Virtual Reality Clash

No matter how advanced the shield technology was, when students fought each other a rib or two was bound to break. That was why virtual reality had been developed. Wearing the gear created an avatar identical to yourself, and the rule was to duel inside it. It was essentially a game. The technology of this era was so advanced that duels in virtual space ran without any noticeable glitches.

Zernya slid her card into the slot and put on the gear.

“Adelbein versus Rheinland, huh.”

“Now that’s a matchup that gets the blood pumping.”

The students, sensing entertainment, began drifting toward us in twos and threes.

“What’s going on? Free show?”

I sighed inwardly and followed Zernya, slipping on my own gear. The moment we entered virtual reality she drew her sword and snarled at me.

“I don’t give a damn about the written test. Prepare to get flipped on your head.”

There was one question that needed answering first. Why had Zernya, who had avoided sparring with me all this time, suddenly come at me like a rabid dog? The answer was simple: the written exam results had come out almost immediately.

First place: me.

Second place: Zernya.

Third place: Seti.

The Adelbein lady sandwiched between the Rheinland siblings made for quite the picture. If she didn’t display her hexagonal talent in the practical portion, her image would harden as eternal second place. Her pride would never allow that.

“Damn it, why did I miss that question…”

“Hm? Did you say something?”

“None of your business. Just draw your weapon already.”

“As you command.”

I pulled the Sword (Calipers) from subspace. No matter which weapon I chose in the hologram window, it always defaulted to Calipers. Cartesia’s will at work. In truth, virtual reality was the perfect invasion point for the Descartes faction. They were famous for the whole “brain in a vat” concept, after all. The sensations here felt no different from reality. It was easy to lose yourself.

Let’s see. Around this time an Outer God would usually toss out a quest.

“……”

“What are you doing? I’m ready.”

Strange. Cartesia was staying quiet. The absence of a quest felt more unsettling than receiving one. It was like a professor leaving a grad student on read for an entire week.

“What’s that? You call that a plasma sword? You look ridiculous.”

Zernya raised her chin and eyebrows in disdain.

“If you’re just going to mess around, you should quit now. I won’t hold back.”

“I’m not messing around.”

“Idiot.”

“I know, so can you start already?”

The countdown soon rang out. Three. Two. One. The instant zero hit, Zernya’s figure shot forward like light. She closed the distance and unleashed a slender slash. It was fast, but I could still track it. I had learned plenty under Instructor Isaac, after all.

Her style is similar to a normal person’s. Follow the manual and the path is easy to walk. Of course, talent is another story.

The path everyone walks. The path that leaves you behind the moment you stop grinding. I had steadily followed that righteous road.

The most important thing in swordsmanship is confidence that you can do it. Believe in yourself. Even if you fight someone with superior skill, you will definitely be able to win.

I can do this. As long as I control my breathing properly, I can compete. Tap!

I stepped back just before the blade reached my throat. Zernya’s expression twisted, but she didn’t stop her assault. The instant one motion failed she flowed into the next. It was like linking forms into a continuous sequence. Her movements had no delay thanks to her training, leaving no opening to exploit. I had to stay on the defensive for a while.

“……!”

Zernya’s slashes doubled in speed. It felt like watching a professor’s lecture video on 2x playback.

Damn it.

I couldn’t endure this. No choice. I began swinging Calipers as well. Ka-gang! Ether erupted in flames. The ionized blade slid forward with enough force to shatter a guard.

“Finally decided to get serious?”

Her sword speed increased again. What she had shown earlier hadn’t been full power. I dodged some strikes and deflected others. Once my body warmed up, movement became easier than before. Zernya’s eyebrows twitched.

Rustilla had far more talent than me yet had lost to me multiple times. Yet here I was, adapting after only a month with the instructor. Was it thanks to the core muscles I had trained? Or perhaps Rustilla’s teaching style simply hadn’t suited me. Her sword was not something an ordinary person could digest. It was a moment that made me realize, once again, how important fundamentals are.

The more relaxed I looked, the more the smile vanished from Zernya’s face. Time had already passed the three-minute mark.

“This ends now.”

Oh no. One mistake had pushed me to the edge of the ring. So the difference in refinement really can’t be overcome—

“Get out of the ring.”

The match isn’t over until it’s over. Remember that.

I twisted my upper body with every ounce of skill I possessed. Instead of stepping on the final line I reversed direction. Like a spinning top performing precessional motion, I completely flipped my body’s axis.

“……!”

