Chapter 217: Surface-Level Epilogue: The Beast That Catches the Scent of War
Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
"We have an announcement for all players currently playing Shangri-La Frontier."
The announcement from the administration was still fresh in their memory.
No way, players thought with a hint of caution as they listened, only to be blindsided once again.
"As of this moment, we have confirmed the defeat of the Unique Monster 'Ctarnidd of the Abyss.' The players responsible for its defeat are 'Rust,' 'Mold,' 'Akitsu Akane,' 'Sunraku,' and 'Psyger-0.' Furthermore, in accordance with the defeat of this Unique Monster, we also report that the World Quest 'Shangri-La Frontier' has progressed."
The Unique Monster "Ctarnidd of the Abyss"—before that day, it had been among the most widely known Unique Monsters, after the random-encounter Lycagon and Siegwurm. People knew it supposedly lived on the seafloor midway between the New Land and the old continent, but nobody had the faintest idea how to reach it. And now it had been defeated.
And among those who had earned this honor was that name once again.
???: "It's that Sunraku guy again…"
???: "But it looks like the Attack Holder is with him this time, right?"
???: "Still, there's no way the same player can take down two of them in such a short time."
???: "Maybe he's actually a developer."
???: "I heard they're super strict about that, so probably not…"
???: "Yeah, I heard they make you sign a pledge not to play Shangri-La Frontier in a personal capacity, right?"
???: "And in exchange, the pay's insane."
It was still fresh in everyone's minds that a party of just three players had cleared the unknown Unique Monster "Wethermon the Tombguard." And now, one of those three players had succeeded in defeating another Unique Monster. The information spread like wildfire among the player base, growing wildly exaggerated with each retelling.
???: "I heard he's some half-naked guy leading around a bunny girl."
???: "The rumor I heard is that he's got a skill that lets him fly."
???: "For real? I heard he PK'd every single member of SF-Zoo."
By the time the rumors evolved into something about an "inhuman PK player who drags a bunny-girl slave around on a chain and crushes the heads of anyone who gets too close," people finally started to think, "Okay, that's probably a bit much." But regardless, the truth remained: the name "Sunraku" was becoming widely known.
There's a saying: "to bristle with anger."
An overwhelming rage so intense it makes one's hair stand on end, as if it would pierce the heavens. Though it gets there by a different route from the idea of being sworn enemies under the same sky, it ends at the same simple desire: "Let's kick their ass."
And at this very moment, there was one person inside the clan "Schwarz Vulf" who was so angry it seemed like her hair might turn into snakes and start thrashing about at any moment.
Clan Member: "U-Um, Clan Leader…"
Psyger-100: "……What is it."
Clan Member: "N-Nothing, never mind!"
On the surface, she appeared calm. But it was the calm of superheated metal that had been rapidly cooled. It didn't radiate any heat that would burn one's flesh on contact, but it contained a sharpness like a blade that would cut just by being near it.
The clan member who had spoken was intimidated by the clan leader's response—her face not moving at all, only her eyes shifting—and promptly retreated. Once he was back at the main camp, or rather, with the other clan members, he started whispering with them.
Clan Member A: "No way, no way, no way! This is scarier than my real boss!"
Clan Member B: "Come on, man! You're the only one here who can even talk to her right now!"
Clan Member C: "Then you get in there! You're the tank!"
Clan Member B: "Look, I don't have any resistance to psychic-type attacks…"
Clan Member D: "…Hey, don't look at me like that, like 'how about we send the mage then!' No way, that's scary!"
There was a rumor going around the clan "Schwarz Vulf" right now, one that most members were convinced was true. It was that the sisters "Psyger-0" and "Psyger-100," rumored to be siblings in real life, had gotten into a huge fight.
