30


　Meanwhile, about a hundred meters from the battle between Elias and the others, Leonardo and the blonde girl, Rathfire, were confronting each other.
　The forest, which appeared to be a ribbon of green from above, seemed to be overgrown in search of water from the mountain stream. In this desolate land of Aorsoy, only the moist land of the watershed would be able to sustain a grove of trees that could be called a forest.
　The two, who had faced each other on the branches of the forest, were now running around the grove, attacking each other again and again.

　Leonardo is an assassin.
　The assassin, the swashbuckler and the bard specialize in dealing physical damage, which are known as weapon attackers. They often fight in the vanguard, and in addition to having the strength to deal high damage, they also have a high level of agility in order to avoid enemy attacks and to position themselves well for attack.
　And moreover, Leonardo is a 90-level 'adventurer'. He has a high level of physical performance, so he is not inferior to normal-ranked monsters. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　However, Leonardo hadn't succeeded in putting in an effective strike.
　The reason why Leonardo, who was supposed to be superior in terms of speed, was fumbling to this point was because of Rasphere's bizarre body technique.
　Rasphere's movements were not those of a human.
　She kept Leonardo at her mercy with bizarre motions, thrusting her pull-out hand against the trunk of a tree or hanging upside down.
　It might not be a physical art.
　It's a kinetic philosophy that doesn't care one bit about the principle of moving on two legs. The abrupt and uncanny movement was exactly like some kind of insect. Rathphere used her sharp claws and toes to climb up the trunk of a tree in a bulky, inverted position.
'It's delightful, it's delightful.
　Lasfia laughed with a voice that sounded like the ringing of a bell.
　Bending her joints in an unexpected direction and moving like an insect, Rasfia, a beautiful girl with doll-like beauty, gave Leonardo the impression of a nightmare.
　And there was another factor that determined that grotesque impression.
''Shut up!
"Geez!
　A flash of Leonardo chopped off Rasphere's arm.
'Aha!　The steel. It's digging in. This is the pain, or the tingling. Vermillioner than dusk, redder than red-hued flowers, redder than poisonous strawberries--oh, aha!
　Immediately after the singing winsome voice, Rathfire fought back at Leonardo with an arm that should have been cut off. Its claws extended like daggers made of steel and sliced through Leonardo's leather armor with cold air.
(Tch!　(Again.)
　Leonardo twists and ducks the ensuing series of attacks and then moves out of range.
　The repetition of these attacks makes Rasfia's impression even more gruesome.
　Rasphere's arm that should have been cut off. If you look at it, it's connected again.
　Whether it's a leg or a torso, it's the same. The girl in front of me seemed to have a strange immortality. Rathfia knew that, she let out a liturgical laugh and waved her cold air clad limbs.
　A normal-ranked monster is defined as one that has the ability to fight a one-on-one battle with an adventurer of the same level. However, the term "adventurer" in the rebalancing process was defined as "a person of the same level, equipped with store-bought weapons and armor appropriate for his or her level, and who has not yet had his or her skills strengthened through proficiency points or other means".
　It's a bit of a stretch to say that this means 'an adventurer who has the minimum level of competence at the level'.
　Although Leonardo wasn't an adventurer of the upper Lankan class, he still had more than enough experience as a veteran. The equipment is made up of at least production-grade equipment, mainly from large-scale battles, and his specialties are enhanced to the maximum extent possible by his proficiency points.
　It was impossible for that Leonardo to fumble with a mere normal-ranked monster. Of course, it wouldn't be an instantaneous resolution, but there was no way the fight would last longer than a few minutes.
　Leonardo and Rasfia's levels are very competitive. And the Rathphere's rank is normal. But that's why Leonardo, who is an adventurer and well-equipped, should have slightly but decisively surpassed her strength.
(The seed is that--!)
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. The name "rasphere" alternates with that of the Ash-Spotted Inuoni. The flickering lights have no regularity, they are in a disorienting rhythm.
　I don't know how it works, but this NPC called Rathphere seems to control the flickering of lights by its own will.
　After a few clashes, Leonardo guessed.
　This woman is controlling the 'damaging name'.
　If I were to borrow Coppelia's words, would it be called a soul?　The Parallel One, Coppellia had said, but it's clear from the way Rasphere behaves that it's not just a simple matter of gentleness that she's a double. Leonardo has a hunch that this woman has at least a few dozen 'souls'.
　Just before Leonardo's katana hits, the rasphere that reversed the 'name' is 'discarded' by the disposable 'name' to shoulder the damage.
(.........that's not normal.)
　Twice, three times.
　Rasphere's fluttering hand is thrust out with the sharpness of a bird of prey. It is true that its speed is blinding and sharp. However, Rasfia's body itself is no different than a girl in her early teens. Taking advantage of the advantage of the difference in reach, Leonardo makes use of an evasion.
　That Leonardo's cheeks split open.
　Lasfia smiled, tilting her dainty beauty.
　From her outstretched fingertips, the tip of her outstretched fingers have turned into a phantom-like haze and hairy hands. Clutched in its grip was a ruggedly made round moon sword.
　The arm and the weapon held by the Ash Spotted Dog Demon flickers and disappears as suddenly as when it appeared.
　The rasphere approached to fold to Leonardo's astonishment.
　Her gothic dress frayed like a rose in the air. A lace petticoat peeked out from the plentiful drapes. Stretching out from it to Leonardo are the grey spotted jackal's hind legs.
　If Leonardo didn't avoid it in time, it was a waved toe that gouged out his eyeballs. It transformed into a small pump with a silk ribbon in front of him as he stared.
'What's the matter?　Have you given up?　Have you lost it?　Like a sunless flower, like a migratory bird that has lost its home?
　Leonardo steeled his resolve at Rathfire's sneer.
　It was hard to say he had fully mastered it yet, but he decided that this was no time to hesitate.
(If he'd kept it, he'd be a bit of a mess.)
　He closes the distance. There is no more space left between the two of them, as if they could lean over and touch each other. As if he hated the space, Leonardo thrust out his left hand. Its intention is not to attack, but to trigger for activation.
　From his stance (stance), a flash of attack is the Deadly Dance. An assassin's special attack move. If you use it consecutively, its power gradually increases, but if you make a mistake in the middle of the attack, the attack power will decrease on the contrary.
　Leonardo dared to activate the technique not from the icon in his mind, but by motion input.

