kscans

Chapter 875 - Just Another Day of Climbing the Tree

[Daily Acrobat Tree-Climb: 10th Floor Clear Footage]

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'The 10th floor we've been waiting for!!!!!'

'A lifesaver.'

'The daily uploads are a real godsend.'

'The editing must be a pain.'

'Sir Kendy is in fine spirits as always.'

'Their comedy duo routine is the reason I live, lol.'

'The way he gets along with any type of person so fast is basically a superpower at this point.'

'The Gift of Communication, huh…'

'Should be standard-issue for all of humanity.'

'Haru-chan's salty responses are cute too.'

'Well, his combat movements are pure Acrobat, after all.'

'His stats are equivalent to Lv. 10, but as always, it's like he's playing a different game from us.'

'Lately he's been going wild with all his flashy abilities, so it's easy to forget, but his foundation is that insane technique. With his stats lowered, he's moving even more carefully, which makes it a great reference.'

'And on top of that, he doesn't leave his party behind and even pulls off combos smoothly. Super likeable.'

'What a flawless young man.'

'His personality makes his rank well-deserved.'

'Though physically, it seems he frequently leaves his allies in the dust.'

'The way he casually breaks the sound barrier is hilarious, lmao.'

'And when the Acrobat's reputation goes up, the rep of the other rankers automatically goes up with it.'

'Starting with the Princess and Irori-kun, how can they even perceive him up close...?'

'Also, isn't Sir Kendy super strong?'

'I used to mock dual shields as some kind of meme build.'

'Some poor soul is gonna see this, pick up a shield, and fall into despair.'

'And he's doing that without the benefit of skills like us…'

'Hero NPCs are too scary. If you think about it, there are over a thousand of them at a quasi-ranker level. If they ever become hostile depending on how Arcadia develops, players will get wiped out.'

'I'd gladly be wiped out by Anya-chan-sama.'

'I'd rather be turned to ash by Shukana-sama while she gives me an annoyed look.'

'I want to be cut down by Ligretta-san without her even sparing me a glance.'

'Go back to the depths of hell, you perverts.'

'The depths of hell (the NPC idol board).'

'Before your very eyes. For all of you, the true idols are right here on this screen.'

'A different kind of hellish pervert has appeared…'

'Definitely not before my eyes.'

'If you define archived videos as sacred objects, then I guess it's before our eyes…'

'The percentage of weirdos in the comments of Acrobat-related videos is high… isn't it?'

'With a hundred million fans, of course you'll get a wide selection of pervs.'

'The worst kind of wide selection.'

'It's Haru-chan's fault for melting everyone's brains, regardless of who they are.'

'A duo clear time of just over an hour and a half with an NPC…'

'My first clear took the same amount of time with a full party, though.'

'The difficulty between a duo and a full party is like, seven trillion times different.'

'It's not just the difficulty, it's basically a different game. In a bad, impossible way.'

'Why does this guy clear dungeons that require no-hit runs with such a casual look on his face?'

'I wonder how far he's climbed in real-time.'

'Think he's already cleared the 100th floor?'

'The fact that it's not impossible is terrifying…'

'The editing must be a pain.'

◇◆◇◆◇

As of today, it was nearly a month since the implementation of the Key Tree Maze.

After the raid on Green Connect, which had triggered the giant tree's growth, a call had gone out to the general public to share information. A request for cooperative data collection, issued in Alicia's name—"We would be grateful for your active participation in its conquest"—was likely a major factor.

Key Tree City, the second Vestol, was the very picture of prosperity, bustling with activity morning, noon, and night.

They gathered without being asked. They were fired up precisely because their beloved Princess had asked. And so, a countless number of players challenged the endless tree climb.

Thus, whenever many people focus on the same content, a ‘standard’ is born. And so it was for the Key Tree Maze, widely believed to have a hundred floors, that a clear set of distinctions was made.

First were the ‘Lower Floors’—from the first to the tenth floor. This was the beginner area, indicating low-floor, low-difficulty. Of course, ‘beginner’ in this context meant a Key Tree beginner, not an Arcadia beginner. A certain level of combat proficiency was still required.

Still, this was the range that pretty much anyone could climb without too much trouble if they just messed around. It was a fitting classification for an introduction to the Key Tree Maze.

Next were the ‘Middle Floors’—from the eleventh to the thirtieth floor. This was where the real pain of the tree climb began. What made it painful? Simply put, the enemies got stronger.

The domain from the eleventh floor onwards, where swarms of intelligent humanoid enemies became frequent, was incredibly difficult to break through with mediocre strength or sloppy tactics.

The current wisdom was to farm PARLs by repeatedly running floors one through ten, then spin the gacha to sufficiently upgrade one’s equipment before challenging these floors.

