Chapter 293: There Are Two Continents

To a player who only knows the Vorpal Bunny Kingdom "Rabituza" from the "Tour of the Rabbit Land" Unique Scenario, it's just a Unique Scenario to acquire some relatively important magic... but if you clear the "Invitation from Rabituza" Unique Scenario, you can learn the hidden meaning behind it.

That being the existence of the Unique Monster "Vysache the Immortal," and the history connecting him to the Unique Monster "Goldunine the Inexhaustible" through the deep underground tunnels.
But ultimately, this is still just a Unique Scenario. In the grand flow of Shangri-La Frontier, it's nothing more than a detour.

However, if Saint-chan gets involved here, that changes the entire story.

Iristella, the Saint of Affection... She's undeniably the type of NPC deeply tied to the main story. While the dangerous-sounding flags for the World Quest are steadily counting down, this Saint is absolutely going to be involved in it.
To begin with, dropping a massive bomb like "Saint-chan can foresee the future" has me panicking quite a bit.
I mean, the fact that I'm talking to Saint-chan right now means this truth is going to be exposed. Did the Fanclub let me through without realizing that? Or do they plan to propose some kind of deal by intentionally letting me realize it? I see, so their objective is to force me to accept an advance payment so they can drag more out of me later...

".........(Eyes philosophically pondering the mysteries of the universe, originating from the question of why Saint-chan is so incredibly cute)"

No, maybe they really aren't thinking anything at all... Well, whatever, gamers are made of guts. I can think about countermeasures after I die.

"I have accepted your request. I shall take on this mission."

"Thank you very much, Sunraku-sama. I swear by the Tri-Divinity that I will absolutely repay this debt..."

Josette, I really don't think you can get a nosebleed in this game, you know.

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"So basically, I need to head over to the New Continent... Honestly though, Rabituza is basically on the New Continent, isn't it?"

"Yes! But, but! Rabituza is an island nation, desu wa! So even if you go outside Rabituza, it's difficult to reach the actual continent, desu wa!"

Hey wait, does that mean Goldunine dug through the seabed and made a tunnel? One wrong move and that's a total collapse...
With Emul resting on my head, I—who somehow hadn't died after being abducted by the Saint Fanclub—made my way through the Rabbit Palace, still stuck in female mode.

"For now, I'll sort out my weapons and then head to Firstia."

"...? Why there, desu wa?"

"It's just that the world is incredibly harsh to the unemployed..."

I mean, who would have thought a game would actually demand proof of identification? That seriously shocked me.

The New Continent Survey Ships... I forgot their names, but they're three newly built ships bearing the names of the three Divine Beasts passed down in the Tri-Divinity. The Pioneers allowed to board those ships are strictly limited to those whose abilities have been guaranteed to some extent by an organization... namely, the guilds.
Realistically, unless a player reached Fifticia at RTA-level speed like a certain fox-kunoichi, the guild would guarantee the abilities of any Pioneer who cleared the quests posted by the guild...

That is, if they actually belonged to a guild.

"Apparently, Saint-chan's name value is going to somehow smooth things over for me, but it's still bad to be completely jobless, or so they said."

"I don't really understand, but it means things are tough out there, desu wa?"

"Well, playing as a stowaway hiding in the bottom of the ship sounds pretty fun in its own right, though."

Now this is true social Vorpal Soul. It's a completely different kind of thrill from facing off against massive monsters... I don't want that kind of thrill in a game! Ptooey!

"Anyway, I'll drop by Aniki and Bilac's place to sort out my weapons, buy out all the items I need, and then charge right in."

It seems the Teleport Gate can only transport people to places they've personally been before—unless it's during an event—so I might have to backtrack from Secondil... Hmm, guess I'll make a little detour.

"Let's just die casually and head over."

"Casually throwing away your life doesn't seem very Vorpal, desu wa?"

"Hahaha, I'm just going over to hang out at my Buddy's House (Scorpion's Cliff)."

"Buddy...?"

They notice immediately the moment I arrive, and I am absolutely obsessed with them (their materials and mining items)... If you don't call that being buddies, what do you call it?

I'll answer my own question, but yeah... "Sworn Enemies," I guess.

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"Yo, yer 'ere..."

"Osu. So Aniki, about that weapon you mentioned..."

"Hold yer horses a bit... I'm gonna have Bilac listen in on this too, ya see..."

Waiting for about five minutes in the throne room where Vysache sat in the Rabbit Palace, Bilac came scurrying in, looking incredibly nervous.

