There are countless number of video games in this world.
However, most of them gets buried under many others.
Standing atop of those many titles
is this Full-Dive VR game that has over thirty million players worldwide.
The game that earned the reputation of being a god-tier game,
Shangri-La Frontier.
The boy who loves trash game, Rakuro Hizutome
challenges the god-tier game, Shangri-La Frontier!
What kind of adventure awaits him in his path?
I throw away my defense and put on my bird mask headgear
I'm a hustler My point only goes to my luck stats
Parry parry now this is my style
playing broken games all night... who's that knight?
Broken game is sickness
toxic scattered, now I'm a patient
My heart is beating almost twice as fast
The chaos wither get it bite that bug
Terrible gimmick
new game a.k.a suicide??
I don't give a damn
(Do it, Do it) No, not yet NO it's not enough
(Do it, Do it) NO it's not enough
I still can go
Everyone looks dirty to me
Everything looks broken to me
we can go, we can go
to that mountain top, not afraid to drop
this world is going to be mine... duh
I'm done checking, so I'll announce our plan!
Ignore all the mobs!
Fight area bosses only!
Over!
Get on my shoulder!
Aye-aye!
The muck system in Shangri-La Frontier is as follows:
Upon entering until your foot hits solid ground...
...your other one is stuck in the muck,
putting you in a forced walking state.
(Mud Digger)
Which means... (Mud Digger)
This guy and me... are a terrible match.
(Beware, For Thine Enemies are Legion)
With my speed getting cut off in the muck...
How will I fight?
It's not that deep, so how can it dive like that?
Well, this IS a game.
Sunraku-san, here it comes!
Nooo! He will skin me alive!
You're not the Hare of Inaba!
Hold tight, Emul!
Aye-aye!
(Slide Move)
Slide Move!
(Slide Move Evading in slide-like motion)
My skills has been upgraded after the fight with Lycagon.
But how should I use them?
That will be...
...the key to this battle!
Evolved skill from Perfect Parry...
Repel Counter!
(Repel Counter Parries into a counterattack.)
Great job, Sunraku-san!
I only barely pulled through using my skills, though.
The problem is after this.
In just a few seconds in, I already used up two skills to dodge its attack.
(Repel Counter) (Slide Move)
They each has a recast time of 10 seconds.
I've got no means to defend myself until then!
What now?
Magic Edge!
I did it!
Whoa!
What was that? A spell?
I hit him real good!
Right...
I was tackling this thinking I'm playing solo,
but I've got a companion now.
I don't really like relying on an NPC that's stronger than me as a gamer.
But I'm not gonna waste this opportunity she made for me!
Let's go, Emul!
We'll use Accel to close the gap while its down!
Argh! What a pain!
Then...
Evolved skill from Screw Pierce...
Spiral Edge!
Time to strike it down!
Edge Climb!
(Edge Climb, Plunge blades into vertical surfaces to climb)
Oop!
Emul!
Yes?!
Can you give me a big one?
I... I will do it!
Add Spell!
(Add Spell)
I've played trash games with far worse platforms!
Try eating me if you can!
Too slow. It has been ten seconds.
Repel Counter!
Here goes a big one!
Power-Boost Magic Edge!
(Power-Boost) (Magic Edge)
All right!
(Fall Damage -8)
That was perfect, Emul! Nice shot!
Ughaa! My outfit!
We landed quite the blows on it.
I'm sure...
Huh?
Where... did it go?
What?
This shaking...
It's like my feet are stuck to the ground! I can't move!
Sunraku-san, this is...
He'll jump outta the ground and bash into you,
so you gotta keep him from moving!
What?
WHAT?!
Sunraku-san!
It threw me into the air?
I thought it'll do an insta-kill attack,
but I barely suffer any damage!
Wait, this height...
Mud Digger.
A mole-like creature with a shark's head
and catfish-like whiskers that walks on four legs.
Its most notable trait is the special moveset
it exhibits when its HP goes below a certain level.
It paralyze players by burrowing deep down and vibrates the marshland.
Then it randomly rams one person into the air from below.
If taking it on solo,
you're guaranteed to be hit by it when in the mash,
and you will most certainly lose all of your HP from the falling damage,
earning it the nickname "Solo Killer."
It's trying to kill me with fall damage?!
And given how the ramming attack itself didn't deal much damage...
The guy who made this boss must be a huge prick!
This got nothing to do with the player's skill!
What do I do?
Should I have Emul hit me from the side with her Magic Edge?
No, it'll just vaporize me!
What about other spells? Items? Methods?
Isn't there anything?!
Aah, it's no use. I'm screwed.
I never got used to dying from fall in VR games.
