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A storm raged over a terrifyingly vast area. The violent winds formed a dome with a radius of about 100 meters, and within that dome, the winds transformed into countless blades, slashing towards Lanpeach.

The storm of blades was supposed to grind anything inside it to dust like a mixer, leaving not even a trace of flesh behind.

However, Lanpeach burst through the storm dome like a cannonball, and rushed towards the Sylphs.

“This is the strongest wind magic! Jumping straight to that is no way to greet someone!” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach was covered in cuts, barely keeping himself together, but he managed to withstand the attack by a hair’s breadth. His eyes blazed with fiery determination as he closed the distance of 200 meters between himself and the Sylphs in seconds.

The Sylphs, in response, lowered their stances and prepared to confront him.

“Let’s get this battle started!” (Lanpeach)

[Fan Shot]

Lanpeach readied his BD and fired his first shot at the two Sylphs. The bullet flew straight towards the head of one Sylph —only to be deflected.

[Missile Protection, Soldier!] (Libra)

“Tch, I expected as much from wind spirits. Fine, I’ll just beat you down!” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach bit his lip in frustration, then drew out his Spirit Gauntlets.

“We will now begin the elimination of the human.” 

[Wind Cutter]

Lanpeach leaped to the side the moment the Sylph swung her arm. 

A small whoosh sliced through the air as a thin, thread-like blade of wind passed through where he had just been.

The Sylph, unshaken by Lanpeach’s evasion, continued to swing her arms as if cutting grass, unleashing more wind blades.

The wind was literally as fast as its name stated, and although Lanpeach tried to dodge by taking small, quick steps, the sheer speed of the blades sliced through his Sword Saint Garment, causing blood to spray.

“Kuh, these things are fast! They’re on a whole different level compared to that con artist! And the power behind their attacks is insane!” (Lanpeach) 

[Oh no, the new spirit armor is already damaged! Even though it should have pretty high defense!] (Libra)

Lanpeach couldn’t hide his surprise at the sharpness of the enemy’s attack, so he wasn’t surprised by Libra’s frantic reaction of dancing around. The precision of the Sylphs’ attacks, even against his speed, was staggering.

Lanpeach’s current running speed surpassed that of any car. He could close a distance of 200 meters in just a few seconds, making it nearly impossible to accurately target him, and yet, the Sylphs were able to unleash their wind blades with precision.

“I’ve got no choice but to close in! I’ll beat them down with my fists!” (Lanpeach)

The speed at which he swung his arms left afterimages, and the wind blades, relentless like a machine gun, continued to bombard Lanpeach.

[Guard]

Lanpeach understood that the sheer number and density of attacks made dodging impossible if he wanted to close the distance. So, he crossed his arms, braced himself, and charged forward, fully aware of the damage he might take.

“Eat this!” (Lanpeach)

Though his shoulder was cut and his arms were injured, Lanpeach used a defensive technique to minimize the damage, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain as he closed in to deliver a punch. 

But the Sylph remained calm even when he approached.

[Wind Step]

Winds swirled around the Sylph’s feet, and she vanished.

“What the—?!” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach’s fist hit nothing but air, sending a wave of shock through him. He thought he was faster.

[This is bad, Soldier! The enemies’ evasion skill temporarily boosts their speed several times over!] (Libra)

“So their footwork technique isn’t just for show!” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach clicked his tongue in frustration, realizing the massive gap in combat ability created by the presence -or absence- of special techniques.

(To think not having any special techniques at this point would become a huge disadvantage! In the game, I could rely on passive skills and brute force, but the difficulty here is clearly much higher. I underestimated the Lanpeach difficulty!) (Lanpeach)

The true power of special techniques was on a completely different level. Lacking any trump card, Lanpeach felt a cold sweat as he realized he might be outmatched when it really mattered.

[Wind Step]

This time, the Sylph used her wind-stepping technique to close in on Lanpeach. 

She closed the gap in an instant, forcing Lanpeach to quickly assume a defensive stance as she transformed one of her arms into a sword and attacked.

[Soldier!] (Libra)

“I know!” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach assumed a knife-hand stance to counter the Sylph. Lanpeach subtly lifted his arm as she swung a horizontal slash with the swirling wind, lightly deflecting the blade. Seeing the Sylph’s slight overextension, he followed up with a powerful elbow strike to her chest.

The Sylph winced in pain, her face twisting slightly, but she delivered a low kick to stop Lanpeach’s movement as she stepped back from the blow.

The moment Lanpeach’s momentum was halted, the Sylph floated up, executing a powerful spinning kick.

“Not enough of an opening. You’re too soft!”

But by then, Lanpeach’s hand was already on the Sylph’s body, and he struck her with a burst of energy.

[Double Palm Strike]

Lanpeach delivered a powerful blow to the Sylph with a strong step forward, feeling the impact as she was driven back. He smirked confidently at the retreating Sylph, but then…

[Tempest Bomb]

Due to his strong step, Lanpeach’s body stiffened for just a moment, during which several wind orbs filled with immense magical power materialized around him.

“Damn it, so this one was just a distraction!”

Lanpeach realized that the other Sylph, who was standing at a distance with her hand extended, had been charging up a spell while the first one engaged him in close combat.

There was no way to escape. The wind orbs exploded, creating shockwaves that shook the air, aiming to crush Lanpeach.

Lanpeach’s figure vanished as the explosion with shockwaves erupted. The Sylphs stopped to assess the outcome of their attack, but…

Once the dust settled and the winds died down, the Sylphs flinched.

