Chapter 766: No One Else, I Will Make Myself Number One
Author's Preface
I think there's this feeling that if it's over two hours, it's safe.
When initiative becomes an obligation, that is the moment entertainment turns into a penance.
This is an event that occurred even later than the gathering of "those people" who knew no night......
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The assault by Goldunine the Inexhaustible, and the rout of the "Goldunines"...... One week had passed since that day.
"......N-Nine-chan."
"......wHat is iT."
The New Continent Church of the Tri-Divinity. It was the place where Ougasei and the Goldunine who lost one arm, "Nine," had fled into.
Originally, the Tri-Divinity was a religion for humans. But the fact that the non-human Nine was accepted might be because the leader of the Shining Knights of the Holy Shield—whose kindness seemed to increase by 1.5 times toward women—was constantly present, or perhaps it was the mercy of the Saint who gazed far into the distance.
In any case, Nine and Ougasei ended up settling down, half-sheltered in a room of the church...... However,
"U-Umm...... that, your arm........."
"enOUgh already, you're so persistenT."
"Hyu."
Whenever they met face-to-face, her gaze would drift to the missing arm. Because one of the arms she should have slipped through a sleeve was gone from the base of the shoulder, leaving only an empty sleeve to sway with every slight movement or gust of wind blowing in from the window, Ougasei would constantly sneak glances at it and stutter apologetically. At first, Nine had told her not to worry about it, but she gradually began returning irritated responses.
"whEneVer we meet, it's arM, arm, arm......"
"B-But, but......"
"do yoU tHink lOOking at me with tEAry eyes will make it gRow back?"
"Ugh......"
It was right on the mark.
If this had truly been real life, things wouldn't have turned out this way. But no matter how far Shangri-La Frontier pursued reality, it was ultimately a game.
Perhaps eventually, the missing limbs of NPCs might be restored; she didn't know exactly what to do...... but that was Ougasei's current situation.
"............"
Looking up blankly, searching for Buddha's spider thread without even knowing if it existed...... Precisely because it was a game with a compelling sense of reality, Nine's affection level for Ougasei continued to drop implicitly as she watched such a lame display.
"......*Sniff*"
Ougasei...... No matter how heavily muscled her appearance was, because her insides were Ayaori Mao, she harbored a sense of guilt she couldn't come to terms with and an accumulating sense of responsibility.
If she had possessed enough initiative to just snap back with, "It's just an NPC's arm, can't we grow it back using Divine Age technology?" and stand up, the story might have taken a different turn.
But Ougasei couldn't reach that conclusion. The terrifying memory of defeat had carved a helpless sense of doubt and resignation into the individual power of "Ougasei".
No matter what I do, won't I fail to accomplish anything?
No matter how much I make myself look like the movie star I admire, in the end, isn't it just a hollow facade?
Doubt is akin to a fire; once ignited, it spreads in the blink of an eye......
"I don't wanna do this anymore........."
Why did she have to be blamed so much in a game that was supposed to be fun?
Why did she have to keep logging in for something so completely devoid of fun?
The two characters for "Collapse" were surfacing more darkly and clearly.........
───By the way, to change the subject.
*Knock knock*
"......Who?"
───When it comes to a breakthrough plan.
"Umm...... Augusta-san, was it? An acquaintance of my husband asked me to come and encourage you, you see?"
───It implies a plan to smash it open.
"Ah, right, silly me...... forgetting to introduce myself. Nice to meet you, my name is Massive Dynamite...... It's a pleasure, Ougasei-san."
"Eh───"
According to the truth of this world, muscles solve everything.
◇◇
"Hey, hey, Sunraku-kuuuun......"
"What is it."
"Well, you see...... I just wooonder why you asked that person. I'd really love to hear it......?"
"I really don't wanna say."
"You're・So・Mean...... Ahh! That's good, thank you for the thrilling gaze!"
"......You sure look like you're enjoying your life."
"..................Yeah, right now is insanely fun, you know?"
"Yeah, yeah......... well, it's like this. Basically, she's feeling down, right? So instead of some guy she's only met once or twice, wouldn't someone she admires be better?"
"......Did you know that person was someone she admires?"
"Nah, just a hunch. .........This is the first time I've ever seen you rendered speechless."
