kscans

Chapter 36 - The New Lineup

—My body feels so light; this is what they mean. I've only just now realized how important foot stability is for someone who lives and dies by their mobility.

I have to hand it to the old man. The compatibility between the sandy terrain and the moray leather is perfect, of course, but now I feel like I could handle that train hunt I did before while humming—no, I'm exaggerating.

But the fact remains that I'm in top form. My hands, which had been bare until now, have a great grip thanks to the gloves—I smashed a quick-changed horizontal warhammer into the great jaws of the Desert Serpent that was coming straight at me.

The borderline-illegal super-heavyweight fraudulent strike produced a force like a truck collision, crushing the side of the moray's face and deflecting the giant body that had charged at me.

If it takes a severe impact to the head, most creatures will lose consciousness to some extent. If it's a game, then all the more so. I'll follow up on the moray bastard who's thrown his body down on the sand as if to lie down—

"Whoa..."

I immediately cut it off. The premonition I saw in the corner of my vision was a spray of sand that was bubbling like hot water—I jumped back just in time for several shadows to shoot up from the sand and block my view.

Enemy name: [Serpent Sucker]—I'm pretty sure the name has nothing to do with the sport of soccer, but anyway, this is the other of the two mob types that pop up in the flowing desert.

In a word, desert piranhas. The differences from real piranhas are that they're about 50 centimeters long and their dorsal fins have sharp edges like daggers.

Their main attack methods are ramming and biting, just like the morays, but personally, I find these little guys to be far more annoying than the big ones.

What's so annoying is that these bastards only show their faces on the sand when they're attacking.

They're a source of stress, coming in swarms of at least four or five as lackeys for the Desert Serpents, making pesky little attacks.

Taking into account the existence of these little fish, I'd say the train hunt, with its hellish scenery, is actually easier. In a battlefield where so many giant bodies are standing around, they'll get crushed by the swarm of morays and be wiped out on their own without me having to do anything.

Four suckers appeared. I cut half of them in half while they were in the air—but the other half escaped into the sand, and to make matters worse, the stunned serpent recovered.

I almost clicked my tongue, but I remembered that I was being watched and swallowed it back. Come to think of it, that warhammer home run from before was a failing grade as an example; I should probably try to be a little more restrained.

"Well, a single sword isn't so bad once in a while."

I gripped the [White-Flawed Straight Sword] and faced the serpent that was fearlessly charging at me head-on. About one second flat until we crossed paths—the moment the sand on my left and right boiled up in time with the big boss, I crushed my own leeway.

Leaving the sucker's spawn point behind, I dived under the serpent's jaw. With the desert moray leather boots, I gripped the sandy ground firmly, and the moment the defenseless throat came right above my stationary body,

"—Hraah!!"

As if to pierce the heavens, I thrust the tip of my sword upwards with all my might. This guy, wearing an armor of sand as Halzen's information suggested, is resistant to blades. Therefore, a thrust is somewhat more effective than a slash.

It's less effective than a blow to the head or an attack from inside the mouth where armor doesn't matter, but what I hit was the throat. Whether it's a fish or whatever, it's a clear vital point for any living creature. A bright red damage effect erupted explosively, and the serpent's giant body jumped up as if it couldn't bear it.

Normally, I'd jump into the air and follow up, but I calmly kept my feet on the sand, conscious of a "common-sense fighting style."

Now what—should I clean up the nuisances first?

The sucker I left behind earlier has already submerged back into the sand. To get rid of them, I'll have to wait for them to show themselves again, but I've already figured out their pattern.

Their attack timing is mainly twofold. One is when they piggyback on the serpent's attack, and the other is—

"When they're trying to interfere with a follow-up attack on their boss, right?!"

The moment I deliberately took a big step towards the knocked-back serpent, the sand in front of me boiled again. If you move with a prediction from the start, there's only one way to deal with an opponent who goes out of their way to tell you their spawn point.

I thrust my already-poised sword towards the landmark, and the sucker, pierced in the sand, burst into a phosphorescent light.

If you can block their surprise attacks and simultaneous attacks, these annoying elements, then dealing with a small fish's charge that isn't even that fast is easy. I leisurely landed a counter on the last one that jumped out a moment later, and the numerical disadvantage was over.

Without the annoying distractions, a single moray is easy to cook up however I like, even without flying through the air. I calmly carved up the remaining serpent while restraining my usual aerial maneuvers.

◇◆◇◆◇

"—And that's about it. The only two types that appear in this area are the ones we just saw, and I should have drawn out all their attack patterns."

This was Sora's second time visiting the flowing desert. On her first visit, which was more of a reconnaissance trip, Sora was terrified of the giant morays, and I was so excited that I was just engrossed in a brawl.

As a result, Sora learned almost nothing, so I was giving her a lecture again.

"............"

And so, while I thought I had given a pretty good demonstration, Sora herself had a very strange expression on her face.

"Um... if you have anything to say, I'm all ears."

"No, um... I was just thinking that you can fight normally too, Haru-san."

...Yeah, thanks for the words that perfectly sum up your usual opinion of me.

"Ahaha... No, I mean, that was very helpful. As expected of you, Haru-san."

