49. No Such Thing as Luck
A barricade built from stacked wooden crates.
Hiding behind it, Ichef glared intently at the fearless opponent approaching.
Who the hell are they?
Three figures in costumes from different zones. But only one was crossing the bridge.
Ichef zoomed in further with his scope.
The face of the opponent, whom he'd glimpsed twice before because of the instructor Timothy, came into focus.
"Zien Russell... Arcana."
"Huh? They've been on the outskirts until now. Those guys are out of luck."
Ichef gave a wry smile at Roman's words as he peered through binoculars.
"Luck?"
At just 17 years old this year, Ichef wore a grim, battle-hardened expression like a veteran returning from the front lines.
"I don't believe in that stuff. There's no such thing as coincidence in anything."
His magic tool in the form of a sniper rifle.
Ichef shouldered the Dragunov. Zien's face filled the scope. He even calculated the wind strength and adjusted the angle accordingly.
"The outcome is predetermined. We just follow the path laid out."
"Ah, right..."
Roman cringed at Ichef's dramatic speech, flexing his fingers as he thought.
Once this tournament's over... I'm definitely getting out of this party.
But Ichef paid no mind.
With his final line delivered, he held his breath and focused solely on the shot. A sense of unity with the rifle. Whenever he felt this way, Ichef's shots never missed.
It'll hit for sure.
Bang!
Ichef's stigma glowed as the Dragunov spat fire. The bullet easily surpassed the speed of sound, trailing pure mana like a shooting star.
The projectile crossed a kilometer in an instant.
Ichef sensed victory.
But Zien remained unscathed.
"M-missed?"
Ichef's face paled, belying his calm voice. He'd lost sight of Zien's movements. At this distance, without the scope, Zien was barely visible.
"What the—? What was that just now?"
Roman panicked at the opponent who hadn't fallen. Ichef shouldered the rifle again.
No second chances.
Ichef activated his unique trait [Urban Hunter] and every buff from his sponsors. His mana, senses, and concentration were pushed to their limits.
I'm stronger now than ever.
Ichef pulled the trigger again.
Bang!
As the bullet fired, Zien's training robes fluttered. His jet-black sword flashed like lightning.
With a sword... against a bullet?
Something was wrong.
A chilling instinct sent shivers down Ichef's spine. The bullet hadn't missed.
"Roman! Sea Dragon! Disrupt that guy's position—now!"
His voice thinned with shock, forgetting his persona entirely as Ichef shouted urgently.
"Right now? My mana—"
"You wanna get wiped out? Hurry!"
Ichef's overbearing tone.
Yet Roman didn't mind.
His normal speech is back.
The crisis had snapped chuunibyou Ichef back to reality.
On the wide-open road, Roman swung his baton, glaring at the lone approaching Zien.
"Tear him apart!"
At Roman's command, the lord of the seas, [Sea Serpent], erupted from the water in a spray of foam, revealing its massive body.
Ichef, catching his breath, shouldered the sniper rifle again.
I don't know how he blocked the last one.
As his magic tool manifested, Ichef's stigma shone brighter than ever.
"This time, it's really over."
Five minutes before the battle erupted.
Zien pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. It was the S-grade artifact [Knight's Oath] he'd obtained after defeating the boss in the cave.
"Oath."
"Oath."
Zien and Chris locked eyes and shouted together. The paper burst into flames.
Target: Chris Arun
With this, Zien could use Chris's magic tool just once.
"Just give the signal. I'll back you up right away."
Isabel tapped the earpiece artifact La Gosis and spoke. Shaped and performing like an ear mic, it was a communication artifact.
"Got it."
Zien walked slowly toward Ichef.
Only Zien could handle bullets. Isabel and Chris waited at the bridge entrance for the signal, preparing for the [Sea Serpent].
Step by step.
What Ichef fired were bullets.
Deflecting supersonic rounds was something even Zien had never attempted before.
But now, Zien had Chris's eyes. With clairvoyance and x-ray vision, he could see Ichef sniping from behind the barricade, even the finger on the trigger crystal clear.
Focus.
And that wasn't all.
