The Only Chance (4)
West Nation Guild Ranking No. 1: Ascension.
On the roof of a 23-story building, seven guild members were preparing for a raid.
All of them were ranked players.
"Everyone here?"
The thick, hangar-like door opened and the Operator walked out onto the wide runway.
Yagwi spoke up.
"All eight present. This lineup is new for Arachne, but we've got to push it hard. Solar transit's coming soon."
Choosing a grotesque avatar, he wore a flat, rhombus-shaped face like a shield and draped a cloak over it.
"Right."
As the Operator padded forward like a cat, the great blade on her back swung from side to side.
"Yahweh2, huh."
She had checked the hit news on the public board.
"Won't lose—no matter what!"
The moment she clenched both fists, the High Gear cycle shot up and the frame began to vibrate.
-All units: mobility posture.
High Gear, Level 487.
An enormous output surged; her frame launched forward like a cannon.
Leaping at speeds beyond Mach, she cleared the city and touched down in the wasteland.
She resumed the dash, and the sonic boom turned heads among the West Nation users.
"What the—what rig is that fast?"
"Are you stupid? It's Ascension. Operator, Little Witch, Yagwi, Taedaecheon… they're all ranked players."
A blue bar appeared on the Operator's AI.
-Switching to ultra-high-speed mobility.
Rocket engines extended from the deep hollow of her back and spewed massive thrust.
Four minutes later, Skull Island—the raid site—came into view.
'Trap section.'
Lights in the island's control tower flared and a gigantic red laser net swept out.
Trap Level — 467.
Her AI could have handled the avoidance, but she shut the feature off and trusted her senses.
Kiiiiing! Kiiiiing! Kiiiiing!
As the laser net shaved past the Operator, a guild member whistled.
"Still—her combat sense is top-tier." Only after the trap zone ended did the Little Witch accelerate and catch up.
"What's up? You usually worship the system. Letting the AI handle it would save power."
"…I don't like how my senses dull when that happens."
"Hmm."
It was an answer, but not the whole truth.
"Yahweh."
The Operator spoke again.
"What's that person like? In real life, I mean."
"Amazing. You said 'real life.' Does that bother you? You're going to win anyway."
"There's a video on the board. That guy said he bypassed space using the designer's code. Is that even possible?"
The Little Witch looked like she was smiling.
"No idea. I'm just a user. What I can tell you is that in reality there are people who can do it even easier—he's the strongest mage in human history." The Operator replayed the footage. 'He downed an enemy with a 50-level gap. Sure, he had a Grim Reaper equipped…'
'Given similar durability, it must have pierced.'
'In other words, against him energy beams alone wouldn't cut it. Leaving special abilities aside, his combat experience is overwhelmingly greater than others.' the AI said.
"Doesn't matter—this is my world."
At that moment the island shook violently and a colossal machine tore through the forest.
"Graaah!"
The boss creature Arachne.
When the Level 588 behemoth appeared, the AI transmitted its data.
?Durability: 78,000,000 / 78,000,000.
A spiderlike hull, hundreds of thousands of tons in mass, opened eight thousand gunports and greeted them.
-All units standby. I'll give the signal.
Flying alone, she watched twenty thousand rounds blacken the sky.
-Bullet curtain level, Level 499.
This was beyond what could be reliably trusted to the AI.
"Won't lose."
She threaded the bullet curtain with aerobatics and reached the island, where smaller creatures rushed in.
Small they might be, but at an average Level 500 their speed was not to be underestimated.
"Ugh!"
The Operator twisted her body.
Every time she fought inertia and changed direction, the frame seemed to scream.
'Closer—closer!'
On a sudden stop, a 27-ton load slammed into her right knee and a warning flashed.
-Frame durability instability detected.
Sliding and gouging the ground, she twisted her body at the last moment to disperse the force.
The Little Witch gave a wry smile.
'Monsters are monsters.'
The Operator's combat nerves were honed: she analyzed every attack pattern the creatures used.
'Shirone feels; the Operator calculates.'
Who had the upper hand?
Sliding back, the Operator braked by clutching the ground with her left hand.
Sparks flew from her fingers.
Closing the distance to Arachne, she grabbed the hilt of the black tachi strapped to her back.
'Switch to physical attacks here.'
Arachne lifted a leg and a massive shadow fell over her.
-Collapse (Magnetic Force).
A Selective Option, Level 480—so far it could only be triggered through the black tachi.
'This timing is the only chance.' The blade dug into the earth and the black magnetic field swelled into a giant sphere.
"Kraaaa!"
Arachne writhed, its hundreds of thousands of joints twisting within the field.
Kururururung!
At last four legs were forcibly bent and the massive body slammed into the ground.
All seven guild members attacked at once.
"Make it count!"
A sunlike flash burst over the island and seawater surged away like a protective wall.
That evening.
Atogram was packed with users from across the continent.
Their curiosity had narrowed to a single question: would Yahweh2's party replace the Grim Reaper?
