The Constellations' Game [Laika]
About a hundred loops in, give or take?
Up until that point, I had never known that the 1st Class Advancement offered choices beyond the standard five.
Why doesn't the fairy tell you about it, you ask?
She absolutely will not.
Something something, Laika Co., Ltd. internal regulations — apparently, handing out direct information like that is strictly impossible, or so the party line goes.
So when the fairy recommended various classes to me back then, she would only hint at a general playstyle and steer me from there.
Which is how…… the first time I ever discovered the hidden choice in the 1st Class Advancement came down to a kind of 'impulse.'
— Guide, may I ask you something?
This was around my hundredth loop, when my sanity had been ground into a fine powder.
It all started with a single question I tossed at Lumiel the Guide without a single thought behind it.
— Is there truly no way to sail this Ark… along a different route?
In other words, I was asking whether there was any way to take this ship somewhere other than the continent.
Why did I ask that, you say?
Because I couldn't help wondering — maybe there was a way to ride it back to Earth.
It was… a vessel that looked, to my eyes at the time, like it could cross dimensions.
— The laws of this world appear perfect, yet they are not. For perfection is ever built upon someone's imperfection.
— What in the world is that supposed to…….
Of course, I hadn't thrown the question out with any real expectations.
I was simply in so much agony that it was closer to grasping at straws — just blurting out whatever came to mind.
And yet Lumiel's answer startled me awake.
— I am saying that it is not without possibility.
— ……!
— If one were to employ the Light of Antiquity, it may be possible for the Ark's route to be… altered somewhat.
But unfortunately…….
To give you the conclusion up front: the Ark's destination could not be changed.
No matter which route it followed, the Ark of the Firmament was always fated to arrive at the Alterion Continent — an immutable law, apparently.
Still, my younger self hadn't grasped that, so over several loops I wore myself ragged trying to figure out what this 'Light of Antiquity' even was.
And the result of that search was the Fragment of Radiance.
A special item obtainable from Lumentia, the ancient ruins of light — an endgame field reachable around Level 80, where remnants of the radiance still lingered.
'God, the lengths I went to back then just to get my hands on this on Beginner's Island…….'
During the beta, the exchange had almost never stocked it, and I'd only barely managed to snag one through the black market in Bereshit.
But on the Earth server's exchange, the Light of Antiquity was circulating in respectable volume.
So getting one was easy.
What's that? Wasn't that a 500 LP splurge?
An investment made to earn 5,000 LP — an expense like this……
was more than worth absorbing.
In any case, once Lumiel took the fragment from my hands, he carried out his duty without asking a single unnecessary question.
"Thank you."
I've thought it many times now, but honestly — this guy never pries into pointless things, and that's exactly why I like him.
Or maybe… it isn't that he has no curiosity, but that there's nothing he doesn't already know.
Wuuuuum-!
Conditions have been met.
The quest 'Voyager of the Firmament' will now change to the quest 'Seeker's Altar.'
You may now proceed with the quest 'Seeker's Altar.'
Would you like to proceed with the quest?
Obviously, I accepted the quest — and the silver current unspooling before me began to bleed over into gold.
Goooooo-!
And the Constellations watching the spectacle began reacting in every which way.
The Constellations' chat gradually faded, and my vision filled up with a blinding white radiance.
Then, a moment later —
a new system message appeared.
The 'Ark of the Firmament' has docked at the 'Pilgrim's Ruins.'
And at the same moment, the quest window popped up right before my eyes.
Ding-!
Seeker's Altar
▸ Category: 1st Class Advancement Quest
▸ Difficulty: S
Through the 'Ark of the Firmament,' you have arrived at the 'Pilgrim's Ruins.'
These ruins are the place where the remains of ancient Lumentia are preserved most intact.
Find the 'Seeker's Altar,' located somewhere within these grounds.
If you succeed in receiving a revelation there, you will learn the road you must walk from here on.
🎁 Reward: ??? Class Advancement
The Ark of the Firmament was, in truth, a device that functioned as a sort of 'warp gate.'
Back on my first loop, I'd assumed riding it meant some kind of aerial voyage through the sky… but no, it wasn't that at all.
Even if you boarded this gate normally, without a Fragment of Radiance, it warped exactly the same way.
The only difference was that the midway warp point wasn't the Pilgrim's Ruins, but the 'Abyss Gate' — the site where the ordinary advancement quests took place.
'Both are trial grounds for advancement, so I suppose that much is the same…….'
In any case, when my vision returned, an ancient ruins site — faintly unfamiliar to me — spread out before my eyes.
It had been an extraordinarily long time since I'd last set foot here.
After loop two hundred, I hadn't come here even once.
Which meant it was time to snap into focus…….
"Hup-cha."
I rose straight to my feet and hurried into the nearest structure.
Standing here dazed and gawking was a good way to get my skull cracked open in an instant.
Why, you ask?
Because this place was absolutely crawling with monsters in the Level 25–30 range.
What's more, the instant the quest began, every piece of equipment I was wearing became unusable.
