Chapter 388: Magnetic Bonds

Once Raid Boss-san's switch is flipped, he doesn't stop. To put it in concrete terms, with a beast-like perception, he can pinpoint a player's position with high accuracy within a twenty-meter radius. Even a horror game slasher is a little milder than this.

His fighting style is fluid and unstable. He probably doesn't have any real-life swordsmanship training. "The way he swings his sword wildly and recklessly is the mark of an amateur," is what someone with kendo experience said. But is street-killing technique inferior to boxing? No. Differences in process don't affect the result. Ring style or street style, the end goal is violence against your opponent.

If that's the case, Raid Boss-san's sword is, without a doubt, a killing sword. If it cuts, you die. So his blade path, which might as well be saying "there's no form or fancy crap to it," is wild and erratic—and for that very reason, horrifyingly pure. Rust Gleam. The weakest yet strongest sword that, when swung with maximum-efficiency criticals, can slice through even an iron plate like paper screen door. Battered, rusted iron—as though it were showing the fate awaiting those bewitched by the death its blade dragged in its wake.

???: "Gyah!?"

Ahh, flesh is severed. It doesn't have the insane level of realism SLF has, but this is still full-dive VR, the culmination of cyber-technology. A body slashed diagonally from shoulder to waist won't last long. Of course, the one who got cut isn't me, so it's none of my business.

Sunraku: "Thanks for the meal!!"

My swung blade catches the battered meatshield. That makes eight. Hmm, have I discovered yet another efficient farming method?

???: "Geh—! That bastard's kiting Raid Boss-san!!"

???: "Don't come this way!"

Sunraku: "Huh? What was that? Could you come closer and say that again?"

???: "You're doing it on purpose! Gyaaah...!!"

Yura: "Running away, like a rabbit."

You mean "like a fleeing rabbit"? I really don't want to think he's sniffed me out as being the same as SLF's Sunraku, but this naturally spacey guy says stuff like an esper, which really makes my heart skip a beat.

I'll be honest. I'm probably going to die. Unlike Sylvia Goldberg, Raid Boss-san is a genuine monster who even makes bugs his ally. Even using feints and all sorts of tricks, I can't get more than five meters away from him. So I changed my policy. If I'm gonna die anyway, I'll rack up points first, then die.

I'll call it the Raid Boss Express. Hit Raid Boss-san with repeated taunt commands and drag every other player in his path into the mess. If I'm lucky, I'll snatch points from the side. Even if I'm not, the absolute number one, Raid Boss-san, absorbing points will keep my own inflated rank at a high level.

Because Raid Boss-san is so hyper-optimized, his movements become almost computer-like. And because complex thought gets output as simple conclusions, it's actually easier to control his movements from the outside.

Sorry, everyone. On the island, MPK is a basic skill.

Sunraku: "Divine pun... ah."

Sunraku: "There's no such thing as absolute... in PvP!!"

Rust Gleam. A peaky sword that's practically the materialization of a double-edged blade—succeed at a critical and ignore all armor values; fail and instantly shatter into pieces. If Raid Boss-san is constantly landing criticals, then all I have to do is break his form. What a coincidence. I'm a critical attacker in SLF too...!!

The most reliable method of divine punishment in this game is decapitation. That's why, if I know where Raid Boss-san's swung blade is going, I can turn a fatal wound into zero damage just by shifting my neck a little. The shattered rusted iron scatters. My retaliatory thrust aimed at Raid Boss-san's brow is dodged by a high-speed crouch-stretch so fast I nearly hallucinate his figure disappearing. When I drop my gaze, he's somehow already shifted his stance—a rising handstand kick aiming for my jaw.

Sunraku: "Gh-...!!"

Yura: "—"

A street-fight kick with no form or fancy crap to it. My sole catches Raid Boss-san's back like I'm kicking off a wall and sends him flying. He looks like a slender boy, but his internal stats are monstrous. It probably didn't do much damage. And sure enough, the blown-away Raid Boss-san immediately breaks his fall and lightly stands back up.

Yura: "Not bad, huh?"

Sunraku: "A half-assed divine punishment isn't worth anything...!"

A hopeless situation and resignation aren't necessarily a set. The head. If I sever the head, even Raid Boss-san can be killed.

