Hunting (4)

The original game's combat was, in a word, the typical JRPG combat system.

That was not to say it was completely identical to other games. It had its own variations and secured its own identity within the framework of turn-based combat, one could say.

But because of the combat system, there were considerable limitations on using combat alone to advance the story.

To give an example, depicting a "vast battlefield" was impossible.

Even within the same turn-based RPG genre developed in Japan, if the subgenre were SRPG, depicting the battlefield itself wouldn't have been so difficult. In fact, wouldn't that genre have been optimized for portraying the trench warfare of World War I and the process of moving from trench to trench? There were even similar games that actually existed.

But perhaps to maintain the series' identity, this game had adopted a comparatively traditional JRPG-style combat system, and thanks to that, difficulties in portraying the situation through combat alone had bloomed in abundance.

Well, anyway.

So the method the developers chose was the "series battle."

Finish one battle, then move to the next battle after an event scene, then to the next battle after another event scene... Winning all three battles like that meant capturing the temporary trench, and losing along the way resulted in elimination. The penalty was not receiving the item given as a reward.

Honestly, it was an item that was only briefly useful at the very beginning. Its importance was low...

Still, the thought of someone else taking it left a bad taste in my mouth. Didn't it? In the game, those kinds of items were all mine. Remembering even roughly what events would happen in the future and not being able to claim the benefits would mean there was no point in having crossed over into this world.

Well, not that I crossed over because I wanted to.

And crucially, it could negatively affect the image I'd built up in this world. I'd worked hard to establish an image of 'someone who can do anything,' and I didn't want to create an image of 'oh, even she can't do this.'

... Should I have built an image of 'she just doesn't do troublesome things' instead?

And besides that, I had many other things I wanted to confirm. Especially, I was curious about how items obtained 'systemically'—that is, cases where a message like 'You have obtained ●●● as a success reward!' popped up—would work in reality. This world didn't have anything like a Status Window, after all.

I already knew that things previously blocked systemically were all possible if they were realistically achievable. Then, aside from the world-building and story, what happened to the 'parts the System was involved in'?

To confirm that, I needed to win here.

"Light...?"

Mia Crowfield, after hearing my words, was lost in thought for a moment, and soon seemed to understand what I was getting at.

"But if you emit bright light in that way, it will also obstruct your own vision, won't it?"

I understood why Mia Crowfield sounded very skeptical.

Light, by its nature, wasn't something only visible to specific people. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If someone couldn't see it, that suggested a serious problem with their optic nerves or brain.

It wasn't that magic related to illusions didn't exist, but using it on such a large scale against dozens of people was impossible. At least, I had never seen such magic throughout my entire playthrough of the game.

... Though I had seen magic where the sky opened up, a giant hand popped out, and fired lasers.

"... Why are you looking at me like that?"

As I stared silently ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at Mia Crowfield, she took a step back and asked.

Right. In the game, that kind of thing was simply a production made to 'look as cool as possible.' Like the techniques in the Super Robot Wars series. They were just skills you could use regardless of whether you were indoors or outdoors.

But then, how did those skills and magic work in reality?

I'd have to confirm that someday too.

And I also had to remember that, if I made a mistake, that magic could fly right at me.

"Is it possible?"

It would be possible. Because it was possible in the original game.

Mia's specialty was magic related to ice and water, but that didn't mean she couldn't use other magic. In the game, magic was divided into 'magic you can use by default' and 'magic you can use only with additional equipment.' Having a specialty didn't make it particularly stronger, but the magic usable by default freed up room to equip other types of magic.

And her base 'Magic Attack' stat was overwhelmingly high, too.

If they just adjusted their equipment, other characters could use the same magic, but since they fundamentally had no magic they could use by default, the range of magic they could use was limited, and since their Magic Attack was poor, their damage and effects were also halved.

At this point in the story, Mia Crowfield was the only character who could use that kind of 'magic' itself.

"......."

She had an expression that said she didn't like me only asking questions without answering, but in the end, Mia Crowfield nodded.

Good. That was how it should be.

She had emitted bloodlust in the student council room too, but Mia ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Crowfield was the one who had ultimately said that if I was in the student council, she would join too. Setting aside whether we would become close or not, she needed to be near me to find proof that I killed her father, and to get her revenge if a chance ever came.

Clearing up the misunderstanding with Mia Crowfield right now by revealing what her father had actually done was impossible. The atmosphere was what it was, but I had already tried once. Even if I told her in a calm voice somewhere with just the two of us, she probably wouldn't believe a word of it.

Who would want to believe that their father was a drug addict and a pedophile?

It would be better to give her time to reach an understanding on her own.

"But, this magic wand..."

"It's not intended for lethality, so there shouldn't be a major issue. Just sending a 'bright light' 'as far away as possible' would suffice."

"......."

In the original, everyone ran forward like crazy with their eyes covered. They did succeed in the end, but both Leo and Jennifer, who saw the scene, said, 'It's impressive that you succeeded, but don't do that in a real battle.'

But what if a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠variable like me got involved here?

Not 'coincidence,' but 'inevitability.'

Of course, what I was about to do was also something that relied one hundred percent on coincidence.

Well, from the opponent's perspective, only the inevitability would remain anyway.

When I shifted my gaze slightly, I saw Jennifer carefully observing me. Her face was full of interest. It seemed she had become somewhat curious about me since our last sparring match.

