MV – Chapter 88: The External Add-On and the Minor Villain

Lanpeach realized that the Divine Spirit Fusion was useful even without equipping any skill slots. While Libra herself wasn’t much help, she was connected to the Artificial Spirit system Space Library, which had extraordinary computational power.

Thus, by merging with Libra, Lanpeach could also tap into the calculation abilities of the Space Library, as though he had just attached an external memory drive.

This computation power far exceeded human abilities. It could track individual raindrops, calculate the flow of the wind, and predict the precise trajectory of falling leaves.

Lanpeach’s stats remained unchanged, but with this godlike computational power, he could now make predictive calculations like someone with precognition.

“Libra, I don’t expect much, but can we somehow act twice in a turn? Like, I attack while you use psychic powers?”

But the minor villain got greedy, still hoping for more from the fusion. He checked for any hidden features.

[I’m not some creepy old man latching onto a helpless girl. I can’t do that. I’m just here to cheer you on.] (Libra)

Libra laughed, showing no interest in helping.

She just watched Lanpeach with excitement, like a spectator enjoying a show.

“I was stupid for even asking.” (Lanpeach)

He was disappointed. He had expected Libra to be like that certain old man who constantly spouted unnecessary advice to the girl he haunted, but Libra was just a cute girl.

Still, being cheered on by a cute girl wasn’t too bad, so he smiled wryly and turned back toward the Sylph.

“Well, I did manage to take one down. Hey, Sylph, aren’t you coming to avenge your comrade? I will even provoke by saying ‘come on, come on!’” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach taunted, waving them over.

Lanpeach chuckled with an ‘uhihi’ while beckoning it over like a minor villain suddenly overconfident with newfound power.

This wasn’t the same Lanpeach as before. He had evolved into a Hyper Minor Villain. Though, perhaps he needed to think of a better name.

The Sylph’s expression hardened slightly as she crossed her arms.

[Cross Wind Cutter]

A cross-shaped wind blade was unleashed. It was intricately woven, but Lanpeach could see through all of it.

He ducked his head and took three steps to the right, slipping through the crossed blades with only a hair’s breadth of space to spare.

[Triple Wind Cutter]

The Sylph remained unfazed and fired three more wind blades in rapid succession. They came at perfectly timed intervals, limiting Lanpeach’s movement.

[Enchant Psychic]

Psychic energy enveloped his arm with a small pulse, distorting the space around it.

Standard wind blades were thick like guillotines, making it difficult to strike their sides. But a skilled warrior could still manage it.

However, the Sylph’s wind blades were incredibly fine, like threads. Touching them would result in injury. A fist would be sliced before it could even destroy the blade.

—But Lanpeach’s keen eyes spotted the tiniest gaps in the thin blades, places where they wouldn’t cut even if touched.

A small slapping sound rang. He destroyed the wind blades with a knife-hand strike, sending them scattering into mist without injuring himself.

He then charged forward toward the Sylph.

“I can see, I can see it, Libra! I can see the enemy’s movements!” (Lanpeach)

He spoke one of those lines he had always wanted to say in situations like this, a big grin in his face and getting all conceited.

He was confident he could easily win in a one-on-one now, but the Sylph adjusted her tactics in response to Lanpeach’s newfound strength.

[Wind Step]

The Sylph wrapped swirling winds around her feet and instantly retreated backward, firing wind cutters to keep Lanpeach at bay.

He got flustered after seeing this.

“Tch, what a coward! In these situations, the honorable thing is to engage in close combat to defend your pride. That way, I could easily finish you off -that’s how it’s supposed to go, right?” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach smashed through the wind blades, attempting to close the distance. But the Sylph kept retreating, preventing him from closing in.

Even with his enhanced computational ability, the brain operating it is the minor villain Lanpeach. His gamer brain couldn’t let go of the idea that this should have been his moment to shine.

[Soldier, Sylphs are like machines, so they don’t behave like that! Or more like, a Gnome is approaching from behind!] (Libra)

[I know! Which means it’s impossible to defeat the Sylph… She’s just going to keep running until the Gnome arrives. This is vexing, but I don’t have a way to catch up right now.] (Lanpeach)

The Sylph coolly bought time, waiting for the Gnome to arrive. Lanpeach ground his teeth in frustration, realizing that the troublesome part of spirits is that they don’t get baited by emotions.

