ShangriLa Frontier ~ Shitty Games Hunter Challenges Godly Game ~

「Yes! Let’s do just that! Umm……」

By the way, when it comes to ShangriLa Frontier, it was a game where everything was based on both speed and accuracy, but when it comes to a slapstick like that, I wonder what’s it going to be…… hmm?

「Huh? Isn’t that……?」

「Umm, this is…… It seems that there is nothing that even closely resembles the status screen? Or any kind of statistic that would describe the Player’s fighting prowess?」

When it comes to the parameters displayed for the player to see, their number was really limited. First of all we have the mandatory “HP Bar”. For as long as the theme of the game is a death game, the shadow of death will always be attached to the Player at all times. So it is only natural that the Player must know the state of their HP at all times.

Next is the “CP” stat…… If you think about it, it should be something called the “curse Points. And to make a long story short, Curse Points are basically this game’s version of MP. It’s just a different way of naming things, but once you start the fights you will find out that it’s a parameter that is consumed to use this game’s version of a magic system. So so far things were relatively easy to understand, without much of a problem.

But it is from here on out that the problems actually start. No matter where or how long I tried to search for those columns, this game apparently does not have anything alongside the lines of Strength or Agility or any other statistic like that. And they should be there, according to the modern gaming standards. Instead, we have things called “Awe”, “Fear”, “Charm”, “Faith”, etc, etc. No matter how you tend to look at this, those are not the statistics of someone who fights on the frontlines. So what is this for? Is it Leadership? Is it management? No way, please don’t tell me that this game is actually……

「So, In other words, what the hell is this? Hire someone to help you, then start training them, and once that this is done you send them to battle and you lead them throughout the fighting process…… Is that it? Am I understanding this thing right?

「Umm, this is, Sanraku…… Sanraku-kun. Could it be some sort of a tutorial? All of a sudden there is a window that asks you to start picking up herbs and other items like that……」

「Ahh…… I can see it, too. And I am starting to see in what direction this thing is going.」

In other words, collecting resources is going to be another way to convey that into some sort of power application. There is no one who would be crazy enough to actively bet the full amount of his life on a chance when it comes to a death game of any sorts, which is the exact reason as to why the NPC will take the place of the front liners and serve as the Player’s battle force…… So this is the exact reason as to why the Player does not possess any combat potential on their own: because they do not need it, since they do not fight on their own.

「So it’s going to be a troops management game disguised under the coat of a simple and normal RPG, huh……?」

「Umm, this is…… I do not really have that much experience when it comes to playing games like that. I wouldn’t even know what to do……」

「Oh, umm, let’s see…… Think of it like this: we basically start by going around and try to recruit some friends who would agree to fight for our cause. And while it might not be like in the folk tale about a Straw Millionaire, what we really want to do here is to hire a bunch of powerful NPCs who will be a potential drive force that will allow us to clear more difficult quests later down the line……」

「Hmm, I see…… So those parameters are basically your ability to control the NPCs and govern them in a swift and efficient way?」

Things such as Leadership, Training, and Management. I understand this, and this is definitely something that I can get behind, leading and raising NPCs like that… But that being said, I don’t really understand how to manage the NPCs myself in this game. At least not now.

Next we have all those other parameters: Charm, Power, Awe, Fear, Affection, and finally Loyalty. Looking at those stats from a broader perspective…… Those must be the reasons why certain NPCs will decide to follow your leadership. And then we also have both Charisma and Intimidation, but I guess that those things are pretty self-explanatory, so we are not going to bother with them all that much……

「But in any case, up until we manage to reach the next level, this game is basically going to be akin to a forced solo challenge. So how about we try to recruit as many people as we possibly can on our way and see just what kind of army we can raise that way? That would certainly be a really exciting of an experience.」

「Yes, let’s try that. Well then, I am going to hang up in a moment…… Huh? What that?」

「I mean, I know I said to try and build an army, so if you want to end the call right here and now, I am not going to stop you, but for the sake of comparing the experiences…… Don’t you think it would be a good idea to keep the call going?」

「Ahh! Y-Yes, that’s right! No! No, I don’t wish to end the call! Let’s talk! Let us talk some more, yes!」

「S-Sure thing. Whatever you say.」

Perhaps it was mostly the desire to be able to exchange information in real time, or maybe it was an uncompromising play style of a gamer who wouldn’t want to cut corners even if it wasn’t ShanFro…… Now I’m starting to feel really sorry for Rei-san. Maybe I shouldn’t have invited her to try out this trial would-be shitty game and waste her time like that?

Oh well, for the time being, I focused on finding as many tutorial NPCs and recruiting them to my cause, just like I suggested to Rei-san……

And just like that, approximately one hour passed in a flash.

「Umm, Sanraku-kun…… How are things on your end? Are you doing good? Or maybe……?」

「Umm, let me see real quick……」

「We are going to be loyal to our God for all eternity!!!」

「「「Our God! Our God! Our God!」」」

「Aren’t your guys a little bit TOO overly enthusiastic over there, Rei-san?」

「Umm, this is…… It’s a little difficult for me to explain with just words alone, you know?」

Somehow I can already see the true nature of this game.

Looking at the Sanraku army right in front of me, this mob of random characters basically managed to change into a fully-blown and embarrassing cult no matter how you try to put it. Now, seeing my own army like that, I was having chills running down my spine just trying to imagine what kind of an army Rei-san managed to draft.