This moment when you feel a rush through your whole body,
followed by losing all your senses...
Some games even got banned
because they pursued that level of reality.
Reveal yourself, Vorpal Spirit!
(Magic Scroll) (Teleport)
What?!
There's an attack skill named Meteor Fall that relies on falling kinetic energy.
Sunraku, along with his free-fall kinetic energy,
was teleported by Emul to above the Mud Digger's head.
Thus, the falling throw that would normally have killed him
is now a very sloppily-constructed suicide attack.
It's no Meteor Fall, but a Mistake Meteor Fall.
I'm still alive?!
Whoa!
We did it, Sunraku-san!
So many things happened, I can barely keep up.
But I gotta say, Emul...
...you're a very very great bunny!
I-I would appreciate it if you don't imitate me...
Just like when I fought Lycagon, the situation was quite hopeless.
But this time around, we survived!
(Area Boss Mud Digger)
(Defeated)
(Herbs used)
Guess herbs aren't enough to fill my HP all the way.
You're stuffing them down your throat!
It won't reach my mouth otherwise.
That aside, Emul is way stronger than I imagined.
As a matter of fact, I was practically riding on her shoulder.
After all my bravado, this kinda hurts.
Until I make it up to her level, I'll have her act as my mascot.
Otherwise I'll lose my motivation. Yeah.
We're almost at Thirdrema.
Once we are there, you can finally make a long stay at Rabituza!
I can't wait!
About that...
I'm still unsure how to hide you in town.
We might cause a commotion like before,
or get attacked at worst.
Then...
It's time to break this out.
"This"?
(Mysterious Vorpal Bracelet)
This our secret Vorpal Bunny magic!
Please don't tell anyone, Sunraku-san!
Sure.
Metamorphose!
Surprised?
Now we can get to the town without looking suspicious.
Weird.
I'm still playing Shangri-La Frontier, right?
The game with the catchphrase, "Explore the world and enjoy its vast land."
A god-tier Japanese game with a world-wide appeal?
Sunraku-san?
It's definitely not...
Sunraku-san?
A dating-sim where you flirt...
Sunraku-san!
Hello?
Sunraku-san?
Sunraku-san!
...with an anthropomorphized animal girl!
Huh?
This transformation is really exhausting,
so I'll turn back when we reach the town.
I can only do four or five minutes at a time right now.
I see.
So you'll need to hide in an alley or something to transform back, then.
However, Emul.
You've forgotten something.
Right.
A very crucial thing.
A mistake that's vorpal in size.
You're traveling with a half-naked dude with a bird head.
We're as suspicious as it can ever get.
Well, at worst you'll just be "a nutty girl dragging a half-naked bird-man with her."
Hang in there!
Now my legs are dragging like in the marsh...
(Thirdrema)
It's such a big and beautiful town as ever!
Oh-oh, so that's Thirdrema?
You don't sound too excited, Sunraku-san.
Well, I'm no warrior guided by the gods of fate,
but I've seen my way around plenty of places in my time!
Wow!
You adventurers must have been to all kinds of places!
All right, let's go, Emul!
Make sure you're ready to transform at any time, just in case!
Yessir!
Huh? Hold right there!
Why are you half-naked?
Were you robbed on the way here?
Yeah, I knew I'll be the problem.
And those vivid scares on your body...
On your legs, too.
Hold it there, guards!
He's actually been through a lot!
It's a story as sad as to hear as it is to tell!
What?
This man has been reincarnated as a super warrior by the great gods of fate,
destined to put an end to a conflict from the bygone era.
and face his rival, Lycagon, in a battle of life and death!
However, by only the slightest of chances,
as slim as a mere hair's breadth, or as small as a single handful of sand,
he survived only to be engraved with the scars you see on him right now!
What an absurd backstory...
But his sad and complex fate did not end there,
for he has continued to let destiny guide him as a wandering warrior,
as he engages on a noble pilgrimage to undo the curse laid upon those scars!
Sunraku, that great figure, is none other than this man before you!
Hey, wait.
Miss...
The legend of Sunraku the super warrior has only just kicked off its second chapter!
But...
Next time, "Super Warrior Sunraku,
As the Wind Blows and the Carrot Leaves Sway!"
F-Fine, we get it, we get it.
Half-naked adventurers are rare,
but not unheard of.
You may pass.
Hey, look.
Yeah.
Is it just me?
They're looking at me a bit differently than usual.
Let's go now, Sunraku-san.
Y-Yeah.
That outfit...
You must be Sunraku.
U-Um...
...and you are?
(Several Hours Ago - Secondale)
Hey, wait!
Aww, I wish he could at least told us how to tame one.
(Saved)
I took a screenshot. Let's ask about it on the forum!
