Chapter 855: December 19th: Resolute Mech, Calamity Bullets
The boosters of RS:◇ "Sengaku Hisai" let out a roar, generating propulsive force.
The offensive armor covering its entire body isn't meant to completely absorb enemy attacks with pure defensive power, but rather to parry them on the absolute borderline of not hindering its own movements while assuming a certain degree of damage; it's self-defense meant for the sake of offense.
Taking a bullet aimed precisely at its face using the lowered forehead armor of its forward-leaning posture, it instantly closes the distance. The brain-rattling sensation raises the fear of a Stun status ailment, but for this particular Tactical Mech, stagnation means the complete denial of its very concept.
『.........!』
『Whoa, close!』
Closing the gap from mid-range to close-range in a single instant, it throws a full-power punch carrying all that momentum. As long as the mech itself doesn't suffer fatal damage, as long as the wearer isn't rendered combat-ineffective, it's fine. Push the offense to the limit and beat them down. She has no intention of revealing it to the person in question, but the powerful arm of Sengaku Hisai, modeled after the equipment and battle style of a certain player... does not, however, hit.
Coincidentally, it's being evaded at the very last second by the mobility of the enemy's Tactical Mech, which shares a similar concept with Sengaku Hisai: "moving at high speeds over short distances."
『Phew~, scaaary!』
(Look who's talking,)
Figuring she shouldn't show too much ill-mannered behavior, Rust curses only in her mind while throwing in side-to-side steps to evade the bullets fired with surging momentum.
The bullets don't just aim for the head; sometimes they target joints like the elbows and knees, or intentionally fire two shots into a thick part of the armor before a slightly off-beat bullet accurately snipes a vital spot.
The sight of a short, chubby steel cowboy executing evasive maneuvers at blistering speeds feels somewhat comical, but the aim of the bullets fired from the guns readied in both hands is disgustingly sincere about winning.
(Troublesome. Twice as much as I expected... no, even more than that.)
Rust prides herself on being the single most knowledgeable player regarding Tactical Mechs at present. Therefore, she understands that the enemy's Tactical Mech isn't really anything special.
It's not that its performance is extremely inferior, but rather that it was customized using a combination of off-the-shelf parts instead of being something designed by the player themselves.
The boosters on its various parts are the type that output massive power in short bursts; you can tell just by looking at their shape. That means it specializes in instantaneous evasion and is consequently poor at covering long distances. The reason he arrived late to the other members of the GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps despite having a Tactical Mech equipped is likely due to that lack of endurance.
The armaments are live-ammo Tactical Mech revolvers, revolving handguns that require physical loading in a way that regresses from the sci-fi world setting. Their firepower is impeccable for anti-Tactical Mech combat, but they cannot fire unless the trigger is pulled for every single shot.
Summarizing all that information together, the enemy mech excels at close-to-mid-range combat; a gunman style true to its appearance, maintaining mid-range to escape melee attacks while hammering in the violence of range.
Its compatibility with Sengaku Hisai is not good. No, from the opponent's perspective, it would mean it's a highly compatible matchup. This scarlet fist isn't equipped with any mid-range or further armaments, which means that the moment distance is opened up, its greatest offensive method is completely sealed off.
But even so, Rust thought, "Well, I can probably win."
Fully exhibiting one's best performance is rare. If the concept of a "high-roll" exists, then naturally the concept of a "low-roll" exists too. And Rust has utterly beaten down every single opponent who challenged her hoping for, or actively aiming for, her to low-roll. She doesn't fight the kind of battles that stop just because of a slight matchup disadvantage.
But once the lid was opened, when it came to the enemy right in front of her, it was so bad that even Rust had no choice but to call it "extremely troublesome." To the point that she was seriously considering swapping out of Sengaku Hisai into a different Tactical Mech right this second.
(His aim is terrifyingly precise, the barrage never breaks, and above all, his positioning is irritatingly good.)
Constantly moving, yet never getting too far away from Rust. No matter how much she tries to catch him off guard, he uses movement techniques to ensure he also moves and maintains the exact distance... And whether he's moving or standing still, whether a fist is closing in right before his eyes or not, the finger pulling the trigger doesn't flinch, doesn't freeze, and above all, moves with absolute lightness.
It's not rare for a discrepancy to occur between the impression gained from watching a video and the impression of actually facing someone, but against this enemy... against the player known as Eclair, Rust felt that gap intensely. Even casual movements that might otherwise seem inefficient felt like a checkmate against her life.........
And the most troublesome thing of all was the enemy's Tactical Mech, specifically those thin manipulators moving like insect legs around its wrists.
(That's the Auto-Reload Sub-Manipulator. A part that automatically loads handgun-sized firearms.........)
On top of that, it's an extremely inefficient part where those bug-leg manipulators frantically and physically load in bullets one by one. Furthermore, it's insanely expensive.
