by Sakon Kaidou
That said, the fact that he hadn’t taken them off right at start was proof that it wasn’t just a skill that made him stronger the less he wore. I assumed it was a skill that split a 100% total bonus among all the items he had equipped. When using 25 items, that bonus would be 4% on each, while equipping just 4 items would make it 25%.
He’d taken off the unnecessary equipment to make his power more focused.
“Is that all the proof you have?” asked Shu.
“No, there’s more,” I said. “Figaro goes through the Tomb Labyrinth solo, but that’s not exactly doable, is it?”
“You’re saying you don’t think it’s pawssible for anyone with Superior Embryos?” my brother asked.
“If it were, other Superiors would do it, too. But Figaro is the only one who’s famed for being a solo explorer. That has to be because he has something others don’t.”
“Which is?”
“Utility and countermeasures.”
“Hoh.”
The equipment Figaro usually had on him was probably a utility-focused combination that strengthened his body, increased defense, gave resistances to status effects, and helped him with healing. However, no matter how strong Figaro was, such equipment made him nothing more but a jack of all trades, yet master of none.
It might work fine against normal monsters, but it was clear that it would be difficult for him to fight bosses that way. That went doubly for UBMs, like the ones I’d beaten, which often had highly specific, unique abilities.
When fighting Gardranda and Gouz-Maise, I’d miraculously emerged victorious because I’d had powers that fit the situation. Though I’d gotten into those fights by chance, I’d been equipped with the right countermeasures.
That was the keyword here — countermeasures.
This was merely an assumption, but I believed that Figaro fought and beat his enemies by adjusting and improving his equipment based on his opponent. For example, when facing an ice monster that was weak against fire, he’d use only a fire-based weapon and equipment that increased his frost resistance.
That was exactly what he had done to that player killer in Sauda Mountain Pass. He’d reduced the number of chains he used to strengthen the “resistance to movement limitations” effect on his greaves, allowing him to break free of the binding and emerge victorious.
And now, he’d concluded that defense and resistance to debuffs were useless against Xunyu, leading him to focus exclusively on equipment that increased his speed and damage.
He fought in full gear to safely see what kind of enemy he was dealing with, then switched to wearing only the equipment he really needed. That was Figaro’s battle style.
“You’re half right,” said Shu.
So there’s more to this, huh? I thought.
“Just so you know, when he’s fully geared, all his equipment’s starting numbers are multiplied by two.”
“Multiplied by... BY TWO?!”
That meant that now, when he was wearing less than a fifth of his total equipment, that number ought to surpassed ten. Clearly, that was more than enough to cover for the loss of a lung.
Wait... ‘starting numbers?’ I thought.
“...Bro.”
“What?”
“You said I was half right because...?”
“You know how you were talking about the total bonus?” Shu said and then went silent for a moment before continuing. “It increases in proportion to battle time.”
Cheers echoed throughout the arena. Figaro’s slash had broken another one of Xunyu’s metallic nails. This time, however, his sword didn’t break.
“He becAme even stRonger!” panicked Xunyu.
If we were to assume that the equipment strengthening increased by 1% every second, the difference that would cause when in full gear would be negligible. But, as Figaro was demonstrating, the same couldn’t be said for when he was using only a few items.
Figaro grew stronger with every passing second and with each exchange of blows. He had already surpassed Xunyu’s supersonic speed and dealt enough damage to break Superior Embryos.
The constant growth in his power became all the more obvious now that I knew how it worked.
Strengthening proportional to battle time.
Strengthening inversely proportional to the number of equipped items.
Those two were the main traits of Figaro’s Superior Embryo.
They were qualities that could only shine in a long battle. Thus, now that the battle had gone on for quite some time, Figaro was in top shape even after having lost one of his lungs.
A man who grew endlessly stronger the more he fought — Figaro the Endless Chain.
“That’s nuts,” was all I could really say about it.
Nemesis, sitting next to me as she’d read my mind, nodded in agreement.
So that nickname wasn’t actually referring to the chains, huh? I thought.
From the fact that it also covered the true nature of Figaro’s Superior Embryo, I could only assume that Shu, who’d known the truth about it, was the one who’d thought of the nickname and made it popular.
“Still...” I murmured.
There was something I found strange. Even though I’d had hints from my brother, I’d been able to figure out the nature of Figaro’s Superior Embryo just by watching him fight once. And yet, all this time, it’d been considered to be a great mystery.
It didn’t take too much thought to figure out why. Figaro — being exclusively a solo player — did all his explorations by himself. He was alone in his boss battles, and most of them happened in the Tomb Labyrinth. Obviously, no one ever saw him fight after removing his equipment.
As for duels... Well, the large audiences had never noticed his abilities because each and every single one of his opponents so far simply hadn’t been strong enough to force him into focusing his gear.
Perhaps he had powered up by removing one or a few of his accessories, but he’d never had to take off so much of his equipment that the spectators would’ve found it weird. Today was the first time that had ever happened in a duel. Figaro had had to go all out because his opponent was the strongest he’d ever faced in a duel.