Jennifer had probably heard, to some degree, the rumors about the 'Emperor's Children' and the questions surrounding Count Crowfield's death.

"Then, this way."

As I turned and walked back to the group I originally belonged to, I heard the sound of Mia Crowfield following a beat later.

Seeing that no one tried to stop Mia Crowfield from leaving, it seemed I was that frightening.

Or perhaps Mia Crowfield hadn't really managed to get along well with the other people.

*

"... That aside, what about the rest of us."

Having heard my plan, Alice asked with a serious expression.

"What are you going to do? If you can't see in front of you, even firing a gun shouldn't hit anything."

"I can provide covering fire."

"... And you're confident you won't hit us?"

"I am confident."

"... Well, fine."

Since it was Alice, who harbored no doubts about my skill, she eventually agreed with my words.

"But still, if you can't see in front of you..."

"Sylvia said she can do it."

Claire cut off Leo's skeptical remark.

... Though originally, this was a tactic you proposed, wasn't it? Well, at that time, there wouldn't have been anyone saying they'd shoot from behind your backs.

It seemed Claire's belief in my abilities went beyond mere lack of doubt and reached a level of something like faith, but... I'd let that go for now.

Charlotte was narrowing her eyes and looking at me.

That gaze seemed to contain suspicion, but conversely, it also seemed to hold a peculiar certainty. As expected, there was no doubt she had heard something from her father.

"I will agree. There is no other way, after all."

In the end, Charlotte said that too.

"Then, when should we go outside?"

Confirming that everyone's opinions had converged, Alice asked me.

"The timing is—"

I opened my mouth to tell her about the timing I had in mind,

"Thuuuud!"

when that sound came from a place a little distance away from us.

It was the group where Mia Crowfield had been until a moment ago.

"Now."

When I looked at Mia Crowfield and said that, she was flustered for a moment, then stood up and started to chant the spell—

"Mia Crowfield! Eliminated!"

—and was shot before she could finish.

... Again.

*

"Now!"

As I said that, I immediately stood up and looked at the opposing side. When I fired at the opponent whose face was barely exposed, they instantly received a notice of elimination.

"Luxina!"

Let there be light!

It was quite fascinating to hear the Spirit Language, the game world's original language, overlapping with human speech.

Come to think of it, even though I'd come to a world where magic operated as a crucial element, this was actually the first time I was seeing magic being cast in person.

My vision was dyed pure white for an instant, and then I saw the mass of light fly off into the distance.

It felt less like a flashbang and more like looking at an incredibly bright lamp, like staring straight at the high beams of an oncoming car.

But one way it differed from car high beams was that the light spread out in all directions.

Looking at the situation, the light was the same on that nearby side, but even from this side, I couldn't properly see the silhouettes of the people over there.

I heard the sound of Alice, Charlotte, Claire, and Leo immediately leaping over the sandbags.

Each of them was holding a shotgun.

Well, good.

Anyway, the operation had begun.

If so, then I just had to do my job.

With the fastest motion possible, I pulled the bolt back. The spent casing was ejected and the next round was chambered. The process felt somewhat crisp and light.

I'd already seen the opponents' positions several times before.

Click!

Of course, hitting them was a separate matter.

Even after pulling the trigger, I didn't hear the sound of 'Eliminated!'

If so—

Again!

*

I had jumped over the sandbag only when the first wave of people who charged had almost vanished from sight.

Of course, it wasn't that they couldn't be seen because they were far away. It was because of that giant light floating in the sky.

Whatever her feelings toward me, Mia Crowfield faithfully followed my orders and had floated a mass of light into the sky several times.

During that time, I had taken down several opponents. Seven? Eight? I didn't remember the number exactly. I had fired so fast. But since I had to switch guns after firing one shot per opponent, I'd taken down at least six.

Before I kicked off the ground to run, holding a shotgun with one round in the chamber and five in the magazine, I said to Mia Crowfield,

"You stay here and cast your magic one more time, please."

At my words, she nodded with a somewhat stiff, frozen face.

Since I'd gone this far, she'd probably listen to what I said.

Well, even if she didn't, it didn't matter much. I would just find a way on my own.

The others had probably reached right near the trench by then.

Thinking that, I immediately kicked off the ground, leaped over the sandbag,

"Eek!"

and immediately tripped and fell forward.

"......."

A very brief silence.

I briefly wondered if silence had fallen over the entire battlefield, but it probably wasn't that bad. It must have been my imagination.

Just... probably only Jennifer, who was likely watching from above, or Mia Crowfield, who was observing the front from behind me, had seen it.

So damn embarrassing.

Again!

*

Fortunately, I didn't trip this time. Looking again, there had been a small pebble in front of the sandbag, and I must have stepped on it and fallen.

Good.

Feeling fairly confident that I had leaped over impressively enough, I immediately began running forward.

Avoiding looking at the light floating in the sky as much as possible and keeping my gaze downward, I advanced in a zigzag pattern.

No gunshots came flying at me during that time.

There must have been students from the other noble group's side, besides our side, who had successfully crossed over. Judging by the sounds of people running around and swinging something from beyond the sandbags, that side also seemed to be in a state of panic.

As I ran hard, I saw the sandbags piled up in the training grounds, lit up more brightly than high noon.

I sprinted with all my might and threw myself into those sandbags.