Chapter 623 - Like Master, Like Disciple
"—Alright, now that introductions are done and everyone's calmed down... is it okay to move on?"
"I'm really so sorry..."
"Switch gears quickly and cleanly. That's my motto."
"Y-yes! I'll keep that in mind!"
Ignoring the sharp gaze boring into me from my side that clearly said, You're just making that up, aren't you?, I declared the introductions officially over. Let's get to the next step.
"And now, for a quiz."
"Haru?"
"I'm not kidding, I'm not. I'm actually trying to do this seriously, just trying to structure things to make it easier to understand, so please stop with the deadpan look."
Sora-san becomes incredibly serious and responsible when people she doesn't know well are involved. The pressure was on.
I'm sure she's thinking, You have to approach your work with sincerity. I know, I know—hey, Kanata-kun, what's the big idea, smiling at your senior getting scolded?
"Well, it's not so much a quiz as it is a way to align our perceptions, or my personal theory, or an extreme argument... it's a truth I want to establish at the outset. Anyway, I have one thing I want to ask."
"Okay... um, what would that be?"
It wasn't a particularly big question. And because of that—
"Kanata, what do you think is the single most important ability for a light warrior?"
"The most important... Evasion ability, I suppose?"
I had no doubt that Kanata's answer would align with my own.
"Correct. Well, 'correct' is relative, and different people will have different answers, but I'm speaking in extremes. Evasion ability, survival ability—in other words, not dying. That is both the foundation and the ultimate goal for a light warrior."
That's what I believe, at least. I'm not trying to act as the representative for all light warriors, but since that conviction has earned me a place among the rankers, I'd say it has some credibility.
"Light warriors die easily. That's precisely why they must not die. And a light warrior who doesn't die is super strong—sorry, I just made that last part up. My apologies."
Having a deadpan supervisor next to me really keeps me on my toes.
"No, um, I understand. That's the absolute truth, isn't it?"
And it's a blessing to have such an earnest, serious, and sharp junior. I can't keep showing him my uncool side. Time to step up and act like a proper senior.
"Exactly. In the extreme, a light warrior who can dodge every single attack and defeat their enemy without dying is, at this point in Arcadia, the strongest... or so I believe. 'Fast is strong' is a general rule in action games, and it's even more true in VR, where you have to track your opponent with your own eyes from within the chaos of battle."
"That... makes sense. It's common knowledge that in PvP between players in different speed tiers, the faster one almost always wins."
In reality, a slower player is almost always helpless against a faster one. At best, they can just pray that a homing skill or an auto-activating counter skill will hit.
So why isn't Arcadia flooded with speed-specialized light warriors? That's an old question. The technical skill required is absurdly high; most people can't do it even if they want to.
However, if one has the talent, there's no reason not to aim for that 'strongest' position.
"And so, Kanata-kun."
"Y-yes, sir..."
Rejoice. In my opinion, you are without a doubt one of the talented ones.
I, the [Acrobat]—who, embarrassingly enough, has received similar evaluations of 'having talent' from many powerful players—will proudly give you my seal of approval.
The player [Kanata] is one of us.
"In the week we have left, let's build him up—'Kanata, the Absolute Evasion Light Warrior.'"
"..................Yes?"
"I'm sorry, this is my serious face..."
My choice of words doesn't matter. Our training time is finite, not infinite, but fortunately, the perfect environment is right here.
Or rather, she's here.
"Alright, over to you, Sora-sensei."
"You don't sound very serious... —No, yes, I understand."
She peered into my heart with suspicion, but seemed convinced that I was approaching my coaching duties with utmost seriousness. The pressure and the quips subsided, and my partner nodded as she let her mana flare.
"Well then, um... Kanata-san."
"Y-yes! Um, if you don't mind, could you drop the honorifics... or at least the '-san,' please? As the one being taught and receiving help, I'd like to maintain that distinction."
Kanata made the request as soon as his name was called. It was probably more of a pretext; the real reason was likely that he felt awkward being addressed so formally by the [Acrobat]'s partner.
"S-so, uh... —Kanata... -kun...?"
I'd be astonished if Sora opted to drop the honorifics entirely, so this was the landing I expected.
An adorable girl hesitantly trying out his name, and a handsome boy nodding with a satisfied smile. The scene was incredibly wholesome—however...
"In that case, um... —it won't hurt even if it hits you, so please don't worry."
The next moment, with a single thought from the girl...
"[Schwert Kreis]."
The peaceful scene was instantly dyed in a sea of 'swords.'
A familiar sight brought a sense of intimacy, while an unfamiliar one inspired awe. Faced with the torrent of sand swords that threatened to fill the entire training room, Kanata instinctively held his breath.
He was apparently a fan of Sora's, which meant he had almost certainly seen the archive of the 'White Throne' subjugation battle. He should have known about the magic swords produced by her [Cradle of Sword-Craft], but seeing them on video and seeing them up close were two entirely different things.
I know how you feel, I really do. It makes you want to laugh and ask what kind of final boss this is... but if you freeze up here, you're going to have a rough time.
Because the Sora of today has left her past self far, far behind.
"—Ruby, if you would."
In response to her call, a small, star-like shadow emerged from the girl's own.
The little fox leaped onto her shoulder and playfully nuzzled its master's cheek—and at the same moment the 'red star' on its neck began to glow, it dispersed and vanished.
It vanished, and in its place, three tails appeared.
This was her tentative 'Possession' form. It was the special ability of the [Stardust Beast] Sora had tamed, the little fox Ruby, and the game-breaking power that had accelerated her already absurd strength.
And on top of that...
"[Trance]."
Sora's own four tails were added, heralding the arrival of an ultimate form that surpassed even a final boss.
White fox ears. Four white tails and three black tails, for a total of seven. The day this form is revealed to the public, I'm sure it'll cause a Virgo Big Bang. It's an overdose of cuteness, but I know all too well that in terms of performance, it's not cute at all.
So Kanata, this is no time to be mesmerized. You'd better brace yourself, you hear?
"...So yeah, as you've probably guessed, you'll be doing evasion training against this. I had her make the swords soft, so it's true that they won't hurt if they hit you. You can relax."
"Wh-uh... What? No, um, there's nothing relaxing about this at all!"
"By the way, that little furball from earlier is the one controlling the sand swords."
"Come again?"
"I had her make it a pseudo-random setup so that even Sora-san can't fully predict their trajectories. So don't worry, it probably won't turn into a cakewalk where you just memorize the patterns."
"I told you, there's nothing relaxing about this!"
"It's fine, it's fine. I'll be doing it with you, so you can use my movements as a reference."
"You are going to make movements I can actually use as a reference, right...?!"
Ignoring our banter, the master who had entrusted control of the magic swords to her servant nonchalantly moved to the wall and sat down gracefully—that was the line.
The entire, vast training room was our stage.
From a distance, our amber eyes met. Sora looked at me, then at Kanata, and then back at me once more with a slightly troubled, hesitant expression before—
"Alright then, let's give it a go."
"What's the 'go' in that sentence stand for?! Are you sure it won't hurt when it hits?!"
At the very last second, she shot Kanata one more look, a mixture of apology and sympathy, and then...
"—H-here we gooooo!!!"
With the cutest battle cry imaginable, our fun little hell began.
It's the ideal training environment, with a devoted fox girl watching over you. How enviable.