Chapter 45 : The Tournament Ended With Three
I opened some distance between me and Yukihime who showed an amazing stunt of deflecting my attack, which aimed at her abdomen, with just her knee. Though I retreated quickly, she followed me closely, not giving me a chance to get away.
Though her choice is a correct one considering my weapon, I, on the other hand, am getting extremely uncomfortable, seeing the weapon of choice of this dainty girl.
「――【Double Thrust】！ 」
Two high speed thrusts came toward my abdomen. I parried the first thrust to the side and dodged the second one by circling around her. And then――
「UWAAA! 」
A third thrust grazed the nape of my neck, leaving a trail of red colored effect.
「Oops my apologies, I made a mistake. Yukihime is a klutz!」
So you made a mistake by adding a third thrust huh? Oh well, such things are normal. I can understand that. But, what is with that ‘XP’ face…
「It was a good attack, don’t mind about it.」
Still, she’s quite agile huh, although I consider her only to be a rough diamond.
Without losing her cool even when I dodged her attack, Yukihime mowed down at me from above with her sword. I couldn’t do anything but watch such a beautiful arc which was seemingly going to split my head in two.
―― If I didn’t do anything.
I stopped her downward slash, and at the same time slashed both of her hands with my knife.
「EH!?」
And just like that, my knife traced a track toward the nape of her neck. But then, her shoes filled my field of vision as she jumped back. What a splendid roundhouse kick.
If she had worn a skirt, such splendid axe kick might have managed to hit the crown of my head, unfortunately, she wore trousers. My eyes could not leave her feet as I was captivated by her pair of slender legs.
Though a wicked idea of wanting to be stepped on by those legs appeared inside my head for a moment, Aoi-san’s appearance inside my head blew away that wicked thought in the next moment. While wearing a miko outfit of course! Any objection is denied.
I ducked down to avoid her kick, then sent 2 slashes during the brief opening in her attack.
「KUH!」
I pressed the muzzle of my gun to the back of her head.
「What shall we do now? Shall I press the trigger?」
「No, I surrender.」
A precious match ended up being saved into the hard drive called my memories.
■ □ ■ □ ■
『Well then, let’s move to the second match. Contestant Bag Closure VS Sou』
『After defeating the ever so popular Yukihime-cha——his opponent in the first round, he is nonchalantly ignoring the booing coming from the spectator seat since a while ago』
Eh, seriously? The solace in this situation is the fact that they’re only booing at me.
『But, his shitty character aside, contestant Sou’s skill is the real deal. He showed us his extreme proficiency in handling knife and gun alike』
『Yeah. Contestant Sou is a gunner but, now I’m curious where he found such arts』
『Facing against him is the contestant Bag Closure, a heavy sword user whose armor keeps screaming “I’m a heavy tank!”. You might say that he’s the exact opposite type of contestant Yukihime. By the way, I just get an interesting tidbit that he’s in fact one of the fan of contestant Yukihime』
『Thus we can expect that the passion of contestant Bag Closure is the real deal』
I see, so that’s the reason why he’s glaring at me as if I’m the murderer of his parents.
『The point of this match might be how contestant Sou, a lightweight gunner, can break through the defense of that heavy armor』
Yup, he seems really tough. If I set my aim, it’s definitely not his armor, I’ll go for his eyes or neck. Wait a minute, isn’t this the best chance to test the bullet that I got from Smith-san? It might be the best way to advertise his product…….. Yup, let’s go with that!
『I see, thank you for your explanation, Seseri-san. Well then, second round, BEGIN! 』
「Reload【Armor Piercing PT-04】」
The moment the voice told us to start the fight, I reloaded my bullets with the one I got from Smith-san and continuously fired 4 bullets to the heart of my opponent. There’s no need to dodge like in the first round so I’m doing a quick draw which will put to shame a certain silver gunman who’s the archenemy of a certain third generation great thief. [TL : Maybe reference to Lupin The Third]
「…… Eh？ 」
My opponent muttered, while his eyes turned into dots. His face told me that he doesn’t understand what just happened. Should I tell him then? His prided armor――Though it might be cheap equipment based on the friction sound ―― was pierced through.
But the bullets in this world aren’t as detailed as those in the real world. I mean, look, I can shoot armor piercing bullets with a handgun. This might be attributed to this place being the virtual world.
