Chapter 52 - The Usual Suspect
A little less than two hours in virtual world time have passed since we began our assault on the [Buried Labyrinth of Forgetfulness].
—In conclusion, it's brutal.
It's more of a feeling than a conclusion, but it's undoubtedly the firm consensus between the two of us.
"Um, Haru-san… I'm starting to feel nothing but anxiety about my future in PvP…"
Maybe I just don't have any talent—as you say that, dejected, I'd like you to remember that there's someone right next to you feeling just as dejected.
"No, these things are just broken… I bet the proper way to clear this is to surround and annihilate them, not fight them honorably one-on-one…"
My suggestion that these might be enemies designed for PvP practice led us to continue fighting them one-on-one, and the result is this funeral-like atmosphere.
First, Sora. She's completely unable to adapt to the feints the statues keep throwing out, leaving her flustered and struggling in every fight. Each time I have to save her from a dangerous situation, her spirits sink with guilt.
Next, me. My legs are neutralized by the terrain, and trying to fight fair and square to practice tactics basically leads to a dead end. A big part of it is, of course, that I lack the toughness needed for a direct slugfest—my STR and VIT are practically non-existent—but more than that, with my high-speed mobility sealed, I was a bigger "newbie" than I ever imagined.
If you're asking who's worse, it's me, by a landslide. What's so bad is that my weapon handling and general movements are painfully clumsy.
After trying to fight with my feet planted instead of just steamrolling with excessive AGI, I've realized that my combat style, which I'd flattered myself into thinking had a certain "flair," was just a product of overwhelming speed.
With Sora next to me, displaying swordsmanship so beautiful it's captivating, the realization hits me hard—my fighting style is, ultimately, sloppy.
"Damn, this is depressing…"
This won't do. I know it makes sense that I'd be useless if my legs are sealed as an AGI-focused build, but if someone asked me if I'd be satisfied just being fast at running, I have no intention of nodding.
Thinking about it that way, this environment that seals my ridiculous three-dimensional mobility, and these formidable enemies who flaunt their almost malicious combat prowess, are actually ideal for training—or at least, that's what I have to tell myself, because honestly, my spirit is about to break.
"But you know… this is getting a bit reckless. How about we change our approach?"
"Um…?"
"Let's stop with the one-on-one fights and switch to focusing on coordination."
My earlier complaint about surrounding and annihilating them wasn't just a bitter grumble.
Arcadia may hit you with sudden, murderous intent from all sides, but at its core, it's a god-tier game recognized worldwide. When you get stuck, it's better to assume you're fundamentally approaching it the wrong way, rather than blaming the difficulty.
The statues are certainly tough enemies, but they always appear one at a time.
Every area we've cleared so far has had some kind of readable "theme." Considering that, the theme for the [Buried Labyrinth of Forgetfulness] is probably…
"'Surrounding' them is probably wrong given how narrow the field is. So, I'd say the concept is to take on a single strong enemy with a small, coordinated team."
"That makes sense…"
I feel a bit bad for putting on a smug face as Sora nods in admiration, because this whole theme thing is just a guess from a mere mortal, so I have nothing concrete.
But well, I'm probably not too far off.
"So… that coordination thing? What exactly should we do?"
"Hmm, two vanguards in a tight space…"
On top of that, the statues are human-sized enemies, just like us. Attacking one with two people at the same time would likely just get in each other's way without providing any real benefit.
"Well, we should try a bunch of things, but for now…"
—When it comes to coordination between vanguards, we might as well start with that classic MMORPG tactic.
◇◆◇◆◇
—CLANG!!
"Hk!"
Even if she can't quite close the distance, it's not like she's made no progress. Sora is steadily improving her skills, including the way she just expertly parried the statue's scimitar with her sand sword.
Compared to me, who's making little progress in refining my sloppy movements, it seems she really does have some good sense for this—
"Agh…!?"
But for all that, her overly honest fighting style remains a problem. As usual, she falls for a feint and steps in, only for the waiting counterattack to catch her off guard.
"Alright… now!!"
And, as usual, I jump in from my position in the rear to block the statue's sword at the start of its swing—and this is where it gets different.
"Sora!"
"Yes!"
The difference from before is that this move is a "planned action," not a "spontaneous follow-up." Her reply to my call is clear—Sora, who had continued her wide swing even after anticipating the counter, drives forward with her final step.
"Haah!!"
