“Guh!?”
The leg thrusters took a hit, and Lucifer lost its balance drastically.
Before I fell to the ground, I placed my hand down and rolled sideways with the momentum from the fall.
Immediately, another bullet flew to the spot I just landed, tearing up the sand on the ground. That was close!? Damn it, there’s no room for carelessness!
The battlefield today is a desert. There’s nowhere to hide. That’s the same for them, but we have swords, and they have guns. The range difference is just too much!
I’m trying to close the gap and make it a close-quarters fight, but I’ve been intercepted precisely every time, and I can’t even get close.
Damn it, if this keeps up, I’ll be worn out. Should I go for a risky charge? They must have a limited number of bullets. It’s not like they’re using Infinite Reloading magic, so it’s not impossible.
The opponent’s equipment consists of two Gear Handguns. I think each has a capacity of 15 shots. Considering the number they’ve fired since the match started, they probably have about five or six shots left.
Can I avoid their shots long enough? There’s no time to hesitate. I need to strike before they reload!
I push Lucifel’s thrusters to full throttle and charge straight toward the emerald-green opponent’s machine.
Immediately, bullets are fired, but I use the undamaged leg thrusters to narrowly dodge them.
Two, three more shots are fired in pursuit, but I lower the machine, push off the ground, dodge all of them, and close the distance between us.
Just a little more...!
Naturally, the closer I get, the harder it becomes to avoid the shots. But I don’t stop pushing Lucifer forward.
A bullet hits my left arm at the elbow, and the lower part of the arm is blown off. The Lightning Frame is a light machine built for speed, so its defense isn’t high. One hit is enough to cause serious damage.
The arm was torn off, but I still have one arm left. I can do this! The sword is almost within reach!
The opponent pulls the trigger on their right-hand gun, but no bullet comes out. The gun in their opposite hand is the same; it seems they’ve run out of ammo. Alright! I won!
I swing my right hand, lifting the sword, and bring it down on the opponent’s machine’s head.
“Ah.”
In the next moment, I notice the existence of a Vulcan cannon mounted on their head. No way!?
The four Vulcan cannons equipped on their head simultaneously fire, and at point-blank range, my Lucifel was turned into a battered mess.
At the very last moment…! Damn it—!!
BEEEEEP! The sound of the match ending rings, and the words “YOU LOSE” appear on my screen.
I already know what it means in the Duchy’s language: “You lose.” I don’t need to be told!
“Hah…”
I let out a big sigh and press the opening switch for the frame unit.
With a soft hiss, the unit’s lid opens, and I am pulled back into the real world.
“I lost…”
“Good job. It was a good match,”
Carrol, who had crawled out of her unit, speaks to comfort me.
And from the neighboring unit, Sherry appears with a smile. Damn her...
“Whew, that was close! By a hair! I didn’t think you’d get that close! I’m glad I put those Vulcans on there just in case!”
“Tch! When did you—!”
“Checking the opponent’s equipment is basic, you know? It was a mistake on your part, Nero, for neglecting that,”
Lirisha rubs salt in my wounds. I know! But with the range difference and the desert heat distortion, it was hard to see!
“You’re lucky that the Star Duel hasn’t started yet. That could’ve started with a black star next to your name,”
Ugh. That’s true, and it’s frustrating. I’d rather have a white star for my debut.
“Think of it as a last adjustment before the Star Duel. You found your weakness in a positive way. You don’t know who your opponent will be in the first match of the new student Star Duel,”
Right. As Carrol says, the first match of the Star Duel for new students is randomly decided.
As new students, we are naturally all at the lowest F-rank. Our opponents are chosen randomly from all F-rank students.
“From all F-rank students” means it also includes upperclassmen who are still stuck in F-rank.
As Lirisha put it, “Upperclassmen who are still stuck at the bottom aren’t even worth considering as opponents,” but I can’t let my guard down.
As upperclassmen, they must have some experience, and I’m sure they’ll do everything they can to avoid losing to a new student. It’s not going to be an easy win.
Well, whether I face an upperclassman or not is up to chance. The odds are about 50/50, so it’s really all about luck.
All we can do is choose between a Frame Gear battle or an Armed Gear battle, and after that, we have to leave our fate to chance.
“So, have you decided whether you’ll go with Frame Gear or Armed Gear?”
“No... If I face an upperclassman, Frame Gear would be at a disadvantage…”
“Yeah. They’ll probably have custom equipment. We’ll have to fight with almost standard machines,”
Sherry nods slightly at my words.
That’s true. Then, if I go with Armed Gear, I’ve been banned from using Fighting Qi...
