Chapter 526: An Orchestra For You, Part 8
Author's Preface
I cleared SEKIRO, I got the Rice route. Now everyone knows where the author spent most of his time grinding...! (Because before doing the Fountainhead Palace runs, I was farming by killing the straw hat mobs at the Main Hall). [*1]
The third phase was so easy to defeat it made me wonder what the hell I struggled so much for in the second phase... It's like, a grandchild is still just a grandchild, maybe lay off handling lightning... You know what I mean, once I focused purely on recovering posture, I won shockingly easily.
Also, the reason updates were a bit slow is because I've been endlessly theorizing about SEKIRO. I don't care if the theory that it shares a universe with Bloodborne is right or wrong, I just love how much it fuels speculation and delusions.
"............Ah?"
Am I............. in front of the door leading to Orchestra's theater?
"Sunraku-san! You beat it desu wa?"
"I lost, you idiot."
"Eeeeh!?"
Haa...... Seriously, man...... Even for me, that was a bit unexpected, or rather...... haa......
"...The invitation is still here."
The door... opens. Thank god I didn't have to send an email to the management. But what should I do? The final hurdle is way more of a demon gate than I thought. At the very least, it perfectly reproduces me, and then proceeds to execute meta-strategies against me while boasting strictly superior stats.
Because of the preceding four movements acting as an opener, I can't restrict my weapons, meaning it's almost guaranteed that a fully equipped "Me" is going to spawn. Moreover, if my prediction is correct, considering that True Quiet showed up right after reproducing the Devouring Great Crimson Clad...
"It's not chronological."
And it isn't based on strength order either; if the order shifted based on strength, it wouldn't be weird for the Great Crimson Clad and Wethermon to appear *after* True Quiet. If that's the case, there's only one worst-case scenario I can think of.
"Random... You gotta be kidding me."
Black Tsuchinoko, Siegwurm, Ctarrnid, Centipede, Spider, Scorpion... Are those going to be selected at random? Dammit, why the hell did I carve out such a busy Life? If I had just spent my time playing in the dirt in some corner of Firstia, it would have just been a four-round back-to-back boss rush against earthworms...!!
Besides, judging by the reproduced "Me" and the Virtual Pervert appearing as a gimmick, isn't there a worst-case scenario where other players get reproduced too?
"What should I do...?"
It didn't really feel like a "If I just try again, I can win!" kind of fight. A memorization game? It felt more like they made me write out the sheet music, cranked the difficulty through the roof, and threw it right back in my face, or something... Hmm, should I test the waters a bit?
"I'm gonna go run a quick second loop!!"
"Have a safe trip desu wa~"
◆◆
I carefully investigated the place again just to be sure, but as expected, it doesn't look like there are any particular stage gimmicks to speak of. The only thing that caught my eye was, once again, the music player embedded in the wall...
"Is this going to be one of those developments where this is actually Orchestra's main body or something?"
It's not entirely unheard of for the true body to be incredibly lame despite a grandiose first impression. Sure, if it was an optimistic ending where I just smashed this thing and cleared the scenario, that would definitely warrant an angry email in its own right, but for better or worse, I poked it with the Aspiring Blades of the Hero and it didn't even scratch the LCD screen, let alone punch a hole in it.
Aspiring Blades of the Hero-kun <<< Music Player... A visual hierarchy so harsh it physically hurts to look at.
"So it's purely committing to being a gimmick, huh? Well whatever, I'll just hit play for now."
Jitterdoll... I'm pretty sure the Divine Age figure who built Saina and the Conquista Dolls shared that same surname. A flavor element? Or is it some kind of foreshadowing? The possibility of the latter feels slightly higher, but even so, there's nothing I can do about it. It would be one thing if she appeared as a ghost like Wethermon, but how am I supposed to conquer a purely textual character in this theater? Am I supposed to recite poetry to her?
"Alright then... if it's Wethermon again, I'd like to get my prep done quickly?"
『【The Tale Spun by Sunraku】 First Movement... "The Nether-King of the Swimming Strike"』
"Yup, random guaranteed!!"
And I also know exactly what's coming out! Dammit! If you're gonna spawn anyway, at least drop your materials! Drop the materialssssss!!
"Bring it on, you bastard, come at me you killer whale prick!!"
Where my weapon is pointed, and where I roared, swimming through the empty air is the Shining Emperor of the Deep Sea...!!
...
.........
...............
Hey everyone~! Do you know what random means?
.........Yup yup, that's right, it means RNG! It's pure garbage!!
"Haaah!! Trash among trash! Don't you ever show your face again, you Shitty Red!!"
Devouring Great Crimson Clad... you're so damn annoying! Put yourself in my shoes, having to fight a drawn-out battle every single time just because that one fight ended up being a war of attrition!!
