Chapter 4: The Two-Million Mila “V”
Chapter 4: The Two-Million Mila “V”
“Congrats, Ren! That last combo was crazy!”
Upon my return to the waiting room, Akira trotted right up to me.
“Heheheh. You saw it, huh? It was pretty great, if I do say so myself!”
“Yeah, totally! It was awesome! Setting up Soul Spear, making her blow herself up, using Quickdraw to take her first life, and then Soul Spear coming in for the final kill! Two whole kills before she could even reactivate her auto-revive!”
That’s my best friend for you; she always understood my strategy.
“You were so quick to concoct a plan, even while you were constantly moving! Seeing her fall for Soul Spear was totally amazing! I bet she never expected your power level could get that high!” Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, bouncing all over the place.
Looks like she enjoyed the fight.
Akira’s happiness infected me, making me even happier.
“Hahaha! You mean that whole ‘It’s over nine thousaaand!’ thing?”
It’s a little weird to see such a cute girl referencing an anime about beefy glowing warriors, but I might as well play along.
“Yeah! Homura is definitely Yegeta in that scene.”
“But hey, this is all thanks to our experiments. If I hadn’t known Soul Spear avoids magic circles, I never would’ve been able to come up with that. Thank you for helping me, Akira.”
“No problem!”
We high-fived each other as Homura approached us.
“Could I have a moment, Takashiro?”
“Oh, hey, Homura. That was a good fight!”
“Yeah. You’re... really strong. Even Yukino knows it.”
“Heh. Thanks.”
“It sucks, but I have to admit defeat. On that note, I have a request.”
“Uh-huh. What is it?”
“You’ll probably be up against Yukino next, right?”
“Probably.”
Yukino’s in the middle of her battle, but she’ll most likely win anyway. I have a feeling I’ll be fighting the final boss of this tournament early.
“Please, you have to defeat her! If she wins against you even though I lost, she’ll never shut up about it! But if we both lose to you, then it’s like a draw!”
“Hahaha! I’m not here to lose, so I’ll do my best. No guarantees, though.”
I’ll be up against Yukino, after all. I’d be lying if I said I was totally confident.
“I’m serious! If you lose, I’m really in for it! This is important for my mental health, so I’m gonna help you out!”
“Hmm? How’s that?”
“With this. Use it in your duel and make sure you win!” Homura said, handing me an item.
Peregrine Stone
Type: Treasure
Description: Crafting material. When combined with a weapon, this magical stone gives the user the ability to perform lightning-fast strikes. It is an extremely rare material that is scarcely produced.
“Oooh!”
“Huh?! Wow!” Akira and I were both shocked.
Peregrine Stones are super expensive. Whenever we saw them in the Guild Market, they were on sale for no less than two million Mila. As the description implies, when you combine it with a weapon, that weapon can be used to attack twice in a row. One attack motion gives you two hits. It’s a necessary ingredient for peregrine weapons, which everyone is dying to get. Rare items like this only show up in shops once in a while, so when they do, they’re insanely expensive.
And she’s just gonna give me one?!
“Hold up a second! I can’t accept something this valuable!”
“You don’t have to be so modest. Take it and knock her out of the tournament!”
“But... if I use this, it’s going straight into a Canesword. It’ll be broken by the end of the battle.”
“I know. As long as you win, I don’t care. Go on. It’s yours.”
“Man, this really feels like a waste.”
I’ll be spending two million Mila in one strike. That’s way too much! I only have 130 Mila! I could flip this for two million! Or I can use it to buff Akira’s Skyfall! That’s a much better long-term boost!
“Oh, and if you sell it or use it on something else, I’ll be really mad. This is for Yukino-killing only! In fact, just put it in your weapon right now so you can’t take it out later. I’ll watch.”
“Nnngh...”
“It’s okay! I am the master of an item-lovers’ guild, after all. At my rank, this thing isn’t that big of a deal. Your victory is much more valuable to me.”
A Canesword with a Peregrine Stone, huh? That Dead End would be something else. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see my precious drama cannon fire off with two million Mila of cold, hard cash behind it.
“What do you think, Akira?”
“Oh, me? I honestly just wanna see how it looks.”
Right. That’s true, too. Hmm. Hmmmm. Hmmmmm...!