Good idea! The veterans should know more about it!
Um...
"I have a question for all you veteran players."
"When I was picking up some equipment in Secondale, I ran into this player."
"He had this really cute talking rabbit with him,
but does anyone know how can I tame monsters like this?"
Sent!
What's with this dude?
He dresses like streaker.
Talking? Do monsters talk in this game?
Wait... So precious! What is this?!
They haven't implemented any tames besides
Buddy Dog and Buddy Cat in this game, right?
A cheat?
Did you get permission to take this screenshot?
Doesn't look like you did.
Eh? P-Permission?
Should I have?
I mean, this is a game. Don't people take pictures all the time?
His name's Sunraku, right? Got it.
He's in Secondale, right? I'm heading there now!
But what's that tattoo skin?
There wasn't any full-body designs like this during the character creation.
That means he encountered Lycagon, then?
Lycagon's a random encounter, so it's not weird that a beginner ran into it.
But how did he get that curse?
Orcelott from the Ashura Kai?
Eh? The Ashura Kai?
As in the PK clan?
Is that Sunraku guy gonna be okay?
I'd love to meet up and have a talk.
Sunraku, if you see this,
talk to any player with a wolf-and-sword emblem.
I feel bad that you got exposed like this without permission,
but we can give you some backup.
Lycagon's Mark, huh...
Psyger?
Whoa, the hardcores are coming up one after another.
That Sunraku boy is in trouble.
He's treated like an event boss.
Maybe I oughta join the hunt.
Just one thing...
Be honest with me!
Tell me how did you tame a Vorpal Bunny!
No need to play dumb, okay?
I know you had a talking Vorpal Bunny with you.
It already got leaked?!
Was it from that time back in Secondale?
What do I do?
Tell me!
No way I can tell her about the Unique Scenario.
Besides, I also don't have any idea what triggered it anyway!
W-Well, I don't know either...
Hogging it up all by yourself is not nice.
You need to share things like this.
Revolutionary Knight Sunraku.
There you are, Pencil Knight!
There, there. Don't treat a beauty like me...
...like some kind of vicious monster.
Also...
In SLF, I don't go by Pencil Knight.
I'd love if it if you could call me...
Arthur Pencilgon.
(Arthur Pencilgon)
I scream in envy so much it hurts
I cry that this is where it ends
It's going to change, I'll change it
I don't want to think it's impossible anymore
The goal I set up is now the starting line for me to run again
Hit me with that despiar, it excites me
Telling me give it a go
I should be able to go as far as I want, yet I mistake this to be my limit
Is getting an easy win sometimes necessary?
It exhilarate me, telling me to give it a go
I have a dream, so even my complaints is not a joke
I scream in envy so much it hurts
I cry that this is where it ends
It's going to change, I'll change it,
I don't want to think it's impossible anymore
I don't mind breaking if I can move on
I hate giving up even more
I'm going to make it come true, make it a reality, I'm always serious
Make it so I'm only a little away from obtaining it
Let me ace this even if it burns me
SLF Theater!
(#7 SLF's Moon-Viewing)
Mini! (#7 SLF's Moon-Viewing)
What's with this tense atmosphere?
Dad-, Boss.
Thank you for taking care of me to this day.
This time has finally come.
I'll use every fiber of my being to show it!
The essence of the Vorpal Soul!
E-Emul is all fired up!
Just what's going to happen?
There!
Vorpal Soul at full throttle!
You're pounding mochi for moon viewing?!
So tasty.
I'd like some kinako or soy sauce to go with this.
SLF Theater!
(#8 Emul's Frog Counseling Room)
Mini! (#8 Emul's Frog Counseling Room)
Ribbit.
I get that feeling.
I have plenty of siblings myself.
If I don't eat fast, my food gonna be taken from the side.
You've gotta do your best.
Ribbit.
That's a difficult problem.
"Individuality is something that you naturally develop over time as you live."
That's what my Edward-oniichan told me.
"Even if you're only one among many right now,
you'll surely find something that only you are good at.
There's no need to rush. Just keep on polishing yourself."
That's what my dad told me, though.
Ribbit.
"I can't be anything"?
That isn't good.
One mustn't be so pessimistic about the future.
Even the current you is not the same as when you were born.
Not that I know, though.
That's right! Anybody has the potential to change!
As long as you don't give up, you can be whatever you want!
That's what my dad told me, though!
Ribbit...
"What happens when I die?"
That's a very difficult question.
She said she doesn't understand what the frogs are saying,
but she started talking to herself with them.
Also, I hate to say this,
but no matter how much they polish themselves,
I think a Mud Frog will still be just a Mud Frog.
Wait, maybe they can evolve?