Chapter 849: December 19th: The Highlights Never End
In this day and age, the athletic lifespan of E-Sports athletes and pro gamers is surprisingly long. Unlike the pro gamers of the previous era who stared at a display and controlled characters with the movements of their fingertips, in the modern era where commands from the brain via Full-Dive link directly to character control quality, the average career lifespan is said to be around 40 to 60 years of age compared to real-world physical sports.
Especially in the pro leagues for real-time strategy games, there are even pro gamers as old as 72.
However, that doesn't mean one can remain active that long across every single game category's pro league. The Full-Dive fighting game world, in particular, experiences rapid generational turnovers.
Of course, if one continues to play fighting games, they can remain active for life. And if someone possesses an isolated, transcendent level of skill, they could probably brush off aging and remain the strongest pro gamer.
───It's just that Kaisaki Hayate was not one of those people. That is all there is to it.
Mid-tier. That is the position Kaisaki Hayate holds in his pro gamer life, acknowledged by both himself and others.
He isn't weak; at the very least, no one doubts his abilities. But if he looks upwards, there is no end to the ceiling...... that is the kind of place he is in.
In particular, Uomi Kei, renowned as the current strongest in Japan, is a theoretical gamer just like Kaisaki, yet due to his abnormally high adaptability, he is practically called a superior upgrade.
But that part is fine. It's not as if he has never beaten Uomi, and if he doesn't settle for being mid-tier and continues to aim higher, he can obtain the opportunity to challenge him.
However, that was only talking about within Japan. Expanding his perspective further, to the summit of the world that even the strongest fighting gamer in Japan has to look up to. The distance to Sylvia Goldberg, the Best in the US and the de facto strongest fighting gamer in the world, is...... simply too far for Kaisaki.
It wasn't just Sylvia Goldberg. Amelia Sullivan, Alex Taylor, Leonora Roger, Kwon Si-woo...... fighting in a world where even players acclaimed as the "top of the top" in Japan, or even players acclaimed as the "top of the top" globally, could suffer crushing defeats was a field where Kaisaki's abilities were simply too lacking.
He knows better than anyone why that is, why he couldn't challenge them. That was exactly why—no, even so, it was frustrating beyond belief that he couldn't even get the chance to try.
Therefore, he is here; therefore, he had her come here.
However───
◇
(She's too fast......!?)
By the time he realized she hadn't been holding back, but rather enduring, waiting, and biding her time until the character Argent Owl could unleash her peak performance, it was already too late.
Kaisoku let out a scream in his heart at the high-speed combat that existed on an entirely different dimension from before. Only breath escaped his mouth because he didn't even have the time to voice it. Even if one might think, 'What is this, inside what is essentially a dream in a cyber world' — since that is exactly the reality, there is nothing else to do.
Kicks, punches, jumps, kicks...... feinting that to step into the void, catching him off guard, then a punch. And then, a full-body kick.
(It's not just pure speed; her reaction is way too fast! So this is the rush of the one standing at the apex......!)
Everyone tried to come up with countermeasures against Sylvia Goldberg, yet none could pull it off...... or rather, even if they did, they couldn't win and suffered defeat. This was the reason why. It was an overwhelmingly fierce, ever-changing, and surging offensive. Her movements themselves weren't blindingly fast, nor were they impossible to track with the eyes. However, the gaps between her actions were extremely short. It was a combo that flowed like a dance, as if she had already decided from the very start exactly what to do first and what to do next.
If a top-tier player could throw ten punches in ten seconds, it was as if Sylvia Goldberg could weave in five kicks and five punches completely randomly within those same ten seconds.
It was an offensive that seemed to follow a predetermined script, yet was completely improvised from start to finish. Once caught in this, it was the end; even when Amelia Sullivan, the US No. 2, seriously solidified her defense, she would still be whittled down to zero. The only way to counter this was to slam the exact same amount of improvisation back at her, just like "That Baleful Star" or Uomi Kei did.
(But...... I came prepared with countermeasures!)
