kscans

Chapter 342 - Tournament

The day of the underground arena tournament arrived.

Hayato headed to the Guard Guild building with the members who seemed interested. The group consisted of Cecil, of course, as well as Hayato, Ash, Agres, and even Jolth.

The women didn’t come, either because they weren’t interested or because they didn’t want to go to a crowded place. Only Simon was undecided until the end, but when Benitsuru said she was going to fight monsters from the western lands, she went with her.

He had also invited Gil, the Ten Dark Knights, and the Genesis Dragon Pat, but Gil was busy investigating the Demon Country’s territory, and Pat declined, saying, "I don’t go to such sweaty places."

So, for a change, everyone except Cecil was male, but in a way, it felt like they could let loose, which wasn’t so bad. Cecil was a woman, but her personality was more masculine. Everyone was talking freely.

Agres, in particular, seemed to get along with Cecil, and they chatted about various things on the way.

"If I’d known about this, I would’ve wanted to enter too."

"If you ask now, you might be okay. I heard they have quite a few recommendation slots."

"Then I’ll give it a shot. A last-minute entry would make for a good show, right?"

"Just so you know, I won’t go easy on you if we fight."

"Of course not. You’re not thinking you can win by going easy on me, are you?"

The two of them walked on, chatting like that, with Hayato, Ash, and Jolth following behind.

"Is Victor-san not here?"

Victor, Jolth's assistant, had become Ney’s assistant in the same way when Jolth became Ney's aide. However, he was still primarily Jolth's assistant, so Jolth held the basic authority to command him.

Jolth nodded at Hayato’s words.

"He’s busy with his real-world job. It’s related to Ney-sama, or rather, the virtual reality. Right now, he’s commanding the fleet around the spaceship Aphrodite."

"Oh, that job. I heard from Diite-chan that it’s pretty tough."

"Well, yes. The plan is, in the worst-case scenario, to board the Aphrodite and secure Amanda, but we’re in the process of confirming if that’s actually possible. It’s difficult to see through the spaceship’s stealth function. Even for Diite-san, completely disabling the stealth seems to be difficult."

Currently, Diite couldn't alter the virtual reality's settings, but she was able to give some instructions to the spaceship. Even so, she still had to go through Infinity for matters concerning the spaceship's systems, and there were many things she couldn't do with her authority alone.

As for Hypnos, he could only handle in-game events. He could only intervene with the core system a little, and he couldn't give any instructions to the spaceship at all.

However, if Diite ceased to function as an AI, Hypnos would gain full authority.

Even if Hypnos himself had no such intentions, Amanda was in a position to command him, which made the situation dangerous. It was unclear if she truly intended world domination, but it would undoubtedly lead to trouble.

That was a problem in itself, but for Hayato, Diite being destroyed was a bigger problem, so he had no choice but to win this event.

"They’re working on countermeasures for that, so that’s fine, but you’ve really gone all out, haven’t you, Hayato?"

"Are you talking about my skill composition?"

"Yes. Even if you don’t fight, what’s the deal with being in a state where you can be taken down instantly?"

Ash chimed in, agreeing with Jolth's words.

"Give him an earful. Hayato did that without listening to any of our opinions. When I logged in, he just told me it was already done. The next day he said he’d raised his skill beyond the limit to 150, and the day after that it was 190."

Hearing that, Jolth looked at Hayato with an exasperated expression.

"You guys have it rough with him, Ash. It's true that specializing your skill composition is good, but if you go that far, I think you’ll be completely unable to enjoy any other part of the game."

"It can't be helped. To get the demerit for unlocking the skill cap, I had to choose skills that wouldn't affect my items or equipment. This was the only way. Anyway, which skills did you two unlock?"

"I took demerits in Spear Arts and Axe Arts to unlock Sword Arts and Tactics. It’s an upper limit increase on damage with swords."

"It’s a similar story for me. I took demerits in Sword Arts and Spear Arts to raise Axe Arts and Tactics."

For combat-focused players, raising skills like Sword Arts or Spear Arts to increase weapon attack power or use weapon skills was normal. If you took a demerit in those skills, just holding the weapon would decrease its durability, and you would do no damage at all.

