Chapter 378: Side 2: Summo… ner?

If I hadn't set up scheduled posting, today's update definitely wouldn't have happened... Man, I really love Rogue's design! (Prince-like sentiment)

I'll survive even if I have to cling to the wall with my teeth until I see next week's build.

A game is an incredibly simple way to break away from your everyday self.

That is precisely why not everyone fights monsters as a virtuous pioneer. The former Ashura Kai—and the players who simply enjoyed PKing as villains—were another example.

And that means there are definitely players who go all-in on enjoying "underworld play." For Arthur Pencilgon, players like that are extremely convenient.

Pencilgon: "Hello, Zenny-kun?"

Zenith Guevara: "Geh—Arthur Pencilgon!? You sniffed me out already...!"

Pencilgon: "Sniffed you out?"

Zenith Guevara: "...Ah."

Zenith Guevara. A spectacular first-move self-own.

Pencilgon's cheerful smile instantly blackened into a sinister shade of evil. With a grin so completely still it looked frozen in time, Pencilgon stepped into Zenith Guevara's shop.

Pencilgon: "You're hiding something... I can smell it... Come on now, if you're gonna pose as an underworld info broker, holding out on me isn't a good look, is it?"

Zenith Guevara: "Guh, stop it, don't come any closer! Don't you dare sully my virginity! I want my first time to be with a sweet, innocent girl!"

Pencilgon: "Want me to send you flying with a straight punch? Besides, any sweet-and-innocent type who puts herself out in the media is full of desire somewhere, you know?"

Zenith Guevara: "Nooo! I don't want to hear that! Don't ruin my dreams, don't ruin them!!"

Pencilgon: "People who demand perfection from the opposite sex usually end up missing their chance to marry... Well, whatever. So? Zenny-kun, the merchant who looks well-stocked on the surface but runs a rip-off shop, while behind the scenes peddling info on players and NPCs as an information broker... I've got a little something I want to ask you about."

Zenith Guevara: "What, you trying to scope out what the hardcore crowd's up to? If so, I ain't got much. Team 10PM's obsession with that 'Scarred' thing brought the jungle raid to a halt. If I had to name one thing, the route to the elf village got pinned down thanks to the map Tottori the Shimahne brought back... But that ain't what you came here to ask, is it?"

Pencilgon's grin deepened.

Precisely because SLF is a game with such an isolated degree of reality, many players throw themselves into role-playing in order to become the characters they dream of being. Among them, Zenith Guevara was Pencilgon's top pick for an information broker.

I've no idea what a real-life information broker is actually like, but at least in the game of SLF, a good one needs, at minimum:

"Information from players inside the game."

"Information from players outside the game."

"Information from NPCs and the like within the game."

What matters is gathering information from at least those three sources and then having the skill to pick out what is actually useful.

To satisfy the first condition, you need a base somewhere that lets you constantly take in the latest information.

From that perspective, an information broker who is always in the same place cannot be trusted. The information itself is often uncertain or outdated, or mixed with embellishment.

The second condition looks easy but is difficult in practice. After all, it is a place any player can access simply by logging out, which means the information is a complete mixture of gems and junk.

And as for the third, connections matter more than anything. Building relationships with NPCs demands even more role-playing than forming relationships with other players, so a half-baked impression makes obtaining information difficult.

That is exactly why Pencilgon makes fairly frequent use of Zenith Guevara, who satisfies all three conditions. In fact, he was among the information brokers Pencilgon used when taking down Ashura Kai herself.

Pencilgon: "What I want to know is... the inside story on that 'Black Dragon Extermination Squad,' was it?"

Zenith Guevara: "...Oi, hold up. Even from our short history, I know nothing good happens when you start sniffing around a specific group... But putting your hands on that lot is bad news."

Pencilgon: "Why?"

According to him, Noirlind had built up an enormous amount of hate after attacking the frontline base.

The crafting players, led by Emilia, had then reinforced the frontline base all at once, making them its de facto public face.

And paradoxically, because Noirlind had drawn so much hate, many players were favorably disposed toward Siegwurm, so the Siegwurm-subjugation faction was not looked upon kindly.

