Chapter 71: Dedicated to a Moment Part 18

"Do you know what's important in recent fighting games?"

"Hmm, should I ask the pro for the answer?"

"Well, it varies from person to person, but personally, I think it's 'distinguishing between the game and reality'."

At those words, Pencilgon grimaced openly, letting out a "Ugh." The fist of the Kirin Armor, parried by the spear-type parry skill [Maelstrom Spear], slammed into the earth.

"Bringing up ethics at a time like this...?"

"No, no, I don't mean it in some old-fashioned PTA sense... Fighting games are essentially about 'realizing superhuman movements', right?"

"Well, I suppose so."

A rope wrapped around the Kirin Armor's leg. Not just the leg, but the arm and waist too. Several ropes were wound around it, and their ends connected to a single point. While Pencilgon drew the attention (aggro), OiKatzo wound ropes around the Kirin Armor's limbs. He continued talking while successfully executing their impromptu strategy.

"Hands stretch, they jump crazy high, they grow wings... In some cases, you control characters that aren't even human shaped."

"Right, apparently the buggy games you guys play don't even retain human forms."

"Hmm... To summarize, it's ultimately a human controlling a superhuman character. That's why there's inevitably a sense of incongruity in the control."

"...I don't see where this is going."

"So pro gamers, especially those who main fighting games, require the skill to exploit that 'incongruity between game character and player'... Therefore, conversely speaking, they also grasp exactly how a human body moves and how much it can move."

Is he a puppeteer holding the strings of a marionette, or a fool attempting a reckless challenge? OiKatzo used the massive amount of Livestide Lake Serpent materials obtained as a byproduct of power leveling to create the rope equipment: Snake Rope "Life's Reins". Utilizing the property that equipment becomes an object the moment you let go of it, OiKatzo bound the Kirin Armor with a massive amount of "Life's Reins". However, naturally, the Kirin Armor, standing over 5 meters tall, had correspondingly high STR, making it difficult for OiKatzo to seal its movements alone. In fact, the Kirin Armor raised its right leg to take a step and crush Pencilgon, paying no mind to the ropes...

"For example, in a walking motion, if you pull the leg supporting the body the moment the other leg lifts, they fall."

The moment the Kirin Armor's center of gravity shifted forward, the rope wrapped around its left leg was pulled by OiKatzo, and the heavy body fell over with ease.

"If you pull the leg the moment they try to stand up, they fall again."

Planting both hands on the ground, the Kirin Armor tried to stand, only to have both legs pulled, causing it to fall grandly once more like a clown in a comedy. And while OiKatzo, who had depleted his stamina from two exertions of force, recovered his stamina, Pencilgon—who had finished her preparations—closed in on the fallen Kirin Armor.

"Weak point candidate number one... The merger section with the main body!"

The spear Pencilgon held... the Regulus Totem Spear, crafted by carving a blade from the spine of a large monster and reinforcing/decorating it with metal, fully demonstrated its designed and system-embedded capabilities. She thrust it into the chipped hollow of the Kirin Armor, the "throne" where Wethermon the Tombguard would normally sit. The tip of the spear, buffed by multiple effects, certainly gouged deep into the darkest depths of the Kirin Armor's joint section... but the sensation that returned was lacking, hardly what one would call a critical hit.

"Hmm, looks like the effect is weak. Next! Katzo-kun, on its back please!"

"You ask for the impossible...!"

The fall caused by OiKatzo and the resulting damage were treated strictly as "self-inflicted damage" (.......) caused by the Kirin Armor itself. Indeed, while OiKatzo literally "pulled the leg" (hindered) of the Kirin Armor, that action itself generated no damage, which simultaneously meant that aggro did not shift to OiKatzo.

"Stand up, head... well, it has no head, but when the back is fully extended and inertia remains, at this timing... Both arms!"

In the game system, rope equipment is treated as one-handed gear, meaning one can be equipped on the right and one on the left, allowing two to be manipulated at once. As a result of pulling both arms straight back the moment the Kirin Armor stood up, the energy of OiKatzo's traction was added to the inertia of the massive body rising, causing the Kirin Armor's center of gravity to tilt backward. But it wasn't enough; just on the verge of falling over, the Kirin Armor moved its left leg back in an attempt to brace itself.

"Ah, it endured!?"

"Just fall down!"

Pencilgon's kick, increased in power by a dash and a jump, hit the stomach of the faltering Kirin Armor, causing the headless hollow giant to look up at the blue ceiling.

"Let's have a heart-to-heart talk (cut open our bellies)... just kidding!"

Although it came with the demerit of rapidly consuming weapon durability, [Broken Shell] granted a powerful armor penetration effect. Strangely similar to Wethermon the Tombguard, the Regulus Totem Spear crumbled as it was thrust in, clashing head-on with the Kirin Armor's VIT. The target was the stomach, the area with the hardest armor.

"The fact that it's thick means what's underneath is important, right...!? Katzo-kun, hold it for twenty seconds!"

"Impossible! Fifteen seconds!"

"Good enough!"