But, Bakumatsu players are insane by default. So even if you only have one life left, a hero will show up.

Tousen: "Oi oi, looks like fun. But things can't really start without me, now can they?"

Sunraku: "Geh... the rank two..."

Yura: "Ah. Tousen."

Just because you only have one life left, some people hide in the shadows. But, by that same logic, just because you only have one life left, some people charge forward without fearing death. Precious meatshields... ahem, other players are cut down by a single blade. From behind the one who shatters like a curtain rising, a single Shinsengumi player appears.

The rank two, Our Hero, Tousen, crashing in while I'm in the middle of fighting Raid Boss!? You bastard. This is exactly why Bakumatsu is the best.

Sunraku: "Want to team up?"

Tousen: "Don't be stupid. I'll toss you in the pot, leek and all, you sitting duck."

Sunraku: "You talk big for a rare enemy. I'll cut you down before you can even hit the run command."

Hostile declarations that almost feel like we're finishing each other's sentences. Honestly, I want backup so bad I could reach out and grab it, but unfortunately, in this world, even the hand you reach out needs to grip a blade if you want to survive.

Yura: "Nice. This is fun."

Sunraku: "......"

Tousen: "......"

The strongest swordsman carrying a blade of rusted iron. The runner-up hero resting his katana on his shoulder. And me, the Hannya-masked dual-wielder, pointing my blades at each opponent.

Yura: "You're not coming?"

Sunraku & Tousen: "Divine punishment!!"

Heh. As expected of Our Hero, I should say. Raid Boss-san's playstyle is fairly one-of-a-kind, so there are sides of it you can't really use as a reference. If that's the case, the player with the most Bakumatsu-like playstyle is this guy... none other than Bakumatsu Overall Ranking Number Two, Shinsengumi Ranking Number One: Tousen. Going solo against Raid Boss-san is reckless courage? I know that perfectly well. This guy's probably also planning to boost his own rank by keeping Raid Boss-san as the absolute number one. Which means...

Somehow, I want to deal with him, and he wants to deal with me, to open up a spot in the rankings. Meaning, before Raid Boss-san divine-punishes us, we finish each other off!! This is the Bakumatsu style...!!

Sunraku: "It's cooking time, you duck-and-leek bastard!!"

Tousen: "Shut up, you underling! It's purge time, you bastard!!"

That said, the Number Two is no slouch. A seasoned PvPer doesn't leave an opening as an opening. Their maneuvering covers their weaknesses, and if there is an opening, there's about a fifty percent chance it's a trap. I sidestep his lunging high stance and swing my right sword to slice his throat, but he dodges that attack just as well.

Tch. We both want a quick finish, so our moves got too predictable. I should have cut his legs to immobilize him first, then finished him off. And Raid Boss-san, who'd been left out despite being right there, makes his move.

Yura: "Lonely."

Tousen: "Uwoah!?"

His target was the Hero. With a face drained of its composure, the Hero barely dodges a thrust precisely aimed at his eye, but a single line of damage effect runs across his cheek from the sword's return motion. His face still twitching, the Hero backsteps. But seeing the revolver gripped in Raid Boss-san's left hand, his face twitches even harder.

Yura: "Just kidding."

Tousen: "Qui—!?"

One shot, two shots. Bullets fired with a snap of the wrist at the Hero and... ah, I'm in range too. Right, right.

Sunraku & Tousen: "Uwooooh!?"

How the hell can you aim for the brow with such lightning-fast moves!? That's terrifying!!

Yura: "Bang bang."

Sunraku: "...!"

Tousen: "...!!"

I take back what I said. We're soul brothers. Let's take down Raid Boss-san, who's just progressed into his second form with dual pistols, together, brother!!

Katzo has the kind of face that reads as an uke to a female audience. Yura-kun has the kind of face that reads as an uke to a male audience.

Tousen-san has top-tier player skills, even for a Bakumatsu player. But more than that, he's the owner of an Orichalcum Heart that won't break even when Raid Boss-san relentlessly beats the crap out of him. So he's well-liked not just by other players, but by Raid Boss-san too.

But they still divine-punish him. Because it's Bakumatsu, after all.