Chapter 89: Winning the Match, Losing the Fight

Originally, Pioneers (Players) are restricted by inventory capacity. If one stuffs too many things in, they are forced to pay the price of having their movements hindered by the weight.

However, but, however! Oh, how wonderful is the Inventory Key: Inventoria! Even after deducting the numerous Non-Standard Weapons stored inside, I get change back just from the fact that it's an unlimited inventory!

And above all else, the Storage Space—a Perfect Safe Zone.

If I hide in the storage space until the Crystal Scorpions' hate dissipates, and return to the reality space... presto! Inactive Crystal Scorpions and the massive amount of drop items they dropped during their collision are right there...!

"Fufufu, fuhahahaha... Genius! I, who discovered such a loophole, am a genius............!"

I involuntarily adopted the tone of a mad scientist who creates an overly strong cyborg mid-boss only to be crushed by rubble in his collapsing lab at the end of the story, but this method is extremely effective.

After all, it requires zero effort other than grinding down my MP. Once the Crystal Scorpions politely roar and become active, I lure them in, teleport away, and return after a while to secure massive amounts of materials while steadily advancing forward.

It's a rough method of earning that the admins would likely patch immediately if they found out, but since it's not cheating or anything, let's earn as much as I can before it gets patched.

"These kinds of glitches and little tricks really are the best part of gaming!"

Swinging the pickaxe with gusto Gattsu Gattsu, recovering MP in between teleports. If I shove all the obtained Crystal Scorpion drop items and mined ore into Inventoria, I can keep earning recklessly until my MP recovery means run out.

Watching with a beaming face as massive amounts of items accumulate in Inventoria's item list, I head toward the next mining point.

"Now then... my supplies are running low, and if I do this any more, it might seriously turn into a Nuru-ge (Easy Mode), so I guess I'll pull out."

After repeating the dig-and-run cycle for about thirty minutes, I decide to end this bonus time.

The pickaxe broke from overuse, and I have one MP recovery potion left... no, zero, since I just used it. Inventoria is already stocked with a considerable amount of ore and Crystal Scorpion materials.

All that's left is to activate a Crystal Scorpion randomly and respawn, but... here I look at the Crystal Scorpion items in Inventoria.

"Crystal Scorpion's Clad Crystal Shell, Severing Crystal Pincer, Trampling Crystal Claw, Tough Crystal Leg... It's strange that there's no stinger."

Speaking of scorpions, it has to be the poison stinger. In all ages and places, the rare item of scorpion-type monsters is decided to be the stinger. The fact that it's missing means the Crystal Scorpion's rare drop is likely the stinger... If I'm going to challenge them and die anyway, it's human nature to want to aim for it.

"That said, Crystal Scorpions are absurdly hard, the footing is the worst, and reinforcements come in about ten seconds... Is there a chance if I can induce a stinger attack? No, but..."

Since it's an impossible game, constructing a strategy turns into an RNG-reliant luck game, but let's try it.

I look around and discover a "lurking Crystal Scorpion," something I've come to understand vaguely because I've seen them so much I'm sick of it.

It's difficult to find a Crystal Scorpion, whose body is mostly made of crystal, in an area covered in crystals. But no matter how they disguise it, a scorpion is a scorpion; no matter how cleverly they hide, they can't disguise their "shape."

"Especially the tail; it looks unnatural precisely because it's folded up... Alright, just one."

Readying Togetsu [Waxing] and [Waning], I land with intentional noise on a large crystal that offers decent footing.

The moment the crystal twitched... Ignition, Nitrogain spam, Climax Boost, Off-Road, Six-Boat Leap... activating every usable skill, I rapidly close in on the rising Crystal Scorpion.

The moment the tail, hidden as if folded, is extended, and I feel the chill (Hate) assaulting my body, I layer more skills.

"First, an opening strike...!"

Lightly tossing the [Waxing] in my right hand straight up, I activate Infight, Lone Wolf [Transient], and Duelism—which can only be activated in a one-on-one situation—and punch the base of the tail with my empty right hand using Hand of Fortune.

"Ouuch... Taaaaaaah...!?"

Even with a level gap of 20, 30, or more, the tail didn't even waver from an attack fully buffed by a level 78. And catching the falling [Waxing] while tearing up from my numb right fist—likely damaged by the recoil of hitting something so hard—I land.

Landing right on the Crystal Scorpion's back, I hear the roar of shattering crystals approaching from afar, but launch an attack with the pair of blades.

"At least a crack...!"

Bracing myself on unstable footing, the tips of Togetsu, clad in the effect of Growing Pierce, pierce the spot I punched with Hand of Fortune.

1 hit, 2 hits, 3 hits, 4 hits... the 5th hit misses because the Crystal Scorpion moved its tail. And the wound is... still unscathed.

"As I thought, it's impossible without being at least level 99... But unless I slam in my full power at that point, it won't be a verification...!"

A tsunami of light visible at the edge of my vision. Exploding the field of crystals and pushing them aside as they approach, the additional scorpions are like bulldozers. If I look away from the fact that getting caught means becoming a mince of crystal shards and polygons, the sight of crushed crystals shining in the light as they are kicked up could even be called beautiful.

Approaching death, death in progress, a tattered strategy chart... sprinting full speed across a fraying tightrope. Challenging unreasonable difficulties really is the most fun.

Hop. With a light backstep, I expose my almost defenseless form to the scorpion below. An annoying bug is exposing a defenseless form without even taking a defensive stance; show me your prized skewer sting...

"It's here!"

