Chapter 179: Install Lost Time Fantasista

「YOU’LL BE LOGGED OUT.」

Ara, so it will forcefully log me out? I was secretly hoping that I would be allowed to participate in the fourth round as well. After having my senses isolated from the outside world for so long, the breathe of cold air on my skin felt really refreshing. Opening my eyes I could see the inside of the Full-Dive device over my head, and then a really loud cheer reached out my ears.

「So freaking loud……」

「Nice work out there, moron.」

「Oh, shut up. Mister Restroom War.」

「You might want to hold your tongue for now, otherwise the whole world will hear it.」

That would be bad. Certainly, I’m an anonymous person in here, wearing a pumpkin helmet no less, but I wouldn’t want for any unfortunate nickname to be stuck to me by a complete accident…

「Anyways, a forced log out? Does that mean in case of a draw it is counted as a loss on both ends?」

「No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that you two idiots fought so hard that there is a need for a technical break.」

「So what? Does that mean I’ll do Round 4 or what……?」

I mean, I was running on fumes right about now anyway. Right about now I felt so exhausted that I don’t know if I’ll be able to perform in any sort of way during round four. Maybe I should just pass the baton to Katsu? …… Speaking of the devil, he walked towards me and handed me a can.

「Here, they were out of store, but Assault Company had a few of them available and ready for the taking.」

「Really? Thanks, that will really save my life.」

I open the can and chug on its contents. Ooh …… The caffeine starts to flow through my veins once more, replenishing the caffeine that was used up to that point. I feel like I’m alive once more! But still, drinking this much energy drinks in such a short amount of time was probably not the healthiest for my health.

「Wish they had stuff like this here in Japan…… But will this really be enough to refuel me?」

「I see that for you energy drinks really are like gasoline…… Haha, to think that you’d be this bothersome…… Ekhem, that’s why I like you so much. Additionally,」

「Additionally?」

「If you could beat Silvia, then that means I have a chance at doing that myself, since statistically speaking I’m better than you.」

「Talk about a theory taken straight out of your ass……」

Haven’t this guy ever heard of adaptation? Or the concept of Rock-Paper-Scissors? That’s some real confidence that can be his grave.

「Hmm, I can’t really see your face in that helmet, but I do get a feeling that you’re making fun of me.」

「I’m making fun of you? Don’t be silly. I’m just genuinely worried about you, my friend.」

About your intelligence, to me more exact.

So in the end, that’s how it went. Sanraku…… and Silvia…… They couldn’t beat one another. For Katsu…… That was the only thing that mattered for Uomi Kei.

Certainly, the previous match was a burning disaster from the Pro Gamer perspective. But that’s what happens when you clash the same type of fighters against one another, it was like watching two meteors colliding with each other. And unsurprisingly, the fight between Silvia Goldberg and a certain Pumpkin Head was already starting to blow up all over the Internet.

But sheer strength is not enough to beat Silvia. No matter the result of their last sand-off, Sanraku’s high tension proved to be the key that managed him to reach Silvia’s throat. However, judging by the fact just how exhausted he looked after logging out, it might be possible for Sanraku to beat Silvia again if they were to clash on some other day. But if they were to do it right now, he would certainly end up losing. After all, Silvia Goldberg becomes more dangerous over time, when she manages to learn more and more about her opponent.

(That being said, Sanraku…… You did great. You’ve earned your rest.)

Silvia Goldberg’s greatest weapon is neither her tension-related battle style nor the reflexes that earned her the title of “True Meetias”. It was her toughness, a monster-like resilience and stamina that kept her performance at the very peak all the time, and that wouldn’t deteriorate no matter how much time would have passed. That’s what made her undefeated up to this day.

That, and the fact that she once defeated fifty opponents in a row without losing a single shred of her HP bar. Feats like that were making you something else than a normal player, rather elevating you to the ranks of the Last Boss that you’d normally don’t want to mess with.

(Honestly, I didn’t think they would manage to stall this thing long enough to reach the extra round.)

For a moment out there Katsu was worried that Sanraku might have actually forgotten about their original goal, but it all actually went so nicely that he couldn’t possibly ask for a better result.

(That being said, I want to see for myself how that match affected our tension monsters. The results are bound to be pretty interesting.)

That is why he was so considerate of Sanraku and gave him the extra energy drink. In other words, he wanted for him to “give it his best shot”.

And if Silvia ends up beating Sanraku, then it will be all on Katsu to bring her undefeated reign to an end.

「Satisfied with the results? Natsume-chan, Sanraku-kun and I really worked our asses off for this, you know?」

「…… Well, I think that there’s a lot of truth to Silvia’s words in that regard.」

The world is always full of twists and turns, trials and tribulations. And at the end of the twisted and winding path, what awaits you there is……

「Heroes always come out on top, right?」

Right about now there are three reasons that makes me angry.

First of all, we were going to have sushi in the end, because my predictions about the characters used by Star Rain lost twice with Pencilgton’s. Obviously Silvia Goldberg was excluded, since we knew she would choose Meetias.

Second reason, that energy drink that Katsu gave me. Turned out that the name was the same, but that one was manufactured here in Japan, so it didn’t have the same kick to it like the American one. Hence, I don’t know if I would be able to go all out.

And third reason, the way that Katsu was looking at me and that Extra Round was as if he already managed to assume that I would lose.

I see, while I was trying to fight the fatigue and headaches with unhealthy amounts of caffeine, it seems that Silvia Goldberg was more of a resilient type rather than strength type. That’s actually infuriating. We were fighting against one another to the death not so long ago, so how can she do an interview right now while looking so happy, without showing the slightest trace of being tired!?

When it comes to person-versus-person battles, they tend to differ from person-versus-monster ones. And even though I have fought many hard battles against monsters, like Golden Crystal Scorpion, Gravekeeper Wezaemon or Reaperorca, my spirit would never run out because of the nature of those fights. Here it was an entirely different story.

As far as I can say, the undefeated Hero does not look to be exhausted in the slightest, even though she fought such an exhausting battle. So this must mean that her performance will not diminish over time.

It goes without saying, but when it comes to exhaustion, it puts both amateurs and Pro Gamers in the same spot when it comes to winning a battle.

However, Katsu, right about now I’m really angry at you, you know? Maybe I won’t be able to display the level of performance that Silvia approved of last game, but that anger was surely propelling me towards thinking: “I won’t lose this, no matter what!”

I am determined to win this thing, although not for all the right reasons. It’s hard to explain, but it’s something like a Villain that is trying his best to pose as not a Villain.

「When it comes to Extra Round, the gauges will accumulate twice as fast, and there will also be NPCs on the map that would not appear under normal conditions……」

So they want us to settle this quickly, huh? As I walk around and watch different NPCs holding different firearms in their hands, I can’t stop myself from thinking that it’s going to be a one hell of a bloodbath in a matter of seconds.

「It’s shopping time.」

That tank looks really solid. I wonder if it’s a fighter-type? Or maybe transport-type?