kscans

Chapter 115 - Their Respective Resolve

"Seventh in the rankings—the [Sword Protector], huh..."

Having shifted from the virtual world back to reality, I sat perched on the [Arcadia] console that took up a third of my studio apartment, muttering to myself as I stared at my phone.

It was six in the morning, real time. It had been about two hours since the selection match registration opened at this ridiculously healthy hour.

Since time passes 1.5 times faster in the game, I've spent about three hours over there—but isn't that an incredibly dense three hours?

I'd been rushed through the preliminaries, then the first, second, and third matches... and now, I was already on to the fourth. The number of players remaining in the selection tournament had already dropped below three digits.

—And when that happens, well... the probability of running into one of them naturally goes up... My opponent for the next match, the fourth, is the seventh-ranked player in Istia.

The [Sword Protector]—Irori-shi himself, one of the top forty players in the virtual world of Arcadia... or if we're only counting warriors, one of the top thirty.

Given the nature of a tournament where you know your opponent in advance, it's almost considered good manners to research them before the match.

Unlike the first three matches, where I was practically abducted by teleportation with only a few moments' notice, I had to make effective use of the official break time I'd been given.

The fourth match is at nine AM real time, giving me just under an hour.

It's nowhere near enough time, so I hurriedly typed "Arcadia Sword Protector Irori" into the search bar.

"You've... got to be kidding me..."

What appeared on the screen was a handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes.

No, not his avatar. The person himself.

[Sword Protector] Irori—real name Nate Mitake, age twenty.

In the real world, he not only showed his face... but apparently even did some modeling work. The screen was flooded with countless photos of him striking poses on the covers of stylish magazines, and my heart was flooded with negative feelings toward handsome men.

Silky smooth blond hair that could rival any girl's.

Big, double-lidded blue eyes that could rival any girl's.

On top of that, he was tall, but not too tall, with ridiculously long legs and a slender physique... He was like the physical embodiment of the enemy of all average men.

His nationality, birth, and upbringing were all purely Japanese. His mother was a foreigner, making him a half-breed, just as his appearance suggested.

When I looked up his virtual avatar, it was, of course, exactly the same as his real-life appearance.

The fantasy-style samurai kamishimo he wore suited him so perfectly it was almost refreshing. Maybe it was because of a movie I saw once, but a foreigner in a samurai look has a certain appeal...

—No, I don't care about the real Nate-san right now. What I need to know is about Irori-shi in the virtual world.

"A katana... yeah, figures."

I could tell from his attire, but his weapon of choice was a single katana—apparently, it's famous as an 'Anima,' and there's a fair amount of detailed data on it scattered all over the place.

Not only that, but there was also data on his kamishimo-style clothing, the skills he possessed, and even some of his status values... all in all, his build was quite public.

Should I consider that a threat? The fact that even with all his cards on the table, Irori-shi has managed to firmly hold onto his rank.

—Actually, this is bad.

"Isn't this the worst possible matchup...?"

I muttered it unintentionally, but my voice was even more bitter than I expected.

Not only is he one of those celestial beings known as Rankers, but the publicly available data on him screams that I'm at a disadvantage.

I have no intention of going into this planning to lose... but man.

It's only natural given my opponent, but this is going to be an incomparably tougher fight than any I've had so far.

Suppressing the doubts that surfaced with every new piece of information I took in—I frantically scooped up information on my opponent, chased by the limited time of my break.

◇◆◇◆◇

"—Hey, Irori. How's it going?"

"...So-so. So far, this time feels pretty unremarkable too."

In a lavish room with ten seats, two men's voices echoed.

"Don't be like that, your opponents were probably giving it their all."

"I know, but it's hard to fight when I have to hold back."

Having to be careful in a fight was frustrating. Seeing the young man's troubled frown, the golden-haired giant let out a laugh.

"I've got good news for you—your next opponent is a monster, the likes of which we haven't seen in a while."

"...Oh? I haven't had time to pay attention... I think his name was Haru?"

"Yeah, he's the rookie the [Observer] is raving about."

At those words, the young man, who had been brushing it off as a joke, changed his expression.

"Lotta's pick? Well, that's..."

"You can expect great things, right? I was just called over myself and saw him with my own eyes."

"So, how was he?" the man—Goldow—asked, stroking his beard and grinning with amusement as he looked back at the blue eyes questioning him.

"—I thought to myself, 'I want to fight him too.'"

"—...Well, well."

At his sincere words, a genuine smile finally appeared on the young man's—Irori's—face.

"If you're going that far... then yeah, I can look forward to it. I think I'll let myself get excited too."

"Don't let him catch you off guard. We welcome super rookies, but it'd be a blow to our dignity if one of us Rankers made a fool of ourselves."

The lion spoke jokingly—but his eyes weren't smiling.

"—If you're going to lose, lose after showing him your might."

"...Hmph, you've got some nerve."

He smiled gently, but a sharp aura began to rise from his body.

"That got you fired up, didn't it?"

"Haha, you bet... If you're that interested, you'll be coming to watch, right?"

The [Sword Protector], turning on his heel toward the door, looked back at the [General Commander] who was seeing him off.

"—I'll be going all out for the first time in a while, so my apologies if it ends in an instant."

Contrary to his calm voice, his eyes glittered, swirling with a ferocious fighting spirit.