The thrusting crystal stinger. Whether by coincidence or by the design of the creator who made this monster, I lure the strike aimed straight at my heart to the very limit, stretching it out.

The moment the ground's crystals are at my back, the stinger is at my chest, and the reinforcing scorpions are around me.

"[Transfer: Storage Space (Enter Travel)]!!"

My existence vanishes from the reality of Shangri-La Frontier. Slammed onto the floor of the storage space, I suppress the urge to choke and start counting.

"1... 2... 3..."

The stinger pierces the ground, the swarm of scorpions rushes to where I was, and after some confusion, the scorpions enter an inactive state due to lacking a target for their hate... Now!

"[Transfer: Reality Space (Exit Travel)]!"

Just a one-time escape. Although restricted to returning to the same coordinates, I can change my posture.

Returning to Crystal Nest Cliff in a landing posture ready for the next move, rather than a supine fall where I can't take a defensive stance... from here on, I must use every second to the fullest.

Looking around, confirming positions... The Crystal Scorpions are dispersing like salarymen who finished work. Among them, I capture a Crystal Scorpion with a large crack in its tail.

The tightrope walk was a success. The moment the stinger pierced the ground, a massive crash occurred. No matter how sturdy the Crystal Scorpion is... no, precisely because it is sturdy, it was damaged to that extent by receiving the impact of eleven scorpions.

"Got the Rare Drop...!"

I've confirmed that separated materials turn into items even if the monster itself survives. Moon Jumper activated. Leaping to the height of the tail, I close in instantly and slam an attack into the thickest part of the crack before the Crystal Scorpion with the cracked tail can turn back toward me.

A blow that wouldn't work in perfect condition can become the final push now that it's damaged enough to break any moment.

Snap! A sound crossing the line of durability rings out, and finally, the Crystal Scorpion's tail separates from the main body. Exactly as I planned, accompanied by the conviction of victory, I reach out for it and...

...

...

...

...

"Ah."

I hallucinate the Goddess of RNG smiling at me, only to give me the middle finger at the very end.

It's nothing special; I simply drew the worst pattern in the RNG of where it falls after breaking off. That's all, just that.

And that "just that" factor meant, for me, a demon holding scissors with a smile on the other side of the tightrope.

I can't reach. No matter how I struggle in mid-air, my range is limited to the length of my arms. I cannot grab the stinger falling in the exact opposite direction from me, no matter how much I reach out.

The physics engine, excellent to a hateful degree, drops my avatar toward the ground according to gravity, and the rare drop moves further away.

"Wai...!"

In an instant, sparks scatter in my vision along with an impact like a head-on collision with a train. The floating sensation of falling straight down turns into the impact of being blown sideways. By the time I realized it was a Slap from the pincer of the Spinning Crystal Scorpion on the spot, my body had shattered into polygons.

"Ah, Sunraku-san is back desu wa... Sunraku-san?"

"........."

I hear Emul's voice, but the emptiness gaping in my heart leaves me no composure to respond.

What is this... Like waking up right before the first bite of a feast hits your tongue in a dream, like the next page being burned the moment all mysteries are solved in a novel, like being returned to the starting line right before crossing the goal line in a marathon...

"Nnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah..."

"Sunraku-san? Wh-What's wrong desu wa? You look like you're about to cry desu wa?"

"Hahaha... Just knowing it's not impossible is a harvest, right... Means it's not something that can't be done... Haa, the sky is blue..."

"Sunraku-san!? Stop trying to jump out the window desu wa!? No seriously, what happened desu wa!?"

It was quite a punchy lift-and-drop. RNG is trash, after all.

Having vented my complaints, I slap my cheeks to pull myself together and equip the Gazing Bird Mask, which I had removed to avoid accidental breakage.

"Alright, I recovered...! Emul, let's learn double jump."

"Context! I don't understand the context desu wa!"

"It means humans can't fly."

My mentality cracked a little, so I don't want to see Crystal Scorpions for a while.

But looking at the results, I obtained massive amounts of items that shouldn't be available until much later, so it's not an exaggeration to call it a great victory.

That's right. If I make weapons and armor using items obtained in an area where the average monster level is over 100, it might even surpass the equipment of hardcore players.

Through the rather empty act of comforting and encouraging myself, my mental state recovers to 80%. When you play nothing but trash games full of setbacks and rage-quit moments, you become an expert on what thoughts (words) to use to recover your heart. Don't underestimate a Trash Gamer.

"Alright, let's go brag to Bilac."

"I-I don't really get it, but I'll accompany you desu wa!"

"Bragging about results to others really makes the heart dance the most, doesn't it?"

"I think that's quite villainous desu wa."

I think so too, but since the main targets are villains of my kind (Pencilgon) (& OiKatzo), I'm a decent human being by subtraction.

After that, seeing Bilac jump up and flip over at the numerous Phantom Materials (Rare Items) I took out completely resolved my mental state.

Author's Afterword
Crystal Nest Cliff
The true identity of the crystals completely covering the upper part of the cliff is the accumulation of Crystal Scorpion corpses and excrement over a long time.
Crystal Scorpions, which can be safely called metal lifeforms, grow based on the magic power stored in the crystals they ingest. Discarded crystals during growth and corpses of their kin pile up, eat, excrete, die... repeating this hundreds and thousands of times led to the current state.
The mountains of diverse ores existing as so-called mining points are things Crystal Scorpions ingested once but spat out because they didn't agree with their bodies... In other words, those are the scorpions' vo- (The setting seems to cut off here).