Chapter 279 Part 2
The final match is about to start.
Let’s put Master and Juna aside for now.
How’s Shinonome?
His weapon must be the mallet on his waist.
And as in the semifinals, he has a heavy shield.
Looks like he didn’t change that.
If the opponent is expected to come with bow and arrow, the shield should be effective.
And the shield itself is large, so he can probably hold it in front of himself to close the distance.
What’s he going to do once he gets close?
What’ll he do about Illusion?
What’ll he do about Invisible Blinds?
I think he’ll have some kind of plan, but.
And Lydia?
As ever she seems to be using the bow and arrow.
「Good luck both of you!」
Reina’s cheers soar.
Whichever side wins, she has some kind of connection, so that’s how it is, right?
Yeah.
Huh?
There’s a stick on Lydia’s back.
Could it be a wand?
「Did you know she hasn’t given up on trying to beat you?」
「Huh?」
「Not in a tournament, but to win in a head-to-head match. That’s her goal.」
「Really?」
Is that true, Margrid?
That’s a little stressful.
「Ahh. Yeah, I heard that too」
「You’ve fought her a few times too, Yosaku, haven’t you?」
「Yeah. I mean, I had no reason to refuse」
Oh my.
She fought against Yosaku?
She’s got some nerve.
「What’s your record against her?」
「I’ve won one more match than her」
「How many wins and losses?」
「Four wins, three losses」
Oi.
She’s won three times against Yosaku!?
「Do she and Shinonome spar against each other?」
「They do. They both know each other’s usual tricks」
「Although in this tournament there are skill restrictions」
「That’s where the strategy comes in」
I was listening to the conversation between Margrit and Yosaku.
It’s a shocking conversation.
「Shinonome has a negative record against her, so. I wonder how he’ll fight?」
「Is that so?」
「She usually wields light and earth magic jointly, you know. Once he gets caught with pitfall its checkmate」
「Hmm」
「I’ve heard about that strategy. What I’m curious about are the new additions, the bow and staff」
「They’re both my work!」
「And I did the jewel in the staff Reina made」
Margrit gives an interesting smile.
What is it?
「Margrid, and Reina too. Which one are you rooting for?」
「Both!」
「Me too, both. Don’t you want them both to do well too, Fiona?」
「Well, yeah」
Down on the playing field their eyes met.
They bowed to each other.
The match began.
The cheers of the crowd drown out the conversation.
What’s going to happen in this match?
The match has started.
But…
It’s pretty plain.
I know why.
Lydia isn’t using her bow and arrow.
She has a wand in her hand.
Is she planning to rely completely on magic skills?
The first attack was a surprise.
Force Bullet.
But it was blocked by the shield.
Was she just testing the waters?
After closing the distance somewhat, she unleashed a full-blown attack spell.
Stone Bullet.
That’s not Light Magic.
Regardless, all Shinonome does is advance.
But, is that okay?
She has earth magic now, which means there’s a good chance she’ll use Pitfall.
No.
If it were me, I’d use it.
Although that possibility alone isn’t enough to keep him in place.
The gap in distance doesn’t allow for that.
All he can do is proceed.
At Shinonome’s feet a hole began to form.
But.
Shinonome didn’t fall into that hole.
Huh?
The distance between him and Lydia closed dramatically.
「Was that a martial art skill?」
「Yes. Shield Rush. That shield technique is how he managed to avoid the Pitfall」
「That’s a lot of distance to cover」
「It’s repeated skill activation. The timing is difficult, but the effect is as you can see」
Yosaku was answering Giedre’s question.
I see.
It’s the same as what the half-solobard did with rapier martial art skills.
That makes sense.
What’s Lydia’s next move?
An attack spell.
Only hitting the shield, it doesn’t do any damage.
But.
Shinonome isn’t looking at Lydia.
Hiding behind his shield to defend against the attack spell, that’s only natural.
She circles around to make some distance.
Well, of course.
What will the next exchange be?
Shinonome’s choice is already obvious.
He has no choice but to pursue.
After blocking that spell, he checks for Lydia’s position and goes to close the distance.
How quickly?
Quickly.
He uses Shield Rush repeatedly.
Looks like he plans to use it heavily to defeat her, huh?
In front of Shinonome’s eyes a Stone Wall protrudes from the ground.
A head-on collision with it will cause Shinonome damage.
