Chapter 152 - The Maiden of the Scales, Attended by a Thousand Blades - Part 2
Sora’s [Anima], the [Cradle of Sword-Craft]—the numerous properties hidden within the magic swords generated by that ring were far from simple.
Beyond the fact that their attack attribute was a fifty-fifty split between physical and magical, and that they could be levitated and controlled by thought alone, there were several other aspects that set them apart from normal weaponry.
First, the resource that composed their blades wasn't physical material, but Sora’s own MP. And second, the MP cost per sword was ridiculously, almost unfairly, low.
The upper limit of one’s MP is tied to their MID stat. A good rule of thumb is that for every 100 points invested, you gain one additional MP bar.
So then. For Sora, whose MID stat currently exceeds 500, what is the maximum number of magic swords she can generate?
The answer is roughly 1,500. Even after creating a thousand blades to hunt me down, her reserves were nowhere near depleted—an absurd level of fuel efficiency.
"Yeah, no getting close to that… Whoa!"
While continuing this game of tag with the swarm of magic swords that coiled and pursued me like a great serpent—or perhaps a dragon—I had to constantly intercept the individual blades that broke off to attack me.
I deflected a sand blade with my [White-Flawed Straight Sword], and through the dissipating dust, I tried to figure out how to approach the girl hidden behind layers upon layers of sword walls. But… unfortunately, no brilliant ideas were forthcoming.
This was the second property of the [Cradle of Sword-Craft]. The performance of the generated swords and the strength of their control via thought were dependent on the caster’s—Sora’s—MID stat.
With Sora now boasting magical power equal to or greater than a pure mage, the performance of her swords should have already surpassed my own [White-Flawed Straight Sword].
Furthermore, her control strength—the power and speed she could imbue through psionic manipulation—was on a completely different level compared to when she first started using them.
However, as evidenced by the fact that I could still fend them off with my own, weaker [Anima], each individual magic sword suffered from low durability.
And their flight speed via telekinesis couldn't quite keep up with my AGI-focused build—but,
"If I get surrounded, there’s no escape—whoa, that was close!?"
A pursuing tsunami of steel.
Sporadic, piercing thrusts.
And an encircling ring of blades that constantly expanded and contracted, always keeping me framed within its sights.
With Sora meticulously controlling all of this, I was being forced to fight what felt like an entire army, despite it being a one-on-one duel.
Honestly, it didn't feel like I was fighting another player at all.
This is just a straight-up boss battle!
"This is getting nowhere—Shield!"
Barely dodging another projectile from a blind spot, I summoned the [Revolving Shield] to my right hand. At the same time, I stored away the [Panga Fool] I had been clutching in my left.
"A man's gotta have… guts!!"
Activating Floating Leaf, I reversed my vector, executing a 180-degree turn at top speed to face the draconic serpent of swords I had been fleeing.
Sora was likely focusing all her attention on controlling that multitude of blades; she shouldn't have the leeway to react instantly… or so I hoped, as I scraped past the vortex, a hair's breadth from being shredded.
I know I have a barrier, but scary is scary!
I broke out in a cold sweat as a terrifying gale washed over me, but I had secured my target position.
Now then—I activated Gasty Lim and Reflect Blowal in parallel.
"Heee—"
I raised my right hand with grim resolve.
"—yaahhh!!!"
With thirty percent determination and seventy percent desperation, I plunged my hand into the vortex of magic swords rushing past me!
Instantly, my HP began to drain, just as I expected… but the telekinetically thrown swords didn't pack much of a punch individually.
With two defensive skills stacked and the shield taking the brunt of it, the damage was minuscule.
Which meant…
"Tremble—"
This was the perfect opponent for charging up the count of this mysterious weapon that called itself a 'shield'.
"—Slide!"
Though the damage was negligible, the pressure on my right arm was immense.
Unable to bear it, I dug my pinned foot in deeper and used the skill's forced two-meter movement to violently tear myself free.
Alright, how many hits did I take…? Ah, of course. The stack is maxed out, just as planned!
I couldn't unleash its full power in the match against Irori, but now, it could finally make its grand debut. And I can say this with certainty: what kind of 'shield' even are you?!
"Revolve and bloom—Lunartiar!!"
My right hand was equipped with the [Revolving Shield]. I clenched that fist and slammed it into my chest—and in that instant…
A silver-blue shield of light enveloped my entire body like armor.
"Wh-what… is that!?"
"Secret weapon number one!"
Sora's cry of surprise reached my ears, her control over the swords faltering slightly.
Well, I can't blame her. Just like in the fight with the Sword Protector, it's not just an empty left hand now—my entire body is clad in shining, floating shields… no, armor. My appearance, clad in this, is every bit as impressive as Sora, who is clad in swords…
…Okay, I exaggerated. Compared to Sora-san, it's undeniably a bit shabby, but it should still be impactful enough to surprise her.
The [Revolving Shield]—this 'shield' counts the number of attacks received while equipped and deploys additional armor based on the accumulated total.
With just ten or so hits, like in the Irori fight, it could only manage a second shield at most. But with a full count of one hundred…
"Behold Sora-san's long-awaited tank version of me…!"
"And why is its grand debut in our match!?"
She has a point—Whoa!
I narrowly dodged the vortex of swords as it resumed its pursuit, caught a stray blade in my peripheral vision, and—ignored it.
"Wha—!?"
Her cry of surprise and the hard clang of the sword being deflected were almost simultaneous. The blow was taken not by the arena's safety barrier, but by one of the shields of light I had deployed.
The base defense of the additional armor from Lunartiar is calculated by dividing the total damage received by the number of hits counted.
Furthermore, it has no time limit. It lasts until it has blocked a number of enemy attacks equal to the accumulated count. In other words…
"Only 99 more to go!"
"Ninety-nine what!?"
"The number of times I can ignore your magic swords without taking any damage!"
"Tch… Ugh, that's cheap, Haru! You cheater!"
"You're one to talk!?"
Despite our lighthearted banter, the scene itself was still that of a boss battle between two inhuman beings.
One manipulated a number of swords too great to count, while the other zipped around at blurring speeds, clad in shining silver-blue armor.
Our health ratio was 8.5 to 10. The long-awaited duel between partners had only just begun.
Ah, this is just—so much fun, I can't stand it.