Chapter 19: Detour ④: A Player's Chapter 1 Final Battle!

I am Midorikami Renji! Playing "WF" today, just like always!

Well then, let's get started with the final battle of Chapter 1 of WF.

The team can consist of Tierra, Rene, and the Player. In addition, there are two characters: one obtained from the first free 10-pull, and another obtained from the once-a-day free gacha. And on top of those, there's the newly joined Padron Zalfedahl and Pisca Chuma Barn.

Normally, a team consists of the Player and six characters, plus one Friend Support character, for a total of eight members. Two of those characters will be placed in reserve.

Since I have to make my party with girls only, sorry Padron, but you're getting benched. Your curry food review was absolutely hilarious, though!

Frontline: Rene (Melee ATK · R) / Beast Demon Bester (Defense · SR) / Tierra (Healer · R)

Backline: Player / Magical Girl Mea (Magic · SSR) / Pisca (Ranged ATK · R)

Reserve: Songstress of the Hot Sands Piera (Healer · SSR · Friend) / Murderer Roa-Roa (Melee ATK · SR)

...And that's the team formation complete.

Since we'd been constantly getting into fights with the nomads and having one PvP battle after another, Roa-Roa had been incredibly useful. As you can tell from the word "Murderer" in her name, Roa-Roa gets a huge boost to her attack power when fighting "humans."

However, the boss of the upcoming final battle is the magical beast that killed Pisca's father. So Roa-Roa is staying in reserve.

I've finished setting up the weapons and training the characters, so let's start the battle!

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

Name: Composite Magical Beast Weapon Mengun Algie

Attribute: Fire · Dark

HP: ????/????

Status: Fatal Wound (Permanent)

Whoa!? It's huge!? And freaking disgusting!

It has two heads. One is a lion, and the other is a crow.

From the neck down, it's a gigantic snake, with pitch-black wings growing from its back.

More importantly... its name! What does "Weapon" mean!? Is this thing artificially made!?

And then... its status is "Fatal Wound"!

"Fatal Wound" is a status ailment that can be inflicted by certain characters, including Roa-Roa.

When afflicted with this status, damage received increases dramatically.

That has to be the wound Pisca's father inflicted on it, right!? The developers really went all out with the details!

"Father, I've decided I'm not going to run away anymore! Please watch over me!"

A special voice line exclusive to this battle plays, and the battle begins!

"Isn't this thing a little too strong!?"

It's strong. Way too strong. As expected of the final boss of Chapter 1!

After a long battle, Rene becomes unable to fight, and Piera, the Friend Support character, takes her place.

We need healing right now!

I charge up the skill gauge and activate Tierra's Ultimate!

"I will never let you be harmed. This light is my vow. Lend me your strength—"

Next, I activate Piera's Ultimate, "Be saved by my song!"

"Hehe! If that person is here, I've gotta give it my all! I'm going all out~!!"

Hm...? Wait. Huh? Her Ultimate voice is different? Don't tell me... it's a special voice line!?

The theory-crafting crowd had been saying that Tierra and Piera were connected somehow. Is this it!?

All right, healing and buffs from both of their Ultimates are complete! And the skill gauge is charged up again!

First, activate Beast Demon Bester's Ultimate, "Even If You Are a Monster"!

"There are two people who taught me what a 'person' is. So I'll be all right. Even if I unleash my full power, my heart will never forget what it means to be 'human'!!"

Another special voice line!? Huh, what are the conditions for these!?

...I'll look it up on a strategy site later.

For now, we're winning this battle! Bester's Ultimate gives herself an incredible boost!

Not done yet! Next up is Magical Girl Mea's Ultimate, "Make a Wish to That Sky"!

Piera's Ultimate buff + Mea's Ultimate self-buff!

And then! A devastating attack!

"I am Magical Girl Mea! I'll protect everyone's dreams and hopes! Disappear, scary monster!! Hiiii-yahhh—!!"

Now I'll combine that with a normal attack from Bester, who's stacked with self-buffs!

"GYA!? GIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!????"

Name: Composite Magical Beast Weapon Mengun Algie

HP: 200/????

