Chapter 871: December 20th: The Truth Brought to Light
Author's Preface
The deadline... the deadline... GP is... the deadline is... (Having nightmares)
I am truly sorry for making you wait.
In Shangri-La Frontier, you cannot learn an infinite number of skills and magic. Or rather, if every individual player in an MMO could just do whatever they wanted without any limits, either the server or the player's VR system... one of them would definitely crash. Actually, wouldn't the player just have too much to handle?
"I knew you were a pure physical player just by looking at you... the rest was your skill composition, that was the only thing being debated."
"Being debated...?"
Where was this happening? Isn't that basically being picked apart for everyone to see............ Ah, but wait, I was the one who publicly broadcasted my fights. So stepping up on stage and exposing myself was of my own free will. Hahaha, won't someone invent a time machine by tomorrow?
"I've watched several of your matches, and I saw the stream too, but..."
Please erase those memories.
"It seemed like you were running your mobility skills at full throttle for footwork, but you barely used any buffs for your weapons. Even when you did use them, both the number of overlapping buffs and the frequency were low... This means your skills are specialized for mobility!"
"I wonder about that. You know how they say — three days and a man can change, or something like that?"
"No, you're a maid girl right now..."
Fair enough. Even so, no matter what I say, mere words won't be able to break down their "hypothesis".
Affirming it is out of the question, but trying to deny it is exactly that—mere words. In the end, I have no choice but to give a vague answer. The optimal solution would be to use skills with the Centipede Type 8-0.5......... but the problem is, I haven't learned any halberd-type skills, and the only generic skills I have are "grand techniques".
"Well, whatever. So? What are you going to do now that you know that?"
"Give advice to the next generation, and confirm my own course of action!"
Unbelievable, this guy!
After loudly spoiling everything and scattering hints to the surroundings, they tear up the ground just like their opening move, spraying sand and gravel toward me.
But since there's a decent amount of distance and I've already been hit by it once, I obviously know what's coming. And honestly, bring it on. I'm going to do something a bit reckless, you'd better brace yourself.
"Alright!"
"What!"
For their opening move, I chose to evade, thinking it would be bad to get hit, but come to think of it, I'm wearing armor right now!
It's just sand meant for checking my movements. It'd be a bit sketchy if I were unequipped, but right now I'm clad in "Eternity". If Japanese paper hardened to the point of being cardboard, I should be able to tank it and charge right through!
Because I chose to evade the first time, it seems they didn't expect me to charge straight in while catching the gravel head-on. My HP... went down by about a quarter? Margin of error!
"Do you know how to get a kill with the corner of a block of tofu?"
"Huh? Tofu!?"
You just slam it at the speed of sound! That's what acceleration skills are for! And right now, since I'm covered in batter, I'm Agedashi Tofu! I'll smash your head to pieces, sauce and all!!
Blasting straight through the barrage of gravel and closing in on Akasha, I swung the Centipede Type 8-0.5 with all my momentum.
If you play action games, anti-chainsaw tactics are something you naturally acquire. Whether it's just regular enemies wielding chainsaws, bosses with chainsaws integrated into them, or a game that gets hit with a ban prior to release because it heavily advertised "Ultra-Splatter! Shred your opponents with a chainsaw!" and had to be delayed, eventually forcing it to be implemented as a "Fluffy Kitty Tail" (with the internal behavior of a chainsaw unchanged).
The Fluffy Kitty Tail was insane... The hits felt like a soft "poof," but your HP would just get ground away. It was a demonic weapon...
"Anti-chainsaw principle! Don't touch it! Don't keep touching it!"
To begin with, even if it's small, a chainsaw has an engine built-in to move its blades. Unless you're cutting down a tree, it is fundamentally unsuited for swinging around against human opponents.
The number one priority is to maneuver so you don't touch it, so you don't get hit.
Akasha somehow manages to block my strike with their arm, grimacing but still launching a counterattack... But fundamentally, a chainsaw, especially a two-handed type, isn't something you can easily swing around with one hand.
Even if it was a split-second reaction, by using their arm to guard, they're delayed by two tempos before they can shift back to offense. That means I can consistently keep the initiative!!
First of all, my weapon has longer reach; the advantage is always mine, and I'm holding the initiative!
