"You're immune to my Extra Bullet Weapon Throwing. If you step into the ice-bound space and overweight space surrounding you, which I have created, you'll become weakened and vulnerable to my Tachyon Super High-speed Movement. If you misuse this technique, you'll be frozen and done for, as I learned from the last time. My combo attack using Tachyon and high-speed thinking. I'll save my ultra-fast close-range attack for the last move.That's why I came up with this, a tracking bullet that follows you... Don't miss the timing, buddy. He's wary of techniques he's seen before and will learn and prepare for them."
The Professional of Combat.
No, that's too tepid.
Expert...
No, that's not it.
"Right, a Specialist."
A true specialist in combat specialization.
One who studies and counteracts any technique they see in an instant.
An overwhelming amount of magical power and imagination to manipulate the most vicious skills and magic.
A mob that has packed all the natural talent without any waste.
In the endgame of the game Megashuva.
A strong character implemented during the inflation period.
The strongest ordinary person who was not even mentioned in the main story, let alone having their own unique story.
In this real world, they emit an atmosphere far stronger than that of the game era.
An outlier.
Undoubtedly, an abnormal error.
That's why...
"A powerful warrior fitting for my other wing."
I feel fate in my bones.
I will definitely add you to my comrades.
I hide myself and search for Ayaka's presence.
Surprise attacks are meaningless.
Projectile weapon attacks do not work due to that broken skill.
I have also prepared smoke bombs...
I will not resort to cowardly tactics, but defeat her head-on.
"Otherwise, it's meaningless, right?"
I prepare for the tracking bullet.
The battle will be over in an instant.
Ayaka is sitting cross-legged.
She thinks projectile attacks don't work.
That's her mistake.
The tracking bullet is just disguised as a projectile attack.
The judgment is based on a close-range weapon, which I possess.
In other words, Ayaka's unique skill will not be activated.
"Because I am a gamer, I can win."
On the flip side, if one is not a gamer or does not know, they will not stand a chance no matter how hard they try.
.
.
.
I fired a barrage of weapons and bullets at Ayaka.
"Annoying!" she exclaimed.
The weapons, imbued with gravity magic, became lighter and slower, and many of them stuck in the ice wall that appeared in front of her.
I activated the lightning and fire magic that had been imbued, and cracked the ice wall. Then, I unleashed another Extra Bullet, incorporating feints and repeating them multiple times. My aim was to make sure that Ayaka could not avoid projectile attacks.
I wanted to implant my preconceptions in her.
"Extra Bullet!"
The rainbow-colored flash rained down on Ayaka.
"You said you wouldn't do that!" she said with a smile.
I knew what she was thinking. I knew it very well.
"Let's go!"
I knew that my weapons were running out of ammo. There was a limit to the weapons that could be stored in the hidden arts.
Only 38 shots remained.
I had to decide the match within 38 moves.
--High-speed thinking--
--Body strengthening--
--Tachyon ultra-high-speed movement--
"What!?" Ayaka was surprised and entered a defensive stance. There must have been a freezing space and a weight field around her. She was constantly deploying them. Perhaps the amount of magic power was enormous.
However, if we had been fighting for this long, then more than half of her MP must have been depleted. Maybe she had already used most of her magic power without being noticed.
"In that case, checkmate is near."
I had barely used any of my magic power, except for imbuing the weapons. I didn't have a huge amount of magic power to begin with. Most of the combat was made up of cheating and playing as a player. It was the result of my efforts to gain physical abilities in this world.
There is a difference here. And it's due to his arrogance based on his skills. There's an opening to exploit.
In this slowed-down world, I deploy Tracking Bullets. The 36 weapons in my hands transform into bullets that track and pursue.
Ayaka is left behind in this slow world. She may not have noticed them yet.
"Let me open this door. Absolute defense!" I rush towards her, dodging ice blocks.
In the real world, it's a blink of an eye. The pursuing bullets from the weapons come flying towards Ayaka from all directions.
