Blunt Type Ogre Girl's Way to Live Streaming

Chapter 294: Birthday Stream 8: The End

Chapter 294: Birthday Stream 8: The End

Author Note:

Sorry for the delay. My health hasn’t been great, and to make matters worse, the idol group I stan is on the brink of breaking up, so my mental state took a hit for a moment there.

We’re in the starting town, the Eastern Field. We’ve moved a fair distance from the town to match Suupa’s hunting, and the sound of clashing blades rings out.

“Haah!”

“Yo—Ho—!”

The one slashing is Arthur, and skillfully blocking with a kanabou is Sukuna. Despite the lightness of their vocalizations, their weapons were exchanging at a speed that would make onlookers doubt their eyes.

“Dang it, you’re too solid! Won’t you create some openings?!”

“I’ve been making them, you know?”

“Yeah, well, those are openings you’re making to bait a counter!”

“Ohohoho!”

<This streamer is wicked!>

<I can’t even keep track of what they’re doing!>

<Arthur’s sword speed is really fast, too!>

<It’s basically ASMR at this point.>

“…They look like they’re having fun.”

“Fufu, indeed.”

Arthur and Drago had crashed Sukuna’s birthday stream, chatted for a bit, and then Arthur had requested a duel with Sukuna, who agreed. And so, for the first time, their blades meet as foes.

The rules are simple: no use of Arts other than offensive types. Since both can perform reckless maneuvers, those are outright banned. Furthermore, to match statuses, Sukuna had removed her new armor and was now in gear she got from Konekomaru.

“Learning from Arthur’s techniques might be a good idea~”

“Then let me slice you a bit! Stop blocking with such a composed face!”

“Hehehe, if you want to surpass me, you’re still far too slow.”

“But that’s my stats limit!”

<Too soft!>

<She’s the woman who can see moves in supersonic speeds!>

<She’s also fought Melty before.>

<Sukuna only has trouble with things faster than sound, anyway.>

“It’s pretty fresh to see Arthur get toyed with like this. She’s usually unbeatable in PvP.”

“Is that so? I can’t even counter her either, but I don’t think she’s that dominant. That being said…”

“Imitation is the highest form of flattery! Kenjou-ryu a Thousand Changes!”

“Whoa, wait, don’t—gyaah!”

<Woah!>

<Who reenacts sword skills with an iron bat?!>

<This is comedic gold!>

<Stop copying other people’s swordsmanship!>

<Aren’t the techniques completely different?!>

<She’s doing whatever she wants and it’s hilarious!>

With a comedic explosion, Arthur is sent flying. Sukuna pulls up the fallen Arthur by her hand, signaling the end of their PvP duel.

“Feels like losing in shogi with just the bishop and rook left.”

“It’s the same for both of us, you know.”

“Next time, I’ll chop off your head!”

“Well, then I’ll have to go all out, won’t I?”

<Wasn’t she already serious?>

<Sukuna was clearly holding back.>

<We’ve been seeing her serious mode a lot lately.>

<Arthur is really skilled with the sword, too.>

<She’s the top sword player in the game.>

<Her sword skills are stunningly beautiful.>

“Heh, you got wrecked.”

“Shut up!”

Drago’s jeer seems to rile up the defeated Arthur. Rinne looks at this with a somewhat intrigued face.

Rinne and Drago haven’t known each other for long. She only connected with her since the start of this game, which makes their relationship rather short-lived. Yet for some reason, Rinne had always felt that Drago was a rigid and earnest individual.

(Huh… she’s more laid-back than I thought…)

She now realized she had a somewhat childish side as well. This newfound understanding, along with the closeness it suggested, caused Rinne to slightly shift her perspective on Arthur and Drago.

“First time I’ve seen you get toyed with that much. She’s strong, isn’t she?”

“Why don’t you try fighting her yourself? Felt like I was pounding a fortress, it was so solid. I’m grateful when she’s on our side, but from the perspective of the opponent, I wouldn’t want to face someone like that.”

“Even when you guys are getting serious?”

“Especially when she’s serious. All the little tricks that used to work before are now useless, thanks to that ‘Oni-folk’s [Authority] or whatever doing extra things.”

