Chapter 216: Different Paths, Same Heart
Nothing keeps moving forever. Even a ball launched by a home run eventually comes down, and the same goes for a ship.
Emul: "We're gonna craaaaash, wa!! This is death, wa!!"
Sunraku: "Yeah, yeah, I've got you pinned down, so at least you're not gonna fly off and die!!"
Emul: "The problem is that you're the one holding onto me, Sunraku-san, waaa!!"
Right now, I've got my foot caught in a rope draped over the mast. Sure, if this hooked foot slips out, I'll get thrown from the ship as it goes into its downward trajectory and slam into the sea surface. But where there's a will, there's a way.
Sunraku: "Look out, we're about to land... Now!"
With a magnificent spray of water, the sailing ship dug deep, deep into the sea surface. The sailing ship nearly forced itself underwater through sheer physical momentum, but surface tension and buoyancy hauled the hull back up through sheer grit, so it did not sink like a washbasin forcibly shoved under bathwater.
Sunraku: "Up, and... over."
I used Flit Float to brace for the landing. The others, shaken up inside the thrown ship, also seem to have survived somehow.
Sunraku: "Well... good work on the Bonus Unique Scenario, everyone."
It was seven days that felt like the game was picking a fight by telling you to throw away your real-life concerns, but in many ways, it was a fruitful week.
Sunraku: "This is a feat. We played this game faster than anyone else and cleared it. We're the first."
Well, there were probably people who cleared it first through pre-release test plays or whatever, but if you count that, then every game has already been cleared by someone.
Mold: "Where's this ship even headed?"
Rust: "In this direction, we can probably make it to Fifticia. We can go home!"
Sunraku: "Just make sure you don't get overconfident and get lost, alright?"
Asking Stude about our course while finally feeling that everything was over, I let all the tension drain from my body.
Sunraku: "I'm... so... tired..."
I really pushed myself in all sorts of ways this past week. Tomorrow, I'm going to sleep. I'm going to sleep in.
I could just lie around until we get back to Fifticia, but since I've got the time, I might as well sort through our loot. First, the two Grails I chose from the eight... the Blue Grail and the Indigo Grail.
The Blue Grail's effect is gender inversion, and the Indigo Grail's is stat inversion. Honestly, I had a tough time deciding, but I judged that the Blue and Indigo ones had the most versatility.
If the gender change left me with the same body size I probably would not have chosen Blue, but a difference of twenty or thirty centimeters in body size is a perfectly respectable weapon. There are some differences tied to sex, but even when sex is inverted, your stats themselves remain unchanged. Using size change for surprise attacks should be effective against both players and enemies. Though about sixty percent of the reason was simply, "This looks fun to use."
Honestly, the real prize is the Indigo Grail. That thing is ridiculous. What makes it so ridiculous is that it currently has one-of-a-kind performance—that's what's so ridiculous about it.
Magic nullification, physical nullification, ranged/melee nullification—those are ultimately just defense. For a tank, the principle might be different, but achieving the same end result probably isn't that hard.
Vision inversion is essentially just a flashbang; you could probably substitute it with flashy magic to some extent.
Damage inversion was tempting, but if a fight drags out enough to need it, you're probably already losing.
But Indigo is different. The ability to swap stats themselves is ridiculous. Using myself as an example, I could swap LUC with VIT and become a tank, or massively boost my MP and even become a mage.
The scary part is that it's an inversion, not a respec. That means I can switch to a different playstyle while maintaining my original stat build.
Sunraku: "Speaking of which, what Grails did you guys pick?"
I got curious, so I asked the others.
- Rei-shi: Blue, Violet
- Rust: Green, Red
- Mold: Yellow, Violet
- Akitsu Akane: Blue, Violet
- Araba: Red, Yellow
I was surprised that Rei-shi, being a hardcore min-maxer, picked Blue. But I guess it's not that strange: if you love this game enough to be a hardcore player, you probably don't cut corners on character creation either.
But why pick Violet instead of Indigo? Right. Stat inversion's true value can only be unlocked by someone who can handle multiple roles to some degree.
Did Rei-shi specifically choose Violet to double down on her role as heavy-armored firepower? Unlike me, where getting hit means death, she can take some hits and stay on the front line. If that's the case, Violet's damage inversion, which restores HP just by standing there and taking hits, has good synergy with her, who also acts as a tank.
As expected of a hardcore player. She's improving her solo performance, but her main focus is still on party battles.
I'm curious about the others' choices too, but there's no need to interfere with their playstyles.
The real problem is over here.
• Abyss Alarm Bell
A sea-colored bell sent from the deep abyss. It detects and warns its owner of approaching danger.
It reacts to [World Quest Stage 4 Unlocked] and warns its owner of crisis.
The people of the past failed. You're next.
See? It's insane. It only says insane things. This is clearly the whole "mysterious life form invades midway through the story" deal.
The World Quest. By defeating Wethermon and satisfying Ctarnidd, two Unique Scenarios have been cleared, and the so-called World Quest has progressed twice. That means currently, the World Quest is in its third stage.
When Wethermon was defeated, quite a few questions must have been thrown at the officials, because they answered that the World Quest is the state where the world itself has progressed to the next step.