Zernya’s sword sliced empty air. The momentum carried her body forward. Now was the chance. I wouldn’t miss it. The instant I brought Calipers down with all my strength—

The quest window updated. I had been aiming for her head, but in a split second I changed the sword’s path to induce a whiff. Goosebumps ran from my wrist to the back of my neck. The moment I realized my mistake, Zernya instantly reset her stance and slipped into my blind spot. What happened next was obvious. A sharp strike coming up from the lower left.

The instant my shield shattered, my left arm was severed cleanly.

“What? Adelbein won.”

“How boring.”

“So the Rheinlands are only good at studying after all……”

Zernya took off her gear, frowning. She had won, yet she didn’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠feel good at all. She turned her head and spoke to Idel, who was blankly stroking his left arm.

“You went easy on me?”

Idel grinned and shrugged.

“Too bad. I thought you’d go out of bounds and I’d win.”

Aha, I see. That was why he had let his guard down and stopped attacking at the end. Zernya’s body was more flexible than it appeared; even when her center of gravity was pulled forward she could still change angles.

“……”

Still, that alone didn’t explain everything. If it had been her, she would have finished it cleanly. And Idel should have been the same. This wasn’t even reality—it was virtual. There had been no reason to hold back. Had he lost on purpose?

She watched Idel brush himself off and stand, then secretly followed him. He was talking with some guy named James or whatever.

“Why did you go easy?”

“I have a policy against hitting women.”

“It’s virtual reality.”

“The sensation is the same. I almost screamed when my arm got cut off earlier.”

“Wow.”

Idel shrugged again. Zernya stopped walking, utterly dumbfounded.

“……”

The process didn’t matter. What mattered was that she had comfortably defeated the top entrance student. If she kept winning like this, first place was hers for the taking. Crushing Idel beneath her feet was only a matter of time. She only needed to find about four more opponents to fight while walking around. Of course, she would only accept duels from those willing. That was more advantageous for points.

She looked around for decent opponents. Everywhere she looked—trash, trash, trash. No worthy rivals in sight. In the end she changed her stance to wait until the final stretch and fish for the winning streak holders. After that, a few fools challenged Zernya, but after she trampled a couple the challengers naturally dried up. There were, however, persistent flies that kept coming despite the overwhelming gap.

Five tickets flew toward Zernya while she sat on a bench peeling blueberries.

“Three times.”

Zernya’s gaze slid sideways.

“Right?”

Rustilla was standing there.

Even though I had been beaten like a dog by Zernya, there was no loss. It was what you might call an ambush quest. Outer Gods sometimes throw out a quest at the critical moment to scatter a person’s attention. For example, suppose I was about to detect gravitons. Right as detection was about to succeed, a quest like “Destroy the detector within 100 seconds” appears. Then I would have to destroy it.

Of course, contracting with a Constellation prevents such nonsense. The Constellation acts as a kind of self-moderator. But I had already contracted with an Outer God, hadn’t I? I was strong-armed into it, right? Huh? Constellations can’t interfere?

I was essentially held hostage by Cartesia. This seemed like a test to inform me of that fact. It was truly a shitty situation, but the risk of failing the quest would have been even worse, so I had no regrets. In fact, my instantaneous judgment had been excellent.

“Huu.”

As I let out a sigh of relief, a boy wearing sunglasses approached.

“You got absolutely wrecked.”

“Welton, huh.”

“You’re calling me by name? The Rheinland heir himself? Wow, I’m honored.”

If there was one person I wanted to stay friends with for a long time, it was him. The reason was simple. I planned to have him research condensed matter—more precisely, strong correlation. The more research colleagues the better. Preferably ones on my side. For that to work, he first needed to be somewhat close to me.

While I was gently letting Welton’s half-joke slide, red-haired Matus thrust ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a card in front of me.

“Hey. You have to fight me too.”

“I just got wrecked, so cut me some slack.”

Even as I said it, I stood up. I had to keep the top spot no matter what. If I wanted to hand the family head position to Seti, I first had to become family head myself.

“Beating you down would make me feel a little better.”

“Sure, let’s fight.”

“No holding back.”

In virtual reality, the weapon Matus chose was a massive podao. Plasma flowed along its crescent shape. I, of course, chose Calipers again. Blue sparks crackled wildly between the outer jaws. The size and discharge volume were considerable. Matus narrowed his eyes.

“You… switch to a different weapon.”

“Scared?”

“Warning you in advance—I won’t go down easily. It’s not too late. At least use a weapon that lets you get serious……”

“Scaaaared?”

“This bastard?”

The match began. Matus charged straight in. As much as he hated rich kids, his strike aimed directly for my throat. It wasn’t bad, but it was noticeably slower than Zernya’s.