Moto Sekai Ichi – 176 | Sousaku – 創作

176　Senjushou Match Part 1

【Jojutsu】Thrust・Strike・Sweep
《Dragon King Jojutsu》 Extremely powerful wide-area attack
《Dragon Horse Jojutsu》 Wide range defense + knockback
《Rook Jojutsu》 Very powerful ranged attack
《Bishop Jojutsu》 Rush piercing attack
《Gold Jojutsu》 Very strong defense
《Silver Jojutsu》 Powerful ranged attack
《Knight Jojutsu》 Rush attack
《Lance Jojutsu》 Piercing attack
《Soldier Jojutsu》 Conventional attack

It's early in the morning, and suddenly we're in the finals.

The only other participant in the Senjushou battle, besides me, was Margrave Steam. This meant that one of us would have the right to challenge Gloria Senjushou.

Still……【Jojutsu】 doesn't seem to be that popular.

Well, I understand. Why bother to fight with a wooden stick when there are swords, spears, and other "blades" available? People in this world risk their lives to fight. So that's the more reason they think like this.

"Oh, Lord Second. Are you lost in thought while in front of me? This is appalling."

"Steam, did you practice Jojutsu?"

"Yes, just as a hobby. But in the last six months, I've really gotten into it."

"That's good. Were you inspired? "

"No way. I'm just trying to get you to like me."

"You're still so pleasant, you know."

He said that he had raised his 【Jojutsu】 to the level of a contestant in just six months, just to get me to like him.

Of course, I would like such a thing.

"Nevertheless, I've never seen anyone who gave off the air of Jojutsu as you."

"You mean to call me an oddball? "

"Yeah."

"I'll be honest…… Since you don't seem to know this yet, I'd say Gloria Senjushou is many times more giving that kind of air than someone like me."

"I see. I'll look forward to it."

"But I am not sure I agree with the tendency to refer to Jojutsu practitioners as oddballs. I can't think of any other skill set as interesting as this one."

Yes, that is correct. 【Jojutsu】 is interesting.

In addition to the nine types from Soldier to Dragon King, there are three additional types of "thrust, strike, and sweep" for each, making a total of twenty-seven different skills. For example, the 《Silver Jojutsu》 is a powerful ranged attack, yet the《Silver Jojutsu ・Thrust》 narrows the range of the attack, but increases the speed and power of the attack, while the《Silver Jojutsu ・Strike》 allows the attacker to attack as strongly as if it were Swordsmanship, and the 《Silver Jojutsu ・Sweep》 further widens the range of the attack, allowing the user to specialize in counterattacks or keeping the enemy in check.

It was truly a skill that changed in a thousand different ways. A mere piece of stick could be transformed into a spear, a sword, or a halberd. No other skill set offered such flexibility.

In return. The sheer number of options available made it very difficult to master. Besides, it was difficult to develop firepower at the end of the training phase. It was not a skill that made for a good team player either. It was rather a skill designed to be used against players, not against monsters. Therefore……

"The skill itself is interesting, but the user itself is still the odd one out."

The Jojutsu practitioner was a quirky person. I've seen hundreds of thousands of players, so I'm sure it's pretty convincing.

"Bow to each other! Get ready! "

Following the instructions of the referee, we took a stance.

Is the weapon that Steam produced "Maple"? Mine's "Sakura". Well, there is not much difference. Despite their minor differences in characteristics, they were both, in a nutshell, "wooden sticks".

"――Begin! "

The command came.

Steam moved forward at once and then prepared 《Knight Jojutsu・Strike》.

He seemed to step in all of a sudden. Well, let's take it courteously, then.

"Fuu! "

From a quick close-up to a straightforward upper strike.

Nice and simple. The simplicity also narrows the options for dealing with it.

"How about this?"

I twisted a bit and took it with 《Soldier Jojutsu・Thrust》

Usually, you take it with either Strike or Sweep. However, with both Knight and Soldier at Grade 9, the superior firepower goes to Knight. Hence, using Soldier Sweep against it will give you a head start, but you will end up being overpowered and repelled. In other words, if you take it with Sweep, unless you use Knight or better instead of Soldier, you will be fend off and leave an opening.

But right now, by using Thrust against the cane itself, even Soldier can compete against Knight, producing about the same amount of firepower, leaving you with no gaps.

"Well, I suppose you would! "

Steam seemed to have anticipated this.

The next move was 《Silver Jojutsu・Sweep》 without a moment's pause. It is a powerful ranged attack skill.

I see, he wants to distance himself a little. By using Silver to regain some distance and get back into stance, he then might want to use a high firepower skill, perhaps 《Rook Jojutsu》, in order to secure a win.

"I won't let you."

Crushes the opponent's hand. This is important.

I aimed for Steam's fingertips with 《Lance Jojutsu・Thrust》. The moment I thought, "Oh, so Silver," my body had already started preparing for Lance on its own, so I was able to activate Lance Thrust before Steam's Silver Sweep could be activated.

