CH 81

Unlike my earlier bewilderment over Suzuka, I was tormented by the bewilderment of having won a battle without a victory, and headed for the place where Siegfried-san was waiting.

「Yaa. I’ve been waiting for you, Ayane-san」

「Hello. Siegfried-san?」

「Un. I’ve heard rumors about you」

「… Rumors?」

「Eh? You don’t know? For example, a beautiful blacksmith…」

「Aah! ! It’s okay, it’s okay! I don’t want to scare you off!」

「Really?」

「Yes」

「… Well, good. So, once again, my name is Siegfried. Everyone calls me Sieg. Nice to meet you」

「Yes. My name is Ayane. I’m a blacksmith. It’s nice to meet you」

「Hahaha. That’s a very formal way of putting it. I’ve always wanted to meet you, you know」

「Is that so?」

「Un. When you hear all these good things, you can’t help it, right?」

「I see. Maa, I won’t ask what they are」

「Hahaha! That’s really funny! If I had a weapon, I’d want you to build me one too」

「Aah. It’s thread, right? Your weapon」

「Yes, yes. It’s easy to use, though」

『Um. May we begin now?』

「OK!」

「Yes」

『Kohon…… Well, then! The finals! It’s player Siegfried against player Ayane! ! Let the match begin! !』

「Maa, let’s start with a little experiment… 《Hard Thread》」

「!」

───Kin! Kikinkkinkinkikikikin! !

I repelled the threads that were coming towards me, which reflected a little light, and held Reizanmaru in front of me.

『I’m not sure what that is, exactly! I wonder if it is cutting the thread! ?』

『U, mu. I- I think, so, too…』

───Surisuri

『Iyaaa, player Ayane really amazes me!』

───Surisurisurisuri

『Yes… that’s right……』

───Surisurisurisurisurisurisurisuri

『────』

「Oh! You have great reflexes!」

「Thanks for that! 《Spirit Blade》!」

───Shuiii…… Bofun!

「Eh?」

「A dud?」

The 《Spirit Blade》 that has been successful so far has failed. I wonder if there are no more spirits around here… ?

「《Hard Thread》」

「How annoying!」

───Kikikikinkkinkikinkinkinkikikin! !

It’s really annoying. Unlike before, he started to use entanglement moves that latched onto my legs. I use my sword to flick them off and avoid them. Of course, I don’t just flick them blindly; I try to deflect the trajectory of the oncoming thread. If I didn’t do that, the thread would twist and the sword itself would be entangled.

「… That’s really awesome… I would love to see you become one of the top players」

「… Is that sarcasm?」

「No no no!」

That guy hasn’t moved a step from the beginning… It’s all thread. I’m moving around, not getting close to him, and somehow preventing him from getting close to me. It’s funny how that makes me one of the top players.

「… You’re still hiding your strength, aren’t you?」

「…」

「If you can pull that off, I think this event will be worthwhile」

「…」

「Ah, of course I’m still hiding mine」

「… Maa, I suppose so」

「That’s why I joined this event, because I wanted to have a real fight with you. I know you’ll come out on top」

「I see. Then… As you wish」

「Oh! Really! ?」

「Yes. ─── 《Dragon Power》」

───Gin! !

The golden round pupil becomes a long vertical pupil, similar to the eyes of snakes and cats. This vertical pupil was developed to make it easier to see in the dark, but also to accurately detect the location of prey. The arms and legs are the hands and feet of a dragon, just as they were when I used 《Dragon Power》. The existing equipment has been stiffened with dragon scales and a red dragon’s upper jaw appeared on my head. On my back, unlike when I was a dragon, I had wings twice the size of my own, and a tail several times thicker than my arms sprouting from my waist.

「I’m surprised… ! It’s a little different from that figure I saw in the live broadcast, but I guess your skills have evolved?」

「… Can skills evolve… ?」

「That’s right. Thanks to the hard work of the verification team, that’s what we found out」

「Heh…」

「By the way, you can create your own skills, too」

「Eh! ?」

「For example… 《Transform》」

「!」

When he chanted the skill, Siegfried-san was wrapped in threads. And what appeared immediately was a girl who looked exactly like me.

「What do you think?」

「Wae~… It’s me…」

「I can’t change my voice, though, as expected」

「How did you do that?」

「This became a skill when I wrapped thread around my body and recreated another person in three dimensions. At first, I was recreating the body of a guy who was bigger than me. Because if they were too small, my body would be crushed」

「Eh? But…」

「Well, now that I’m skilled, I can be anything I want to be!」

「… Amazing」

「Thank you」

『T- There are now two player Ayane! ? ! ? ! ?』

『Ho… Hoho! ! It’s amazing! ! I’ve never seen anything like it!』

『That’s right… Let’s have a closer look later』

『Mu───! ! ! Let─── Me─── Go─── ! ! ! !』

『No』

『Muki─── ! ! ! !』

『────』

「I’ll be fighting in this form, too. Maa, I’ll look a little different」

「Eh…」

With a cracking sound, Siegfried-san’s figure changes.

In the end, I took the form of a living dragon and Siegfried-san took the form of a clothed bone dragon.

「Now, let’s get started」

○Today’s Skill○

Today’s skill is 《Transform》!

■■■■■■■■■■

【Name】 Unique Skill: 《Transform》 MP consumption: 1000~

【Effect ① (LV. 1)】 You can use any of the following threads to change into another person: 《Sticky Thread》, 《Hard Thread》, 《Super Hard Thread》, 《Heat-resistant Thread》, 《Cut Resistant Thread》, or 《Hit Resistant Thread》. However, the MP consumed will vary depending on the type of thread.

【Effect ② (LV. 5)】 You will be able to change into someone smaller than yourself.

【Effect ③ (LV. ☆)】 You will be able to gain some of the abilities of your transformed opponent.

LV. 1: Depends on who you’ve transformed into