Zien was using his pinnacle skill [Sensory Maximization]. His world was now slow and silent.
In this black-and-white realm, he felt only the mana flow from his sword and eyes.
One mistake, and it's over.
If party leader Zien was eliminated, the whole team would be out. No second chances.
Yet Zien felt no tension. Compared to the perils of his past life, this was mere child's play.
Then, Ichef pulled the trigger.
The bullet left the barrel. Heightened senses didn't speed up the body. To deflect it, he had to move preemptively. For instance—
Predict the trajectory.
Almost simultaneously with the shot.
Zien swung his sword. A miracle born of Chris's eyes and Zien's swordsmanship. The predicted impact point sliced the bullet perfectly.
As if nothing had happened, Zien strode straight down the road.
Below the bridge, crashing waves and fierce sea winds whipped at his training robes.
The rattled Ichef fired another shot, but with Chris's eyes, no attack could get past Zien.
Amy's message mirrored the viewers' reactions. Zien's superhuman feats defied common sense.
But Croa Academy's second weapon remained.
"Grroooaaar!!"
The Sea Serpent roared, spraying water as its massive body—earning its nickname—surfaced.
"Ready?"
—Leave it to me.
Zien's signal, Isabel's reply.
And the sea dragon charging its breath—all at once.
Tssst!
Zien slashed his sword straight down.
Sparks flew as space warped. [Space Slash] created rifts like warp portals. Zien adapted it.
"Kroooaaar!!"
The sea dragon's breath poured out.
But the rift before Zien absorbed it entirely.
—Casting done.
Now Isabel's turn.
Isabel assumed a pitcher's stance and hurled a fireball. Small but compressed with high-density mana.
BOOM!
The flames erupted. The sea dragon roared again. Despair Bridge trembled in resonance.
Now Zien charged toward Ichef.
Deflecting bullets had become second nature; he no longer needed skills.
Current MP: 3 / 3300
His MP was plummeting to zero, but it didn't matter.
400 meters.
300 meters.
The distance shrank madly.
Air resisted his speed, pushing back his hair and robes. No mana left for legs, skills, or magic tools.
Yet Zien reached the bridge's end. A swordsman without mana versus a sniper who'd yielded distance.
No contest.
Perhaps awed by Zien's exploits, the demoralized Ichef and Roman. They'd pushed their magic tools to the limit but weren't seasoned fighters.
They lacked the physical prowess or weapons to block Zien's swordsmanship up close.
So Ichef and Roman accepted defeat calmly.
Ichef wanted his end like a noir film. Cool and dignified, not pathetic.
"Roman. I told you, no such thing as luck."
"Yeah. Tch, if only Kena had survived, maybe..."
Slash.
With those regret-filled words as their last, both fell to Zien's sword.
"Ahahaha—hack!!"
A boisterous yet bizarre laugh.
Amy, somehow with a wooden practice sword, struck a pose.
"Bullets flying at him! And he just poses like this!"
With her cam on, Amy swung the wooden sword wildly.
"Whoa! Batting bullets away with a sword?"
Viewers flooded chat during her intermission skit.
Arcana's viewer count was now nearly double that of second-place Celia.
Celia, turning the school into a fortress to hold out.
It was the most efficient strategy, but far from entertaining viewing.
"Come on~ don't change channels, stick around! Arcana cams are the most fun!"
Dominating search terms, Battle Survival's viewers kept shattering records.
Heh, Celia's still in.
The finale pitting Celia against Arcana.
Even now, real-time viewers topped 200,000.
How high will it go then?
And broadcasting Arcana live gave Amy another synergy: same school.
Normally, Zien's feats wouldn't directly boost her subs.
But unlike other streamers, Amy's ties(?) to the Arcana party drew viewers to subscribe.
And that was thanks to—
Amy's relentless shilling.
"You all know I'm super close with Zien, right? Once this stream ends, I'm basically his exclusive streamer. If you wanna see Zien... you know what to do?"
Poke poke.
Amy pointed at the [Subscribe] button in the screen corner.
The chat buzzed warmly.
Amy beamed at it. But not everyone cheered Zien's exploits.
My Previous Life was the Strongest Sword God