Chapter 255: Know the Enemy and Know Yourself, and You Will Never Fear the Result of a Hundred Battles?

Step forward, he steps back. Attacks are parried, counterattacks are repelled.
I realized yesterday that trying to create distance is a bad move. It shaves away my concentration heavily, but it's still better than letting that bullshit AI mannequin take a proper stance.
I faced him time and time again, and every time I sank to the floor, I realized something: the battle style of AI Hanshi: Extreme... no, of Ryuguin Fugaku, is a composite of two distinct parameters.

"Shinyaabaa!?"

Using the shinai in my left hand held in a reverse grip to deflect an incoming horizontal strike aimed at my torso, I unleashed a strike with the conviction of absolute victory, only for him to deal with it by evading with literally a paper-thin margin. And in the very next instant, someone got smacked in the head and sank to the floor... Me, that is.

"I can't win..."

It's not just that everything is high-level. Rather, Ryuguin Fugaku's fighting style takes two points to the absolute extreme: "Footwork that perfectly evades the opponent's movements by a paper-thin margin," and "Handling the shinai to slam attacks into the opponent's vitals through the fastest, most optimal, and shortest trajectory."

It's not simply that he's generally strong; it's a terrible situation where even if you manage to conquer one aspect, you just get hunted down by the other. It's like a bomb where cutting the red wire or the blue wire both result in an explosion.

Therefore, even though I resorted to the strategy of tracing his exact movements to cancel them out, my half-baked imitation couldn't even compare to the crystallization of techniques he spent his entire life polishing until the day he died.

"Or rather, the secret behind this isn't his bodily movements, it's his monstrous dynamic vision and empirical rules."

I understood it once I tried imitating him: the mechanism behind his movements isn't something that can be explained away on the level of simply being "strong." It's the crystallization of madness forged by a master with deranged skill pouring his entire life into two points: footwork and handling.

But I... don't really like it.
I'm not rejecting it, and I know there are people who love exactly that kind of thing.

"...'In my youth, I fought with a fire in my heart, but now, I focus solely on mastering the river of my own body,' huh."

In other words, that just means it's a battle against yourself, doesn't it?

............

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......

My grandfather (Master) said to me one day:

"Do not become like me."

I wondered what on earth he was talking about.
Are you not the strongest swordsman in this country, no, in this entire world!? The ultimate destination that every swordsman should strive to reach! Why would someone like you say something like that?

In the end, without ever giving me the answer, Grandfather departed from this world. Death by old age... The rest of us left behind want to believe that, at the very least, he lived a life without regrets.

"............"

Even though it's the Final Boss AI Hanshi, its strength is still heavily weighted toward Kendo.
I obviously couldn't do this in a real-life match, but by fighting a little dirty with my footwork, dealing with him became surprisingly easy.

"Haa..."

I don't think I'm superior to the person who served as the basis for this "AI Hanshi." It's merely an AI, and the methods I employed were the absolute lowest of the low as far as Kendo is concerned—frankly, they were straight-up rule violations.
But even so... no, exactly because of that, my disappointment is immense.

My grandmother, while sorting through Grandfather's belongings, handed me this "VR Kendo Classroom: Extreme," saying, "He prepared this as a birthday present for you." But after clearing it once, my impressions were heavily colored by disappointment.

I see, it certainly is excellent as a classroom... meaning, strictly as a practice tool. But it's still just a tool. I don't understand why he went out of his way to give this to me—someone who chased after his back and became an unrivaled swordsman "from the West to the East of Kyoto," just as the name he gave me implies.

"Why shouldn't I become like you...?"

I won't get an answer, because the person who asked the question is no longer in this world. I suppose I'll just have to carry this doubt with me forever.
I logged out, and the game package of VR Kendo Classroom: Extreme, tossed carelessly onto the desk, looked as if it wanted to say something... but it's just my imagination in the end.

"This weekend, huh... If possible, I'd like to try fighting the main force of 'Black Wolf'."

The only way to find the answer is within battle. Just as my grandfather once navigated through countless matches, the still-young me requires even denser combat experiences.

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"Login Divine Punishment!"

"Abaa!?"

"Log-bonus Divine Punishment!"

"Gubaa!?"

"Divine Punishmeeent!"

"Whoa, dangerous! You're on the Restoration side!? I'll give you a thorough Divine Punishment!"

"Curse you, Shinsengumiiiiiii!?"

