Chapter 58: Momentary Thoughts Part 6 Part 1

「Nice, it’s really nice, something unique like that.」

「Hey, don’t be stupid.」

I introduced Emul to Katsu and explained to him that he came from a unique quest.

Speaking of which, Emul was yet again riding on my back, and I’m starting to think that before long my profession is going to change from that of a Mercenary to Bunny Carrier.

「It’s really nice to have a bunny riding on your back like that. I want a unique companion like that too~.」

「Once you power level long enough its stats are not going to be all that amazing, you know?」

「Becoming strong yourself and finding a strong companion are entirely different things……」

We talked about the merits and demerits of having companions while we walked, and before long we have arrived at our destination. The structure of the ruins was indeed deteriorated and destroyed, with the entrance having that sci-fi feel to it, completely different from what we have seen so far.

There was also a road leading further into the unknown territory. “What would happen if we were to go down that road?” I think about that for a second before looking a little bit further and seeing what was ahead. There was a huge crevice in the earth up ahead, and it would probably be impossible to cross on the other side of the crevice without having to go through the ruins.

This crevice must have been formed a long time ago. And truth be told, I don’t want to think about what kind of creature or event caused it to be formed.

「Right, let’s get inside.」

「Hmm? Ah, yeah, right……」

「You think we have to open the door manually, or are they going to open on their own?」

「Their shape is a little bit peculiar, so I would presume that would be the case. Let’s just get inside for now and see what’s inside. Staying here will get us nowhere.」

「Right after you.」

Together with Katsu and Emul, I stepped through the door to the Ancient Ruins which were abandoned a long time ago and lost its purpose over the years.

「Uwah, it’s amazing! It’s like a completely different game here!」

「Look at that panel! It’s moving on its own!」

「I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before…… Ah, yes, that’s right! It’s similar to the last boss stage from the “Brave Galaxy Fighter!”」

「I don’t believe I’m familiar with that title……」

「A Sci-Fi gacha worldwide phenomenon when it comes to gaming, dude……」

It’s another godly game, so how come he doesn’t know about it? If he really is a pro gamer as he claims to be, he should have known what I was talking about and remember the exact thing in question!

「Ah, that explains a lot. You see, up until now I was mainly playing fantasy games……」

While the black board is passing us by, we whisper to one another like that.

If the whole of ShangriLa Frontier was rooted in the fantasy setting, than this location, the Ancient Ruins, were taken straight out of Science Fantasy.

Judging from the fact that there was also a damaged escalator in here and a staircase leading down, this must have been some sort of an underground facility in the past. A facility that ceased to function long ago.

Various blackboards were flying in the air here, sometimes stopping at particular locations and doing something there, while sometimes hitting the walls aimlessly, as if it wasn’t able to tell that there was an obstacle in its way.

It seems that this area was rather spacious, even though the actual area of exploration was bound to be limited to some point.

This place must have been thought to be made entirely out of metal, but years of desolation made the cracks and holes in its structure, allow rays of sun to shine inside it and various plants and weeds to grow out of the ground and slowly overtake what human hands had made.

「I don’t know about you, but I really like desolate areas like this.」

「Those objects behave in a really strange pattern. Think they are bugged or something?」

「Don’t think too much about it. If we were to do that, we would be here all day.」

「S, Sanraku-san! There’s something there!」

Ah, apparently it’s been such a long time since I was in a party with another player that I got a little bit distracted over there and stopped paying attention to my surroundings.

「Since this is an exploration one, this means it’s either a security drone or an enemy, right?」

As soon as I asked that question, there was a strange object that appeared to be flying right over our heads. It looked similar to the flying boards, but this one was triangular in shape. How should I best describe it? A triangular version of a UFO?

「What do you want to do now, Katsu?」

「Oh, for now, I would like to try taking it on. I would like to gain some experience.」

After saying that, Katsu jumped out right in front of the flying UFO with nothing but his bare fists, and once the UFO spotted him it went straight towards him, all the while rotating at high velocity.

「Its movements seem easy, so it should be good practice, right?」

Next moment, before I noticed anything, the UFO got knocked back from Katsu, as it struck against some sort of invisible wall. Was that Repel Counter? It was the first time for me to see a technique like that.

「Red!」

I don’t know if it was magic or something else…… but Katsu’s fists were wrapped in a bright red aura. Then he leapt towards the downed UFO that had slowly started to get up, and managed to land a perfect uppercut on it, sending it flying high into the air, disposing of it completely.

「Crushing Uppercut!」

「Ohh……」

「W, with one blow……!?」

It wasn’t the uppercut alone. It was clear to me now that this red aura was giving some kind of a buff, and seeing just how powerful that blow was, my money was on the fact that it was boosting the physical strength of the user.

In the end, the triangular UFO disappeared in a shower of red polygons, while Katsu was still standing with his fist raised and the red aura disappearing from it.

「What class are you?」

「A Monk (Apprentice)…… Or just a Monk for short. Instead of fighting with weapons, I’m using various auras to enhance my fists and physical strength. By the way, the stats that I’m currently focused on are both STR and VIT.」

「So it was a Physical Enhancement after all……」

I should have done my research before choosing a profession. It was so cool, fighting with your fists like that.

Also, it was quite fascinating that it was possible to handle monsters like that with your bare fists, without having to rely on weapons at all. I see it was also possible to trigger the enhancements with some short words alone, without actually having to chant long incantations or anything like that.

「But fighting without a weapon comes with its unique set of disadvantages. For example, if the enemy’s armor is too hard, you might end up injuring yourself instead of the enemy.」

「I see, so it’s like that, huh…… By the way, what kind of build would be optimal for you?」

「Probably the same as for any kind of light warrior…… AGI, HP and VIT are the most crucial stats here, because you are often getting hurt pretty bad as a melee fighter.」

That’s a true gamer for you. An optimal build that would allow you to have a high DPS at the same time giving you lots of HP. In other words –– kill before you get killed. It must be nice to have such a clear view on the way in which you want to build your character.

There was of course the risk of dying, but as they say: sometimes offense in the best defense.