Chapter 2: To the Arena!
Chapter 2: To the Arena!
In UW’s lore, we’re students in a magical school on the floating island of Telluna. This school is called the Legrand Academy of Magic. Legrand prides itself as the greatest educational institution in all of UW. One privilege of being a student there is financial assistance from the Telluna Royal Family for extracurricular activities. This comes in the form of the guild system, in which each guild receives a certain amount of supplies.
The most distinguished guilds are given property rights to one of the man-made floating islands in the Lagoon, a region that surrounds Telluna. Guilds are free to use their island in the Lagoon however they like.
Before our eyes was the embodiment of that ideal: an island shaped entirely by the guild’s desires.
“Ooh! There it is!”
A massive drawbridge extended outward from Telluna, connecting it to a floating island. On this island stood a colossal stone dome, which was currently surrounded by great big balloons as though it were the site of some kind of festival. NPCs and players alike crossed the pier, heading to the dome to watch the upcoming event.
“So? Awesome, right? That’s my guild’s very own Arena!” Yukino puffed out her chest with pride.
Indeed, this impressive Arena had been created by Mystic Arts for their island in the Lagoon. Since Yukino was the guild master, she could be considered the owner of the Arena. Yukino and the rest of Mystic Arts were a group of PvP lovers, so this was the natural outcome of them putting their heads together.
Man, PvP freaks are scary.
If you couldn’t already tell from the gargantuan Arena, I should mention that Mystic Arts was one of the most influential guilds out there. They often planned PvP events and profited from the entrance fees and winning bets. One of these events was taking place today, and Akira and I had been brought in as fighters.
I doubted we could win against Yukino, who was almost level 200, but today’s matches were mostly geared toward freshmen, with a level 30 limitation. Like previous years’ events, the MVP of the most recent competitive class mission was guaranteed entry.
Despite the level limitation, upperclassmen could still participate, though they would be level synced; in other words, their levels would automatically be reduced. Yukino was going to join in, of course, so she could duel us.
Upperclassmen are sure to have better items and talents than we do, so I’d better watch out. But if they want a fight, I’m obligated to bring my A-game! I’m gonna mow down all my opponents and show the world the power of my drama cannon! This will awaken my true powers of meta-redefinition! I’ll stand on the shoulders of giants... and drop them in one hit!
I’m gonna shine the spotlight on the symbologist, the king of the Bummers!
“Wow! There are so many people here. The thought of fighting in front of such a big crowd makes me nervous.”
“I don’t think you have to worry, Akira. Considering how much skin you show, they’ll love you no matter what.”
“Ugh... I guess. It’s embarrassing that I have to go out there like this, but I sure do enjoy PvP.”
“It’s a-okay, girl!” Yukino piped. “You’re so cute that anything would look good on you. I never imagined you’d look like this, considering your avatar in EF! Right, Ren?”
“Yeah. When I found out she wasn’t a guy, I almost had a heart attack.”
“Hahaha! Totally. I’m glad we can all play here together, though. If we get matched up against each other, I’m not gonna hold back!”
Today’s event was a tournament, so it wasn’t guaranteed that we’d fight each other. But if I could make it to the finals, I’d surely end up pitted against her at some point. The matchups hadn’t yet been decided; apparently, they would be chosen by lottery.
“I’ll fight with all I’ve got, too!”
“Heheh, don’t you look excited? Your eyes are on fire, Ren.”
“That’s because this is my big chance to show off! Also, I heard there are prizes involved!”
If all goes well, I might be able to escape poverty!
“Chirp! Chirp chirp!”
“Draco’s getting pumped, too! All right, boy. If we win, I’ll treat you to something delicious!”
“Is Draco your dragon’s name? Baby pets are sooo cute!”
“Why don’t you have one, Yukino?” Akira asked.
“Well, a lot of duel rulesets don’t allow pets. If I can’t use it in PvP, I don’t want it.”
“Yup, that’s a bona fide PvP main for you.”
“You’re one to talk, Mr. ‘I’m Allergic to Good Classes.’ If you gave up on your weird obsession and focused on PvP like me, I bet you’d surpass me in no time.”
