kscans

Chapter 15 - A Scramble, Three Sets of Footsteps

After that, we continued to meticulously map the completely labyrinthine ‘Rocky Wasteland,’ chatting and fighting as we went.

“You’re really good at drawing maps.”

“R-Really…?”

I praised Sora for her neat and surprisingly accurate mapping.

“‘Rock Frog Meat’… this has to be a food item, right…?”

“It just looks like a lump of rock…”

We both shuddered at the thought of a food (?) that looked like it would shatter all our teeth the moment we chewed it.

“Haru-san.”

“Yes.”

“People can’t fly.”

“Yes.”

I got scolded by Sora after trying to hunt that damn flying beast by wall-kicking my way into the air, only to fall headfirst and nearly die.

“That’s why you should leave it to me! It’s bad for my heart when you slip and come crashing down!!”

“But!”

“No ‘buts’! Are you a child!?”

And so, with my authority as the leader figure gradually diminishing—

“—Finally.”

We finished our long exploration of the labyrinth and reached the deepest part of the ‘Rocky Wasteland,’ where the area boss awaited.

“What is that… a scorpion?”

“Looks like it. A cross between a crab and a scorpion.”

Its sand-colored body served as camouflage in the wasteland. For a scorpion, its torso was rather stout and round, with four thick legs and a pair of pincers in front.

Its appearance was more crab-like, but what made it a ‘scorpion’ was its characteristic tail. A weapon with a vicious stinger, it was arched over its head, swaying back and forth.

“[Sand-Eating Great Scorpion], huh… damn, it’s huge.”

In terms of size, the [Buried Great Boar] we fought this morning was bigger, but the difference in scale between a real-life large boar and a scorpion was on another level.

It looked ridiculously huge, and to be honest, it was creepy. The way its mouthparts were wriggling was giving me goosebumps, and I was genuinely repulsed.

I glanced at my partner beside me—

“…Ngh…………ugh…………”

“Knew it.”

Sora-san must have been observing it as closely as I was. Her face grew paler and paler as she started to back away.

“Uh, you okay?”

It was obvious she wasn’t, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I asked anyway—ah, Sora-san, you’re not smiling, you’re not smiling, that’s a textbook forced grimace.

Seriously, with Arcadia’s level of graphics, this kind of monster is just not okay. It’s one thing in a display, but we’re facing it in the flesh, so to speak.

“Well, uh… it probably won’t eat us.”

“R-Right……………… You think…?”

“Eh.”

I had muttered that to calm Sora and, incidentally, myself. She had nodded once, but after a moment of silence, she posed a question.

“We get trampled flat and all that, so maybe…”

Eh, ah……………… huh? A being-eaten experience…?

““………………””

We both simultaneously arrived at the same unpleasant thought and fell silent. In front of us, the [Sand-Eating Great Scorpion] was scooping up dirt and sand with its pincers and shoveling it into its mouth.

Its name was Sand-Eater, and it was indeed eating sand, but that was no guarantee it wouldn’t eat meat.

I really wanted to avoid a gory death like being eaten alive, but if we were going to challenge that thing, we probably needed to be prepared.

“…Let’s go.”

“A-Are we going?”

Either way, not challenging it wasn’t an option. I steeled myself and summoned my straight sword, but Sora was still slightly hesitant.

“Don’t worry. As long as I’m alive, I won’t let it get past me.”

“………………What if you’re defeated, Haru-san?”

“Then you can observe my dying moments and prepare yourself.”

“Prepare for what?!”

Well, you know… I really don’t want to see a scene where a beautiful girl gets eaten by a monster. I have to avoid dying after Sora at all costs.

“There are no mobs around, and given the size of the area, I doubt it’ll summon any adds… Now, is it a power type or a speed type?”

Either way, for me, it would only be a difference between “a graze is instant death” and “a graze might be instant death.” The former, where I could be certain of my speed advantage, would be easier to deal with.

The circular area, which was only slightly larger than average, was also perfect for three-dimensional wall-kicking maneuvers. Judging from the Rock Frog’s tongue attack, I’d need to be careful of its tail, but—whatever the case, you never know which one will break until you hit it.

We hid in the shadow of the passage at the entrance to the plaza and prepared for battle. I poured the experience points I had gained from exploring the labyrinth into my stats and gripped the summoned straight sword in my right hand.

“…Sora.”

“I-I’m okay.”

Sora had shown a rather cowardly side, like when she had tried to run away from the fungus monster in our first encounter.

But in the end, she had shown the resolve to stand her ground and fight, and she usually didn’t take long to get to that point.

To be honest, the presence of these monsters, even the mobs, was on a whole different level from analog games. I wouldn’t have been surprised if a quiet girl like Sora had immediately given up on combat and switched to a crafting profession.

But when I checked on her, she replied, “I’m okay,” and though her voice trembled, her eyes were steady.

Well, what can I say—as a partner, she was incredibly reliable.

“Okay. I’ll charge in like always, so cover me. Basically, just use your bow and try to find a weak spot, but if you feel like I’m not holding its aggro well, stop attacking.”