「Wait a mi――」
Like hell I’m going to wait for you. Now I’m using normal bullets and fired 8 of them at the face of my opponent, whose name is something along “Bag”. The face of that Bag-or whatever his name is- is kissing the floor as it’s covered with a red mosaic, thus the second match has ended.
『……..G-GAME SET! WHAT’S WITH THAT FIRING JUST NOW! ? 』
『NO, THIS IS……… FOR REAL? HOW IN THE HELL DO GUNNER BULLETS HAVE SUCH PENETRATING POWER ? ! IS THIS AN ART? 』
Oi, the comment is straying from the topic. Well that aside, there’s much to be fixed in that bullet type. Its piercing power is great but the damage dealt to the opponent’s body is far less than a normal bullet. This bullet type is off-limit against monsters. Depending on the price, I might want a steady supply of such bullets so I may need to visit Smith-san again for consultation.
In the third round, my opponent who who is vigilant of being instakilled is protecting his face with a shield before the commentator can even signal the start of the match. It seems to be okay since, according to the referee, my opponent isn’t using arts. Geez, this feels like an away match.
Since this decision is pissing me off, I’m reloading with【Exploding Bullet PT-02】 which I got from Smith-san, right before the start of the match. I then fired those bullets into the knees of my opponent who was charging toward me. Both of his knees exploded in a flashy red color effect and thus my opponent stumbled and wiped the dust off the floor with his face.
The power of this bullet model is clearly far above the normal type. The fact that they explode upon contact make these bullets even more frightening.
Uhm………… The gun is strong right? Or could it be due to the bullets? I think I have to do some research about the rank of the gunner job in this game later. I’m wondering so, as I fired my gun in the face of my opponent who is unable to stand up. Come to think of it, it’s so quiet right now. Did everyone get tired of jeering me?
4th match. I fired 【Flare Bullet PT-01】 which I got from Smith-san into my opponent’s mouth. Thereupon, smoke is coming out from my opponent’s mouth and nose as if he were a human locomotive and as a light beam shot out from his eyes, he could no longer continue the match. My opponent, on the verge of choking, is giving up the match, but I should take a note of not using those bullets in one on one combat. That type of bullet is just too cruel in various ways.
I won the 5th match without fighting my opponent. It seems my opponent got a stomach ache. Can you even get a stomach ache in this game?
The same thing happened to my opponent in the semifinals. It seems that today is the third death anniversary of my opponent’s grandmother. Why in the hell did you enter this tournament then.
Though I felt anxious that the same things might happen in the final, my fear turned out to be baseless. My opponent in the final is one of the favorites of this tournament as Yukihime was the other one, and he’s glaring at me. Well, it means nothing to me.
『Now then, the last and main event. The two opponents who will fight in the final are contestant Sou and contestant Dingo. Contestant Sou who never let his opponent get close to him with his overwhelming masterie of his arts and skills, against his contestant, Dingo, whose fighting style is changing in accordance to his opponent’s. Seseri-san, what do you think is the key to this final match?』
『Let see~. Though I’m truly shocked by the myriad of shooting arts in contestant’s Sou possession, he’s also proficient in close combat to the point that he overwhelmed contestant Yukihime, a swordswoman in the first match. I think he has almost no gap in a ranged fight.
As for his opponent, contestant Dingo has a different kind of playstyle but, I believe they’re specialized in the same area. Thus, I think that the winner in this match between fighters who have similar play styles will depend on their experience』
Yup, I do think we have the same playstyle. My opponent is a man with the magic swordsman job, a rare job in which one can use magic for middle range and a sword strengthened with magic in close range. The difference between us is that I have an overwhelmingly swift attack and my opponent has high defense.
A small shield is fastened on his left arm so he might be able to guard against my normal bullets. My armor piercing bullets should be able to pierce through it but, the stock of that type is almost depleted. I’ve confirmed the usability and any other problems of that model in real combat so another confirmation isn’t necessary anymore.
『I see, thank you very much. WELL THEN, GET READY FOR THE FINAL BATTLE, READYYYYYYYYYY………………. GOOOOOOOOOOOOO! 』
Me and my opponent are moving almost at the same time. While I’m firing my bullet, my opponent is also firing a 50 centimetre fireball.