Well, it’s not like I’m officially banned, but if I use it, both my opponent’s Armed Gear and mine would be completely destroyed, and in the end, I’d end up with a huge debt... It’s a tough decision.
Besides, Armed Gear is all about brawling. Normally, the academy would cover the costs of repairs for the damage.
However, my Fighting Qi causes severe external damage, and not just that, it can also destroy the internal magical circuits, which means the entire machine could end up needing to be replaced. If I keep destroying Armed Gears every match, the academy won’t keep covering the costs.
According to Rara, it’s possible to create a machine that can withstand Fighting Qi, but it would need a lot of custom work. Either way, I need to get my own Armed Gear to make it work...
Well, even if I seal my Fighting Qi, I’ll still have the advantage in an Armed Gear fight over a Frame Gear fight.
In the worst-case scenario, I could just go for a draw or destroy both machines and win. As my master said, "Cut the flesh to break the bone."... Was it “If we die, we die together?”
If I win in an Armed Gear Star Duel, I’ll get a reward in G. Then I can use that G to upgrade my Frame Gear. I’ll probably start that way.
In the end, I decided to go with Armed Gear for my debut match.
By the way, Carrol also chose Armed Gear, while Sherry and Lirisha are going with Frame Gear. Rara also chose Armed Gear, but I don’t think it’s because of winning or losing. She probably just wanted to ride it.
“Most likely, upperclassmen will see Frame Gear as favorable and choose it,”
“But if too many upperclassmen choose Frame Gear, new students won’t be able to fight each other, will they? It might just turn into upperclassmen fighting each other,”
“No matter who the opponent is, I’ll crush them,”
It seems that all three of them are really excited about their first Star Duel. Even after we left the unit room, they kept talking about it. Of course, I’m just as fired up.
As much as I don’t like agreeing with Lirisha, I’ll just go full force against whoever the opponent is.
I glance at my phone’s lock screen clock. Actually, the matchups will be decided at noon today.
At that time, the opponent data and match schedule will be sent.
While having an early lunch at the academy cafeteria, we wait for the results. Since classes end in the morning, we can use the afternoon for training.
“It’s here!”
Exactly at 12:00, an official email from the academy arrives. I quickly open it and skim through it to confirm the details.
The match is scheduled for three days from now, exactly at noon. If I can’t make this time, I can send my preferred time to them for adjustments. Well, I don’t have a problem with this.
My opponent is... Ah! An upperclassman! A second-year! Damn it, I missed it by a 50/50!
Their country is the Great Tree Forest Union... Wait, this person...
I look at the student photo of my opponent in the profile and frown involuntarily.
“Ah, I got an upperclassman. How about you, Nero? Wait... That person...?”
Carrol, who was sitting next to me, peeks over my phone and speaks suspiciously.
Yes, the person on the photo was that second-year with dreadlocks, the one who tried to scam Rara with a potion trick.
“...This person seems like a troublesome opponent in many ways.”
“I’ll crush whoever it is.”
“What’s going on?”
Sherry, just like Carrol, tries to peek over.
“Nero’s opponent is the second-year who tried to scam Rara with a potion trick.”
“Ugh... What a bad connection...”
“By the way, that small fry was an F-rank. Even after a year, they’re still at the bottom, so we can guess their actual strength,”
Lirisha says with a biting tone. Although they’re an upperclassman in F-rank, they probably haven’t even reached E-rank.
Even if they made it to E-rank, they would’ve been stuck there, and eventually, an F-rank opponent probably rose up against them.
Maybe they lost big while betting stars. Otherwise, they would’ve quickly moved up to E-rank again. It’s likely they underestimated an F-rank and lost.
If they had real strength, they could’ve come back up immediately after falling, but they can’t. It means they don’t have that level of strength... They probably just got lucky with a rank-up.
Since ranks in the Star Duel are decided by performance, the upperclassmen’s departure will push the remaining students up. But since they’re still in F-rank, it’s obvious that these upperclassmen are near the bottom of the list.
It’s likely that this dreadlocked senior’s strength isn’t very high. Still, I can’t let my guard down.
When I asked about everyone else’s opponents, only Carrol and I faced upperclassmen. Hm, I thought the chances of facing an upperclassman in an Armed Gear match would be low.
Did the upperclassmen choose Armed Gear battles on purpose? If they’re nobles, some of them might already have their own Armed Gears, and they would’ve customized them to some degree.
Now that the opponents are decided, it’s better to focus on Armed Gear training. We should think about weapons and equipment too.
I’m sure there are special punching gear for Armed Gear, right? I’ll ask Rara about it after lunch.
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