Classic Game Maniacs (4)
Classic Game Maniacs (4)
The girl.
Julia didn't really have what you could call a hobby.
She didn't know what to do with her free time.
And even trying to do something was a problem, because of the rules of the organization Julia currently belonged to.
What she could do inside the organization's buildings was restricted for net-security reasons.
Since she was wanted by the NCPD, she didn't have a hideout of her own either, so it was hard for her to go out and do anything, too.
It was around then that Julia discovered a 'game' she could play as well.
Since it wasn't a real game being run, the quality wasn't something you could truly call a game. But it had the basic trappings to at least look like one.
It didn't take long for Julia, who had been bored and rolling around, to get sucked in.
She played the game for a long time, and just when she was getting tired of it—since no one else seemed to enjoy hunting like she did—she discovered another person hunting in the game for the first time.
"......."
She wanted to type something in chat, to try and strike up a conversation, but the old mechanical keyboard was the problem. It was difficult for Julia's small hands to chat smoothly.
And even if she tried to talk, what was she supposed to say? And who even was the other person?
Julia knew nothing.
Then, in the middle of that, she made a control mistake and ended up attacking the monster the other person was hunting.
The other person's character looked baffled.
'......What do I do?'
Now that things had come to this, she did have to say something.
What should she say first?
At that moment, a memory flashed through Julia's mind: a story she had seen on the net a long time ago.
'......I'm supposed to say it like this.'
[ Tokkigyeongdyu-nim(Archer) : My spot. ]
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): ? ]
It was a mistake.
She realized she had screwed up only after seeing his reaction.
After that, she even got startled by his sudden cursing and killed his character.
Anyway, it was a mistake.
4. Classic Game Maniacs (4)
In an atmosphere like a powder keg about to blow, I thought peacefully.
......The cola sure is tasty.
If I had been playing a fantasy game ten years ago, I wouldn't be drinking cola right now. A fleeting bit of escapism continued.
But no matter how much I wanted to ignore reality, reality remained the same.
The furious glare of the male leader standing at the front was fixed on the calm-faced Julia.
Everyone's attention was drifting away from me.
But no matter the current situation, their final objective was me.
I decided to worry about the bounty later; for now, I had to resolve this situation.
I moved only my eyes to look at Julia. I opened my eyes a little wider, giving a silent signal to look this way.
At my signal, Julia looked over here.
I nodded once.
In a fight against multiple opponents, taking the initiative and hiding your current position was the most important thing.
"Hm."
- Paaang!
I activated the magic I had prepared. Black smoke spread out from my toes and instantly covered the entire restaurant.
Even though the smoke was created by magic, it contained a kind of physical force.
It wasn't enough to deal proper damage to the enemies, but it was enough to shock and disorient them.
By the time they fired bullets in the direction I had been, I had already moved from that spot and positioned myself elsewhere.
[Protection protocol, shall I execute it?]
I think I heard that line back in that cafe the terrorists occupied, too.
I answered very quietly.
"...Yeah."
Unlike the past when I'd said, 'As if you could do something like that,' the situation was different. Back then I thought Eve couldn't connect to the network; now I knew that wasn't true.
I had no reason to refuse Eve's request.
[Commencing hacking of nearby electronics and signals. ......Complete. I have seized control.]
Simultaneously with Eve's words, the panicked voices of the enemies came from all over inside the smoke.
"It's a hack! Everyone cut your signals!"
"Dammit, my arm...!"
That's quite effective.
[Synchronizing vision interface data. ......Complete.]
This time, light like a white mirage slowly formed through the black smoke. It looked like circuits drawn along people's limbs or body lines. Judging by the shapes, it seemed to show the combat cyberware the enemies were wearing.
"Oh, thanks."
[Confirmed positive statement from human 'Lee Si-woon'. Storing voice data.]
Give me a break with that.
Anyway, I had been about to spread out my mana to find the enemies' positions. If anything, this made distinguishing friend from foe even easier.
That one with the rabbit doll hanging from her waist is probably Julia.
Once the positions were identified, being inside the smoke was no problem at all.
The most efficient thing to use here would be a large-scale lightning or flame spell—magic with destructive power perfect for neutralizing enemies in one go. But the location was a problem if I wanted to use large-scale magic recklessly.
There were still many people who looked like civilians around, and Julia was still among the enemies.
She had tried to help me, though. Attacking her together with them would've weighed too heavily on my conscience.
Then there was only one method left: picking them off one by one with pinpoint attacks.
The option of closing in was completely out of the question. With my garbage stamina and close-combat skills, closing in was just asking to get killed.
I left the gun as a backup, for when I didn't even have time to gather mana.
There was no need to use it in a situation like now, where I had time to spare.
Having finished my situational judgment in a short time, I slowly focused my mind. I felt the mana, mixed with the foul air of the cyberpunk world, gathering around me.
No chanting was needed to use magic. 'Chanting' was just one shortcut to concretize the image of the magic. It wasn't essential. As long as the image and concept of the magic were in my head, and I had enough mana gathered, there was no problem.
Before long, several small sparks formed at my fingertips.
Magic is an 'ideal' manifesting in 'reality'.
The smoke was still dark. The brightness wasn't enough to be detected by the enemy.
- Kwaang!!
"Kugh!"
The launched flame struck the enemy and exploded. Even a small flame, when compressed like this, had enough attack power to neutralize a single enemy.
