Game Opportunities Become Reality Episode 191
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Game Opportunities Become Reality Episode 191
45. Each One's Position (1)
No matter how different the race, a disciple is a disciple.
What master would push such a disciple into a dangerous battlefield and then turn a blind eye?
That is why Blake said with words alone that he wouldn't help, but secretly hid and prepared for Arcia's dangers.
A naive girl like Arcia might not notice, but the shrewd Adrian would try to exploit him if he knew Blake was behind them.
So he had no choice but to hide the truth by making his words and actions differ.
"That looks dangerous, doesn't it?"
Selin, Adrian, and Arcia's early battle flowed very smoothly.
No, rather, it was so perfect it could be called beyond expectations they overwhelmed enemies they'd thought were dangerous with flawless handling.
So Blake had to reevaluate his assessment of Adrian.
His combat sense was good, but what was most outstanding was his ability to set up the board.
-Cha-rara-rarak!
He thought they would win the battle surprisingly easily, but the opponent was even more formidable than he had imagined.
Because she quadrupled the number of swords she controlled and healed her injuries in a single instant.
Just because the swords increased didn't mean her combat power would increase proportionally.
But if it wasn't a hidden trump card, there'd be no reason to bring it out in a situation like this.
In other words, the improvement in combat ability was certain.
-Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boom!
And as if proving his ominous guess right, the tide turned in an instant.
The advantage suddenly shifted entirely to Selin.
A flustered Adrian and Arcia could only focus purely on defense.
"The Demon King hasn't even descended, yet a demon worshiper can fight to that extent?"
That was completely out of the norm.
Enough to give even Blake a hard time.
At that, Blake considered whether he should step in even now.
But he soon gave up on the idea.
Because Adrian and Arcia's eyes weren't dead yet.
They weren't giving up the fight and were trying to find a solution no matter what.
"Of course. They don't know I'm watching, so they think their lives are on the line."
But not everything goes according to one's will.
"Ah..."
Blake let out a groan without realizing it.
Because Adrian, the core of the battle, suffered a major injury one of his arms was torn off.
The pain of injury clouds one's judgment.
Moreover, if the injury was that severe, even a quick recovery would inevitably leave one terrified.
When had Adrian ever suffered an injury like that?
"Huh?"
But Adrian's subsequent appearance was completely different from Blake's expectation.
Because Adrian faced the battle coldly, without a single shred of agitation or error in judgment.
Even bleeding profusely, he dodged the enemy's attacks consecutively and chose to counterattack against an arrogant, careless opponent.
He postponed a condition that could be healed with a single Revive spell for strategic reasons.
Even with his face pale from blood loss, his eyes were exceedingly clear.
"That kid..."
Blake was impressed.
Because even Grand Duke Lucas didn't possess talent like that.
He could realize that while Lucas was a Mage focused on research over combat, Adrian was a Mage focused on combat.
Until now, he'd only thought Adrian resembled Lucas, but hadn't recognized his individuality.
No, to be precise, he hadn't tried to find the differences because he wanted to reminisce about memories with his friend.
"Should I watch a little longer?"
Blake's eyes shone as if he'd discovered a new gem.
* * *
The situation was going to hell.
It's not like I'm some cartoon character, suddenly powering up.
After regenerating my torn-off arm with the 8th Circle recovery magic Revive, I also used Revive on Arcia, the sturdy shield protecting me from the front.
She, who was solid metal itself, had no injuries at all.
Even so, I used Revive magic on her to heal any possible pain from impacts and to restore her expended stamina and energy.
'Arcia is doing her part well. I just need to fight well myself.'
Arcia wears glasses like me.
That was a pair of glasses that showed the future 0.1 seconds ahead, obtained from the Dragonlands ruin last time.
The future 0.1 seconds ahead.
It's an ability that wouldn't help ordinary people much, but for us, who keep fighting on the level of split-second exchanges, it's an invaluable one.
Thanks to that, Arcia was always performing the best defense with the optimal choice.
Even Selin, the enemy, was dumbfounded by her defensive power.
'Four hundred swords. But that woman can only use four swords with Sword Aura at once. No matter how fast she shifts her Aura Blade, there's bound to be a delay. But the problem is that even that delay is at a speed I can barely react to.'