He quickly protected his vitals with his shield right before the impact of my bullets to minimize the damage. I’m also using that chance to dodge his fireball.
But, my opponent is doing a mad dash through hails of bullets while properly protecting his vitals. When I’m observing the rate at which his HP is being reduced and that defensive skill, I think he might be using some sort of arts to raise the projectile resistance of his entire body or to simply just raise his defense with magic. He managed to decrease the distance between us into his sword range without even losing 20% of his HP.
「――LIGHTNING BLADE! 」
Flashes of lightning are coiling around his sword. But his movement is like a snail’s compared to Yukihime-san. I easily dodge that attack with a backstep but then I hear a strange noise running through in my body.
「――！ ? 」
The moment I’m showing such opening, he’s coming after me with the lightning sword in his hand.
Oh crap, I have yet to perfect it but, should I use THAT. No, Shinji warned me before to NOT USE it in front of so many people. U~hm, ALRIGHT THEN!
Though I’m trying to kick the ground to retreat, my legs lost their power and thus I received the slash.
『OOOH, CONTESTANT SOU FINALLY RECEIVED HIS FIRST WOUND IN THIS TOURNAMENT』
『YOSH, KEEP GOING DINGO! KILL HIIIIM!! 』
Shit, even though I prepared myself for this treatment, this away match-like feeling is too unbearable. The audience has also regained their spirit and started to cheer for my opponent. But, I’m no longer paralyzed. Now it’s my turn――
「――ROCK HORN 」
「UWAAA! ? 」
I unintentionally let out such miserable scream but it really can’t be helped. An earth spike suddenly thrusted out from the ground. Moreover, its aim was right in between my legs. It’s a scene that will make any men tremble in fear. I quickly moved away from that place.
If I were still paralyzed, that earth spike might have stabbed into my asshole all the way through my head. That was a close call. If I’m not dealing with this as soon as possible, I’m finished. Now, how should I dispose of him? Naturally killing him is a must.
With a gun in my hand, I’m closing the distance between me and my opponent to zero. That lightning sword is troublesome but I’m sure that he can’t use it repeatedly due to recast time. In that case, close combat against this guy is a piece of cake.
I have a lot of ways to overwhelm him in mid range combat, but sorry, I have no interest in experiencing the same kind of magic as before. And above all, I couldn’t return the favor of experiencing the horror of getting my body frozen to him in full if I were to fight in the middle range. I’ll let him taste that fear to the fullest………. Till it seeps into his marrow.
「Hou, coming to close combat huh. Some nerve you got there!! 」
Maybe he thinks that it’s easier to deal with my close combat skill than my gun in the middle range, he’s facing against my attack with Iai stance. [TL : Battojutsu or should I say sword drawing art]
「《FLASH》！ 」
It’s a battojutsu of lightning speed. He might be going for that. But the moment he was about to draw his sword, I pushed it back by shooting at the hilt, and that incidentally flicked his fingers from the hilt too.
The result of his Iai is just an empty swing with flash effects to the side with his sword still inside the scabbard.
「――EH」
Maybe the person himself has yet to realize what just happened. Nevertheless, there he is, standing in front of me with a dumbfounded face.
Just like that I’m approaching him, holding his hand and twisting it to his back. Though I know that I’m overdoing it since I can hear the sound of something snapping inside his body, this is the virtual world after all.
「Guh, what in the hell is thi――AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! ? 」
I turned his face upwards and then thrusted the muzzle of my gun into his mouth.
「Well then, it seems that you’ve taken some sort of countermeasures against my gun but, what about the inside of your mouth? You might survive if you’re far tougher than that beast though」 [TL : RIP Jiisha]
「Y-YAHEHO! YAHEHEFUHEEE! 」 [TL : YAMERO! YAMETEKUREEE!]
He was seemingly trying to say something.
「Yup,yup, I understand! You’re trying to say “Like hell I’m going to beg you to spare my life, kill me now!”, right? 」
「Ho-HONNAAAA! 」[TL : NOOOOOOOOOOO]
Every time I pull the trigger his body convulses and the number of bullet marks on the floor between his legs is the same as the number of times I’m pulling the trigger.
