Vs. The Pointy-Eared Bastard (1)
I sized up the distance between me and that Lucian bastard. Roughly six meters. It looked close, but to someone limited to close-range attacks like me, it felt unusually far away today.
Meanwhile, Lucian wasn't wary of me in the slightest. Well, I had something I wanted to test anyway. I gently set down the sword I'd been aiming and the shotgun in my hands onto the ground.
"I just realized a moment ago that you're a powerless weakling. What the hell were you thinking, coming at me?"
"None of your fucking business, pointy-ears. Before we start, let me ask you one thing."
"I'll be generous. Speak, short-lived mongrel."
Lucian spoke arrogantly, as if bestowing a great favor. His attitude still pissed me off.
"You have so many wives that your dick doesn't even have time to cool down between rounds. So why the fuck are you throwing a tantrum about making Hye-ji your wife?"
"By mating with strong females, I can produce even strong—"
Whoosh!
Before Lucian could finish his sentence, I instantly pulled daggers from my coat, two in each hand for a total of four, and hurled them.
Eldmia hyung-nim always said surprise attacks were the best offense. Why call him hyung when I'm twenty? Fuck it—if you're good at fighting, you're hyung. If Chobi hard-carries your ranked games, you'd be calling him "Chobi hyung," right?
But right before my hand moved, the number floating above Lucian's head ticked up by one. He didn't budge, as if he'd predicted my action to some degree.
Instead, the change happened elsewhere. Three of the daggers froze in mid-air. Looked like the wind spirit had done its job.
Fuck. That freeloading bastard.
The three daggers that had stopped in the air flew straight back at me. Of the four I'd thrown, Lucian twisted his body slightly to dodge the last one.
Seeing that, I made a rough judgment.
The spirit can block a maximum of three attacks at once.
The daggers flying toward me didn't get far before dropping at my feet. As I scooped them up, Lucian started sneering.
"You're resorting to petty tricks that suit your pathetic level."
"Tell that to Eldmia hyung. If you don't want your skull cracked open, watch your mouth. He said this was the best attack."
"I see the level of this Academy is exactly what I expected."
It didn't hurt me anyway. The Academy's level really was shit.
"Looking at you coming here and dragging women around, I can tell your tribe's education level is about the same."
"Do not insult our tribe!!! The Pond Leaf Tribe is the most noble among all high elves!!!"
"Let's say that's true. Then is everyone in your tribe a bastard like you?"
"Y-yes!! All our tribesmen possess dignity just like me!"
"Dignity my ass."
For some reason, Lucian looked like his conscience had been pricked. This was the spot to dig into.
"The Water Hyacinth Tribe is a pathetic bunch that only knows how to pump their hips at women. Knowledge acquired."
"N-no!!! My younger siblings hold the proud title of Great Warriors of the Elves!!"
"Younger siblings?"
A hyung bastard who's lived as long as he has comes to the Academy by shoving aside his younger siblings? Even cutting in front of the elf great warriors—the strongest of their kind lined up and selected?
"Your younger siblings are the elf great warriors?"
"That's right!! They are great warriors that none here could possibly match!!"
Now I had a read on the situation. You're finished, you fucking pointy-eared bastard.
"This pointy-eared bastard. Now I see you're nothing but a pathetic insect."
"......What?"
"Unlike you, your younger siblings have their abilities recognized. They hold higher positions and receive the elves' support."
I picked the shotgun back up as I continued.
"You, on the other hand, clearly have no talent and were just eating your parents out of house and home."
"N-no!!!"
This time Lucian protested strongly, as if it had actually landed. Strong denial usually means it's true. Time to dig into the pathetic older brother's heart.
"'Ah! I'll handle it myself!' 'Leave me alone! Why do you keep nagging?!' 'I have my own plans!' You'd spit out lines like that and then hole up in your room."
"Wh-what nonsense!"
"Your mom, unable to watch anymore, would sob, 'Lucian! Please come out of your room and do something!' right?"
"No, our mother doesn't cry that much..."
Lucian suddenly trailed off. Like a hunting dog that had caught its prey, I latched onto that weakness.
"Wow, fuck. So you did make her cry?"
"S-stop it!!! Don't make baseless assumptions!!!"
Lucian desperately shouted back. Too late, you pointy-eared son of a bitch.
"Later your dad would drag you out by force, tell you not to live like that, and semi-forcibly ship you off to the Academy."
"How could you possibly—"
Lucian wore the expression of someone struck right in the vitals.
"Pointy. Your younger siblings are the pride and representatives of the elves, right?"
"W-what of it!!!"
"They'll meet more good people than you ever will, and obtain better positions and houses at a younger age."
"Sh-shut your mouth."
Tears were gradually welling up in Lucian's eyes. He couldn't deny it.
"When your Academy life ends, the only place waiting for you is a corner room in your parents' house."
"That's not true!! I'll have my own house soon!!"
"Lies."
Getting a house is insanely difficult. Unless it's from public housing, it's just a dream. Not something a jobless pointy-ear could ever hope to touch.
"Your siblings have their own houses and beautiful elf wives waiting for them, but you don't."
"Please shut up!!!!!!!"
Finally, a single tear rolled down from Lucian's eye. Satisfied, I twisted my face into a savage scowl.
"The official elf-style weddings will be held by your siblings first!"
"Shut your fucking mouth!!!"
Lucian had now completely abandoned any pretense of dignity and roared at me. Of course, that only fueled my verbal assault.
"Congratulations. The only thing you're better at than your younger siblings is how many rice bowls you've emptied."
