Chapter 33 - Racing Across the Sand Plains, Gazing into the Distance
"Right then…"
Today marks exactly one week since my Arcadia debut. Although I'm saddled with a task with no clear end in sight, I'm personally starting to feel quite accustomed to the virtual world.
The current time is just before four in the morning. I woke up suddenly and decided to move from my bed to my [Arcadia] rig to get a second round of sleep, but… as expected of an online game, there are a fair number of players around even at this hour.
I haven't changed any settings, so I'm in the plaza that serves as the familiar login and respawn point. Leaning against the edge of the landmark fountain, I'm having a staring contest with my status screen.
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◇Status◇ Name: Haru Lv: 44 (10)
STR: 30
AGI: 280
DEX: 150
VIT: 5
MID: 5
LUC: 10
◇Skill◇
・All-Weapon Aptitude
[Quick Change]
[Piercing Dart]
・Embodied Protection
・Heavy Attack Manipulator
・Accel Tempo
・Boar's Heart
・Acrobatics
・Jumble Step
・Carry Running
――――――――――――――――――
My leveling pace has slowed a bit after hitting 40, but it's still brisk. My stats are growing steadily—or rather, my AGI has completely transcended human limits and is now in the realm of monsters.
From my research, the recommended AGI for the popular light warrior build is around 200. That means that at less than half the level cap of 100, I've already soared past that mark with ease.
Apparently, the currently fastest light warrior—a dagger user by the name of Hayagake, I think—has a public status of 350 AGI. If I dump my saved points, I'll catch up to him in just six more levels.
I've learned that you can get status points outside of leveling up (the mysterious points from before were a bonus for encountering the 'White Throne'), but the base amount is still 1000 points from 10 points per 100 levels.
Furthermore, if you're going to invest in AGI, you need a corresponding amount in DEX. Without the Acrobatics-type skills, that alone would eat up as much as seventy percent of your points… Considering that, it makes sense that this is about as fast as one can get.
So, what does all that speed actually get you? Well, just imagine one of those super-fast fight scenes you see in anime. The kind where you have to watch a slow-motion, frame-by-frame replay on a video site just to figure out what's happening—that's exactly the level I'm talking about.
My top speed during a full sprint easily surpasses a sports car. From the moment I start, the surrounding scenery blurs into lines, and my tiny 60kg body kicks up a gale-force wind as a matter of course.
To be honest, I'm already reaching my limit. And by limit, I mean my reaction time can't keep up with my own speed. No matter how fast my body accelerates, my thought speed remains normal… In other words, the software can't keep up with the hardware.
I've heard that a ridiculous thing called a 'Thought Acceleration Skill' exists, but a quick glance told me it's impossible to obtain through targeted effort, so I can't rely on it as a solution.
It doesn't have a thought acceleration effect, but man, am I envious of Sora's [Observing Eye]… It's a long-range exclusive, so it'd be useless to me, but if a close-range version exists, I'd give anything for it.
I don't know if Sora-san is aware of this, but [Observing Eye] isn't listed in the strategy site's database—which means, unless there are others who are keeping it secret, it's a unique skill only she possesses.
Her [Spectate Ale] turned out to be unique, too. Just who is that girl?
Feeling jealous, I looked up my own skills, but every single one of them was already known. I had a sliver of hope for the mysterious [Embodied Protection], but while the acquisition conditions are unconfirmed, it seems multiple people have it.
Well, if unique skills were that easy to come by, it would make the 'unique' part a joke, right? No, I'm not, I'm not bitter at all, not one bit…
"Haaah… Time to grind some levels."
The best way to deal with things that might kill my motivation is to just ignore them. It's not like I need a unique skill anyway; my build itself is already on the fast track to becoming a rare specimen. I'll just shut out the noise and keep running.
◇◆◇◆◇
—The fourth area, the [Great Flowing Sand Cavern], could be described in a single phrase as a "stupidly huge circular dome (of sand)."
It's a massive, perfectly round cavern where all the walls and the ceiling are made of sandstone. There are no obstacles to serve as partitions, allowing for a clear view from one end of the area to the other.
I've never seen a real desert, so I can't be sure, but I imagine it's something like this. The entire ground is soft sand, making it impossible to get a firm footing. It's a tricky environment where anyone with mediocre agility will have their legs mercilessly stolen from them.
This ridiculously simple layout of the [Great Flowing Sand Cavern] has, of course, a notable peculiarity—its size.
It's so vast that trying to compare it to anything feels absurd. I've heard that it takes an agility-focused player half a day to run a full circle along the outer wall. In fact, it takes several hours just to reach the wall from the initial spawn point. The scale is just insane.
"As always, the sense of perspective has completely clocked out for the day…"
As usual, players who visit the area using a transfer gate are dropped into a random location in this canopied desert. More specifically, somewhere on the circumference of a circle a certain distance from the area's center.
This is my third time visiting this area. Its unchanging majesty assaults me with a sense of vertigo every time.
The atmosphere is completely different, but in terms of scale, it might be similar to the great crater where that 'White' thing resides—including the fact that there's something bizarre in the center.
