Chapter 732: Packing Dreams into Science Fantasy

Author's Preface

I was writing another perspective of the main story for a change of pace, and ended up finishing it at explosive speed...

Leviathan's HiddenVIP Third Shell Layer... the "Warboard".

In contrast to the surface "Playboard" which emphasizes the aspect of entertainment, the main attraction of this VIPPost-Clear content—which drifts with the smell of blood or perhaps iron—could be said to be the colosseum where the players themselves engage in combat.

While not quite on the level of the Behemoth, which created a massive variety of monsters inside its ship, players fight various monsters here—such as reproduced bodies of various monsters or mechanical monsters closely resembling the Fourth Shell Layer boss monster "Wisdom Guard"—and can earn rewards by winning.

For the record, a gambling feature akin to a sports toto does exist where one can predict whether the player or the enemy will win in the colosseum, but in the current situation where the conquerors of Leviathan remain few, it's faster to fight yourself rather than wait for other players who may or may not ever show up.

『Battle Ended. Winner : Rust』

And right now, with the mechanical lion loaded to the brim with firearms across its entire body reduced to scrap, the announcement confirming the victor echoed out.

『───Magnificent, this is a truly magnificent score.』

"...Still got plenty of leeway."

『Since you achieved a 20-win streak in the Step-Up Challenge where the difficulty rises with every victory, there is absolutely no room for doubt. However, I am terribly sorry, Rust-sama; the "Argoleon" you just defeated is currently the highest difficulty implemented... Everything beyond this point is still in the design phase.』

Even that Gun-Armored Mech-LionArgoleon was a Difficulty 20 monster that had only just recently been implemented. The whale maiden, directing an indescribable gaze at the latest machine reduced to scrap in about fifteen minutes, watched the girl who accomplished it and muttered, "Perhaps I should make something even more atrocious..."

Whether she heard it or not, the person in questionRust—judging that no further "farming" could be done—ended the challenge the moment she cleared Difficulty 20, and received the prize money fully earned while remaining undefeated... a massive amount of Score.

"...Right, then tell me when Difficulty 21 is implemented. I'll just rebuild a win streak from scratch again."

『Hmm... even factoring in Tactical Mech regulations, that is a jaw-dropping level of combat power. Perhaps it even rivals Wethermon Amatsuki...?』

"...I've never fought Wethermon, but... I'll take it as a compliment. Well then, teleport me to the HiddenVIP Fourth Shell Layer."

『Certainly~』

……

…………

………………

Shangri-La Frontier is a game that pursues fantasy to a maddening degree, pursues reality to a maddening degree, and—as Rust had recently revised her understanding—pursues sci-fi to a maddening degree. The biggest reason for that was because of this place... the VIP weapon development floor formed using the exact same technology as Inventoria's storage space... having begun utilizing the "Hidden" Fourth Shell Layer, the "Arsenal".

"Ah, Rust."

"Hey Rust-san, finished farming?"

"...Yeah, piece of cake."

『That's strange... even if it was meant for solo play, it should have been tuned with an output assuming a struggle against a full squad.』

"...I can be a One-Man Army if I set my mind to it."

『Ahaha, surely you jest, Rust-sama.』

"She's actually not joking, you know," Mold muttered while operating a console. Unlike Rust, who was bogged down by a specific need to endlessly farm money, Mold had already earned all the necessary currencyScore in a single run and had been working continuously in this "Arsenal" for the past two days.

"By the way, what was Difficulty 20 like?"

"...A lion going full burst."

"That's right up my alley... Hey, 'Isana', can I tame that... ah, use it like a Tactical Mech?"

『It completely disregards fuel efficiency to a fair extent, so outside the ship it would likely only be operational for about ten minutes at best, you know?』

"Ah... that's a tough sell."

The other of the two people present in this place—a player who had conquered Leviathan just like them... and though his origins were a bit different, he was here because he utilized the same facility—Yashirobird shrugged with a wry smile at Isana's words.

Due to a background he couldn't openly speak of, Yashirobird understood the importance of sustained combat capability, and gave up on his dream of taming a lion entirely made of firearms, deeming it a bit too unreasonable for an individual to operate equipment that becomes useless after a mere ten minutes.

"Oh right, Rust-san. I managed to make this, but it's pretty underwhelming if used by a flesh-and-blood body. How about it?"

"...Not bad. I'll buy it."

"200,000 Score."

"…………"

Without a word, Rust handed over the 200,000 from her farmed Score to Yashirobird—an amount that could hardly be called pocket change—and received the data he had "designed".

What they were doing in this place was a deeper, more advanced form of the equipment formation found in the surface Fourth Shell Layer... literally designing and manufacturing from zero. Yashirobird, a man obsessed with firearms, and Rust, a woman obsessed with mechs, had repeatedly built blueprints, built more, built, built, built, built, built, built, built... and naturally, lacking the Score for manufacturing, repeatedly ran off to grind money, a cycle they had already gone through countless times.

Mold, who was packing all of his demands into a single Tactical Mech, had already reached the stage of manufacturing based on his blueprint. But Rust, who should be far more engrossed in this layer than Mold, was only now aiming to complete her blueprints.

That was because her half-rampaging desire for mechs did not permit the word "compromise"...

"...With this, I can craft them all."

『Indeed. I truly did not expect you to say you would own six units all by yourself, much less that you would actually make it a reality.』

In a space where everything was established as information bodies, as Rust operated the console, six windows appeared before her.

・RS:Ο Batsuzan GaiseiSevering-Slash Triumphant Blue

・RS:Ο Kouryou IssuiGolden-Beam Singular Essence

・RS:◇ Sengaku HisaiAnnihilating-Jaw Scarlet Smash

・RS:◇ Gyokuseki KonkouJewel-Dam Navy Assault

・RS:Δ Garyou HousuuFang-Dragon Phoenix Pivot

・RS:Δ Kokushi MusouBlack-Purple Matchless Peer

"...Fufu, fufufufuhihihihihihi."

"Rust..."

"I get it, honestly... When your goal is finally within arm's reach, you just can't help but smile."

Looking at the two of them, whose passionmotivation had heated up into a sticky, high-temperature magma, Mold sighed while operating the console at his hand. Displayed there was the name of what he was currently manufacturing.

・Safe ZoneSave Zone

Author's Afterword

Incidentally, Mold seems to be building the most bullshit-tier broken machine out of all of them.

Translator's Note

Every single one of Rust's mech names is a phonetic pun. She is taking famous Japanese Yojijukugo (four-character idioms) and replacing the kanji with weapon/color-themed kanji that sound exactly the same.

1. 伐斬凱青 (Batsuzan Gaisei) -> 抜山蓋世 (Unrivaled strength)
2. 黄梁一粋 (Kouryou Issui) -> 黄粱一炊 (Fleeting dream)
3. 殲顎緋砕 (Sengaku Hisai) -> 浅学非才 (Shallow learning/incompetence)
4. 玉堰紺攻 (Gyokuseki Konkou) -> 玉石混淆 (A mix of good and bad)
5. 牙龍鳳枢 (Garyou Housuu) -> 臥竜鳳雛 (Sleeping dragon, fledgling phoenix/Hidden genius)
6. 黒紫無双 (Kokushi Musou) -> 国士無双 (Unparalleled hero).