Chapter 366 - Thoughts on the Incarnation of Unreasonableness
And then, the next morning arrived.
"—Haaah... ahhh..."
"Are you sleepy...?"
At our meeting spot... or rather, in our new, still-barren clan room that had become our home base, I was greeted with a sharp jab from my partner the moment we met.
Well, it was entirely my fault for letting out a massive yawn right off the bat.
"Haru, you did get a proper night's sleep, didn't you?"
"I did, I did. I got about six hours, for what it's worth..."
Having been warned the day before not to stay up late, it was only natural that I'd get scolded for showing obvious signs of sleep deprivation.
I managed to sleep in the end, but it wasn't a deep sleep, and I certainly didn't wake up feeling refreshed and energetic. I had no right to talk back.
—So, I decided to quickly change the subject.
"I'm more worried about whether our Night-Type Boy will wake up without oversleeping."
"...You've completely labeled Tetra-kun as nocturnal, haven't you, Haru?"
"Come on, Sora-san, have you ever seen him log in before 9 PM?"
"Ah... um..."
Since forming the clan, I've been going to bother him whenever our schedules align and I have free time, but each time he shoos me away with a palpable 'leave me alone' aura.
I go to see him, I try to hang out, and I get turned away. However, if we happen to run into each other by chance, he's sometimes the one to start a conversation.
—He's exactly like a cat. He's practically my cute little brother now, even though he's my senior.
"It'd be nice if the three of us could go on a picnic someday."
"That sounds fun, but it would definitely not be a peaceful outing, would it?"
"He loves poisonous creatures, after all..."
"That's not it. It's because you'd get carried away and cause a huge scene."
"How absurd."
...And so it goes.
At some point, it became a routine for us to start with some random chatter before even saying hello, exchanging words endlessly.
Never tiring of it, we naturally took turns speaking, engaging in a back-and-forth offensive (?), searching for a good moment to break.
And in the end, we both seemed to sense the other's intent and let out a wry smile at the same time—
"Morning, Sora."
"Good morning, Haru."
With our expressions relaxed, we finally exchanged our greetings.
I might be a little sleep-deprived, but my mental condition isn't bad. At the very least, my fighting spirit and energy are more than sufficient.
The day of the decisive battle has finally arrived—let's enjoy it to the fullest.
◇◆◇◆◇
"Alright, I'm only saying this once, so listen up—stop pulling on my 'ears.'"
"Your voice is so low, that's scary."
After meeting up with my partner, we moved locations, arriving just in time for the scheduled meeting.
At the Eastern Round Table, where our nocturnal clan member and the other key players were gathered, I found myself threatening Mi-na in what had become a daily routine.
Of course, she continued to tug relentlessly on my hood. This one's been getting progressively more comfortable around me... my scary face is starting to lose its effect.
"Besides, why does Ri-na-chan get a free pass! What, are you into cool, beautiful girls? Are you a lolicon?"
"I said stop yanking on them! If you were gentle like your partner, I wouldn't be complaining!"
"Ears, cute."
"Why, thank you!"
Ugh, enough already—this is why I was so hesitant!
I just knew they'd turn into some kind of toy, just like this!!
The guys just brushed off the design of my new outfit with a casual, 'That's pretty common in virtual worlds and games,' but the women were not so forgiving.
As expected, it started with pairs like the red and blue duo.
The first time Sora-san saw it, her eyes lit up as she exclaimed, "A rabbit, the ears...!" Kagura-san teased me with an "Oh, how cute." My master and Hinayo-san just smiled and giggled, and when I bumped into Rinne in town, she chased me around demanding, "Let me take a picture!"
To top it all off, for some reason, Alicia gave me a real-life hoodie with rabbit ears as a gift—and I will ab-so-lute-ly never wear it!!
I'm glad it's popular, but I'd appreciate a little consideration when you're messing with me. Is a guy with 'ears' really that unusual?! ...It probably is!
"Hey, kid."
"What is it, General Commander-dono?"
"I don't mind you being relaxed, but make sure you're fired up too, you hear? We're finishing this meeting and moving on to final preparations, pronto."
"I can't shake this feeling that everyone thinks I'm the one instigating all this nonsense...!"
—During the preparation period, I crammed my head with as much information about the 'White Throne' as I could. Going into a fight blind is the 'ultimate delicacy' in gaming, but some opponents just don't play by those rules.
A 'raid boss' is the very embodiment of that principle. It's a massive wall that you can't even hope to contend with unless everyone involved shares information accurately and coordinates closely.
So, this time, I can't just go in with an impromptu charge like I did with Epel, Great Ice Spirit Guardian the other day. Both Sora and I buckled down and did our homework.
However... the thing is, complete information on Tsarkalv of the White Throne doesn't exist anywhere yet. Even after gathering information from the internet and listening to the experiences of those who've actually faced it, like Alicia, it's laughably insufficient.
In the end, all we know for sure are a few of its behavioral patterns and some theories about its abilities.
Since it learns and grows stronger the more you fight it, you can't just casually conduct reconnaissance. And if you try to investigate with a smaller force, you'll be annihilated before you can gather any information—it's truly a 'what are we supposed to do about this' situation.
The top-tier players on the front lines, including Alicia, are all sharp. It's not like they haven't spent years trying various strategies, and if the result of that is the scarce amount of data we have now... then it seems there was truly nothing they could do.
The only path left is to face the unknown, adapt on the fly, and overwhelm it head-on.
That's just fine by me. Ignoring the unreasonable design that kicks the MMO standard of trial-and-error to the curb, I don't dislike tackling hardships in a party.
We can complain about what a terrible game this is after the battle, if by some chance we are defeated and have to hold a commiseration party in despair.
Now, about the abilities of this incarnation of unreasonableness, the 'Colored Monster'... as has been mentioned many times, the 'White Throne' we're facing has powers related to 'space.'
Namely, teleportation—the biggest raid gimmick and the worst obstacle: a field-wide forced teleportation shuffle that activates every one hundred seconds.
What's so insane about this is that it basically makes formations meaningless, to the point where it's impossible to even form one in the first place.
The vanguard forms a wall, the rear guard provides fire support and healing, and the skirmishers adjust the battle situation as needed. This basic strategy for large-scale battles is completely unusable.
Proper coordination is almost impossible.
When I heard that, I couldn't help but give a wry laugh.
Even for a group of combat junkies who are naturally inclined to fight individually, this was part of the reason our faction, Istia, placed such an excessive emphasis on 'individual combat strength.'
What's required is, precisely, the skill to survive as long as possible on your own.
Even for a healer who would normally never have to consider fighting alone—they could be summoned right in front of the monster, without any say in the matter.
This is getting long, so I'm splitting it into two parts. I'll post another one tonight.