　Right now, in this world, there are two ways to activate a combat fighting technique. Just like in the days of Elder Tail, you can activate a special move by selecting an icon. The other is an optional activation method in which the user's body is used as an input device to activate a special move by imitating its motion.
　By far, the most common type of activation is the icon-based activation.
　Enemy monsters vary in size and battlefield terrain, although they are often referred to as "fighting" or "attacking". These adventurers are mere mortals with no experience in martial arts or combat, and their skills are limited by the amount of physical training they have received.
　For such adventurers, selecting an icon will allow them to track the enemy in front of them and hit them with the best possible motion.
　However, he dares to use his own body to activate it at will.
　That's the secret of Kanami's strength that I saw that day.
　Originally, as the martial artist (monk) was called the combo profession, there were many specialties that allowed them to perform multiple attacks with a single technique.
　The Aerial Rave is one of the most spectacular of Monk's continuous attack techniques. This move is a five-strike attack that consists of a series of left and right punches that bounce the enemy up into the air, as well as a knee kick that thrusts the enemy further up into the air, followed by a heel drop and a flowing backward kick. While each attack deals less damage than a normal attack, the five consecutive attacks together deal massive damage to the monster.
　The Triple Brawl, on the other hand, consists of three powerful punches in rapid succession: a right, a straight left, and a right hook.
　Leonardo is not a martial artist, so it took me a while to get it right, but these two skills gave me a reason to think.
　In other words, Kanami had used the second half of the Triple Brawl attack to fulfill the activation requirements for the first two punches of the Aerial Rave.
　While the special move is active, you cannot activate another special move. This was common knowledge in the Elder Tail. In fact, even now, the icons in your mind lose their luster and won't accept any input while you're activating a special ability.
　However, this kind of invalidation time does not exist when you perform a feat using your body. Or, if it does, it can be performed in a wait-and-see fashion, allowing for continuous input.
　Aerial Rave is a powerful series of attacks, but it relies on kicking techniques such as the late heel drop and backward kick for its damage. The early punches are only designed to "keep the enemy afloat" and are insignificant in terms of damage. However, in the case of the icon input activation, this sequence of events is fixed and cannot be started or ended in the middle of the game.
　Even if it is an unnecessary blow, it cannot be omitted.
　Kanami destroyed this common sense. By substituting the powerful Triple Blows for the attacks used to break her stance in the early stages, when she couldn't expect them to do any damage, she boosted the combined performance of the two specialties.
　Of course, this is easier said than done.
　Activating from the Sight icon, the special move assists the Adventurer by instantly reading his position, the terrain, and the size and timing of the enemy.
　However, the optional activation feats do not provide this kind of assistance. To begin with, there is a wide range of optional activations. For example, in the basic form of the Deadly Dance, after thrusting out your left hand to create a tame, you flash your right blade. That's all there is to it, but from what Leonardo has confirmed, it can be performed with seven different motions. The timing and angle of the left hand thrusting out, the allowable range of accumulation time, etc., varied greatly.
　Unless Leonardo chooses to use these various variations to match the situation in front of him, it will not be an effective attack in battle. An arbitrarily triggered attack without auto-tracking capability will be less than an icon-activated attack in terms of hit rate, unless you've learned a lot of lessons. The difficulty level was too high, and it seemed to have such a complex system that I wouldn't feel like practicing without the benefits.
　But the advantages existed.
　Leonardo swung his right blade. The slash became a drawing line and was sucked into the rasphere. The icon in his brain lost its light and went on to show a slow, hourglass-like recovery. During that time, one second. If he used the Deadly Dance again after one second, the power of his second attack would be increased by seven percent.
　But Leonardo doesn't waste that one second.
　He uses his left hand to deliver a scooping attack. His special skill is the Quick Assault. And immediately after, he performs the Deadly Dance. You'll then connect with the Stealth Blade and then the Deadly Dance again. A mere pose of "thrusting out your left hand" as a means of attacking with a two-handed Ninja Twin Flame results in a storm of blades for Leonardo.

