Accel World: Dusk Robber

by Reki Kawahara

  And then, ‘Why were you not blown away by the wind?’, that sentence also made no sense. That was because he was holding on tightly, of course. Also, Silver Crow’s body has low air resistance. That was why when he stuck to the wall, the wind passed by his back...

  “Ah...”

  Suddenly, Haruyuki made a small shout. He felt that he was close to something important. While involuntarily chewing the rest of the bread, he again continued to think.

  Mind power was, a method of using image power to control avatar or object.

  Yesterday, when Haruyuki was sticking to the rock wall while enduring the wind, he did not even think about being blown away. If it was Silver Crow’s slender and smooth body, he believed that any kind of wind gust would pass by, and that became the actual case.

  Maybe, that was —— at that time, the «Incarnate System» power was already being used? Did strongly drawing the image that the wind would pass through him actually lessen the wind pressure?

  In that case, in the same manner, would he be able to deal with this steel wall?

  After putting the last piece of bread into his mouth, the helmet closed shut, and Haruyuki stared hard at his right hand.

  The five fingers could not be any smaller, nor sharper. And the silver armor gave off a really hard looking shine.

  ‘—— Not punch, it should be a jab.’

  Thinking so naturally, he lined up the five fingers together and extended them straight out. When the wrist was steady, the parts in front of the elbow looked exactly like a sword.

  He lowered his waist to half of his height, and this time stared at the wall in front.

  The bluish black shining steel plates looked truly tough, however, it was just a stage background. Without any consciousness, it just exists. That meant its physical shape, was only a series of code recorded in the Brain Burst server somewhere.

  If he could not even open a hole in such thing, then how could he call himself a dueler. If it was that person, Black King, Black Lotus, then without doubt she would cut this degree of walls apart like butter without even getting worked up.

  He held his fingers extended right hand at waist level. ‘Suu, Haa’, deep breaths, then one more breath in ——.

  “...Haa!!”

  With that psyche, he thrust straight out.

  With a ‘Giin!’ sharp sound, bluish white sparks flew apart. All of his finger joints, wrist, and elbow had a sharp pain running through them that made his eyes dazzle. The HP gauge in his view’s upper left was slightly shaved.

  He involuntarily moaned, and Haruyuki slumped down to his knees there, but when he looked up, it certainly existed there. Carved in the smooth wall, was about 1cm long, 1mm deep sharp scar.

  ‘—— It will work!’ Right after that thought, he also yelled ‘Not enough!’.

  His image power was still not enough. He thought of his fingers as fingers and arm as arm, and that was why he was hurt. Think of them as a sword. Similar to that person, a sword that can pierce through various things, and cut them apart.

  He stood up, and again sharply extended his fingers. Thinking for a bit, he bent his thumb to the side of the palm, then from elbow to the tip of his middle finger, was made up of a sharp line as if it was designed like that from the beginning.

  And then from now on, instead of holding at waist level, held a bit higher to near shoulder level, drawn back to the limit. The left hand held out mostly in front, turned horizontally. Just like the motion he saw from Black Lotus’s special skill, «Death By Piercing».

  “...Shaa!!”

  The sound this time, was somewhat higher and clearer echo compared to the previous one. A lightning like pain again made him ground his teeth, but the scar that the wall sustained was a little bit deeper.

  That day eventually ended with him single mindedly continuing to thrust against the wall.

  He gradually stopped feeling pain, and by sunset, his fingertip ate in about 3mm, but that was still not at a level that could support him for climbing the wall. However Haruyuki did not feel terribly impatient, and returned to his sleeping place from yesterday while feeling satisfied from the heavy fatigue.

  ‘What I am doing now, might be just some kind of escape.’

  He could not help but think like that while laying there. Using «Acceleration» to extend the time, and fast forward his problem with Chiyuri, Takumu, and Noumi was an actual fact. But right now, he was happy while single mindedly concentrate on what he was doing, and it was saving him. Closing his eyes, Haruyuki again slept like the dead.

