Chapter 43: 300-Limit Rhapsody, the One Who Flees with a Chance of Victory
The area attacks are getting denser. But the fact that the density increases in stages means each stage is an upgraded version of the last... In other words, there are some commonalities between the area attacks.
Sunraku: "Number of impacts... plus three! No change in time from flash to impact! Plenty of room!"
No need to even use evasion skills. Area attacks spaced out to never overlap, always leaving a gap the size of one spell—there are safe zones all over the place. I even have leeway to open my status screen. Having dodged the barrage of lightning bolts aimed at me, I evade the next attack—chains with exceptional homing performance but a small hitbox that makes them easy to dodge—and close in right next to the Mummy Palm.
Sunraku: "Oi, you deadbeat mummy palm! I'm right here! Try hitting me with those arms of yours that look like they'd be useless even as firewood!"
I wonder if there's a hidden "provocation" parameter. Like with the Packhound before, I get the strong impression that monsters really get worked up by my taunts. Its withered body creaking, the Mummy Palm bends its bizarrely long torso—justifying the "palm" comparison—and launches a close-range attack.
Sunraku: "Three... two... one... Now!"
With some fine-tuning and a full-power backflip timed to match. The moment my head is closest to the ground... heaven and earth reverse, and in a pose like a high jumper, I narrowly avoid the Mummy Palm's sweeping torso by a paper-thin margin—and grab it.
Sunraku: "Hahhaah! This must be what they call the fading candle theory—my brain cells are on fire!"
Never mind that my attacks don't work on it—since it launches physical attacks, it should be possible to make contact with its body. At the very least, the Mummy Palm is a monster with a physical body, not a ghost-type intangible entity, and my hand definitely grabs the long rod the Mummy Palm holds. I get that magic jobs have a huge advantage, but making physical jobs completely useless seems off—so I tried this. I see. So physical jobs are supposed to aim for the staff.
Sunraku: "If you're a monster carrying a staff, that means... what happens if it's gone, huh?"
Mummy Palm: "O-ooohhh...!"
Maybe the AI understood my intent. As I try to steal the staff using its own neck as an impromptu foothold, the Mummy Palm grips the staff with both hands, desperate not to let go. I'd assumed its STR was nothing special, a withered, pure-mage stat block, but it puts up a fair fight. Still...
Sunraku: "Glad I saved up my point bank. Here we go."
Status screen. Point allocation. STR. It was a tightrope act, but the Mummy Palm's mistake was trying to keep me from taking the staff rather than shaking me off. With one hand freed up, I fiddle with my stats, then grab the staff with both hands and rip it away. In case you didn't know, some games these days let you steal the enemy's weapons, and...
Sunraku: "Weapon Steal is a post-apocalyptic life skill!"
Don't underestimate the looting techniques I forged in Unite Rounds—a game so broken that "a lock function to prevent having your weapon stolen" ranked number one in user surveys for "features you want implemented next"! The trick is to shake and yank!
I rip the long staff from the Mummy Palm's hands, spin once in midair to right myself, and land... Ow, fall damage hurts! That aside, when I flash a grin at the Mummy Palm, it seems the long staff really was its Achilles' heel. Where did the earlier spell hell go? With a shriek—yes, unmistakably the shriek of an inferior toward a superior—the Mummy Palm bends its body and reaches for the staff.
Sunraku: "Well, I probably shouldn't be the one saying this, but you really should work out a bit more."
I mean, its MP is probably triple—no, quadruple—mine, and yet it loses a contest of strength? What kind of elite mob is that? Its fatal flaw was not being the intangibility type of physical immunity. Alright then. Weaklings should just run around like weaklings. Come catch me if you can, mister monster...
A unicorn without a horn is just a horse. A pegasus without wings is just a horse. The horse of Sleepy Hollow with a head attached is still just a horse... So what about a magic-job mummy palm that's lost its magic? The name says it all—I don't know the backstory, but "Loser"... that's exactly what this is.
It seems the root attacks were a racial ability rather than magic. The root spears weren't as vicious as the earthen ones, but they still made me break into a cold sweat. Still, once you get used to them, it's just routine work. I've trimmed everything for speed specialization. I'm literally not moving at a speed that would get caught by something rooted to the ground.
Vash: "Oi, five minutes."
Sunraku: "Hell yeah!"
Just as I jump to avoid root spears attacking from all four directions in a last desperate flurry, Vash's voice quietly echoes. In that instant—slice—the Mummy Palm... or rather, Aberrant Wood-Mage is split clean in two vertically, bursting into polygons and scattering. Beyond the paper-shower of dissolving polygon remnants stands Vash, having swung through an absurdly massive blade—a great katana, or maybe a horse-slaying sword? Whatever it was, it was huge. Wait, what about the physical immunity... Actually, it vanished along with the staff! Not that I'd use it, but what a waste!
Vash: "Bit of a shame ya had to rely on bare hands in the second half... but ya definitely showed me your Vorpal Soul."
Vorpal Soul — I have a rough idea, but I'd like someone to explain it to me verbally or in text at some point. Setting aside Emul, who's making a racket at my feet... I look Vash straight in the eye.
Vash: "Seems you're the real deal after all... Alright. I'm gonna recognize you as an Honorary Citizen of Rabituza."
Sunraku: "Huh? Uh, ah... Ossu."
Wait, I mean, couldn't there be something a bit more... tangible?
[Unique Scenario "Invitation from Rabituza" cleared!] [Title acquired: Honorary Citizen of Rabituza] [Accessory "Vorpal Soul Collar" has vanished.] [NPC "Magic Rabbit Emul" has officially joined the party.] [Begin Unique Scenario EX "Epic of Vorpal Bunny"? Yes / No]
Wait, wait, wait, wait—that's way too much info at once right now! Ah, I leveled up.