Chapter 406: The Majesty of the Emperor's Crown

For the time being, my thoughts were a scattered mess, and I couldn't come up with any ideas at all, so I went and died once just to perk myself up.

"First of all, that scorpion... a 3-way shot is playing dirty, a 3-way shot..."

Not only does it diffusely reflect the beams, making the trajectories completely unreadable, but it also intercepts the magical power with its tail to aim directly at me... no, but... hmm?

"Uwa, he emerged."

"Watch your phrasing?"

She's making a face like someone who hates bugs just watched a cicada emerge from its shell...

"Question: Why did you willingly head toward a situation where your death was certain, despite grasping your own characteristics?"

"Ah? No... you know, it's that. That thing."

"I confirm unnatural behavior (Look me in the) of your eyeballs (eyes when you speak)* ."

Kh... this bastard, even though she has almost nothing below her left arm, she's awfully energetic. But it's not like I charged in with zero plans... you know, that thing. Yeah, alright, I've got an idea.

"I just had a little bit of a question regarding the mechanics of this place."

"Of this place?"

"Denial (Non, Non): This is the Sigmonia Frontline Valley (Frontline)."

Sigmonia... wait, it actually has a name?

"This area is shaped like a donut where only the center was left behind and the surrounding area was hollowed out, right? And around the perimeter of the jewel zone, that centipede and those spiders are fighting."

"The Fortress Gargantula and the Trainol Centipede Gustav."

"Too long. If it's just to explain the situation, 'spiders' and 'centipede' is fine."

It's a strange story. That grand kaiju battle... You could say it's simply because they're completely absorbed in eliminating each other, and that would be the end of it, but the fact that it's entirely contained within that outer circle is a bit strange.
Both sides possess ranged attacks. No matter how confident the scorpions are in their anti-air capabilities, could they really protect the area while taking zero damage?

It's strange that the Crystal Crown area isn't being attacked for some reason, and it's equally strange that the spiders and the centipede don't leave the Sigmonia Frontline Valley. If that's the case, isn't there some kind of underlying reason...? That's what I just thought.

"Putting aside just you and me—plus that junk over there—even to escape with Sammy-chan, we have to somehow conquer the spiders and the centipede."

"To think you cannot comprehend the charm of I, who am a mass of Intelligence and High Technology... damn you, next-generation primitive human."

"Say that after you do something about your left hand that can only throw 'rock.' My 'paper' completely lacking in intelligence and operating entirely on a stopped-thought process would beat you."

When I asked, she told me that this happened during the process of fleeing from a dragon, but even so, she could've at least picked a better place to crash-land.

"Ngh... if only I received the proper repairs, I should be able to overwhelm a next-generation primitive human with my Intelligence (Intelligence), gigigi."

Yaaay junk, yaaay.

Let's return to the topic. Because of that, I just pitched my tent in this underground space, and using it as a respawn point with a limited number of uses, I tried charging into the Crystal Crown.
My heart was physically punched through by a 3-way beam intercept smash, but that wasn't my main objective.

• Tsar-Beryl Emperor Treasure Crystal
  A crowning crystalline body that can only be mined at the uppermost layer of the Sigmonia Frontline Valley's Shining Crown Tower Hill.
  Considered a variant of the Lapisteria Star Crystal, this crystal possesses the property of completely altering the nature of the accumulated magical power inside it by bathing in sunlight and moonlight respectively. When the extremely dense accumulated magical power changes its nature, it explosively increases the magical power concentration of the surrounding area.
  The Emperor of Jewels; its dual radiance shines down upon the masses below like a Wise Ruler (Tyrant).

   

"I really shouldn't underestimate the flavor text..."

Tsar-Beryl Emperor Treasure Crystal. It's the name of the crystals that make up the Crystal Crown, and most likely, the majority of the bodily tissues constructing those scorpions is made of this.
And the important part of the text is "When it changes color, it scatters magical power into the surrounding area." This is probably the key that leads to a strategy for dealing with the spiders and the centipede.

"With bodies that massive, their energy consumption can't be covered just by eating an extra-large serving of rice."

They might be able to fill their stomachs by defeating their opponents and eating them... but it's impossible to sustain that as an ecosystem. If that's the case, they must have an alternative means of energy supply.
It's a game that puts an unnecessary amount of effort into its lore. If the flavor text ended at just being flavor, it wouldn't be called a God Game.
Lately, even the anti-fans have been calling it a God Game in the sense of "It puts an unnecessary amount of effort into its lore to the point that a human can't comprehend it." Well, I frequently wonder how it fares purely as a game... but it's like a single serving of caviar gunkan-maki flowing on a conveyor belt sushi line; no matter how alien it is, a uniquely outstanding level of quality possesses enough power to silence any complaints.

I got sidetracked. Both the centipede and the spiders are probably able to survive by feeding on Mist (Magical Power) or something like that. They don't target the Crystal Crown because it's their lifeline, and the reason they cohabit despite being on such bad terms that they constantly kill each other is because there aren't enough resources anywhere else.

"In other words... what does that mean?"

"They won't attack these crystals... probably."

They say the journey there is easy, but the journey back is terrifying... but perhaps in this area specifically, the opposite is true. Those who pass through hell and survive the even worse hell beyond it will obtain glory. The Emperor of Crystals is a bit grandiose, but it's a radiance that guarantees safety.

