Chapter 388: Magnetic Bonds

Once his switch is flipped, Raid Boss-san doesn't stop. To be specific, with a beast-like detection ability, he can deduce the location of a player within a 20-meter radius with an incredibly high probability. Even slasher villains in horror games are milder than this.

His combat style is fluid and unstable. He probably doesn't have any real-world knowledge of swordsmanship. Swinging his sword around wildly and haphazardly—it looks exactly like the movements of an amateur; or so someone with kendo experience told me.
But is brawling inferior to boxing? No, the difference in the process does not affect the result. Whether it's a ring style or a street style, the ultimate destination is still violence against the opponent.

If so, Raid Boss-san's sword is truly a killing sword. Since you die if you get cut, his blade trajectory practically screams that forms and stances don't mean a damn thing; it's completely erratic, and precisely because of that, it's terrifyingly pure.

Sabimitsu (Rusted Blade). A rusted trajectory is drawn freely in all directions by the weakest yet strongest sword, capable of slicing through even steel plating like shoji paper if swung with Maximum Efficiency (Critical).
A battered, heavily rusted piece of iron; it's almost as if it symbolizes the inevitable end of those captivated by the death trailing behind its blade.

"Gyah!?"

Ah, flesh being severed. It obviously doesn't have the insane, deranged reality of ShanFro, but Full-Dive VR is still the crystallization of cyber-technology. A body sliced diagonally from the shoulder to the waist won't last much longer. Then again, the one getting cut isn't me, so it's someone else's problem.

"Thanks for the meal!!"

The sword I swung caught the battered meat shield. That makes eight. Hmmm, it seems I've discovered yet another highly efficient farming method.

"Geeh! That bastard is training Raid Boss-san!!"

"Don't come over here!"

"Eh? What was that? Could you say that again a little closer?"

"You did that on purpose! Gyaaaaaah...!!"

"You run away... just like a rabbit."

Are you trying to say "Like a fleeing rabbit"? I honestly don't want to think he's drawn an equal sign connecting me to the Sunraku in ShanFro, but natural-born eccentrics drop lines that sound almost psychic, so it really gives me a heart attack.

I'll be honest, I'm probably going to die. Unlike Sylvia Goldberg, Raid Boss-san is a genuine monster who even turns bugs into his allies. Even utilizing feints and everything else at my disposal, I haven't been able to put more than five meters of distance between us.
So I changed my strategy. If I'm going to die anyway, I'm going to farm as much score as I can before I die.

I call it the Raid Boss Super Express. I spam the taunt command at Raid Boss-san and drag him right into other players in my path. If things go well, I snatch the score from the side, and even if I don't, by having the absolute Rank 1, Raid Boss-san, absorb the scores, I can keep my own inflated ranking at a high level.

It's precisely because his efficiency is so incredibly optimized that Raid Boss-san's movements closely resemble a computer's. Because he processes complex thoughts and outputs them as simple conclusions, it paradoxically makes it easier to control his movements from the outside.

Sorry, folks, but MPKing is a basic skill on an isolated island.

"Divine Pun... ah."

"There are no absolutes... in PvP!!"

Sabimitsu. A peaky sword that feels as though a double-edged blade has been materialized; if you land a critical hit, it ignores any and all armor values, and if you fail, it shatters into pieces the very next instant.
If Raid Boss-san is going to constantly land critical hits, then I just need to throw him off balance. What a coincidence, I'm a critical attacker in ShanFro too...!!

The absolute most reliable method of delivering Divine Punishment in this game is decapitation. That's exactly why, if you know the exact trajectory of the blade Raid Boss-san is swinging, you can reduce a fatal wound to zero damage just by shifting your neck slightly.

Shattered, rusted iron scatters. My returning thrust aimed right between Raid Boss-san's eyes is evaded with a high-speed crouch so fast it creates the illusion he simply vanished, and the moment I lower my gaze, I see he has completely shifted his posture into an ascending, handstand-like kick aimed straight at my jaw.

"Kh...!"

"Tch."

A completely unrefined brawler's kick; just like kicking off a wall, the sole of my foot catches Raid Boss-san's back and sends him flying.
He might look like a delicate boy, but his internal stats are those of a monster. It probably didn't do much damage anyway, and sure enough, the blown-away Raid Boss-san immediately breaks his fall and gracefully stands back up.

"Not bad, huh?"

