150　Higher-ranked

"You're absorbing people, aren't you……? "

"――! "


　I asked the words that came to my mind.

　Then Miroku looked surprised, his eyes opened wide, then he smiled and spoke.


"Second, I have no interest in things of the past! "


　In other words, that would be an affirmation.

　The 【Absorb】 skill…… I'm sure it's that.


"…………"

　Suddenly―― I shuddered.

　【Absorb】is a skill that absorbs skills from the corpse of a monster or player.

　Yes, it is a monster-specific skill.

　The maximum number of skills that can be absorbed and learned is one. And only the skill that the corpse was most proficient at. After each use, the newly absorbed skill would overwrite the old one and the ranks would be reset.

　The problem arises when they absorb skills that are identical to those they have already absorbed.

　In such cases, the ranks of the skills absorbed are not reset, and instead, one's own status is slightly increased in accordance with the status of the target of absorption.


"……No way. You."


　I had a theory.

　Maybe this guy has absorbed from all the people buried in that big cemetery?

　Most of them are mainly "Samurai", in other words, 【Sword-drawing】 practitioners, right?

　I suspect that this "Samurai Nation" was intentionally created so that only those with a deep understanding of the 【Sword-Drawing】 skill system and who have Sword-drawing as their main skill can continue to be【Absorb】'ed.


　If so, what would happen?

　Do you mean he's been using 【Absorb】 to increase his status for a thousand years. ......?


"Have you seen through my nature?"
"Yeah, I saw right through it. You're a monster."
"Indeed. I am Tsukumagami...... a doll-turned-demon."
"Tsukumagami? "
"I learned it from Reikan. Apparently, a Tsukumagami is a monster who has acquired the art of transforming into a human being over a long period of time. It's a really good name, I like it."

　Wait, isn't the youkai usually called Tsukumogami?　I think 0k4NN made up that word.


"Now, let's end the pleasantries. Come on, come on, get ready."

　Miroku clapped his hands and invited me to join him.

　Good grief, you're really motivated.

　I'm the same.


"Let me then be first."
"Alright."

　Miroku said he was fine with being the receiver.
　OK, I'll make him regret it.


"Shi――! "
"! ? "

　I won't go easy on you. No, I can't afford it.

　From here, it's 【Sword-drawing】 surprise tactics―― Let's go with『Subway Rook』.


　I used 《Knight Sword-drawing》 to close the gap between us, and after canceling in mid-air, I got down on the ground as if crouching and rolled to Miroku's feet.

　The most difficult thing to deal with in 【Sword-drawing】 is the feet. And thus, as you're forcing them to respond to it, the usual one is…… to take one step back.

"Brilliant!　This is a Sword-drawing technique that I have not seen yet! "

　The result―― Miroku made one exclamation and leaped over me.

　Calm. That was the best move.

　At that moment, the 《Rook Sword-drawing》 I had prepared cut through the air.

　Miroku turned around and prepared a 《Silver Sword-drawing》 attack.

　I stood up while preparing 《Gold Sword-drawing》, and pretended to sheathe my katana――

"No way! "

　Yes, no way.

　Almost simultaneously with Miroku's cancellation of the 《Silver Sword-drawing》 attack, I did the same and then I activated a 《Bishop Sword-drawing》 attack and immediately attacked with my Second Slash without finishing sheathing my katana.

　The rook deployed from below was a trick meant to force a certain response, and my real aim was a bishop attack all along.

"Kuu-"

　Miroku responded just in time with 《Soldier Sword-drawing》.

　Soldier versus Bishop, a situation in which the other side should have lost in strength.


　The game was won...... or so I thought, but...


"……I guess we're starting over."

　Miroku only took three steps back.

　It wasn't very effective.
　Apparently, there is quite a status difference between me and him.

"Yes……"

　A moment of silence.

　Miroku looked at me with an "I can't believe it" kind of face.

　Then.


"Haha, hahahaha!　Delightful!　This is delightful!　Sword drawing was yet so much deeper than expected!　I am happy! "


　He laughed.

　As if he was having a good time.


"I don't seem to have time to play around. Sorry, hold on a moment. Now, I'm changing my form."


　……Change of form.

　Immediately after he said that, Miroku started chanting some kind of incantation like a Buddhist prayer――


"Hey, hey, hey……"


　――Instantly, he turned into a demonic man, a little over two meters tall, with three faces and six hands.


　The appearance of two masked humans merged with Miroku.

　At his waist were two Katanas, the two hands in front were joined in front of his chest, the four arms behind him held one drawn sword each, and the eyes of the mask that had increased on both sides of his face stared intently to the left and right. Behind him floated a large ring of burning flames, spinning in circles menacingly.


　……I remember now.

　Miroku, this guy's real name is――『Asura』.