My own experience was a testament to what happened when you ignored that conventional wisdom. The path was so grueling that even a Ranker had to pant and gasp for breath; its difficulty went without saying.

And finally, the ‘Upper Floors’—here, the classification suddenly became broad, lumping everything from the thirty-first floor and up together. The reason was simple.

It was from that line that the Key Tree Maze itself changed its nature.

"—[Turm Riese]!"

A super-cool keyword, now perfectly familiar to my ears, was etched into the world by a voice so cute it was perfectly familiar to my heart. What appeared was a giant tower of sand, and the magic sword it created was aimed straight ahead.

Impact, a deafening roar, and the screams of the endlessly spawning enemies scattered through the air… however,

"Tch… Kanata-kun, to your right—"

"I’ve got it!"

The onrush of threats never ceased.

Sora was using [Optimize Alert] without hesitation. That meant the space itself was large enough to accommodate the giant tower and then some.

As ever, it was still a maze.

But the 'paths' had expanded to the point where you could never call them 'cramped.' And from these vast paths endlessly overflowed what felt like a tsunami of enemies.

That was what it came down to.

From the thirty-first floor up, every single section of the maze was like this.

That’s why, for any party attempting to conquer the Key Tree’s ‘Upper Floors,’ one role became absolutely essential.

To put it simply, you just couldn't do it without someone who had ‘high-range mob-clearing firepower.’ In that respect, our clan party was beyond blessed, but—

"Haru—!"

—"It is not a sword forged by a god."

The great task of clearing a path in a single sweep fell not to our prime candidate, Sora-san, nor to the one I thought was dangerously powerful, Tetra, but to none other than myself.

"Not a sword blessed by light, nor one celebrated by darkness."

At the call from my partner, the clan master and party leader, what came from my lips was not a lengthy reply, but the practical words of an incantation.

"Plead for water, pine for water, and hearken to the voice of water."

A swarm of manticores filled the space with a chorus of indescribable roars.

A troop of minotaurs charged forward in perfect formation.

And a squadron of harpies scattered bizarre and noisy cackles through the air.

As expected, they all shared 'human-like' features. I was getting used to it, but it would surely be tough for some people.

"The abyss of the water's night resides in the outer heavens, its shell holding thoughts of a starless dream."

But in that regard, Sora-san was the epitome of ‘invincible once you get used to it.’

"Tetra-kun!"

"Right, here you go!"

Even with a horde of terrifying human-faced monsters closing in, my serious, cute, and hardworking angel never lost her command.

In that case—

"Then the 'scepter' is with me, and there is no need to bow your heads."

—I would proudly wield my power, for my magnificent partner.

Chant complete, mana manifest. In my hand appeared a single, wavering greatsword of water. And at Sora's signal, Tetra lifted my body with his shadows, giving me a perfect vantage point.

Got a rough look. All targets, visually confirmed.

"[Laevateinn]."

The moment I swung the ‘sword’,

Traveling through the moisture in the air, a blade of water shot forth in an instant—no.

In tandem with my own, the caster's, line of sight, the very concept of a slash found every target that met the condition of being in a space containing ‘water’ and, without exception, split them into a thousand pieces.

And so, a vast cascade of green light filled the wide passage. With that single blow, I’d taken out a good seventy enemies. Normally, that would be considered a great success.

But… this was the Key Tree. The Great Labyrinth.

""Tch—Let's go!""

An encounter of this scale could happen every minute. There was no time to celebrate, praise each other, or even take a breath.

Sora and Kanata, our two vanguards who had already started running without stopping, had the right idea.

And so…

As for me, who was chasing after my motivated partner and junior from my rear-guard position…

"If you’re content with being average, then what you’re doing now is fine. But if you want to become first-rate, you need to start making your own judgments about when to chant. I’m sure you already know this, senpai, but…"

"I know, I know… I’m just having Sora-san time it perfectly for me…"

"Also, hurry up and master at least the basics of ‘Spell Stocking’ already."

"Isn't that something a normal, skilled mage would spend months training for…?"

"That’s right. I don’t think you’ll need even a month, senpai."

"What in the world do you think I am?"

"After that is ‘Silent Casting.’ Good luck."

"Isn't that a secret art among secret arts that only a handful of people have mastered…?"

Day in and day out, I received what seemed harsh but was also kind, what seemed gentle but was in fact spartan, one-on-one lectures from my junior (senpai). It was, in fact, the most privileged learning environment imaginable.

With a huff and a puff, we sprinted through the labyrinthine sector of the Key Tree Maze’s fiftieth floor.

This was the day before the third [Starry Paradise] event was set to begin.

---

His little sister is probably waiting for him back at home.