Chapter 605: Even if Swallowed by the Great Whale, the White Waves Dash On
Psyger-0: I'm really, really sorry!
Sunraku: No, don't worry about it, really. The original invitation was for the evening anyway, and things were just a bit too irregular today.
Psyger-0: I just couldn't persuade my sister... But from tonight, starting tonight, I will absolutely participate!!
Sunraku: That's fine, but we might have advanced quite a bit by then.
Psyger-0: I'll catch up.
Sunraku: Eh?
Psyger-0: I'll catch up.
Sunraku: Ah, got it.
◆
No matter how far ahead you go, I'll start later and still catch up. Trembling at the reality of having heard such a terrifying hardcore gamer declaration—and without knowing whether this trembling was out of dread or awe—Survival and I stood before the Second Shell Layer.
『It's been a while! That was quite a long commute to school, wasn't it?』
"I got thoroughly beaten half to death by a music player that dropped on my way to school."
『A music player...?』
"That's exactly what I came to investigate, so brace yourself, Isana. By the time the sun rises tomorrow, this Leviathan will be completely cleared."
At those words, the whale woman holding full authority over Leviathan fell silent for an unbelievably long time for a character who prides herself on high-speed communications... and then,
『───My, my, I am very much looking forward to it.』
It wasn't friendliness or joy, but rather mockery, surprise, and anticipation... She flashed a smile filled with so much emotion it was impossible to believe an AI character could make such an expression.
But that smile returned to her usual fake, pleasant smile in an instant, and Isana began explaining the area. As I listened to it as a quick refresher, someone tapped me lightly on the shoulder with their finger.
"What is it?"
"What kind of magic trick did ya use? Isana's affection rating is off the charts right now, ain't it?"
"Nah, I'm pretty sure she just completely mocked me, though?"
"The fact that you got her ironclad fake smile—which didn't crack even when the gal-game crowd tried every method under the sun to shift her affection values—to actually change is insane, man."
"Who knows? Maybe it's just 'cause I was the very first person to enter?"
『Are you listening?』
"Yeah, perfectly."
The Second Shell Layer, 「Teaching Path」, was originally an all-artificial livestock facility built from top to bottom by the Divine Age people to secure protein during the era when they were drifting through space. Isana had since expanded it until it became a Shell Layer.
It’s incredibly detailed, but apparently, there were various issues with multiplying cows and pigs through cloning back in the Divine Age. The monsters that appear here are artificial lifeforms specialized for livestock performance through genetic cultivation... No, they are masses of bones, muscle fibers, and organs without brains, reproductive organs, or individuality, overseen entirely by an AI. Commonly known as「Meat」.
"Ain't that kinda gruesome?"
『This is the result of reconciling the ethics of the time with Leviathan's overall passion for food culture, you know? There is data filled with bitter resentment left in the database from that era noting that on Behemoth, it was just three tasteless meals of artificial paste a day.』
"By the way, does AI-controlled basically mean this is a direct confrontation with you?"
『Hmm... The structure is merely that it's one division I oversee, so I'm not sure if it's strictly correct to say I am operating them... If I were to put it in human terms, it's closer to the movement of internal organs.』
So basically, she's not consciously moving them one by one. In that case... let's immediately pull a little "cheat."
"Survival, let's hurry up and save up 50,000 Score first."
"You got it."
『Oh? You already know about it?』
"Humanity's greatest strength is the communication technology that can reach our voices all the way to the ends of the stars, y'know? The voices of our predecessors have reached us loud and clear."
『Fufu, wonderful.』
While the Second Shell Layer was naturally a size smaller than the First Shell Layer, it was still vast. Just as we were able to significantly shorten the distance in the First Shell Layer by riding the Repair Golems, 「legs」exist here as well. So for now, we're off to exterminate some Meat for that purpose.
『That over there is a Beef Homage Red Body. The meat you harvest can be cooked in the safe zones, you know.』
"Survival, what about the Gourmet Tongue title?"
"Course I got it!"
Is that so? Then it's time for in-game Yakiniku!!!
I don't know if they took "no brains" to literally mean "no head," but the bright red, headless torso of a cow came charging at us, the horns growing right out of its shoulders gleaming sharply. Does livestock meat really need horns!? It's acting like it has nothing to do with it, but it's totally got murderous intent pre-installed!!
Whenever I think of bright red, bizarre creatures, I can't help but remember that thing, but since this one is literally just a lump of red meat, there's no comparison. Though the fact that it's moving purely on red meat is incredibly terrifying.
"Hell yeah! Bring it on!!"
With a roar, Survival let out a deep, booming shout that was entirely disconnected from his female appearance, swinging back his... that's not a halberd...
"A Sky Piercer, was it?"
"Its category is spear, though!!"
By the way, halberds fall under the Halberd category. It's confusing, but if a halberd is an "axe that can thrust," that one is a "spear that can smash and slash." And Survival's stats are... a frontline attacker who dumped all his points into Toughness and Firepower.
Furthermore, while his build is heavily weighted toward PvP, that also means he's trained his stats enough to consistently win in PvP. His skills, equipment, and above all, his battle sense honed by sheer player skill, made the spectacle unfolding before my eyes a reality.
"If it ain't got a skull, it's way easier to stab!!"
The tip of the Sky Piercer dug deep into the red meat's neck section, and the woman, clad in multiple effects, executed a one-armed shoulder throw skewering the beast using the principle of leverage, sending the cow-sized behemoth soaring through the air.
"Ain't the War King class amazing?"
"I always keep the proficiency of my main weapons maxed out, so I get the modifiers."
The highest-tier warrior-branch job,「War King」, might fall short of specialized supreme-tier jobs if you only consider a single category, but it's a class that grants numerous bonuses based on the sheer number of frontline weapons you have an overwhelming aptitude for, as well as your proficiency levels.
Normally, it allows the use of a special skill called 「Martial Might Unleashed」, but unfortunately, this is the same man who instantly swapped War King to his sub-job the very moment the Avenger class was discovered... Even if his avatar is a woman.
Because of that, that one-armed weapon throw just now was roughly 50% his own pure technique... This guy, he's actually just plain strong even when using weapons normally.
"Yo Sunraku! Some flabby-lookin' thing is coming! Gross!!"
"Hah? Your description is way too vague—whoa, gross!!"
What the hell is that flabby thing!? I-Is that a pig? Is the base model a pig? Isana!!
『That over there is a Pork Homage Fatty Body.』
Fatty Body... No, wait, is that entire thing just a hunk of fat!?
Tch, a literal lump of fat is the absolute worst opponent for the debut of this thing... but well, I don't exactly have the luxury of being picky right now. Let's do this!!
"It's your first battle. Make it flashy, First Sword...!!"
Bilac hastily forged this for me while half-pissed off, Category: Katana... Iron Katana【Swirling Vortex White Waves】. Time for a performance test.
Author's Afterword
「War King」
The highest-tier warrior-branch job. It balances high hit counts and raw firepower by utilizing 「Martial Might Unleashed」, which increases the performance of corresponding skills for a set duration depending on the player's aptitude for various weapons... However, perfectly mastering multiple weapons in full-dive VR is extremely tedious and highly difficult. Furthermore, Sword Saint just looks cooler, so it sits in this weird position of 「It's theoretically strong, but too much of a hassle.」
The requirements to acquire the job are「Raise the proficiency of a set number of weapons above a required threshold, and additionally learn a required number of skills specific to each of those weapons.」What a pain!!
Comments
Post a Comment