Chapter 342
The term "fair and square" is a phrase rarely used in FBO except within a very specific context.
The opponents are clumps of electronic data.
There's no such thing as being called cowardly, being cursed as inhuman, or being feared as wicked when facing NPCs or monsters.
It is precisely because of this that in FBO, only in player-versus-player battles, known as "PvP," were rules for a fair battlefield established by the players themselves.Well, originally, FBO was a game where solo content was more substantial.
Even so, as a matter of etiquette between people, it was common sense to refrain from using trap techniques developed for NPCs and monsters against other players.
But, if you step even a single foot outside that player-only restriction...
"Alright, Aži Dahāka subjugation complete."
A one-sided trampling, which could very well be called cowardly, inhuman, and wicked, comes to a close.
Hunting down the last remaining head, Aži Dahāka, having lost all its heads, gradually turns into black ash.
Some might say, 'Is it okay for a boss battle to end this easily?' or 'Where did the dramatic payoff go?'
But please think about it calmly.
Back when I was a working adult in Japan, video-sharing sites for game strategy were flooded with videos introducing things like "Do this to easily defeat high-difficulty enemies" or "Exploit!," showcasing bug tactics and such.
And wasn't the choice to use them or not left to the players?
"Somehow... the fake one was tougher.""Well, it fought back. And we saved money, right?""That's true. I thought we'd spend about ten million, but we managed with nine."
Even using the exploits I learned from those videos and gathering a large number of capable fighters, we only just barely managed to whittle down the HP of *two* Aži Dahākas by the absolute limit of the barrier tower's operational time.
Even with everything set up for a simple task of just continuously attacking, if the levels and equipment don't reach the recommended level, the subjugation time will still be tight.
Even after going this far, possibilities like the barrier tower running out of energy, the flame throwers becoming unusable, or the bedrock being shattered always exist. We cannot grow complacent toward Aži Dahāka.
Through my full-face mask, I share a laugh with Nell and the others, watching Aži Dahāka, which takes time to completely vanish as it turns to black ash due to its massive size.
"As expected, I can't get used to the post-Heavenly Fist weakness.""I also drank a bit too many potions.""Everyone!!!""Amina-sama, over here!"
With the battle over, everyone nearby is at the peak of excitement—slapping each other's shoulders, high-fiving, and shouting triumphant cries.
Following that flow, the party members also gather.
"Ingrid-san, thank you for the support.""Not at all, I'm just glad I could be of use."
The topic of conversation turns to the flow of the battle with Aži Dahāka.Claudia used Heavenly Fist right from the start, so she suffered a stat drop midway.Heavenly Fist is a skill best used for the final blow, and that's safer, but this time we wanted burst damage above all.
We knew she would run out of stamina midway, but we judged that if we didn't go all-out from the beginning, it would be harder to cover for it later.
DPS—Damage Per Second, the total damage dealt per second.The required DPS was undoubtedly high. The moment the *Kabayaki* Combo perfectly locked in, we had a mere ten minutes of all-out assault to decide if we could finish off Aži Dahāka's HP.
We didn't think about remaining MP.
Just relentlessly using skills, unleashing big moves in succession, and recovering MP with potions when it ran low.The full-face mask has a dedicated opening for that.
When only normal attacks were possible due to recast times, it was just non-stop attacking. The toughest part of this strategy was, above all, ensuring that from the initial dash at the start of the battle, *everyone* never stopped their assault and maintained the highest possible DPS efficiency at that moment.
To aim for maximum efficiency in group combat, theoretically, it's best for a single commander to oversee the situation from the rear, manage everyone's skills, and issue attack orders by the second.
But that assumes people accustomed to a game-like environment *and* the existence of rapid communication methods.
While the battle with the real Aži Dahāka, caught in the Kabayaki Combo, didn't require flashy actions compared to the fight with the replica puppet's Aži Dahāka, the distance between the eight necks was still considerable.
Moreover, the concept of managing combatants' skill recast times isn't established in this world.
The very idea of centralized skill management simply doesn't exist.
In terms of achieving maximum efficiency, the combat level of this world is, I have to say, rudimentary compared to FBO's frontline players.
In that situation, with me being among the participants capable of outputting the highest DPS, I couldn't step back to the rear and command.
Honestly, I'm inwardly relieved that we managed by letting everyone use skills at their own discretion and relying on self-managed attacks.
With safety confirmed, Amina, who flew over from the stage where the choir was, joins from the air. Beside her, she's worried about Lady Esmeralda, who is rubbing her stomach from drinking too many potions.
"To think we truly could defeat a calamity-class monster... I believed it, but now that it's done, it feels like a dream.""Indeed, I believed Master would manage, but I couldn't completely shake off my anxiety. I can understand Jin-sai-dono's sentiment.""I too am experiencing felling such a major foe for the first time!!"
It's a relief that the heroes from other continents also seem fine. I can tell a budding camaraderie has formed from fighting the calamity-class monster Aži Dahāka together.
The barrier is down and the temperature has dropped, so we remove our masks and wipe off sweat.Forces from all directions—east, west, south, north—are gathered together as comrades-in-arms.
Yeah, back in the game, cooperating like this led to saying "Good work" and deepening interactions.
"Master!! Deep inside the hollow, there's a treasure chest larger than a person!!!"
As I was nostalgically recalling the game-like, conflict-free exchanges, Genjirou informed me that where Aži Dahāka's body vanished, deep inside the hollowed-out bedrock, there was a shining object.
"Seriously!?"
I had Nell use 'Fortune's Summoning' at the very last moment.Adding Nell's immense luck on top of that, of course, I knew something outrageous would happen.