“Okay. I’ll do it! Thank you so much!”
My curiosity is bubbling over! I’ve just gotta see what happens! Heheheh. Man, I’m so hype, my hands are shaking!
“Good! Try crafting with it, then.”
“Got it!”
I whipped out my Simple Forge toolset and combined an iron sword with the Peregrine Stone. The required crafting level wasn’t very high, so the attempt went smoothly. Now I had an iron sword with the two-strike effect added to it. Its name had changed to Peregrine Iron Sword, and its description included the whole “attacking twice” bit.
“Cool. I’d rather complete the actual Canesword during the battle, though.”
“Sure, I don’t mind. Just make sure you use it.”
“Okay.”
Let’s see how it’ll look when it becomes a Canesword.
In the crafting menu, I selected the Peregrine Iron Sword and an iron staff. The expected crafting result was a Canesword, but the hidden weapon art it came with was different.
“Ohoho!”
“Oooh!” Akira was equally captivated.
Normally, Caneswords come with Quickdraw. However...
Swallow’s Blade (AP: 0)
Hidden Weapon Art
<Effect> Lightning-fast strike that takes the foe by surprise, followed by another high-speed attack. Hits twice. Only usable once per battle. Grows stronger as HP decreases. Ignores defense. Cannot be evaded.
Swallow’s Blade! Wow, that sounds pretty cool. Kinda weird how a peregrine falcon motif turns into a swallow motif, but if that’s the naming convention, then I can’t complain. Conventions rule game systems, after all. It’s like how umpires have to follow strict rules in baseball.
“Nice! It has kind of an edgy feel to it.”
“Right?! I wonder what it’ll be like to use it.”
“So, Ren, what happens when you insert this bad boy into an ultimate combo?”
“Let’s take a look.”
Arts and skills that have been displayed on-screen once can be chosen as candidates for Skill Chain ultimates, even if you haven’t actually used them. I set Turnover, Final Strike, and Swallow’s Blade as the components for my new ultimate.
The result:
Dead End V (Usable after a sequence of Turnover -> Final Strike -> Swallow’s Blade)
Oooohohoho! Here it is! The “V” is clearly short for “very expensive”! With this, I can fire off some two-million Mila fireworks! Man, I’m getting really pumped for my next match!
◆◆◆
Soon enough, the second-round matches concluded. Obviously, Yukino won hers. I’d be up against her next.
Akira made it through her match with flying colors—not that I ever doubted my best friend’s abilities. Skyfall’s shockwaves, the automatic AP recharge from Breath of Ares, the max AP increase from AP Limit Break, and the incredible damage output from Skill Chain’s ultimates all made for a great combo.
Akira kept her opponent at a distance using Skyfall’s shockwaves while accumulating AP thanks to Breath of Ares. Whenever her opponent dodged the shockwaves and got close to her, she would use her built-up AP to use her ultimate move as a counterattack, which suited her style perfectly. Skyfall’s pickoffs and her automatic AP recovery were just too synergistic; while the enemy had their hands full with the shockwaves, she was accumulating AP to deal the finishing blow. Even if she got hurt, she could just heal herself with a dance. Sword dancer was yet another potent piece of the meta-redefinition puzzle.
Incidentally, it seemed like Aerial Crescent was just dead weight today. When I asked Akira why she wouldn’t use it, she just glared at me and said “I can’t use that here!”
Well, all that really matters is that she’s winning. I hope I can fight her in the finals.
Then there’s Akabane, Akira’s real-life acquaintance. She won her fight, too. Whoever wins between Yukino and myself will likely end up pitted against her.
Yukino and I walked up the stairs toward the stadium together. Our duel was about to begin.
“It’s our time to shine, Ren! Let’s make this duel a sight to behold!”
“Absolutely!”
We grinned and bumped fists.
“Heheh. I really do love this game. Whenever you whack or slice through somebody, you can really feel it. It’s a lot more stimulating than PvP in other games, y’know?”
“Whoa there! That sounds ominous... Almost like you’re gonna kill me during our match.”
“Hmm? Oops, sorry. I got a little too excited.”
Uh, is she okay? I’m a little worried about her.