Chapter 45 : The Tournament Ended With Three
I opened some distance between me and Yukihime who showed an amazing stunt of deflecting my attack, which aimed at her abdomen, with just her knee. Though I retreated quickly, she followed me closely, not giving me a chance to get away.
Though her choice is a correct one considering my weapon, I, on the other hand, am getting extremely uncomfortable, seeing the weapon of choice of this dainty girl.
「――【Double Thrust】！ 」
Two high speed thrusts came toward my abdomen. I parried the first thrust to the side and dodged the second one by circling around her. And then――
「UWAAA! 」
A third thrust grazed the nape of my neck, leaving a trail of red colored effect.
「Oops my apologies, I made a mistake. Yukihime is a klutz!」
So you made a mistake by adding a third thrust huh? Oh well, such things are normal. I can understand that. But, what is with that ‘XP’ face…
「It was a good attack, don’t mind about it.」
Still, she’s quite agile huh, although I consider her only to be a rough diamond.
Without losing her cool even when I dodged her attack, Yukihime mowed down at me from above with her sword. I couldn’t do anything but watch such a beautiful arc which was seemingly going to split my head in two.
―― If I didn’t do anything.
I stopped her downward slash, and at the same time slashed both of her hands with my knife.
「EH!?」
And just like that, my knife traced a track toward the nape of her neck. But then, her shoes filled my field of vision as she jumped back. What a splendid roundhouse kick.
If she had worn a skirt, such splendid axe kick might have managed to hit the crown of my head, unfortunately, she wore trousers. My eyes could not leave her feet as I was captivated by her pair of slender legs.
Though a wicked idea of wanting to be stepped on by those legs appeared inside my head for a moment, Aoi-san’s appearance inside my head blew away that wicked thought in the next moment. While wearing a miko outfit of course! Any objection is denied.
I ducked down to avoid her kick, then sent 2 slashes during the brief opening in her attack.
「KUH!」
I pressed the muzzle of my gun to the back of her head.
「What shall we do now? Shall I press the trigger?」
「No, I surrender.」
A precious match ended up being saved into the hard drive called my memories.
■ □ ■ □ ■
『Well then, let’s move to the second match. Contestant Bag Closure VS Sou』
『After defeating the ever so popular Yukihime-cha——his opponent in the first round, he is nonchalantly ignoring the booing coming from the spectator seat since a while ago』
Eh, seriously? The solace in this situation is the fact that they’re only booing at me.
『But, his shitty character aside, contestant Sou’s skill is the real deal. He showed us his extreme proficiency in handling knife and gun alike』
『Yeah. Contestant Sou is a gunner but, now I’m curious where he found such arts』
『Facing against him is the contestant Bag Closure, a heavy sword user whose armor keeps screaming “I’m a heavy tank!”. You might say that he’s the exact opposite type of contestant Yukihime. By the way, I just get an interesting tidbit that he’s in fact one of the fan of contestant Yukihime』
『Thus we can expect that the passion of contestant Bag Closure is the real deal』
I see, so that’s the reason why he’s glaring at me as if I’m the murderer of his parents.
『The point of this match might be how contestant Sou, a lightweight gunner, can break through the defense of that heavy armor』
Yup, he seems really tough. If I set my aim, it’s definitely not his armor, I’ll go for his eyes or neck. Wait a minute, isn’t this the best chance to test the bullet that I got from Smith-san? It might be the best way to advertise his product…….. Yup, let’s go with that!
『I see, thank you for your explanation, Seseri-san. Well then, second round, BEGIN! 』
「Reload【Armor Piercing PT-04】」
The moment the voice told us to start the fight, I reloaded my bullets with the one I got from Smith-san and continuously fired 4 bullets to the heart of my opponent. There’s no need to dodge like in the first round so I’m doing a quick draw which will put to shame a certain silver gunman who’s the archenemy of a certain third generation great thief. [TL : Maybe reference to Lupin The Third]
「…… Eh？ 」
My opponent muttered, while his eyes turned into dots. His face told me that he doesn’t understand what just happened. Should I tell him then? His prided armor――Though it might be cheap equipment based on the friction sound ―― was pierced through.
But the bullets in this world aren’t as detailed as those in the real world. I mean, look, I can shoot armor piercing bullets with a handgun. This might be attributed to this place being the virtual world.