Slipping past me, her overhead strike lands on the statue's shoulder. As the sand sword scatters sand particles and the red damage effect flashes, the statue staggers. Simultaneously, the pressure from the scimitar I was desperately holding back with my lacking STR vanishes—
"Grraah!!"
The instant it's free, I lash out with my [White-Flawed Straight Sword] in a follow-up attack. Hit with another blow while off-balance, even the statue has no room to suspect a feint and loses its footing spectacularly.
"This is the end!"
Taking another step, swapping places with me, Sora swings her arm. There's no sword in her hand; instead, three clumps of sand obey her command from above her head.
"—Drei!!"
Simultaneously with her increasingly cool-sounding call, Clang, Clang, Clang—the sand, now formed into swords, rings out three times.
Its chest armor thoroughly pierced, the statue lets out one last shriek-like creak before vanishing into phosphorescence.
""…………""
We both linger in the afterglow of battle, silently watching the blue light dissipate—
"…………That felt, good, didn't it?"
"I-I think… that was kind of cool, maybe."
We look at each other, our faces breaking into smiles at the unexpectedly good results that came immediately after changing our strategy.
"Guess you can't beat the tried-and-true tactics established by our predecessors."
"It was called a 'switch,' right? Games really have so many different terms… or rather, expressions."
It's a gaming term, or more specifically, an MMO term. It's a tactic familiar to anyone who's spent time in this scene.
A switch is, just as it sounds, a strategy where players take turns being the one to face the enemy head-on—at least, that's my understanding of it.
These kinds of gaming terms and internet slang often take on completely different meanings in different contexts, so it's hard to say there's one "absolutely correct" definition. Though I have a vague idea of which game they originated from.
"In other games, it's used for tank rotations when an enemy's attack hits too hard, or for passing off aggro when special hate control is needed… Yeah, it's gamer slang."
"T-Tank… hay-con…?"
Whoops. It seems the more core stuff is still a bit too early for Sora, who has only just started learning about the gaming scene.
"Basically, it's a move like we just did. You can just remember it as 'swapping the person at the very front.'"
That's not wrong, I hope.
Still, I honestly didn't expect it to be this effective. This strategy, as I explained to Sora, is primarily about distributing damage.
Its use is fundamentally defensive, for things like "survival" and "buying time," but…
"I never thought it would be this useful offensively…"
"Um, so it's not just my imagination, right?"
It seems Sora has also noticed the usefulness of the switch tactic in Arcadia—a merit I hadn't considered until now.
"Somehow, the opponent's movements get… clumsy…"
"They do. And it gets even worse when we switch consecutively."
Thinking back, it was strange even when I was just spontaneously covering for Sora. The statue, which was so clever in a one-on-one fight, would let me, a guy who just jumped in frantically, easily block its attack and even meekly accept a counter.
"Is it because of the advanced AI not being based on a routine… What would you call it, something like confusion?"
That feeling from the statue when we not only jumped in but also took turns on the front lines, constantly forcing it onto the back foot. It's just a suit of armor with no expression, but I can clearly sense an aura of bewilderment from it.
"Confusion… It's like they're really alive, isn't it?"
"At this point, maybe it's better not to think of them as CPUs like in existing games… I've been trying not to think too deeply about it, but the NPCs are like that, too."
So far, the only NPC I've had significant interaction with is the muscular old man, Halzen, but I can no longer think of him as just a block of data.
Even though he's a being that exists within the game's systems, every conversation with him feels like I'm talking to a real person.
"…You know, it's really hitting me now, but…"
This game isn't just broken in terms of VR technology, is it? Did humanity's AI tech somehow reach the singularity while I wasn't looking…?
I shuddered alone at the possibility that the world had taken a wild turn during the three years I was disconnected from the internet. Beside me, Sora tilted her head, wondering why I was suddenly so horrified.
She probably just thinks it's amazing that the game characters seem alive. If I started talking about the technological singularity, she'd surely just look confused.
…………I'll have to look into some things later, yeah.
"W-Well, for now… I think we have a solid strategy for clearing this, right?"
"Yes! Let's do our best!"
Pushing aside the rather terrifying thoughts for now, I decided to focus on conquering this area.
With Sora's motivation restored, the two of us once again began to press forward in the [Buried Labyrinth of Forgetfulness]. The path remained a single, unchanging corridor, with no end yet in sight.
I got 1st place in the daily genre rankings for three days in a row! And I ranked 3rd for the week! My bookmarks and access numbers are growing steadily—scarily so, even—and it's all very, very encouraging. I'll do my best to continue meeting your expectations!