When I told her I’d give her instructions, Sora nodded obediently.

Arcadia’s bows are magical attacks. If that crab-scorpion turned out to be a physical defense monster, there was a chance I wouldn’t be able to draw its enmity enough without any magical attack options.

“Yes, understood. …………Um, Haru-san!”

After our short meeting, just as I turned to go—a hesitant voice stopped me.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“No, um… just… l-let’s do our best!”

I don’t know what got into her, but she suddenly held up her small hand… what’s this, a pre-battle high-five?

I didn’t quite get her intention, but it was a rare offer of physical contact. Maybe she was fired up because this was the first boss fight where she could properly participate—thinking that, it was a rather heartwarming sight.

“Yeah!”

I suppressed my slight embarrassment and lightly tapped my hand against Sora’s palm—and so, our third boss battle began.


◇◆◇◆◇


“—You liar, Haru-saaaaaan!!”

“I’m so sorry! Hey you, stop, you crab-scorpion, you bastard!!!”

Sora’s tearful scream.

Three sets of footsteps, large and small, scrambling across the desolate land.

A useless sky-flyer, enraged at the scoundrel who made a girl cry.

The small plaza where the boss awaited in the rock-wall labyrinth had turned into a scene of pandemonium.

Currently, we were engaged in a game of tag, linked in the order of Sora ← Scorpion ← Me.

The root of all evil was, of course, this crab-scorpion—the third boss and a bastard who came equipped with the crappy feature of random targeting.

And I’m not even sure if it’s random targeting. This thing started relentlessly chasing only Sora within seconds of the battle starting!

“Hey, you, stop!! You’re getting your back pummeled, you know! Are you okay with that, boss?!”

Its legs were reasonably fast, but not so fast that Sora, who wasn’t an AGI-focused build like me, couldn’t just barely keep running away.

Its durability wasn’t particularly high either. It was tough, as a boss monster should be, but its double-layered HP bar was being steadily chipped away with each of my attacks.

But it wouldn’t look at me. This crab-scorpion was completely smitten with Sora, no matter how much I hit it.

“—You lolicon, if that’s how you want to play, I’ve got an idea too!!”

“—Loli…?! W-Wait, who are you—?”

I thought I heard a protest, but that can wait.

To be honest, I had started this battle in high spirits after a pretty cool preamble. So to be completely ignored from the very first hit, to be kicked and punched without so much as a glance, was beyond infuriating.

“Is my sword-poking too light for you…?”

Fine, then I’ll use the great axe.

“Quick Chan…ge, ORAAAAAA!!”

Switching from the straight sword. And in the brief window after the quick change—the moment when the weight of the massive weapon wasn’t applied—I swung it with all my might, even though my STR didn’t meet the requirements.

The boss’s giant body swayed for a moment as the great axe struck its relatively thin leg—but its target was still Sora.

—Oh, is that how it is.

“Then I’ll flatten you completely…!”

The moment the weight was applied—just as I was about to be pulled down by its original weight, I used quick change again to switch from the great axe to the straight sword.

I continued my assault without stopping my pursuit—now!!

“HRAA!!”

The moment the cooldown ended, I used quick change again and swung the axe. I compensated for the lack of power due to my low STR with the speed of my swing, something that would normally be impossible with such a large weapon! Your damn HP bar’s depletion is proof that it’s super effective, you piece of crap scorpion!!

I don’t know if it’s a crustacean or an insect, but the boss didn’t even scream; its rapidly decreasing status bar spoke for it.

At this rate, it wouldn’t take long—

“—Ngh… H-Haru-san!”

“Sora, sorry! Just keep running for a little while longer! If you do, I’ll—”

“I’m sorry!”

“Heh?”

Why are you sorry?

“My legs, my legs feel so heavy…!”

“—!”

Crap, is she out of stamina…!?

Stamina is a hidden parameter not displayed on the status screen, but it naturally increases and decreases with a player’s actions.

For me, it’s a loose restriction I’ve never really had to worry about, but for Sora, who isn’t a light warrior build, if she’s been sprinting at full speed for a long time—

“Ngh… ah, ugh…!”

It was inevitable that her legs would eventually give out.

“—Sora!!”

The long game of tag came to an end. As Sora’s legs were caught by the system’s forced effect, the crab-scorpion opened its giant pincers in front of her.

The moment I saw its motion, which closely resembled its sand-eating behavior from before the battle—I kicked off the ground with all my might.

My paper-thin armor meant I couldn’t act as a shield, so I had been attacking from behind to try to peel off its aggro, but that positioning had backfired.

The boss was huge, but there wasn’t enough space to duck under it. And if I went around the side, its pincers would reach Sora before I did.

It was obvious that hitting it now would just be ignored like before—so!

I jumped from directly behind the stationary boss, kicked the middle of its long, arched tail to change my trajectory, and—!!

“No touching, you bastard!!”

With that momentum, I slammed a full-power flying kick into the pincer that was closing in on Sora.

