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ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 099 Part 1

Translator: Kurehashi Aiko

Editor: ryunakama

Chapter 99: Even When Things Fall Apart, There’s a Strategy for Everything Part 1

「…… Haa, are you shitting me?」

When I logged out I decided to check the game’s official website to confirm a hunch I was having and lo and behold it was there: “We’ve adjusted the behavioral patterns for some monsters”.

The notice didn’t specify the monsters whose behavior got changed, but I had a feeling that I knew just one of them that fell under that category.

「Talk about being awkward……」

I knew that it was a loophole in the system and I knew that there would come a day when they would eventually fix that, but that day came rather faster than expected, god damn it!

「Does that mean I’ll need to revise my whole strategy?」

While sipping on a jelly drink I lean back in my chair thinking about my future plans. The biggest bummer would be that I would no longer be able to farm money using the materials from the Crystal Cliffs.

This means I’ll need to find a new way of earning money, but I don’t feel like doing it at all right now. Maybe tomorrow.

「Hmmmm…… Really now, in order to make a lot of money I’d need to have a higher level and be stronger to not be bothered by anything or anyone. So does that mean I’ll have to power level? But……」

After beating the Gravekeeper Wezaemon I leveled up so much that I wouldn’t possibly gain any level anytime soon.

As I was getting closer and closer to level eighty it would grow increasingly tougher to farm levels, and I would need those to beat the challenges that await me in the future. So I would need to start levelling up sooner rather than later…..

「Level Up…… Farming……」

I just couldn’t let go of the crystals so easily. The monsters out there were clever, their design matched their surroundings and the items were just the best price-wise.

On the surface, the crystal scorpions are just awful. However, their tactics, AI, shift between being active and inactive, the specifics of dropping items and their behavior in swarm made them really rewarding to fight and it was creating a unique source of motivation……

「Undefeated but also easy to defeat…… Swarm AI……」

Besides, the value of the items there was simply too good to pass up. The gemstones are not only materials for item making but also a priceless source of income.

I need to find a way to disable that crystal swarm. Then I will be able to mine out there as much as I want to, whenever I want to.

However, the safety of the “INVENTORY” was no longer a solution, since their behavioral patterns got changed. Possible solutions would be to widen the distance between myself and them or to time my attacks accordingly……

「Range attacks…… Item drops not related……」

Rocking in my chair, I conduct an intense brainstorming session. I felt as though I was so close, I could almost feel the solution, it was so close yet so far away……

「Upuah……」

Unable to come up with anything I started to play around with the jelly drink that was in my mouth. I  must have been rather desperate, looking for inspiration in a pointless act such as that.

And sure enough, thanks to the physics engine governing the planet Earth I soon enough choke on my drink, spit it out and watch it fall onto the floor after it drew a perfect parabola in the air.

I quickly tried to reach out my hand to catch the falling liquid, but since it was a real life and not a game my movements were slow and clumsy, and I had to watch the liquid spill all over the floor. The moment I saw that it was as if the supernova just exploded, a lightbulb above my head lit brightly and all the other things that in cartoons symbolized finding the solution. It seems that I arrived at the answer I was looking for.

「…… Newton, falling down.」

Falling down. Yes, falling down.

Universal law of gravitation…… Everything that goes up must fall down, it is a law that the game engine imposes equally onto everything under its jurisdiction. Sure, some things are partially excluded from that law, but they are tempered by something else in return.

What’s the location of the Crystal Cliffs? How can I get there? What is the thought pattern of the Crystal Scorpions? Just to what length are they willing to go in order to ambush me?

「Fufu, fufufufufufufu…… Now then, let’s make this whole operation a one to remember! You thought I would just give up? Think again!」

At first I intended to just let it go, but now I changed my mind. Sleep is for the weak! Real strategists use every moment they can to conjure new plans and schemes!

Needless to say, there was one more piece of the puzzle that needed to be found. But that can be done thanks to trial and error and level up.