I concentrated my sadness and anger at not being able to play MHW, exploded that frustration, and crammed the setting full of lore.
Chapter 219: Interlude — The One Who Desires the Fall of the Golden One Who Rules the Firmament
This is a story from a short time after Ctarnidd was defeated.
The jungle was cramped and oppressive. They were veterans, seekers of the unknown, survivors.
Even for them, who had overcome countless treacherous lands and gained strength to match, this place offered no room for carelessness.
Black Luck Shine: "...Well, anyway, we're a pickup party, but let's try to be somewhat relaxed."
The man wore a magnificent knight's garb, a longsword at his hip and beautifully dyed fabric draped as ornamentation. His name was Black Luck Shine. The name carried a certain air of melancholy, but his gear and stats as a medium-armored attacker leaning towards tank were solid, fitting for one who made it to this place.
Vigilance: "We haven't fully figured out all the monsters that show up after three in the morning yet. So even if we're relaxed, we should still be on guard, or we'll be snapped up."
Unlike Black Luck Shine, who sought harmony, wanting to leave no unpleasant aftertaste in this transient encounter, Vigilance, dressed in pitch-black ninja garb and armed with twin short swords, carefully scanned the surroundings. He'd always played solo until now, but the brutal monsters of the New Land had forced him into the difficult choice of joining a pickup party.
At the very least, everyone here had the appropriate strength; they weren't so-called parasitic players climbing higher with insufficient skill. For his first foray into party play, this was a good start. And his skills, honed in solo play, specialized in detection and worked just as effectively in a party setting.
Emilia: "That's true... But isn't it already much better that the Cerberus Tyranno hasn't shown up? That thing is completely insane."
Emilia spoke with a touch of melancholy. She was a female player whose voice matched her gender, a rarity in this game. She had no particularly outstanding Unique status, but among those called the New Land group, she was highly regarded for her contributions to base fortification. She was a Cleric with a sub-job as a Carpenter.
She was unaware that most players suspected her of "just liking to hit things" due to her habit of wielding a hammer for base fortification and a mace for hunting in her downtime. For Emilia, who had suffered the trauma of being trampled by the three-headed tyrannosaurus when it had attacked the base, that monster—nameless to all because none had yet defeated it—was a recurring source of terror, haunting her even in the dead of night, when its appearance was unconfirmed.
Reiji: "But I've heard there are people checking if it can be tamed. Apparently, the game does have capture flags for it, so it might be possible to make it a Rider's mount."
The final member of this impromptu party was Reiji. Though he had only briefly met and spoken with the others, he was a magic swordsman who balanced magic and a straight sword, connected to a certain person by a thin thread.
In addition to his main job, the "Magic Swordsman," he also had the sub-job of "Rider." However, he had yet to acquire a single mount, as he felt that "unappealing mounts were undesirable."
Vigilance: "...For now, there are no signs of monsters in the area. Even if something with better stealth than my detection skills could hide, I'd have to ask for a pass on that."
Black Luck Shine: "Copy that. Let's reconfirm our objective. This time, our target is to deliver the items for the pioneer ship 'Night Owl's Scale Feathers'... in other words, we need to defeat the Dracule Dinowl. Does everyone have experience fighting it?"
Dracule Dinowl. Its name was likely a combination of "Dino" and "Owl," with "Dracule" tacked on. The resulting creature had a very strange form.
Emilia: "You mean that dinosaur-like owl... right? I've fought it when it came to the base with a party."
Vigilance: "...I've taken it down solo once, since I've always played alone."
Reiji: "I've fought it too, though a different monster crashed the party, so I didn't get the kill..."
Among the monsters appearing on the New Land, those with dinosaur-like traits all had names bearing "Dino" or "Dracule." Whether these were all the same species or followed a different rule was a hot topic for theorycrafting players, but for those not as interested, "Dino" and "Dracule" were just labels for troublesome monsters.
Black Luck Shine: "Dracule Dinowl's silent attacks are extremely dangerous, so Vigilance, could you focus more on tracking it than attacking?"
Vigilance: "Understood. If I'm focusing on tracking, can I use my various tools and items?"
Black Luck Shine: "Yeah, ninjas have all sorts of tools... but please, don't use the 'Great Tantrum'."
Vigilance: "I won't... It attracts other monsters even in relatively open areas."
Despite its body being covered in "scales" instead of feathers, Dracule Dinowl attacked players with wingbeats that were almost silent, much like its owl motif. Combining the sneak attack of an assassin with the toughness of a heavy knight thanks to the tough scale armor common to "Dino" monsters, losing sight of the Dracule Dinowl could extend the battle to an absurd degree. Players with detection skills and high AGI were thus highly valued.
Black Luck Shine: "Seems like I'm the toughest one here, so I'll take the aggro. Emilia, feel free to smash away."
Emilia: "Yes! I'll show you the mace work I've honed as a Carpenter!"
Incidentally, the Carpenter job's trait grants experience points for blunt weapons the more you swing them, so her training wasn't entirely misguided.
Black Luck Shine: "And Reiji, try not to use magic with flashy effects, please."
