Chapter 79 |
Predation
Predation.
Attack power.
Out of all my stats, that was what I lacked the most.
"Well... honestly, aside from speed, I was lacking pretty evenly across the board."
Still, if I had to pick one, it was attack power.
It wasn't like I had a wide range of offensive options, and it wasn't like I had a simple, reliable finisher either.
The bugs I'd used so far and the skills I'd acquired were mostly the same in that regard, most of them were far from pure offense.
"Parrying, and most of the rest, feel more like invincibility moves or mobility skills."
Sure, I had that bug that bisected the boss there, but it only worked inside that special space called Purgatory.
A bug limited to a specific map and specific targets.
"I can't use it normally."
That was a shame.
If it worked outside too, I could have click-killed every boss I ran into.
"Right now... I'm basically a one-trick vampire counter."
Even that was thanks to the stake fragments.
For hunting vampires, it was a perfect weapon.
I could close in with movement skills and carve them up with the stake.
But the stake itself had been made as anti-vampire gear, so it didn't work well against other races.
"I lack attack power."
In reality, even staff-level opponents were still people I couldn't recklessly touch.
There was no way I could beat them head-on in a one-on-one clash of weight class.
That was why I pulled Javert in during the informant arrest last time.
I couldn't handle Professor Glinbert alone, so I brought in proper backup.
"What's the point of running around with movement skills? In the end, you have to put the other side down to win."
No finisher.
That thought kept nagging at me.
"I do have one thing that fits perfectly."
I happened to have one usable card.
I'd been saving it for later, but it felt like it was about time to pull it out.
My smaller stats had risen too, so now seemed like a good time to try.
"Besides... this opponent is no pushover."
Rin Glacia.
A genius already comparable to most of Grandia Academy's staff.
If I had to estimate my win rate against her, maybe around 10%.
This was different from what happened with Caitlin.
With Caitlin, I could land an extreme counter through Status Effect-Parrying.
But Rin had no real weakness, she was a fully packed hexagon build.
"She was so broken that the original game locked you out of recruiting her as a companion until the middle of the story."
That level of broken character.
Of course, I had zero intention of losing.
I just knew I needed preparation.
"Ahem."
"Student Viktor."
Javert stood a little ways ahead.
Neatly dressed in uniform, her usual inorganic gaze fixed on me.
"So... why did you suddenly ask me to come to the training hall with you?"
We were standing in one corner of the training hall.
More precisely, we faced each other from opposite ends like sparring partners.
Maybe it was her vivid red hair and cold beauty, but the students around us were whispering.
"Huh... isn't that the Chief Investigator over there?"
"It is, right? That's Professor Javert."
"Who is she talking to? Why is he wearing that weird mask?"
"Wait, isn't that him? Class E first place, the one who made a public confession to the investigator...!"
Their voices reached my ears.
Did they not even realize we could hear them?
"What? You mean that student rumored to be dating Professor Javert...?"
"That guy's famous. He's the hottest topic in the academy these days."
"I heard he confessed in front of the whole classroom."
"And the investigator accepted it without even hesitating..."
Yeah.
A lot of very embarrassing karma was floating around.
The dating rumor about me and Javert that spread through the academy last time.
Those rumors were still circulating among students.
"I think I explained it..."
But that's how controversies work, almost no one listens to the explanation.
So there were still plenty of students who believed I was really dating Javert.
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
"Fuck... that lucky bastard."
"Why would the Chief Investigator pick someone like him...?"
"I heard he's got complicated stuff going on with multiple girls too."
"They say he's close with some girl named Alice in his class, the Class B first seat, and the Class A second seat too..."
There was a lot I wanted to deny, but I held it in for now.
The mood said they wouldn't listen anyway.
I decided to focus on what I had to do.
[There is not a single wrong word among what those children said.]
[Viktor has too many women, that is the problem.]
[He swore loyalty to this lady, yet he is truly a disloyal retainer.]
Meanwhile.
The princess wriggled around in my uniform chest pocket.
Tap, tap, the silver bat smacked my chest, but I ignored it.
I straightened my clothes and looked at Javert across from me.
"It's simple. Like I said earlier, there is one thing I wanted your help with."
"Hm."
Maybe she meant she'd at least hear me out.
The red-haired woman listened quietly.
"You already know Lady Glacia gave me a declaration of war."
"Yes, I have been hearing about it from all over."
"This is preparation for that match."
"You plan to accept it?"
Javert asked, sounding surprised.
She must have assumed I would refuse.
Fair enough, Rin's martial ability was just slightly below Professor Glinbert's.
Back when I arrested the informant, I pulled Javert in because I wasn't confident I could beat him.
"I do not think there is much to gain from that. News will be announced soon as well, that you are being assigned as my Direct Aide. If you take a match that can be used against you at this timing, it will only hurt your image."
"Can be used against me... so Professor, you are predicting my defeat?"
"Objectively speaking, yes."
"Sure, anyone would think the same."
I gave a light nod.
The mouth of my mask curled into a meaningful smile.
"Of course, I have no intention of losing."
"So you have a plan."
"Yes."
"And in that plan, you need my help."
"Exactly. I only need one favor."
I went straight to the point.
"Activate. Shield."
Shwaaaak.
