by Sakon Kaidou
Hold on, I thought. She just said that she couldn’t use her ambush attacks — the nobushi grouping’s forte — in a duel. In that case... how did she rise up all the way to fifth?
As if to answer that question...
“All right, then. I can’t use my job’s ultimate skill, so I’ll take you on in a fair fight.” Rosa reached into her inventory and took something out.
It was the skull of a dragon, probably a land-based one, and it was even larger than her body. She placed the skull on the tip of her spear and casually spun it before saying a certain set of words.
“Remnants of Warrior Dreams — Gashadokuro!”
The skull she had pulled out instantly became powder, which was then absorbed by her spear.
The sight reminded me that the fifth in the duel rankings was called “the Bone-Eater.” However, it didn’t end with just eating.
“Khaaaaghhh!” Rosa roared as her spear unleashed a light and a white aura, which soon engulfed her whole body.
At that moment, when the light and the aura made it impossible for Rosa to see...
“Stronghold Pressure!”
...B3 crushed her with the giant shield.
It was a repeat of the attack from before, but the results were drastically different this time.
“Not gonna work now!” Rosa shouted as she stopped B3’s attack with little effort.
She was now clad in a white exoskeleton. Her form was abnormal, like a forced merging of humanoid and draconic bones, and the presence she emanated was completely unlike before. It felt as though I were looking a hardened warrior and a mighty beast inhabiting a single body.
“Hh!” B3 gasped as she let go of the giant shield and jumped backwards.
“Hhaagh!” Rosa exclaimed as she pulverized the shield with just her exoskeleton’s right arm. Indeed — the stout, bulwark-like shield crumbled in but a single hit.
“Such beastly strength... It reminds me of Brother Bear,” commented Nemesis, and I was inclined to agree. Of course, Rosa was still nowhere near Shu, but her power was incomparable to what it had been before. It was, without a doubt, her Embryo’s ultimate skill, and it was an enhancement transformation type, just like Riser’s — the sixth in the rankings.
We were now faced with a player who had a real ace up her sleeve.
“She’s strong,” I muttered. The power and presence were enough for me to see that she was indeed a duel ranker.
And yet, despite that, I still believed... “...that winning is possible,” Nemesis finished my thought. “Correct?”
“Yeah,” I replied as I tightened my grip on my greatsword and resolved to battle the mighty foe before me. “But man, this sure is a bothersome ultimate skill.”
I’d spent a lot of the past month sparring against the rankers. Needless to say, they were all significantly stronger than me, and — barring one exception — I had repeatedly lost against all of them. However, I knew full well which one of them gave me the hardest time.
Ignoring Superiors like Figaro and Xunyu, the most difficult opponent for me was the sixth, Masked Riser.
You’d expect it to be the fourth, Juliet, who had a Superior Job, but no, I had more trouble with the high-rank Master in sixth. His Embryo’s ultimate skill was the type that transformed him and greatly enhanced his abilities.
Compared to ultimates that launched single, powerful attacks, prolonged status enhancements were far harder to counter for me.
It was made worse by the fact that, with my current stats, even the most basic attack post-transformation was lethal for me, and that alone was enough to make me wary of such opponents.
“Rhhaagh!” Rosa, now clad in her exoskeleton, roared as she attacked, as though flaunting the fact that she was exactly that type of fighter. The power of her attacks and the proficiency behind them made it clear she was on the same tier as the famed rankers.
“Goddamn, she’s trouble,” I grumbled.
However, though Rosa was on the same tier as Riser and had an ultimate skill similar to his, there was one way in which they greatly differed.
From what I could see, the Nobushi Princess was now an endurance type.
B3 and I had already taken advantage of several openings in her defenses and landed many hits on her, but it didn’t look like any of them had had an effect. In fact, I wasn’t sure if we’d done even a single point of damage.
“Ha,” Nemesis chuckled. “Most of the rankers were speed-focused, so we’re not used to this.”