Lanpeach fixed his breathing and stayed in place.

A Gnome appeared behind Lanpeach, effectively flanking him. It is much slower than the Sylph, its rocky body resembled that of a heavily armored knight which looked troublesome.

Red flames flickered in the Gnome’s stone eyes as it raised its stone arm. He clad that arm with an earth aura and activated a spell.

[Grand Earthquake]

Magic spread thinly across the ground, transforming the metal floor into soil. The earth rippled and shifted, turning into razor-sharp rock blades that thrust upward.

“This guy is also using the highest earth spell?! This is ridiculous!” (Lanpeach)

The ground turned into a sea of blades, aiming to slice apart anything standing on it. Escaping was impossible, as the vast spell transformed the entire area into a field of bladed rocks.

Lanpeach quickly opened his Dimension Pouch, pulling out several plates of magic iron, floating them around him.

[Telekinesis]

Using the plates as stepping stones, Lanpeach ascended into the air…and turned his body.

[Wind Blade]

Just as he turned his body, the arm of the Sylph turned into a sword passed by from below.

She quickly changed her strategy after the Gnome came as reinforcement.

“Hello, Humanity-san…and goodbye.”

[Rock Catapult]

The Gnome launched itself like a catapulted fighter jet, hurling toward Lanpeach at high speed.

“Tch, these spirits are way too synchronized!” (Lanpeach)

He barely dodged the Gnome’s attack, the stone grazing his shoulder, followed by the sickening crack of a broken bone. The Sylph slashed at Lanpeach who was staggering.

“Uoooh!” (Lanpeach)

“Eliminate humanity.”

Lanpeach and the Sylph traded high-speed blows, leaving afterimages in the air. Each clash sent shockwaves, creating gales like a fierce storm.

The Gnome also joined the fray. He was not as fast as the Sylph, but its punches and kicks carried tremendous power.

To Lanpeach’s frustration, the Sylph limited his movements with her speed, creating openings for the Gnome to land powerful strikes. He was getting pummeled, and the damage was starting to pile up. This was bad.

[Soldier, these guys are strong!]

“My body can’t keep up with the calculations!” (Lanpeach)

He could predict the trajectory of the Sylph’s slashes. He could tell what would be the next attack by the source of that power, but even with foresight, his body and speed were inadequate for this high-speed combat.

He couldn’t match the duo’s pace even when buffed.

[Stone Blast]

“Tch, cheap tricks!” (Lanpeach)

The Gnome unleashed a barrage of rocks that glowed with the brilliance of diamonds, spinning around Lanpeach like drills, and attempted to pierce through him.

[Rush]

Lanpeach had no choice but to activate his special move.

His arms blurred as he slashed through the approaching rock shards with blinding speed. The silver streaks precisely cutting through each shard.

“Here’s some more!” (Lanpeach)

[Rush]

Lanpeach forced himself to use his special move again while gasping for breath.

The Gnome couldn’t dodge the successive blows and took them head-on, but…

[Adamantine Body]

“What?! Even with this much firepower, not only can I not defeat him, I can’t even deal any proper damage?!” (Lanpeach)

The Gnome’s body hardened, and Lanpeach’s blade hand only managed to scratch his surface.

Lanpeach was expecting to deal massive damage and create an opening, but was shocked by the Gnome’s defense that far surpassed his imagination and tried to back off immediately, but it was too late.

[Wind Rush]

The Sylph channeled mana into her arms, leaving trails of light in the air as she unleashed her attack.

“M-Magic iron, to me!” (Lanpeach)

[Telekinesis]

Lanpeach summoned the remaining magic iron plates, placing them between himself and the Sylph. But they were sliced apart like paper, and the same trails of light carved into Lanpeach’s body, spraying blood.

[Rock Punch]

Lanpeach reeled from the attack, and was then struck by the Gnome’s rock-hard fist, sending him flying toward the ground while making a nasty sound.

He crashed with a heavy thud.

