Chapter 89 - The Need to Change My Image
I was dragged into a dim room with the lights still off.
From the looks of the large workbench, and the various unidentifiable tools scattered about, this place was, just as I'd imagined, her main workshop.
"…Hey, that's enough. Let go of me."
"Hmm? Are you embarrassed to have a big sister clinging to you?"
Who are you calling a big sister? I wasn't so lacking in resistance to women these days that I'd be swayed by some weirdo with a pretty face—
"Just stay still. I told you this was important, didn't I?"
"Tch…"
There was that voice again.
Frustratingly, the gap between her two personalities always seemed to leave me speechless. I guess I was just a teenage boy, after all…
"Now then—no deflections, no lies. I want you to answer me honestly, okay?"
"What is this all about…?"
Seriously, this woman did nothing but drag me around at her own pace.
Feeling half-exasperated by my own flustered state, I glared down at her. Nia's eyes, looking up at me from my side, were already fixed directly on mine.
"You—that avatar of yours is your real face, isn't it?"
"—"
The words she threw at me were from so far out of left field.
Her statement cut so directly into my real-life situation that my thoughts completely froze, and I stiffened.
"I'll say it again. Don't bother trying to deflect or lie. It's pointless."
As she spoke, she lifted the hand that wasn't holding my arm and tapped her own indigo eyes.
"My Anima is telling me so. This isn't a question, it's a confirmation."
"N-No way… Your eyes? An Anima that can—"
"It's not some criminal ability that can just sniff out real-life information, okay? But it can tell that your avatar is your real self."
Such a thing was possible… I couldn't completely dismiss it as impossible, which was just a testament to Arcadia's quality, I suppose.
"…What's the point of this question?"
"You might not believe me, but it's out of kindness."
Kindness, after creating this kind of atmosphere? As I looked at her suspiciously, Nia shot me back a look of exasperation.
"From what I've heard, you're planning to enter the Four Pillar War, right?"
"That's the plan for now."
"With that face?"
"What does my face have to do with anything?!"
Seeing me bristle, wondering if she was trying to pick a fight, she gave a resigned sort of gesture, as if to say, honestly.
"You really don't get it, do you? Didn't Kagura-san just explain to you that Arcadia is a huge deal in the real world, too?"
"…Yeah."
"The whole world is obsessed with it, to the point that any event or new information makes the news."
"Right."
"It's not just 'right.' The Four Pillar War is the biggest festival in Arcadia. You need to properly consider the scale of attention it draws."
"That is…"
What's with her sudden change in character? That carefree thought had only lasted for a few seconds. Nia's words were, without a doubt, all valid points—and honestly, was I an idiot? This was no time to be acting so nonchalant.
What she was trying to say was this:
—Are you really okay with broadcasting that face to the world?
"Um… if I may ask something completely unrelated."
"Yeah?"
"The Four Pillar War… is that, uh, the kind of thing that gets broadcast in a big way on terrestrial TV and stuff…?"
The top rankers of Arcadia were treated like professional athletes. That unbelievable piece of common knowledge I'd just learned from Kagura-san flashed through my mind.
And so, Nia's answer to my timid question was…
"Oh, absolutely. On the same scale as the Olympics, you know."
…a blow to my psyche far greater than I could have ever anticipated.
◇◆◇◆◇
"—Huh, I was wondering what was taking so long… you've already finished it?"
About ten minutes later, after some back-and-forth in the newly lit workshop, Nia and I returned to the room where Kagura-san was waiting.
Kagura-san's surprised gaze was directed at the back of my head—specifically, at the cord tying my hair back.
To make a long story short, I was forced to undergo an image change to distance my avatar from my real-life appearance as much as possible.
If I was going to participate in the Four Pillar War, an event broadcast to the real world on a massive scale, and even aim to stand out to some extent, showing my face to the public was a given.
And if I, with my nearly identical real face, were to do that, the only outcome waiting for me was the unmitigated disaster of being doxxed.
Putting aside whether I wanted to be famous in real life, I wasn't prepared in the slightest for my face to be plastered all over television.
For that reason, it was time for a Nia-chan production.
"People's images change surprisingly just by altering their eye color or hairstyle!"—or so the indigo-haired girl began to explain with a strangely professional air. I followed her lead, renting a special stylist item from her to do something about my hair.
The color itself was still black, but I muted the tone to a more grayish, faded black. I also let my hair, which was already slightly longer than in real life, grow out even more and tied it at the nape of my neck into a small tail that wouldn't get in my way.
Honestly, I'd never tied my hair up in my life, so it was incredibly embarrassing. Was this okay? Had I just become the human personification of cringe…?
And fitting perfectly into this new look was the very reason I had come here in the first place: the [Crimson Rabbit Ornament]—now reborn as a magnificent 'hair ornament' with a decorative cord and clasp, a jewel from the Ruby Rabbit.
"I see, so that's how it turned out. It suits you quite well."
"Are you being serious…?"
Though she offered her words so casually, I was filled with nothing but suspicion. Tying up my hair and wearing a hair accessory on top of it… was this a fashion choice a guy was allowed to make?
"Geez, have a little faith in me. I designed it so that it would look good on a guy, too!"
"You say that, but…"
I was so lacking in confidence that I felt my posture starting to slump.