“Anyway, come at me with all you’ve got! I don’t want you to hold back in the slightest.”
“Of course! I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I’m ready to launch my cash cannon her way, with or without her invitation! Who wouldn’t, given the chance?! Not me, that’s for sure. Plus, we really need Libra’s Brush. I’ll do whatever it takes to get it, even if I have to throw mercy to the wayside! I’d become the devil himself to achieve my goals!
As we stepped onto the stadium grounds, we were welcomed by the cheers of the crowd.
“All right! In this match, our rising-star symbologist, Ren Takashiro, will test his mettle against the sponsor of this event, the guild master of Mystic Arts, Yukino Yamamura! This may be the most hair-raising match of the entire tournament! As our interim player analyst, we have Akira Aoyagi! What are your thoughts, Akira?”
Oh, right, Akira was taken to the hosts’ booth earlier, wasn’t she?
“Uhh... Well, let’s see. Both of them are highly skilled players, so I think we can expect a pretty intense fight. I’m excited to see how it goes.”
“I see! Who do you expect to win?”
“I don’t know, but I’m hoping they both give it a hundred and ten percent.”
“Aww, c’mon! You gave an unbiased answer, but you’re totally rooting for Takashiro, aren’t you?!”
“Huh?!”
“You two have gotten along so well since you enrolled in our school. All the students say you must be dating. Don’t you wanna root for your boyfriend?!”
Ms. Nakada’s teasing caused some of the audience members to spit hateful comments my way.
“What?! I thought I’d finally found a cute sword dancer to worship!”
“No way, bro! Akira is ours!”
“Die, normie, die!”
“Go explode somewhere, normie!”
Ouch. I think the crowd wants me dead! Akira and Akabane are already about as popular as idols here.
“Um, wait, no, that’s not it!” Akira tried to deny it, but I had already earned the crowd’s wrath.
One man stood up from his seat in the stands.
“All of you, quit it! Their relationship isn’t what you think! They’re not dating... It’s much more pure than that, you feel me?! Ms. Aoyagi is Takashiro’s Hime-chan! He’s just doing his best as her follower, and I’m not gonna stand for any losers trying to make fun of him for it!”
I think I know who that came from... Yep, there’s Kataoka. Guess he came to watch, too. I think he’s trying to defend me, but man, I really don’t get that guy.
“Oh, really? If he’s just her follower, then that’s fine.”
“Okay, I get it.”
“I’ll allow it!”
“An ally?! Good luck, bro!”
Why the heck did that work so well?! Why does the crowd think having Hime-chans is normal?! It’s not normal, right?! At the very least, I don’t feel their bloodlust anymore. Thanks, I suppose.
Yukino chuckled. “Hahaha. I feel sorry for you, Ren.”
“Good grief.”
“Anyway, how about we get this show on the road?”
“Sure!”
Yukino and I took our positions, putting some distance between us.
So, Yukino is a magic knight, the best offensive class in the game. Magic knights can equip shortswords, one-handed swords, one-handed axes, things like that. If the weapon can be held in one hand, they can probably equip it.
With regards to their stats, magic knights have above-average STR and very high DEX and AGI, so they make quick, powerful attacks. Their INT also isn’t too shabby, which helps them handle their magic. In short, they’re pretty much magic swordsmen with a focus on speed. Everyone loves magic swordsmen, in my experience. But that’s not enough to make them the most popular offensive class in the game; there’s one more thing.
“Let’s do this, Ren!”
Yukino was holding two one-handed axes. That’s right—one in each hand. The magic knight’s most important ability is dual-wielding... and you know everyone loves dual-wielding. Dual-wielding is powerful in every game that allows it. If it turned out to be weak in some game, players would almost certainly complain. It would be no exaggeration to say that dual-wielding has an international reputation for being really freakin’ awesome. People especially love it when dual-wielding is overpowered. It’s just too cool not to love. But from my perspective, dual-wielding is just an obstacle standing between me and the top, no matter what game I play!
This is inexcusable! Darn you, dual-wielding, for getting in my way once again! I won’t let you get away with this!
“Okay! As the Emperor of the Underpowered, I can’t bear to lose to dual-wielding!” I was ready for battle, Fanatic’s Staff in hand.
