Metro Labyrinth Chapter 125.1: I’ll Give It All Out

　During the guild interview, I presented ten Fungal Skills out of seventeen.

　I also presented the following skills: [Katana], [Round Shield], [Great Shield], [Warhammer], [Light Blade], [Self-Regeneration], [Leaping], [Holy Healing], [Detoxification], and [Beast Repellent]. These are the official skills of Sugamo’s [Holy Knight] Abe Shuu.

　I wonder how many people in the audience realized that my first attack with [Iron Fist] was the eleventh Fungal Skill. It was probably only the guild staffers who knew about my skill composition, or Aomoto and Shimoyanagi if they were watching the game right now.

　Hakuou didn’t seem surprised. She did not seem to have done any research beforehand.

　When this match was decided, I prepared myself. That this battle would not be so easy that it could be done without using my everything.

([Iron Fist] and [Fireball] are still good though.) (Shuu)

　Since I am an all-rounder, Higher-Rank Fungal Class, it is well within the range of excuses such as having learned it recently.

　On the other hand, the only two that could easily expose me are the Fungal Skills [White Bullet] and [Asura]. The former is against the rules and must be sealed, but it is also a pain for me to be unable to use the latter, which is a favorite skill of mine.

　[Asura] – an extremely rare Fungal Skill in the Physical Manipulation Skill system that can only be acquired by [Fighters]. Using this skill, which is clearly visible from the outside, would surely destroy the all-rounder [Holy Knight] setup. In addition, after leveling up at the Kanamecho Metro…

　If I am revealed to be a [Master Threadweaver] in front of the governor and the founder, I may not be able to get information about the demons for Noa. In addition, what would happen to my current life in Sugamo?

　That’s why I won’t use [Asura] in this match.

　I will fight through with only two arms, and I will definitely win. I’ve made a lot of preparations for that.

(There was a time when I was thinking like that.) (Shuu)

(I had done it too.) (Shuu)

　[Axe Spear] – a long-handled mycelial weapon with an axe head on the tip for stabbing.

　The thrust of the [Axe Spear] that [Magic Woman] delivers scrapes the surface of the [Great Shield]. The blow is so sharp and heavy that it bears no resemblance to the slender female physique.

　I deflect and smash the shield against their body, and without a moment’s pause, it swings its [Axe Spear] against the back of the shield. The other [Magic Woman] crosses her sword and catches my side slash. The slender [Rapier] bends but does not break.

“Rah!” (Shuu)

　I swing with all my might and fling it out, knocking the body forward ninety degrees with the same momentum. “Boom!” The axe head is swung down, and I roll to the side in time to avoid it.

“-Woah!” (Shuu)

　There was no time to catch my breath. If I look up, I am sure to see the [Rapier] user descending on me.

　I dodged my first backstep by getting up, but the puppet immediately closed the distance and pursued me. I clenched my teeth, stopped, and struck it head-on.

　Two [Rapier] draw countless trajectories and attack. Like they had made up their mind to scrape away my flesh and pierce through my vital points in small, precise attacks.

“Guu, uhh!” (Shuu)

　I blocked with my shield and shrugged it off with my sword. I was able to catch them without allowing even a single slash hit me, or at least that was all I could do. The number of moves and the rotational force are more than I imagined, I cannot take my turn.

(This is too much.) (Shuu)

(Fast and precise.) (Shuu)

(I can’t make a move—!) (Shuu)

　Their speed is almost equal to that of my current self, but the precision of their attacks is not human work. It is not a puppet, but a robot.

　The puppet twists and turns, its silvery white armor creaking. A side-sweeping attack comes–or rather, the [Axe Spear] extends from the middle, slipping through my side. The [Axe Spear] cut near my hip bone, and I let out an unintentional groan. This is the second wound following the first one.

“You have good instincts, don’t you?” (Maria)

　About ten meters behind the dolls is Hakuou. She is busily wiggling her arms and fingers.

“Even the first pincer shot looks like you have eyes on your back!” (Maria)

“Gaah!” (Shuu)

　Instead of replying, I swing with my whole body and hit him. Guy! and a dull crash. I tried to hit the [Axe Spear] user while I blew away the [Axe Spear] user, but the [Axe Spear] user dodged it and approached me.

(Tsk.) (Shuu)

(Mithril gang!) (Shuu)

　While striking against the [Axe Spear] user, a slight numbness remains in my right hand. The blow was fired with the intension of cutting it in half at once, but from the response, it was only a little dented and scratched. It seems that the top rankers use the highest quality products.

　The puppet swung its [Axe Spear] right behind me. Thinking I would be pushed away if I took the swing, I backstepped, and at the same time, the [Axe Spear] was swung right at my side. BOOM! The [Rapier] user’s legs are entangled in the tip of the large swing that cut the air.

