VOLUME 1
Chapter 3: Team Battle
Part 9
Jun had picked the magic swordsman cla.s.s because, with the exception of defense, its stats were all very well balanced and stayed that way at high levels. In particular, its firepower was quite spectacular.
That’s what Jun thought of as he saw a female magic swordsman in front of him.
There was not a cla.s.s that differed based on ability as much as the magic swordsman.
“You’re too weak.”
Jun heard from Eri that the magic swordsman from the Crimson Scarf Knight a.s.sociation, being Shiroko’s close friend, was the disagreeable second-in-command of the guild. Thanks to that, she would have had priority in receiving equipment, and she was able to put together a complete set of good equipment.
Her equipment was definitely top-notch for having only been on an island in the eighth island ring. Her specialty, the long spear, if mastered, would allow for more stable fighting than Jun’s greatsword. Though its damage would not be quite as high as that of the greatsword, but since she was able to steadily attack from long distances, it would decrease her chances of being hit. Certainly, even though battles took longer to complete , her companions would have had much less to worry about.
Furthermore, if their stats were the same, their actual ability were the same, and she took all of the necessary precautions, it would be a close match, and one that would take a long time too. If that was how it was, Jun’s team, inferior in number , would probably lose.
However, Jun, with only a few successful hits, was able to reduce her health down to 50%.
“What?! You’re troublesome! Shut up and be killed!”
His opponent was lunging recklessly with her spear.
Though he used a greatsword at the moment, in the beginning, Jun had practiced all of the weapons that a magic swordsman could use. He had even maxed out his long spear skill level by reaching 100.
He understood her attacks better than those of any other cla.s.s. The magic swordsman’s long spear attacks worked like this: the first attack would be directed upwards, the second downwards, then from the third on from the right to the left. The intervals between attacks differed from those of other cla.s.ses; the time in between the second and third attacks was very short. Jun dodged the second attacks in the sequence by first moving left and then moving to the left of his opponent . By doing that, he was able to create a pause before the third attack.
“You’re doing the same thing over and over again!”
Imbuing magic into his sword, he struck with all his might in that moment when she was defenseless.
Her HP decreased immensely.
“What?!!!! We’re supposed to be about the same strength! &h.e.l.lip; I know! You’re cheating! You have unfair equipment! Because of that you&h.e.l.lip;”
“Even if what you just said was true, I wouldn’t need to use it against you.”
He attacked again. Now fl.u.s.tered, she swung her spear all over , relying on its range to hold Jun back&h.e.l.lip;
In that case, Jun would not have any opportunities to land an attack . As he kept on attacking , her attacks became weaker as her posture faltered. His second and third hits were both near-perfect shots. Her HP was already very low.
“Ah, ahhhhhh!”
The female magic swordsman tried casting Quick Stun in hopes of being able to use the extra time to recollect herself&h.e.l.lip;
“Thoughtlessly using magic won’t work.”
Jun rushed in, turning his body in order to strike her on the shoulder. The female magic swordsman took a few steps back, and cried out, “Waah!”
“Hey, what is this?! You&h.e.l.lip;! For magic swordsmen&h.e.l.lip; moving like that is&h.e.l.lip;”
After he came to Sky World, thinking that there could be something that could be of use as a reference in the future, Jun learned, mostly through observation, judo from some experts . In a just a short period of time, he learned about proper footwork and the way to use body weight in movements. That proved very useful.
Particularly in battles against other players, he was able to use it to greatly augment his own battle ability.
“It’s over!”
Jun, having caught up with the female magic swordsman who had now turned away, knowing fully well what was to await her, killed her with one merciless swipe.
His opponent’s health reached zero.
“Ahhhhhh!”
The female magic swordsman, screaming her last words, fell to the ground right there. Soon afterwards, her body disappeared, leaving only equipment on the ground.
“Well&h.e.l.lip;”
He had just PKed somebody.
In a game that was so close to the real world, the resulting feeling of guilt was stronger than expected. Jun frowned, then lifted his head. Eri was still engaged in a long distance battle with Shiroko. Kasumi was faring rather well against her three opponents, however, she still had wounds on her body.
He didn’t want them to experience those feelings of guilt.
Thinking that, he resolved to take them all out himself.
“Kasumi-san, you fought well. Lemmie lend you a hand!”
“All right! Go ahead, Jun-san!”
Jun sliced and killed the remaining three front line fighters of the Crimson Scarf Knight a.s.sociation.
A few minutes later, Jun’s group surrounded Shiroko.
“Honestly, I never actually thought you guys were weak . Shiroko-san, you guys are pretty good at this stuff.”
“Eri, you’re a s.a.d.i.s.t.”
Jun, dragging himself exhaustedly, approached Shiroko. The fl.u.s.tered Shiroko was right in front of a large tree trunk.
“My guild was living peacefully! You guys are the ones who crushed it all!”
“Wrong.”
Jun shook his head, rejecting what she had said. He had come to see many guilds break and subsequently fade into obscurity. He knew all to well the process by which many tight-knit communities collapsed.
“You were the only one who thought it was in all peaceful. In any guild, there is always discontent and unrest. You were merely pretending not to notice. You neglected it and allowed it to grow. As it piled up, with just a little impetus, it would explode and all would be in ruin. That’s all that it was.”
No, Jun thought as he smiled bitterly. It applied to him too. He wasn’t anything like a leader. Jun didn’t have the good traits Kai had, like charisma and ability to make decisions and remain steadfast with them. Given Junichiro Mikimori’s own traits, such as sarcasm, the best he could be was a sub-leader.
“If you lose here, you’ll be close to death . Until we leave the island, you should be scared of leaving town.”
His eyes firmly fixed on Shiroko, Jun raised his greatsword.