Chapter 361: A Once-In-A-Lifetime Friendship

Author's Preface
Since updates are irregular, there are days where I just end up dropping three chapters in one go.

Evolution is, in essence, a change that originates from within. I'm not saying it's completely devoid of external influence, but ultimately, evolution refers to the subject transforming completely, appearance and all, due to an internal change.

With a loud cracking, the scarred skin split apart and sloughed off onto the ground. So, does shedding a layer of skin reveal a beautiful new form? Not in the slightest. What emerged from beneath the discarded hide was... a "Scar" visibly radiating heat haze, dyed in a crimson-lotus red that looked as if blood itself were seeping out of it.

"O-Oh........."

I see, I see......... This is what they call a real bad news kind of guy, isn't it? I'm getting the same dangerous vibe I felt from the Golden Scorpion, but while that one was a racial sub-species, this is a further evolution of a completely one-of-a-kind named monster. This is practically a Unique Monster in the broader sense of the term.

"H-Hey, Sunraku..."

"Wait, don't ready your weapons... Leave this to me, Tottori."

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay...!?"

It definitely doesn't look like I'm going to be okay, so I'll leave Emul behind just in case.

The cracking sounds continued. The muscles of "Scar"—no, the muscles of the Thing that used to be "Scar"—expanded from within, causing its massive body to grow even larger. The heavily damaged left head still bore agonizingly painful-looking scars, but the asymmetrical horror of it actually amplified the sheer intimidating presence it gave off.

"「「「Gororororororororo.........」」」"

"Hello... ah... what is it, time for a wardrobe change?"

Or rather, didn't "Scar" definitely gain experience points from all this? I mean, yeah, if you asked who contributed the most to this Raid Battle, the answer would absolutely be "Scar." But for you to actually go and trigger an evolution from it... Whoa, it's bringing its face closer... Hot! Wait, it's hot!

"C-Calm down, Big Bro... We've got, you know, a sort of bond budding between us, right?"

Leaking physical, literal heat with every breath, the former "Scar" brought its heads closer to me. It's already sweltering as it is, but since it has three heads, that means three mouths and six nostrils. Right now, I'm fully experiencing what a piece of clothing feels like inside a tumble dryer.
My current HP is sitting at a majestic 1. A mere nudge could easily kill me. One wrong move and... I die!

"「「「Gururururu......」」」"

"Y-Yeah... We are... friends... friendship... important."

The six eyes staring intently at me repeatedly blinked, utilizing the nictitating membranes unique to reptiles. After a while, the three heads pulled away from me and took a massive breath. I-I'm gonna be roasted!?

"「「「Goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!」」」"

A roar. Was it a declaration that it was the true apex predator of this forest? Well, my ears are just ringing with a high-pitched Kiiiiiin sound, so I don't really know.
The long, deafening, and majestic roar melted into the sky and vanished. The former "Scar" stared at me with its six glaring eyes. It held a light of consciousness distinctly different from the Devouring Great Crimson Clad, and although we couldn't communicate with words, I felt like I somewhat understood what it was trying to convey.

It wasn't as if we had suddenly become best buddies. It wasn't like it had developed feelings for me, and there was absolutely no way it had grown attached and decided to submit to me. The next time we meet, there's a very real possibility we'll be enemies; in fact, that's highly likely. But exactly because of that, the joint struggle we just shared held an irreplaceable value. Just until a few moments ago, "Scar" and I were facing the exact same direction.

"It's a parting gift. Take it."

If that's the case, there's no need to intentionally antagonize it right now. The desire to bask in the afterglow of victory is likely the same for both humans and monsters. Actually, I think both me and the former "Scar" are feeling an equal mix of accomplishment and utter exhaustion right now. How many hours were we actually fighting? The sun hasn't even come up yet, you know...
And so, as a parting gift, I tossed my very last Mystic Soma straight into the former "Scar's" mouth. Well, it's a monster, so I'm sure it'll manage to digest the glass bottle if it tries hard enough.

"「「「............」」」"

With heavy, thudding steps, the former "Scar" turned its massive body around. Looking up absentmindedly, I saw one of the scales that had peeled off its body fall straight toward me. Even calling it a scale, it was essentially a massively upsized oyster shell. If I hadn't noticed and it took a direct hit to my head, I probably would have died... Ah, that bastard, don't tell me... No, calm down... It's just a coincidence, a coincidence.

Wait, what the hell is this scale? A drop item?

Ancient Radiant Scale of the "Scar-red"
An old scale from the Draclus Dinocerberus "Scar-red."
The scales of the "Scar-red," which continue to grow Stronger until the very moment of its death, harbor greater power the older they are.
The scales bearing the honor of "Radiant" are the oldest and most exceptionally rare scales that have remained with the three crimson apex heads since the very moment of their birth. Having repeatedly undergone destruction and regeneration, these scales harbor a touch of the arcane itself.

".........No, it literally just evolved a second ago. What the hell do you mean 'old'?"

