After An-san departed, I turned my gaze toward the gaming tournament. It seemed the first round of matchups had been finalized and the matches were already underway; the atmosphere was incredibly lively.
For the most part, people were struggling with input lag and the simple fact that many were playing a video game for the first time. The result was a chaotic, bustling spectacle, but that only added to the overall entertainment.
Naturally, there were clear differences in how quickly everyone adapted. Some people looked flustered from start to finish, never quite getting the hang of the controls, while others moved awkwardly at first but managed to handle their characters with reasonable competence by the latter half of their matches.
"……Ah, I see. So if I do this, I can get behind them while dodging their attack, ssu."
Among the participants, Vul stood out with an exceptional level of adaptability. In no time at all, she was moving in a way that could easily be mistaken for an expert.
『That girl is good! Is this really her first time? If I recall, she was with Ai-chan, right?』
『That’s Vulpecula-san. No, as far as I know, she’s never played this game before. However, in my estimation, she’s a talent monster on par with Lilia-san, so it’s not surprising she adapted so quickly.』
『On the same level as Riri-tan? Isn't that a bit much?』
『To begin with, the fact that she’s using humanization magic so casually after only a few months is already abnormal. That’s a fairly high-level spell.』
It seemed Vul’s talent was comparable to Lilia-san—whom Alice referred to as a "Bug of the World"—and she muttered this with a somewhat exasperated expression. Come to think of it, I had heard that humanization magic was quite advanced, so Vul’s ability to master it in such a short period truly was incredible.
『I checked since her name just came up, and Riri-tan is also really good! Her movements are clearly different from the others. It wouldn't be strange if Riri-tan won... ah, something just burst out of the ground and sent her flying.』
『For some reason, about 80% of the obstacle gimmicks that are supposed to occur randomly across the map are spawning directly beneath Lilia-san’s character. Well, even so, the raw difference in skill is so great that she'll likely win that block anyway...』
Lilia-san remained exceptionally skilled. Considering her previous experience, I thought she was still significantly better than Vul. However, as Alice pointed out, the obstacle gimmicks were inexplicably concentrating on her, disrupting her combos and preventing what should have been a landslide victory... Honestly, I had no idea why she was being subjected to such concentrated fire, as if the map itself held a personal grudge against her. Well, map selection was random, and I imagined Lilia-san would be incredibly formidable on a map without gimmicks.
I continued to scan the area while listening to the commentary from Alice and Fate-san. As expected, Amel-san seemed outstandingly proficient. While the others were still fighting, she had already secured her victory in her assigned block; she was undoubtedly a favorite to win the whole thing.
But, hmm. I was still curious about Kuro... Let’s see, Kuro’s match was... Huh? Was she giving advice to Raz-san and the others in the practice corner? Was she not participating in the tournament?
Thinking that, I shifted my gaze to a large monitor-like display above the magic tool handling the tournament brackets. It showed the names of those who had won their four-person blocks, and Kuro’s name was at the very top.
『Block 10 Winner: Kuromueina (23.46 seconds)』
She defeated three people and won the block in twenty-three seconds!? E-Eh? I mean, sure, a literal instant-kill victory was possible. If you didn't focus on accumulating damage and instead focused on knocking the opponent out of bounds, you could end a match very quickly.
However, to force an opponent out of bounds while they had barely taken any damage, one needed the technical precision to perform a perfect recovery interference attack.
It was a technique I thought I could pull off if I really tried, but executing it required more than just simple manual dexterity; you had to have deep knowledge of the characters.
If you didn't understand exactly how an opponent's character moved when trying to return to the stage, you couldn't land a recovery interference attack accurately. It wasn't the kind of thing one could manage through mere intuition or basic skill.
I was curious. What kind of match did Kuro play? Well, the first round should be ending soon and the second round starting, so I decided to check then.
Intrigued by Kuro's fighting style, I temporarily stopped turning the lottery machine to watch the tournament. The winners of the first round were once again divided into four-person blocks by the magic tool, and the second round began.
Kuro was in the same block as Lilia-san, and a map without any gimmicks had been selected. Simply put, Lilia-san should have been at a considerable advantage.
However, shortly after the start, the two players who had reached the second round through lucky matchups were eliminated. When it came down to a duel between Kuro and Lilia-san, Kuro overwhelmed her from start to finish, steadily cornering her.
『...Isn't Kuro-rin way too strong? She’s not taking any damage at all.』
『Those are the movements of someone who has completely mastered the game. Or rather, the character she’s using is a technical character meant only for experts...』
Indeed, the character Kuro was using was intended for highly skilled players, possessing a unique mechanic called "Just Guard."
If one defended against an attack with perfect timing, it resulted in a Just Guard. Normally, blocking an attack would still deplete one's shield, but a successful Just Guard prevented any shield depletion or chip damage. In exchange, the character had the lowest defense power of the entire roster—a "glass cannon" type that would take massive damage even from weak hits if they connected.
Furthermore, by successfully performing Just Guard multiple times, a special gauge would fill up, allowing the use of a powerful special move. It was an extremely difficult character that simply could not be used effectively unless one could press the guard button with frame-perfect timing against any of the opponent's attacks.
The timing for a Just Guard was incredibly strict, and honestly, I didn't have the confidence to master that character myself. However, in the hands of someone who could, they were incredibly strong; I believe they were favored by top players in official tournaments back home.
In the end, Kuro continued to overwhelm Lilia-san throughout the match and won the second round. Seriously, her movements really looked like those of a hardcore gamer... but where on earth could she have gained that kind of experience?
Serious-senpai: "As expected, Kuro is completely dominant... At this rate, won't she just win the exhibition match against Kaito by a landslide too?"
???: "It’ll be fine. I'll adjust the status adjustment to match the opponent in that regard... So, please handle the status adjustment for Kaito-san's character in the event that Kuro-san wins."
Natural God: "Leave it to me."
Serious-senpai: "Ah..."