"Oh no, my first time was taken...... Ah, wait, wait, this outfit is my favorite! If you're gonna burn me, aim for my face! Aaaaaah, Phalaris!!"
◇
"I see...... So that's what happened."
The Massive Dynamite was right in front of her, and for some reason, listening to her story. Everything was completely beyond Ougasei's comprehension.
Massive Dynamite. Her gentle, elderly woman demeanor was the exact opposite of her excessively manly playstyle. Some ridiculed her, claiming everything from the player to the battle style was a total joke...... but for players like Ougasei, she was a figure who garnered a certain kind of respect as the absolute pinnacle of muscle-heads.
"I...... I don't know what to do anymore......"
"Fufufu, it's a simple matter, Ougasei-chan."
"Eh?"
The fear of defeat, the guilt of causing her friend to lose an arm, and the anxiety toward a future with no visible light.
To all of those, the answer Massive Dynamite provided was singular.
"It's power."
"P-Power?"
Even if she was an active elementary schooler, she obviously knew what the word "power" meant. Yet, she couldn't fathom why that word was being brought up right now.
"Listen carefully. In this world...... there are things that can be solved with power, and things that don't need to be solved with power."
"Huh......?"
"You lost, and it's frustrating, isn't it?"
"......Yeah."
Indeed, being swarmed by Poison Maidens and bitten all over her body was a way to die that wouldn't be strange to develop a trauma over, no matter how painless it was. But more than that...... she was frustrated.
If she hadn't lost, she wouldn't have gone through such a terrifying experience, nor would Nine have gotten hurt. That thought alone remained as a definitive ember deep within Ougasei's heart, no matter how much she cried and whined.
"I'm giving it my all too, you know? But...... I just can't seem to get 【Maximum Firepower】."
This was also a famous story. While Massive Dynamite possessed the highest class of pure physical firepower...... there was the fact that Massive Dynamite had never once obtained the title 【Attack Holder】, which is awarded to the player who dishes out the highest maximum damage among the entire player base since she started playing ShanFro.
"But even so, I believe that my power is the absolute best. No matter how frustrating it gets...... I believe that I am number one."
"Why......? How can you believe in power so much......?"
Muscles looking up at muscles. The muscles receiving the gaze of muscles patted the muscles' shoulder with a large hand that seemed capable of wrapping an infant in just one palm. The muscle density continued to rise relentlessly, and the perceived temperature in the room escalated dramatically.
"No matter how many times you lose, as long as you don't stop, your physical strength will move forward. Step by step...... the power you forge that way will eventually advance three steps' worth of distance in a single step."
Words far too abstract to comprehend through logic alone. But Massive Dynamite's words were overflowing with absolute self-trust and...... above all, the conviction that "there is absolutely no mistake in the peak I am aiming for."
In short,
"Muscles make the impossible possible, Ougasei-chan."
"Make the impossible, possible......! Mad-D-san, then...... Nine-chan's arm too......"
"It can absolutely be cured! Power doesn't end just from losing once. If you reforge it, the impossible becomes possible!!"
"The impossible, becomes possible!!"
"The one who believes in me more than anyone else is me! I am Number One!!"
"I ahm nambah wun!!"
◇◇◇
Nine observed the situation while being left completely behind.
In the first place, what Nine needed to avoid was "a situation with lingering elements of anxiety," and because the current environment promising absolute safety was incredibly comfortable, she truly didn't care about losing a single arm...... but as she stared half-lidded at Ougasei, who had begun heating up in a bizarre direction, she let out a deeply human sigh.
Then, while manipulating one of her kin snakes by slipping it through her sleeve to act as a substitute for her lost arm, she uttered a single phrase.
"whAt iS thIs."
Author's Afterword
To be honest, I have absolutely no memory of how I wrote the second half, so if I read it back around tomorrow morning and my sanity can't take it, I'll probably rewrite it.
Promotion
The second volume of the manga adaptation of "Shangri-La Frontier" goes on sale December 17th!
I'm writing this on December 11th, so only six days left! If anyone is reading this after December 17th, surprise! It's already on sale!
Please be sure to pick up the world of the ShanFro manga materialized by the hands of the Great Sorcerer Fuji-sensei!!
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MUSCLE!
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