Chapter 246: The Wolf War Climax — Razor-Sharp Initiative
The alliance formed among the four clans: Wolfgang, Schwarz Vulf, the Library, and SF-Zoo. In exchange for the three clans providing favors to Wolfgang, we would share info on Unique Monsters… That was the deal. Except two massive, contract-shattering violations had occurred: the unauthorized triggering of Lycagon’s Bonus Unique Scenario, and the unauthorized slaying of Ctarnidd of the Abyss.
Sunraku: “Seriously, whose fault could all this be…”
Pencilgon: “Yours.”
Sunraku: “Nwoh?!”
Don’t thump my chest, dammit! Ugh… Well, since I was involved in both incidents, the prime persons of interest are, much as I hate to admit it, me and one other person: Rei-shi.
Psyger-100: “At the very least, Schwarz Vulf upheld the contract. That being the case, we have no choice but to ask the parties involved… Why… did you proceed without authorization?”
A player who can head a clan possesses a certain degree of “power,” regardless of the clan’s size. It’s not about player skill or avatar strength—it’s charisma, leadership, that sort of thing. And in the game Shangri-La Frontier, the gaze of Psyger-100, the leader of a top-class clan, is every bit like the point of a sword leveled at you.
Sunraku: “…Hmph.”
Bring it on. I’ll take you head-on. First, headgear… There we go.
Sunraku: “Well, to explain what happened—“
Pencilgon: “Hold up, Sunraku-kun.”
Sunraku: “I was just getting into the zone, y’know.”
Pencilgon: “Mmm, I nearly let it slide since it felt so natural, but why are you putting on a fish head at a time like this?”
Why, you ask…
Sunraku: “You know how people tie on a headband before a big fight?”
Pencilgon: “Uh-huh.”
Sunraku: “Well, this is exactly that.”
Pencilgon: “Yeah, I don’t get it.”
Once upon a time, an ancient tribe crafted various masks and swapped them out for festivals, battles, and such. In other words, by exchanging the face—the persona—through the symbol of a mask, they unified their will. Totally a bullshit story I just made up.
Sunraku: “Look, if we’ve got a Katzo the Bonito around, a Sunraku the Salmon oughta be fine, right?”
I strike a cool pose.
Pencilgon: “‘Sa-mon-raku,’ I guess you could say…”
Oikatzo: “Pfft.”
Score: nine people made laugh. Not bad.
Sunraku: “Anyway, back on topic. Honestly, Lycagon and Ctarnidd were both accidents. Freak accidents. Like the odds of buried treasure being under your house just happening to match the odds of a meteor landing on your head.”
Psyger-100: “If that were enough to convince anyone, the world would be a much simpler place. As long as we’re allied, I’d think reporting, communication, and consultation are obligations.”
Sunraku: “If the people on the ground can’t adapt, the organization grinds to a halt, right?”
Crap, my mask is about to slip. Time for Plan B: just lay out the facts.
Sunraku: “On this matter, Rei-shi here—no, Psyger-0 can back me up. I had plans to meet an acquaintance from another game in this one. We had to clear an area in a single night, so I asked her for help… Please overlook any leeching or carrying, okay?”
I’ll keep quiet, for now, about the fact that I already had a lead on Lycagon at that point.
Sunraku: “Then we just happened to run into the SF-Zoo bunch. They said something like, ‘We’ve figured out Lycagon’s spawn pattern,’ and unilaterally cut ties with us, slapping us with a ‘so long.’…”
I make an exaggerated boo-hoo cry. Still, seeing as Pencilgon was grinning like mad when she ratted out SF-Zoo on this very matter… well, that about says it all.
Sunraku: “Well, I figure the fact that their clan isn’t throwing its weight around tells you how that ended… Poor Rei-shi and I ended up targeted as Lycagon’s next prey.”
After that, Akitsu Akane crashed the party, two rabbits pitched in, the super electric fan “Suzaku” put in work—a lot happened, but to summarize…
Sunraku: “We fought it all night and took it down. The end.”
???: “There’s no way that’s true!”
Sunraku: “Huh?”
The one who shouted was a Schwarz Vulf player who’d been silently listening to my spiel until now. By the looks of him, a well-rounded swordsman.
???: “There’s no way you could beat Lycagon that easily! Admit what kind of cheat you used!”
Oh, he went there. Of all the things to say… he called me a cheater. A cheater, huh? Heheh… I’m not mad. Not mad at all.
Sunraku: “A cheat, huh… a cheat? Funny joke. You’d make a great online comedian, you know that?”
???: “The hell you…!”
Sunraku: “Hey, calm down. I get exactly how you feel.”
It’s like this, right?
