Chapter 109: Countering with "Winning is Everything"

Five wins, two draws, three losses. Statistically, it's a relatively close battle, but looking at the result... well, it's safe to call it a complete victory.

They seem to understand that too; seeing them suppress the emotions welling up while trembling puru-puru feels truly good.

"Haa—feels like I'm drinking the nectar of victory from a 2-liter PET bottle desu wa—"

"Gununu..."

"W-Well, well..."

For Fiddler Crab, the concept of fair and square does not exist. Running away, hiding, surprise attacks, binding movements, one-hit kills... its nature produces extremely high results against builds that fight head-on.

Conversely, if distanced, it's just a crab, but even then, it just executes assassinations from hide-and-seek... Ah, stop stacking sensors! You'll find me!

"Instant death if caught is too much of a trash game..."

"Hahaha, in a true Trash Game, due to a space-fixed AMR rapid-fire bug, no existence other than long-range builds is allowed, you know?"

"Space... what?"

"A world you don't need to know about..."

After all, Trash Games that terminated service due to terrible bugs, now only able to recall past disasters at the Ruins (Offline), are as numerous as the stars... no, maybe not that many, but about as many as the eggs a sunfish lays at once.

There was a game in this world where you could rapid-fire an anti-materiel rifle with zero recoil while completely fixed in mid-air. Having a quick-draw duel with AMRs from ultra-long range was novel and fun, though.

Can't help but feel Impermanence (Karmic Retribution); were the debuggers napping?

"Ten matches should be enough."

"Frustrating, but I admit Crimson Twinewing lost. But next time I'll win, even tomorrow..."

"Ah—I wonder about that. Might be back to my main game tomorrow."

"Rematch... what?"

Achieving a winning record against the absolute champion Crimson Twinewing, and furthermore, "Fiddler Crab Type Twin-Leg Build," which isn't that hard to imitate for a player with a certain level of skill as a Pilot capable of "Stealth, Surprise Attack, Conclusion," is born.

Will they imitate it? Or copy the meta "King's Gambit Type"? Or build a meta for King's Gambit...? Ignoring the suddenly active players, Rust freezes at the words I spoke.

"In other words............ You won't come anymore?"

"I wonder. Might come occasionally, but resuming this game this time was largely for a change of pace... well, maybe once a month if I do."

"That is not good. Very, not good."

"Uwoh!?"

"Wa-Wait Rust!"

Gabari. Where does such strength come from in that petite avatar? Rust grabs my avatar by the collar and pulls me close.

Mold tries to pull Rust off me in a panic, but Rust speaks to me without caring.

"Sunraku, just by you coming, Nephilim Hollow became this active. Surely, if you stay, Nephilim Hollow will become even more fun............ So, continue Nephilim Hol... I want you to continue."

Perhaps because she's thinking of persuasive words on the spot, it feels clumsy, but Rust's eyes are dead serious. And surprisingly, Mold, who is trying to stop her, also looks at me with expectant eyes.

However, honestly, I don't have enough motivation to play this game continuously. I think it's an interesting game, and actually fun, but "Fun game I want to play every day" and "Fun game to play occasionally" are different after all.

"That said, originally it was just venting frustration for finding a robot in ShanFro but not being able to ride it..."

"...In ShanFro, a robot? Did you say robot just now?"

"Heh?"

Rust's hand grabbing my collar increases in strength compared to before. Her eyes are not shining as "A player who loves Nephilim Hollow," but with a different brilliance.

This is... yes, the brilliance of a Shangri-La Frontier player. Realizing that, I curse my own carelessness.

"N-No, I want you to disregard that just now, or rather forget it..."

"I was playing Shangri-La Frontier too. But since there were no clues about robots no matter how much time passed, I retired..."

"Ha, hahaha, that's unfortunate..."

"So, I am extremely interested in your words just now...!"

Now then, this has become troublesome. To be blunt, I have no obligation or duty to respond to any of Rust's requests.

However, if asked if I can refuse without causing any waves, it's a bit heavy for me who doesn't possess the eloquence of Pencilgon whose smooth talk is boosted by nitro.

Depending on the game, I can PK normally, but I don't really want to do things that make the atmosphere awkward in this game. Although the interaction has been less than a day in terms of time, the residents of this game are good guys, not in terms of good or bad personality, but good or bad nature.

Even if it's not a Trash Game, it's not like I don't have the feeling to play continuously, but after all, I want to concentrate on ShanFro which I'm playing the most seriously right now.

As a result, while I was thinking about how to evade, the next moment, all my thoughts were blown away by the nuclear bomb-class statement dropped by Rust.

"If you continue Nephilim Hollow from now on... and if you tell me about the robot in ShanFro..."

Hearing those words in a robot game that isn't even ShanFro... even Pencilgon, who plots evil at the level of future prediction, wouldn't imagine it.

"I can teach you about the Unique Monster 'Ctarrnid of the Abyss,' and the Unique Scenario leading to it."

Seven Jokers in ShanFro. One gone, six remaining.

I hold one of them, but suddenly the existence of the third Joker appeared before me.

"...So, why did it turn out like this?"

The next day after that, I am now at the field named "Ground Zero."

In the ruins of the city where the very first Nephilim fell, I muttered so while boarding Fiddler Crab.

No, I know the reason full well, but I can't help but mutter.

---Tomorrow morning, I want you to fight me again. If I win, continue Nephilim Hollow.

If she adds "Also, if I win, I'll disclose information on the Unique Monster," I can't refuse.

Unexpected of unexpected, I never thought the name of a Unique Monster would come up in a place like this.

"Ctarrnid of the Abyss." I recall that name should be already known. Although it's a name that feels like indescribable madness, since it's a Unique Monster, whether challenging or discovering, nothing starts without raising the Unique Scenario EX flag.

Honestly, from the perspective of credibility, suspicion hasn't been wiped away, but I don't understand the reason to specifically name Ctarrnid of the Abyss, and since it was originally like searching for a contact lens in the dark, it's worth knowing.

"She said she'd come with a new machine, but for now let's check what kind of build it is..."

The next moment, an impact ran through Fiddler Crab's right arm, and the right arm, gouged and pierced along with the shoulder ball joint, was blown away.

Instantly activating Optical Camouflage and Jamming Sensor, scanning the surroundings while leaving the spot using rubble as a shield...

"Unoooooh!?"

More bullets raining down. A bullet hits the left Jet Leg directly, and switching the plummeting mobility to Float Legs, I flee again.

But no matter where I hide or disappear, the bullets snipe me accurately. And at the point where a bullet flying through the gap in buildings blew away half the head, I was convinced.

"Th-That bastard............ She went full meta regardless of appearance!!"

Sensor-stacked long-range sniping machine. The figure of Rust's new machine, likely built almost identically to King's Gambit, entered my vision for a split second, and Fiddler Crab exploded as its torso was shot through... No, I'll say it again: THAT BASTARD!!!

I felt like Rust laughed at me through her nose somewhere.

Author's Afterword
The guy who made a smug face with a late throw in rock-paper-scissors cannot complain even if a smug face is made back at him with a late throw...

I want to write a full-scale Trash Game play description, but I'm scared I'll lose something precious.