Magic knights come with dual-wielding at level 1. Between the faster attack animations and performing twice the attacks, it leads to incredibly fast AP gain and high arts turnover. The attack animations are also a little harder to predict than single-wielding animations, making it useful for PvP as well, since you can pick and choose when you want to strike with your left or right hand. With so many different weapon options to choose from, the range of potential attack animations increases exponentially.
Other classes can learn dual-wielding as well, but only magic knights have it from the start. Plus, magic knights have the most weapon options. They also have sword magic to further bolster their skillset. Think of it as a set of arts that trade AP for various effects, almost like the sword dancer’s dances. This also allows them to enchant their weapons with magic, boosting their damage output to the point that it surpasses that of all the other offensive classes.
Among their magical abilities is a support skill called Shadow Slave that simply sends the magic knight’s potential through the roof. Shadow Slave creates clones that have a 100% evasion rate against all normal attacks. Because it’s an AP-based skill with a short cooldown, magic knights can keep the clones active for as long as they can maintain their AP. Since dual-wielding is so useful for keeping up AP, it’s not all that hard to sustain the clones indefinitely. Even if they accidentally pulled aggro in battle, the clones would just take the brunt of the attacks, giving the tank a chance to regain control of the fight.
Magic knights excel in both attack power and durability; a party might not even need a regular tank if they’ve got one on the front lines. Just being able to maintain Shadow Slave while slapping the enemy with two weapons is a ridiculously powerful combination. Even if the knight takes aggro, they don’t have to worry about it, thanks to the clones. In fact, they don’t even have to guard. Since they can focus on pure damage output, they have yet another leg up on the competition.
Shadow Slave should probably be nerfed... It’s all because of this one skill. This simple tactic can promote pretty brain-dead play, but it rewards adept players like Yukino with a myriad of attack animations. Newbies also love the magic knight for its low skill floor.
Yukino doesn’t quite obsess over the Bummers like I do. A skilled racer would naturally pick the best car for the job, right?
As for weaknesses, magic knights have low VIT and HP. If their clones take a hit from an AoE attack, they’ll immediately disappear. Magic knights will often die from powerful enemy arts after accidentally taking aggro and losing their clones to a random AoE. Unlike most tanks, they’re not good at taking hits. That being said, these weaknesses aren’t enough to push the magic knight out of the number-one spot.
“Looks like both our fighters are ready! Let’s begin!”
Along with Ms. Nakada’s voice, the sound of a gong reverberated throughout the Arena, and the crowd cheered with all its might.
“Here I come, Ren!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Of course, I came with a plan in mind: the early bird gets the worm!
If I let her build up enough AP, she’s sure to use Shadow Slave. That means my best odds are at the start of the match, when she doesn’t have any AP. I have to act now and take her down in one strike!
I planned to use a sleep-dart-infused Soul Spear followed by Swallow’s Blade. Using Quickdraw after Soul Spear wouldn’t be enough to finish her off, but Swallow’s Blade would probably do the trick.
I’m itching to set off my two million Mila fireworks with a Dead End V right off the bat, but it’s best if I open with Soul Spear to tie her down. I’ll go for the easier win, thanks!
“Ultimate move!” I cried.
But before I could activate it, Yukino used an item.
“Hup!”
She’d used a Toxin on herself, which poisons the user. Poisoned players lose HP every few seconds.
“Argh! Why, you little...!”
Crap! Now I can’t use Soul Spear!
The sleep affliction is removed if the affected player loses even 1 HP, so poisoned players will be woken up in seconds. Yukino was taking advantage of that fact to neuter my strategy of putting foes to sleep before unleashing my Dead End.
“I’m not just gonna lie there and take a nap while you beat me up! Face me head-on like a man!”
Grinning with determination, Yukino charged straight at me. Her body leaned forward to balance the weight of her axes. While her avatar was a lithe young girl with a cutesy blue ponytail, the way she ran while brandishing those weapons made her look dashing.
“Haaah!”
She raised her right axe in the air and swung it down hard.
Gotta guard now!
Yukino attacked.
But Ren guarded the attack!
Good job, Fanatic’s Staff! Work that crazy poise!
