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ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 486 Part 1

ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 486: Tomorrow Things Are (Probably) Going to Be Just Fine Part 1

Oh yeah, now that I think about it, now would be a good time to start thinking about clearing Leviathan’s first layer for real. Or at least make some serious progress, if nothing else.

Once I managed to climb my way up the Ranking Ladder all the way into the Upper Tier without losing a single match, what came next was a complete paradigm shift. I don’t know how exactly that happened, but I just continued to lose until I accumulated eight straight loses in a row. Of course, eight losses in a row was more than enough to knock me back all the way into the Mid Tier. It was at that time that such a thought occurred in my head, and I decided to follow it for the time being.

「In the first place, I seriously don’t think that playing non-stop for three hours with a mindset like that managed to do anything good for my mental health…… So yeah, I guess now would be a good time to call it quits for now.」

Yeah, that’s right. I need a change of pace. And I need one right now. It doesn’t have to be anything special, but for the time being I don’t want to see the sight of this city! As for how long I don’t want to see it…… I don’t know exactly for how long, but it will be for quite a while, that’s for sure!

「Hey there, Araba! I’m going to stay here for a while, so thanks in advance for having me!」

「Oh, hey there! And it is so much like you to say something like that so casually after just waking up all of a sudden……」

「Yeah, yeah, shut up for a moment there, will you! Listen, I had a rough day in a city of pure chaos, and so I just want to take it nice and easy in the medieval setting where there is hardly any technology! And where there are especially no TVs or such! So just let me have that!」

「Now listen! Usually you are saying things that are hard for me to understand, but now you are making even less sense than usual!」

I realize that. But fortunately for both of us, you don’t have to understand every single word that I say here. You just need to act based on common sense and just let me do what I want. That way we can all be happy and there will be no conflicts in between us.

「Saina! You here?」

「Awaiting orders, My Master.」

「It would take too long to explain, so just follow me for the time being. We are going to go ahead and push forward in this place! I really want to see some people!」

For all intents and purposes, this whole area seems to be somewhat shitty, or maybe it is its design that is shitty? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. I mean, walking around normally is too bothersome and not all that cost efficient, so if you want to maximize your efficiency in a place like that the best way of moving from one place to another is to gravity jump.

While we were moving forward just like that, I was constantly on the lookout for something, but for some reason I was unable to see it thus far. So far it’s been just a maze-like area after a maze-like area, with no rest area to be seen. I could technically ask the Brave Fish to guide us towards the next “pit stop”, but for some reason the thought of hearing or seeing her right now seemed extremely irritating to me. …… But because of the search that we were conducting I was able to notice something that I believe may be of some importance in the further exploration of this place.

「There is a vast difference when it comes to taking the values of your beloved world at face value, and then taking some distance to see that world for what it really is……」

The enemies appearing in this first layer can be generally categorized into two “types”: first one is the New Generation Techno Magi-Gel Golem, and the other one is the Old Generation Golem, or the “Standard Golem” as we players would call it…… But then there is a fact that I find to be rather strange. No matter how many opponents you fight in here, or no matter where you would go in this layer, the only enemies that you are going to see crossing your path are the Techno Magi—Gel Golems. The Old Generation Golems are nowhere to be found.

When it comes to this video game called ShangriLa Frontier, one of its greatest premises is that the players can play it in whatever way they want to play and experience it, all the time feeling comfortable with it and not having to force themselves to do anything that is well beyond their comfort zone. Also, if any problems arise in this game, the players are not forced to adapt any particular playstyle in order to solve those issues, having a free hand in dealing with them any way they see fit. And that is what is great about it.

Another important aspect of this game is that every item, no matter how big or small, has its own flavor text that gives you some insight into the greater lore of the entire game. And based on my previous experiences with items and some other rare enemies, I think of only one possible explanation as to why I am yet to meet a single Old Type Golem inside of this first layer. It’s that I simply must not have met some sort of conditions necessary for spawning the enemies of this type. At least, not yet.

「Now that I think about it, it might actually be bad that I have managed to discover Gravity jumps so early. Like, really, really bad.」

What I’m trying to say here is that Gravity Jumps allow you to cover a vast distance with one single jump. It is a way better and more efficient way of getting from one point to another than simply walking. However…… because you cover such great distances, you may by accident miss on some rooms, people, events or items…… the things that might actually serve as the flags for triggering the appearance of the special kind of enemies.

So it’s not really that I was unable to trigger the appearance of the Old Type Golems…… I might have just missed the opportunity to trigger their flags somewhere alongside the road. So it would mean that in order to get those flags out of the way, I would have to backtrack and clear the way the old fashioned way.

「Repair Dispatch Golems “Ants”……! I knew it! I knew that the conditions for their appearance must be somehow connected to the degradation of the labyrinth itself! I fucking called it!!!」

「Supplementary Comment: And it appears as though those golems hold the key for the visitors to be able to freely move around the first layer of this ship.」