Chapter 217: Epilogue on the Surface: War Sniffing Beast Part 2

Clans, guilds…… Those are all group activities, not solo ones. No matter how good the players are individually, it will all come to nothing if they cannot work together. Especially since in this game unique events and quest can appear completely out of the blue and without warning.

However, when it comes to Unique Monsters, monsters that are only seven of which in the entire game, there is another layer to that. It should be guilds that take them down and earn glory and respect as a result. To think that individual players were able to snatch that glory for themselves…… it was a sign of disrespect.

Not to mention that some of the “Black Wolves” members felt personally offended by the fact that two of the Unique Monsters were already dispatched without them participating in it. They are one of the most powerful guilds, god damn it…… so for them it was a matter of pride, if nothing else.

“Snake’s Apple”, Fiftsia Branch.

Inside of this establishment that only those who have already forsaken their own taste buds would dare to enter, Arthur Pencilgton was smiling at the announcement that was just made. Behind the counter, there was a familiar face of the barkeep, same to every shop of this franchise in every major city.

I tried to make the story as brief as possible, without giving out too much details. “I didn’t think the two quests would be connected, and before I knew it I was forced to clear them in one go. And without the help of this Maximum Firepower here it wouldn’t be possible. Oh, and I have also pushed forward the quest connected to Luukan.” I’m sure that Pencilgton knew that there was more to the story than just that, but the fact remains unchanged: I have managed to clear one more Unique Scenario EX.

「No, I must say this: things surely must have been rough.」

This is a commonplace occurrence in any world or game that has a ranking system implemented into it. People that tend to stand out too much will always have it rough.

If it was Pencilgton of Saiga-0, things would not be so big or blown out of proportion. It would be nothing all that weird or surprising that the players with a number of achievement on their names managed to add yet another great achievement to their track record.

But Sanraku does not have such track record. If I was doing it alongside Pencilgton and Katsu, I could at least shift the credit onto them and be done with it. But I was unable to do that and now people surely are going to be onto me.

「To me it looks like you’ll have much harder of a time playing the game properly from now on, unless you do something about it.」

「Ahaha, and why do I get the feeling that you are partially to blame for my current predicament, my dear friend?」

「True, true, lately there has been a whole lot of people around me who are making my life a whole lot more difficult…… wouldn’t you say?」

「Oh my, I would very much like to comment on that, but I’m afraid that I’ll have to refrain from doing that. Otherwise I could say something truly rude here.」

However, aside from Pencilgton, there was one more player here sitting with us at the same table.

She was a female player wearing a light armor with a stylish sleevless haoriput on top of it. She would respond to Pencilgton’s thorny remarks with a feminine voice with a slight tinge of masculinity in it, while sipping the contents of her cup.

Apparently, this woman with a long hair tied into ponytail came here to see Pencilgton as well, and the cause of her visit was not pleasant or fun.

「…… So? What is it that you want from me, Kyogoku-chan? Did you perhaps wanted to convince me to inherit the Ashura-kai after that lolicon bailed out on us?」

「I always knew him as a good person, but…… No, no, I would never think that he would abandon us like that.」

「Well, isn’t that actually great for you? I mean, for such a battle maniac such as yourself, this is a perfect opportunity.」

Pencilgton knows perfectly well why that woman came to visit her. This woman was originally a part of the Ashura-kai…… and a member of the guild’s inner faction that more than anything seek out the thrill of battle in this game.

But said group was no more when the Ashura-kai was annihilated, and instead of commiting honorary PKK its leader escaped to the new continent alongside the small group of his trusty followers.

「If you don’t mind me asking, how did you manage to come back here all the way from the new continent? It should have been quite a treacherous voyage.」

「Ahh, you see, I had to cash in a small favor for that…… “Coordinated Transfer Gate”. I had a friend of mine who is also a magician sent me here. I have a favor to ask.」

“Transfer Gate”…… I’ve heard rumors about that spell. It is said to be even higher in the spell hierarchy than “Teleport”, and allows to establish a connecting point between two location that the caster or the one using the gate had previously visited. In a nutshell, it would be nothing more but a fast travel system.

The player magic casters could use it, that’s a given. But apparently nowadays even some of the NPCs were learning how to use it. But more importantly…… what would that favor be?

(What the hell could all of this be about……?)

「Now then, I know that you are a busy woman, Pencilgton, so please allow me to be honest with you and cut straight to the chase.」

「Yes, yes, come right at me, hold nothing back!」

「Fufu…… You guys, sooner or later you are bound to jump at each other’s throats with guild “Black Wolves”, right? If that’s the case, then…… I want you to add me to your guild, your “Wolfgang”.」

That was to be expected. Apparently this girl is totally oblivious to the concept of “Give and Take”, and is going to be satisfied for as long as she is allowed to fight strong players. What a genuine swordswoman she is. Apparently she would propose an invasion on the “Black Wolves” on numerous occasions in the past and would get rejected every single time. So when she heard about a new upcoming guild here, our “Wolfgang”, she returned here and tried her luck one more time.

All so that she could test her skills in battle against the strongest guild in the whole of ShangriLa Frontier. And as long as she could do that, apparently the consequences of her actions were of no concern to her.

「And if I said that you’ve had to get on your knees and kiss my feet for me to agree?」

「Hey, if that’s what gets your boat floating, I’m not going to kink-shame or anything.」

If it was only me and Katsu here, then Pencilgton surely would have exploded with laughter right this instant.

「Right, so does that mean you want Onee-san to dye her name red once more?」

「Ahaha, just so you know, if it’s a one-on-one on the spot, I’m not going to lose.」

She was arrogant for sure, but her personality was not all that bad, to be sure. And that is exactly why this whole situation was truly troublesome.

Their party may have been a bunch of strays and rejects, but it is without a doubt that they were pioneering the harsh environment of the newly opened continent all on their own. And the confirmation of her skills surely lied in that magical number that was right next to her PN: Level 104.

「…… I’d say that there would be no draw if we fight, but I’ll leave it to your imagination for now.」

「Whatever you say.」

「Well, it’s not really something I can decide on my own. After all, we have a democracy here, all three of us. We need to consult the matter first.」

It would surely be nice to have someone on our hands that could equal in strength to Saiga-0, but then a certain thought occurred to me. She may be strong, sure, but she is more like a Joker card, or a ticking time bomb, ready to explode. She could defect from us or backstab us at any moment without hesitation. ……Then another thought occurs to me.

(Thinking about it carefully, she and Pencilgton have so much in common that it is actually frightening.)

I let out a deep sigh…… That is exactly why hanging around Pencilgton will never amount to any good.

Then I see a pair of beast’s ears swaying right in front of me, a small detail about the haori-wearing woman that managed to slip my attention before…… I get a feeling that she’s one of those people who will actually listen to what others have to say, but it would not change the way in which she does things in her own way.

「Oh, and one more thing.」

「There’s more?」

「My name is not Kyogoku.」

The girl shakes her fox ears around, as if trying to underline the importance of that fact.

「My PN is: Kyo Ultimate.」

「It’s a mouthful to say, so I reject it. Also, this helped me to reach a conclusion.」

Needless to say, the offer for her to join us was rejected.