Chapter 5 - Speed Swordswoman (1)
Speed Swordswoman (1)
Translator : Elizabeth
"Beyond the frontier, legends are forged."
《Legend Frontier》
“…….”
I logged into Legend Frontier after settling into my seat at the VR Room. Facing the login screen where the grand background music was playing, I fell into a moment of contemplation.
"Should I use my alt account...?"
The current tier of my main account, which held the character commonly known as 'Gale,' was 'Mythic'—the highest of all tiers. However, in the Mythic tier, matching took a long time, and since you were only queued with renowned experts, every single match was an exhausting battlefield.
I had dropped by the VR Room on a whim while out for a stroll. Rather than a serious, high-stakes Mythic ranked match, I wanted to play a game that was a bit lighter and more relaxing.
As it happened, the tier of my alt account, which I had created to research various item builds and skill combinations, was Diamond. It was the perfect tier for enjoying a game that was relaxed yet still somewhat serious.
I had been considering playing a few rounds on my alt anyway, so I nodded and logged in as my alt account, 'BOXY,' instead of my main without hesitation.
[Welcome back, BOXY!]
Perhaps because it had been a while since I logged into the alt account, fireworks exploded to welcome my return. A large hologram screen appeared before me to announce various returnee benefits, but I dismissed it with a light wave of my hand.
If my main account’s nickname was ‘SION,’ taken from 'Sion' in my real name Park Si-on, my alt's name was ‘BOXY,’ taken from the 'Park Si' (Bak-si) part of my name.
While my main character was a silver-haired girl I had customized with great care, my alt account character was a female mannequin wearing a mask that covered its face. It had taken only a minute to customize. Since it was an account made for researching skill combinations and item builds, I hadn't felt the need to put effort into decorating it. Still, the eerie and grotesque atmosphere it gave off made it a customization I didn't necessarily dislike.
[Match Found!]
Perhaps because it was Diamond tier, a match was found in less than ten seconds. It was a refreshing matching speed I hadn't felt in a very long time.
[Moving to the Frontier of Boundaries!]
After the hologram screen announced the match was found, the surrounding scenery transformed, as it always did, into the round-table meeting room of a medieval fortress. When I closed and opened my eyes again, I had been teleported to the center seat of the meeting room's round table.
[Two minutes of meeting time granted. Please decide your frontlines.]
A holographic prompt appeared, instructing us to decide which frontline each person would head to through a discussion with the matched teammates.
“…….”
I first turned my head to see who I had been matched with. Three other men and women were sitting at the round table besides myself.
The first to catch my eye was a massive White Tiger Beastman. However, it wasn't the cute kind of beastman with human features and animal ears; it was a beastman closer to a primal, animalistic form. With a large shield in one hand and a menacing axe in the other, it appeared his class was a Berserker—a class that goes all-in on offense by sacrificing their own vitality.
"Khahaha! Greetings, everyone!"
Whether he was consumed by his own concept or just had a unique personality to match the customization, the White Tiger Beastman gave a rather peculiar greeting. His greeting was picked up by another man sitting opposite him.
"...Hello."
A blunt voice echoed in the meeting room. The customization of the man tapping his fingers on the round table was plain and simple, incomparable to the White Tiger Beastman. He was dressed neatly in a suit, like a gentleman from somewhere. However, in his right hand, he held a sniper rifle as long as he was tall.
A Musketeer...
Seeing the firearm, the man's class appeared to be a Musketeer—a shooter who uses firearms as weapons. Musketeers were an interesting class. Depending on which weapon they equipped and which skills they brought, their usage changed infinitely.
One could follow a dual-pistol build emphasizing attack speed and agility, or a sniper rifle build emphasizing accuracy and critical hit rate. If one disliked using guns, there was even a bomber build that focused solely on attack power; it was truly one of those classes that was fun to refine.
"Hello!"
Next, a cheerful female Priest greeted us with a hand raised high. Seeing the beautiful eye-smile blooming amidst her platinum-blonde hair, she was a character with quite a decent customization. Judging by her saintly robes and long staff, her class seemed to be a Priest—a representative supporter class.
A Priest's attack and defense stats were disastrous, but if they brought a combination of four healing skills, the allied dealer would become an immortal being. An infinite loop of healing hell. To defeat a Priest, one either had to land a Fire Mage’s one-shot combo or was forced to buy "Healing Reduction" items that decreased the opponent's HP recovery effect.
Of course, if the dealer supposed to provide damage next to the Priest was incompetent, those healing skills would ultimately be useless.
"Hello."