In this great cavern, devoid of any other objects, it serves as the sole landmark and the goal players must aim for.
—A torrent of sand that falls and rises. There is no other way to describe the mysterious sight. As a simple visual, it's a giant tower of sand rising in the center of the area. But it's not made of sandstone; it's a circular wall of constantly churning, flowing sand.
It's not pouring from a gap in the canopy, nor is it erupting from the ground. It's simply a waterfall of sand, perpetually flowing between the floor and ceiling of the great cavern… a truly fantastical sight.
As you'd expect, the area's boss resides within it, but I have no plans to challenge it for a while.
—To be frank, I've already tried it solo, but for various reasons, I've determined that it's 100% impossible for me to clear alone. So for now, I'm waiting for Sora's training to bear fruit.
Man, after the boss fight on the cliff, I was feeling pretty full of myself, but to be stopped so cleanly in the very next area… I'm half pleased, half embarrassed.
"Alright, I'm counting on you today, partner."
Shaking off the daze that threatened to consume me in this strange space, I summoned to my left hand a one-of-a-kind blade, mine alone in this entire server.
Its name is the [White-Flawed Straight Sword]—my own personal weapon, bestowed upon me by old man Halzen on the evening of the day I started training with Sora.
Its overall color is a dull gray, its blade slightly slimmer than a standard straight sword. What's distinctive is that the parts corresponding to the guard, ridge, and knuckle guard are almost nonexistent. The only thing separating the blade from the hilt is a diamond-shaped bulge.
And the remnant of 'White' inherited from the pickaxe that formed its core clearly stains the tip of the sword.
Its stats, of course, surpass store-bought items in every respect, and as proof that it was tailored for me, it even comes with its own special abilities.
This is truly my blade and mine alone. Apparently, all players get a quest to obtain such an item, and by completing their respective tasks, they are given "equipment suited to their personal playstyle."
Players call them various things, like unique or growth equipment, but the official term is 'Anima.' Mine is a straight sword, but the categories are apparently limitless, ranging from weapons to armor and accessories.
…All these details, I ended up having to look up myself with the power of the internet. That muscle-bound old man literally just said, "It's done," and handed it over without a single word of explanation.
'Anima,' as they're also called 'growth equipment,' are special items that grow and evolve as the player uses them to a certain standard.
For each milestone enhancement, you need to rely on the production class NPC from whom you received the quest. In other words, I'm now destined to have a long and prosperous relationship with the old man… Man, the future looks bleak.
"I swear I'll get you back for this someday… Now then."
Sora should be logging in around noon today. Until then, I'll focus on my own task and devote myself to hunting.
The mobs that inhabit this canopied desert don't wander around in plain sight on the sand's surface. As far as I've seen, there are two types, large and small, and both basically lie in wait under the sand.
In terms of ambush tactics, it's similar to the [Rocky Wasteland] two areas ago, but these guys are more aggressive in many ways, so greater caution is needed.
What you have to watch out for is sound—the creatures in this area will swarm towards the sound of footsteps of prey walking on the sand. In other words, if you want a peaceful journey, the standard procedure is to refrain from running, though you don't have to tiptoe.
But my objective is to hunt—so I should do the opposite.
"Alright, let's get this party started—LET'S PARTY!"
A vast expanse of sand? Can't get a good footing? I'm a human machine that can exceed 200 km/h. Don't think for a second that something like this can catch legs that can cover 50 meters in one second flat.
My extraordinary leg strength is less like "running" and more like "leaping." My AGI, [Acrobatics], and [Jumble Step]—with all my mobility skills ignited at once, the sand beneath my feet explodes with a tremendous roar.
In that instant,
"——————————————————!!!"
An indescribable roar announced its presence as it appeared, surrounding the epicenter of the sound. The main enemy of the [Great Flowing Sand Cavern] boasts a body larger—no, longer—than any monster I've encountered so far.
Its head has a peculiar design, a mix of eeriness and foolishness, somewhat reminiscent of a moray eel. Its body is also much like an eel's, its width uniform from head to tail, swimming freely through the sea of sand as if it were water, thanks to some mysterious power.
What differentiates it from a real moray eel is its dark red color, like clotted blood, and the large forelegs that seem to be a bizarre evolution of pectoral fins. In addition, there are organs of unknown detail, whether ears or gills, sprouting from the sides of its head.
Commonly known as the 'Desert Moray'—its official name is the [Desert Serpent]. It's an oversized mob enemy, over 20 meters long.
That's right, a mob enemy. Now, let's list one characteristic of mob enemies in games. To put it simply—there are a lot of them.
"Three, four… six—Bring it on!!"
As I ran in a circle, careful not to stray too far from the epicenter, a series of identical roars echoed around me.
There were six of them. The giant red bodies that burst onto the sand at roughly equal intervals formed a kill circle, as if pinpointing the fool who had stumbled into their feeding ground—except this prey was running around at an insane speed and was equipped with sharp fangs and claws of its own.
