Chapter 214: Sharing the Same Heaven - Part 20

In the past, I was born to "be as such."

In the present, I have never felt dissatisfaction with "being as such."

And that is exactly why I stand before them.

Not because it is the mission carried by this "name." Nor because it is the reason held by this "body."

Simply because the "I" existing here wished it.

Therefore, therefore, in this very moment, let me praise them.

.........

......

...Huh, I'm alive?

Wait, seriously? Did a luck-based endure-with-1-HP effect trigger consecutively? Did the Goddess of RNG finally answer my prayers? For real? Should I start genuinely worshipping her?

"Thank goodness... I made it, in time..."

"Rei-shi?"

Why was Rei-shi so relieved that she made it in time? The answer to that could roughly be inferred from the residual effect particles faintly lingering on my body.

"A resurrection item?"

"Yes, previously... um, from when I was, PKKing... I had some, left over."

Previously PKKing... Ah, from when Pencilgon was laundering her items.
In other words, I would have died completely regardless of RNG. Damn you, shitty Goddess of RNG, I knew you were some kind of Evil God. Where's the salt, I need salt.
No, wait. Since the "Fool" sub-job effect forces luck-based outcomes, was I actually saved by RNG...? He, heheh, just a joke, Goddess-samaaa...

"Now then... where's Ctarrnid?"

Even without asking, I knew. The atmosphere—the sheer pressure I had felt on my skin ever since it appeared—had dissipated. That could only mean one thing.

"Did we win.........?"

At the end of my gaze, no longer retaining any trace of its macho body, was what used to be Ctarrnid, crumbling and fading away.
And creeping along the surface of that mass of flesh, escaping into the air above it, a magic circle appeared... No, it was what remained of Ctarrnid.

『The brilliance of life. I have certainly witnessed it.』

"Is it... over?"

"Probably... I think so."

"...Sleepy, so tired..."

Rust, don't fall asleep yet. Advancing the event scene while lying on the ground is honestly a bit much. I'm on the verge of falling asleep too, but endure it, endure it.

Unlike when it floated in the sky, this magic circle didn't have eyes or a mouth. It was truly just an intricately patterned magic circle turning like gears. It should have been nothing more than a pattern, yet I certainly... and the others probably did too... felt as if Ctarrnid was looking at us.

The gaze looked at us, looked at Araba and Emul, and finally, looked far, far away... After a brief silence, it spun its words.

『Two connected miracles. To exist together without conflicting... How joyous.』

"Oh."

"...? What is it?"

"No, just thinking for a sec."

Did we actually fulfill some kind of hidden condition just now? Kinda like the difference in clear rewards depending on whether you survived the Tensei attack against Wethermon.
If so, is Ctarrnid's special condition "Defeat Ctarrnid alongside NPCs"? Thinking about it that way, the reason Araba was placed here starts to make sense.
No, was the very reason Stude was brought to Ruluiath as a flag... also connected to this?

『Far, far... we have come so far. The sea of stars is now distant... yet, that sea I look up to is my homeland.』

『Travelers traversing the grand sea of stars... Even if we perish, the journey is inherited and continues... O humans, be proud of the honor of possessing great ancestors.』

Stars, journeys... Well, given the sci-fi background lore, humanity from the Divine Age probably rode on spaceships originally.
Seems like a spaceship stage might pop up somewhere down the line, but whatever, let's just soak in the joy of clearing a Unique Scenario for now. As for the lore theorizing, if I dangle the Tome of Truth in front of that illegal loli from that theorizing clan whose name I forgot, she'll probably figure something out for me.

Honestly, hogging multiple Unique Scenarios all to myself would make me stick out in a genuinely bad way, so it's probably best to show some "I'm on the players' side" energy.
Though I kinda feel like I already stick out in a massive way... Well, the "delinquent picking up a puppy in the rain" phenomenon is highly effective against Japanese people.

『O humans, humans who have proven your strength. Let me grant you an aid for your journey.』

"Alright, rewards are here!"

The moment the magic circle deployed in the air transformed into a differently shaped magic circle, eight lights bloomed in a circle in front of all of us.
They radiated the exact same brilliance as the eight chalices we had desperately destroyed just tens of minutes ago, making it somewhat easy to guess what the rewards were.

『My eight brilliances. I shall grant you one of their fragments...』

"Only one out of the eight, huh."

Kinda smells like a replayability mechanic...? No, surely not.
Surprisingly, the eight lights slowly spinning around appeared in front of the NPCs as well. I pondered for a bit over which color was which, but messing around with them brought up item descriptions, so I didn't have to choose blindly.

