Chapter 442: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part Nineteen

[If I increase the number of clicks, I can one-shot it! (A sorrowful howl.)]

In the end, Broad Crown was designed so that its drawback would always strike eventually. The check every thirty seconds merely extended the time limit. It did nothing more than postpone the drawback.

Broad Crown’s side effect was the status condition Hunger Rampage. In exchange for the immense power it granted, the user lost all dignity as a human being.

Erebos Bloodroots... In other words, I would be forcibly turned into an underling of the Great Red Devourer.

It would be troublesome enough if that race change came with nothing but disadvantages. But if changing races also offered some worthwhile benefits, that would make things even more complicated.

Sunraku: "Ogggggooooo..."

My body jerked and convulsed.

As though I were having an out-of-body experience, control of my body was shifting from manual to automatic.

The "red" covering my entire body writhed, crawled, and began seeping into me.

But yes.

However.

That raised a question.

A question about the wording of the item description itself...

[Every thirty seconds, a Rampage Check activates, for a total of ten checks. If fewer than three kills are registered during an interval between checks, the user enters the Hunger Rampage state. This changes the user’s race to Erebos Bloodroots, and the avatar is controlled by AI.

Furthermore, once five minutes have passed, the user is forcibly placed in the Hunger Rampage state. After rampaging for one minute, the user’s HP falls to zero.]

That was Broad Crown’s description.

The important part was the wording, "The user enters the Hunger Rampage state. This changes the user’s race to Erebos Bloodroots..."

In other words...

Sunraku: "Ogag?!"

My body suddenly convulsed harder than ever.

It was as though something had interrupted the process that was supposed to take place.

And then, as though something were tearing its way out from inside me...!

Sunraku: "Guh?!"

The organic red outer shell burst apart.

Beneath it, my R.I.P. equipment was revealed.

But the equipment wasn’t what had caused it.

The true cause lay even deeper.

Lycagon’s Contusion—the cursed wolf wounds carved into me—was burning hot.

It was as though the wounds were furious at an intruder for entering their territory, refusing to allow it to go even one step farther.

Sunraku: "U-ugh..."

To give the conclusion first, I had already confirmed this would happen when the condition first appeared at Crystal Nest Cliff.

Broad Crown’s Hunger Rampage was basically a forced Conversion.

That meant Lycagon’s Contusion rejected it through its "Conversion prohibited" effect.

But that didn’t mean I could use Broad Crown without any risk.

Sunraku: "B-being unable to move now is... Ugh..."

My body felt unbelievably heavy.

I couldn’t even muster the first burst of strength needed to move.

This game had a hunger meter, and your performance fell when it was low. This felt like a far worse version of that.

Hunger Rampage was apparently not merely a status condition that forced Conversion. It also inflicted other negative effects.

Simply put, my stamina and hunger were both stuck near their minimum values, and they wouldn’t recover.

I would probably die in one minute as well.

When I tested it at Crystal Nest Cliff, I was hit by a smash with backspin before the full minute passed, so I couldn’t be certain. Still, the forced Conversion and the instant-death effect after one minute were probably separate.

Bryleinyego: "Damn you! Damn you! Damn youuuuu!!"

Then again, the white dragon I’d just crystal-punched in the stomach was furious, so I would probably die before that minute passed this time too.

Sunraku: "You lost some fat around your stomach. You look slimmer now. Congratulations—your diet worked."

Bryleinyego: "Kill himmm!!"

Hmph.

Did it really think a zombie-style mob killing would work on me?

Well, I would obviously die.

But I had already experienced that kind of death more times than I could count. In Cosmo Buster, you could experience being endlessly beaten down by things that looked vaguely like potatoes.

Apparently, however, the god of this game’s world was telling me that I wasn’t supposed to die yet.

Argent Owl: "Come on!"

Sunraku: "Bweh."

Someone burst in from the side, grabbed me by the back of the neck, and started running.

A moment later, a mountain of lesser dragons piled up where I had been.

Before Bryleinyego itself could order them to continue the chase, the surrounding players all attacked its main body at once.

Argent Owl: "Nice fight. That was amazing, No Face."

