ShangriLa Frontier ~ Shitty Games Hunter Challenges Godly Game ~ Chapter 202

Published at 30th of December 2021 09:03:53 AM

Translator: Kurehashi Aiko

Editor: ryunakama

ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 202: Reaching the Heavens Part 8 Part 1

This feels completely different from what I would usually feel after gulping down energy drinks. It feels as though all of my senses have become sharpened…… Or maybe not that. It feels as though my thoughts have become a lot smoother. Yes, right about now I’m feeling as smart as that certain child detective who always arrives at the right conclusion, no matter how much of an ass-pull they may seem to the reader. No matter what kind of mystery stands before me, I am going to lay it all bare right here right now!

「Alright, you’re getting your ass destroyed!」

「Shouldn’t we think about it some more before we do anything rash!?」

It was behind the throne. It was there that our team ‘Mortals’ managed to find the ‘stone’ that the diary of the city’s former ruler was talking about. As for the ruler itself, it was hard to actually figure out if it was a King or the Queen.

I can say with all certainty that my expectation had been betrayed. I was honestly expecting to find some sort of a secret chamber here in the throne room, and what would be inside of that chamber would be a huge chunk human resembling meat, with the look of perpetual agony written all over its deformed face and only being able to whisper “Kill me…… Kill me……” over and over again. Instead, we have found this thing…… just sort of laying there as if it was the most natural thing to do in this situation.

「A humanoid…… crystal?」

「It looks like it could be worth quite a hefty sum of money.」

「…… Akitsu Akane, read the mood for once, why don’t you?」

「Oh, yeah! That’s right! I am so terribly sorry, Rust-san!」

「No, but like, seriously. Can you imagine just how much cash we could receive for a gemstone this big!? It certainly wouldn’t hurt to try!」

OUCH! Don’t just kick my ankles like that all of a sudden, Rust, you bitch! What are you, some kind of a demon or what!?

Shit…… Oh well, doesn’t really matter. What matters here is the fact that this thing is indeed a gemstone, but it has humanoid shape. I don’t know if this is the actual ‘stone’ that the diary was talking about, but it surely looked as though it would fit the description quite nicely. Or at least let’s hope it’s like that……

「Sanraku-san! There is some sort of inscription at the back of the throne! But unfortunately I am unable to read it!」

「Alright, time to find the solution for this mystery! I by solving it I mean smashing it to pieces!」

「Has something happened to Sanraku-san!? His thinking patters became so straightforward all of a sudden that it’s actually disturbing!」

No, you know that I’m right, right? I mean, without a doubt destruction is the simplest and quickest solution to all of your problems. When facing a locked door, it is always the quickest solution to smash it to pieces rather than back away in order to find a key that would unlock it, wherever that key might be. Oh, and there is always an option to just smash through the wall that is right next to the door. A little bit more effort, but it’s quick and efficient all the same. There were even games that were giving you so much freedom to do as you please that you could even reach the last boss inside of the final dungeon that way: smash through the walls and no gimmick would be able to stop you.

「…… I don’t get what’s going on either, but if Sanraku keeps on acting up like that, I will become a huge problem for us. We must keep an eye on him at all times.」

「Aha, Ahahahaha…… But I must say, that is one very well-made crystal, if I do say so myself……」

「………」

This is something that only I, no, only Emul and I know for now. A humanoid figure that looks as if made out of crystal, or strictly speaking –– ghost-looking. …… How could I ever forget such a sight?

As a matter of fact, I have no idea who that crystal was modeled after, but even though the figure was made out of crystal, it was so intricate that it was possible to recognize the style and pattern on the figure’s robes.

(Surely, Setsuna of the Distant Past had the same style of clothing……)

Just who the hell is this person? I know that it could be virtually anyone, but just who is the woman that was the model for this crystal figure? Shit, there is too little information on this subject. Even with my thinking potential fully unlocked for the moment, I cannot seem to arrive at the answer. So I guess that smashing it might be the only solution after all……

「But surely you must all admit that the image in the crystal is quite gorgeous.」

「…… I mean yeah, sure it is. Just look at those eyes. They look like made out of ruby.」

「But isn’t that part here intriguing? It looks like a necklace of some sort, but the center piece looks different. As if there was a diamond stuck in there that did not belong there in the first place. And the way in which it is cut certainly looks different from all the rest…… Hm?」

「………」

「………」

For a moment out there Rust and I just stand there, looking at one another in complete silence. We were just making sure that our minds were being on the same track about this whole situation. Once we confirm that it is indeed like that, we each give a small nod with our heads and start acting without much hesitation.

「…… SOI!」

「SEI……!」

Rust’s two fingers instantly sink into the ruby eyes of the figure, and my fingers aim towards the necklace hanging around the figure’s neck. Both of us just grab the gemstones that were shining brightly in their respective sockets. While everyone present were too shocked by our sudden display of violence to react in any way, we managed to accomplish what we set out to do. That is grabbing the gemstones and pulling them out of the figure.

「Wait, wait, wait, wait just a moment, Rust!? What the hell!?」

「Emm, umm…… Sanraku…… -san?」

「Transferring the right to rule. What is it that makes a king? I mean in a symbolic sense, not political one?」

「…… And it should be obvious, right? This is a game, so it is only natural that the key to unlock some locked doors would not be hidden away in the same place.」

Translator: Kurehashi Aiko

Editor: ryunakama

ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 202: Reaching the Heavens Part 8 Part 2

When you think about the ruler’s job, the first thing that comes to mind after assuming the role for the first time is get yourself familiar with every single bit of information about this castle, the key to Kutanid’s seal, the throne room and all other stuff like that. And perhaps it is just a in-game arrangement, but those gemstones are neither too big nor too small, making you feel as though they would be missing pieces of something else.

