kscans

Chapter 211 - Ever-Changing

The instant our blades crossed after we both launched forward, sending a spectacular spray of water into the air, a profound sense of wrongness shot through the arm holding my [White-Flawed Straight Sword].

It's too heavy. I thought I had blocked a dagger, but the impact felt like I’d been struck with a hammer. My momentarily glitched-out brain processed it a second later.

What had struck my Anima wasn't a dagger at all, but a one-handed hammer that perfectly embodied that sensation.

An instantaneous weapon switch during the clash—while my heart leaped with excitement, the dagger in his right hand swung a beat later.

I tilted my head back on pure reflex.

“—Whoa, that was close!?”

Following my premonition, I’d instinctively dropped to my knees. The blade, which had extended its reach to that of a longsword, sliced violently through the air just above my head… and of course, it wasn’t over yet.

Yeah, that's right. That’s what I would do.

[The Dictionary] stared down at my off-balance form and raised his left hand. The one-handed hammer he brought down naturally changed its shape in the process of its swing.

—Activating [Floating Leaf]. I let my knees buckle completely, manipulating the vector of my falling body to launch myself forward in a desperate knee-slide.

I dove into the water and slipped under him as he floated in the air from the force of his mighty swing. The impact of his weapon traveled through the water, revealing the floor of the waterway to demonstrate its power.

What had shattered the ground was no mere greatsword, but a colossal blade that must have been over two meters long… and it, too, only existed for an instant.

Maru II used the rebound from the impact to flip forward mid-air. Now upside down, he brandished the throwing knives he held in both hands.

In that sliver of time, stretched out by extreme concentration, our eyes met, his burning with a blue light.

“My turn.”

You think I’m gonna let you have all the fun?

Braking, followed by [Ignition], followed by [Whirlwind]—I swatted down the thrown knives with my wind-wreathed arms and closed the distance on him as he hung in the air.

The moment Maru II reacted to the black blade of my raised [Panga Fool]… it was my turn to pay him back. [Blink Switch].

I summoned the [Giant's Hand Axe]—and swung the excessively heavy blade without mercy. It crashed with a deafening roar, as if I had just smashed a chunk of solid steel, and—

“…Damn, not bad.”

The avatar was sent flying in a huge spray of water, but the HP bar above its head remained unscathed. What stood in the clearing mist was a massive block of steel—a tower shield that completely obscured his body.

Straight sword, dagger, one-handed hammer, longsword, greatsword, and now a greatshield.

All these countless weapon forms, crafted with a single, unified design, were the very embodiment of the player Maru II and his title, [The Dictionary].

Weapon forms… yes, they weren't separate, individual weapons.

[The Dictionary]—that was the true identity of his amorphous Anima, which allowed him to freely switch between a multitude of registered forms.

…I know I’m the last person who should be saying this, but that is just a complete and utter cheat. Changing not just its shape but also its number and mass at will? You can't just go around picking fights with the laws of physics like that.

I watched as the greatshield rippled and changed shape, Maru II emerging from behind it, forming two daggers in his hands once more. He must have read the look on my face.

Keeping his grip on the hilts, he raised a single index finger in a gesture for silence. Ah, I get it.

“No time for chatter, right?!”

Of course, I understand, Lord Dictionary. And of course, now that I’ve picked this fight, I have no intention of running away from this situation.

I drew the [Rabbit Dagger: Parabellum] from my waist and layered its power onto my dashing avatar. Even a ranker should have trouble reacting to my master-approved [Matoi] footwork, but… the young man’s blue-glowing eyes followed it perfectly, as if it were nothing.

[Roan Chronos, Eye of Deceiving Time]—it was the enhancement effect of his unique title, [The Dictionary], and the secret behind how his Anima could perform its form changes, a feat that would put even [All-Weapon Aptitude] to shame.

The true nature of its power was a constant thought-acceleration effect that lasted for a full one hundred seconds.

Furthermore, while normal thought acceleration skills typically have a multiplier of two to three times, the acceleration rate of [Roan Chronos] boasted a multiplier of a full ten times.

Before the battle, Maru II had spoken of a “hundred-second brawl,” but only I would experience it as one hundred seconds. Against my one hundred seconds, he would have a thousand.

The difference in our thought processing was what allowed him to so easily handle my pinball-like strategy of bouncing off the walls.

“Tch…!!”

—This is bad. I can’t break through.

The crimson blade of my Rabbit Dagger was deflected every time, and on top of that, he was landing more than a few counterattacks. My absolute superiority in agility made it difficult for him to stop my movement, but by forcing him to plant his feet and defend, I was giving him opportunities to counter.

And if I were to let up on my barrage… yep, tables turned, just as I thought!!

The moment he sensed me easing up, Maru II switched his Anima’s form and shifted to the offensive without a moment's hesitation. With ten seconds of thought for every one of mine, the lag between his actions was practically nonexistent—and what is that awesome weapon!?

“A whip sword!?”

My eyes widened at the extending slashes that came flying from both his hands. I scrambled to evade, but their irregular movements were completely unreadable on the first look.

[Fatal—]

“Not yet!!”

I crushed the part of my mind that reflexively wanted to play it safe and pushed forward.

Using a summoned and thrown [Parabellum Bullet] as a foothold, I raced through the air, dodging the blades by a hair’s breadth as they grazed my cheek, and leaped above his head, out of the sword storm's reach.

Activating [Flip Stroke]—then [Parabellum Bullet], [Parabellum Bullet]s!!

Using the maze walls and [Blink Switch] for switch jumps, I circled above him like a hawk and unleashed a continuous hail of crimson blades.

He had likely never been subjected to an attack like this before.

Even Maru II, who I figured was ten times calmer than me, would surely show a look of—well, I was hoping he’d look surprised, but nope!!

“You damn turtle…!!”

He had calmly and composedly erected a dome-shaped barrier and was now holed up inside. In response to his skilled defense, I decided to charge straight in. It was a shame he saw through my signature acrobatics, but if I could completely halt his movements, then this was an opportunity.

No matter if his thought speed was ten times mine, his avatar’s action speed remained the same.

If he could keep up mentally,

“[Ignition]!!”

Then I just had to smash through him with a speed he couldn't physically react to!!

Activating [Exchange Voltate]. The count was far from max, but the weapon itself was already overkill for PvP.

On top of that, this trusty narrator weapon of mine has a track record of shattering a certain high-tier Anima in the past. I’m coming for you, no holds barred, [The Dictionary]!!

I summoned the massive form of [An-ri Galta (Prologue: The Wedge-Fragment that Sings of Eternity)]. Now, to chant the kill phrase.

“Manifestation Release—”

—I’ll be honest. In that moment, I was getting cocky.

Not in a bad way, but maybe I was a little too swept up in the moment. It was my first time on such a grand stage, so the dial on my excitement was probably a little skewed.

So, yeah, if I had been able to maintain even a little bit of composure, I probably would have noticed.

Noticed, or at least suspected.

A defensive dome I couldn't see inside, and water obscuring his feet.

Now then—is the enemy really in there?

In that instant,

“—!”

Following a premonition that shot through my mind, I instinctively swapped my body’s position with the greatsword in mid-air.

Immediately after, the body of [An-ri Galta] that I held up and the long spear he brandished, bursting from the water’s surface behind me, clashed—

The tip of the spearhead bypassed my defense and cleanly pierced my avatar, which lacked any real protection.