Chapter 542: An Orchestra For You, Part 22
Author's Preface
Second anniversary? Readers, what year of the Heisei era is it right now?
The first year of Reiwa?
AAAAAAAH the era name! The era name has changed!!!
Anyway, it's been two years, two years. They say dust piled up makes a mountain, but when a lore-freak piles things up, it turns into a little over 500 chapters...
Please continue to support my humble work.
"Hey junkbox, I won't tell you to behave with intelligence at a time like this, but at least explain things with intelligence."
"Intelligence..."
"Right, intelligence. You get it? Intelligence doesn't mumble, intelligence doesn't withhold information, intelligence cures cancer."
(*I mean, intelligence advanced medicine so there are more ways to deal with cancer compared to the old days, so I'm not wrong.*)
"...Purpose of existence, a desire for validation that cannot be satisfied by self-consciousness alone, Orchestra's arbitration is, as expected..."
"Yeah, completely ambiguous!!"
(*But I can see something. Or rather, her words alone are like 60% blurred out, but I feel like I caught a glimpse.*)
"Even amidst this vague understanding, there is exactly one thing I can say."
"And that is..."
(*Q. How do you respond to someone acting all cryptic and angsty while feigning knowledge to give an answer that raises their affection rating?*)
"The answer you seek isn't here."
"...!"
(*A. Say something equally cryptic back. There's an elegance that can only be appreciated precisely because it's obscured by frosted glass. Otherwise, censored AV wouldn't sell, right!?*)
"Shut up! Deep Slaughter Meme!!"
(*Curse you, Deep Slaughter, to think you'd still spout dirty jokes even after being reduced to a meme... Begone, evil spirit! Begone!!*)
"...Tch, out already? Listen up, Saina... 'Agony is like the darkness, but there is no long night that lasts forever'!!"
"What on earth, does that mean..."
"It's the words of a certain man who pushed the back of a frustrated, brooding hero before disappearing under rubble and debris. It's a long story!!"
(*It's from a totally different game anyway! And a gorilla throwing side-glances at the end of the dawn is still a nightmare even if you wake up!! Die, you bastard!!*)
"Critical Raise!!"
That was the name of the skill I used, and simultaneously the name of the skill "I" used.
Our blades clash with mutual lack of feedback, and with every strike, the light wrapping our swords grows ever brighter.
"Sixteen times!!"
Mirror-image wagers continually stacking on top of each other. If neither of us is going to fold, the only option left is a head-on clash using the power of our hands.
Isana Togetsu vanishes from my hands, and a similarly shaped twin-blade vanishes from "my" hands as well. Alright, loser goes home, rock-paper-scissors—
"What!?"
I totally thought we'd go with the same weapon type, but while I equipped the Cestus of the Crimson Lotus Sea, the weapon on the other side is a massive greatsword... What the? Fine, let's do this Bakumatsu style!
"Applied Technique 'Sabimitsu Killer'!!"
An anti-Raid Boss technique, though the success rate is 50% even at the master level!!
By slamming my arm forward to seemingly parry, yet deliberately allowing the greatsword's blade to connect, I intentionally skew the critical hit. Perhaps the opposing AI was wary of an unarmed attack and showed signs of guarding... Well would you look at that, I managed to win out in the meta clash too.
"Haste make waste, right!!"
I'm not aiming for you, I'm aiming for your weapon!!
Whatever techniques I can use, my copy can use as well. Rather than racking up damage against the main body—where the possibility of it being nullified, just like I did, cannot be ignored—it's better to force a flinch to set up my next move, even if it means throwing away Critical Raise, which only applies to swords.
"Clench your teeth, you lotus-trypophobia bastard!"
Divine Arm of a Hundred Excellences activated. I punch the flat of the greatsword to knock it away, and step further in.
(*If I'm trying to meta "myself", and I meta myself, that means I'm meta-ing "myself"!! Just what am I... Ugh, stay strong! I'm the playable one, so I'm the real me!! I am... wait, is this an infinite loop!?*)
"20% Completion!!"
Mimicry boxing! I only caught a glimpse of it on a video site so I don't remember the name, but it's a boxer from before I was even born!
