02x16 - What Do You Play Games for? Their Answers

[bunniefuu]

As "Clear Sky" transformed into
my ultimate, "Sky Clear"...

So, again, do the words transform...
to describe your talent.

"It is as clear as a cloudless sky."

What Do You Play Games For? Their Answers

Let's go back a bit, to three days after
the defeat of Wethermon the Tombguard...

Tearlight Lake

Kei Uomi is a professional gamer.

That should be the end of you...

Lifestide Lake Serpent!

Is it—

Too bad.

Missed me.

And here's the finisher!

Spirit Fist: Red!

Spirit Fist: Red

Spirit Fist: Red

Yeah, I leveled up!

Man, those water snakes are tough cookies.

Level 53...

I think I'm about back to where
I was before the Wethermon fight.

Even if it was to win...

What's this?

Evil Force

Evil Force.

I've used it before, and it
was a pretty rough time...

Every thirty seconds,
your level decreases by one.

Huh? My level goes down?!

After getting my level up, I had
to take a twenty level penalty...

Dropped Item
Lifestide Scale

Seriously,

soloing these guys ain't easy...

Every water droplet has a hit box,
and the drop items even have dirt on them...

The quality of this game is ridiculous.

Who would bother going to all this trouble?

The SLF Engine, huh...

The reason Kei Uomi started
playing Shangri-La Frontier

was not just because he'd talked to Sunraku.

Say what?

The latest game in the Galaxia Heroes
series, set to come out in the fall,

Overseas Game Roundup

used the same engine as Shangri-La Frontier.

He had seen that.

Galaxia Heroes is the most popular fighting
game on the world tournament scene.

The latest game in the series would,
for professional gamers like Kei Uomi,

become their primary battleground in the future.

If I can learn the system in advance,

I can train, combining business and pleasure.

I'd thought Wethermon would make
a great opponent in that regard...

As inhuman as that draw-strike was,

the speed of the grab seemed just in the
realm of what a human could reproduce.

There's a lot I can learn from the
high-level performance in this game.

Using the 3D movements of
Metius from Galaxia Heroes...

If the one fighting Wethermon had
been me instead of Sunraku...

Could I have beaten Wethermon the Tombguard?

At the very least, Pencilgon thought
Sunraku was a better fit than me.

Even so...

Hey! That's heavy...

Even so, I...

I've never thought of myself
as inferior to them...

Not even once!

Get out here, Lifestide Lake Serpent!

Yes!

What the... A crayfish?

Rare Enemy
Lifestide Destrobster

A rare enemy, now?

Spirit Fist: Red!

That's hard!

I mean, figures, with it
being a crustacean and all...

Speaking of, didn't Sunraku mention this?

Hey, Katzo.

Yeah?

Look out for rare enemies that
look like crayfish around here.

Crayfish?

I've only fought it once,

but it was hella strong.

It was a powerful foe indeed!

I'd have had a hard time
if Emul hadn't been there.

We made a truly formidable team!

Though it gave out some tasty EXP in return.

To beat it—

Don't tell me.

I'll find it for myself.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah, it's not like I only get
one try, like with Wethermon.

I wish you could have seen it, OiKatzo-san!

Besides, I am...

Whoa!

Kei Uomi is a professional gamer.

Okay, I get it.

If I can solo this thing on my first go-round,

that means I win, right?

Sunraku!

Just a game, huh?

It's my job to seize victory in this
game with all the power I have!

I'll show you what pro gamer
Kei Uomi can do when he gets serious!

Simultaneously Hidden Garden

Set-chan.

I wonder how long I'll stay
in stoppage time like this.

Thirdrema

Well, well.

You're from Clan Wolfgang, are you not?

Allow me to show you the way.

Wow, they really know me on sight.

I did pay a pretty big price
for slaying Wethermon.

I'd better get some half-decent weapons,

or it's gonna be hard to make any money at all.

Debt: 500 million mahni

Yet until the penalty for
paying back my debt ends,

I'm not allowed to make
any monetary transactions.

Right this way.

Which means there's only one thing to do.

Hey, you!

You're Pencilgon, aren't you?!

What are you doing here?

What am I doing here?
It's a weapon shop, isn't it?

I'm here for some weapons, of course.

This isn't just some weapon shop!

This shop is funded by Schwarz Vulf!

We're only allowed to sell with special
customers we've forged a contract with—

Wait...

I get it. We've got that alliance
with Wolfgang now, right?

Yep, which means I'm a special customer!

Why do I gotta work with her?

Even if it helps us beat Lycagon, our chief
really went beyond the pale on this one...

Wow, is this player-made? It's nice work.

And this rare weapon... sold by a
broke player as a last resort, maybe?

What a bittersweet feeling!

What?

I'm here to watch out in case unpredictable
elements like you show up.

What are you talking about?

I'm gonna become a loyal patron here!

I can't trust someone who'd
sell out her own clan.

The Ashura Kai?
That benefited us both, remember?

Besides, I told you the truth, right?

Cash on Hand 387,965,000 Mahni

Even if it meant destroying the Ashura Kai,

even if it meant losing most of the
resources I'd built up in that time,

I wanted to achieve it.

To put Wethermon the Tombguard at peace.

Because that was what Setsuna
of Bygone Days wanted.

It wasn't just an immediate goal.

It was basically my reason
for playing SLF itself.

Then, once I kept my word,

she disappeared as well.

What should I lose myself
in this game over next?

Log out now?

Or maybe it's time...

Just kidding.

Okay, I'll take this and this.

Oh, and this in case I need a spare!

