Chapter 642 - The Teachings Are Here
“—Hah…!”
He had to fix this unconscious habit of holding his breath when moving at his limits.
It was a ‘quirk’ he hadn’t been very aware of himself, but he’d been told it would affect his stamina. Unfortunately, it was hard to say he had completely overcome it just yet.
After cleaving the seventh Pillar, his legs finally gave out. Instead, Kanata resumed breathing normally and, against his will, collapsed to the ground.
He couldn’t afford to stop—but he wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could keep running without a break. As embarrassing as it was, this was a necessary rest.
“Kanata, you alright?”
“My apologies… Just a moment.”
“I’m not about to treat you like one of those monsters yet. Take a proper rest. Forget the exhaustion. How’s your mental condition?”
“If it were just about spirit, I feel like I could run forever…!”
“Hah, that’s good to hear.”
He had, with all due respect, grown accustomed to conversing with the General Commander. He had no intention of being overly reserved about the fact that Goldow was providing him with near-constant support along the way.
Such reservations were pointless. Understanding that the others simply didn’t need that level of assistance, Kanata knew his only duty was to accept the ‘unstinting support’ he’d been promised and repay that expectation by continuing to run with dogged determination.
“It’s been a while since the maze opened. Players other than the ‘vanguard group’ will be flooding in soon, so be ready for unexpected fights from here on out.”
“The vanguard group…”
“Your ‘senpai,’ and others of his kind.”
Immediately after the battle began. It was a classic Four Pillar War tradition for rankers, moving at speeds unreachable by average players, to encounter one another and exchange flashy greetings as an opening act.
Since it was a battle between runners skilled in agility, the fights were generally dizzying—in other words, they were spectacular to watch and served as the first major highlight of the Four Pillar War, but—
“Um, my senpai is…”
“Oh, him? He was already getting friendly. With a total of four people in this short time.”
“Excuse me???”
In other words, since the last Four Pillar War, that tradition had naturally become fixed on the first encounter of a certain individual. He knew Haru was safe, as he hadn't seen any pillars of light other than those from destroyed Pillars, but the casual, absurd words made him let out a bewildered cry.
Then, a hint of suppressed laughter echoed directly in his mind through the telepathy…
“Aren’t you proud to have such a fun senpai, kouhai?”
“...Ahaha.”
At those words, Kanata, having fully caught his breath, stood up.
“He’s the best in the world.”
“That kid really has a way of being loved.”
There was no lie in his words. He lifted his head, ready to embody his inexhaustible spirit.
“Goldow-san.”
“Yeah.”
It wasn’t because the commander’s words had stirred his heart.
“…An enemy.”
Beyond the ‘net’ he was staring at. From the depths of the maze, a lone player appeared, their presence exuding without any attempt at concealment. He had stood to face them head-on, and for no other reason.
Amidst the fading phosphorescence of a fallen Pillar’s crumbling remains, a tall woman stepped into an open space where the net-like walls were broken.
Long golden hair and blue eyes. Her finely featured face radiated not ‘beauty’ but ‘strength,’ and she wore a lively smile. Her attire, what could be called a modified habit with a daring slit, was a light cloth armor, and she carried a monstrous great hammer—a mass of overwhelming presence.
“The [Heroine]… Oume Touri-san.”
“—…I see.”
She closed the distance, step by step, until she was now only a few meters away. Her calm, leisurely, and somewhat imperious gait was as if she were certain Kanata wouldn’t run—no, as if she had already determined that any attempt to flee would be futile.
Dragging her great hammer without a sound, she stood before him and offered another smile—
“Well now, I don’t know you. Who might you be?”
She simply asked, as if to say his own introduction was unnecessary.
“Kanata, you get it, right? I wouldn’t say your compatibility with Oume is bad, but…”
“Yes.”
The General Commander didn’t finish his sentence, but even without the warning, Kanata himself understood deeply—the gap in their fundamental power was too great. He couldn’t even be considered an opponent.
Thanks to the field’s assistance this time, he was confident he had shown a level of running that was only a step, two steps… no, perhaps five… maybe a few dozen steps behind the [Acrobat], but that was his limit for now.
Even if he had been trained by the rankers and their partners themselves, that alone wasn't enough to stand on their level. Being ‘special’ in Arcadia wasn’t cheap.
That’s why… yes, that’s precisely why.
“…I am Kanata, of the Eastern Faction, Istia. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“I see. Don’t know that name, either.”
The path he must take, now that he had started running toward that ‘special’ status, was already decided.
“I won’t stop you, but you can’t win.”
“I know. But—”
Although he was given the crucial role of a runner, he was still a regular participant. If his HP were to be depleted, it wouldn’t mean a game over in the Four Pillar War.
Therefore, the optimal solution here would be to ‘lose gracefully without unnecessarily revealing one’s hand.’ He understood that this was the smart choice that everyone, including the commander on telepathy, would agree with.
For a regular player, an ‘encounter with a ranker’ was synonymous with a fated defeat—a death encounter. Whether they struggled or gave up, the power of life and death rested with those celestial beings. There was nothing to do but curse one’s misfortune.
In Arcadia, that's what a ‘ranker’ was when you faced them as an enemy.
And again, that’s precisely why.
“I want to be like my senpai.”
If he was going to reach for the one he had decided to look up to.
“If my senpai were in my position, he would never back down, would he?”
It would be a lie not to chase the back he admired in his dreams.
The [Acrobat] he had fallen for had always defied and overcome unbeatable odds.
“...I wonder about that. He can be strangely pragmatic at times, you know.”
“Ahaha. That’s just another one of his charms.”
“Ah, well. Looks like nothing I say will change your mind.”
The voice echoing in his head was a fifty-fifty mix of exasperation and resignation. Yet, the owner of that oddly cheerful voice was the leader of Istia, the faction of conflict.
“Well, if you’re going to challenge a ranker for real, just showing your resolve is impressive enough… Go ahead. Your score is more than sufficient. Do as you please.”
“...Yes!”
“Not enough spirit in your voice! Don’t you dare get timid now, thinking you’re being selfish—If you admire him, you’d better learn to run your mouth like he does!”
“—YES!”
Inevitable composure.
He looked at his enemy, who had waited, watching Kanata’s lengthy exchange with his ‘boss’ not with impatience, nor with any move to attack, but with amusement.
He looked at her and made a single declaration.
“I will face you head-on—and I’ll get away!”
“Alright! Well said—... wait, what did you say?”
He wouldn’t retreat from the challenge, but a victory by escape was on the table.
That, too, seemed an impossible task, but there were words etched into his heart. Namely: ‘If you can do it, you can do it, so believe you can and go for it.’
And so, having unknowingly traced his senpai’s thought process and put his ‘resolve’ into words… Kanata readied his stance. She—the tenth-ranked member of the Southern Faction—deepened her smile even further.
“I like that—Just for your spirit alone, you’re worth remembering.”
She took another step toward the boy she had acknowledged as an ‘enemy’.
This kouhai's brain has been completely fried. It seems there's no hope for him.