“But that’s just not my style, y’know? It wouldn’t be fun that way.”
“Heh. Welp, you do you. You wouldn’t be as much fun if you weren’t weird anyway. I’m excited to see what kind of crazy stuff you can pull off as a symbologist.”
We continued our chat as we approached the entrance of the dome. Lines upon lines of people were waiting to buy tickets, but Yukino pulled us aside, bypassing the line entirely.
“We’re taking the contestants’ entrance. Let’s get to the waiting room.”
People who looked to be members of Mystic Arts were standing guard; upon seeing Yukino, they saluted.
So that’s the kinda respect a real guild master gets... So cool!
“Did you form Mystic Arts, Yukino?”
“Nah. Both the guild and the Arena were here before I joined. They had a tournament to decide the new guild master, and I won, so I inherited it all. Honestly, it’s not really my thing.”
You can say that again.
In past games, Yukino never tried to be a leader; she was more of a stoic loner type who loved taking on challenges all by herself.
“On the bright side, though, we all share a common interest. So it’s not too bad.”
We followed Yukino down an underground path until she stopped in front of a door.
“This is it.”
We opened the door and stepped inside... and I immediately saw a familiar face.
“Huh? Kataoka, is that you?”
“Hey, Takashiro! Did you enter the tourney too?”
Shinichi Kataoka (1-B)
Level 31 Rogue
Guild: Fountain of Knowledge
This was the guy who liked Hime-chans. He even joined a guild of information brokers so he could learn more and impress his mistress. Overall, Kataoka was focused, in a way. Not that I agreed with it. At his side was...
Nozomi Akabane (1-B)
Level 34 Sword Dancer
Guild: True Form
That’s his Hime-chan. Looks like they joined this thing together. Doesn’t this girl know Akira or something...?
“Blegh!” Akira’s face scrunched up.
Oh, right! Akira and Akabane know each other in real life. Not that I know what their relationship is.
There was a bitter atmosphere between them as they glared at each other.
“My, if it isn’t Akira. How rude of you to greet an acquaintance with such a harsh expression.”
“Sorry. This is actually how I look when I’m happy to see someone. It’s so nice to see you!”
“Liar! Your disgust is all too obvious! As a daughter of the Aoyagi family, I thought you would have more self-awareness than that. Your family must be terribly worried about your future.”
Akira turned up her nose, ignoring the insults Akabane threw her way.
Wow, they hate each other. I’ve never seen Akira that peeved. Normally, she’s all smiles. As I recall, her family is descended from old nobility. Her grandfather is a member of the National Diet, and her dad is in upper management. Her family even has its own chef! What a blue-blood. I always figured celebrities had a lot of drama going on.
“You’re not surprised to see me here, are you?” Akira muttered.
“I already knew you were enrolled in this school.”
“You knew? Then why didn’t you come find me and insul—I mean, talk to me?”
“Knowing when to be the first to greet an acquaintance is an important part of etiquette. Naturally, an Akabane can’t be the first to yield, so I was waiting for you.”
“Oh. Well, I am so very sorry.”
Kataoka poked my shoulder.
“What?”
“Hey, do Aoyagi and Lady Nozomi know each other?”
“I guess. I don’t know much about it, honestly.”
“Huh. Doesn’t seem like they’re on good terms.”
“Right? Why don’t you go break them up?”
“What?! Why me?!”
“Kataoka! You are not to make friends without my permission!”
“Yes, Milady! Anyway, Takashiro, you’d better back off! This is a prime opportunity for me to kick your butt!”
“Haha...”
He’s a follower from start to finish. Nothing will stop him.
“Nice try. Ren beat Kataoka in a duel once before, and he’ll do it again.”
“What?! Kataoka, you pathetic insect!”
“Heh. Looks like I’ve got the better follower, huh?” Akira couldn’t stop herself from gloating.
“Whoa, I never agreed to be your follower!”
“Oh, come on! I spent all day yesterday helping with your experiments!”
“Dammit, Takashiro! Didn’t I tell you that a follower can’t make his Hime-chan do all the work?!”
“You only make things worse every time you open your mouth!”
