Chapter 808: December 16th: The Answer is Because It Was Destroyed, Not Killed
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"Isn't 'Dragon Slayer' the standard for this kind of thing? Why Dragon Buster?"
"Don't ask me."
Tomahawk died, but even for a monster, it was a proud way to go. Witnessing the final moments of a formidable foe that only we know about really gets you fired up. When it tore off its frozen left arm along with the shoulder and started swinging it around, it legitimately sent chills down my spine, but... after being shown a finale like that, you can't help but feel attached to it.
"Anyway, regarding the subjugation rewards... I didn't expect it to drop zero material items at all."
"Even so, it's a Job and an Equipment Enhancement, so the return is massive... This was totally worth the all-nighter."
It's currently December 16th, 6:30 AM... meaning we fought for pretty much the entire night. Didn't this game have a mechanic where monster strength doesn't really scale with player count? In other words, Tomahawk was the kind of monster that required every single member here fighting non-stop all night just to take down......... Isn't that practically a Raid Boss at this point?
"Speaking of jobs, that reminds me, Survival, your main job isn't 【Avenger】, is it?"
"Yeah, my main is War King now......... Judging by your reaction, you haven't done the job-change quest for the highest-tier class, have you."
Job change......... Ah, that thing about having to defeat something wearing makeup or whatever.
"The highest-tier class for Avengers... Yours was probably 【Sword of the Dead】, right? Just like the 【Sword of Vengeance】 I triggered, it's a job that maintains its main-job effects even when equipped in the sub-job slot."
"Huh, for real?"
The job system in this game is divided into two slots: Main and Sub. Basically, upper-tier jobs and above come with unique skills and perks not found in other classes (for example, acquiring exclusive skills for the Avenger class), and these effects only activate when equipped in the Main slot.
Sub-jobs are, how should I put it......... you basically just get "stat corrections." For instance, even if I equipped the 【Sword Saint】 job in my Sub slot, I wouldn't be able to swing a sword around freely like Psyger-100; at best, it'd just make it easier to learn sword-type skills.
And as for the 【Avenger】 class, unless it's set as your Main, you can't act as an Avenger in the guild. I heard that straight from "The Boss," so there's no mistaking it.
Right now, I've got 【Kick Martial Artist】 equipped in my Sub slot......... but honestly speaking, I'm not particularly attached to this job. The stat correction is a shame to lose, but due to the nature of learning skills by repeating the motions over and over again...... I've pretty much memorized the execution. Right now, I could probably kick a knife and send it flying even without the system assist.
Actually, I realized this while doing it, but the "skill" in the mechanical sense only applies the exact moment you kick the thrown weapon. In other words, throwing it up and waiting for it to fall so you can kick it is entirely within the range of motion assist.
DEX...... don't tell me, were you actually a human-rights-tier stat? No, wait, there are no dead stats in this game; even LUC, which is usually the most neglected, is better off being leveled to 100 just for the guaranteed Endure proc. As for VIT-kun...... uh, sorry. We just weren't meant to be, let's go get revenge on Lycaon together...... Ready, set, DAMN YOU LYCAON.
"You're getting involved in all sorts of Unique stuff, so it's probably bad for you to mess up your priorities. For me, the moment I saw that test for the first time, clearing it instantly became my absolute top priority."
"What does the job entail?"
"It mostly feels like a straight upgrade to Avenger, but it comes with a few conditions......... No, wait."
For some reason, Survival suddenly stopped talking, flashed a wicked, evil grin... and had the nerve to say this.
"That's the kind of thing you should see for yourself, right? Rather than getting spoiled by someone else beforehand."
".........You really just said that."
When he puts it like that, I—the guy who said the exact same thing—have no words to retort.
Well, if the conditions are laid out and there are no restrictions on attempting it, I just need to challenge it and clear it right away. Actually, we've been going on an endless tangent here......... Right, jobs. We were talking about jobs.
The Tenth True Dragon Species, Tomahawk... No, wait, what Half-Body Entrusted with Feelings-kun—who has quite the poemy true name—left behind for us victors wasn't material items......... it was "Rights" and "Changes."
First off, the right to take on a certain job class.
The name is 【True Dragon Destroyer】. It’s a job name that reeks of edgy flavor, but given that the acquisition condition is the subjugation of a True Dragon Species, its performance is incredibly high. Nine times out of ten, it's a hidden highest-tier class.
If I had to describe its performance in a single phrase... maybe "budget Hero"? It's a job that only displays its true value when wielding a certain weapon, and it comes with a rather brutal restriction: if that certain weapon breaks, the job degrades into a mere title. As such, it boasts a strength that easily rivals 【Sword Saint】 or 【Sage】...... and could potentially even match Rei-shi's something-something Dragoon class.
The job requirement is to possess a certain weapon, and this "certain weapon" is something almost guaranteed to be in the possession of any player who participated in the battle. After all.........
"Dragon Destroyer Gear. Sunraku, I am currently intensely moved......... To think it even applies to Divine Age firearms!!"
"Good for you."
"Yahoo!!!"
The sniper rifle gripped by a wildly dancing Yashirobird. As he himself said, the weapon built with Divine Age technology was currently in a rather unique state. The atmosphere typical of a sci-fi civilization was completely gone; it had transformed into a design that looked exactly like......... yes, exactly as if it had been crafted using Tomahawk's materials.
Author's Afterword
True Dragon Species are living creatures yet not living creatures; they are incarnated concepts. That's why it's not "Killing" but "Destruction."
・【Sword of Vengeance】
The "evil" of man can be judged by law and justice. But what is the point of preaching human laws to a beast that is not human? Do you think a starving beast can suppress its instincts through justice?
Therefore, thou shalt be a sword. Let the feelings of the oppressed be thy wielder, and utterly destroy all that is wicked.
In short, it's an Avenger that hunts monsters with high Karma Values. By accepting requests from living victims, it receives a combat buff against the target.
Then what is the "Sword of the Dead"? It is nothing other than the blade that inherits the feelings of those who have passed away.
Coming up soon on June 17th, 2021, the fourth volume of the Shangri-La Frontier manga will be released!
For this special edition, I threw a wildly unreasonable request at my editor, and surprisingly, it came back with a success roll! So, it’s officially themed around the "Cthulhu Mythos TRPG".
I was somewhat into CoC, but this is my first time writing a full-fledged replay, so please go easy on me...... Well, it got long, so I threw another unreasonable request asking if we could split it into upper and lower parts, which has Katarina full of apologies.
Even putting that aside, Fuji-sensei has perfectly rendered the world of ShanFro throughout the entirety of the manga portion, so you absolutely won't regret picking it up.
I highly encourage you to check it out.
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