kscans

Chapter 642 - The Teachings Are Here

“————Hah…!”

Unconsciously holding my breath while moving at maximum speed is something I need to work on.

It was a ‘habit’ I hadn’t been very conscious of myself, but it was pointed out to me that it affects my endurance. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’ve completely overcome it yet.

After cleaving the seventh ‘Pillar,’ he was finally forced to stop. In exchange, Kanata resumed normal breathing and, against his will, slumped to the ground.

This is no time to stop—but he’s not arrogant enough to think he can just keep running without rest. Embarrassingly, this is a necessary break.

“Kanata, are you alright?”

“I’m sorry… just a little,”

“I’m not gonna treat you like one of those monsters just yet. It’s fine to take a proper rest. Forget the fatigue, how’s your mental condition?”

“If it were just about fighting spirit, I feel like I could run forever…!”

“Hah, that’s good to hear.”

He was getting used to the flow of conversation with the [General Commander], as daunting as it was. He had no intention of being overly reserved about the fact that the commander was practically glued to him, supporting his every move.

Such things were truly unnecessary. Understanding that the others didn’t need that kind of help, Kanata knew his role was to not waste the ‘unstinting support’ he had been told he would receive beforehand, to live up to expectations, and to simply keep running with dogged determination.

“It’s been a while since the labyrinth opened. From here on out, players other than the ‘vanguard’ will start pouring in, so be prepared for unexpected battles.”

“The vanguard…”

“Your ‘senpai’ and his ‘ilk.’”

Immediately after the war began, the ‘Rankers,’ moving at speeds unattainable by ordinary players, would forge ahead and encounter each other. It’s a staple of the Four Pillar War for a flashy greeting to occur as a way to liven things up.

Since these are battles between agile runners, they are generally dizzying… in other words, visually impressive, and often become the first major highlight of the Four Pillar War, but—

“Um, my senpai is…”

“Oh, him? He’s already been having a grand time. A total of four people in this short amount of time.”

“What did you say?”

In other words, since the last Four Pillar War, this has naturally become a fixed event, the first encounter of a specific individual. He knew Haru was safe since no pillars of light other than for ‘Pillar’ destructions had been seen, but the casual, absurd words that came back made him let out an incredulous yelp.

And then, the faint hint of a suppressed laugh was transmitted directly into his mind via telepathy…

“Makes you proud to have such a fun senpai, doesn’t it, kouhai?”

“……Ah, haha.”

At those words, Kanata, having fully caught his breath, stood up.

“He’s the best in the world.”

“That kid really has a knack for being loved, doesn’t he?”

With no falsehood in his own words, he lifted his face, ready to embody his unyielding spirit.

“Goldow-san.”

“Yeah?”

And it wasn’t because the commander’s words had moved his heart.

“……—An enemy.”

It was for no other reason than to stand tall and confront the single player who had appeared, their presence emanating undisguised from the depths of the labyrinth, beyond the ‘web’ he was staring at.

Amidst the phosphorescent light of a fallen ‘Pillar’s’ crumbling remains, a tall woman stepped into the empty space where the web had been torn.

Long golden hair and blue eyes. A slender, well-defined face that conveyed not ‘beauty’ but ‘strength.’ A lively smile. A cloth light-armor that could be described as a modified habit with a bold slit, and a monstrous great warhammer. She was a lump of presence, boasting a bizarre and imposing aura.

“[Heroine]… Oume Touri-san.”

“————…I see.”

One step, then another, closing the distance, she was now just a few meters away. It was as if she was certain Kanata wouldn’t run…—no, as if she had already judged any attempt to escape as futile. Her steps were composed, leisurely, and somehow imperious yet quiet.

She came to a stop right in front of him, soundlessly, while dragging a great warhammer, and offered another smile—

“Well now, I don’t recognize you. Who might you be?”

—she simply asked, as if to say her own introduction was unnecessary.

“Kanata, you get it, right? I wouldn’t say you and Oume have a bad matchup, but…”

“Yes.”

The [General Commander] didn’t voice the rest of his sentence, but even without his concern, Kanata himself understood deeply—the difference in their fundamental strength was too great. He was no match for her.

This time, with the help of the field, he was confident he had shown a run that was a step, no, two steps… or maybe five… no, dozens of steps short of the [Acrobat], but that was still his limit.

Even if he had been trained directly by the people he admired, by a Ranker and their partner, that alone wasn't enough to stand on the same level as them. Being ‘special’ in Arcadia isn’t cheap.

That’s why… yes, that’s precisely why.

“…I am Kanata, of the Eastern Faction, Istia. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Is that so. Don’t know that name either.”

The path he must take, as someone who has started running towards that ‘specialness,’ has already been decided.

“…I won’t stop you, but you can’t win.”

“I know. But—”

Although he was given the important role of a runner, he was still just a general participant. Even if his HP were to be depleted, it wouldn’t mean game over in the Four Pillar War.

Therefore, the optimal move here would be to ‘disperse honorably without unnecessarily revealing his hand.’ He understood that this was the smart choice, one that everyone, including the commander on the telepathy line, would affirm.

In the first place, for a general participant, an ‘encounter with a Ranker’ is synonymous with a death encounter, an accident with a predetermined outcome of defeat. Whether they struggle or give up, the power of life and death lies with those celestial beings, so there is nothing to be done but curse one’s bad luck.

In Arcadia, that’s what a ‘Ranker’ is when they are your enemy.

Again, that’s precisely why.

“I want to be like my senpai.”

If he is to reach for the admiration he has chosen to look up to.

“If Senpai were in my shoes, he’d never back down, right?”

If he doesn’t chase after the back he sees in his admiration, it would be a lie.

The [Acrobat] he fell for always overcame unbeatable opponents.

“…I wonder. That guy can be strangely pragmatic in weird ways, you know.”

“Ahaha. That, too, is part of his charm, a nice gap.”

“Ahhh, it’s no use. Nothing I say will get through now.”

The voice echoing in his head was a fifty-fifty mix of exasperation and resignation. However, the owner of that strangely cheerful voice was the leader of Istia, the faction of conflict.

“Well, if you’re gonna seriously challenge a Ranker, just showing your resolve is impressive enough… Go ahead, your score is more than sufficient. Do as you please.”

“Hk… Yes!”

“There’s no spirit in your voice. Don’t you go shrinking now, thinking ‘sorry for being selfish.’—If you admire him, then you better learn from him and throw down a challenge!”

“Hk—Yes!!”

An inevitable composure.

He looked at his ‘enemy,’ who waited, seemingly amused, without rushing Kanata as he carried on a lengthy conversation with his ‘leader,’ and naturally, without making a move.

He looked, and declared one thing.

“I’ll face you head-on—and I’ll show you that I can get away!!!”

“Alright! Well said—… wait, what did you say?”

He won’t back down from the challenge, but a getaway win instead of a knockout win is on the table.

That, too, seems like an impossible difficulty, but there are words engraved in his heart. Namely, ‘Things that can be done can be done if you do them, so believe you can do it and try.’

And so, as he unknowingly traced his ‘senpai’s’ line of thinking and put his ‘resolve’ into words… the one who took up a stance, she—the Southern Faction’s tenth-ranked member—deepened her smile even further.

“I like it—Just your spirit alone seems worthy of remembering.”

And toward the boy she had likewise acknowledged as an ‘enemy,’ she took another step forward.