Chapter 64.1
Translator: Kurehashi Aiko
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Editor: ryunakama
Chapter 64: Momentary Thoughts Part 11 Part 1
Just like that, the next days went by with the same routine for us: farming and getting ready for the Gravekeeper fight, day in and day out . Monday through Friday and on the weekends as well . The days soon started to merge into one convoluted mass, and before we even noticed it, the appointed time was nearly upon us .
Our meeting place was the NPC bar “Snake’s Apple”, like usual . When I once asked Pencilgton why he would choose such a shabby place as a meeting spot, his response consisted of two things: that the food was surprisingly good and filled with rare dishes and that this place accepted the Player Killers as its patrons without any prejudice .
Beginners apparently don’t know about this place at all, and advanced players chose more sophisticated facilities around the city, so it was something of a secret spot, where only those familiar with the name would gather . Katsu seemed to like the place pretty much as well, for he was always ordering cake and eating it like it was some kind of gourmet dish .
「Hmm, oh yes, it’s so sweet!」
「I’m not all that fond of excessive sweetness like that . 」
「Right, right…… I gathered us here this early in the morning only because I wanted to reconfirm our strategy one more time . 」
So we were doing exactly that right now, while every single one of us was munching on something .
「For now, we shall wait here at Thirdrema and head into the Caves at around 11:30…… right?」
「Reaching our destination will take about fifteen minutes, so we shall wait right at the entrance for the right moment . 」
「That’s right, I will go and set some traps ahead of time in case some members of the Ashurkai were going to invade us from the Fiftsia’s side, so I should barely make it in time…… The moment the date changes, it’s the decisive battle for us . 」
Right now we were sitting in a private room that the store’s owner made available to us . It was good, because having a private room eliminated the possibility of some other players trying to invade our meeting or privacy as we waited .
Our leveling up was done . Our skills were combined and organized . Our weapons and armor were renewed and repaired . And while Katsu said that he wished he had more time to prepare, I was pretty much calm and content with what I had .
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And since I’ve done some fighting with the super OP last boss from “Crap”, I was fairly confident that I would be able to read the boss’s movements and attack patterns ahead of time, up to some extent, at least .
Additionally, Katsu finished his leveling up process while farming Destrobsters, since the Sea Serpents stopped satisfying him with the EXP they were giving . I am fairly sure that he managed to train his abilities and skills because of that, but what about my own level? It was as follows:
PN: Sanraku
LV: 53 (15)
Class: Mercenary (Dual Wielding)
Money: 150 Mani
HP: 30
MP: 10
STM: 60
STR: 40
DEX: 50
AGI: 70
TEC: 55
VIT: 20
LUC: 74
Skills:
・ Infinite Slash
・ Drill Piercer
・ Infight Lv . 4
・ Skate Foot
・ Parrying Protection
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・ Hand of Fortune Lv . 3
・ Greater Climbing
・ Climax Boost Lv . 2
・ Five-Fold Jump
・ Sharp Turn
・ Assassin Earring Lv . 5
・ Oppressive Kick Lv . 6
・ Best Step
・ Hunger Wolf
・ Off-road Lv . 2
・ Fatal Sword Art 「Water Mirror Moon」
Equipment:
Left Hand: Empire Bee Sword
Right Hand: Empire Bee Sword
Head: Mask of Bird’s Eye (VIT + 1)
Torso: Curse of Luukan
Waist: Leather Belt (VIT + 19)
Feet: Curse of Luukan
Accessories: None
…… Yes, that’s right! I bought it! That super expensive skill! But I only did that because I was too scared of what would happen to me if I didn’t!
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But it wasn’t all bad! With that, my defenses should be upgraded from paper-thin to cardboard-thin! And cardboard is much sturdier than paper, mind you!
Everything should be fine for as long as I keep my guard up at all times and do my utmost best . For starters, I’m going to go with the Empire Bee Swords, but if the situation proves to be too difficult, I’ll switch them for something else .
「So, what are you going to do for now?」
「I’m going to confirm the locations of the top members of AshurKai for now . 」
「「Uwah . 」」
「I want to know their locations ahead of time . If they are somewhere else, that’s fine with me . But we cannot risk it that they lie in ambush somewhere around our desired route . That way it would be too late for us to stop them if they tried to attack us . 」
So he would want to challenge his whole guild just to clear that one boss? Talk about dedication to the task . Not that I didn’t understand where he was coming from .
「For the time being this is going to be our strategy until we get to the actual boss arena…… Then it shall proceed as planned . 」
「I’m in charge of fighting Gravekeeper himself . 」
「I shall take “KIRIN” on once it appears, and Pencilgton will be our support, right?」
「That’s right . Now, Sanraku-kun, there’s something that I would like to confirm with you . 」
Pencilgton turns to looks at me, while I was busy with stroking my neck out of loneliness, since right now Emul was nowhere to be found on my back .
「First of all, I must ask you to be able to deal with all of Gravekeeper’s skills without being hit once by them . 」
「Seriously?」
「Once the “KIRIN” appears on the stage, you’ll be left with it all on your own . Neither Katsu nor I will be able to assist you since we’ll have our hands full as well . You need to be aware of that . 」
Fumu…… Even if you tell me all that, I won’t be able to know how I’ll behave until the right time actually comes around . But it would be ideal if we were able to go through this fight without wasting our resources for as long as we possibly could .
「That’s why if worst case scenario comes to pass, I’ll have to ask you to become our meat shield . 」
「Leaving the tanking to the guy with cardboard-thin defenses? You sure have some nerve . 」
Apparently gotten used to our comedic duo routine, Pencilgton ignores Katsu’s stingy words, but turns towards him next before long .
「Katsu-kun, there will be more than a few times when you will be left on the brink of death . But I shall support you whenever I have a chance to do so, so rest assured . 」
「…… Oh shit, I knew it would be bad, but for it to be this bad?」
Katsu’s true role begins when the Tactical Warhorse “KIRIN” appears on the stage . Judging by his skills alone, he should be able to do it, but Pencilgton’s words made it sound like it was going to be one hell of a difficult fight, even for a Pro Gamer like him .
「How should I put it…… It’s like, I think it would be best for you to throw away everything you know about horses for now . Better for you to think of it as a heavy truck with four legs . Yeah . 」
「That is certainly quite an image to throw out there, but it works surprisingly well with me for some reason . 」
I let out a small sigh to calm myself down . We were all going against really improbable odds and almost certain death, but neither of us was losing face . Pencilgton and Katsu were even smiling .
「Oh well, I’m a professional gamer . I guess that handling a metal horsie while you play with the main enemy shouldn’t be all that hard . I’d lose face if I didn’t fight it with grace .
「But before anything else, don’t let its hind legs kick you man . That would be painful to watch . 」
「Yeah, of that you can be sure . Ashurkai’s best tanks were all taken out in one hit when the “KIRIN” kicked them like that . 」
「……………」
A smiling Pro Gamer was never a good thing .