kscans

Chapter 817 - Shine and Show, O Rare One. Art Thou Worthy of Being Entrusted with Love? Part Two

Visuals clear, estimation impossible. Surging toward me are countless monsters.

The scene is nothing short of a catastrophe. If you asked all of humanity to draw 'the end of the world,' I'd wager a decent percentage would come up with this very picture of madness.

Naturally, there's no way I can fight something like that with a sound mind.

If I'm diving into that, a paltry player's HP pool is utterly meaningless. Even with the death-negating effect of my [Aquamarine Rabbit Heart], I have to assume that taking even a single hit means it's over.

Why?

"Haru!"

Because the role I've been assigned is solo frontline—in other words, the pinnacle of foolishness, where I must draw the aggro of well over a hundred boss-class enemies and dance like a madman.

The number of fatal blows aimed at me at any given moment will surely be more than ten or twenty, so a single safety net would be utterly useless.

In that case, it's more important to toss that safety net out with my HP and activate the cooldown reduction effect of [Crown Crown] to its maximum from the get-go.

"Alright, let's go!"

[Desperate Crimson] activated, [Rocket] ignited.

I have no damn clue if it's because of some intervention during the control phase or what, but I'm grateful the bosses are being teleported so far away.

If I meet them head-on, I can create distance from Nia and that mysterious PC, who I absolutely must protect.

"—Alright, for a little warm-up…!"

One giant step, several hundred meters. In the blink of an eye, I've closed the distance with the rumbling, roaring picture of hell. In my hand, I summon a harbinger worthy of kicking off this impossible, unreasonable, reckless grand pandemonium.

"The first spear!"

[Rocket] & [Ignition] activated, external output 'Revolve' brought to critical convergence. Alright, now wind up and with gusto, let 'er—riiiiiiiip!!!!!

"Rock—"

A rough targeting and then, a do-or-die strike.

I activate [Lumina Raygust] as well.

As expected of a pandemonium of monsters so varied and rich in personality, they differ not only in shape but also in size and performance, their speeds ranging from top to bottom. Naturally, their advance stretches out vertically. The one leading the charge… a giant falcon with the tail of a serpent, has one of its eyes explode.

Lodged in it, of course, is the tip of the [Laparis Lafan, Demonic Crimson-Blue Spear: Whale Rabbit] that I threw.

And then,

"—et!!"

I slam my left fist, cloaked in a storm, into its other eye. A clear victory in the opening exchange… or not quite, it seems. So here's an extra [Sextuple] for you, take it!

"That's one…!"

And so, the enemy's vanguard explodes. A phosphorescent light dances, and a crystal pillar tinged with green emerges.

For a split second, I hesitate, wondering if I should secure it like before—but an answer arrives without me asking. I follow it, ignore the crystal, and grab the spear now floating beside me.

The 'Dungeon Core' dissolved on its own within my field of vision. Ignore them from now on, confirmed. More importantly… now dance. The next one is within arm's reach.

[Exchange Implode] activated. Contract set, three seconds.

"—Aaaaaaaahhh!"

Spamming Recall. Spamming [Rocket]. Screaming a reckless cry.

With the spear in my left hand, I summon one weapon after another, smashing them into the monsters I pass without a thought. In the end, what's left in my right hand is…—

Hey, what kind of cutting edge do you have? I like you, newbie.

A single flash in its first battle. The obsidian blade of the [Diaus Altara] lops off the arm of a tough-looking miniature golem with little resistance.

And with that, the finale is all set. The wiring is perfect, as you can see.

"—And, boom."

Time to pull the trigger. I tug on the threads of the [Nine Tail] connected to the [Ruby Bullets] I've scattered across a wide area to pick a fight… and the shadow fingers woven from my 'male' form's mana don't act as a hammer, but instead ignite the 'gun' itself, which was made exclusively for my transformed body.

A deafening roar, a blinding flash.

The crimson cannons I left right under the noses of these vicious-looking bosses burst, and the reactive rounds they detonate scatter a violent torrent of crimson mana.

And with that, all equippable weapons have been equipped & all have registered an attack judgment.

