words, the stronger she gets, the more potent the restraint. But the greatest advantage of this spell isn't the binding itself. It's that the target has to perform even the slightest "struggle to break free" animation. Take that Undead Wyvern just now—it interrupted its flight to try and shake off the Magic Chain tangled around its wing. That opening let me close the distance and shave its HP to zero in one go. There do seem to be limits—like being unable to bind targets with an overwhelming level gap or certain specific monsters—but as a tool for not letting small fry escape, it's an exceptionally excellent spell.
To be honest, my wallet was teetering one step from rock bottom, but what barely propped it up was that female knight figurine from before. When I showed it to Peatz, apparently it was an extremely rare piece, and he bought it off me for a considerable sum. I learned then that, generally speaking, idols that are fully humanoid—especially ones with facial expressions carved into them—carry tremendous value. Incidentally, the most valuable idols are apparently the ones modeled after the seven Colossi... wait, idols modeled after Unique Monsters can actually drop?
Sunraku: "Aaaah... once everything's wrapped up, I am absolutely going idol collecting..."
Emul: "Sunraku-san! It's a Dullahan... wa! A Dullahan!"
Sunraku: "Oh! An XP rare enemy!"
And this time, it's a Dullahan that's actually holding its head. Does that mean the other one really was just a clumsy idiot...? I think of him—the one who got home-run'd into oblivion—while shifting into combat stance.
Sunraku: "Emul! Operation: Heroic Fall!"
Emul: "Huh, wha—? I've never heard of that... wa!?"
Sunraku: "Hahaha! That's because I just came up with it now!"
Emul: "Fubyaaaah!"
Allow me to explain! Operation: Heroic Fall is—
Sunraku: "A strategy where we tie up a Dullahan—who was probably once some renowned general—by the limbs and beat him to death like the trash mob he is!"
Emul: "Sunraku-san, you mercilessly trample the honor of the dead with no hesitation... that's incredible... wa..."
Sunraku: "Remember this, Emul. The dead aren't made happy by wedding rings or two-rank posthumous promotions. Letting them sleep in peace—that is the greatest tribute we who live in the present can offer those who lived in the past."
Emul: "Sunraku-san..."
That line itself—even I honestly think it sounds cool. But the problem is, right next to the NPC who said it, a medic player was doing the electric slide across the boundary between life and death, which just turned the whole thing into a joke. There are two kinds of trash games, you see. The frustrating kind that has moments of genuine brilliance shining through at key points, and the genuine kind where from the moment you press Start to the moment you hit the power button, there's nothing but the flash of landmines going off. The former... how do I put it—you can see the good parts, which fills you with this compassionate feeling, but at the same time, it's like watching a wildebeest calf being targeted by a lion, or a swallow chick that's fallen from its nest in a typhoon—there's a deep sadness to it that makes it strangely profound. The latter? It's sinful enough to make you snort derisively while playing, I suppose. Why do I feel a twinge of guilt at the sparkling look Emul is giving me?
Sunraku: "Let's do a watermelon smashing!"
Difficulty: Very Easy, no blindfold. And obviously, the watermelon is your head! Emul's Magic Chain, timed with my Endless Chain Slash, tangles the horse's legs and brings it down. The Dullahan—the headless knight who, this time, actually has a head—tumbles off the falling horse. I kick his arm away and send his head flying like a soccer ball. While Emul keeps the body and horse occupied with attacks, I get to work on head-destruction duty. It's the head—well, the head region—but it's a severed head, so the bonus should apply... right?
Sunraku: "Experiment start, ORA!"
Once again, I deliver the glorious homage: I raise the Flame General’s Executioner Sword high overhead and bring it crashing down. Though this time, it's not just a swing—it's a leaping, high-stanced, vertical helm-splitter. The resurrected blade slams into the decaying helmet. The impact travels from the grip up through my arm. The sensation is like smacking a water balloon stuffed with mud—a nauseating balance of liquid and solid in the worst possible way. I grimace but attack again. This time, I throw in Moon Jumper for extra falling force. This time it feels like a rotten watermelon—a wet, skin-crawling squelch—but I can definitely feel it shatter.