Reporters had gathered in front of Amara's shop, where it was expected they'd switch at Level 70.
"From the East Nation, I'm RubyRuby. You've probably seen the videos, but the burning question is whether Yahweh2's party reached Level 70. I'll cover them personally."
Voices repeating the same question made the market louder than a bazaar.
A man cut through the chatter.
"There they come!" Yahweh2's party, Grim Reaper equipped, strode quickly into the shopping district.
DeathGongju complained, "Ugh, tired. I'm exhausted."
"Not yet. If we grind to Level 80 by dawn we'll meet the promised time."
Reporters swarmed.
"Hello! RubyRuby here! What's your current level? Why this route? Is this the Golden Wheel's secret project?"
"Move! We're busy!"
Destroyer707 shoved RubyRuby aside as they passed, but the reporters followed.
"Just one line—are you doing this for records?"
Ignoring the barrage, they didn't head to Amara but to Suicide Corp.
"You're not switching to Amara?" DeathGongju asked.
"Amara's best for killing Level 70 creatures at Level 70, sure. But we're raising the difficulty. We're heading to a Level 100 hunting ground—speed is everything. Besides…"
Destroyer707 turned his head.
"Yahweh2 has abilities different from ours. As long as output holds, they'll take down Level 100 creatures fast."
"Oh."
The manager quickly moved the parts and the party swapped components.
With a clear clink, Grim Reaper parts rolled around them.
A hush fell.
'Should they ditch that too? They probably will.'
These parts were in a whole different class from the Hundred-Set; even mid-tier users coveted them.
True to the company's focus on speed, Suicide's parts looked sharp and cold.
They specialized in cold weapons, and performance relied heavily on the user's skill.
'What a waste.'
Destroyer707 still felt a twinge of regret.
"Hey—should we take the Grim Reaper with us? It's a real masterpiece. If we leave it here…"
Users would swarm like locusts.
"Let's go. We don't want to visit storage again. We've got a credit card—buy it back later if we want."
"Still…"
What bothered them was the crowd's eyes, waiting for Yahweh2's group to leave.
"All right! Let's go!"
As Shirone's party decided and stepped out, the shop erupted.
"Tch! They're celebrating."
Shirone patted Destroyer707 on the shoulder.
"I hate to see it go too. But you can't solve anything without giving something up. Every plan has risk—let's stay true to our goal."
"Ha! Easy to say. You always sound like Bart. We're really alike, you know."
"Bart?"
"My private magic tutor. He never actually teaches but lectures me every day."
DeathGongju perked up. "Oh? You learning magic?"
"Learning? Not at all. Spirit Zone or whatever—no matter how I tried I just couldn't get a feel for it."
"Haha! Same here. My dad made me try it, but when I tried to focus I just fell asleep."
Shirone made a hollow face.
'If someone's in the Under Coder they're probably not ordinary kids—Bart as a private tutor…'
If it were Brian Bart, he'd be a first-class archmage.
"Well, it is what it is. Let's level up fast. Suicide's main weapons are cold blades. We have to hit gaps in armor and be careful—their durability's weak."
"Hmm. Got it."
Entering the Level 100 hunting ground, medium-sized creatures appeared where before there had been none.
Kieeeeee!
Watching quadrupeds charge, Shirone curled a corner of his mouth.
'I see it.'
His rig flowed through the vicious monsters like water, cutting them down.
Two days, as promised, had passed.
"Huff! Huff!"
Arriving at Atogram gasping, users cheered their arrival.
"Forty-eight hours to Level 100! That's a record!"
Destroyer707 dropped to the ground.
"We did it. We actually did it."
Shivering with disbelief at the result, Aegis approached.
"Congratulations. We've been waiting."
"It's Aegis! Take a picture! Take a picture!"
Reporters swarmed, but as they came close each of them frowned.
"Guh!"
Signal jamming—one of the few Selective Options that could affect city broadcasts.
"Sorry. We'll exercise veto power against any filming not approved by the operator."
Aegis announced politely and bowed to Shirone.
"Shall we go?"
They went to the northern slums and entered a much shabbier tavern.
Men of the Golden Wheel sat inside, and the bartender opened a door to a deep corridor.
Sensing something off, Shirone asked, "Is this where it starts for real?"
"Yes. The boss will explain the details. Oh—and there's one more guest."
"A guest?"
"Come in."
Opening the iron door at the end of the corridor, they saw Yolga's son sitting on the bed raise his hand.
"Congratulations. Level 100 in two days. Precise."
Not enough for a handshake, Shirone raised an eyebrow and entered the room.
"Huh?"
At the tea table sat a user he didn't recognize.
'Is this the guest?'
Short legs hovered above the chair and both hands bore weight between the knees.
Their face was unreadable.
"Hi. Long time no see."
"You… know me?"
Shirone scanned with his search function, but the user's data was restricted—likely a West Nation user.
User codename: Little Witch.
To be continued in the next volume.