MV – Chapter 144: The Minor Villain’s Second Challenge

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In a spacious hall with a spotless floor where thick columns tower like those in a temple, a faint light barely pushes back the darkness, and blue beams of light cascade down the columns in the otherwise silent space.

After the intense light illuminating the surroundings subsided, three people stood there.

“We’re back at the Twin Spirits Temple.” 

One of them was Lanpeach Kouza, whose mischievous grin suited him well. He still wore the Sword Saint Garbs, but his gun had been upgraded to a new model. He carried it on his back, a long rectangular gun nearly two meters in length.

“Heh, time to show off my powered-up strength!”

This was the beautiful girl Libra, with silver hair tied in twin-tails, dressed in a shrine maiden outfit.

“Now that we’ve reached the recommended level, let’s clear this quickly and stuff my wallet. Guaranteed big profits!” 

The last of the trio was a charming, dignified girl named Mira, with shiny black hair flowing down to her waist. She wore a skin-tight reinforced suit with attached armor, and a sword hung at her waist.

The three had returned to the Twin Spirits Temple to seek revenge after their previous retreat.

“This time, we’re in a party, and we’ve powered up, so we won’t lose to those Crazed Spirits again.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach was full of confidence. He had leveled up and upgraded his equipment so much that losing was no longer an option. He was sure that even if he triggered a flag, he’d still win.

The three of them proceeded through the temple-like hall just like last time. They soon sensed the presence of enemies rapidly closing in, just as before, and stopped in their tracks.

“Did they respawn even though we defeated them?” (Lanpeach)

“Monsters respawn. Since we left them alone for a while, everything should be back to how it was. If they didn’t respawn, our earnings would have been lower, so isn’t that lucky, Pla-san? If the hourly rate wasn’t good, I’d remember some ‘urgent business’ and leave.” (Mira)

“Don’t remind me of my MMORPG trauma. I’ve heard those words from players controlling key jobs.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach shrugged and readied the new gun he had splurged on in the colony.

A Crazed Sylph came rushing towards them in the distance. It was the exact same encounter as before, making Lanpeach chuckle at how this really is a game world.

“Alright, time to show off my new power.” (Lanpeach)

“Heh, wait, Soldier. It’s my turn to shine! I need to show that Libra-chan has gotten stronger too! I’ve been feeling a bit overshadowed lately!” (Libra)

Libra strode in front of Lanpeach and the others with a confident attitude. She raised her fists like a martial artist and set her eyes on the approaching Sylph.

“You’ll be down before my speed! Huata!” (Libra)

Libra’s figure vanished in an instant, only to reappear right in front of the Sylph a moment later. It was a skill only Libra can use: translocation via ethereal form.

The Sylph, surprised by Libra’s sudden appearance, tried to brace itself for a counterattack, but it was too late.

“Hocha! Ultra Libra Chop!” (Libra)

Libra brought down her chop with a shout of her special attack he hadn’t heard in a while…only for her to be shattered into pieces by a shockwave from the Sylph’s arm. It was like paper being torn apart.

“Achaa, this development is way too Ultra Libra.” (Lanpeach)

As expected of someone with stats of 3. Libra could probably even be defeated by a baby. Lanpeach covered his face with his hand, feeling pity. She is way too weak. Couldn’t she manage a bit better?

“Kuh, that guy’s tough, Soldier!” (Libra)

Libra popped back to life and clung to Lanpeach’s back, looking frustrated. The girl revived faster than instant ramen. It was hard to tell why she was even frustrated in the first place, though.

“Of course it’s stronger than you. By the way, don’t you feel any pain when you die? Rabbits are immortal, but they still fear death.” (Lanpeach)

“That’s because rabbits retain human senses, while I’ve reduced my pain receptors to a tenth, so my initial settings are different.” (Libra)

That was Libra’s explanation for her 3 second revival time.

(Seriously, is she really a pure Artificial Spirit? There’s something different about her that keeps bugging me.) (Lanpeach)

“Pla-san, we’ve got incoming.” (Mira)

“Got it. Let’s do this!” (Lanpeach)

The bad timing of Mira’s warning made Lanpeach refocus and aim his gun at the Sylph.

The Sylph, which had just taken out Libra, closed a few meters of distance by flying, raising its hand to gather a fierce wind. It summoned a massive storm filled with mana, just like before.

[Windstorm]

A top-tier wind spell for humans, and its power was several times stronger when used by a spirit.

“Thanks for my first kill.” (Lanpeach)

But unlike before, Lanpeach was calm as he aimed his gun.

[Super Senses]

Time seemed to slow down as he focused, and even the wind’s direction became clear. Lanpeach spotted a slightly off-center magical core within the storm -the eye of the storm.

“Let’s see what you’ve got, Haze.” (Lanpeach)

He readied his new long rifle, Haze, and placed his finger on the trigger. His Super Senses showed him exactly where to aim unlike last time, while his Gunmanship would take care of the rest.

He pulled the trigger, and a crystal bullet shot out from Haze, cutting through the air, surpassing the wind pressure, and heading straight for the storm. The bullet began to glow mid-flight and transformed into an energy projectile.

