Chapter 813: December ???: Strengthening One’s Equipment Is Strengthening Oneself

「…… “Growing-up”!!」

In response to the girl’s voice echoing in the midnight Sea of Trees, the crystal bullets embedded in the ground began to grow rapidly.

「Wow, it’s amazing! This is a really good weapon! Right!? Isuna-chan thinks so too, right?」

A girl who looks at the crystal pillars stuck in the trunk of a large tree that was not so thin to begin with, which makes up this entire area, says so excitedly.

「It’s a really good pick-up … But I wish it had thrown this move in a little bit more flashy way, you know?」

「Oh well, it’s okay as long as it makes you even a little bit stronger, I think?」

For Isuna, a “cowardly” and “sneaky” Goldunine, she doesn’t know what exactly her source of power is. So as long as it does not endanger her life and contributes to her safety, she would even join hands with a murderer no problem. That was Isuna’s personal philosophy and profound belief.

Ideally, she wanted her partner to be someone who stands out so much that they manage to hide her entire existence, and she wanted to request improvements from Hiiragi as much as possible, a Player which mainly specialized in assassinations and stealth. Hiiragi, who is sensitive to threats that can threaten her own life even if just a little bit, was a perfect match for her companion at the current moment.

「Ufufufufufu, isn’t it cowardly to have such a great item hidden without away without telling anyone?」

「Look who’s talking.」

「Huh? Me? Why? Where?」

「……………」

Goldunine Isuna, who has a humanoid but unusual nature, understands in a flash. “Oh, this human doesn’t get it at all.” It was something that took her an instant to understand. However, as mentioned above, Isuna does not emphasize the humanity of her partner. And surely, the two items that Hiiragi got a hold of had the power that could be called raw “strengthening” of the two of them.

「At first I thought it was a bug when it fell down onto the floor, but it’s not like I’m overdoing it …… But if I’m using the items obtained from some random pervert, does that make me a pervert as well?」

Sealed Lightning Hammer “Levin Trigger / Disaster Hazard”.

It’s an accessory with various benefits, some of them being so powerful to the extent that the user’s behavior could be called excessive after using it…… But it also possesses disadvantages. For example, it can increase the dynamic of movement so much that a mere step forward can shift into a somersault kick. Some of the loot items that Hiiragi obtained she already managed to sell, but the one item she was most fond of was the Scorpion Gauntlets.

Hiiragi’s playstyle is to hide away and then deliver a one-shot deathblow to her opponent without them even realizing what hit them. The Glittering Scorpion Gauntlet, which can shoot a terrible blow from itself, greatly contributes to killing the Tanks, something with which she was not all that great to begin with, and the Levin Trigger / Disaster Hand can be used to attack, defend, or escape as long as you get used to its excessive behavior. It will be a versatile accessory that will help her in a whole lot of situations in the future.

However, although there are slight performance issues with those items, the reason why Hiiragi left these two at hand is because she found out that these were “The One and Only” as far as weapons go. There is no concept of “looking at oneself” in Hiiragi’s dictionary. Although she may laugh at Sanraku, who possesses a unique weapon like that, as cowardly, she has no hesitation or conflict with doing the same thing if it means bettering her chances at survival.

I’m an exception to every rule, I’m special……… A woman who has survived with good looks and a mentality that is more flexible than a slime and stronger than steel, while sprinkling arrogance that could cause her to be excluded from society in general. That was who Hiiragi was.

And here in this Shangri-La Frontier. After all, it’s just a game … Even if you assassinate hundreds of people and borrow the equipment of your victims a hundred times, it is only a game after all.

And here in this Shangri-La Frontier, PK is systematically allowed, and if it’s allowed, there’s no reason not to do it. In that respect, all the elements that categorize the Players that belong to Ashura Kai, a Guild with close ties to Arthur Pencilgton and Survival who enjoys PK itself, but also close to Allslot who does it for the purpose of profits from PK. Hiiragi is just a crystalized essence of all those Players being put together.

Hiiragi, who is the person in question, has been thinking about something for a while, but asks Isuna with a dim smile.

「Say, Isuna-chan?」

「What is it?」

「In the not too distant future…… There’s going to be a big offensive against that main Goldunine, right?」

That’s right…… I can feel it, her presence…… Dark, dark, so grim and dark…… Filled to the brim with murderous intentions……」

「It’s really unusual for you to have chills and goosebumps because of something, huh? Isuna-chan?」

「………………」

「Maybe the people who were fighting that Goldunine at that time…… will also participate in that decisive battle, right?」

Isuna looks suspiciously at her partner for a few seconds, and when she sees the smile on Hiiragi’s lips…… No way, at that moment her eyes opened wide.

You, no way…… You cou;dn’t possibly…… Is that what you are aiming for here!?」

「Well, I mean, they are still bound to have some more high quality items, right? If so, how about we go and peck some more?」

Hiiragi’s entire Player build is a one-shot deadly type, and at the same time it is a survival type based on avoiding death, which is too special even for a PK specialization construction. It means that you can virtually nullify the risk of PK until all of your preparations are going to be torn to pieces by some miracle.

A smile bloomed on Hiiragi’s lips, one fueled by the single emotion: “greed”. But Isuna doesn’t blame her for it. After all, it doesn’t matter who that person is and what she does, as long as she is going to keep her safe, that’s all that Isuna could possibly ever want.

「We have to prepare right away! I’ll secure a surprise attack point and a save point…… Ufufufufu, my, my…… Glittering Scorpion’s Gauntlet will be able to erase people with a single blow, right? Let’s go!」

Hiiragi was at the very peak of her own condition when she was making plans and preparations for her assassinations. Her face was as innocent as that of an elementary school student planning their summer vacation.

…

………

……………

Do you happen to know the old saying that “Fate is indeed an unpredictable thing?”

For example, you might think that an escaped horse that you own is a terrible disaster, but that in turn might cause you to come across an even better horse. It’s unfortunate that the son that was riding that better horse fell off the horse’s back and broke his leg, but as a result of that he avoided being drafted and having to go to war……In short, it means that the good or bad things in life are oftentimes hard to determine right away. But if you look at the origin of that saying, you might think this at the same time:

But unfortunately good luck never lasts long……

「…… Huh?」

The voice of a third party who is neither Hiiragi nor Isuna. A person who “stands up” while swaying their haori in the wind that blows through the Sea of Trees, undoing the sneaking technique that allowed them to slip past Isuna’s vigilant defenses, and it was even more impressive since Isuna has the ability to perfectly detect anything in her immediate surroundings.

Behind her, there was a fox’s tail that shook happily.