Mob
Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #74
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 74: Sudden Offer
Summer vacation, the
seventh day.
It had been a long
time since my last match at MonColo.
Roughly three weeks
had passed since the last match. It had been once every week or once every two
weeks, so there was a bit of a gap.
My value as a player
must have increased due to the case, but the program must have been having a
hard time arranging my opponent for the match since there was such a long gap
between matches.
Even if they wanted
to bridge the popularity gap with a tag team match, doing it every time would
lead to boredom.
My opponent this time
had not yet been revealed, but I had heard that it would be a one-on-one match
with standard rules.
However, unusually
this time, the program asked the players to fight with zashiki-warashi,
lycanthrope, and vampire cards.
I wondered if this
was an attempt to even the odds by using the races that favored mine.
With this thought in
mind, I headed to the battle arena....
『---- Today's Catfight
is a special event! We
will be collaborating with [Sunday’s Downdown] to bring you this special
episode. Here is the theory we will be testing this time!: Even a professional adventurer will have a tough time
fighting with brand-new cards against well-trained cards of an amateur
adventurer!』
""Oooooh!""
Lines were displayed
on the electronic bulletin board, and the crowd cheered loudly as the emcee made
his announcement.
As I listened to
this, I smiled wryly to myself and muttered, "I see. ...... that's what
they've come up with."
『This time, the
professional adventurer will be using cards of the same race as the amateur
adventurer's main cards prepared by the program. These cards were purchased
after being dropped in the dungeon and sold as-is, and only their combat power
was made up to the growth limit with level-up magic, so they are as good as
new. The details of the acquired skills will not be disclosed, but there are no
negative skills on them.』
In other words, this
is a handicap match.
If an amateur and a
professional fight normally, the amateur will not have a chance to win.
Therefore, the
strategy was to make it difficult to determine the winner by having the
professional fight with new cards with the same races as the amateur's main
cards.
The professionals use
ordinary cards without any negative skills provided by the program. On the
other hand, I use cards that have been named and developed, and in addition, my
zashiki-warashi had [Spiritual recurrence].
With this, even if
there is a big difference in the skill of the players, we can still get an
exciting match, right ......?
I guess they thought
so.
Sunday's Downdown......
It certainly sounds like a match that that one program
would plan.
In fact, I myself am interested.
I wonder how well I would do against a professional
opponent now using the same cards......
The only concern I have is that our Renge and Yuki are
completely rank frauds.
At the pro class, they could certainly use full synchro
with the cards they just got, at least 90% synchro or more.
However, no matter how much full synchro can bring out
nearly double the normal combat power, it is a lot harder if the initial power
is not the same.
Renge and Yuki have twice the combat power of the same
race, and I can do full synchro with only one card.
To put it bluntly, there is no significant difference
between me and the pros in terms of increased combat power through
synchronization.
In this case, the problem is the difference in the
acquired skills......
Regardless of my
concerns, the players had to start entering the arena.
『First to appear from
the red gate is the well-known Utamaro Kitagawa! Despite
his unassuming appearance, this Catfight star has been the talk of the town for
his discovery of [Spiritual recurrence] and his efforts to solve a heinous
crime! He has an iron-clad vampire
guard, a kunoichi werewolf with ninjutsu, and a zashiki-warashi with [Spiritual
recurrence]! 』
The unassuming appearance part is unnecessary, isn't it?
As I was bending my
mouth into a crooked shape, I saw the opponent who could justify me being
called a guy with an unassuming appearance.
『Opposite him entering
from the white Gate, someone who is currently the talk of the town because she
is the disciple of that REIKA! It's
REINA!』
The woman who emerged
from the white gate was an exceptionally beautiful woman in her late twenties.
She had long brown
hair with angel rings1, a slightly sharp but beautiful face, and a costume for
battle that accentuated her attractive and voluptuous body.
She was smiling and
waving to the audience, and seemed to exude a sparkling aura characteristic of
celebrities.
Oi, oi! Seriously?!
The real Reina?!
Reina is a celebrity
adventurer who is currently receiving much attention.
She used to be a
female mixed martial artist, and to be honest, when she was active, she was not
much of a fighter in her career as she was more focused on her visual appeal,
but she was still a martial artist with a certain amount of fame and fans.