Finally, it was my turn. I also gave them a blunt greeting. A grotesque, feminine voice flowed out from behind the mask. A sophisticated rapier hung at my waist. My alt account's class, like my main's, was a Speed Swordswoman who had gone all-in on Agility.
The composition... isn't bad.
One Berserker, one Speed Swordswoman, a Musketeer, and a Priest. The composition itself wasn't bad. Since the frontlines each would head to were clearly defined, it didn't look like there would be any useless bickering.
"BOXY-nim...? Your customization is quite unique!"
The Priest, who had scanned my appearance, spoke with a voice that was half-impressed.
"Ah, yes..."
The alt's customization is a bit grotesque. I simply gave a short nod in response to her words.
"Khahahaha! Let's decide the frontlines!"
Once the brief greetings were over, it was finally time to officially decide the lanes. The cheerful, laughing White Tiger Beastman was the first to raise his hand and speak.
"I am a Berserker; I shall go to the Plain."
"Musketeer. My build is the Sniper build. I’ll take the Beach."
"The Priest will go to the Beach too!"
The Musketeer and the Priest spoke their desired frontlines in turn. As expected, not a single frontline overlapped. It was a relief. Although the matching system takes the pre-selected desired frontlines into account, disputes would occasionally break out before the game even started if the frontlines overlapped.
Though it wouldn't be visible behind the mask, I also stated my desired frontline with a satisfied smile.
"Swordsman, heading to the Jungle."
I took a brief breath and added one more thing.
"...My build is the Speed Swordswoman build."
"Speed Swordswoman?!"
"Hmm..."
"Eeeh?!"
That one sentence caused a significant ripple. As soon as they heard the words 'Speed Swordswoman build,' the expressions of the other teammates froze instantly.
...It was a reaction I had expected.
The Speed Swordswoman build, which puts everything into Agility. It was a build that even pro-players gave up on quickly because they found the speed difficult to handle themselves. And here was a mere Diamond-tier player claiming they would follow that Speed Swordswoman build.
Furthermore, wasn't the Jungle the position with the greatest influence in the game? It was only natural for them to be anxious about trusting and leaving it to me. There were even frequent sayings on community forums that suggested one should play a Jungle Priest rather than a Jungle Speed Swordswoman.
So, for the teammates to show such a reaction... was perhaps only natural.
"I-I'll be looking forward to it..."
"Mmm..."
"Uh, well..."
However, perhaps because the teammates weren't bad-natured, they didn't show an overly aggressive atmosphere. Nevertheless, the distrust, doubt, and despair in their eyes could not be erased.
"Whew."
I let out a short sigh. I didn't love their attitude, but this was still manageable. Whenever I played on my alt, there were plenty of bastards who would start with curses and bring up my parents just because of the Speed Swordswoman build.
Well, since my parents really weren't around, I was immune to 'parents insults,' and being a paraplegic meant I didn't take much damage from the word 'disabled' either. But regardless, being cursed at never felt good.
[30 seconds of meeting time remaining.]
"By the way... I heard that the only person in the high-rank tiers who pulls off the Speed Swordswoman properly is someone named Gale. Will it really be okay...?"
...Just before the meeting time ended, as if she truly couldn't set her mind at ease, the Priest threw out a question. If I were to interpret it in my own way, it meant:
'Even in the high tiers, only that person named Gale plays the Speed Swordswoman build. Do you really think someone like you can do it? Whether it's a success or a total disaster, just hurry up and change your build.'
...Was it a promotion match for her? She seemed exceptionally anxious.
"Sigh..."
I let out a deep sigh. I wanted to answer that the Gale she was talking about was me, so please just be quiet, but I swallowed those words.
"...I will do my best."
I simply said I would do my work.
[Meeting concluded. Moving to the battlefield.]
With the end of the meeting, we were teleported to the Frontier of Boundaries. Finally, the moment the match officially began.
“…….”
I immediately drew my rapier and sprinted toward my frontline, the Jungle. As it was a Speed Swordswoman build, the speed was truly at a level that no one could follow.
"This round is going to be tough..."
"Who the hell plays Speed Swordswoman in ranked like an idiot..."
"Hah, the win streak is going to break. It looks like the Musketeer-nim will have to do the work of two people..."
“…….”
From behind, I could feel the cold glares and resentful looks of the teammates who hadn't left yet. How dare they talk behind my back without trusting their teammate—they were quite the impudent bunch. But since seeing is believing, there was only one thing I could do for them.
Show them personally.
[Welcome to the Frontier of Boundaries! Slay the enemy!]
Listening to the grand sound of the horn announcing the start of the game, I moved my steps deep into the Jungle with a relaxed smile.