Chapter 38: Turntables

The situation was as follows:

My initial plan of action was fairly simple: divide and conquer. I wanted to separate the guy with a huge broadsword from his companions and take him down first, since he looked slow and not very agile.

Bigger swords usually meant that they could do less attacks and are easier to avoid. However, if their blows actually connected, it was going to hit like a truck. Incidentally, while I glanced over the players that were going to attack me, none of them looked to be a Magic Caster, every single one looked to be a physical fighter.

Another reason for taking that guy out first was because he looked susceptible to mockery and easy to provoke. So I was going to try to slip past him and try to slash at his back or side, but…… Why am I saying this in a past tense? Well, that’s because……

The reason was simple. The big guy suddenly got blown away towards the gate while bleeding polygons made him look like a comet. He received the full blow, but even I was almost swept off my feet thanks to the incoming shockwave.

「What the hell!?」

「With one blow!?」

「Who did this!?」

The large swordsman explodes in the Geyser of red polygons right in the middle of the street. And judging by the reactions of his companions, it was something that was totally unexpected. Shocked and confused, none of them were thinking of coming towards me and attacking. I looked behind me only to see an armored player standing there with his sword raised high, ready to strike.

(Wow, he looks like a high-level player. His name isn’t displayed in red font, and he doesn’t really look like one of Pencilgton’s lackeys……)

But I should be happy yet. It’s not like I knew that player’s intentions. Right now, my situation wasn’t exactly that of “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” No, it was not that at all. It was more like my enemies started to jump at each other’s throats. And they did that all at the same time? Good for me.

When it comes to unique items and quest, everybody was out there to get you. Everybody wanted to gain strength, no matter the form, so it was only natural for someone like me to become a potential target for other players. In the exact same sense Animalia over there could become a target for all animal lovers. And when you become a target, it’s small wonder that people would want to collect information about you.

The fighter with a huge sword lost all HP with that single blow…… By that fact alone, I could see that this newly arrived player was a frontline warrior, someone well-versed in avant-garde warfare. Someone to whom Pencilgton or Animalia couldn’t even compare. Probably a power type that boosted his attack damage to blow his opponents away with as few blows as possible.

「Equipment…… Full plate armor…… Large sword…… Tower shield…… Sh*t, with that kind of equipment it was really hard to guess if he used some magic to enhance it as well or not. For the time being let’s just assume that magical enhancement was actually involved.

And now the armored knight ignored Pencilgton and was walking straight towards me. Seeing that, three possible scenarios popped into my head.

First one: just try and break through. If I manage to get away into the city’s limits, good. If not, I’m going to respawn in Rabbitz, so I’ll be in the clear nonetheless.

Second one: run in the opposite direction, back the way I came. It was risky and I had three high level players waiting in my path, but because it would be so unexpected maybe I might be able to pull that off.

Third one: tactical retreat. If I can’t win, I might as well try to log out on the spot.

「Nah, let’s go with plan four.」

Without any hesitation, I run towards the gate at full speed. I wonder, why are strong guys always so surprised to see weaklings charging straight at them? Weren’t they doing exactly the same thing when they were starting out? Come on, at least some of them should know about that.

Without stopping, I was rushing towards the three PKs that were left on the field. I didn’t even have my weapons at the ready, so I wouldn’t be able to attack them in any kind of way. What do you think, Emul? Will we manage to break through?

「…………!!!」

At the same time the armored knight rushed at the three assassins, leaving them in a state of overall panic.

「Gyaaaaaah!? I’m dying! I’m fucking dying! I don’t want to die! I don’t wanna die!!!」

Then the other PKs finally assume the fighting stances, but before they could actually do anything, the armored knight swung his sword at them.

Next, there was just a short “What the fuck!?” and ––

「!?」

「Gyah!?」

While still running I turn and look behind. What I see is as if someone suddenly paused the game, or as if the PKs got so tremendous of a lag that it crashed their games. They are being sent flying by the huge sword, but they let out their screams of pain only when their bodies hit the ground.

