Golden Experience

Chapter 127: “That’s not what I meant”

?Player Name [Blanc]-sama,

Thank you very much for playing our game ‘Boot Hour, Shoot Curse’.

We sincerely appreciate your participation in the second official large-scale event.

Regarding the operation of the game in the future, we would like to request cooperation from Blanc-sama, and that is why we are contacting you.

Regarding the cities of Erntal in the northwest of the old Hiers Kingdom where Blanc-sama is located, as well as Altriva, and Verdesud, these are currently under the influence of Blanc-sama. Therefore, we would like to request your permission for the support from the game management to prevent attacks by other players in these fields.

Currently, there are significant changes in the situation in the old Hiers Kingdom, making it difficult for new players to enjoy the game comfortably. Therefore, as the management, we are considering the implementation of a limited transfer service for players to areas controlled by a single faction with reasonable difficulty. This transfer is one-way, and it is not possible to return.

In connection with this, we plan to concentrate the safety areas within the relevant fields to a location close to those fields and set the transfer service destination as this safety area.

If possible, we would appreciate Blanc-sama’s understanding, especially in supporting the growth of new players.

Of course, this is a proposal based on respecting Blanc-sama’s will, and if you do not agree, we will create a simple special area and guide players there. However, if the management creates a special area, there may be a significant difference in experience points and actual difficulty, and the emergence of players growing rapidly with minimal effort is expected.

If you can cooperate, we are considering supporting Blanc-sama’s area management, such as changing the death penalty content when Blanc-sama’s character dies within the relevant field.

We appreciate your consideration.

*Note: This message is being sent to all players who dominate the corresponding fields in the game ‘Boot Hour, Shoot Curse’.

Boot Hour, Shoot Curse Development and Management Team?

*

“What is this…”

After the maintenance was over, I logged in after a day had passed, and I found that there were a lot of messages from the game admins.

I was just skimming through all of them, but one of them had a banner guiding to a reply form, and it seemed like it wouldn’t be marked as read unless I replied.

And this is that message.

“All players who dominate suitable areas… Does that mean this message was also sent to Rare-chan?

But it’s for beginner fields… Is Rare-chan’s area for beginners?

Well, whatever. Maybe it’s coming with slightly different wording for fields of different difficulties, or something.

Hmm, it might be troublesome if lots of players come to attack, but it would be helpful if it’s not too painful even if I die… And if it’s for beginners, maybe I can fend off players even without Rare-chan’s help, like when players came to Erntal during the event.

Well, I’ll consult with Rare-chan when she comes back.”

Rare informed me that she and Lyra won’t be able to log in for a few days. Probably because of their family matters. I don’t know if their family situation could change so much with just the sisters meeting here and reconciling, but I can’t say anything about their influence within the family without really knowing.

It’s not that I’m not concerned, but if they’ve reconciled, that’s good enough for now. That’s all that really matters to me.

“Well then, let’s put the admin message aside.

The event is over, so let’s go meet Count-sama.

Rare left her Queen Beetle on loan to me and told me I can use her while she’s gone, so I’ll leave her in Erntal for now.”

There are still only zombies in Altriva and Verdesud, but it would take a lot of guts, crippling time, and luck to get to that town without going through Erntal and La Colinne, in other words, without taking the city streets. Unless, of course, you are in possession of a map like Blanc and Rare.

It would be better to leave it alone.

“If I think about it, if I want to turn that town into a training field for beginners, I’d have to do some kind of transition.”

You’d be turned away in Erntal or La Colinne before you reach there. In those towns there are the bugs under Rare’s command.

“Then, shall we head to the Count’s old castle… I mean, his residence?”

“If you call it the old castle, senpai will get mad, you know?”

“I’m just teasing.”

Alongside Azalea and the other two, I used [Flight] to head to the Count’s castle.

*

“I’m back!”

“Hahaha! It seems everything went well! How many cities did you conquer?”

