Chapter 136: Opportunity, Agony, and Another Blunder

Let’s turn the clock back a few minutes.

In this game, the rarest of rare monsters—the Seven Unique Monsters, which have only existed as a single entity from the game's launch, into the present, and on into the future. Akitsu Akane was absolutely, positively floating on air, having sat at the very edge of the raiding party that fought one of them: "Lycaon the Night Raider." Even if her contribution to the DPS was effectively zero.

"Wow... is that the survey ship? It’s huge! It looks like a luxury liner!"

"Indeed it is..."

Unlike Saiga-0, who headed toward Fifticia since that's where her clan base is, or Sunraku, who rushed back to Rabituza saying he had some urgent business, Akitsu Akane had no morning practice for her club and no plans, so she was enjoying the sights of the city of Fifticia to her heart's content.

Some NPCs cast suspicious glances at the girl wearing a strange mask, but from a player's perspective, you see all sorts of eccentrics making weird avatars, so she didn't garner much attention.

At the very least, if she wanted to attract the attention of the players who actually made it to Fifticia—not the speed-running outliers like Akitsu Akane or Sunraku, but the players who painstakingly leveled up and earned their strength the honest way—she would need to act unusually, not just dress unusually.

"Wow, amazing...! Grilled fish skewers? One, please! The flavor's super faint!!"

Even a comment that’s incredibly rude if you think about it calmly doesn't rub the seller the wrong way, not when the aura of joy radiating through her mask is so palpable. Rather than dwelling on how abnormal it is for an AI to "perceive intent," she just frolicked about like a true gamer enjoying the moment. Ceecrue, camouflaged as a scarf, whispered to her so the people around wouldn't hear.

"You are quite exuberant."

"I’ve never seen the ocean before. So even inside the game, it’s super fun to be able to see the sea!"

"Inside a Game[*1], you say... a truly bewitching turn of phrase. At times, I cannot grasp the meaning behind your words, Akitsu Akane-dono."

"Is that so? But Sunraku-san and Emul-chan talk pretty normally, don't they?"

"Emul has become quite the sturdy lass as well. Watching Diale-no-yatsu get all flustered over it was a delight."

Emul has likely climbed to the upper echelons of strength even among Vysache’s direct descendants, but there is no way for Ceecrue to know that the reason she talks to Sunraku so "normally" is that she simply treats most of his soliloquies as nonsensical chatter.

Even if it’s a virtual reality... a fiction, the graphics of Shangri-La Frontier surpass those of an average game on their own. The sound of the surf, the scent of the sea breeze enveloping the city along with the hustle and bustle, the sunrise sparkling over the ocean, the city, and the world—the port city of Fifticia, where magic and fantasy exist with tangible reality, was something Akitsu Akane could never get tired of watching.

And then, as if to block that very view, an unsophisticated window popped up in front of her.

[Unique Scenario "Pierce the Apostle of the Abyss" initiated. Yes/No]

"Eh? Why?"

Unique Scenario. She understands what that means. In short, it’s a super-rare mission... but she has no idea why it popped up right this second. To a newbie like Akitsu Akane, a Unique Scenario is something that "happens after you do something amazing."

And, in fact, that recognition isn't wrong. A Unique Scenario is a story woven by those who live in this world, distinct from ordinary quests. It might be showing your might to the King of the Night, piercing the pride of the Sovereign of the Heavens, or reaching the deepest depths of this world's core... the pierced great hole. That’s why it’s fundamentally impossible for a Unique Scenario to occur just because you were sightseeing. So why did it appear before Akitsu Akane? If it were Saiga-0, she would have understood easily.

A "party" in this game is, in a sense, one body and soul. A request triggered by the leader also triggers for the other members. A rejection option does exist, but to put it simply, as long as the leader meets the conditions, the other members can accept the same quest... the same Unique Scenario, even if they were just sightseeing.

And so, the temporary party formed a few hours ago to defeat Lycaon hadn't been dissolved. This was because the leader—from the "two-person party for area exploration"—was scrambling around with a brain that wasn't functioning, and because Akitsu Akane, who had participated in parties, had only ever joined as an extra to pick-up groups and left when the leader dissolved them, didn't even have the concept of dissolving a party on her own.

"Hmm... I don't really get it, but if it popped up, it might be fun to try!"

Because of that, Akitsu Akane had no idea that the Unique Scenario before her eyes was triggered by Sunraku, who was still linked to her via the party, and she never once thought to decline it.

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who get hooked by a text and click on spam mail, and those who don't. Akitsu Akane leaned closer to the former. Without hesitation, she pressed "Yes" to accept the scenario, and the fox-masked ninja and the white cloak were suddenly thrown into a barrel by a swarm of muscle-heads that appeared out of nowhere.

"Party... w-what should I do..."

Saiga-0 was agonizing intensely. Before her eyes, a window displayed that she was still in a party relationship with Sunraku, Akitsu Akane, and two Vorpal Bunnies. Breaking this connection is easy; she just has to press "Yes" to the question "Do you wish to leave the party?" currently displayed on her screen.

But even though she understood that logically, her heart was violently rejecting it.

It’s hard to sever a connection you finally made on your own, especially if it stems from strong emotions. She knows—she knows full well. Even if she leaves it alone, Sunraku will eventually cut it from his end, and since she has to form a party with her clan members again soon, she knows she can't just wait for them to dissolve it.

