Chapter 376 - The White Lingering Dream, Swaying in Slumber - Part 5
Her vision cleared, and a flood of information rushed in.
In a world thrown into chaos, she instantly grasped her own position and—faster than anyone else, no, at the same time as someone who was rocketing into the sky—her body moved before the others.
No need to hold back. Unlike against a player, this was a contest of strength so overwhelmingly lopsided that no amount of force could be considered excessive.
Lift, and bring down.
With a slow, almost languid motion that seemed to carry a hint of weariness, the small shadow charged like the wind toward the landing spot of the descending foreleg and, with the momentum, swung the 'sword' in her hand with all her might in a horizontal arc.
"—Tch…"
She could only hold her ground for an instant. Unlike a lazy tail swipe, intervening in a move backed by an absurd amount of weight was, as expected, a losing battle.
Even for the [Sword Queen], slightly deflecting it was the best she could do.
"Get back."
"Thanks…!"
However, she had successfully fulfilled her objective (the follow-up). The support mage, who had been summoned to point-blank range with no hope of escape, quickly retreated.
Just a little longer… Now.
"[Fort Rouge (Vivid Red)]."
As she murmured the key phrase to reinforce the image, her 'Anima' changed its form in accordance with its master's wish. An attire resembling a dress, befitting its name—shifted from a serene white to a brilliant, vivid red.
[Ancien Ilize, Goddess of Illusions]—also known as the 'Robe of Seven Colors'. Though not the absolute best, it was a Sixth Tier Anima, one of only a handful that still existed in the virtual world.
An all-purpose armor ranked second in the armor category of the 'Unofficial Anima Rankings,' whose grader is unknown.
Its hidden ability was…
"—Hah…!"
…a free and unrestricted transition of stats.
The red of offense. The defensive capabilities of both her avatar and armor were stripped to their limits and poured into her 'sword', amplifying its power to more than double its previous strength, elevating a blow that could at best strike the monster into a small blade of sublime power.
Again, there was no need to hold back. The moment the retreating player was out of the aftershock's range, Iris unleashed a slash with all her might.
There was no need for the blade itself to connect.
The divine sword, swung from bottom to top as if looking up at the heavens—brought an equal blade along the extension of its trajectory.
"————————————"
The slash that raced through the air struck the 'White Throne's' lower jaw, and a cry echoed from the staggered giant. As always, its reaction was so slow that it was impossible to tell if it was effective or not.
It was a stark reminder of just how blessed a feature the visualization of life force (HP gauge) was from a gaming perspective.
Unlike analog games where you just had to watch a screen, VR games, where you yourself enter the world, inundate you with a different order of magnitude of information. The combat in Arcadia, which required processing all of that, was taxing not just on the body, but on the mind as well.
Simply put, it was tiring. And for the end of that fatigue to be out of sight is, though it varies from person to person, always a source of great stress for humans.
Unable to see the opponent's health, and required to challenge it for the first time to prevent learning its patterns. Once again, it was a difficulty that was laughable, for better or for worse.
…She was sure she would have been fed up with it.
If, as before, she had remained shut in her shell—sullen and pathetic, putting on the airs of a loner as she challenged it.
"[Almo Blanche (Harmonious White)]."
The transition was from red to white.
A well-balanced, slightly agility-focused stat adjustment—she regained her mobility and kicked off the ground. The next moment, numerous barrages of artillery fire, based on trust, flew past her from behind without any warning, striking the faltering white giant one after another.
And the next wave was of human figures. The champions representing the East and South blew away the lingering after-effects and dust of the layered magic as they overtook Iris.
Then came the vanguard, following in their wake.
When she put on the brakes and came to a stop, the chants of the mages weaving the next barrage could be heard from behind.
—And when she looked up…
"…………"
…she could see his figure, joyfully soaring through the sky with countless swords of sand dust.
"…Hey, Goldow."
That day, she was sure he had said something like this.
When you get old, you get sentimental—he had said.
She was sure she was still at an age where she couldn't be called old, but.
"…I think I might've become a bit of a crybaby too."
Because from the heart that had become lighter thanks to someone else… to her dismay.
If she let her guard down for a moment, all sorts of things would overflow and wouldn't stop.
Because when she thought of the time she was alone, it felt like a lie—that she could smile and think, this is fun.
Twice, three times, the small figures repeated the cycle, the number unchanging, the process carried out dispassionately.
Though the end was nowhere in sight, they were steadily making progress—and deep within the unseeing eyes, someone's pupils lit up.
Ominously—like the one who had changed her attire from white to red.
Ominously—like the one who wore white, commanded red, and soared through the sky.
At the bottom of the primordial 'White', a squirming 'Red' flickered.
[Ancien Ilize, Goddess of Illusions] Anima: Battle Garment
Iris's full-body garment and one of the few Sixth Tier Anima in the virtual world. It can freely change the wearer's stats, ignoring the once-a-month restriction, and can also arbitrarily customize all numerical values, such as the equipment's own bonuses and resistances.
It is called the 'Robe of Seven Colors' based on the speculation that its name comes from the French word for rainbow, 'arc-en-ciel', but it is not restricted to seven types; the variations are infinite.
However, even the Sword Queen cannot perform instant memory transcription like someone else, so too many options would muddle her switching. Therefore, she generally uses about five 'colors'. For the most part, the all-purpose 'White' is more than enough, and the other specialized colors tend to be overkill, so she rarely changes colors in PvP (in fact, she tried to switch to a specialized anti-physical defense build against [Yuikaze] in the last scene of the Four Pillar War, but didn't make it in time).
Incidentally, not only its numerical specs but also its appearance can be freely customized. Its current appearance is a simple design dress armor with minimal metal plating, but it's also possible to have fun with it, like having heavy armor performance for physical specialization while looking like a thin one-piece dress.
Looking only at the positive aspects of its catalog specs, it's broken. However, it also has a huge demerit. Specifically, the Anima gets picky when combined with other equipment, so Iris can only wear a few accessories that don't interfere with [Ancien Ilize]. So what? It's still broken.
By the way, the base design of the dress was Presented by family.