Arthur murmured, but his expression seemed to suggest she was enjoying himself. Drago nodded in agreement to his words.

“Hmm… maybe I should challenge her too then.”

“Wait, you serious? I was joking.”

“Yes. Miss Rinne, may I borrow her for a moment?”

As they watched in silence, Drago had somehow decided to challenge Sukuna. They could’ve faced her together, but no one mentioned it. If they wanted to defeat Sukuna, that would be the way to go, but for a simple spar, one-on-one would be easier.

“If Nana’s okay with it, go ahead. I’ll just play with this in the meantime.”

“Don’t call it ‘this’! Hey, stop lifting me!”

“I wonder if there’s a way to exploit the fact that equipment weight isn’t affected by external strength. Interesting.”

As Rinne casually lifted Arthur under her arms and Arthur flailed in protest, Drago unsheathed her greatsword and turned to Sukuna.

“Ready for a spar?”

“Sure thing~”

“Thanks.”

“Same rules?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Okay then~”

Upon hearing Drago’s reply, Sukuna stood at ease. Some might think she was underestimating her opponent, but in reality, she was dismissing Drago’s speed.

(Well, Arthur and Drago are different, after all.)

Drago wielded a strength-focused greatsword, while Arthur used an agility-based one-handed sword. Their styles couldn’t be more different, and Sukuna, who also specialized in strength and agility and belonged to the Oni-folk, had no difficulty dodging Arthur’s attacks. She didn’t even need to get ready to easily handle anything Drago could throw at her.

“Drago’s build is specialized for fighting monsters, so I doubt she’ll win.”

“Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. You were the one dragging your feet during the Nocturne battle, after all.”

“Don’t remind me. I’m well aware.”

“Well, the exception to that is standing right in front of us.”

“Let’s do this!”

“Here goes.”

Drago activated several agility-boosting buffs to try and catch Sukuna off guard. But even so, she easily dodged her slashes. She didn’t even need to parry her attacks if they were going to be this slow.

“How’s that?!”

“There we go.”

Sukuna, who had easily parried Arthur’s strikes until now, found Drago’s attacks far too slow to be a concern. Even with buffs, her attack speed was nowhere near enough to trouble her.

“In both PvP and PvE, there’s no player currently who can surpass Sukuna. Even I get easily brushed aside by her now. What’s more troublesome is that her strength doesn’t come from her equipment or items.”

“Isn’t that the same for you? Martial arts and swordsmanship aren’t that useful in this world, are they?”

“No, I was once beaten by Nocturne. My swordsmanship was completely useless against her overwhelming ‘status’. In the end, I had to rely on the power of this world to barely assist Sukuna.”

“You’re talking about ‘Sword God Possession’, right? Seeing stuff like that makes me wonder if there’s ‘Demon God Possession’ or ‘Martial God Possession’ as well.”

As they continue their conversation, they watch Drago struggling to land an attack on Sukuna in the distance.

“You always seem to be having fun.”

“Nothing is as fun as analyzing the game’s mechanics. Especially in a world like this, with a lot of history and a lot of messy details.”

“Well, I’m not really used to gaming…”

“You’re the same age as Touka. Stop talking like an old man.”

“You’re harsh.”

The truth is, Rinne and Arthur had never had a proper face-to-face conversation until today. They had partied up a few times since the game started, but that was about it. Considering their limited relationship, Rinne was surprised to discover that Arthur was a lot more emotionally sensitive than she’d thought.

(Being unable to make your hard-earned skills count in the game is bothering her more than I expected. She’s a genius in swordsmanship, so much so that even Nana acknowledges her… Maybe it makes sense that she’s troubled.)

According to Nana, there’s no better swordsman than Arthur. Even with her discerning eye, she gave up on trying to imitate her incredibly refined sword techniques. She was a modern-day Sword God. During the battle with Nocturne, Arthur had experienced her sword being deflected, a scene that Rinne had replayed several times.

This world is a game. If there’s a difference in status, even a physical blade can be deflected. Landing an attack to deal no damage is common. In the real world, if a blade hits, it cuts; if a wooden sword hits, it leaves a bruise. But here, there are powerful figures where ‘just hitting’ them doesn’t translate to damage. For Arthur, who wasn’t accustomed to gaming, it was hard to accept this reality. She could switch gears during a battle, but it seemed she was hit harder emotionally than she let on when she reflected on it later.

