Data.113 – Old Bowman, Versus Field

Aim for the head? Or the heart?

No, I didn’t want to kill a player without fully understanding the situation.

And so I would aim for the weapon!

Kiriri…shu! Clang!

The arrow hit the sword.

The impact caused it to fly out of the player’s hand and land behind him.

But while I was able to disarm him, I couldn’t let my guard down just yet.

I would also have to rob him of movement!

“Web Cloud Arrow!”

I changed my bow to Spider Shooter Cloud, and then fired off the sticky web.

He looked like he was still in shock over losing his sword.

And so he did not resist as he was tangled up in the web and fell to the ground.

“My-my sword… What the hell is this sticky stuff!? How did this happen!?”

“Um, could you tell me why you were targeting these kids? Actually, I want to know why players are allowed to attack each other.”

I said as I approached the man.

Apparently, this Ghost Float had its own rules.

And I wanted him to tell me about it.

“Wh-what? Who are…ah!? Ahhhh! You’re…Kyu…something. That amazing player!”

“Well, I don’t know if I’m really an amazing player, but I am called Kyuji. So, why are you…”

“I-I’ll talk! So please don’t kill me! It’s really hard to get back up here!”

“Hard to get back…? Alright, if you could tell me about that, as well as the other things that I asked, that would be great. Ah, I’ll remove the webs now.”

It would be rude to keep him bound up if he was willing to cooperate.

If he was just attacking the other players because the rules allowed it, then he wasn’t really in the wrong. So I could treat him normally.

“Ah, thank you. Phew. That was scary…”

Now that he had completely lost the will to fight, he told me all about the Ghost Float.

First, nearly the entire floating island was a ‘Versus Field,’ which meant that players were allowed to kill each other.

Player attacks were effective on other players, and there would be a penalty when you died.

Of course, your armor could be destroyed…

Apparently, these rules were explained on signs throughout the town and field.

I must have missed them somehow…

In RPGs, you often check signs and talk to NPCs a lot in the beginning, but by the time you reach the middle, it becomes too troublesome to do.

However, this explained why there weren’t many people walking on the roads.

The roads were paved so they would be easier to walk on. That meant it was flat and there were no obstacles nearby or places you could hide.

Not only that, but while the floating island was generally quite dark, this place was bright, thanks to the many lamp posts.

So it was the perfect hunting ground.

“But even though you are allowed to kill other players, is there a reason to go out and actively hunt them? For instance, would you receive a lot of experience points?”

“No, you don’t receive experience points at all. And you cannot take their equipment or items either.”

“So what is the point? You’ll just earn hatred and nothing else…”

“Yes, you could say that! But it’s fun! Just like the rest of the game! It’s fun to fight others with everything you got! In the Colosseum, there is no penalty or equipment damage. It feels too casual. It’s much funner to fight each other when in a situation where you have something to lose! I’m sure that you understand?”

“I do understand…that you were about to ambush two kids…”

“Gah…!”

The man looked away.

As for the boys, they had already returned to the town.

They hadn’t known about the Versus Field, but once they heard the explanation, they went off saying, ‘then let’s go and kill some people as well!’

Kids were so cruel.

“Ac-actually, I haven’t even fought a player yet. Even though I hid and waited, everyone looked so strong that I didn’t have the guts to go out and attack them… I told you earlier, that it’s hard to get back here, right? That’s because you cannot respawn in the Ghost Float town if you are killed.”

Well, that was certainly different…

Usually when a player was killed, they would be forced to return to the last town they were in.

“If you haven’t unlocked fast travel, you will not be able to return, unless you are lucky enough to see the Ghost Airship passing by again. Not only that, but the requirement for unlocking fast travel is quite severe. In fact, I believe only a handful of the players running around now have done it. I haven’t unlocked it myself! That’s why I targeted someone I thought I could beat!”

While it wasn’t against the rules, it wasn’t a really good motive either…

However, I wasn’t the kind of person to be judgmental of someone else’s playstyle, so I didn’t say anything… But it apparently showed on my face anyway.

The man frantically corrected himself.

“Wait! Wait! I’m not like you. It’s not just about purely enjoying the combat! But player vs player videos are really popular right now! And it’s mostly your fault!”

“What?”

“The Charin battle! Macoco and VRHAR’s super play was like something from a far away world, but the way that you and your team fought, it was something many players wanted to copy. But they cannot beat Charin. And so they have started to search for opponents that they can beat. There are many prank-like videos being uploaded now of players being ambushed!”

“What…”

Prank videos were always popular at any age.

And the more extreme ones tended to get a lot of attention.

Well, if that was the kind of area this was, then I would accept it.

The problem was, how would I avoid such players while I explored this place…

“Thank you. I understand the situation now.”

“Don’t mention it! Meeting you has changed the way that I think. Yes, it’s not cool to look for and fight people who are weaker than you! So from now on, I will be someone who kills players who kills other players. A player killer killer! A champion of justice! That way, people won’t send me hate online!”

“Uh…good luck then.”

The man looked very enthusiastic as he left.

Killing player killers, huh…

I might have to do something like that, if I wanted to survive on this Ghost Float.

In any case, I should have Garbow summoned at all times.

While he wouldn’t warn me about other players, AI were never surprised, which was good for ambushes.

Also, I would have to listen for any sounds.

Perk my ears and search the area…

“Ahhhhhhhh!!”

I heard a scream that shook my eardrums.

“Ah, if it isn’t Mr. Kyuji! Have you’ve forgotten me again?”

The person who was attacking the guy I was talking to a moment ago, was the plain-looking man I had met on the Ghost Airship.

He was wielding a whip. As for the other guy, he had already been hit, so his armor was cracked and his body was disappearing.

In other words, he had been killed…!

“I’m sorry that I didn’t introduce myself before. This…is who I am.”

Suddenly, his clothes changed to a bright, green suit.

At the same time, the whip started to wriggle around like slime.

“I’m Slime Man, from the pro gamer troll team Mad Slime. I owe you one… Well, I am very pleased to have been blessed with another opportunity to fight you! I would very much like to record your defeat and post it on our channel as proof of our revenge…!”

…Shit.

In spite of everything that was said, I still don’t even remember him!

But that whip seemed familiar.

And so I should know. But I didn’t.

I felt bad… He was even acting for his video, but I didn’t know what to say…

However, I understood that he was a skilled player, and that he intended on fighting me.

In that case, I would fight him with all of my power.

Surely I could use it against him.

The Miracle Effect, Ballista…!