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ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 313 Part 2

ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 313: Just Leave It to Tias Sensei! Part 2

「…… So how about right here?」

「Ah, yes, that’s right…… After all, this location is way better and more easily accessible. You just have to go to Thirdrema and traverse the Ancient Iron Ruins……」

「And why do I must make such a roundabout way through the ruins?」

「Beg your pardon?」

What is even with that question? Should it not been obvious here? Because no matter how you look at it, that seems to be the quickest way towards my destination. At least in terms of raw distance. But why would I need any other reason there?

「So how about from here?」

With that being said, Tias-sensei pointed towards the Valley of the Lost Souls and started tracing with her finger on the map once more.

「All the way to here?」

Then I trace my own finger towards the “Sanctuary of the Unseen Clouds”. Then after a brief moment of silence I say those words.

「It would be much easier to just run through here.」

「Eeehhh……」

No, I know it’s true that from the technical standpoint each and every map in this game is pretty large, so in terms of complexity going through the ancient Ruins of the Gods may be more time efficient here, but…… Ah, yeah, when it comes to TAS, even one percent probability means that something might as well be possible to pull off. And if something is possible, it also means that there are means of making it a reality.

「…… This place might be filled with vicious monsters, I’m aware of that. However, those are just simple monsters, things than can be beaten quite easily if you know what you are doing. And honestly, it is a whole lot easier and faster to beat a horde of small fries than fighting against a boss monster. Which there should be none in this path, mind you.」

「So what you are saying here is…… You are just going to slip past all of the small fries and just make a beeline towards the goal, right?」

「Yeah, basically. And given the route and my current abilities and equipment, it should not be all that hard to pull off.」

No, I mean, well…… Nothing is all that hard if you happen to possess information about it prior to doing something…… Eh? Could we actually consider the Crystal Scorpions and Golden Crystal Scorpion to be one of such roadblocks that deny progress to the players? But they are not really boss character, aren’t they?

No matter how human beings try to struggle to change that fact, it is undeniable that RTA is the absolute limit of our abilities…… Ah, that’s right. I almost forgot about that. There is a question I have been meaning to ask: what happened to Ruthia-chan? The one who originally gave me the invitation to this place?

「…… This route can be the faster and more efficient one, indeed, but…… What to do? Ruthia is still on vacation……」

「Vacation?」

「…… No, let’s not talk about it or thing about it too much right now. It is not going to get us anywhere, either way.」

In some cases, revealing too much information about certain person or a subject carries the risk of becoming a true bomb if it is leaked into the general public. In the first place, the option of being able to become the Avenger class can be considered to be quite a bomb in and out of itself. But as far as I am aware of, the conditions of being presented with that opportunity is to show the adequate level of player skill to the Bounty Hunter, and there is most probably the condition of having your karma on a very specific level.

However, if those conditions were to be released to the general public in a poor manner, it may as well affect the activities of the Dress-Up Corps altogether. And normally I would not care about such a group all that much, but knowing that Survival is part of that group, I would not like to rain on his parade and destroying his side activities.

「That’s it, I know. How many days is it going to take you to get wherever it is that you are going on board of that ship?」

Hmm? So, she is doing something else as in right about now? …… And why do I get a feeling that it has something to do with fighting me? Maybe some sort of preparations on her end? And a ship voyage that lasts for a few days…… Hmm?

「Oh yeah, that’s right! Sensei! Look what I have here! Those clothes that you are wearing are cute as they are, but how about trying some casual clothes on for a change? You might find the experience to be quite refreshing.」

Alright, good, great. Right, now say “Cheese!” Fufufu! I can feel it! I can feel it overflowing within me! My Girl Power is skyrocketing inside of me like crazy right about now!

As for what that particular item was? Well, of course it was a Salmon Head! What else!?

Seeing the Ancient Ruins of the Gods makes me feel all nostalgic. But now that I am so leveled up and have better equipment than at that time, there is no use for me to carry around the fishing rod and power level at that secret spot. In other words, my rout in here is going to be short and fast, just the way I like it.

「But it’s just that……」

Unlike the Valley of Lost Souls or the Volcanic Lake, which are pretty straightforward areas without any branching paths or traps, this dungeon feels like a genuine maze here. All because this place used to be an artificially created object.

So, what I am trying to say here is that going straight ahead is pretty much impossible in this place. Also, some areas of this place have collapsed or fell apart long ago, and in others there were those strange glowing plates…… could it be that they were yet another obstacle here? Or maybe a way to go straight?

「It also looks like the Curse of Luukan does not work on the monster that are classified as “Era of the Gods”…… Aaagh! So annoying!」

I crush the drone that charges straight at me with my Duxalam Blade and turn the nearby corner…… which turned out to be a dead end. So I retrace my steps back and go in the opposite direction.

「Yooo, hoo……」

Oho, what’s this? I pass the crack in the wall and I emerge in something that looks like naturally formed atrium. And there was even a group of players there. If you wanted to go to the next town, the top layer of this dungeon was more than enough for that purpose, but the lower levels seemed to yield better items and materials. It is because of that rule that the solo clear of this place was so easy, but…… Oh, and wouldn’t you know, the foot of the person looking like a tank has slipped! Thank you for that, don’t mind if I take advantage of that!

Whoa there, Mother did not teach you to watch out for incoming attacks when you are in the air with no foothold available? Now suffer the drop kick here!

「I knew it, since the level of challenge here is so low, I can hardly ever feel any thrill from it all……」

In my case, low challenge means bad things, because I must make sure that the Vorpal Soul parameter is always staying high. And if it decreses by any chance, I will have to go somewhere where I can fight strong enemies to replenish it all. Which is going to be quite a hassle, without a doubt.

I knew it, the only way in which I can feel some thrill in here is to actually change this traverse into a speedrun or a time attack. Or maybe I should go through some more dangerous route…… No, I may be used to dying to Crystal Scorpions, but who knows what monsters lurk in the depths of this place? I have no way of knowing, so for now I am going to just leave it at that……