"I told you to shut up!!!!!!"
"Still, it looks like you beat them in sex drive? I mean, you happily fuck inferior species that your siblings wouldn't even touch."
"Shut up!!!!!!!"
Despite the strong words, Lucian looked like he might collapse at any second. I clapped toward him and drove the final nail in.
"Are you fucking Sesshomaru? You create half-demons with the humans you treated as inferior, so you're no different."
Bottomless despair flooded Lucian's face.
For now, the mental attack had definitely landed.
The dueling arena had a built-in voice amplification system. It was designed to help spectators immerse themselves more deeply in the matches.
In other words, unless it was a quietly muttered monologue, everything we said to each other could be heard by the entire audience.
Naturally, every word I'd spoken had been transmitted to all the spectator seats.
As a result, the spectators who heard it quickly started having mental breakdowns.
The atmosphere in the spectator seats shifted. Resignation, resentment, and deep sorrow filled the air.
Right on cue, Kyoko's voice rang out clearly across the dueling arena.
It was like pouring oil on a fire. The gloomy mood exploded in an instant. A beautiful sight.
Meanwhile, Lucian barely managed to pull himself together. Then came the intense rage.
"To think you would bewitch me with that silver tongue!!!"
"Are you stupid? I only spoke facts and you sank all by yourself."
"Shut up!!! I'll kill you right now!!!"
Lucian began muttering incomprehensible words just like he'd done in the classroom before. The air started to tremble slightly.
He tried to spread his right hand toward me, but—
That's a cancel window.
My action was a little faster. Before his hand could fully extend, I quickly hurled two daggers.
Lucian canceled his previous action. Naturally, the ominously trembling air instantly turned into a light breeze.
Opportunity. I dashed forward and threw my longsword.
At that moment, the number above Lucian's head ticked up again.
"Pathetic!!"
The instant Lucian spoke, a massive tree burst from the ground. It deflected the incoming longsword.
Three plants left.
A towering tree now stood in front of me, having blocked the sword. Just before I could pivot left, I threw four daggers from my right side—my left from the tree's perspective—then immediately twisted left, shouldered the shotgun, and pressed the barrel against the side of the tree.
Since the shotgun was meant to be used with both hands, perfect recoil control was impossible, but—
At this distance, even a sloppy shot should be fifty-fifty meat and water.
I figured it would land solid hits. The shotgun's muzzle spat fire immediately.
The entire sequence flowed like water, separated by mere seconds. At a glance, it almost looked simultaneous.
Swish!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
But the number above Lucian's head had already gone up once more.
Of the four flying daggers, the wind spirit deflected three again. The remaining dagger was snatched mid-air by a wriggling vine that had grown behind Lucian.
Finally, the three consecutive shotgun blasts were blocked as two trees shot up instantly to intercept the pellets.
Shotguns are great but the penetration is a bit disappointing.
He really wasn't an easy opponent. However—
Still, pointy-ears, you used all four.
Time to send you to the Lord!
I dropped the shotgun and moved left again using the newly grown tree as cover. The distance between Lucian and me was now only two steps.
I gripped an axe in my left hand and swung it in a wide horizontal arc from left to right. I put my hip into it. For a more certain result.
The axe I swung sliced fiercely toward Lucian's neck.
But—
"Where do you think you're aiming?"
Snap!
Two vine stalks that had grown behind me grabbed the axe handle.
Looking again, the number above Lucian's head had gone up once more. On top of that, two more plants had been added beyond the original four listed on the wiki.
Right. There can be a one or two difference from the records.
Feeling a bit disappointed that Namu Wiki hadn't been updated, I released the axe. At the same time, I took one step forward. The distance was enough.
This time I gripped the axe in my right hand in a reverse hold, arm bent, and swung it upward from below. Target: the solar plexus.
Please die from this.
But once again the number above the pointy-eared bastard's head had increased. At the same time, another tree grew diagonally to block the axe's path.
Though smaller and thinner than the ones that had grown before, it was still enough to stop my assault.
Crunch!!!!!!!
What the fuck???????????
The sudden situation made me spam countless hook-pings in my head. No, you sons of bitches. The record said four—why are you using seven? A three-count difference is too much, you Namu Wiki bastards. Update the damn page before writing about the relationship between Marisa and Alice, fuck.
When all my attacks failed, I looked at Lucian with hollow eyes and muttered.
"It was four, you bastards."
"Die!!!"
Lucian, who had finished casting at some point, spread his right hand toward me. A fierce wind immediately surged forth.
It was a short burst, but enough to knock my body back to its original position. Fortunately, the Defensive Coat I was wearing prevented any damage.
But having the distance I'd worked so hard to close opened up again was incredibly painful.
Lucian pointed at my coat with an intrigued expression.
"That rag isn't bad. Normally your head would have fallen by now."
"If you're jealous, why don't you introduce some women to a pathetic jobless bastard like yourself?"
The plants Lucian had created slowly began to disappear. The weapons that had been floating in the air started falling one by one under gravity.
Of course, they weren't near me.
Shit, all my weapons are over there.
I looked at my weapons with regret. The earlier tearful expression was gone; Lucian now began to sneer.
"Do you finally understand the difference in our caliber?"
"Caliber my ass. The map difference is fucking garbage. I can't even play Star without a hunter map."
"It must be the World Tree's will that I win."
"No, you said the plant limit was four. Why the hell did it increase to seven?"
Lucian listened to me and began laughing like a madman. It was the laugh of someone who thought I was still relying on outdated information.
Fuck, update already, Namu Wiki.