Chapter 649: A Miniature Garden's Life, Extremely Naturally Unnatural

"First, as a major premise, our objective is to find and secure this 'Crown Bamboo Shoot'... So, why was this bamboo shoot named 'Crown' to begin with?"

"Wait, we're starting from there?"

"That's right, Exploding Green Peas-san. Rather than skipping ahead, analyzing things from the very beginning often turns out to be a surprising shortcut in these situations."

Why was it named the Crown Bamboo Shoot, huh...

Since we were worried that the enemies might detect us through vibrations, we climbed onto some rocks that were clustered together like Stonehenge. And so, an open-air classroom strategy meeting began under the guidance of Teacher Bansai, leading into an analysis session that simultaneously felt incredibly tense and not tense at all.

"Crown. Unless it's some weird phonetic kanji substitute, it's safe to assume it refers to an actual 'crown.' And if it's a crown, that means..."

"It means someone is wearing it?"

"Correct, Akitsu Akane-san. The Professor probably reached the same conclusion, which is why he requested the image... Look at this. It's a bit hard to tell because it's zoomed in, but when you compare it to the background, something is clearly unnatural."

...Ah, the way it's growing is weird. Our attention was drawn away because the focus was entirely on the gleaming black bamboo shoot, but if you look closely, that thing isn't growing out of the dirt. You can actually see the ground behind whatever the bamboo shoot is growing on.

"Nine times out of ten, this is an item dropped by a monster. One of the biology majors in our clan mentioned that no matter how bizarre the monsters in ShanFro are, they always have a logical 'foundation,' so it's probably not the Swimines... The likelihood of a boss monster existing here is high."

"Those eel-lizards were just using their mucus to wear moss and fallen leaves as camouflage; they weren't actually growing out of them, after all..."

"This is Behemoth we're talking about, the same place that would make some people snap in anger, so it's entirely possible this is just a variant of an unexpected monster."

Ivory won't show herself on this layer even if we call for her. She probably means for us to bring the bamboo shoot back to the spot where we first spawned. If it were Isana, I get the feeling she'd actually show up if we called her.

So, does that mean we just need to search for the monster holding the Crown Bamboo Shoot? Apparently not. In true Library fashion, Bansai-shi began his next line of analysis.

"Everyone, if you're running out of real-life time, feel free to log out, alright?"

Since no one dropped out and everyone was fine to continue, the discussion shifted to: "What exactly triggers the Swimines to attack?"

"Aren't they just trying to obstruct us normally?"

"Ah, no, that's not what I mean. I'm wondering how they perceive us."

"In that case, as a test."

Since our first encounter happened while we were moving as a group, I thought they might have noticed our footsteps, but despite the fact that we were currently talking in fairly loud voices, the Swimines showed no signs of noticing us.

If they don't react to voices, do they strictly react only to footsteps? I jumped down from the rock onto the ground and tried tap-dancing, but surprisingly, there was no reaction. Even I didn't expect to be completely ignored when I was practically within arm's reach of them.

"It's not sound, and it's not distance..."

"Could they be running away because of my Scars? It has an effect that makes monsters lower level than me flee."

"No, I don't think that's it. If that were the case, they wouldn't have approached you in the first place, and they wouldn't be swimming around in a normal state right now. If that's the case... No, it's not just the Swimines; the monsters in Behemoth are artificial creations. Or perhaps..."

It seemed Bansai-shi had realized something. I was just sitting here wondering whether those eel-lizards were biologically classified as fish or reptiles, so I felt like he was flexing on my brain cells.

Akitsu Akane, perhaps out of boredom (since everyone felt in danger during the hostility condition test earlier and distanced themselves from me), had Emul sitting on her lap and was chatting about something. Rei-shi, with a sharp gaze, was alternating between watching me and scanning the ground. As expected of Rei-shi, her eyes were like those of a first-rate hunter... the gaze of a true hardcore gamer perfectly adapted to this game.

"Sunraku-kun, just as a test, could you equip the weapon with the highest destructive power in your inventory?"

"Roger that."

These guys are probably classified as fish, right? I wonder if they still have the aquatic trait attached to them? With that in mind, I equipped the Sea Devouring SwordBlue Predator and, resolving to turn every last one of them into grilled eel, I pulled out the Areadbhair Rebuild...

Gasagasagasagasagasagasa!!!

"Whooooa!!?"

"Sunraku-kun!!!"

"Just as I thought! The aggro condition for the Swimines is 'the target's danger level'!!"

"I'll hear the explanation later! It's fine, Rei-shi, as long as I have the aggro, I've got this...!!"

Vorpal Secret Art 【Fading Mirror】 activated! Bite down on the illusion, you eel-lizards!!

The moment I leapt, the Swimines instantly swarmed the afterimage left in my place. But it was nothing more than an illusion. Since I—the actual main body—had shoved all the aggro onto the decoy and retreated onto the rocks while unequipping my weapons, all they could do was writhe and crawl over an empty space where they felt I should be.

After a while, perhaps deciding the threat had vanished, the Swimines burrowed back into the dirt one by one and swam away... Now then.

"Alright, Professor, let's hear the explanation."

"I'm not a grand enough person to take the podium like a teacher; maybe a private tutor at best. The reason I noticed was because I observed the monsters on the Third Layer."

According to him, while the monster AI in this game is realistic enough to warrant the creation of an entire clan dedicated to observing their ecology like SF-Zoo, he found it suspicious that Maxwell—the boss we fought on the Third Layer—was "far too smart," even factoring in its bizarre mutations.

"How should I describe it? It felt off, like it was being controlled by a human operating under severe restrictions. Does that make sense?"

"I was too desperate fighting for my life to notice something like that."

"Now that you mention it, its movements were very monotonous... Or rather, it felt like it barely moved at all, aside from closing the distance..."

"I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!!"

"No, no, I'm not blaming anyone."

In my case, since I barely fought Maxwell, I wouldn't know. But on the flip side, because I went a few intense rounds with Newton-kun, it was easy to recall.

For starters, it felt less like an animal and more like an amalgamation of pasta, but now that he mentions it, the way it used its tentacles was definitely weird. It diligently bundled its tentacles together for every single attack... I just assumed that was its programmed habitmotion, but still.

"To put it simply, the thought routines of the monsters appearing in Behemoth, including the Swimines, are close to humans... or rather, their baseline evaluation criteria might be based on human logic. That's why, when you were unequipped, Sunraku-kun, they processed you as either a non-threat or someone they could safely ignore."

"And when I equipped my weapons, they treated me as a massive clump of danger and attacked. I see."

It all adds up. The reason we got surrounded when all fifteen of us were walking in a group earlier was because almost all the players were armed. It goes without saying which group is more dangerous: fifteen people barehanded, or fifteen people armed to the teeth with bladed weapons, blunt instruments, and firearms.

Well, if this had been a group of fifteen Iai Fist Style users, it might have been a different story, but since it's a minor martial arts style, it's highly unlikely fifteen of them would ever gather in one place anyway...

"So that means if we don't equip anything, we won't be targeted?"

"It's the exact opposite, Akitsu Akane."

This was a much nastier restriction than I thought.

If this deduction was correct, the players had to choose: either try to secure the Crown Bamboo Shoot completely barehanded... or constantly be on guard against living bombs that could ambush them at any moment while wielding their weapons.

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Author's Afterword

Isana

Hobbies: Observing humansintelligent lifeforms, talking about romance.

Ivory

Hobbies: Observing humansher children, selective breeding.