"Ku, ooooh......! 【Shock Parrying】!!"
"!?"
Consuming his rapidly dwindling, precious MP, a soap-bubble-like sphere of air materialized at Kaisoku's chest. It explosively expanded while distorting the air as if seen through a blurred lens, forcefully blowing both Argent Owl and Kaisoku away.
Though both lost their balance due to the magic that forcefully created distance while putting them in a flinching state, there was a difference in the mental preparation for the impact between the one who activated it with resolve and the one who received it as a surprise attack. Kaisoku, recovering instantly, clad his twin swords in skills while locking his gaze onto the still-staggering Argent Owl.
"Right here!!"
The skill "Continuous Flashing Dance," a dual-wielding skill that tripled the hit detection itself. Kaisoku's weapons, armor, accessories, and skills—everything was specialized purely to shave down the enemy's HP with this skill. While it wouldn't be a guaranteed kill against a monster, against a player...... and against Argent Owl, who he believed was surely not wearing heavy armor.
"I'm settling this! 【Surging Lightning Melody】!!"
A weak lightning strike with a discarded chant. However, its activation speed was more than fast enough to hinder the staggering Argent Owl from recovering. That single instant was truly worth a thousand pieces of gold.
Using the skill "Outburst Accel" to gain acceleration at the cost of recoil damage to himself, Kaisoku instantly closed the distance and swung his twin swords through. That was every possible action Kaisoku could take with his remaining stamina. However, the skill increased the hit count from 2 to 6, and by unleashing them simultaneously, the weapon's effect added a damage modifier, which was then further amplified by his accessories' effects.
"Ah............"
Regardless of how much one polishes their player skills, the attack was drawn in as if sucked into Argent Owl — still unable to escape the system-enforced hit-stun — landing perfectly………… and undeniably shaving her HP completely to 0.
"I did............"
He did it. He accomplished it.
Reaching out for an unfulfillable wish, in this single moment he had dreamed of despite his age, he had grasped victory.
However, what filled Kaisoku's heart more than joy was......... disappointment, doubt, and......... expectation.
Could Sylvia Goldberg really lose to someone like him? There was no way she should lose to someone of his level, or rather...... if it was Sylvia Goldberg.
But reality undeniably displayed the death of Argent Owl. Thus, this wasn't a calculated thought. To say it again, it was an unconscious muttering filled with disappointment, doubt, and above all, expectation.
"............Did I get her?"
"That definitely worked just now, without a doubt."
The profession "The Great Saint" is intimately tied to a Unique Scenario. That means it is content built around a narrative, and its performance is heavily influenced by the contents of that Unique Scenario.
One who has pilgrimaged to every city with their own feet and a reverence for life. A miracle only occurs for the one who has completed the final pilgrimage and exhausted all their power. A miracle is heaven's decree, something that perhaps rains down only after exhausting all within human power. It is not something that can be controlled by one's own will.
Therefore, it is a "miracle" that symbolizes The Great Saint, an auto-activation that cannot be regulated by one's own will.
"Resurrection......?"
Her HP undeniably reached zero. But Argent Owl's body did not shatter into pieces...... No, strictly speaking, her body, which should have shattered, returned to the shape of Argent Owl once more amidst a majestic light.
"The Great Saint has an auto-activating self-resurrection magic that triggers exactly once when HP reaches 0...... That is 【Holy Birth of the Martyred God】. It's basically testament's resurrection, so to speak."
"Hahaha............... I was so sure you'd only ever use Metius."
Whether she noticed the slight resentment embedded in his words regarding a performance that even included resurrection, Sylvia's reply was incredibly simple.
"Because 'I' am not Metius, I'm Argent Owl. If you wanted to fight that version of me...... then the place is different, right?"
Even setting aside the fact that it is an auto-activating, self-targeting resurrection spell, 【Holy Birth of the Martyred God】 is an incredibly peculiar resurrection magic.
