ShangriLa Frontier ~ Shitty Games Hunter Challenges Godly Game ~

「…… Even though that this person is the one you longed for all this time?]

「No, that’s not it. My intuition tells me so. …… I saw it for the first time when you broke down.]

「No, I must say, it was as if I was robbed of my first time…… Ahh, wait, wait, wait! This outfit! It is my favorite out of them all! Now if you’d be so kind as to strike a good face while you are being at it!]

* * *

「I see…… So something like that ended up happening, huh?]

For some really bizarre reason the person who was currently in front of August’s eyes was none other than that Massive Dynamite. And for some even more bizarre of a reason he was listening to her troubles. And what was even more bizarre in here was the fact that he seemed to be understanding her perfectly here.

Massive Dynamite. He might actually look like a walking mountain of muscles, but what lies underneath that façade seemed to be a considerate and gentle personality, like that of an old-lady from the neighborhood who would always listen to your troubles. In a nutshell, everything about that person seemed to be over the top and ridiculous…… But his skills were apparently second to none, not only in the physical sense of the word but the mental one as well. Which caused him to gather much respect from certain other Players.

「It’s just that I…… What should I do now? I honestly don’t know anymore……]

「Fufufu, is that so? I think that the answer’s here really simple, August-chan. Aren’t you just overthinking this?]

「Huh?]

The fear of being defeated. The burden of responsibility and blame for her friend Nine losing her arm. And the anxiety of not knowing what the future might bring for the both of them.

And for all of those troubles and anxieties, Massive Dynamite came with one simple answer.

「It’s power.]

「P-Power, you say?]

No matter how active and intelligent the Elementary School students can be, there is no way that they can easily understand the meaning behind the concept of “Power”. And on top of it all, August was having a hard time understanding why Massive Dynamite would use that particular word right about now.

「Okay, now listen closely here. For you see, in this world, there are only two types of problems when you get down to it…… The ones that can be solved purely by the use of Power and the ones that cannot be solved with the use of Power alone. You got that?]

「Huh……?]

「Was it not frustrating for you to suffer defeat?]

「Umm…… Y-Yeah.]

Certainly, the experience of being swarmed by a whole lot of Poison Maidens and being bitten by them all over their bodies was one hell of an experience, not to mention dying because of that was one hell of traumatic experience as well, even though it was pretty much painless. But more than that…… There was never-ending feeling of regret swelling up inside of her chest.

If they did not lose, she would not be so scared of being hurt or that Nine would end up hurt. This was the only feeling that remained inside of her chest, eating away at August’s heart more and more with each passing day, and no amount of crying and despairing would make it possible for that feeling to go away.

「It’s the same for me, you know? Even though I keep on doing my best and struggling with all of my might, I still cannot obtain the title of the “Maximum Firepower” that I want so badly, you know?]

This is actually a pretty common story and occurrence, not only for Massive Dynatime, but also for other Players out there as well. Although their damage is still pretty high, way higher than your average Player’s physical attack could ever be, they have never been awarded with the title of “Maximum Firepower”, the badge of honor for achieving the absolute apex of physical damage that can be dealt inside of the world of ShangriLa Frontier. And the fact that he was never able to obtain it surely must have been frustrating for him.

「But even so, I still believe that my power is the best there is! No matter how regrettable it might be to think that way…… But I still consider myself to be the best!]

「Why …? Why is that? Why can you believe so much in something so feeble like Power alone……?]

Muscles bulging atop muscles. The muscle that receives the line of sight, the muscles that hits the shoulder, the muscles of the big hands that seem to be able to wrap themselves around a small baby with only the palm of one hand alone. The muscles density continues to increase, and the sensible temperature and heat distress in the room rises dramatically.

「No matter how much you lose, as long as you don’t stop after defeat, your strength and power will keep on moving forward. Step by step… … Step by step…… The power you train every day will eventually go three steps forward for every one step that you take.]

Those words were actually too abstract to be able to be understood by mere reason. However, Massive Dynamite’s words are full of absolute trust in oneself and one’s abilities and believes. And above all else, there is a conviction that “There is no mistake in following your path as long as you won’t lose the sight of your destination from in front of your eyes.

So, to make a long story short,

「Muscles possess the ability to make the impossible possible, August-chan!]

「Make the impossible, possible……! Maddai-san, then does that mean…… That even Nine-chan’s arm can……!]

「Yes, that’s right! It can definitely be cured for sure……! Even if it was lost once, it’s power never disappears! It’s still right there! And if it is still there, it means that the impossible can still be made possible!]

「The impossible, be made possible!!!]

「You are the only one who can believe in yourself more than anybody else out there! Now repeat after me: I am number one!]

「Yes! I am number one!]

* * * * * * * * *

Nine was looking at this situation with a completely dumbfounded look all over her face.

In the first place, what she should be avoiding right now the most is those kinds of situation what would end up causing her “needless anxiety”. She also needed to find an environment for herself where she would have guaranteed safety at all times and where she would feel comfortable at all times. Because of that, one arm should not really be all that great of a concern for her in the slightest…… But while seeing August starting to heat up so much in a really weird way just now, Nine could hardly help herself but to let out a long and hard human-like sigh.

And instead of her lost arm, she let out some really uncharacteristic words for her while multiple small snakes dived down her sleeve and outside of her clothes, morphing together and coming out as a replacement for her lost arm on the spot.

「What the hell is this?]