Xunyu was truly strong.
“Hah! You surE are somethiNg, Figaro!” shouted the jiangshi as his left arm was completely severed.
If that wasn’t a show of just how strong Figaro had become, nothing was. Even with a critical injury, he surpassed Xunyu at just about every front.
The tables had turned.
Figaro evaded the nails with little effort as the jiangshi’s legs distanced the body from him. Xunyu attacked even while backing away, but none of it seemed to work.
Though both were fighting at supersonic speeds, there was now a clear difference in velocity between them.
And, of course, that difference only kept growing.
“Damn, I mesSed up!” said Xunyu. “I shouLd’ve aimed for thE head, even if the riSk of you dodgiNg would’ve been biGger!”
Though cornered, Xunyu showed no signs of using the ultimate skill again. It probably had a cooldown or a limited number of uses.
Xunyu was strong and had certainly had a chance at victory. However, that chance had disappeared the moment the jiangshi had failed to grab hold of Figaro’s heart.
“■■” Figaro voiced another inhuman sound as I noticed that he now held only one weapon instead of two.
It would probably be categorized as a broadsword. But it was definitely not just a sword.
It was hard for me to say what made it so different from the other weapons he’d used. Its presence was simply unmatched. I felt as though merely looking at it for too long would reduce me to nothing.
“That sword... Figaro’s going for the finishing blow!” said Shu.
“You know what that weapon is?” asked Marie.
“You can’t Identify it?”
“I can’t. Using Identification doesn’t even give me its name.”
I understand not being abl
e to Identify stats, but not even seeing the name? I thought.
“The Zenith Dragon’s Brilliant Fang, Gloria α.”
“Ah?! So that’s...?!” Marie became shocked, and yet I didn’t know why.
The intimidating air about it made it obvious that it was a special reward. However...
“It’s on a completely different level,” said Nemesis, and I couldn’t help but nod.
It was above any and all equipment I’d seen so far. I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was a greater weapon than Xunyu’s Superior Embryo.
“That’s a cooL toy you hAve, Figaro! GheAhahaHahahahhah!”
And yet, the jiangshi was still laughing. Despite it all — despite being the very target of that menacing blade, Xunyu was still laughing.
The two duelists were no longer fighting, allowing the laugh to freely echo throughout the arena, which had turned silent with anticipation. And once the echoes subsided...
“Then I’m goNna use tHis!” Reaching into a sleeve, Xunyu took out a dagger and gripped it with the right prosthetic arm.
A second later, a menacing air came from the jiangshi. Specifically, from the dragon fang-like dagger.
“Yinglong’s Fang, Suling Yi. It’s just like youRs — a Superior Item. I got it wheN we dealt with the SUBM thAt attacked our Huang He.”
SUBMs and Superior Items.
When I’d checked the help window, I’d learned that was the highest tier of special rewards. The two duelists were owners of Superior Jobs and Superior Embryos. And now, they wielded Superior weaponry, as well.
“Still, it’s nOt like I can surpaSs you when you’re so bUffed,” Xunyu said.
Of course, Xunyu was aware. It was something that I’d been able to figure out. There was no way that an experienced Superior facing Figaro couldn’t realize the nature of his Embryo.
“Don’t worrY, though. My Yinglong’s Fang deals moRe damage the more MP and SP I giVe it,” Xunyu said while baring the fang at Figaro. “I’ll give mY all to this one attack. Next time’s goNna be the laSt.”
That declaration was followed by more silence, which created a thick air of tension.
Figaro’s Superior Embryo was sending more and more power into Gloria α.
Xunyu the Master Jiangshi, a Superior Job with immense MP and SP, was giving it all to Yinglong’s Fang.
The air became so tense that it felt as though the very space around them would crack.
Nemesis, Shu, Marie, Rook, Babi, I, and just about everyone else in the audience looked at the menacing duelists while holding our breaths in anticipation.
Now that the tension had reached its apex, I was so immersed in the scene that I didn’t even notice that I’d pushed off the glass that was on the table. Right before it shattered, I heard the high-pitched sound caused by it touching the stony floor echo within our box.
At that moment, the Over Gladiator charged, while the Master Jiangshi launched his right arm.
Both their speeds surpassed and went far above supersonic. Even though they were slowed down by the barrier running at full capacity, I still couldn’t see what had happened. All that entered my vision were the results.
Figaro’s left arm and Xunyu’s right arm — still holding Yinglong’s Fang — had been severed from their bodies and were now airborne.
Still holding Gloria α in his right, Figaro dashed to Xunyu’s side, to which the jiangshi responded by instantly launching the left arm, the one with a hand that had lost its metallic nails, towards the Over Gladiator.
At that particular moment, Xunyu was faster than the opponent and quickly forced the golden nail into Figaro’s chest.
“Got ya nOw!”
Before I’d realized it, one of the very same golden nails that had been broken and dropped to the stage was affixed to the hand once again.
Xunyu’s claim about giving it all to Yinglong’s Fang had been merely but a setup for this surprise attack.
