Chapter 417: Side 14: Landfall

"Hii, Ke... I mean, Katzo〜"

OiKatzo ran, but he couldn't escape. Because somehow, in this short amount of time, the mobility-focused stats of the player who had already reached the milestone of Level 90 were faster than OiKatzo's fleeing feet.

"So cold, aren't youー? Come on, don't you have anything to say to me after I crossed the ocean just to see you? Hmm? Hmm?"

"The exit is right over there."

"Justice!"

"Don't phull my c-heekhs!!"

If one were to describe that player in a single word... it would probably be "Exhibitionist."
It wasn't that she was exposing a lot of skin, but rather her equipment: the torso armor "Battle Garb of the Rogue Demon" and the leg armor "Wedge-Strike Geta," both equippable by the Advanced Class "Destroyer," combined with the waist armor "Loincloth of the Blue Swallowtail," equippable by the Advanced Class "Pilgrim"... In short, she was a woman with a completely mismatched equipment set—a "fighting cleric in a black inner suit, black tights, and a cleric's skirt (lightly dressed)"—who had completely abandoned the set bonuses of her armor purely for the sake of appearances.

Conversely, that also demonstrated the fact that she could fight "even without the assistance of armor"... but OiKatzo knew the true identity of this player. Even after suffering the very first black star of her life—albeit in an unofficial online match—she claimed she was just "doing a light warm-up" and proceeded to defeat a hundred players in two days, climbing to the highest rating at record speed. He knew the true identity of this player... "Argent Owl."

"Haa... well, whatever, but seriously... you leveled up way too fast."

"Fufuun, even I would at least look up strategy wikis. Apparently, labyrinth tours are the current trend! I've had enough of beating down Minotaurs!"

Argent Owl, Silver (Ag) and Gold (Au)... In other words, "Sylvia" and "Goldberg."
It wasn't hard to imagine that if it were known that the US #1 fighting game player, who had come to Japan to enjoy her vacation, was currently playing in the world of Shangri-La Frontier, a considerable amount of chaos would ensue. Unfortunately, the current her was an infighter with a voluptuous body—the exact opposite of her real-life physique—that somehow made one feel a sense of melancholy.

Furthermore, OiKatzo had absolutely no idea what method she had used, but because she had somehow acquired the real-time translation system "Babel"—which wasn't even supposed to have an implementation date yet—ahead of time, the words spoken by Argent Owl were, at the very least, fluent Japanese.

"So? Where might your acquaintance Kei... I mean, OiKatzo's acquaintance be? Come on, come on, hurry up! Hurry up!"

"Kuh... so that was your real motive after all...! Unfortunately, I don't know either."

One was a bullet flying off wherever it pleased, and the other was a mastermind laughing in the shadows of the world. At least as far as OiKatzo knew, Pencilgon seemed to be working on something at a rapid pace ever since Saint Iristella's "Oracle," and Sunraku couldn't even be contacted in the first place.
Having known him for quite a while, OiKatzo knew that when Sunraku didn't reply to messages, it usually meant he was intensively clearing a trash game.

However, no matter how much Argent Owl desired an encounter with No Name (Pencilgon) and Face-Hider (Sunraku), there was no need to expose their private lives, so he chose not to tell her.

(He mentioned he bought 'Epic of President Legend', so he's probably planning to clear it by the end of this week... I want to try it too, but there are so few copies in circulation...)

"Well, I'm sure I'll run into them eventually. For now, I have to enjoy the new field! Let's go, Ket...zo!" [*1]

"Hey wait, what did you just call me!?"

"Ketzo Ketzo〜"

"W-Wait! Don't go running around spreading reputational damage!!"

"Wow, the AI is completely different from the monsters on the Old Continent, isn't it? Before I knew it, we were completely surrounded."

"Ah... I've heard of these guys. If I remember correctly, 'they're trash mobs individually, but as a swarm monster, they're at least Level 136 in total,' right...?"

It goes without saying where he got that information from, and it was obvious just by looking at her that she wasn't the type of coward to run away after defeating just one or two. OiKatzo equipped his Gauntlets of the Master and took his stance.
Leaning against his back, Argent Owl, who also had Gauntlets of the Master equipped, smiled fearlessly.

"Ufufu, doesn't standing back-to-back like this feel like something you've always dreamed of?"

"Well, I won't deny it, but...!!"

The Draclus Dinotriassicus—dinosaur-ified monsters that looked like miniature raptors—leaped all at once.
As an aside, the reason why all the Draclus-Dino series monsters have such complicated names involves the Conquista Dolls, but that is entirely irrelevant to the current situation.

""Scrap and Build!!""

