Chapter 137: Red Whale, Facing the Fish Monster

Yeah, thinking about it calmly, this Unique Scenario "Pierce the Apostle of the Abyss" isn't something that can just be triggered easily. After all, I know nothing about it, and even Rust and Mold, who actually have the intel, aren't entirely sure how they triggered it in the first place.

In a way, I hold a weakness over those two, so keeping their mouths shut would be easy... no, not in a "kill them" kind of way, but by dangling robot parts in front of them.

Therefore, even if clearing this scenario triggers a Unique Scenario EX, no players other than Rei-shi and Akitsu Akane would be able to piggyback on it. Honestly, those two showing up at all was completely unexpected, but rather than regretting what's already done, I should focus on fixing what I can do now.

"...So, yeah. These are Saiga-0 and Akitsu Akane, the helpers who ended up joining this scenario as an extra."

"I have absolutely no idea what you mean by 'so, yeah'..."

Well, I don't blame him for saying that, but I didn't exactly have the courage to just tell them, "It was a mistake, so please go home. Also, you guys don't know anything about a Unique Scenario, okay?"

I tried hinting at it with something like, "Sorry for dragging you here by mistake, feel free to head back if you have other things to do," but, well, there aren't many players who would pass up the chance to participate in a Unique Scenario. Rei-shi looked like she was hesitating about something, but in the end, she told me she would join... You really don't have to force yourself, you know?

Rust, in particular, was glaring at me with a gaze filled with various emotions, but I managed to convince them by explaining that Saiga-0 is one of the strongest players in ShanFro.

"...And what about her?"

"Yes! My name is Akitsu Akane!"

"Just think of her as a convenient Mob-A. Like, the optional parts are the main body."

"That's so harsh!?"

To be fair, she is the lowest-level player here. Defeating Lycaon (Clone) probably gave her an absurd level up that normally wouldn't be possible, but it's an undeniable fact that her raw power is a head below the rest of a squad with an average level of 80.

That said, her "optional parts"—namely, Ceecrue—is a hardcore combat build, unlike Emul, so it's accurate to say the optional parts are the main body. Plus, all those ninja-esque magic spells of hers are actually pretty useful for things other than pure DPS. Honestly, the roles are completely reversed: the main attacker is Ceecrue, and the support is Akitsu Akane.

If only that laser beam of hers could put out a little more firepower, she could be a rear-guard DPS instead of just support. From what I heard, it barely made a golem in the Ruins of Past Glory stumble. Even if that beam hits a weak point for critical damage, the total output is only about equal to five of my standard attacks. Talk about a massive visual scam.

"...Well, as long as I can use a robot, I don't care."

"Having more people means we can divide the roles better, so I don't have any objections either."

Without even needing to exploit their weaknesses, I easily got their approval and reformed the party.

Since Rust and Mold are the main players for this scenario, rather than keeping them in my party from the Lycaon fight, it makes more sense to make them the leaders and have us join under their umbrella. Right when I dissolved the party with my leader privileges, I felt some kind of intense pressure coming from Rei-shi, but what was that all about? We can party up again anytime, so breaking it shouldn't be an issue... Was there some hidden penalty for dissolving a party!?

"Sent the party request. Also, Vorpal Bunnies count as party members, huh..."

I think I heard somewhere that dog-like and cat-like monsters can be brought along as a kind of optional part. Well, Emul and Ceecrue are treated as NPCs, so it's probably balanced around that.

"How long are you guys gonna dawdle! Hurry up and get on the ship!!"

"The little shit is calling us. Let's go."

From the deck of the ship, Stude was rushing us with a voice entirely too loud for a kid. Despite the sudden accident of adding extra members, we boarded the Red Whale Pirates' sailing ship, the Scarlet Whale, with five people and two bunnies: the Lycaon raid members, an archer, and a pure mage.

"Wow, this is amazing! We're actually moving!"

This is the hidden port located in Ruffian Street, an impoverished area that completely pales in comparison to Fifticia's main harbor. From the shadow of a massive shipwreck, a single sailing ship cut through the water and advanced into the open ocean.

Compared to the massive ships floating proudly in the main port—whether they were luxury liners or dreadnought-class battleships, the size difference was like a bug to a real-life whale—this sailing ship was tiny. Yet, it caught the wind in its sails, bearing an emblem of a red whale and a skull, as if declaring to the world that it was the one who conquered the sea.