「The diary mentions that the transfer of the right to rule this place is connected to the new ruler, the statute and the throne. So if we assume that it is correct to reverse all that, as everything else around here……」

「Ah…… When damaged, the stone shall restore to royal power! The right to rule!」

That’s right, Rei. You even said so yourself not so long ago. That this crown seems way too shabby and that it looks as though you could insert some gemstones into it. No, this thing is practically begging you to do so. The royal gemstones that were once part of the crown are now going to be returned to where they rightfully belong. Awfully clever of them, not gonna lie.

「…… What the, it’s not going in!?」

「…… Sanraku, you seem to be holding it upside down. Gently now…… Muh…… Nhh…… Nh……!」

「Oi, Rust! If you keep forcing it in like that, this poor thing is going to break apart! Are you sure that this thing is really supposed to go in there like that!?」

Eh? Then, what about that place? Nah, this doesn’t fit in, either…… Huh!? What the hell!?

「…… I knew it, destroying this thing is just going to be so much easier.」

「Told you? I told you that’s what we should have done from the start.」

「No, no, no, no, no, no……」

「Me! Let me do it! I’m quite adept at solving various kinds of puzzles, you know!?」

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Akitsu Akane says so, and Rust and I hand both crown and the jewels to him, even though we were obviously really skeptical about all this. Will he really be able to do it? Even with our combined wisdoms (and my energy drink-boosted intellect to boot) we were unable to figure this one out…… Hmm, flipping the jewels upside down and rotating them slightly. Ah! Won’t you look at that! Now it fits like a glove! …… Imagine that.

「I knew it, the thing was just rotated wrong to begin with. I wonder if it was also Kutanid’s fault that the crown and gemstones were misaligned like that?」

「Laugh all you want, Akitsu Akane. This here is the prime example of slapstic comedy. We could not figure this out, and you just got your hands on it and look! All done!」

「…… I feel like I should be proud of myself, but at the same time I feel that I should also feel embarrassed. This feeling is killing me……!」

「Ehhh!? How!? Just when and how did this happen!?」

What is wrong with us, to be unable to solve so simple of a puzzle on our own!? If something like that was enough to defeat us, then at this rate we will crumble to dust on the spot when it comes to Kutanid battle later on. At any rate, the crow was restored to its former form, but does that mean some sort of a change is going to occur?

Looking closely at it, the crown probably used to be golden, but now it was all rusted and overgrown with mold. But waiting a few more seconds, something started to change. The rust started to crumble away, and mold peeled off, and the crown gradually regained its gold luster and shine of the precious gemstones that were implemented in it. Right about now it was truly a symbol of kingship.

「…… I thought that something is supposed to start happening, but I guess nothing for now, huh?」

「So that would mean, we must go back to that place where Kutanid is……?」

「No, before we do that, let us explore this place a little bit more.」

On one hand I want to start the battle while the effect of Revolving Lantern is still active. But on the other hand, I want to collect as much information as possible. So I go around the throne and inspect in closely.

「Hmm……? Could this be……?」

There was something written there in a very intricate style, almost as if it was cursive……

It was at that time that we could feel the whole city shaking to its very foundations. Of course, the epicenter of the tremors must be coming directly from below us, and since because we were all at the epicenter of the shaking, it was so powerful that we all fell down to the ground.

「Judging by the fact that it took this event a while to load, this cannot be anything good!」

「Does that mean we are going straight into the battle against Kutanid!?」

「…… I don’t know, but the possibility of that is really high……!」

While the tremors intensified, we got up on our knees and got our weapons out, keeping them at the ready all the time. However, soon we found out that it was not Kutanid’s fault that the tremors happened, but the space or even reality itself.

When I first saw it, I thought it was a bug or something similar to it. After all, the tremors and the growing noises were affecting everything around us, but not the players or NPCs themselves. But just before I was able to put my increasing worries into words……

「Ha?」

「He?」

「Eh?」

「Wah?」

「Wait…..」

RUMBLE. And just like that, up became down and down became up.

The floor, which used to be right under our feet, right about now was way up in the air, out of our reach. But in exchange, the ceiling got a whole lot closer, making for a good foothold. But the most important thing here is that our bodies follow the basic rules of grativty, meaning we are all going up…… I mean down……

「Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, won’t it be bad if we all fall to our deaths right here right now!?」

「This is bad! This is really bad! At this rate we are all going to die! Oh my God!!!」

No, wait, wait just a moment……! Just wait! Wait and hope! Sure, if it was a shitty game, that would surely be the case that we all fall to our deaths and that’s that! But! But this is a godly game! It is godly, so surely……! Surely everything will be just fine, right? RIGHT!? I mean,

「If we’re really going to fall to our deaths hear, I’m never ever going to do any serious work for the rest of my liiiiiiiiife………!!!」

Mortals. The name might not imply this, but there is an absolute hostility hidden behind it. It bears the hatred of humans who cannot stomach the thought of living under the same stars as the creatures that resemble gods. We are like oil and water, and we shall never get along. However, right about now the concepts of both Heaven and Earth had been turned upside down, at least in this here underwater city.

That is why, our goal here may have happened to become inverted as well. We may no longer aim towards fighting a giant octopus at the bottom of the sea, but rather show to gods that we are strong enough to be able to take the future into our own hands. Which was already one heck of a task, that now has become even more convoluted.

「YOU ENCOUNTER THE UNIQUE MONSTER ‘KUTANID OF THE ABYSS”.」

The Abyss has risen from its depths, forcing us once again to try and reach towards the Heavens.

Chapter end