kscans

Chapter 537 - Four Days Prior

"—And so, Sora. I need to borrow your partner for a little while."

It all began on the fourth day of our trip. The day after the news of Hayagake-san's second conquest of the [Spiral Crimson Tower] arrived, in the early afternoon.

With yesterday's news still fresh, the topic of 'unconquered dungeons' came up again, and Ashe was giving us all the details during our relaxing post-lunch chat.

…However, her conclusion to that talk was an abrupt request to rent me.

Naturally, Sora-san and I were left dumbfounded. And the only one unfazed was Nia-chan, sleeping soundly right next to us.

Look at that blissful sleeping face.

"Um, well…"

"I don't really understand the 'and so' part of that…"

There was no preamble, and the context had been kicked to the curb and left crying.

I hate to say it while she's tilting her head as if to say, "Did I say something strange?" but the proper reaction here belongs to us, the bewildered ones, Your Highness.

"Well, I get the gist of the conversation—though it was completely disconnected. You're saying you got inspired and want to challenge the remaining two unconquered dungeons, right?"

"Yes. The sparring one."

"The [Shadow-Infested Arena], huh… If it's that one, then I'm totally on board."

As for the other one with the ridiculous nickname, I'd rather not for personal reasons, but I am interested in facing a ridiculously strong, balance-breaking boss.

If she's inviting me, my answer is nothing but 'yes'—however.

"Um… I have no problem lending you Haru, but…"

"So you have no problem with it."

"W-What's that supposed to mean? It's not the kind of problem where it would be bad if I did have a problem with it, so please don't make that weird face…!"

Sora-san, who I had casually interrupted, glanced at me and went through about six different expressions in the span of a moment.

I'm not sure what she read into my reaction, but the young girl who went from surprised to looking unexpectedly fidgety and so on, before finally settling on a pouting face, was incredibly cute. I'm glad she's been showing more of her age-appropriate reactions lately.

—And as I looked at her with a fond smile, she narrowed her eyes in displeasure.

"…Well, if Haru wants me to stop hiding my possessiveness, then I have no intention of being a 'good girl' either. Which do you prefer—"

"Alright, let's hear the rest of what you were saying after 'I have no problem with it.'"

Seeing that the tide was turning against me, I immediately corrected the flow of the conversation, only to get a sharp pinch on the back of my hand. The force behind the punishment was not particularly cute; it just plain hurt.

"Hmph… Um, right. I have no problem with it—but, um, would it be wrong for me to come along too? I-I don't want to get in the way or anything, I'm just purely…!"

I see, she's interested, so she wants to try it herself.

From a game-clearing perspective, I'd honestly want to bring Sora along. No, not just bring her, but I'd want to go with her as my partner.

So, unless Ashe brought this up as some kind of date, I'd prefer for the three of us to challenge it together, but—

"I have no problem with you coming with us. But it's impossible for you to challenge it with us."

It seemed there was a fundamental reason why she had requested to rent me.

"The maximum number of challengers for the [Shadow-Infested Arena] is two. The three of us can't enter together."

Ashe's concise explanation made both Sora and I go, "Ahhh…" in understanding.

"Also, there's another reason I singled you out, Haru, besides 'I want to be with you.' This has to do with some dungeon mechanics I haven't mentioned yet…"

And so began another lecture directly from the [Sword Queen] herself. Her explanation, concise and beautifully summarized, took only a few minutes to…

"I see."

"I see…"

—bring us to a deeper level of understanding.

I see, I see—this is definitely a case for me. And at the same time, it's a gimmick that Sora-san shouldn't get involved with.

According to her, the boss enemy in the other of the two remaining unconquered dungeons, the [Shadow-Infested Arena], called [Replica-Nobody], appears in a completely bastardized, hard-counter form tailored to each individual challenger.

So what happens when two challengers enter? Instead of two separate 'Shadows' appearing, a single amalgamation appears.

In other words, a fusion of two meta-bosses that can overwhelm each challenger respectively… and not only that, but due to some synergistic effect or whatever, its overall specs are boosted even further, creating a true monster that shatters the game's balance.

Because of this, if you bring in a 'jack-of-all-trades,' you end up creating a perfect, flawless enemy that's completely untouchable from any angle.

It might be a different story if it were someone who was only slightly specialized or tricky. But our dear Sora is a monster of a versatile and beautiful magic knight, praised by all the rankers she's met, starting with Ashe.

Now, imagine a ridiculously overpowered form that can thoroughly crush her from above… mixed in with a 'Shadow' that corresponds to, say, me or Ashe.

The thought is nothing short of terrifying.

I might be one thing, but an Ashe x Sora-san-ized 'Shadow' seems like something you couldn't beat even with a full raid party—and this is where the important part of aiming for a clear comes in.

By challenging as a pair, [Replica-Nobody] becomes far more overpowered than in a solo challenge, but a huge advantage also arises, exclusive to the amalgamated form.

That is, the expression of a weakness that mimics the challengers.

Why it happens is still a mystery; the detailed settings and backstory are completely unknown. But it is a fact that the 'Shadow,' having read everything about the challengers to build its counter, simultaneously develops a bug-like weakness (an error) when two are mixed together.

So, the reason Ashe singled me out was—

"There is no other player who has such a clear weakness and yet manages to act as if it doesn't exist. Assuming a certain level of skill, you're the only one I can think of."

"Even so, these days I'm only slightly more fragile than normal…"

And that was that.

It's unclear what would actually happen, but… if I were to challenge the [Shadow-Infested Arena] with someone, the 'Shadow' we would face would likely reflect the 'weakness' I carry.

The simple 'weakness' of dying if a powerful enemy's attack so much as grazes me.

That might make you think, "Can't you just bring a super glass cannon in your pair and be done with it?" but of course, it's not that simple.

If you challenge as a pair, [Replica-Nobody] will indeed have a weakness, but it's also a hard-counter boss that will exploit that very weakness.

In short, unless you're 'extremely easy to kill but absolutely unkillable,' this strategy won't work. Furthermore, even for the [Sword Queen], if she were to challenge a natural enemy whose base specs were more than double her own, she couldn't hope to win alone.

Unless it's someone who can fight alongside her, nothing will work out.

—Also, and I'm honored to say this, but according to Ashe, there was one more 'reason.'

"If I have someone who can keep up with me after creating a clear opening, we have a chance of winning… no. More than that, with Haru, who defeated me head-on."

With a face that showed not a shred of doubt.

"We can definitely win—let's go take down the second unconquered dungeon, together."

To the princess who so boldly declared victory, I couldn't give a timid reply.