Original subtitles

This world is filled with too many games to count,

though the vast majority simply come and go in obscurity.

The greatest of all games

is the fully immersive VR game boasting over 30 million players worldwide—

Shangri-La Frontier, which rightly earns the title of "god-tier game"!

One lover of trash games, Rakuro Hizutome,

is trying out the god-tier game, Shangri-La Frontier!

What adventures await him there?

Only Resentments About the End of Life Remain

Prismatic Forest Grotto

On full moon nights,

if you look at the luminescent moss on the wall of the Prismatic Forest Grotto,

there's a small portion that remains dark.

If you examine it...

A secret passage!

To think I beat the Prismatic Forest Grotto and missed a whole hidden area...

That really stings, man!

How'd you even find out about this?

It's truly incredible!

Finding these time-specific hidden areas is luck of the draw.

I came here to grab some items I needed and just happened to stumble onto it.

Which means people who find unique stuff must be blessed by IRL fortune, eh?

Wipe that look off your face. It's pissing me off.

This is the face of an emperor on high,

gazing down upon a struggling peasant with beneficent pity...

And that's how you react, you filthy ingrate?

I will punch you.

Enough of the comedy act.

We're here.

What beautiful flowers!

All unique stuff aside, I really like this area.

It's pretty, but... it's creepy, too, right?

Spider lilies, huh?

Not one of your more auspicious flowers, is it?

Into the gap between moments

Sunraku, look!

spills a single wish

Distant days, so blurred by tears...

She's transparent!

Is it a bug?

You always assume bugs over plot reasons, huh?

Hey, Set-chan!

It's been a whole month.

Oh, Arthur. It's been a while.

Setsuna of Bygone Days

The clothes she's wearing...

Not very "fantasy," are they?

Looks more like something you'd wear in our world.

Is she from the setting's age of antiquity, the Divinity?

Could she hold a key to that unique scenario I unlocked?

Bonus Unique Scenario Vorpal Epic When the souls of the Divinity are shaken, a rabbit shall tell an epic tale. Rec. Level: 80

This isn't the same group you brought before.

Yeah, let me make some introductions.

Hey, we're Pencilgon's band of merry men!

The man of a hundred skills, Sunra—

Stooge 1, Stooge 2, and their mascot.

Hey, don't treat us like that!

I even came up with a cool pose!

They're my ace in the hole

to finally put Wethermon to rest.

I'm Emul, daughter of Vysache!

Hey, don't get ahead of me!

And I'm Oikatzo!

Same to you!

Arthur, this is quite a party you've assembled.

Don't you worry.

They might not be much to look at now,

but I'll train them up before the battle.

That's not what I meant.

I've never met a person with Sooty's presence applied to them twice.

And accompanied by Cinderella's child, at that...

You reminded me of someone from long ago.

Um...?

It's nothing, really. Just nostalgia.

It was so long, long ago.

I'm sure she's long dead now, of course...

You've revived lovely old memories from my past.

Thank you.

You're... welcome?

Set-chan, I'd like you to tell them about him, as well.

Very well.

Unique Scenario EX From the Living World, With Love Begin now?

Unique Scenario EX From the Living World, With Love Begin now?

Yes

No{backwards}

That's it!

Unique Scenario EX From the Living World, With Love Begin now?

Unique Scenario EX From the Living World, With Love Begun.

He... Wethermon was my dearest love.

We had a minor misunderstanding, and I died, and...

He's spent all the time since...

All the time since... guarding my grave.

Your grave?

Hence "Tombguard," eh?

I don't know how much time has passed since my death,

but the next thing I knew, I was in this state.

Although I feel no resentment about the way my life ended.

Death is an ending.

Things that end should lie in the past.

They shouldn't tie down someone's present... or their future.

I can't stand knowing that he remains tied down by my past.

He used a program—

a spell that I wrote, to create a barrier here.

She used a kind of anachronistic word just now...

By using the mana that dwells within moonlight

and inverting the coordinates to the underside of the dimension

he's made it impossible for anyone to reach that location.

But on the night of a new moon... when the moon loses all its light...

A crack forms

in the barrier preventing access to the underside coordinates where he waits.

So we gotta jump through the crack and fight him?