「Wait a mi――」
Like hell I’m going to wait for you. Now I’m using normal bullets and fired 8 of them at the face of my opponent, whose name is something along “Bag”. The face of that Bag-or whatever his name is- is kissing the floor as it’s covered with a red mosaic, thus the second match has ended.
『……..G-GAME SET! WHAT’S WITH THAT FIRING JUST NOW! ? 』
『NO, THIS IS……… FOR REAL? HOW IN THE HELL DO GUNNER BULLETS HAVE SUCH PENETRATING POWER ? ! IS THIS AN ART? 』
Oi, the comment is straying from the topic. Well that aside, there’s much to be fixed in that bullet type. Its piercing power is great but the damage dealt to the opponent’s body is far less than a normal bullet. This bullet type is off-limit against monsters. Depending on the price, I might want a steady supply of such bullets so I may need to visit Smith-san again for consultation.
In the third round, my opponent who who is vigilant of being instakilled is protecting his face with a shield before the commentator can even signal the start of the match. It seems to be okay since, according to the referee, my opponent isn’t using arts. Geez, this feels like an away match.
Since this decision is pissing me off, I’m reloading with【Exploding Bullet PT-02】 which I got from Smith-san, right before the start of the match. I then fired those bullets into the knees of my opponent who was charging toward me. Both of his knees exploded in a flashy red color effect and thus my opponent stumbled and wiped the dust off the floor with his face.
The power of this bullet model is clearly far above the normal type. The fact that they explode upon contact make these bullets even more frightening.
Uhm………… The gun is strong right? Or could it be due to the bullets? I think I have to do some research about the rank of the gunner job in this game later. I’m wondering so, as I fired my gun in the face of my opponent who is unable to stand up. Come to think of it, it’s so quiet right now. Did everyone get tired of jeering me?
4th match. I fired 【Flare Bullet PT-01】 which I got from Smith-san into my opponent’s mouth. Thereupon, smoke is coming out from my opponent’s mouth and nose as if he were a human locomotive and as a light beam shot out from his eyes, he could no longer continue the match. My opponent, on the verge of choking, is giving up the match, but I should take a note of not using those bullets in one on one combat. That type of bullet is just too cruel in various ways.
I won the 5th match without fighting my opponent. It seems my opponent got a stomach ache. Can you even get a stomach ache in this game?
The same thing happened to my opponent in the semifinals. It seems that today is the third death anniversary of my opponent’s grandmother. Why in the hell did you enter this tournament then.
Though I felt anxious that the same things might happen in the final, my fear turned out to be baseless. My opponent in the final is one of the favorites of this tournament as Yukihime was the other one, and he’s glaring at me. Well, it means nothing to me.
『Now then, the last and main event. The two opponents who will fight in the final are contestant Sou and contestant Dingo. Contestant Sou who never let his opponent get close to him with his overwhelming masterie of his arts and skills, against his contestant, Dingo, whose fighting style is changing in accordance to his opponent’s. Seseri-san, what do you think is the key to this final match?』
『Let see~. Though I’m truly shocked by the myriad of shooting arts in contestant’s Sou possession, he’s also proficient in close combat to the point that he overwhelmed contestant Yukihime, a swordswoman in the first match. I think he has almost no gap in a ranged fight.
As for his opponent, contestant Dingo has a different kind of playstyle but, I believe they’re specialized in the same area. Thus, I think that the winner in this match between fighters who have similar play styles will depend on their experience』
Yup, I do think we have the same playstyle. My opponent is a man with the magic swordsman job, a rare job in which one can use magic for middle range and a sword strengthened with magic in close range. The difference between us is that I have an overwhelmingly swift attack and my opponent has high defense.
A small shield is fastened on his left arm so he might be able to guard against my normal bullets. My armor piercing bullets should be able to pierce through it but, the stock of that type is almost depleted. I’ve confirmed the usability and any other problems of that model in real combat so another confirmation isn’t necessary anymore.
『I see, thank you very much. WELL THEN, GET READY FOR THE FINAL BATTLE, READYYYYYYYYYY………………. GOOOOOOOOOOOOO! 』
Me and my opponent are moving almost at the same time. While I’m firing my bullet, my opponent is also firing a 50 centimetre fireball.