"A botched Divine Punishment is worthless...!"

A hopeless situation doesn't necessarily come paired with resignation. It's the neck. Even Raid Boss-san can be killed if you cut his neck.

However, since Bakumatsu players are madmen by default, even if they only have one life left, a Hero will always appear.

"Hey now, looks like you're having fun. But this party doesn't really start until I join in, does it?"

"Geh, Rank 2..."

"Ah, Tousen."

It's exactly because they only have one life left that some people hide, and conversely, it's exactly because they only have one life left that some people charge forward without fearing death.
A precious meat shield... I mean, another player, gets cut down in a single stroke, and from behind the scattering pieces that act almost like a rising curtain, a single Shinsengumi player emerges.

Our Hero (Rank 2) is barging in while I'm in the middle of fighting the Raid Boss? Dammit, this is exactly why Bakumatsu is the best.

"Wanna team up?"

"Don't be an idiot, you sitting duck. I'll throw you into a hot pot right along with the green onion on your back."

"Big words, Rare Enemy. I'll hack you to pieces before you even get the chance to input the escape command."

A declaration of hostility so fast it's like a perfectly timed echo. If I'm being perfectly honest, I want his help so badly I could reach my hand out of my throat, but unfortunately, in this world, if you don't put a sword in that hand reaching out of your throat, you won't survive.

"Nice, this is fun."

"........."

"........."

The strongest swordsman carrying a rusted iron blade, the runner-up Hero resting a greatsword on his shoulder, and me, wearing a Hannya mask, pointing one of my dual-wielded blades at each of my enemies.

"You're not coming?"

""Divine Punishment!!""

Hmph, as expected of Our Hero. Raid Boss-san's playstyle is pretty much entirely his own, so it doesn't really serve as a good reference. If you're looking for the player who possesses the most quintessential Bakumatsu playstyle... there is no one else besides this guy: Bakumatsu Overall Rank 2, Shinsengumi Rank 1, "Tousen."

Fighting Raid Boss-san solo is reckless? That's glaringly obvious. This guy is probably planning to raise his own ranking by making Raid Boss-san the absolute Rank 1 anyway. Meaning...

I want to deal with him somehow, and he wants to deal with me so he can secure a higher spot on the rankings. In other words, execute the other guy before Raid Boss-san delivers Divine Punishment to you!! This is the Method (Style) of Bakumatsu...!!

"It's cooking time, you sitting ducks!!"

"Shut up, underling! It's purge time, oraah!!"

Even so, Number Two isn't just for show. Top-tier PvP players don't just leave openings lying around; their footwork covers their weaknesses, and if there is an opening, there's a fifty percent chance it's a trap designed to lure you in.
I step to the side to dodge his overhead strike following a deep lunge, and swing my right sword aiming for his throat, but the attack is evaded in the exact same manner.

Tch, because we both want to settle this quickly, our movements have become monotonous. I should have cut his legs to stop his movement before going for the kill.
And then, Raid Boss-san—who had been left out despite standing right in front of us—makes his move.

"I'm lonely."

"Uooh!?"

His target is the Hero. With his composed expression blown completely away, the Hero barely dodges a thrust aimed precisely at his eyes by a paper-thin margin, but a single streak of damage effect runs across his cheek from the movement of the sword being pulled back.
With his face still twitching, the Hero backsteps, but the twitching on his face intensifies even further upon seeing the revolver gripped in Raid Boss-san's left hand.

"Just kidding."

"Flick...!?"

One shot, two shots. Bullets fired with a movement heavily utilizing the snap of the wrist fly toward the Hero and... ah, I'm in range too, yep.

""Uoooooooohh!?""

Why is he able to accurately aim right between the eyes with such high-speed movements, that's terrifying!!

"Bang, bang."

"...!"

"...!!"

I take back what I said. We are Soul Brothers. Let's take down Raid Boss-san—who has apparently progressed to his Second Form wielding dual handguns—together, brother!!

Author's Afterword
Katzo has a bottom-type face aimed at women.
Yura-kun has a bottom-type face aimed at men.

Tousen-san possesses top-tier player skills as a Bakumatsu player, but more than that, he possesses an Orichalcum Heart that never breaks no matter how relentlessly Raid Boss-san beats him to a pulp. Because of this, his affection rating is quite high not just among other players, but from Raid Boss-san as well.

But he'll still deliver Divine Punishment, because it's Bakumatsu.