第四十二話 〈燻り狂う牙〉
「キミ相手に使う必要はないんだけれど......ボクに一撃入れたことに敬意を表してね」
マリスの身体に、金色のマナの輝きが走る。
「〈金剛連撃〉!」
マリスの速度が更に上がった。
〈金剛連撃〉......マナで瞬間的に肉体を活性化させ、神速の連撃を放つスキルだ。
剣聖が初期に覚える、このクラスの代名詞ともいえる攻撃スキルである。
マリスが持っていることもわかっていた。
ひと振り目を剣で弾き、二振り目を背後に身体を逸らして避ける。
恐ろしい速度ではあるが、剣技が追い付いていない。
動きが単調になっている。
〈マジックワールド〉では、相手が対応できないことに期待してプレイヤー戦を〈金剛連撃〉頼りで戦う剣聖も多かった。
〈金剛連撃〉の対応には自信がある。
三振り目を盾で受けながら、背後に退いて衝撃を逃がす。
よし、初見で凌ぎきれた......。
発動時に大きく距離を取れば、〈金剛連撃〉をやり過ごすこと自体は難しくなさそうだ。
「もう一発!」
マリスが刀を振り切った不安定な体勢から、強引に追加の一撃をお見舞いしてきた。
「ぐっ......」
〈金剛連撃〉は、マナで肉体を強化した一瞬の内に連撃を放つスキルだ。
故に何連撃を放つかはスキルの使用者次第である。
マリスは無理な体勢で最後の攻撃を放つことで四連撃まで持っていくことに成功していたが、そのために体勢は崩れていた。
その隙を突かれることを恐れてか、マリスは地面を蹴って俺から距離を取った。
〈影踏み〉警戒のためか、動きは最小限のものになっていた。
「ふむ......これでも守りに徹されると崩しきれない、か。それでも、ジリ貧みたいだね。もう終わらせようか」
「マリス、お前のそのスキルを見ておきたかったんだ。今の段階の間にな。余裕がない状態で、初見の〈金剛連撃〉に対応することになるのは避けたかった」
「......何を言っているんだい? ボクがハッタリなんかで臆すると......」
俺はこの戦いで三つの課題があった。
一つ目はマリスの〈金剛連撃〉を確かめておくこと。
二つ目はマリスの決定的な隙を見つけておくこと。
三つ目は、他の二つを熟しながら自分のHPを調整することだ。
【エルマ・エドヴァン】
クラス:重騎士
Lv :41
もっと正確にいえば、自分のHPを四割以下にすることだ。
そのために戦闘前にマリスの武器である〈魔刀・
〈重鎧の誓い〉[34/100]
〈初級剣術〉[5/50]
〈燻り狂う牙〉[0/70]
ここから【5】ポイント......〈燻り狂う牙〉に割り振る。
[残りスキルポイント:1]
〈燻り狂う牙〉[5/70]【+5】
ルーチェが間に合わせてくれ......俺が冷静に戦えるように、ルーチェが鼓舞してくれた。
伯爵相手に口を挟むのはきっと怖かったことだろう。
しかし、だからこそ掴めた勝利だ。
【〈燻り狂う牙〉が[5/70]になったため、特性スキル〈死線の暴竜〉を取得しました。】
〈死線の暴竜〉【特性スキル】
残りHPが20%以下の場合、攻撃力・素早さを100%上昇させる。
「マリス......この戦い、
〈死線の暴竜〉......HPが限界に近いときに限り、攻撃力・素早さを倍増させるスキルだ。
強力なスキルだが、〈マジックワールド〉はデスペナルティのレベルダウンが大きいため、あくまでも一発逆転が好きなエンジョイ勢のみが使うスキルであった。
発動を狙っても、一つ手違いがあれば〈死線の暴竜〉の効果発動前に殺されてしまう。
そもそも強敵相手には一撃で半分近いHPが削られてしまうため、発動させることが難しい。
また、魔法力は上昇しないため、HPがない状態で近接で戦わなければならないのもネックとなる。
だが、この弱点を綺麗に克服するスキルが重騎士には存在する。
「〈ライフシールド〉!」
「〈ライフシールド〉......? この状況で、だと? ただ、MPを捨てるようなものだ。自棄になったか!」
アイザスの声が聞こえてくる。
〈ライフシールド〉【通常スキル】
HPを最大値の20%支払って発動する。
支払ったHPと同じ耐久値を持つシールドで全身を覆う。
確かに〈ライフシールド〉は、使うなら様子見の序盤に使うべきだと思うのは正しい。
特にマリスの攻撃は〈ライフシールド〉で受けても〈狂鬼の盾〉で受けても、結果的に失うHPの量にほとんど差がない。
アイザスからしてみれば、MPをただ無駄にする行為に映ったことだろう。
だが、当然ながら、そういうわけではない。
この〈ライフシールド〉があれば、安全に凶悪な効果を有する〈死線の暴竜〉を発動させることができるのだ。
HPが40%以下になった時点で〈ライフシールド〉を使えば、安定して〈死線の暴竜〉を発動させられるばかりか、強力な盾を持ち越すことができる。
発動が不安定であり、かつ一撃死のリスクを背負うことと引き換えに膨大なステータスを得る〈死線の暴竜〉の効果を、根底から覆す凶悪なコンボである。
〈ライフシールド〉によって〈死線の暴竜〉の発動条件が満たされた証だ。
「一気に終わらせるぞ、マリス」
Ch 42
"Although there is no need to use this against you, but.... I'll do so to show my respect for being able to land a hit on me."
Mariss's body was lit up by a golden radiance.