Most players specialized in one type of weapon system, so taking a demerit in an unused one wasn’t a problem. A combat player had a wider range of demerit skills to choose from than a production player like Hayato.

"So you decided not to use a specific weapon type. The demerits for combat skills are surprisingly flexible…"

"I only use Dragon Eater. Are you only using an axe, Jolth?"

"That's right. It’s an axe called Gaia Replica, and I’ve been using it for a long time. I like its rugged look. If the real one is out there somewhere, I’d love to get my hands on it."

"Gaia…? I think a member of Ambrosia used something like that… Oh, would you know if I said they’re a Demonfolk now?"

"Oh? I’d definitely like to see its stats then."

"I’ve never fought Ambrosia, so I don’t know for sure, but I think it caused a light, harmless earthquake when slammed into the ground. Gil or Rosalie have fought them, so maybe you should ask them."

"That’s an interesting ability. I’ll be sure to do that."

Hayato made a mental note that he needed to prepare for the Ambrosia members, the Demonfolk, not just the Blackjack members.

While they were talking, they arrived at the Guard Guild building.

After entering the building and greeting the guild leader, Zack, Cecil was led to a separate area for the competitors.

Immediately after, Agres declared, "I want to enter too," which Zack was delighted to hear. And so, Agres was also able to participate as a sponsor's recommendation.

Cecil and Agres were led away by Zack, while Hayato and the others were guided by a male guild employee to the VIP seats.

The private VIP room was a ten-meter-square chamber furnished with what looked like high-end pieces. Even with Hayato, Ash, and Jolth, it didn't feel cramped at all.

On the table were five-star light meals and drinks, and the chairs were also luxurious five-star items, rivaling a room in a high-class hotel.

Even though it was in a game, the place was so overflowing with luxury that he could only imagine how much money had been spent on it. Hayato was impressed, thinking they must be making a considerable profit.

As Hayato and the others sat down, the guild employee who had guided them explained about the underground arena.

Normally, there was a preliminary round, and the top four would participate in the tournament.

However, this time, since Cecil was participating as a sponsor’s recommendation, the tournament was expanded to eight participants. The four who had won the preliminaries, and four recommended participants, including Cecil and Agres.

Since Agres had joined at the last minute, they had apparently removed one of the recommended members. It wasn't a problem since he was originally a Guard Guild employee.

After explaining the participants, the guild employee gave a polite bow and left the room.

Hayato didn't know most of the opponents. The only ones worth watching were Cecil, Agres, and Lutz.

However, there was one opponent who caught his eye.

It was a man named Ox, the leader of the new major clan "Rampage." Jolth had been surprised to hear his name.

"I don’t know him well, but you know this Ox person, right Jolth?"

"I know of him. He’s the type who pursues efficiency, I guess."

Ox and his clan were the type to weigh time against results. They never did inefficient hunts, and when they did hunt, they would do so until there were no monsters left.

They would slaughter monsters as if other players in the area didn’t exist, so while they were a major clan, their reputation was poor, and they were a clan you didn’t want to run into at a hunting ground.

"They’re not as organized as Imperial, but they’re pretty well-disciplined. And since all of them seem to be working-class adults, they’re very strict with their time. It’s said they absolutely never log in outside of specific hours."

"If you’re playing an online game while working, that’s normal… But he’s participating in this tournament on a weekday morning. I wonder if he took the day off work?"

"Probably. I was a little surprised when I heard the tournament members. It doesn’t seem like any of his other clan members are here, so I think he came alone. If he has a goal, I think it’s either the in-game currency prize or the item you get for winning."

The winner of the tournament would receive one million G in in-game currency and a rare item. The runner-up and third place would receive five hundred thousand and one hundred thousand G respectively, but not the rare item. Also, since this wasn't an official event, there was no real-world prize money.

"A major clan can earn money easily, so I guess the rare item is the goal?"

"Probably. It must be an item he wants badly… But would anyone really want the Assassin Set?"