(Is it because she’s a genius that she’s sensitive?)

Lost in these thoughts, she remained silent. Unusually, Arthur looked away, appearing a bit embarrassed.

“Wh-What? You need something from me?”

“It’s nothing, look, Drago’s about to run out of SP. Why don’t you go help her?”

“What do you mean… Ah, I see. Fine, it makes sense.”

Despite her exhaustion, Drago continued to launch an all-out attack, completely disregarding her SP consumption. Sukuna effortlessly dodged every one of her moves. While there’s no way to see someone else’s SP from the outside, the system does provide feedback to the player when they’ve used up more than 80% of their SP. It’s simply a kind of breathlessness, but even to an observer, it’s clear when someone is getting tired.

Arthur seemed to realize what Rinne meant as she caught sight of this in her peripheral vision. With a sly grin, she began to sprint.

“Sorry, I’m heading out!”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Arthur dashed off like a rabbit to assist Drago, Rinne waved her off.

“This is an intrusion! Don’t call this unfair!”

“Come as many as you like~”

“What?! You’re accepting this way too easily!”

“What kind of comedy act is this?”

<The momentum is amazing>

<Rinne is totally egging them on LOL>

<Oh, it’s 2 against 1 now?>

<Someone, please, just land a hit on Sukuna>

<She’s like a boss monster or something>

“Guess I’ll have to get a little serious if it’s 2v1~”

“Wait, no using the Twin Wolf Sore outfit, that’s against the rules!”

“You can change armor instantly?!”

“You can do it when you level up your proficiency~”

<I can’t even see it>

<They’re talking about skills we don’t know again>

<Take as much time as a magical girl transformation scene>

<Instant change without lag is impressive>

<Is this magic?>

<This skill is super useful>

“Huh, so that ability has more uses than just increasing the number of registered weapons.”

“Phew…”

“We’re back~”

“Welcome back, Touka, Suupa. Did you have fun?”

“Yes! Our levels even went up to 6.”

“You got the hang of it, hitting almost every shot.”

“Impressive as expected.”

Just as the 2v1 battle got underway, Touka and Suupa, who had been hunting a little farther away, returned. Both looked content, their faces bright.

“What’s going on now?”

“That.”

“Ah… It turned into a 2v1, huh.”

Pointing, they saw Sukuna rampaging without holding back, while Drago and Arthur did their best to keep up. Touka seemed to understand the situation at a glance.

“This is like facing Nocturne all over again!”

“Stop chattering! Focus… What?!”

“Ahahahaha!”

“Woaaah?! What’s this cheat move?!”

“Rinne, stop her—ahhhhh!”

<LOL>

<Is she some kind of raid boss now?>

<It’s her birthday today>

<Today’s Sukuna is super energetic and cute>

<Ah, it’s all over the place>

<The Forbidden Double Throw>

<?Clearly that’s not double!>

<New finishing move>

<Who would stand for such an evil finisher!>

“It’s getting lively, isn’t it?”

“Wow… but Nana looks like she’s having fun.”

“Yeah. Playing with friends is rare for her. She must be really happy that people came to celebrate her birthday.”

Today, she’s been frolicking around since the morning because she decided to stream on her birthday. The old Nana would never have enjoyed herself so freely. But now, she’s genuinely happy and having fun.

“I was hesitant about collaborating externally, but… it might not be a bad idea.”

In the sense of widening Nana’s social circle.

As she looked for new directions to explore, Rinne seemed to be taking the current situation in a positive light.

Many companies that are in the streaming business have their talents playing this VRMMO designed for streamers. And Rinne has deep personal relationships with some of these companies.

“That’s true… That company also has ties with Nana.”

If Nana doesn’t enjoy this new direction, then it’s easy to cut ties. Imagining the future possibilities, Rinne watched as Drago and Arthur were sent flying by Nana.

Author note:

No Q&A section this time!

The content is something like a recap of what happened about 70 episodes ago, retold for new viewers.