12. Confrontation (3)
‘Ilkkeuk, you bastard… you did well this time!’
Seizing that opening, Ted fired bullets at the cliff face in rapid succession.
Kugugugung.
Soon, part of the cliff crumbled down, blocking the path Ted had come through.
“He truly is a fellow who displays a bizarre combat art…. Truly grotesque yet marvelous. One might even call it delightful, in a way.”
Musashi, who had stopped for a moment to let out a wry chuckle at the absurd situation, began running toward Ted once more.
Among the countless users he had faced, there had been none who fought in this style. Ted’s unpredictability came as a fresh stimulus to him.
“Before long, I’ll have you sit before me and have a conversation.”
Soon, the Spiritist NPC caught up behind him.
The two closed the widened distance once more and pursued Ted.
‘I’ll reach the cliff soon.’
The truth was, Ted didn’t really have any brilliant plan.
In a situation where the only conclusion was death, this was the only method available.
‘The height is probably several hundred meters. If I reduce my falling speed with
It was anyone’s guess. A gamble, of sorts.
‘…To think the day would come when I’d have to gamble.’
For some reason, ominous premonitions kept creeping up on him.
‘It can’t be helped. Alright, time to fall…! Huh?’
Having run all the way to the end of the ridge, Ted stopped dead in his tracks before the cliff.
It was because the vast plain below the cliff he was looking at was filled with unfamiliar things.
‘All those things… they’re tents and siege weapons… and people.’
From atop the wide cliff, he saw a countless number of people whose numbers were impossible to estimate. And countless barracks tents the size of tiny dots.
Indeed. It was an army.
An unimaginably massive military force was stationed there.
Ted strained his eyes to observe them in detail.
‘That’s the Pixie Kingdom’s flag. Crazy.’
It felt like knots that had been tangling his mind were coming undone.
‘Why the Great Japanese Empire rankers interfered in the Sauron siege war…. And why the 5 Bon rankers were all in one place. Now I finally know the reason.’
That wasn’t all.
The users who had recently been buried under the issue of
They too were hidden rankers belonging to Japan.
The Pixie Kingdom had been preparing for all-out war with the Charon Kingdom.
‘It’s not just the
Even as a ranker, Ted had known to some extent that Pixie had been gradually eroded by Japanese users for several years.
A kingdom ruled by users. Its arrival was a trend called forth by the era. Other powerful nations, including Pixie and the China Kingdom, were carrying out the same project.
Why? Because dominating a nation in Face Chronicle was profitable.
Even a single territory generated annual profits in the tens to hundreds of billions.
But if the scale was a nation, the magnitude of profit was on another level.
‘This is insane…. Even if I survive down there, I’ll be dead before long.’
Only then did Ted realize.
Surrounded on all sides.
That those words described his situation perfectly.
“See that, you little thief.”
Musashi, who had caught up behind Ted, smiled faintly with a wrinkle-lined face.
“Well, your gestures suggest you’re surprised. How unexpected? Didn’t you steal the provisions knowing full well what was happening?”
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ted played dumb.
“Hmm… we’ll talk about that later. When we crossed blades earlier, I got the feeling you know my attacks quite well…. As far as I know, there’s no musketeer like you, so may I assume you’re a user who encountered me through video media and such?”
Ted was too preoccupied grasping the situation to answer, so Musashi continued.
“You just have this and that skill. But if you’ve grasped my movements according to my skills to this extent, might I call you my fan?”
Only then did Ted’s focus return.
‘What? This old man is really something…’
It was absurd.
He wasn’t a fan, but Ted had repeatedly played videos of every ranker in the world to study their body control.
Thanks to that, he had been able to evade Musashi’s attacks even in fleeting moments.
When Ted gave no answer, Musashi smiled lightly and continued.
“Then you should know. I greatly enjoy duels. And I have many complaints about users these days. If someone’s body control is decent, they’re desperate to copy it. In that regard, you are very special.”
A user who truly enjoyed dueling in the game.
Musashi was that kind of ranker.
“So. What are you trying to say?”
“Oh, the teddy bear opens its mouth when complimented. It’s nothing grand. Your crime score seems quite high, and separate from the military rations, it won’t be fun if you’re caught by us here, will it?”
“Get to the point?”