“Ngg!” (Shuu)

　The puppet’s combination technique, which can be called acrobatics, and the [Katana] that I swung at once collided. My right arm was repelled greatly and the [Katana] danced in the air.

“Fuc—” (Shuu)

　The moment when I regained my posture, I was able to stand on my feet and legs.

“–Oh, here I come.” (Maria)

　Two puppets and their manipulator. They were simultaneously approaching from three different directions.

　I was surrounded.

(An escape–) (Shuu)

　Stab, full swing, and dropkick.

(Just in time–) (Shuu)

　The [Axe Spear] is caught with the [Great Shield], the [Rapier] swiped at my left shoulder, and the sole of the witch’s shoe kicked through my stomach. The creaking of my ribs and spine can be heard.

　My body, which had been folded in a crooked shape, swoops backward and rolls on the ground. At the same time, a puff of smoke is dispersed around Hakuou. It was a [Smokeball] that I shot as a souvenir when I realized that it was unavoidable.

　Spitting out the bloodied sand, I drop to one knee and create a new [Katana]. A wind whistles up in the center of the gray fog. At the center of the clearing of the smoke, the puppet thrusts an [Axe Spear], which was spinning like a propeller, into the ground.

“How weasel-like. Aren’t you a little vulgar for a lady like me?” (Maria)

　Hakuou flapped her palms in front of her face. I want to reply, “Ladies don’t do drop kicks,” but my side hurts, so I don’t.

“My opponents usually slip past these girls and go for me. I invited myself to play with dolls because you were so absorbed in playing with them.” (Maria)

　Hakuou put the puppet by his side and elegantly folded her arms. It seemed that she was going to take a break, and in the meantime, I was also trying to recover and sort out the information. “Abe! Don’t lose!” “Take care of yourself!” “Please! I’m betting all my money on you!”

“I’m sorry, the doll was harder than I imagined…” (Shuu)

　I knew that even without the puppet, she possessed the same level of melee combat power as Mr. Giran. By daring to get closer to her, she may have been trying to show that I had no chance to take advantage of her.

“I was surprised as well. I felt that your strength and endurance were above my level, and I could see how much effort you had put into studying me. Above all, not many men have been able to take the coordination of my puppet so well.” (Maria)

“Thanks.” (Shuu)

　If it weren’t for the Sparta training and the pairing of Giran and Kure, it might have been difficult to handle that onslaught so well.

　If I was going to fight an opponent who somehow manages to really be their name, it’s a natural plan to aim for the main body. No matter how skilled she was, it would be better than two mithril battle dolls, which feel no pain and are tireless. I always try to get pass them, but I couldn’t find a good enough opening between the two.

“How is it that you can dodge every attack from a blind spot? Is it because of some kind of Fungal Skill?” (Maria)

“Um… A man’s intuition, something like that?” (Shuu)

　If it weren’t for the [Sensory Spores], I might have been hit three times.

(I know.) (Shuu)

(It’s more than tough.) (Shuu)

　Two puppets similar to “Jaguar Golems from Ouji” attacked at the same time, so it’s not something that can easily be defeated.

　And that’s not the point—The two were so perfectly synchronized that it would not be too much to say that they were working in perfect coordination. Even the twin Shishkaba sisters, the most skilled team I know, could never have pulled off such a feat.

　It is probably only possible because one of them is controlling the other, but it would be impossible for a normal person to control two radio-controlled cars at the same time.

　If one of them takes the bait, the other one will take advantage of the blind spot.

　You have to read your opponent’s two or three moves ahead and move your pieces in such a way that your opponent is always forced to make two or three choices.

　It is easy to say, but how many brains does it take to pull off such a feat? I can only describe it as an achievement of her talent and experience.

(Right now, I can’t see any openings.) (Shuu)

　I then created a [Katana] in my left hand.

“Oh, it’s not a shield? I’m not sure if you can get a girl just by pushing hard enough.” (Maria)

(Then–I guess I’ll just have to create an opening, won’t I?) (Shuu)

　Hah, hah, and I adjust my breathing.

　Perhaps sensing my aggressiveness, Hakuou returns to a serious expression and takes a few steps forward with the dolls.

　After a few seconds of quiet–this time, Hakuou launches herself with the dolls.

　I strike the [Rapier] user with a downward swing, and then, without a moment’s pause, unleashes a winding strike at the [Axe Spear] user on the flank. It’s an attack that puts a lot of effort into knocking it off, but the two puppets staggered only slightly, but they covered the gap and did not allow any follow-up attacks.

　I used my legs to turn sideways. Like searching for a path that leads to the manipulator.

　But the puppet immediately stands in my way. It seems that the puppet is thinking that direct close combat is too risky, which will not allow me to easily enter near her.