Chapter 323: The Number of Attempts Dictated by Environmental Destruction Penalties

The very last Draclus Dinotriassicus—a palm-sized pseudo-dinosaur whose scientific name is so needlessly convoluted it makes it a massive pain to say—leapt straight at me.
But right before its claws could reach me, perhaps because its HP was completely drained by the slip damage of the poison, its body crumbled and vanished.

"That's nasty..."

Since I hadn't really used them until now, isn't the performance of the Cruel Poison Bee Twin Stingers (Veno Stinger) absolutely exploding after that enhancement? Against trash mobs, the status ailments proc at such a high rate that I can easily completely shut them down...

"That being said, since it's mainly thrust-focused, not being able to 'Parry' with it is a bit troublesome."

What is with these twin swords being so hyper-focused on pure offense? Katzo should take some notes.
Since a pack of ten or so had attacked me, I picked up the Draclus Dinotriassicus materials scattered all over the place. Suddenly, the sound of human language reached my ears.

"Man, the player density is completely saturated... I have a higher chance of encountering a player than a monster..."

Hmm... My main goal right now is to test the performance of my newly enhanced gear, so it's not like I'm looking for it all that seriously, but I really can't find it... The Altar of Awakening (Level Cap Release Facility).
According to what Rei-shi heard from The Professor's Wife (Massive Dynamite), and what Kyogoku—whose eyes had started to dye the colors of Bakumatsu—told me, it's apparently located quite deep within the continent. Once you reach Extend, it opens the door to the triple-digit level world.

Considering the Vorpal Soul mechanics, leveling up too high is definitely something I need to be careful about, but even so, the elements unlocked after Level 100 have an undeniable appeal.
Particularly the "Triple-Digit Skills"—newly unlocked skills specifically available from Level 100 onwards. Since my main motivation right now is "Beat the crap out of Lycaon," if I'm looking ahead to the battle against Lycaon's main body—which is undoubtedly far stronger than the clone—I definitely want to remove my level cap.

Apparently, it's deep enough into the continent that even hardcore clans had to execute a serious forced march just to reach it, and Kyogoku also said, "Reaching that alone would be difficult"... Well, it can't be helped. Guess I'll head back for now.

"W-What the hell is this black... Uwaaaaa!?"

"Alright! Drop your scythe, hyahoou!!"

Having too many players around is definitely annoying, but I am extremely grateful that it drastically increases my number of attempts. After all, it's a penalty monster whose strategy hasn't been widely circulated yet, meaning there's a very high probability I'll be the one to fight it.

"Uooooh! Let me heal you, oraaaan!!"

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

.........

......

In the end, it took three days, a total of 16 attempts, the byproduct of acquiring two duplicate R.I.P.s, and 13 "Grudge Tears of the Black Death" materials before I finally managed to obtain the "Black Heavens Dustless Scythe (Noblu Scythelent)."

Desire Sensorrrrrr!! (Scream from the soul).

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

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"The Knight Order is making their move?"

"Yes. It's strictly under the pretext of 'A Knight Order-led investigation of the New Continent'... but they've been placing massive material orders with the merchants who came here. I'm sure the royal family is already aware that we're here as well... but whether the rumored New King is simply too hot-headed, or if there's been a breakdown in communication, I don't know..."

The Serpent's Apple New Continent Branch. Whether the preparations were simply incomplete, it wasn't officially open for business yet. But since this cafe's true face is the "Wandering Sword"... having entered through the back door using my Avenger privileges, I was currently listening to some very intriguing information from Ero-Ra... Lutia-paisen.

"Since this is a job you accepted, I don't intend to interfere any further... but according to my estimates, the Knight Order will make their move around late night, two days from now."

"Two days from now... I see."

I had been praying they wouldn't do it on a weekday since I have school, but I suppose I should thank the Goddess of RNG just this once? If it's late Friday night, I can pull an all-nighter without any hesitation.

"The Commander of the Third Knight Order... Julian, is a practitioner of what's known as the 'Lethal Sword'..."

"Zetsumeiken...."

"Well, it's just a boring sword style that Only aims for vital spots. As long as you don't compare him to the Commander of the First Knight Order, Albrecht... the man granted the titles of 'Peerless in This Generation' and King's Paladin by the King himself, he's probably reasonably strong, no?"

That's a pretty brutal assessment, but honestly, if all he does is Only aim for vital spots, he's not much of a threat. If you know exactly where the attacks are coming from, dealing with them is incredibly easy. Rather, I'm way more interested in this Commander of the First Knight Order who's getting hyped up to the heavens... Let's try doing that thing where "Two people who both know the circumstances exchange information while pretending they don't on the surface."

