CH 22

Party Battle

(Bersleid: ChatGPT round two, go.)

Valhalla, the unrestricted exchange city… and at its centre lies the battlefield for PvP matches. It’s a place where battles are usually held, and it’s bustling with the cheers of the spectators and the shouts for recruitment of opponents. But now, it’s attracting people’s attention with a subtle sense of tension.

“Sorry for getting you into this on your first day of logging in.”

Eyes gather around them. However, among them, there were a few mixed with contempt aimed at the opponents who had called out to them earlier at the restaurant.

–I don’t like this kind of thing.

It felt like she had become the executioner at a public execution. She shook her head to shut it out.

The enemy guild’s party consisted of the knight who had called out to them earlier, and two magicians, who were members of that guild, and were probably an attacker and a healer.

It seemed that they had composed their team to match the line-up of their opponents, and in that respect, it could be said that they were sincere.

But… she still felt sorry for involving Frey and Freya, who had just logged in today.

“I don’t care.”

Frey thrust his fist toward Crim.

“You and I won’t lose easily… right?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Crim put her fist together with Frey’s and turned towards the enemy team once again, taking out a short dagger made of shadows with the magic [Shadow Light Weapon].

Immediately afterwards, the countdown reached 0…

–3 on 3 Battle Start!!

At the same time as the system declaration, the six people in the battlefield scattered all at once.

–One hour ago, at the dining table.

“You…!!”

The person who called out was a knight-like man who had previously made an unpleasant impression on Crim, when came to this city for the first time.

Crim recognized his appearance and instinctively became furious, about to shout out insults, but at that moment…

“I’ve been wanting to apologize for a long time. I’m really sorry for what happened back then!”

“…Huh?”

At the moment when she was about to scold the man who suddenly bowed his head, Crim’s eyes widened in surprise.

However, the man continued to speak with his head bowed.

“Well… I heard from an acquaintance that what happened that day was posted on an online forum, and finally realized what I did to you…”

“Eh, an online forum? It became like that?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, didn’t you know?”

“Oh no…”

Crim generally refrained from looking at online forums, for mental health reasons, so she had no idea about the situation.

But… from the man’s desperate appearance, she could imagine what happened. It was probably written in an exaggerated manner, as expected of trolls, she thought.

“Then, there was no other meaning than recruiting back then?”

“Well, that’s… of course, it would be fun if there were cute girls in the guild, but that’s all it was.”

“And now?”

“…I saw a cute girl and thought it would be nice to be in the same guild with her.”

“…Sigh.”

“In other words, it’s normal for him to approach a girl, when he sees one.

But if he continued to do the same thing even after causing such a disturbance and drawing negative attention to himself… well, it would only add to the reputation of being a hopeless case. Sighing in disbelief, Crim shook his head.

“Thoughtless.”

“Uh, um… it’s a presumptuous request, but could you give us just one chance to redeem ourselves?”

“Redeem yourselves?”

She questioned the man who was practically groveling before her.

“We want to fight against you guys, just once! We want to prove that we’re not playing this game with any ulterior motives!”

“I’m begging you too! We’re not bad guys, really. We just lose our heads around cute girls, but we’re good people at heart!”

“Huagh!”

Crim didn’t sense any malice in their desperate pleas.

It seemed that the knight was occasionally writhing in pain, but Crim decided to ignore it for now.

“…What about you, Frey?”

“You can do whatever you want, Crim. I’ll follow you no matter what.”

“And what about Freya?”

When she turned to her, Freya just smiled and nodded silently.

“Okay, we’ll accept your challenge. But keep in mind that we have beginners with us, so we’re not making any promises about joining your guild even if you win.”

“Thank you!”

–And that’s how it all went.

…As expected, they’re cautious of a fatal blow.

Muttering to herself, while maintaining a distance where she could aim for the neck at a moment’s notice.

Surprisingly strong. She had underestimated the pick-up artist guy, but when it came to combat, he was certainly a skilled fighter.

Due to his sturdy shield work, carefully guarding his vital areas such as the head and heart, Crim couldn’t seem to attack effectively and clicked her tongue in frustration.

Putting aside his personality… Unlike those who she fought during the other day, this guild itself consisted of skilled individuals aiming for new territory after leaving the [Hill of Beginnings].

Naturally, they would have ample combat experience and be well aware of the act of being killed in one blow.

