CH 68

Suzuka’s side

『――E~tto, let’s get back on track… kohon… Next up, we have players Nuko and Suzuka! ! ! Player Nuko is famous for tearing up opponents with his signature claws, but what about it?』

『Umu. It’s extendable and can reach up to 40cm in length, so it has a longer reach than a simple dagger! !』

『I see… I see! And since they’re his claws, they’ll be easy to handle! This is going to be one hell of a series of attacks! ! On the other side, player Suzuka! player Suzuka is famous for having the world’s first silver hair, but why is that?』

『That’s the influence of the Race! The Metal Princess, I believe it’s called? This is also the first race to be discovered in this world!』

『Hoho! So you’re saying he’s a Metal Slime who uses magic!』

『Yes!』

『――』

「…… Fuu…」

I catch my breath as I listen to the laughter of the crowd.

「Nice to meet you, Suzuka-san, ne?」

「Un! Nice to meet you too!」

A beautiful woman greets me, swaying her waist-length, straight black hair and flicking her feline ears that sat on top of it… Nuko-san.

『―― Let’s begin the match!』

「Fu!」

「Ugu! ?」

――Supa… !

Nuko-san attacked first. I dodged to the side as quickly as I could, but the claws tore through my left hand.

「―― You’re good」

「Thanks a lot! ! 《Thunder Field》 《Thunder Mine》《Thunderbolt》」

「Is it a dud?」

She seems to think that the second attack was missed, but that’s not true. 《Thunder Mine》 is a skill that attacks anyone who steps on it within a 30cm radius of the floor with thunder. In other words, it’s a mine. It’s said that when this mine is set off, the opponent knows it’s there because it’s chattering with electricity, so it’s a useless skill. But since I used 《Thunder Field》 first, the whole floor of this arena is chattering with electricity, so they can’t tell… Incidentally, I can’t tell either. Well, it doesn’t work on the person who set it off, so it’s okay. Let’s keep doing it like this.

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「Ha! Ha! Torya! ! Sei! ! Yaa! !」

――Supa! Supapan! ! Supan!

「Gu! … 《Thunder Lance》」

「You won’t hit me!」

――Badjin! !

「Guaaaa! ? ! ? Ku..uu! ! W- Why! ?」

「《Thunder Mine》 … I’ve already planted more land mines around here than I can count」

「What! ? … No way! That was a dud! !」

「That’s exactly why! You never know when or where you might step on one, do you?」

「Gununu… ! W- Well, then! This will decide it!」

Nuko-san must have thought that it would be dangerous to retreat if she made a bad move, so she decided to end the battle quickly.

「《Avatar’s Crow》! !」

Nuko-san’s alter egos surrounded me. They were also floating in the air, and there were probably about a 100 of them. And if they all attacked me, I would receive the maximum of 5 damage, which would be impossible for my body to withstand.

However…

「《Metal Power》 !」

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【Name】《Metal Power》 MP consumption: 1000

【Effect ① (LV. 1)】 The user’s entire body becomes iron for 3 minutes, and damage taken by the user, including critical damage, is reduced to 1.

【Effect ① (LV. 1)】 Multiply STR and DEX by 10 and AGI by 5 only when in use.

【Effect ② (LV. 5)】 AGI is doubled when your back is to the enemy.

【Effect ③ (LV. ☆)】 When you are completely still, you take no damage.

LV. 1: AGI＋30

※Cannot be used for 5 hours in game after use

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―――Gigigigigyiiiiin ! ! ! !

More than a 100 of Nuko-san’s alter egos attacked with their claws at the same time. After attacking, the alter egos disappear. My skill level hasn’t been set to Stars yet, so the damage I take is about 100.

「Wha! Whawha… ! Wh- Why! ?」

From the depths of the vanished alter egos emerged the figure of my opponent, whose entire body was dyed silver.

「《Thunder Strike》! !」

――Zudoooooon! ! ! ! ! !

When Nuko-san was stunned, 《Thunder Strike》 was unleashed. The electricity from the 《Thunder Field》 as well as the electricity from the 《Thunder Mine》 that had been set up during the match was all sucked up, and the strike with increased attack power caused Nuko-san to lose all of her HP.

『It’s decideddddddd! ! ! ! ! ! Silver player Suzuka! ! She has defeated player Nuko! ! ! !』

『Fumu! It’s wonderful! That transformation is probably as close as it’ll ever get to that spell from Dragon Quest!』

『It was a great attack by player Nuko, but it was blocked!』

『If you have damage reduction, you’ll be able to take those attacks! !』

『――― !』

『―― !』

I walked back to the waiting room, listening to the cheers… Don’t tell anyone that I was running so fast that I almost hit the wall…

○Today’s Skills○

Today, we have 《Thunder Mine》 and 《Avatar’s Crow》! Since 《Metal Power》 appeared in the main story. Oh, by the way, 《Metal Power》 has finally come out, hasn’t it? I’m sure some of you have guessed this, but… It was originally intended to be used as an escape skill, but…

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【Name】《Wind Magic》: Thunder Mine MP consumption: 40 consumption per placement

【Effect ① (LV. 1)】 Allows you to place thunder mines. The power is proportional to the skill level of the 《Wind Magic》.

【Effect ② (LV. 5)】 It can electrify anyone who steps on the mine.

【Effect ③ (LV. ☆)】 Increases the power when stepped on by an electrified opponent (medium).

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【Name】《Avatar’s Crow》 MP consumption: 1000

【Effect ① (LV. 1)】 You can create 10 alter egos at a time. The number of alter egos is proportional to your skill level.

【Effect ② (LV. 5)】 You will be able to command your alter ego.

【Effect ③ (LV. ☆)】 You will be able to make your alter ego act autonomously.

LV. 1: INT＋25