Chapter 237: Information Power Attack!!!!!

There is a monster called Ascension Horn. It looks like someone mashed a deer and a unicorn together, but its defining feature is its three horns: two growing from the back of its head and one from its forehead.

Swinging its head can deflect arrows. A full-power charge will send even a decent tank flying. It can even fire off shockwaves like lightning from its horns, making it known as a very troublesome monster. More than that, however, it's also famous as a monster that players hunt on sight due to the fact that its horns sell for an extremely high price.

The market for Highest Potions, made using Ascension Horn horns, is rarely ever saturated. Furthermore, with players busy preparing to travel to the New Land, the purchase price of the Ascension Horn's Sacred Horn keeps climbing.

That said, this monster's spawn rate isn't high, and its spawn conditions aren't known. So the general consensus is, "If you find one, you're lucky. Don't let it get away."

That's the understanding of the "average player."

Recently, perhaps because something had come up in real life, SF-Zoo’s clan leader had stopped logging in. Even so, SF-Zoo—with its obsessive dedication to studying animal-type monsters—and the Library—which gathers information almost indiscriminately and holds heated debates every day in a room of its base, the Great Library—had worked out the spawn conditions for Ascension Horn. This allowed a limited number of players who are valued customers of these two guilds to farm Ascension Horns.

Psyger-0: "That makes... twenty..."

The three-horned beast, its horns casting a pale blue-white light through the darkness of night, let out a faint death cry and collapsed. Its body crumbled away and vanished, leaving only the horns behind.

There are actually two versions of the item Ascension Horn's Sacred Horn. The two horns at the back of the head and the one on the forehead share the same base name, but the inventory lists them separately as Ascension Horn's Sacred Horn (Front) and Ascension Horn's Sacred Horn (Back).

The back horns are used mainly for weapons and armor, while the front horn is the one bought at a high price as an ingredient for Highest Potions. The back horns can also be sold for a decent price, but they can't compare to the front horns.

And since the drop rate for these horns is completely RNG and unrelated to the damage dealt to the horns themselves, luck inevitably plays a role.

Psyger-0: "To reach my quota... even using only front horns, at minimum... four hundred..."

The player—Psyger-0—put an Ascension Horn's Sacred Horn (Front) into her inventory, let out a sigh, and waited for the next one.

The spawn condition for Ascension Horns, confirmed by a joint investigation of the two clans, was to stand still for ten to twenty minutes in front of a cave in the area known as the "Mythical Great Forest" at night. This method of farming Ascension Horns, which came from a combination of ecological research and information gathered from NPCs and books, was incredibly boring and tedious.

Psyger-0: "............"

The conditions given to her by her older sister were a goal far too distant for Psyger-0 to reach on her own. But if she could overcome even that, she would have her reason to leave the clan "Schwarz Vulf."

That's why she could endure being alone in the dim light, with no music, for a long time. Why she could fight Ascension Horns, which were the size of a large vehicle, without any help.

That's why...

Psyger-0: "Form a party... and grind..."

She just needed a little more courage.

◆

The Eleventar branch of the Serpent's Apple. The reason they'd chosen this place instead of Fifticia was mainly due to Kyotimate's screw-up.

Sunraku: "...So, what happened?"

Kyo the Ultimate: "Well, it looks like word got around that I joined Wolfgang."

Pencilgon: "Well, I leaked that on purpose."

Kyo the Ultimate: "I was just out hunting normally... monsters, I mean. Then some Schwarz Vulf players started hassling me, and I ended up PKing them."

Pencilgon: "Up to that point, it was more or less within the plan."

Kyo the Ultimate: "Then I kind of got carried away, PKed the guy again when he came for revenge, PKed the reinforcements he brought with him too... and wound up getting quite a bit of their equipment."

Pencilgon: "And from here on, we are officially off-script."

Sunraku: "What a horrible story..."

It's not about ethics. I'm just amazed that Pencilgon casually came up with such a terrible plan, and that Kyotimate turned out to be such a mad dog.

Now that I think about it, anyone still actively PKing in this game, where the penalties are said to be getting harsher, is bound to be a little crazy.

Sunraku: "So, one person still isn't here?"

Pencilgon: "Something about losing them first, then meeting up with us."

Lose them first? I wondered.

Oikatzo: "About forty percent of this is you guys' fault..."

At that moment, a tired-looking Oikatzo entered the Serpent's Apple. The place is supposed to be an underworld hangout for outcasts, so there are a lot of scary-looking NPCs. But Oikatzo pulled a chair over to our table, his beautiful-girl avatar spraying charm around like gunfire.

For the record, I've never been hassled by the scary NPCs, thanks to the scar on my shin—or rather, Lycagon’s Contusion. Then again, even without that, not actively getting involved with a half-naked bird-head freak is proof these AIs are pretty smart.

For some reason, Pencilgon got chatted up in a friendly way. Kyotimate got avoided like the plague. It really shows how your playstyle affects your image.

Sunraku: "Forty percent? Of what?"

Oikatzo: "Sylvia made her SLF debut."

Sunraku & Pencilgon: "............"

The two of us averted our eyes.

Less than a month ago, Pencilgon and I had faced America’s number-one fighting-game player as a zombie female knight and a pumpkin mercenary. Without saying a word, Pencilgon and I reached the same conclusion: we wanted absolutely nothing to do with this.

If America’s number one realized this game had both a No Face and a No Name... what would happen?

Oikatzo: "She still isn't used to JRPGs, so she's stuck in Secondale right now."

Pencilgon: "So that's why you've looked so busy whenever you logged in lately. Going on dates with Sylvia-chan?"