Indeed, the duelists I’d sparred against had prioritized speed over toughness, and Rosa’s ambush had made me assume she was the same.
“Wait, maybe she...” Maybe her battle style changed when she used her ultimate skill? I wondered.
I was assuming this because she’d activated it by using the skull of a monster, and because, when Marie had shown me the clips on her crystal, Rosa’s fighting style had been different than it was now.
Back then, instead of being completely covered by an exoskeleton, she’d only worn a bony set of arm and leg bracers. This made it safe to assume that the skill could create exoskeletons meant for different styles depending on what skulls she used, which would make it not only powerful, but versatile, as well.
“Aahahahahahah!” Rosa laughed out loud. “Come on, come on, COME ON!”
She charged towards B3 while masterfully using her bone-made, mace-like right arm and the spear — likely her Embryo — fixed in her left arm. Her power was great, and her attacks damaged B3’s shield by merely grazing it.
Rosa now excelled at both defense and offense, leaving us overwhelmed despite it being a 2v1 battle.
“However,” I said as I noticed something, “she’s not fast.”
She was nowhere near the speed of the duel rankers I’d fought against. In fact, she was even slower than me, which was crazy, considering she’d been much faster while ambushing us.
Most would assume she’d become slower because of the weight added by her transformation, but that was only half-right. She had certainly slowed down because of an increase in weight, but it certainly wasn’t caused by the transformation.
No. The extra weight didn’t even come from herself.
“I knew it would be like this, but I’m still surprised you can move while being so close,” mumbled B3. “I mean, the weight can be as high as 500 times greater than normal.”
It was one of B3’s Embryo skills.
Cracks were appearing around Rosa’s feet, and her legs were sinking about ten centimeters into the ground. While the “Anti-Gravity” skill B3 had used had seemed to make things lighter, this one appeared to have the opposite effect.
However, despite being exposed to 500 times greater gravity and reaching the point where she started breaking the ground she treaded, the Nobushi Princess could still run towards B3 and attack her.
The skill slowed her down enough for B3 to be able to deflect Rosa’s attacks with the curved surface of her shield. Still, it was clear that a proper, direct hit would break it, just like the other one.
I also noticed that B3 was defending against Rosa’s attacks in a way that gradually distanced them from the carriage. Louie was still inside, hidden from the battle and protected by the vehicle’s defensive barrier. However, it was obvious it wouldn’t be much protection against Rosa as she was now, so B3 was making sure to lead her as far away from the carriage as possible.
Before the time limit hit, B3 and I had talked about the likelihood of K&R stopping their attack if we’d told them we had Louie, a tian, with us.
The clan had a set of rules, and no one there wanted to get on the wanted list, so if they knew about Louie, it was possible they would let us go.
However, B3 had said that: “If they don’t stop, the situation will shift from bad to worse.”
K&R had started the attack exactly when we were in the middle of the area, when it was hardest for us to escape. If they had some sort of reason they simply had to defeat us, telling them about Loui
e would most likely turn him into a hostage.
And now that we had the Nobushi Princess herself — the strongest among them — coming after us, it was clear they were intent on killing us.
Having to protect Louie made this an uphill battle in more ways than one, and it wouldn’t be hard for Rosa to make short work of us if she knew of his existence.
According to B3, “We can’t know how well the clan is protecting Kashimiya’s rules without him there, so it’s best to act while expecting the worst.”
And because of that, we were now fighting while hiding Louie’s existence and trying our best not to let any damage come to him.
Side note: I had asked about the life search skill and whether it worked on Louie, and B3 had said that it functioned based on levels, so a tian child would remain undetected. After all, normal tian children didn’t have jobs and thus, levels, making them immune to the search.
This was supported by the fact that Rosa hadn’t mentioned Louie even once, which meant she either didn’t know he was here... or was merely pretending she didn’t.
