Chapter 267: The Lingering Afterglow of a Champion

Pioneers who have received the blessing of the Divine Age are prone to experiencing a rapid surge in ability compared to other humanoid species.
Even if they die, they will simply teleport to the last place they rested and walk around as if nothing happened.
Furthermore, though it varies by individual, some may sleep continuously for weeks, while others never rest aside from short naps.
And while they may seem immortal, one day they might just suddenly vanish.

From top to bottom, that translates to: "Level Up System," "Respawn System," "Login/Logout System," and "Retirement."
I see. Pioneers truly are organisms less stable than a heat haze...

"So the very existence of a player as a concept was baked directly into the world's lore."

Rather than just treating them as ordinary inhabitants of the world, they actually established lore reasons for why players become abnormally strong or why they operate at weird hours... Hmm.

"Was that really something that needed to be strictly established in the lore...?"

To be completely honest, I don't think anyone would care even if they didn't add a "That's just the ecology of this species" lore justification... No, is this distinction necessary precisely because there's a strict dividing line between them and NPCs, namely "Project Number One" and "Project Number Two"?
The word "Number" is a label given to things that, despite their differences, are linked by the same purpose or application. Meaning it's highly likely that despite differences in content, the ultimate objective of Project Number One and Project Number Two is exactly the same.

The video found in the underground of the Ruined Castle, Wethermon the Tombguard and Setsuna of Distant Days, the notes left in Ruluiath, the mysterious "Ω"... I can roughly see the skeleton, but I haven't reached the point of putting flesh on it yet.
Does Bahamut hold the key after all? A fair amount of information is brought in through Unique Monster-related stuff too, but at the end of the day, the protagonist—or rather, the core of the story—is the Unique Monsters...

"Come to think of it, where are the other two?"

"Akitsu Akane-san said something like 'I'm gonna test how my leg feels~' and ran off desu wa. Psyger-0-san woke up once, but she's sleeping again now desu wa."

Logged out, maybe? Well whatever, to those two this might have just been a defensive battle, but I've still got other business left to take care of.
I've still got stuff to do after this anyway, guess I'm pulling an all-nighter. Should I crack open another energy drink...

"Alright, shall we go?"

"Are we visiting Aydward-oniichan desu wa?"

"We can just sink him in a potion bath or somethin'. But besides that, there's another reason I went out of my way to pick a fight with Goldunine, right~"

Overcoming the "Scar." Acquiring a method to overwrite and cancel out the curse to save Meiki-kun from hurtling straight down the path of industrial waste.
I've acquired the item necessary for that, and since there's a little bonus thrown in, including that, it's time for some fun weapon crafting.

............

.........

......

Rabituza. Within the Rabbit Mansion, there are two blacksmith workshops. One is Bilac's workshop, which has recently gained a bit more of a sci-fi flavor, probably because she acquired the Ancient Craftsman job.
And the other belongs to the master of the Rabbit Mansion, Vysache's workshop. It isn't flashy, but it's a place where it feels as if every single tool harbors life... And there, Vash stood.

"Oh... So ya came."

"Various interruptions got in the way, but Goldunine's 'Curse'... It's right here."

What I pulled out was a palm-sized crystal containing a purple liquid.
The item name was "Component Crystal: Goldunine Cursed Poison." It added to an already obnoxiously long monster name to make it even longer, but it was definite proof that I successfully harvested the "Curse."

"And one more thing."

During my time-buying stall tactic with the heavy stench of a forced-loss event, I wasn't just entirely focused on evasion. Making it my goal to deliver a forehead-flick whenever an opening presented itself, I struggled in various ways, wondering if I could at least rip off one of the annoying Nagas' fangs.
Well, the result was exactly as you'd expect, but I still managed to land attacks to some degree, and thanks to my struggling, I ended up finding something.

"The four snakes Goldunine brought along... It was stuck in the back of one of 'em."

Thanks to that, I ended up sacrificing an arm, but the item I recovered through sheer grit and willpower was far too long to categorize properly...

"Let's see? The name is 'Decayed Areadbhair'... Ooh!?"

Gash!
With a maneuver so fast I mistakenly thought he used teleportation magic, Vash grabbed my arm—and the Rusted Greatsword I had just taken out. Shukuchi? Is this that Shukuchi thing?

"Um...?"

"Huh... So that's where ya were, Dordona..."