It feels like it’s been a while since I met the Count, but it doesn’t seem that way from his perspective. Given his long lifespan, the perception of time might be different for him compared to Blanc.

Or maybe it’s due to the density of experiences in these approximately 10 days. A lot has happened.

“As for conquered cities, about three? At least that’s the number of cities under my control now.

But there were so many things happening. Well, please listen, Count-sama.”

“What, I have plenty of time. Speak as much as you want.”

…

“Wait, I don’t know where to begin, but what, the Demon Lord…?”

“That’s right. I made friends with her. She’s not a super nice girl… but she’s okay. … Well, she’s super cute!”

“I see… As usual, you never know what she will do.

You see, the Demon Lord is considered to be above the clouds for us, on the same level as our ally, the True Vampire.

However, it was just born, and I’m not sure it’s there yet. …

I wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually grow to dominate this continent.”

“Huh. That’s amazing.”

I had vaguely thought it would be impressive, but never to this extent.

Certainly, the strength of Rare seems to be unmatched, and Blanc’s growth curve, now associated with Rare, is clearly on the rise.

So, what exactly is Lyra, who seems to have fought Rare to a draw with a human body?

“But the Four Heavenly Kings, huh. Do you already have such outstanding subordinates?”

“One of them is me!”

“…So, there already are three outstanding subordinates?”

“Huh!?”

“Originally, Demon Lord is a species that usually does not have many under their command. It is not suited to rule over subordinates. There can be a few powerful subordinates, but there are a lot more than just those four heavenly… 3 names, aren’t there?

Speaking of building such a great power, right, the Evil King, the Holy King, etc. would have been better at this.”

“What’s the difference?”

“It’s the difference in the original species. The species that become Demon Lords are not originally good at [Subordinating]. This is the same for the Spirit Lord.

Compared to that, Evil Kings and Holy Kings often come from species that grow by [Subordinating] lower-ranking species. That’s the difference.”

“What about the True Ancestor Vampire?”

“Well, True Ancestors are closer to the latter. But considering them as individual combatants, they are probably stronger than Evil Kings. If two individuals with the same level of growth were to fight, a Demon Lord might not win alone, but they could beat an Evil King. That’s the power dynamic of the species.”

“…So, Demon Lords with a lot of subordinates are dangerous?”

“As far as I know, they are a considerably dangerous existence. Eventually, I suppose. Perhaps it might finally be able to compete with the Golden Dragon that is sealed in the pole?”

There are a series of entities that are new to me. Does Rare know about these things? No, I think I heard of something called a Golden Dragon or something like that.

“Golden Dragon…”

“That one came from outside this world. Our common sense doesn’t apply to it. Therefore, its resistance to sealing was also low, so it was sealed for the time being and placed at the pole, where there is little change.

At that time, as I recall, the Holy King of the time recruited collaborators from all over the world, regardless of power, and that is how he sealed it. Our lord was also present at the time. I was too young to attend, so I only heard what he had to say.”

“Where is this Holy King now?”

“He’s no longer here. He died back then, and a new Holy King hasn’t been born since.

The Evil King didn’t participate, but according to our ally, he’s a shut-in guy. Probably hasn’t come out for a very long time. I don’t know him either.”

At least now, there seem to be several beings equivalent to or surpassing Rare in the future.

“There’s something like an Archangel, right? How about them?”

“Archangel, huh… That one was born recently. It was born around the time of the death of the Spirit Lord who once ruled this continent. It has grown at an alarming rate, and has taken a Sky Castle with it from somewhere, attacking various cities on this continent on a whim. I don’t know his purpose since I don’t know him, but at least this castle has never been attacked. I leave them be.”

“If that one attacks, will you retaliate?”

The Count’s brow furrowed, and he looked abject. It was unusual for him to move his expression so much.

“It’s tempting, but I probably won’t reach him.”

“Oh, but I can fly now!”

“Hmph. That’s not what I meant.”