“Enjoy the sulfur energy round, it’s a special treat.” (Lanpeach)

This sulfur energy bullet, made with colony technology, couldn’t be produced in the Surface District even if they were to squeeze everything. 

It changed into energy mid-flight, making it impossible to intercept. The energy it contained boasted superior penetration and explosive power, creating a small shockwave as it flew.

That small shockwave passed through the eye of the storm, neutralizing the winds and turning the violent gusts into a gentle breeze. The storm dissipated, and the bullet continued toward the Sylph.

Lanpeach had targeted the weakest point of the spell’s magical structure. In the middle of the ever-changing eye of the storm, he had precisely aimed and fired in a second.

Caught off-guard by this unprecedented situation, the Sylph hesitated before trying to dodge by kicking off the floor. A human would have been startled, but as a Spirit, it acted purely out of logic.

However, the Sylph tripped. It rebounded trying to step away too quickly and slammed into the floor.

The Sylph looked down at its feet, wondering what had happened, and found a shadow in the shape of a little girl, in a stance of after delivering a kick.

The Sylph realized that it was an enemy’s doing, but it had no time to dodge the energy bullet, which pierced through it and shattered it into pieces.

“Shadow Servant seems like a pretty handy skill. I’m glad I got it.” (Mira)

Mira puffed out her flat chest with pride, though she nearly fell backward in the process.

“Woah there, Libra Defense!” (Libra)

Libra, who has cushions, supported her fall from behind, a new development that made Mira glance slightly at her own chest in comparison. Meanwhile, Lanpeach silently carried on with his business.

“Haze seems to have lived up to its specs.  It’s only right after dumping 20,000 EXP into it. You’re amazing, Haze. I knew you were the rightful successor to BD.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach rubbed his cheek against the gun with a creepy grin, which was pretty disgusting. The gun, made with orichalcum as its framework and covered with a barrel crafted from spirit stones, had a futuristic design that felt straight out of an SF movie. It used sulfur energy rounds and was incredibly powerful.

Lanpeach had bought this gun at the colony for the price of 20,000 EXP.

Its power? A staggering 800. Peak inflation at its finest.

“I should’ve bought this gun from the start. It would’ve made the fights so much easier. In the game, the max attack power was only 250!” (Lanpeach)

“However, a human wearing spirit armor still can’t handle the recoil of that gun, Pla-san. I saw you shaking while shooting. The recommended level for that weapon is 8.” (Mira)

“You’ve got good eyes. Yeah, it’s like firing a battleship cannon. Even with level 7 in Physical Combat and level 6 in Gunmanship, I couldn’t fully suppress the recoil. It’s a weapon with level restrictions.” (Lanpeach)

Even with superhuman skills and physical abilities, he barely managed. The ground beneath Lanpeach’s feet was scorched and smoking from the friction caused by the recoil. Honestly, it had been a struggle just to keep the gun from bouncing around.

A gun that requires transcendent balance, heightened senses capable of grasping the world around you, and the skill to wield it; such a demanding weapon is the Haze. 

(Indeed, even if I had held this gun the last time, the moment I pulled the trigger, I would’ve likely been blown away along with it.) (Lanpeach)

“A beam as powerful as a battleship cannon would have sufficed, but I can accept it if I think of this as a penalty. From now on, I plan to use this to its fullest.” (Lanpeach)

A heavy, resounding thud echoed as Lanpeach, with a confident expression, readied his gun once more.

“Neither a Sylph nor a Gnome can stand against me anymore. I’ve got two reliable allies now after all.” (Lanpeach)

[Piercer]

[Bullet Acceleration]

He pulled the trigger, firing a shot imbued with skills. The energy bullet became a single arrow of light, illuminating the dim space as it traveled forward. It swiftly pierced the Gnome’s head, shattering it like a clump of dirt the moment it entered the range where light could reach.

The Gnome fell backward, its stone body crumbling apart, turning back into mere earth.

Lanpeach effortlessly defeated the enemy even though he had so much trouble before. His combat ability was now completely different from before.

“Toyaa, Ultra Libra Spin! Take th—” (Libra)

Libra flew to the right, preparing to intercept the wind-clad Sylph. Credit must be given for the effort at the very least. But the result was obvious before it even happened.

However, Libra wasn’t the only one closing in on the target. Just as the Sylph swung her arm to strike down Libra, Mira appeared on the opposite side and delivered a sharp blow to the Sylph.

The Sylph raised one hand to create a wall of wind, but that arm was severed at the elbow, leaving her defenseless. Mira sliced vertically down through Sylph’s unprotected head.

The reason the Sylph’s arm was cut off was because another shadowy figure had emerged beneath her, severing her shadow’s arm.

“Please match me.” (Mira)

Mira gathered spirit power in both hands, activating a magic circle. She unleashed a high-level spell into the darkness from each palm.

[Twin Windstorm]

Two violent winds overlapped, creating a fierce storm that raged across the space. 

Lanpeach flashed a playful villainous grin amidst the chaos.

“Got it.” (Lanpeach)

[Rain Snipe]

The sulfur energy bullet fired from the gun transformed into countless fine threads of energy, merging with the storm, blending into the raging winds like rain, and shooting deep into the distance…

A series of explosions erupted, shaking the entire hall like a violent earthquake.

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