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ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 540 Part 1

ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 540: An Orchestra Just For You PART 20 Part 1

「When it comes to that particular subject, we can say that we are severely uneducated. However, we are fortunate to have two people here who happen to possess information about the subject that interests us. But first…… Yes, for now let’s just continue with Mirei-kun’s testimony. That should work for the best.」

「Alright, alright, I understand! I’m going to do just that~! For the time being, after clearing all of the minor stages, I was able to proceed to the “final” stage. However, as for the lyrics of the song for that final battle I must apologize to you all, because I was unable to hear it. I was already pretty beat-up from the last battle and I had little to no idea what was going on. I am once more very sorry for that.」

Ahh, yeah, that’s right. It should be the case just like with everything else that the Orchestra should have another monologue at the start of the final round.

「As far as I was able to hear, I think it was singing something about the reason for singing in such a way or another, and there was also the description of the enemy appearing in the” final phase”. Also, there was something about doing something that the Orchestra dictates, I don’t know.」

When I faced the final phase it was certainly…… Yes, that’s right. “A distant, rootless traveler. Eyes looking at many worlds. There was also a line alongside “a migratory bird”…… I honestly don’t quite remember what followed after that because I used too much of my brain power for the subsequent development that followed.

「Ahh! Wait, wait just a moment! Just now my awesome brain of IQ over one hundred twenty remembered something! …… Ahh, yeah, that’s right. I’m sure that the Orchestra was saying something about “Lorelai” and then I basically blacked out……」

「…… Hmm?」

Why is it that something about that line just now rubs me the wrong way? But no, as far as I know this game does not really reuse any lines like that, so could it be something in my head?

「At the same time as Orchestra starts to monologue, the invisible performers behind it start to change, I think. They were becoming less and less, and there was only one of them left on the field. …… And I am not entirely sure about that, but it looked pretty much like myself? Something like that.」

「…… Yeah, that’s right. I can confirm that something like that happened to me as well.」

No, wait just a moment here…… Ahh, I see. So it’s like that, huh? That’s your aim? Alright then, I’ll go on a ride alongside you for now.

「And the enemy that appeared right after that was really scary the first time you saw it, right? Even for a final phase that was a little bit too much.」

「………」

There was silence for a moment after my words. Come on now, you bastard, what are you going to do now? Trying to wage my reaction to see what you can do here? Or how can you possibly compare to that?

But unfortunately for you, I have seen through your little game. You may have a self-proclaimed IQ of over one hundred and twenty, but how are you going to deal with this, huh? Without spilling the beans, that is?

「Hmm, yeah, I guess so~…… I never would have thought that there is an opponent like that in this game, being able to copy not only the player’s weapons and skills, but also their distinct battle style.」

「Muh.」

How about we do this together? I thought that it might be slightly different and that I was really ahead in terms of information, but…… I see that may not be the case here. As far as I can tell here, I don’t really think that her experience with Orchestra has been that much different from mine.

The number of orchestra performers starts to diminish all of a sudden, and after a moment there is only one last enemy that remains. It’s a “perfect copy” of the player who is facing the Orchestra, and it is entirely based on the Trace AI.

「I also felt as though there was nothing I could do against that opponent. It was always reading me like an opened book.」

「Hmm, yeah, that’s right.」

…… So, does that really mean that our experiences were the same? But I still get the feeling that something is not right here. I feel like there is still something really important missing. I thought there was a difference to our stories and I was desperately trying to expose it, but it was really turning out to be the same?

「You will have to forgive me that I won’t give you a complete recollection here, because it is really embarrassing for me. …… Well, I am ashamed to admit it, but I was defeated here. Completely and utterly. It managed to perfectly ready all of my movements, and it even perfectly copied the way in which my weapons were moving about.」

「I had a very similar feeling, because it was the first time I was able to witness my own weapons and equipment from a third person perspective. …… Their performance is as good as when I’m the one wielding them, but the self-reinforcement that the boss is capable of is a really foul move here.」

Well, I guess if you really want to say anything about it, I guess that there are a whole lot of bosses that copy the player’s skills and equipment. But in my case it was making me feel especially irksome for some reason.

「But no matter how humanoid it might look, it is still a Unique Monster nonetheless. And its specs are always going to be way higher than those of the player that it is mimicking at the current moment.」

「Yeah, you can say that again. And the scaling here is unlike anything I have ever seen or heard of……」

It was at this moment that one of the Library’s members who was listening up until now raised his hand.

「Won’t the battle aspects of the Unique Monster be clear to us all once someone defeats it? From the World Truth Book? If so, then wouldn’t it be a whole lot better idea to just prioritize the setting aspects for now?」

「Look, there is a certain reason for that. So, is there anything that the both of you might have noticed or realize during the battle aside from its combat aspects?」

Things outside of the combat sphere, huh?

「Honestly speaking, this thing does not leave you much time to look around or try to think about anything else. …… Oh, but I wonder? Is the goal of the final phase to simply defeat the enemy? Or could it be something else?

「And what do you mean by that?」

「Because you see, this is a Unique Scenario EX, right? So it might not actually be about straight up winning doe to a brute force.」

「I guess that you might be right about that…… But then again, if the battle won’t end after the final phase is all done for, wouldn’t that entire quest actually be nothing more but a scam……?」

「Maybe it will be a hidden condition? Such as defeating the opponents in only one lasting of the song, without any additional encores?」

In the case of Gravekeeper Weathermon, Kutanid of the Abyss and Siegwurm the Heavenly Emperor their defeat in combat marked the end of the Unique Scenario EX itself. And it was a pretty conclusive and convincing ending, no less. It was surely giving you the feeling of closure.

However, in the case of Orchestra I don’t get any sense of purpose, and I am more than convinced that defeating it in battle won’t give us any closure at all. In that regard, rather than a genuine Unique Scenario EX it feels more like a combat challenge that the Conquest Dolls cooked up to see if the players paying them a visit are worthy of forging a contract with them.

「That is actually a very good thing for us to consider. Everyone, what do you think?」

「I think that it is an entirely possible scenario. Or at the very least it’s a possibility that we cannot allow ourselves to easily dismiss.」