“Glad to see this skill again, B3!” shouted Rosa. “It’s like I’m in the training arc of some manga! Though, you do know it’s not enough, RIGHT?!”
“Gh...!” B3 exclaimed.
Their battle was turning more heated than ever.
The Nobushi Princess was obviously referring to the ultimate skill B3 had already used. If B3 had used it while Rosa’s movement was as limited as it was now, she could easily have achieved victory. I recalled one of the PKs from Marie’s crystal ball having used a similar combo.
“Tell me this, B3!” Rosa continued. “Why aren’t you switching to your main job?! You making light of me or something?!”
“Oh no, this is the best I can do right now,” B3 replied.
“Quit your acting and go all out, damn it!” And Rosa continued vehemently attacking B3, who did her best to defend against her.
I was left on the sidelines of all this, since Rosa didn’t show any intention of hurting me. In fact, she didn’t even give me as much as a glance. This woman was focused solely on B3.
“Hmph, looks like you became too famous,” said Nemesis.
“...Yep.”
The tricks I had up my sleeve, such as the powerful Counter Absorption-Vengeance combo, were already well-known by many.
This was all because the broadcast of my battle against the RSK had been voiced, and my voice had been heard as clearly as Franklin’s. Because of that, it was now common knowledge that I had a skill that absorbed damage, and that I could return it back to my attackers. Anyone who was aware of that wouldn’t willingly attack a counter-user like me.
Rosa seemed to know that my and Nemesis’s Vengeance was about the only thing here that could break through her endurance and deal damage to her, so she was purposely ignoring me and targeting only B3.
I silently thought things through. With Louie being in the carriage nearby, I couldn’t use Hellish Miasma. Sure, I could give him an Elixir, but the miasma could ride the wind and affect more than just us, so in the end, it really wasn’t an option.
That left me with only one option: the usual Counter Absorption-Vengeance combo.
However, to make it work, I had to get Rosa to hit me, and the only way I could make that happen was by slipping in between her and B3 while she was attacking.
That wouldn’t be easy, considering I had to do it without her noticing me. She wasn’t looking at me right now, but she would surely see me if I were to get close to them.
I looked around and examined my options.
“Ray! This is bad!” Nemesis exclaimed, making me hastily look back at the battle.
B3’s situation was dire. Not in terms of who had the upper hand, but because of her position.
I didn’t see how, but they had switched places, and the carriage was now right behind B3.
“HAHAAH! Let’s go, B3!” roared Rosa.
Despite being affected by supergravity, she charged towards B3 with immense ferocity, shattering the ground beneath her. The force and vigor she emanated made her seem inhuman, much like the Pure-Dragon whose bones were used as material for the exoskeleton.
“Gh...!” B3 grunted in anger, not doing anything to avoid Rosa’s incoming attack.
It wasn’t because she couldn’t — she simply didn’t. After all, the carriage right behind her contained Louie.
This was one of the ways Rosa could make short work of us. If Rosa targeted Louie, we had no choice but to defend him, even if we had to abandon our ability to defend ourselves.
It didn’t look like the Nobushi Princess had intended this, but that didn’t change the fact that our situation was now more dire than ever.
If B3 averted a single attack in a way that made it go straight to the carriage, it would jeopardize Louie’s life. Thus, she had no choice but to take the attack head-on.
“Fatal Defender!” She shouted a skill, making her shield momentarily shine, then break when hit by Rosa’s attack.
The impact blew B3 away, making her crash into the carriage.
Rosa didn’t miss this opportunity and attacked her again.
“HA! That skill raises your defense in exchange for destroying your shield, doesn’t it?! Pretty desperate, aren’t you?!”
“Shut up. Fatal Defender!”
B3 was able to take the following attacks by using the same skill again, but if every use of it really cost a shield, her situation was really bad.
I had to find a way to help.
“I have to go... there,” I said as I made my move, going as fast as I could while avoiding being noticed by Rosa.
