Chapter 726: One for All for Happy End
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The Ketu-Rahu Dragoon.
It is the true identity of a rumor that circulated roughly ten months after Shangri-La Frontier launched... just right before its one-year anniversary.
───If a player sets the upper-tier classes "Paladin" and "Dark Knight" as their main and sub-jobs, and fulfills a certain set of conditions, a hidden, highest-tier class will be unlocked.
Tracing it back, the foundation of this rumor was a single line of text found within the viewable information when taking on the highest-tier knight-lineage classes, "Paladion" and "Dark Crusader," which read: "The wandering knight bearing light and shadow on their back."
Two jobs that shared the same knightly origins, yet split into faith and slaughter. The information regarding the "wandering knight" hinted at by both of them tickled the hearts of gamers in that specific way that makes them slightly embarrassed when reminiscing about it years later, leading to vigorous verification efforts... However, its true nature remained unknown, and before anyone realized, it faded into obscurity as an unreliable rumor.
But, up until this very day, a certain player had continued to swing her sword while maintaining "Paladin" and "Dark Knight" as her livelihood.
Truth be told, since the vast majority of a player's strength in the game ShanFro relies heavily on skills and magic, simply having decently convenient upper-tier classes allows one to fight normally even on the absolute front lines; that was the main reason Psyger-0 had never changed her jobs.
However, that was the very reason she ended up fulfilling one of the conditions to reach the "Ketu-Rahu Dragoon."
The conditions for acquiring a job in Shangri-La Frontier can be broadly divided into three categories. Namely,
・Condition Type
・Story Type
・Hybrid Type
These three. The majority of jobs fall into the Story Type, where employment occurs upon clearing a Unique Scenario or quest; the Condition Type, which becomes available for transfer the moment multiple parameters are met; or the Hybrid Type, which triggers a scenario upon meeting certain conditions.
The "Ketu-Rahu Dragoon" is a Hybrid Type, and its condition is to "Set the Paladin and Dark Knight jobs while in a state capable of transferring to a highest-tier class, raise the hidden parameter 'Veteran Value,' and then clear a Unique Scenario triggered against a monster with a highly raised 'Wildness Value'..." putting it into writing makes it sound convoluted, but to summarize:
・Set the "Paladin" and "Dark Knight" jobs while in a state eligible for a highest-tier class transfer.
・Possess a level of strength that is rumored among NPCs, and furthermore, do not side with either the Paladion or Dark Crusader factions.
・Engage in a hype-inducing fierce battle with a mountable monster.
The flow looks something like that.
Ever since triggering the Unique Scenario EX "Epic of Vorpal Bunny," Psyger-0 has moved her base to Rabituza. Meaning she had fulfilled the condition of earning renown as a "Knight of Unknown Whereabouts," and furthermore, by fighting solo against the powerful wandering monster known as Arma-Alogo Hetairon, every single condition was met.
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"...And so, that's what happened."
I see, so basically while aiming for a place where the Ore-Folk wouldn't wander near, she coincidentally encountered this armored-horse called Arma-Alogo Hetairon. Engaging in a fierce battle using an iron club while fully decked out in ogre-warrior gear, right before dealing the finishing blow, a Unique Scenario triggered, so she healed it up and ended up taming it...
"So, uh, what kind of job is this Kettobasu Dragoon or whatever?"
"Umm... it seems the performance changes between day and night."
I have an incredibly strong recollection of a monster exactly like that, and to go further, I know a guy who crafted a sword out of materials from that very same monster I recalled. I'm absolutely certain because I saw him when I looked in a mirror.
"Right now... meaning, at night, it's in the 'Moon-Chasing' state, and when morning comes, it shifts into the 'Sun-Devouring' state..."
"Is something wrong?"
"There is no, ulterior meaning, okay?"
"Eh? I don't really get it but... yeah."
Asking for more details, it turns out to be quite a unique (in the sense of interesting) job.
During the night, it manipulates light-attribute powers, and during the morning, it manipulates darkness-attribute powers. By touching light during the night, she can absorb its power, and conversely, by touching shadows during the day, she manipulates that power.
And so, it was decided that we should test it out.
"Umm, I should have... a Disposable Magic Medium for 【Magic Torch】 right here."
Activation, causing the sphere of light that materialized above my head to illuminate the surroundings. Well, from a player's perspective, the dimness of the pre-dusk environment simply got decently brighter, but...