　A boss monster unique to Hinodejima with the characteristic skill of 【Absorb】.


"Three-faced, six-armed body, and flawless in offense and defense. This is my true form. My name is Miroku, the incarnation of the sword god."


　Quite the busy fellow, saying he's the incarnation of the Sword-drawing, and now that he's the incarnation of the sword god.

　However, Miroku. You are not a god or anything. You are a monster named Asura...... that is all.


　Now, if a name is offered, it is polite to reciprocate.

"My name is Second Firstest. People call me the World's Number One Man."

"That's good!　I will test you myself……! "


　Miroku came toward me with his six arms swinging threateningly.

　It's a new feeling. I have never fought against such an opponent before.

　I have no idea how to respond.

　But nothing could be more interesting……!

"How about this? "
"I won't let you! "

　While maintaining a distance of just a graze on the tip of the nose, I retreated and prepared 《Gold Sword-drawing》.

　As the slashes rained down without exception, I finished preparing for the 《Gold Sword-drawing,》 but at that moment...... Miroku took two steps backward and made a gap between me and him.


　I see, you are thinking properly.

　Well, it will be tough. There is no more troublesome opponent than a monster who thinks without being bound by patterns of action.

　The status difference in the first place makes it even more difficult.

　Moreover, because the opponent is a monster, the Seven System is almost ineffective.


　……Oh, what am I going to do about this?


"Trying for a stalemate?　Second."
"There's no way."

　I try to be strong so as not to disappoint Miroku, but I can't think of a way out of the current situation.


　……I don't have a choice. It seems that the only way to win this match is to play a game of strength and invite the opponent to make a mistake by playing a series of suspicious moves.

　It was a common practice against the higher ranks, which was done extensively in the early days of Mobius.

　How many years has it been since I have competed against a higher-ranked opponent?

　As I remembered the past, I felt strangely confident.

　Oh, yeah. I, who have been on the higher-ranked side for a long time, know best what the higher-ranked ones do not like.

　I know the higher and lower ranks, there's nothing to fear anymore.


"Then, be frightened to your heart's content."

　Standing on a summit is not something you get used to at all in the beginning.

　When you change from the side of chasing to the side of being chased, you instantly see things that you could not see before.

　You will suddenly find yourself thinking about things you didn't have to think about.

　Impatience flows. Fear. To the ones crawling up from below. The pressure to never be defeated. In this way, one gradually becomes incapable of taking drastic action.

　It is only a random thought. The impatience entwines in your back and the fright clouds your vision. At the critical moment of the match, without thinking about the futility of the situation, you cannot just say, "Yeah! " without thinking about the consequences of doing so, it's a big loss.

　You, too, will do the same. As long as you stand at the top.


"Slow! "

　Miroku yelled at me when he saw me start preparing my 《Silver Sword-drawing》.

　Slow, indeed. For Miroku, who has six arms, the choice of skill is such that he can receive with one arm and attack all-out with the remaining five arms.

　Hence, Miroku began to charge 《Silver Sword-drawing》 at about the same time.

　That is probably the best.
　If our roles had reversed, he would have had no choice but to respond to this using 《Gold Sword-drawing》.

　Moving forward or retreating leads to the same point, this is the path of the Shura. In that case, knowing that I would be badly hurt, I went in with the 《Silver Sword-drawing》.

"Are you insane? "

　Miroku was surprised and taken aback.

　He doesn't see the point of charging ahead when one could see the loss ahead.

　Now, here's how I will turn it around: ...... but to be honest, I'm not sure I can. A huge bet.

　But only by repeating such last-minute bets can I see any chance of winning.

"Let's go."

　He closed the gap and showed the activation of 《Silver Sword-drawing》 by unsheathing the blade.

　At the same time Miroku was unsheathing the blade with his left front hand and activating the 《Silver Sword-drawing》 as well―― I canceled my skill.

"What!? "

　Of course, he'd be confused. He has no idea what I'm after.

　Immediately afterward, I focused only on avoiding Miroku's sword drawing.

　Slowly, Miroku's blow grazed my side.

　That's all right, I just got my clothes slashed.


"…………"


　A moment later, that wish from the bottom of my heart.

　I looked at Miroku's face, which was filled with frustration.


　Yes, yes...... be impatient, be frightened, be on the chase……!

　Come, come, come……!


"――Whew! "


　Okay, here I come!!

　I immediately prepared to respond with 《Soldier Sword-drawing》 against the follow-up attack.

　Apparently, Miroku is another example of the system, allowing only one skill to be activated at a time. He has six arms, but there is only one skill he can use. This means that any attempt to attack immediately with the remaining arms would be without any skill. That said, if he were to use his skills every single time, the significance of having six arms would be greatly diminished.

　Hence, the Second Slash came at the fastest speed without skill.