The contract is fulfilled. Activating is the weapon enhancement effect of a successful [Exchange Implode], 'Catastrophe'—and I apply it, of course, to…

…the blade of the great scythe, which is taller than I am, now gleaming with an aqueous light.

Vision clear. Memory complete. Route constructed. Bidding a temporary farewell to breath and thought—

"Alright, brace yourselves and fight me… noooooow—!"

[Rocket], super-continuous ignition.

The magic armaments I own that were crafted by the Yuhijin, like [Atiomart -Sakura=Memento-] and [Laparis Lafan, Demonic Crimson-Blue Spear: Whale Rabbit], have a certain characteristic that is both a merit and a demerit.

That is, 'the feedback is faint.'

It's hard to describe the difference from reality, but naturally, in Arcadia, there is 'feedback' when you attack. No matter the target, if you cut it with a sword, you feel the sensation of cutting with a sword in your own hands. The same goes for blunt attacks.

For some people, this is difficult to handle, and it's one of the things that raises the bar for combat in the virtual world… but anyway, the point is, there's a 'sensation.'

This 'feedback'—in other words, 'recoil'—is incredibly faint when you attack with a magic armament. Faint is an understatement; honestly, it's non-existent. It's a different story if the attack is blocked by a force or method that can interfere with it, but generally, it just slips right through.

Incidentally, according to Kagura-san, it's currently 'difficult to create a striking surface,' so there are no blunt-type magic armaments. That leaves slashing or piercing, so it's either cut or stab.

In other words, it's not just a clean cut, it's utterly smooth. The problem with this is that you can't judge the success of an attack by anything other than sight and intuition.

You can't receive information on whether an attack hit or missed through any sense other than sight. Without considerable practice, this can cause your brain to error out and become a real problem.

At the very least, in Arcadia, where you fight by actually swinging a weapon with your own virtual body—the feedback (hitstop) plays an important role beyond just the feeling of satisfaction.

So, that's the demerit. I had a terrible time during my training with [Atiomart -Sakura=Memento-], and although I'm used to it now, it was a real struggle at first.

Now for the merit. As for how 'faint feedback' acts as a plus in battle… well, this part is simple.

—No matter how recklessly I chain my attacks, my speed isn't stolen by the target.

Which means, when I use it to my heart's content, this is what happens.

◇◆◇◆◇

"…That thing is definitely not human…"

Technically, she was the one who gave the order. So she should probably praise her junior for following it and rocketing off at a speed impossible to track. But was that something to be praised?

He moved in every direction. One moment he would stop, and the next he would be moving again, repeating the cycle.

It was impossible to track his form. All Natsume's eyes could see was the parade of a hundred demons, which had stopped in one place and begun to circle, and within that chaos, a line of watery light drawing a completely incomprehensible pattern… As always, it made absolutely no sense.

Innumerable fatal blows flew past him. Arms were swung, legs were kicked, tentacles and wings were brandished, and on top of that, beams of light and magic of all colors flew about.

And in the midst of that… except for the momentary stops he made to recalculate his high-speed maneuvering routes, he continued to fly, kicking aside deceleration and embracing only acceleration.

"…………—… Haaaaaaah…!!!"

And so, seeing that state of affairs,

What Natsume, who had been left behind to cover the rear, should be shouting was not an innocent question like, 'I wonder what's going on in his head,' but…

"That idiot is drawing the aggro of every single one of them! Not a single one is slipping through to come this way! Is he telling me to get to the front too?! —Fine by me, just you wait!"

…a war cry, a hundred percent fueled by desperation, second only to her junior's… And so, the threads danced,

"—Schwert Weiss…!"

Weaving threads, weaving her body, the black-and-white kitten kicked off the floor, scattering flames.

Her lithe body, wrapped in threads as her title suggested, ran swiftly. While she couldn't catch up to her idiotic junior, she moved with a speed that could not be achieved by her stats alone—

—and plunged without hesitation into the vortex of hell.

---

In other words, the blade of a great scythe taller than he is can swing around in every direction, accelerating all the while, its momentum unhindered no matter what or how much it cuts or tears. Scary.

On another note, they did say they'd teach each other, after all.