As a parting gift, it's the absolute highest tier, and I'm genuinely happy to have it... but what is this indescribably frustrating feeling? It feels like someone just handed me a bottle and said, "This is a freshly made 50-year-old wine!" It's like the phenomenon that just occurred right before my eyes and the flavor text are subtly clashing with each other... Well, it's not a complete contradiction that breaks the lore, but still...

"Well whatever. Friendship, friendship... alright."

If it's offering, I'll gladly take it. Farewell, "Scar"... No, "Scar-red". Will we be enemies the next time we meet, or will you meet your end before we ever cross paths again...? But I hope, if it comes to it, that you fall after a truly satisfying battle.

Since there's no way the consistently cowardly Forest-folks had the guts to stop the advance of the "Scar-red", we watched the three-headed T-Rex leave at a slow, yet ground-shakingly powerful pace... and finally turned our attention back to the other pressing matter. Since she isn't in the plaza... maybe she's around the residential area?

"...? Come to think of it, Sunraku-san, what happened to her?"

"Ah, about that......... Yeah, you can stop playing dead now and come out!!"

"Uhehehehe... So you figured it out, huh."

"Gyaaaaaaa!!? S-She's alive desu wa—!?"

With a sheepish grin, Deep Slaughter—who was supposed to be dead—emerged from the shadow of a collapsed house. The reason why this bastard survived lies entirely in the action I took just before Deep Slaughter—who had been Playing dead this entire time—used Castling or whatever it was.

"The kill-feed announcement for the Raid Participants was still sitting at three, and more importantly, you took the brunt of my last-ditch struggle in my place."

"This has already surpassed mere coincidence and miracles. This is love, Sunraku-kuuuun..."

"Shut your mouth."

"W-What exactly is going on desu wa?!"

It's exactly what it looks like. Back then, I was attempting to deal with the 7x Death Breath using a specific method. However, because this idiot used some excessively dramatic roleplay to forcefully swap our positions, she ended up executing my plan in my place.

To put it bluntly: Self-Resurrection. Throwing a revival item straight up into the air so that it hits my own dead body with a time delay, creating a completely self-contained method of resurrection... It's a technique I established during the battle against Wethermon. I used the revival item I received from Saint-chan to execute a delayed resurrection as a direct counter to the incoming attack... Although it involves dying once, fundamentally, it's an improvised technique identical in nature to the Inventoria Escape. Naturally, since Deep Slaughter teleported directly into my exact spot, the revival item I tossed upward landed directly on her instead.

"Let me guess. You tried to look cool by acting as my meat shield, but because you got revived completely normally, things got too awkward for you to play it off, so you just hid."

"Oh my, oh my, true telepathy... At this point, we might as well call ourselves Soul Friends...?"

"Slacking off on DPS contribution? I'm disappointed. Unfriended."

"I couldn't help it! I mean, it's super awkward to just pop back out and be like, 'Actually, I survived totally fine'!!"

Ugh, shut up, shut up, shut up! Don't lean on me, stop wrapping yourself around my arm! Harassmeeeent! Harassment Caaaaall!!

"Whoa, DeepThro-san, you're alive!"

"Hey there, Tottori-kun. Good job on getting the last attack..."

"Ah, thanks..."

Well, it's thanks to this bastard that we arrived at this result in the first place, so even if she slacked off right at the very end, her contributions up to that point make up for it. Emotionally, I'd really love for "Scar-red"-kun to pull a U-turn right now and dispose of her for me, but I won't ask for too much.

"Alright then... Shall we finally move on to the main dish?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's impossible not to be curious about that..."

Well, there's no way we wouldn't notice That. After all, a massive pool of blood had formed exactly where the Devouring Great Crimson Clad had collapsed.
And glowing brightly within that pool of blood were three distinct effects... It was an appeal so blatant it practically screamed, "There are items right heeeeeere!! Pick them upppppppp!!" The fact that there were exactly three—matching the number of participating players—likely meant exactly what it implied.

"Alright, let's play rock-paper-scissors to decide who touches which one."

I came in dead last. RNG really is pure trash.

Author's Afterword

Q. What changed now that it's became "Scar-red"?
A. Seventy percent of the strategies the 10 PM Army painstakingly crafted by overworking their exhausted post-work brains have now become complete garbage.

Q. Did "Scar-red" acknowledge Sunraku?
A. About the same level of attachment you have for a rock you keep kicking all the way from school to your house.
The scale is a gaming reward... Or rather, it's tied to a system mechanic where "fighting alongside a monster for a certain period grants a chance to drop an item." By the way, the scale is only the second rarest item dropped by the "Scar-red." The absolute rarest item only drops upon actually subjugating it, so naturally, it won't drop from a joint struggle. It's essentially the same logic as the Immortal Reactor Core and the Heavenly Scale. Though honestly, farming the Annihilation Fists is just way too tedious. [*1]

[1] Monster Hunter.