  Morning on the fourth day.

  He stood at the same place as yesterday, and stared at the numerous scars carved on the steel wall shining bluish light, as Haruyuki once again thought.

  The direction of his image should be correct. His fingertips being hard and sharp, and his arm’s thrusting power was being drawn in thought. But, he felt that he was missing something.

  While mumbling, he was again directly hit on his head by a cloth bag. Quickly picking it up, he face the sky and shout ‘Itadakimasu’, then bit into the bread inside.

  Today also, came with a piece of message. After opening it excitedly, that was ——.

  [Do your best, Karasu-kun ♡].

  It was only that, and while embarrassed by the symbol at the end, Haruyuki sighed with a snort. He was expecting a similar hint as yesterday, but nothing else was written.

  This would mean, ‘I already know all I need to know’, it would be like that.

  While thinking that, Haruyuki finished eating the bread, and again desperately worked his head.

  Mind power. Will from the mind. Image power. Inside his ears, Sky Raker’s words replayed.

  ‘——- Listen... Image power! That is truly, us Burst Linker’s secret true power.’

  Wait... a minute. Something very similar to that was said, long ago... very long ago, by that person also.

  At the moment he thought of that, that sound freshly replayed from deep in his memory.

  ‘—— Listen, Haruyuki-kun. You are fast. You will become faster than anyone else. Faster than me, and the other Kings as well. Speed is truly Burst Linker’s greatest power.’

  There was no way he could forget it. That, was right before Kuroyukihime used her final command «Physical Full Burst» to save Haruyuki, the words she left after being prepared for her own death.

  Kuroyukihime at that time, should definitely have known about Burst Linker’s hidden «Incarnate System». However, she expressed the greatest power as «Speed» instead of «Image Power». That meant ——

  These two, are the same thing.

  The word «Speed» that Kuroyukihime used, did not just mean the duel avatar’s movement speed in the field. It was the brain connected to the Neuro Linker, the signal speed sent out by the consciousness. The speed of response between this world and himself. That meant, how close to the essence of the world, it would be like that.

  “With image... control...”

  Muttering, Haruyuki held his right hand up.

  Not power. It was speed. What he should image was that. Move to the limit of speed. Get as close to the world as possible. And assimilate with it.

  “...Fuu.”

  With a slight exhale, Haruyuki’s right hand thrust out with an image of light.

  In fact, a dim but definite white light path floated through the space. A ‘Shukiin!’ sound, like something from some kind of musical instrument beautifully sounded.

  After seeing his fingers buried over 5mm deep in the steel wall, Haruyuki strongly clenched his left hand.

  For three more days, Haruyuki continued the same training at that place.

  He got up at sunrise, and munched on the round bread thrown down from above his head. The message that accompanied it sometimes had a heart mark, and sometimes did not, but with those words of encouragement as support, he intently continued to repeat left and right jabs.

  For Haruyuki’s about 14 years of life, he had never experienced concentra
ting on one thing for this long time.

  No, it could be said that this time could not possibly exist in the real world. The real body often get hungry, soon tired, and also had to go to school. In the 1000 times accelerated time flow of the Unlimited Neutral Field, and then with the duel avatar that doesn’t know fatigue that this was a possible action.

  The light released by his fingertips, and the depth they ate into the wall, were in a range that he could not feel any increase. However Haruyuki did not doubt that he was doing important training, and while just conscious of the signal speed that his brain sent to the avatar, he repeated the same action 1000s, 10000s, and 100000s time.

  Haruyuki felt that this training was not something like «Suddenly true power awaken one day». He realized he was aiming for something that was built up with results that his eyes could not distinguish. Similar to the virtual squash game in Umesato middle school’s local net where he continued to gradually challenge the high score. Concentration and accumulation. There was no shortcut other than those.