The Assassin Set. In other words, assassin's equipment. The head, body, arms, and legs were all armor pieces with "Assassin" in the name, and if you equipped the full set, you could unleash an instant-kill attack with a certain probability.

Esha’s Destroy was also an ultra-high-firepower magic attack that was almost a one-hit kill, but the Assassin Series seemed to be a complete instant-kill attack, so their performance was different. Some monsters also used such one-hit-kill attacks, and if you weren’t prepared, you would definitely be defeated.

"I’m not sure what monsters it’s effective against. I don’t think it would work on rare monsters, though."

"Right. If you could take down even those monsters in one hit, the game balance would be ridiculously broken."

If a named rare monster with the name of a god could be defeated in one hit, even if it was probabilistic, players would complain a lot. It’s a common feature in any game that instant-kill attacks don't work on such monsters.

So far, in this virtual reality, only monsters used instant-kill attacks. And they only activated under special conditions, and it was possible to counter them.

However, Jolth was folding his arms and deep in thought.

"What’s wrong?"

"What I’m wondering is if it can be used in PvP."

"Huh?"

"There aren’t any items or equipment that completely block instant-kill attacks, right? There’s the Phoenix Feather, but that’s not for blocking instant-kill attacks, it’s for auto-revive. In a party battle, there’s resurrection magic, but if instant-kill attacks can be used, things could get tricky."

Hayato nodded.

Even if it was probability-based, an instant-kill attack was severe. If even a glancing blow could defeat you, it would be difficult to fight as usual.

Tanks often increase their defense to reduce the damage they take, but if you could be defeated even with low damage, defense would be meaningless.

There was resurrection magic, but it only revived you with 1 HP. You couldn't immediately return to the front lines, and there was a chance you would just be defeated again right after reviving.

"It should be fine, right? Cecil and Agres are in the tournament. And that Lutz guy? We have allies, right? Shouldn’t we be the ones to get that equipment?"

When Ash said that, Hayato thought he had a point.

"You’re right. Then we’ll have to have one of those three win."

"I won’t bet, but I’ll cheer for Agres. For the actor connection."

"Then I guess I’ll go with Lutz. We’ve been playing this game together for quite a while."

"Then I’ll go with Cecil. Well, as long as that Ox guy doesn’t get the set equipment, I don’t care who wins."

Equipment that was dangerous in the hands of the enemy would be an advantage if an ally used it. Hayato decided to cheer them on properly and leaned out from the VIP box to look at the arena.

The arena was so vast it was hard to believe they had built it underground. It was a dome-shaped facility with a stage in the middle.

Despite being underground, brightly shining jewels were embedded in the walls everywhere, illuminating the stage. In contrast, the audience seats around the stage were dimly lit, and it was hard to see who was there.

The VIP box Hayato and the others were in was a private room, one level above the regular seats. From their position, they were looking down on the stage.

He had expected the crowd to be full of ruffians, but the NPCs were mostly dressed like nobles. At least, the people in the other VIP boxes visible from their room were such figures.

The arena felt like a rich man's hobby, and the first fight was finally about to begin.

The rules were simple. Just defeat the opponent. There was a magic wall around the stage, and touching it would cause damage, so there was no ring-out loss.

Betting was possible for each match, but Hayato and the others didn't place any bets and just cheered.

There were no player introductions. The sound of a bell simply announced the start and end of a match, so there was no entertainment value.

He thought they could make it a bit more exciting, but the first match began.

The first match was Cecil against some other player.

He was surprised she was up so soon, but Cecil won with her usual style, her basic dual-wielding.

There weren't any particular highlights, but she finished her opponent with the dual-wielding weapon skill "Double Slash," so the venue was reasonably lively.

The second match was Ox against another player.

Ox’s opponent seemed to be a magic swordsman, using a variety of attacks from sword swings to enhancement magic, weakening magic, and even magic attacks in a hit-and-away style.

Ox, on the other hand, held a heavy-looking iron hammer and a giant shield, and was clad in armor that covered his entire body. It seemed to be a matching set, as all the equipment was based on a dark blue color.

His fighting style was plain, but his strategy was to win for certain. Ox gradually cornered his opponent against the magic wall, and when they could no longer move, he engaged them in close combat. He won just like that.