Zenith Guevara: "With Ashura Kai, you managed through sheer force of numbers, but that ain't gonna fly this time. This time, the other side's a super-massive clan with more than a hundred people."

No matter how you dress it up, in the end a fight comes down to the total amount of resources available. On top of that, the "Black Dragon Extermination Squad" is a major force that includes the great majority of the crafting players based at the frontline base.

Zenith Guevara did not care if Pencilgon launched a suicide charge, but if the backlash came all the way back to him by association, that was another story, so he showed his total disapproval.

Pencilgon: "Nfufufufu. The only time I fight a battle with no chance of winning is when I'm looking to blow everything sky-high and end it all. More importantly, can you do it, or can't you?"

Zenith Guevara: "...Well, it's not impossible. It's not like that bunch is secretive about absolutely everything. Unlike that Unique-killer you've got on your side."

Pencilgon: "Sunraku-kun, well... if you leave him alone, he just stockpiles information all by himself. He's kind of like a set net you put out and then leave alone."

That said, Pencilgon already had a rough idea of how to extract information from Sunraku.

The point was that trying to force him was what made him clam up. If she instead created a situation where Sunraku had no choice but to spill the information and got him excited enough, he would give it up surprisingly easily—that was Pencilgon's read.

For now, though, she had no intention of telling anyone about that method or actually putting it into practice. After all, provoking him was more fun than buttering him up, so it could not be helped.

Pencilgon: "Besides, I've made various promises with Library and the others about Unique-related stuff. It'd be hard to leak anything before giving it to them."

Zenith Guevara: "Yeah? Well, wasn't expecting much anyway..."

Pencilgon: "Oh, but on another matter, how about I share a little information with you, Zenny-kun...?"

Showing her teeth in a grin, yet with her eyes shining with the malice of someone intent on making everything dance in the palm of her hand, Pencilgon told him:

Pencilgon: "A member of our clan made contact with Noirlind."

Zenith Guevara: "...Seriously?"

Pencilgon: "And while we're at it, we're on the 'Siegwurm Subjugation Faction' side."

Zenith Guevara fell silent and thought hard. No matter how much he styled himself an information broker, Zenith Guevara was still a player. Rather than simply watching the Color Dragons get brought down through sheer force of numbers, taking part from behind the scenes in the massive festival that would be Siegwurm's subjugation was more fun.

Zenith Guevara: "...Fine. I'll pull a few strings."

Pencilgon: "Nice, nice. Now you sound like a real information broker."

Zenith Guevara: "And one more thing. There's someone I want you to meet."

Pencilgon: "Hm~?"

The scene changed. Pencilgon had entered the jungle where dinosaur monsters appeared and was following Zenith Guevara through the pathless terrain.

Zenith Guevara: "Eventually, I was planning to announce this publicly and sell the information, but... you 'Wolfgang' guys stand out just enough to make a good billboard."

Pencilgon: "Oh, so there really was a hidden area."

They twisted their bodies into a gap between the massive roots of a great tree spread across the ground. Beyond it, a hollow opened downward. Descending a natural ladder formed by the roots—probably a bit of game-design consideration—they reached an underground cavity about the size of a basketball court.

???: "Oh my? Zenny-chan bringing a woman along... is the world ending? Didn't you always say, 'I want a sweet, innocent girl to take the lead so I can graduate from being a wizard'?"

Pencilgon: "Ew, gross... The fact that he wants to be the passive one makes it even worse."

Zenith Guevara: "Shut it! What's wrong with talking about your dreams!?"

Pencilgon: "The point is to keep them locked up inside your heart. So, mind explaining?"

It seemed the abnormally swollen, tuber-like tree roots had been hollowed out to form this underground space. Lit by a familiar glowing moss, the ground inside was planted with something difficult to put into words, arranged in orderly rows...

And furthermore...

???: "Yeeaah..."

Zenith Guevara: "Oh, thanks, Mandy-chan."

Mandy: "Yeeaah..."

Something indescribable—as though a carrot had sprouted a body of bulging muscles—let out an equally indescribable cry as it lumbered along. At the sight, Pencilgon broke into a grin filled with both bewilderment and anticipation for new material to use in another scheme...

"Power type. Hobby is photosynthesis."