Chapter 101: Crystal Waterfall; Sympathy Through Solitude

Aerial Jump. It's the motion of performing a jump command again while in mid-air to step on the air and leap again.

Its greatest feature is that it's unaffected by terrain. Whether above water or magma, it enables jumping regardless, which means a lot.

"Enabling jumps in mid-air, and being affected by other jump-type skills... It's the best. I'd say this is a 120% success."

I've confirmed several other new and evolved skills, but verification can wait.

Testing the skill, feeling my foot step on empty air, and convinced of the plan's success, I stand up while rubbing my head that hit the ceiling.

"Emul, I'm going out solo for a bit. Pick me up in the back alley of Eighthold tomorrow morning when the sun is fully risen."

"Understood desu wa. What do you intend to do, Sunraku-san?"

"Compared to before, something truly Vorpal."

At least I'm not going to avoid the scorpions like before; I intend to go defeat the Crystal Scorpions.

In the first place, the physics engine applies to everything in the game. Players running, arrows flying straight, monsters flying in the sky—all of it holds true because of the absolute providence called the physics engine.

If the physics engine were incomplete, people would bounce every time they walked, fired arrows would fall straight down while twitching, and monsters would sink into the ground. People call that a Bug Game, and while I think those who enjoy that are quite omnivorous, it's irrelevant in this game.

"Apples fall to the ground, and if you smack someone's back, they stumble forward. Prepare yourselves, Crystal Scorpions. From now on, you will be killed by such obviousness."

The Crystal Plain, a sight I've grown used to. In this place maintaining silence in the darkness of night, massive amounts of death are buried like landmines. But the current me is in Boost Mode, having made the impossible possible. Gravity and physical laws are on my side.

Without a shred of hesitation, I step into the crystal zone, and without a shred of hesitation, I head straight for the center of Crystal Nest Cliff.

It's times like this that I pull good RNG; walking without encounters to an unnatural degree. But with one bullet in six chambers, if you pull the trigger six times, the bullet will fire. The first prize in the box can definitely be won if you pull all the losing tickets and lower prizes.

Crushing crystals, the awakened Crystal Scorpions look somewhat displeased. Of course, being inorganic scorpions unlike the emotionally expressive Vorpal Bunnies or Cait Siths, this is all just my imagination.

"Now, full throttle from the start!"

Ignition, Off-Road, Nitrogain, Lone Wolf [Transient], Duelism.

Activating all possible buff skills, the half-naked man on the verge of death advances further without hesitation. Naturally, Crystal Scorpions become active in a chain reaction, including reinforcements.

"Uhahahaha! Stand up, wake up, good morning, scorpions! It's festival time!!"

A tsunami of crystals illuminated by moonlight. It's a predictable ending I chose myself, but seeing it always sends a chill down my spine. Running through while bathed in moonlight, I finally reach the destination after fulfilling the conditions. Crystal Scorpions at the front gate, the canyon at the back gate... Perfect.

"Now, it's a Chicken Race. No one's gonna chicken out, right?"

The Crystal Scorpions charging at me, a swarm of stat monsters approaching, is despair simply surpassing Lycaon the Night Raider.

Quality and quantity... if I had to say, against strong enemies whose only flaw is lacking AI, my chances of winning head-on are less than one in ten thousand. Then what should I do? Simple.

"I can't win, so go die on your own."

Without hesitation, I back-jump straight back, throwing myself into the miasma-filled canyon illuminated by moonlight even while covered in darkness.

The complete reproduction of the unique sensation of internal organs lifting due to floating makes me feel the obsessive detail of a God Game. When I was blown away by Mud Digger, I didn't have the luxury to notice.

And the Crystal Scorpions rushing at the target—me—also charge forward without stopping. In that case, their fate is decided.

Death by Falling. A death sentence from the physics engine that kills humans, monsters, players, and NPCs equally.

At least, Crystal Scorpions who try to kill with physical specs shouldn't have the ability to reduce fall damage... probably.

Even if the charging AI had the intelligence to "stop at the cliff edge"...

"Dear customers, please do not stop as it inconveniences those behind you, yeah?"

The solidarity of Crystal Scorpions is amazing; even the reinforcements arriving later exert their full effort to eliminate the enemy without leaving a single one behind—something even humans rarely do.

That is why, to eliminate me, the Crystal Scorpions, not minding damage to themselves or allies, push aside their stopped kin without hesitation to move forward. All for the elimination of the enemy.

"I name it 'Scorpion Fall'... Or maybe 'Operation Tokoroten' (Push-out Jelly) is better? [Transfer: Storage Space (Enter Travel)]!"

The tsunami of crystals approaches. Scorpions pushed out by those behind fly off the cliff, and scorpions pushing out those behind to advance also fly away from the cliff. Rather than a tsunami, it's a waterfall. Viewing a waterfall of crystals from a safe distance of about twenty meters might be quite fantastical, but from my perspective in the middle of the landing zone, it's the grim reaper's scythe in progress.

At this rate, no matter how I struggle, I'll be caught in the massive volume and die... so I'll use my Privilege (Inventoria) without reservation.

"Ube, ouch ouch..."

Since I transferred in a supine falling posture, I rub my smashed back while downing a potion to recover MP.

"Just being an easy escape makes it brokenly capable, huh."

Its usefulness isn't diminished just by being camped; dodging a sure-kill attack alone is safer than being protected by a clumsy meat shield.

"Falling roughly like this, the wall is here, considering the fall time and number of Crystal Scorpions... Alright, jump once and then... [Transfer: Reality Space (Exit Travel)]!"

The world switches, and I return to the midst of floating sensation. Glancing down, the glitter of scattering polygons shines like stars even within the curtain of miasma and darkness.

