Chapter 240: The Price of the Strong, Yet Their Eyes Blaze Like Fire

The Unique Scenario "Invitation from Rabituza" is a prerequisite Unique that directly leads to the Bonus Unique Scenario "Epic of Vorpal Bunny," which still has me as its only challenger.

From what I can tell, the content is likely a "series of battles against monsters that are higher level than the target player but can be handled with quick thinking." Even something like the Aberrant Wood-Mage, which had that absolute bullshit "physical nullification" gimmick, could be cleared by a physical-attack specialist by stealing its staff.

So, what if, for example, a player existed who, through a series of miraculous coincidences, "continued to equip items with exceptional stat bonuses," "continued to fight powerful enemies, including two Unique Monsters," and "as a result, obtained abnormal stats"... in other words, a player whose real-world LUCK stat seems maxed out?

What would happen? Well, the results speak for themselves.

Sunraku: "Whoa..."

Not to brag, but as a trash-game hunter, I've conquered countless absurd difficulties. Trash games and depopulation are like inseparable conceptual best friends. I've solo-cleared raid bosses that were clearly mis-balanced. I've even run a hundred loops on a piece-of-shit enemy that, even accounting for endgame balancing, felt like it would destroy your humanity if you ran it more than ten times. But there was a title for clearing it a hundred times, okay? It was a fierce battle that consumed four Riot Bloods.

But even I was left speechless, forced to shut my mouth at the sheer carnage unfolding before my eyes.

Sunraku: "Huh, what was that suction just now? That's a bug."

Emul: "Ahh... she got grabbed by the neck, then sliced... peep."

Akitsu Akane, who had put a safe ten meters of distance between herself and the enemy to observe its movements—a solid move that would at least earn a passing grade—was suddenly teleported into the grasp of a black shadow that could only be described as the "Grim Reaper."

A massive scythe, an object that seemed to take the concept of brutally severing a person's neck and coat it in blood and malice, flashed... and with a soft thud, the head of the girl wearing the fox mask fell to the ground. A FATALITY that would make Lycagon blush... Hey, devs, just making the wounds "mild" doesn't make it okay...

Sunraku: "Ceecrue, what... is that thing?"

Ceecrue: "That is the True Quiet... A top-tier 'Spirit' that even my father cannot capture, de gozaru..."

A cheat-level, suction, instant-death throw designed to make you be quiet forever, huh... ha ha... Ahhh, I wish I could redo "Invitation from Rabituza" right now! I really want to fight it!

No, wait, calm down. I've got my own insanely strong secret boss, the A.I. Ultimate Master, right now. I have no idea how I'm supposed to beat it with my current stat-limited avatar, but that's what makes it great.

Anyway, I'm really curious, so I'll ask Vash about it later.

Vash: "Oh, if it isn't Sunraku."

Sunraku: "Good evening, boss! I went and found that thing you asked for."

I usually play straight, but there's a different kind of fun in roleplaying as someone else. This "small-time crook" role actually works pretty well for building gags. Since Vash is definitely a yakuza rabbit, it fits surprisingly well.

Vash: "Well, well... You found it quicker'n I expected. I figured it'd take ya a bit longer."

Sunraku: "Well, I'm a nimble fella. Just ran up a few walls, no big deal..."

Emul was giving me a hell of a look, but I'm not lying. It wasn't exactly easy, but I got it done on the first try, so "no big deal" isn't wrong. Yeah.

Vash: "Hmm... Sunraku, hand over Togetsu and the 'materials from monsters you reckon are strong,' will ya?"

Whoa, here it comes. Asking Bilac about this just got me a "There's no way I'm tinkering with a weapon the old man made!" and a punch to the face. So it looks like the "Vorpal" weapon upgrades are tied to progressing the Bonus Unique Scenario.

I don't know what I'll ultimately be fighting, but a weapon that grows in step with the Bonus Unique Scenario will probably be the key.

I didn't think much of it back when I made the Togetsu, but the vagueness of the material requirements is starting to bother me. If the weapon's evolution path is determined by the "player's own judgment of what makes a strong enemy's materials," then it's not as simple as just offering up materials from a powerful monster.

A strong monster I struggled against solo, versus an overwhelmingly powerful monster I ganked with a party. In terms of the struggle, the former wins, but in terms of parameters, the latter is stronger. How does that get judged? Honestly, I'm not exactly thrilled that other players might trigger the "Vorpal Epic," but seeing this, I kind of want to get about ten people together and do some statistical analysis on the weapon evolutions.

Still, Ctarnidd and Lycagon didn't drop any materials. So my "strong monsters I struggled against" are basically just these guys. Most of those materials were used up making Gilta Brille and Dis Pater, Nether King’s Mirror Shield, but luckily the vague material requirements mean the leftovers can still be used for crafting.

Sunraku: "Materials from Golden Scorpion, and materials from Atlanticus Lepnorca... Aside from Lycagon and Ctarnidd, these are the strongest enemies I've faced, the ones I was ready to die fighting."

Without their field gimmicks, I probably couldn't have beaten either of them normally. That orca bastard, especially. Could you even beat it without using the towers in Ruluiath to reflect its attacks? Fighting it underwater with a railgun? I'd be evaporated instantly.

Vash looked at the Golden Scorpion's pincers and the crystallized feather-like fins of Atlanticus Lepnorca. Then, with a sly smirk, he took the Togetsu and the items.

