A requiem to soothe the rusted guardian, Ruin Keeper.
"So, what are Legacy Weapons?" Pepper mused.
While waiting for High Beat's debuff to lift and his stamina to recover, Pepper pondered the Radiant Series in his inventory. It was Shindai-era tech, imbued with the dream of soaring the skies, but its creation process and materials remained a mystery.
"Bilac-san, any idea what Legacy Weapons are?" he asked.
"I'm a master smith, but those things? No clue," Bilac admitted.
Even Bilac, a crafting prodigy, was stumped by the alien armor and weapons. Pepper's curiosity fixated on the Radiant Solreia, categorized as Greaves—the same as his Expyde Warlegs, crafted by Bilac but locked behind a level cap. Since Fastia, Secandil, and Fosfosie shops didn't list greaves, they likely unlocked after clearing the quest's third stage.
"But… my old man might know something," Bilac added.
"The master?" Pepper asked.
"Yup. Before he passed the Rabbit Palace leadership to my brother Edward and retired, he was a hardcore smith. Taught me the craft's fundamentals."
Pepper had assumed Weiss Ash was the Rabbit King, but learned Edward, the eldest son, had taken over. The master's absence from the palace likely meant he was enjoying newfound freedom, Pepper mused.
"Alright, High Beat's debuff is gone. Shall we, ladies? Time to face the area boss," Pepper said, re-equipping his Traveler's Cloak.
"Let's go!" Aitoile chirped.
"Hell yeah, let's crush it!" Bilac roared.
With skills ready and High Beat's penalty lifted, Pepper, Aitoile, and Bilac advanced to confront the Ruin Keeper's formidable presence.
Shindai Iron Ruins, Basement Level 5…
At the final destination for pioneers descending from the surface, a 5-meter-tall mechanical humanoid stood guard. Weathered by age and moss-covered armor, it resembled a robot from a classic sky-castle film. Despite its decay, it activated to block intruders, confronting Pepper and the two black rabbits.
"That's the area boss!" Pepper exclaimed.
"No doubt, the Ruin Keeper!" Bilac confirmed.
"Looks like an ancient golem!" Aitoile added.
Though it appeared ready for the scrap heap, its swift right-arm swing at Pepper shattered that illusion. "Whoa! It's faster than it looks!" he yelped.
"It's an area boss—don't underestimate it!" Bilac warned.
Dodging, Pepper nodded. "Got it!" He equipped the Madness Breaker, freshly repaired by Bilac, and faced the Ruin Keeper. "Against robots or golems, we cripple mobility first. Aitoile and I will create openings—Bilac-san, target its knee joints!"
"On it, Pepper-han!" Aitoile replied.
"Leave it to me!" Bilac said.
To down a giant robot, you target its legs for mobility, its chest for the core, or its head for control. Pepper chose the legs—its head was too high to reliably hit, and the chest, though less decayed, would resist destruction.
"Come on!" Aitoile taunted.
"Over here!" Pepper shouted.
To divert aggro from Bilac, Pepper and Aitoile used their mobility to bait the Ruin Keeper. Suddenly, its head spun 180 degrees, locking onto Bilac as she stepped back.
"What the—?!" Bilac gasped.
"No way!" Pepper shouted.
"It can do that?!" Aitoile cried.
The golem's unexpected gimmick stunned them. Unrelenting, the Ruin Keeper lunged, its right arm arcing for a backfist at Bilac.
"Not on my watch!" Pepper roared.
Using Accel's agility and strength boost, he combined Madness Breaker's damage buff, High Press, and Vulgar Strike for a full-force swing at the Ruin Keeper's ankle. "Twist your damn ankle!"
If this humanoid machine mimicked a body, its weight rested on two legs. Crippling one—especially the pivot leg—would topple it. But the Ruin Keeper canceled its attack, braced with its elbow, and quickly recovered. An area boss wouldn't fall easily.
"Thanks, Pepper, that opened a window!" Bilac called.
She closed in on the Ruin Keeper's left side. "Take this!" Activating Material Focus for precision, her Sledge Ogre blazed with red flames. She unleashed a fortress-shattering strike: "Fortress Breaker!"
The hammer slammed into the Ruin Keeper's side, toppling it again. The impact carved a crater in the floor, bursting its chest armor and exposing the core. In an R18G game, its torso would've been minced, leaving only head and legs.
"Now! Go, Pepper, Aitoile!" Bilac shouted.
"Got it, Bilac-neesan!" Aitoile replied.
"On it!" Pepper said.
Aitoile's Storm Naginata: Tiger Roar unleashed Matchless Flash Blade's piercing flurry, while Pepper's Madness Breaker delivered Dynamo Impact. Their attacks shredded the core, Heavy Strike shattering it completely.
The Ruin Keeper's polygons collapsed, dropping a Moss-Covered Armor Plate. "Ruin Keeper, you guarded this place for millennia with undeniable skill. Your tactics and resilience taught me a lot," Pepper said, picking up the item and high-fiving Aitoile and Bilac.
As the sun set and night cloaked the world, the trio emerged from the ruins' depths. They scaled a towering hill under the rising moon, reaching Sixenbelt—Shangri-La Frontier's sixth town. A hub of agriculture, it offered two perilous paths: one through cloud-shrouded peaks risking fatal falls, the other along a raging river ready to swallow the careless.
At the same moment, a new player arrived in Fastia. "Whoa, my body moves so smoothly!" she said, her blonde twin-tails swaying, orange eyes gleaming in beginner gear.
Her voice, however, was male—a classic nekama (male playing a female avatar). In a game of endless playstyles, such choices were irrelevant. "Let's see what this god-tier game Shangri-La Frontier is made of," said Oikatzo—real name Kei Uomi—starting the tutorial in Fastia.
Unbeknownst to him, his avatar was a near-perfect mirror of his female self.
Pepper Reaches Sixenbelt; the Pro Gamer Starts in Asiasoft.
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