Chapter 1116 - Senior and Junior, Guarding the Battlefield
The greatest festival in the starry sky event.
That is, the 'Night Raid' that occurs every day has its maximum scale determined by the number of people in the group, and the actual number of attacking waves is determined according to the number of [Stardust Relic (Lapis)] accumulated within the group.
In other words, the harder a large number of people work on hunting from the first day, the more the defense difficulty becomes hellish, and furthermore, they must hunt down the incoming [Stardust Beast (Lim)] thoroughly in the 'Night Raid' from the first day...
By performing such a death march, the difficulty and rewards are maximized.
And... somehow, I haven't given a single opinion regarding that decision-making. I haven't, but even after the first event where we ran through at full power as a result without anyone knowing anything, the stance of our Zoodiac group didn't waver.
Kick away hell with all your might.
They didn't waver from that stance, which I extremely liked, with a unanimous vote.
Therefore—
"Oh—... finally, the 'Snake' has started coming out from the first day, huh."
From atop the watchtower with a view of the entire battlefield. As far as the eye could see, a hellish scene of the results of my rapidly growing comrades' hunting... and so, just dozens of seconds after the start of the battle, all directions were already in an uproar.
The deep, deep Zoodiac forest surrounding the reclaimed residential area. Emerging from that darkness were the black beasts of stardust, which were undoubtedly based on the zodiac motifs, true to the environment name given to them.
First was the 'Monkey,' whose individual ability was the weakest, but it used clever tactics like throwing things, and above all, it could never be underestimated due to its 'numbers,' which were far greater than the other eleven types.
Second was the wolf-type, or 'Dog,' whose movements were simple but fast, and perhaps due to instinct, it didn't miss a player's opening and went straight for the throat. This one also couldn't be ignored.
And third was the 'Rabbit,' a small, elite group specialized in agility. To be honest, they weren't much compared to the famous or whatever-it-was killer rabbit, [Ruby Rabbit Bullet (Ruby Bullet)], but with a suicide style that attacked fiercely with mainly kicking techniques, they were a great threat to general people.
And then fourth was the 'Snake,' a large species that was huge, tough, and cunning in both attack and defense. It looked down upon the small humans with its long body of seven or eight meters.
Regarding the latter two types, they were [Stardust Beast (Lim)] that appeared from the second day in the first event. In other words, it meant that our way of running (progression) had been optimized that much.
Very good. Isn't it something to be proud of—
"—It's been like that since last time, you know. By the way, the 'Dragon' appeared on the second day."
"Oh—... for reference, how did you handle the attacks from the sky?"
"At first, the general forces did their best, and when it got dangerous, Minalina burned everything away."
"Oh... that must have been a spectacular sight."
From atop the watchtower with a view of the entire battlefield. Sitting next to me was the white cat lady... —and so, I had been absent last time, but this was the second time we were sitting next to each other as two insurance (backups).
Our role was to sit firmly as 'rank-holders for if something happens.' It didn't suit my nature, but I settled into the seat I should get used to given my position, and while overlooking the battlefield of my comrades...
""—There.""
We both swung a 'fist' and a 'string' almost simultaneously.
We were looking in different directions. But the result was the same. Our respective interventions struck and entangled a sudden 'crisis' at the destination, and voices of gratitude came from the distant battlefield... and from the "spectator area" in the center of the base, cheers and high-pitched screams of excitement reached us.
It was embarrassing, that's for sure.
But if I thought about it from the opposite perspective, I, who used to be on the majority side in cooperative games (MMOs), could understand the 'thankfulness.' It would be best to endure the shame and accept it honestly.
It's embarrassing to refer to myself this way... but well, because I know how reassuring and profitable (good) a hunting ground is when an overwhelmingly strong person is watching over it.
A hunting ground where a backup exists for if something happens is an excellent place where one can gain experience comfortably without worrying about a bit of overdoing it. I have a few actual experiences of this, though they are few.
