While the Shangri-La Frontier general discussion thread erupted over Pepper and Aitoil riding Siegverum's hand, the Pepper Hunt thread—aka the Pepper Scramble War—was in equal chaos. Here's the scene…
[Info] Pepper Scramble War Part 1 [Urgent Recruitment]
823: Murakumo
So, crazy news just dropped…
824: Nishishippin
No kidding.
825: Brassars
Info overload… how does this even happen?
826: Chiltan
General thread's going wild with comments.
827: Dustiera
It's insane…
828: Percent
Pepper's a terrifying player.
829: Murakumo
Let's recap what Pepper's got going on.
830: Murakumo
Pepper's current assets:
Info on Nightstalker Lycaon
Unique hammer
Item to summon Siegverum (?) New!
Black-furred Vorpal Bunny New!
Rumor has it he's got something to access Thirdrema's upper areas too.
Posting the circulated photo for reference.
Image posted
831: Polaizom
Thanks.
832: Dustiera
Half a day, and this much chaos…
833: Nishishippin
I get you.
834: Percent
Contacting a unique monster is wild enough, but dragging a Vorpal Bunny along?
835: Chees
Exactly.
836: Chiltan
Yup.
837: Animalia
Black-furred… Vorpal Bunny…?
838: Gargamgan
Oh no, here we go!!
839: Tottoro
The Zookeeper's here!?
840: Ginyola
Knew she'd show up.
841: Polaizom
Called it.
842: Animalia
What's going on? Vorpal Bunnies can't be tamed… Did he cheat?
843: Murakumo
Shangri-La's security is ironclad. Even that neighboring country's hacker crew got traced and nabbed. Cheating's not an option.
844: Baraion
So, what? There's a quest to befriend Vorpal Bunnies?
845: Chimney
No clue… but Pepper's with one, so it's possible.
846: Dustiera
Is it?
847: Animalia
So… if we can take that quest… we might reach Rabbits again…? Hehe…! I need to contact Pepper, negotiate a fair price for that info…! Hehehe!!
848: Tottoro
Oh no, the Zookeeper's flipped her weird switch…
849: Brassars
This is gonna cause major trouble…
850: Bluecrim
SF-Zoo would jump at the chance to tame Vorpal Bunnies…
851: Grugnamusa
Those animal nuts… their knowledge is legit, though.
852: Kyoju
Looks like Pepper-kun's stirred up something interesting again.
853: Polaizom
Kyoju's here too!
854: Ginyola
Analysis clan moving in on unique monster news!
855: Chiltan
Top players keep showing up.
856: Percent
What's Kyoju after?
857: Dustiera
That's the question…
858: Kyoju
Siegverum, Sovereign of the Skies. A clear image of its form is invaluable. I'd love to hear every detail from Pepper-kun—speech patterns included.
859: Pomyu
Analysis nerds, as expected.
860: Animalia
Vorpal Bunny-chan's tempting, but Siegverum's a prize too!
861: Nishishippin
Whoa!? Zookeeper's jumping in!?
862: Ginyola
Animal nuts are unstoppable!?
863: Baraion
Animal freaks are scary…
864: Kyoju
I just want to know why Siegverum flies across Shangri-La, appearing randomly…
865: Bluecrim
Beyond random encounters, you want the deeper reason.
866: Percent
Got it…
867: Saiga-100
So, Pepper-kun met Siegverum after Lycaon?
868: Gargamgan
Whoa, whoa, whoa!?
869: Grugnamusa
Now Clan Black Wolf's here!?
870: V-Earth
This is getting huge…!
871: Kukurun
Unique monsters are worth their weight… top players keep piling in…
872: Temdem
It's heating up…!
873: Murakumo
Even Saiga-100, dead-set on Lycaon, is curious about Siegverum?
874: Tottoro
Wasn't Lycaon your priority?
875: Saiga-100
Siegverum's intriguing, but Black Wolf's goal is Lycaon's defeat. That's unchanged.
Still, the angle… Pepper looks like a hero from a fairy tale, loved by dragons.
876: Gargamgan
Now that you mention it…
877: Ginyola
Give him a sword, and it'd be perfect.
878: Tram
I feel that.
879: Animalia
Anyway, where's Pepper-san? I need to meet him…!
880: Kyoju
I want a chat with Pepper-kun. He's the only one with Siegverum details.
881: Saiga-100
To recruit him, we'll need serious prep and a worthy offer… Heh heh!
882: Rola
Top players are scary…
883: Bluecrim
They're way too eager…
884: Baraion
Fun to watch, but Pepper's probably overwhelmed…
885: Arthur Pencilgon
Heh… things are getting interesting…
886: Tottoro
!?
887: Ginyola
Eep
888: V-Earth
Yikes
889: Gargamgan
He's here!?
890: Kukurun
The hardcore hunter!?
891: Tram
He showed up!
892: Puren
Of all people, the guy who loudly declared Pepper his prey…
893: Rola
Stay away… stay away…
894: Saiga-100
Oh? Ashura-kai's after him too? I'll take you on, hardcore hunter.
895: Arthur Pencilgon
A war with Black Wolf sounds fun, but I'll pass, boss.
Arguing here's pointless. I'm just after Pepper, checking the thread for info.
896: Fullmoon
Sure about that?
897: Bluecrim
Definitely scheming…
898: V-Earth
Bad vibes only…
899: Arthur Pencilgon
Oh, and… popped by a weapon shop earlier. New weapon type—greaves—got added. Anyone know about it?
900: Murakumo
New weapon?
901: Tottoro
Greaves?
902: Fullmoon
New weapon type!?
903: Motrain
New weapon category added?
904: Rola
Greaves? Not gauntlets?
905: SOHO-ZONE
What!? New weapon!? What's that!?
906: Gargamgan
Weirdo attracted Weaponia!?
907: Baraion
One freak calls another!
908: Brassars
This is a total mess!
Somewhere in Shangri-La Frontier, Arthur Pencilgon chuckles at the chaos sparked by his greaves bombshell, drawing in Weaponia. Checking his synced calendar, he speaks to another player.
"Been a while since you left Ashura-kai, huh, Kyogoku 'Arutimetto'-chan? Took a lot to find you without them noticing."
Facing him is a female player with long black hair tied back, dressed in Taisho-era kimono, hakama, boots, and a sheathed katana at her waist.
"Thanks for the effort," Kyogoku replies. "But you're not here to beg me back to Ashura-kai, right, Pencilgon?"
She probes his intent with a smile.
"Nope," Pencilgon says. "Straight to it, Kyogoku-chan. Want to take on unique monster Gravekeeper Wezaemon with me? Just us five, outsmarting Ashura-kai."
Kyogoku's eyes widen. Wezaemon—an overwhelming, unfair beast she fought while in Ashura-kai.
"Five?" she asks, intrigued but skeptical. "Who's in?"
"Of course," Pencilgon grins. "Wezaemon needs pure play skill, not levels. Us two, veterans from when the clan was serious, plus three others with top-tier skills. We can beat that thing."
"But…" He looks skyward, troubled. "One of the three's stuck in a trash game. No clue when they'll finish."
Pepper (retro gamer) and Oikatzo (pro gamer) are confirmed in Shangri-La, but Sunraku, the trash gamer, is grinding through FairKuso. No end in sight.
"They strong?" Kyogoku asks.
"All gamers. Strong," Pencilgon declares, dead serious.
Kyogoku smirks. "Alright. This'll be fun."
As players frenzy over Pepper's info, Pencilgon quietly prepares for Wezaemon, moving pieces into place.
The world doesn't move—yet. But its shift draws near…
The Unique Monster Conquest Begins
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