"P-Pops... Ya said ya were gonna, t-tell me about the Grateful (Champion's Weapon)..."

"Yeah, I am. Clean out yer ears and listen closely..."

Glancing at Bilac, who was nodding so violently her head was practically a blur, Vysache held up the "Decayed Areadbhair" I had handed him and slowly began to speak.

"A Grateful, ya see... Most of the time, they've lost their original power just like this 'ere thing... That's why, Blacksmiths like us... We gotta understand exactly what the Champion's Weapon is seekin'."

For example, the Decayed Areadbhair. The blade of the spear-sword, which had been pierced into Goldunine's Naga for countless years, has completely rotted away. Therefore, there is something it requires to once again house brilliance within its body, Vysache explained.

"Areadbhair, ya see... is a sword of hellfire meant to scorch and destroy the bodies of dragons. This decayed husk ain't got no spark left in it... That's why, Sunraku, ya gotta go find the 'Spark' to make this thing blaze up once more..."

"A spark..."

"A normal fire ain't gonna cut it. It's gotta be somethin' like 'Flames eruptin' from the depths of the earth, accompanied by a mighty roar, capable of scorchin' even the heavens'..."

".........Hm?"

From the depths of the earth, extremely loud, burning even the sky......... How should I put this, I feel like I'm very familiar with a natural phenomenon that perfectly fits all those words... No, wait, isn't that easily one of the Top 5 places you absolutely shouldn't dive into while half-naked? I'll get cooked, literally cooked.

"Won't I melt?"

"What do ya mean by melt, desu wa?"

"I mean, come on, there's only one thing that erupts from deep underground with massive amounts of smoke and debris."

"............Ah! A volcano, desu wa!"

"I mean, ya sure seem fully prepared to just jump right in as a given..."

Well, obviously. It's not like I can just scoop up some lava and call it a day. I'm definitely going to have to dive deep underground, fight some sort of lava-demon boss, and rip out its core or something along those lines.

"My equipment problem was practically solved with Scorched Bone and Crushing Flesh, so I just need fire-resistant armor... No wait, there aren't any active volcanoes on the Old Continent, so this is definitely a New Continent thing..."

It's literally called the Crater Lake of Rise and Fall, so it's a lake to begin with. Expecting anything fire-attribute from it seems like a lost cause.
I wonder if there's some incredibly convenient job like "Magma Diver" implemented into the game, I thought...

"Aan? That mountain ain't dead just yet, ya know?"

"...Seriously?"

According to him, that extinct volcano ceased being a volcano due to an incredibly forceful, physical reason. It made absolutely zero sense, so I subtly prompted him for more info, and what I learned was...

"Siegwurm physically used the Generation Before Last's 'Red Dragon' as a 'Lid' and shoved it deep underground???"

"Don't make a lick of sense, does it... Kukuku, but that's exactly the kinda thing that bastard can pull off."

No, that's not the part I'm surprised about! Well, I am surprised about that too, but what really gets me is the fact that dragons apparently have a concept of previous and current generations. Or the fact that, combining this with what he said earlier, there's a hidden area at the bottom of that lake... Yeah, just like the "Hidden Garden" where Wethermon was. Or the fact that this Yakuza rabbit somehow conveniently knows all of this...

My thoughts, which felt like a mishmash of various emotions violently stirred and boiled together, were forcibly cut off as I decided to just say to hell with it. I'm getting confused because I'm in online game mode. I need to switch to consumer game mode.

The information given to you as you progress through the story is nothing but bait. The player just has to open their mouth and wait for it. Whether it's a supreme delicacy or a trash-tier bug, you have no choice but to chew and swallow it anyway.

"Realistically speaking, if I were to dive... Maybe if I tied some weights to my legs..."

"No matter how you look at it, that just looks like an execution or something similar, desu wa..."

"...Well, that's somethin' yer gonna have to figure out yerself."

Honestly, I already thought of a solution in two seconds, so there's no problem. Looks like my legend of being the strongest is going to be updated once again... I guess the only thing I need to worry about is the water pressure?

"Ah, and one more thing... Bilac."

"Nna?"

"Repairin' Areadbhair... Yer the one who's gonna do it."

Watching Bilac jump four or five meters into the air, I was once again reminded that, yep, this girl is definitely Emul's older sister.

Author's Afterword
The passing of the torch to the next generation is triggered by "Death", but the definition of "Death" here differs from that of standard lifeforms.