However… that’s why, if they hesitate, Frey and Freya, who just logged in on their first day and haven’t had the chance to develop their characters, are in danger.

Ignoring Freya and the opponent healer who are watching the battle from behind cover, Frey is keeping his distance and exchanging magical attacks, which is putting a significant burden on him due to the difference in basic abilities.

Thinking that way as she watched Frey, Crim’s gaze met his… but those eyes were filled with a strong will, and she knew that Frey wouldn’t become a hindrance.

–It’s okay, go for it.

Feeling like that’s what Frey’s eyes were saying, Crim made a starting motion for her technique and lowered herself.

“…[Kamikaze]!”

Crim kicked the ground and dashed forward. Seeing that, the enemy knight had a look of confidence on his face as if he had already won.

“Haha, you were distracted by your friends! Shield ba-!”

The weakness of the technique… because it’s semi-automatic, once it’s activated, it can’t be stopped and is easy to predict.

Especially simple rushing techniques like [Kamikaze] are only good for easy prey when used against opponents who have not been weakened in PvP with skilled mastery.

As expected, the knight’s shield was raised along Crim’s path…

“…[Dimension Pocket]!”

“Huh, what!?”

In an instant, the small area around the knight’s feet disappeared due to Frey’s magic – a magic that created a small spherical storage space with a radius of 5 centimetres.

Losing his footing suddenly, the knight lost his balance, and his technique was cancelled. Crim slipped past him and approached the real target, Frey’s opponent, the mage.

“What? Ugh!”

Crim’s short sword sliced through the slow-reacting mage’s throat during the sudden shift.

“Align yourself, Crim, [Balance Break]!”

“What!?”

Frey’s next shot, [Balance Break], was released immediately – a beginner-level magic that uses the power of a dark spirit in spirit magic to disrupt balance for just a moment.

At the same time that it disrupted the knight’s posture, Crim completed his own magic by turning around.

“[Shadow Bind!]”

“What is this? My hands…my hands are…!?”

Countless shadowy hands emerged from the knight’s feet, entangling his body and dragging him down to the ground, where he was pinned down.

Shadow magic, a mid-level magic with a proficiency level of 50, called [Shadow Bind].

This is a magic that hinders action by briefly binding an opponent whose balance has been disrupted.

With this, the heavy, movement-restricting metal armour immediately became a hindrance.

Leaving the completely immobilized knight behind, Crim quickly closed in on the remaining one, the healer, a young boy…

“Uh, uh, over here!?”

“…I’m sorry?”

Dodging his flailing mace in a state of semi-panic, she flashes her blade at his throat.

He wears a look of despair, having failed to fulfil his role and fallen before the shield bearer. He disappears into light and is teleported out of the field, much like the mage.

“Well… you’re the only one left.”

She turns to the young knight, immobilized by Shadow Bind.

He looked at her in a moment of despair, but…

“I won’t lose… we’ll bring glory to our guild… and cute girls…!”

Even though he was caught in countless arms of shadows, the young knight tries to stand up with all his might.

Ignoring his impure motives, she has a newfound respect for his resilience. Unexpectedly, there was movement in the battlefield.

“… Freya?”

Freya, who had been watching from the rear, approaches the young knight who is the enemy leader. She gently takes his hand wrapped in a gauntlet and smiles softly.

With her angelic smile, the young knight is left in a daze.

“… You’ve been expressing a desire for a girl to join your guild, regardless of who she is, haven’t you?”

“Y-Yes…”

“I think the reason you’re no good is that you have no principles, saying ‘any girl will do’ without considering their feelings or circumstances.”

“…Guh!?”

–Ah, he’s dead. (Bersleid: Never mess with the cuteness lovers, they always end up being the scary ones, or just simply brutally honest. Or, maybe more generally, the big sister types.)

A merciless reprimand came from her motherly, repentant smile, like a sister hearing a confession. The young knight, with no light left in his eyes, seems to have impulsively used the self-destruct command and disappeared into light.

As the system declares the victory of Crim and the others, even Crim and Frey, as well as the surrounding audience, offer sympathetic looks at the scene.

(Bersleid: Well, it is a pain to input and GPT doesn’t allow violence. Unless we want Skynet, we should keep it that way. Well anyways, what I could input, was translated just fine. This one was just to satisfy my curiosity.)