Reiji: "Got it."
Black Luck Shine: "And just in case, everyone, try to conserve your big moves. Nighttime brings a high chance of monsters crashing the fight, so if anything happens, we'll sync up and finish it quickly with our big moves."
Black Luck Shine was part of the clan "Team 10PM," mostly working people who could only log in after ten in the evening. He had some command experience, so no one objected to his precise instructions as they advanced through a sea of plants with not even a game trail in sight.
Reiji: "Ah, sorry, I'm picking up an item."
Black Luck Shine: "Let's see... Oh, Wild Jura Herb. That's an ingredient for crafting the 'Crude Potion,' right?"
Emilia: "Ahaha... We burn through items fast in base defense. Guess I'm a bit of a miser?"
Vigilance: "You can't rely on buying items anyway. Stocking up locally is important."
Reiji: "And if you don't know someone with an alchemy title, you get scalped. Would anyone really fall for a five-thousand-mani potion? Hahaha."
Fortunately or unfortunately, no one noticed Vigilance, who specialized in detection and stealth and thus relied on others for alchemy, widening his eyes at Reiji's words.
The group advanced. Vigilance's detection skills helped them avoid troublesome large monsters, while they quickly dealt with monsters that could be hunted relatively quickly, gathering materials at the same time. Since NPCs bought even common monster materials for a good price, many players collected them regardless of demand.
Black Luck Shine: "Reiji, for a Rider, there's also a development path that goes through Ranger as an intermediate step, right?"
Reiji: "Yeah, I went the Ranger route, so I can use 'Trace Chase.'"
Black Luck Shine: "Oh, lucky. Could you do that, then? I think the Dinowl is marked by a broken branch on a large tree..."
Emilia: "You're pretty knowledgeable, Black Luck Shine..."
Black Luck Shine: "It's work. I have to remember all sorts of stuff, but my motivation is different when it comes to games."
The Ranger skill "Trace Chase" could detect a monster's location by targeting a specific object related to it. While less precise than Vigilance's detection, it could home in on a general area within a few hundred meters.
Reiji: "It's pretty close. I don't think it's noticed us yet... Actually, the Dinowl's detection skills were ridiculously strong, weren't they?"
Black Luck Shine: "Yeah. I hear you can get the first strike in if you're sniping from the edge of its detection range, but typically, you'll be in combat once it notices you."
Vigilance: "Sniping... can you do that?"
Black Luck Shine: "In my clan, Team 10PM... there's one guy who's kind of scary strong. He's good at PvP too, but in environments like the New Land, where strong monsters are all over the place... survival stuff? He's weirdly strong..."
The guy in question always dodges the question about what that "tool" from his past actually is. But he's been doing great on the New Land, so Team 10PM is currently ahead of the top clan "Schwarz Vulf". Of course, their lead is likely short-lived, as Schwarz Vulf's main force hasn't arrived on the New Land yet.
Vigilance: "...Everyone, the signal's getting closer."
Black Luck Shine: "Actually, it's coming this way... It's taken the bait!"
Black Luck Shine: "Alright... Emilia, fall back for a moment. I'll land the first hit!"
Being on the New Land meant that you were deeply invested in SLF. Many players hadn't reached level 99 yet, but reaching Fifticia was the minimum requirement, meaning everyone at least had the player skills to take on something like the Yuzaper Dragon.
At the party leader Black Luck Shine's command, the three others scattered with practiced movement.
Silence. Though both sides were locked on each other, one flew in with silent wings, while the other stood motionless with a longsword drawn.
The attacker—the Dracule Dinowl—seemed to realize its prey was already aware of its presence. It raised the green "scale-feathers" that had replaced the plumage across its body, switching from "ambush" to "battle."
Fangs peeked from its beak, unusual for a bird's mouth. It moved its beak in a chewing motion as if checking its grip... It was a dragonized form, just as the "Dino" in its name suggested. It was enough to make one imagine the "something" happening on the New Land.
Black Luck Shine: "It's clearly got a 'jaw' now, but is it still taxonomically a bird... Alright!"
The scales of a bird-type "Dino" aren't as tough as they look, but each individual scale is as sharp as a knife. Touching them carelessly, or taking a hit, would damage you like shark skin spikes.
So, an effective attack was one of instantaneous power, a strike heavy enough to crush the scales, or one that slipped between them.
Black Luck Shine: "Hah!!"
He swung down his straight sword, striking the right wing of the Dracule Dinowl as it lunged with its talons. Both were moving forward, so the energy collision produced a force that surpassed Black Luck Shine's STR.
Dracule Dinowl: "Ggyooaah!?"
Letting out a screech far from anything avian, the Dracule Dinowl crashed to the ground, skidding along the dirt.
Black Luck Shine: "……!"
He raised his hand, signaling the three scattered members. The next instant, Emilia, who had circled around to the front of the Dracule Dinowl using the darkness and trees, leaped into the moonlight.
Emilia: "Alright... Hup!"
A blunt skill, "Skull Shaker." A bland but effective strike that had a high chance of stunning a target when hitting the head. With the Dracule Dinowl momentarily stunned, the two attackers, Reiji and Black Luck Shine, closed in.