"[Vajra Barrage]!"
The speed of Mariss increased even further.
The [Vajra Barrage] is a Skill that uses mana to stimulate the body for a single moment to be able to send out a barrage of lightning fast strikes.
That Skill is the first a Sword Saint can learn, which ultimately became the distinctive attack of the Class.
I was well aware that Mariss had it.
I deflected the first slash with my sword, then evaded the second by leaning back.
Her attacks are terrifyingly fast, but her sword skills are not up to par for it yet.
Her movements became simple.
In Magic World, there were a lot of people during pvp battles that relied entirely on [Vajra Barrage] to get through, counting on the fact that their opponent wouldn't be able to deal with it.
I myself am confident in being able to deal with [Vajra Barrage].
While blocking the third strike with my shield I stepped back to disperse the impact.
Good, I was able to see through it on my first try....
If I'm able to put enough distance between us before [Vajra Barrage] is activated, then I can easily weather through it.
"One more!"
From an unstable position at the end of her last slash, Mariss forcefully added another strike.
"Guh....."
The [Vajra Barrage] is a Skill that uses bodily reinforcement for an instant to send out a barrage of attacks.
Therefore, the number of attacks in that barrage is dependent on the user of the Skill.
Mariss was able to forcefully bring it up to a 4-hit barrage by sending out a last attack from an unfavorable posture, but it also caused her to lose her proper balance in turn.
Perhaps afraid that I would capitalize on the instant of weakness, she jumped back to gain some distance from me.
Although she must've been cautious about my [Shadow Stomp], since she only jumped back the minimal distance necessary.
"Hn.....It seems I can't break through easily if you focus on defense like that. Even so, it seems you are just prolonging the inevitable. I'll be finishing this now."
"Mariss, I wanted to see that Skill of yours while we were still at this stage. I wanted to avoid first having to deal with that [Vajra Barrage] of yours in a serious situation."
"....what are you saying? Did you think I would be intimidated by a simple bluff.....?"
I had three tasks to accomplish during this battle.
The first was to assess Mariss's [Vajra Barrage].
The second was to find a decisive weak point of Mariss.
The third was to accomplish the other two while adjusting my own HP.
[(Elma Edvan)] 
Class: Heavy Knight
Lv: 41
To be precise, I needed to get my HP below 40%.
For that reason I needed to dredge up my memories of Mariss's weapon, the Magic Katana - Mizugarasu, then try to determine her exact level by calculating backwards from the amount of damage I took for each hit and how it differed from what I expected.
<Vow of the Heavy Armor> [34/100]
<Beginner Swordsmanship> [5/50]
<Smoldering Fang of Madness> [0/70]
Now, I put [(5)]  points into [Smoldering Fang of Madness].
[Remaining Skill points: 1]
<Smoldering Fang of Madness> [5/70][(+5)] 
Luce made it possible to obtain it before this happened..... and she also encouraged me so I could fight with a cool head.
It must have been scary for her to speak up before a Count.
And yet, all of that allowed me to grasp victory here.
[(With [Smoldering Fang of Madness] reaching [5/70], you have gained the Special Skill [Half-Dead Savage Dragon].)] 
<Half-Dead Savage Dragon> [(Special Skill)] 
When the user's HP is less than 20%, Attack and Agility is increased by 100%.
"Mariss....we will be the ones to win this fight."
The [Half-Dead Savage Dragon].... is a Skill which doubles your Attack and Agility, but only when your HP is nearing its end.
It's a powerful Skill, but in Magic World only those that enjoyed the feeling of sudden reversals used it regularly, due to the high xp penalty on death.
Even if you are aiming to activate it, one wrong move and you may be killed even before [Half-Dead Savage Dragon] properly activates.
Against powerful opponents it's normal to lose even half your total HP in one hit, so it's not easy to activate to begin with.
Another detriment is that since it doesn't increase your Magic, you need to fight in close quarters while low on HP.
However, a Heavy Knight has a Skill that neatly overcomes those weaknesses.
"[Life Shield]!"
"[Life Shield]...? In this situation? It's just throwing away MP meaninglessly. Are you that desperate by now!?"
The voice of Izas could be heard.
<Life Shield> [(Normal Skill)] 
It takes 20% of your maximum HP to activate.
A shield with the same durability as the HP deducted covers the entire body.
Indeed, it's common sense to use [Life Shield] during opening moves instead.
Especially with Mariss's attacks, there is not much of a difference in terms of HP lost weather or I block it with [Life Shield] or my Mad Demon Shield.
From Izas's point of view, this was a simple waste of MP.
However, that is of course not the case.
With this [Life Shield], I can safely activate the powerful [Half-Dead Savage Dragon] Skill.
If I activate [Life Shield] as soon as my HP falls below 40%, not only can I safely activate [Half-Dead Savage Dragon], but I also gain a strong shield.
It's a crazy combo that undermines the [Half-Dead Savage Dragon]'s basic premise of being difficult to activate, but allowing you to gain an enormous stat increase for the risk of possibly dying in a single hit.
It's the proof of the activation requirement of the [Half-Dead Savage Dragon] being met due to my use of [Life Shield].
"I will be finishing this right now, Mariss."
The Reincarnated Heavy Knight Who Was Exiled After A Supposed Big Miss Is Unparalleled With His Game Knowledge
大ハズレだと追放された転生重騎士はゲーム知識で無双する
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-reincarnated-heavy-knight-who-was-exiled-after-a-supposed-big-miss-is-unparalleled-with-his-game-knowledge/
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https://ncode.syosetu.com/n8465gx/
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