When an attack is fully guarded, the attacker doesn’t gain any AP. I normally wouldn’t gain any either, but thanks to my Parry Ring, I had built up a tiny bit of AP. I swung my staff to the right in order to guard her left-handed attack, gaining a little bit more.
However...
“Ngh!”
I can’t keep this up!
Because of the dual-wielding, her attack rate was becoming too difficult to handle. I also had to determine whether each attack would come from the left or the right, making it harder to read her and guard accordingly. To compare it to a fighting game, even when your opponent uses a light attack, you don’t know if they’ll follow up with another light attack or a heavy attack. You also don’t know if they’ll aim up or down with it.
In this case, it was a choice between left and right. But if I picked the wrong one and tried to guard against it, she’d hit me.
Right! Left! Right! Right! Left! Left!
Her attacks were fast and merciless, forcing me to concentrate entirely on guarding. By watching her footwork, I could get an idea of which side would come next.
Trust me, I’m not just staring at her thighs for the fun of it!
“Not bad! You’ve got great reaction time, Ren!”
“You haven’t seen anything yet!”
At this point, I haven’t taken any hits. Yukino should still be at 0 AP, so all I have to do is keep this up until I find an opening!
“Then how about some of this?!”
Particles of mana enveloped her body, causing her to glow.
She’s casting a spell?
Even then, Yukino continued her flurry of axe strikes.
Oh! This must be Mobile Magic!
Mobile Magic allows the user to cast magic without interrupting her movement. In the MEP shop, it’s one of the most expensive talents.
I shoulda known she’d have high-level talents like this!
“Blizzard Edge!”
Once she finished casting the spell, both of her axes shone with a bright blue light. This magic enchanted her weapons with ice, giving them the power to do magic damage with her regular swings. A normal physical guard wouldn’t be enough to protect me from this.
Naturally, Yukino wasn’t done yet.
“Shadow Slave!”
“Huh?!”
She’s making clones already?!
Yukino’s body warped and split into two other Yukinos, making three altogether. Now she could evade two of my attacks unconditionally. The clones will only evade single-target attacks; with AoE magic, I could dispel all of them at once and damage her as well.
Problem is, I don’t have any AoE attacks!
An art that hits multiple times would dispel that many clones; for example, a one-two punch would break through two of them. But even if I did that, she could just summon two more clones as long as she had the AP to keep doing so. Now that I’d let her use it once, this was going to be a real pain to deal with. The clones would, of course, evade both Quickdraw and Dead End. I needed to get rid of the clones and then pummel her, but my normal attacks wouldn’t work here since the clones would just evade them.
I had heard that ranged attacks were guaranteed to kill the clones, but my only ranged attack was Shadow Dart—which already couldn’t be evaded. Besides, as a hidden weapon skill, Shadow Dart couldn’t be used willy-nilly just to remove clones.
This would be a lot easier if I could equip a talent that’d let me use AoE magic, but alas. Come to think of it, she shouldn’t have gained any AP from attacking me anyway. That must mean she has Breath of Ares, just like Akira! Grrr!
“Let’s see if you can block this!”
Her attack animations didn’t change, but now Yukino’s attacks were enchanted, making them extra powerful.
Yukino attacked.
Ren guarded the attack, taking 25 damage!
Yukino attacked.
Ren guarded the attack, taking 27 damage!
Yukino attacked.
Ren guarded the attack, taking 28 damage!
Yukino attacked.
Ren guarded the attack, taking 22 damage!
The damage was piling up in no time.
This is bad!
I quickly blocked a vertical slash, when suddenly, Yukino came in hot with a low kick.
Yukino attacked.
Dealt 65 damage to Ren!
“Gah! What the...?!”
She kicked me?!
I was so focused on defending myself against her axes that I hadn’t even had time to react.
Does she have a Master’s Scroll (Martial Arts)?!
I hadn’t expected her to combine that with dual-wielding, of all things. It made her attack patterns all the more difficult to predict.
Then those crazy axe attacks she did were just a warm-up?!
“Heheh! If I waste time like Homura did, I know you’ll come up with some crazy scheme! I’m gonna take you down while I still can!”
“Ngh!”
I need to put some distance between us!
“Windmill!”
