ShangriLa Frontier ~ Shitty Games Hunter Challenges Godly Game ~

If you were asked to say which is faster: a human or a horse, then what would you choose? I mean, obviously it would be a horse, right?

No matter how much the fastest human beings can move their legs, the sprint that is unleashed from those legs is never going to triumph over the sprint that four legs can unleash. And that is even without mentioning that those four legs have explosive fuel consumption that allows them to reach the heights of speed that human legs can only dream about.

However, this world right here is a fantasy setting…… So while it is true that Rei-san’s Scarlet Mane is a mount that has a huge body and it can run at a speed that would be unobtainable for any normal human being out there……

I happen to be the fastest human being in the entire game at the current moment. Well, technically my Teacher is way faster than I am, but that is beside the point here.

「Umm, are you really sure that you don’t want a ride, Sanraku-kun? Are you really sure it’s okay……?」

「Yeah, I’m sure! And don’t worry, it’s okay! After all, I am really fast myself, if you happened to forget!」

「Vallululurun!!」

Hahahahaha! How about that, you shitty horse!? You can win when it comes to toughness for sure, but can you match or outmatch that speed of mine!? Thought so! Next time make sure to lose some weight, then maybe you’ll be able to barely keep up with me! I’m not going to lose in terms of speed to some glorified horse sashimi!

I don’t know why, but for some reason this horsie seems to have one hell of a grudge against me…… No, it might actually not be that I am disliked by it. It might be that for this thing the only way of communicating with other species it knows is through kicking or biting.

However, aside from that, its horsepower is a real deal alright. Not to mention that its kick pack one hell of a punch, as you would expect from a horse of this posture and size.

First of all, basically it’s the Player who if forced to bear the majority of the risks and hardships during the battle. If there is no other status correction at the beginning of the encounter, such as Luukan’s Wounds or other Curse Markings, then who get the aggro right off the bat? The Player does. And where is the thing like that horse then? Nowhere to be seen, that’s where. And will it be willing to go in the Player’s stead? Of course not. But, oh well.

But when it comes to communication between monsters, it’s not that simple of a matter. It can be said that it’s turned upside down. For example, let’s talk about our good friend Drakurus Dinocerberus, otherwise known as the “Scarlet”. From what I have heard, that explosive environment-destroying creature that seems to be treated only as a Rare Enemy, which is not even an Extraordinary Monster, is now the apex predator when it comes to the entire area of the Sea of Trees. I have heard that even the original Extraordinary Monster “Death Fighting Wound Scardead” avoids encounters with it as much as it possibly can (I don’t know who it was, but apparently in the past there were geniuses there who though that trying to pick up a fight with this thing was a good idea and that they would be able to pull it off).

In other words, a strong monster causes the monsters of the lower level to act as if the other party were under the effect of the Curse Markings.

But at the same time, it can be said that this here Alma Alogo Hetyron, also known as Red Mane now that Rei-san managed to give it its proper name, is also the kind of monster that sits at the very top of the food chain…… Or at the very least it’s strong enough to not be scared of those who are stronger and try to run away in fear. But even if that was the case here, there is still Rei-san, its rider, to consider. She is a really powerful Player with one of the most powerful classes and equipment out there, so it also has to mean something. Or at the very least boost the mount’s morale so that it wouldn’t run away from danger.

「Yeah, talk about a Symbol Encounter Type Boss Rush, huh……」

「Hmm? Did you say something?」

「No, it’s nothing. Nothing, really.」

In other words, right about now the vast majority of the monsters around these parts would get extremely startled if they were to see such an overly powerful combo of myself plus Red Mane (with Rei-san riding on top of it), and instead of trying to engage us they would simply start to run away without as much as a second thought.

「By the way, do you happen to know the destination to which we are going?

「As a matter of fact, yes I do. I just happened to talk to some Miner Dwarves if they know about a place that matches our description, and it seem that there is one just like that.」

It seems that some distance away from there volcano there is a place that is called the “Greater Wounds”. It is supposed to be a huge crack in the ground or a crevasse that cuts deep into it far to the north. And just like its name might suggest, it is a huge “wound” carved in the essence of the continent itself.

But why would they even name a landmark like that a “Wound”? Could it be that the Miner Dwarves know something about this that we do not? Like, for example, the truth about this continent or something like that? No, that’s not it. That’s not it at all. There is a much simpler reason as to why that place bears the name of “Wound”.

「…… Alright, we’re here. That’s the place.」

「It surely looks like a mere crack in the earth to me……」

We cannot really see the bottom of this strange crevasse, but I would still like to at least try to climb down and see just far down this thing goes…… Hmm? Somehow…… I can see something down there? But why is this thing giving me a sudden sense of déjà vu? I can’t seem to remember specifically what it was all about, but looking down this hole feels as though we were actually staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, or a beam weapon. And right about now there was a huge wave of light that was coming from the bottom of this hole and it was approaching the surface rather fast……

It is certainly a niche kind of situation, but you see those in video games from time to time: sabotaging some sort of a weapon of mass destruction by climbing inside of it and destroying it from the inside where it is the most vulnerable. But wait a moment…… Uwah! I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die!!!

「Uwah, wait just a…… Uwaaaaaahhhhhh!!!???」