Chapter 113: An Iron Hammer to the Dressed-Up Mud Doll
Sunraku: "Is it just that I've played so many trash games that I'm behind on today's gaming trends...? There are way too many self-regenerating enemies..."
Scorpions, Omega Boxes... self-regenerating enemies aren't supposed to be something that shows up this often. For a slapped-together design that looked like someone crudely shaped a human out of blocks, its AI was pretty damn solid. I never expected it to pull a slick move like self-amputating its own arm as a decoy while attempting self-repair. Because of its haphazard construction, it could detach and reattach body parts even more easily than a plastic model with loose joints. It ended up taking way more time than I expected. But thanks to that, I got to test out newly learned skills and ones that evolved to the next stage, so it nets out to plus-minus zero... No, honestly, leaning toward minus. That said, the power of level 99 is still staggering. The fact that it took twenty minutes is partly because it was a rare enemy and a solo takedown. But put another way, I've now gained the specs to keep fighting for twenty straight minutes. I fought for twenty minutes and took no real damage beyond scratch damage. If I just close my eyes to the fact that the battle itself was a loss of time, I'm proud to say I took it down in the fastest time possible with my current stats, skills, and gear combination. The dropped item was some kind of parts-type item I don't really understand, but I'll just show it to Bilac later. I sprint toward the exit of this area—where all manner of wreckage has piled up at the end of the colossal skeleton I'd been looking up at, blocking the path.
Sunraku: "Area boss should be coming up soon..."
The Overdress Golem. Its very nature lets it use the junk and rubble it cloaks itself in for both offense and defense. Its body's properties change at random. On top of that, its entire body—except for one single point—behaves like reactive armor, so damage barely registers... However, as players defeated it again and again and uncovered its "weakness," the Overdress Golem—once a late-game area boss before the update—is now said to be even weaker than the Gluttonous Giant Serpent, the very first area boss every player fights. Where I've run to, at the tail end of the Ruins of Past Glories—the rear of the colossal skeleton—is something that looks like a giant thing was crushed flat... with rubble piled on top of that. And in the exact center of that mountain of rubble, a circular field opens up, perfectly round like an empty socket. That is the dwelling of the Overdress Golem—the final barrier a player must overcome.
Sunraku: "No other players in sight. Lucky me."
I leap into the boss area without hesitation and ready the Marsh Dagger [Revised II]. Since my level is higher than the boss's, Togetsu — Moonblades: Waxing & Waning won’t be able to activate its effect. The Empire Bee Twinblade, by design, isn't suited for slashing motions. I won’t use Gilta Brille right now for a certain reason. Factoring in weight and handling, the Executioner Sword is also excluded. As the final answer, the Marsh Dagger is selected... Oh, looks like the boss is making its entrance. Ahead of me, the mountain of rubble that had been blocking the exit suddenly begins to crumble. But watching for a moment, it quickly becomes clear that this is no natural collapse. It's nothing so simple—that wasn't a wall. The master of this place, its guardian, has risen to its feet, having noticed an insolent intruder. It isn't a landslide. Only its upper body remains—a humanoid shape, its lower body melted away. Its mud-like form writhes, the layers of rubble it wears moving in tandem with its motions. The first thing I feel: it's huge. Its massive frame—far surpassing even Lycagon or the Kirin—makes it feel like I'm facing down a mountain. And that assessment isn't wrong.
I'm about to go mountain climbing.
Sunraku: "If I remember right, the record for fastest takedown is one minute... Guess I'll aim to beat that—break the one-minute mark as a time attack!"
By now, the standard opening: piling on the skills. Ignition. Nitro Gain spam for self-damage acceleration. Climax Boost for even more speed... On top of the usual combo, I activate new skills in rapid succession. The Eight-Fold Jump skill—where the skill level once determined the number of activations—has evolved, and I now activate Possessed by the Great Asura King, which continuously enhances leaping for thirty seconds. Having essentially transformed into a buff skill, its activation timing and usage have drastically changed. Layering on top: Martial Reliance Fighting Spirit—which enhances weapon attack bonuses and reduces weapon durability consumption when a weapon is equipped. A skill that must make that training-monk Oikatzo weep. Serves him right. Beyond these, my mobility as Sunraku—who now possesses almost exclusively skills used for maneuvering—has reached a point where it nearly achieves my ideal. I close in on the Overdress Golem and, gazing up at the colossal body that seeks to crush me with a body press while playing a dissonant cacophony of rubble scraping and colliding, I laugh.
Sunraku: "Fifteen seconds. First, circle to its back... and here's where my unique strat begins!"
