“Can I ask you something, Na-me?”
“Anything.”
“When I went out earlier, did my Master look really disappointed in me?”
It seemed she was referring to the moment I stepped out of the capsule to take a potion.
“Hmm…”
The opponents she faced were no pushovers.
Some of them played games for 14 hours a day, and to top it off, there were even some current professional gamers from the second division who crushed her.
Would they admire Emika for playing nonstop 46 games, or would they criticize her for losing 15 matches?
“I think it’s better for Emika to find out for herself.”
“Is that so…?”
“But one thing is certain: if Emika beats me here, she can wipe away all her past losses.”
“Then how strong are you in this game?”
I replied with a chuckle.
“What can I say? Just feel it while we fight. What combat power should we set?”
A 1vs1 mode where we can freely set it from low power duels to high power duels.
She also adjusted it in various ways to find the range where she could showcase her true skills.
“Let’s start with 5000 for now.”
“Only 5000…? Well, okay.”
Considering Emika’s abilities in real life, it should have been at least 15000, but it seemed she was intentionally downgrading to make me feel better.
Combat power: 5000.
With this body, I could roughly cover 100 meters in about 11 seconds.
Looking back at my past memories, this was a level that athletes could easily achieve in a world where mana didn’t exist at all.
“After all, in virtual reality, it doesn’t hurt much, so don’t be surprised if I come at you too hard.”
“Yeah, I think I’m used to it now. Whether it’s the whip or the Four Degrees, there’s nothing here that would surprise me. I’ll be counting on you as a junior in gaming, Na-me.”
“Used to it? By now, you should be so mad you’d be ripping out your hair. What should we say about Emika right now… isn’t she a little too calm?”
“Na-me?”
The sword fitted snugly in my hand.
This feeling seems like it won’t disappear even if I live another life.
I licked my dry upper lip and pondered about Emika.
Why did she lose at the National Exchange Tournament?
Was it simply because she had no rivals in Japan and there were much more talented people in the world tournament?
She still hadn’t fully blossomed her talent.
Bound by the constraints of skills and held back by the adults’ advice, she had always shown a frustrating sight like she was walking around with shackles on.
So what should be done?
People bloom their talents in moments of crisis.
But since there are eyes watching, I couldn’t just recklessly throw her off a cliff like Klaus did.
That’s why I chose a very annoying and roundabout way to push her to the cliff.
“There’s always a price for learning. So just endure.”
*
Why can one avatar change the atmosphere so drastically?
As Na-me waved her sword in the air, my feeling of ‘really beautiful’ gradually shifted to ‘cool.’
I suddenly felt a deep unease about Emika.
‘Is this really Na-me?’
That unknown feeling tightened Emika’s grip on the sword.
‘No, always stay calm. Just do as I’ve learned.’
She hadn’t forgotten the viewers’ advice.
[NoName is ranked first in Story Mode for a reason. This person is totally above human level, you know? Maybe it’s because they’ve lived long in virtual reality, but they don’t seem to be limited by physical constraints.]
[It’s like the moving hack in old computer games… Even if you didn’t know what a hack is? Anyway, at least you can dodge a moving hack, but NoName anticipates all attacks and can even read the trajectory, making it much trickier. You can’t beat them using conventional methods!]
Every viewer showered her with compliments.
This was precisely why so many people anticipated Na-me’s debut in the Academy Competition.
People with outstanding physical abilities in reality tend to perform well in virtual reality games, but unfortunately, the reverse doesn’t hold true.
However, it was widely believed that possessing extraordinary talents like NoName would definitely make a difference.
With a combat power of 5000, Emika was probably on par with her own level from three years ago.
Recalling that sensation, she infused her aura into the sword.
‘Here it comes!’
The murderous intent of Na-me’s sword fell from above.
At the same time, an extremely cold gaze flickered by.
Clang-!
Emika’s eyes widened in shock as she caught the sword.
Even if the sword styles differed, she had the discernment to identify whether that was the correct sword path or not.
‘Perfect.’
It was an utterly clean strike that left no room for counterargument.
Had she ever learned the sword?
Unfortunately, there was no time to ponder further.
“You think too much.”
“What?”
The rebounding sword lunged toward her side once again.
Instinctively, Emika twisted her flexible wrist to deflect the sword downward.
Bang-!
“Gah!”
Just then, the sword’s trajectory twisted oddly and struck her shin.
The lower her combat power, the more she mustn’t allow even the slightest concession in attacks.
A small amount of aura dissipated, and the crisis approached Emika quickly.
Na-me’s assault didn’t stop.
“Focus until the end! Are you going to let your shoulders drop now!”
While she mentioned her shoulder, Na-me’s sword aimed for her knee this time.
