Shatei Kyokufuri Yumi-Ojisan

Data.179 – Old Bowman, Battle on the Plateau

“…You came!”

“Yes. All alone, just like you asked.”

I had arrived on top of the plateau with a combination of Wincloud Blast, Whirlwind and Floating Cloud Herd.

I would save Warp Arrow for now.

If it turned out that the Gz were going to break the rules they had created, then I would have to use Warp Arrow to escape or to go and support my other party members.

“Then let us start this battle…!”

While he sounded like an old sorcerer, there was something awkward about it.

Like he was copying something from fiction but it didnt sound right in real life.

This old man who carried a staff in front of me was likely just an ordinary old man when not playing.

However, he was currently theGreat Sorcerer, and nothing more.

I would not…hold back!

“No, first I must add one more rule!”

“What!?”

“Obviously, you will lose if your HP reaches 0, but you will also lose if you fall off of this plateau! That would make things more interesting, wouldnt it? After all, the terrain is so perfect for this!”

“…Fine. I dont mind.”

“Hohoho. Im glad to see your honesty! Now…I wont waste any more time! Great Magic, Ten Star Magic Bullet!”

Ten shining spheres appeared around the old man.

They all had their own color, so it was possible that they had a different attribute.

So I should combine skills that wouldnt be affected by them…!

“It ends here! Farewell, young man!”

“Young man…eh? I havent heard that in a long time. Drill Arrow Tempest!”

It was a fused charge attack that combined Drill Arrow Kai, which had high piercing ability, and Arrow Tempest. With superior numbers, they annihilated the ten magic bullets and shot towards the old man!

“Dont underestimate me! This attack is nothing…Great Magic, Ultra Severance Magic Wall!”

At a glance, it was hard to tell if there was even a wall there. But the arrows were clearly hitting something and falling to the ground.

It was an invisible barrier…

And I wouldnt be able to tell how far it extended.

But…!

“Hohoho! You cant do anything now! This is an invincible wall. No attack will go through! However…my attacks can go out… Gah!?”

Something pierced into the old mans hand that held the staff.

It was also invisible, but I knew what it was.

“An invisible arrow…! But how…!? Gah! Gooh?!”

And then two more arrows pierced into him.

Two actions had brought me to this attack.

The first was using Star Area Range to alter the paths of the arrows unleashed by Drill Arrow Tempest and have them spread out.

By doing this, my range of attack was widened, and I could find out how far the invisible wall extended.

The second was the activation of the fused skill Clear Bound Arrow.

By avoiding the wall and unleashing the arrows, I made them bounce off the ground and target the old man.

However, he would be able to tell that I was targeting him if I shot them normally.

And so I used some camouflage… Right after Drill Arrow Tempest was finished activating, I used Quickdraw to speed up my firing, and unleashed the arrows as if it was still part of the same attack.

However, Bound Arrow was already a weak skill, and it would be even weaker if fused with Clear Arrow. And yet…it was necessary to shoot it!

“An invisible attack for invisible defense! That was well done! However, its not over yet! I have a hidden healing magic that…”

A giant arrow of fire pierced the body of the old man.

Everything had just been in preparation to hit him with this Big Inferno Arrow.

The invisible barrier was more tall than it was wide, and so I thought that it would be difficult to hit him with a ranged attack from above.

With normal Range…that is.

In order to make use of that sense of safety that the height of the barrier would have, I used Clear Bound Arrow to distract him. In the meantime, I unleashed Big Inferno Arrow into the sky.

It drew a great, mountain-like arch and went over the invisible barrier and hit the old man…!

“Ugh…its  strong! Im impressed you can think of your next move so quickly! I did some research on you beforehand, but can barely keep up with all your actions! You are quick in both body and mind! You really are quite young!”

But the old man was still alive.

Part of it was because Big Arrow didnt have that much firepower to begin with, but it was also because his level and equipment was quite high.

I had heard that they were still relatively new to gaming, but he must have played a lot of NSO…!

“The elderly have a lot of spare time, you see. And so Ive played this game a lot and have gathered equipment and raised my level. But thats not enough to win. Its very deep…”

“Your party is strong enough. You got through the preliminaries and won the first round. That makes you amazing players. And youre already in the top 32 parties…”

“We only got through the preliminaries because we scattered and ran around and I survived by chance. And we beat the 1st round because Koromaro was in a bad mood, and we were lucky. I havent killed a single person yet. I have nothing to show.”

“Well, they do say that luck is a skill too.”

“Hohoho… Thank you. For playing along with an old man. Im sure that youre more than capable of killing me in an instant. But this will now be a pleasant memory for me.”

“I dont know about…”

“Yes! If there is one thing I have, its knowledge. Um…what was her name again? I forgot it, but that girl who is doing the announcements. When you fought her, you used Stardust Arrow… You could have used that to attack the entire plateau from the start. Especially after I added the rule about how you would lose if you fell off. You could have also used the ultra high speed arrow, Wind God Sky Tear. My reflexes would not have been enough to dodge it.”

“…”

“Some people may be angry with you. You held back in a serious fight… But I am grateful! You gave me time to fight! It was fun! I am satisfied! I was just starting to think that its time to withdraw from games. And this will be a good way to end it… You should be proud as a winner!”

“Then as the winner, let me say this… I havent been holding back at all! You seem to know a lot about me, but I didnt know much about you. If anything, using Stardust Arrow, which is difficult to control, at that point would be the careless way to fight.”

“Wh-what…?”

“Its the same with God Wind Sky Tear. It would be unwise to use it when a charge attack fused with Drill Arrow didnt do anything. And so I didnt want to use it yet. Especially since Garbow isnt with me now. Its only normal that I would become more cautious.”

“I-I see…”

“And let me say one more thing. Its too early to be going on about how being defeated will be a good memory! Youre talking like the game itself has ended, but its just the beginning. The more you play, the better you become, and the world will open up. And so…you must continue. The road goes on.”

“…I see. Thats true! While Ive played a lot of NSO, Im still new to the world of games! And since I already bought the expensive VR machine, I better make use of it until I die! Thank you, Kyuji. I will become stronger! However, Ive been completely defeated this time. Now, finish me off!”

“Wind God Sky Tear!”

A highspeed arrow shot through the old mans head.

And so he turned into light and disappeared.

While I had said that I wasnt holding back, it was true that I had prioritized talking with him over having a swift victory.

But I couldnt just kill him right there.

Perhaps it was because I felt something about how I was on my way to becoming like him.

“In any case, I won…! Im sure the other plateaus are also…”

It shouldnt take long before I would know the results.

The others were younger and more talented than me, after all.