In front of Ayaka's eyes, the 10 swords have slowed down. The 10 spears change direction towards the day after tomorrow due to repulsion. The 10 halberd axes are attracted like magnets.
30 weapons have already been blocked. I search for other routes. Six weapons remain.
Two shields. I aim for the shins with both feet. They are deflected...failed.
Two short swords. I aim for the spinal cord at the nape of the neck, but it turns into ice and shatters...failed.
Two sickles. I aim for the temple, but it changes trajectory upwards...failed.
"Tsk." All the Tracking Bullets were blocked.
If only I had decided on something.
I only have a sword and a spear.
The other trajectories...are there.
A place where I have never landed a hit.
The hole in his defense.
It's a place I've never aimed for in a serious battle.
―――Skill release, full disarmament―――
"What?! In the meantime?!" Ayaka suddenly sees me in front of her. Many weapon barrages had already been deployed around Ayaka.
She was surprised to see them visually.
"I won't let go of the tracking bullet," I said as I aimed directly for Ayaka's neck with the sword in my left hand. She grinned wickedly.
"That's interesting... hehe. But it's only...that much. I've won," she said as she entered my range and raised her fist.
No, that's not it. This is a fake move. This one move is a feint to concentrate your absolute defense in front of you. It's a decoy to draw your magical power to the front.
The sword, which had become slower in its movements, gradually accelerated and aimed at Ayaka. "I'm confident that I can nullify it with my skill," she said, her overconfidence evident in her smile.
"What?! Damn it!" Ayaka was taken aback as the tracking bullet, which couldn't be nullified by her skill, grazed her cheek. She twisted her body with her superb combat sense, trying to dodge the many bullets by a hair's breadth. It was a human reflex.
"Why can't I...? Damn it!" Ayaka's expression was one of fear that she had been hit by a projectile attack.
But she quickly regained her composure at lightning speed. "Yes. Your strength is your coolness," I said, impressed by her ability to quickly switch her mindset. That ability was her greatest strength.
She relaxed her inefficient overall defense, which had been deployed randomly. I didn't miss the fluctuation in her magical power.
This was my last move. I had no more cards up my sleeve. If this was blocked, I would lose.
I struck at my prey with all my might. Ayaka concentrated her magical power on the area where the blades of the tracking bullet were gathering. She focused on defending her face, torso, and lower body.
-A momentary exchange of offense and defense -
It was natural to concentrate defense where you were being attacked. "Repulse!" She used advanced magic to manipulate repulsive force. It was barely enough to deflect several tracking bullets.
But in front of me, that was a mistake. Because I was waiting for her to use the magic formula "Repulse." The overlapping of chaos magic, which was a layering of magic, couldn't be used by humans in this world.
"That is a cheat that cannot be used without the player's knowledge.
To use 'Rejection' again, you must fire a tracking bullet first.
If you don't, the blade of the tracking bullet will attack you.
Your options for gravity magic are:
'Pull' to attract.
'Weight' to add weight.
'Light' to make lighter.
Currently, these are the only three options available.
You haven't mastered any super magic.
'Pull' is out of the question. If you pull me towards you, it means your own downfall.
'Light' is also out of the question. Even if you make yourself lighter, my attack cannot be stopped.
So the only option is to apply pressure or weight to an object using 'Weight'.
"I win," I said, half in jest, half in earnest, as I smiled at Ayaka.
"You're lying," Ayaka said, wondering if her decision in the momentary attack and defense was wrong.
It seemed like she had just realized it.
I felt like I had said something like that.
I left the sound behind.
-Introduction to the Ultra-high-speed World -
Enter the ultra-high-speed world with a combo of high-speed thinking, physical strengthening, and tachyon techniques.
My brain was about to explode.
Nosebleed.
The bones of my fingers creaked.
I have done too many ultra-high-speed movements in a short period of time.
The burden had seriously damaged my body.
In addition, the burden of supergravity was gradually beginning to take its toll on me.
