Chapter 233: Reaching the Destination RTA, Probably a World Record

Author's Preface
Is it Gravity Zero, or Zero Gravity? The fact that the person writing this is the one confusing them the most is way too idiotic, isn't it...?
It's Gravity Zero. Let's remember it as the ability name from Duel Masters. (Self-confirmation)

The Vorpal Bunnies are the same, but even monsters with the exact same name in this game possess an incredibly rich variety.
I parried a massive morning star iron ball—which came swinging in from the side to blow my head off—making it roll across the surface of my shield. Look here, ma'am! Even rolling a spike-covered iron ball didn't leave a single scratch! I closed the distance as if showing it off, and plunged the Sea Devouring Sword (Blue Predator) into the throat of the morning-star-wielding knight.

I cast a glance at the Contour Knight, which crumpled as if the strength supporting its body had been crushed out of it, and regrouped with Emul, who had splendidly fulfilled her role as a decoy against the simultaneous assault of the morning-star wielder and a spear wielder.

"So magic... is a no-go, huh."

"I've never heard of getting stronger from taking magic desu waaa!"

I think I understand the reason behind "Pure Mages need not apply." Much like how ghost-type monsters nullify physical attacks, these guys absorb magic.
Physical attacks imbued with magic would probably work, but a pure mage relying entirely on magical firepower could easily turn into a traitorous healer constantly restoring the enemy.

"Now then, Emul. Which do you think is more suspicious... up, or down?"

"Down desu wa!"

"I agree."

If this were a standard fantasy setting, it's pretty much a given that the highest point of the castle would be the boss area, but this ancient castle has two overlapping settings.
In other words, it requires speculation based not on the fantasy setting of those who last used it, but on the sci-fi setting of those who built it.

The humans of the Divine Age fought against massive creatures, starting with the aforementioned Ω. The giant arm impaled into this castle is proof of that.
If that's the case, they wouldn't place their central hub at the top. Most likely, the same applies to what we are searching for.

"If-thats-the-case, there should be a path leading down somewhere, but..."

There are stairs conspicuously leading up, but none leading down... Wait, if this place is heavily leaning into sci-fi, is there a possibility of a warp system?

"Hmm... The question is just how sci-fi the Divine Age actually is..."

The fact that the people of the Divine Age I know—like Setsuna of Distant Days and Wethermon the Tombguard—used things that resembled magic. The fact that Legacy and Re-Legacy Weapons, despite being mechanical, use monster materials to enable actions that amplify monster characteristics. And the fact that combining these reveals a certain truth.

"It really seems like the Divine Age civilization wasn't entirely devoted to science, and they normally used magic too."

If that's the case, it's hard to imagine that the Divine Age civilization couldn't use the Teleportation Magic that current medieval-level NPCs can use... I can even predict that they didn't just vaguely shout "Magic that shoots fire!" but controlled it on a much more standardized, gear-like level.

"So is it some kind of teleportation device after all? No, there's no way they'd leave a direct line to the hub. If this place is some kind of dungeon, maybe it's a gimmick like in Ruluiath..."

"Mumumu... I can't find a path leading down desu wa!"

Emul, who had been running around the entrance—now secured after the Contour Knights vanished—came trotting back.
It seemed she had been searching for a path leading down, but as expected, couldn't find one.

"Yeah, figured... Does this mean going up once is mandatory...?"

"Ah, also, Sunraku-san, be careful over there desu wa! There's a hole through the wall, and you might fall in desu wa!"

"Well done, Emul!"

"Fue?"

There's a path right here! A path, right here!
I see, it's just a regular elevator. Integrated into the wall, hard to spot, and broken on top of that, so you'd never notice it on your first try.
There's a small hole pierced through the doors, barely large enough for Emul to pass through, but no matter how you look at it, a person can't fit.

"This is probably one of those 'return trip only' patterns."

"What does that mean desu wa?"

"At the very bottom floor of this castle, there's probably an elevator... Ah, you know, a vehicle that carries people up, I think."

It's hard to imagine that only the elevator is dead when the lights are functioning normally.
Whether it's exclusively for the return trip, or if I need to reactivate it via a gimmick to go down... Either way, the only time I'd be able to use it is after clearing a gimmick at the top, or after everything is over............

Or so you thought I'd say?
Fools! It seems the eyes of the debuggers were mere knot-holes!!
I grabbed a sword lying nearby and casually dropped it down the hole. After a significant time lag, a faint but satisfying sound of metal striking the bottom echoed back.
I see, it is deep. If I just drop down normally, I'm guaranteed to turn into minced meat... If I dropped normally, that is.

"Alright, Emul! We're going down!"

"He? How desu wa?"

"We're going straight down from here."

"...Sunraku-san? That's not a path, that's a hole desu wa?"

Emul told me that as if correcting a toddler's mistake, but her smile was gradually starting to twitch.
You know it too, don't you? The current Sunraku is a man who can even sprint through the sky. A path being vertical is hardly an issue... right?