I take off the full-face mask and carry it over my shoulder. Peering into the cave-like hollow, I can indeed see a shining treasure chest deep inside.
If it's shining, that means there's at least one rainbow chest.
In FBO, the chance for a rainbow chest from Aži Dahāka is higher than in normal dungeons, but it's not guaranteed.To get a rainbow chest in this reality where you can't reroll using save data, we had to rely on Nell's 'Fortune's Summoning.'
"There are two!!"
The number of chests that appear from Aži Dahāka is fixed at five for an incomplete resurrection.If you offer enough sacrifices for a complete resurrection, it increases by one, but I'd rather not sink *that* low.
Silver or higher is guaranteed, and with five chests, we can have some expectations.With bad luck, it could be all silver.
And perhaps because they contain Aži Dahāka's materials, the chests are ridiculously large.How large? Picture the size of a container carried by a ten-ton truck. Considering Aži Dahāka's colossal size, it's fitting.
Now, for the crucial contents.
The materials are Aži Dahāka's materials. Only the Eight-Headed Serpent Dragon Material series is inside.No magic stones or scrolls.
What does that mean? The materials from unique calamity monsters, of which only one is placed per continent, boast such broken performance in FBO that, depending on how they're used, the wielder can rank among the strongest.
In particular, weapons made from Aži Dahāka's materials suit me very well.
I had several favorite weapons during my active FBO days.Among them, one of my top five most frequently used weapons was a scythe-spear made from Aži Dahāka materials.
The number of items inside a chest is a minimum of two, but this varies depending on the chest's rank.
Silver: 2 to 5 items. Gold: 3 to 7 items. Rainbow: 5 to 10 items.Thanks to Fortune's Summoning, the remaining three chests are guaranteed to be gold.
At this stage, we have a minimum guarantee of 19 Eight-Headed Serpent Dragon materials.
The materials are scales, claws, fangs, poison sacs, and bones. These are the common drops.Each is prefixed with "Eight-Headed Serpent Dragon's...", essentially the common materials.
To craft the weapon I favored, the so-called rare materials are needed.
The materials from a unique calamity-class monster have three rarity tiers across ten types in total.
Five types are common materials. Three types are rare materials, which only drop from gold or higher chests. Two types are super rare materials, which only drop from rainbow chests.
Aži Dahāka's rare materials are Cursed Poison Fang, Reverse Scale, and Hemolytic Toxin.
The first two are used for weapons and armor, while the common Poison Sac and the rare Hemolytic Toxin are pharmaceutical-type materials.Using Aži Dahāka's rare materials, you can create items that dramatically heal even attacks or curses that would normally take a life in one hit—things even stronger than the enhanced versions of elixirs, akin to those "too precious to use" recovery items from certain games.
However, since the obtainable quantity is limited, the appearance of the "too-precious-to-use ghost" is a given.
Among these rare materials, I'd really like to secure at least two each of the Cursed Poison Fang and the Reverse Scale.
"I'm counting on you, Nell!!"
Three gold chests. Two rainbow chests.There's no way I'm opening them with this lineup.
"Leave it to me!!"
It's time for our incredibly lucky fox girl, Nell, to take the stage.
For better or worse, Nell likes opening chests. Starting with the warm-up, she begins with the gold chests.
"I wonder what materials will come out?""If one trains under Master, a mere gold chest shouldn't be surprising, but lined up like this, it's a bit intimidating.""Wahahaha! Look, you two, I've got goosebumps!""Me too.""Me as well."
With this many gold chests lined up, they seem to feel something close to awe. The heroes also watch with bated breath.
Regarding the materials obtained from this subjugation, we have priority acquisition rights.In terms of proportion, we're entitled to about eighty percent.
Half of the remaining twenty percent goes to the Edelgard family, and the final ten percent is divided among the heroes.We've agreed to make a separate monetary donation to the temple.
As for the royal family, they are completely playing the role of covering things up this time, so we have the Duke's gracious words not to worry about offerings or the like.
Materials from a legendary monster none have seen before.There are many here who wish to see them.
Watched by many, Nell takes a deep breath before opening the first gold chest.
"Ah!"
And upon seeing what's inside, Nell's eyes widen.
Sinister materials.Their abnormality felt vividly, precisely because we were just fighting it.
A part of Aži Dahāka's physical body is there. Nell, who had been opening them gleefully, looks back slightly anxious.
"It's okay. I have special containers prepared."
Overwhelmed by a presence not felt in the game, she might be reconsidering the distribution, wondering if it's really okay to divide this up.To dispel that anxiety, I stand beside Nell and peer into the chest. It's no wonder she's hesitant, when she'd normally happily tell me the contents.
You can see Nell's immense luck at work: the chest contains 6 items—3 scales, 1 Reverse Scale, and 2 fangs, including a rare material.
It's precisely because of Nell's luck, yielding many materials, that she tenses up from the eerie atmosphere emitted—an atmosphere you can't sense in the game, only in reality.
In truth, all these materials are cursed.
Touching them bare-handed would cause the curse poison to infect through the skin, rotting the fingertips.
So, I take out the collection items from the Magic Bag at my waist.
"Gloves with mithril plates on the palms imbued with a Purification skill. And over here, bags made of Sunlight Silk soaked in holy water and imbued with a Purification skill."
Storing these items also requires specially treated items. I recall a player in the past who carelessly touched them thinking 'they're just materials' and lost all their HP.
This Purification skill isn't to purify the materials themselves, but to protect the surroundings from the curse of the storage items.
With such tools in hand, I begin carefully wrapping each massive material, large enough for Santa Claus to carry, in a gigantic bag.