"Whoa there!? "

In the nick of time, Steam canceled his Silver's attack and avoided it with all his might. Nice call.

Well then, how should I counter?

"Did you know about this? "

Maybe he doesn't know. A technique that I hope people will remember. It's a good opportunity to showcase it.

"……Uwah……"

I heard Steam recoil.

What am I currently doing is......I'm hitting 《Soldier Jojutsu・Thrust》, 《Soldier Jojutsu・Strike》, and 《Soldier Jojutsu・Sweep》 in rapid succession, while keeping a good distance between me and Steam.

The so-called "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe " state. In 【Jojutsu】, if one started preparing a new skill without canceling the previous one, the previous skill is automatically canceled, as long as it is the same skill. Incidentally, with skills other than【Jojutsu】, it is not possible to start preparing a new skill without first canceling the previous one.

In other words, this "thrust・strike・sweep roulette" was a technique recommended by Mobius management in 【Jojutsu】.

"Stop! It was Thrust～."

But the more experienced you became, the less meaningful this roulette was.

This was because no one was stupid enough to "prepare in advance before approaching" and it was common sense to "approach without activating until the very last moment". Roulette can only be used as a momentary distraction here and there.

"Tch! "

……However, if the opponent is a beginner, it works tremendously well.

Steam, caught off guard, responded a beat later with a 《Soldier Jojutsu・Sweep》.

"Next will be～ durururururururu……"

I love this roulette, because it is a "winning technique against low-ranked players".

I mean, it works really well, half the time.

"There it is! Strike……was a guise for a Thrust! "

"What!? "

Sometimes they even slip past you unintentionally.

Occasionally, there's even a skill that's triggered that's not what was intended. Like now, when you think you have activated 《Lance Jojutsu・Strike》, but it turns out to be 《Lance Jojutsu・Thrust》. Such surprises are also interesting.

Steam was preparing to respond with 《Lance Jojutsu・Sweep》, but contrary to my anticipation, I had unleashed 《Lance Jojutsu・Thrust》, so the timing of my activation was a little off, and my thrust reached Steam first.

"Guhh……! "

Steam had to remove his right hand from the Maple cane after receiving a thrust with a piercing effect on his right arm. A big opening, indeed.

But even though the result was bad, I'm surprised he managed to hold out for the 《Lance Jojutsu・Sweep》. If he had started preparing at the same time I started the roulette, I would have immediately switched to 《Bishop Jojutsu・Thrust》 and it would have been almost a foregone conclusion. Did he see through that? This is young Margrave of thirty-three years old is smart, even if he is not quite there yet.

"Do you want to surrender? "

"……No. Lord Second, you look like you want to have a little more fun, so if you don't mind, I'll keep you company."

"I see! "

Nice one, Steam.

I'd love to have a drink with him afterward, but apparently, he's a bit of a non-drinker. What a shame.

So let's have a little more fun since we can't drink.

"――That's enough! Victor, SECOND FIRSTEST! "

For the next few minutes, Steam accompanied me as I played roulette.

This guy, contrary to his appearance, is a surprisingly gutsy guy. I had no idea that a slender, gaunt, and visibly indoor-looking bespectacled guy with unhealthily white skin would be so eager to get a bite out of me.

By the second half of the game, he had seen through half of my roulette. How much has Steam grown in this one match?

His growth potential, his concentration in gaining enough experience to complete the【Jojutsu】 skill in half a year, his boldness in learning that skill, and his keen observation of how to form a team, make him a man with many things to look forward to in the future.

Oh, but, speaking of what I'm looking forward to now…… Gloria Senjushou.

An oddball who was described as "Jojutsu-ish" even by Margrave Steam Bitter Valley. There's no way I'm not curious.

Obviously, also about her skills.

Now, it's time to play――

＊ ＊ ＊

"Gloria-sama, Gloria-sama."

"……Is it that time already? "

"That's right, it's time for the match."

"Not good, I lose track of time when I'm reading."

"There are two contestants this season, which is great."

"It's great, really. Like a novel."

"Let's go quickly, let's go quickly."

"Yes, I am."

A dim light hovered in the dimly lit library.
One elf woman was reading a book under it.

Her name was Gloria.

There was no one among the elves who did not know that name.

It was in the past that she was known as the "Silver Princess". Now, she was a lone princess, and ...... yes, the word "bookworm" would be quite appropriate.

Somewhere along the line, she became obsessed with the charm of books.

Her beauty, the envy of all, and her gorgeous silver hair that reached down to her waist, were still in full bloom. However, her life consisted of books, books, books. All day long, she would spend her time in the library, reading books.

The only errands she had to go out were to buy new books and to try out what she had read in a book. Her actions always involved books.

Indeed, you could say that she was an oddball. But that alone was a weak reason for her decades of isolation……

"I'm in the mood for either Boxwood or Zelkova."

"Zelkova is good, Zelkova is good."

"Indeed. Then Zelkova it is."

"Yay, yay."