Psyger-100 was the founder and leader of the "Schwarz Vulf" clan, who kept all its members in line. And Psyger-0 had joined the clan at the leader's personal invitation and had attained the highest firepower in all of Shangri-La Frontier. Their relationship had never been a bad one. Even from an outside perspective, the leader was a bit overbearing, but never unreasonable. The relationship between a leader who kept the clan together and an ace who contributed massive damage was a good one, even accounting for their real-life sibling relationship.
But something had been off with Psyger-100 for the past few days. She was perpetually cold as a blade, and her mood would visibly sour whenever Psyger-0 was mentioned. There's no such thing as a relationship that remains perfect forever. A fight between sisters is hardly a rare occurrence. The clan members had simply decided to wait for things to cool down on their own.
And then they heard it.
Psyger-0 had teamed up with Arthur Pencilgon, a name that for some players in the top ranks was synonymous with nightmares, along with "Sunraku"—the player who had helped defeat the Unique Monster "Wethermon the Tombguard"—and a few others. And together, they had defeated the Unique Monster "Ctarnidd of the Abyss."
Clan Member A: "…Hey, this is… this is pretty bad, don't you think?"
Clan Member B: "Yeah… it's starting to smell like the end."
As one of the top clans, the members here were no novices. There were some like Psyger-0 who, despite Shangri-La Frontier being their first MMO, had shown incredible talent, but most were veterans of other MMOs. And they knew all too well the downfall that could result from deteriorating relationships within a game.
A clan, or a guild, is at its core a group activity. Anyone who disrupts that flow, no matter how skilled they are, is nothing but a detriment. Sure, in this game, Unique Scenarios can pop up at any moment, so nothing ever goes exactly as planned.
But even so. The fact that a Unique Monster, one of only seven in the entire game, had been cleared by a group of players outside the official clan… that was a very bad sign, the members thought. It was a sign that internal discord was starting to fester.
Furthermore, it was also a bad sign that the top clan "Schwarz Vulf" had been almost entirely excluded from the clearing of a Unique Monster. After all, even in a top clan… no, precisely because it was a top clan, it attracted troublesome players.
At the Fifticia branch of The Serpent’s Apple. In a hidden establishment known only to a few—where, curiously, every branch in every town was run by the same innkeeper, and where taste-based restrictions were lifted—Arthur Pencilgon listened to the announcement with a wry smile.
She had already heard about the whole affair. To summarize: an idiot had spouted off a bunch of nonsense about how "he was just going to go for a quick beatdown on Ctarnidd since the path was a straight shot," and that "he'd have Schwarz Vulf’s Attack Holder with him," and "oh, by the way, he triggered Lycagon's EX Scenario too," so she had punished him with a root vegetable. But that aside, it seemed he had actually managed to clear the Bonus Unique Scenario.
Pencilgon: "Man, though… this is gonna get messy."
People who stick out get hammered down. It's an almost universal concept in any world where there's some sort of ranking or social hierarchy.
If it had been someone like Pencilgon or Psyger-0, it wouldn't be such a big deal. If a player whose "achievements" were accompanied by some embarrassing nickname had accomplished such a feat, people might be able to accept it. But that's not the case with Sunraku. People close to him like herself or Oikatzo might think, "Well, I guess it's not that surprising he'd pull something like this," but it's unreasonable to expect that from the rest of the player base.
Pencilgon: "He needs to find some sort of common ground to make people accept it, or else he's not even going to be able to play the game normally anymore."
Kyogoku: "Hahaha. To make you pull such a face, that friend of yours must be quite something… it seems."
Pencilgon: "You're telling me. There are way too many people around me who just spring impossible challenges on me out of nowhere… Right?"
Kyogoku: "Whoa now, don't point that sharp tongue of yours at me. I'm not clever enough to give you a good comeback."
There was another player seated at the same table as Pencilgon. A woman dressed in light swordsman's attire, wearing a coat draped over her shoulders rather than through the sleeves. She tilted her cup as she replied to Pencilgon's sarcasm in a distinctly feminine voice—not a masculine one.