“As you know… I am PAPA’s combat officer. Although our PAPA isn’t a guild with particularly high standing in 5 Bon, it is a guild with infinite potential. Such a guild needs many excellent combatants, and I believe you are that kind of user.”
In the end, it was a recruitment proposal.
‘…Miyamoto Musashi, I thought he’d be a dignified figure when I only saw him in videos.’
…For some reason, he just felt like a pushy merchant.
‘Guild, my ass.’
Joining a guild was no laughing matter.
You had to sign a contract and act according to it.
The support given was substantial, but there were just as many restrictions, and terminating it wasn’t easy.
Ted raised his fist up to his face.
Then slowly raised his middle finger.
Musashi’s brow furrowed as he looked at Ted’s finger.
‘Since it’s come to this… I’ll just fight moderately and jump before the guards arrive.’
Ted finished his thought.
If he wasn’t caught by the guards or killed by them, Ted could avoid going to prison.
‘If I die….’
With his level around 400, if he died, he would have to wander the Underworld for about 20 days. Not being able to level up for 20 days was terrible just to imagine, but since achievements and titles could be obtained even in the Underworld, it wouldn’t be too bad.
He wondered if he should have bought a
Anyway, when he revived, he’d end up on the Pixie Kingdom’s wanted list. But he could think about that then.
‘It can’t be helped. In the worst situation, this is the best move. I’ll just do better in 20 days. First, let’s take down the Spiritist NPC that I can definitely kill. Every bit of EXP counts. Then jumping off would be clean.’
“Opportunities once lost never return.”
Musashi’s sharp, weighty voice cut through Ted’s thoughts.
It was a voice brimming with regret.
“If you end up enjoying prison content for the next four years and regretting it, remember this day.”
Having finished speaking, Musashi stepped forward like a bullet toward Ted.
In a fleeting instant, the tip of his sword bored toward Ted’s head. It was a thrust without any superfluous motion.
‘Ugh!’
Ted hurriedly twisted his body to avoid it.
But the ensuing green sword aura coiled around Ted.
At that moment, Ted unfolded
But that was when Musashi’s attack had only just begun.
Thrusts and slashes. That simple motion mixed with various skills was a style that dealt explosive damage.
In an instant, Ted was hit two or three times, and his vitality dropped sharply.
“I will provide covering fire.
The Spiritist NPC tried to attack, but Musashi showed his palm toward him.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you since earlier—don’t interfere in this situation.”
Having finished speaking, Musashi attacked Ted even more tenaciously.
Ted’s shoulders, head, legs. None of the openings that appeared were to Musashi’s liking.
Areas where no clean hit would register no matter where he attacked. Areas where clean hits or critical judgments could occur were all cunningly outside his attack range.
That was proof of how good this teddy bear-head’s body control was.
“…Not bad, but it’s impossible for a musketeer like you to defeat me, a blade master.”
“Who asked? Ptooey.”
Spitting, Ted deflected the attack, twisted his body, and aimed at Musashi’s head with
But Musashi reacted extremely sensitively to the trajectory of the gun barrel. He moved to prevent Ted’s muzzle from pointing at his body.
It was close-quarters combat within two meters, but the two busily moved utilizing the sky, ground, and space in all directions.
However, with the continuous attacks, the advantage tilted toward Musashi.
Boom! Clang—!
Soon, when Musashi’s attack grazed past Ted’s shoulder blade and flew onward, Ted’s vitality dropped below 10% and
By then, the other rankers had all arrived there and were watching their duel.
The onlookers let out cheers.
“As expected, Lord Musashi. Finish him off!”
“You got this, Boss!”
“No! You can’t finish him! Hurry up and stun him, then hand him over to me. I need to tie him up so we can have more fun with him!”
They were excited by the rare, spectacular battle.
‘Strange.’
Unlike them, Musashi was not excited at all.
Rather, he felt something was off.
‘Why isn’t he attacking?’
He had been desperately avoiding the angle at which Ted’s muzzle pointed at his body.
Because they said the teddy bear before him possessed firepower surpassing that of large siege weaponry.
Ted’s body control was far superior to what he had thought. So there had been several angles where he thought, ‘If he attacks now, I won’t be able to dodge.’
But even then, Ted did not attack.