My AP dropped a bit as I activated the art. I jumped high into the air with my staff, sailing over Yukino and landing behind her. I’d hoped to squeeze in a little damage, but of course, she’d dodged it. In the end, Windmill was only useful as a repositioning skill. As soon as I landed, I ran away to try to put some distance between us.
“I’m not letting you get away! Boomerang Axe!”
Yukino clearly wasn’t having any of that. She chucked both of her axes in my direction.
One-handed axe arts have very low AP consumption, using only about ten or so in most cases. Therefore, she didn’t have to deliberate on using a ranged attack. One-handed axes have a surprisingly long reach; it’s one of their defining features. The two Boomerang Axes dogged me ferociously.
“Argh!”
I attempted to guard, but thanks to the ice enchantment, I still took damage.
Man! Whether it’s short range or long range, Yukino doesn’t hold back! She’s super strong!
While I was guarding and taking damage from her Boomerang Axes, Yukino herself was still in hot pursuit.
“Thunderbolt!”
This martial artist art sends the user into a high jump, after which they dive downward to gain momentum and perform a fierce dropkick. It’s like the one-handed weapon’s Hawk Strike.
She was heading toward me like a speeding bullet, leaving me no room to dodge. I guarded once more. The dropkick wouldn’t be enhanced by her sword magic, but arts come with higher guard break than regular attacks. Even with the Fanatic’s Staff equipped, I took a small chunk of damage. Worse yet, she had closed the distance between us in seconds, even though it had taken me so much effort to get away from her.
What a beast! I wouldn’t have expected any less from her!
I hadn’t even had the chance to craft my Canesword yet, since the first part of the Soul Spear -> Swallow’s Blade combo wasn’t complete yet.
How can I bounce back from this?!
My train of thought was derailed the moment I saw Yukino’s body glow with mana particles again.
Mobile Magic again! She still has another attack coming!
“Frozen Bullet!”
Nonstop icy projectiles flew in my direction. Thankfully, since I’d seen it coming, I was just able to jump out of the way using Windmill before they could reach me. I then launched another art in Yukino’s direction while I was still midair.
“Stinging Shot!”
This art manipulates the staff using magic to hit a distant foe. It can be used both in midair and on the ground. However, its damage is based on INT, and its accuracy is based on DEX. It wasn’t going to hit her, but this particular skill has a bit of recoil when the staff is launched away. If you use it in midair, it pushes you backward.
Yes, I did just use two arts in a row to run away. Got a problem with it?! It was a last resort, okay?!
Just as planned, Windmill and Stinging Shot let me get away from her in a jiffy. But there was a second, unexpected result:
Ren activated Stinging Shot.
A Yukino Clone faded.
Hmm?! It hit?! Wow, must be my lucky day! Oh, wait, wait. That’s it! Stinging Shot is treated as a long-range attack! Long-ranged arts really do knock out a clone!
“Run all you want, Ren! You’re just prolonging the inevitable!”
Yukino wasted no time in running after me. She had one more clone left. If I took down the other one, she could easily summon two more. I also didn’t have enough AP to activate Stinging Shot again.
That means there’s only one thing I can do!
I shot a Shadow Dart at Yukino as she approached.
Ren activated Shadow Dart.
A Yukino Clone faded.
Booyah! There we go!
“Hmph! Shadow Slave!”
She paused to summon two more clones.
Hah! That’s just the opening I was waiting for!
I opened up my inventory and crafted a Canesword using the Peregrine Iron Sword and an iron staff. I’d used up my Shadow Dart for the sole purpose of buying this moment.
The Blowgun won’t be useful for the rest of the battle, but now I’ve got my legendary money cannon! The time has come! This is my one shot at victory! I’m gonna do it! Farewell, two million Mila!
Steeling my resolve, I cast a Stupefying Circle at its maximum radius around me, depleting my MP. Her magic hurt like heck, so I’d picked this one to reduce her INT.
“I’ve got you now!”
I continued to survive her onslaught by guarding, building up AP all the while. I needed more AP so I could use Stinging Shot to get rid of her new clones. After parrying so many attacks, my HP bar was in the red, but I finally had enough AP!
Watch in terror! Behold the greatest waste of money this world has ever seen!
“Stinging Shot!”
Ren activated Stinging Shot.
A Yukino Clone faded.