And as if to reveal a secret, this woman with long black hair tied back in a ponytail was actually here to spring her own impossible challenge.
Pencilgon: "…So? What do you want from me now that you've quit the Ashura Kai, following in that lolicon's footsteps, Kyogoku-chan?"
Kyogoku: "He was a pretty good PvP player, it's a shame… My, my, who would've thought he'd end up permanently stationed in Firstia?"
Pencilgon: "Well, if a battle junkie even more hardcore than me has finally calmed down, I suppose the rest of the game should welcome it, right?"
Pencilgon already knew why she was here. She was a former member of the Ashura Kai. And within the Ashura Kai, she was part of the combat faction that focused primarily on PvP itself.
After the former third-ranked honorary PKK withdrew, she had quickly left the Ashura Kai as well and, according to what Pencilgon had heard, headed for the New Land while mainly joining random parties…
Pencilgon: "What I really want to know is how you managed to come back from the New Land, which is currently in the middle of a survival frenzy."
Kyogoku: "Ah, well, I asked… for a favor. A Sage with [Teleport Gate] sent me back."
The [Teleport Gate]. Pencilgon had heard rumors about it. It was the advanced form of the [Teleport] spell. It allowed the caster and a few others to teleport to any location they had visited before. It was essentially fast travel. She knew there were a few NPCs who had learned it, but there should only be a handful of players who could use it. And she had simply "asked" for it.
(What exactly did she do to get that…)
Kyogoku: "Now then, you're going to be busy soon, so I'll get straight to the point, Pencilgon."
Pencilgon: "Yeah, yeah, okay. Bring it on."
Kyogoku: "Fufu… You guys are going to go up against the clan 'Schwarz Vulf,' aren't you? If that's the case… why don't you let me join? Join the 'Wolfgang.'"
Just as expected. This woman had no desire to simply "benefit from the Unique Scenario." She was a pure swordsman player who didn't hesitate to state her creed: "All I need is one katana to fight." She had once proposed an invasion of the "Schwarz Vulf" clan, only to be vetoed by her foolish younger brother. It seemed she had caught wind of the "Wolfgang" clan and come running back.
All for the sake of fighting the strongest clan in Shangri-La Frontier. Even if it meant losing everything she owned in the end.
Pencilgon: "I've washed my feet of that life, you know."
Kyogoku: "Washing your feet doesn't wash your rotten nature clean."
Pencilgon's cheek twitched at the remark that would have sent Sunraku and Oikatzo into hysterics.
Pencilgon: "Oh, I'm going to dye my name red again."
Kyogoku: "Haha, if it's just the two of us, no prep work, I won't lose to the likes of you."
Arrogant. But she had the PvP skills to back it up. And that's what made her so troublesome. The fact that she had carved a path through the harsh environment of the New Land through random parties, where every encounter is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, was an indisputable achievement. The "Level 104" displayed prominently in her status said it all.
Pencilgon: "Well. I doubt you're the type to back down just because I asked, so I'll keep it in mind."
Kyogoku: "Excellent."
Pencilgon: "We're basically a democracy run by three people including me, so I'll have to talk it over with them."
As a combatant, she was top-class. Being able to add a fighter on par with Psyger-0 to their roster would be a huge asset. But she was a joker who came with the risk of self-destruction and going wild…
…Come to think of it, the two idiots in her clan were basically jokers too. So this wasn't really a big deal after all.
Pencilgon let out a heavy sigh. Even she had her weaknesses: people like the woman right in front of her, whose animal-like ears now twitched atop her head, though they hadn't been there the last time Pencilgon saw her. People who listened and understood, but had no intention of changing their minds.
Kyogoku: "And also."
Pencilgon: "There's more?"
Kyogoku: "My name isn't Kyogoku."
Her foxlike ears twitching as though they'd always been there, the player declared:
Kyogoku: "My player name is 'Kyo the Ultimate.'"
Pencilgon: "Because it's hard to say, I've already decided to reject it."
Rejected.