kscans

Chapter 353 - Soaring Through the Sky

And so, with that...

Setting aside the goosebump-inducing, likely real-life fantasy matter, I had things to do.

I felt a little bad for Ashe, who seemed to want to linger, but I had a fair number of unfinished tasks piled up.

So, for today, I had her quietly take her leave and took a dive into the virtual world.

I landed at the Round Table, which has become my temporary base of operations lately, and did a stretch to acclimate to the sudden shift in sensation from my physical body to my superhuman avatar... Come to think of it, I've gotten quite used to this 'switch.'

Back when I first started Arcadia, the drastic gap in physical sensation every time I logged in and out was rough—anyway.

"Yo, junior. You're up early today."

"Just so you know, I'm not completely nocturnal."

An earlier arrival greeted me without reaction. It was Tetra, working on something just like last time. He replied without even looking up.

Incidentally, the current time is just past four in the afternoon. It's evening.

"Training again today?"

"Nah, I've got today and tomorrow off... well, not off, Irori just has something to do."

"Huh. So what are you doing, tagging along with your partner?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have the time or luxury to slack off."

"Haha, good point. Where are you headed?"

"Just a little trip up north."

"I'm sure it's not 'just a little' trip."

We exchanged words at a quick tempo, two guys sharing an easy smile.

A lot has happened—or rather, a lot is going to happen—but I feel like the distance between us has shrunk even more. He's my junior (and my senior).

With his consideration since before and after the Four Pillars event, and with this recent 'proposal,' I feel like I'm only accumulating debts to him, which is a little embarrassing and pathetic, but...

Well, he's my junior. I'll just have to let my 'senior' spoil me a bit.

"We're meeting up tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, at the scheduled time. It's not late at night, so make sure you wake up early."

"I'm telling you, I'm not that nocturnal."

The black-cat-like boy didn't seem to be in a playful mood, giving me a dismissive 'shoo, shoo' wave and a deadpan stare.

Getting scolded by someone I consider my junior, even if he is my senior, does a fair bit of damage to my mental state. I should probably keep the teasing to a minimum—and as I shrugged and was about to make a quick exit, a 'ping' notified me of a message.

Now who could that be... hey, don't send me a letter from less than two meters away.

"Uh, what's with this list of material-like names and this map data..."

"You're going north, right? If you have time, just grab these for me while you're at it."

"These names all sound like the parts of some seriously poisonous creatures. Are these things I can just pick up off the ground?"

"Mmm... you know, I think you owe me quite a few 'favors,' don't you?"

"You're absolutely right, I'm on my way!"

Well, he is my junior... I can run an errand or two for him!

◇◆◇◆◇

Ever since I went wild during the war, my avatar has become well-known, drawing attention wherever I go. However, it's rare for anyone to try to talk to me or bother me.

At most, I get a greeting or a wave. In fact, it feels like people are even keeping their distance—and that's all thanks to my seniors.

In the early days... or rather, when rankers started being treated like big-name stars, things were apparently chaotic and awful.

Walking through town meant being instantly surrounded. Heading out into the field meant being followed by groupies. Day in and day out, 'freedom' was a distant dream. Normal gameplay was out of the question.

My seniors didn't ignore that mess. They worked hard to establish some order, which is why new title holders like me have it so easy.

Of course, a big part of it is that Arcadia players were already a select group of well-mannered individuals, a far cry from the 'melting pot of humanity' you find in other online games.

Still, the achievements of those who took the lead are immense—I really owe a lot to Goldow, Ashe, Ui-san, and the other original rankers.

Thanks to them, I can walk around alone like this without a care.

"Mmm... it's been a while since I felt this lonely."

On the northern outskirts of the city. At the edge of the open-air metropolis with no outer walls, on the roof of the tallest building I could find.

I muttered to myself with mock drama, and the words sounded so much colder than I expected that I had to laugh.

Lately, I've really never been alone, either here in the virtual world or back in the real one, so I'm surprised at how lost my mood feels.

I guess at my core, I really do prefer party play... The man who once thought solo play was cool and mastered solitude in MMOs is dead and gone.

Well, I say 'mastered,' but really the guild I belonged to crashed and burned, and I automatically became a loner. After witnessing such a spectacular explosion of human relationships, I just didn't feel like joining another one right away....

—Anyway, enough with laughing at my past self.

"Alright... let's go."

With an avatar that has super-maxed balance, I did some warm-up squats on the unstable rooftop to pump myself up.

I gave a half-hearted peace sign to the players looking up at me from below... and while I was thinking about being lonely and all that, there was a part of me that was also excited.

In the past few days of training, I've had more than enough test runs.

The new gear supporting my express-train legs is of that top-tier Pyre Artisan quality, no complaints there. In that case, I'm counting on you—[Marine Stake Boots]!

Without changing their original shape or design, the refined boots now have metal parts that gleam a deep blue, containing particles of gold like stardust.

One of the rare ores I brought back from the Great Rock Ant Hive. With these boots, updated with the magical ore that holds the power of water, I kicked off the rooftop with all my might—

"[Rocket]."

Two skills responded to the keyword.

One was, of course, the lethal skill [Rocket], which has sent many versions of me to their doom with its violent and uncontrollable burst of acceleration.

And the other... was the water magic linked to [Rocket]'s activation by the additional ability of the [Marine Stake Boots]—[Aqua].

It was a trick I'd shown off against [Angalta] before, a workaround that turned the game-like, extreme load effect of 'water' to my advantage.

[Aqua], automatically cast from the boots, instantly submerged my kicking foot in water... and the perfectly dulled sensation acted as a rein to tame the wild horse.

Thirty percent output, straight ahead—let's fly!

I kicked off the void, and my vision became meaningless.

But in the vast blue expanse of the sky, there were no obstacles—now, how far can I go... For starters, let's aim for a casual one thousand kilometers in a straight line!

The moment I kicked off the air with a spray of water, my figure left all eyes behind.

A single explosive sound, like a gunshot, was the only souvenir left for the dumbfounded onlookers.