Chapter 299: Brunhilde Baskerville III (14 Years Old)
[Wolfgang]
Sunraku: Quick poll, out of nowhere
Rust: Poll?
Sunraku: Just throw out some cool-sounding names off the top of your head
Rust: Absolute Zero
Akitsu Akane: Noble Cysilence!
Oikatzo: Blood Infection
Pencilgon: Brunhilde Baskerville III
Sunraku: Who the hell is that
Pencilgon: The name some kid used when she sent me a fan letter with the most batshit content
Pencilgon: In honor of her courage — giving advice to ME with the most condescending attitude — I'm thinking I'll mess with her in a big way in about three years
Sunraku: Are you a demon?
Kyogoku: Sunrakuuu... you should come back to the world of Bakumatsu too... things are really fun right now...!
Sunraku: A Bakumatsu player's invitation is basically synonymous with a Heavenly Punishment notice, y'know...
Kyogoku: Do you have any idea how long it took me to crawl out of that respawn hell...!
Kyogoku: I keep getting ambushed by some ninja-like guys! I keep getting targeted for vendettas I have absolutely no memory of!
Sunraku: Ahh, Revenge Infection, huh... people who are good at that can drag in dozens of people at a time
Pencilgon: I hate Bakumatsu. Those guys convert conversation ability into lethality.
Oikatzo: Normally you'd never think there's a world out there where "Hello! Die!" is the default, even more than the Post-Apocalyptic Round Table
Sunraku: More like "Die! (meaning: hello)" I think
Kyogoku: That aside, a cool name... like, Ultimate General or something
Sunraku: Denied
Kyogoku: I swear I'm gonna Heavenly Punish you someday...!
Mold: So what's the poll for, anyway?
Sunraku: Truth is, I made a big purchase in SLF, but the thing I bought doesn't have a name yet
Rust: ...What did you buy?
Sunraku: That's classified
Sunraku: "What do I do... at this rate, Brunhilde Baskerville III might become the top candidate..."
Dammit. These guys are useless when it really counts. Still, according to the designer, it'll still be a bit more time before it's "complete." Fufufufu... when it comes to mineral resources, I doubt there's a player who can match me right now. I sank a total of 4.9 billion mani into it, purchase and modification costs combined... so it damn well better pull its weight...!
Sunraku: "Ahh... shopping with this kind of completely broken sense of money is the best..."
Emul: "H-hwaaaah...! I am currently holding one hundred million mani in my arms...!"
I watch Emul tremble under the joy and weight of the stacked grimoires in his arms, and I suddenly realize I've barely upgraded his gear at all. Which means it's a lucky day, so time to act immediately.
Sunraku: "Alright, Emul! As long as we're at it, let's give your equipment a massive overhaul!"
Emul: "Uhyaa! Sunraku-san, you're the best, wa!"
Sunraku: "I'm gonna need you working hard on the New Land too, after all...!"
Emul: "Uhyaa..."
Hahaha, Emul. What's with the dead eyes? Either way, if you keep partying with me, you're almost guaranteed to run into Lycagon and Goldhuneenay, y'know? I've got this great option sitting on my head, weight and size parts compatibility and all — gotta make more use of it, don't I?
And so, here we are now in the nostalgic first area: The Rampant Forest.
Sunraku: "Check it out, Emul. Goblins crying and screaming as they run away — isn't that kind of a rare sight?"
Emul: "Is that what monsters that run into Lycagon look like, wa?"
Sunraku: "Hey, rude. That makes it sound like I'm a monster."
???: "Whoa!? What the hell is that thing, a monster!?"
???: "A bird-head... caveman?"
???: "Gotta be a rare enemy! Let's take it down!"
Sunraku: "I'm a player, dammit..."
By the way, that's the twelfth time I've been mistaken for a monster. The rare enemy in this area is a Vorpal Bunny, so Emul might get attacked — which means he is in muffler mode. The gender-swap Holy Grail is honestly just a pain to use, and I have a hunch that having a different sex when I register with the guild would cause problems, so I'm not using it.
Sunraku: "Man, this is nostalgic... It should feel recent, but it hits like a memory from the distant past..."
Emul: "I don't know the Sunraku-san from when you were running through this place, wa. But I can tell for sure that the density of everything after that was absolutely insane, wa."
Sunraku: "Most of it's that bastard Pencilgon's fault... no, seriously."
At the very least, getting tangled up with Ashura Kai in Thirdrema, getting dragged into all that trouble after beating Wethermon...
Sunraku: "Yeah, I knew it. It's her fault after all."
Emul: "I've kind of had a feeling for a while, but aren't you using the idea that 'it's not actually my fault' as a justification, wa?"
Sunraku: "Noooo, not at all."
