Chapter 172: Arrogant Challenger: Ignition

「Now then, wouldn’t you say that Nitro Squad is in a big pinch since Silvia Goldberg decided to show up in this Exhibition Match?」

「Let’s see, the player No Face still needs to make his debut, so at the current moment his skill at gaming and power are still unknown, so it remains to be seen if he’s going to be a challenge for Silvia Goldberg……」

「It sounds as difficult as being a soldier in the middle of the warzone who’s been shot in the stomach and there are no medics in the vicinity!」

Just like that, my battle against Silvia Goldberg was about to begin, while a certain someone was still not present, with everyone else thinking that he’s still waging a brutal war in the toilet.

「It certainly does…… Let’s see if Player No Face shows us the true extent of his abilities, just like a wild rabbit when it’s being hunted by a predator.」

「Without any further ado, let’s switch to character selection. Player Silvia picks Meetias, of course!」

「We’ve already seen Meetias in the previous game, but his mobility is something that shouldn’t be underestimated. And although it is difficult to carry out, this mobility combined with Player Silvia’s skills and natural tenacity is what earned her the title of United State’s number one!」

「Yes, when it comes to Silvia Goldberg combined with her Meetias, the only term that comes to mind is: numer one.」

That’s right, I am yet to discover a method to bring down the undefeated Silvia Goldberg.

To that end, I even read through various Internet forums dedicated to beating her, with some of them possessing information only Pro Gamers would happen to know.

And the answer that kept on appearing most of the time was “Counter”.

It’s impossible to play against Meetias normally. And since the map is so spacious, it is also impossible to catch him if he decided to run away, since there are little to no environmental obstacles. So what is left to you? Countering him as he’s about to attack.

And I say counter, but in case of Silvia’s Meetias it is more like trying to smack a meteor going at you at full speed and with no intention of changing its course.

Back to what I was saying, it is also said that Amdrava is the best possible counter pick for Meetias.

Mainly because it’s the character that two people used - the two that got really close to bringing Silvia Goldberg down.

It’s all about being able to force your opponent to come close to you while maintaining high alert and keeping your defenses up at all times. Also, being able to slip some DoT damage here and there was never a bad thing.

That would allow you to negate the fact that Amdrava was unable to keep up with Meetias, that Meetias would have to come to you. That is Silvia Goldberg’s greatest disadvantage.

And the character I chose has almost seventy percent disadvantage against Meetias. Because he has not got what Amdavara has. Yes, it is Meetias’s arch—nemesis, picked by me for obvious role-playing reasons. That character is……

「Now then, who No Face is going to pick……? NO WAY! Are you kidding me!? Cursed Prison!?」

Gloves striking the ground, insults being thrown left and right, dragging the finger across the neck in an obvious gesture…… This is going to be a battle of West versus East, of modern versus ancient, of weak versus strong where both sides desire victory. The ultimate underdog versus the ultimate champion.

「Cursed Prison! It’s Cursed Prison! Cursed Prison, the arch-nemesis of Meetias!」

Cursed Prison was pretty much useless in the hands of those who got a chance at beating Silvia Goldberg.

However, those two challengers were crushed mercilessly without any chances at striking back. It is even said that using Cursed Prison against Silvia’s Meetias is a kind of taboo, and if you happen to choose it still……

It means that you mean some serious fucking business.

Shouldn’t you avoid Cursed Prison if you wanted to earn as much time as possible? Maybe. But that was Pencilgton’s opinion, not my own.

To be perfectly honest, I’d much rather beat Silvia Goldberg with this here Cursed Prison than by using some gimmicky character or mirrored Meetias.

After all, stalling for time is much harder than just playing to win. There is a whole lot more to take into consideration, and the additional RNG factors certainly won’t make your job any easier.

And speeding up the hands of the clock was obviously not an option here. Real life unfortunately does not work that way. So I must do this the old fashioned way and tough it out as long as possible.

However, the fact that you stall for time does not mean that you cannot try your best to win. I mean, I am going to lose in the end, but earning time does not stand in opposition of taking one round for myself.

Samurai, fairies, cyborgs…… There are characters that I find easy to handle and those that are not so much, but in the end the one that suited me best turned out to be the one that had thirty percent win ratio against Meetias in the last game. Bizarre, huh?

On the surface Cursed Prison looks to be overwhelmingly disadvantageous towards Meetias, but oddly enough nothing was done across all the other games to change those numbers. Isn’t that strange? What’s more, in every single game Cursed Prison’s win rate against Meetias was sitting at the exact thirty percent, nothing more and nothing less.

「Those thirty percent hold the key to victory……!!」

I see, so Pencilgton’s evaluation of Wezaemon with AGI cranked up to nineteen was not all that off the mark after all. It is unlikely that any normal human would be able to have such reaction time if it wasn’t for the help of some third party source, but that was actually what was going on here.

Gatling gun, the starting equipment of Cursed Prison, roars loudly as it starts to spew bullets out, aiming towards Meetias who began to move and tried to close the distance in between us with some complex #D maneouvers, just like during the last battle with Pencilgton. However……

「She’s the weakest one of us Four Heavenly Kings--!!」

Speaking of games in which your mobility depends on wheels, racing games naturally come to mind first. However, if those wheels are strapped to a person rather than the object, racing car is no longer appropriate. Tank is the word you’re looking for.

And when it comes to humans moving on wheels, I think that the biggest advantage to be had there is the fact that you can rotate your body freely without actually needing to move your legs.

By turning the wheels on my legs in the opposite directions, something like super turns are possible. And currently I was using those super turns to try and swat down a nasty meteor, but so far I was only hitting the void.

Ahh, I get it, I get it already. That way you can avoid all you want, but you won’t be able to hit. That is why……

「Fall down, green light!」

「Wah!?」

Just as I attack her, the only possible way to dodge that is through a mid-air jump. And the exact moment when she needs to do that mid-air jump is my window of opportunity for attack. But that’s not over!

I knew that those star-shaped googles would be poor at reflecting light, but apparently the effect was even bigger than I initially expected.

「Look at you, you’re not half bad!」

「Gee, thanks!」

It’s an honor to be complimented by a Pro Gamer of this caliber, but I couldn’t help it but to think that she was simply mocking me. Not to mention that I was slowly running out of options here. And with Katsu still not being here, she knew it perfectly well that my back was against the wall.

「But what else can I do here except to give it my all and focus on the task at hand!?」

「I like guys that are determined, but sometimes too much is even worse than not having any!」

「Now that’s something I can bet my chips on!」

I didn’t think that Round One would be this difficult.

And I couldn’t be sure about that since my field of view was blocked currently, but I thought that for a moment out there I could see a mile flashing on her face.

…… He’s still not here.