And then, the third match.

Bringing items into this tournament was basically forbidden, but you could bring any weapon or armor. However, equipment with certain abilities was not allowed.

That rule probably restricted Agres, who appeared in the third match.

Agres's weapon, "Dead Heat," was a knuckle-type weapon whose performance changed when switched, but its ability to "absorb the HP of the opponent you hit" was deemed out of bounds for the tournament, so it was replaced with a normal knuckle-type weapon.

Agres's spirits were low, but he still overwhelmed his opponent with the martial arts he practiced in the real world. He defeated his opponent without taking any damage.

And the fourth match was Lutz against some NPC.

The NPC seemed to be from the Eastern Country, dressed in a brown-based kimono like a ronin, and their face was covered by a hannya mask. You couldn't see their face, but from their build, it was clear they were male.

His name was Nanagi Blackthorne.

Hayato felt a vague sense of unease. He couldn't see the face, and he had never heard the name before, but he felt like he had met him somewhere.

In the midst of that, the battle began.

Hayato let out a gasp of admiration.

It was the first time he had seen Lutz fight, but he used a one-handed sword, swinging it in sync with his high-speed movements. And after attacking, he was no longer there. By the time his opponent tried to counterattack, Lutz was far away.

The opponent who fought Ox also used a hit-and-away style, but Lutz’s fighting style involved far more movement. It was a style that was only possible in a virtual reality where you didn’t get out of breath.

"That's some incredible speed."

"Lutz is an attacker who uses speed-enhancing equipment to specialize in evasion. I try to imitate him, but I can’t move like that. It’s too acrobatic."

Hayato nodded.

Lutz was constantly moving to stay out of his opponent’s line of sight. Not only did he move quickly, but he also threw small knives, a fighting style that must have been incredibly stressful for his opponent.

Jolth and the others had done something similar in the Clan War, but they had only switched equipment to increase their movement speed. They hadn't attacked with that much speed.

Considering that, Lutz was probably incredibly strong in a one-on-one fight.

However, there was a problem.

His opponent was not flustered by his attacks at all, and was acting normally.

He dodged attacks that seemed impossible to avoid with fluid movements. His speed looked slow, but his movements were as if he were predicting the future.

Furthermore, he parried the knives Lutz threw with the katana he held. The way he did it with minimal movement and seemingly no effort was a strange sight.

The crowd was getting excited, but Ash and Jolth were watching the fight very seriously, staring at the stage without a word.

"That’s amazing, right?"

When Hayato asked, Ash nodded.

"It’s more than amazing. You can see it well from up here, but Lutz’s opponent has barely moved from his spot. He’s parrying all the attacks from right there."

"What?"

He hadn't noticed until it was pointed out, but looking closely, just as Ash said, the opponent in the hannya mask had hardly moved. To be precise, he was moving, but he hadn't moved more than a meter from his starting position.

"I’m sure there’s a person inside, but I wonder how much practice it takes to be able to do that."

Jolth also sounded impressed.

"And is that a cursed blade? It should have some kind of demerit, but his fighting style doesn’t seem to be affected by it at all."

"A cursed blade…?"

Hayato looked at the katana held by Lutz’s opponent.

"Is that…"

He recognized that cursed blade. As a production player, there was no way he could mistake it.

Immediately after, the man with the cursed blade returned it to the scabbard at his waist and lowered his stance deeply. He held the scabbard at his waist with his left hand, and his right hand moved, his fingers just barely touching the hilt of the sword.

Hayato knew what that stance was.

"Look out!"

The moment Hayato shouted, a kin sound rang out. Lutz, who had been moving around freely, collapsed as if he had lost all strength and rolled across the stage.

No one but Hayato understood what had happened, but since Lutz didn’t get up, it was clear he had been defeated. A moment later, cheers erupted from the audience.

The man released his stance and turned his face towards Hayato.

Then he shifted the hannya mask to the left, revealing half his face. He looked at Hayato and the corners of his mouth turned up.

It was unmistakably the leader of the Ten Holy Demonic Swords.