　Assassins don't have the variety of combo attacks of the Martial Artist. Hence, Leonardo was unable to copy Kanami's fighting style.
　Leonardo realized this and developed the Parallel Plot. He used "Tame" and "Motion Gap" to create a double attack method by using a chain of special moves that could only be executed in series.
　Although I can only build up the Deadly Dance for now, there should be a degree of freedom in the 30 or so techniques Leonardo uses to perform any of them. By combining them or honing them, Leonardo can do more damage than an assassin could ever hope to do.
　Leonardo's own fighting style is still a long way from being perfected.


◆30



"At this speed--?　That glow--
Shut up!
　Two. Three, four!
　The rasphere was no longer silent. Countless blades of illusion fly out from the arms that are struck with the readiness to strike each other.
　A spray of blood rises from Leonardo's chest and forehead as he is hit by the attack.
　After evading with the Gust Step, Leonardo appears behind the rasphere and slams the sixth slash into it. The destructive power contained in the Deadly Dance had already increased the damage of that blow by 175 percent. With nearly twice the damage of a normal attack, Rasphere's limbs crumbled away brittle and immediately 're-occurred'.
　Leonardo didn't have time to spare either.
　He was an 'assassin' - only a weapon attacker.
　It's not a warrior position that makes a living catching enemy attacks at the front line, nor is it a recovery position that can heal you. They are superior to the sorcerer types in terms of their defensive abilities, but their HP is limited.
　Kill them before they are defeated. That's the theory behind solo combat as a weapon attacker. However, the strange girl in front of you has a bewitching smile on her face as she repeatedly passes through Leonardo's attacks and unleashes a thrust that is covered in cold air.
　Leonardo dares to ignore his own lost HP and unleashes another attack. In any case, as an attacker, this is the only way he can do it. --The only thing that can be done is to silence the target with an attack.