For example, suppose the Grand Quest—the objective shared by all players—is "harvest the apples growing on the tree." A Unique Scenario would be "the farmer's spectacular coming-of-age story that unfolds before the apples are harvested," while the World Quest would be "the changes that occur to the apples being harvested." Even I don't know what I'm saying. Anyway, it's like the seasons changing.
And from this item's description, when the third Unique Monster is defeated... when the World Quest reaches Stage 4, something will happen. And it's the kind of thing that would require an alarm.
Players who want to live a slow life would probably be furious. Fortunately, I'm the type who sees rainbows in monster blood splatter rather than making rainbows with a watering can over crops, so it doesn't bother me that much. But still, this isn't the kind of information that should be kept secret by a small group. This is an ersatz magical-girl situation.
Still, I have a hunch.
It's hard to imagine that just an alarm would be the reward for defeating a Unique Monster. Realistically, this bell has no effect beyond being an alarm, and at first glance it looks like a not-very-valuable item. But think in reverse. What if that "something" that will appear in Stage 4 is something that players would actually seek out? Then the alarm itself turns into a detector—a radar.
Sunraku: "I smell item grinding..."
Akitsu Akane: "All I smell is sea breeze?"
Sunraku: "Yeah, maybe. Akitsu Akane, stay."
Kid or not, Stude is still a pirate—and more importantly, thanks to his steering, the sailing ship is heading for Fifticia.
I wonder what I'll do once we get back... No, well, first I'll probably need to apologize to Vash for taking Emul and Ceecrue to Ruluiath... This could turn into a matter of taking responsibility, but I'll have to scrape together some excuse and ingenuity and hope he lets me off with something as light as losing a finger.
Araba: "Sun... raku. Sunraku!"
Sunraku: "Huh? What, Araba?"
Araba: "Well, I was thinking of returning to my homeland soon."
I was about to think, "That's why we're heading to Fifticia, right?" Then it hit me that Araba is a different race altogether, so Fifticia is neither his base nor his homeland.
Sunraku: "Ah, right. Yeah, I guess so... Well, whatever. You helped us out a lot, Araba. Thanks."
Araba: "What are you saying, my friend? If it weren't for you, Nereis and I would have long since become Ctarnidd's minions in that city."
There were plenty of times Araba saved us, too. In the fight against Atlanticus Lepnorca, we would have been orca food without his mobility. And in the fight against Ctarnidd, his combat power as a sort of STR-focused magic warrior was a real asset.
Araba: "If you ever meet Gandack, a Dwarven blacksmith, give him my name. He's a skilled craftsman. I'm sure he'll lend you his strength."
Sunraku: "Hah. Why are you making a face like we're parting forever?"
Araba: "Well, that's how it is. I'm a Pescorian. I live in the sea. It's difficult for me to meet you, who live on land."
Tch, tch, tch—I wagged my finger and spoke with a grin.
Sunraku: "We're pioneers, you know. If there's something unknown out there, we'll charge straight to the ends of the world. We'll manage the bottom of the sea with guts and determination."
The existence of Pescorian NPCs, and unique monsters encountered underwater. There has to be some way to venture into the deep sea. I don't have solid proof, but at the very least, a reunion isn't impossible.
Araba's eyes went wide at my words. But then a smile flickered across his face, and he reached out his hand. I took it and shook. Then he pulled me into a hug and pounded me on the back. I know this one. This is the farewell greeting they always do in Hollywood movies. I never thought the day would actually come when I'd do this... I'm honestly a little moved.
Araba: "My friend, and you stalwart comrades with whom I fought! I look forward to the day we meet again!"
Nereis: "Everyone, take care."
Nereis, manifesting only her upper body from the greatsword, waved as Araba stood at the ship's railing. Finally, they looked toward Stude.
Araba: "Young pirate, I pray that you grow strong!"
Stude: "O-Of course I will! I'm the son of a great pirate, after all!"
I don't know whether some event happened between those NPCs, but with a grin that showed off his unusually sharp teeth, Araba dove into the sea.
Man... He really went out of his way to max out his handsome stat before leaving, didn't he...
Sunraku: "Well... I guess we can just disband here for now. What's everyone doing after this?"
Rust: "...Sleep. Definitely sleep."
Mold: "Yeah... I'm honestly... kind of tired, too."
Yeah, we're not going to jump right into action after this. This was an intense fight that drained our resources and our real-life stamina. If we do anything, it'll be tomorrow or the day after.
Sunraku: "Alright, then... Let's say the day after tomorrow. I'll introduce you to the head of my clan. I've already given her the rundown."
Psyger-0: "Ah, um!"
Sunraku: "Hmm?"
Rei-shi cut into what I was saying. I turned around to see what was up—and ended up taking on a problem even more troublesome than already having a Unique Scenario on my hands...
Psyger-0: "Well... I have... a request..."
Sunraku and the others sailed along a sunny route. Meanwhile, in Fifticia... no, among the players, a storm was brewing.
It continues just a little bit longer. (More info revealed than I thought.) (I also need to write the transition to the next chapter.) (An amateur who can't compress his writing.) (Make up for it with lore volume.)