Vash: "This'll be interestin'. Yeah... Bilac ain't gonna be laughin' now..."

...Ah, yeah, that's it? So I just wait for the weapon and Δ devices to be finished? Well, while I'm here, let me ask about something else.

Sunraku: "Say, boss, that thing from earlier... Ceecrue, what did you call it?"

Ceecrue: "That is the True Quiet, de gozaru."

Sunraku: "Right, that. I'm really curious about it..."

Vash: "That's the trial I gave to Akitsu Akane. It wouldn't mean nothin' if she didn't beat it herself... but if you wanna help her out as her big bro, I ain't gonna stop ya."

It's not that... I wanna fight it too. Whatever. It probably just drops a scythe or something anyway. It's not a scenario-exclusive monster, so I'll get another chance.

I wasn't actively planning to help Akitsu Akane, but if I say "nah, not interested" here, it might hurt my reputation.

Sunraku: "Alright, thanks, boss."

She's not a stranger, so I guess I can help out a little.

Akitsu Akane: "Alright! I'm gonna win this time!"

Sunraku: "Ah, she just ate the instant-death throw again."

Ceecrue: "Lady Akitsu Akane!"

I really should learn from her unbreakable spirit, yeah.

I dropped by the colosseum's waiting room, where I'd spent countless hours myself. I found Akitsu Akane, who had just suffered her tenth decapitation that I'd witnessed, preparing for her eleventh attempt.

Akitsu Akane: "Ah! Sunraku-san! Hello!"

Sunraku: "Uh, yeah. Hold on."

Akitsu Akane: "Okay!"

Yeah, sit down. This is a strategy meeting. Sure, you could just keep dying until your body learns the enemy's moves, but that monster with the name that sounds like a diet plan is a gimmick type, like Ctarnidd. Unless you figure out how it works, you'll just keep racking up death penalties.

Sunraku: "From what I saw in the stands, unless you solve some kind of gimmick, you can't dodge that bullshit suction grab attack."

Akitsu Akane: "Right! I tried keeping my distance, I tried jumping, but I just couldn't avoid it."

Hmm, your reasoning isn't bad. Sometimes a third-person view makes these things clearer.

Sunraku: "Hmm, this is kind of a spoiler, but is that okay?"

Akitsu Akane: "Yes! Honestly, I was feeling a bit stuck, so I'd appreciate it!"

Sunraku: "Okay, the trigger for that forced teleport grab is the 'shadow'."

That's right. The moment the diet-plan monster reached out its hand, its shadow on the ground stretched. And it stretched pretty fast. We'd need to test to be sure, but I think that during that animation, if the monster's shadow touches the target's shadow, they get automatically teleported to its hand.

Sunraku: "It probably doesn't home in, but the point is, the moment it starts the grab animation, you dodge sideways. The windup is fast."

Akitsu Akane: "I see... Understood! I'll go try it right now!"

She ran off before I could stop her. Watching her go, I glanced at Emul and Ceecrue.

If you're watching from the stands, it's pretty easy to notice this. The fact that they didn't tell her until I did probably means the Vorpal Bunnies aren't allowed to give hints about this.

When you think about it, it's kind of strange. A Unique Monster personally trains a player, sends them on errands, upgrades their weapons... Maybe Vash isn't meant to be fought as an enemy in this Bonus Unique Scenario after all?

Sunraku: "Hmm..."

Oh, Akitsu Akane respawned.

Akitsu Akane: "I was suddenly attacked from behind!"

Sunraku: "So it can teleport too... Ah, right. What number is that monster, anyway?"

Akitsu Akane: "That was the first one!"

Sunraku: "...I'll help you too. Let's do our best, okay?"

And there are still nine more monsters of that class lined up behind her... Yeah, triggering this at a low level was definitely the right move.

• True Quiet

An absolute, unreasonable monster. One of those "regular spawn monsters that are as strong as Uniques," like Golden Scorpion and Atlanticus Lepnorca.

A grim reaper, worst and most evil, born from a haphazard mix of attributes that probably have no positive effect on living things: "Death," "Agony," "Disease," etc. It spawns when a certain number of "deaths" are concentrated in a specific area over a short period. In other words, if players go on a massive slaughterfest, it comes to kill them. If the phrase “the Reaper” rings a bell, you probably know the type.

It indiscriminately spreads death with its scythe, but what's truly troublesome are its special moves, which are extremely difficult to counter.

• It stretches its own shadow, and the moment it touches its target's shadow, the target is instantly teleported to its hand. The shadow stretches at bullet-like speed, so you'll almost certainly get your head chopped off.

• It detaches its own shadow and teleports itself to a location with shadow. Since the main body teleports without any telegraphing, you have to read its movements by watching its shadow.

• If inflicted with the "Black Death Sentence" status ailment, you're basically done for. Worse, it infects anyone within a ten-meter radius of the infected person every ten seconds.

• It has a complete immunity to both physical and magical attacks. Even Armageddon and Reject deal zero damage. It also shrugs off debuffs.

However, monsters appearing in "Invitation from Rabituza" are "designed to be handled without brute force," so this monster certainly has a strategy. In theory, it could be defeated even at level 1. Just beat it with stacks of cash.

By the way, a “celestial spirit” means the same thing as a “higher species.”