Chapter 37: The Situation Ignites

Situation start. I see, it seems the leader of this PK clan called "Ashura-kai" wants to make me spill information even if it takes force.

"Three... no, four of them?"

"Doesn't matter how many there are, killing a low-level like you is gonna be a piece of cake."

"I hate getting my Karma Points jacked up by PK-ing small fry, though."

"The higher-ups are the same, that's why we got stuck as the execution squad, ain't it?"

Players directing hostility and weapons toward me. The player names floating above their heads dyed red are proof of being Player Killers. It was written in the manual. Anyway, let's summarize the current situation. The objective to be achieved is reaching Thirdrema, then reaching Rabituza. To do that, I have to literally overcome the wall of high-level players. The positional relationship is... The Gate, four PKs, a 2-meter gap, then me & Emul, and finally Pencilgon and Animalia several meters behind me.

What caught my attention was the unfamiliar term "Karma Points." Based on the PKs' words, is it something bad for them if it accumulates? For a moment, I considered letting them kill me thoroughly just to harass them, but with Emul here, that option is a no-go. For now, from what I can see, these PKs don't have any ranged weapons... but I can't say for sure they don't have magic or ranged skills. Now then, who should I target? As the Player Killers slowly surrounded us, the fluff clinging to my arm trembled. What, I won't be beaten so easily by second-rate Player Killers who sandbag. In this world, there exists United Rounds, where it is accepted as normal for high-level players to camp at the spawn points of new players with weapons ready, acting like NPCs saying, "This is the Starting Village."

By the way, the reason for doing such a thing is that the title "Disqualified Knight," obtained by killing a certain number of players lower level than yourself, is actually quite convenient. I want to interrogate the devs on why such a title exists in a cooperative game. If I did, they'd probably say, "We intended it to be a debuff, but it ended up being a buff." Well, you wouldn't expect a penalty effect that lowers NPC affinity to the minimum to turn into a super-barbaric benefit like "If you provoke NPCs, they'll bring out weapons and attack, so you can kill them and get their weapons"! Don't make such a title in the first place, idiots! Alright, remembering the evil memories (stress) of trash games has revived my withering spirit. Pulling myself together, I put strength into my legs with a smile...

Psyger-0, who had finally broken free from the wave of NPCs fleeing the arrival of a player equivalent to a mass murderer from their perspective—Arthur Pencilgon—saw literal sparks flying between Arthur Pencilgon and the Clan Master of SF-Zoo. And she saw Sunraku, being surrounded by four Player Killers, with the drooping-eared Vorpal Bunny clinging to his arm.

(What on earth happened while I looked away!?)

For a moment, a mysterious emotion crossed Psyger-0's mind: "I can't take my eyes off that person any more than a baby." However, she reconsidered this as an opportunity. Throughout all ages and places, how many encounters start from a pinch? If she can repel the Player Killers attacking with malicious intent, she can build a relationship far better than just talking to him. Fortunately, killing PKs... known as PKK... only lowers affinity with some NPCs due to an update a few months ago, and it won't cause trouble for her kin (Clan).

(Chance! This is a chance! Anyway, make an acquaintance in this game, and then in reality...!)

A flood of customers? A once-in-a-lifetime encounter? By now, Psyger-0 had only the thought of "Save him from the Player Killers for now," and any moderation regarding the means used in that process had been blown out of her mind.

"... [Severing Attack: Castle-Breaker Slash (Hajouzan)]!!"

Level 99. Fighting as a vanguard for the top clan "Black Wolf" (Wolf Schwarz), Psyger-0 unleashed a skill meant for monsters with Citadel-Class armor...

"Well, I enjoyed that quite a bit, Director. As expected of a Hexer who mastered debuff status ailments solely to photograph monsters. Yeah."

"Ug, h..."