Hey, can you really afford all that?

They're all pretty darn rare.

What, your leader didn't tell you?

Tell me what?

Our Sunraku-kun found a unique
scenario that lets you fight Lycagon.

What?!

Lies

In exchange for the info, your leader said
we could put it on her tab just this once.

Are you kidding me?
No one mentioned that to me!

It just happened, so maybe
you missed each other.

Total Lies

Hang on. I'm gonna check with her—

Since Lycagon only appears at night,
it's got to do with the phase of the moon

and the movement of the stars and
the alignment of the planets and

Kepler's laws and all kinds of things,

so it's kind of urgent!

And since she needs all the help
she can get she sent me here!

Point is, there's no time to
waste so I need this stuff now!

Huh? I'm not buying it.

This is more important than
whether or not you believe it!

If we miss the quest, are you
gonna take responsibility?!

Are you gonna explain it to
your leader... to Psyger-100?!

You idiot!

What's your problem?

That was our big chance!

I've told you time and again
that Lycagon's our top priority!

B-But...

No excuses!

Fine, I get it!

She does get pretty testy
when it comes to Lycagon...

There.

Excellent.

Accept

Well, be back with good news soon!

H-Hey!

At least let me come along—

She's fast.

Having a player there made it kind of annoying,

but I at least got what I needed.

Now I can fight halfway decently.

And even though I'm in stoppage
time, I at least need a goal.

The Flower Pin of Bygone Prayers.

This accessory, which she acquired as a
reward for winning the Wethermon fight,

doesn't affect her stats.

It just beckons her to the west.

Something's calling me in this direction.

The one item left behind by
Setsuna of Bygone Days...

It's natural to assume that that
"something" has something to do with you.

Even if I'm wrong, I can't
pretend like I never saw it.

All right, so much to do!

First, I've gotta shore up my foundation

and buff up Wolfgang!

Castle of the Archduke of Thirdrema.

I've already stolen a throne.

Maybe this time I'll seek power
through more legal means?

Hey, you! Pencilgon!

Darn it! I knew that was all BS!

Our leader said she didn't know anything
about the Lycagon info or giving you weapons!

Whoops, secret's out.

Away I go!

Get back here!

And it was just getting good, darn it!

I'll talk to Momo-chan later and get her to pay,

so it's basically the same thing!

Oh, shut up!

I saw you grinning up at that castle!

You're not gonna raid the castle using
those weapons you conned, are you?!

No way! I was just wondering if I could beat
up the guards to impress them and get a job!

Why do you enjoy playing like this?!

Enjoy...?

Guess so.

Bounty hunters, please!

There's a big-talking PKer right here!

Hey, that hurts!

I might still have a huge debt,
but I've atoned for my crimes,

so my reputation's squeaky clean!

I'm still enjoying this game.

If you wish to know of your roots...
of the truth of this world...

Seek out "Bahamut."

I got it, Set-chan.

This isn't stoppage time.

This is my...

next stage!

Present Day

Utopia Head of PR Division
Sakai Tsukuyogi

Lycagon's shade was defeated, then?

And it's only been a few days since
they cleared the Wethermon fight...

Could I face that again?

Chinese Herbal
Digestive Medicine

I've got a full stock of lives this time, though.

Original Text Reference Room

Employee ID recognized.

Please input code.

Code recognized.

Please confirm fingerprints.

Fingerprints recognized.

Now undergoing retinal scan.

Please place your face near the sensor.

Don't worry.

Sakai Tsukuyogi, head of PR...

You're a capable man!

Retinal scan in progress.
Move your face close to the scanner.

Your guts are strong, too!

Original Text Reference Room

Retinal scan recognized.

Would you two stop fighti—

What's with you? You look like death.

Utopia Founder
World Creative Administrator
Tsukuyo Tsukuri

Who's fighting?

Shangri-La Frontier
Executive Producer
Ritsu Amachi

Whose fault do you think—

Well... I received word that
Lycagon's shade was defeated.

The shade doesn't affect
the world story very much.

It's a simple tutorial...

Less than that. A prologue.

It was defeated by the Attack Master
and two players with Marks.

A fairly appropriate group
to beat Lycagon, right?

Yes...

Tsukuyo has a tendency to prefer
player quality to quantity...

She tends to want high-quality
players doing the deed, too.

I guess she thinks this is a decent result.

The fact that you're not angry
means you don't object, then?

You picking a fight,
you pomade-stinking four-eyes?

Poma—

I use hair wax!

Well, I have a few things to say about it,

but I expected Lycagon's shade
to be defeated sooner or later.

I don't have a problem.

I-I see.

At least, I didn't.

P-Past tense?

Until I happened...

to find a log showing that someone had silently
buffed the stats on Lycagon's shade...

Of course I did!

Lycagon's supposed to be smart!

She's gotta come up with countermeasures so
she doesn't fall for the same trick twice!

Don't go increasing the number of
shades without telling me, idiot!

You parasite!

How many days has it been since
you washed this hair, huh?!

Maybe I'll tear it out so you
never have to wash it again!

You still haven't taken a shower!

I'm gonna spray you with air freshener!

S-So it turned out this way regardless...

No, I knew this would happen.

But unlike last time...

It's time, my guts!

There's plenty more where that came from!

You're grown women!

Stop fighting like little children!

Stop fighting!

Stop fighting!

Stay out of this,
you pomade-stinking four-eyes!

Thwack

Thwack

Damage 1

The fight between Tsukuyo Tsukuri
and Ritsu Amachi outlasted

all of Sakai Tsukuyogi's digestive
medicine, and then some.