Chapter 889: December 20th: Their Holy Sword, Our Great Deed
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Exordinary Skill "Deadly Decapitation Technique".
It is a skill acquirable by defeating the Exordinary Monster, the Eidolon Wolf "Three-Headed Fierce Mimic".
At first glance, the Eidolon Wolf appears to be a normal wolf-like monster, but as a special action, it can manifest another "head" like a physical-interfering spirit... an ectoplasmic head, so to speak, allowing it to practically conduct multiple hunting despite being a single beast.
As an Exordinary Monster, the "Three-Headed Fierce Mimic" stays true to its name—it manifests two of those ectoplasmic "heads" instead of the usual one, conducting attacks with a total of three heads including its main body.
To quickly (meaning in a short period of time, in this case) become strong in ShanFro, Garunose intentionally did not choose Unique Scenarios.
Scraping together information from viewers, strategy wikis, and even anonymous BBS boards from every conceivable place, his targets were Exordinary Monsters and the Exordinary Skills acquirable by defeating them.
(It's undeniably strong, but......)
The effect of "Deadly Decapitation Technique" creates additional attack hitboxes that follow the user's weapon... spawning two ectoplasmic "weapons." While they cannot be controlled freely like the Sword Saint's Subordinate Swordplay, these two "weapons" trace the exact same trajectory as the original movement a single tempo later. Simply put, it functions as a three-hit combo; even if that fails, those follow-up strikes serve as insurance even if the main blow misses.
However, those numerous advantages are predicated on the opponent engaging in close-quarters combat. If the opponent dedicates themselves to long-range tactics, Deadly Decapitation Technique becomes a complete waste of a shot.
Holding a mace instead of a handaxe, Garunose nonetheless raised his level of vigilance.
(The other side went along with close-quarters combat......... that much is fine.)
However, the weapon he chose to use was a sword, likely "Sunraku's" main weapon type. And to top it off, it was a type of weapon Garunose had never seen before.
Shangri-La Frontier is a game with a world setting that incorporates both fantasy and sci-fi. Therefore, it's perfectly normal for sci-fi weapons to transform. But for a fantasy-side weapon to exhibit somewhat sci-fi-esque behavior is a characteristic well worth being wary of.
(In ShanFro, weapons take on elaborate performance…… and appearance, proportionate to the resources invested in crafting them.)
The rugged, pitch-black mace Garunose is currently gripping is a bit special, but fundamentally, there is a clear difference in aura between a longsword obtainable in Firstia and one crafted from ores found only in areas teeming with powerful monsters. No matter how much you try to dress it up, you can never reduce the impression of "something incredible" to zero.
In contrast, that sword. Without the slightest pretense, a sword with a blazing form as if to declare it has nothing to be ashamed of in its golden brilliance, the peculiar sword that "sucks up ore to form a blade".
(I don't know if he's going all out, but......... it's safe to assume he's getting serious.)
His armaments up to this point were by no means half-baked, but that thing is on a different level. It's a paradox where, despite this being a grand stage, it makes you feel like "he shouldn't be bringing that out." It's like taking a treasured sword with way too much value as a work of art out of its glass case and swinging it around.
That impression is probably not wrong. That sword is............ a weapon sitting at the absolute cutting edge of the service known as Shangri-La Frontier.
(.........In that case, we're even.)
Which is exactly why Garunose smiled.
The absolute cutting edge in Shangri-La Frontier... or, to put it another way, the Final Destination.
Garunose and Sunraku are standing on equal footing.
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The Imperial Gold Sword is a sword forged from the Scorpion Emperor who reigned upon the crystal throne in this land... just above us, lower than the sky yet radiating a brilliance that rivals the starry sky. In a way, doesn't it feel like I'm parading around triumphantly with just his head? I thought about that, but it's a bit late for that now. Besides, that scorpion and I are best buddies so he'll probably forgive me; either way, he's getting badminton'd (verb), so it doesn't make much difference.
Devouring ores that Crystal Scorpions shouldn't be able to eat, the Emperor of the scorpions forged his imperial sword. The brilliance of this sword, packed generously with those materials, is a gold similar to the Holy Sword Excalibur wielded by Psyger-100. I mean, I did use materials from Hero Weapon-related quests in it anyway......... but this is no sword of man.
It's merely been shaped into a form a human can handle; its true essence isn't meant for humanity, but for the Crystal Scorpions......... it is likely their holy sword.
"That being said........."
That bastard......... did he think I wouldn't notice him switching weapons in the confusion of my Imperial Gold Sword reveal? Sneakily swapping it out behind the shadow of his tower shield is classic PvP behavior; it seriously hurts when someone pulls that off mid-combat.
In Garunose's hand, the handaxe that had threatened my life multiple times just moments ago has changed into a different weapon. A pitch-black......... mace, is it? It's probably a club or something of that sort, but............ it's suuuuper suspicious.
Garunose—I don't know his ShanFro playtime history. Therefore, I can't tell if he's a veteran from the service's launch or if he power-leveled to the bare minimum via a super-rushed grind.
But the one thing I can say is that his stats, equipment, and positioning are perfectly tuned for ShanFro PvP. At the very least, he's gathered enough resources to be at a level where he can cross blades with me, someone currently hitting the level cap ceiling.
He rivals the Sword Saint of the Holy Sword, Psyger-100—no, in terms of sheer "hardness", he's likely above her. For a guy like that to smoothly swap his weapon in response to my performance......... there's something going on. If I were still wearing the Maid Outfit, I could understand switching to a blunt weapon, but right now, a direct hit is fatal whether it's blunt or slashing damage.
In that case, there are two possible conclusions.
He either absolutely needs that specific weapon type, or he absolutely needs that specific weapon.
And he's even cloaked it in some suspicious-looking skill effects to boot............
"Alright,"
Guess I'll force a bit of a matchup game onto him. Don't call me unfair; it's precisely because I rate him highly that I'm unleashing this......... though in PvP, this is genuinely unfair.
I push forward my right half connected to my right arm holding the Imperial Gold Sword, angling my body to hide my left half... and the left arm extending from it, from Garunose's view.
Then I repeatedly open and close my left hand lightly, beckoning. This is a sign—an order for delivery. Catching the sound of a medal-like disc appearing around my left wrist through Inventoria, I fix my gaze firmly on Garunose.
"Round two."
Author's Afterword
A mace that looks as if an originally existing weapon was later painted entirely pitch black... What on earth could it be.........
The manga version of Shangri-La Frontier goes on sale October 17th!
As expected, writing an afterword every day leaves me with nothing left to write about.
The manga is on the 17th! The anime is on the 1st! The 1st, I tell you!! Are you prepared!?
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