Sunraku: "Compared to fighting another player, landing one or two ultimate moves is easy enough... What did you just call me?"

No Face?

Why was she calling me something so strange...?

Wait.

Hold on.

I had been called that before.

I had even introduced myself using that name.

But definitely not here.

Why?

Why was my life flashing before my eyes now?

My memories were being dug up at high speed.

Huh?

Come to think of it, hadn’t that bottom bastard said something about this...?

Sunraku: "Uh... Who are you?"

Argent Owl: "I am real Metius!"

Sunraku: "Oh..."

Aaaaaagh!

It was America’s number one!!

Sunraku: "Y-you have the wrong person! I am a pure and innocent young lady!"

Argent Owl: "I already know. This game has a sex-change system, right? Kei-tzo told me."

That damn ass-man!!

Argent Owl: "Besides, you’re the only one who can move like that, right?"

Sunraku: "Surely that cannot be so, milady?"

Argent Owl: "Your entire character just changed."

Damn it. My roleplay was falling apart...

Sunraku: "Damn it... I’ll never forgive that bastard..."

Argent Owl: "Hey, is it true that you’re entering the event at the beginning of November?"

Sunraku: "Huh? Yeah. But do we really have to discuss that right now?"

To explain the situation, I was currently being dragged around like a garbage bag.

I wasn’t expecting VIP treatment, but even ordinary luggage was handled more carefully than this.

This was completely like dragging a body bag, wasn’t it?

The sort of thing a criminal did while hiding evidence in a forest at night, right?

Also, a full minute had passed, and I wasn’t dead.

The hunger condition was still active, though...

Wait. Did that mean it wouldn’t be fixed until I died?

Argent Owl: "Hey, Ketzo. This is No Face?"

Sunraku: "Hey, Ass-Man. Are you stupid?"

Oikatzo: "What, do I have to handle both of these walking explosives at once?"

You really came out swinging from the very first thing you said, bastard.

Pencilgon: "Hello, Sunraku-kun. You’ve certainly caused another spectacular mess this time."

Sunraku: "In theory, anyone could reproduce that state."

Pencilgon: "The state, perhaps. The way you moved in it is another matter... Anyway, come on, Sunraku-kun. Rust-chan is fidgeting over there, so hurry up and give her the present."

Sunraku: "...The drawback from that last thing has left me unbelievably exhausted, so maybe another time... Oh, that’s not allowed? Okay."

Could she point that murderous glare toward the enemy instead?

Good grief.

Sunraku: "Uh... Isn’t it too cramped to bring it out here? No, maybe it’ll fit?"

Whatever.

As long as I wasn’t crushed, I probably wouldn’t die.

Come forth, Brunhilde Baskerville—also known as Bryubas.

Only around ten percent of my stamina was functioning, and my hunger meter was at its minimum, so every movement felt like a chore.

I slowly operated Inventoria and finally summoned what I was looking for from its storage space into the real world.

Thinking about it, this thing had only existed in the real world while it was being built and when I chased the football princess during the Unique Scenario involving Memento Mori...

So this was only its third time out.

Sunraku: "Allow me to introduce it. Thanks to the completely broken item known as Inventoria, this has become a portable base... The Magic-Propelled Ocean-Conquest Ship, Bryubas."

I suspected—though it was only a suspicion—that it had been designed as something to use against the blue dragon.

It was a combat ship that devoured huge amounts of money and the rare ore known as Lapisteria Stellar Crystal.

Blade-like wings were attached to both sides of the hull, and the ram at its front made no attempt to hide its murderous purpose...

Actually, its shape reminded me of that thing that fired beams in the deep sea...

???: "Doesn’t being completely beached on dry land give it a strangely sad look?"

Sunraku: "Want to take it cruising right now?"

All right.

It was time to move the Rust Plan into its final stage!!

Magic-Propelled Ocean-Conquest Ship

As you probably guessed, the shipbuilding system was originally implemented to provide a mobile base against the blue dragon.

It has various other uses as well, but let me say this in advance: the three strongest aren’t tame enough to flop around in shallow water, so you can’t fight them with it.

What are you supposed to fight, then?

...Godz◯ or something?