"You're overthinking it. It's nothing compared to some guy with an old man's face wearing pigtails."
"Totally. Compared to a super-buff dude with his hair in a half-up style, this is well within the realm of fashion."
"What kind of monsters are you talking about…?"
Their points of comparison were so extreme I couldn't even muster a laugh.
"It. Looks. Fine! Seriously! You're handsome, so have some confidence!"
"What's this girl talking about, calling an average-looking guy handsome?"
Is this some new kind of insult?
"Anyway, is that thing finished? Since you went to the trouble, let me see what it does."
"'Anyway'… Yeah, fine. Is that okay with you?"
I nodded and was about to present the back of my head, but I checked with Nia, the creator, just in case.
For some reason, the artisan was pouting again. "Do whatever you want," she said dismissively, not even trying to hide her displeasure as she looked away.
Hey, why are you sulking all of a sudden? What's that about?
"Alright then, excuse me."
In any case, I turned my head again and presented the hair ornament to Kagura-san. When she tapped the crimson-glowing jewel with her fingertip, the details window I had already seen once before opened up.
[Ruby Rabbit's Hair Ornament]
Accessory: Hair Ornament MID+150 ※Untradeable
A hair ornament imbued with the blessing of the Ruby Rabbit. An immortal prayer grants its wearer protection, keeping the fate of death at a distance.
"—This… this is, again…"
Speechless, Kagura-san let out a dry laugh. It was a perfect replay of my own and Nia's reactions from a few minutes ago.
As usual, it was only flavor text. However, any player could understand the effects imbued in a piece of equipment just by touching it.
The effects of this thing, which now clearly functioned as an accessory thanks to Nia's handiwork, were as follows.
[Ruby Rabbit's Hair Ornament]
・When the wearer takes fatal damage in combat, this effect negates it one time only.
・Upon activation, this equipment becomes 'Broken'.
・If this equipment is 'Broken' at the end of combat, it will be repaired.
・While 'Broken', gain the special effect 'Desperate Crimson'.
・'Desperate Crimson' — Adds a bonus equal to the user's Mind (MID), split evenly between Agility (AGI) and Dexterity (DEX).
"This is… a monster on a level I've never seen before."
"Must be because the artisan has good skills."
"The amazing one isn't Nia-chan, it's that little monster of a gemstone!"
Seriously, what is with this girl, getting all bent out of shape?
Ignoring the incomprehensible indigo girl who kicked away my attempt to give her credit, let's focus on this monster of an item for now.
What's insane about this piece of equipment is that every single thing written about it is insane. It's so insane I can only come up with lame descriptions, but that can't be helped when it boasts such ridiculously broken specs.
First off… though it's written there like it's no big deal, MID+150 is, in simple terms, a status boost equivalent to 15 levels.
Combined with the +100 from the [Spiral Crimson Ring], that's an addition of 25 levels' worth of stats. Just by wearing two accessories, I'm effectively Lv. 125. Isn't that just stupid?
Next is the main effect, 'Negate Fatal Damage.' To put it simply, it's like a 'Guts,' 'Endure,' or 'Focus Band' type of ability. Apparently, no similar effect exists in Arcadia yet, making its performance unique for now.
And this thing is just nuts in terms of its detailed mechanics, starting with how ridiculously lenient its activation condition is. You don't need to be at full health or even maintain a certain amount of HP; as long as you have even 1 HP left, it will activate with 100% certainty the moment a death verdict is triggered.
Second, its precise effect is to 'ignore the factor that triggered the death verdict.'
For example, if you take a blunt weapon to the face and a death verdict is triggered, you'd normally think that 'negating' it would mean something like, "You get hit and sent flying, but take no damage! Death averted!"
But this equipment's 'Negate Fatal Damage' isn't so lukewarm.
It literally erases the death factor's verdict—meaning that for one hit only, any and all fatal attacks will simply pass right through my avatar.
It's insane. Simply put, in a one-on-one fight where we both use a one-hit-kill move, I'm guaranteed to win. I honestly don't get it.
Furthermore, after that broken effect activates, you're greeted by a special effect called 'Desperate Crimson,' a name so over-the-top I can't tell if it's serious or a joke.
I thought it would reallocate my MID stat, but that wasn't the case. It simply adds an additional status bonus equal to my MID, split between AGI and DEX.
In other words, the +250 MID bonus from my two accessories remains, and on top of that, I get +125 points to two other stats—if I get called a cheater for being a self-made Lv. 150, I won't have a leg to stand on.
If I were to receive support from Sora's `Scareless` while `Desperate Crimson` is active, it would create a monster with stats equivalent to Lv. 180…
"Hey…"
"What is it?"
"Is it really okay for a player to be using this thing?"
Giving up on thinking, I threw out a listless question. Kagura-san just gave me a gentle smile and—
"If you get your account banned by mistake, don't worry, I'll defend you."
—said something absolutely terrifying.
—Nia-chan? How long are you going to be sulking, and what are you even sulking about?
She's actually quite shy. She got all sulky when he ignored the praise she worked hard for, only to then show his honest side to her senior, Kagura-san.
How was he supposed to know, right?
I expect some people will say, "Isn't this too broken, even for a unique item?" So, a quick word on that. I won't say who he's up against, but his current power is nowhere near enough. He's still going to get beaten down.