Published at 28th of September 2022 8:47 am

Chapter 261: Multitasking Prestissimo Part 2

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

「Burst……」

「Nuaah!?」

If I had not taken notice of that in advance, I would not have been able to dodge it in time and I would have died for sure. When I saw that the self-proclaimed Goldunine jumped in the air with her poison swords over her head, I came to a stop right away and made a quick back dash using all the strength that I had. As a result I managed to dodge the sword as they came crushing down towards the place where I was standing just a moment ago. What force! And look! Self-proclaimed Goldunine possessed so much strength that she could get a few seconds of hand time with that jump!

At that moment something else happened. The poison from the swords exploded and got scattered all over the place. You could say that I managed to escape the strike by the skin of my teeth. Was it luck? Or maybe pure skill?

As I was putting some distance between myself and the snake woman, I realized that the foaming poison started to gather again and form the blades again. Now, how exactly am I going to deal with this? How to avoid a poison attack with an added Area of Effect to it? My brain was working full throttle to figure that out.

「I know that I just adjusted my schedule, but…… Does that mean that I will still be forced to use it?」

While casting a quick glance at the glove with ambers in it on my palm, I quickly make the necessary adjustments to the charts that keep floating in my head all over the place.

Perhaps the best battle strategy here is to aim to slash her when she is molting, meaning that she is the weakest at that moment. However, no there was nothing I could possibly be able to do about it.

Like that, I confirm the strategy in my head once more, I collect another crystalized poison thanks to the effect of “Kinshou”, and then I insert the extracted Goldunine’s crystal inside of the Scorpion Gauntlet that I just equipped.

Part of the strategy here is purely personal, while the other half is something that is necessary for me to actually be able to clear the Unique Scenario. Also, since I am doing this quest solo, I must pray and hope that Goldunine’s stats are adjusted accordingly so that one player can defeat her…… Is this even going to work?

Instead of facing her directly, I chose an entirely different approach. I turned my back towards the self-proclaimed Goldunine, who apparently was dead set on getting rid of me with that poison blasts of hers, and I waited patiently for the right moment.

On the chart that I have assembled inside of my head, there are three conditions that I must satisfy here.

「Running away…… The state of bewilderment…… Dancing…… Dance Macabre……?」

「Strategic retreat, narrow perspective, Snake Woman!」

First of all, I am going to let Goldunine use her big and flashy attacks so that I can find an appropriate opening. One saving grace here is that Goldunine does not seem to possess any techniques that Wezaemon had up his sleeve, so that means that I would not need to worry about insta kill moves for now.

The main problem here is the fact that the poison swords now have the extra effect of that area of effect splash, which makes it really hard to actually close the gap between us after she makes the attack. In other words, I really need to match my moves to hers…… I guess I really do not have that much of a choice here, huh?

「Stop…… Moving……!!!」

「Hey, hey, hey! You are supposed to be an apex predator, right!? But for an apex predator you are having an awfully hard of a time with little old me, huh!?」

My mouth spits out insult after insult towards the Snake Woman. Both my words and my actions are going exactly how I envisioned them on the chart inside of my mind. And since Goldunine here is a humanoid, it seems that taunts and curses work exceptionally well against her. Once again, the AI in this game is really good, but it is still far from being perfect.

Returning to making plans inside of my mind, next order of business is to secure the ideal conditions here. At first, I thought about intercepting Goldunine’s attacks from above by running towards the very center of the mortar hole, but the now added area of effect poison sword made that strategy pretty much invalid. Even if I somehow managed to intercept the attack perfectly, there is still a possibility that the splash effect would be the end of me. Not even mentioning being able to pick up the crystalized poison.

The move that I was waiting for was a straight slash with both swords at once, something that would not be able to be turned in a defensive maneuver in a matter of seconds. Something like an attack without thinking. And until I see that attack taking place, there was no way for me to move forward with my plan.

「Try to control and guide the behavior of the big moves…… It diverts from the initial plan, but it can still be made to work…… Refer to the previous plan but don’t depend on it…… Alright.」

「SHHHHHHHH!!!」

Throughout my career of playing shitty games, I have witnessed so many attacks with Area of Effects properties added to them that right now I was sick and tired of them. And there were many types of said Area of Effect attacks. Homing explosions, explosions that deal damage to you even if you touch the “effect” of the attack even after its detonation, “moving” Area of Effect attacks…… it would be fine if they were limited only to some niche games, but some of them were even included in popular entries and well known titles.

When it comes to the poison explosion, if the effect disappears after three seconds, by the fourth second it should be good for me to go on the offensive. My preparations are all set, the swords gauge is filled as well, so now the only thing left for me to do is to attack. However, there is still a possibility that the AI might see through my actions, even though it is not a Unique Monster like Luukan or Kutanid. I need to stay vigilant here.

After the poison from the blades erupts in an Area of Effect attack, it will take some time for the blades to form properly again. This means that if one sword erupts, she will be left win only one sword to defend herself. And both of the swords goes off, she will have nothing to defend herself with.

In terms of the window opportunity, I should aim for the latter option, but because of the nature of the Snake Woman’s weapons that might actually be really difficult to do.

In which case, what I should be aiming towards here is a sort of compromise between the first and the second option. The moment where both of Goldunine’s swords hit the ground and explodes in vapors of poison, I turn my back around and start running towards her at full speed.

「GYIIIIIIIII!!!!!! EXPLODE! DIE! DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!」

「Now here is the opportunity that I have been waiting for!!!」

Since NPCs can understand and show emotions to some extent, playing on them is a valid form of a strategy. And seeing that a mere human was able to escape her for so long, it was more than enough for Goldunine to abandon her sword skills in favor of a more direct and brutal attack, one that would hopefully reach its mark.

Using Formula Drift I accelerate further, correcting my position so that self-proclaimed Goldunine would be right in front of me and nothing around us in the mortar hole would get in the way.

「Let’s do this…… “Blue Moonlight!」

Release the combined functions! Show us the evolved power granted by the Unique Monsters!

I put the handles of the swords together and create the “X” shape with them. The former Vorpal Bunny blade would change into a single-edge greatsword once I did that. Now then, what evolved form will this Whale Bunny Moon show us today?

The two blades are then lined up parallel to one another. They are close to one another, but there is a slight gap between them, from which a bright light starts to emanate. Just then, Meiki started to grow bigger and more massive, only to bring Kinshou closer, as if trying to incorporate it into itself.

The completed sword looks like a greatsword with two handles and a golden core. Also, its blade was wrapped in sharp, dark blue crystal. However, looks were not everything in here. Its true power lied elsewhere.

「Come on, self-proclaimed Goldunine! Show me what you’ve got! Attack right away and blow me away!」

Let me show you the true power of “Blue Moonlight”…… But not only that! You are going to see that air turbulence is not something you should underestimate so easily!

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