There was a certain
demand for the sight of strong and beautiful athletes fighting, or the sight of
beautiful women getting battered and bruised.
Eventually, feeling
the limits of her own strength, she retired, but later changed her career to
become an adventurer and dungeon tuber.
Her videos were, in a
word, imitations of REIKA's videos, and she was one of those so-called REIKA's
Children.
Nevertheless, because
of her high name recognition and beauty, she became a representative dungeon
tuber among REIKA's Children, and collaborated with REIKA on several occasions.
It was only a few
months ago that she started to break new ground. It all started when she
obtained her professional license.
Reina was the first
among the many REIKA's Children to go pro, and TV stations were all over her,
calling her "REIKA's disciple!" and they all praised her.
...... However, the
mention of 'REIKA's disciple' was met with some skepticism by avid REIKA fans.
First, although she
received a congratulatory message from REIKA after passing the pro test and was
given several lectures in past collaboration videos, she had not been officially
certified as a disciple by REIKA herself.
Second, while REIKA
called herself a professor-type adventurer and had publicly stated that she
would like to devote her time to dungeon exploration again when she has more
time, Reina is clearly a gladiator-type adventurer who focuses on her talent
business and mainly uses MonColo as her stage.
Based on the above,
the core REIKA fans' view was that Reina may be a disciple as a dungeon tuber,
but she is not recognized as a disciple as an adventurer.
For me personally
(from an adventurer's point of view), the notion that Reina was a disciple of
REIKA was a bit of a "Hmmmn....?".
I don't know what
happened outside of the videos, but it didn't look like Reina was receiving any
particular guidance from REIKA in the videos.
Also, the content of
REIKA's videos seemed to be aimed at 'getting the general public interested in
dungeons and cards,' whereas Reina's videos seemed to be aimed at 'getting
people interested in me as an adventurer'.
Well, this may be biased because I am a REIKA fan......
But still, it was a
fact that Reina had soloed through a C-rank dungeon and obtained a professional
license.
She had been an
adventurer for five years, and there was no doubt that she was more experienced
and skilled at Linking than I am.
Although my cards are
better than hers, I should take on this challenge with the intention of
learning from her.
"I am looking forward to this day with you,
Kitagawa-kun."
"Likewise. I always watch you on TV."
Before the match
began, we shook hands in the center of the arena. I usually don't do this, but
this time, Reina walked up to me and offered her hand to shake mine, so I
responded in kind.
Reina, whom I saw up
close, was more beautiful and youthful than I had expected. As a celebrity and
a professional adventurer, she must have plenty of money to spend on beauty.
Also, her breasts are quite impressive.
"I know who you are, too. It makes me jealous that
you are a three-star, near-professional adventurer with less than a year in
your career. I don't think I can go easy on you today, so I'm sorry,
okay?"
"No, I'm going to take this as a chance to see what
a pro can do up close and give it my best efforts."
After exchanging
smiles, we returned to our positions.
...... As expected of
a professional adventurer and former martial artist. The hand that shook hands
with me was more sturdy and powerful than I expected.
This may prove to be
more difficult than expected...
---- Thus the match
began with me at a disadvantage.
The acquired skills
of the cards of each player were masked data.
From the point of
view of the spectators who did not know how much foul skill Renge and the
others had, even though there was a [Spiritual recurrence], they probably
thought that the difference in the cards' performance was not as great as the
difference in skill between an amateur and a professional.
...... Or perhaps it
was simply the difference in popularity between me and Reina.
『Then let the match
begin! Both players please summon
your cards!』
""--Summon!""
We summoned our cards
at the same time as the emcee signaled the start of the match.
Now, let's start with
the performance for the audience, the moment I thought to myself like that,
『-Kh?! Master!』
Eliza caught the
enemy werewolf's surprise attack on Renge with her [Shield of Devotion] just in
time.
"Right off the bat! A
surprise attack...?!"
Is she unaware of the
unspoken rule of Catfight, which is to start with fan service, or does she dare
to pretend not to know it? Reina's first move was a surprise attack.
The red-haired
werewolf, who engaged in a confronting battle with Eliza, smirked.
"I'm sorry, Kitagawa-kun, but I'm going to sink you
as fast as I can because the [Spiritual recurrence] is just too much."