“Ugh, that hurt… Damn, these things are too strong.” (Lanpeach)

The wind subsided…and Lanpeach emerged, covered in blood. His hair and eyes had turned silver, and his hair had grown long, reaching down to his waist.

[Divine Spirit Fusion]

Lanpeach had used his trump card just before taking the damage. 

Divine Spirit Fusion, a transformation that allowed him to fuse with his support character and wield their power.

“Alright, Libra, let’s show them what our powered-up debut looks like!” (Lanpeach)

[Leave it to me! Now that the support character Libra has fused with you, those guys are no match for us! It’ll be as easy as twisting the hand of a baby and getting scolding by their mom!] (Libra)

Libra, now fused, appeared in a corner of Lanpeach’s vision like a communication monitor, her expression brimming with confidence. Lanpeach felt a surge of strength from the reliable silver-haired maiden.

[Libra]

[Skill Slot: None]
[Skill Slot: None]
[Skill Slot: None]
[Skill Slot: None]

Then, a status screen popped up with a cheerful chime. Lanpeach didn’t fully understand it, but a sense of unease crept over him.

[???? What is this? Skill slots?] (Lanpeach)

[…Uum, Soldier, did you read the manual? I didn’t…] (Libra)

Libra’s once-confident expression now looked as if someone had eaten the strawberry off her shortcake. She sheepishly poked her fingers together, looking at Lanpeach with an awkward smile.

[Of course not. Nowadays, games come with tutorials instead of manuals.] (Lanpeach)

[Right! Tadah! Welcome to the tutorial: ‘Equip the cute support character, Libra, with Skill Slots!’ Unlock the colony research facility to upgrade Libra and install various skill slots! Without skill slots, Libra is useless!] (Libra)

The foolish support maiden launched into a self-initiated tutorial. It seemed the surge of power Lanpeach had felt was just an illusion -a placebo effect at best. 

[You’ve got to be kidding me! Why didn’t you tell me before we fused? How useless can you be?!] (Lanpeach)

[Hey, I’d have checked if you asked! There’s no way I’d look things up or read the manual on my own!] (Libra)

[Damn it, I held back because you’re hot, and now it’s come back to bite me! I should’ve swapped you out for Mira sooner!] (Lanpeach)

[Aaah, I was thinking we could take a bath together next time though… Maybe even scrub your back.] (Libra)

Libra had finally abandoned her pride as a support character. Lanpeach couldn’t fathom how she had become so useless. Maybe she had caught some kind of minor villain virus.

“Ugh, fine! I’ll just fight. If it is okay to get knocked out once, there’s room for battle!” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach sighed deeply at Libra, then focused on the Sylphs. His face twisted in concern.

“Great, more of them. These guys really don’t hold back.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach could see more enemies running out of the darkness from his god eye view. They are not as fast as the Sylphs, but these new foes were still sprinting at over 100 km/h, their heavy footfalls echoing like thunder.

[Mad Gnome: Level 6]

These new enemies were Earth Spirits, known as Gnomes, about 2 meters tall with stout, rocky bodies. They looked like golems from a distance.

“Another level 6… So level 6 is the minimum here, huh? I knew they were on a different level, but I got careless.”

A bad feeling welled up inside him… 

His instincts were screaming at him to be on high alert. That it would be bad if the speed-focused Sylphs and the defense-focused Gnomes were to team up. 

“I have to take down at least one of the Sylphs before the Gnomes join in. Otherwise, this is going to turn into a war of attrition.” (Lanpeach)

[Aye aye, Soldier! Let’s show them the power of Divine Spirit Fusion!] (Libra)

“I solemnly swear to handle this with discretion.” (Lanpeach)

With a response as evasive as a politician’s, Lanpeach turned to the injured Sylph and charged.

[Wind Cutter]

[Wind Cutter]

In response, the Sylphs, understanding that reinforcements were on the way, unleashed a barrage of wind blades to buy time. 

It is annoying how their coordinated attacks left no room for him to dodge, creating a web of wind blades.

(Damn it, I should be able to close the distance in seconds, but it’s too far! Their attacks are too fast…?) (Lanpeach)

As Lanpeach pushed himself to close the gap, biting his lip in frustration…he realized something.

The timing of the enemy’s attacks, the predicted trajectory of the wind blades, the strategy the enemy was trying to employ, and how they would move…

Even though his Physical Combat level was only 6, he could clearly understand all of this now. It all became crystal clear.

Within a fraction of a second, Lanpeach subtly adjusted his body position. He felt a sharp pain as one of the wind blades grazed him, but he didn’t hesitate.

Lanpeach deliberately slowed his charge, pretending to be more injured than he was. The Sylph hesitated, weighing the decision to retreat or finish him off, and ultimately chose the latter.

Lanpeach saw this and smirked, letting himself stumble forward as if collapsing —only to suddenly spring forward like a coiled spring, closing in on the Sylph.

“Too bad, you got greedy, Sylph.” (Lanpeach)

[Psychic Body]

[Psychic Blade]

[Sword Saint]

Lanpeach decided to use the trump card he had been saving just in case. His physical abilities now far exceeded what the Sylph had anticipated, and he unleashed his only single-target special attack.

[Rush]

Lanpeach unleashed a barrage of deadly punches before the Sylph could even think about fleeing. The silver streaks of his attacks sliced through the Sylph, turning it into fragments of mana.

“Phew, finally took one down.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach clenched his fist tightly as the Sylph’s remains dissipated into the air.

“Near-future predictive abilities, almost like foresight. The computational power of the Space Library is truly impressive.” (Lanpeach)

There were still more enemies ahead, but Lanpeach felt that he might just be able to handle them. He took a deep breath, preparing to take down his next target.

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