"What kind of power is that? What's that power, poor little sheep! You stupid little wanderer in the lodge!
Shut up!　You're not a raid boss.
The Raid Boss?　Hmmm. Hmmmph. --Aha!　It is comedy, it is comedy. If you think that it is a pillar of Ornohun which grasps the secret of the revolution for life, it is more obstinate than a child playing on the sandy beach. Therefore, it is horribly sweet. That sin is worthy of death.
What?
　Are you saying.
　What do you mean by that?
　Leonardo could not continue to ask the question.
　The moment the gaze was caught by the wet lips of the rasphere that was suddenly in front of him, a sharp pain was felt. The head of the Ash-Spotted Dog Demon was revealed from the gap in her torn Gothic dress.
　It's a good thing that you're able to have a good time with them.
　The bitten off shoulder is still moving, but there is not much HP left.
Now is not the time to talk.
　Leonardo wields his willpower and continues the chain of attacks.
　The Deadly Dance has less than two seconds to allow for the input of the Deadly Dance. As long as you don't perform the next Deadly Dance in that time, the effect of the attack power increase you've been cultivating will dissipate.
　I pull my consciousness away from my feverishly seething shoulders and Quick Assault. A deadly dance to slam into Rasphere's unreduced mouth.
　Your attack power increases to 212 percent.
　Clarity of mind leads to skill. Leonardo stared only in front of his eyes, striving. The tinnitus-like pain is distant. Even his own body temperature that was in the way. It is a world where there are only twenty or so attack techniques controlled by Leonardo. Combining their activation time (cast time), rigidity time (motion bind) and reboot control time, they run through the shortest path.
　There is no single correct answer. There is no one right answer; it depends on the enemy's defense, evasion, timing, weight, and position of the dominant leg and arm. Rather, it is a kaleidoscope of RGB (color graph) that changes over time. The best move is sought in it, and Leonardo avoids the impasse that breaks off the attack, and continues the inner sprint.
　The means (code) assembled for the attack ignites in the interval of time stretched to the point where he can be aware of the delay in the reaction time of his own body.

How fierce, but even that is just child's play!
That's fine.
　Leonardo thought wholeheartedly.
　Child's play is fine.
　A program is a thick tree and a forest.
　It is a combination of very small and simple instructions (code) to create a function (function). The accumulation of these instructions (code) creates larger and more useful processes (parts), which eventually become an application. In addition, they are dynamically combined, communicate with each other, and create services.
　Leonardo knows that in order to get results, you have to keep working on something very simple. In order to see the art that rivals the giant architecture, we must now assemble the pieces in front of us.
　He calls those who know how far away that is, a geek.
　The person who embodies that preciousness is called a hacker.
　Leonardo happily continued his precision operations.
　The current increase in attack power is 245 percent.
　Call it a child's play if you want, call it all you want. That child's play will catch up with the rasphere. Leonardo believes it. I believe in geeks.

"Any number of times.
　The ciliated hands of the rasphere can be seen beyond the blood plumes like salvias blooming in the sky.
　It follows up on its attack on Leonardo's neck, which is stacked with another , by avoiding the attack with only a torso twist. With the current counterattack, Leonardo has lost three of the specialties he can choose from for his next attack. There are four remaining specialties that can be selected. Among them, he chooses a move that leads to his next attack, his next offensive or defensive move, and strikes a further blow.
Paralyzing Blow!
Kehee!
　No. Even such thoughts were disturbing.
　What there was was only a judgment that was close to a reflex backed by vast experience. Leonardo believed the branching branch he had explored. The training on that great rock lives on in this life and death battle.