In the end, it felt like I was facing four hundred Sword Aura swords all at once.
Moreover, Selin was perfectly controlling all four hundred swords.
That wasn't ordinary concentration.
Honestly, even I couldn't imitate her.
Arcia and I had always held a position stronger than our peers, but Selin was beyond that.
She was on a whole different level.
I'd say she could probably fight Blake fiercely even if her cultivation realm were one step lower.
'She's an enemy, but all I can feel is admiration.'
A storm of giant swords.
A majestic silver wave.
I shouldn't be thinking like this while my life hangs in the balance, but it truly looks magnificent.
Selin, swinging both arms wildly as if conducting an orchestra, was admirable even as an enemy.
"You tenacious bastards!"
I dodged the rain of swords pouring down endlessly like a downpour in a typhoon.
Or blocked them with Grand Shield.
Enduring under Arcia's protection while watching for an opportunity, I became drenched in blood before even taking a critical hit.
But having suffered all kinds of pain in this reality-synced game, I stared at the enemy with unwavering eyes and waited for my chance.
'Huh?'
Naturally, the battlefield around us had been reduced to ruins from the three-way fight.
With 8th Circle magic, Aura Blades, and Sword Aura pouring down, craters of all sizes had formed around us as if hundreds of meteors had fallen, and gashes like those left by a giant beast's claws lay scattered messily across the ground.
At that moment, whether she failed to notice the ground sinking beneath her feet, Selin lost her balance and staggered.
'Heaven's Pillar.'
I didn't let that chance slip I used an 8th Circle light magic that, while far weaker in power than spells of the same rank, could be cast instantly from beneath her feet.
"Kugh!"
A pure white pillar engulfed Selin, and a low groan echoed out.
-BOOM!
Her sword strike shattered the magic before it could last even a second, but Selin appeared to be badly burned.
-Ssssssh!
And the moment she escaped the pillar of light, two white swords and two black swords flew at her viciously.
They were Arcia's Sword Aura swords that had been used for defense.
Selin quickly canceled out the Sword Aura with her own Sword Aura.
But because her reaction was half a beat too slow, she missed one black adamantite sword.
-THUD!
The adamantite sword carved into her side.
"Damn it!"
Selin urgently reached her arm out toward somewhere.
Black smoke flowed in and healed her wound in an instant.
A recovery ability that turned my hard-earned Strike into nothing.
I'd studied dark magic to some extent, but I couldn't tell what that healing ability was.
'Blackie. North direction.'
So, just in case, I sent Black Eagle toward the direction she had reached out.
"You're giving me trouble."
As if it were nothing, she grinned and once again unleashed a downpour of swords.
Dodging, deflecting with the Holy Lance, letting attacks slide off my barrier, and having Arcia block with her shield the time of enduring the enemy's assault came again.
Unable to fully block every attack, I was cut and battered all over, quickly becoming drenched in blood, but I never allowed a fatal blow.
I never lost focus, and in the midst of it all, I could clearly see one sight.
'Selin, hiding within the storm of swords, wiping the sweat from her brow.'
"Haha."
Covered in blood, I curled the corners of my mouth like a madman.
And with a delighted expression, I asked Selin a question.
"You look pretty worn out, don't you?"
At my question, she flinched and twisted her expression.
[Status: Embarrassed / Displeased]
And after checking her emotional state in her information, I found the answer to this suffocating battle.
"Yeah. No matter how low-grade the Fly magic is, controlling four hundred swords at once while continuously using Sword Aura is just impossible."
What she'd shown so far was already a monstrous ability.
But no ability in this world is absolutely flawless.
Selin possessed monstrous focus and computational ability….
"I guess no one's ever held out this long against you?"
Her combat style was unsuited for a prolonged fight.
What that means is, the longer we held out, the more the advantage swung to our side.
Unfortunately for Selin, prolonged battles were second nature to us, who engaged in one exhausting mental-power-draining fight after another in the virtual world every day.
And so, Arcia and I gritted our teeth and stubbornly endured Selin's relentless attacks.
We occasionally took serious wounds, but as long as our heads weren't severed, we could recover with magic.
Mere pain dealt me no real blow.
"What now? Long battles are our specialty."
"Shut up!"
As we refused to fall easily, restlessness began to creep into Selin.
