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ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 385 Part 2

ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 385: Collateral Sacrifice Part 2

Katsu: Aah…… I see? I understand?

Rust: OK, I get it, but what kind of game are we even talking about in here?

Sanraku: For the sake of argument let’s just assume we are talking about Tsujigiri: Fantastic Song Online……

Mold: From what I have heard it is a rather mediocre game and as ordinary as it can possibly get. However, if it was really like that, then you would not be talking like that about it. So I guess it is about something not nearly as heartwarming here.

Pencil Warrior: And you are totally correct in stating that, Mold-kun. Because it is a total mimicry, you see. The true nature of Bakumatsu Online is actually a hellish abyss in which only the total psychopaths can hope to thrive and survive.

Katsu: I somehow get a feeling that you are right about that, but I also get a feeling that you are wrong about that.

Sanraku: It is not an entirely off-mark answer, but the truth is actually a little bit more complex. It’s a game where basically you must adopt the way of thinking that was present during the Bakumatsu Period, but then you crank it up to eleven.

Pencil Warrior: But isn’t that kind of thinking actually way worse than actual brainwashing? Because you are adapting this mindset of your own free will, without anyone actually forcing you to do anything.

Kyogoku: I AM NOT GOING TO FORGIVE YOU! I AM NOT GOING TO FORGET ABOUT THIS! I AM GOING TO CURSE YOU SO MUCH AND SO HARD THAT YOUR DESCENDANTS AFTER THE HUNDREDTH GENERATION ARE GOING TO FEEL THE EFFECTS OF MY GRUDGE!!!!!!!!!

Sanraku: See this thing above? This is what Bakumatsu Online does to your mental health. And judging from the sheer amount of toxicity in this person’s posts, I would say that the amount of pollution her brain has suffered is somewhere between fifty percent to seventy percent.

Katsu: And the above example pictures patient with a brain polluted by Bakumatsu Online way beyond one hundred percent, which is equivalent to a terminal illness. What’s more, this stage characterizes in the fact that those afflicted are able to mimic normal human behavior and blend in with the society, making them that much harder to diagnose and treat.

Sanraku: Are you stupid or what? People with pollution levels breaching the limits of one hundred percent are even crazier and more unhinged than you could possibly imagine.

Rust: Now this is something that I might actually enjoy. Would you be willing to tell us more?

Sanraku: I most certainly can, but be warned: the very first thing that you are going to be subjected to is going to be the ceaseless ring of death and rebirth set up by Player Killers camping the spawn points. Worst case scenario, this is going to be so intense that you won’t be able to move even an inch before being dead, and you will not be able to finish the tutorial.

Mold: ………… Huh?

Pencil Warrior: Believe what you want, but I honestly think that the morality of the people of the current century did not improve at all, and it may have even devolved when compared to the people of the previous century.

Pencil Warrior: But I guess that this is precisely the line of thinking that is always getting me into trouble.

Kyogoku: WHEN I SEE YOU NEXT TIME, IT’S DIVINE PUNISHMENT TIME!!!!!!!!! I’M GOING TO DIVINE PUNISH YOU SO HARD THAT YOU WON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, BITCH!

Kyogogu: SO BETTER BRACE YUORSELF, FOR YOU DON’T KNOW THE DATE, THE TIME AND THE PLACE WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN! BUT THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN FOR SURE!!!!!!

Sanraku: Out of sheer curiosity, are you going to be dragging this bit for much longer? Talk about a dedication to the cause……

Katsu: You keep saying that, but I get the feeling that she is completely serious with her grudges. Better to sleep with one eye opened from now on just to be on the safe side, huh?

Pencil Warrior: Either that or it’s simply the case of the smaller the dog the louder it barks.

Rust: The living should not be bothered by the lamentations of those who are dead.

Mold: Well, mentioning that now seems like beating the dead horse to me……

Sanraku: The correct answer here should be: I’m only bitching here now because I’m a little bitch who was unable to foresee the consequences of my own actions.

Sanraku: That’s what you get for underestimating that the ghosts are saying

Sanraku: Now reflect upon your actions and try to improve and who knows? Maybe you will be able to reach Enlightenment just like a certain someone once did……?

Kyogoku: KUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH……!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pencil Warrior: It is certainly interesting to look at those messages. It really does give off a feeling as if some sort of an angry demon was trying to escape from within her, don’t you think?

Oyoyo…… It looks like I am hated quite a lot now. But that’s right! It was all a set-up! I tricked Kyo-Timate into running into Rankers and taking them all out at once, all thanks to striking the deal with the ghosts, promising them some nice “Giant Killing”! The rest was simply a matter of scattering the gunpowder and oil all around the center of the town, in the place where the fireworks and gunpowder were being kept for safekeeping. I don’t know why there was such a dangerous place in the middle of the town, but since it was there, you can be sure that I am going to utilize it properly.

And what a show it was! I would think that you could have seen that fire burning bright from way over at the Heavens up above! However, it was an accident, not a deliberate, malicious intent! So please don’t hold a grudge against me and let us all do our very best from now on as well! …… That being said, was explosions like that not common for this time period? And if you don’t want to have accidents like that, please don’t put dangerous substances like explosives in the middle of the town.

That being said, this place was also a main point for matchlock users to replenish their supply of gunpowder. So without that, they would have increasingly harder time obtaining new ammo, which should give other players slight advantage down the road. It will even allow me to shift the blame on someone else if need be, since it was a common occurrence that a stray bullet would have gone straight into the gunpowder warehouse. It was an unlikely scenario, but not the impossible one.

Needless to say, usually the explosions were pretty grim to behold and would happen multiple times a day in worst case scenario. However, since this here was mostly a gunpowder warehouse stationed right to the fireworks warehouse, the explosion was a truly colorful one. What a sight to behold that was!

「Alright then.」

Actually, I was planning to go back to Kazegumo President after having a little fun here, but thanks to this new development, let’s give it our very best here just a little bit longer! It seems that the light of my life will be extinguished at any second under those set of circumstances, but rather than continuing to log out like a coward, let’s go out wild like a flash of light that shines brightly and disappears in a split of a second! Yes, just like a firework!

When I logged in once more, the Shinsengumi troop aiming at the log in Divine Punishment were already laying in wait for me. Needless to say, I made sure that there would be not a single one of them that would be left standing, and it was at that moment that I felt someone’s gaze on my back.

「Oho, well if it isn’t Kyo-Timate-san, but this time around in a ghostly form! How do you do? Say cheese! …… You know what, you truly are way less insufferable in this form. Goes to show that some women truly need to keep their mouths shut.」

「……………………!!!!!!!!!!!!」

Yeah, seeing how furiously Kyo-Timate was moving her thumbs down and how fast her lips were moving, it’s a real shame that there are no spiritual mediums in this game. I’m sure that she has quite a few things that were on her mind that she was dying to tell me…… although she was already dead.

Thinking about it now, I really do regret the fact that I did not bother myself to record the expression on Kyo-Timate’s face at that moment. Mostly because she was being completely serious out there, and then it disappeared as though she was swept away with the gust of wind created by one of those huge industrial electric fans.