At the same time, the
werewolf's physical strength doubles. ...... Full synchronization immediately?!
I acted on it and
fully synchronized with Eliza.
The werewolf and
Reina noticed this and frowned.
"Hum, I can't believe you can use full
synchronization already, so cheeky ......!"
A werewolf who had
not yet transformed under a full moon and a vampire with reserves of blood, as
expected, the latter seemed to be superior in strength.
Push back at once and
hold him down——
『?!』
Just as Eliza was
about to do so, he skillfully slipped away and locked her in a grappling
position.
--When he was about
to do so, he was skillfully slid away and locked in a joint.
....A good sense of combat! My
opponent is one step above in close-quarters combat experience after all!
Quickly misting her
arms, Eliza was able to escape from the maneuver.
The werewolf then
gave a small click of the tongue and quickly back-stepped back to his own
position.
Returning to our
original position. We stared at each other.
While I was deaf of
the live commentary, Reina had a relaxed expression on her face.
It was as if she was
convinced of her advantage after the exchange.
In fact, it was her
who had the overwhelming advantage in the close combat.
The master's fighting
skills and martial arts skills simply add up to create a strong advantage.
Martial arts skills
can be the accumulation of the principles of martial arts from all over the
world. What movements are extracted from it depends on the sense and experience
of the card and the master.
In this respect,
those with martial arts experience already have their own styles and are
therefore skilled at extracting the most appropriate movements from their
martial arts.
To use a simple
analogy, cards with martial arts skills are like characters in a fighting game.
Winning or losing with characters of the same rank is a matter of the player's
sense and amount of practice.
..... After all, it's best to be unsparing. Use
[Spiritual recurrence].
I was worried that I
might win a dominating victory over a professional opponent if I use [Spiritual
recurrence], which would not be good......, but I was wrong.
『Renge, [Spiritual
recurrence].』
『Roger that.』
Renge transformed
from a black-haired child into a young, beautiful woman.
The fragrance of
lotus flowers drifted into the surroundings, and the vibrations peculiar to the
divine card spread.
Reina, who saw this,
definitely had a change of expression on her face.
Now, here comes the real battle.
I renewed my spirit
and challenged Reina with all my might.
Then, ————
A few minutes later.
I was alone in the
player's waiting room with my head in my hands and hung low.
————It was done at the blink of an eye......
I was completely
overzealous.
The combat power of
Renge, which used [Spiritual recurrence], amounted to 2,300. The breakdown was:
Kisshouten's initial combat power x 2 (1500) + Zashiki-warashi's growth (700) +
spiritual recurrence (100).
This number also
exceeded the growth limit of the highest ranked B-rank card.
I was reminded of what
happened when I shot Lightning at the werewolf for a small test and saw that it
drove him to near-death with a single shot.
When Reina saw
that..... Her smug face instantly changed......
In an instant, she
used recovery magic to offset the damage. ...... However, I didn't expect Reina
to be able to use the full-synchro with only one card.
Come to think of it,
few people, even professionals, can fully synchronize three or more cards at
the same time.
Increasing the
synchro rate and synchronizing with multiple cards may seem similar, but they
differ completely in technique.
For illustration, if
a high synchronization rate is the skill to write good letters, synchronizing
multiple cards is the skill to write letters in two different hands, the right
and the left.
Naturally, the
difficulty level dramatically increases as the number of cards to be
synchronized grows. This is because once both hands are occupied, there is no
other way but to use the legs and mouth to write the letters.
Considering that
Reina had only been a professional for less than a year, it was not surprising
that she could not use full synchronization of multiple cards at the same time.
On the other hand,
over here we have a kisshouten with a combat power of 2300, a lycanthrope with
a combat power of 1600, and a vampire able to use full synchro, which
essentially amount to more than three full synchro cards.
Reina's face when she
realized this said, "Wait, ...... you can do full synchro with three
cards?"
It would be strange
to stop the full synchronization in the middle of the match and take it easy on
her, so I decided to go through with the power of Renge alone, but this would
be a bad way to win.
If I win
overwhelmingly against a pro, even though it was a handicap match, I might
finally be hanged out to dry with no real opponents.
