Shangri-La Frontier — Chapter 3

SO...

YOU'RE SURE THAT HIS NAME WAS... ..."SUN- RAKU?"

UH... YEAH.

THAT WAS DEFINITELY WHAT HIS PLAYER NAME READ...

HE WAS MAKING A MAD DASH FOR SECONDIL. I THINK THE SNAKE POISONED HIM.

HE MUST'VE CHANGED IT BY NOW, BUT...

YEAH, THAT MASK HAD REAL SCARY EYES!

RIGHT... AND HE WAS A HALF-NAKED MAN WITH A BIRD MASK?

I swore it was a monster.

NOW I HAVE A LEAD, AT LEAST.

I NEVER WOULD HAVE BELIEVED IT...

THANKS FOR THE INFO.

NOT THAT I CAN OFFER MUCH BACK...

BUT IT'S TRUE...

Gift

OH! THANK YOU.

Coordinate Teleport

BUT TAKE THIS.

Gift accepted.

AND NOW...

I MUST HURRY.

SO FAST...

I DUNNO... BUT THAT EMBLEM ON HIS CAPE...

WHO WAS HE, ANYWAY?

I THINK IT'S A CLAN CHASING... ...THE UNIQUE MONSTER "LYCAON THE NIGHT- SLAYER."

IT'LL REAPPEAR LATER ON, AFTER SOME TIME PASSES.

IF YOU CATCH OR DEFEAT A REGULAR MONSTER...

"UNIQUE MONSTER?"

A MONSTER THAT THERE'S ONLY ONE OF IN THE ENTIRE GAME WORLD. A "UNIQUE MONSTER" IS JUST THAT—

BUT WITH A UNIQUE MONSTER, THERE'S NO REPLACING ANY OF THEM.

S.L.F. IS RUMORED TO HAVE SEVEN UNIQUE MONSTERS.

WE DON'T KNOW WHEN THEY SHOW UP...

THEY'RE REFERRED TO AS "COLOSSUS" BEASTS,

AND A LOT OF TOP PLAYERS HAVE FORMED CLANS TO BEAT THEM.

BUT THE THING IS, THEY'RE ALL SUPER STRONG.

SO, LIKE, A REALLY RARE MONSTER?

IN SO MANY WORDS, YES.

THERE ARE OVER THIRTY MILLION PEOPLE PLAYING THIS GAME...

LYCAON THE NIGHT- SLAYER...

A UNIQUE MONSTER...

THOSE OBSTINATE REDCAP GOBLINS...

BLOWN AWAY, IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE...

GUESS IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING...

IF IT HITS ME ONCE, I'M DEAD.

YOU

...Hah! Ha Ha ha! Heh!

HELL, YOU'RE NO BIG DEAL!

OH MAN...

THAT WAS SO DAMN CLOSE!!

HA HAAAH!!

THANK GOD I THOUGHT TO LEVEL UP INTO THE NIGHT!

IF I DIDN'T LEARN "PERFECT PARRY," I'D BE SO DEAD...!

PERFECT PARRY (EVOLVED FROM FLASH COUNTER) TRIGGERED WHEN PARRYING AN ENEMY ATTACK AT THE RIGHT TIMING. FULLY PARRIES THE ENEMY'S PHYSICAL STRIKE.

I LET UP AT ALL, AND I'M TOAST.

OH CRAP..!!

SLIDE STEP (EVOLVED FROM TAP STEP) ENHANCES USER'S EVASION SKILL

GOTTA GO FULL- FORCE ON THIS!!

THE GUY'S COVERED IN FUR... BUT IT'S WAY TOUGHER THAN THE SNAKE!

FOR REAL?

I PUT A LOT OF ATTACKS IN ON IT...

I'M SURE I'VE LANDED AT LEAST A FEW CRITICALS, TOO...!

BUT IT'S SO SOLID, I HAVE NO IDEA HOW I'LL EVER DAMAGE IT!

I GOTTA FIND AT LEAST ONE SOFT SPOT... OR MY WEAPONS WILL DIE BEFORE I DO!!

MY MARSH DAGGERS HAVE GOOD ENDURANCE, BUT THEY'RE ALMOST GONE...

VORPAL CHOPPER EQUIP...

BUT THIS GUY...

I HATE TO THINK THIS...

BUT I'M NOWHERE NEAR READY TO TAKE HIM ON!!

STILL...

THIS IS FINE BY ME.

JUST FINE!!