Gloria put the Zelkova cane in her inventory and left the study.

She was the only one to leave the study room.

And there was no one left in the study room when she left.

Who in the world was Gloria talking to……?

======

Thank you for reading.

Cheat sheet

Status Details

HP　Hit Points
MP　Magic Points
SP　Stamina Points
STR　Short range attack skill power, strength, physical power.
DEX　Long range attack skill power, dexterity, hit rate.
AGI　Quickness, avoidance rate.
INT　Attack Magic skill power.
LUK　Good luck, critical rate.
VIT　Simple defense.
MGR　Magic defense.

Skill Ranking

From lower (16th) to higher (1st) class, then it changes to the “Dan” system of martial arts, which means Grade

16th class
15th class
14th class
13th class
12h class
11th class
10th class
9th class
8th class
7th class
6th class
5th class
4th class
3rd class
2nd class
1st class
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9 (Can challenge Title when all related skills are at this level)

Types of combat skills

Named after shogi pieces (The word in bold is the one being used in this translation). From easier to acquire to harder.

Pawn/Soldier (Fuhyou)
Lance(Kyousha)
Knight (Keima)
Silver General (Ginshou)
Gold General (Kinshou)
Bishop (Kakugyou)
Rook (Hisha)
Promoted Bishop/Dragon Horse(Ryuuma)
Promoted Rook/Dragon King (Ryuuou).

List of Swordsmanship skills

【Swordsmanship】　Damage： STR Dependent.

《Dragon King Swordsmanship》　Powerful ranged attack forward + stun.
《Dragon Horse Swordsmanship》　Powerful ranged attack in all directions.
《Rook Swordsmanship》　Very strong single-target attack.
《Bishop Swordsmanship》　Quick and powerful penetrating attack.
《Gold Swordsmanship》　Ranged attack in all directions.
《Silver Swordsmanship》　Strong, single-target attack.
《Knight Swordsmanship》　Precision attack＋added damage against vital points.
《Lance Swordsmanship》　Penetrating attack.
《Soldier Swordsmanship》　Normal attack.

(Rook＋Knight, Silver＋Knight, Lance＋Knight, Soldier＋Knight are possible for Combine)

List of Jojutsu (cane) skills

【Jojutsu】Thrust・Strike・Sweep

《Dragon King Jojutsu》　Extremely powerful wide-area attack
《Dragon Horse Jojutsu》　Wide range defense + knockback
《Rook Jojutsu》　Very powerful ranged attack
《Bishop Jojutsu》　Rush piercing attack
《Gold Jojutsu》　Very strong defense
《Silver Jojutsu》　Powerful ranged attack
《Knight Jojutsu》　Rush attack
《Lance Jojutsu》　Piercing attack
《Soldier Jojutsu》　Conventional attack

List of Spearmanship skills

【Spearmanship】

《Dragon King Spearmanship》　Extremely powerful single-target attack
《Dragon Horse Spearmanship》　Powerful long-range attack (shockwave)
《Rook Spearmanship》　Rush attack (charge thrust)
《Bishop Spearmanship》　Powerful ranged attack (Cleave)
《Gold Spearmanship》　Counterattack (Counter)
《Silver Spearmanship》　Powerful single-target attack (charge thrust)
《Knight Spearmanship》　Forward leaping attack (leaping thrust)
《Lance Spearmanship》　Ranged attack (Cleave)
《Soldier Spearmanship》　Normal Attack (Thrust)

List of Archery skills

【Archery】

《Dragon King Archery》　Powerful on-impact ranged attack.
《Dragon Horse Archery》　Powerful piercing ranged attack.
《Rook Archery》　Very strong single-target range attack.
《Bishop Archery》　Strong piercing range attack.
《Gold Archery》　Range attack with added knockback.
《Silver Archery》　Strong single-target range attack.
《Knight Archery》　Precise sniping range attack.
《Lance Archery》　Piercing range attack.
《Soldier Archery》　Normal range attack.

List of Shield Arts skills

【Shield Arts】

《Dragon King Shield Arts》　Very powerful ranged attack to the front.
《Dragon Horse Shield Arts》　Reinforced defense + all-range attack.
《Rook Shield Arts》　Powerful forward Rush attack (VIT converted to STR and added to net STR)
《Bishop Shield Arts》　Great Reinforced Defense (16th class: 250% ~ Grade 9th: 600% Defense)
《Gold Shield Arts》　Range homing defense ＋ Knockback（While active, attacks within a certain range would redirect themselves towards the shield）
《Silver Shield Arts》　Reinforced defense (parry grace time reduced by 0.01 second, successful parry triggers counterattack effect)
《Knight Shield Arts》　Defense + Knockback.
《Lance Shield Arts》　Piercing Reflective Defense
《Soldier Shield Arts》　Normal defense.
Success condition for parry: Activate the skill 0.287 to 0.250 seconds before the attack reaches the target.

Types of Magic skills

They use the “Form” or “step” system of martial arts. From lower to higher.