kscans

Chapter 221 - Meteor and Meteoric Iron

Haru the Acrobat—though he had only observed him from a distance, Uni had a general grasp of his nature from the countless reports he had received.

And after integrating all that information, the conclusion Uni, the Heavy Tank, had reached was that he was not particularly a good matchup for him.

Second only to the 'Princess' Iris, who was an exception beyond all strengths and weaknesses, the boy was one of the foremost anti-personnel experts in the Southern Faction… or rather, it was just that the nature of his Anima was too specialized for player-versus-player combat—

In any case, in Arcadia, where a myriad of character builds exist, being an 'anti-personnel expert' was synonymous with being a versatile fighter who could handle any opponent.

Versatile didn't necessarily mean multi-talented. Even without a thousand abilities, if one had just a single ability that worked on everyone… even if the meaning of the word changed, the result of being a 'strong fighter' remained.

However, just as there's the phrase 'one in a million'…

Irregularities exist in this world—for example, the Sword Queen, who could blow away the abilities of his prized Anima with pure 'power,' ignoring all logic and understanding.

For example, the Sword Saint, who, even when caught by his abilities, would simply brush it off and reach him with her blade through sheer 'skill.'

And for example—a strange player who, despite having a full-on melee style, had likely not invested a single point into his durability (VIT) stat.

He's planning to slip past me. Seeing the young man in the distance assume a running stance, Uni tightened his grip on the twin daggers he held in a reverse grip.

The abilities of his [Dual Heavy, Starfall Twin Black Steel], which had only recently reached the fifth tier, probably wouldn't be very effective against that one.

…But, well—that was fine in its own way.

Enjoying a normal brawl once in a while wasn't a bad way to have fun.

For himself, for the audience… and for,

"Alright—if you think you can get through, then give it a try."

Even if they were separated by a gap in strength far greater than the numbers suggested.

He was the second-ranked member of the Southern Faction, Sotalm, second only to the Sword Queen.

He wouldn't do anything to disgrace himself—and he was confident enough to ensure that his opponent, the Acrobat, would have just as much fun… for he had packed all of that into this avatar he had trained so diligently.

◇◆◇◆◇

—There was no hesitation in my launch, and no mercy in my acceleration.

Descending from the ceiling down the maze wall at top speed, I kicked off a massive pillar of water and split the waterway with my charge.

Two steps so far.

And on the third step, after a single beat's interval from the first—I unhesitatingly launched into a second Matoi.

Alright, it's about time you lazy thing got off your ass and did some work.

A full-speed dash incorporating consecutive Matoi—with that, the passive skill [Floating Star] finally met its activation requirements and its effect manifested.

Evolving from the dead-end skill [Boar's Heart], [Rhino's Heart] had become a semi-broken skill that was practically always active thanks to its significantly relaxed activation conditions and its criminal synergy with [Ignition].

This new skill, which had evolved even further, had once again reverted to being a dead-end skill… well, that's an exaggeration, but its broken nature could be summed up in one word: 'unwieldy.'

Its unwieldiness was on par with, though in a different way, the trump card [Rabbit Rapid, Crimson Brilliant Bullet]… and by 'broken,' I'm not talking about its 'performance,' but its 'activation condition.'

That's because the ridiculously incomprehensible condition was something like, 'output a speed that exceeds the avatar's limit without relying on skills or buffs other than passives.' Seriously, do you even want me to activate this thing?

In other words, for someone like me, it's impossible to activate without using Matoi… However, in proportion to its near-impossible activation difficulty, the effect itself is exceptional.

Deceleration nullification that doesn't affect motion—that is the effect of [Floating Star].

Without Arcadia's trademark brain-installation feature, I wouldn't have understood it just by reading the description either.

Simply put, this skill deletes 'deceleration' from the flow of an action like jumping, which would normally go from jump to deceleration to fall.

This means that while the outcome and trajectory of the jump remain the same, my speed doesn't decrease during it.

Now, for a 3D high-mobility warrior, when is the moment of greatest vulnerability? In my two months of running this build, I'd say it's during the 'airborne phase' when acceleration cuts off.

While I can cover it to some extent with things like Switch Jumps, it's nearly impossible to eliminate completely. And the faster your top speed, the more your deceleration stands out.

It draws attention as a glaring opening, and if the opponent gets used to that 'opening'—it could lead to the worst-case scenario for an agility-focused build, having my path predicted.

This skill brilliantly fills—or rather, literally erases—that opening. I once showed Sora a full-speed dash using [Floating Star], and she gave me her impression with a twitching cheek.

—I never knew people could become like a beam… she'd said.

A top-speed leap-and-dash with no deceleration.

I'm not bragging… no, I am bragging—even my master can't keep up with this!!

Laughing off the resistance of the water, I covered several hundred meters in just five steps.

Following the route etched in my memory, I shot past the Heavy Tank in an instant—

—is how I wish this convenient story had played out.

The sensation of my avatar's speed suddenly dropping without warning was exactly as I had expected. Of course, it wasn't because I had slowed down myself.

My vision, which had rapidly shifted from nothingness to a line, then from a line to an image, now showed—the smiling face of the boy, his eyes glowing with a green light effect as he captured my form, the corner of his mouth lifting.

Honestly, I knew it… but you could have just let me through on a whim, you know?

Before I could even manage a wry smile at my unspoken complaint,

—[Engage].

The moment the short keyword was spoken, the players prostrated around the boy were enveloped in a blue light similar to teleportation and vanished…

And before my eyes, which were still carrying immense kinetic energy despite being robbed of their speed—in other words, inertia that meant death if I hit a 'wall'—a thin, crimson barrier mercilessly blocked my path.