But thanks to the video title, I know his nickname. That boxer, known for his unique circular steps and ferocious rushes, was likened to a "Hurricane."
I can't perfectly imitate the role, but I can copy the partial movements. For that, the hard, strong, but bulky Brilliant Scorpion Gauntlets won't cut it. I don't have boxing gloves, so bear with this primitive rule-set using Cestuses!!
"!!"
Skill activated. Moving exactly as I saw in the video, I rapidly land a barrage of left jabs.
But it's a Trace AI. Whatever I can do, it can do too, which means it's safe to assume it's reading my moves. However, unlike Critical Raise, this skill is on a time limit. A tactic that refuses to let the opponent create distance is... wait a second.
(*Why is it trying to smack its left chest with its right fist right now? No, I get it, I know what it's trying to do. But, you...*)
(*Trying to pull off that single action at this range is an absolute disadvantage.*)
"Blow away."
Dual High Connection Advent Fist Pressure. Power and secondary effects accumulate in the right fist equal to the number of criticals landed by the left fist.
Number of hits: eleven. Once this skill passes a ten-hit combo, it generates a powerful air current capable of effortlessly blowing away a human-sized object. It's sideways, but can I call it a downburst?
The wind swirls with my fist as the epicenter, and the instant I feel a chill breeze brush my cheek, an explosive wind pressure erupts in front of my fist. Despite making a bad move, it's still a Superior Upgrade; it managed to pull off a split-second guard in time, though it seems even that couldn't entirely withstand the wind pressure.
I'm not senile enough to lose sight of "myself" violently reeling back and being blown away. It's going terrifyingly smooth, but I can think about the reasons later!!
"A once-in-a-lifetime chance, the first clear is mine!!"
I fire the Leviathan-made large-caliber "Aguacate", the soaring bullets swarming toward "me" still dancing mid-air. But this time, "I"—having finally completed the required motion for Excessive Transmission—kick off the empty air and bound away.
"I'm perfectly aware of that!!"
If I reorganized my skills, the exact same change happened on the other side. I'm not the only one who gained tighter maneuvering by dismantling Critical Speed and swapping it for cheaper alternatives... "I" am exactly the same.
"Did you forget? I've already surmounted the wall of RNG...!"
The effect of Divine Arm of a Hundred Excellences. When an attack via this skill lands, a buff is randomly applied to one stat. And the buffed stat I rolled was... AGI!!
(*Nice, an unexpected advantage. I can investigate the cause later; rev the engine, turn all this adrenaline into nitro and slam it in!!*)
Lightning-clad state combined with Parabellum Routine, Flare Tempest, Dual High Connection Stairway to Heaven, Dual High Connection Until the Journey Ends continuously activated! Meta tactics? Fufufuhahaha, stats are everything! Relying on cheap tricks won't matter when... my AGI is higher! That means I'm faster! And stronger!!
And as a final nail in the coffin, Triple High Connection Exploding Core Torrent! I'm ending this right here, right now!!
"You better not be pulling some cheap crap like just jacking up your HP!!"
If I'm made of paper armor, then that guy is made of paper armor too. If I'm easy to kill, that means he's shouldering the exact same handicap!!
In this moment, the tables have turned... I can do this! I can win this!!
For the current me, having activated almost my entire maneuverability-focused skill build, whether I'm standing on a wall or the ceiling right now... is nothing but a trivial detail.
With the empty void as our foothold and the entirety of space turned into our path, I and "I" wildly exchange gunfire. Neither of us lands a lucky shot, and while bouncing around to avoid being locked on, the distance between us gradually closes.
(*I know, I know... two more moves, two more moves and we'll enter each other's melee range. I step to the right, he backsteps... and then, we both lunge forward!!*)
"Right here!!!"
(*Roar, my left hand! If I screw up the UI operation here, I'll be cursed for generations!!*)
Author's Afterword
They fret because they aren't there.
They refuse to acknowledge it because they cannot accept it.
And they waver, precisely because they are different.
The answer sheet remains completely blank...
I might do something else in the activity report later.
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