kscans

Chapter 731 - Time Passes, Leading to Now

"—Man, this is just incredible…!"

Five minutes had passed since the match began. After countless exchanges, Uni, having accurately gauged their respective abilities, muttered to himself as he shattered the chains of ice that had inevitably caught him.

From the start, in terms of ability affinity, he was at an absolute disadvantage. So naturally,

"How long are you going to keep up that余裕…ッ!"

"I ran out of that a long time ago!"

Now that he had completely surpassed him in technique as well, the [Peerless] had truly become the nemesis of the [Heavy Tank].

His smile, just like before, was misinterpreted, and he was met with a complaint along with a blade, but this was no joke. He had no room for余裕; at this point, every single exchange was a desperate struggle.

It was what he had wished for… but he had given him far too much experience. With not only his Anima but also the enhancement effect of his unique title sealed, there was honestly not much he could do.

""Tch—""

Another clash. He raised his daggers to block the oncoming blue blade, but the sword, its trajectory altered at a right angle by his avatar's superhuman strength, easily slipped past his guard.

And so, as he dodged the single strike whose path was now limited due to avoiding his defense, he tried to insert a counterattack in return—but, ice erupted.

"Hah, dammit…!"

The power of Uni's Anima, [Dual Heavy, Starfall Twin Black Steel], 'Weight Forgery,' was a force that deceived the system by intervening in phenomena triggered by actions with his daggers.

In other words, he couldn't activate the ability without proactively taking an action.

If that was the case, even for a moment, against Irori, who could freely manipulate ice and seal his movements in parallel with close-quarters combat, his weapon was reduced to a mere dagger.

And thus, with the momentary lag, a counterattack was impossible. Forcibly shattering the fragile ice that had materialized in an instant, he retreated with all his might to avoid the second strike… and so it repeated.

It was painfully obvious who was being pushed back.

His Anima's power was sealed, and as a result, he couldn't generate bullets for his [Pygmalion, Dwarf Gunner] because he wasn't being allowed to take hits. On the other hand, his opponent was using only a single sword while his 'crown' was active.

It was absolutely incredible. Half joy, half frustration.

"Really—Magia are so cheap, aren't they? They're the prime example of the Anima disparity."

In any case, he'd rather not be taken down for free. Thinking this, he began to stall for time to formulate a countermeasure.

"…I won't deny it, but you're one to talk."

He knew his diligent junior would take the bait.

"Your 'sword,' Hinayo's 'guns,' they're all too unfair. Spamming attribute attacks on par with great magic without chanting shouldn't be allowed. It's against the rules, I tell you."

"I'll say it as many times as it takes, your 'daggers' are just as bad."

That was true. But it was also a fact that 'Magia'… among the Anima, those that held particularly strong 'magic,' were given an irregular, out-of-bounds classification.

Irori's [Frostblade Shirosou] was one such example. If his public status was to be believed, it was an abnormal existence that could achieve all sorts of things with a mere 250 MID.

People were even saying, 'That's not a sword, it's a magic staff shaped like one.' Of course, it was said to be so overly sensitive that controlling it was far more difficult than normal magic… but in any case, how threatening a mastered 'Magia' could be…

…the 'Flame' and 'Ice' of the East had shown the world.

And in the case of the 'Ice' before him, especially—

"Your swordsmanship is also like, third from the top in the virtual world. You're too greedy. Give me a break."

And so, it was truly incredible. The ultimate embodiment of what happens when talent and effort combine—the creation of the invincible samurai, as someone had once called him.

…And as Uni thought all this while complaining,

"…So, have you stalled for long enough?"

Irori let out an exasperated sigh. As if to say he knew all along and had just been playing along, he threw a cheeky remark with that annoyingly smug face of his.

And so, to such a junior, the senior also gave a smile.

After much thought, he had reached a 'conclusion.' All that was left was to accept the present and struggle.

"Yeah, yep. More than enough—so, let's start the second act."

As he celebrated the delightful growth of his junior, who had at some point completely surpassed him… he would, at the very least, show his pride as a senior to the best of his ability.


Uni's Top 3 Swordsmen in the Virtual World: 1st: Iris, 2nd: Sword Saint, 3rd: Irori

Irori's Top 3 Swordsmen in the Virtual World: 1st: Master, 2nd: Sword Queen, 3rd: Myself. Incompetent: My Junior

In reality, Alicia and Master's sword styles are completely different, so it's impossible to compare them. Uni's '1st: Iris' is not particularly due to any personal bias.