Ayame and I returned to Mechanicsville, following the fight against the katana demon. Even though this city was smaller than Eden, many trade routes cut through the center, so naturally, dozens of service businesses sprung up. Most notably, numerous restaurants lined the streets, representing various cultures, but I didn't want to waste too much money on food. In this world, hunger existed in the form of the hunger gauge underneath my health bar and experience bar. I didn't physically feel hunger, but I still had to eat so that I wouldn't starve.
So far, my hunger was still over fifty percent, so I ignored the tempting smells from the restaurants.
Just then, there was a vicious growl that made me jump slightly.
"My bad," Ayame said. "I didn't eat much for breakfast."
I sighed.
I probably shouldn't neglect to feed my partner.
And so, the two of us went to a nearby bakery/cafe. I ate some macaroni and cheese with bread while Ayame ate two massive sub sandwiches, two flatbreads, and three chicken soups. The food was nice, and the price was low, so I only spent a total of sixty Szerath (most of the cost was because of Ayame), leaving me with 995.
When we finished, we headed over to a magic shop, and I bought two more Medium Healing Potions. They restored fifty percent of my health, and each of them cost 250 Sz. With this, I have 495 saved up in case we needed to buy anything else.
Finally, Ayame and I left the shop, and we headed to a certain location in Mechanicsville, where I would be able to find the Frigid Edge.
For the longest time, nobody knew about this hidden weapon, but one person found a secret entrance to a dungeon that contained a super-boss. If you managed to defeat this boss, you could get the Frigid Edge, one of the most broken weapons in the game. It basically lets you breeze through the first two continents, and if you maxed it out, it was even viable for endgame dungeons.
Unfortunately, this boss might destroy me, especially since I didn't have the option of over-leveling myself for the fight.
The criteria for fighting the dungeon were as follows: you must be level seven, and you must not have fought the archdemon of Rivenvalius yet. These restrictions were created to make the boss as challenging as possible.
People who have progressed too far into the story wouldn't be able to go back, but I was in the perfect spot.
In truth, I probably should have gotten more healing potions, but I'm sure three will be enough for now. I also didn't have enough money to buy better armor. If I fought another dungeon to grind for materials, I would end up going past level seven. I'll have to stick with my default gear for now.
On the bright side, I knew this fight inside and out. I saw dozens of people speed-running this boss, and I've even gotten close to the record. It's perfectly doable with default gear if you abuse the game's mechanics. On top of that, Ayame can use her arcane spells since this boss didn't have immunities, like the katana demon.
It took a bit of walking, but we finally arrived in front of an alley between a coffee shop and a run-down mansion. At the end of the narrow corridor, we took a right, going into a dead end with a garbage can in the corner.
I went up to the can, removed the lid, and rummaged through the contents.
"What the heck are you doing?!" Ayame asked.
"Gimme a sec. I'm looking for something."
A few seconds later, my hands grasped a familiar rectangular shape with scattered buttons. I took out the object, confirming that it was what I wanted: an NES controller. It was scuffed around the edges, and the cord had been cut, but the buttons were still pressable.
Ayame leaned over my shoulder. "Is that some sort of magical device?"
"Yup. It's magical, alright."
In the base game, if you went to this alleyway, you had the option of clicking on the trash can. It gave a list of mostly junk items, but buried underneath the garbage was an NES controller. If you had the item in your inventory, you could interact with it by pressing buttons, but they didn't do anything. The only way to use the item was to stand in this very location and input the all-powerful Konami Code.
Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A!
Upon pressing the button sequence, a hole opened in the ground, sucking Ayame and me into a pitch-black pit of nothingness.
"What the hell?!" Ayame screamed as we whizzed through time and space.
Finally, a light appeared at the end of our path. We burst forth, having been deposited on a completely flat surface that stretched across the entire horizon. A thin layer of crystal-clear water coated the ground, reflecting the idyllic blue skies and clouds.
"This is it," I said.
Ayame looked around, confused. "What is this place?"
"A hidden boss."
A few hundred feet away, a ghastly form emerged from the waters. The droplets converged, forming an organic shape that resembled a little kid.
Hold on...
That's not right.
As the water finished shaping itself, it receded back to the ground, revealing a blonde girl who was about twelve years old. Her hair was cut below her shoulders, and she wore a pink headband over her bangs. Her clothes were plain and caked with dirt, like what a less fortunate individual would wear in this world.
I staggered backward.
This was completely different from what it was supposed to be.
In the original game, it was a grown woman with angelic wings. Her name was Crusade, and she was the Shadow of Casoh, the one representing the chaotic drive for order.
But who was this little girl?
Was she a new boss?
"Is this the one we have to fight?" Ayame asked.
"Yes, but it's the wrong one."
"Wrong one?"
"Yeah. I've never seen her before."
Could it be that this version of Serial Slain was changed?
Dammit. I should have expected something like this to happen eventually.
Virgil mentioned that they updated the game, so it was inevitable that some fights would be different. But to think that the one boss they changed is the hidden super-boss.
I was planning on abusing my game knowledge, but it looks like all my past training had gone out the window. I didn't know anybody who managed to beat Crusade on their first try, so if this boss was just as hard as the original, then it was time to say goodbye to my second life.
The girl waved in our direction.
"My name is Retribution," she said. "I am the Shadow of Deorr, the one representing the righteous drive for chaos. I don't recall ever inviting either of you to my home. Excuse my rudeness, but could you please die?"
A silver bass guitar in the shape of a scythe materialized in her hands, and two massive speakers emerged from the ground next to her.
Retribution strummed a chord, and my entire world exploded.