Chapter 898: December 20th: Blaze Up, Passion; Sharpen Yourself, Concentration
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What I am about to show you is a "synergy" that even I have to admit is a shitty combo.
"Fly, you bastard!"
The words leaking from my mouth were a half-and-half mixture of encouragement and verbal abuse. A shot utilizing the leg, packed with more force than a full swing of the arm using the entire body. A "thrust" far more powerful than one launched with both arms flew straight toward Garunose.
"Wha......!?"
I bet you didn't expect me to kick my provisional Dragon Destroyer Gear, did you, Garunose? But I'm not using it roughly, and I'm certainly not throwing it away.
Areadbhair flew with tremendous momentum, but in the end, it was merely kicked away by a single skill. It's hard to imagine it piercing that Tower Shield. And as if validating that prediction, Garunose repelled Areadbhair with his Tower Shield.
Gaaaang!!
"!?"
There would naturally have been a commensurate impact, but for a shield and sword colliding, an unnaturally high-pitched clash rang out. Its forward energy knocked aside, Areadbhair flew spinning off toward the day after tomorrow.
"───【Soaring Blade Sound】"
I muttered quietly. With that alone, the sword answered me.
A slight amount of my MP was consumed, and the blade of Areadbhair, dancing through the air, had its rotation...... intensified.
"Was the dragon you defeated capable of changing its size? The one I defeated......... had a homing projectile."
"Guh!!?"
It wasn't a rotation that merely wasted kinetic energy after being repelled. The wings of the True Dragon, explicitly gaining momentum to slice and tear the enemy, ripped into Garunose's shoulder.
Even so, he didn't avert his gaze from me and kept his shield raised—nothing short of masterful craftsmanship. Even if it was ultimately superficial damage, taking a bladed object to the shoulder from behind without breaking concentration is a feat requiring "familiarity" far more than talent.
But too bad for you. The moment I showed a kicking stance toward Areadbhair as it returned to my hand...... no, to my feet, Garunose's expression stiffened, seemingly understanding exactly what this shitty combo entailed.
"You've got to be kidding me......!?"
"It's a feeeaaaaature!"
【Soaring Blade Sound】 is Areadbhair's special magic, housing the power of Tomahawk. It can only activate after Areadbhair has been thrown, but by consuming MP, it returns to the "body part" that threw it with violent rotation while "aiming at the enemy."
Areadbhair rotates violently, but it always returns to the body part that threw it—that is, my feet—with the blade facing the enemy. All I have to do is kick it away again with Kick Arts at that exact timing.
And there is only one way to stop this......... ironically, in a very literal sense.
He has no choice but to take the blade—Areadbhair launched by leg strength—without dodging or repelling it, and stop it. Otherwise, I will keep launching Areadbhair with Kick Arts as long as my MP and skills last.
By the way, my skill recasts are halved by the power of the "Fool," and downing an MP recovery potion while Areadbhair is returning is easy. I can always earn more money later. This is the finite-loop combo attack: "Using you for wall-tennis"!
As an aside, Revolver Kick Shot grants a damage modifier to kicks up to six times per activation while its effect lasts. Originally, it's probably balanced under the assumption that you prepare six separate things to kick... but if I return it to my hand five times, one weapon is all I need!
"Now then, what are you gonna do, Big Shield! Gonna strap a shield to your back too?!"
Though I verbally feigned having the upper hand, in my head, I already recognized that "Using you for wall-tennis" was falling apart. The reason being───
"......【Providence of Excitation】!"
That. With a loud clank, Areadbhair stuck fast to Garunose's shield. If it isn't repelled, I can't use 【Soaring Blade Sound】.
An absolute advantage over magnetically responsive metal; at the very least, with my grip strength, I can't resist it unless I plant my feet firmly and pull with both hands. But even so... yeah, of course, Garunose. No wonder you want to grimace too.
If you could use that magnetic technique more easily, you wouldn't have been forced on the defensive to this extent. Is it the recast? Or the cost? Either way, you can't spam it.
I'll aim right there! Dual-wielding isn't just about holding two weapons. It's about handling two options simultaneously!
