Chapter 30: Realizing One's Own Limits Painfully from a Beginner's Perspective

"Edge Climb!"

In reality, unlike magic, there is little need to vocalize the name of a skill. But to ensure it activates more reliably, it is better to trigger the skill via voice command. Using knowledge I gathered about ShanFro online, I thrust the Marsh Daggers into the belly of the Mud Digger—which was now rearing up like a sinking ship—and, true to the skill's name, ran up the Mud Digger's body using the blades. This is a stunt that might be possible without a skill, but since the current me (Sunraku) has completely discarded STR, I wouldn't be able to pull off the same feat without the skill's stat correction.

The catalyst for learning this was when I tried to stab the Vorpal Chopper into Lycaon the Night Raider's leg like a climbing axe just to cling to him. Unlike that cursed black wolf, which only chipped away at the Chopper's durability, the Mud Digger's belly is soft. Even with my low STR, the skill's correction allowed me to climb up smoothly. I feel like I'm playing a game the most when I'm pulling off moves that clearly ignore the laws of physics like this. If things are too faithful to physics, it's just boring.

"Uhyah! That is amazing, desu wa!"

"I climbed up for now... but what to do next?"

"Gyaaaah! This person didn't have a plan, desu wa!"

It can't be helped, can it? Even if I think of a grand strategy, split-second decisions are always going to be spinal reflexes. Oh well... right now I am an Efficiency Freak. I threw my pride about being a solo player or whatever into the mud; I'll have to pick it back up later. The Mud Digger's head, which resembles a Great White Shark, is a lower-mid-tier foothold at best. But inside a game, for someone like me who can sprint across a tightrope, it's not that difficult.

"I'll keep my balance on top of this guy, so I need you to rapid-fire magic attacks!"

"R-Rapid-fire?! Shouldn't we focus on increasing the power of a single hit..."

"Think about power later! Go!"

"I-I'll do it, desu wa! Add Spell!"

Disconnecting my consciousness from Emul, who began chanting magic, I continued to stand like an acrobat on the lips of the Mud Digger beneath my feet. However, the monster has no reason to maintain this unstable state for me. The flinch must have worn off, because the Mud Digger began to thrash violently. But rather than immediately correcting its posture, it forcibly tried to bite me—that behavior is a "winning" move for me...!!

"This is a way more stable foothold than running on a burning wire!"

Is there really a game like that? Turns out, there is. Fangs, the tip of the nose, lips... there are plenty of places to find a foothold. A shark head the size of a light car, physical abilities several times greater than reality, and above all, the fact that this is play (a game) allows me to force through such reckless moves.

"I'm ready, Sunraku-san!"

"Slam it into its snout!"

"You're asking the impossible...t! Magic Edge!"

I knew full well that telling her to fire magic while thrown into the air—after I kicked off the face of the Mud Digger, which had finally lost its balance after thrashing about—was unreasonable. But if we didn't press the attack here, we'd have to start all over from the beginning, and honestly, I didn't have the confidence to produce the same result twice. Emul's magic, accompanied by a scream, activated. The magical blade, boasting twice the size of the previous one, struck not the Mud Digger's face... but its right eye.

"SHIGYAAAAAAAH!?"

The empowered Magic Edge must have dealt considerable damage. Screaming, the Mud Digger writhed and... without sinking into the swamp, it bounced once on the shallow mud and lay flat. A tiny sense of unease was born in the back of my mind, but it was immediately washed away.

"We did it! We did it, Sunraku-sawah-boo!"

"Well, that's what happens, wa-beh."

Following the fallen Mud Digger, Emul and I fell into the swamp. The fall damage itself was only about one-third of my health—not much for paper armor—but we were forced to experience a full-body mud pack.

"Akyaaaaaah! My cloooooothes?!?!"

"Ah... it feels like having wet tissues plastered all over my body..."

Moreover, covered in mud, my body's movements felt terribly heavy. It was like when the servers of an online game with flimsy servers are screaming in agony. We were covered in mud, but judging by that state, we defeated it and........................

"Wait, wait, wait, wait...!!"

The Mud Digger isn't there. No, there are ripples where clearly some large mass sank into the swamp, meaning it's not over yet. The true nature of my unease: come to think of it, I haven't seen the "Zudon" action Emul mentioned. A special move? Is remaining HP the flag? Did we not whittle it down enough? Did it activate? The whole swamp is shaking... an AoE attack? Death...

"Emul!!"

"Wanyo!?"

Forcing my body to move as it tried to freeze everything but my thoughts to compile the scattered information, I grabbed Emul by the ears—somewhat roughly—plucked her from the mud, and threw her out of the swamp. In the next instant, the entire vast swamp suddenly began to vibrate, and my movements were bound by a system-like force, rendering me unable to move a single step from that spot. Dammit, don't tell me this is the type of special move that's a guaranteed hit the moment it activates...? Wait a second, on top of meta-ing AGI, is this thing meta-ing solo players too?!

"My body... won't...!"

"S-Sunraku-san! Below! It's coming from belooooow!!"

"Below...?!"

It wasn't quite a flashing life review... but amidst my immobility, various pieces of information assembled like a puzzle.

The attack called Zudon. A monster that dives through mud as if swimming in water. The fact that it can stand upright (......) from the swamp, even if only for a few seconds. Stopping movement, and coming from below...

"Ah... so it's Whac-A-Mole."

In the next instant, the sensation beneath my feet vanished. In a game of Whac-A-Mole where the hammer striking from above didn't exist, I was blown high into the sky by an upward launch from the Mud Digger—a hit with several times the force of the launch I had given it.

Author's Notes & Lore

Mud Digger: Classified broadly as a chimera possessing a shark's head, the torso of a mole with abnormally developed limbs, and the whiskers of a catfish (......). The greatest characteristic of this Area Boss is the Special Action that triggers when its health drops below 20%.

It dives deep underground and vibrates the swamp, forcibly stopping the movement of any player who has set foot in it. Then, it randomly targets one person in the swamp and blasts them upwards from directly below with its snout.

If challenged alone, you are guaranteed to take the hit if you are in the swamp. Furthermore, the fall from the height you are launched to results in almost certain HP loss (death) via fall damage. While it is possible for a solo player to make this attack fail if they are not in the swamp, the difficulty of managing damage while simultaneously exiting the swamp in an area where movement is restricted has earned this monster two nicknames among players.

Because it blatantly metas AGI via terrain and can easily push through thin armor, it is called the "Light Warrior Killer." And the other name, because challenging it alone results in taking a near-guaranteed instant-death attack...

It is called the "Solo Killer."

In reality, since first-time encounters almost certainly result in at least one player losing all HP, if there is no one to perform a resurrection, pick-up parties will often have massive arguments regarding experience points and drop items. For this reason, players sometimes call it (or don't call it) the "Bringer of Discord (Gisugisu)."

Translator's Remarks

• Catfish Whiskers: In Japanese folklore, giant catfish (Namazu) living underground are said to cause earthquakes. This explains why the Mud Digger (which has catfish whiskers) causes the swamp to vibrate/quake.
• "Burning Wire": Sunraku references running on a "burning wire." This is likely a nod to Uncharted 2 (the train sequence) or specific "Kusoge" (trash games) where hitboxes on hazards are broken, allowing players to walk on things they shouldn't.