Arthur Pencilgon offered sincere praise as she looked down at Animalia, whose HP was about to run out at her feet. Setting aside the slightly embarrassing nickname "Giant Killing," it is a fact that Pencilgon targets and wins against high-level players currently attempting (challenging) the endgame in Fifticia. It is worthy of praise that an amateur in PvP, albeit high-level, put up a good fight against Pencilgon. Pencilgon smiled wryly at the copious number of debuff icons displayed on her status.

"Well, if you slam this many debuffs on a monster, it has no choice but to become a pitiful photography model."

"I used Stun... and Poison... many times... Why..."

"Hm? That secret is... Ta-da! It was thanks to the Unique Item 'Retribution Straw Doll'-kun, which functions as the highest-level meta against Hexers! My, my, coincidence is scary, isn't it?"

Animalia's cause of defeat was just one thing: Pencilgon possessed a top-class anti-Hexer item as a countermeasure, due to her past experience of being camped by Hexer PKKs... In short, bad luck. To begin with, any player knowledgeable about PvP would have known that fighting "Pencilgon in perfect condition" is the worst possible move, regardless of countermeasures.

"I... see..."

"Well, that's why all curses were countered by karma. It was actually dangerous."

After all, Hexers in this game are quite troublesome. It's not that simple, but to summarize: unlike magic which can be activated by consuming MP, curses require some cost other than MP to activate. In exchange, the benefits are large. In raids, having two or three Hexers makes combat significantly easier, making it a job with high costs and high returns. And Animalia, the Clan Master of SF-Zoo, whose purpose is to "love every animal-type monster in Shangri-la Frontier," had built most of her spell slots with binding-type curses. In terms of the stalling Sunraku hoped for, it could be said that Animalia was coincidentally the best player for the job.

"Now then..."

What to do, Pencilgon pondered. Although the Clan Master sent these Player Killers to accompany Pencilgon to finish Sunraku, she didn't think for a second that they could actually take him down. Incidentally, she had no intention of helping them either.

(Sunraku-kun... preparing your own DEX is unfair, you know... Normally with a level difference of over 50, you'd be killed without being able to resist properly.)

Pencilgon knows that the experience points gained from stacking up all kinds of games regardless of genre—albeit with the restriction of being "Trash Games"—are worth more than any poorly-made Unique Item in this game's system. It would be impossible for those who can only PK by surrounding players equal to or lower than themselves to stop that. Pencilgon once made a similar judgment and paid dearly for it; her speculation was backed by actual experience.

(That idiot [Clan Leader] is chicken, and because of that, the members are just boring players... Maybe it's about time I moved on. Katzo-kun seems to have started ShanFro too, and that plan is starting to look realistic...)

What came to Pencilgon's mind was the figure of a warrior who had easily wiped out a subjugation squad of 15 high-level players, including Pencilgon herself—a player who had reached Level 99, the current level cap in Shangri-la Frontier. The only acquaintances who could compete with him—arguably the biggest secret of the Player Killer clan "Ashura-kai"—were those two who once brought down the country of Pencil Warrior Arthur Pencilgon by themselves. If the timing aligns, the plan becomes realistic... Pencilgon suddenly turned her gaze to the fallen Animalia.

"Hmm, by the way, Director? If my memory serves me right, doesn't it look like you're about to use a curse that can only be activated when you have 'Memorized the Chant' and 'Single Digit HP'...?"

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

Smile. It was Animalia's smile, which even Towa Amane (Pencilgon), who habitually smiled until her facial muscles cramped as a model, found charming. However, within that silent smile, she was made to understand that a very ominous meaning of "If I die, I'm taking you with me" was certainly included. She had used up her stock of Retribution Straw Dolls earlier. To begin with, a characteristic of consumable Unique Items is that the number you can hold is extremely small as the price for their broken meta performance.

"If we talk... you'll understand..."

"No questions asked. [The Journey to the Underworld is With You (Fellow Traveler)]...!"

A self-destruct curse from a top-class Hexer flew toward Pencilgon...

And thus, the situation ignites all at once.