For a moment, I worried about what would happen if a player was directly below, but "Sunny followed by Crystal Scorpions"... such weather might be fine too, I thought, throwing responsibility to the bottom of the canyon.

"Now, let's rebel against the laws of physics...!"

Skywalker activated. Furthermore, continuously layering Seven-Boat Leap, Ricochet Step, Off-Road... skills aiding jumps.

Shabby unequipped sandals step on empty space. The sensation of stepping on "air," different from soil, metal, wood, or stone, stirs anxiety, but my right sole stepping on it conveys the certainty of the jump to me.

"Rather than Skywalker (Walking the Sky), it's more like Moon Jumper (Jumping to the Moon)."

Leaping. The predecessor of Skywalker, Moon Jumper, is more fitting for the current situation, I laugh alone while bouncing through the air, approaching the distant rock wall. And the moment my foot touches the rock wall, the effect of Ricochet Step activates.

This skill, bearing the name Ricochet, allows evasive movement a number of times corresponding to the skill level. If used in a narrow place, it enables movement in all directions just like a ricochet.

However, since the skill applies strictly to steps—that is, only feet—the flaw is that the effect doesn't trigger unless I land with my feet... but by activating Seven-Boat Leap which strengthens jumping itself, I enabled a pseudo Wall Run seven times.

"Need practice... whoops, close one, bube!?"

However, being an unrehearsed performance without proper verification, the movement is rough. Kicking the wall to "climb straight up" is quite difficult. As proof, by the third step, my body started peeling away from the cliff, so I panicked and thrust the Marsh Daggers [Mod. II] into the wall.

The Marsh Dagger, clad in the effect of Great of Climb which corrects climbing using swords, pierces the rock wall—not quite tofu, but feeling like a damp cookie—and although it slides down slightly, it certainly supports my body.

Because it was a slightly forceful movement, the gag-like faceplant might look hilarious to a third party, but if I caused dozens of Crystal Scorpions to fall to their deaths with just facial pain, the return is hundreds of times the paid amount.

"...Huh, strange."

I was immersed in the afterglow of overwhelming victory, but while climbing the cliff using daggers as pickaxes, I suddenly realized.

"Not leveling up?"

Could it be that fall damage is treated as monster suicide and yields no EXP? No, that's absurd; if so, killing with poison would technically be self-destruction too. Besides, I should have entered combat state the moment I faced the Crystal Scorpions, so when they died, combat should end and EXP should come in.

I achieved the initial goal of eliminating Crystal Scorpions to mine safely, but I won't stop considering the cause and reason.

"Two possible scenarios."

One is the theory that entering Inventoria's storage space is treated as "Escape" and yields no EXP. Honestly, this possibility is high, and even if not, it will likely be patched that way next.

And the other possibility is...

"Yo, quite a cheerful coloring you got there... Image change?"

Combat hasn't ended yet. In Shangri-La Frontier, the system levels you up at the end of combat. Therefore, even if you defeat ninety-nine monsters, you won't get even 1 EXP unless you defeat the last one or get defeated yourself.

Ahead of my gaze, surrounded by the corpses of Crystal Scorpions, I speak to It emitting a clear presence.

"Must be a Rare Enemy... but looks full of killing intent."

It must be a so-called "Mutation" monster, classified as a Crystal Scorpion. But the crystals composing its body aren't transparent like other individuals; they look like gold crystals growing from a steel-colored skeleton. Because I've been looking at normal Crystal Scorpions for comparison, I can understand its abnormality even more strongly.

Even the normal individuals had designs full of killing intent, but the one in front of me goes beyond that. Instead of pincers, what grows from its forelegs are Weapons specialized for killing intent, sacrificing biological convenience like blades on the edge of a shield. The crystals growing from its head look just like oni horns. As for the tail, it carries an intensity that convinces even an amateur that just cutting it off and attaching a handle would make it far superior to average weapons.

It, pulling a foreleg from the corpse of its kin, turns toward me while trampling and crushing its kin. There is no sign of additional Crystal Scorpions coming, nor any sign of reinforcements of the same type as the Gold Scorpion in front of me. I see, a Lone Wolf, huh?

"What a coincidence, I have a Lone Wolf (Transient) skill too...!"

At this moment, the option of escape vanished from my mind. At least, it's not in my nature to leave the right to challenge a Feast (Rare Enemy) unused. While its behavior is unknown, the probability of ending combat by hiding in the storage space is likely low. But running away would likely end in being surrounded by normal Crystal Scorpions and dying.

By my estimate, most of the Crystal Scorpions in this area either fell off the cliff or were killed by the Gold Scorpion. Assuming I fight without waking up inactive individuals, the combat field is roughly a 20-meter radius.

"As long as I don't die, theoretically I can beat any opponent...! Ah, physical immunity is a no-go though."

What comes to mind is that day, the strongest wolf darker than night appearing between the Redcap and me. The armored warrior who kept his vow for a long time. The gap in ability remains unchanged, but my hand has increased far more. Since I'm challenging a Unique Monster, flinching at a mere level gap is out of the question.

Betting experience points, items, and mining rights, I challenge the Golden Scorpion.

Author's Afterword
Golden Scorpion
A Rare Enemy that appears when a certain number of Crystal Scorpions gather.
Separately, there may or may not be a Rare Enemy that appears when a certain number of Crystal Scorpions are killed.

What should I do? I've become a Crystal Scorpion fanboy... Even though I don't particularly like scorpions that much, I feel like I could talk about Crystal Scorpion settings for an hour... Is this love?
By the way, for the Golden Scorpion's color scheme image, searching for "Pallasite Meteorite" should make it easy to understand.