Her gaze wavered, and a look of being overwhelmed surfaced on her face.
-BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM CRASH!
"An opening."
And as if taunting her, whenever an opening appeared, she struck without fail, so she began taking wounds more and more often.
How long did that exchange go on?
Through Black Eagle, I even figured out Selin's method of recovery.
"I thought dark magic had no healing spells, but there's a way to recover by devouring the life of others, is there?"
"..."
Whenever she reached out her hand, without fail, a demon worshiper locked in battle with the priests would wither and die.
Since she didn't use that power on us, it must require the target's permission or simply not work on those stronger than her.
"Once you know the method, blocking it is easy."
She was a Magic Swordsman.
A Grandmaster-class Dark Knight and a 7th Circle Black Mage.
With two abilities combined, she displayed combat prowess near a Lordmaster's, but when it came to magical ability alone, she was below me.
From then on, whenever Selin reached out her hand, I cut off her healing magic, and from that point on, I never allowed her a single recovery.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all!"
"How dare you."
-KWAANG!
Like a snowball, damage piled up and piled up on her.
"Kugh! Ah, no…."
In the end, Selin was pinned beneath mine and Arcia's feet and subdued.
"Arcia."
"Yes."
Arcia, understanding my instruction perfectly, slashed Selin's eyes and severed the tendons in her limbs.
"Kyaaaaah!"
The demon worshiper Selin, who had shown overwhelming firepower and combat ability.
She now found herself in a situation where she lived or died by my decision.
We managed to win the battle, but….
'She really was the worst possible opponent.'
Even if we acted like nothing was wrong, we were quite exhausted.
That was how tenacious Selin's desperate struggle had been.
"I, I just wanted to see my mother again."
Rendered helpless, Selin burst into tears like a child, crying "Mother, mother."
[Status: Loss of will to fight / Fear]
Where had her earlier majesty gone? Right now, she looked like a child with nothing but a grown body.
Her eyeballs had been cut, and blood flowed down along with her tears.
But I felt no sympathy whatsoever.
"Every grave has its story. You've killed plenty of people too, haven't you?"
I brought the Holy Lance to her throat.
Even without eyes, she could feel the divine power-laden blade against her neck burning her skin, so she must have understood the situation.
Selin choked back her sobs and begged for her life.
It was a sight rarely seen on the battlefield.
"If you have precious information I don't know, you might get to live a little longer."
"Wh-what do you want to know? I'll tell you everything!"
She seemed willing to say anything to survive.
Nodding in satisfaction, I shared my vision with Black Eagle and confirmed that the battle on the Saintess and Holy Son's side had not yet ended.
I shouted into the air without worry.
"Lord Blake!"
Earlier, while I was launching Black Eagle, I had spotted a presence hiding stealthily.
It was none other than Blake.
He must have been worried about his disciple while pretending otherwise.
At my call, Blake approached with a prim expression.
Had he heard me cursing earlier?
"There's something I want to extract from this woman. Would you mind helping me?"
I asked with an awkward smile.
Given his personality, a refusal wouldn't have been surprising, but Blake accepted the request surprisingly readily.
"How can I help?"
I had expected persuasion to take some time, so I was quite surprised.
I quickly continued before the fickle man could change his mind.
"Please keep her alive and protect her."
"You mean secretly take her to the Dragonlands without the priests knowing?"
"Yes."
"Understood."
What wind had blown him this way?
So I examined his status, and this is what the Myriad Mirror displayed.
[Relationship: Recognition / Alliance]
[Status: Admiration / Interest]
It seemed this battle had impressed him quite a bit.
What a relief.
"Hup."
Blake hoisted the blood-soaked Selin onto his shoulder like a bundle of luggage, then vanished from sight.
There is something I desperately want to ask her.
'Why she attacked the Hollywood System.'
'How she found out where the Hollywood System management terminal was hidden.'
'Whether there's a mastermind behind them and if there are other accomplices.'
And so on.
Since these questions are tied to Grand Duke Lucas's Opportunity, they are questions I cannot reveal to the Holy See.
So I had to find out discreetly.
If she were someone who said 'kill me if you dare' with conviction, it would be a headache but fortunately, extracting information from Selin didn't seem difficult.
I let out a sigh and moved with Arcia to help the Saintess's party.