It was an endlessly frustrating situation.
Nevertheless, Musashi didn’t stop his offensive. Because the moment he allowed him any distance, if the bastard threw himself off the cliff, he wouldn’t be able to catch him.
‘Alright. It’s about over now.’
Soon, Ted’s remaining vitality appeared in Musashi’s sight thanks to his skill. About 5%. Now if he landed a stun, Ted would fall into the abnormal status
‘If I land a stun with this attack, he’s completely finished.’
Musashi thrust his vibrating sword straight at Ted.
But then. Ted’s gun barrel, with his body bent sideways, was aimed at him.
‘Another angle has opened up. This time… is he going to shoot?’
Ted had never shot even when angles appeared before, but this time yellow lightning coalesced at his muzzle.
‘However… this Ted fellow’s body control seems still below my expectations. If he had pulled the muzzle slightly more toward my chest, I wouldn’t have been able to dodge. If he’s aiming for the shoulder blade, I can dodge it easily enough.’
Soon the lightning flew. Musashi desperately twisted his body to brush past the attack.
“Hoo, this is the end!
Just as Musashi was about to attack, having created his own angle—
Ted’s body was pushed far back.
“Yeah. Have fun finishing it by yourself with that.”
The recoil of his charged lightning had flung Ted backward.
But just as everyone’s gaze was nailed on Ted—
The streak of Ted’s charged lightning that Musashi had dodged maintained its power as it flew. And it pierced through the Spiritist NPC’s head.
‘Damn it! Was the teddy bear aiming not at me but at the NPC?!’
Even belated panic was useless; the situation had already exploded. Musashi hurriedly leaned over the cliff.
A smile hung on the falling Ted’s lips.
‘Gotta secure the last bit of EXP.’
Ted had deliberately not aimed for Musashi. Because hitting him three or four times wouldn’t kill a level 700+ tanker.
But killing a level 600 Spiritist was possible with even a single clean shot.
So Ted pretended to aim for Musashi while finding an angle to shoot the Spiritist. He found the angle where Spiritist—Musashi—muzzle were in a straight line.
That was why he hadn’t been able to shoot until now.
“Kkeoggeogeog!”
The Spiritist who had been struck in the head rolled on the ground in agony.
Soon a status window appeared before Ted’s eyes.
‘Huh?’
But in the fleeting moment of falling from the cliff—
Ted saw something strange.
The Spiritist NPC’s head seemed to be emitting an orange liquid-like substance… or so it appeared.
‘What is that? Did I see wrong… Anyway, I need to fall properly!’
The moment he fell from the cliff, Ted kicked off against the sky with
‘Hoo… that’ll do.’
The situation was concluded. A load was lifted from his mind.
Since the height was considerable, the falling time wasn’t short. Perhaps that was why bitter thoughts began to surface.
‘Japan… those bastards of the Great Japanese Empire… pushing me, who was minding my own business, into such a corner.’
The first things Ted recalled were <5 Bon> and the
To think they’d gotten him killed when he had been living peacefully.
It wasn’t rage that surged up. Rather, his heart was filled with frustration and emptiness.
‘…Hoo… so this misfortune ends like this. You bastards. I’ll definitely kill every single one of them with my own hands. When I revive, we’ll see then….’
Soon, the ground that had been so small began to grow larger.
‘Aah! Ted’s first life since starting anew is over!’
Ted squeezed his eyes shut and clenched both fists tight.
But then, a status window appeared.
—Condition 1. A B-rank skill orb created through evolution.
—Condition 2. Six Desires Constellation connection rate 40.0%
Requirements satisfied [2/2]
“Oh, right! I just leveled up, didn’t I?”
Because things had gone so haywire, he had forgotten.
The status window that had appeared when evolving the Gold Goblin,
He had just fulfilled the second condition of that.
“Hurry, hurry up and start! I’m dying!”
At that moment. The air tore open and began to split apart.
Ted was one step away from crashing into the ground!
He was sucked into the fissure in space. It was as if he were being devoured. Then, as though a zipper were closing, the spatial gap closed from top to bottom.
Soon, soldier NPCs standing in the plains came to that spot.
“Hmm? Was something here?”
“I thought I heard someone shouting…. I must have misheard.”
As if nothing had happened there. Not a single trace remained.