Shujinkou Janai! - Ch 27

In the real world, I had been playing B&B, but I had never fully completed the game.

No, describing it as completing might have been somewhat impertinent.

I played B&B from the beginning four times and cleared the game twice, but I’m not sure if I got the best ending.

The reason for this is that B&B is a game that is “easy to play, but extremely difficult to master”.

The difficulty of B&B is exquisitely adjusted, in both good and bad ways, with a system in which “the farther the game progresses, the stronger the enemies become”.

The objective of the game is to defeat the last boss, <Evil Deity Rasulphi>, but this Evil Deity can be fought no matter how you play the game if you want to fight him.

Pushing the logic to the extremes, even if you have been sleeping in an inn since the beginning of the game, the <Goddess of Salvation> will automatically appear in front of the “Hero” after two years and forcefully send him to the <Dark Sanctuary> where Rasulphi lays dormant.

Of course, there’s no way that a player who hasn’t grown strong enough can win against the Evil Deity who has been resurrected in perfect condition.

So, the “Hero” must strengthen themself and in addition, it’s necessary to weaken the Evil Deity by destroying the Statues Clad in Evil Power, the “divided power of the Evil Deity”, at the deepest level of the <Twelve Dark Ruins>, but there’s a trap laid here.

————-The after-effect of the Evil Deity’s power would be scattered around the world, making all the monsters in the world one step stronger.

From a game system perspective, this is a nice gimmick.

As the game progresses, the enemies get stronger and new changes are made to existing locations, making the game more challenging and since the enemies in the Twelve Dark Ruins would also naturally get stronger, this will allow for more strategies, such as taking on the most taking on the dungeons among the Twelve Dark Ruins your party’s most incompatible with first.

However, such a thing happening isn’t something the world would be happy about. The more time passes in the game and the more of the Twelve Dark Ruins are conquered, the more difficult it becomes to live in the world, and the atmosphere of cities and towns becomes darker.

Adventurers die, some stores go out of business, events occur that cause towns and cities to collapse, dangerous cults become more prevalent, and the changes are wide-ranging, increasing the difficulty of the game in this aspect as well.

I think they did well from a story-telling standpoint, but seriously, I wonder how the devs could create such an ill-natured system.

However, it’s not necessary to conquer all of the <Twelve Dark Ruins>.

When you have cleared about half of them, 6 of the ruins, the last boss, Rasulphi, is weakened to a level that the “Hero” and their party can stand against him.

Even if the player’s party fails in training and events a little, if they manage to conquer about 7 ruins within 2 years, it’s possible to clear the game.

However, clearing the game that way would probably just be the Normal End.

Even after the player has painstakingly defeated the last boss, they will only see a whiteout screen with only a few words of thanks from the <Goddess of Salvation>, followed by the staff roll with solemn music.

Even the staff roll ends with an ” E N D ? ” message, seemingly implying something.

I was expecting a character-theme ending story with the characters who became my comrades, so I was very upset when I got that ending, but I changed my view on things when I remembered that ending.

(Perhaps, I need to master this game in order to see B&B’s True End.)

The key is definitely the Twelve Dark Ruins.

There are two possible ways to achieve this: “Defeat the Evil Deity in their strongest state without clearing any of the ruins at all”, or “Conquer all the ruins, then confront the Evil Deity”.

However, as for the former, I consider achieving that almost impossible.

This is because the enemy monsters are so weak that you will not be able to secure a sufficient level of skill if you haven’t conquered any of the ruins.

So, after overcoming the first playthrough and the Normal End of the second playthrough, I set out to conquer all the ruins in my third playthrough.

I made a chart in advance, took the best course of action with the little information I had, and managed to conquer up to the 11th ruin.

However, the 12th ruin, the <Labyrinth of True Darkness> was impossible.

The fact that the <Cult of Eternal Darkness> attacked us while my party was conquering the labyrinth was a factor in the failure, but the monsters in that place were simply too strong.

While other ruins vary in difficulty depending on the order of attack, only the <Labyrinth of True Darkness> welcomes you with high-spec Lv 100+ monsters, no matter when you come to that place.