The situation as a whole was pretty funny for the bystanders, but for those guys I am pretty sure it was anything but.

「Emul, please prepare the gate.」

「W, what!?」

The distance that I managed to run through this short few seconds, because of my stamina I was able to sprint this whole time without stopping, which would normally be impossible for my normal body. Only now everyone’s attention was beginning to be focused on me.

The armored knight took a step in my direction. The second and third ones he withdrew his weapon and shield. And the forth one……

「Please, wait……! Ngah!!」

「Sorry.」

With an avatar like that she would never make it in time.

I did a perfect front flip and vaulted over the unconscious PKs, knowing full well that the armored knight wouldn’t be able to pull off a stunt like that. It was an unnecessary show of my agility, and for a moment there I wasn’t even sure if I was going to stick the landing correctly, but fortunately enough I managed to do just that.

「Haha! I knew it! Acrobatics without system assist are something else!」

「S, stop doing that, please! I’m shaking too much and I cannot concentrate!」

Tall avatars were the best for these kinds of things. You could easily reproduce the things that athletes on TV did without any kind of problems.

「Hey! You there! Stop! You (Note: VIOLATED THE LAW!!! … nah) cannot go into the city’s limits without permission!」

「He? Ahh!」

I pass the checkpoint without stopping or even looking at the guard stationed there.

「Saiga-0, huh? …… I’ll be sure to remember that name.」

Seeing the name of the player for a short moment I decided to remember that for later. As long as high level players decide to go after the unique information that I possess, there was a possibility we might meet again. As for the PKs…… Honestly, I can remember only Pencilgton’s name.

I then follow into Thirdrema without looking back.

「…………」

And the rest, was silence.

Has something ever slightly similar ever happened to the ace of the “Shwarz Wolves” guild, a player that exceeds in combat at the front lines of the game? The answer to that question would have to be “no”.

(I, I was able to talk to him!)

Right about now, Saiga-0 felt as though she had met her favorite Hollywood star. She couldn’t stop grinning, and her armored body was trembling with so much joy that someone could actually mistake this for anger.

While many people backed away from here, there were also those who were approaching Saiga-0.

「H, hey…… Are you serious? Isn’t that “Maximum Attack Thermal Holder”? That infamous PKer?」

「And isn’t that Bibi? The one PKer that supports his companions with an insane amount of buffs? Were they really brought down with one blow?」

「Let’s bring them to the city, shall we? Then we can score ourselves some reward from their heads from Bounty Hunters. There is also Pencilgton right there……」

The latest update introduced a special kind of NPC inside every town called a “Bounty Hunter”. It was an NPC to which one could go if they witnessed the case of PK. They were NPCs that would mercilessly hunt down Player Killers with extreme tenacity, employing limitless stamina, high-end equipment and skills that far exceeded those of the players. As a testament to their strength, some of the most prominent members of Ashura-Kai were brought to justice by Bounty Hunters. Their presence was creating a deterrent against PK cases inside of towns and made it become less common. Their AI was also supposed to be something out of this world.

Bringing the members of Ashura-kai before Bounty Hunters would surely be a cause to celebrate, especially if they were able to bring Pencilgton before the face of the justice as well. However, no one even noticed that Pencilgton was in fact instantly killed by the suicide attack employed by Animalia on the brink of death.

「…………」

Someone might have noticed that Saiga-0 felt extremely pleased with herself. However, it was a huge understatement. In fact, Saiga-0 felt probably as ecstatic as the first man to ever set foot on the surface of the moon. Completely forgetting about the Ashura-kai PKs, she equipped her sword again and her thoughts began to drift towards Sanraku.

「…… This, how do I , say it…… How is…… even possible…… Geh.」

Thus the members of the Ashura-kai were brought to justice by the hands of the Bounty Hunters and were never heard from again.