kscans

Chapter 590 - The Acrobat's Explanation: Part 2

《Anhelmia》—the one and only star magic of the [Right Wing], one half of the 'Eastern Wings.' It is a powerless magic that possesses absolutely no ability to physically interfere with anything.

It's a sustained-cost type with an ultra-low, near-zero fuel consumption.

The ability it manifests is the drawing of 'phantoms' based on imagery.

That is the one and only 'power' that the player Ri-na possesses, and the reason she is called the only 'ranker with zero attack power on their own' among the three combat-oriented factions.

It doesn't require the high and complex technical difficulty common to thought-control-focused skills, and has extremely intuitive and responsive controls... or so she says, so the details and truth are unknown, but this 《Anhelmia》 has other excellent properties.

For example, the point that the phantoms do not interfere with 'matter' but do interfere with 'perception.'

In other words, the illusions she creates deceive the observer (player) and the observing entity (system), naturally conveying sound and presence, and manifesting an 'existence' in virtual reality without being physical—to put it simply, it's super difficult, if not impossible, to tell if it's an illusion or real at a glance.

It's an art of illusion that deceives not only the eye but even a player's detection skills.

Even if she has no attack power herself, if you ask about her 'offensive capability' in a broader sense... it goes without saying how ridiculously powerful that is in a fight.

And Ri-na's 'phantoms' also demonstrate excellent utility outside of battle. Just like now—

"Alright, please direct your attention to my right hand."

For when I want to explain things that are hard to convey with words through visuals.

Not the girl with her hands on my head, but rather, in accordance with my own image. A translucent effect shimmered into existence around the right hand I slowly raised.

The second excellent point of 《Anhelmia》. By maintaining contact with an arbitrary target and lending them her authority, she can project the images of others as well.

"What's that? Steam?"

"No, this is the 'Outer Force.'"

I gave a deadpan response to someone's idiotic remark. I had heard about this, but it was my first time experiencing it myself. I tried manipulating the phantom-generating ability I'd been lent as I pleased.

I tried swaying the aura, which had been called steam, to the right and left. I tried coloring it red, blue, yellow... ah, I see. This is indeed—

"This has far better controllability than I ever imagined... In fact, isn't the read sensitivity so high that it's actually difficult to use...?"

"Yeah. The trick is not to get too elaborate. If you consciously try to 'control' it, the output becomes excessive, so it's better to think of it like 'breathing,' something you can do naturally."

"I, see...?"

After practicing for a while under the owner's tutelage.

Once I got used to the phantom manipulation, which moved exactly as I willed, I resumed the explanation I had paused. Of course, the annoyance of a certain red-head who kept flitting around me and urging, "Hurry up, hurry up," was also a contributing factor.

Seriously, why is she in such high spirits? Did something good happen?

"Alright, since we have the opportunity, I'll give you a quick rundown of the fundamentals of 'Outer Force.'"

As I spoke, I moved my right hand, which was clad in the visualized phantom of the 'Outer Force,' around randomly.

Right, left, up, down...—as my hand moved, the wavering 'power' followed, leaving a trail. This is the first state, its natural form.

"This is the 'Outer Force' common to all players... or rather, it's the form in which the concept of the Agility (AGI) stat works. ...Ah, well, that's just in the theory of Kesshiki, though."

"Hmm, hmm?"

"Fundamentally, the Strength (STR) that moves the avatar is in the body. So, where is AGI, and how does it affect the avatar? That's the idea."

Mi-na tilted her head, while Tetra, surprisingly, was seriously listening to my explanation. I gave the latter's words a mental stamp of approval for being correct, and once again moved my right hand back and forth.

This time, the 'power' clad around it followed, perfectly converged on my hand without any wavering.

"And this is Kesshiki's Shukuchi technique. It intentionally manipulates the output of the 'Outer Force (AGI),' which normally acts on its own, and perfectly fuses it with the 'Inner Force (STR)' to create an explosive synergistic effect."

It sounds simple when you say it, but the reason no one could inherit [Kesshiki Ittoryu] for so long is that perceiving and recognizing the output of the 'Outer Force' is impossibly difficult.

Furthermore, controlling it is extremely challenging, so it's no wonder that even Ui-san had given up on it at one point—anyway,

"In other words, the 'Outer Force' can be controlled and moved by one's own will."

"Normally, that's like something out of a theoretical textbook."

Honestly, I think Ri-na's right. I mean, I managed to learn it through a series of events, but I still think, "This makes no sense."

"Difficulty aside... since it can be moved by one's own will, it means you can also move just the 'Outer Force' if you try. Of course, since it's a force that fundamentally follows the avatar, completely separating it is difficult, but—"

Perception also varies from person to person, so it's actually a bit more complicated, but that's another story. Anyway, next, I formed the 'power' that was clad around my hand into a sphere and floated it beside me.

"Well, it can be done."

"I see... it can be done, huh..."

"Ah, yes. That's right, it can be done..."

"Amazing."

Two sighs, one compliment. Ignoring the first two, I now made the separated sphere circle around my hand.

"And, you know how kinetic energy builds up as speed and intensity increase, right? That principle also applies to this 'Outer Force.' In other words, you can store it."

"""..."

"...Um, well, just try your best to understand, even if you don't fully get it."

I let out a wry smile at the three small seniors, each tilting their heads in different ways... The sphere, circling around my hand, gradually picked up speed and eventually became difficult to see.

—And just at that moment.

"Now, what do you think would happen if I released this all at once?"

"Uh... it would go S-POW, right?"

"Correct. In other words, that's the principle behind Ui-san's《Yuikaze》."

The immense kinetic energy generated by the preceding technique.

Without losing any of it, it's slammed into the separated 'Outer Force' and stored in the form of 'rotation'... this too is simple to say, but as a technique, it must be extremely difficult.

Even the great [Sword Saint] herself couldn't achieve it without reinforcing the image by spinning her body and weapon. It's a絶技 worthy of being called a secret art.

And,

"And that is the foundation of the Arts I created. In other words..."

Even if I wasn't suited for the Shukuchi technique that unifies 'Inner' and 'Outer'—on one side, I had a talent that was, I daresay, on par with, if not superior to, the [Sword Saint].

"[Shifu Ittoryu] is a technique specialized entirely in the 'Outer Force.'"

The result of developing a 'talent' endorsed by my master.

That is my sword, still in its infancy and far from complete.