Chapter 54

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 54

Chapter Title: Ariant World Strongest Tournament (4)

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"Sniff… Hic… I got totally wrecked…"

Cheisi watched the yokai dragon, who had been chased out of the arena with only 10,000 HP left, sobbing away.

It had been a fight she simply couldn't lose.

The yokai dragon seemed to have come in with a strategy of boosting his HP as high as possible and tanking hits, but his attacks were so slow that she could dodge them with ease.

Without even needing to use Ambush, she'd turned the living sandbag into a punching bag with her dagger and somehow ended up winning before she knew it.

"Y-You're definitely gonna win it all, Cheisi. For the grudge of the martial artist…"

"I forfeit."

The yokai dragon's eyes trembled as he watched Cheisi approach the NPC referee and declare it.

"Ch-Cheisi?! Why are you forfeiting?!"

"I can get all the rewards I need just by passing the first round of qualifiers."

"…So you planned to forfeit from the first round to begin with?"

"Yep."

The materials needed for the jellyfish umbrella were these: one sheet of Oolian jellyfish membrane, one log of corpse tree, and five coils of clinging vine.

Before the qualifier bracket came out and right before the prelims started, Cheisi had been hunting in the underwater garden to level up when she luckily found some clinging vines.

She'd acquired a total of three materials in all. To get the remaining two, she'd either have to wait for respawns or search elsewhere.

Waiting for respawns would take too long, and searching other spots seemed more hassle than it was worth, so using the general-grade material selection vouchers looked easier. That's why she'd decided to enter the tournament on time.

Cheisi had never intended to win the whole thing in the first place. Passing the first round of qualifiers to snag those two general-grade material vouchers was all she needed.

"Why?"

Indignation laced the yokai dragon's voice.

"Why? Why does only Yorong have to be Cheisi's victim?!"

Cheisi knew about the yokai dragon's "martial artist's grudge" meme. She did feel a twinge of guilt upon realizing the one she'd have to knock out in the first round was him, since her plan was just to pass that round.

But hey, the bracket had fallen this way—what could she do?

"That's a shame. But anyway."

"Anyway?"

"Doesn't stuff like this happen to you a lot?"

"…Shut up!"

The huffing yokai dragon made a request of Cheisi.

It was nothing much. Just a request to add him as a friend.

"…Call me if you ever need a priest later."

Finding new zones drew so much attention on Abyss that participating in one as a streamer could be a big boon.

At first, she thought that's why the yokai dragon was asking, but it turned out he just enjoyed wandering the underwater garden.

"I'll call if I need one."

"You better!"

After the yokai dragon logged out, Cheisi changed her stream title.

[Jellyfish Cold Dish Day]

Warping straight to the underwater garden, Cheisi realized something crucial.

Her damage wasn't going through to Oolian.

"No damage is landing."

"…No, I don't think I'm the trashy one here."

Cheisi's base attack had been boosted by the siren Meliph's melody. With her hook dagger adding even more attack stat, her damage was nothing to sneeze at compared to other players.

Plus, she'd eaten some decent food buffs.

And yet, no damage on Oolian.

"Maybe I need to bring a living spirit."

This was the max firepower dish she could make right now. Eating it and fighting probably wouldn't change much, but it was worth a shot.

Problem was, she was broke.

"…Guess I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gather the last material first."

One player let out a cheer.

"Finally made it!"

In the player's hand was the 「Lotus Leaf Vine Key」, wrapped in pink lotus leaves.

"Guess I'm heading into Meliph too. Should be pretty fast at my level."

The player excitedly swam through the underwater maze to Meliph's entrance and used the key.

Bravely diving into the garden filled with thick water, the player took in the sight before suddenly growing puzzled.

"…Huh? Why's my HP draining?"

Seeing his HP tick down, the player checked his debuffs and was stunned.

"What the? Slow and heal block debuffs?"

Afterward, a post went up on the Ariant World forum.

Made the key and went in, but got hit with a ton of debuffs.

Cheisi wasn't getting debuffs—turns out her 『Walk in the Water』 title gives affinity to Meliph water, so she's immune.

Does this mean regular players can't enter without it?

As Ariant World players fell into chaos over the news that you couldn't enter Meliph without the title effect, one player posted a comment.

As comments poured in on the player who posted "I'll prove it" and vanished, a new thread shifted the tide.

Hello. This is 'Dust Cell' from the strategy team Savior.

I'm posting this to share with fellow players a way to move in the underwater garden without the title.

First, head to Megrana Pit and find the blacksmith NPC holding a hammer upside down.

Talk to him, and you'll get a chain of three quests. In the second one, you receive an underwater lava resistance item that lets you make the lotus leaf vine key.

Complete all the chain quests, and he'll give you an inscription that grants immunity to Meliph water effects.

Engrave it on any gear and equip it, and you can roam the underwater garden freely without 『Walk in the Water』.

I suspect this is the intended route.

Strategy team. Savior.

"Savior as expected."

"They live up to their name."

