Ch.9393. The One Who Sings the Ballsong Saga

Gram, Fafnir, and Brynhild who controlled them were quite an infamous combination.

Brynhild, the great warrior of the Sigurd Tribal Union, controlling the ancient god-machine Fafnir, while wielding Gram which could deploy mana field barriers?

This was something one could imagine the difficulty of without having to experience it firsthand.

In fact, Brynhild was known in the community as the “Newbie Cutter.”

Many new players who came to Bisvarck without knowing any better, lured by the promise of main scenario quests, ended up getting sliced in half by Gram and facing game over.

This was true even for intermediate players who had somewhat adapted to the game. That’s how difficult it was to face Brynhild wielding Gram while riding Fafnir.

But things were different when you reached a higher level.

Especially for veteran players who had mastered the game.

Gilbert parried Gram as it unleashed a powerful mana field. This technique, which could neutralize even magic, worked effectively against Gram’s mana field generation.

Due to the sword’s characteristics, the closer you get to Gram’s blade, the greater the effect of its field. The point of impact where another blade meets Gram has its mana stripped away, turning it into an ordinary iron sword.

In such situations, clashing with Gram while it’s fully charged with mana would result in a broken sword or torn magical barrier.

To prevent this, Gilbert used parrying each time their swords clashed, eliminating the strain on his iron sword. Using this method, he could negate one of Gram’s advantages in combat.

“CT. I need assistance with magical armament deployment.”

[Confirming authorization for magical armament use. Entering support mode.]

Moreover, god-machine combat wasn’t limited to using just the main weapon. God-machines were equipped with numerous spells and could carry physical projectiles as well.

For efficient combat, one had to appropriately use all the armaments installed in the god-machine.

And it was the artificial spirit that could provide this assistance.

The shoulder armor of Gilbert’s god-machine opened, releasing a barrage of fireballs for suppression.

-KWABOOM!

Fafnir, who had been trying to close in, quickly retreated.

The reaction speed was incredibly fast, as if predicting the attack.

Gilbert could recall Brynhild’s characteristic skill from this behavior.

Intuition, was it?

While it could be seen as an unscientific ability relying solely on gut feeling, having it as a characteristic skill changed everything.

Her characteristic skill was a bloodline trait passed down from her ancestor Sigurd, and as it developed, this heightened intuition could perform almost like future prediction.

It was a characteristic skill far superior in versatility and practicality compared to Gilbert’s flawed “My Mech Is Awesome” skill.

Clicking his tongue, Gilbert used high-speed movement to secure a position before she could take her next action.

But Brynhild, utilizing her intuition skill, seemed to predict even this, naturally raising her sword to block his advance. She had developed her characteristic skill better than he had thought.

[The enemy’s reaction speed exceeds predictions.]

“Seems like a characteristic skill.”

[Agreed. Beginning analysis of the pattern.]

CT-777 began analyzing Brynhild’s combat pattern, as if even this was within its analytical capabilities.

– CLANG! CLANG! BOOM! BOOM!

While swinging his sword and mixing in magical armaments, Brynhild seemed to uncannily perceive everything, either deflecting or evading with evasive maneuvers. Her movements suggested she could read all of Gilbert’s moves, even appearing somewhat relaxed.

This makes things interesting.

Gilbert grinned. If the enemy was predicting with intuition, then he needed to show movements so erratic that she couldn’t even react.

Fortunately, he possessed the three-dimensional maneuver skill, and by actively utilizing it, pushing Brynhild onto the defensive would be simple.

Immediately, the god-machine he was piloting abandoned orthodox movements. Instead of predictable linear movements, it displayed inefficient trajectories as it launched its attacks.

After a quick attack, he followed with a delayed magical armament deployment. Showcasing random patterns without any fixed sequence, Gilbert slowly began to pressure Fafnir.

That’s when it started.

The previously smooth movements of Fafnir began to show signs of urgency.

The characteristic skill of intuition, as good as its performance is, leads to high dependency. Intuition isn’t based on probability but is literally a realm related to gut feeling.

It can’t be completely trusted, nor can it be entirely disregarded. Eventually, the skill holder must make a judgment, and by making this intuition waver between being right or wrong, confusion becomes inevitable.

Gilbert targeted this weakness.

He mixed feints and false moves with his sword strikes aimed at blind spots, and unleashed magical armaments in unexpected situations. After pushing with a standardized pattern, he would change it the moment he judged the opponent had become accustomed.

This would be difficult for an ordinary god-machine pilot, but Gilbert was a veteran pilot capable of such tactics.

On the surface, he appeared to be a novice knight with little experience piloting a god-machine, but the Kang Do-jun inside was different.

Approximately 1,400 sorties.

869 combat engagements.

353 enemy units shot down.

The combat sense and experience accumulated through numerous battles were fully integrated into Gilbert’s piloting skills, making everything possible.

And that wasn’t all.

His piloting ability score of 100, under the name of system backup, provided a foundation for his piloting skills to reach an even higher level.

Gilbert blocked the path of the rapidly shifting Fafnir with his golden greatsword.

Winter Sword – Frost Wind

A faintly formed sword energy swept across the ground.

Fafnir dissipated the aftermath of the sword energy with Gram and then brought out its auxiliary armament, a mana cannon, to pour out mana bullets.

-THUKWABANG!

Fafnir’s mana bullets only pounded the innocent ground. The god-machine Gilbert was targeting had long since left that position.

As Gilbert imagined Brynhild clicking her tongue, he suddenly felt a peculiar sensation.

It was a familiar feeling he had experienced before.

He soon realized that this strange sensation was the boundary of the realm he had stepped into during the Academy attack incident.

Gilbert hesitated as he was about to unconsciously cross into the realm.

He recalled the warning from his mentor, Briana.

Briana had warned Gilbert never to cross into the realm again.

It was a warning that exceeding one’s limits would eventually consume oneself.

Gilbert also understood what she was concerned about.

In Tactical Combat, there was a skill called “Limit Break” that could be obtained with quite a rare probability.

It was a kind of buff skill, a concept of a finishing move that could be acquired when following the Berserker tech tree.

Gilbert, who had stepped into the limit realm during the Academy attack, belatedly realized that this limit realm had similarities with Tactical Combat’s Limit Break.

Briana’s explanation that forcibly entering the limit realm would result in becoming crippled was a decisive hint.

Status Ailment Rebound.

It was a status ailment that only occurred when using Limit Break, with a certain probability of permanently decreasing a character’s stats.

In Tactical Combat, Limit Break was a very good buff skill that allowed one to exert power beyond their current level, but its use was minimized.

No gamer would enjoy having the stats of a character they had painstakingly raised permanently decreased.

Probably, stepping into the limit realm would likely result in becoming crippled due to rebound, similar to when using Limit Break. After all, both involved exerting power beyond what was given to oneself, resulting in a counterbalance, so they were likely not different.

But there was a way to fully utilize Limit Break.

If the limit realm was similar to Limit Break, this method would likely work as well.

Let’s experiment.

Since he had also considered a solution for permanent stat reduction, it was worth experimenting.

Gilbert stepped into the limit realm without hesitation for this experiment.

[Entering the limit realm.]

[Warning! Activating the limit realm may result in permanent stat reduction.]

Gilbert was already well aware of this much.

If it ended here, even Gilbert would have been reluctant to use the limit realm.

[Acquired skill Limit Break.]

[All unlock conditions for skill Lion Heart have been satisfied.]

[You possess the skill Nemea.]

[Achievement “Imperial Warrior” and “Volsung Saga” confirmed.]

[Attempting to merge skill Lion Heart and skill Nemea due to special conditions being met.]

[Special condition “Completion of Saga” is still in progress.]

[Fusion paused until completion of the Saga.]

Gilbert’s test was successful.

Not only did he unlock Lion Heart, which had strict unlock conditions, but he also satisfied all the special conditions for merging Lion Heart and Nemea.

This was the jackpot of all jackpots.

Good. Let’s end this quickly.

With everything set up like this, he was even more confident in his victory. If he lost, there could be tremendous casualties and he might lose a skill necessary for the future.

Gilbert’s tempo became faster than before.

He twisted his sword to thrust, and poured mana bullets where the enemy dodged.

When Brynhild used her intuition to somehow evade, he moved one step ahead as if he already knew where she would go.

This time was no different.

As he brought down his iron sword with enough force to split something in half, Fafnir smoothly evaded diagonally. Gilbert, backed up by CT-777, used an electric-type magical armament at the evasion point indicated by CT-777.

-ZZZZT!

A light that obscured vision was followed by a sound like air burning. It was as fast as expected from electric-type magic, which was the fastest in terms of manifestation speed.

But Brynhild was no pushover either.

She was also the greatest warrior representing the Sigurd Tribal Union.

Brynhild, showing no signs of panic, stabbed the center of the electric magic with Gram’s mana field.

She dispelled the magic with a parry and neutralized the discharge characteristic of electric magic with Gram’s mana field.

-KWAJIK!

As Fafnir stepped strongly, the ground cracked and fragments scattered. It was Brynhild’s counterattack with a fully shifted center of gravity.

Even her evasion-focused maneuvers until now were for this very moment.

Gram aimed at Gilbert’s god-machine, twisting and thrusting like a sinister snake.

A decisive move, huh?

Gilbert’s eyes gleamed as he saw the attack precisely targeting the cockpit.

It roughly matched the timing he had been thinking of.

Meanwhile, Brynhild smiled broadly at this decisive move.

The opponent’s god-machine was caught in a reverse motion, so physically speaking, evasion was difficult. At most, slightly turning the upper body was the maximum evasion he could manage at present.

The reason Brynhild had been holding back was precisely for this one move.

Objectively, he had superior piloting skills compared to her.

She had somehow endured and persevered solely for this one move.

Brynhild had unwavering faith in the victory of the Volsung Saga.

Although her intuition sent sharp warnings, she firmly believed this was the last opportunity given to her.

However, Gilbert smiled even as he saw the tip of Gram’s sword approaching right in front of him.

[Assisting with evasive maneuvers.]

The direct effect of the skill Three-Dimensional Maneuver activated.

The direct effect, which had a cooldown of one hour, was a skill that could forcibly activate the skill with minimal conditions.

Even if it was a movement that defied physical laws, it could definitely be used if the conditions were met.

And those conditions were easily met with CT-777’s assistance.

He easily avoided the tip of Gram’s sword, which was targeting the cockpit, with a back flip.

As this was an all-out attack, this time it was Brynhild’s god-machine that was caught in a reverse motion. She tried to somehow recover her posture, but the ground she had stepped on only deepened.

Gilbert grabbed the control stick as soon as his evasive maneuver ended. He rammed his shoulder into Fafnir’s wide-open cockpit and poured all his mana into his iron sword.

Strands of not fully formalized mana fluttered, distorting the surroundings.

Winter Sword – Biting Wind

A golden beam of light was drawn diagonally.

-CLANG! THUD!

Gram was deflected and Fafnir fell.

Brynhild hurriedly tried to raise Fafnir, but she had to face the golden iron sword targeting her cockpit.

[…I’ve lost.]

“It was a good match, great warrior of Sigurd.”

[You have achieved victory in the Volsung Saga.]

[The power of the saga dwells within your body.]

[Achievement “One Who Sings the Saga” is updated.]

[The paused skill fusion resumes.]

[Acquired skill Hundred Beasts (百獸).]

Gilbert smiled broadly at the notification window obscuring his view.

Victory always brought many rewards.