Just one more!
Yukino kept swinging, not caring about her lost defender.
This is it! Time for my attack!
“Skill Set B!”
With this command, I switched to my Canesword.
“Ultimate move!”
Yukino knew all about Dead End, so she didn’t bother to guard against it or try to avoid it, since her clone would just block it for her. And with my HP down to 1 as a result, she just needed to hit me one more time. From her point of view, she should ignore it and keep attacking!
“Dead End!”
Smaaaaaaash!
A purple flash of light moved toward Yukino, but destroyed her remaining clone instead. Immediately, I took a step forward and traced a V with the blade of the Canesword!
That’s what makes it...
“Huh?!”
“V tiiiiime!”
SMAAAAAAASH!
The first attack had been a ruse so the second would catch her off-guard.
She’s not expecting this one! It’ll totally work!
Yukino was blown back by the second attack, but she was still standing afterward. She survived it!
Ren activated Dead End V.
Yukino guarded the attack, taking 711 damage.
“Urgh!”
How did she guard so far?! Did she figure out something was off when she saw how I was moving? Dang, Yukino! But man, now I’m in real hot water!
Each of us only had a sliver of HP left, but I was clearly at a disadvantage.
“Not bad, Ren! Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m still alive! Now it’s time to finish you off!”
Yukino rushed at me, axes at the ready!
“Skill Set A!”
I quickly switched to my guarding set, but if she were to hit me with her enchanted weapon, I’d be done for.
Crap, crap, crap! I need a plan! Agh, I seriously didn’t see this coming! I don’t have another one this late in the game! Nooooo!
“Take this! Ultimate attack!”
But her ultimate ended before it even began.
“Hngh?!”
Yukino’s body froze in place, then shuddered a bit before toppling face-first onto the ground.
Uh, did she run out of HP? Why...? Oh!
“Ah?! The poison damage?!”
Now I remember! She poisoned herself to stop me from putting her to sleep. It must have taken away the last sliver of her HP.
“Hahaha... Oops. Guess I should’ve stopped and healed myself before rushing in.”
Her laugh was muffled by the ground from her face-plant.
Duel complete! Ren is the winner!
Ren’s duel record is 4W / 0L.
“And it’s oveeeer! Takashiro wins again!”
I smiled weakly as the audience roared with applause.
That was super weird, but I’m just glad I won! Yay, me!
“But wow, Takashiro is just full of surprises! That ultimate, Dead End V, must’ve come from a Canesword with a Peregrine Stone! In that case, he threw away two million Mila to try to secure this win! Was he really that set on victory? He must be one of those eccentric geniuses!”
When everyone else heard Ms. Nakada’s commentary, there was a bit of a commotion.
Well, she’s not wrong. I mean, I never would’ve done something like that of my own volition. I wouldn’t have even put the stone into my Canesword. Who would?! Breaking it is such a waste!
That said, as soon as I’d acquired Dead End V, the stone was pretty much destined to be my ultimate trump card. I wouldn’t have sold it for some quick cash even if I could have. It’s important to focus on the future, right? Either way, this is all just because Homura valued Yukino’s defeat more than two million Mila.
The duel officially ended, returning Yukino’s HP to 1. I walked over and helped her up.
“That was really close. If you had healed back there, I would’ve been in big trouble.”
“Heh... Bad decision-making on my part. Still, that was a blast. I’ve never seen someone throw away two million Mila just to beat me, but I respect it, ya big goof! Hahaha!”
Technically, Homura threw it away, but I’m supposed to keep it a secret.
“Uh, yeah, you’re right. Haha!”
Eh, I might as well keep my mouth shut.
“Keep leveling up, and you’ll get access to tons of different weapons, arts, and magic. Just get stronger and stronger, so next time we can fight without the level restriction!”
She offered her hand, and I graciously shook it. Yukino’s hands, much like her face, were pretty and delicate. How’d she manage to become such a beauty and a PvP-freak?
At the very least, the two million Mila fireworks had been memorable, even if they were a bit of a dud. If I ever needed to throw away my own money like that, I’d have to make sure it would be a clean hit.
I can’t believe I beat the final boss! Of the tournament, anyway. If I keep this up, Libra’s Brush will be ours in no time!