"B-But! Even you couldn't possibly slip through a hole this small, Sunraku-san!?"

"True, slipping through would be impossible."

The doors are probably indestructible objects anyway. If it were a house door, I might have had a chance to break it, but since this is a sci-fi facility, it's highly likely they can't be destroyed.

"But Emul, haven't you forgotten? Right now, I'm a Magician, you know?"

".........? .........!! .........!?!?"

What is this guy talking about... No, wait, don't tell me!! No, no, no, impossible, impossible, impossible!?!?
Displaying a gallery of absurd facial expressions roughly along those lines, I placed Emul on top of my head... well, technically clinging to the back of my neck... and made the Star Cloak of Lapistella flutter.

"Listen up, Emul. Remember this."

"W-What is it... desu wa?"

"Mechanics are meant to be abused."

"Wai, ho— Pii!"

I activated the magic set into the Star Cloak. Now then, if a carp can climb a waterfall, I'll sprint vertically down one!!
This magic is something I bought at the store Emul frequents that handles Disposable Magic Scrolls. In a way, it's a deeply fateful spell.
After all, this is the magic that saved me from my own inexperience back then. A teleportation spell that, the moment it is activated, designates coordinates within a 5-meter radius of the caster and instantaneously moves them from the activation point to the designated coordinates.

The short-range teleportation magic Emul used to save me when I was knocked into the air by the Mud Digger. Its name is...

"Instant Teleport (Apport)!"

The destination coordinates depend on line of sight. Even if it's just a gap, as long as there's a hole, my line of sight can pass through to the other side of the doors!!

Back then, Emul held me and cast it. Now, I'm holding Emul and casting it.
A momentary feeling of spinning in empty space. The data coordinates of the player and NPC bypassed the physical process and moved. The darkness was deep, and if we just fell as we were, both Emul and I would inevitably meet a minced-meat ending.

"Fa... hii... !?"

"It's fine, Emul! The password is Trust Me!!"

"T-To-rasu-to-mii!!"

Physical calculations wrapped around Emul and me. Down, down. The acceleration proportional to the distance forcefully pulled at us, as if trying to maximize the impact upon our impending deaths.

"Hahahaha! All hail Skills!!"

I corrected my posture with Flit Float, Trial Traverse! Shana-oh Possession! Melostic Foot! Aaaand... Gravity Zero! Activate!

With a mid-air jump, I planted my feet against the wall of the elevator's vertical shaft.
Climbing correction, action correction, continuous running correction, gravity interference... If I can even run on ceilings, then sprinting down from the top is child's play.

"I used to do deliveries in zero-gravity space with lasers and debris flying around at high speeds, you bastard!"

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna diiiiie, what the heck is space desu waaa!?"

While Gravity Zero is active, wherever the soles of my feet touch becomes the ground. In other words, the moment my feet leave the surface, the direction of gravity reverts to normal. Thus, Emul and I were executing a full-speed shortcut while enduring the sensation of being violently yanked downward every time my sprinting feet left the wall.

"Space is the end of that sky reflecting its former brilliance!!"

"Poeeeee-eeee-eeee!!"

Damn it, Gravity Zero's effect is almost over... Even after stacking all these stat boosts, the lowest floor is still far away.
At this rate... No, I can do it!

"Emul, this is going to tickle a bit."

"Hiiiie!?"

No practice, first attempt. The probability of failure is higher... but I have to do it. I can do it. It can be done.
It's always been this way. As long as I have a concrete image, I can execute almost anything exactly as I picture it.

I clenched my right fist tightly, and the amber on the thumb... I struck the lightning sealed within the ancient sap against myself.

"Byaa!?"

"Just bear with it for a little bit...!"

Recognition overtakes action. It failed when I first tried it; it's true the acceleration was unexpected, but even accounting for that, my reaction was simply too slow.
But no matter who I am, I can't pull off tricks while riding a bicycle with a jet engine strapped to it... Well, maybe a wheelie and a massive jump.

Therefore.

"I just need to be faster...!!"

Consciousness accelerates.

100 meters left to the bottom of this castle.

Gravity Zero's effect duration: 6 seconds remaining.

Pitch-black lightning flashes in the darkness.

5 seconds flat is more than enough.

Carving out a single instant, I grasped control of my body.

Author's Afterword
From the surface to 300 meters underground, vertical drop full-speed sprint RTA. Ready, set, go.

Timer stops the moment we land on the lowest floor. Use Apport to infiltrate the elevator shaft, activate the skills, and then just run all the way down.
Right here, execute an original route! Use the Levin Trigger: Hazard, run the remaining 100m in 5 seconds flat before Gravity Zero runs out, and timer stops! The record is 00:24:21... That's just normal!

By the way, the landing is executed by forcibly accelerating while decelerating using Formula Drift (Contradiction).
Specifically, by drawing a "J" shape on the wall and running backward right before the lowest floor, he forcibly cancels out the falling energy.
To give you an idea of how forceful this is, the recoil dropped his HP to 1, and Emul took a bit of damage as well.
This guy is always dying.