"U-u-uuh......"

She had half-forced her way into getting yesterday's schedule cleared, and since this morning, both in reality and in-game, her sister has been rushing her to return. Now that the additional New Continent survey ship is complete, Saiga-0, as a main member of the clan "Wolf Schwarz," needs to unlock the level cap immediately. That’s why she has to dissolve the current party and prepare to board the survey ship.

Thanks to intel from the advance team, she knows combat will occur on the survey ship, and she knows the items sold in the shops on board are expensive. But, but, that simple choice—one single click—was a problem for Saiga-0 that was just as difficult, if not more so, than challenging Lycaon.

"Mu, mu-mu-mu-mu......!"

She stretches her finger out, then pulls it back. She steels her resolve, then thinks, wait just a little longer.

Her index finger was running a shuttle run in the void in a state that could be placed in the dictionary under "indecision," complete with a video demonstration. The only difference from a regular shuttle run was that her finger movement slowed down as time passed.

(I know... I know that... but, you know... cutting the connection myself feels so heartless... I know it’s just excess sentimentality... but it’s like... the feeling of breaking a card tower you worked so hard to build, I suppose...)

Contrary to her indecisive finger, her thoughts only accelerated. Seeing herself making excuses to herself looked ridiculous to her, but to an outsider, she was just a giant knight radiating genuine, heavy pressure, distancing not just NPCs but even other players in a different vector than those who bore the "Cursed" or "Scars."

"Hm? You were here, Rei?"

"......Yes, well."

"Why are you making such strange movements? Before we go to the new continent, we need to make a massive amount of high-concentration recovery potions. We’re doing a horn-hunting marathon in the 'Forest of Mythology' right now."

"Ah... yeah... wait a sec, I'm dissolving the party right now..."

Any more hesitation would cause trouble not just for her sister, but for the other members, too. Besides, they are still friends; she can form a party again later. She steels herself to press "Yes," but her "love-brain" deep down screams at her to stop, to not do it yet.

"Alright, Namusan!"[*2]

"What’s with you all of a sudden!?"

She tilts her head, looks away, closes her eyes, and thrusts her finger out with such momentum that even her hesitation couldn't stop it. That is why Saiga-0 didn't recognize it, nor could she stop her finger once she recognized it.

[Unique Scenario "Pierce the Apostle of the Abyss" initiated. Yes/No]

She didn't notice that pushing aside the window asking whether to dissolve the party, another window had appeared—one conveying the latest info... a window asking whether to join the Unique Scenario triggered by the party leader.

And the index finger of the "Attack Holder"—carrying enough strength to break low-durability objects in one hit—pressed "Yes" without wavering, for once in her life... on the Unique Scenario window.

"............Ah, huh? I definitely pressed it just now..."

"Alright, boys, we found 'em! Load 'em up, load 'em up!"

"Carry 'em, carry 'em!!"

"Eh? Wait, hold on... Kyaaaaaaaah!?"

"Fgyuuuuuuh!?"

"Ceecrue-saaaaaan!? Ah, was it Saiga-0-san!? Long time no see!!"

And so, with no one understanding what on earth was happening, the two girls and one bunny were carried off toward Ruffian Street by the swarm of muscle-heads who had easily tossed Saiga-0’s massive frame into a barrel.

"Ah... well... um..."

Between Akitsu Akane’s explanation and Rei-shi's guess, and my own investigation, I grasped what happened and why. The fact that they hadn't dissolved the party, and because I happened to be the party leader, the Unique Scenario triggered for them as well.

And the fact that these two might get involved not just with Lycaon the Night Raider, but with Ctarrnid of the Abyss too... What on earth should I do?

The meeting in my brain dissolved into a chaotic brawl and evolved into an Apocalypse, and the final Conclusion[*3] rendered its verdict.

"Whatever, screw it all!"

"I don't really get it, but are you sure about that, Sunraku-san!?"

"Hahaha, the sky is so pretty."

Who cares if there are two more people now! As long as it’s fun, that’s all that matters!!

Author's Afterword

• Red Whale Pirates "Barrel Delivery"
  A type of forced event where muscle-heads "kidnap" players who are not at the quest starting location.
  They are NPCs that only appear to stuff players into barrels and transport them, but because it’s a forced event, their STR—which takes priority over everything else—becomes "unlimited" in extremely limited situations.
  Because of this, a barrel-portable shrine carried by grinning pirate muscles, who are sprinting while stuffing a heavily-armored knight like Saiga-0 into a barrel like they're playing with beanbags, is quite the horror show.

Translator's Notes

• *[1] Game (Yugi): The raw text uses "Play/Game" (Yugi), but it's a slightly archaic/formal way to say it, highlighting how Ceecrue, a Vorpal Bunny, is confused by Akitsu Akane's modern gamer lingo.

• *[2] Namusan: A Buddhist-derived exclamation ("Namu San"), basically meaning "Lord have mercy" or "I resign myself to fate," often used before doing something reckless or accepting an inevitable misfortune.

• *[3] Conclusion (Kami): The Kanji is "God" (Kami), but the reading is "Conclusion" (Ketsuron). Sunraku is sarcastically elevating his own final, lazy decision to divine status.