High School Hack and Slash Chapter 125 Part 1
The Raising of the Curtain of the Qualifying Round
「Laughable, you are.」
Mirin, carrying a primeval armament (Nature Weapon) made from the skull of a firedrake, scoffed.
「Who was it that decided that the Craftsman class could not fight?」
Lightly waving the heavy object that would have raised a resounding thud should it be placed on the ground, Mirin had a smug look on her face.
Although the classes of the Craftsman branching boasted no so-called combat skills, the correction value for physical enhancement was by no means low.
However, it specialized in power, as opposed to speed, which made them not suited for battles, at least when it came to anti-personnel ones.
They were thought that way.
「Hmph.」
The weapon, named『Firedrake Skull Hammer』, sported a shape like that of a battle hammer.
Including the length of the handle, it was about as tall as Mirin.
The bone hammer, making her skirt wave about as it got swung around, rattled as it snapped its jaws.
A light of red flame could be seen in the depths of the dragon bone’s eye sockets.
That was proof that it had absorbed miasma through repeated battles and had risen in rank as a magic item.
It was not that all primeval armaments were capable of evolving, but when it came to the ones made by the Adept Orders, there was nothing short in their quality.
「I’m gonna make you regret this. You little brat!」
「Hahh. Stop blowing your horn, you sly and lame man who would challenge an underclassmen into a duel.」
Mirin, extending her left hand, raised her middle finger and scoffed.
Being taunted by Mirin, who, although well-developed, was petite even among the first year girls, the boy completely blew his top.
It was true that from the beginning, the boy had let guard down, or more accurately looked down on her, but there should have been that much of a difference in their prowess.
As he was someone with『Outlaw』 class, a third step class of the thief branching, he could use his speed to toy with monsters and even stand in the vanguard.
If he hadn’t had his mobility killed by the strings sticking to his feet, that was it.
The boy, who was popular for carrying out public executions, brandished his knife and charged at Mirin, blood still rising to his head.
Mirin, flipping the wrist of her hand that had been making a fuck sign and clenching it, swung her fist down.
As the ground within the quasi-duel barrier caved in with a boom, along with her opponent, the gigantic hand that had been made to sport a faint outline vanished.
◇ ◇ ◇
「Match! Qualifying points shall hereby be added to the『Adept Orders』.」
「Good job, Mirin-chan. You were so cool.」
「Phew, I’ve gone and crushed a boring thing….」
Mirin, who is welcomed by Nodoka and others, is for some reason putting on airs.
Or rather, she’s plainly strong.
Like, she’s used to fighting.
Killing the legs with spider webs, she then finished her opponent off with a self-combo of Armed Golem materialized with pinpoint accuracy.
There’s a time lag before it materializes, and you can also sense the sign of miasma thickening, but most likely no one here knows of any anti-Craftsmen tactics.
The very picture of surefire first-timers killing.
In that sense, Nodoka, the『Universal Beginner (Ultimate Novice)』, is also cruel.
After making her opponent think she was a Fighter type with a cute『Dash』 and『Bash』, she mercilessly shot him with magic and reaped his consciousness.
Shinobu, an『Officer』 type, filled the barrier with summoned fairies and crushed her opponent with a mass strategy.
As for Serie, a『Dancer』 of the Debauchee branching that’s the least suited to battles of all, she’s strong arming her opponent with magic items equipped all over her body.
It proves that even the joke equipment created by the Senpais as joke goods turn out to be vicious weapons when actually used.
But more than anything else, their resolution pertaining to fighting, and them having come to be able to beat up their enemies without hesitation played a huge role in it.
「Do them before you get done by them.」
「If you hesitate, you’ll be the one to get bitten, after all.」
「… Search and Destroy. If you don’t do them, you’ll get done by them.」
Mirin, Shinobu and Nodoka are mumbling to each other with hollow eyes.
What happened in my Item Box, I wonder?
「Fu, fufu, ufufufu….」
Serie is dancing, her underwear flashing in a lascivious manner from under her skirt that’s been shortened to the absolute limit.
Even though it’s to bring out the effects of her Dancer-type skills, it’s quite the sexy dancing.
I wonder if me ending up being captivated by her underwear peeking in a fleeting manner is because of the effect of her skill or my instinct as a man.
It must be rare to find a Debauchee type who fights without giving up from the beginning.
The onlookers, who have been buzzing with jeering, are now silent as they watch the unfolding tragic scene.
「Ahahn.」
Seemingly having gotten excited, Serie’s shout sounds naughty.
Holding the『Whale Beard Fan』 in her left hand, she switches from one magic item to another with her right hand.