She couldn’t afford to fall for the same trick that she experienced in the National Exchange Tournament for the second time.
As Emika desperately tried to retrieve her sword to block her knee,
Crackling-!
‘Shoulder?’
The broadsword planted itself right into her shoulder.
Her arm was brutally crushed, severely draining her health.
“It was definitely aimed for my knee…!”
“I told you it was the shoulder.”
Her arm refused to move.
Though she felt no pain, her arm dangled like a limp noodle, following her body.
It was then that Emika realized the seriousness of the situation and widened the distance to reassess.
“Seriously, you missed that chance? Again.”
In the end, she couldn’t handle the weight of the sword with just one arm.
As Na-me poured her weight into the sword strike, Emika’s weapon twirled through the air and crashed to the ground.
In a proper duel of swords without any tricks that she had witnessed in the earlier matches,
Emika was perfectly defeated.
[Perfect Game!]
[NoName Win!]
“I’ll keep going until you understand. I’m not as gentle as your masters.”
Once again, the same situation, the same distance.
This time, it was Na-me who closed the gap.
Emika gritted her teeth and widened her eyes.
The top prodigy of Japan, Katsuhata Emika, who appears once in a millennium.
She visualized the previous match’s situation in her mind, and laid out the upcoming exchange.
‘Defensive advance here.’
Finally, with her shoulders aligned, she easily deflected Na-me’s first strike.
Without the luxury of thought, she immediately adopted an upper-right cut stance.
Na-me effortlessly deflected Emika’s sword and lunged toward her abdomen again.
She could explosively feel power transferring from her lower body through her skin.
‘Now is the chance!’
Na-me’s motion was too big.
Blocking or dodging would expose her body’s vulnerabilities significantly.
With her aura focused in her legs, she created a wide gap, ready to leap at any moment with her upper body tilted forward.
When Na-me placed both feet down, it was the signal to attack.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to stop here?”
“…!”
A tantalizing voice that seemed to whisper love resounded.
Once the right foot touched the ground, the next was supposed to follow with the human’s basic footwork.
But Na-me charged in once more toward Emika, launching herself back with her right foot.
Clang-!
“Gah!”
“Great, just like that. Are we keeping this up?”
Emika’s instincts blocked Na-me’s sword.
An upward strike.
A bad habit that should be avoided as much as possible in swordsmanship unwittingly emerged.
Yet, Na-me smiled as if she found it satisfying.
Since this was the first move Emika showcased, every subsequent action of hers would be a result of instinctual outcomes.
Na-me showed Emika the scenery beyond the wall.
‘Now whether you cross this boundary or not is entirely up to you.’
Na-me’s sword sliced through the air aiming to shatter her stance.
This didn’t intend to undermine Emika’s training.
Why do people train and practice?
To elevate the realm of calculations to the realm of instinct.
Dozens of descriptions follow each movement taken.
But our brains aren’t inclined to overly consider that process.
Clang-!
Na-me’s sword ricocheted.
‘When lives are at stake, who has time to think?’
Clang-!
The two swords clashed sideways, resonating with a sharp sound.
Amidst the complicated and fierce exchanges, a smile blossomed on the woman’s lips.
“So, how’s it? Fun? Intense and exhilarating, right?”
The two women’s faces drew very close.
It was such a close range that they could feel each other’s breath.
“Na-me, what on earth…”
“Are you really asking where the combat assistance system starts and ends?”
The combat assistance system doesn’t make the transitions between movements smooth.
In response to Emika’s inquiry, the woman stuck out her scarlet tongue.
“I’m not going to tell you.”
*
A record of 9 to 1 in matchups.
In the tenth match, Emika finally managed to plunge her sword into Na-me’s ample chest, breaking through her solid defense.
She let out a cheerful laugh like a hero who has defeated a demon king.
Even when Na-me provocatively used petty tricks in between, Emika just kept giggling.
Eventually, Na-me raised her hands in surrender and adjusted her combat power settings.
“But what happens if I set it to 100,000 combat power?”
“Honestly, from that point on, it’s like a psychic battle, so it doesn’t really matter.”
“Wanna try?”
“Seriously?”
“Uh? Uh…”
Suddenly, Na-me opened the settings window.
[▶Custom 1 – Release]
[▶Custom 2 – Equip]
Same face, same shape, same outfit.
What could possibly be different? Emika narrowed her eyes, trying to play “find the difference.”
Upon closer inspection, she saw that the elf’s long ears had changed back to human ones.
And on her head, a pair of black horns had grown beautifully.
“Demon?”
“No, Demon King. Isn’t it the age when you love this kind of thing if you’re in middle school?”