　He was impatient, frightened, and trying to force himself to make the most of what he had.

　It was a poor gamble.

　But my prediction came true.


"Oraa!! "

　I slashed my 《Soldier Sword-drawing》 as hard as I could at Miroku's Second Slash.

　With the multiplier of the skill itself, and the 128% of the sword drawing bonus, it was a match set in stone.

"Not yet!! "

　A follow-up attack with 《Bishop Sword-drawing》. The Second Slash landed on Miroku's chest as he was thrown off balance.

"Ugh! "

　Miroku stumbled backward, holding his chest where he had taken the thrust.

　The damage inflicted was not that big, but……winning this small gamble held quite the significance.

　I took three steps back before Miroku could regain his stance and sheathed the katana back.


　Once again, I came to the starting position.

　However, this was a bit different from the previous rounds.

　Miroku was now at a disadvantage.

　Currently, the higher ranked was at a disadvantage.


　……Be more impatient. More frightened.

　I'll never let you show your true potential. There's more to come, way more.


"………………"

　Miroku quietly stood up and sheathed his katana.

　The previous leeway had disappeared from his beautiful face.


"Now the games are over. Come on, come on, get ready."

　The endgame, has come.

======


Thank you for reading.

Thank you very much for your support this year.
And I'll be in your care this next year too.

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Cheat sheet

Stats details

＜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.

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.

1. Pawn/Soldier (Fuhyou)
2. Lance(Kyousha)
3. Knight (Keima)
4. Silver General (Ginshou)
5. Gold General (Kinshou)
6. Bishop (Kakugyou)
7. Rook (Hisha)
8. Promoted Bishop/Dragon Horse(Ryuuma)
9. Promoted Rook/Dragon King (Ryuuou).

List of Swordsmanship skills

Swordsmanship

1. 《Soldier Swordsmanship》　                  Normal attack.
2. 《Lance Swordsmanship》　                    Piercing attack.
3. 《Knight Swordsmanship》　                   Precision attack.
4. 《Silver Swordsmanship》　                     Strong single-target attack.
5. 《Gold Swordsmanship》                           Small-range attack to all directions.
6. 《Bishop Swordsmanship》                      Quick and powerful piercing attack
7. 《Rook Swordsmanship》　                      Rush piercing attack
8. 《Dragon Horse Swordsmanship》　  Powerful ranged attack in all directions
9. 《Dragon King Swordsmanship》　       Most powerful range attack, takes time to prepare

List of Shieldmanship skills

Shieldmanship

1. 《Soldier Shieldmanship》　                  Normal defense.
2. 《Lance Shieldmanship》　                    Piercing deflection.
3. 《Knight Shieldmanship》　                   Defense + knockback.
4. 《Silver Shieldmanship》　                     Defense +chance to parry
5. 《Gold Shieldmanship》                           Ranged guided defense + knockback.
6. 《Bishop Shieldmanship》                       Reinforced defense (Temporarily boosts VIT and MGR)
7. 《Rook Shieldmanship》　                      Rush attack
8. 《Dragon Horse Shieldmanship》　    ???
9. 《Dragon King Shieldmanship》　       Powerful shield attack, takes time to prepare

List of Archery skills

Archery

1. 《Soldier Archery》　                  Normal range attack.
2. 《Lance Archery》　                    Piercing range attack.
3. 《Knight Archery》　                   Precise sniping range attack.
4. 《Silver Archery》　                     Strong single-target range attack.
5. 《Gold Archery》                           Weaker range attack with added knockback.
6. 《Bishop Archery》                       Strong piercing range attack.
7. 《Rook Archery》　                      Very strong single-target range attack with scaling % damage.
8. 《Dragon Horse Archery》　    Powerful Area of Effect piercing range attack.
9. 《Dragon King Archery》　       Powerful on-impact range attack, takes time to prepare

Types of Magic skills

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

1. First Form　      　      Regular attack
2. Second Form　      　 Extended range attack
3. Third Form　      　    Strong single target attack
4. Fourth Form　      　  Strong extended range attack
5. Fifth Form　      　      Extremely powerful extended range attack

• Their cast time becomes longer in this order First→Third→Second→Fourth→Fifth.

Ranking of the skills

From lower to higher, then it changes to the “Dan” system of martial arts, which means Grade.

1. 16th class
2. 15th class
3. 14th class
4. 13th class
5. 12h class
6. 11th class
7. 10th class
8. 9th class
9. 8th class
10. 7th class
11. 6th class
12. 5th class
13. 4th class
14. 3rd class
15. 2nd class
16. 1st class
17. Grade 1
18. Grade 2
19. Grade 3
20. Grade 4
21. Grade 5
22. Grade 6
23. Grade 7
24. Grade 8
25. Grade 9
26. Title

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 ToC    

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