That, too, mirrored the conditions of the original advancement quest, the 'Voyager of the Firmament.'
Mind you, at the Abyss Gate, you're handed a choice of five pieces of equipment right at this point.
All equipment has been sealed.
Your inventory cannot be used while the quest is in progress.
But here at the Pilgrim's Ruins? No such luck.
So the very first order of business was simple: farm some equipment. Any equipment.
How am I supposed to farm anything with no gear to hunt with, you say?
Ker-rack-!
Simple. You rummage through the temple and equipment drops at random.
It's been quite a while, sure — but my body still remembers.
◈ Pilgrim's Quiver acquired
I got the equipment, and I didn't even need to glance at an info window.
The gear you pick up here has no tier, no grade, no special unique properties — none of it.
That said, good pieces and bad pieces do exist within those bounds, and the knowledge I already carried was more than enough to tell them apart.
And this 'Pilgrim's Longbow,' as it happened, was one of the top performers.
So you could say I got off to a pretty lucky start.
What do you mean, why is it luck, when I found it with knowledge I already had?
Because this is a luck-based class gacha quest, remember… which means the equipment you farm drops randomly every single time.
Of course, gentlemen.
I don't tell lies about things like that.
Screeech-
I drew an arrow at once and nocked it to the string.
What am I doing when there isn't a monster in sight? Well……
Fweeeeng-!
I'm attempting an exploitation farm — a trick only possible when the longbow drops from this very first farm.
Thwaaaack-!
The arrow left the string and streaked across the temple courtyard, punching dead center into the rope bracing one of the massive stone gates.
Crack- BOOM BOOM-!
With the stone wall collapsed, I could now enter the old storeroom hidden behind the temple.
And no matter what the Constellations chatter about, all I have to do here is run the second farm.
Damn it.
A dud this time.
Bottom-rung armor with stats so pathetic it was embarrassing to even call it defense.
That jab made me reflexively check my viewer count — and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
ON AIR : ☺ 271
I hadn't been paying attention, so I hadn't noticed — but at some point, my all-time peak concurrent viewer record had been blown clean past.
Apparently, the hidden route I was running had caught the Constellations' attention.
At this point, no matter how busy I was, it was getting hard to ignore the Constellations' clamor entirely.
Answering the Constellations' questions even as I scrambled around, I farmed the temple interior without pause.
And then, a little later —
grrrrrr-!
Growling began to echo from outside the temple.
'Right about now…… I should wrap up the basic farming.'
It was a shame I hadn't landed a single bladed weapon, but all things considered, I figured I'd come out at least even.
With that thought, I walked slowly out of the temple.
I now had the bare minimum to hunt monsters — which meant it was time to survive.
Krrhuuung-!
Screech-!
I nocked an arrow and calmly took aim at the Prism Hound.
Hitting a stationary structure was one thing — obviously, putting an arrow into a rampaging monster was a far harder task…….
Tak- tatat-!
Even as the Hound charged furiously to close the distance, I was taking my time, aiming with real care.
Besides, I'd failed to farm any close-range weapon like a blade.
If that arrow went astray, things could get seriously ugly.
So — drop dead, you rainbow mutt.
Fweeeeng-!
Wouldn't it be better for both of us, friend, if you took a headshot and passed painlessly in one stroke?
Thwaaaaack-!
My arrow left the string and tore through the air with a screaming crack of displaced wind.
And almost the very instant I released, the Hound leapt with everything it had.
Ta-at-!
Presumably an attempt to dodge the arrow… but sadly, a useless struggle.
Why, you ask?
Because this was a predictive shot to begin with.
Thwack-!
The terrain it couldn't help but leap into — and the timing.
There was no way that hulking body was dodging an arrow fired at precisely that moment.
Prism Hound — Weak Point Struck!
You have struck the weak point of the monster 'Prism Hound' precisely!
You have dealt critical damage to the 'Prism Hound'!
Conditions met — 'Head Shot' effect activates.
Damage is amplified by 300%.
The target is 'Stunned' for a brief period.
The arrow had slammed squarely into the creature's brow.
With a shriek like a pig at slaughter, its enormous bulk crumpled where it stood.
Screeeech-!
In that window, I instantly nocked my next arrow…….
Twang- fweeeng-!
Two more shots in quick succession, each punching into the skull of the fallen beast.
Prism Hound × 2 — Critical Damage!
Less precise than the first shot, sure — but it didn't matter.
Hitting a monster pinned flat on the ground is a far easier proposition.
You have successfully hunted the 'Prism Hound'!
Come to think of it, it'd been a while since I last used a bow…….
Thankfully, it seems my skills haven't rusted yet?
Countless hooks materialized in an instant, and the Constellations' chat came flooding in like a dam had burst…….
Honestly, the moment the head shot popped, I'd expected roughly this kind of reaction.
Because a one-shot headshot is, in truth, a feat even harder than a perfect parry.
Wrong, actually.
No matter how you slice it, I'm never advancing into Archer, gentlemen.
Still, chat like that does get under my skin a little.
Hmm.
Well then — how about I actually show you what bow skills honed over a century can do?