Well, when things get bad, I've always got the excuse ready: "Arthur Pencilgon told me to do it." As we walk, we pass players who can't hide how new they are. Every single one of them stares at my half-naked self with startled eyes, then gives me a look like, "Ahh, couldn't afford gear either, huh..." But honestly, the one that got me was when I passed a half-naked horse-head player who'd apparently made the same choices I had — the look of "My brother!" we exchanged hit me harder. It's not like I WANT to be half-naked, okay! I'm half-naked against my will, okay! I mean, yeah, at first I prioritized money over looks and ended up half-naked, but at the root of it all, it's not a half-naked desire — it's money. So, capitalism for the win.
Sunraku: "Alright, we're finally here."
Emul: "I can see it, wa!"
I'm sure not many players see the view from this side. The forest scenery that opens up in reverse, as everyone else journeys from "one" to "two." What lies ahead is the first town, the foothold where pioneers land and set off into the unknown. A town that rivals or even surpasses Thirdrema in liveliness — its name is Firstia.
Sunraku: "So it's above Secondale, below Thirdrema, but the sheer area is Thirdrema-class, I guess...?"
Emul: "Though it's mostly because there are so many open squares that it feels big, wa."
Visiting the first town for the very first time when I'm already one move from the New Land... this is pretty damn moving in its own way. It's not a port town like Fifticia, which flourished because it was a launching point for new journeys. It's not a plateau city like Thirdrema, which exists as a place where you stand before three choices. It has space, it has buildings in decent number, but it's got this subtle countryside feel. It truly feels like "the first town of departure" — the kind that makes you want to leap out into the world on pure youth.
Emul: "W-wow, it's so chaotically busy, wa...!"
Sunraku: "This is apparently the calm version, though."
A crowd of pioneer players that could rival a major city. I've heard the summer break season was insane. Though, there's no reason to stick around this town for more than a month, so most players probably base themselves in Secondale or Thirdrema. Which means this whole chaotic crowd is literally just the new players who've freshly joined. Even though it's late-night hours, it's this lively. If just one percent of this energy could be diverted to "Constipation" or "Dangerous Herding"... nah, shit games, so forget it. Thrilling Farm is great, by the way. Farming in a hazardous environment where you use a nuclear shelter at the same frequency as bathroom breaks teaches you the cruel truth that "effort doesn't always bear fruit" in the form of total crop annihilation. But more than that, you learn the importance of "the right person in the right place"!
Sunraku: "...Emul, stay quiet, okay?"
Emul: "Hai na."
Alright, I'll register at the Mercenary Guild, get my "proof," and then get the hell out of here— wait, where the hell is the Mercenary Guild? Obviously, I have no way of knowing where anything is in a town I've just arrived at for the first time. Guess I'll do some sightseeing and explore this town called Firstia.
Sunraku: "I see... they assumed the town would be flooded with new players, so the shops are mostly open stalls designed to handle the masses."
To deal with the huge influx of players, old ladies have lined up tables in rows, shouting at the top of their lungs — practically pushing back the clamor — as they sell recovery potions, herbs, and the like. There are some troublemakers who, driven by the mischief that games allow, reach out to try and swipe items, but a glare and a swatting hand that clearly has enough AGI stops the theft before it happens... wait, hold on. In terms of instantaneous speed, wasn't that on par with Sylvia Goldberg just now? That old lady's legit!
???: ".........Rabbits."
???: "...Snakes..."
???: "Poison..."
Hmm, I keep overhearing words that ring a bell. Seems like a fair number of players have already ventured out of this town and come back dead. This game... I guess The Rampant Forest is supposed to be the tutorial, but it still pulls first-timer kills like it's nothing... Just remembering it pisses me off. That goddamn snake. If I didn't have my Vorpal Soul quota, I'd have gone back just to bully it. Actually, wait. Is that thing Goldhuneenay's relative, or what?
Sunraku: "Tch, every last one of 'em wearing the same damn gear..."
Well, I mean, almost everyone here just started playing. And there's little reason to bother coming back, so most of them are just people who've done character creation at best. Which means they're almost all wearing the starting equipment you pick from two or three options. Sure, there's some variation in coloring and specific gear pieces, but something about it... reminds me of trying to tell the gender of baby chicks.
Sunraku: "So, paradoxically, being half-naked establishes an identity of scarcity...?"
Oh, a Glaring Bird Mask. Level up strong, newbie. You might hit a wall with Mud Digger, but if you specialize in evasion, that's gear you can use all the way to endgame...
Then, a commotion that's different from the general chaos catches my eye.
Sunraku: "What's going on?"
I stretch up, using my tall avatar's height to see. It's a scene of players facing off, radiating a sense of experience that's totally out of place in a town full of fresh-faced newbies.
Player 1: "Winning or losing comes second!"
Player 2: "You've got your school swimsuit?"
Player 1: "Hell yeah!"
Player 2: "Now, fair and square..."
Players: "Fight!"
No, seriously, what the hell are they doing? There's a high school girl somewhere in this world who'll probably die of sheer fury in about three years... Damn you, Pencilgon!