Translation: Eisen
Editor: Weasalopes
I impatiently pa.s.s the time in the waiting room.
There"s a log of the last match, but I don"t dare to look at it.
I"ll just save it and close its virtual window.
Hmm.
It"s okay, isn"t it?
But still…
She was so cute!
That beautiful woman left quite the impression on me.
Yeah, she was like a mermaid with a shy facial expression.
Whoa, wait!
What am I thinking about?
Focus man, focus.
It"s no use.
I"m just mulling over it.
She was so cute!
Hmm.
Still thinking about that?
And I"m not even taking screenshots or anything.
《Your friends have sent you 3 messages.》
Hmm?
They"re from Margrid, Adele, and Irina.
What could they be about?
I"m getting a bad feeling…
『This beast lol』
That"s all that was in Margrid"s message.
It has three screenshots attached.
I"m looking at them one after the other, but what is this?
Here it looks as if I was tying up a crying Lydia!
Hey!
Don"t be misleading!
『You"ve gone and done it!』
Just like before, Adele"s message was only this.
It has three screenshots attached.
It looks like the image has been enlarged to focus on Lydia"s sorry state.
This is bad!
So cute…
Wait, that"s not what this is!
『Even though I"ve said as much… There are videos like this in the forums already!』
Irina"s message is only this as well.
It has a short video attached.
Hm?
Here it looks as if I was tying up a crying Lydia too!
I have done no such thing!
No, this looks like a reversed version of me untying the rope!
What a beautiful quality…
Wait, that"s not what this is!
This won"t do!
I feel like a little rabbit who"s been put in a maze it can"t escape from!
I"ve been absorbed into carrying Volff under my arm.
The next match seems to begin before I even realize.
The eight teams that were in this waiting room at the end of the first round have been reduced to three.
A total of sixteen teams have advanced to the next round.
And only half of those will advance after that.
There"s only three teams in this waiting room, but there"s a feeling of awkwardness in the air.
But still…
There"s something else in my mind.
More than that, it"s been burned into my eyes and won"t leave.
It"s as if Lydia"s facial expression was etched into the back of my eyelids.
What a weird sensation.
How can I be cured of this?
「This way, please.」
Looks like it"s time for the next match.
We and another team are led to the match venue by a staff member.
It seems that this time there will be two matches going on at the same time.
It also looks one of the teams that were with us in the waiting room is Yosaku"s team.
Oh?
My deepest condolences.
But this isn"t a situation where one would be concerned about other people.
My opponents are at the opposite corner of the arena from me.
I can see casting nets on their shoulders.
Plus, there"s three of them.
And each of them seems to be carrying a harpoon.
This team will be difficult to fight against, too.
I look at the viewer"s gallery.
Master is there.
Juna is next to him, too.
The Guild"s chief is a little farther away from them.
And Gelta is next to him.
And I can see the patrol envoy"s party sitting way higher than them.
Must be nice watching from there, huh.
I wonder if they watched the previous match too.
Just thinking about it gives me the creeps.
Oops.
Just to make sure, let"s use【Identify】.
??? Lv.13
Fisherman Standby
??? Lv.9
Fisherman Standby
??? Lv.13
Fisherman Standby
??? Lv.12
Treasure Hunter Standby
??? Lv.11
Sorcerer Standby
??? Lv.10
Hunter Standby
Hmm.
If they replaced their vanguard to all Fighters, this would be a standard formation.
But I guess not everyone wants to play like that.
This is also different than that spear-wielding Fighter.
Although harpoons fall under the spear category, they have a reversed tip.
It"s made like that so that once you pierce your target, the harpoon won"t come off.
And should it need to be thrown, it has a rope attached to the tip of its handle.
Plus, it is a one-handed weapon.
It might be too short and light to use it in both hands.
Those casting nets mean trouble.
Their fine mesh must be so they can catch small fish with them.
The ones they are bringing seem to have a rather coa.r.s.e mesh, though.