Even Rust, who basically evaluates any robot part by first thinking of a way to utilize it, couldn't come up with any impression beyond "the way the manipulator moves to load the bullets is admirable and cute"......... To put it mildly, it was a meme part.
After all, rather than waiting the time it takes for a manipulator to load bullets one by one, you could just pull out another fully loaded gun of the same model and be done with it. Assuming you had a six-shot revolver, if you compared the time it takes for that manipulator to reload against the time it takes to pull a different gun from your Inventory, in most cases, you would evaluate the latter as superior. On top of that, as a Tactical Mech part... meaning a physically existing object... if it gets destroyed, its function is naturally lost.
Fragile, slow, and a mass of inefficiency. But... just one. There was exactly one advantage that even Rust hadn't noticed.
『Relooooad!』
Proudly declaring that he's out of ammo, Eclair reloads the gun in his left hand. Naturally, unwilling to let that opening slip by, Rust closes the distance in a flash, slamming in an iron fist, the greatest armament of Sengaku Hisai.
But, it gets dodged. The fact that she was made to whiff while piloting a robot (strictly speaking, a powered suit) inflicts a scratch on Rust's pride that she can't ignore. This, if nothing else, was just far too terrible of a matchup.
Still, it seems even Eclair has to focus his attention on Rust's rapid assault; at the very least, when Rust switches to the offensive, his attacks amount to nothing more than suppressive fire.
It's not like everyone can operate their Inventory while bouncing around mid-air like a certain someone......... However.
『Is your turn over yet~? Then it's my turn next~!』
Clack! The fully reloaded gun is thrust right at Rust.
Eclair didn't reload the bullets himself, didn't direct his gaze at it, and didn't even need to focus on it. Because all the bullet loading was handled by that unreliable-looking slender arm.
(His "focus" doesn't waver...!)
Rust had concluded that pulling a different gun from the Inventory was faster and better because it reduced wasted time in the combat situation. Hence, she assumed the slow, inefficient Sub-Manipulators wouldn't be prioritized.
But that was because Rust herself had subconsciously... or rather, because she was defending against the GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps invading Thirdrema with just the two of them... no, practically taking on multiple enemies by herself. She was building and evaluating Tactical Mechs strictly based on the premise of one-versus-many.
But Eclair is different.
The very premise is different.
While the GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps assumed they would be fighting a "large number" of Former King Faction players in Thirdrema, Eclair alone had been preparing based on the concept of "If there are a hundred people, I'll just repeat a 1v1 duel a hundred times."
Of course, there's no guarantee the opponents would dutifully respect a 1v1. Rather, it was entirely possible they would gleefully attempt to jump him.
『This kinda robot stuff isn't bad either~! ShanFro's system is the beeeest!!』
He was fully aware of all of that.
No matter how many come, no matter how many surround him, he will carefully and swiftly take them out in 1v1 duels one by one. Electric Shock Confectionery No. 3 @ GGMC is a Tactical Mech customized specifically to anticipate and execute exactly that.
Therefore, unlike Rust, who aims to "minimize the wasted time that occurs during combat as much as possible," he prioritizes "not generating any wasted movements during combat, no matter how inefficient the mechanism itself is."
When fighting against multiple opponents alone, even if it creates the demerit of momentarily shifting your focus away from the fight right in front of you, you need to rapidly replenish your attack resources.
But in a 1v1, rather than shifting focus to your left arm, it is better to be unable to use that left arm if it means you can fully concentrate on evading and attacking with your right arm against the strong enemy right in front of you.
It is precisely because of the difference in design philosophy, the fact that Rust coincidentally agreed to the 1v1 format, and above all, the fact that Rust chose a Tactical Mech specialized for close-quarters combat.
『Sorry 'bout that~... from here on out, it's my turn for a while.』
The advantage lies with the enemy.
Author's Afterword
・Auto-Reload Sub-Manipulator
A sub-arm that automatically handles reloading for one-handed firearms, specifically those with magazine or cylinder-loading systems, though it does so in an incredibly physical manner. The reason it's so absurdly expensive is because it's equipped with its own independent Inventory function (the sub-arm takes out bullets from the mini-storage space installed inside the Sub-Manipulator and reloads them).
Although it's inefficient, it starts reloading just by the player thinking about it, and you can cancel it even if it hasn't fully loaded all the bullets, making it both inconvenient yet convenient.
To put it in perspective: Rust is fine with being unable to attack for two seconds as long as she can finish reloading in two seconds, whereas Eclair is fine with reloading taking five seconds as long as he can keep up a relentless attack with the other gun while one is being reloaded.
As for which is superior, it truly "depends on the situation," and in the current situation, Eclair has the advantage.
Translator's Notes
- [1] Title: Pun on the 4 character idiom 豪気果断 (Gōki Kadan) meaning to have a daring, courageous spirit and show swift, resolute decisiveness when taking action.
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