Chapter 43: 300-Limit Rhapsody, The One Running with Odds of Victory in Hand

The density of the AoE (Area of Effect) attacks increases. But a gradual increase in density means they are just superior versions of the previous stages... In other words, there are some commonalities in the area attacks.

"Number of impacts... plus three! No change in the time from flash to impact! Piece of cake!"

I don't even need to use an evasion skill. AoE attacks that always leave a gap exactly the size of one spell so they don't overlap with each other are practically full of safe zones.

I even had enough leeway to open my status screen. Having fully dodged the lightning strikes raining down on me, I moved on to the next attack... I dodged the chain attacks—which have outstanding homing capabilities but small hitboxes, making them easy to avoid—and closed the distance right up to the Mummy Palm (Losers' Woods).

"Hey, kora! You half-dead Mummy Palm! I'm right here! Try hitting me with those arms that look too useless to even serve as firewood!"

I wonder if "Provocation" exists as a hidden parameter? It was the same with the Majority Hounds, but I get a strong impression that the monsters really get into it when I taunt them. Creaking its withered body, the Mummy Palm lashed out with a melee attack, bending its abnormally long torso—fitting for something compared to a palm tree.

"3... 2... 1......... Here!"

Adding a slight adjustment, I executed a full-force backflip in time with the attack. The moment my head was closest to the ground... my world flipped upside down. In a posture like a high jump, I dodged the Mummy Palm's sweeping torso by a hair's breadth using my momentum, and grabbed it.

"Hah-haaaah! Talk about the 'flickering candle theory,' my brain cells are sharp!"

Putting aside the fact that my attacks don't work, as long as it makes a physical attack, it should be possible to touch its body. At the very least, the Mummy Palm is a monster with a physical form, not an incorporeal one like a ghost type. And my hands were definitely gripping the long staff (rod) the Mummy Palm held.

I can understand magic classes having a huge advantage, but making physical classes completely useless seemed unlikely. So I tested it, and sure enough... Physical classes are supposed to aim for this (the staff), huh?

"For a monster to be holding a staff... I wonder what happens if it loses it, huh?"

"O, oooooooh...!"

Perhaps the AI understood my intention. The Mummy Palm gripped the staff with both hands, trying to resist me as I used its neck as a makeshift foothold to snatch the staff away. I figured its withered STR—especially since it appeared to have pure mage stats—wouldn't be much, so I underestimated it, but it's actually holding on pretty tight. However...

"Thank god for point savings, am I right?"

Status screen. Point allocation. STR. It was a tightrope-walking stunt, but the Mummy Palm's fatal mistake was trying to keep the staff instead of shaking me off. With my free hand, I messed with my status, and then used both hands to snatch the staff. Did you know? In some recent games, you can steal the enemy's weapon...

"Weapon Steal is basic etiquette in the post-apocalypse!"

Don't underestimate my looting technique, honed on the trash element that took 1st place in the United Rounds User Survey for "Feature you want implemented in the future": "A lock function to prevent your equipped weapon from being stolen"! The trick is to shake and yank!

I snatched the long staff from the Mummy Palm's hands, performed a magnificent mid-air spin to correct my posture, and landed... Ah, fall damage hurts! Anyway, when I smirked at the Mummy Palm, it seemed I was right—this long staff was its Achilles' heel. The magic hell from moments ago was nowhere to be seen. Screaming... yes, screaming the scream of an inferior being acknowledging me as superior, the Mummy Palm bent its body and reached out for the staff.

"Well, it's a bit rich coming from me, but you should really work out your body more."

Its MP is probably triple—no, maybe a quattro score compared to my puny amount, yet it loses in a contest of strength? What kind of "Strong Mob" is that? Its cause of defeat was not being the type of "Physical Immunity" that lets attacks pass through it. Well, I'll run around like a weakling should. Demon, come over here, to the sound of my clapping hands... or something like that.

A unicorn without a horn is just a horse. A pegasus without wings is also just a horse. The Headless Horseman's horse with a head grown back is, after all, just a horse... Then what about a magic class (Mummy Palm) that has lost its magic? The name represents the body; I don't know what kind of backstory it has, but "Loser"... that describes it perfectly.

It seems the attacks were racial abilities rather than magic, so while they weren't as vicious as the earth spears, I broke out in a cold sweat when it fired root spears at me. But once I got used to it, it was just routine work. I've shaved off everything else to specialize in speed. I'm not slow enough to be caught by a guy who is literally rooted to the ground.

"Oi, that's five minutes."

"Alriiight!"

Just as I jumped to dodge the root spears attacking from four directions—as if in a final struggle—Vash's voice quietly resonated. In an instant, snap. The Mummy Palm... or rather, the Losers' Woods (Obsessed Tree Demon) was split in two vertically, bursting into polygons.

Beyond the spot where the Losers' Woods scattered like confetti stood Vash, having swung through a ridiculously huge Odachi... no, a Zanbato? Anyway, a giant sword. Hey, wasn't it physically immune... or rather, the staff disappeared along with it! I wasn't going to use it, but I feel incredibly wasteful!

"It's a shame you relied on your bare hands in the second half... but I've certainly seen your Vorpal Soul."

[Search]: Vorpal Soul I have a rough idea, but I'd like it explained verbally or in text at least once. Putting aside Emul, who was making a racket at my feet... I looked straight at Vash.

"Seems you were the human I expected... Alright. I'll certify you as a [Honorary Citizen] of Rabituza."

"Hmm? Eh, ah... Osu."

Eh, no, isn't there something more, like, tangible goods as a reward...?

Unique Scenario "Invitation from the Country of Rabbits" Cleared

Title [Honorary Citizen of Rabituza] Acquired

Accessory [Collar of the Vorpal Soul] has been removed

NPC "Magic Rabbit Emul" has officially joined the party

Start Unique Scenario EX "Epic of the Vorpal Bunny"?

YES / NO

Wait, wait, wait, wait. That's a bit too much information for me right now! Ah, I leveled up.

Author's Notes & Lore:

Losers' Woods Mechanics: Once you take away its staff, it degrades into a mere mob that just has a high level. The physical immunity does not apply to the staff itself. Actually, he doesn't know this, but the moment the staff is taken away, the physical immunity on the main body is also lifted.

Setting Disclosure Corner Part 2

• • The fame of the player "Sunraku" Given the context, the name isn't that famous. Compared to the fame of pro gamers—who are equivalent to star football players for gamers in this world—one has to say he is unknown. However, if someone overreacts to specific keywords... like "Bombing Attention Please," "Pencil Sharpener," "Watering-Can-ist," or "μ-skY (Silent Kill Little Girl of the μ Server)," then that person is a Kusoge player, and the name is known enough for them to recognize him.

Translator's Remarks:

• "Flickering Candle Theory": Sunraku refers to the phenomenon where a candle (or lightbulb) flares up brightly just before it burns out. He applies this to his own brain working better when he is on the verge of exhaustion/sleep.