Chapter 812: December 16th: Ask the Blade. I Myself Will Answer.

Author's Preface

The bro who took 1st place in the Earth Ancient Battlefield individual rankings rushed through the preliminaries while promoting ShanFro for the second year in a row, so here's an update.

---

◆

At a certain Vorpal Bunny's exclusive blacksmith workshop in the Rabbit Palace of Rabituza.

"And so, I beat it. That True Dragon Species thing."

"What the hell's with ya? Every time I bring somethin' up, ya go an' actually pull it off right away..."

"When you're an existence as great as me, the chances come right to you."

Even in an MMO, all the players are basically protagonists, and flags naturally gravitate toward protagonists...... Well, whatever. Here's the main issue.

"I succeeded in defeating the True Dragon Species......... Didn't this fulfill the, uh, condition or whatever?"

"Yeah......... This weapon, Areadbhair, has reached the state where it can undergo the supreme pinnacle... 'Divine Awakening'. All that's left is... whether I can actually pull it off."

"If you're missing somethin', I can go gather it?"

At my words, Bilac let out a low chuckle, sporting a self-deprecating smile.

"I've got the forge, the hammer, an' the anvil......... If there's anythin' lackin', it's just my own skill."

"Then it doesn't look like I need to do anything...... I mean, you've already got enough of that, right?"

"Listen to ya talk......... Geez. Wait two days. I'll have it finished by then."

Two days, huh............ Considering that equipment upgrades usually take about a day at most, this is a pretty long haul. Is it really that massive of a job...... or is it because it doubles as her job promotion? Well, I guess I'll just wait patiently......... Word is they're having a blast with human-on-human infighting back on the Old Continent, but unfortunately, I'm a recluse right now......... Still, I'm free, so maybe I'll go take a little peek if I have the time.

"Oh, an' one more thing."

"Hm?"

"That Imron guy was lookin' for ya."

"Imron was?"

Let's see, Imron, Imron......... Looks like she's logged in according to my friend list. Well, she's a player too, so she probably moves around, but she's basically always in the workshop assigned to her, so I guess I'll go check.

"Got it. I'll go see her after this. Do your best, Bilac."

There was no reply, but the hand firmly gripping the raised hammer was filled with a powerful enthusiasm.

……

…………

………………

At a certain player's exclusive blacksmith workshop in the Rabbit Palace of Rabituza.

"What do you think a gun is?"

"A projectile weapon."

"That's not what I'm asking you."

Then what is it............

A raw tone of voice that completely abandoned any roleplay, and eyes spinning with a glaring intensity...... Faced with a question from a burly old man closing in with eyes resembling those of a Bakumatsu patriot who'd pulled two all-nighters, I half-closed my eyes and put some distance between us. You can't reason with people who have eyes like that, even less so than the guys on the isolated island, because they're basically half-sleepwalking. If you ask them about it later, they'll casually spout things like "I don't have any memories of that time." You'd absolutely need shock therapy—administering Divine Punishment straight to their brains until they remember.

"A gun is...... the history of defeat for blacksmith players."

"Ah, right."

According to her:

Ever since ShanFro's level of realism was discovered, blacksmith players have aimed to manufacture weapons within ShanFro. But when the fact came to light that parts requiring extreme precision couldn't be crafted by the game's systems, blacksmith players attempted to create guns from a different angle. This was the so-called golden age of magic weapons. In short, they tried to attach magic-firing capabilities to other weapons shaped somewhat like guns.

However, another problem occurred here. Forcibly altering the shape too much would ruin it as a functional weapon, which sparked a game of chicken over how close they could get it to the shape of a gun... and how much of its original weapon properties they could retain.

"Ah, wait, wait, wait. I can already see the result, so summarize it for me."

"This right here is the completed form I reached by obtaining Crystal Scorpion series materials, reading the flavor text, and racking my brains! And consolidating all the techniques I acquired while aiming for Ancient Craftsman and Divine Craftsman! Its name is the 'Sword-GunSworded Gun'!!"

"A new weapon category?"

"The weapon category is a dual-wielding one-handed sword."

Should I do a pratfall here? But since Imron—who is supposedly at the very top tier of player blacksmiths—was showing it off with such absolute confidence (even if she seemed to have a few screws loose in her head), it sat upon the anvil with the undeniable presence of a completed product.

