Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Deep Ones and the Fourth Continent
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Eldar spoke up.
"So, does that mean our next opponents are Dagon or Cthulhu?"
Lunda looked puzzled as she replied.
"Dagon? Cthulhu? What are those?"
"Ah, you haven't heard of Lovecraft. Let me explain..."
Nebula cut her off.
"I don't think Lovecraft or whatever is that important. The 'common tongue' used by the intelligent beings on this continent isn't the language we speak anyway. Our system windows just translate it conveniently when it shows up."
Eldar, who had been excited to explain, pouted a little but nodded in agreement.
"True, the vampire that appeared didn't mean Bram Stoker-related artifacts would show up on this land. But I don't think there's absolutely no connection."
"Why not?"
"The vampire you all faced had some specific differences, but it wasn't all that different from the vampire traits we know. The werewolf was probably the same, even if they didn't explain it clearly on the First Continent."
Nebula could agree with that point.
"So the names aren't just slapped on randomly?"
"Yes."
"Meaning the names themselves could be hints to infer their characteristics?"
Eldar nodded.
Nebula continued.
"That's a fair point, but does that mean this world—Lost World—is a game influenced by Earth, like a game?"
Wisdom chimed in.
"Or you could think of it the other way around, Nebula."
"The other way?"
"Earth might have been influenced by this game."
Nebula responded.
"An intriguing hypothesis."
"Have you never thought that while playing Lost World? In Earth's ancient times, there were various races, but human players as the dominant race achieved overwhelming victory. And for 'maximum efficiency,' they exterminated all other races."
Maximum efficiency was a common playstyle in Lost World.
Racial diversity had value in itself, but constant conflicts led to endless resource drain.
So, before reaching the late game, proclaiming racial supremacy and eugenics to wipe out other races drastically reduced conflicts, allowing a smooth late-game progression with minimal issues.
Of course, to Nebula, it wasn't a sane playstyle. Steady costs to manage conflicts were still cheaper than the extermination for maximum efficiency. It was just a concept play for fun.
Nebula said,
"You don't think Earth's historians, geologists, and paleoanthropologists are idiots, do you? If something like Lost World happened on Earth, there'd definitely be traces left behind."
"...Maximum efficiency was a joke. But we have to admit this planet is as real a world as Earth. In that sense, it's on equal footing with Earth."
Nebula returned to the main topic.
"Anyway, Eldar, you seem to know the term 'Deep Ones' best here. Can you explain?"
"Of course!"
Eldar replied with a smug expression.
Eldar explained.
"Deep Ones first appeared in P. H. Lovecraft's short story 'Dagon,' but their features were fleshed out in his 'The Shadow over Innsmouth'..."
"Sorry to interrupt, but can you get to the point first?"
Eldar looked a bit dejected as she said,
"They live in the water."
"That's not their only trait."
"It's a detail not often shown in other media influenced by Deep Ones, but interacting with this race or receiving their curse can turn you into a Deep One."
"Interacting? Just trading with them does that?"
"...Uh, no. I mean, if blood mixes?"
Krampus interjected.
"Like vampires or werewolves, is it the same as having disease-like traits?"
"Hard to say for sure. Anything else, Eldar?"
"Um, fanatics? They worship ancient gods like Dagon or Cthulhu."
"That's not super useful info. The vampires didn't have much of that either. Anything else?"
Eldar furrowed her brow, thinking, then recalled.
"Ah, in the stories, they live hidden so they don't get caught."
"How?"
"The protagonist visits what he thinks is a normal village, but it turns out it's been taken over by Deep Ones and is collaborating with them."
Nebula looked at the other players.
Krampus said,
"That's an important issue. They might have infiltrated without us knowing."
"If the player didn't notice, there wouldn't even be a civilization clash event."
"We should do a full sweep of the entire coastline. What kind of oracle should we give the priests?"
"Something like 'Agents of a new demon king have appeared from the sea depths' should work."
Jangwan said,
"Has it affected our cavern side too?"
"Can't say. But taking preemptive measures doesn't sound bad."
For a moment, the players along the southern coast exchanged information.
Wisdom said,
"If that's settled, can we move on to the Fourth Continent?"
"Nothing's confirmed yet. Anything else to discuss?"
As Nebula replied, he waved his hand behind his back.
A white spider, Hilrob, dragged the Deep One corpse into the darkness and vanished.
"For example, the fourth continent might be in the deep sea."
"Hard to be sure. But using the term 'continent' suggests it's above the surface, right? I want to point out something else."
"Something else?"
Nebula frowned as he said,
"This is just a hypothesis, but here's what I think. The game has a limit of 32 players. Twenty-seven are from Earth. But two new players have already appeared, been eliminated, and a third has shown up."