'CUZ RIGHT NOW...

I COULDN'T BE HAVING ANY MORE FUN!!

HORRIBLE BALANCING, UNFAIR ENEMY ENCOUNTERS...

BUGS...

I'M A GAMER THAT'S OVERCOME EVERYTHING GAMING'S SHIT PILE DISHES UP!

AND IF I CAN'T BLAME IT...

I'M NOT ABOUT TO JUST LIFT MY ARMS...

...AND SURRENDER TO YOU!!

...ON A MESSED-UP HITBOX OR SOMETHING...

...NGH!!

HE'S GONNA BITE...?!

STAY CALM.

A PERFECT PARRY OUGHT TO HOLD IT—

IT'S HOWLING?!

MY BODY...

I CAN'T MOVE—

Sunraku HP 1/30

THAT'S REALITY.

NO SUDDENLY LEARNING SOME APO- CALYPTIC SKILL. NO POWER- HOUSE PLAYER SWOOPING IN TO HELP.

YOU DON'T SEE THAT KINDA DRAMA TOO OFTEN.

WELL, ONE THING DID HAPPEN, THOUGH.

Sunraku HP 1/30

TAKING AN ATTACK LIKE THAT, AND I STILL HAVE HP LEFT...

WHAT A MIRACLE.

YOU... YOU'RE ABSURDLY STRONG.

BUT... THIS IS BASED ON SOMETHING PROGRAMMED TO WORK.

IT'S WHAT THE PEOPLE BEHIND IT EXPECTED.

IN A WAY...

...IT'S "ABSURDITY YOU CAN DEFEAT."

I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE LAST BOSS, OR THE STORY. THAT'S IT.

I KNOW I CAN'T DO IT NOW...

BUT I SWEAR I'M GONNA DEFEAT YOU...

...LYCAON THE NIGHT- SLAYER!

SO UNTIL THEN...

...DON'T LET ANYBODY ELSE GET YOU!

YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED "LYCAON'S MARKING". JSSH JSSH... ジ ジ...

Respawn Secondil Inn

HUH?

AM I CURSED?

Lycaon's Marking

Areas of your body with Lycaon’s Marking applied cannot have equipment placed on them. Players with Lycaon’s Marking will have lower-level monsters flee from them. Players with Lycaon’s Marking will have extra effects applied during NPC conversations. Players with Lycaon’s Marking gain strong magic resistance in the areas the marking is applied to. The curse may be lifted by the prayer of a Saint, or by defeating the creature that applied the curse.

WELL...

I’M SCREWED, RIGHT?

of your body cannot have equipment pl

READ TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SLF WORLD! SHANGRI-LA FRONTIER STRATEGY FORUM VOL. 3 LET SLF MASTER REI-CHAN TAKE YOU THROUGH THE WORLD! THIS PAGE: ALL ABOUT LYCAON’S MARKING!! Q. WHAT EFFECT DOES LYCAON’S MARKING HAVE ON SUNRAKU? 1. CAN’T EQUIP ANYTHING OVER IT SUNRAKU CAN NO LONGER PUT ANYTHING ON HIS LEGS OR UPPER BODY, FORCING HIM TO PLAY DE-FACTO NAKED! 2. MONSTERS LOWER IN LEVEL RUN FROM HIM IN OTHER WORDS, HE’S ONLY ABLE TO FIGHT AGAINST HIGHER-LEVEL FOES! NO LEVEL GRINDING AGAINST THE WIMPS FOR HIM ANY LONGER! 3. AFFECTS NPC CONVERSATIONS SPECIAL DIALOGUES AND STORIES ARE UNLOCKED JUST FOR MARKING RECIPIENTS! 4. STRONG RESISTANCE TO OTHER MAGIC INTERFERENCE SUPPORT MAGIC BASICALLY DOESN’T WORK ON HIM—ANY BUFF SPELLS FROM ALLIES BOUNCE RIGHT OFF!

What Triggers Lycaon’s Marking?! CONDITION 2 NOT KILLED BY A NORMALLY INSTA- KILL ATTACK (EXCEPT ITEMS/ SKILLS/MAGIC) CONDITION 3 LAND ENOUGH CRITICALS WITHOUT TAKING DAMAGE

SECRET INFO!

CONDITION 1 NO DAMAGE FOR 5 MINUTES AS VANGUARD CLASS

After giving him a decent fight, Sunraku-kun is deemed worthy of the Marking. What new encounters could this lead to?