The jiangshi had predicted that Figaro would focus on speed in exchange for defense and took advantage of that.
Xunyu the Yinglong was both the Landmine and Divine Speed.
And still, the Over Gladiator came out ahead.
I could see shock on Xunyu’s partially concealed expression. It was caused by the fact that the golden nail hadn’t pierced through Figaro’s body.
The golden nails were supposed to break through the skin, tear the pectoral muscle, rip the heart, shatter the ribcage, and come out on the other side. However, something had stopped it right after it tore the pectoral muscle.
It was an object capable of withstanding an attack from a Superior Embryo.
It was...
“...a heart,” I muttered.
An Embryo that no one could see, despite Figaro always using it.
An object that Xunyu had failed to grab with the ultimate skill and couldn’t pierce with this surprise attack.
They were the same thing.
A heart-shaped Superior Embryo.
“Thank you,” said Figaro. “You were a wonderful opponent.”
He’d taken off the Physical Berserk and sent his praises to his fellow duelist...
“Fang of Gloria!”
...and then split Xunyu in two from the top of the head.
“GHH!” the jiangshi groaned, and then struggled to try to do something.
“OVERDRIVE!”
Figaro swung Gloria α back upwards while making it release a pillar-shaped burst of light that greatly surpassed Baolongba in terms of heat.
The light was blinding enough to cause a whiteout. Though we couldn’t see anything, it was easy to tell that it was silently evaporating everything within the barrier. And once the light faded, all that was left was Figaro, while Xunyu had vanished without a trace.
I heard a belated announcement of Figaro’s victory.
Once the audience realized what happened, the arena was engulfed in applause.
Nemesis and I and everyone else in our box were cheering, as well.
The Clash of the Superiors — a duel that would be sung for a long time to come — had ended with Figaro’s victory.
Conjunction Episode: The End of the Match, the Beginning of Madness
Central Arena, audience seating
The moment Figaro won, ovation roared throughout the building.
“What a great duel...” A certain young spectator seated in the west side couldn’t hold his honest opinion about the battle he’d just witnessed. The spectators around him were standing up as they sent cheers and applause to Figaro — no, the spectacular battle itself — and he was no exception.
“Truly a wonderful fight,” he said, clearly moved.
“Yeah!” agreed a middle-aged man standing next to him. “I’ve seen many arena battles in my life, but a duel this good is a first!”
“Really?”
“You’d better believe it! The best match before was the one between Figaro and Tom Cat, the previous champion, but this was above that one!”
“I suppose I am quite lucky, then. This makes the journey through the desert all the more worth it.”
The middle-aged man then noticed that the youth next to him was wearing a turban and loose, skin-concealing clothing that was popular in Caldina.
“You came here all the way from Caldina?!” he exclaimed. “Wasn’t it hard?”
“Oh yes, it was,” nodded the youth. “But again, it was worth it. I now have a good story to tell my friends back there.”
After forming a satisfied smile, he then tilted his head in confusion.
“Oh?”
Gradually, more and more people in the audience became as puzzled as he was.
“What’s wrong, lad?” asked the middle-aged man.
“Umm, Mr. Figaro is...” He told the man of the oddity that he had noticed.
Eventually, the confusion spread all across the arena.
“What a joke,” said a woman in the eastern part of the audience. Obviously, she wasn’t as ecstatic about the battle
as everyone else in the audience.
Though what she’d said were pure fighting words to all the duel enthusiasts around her, they were drowned out by the cheering and failed to reach anyone’s ears.
It there was anything that could hear her voice, it would be the porcupine sitting on her lap.
The woman was deeply unsatisfied with the battle she’d just witnessed.
A battle between two Superiors. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t expecting anything. However, both of them ended up being complete eyesores. It made me wonder if they are really Superiors. Nothing but trickery and gimmicks. How trifling. The only worthwhile thing was at the end. Are they that useless because they’re based on such shoddy things as hearts and limbs? And yet you’re supposed to be the same as...?
Her expression turned stern as the woman’s irritation became even denser.
Right when it was about to turn into murderous intent and be unleashed upon her surroundings...
“know your place, and shut your mouth” the porcupine on her lap suddenly said.
The woman knew exactly what it meant.
“My apologies,” she said. “Pardon my abusive thoughts. I almost let them out, but I’ll hold them back now.”
“k”
After apologizing, the woman petted the porcupine.
Then, she looked at the stage with a bored expression on her face.
“Oh, its begun,” she said. “Well, with the first princess not being here, it has nothing to do with us.”
“spec”
“Very well. Let us spectate. This might be good entertainment.”
◇◆◇
Paladin, Ray Starling
Something was very off.
Figaro was stuck in the very same position he’d been in after finishing Xunyu off with that upwards swing. Also, despite the match being over, Xunyu showed no signs of reviving.
The inside of the barrier was completely still in every sense of the word.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Hey, br—”
Before I could call out to Shu, I cut my words short. That was because of what I felt when I looked at him.
Even though he was clad in a full bear suit, I could easily tell that he was extremely pissed.