One more hit!

Pisca will finish this! It's time to avenge her father!

Activate her Ultimate, "Beyond the Path I Inherited"!

"This is the finishing blow, monster! This is the final combined attack of Father and me! Take this with everything I've gottttttttttttttttt!!!!"

"GIA!?"

"Father. I've found the path I must follow. Until the day I join the ranks of our ancestors, I swear I will continue walking this path!"

All right! Battle complete! A complete victory!

"~Quest Clear Rewards~

Quest Skip Ticket ×10

Kizuna Fragment (SSR) ×1 (New!)

Kizuna Fragment (SR) ×1 (New!)

Kizuna Fragment (R) ×1

Kizuna Crystal ×10

5000 G

Mysterious Machine Part ×1 (New!)"

With the monster defeated, the nomads hail us as heroes.

Because of that, it seems they'll gladly agree to peace negotiations with the Fortress City.

Oh, looks like the post-battle conversation is starting.

Pisca

"Meow... Would it be okay if I joined Renji and the others on their journey too?"

Padron

"Whoa, whoa, what about your tribe? Haven't they even decided on a leader yet?"

Pisca

"Meow, my retired grandfather agreed to take care of that. He told me, 'Save the world, become a leader worthy of standing on your own, and then come back.' The people of the grasslands say they'll support me too."

Padron

"What? Considering how much you guys were fighting among yourselves, things sure got settled pretty smoothly. What's going on?"

Pisca

"M-meow!? That's... um... well..."

Hmm? Pisca's acting strange. She's looking down with her cheeks all red... Could this be!?

Tierra

"Did they perhaps tell you to make a great hero a member of the tribe? Or perhaps, more directly, to have children—"

Pisca

"Meowwwwwwwww! Meowwwwwwwww!!"

Padron

"Ahhh, I see how it is."

Rene

"...?"

Ahhh, I get it now!

So Pisca is definitely the heroine!

Oh, a choice. Huh, there's only one option? So it's a forced line.

→ [You mean they want you to come back as a great hero?]

He's way too dense! Seriously, how can he not get it!?

Well, the dense protagonist is a classic... Though I don't think anyone this dense actually exists in real life. Only in games and novels. If I met someone like that in real life, I'd be put off.

Come to think of it, Tierra really does seem to enjoy love stories and that sort of thing, huh?

She acts tough by using "ore" as her first-person pronoun, but she can't completely hide how girly she is! I can get behind that!

Padron

"You... Seriously...?"

Rene

"???"

Tierra

"What I'm saying is..."

Pisca

"Enough already, Tierra!"

Tierra

"Oh my, perhaps I teased you a little too much... Well, putting the jokes aside, let's talk about the parts that came out of that bizarre magical beast earlier."

Rene

"Looks like metal."

→ [Could someone have built it and sent it after us?]

Padron

"...That's probably what happened. But this thing was made using some seriously advanced technology. At the very least, I've never seen or even heard of machinery this sophisticated in the Fortress City. There's no factory capable of producing something like this, nor anywhere large enough to contain a magical beast that enormous."

Pisca

"Meow, I'm not accusing the city of making weapons like this. I don't think you guys could build something like that."

Padron

"Ah!? That's true, but it still pisses me off!"

Tierra

"...The Machine City."

Pisca

"Meow?"

Tierra

"East of here, there is a vast forest where elves are said to live. And near that forest lies the Machine City Mikania, which is said to possess highly advanced technology. We might be able to learn something there."

Padron

"As expected of you, Tierra. I was thinking that place might be suspicious too."

Pisca

"Really, meow~?"

Padron

"I'm not lying!"

Tierra

"Regardless of who made this weapon, I don't think we can simply leave it alone if we truly want peace."

Rene

"Then, next..."

→ [Our next destination is the Machine City Mikania!]

Phew~! That's the end of Chapter 1!

That's all of the story that's been released... Wait? There's one more episode.

"Chapter 1 Epilogue

　　　A New Companion. The Next Adventure"

I see, an epilogue! Let's check it out right away!