They had already pinpointed my location the moment I made the loud noise. The [Desert Serpents] rushed straight towards me, competing for the right to devour their prey—I targeted the one that had lunged ahead of the others, kicked off the sand, and made a sharp turn.
There are a huge number of these things scattered throughout the desert, but their total numbers and spawn points are properly regulated.
As you can easily guess from their equidistant spawn points, they each have their own territory.
Unless you do something like I did and deliberately spread noise over a wide area, they won't even react to the sounds of battle if you're careful to keep them within their spawn points. In other words, defeating them one by one isn't supposed to be difficult.
However, once you've stirred them up like this, they have a habit of relentlessly pursuing their target until it's dead or in their stomachs. Their stats are fairly tough, and their attack power is as high as their massive scale suggests, so they could be considered something of a mini-boss, despite being a common mob.
In summary: they give good experience like a mini-boss, have fixed spawn points, are easy to pull with just a little noise due to their vast numbers, and will chase you to the ends of the earth—in other words, they're perfect for train hunting.
The only drawbacks are that you need legs fast enough to kite them around on the sand with room to spare, and if you screw up and get hit, you'll be instantly crushed by a tsunami of moray eels. Plus, you have to endure the psychologically damaging situation of being endlessly chased by a swarm of giant, gross-looking fish-things, which could be traumatizing for some.
But for a slightly unhinged player who can overcome all that—
"It's the best leveling spot in the game!!"
At the moment of intersection, I kicked the snout of the moray that was gleefully opening its mouth to welcome the prey that had jumped right in, maintaining my sprinting momentum to dodge and disengage at the same time.
I broke through their encirclement and continued to kick up sand without a shred of hesitation. And ahead of me—more roars.
The predators reacted one after another to the bait (me) forcing a one-man crossing of the desert, and in an instant, a red tsunami erupted across the sands.
Anyone who didn't know better and saw this would undoubtedly think I was a suicidal maniac who had lost his mind. To be honest, even I have to admit that looking back at the great tsunami closing in behind me makes me seriously question the state of the screws in my own head.
But the answer to whether or not this rampage is even possible has already been given—no-damage clear, easy. Bring it on!!!
"Shaaa! Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
The number of them was impossible to count. The waves of eels were so tangled that it was difficult to even trace the outline of a single one. Confirming the chaotic mass, I kicked up a huge spray of sand and made a ninety-degree turn.
I gripped my partner, the straight sword, tightly and let out a spirited war cry—then leaped into the kill zone without a moment's hesitation.
In that instant, I was met with a wall of gaping maws, jaws, fins, mouths, tails, fins, tails, tails, bodies, mouths, tails, bodies, bodies, bodies, tails, mouths, mouths, mouths, mouths, mouths, mouths, mouths, mouths, mouths, mouths——————
Honestly, when you throw yourself into a kill zone of this level, your normal thought processes can't keep up at all.
If you leisurely think, An attack is coming, I should dodge, you're already dead in that instant. I don't know anything about reaching a state of serene clarity, but this jumble of thoughts that are just pretending to think are all after-the-fact—from the perspective of my delayed consciousness, my reflexive combat actions feel like they're being performed by someone else.
I slipped past a mouth coming from the front, used the descending tail as a foothold to evade the log-like body of another coming from behind, then jumped. At the same time, I deliberately dove into one of three massive jaws that were snapping at me, deployed a great axe inside its mouth before it could chew, and tore its head to shreds from the inside. The eel exploded into a burst of phosphorescence, and as I was thrown into the air, a number of mouths twice as large as before relentlessly closed in—
"Hah."
I don't even know what's so funny. The smile that spread across my face was completely unconscious, but my delayed thoughts, observing the scene as if from an outside perspective, were laughing hysterically while being completely creeped out by the sight of myself smiling eerily in the middle of this hellscape.
—This is fun, ahhh, this is so much fun!!
I have to admit it. At least, within [Arcadia], I am undoubtedly insane.
My actions, my mentality, my excitement—all of it. Every single part of me is probably far from normal.
And that—ah, that fact is so unbearably, maddeningly joyful.
The realization that in this world I've dreamed of and yearned for, I might not be normal, is so fantastically amusing that I can't help but laugh from the bottom of my stomach.
I decided I would give it my all.
I decided I would enjoy it to the fullest.
I decided I would fight with everything I had.
I decided I would adventure with all my might.
And now, I've made a new decision. I'm going to go as far as I possibly can.
Being three years late, the veteran players, none of that matters. With these legs that have captured speed itself, I'll race to the front lines on an express train—!!
And to start,
"—You blockheaded fish-things, turn into experience points for me, all of you!!!"
For now, I'll set my sights on hitting the level cap and getting out of this beginner area as fast as I can!!
The great axe danced wildly, the great iron mass struck with crushing force, and countless sword flashes flew through the air, while the wielder himself darted about in the sky.
The heavy thuds and roars of the giant bodies intertwined, soon turning to screams—and from the red tsunami of the desert, blue phosphorescence continued to erupt like a fountain.