Special Someone
Anna muttered the words so quietly that no one else could hear.
Special someone….
Just five short syllables. Yet they clung to her like a leech, stirring up her heart in a messy swirl. She had never once entertained the thought of becoming her oshi’s special someone. Simply watching her was enough to make her happy… and besides, they were from different countries. What Anna felt toward Rui was closer to admiration than anything else. Since she herself basically lacked any drive, she had come to like someone who poured everything into effort. It was only natural—humans tend to yearn for what they don’t possess. Among otakus, there were plenty who deliberately avoided getting involved with their oshi. After all, they had become fans because they loved the oshi’s world; getting too close might end up shattering that very world. So for them, watching from afar was more than enough.
“Magic Engineer, is your ultimate still on cooldown?”
How long had it been since the game started? The Battle Mage asked the question.
“Yes… it’s still charging.”
“Then let’s have the Heavy Warrior move in first, and we’ll follow.”
At the Battle Mage’s order, the Heavy Warrior stepped into the passage ahead of everyone. There was a significant difference between playing Magic Engineer as a roamer versus as a carry. The most obvious was growth speed. When roaming, the Magic Engineer could solo neutral monsters quickly, so levels shot up fast. On top of that, the ultimate gauge filled at an impressive rate. But when playing carry, everything was cut in half. Experience was split while hunting neutrals with the team, and having to move with the main group reduced mobility compared to roaming alone. Neutral monster encounter rates dropped as well.
I need to get my ultimate up quickly.
The allied party consisted of a Heavy Warrior, a Martial Artist, a Battle Mage, and a Saintess. None of them had any scouting skills worth mentioning. The only scouting ability available was her own ultimate. In other words, this was naturally a party with high dependence on the Magic Engineer’s ultimate.
While she was feeling that unconscious impatience, a shout came from the Heavy Warrior who had gone in first.
“Ambush…! Ambush! Enemy Puppeteer ambush!”
Hearing the Heavy Warrior’s voice, the rest of the party quickly rushed after him. It was a long passage. With no light reaching it, darkness blanketed everything, making the sound of flowing sewage echo loudly for no good reason. The Battle Mage raised a flame to illuminate the dark. Then they could see the Heavy Warrior fighting. A massive marionette doll. The blades sprouting from its waist spun wildly, scraping against the Heavy Warrior’s armor. A little distance away, a pair of emotionless eyes watched the scene.
It was a girl. A cute girl with twin-tail hairstyle. But at every joint where skin was exposed—including her face—doll-like segments were clearly visible. A Puppeteer. A girl whose setting was that she had pursued strength to the point of replacing parts of her own body with doll components. And Hanabane Rui’s main character.
“……!”
Rui’s sudden appearance made the party freeze for a moment. Calmly scanning the surroundings showed no one else besides the Puppeteer. In other words, the Puppeteer was a ‘roamer’ separated from her main team. That wasn’t particularly surprising. The Puppeteer was frequently used as a roamer.
The allied party members exchanged quick glances, then the Battle Mage and Martial Artist on their side charged forward.
…This is going to be hard to aim at.
Anna leveled her gun, but she couldn’t find a clean line of sight. The underground sewer map was mostly made up of passages. And those passages weren’t particularly wide. Maybe wide enough for six party members to walk side-by-side if they squeezed. Right now, the Heavy Warrior and the marionette doll were fighting up ahead, and with the Battle Mage and Martial Artist joining in, the Puppeteer’s figure was subtly obscured. It was because their understanding was lacking—understanding of the underground sewer map, understanding of the Magic Engineer, and understanding of teamwork.
“──.”
The Puppeteer dashed in. In sync with her movement, the marionette doll that had been grappling with the Heavy Warrior took a slight step back. That caused the Heavy Warrior’s center of gravity to waver ever so slightly. Taking advantage of that opening, the Puppeteer flicked her hand.
“Whoa—?!”
The Heavy Warrior fell. Bind. The Puppeteer’s skill that tied a single target with threads. At some point her strings had wrapped around the Heavy Warrior, and she yanked them hard. The Puppeteer charged straight in and even rammed her body into him. The now completely toppled Heavy Warrior was sent flying toward the side of the passage—the sewer.
Splash!
Hanabane Rui was a rare high-education VTuber in the industry. Of course, she played the character of a middle schooler, but in reality she had graduated university quite some time ago. Despite being a graduate of a prestigious university that everyone knew, she had chosen to become a VTuber. God had given her a brilliant mind, but unfortunately had not granted her any social skills. That was why Rui believed her brain was her greatest weapon.
Thud!
