CH 217

Data.207 – Old Bowman, the Strange Town of Mist

‘And now, the second battle of the semi-finals! Ghost Guild vs AUOratorio! And the chosen field is…Undead Town!’

When you hear of undead in a fantasy world, the first thing you would think of is zombies.

And so I also thought it would be the kind of ruined city that was overflowing with zombies. But the undead town that appeared on the screen was covered in mist, like a beautiful English town.

The buildings and roads may have been built a long time ago, but were somehow not aged. Perhaps that was why it was called ‘undead.’

Now, as for sniping points…it would be the giant clock tower in the center.

If I was able to climb it, I would be able to shoot my arrows towards anything in the field, as there were no other buildings that stood out, I would also be an easy target.

That being said, if I chose to be on the roofs of any of the other buildings, Macoco’s boomerang, Achile’s crossbow, Yuri’s talismans and the cannons on Mannen’s back would all be able to reach me.

I would not be able to make use of my Range…

The enemy were all using ranged attacks!

Ah, but the boomerang could be both, and depending on how you used it, the talismans could also deal with close-range attacks.

In the previous fights, Achile had attacked at zero range, and Mannen had used its giant body to charge into enemies.

Thinking of it like this, they were all well-rounded.

In a way, I was also moving in that direction, in terms of maintaining what made me unique while also being able to deal with all kinds of situations.

With specialized players, they were below average when it came to things they weren’t specialized in, and so they would struggle if the enemy took advantage of that, and that would lead to defeat.

And while it may sound cool to stay true to who you are, it was better to have all sides covered if you wanted to win.

And they understood that well.

They were more seasoned…!

Was it rude to call girls seasoned?

‘Both parties to the field!’

And so the Ghost Guild warped to the Undead Town.

◆　◆　◆

“It looks like…I’m not off to a good start.”

I had warped into a dim alleyway.

There were plenty of dark places in this old town.

But warping here didn’t mean anything.

When I said that this was a bad start, it was because my comrades were not close by.

So it might be rather difficult to meet up with them or fight the enemy we had been assigned.

Of course, we knew that this could happen.

Battles rarely went the way you hoped.

And so you had to use your own ability and change the flow.

In any case, the first thing to do was to avoid getting killed right away.

Every enemy here was dangerous!

But somewhere in this misty town, was the most powerful boomerang user…

“It’s so suspenseful, the atmosphere of the map is mysterious…”

While not quite a serial killer, these were mass player killers, so it enhanced the mood.

Now, I better leave this alley, which looks like it could be the scene of a crime.

It was too early to use Warp Arrow or Floating Cloud herd, and so I used the same combination of Windcloud Blast and Whirlwind that I had used in the previous fight, and jumped up onto the roof of a building.

“Tsk. The mist is thicker than I was expecting…”

I only realized it once I looked down at the town from the room.

The mist hadn’t seemed too bad when looking at the monitor, but it obstructed your vision quite a lot.

If this was how bad it was, then being in the clock tower in the center would not allow me to shoot targets that were far away…

However, this map was perfect for Necoco, who was good with assassinating people…

“What!?”

The cry of a crow suddenly echoed.

This was not Garbow’s cru.

It was a…raven…

Macoco’s Unison. Crowkus Jr.!

“Wh-where!?”

It was hard to see its black form in the dimly lit town.

And so by the time my eyes caught sight of Crowkus Jr., it had flown so far away that I could no longer hear it.

But it was still within range…!

Besides, the mist was moving, and there were times when it would become clear.

And it was happening now! I could see Crowkus Jr. clearly!

If I defeated it, Macoco would not be able to use her 3rd boomerang.

That would cut down her fighting power considerably.

I will take it down now…

“No, wait…!”

Instead of shooting it, I followed after Crowkus Jr. while maintaining enough distance that it didn’t attack me.

Unisons had a tendency of going to the closest ally player when they were separated from the rest of the party.

In other words, if I followed Crowkus Jr., I would be able to find the location of one of the enemy players!

And since Unisons could not talk, it wouldn’t be able to say, ‘I think I’m being followed!’

So the player would not realize that I was there.

I would be able to ambush them…!

I moved from roof to roof…and did my best.

Because a flying bird was very fast…!

But I did not want to lose it…

“Ah, it landed on the ground…!”

Crowkus Jr. plunged to the ground suddenly. It must mean that someone was there…

And so I silently moved into a position where I could look down without being seen, and then peered over.

“It just had to be…”

It was Crowkus’s real partner, Macoco Strange…!

She had already put the Unison on her shoulder and was moving away.

I would lose them if I didn’t do something…

“I better brace myself for this one…! Invisible Godwind Sky Tear!”

I combined Clear Arrow and Windgod Sky Tear to create an ultra high speed arrow!

It wasn’t very powerful, but it was a good charge attack to use if you wanted to be sure that you’d hit your target.

Even a seasoned gamer would not be able to dodge it!

And once she was staggered, I would shoot another and…crush her with Southern Cross Ballista!

“…! Boomerang Change!”

Macoco…sensed the ambush!

She then held the circular boomerang up like a shield and blocked the arrow!

Tsk! To be honest, I had a feeling that this might happen. But I hadn’t expected her to have a defense charge attack that could block a fused charge attack so easily…!

The boomerang really was a well-rounded weapon…!

After that attack, Macoco had a good idea of my position, and she looked in my direction.

I couldn’t help but be intimidated and take a few steps back.

“Gaah!?”

Something had pierced my right thigh!?

This was… Invisible Windgod Sky Tear!

I see. So this was the effect of Boomerang Change…!

I had thought that the name was odd for a defense charge attack, so this was why!

Boomerang Change’s effect was to turn the attack that it touched into a boomerang!

And so my attack turned around and came back to me.

If I had not taken a few steps back, it would have hit me in the chest.

Perhaps it would have even pierced me in the heart…!

“Sometimes it pays to be a coward…!”

One of the weaknesses of Sky Tear was that unless it pierced you, it did low damage, and the wound would be small.

On top of that, it had been fused with Clear Arrow.

So I didn’t lose much HP, or my leg for that matter.

I could move just fine… It would be terrible if I couldn’t!

Now, Crowkus Jr. had grabbed Macoco with its feet, and carried her up in the air towards me!

It was like it was carrying its prey, but if this was how she flew, then I doubted there were any time limits. There were no weaknesses aside from it looking stupid…!

And since she was being held by the shoulders, her hands were free to wield the boomerangs!

Th-there was no opening…

“Thunderbold! Kick!”

The black shadow smashed through the building and flew through the air…!

Necoco, enveloped in thunder, had kicked Macoco away!