“Gah! Damn it… I can see their attacks, but all I can do is minimize the damage. So pathetic.” (Lanpeach)

Blood trickled from Lanpeach’s lips as he groaned in frustration. Even though he could predict their attacks, his body couldn’t keep up. All he could do was back away to reduce the damage.

“This is bad… The Sylph and Gnome’s teamwork is the worst possible combination. I can’t beat them.” (Lanpeach)

Using the computational power of the Space Library, Lanpeach calculated the enemy’s strength compared to his own. The result was…defeat.

[Ehh?! So what are we going to do now? Run away? Or ask the bunnies for reinforcements?] (Libra)

“No, we’d just be caught if we tried to run, and it would be a disaster if they got to the portal. The bunnies wouldn’t be able to keep up with this level of combat anyway, so no support from them.” (Lanpeach)

Seeing Libra dance around in panic made him regain his calm instead. He glared at the Sylph that landed slowly and the Gnome as they slowly approached, walking across the sandy ground that had been transformed by the Grand Earthquake. It seems they are taking a cautious approach, intending to finish him off carefully.

“I can’t beat them… so I’ll do this!” (Lanpeach)

[Telekinesis]

Lanpeach focused his psychic with a sly grin, manipulating the ground beneath the Sylph and Gnome’s feet, turning it into waves that engulfed them.

Startled, the Sylph and Gnome tried to step back, but Lanpeach had total control over each individual grain of sand. He twisted the earth like a snake, wrapping it around their joints, disrupting their movements and making it difficult for them to apply force. This was the result of Lanpeach’s incredible computational abilities, allowing him to precisely predict and counter his enemies’ capabilities.

(But I only have a few seconds to hold them! I need to finish this now!) (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach drew Excalibur from his Dimension Pouch, and took up a battle stance. The holy sword shimmered with a mystical glow, filled with immense mana.

The X-Strike was a powerful move that unleashed the stored mana within the sword. Using it here would certainly deal massive damage to both enemies.

But…

“Uwooooh! Excalibur!” (Lanpeach)

[Final Strike]

Lanpeach activated another of his skills. With a roar, he thrust the holy sword forward, releasing a massive beam of energy, ready to obliterate everything in its path.

This was the ultimate finishing move, sacrificing the holy sword to unleash devastating power. A trump card that could destroy anything in exchange for the weapon itself.

The Sylph and Gnome, initially prepared to flee, swiftly changed tactics. With their mechanical precision, they didn’t panic, even in the face of such overwhelming power.

[Wind Storm]

[Grand Earthquake]

These maddened spirits had already calculated their own sacrifice. The light from Excalibur’s energy beam tore through the ground, erasing the space around it, burning the two spirits within. At the same time, Lanpeach was shredded by the fierce winds and razor-sharp earth blades.

The soundless energy beam vaporized the two spirits, their cores clattering to the ground as they vanished into dust. Simultaneously, Lanpeach’s body was sliced to pieces, disintegrating into particles and scattering in the wind.

Moments later, the particles reassembled, reforming Lanpeach’s body.

…And then, he collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.

“Kaha…! D-Did I… win?” (Lanpeach)

The Excalibur he had been gripping crumbled to dust, slipping through his fingers and falling to the ground.

“Using Excalibur up in a fight against minions… What a joke. Ugh, my poor Excalibur… But I had no choice. I had to use it to be sure I took them down.” (Lanpeach)

He let out a hollow laugh, trying to speak to Libra, but there was no response. Since he had been defeated during the Divine Spirit Fusion, there’s a 24 hours cooldown before Libra could return.

The battlefield was now eerily silent as if the intense battle of just now was a lie.

Lanpeach sighed in exhaustion, collapsing on the spot.

“This won’t do… I need to get a lot stronger if I’m going to clear this dungeon.” (Lanpeach)

[You’ve defeated a group of maddened spirits. Gained 18 EXP.]

“If I don’t, it’s guaranteed I’ll be operating at a loss here.”

A black rabbit popped its head out and peered at him as Lanpeach lay on the ground.

Lanpeach had a wry smile on his face. He thought it would have been nice if she had helped him earlier as he decided to retreat from the battlefield.

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