Please put Wethermon...

Please put my love to rest.

Leave it to us, Set-chan.

We're not like the bunglers who've tried it in the past.

If that jerk is making you suffer,

we'll put him six feet under!

Did you hear that?

Is that the Pencilgon we know?

The one who, in Unite Rounds, dragged an NPC king along behind her carriage

to try to lure in enemies!

Yahoo!

The Pencil Knight who tied an NPC princess to the chandelier

to bait players into trying to rescue her!

She's having a pleasant chat with an NPC?!

Has she regained some sliver of her humanity?!

What is... this feeling? Is this... a soul?

I think there's a limit to how much rudeness I can take.

You want to learn how much violence someone at max level can dish out?!

Hold on a minute! My HP's already at critical!

Look out, Sunraku, she's not gonna let us off easy!

She's in a PKing mood!

Honestly.

If we didn't have the Wethermon fight coming up,

I wouldn't back off until I'd spawn-killed you five times over.

There's that heartless Pencilgon we know and love.

She's such an easy mark.

Submission Pose

Maybe I should kill you after all.

Look, sometimes even I like to play it straight with an NPC.

With her name being Setsuna, and her backstory... it just got me invested.

Okay, look, fine!

I can get emotionally invested in a game now and then, too, okay?!

Hey, that's fine by me.

Getting serious about a game is a great thing.

Everything's more fun when you take it dead serious!

That's right!

Taking your playtime seriously is what makes it fun.

Of course, that's also the job for a pro gamer like me.

Wait. You're a pro, you're taking the game seriously,

and you haven't even found a single unique thing for yourself?!

Okay, now you've done it!

I'm gonna tear those feathers off your head

and give you a head covered in goosebumps!

Katzo, stop! One more hit and I'm dead!

Please, cease your fighting at once!

Stop it!

Oh, right, I forgot!

You guys are as stupid as I am!

We're facing a unique monster which forces a 150 level handicap—

something unprecedented in boss battle history—

Wethermon the Tombguard.

But I know we can do this!

Let's take this seriously and win!

Right!

Morning already?

I've been grinding so hard since I met Setsuna.

It's been late nights all the time...

I dove headfirst into killing Lifestide Lake Serpents,

and the next thing I knew, I was level 51.

Katzo's still just level 46, right?

Gotta work on my skills next.

Emul says Rabituza's got one of those Skill Garden places

where you can link skills, too, so...

Maybe I'll ask her to take me there.

Sunraku

If you're worried about your levels, that won't be a problem.

Katzo Tataki

What I'm after is pure player skill.

The rest comes down to my personal skill, then.

Morning.

Oh, good morning!

I know you're enjoying your summer vacation,

but I'm glad you're keeping to the agreement, Rakuro.

Rakuro's Mother

Eika Hizutome

Entomology Geek

I don't need you physically logging me out again, yeah.

Well, you did have it coming.

Hey, Mom!

I told you, no bugs in the kitchen!

Aw, but he's a cute little one!

Aren't you, Augustus III?

And don't give them names, darn it!

How am I supposed to keep an appetite like that?

Rakuro's Younger Sister

Rumi Hizutome

Fashionista

Towa Amane

Oh, great. Towa Amane.

Hey, what? Are you a fan of Towa-sama now, Big Bro?

Towa Amane, the megastar model Japan gave to the world!

Nickname, Towa-sama!

You could fill a whole fashion magazine with one day from her life!

It's like she was born to be a model!

A fan of hers took pictures of her in secret and uploaded them to social media,

and even though she didn't know it was happening,

Towa?

Towa-sama looked perfect in every one!

With her name being Setsuna, and her backstory... it just got me invested.

Towa—"Eternity"—who lives in the moment,

and Setsuna—"Moment"— who lives for eternity...

Even if it's just a clever coincidence,

and even if it's just in the fiction of a game...

I guess the NPCs act so realistically, she ended up comparing herself to her?

Huh? What is it?

Pencilgo—

Er, "Towa-sama" deserves her privacy, you know?

You shouldn't screensho—

er, take pictures of her without her knowledge.

Yeah, you're right.

I'm part-timing as a model today myself!

Wow, like one of those audience surrogates?