"Here I go... 【Steal Eclipse】."
"Whoa!?"
What!? My MP suddenly dropped, hey! No wait, the parameter isn't the only thing changing.
How should I describe the sight unfolding before my eyes... if I had to put it into words, yes, the very space illuminated by the light is being grabbed by Rei-shi's hand.
It's a sight you'd absolutely never see in real life, how should I say... it's like forcibly peeling off a curtain draped over the space; regardless, the light being emitted from 【Magic Torch】 is being stolen by Rei-shi along with my MP.
"This light I grabbed... um, apparently I can choose to either return it to myself or divert it straight into an attack."
"Isn't a conditional MP drain way too brutal...?"
"Ah, I'm sorry! I'll return it right away!!"
She can return it to others too? No wait, could this possibly mean...
"An MP healer, is it...!?"
This is crazy, this is seriously crazy. Depending on the situation, this job harbors terrifying specs that could easily turn it into a "human rights" tier requirement...!?
"Rei-shi, this is insane... what are you going to do? Tell the other players? Or keep it a secret?"
"E-Erm..."
I have absolutely no intention of nagging her if she decides to hide it. Partly because I'm in no position to talk, but also because I think a certain percentage of the blame lies with those who fail to discover reproducible content.
Of course, I wouldn't tell a healer or a pure mage to go out and find the unlock conditions for a hidden knight-lineage job, but what Rei-shi did was just set the Paladin and Dark Knight jobs as her main and sub. At the very least, that's leagues easier than hitting Lycaon with 100 no-damage criticals at level 10 or 20.
There is no such thing as content that is impossible to clear until the information is written on a strategy Wiki.
For ShanFro specifically, datamining or leaking is virtually impossible, meaning whether or not this hidden job is made public is entirely up to Rei-shi's free will.
"...Um. I think... it should be made public."
"Do you mind if I ask why?"
Through our interactions so far, I already know that Rei-shi isn't the type to publish something just because she wants to be fawned over. Not that there's anything fundamentally wrong with that, but at the very least, that's not the reason Rei-shi would do it.
"Shangri-La Frontier is... well, at the end of the day, it's a game, so if only one or two people are outstandingly strong, I feel like... something irreversible might happen in the World Story."
"True."
Looking at the Raid Monsters and the like, I've had a nagging, unpleasant premonition that the administration of this game doesn't pull their punches when the time comes. Even though it's a VRMMO, there is undoubtedly a concept of 'Game Over' built into this game.
If I were to bring up the closest example, it would be the Wandering Great Azure Plague; if we hadn't managed to defeat that Raid Monster, Thirdrema would have definitively been destroyed. That thing definitely wasn't the kind of monster that would conveniently turn back.
Not all the Raid Monsters have been revealed yet, and the World Story progresses alongside the clearing of Unique Scenario EXs... and stories always have a final boss.
The ones who will have to fight when that time comes are none other than the players, and there is no guarantee that players—who have real lives outside the game—will definitely be present in this world progressing in real-time.
That goes for Rei-shi and me too. If the final boss shows up on the day of the National Center Test, there's absolutely nothing we can do about it. Even I would have no choice but to prioritize real-world exams over the rise and fall of ShanFro.
"...Was that, a bad idea?"
"No, not at all? If anything, I respect it, Rei-shi... no, Rei-san."
If it were me, I'd probably hesitate a bit, and while hesitating, I'd probably end up slacking off and completely forgetting to publish it.
"So, um... actually, there is something... I'd like to ask your help with."
"Hm?"
Author's Afterword
・【Steal Eclipse】
Can be activated by targeting "Light". By touching light while activated (with the hand bathed in light), "MP" corresponding to the intensity of the light and the light source is consumed and clad around the hand. If the target originates from a Mob, the MP is subtracted from that Mob.
The "Light" clad on the hand can be used as an attack, or it can be restored to oneself or others as an MP heal (When used as an attack, it becomes a Holy attribute with an added purification effect).
・【Steal Eclipse】
Can be activated by targeting "Shadow". By touching a shadow while activated (with the hand hidden from light by the shadow), "HP" corresponding to the depth of the shadow and the source is consumed and clad around the hand. If the target originates from a Mob, the HP is subtracted from that Mob.
The "Shadow" clad on the hand can be used as an attack, or it can be restored to oneself or others as an HP heal (When used as an attack, it becomes a Dark attribute with an increased status ailment corruption effect).
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