Sunraku: “When you get matched against an insanely good FPS player and they farm kills off you, you wanna cry ‘cheater’ as sour grapes. Basically, it’s jealousy, yeah? I totally get it!”
???: “Wh…?!”
Sunraku: “From the look of you, a swordsman who can use magic—midweight gear, so you’ve got some toughness and mobility. Too scattered in what you’re trying to do. In PvP, maybe you’d be all-around solid, but against a raid boss-level opponent, they call that a jack of all trades, master of none.”
I don’t let him get a word in. No rebuttals. Calling me a cheater, of all things—a line even nastier than some noob callout.
Sunraku: “Take a look at me. Lycagon could barely scratch me and I’d be dead. I got double-cursed before even hitting level fifty. You can see how hard I’ve specced into evasion ever since, right?”
Sunraku: “No way I could beat Lycagon? Bullshit. There’s no time limit. You just keep hitting it until it dies, and you win. Even a brand-new beginner could figure that out.”
Sunraku: “If you were gonna press me, you should’ve left your personal feelings out of it. A cheat? You think this game and its devs would allow that? A scrub who can’t even beat Lycagon’s clone’s got a real big mouth.”
In one fluid motion, I sweep his legs, plant my foot on the dumbass’s chest where he’s fallen on his ass, and stare down at him with my salmon head. I’m not mad. Just annoyed.
Sunraku: “If you’ve got something to say to me, come back after you’ve soloed Lycagon no-death on an evasion run, yeah?”
I take my seat, exhale once, and compose myself.
Sunraku: “Well, I guess I glossed over too much. I’ll explain a bit more.”
Psyger-100: “Is that so… I apologize for my clan member’s rudeness.”
Sunraku: “I’m used to most kinds of trash talk, but do yourselves a favor and quit casually throwing around words like ‘cheat.’ It’s an insult to the game itself.”
Right then… I glance at Pencilgon to see if that was enough intimidation, and the corners of her mouth are pulled up.
Originally, Schwarz Vulf is a mixed bag of “hardcore gamers” and “hardcore-only-in-SLF” types. Pencilgon had predicted from the start that “someone would absolutely heckle,” so I put on a show of snapping to overwhelm them mentally. It did genuinely piss me off, but holding the intimidation was tough. When I’m truly pissed, I don’t bother with words—I just beat them down more directly.
Sunraku: “Well, everyone’s got secrets, but we’re allies, so I’ll share. On my own, I have firepower on par with Rei-shi’s Armageddon.”
Though it doesn’t quite match that, I add, pointing at Rei-shi’s sword. Most of the people here look at me in shock.
Sunraku: “Also, you seem to be mistaken. It’s not like Rei-shi and I duoed it. Including the person who jumped in midway, there were five of us… yeah, five of us took it down.”
Psyger-100: “Meaning the other three also triggered Lycagon’s EX scenario?”
Sunraku: “No, two of them were NPCs, so just one. She’s one of the new members who joined Wolfgang.”
Akitsu Akane… Come to think of it, her real-life luck stat might just be maxed out. Even so, she’s so genuinely happy about it that it makes her hard to tease… Though I suppose that’s part of her strength, too.
Sunraku: “I dunno what tactics you guys used, but at the very least, against Lycagon, throwing numbers at it just gets you bowled over like pins… Ah, you already experienced that, didn’t you.”
Psyger-100’s eyebrow twitches, but as expected of someone heading a clan, that’s the only reaction she shows.
Sunraku: “As for Ctarnidd… well, that was also an accident, honestly.”
That’s my real opinion. No way anyone could predict a direct express route from a prerequisite Unique with zero stops. I mean, I’ve only been playing for a month or so, total newbie here!
Sunraku: “I was doing a different Unique, and it just so happened to be a direct line to Ctarnidd’s EX scenario.”
Psyger-100: “So… you’re saying that dragging along my fool of a little sister, Psyger-0, and defeating Ctarnidd was all pure coincidence?”
Sunraku: “Seems more likely than a meteor falling on your head, doesn’t it?”
???: “Sunraku-kun’s natural-trolling style is incredible.”
???: “In another era, that’d probably be grounds for seppuku.”
I deliberately ignore the whispers coming from our side. Revenge can wait for another venue…!
Pencilgon: “Now then, I think you’ve gotten a good grasp on how utterly uncontrollable our loose cannon is… Shall we finally get to the main topic, 100 (Momo)-chan?”
Psyger-100: “Fine…”
After a beat, Psyger-100, who’s been on the mental back foot this whole time, opens her mouth.
Psyger-100: “In accordance with the terms of our alliance, Clan Schwarz Vulf demands all information on the Unique Monsters held by Clan Wolfgang.”
Pencilgon: “Noooope ☆”
This is exactly why Arthur Pencilgon is who she is…