CH 134

134 – Defeating it and going to the fifth city

A note:

Well, the Volcano Golem was a powerful enemy.

===.

“HAAAH! This is the end!”

Meguru’s spirited blow exploded into the body of the Volcano Golem, finally finishing off its HP.

*BA-KIN* at last, the core of the Volcano golem located in its torso shattered. The golem collapsed, and its body vanished just like that.

“Good job.”

“Fuh… Good job, its third form is strong.”

“Indeed. But it easier for me because its movement becomes simple.”

“Sukuna doesn’t seem to have any problems starting the second transformation, though.”

“Magma splatter is the worst part of this fight…”

We talked about our impressions of the fight while Meguru was still basking in his sweet moment of victory.

It was quite an interesting opponent. I don’t think I’d have much trouble soloing it, but I was able to avoid some of the big moves thanks to Meguru’s information, so if it was to challenge it alone, I would probably have a hard first time.

I have to thank Meguru for disclosing all the information.

“Anyway, I’m glad I was able to test how powerful my level up after that battle with a giant dragon.”

“I, too, had spent the second half of the event to level up, I feel I could fare better against this compared to my last defeat, but still… most of the credit goes to you, Sukuna.”

“That’s not true. You’re the one who deals most of the damage.”

My attacks are got through, but Meguru is the one who deals 60% of the overall damage. Maybe an ice attribute played a part in it since he is really good with it.

His current level is 81, so his status is probably high, including the fact that he’s a [Douji], each of his blows delivering quite a punch, and it’s very reliable.

“Ah!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t use [Yoiyami] gimmick….”

I thought it could be used as the trump card for this fight, but I forgot to use it because it was a much simpler boss than I had imagined.

“Gimmick? That’s a weapon belonging to the hidden weapon category?”

“Yes, it is.”

Meguru seemed to have a certain amount of knowledge about gimmicked weapons and responded to my words.

The weapon with a hidden function that Haruru created often falls into the [Hidden Weapon] category.

By the way, [Kugelschreiber] is a bladed weapon integrated into a blunt weapon, and it’s a weapon that I

destroyed in one day. It was a weapon with three categories: [Blunt weapon], [Two-handed club], and [Hidden weapon].

The [Hidden Weapon] category is a kind of proof that it’s a player-made weapon, and to create one, you need a different skill aside from normal blacksmithing skill.

Incidentally, [Meteor Impact – Zero Type] is an exception, as it is not considered one. The big explosion when the weapon is destroyed is considered to be the nature of its material rather than a gimmick.

There may also be a requirement that the hidden weapon gimmick itself must be reusable.

I want to retort about Haruru’s claim that the material of [Meteor Impact – Zero Type] is a pure Heavy Metal, but it turns out that it was mixed with gunpowder. Though thanks to it, it did save my life.

Well, in any case, the gimmick in [Yoiyami] is one that can be used repeatedly.

It’s not that you can’t use it in conjunction with the gravity attribute, but you can’t use it against the giant dragons because it might affect the people around you when it is used.

“What kind of gimmick is it?”

“Hmmm… I won’t tell!”

“Oh… come on, just a bit!”

“I haven’t even shown it to my viewers yet. It’s my trump card that I saved for the last.”

“It’s not fair to just say it and then hide it.”

“Ufufufu.”

I’m sorry to disappoint you, Meguru, but I’m going to let you drag this out a little longer.

It’s a stream’s content after all.

“Anyway, did Meguru finish the quest?”

“Ah, that’s right. It’s a quest related to the limited skills of the oni, but the difficulty level changes depending on the person. Himiko’s quest was very easy from my point of view. However, her level is so low that I don’t think she’s even passed the first trial yet.”

“Why don’t you help her out?”

“No, she’s kind of ….unique.”

Did you want to say she’s a kind of pervert?

Himiko reached the oni territory relatively quickly, but she could not even get out from the town for almost a month now.

“She’s a person with a lot of guts, and it seems that she enjoys this situation.”

“Well, I guess it’s okay if he’s enjoying herself.”

By the way, her level is just a bit over 40.

She’s about as strong as a Fias player, so she might need a little more work to get through this.

“Speaking of which, how can we go back? Should we climb the rock?”

“The only one who can do that is you, Sukuna. Don’t worry; there’s a warp point over there.”

I hadn’t looked around, but there was indeed a warp magic circle in the direction Meguru was pointing.

“I see. But it’s a little hard to conquer the dungeon from here.”

“No, you don’t have to. That warp point will take you straight to the exit on the Griffith side.”

“Oww… But… that means I won’t get any bonus status points for defeating the boss?”

I’m both grateful and disappointed.

I’m glad I was able to go to Griffith because I wanted to go to the oni village as soon as possible, but I missed the bonus status points you get for the first time, defeating a dungeon boss.

“You just have to come back.”

“Oh well, it’s fine.”

“It’s a bonus point after all.”

It’s not given at your first time clearing a dungeon. It will be given when your defeat the boss for the first time.

I’ll come again when I get the chance.

With that intent, I quickly shifted my mind and escaped the Ancient Ruins of Flame using the warp point with Meguru.

☆☆

“From the fifth city of Griffith, the strength of players and NPCs will increase. And the monsters that appear will be much stronger.”

On the way to Griffith from the ancient ruins, I received an explanation from Meguru.

“It’s partly because you have the ability to get through the giant labyrinth, but more than anything, it’s because most of the players who reach this city are over level 50 and have changed to a higher tier job.”

For most professions, when the proficiency level of the profession exceeds 30, the higher-level profession is unlocked and the player can change jobs.