"Researched me? Countered me? Sorry, but I already finished my version upgrade before coming here. Let's see how far your tactics will get you!"
Anti-chainsaw tactic number two! Minimize contact time!!
Whether it's locking blades or taking a direct hit, the reason you take multi-hit damage is because you're in contact with the chainsaw blade for too long. So, just like how a hard object gets repelled when hit with a bat... let the clash only last an instant, and don't resist the repelling force!
My top speed is slower right now, but their response is quite impressive; they immediately recover their stance and swing the chainsaw to match my high-speed movement. There's a skill effect on Akasha's main body, not the chainsaw—are they using thought acceleration too, or is it an auto-reaction? If that's the case, I should open my window a bit...
"Doryaaah!"
Even if the exterior is female, the fact that the Chalice's reversed appearance lines up with his voice confirms the player inside is male. Hence, the chainsaw closes in with a somewhat deep, intimidating shout. Since I've done what I needed to do, I prepare to intercept.
Gyagi! Both of our fully-swung weapons—the chainsaw and the Centipede Type 8-0.5—clash and forcefully repel each other... No, I'm the only one who got repelled. Because my attack was a pure "strike" with no intention of pushing through, the moment it hit Akasha's chainsaw, which was likely fully prepared to enter a pushing match from the clash, the repelled Centipede Type 8-0.5 swung back in the opposite direction......... However, that sluggish movement suddenly accelerated.
"What!?"
It's a little bit of fan service. On the contrary, observing "how a player deals with this" seems like it'll be more educational.
Vestige of the Raging Storm Emperor・Extreme. Among this type of amber accessories, Extreme is apparently supposed to be a better student than Calamity, but from my perspective, this one is just as much of an unmanageable wild horse.
Reacting to my step, this dangerous accessory imbues the player with tremendous spin, forcibly converting a single step forward into a massive rotation.
So here is the question. What happens if you forcefully apply this effect while holding a long weapon close to another person?
"...【Overload Mechanism】!"
To add to that, what if the thing being swung wasn't a club, but a bladed weapon?
The Exceed Charge of this weapon, Liberato, provides an extremely simple status enhancement, one other thing, and, as an added bonus, deploys a blade. In other words, "swinging around a dangerous bladed weapon while massively powered up."
Added to the momentum of our weapons clashing, being repelled, and moving away from each other, the acceleration from the spin forcefully drove the blade of the Centipede Type 8-0.5 in a wide arc, assaulting Akasha from the opposite direction.
"Guh...!"
Not bad. I thought that was a confirmed hit, but they barely managed to twist their neck and avoid a direct strike. However, I'm sorry to say......... this is a poison weapon.
The Centipede Type 8-0.5. The ability of its Exceed Charge maximizes the use of the Trainol Centipede's poison, which serves as its core material. The poison seeping in from the gripped hand is the Mad Muscle Poison the Trainol Centipede uses to force its muscle fibers to support its non-standard, massive body, while the poison seeping out from the blade is Artillery Poison filled with boundless hatred for a certain "spider."
"Ugh, disgusting."
No matter how shallow, since they were slashed by the blade, the Artillery Poison was applied. At its "efficacy," Akasha's expression clearly distorted......... but it looked less like pain and more like physiological revulsion.
That's because Artillery Poison isn't a DoT or a permanent debuff. To put it simply, it's the sensation of sprinting at full speed on an extremely hot and humid day for just a brief moment, where the heat sticks clammily beneath your skin, spreading a repulsive feeling throughout your entire body.
In other words, it feels like the antonym of a chill......... Yeah, it's honestly the worst. I know how it feels because I tested it on myself.
But in combat, that creates a fatal opening. The rotation applied by Idea=Gatleo Superior has a spin rate that could instantly destroy the user's semicircular canals if they don't use thought acceleration skills. Therefore, even if you survive the first rotation...
"This thing does an average of three spins per step, baby!!"
The second strike followed, and the concluding third strike was slammed into Akasha.
"Match decided!"
Whoops, my skirt flew up from spinning too much. Ohoho, please excuse me.
Operating the window mid-combat, I re-equipped the Cartridge Accessory I had detached, declaring my victory.
Author's Afterword
You could barely see anything above the knee under the skirt, what a shame. (Account from the stage-generating mage present at the scene).
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