By mastering the fatal arts, the secret technique transformed into a hidden mystery. Once named Lethal Blade Art: Water Mirror Moon—a skill that sent only the slash (aggro) behind the target—it has now gained a new name: Lethal Secret Art: Mirror of Fading. And with it, its nature has flipped to the exact opposite. Instead of sending the slash (aggro) behind me, it leaves only the slash (aggro) in place. In other words: a formless decoy. Even though my actual body has circled to its back, the Overdress Golem obsessively continues slamming body presses onto the spot where I was standing. Normally, a tank would manage hate while supporting the real damage-dealer—a light fighter—from the side. But right now, I can pull that off solo. Is it irony, or fate, that I—an Honorary Citizen of Rabituza—am leaping like a rabbit to circle behind it, thanks to Possessed by the Great Asura King? But I circle around and look up. What I see: a crane, a roof, a pillar, part of a shattered wall, a sword, a vehicle of some shape I've never seen, a barrel of some kind, parts that look like they came from a wooden-horse golem... Ah, you don't even spare your own kind—you make them part of your body too. Terrifying. The wreckage swallowed by mud, transformed into parts of a giant. Perhaps this is the true meaning of the Ruins of Past Glories. I scan my gaze across the back of the Overdress Golem—the mountain I'm about to climb—and determine my route.
Sunraku: "Twenty-three seconds. I'll scale it in five!"
Seven seconds remaining until Possessed by the Great Asura King expires. Two seconds to activate the necessary skills. Five seconds—300 frames—to prepare for the climb with utmost haste. For comfortable movement on unstable footing: Off-Road, activate. Reduces stamina consumption for actions performed with feet off the ground: Acrobat, activate. Angle of incidence? Angle of refraction? Ignore it all and ricochet: Ricochet Step, activate. No footholds? Then just step on the air: Sky Walker—renamed Flit Float—on standby for activation depending on the situation.
Sunraku: "Twenty-five seconds. Let's go!"
Start... I stomp on the edge of the wooden horse and leap. One second elapsed. I kick off a shattered window frame and leap again. Two seconds elapsed. I slide down a pillar, plant my foot on a sword, and use the handlebars of an unknown vehicle as an improvised foothold. Three seconds elapsed. For the obstructive cannon barrel—I fly sideways, step on empty air with Flit Float, and take the shortest path via a sharp-angle detour. Four seconds elapsed. I stomp on the cannon barrel I've now passed behind me and leap, driving the Marsh Dagger [Revised II] into a sliver of exposed bare flesh on the Overdress Golem and activating a skill. Great Climb—which grants a bonus and acceleration to daggers stabbed during climbing. On top of that, Trial Traverse—which adds the masochist-friendly effect of "the steeper the climb, the more self-weight load decreases." With movements so light they barely feel like climbing, I scrabble up the footholdless mud-flesh and finally arrive at the target coordinates... atop the crane.
Sunraku: "Thirty seconds. From here on, it's the main event...!"
At first glance, it looks like a crane assembled from steel beams. But attached to its tip is an enormous wheel. What was that thing called again... one of those absurdly gigantic heavy machines. The kind that spectacularly catches fire or explodes in Hollywood movies. This giant excavation wheel... has been proven destructible through the verification efforts of countless players. And once destroyed, the wheel follows the physics engine straight down... meaning it slams right into the Overdress Golem's skull. I can't say it isn't a monumentally stupid weakness. But since you need both climbing skills and destruction skills to break the wheel, the design itself isn't broken. The wheel is fixed in place by fork-like parts—like a bicycle's front fork—on both sides. By destroying these two forks, the wheel falls downward. But this strategy only works when the Overdress Golem is in a forward-leaning posture. So what do I do? Simple. Finish the job before it rises up.
Sunraku: "Thirty-three seconds. Start with the right side...!"
I layer on attack skills and slam a flurry of blows—so satisfying I want to praise myself—against the rusted metal...!
ClangClangClangClangClangClang!
Sunraku: "Shit, it's tougher than I thought!"
Damn it. The Marsh Dagger [Revised II]—not yet strengthened enough—wasn't up to the task. I switch to the Gilta Brille and hammer in a rush. Forty-five seconds. Destroy the right-side fork... Can I make it in fifteen seconds?! No, running around to the left side won't make it in time... In that case!
Sunraku: "[Firing-up]!!"
I've already grasped the full scope of their performance through my battle with the Omega Box. It recognizes my shouted voice command as I thrust my fist straight down, and the left gauntlet activates. Its segments slide open, and the pale-silver crystal of the Crystal Scorpion—hidden within—glows brighter, responding to the charged magic power. And immediately after—in human fist terms, emerging from roughly the metacarpal of the middle finger—a tiny sparkle pierces into the crack of the right front fork, which is barely being supported on the left side and enduring collapse. Of course, this isn't a weapon so lenient that it ends here. This is a seed... sown. And scattered seeds follow the laws of nature. They grow...!
Sunraku: "Now... fly. [Growing-up]!!"
According to what appears to be a description shared by all Legacy Weapons:
[In the Divine Era, the philosophy upheld in all things was “Control” and “Activation.” Ancient weapons mastered the power of the materials used in them, and by activating those materials’ true power, they converged many different forces into the form of weapons.]
If that’s the case, then the power held by the left fist—the one carrying the Crystal Scorpion’s power—is...
Sunraku: "It rapidly grows the fired Crystal Bullet and generates a Pillar...!"
My left fist slams into the foothold. And the Crystal Scorpion’s detection ability—something I’ve experienced more than enough myself—has been inherited by this fist, and by its crystal.
The instant the Crystal Bullet senses the vibration and flashes with light, a gigantic pillar erupts from directly beneath me, launching my body upward and sending me soaring through the air——!
A P E R V E R T S O A R I N G T H R O U G H T H E A I R