Looking at it, I see. It certainly has a grip and a trigger, perfectly matching the unmistakable features of a gun. But the defining feature, or rather, the feature that forces its way into your sight because it makes up over half of the weapon... the bizarre appearance where the entire barrel section of the gun has been wholly replaced with a broad sword blade can only be described as grotesque.

"Didn't you cause a fusion accident?"

Even if you pull the trigger, there's no muzzle for a bullet to shoot out from, and to swing it as a sword, the grip juts out at an angle, making it hard to swing. Even if you insisted it was a kukri, it walks a very fine line.

"Let me ask you this instead, can you use a weapon of this shape as a sword?"

"Well......... Mind if I give it a little swing?"

Getting a gesture of permission to go right ahead, I gave it a test grip. It's heavy, as expected. Less of a gun and more of a sword...... plus it's shaped like a gun, so......... Hm, no, but actually, there's a certain ease of holding it because the grip is gun-shaped...... Also, the trigger guard is quite thick, so if I try hard enough with enough spirit, it's not impossible to do a gun spin...... No, wait, that's a bad idea, that'd just turn into a stupid play where I normally slice my own bicep.

"Looks like you're moving like you can master it."

"Well...... it doesn't seem like it's impossible to use, but......"

"Then there's no problem."

Cut it out with the Bilac logic. There's a difference between heaven and earth when it comes to "not impossible to use" and "easy to use".

"Since you're so confidently declaring it a gun, I assume it's equipped with a shooting capability?"

"Naturally. Since that thing is mostly made from materials I bought from you, I'll give it to you."

"Seriously?"

Ohohoho......... the moment you tell me I get it for free, I suddenly start thinking this is a pretty good item......... A little clumsiness is just part of its charm. Ownership was transferred from Imron to me, and this Sword-Gun officially became my property. Doing a gun spin with a metal hunk easily exceeding several kilograms like a handgun would be impossible in reality, but unfortunately, this is Shangri-La Frontier. The laws of physics never take priority over looking cool...... Twirling my newly received Sword-Gun around, I returned my gaze to Imron.

"But why for free?"

"Because you're going to be my tester and walking billboard, of course."

"Huh?"

"To extensively showcase just how revolutionary, yet traditional of a weapon that Sword-Gun......... the Tradition & Revolution is...... fufufu, just posting screenshots on the BBS won't be enough, you understand, right?"

Is this heading towards me getting an annoying user-quest shoved onto me......?

.

……

…………

………………

At a certain Vorpal Bunny's exclusive blacksmith workshop in the Rabbit Palace of Rabituza......... No, invited into the workshop that could surely be called the very core of Rabituza, I was facing the mastermind—or rather, the master-rabbit—who had invited me, Vysache.

"So ya splendidly defeated the True Dragon Species, huh......"

"Yeah, with my companions... and the help of Ur Idim-shi."

In reality, the decisive weapon Ur Idim was amazing. While we of the human race were playing PvM, Ur Idim-shi alone was playing MvM, or rather, a fighting game. I mean that in the sense that his HP gauge depleted the exact same way the enemy's did.

"The white ruin draws near......... And, you've continued to show yer strength......... Then, I suppose the time has come......"

"The time, you say?"

"Bring out Isana Togetsu."

Isana Togetsu......... Does that mean.

"Now, it's time for Divine Awakening, Sunraku............ You're the one who decides......... Now, the ultimate end of Togetsu......... What will ya choose?"

The enhancement of Togetsu is linked to the Unique Scenario EX "Vorpal Epic". Starting from the original Togetsu, to Isana Togetsu...... it had been stalled for a while, but it seems this is the final save point before the ultimate enhancement. Unfortunately, I have no need for the time to save, log out, and think about it.

I've already decided on the material I'm going to use.

"Aniki......... I'd like you to use this, by all means."

"............Oho? IWe was certain you'd pull out that guy's horn, ya see."

"Up until a little while ago, that was an option. But unfortunately......... I owe a debt."

What I held out. It was neither the horn of the Dragon King ruling the HeavensSiegwurm, nor the material of a monster boasting a massive frame, nor a material from the scorpion series of monsters............ Compared to those radiant candidate materials, it was quite a shabby-looking "fang" dropped by a certain monster.

---

Author's Afterword

Pride dwells precisely in what you can boast about with your chest puffed out.