"Ah... I've heard rumors about him. I hear he's a highly noble individual... but I wonder, is he the type of person who prioritizes Loyalty (Current King) over Compassion (Former King)?"

"Who knows? But at the very least, he is a man of profound 'Righteousness.' As long as his eyes aren't clouded, I doubt he'll make the wrong choice."

Hmm... It really depends on the Current King who exiled his father and took the throne, but does this guarantee that we won't end up explicitly fighting the First Knight Order on the route to protect the Former King and First Princess? Josette and her group certainly act like knights and properly roleplay as such, but since they're Church Knights, they aren't very knowledgeable about the royal family's internal affairs.
Since it's a quest related to the Saint, I essentially have the full cooperation of the "Saint Fanclub," but it seems they have their own things to deal with. I tried asking them to at least gather some information, but all they gave me was completely useless trivia like, "The First Princess is actually a pretty cute girl." For guys who could probably talk for an hour straight about anything related to the Saint, they're surprisingly useless...

"...As I thought, just straight-up killing them would be a bad idea, huh."

"You would undoubtedly make enemies of the Kingdom's Knight Order."

A no-kill rescue............................ No, wait. There's another incredibly simple solution, but I wonder if I can actually pull it off? But then again... given the environment of the New Continent, doing That actually seems incredibly easy... It was practically a mandatory skill in Saba-Gan and other games where you needed to legally "dispose" of players, so I could probably replicate it, but............ Hmmm.

"...Fufu. Your conflict is quite Green, but rather endearing."

"Thanks for that."

"You two, here is the 'Crimson Lotus Banana Parfait,' made exclusively from carefully selected New Continent ingredients. Please, share your candid thoughts..."

"Ooh."

"Oh my."

Presented with a parfait utilizing bright red bananas by the manager of the New Continent branch—who apparently is the "cousin" of those clone-suspicion brothers—both Lutia and I, who had been completely enveloped in a professional assassin-like atmosphere, let out voices of genuine surprise.

"Eating something like this while having a stiff, business-like conversation would simply be tasteless... So before we dig in, just one last thing."

"Mu?"

Pointing the silver spoon that came with the parfait squarely at me with a pih, Lutia stated simply:

"The Kingdom side has grasped a certain amount of information regarding this New Continent. And because of that, opinions are divided... The Former King is a moderate, while the Current King is a radical."

"...I see."

"We are the Wandering Swords, those who grant feeble wishes... But even a Sword has the right to choose its wielder. Who do you wish to be wielded by?"

"I don't mind who it is, but I definitely don't want them to think I'm the kind of sword they can easily master."

If Avengers are considered swords, I definitely want to be the kind of unruly bronco that just casually slaughters enemies on its own the moment you throw it.

Author's Afterword

• Commander of the First Knight Order, Albrecht
  An NPC praised as "Peerless in This Generation" and King's Paladin.
  He is a limit-break level NPC specifically placed to punish those "Let's kill the King and plunge the NPCs into chaos lol" type of joyriders. Excluding the Bounty Hunters (who are specialized entirely in anti-player combat), he is arguably the absolute strongest class of NPC in the game. Rather than just an NPC... Albrecht's exclusive job, King's Paladin, is an absolutely broken job that applies massive modifiers to both his offensive and defensive capabilities. Wielding the "Royal Shield, Crystal Paladin" and the "Brave Knight Spirit Sword, Giselle"—heirlooms passed down through the Knight Order directly serving the royal family—has earned him quite the reputation among players:

"He has the firepower of a specialized attacker, but the durability of a specialized wall tank."
"I aimed straight for the gaps in his armor, but I got deflected for some reason."
"I swear that sword of his has a damage multiplier applied specifically against female avatars."
"His face is way too good."
"I'm going to become Albrecht-sama's yumejoshi."

Thus, he is highly popular (?).
In short, he is a blonde, blue-eyed, refreshing, handsome, and absurdly strong knight. Since he doesn't make many public appearances even among NPCs, unless you either break into the royal castle to assassinate the royals or somehow pass the incredibly strict royal knight recruitment exams to join the Knight Order, you won't even be able to look at his face.
He is the root cause of the sudden spike in "Royal Assassination Challenges" at one point, and simultaneously the root cause behind the increase in Knight players.
His best-shot bromide sells for 10,000 Mani each.

As a side note, the spirit residing inside "Giselle" is the exact same spirit sharing the sword's name (and it's not a bottom-tier spirit like Nereid; it's a genuine Great Spirit). So if you try making eyes at Albrecht, you will absolutely meet a mysterious and untimely death.