'I am bored. Die, mongrels, dancing reeds (yakara), Reckless!
　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them. The claws, fangs, swords and axes slammed down like a raging storm. It was a desperate attack like the rasphere's aim to strike each other, based on the premise that "name" can nullify damage. No matter which attack he avoided, he wouldn't leave without inflicting a fatal wound. It was a torrent filled with such an odd form of determination.
　But Leonardo was also waiting for the blow.
''Reckless (Reckless)!　Excellent!
　Activating the Trick Step, Leonardo leaps into the air with his attack. Twenty meters above the ground, Leonardo dances the dance of life and death without fear. He attacks with a clear mind, just like the hero Leonardo has always admired.
　If it is an attack that will never let Leonardo escape, then don't run away. If it's a group attack, there's life at the center of the storm.
Deadly Dance!
　It was literally a dance of life and death.
　The attack of the rasphere and Leonardo's attack to be switched.
　It is in the space between these two that the victory is shaken.
It's delightful, it's delightful. But not yet.
　Leonardo runs after the rasphere, which he cuts off with his sword tip. The "name" is blurred. That was expected earlier. The number of hits is high. Leonardo is running out of time.
　But his mind is quiet.
　I can still hear her voice.
　Leonardo hurt her.
　He treated her like a doll.
　A hero can only apologize for one thing.
　There is only one.
　There is no time for the rasphere to twist into a smile.
　The body of the rasphere disappears like a hazy shadow. But that is only a sign of 're-occurrence', and in the Rasphere's amusedly narrowed eyes, Leonardo's figure is reflected.
　A beat. That's a quarter of a breath. The time it takes for Rasphere's 're-emergence' grabbed during the long battle.
　Leonardo searches for and executes a technique that has enough speed to forcefully twist into that small gap.
''Sorry. I have a prior commitment.''
　Even the zanshin after the Deadly Dance is used as part of the activation motion for the fastest, most powerful absolute depth of attack.
　Flash of Death.
　The assassin's pride and joy, a single-strike technique with maximum power. It is the most powerful of all the twelve positions.
!　--. --
　The palpability of tearing the crimson world into equal parts was as dry as if the fragile earthenware had been cut in both directions. With all his strength in the chase, Leonardo lost his stance and could no longer do anything but look at the beautiful girl split to the left and right.
''Go away!
'Oh ... ah ... --the hands of the clock -- eleven more --
　The girl, who looked as dumbfounded as if she'd heard an epic joke, turned back into a particle, leaving behind a pained, rambling mumble.
　Leonardo watched it all happen, but a moment later he remembered that he too was in the middle of a fall, and enjoyed the untethered bungee jump to the ground.

　◆32



'd*mn it. A bungee with no strings attached, you idiot.
　Leonardo had fallen in a large figure on the decaying soil.
　The grove of trees around him was desolate and bore traces of the battle with the rasphere, but for now the area seemed to have regained its serenity.
　The cool sounds of the mountain stream were soon mingled with the sounds of birdsong.
　The sounds of battle, which had echoed far and near earlier, and perhaps the sounds of Elias and his friends, are gone.
　It seemed to have been settled.
　However, Leonardo was unable to raise himself up.
　His HP was already at the edge, and he was stepping into the red zone. Rasphere's icy hand blade seemed to have been given cold air attribute damage. He didn't have time to check it during the battle, but there were more than ten bad statuses accumulated. The amount of continuous damage for each one was a tiny amount, but in total, it was a ridiculous amount.
　Those damages and the natural recovery in non-combat situations are competing with each other on Leonardo's HP bar.
　There's no sign of him dying right away, but natural recovery is unlikely for the time being. Other than that, there is still numbness in his extremities, probably due to frostbite.
(But...) Dammit. I got it.)
　But as Leonardo, it was a breezy thing to do.
　He had done what he had to do.
　Probably, but at least the invasion by the Ash-Spotted Dog Demon along this tributary stream was halted. There is no doubt that those two people that Leonardo saw were the masterminds behind this large scale battle.
　You will find a lot of people who have a lot of experience in the field.
　This little geek fought through. There was no way that aloof KR could lose. There was no sign of the black dragon coming back after losing the mastermind in the first place. That young man wouldn't need to worry about Leonardo.
　However, it was no longer important.
　This world is not that of the Elder Tail.
　Leonardo could honestly say that now.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it.
　But this is not the Elder Tail. Even if you fail to defeat the black dragon, even if you don't get the rare items, even if KR and Leonardo fall in the middle of the road - if you can stop the monster from invading, the heroes win.
(This way, no damage will be done to that village. --right?)
　Leonardo summed it up with a strangely clear thought, losing his blood.
　I doubt that the people of that village will ever know about this battle. It is doubtful that they will ever come back to that village.
　But that's fine, Leonardo thinks.
　That's what heroes are for.
　Those four men, who were Leonardo's admirers, also fought without caring about such things. If there's someone you want to save, save it and defeat the unreasonable, that's fine.