Sunraku: "Ugh..."
Dullahan: "GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!"
The crushed head shrieks its death cry. The wirelessly-connected body claws at the empty air above its neck. As the Dullahan thrashes, as if it's forgotten how to stand up, Emul mercilessly pelts it with Magic Edge. Emul, you're one to talk—you're pretty much the same, you know? As I grimace at the rotten-raspberry-colored polygons oozing from the gaps in the helmet—seriously, who puts this much detail into this stuff?—I reverse my grip on the Executioner Sword and, like a holy blade driven into an altar, skewer the Dullahan's head with its point.
Sunraku: "Don't get so down just 'cause you lost your head—plenty of people live without one. Though either way, you're about to become my experience points."
I yank the sword from the ground, flinging off the still-impaled head. It smacks against the ground with a wet splat, then scatters into polygons. The strength drains from the abandoned body as well. Looks like destroying the head applied an instant-death flag to the torso. As I watch the body and headless horse vanish into polygons, I find myself thinking: maybe that clumsy bastard was actually kind of amazing. For a Dullahan, who has to carry his weak-point head around like a football, General Dullahan—who had outright lost his head—was... well, he was like a vampire who enjoys sunbathing, a vampire decked out in silver cross accessories, a vampire chugging wine while eating garlic toast... Man, vampires really do have way too many obvious weaknesses. Kind of feel bad for them.
Sunraku: "At least rest in peace, Dullahan... even though I turned your head into a popped tire."
I make the sign of the cross on a whim, but now that I think about it, what is religion even like in this game's setting? I've never seen it firsthand, but given that NPCs like Saint-chan exist, the worldbuilding in that direction is probably crafted with the same obsessive attention to detail. I'll ask Oikatzo about it sometime—he's clearly a degenerate monk, but technically he's got a clergy-type job. But Dullahan—rare enemy that you are, the experience you've brought me has carried me to even greater heights.
Sunraku: "Level 79... If you just look at the number, it's nothing more than a single level gained."
But in this game, experience is reflected in your skills the moment you level up. Just going from 78 to 79? No, that's wrong. This "one level" is packed with the combat experience since the Wethermon fight—the understanding and awakening of skills forged through battles with General Dullahan, the Humming Lich, and the Four-Armed Golem. And the existence of the "skill I've been aiming for"—something I'd been certain existed based on magazines, PVs, and various other media—makes me twist my mouth beneath the mask into a waning-crescent grin.
Sunraku: "I've been waiting for you... Double Jump...!"
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PN: Sunraku
LV: 79 (5)
JOB: Mercenary (Dual Blade User)
62,000 Mani
HP (Health): 40
MP (Magic): 50
STM (Stamina): 100
STR (Strength): 70
DEX (Dexterity): 70
AGI (Agility): 90
TEC (Technique): 65
VIT (Vitality): 2
LUC (Luck): 104
Skills:
· Endless Chain Slash → Endless Chain Slash: Beast Slaughter
· Glowing Pierce
· Infight Lv.MAX
· Drift Step
· Setsuna's Parry
· Hand of Fortune Lv.MAX
· Great Climb
· Climax Boost Lv.MAX
· Six-Fold Jump → Seven-Fold Jump
· Ricochet Step Lv.MAX
· Hate Trample Lv.4
· Moon Jumper → Sky Walker
· Transient Lone Wolf
· Off-Road Lv.MAX
· Fatal Blade Art: Water Mirror Moon, Fifth Form
· Ignition Lv.MAX
· Overheat Lv.6
· Nitro Gain Lv.MAX
· Duelism
· Shock Fist Strike Lv.1
· Ten Counter
· Power Slash Lv.1
· Single Stroke Bisection
Equipment:
L/R: Flame General’s Executioner Sword
Head: Staring Bird Mask (VIT+1)
Body: Lycagon’s Curse
Waist: None
Legs: Lycagon’s Curse
Accessory: Inventoria
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