Chapter 164: Fake Imitation, Trust Only Your Inner Evil Part 1

Lucas Garcia. Going by the alias of “Skelecom”, in a nutshell he is the brain of Star Rain.

In other words, he’s just like Katsu. The more information he manages to get, the stronger he can become and adapt to almost every situation. That being said, compared to other members of Star Rain he’s relatively weak. No, that’s not it. He’s like level ninety seven, which may be weaker than ninety nine, but is still strong nonetheless.

He is said to be a demon of analysis, one that is not afraid to lose a battle or two in order to win the war, and that he would even approach paparazzi out of his own volition rather than let them lurk in wait for him.

「How should I put this without sounding offensive? You know, a Bad End in a crappy Dating Sim seems to suit you just fine.」

「Rather, he’s the kind of a guy to die first during a zombie outbreak in movies.」

「Ah, I get you. I totally get you.」

Looking up at the oversized display screen…… Natsume-san and Skelecom were in the middle of selecting their characters. The main point of Galaxia Heroes: Chaos is that different characters from different works can battle one another, but this time around it would be a little bit different.

「It seems that Player Lucas chose “Dr. Sandalphone” as his character!」

「In the previous games it was his go-to character, so even though his playstyle has changed drastically in this game, it is a smart decision to pick a character you tend to know about the most.」

「Right, so when we win this thing, just what kind of sushi should we get? Hmm? I can’t really decide.」

「…… We don’t know if we have this thing in the bag yet.」

Dr. Sandalphone is called a hero, but he really looks just like an old man wearing sandals and a tattered lab coat, holding a smartphone in his hand. If I remember correctly, he uses that smartphone to amplify various supernatural phenomena so he can take on the creations of the evil mad scientist?

That being said, both Pencilgton and I were off to a bad start in a little betting game of ours: guess which characters our opponents are going to use.

Please, you other machos and blodie! Don’t fail me on this! I want to eat as much yakiniku as possible, not some shady-looking sushi……!

「Ooohhh! It looks like the character of Player Natsume’s choosing is Yggdryer! It’s going to be a showdown between a Hero and Villain from the same series!」

「Certainly, in the previous games Yggdryer’s advantage over Dr. Sandalphone was 6:4, right? I’m curious to see if he can keep that advantage even in this installment.」

I can also see that this idol girl is a real deal. Although I’m pretty sure that this character selection is a work of sheer coincidence, she used her silver tongue to make that into a fated duel instead of accident.

This the battle policy that we decided to adapt alongside cosplay: roleplay. We got hold of Star Rain’s battle records and based on that we assumed their favorite characters, and then we want to choose that particular characters’ arch-nemesis in order to create more entertaining, dramatic battles.

We also assume that it might be a good strategy for this Exhibition Match: to make the battles overly dramatic and exciting, at the same time stalling for time without anyone actually realizing that.

「Hey, Sanra…… Oh, I guess right about now I should call you No Face-kun, right? Have you given that Energy Drink a go yet?」

「It’s only a personal preference of mine, but I like to believe that it is best to consume energy drinks roughly thirty minutes before actually playing.」

「And have you ever heard of Placebo Effect before?」

「You mean that effect when the F1 car goes so fast that the actual sound of it drags behind a little bit?」

「Umm, no, that’s an entirely different thing. Doppler Effect, I do believe it was called?」

Your point being what, exactly? Anyways, for now it is important that we watch how Natsume-san is going to do during her battle.

Natsume-san is ridiculous…… But, she’s a different kind of ridiculous when compared to Katsu. Like, she’s the exact opposite of him. And this also means that she should have an advantage against Lucas, even if only ever so slightly. It should be said here that this advantage does not amount to being strong or weak, but rather being able to adapt and overcome any adversity that might come your way.

Incidentally, Pencilgton’s evaluation of Natsume-san was much worse. It was something like: even though you try to act like a carnivore, you are still a herbivore at heart. So she didn’t even treat her like a human being.

I know that’s not how a complete amateur should talk about a Pro Gamer, but sometimes amateurs could be as good as Pros and their opinion could be equally as valuable.

However, those evaluation are of Natsume-san alone. But if you combine it with military and strategy knowledge of master schemer Pencilgton, even foreigners like Star Rain should be afraid of the herbivore.

「Now listen up, Natsume-chan. Just don’t forget the basics of roleplaying that I imparted on you and you should be fine……」

「Yes, the basic rule of roleplay, the rule to be ever vigilant and observe your opponents and your surroundings carefully……」

It’s not rocket science, Natsume-san. Just overcome your shyness and you should be all set to go. I hope.