VRMMO | Terris Story: Someone "Them"

04:B.Starting Village, En Garde!

Rapier.

Espada Ropera, meaning 'Dress Sword' or sword of sight; a one-handed sword dating from the 15th century.

Aimed at piercing opponents, this sword is about 41 inches (104cm) to 54 inches (130cm) long. It has one or two sharp sides that can be used for slashing, though not as good as other swords due to its orientation.

Elcia grabbed the sword in front of her and carefully watched every inch of it with a look of admiration, so Alice must be silent in her place because of confusion about how she should comment.

. . . Moments after looking at Rapier in her hand, Elcia began to lightly swing it a few times. But because of that, Elcia ended up frowning.

'Um, it felt, it was a bit strange. .' he thought, while trying it again with some small movements.

Lucky or not, other than herself who was a Weapon Maniac, Elcia was someone who had entered a hangar art competition; meaning her ability had been honed to use Rapier, Foil and even Eppe.

And with him feeling quite familiar while dealing with the sword, it took him only a few moments to find out where the problem lay.

'. . . Gravity point, huh?' he thought, and began to adjust his posture and movements to be in harmony.

. . . When using a sword, there are several things that must be considered by the user. And one of those is the Center of Gravity, or the center of gravity point that a sword has.

In short, with the right center of gravity, a person's control of the sword he uses will be better and reduce the effort needed to make a movement.

And that was when, Elcia involuntarily noticed her Stamina bar which was reduced by less than the moment before she adjusted.

'This is, too realistic. . .'

Shaken with a faint smile, Elcia turned to check the details of Rapier in her hands.

...[.Item Detail]...

「Common」Training Rapier

    Status: Normal

    Type: Melee Weapon, Sword

    Durability: 98%

「Requirement」

    None

「Base Attack」

    1.00

「Stats」

    None

 

「Enhancement」

    None

    A weapon often used for training. Has a very high durability.

...————...

In the absence of terms of use (Requirement), additional status (Stats), or strengthening effect (Enhancement).

The rapier that Elcia chose was indeed not something good to think about. But something like this was predictable given that Rapier in his hands was only a training sword.

Nodding confidently at the weapon she chose, Elcia turned to look at Alice.

"Done?" alice asked as she found Elcia glancing at her, who replied with a nod once more.

But to her surprise, Elcia soon realizes that Alice has chosen a Long Sword as her weapon; one of Rapier's natural enemies.

Frowning, Elcia turned to sweep her gaze and pay attention to every piece of Equipment in the place, intending to find a shield that was not too heavy and not too big; she looked for a Buckler.

'. . . Um, meet.'

...[.Item Detail]...

「Common」Training Buckler

    Status: Normal

    Type: Shield

    Durability: 96%

「Requirement」

    None

「Base Defense」

    1.00

「Stat」

    None

 

「Enhancement」

    None

    A protector that is often used for exercise. Has high durability.

...————...

"God. . ." Alice let go of the little grin of seeing Elcia easily guessing it.

. . .

Out of the armory, the two find Bill standing firmly in the middle of the field, carrying a Long Sword just like Alice.

"Have you finished choosing your weapons? Duh, the old man might be able to turn 'me into a streetlight!" bill grumbled with a somewhat impatient face, yet smiled full of jokes.

"It's not dark yet." said Alice with a little sarcasm, which made Bill finally laugh loosely.

Finished with that little joke, Bill turned into a serious look. "So now, I ask, which one of you will advance first?"

"You. . ? Or are you. . ?" he asked again, pointing at Alice and Elcia taking turns. "Oh, it doesn't matter if you two are!" he nodded with confidence.

Unfortunately, Alice quickly got rid of Bill's words and chose something else. "We want to do our own duel. So, rejected."

For that, Bill finally had to peck for a moment before smearing the tongue with a wry feeling. "That. . ! I was finally ignored!"

But he himself did not force and walked away. "If that's what you want, do it. Let me see how capable those hands are."

Elcia went back to check out the Quest she had. And as he discovered if nothing had changed, the girl finally took a sigh of relief.

As expected, this Quest did not tell the two to confront Bill. And making use of the gap, Alice twisted her tongue so that they could face each other.

Because on the other hand, none of the two who want to face Bill. Because, what can be done by a Level 0 beginner?

Both of them would probably end up like straw puppets; being beaten without being able to counterattack, which would indirectly make his Quest fail.

'Newbie Killer, like, who allegedly. .' thought Elcia.

A trick that seems sneaky, and is famous as the 'Newbie Killer' or Beginner Killer. Something like this is no longer a new thing, but it seems to have become a hereditary necessity among game developers.

And so often encountering this, Elcia could easily find it and avoid it as long as she was careful.

. . .

In the middle of the Combat Training Field field, Alice and Elcia exchanged smiles filled with passionate feelings.

Elcia was ready to follow Alice.

Holding Buckler in his right hand, he positioned the shield to protect the chest. Meanwhile, Rapier in his left hand pulled straight forward at shoulder level.

