Chapter 114: And So the Perv Dancing Through the Air Encounters Maximum Firepower
A Legacy Weapon is a weapon manufactured through the technology of the Divine Era, which amplifies and controls the power of the materials used. The Crystal Bullet fired from the left fist receives a special-frequency vibration emitted from the main body—the left fist—causing it to generate a massive crystal pillar roughly three meters in height. This crystal pillar is a time-limited object, collapsing into polygons after approximately five seconds, but I can think of any number of ways to abuse it. After all, it's a crystal pillar that shoots up with a thud from wherever the Crystal Bullet lands. Use it as a trap? Sure. Use it as a foothold? Absolutely. Use it as a launching device? That works too.
Sunraku: "Hahahahaha! The game system analyzed my combat play data or something?! This is the greatest toy ever!"
Graceful... well, maybe I'm flailing a little too much to call it that, but I twist my body in midair, attempting to cut time by leaping over the wheel.
Sunraku: "A graceful landing... whoa, danger!"
My foot slips, and I nearly topple backward. I swing my arms forward with all my might, barely managing to pitch my body forward. That was close. If I'd still been holding the Marsh Dagger, I would've slipped right off... I'll make sure to strengthen you properly later.
Sunraku: "Alright then... forty-eight seconds—let's pile it on!"
The inseparable combo: Infight + Hand of Fortune! It's a narrow foothold, but it's far easier to move around here than being forced to fight on a tightrope. I slam my wound-up fist into the front fork, and for good measure, drive one more blow into the crack that barely held on. CRACK. An irreversible sound rings out.
Sunraku: "Oops. Guess a hate decoy doesn't quite last a full minute... You're standing too tall. Bow your head!"
The Overdress Golem rises, trying to shake me off. Whether I fall or not is honestly whatever, but time-wise, if it doesn't die within the next nine seconds, I'm in trouble. I leap off the steel beam I've been using as a foothold. My landing point: the crown of the Overdress Golem's head as it rises. Like a pro-wrestling double sledgehammer, I bring both fists together, layering the energy of the fall with the force of the swing, and activate two skills. The first is Shockwave Fist—which increases the stagger rate when striking the head and has a chance to inflict stun. The second is Lethe Vanisher—an attack skill that possesses an inherent stun effect and, if it stuns the target, extends the stun duration to a full ten seconds.
Sunraku: "Feels like a dunk shot!!"
I hammer the obsidian fist-hammer down onto the head of this fashion-senseless mud doll. Impact: crown of the head. Angle of incidence: good. Power: good. Skill activation: good. Conditions met. Results chain. I don't know if golems have brains, but at the very least, this monster's core is in its head. That's precisely why this thing—so blatantly carrying its weak point on its back—is known among players as the "Suicide Seeker."
Sunraku: "Hah-HA! The next hammer's gonna hurt even worse!!"
As if bashed on the head by a fist from directly above, the Overdress Golem doubles over into a crouch. Since I'd already committed to a landing-ignoring drop, I'm falling headfirst. But beyond my gaze, the wheel—finally losing its support and coming free from the front fork—falls as if in slow motion.
Sunraku: "Sorry, but I didn't jump down aiming for a mutual KO. You're the only one dying here."
Inventoria—activate. I transfer into the storage space, resetting the momentum of the fall. I don't understand the exact mechanics of why fall damage resets, but Inventoria was created not through magic, but through the science of the Divine Era. That probably explains the difference from magic-based teleportation. I've used Inventoria several times now, and I feel like I always slam my back every time. Rubbing my back, I stand up and exit the storage space. I'm thrown back into the air, but this time I'm in a proper stance, ready for the landing.
Sunraku: "Oh, nice sound effect."
With the unmistakable crash of two massive objects colliding, the wheel slams into the Overdress Golem's skull. The Overdress Golem—now sporting a wheel growing out of its head like a mohawk, depending on how you look at it—screams in agony.
Sunraku: "That looks way more popular, honestly. How about an image change?"
Using Flit Float—now off cooldown—I step on empty air, killing the momentum of my fall. The damage taken from falling five meters and from falling two and a half meters twice in succession are vastly different. A bit of lingering numbness is proof that the fall damage hasn't been completely mitigated. But I'm definitely standing on my own two feet. And the Overdress Golem—with its hilarious wheel-head lowered—collapses forward as if prostrating itself.
Sunraku: "...'The golem isn't sturdy enough to support the wheel, so when the wheel falls onto its head, the weight crushes the core and kills it instantly.' Seeing it actually happen... that's just too stupid a cause of death for a late-game area boss."
Before my eyes as I land, the wheel comes crashing down. No—strictly speaking, it's the Overdress Golem's head, crushed under the wheel, coming down with it. Pinned to the ground—head and all—by weight and gravity, the Overdress Golem shudders two or three times. But the moment it stops, its entire body explodes into polygons. It's a shame about the experience points, but... right now, hurrying takes priority.
I touch the bluish ingot to itemize it, toss it into my inventory, and break into a sprint. My destination: the eleventh town, Eleventar. There, a backup ally—one who replied to my request and accepted within twenty seconds—is waiting.
???: "........."
Silence. The player simply stands there, nothing more. Since Shangri-La Frontier is an online game, "meeting up" is a perfectly ordinary occurrence. So the fact that she's standing in the middle of Eleventar's main street isn't particularly strange. Passersby players would normally think, Ah, waiting for someone, and pay it no mind... but that's not what happens.
???: "Hey, isn't that Psyger-0...?"
???: "I don't know the details, but I heard she left the advance group and stayed behind here. Why's she in Eleventar, though?"
???: "Man, no matter how many times I see it, it's insane... fully decked out in Unique gear."
???: "Those are the 'Heavenly Demon' series, right? The armor and greatsword you get from linked Unique Scenarios?"
???: "Rumor has it she soloed an enemy on par with a Unique Monster..."
The player's name is Psyger-0. While her individual strength is already exceptional, the management themselves bestowed upon her the honor of "Maximum Firepower (Attack Holder)"—and she continues to hold that title to this day. That is to say, she remains, unchangingly, the player who has dealt the single highest damage in this world. Why would such a player be left behind, excluded from the so-called "advance team"—the players boarding the New Land Research Vessel, the Torvante Discoverer, and heading for the New Land? Why is such a player standing alone in the middle of Eleventar? True, the areas before and after Eleventar aren't unnatural places for a front-line player like Psyger-0 to be. And since Psyger-0 is a player, meeting up with someone isn't wrong either. If that's the case—just who is this meeting partner that she's been waiting for roughly an hour? Unable to ask the person herself, the surrounding players can only steal glances at the white-gleaming holy knight standing frozen in the middle of the street. And then Psyger-0—motionless as a statue—moves. The surrounding players have no way of knowing it, but her reaction is even faster than when every fiber of her body was wound tight during her solo clears of the Unique Scenarios "The Fallen Heavenly Emperor" and "The Risen Demon King." Beyond her gaze, her meeting partner must have appeared. And the players turn their eyes toward the brave—in more ways than one—individual who kept the top-tier player waiting for an hour.
Sunraku: "Ah... how long did I make you wait?"
Psyger-0: "...I... just got here."
Liar! and What the hell is that perv?!
Which sentiment surged into more players' hearts, no one knows. Swallowing the shouts that nearly burst from their throats, the surrounding players remain unaware. And Psyger-0, bracing herself for the greatest challenge of her life—an invitation from Rakuro Hizutome (Sunraku), essentially a date—prepares to face it!!!