Not yet.
I will defeat Ayaka and make her my ally.
Her gaze could not keep up with me.
A fluctuation of magic.
A moment of vulnerability. This is the only chance.
A human blind spot.
"Here."
The most important place to protect is the head. It should be the first thing to protect.
I didn't dare to aim for it.
More precisely, I couldn't aim for it... but.
Ayaka changed her defense formation from random to intentional.
This is the timing.
The last move aimed at her complacency, blind spot, and surprise.
――― Whirl ―――
This is also a needle-eye weak spot. The exact location of Ayaka's weakness is here, a single point of fluctuating magical power. This is the thinnest point of defense at the moment, where she probably created a hole in the gravity and ice field, an air vent.
I aim for Ayaka's literal crown, like threading a needle with a very small hole. The whirl, a very small point.
I thrust my spear into that point, using the Godspeed thrust strike zero, which mimics 270 strikes per second, as a direct attack.
Finally, I broke through with brute force, shattering the absolute defense of Cocytus.
"Sorry, but I win"
.
.
.
In the training grounds of the virtual space, there is no such thing as death. However, physical exhaustion and a decrease in magical power are real.
Gasping for breath, I ran towards Ayaka, who was looking up at the sky of the training grounds.
"What?" Ayaka asked, avoiding eye contact with me and looking disgruntled.
"Will you... become my comrade?" I asked.
If she refused here, I might have no other options left. I wanted to add this strong warrior to our group at all costs.
"...No, I don't want to," she said.
"Really?" I asked, surprised.
It was over. I was finished.
"...Just kidding," she said.
"Huh?"
I couldn't believe my ears.
"...Okay, I'll join," she said.
"Really?" I asked.
"Hmph... You were so strong. I give up. I'll join you for real," she said, with a refreshing smile.
Perhaps she had never tasted defeat in her life, being such a powerful warrior.
"I knew you were hiding your true strength. I didn't think someone who could unleash this much magical power would only be capable of basic levitation magic," she said.
"So, you knew?" I asked.
"Well, yeah. I can't be fooled by tricks," she said, smiling.
"Drenched in sweat, Ayaka had a typical beautiful girl's smile on her face.
"But seriously, who are you?" she asked.
"I'm a phantom. I'm the one who will save this world from the shadows," I said.
"Ew, you're creepy," Ayaka said, laughing as she slowly stood up.
"Anyway, about my glasses... can you buy me a new pair?"
Only the body is protected in the virtual space. Anything else is not protected. Ayaka's swirling glasses had transformed into a pathetic state.
"I think Ayaka looks cuter without her glasses," I said.
"What?" She had a blank expression on her face.
Despite being a beauty, I thought it was a waste.
Ayaka smiled and said, "Seriously, you're so creepy."
"I...I mean, really," she said, using the same first-person pronoun as she did in school.
Looking down at her trembling feet, she asked me with upturned eyes, "Can you carry me?"
"Sure thing, but before that," I said, extending my hand like I did when I first transferred in.
And so it began. The formation of our main party. With her by my side, I knew we could do it. She was one of the strongest allies I could have in this world. And if I, the player, say it, it's undoubtedly true.
"Not...not creepy," Ayaka said, extending her hand and shaking mine.
We shook hands together.
"You can call me Chiaki," she said.
"Huh?"
"My name. You can call me by my first name. You don't have to be formal. I'll call you Suguru."
Chiaki had switched her first-person pronoun from "I" to " me" It seemed more natural for her.
"Ah, okay. Nice to meet you, Chiaki."
"Oh...I see," Ayaka nodded.
There was a moment of silence.
She closed her eyes briefly, as if savoring the feeling of being called by name. Then she smiled.
"You win. Nice to meet you, Suguru-kun."
It was like a blizzard that never ends in midwinter had stopped, or like the snow-covered peaks were welcoming spring. It was a smile that resembled the clear autumn sky, one that belonged to Ayaka Chiaki.