Chapter 45: To Summarize: Those Who Are Interested

"......Hey, Emul."

"Yes, what is it?"

"The guy at the item shop we just stopped by looked at me like I was a dangerous nutjob. Is this really okay?"

"I-I'm sure it's fine! Besides, once we leave the town, you can just take it off!"

Current time: 2:00 PM. It’s a borderline time for player login rates, but I want to believe there are fewer people now than at night. Emul used a "Family Discount" to help me sell off almost all my raw material items just to afford this. While it gets a perfect score for disguising my appearance, it’s not exactly something I can wear while walking down the middle of the street with my head held high. But to hide the Curse (Marking), this is currently the only option available. Therefore, everything depends on a short-term battle plan.

"If I recall, there are three areas beyond this point, right?"

"Yup! One is the 'Prismatic Forest Cave' leading to Fospotsier. Next is the 'Crater Lake of Rise and Fall' leading to Fifwal. And the 'Iron Ruins of the Divine Age' leading to Sixenvelt... I recommend the Crater Lake of Rise and Fall, desu wa."

The Prismatic Forest Cave is a giant labyrinthine cave where plants grow thick like a forest, and colorful flowers bloom all over the ground.

The Crater Lake of Rise and Fall is an area where water has accumulated in the crater of a dormant volcano that has ceased activity.

The Iron Ruins of the Divine Age are ruins from the Age of Gods. Apparently, it got its name from the "floating iron plates" found there.

"Listen close. This is a high-difficulty trap, similar to the advanced thinking required in a strategy sim when deciding which faction to control, which to exploit, and which to flatter..."

"H-Haa..."

First, which area should I absolutely avoid? This requires no thought: The Iron Ruins of the Divine Age. In this game, which is currently 90% fantasy, a single drop of nectar called "Science" has been dripped. Imagine being able to stylishly go BANG! BANG! at monsters with a pistol while everyone else is swinging swords and spears in a primitive civilization...? That is precisely a sap-drenched oak tree standing alone in a wasteland. It is a literal Jar of Kodoku, potentially attracting Drones (Beginners), Beetles (Veterans), and in some cases, even Giraffas (Hardcore Players)...! No, well, metaphorically speaking. I doubt it's actually that toxic right now, but I should avoid the area with the highest probability of encountering players I can't deal with... Even if I, personally, am super interested in science-fantasy... yes!

"In other words, my choice is either the Prismatic Forest or the Rise and Fall Crater... But I can't deny that both have risky points."

"R-Risky?"

Exactly. These two areas have their own pros and cons. First, the Prismatic Forest Cave. This is a so-called "Dungeon Type" area. A map of this sort, containing many dead ends and branching paths, allows one to hide. In some cases, for someone like me who needs to flee, it might seem like a wonderful area... but that's wrong. It is my personal theory that a Dungeon Type area only shows its true worth once the "grind" begins. Leveling? Material gathering? The reason doesn't matter. Based on the fundamental principle of gamers—doing their best to get from Start to Goal—a Dungeon Type serves as a classic trial. That is exactly why, the moment a reason arises to visit it repeatedly, the Dungeon Type map bares its fangs. Farming runs should be as easy as possible. Routes that don't require using brain cells are even better. In that regard, a Dungeon Type map adds the annoyance of having to memorize complex routes on top of the original objective... I'm digressing.

Basically, first-time players are more likely to choose the Forest Cave over the Crater Lake, for reasons I'll explain. A forest inside a cave? A field of flowers? And it's a dungeon map? Hey, hey, it's a feast for the eyes and I get to adventure in a labyrinth? That's supremely exciting! ...That's how they think.

"It is exactly like a carnivorous plant... A Sexy Dynamite of an alluring flower garden, drawing players in with the sweet bait of adventure and location...!"

"S-Sexy Dynamy..."

Then is the correct answer the Crater Lake of Rise and Fall? No, this one has its own traps. If the Forest Cave is a Dungeon Type, this one should be called an "Open World Type." No, I know the whole game is open world, but I don't mean it in that sense. "Open World Type" here is used to mean "Damn Huge." Dungeon maps always have a "Correct Route" (Ariadne's Thread), but Open World types do not. Strictly speaking, an "Optimal Route" exists, but as for a "Correct Route," if you reach the goal, any path can be called correct. Whether you say, "My heart and liver tremble from the shock, causing grease-sweat to erupt from my whole body, and though I try to resist the alarm bells of instinct and the impulse accompanying them, it is all but a castle on the sand," or you say, "Holy crap, I'm totally shook so I'm gonna escape," it ultimately means the same thing. The strength of an Open World map is its freedom. You can take a detour, or you can go straight for the optimal route. An overwhelming freedom where action is not restricted by the broad flow of terrain.

Did you think I'd say the Crater Lake is better if I want to get to the next town quickly? I'm not doing an RTA (Real-Time Attack) here. No, my stat build looks like an RTA build, but that's different. I seek efficiency to enjoy myself; speed itself isn't important. In the first place, the reason I left Rabituza isn't because I want to get to the next town, but because I want to play the game and have fun. Therefore, the advantage of time-saving offered by the Crater Lake's optimal solution isn't a benefit to me. Furthermore, a volcanic area, which blatantly lacks cover, has a high probability of me being spotted by other players.

"It pretends to offer the merit of efficiency, hiding the fact that it's essentially just mountain climbing... truly a clever Technician...!"

"T-Technishaaaaan..."

Right, considering all this information, the one I should choose is...

"The Prismatic Forest Cave."

"So basically, Sunraku-san is Sexy Dynamite! Is that it?"

"Hah?"

Come to think of it, between my pre-disguise look and my disguised look now, I'm pretty sure I'm just "Mr. Dangerous" (A guy dressed dangerously) either way.

Author's Notes & Lore:

Actually, looking at the player base as a whole, the number of players who have cleared all currently implemented areas is quite small. There are "Lore/Speculation Groups" who are captivated by the world of Shangri-la Frontier and aim to uncover its deepest secrets, and "Completionists" whose goal is to reveal the unknown in a gameplay sense rather than a lore sense. Even now, they continue to analyze and explore, having fully pioneered every corner by the time the Protagonist started the game.

Translator's Remarks:

• Jar of Kodoku (蛊毒): Sunraku refers to the sci-fi area as a "Kodoku Pot." In ancient folklore, Kodoku involves putting venomous insects/animals in a jar and letting them kill each other until one survivor remains (which is then used for a curse). Sunraku uses this to describe the "Survival of the Fittest" environment.
• Insect Metaphors: To fit the "Kodoku" theme, Sunraku classifies players as beetles.
  • Kanabun (Drone Beetle) = Beginner/Casual.
  • Kabutomushi (Rhinoceros Beetle) = Upper-tier/Veteran.
  • Giraffa (Giraffa Stag Beetle) = Hardcore/Elite.
• Senshibankou (千紫万紅): An idiom meaning "A riot of colors" or "Thousands of purples and ten thousands of reds," usually referring to a multitude of colorful flowers.
• Eikoseisui (栄古斉衰): A play on Eikosuisui (栄枯盛衰), meaning "Prosperity and Decline" or "Rise and Fall." The author changed the characters slightly to fit the location names.