IBHJ Chapter 872

Shirou and Altera reached the back mountain.

Merem hadn't lied; a whole camp of pigmen was there, along with some giant frogs.

"Alright, let's get started."

Shirou's eyes narrowed as he gripped the best sword in the village and charged. But his attack met a resounding "clang" as the pigman's shield blocked it.

You've got to be kidding me...

Wait!

Could it be... He glanced at the shield, and a system message popped up.

[Best Shield in the Village: Toughness D+ Special Effect: Cannot be penetrated by the best sword in the village. Destiny: 50/50]

Shirou: "..."

The pigman, snapping out of its daze, swung the shield at his head.

"Don't even think about hurting my friend."

With a cold shout, Altera unleashed a fireball, taking down the pigman in front of him.

[System: You've defeated a pigman, extracted the blood factor, making your bloodline stronger.]

He turned to look at Altera.

"Leave the fighting to me, Artoria," she said seriously.

As expected of the White Titan, she was so dependable!

With Altera, this powerhouse, he could just relax and level up.

But just as he thought this, a giant frog appeared behind Altera, casting a huge shadow over her.

Huh? She glanced up at the frog, then started to chant.

"Explode..."

Before she could finish, the frog opened its mouth and gulped her down.

"Ah! Altera, hang in there, don't die! I'm coming!"

Shirou grabbed the [Best Sword in the Village] and charged at the frog.

After a frantic flurry of slashes, he finally cut open the frog's belly and rescued Altera.

Covered in slime, she sat limply on the ground, drenched. "Thank you, friend."

He pinched his nose and pointed towards a small river nearby. "You should wash up."

She jumped in, cleaned off the slime, and came out dripping wet.

After a while, she cast a wind spell to dry her clothes, then crouched beside him, observing the pigmen and giant frogs.

"We need to find a way to lure them out and deal with them," he said.

She nodded eagerly, then pulled out the Sword of Mars.

Shirou was stunned. "Where did you get that Noble Phantasm?"

After being dragged into the game world, he'd found that Noble Phantasms and Skills had lost their effect, just like when the Connection Point was trapped in Abigail's bubbles. But now, Altera had the Sword of Mars?

"From the [Inventory]."

Hearing this, he quickly opened his [Inventory] and found two swords in the otherwise empty space.

[Sword of Promised Victory. Quality: Mythical. Sharpness A++. Destructive Power A++. Special Effect: [Against Foreign Enemies], increases destructive power by 10000% against alien species. [Exclusive], exclusive to ID Evil Flower. Destiny: ?/?]

[Sword of Promised Victory. Quality: Mythical. Sharpness A++. Destructive Power A++. Special Effect: [Against World Destruction], increases destructive power by 10000% against enemies, attacks, or actions that might destroy the planet. [Exclusive], exclusive to ID Evil Flower. Destiny: ?/?]

He'd thought they were sealed like Abigail's, but unexpectedly, Artoria's two Excalibur were now game items in his [Inventory].

That's right, Artoria had two holy swords, one against [Foreign Enemies], and another inherited from Arthur against [World Destruction].

Due to the body swap, both Holy Swords were now in his possession.

Since they were usable game items, did that mean Evil Blossom was also a game item?

While Altera wasn't paying attention, he glanced at Evil Blossom lurking in the shadows, but couldn't see any system text.

What was going on?

A bug?

As he pondered, the pigmen spotted them and charged with a roar.

"Bring it on!"

Shirou, wielding both Excalibur, fiercely met the challenge.

Altera raised the Sword of Mars, carefully chanting as she swung it.

Though wielding the sword, she remembered she was a fairy, a mage. Even with her mind filled with thoughts of destruction, she knew what a mage was supposed to do.

The rainbow Sword of Mars transformed into a true rainbow staff.

After ten long seconds, she finished her chant and gathered a massive fireball. But as she was about to unleash it, she saw Shirou had already chopped the pigmen into pork and turned the frogs into side dishes.

Ugh...!

All that chanting for nothing.

Altera silently dispersed the fireball on her rainbow staff.

[System: You've defeated a pigman, extracted the blood factor, making your bloodline stronger.] [System: You've defeated a giant frog, extracted the blood factor, making your bloodline stronger.] ...

[System: You've gained a considerable amount of blood factor, 30% away from rank upgrade...]

It was clear that even though the devs tried to break away from the traditional level system, they ultimately couldn't escape it.

But without ranking up, it would be tough to deal with the Gatekeeper later.

Just then,

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground shook, and a massive shadow appeared in the nearby forest.

"The BOSS is coming!"

Shirou's eyes focused.

It seemed like, just like in traditional RPGs, after defeating the smaller monsters, a BOSS appeared, probably a Pig King or something.

This was even better. Killing the BOSS would definitely help him rank up.

As for being afraid?

Impossible.

He had faced countless enemies alone and had plenty of courage. Plus, with two Holy Swords, what was there to fear?

"Are you the ones who killed my people?"

A deep, menacing growl echoed from the forest, showcasing the Pig King's power.

Then, with earth-shattering force, a figure gradually emerged from behind the trees.

Here it comes! Shirou thought, raising his Holy Swords and charging towards the Pig King emerging from the forest.

But after two steps, he stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the Pig King in shock.

Instead of a terrifying monster, the Pig King was a cute girl with silver hair and crimson eyes, dressed in a pink pig costume.

But that wasn't the most surprising part.

"Illya?" he stared at the Pig King, dumbfounded.

"So you're the ones who killed my people... Huh? Artoria? And... Altera?"

The beast-person Illya, in her pig costume, initially fierce and menacing, was stunned when she saw the vampire Shirou and the fairy Altera.

He had never expected to run into Illya, who was supposed to be at the South American connection point, after being pulled into the game world himself. Altera glanced at him, then at Illya, and casually put away her rainbow staff.

"When did you arrive at the South American connection point? Did Gray come with you?" Illya asked curiously as she walked towards him.

"Gray didn't come... Wait, this is the South American connection point?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"It is," she nodded.

The place he and Altera had been dragged into... was the South American connection point?

He frowned, scanning their surroundings. Mountains on all sides, a low-lying basin... nothing about this place screamed "South America."

"Did you come looking for us because we were at the South American connection point for too long?"

"No, that's not it."

He shook his head and told Illya how he and Altera had been captured by hands that had burst out of the game.

"Grabbed by hands that came out of the game console?" she was confused. "Is that even a way to enter a connection point?"

The way Shirou and Altera had entered the Connection Point completely baffled her. It was just... too bizarre!

Shirou looked at the pig-costumed Illya and asked, "How did you become the boss of these pigmen?"

"Oh, that?" She scratched the back of her head. "I accidentally assassinated their leader, and according to their tradition, I became their king."

"So, did my killing all of them cause any problems for you?" he asked with concern. He was worried that he might have unknowingly caused trouble for Illya.

"None at all, just less cannon fodder now," she waved her hand dismissively.

"I see, that's good then." he nodded, then looked behind Illya, furrowing his brow in confusion. "Illya, where's Mordred? Wasn't she with you?"

"Mordred..." Illya's expression turned somber. She sighed. "As for her... she's probably in the same state as Miyu now."

"What did you say?" Shirou's brow furrowed sharply.

She pointed towards the distant Andes Mountains, her expression complex. "She's probably already been turned into a baby by the Gatekeeper."

Gatekeeper? Turned into... a baby?