"Conclusion (In other words): Proceed to the center of the Sigmonia Frontline Valley (Frontline) and extract the relevant ore... right?"

"Oh, you're pretty sharp, junk."

"No no no no! Because we'll die!!"

"Rather than rotting away here, let's bloom a flower, yeah?"

"We'll scatter instead!!"

Well, it's not a simple mission. If we're escaping with Sammy-chan included, we'll need a considerable amount of Tsar-Beryl Emperor Treasure Crystals. The amount you can mine (convert to an item) with a single strike of a pickaxe is about the size of the palm of your hand... so I'd want to go kan-kan at least a hundred times.
But I have a secret plan. Though, if I take even one wrong step, it's an express ticket to hell.

"It's about those scorpions. The species builds its own body using the ores it eats. In other words, you could say their bodies themselves are of the exact same nature as this."

The scorpions are the gardeners and the chefs; that's why they're overlooked by the spiders and the centipede. We're learning the importance of production jobs today!
At the very least, the drop items from the Crystal Scorpions and the Golden Scorpion—even the lowest-rarity carapaces—are large enough to be used as shields right out of the box. The chances of these scorpions dropping similar items are high.

"It's a scorpion hunt. And for that, we need to investigate... an ecological investigation."

Fufufu, Library's methodology isn't so bad either. It's like the sensation of completing a puzzle, or something like that... Let's be Friends (Pals), New Species-kun!!

About two hours passed.

"TRASH GAAAAAAAME!!!"

"Piu!?"

I accidentally shouted while kicking the disappearing tent—which had reached its usage limit—with full power. Wimpy-nine let out a weird yelp, but I don't have the leeway to care.
Dammit!! How the hell am I supposed to deal with that!!

"Question: What is wrong, Pervert."

"Support bombardment is a no-go...!!"

No, I know. I know the reason for my defeat was getting greedy and thinking, 'Maybe I can solo subjugate this?' But the moment I crossed the Borderline, dealing with beams being hammered at me from all directions is too difficult to handle, even if I know it's coming.

"What a shitty monster... no, but considering you might be able to manage if you surround it and beat it down, is it actually quite merciful...? No, it's definitely a shitty monster."

Anyway, I learned four things after twenty tries.
First, the name of that scorpion is the 【Alexand Scorpion】 (Emperor Crystal Twin Scorpion). I found that out after slicing off its tail and acquiring it as an item in the last try. What a fancy-ass name...

Second, as expected, they aren't Unique Monsters or even Rare Enemies; terrifyingly enough, I confirmed that there are Alexand Scorpions all over the area. However, it seems they don't have a culture of forming scrums.

Third, the Alexand Scorpions are almost completely indifferent to the plight of their brethren. At the very least, as long as you don't cross a certain line, they will largely ignore you even if you're having a massive firefight right in front of them.

And fourth... they likely possess clear, distinct 'territories'. This can be inferred from the aforementioned trait... but the moment you step even one foot over this borderline, the owner of that territory immediately moves to eliminate the foreign object. Even if that foreign object is their own brethren.

"How to distinguish the borderline... by the shape of the crystals? Or the color...? Either way, the action of 'taking distance' itself could turn into the worst possible move... Even if I managed to discern the exact edge of the borderline, just the scorpion itself stepping over it would trigger an 'out' judgment... No, is it the opposite? But wait, Inventoria got nerfed..."

"───Investigation complete. Based on previous responses, the target has been designated as Retrieval Target (Target) Priority Level (Rank) 'Negotiable Class' (Negotiate). Next-generation primitive human, Sunraku, I have something to speak with you about."

As I was muttering my thoughts aloud and searching for a strategy, the junk—who had been mocking me every time I respawned for a while now—spoke to me with a solemn expression.
Elma=Saina? The half-destroyed blue-haired doll dexterously stood up on her torn-off thighs, moved her Pupils (Focus) in a way that a human body absolutely could not, and declared this.

"Proposal: I recommend forming a contract with This Machine (Me)."

"...Ha?"

"If it is This Machine (Me), it is possible to execute the armaments connected beyond that Device (Bracelet)."

".........I'll hear you out."

When did I trigger the flag? Oh well. Clicking 'No' here would be a bit wimpy, wouldn't it?

Author's Afterword
The flags are three things: 'Possessing a functional item manufactured in the Divine Age,' 'A situation impossible for the Conquista Doll to handle alone,' and 'Rolling a certain value or higher on the Affection Rating/Compatibility Check.'
Actually, each of these is a separate flag, but the ones that are important this time are the ones other than the first.

"Negotiable Class" (Negotiate)
The execution mode of a Conquista Doll toward a target capable of negotiation. Attempts to retrieve the target through verbal negotiation rather than armed suppression.

"Full Mobilization Class" (Full Throttle)
An execution mode determined when retrieval by a single unit is difficult, and it is judged that a response by all 48 units is required. The use of Class IX armaments is permitted on a limited basis, and damage repair for other units is postponed.

"Annihilation Mandatory Class" (Destruction)
No retrieval necessary. An execution mode that annihilates a target deemed capable of bringing nothing but harm to the next-generation primitive humans, even if it means disregarding their own existence. The full operation of Class X Strategic Armaments and retrieval objects is permitted, and all currently operational units are defined as consumables to launch suicide attacks.