(And yet--)
　Leonardo remembers. The blonde girl with whom he had fought to the death. That being was too raw. It was too unstandard and oozed madness.
　Not even the Puerto Rican dealers who hung around the ghetto were that crazy. I remember the superficially calm, even dainty, tone of voice of the rasphere, and the way it seemed to be buoyed by the heat of the moment.
　New York was certainly not the safest city in the world. It was not the safest city in the world, and he had heard the sound of gunfire more than once while walking the streets. There are many crazy people in the city.
　But she was different from those people.
　--The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that Ornohun has grasped the secret of lifelong flux.
　Lasfia's words would normally be some kind of hint on the quest, but Leonardo couldn't help but think so. Rather than that, he could sense a hint of more vicious trouble.
　It is absurd to think that I'm grasping the secret of Unmei. Only God can do such a thing. God is just sitting in heaven and smiling. That's all he can do.
(That crazy-eyed woman, Coppélia, too.)
　According to Leonardo's previous interpretations, the two women are not human.
　Lasfia is a monster and Coppellia is a bot.
　But it is wrong in this world. No matter how much of a logical conclusion that may be, the heroes' souls are complaining about their discomfort. If so, Leonardo believes in that soul. Reviewing the code may be a skill, but the urge to review it comes from the soul. It is the soul that makes Leonardo a Leonardo.

'Oi, keelo naarddo'
　When I woke up to a brainy voice, I saw Kanami and three others coming from downstream. It seems that they too have successfully fended off the Ash-Spotted Dog Demon.
　The expression on Kanami's face as she waved her hand vigorously made Leonardo's feelings suddenly relax. It's a good thing that you have a feeling of trouble, but it doesn't really matter right now.
　There are not many things in this world anyway, except for disputes. A hero's life is made up of a premonition of trouble, the body of trouble, and the cleanup of the trouble. Peace is just an interlude, an interlude.
　You have to be tougher than that, Leonardo says with a small smile. Toughness is a condition of life for men, and it makes no difference whether it's in the nostalgic Big Apple or here in Aorsoy.
　There's no sign of KR, but we've already said goodbye.
　Perhaps we'll see each other again. Leonardo no longer doubted himself to reach the Japanese server. That foul-mouthed 'Summoner' who saved him from his perilous situation will not be forgotten by Leonardo. He vowed that eventually, when KR was in a tight spot, he would be the one to save her.
　The boisterous Kanami seemed to be arguing something with Elias. Words like "not grateful enough" and "grateful enough" were reaching Leonardo's ears. And not two or three words later, a loud water noise. Elias is kicked down into the river, and Kanami is laughing merrily. It was noisy, no more than this.
　Their vision shaded, and Coppelia peered at Leonardo against the sloping sun in the west. The girl, who put an indifferent expression on her usual inorganic beauty, tilted her head slightly and asked Leonardo.
''Coppelia pointed out a massive drop in HP. Would you like a cure, Death?
"Coppellia.
Hi.
　Leonardo looked deep into Coppelia's eyes for the first time as he lay majestically on the earth. In those eyes, he felt as if he had found the thing he had been looking for, and his heart felt warm. 'I have to say something.
'I'm sorry.'
Coppellia was unable to establish the context of his apology.
It's okay.
　Leonardo searches for the right words to say to the girl, who cocks her head slightly, and Leonardo finds the right words indeed.
'I'm Leonardo,'
Hi, sir. Sir Leonard.
And the cure, please.
Yes, sir.
　For the first time, he asked for a name and for the first time he asked for healing. The glow of the healing was white mixed with just a hint of red, and its color reminded him of untainted innocence. Coppelia's recovery spell enveloped Leonardo like a warm cocoon, taking away the pain and fatigue.
　The silent Coppelia watched Leonardo's injuries with a genuine expression. The expression on her face was so sincere that Leonardo could finally find the right words to say.
'Coppelia.'
Hi.
Coppélia has a soul, you know.
?
It's there. I know it's there. The color of Coppélia's soul is...
　It's the cherry color of healing that flows from his slender fingertips.
　Leonardo assured her that it was the cherry color of healing that flooded from his slender fingertips.