The reason is that the moment this magic activates, the remaining MP at that time vanishes along with the entire MP gauge, and the maximum HP limit is increased by the exact amount of that remaining MP. This means that the moment this resurrection magic triggers, the MP gauge itself will not recover and absolutely no magic can be used until one full day has passed since the end of combat.
"15 seconds left. Can you still dance?"
".....................Unfortunately, thanks to someone, I don't have any stamina."
"I'm sorry about that. Then, it's all my time now."
Fundamentally, The Great Saint is a branch of the Clergy class, meaning it is a job that fights using magic that consumes MP. However, a Great Saint who uses 【Holy Birth of the Martyred God】 loses their MP gauge entirely. Yet, there is a final trump card that only truly shines under exactly that condition.
"......'Sacred Ambitious'!!"
To Kaisoku's eyes, it almost looked as if a white hellfire had completely incinerated Argent Owl. But that was wrong; it wasn't fuel tossed into a fire. She herself was the heat source...... brightly generating that intense heat.
"Now, this is lethal!"
The third and final trump card of The Great Saint, which explosively enhances all stats while continuously draining her own HP. The MP she originally possessed as a recovery magic class was added to her HP, and Argent Owl's HP, which inherited that role, converted the flames into power even as it burned.
Kaisoku no longer had any means to resist, but even before that, the words Argent Owl had spoken had already brought upon him an overwhelming sense of defeat.
──────Because 'I' am not Metius, I'm Argent Owl. If you wanted to fight that version of me...... then the place is different, right?
(Ah, exactly.....................)
Even if you beat a boxing genius at sumo wrestling, what does that really prove? Even if he dueled Sylvia Goldberg in Shangri-La Frontier............ it was hard to call that a duel against the fighting gamer he had continually looked up to and admired.
Kaisoku challenged her with the intention of winning against Argent Owl, in Shangri-La Frontier.
If he wanted a match in a private setting rather than an official one, he should have just challenged her to a private match in GH:C. The reason he didn't do that wasn't because his pride wouldn't allow him to cheat and challenge someone he normally couldn't reach......... but wasn't it because, somewhere in his heart, he thought, "I can't win in GH:C anyway"?
(That's, in short......... a compromise, isn't it.)
His MP was completely shaved away, and his stamina gauge continued to shrink. In this desperate situation, his HP was surprisingly high. But what The Saint's fists shatter is not life.
『Special State: Subjugation』
It's fighting spirit.
"Good Game!!"
The loser, with both the will to fight and the power to do so completely shattered, collapsed face-down on the ground, while the winner stood cloaked in white flames.
Author's Afterword
・"Sacred Ambitious"
The dedicated skill and third trump card of The Great Saint. It increases all of the user's status parameters while consuming 5% of their base maximum HP per second (basically, the HP limit before any additions).
It is a dedicated skill that can be used regardless of whether 【Holy Birth of the Martyred God】 is active or not, but it shows its true worth when combined with the demerit effect of both 【Pilgrim's Progress of the Saint】 and 【Holy Birth of the Martyred God】: "At the time of activation, the MP gauge disappears, and the remaining MP is added to the HP and maximum HP limit."
In short, it forces an ultra-short decisive battle via: Extension of enhancement buffs + Damage substitution + Pseudo-HP recovery & Pseudo-HP increase + Status buffs. It's honestly harder to find a player who wouldn't be subjugated by taking this fully stacked, ultra-short decisive rush head-on.
As for countermeasures, you either have to run away and avoid attacks until the respective effect durations run out, or completely block it with physical or magical defenses. Well, the problem this time is that the person pulling this off is the absolute apex existence in PvP, so there's not much you can do.
By the way, if she fails to finish the target off with this, she just becomes "a somewhat sturdy person who can't use several skills or magic for over 15 minutes, has item-based HP recovery halved (the demerit of Sacred Ambition), and can't use magic anyway because she has no MP gauge."
Volume 8 of the Shangri-La Frontier manga is now on sale to great acclaim!
Comments
Post a Comment