Sick of watching us bicker, Yukino stepped into the fray. “Cut it out, guys. I don’t know what your beef is, but if you wanna be nasty to each other, do it in the ring. At least then we can declare a winner.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
We moved to the back of the waiting room. Yukino told us to wait there and left, so I decided to talk with Akira.
“Akira, how do you know Akabane?”
“Her family descends from old nobility, too. We live near each other, so we’re kinda like rivals. Y’know how my granddad is in the Diet? Well, he won the seat that her own grandfather was aiming for.”
“Huh. When you put it like that, you’re sort of like business rivals.”
“Yeah. She’s always treated me this way. I get really tired of arguing with her... It’s literally been happening since kindergarten. Now I’m stuck with her here, too.”
“But that means she likes video games too, right? You can’t be that different at heart.”
“Really? I don’t think so.”
“You even picked the same class.”
“I don’t know about her, but I only picked this because you made me!”
At that moment, Yukino returned to the waiting room with another guild member in tow, carrying a lottery box and tournament bracket.
Oh, is it time to decide on the matchups, then?
“Hello, everyone! Thanks for coming. I’m Yukino Yamamura, guild master of Mystic Arts, the sponsor of today’s tournament, the Spring Newbie Spotlight. We will now begin drawing lots to determine the tournament brackets. But first, the rules of the tourney.
“First, there is a level cap of 30. That means you can only use equipment that’s level 30 and below, so make sure you’ve geared up accordingly. Second, pet dragons may not participate in the battles.”
Shame, but I get it. He’d be too useful if he joined in.
When he heard that last part, Draco chirped in dismay.
“Lastly, for anyone curious about the reward, this is what we’ve chosen as the first-place prize.” Yukino held up what appeared to be a decorative paintbrush. “This is Libra’s Brush, a new item introduced this spring. The school gave it to us for this event.”
Hmm?
“What does it do?” someone asked.
“It seems to work a lot like a drawing tablet.”
Ohoho. A tool just for art, huh? It must work a lot like the Dealer’s Desk. Hmm... She didn’t tell us much about it, but it looks like it can draw stuff in a variety of colors, save designs, and copy-paste them.
Ooh! If that’s true, then it would totally help us out! With that item, our guild shop could become a huge hit! Also, since it’s new, it would give us a competitive advantage over our rivals!
“Akira. I really, really want that thing,” I said.
“Huh? Do you wanna draw or something? I could teach you how to draw macho men.”
“No! Money, girl! If we have that, we could get cash rolling in for our guild! We might even get a stable income!”
That very item could be the savior of our wallets!
“An income for our guild, huh? We did use most of our money on furniture, so it would be nice to get some more. What would you do if we got that thing?”
“We could use it to paint swords, armor, and other stuff to sell. I’ll make the base items, and then Yano can paint the designs. With her artistic talent, I bet we’ll make a killing.”
“Ooh! She does have a knack for it.”
“Yeah. We could turn simple little wooden tables and iron swords into high-quality art. Heck, we could do it to the stuff we already own.”
“I’ve never seen any shops selling items with custom designs. I wonder why?”
“Probably because painting normally takes a lot of time and effort. Doing one stroke at a time takes so long that you probably can’t do anything else. With the cost of labor, that makes for an expensive product.”
“Oh, I get it. With tablet functionalities, we can copy and paste designs we’ve already made, so that cuts down on labor by a lot while increasing our productivity.”
“Yeah! If we could do that, we could turn an easy profit. And did you hear her say it was a new item? With such a low supply, nobody can take hold of the market yet. Let’s capitalize on this opportunity and make explosive profits!”
That’s economics for you! The early bird gets the competitive advantage! Fortunately for us, we already have a designer—Yano. She can probably make plenty of high-quality designs for us. Who wouldn’t do it at this point?!
“That sounds fun! It seems like it’ll work, too.”
“Cool! One of us has to win so we can bring home that paintbrush!”
“Yeah! Let’s do our best!”
With that goal in mind, all that mattered now was our matchups.
“All right, let’s begin the lottery. When your name is called, come up and draw,” Yukino ordered.