Of all things, following up Atlanticus Repnorca with Siegwurm, Ctarrnid, and then the Devouring Great Crimson Clad—a hellish back-to-back trio of endurance battles. Do you understand how I felt when a battle of attrition was guaranteed at the very end? Do you want me to put it on a modern literature test? Explain in 300 words or more, worth 50 points.
However, I can't unconditionally say it's complete trash since, aside from Shitty Red, these were all reproduced bodies I was fighting for the first time. The movements of Orchestra aren't as simple as just defeating the enemy; regardless of the process, there are required actions you have to take at key moments... conditional events, so to speak.
For Atlanticus Repnorca, it was reflecting its beam; for Siegwurm, breaking his horns; and for Ctarrnid, executing an aerial strike using a Tactical Mech.
I figured this out during my second run, but Orchestra's directives allow for a certain degree of freedom—presumably as a countermeasure against self-destruct moves. If I said this to Bilac, she'd probably mince me on the spot, so I'm keeping it strictly in my head, but my weapon that's easiest to break and easiest to farm damage with, the Brilliant Scorpion Gauntlets, is essentially treated as a disposable weapon at this point.
After all, I practically hold a monopoly on the repair materials; even though I sold a massive haul to the "Golden Scales" merchant company, my stock is already replenishing, which just makes me treat the Brilliant Scorpion Gauntlets even more carelessly... well, whatever.
The line at which Orchestra triggers a "Reset" seems low but is surprisingly strict. First off, a guaranteed reset occurs if your gender is different, and another happens if your weapons are lost.
However, weapon durability doesn't recover, and your HP and stats carry over. It's nice not having to fear weapon loss, but I doubt they'd just hand out such unconditional kindness, so I can only assume that only the weapons "required for the next movement" get reset. Best not to rely on it... well, at the very least, it's confirmed that I can absolutely wreck the Brilliant Scorpion Gauntlets without holding back!!
"Alright then... Long time no see, did you get a haircut?"
『………』
No intention of talking, huh... Or rather, is he just wearing the mask and leaving everything underneath completely featureless? But even if he's slightly translucent and glowing, seeing my own appearance in the second person is.........
"You truly are wearing some perverted gear, put some clothes on."
『…………』
Our movements were exactly synchronized; or did he match my timing? I don't know, but the one thing that's clear is that we both pulled out the chalice and the black crystal. And then both of us, having adopted female silhouettes, donned grotesque skulls.
"Blood Heart!!!"
『…………!!』
There are no words from the other side, but the tension in his body indicates the fact that he activated the exact same power.
Two shades of red sluggishly overflow; the fact that his color is slightly brighter pisses me off... Is it oxygen? Is it the amount of oxygen in the blood? I'm full of carbon dioxide, obviously.
"Let's pLaY roUGhhhhh..."
『………』
It seems that from "Me's" perspective, he absolutely wants to push that mask to the forefront. Having gone out of his way to alter its shape to perfectly fit the grotesque head, the bird-headed monster directs a silent gaze entirely at me.
"FirsTTT iS FisTTT..."
Rock, Paper............
"DroP dEAaaaaaDDDD!!"
In Orchestra's Final Movement, there is exactly one point where I have a clear advantage that "Me" could never possibly possess.
And that is this Remember Death Without Parting. R.I.P. gets completely dispelled along with the gender swap, resetting its accumulated effects, but this is different. This ultra-greatsword's cumulative weight-reduction ability is exempt from the reset; meaning, the "Me" who didn't go through the boss rush from the first to the fourth movement has absolutely no way to reduce its weight!!
However, his choice seems to take even that into account—a massive tower shield resembling an impregnable fortress. Manifest Wall Shield of the Empress Castle; in terms of pure physical defense, it easily stands four heads above anything else in my arsenal.
But why? That shield isn't something you can swing around with normal stats. With the base specs of R.I.P. or Violent Blood Crimson-Clad Skull Crown, you shouldn't even be able to lift it......... No, it's the Indigo Chalice!!
"What did you swap!? AGI!? Or LUC!!"
While you might lack the stats to swing the Manifest Wall Shield of the Empress Castle around, if you just want to support it as a stationary wall, it's not impossible with an STR-focused build. In fact, "Me" has already abandoned the stance of holding the Manifest Wall Shield of the Empress Castle, taking up a stance with Areadbhair Rebuild behind the shield as it fades into particles.
『…………』
"Idiot!"
The Fourth Radiant Spear Hypothesis: Incineration is indeed a skill, but the phenomenon it generates is pure magic! If I block it with the Mirror Shield of the Nether-King!!
"【E-xce-ed Charge】!!"
I'll push through just like this───!!
Author's Afterword
That's right, if you intentionally perform a bonus action that serves as a stepping stone for a buff, there's a high probability you can bait out a guard.
Translator's Note
- [1] Rice route: Referring to the "Return" (Dragon's Homecoming) ending of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which revolves around the Divine Child of Rejuvenation and rice.
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