Both used straight swords as their primary weapons, but their styles were completely different. They both unleashed the slashing skill "Shakudanzan", a high-tier cut highly effective against enemies with a certain level of "hardness."
???: "Shut up. Stop your incessant squeaking... you human insects."
???: "Urgh...!?"
The next moment, a cannonball came flying from beyond their perception, slamming into the Dracule Dinowl. But its durability must have been low, as the Dracule Dinowl wasn't fatally wounded, and the projectile...
Reiji: "Vigilance... -san!?"
Vigilance, who should have been on guard and preparing to join the attack, burst apart, scattering red particle effects—the polygons of blood, heavily faded—from his entire body.
???: "Hmph... A rather uninteresting bursting pattern."
Emilia: "What...!?"
Reiji: "What is that, an enemy!?"
???: "Hmph. A servant of 'Green,' I see. That one was nothing more than a small fry crawling on the ground."
Black Luck Shine: "Where did it come from...!?"
A sickening crunch. The Dracule Dinowl's body was crushed, crumpling in on itself. The immense pressure, powerful enough to even shatter its drop items, and the appropriately sized "hand" that had applied it, allowed Black Luck Shine and the others to realize where the interloper was.
Reiji: "Black Luck-san! It’s above!"
Black Luck Shine: "Wha... It's covering the whole sky...!?"
The night sky was black. The deep darkness, lacking even stars, wasn't the sky's darkness. A body and wings so massive they blocked out the sky above the trees, looming over Black Luck Shine and the others.
???: "The time has come. Feel honored, you insects. I shall grant you the privilege of being used up as my servants..."
Reiji: "A monster...!?"
Emilia: "This thing is drag—"
To describe what he'd done, one might call it a flick. But the destructive power contained within wasn't so gentle as to be contained by such a cute word. With a single blow, Emilia, who had defended the New Land base countless times, was shattered.
Reiji: "Black Luck-san!"
Black Luck Shine: "Sorry, Reiji. Change of plans."
Reading from Black Luck Shine's eyes not the "impossible goal" of victory or escape, but the top-player goal of gathering information, Reiji stowed his weapons in his inventory and turned to face the thing that had snuffed out three lives in an instant.
???: "Do not look at me with those clever insect eyes. It displeases me."
Black Luck Shine: "Gwah!?"
Black Luck Shine was sent flying. The only reason he didn’t lose all his HP in that single blow was the sturdy armor he’d forged through countless battles and his own stats, honed through those same battles.
???: "Still alive, are you?"
Black Luck Shine: "..."
Too cruel... No, to be so rude as to choose my words carefully, it was too lingering. The follow-up arrived before Black Luck Shine could even get up, shattering him completely.
The dragon, blacker than the darkness, pressed Black Luck Shine into the ground with its claws—sharper than a spear, more crushing than a maul—and moved its fingers as if grinding his remains into the earth. The emotion in its eyes seemed like contempt, like mockery, but was ultimately far more inorganic.
Yes, it was the gaze of "mercilessness" that didn't even recognize life as life, as if it had simply stomped on an ant out of boredom.
Reiji: "A talking dragon... could it be a Unique Monster? No, haha..."
He knew he couldn't win. He knew he couldn't escape. Even if he tried to talk, Black Luck Shine had already become a stain on the ground before he could get a word out.
So all Reiji could do was mutter a few words as a final testament. He could only whisper, in the brief silence before the dragon turned its gaze to him.
And whether by fortune or misfortune, or perhaps because of their common trait of being talking dragons... though they shared the trait of wielding great power over humans, this jet-black dragon lacked the respect for humanity, the expectations, the courtesy of a fellow combatant that the Golden Dragon King possessed. So Reiji declared.
What Reiji said was incorrect for this situation, but a masterfully correct answer for the playerbase as a whole.
Reiji: "You're like a fake Siegwurm."
???: "Do not speak that name!!!!"
Before Reiji could even perceive it, a piece of the sea of trees vanished along with the ground, and a dragon with wide, bloodshot eyes roared. As if correcting a foolish insect's mistake. As if convincing itself.
???: "My name is Noirlind!! I, and I alone, am the one and only true Dragon King!!!!"
Through the encounter with Black Luck Shine, Vigilance, Emilia, and Reiji, information about the "Jet-Black Dragon" spread among the players. They didn't fully understand it. But they would soon find themselves thrust into a war of the "dragons," set in motion by the progression of the World Quest.
The world had moved forward.
The Tombguard slept, and the Newest Divine Era stirred.
The Abyss sank, and the Jet-Black One Who Would Surpass Gold stirred.
The world moved forward, shaking the lives that breathed upon it in the process.
World Quest Stage Three, “The Great War to Bring Down Gold,” had begun.
Incidentally, the "Gold" in question couldn't care less about being a Dragon King or any of that. He'd rather find strong humans!
Also, the “Blue” in question—not the Mad Ultramarine—is already dead. Atlanticus Lepnorca and Slaygiven Caryangler beat the living hell out of it. The ocean is fucking wild.
Dracule and Dino