Chapter 253: People Call That Single Step Progress, or a Challenge
The shocking truth just revealed: the holder of SLF’s “Maximum Firepower (Attack Holder)” title, the no-life player who contributed massively in the battles against Lycagon and Ctarnidd—"Psyger-0"—was none other than Rei Saiga herself…!
Rakuro: "So, uh… does that mean you figured out the reverse, too?"
Mana: "Hahaha, sorry! When Rei-chan told me about the player called 'Sunraku,' I thought, 'Could it be?!' and ended up telling her."
Well, sure, I do basically use "Sunraku" as my player name across games, minor differences aside. But, ah… is it my fault for standing out so badly in real life that Rei-shi—er, Saiga-san—actually mentioned me?
Rei: "Um, well… I'm sorry for keeping quiet about it…"
Rakuro: "No, no, it's not exactly something you'd broadcast…"
No, wait. Then why did she reveal it now? To gamers, real-life info is a kind of taboo. Unless you've built a friendship in-game deep enough to spill over into real life, you don't go there. So why now—in the middle of all this clan-related chaos—did she choose to reveal it?
Rakuro: "Heh… I see."
So she is a strategist. Now that I know Rei-shi's real identity is Saiga-san—perfect superhuman in both academics and athletics—it all makes sense. The reason she revealed that she equals Rei-shi right at this moment: it's to form a "direct line to Sunraku, just for her." For example, just like Pencilgon and Psyger-100 are connected behind the scenes, she's building a connection one layer deeper than official or unofficial channels. Right now, the strongest connections with me—the player hoarding a mountain of information—are Pencilgon and Oikatzo. The Wolfgang members come in next.
But if Rei-shi, who has a clear real-life connection to me, steps in, the situation changes drastically. Rei-shi was heavily involved in taking down Ctarnidd. That means she's linked to half of Wolfgang. But that wasn't enough. Because if Psyger-0 is requesting to join Wolfgang, the info the Ctarnidd team holds will end up locked inside Wolfgang. In other words, it stops being an advantage unique to Rei-shi.
But what if she has a personal connection to me? If she's got a direct line to me—the guy hoarding a ton of info he hasn't even told his clanmates—well, the Library would bite like crazy.
Exactly. Rei-shi's… Saiga-san's aim is to get one step ahead of all the other players—the ones who aren't me. Not to catch up to me, but to pull ahead of the pack chasing me…! This is a move to get closer to the info that only me and Akitsu Akane currently know—Rabituza…!
But even so, what guts. To deliberately stab herself with the double-edged blade of a real-life identity reveal. By exposing my real-life info while also revealing her own, she's creating a kind of solidarity. And when it comes down to it, knowing someone in real life shares your hobby—it makes you happy. She's cleverly poking at that psychological weak spot…!
Rakuro: "Devilish… cunning…!"
Rei: "Cu… cunning…?"
Mana: "Don't push too hard, Rei-chan. Rather than some dramatic leap forward, let's focus on steadily raising flags, okay?"
Rei: "R-Right…!"
Yeah, Iwamaki-san's got a point. When did she realize I was Sunraku? No way… did she already have me pegged back when we escaped Thirdrema? It's possible, but that just makes it even crazier. From the middle of summer break all the way to now, she's been biding her time, making sure my impression of Rei-shi got better and better—without ever letting me catch a hint of the "Rei-shi = Saiga-san" equation.
Heh, she got me. The feeling of "Wait, seriously?!" completely beats out any anger over being tricked. It's like reading a mystery novel and watching a dramatic twist unfold…
Rei: "Um, well, uh…"
Rakuro: "Hm?"
Rei: "If… if it's okay, um… tonight—no, tomorrow, tomorrow!… W-Would you… l-like to play SLF… together…?"
Heheh, so now she's going to push me into a corner all at once… Bring it on.
Rakuro: "Okay. I've basically got nothing going on until next week anyway."
I'll take you on!
A little while after Rakuro left the store.
Mana: "Rei-chan, you bought yourself some time because you couldn't sort out your feelings today, didn't you?"
Rei: "Ugh…"
Mana: "That right there, see? That's the thing. I'm not saying you have to pounce on him that very same day, but let's work on fixing that part of you, okay?"
Rei: "Urgh…"
Mana: "Look. They say you have to strike while the iron's hot, right? The iron you're trying to strike is the kind that'll fly off on its own the moment you leave it alone—so you've got to hammer it fast while it's still in your hands!"
Rei: "I-I'll do my best…!"
Mana: "Well, it's a feat years in the making, so tonight we celebrate. I'm opening up my secret stash of booze!"
That aside.
Following the advice of Rei-shi—or rather, Saiga-san—I begin taking action toward the goal of defeating Ryuguin Fugaku, or rather, defeating the A.I. Ultimate Master.
Rakuro: "At any rate, the guy's efficiency of movement is pushed to the absolute max."
He's an old man who was treated as a living legend until just recently. If I trawl video sites and the like, I'll find tons of match footage. I pretend not to see the livestream some popular uploader is doing with a title like "Searching For That Person Everyone's Talking About In SLF!"
Rakuro: "This one's from five years ago, this one's three years ago…"
I even dig up archived recordings from decades ago, playing them in order from newest to oldest and burning his movements into my eyes.
Rakuro: "The footwork's already insane, but the way his shinai moves at maximum efficiency is honestly just brain-melting…"
In the footage, two swordsmen face each other, shinai in hand. They stand poised, but the old monster's opponent apparently can't take it anymore—he charges in with a full-throated battle cry… and his huge overhead strike slices through empty air. The old man saw exactly where and at what speed the shinai would pass, and took a step and a half back. That's all. But just that forces the challenger to expose a fatal opening.
Even when he tries to frantically pull back, he's already surrendered his turn. Until he can deal with Ryuguin Fugaku's attack, his own next turn will never come. And this old man's attacks follow kendo rules where a single graze means instant death—even Wethermon would be shocked.
I don't know that much about kendo. My level of knowledge is basically "just scream weirdly and whack the head, torso, and back of the hand, right?" But even I can tell this old man's skill is on a whole other plane. Feints that perfectly read the opponent's shinai recovery, step-ins based on absolute certainty that his own actions will not be obstructed. A swordsman with mobility on another level glides—yet in an instant closes in on the challenger. Ryuguin Fugaku's right arm blurs—a sharp crack.
There aren't any flashy effects, but that match, which must have happened in reality, is so surreal you'd believe it if someone told you it was a scene from a game.
Rakuro: "This is the kind of thing that's no help at all…"
No, wait, it’s too early to give up. It’s the Ryuguin School, right? A school is, by definition, a systematized body of “teachings.” That means there are shared movements and logic behind it. Logic isn’t just discussing zeros and ones and “evidencing” them. There should be something there that the people who come after can understand and use as a reference.
Rakuro: "Ryuguin School, Ryuguin School… Found it! Ryuguin School… whoa, that's expensive!?"
A single instructional book: 9,800 yen! That's a pretty painful price for a broke high schooler. Rejected!!
Rakuro: "Damn… guess I just have to do it. I can copy an individual movement (action), but an entire school (motion)…"
An Imitation (Fake) Ryuguin School pieced together by watching and copying. I can't shake the feeling that I'll just come off as some weak mob enemy that the true successor of the Ryuguin School would crush. But they say if you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear a hundred battles.
Rakuro: "Lucky for me, I’ve got the best enemy (teacher) around—a Trace AI…!"
Prepare yourself, A.I. Ultimate Master. Game enemies exist to be beaten…!
Today's record: 35 matches, 35 losses.