A writhing movement at my fingertips.
Wiggles, which had been gloves, soon transformed into a jet-black shield.
"Could you hit me once? With full power."
"...Excuse me?"
A question mark rose on Javert's face at the sudden request.
Beyond those emotionless green eyes, I held out the shield like I was asking for a favor.
"You are asking me... to attack?"
"Exactly. With full power."
"I do not understand your intention at all."
"That's fine. Just hit me without holding back."
A bold request.
Javert quietly furrowed her brow.
"But you could get hurt. If I strike at full power..."
"Don't worry. I asked this after considering that too."
"Hmm."
Was it the discomfort of throwing a punch at a student?
Javert hesitated to make a fist.
I just stood there and waited.
Only after a few minutes did she nod.
"If it is you, Student Viktor, you likely have something in mind."
Creak.
She clenched her hand.
A white brilliance swirled around Javert.
Light born at her fingertips soon covered her entire arm.
"Will one hit be enough?"
"Yes, full power please."
"If you are injured, I will send you straight to the infirmary."
"Ha ha, I'm only grateful that you're worried."
Whoooosh.
Her red hair whipped violently.
Inside the storm of light, her green eyes flashed sharply.
"Now."
I lightly rubbed the hand I had placed behind the shield.
Rhythm mattered.
I had to rub in a fixed beat and direction.
Two times to the left, five to the right, three knocks on the back of my hand.
When I repeated the sequence quickly, a faint heat haze rose.
"There it is."
Bug triggered.
A blue screen rose in front of me.
Ding-!
[A new Windfall has been discovered.]
-Windfall Name: Self-Double Counting
-Description: Damage that should normally be taken is applied as stacked damage. All attacks directed at the system user are delivered with stacked damage, minimum 2x and maximum 4x.
In short, get hit harder.
It meant incoming attack damage would be inflated up to four times.
"Perfect."
It had no other function at all.
A bug whose whole point was just [take attacks four times more painfully].
Even in the original, it was infamous as a nasty bug.
One of the rare hated bugs that directly harmed the player.
"You might wonder what kind of use this trash bug has..."
Trust me.
This would give me overwhelming burst power.
I gripped the shield and signaled the woman beyond it.
"Come."
"Yes, then..."
Press.
Following Javert's fist, light caved in brilliantly.
Its afterimage wavered across the whole training ground.
She lightly kicked off the ground.
Tak-!
In less than a blink, her fist was right in front of me.
The force compressed into it made the air ripple like it was tearing.
Javert threw the punch without hesitation.
-Droit-Style Martial Arts, Fourth Form-
'Annihilation'
The moment it exploded.
A brilliance like dawn burst out.
At the same time, a tearing blast rang out like it would split my ears.
Kwaaaaaaah-!!!
A brutal backblast swept the whole training hall.
A few students watching us were blown over by the wind.
"Kya, aah...!"
"What the, all of a sudden...?!"
Noisy voices filled my ears.
The punch that should have pierced the shield and gone straight into me.
But the mask effect detected it and stopped her.
A status notification rose before my eyes.
Ding-!
[Item 'Evil God's Mask' has been activated.]
-Remaining charges: 2/3
-Time until next charge: 47 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds
The light that had clouded my vision finally faded.
Only then could I see Javert's expression.
She was staring at me with clear surprise.
"...I did not expect you would not even flinch."
Of course not.
The Evil God's Mask had blocked it.
Still, it felt like I should pretend to be in pain, so I exaggerated a little.
"Kgh... it felt like my arm was shattering."
"Are you alright? Shall I send you to the infirmary?"
"No, it's not that bad..."
Good thing I was wearing the mask.
My face right now did not belong to someone in pain at all.
"Success."
Instead of hurting, I was grinning ear to ear.
As I forced the smile out of my voice, Javert asked,
"Is that enough? The preparation you mentioned."
"Yes... I think this will work somehow."
It was more than enough.
A new message shimmered before my eyes.
Ding-!
[Exclusive weapon 'Black Mist' Skill 2 has been activated.]
Self-Double Counting.
No debate, that bug was trash.
Taking damage at four times value.
"But."
If you combine it with certain in-game items, that four times turns into something completely different.
Evil God's Mask.
Black Mist.
This bug had to be used with those two items.
I tapped through my status window and opened Wiggles's info panel.
'Exclusive skills.'
The two skills Wiggles had.
Skill 1 was Thousand Shifts, Myriad Forms.
The technique that changed its body into all kinds of shapes.
As for Skill 2, I had never used it until now.
Ding-!
[Exclusive weapon 'Black Mist' Skill 2 has been activated.]
[Skill Name: Predation]
-Stores damage applied to the user exactly as is.
-Damage cannot be stored consecutively.
-Storable damage is limited to one single attack.
-Even if the attack is successfully defended, the applied damage can still be stored.
-Stored damage can be released.
Javert's full-power strike.
With the bug applied too, that was damage inflated four times over.
Ding-!
[Damage has been stored in exclusive weapon 'Black Mist'.]
[You may release the stored damage at any time.]
Wiggles churned with pale white light.
A faint new hue spread across its black surface.
That meant the damage was charged.
I hid the wide split grin behind my mask.
"Ah, sweet."
All right.
My finisher was ready.