My meager STR wasn’t enough to send it flying—but the inertia from my high-speed maneuver boosted my insufficient power!!

“Ngh, Haru-sa—fwah?!”

“Excuse me for a sec!”

I had succeeded in deflecting the pincer that was about to grab Sora, but it had another one.

Before it could unleash its second attack, I snatched Sora away from the boss.

A princess carry? Like I have time for that!!

Carrying Sora on my shoulder, my legs slowed down by the extra weight. My previous advantage was gone, and it caught up to me—crap.

“It’s faster…!”

We were not just at the same speed; it was completely faster than me. I can’t shake it…!

“Ugh, this…!”

From what I had seen so far, its attack patterns consisted of simple, wide swings with its two pincers and tail.

Even with my reduced speed, I could still dodge each individual attack. But what made this crab-scorpion so troublesome was the extremely short interval between its mechanically delivered attacks.

And what made it even more of a bastard was its behavior of never stopping its legs even when attacking, something unheard of for a large boss—!!

“H-Haru-san! Put me down!”

Sora, still on my shoulder, shouted as she was tossed around by my desperate evasive maneuvers.

“Are you saying that after seeing that motion just now?!”

“Mo-tio—hyaa?! Wh-what… what was that?!”

“You were about to get munched, Sora-san!!”

“Munched?!”

It seems she was too preoccupied to see. Well, it was unclear if it was actually a devour attack, but there was no doubt it was some kind of restraining motion. It’s not hard to imagine the nasty attack that would have followed.

“Munch… B-But at this rate!”

I’m the one dodging, so I can tell. This lolicon is still relentlessly aiming only for Sora, who is being carried.

It’s probably programmed with a behavior like, “Keep targeting one player, and when that target is down, move on to the next.”

Arcadia is an MMO. And even considering that I’m still not used to the VR environment, the combat difficulty has been quite high so far. It’s likely that bosses are meant to be challenged with a proper party.

In that case, the orthodox strategy for this crab-scorpion is probably to have a proper tank stand between it and the targeted player to protect them while fighting.

The fact that it keeps moving while attacking also makes sense if you assume that a properly built tank could withstand it while impeding its movement.

So this is what happens when you challenge it with a pair—and a pair with no tank and one member made of paper at that. If only it had targeted me instead…!

“No choice, emergency measures…!”

“Do you have a plan?”

Sora, still on my shoulder, caught my muttered curse and her voice rose with expectation.

I kind of have one, and if I use it, I can probably turn the tables easily. Unlike the ‘Host of Mush’ battle, we have a trump card now!

“Alright, time for a counterattack, Sora! The plan is called ‘A Girl’s Cheer = The Ultimate Buff’!!”

“—So in the end, I still can’t do anything?!”

Forgive me, Sora… I don’t like turning you into a decoration either, but it can’t be helped in this situation…! I think if I let go of you right now, you’ll be munched in a few seconds…!!

“I thought I could finally fight properly… Ugh, fine!”

As if to vent her frustration, Sora, still on my shoulder, lightly slapped my back and activated the extraordinary support skill she had acquired.

“`Spectate Yell`!!”

Could you please stop shouting like you’re sulking? I’ve told you how many times that cute moves are super effective on me.

A light enveloped my body as I bounced around with Sora in my arms, and a buff icon shaped like a halo of light appeared on my status bar—as if shifting gears, all my stats jumped up.

The speed I had once lost… hell yeah, I’m faster again!!

“From here on out, it’s all me!!”

“W-Wait, Haru-sa, why are you still carrying me…?!”

Well, you see, a percentage bonus on my durability is like a drop in the ocean. Since I still can’t act as a shield, my only choice is to outrun it while carrying you!!

“Ah, wait, wait, plea—!”

Let’s go, top gear!! I’m inviting you on a superhuman maneuver experience!!!

“Ah, no…!!—Kyaaaaaaaaaa?!”

Sora’s scream trailed behind us as we dodged the pincers and leaped into the air. I shifted Sora into one arm and received a desperate hug around my neck, but I had no time to enjoy it.

I deflected the stinger that was aimed at me in mid-air with a sideways blow from my straight sword, and as my body tumbled from the recoil, I used `Quick Change` to switch to the great axe—

“KYAAAAA?! KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

Sora was screaming her head off like a textbook example, but her STR was much higher than mine, even while being swung around. Confirming that she was holding on tight, I swung the great axe with one hand without hesitation.

A direct hit on the tail I had just parried. The solid impact and further recoil sent my body flying, and while holding a person, I pulled off a three-and-a-half twist in mid-air before landing—a move I myself found insane—then switched back to the straight sword and charged again.

“Ha, piece of cake!! I have the blessing of Sora-sama!!”

“No, stop…!—Iyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

I was completely in the zone and hyped up, while Sora was half-crying—no, full-on crying—more intensely than when she was being chased by the boss.

The contrasting screams of the two echoed through the rocky wasteland, and the sound of clashing swords accelerated without end—.