Oikatzo: "...You know exactly what you're doing when you say that, Pencilgon. So? What did our red-name friend over there do?"

Sunraku: "Basically, she smeared mud all over Schwarz Vulf's name and then spat on it?"

Oikatzo: "Seriously? You've got guts!"

Kyo the Ultimate: "Hehehe... you're making me blush."

I completely forgot how much of a scumbag this woman is. No one's even blaming Kyotimate for her actions. We're all just too far gone.

Sunraku: "So? Tell us why you went out of your way to call us into SLF."

Pencilgon: "Well, Kyogoku-chan caused a mess, but basically Schwarz Vulf has almost completely moved onto the hostile route with us."

Hostile...? We had not done anything that should make them hate us that much.

Pencilgon: "I had an information broker look into it. Apparently Schwarz Vulf was split between a faction that wanted to follow the clan alliance and get Unique information from Wolfgang peacefully, and a faction that wanted to use the noble cause of sharing information with all players to force it out of us. And then..."

Oikatzo: "The hardliners won, then."

Pencilgon: "Pretty much. Psyger-0 leaving and wanting to join Wolfgang seems to have been the final blow... We got an invitation to negotiate under the Schwarz Vulf name."

I crunched on some roasted mystery beans that looked like a cross between fava beans and almonds while I thought it over. I can sort of understand why Schwarz Vulf is going with the hardline approach.

If another top clan—like the Library or SF-Zoo—had been the one to take down a Unique, they'd probably just grit their teeth and accept it. But the Wolfgang clan from its very founding involves the infamous Arthur Pencilgon and the collapse of the Ashura Kai. It's as shady as they come. Then someone from that clan defeats Unique Monsters back-to-back, raises a flag with Lycagon, and poaches a top player who looks suspicious as hell from the outside... Huh?

Sunraku: "Wait, is this like half my fault?"

Pencilgon: "Surprise! Sunraku-kun reached the truth all by himself! Good boy, good boy!"

Oikatzo: "Sunraku really has grown..."

Sunraku: "Oh, you want a fight? Line up side by side so I can smash your jaws."

I threw some shadow punches to keep the two scumbags in check, but I also thought about how this is going to play out.

At any rate, there's no way we're going to accept the conditions on Schwarz Vulf's terms. It doesn't benefit us at all. The grand excuse of "sharing information with all players" gives Wolfgang almost no advantage.

If we give up the information for free, Wolfgang's advantage is gone. Actually, they'll probably just demand all the info we have anyway.

I'd be the one most affected. I've got too much info as it is. If things like the Divine Craftsman or the Cait Sith jeweler got out, the questioning about Rabituza would only get worse. At worst, they might start telling us to report to the allied clans before we do anything.

The worst-case scenario? Wolfgang gets absorbed into Schwarz Vulf.

It's not that I hate party play, but I'd hate being forced to play under a hardcore clan's "quotas" and rules. So I'm not happy about it, but being stuck with Pencilgon and Oikatzo, who share my general disposition, is about the best I can hope for.

Sunraku: "So? What do we need to do?"

Pencilgon: "Honestly, I wasn't planning to take it this far, but if we're fighting Schwarz Vulf, I want more numbers on our side."

Oikatzo: "You planning to recruit members now?"

Pencilgon: "No, no. We're proud citizens of a democracy. I just want to secure the violence of numbers—a numerical advantage."

I see. So we're going to recruit other clans to put pressure on Schwarz Vulf. We'll probably have to share some information to get them on our side, but it'll be better than having them pry into everything.

Wolfgang is still a tiny clan whose membership only barely exceeds five. We have to use whatever we can.

Kyo the Ultimate: "Uh... sorry, but you guys talk in nothing but key points. Could you sum it up so I can follow?"

Pencilgon: "We've basically become enemies with Schwarz Vulf. Part of the responsibility is yours, so feel responsible. We'll buy over other clans and shut Schwarz Vulf up."

Currently, the "Wolfgang" clan has three problems.

First: we have been ignoring about half of the alliance condition requiring us to provide information on Unique Monsters.

Second: Psyger-0 wants to transfer to Wolfgang. Including the Ctarnidd battle, that makes the relationship problem pretty serious.

Third: Kyotimate went on a flashy PK spree. If things go badly, this could call for a harakiri-level apology.

We need to cover up these problems and shut up Schwarz Vulf. And we also need to redirect the negative attention that other clans are giving us.

Kyo the Ultimate: "...I know I'm hardly one to talk, but isn't this kind of hopeless?"

Pencilgon: "That's what we're going to figure out. PvP is fun, right, Kyogoku-chaaan?"

Sunraku: "The PvP you mean isn't the action-game kind. It's the strategy-game kind..."

In other words, we're fighting to protect our interests and to be able to keep enjoying the game, even if it means spending money.

Professor: "Well now, I did not expect you to contact me yourself... Is your business with me personally? Or with the Library?"

Across from me sat the Professor, a fake magical girl even Pencilgon acknowledged as troublesome. He probably already knew everything about our situation and Schwarz Vulf's, and why I'd come. Yet the leader of Library was pretending not to know, his face perfectly composed.

Sunraku: "Well, how should I put this..."

Record. Play.

Edward Oldkring (Recording): "I did it! I did it! At last, I have reached the root!"

Sunraku: "I'll give you material for your theories, so I'd really like your cooperation."

Right from the opening move, I landed a full-swing information-disclosure uppercut on the theory addict’s jaw.

“Hand over your information basically for free” vs. “We’ll ration the information, so pay tribute.”

What kind of god-awful fight is this?

People say a smart character can't be smarter than their author. It's true... I wonder if reading Death Note would raise my INT?