He quickly protected his vitals with his shield right before the impact of my bullets to minimize the damage. I’m also using that chance to dodge his fireball.
But, my opponent is doing a mad dash through hails of bullets while properly protecting his vitals. When I’m observing the rate at which his HP is being reduced and that defensive skill, I think he might be using some sort of arts to raise the projectile resistance of his entire body or to simply just raise his defense with magic. He managed to decrease the distance between us into his sword range without even losing 20% of his HP.
「――LIGHTNING BLADE! 」
Flashes of lightning are coiling around his sword. But his movement is like a snail’s compared to Yukihime-san. I easily dodge that attack with a backstep but then I hear a strange noise running through in my body.
「――！ ? 」
The moment I’m showing such opening, he’s coming after me with the lightning sword in his hand.
Oh crap, I have yet to perfect it but, should I use THAT. No, Shinji warned me before to NOT USE it in front of so many people. U~hm, ALRIGHT THEN!
Though I’m trying to kick the ground to retreat, my legs lost their power and thus I received the slash.
『OOOH, CONTESTANT SOU FINALLY RECEIVED HIS FIRST WOUND IN THIS TOURNAMENT』
『YOSH, KEEP GOING DINGO! KILL HIIIIM!! 』
Shit, even though I prepared myself for this treatment, this away match-like feeling is too unbearable. The audience has also regained their spirit and started to cheer for my opponent. But, I’m no longer paralyzed. Now it’s my turn――
「――ROCK HORN 」
「UWAAA! ? 」
I unintentionally let out such miserable scream but it really can’t be helped. An earth spike suddenly thrusted out from the ground. Moreover, its aim was right in between my legs. It’s a scene that will make any men tremble in fear. I quickly moved away from that place.
If I were still paralyzed, that earth spike might have stabbed into my asshole all the way through my head. That was a close call. If I’m not dealing with this as soon as possible, I’m finished. Now, how should I dispose of him? Naturally killing him is a must.
With a gun in my hand, I’m closing the distance between me and my opponent to zero. That lightning sword is troublesome but I’m sure that he can’t use it repeatedly due to recast time. In that case, close combat against this guy is a piece of cake.
I have a lot of ways to overwhelm him in mid range combat, but sorry, I have no interest in experiencing the same kind of magic as before. And above all, I couldn’t return the favor of experiencing the horror of getting my body frozen to him in full if I were to fight in the middle range. I’ll let him taste that fear to the fullest………. Till it seeps into his marrow.
「Hou, coming to close combat huh. Some nerve you got there!! 」
Maybe he thinks that it’s easier to deal with my close combat skill than my gun in the middle range, he’s facing against my attack with Iai stance. [TL : Battojutsu or should I say sword drawing art]
「《FLASH》！ 」
It’s a battojutsu of lightning speed. He might be going for that. But the moment he was about to draw his sword, I pushed it back by shooting at the hilt, and that incidentally flicked his fingers from the hilt too.
The result of his Iai is just an empty swing with flash effects to the side with his sword still inside the scabbard.
「――EH」
Maybe the person himself has yet to realize what just happened. Nevertheless, there he is, standing in front of me with a dumbfounded face.
Just like that I’m approaching him, holding his hand and twisting it to his back. Though I know that I’m overdoing it since I can hear the sound of something snapping inside his body, this is the virtual world after all.
「Guh, what in the hell is thi――AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! ? 」
I turned his face upwards and then thrusted the muzzle of my gun into his mouth.
「Well then, it seems that you’ve taken some sort of countermeasures against my gun but, what about the inside of your mouth? You might survive if you’re far tougher than that beast though」 [TL : RIP Jiisha]
「Y-YAHEHO! YAHEHEFUHEEE! 」 [TL : YAMERO! YAMETEKUREEE!]
He was seemingly trying to say something.
「Yup,yup, I understand! You’re trying to say “Like hell I’m going to beg you to spare my life, kill me now!”, right? 」
「Ho-HONNAAAA! 」[TL : NOOOOOOOOOOO]
Every time I pull the trigger his body convulses and the number of bullet marks on the floor between his legs is the same as the number of times I’m pulling the trigger.