But.
He doesn’t stop.
He continued forwards slamming his hammer into the earthen wall.
What!
Then he pushed his shield forwards and charged.
Oi.
That’s more than just a feat of strength!
A huge hole was made in the earthen wall, and he passed through it.
「What sheer power!」
「He’s seen that move before, so. He must have come up with countermeasures」
「Isn’t that reckless?」
「Of course he’s practiced with a stone wall beforehand, so」
A smile cracked on Yosaku’s face.
Is he convinced of Shinonome’s victory?
I think he certainly has the advantage, but.
「We don’t know yet, do we?」
Margrit pointed that out calmly.
Certainly, Shinonome didn’t have to waste time going around the earthen wall.
But he definitely still took some time to destroy the earthen wall.
Lydia is once again gaining distance.
She raises her wand, and has already started chanting.
I wonder, will he be able to use Shield Rush in time?
But.
Shinonome’s right hand moved.
Something flew through the air and hit Lydia.
Her HP takes a hit.
Did he throw something?
Something flies through the air again.
Direct hit.
Was Lydia’s spell chanting interrupted?
She tried to keep her distance again, but her location betrayed her.
The corner of the field.
There’s nowhere to run.
Lydia went to move around the edge of the field, but another projectile hit her solidly.
It seems that quite a lot of damage is being dealt.
What’s he throwing?
「The hell is that?」
「It’s a hammer. A small one」
Yosaku answers Giedre’s question.
He seems satisfied.
「He chose to take【Throw Object】even at the cost of the weapon skill【Heavy Hammer】for this reason」
「But up until the finals he?」
「Wasn’t using it, right」
I see.
It’s a tenacious choice to make up for his disadvantage, even if just a little.
But that aside.
How many hammers does he have?
It doesn’t look like they’re on his hip.
If they were coming straight out of the Item box that’d be foul play.
「Hey. Where’s he getting those hammers from?」
「They’re on the back of his shield」
「He’s crazy」
「Dwarves are powerful, so」
No, power isn’t the problem, I thought to myself.
I’ve been using【Throw Object】recently too.
Can I hit that many shots?
I’m not confident.
If you don’t get some pretty significant training with【Throw Object】, or otherwise at least have super high DEX, isn’t that impossible?
Maybe it’s made up for with player skill though.
In the end, Lydia didn’t cast another spell.
She received a painful blow from the shield and went down.
It was a victory for Shinonome.
It’s amazing that the most damage he took was from running himself into the Stone Wall!
At the end of the day, it was a glorious victory befitting of a dwarf.
That said, the【Throw Object】skill seems like a precise calculation.
「Mmm, wasn’t it a little low on firepower?」
「With a dwarf opponent, rather than light magic I think earth magic is better, though?」
Reina looks disappointed but Fiona comforts her.
That’s how it is.
I would want to do an earth magic build with Pitfall as the mainstay too.
「But most of all, this is boring!」
That was a splendid expression of Fiona’s feelings.
Some others seem to feel the same way.
What’s the letdown?
It’s that the prediction of an event was wrong.
The awards went smoothly, and the tournament came to an end.
That’s right.
No Majin either.
What’s Fiona mumbling about I wonder?
It sounds like a curse.
No, it’s probably a curse.
What’s【Cold Resistance】doing?
I’m cold, you know.
「I’m sure the GMs have their own circumstances. Don’t be so upset」
「I’m not angry」
「This reminds me of the beta days, huh」
「Kaya, are you trying to start a fight? Okay, I’ll bite」
「No no no no」
「Wait wait wait wait」
Fiona’s anger shows no signs of abating.
It’s a good thing that Giedre and Kaya are serving as lightning rods.
No, it looks like they’re treating her like a spoiled child but.
I think I’ll leave it to them.
They’re old friends and all.
「Someone should wait for Shinonome. It’s getting pretty late and a lot of people want to log out, right?」
「Let’s use Instant Portal outside of town」
「Then Yosaku and I will wait for Shinonome」
Hannes and Yosaku decided to wait for Shinonome outside of the New Training Ground.
And I’ll go with them out of town.
Can’t be helped.
After all, I’ve got Volff and Oma and Margrid and Adele stuck to me.
Do you guys like getting petted that much?.
If I have the chance I’d like to learn that secret technique.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Summoner is Going
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 Hours
Thanks for the treat.