"It really is amazing. The mobs are actually operating the ship properly."

"What's so amazing about that?"

"Well, the fact that the mobs are actually operating it means the ship isn't just moving via the system. It means the game is running physics calculations down to every single screw to make it move."

I explained the insane level of detail in this game to address Rei-shi's question. Honestly, just loading the data used for this ship into storage would probably blow the memory on a crappy PC. Normally, developers would compromise on something like this. Nobody would care if the ship moved fast regardless of the wind. They could just take a ship-shaped model and slap a bumpy texture on it, and it would be perfectly fine. But this ship... and probably that massive survey ship too... isn't built as a single "Ship" model, but assembled from "Wood," "Metal Fittings," and other various parts, all interacting with the physics engine.

It's gone past "amazing" and straight into "gross." What is driving the developers of this game to go this far?

"Well, I guess you're basically saying it's an incredible game."

"Yes, exactly... I think it's a very good game."

I felt like Rei-shi's words carried weight beyond just the game's high specs, but well, graphics aren't everything in a game. People can be moved to tears by pixel art. A game that only excels in one area... or in other words, a game that only has one good thing going for it, is usually classified as a Trash Game.

"I doubt I can catch any fish while casting from a moving ship. No, wait, it's a sailing ship, so it's slower than an engine-powered vessel. If it's a fast-swimming fish, there might actually be a chance it catches up and bites...?"

With that decided, I immediately tried my hand at fishing. This definitely isn't a rod meant for catching massive fish, but let's see what I can pull up.

About thirty minutes passed since I started fishing. Don't ask about the catch; the fact that Emul started dozing off is proof enough... Stop blowing a snot bubble with your scarf! Why are you pulling a gag animation at a time like this?

"...Did the clouds change?"

Someone muttered that—I don't know who—but both players and NPCs who heard it looked up at the sky.

The sky, which until just moments ago had spread a vast blue canopy that rivaled the ocean below, now had a weak sun, the light that had been pouring down almost annoyingly just a bit earlier. The sun itself hadn't lost its brightness; rather, the light was being blocked, as if a filter had been placed over the blue sky texture.

"...Hey, Rei-shi. I'm asking because I might just be ignorant, but is an event where the weather drastically changes in less than a minute a common thing in ShanFro?"

"At the very least, in all the time I've played, something like this has never...!"

At first, the light just weakened. But with every passing second, it cast a shadow, hiding the sky, until finally, black clouds heavy with massive amounts of water and thunder completely covered the Scarlet Whale from the sun.

Looking closely, these black clouds weren't covering the entire world of ShanFro. The clearly unnatural circular cloud formation was centered exactly over our ship.

"Captain! There's no mistake, it's just like that time!!"

"I-I'm not scared! I am my Papa's son... You lot! Ready your weapons!!"

Stude, who had cowered for a split second, barked out the order to prepare for combat to his crew, and then to us. While the NPCs scrambled to grab their weapons, the players—who could just pull theirs from their inventories instantly—readied their weapons on the spot while looking around to figure out what was happening.

"There's pretty much a set rule for ghost ships. They always show up in one of two patterns."

"W-what are they...?"

Emul, her fur standing on end, asked me timidly.

"One is the horror game pattern, where it slowly emerges from the fog. And the other is... Here it comes, from below!!"

The action game pattern, where it blasts out from the bottom of the sea!!

In the next moment, a blast of light carrying destructive force fell from the black clouds. The hammer of light struck the ocean's surface, instantly evaporating the seawater and expressing its destructive power as an explosion on the water.

And simultaneously, the impact from below caused a massive pillar of water to erupt from the ocean's surface.

"The ghost ship... what was it again? The Something Insulin?"

"The Crying Innsman...! A-all hands, b-brace for battle!!"

I'll give you credit for not abandoning your role as captain even while terrified, you little shit.

The scarred pirate ship of the Red Whale, and the shrieking fish-monster ghost ship... The two vessels face off in the stormy seas—

Author's Afterword

In reality, the most useless one among this group is the heroine, whose stats are currently halved.

Even if she changes her equipment, the stat halving penalty lasts for a full day.