Whether she read my mind or not, the follow-up with a forced smile hurts.

My crazy motivation for [Arcadia] has calmed down a bit over time. Lately, even when I get into the mood during a fight, I don't go off the deep end so easily... but the initial impact I made seems hard to shake off.

"Well, I'm glad it was helpful... think you can handle the front line?"

"Well, I think..."

Unlike before, we have a forward-leaning composition of two frontliners, but there's a huge gap in every aspect between me, who has been all about charging in, and Sora, who hasn't even learned a single skill yet.

Of course, there are many things that I can do that Sora can't. I'll do my best to support her, of course, but I've seen Sora struggle for the past few days, and I understand how hard it is to stand on the front lines without any aptitude skills.

"—It's okay. I'll do my best."

But if she herself says so with such strength, then there's no need for words of denial. As for me, I'll just do my best to fulfill the great cause of supporting my cute partner.

"Got it. Then, as before, I'll be the one to draw aggro, and Sora, you'll be on flanking duty. I'll definitely catch the big one, but I don't think I can gather all the small ones, so be careful."

"Understood. Watch my feet, right?"

"Exactly. There's a slight lag between when it bubbles up and when it jumps out, so don't panic."

Sora gave a cheerful "Yes!" to my teacher-like instructions. I smiled at my obedient and earnest student, and we began our conquest of the 'Great Flowing Sand Cavern.'

"—Hah, Sora!"

"Yes!"

Having narrowly missed me, the serpent that had plunged its face into the sand exposed a weakness. In that instant—as soon as my call reached her, Sora closed the distance without hesitation and swung her straight sword with great force.

Slashes are not very effective against the serpent, but that's only when it's wearing its armor of sand. Sora was aiming for the moray's neck—a weak point she herself had created with a previous attack, a spot where the sand armor had been peeled off.

"Hyaah!"

Although her war cry lacks a certain punch, her gaze and sword strokes are not to be underestimated.

Her two-handed straight sword flew up and struck the small gap in the armor with precision. Not content with one blow, Sora skillfully manipulated her body, which had been pulled by the momentum of the upswing, shifted her center of gravity, and brought down a second blow in a fluid motion.

Although her avatar looks like a delicate girl, her STR is higher than mine, so her sword is far from weak. In addition, in terms of the accuracy of her sword strikes, she is definitely superior to me.

As I watched the serpent, struck in its weak point by two precise consecutive blows, writhe and then burst into a phosphorescent light—

"There's no way she doesn't have a talent for this..."

I muttered under my breath, my gaze fixed on the girl standing there. As she exhaled and sheathed her sword with a beautiful motion, her form was so well-composed that I almost found myself staring in admiration.

Sora is timid, but she is by no means a coward. That's the impression I got after having her on the front lines for a few days.

When she first encounters a scary-looking monster, she often hesitates or screams. However, that timidity is the kind of normal thing that everyone has.

In fact, even though it's a game, how many women can calmly charge in and attack a monster that could swallow them whole?

Of course, if you play for a long time and build up a resistance, it's not a problem, but it hasn't even been a week since Sora jumped into the virtual world. Her adaptability and courage are quite impressive.

My personal opinion is that she probably has a better sense for the sword than I do. What I mean is, each of her swings is so well-formed and beautiful—oh, right.

"You're doing great."

I smiled at Sora as she ran up to me, crunching through the sand, and the girl smiled back happily.

"Yes! As long as I'm careful, I think I can handle the monsters in this area with ease!"

"Yeah. In that case, the only remaining problem is..."

After a while of progressing, I looked at the approaching sand tower and crossed my arms.

"It's my first time, but... um, was it that strong?"

It seems that in Sora's mind, I'm categorized as something like "a beginner in disguise, an indescribably out-of-the-ordinary, insane battle maniac who pulls off crazy stunts with a smile and a high-strung personality."

While I admit my faults, it's a very unwelcome evaluation... but she seemed to be questioning how an opponent that I had challenged alone in the past and deemed "impossible" could be so formidable.

"Well, part of it is that the gimmick is tough solo... but that thing is dangerous. It's on a whole different level from the enemies we've faced so far."

In my opinion, the boss monster that rules this flowing desert is the beginner stopper in Arcadia.

It's the kind of thing where you have to level up properly, form a party, meticulously decide on roles and strategies, and go in with plenty of equipment and items. It's what you'd call a 'great wall.'

"Can we defeat it with just the two of us...?"

An anxious murmur. I wish I could laugh it off as usual, but this time, even I'm not completely confident.

...Last time was a complete disaster. It felt like I was being shown the 'limits of solo play' in an online game.

"I have a plan, and I think we can win."

I replied with a more subdued response than usual, but it seemed to be encouraging enough for Sora, as her expression brightened—but I wonder how she'll react after hearing the details of that plan...

"We're almost at the end, so I'm going to start explaining the boss—but I'll tell you the conclusion first."

"?"

Because that's how it's been so far, Sora probably unconsciously thinks it will be the same this time.

And it's been the same on the way here. In other words, I'm the main, and Sora is the support, but... this time is different.

"In this boss fight—Sora, you're the key."