Ideally, Akira and I wouldn’t face one another until the finals. The tournament bracket they brought out listed thirty-two contestants. It was split with sixteen entrants on each side, narrowing down to a final match between the last two.
Put Akira on the opposite side! The opposite siiide!
Once we had all drawn lots, it was time to begin.
“Okay, here we go!” shouted Yukino. “We’ll start at the top-left of the chart and move our way down. When it’s your turn, get your butt out to the stadium! Most importantly, make sure you have fun!”
“Woooo!” The crowd went wild as the tournament kicked off.
My match was fifth, so I had some time to kill.
“Nice! We won’t meet until the finals!”
“Yeah!”
I was on the left side of the bracket, and Akira was on the right. We’d successfully avoided the need to butt heads before the final match. Yukino and Akabane were on my side, so there was a possibility I’d run into one or both of them. Kataoka was on Akira’s side.
Yukino walked over to me with a mischievous grin. “Looks like we’ll be meeting in the quarterfinals, Ren. Heheheh, I’m getting pumped up!”
“I probably don’t have to worry about you, but make sure you don’t lose, all right?”
“I’m not planning to!”
“We’ll have to see about that,” someone said from behind us.
Hmm?
Homura Yamamura (3-A)
Level 191 Wizard
Guild: Grand Museum (Guild Master)
Yamamura...?
Her features were similar to Yukino’s, but her hair was red and styled into pigtails.
“Yukino, is she—”
“Dunno. I don’t see anything there,” she replied shortly.
“Hah! Your brain’s so battered from fighting that you can’t even see properly! How pathetic!” said the red-haired girl.
“Huh?! No, I just naturally tune out collection fetishists like you!”
“You’re staring right at me! I know you can see me!”
Am I watching some sort of weird diss-off?
“Homura and Yukino must be...” Akira chimed in.
“Yes, we’re twins! Not that we want to be anywhere near each other!”
Yep, there it is. They’re a lot alike, apart from their clashing red and blue color schemes.
“Hmph. By the way, I’m the older twin, so I’m naturally superior. Don’t you forget it.”
“By only a few seconds! Don’t act like you’re better than me, moron!”
“Shut up, you hyena! Every time you get a whiff of an item, you just start howling for it!”
“My museum doesn’t have Libra’s Brush yet, so I’ll do anything to get my hands on it. Even if it means forcing myself to take part in a competition full of meatheads!”
“What museum?” When I spoke, Homura’s eyes sparkled with joy.
“My guild is a group of item collectors. Our dream is to collect every item in the game and put them all on display in our museum! If you’re going to play a game, you might as well see all of the items’ graphics up close, right? It really makes you want to collect them all!”
“Huh. That sounds fun.”
“I kinda wanna see it.”
“Ooh! You two get it! You should come by after this is over. It’s right here.” Homura handed us what looked to be a sticker with a map on it.
“Nice. Thanks!”
“Hey! Whose side are you guys on?! She’s a no-good junkie who’d do anything for a rare item!”
“Yukino! How dare you slander me?!”
“All you boring losers do is focus-fire your magic on enemies so you can get your items in complete safety! That’s no fun at all! It’s straight-up disrespectful to a beautifully crafted battle system! Why even play games at that point?!”
“What’s the problem? That’s the easiest way to grind items! You’re just a bunch of lunkheads who waste precious items on any old battle! I bet you’d be just fine with using Megalixirs until you ran out! Everyone knows you’re supposed to keep at least one on you, just in case!”
These two are total opposites when it comes to their ideologies—but at the very least, I know they both love gaming. That’s why they both feel so strongly about this. They might be hurling insults at each other, but they aren’t being genuinely hateful. You know how it goes; you tend to fight the most with the people you’re closest to... and you can’t get much closer than twins.
“Hmph, fine! Ren, you’d better not lose to her. I’m not missing out on an opportunity to battle you!”
“Oh, right. If I win my first match, I’ll be up against you, Homura.”
“Right. Sorry, but I’m going to beat you.”
“Stupid. You think you can beat Ren when you can’t PvP your way out of a paper bag?”
“So you say, but he’s only a level 30 symbologist.! My items and talents are way better.”