Clearly it"s so they can catch bigger fish with them?
No, they must be made specifically for combat.
And the rear guard doesn"t look any better.
All of them are carrying bows.
How nice.
The scheduled time is almost here.
Ten seconds to start.
I think as I hear the countdown.
How will I fight them?
Three seconds to start.
There"s a strategy I have been pondering about from before.
The key to it?
It"s Jericho.
We face against each other.
A salute.
「Start!」
「Practiced Spirit!」「Meditate!」「Bless!」
I advance using the usual artes and having Rig attached to my back.
I have no doubt that this is a troublesome partner.
But there is no other partner that is as unique as this one.
I feel like I might enjoy this.
Countless arrows come flying towards me.
But not even half of them hit their target.
Is it because they don"t have artes?
No.
It seems that all of the members from the other team are casting spells.
They"re still too far for Vibration to take effect.
But if I get too close, I"ll be an easy target for those casting nets.
If only I had the chance to use it from the start…
I know that casting nets have some cooldown before being able to use them again.
Go, Jericho!
Volff approaches the vanguard, but will be kept in check by their harpoons.
Before that happens, I"ll have him switch places with Senki and Jericho.
Jericho flows over the ground with his Liquefaction.
A casting net is thrown.
Its target is Senki.
However, the one to get hit by it is Jericho.
Returning from his Liquefaction into his humanoid form, he acts as a wall for Senki.
That was all part of my plan.
But two more casting nets still remain.
Jericho"s movement is impaired by the casting net, however he still shows signs of moving towards the vanguard.
The fishermen"s eyes are fixed on Jericho and Senki.
「Physical Enchant: Wind!」
I buff Jericho"s AGI.
Now…
「Vibration!」
Will it be okay to not reach the rear guard with it?
Have I canceled the spells from the three people at the vanguard?
As expected, it does not reach the ones at the rear guard.
The fisherman that is closest to us seems to want to throw a casting net.
I quickly move behind Jericho.
The net will ensnare Jericho instead of me.
『Light Explosion!』
『Aqua Slash!』
『Physical Enchant: Fire!』
The ones at the rear guard fire off their spells one after another.
Rig is latched to my back, but still we still get damaged by them.
There"s nowhere to hide from AoE spells.
There"s nothing I can do about it.
Jericho uses his Liquefaction again, and slips through the casting nets.
At the same time, Senki rushes towards the vanguard.
He"s like a heroic human bullet.
「Gravity Bullet!」
I fire my spell at the fisherman standing in the middle.
I do this to try to defeat it in one shot.
But it doesn"t work.
『Leg Sweep!』
『Double Thrust!』
A thrust and sweep combination.
I can avoid the sweep with a backstep, but those thrusts are going to be a problem.
I block the first thrust, but the second one hits me directly on my stomach.
It hurts so much!
I know they"re going to focus their attacks on me.
But that"s fine.
Senki tries to break through the vanguard.
The last remaining casting net flies off towards him.
But it too gets intercepted by Jericho.
That should take care of those.
「Fire Heal!」
I use a recovery spell on myself.
It"s not an arte, but that harpoon combo got me by surprise.
Besides, they"ll aim at my legs and arms, which Rig does not cover.
My hands are full already.
『Freezing Bullet!』
『Steam Shot!』
They fire off their spells once more.
A direct hit on Rig.
It sends him flying, causing him to come off from me.
But thanks to that, I don"t receive that much damage.
『Enchanted Fire!』
The support from the rear guard also continues.
We"re still unable to break through the vanguard.
Even though they"re not using shields.
The Hunter and the Treasure Hunter let go of their bows, and pulling out their swords, join the vanguard.
The two draw near Senki and Volff.
One of the fishermen is fighting hard against Jericho.
He seems to be taking some serious damage.
This could be a big deal.
And the second fisherman comes in front of me.
He regains his stance while holding his harpoon.
Here he comes.
What will he do?