She manipulated the marionette doll to clash with the Martial Artist. The Puppeteer was a character who fought alongside her puppets. The combat style felt like having one mind but two bodies. When controlling the doll, her consciousness resided in it; when controlling her main body, she pulled her mind back. It was an insane playstyle that required constantly switching bodies in real time. That was why the Puppeteer boasted one of the highest difficulties in Labyrinthos. Because of that brutal control scheme, it wasn’t very popular and was mostly only used by pro gamers.
It had taken Rui quite a while to get used to the Puppeteer as well. Still, thanks to her quick thinking, she had somehow forged that sensation into her own. Just like now.
Swish!
The Battle Mage came charging in from the side. Rui finished her calculations instantly. She dodged the attack and activated Bind. She pulled her hand, dragging the Battle Mage—who was caught in the bind—right beside her.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out from far away, and the Battle Mage’s shoulder was pierced. It was Anna’s shot. But Rui had known the Magic Engineer was aiming for her and had deliberately used the Battle Mage as a shield.
Two people shouldn’t be too difficult.
The Puppeteer’s advantage was being ‘two people as one.’ If she used ‘body switching’ properly, the Puppeteer was a character capable of doing the work of two all by herself. Therefore, facing the Martial Artist and Battle Mage at the same time wasn’t much of a problem. The enemy Dark Knight was probably off roaming somewhere and not here. The enemy Saintess was just a supporter anyway; she wouldn’t be able to exert any meaningful influence on this battlefield. The enemy Heavy Warrior had fallen into the water and would soon die from oxygen deprivation. So the Magic Engineer was the only real concern, but fortunately the map was favorable. She could use the narrow underground passage map to deliberately induce friendly fire from the enemy team.
“Ugh…”
The opposing Magic Engineer made a face like she had made a mistake. Seeing that expression, Rui was certain. She’s become intimidated.
A psychologically shaken Magic Engineer wouldn’t be able to shoot properly from now on. So from here on, all she had to do was stall for time against the Battle Mage and Martial Artist. Yes, just buy time. Because simply buying time would already be profitable for Rui.
“KraaaaAAAAA!!!!”
A beast’s roar echoed loudly, and blood sprayed. It happened in an instant. A massive wolf had burst out from behind Rui and sunk its fangs into the Battle Mage’s neck.
“Ghk, ugh…”
The Battle Mage struggled desperately to break free, but right beside him appeared a Dual Wielder. An X-shaped wound was carved across the Battle Mage’s chest, and blood sprayed once more.
The Battle Mage’s death. The enemy Martial Artist swallowed hard and retreated. On the other hand, a Dual Wielder and a Beast Tamer riding a giant wolf stepped forward beside Rui. On top of that, a Cavalry, an Enchanter, and a Bard took up positions. Thanks to Rui buying time, her team’s main force had arrived.
We’ve won.
The enemy had three. This side had six. Overcoming that numerical difference would be impossible. Rui activated a skill to finish things off.
Ally Heavy Warrior has died due to a gimmick.
Enemy Dual Wielder has defeated ally Battle Mage.
I stepped forward while skimming through the messages that appeared one after another. The Battle Mage’s corpse was rolling on the ground, and the Heavy Warrior had apparently fallen into the sewer because he was nowhere to be seen. From the opposite side, the enemy Cavalry, Beast Tamer, and Dual Wielder were charging in. The Martial Artist was blocking them all alone, even using his invincibility skill.
“Teacher!”
When I revealed myself, Anna shouted. Her eyes weren’t exactly bright. There was hope in them like she was looking at a savior, but because the situation was so bad, the color of despair was far stronger.
“I see. So it’s come to this.”
I nodded. With two allies already dead and the enemy’s main force having arrived, I immediately understood what I needed to do. I used Wall of Lamentation right behind the Martial Artist.
“Huh? Wait, what is this?!”
The Martial Artist’s startled cry came from beyond the wall. After confirming the wall had been placed properly, I turned around.
“Teacher?! What are you doing…?”
“What am I doing?”
She had watched it with her own eyes yet still didn’t understand? But since I possessed a heart as vast as a mountain or an ocean, I decided to kindly explain.
“If we keep fighting like this we’ll lose, so we’re retreating for now.”
“No, but why did you place the wall like that? The Martial Artist can’t come over now! Did you put the wall in the wrong spot…?”
As if that were possible. I was a perfect duke’s daughter. There was no way I would make a mistake. I simply—
“Sacrificing the Martial Artist will buy us more time. Now, let’s hurry and get out of here.”
“That’s trolling!!”
Anna screamed.