As Pepper's exploits spread across Shangri-La Frontier's forums, in the real world, at Utopia Corp's 10th basement floor archive room, Sosei, the game's creator, grimaces at her monitor.
"Ghh—!"
Displayed is the result screen for a Shangri-La quest, cleared far earlier than intended—meant for much later stages.
The text, cold and electronic, confirms the outcome:
Unique Quest [Impact of the World] Third Phase: [With Tempest in Body, Clad in Storm] S-Clear Confirmed.
Cleared by: Pepper
Titles Gained: [Dream Inheritor], [Hero Dancing in the Azure Sky], [Pioneer of New Arms]
Weapon Category [Greaves] Unlocked in Shangri-La Frontier Shops.
S-Clear and Overall A+ Evaluation in Third Phase Unlocks Unique Quest EX: [Gather, Seven-Star Emperor Armor].
Remaining Relic Weapons Mimicking the Mightiest: 6
"Lies… right?" Sosei mutters, her expression darkening. The Unique Quest EX was meant to unlock with the fifth and sixth phases after difficulty tweaks. Though possible to trigger earlier based on player actions, it hinged on answers to Weissash and Siegverum's questions. Wrong answers lock the relic weapon's full potential until later.
Pepper's S-clear, however, unleashed nearly 100% of Radiant Dragonius's power—far beyond Sosei's expectations.
Beyond the third phase, quests require the World Quest to reach its second phase to progress. But the EX quest allows hunting unique relic weapons, offering a massive edge against unique monsters.
"What did Pepper say to Weissash and Siegverum…?" Sosei wonders, baffled by this player. He discovered the intricate unique quest and cleared every possible quest in the World Quest's first phase in record time.
She doesn't know Pepper vowed to Weissash to inherit and protect the ancient dream or gave Siegverum a near-perfect answer on heroism.
Her path is clear.
"What's Pepper likely to chase next…? Lycaon? Or Orchestra?" She begins plotting, tweaking quests and monster placements to counter player plans.
The god of creation rewrites the world to thwart expectations.
Meanwhile, a gamer triumphs over his trial.
"YESS! Finally cleared FairKuso!"
Removing his VR gear, Rakuro Hizutome slides the game into its case, shelving it in his "Never Again" section. "What a masterpiece of trash. Never touching it again."
Stretching, he glances at the darkening sky. "Took too long, but now I can dive in. Problem is, my order arrives May 1st…"
He mutters, "Pencil Warrior, Modorukatzo, Black Pepper—they started early. Gotta catch up and surpass them!"
Rakuro, the ultimate trash game hunter handpicked by Arthur Pencilgon for the Gravekeeper Wezaemon fight, has conquered Fairia Chronicle Online, a notorious trash game. Now, he turns to the acclaimed Shangri-La Frontier.
The world is about to shift.
The Trash Game Hunter Challenges the Godly Game
Note: Taking a one-week break to plan and outline the next chapter.
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