บท 1788: -1768- [ Star Splash ]
"Whoosh!"
The tattered black cloak billowed, creating a howling wind-like sound.
XaXa held his cold rapier and darted toward Rozen like a ghostly shadow.
The sudden attack made players in front of their screens gasp in shock.
"Watch out!"
Especially among the players of ALO, Asuna and the others cried out, instantly filling the various VRMMOs with an intense atmosphere of tension released by all the players.
Only Rozen remained unmoved from start to finish. Instead, he had already raised the revolver in his hand, pointing it forward.
"Bang—!"
With an ear-splitting gunshot, a powerful bullet pierced through the air, heading straight for XaXa.
At such close range, even with the aid of the bullet trajectory line, dodging a shot from a PZ handgun wasn't so simple.
However, XaXa's figure suddenly seemed to split into multiple phantoms. With a single flicker, he managed to evade the incoming bullet.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!"
Rozen, unfazed, continued to pull the trigger, emptying the revolver's chamber.
One bullet after another tore through the air, breaking the sound barrier, and enveloping XaXa in a hail of fire.
Facing such a barrage at this range, even someone like Kirito might have struggled to keep up.
Yet XaXa's silhouette flickered like before, creating phantom-like shadows that slipped through the bullet storm and advanced toward Rozen.
Rozen's shots all missed their mark.
"Still as skillful as ever, I see."
Rozen narrowed his eyes and let out a cold chuckle.
He wasn't surprised in the slightest by XaXa's proficiency.
Back during the death game SAO, many top-tier players had developed various extra-system skills—game techniques so advanced they were on a completely different level from ordinary players.
At that time, even Rozen had enhanced his sword techniques using footwork and power adjustments.
These kinds of methods were classified as extra-system skills: techniques not coded into the game's system but accomplished through a player's expertise.
Rozen's Mind's Eye was, strictly speaking, also an extra-system skill—albeit one unique to him and unattainable by others.
The players at the forefront of the SAO clearing team had similarly discovered countless extra-system skills throughout two years of relentless combat.
Examples included Prediction, a skill that analyzed sword positions and body weight shifts to foresee an opponent's moves during duels.
Or Perception, which allowed players to predict attack trajectories based on the line of sight of long-range monsters or human foes.
Or even Sound Discernment, which pinpointed enemy positions by identifying their environmental sound effects.
Other extra-system skills included Misdirection, which exploited AI learning algorithms to create openings, and Switching, where multiple players alternated positions while recovering HP. Such techniques were not part of the game's standard skill system.
Among these, the most elusive and mystical was a skill players dubbed Aura Sensing (Hyper-Sensitivity).
This skill enabled a player to detect the presence of an enemy preparing to attack before seeing or hearing them—a technique akin to sensing killing intent.
Of course, since the concept of "killing intent" technically couldn't exist in a virtual world, fully immersed human players relied entirely on digital data from devices like the NERvGear to interpret the game world. Thus, the notion of "killing intent" or a "sixth sense" was dismissed by many as fantasy. Yet, some players undeniably used it to escape life-threatening situations, making it a skill shrouded in mystery.
As one of the top lieutenants of Laughing Coffin and the right hand of their leader PoH, XaXa possessed strength on par with Kirito, provided the latter wasn't using his Dual Blades. Even if XaXa didn't master hyper-sensitivity-like skills, he absolutely excelled in techniques like Prediction, Perception, and Sound Discernment.
Thus, without relying on the trajectory line, XaXa could easily read the path of Rozen's bullets and dodge them effortlessly.
Rozen, after depleting his revolver's ammunition, discarded the firearm on the ground and drew a dagger strapped to his thigh.
At that moment, XaXa charged forward, rapier in hand.
"Clang!"
With a crisp clash, a cold gleam streaked across the air at blinding speed, aiming for Rozen's throat, only to be blocked by Rozen's raised dagger.
"...!"
The red glow in the skeletal mask covering XaXa's face flared suddenly. Then, his rapier transformed into countless streaks of light, slashing mercilessly at all of Rozen's vital spots.
A closer look revealed that every one of these streaks was aimed directly at a critical point.
The throat.
The heart.
The eyes.
The abdomen.
The lungs.
Every strike, if landed, would result in a critical hit capable of inflicting devastating damage.
At first glance, it seemed as though countless streams of light enveloped Rozen in a deadly spectacle.
Yet, beneath this dazzling display lurked mortal peril.
"Hmph."
Rozen sneered coldly, his movements unrelenting. With a light push of his toes, his entire body glided backward, all while gripping the dagger in a reverse hold. He slashed along the shortest, most direct path to intercept.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang...!"
In the next instant, countless metallic clashes rang out as the dagger and rapier collided repeatedly, sending sparks flying.
Rozen retreated furiously while parrying, and XaXa pursued relentlessly, their figures weaving like two black storms across the vast square. The air filled with flashes of blade and sword, accompanied by the sound of their fierce combat.
For a while, the two seemed evenly matched.
This scene thrilled many watching players.
"They're actually fighting with swords up close...!?"
"Incredible!"
"Never seen a duel like this in any BoB before!"
"Forget BoB—such intense melee combat is rare in GGO overall!"
"Who'd have thought we'd witness such an exciting and brutal sword fight in this game!"
"Absolutely eye-opening!"
Players enthusiastically discussed the battle.
Only the members of Crimson Wing had their expressions change dramatically.
"That's... Star Splash...!"
"He's using Star Splash, isn't he?"
"So he really is an SAO survivor..."
One after another, they cried out.
Star Splash—
An advanced thrusting technique featuring an eight-hit combo, originally a high-level rapier sword skill.
Since it involved only thrusts without slashes, it could be performed with a rapier derived from a fine sword. To SAO players, this was a very familiar skill.
Especially to rapier users like Asuna, who mastered it.
That was why Asuna gasped in astonishment, covering her mouth.
"He… he executed an eight-hit combo sword skill without system assistance?"
GGO was fundamentally different from SAO. Even if character stats provided certain compensations, performing such precise eight-hit combo skills without system support was incredibly challenging.
At least, Asuna wouldn't dare claim she could do it flawlessly every time.
Yet, XaXa executed it effortlessly, demonstrating a level of expertise that far surpassed Asuna's.
Even Kirito's expression grew solemn.
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