Most of the joke goods of the Senpais, who created them offhandedly as a way to kill time, are disposable.
A picot hammer that makes a loud explosion sound, a transparent sword made of crystal, a flowerpot where mini-tomatoes will shoot up one after another and explode when exposed to sunlight, a silk hat that produces a large amount of tofu when shaken upside down, and so on.
The fact that they don’t look like dangerous objects is what makes them so nasty.
And then, the fan, too, seems to have gone through a strange evolution and is warding off the opponent’s magic as if stroking it.
「Come now, squeal! Come on, more, come on!」
As Serie waves her right arm, *poof* a red mist scatters.
Serie’s face, which is more pretty than cute, is flushing sadistically.
In fact, Serie is someone with a lot of tricky moves, but the joke goods don’t have enough destructive power to crush her enemy with a single blow.
The weapon equipped in her right hand, which she swings left and right, is a whip sword connected with a two-meter-long wire rope, coated with the crushed scales of Peperon.
It appears that the Senpais wanted to make a bellows sword, but it seems to be incomplete in terms of strength.
Due to Otoha-senpai’s vehement protests, the research should have been halted.
Even so, the Arts User-type boy, who is being beaten up with the file-like iron whip, is in tears as his SP armor is easily scraped off.
No, I wonder if he’s in bewilderment as he’s close to opening up a new door.
I can totally understand that feeling, though.
「S, spare me already! I’m giving up!」
「My oh my?」
As the boy raises his hands, which are now covered in welts, the duel committee member, acting as the referee, declares the winner.
「Match! Qualifying points shall hereby be added to the『Adept Orders』.」
With this, it’s a complete victory for Mirin and her group of four.
Or rather, we’ve gone and passed the qualifying round, acquiring the qualification to participate in the main tournament of the interclub tournament.
This time, too, the qualifying round is over before my turn comes.
Though, it appears that the rules of the interclub tournament are changed little by little each time.
Since there are things like advantages or disadvantages in class or fighting style, I guess adjustments to the regulations are necessary.
This time, as there’s also the fact that the tournament has been postponed, irregular rules are applied from the qualifying round.
The qualifying period, which under normal circumstances would have been carried out for a week, is shortened to three days.
What has been proposed to achieve this is a special rule where matches are carried out in turn, one after another.
Normally, only the five regular members selected by each club would have the right to participate, but this time badges have been distributed to each club member.
In short, it’s like a battle royale survival battle.
Fighting for the badges with the club’s crest printed on them.
That part is the same as last time.
And then, during the qualifying round, each club member can only participate in the matches once.
Whether you win or lose, that single time only.
Moreover, no matter who your opponent is, if you’re challenged to a match (duel), you’re obliged to accept it.
Regardless of the rank of the club.
To take it to the extreme, even if an『S』 rank club member, the highest rank, were to ask an『F』 rank club member, the lowest rank, for a match, it’ll have to be accepted.
However, the conversion point for an F-ranked club badge is no more than『1』.
The『qualifying point』 quota for S-ranked clubs to pass the qualifying round is 500, I believe.
For argument’s sake, even if they had the maximum number of club members, hunting F-ranked club members would only net them enough points to fail the qualifying round.
The quota is set so that if you win about 50% of the matches against other club members of the same rank in an all-out battle, you will be able to pass.
If you are hunting lower-ranked clubs, you have to increase your win rate, and it will be even more severe if the number of club members is small.
On the other hand, if a lower-ranked club can hunt the badge of a higher-ranked club, they will be able to pass the qualifying round in one fell swoop.
In the end, however, it seems that having matches against clubs of the same rank is the most efficient way to earn points.
According to Shizuka-san, perhaps the target of this rule is the machinations of the top-ranked clubs that have become fixed in places.
True enough, compared to the qualifying rules of the last tournament, I get the feeling that the conditions have gotten tougher for the higher-ranked clubs and easier for the lower-ranked clubs.
Well, whatever the academy’s intentions may be, the number of prey is finite.
On the quasi-duel barrier spots installed here and there in the academy, those applying for matches are forming lines in a first come first served manner.
「Hnn… Ah, Toma-sama, ahh.」
Bringing Serie, whose body is on fire from the excitement of the battle, into the shadows, I hold her from the back.
How should I put it, she’s all steamy with the pheromone she’s secreting.
Even during the match, she was grandly inciting the libido of the young onlookers, so it felt like she’d be abducted and raped by the bunch that had been taken over by carnal desires.
I won’t deny that it’s partly because of my slight sense of possessiveness.
RELEASE RATE
High School Hack and Slash
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 70 hours
Tftc.