Chapter 879: December 20th: No Sunlight, Thus the Moonlight Tempts the Mind
Author's Preface
I cleared FF16. It was a good game, but when recommending it to others, the high probability of having to recommend a PS5 along with it makes the difficulty level too high.
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The formidable foe I finally brought down after a battle to the death, Draculus Dinocerberus "Scar-red". When it came time to use the materials that guy brought me, I suddenly found myself troubled.
It had a history of being born from the absurdly stupid move of bringing a Special Individual "Scar" into a Raid Monster battle, and then fully healing it when it was ninety percent dead... In a way, it's an entity that makes you wonder "will this guy ever respawn?" even more so than Unique Monsters.
Turning such a guy's materials into weapons or armor that have the possibility of breaking or being lost felt a little......... no, extremely risky.
At that moment, I came up with a nice idea.
───Come to think of it, if I make it into an accessory, it won't break, right?
When a good idea strikes, act on it. Fortunately, I know plenty of people who are good at making accessories. Ultimately, I had Bilac make them while telling her, "This is training, this is training, too"... and what she finished were these accessories.
First, the great lower jaw of "Scar-red", a Scorching-Breath Fang capable of withstanding a torrential flow of scorching heat. Dread Dragon-King Armor: Cardinal Jaw.
I used it when I fought against the True Dragon as well; while equipped, it converts breath-type skills or magic into flames. I can burn people with a sigh. As for what happens if I scream, I'll definitely have him taste it firsthand.
Second, the great calamitous claws of "Scar-red", Quad-Limb Claw that tear flesh and blood and sever bones. Dread Dragon-King Armor: Charging Claws.
The strong do not clench their fists. I'll demonstrate the reason why on Garunose.
Third, the great flexible tail of "Scar-red", the Dragon-Spine Frame that supported the terrifying dragon's three heads. Dread Dragon-King Armor: Resolute Tail.
To reclaim what humans lost through evolution, in a much stronger form. As for its strength... sorry, but I'll be testing it on him.
A bone lower jaw, bone claws, and a spine with a bone tail extending from it. The full trio assembled, the 'Scar-red' Custom! Except for the fact that it makes me look completely like the type of barbarian who decorates themselves with the bones of hunted prey, it's an accessory combo that enables an unprecedented status boost "without using armor slots."
And then, on top of looking completely like a barbarian, because I went and equipped the reward for defeating the Urtext of the Orchestra of the Reverberating Nether......... Reverberating Nether True Canon: Migratory Bird............ my head, which is a pretty important factor for identifying a person as human, has completely turned into a monster.
"Well, margin of error, margin of error..."
I'm just a tiny bit separated from humanity; if I were a bit bigger, I'd completely be that kind of boss monster, though.
"Now then, since the boss of the streamers who carried a massive portable shrine for the New King faction has graciously come all this way, I ought to interview him a little, shouldn't I?"
"...Are you buying time until the event ends?"
"The trend is already set, right? Then I don't mind wrapping this up quickly... To begin with, why did you side with the New King? Even though he has the air of an antagonist from head to tail."
At least from what I know, he's a guy who tried to stage an unfortunate accident for a father and daughter on the New Continent, and he's a stereotypical villain talking about expelling the demi-humans of the New Continent.
Honestly, even taking into account the future prospects of the game ShanFro, I think he's the type of guy we shouldn't let win, but...
"...I already talked about that in my video, though. The only reason we sided with the New King is simply because, if we didn't, it wouldn't be balanced as a PvP event. ShanFro's very first faction war... a one-sided trampling wouldn't be any fun."
I see... That's a convincing reason. The streamers probably didn't anticipate it either, but considering that Raid Monsters launched attacks on both factions the moment the event started, the Royal Capital might have been turned into a vacant lot at worst.
Joining the "enemy side" to balance the military power... Yep, there's nothing strange about that.
"Is that all you wanted to ask?"
"No, one more thing... I hosted this Infinite Kumite pretty spontaneously, but how did you find out about it?"
"...It was a coincidence. You were holding it right on my path, so it was a situation where I couldn't ignore it. If you want, you can just check my archive later."
"Huuuh........."
He doesn't seem to be lying.
Which means,
"If you hadn't coincidentally taken a detour here, you had something to do that required you to be in full gear."
"...!"
"Anyone can see that your side is fighting a losing battle. And under this trash rule where you scatter all your equipment on the spot if you die, a streamer who could easily be ghosted just by walking around? Decked out in gear that clearly cost a lot of time and money......... You actually came here fully intending to turn the tables, didn't you?"
For an instant, just a single instant, Garunose's eyebrow twitched. Honestly, I thought he was just doing this out of a nihilistic devil-may-care recklessness, but did he really have a chance of winning? If so, he became an opponent I absolutely had to stop right here, more than just a mere kumite challenger...
"You're not entirely right... but you're not far off. It's true that in terms of a 'turf war', the New King faction is almost guaranteed to lose. But there's another one, isn't there? One more victory condition........."
He's right. This event is a turf war between thousands, tens of thousands, or perhaps even more players.
However, if you're determined, there is exactly one way to win with just a few people. That is...
"Assassinating the enemy faction's VIPs...!"
"Exactly. It's a much more meaningful futile struggle than just getting your affairs in order for a lost war, don't you think?"
It'd be a nightmare if they managed to stop our hearts while flailing around... but Garunose's equipment clearly has the air of 'serious gear'.
In this game, it's obvious, but the more effort an equipment takes, the more intricate its details are, so you can judge it to some extent just by its appearance without checking the stats.
It's not the kind of equipment you bring to a losing battle. Even assuming he's prepared to lose it, he probably isn't planning on letting it go after being beaten to a pulp.
"A comeback victory by assassinating the Former King and the Princess......... Gets you fired up, right?"
"So you feel like a Hero?"
Who was it that said 'Heroes are ultimately just assassins'? Was it Pencilgon? Then it must be wrong... ethically speaking.
But an assassination, huh... The King and the Princess... I see, an assassination.........
An unavoidable sacrifice.........
"Hah!"
N-No good! My thoughts are heading in a bad direction!!
Author's Afterword
A work where the protagonist has a sudden moment of temptation, thinking, "During an event like the Kingdom Turmoil where the loss of NPCs is treated as unavoidable to some extent, if an NPC whose face makes my stomach turn were to unavoidably disappear, wouldn't that be fine?"
By registering images to a site called Mitemin, Shousetsuka ni Narou allows you to attach images in the afterword or main story like this. But when I looked recently, the last image I registered was for Volume 11. So I thought, 'What about 12 and 13...?' and realized I hadn't updated it.
I can only feel ashamed of my inadequacy............ And so, this is a promotion for Volume 14. As you can tell by looking at the cover, the kind of scumbag you really shouldn't be promoting is running rampant. I asked multiple times, "Is it really okay to release this undiluted?" but Editor-shi just laughed and gave the go-ahead, and the Great Mage Fuji-sensei concentrated the undiluted solution even further. There is room for consideration as to whether Katarina is the only sane one, or if Katarina is the only soft one, but since it's already out in the world, I have no choice but to push through with this Pencilgon-infused No Name.
Yes, it's exactly like an overpowered card that you know is going to break the meta, but you can't change the text now, so it gets released as is......... If you want to hold a grudge, you have no choice but to use a time machine and punch the past me who came up with the text.
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