32-The Murder Princess
'Wonder.'
ãThe gothic-dressed girl who drew her rapier with a gentle voice said this as she looked at her weapon curiously.
ãShe then instantly closes the distance and catches me in the middle of the metal bar as she comes for my head.
ãThe weapons collided with a hard thud, and the rapier was flicked one way, and then pulled back instantly for a thrust.
ãYou'll be able to use the metal rod as a shield and dodge, and when you crouch down and try to get rid of the foot with the same momentum, the owner of the sword flies back with the grace of floating.
'I didn't think you couldn't kill me. You took me completely by surprise. Strange. Maybe I have good eyes. Or good instincts. It's strange.'
ãThe girl who tilted her head with a finger to her red lips was the very girl I had just saved. A girl smaller than me in a gothic dress.
ãI'd say she was about 5'9". When I look at her again, I see an avatar with a very Japanese face, with flowing blond hair and red eyes that suit her well.
ãThe gothic dress is obviously a production item, though you can play around with it as much as you like in character creation.
'So, what do you think you're doing, attacking me out of nowhere?
'Lowe. Sixteen years old. Get along with me.'
'I don't have the taste to be friends with a girl who suddenly slashes at me.
'That's sad. I want to be friends with you.'
'Let's stop slashing at each other first.
ãHe continues to use the metal rod in his hands as a shield against the continuous thrusts of the girl who noiselessly rushes towards him.
ãAs the metal clashed with metal, a sound that sounded like a cry continued to ring out, the girl's mouth suddenly drew an arc.
ãAt the moment when I had a bad premonition, a gap was created in the incessant thrusting.
''Destructo.''
ãThe rapier that was squeezed out at once took on a poisonous purple aura and was thrust towards me with more than double the speed.
''Don't you dare!
ãI'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.
ãYou'll be able to find a lot more than just a few of them in the marketplace.
You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few.
ãI'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.
ãHowever, the girl supported herself with one hand as she was about to hit the ground, and landed on her feet with ease.
'Geez, ......, that's a terrible thing to do.
'No, didn't you just use a clearly dangerous art?
'Yes, I did. If you'd hit me, I'd have been poisoned.'
'See?ãIt's not my fault!
ãThe girl coughs and smiles without any ill will.
ãIt's not clear what the power relationship is between this girl and me, but it seems that my muscle strength, which is boosted by my occupation, has allowed my attacks to go through to some extent, and I've lost less than 10% of my HP.
ãHowever, the girl's smile never disappeared from her mouth, and she seemed to have enough time to talk lightly.
'You, what's your name?
'...... Sukuna.'
'Yes. Sukuna. Well, let's say your name again. I'm Lowe. I'm sometimes called Princess Murder, but I want you to call me Lowe.'
'Murder ...... is a red name. How can you do that when there are only disadvantages?
ãThe only penalty is a small time limit on status and experience, and in the WLO, where the whole city is a safe zone, player killing is really not an advantage.
ãOn the contrary, PK players are not allowed to enter the city, and if they cause a disturbance near the city, they will be captured by the guard NPCs and lose all their money and items.
ãIf you are killed by a monster and respawn, you will be captured by the guard NPCs and subject to the same treatment.
ãIf you are PKed by a player, you will lose all your gold and items, and your level will be reduced by half.
ãIn terms of profit, there is no profit at all. That's what PKing in this game is all about.
'There are benefits. You can kill as many people as you want. That's a benefit I can't trade for anything.
ãThe girl, Lowe, said this as she breathed, twirling her rapier in her hands.
ãHer eyes are so pure that there seems to be no trace of deceit in them.
'I'm going to be serious for a bit. I don't think Sukuna will die. Survive, okay?'
ãWith those words, Lowe raised his rapier, and I understood that I needed to be serious too.
ãMy consciousness switches.
ãWhat Rowe wants is to kill each other.
ãIf you don't kill him, he'll kill you. It's a game, but it makes you realize that.
ãThe pure murderous intent of Rowe's voice was so cold and clear that it was frightening.
ãAt the moment, Rowe appeared in front of me, and I prevented him from cutting me up by placing a metal rod between us.
ãI could see it, and I could react. But it was too fast compared to the slow movement he had just made.
ãYou'll be able to see and react to it, but it's too fast compared to the slow movements you've just been making. It's not as if you were expecting to be blocked, but before you know it, the dagger in your other hand is swinging like a cleave as you counter-rotate.
ãI tried to duck with a backstep, but a chill ran down my spine and I held my wrist just in time.
ãThe dagger was a decoy. The dagger is a decoy, and the main objective is to stab the body with the rapier hidden behind the body when the backstep or swayback leaves it free.
ãBoth sides went half-heartedly into a stalemate.
ãLowe was the one who broke the situation. As he was about to take off my arm with his rapier, I let go of him and he jumped back.
'I thought I could skewer him.
ãLowe muttered with sincere regret, but his eyes lit up with a glint of brilliance.
ãThe tip of his rapier wobbled in time with his emotions, revealing his burning excitement.
'It's not going to be that easy,' he said.
'Haha, it has to be. I'll go up one more time, follow me.'
ãLowe, who had rushed in with these words, chose to fight a melee.
ãThe rapier is a double-edged sword, even though it is originally specialized for stabbing.