You get one point of proficiency for every level up from level 21, so the line where you can change jobs is at level 50.

Most of the higher-level jobs are upwardly compatible with lower-level jobs, and the experience required to level up does not change between lower-level and higher-level jobs, so not changing jobs is almost always a waste.

If you don’t change jobs, it’s probably because you’re trying to achieve a special condition for the job you aimed.

For example, if you pass level 70 without changing from swordsman to swordmaster, you will be able to become a [sword demon].

It is said that the more difficult the conditions for changing jobs are, the higher the performance of the job will be, so there were some players who continued to maintain their lower-level jobs in order to achieve this.

But well, even though we’re talking about this, the two of us here don’t have any luck.

“Changing jobs. …how enviable.”

“That’s right. I’ve learned from Sukuna that it is possible for Douji to change jobs, but… level 90 is too much for me.”

“I’m almost there, but even with that golem’s experience, I only got about half of what I would have gotten before leveling up, and it’s going to be a long road from here.”

We, who had chosen the special occupation of Douji, sighed as we made our way to Griffith.

This profession called [Douji] had nothing but limitations, with an exception for the passive effect on the stat that barely exists.

But it might be wrong to call it a hindrance since I’ve received a few extra quests and acquired some rare skills thanks to being a Douji.

“Well, look.”

After Meguru’s words, I turned my attention to the front.

From a distance, I can see that the exterior walls are a reddish-brown color, different from any other city I’ve seen so far. I wonder if it’s because the material used for the walls is different from that used for ordinary walls.

“That’s Griffith, the fifth city.”

So that’s Griffith, the fifth city.

I’ve been to several cities, but there’s something else I noticed at first glance.

“It’s kind of small, isn’t it?”

“As I said earlier, the previous cities were too big. The monsters that come out from the Griffith area become much stronger. That’s why there are fewer players. The average level of the monsters on the field differs by 15 levels between here and inside the giant labyrinth.”

Does this mean that the number of players who can reach this point is simply decreasing because of natural selection?

I thought it was the reason, but Meguru continued as if that wasn’t the only reason.

“In addition, unlike up to Fias where base only exists inside the city, from here on out, the number of towns and villages that serve as bases, like the oni village, will explode in numbers. So a large city wasn’t needed here.”

It’s true that up until around Fias, most of the players gathered in the convenient city.

The city of beginnings in particular and large enough to easily accommodate tens of thousands of players.

It may still be crowded with players from the third and fourth waves, but that’s beside the point.

Up from the beginning of the game, a proper resting place to recover and replenish your item only existed in a large town.

But it will be different from here.

There might be a hidden village, a remote village, or an inn town.

In short, the number of possible bases for adventure will grow.

Therefore, there is no need to build a large city like the city of beginnings, Dualis, or Trillia to accommodate the players.

From Meguru’s explanation, I guess that’s the reason why Griffith is not that big.

“But still, Griffith is quite useful. It’s the home base for [Dragon’s Fang], and it seems that the masters of the Round Table are also moved her base to Griffith these days.”

“Hee? Drago-san and Ah-chan home base? By the way, how is Shuya doing?”

I’ve missed Ah-chan a lot.

She is the clan leader of the [Knights of the Round Table], Arthur.

I’ve never seen her fight, though, but I heard she is the strongest swordsman in her clan.

Shuya, who fought by my side in the previous raid also a player who belongs to [Knight of the Round Table]. He was an aloof person, but he was a benefactor who risked his life to protect Rin-chan.

He was surprisingly well-informed and even introduced me to the players before the raid battle. He’s probably a good guy.

“As for our plans for the rest of the day, we would only stop a bit in Griffith and move on immediately. The reason is, of course, because our aim is the oni village.”

“How far is the village?”

“It’s pretty far. It might take us three hours on foot, four if we including combat, and that’s already using the existing map.”

“Woah, that’s a long way.”

It’s like clearing one more giant labyrinth.

Now I’m really grateful for that warp point in the Volcano golem room.

The time now is just before noon. If it took me four hours to get to oni village, I would still be in time for my evening visitor.

“In addition, the demon’s village is not subject to the effects of wings, so it is not possible to fly from here. I have to work a little harder.”

“ah… that’s right, Traveler’s wing can only transfer you to the city.”

“The city is meant only the named city by the system. Traveler’s wing could only take you to a city like city of beginning.”

Of course, it only says that you can choose a city as your destination, but you are free to fly from your village or village to the city.

If you think about it, Meguru might have lost a lot of time every time he fought that golem.

I’m pretty sure he set his respawn point in the oni village.

“I think we could still sightsee Griffith since we need to get through it. It’s a good thing that the oni village is on the other side of the city.”

“I’m looking forward to the new city.”

After hearing various explanations from Meguru, we arrived at the main gate of Griffith. After presenting my menu card in exchange for admission, I finally arrived at the fifth city.

It’s just that it seems smaller than most of the capital city or the city of beginnings, but Griffith is a big city in its own way.

However, this time, the two of us went through Griffith and went straight to the oni village.

Tl note

I made a mistake in the early chapter.

Regarding the dark weapon attribute, I thought it meant [darkness] attribute, but it turns out to be a “hidden weapon” (kanji written as a ‘dark device’) category. Sorry about that. I will fix the early chapter after this.

In my defense, it was deliberate wordplay using kanji by the author, I had my suspicion, but it didn’t fit the story at that time.

The kanji is like this 暗器. If you read it separately, it becomes something like a dark device, dark equipment. Yet it also read as Hidden Weapon.