I’m not sure if it’s because, in exchange, all encounters are treated as mid-boss battles, but the enemy placements are fixed and they were never resurrected, so this probably means that <Labyrinth of True Darkness> is practically the last dungeon.

In the end, I gave up on clearing the game completely and finished the third round with another Normal End.

After that, I started my fourth playthrough with the help of the DLC that had just been distributed, hoping to clear the game completely this time, but real-life matters made me busy.

Naturally, I stopped playing the game and never touched it again.

I don’t know if I would have been able to clear the <Labyrinth of True Darkness> if I had continued my fourth playthrough.

That’s how difficult the <Labyrinth of True Darkness> was, a dungeon that was so different from other dungeons.

※　※　※

[……And yet, you’re following me as if it’s a matter of course, Resilia.]

[It may have been Nii-san’s own choice to die somewhere, but that doesn’t change the fact that that is Rex-nii-san’s body.]

I turned to look at Resilia, who was following a few distance behind me, and she returned it without even a smirk on her lips.

[I’ll say it again, but this is dangerous.]

[I know, so I’m coming with you.]

She’s stubborn.

I guess this is what they meant when people describe how there are some people who won’t budge about something even if a little bit.

Seeing no recourse here, I had no choice but to concentrate on moving forward.

Thereupon, taking it as if I had just given her permission, Resilia stood beside me.

[You don’t need to worry, Nii-san, I’ll follow your orders.]

I feel complicated, not knowing whether I should feel relieved or anxious to hear Resilia say such a thing.

[Speaking of which, before you know it, you started normally calling me “Nii-san” huh.]

[I’m not really comfortable calling you “Rex” after all.]

I don’t know whether she’s aware of it or not, but every word she says kinda have this sharpness to it.

[……Are you even alright calling other people “Nii-san”?]

[It’s a little too late for that, don’t you think?]

[Guess so.]

Hearing her calling me that doesn’t fit in my mind well, but I guess calling me that makes sense in her mind.

I was moving forward silently, but this time, as if to counterattack, Resilia spoke.

[Even you, Nii-san, don’t you think you’re acting differently only towards me?]

[That’s because I don’t have to act like Rex around you.]

There really shouldn’t be any reason for me to role-play as Rex, but there was this part of me that somehow makes me think of “acting like I’m Rex” to the people around me.

But well, I’d have to make an exception when it comes to Resilia.

I wouldn’t be able to imitate Rex to someone who knows that my true identity is that of a civilian from another world.

Thanks to this, I’m aware that I’m able to talk to Resilia in a natural way without the need to act big at all.

[In that sense, I guess we have a good balance huh.]

[……I don’t know. I wonder about that.]

Even as we exchanged such idle chatter, we continued on our way to the dungeon.

Perhaps because it’s the last dungeon before the last boss, there are no monsters around the <Labyrinth of True Darkness>, and since no ruins have been conquered yet, there are still no strong field enemies lurking around.

We were able to find the entrance to the labyrinth without any difficulty.

[It sure has an imposing atmosphere.]

Once again, I gave a warning to Resilia, who was still talking nonchalantly.

[Listen up, the purpose of this mission is only to secure “useful equipment”. Not to challenge the dungeon or to defeat monsters. Absolutely refrain from any rash actions……]

[I know that. In the name of the Toren Family, I will not hold you back, Nii-san.]

As she said this, there’s no hint of the joking tone she had earlier.

If this is the case, I suppose she would be alright.

[I guess I should use it here.]

I took out the <Black Cat Blessing Coin> from my inventory and flicked it with my finger.

With a high-pitched clink, the coin melted in the air and at the same time, a golden light danced around me.

[That was……]

[The coin’s effect. Now, for a set period of time, it makes it so that “all equipment acquired are Enchanted”.]

Yes.

This time, we were looking for equipment with powerful “Enchantments”.

B&B is a game whose Hack-and-Slash factor is quite prominent, and equipment obtained in dungeons and other locations have the probability of gaining additional value to it.

One of these additional values is “Enchantments”, which randomly adds one type of correction to equipment, such as “STR+34” or “MGC+11” to name a few.

