Chapter 872: December 20th: A Shining Trophy Head for the Dark Flag-Raising

Author's Preface

https://twitter.com/bosh_jp060/status/1646180863443611648?s=46&t=-E_CdixR4slMoXCQ6YVT_A

This is an extremely personal matter of my own, but I am in need of the crowd's collective wisdom, so it would be incredibly helpful if you could just answer the questionnaire however you like.

I updated just to write this preface. I look forward to our match.

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That was a troublesome opponent. A kusarigama user is one thing, but someone who is both unorthodox and skilled is extremely difficult to deal with. Even when acting as a first-encounter kill, an attack unleashed from a sword and one unleashed from a kusarigama... the latter is far harder to predict.

"Good grief..."

Alongside area-of-effect attacks, multi-hits are the type of attack ISunraku am worst at. Since I'm fully aware that my HP and VIT are lower than a normal person's, I could easily die from just a few hits.

"You were quite a strong opponent. Good game."

"Y-You've got some nerve saying that when you barely let me use any of my big moves..."

Listening to the collapsed Akasha's somewhat wry complaint, I consider what to do next.

It's not like I held back. It's simply that I landed three hits, and Akasha didn't die. Because although it is poison, it doesn't possess the Destruction attribute, so even if I cut their neck, as long as they have HP remaining, they'll survive.

I suppose I should be terrified of R.I.P. To think they could endure three buffed strikes (the first one to the neck) and hold on... Just how high-performance was the armor they used as the cost?

That being said, no matter what they do from this point on, I can land the finishing blow first... but setting that aside, I'm pondering what to do. Going 'Gehehe, you're still alive? Die!!' is a bit much... considering I'm streaming.

In that case, the ideal outcome would be for them to either commit suicide or surrender, but...

"Hmm............ Alright."

".........?"

What I take out from the Inventoria is a completely ordinary recovery potion. It's commercially available, but by the standards of most of this game, it's an item that guarantees health recovery whether you drink it, splash it on a damaged area, or bathe in it.

"I-Is this supposed to be pity...? Just stab me, finish me off..."

"Because it'd be annoying if you hit me with a surprise attack the moment I try to finish you off, I came up with a method where that doesn't matter."

Pop, I remove the cork from the potion bottle and begin to tilt it, just a tiny bit.

"About R.I.P... I use it too, so I know its performance veeery well, you see."

"What are you..."

Liquids always create a water surface parallel to the ground. But if it shifts by even 1 degree, despite surface tension and all that, "flow" occurs there. Even more so if it's a bottle with an exit like a spout.

Just as a single drop, a mere droplet, is about to fall from the bottle's spout, I convey that "fact" to them.

"R.I.P. melts and won't heal in areas that receive recovery effects."

"I surrender, please forgive meeeee!!"

Oops, one drop leaked.

"Gwoaaaah that was clooseeeeeeeee!!"

Oh, god-tier evasion. Seeing them avoid that single fallen drop of recovery potion with a full-force roll that completely discarded all shame and appearances, I saw a manly spirit that seemed to declare the physical gender of an avatar a trivial issue. Or wait, is that effeminate? Which is it?

"Are you trying to kill me!?"

"It's a recovery potion, you know? A single drop of goodwill that fell to save a life."

"You mean a torrential downpour of malice! Damn it! Remember thiiiiis!!"

Seeing Akasha off as they picked up the chainsaw that had fallen to the ground and left while tossing out a parting line that conversely felt quite sporting, treating that as a separate matter, I sigh inwardly.

That bastard made me do something so troublesome......... not only did they point out the vulnerability in my build—my lack of attack skills—but they even forced me to use the Exceed Charge of the Centipede Type 8-0.5.

Since a massive number of eyes are watching me, I have to hide my weaknesses, and since I couldn't imagine a chainsaw's only skill was spraying gravel, an early resolution should have been the best option. Even so, to think I'd have to use one of my grand techniques at this stage... Well, it's fine, the halberd-type Centipede Type 8-0.5 only had the one-shot trick of the Exceed Charge anyway.

"Right! Let's pull ourselves together, next!!"

"It's my turn!!"

"I'm next!"

"Hold on, my number is earlier!"

Hahaha, the people who want to die are fighting over the order. I have an operational time limit on "Eternity," so I'm going to beat you all down one by one! Sorry, but I get to choose how you die. Today's daily special causes of death are Set A for 'Hornet's Nest' and Set B for 'Three-Piece Fillet'. If you ask, we'll even bring the soy sauce!!

......

............

..................

Order up! Daily Special Set A!!

"Hornet's Nest!!"

Next order! Daily Special Set B!!

"Three-Piece Fillet!!"

Oh, you're a connoisseur, customer! Order up! Secret Menu Item!!

"Flash Magic!!"