The identical opening move, because they were both Destroyers. A pair of Gauntlets of the Master shattered, and the two pugilists, clad in the light of enhancement, stepped forward simultaneously.

"Nn, well, if it's just this much... Whoa, dangerous! You, wait, there are still more coming!?"

Screaming at the sight of the small dinosaurs continuously appearing from the shadows of trees, from the grass, and from the treetops—making one wonder just where they had been hiding—OiKatzo accurately launched his fists into the Dinotriassicus.

"Red!"

While OiKatzo engaged in a colorful battle using the Monk-system magic 【Fist Aura】, which activated by chanting a color, an entirely different kind of fight—just as opposite as the directions they were facing—was unfolding behind him.

"My name isn't sweet enough for you to take me down just by pressing me with numbers... you know!"

The ultra-CQC skill "Infight."
The skill "Grapple Drain," which added a health-recovery effect to her own attacks.
The skill "Step High-Beat," which accelerated the Speed of her Steps.
The skill "Full Metalike," which reduced damage taken by parts of the body closer to bare flesh rather than armor.
And the Pilgrim-exclusive magic 【Pilgrimer】, which continuously recovered her own health while also increasing the amount healed immediately after taking damage in proportion to the damage taken.

What happens when all of these effects are applied to a single body? This happens.

"Nullified! Useless! Meaningless!"

She tore off a small dragon that had bitten into her upper arm as if ripping off a piece of meat, and with a hand bearing the effect of Scrap and Build, she strangled its neck and slammed it into the ground.
Two more lunged from behind, but by the time their fangs and claws swung down, Argent Owl had already sidestepped out of the way, and the roundhouse kick she unleashed with that same momentum blew away the two monsters that had swung at empty air.

"I have some complaints about the jumps... but this is nice, my thoughts are moving smoothly!"

Taking hits one after another by intentionally not evading, the female pugilist laughed as she turned even that damage into an advantage.
Her entire body drew a chaotic band of mixing colors: red damage effects, skill effects, and the soft green glow of magic.

"Whoops, Argent Owl! A big one is coming!!"

The Draclus Dinoceratops. Its horns were known to make high-quality weapons... but its infamy as a "crazy Triceratops-headed bastard that charges in with an excessively massive Thoroughbred body while doing footwork" was probably much more well-known.
Recently, a new theory had emerged from the SF-Zoo's investigations suggesting that its base body was a deer rather than a horse, but right now, any information other than its combat capability was meaningless.

"Bring it on! Hey, come on!"

Whether the Japanese-sounding English that didn't get caught by Babel's automatic translation acted as a provocation, the Dinoceratops glared straight at Argent Owl and set its muscular body into motion.
A massive body roughly the size of a medium truck, continuously accelerating while occasionally throwing in a step, closed in as if to blow Argent Owl away.

"Eh, just because they're leftovers, you're pouring all your forces into me!? You little lizards, wait, nowyaah!?"

A somewhat amusing aura was drifting from a short distance away, but right now, only the Dinoceratops was reflected in Argent Owl's eyes.

"Fufun... Compared to the Cursed Prison, this is way too soft!"

Argent Owl recast her various skills and magic, and then played an additional hand.
The magic 【High-Drive Regenerate】, which doubled the recovery amount of regen effects at the cost of halving their duration.
The magic 【High-Voltage Power】, which granted a buff to STR proportional to continuous damage taken.
The magic 【Stand Gravity】, which directed physics calculations downward.

Having instantaneously prepared her "Interception," a light ignited in Argent Owl's right hand.

"For stuff like this, shouting the name of the technique is good manners, right?"

It wasn't a skill name. It was a new tactic developed by Argent Owl (Sylvia Goldberg), who had begun exploring various battle styles beyond just boxercise as effective strikes against the Cursed Prison.

"Eat this... Collapse Punch!!"

Her clenched fist, thumb pointing vertically, crashed into the forehead of the Dinoceratops. The equilibrium lasted only an instant; Argent Owl's body, inferior in propulsive force, was pushed backward with tremendous momentum, but she wasn't blown away.
Even as she carved Zarizari gouges into the ground, she kept her legs firmly planted and, without pulling her fist back, pushed forward, ever forward.

"Clean hi—... Abyah!?"

"There's no way you can win in a contest of pure strength at just level 90-something!!"

Shouting at Argent Owl, who was sandwiched between the Dinoceratops and a giant tree, flailing her legs in a panic, OiKatzo broke into a run...

Author's Afterword
Update Notes:
Chinese Kenpo Mod has been installed into Sylvia Goldberg!

The Advanced Class "Pilgrim" takes the best parts of the three Advanced Classes derived from Cleric, but its targets are strictly limited to the user themselves.

Translator's Note

• [1] Ketsu or Ketzo, they probably means ass either way.