"...So besides Shacha, two more new players—evil gods—are coming?"
"More precisely, they might already have appeared. On that new continent. ...If it's really a continent, there's a lot of land left, right?"
All the players groaned or looked thoughtful.
It was a bad assumption.
Shacha aside, even Jeolubi brought unique races and decent playstyles.
At least not something to dismiss as mere NPCs.
'One, or three players steadily expanding a continent?'
Plus, even with three players, they'd likely be de facto allies, claiming the entire continent's resources without conflict.
AR cautiously said,
"Then shouldn't all players unite right now?"
Nebula replied,
"For now, I'm against it."
"Why?"
"I don't know the exact location of the southern continent, but it seems close to us. At our current civilization level, help from other continents would be hard to get. They might offer token aid and demand more from us. We'd bear the real damage."
AR hesitated but spoke again.
"What if we at least form an alliance?"
"Sorry, I'm against that too."
"Why?"
"I'm the closest right now, aren't I? I don't want token help."
Krampus laughed.
"I doubt that's the real reason."
"What do you mean?"
"You're the closest to the fourth continent. I just caught a whiff of ambition to beat Shacha and Deep Ones and move on to the next continent."
Nebula answered,
"Can't deny it completely."
If the fourth continent really existed, Nebula stood to lose the most—but also gain the most.
Even in a loose alliance, gains would be shared like losses.
Krampus addressed the other players.
"What do you all think?"
Jangwan said,
"If you're going to be stubborn, go ahead. If you want to stand in front and block the wave, I won't say no."
AR said,
"I agree with Jangwan. But if things get urgent, we can help 'at any time.'"
Wisdom said,
"Yeah. Nebula, you might handle it alone anyway."
Lunda said,
"Do whatever you want."
Eldar said,
"M-Me? Can I choose not to help Nebula too?"
"No."
"...Knew it."
Krampus said,
"I'm not opposed either. But I'm next closest after you, and I'm taking real damage from the pirate fleet right now. I'd like some help from others—what do you think, Nebula?"
"Do it."
A brief silence followed Nebula's answer.
Nebula scanned the players' faces, then said,
"Looks like nothing more to discuss for now. Jangwan, you're right next to Hegemonia, so fill her in."
"Got it."
"Let's call it here today."
Wisdom ended the call immediately, AR and Jangwan said their goodbyes, and Krampus said good work before leaving.
Left were Lunda and Eldar.
Lunda said,
"Then I'm off too. Bye."
"What are you talking about? You stay."
Eldar said,
"Can I go?"
"You stay too."
"...Ugh."
Lunda looked bewildered.
"Why? Isn't the talk over?"
"Now it begins."
"My coast is on the northern side?"
Nebula sighed.
"Didn't you hear AR emphasize 'at any time' earlier?"
"Did he say something important? I wasn't dozing off. Eldar, remember anything?"
"Not really."
Nebula said,
"AR said he'd help 'at any time.'"
"Ah, he seemed nice."
"No, saying 'at any time' means he'll interfere in my fight with Shacha regardless of my will. Crucially, Krampus said he'd accept help from others besides me."
"Huh?"
Nebula had anticipated this, so he wasn't surprised or upset. It was all within his plans.
"This is very different from the Jeolubi incident. Everyone's on alert from the start, so they won't fall easily like before, and their military strength seems pirate-level for now."
"An enemy we can handle?"
"Yes. Lots of unknowns, but we haven't been slacking for over a century. Most importantly, from this point, players can wield the two ultimate weapons: mages and gunpowder."
Lunda and Eldar weren't the type of players to need clarification on that.
"So even with limited info, we can judge them worth fighting. Honestly, without gunpowder, I'd smash Deep Ones or whatever. That's partly why I said I'd handle it alone."
"Then why warn the other players?"
Nebula explained.
"The others won't attack me directly with Shacha looming, but Shacha, Yabon Pirates, the Southern Isles, and southern islands will be bridges to the fourth continent. The others will pick fights to stop me from monopolizing."
Lunda said,
"Other players attacking you?"
"Yeah. For example, they might attack under the pretext of reclaiming the Southern Isles from Yabon Pirates. Then the Asthasidians here would fall under the attacker's religion. And that player can claim they didn't hand land to Shacha."
Eldar said,
"That wouldn't be much different from allying."
"Exactly. That's why they told me to do what I want without forcing an alliance. It's more comfortable for everyone."
Forcing an alliance would lead to dirtier fights.
'Even without Shacha, gunpowder's invention would spark conflict anyway. Just shifted from land to sea, with Shacha as an extra variable.'
Nebula concluded,
"In the end, this evil god raid will be a three-way battle between us, Krampus and the other players, and Shacha."