Chapter 323: Attempt Count via Punishment for Environmental Destruction
A palm-sized dinosaur imitation, with a scientific name so convoluted it's impossible to say—Dracule Dinotriaxis. The last of them leaped at me. But just before its claws reached me, its body crumbled and vanished, HP exhausted by poison slip damage.
Sunraku: "That's nasty..."
I barely used it before, so has Veno Stinger's performance just gone completely off the rails now that it's been upgraded? Against trash mobs, status effects land so reliably that completely locking them down is easy...
Sunraku: "That said, being thrust-centric with no ability to block is a bit rough."
What is this overly aggressive dual-blade setup? Katzo, take notes. The things had swarmed me in groups of a dozen or so. As I picked up Dracule Dinotriaxis materials scattered all over, the sound of human speech reached my ears.
Sunraku: "Player density's definitely saturated… Odds of encountering a player are higher than encountering a monster now…"
Hmm… Part of it's that I'm not searching that seriously—my goal's just to test the performance of my strengthened gear—but I'm just not finding it. The Awakening Altar (level-cap unlock facility). From what Rei-shi heard from the Professor's wife, Massive Dynamite, and from what Kyogoku—whose eyes have started taking on a Bakumatsu tint—told me, it's apparently located pretty deep inland. That thing's what opens the door to the triple-digit-level world for players who've reached Extend.
From a Vorpal Soul standpoint, letting my level climb too high is something to think twice about, but even so, the elements unlocked after level 100 have an appeal I can't ignore. Especially the Triple-digit Skills—newly available skills unlocked from level 100 onward. Since my main motivation is still "blow Lycagon the hell away," and I'm looking ahead to the fight against the real Lycagon—who's definitely stronger than the clone—I want to remove the level cap.
Apparently, it's deep enough inland that even hardcore clans have to push with a full forced march to reach it, and Kyogoku also said, "Soloing that is tough." Can't be helped. Let's head back for now.
???: "Wh-What the hell is this black... UWAAAHH!?"
Sunraku: "Hell yeah, drop the scythe, YAHOO!!"
Too many players is a problem, but on the flip side, I'm happy it increases my number of attempts. After all, this is a punishment monster whose strategy hasn't circulated yet—high odds that I get to fight it.
Sunraku: "UOOOH, I'LL HEAL YA, ORAAN!!"
In the end, it took three days, sixteen total attempts, and byproducts of two duplicate R.I.P.s and thirteen material items known as Black Death's Grudge Tears before I finally got my hands on Noble Cysilence.
DESIRE SENSORRRR!! (Scream of the soul)
Sunraku: "The Knight Order is moving?"
Lutia: "Yes. Ostensibly, it's under the name of a 'Knight Order-led survey of the New Land'… but they're placing massive material orders with the merchants who've come here. I'm fairly certain the royal family is aware that we have come here as well… Whether the rumored new king is simply too impulsive, or the transmission of information is incomplete…"
At the New Land branch of the café "The Serpent's Apple"—not yet officially open, with preparations seemingly still underway—but this is the back face of the café, "The Wandering Sword." Having entered through the back door by Avenger privilege, I was hearing some concerning news from lewd— I mean, Lutia-senpai.
Lutia: "This is the case you've accepted. I don't intend to interfere any further than this, but… in my estimation, the Knight Order will move around the late-night hours two days from now."
Sunraku: "Two days, huh… I see."
Since it's a weekday, I was honestly praying it wouldn't happen then—school and all—but for once, should I thank the goddess of random numbers? Late Friday night, I can pull an all-nighter with zero hesitation.
Lutia: "The commander of the Third Knight Order… Julian, is a wielder called the 'Killing Sword'…"
Sunraku: "Killing Sword."
Lutia: "Well, it's just a boring sword that simply aims for vitals with certainty. If you don't compare him to Albrecht, commander of the First Knight Order—granted the titles 'Peerless of the Era' and 'King-Approved Warrior (King's Paladin)' by the king himself—he's reasonably strong, I suppose?"
A scathing assessment, but honestly, if it's just aiming for vitals… that's not much of a threat. If I know where the strike is coming, dealing with it is simple. More than that, I can't help but be bothered by the First Knight Order commander, who's being so extravagantly hyped up… Let's try one of those "two people in the know exchanging info while playing dumb on the surface" things here.
Sunraku: "Ah… I've heard rumors about him, that he's a man of high integrity… but is he the type to prioritize 'loyalty (current king)' over 'affection (former king)'?"
Lutia: "Who can say? At the very least, he is a person deeply committed to 'Righteousness.' As long as his eyes are not clouded, I doubt he will choose wrongly."
Hmm… So depending on the current king, who took the throne after exiling his father, this is a guarantee that we won't be in explicit conflict on the former-king-and-first-princess protection route? Josette and her people act like knights and roleplay accordingly, but they're church knights, so they don't know much about the royal family. Since it's a Saint-chan-related quest, I'm essentially getting the full support of the "Saint's Divine Guard," but they've got their own stuff going on. So I tried asking for intel, at least, but they only had useless info like "The First Princess is pretty cute, isn't she." They'd probably talk for an hour if it were about Saint-chan, but they're useless otherwise…
Sunraku: "…Still, killing's bad, huh."
Lutia: "It would assuredly make the entire Kingdom Knight Order your enemy, yes."
A no-kill rescue…………………… No, there's one other simple solution, but is that really okay? Still though… Given the environment of the New Land, pulling that off seems stupidly easy… It was a borderline-required skill in Survival Gunman and games where you needed to legally dispose of players, so even I could probably replicate it………… Hmm.
Lutia: "...Heh heh. That hesitation is still green... but I find it rather endearing."
Sunraku: "Thanks for that."
???: "You two, here is a 'Crimson Plantain Parfait,' made with carefully selected New Land ingredients. Please, do not hesitate to share your honest impressions..."
Sunraku: "Oh."
Lutia: "Oh my."
At the parfait—made with vivid red bananas and presented by the New Land branch master, who was apparently the "cousin" of the suspected-clone brothers—both I and Lutia, who'd had a bit of a hardened-professional air, let out small sounds.
Lutia: "It would be boorish to eat while talking stiff business… So, before we start, just one more thing."
Sunraku: "Hm?"
Lutia pointed the silver spoon she'd been handed straight at me and said, concisely:
Lutia: "Regarding this New Land, the kingdom side has grasped a certain amount of information. And because of that, opinions are split… The former king belongs to the moderate faction, and the current king, the radical faction."
Sunraku: "…I see."
Lutia: "We are wandering swords, those who grant faint wishes… Even so, even a sword has the right to choose its wielder, at least. What sort of person do you wish to be held by, I wonder?"
Sunraku: "Anyone's fine, really. But I'd hate to be seen as a sword that just lets itself be handled obediently."
If an Avenger is a sword, then I want to be one hell of an unruly sword—something you can throw and it'll go slaughter the enemy all on its own.
Author's Note: