Why I'm Called the Gun Swap Goddess (2)

*>Quaterniana: ...*

It was a tough pill to swallow, but the outcome of the battle was already obvious.

"We surrender," Stein said as he threw his hands up in the air. He didn't care anymore about the fight. "Just tell us how you can play like that..."

Fae Sol seemed to accept their surrender and disengaged. She put a finger to her chin and tilted her head as if she were deep in thought.

"You thought I was a ranged player, right?" she asked.

"Of course we did! You want to catch us off guard with cheap tricks?" Castle fumed.

"Haha... cheap tricks? Do you want to fight me again?" she responded as she punched the air in front of her.

Castle had nothing to say to that. He prided himself on his gaming skill, and he'd lost this battle. In a battle, there was no such thing as "cheap tricks". There was only victory and defeat. Whatever method was used... as long as victory was the result, it didn't matter. He knew this better than most.

Castle clenched his fist as he stared at the ground.

"Well... that deception is definitely one reason," Fae Sol continued.

"... What else could there be?" Stein inquired.

"Hrm... Why did you choose the Battle Magus class?"

"Because it seemed like the class I'd enjoy the most."

"And you, Castle, why did you pick Fracasier?"

"Uh... I like tank classes, and this eventually evolves into them."

"Good. Now... Stein. What if there wasn't a class you enjoyed?"

"I wouldn't play."

"And if you were forced to play? What would you do?"

*Forced to play? Why?*

Though this seemed like an odd question, Stein still gave a response.

"I would hope to find an evolved class eventually that I enjoyed."

"Naturally. Now this is a question for both of you... If you never found a class you enjoyed and you didn't know what you wanted to play in the future... What would you do?"

Stein and Castle looked at each other. Neither could respond.

"Sounds complicated, but I'd figure something out."

Cargo Biscuit, who still didn't really understand what was happening, gave this response.

When she heard this, Fae Sol gave a slight smile.

"Yeah. Figure something out. Easy, right?"

These words dripped with sarcasm.

Asunder grimaced.

"Haha... I know it sounds like I'm joking, but that's something I'd do, too," she continued as she looked to the sky. "Why are we forced to play the classes we're given?"

"Hmph. There's no choice. That's just how the game works," Castle said. "There seems to be enough classes to choose from. Even in the beta there were lots, and there are probably a lot more later in the game. There's gotta be something for everyone."

"That might be true, but do we have to do what they tell us to? Why can't I have my own class?"

"... I don't get it. You're not a developer, right? So there's no way to make your own class."

"You're right." Fae Sol looked back to Castle with a piercing gaze. "In the traditional sense, I can't 'create' my own class. But with the tools I'm given, I can forge my own path. I don't have to travel a road that's already been built. Of course, forging a new path is much more difficult than walking on one that's already made... But isn't that a price to pay for such a freedom?

"That's what feels the best. Freedom. With my playstyle... it feels like I've blazed my own trail and broken free from the developers' shackles."

"... That's stupid."

"... That's crazy."

Clearly, neither Castle nor Stein agreed.

What was the point of creating a more difficult path whose outcome was uncertain when many diverse paths were already in place?

It was like trying to exist outside of the known world. It simply wasn't possible.

But there wasn't anything Asunder could do to stop this... "madwoman", so to speak.

"Are you done asking questions?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's it. I don't agree with anything you said, but with what you have, it's no wonder Brookie's taken a liking to you..." Stein mused.

"Good."

"Wait..."

Stein panicked as he saw Fae Sol draw her slingshot again.

"What are you doing?? Didn't you hear this guy say we surrender? We won't bother you anymore," Castle said.

Fae Sol sighed.

"Haah... Let me tell you one thing. I blaze my own trail, for better or for worse. It also means I have my own set of morals. If you've given up... If you've surrendered... Why should I care?"

*... Shit. She's absolutely mad.*

It was clear that Fae Sol intended to finish them off now.

Stein, Castle, Cargo Biscuit, and even Quaterniana prepared for a second battle. However, no matter what they did... the result would be the same.

*-299*

Cargo Biscuit was downed by a slingshot pellet.

*-0*

*-0*

*-0*

...

Any attempts at a counterattack were either dodged or parried by the wooden dagger.

Asunder was truly out of options. They could not engage in melee combat; no attacks connected. They could not run; they'd simply be shot down.

The golden glint appeared in her hands once again as a harbinger of demise.

The only thing they could do was struggle with all their might as the Reaper's scythe inevitably passed over them.

"Castle, join the Sun Dragons, will you? I saw you haven't declined my invitation. Big sis will always welcome you with open arms!"

"I-"

*-302*

Castle was downed.

Stein was the only melee remaining.

He charged.

He noticed Fae Sol unequipped her slingshot and was fully expecting to be met with a dagger, but...

*-7*

*What?*

Stein's attack connected. Fae Sol hadn't swapped to her dagger. She'd swapped to... nothing.

"I'll finish this with some good old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat. Show me what you've got, hm?"

Stein could only laugh when he heard this. Hand-to-hand combat was his forte. It was why he'd picked the Battle Magus class - many of its attacks were simply martial arts moves enhanced by magic. However, something told him that even in this category, he was outclassed.

*-23*

*-6*

*-19*

*-2*

...

Damage was exchanged between the two of them, but in no way was it even. Simply by looking at the damage numbers, it was easy to tell whose was whose.

Stein truly didn't know what to say.

As an experienced fighter, he'd fought against some of the world's toughest. Both in real life and in virtual simulations, he had a lot of experience.

He'd witnessed the peak of the 9th degree of Virtual Martial Arts. And even though they would eventually lose, he knew that he could at least land a couple of hits on them if he worked together with two others. But...

*This goes even beyond that... Is it an AI?*

"Who are you?" he couldn't help but ask.

"... They called me the 'Gun Swap Goddess'," Fae Sol, the "goddess", replied.

*Goddess, huh?*

A master of the slingshot.

A master of the dagger.

A master of hand-to-hand combat.

Was this a real human being?

*What part of that has a gun? Other than that... Sounds about right. Wonder where this thing came from...*

And that was the last thing Stein heard before his vision turned gray.

---

Jisha looked at the loot piled up on the ground.

*It's a decent haul... Can't complain.*

"Shana...!"

*It looks like there's one more... But... Shana?*

"Shana... I'm sorry I failed you..."

*Who? ... Oh... Interesting.*

Jisha remembered that Stein referred to Quaterniana as "Yana" a while ago. So that meant...

"Stein is Shana, huh?"

Quaterniana glared at Jisha as if she'd committed a war crime.

Jisha awkwardly scratched her cheek.

*I guess if this were a real war... it'd be somewhat of a crime.*

In the meantime, Quaterniana, the final Mage, fired her single-target attack spell. Of course, it didn't hit. Jisha had ample time to ponder Stein's character creation decision.

*Hm...*

A woman playing with a male avatar wasn't exactly uncommon. In the Northeast, men were seen as a stronger commanding force. Since militarism was rampant in this continent of Etmos, it was natural that big muscular dudes were seen as someone people should follow.

*Even Father isn't an exception...*

Due to this, if a woman wanted to command a force in Synergy, they would often make a male avatar.

It seemed a bit silly and trivial, but this didn't sit right with Jisha.

"Hm... Yana," she said as she pointed her slingshot at Quaterniana.

"...?"

"Tell Stein... no, Shana, to be herself and follow her own path."

*-319*

And with that, the battle against Asunder concluded.