Catfights were a good
place to make a lot of money with low risk of Lost card, but.....
"Kitagawa-san, do you have a minute?"
While I was preoccupied
while holding my head in my hands, Tanaka-san, a familiar face on the program
staff, came to meet me.
He had been following
me on Twitter since before I entered the Student Tournament, and we
occasionally chatted during standby times.
I thought it would be
another one like that today, but the apologetic look on his face told me
otherwise.
"What's the matter? Why
being so formal?"
"Ah, well~, I have a favor to ask Kitagawa-san."
"A favor? Is
it something to do with Sunday's Downdown?"
"Oh, it's nothing to do with that one, it's fine.
...... Actually, we are planning a summer special for Catfight."
"A summer special?"
"Yes, it's a program in which we gather a large
number of three-star adventurers to compete to see who can conquer a D-rank
dungeon the fastest."
After this preface,
Tanaka-san began a brief explanation of the program.
...Hmm, to summarize
it simply, it seems to be a competition that combines a race and a battle
royal.
A total of one
hundred players will be gathered to compete for the best time to break through
three D-rank dungeons using only girl monster cards.
Each player has
'stars', which they stake against each other in the competition.
These 'stars' are the
program's performance fee for the players, and can be exchanged for money or
cards after the goal is reached. Of course, in addition to the ten stars that
are distributed uniformly at the beginning of the race, a large number of stars
will be given out depending on the finishing order of the race.
The exchange rate for
stars is 1 million per star, so the appearance fee per player is 10 million or
so.
The fee is rather
generous in terms of appearance fees at MonCorlo. However, the possibility of
card Lost is probably not the same as that of a regular Catfight.
"In addition to the public call for entries on our
website, we prepared some special slots that the program decided to offer in
order to secure viewer ratings, but actually one of the players ended up not
being able to appear."
"So, that's why I am chosen."
"Yes, someone above me saw the match earlier and
said, " I think he'll be good." Sorry for coming up so abruptly,
but......"
"When is this going to take place?"
"That's ...... actually in a week."
"One week. Mmmm..."
MonColo race, huh...... I have to admit that I'm
intrigued by it, but next week is a tough week indeed. There's also the
Adventurer's Club training camp.
When Tanaka-san saw
that I was a little hesitant, he clasped his hands together in a begging
gesture!
"Please! The
schedule is tight, and I've been told to get Kitagawa-san's OK no matter what.
Look, the prizes are pretty spectacular, so please at least consider this when
making your decision! Okay?"
I looked at the list
of prizes and the rule book that was handed to me as if I had to take it.
The featured prize is
a B-rank card, Kimaris2, which can be exchanged for 600 stars. Since 500 stars
are given to the person in first place, it seems like you can't get it unless
you take first place and compete that hard.
Kimaris is one of the
'72 Pillars of Solomon' cards, and has the ability to 'summon legions', which
is considered a higher level skill than 'summon followers' as a unique feature
of the 72 Pillars of Solomon cards. The Legion Summoning is the ability to
summon multiple subordinates who have the ability to summon other followers,
and it is overwhelmingly popular.
Among them, Kimaris
is a card with a rare equipping skill, and it is certainly not a card that can
be bought for 600 million yen. It costs at least double or triple that amount.
The value of the
stars would be low when exchanged for cash, but the value of the stars would be
high when the card is chosen.
Kimaris is
attractive, but to be honest, I don't think I'm willing to take the risk of my
card being Lost to participate in the tournament... I thought to myself as I
casually turned over the page and let out a cry of surprise.
Oi oi, seriously? Renge didn't manipulate fate, did she?
---- There was a
succubus with [Zero existence] skill named in the list.
[Tips] Multi-synchronization
A technique to
synchronize multiple cards at the same time in the application of
synchro-linking. Unlike full synchronization, which concentrates on one card at
a time, multi-synchronization requires simultaneous parallel operations.
Using calligraphy as
an analogy, if the rate of synchronization is the proficiency of one's
penmanship, then multi-synchronization is the technique of writing different
characters with both hands.
Men tend to be better
at full synchronization, while women tend to be better at
multi-synchronization.
***
Notes:
2 Kimaris is most widely known as the 66th demon of the first part of the Lemegeton (the lesser key of Solomon). ↩
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