“Well, I can’t afford to lose here, so I’m gonna come at you with everything I’ve got.”
“Of course. No hard feelings!”
Now, it’s almost my turn! It’d be a darn shame if I lost in the first round before I even got to Homura. I should take a quick look at my equipment and talent loadouts.
◆◆◆
Let’s start by confirming my stats.
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[Character Status]
Class: Symbologist
Level: 30
HP: 944/944
MP: 330/330
AP: 0/300
STR: 49
VIT: 171
DEX: 60
AGI: 71
INT: 121
MND: 105
CHR: 82
Talent 1: Knifer
<Effect> User can equip hidden weapons.
Talent 2: Skill Chain
<Effect> User can combine up to three skills/arts to unleash ultimate abilities.
Talent 3: Final Strike
<Effect> User has learned Final Strike.
Talent 4: Efficiency
<Effect> User skips the crafting animation, but is unable to craft flawless items.
Talent 5: Skill Chain
<Effect> User can unleash ultimate moves that combine up to three skills/arts.
LUB: 0
MEP: 0
Money: 130 Mira
[Equipment]
Main Weapon: Fanatic’s Staff (O)
Subweapon: None
Ranged Weapon: Blowgun (OEX)
Ammunition: Sleep Darts
Head: Elder’s Circlet
Body: Elder’s Robes
Arms: Elder’s Gloves
Legs: Elder’s Trousers
Feet: Elder’s Shoes
Acc 1: Equip Ring
Acc 2: Parry Ring
I was still putting all of my LUB points into VIT, making it ridiculously high. At this point, my VIT rivaled that of most tank classes. Thanks to the HP gain from increased VIT, my HP was exceptionally high for a back-line class. I had two Skill Chain talents equipped in order to use both of my hidden weapon ultimates.
Skill Chain can be placed in multiple talent slots to duplicate the effect, but man, it’s tough to spare two whole slots. If I had something better to put there, I definitely would, but my only other available talent was Joint Magic. That didn’t help in one-on-one combat, so Skill Chain was the better choice.
My funds were dangerously low, enough only to buy a single can of coffee.
Poverty stinks.
My main weapon for now was the Fanatic’s Staff due to its high poise stat. I could switch between that and the Canesword as needed. Naturally, my Blowgun was ready to unleash some sleep darts. I stayed away from poison darts because they could be made useless almost instantly with a single antidote item.
The Elder series of gear was just an appropriate set of equipment for my level. Honestly, it was just a temporary measure; I was resigned to refine it when I could.
Then came my accessories, Equip Ring and Parry Ring.
Equip Ring
Type: Accessory
Level: 10
Effect: Allows the user to change equipment quickly through verbal commands.
[Same effect as the talent Quick Change]
Quick Change essentially allows you to change gear whenever you want. For example, my loadout above was saved in the first set, Equipment Set A. Set B was as follows:
[Equipment Set B]
Main Weapon: Canesword (OEX)
Subweapon: None
Ranged Weapon: Blowgun (OEX)
Ammunition: Sleep Darts
Head: Elder’s Circlet
Body: Elder’s Robes
Arms: Elder’s Gloves
Legs: Elder’s Trousers
Feet: Elder’s Shoes
Acc 1: Equip Ring
Acc 2: Parry Ring
The only difference between the two sets was my main weapon, but the Equip Ring gave me the ability to switch weapons without going through the whole rigmarole of opening my item window and manually moving around my equipment. Normally, if I wanted to switch to the Fanatic’s Staff to guard after using Dead End or switch to the Canesword in order to attack, I had to change weapons by hand—which left me too vulnerable for way too long. Now that I didn’t have to worry about that, I was in a much better position.
This would also come in handy if I wanted to use offensive magic; I could switch to a set of gear that increased my magic but lowered my defenses. Or, if I had to defend, I could switch to a set that raised my defenses at the expense of offense.
Changing into gear sets optimized for any situation is known as outfitting in this world. Someone who focuses on outfitting wants different sets built specifically around normal attacks, arts, magic, and more, which naturally leads to item hoarding and a cluttered inventory. But hey, it is what it is. We want to feel immersed! We want to focus on the little things! That’s what being a gamer is all about! So, if you can change outfits, that’s just what you do.