It was fine if they didn't go down in one hit; I could just fire multiple shots.
- Kwaang! Kwaang!
Taking down enemies without being detected—that was my preferred fighting style.
...Honestly, it was absurd to fight fair and square against lumps of cyberpunk coated in chrome.
A moment later, the smoke completely vanished.
The only people still standing were me and Julia.
When my eyes met Julia's, I suddenly got worried. She wasn't going to lunge at me because I set off the smoke without warning, right?
Thankfully, she showed no sign of that.
I turned my gaze and looked around Julia. I'd thought I hadn't taken down that many with magic, but it seemed Julia had helped me out a little.
There were plenty of downed enemies near her, too. I noticed bodies that were separated, or wounds from a blade. Yikes, brutal.
The fight was over and things got quiet for a moment. At times like this, it was right to take the initiative and change the mood.
I opened my mouth to express my thanks to her.
"Thanks for the hel─."
But then, one of the men who had been down got up and charged at me.
The gashes slashed across his body meant he had been attacked by Julia.
"You bastard!"
It was the leader who had been standing at the very front.
If it's like this, I won't have time to gather mana. I drew the pistol I had ready in my chest pocket.
The man's neck was severed, and he fell to the floor.
The leader couldn't even scream. His body, carried forward by momentum, tumbled and collapsed.
The face that rolled across the floor was still twisted with rage.
Julia, who had already moved close to me, flicked her blade once.
The blue flame that had been rippling along the sword's movement dropped to the floor and vanished.
Perhaps because of the flame, no blood or electrolytic fluid seeped from the cross-section of the corpse.
"......Be careful."
"Th..., thank you."
Formal speech flowed out of me without realizing it. Hm, a bit scary. By my gauge, about 0.7 Catherines.
I had let my guard down because she had a young appearance like Little One.
As expected of a major character who appeared in the game, too. I got the feeling she was a boss-level character.
But anyway, where on earth was she hiding such a long sword?
Julia flicked the sword, now extinguished, again. This time, instead of the flame vanishing, the slender blade instantly folded up and disappeared.
The blade, which had been folding up neatly layer by layer, soon vanished into the handle without a trace.
......Is that physically possible? Considering the flame had been burning and flowing, a device to generate the flame would also be needed. Seeing it fold up like that, it looked like the inside was completely hollow.
I wondered if the cyberpunk world's science had already advanced to the point of surpassing physical laws without me noticing.
Perhaps Eve noticed my eyes continuing to stare at the sword's handle, and spoke about Julia's sword.
[As a result of my check, it is an ordinary mechanical katana with an empty interior space and no devices, I explain.]
"...Isn't that weirder."
Then what the hell is the principle? To create a flame in an empty space─.
"......."
There was one thing, though.
Julia pushed the handle she was holding into the mouth of the rabbit doll.
I cautiously asked her.
"...Are you a Mage, by any chance?"
"......Well, I am, technically. But someone like me isn't a Mage compared to Si-un-nim."
So she is a Mage, at least.
"Wow."
I was quite surprised. Living in this rootless cyberpunk world, it had been quite a while since I'd come face to face with a Mage like me.
...But. A Mage who ignites a katana and swings it around?
.......
'Hmph!'
The great Mage inside my heart awakened.
'How dare a Mage engage in the mere trick of moving their own body, and go around calling themselves a Mage!'
......almost came out of my mouth.
But since Julia herself had said she wasn't a Mage, I decided to just forgive her.
It's absolutely not because I thought I'd lose if we fought.
Anyway, the situation seemed to be settled for now. I thought it was about time to get out of this place and head home.
I didn't care if the NCPD came looking, but there could be someone else after the bounty supposedly on my head.
For reference, an attack at home is fine. Because Catherine lives in the apartment next door. I will leave out any further detailed explanation.
......Who the hell is it, really, to put a bounty on my head? Everyone living in this city must have a petty grudge or two, but still, I think I've lived relatively decently. I'll have to look into it when I get home.
"Then I'll be off."
"...Okay."
"You did say there was a bounty on me, too. I ought to go check it out."
"...Got it."
I also had the intention of putting some distance between me and the sulky-looking girl in front of me, Julia.
I got up and walked out of the restaurant. Julia followed me out.
"See you, then."
"......Yeah."
She's a wanted criminal; I wonder if she has a proper home. ......That's not something for me to worry about, though. She'll manage on her own.
But, really strangely, the direction Julia walked was the same as mine. What the, why are you following me?
"......?"
"...Ah, it's because we're heading the same way."
"Right?"
Man, that scared me.
"Where's your place?"
"W-well, since I'm a wanted criminal, it's a bit... hard to tell you."
"Ah, that's right. My bad."
I almost doubted such an innocent girl. Maybe because Catherine's always following me around, I've developed some paranoia. Sneaking out today had been tough, too.
...But one more strange thing was that Julia ended up arriving right in front of my house.
"Guess you live around here?"
"......Yeah, yeah. That's right."
"Well, what a fascinating coincidence."
Whatever, I don't know. Once I'm home, it's over.
"For now, my place is right here, okay? I'll really be going now."
"......Yeah, goodbye."
I boarded the elevator alone.
And in that moment, a chill ran down my spine.
......What is this? I had an ominous feeling I couldn't quite describe.
It must be because I went out for the first time in a while. This time I'll definitely rest at home for a week. I made a firm resolution.
* * *
"......So you live here."
Julia smiled.