It's gonna hurt! My Flash Magic is unleashed after getting a running start and accelerating. My charge, which evolved from the battle against the Wandering Great Azure Plague, is fired with a knee!! And it doesn't use MP! No idea why, though.

It wasn't quite the 'single brush of an armored sleeve' kind of fight, but a win is a win. Throwing three people's worth of equipment into the treasure ship, I mean the Brunbas, I look around... Hmm, did I fight a bit too fast? I get the feeling the challengers are hesitating.

An evasion build like mine mostly results in either a victory that looks overwhelmingly dominant or an all-too-quick defeat, so it's not as easy a win as it sounds, but... maybe the Accelerated Shining Wizard was a bit too stimulating.

While pretending not to notice the field-generation member who is ostentatiously putting on a show of licking an MP Recovery Potion little by little, I look around, but no challengers seem to be stepping forward.

"I can't do a talk show, you know............ Is there no next challenger saying, 'I am the one!'?"

This is bad, bad, bad. If the recruitment time drags on too long, the limit on "Eternity" will arrive! If I actually let this outfit explode into pieces, Elysion might make me swallow a thousand sewing needles.

It was then.

"───I am right here."

A voice. Moreover, it was a static-laced voice of a type where you can't tell if it's a man or a woman, like the ones where personal information is hidden in police documentaries.

But there was no sign of them appearing from among the players surrounding me. Or rather, based on the voice, it came from above...?

".........!"

"Another incredibly edgy one has arrived."

The owner of the voice was on the deck of the Brunbas. Furthermore, that guy was standing right behind Saina... with a sword pointed at her neck.

But what caught my attention more than the sword pointed at Saina was... the appearance of the perpetrator themselves.

"Are you the personification of a humidifier or something?"

Smoke. Pitch-black smoke, as if erupting from his entire body, makes his figure extremely difficult to discern. I don't know if he wants to hide his appearance or show it off, but while I can make out his general shape as he stands on the deck in a way that's easy for me to see, the moment I try to look at the details or his face, the smoke obscures everything.

At the very least, I could faintly see that he was wearing a jet-black cloak and hiding his mouth with a black cloth, meaning he's a hardcore black-color enthusiast with a jet-black mosaic applied over a jet-black outfit.

"Sorry, but staff members are exempt from nomination."

"You aren't panicking........."

I operate the Inventoria, which was already in standby mode. Saina is temporarily stored, then redeployed. When I point to Saina, who has reappeared from the deck of the Brunbas to right beside me, Smoke-man lowers the sword pointed at empty air, as if everything had clicked into place.

"So your safety margins are flawless, is that it?"

"But you're the one getting executed!!"

That wasn't me just now. It was another player who apparently couldn't forgive Saina having a sword pointed at her, scrambling up to the deck with sheer murderous intent bared. Or rather, stop boarding other people's property without permission, all of you. I'll start charging an admission fee with numbered tickets.

However, the sword—swung down by a heart of justice exploding with righteous indignation over the atrocious act against Saina in an attempt to take down the perpetrator—swings vainly into the void. From down here, I can only see Smoke-man gone and Justice-man taking practice swings on the deck in his place. But,

"Gaghh..."

The next moment, I saw a blade protrude from around Justice-man's left chest.

"......You don't even count towards my kill score. This truly is a troublesome event."

"I'll remember... your face...... wait I can't see it......"

It didn't reach my ears, but mumbling something indiscernible, Justice-man, whose HP had been depleted, shatters into pieces. Once Justice-man's fragments disappear, behind him stands Smoke-man, holding a knife or something...

"Not bad."

"............"

Smoke-man carelessly tosses the sword he first pointed at Saina... a Sword of Challenge... onto the various piles stacked on the Brunbas, then jumps down from the deck to the ground.

"Taking your head... will be good advertisement."

"Sorry, but even if you take my head, it'll disappear immediately due to the system, you know?"

In response to my words, Smoke-man points silently at a single spot. At the tip of his index finger is the Meteor Iron Mirror... I see, as long as he has the headfact, that's all that matters.

"Sunraku... You'd best remember my name..."

───And the birth of a new Pioneer KillerPlayer Killer.

Because we were facing each other again, I could finally read the player name above his head. I see, it's a good name... it practically guarantees his insanity.

"Nice to meet you, Riot. Let's make this a good match."

"..............."

You hardcore assassin roleplayer, I'll see how thick that skin of yours really is. I hope it's thicker than salmon skin!

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Author's Afterword

A person who meticulously leveled up, trained their stats, gathered equipment, became able to roleplay without feeling embarrassed, and right before taking their first step thinking, "Alright, now is the dawn of my terrifying Player Killer legend!!" the Kingdom Turmoil scenario started, removing the penalty for Player Killing, causing them to gloriously trip on their very first step.