I planned on never taking off my Equip Ring. As for where it came from, the girls happened to find it in a chest while I was running a marathon to escape the enemies at Almishr’s Burial Ground. It was a nice added bonus to getting the Guild Establishment Permit. We split the spoils pretty evenly, so I ended up with the Equip Ring.
Now for my other accessory:
Parry Ring
Type: Accessory
Level: 28
Effect: If an enemy attack is successfully guarded, the user is awarded with some AP.
This was at Almishr’s Burial Ground, too. It actually belonged to Yano, who let me borrow it for the tournament. Normally, you wouldn’t get any AP for guarding an attack and taking zero damage, but with this ring equipped, you’d receive a little boost. With my VIT focus and my high-poise Fanatic’s Staff, no-damage guards are common. This ring was pretty much made for me.
PAGE 2/3
[Magic]
Enfeebling Circle (MP: 5~∞)
Cooldown: 0/10 seconds
Devitalizing Circle (MP: 5~∞)
Cooldown: 0/10 seconds
Clumsifying Circle (MP: 5~∞)
Cooldown: 0/10 seconds
Enervating Circle (MP: 5~∞)
Cooldown: 0/10 seconds
Stupefying Circle (MP: 5~∞)
Cooldown: 0/10 seconds
Debrain Circle (MP: 5~∞)
Cooldown: 0/10 seconds
Repugnant Circle (MP: 5~∞)
Cooldown: 0/10 seconds
[Skills]
Turnover
Cooldown: 0/300 seconds
<Effect> Swaps current HP and MP.
Symbologist only
Final Strike
Cooldown: 0/300 seconds
<Effect> Greatly increases damage of next attack, but breaks weapon afterward.
[Arts]
Charge Spells (AP: 100)
Staff Art
<Effect> Recovers 20% of max MP
Stinging Shot (AP: 50)
Staff Art
<Effect> Smacks a faraway enemy by using magic to manipulate one’s staff. Hits once.
Windmill (AP: 50)
Staff Art
<Effect> User swings equipped staff in a wide arc and leaps upward. Hits once.
Quickdraw (AP: 0)
Hidden Weapon Art
<Effect> Lightning-fast strike that takes enemies by surprise. Hits once. Only usable once per battle. Grows stronger as HP decreases. Ignores defense. Cannot be evaded.
Shadow Dart (AP: 0)
Hidden Weapon Art
<Effect> Fires a single dart from the enemy’s blind spot. Hits once. Only usable once per battle. Grows stronger as HP decreases. Extra effect rate and potency increase as HP decreases. Ignores defense. Cannot be evaded.
The only real changes here were the two new additions to my staff arts: Stinging Shot and Windmill. Stinging Shot’s damage is dependent on INT, but its accuracy is dependent on DEX, since it’s a physical attack. That means I’ll never hit anyone, so it’s pretty pointless.
Meanwhile, Windmill’s damage is dependent on STR, so it appears to be useless at first glance. However, its animation looks very similar to a certain upward punch from a famous fighting game. Much like the one-handed sword’s Hawk Strike, Windmill is very useful for dodging. I wouldn’t be able to move as high as Akira when using it, but it’s better than nothing. At the very least, I can recognize it as a trade-off between AP and evasion.
PAGE 3/3
[Ultimates]
Dead End (Usable after a sequence of Turnover -> Final Strike -> Quickdraw)
Soul Spear (Usable after a sequence of Turnover -> Final Strike -> Shadow Dart)
I have two ultimate moves, so I’d better make sure to use the right one! Annnd I’m all set. All that’s left is to make the right moves.
“The fifth match is about to begin! Fighters, take your places in the stadium!” shouted a Mystic Arts staff member, peeking into the waiting room.
It’s finally my turn! Time to show everyone the fruits of my meta-redefinition!
“Good luck, Ren!” Akira shouted.
“Thanks! Heheh... Watch this developing player rise up to stardom from the brink of being benched!”
“Haha. You’re as confident as always.”
Akira watched me from the bottom of the staircase as I climbed up to make my debut.