I was heading for the side of the carriage opposite to the one they were at.
During that time, B3 lost a total of five shields, and was slowly starting to receive damage, which caused her to slow down while trying to prepare the sixth.
The Nobushi Princess wasn’t lenient enough to miss that opening.
“YOU’RE DONE, B3!” she roared as she swung both her arms.
The bone mace on her right and the spear in her left were closing in on B3, carrying enough power to finish her off.
However, right before they landed, I jumped out from under the carriage.
“?!” B3 gasped.
When Rosa was focused on her battle with B3 and attacked in the direction of the carriage, I’d slipped under the carriage from its opposite side.
The vehicle had been designed to handle uneven roads, and its base was high enough for me to go under by just bending forward. The area under the carriage was a blind spot for Rosa, since she was already pretty tall and her sizable exoskeleton raised her visual point even higher.
Of course, the carriage was also still taller than her, and that had allowed it to function as a wall that had prevented her from seeing me get to the other side and hide under it. From there, I had been capable of slipping in between B3 and Rosa, which had given me the perfect opportunity.
“Counter Absorption!” Nemesis howled and activated the skill.
“Shi—! Screw it, I’ll break through!” Rosa reacted, hesitating for a moment before attacking with even more ferocity.
She intended to shatter my barrier, me, and B3 all at once.
“RHAAAGH!” she roared as the bone mace on her right arm crashed into the barrier, making it crack. “RUOOAGH!” she roared again as she launched an attack from the spear in her left.
The barrier of light was no longer there to protect us, and the spear was quickly closing in to pulverize B3 and me both.
“Counter Absorption!” Nemesis triggered the skill again, putting up the second barrier of light.
A high-speed Counter Absorption activation. It was something she’d had to learn if we wanted to stand a chance against all the high-speed fighters in the duel rankings. The second barrier not only neutralized the attack that would’ve surely killed me, but also gave me a chance to launch a counterattack.
“Vengeance...”
This counter would carry the damage of two powerful attacks. Rosa’s exoskeleton prevented me from unleashing it on her body, and I doubted that it was enough to shatter the tough, large bones covering her now. However, I already knew where I had to aim for my counter to be effective.
“...is Mine!”
My blade was touching the tip of the spear she was extending towards me — the main body of her Embryo, Gashadokuro.
The moment I finished activating the skill, Gashadokuro was exposed to double the amount of damage I’d accumulated with my two Counter Absorptions.
It exceeded the Embryo’s endurance as a weapon, and a moment later, it shattered into pieces.
Chapter Eight: The Bad Dog and the Owner
Paladin, Ray Starling
Our counterattack landed right on Rosa’s Gashadokuro, breaking it into too many pieces to count.
With the Embryo’s destruction, the exoskeleton forged by its ultimate skill also crumbled away. However, that was where the damage ended.
“This woman sure is tenacious,” commented Nemesis.
“Can’t argue with that,” I agreed.
Indeed, the Nobushi Princess herself was completely unharmed.
There had been a small window of time between the moment Vengeance connected and the moment the damage left over from Gashadokuro’s destruction reached her. She had used this opening to discard her Embryo, remove the exoskeleton, and distance herself from us, likely to avoid B3’s gravity skill.
That escape had been nothing short of spectacular, but it meant little against the fact that the tables had turned.
Sure, I only had one more Counter Absorption use in stock, but B3 already had a new shield at the ready, and she still upheld the gravity skill. Without her exoskeleton, Rosa would be unable to resist its effects.
“Hhaah... Hhaah,” she panted. “You’re pretty good, Unbreakable.”
Not even losing Gashadokuro could wipe that ferocious grin from her face. A broken Embryo wasn’t lost forever, but they still took quite a while to regenerate.
“Heh heh heh,” Rosa chuckled. “So I used up my ambushes and lost Gashadokuro... So what? The fight’s just getting started!”