  That’s right..., probably Sky Raker who waited at the top of the steel tower also, and standing on the very peak of accelerated world itself, «Red King» Niko and «Black King» Kuroyukihime also, for sure passed through this road.

  Right now, he could not even see the shadow of that person walking far ahead in the long, long road, but.

  ‘I too someday..., someday will definitely reach that place, I will show you.’

  When the sun set on sixth day, while looking at his right hand with fingers that were fully pierced through the thick steel, Haruyuki strongly decided that inside his chest.

  To be able to do the same thing while sticking to the wall, took another half day.

  On the day that marked his one week visit to this world, close to noon time.

  He glared at the weak sunlight through the thick black clouds, and after thinking for a bit, Haruyuki finally decided to start his second climb. There were only five or six hours till sunset, but he would not need to search for routes or backtrack due to running out of hand holds on the rock in the «Wilderness» stage. If he just climb in a straight line, then it might be possible for him to reach the top before nightfall.

  “...All right!”

  With a ‘Bang’ hit against both sides of his helmet for psyche, Haruyuki threw out his first thrust.

  With a ‘Shukiiiin!’ clear sound and path of white light that was created, his hand sword deeply pierced the wall.

  Using his firmly pierced in right hand to hold his body up, this time his left hand attacked a place that was a bit higher.

  Speed. Speed of light. He only thought about that.

  Eventually, Haruyuki stopped even thinking about the word «Speed». Inside his brain, only the image of sword tip thrusting out like white light existed.

  Thrust. Pull his body up. Concentrate. Thrust again.

  Since the fingers need to be as horizontal as possible for the piercing, one action only gained him about 30cm of distance. Using that to climb 333m, a simple calculation would give at least 1110 thrusts on the wall.

  However Haruyuki just absorbedly, and single mindedly repeated the same actions. Without looking at the top or bottom, forgetting about past and future, so only the wall in front of him and his fingertips became his whole world.

  Thrust. Thrust. Pierce. Pierce.

  His hands were already releasing a laser like bright light. The depth that his hand sword went in was going deeper and deeper, making it almost difficult to pull them out, but he ignored that and just thrust, and climbed.

  Haruyuki went into abnormally deep concentration, even beyond when he was challenging his self made bullet avoidance game. Sight and hearing information lost their meaning, the steel wall also eventually disappeared, and in the darkness that was everywhere, only the flash released by his hands blinked alternately ——.

  ...No.

  He could see something.

  Far in the darkness, very, very far away, there was a water surface like blue sway.

  Portal? There was someone over there. Full of a golden shine, he could only see the silhouette, but for certainly —— someone...

  Haruyuki wanted to break the dense darkness with his two hand thrusts, to go to that place. He was being called, he felt.

  “You are... who...?”

  A deep echo accompanied the sound that range in the darkness, and reacting to that, some kind of reply, no, signal like thing was ——.

  At that time, a faint vibration was transmitted to his body, and Haruyuki opened his eyes with a snap.

  In front of his eyes, was the same bluish black steel wall. The sky was already painted a deep red. Sunset was nearing.

  However, a light other than the sun reached him from the east, so Haruyuki looked there. Just then, a seven color aura came falling down from the sky. ‘Ring ring’ like bell sounds. It was a «Transition».

  But this time, Haruyuki did not panic.

  Similar to before, he continued to move his hands at a set pace. Even without looking up, he could feel that the top edge was right above. The aura, as if it intended to throw Haruyuki off, closed in at a breakneck speed. Snapping and rumbling sounds of the world being recombined filled the world.

  Thrust. Lift up. Thrust. Lift up.

  At the same time as the next thrust, his view was covered by the seven color shine.

  Flicked away by the fingertip of an invisible giant, Silver Crow’s elegant body was instantly blown away into the sky.

  The top of the tower that he could soon see went far away. The virtual gravity, licked its lips and extended its hands towards Haruyuki ——.