I'll have to watch out for candid photos myself!

Yeah, and I'll have to ask Dad for publicity, too!

Where is Dad, anyway?

He went out fishing yesterday—

I'm home!

—and I guess he just got back.

Behold! A striped beakfish!

Rakuro's Father

Senji Hizutome

Likes Fishing More Than Three Meals a Day

That thing's huge!

Goodness me!

I managed to fish it up right before the meet-up!

Guess it's fish for every meal for a while again...

We have an agreement in our household. Like a rule.

For breakfast and dinner on Sundays,

we have to eat and talk together as a family.

The idea is, if we didn't, we'd get so lost in our hobbies,

we'd basically never see each other.

I made friends with a marlin fisher, so I might go on a real excursion next time!

What are you doing, Dad?!

Are you gonna clean it here?

Of course I am! Freshness matters!

Do it in the kitchen!

Goodness me...

The world at large seems to think we're a little cuckoo,

but we just all have our own little worlds.

We're perfectly healthy.

The juice! You got the juice on my clothes!

I'm on my way to a shoot!

Say something to him, Mom!

I need to tend to my butterflies.

Dear, clean up the kitchen, would you?

Okay!

Darn it!

Still, I'm probably the most normal of the bunch.

Now!

Time to return to the world of my interests.

Two weeks till the battle with Wethermon.

It's gonna be a tough match.

According to the info Pencilgon gave me,

Wethermon is a non-stop source of single-digit frame attacks,

instant death moves and area attacks.

So I know just where to train up!

The trash game where constant glitches make all attacks come at crazy speed...

Berserk Online Passion...

BERP for short!

Sunraku

Man, this game is so deserted.

I know it's early, but it's still Sunday. Get it together.

Well, whatever. I'll fight the final boss of the story mode.

Dragonfly

Hey, a player!

And he's got his "VS" icon lit up.

Hey, there!

Oh, hello there!

"Dragonfly"?

Never seen that name before.

Um, you've got your VS icon on...

Wanna go?

Yes!

I'm really new and I haven't even beaten the final boss yet,

so I'd love if you could give me some tips!

He hasn't beaten the last boss?

Wow! A new player!

Talk about an endangered species!

It might not be the best training in the world, but who cares?

I want to face down against this rare specimen!

Glitches are fair game, right?

Yes! Thank you for having me!

Looks like an all-rounder build.

He's the type that generates a lot of glitches,

but he probably won't know how to use them.

Well, let's see what you've got.

Battle start! Round one, fight!

He's charging? He's not even a speedster build!

But you can't expect a beginner to conform to orthodox strats.

Twist your hand, pull back, and...

That move!

By drawing your fist back just as you unleash the punch motion,

you generate a bug that extends your arm like rubber!

If the hit lands,

it'll deal a two-hit combo with double the damage!

Its name is...

Pile Bunker!

He disappeared?

Your leg...

This is a bug move: the Yo-Yo.

It throws off your avatar's texture and hit box at once.

Looks like you can use some basic bug moves...

But there's way more to this game than that.

I came in to practice for the Wethermon battle...

But BERP is full of bugs that the

players have discovered through trial and research...

And I'll give you a full demonstration.

My most esteemed Sunraku.

I pray that this initial letter might find you well.

I hope you have not taken ill in this summer's frightful heat.

Ever Improving

I was both pleased and honored by your acceptance of my friend request.

It's formal. Too formal!

I'm just trying to invite him to play the game with me!

If I start off too formal, it'll just freak him out!

I've got to make it more friendly.

Yes, make it approachable!

So he'll accept my invitation without a second thought!

Heya, Sunraku-san! What's up, my guy?

It's your online bud, Psyger-0!

You down to rock a play sesh, co-op style?

Writing letters is so hard!

SLF Mini

SLF Theater!

Various Christmases

Mini!

SLF Theater

Merry Christmas!

It's a great day to spend with your loved ones!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Merry Christmas!

Isn't it disgusting how the town is swarmed by couples?!

Merry Christmas to all!

Santa Claus will surely come to deliver carrots to all of you!

H-Hizutome-kun... M-Merry Christmas... to you!

I'm gonna eat you, Hizutome-kun!