Chapter 541: An Orchestra For You, Part 21
Author's Preface
It's so far away from what I actually want to write
The scorpion was bonus time, the spider was a slight struggle, and then the scorpion (Emperor Crystal) was bonus time all over again.
"A nostalgic face showed up... but this is turning into a huge pain in the ass...!!"
The poison swords impaled into the theater floor detonate. Poison-colored explosions encroach upon the theater, and even the slightest graze will start shaving away my HP in the blink of an eye.
Oh, nostalgic Goldunine of the former Tsuchinoko variety. I probably owe your sister a lot, and I'm currently taking care of her right now.
Dealing with her specifically is whatever. I have the actual Konsho and Meiki I used to defeat her the first time, so I just gather the Component Crystals and slash her with "Hayakaze", end of story.
That's why the "huge pain in the ass" I'm facing right now isn't my own problem, nor is it the reproduced Tsuchinoko-nine...
"Stop glitching and at least move! Saina!!!"
"Th- this unit is... Computing, scrutinizing, processing, suspending, resuming... Suspending, computing, computing... Re- rejecting..."
"Guh... What am I supposed to do when the junkbox turns into actual junk...!!"
Don't underestimate me, snake woman! I can blow you away with one hand tied behind my back!!
Triple High Connection Oath of a Thousand Swords activated,Dual High Connection Two Wheels of Wind and Fire activated, Limit Over Accel activated!
Granted flesh-resistance reduction, omnidirectional maneuverability, and enhanced mobility, my body slips through the twin poison swords and instantly closes in on Tsuchinoko-nine.
"I'll show you something interesting...!!"
Parabellum Routine activated. This skill sets a frequently performed action by the player as a "Routine," granting a buff effect upon completing said action.
And the routine the game presented to me was... "smacking your right thumb against your left chest." I mean, sure, I spam that motion constantly for my everyday travel method, but still!!
An unintended linkage of actions. Because the condition for Parabellum Routine and the activation trigger for Levin Trigger: Hazard are identical, both effects activate simultaneously, accelerating my body even further via excessive lightning.
"I'll put every last copper on the betting tray."
At a glance, this looks like a mediocre skill, but once you use it, it's the absolute most fun you can have. Let's go, Critical Raise!!
Clad in the Dragon King's remnants, the mixed pale-blue and golden blade of Meiki slashes through Tsuchinoko-nine... However, while the attack definitely cleaved her body, it didn't leave a single scratch. But that's due to the skill's effect: because a critical attack landed, that attack was "raised" as a betting chip.
"Do you like gambling!?"
The double gold carves a deep wound into Tsuchinoko-nine's body, along with the tactile feedback of a critical hit. Normally, that firepower would be multiplied by two and slammed home... or so it should have been.
But the second strike was also a whiff. Perhaps judging the attack that dealt 0 damage as a non-threat, or maybe intending to tank a few hits, Tsuchinoko-nine swung down her poison swords with a defenseless, purely offense-oriented posture.
"My bad, since I'm a Fool, I'm raising again."
The ability of the Arcanum "Fool" halves the recast times of skills and magic in exchange for bearing several demerits. And this is where ShanFro's game system skill-check does something nasty.
It seems that in this game, the timing for when a recast timer starts varies depending on the skill. For example, Fading Mirror triggers its recast timer the moment the illusion disappears, and most buff skills trigger it simultaneous with the end of their duration.
So then, this Critical Raise... when does its recast timer start?
The answer is: "The exact moment the first strike's attack is calculated as zero damage." The instant I realized this interaction, this skill's threat level shot up about five tiers in my mind.
"Another raise!!"
In short, this skill... allows you to take an attack that was doubled and raise it again with the exact same skill. Based on my testing against the scorpion and spider, it seems the success rate for criticals drops the more you stack raises, probably... but if you think that's enough of a countermeasure, you're dead wrong.
"Come on! Come on!! That makes thirty-two times the firepower!!"
Around fifty times, the critical success rate blatantly starts to plummet. Even attacks that would normally be guaranteed crits start missing... But Critical Raise's base recast time is 5 seconds! Halved by the effect of "Fool"... making it an infinite multiplier push every 2.5 seconds!!
"Are you prepared?! Even if you aren't, I'm swinging anyway!!"
Eye of True World Observation, Astral World Guideline activated!
Two worlds overlap over the world seen by the naked eye, projecting a triple-layered world into my vision.
Diving through the "waves" of attacks assaulting me from above and below, I trace a hesitation-free arc, resting the tip of Konsho on the line stretching toward Tsuchinoko-nine's flank and swinging through as if sliding along it.
"Cleeean... Hiiiiiit!!"
As easily as sliding a kitchen knife into tofu, the golden crystal blade passes right through Tsuchinoko-nine's flank, slamming an explosive, amplified burst of damage into her that, unlike before, absolutely cannot be ignored.
『───Gathering the brilliance, unleashing it, the wind』
"I know that without you telling me!!"
Konsho, Meiki... Combine!
Hefting Pale Sheen, which has transformed into a massive greatsword with a scabbard, I ignore Tsuchinoko-nine writhing in agony after being blown far back, and dash over to Saina, who is still glitching out.
"Hey, what's wrong Saina! Did your intelligence protocols grow mold or something!?"
"...Contractor."
"Can you fight or not?! I won't blame you either way, but at least make that clear!"
"This unit... the Conquista Dolls did not... assume active intervention in the Orchestra Protocol... Ah, but, this unit... the calculated hypotheses, even so..."
What the, what's happening? Do Conquista Dolls glitch out if you bring them into the Orchestra fight? But rather than receiving some kind of interference from Orchestra, this is...
『──Fear, anger, hatred, jealousy... Trample over them, carve open a path...!!』
"I know! Radiant Painted Pale Sheen!"
Shaking off the questions and sense of incongruity clinging terribly to my mind, I glare at Tsuchinoko-nine before me and ready Pale Sheen.
The recast is already finished... Two Wheels of Wind and Fire, Limit Over Accel activated.
The distance I stepped in with the aid of magic that day, I now close with my own raw strength alone.
As if I care whether the two-stage accelerated draw of Seiten Style "Hayakaze" and Pale Sheen's Unique Skill Eclipse Vorpal is the optimal move, I carve through the void in the shortest, fastest possible trajectory.
"That day, I merely sliced your neck... But today, did I sever it completely?"
"Ka...!?"
I overdid it a bit, but chalk it up to dramatic embellishment.
Now then... there's a little bit of time before "I" come out. Finish your preparations and steel your resolve in the meantime. I'm not the only one who's gotten a version update.
Author's Afterword
The key point is not that she "cannot" compute, but rather that she "doesn't want to" compute.
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