  However.

  “...Shaa.”

  With a small exhale, Haruyuki released his final thrust from the air at the wall two meters ahead.

  A ‘Shuraaaaan!’ light sound echoed, the pure white light sword extended, deeply piercing the wall that he should not have been able to reach.

  At the same time that he was feeling positive, Haruyuki used that as support, and jumped up with all his strength. After spin turn flying inside the aura, what he landed on with a crunch was ——

  On top of the sky garden grass that he stepped on about one week ago.

  “Welcome back, Karasu-san.”

  Right above Haruyuki who hung his head while standing on one knee, he heard a soft sound.

  While resisting the sudden attack of fierce lethargy, Haruyuki lifted up his head with difficulty.

  The sky color avatar sitting on the silver wheelchair, looked down at Haruyuki with a smile.

  “You returned much faster than I predicted. As expected of a «Child» selected by her.”

  In reaction to those words, Haruyuki whispered back an unrelated reply.

  “...It should not have reached.”

  Somehow inside his head, only the feeling of the last thrust he released, was very strongly burned there.

  “It was a distance that my short arm absolutely could not reach. ...But, I believed that it would reach... no, I knew that it would reach. If that... that could be said to be «Mind Power», then...”

  Here he finally looked into Sky Raker’s eyes, and continued.

  “That was not something like «Control Power». More... more deeper level... connected to this world... that is to say... to say...”

  After searching his vast vocabulary with difficulty, Haruyuki somehow put what he wanted to say into words.

  “That is to say, something like «Rewriting the facts»...”

  “Yes, exactly.”

  Sky Raker’s smile disappeared, and she crossed the fingers of both hands, then said in a more serious tone.

  “«Overwrite». That truly is the one word that is the essence of mind power. However you will not understand it if you heard it as a word. You can only experience it.”

  “Over... write.”

  To Haruyuki who repeated that with raspy sound, Sky Raker quietly nodded.

  “The Incarnate System, that is the image type
control built into the Brain Burst program, was just something for support originally. To support the action command type control, it was just a system to supplement the avatar movement. However, with very fast consciousness, the strongly sent out image exceeded the program constraint, and materialized. The wheels that should not turn, turned, and the arm that should not reach, reached. Firm will, mind power, can overwrite events.”

  Those words, to Haruyuki who should have already learned the beginning stage of the «Incarnate System», once again filled him with a huge sense of awe.

  Half year already passed since he began playing this game, Brain Burst. That’s right, this should just be a game. But, in the numerous game titles he had played thus far, did image power... that is the strength of «mind» matter in any of them at all.

  ‘Squeak’, the wheelchair moved forward, and stopped right in front of Haruyuki who squat there while being struck by deep emotion.

  To the right hand that was held out, Haruyuki hesitantly caught it. He was pulled up with unexpected amount of force, and stood up unsteadily.

  Sky Raker removed her hand, smiled once more, then said something he did not expect.

  “...With this, I have nothing more to teach you.”

  “Whatt...”

  Swallowing a breath, Haruyuki shook his head sideways many times in reaction.

  “Bu, but, I am not yet... finally able to climb the wall only, right! That is far from flying... still, there are many things I need to be taught...”

  “Didn’t I say it, Karasu-san. That I, could not reach the sky.”

  After calmly saying so, the sky color avatar also gently shook her head.

  “Just maybe, someday you can fly in the sky with just mind power. However, that will probably take a tremendously long time. Even with continued intensive training in this world, for... perhaps ten years.”

  “Ten...”

  Haruyuki was speechless, he ground his inner teeth with a creak —— and said.

  “Does... doesn’t matter. If I can fly again with that, then... I will...”

  “You must not.”

  Suddenly, a harsh sound interrupted what he was going to say.

  “Half year, one year, with that amount you can still return. However a person who lives in this world for ten years, can no longer return to reality.”