The Enchantment effect on the equipment is proportional to the strength of the dungeon.

In other words, if it’s in the highest difficulty level of the <Labyrinth of True Darkness>, we can expect to find the best enchanted equipment.

[……Let’s go.]

The effect of the Black Cat Coin lasts only for 30 minutes.

I think that was plenty enough time, but I don’t want to be too laid back and end up being pressed for time.

I stepped into the ruins half a step ahead of Resilia.

(It’s not like I’m copying Resilia, but this place certainly has an imposing atmosphere.)

The ground I stepped on was making a cracking sound.

When I took a few steps without minding it, “Uuu……”, I heard Resilia groaning behind me.

Well, I know how she feels.

The damp wind and the cool atmosphere.

To put it bluntly, I felt as if the world around me had changed the moment I entered.

[Beyond the door is the first enemy, the <Damascus Gargoyle>. It won’t move unless you attack or touch the door, so be careful……]

I turned around while saying this, when I noticed something unusual about Resilia.

She was kneeling on the spot and seemed to be unable to move with her mouth clamped shut.

[Resilia!?]

[You’re okay…… even facing…… this overwhelmingly…… thick magic power? ……You really are…… on a different…… level, Nii-san.]

Resilia seemed to be in pain, speaking in a broken voice.

She seemed to be trying to act strong, but her face was pale.

I also sensed a change in the atmosphere the moment we entered the labyrinth.

However, it wasn’t so much that I felt oppressed by the magic power, but it was a straining feeling moderate enough for me to walk around comfortably.

(Is it because I’m not from this world? No, is it simply because of my level?)

I can think of many reasons, but now is not the time for that.

After I used the coin, there was no way I could just come back here later.

But unfortunately, I can’t take Resilia with me while she’s in this state.

[Resilia, you can wait out here. I’ll go in by myself like I planned……]

Saying this, I tried to move forward.

However……

[————-Don’t.]

Thereupon, my arm was grabbed from behind.

I was about to brush her off, saying “This isn’t the time to be selfish”, when her next words brought me to a pause.

[Please…… don’t go.]

Resilia, who was clinging to my arm, looked desperate.

She somehow managed to support her body, which was about to collapse, and was desperately trying to hold me back.

[This place…… is dangerous. If I…… If I were…… to lose you as well……]

There was no sign of the usual strong girl there.

As she looked at me like a little child clinging to her parents, I……

I……

[————-Alright.]

……I stopped my foot completely, as I was about to move forward.

[Eh?]

I smiled at Resilia, who was surprised that I stopped so easily.

[I should have explained this from the beginning. I said I wasn’t going to take on the dungeon, didn’t I? Even if we don’t go deep into the dungeon, we could already “acquire the treasure chests”.]

In front of Resilia, who looked like she had no idea what I was talking about, I operated my inventory.

The item I chose was the <Steel Sword> that was on the casino’s prize list along with the <Goblin Slaughter>, a knife made of Orichalcon.

I had no hesitation in selecting one of the <Steel Swords> that occupied my inventory thanks to the large amount I had exchanged for at the casino.

<Steel> type equipment itself is a very basic item that even Resilia has, and can easily be bought at the NPC stores.

Naturally, it isn’t a rare item.

————-However, this <Steel Sword> is different.

After all, that much is obvious, isn’t it?

There’s no way that “items that can be bought in stores” in a “casino that only offers prizes that aren’t for sale” can be normal.

[Let’s begin!]

The moment it left my inventory, the <Steel Sword> revealed its true form.

It instantly loses its sword shape, and its body grows larger and thicker.

The brown body, which eventually opens in two, turned out to be a treasure chest with fangs!

[Gyaaaaahhhh!]

It screamed and tried to lunge at the nearby me, but the blow didn’t reach me.

It took the flash of my sword, which was already waiting for its action, and instantly transformed into particles of light.

[……Eh?]

In front of Resilia, who mumbled in a daze, a bracelet fell with a clang to the place where the treasure chest monster was.

The Dropped Item, this bracelet, which fell to the ground, was enveloped in a golden glimmer, indicating that it was an Enchanted equipment.