ãSo it can also be used for slashing if you want to use it, and in fact Lowe has chosen to slash instead of stab quite often.
ãHowever, this is only because it can be used in that way.
ãSlender swords are not designed for striking, and even in a game governed by durability, thicker weapons are stronger against strikes than thinner ones.
ãFrom that point of view, at least, it should not be a weapon with a structure that can withstand melee combat.
ãEven though she had blocked dozens of sword fights in just a minute, she showed no sign of impatience.
'That's quite a sturdy rapier you've got there!
'Yes, it's my favorite. I knew it when I saw it. It's the same as Skuna's armor.
ãLowe said, somewhat happily.
ãMy armor is made entirely from the materials of named boss monsters, and boasts some of the most monstrous specs currently available.
ãEven the hairpiece is a truly broken piece of equipment that uses a very rare drop called a "soul".
ãI'm sure you'll be pleased to know that there are only three people in the game, excluding me, who have the same item, according to Kittenmaru.
ãThat means .......
'So it's a Named Weapon.
'Yes, it is. I made it by killing a party Named, called Vladia, the Attractive Viper. I had to get help from a friend, but it was a great fight too.
ãLowe stopped attacking and stroked the blade, and spoke of the origin of his weapon in a very good mood.
ãI mean, you have friends? You have a friend?
ãIf he's a friend of Redname's, he's a pain in the ass.
ãEven if not, I'm surprised that you have at least one friend who can compete on equal terms with a Named.
'The Mellow Rapier. That's the name of this weapon. It's a blade that has the effect of lowering the opponent's resistance to abnormalities every time it slashes.
'...... I see.
ãThat's certainly a powerful effect.
ãEven if it's just the most famous ones like poison, paralysis, and sleep, if you can ignore the resistance of the opponent and give it to them, it will have a great effect.
ãHowever, it seems a bit weak as an effect of a named weapon that was probably created by investing the "soul".
'It doesn't seem to have much effect on its own?ãHmph, you know Skuna if you've defeated a Named, right?ãYou get a rare skill when you kill a Named. The one you got as a reward from Vladia is a rare skill called "Viper's Drops". Its effect is simple: it consumes MP to add poisonous properties to weapons. It's strong on its own, but if you combine it with the Slender Sword of Temptation,......, right?
ãAs if to show off, Lowe cloaked his rapier in a purple aura. That must be the effect of the "Viper's Droplet" skill I just mentioned.
ãIf that's the case, should I assume that the "Deathtrust" thrusting art that he just tried to hit me with doesn't have any poisonous properties of its own?
ãIt's not funny at all. The activation seems to be optional, the weapon's effect is tailor-made to match the skill, and the durability of the named equipment makes it unlikely that the weapon will be destroyed.
ãAnd the person who has all of this is a red name player with presumably higher status than me.
ãMy situation was so severe that I wanted to laugh and say, 'What a joke.
'So, was it okay if I revealed that?
'I'm famous in my own right, you know. There's no need to hide it now. Besides, you can only use this stuff to torture monsters and shake small fry. Most players like Skuna won't get it, and the small fry will die anyway whether they know it or not.
'You're very confident ......, that's all you're good for, I guess.
ãThere is something I realized while fighting this girl.
ãI'm not going to say it's easy, but I'm going to say it's not easy.
ãSo I don't mean to say it's easy, but she doesn't attack from impossible angles, and as long as you can see her, it's not as hard to deal with her attacks as it looks.
ãHowever, the trouble is that they attack in accordance with their very high status.
ãTo put it bluntly, they have a much higher physical status than I do. It's also more than me, who is a human and whose status is increased by the red wolf costume.
ãIt's probably safe to say that she's a higher level player than Rin.
ãI'm not sure what to make of this.
ãOn the other hand, with this status difference, even if I were to simply charge into her, I'd probably end up having my attacks easily dodged.
ãEven with the halving of SP by ãTsukitsubaki no Monogatariã, it was still too delicate to gain an advantage.
ãI had no choice but to resign myself to it.
ãI have nothing to lose anyway, so I should just give it a try.
'Hey, Lowe.
'Haha, what?ãYou're the first person to call me by my name.'
'You tell me your secret, and I'll show you mine.
'Really?ãI'm so happy.
ãAs Lowe's face broke into a smile, I felt like sighing.
ãTo be honest, I hadn't expected to be able to use it so soon.
ãBut fortunately, I'm not delivering now.
ãIn terms of being able to keep your trump card intact, there's no better place to use it than here.
ãI feel it's a waste. But I really don't want to lose to her without playing my cards right.
ãThe key to activation is just one word.
ãI said it in a high-pitched voice.
''Starve, Wolf King's Fangs.''
ãInstantly, a red aura enveloped my body.
ãRare Skill ãStarving Wolfã. A double-edged sword that consumes ...... your HP and boosts your strength and agility for up to five minutes, given to you by Aria the Red Wolf.
ãThe feeling of elation that enveloped my entire body told me that my status was changing.
'So that's Skuna's trump card.
'The real deal, yeah.'
'That's really nice. It makes my heart swoon.'
ãLowe said with an enraptured expression.
ãNo more words are needed.
ãNo, we don't even have time for that.
ãThey looked at each other and began to kill each other.