Players marveled at Savior's appearance alongside the method to navigate the underwater garden without the title.

The famed strategy team, known for unearthing bizarre solutions in tough games, had delivered useful info once again.

As attention focused on Savior, another post appeared on the Ariant World forum.

If they succeed, it'll likely be the first in Ariant World.

The team is going all out, so expect good news soon.

Thanks to Savior boldly declaring their Oolian hunt, the Ariant World forum buzzed.

The hot topic: Who would hunt the jellyfish Oolian first?

Cheisi? Or the strategy team Savior?

It didn't take long for the little debate on the Ariant World forum to become the main interest of most players.

"Ambush."

Piyoooo!

The ash-gray bird plummeted to the ground and turned into particles of light.

Cheisi checked the loot left where the bird vanished and muttered in disappointment.

"…No dice, as expected."

"But I have no clue what corpse tree even is. Thought maybe it'd come from corpse birds just in case."

One of the jellyfish umbrella materials: corpse tree log. Cheisi had never seen anything by that name in all the areas she'd explored so far.

Even posting a notice on the Abyss boards yielded no answers from viewers.

She'd tried hunting corpse birds on a hunch, but no luck there either.

"All I got is this."

Cheisi held up the feather from the corpse bird.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Cheisi's eyes stopped on the bottom line of the info window.

The feather had an effect. It drained HP from nearby targets—the same as the corpse birds.

True enough, just holding the feather was slowly draining her own HP.

'…Targets?'

Not just players. Like how goblin poison slowed goblins too, corpse birds damaged anything nearby, players or monsters alike.

Or maybe not damage exactly. It said HP drain.

No idea? Time to test it.

Cheisi held the feather and approached Oolian.

Savior members' eyes were glued to the broadcast screen floating in midair.

"Thought there was no way to damage it with that high defense."

"Who knew ｢Corpse Bird's Feather｣ could chip away at Oolian's HP…"

"…I didn't even know that item existed."

The screen showed Cheisi piling ash-gray feathers on top of her jellyfish hat like grilling meat on a hot plate.

It looked like a silly stunt at first glance, but seeing Oolian's HP tick down ever so slightly left the Savior players shocked.

"It's not just high defense—there was a workaround after all."

"What do we do? Seems like more feathers mean more damage?"

"Shouldn't we hurry and farm those items too?"

Savior players, having learned from the streamer's broadcast that ｢Corpse Bird's Feather｣ dealt effective damage to Oolian, grew restless.

At this rate, someone else might beat them to their Oolian hunt.

As the anxiety spread, one player stepped up.

"Nah, no need."

All eyes turned to the casually dressed adventurer male player.

"That alone won't take down Oolian."

"Why do you think that?"

Dust Cell met the gathered gazes.

"Say one corpse bird drops one feather. Habitats are the village above the underwater garden and the falling star island. 'Habitat' is a stretch—they're just stragglers flying by now and then."

"True, but."

It was minor info, but the players nodded. As a team that meticulously logged even trivia, most already knew it.

"But you need at least a hundred feathers. Farming them from occasional stragglers would take over ten days. You gonna spend that time staring at the sky waiting for birds?"

"If it means taking down Oolian…"

"Who knows how many new zones will open in those ten days? You really gonna waste that on one jellyfish?"

Savior players exchanged looks at Dust Cell's words. He had a point.

"…Got any other ideas?"

"We haven't tried brute force. Let's go that route. Catalog all items and food effects. Max out attack and punch through Oolian in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠combat."

One player responded to Dust Cell.

"…Best effect is the new menu at that little Azelchen restaurant."

"Buy ten servings then."

"Problem."

"What?"

"That place got Michelin stars, line's insane."

"…Didn't think of that."

Dust Cell frowned.

"Never had this issueing Dark Shale 5. VR's full of variables. Second-best food it is."

As players moved to follow Dust Cell's orders, one voiced a question.

"But why are we hunting jellyfish? The ｢Jellyfish Umbrella Parchment｣ is with that streamer, right? Even if we get loot, we can't use it—what's the point?"

Dust Cell looked at the questioner and smirked.

"That's exactly why we have to hunt Oolian ourselves."

"Because of Cheisi?"

"Yeah. That cat streamer."

Cheisi. Dust Cell emphasized the name before continuing.

"The village above the underwater garden is wide open. Can't go around now because of the rust rain, but if that streamer makes her jellyfish umbrella and it blocks the rain, she'll pull ahead where we can't catch up."

"…Can't let that happen."

A player murmured agreement with Dust Cell.

"Right. If we get Oolian's jellyfish membrane, no one will traverse from the underwater garden to Meliph for a while."

"Is that level of check needed? She's just got good physicals… riding the early open wave, that's all."

Dust Cell gave the speaker an incredulous look.

"…You saw her ｢Ambush｣ into the forge basement and still say that? We gotta nip this in the bud."

"PK… she's a big streamer, backlash would be huge."

"Yeah. Only way."

All Savior players nodded at Dust Cell's follow-up.

"That's how we become the team to claim the 100 billion quest."