She activated attack skills consecutively, continuing to attack a single point intensively. The Kirin Armor's attempts to get up or brush Pencilgon off its stomach were blocked by OiKatzo pulling its arms, forcing it into a "Banzai" pose.

"Even if I hinder its movements, I'm not dealing damage or debuffs so the aggro doesn't come to me, and if I make it fall it takes self-inflicted damage... Could it be, is this a stunlock (hame)?"

"In that case, let's conquer Wethermon before the devs patch it...!"

Throwing away the Regulus Totem Spear, which had developed fatal cracks from the second use of [Broken Shell], Pencilgon took another spear from her inventory.

"Ah jeez, even if it can't be helped, not being able to go all out is painful...!"

Due to certain circumstances, Pencilgon currently cannot go all out. It wasn't out of disdain; to borrow the Scale of Verdict, a key item in this battle, Pencilgon had deposited her beloved spear as collateral. That is why Pencilgon chose to play assist in this battle. Although she gathered the best possible substitute spears available, the absence of her beloved spear was resonating now that she faced the new task of actually defeating the Kirin Armor.

"Well, even so, there are plenty of ways (yari-you) to do this though...! Just like a yari (spear)..."

"Because it's a spear?"

"Ugh, wow, Katzo-kun's puns are booooring. Ugh, wow."

"Y-You bastard...!"

When I took it for the first time, I thought "What is this Kusoge!?" but thinking it over carefully, that might not be the case. In short, it's a memorization game. It took three deaths to realize that, and I can afford to die four more times, but...

"The moves during [Seiten Taisei] are selected randomly. The only common factor is that the final move is [Tensei] (Sky Clear)."

"[Tachikaze] (Cutting Wind), [Kasairyu] (Pyroclastic Dragon), [Hai-fubuki] (Ash Blizzard)."

For [Tachikaze], I can tell where he's aiming by the movement of Wethermon's neck and the step of his right foot during the preparation motion. [Kasairyu] has lag before it activates, so it's not much of a threat now. [Hai-fubuki] similarly takes a few seconds to completely encircle the player, so unless caught off guard, dodging is easy if you're prepared.

"As for [Tensei] (Sky Clear), I can't say for sure since the number of trials is low, but it is confirmed that evasive maneuvers are impossible."

"[Ooshike] (Great Storm), [Raisho] (Thunder Bell), [Nyudou-gumo] (Thunderhead)."

[Ooshike] isn't as unreasonably fast as [Tachikaze], but it still approaches with surprising speed for a grab attack. However, its trajectory is linear, so as long as I'm not grabbed, it's just a motion of swinging at air, becoming a clear opening. [Raisho] is easy to dodge itself; just running at full speed works. However, depending on the situation and stamina management, accidents can happen—like running out of stamina and getting hit, or escaping but exhausting stamina and being unable to dodge the next attack. Caution is required. [Nyudou-gumo]... this one is a pain. The evasion methods are simply running so the sweep doesn't catch up, jumping over the arm itself, or escaping to the safe zone right next to Wethermon... Since every option definitely shaves off stamina, this move might be the most troublesome.

"Keep responses minimal, maintain a posture that connects to the next move, and keep distance from Wethermon at 3 meters... The time limit until [Tensei] (Sky Clear) is roughly thirty seconds."

Separate the body's behavior from thoughts. The moves up to now aren't that scary once you get used to them. Verify the most important thing. Analyze. Respond. I list the candidates for dealing with [Tensei] (Sky Clear), which seals evasion itself, in my brain and scrutinize them one by one. Destroy the katana... Realizing that would be difficult. At the very least, destruction itself might be possible, but I don't think that's built into this battle. Defeat the main body... The possibility isn't zero, but then the concept of [Seiten Taisei] feels off. Attacking while navigating through that "It's always the boss's turn" phase seems too difficult. Even if ganging up on him with a large group was the correct strategy, it feels wrong. I have no basis, but trusting my intuition works better in times like this. In that case, the most likely theory is to somehow take the hit and survive.

"...Parry, huh."

And I have to deflect it with critical-level best timing. A katana swung down at a speed difficult to react to even on sight, though not as fast as [Tachikaze]. But that brings up another problem.

"Can I... deflect that?"

Parrying isn't omnipotent. The critical success rate depends not only on the receiver's timing and angle but also on the attacker's attack parameters. If my body could move without issue, I could have parried it by twisting my body to reinforce the block, but if I move poorly and the system counts it as an evasion attempt, the parry success rate will likely drop to near zero. In other words, I have to plant my feet right there and deflect that katana... but a poor parry will result in me being overpowered and cut down, and if I simply block that attack which has equipment destruction effects, my weapon will be destroyed.

"The best conceivable option... the necessary elements are... three more."

While jumping away from the white heat at my feet, I look around. How to move, how to roll, how to jump? I create an impromptu chart in my head and begin to act.

Two minutes remaining. Can I endure...?

Translator's Notes:

• Yari / Spear Pun: In the scene with Pencilgon and OiKatzo, Pencilgon says "There are plenty of ways (yari-you) to do this." OiKatzo replies, "Because it's a yari (spear)?" The Japanese word yari can mean "spear" but is also the root for yaru (to do).