kscans

Chapter 887 - An Avalanche of Stars, Nothing to Fear

—VM 10:00 PM.

In other words, in a virtual world where time flows at a rate 1.5 times faster than reality, making a day thirty-six hours long, it was 34:00. Two hours remained until the date changed.

The scheduled event that demands a response from every single player during the [Starry Paradise] event, commonly known as the 'Night Raid,' is undoubtedly the main attraction of the festivities. It's also a grand festival for racking up the score that directly affects the group's final rewards.

At the appointed time, the Stardust Beasts charge forward in search of the glowing [Stardust Relics]. The objective of the 'Night Raid' is to hold back that tsunami and, at the same time, snatch even more relics from the oncoming horde.

Since the final scale of the assault is determined by the amount of [Stardust Relics] stockpiled, how much you can earn and how hard you can push during the night—where the potential gains are on a completely different level from daytime hunting—is, to be blunt, everything.

Slacking off here or adopting a defense-heavy strategy that doesn't prioritize subjugation would be limited to groups that want to spend a peaceful vacation by intentionally limiting the scale of the attack.

In short, the players' spirit towards the 'Night Raid' is generally singular.

Annihilate every last one of them. Whether that's possible depends on the strength of each group, but for the most part, their fighting spirit is more or less the same—

So, well, yeah.

Getting fired up is the usual, but….

"""""────────────────ッッッ!!!!!"""""

"Men are creatures that…"

A short while after the banquet's live stage, which had concluded in a state of great excitement, or rather, chaotic frenzy.

About twenty minutes after the first day's raid began, I was spectating the battle from the heights of a watchtower, letting out a sigh that was twenty percent exasperation and eighty percent awe.

No matter where I looked—front, back, left, or right—all I could see was a scene of utter domination. Since it was still the first day, the fact that the lineup of appearing [Stardust Beasts] was on the tamer side with 'monkeys,' 'wolves,' and 'boars' was a factor, but even so, this was no longer a battle scene of ordinary people.

It really is fighting spirit. In this virtual world, fighting spirit is the most important factor for explosively increasing an individual's combat power—as I thought this, feeling a bit put off by the roars of the berserkers reaching my ears from all directions, a pair of eyes next to me looked at the slacking me, who had no turn to act.

"Well, I guess you can just call this kind of stupidity 'charming.' I don't hate it, though."

It was none other than my fellow special combat force member who was also unoccupied, Nacchan-senpai.

"That was some demonic charm, for real. No ordinary guy could resist that Charm."

"The title of 'Top Idol' isn't just for show, huh…"

Just like me, who was on standby to jump out at any moment, the little kitten had her 'threads' spread across the battlefield, ready to respond instantly. She seems surprisingly tolerant of this kind of thing; her yellow eyes, watching over the guys who had been thoroughly charmed by Ri-na and were now in a berserk state, were unexpectedly gentle.

"Looks like you were able to resist?"

"Did I, I wonder… I feel like I got hit pretty hard, though."

I think this unusual level of momentum is definitely thanks to the idol's powerful buff, but the fact that the group's core strength has skyrocketed since the beginning of the event is also a huge factor.

Our base is much larger than before, and accordingly, the defensive battlefront against the raid has expanded like crazy… but not only have individual combat skills improved, the outstanding coordination born from the bonds forged through survival together prevents any breach of the defensive line.

I'd jokingly told Tetsu-san that "it should be easy," but at this rate, there really might not be a turn for us, at least not tonight—

""Whoops."

From atop the watchtower, we both struck out at the same time.

A simple stroke of bad luck on the edge of the battlefield, not even a mistake. A warrior who had met a charging great boar head-on was literally tripped up by the difficult environment of darkness and forest, losing his balance… and into that opening, the fangs of a wolf leaping from the shadows closed in—a tragic combo.

—And then, a 'thread' flashed, reeled it in, and a 'fist' shot it through.

Seeing the wolf, which had seemed to be crucified in mid-air right before him, instantly explode, the greatsword warrior from the original team, A-ta-shi, sat on the ground and stared blankly for a fraction of a second.

He only stopped moving for less than a second.

He immediately jumped up, turned around, waved his hands enthusiastically in thanks, and then returned to the front lines with renewed vigor. His power to push back a great boar head-on, his swift mental control—he too was a former commoner on the verge of becoming an exceptional player.

And, once the sudden crisis passed,

"…………How many hundreds of meters did you just launch that 'fist'? Didn't you say the range of your Frezon-something was about fifty meters at most to maintain decent power?"

"Haha, a god-tier skill has evolved into an even more super-god-tier skill."

"This guy…"

"By the way, I can fire about sixty shots like that one."

"Disgusting."

"Isn't that a bit harsh???"

And so, after our brief turn, boredom returned once more.

If we went all out, the early stages of the raid would honestly become a snoozefest, so for the sake of the group's enjoyment, it's best to stick to watching. It can't be helped.

By the way, our other special combat force member isn't quite a special combat force on her own… not that she isn't, but she has trouble demonstrating her true strength in direct combat against enemies, so she's on guard duty with the artisan team. But considering her contribution to the group-wide buff, she's the MVP even without participating.

Including that, well, what can I say.

"Hmm…"

"…For goodness' sake, calm down. Standing firm is also the job of those 'at the top'."

"Someone once told me I was the 'subordinate' type."

"Whatever your type, the fact is that this is your position now. If you're trying to act like a ranker, you need to be able to act the part as a matter of course."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"'Yes,' once."

"Yeah."

"Say 'yes'."

"Power-harassing kitten…"

"Huh?"

"Well now, I'm tired of hiding away forever, so maybe I'll go pick up some relics!"

"This guy… Ugh, fine, go on."

"Didn't you just say 'yes' once—Ow?! Did you just kick me? This cat just actually kicked me!!"

Getting restless in the face of such a fun commotion can't be helped, given my personality of being a closet introvert who loves festivals. So, well, yeah—

"Don't you dare just call me a 'cat'! Now go work, will you!!"

—getting kicked off a high place by a scary senpai and going to mess around in the revelry has its own charm. I guess I'll run around for a bit and burn off this pent-up energy.

And while I'm at it, I'll work on picking up some rocks, too.

---

Two rankers watching from the rear—a security buff that rivals an idol's live performance.