Therefore, with the Imperial Gold Sword in hand and the Retriever aimed at Areadbhair, I rapidly closed the distance───
"【Providence of the Wise Horse】!!" [*1]
"Ugh-oh!?"
The reason I could react was probably that he'd "made me eat a bowl" so many times in this fight. After being fed that many bowls, it was practically wanko soba by now... but as long as I deliver when it counts, I don't care how many times I fail along the way. [*2]
Anyway, the reason I could react to Garunose charging in at high speed without any telegraphing was precisely because I was vigilant, assuming the player known as Garunose hadn't yet shown the bottom of his capabilities; however, the reason it still grazed my right arm is that I'm still misjudging the true "bottom" of his capabilities.
As long as he has that weapon and shield together, he can slaughter me in a single blow. That was the level of caution with which I closed in.
Perhaps judging that remaining purely on the defensive would only slowly bleed him dry, Garunose shifted to an unprecedentedly aggressive offense and closed the distance.
A massive downward swing. Simply backstepping would make for an easy dodge, but that's the worst possible move. Repelling it is the next best thing but still a bad move. If I'm going to dodge, it has to be to the side.
"【Scale of the Little People】!"
The enlarged mace smashed into the spot where I had been standing a split second earlier. If I had backed away, I would have been crushed by the extended range.
That's why I went sideways, swinging the Imperial Gold Sword as I circled around to the side opposite Garunose's shield-bearing arm.
"That size is completely disproportionate, isn't it!?"
"How about this then......! 【Scale of the Giants】!!"
The mace shrank, and Garunose caught the Imperial Gold Sword with its grip once it had become small enough to handle in one hand. Naturally, my attack power was more than enough to break through a guard taken from such an awkward posture, but even that slight loss of power let him absorb the rest with his armor.
"!"
A skill effect on the mace; a buff would have been tolerable, but... an attack skill, huh!
"Oooooh!!"
As if to say, "It's your turn to be on the defensive now," Garunose roared as his mace smashed into the Imperial Gold Sword, which I had raised as a makeshift shield.
Taking the hit and stopping it was impossible, so I chose to take it and let myself be blown away. Even while watching my HP dwindle, I pursed my lips into a wide O.
"Hyu───"
Seiten Style "Soukyuu". When a voice rubbed against the fearsome dragon's jaw, it ignited like a match.
As if blowing a needle concealed in my mouth, I took my eyes off the line of light and heat flying straight toward him as I broke my fall and landed.
"Hey, this is so fun it's starting to piss me off."
"......I want to respawn right now and stack up on counter-measure gear for next time so badly, I could say the exact same thing."
While pulling Areadbhair back with the Retriever, I saw Garunose completely block the wholly unexpected "Soukyuu" with his shield. At his flawless response, I forced a smile, putting enough emotion into it that a vein was just about ready to pop on my forehead.
Author's Afterword
Kick it away → It hits you and charges impact → It returns while increasing its rotational force → Kick it away (loop from here)
In reality, perfectly timing a kick exactly at the moment a high-speed flying sword stops dead and loses its levitation is highly difficult, but Sunraku mitigates this problem with thought acceleration.
His party-trick-tier special skill—being able to clear rhythm games with the sound muted—is shining brighter than ever before.
Dragon Destroyer Gear consists of:
・The original weapon's skills
・Abilities added upon becoming Dragon Destroyer Gear (sometimes altering the original abilities)
・Abilities only usable when operating as a set with the Job
・Abilities only usable in the Unleashed state
【Soaring Blade Sound】 falls under the third category, but Areadbhair completely circumvents the prerequisite of Job synergy.
・【Providence of the Wise Horse】
A shield bash executed at extreme speed. Since the shield itself generates propulsion and charges forward, as long as the user holds it firmly, the shield will drag the wielder along into the charge regardless of their posture.
Translator's Notes
- [1] Houyhnhnm: A Houyhnhnm is a member of the intelligent horse race in Gulliver's Travels; the name is intended to imitate a horse's neigh.
- [2] Wanko soba: The Japanese idiom ippai kuwasareru means "to be outwitted," but literally means "to be made to eat a bowl." Sunraku pivots from that wording to wanko soba, an Iwate dish served as a rapid succession of small bowls.
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