Any trace of his usual easygoing attitude completely vanished, and Vash stared intently at the rusted greatsword as if he had suddenly aged drastically.
It smells like I just stepped on a flag, but unfortunately, I don't know anyone named Dordona, nor did I acquire this through some special event.

Well, it was special in a way, but all I did was yank it out while sprinting like I was on a treadmill on top of a Naga that was charging at me like a roller coaster... Well, thanks to that I got stuck and had my arm ripped off by the top-right bastard, though.

When I checked it later, it wasn't even particularly effective against Goldunine—it was just a rusted piece of industrial waste, which made the whole thing a joke.
I was thinking, "Hahaha, it was stuck in there like a holy sword or something, but it's just trash..." and then I get this reaction from Vash. Guess you were worth getting an arm eaten for, Areadbhair-kun.

"Ah... Is it something Aniki has ties to?"

"..................Nah, nowadays it's just a dull blade."

If it was nothing, you wouldn't make a face like you were trying with all your might to swallow your words, you know... In gal games, specific motions or expressions are often directly linked to flags, so I'm actually pretty perceptive when it comes to these kinds of emotional subtleties.

"It's just a greatsword anyway, so I don't mind handing it over to Aniki if you'd like."

"Yeah, yeah, look at ya, actin' all grown up an' showin' concern fer me... But it's fine. Somethin' that vanished who-knows-where endin' up right here, right now... That's what ya call 'Fate'. Means yer the one who oughta use it."

"Haa..."

Is that how it works? Man, what's going on, the Goddess of RNG has been smiling way too much recently. There's definitely going to be a massive rebound from this. Was it the Law of Fevers or something?

"This thing's somethin' an old... real old pal of ours used a long, long time ago... Strictly speakin', it ain't a greatsword."

It certainly is strange for a greatsword. I mean, real-world greatswords tend to be slender rather than the massive "that's just a hunk of iron" boards you see in games, but this rusted blade feels different from even those.

"This is... the spearhead of a Giant's Spear. Some idiot snapped it off and started usin' it as a straight sword, see..."

A Giant's Spear... I see, so that's the true identity of the incongruity. It's not a greatsword, it's a spearhead with utterly broken size scaling. Wait, the blade alone is over a meter long, right? Even as a sword-spear, the full weapon would be two or three meters... But given this width, a normal spear size? Wouldn't it be like five meters long?

"It ain't a thing from the Divine Age, nor is it somethin' born from the world. It's somethin' that someone truly grasped, carried, and swung... That's what ya call a Grateful (Champion's Weapon)."

"Grateful..."

Yep.

Can I leave the theory-crafting for another time!?

............

.........

......

"............"

"Uwah, there's a dead fish here."

"Shut up, parolee..."

"I just paid bail later, that's all~!"

"Isn't that bad in multiple ways...?"

Alright, after a super fun, incredibly fun PvE battle comes a super fun, incredibly fun, highly enjoyable PvP battle. How strange. I shouldn't be able to feel almost anything from my physical body since I'm full-diving, yet the taste of energy drink still lingers on my tongue.

Even though I mixed it with milk before drinking it...

Author's Afterword
Prime Areadbhair: "Die Die Dragon Attaaaack!"
Naga: "I look like a dragon, but I'm just a reptile, 'ssu."
Prime Areadbhair: "Eh"

• Dordona of the Areadbhair:
  His full name, including "of the Areadbhair." For naming conventions, refer to Inventoria.
  Long ago, in the era between the end of the Divine Age and the present day.
  One of the members of a mixed-race party that rose up to slay the Dragon Species (Fungi) who committed endless atrocities while claiming to be the supreme race.
  Though he was a gentle person, he had a rough side, snapping his spear and using it as a sword simply because it was "too hard to use."

Truth be told, he is nothing more than flavor text for the character Vash (meaning he's a MacGuffin that doesn't really matter for the Unique Scenario), but after a short yet incredibly long time, the sword of his spearhead was delivered to his friend.

What's the difference between these?

• Legacy Weapon (遺機装): Weapons from the Divine Age. Relics and foreign objects.

• Champion's Weapon (英傑武器 / Grateful): Weapons used by those worthy of being called heroes. Even a second-hand item gains value depending on its user.

• Hero Weapon (勇者武器): Though the details are still hidden, they are crystals of wishes and the coagulation of leaked power.

• Sword of the God and Demons, Dual-Visage Armor:
  [───REDACTED───]