They're probably downgraded to a certain extent, just like how the Tactical Mecha Beasts don't boast the same specs as Wethermon's Kirin, but still...
Close-range, long-range, skills, magic, gender, vision, damage, status. If it's an item that can invert any of these, its value is immeasurable.
Even someone like me could become a highly mobile Tank just by swapping LUC and VIT, or pseudo-roleplay a Magic class by boosting MP.
Even without doing that, using the Close-Range Nullification in a clutch moment could provide temporary invincibility, or you could use it to completely counter pure mages or unga-bunga STR builds. The dream just keeps expanding.

But I'm sure everyone here was thinking the exact same thing: "Just one is kinda stingy."
However, Japanese people are, for better or worse, polite and reserved, so we keep those thoughts to ourselves without voicing them out loud. But still, considering there are eight of them, only getting one really does feel stingy...

What I'm trying to say is.

"Octopus-san! Can't we get like three of these!!"

"Whoooa!?"

Of course it's Akitsu Akane. Actually, of course it's Akitsu Akane.
No seriously, where does she get that kind of sheer nerve? I honestly want to ask. With absolute guts, she actually tried to negotiate directly with Ctarrnid.

『............』

"I want at least two!"

"Akitsu Akane, are you... a Hero?"

Haggling with an opponent we were in a death match against just minutes ago, a monster whose status as a living creature is dubious at best, and above all, something that's fundamentally an AI. She completely bypassed all of that just to negotiate a better deal.
Are you serious? Are you seriously serious? Well, I guess that explains how she can charge head-first at Siegwurm.

Silence dominated the area. The players were in shock, thinking, "How the hell did you manage to say that out loud?" The NPCs were in shock, thinking, "How the hell can you talk so casually to an existence akin to a God?"
Ctarrnid simply continued spinning slowly in the air as a magic circle. Yeah, it's obviously impossible. This is a Unique Monster, you know? There's no way an idiotic request like that would pass. Her bargaining skill must be in the negatives starting from level 1.

『I shall grant you two.』

Did she just land a critical hit? You're kidding me, right.

"Yay! Thank you so much, Octopus-san!!"

"You've gotta be kidding me!?"

This isn't even about player skill or anything mild like that anymore. This is a combination of sheer heaven-sent luck and natural talent.

There truly exists a type of gamer who manages to uncover hidden elements that make you want to scream, "How the hell were you supposed to find that!?"
The type who manages to breakthrough a quadruple lock of "specifics"—being in a specific place, equipping a specific item, casting a specific spell, and performing a specific action—to uncover secrets.
I never thought I'd witness that moment in person. Wow. Akitsu Akane is terrifying...

"Wow, I never thought you'd actually try to negotiate directly, but good job... Let's just go with that... yeah."

"Yes! I remembered seeing you talk to Ly... Lycalon? Lycalon before, Sunraku-san, so I thought I'd try it!"

Now that she mentions it, I did do something similar. I'm in no position to talk.
Gaze that looked at me like I was an absolute idiot shifted in my direction, but what else was I supposed to do!? Because of that wolf, I've been forced into a half-naked, heavily tattooed lifestyle!
I couldn't just stand there without throwing at least one complaint at it! Besides, I ended up getting dragged into even more troublesome crap because of it, so I am absolutely never forgiving that bastard...

I'll save my revenge against Lycaon for later. Once again, I looked at the eight lights floating in front of me.
If I can get two, I won't hold back. I'll take this one... and this one.

Man, I really didn't expect the negotiate command to actually work. With the scenario over, all the tension left my bo—wait.

"Is something... the matter...?"

Suddenly, I realized it.

"Hey... Did anyone... hear the announcement for defeating a Unique Monster...?"

"...Announcement?"

Rust, Mold, and Akitsu Akane tilted their heads in confusion at my words, but Rei-shi—who was intimately familiar with ShanFro's systems—seemed to instantly grasp what I was getting at.
Pouring strength back into my exhausted body, I scanned the area vigilantly. Seeing our reaction, the rest of the group seemed to realize something was wrong and stood up as well.

It was exactly at that moment.

A shudder ran through the air.

"The Blue" squirmed.

Author's Afterword
The field trip isn't over until you get home.

The reason the negotiation worked on Ctarrnid is based on the same principle as Lycaon inflicting Lycaon's Scar on the protagonist, but it was judged based on their actions throughout the scenario.
In other words, if they had cleared it in the absolute fastest, most optimal, and utterly boring way possible, the negotiation would have failed.
It's essentially the "TRPG Keeper who becomes lenient after the climax of the scenario" effect. You know, the one where they start listening to minor requests.

I've been hesitating and putting it off for a while, but should I start writing more visual descriptions for the characters?