Ahahahahaha! Slicing and dicing trash mobs as a change of pace is the absolute best!
Though if you think about it calmly, diving into a den of strong enemies as a "change of pace" is pretty deranged!

Crossroads Killing Capriccio: Online... commonly known as "Bakumatsu."
There are no morals in this game. In Bakumatsu, a game created by PKers exclusively for PKers, even checking your login bonus leaves a fatal opening.

Generally, "solo" players secure save points by either stealing NPC row houses or using the grovel command—which is considered heresy in this game—to become a freeloader... But well, if you do things like that, you basically become a prime target.
Any player somewhat accustomed to this game understands that you can't survive going solo. That's exactly why you join a faction; at the very least, the chances of getting ambushed while saving are low...

Because it's a game, there are visual effects and some physics-defying movements, but the fundamental setting adheres to the Bakumatsu period of Japan. It's best for players to belong to either the "Shogunate" or the "Restoration" faction.
And aside from the fact that its core concept is a path of carnage running straight toward complete bastardry, this game is actually surprisingly well-made.
If you join the "Restoration" faction, you can use firearms as weapons in addition to the basic sword skills.
If you join the "Shogunate" faction, you gain bonuses to sword skills, meaning in a strictly sword-to-sword fight, your specs can surpass the Restoration faction.

"I was wondering who it was, but it's a Miburo from the 'Single-Digit Squads'!"

"Ah, for the record, my personal best was being the vanguard captain of the Second Squad."

"You're a hardcore ranker!"

Since I'm half-retired now, I've dropped down to the Ninth Squad, but maybe I'll try racking up a score worthy of the Fifth Squad today, even if it's just for one day. I can't reach the Third Squad or higher since that's strictly the territory of the hardcore grinders.

In this game, being a ranker simply means you're an expert who's committed a massive amount of PKs. Glaring down at the cowering Restoration players, I decided to light a fire under them since this wouldn't serve as a Test otherwise.

"I'll give you cowering cowards some motivation."

I grabbed the two swords at my waist, sheaths and all, and thrust them forward as if to show them off to the Restoration faction's players.

"The limited-edition ranker reward from last spring, 'Weeping Night Cherry Blossom,' and the limited-edition ranker reward from last summer, 'Tamaya Eight-Shaku'... And I haven't done a 'Death Retirement' yet. You know what that means, right?"

I obviously don't have the "National Treasure-Class" weapon awarded for the First Squad Captain's Prize (Rank 1), but limited-edition swords are still an incredibly appealing bait.

"""Divine Punishmeeeent!!"""

Faithful to your desires! Very good!
The chance to stumble upon the ultimate prey in this game—a meatbag hoarding a massive amount of items—is worth ignoring the risk of the game's full-inventory-loss upon death mechanic.

Smiling at the Restoration patriots charging at me with lively expressions, I drew my swords. Now then, everyone together, let's chant the magic word that shifts all the blame for the karma of manslaying onto someone else.

"Divine Punishment!!"

Heaven told me to do it, so it can't be helped... I am Heaven's Retribution!

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"I shall act as your second. Recite your death poem."

"Don't get cocky... Even among the patriots, I am the weakest... A patriot stronger than me will...!"

"A splendid Tanka! Off with your head!!"

"If possible, send my items to the pawnshop... Gubaa!"

Having finished acting as the second for the Bakumatsu patriot who begged for his life using the grovel command—which also functions as a practical surrender command—I finally took a breather. To put it mildly, the fact that dying by seppuku waives the death penalty makes this game completely unhinged... Well, the person acting as the second also gets a bonus, so you can actually see players committing seppuku quite frequently.

Out of samurai compassion, I'll toss all the items I acquired into the pawnshop. If I don't pay back the money I borrowed, they'll eventually be able to buy them back once enough time passes.

"As expected, fighting the same enemy over and over won't help me learn any techniques. Nothing beats actual combat!"

Now then. I want to have the AI Hanshi: Extreme cleared up before the Rabituza Defense Battle. Let's really make it my own—the next stage beyond Pseudo-Imitation... Roleplay!!

Author's Afterword
The guts to use one's real name as their player name. Though the person in question claims, "The reading is different so it's safe"...

By the way, "Watashi" is the first-person pronoun she uses when practicing Kendo, and "Boku" is her standard everyday first-person pronoun.
This is because her grandfather made her promise to use "Watashi" while practicing Kendo, reasoning that "You must not be ashamed of gripping a sword as a woman; it will cloud the blade."