While the entire field finally stopped to look at the duel of a pair of silver girls, the two took a breath simultaneously.

" " En Garde.*" "

The silence afterwards easily raised the tension between the people who witnessed the two, even before the duel fully began.

However, the silence created did not last long. Because after a few breaths, the duel finally started with a single word.

" " Allez!** " "

Simultaneously, Alice instantly shortened the distance between herself and Elcia.

Although she had not felt her own body for so long, Alice quickly adapted. And aided by his 15 Agility, the range of distances that existed had been shortened rapidly.

On the other hand, Elcia still did not move from her position at all and maintained her pose perfectly. Even so, her sky blue eyes noticed the approaching Alice without missing anything.

The Long Sword that Alice had brought did not wait long. After learning that Elcia was within range of her attack, Alice set her foot in front of him with a spell.

—Swish!

A swing from below was aimed at Elcia, aiming for the front of the girl starting from the waist.

A low slash. Truth be told, Elcia was extremely dislikeful of attacks like this because it was one of the weak points that often caught her off guard. And this time, Alice shamelessly put it to good use.

However, Elcia had already fought many times against similar attacks. Because of this, Alice's attack was still within the predictions she had and did not panic her.

Maintaining focus at a normal point, Elcia finally began to move in response.

—Knee; bend down.

—Rapier; Lower Stance position, overhead, unsheathed forward.

—Buckler; Block!

Cay. . !

Banging the shield in her hand, Elcia blocked Alice's sword without hesitation.

But slightly different from her expectations, Elcia sent out a small groan as she received the impact of the collision. "Urk—!"

'—Weight? Difference, Strength?' he thought quickly.

Justright.

With the difference in Strength parameters between her and Alice, Elcia did not fully manage to block the incoming attack, but instead simply made the trajectory of Alice's sword slip through her Buckler surface, and switch directly towards her face!

"Heh." as if waiting for this to happen, Alice also showed a grin.

However, Elcia refused to lose on the attack, and painstakingly sent out Rapier's slash to greet the Long Sword coming towards her. . !

"—Forte***!"

Traaang—!

"Oh, Forte Parry?" alice said with a surprised face, which immediately turned into a smile. "It's never easy, is it?"

At that moment, Bill who was watching from the corner changed his bored expression to be interested in "Hoo." 

The duel continues.

After her attack was repelled, Alice took several steps back to re-create the distance between.

Stepping around each other, Alice and Elcia maintained their vigilance without showing a gap; maintaining the state of the Stalemate for some time.

. . . A duel full of collisions between swords and swords?

Don't expect everything to be like in the movie. . ! Because, even just to maintain the mind to stay alert has given a mental burden that is quite tiring. And after all, neither Alice nor Elcia was a Sword Master or anything like that.

Reading and guessing each other, with minds that really knew each other, none of them wanted to take the first step.

Over time, the air around the place stiffens until it becomes solid; creating a relative effect that causes one second to feel like tens of minutes.

Bill who was still watching was certainly aware of this clearly. And as a person with experience, he realized that this situation was similar to a condition where one step could determine one's life. Therefore, Bill was forced to be made to admit that the girl he saw at that time was not just a small pecker.

Still with the same condition, Alice who could not stand the pressure finally shot forward with a puncture attack.

Seeing the backlash coming, this time Elcia had no intention of blocking it as raw as before.

Taking half a step to the left, he positioned his body slightly sideways 30 degrees clockwise. And at the same time, Buckler in his right hand immediately faced Alice's attack.

—Sora. . !

Scratching the surface of her shield, Long Sword Alice slipped out thanks to the slope angle Elcia created.

At that moment, Alice immediately realized her mistake. "Ah—!"

—Duk!

In the next second, a Rapier had been beside Alice's neck that had fallen into a grassy embrace.

"Sakmat" Elcia said with a smile.

Realizing what had happened, Alice let out a short sigh. "Huh, lose yes. . ."

"Alice, sloppy" said Elcia later, and helped Alice to stand up.

Clap. . .

Clap, clap-clap. . !

Slowly, applause grew louder without them noticing; creating a situation where both of them displayed confused expressions that were funny enough to look at.

"What's with that expression, silver girl?"

Bill walked over with a grin visible on his face. "Something I rarely see. A good duel, that was."

"Um. . , so?" elcia asked, still in confusion.

The old halfling pegged for a moment, before watching Elcia with an expression that said; "You're joking?"

But when he realized the look of Elcia's face was completely original, Bill finally patted his eel.

'Ability but unconsciousness.' Bill thought to himself, shaking his head.

". . . Hah, whatever."

[Quest: Bill's Expectation solved!]

[Title : Novice Swashbuckler got it!]

And thus, their first Quest was completed on an anti-*******.

...———...

*En Garde

Referring to the prefix sport hangar, has the meaning On (Your) Guard. Be prepared, or alert.

**Allez

It is said to mean 'Attacking' or 'Strike'.

***forte

The part of the Rapier is close to the handle of the sword, which is usually not made sharp.