...I wonder if [Tsukuyomi]-san, who took care of me in the netgame I was hooked on in middle school, is doing well. She was the pinnacle of eccentricity—a gothic lolita twin-tailed corporate slave hardcore gamer who sang complaints about work every day—but she was a skilled chatter who skillfully turned curses into jokes—
""—Whoops.""
A fist strike in a flash, a string manipulation in a flash.
It's fine if my thoughts wander. As long as I keep my eyes moving, my body (avatar), which has been stained with the basics of combat over the past year or so, reacts semi-automatically. ...And,
"...As I thought, isn't that (that skill) bad? It's not a performance that should be allowed to fit into a single skill. It's as usual, but are you messing around?"
"At the very least, I'm not particularly 'always messing around,' you know???"
I feel like I've been told something similar before, but a retort mixed with—or rather, full of—exasperation flew from my side.
It was directed at my all-purpose fist strike expansion skill, [Volcanate (拳嵐儛濤)]. ...But well, since I'm the one who thinks so more than anyone else, I unfortunately have no grounds for rebuttal.
So,
"Well, what is it, it's that. I can only hope that many people will reach the top, aiming for the fact that such a broken thing exists..."
I switched the direction of the topic—but unfortunately, the exasperated gaze didn't stop, and Natsume-chan-senpai gave a single sigh that was heavily permeated with some kind of resignation, saying "Hafu..."
"I can't help but feel sorry for the followers who were poisoned by you..."
"What a thing to say."
Along with those extremely harsh words, she offered a prayer of pity. And—
"Even with [Multiple Weapon Aptitude], it's only 'that' even if you become somewhat able to use it."
"Don't call it 'that.'"
"In the first place, just because you can change equipment one after another during combat, what of it?"
"What do you mean 'what of it'? Look at me, look at me."
"It would be cheaper in many ways to pour that ingenuity into the technique of a single weapon, though."
"Even if it takes money and effort, the romance that lies beyond that is..."
"Romance, huh, while harboring the fact of a desperate poverty of assault (attack) skills..."
"Hey, stop it, don't touch on the taboo."
"You probably don't know, but normally, when you say 'Arcadia combat,' the highlight is the continuous response of flashy skills that shine and make noise, you know? You probably don't know, though."
"Why did you poke at my ignorance twice?"
"Because of a certain someone, before I knew it, a faction that makes no sense, saying 'mastering normal attacks (non-skill attacks) without relying on skills is the strongest,' is becoming popular with a pitiful momentum."
"Don't call it pitiful???"
"Really... where on earth is [Arts (Kesshiki Ittou)] a 'normal attack'? Using 'Inner' and 'Outer' and such incomprehensible super-energy, they're an exception among exceptions, not just a tiny minority. To use them as a reference, I can only say it's pitiable (truly unfortunate)."
"What a thing to say, really— there...!"
The teasing of me (?) by the kitten didn't stop, didn't stop.
As expected, while delivering a hand of salvation to the edge of the battlefield in between, she continued the never-ending exchange of words on the watchtower... or rather, I was just being told a lot of things one-sidedly.
...Well, I guess.
"Um, eh... how should I say it, well, yes. It's that."
"What?"
This senior lady is also a considerate person in a different direction from Nono-san. Therefore,
"In the near future, I'm also thinking about recording some reference materials (teaching materials)..."
Even if it's sudden, this junior understands what she's trying to say—in short, it's probably 'fulfill your responsibility as a celebrity.'
During the fan service recreation during the day, there were quite a few (people) like that. Players who felt like they were overdoing it by forcibly using [Multiple Weapon Aptitude].
So, well, yeah.
"Hmm... I see. —At the very least, make sure to carefully consider the content for general people."
"I have it well in mind."
Whether I show the way or kill them.
I have to fulfill my responsibility for becoming the one who lit the fire of the trend, I thought.
A path that Natsume-chan-senpai also once took as a "string-user."